She started shaking her head at him. "Okay, so it is what you think. Why? What can you do? Can you make the hurt go away? I want to go now. You have no rights over me, do you hear me? I want to go away from here."

She stiffened suddenly and he jerked around to defend her. Anger boiled into the room from the man he'd forgotten about. Colin.

"Who will kill him? Aaron, what's going on?"

He hid the grin that fought hard to turn into a laugh at the sight of Colin standing there. Colin was holding his broadsword in his hands, at the ready, in a pair of khaki shorts and an Ohio State Football t-shirt.

"Colin, please go with the others. I will explain in a moment. I can take care of this." At least Aaron hoped he could.

With a cool look toward the girl through the bathroom door, Colin left.

"And you aren't going anywhere. Not now. The doctor will be here soon, and then we are going to talk about this. Sara, I really need-"

"He will find out where I am again. I won't be able to protect her this time either if he does, don't you see? I can't let him hurt her again. I couldn't protect her before. It is imperative that I protect her at all costs. I cannot fail her again. Then there's the baby. Babies are all we have in the world, you know?"

While her babbling was disjointed, it wasn't very helpful either. He? He who? Baby? Christ, she was pregnant too?

"You're pregnant? Who is he? Your husband, is he the one who beat you? I'll kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d." Some people, he decided, should not be allow to live.

"What? No, I've never even had s.e.x. No, April's baby. I want you to let me go." She was crying harder now.

Aaron would think about all she said later. For now, all he could think about was that she was hurting. He finally got her to come out of the bathroom with the promise that he would not make her bare herself to him. He went to his room to get her the softest shirt he owned for her to put on. She had explained to him how she had trouble pulling a shirt over her head and that was when she realized just how much pain she was in. He helped her into the shirt, not looking at anything but her eyes. She managed to drop the towel only twice, leaving him with the briefest idea that the beatings had not been done only to her back and legs.

By the time Thomas got there, she was lying in the now clean bed, and crying softly. Aaron stood at the door to the bedroom and waited, clenching and unclenching his fists. He could not remember being so angry in all of his considerable years. Nor had he ever felt so useless.

"Sara's hurting. I demand that you make it stop," he said in way of a greeting.

"Can I see her first? It might make things easier that way."

Aaron could only glare at him. He had been Thomas's friend for two hundred years and at that moment, he thought he might gladly stake him.

Aaron took a deep breath before he spoke again. "I would very much appreciate it if you could please examine her. Then I'd like for you to see if you can take away her pain. Please, Thomas. She's hurting."

Aaron felt Thomas's stare. Aaron could not imagine what he was thinking.

"All right," Thomas finally said, "go downstairs and I'll see what I can do."

"I'll be right out here. Yell if you need me, or if she doesn't cooperate. She's...she can be stubborn at times," Aaron told him.

Aaron thought that was a bit of an understatement. She was frustratingly stubborn and infuriatingly obstinate.

As Aaron shut the door behind him, he heard Thomas say to Sara, "Come now, child, let's see what all the fuss is about."

*CHAPTER FIVE*.

Aaron nervously paced the hallway just outside Sara's room waiting for Doctor Thomas Reilly to bring him word of her condition. Aaron and Thomas had fought in the first Great War together and had become fast friends.

Nearly an hour had pa.s.sed when the doctor stepped out of the room. He seemed upset and pale, even for a vampire.

"I have never seen anyone beaten that badly and remain conscious at the same time. That poor girl, that poor, poor girl."

They silently headed down the wide staircase toward the living room, where the others were awaiting word.

As Aaron entered the room, everyone rose as one, concern in their eyes and on their faces. Aaron turned to Thomas and nodded, giving permission to explain the situation.

"I know, without a doubt," Thomas said bluntly, "that Aaron did not cause this woman's pain. But someone has. This is not the first time this has happened, nor, according to the young lady, will it be the last. I've given her something for the pain, so she's resting now. She has been beaten at least four times over the past two weeks, I would say. By the bruising, I can a.s.sume he's a large man, strong, and a mean son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h. This monster isn't only using his fists, although that's bad enough, but I believe he's using a bat as well. She said she has been thrown against a couple of walls too. She told me not to fuss overly much. I found this very curious, but she said that she heals initially very quickly. The bruising then takes the normal amount of healing time. This probably explains why there are only cracked ribs, rather than broken ones."

