Hearts Unbound

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  512 Forest Lake Drive

  Warner Robins , Georgia 31093

  Hearts Unbound

  Copyright © 2007 by Rebecca Goings

  Cover by Scott Carpenter

  ISBN: 1-59998-680-9

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2007

  Hearts Unbound

  Rebecca Goings

  Dedication

  When I wrote Hearts Eternal, I had no intention of writing a book for the villain, Jareth Moreland. That is, until I was tackled, hogtied and beaten into submission by a few of my most dedicated readers.

  Therefore, this one is for my fans.

  Prologue

  Seattle , Washington , Present Day

  Jareth Moreland smiled wickedly as a surge of satisfaction pulsed through him. His brother, Laith, was going to die today. Straddling Laith’s chest, Jareth crushed his windpipe with his hands, watching with insane pleasure as his identical twin’s face became redder by the second. Laith was tired, barely able to punch his fists any longer, having no more energy to try and unseat him. Jareth would be victorious.

  Finally, he would have Cassandra all to himself. After centuries of doubt, hatred and jealousy, she would be his and share his immortality.

  Before he could rejoice, however, a sharp, burning pain pierced Jareth’s back, only to exit out his chest. Glancing down, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There, protruding from his skin was the point of a wooden stake. He couldn’t breathe as he clutched at it, falling to the floor. Laith finally heaved hard enough to roll out from under him and Jareth had one thought.

  His beloved had betrayed him.

  “NO! Cassandra!” The woman he’d loved throughout the centuries, the woman he’d cursed himself for in order to find again in the future, had killed him. Once and for all.

  Jareth writhed on the ground, feeling every inch of his body consumed with intense heat. Was he on fire? He tried to scream at the horrific pain, but blood poured from every orifice—even his mouth. Fear such as he’d never known gripped him tight. This was the end. Cassandra had made her choice. And her choice was Laith.

  Something tugged at Jareth’s soul. Just as his body turned to ashes, his soul was ripped away, speeding through darkness. There was no more pain. He tried to cry out, but no sound escaped his lips. However, he could hear something, a chanting, that sounded oddly like a woman’s voice.

  As the sound continued to rush by his ears, his soul cleaved to another. It was a strange sensation, feeling as if he was now only part of a whole. He smelled a fragrance—lilacs perhaps. Was this what it was like to die?

  Just as he had that thought, Jareth Moreland slammed into something. Hard.

  Chapter One

  Jareth sat up in a bed, gasping for air. What the hell just happened? Running his fingers through his hair, he tried in vain to still his shaking hands. His breath came in sharp pants as he looked around, barely able to see shapes in the gloom. He could smell the familiar scent of lilacs surrounding him. He was not alone.

  “Jareth?”

  A soft, feminine voice washed over him and he shivered. “Cassandra?”

  The woman, whoever she was, made a small noise.

  “No. I am Jessica. Jessica Belstowe.”

  Whipping his head around, he spied her form, sitting next to his bed. “Who are you?”

  She sucked in her breath. “You do not remember me, my lord?” The woman sounded pained, as if she fully expected him to know who she was.

  “I know the name Belstowe. Are you related to Cassandra?”

  “She—she is my elder sister.”

  Jareth closed his eyes, concentrating on calming his racing heart. “How am I here? Where am I?” The last thing he could remember was his fight with Laith and…Cassandra. Cassandra had impaled him with a wooden stake!

  Tearing the blankets away, Jareth frantically examined his bare chest, amazed to find no wound at all. “Am I dead?”

  “No, my lord, you are not.”

  “But Cassandra! She…she…”

  “I know what she did, Lord Moreland. I have saved you from that fate. You are here with me now.”

  “Where might that be?” he asked, a little harsher than intended. “And how could you possibly be Cassandra Belstowe’s sister? She died centuries ago!”

  The woman stood and wandered to the window where she pushed back the thick, heavy curtains with a mighty heave. Bright sunlight poured into the room, illuminating every corner.

  Jareth screamed and held up his arms futilely, directly in the line of the setting sun. Fear gripped his heart. Was this his fate? To die horribly—twice?

  As tears fell from his eyes, he marveled at the sunlight, gently warming his skin instead of the hot, searing pain he was used to. He looked at the woman, his eyes wide with shock. He was a vampire. How was it possible for him to sit unharmed in the sunlight?

  “What have you done?”

  Jessica turned her face toward him and he gazed upon her fully for the first time. Hair the color of honey greeted his eyes, swept off her neck into a loose bun. Her figure was small and thin, and the dress she wore was beautiful silk, pale green in color, trimmed with lace. Her eyes were also a shade of green, but from that distance, he couldn’t tell exactly what shade. The hue of her dress seemed to bring out their color. However the gown seemed dated, not at all the fashion of the twenty-first century.

  She did resemble Cassandra, yet for the life of him, he couldn’t remember ever meeting her.

  Taking his gaze off her, Jareth glanced around the room.