"Christ."

Aaron turned to look at Colin. He couldn't agree more, he thought.

"The young lady wouldn't tell me who it was, but I get the feeling she is terrified of him coming to the estate. Not for herself, but more so for you, Mrs. Carlovetti, and the other woman she needs to protect." Thomas paused slightly. "She seems to think you're pregnant."

Aaron looked at the new vamp and suddenly wondered if this was the babe Sara had been speaking of.

"Me? No, I'm not able to conceive. I've been converted for nearly a year now. She's mistaken. Vampires can't conceive. Can they?" April asked the room in general.

Aaron looked at the young vampire. Sara had killed the rogues to protect April, to protect her child.

"Actually, that's not true. It's rare, very rare, but it has happened. The woman is usually a new convert, pregnant or fertile just before the conversion. For it to be a whole year...I'm not sure. When was the last time, Aaron?" Thomas was explaining it to April.

But Aaron just could not wrap his mind around anything right now. "I don't know, about, oh I'd say two hundred years or so."

"Yeah, that's about right. A simple test can tell if you are or not. And knowing her, or as little as we know, she probably can tell. That must be the child she was telling me that she had to protect. You're the reason she fought those rogues, to save you and the child you carry, I believe." Thomas looked concerned again. "She kept saying that when he found her, he'd hurt the child. You think it's the monster who did this to her?" Thomas looked around the room and his gaze settled on Aaron.

Sara had said that she had not been able to protect the other child. Whose? he wondered. And why would she feel the need to be responsible for someone else's child? Was it from the man who was now beating her, or someone else? Instead of getting answers from her, the questions kept mounting.

"I take it she didn't tell you either," Aaron said, frustrated. "There are times when I think I should have drained her when she asked me to." He looked at April when she gasped. "I won't hurt her. I a.s.sure you of that."

"No, she didn't say who it might be, just that if he came for her, he'd hurt the babe. You think she's right then? Mrs. Carlovetti, why don't we do a test and see? Aaron, being older, can tell quicker than any test I can run, if it's all right with your husband. He will just need to take a small taste of you blood and he'll be able to tell immediately." Thomas was a great doctor, both for humans and vampires, even if he was a tad pushy.

"This will be as good as place as any for you both to pledge your allegiance to me, if you wish for my protection. I'm not requiring anyone to pledge to me just yet. I know the problems and issues that were a part of what you endured before. The blood exchange will leave me with the usual abilities, but I won't be able to summon you without your pledge." He wanted to make sure she was well informed before she agreed.

April looked to her husband. He nodded to her. "Yes. Yes, we've talked it over and we will. I've never done this before. Will it...could it hurt the babe if I am pregnant?"

"No. I would never do that. I only need a drop."

She nodded to him.

Aaron stood, and walked toward April. The allegiance had been around for as long as he had been a vampire. He also had pledged himself to several masters over the centuries. Most, of course, were dead. The few who had survived had released him from their bond long ago. They were still connected by blood; that could never be broken. As he had told April, they could no longer summon him to do their bidding.

April raised her unsteady wrist up for him to sip. He repeated the words of his vow to her. "I take your blood, April Carlovetti, as your pledge to me, who will become your master. You will be mine. I will, in return, pledge to you to keep you safe and protected for all my reign."

Aaron dropped his fangs and gently bit into her proffered wrist. He did not need much, either for the pledge, or to see if she was pregnant. He looked down at the woman at his feet, then glanced over to her husband and said, "It would seem that I'm getting three for the price of two. Congratulations, you're about to become parents."

"Hot d.a.m.n!"

With that, Demetrius picked up his wife and swung her around the room. He stopped suddenly, picked her up in his arms, and cradled her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Aaron smiled in spite of himself.