  “It cannot be,” he said in wonder as he recognized the furnishings. There, across the room, was a desk—his old desk—piled high with papers and books. A large fireplace lined the other wall, the very same one he’d paced in front of night after night, plotting his revenge against his brother. A wardrobe was next to the bed, along with the chair the woman had been sitting in, probably taken from behind the desk.

  “What you see is real, my lord,” she said in a small voice, prompting his gaze back to her. It had been a long time since anyone had referred to him as “my lord”. Jareth had almost forgotten he was once the Marquis of Havenshire.

  “How is this possible? Where is Laith? Where is Cassandra?”

  “I don’t know.” She made her way back to him. “But I was able to see you being killed by my sister and I could not let that happen. I have saved you.”

  “How?”

  “With magic.”

  Jareth swallowed hard before he said, “You are a witch, then?”

  The woman licked her lips and sat back down on the chair, avoiding his gaze. “Of sorts.” She toyed with the lace on her sleeves. “I have been learning things from a witch in the forest—”

  “Is her name Morana?” he interrupted her.

  She nodded furiously. “Yes! That is her. She told me of her plans for you and I had to stop her, Jareth. I was able to look into the future and see what would happen. I—”

  “The future?”

  “Yes. I couldn’t let my sister kill you, I ju
st couldn’t.”

  “Where am I?” he asked again.

  The woman cleared her throat before meeting his gaze and answering him. “The estate of Crichton.”

  Once again, he shivered. “This is not possible!”

  “Jareth,” she said, touching his hand. He couldn’t ignore the jolt that hit him when her skin met his, and he was shocked to find himself drawn to her. The woman was beautiful, of that there was no doubt. And he could now see that her eyes were a deep shade of green, almost the color of the spring grass. Despite his centuries-old obsession for Cassandra, he found himself yearning to kiss this little chit. Where the hell had that impulse come from?

  “Jareth, there is something you need know. I saved you from your fate, that is true, however, I brought you back to the very day you chose to curse yourself. You are no longer a vampire, because you haven’t yet demanded your immortality from Morana.”

  Jareth stared at her, dumbfounded.

  “I have given you a second chance, my lord,” she said with a pretty smile. “You have returned to the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and fifty-seven.”

  Chapter Two

  The Estate of Crichton, England, 1657

  Jareth jumped out of the bed and paced the floor, uncaring that he was clad only in breeches. He fisted his fingers through his hair and was careful to avoid the sunlight as he walked back and forth. Regardless of what this woman told him, he didn’t quite believe he was no longer a vampire, choosing instead to err on the side of caution. She must have seen him glare at the sunlight pouring through the window.

  “Do not fear, my lord. The sun will no longer harm you.”

  “How is it possible you have brought me back in time?”

  Jessica sighed. “As I have told you, with my magic. For years I have watched you pursue my sister, and for years I have admired you from afar, Jareth. When Morana began speaking of you as if she knew you during my lessons, I had to find out what you were planning with her. When she told me the truth of it, I was aghast. I had no idea how deep your hatred for your brother runs.”

  “It runs very deep,” he growled, still pacing.

  “This I know,” she continued. “Morana told me she plans on killing both Laith and Cassandra. She plans on telling you that killing Cassandra was merely an accident, but you must know it is not! She plans to curse Laith as you agreed, but she will bond his soul with Cassandra as his shelmir, ensuring that you can never have her.”

  “Why?” Jareth raged, crossing the room. Jessica cried out with fright as he clutched onto her arms. “Why would Morana do that to me? Why would she take away the only woman I have ever loved?”

  Jessica looked as if she’d been slapped by his words. Tears filled her eyes, but she answered him. “Because she wants you for herself, Jareth! She wants you to curse yourself. She wants you to become a vampire just as she. I couldn’t stand by and watch that be your fate! I had to know what was in store for you. I peered into the years to come and found you confronting Cassandra once again three hundred and fifty years hence. I watched the entire ordeal, Jareth. I watched her choose Laith over you. Again.”

  “What do you know of it?” He released her so hard she almost fell over in the chair. “The woman I love does not love me. I understand this now!” Tears fell from his eyes as he spoke. He backed away from Jessica as the urge to pull her closer and kiss her senseless emerged.

  “What have you done to me?” He tried to reach out to her with his power in order to make her tell him, but the power he once had as a vampire was no longer there. He growled in frustration. “What have you done to me?” he yelled again, making her jump.

  “I—I have enchanted you,” she said, visibly shaking.

  “With what? Tell me!”

  He watched as Jessica swallowed hard, standing and taking a few hesitant steps toward him. “Jareth, I—”

  “Tell me!”

  “I made you my shelmir!” she cried out, her tears flowing freely as she sobbed into her hands.

  A few moments of silence followed her words as Jareth made sense of that.

  “You made me your shelmir?” he repeated, remembering the feeling of bonding to another soul as he’d been whisked through the shadows of death. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because—”

  “Why would you do that?” he exclaimed, not letting her finish. “I was supposed to be Cassandra’s shelmir!”