Demetrius set his wife down on the sofa and knelt before his master. With tears in his eyes, he pledged himself to Aaron. He could do nothing but accept his oath as well.

When Sara awoke the next time, the room was completely dark, save for the moonlight spilling from the slightly opened curtain across the room. As was her habit, she reached out into the room and beyond to locate everyone and any hidden dangers to all within the household. She found the man responsible for her more immediate problems right there in the room with her.

"May I leave now?" she asked Aaron.

He completely ignored her question. "You'll be happy to know you were right about Mrs. Carlovetti. She is indeed pregnant."

She knew that. That's why she had told him, the pompous a.s.s. Well, screw it. If that was the way that he wanted to be, then she would no longer speak to him. He had not asked her anything, so she was not inclined to fill in the silence. She began to make her way into a sitting position. The plan was to go to the bathroom and get dressed, and then leave.

After several minutes, he got out of his chair and walked toward her and the bed. She continued to ignore him.

"Here, let me help you," he finally said.

She looked up at him. d.a.m.ned man. Did everything out of his mouth need to sound like a flippin' order? "No. I have it under control. I'm hurt, not dead, thank you very much."

"You are by and far the most stubborn...I'm picking you up, prepare." And with that, he scooped her up into his arms.

"Put me down, you jacka.s.s. What are you doing? Do you want to break you back? Stop right now." Of course he didn't, not that she really expected him to listen to her.

He settled her against the large counter in the bathroom and began unb.u.t.toning her shirt. The taps to the large garden tub had been turned on before they entered, no doubt by some of his abilities, she thought. When he reached out and pulled a bottle of bubble bath off of the side of the tub and poured a generous amount into the spraying water, she snapped.

"You know I hate you...you...Oh! Why are you doing this? I want to leave. Is it because you think I'll tell someone about you? I won't, not ever." She wiped angrily at the tears falling, and turned to glare at him.

"Please don't cry, Sara. I know you won't. And if you learned to take proper care of yourself, this wouldn't be necessary. Now, Thomas, he was the attending doctor the other night, said that you'd feel better after a long soak in the tub. We need to keep your wounds as dry as possible between soaks, though. Want me to help you get in?" He said this with a wolfish grin.

Sara looked at him for all of ten seconds. It was just too much. She gave him a hard mental push and watched as he flailed backward, ending up in the tub fully clothed, pink bubbles clinging to his dark hair and arms.

"Go soak yourself." And with that, she walked, hobbled really, back into the bedroom and out of the room. She heard him laugh as she slammed the door on her way out.

The man was insane, she thought, or she was. She had just pushed a vampire three times her size into a tub. Stupid, she was just stupid.

By the time he had stripped out of his sodden clothes and dried himself, a good twenty minutes had pa.s.sed. He was still chuckling to himself when he ventured into the hall with another towel knotted around his waist to go to his own bedchamber on the lower levels. There, he encountered Duncan. Aaron noticed that his a.s.sistant had an arm load of his clothes with him. He smiled at the look on his face. Poor Duncan, he thought.

"Duncan, my man, just the person I need to see. Ah, I see my little warrior told you of my mishap. Good. Let me dress, and you tell me what she is up to now." He pulled the navy blue t-shirt over his head and dropped the towel on the floor. Next, he found the dark blue silk boxer briefs and slipped them on.

"Miss Sara said that she threw you into the tub, my lord." Duncan stared at him with a look of total disbelief.

Next came the black jeans. Aaron was pulling them up over his lean hips as he answered him. His mouth twitched at Duncan's tone. Aaron had never heard him sound so disapproving before.

"That she did. That she did. I'll have to make her pay for that, I think. Tricky little thing, isn't she?" Aaron winked at the man. "Duncan, she didn't hurt me. It was my fault entirely, but let's not tell her that. All right?"

"People staying here without a proper house staff to care for them, a young human throwing you into a tub, you in her bed chamber... My lord, I do not know what to make of all this."