  “Jareth, please.”

  “I don’t even know you. How can I be bonded to you? I can’t even begin to fathom what you have done!”

  “I had to do it! Morana is evil. She is insane. She will twist you—make you insane with jealousy at the bond between your brother and my sister. If you confront her, she will only try to convince you to become a vampire. I couldn’t let her have you again. Not when I gave you a second chance at life.”

  Jareth scoffed at that. “A life with a woman I hardly know? A life I didn’t ask for or want?”

  Jessica licked her lips as more tears fell. “If you are my shelmir, then she has no claim on you. You—you…”

  “What? I am what?” he demanded.

  “You are mine,” she whispered.

  He laughed, tossing back his head. Glancing at her, he advanced, pushing her back until her legs hit the bed. When he continued to approach, she had no choice but to fall on the bed, where he pounced on her.

  “If I remember correctly, my sweet,” he purred with contempt. “The shelmir bond means that you are mine as well.”

  Jessica didn’t fight him. She stared up at him with wide eyes as if he would strike her, but now that she was underneath him, he had no such inclinations. Her surprised expression looked so much like Cassandra’s. He groaned, resting his weight against her.

  “The bond is strong.” He caught her hair in his hand, twining it around his fingers. She flinched, but said nothing. “Do you feel it?”

  “You should not be on top of me,” she managed to gasp, ignoring his question.

  “What an odd thing to say,” he murmured, lowering his head to rub his nose on hers. “You gave me the right, my sweet, did you not?”

  He watched as she closed her eyes and tried to turn away, but his hand in her hair prevented her from doing so. Holding her this way felt so right. He swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to scare her, but finding himself reacting in a different way now that their bodies rubbed together.

  The pull to kiss her was intense, and Jareth wasn’t prepared for it. Without giving it another thought, he gave in, lowering his face to nuzzle her neck.

  “If I was still a vampire,” his voice was muffled against her skin, “I would drink of you, my lovely.” His tongue snaked out to taste her, making her shudder. Baring his teeth, he did indeed bite her, but his fangs didn’t grow. He had to chuckle at himself as she pushed at his shoulders.

  “You’re hurting me,” she gasped in his ear, flaming his blood.

  “You like it,” he answered, certain she’d be putting up much more of a fight if she didn’t.

  “Jareth,” she whispered, threading her fingers through his hair. “Kiss me. Please kiss me. Please—” She didn’t get any further.

  His mouth claimed hers savagely, forcing her lips open with his tongue. He wanted this woman, now, at this moment. A demon of desire was riding him hard, more so than with any other woman who had come before her. Including Cassandra. However, he hadn’t been bonded to Cassandra. His desire for her hadn’t been quite this intense, although it had been close, fueled by jealousy and guilt. This need inside of him now, however, was something different, something deeper. Something primal.

  Jessica moaned into his mouth as he conquered, moving sensually against her and taking her bottom lip in his mouth to suckle with hunger. When she answered his bold tongue with her timid one, gently exploring his mouth, it was almost his undoing. This woman was warm and willing, unlike countless others he had bedded in years gone by.

  Most of the women he’d been with were charmed
, seduced into his bed through his innate power as a vampire. Now here he was, kissing this woman into oblivion—and she was willing. She encouraged him to continue his sensual assault by caressing his cheeks and the skin of his neck. How long had it been since Jareth had a woman who’d actually wanted him?

  The thought stopped him, cold.

  Releasing her from his grip, he leaned on his elbows and stared down at her. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her neck red and irritated from his stubble. Not to mention the bite mark that was now bruising.

  “You have bewitched me,” he whispered a moment before he pushed himself up from the bed. Once he stood, Jareth ran his fingers through his tousled hair.

  She sat up, clearly unsure what to do now. Lightning and thunder cracked outside his bedroom window while the light from the sun diminished. “What the hell?” Jareth said under his breath as he stalked to the window. It appeared as if a storm front had moved in.

  “I do not remember clouds in the sky a moment ago.”

  Jessica cleared her throat before answering him. “That is because there were none, my lord.” Her voice wavered.

  “Then where did this come from?”

  “You do not remember? This is the very storm that will kill your brother and my sister.”

  Jareth spun around to face her. “The ravine. Do you mean to tell me Morana is at the ravine this very moment?”

  Without waiting for her to answer, he ran to his wardrobe and yanked out a white tunic, pulling it over his head.

  “Please, Jareth, do not go out there.”

  “I must! The crone will kill Cassandra! I lost her once. I will not lose her again.”

  “It was meant to be this way, Jareth. Please listen to me. You cannot stop Laith from becoming my sister’s shelmir. You are mine. You cannot be Cassandra’s.”

  “You lie. I do not believe Morana will kill Cassandra on purpose. It was an accident, nothing more, and I mean to stop it.” He growled, grabbing her chin with his fingers. “I will have the witch break this shelmir bond of yours and give me Cassandra. If she won’t do it, then she will die.”