"Me either, Duncan, but I'm having the time of my life." Aaron handed the now sopping wet towel to him and bounded down the stairs in search of the woman who smelled like lilies and honey. He found her in the kitchen.

Sara was sitting at the large kitchen table staring at something on a plate. She looked up at him when he entered the room. Her forehead was marred in what looked to him like confusion.

Aaron leaned over the plate and jerked back at the noxious odor coming from the congealed ma.s.s of red and white blobs on her plate.

"What's that? Smells...hummm...different."

"Hush," she scolded him. "You'll hurt his feelings. He said he got the recipe off of a cooking network. I think he said it was eggplant parmesan."

As he watched, she stabbed at it with a long-handled fork. He didn't think it was improving the look or the smell of it.

"Are you going to eat it?" He asked her incredulously.

She gave him the look, one he was coming to recognize from her as, You are just too stupid to be alive, aren't you?

"Of course I am. I think so anyway. What are you going to eat?" He could tell by the look on her face she realized too late what she had asked him. Warmth rushed through him, followed immediately by need. A need so profound he wanted to throw her on the table and feast on her, body and soul.

"Hummm." He took a step toward her, only to come up short when she suddenly had one of her blades at his chest. "Are you offering yourself? Because there's nothing I'd like more than to take a sip of you. Of you, your mouth, any part of you that you're willing to let me taste."

He moved his head toward her, toward her full mouth. He watched, mesmerized, as she licked her lips with the tip of her pink tongue. He groaned softly as he leaned closer to her mouth.

"Sara, I want to kiss you."

"No. You can't. I...I forbid you to try." Her voice was husky and soft.

Slowly, agonizingly slow, he touched her ribs with his left hand, spreading his fingers wide along her. He brushed his mouth across hers in a small whisper of a touch. With his right hand, he encircled her other wrist, pulled the blade from his chest, and stepped closer to her body.

"Sara..." As Aaron moved in for another light kiss, he cupped her breast in his hand and brushed his thumb across her nipple. He felt the warm flesh tighten and swell against his palm.

"I don't want this. You...stop right now. Stop...please, Aaron." Capturing her moan, her body arching against his, he dipped in again. This time. This time, she was his.

"Sara, let me taste you, love. Please?"

Before she could answer, before he could taste her, she was pinned against the far cabinets, two feet off the ground by Colin, and Aaron was on the floor. Colin had his large bicep at her throat while working to take her knife from her hand. Aaron didn't think Colin would hurt Sara. He just wanted to disarm her. He saw her slam her wrists against his shoulder and with a hiss of steel, twin blades came forward and into her hands. In a blink of an eye, everything changed from disarming her to her having a blade at Colin's heart with just enough pressure to draw a drop of blood.

"Colin, don't. She'll do it. Put her down. It's just a small...misunderstanding between us. Isn't it, Sara?" Aaron looked in her eyes.

"My lord, this puny human cannot come in here and pull a blade on you." Anger and something hinging on incredulity was in his voice. As if he couldn't believe Aaron would want him to stop protecting him.

Aaron ignored Colin for the moment and continued to stare at her. What he saw gave him pause; hurt, sorrow, sadness, bleakness, every depressing emotion you could image, but mostly he saw determination cross her face. She would kill Colin if, but only if, he gave her a reason.

"I have no doubt she is regretting it as we speak, aren't you, Sara? Sara, answer me."

Aaron stepped forward to pull Colin's arm from her neck and stopped. She pushed the blade into Colin's chest a little harder. Blood now dripped down his shirt.

She whispered through his mind, as she was unable to speak with Colin cutting off her airway. "I don't want to hurt him. But know that I will. I had a momentary lack of good judgment the other day and I've decided I can't die just yet. You tell him to let me go and I will stop trying to remove his heart."

"Colin, she's very sorry for trying to kiss me just now. If you'd be so kind as to let her go, I might let her try again."

Aaron could almost feel her glare it was so intense. He needed to make him let go, d.a.m.n it. He was touching what Aaron considered his, and he did want to kiss her properly this time. But Colin's bark of laughter brought him up short.