“Later.”
Chapter Five
“I swear it was just like that Idol show!” Jolene enthused for the third time over dinner at one of the hotel’s four-star restaurants. “The judges were brutal. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many people crying in one place.”
Hobie patted his wife’s hand. “Which we would surely feel bad about if their tears didn’t mean you and Rose would be in the finals tonight. I think we have a real chance of winning this thing.”
“That’s what I meant, Hobie, baby. And of course they’ll win.”
“I know, my love.”
Mac forced a smile, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from scanning the crowded dining room, searching for Rose. She’d disappeared as soon as they ordered and he was restless, close to leaving the table to look for her. Protect her.
What was that irresistible demon up to now?
Last night had been unforgettable. He felt alive and for the first time in centuries, he remembered happiness. She made him laugh, drove him into bouts of lust-induced insanity and had more energy and sexual stamina than any woman of any species he’d ever met.
He’d known her for one day—but Mac had experienced more emotion in the last twenty-four hours than he had in the last twenty-four years. And her blood… It was more than intoxicating. More than madness. It made everything stronger—his body, his feelings. Even now he could sense it inside him—part of her inside him—connecting them to each other. Calling to him.
Was this what Saint felt for his kitsune, Ume? What Thomas felt for his mate? Both had fallen instantly, hard as stones to the ground, for their women. Despite their powers, they couldn’t resist the call. Though to be honest they didn’t really try.
But vampires didn’t mate like cats or foxes. They didn’t have children and families. His roommates and Esther were the closest thing he’d had to that kind of connection since he was created.
His kind didn’t plan for the future, they stood still in time. Statues memorializing an era—cursed to watch life move forward and leave them behind. Immortality was the worst kind of universal joke. Though the word rang with possibility and potential, the day-to-day truth of it was difficult to endure.
Thomas and Saint had helped. And now Rose had woven a spell around him that he couldn’t begin to understand, but it was one that made him feel almost human again. Made him remember the kind of man he’d wanted to be.
When he was young and imagined falling in love and taking a bride, he’d fantasized about a woman with voluptuous hips and breasts. A woman with fire in her eyes and wild, windblown hair. A bride who enjoyed more than endured her marriage bed.
She is a demon.
And he was a dead man, in more ways than one. That didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered was now. Rose. He was determined to spend this last night with her and then insure she got what she most desired. Her freedom.
After the gift she’d given him, it seemed a small price to pay.
Where the hell was she?
She’d been strangely quiet for most of the afternoon until they got up to sing. It had been like magic, the way they’d come together. The song was a dance now, a seduction more than a surprise. When it was done, more than one couple in the crowd had to be separated before they could be arrested for public indecency.
Rose really had no control over her pushing. When she was aroused, everyone knew it. Mac didn’t mind at all.
Afterwards, even though he could still sense the sun outside, all he’d wanted to do was take her back to their suite of rooms and have his way with her. Unfortunately, their human companions had other ideas.
Now evening had fallen and they had a few hours until show time.
“Angus?”
Mac grimaced. “Jolene, I have to be honest with you.”
The peach-scented woman paled. “Oh no. No you don’t. Really, it’s unnecessary.”
“I think I do. I lied.”
“It’s okay, I prom—”
“My name isn’t really Angus. That was my brother’s name.” Back when I was human. When my brother and I were alive. “Call me Mac.”
Hobie laughed in relief and pulled his wife closer. “You had Jolene going, son. It isn’t nice to tease. She was ready for you to back out of the contest when we were close enough to see the brass ring.”
Rose appeared behind Mac and tugged on his shirt nervously.
“Where have you been?” he asked, twisting up to look at her.
“We are backing out. Come on, Angus. Time to go.”
“I told them my real name, Rose. And sit down, dinner is—”
“Packed,” she interrupted. “This whole place is packed with people we know, Mac. Old friends…and possibly a few relatives, though I can’t be sure.”
He tried to send her a reassuring smile. “I know, Rose. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize the family was here, but I know about our friends. They are easy enough to spot if you know what to look for.”
Stillness. Arrogance. Pale, stiff assholes in dinner jackets. God, is that we he looked like to other people? He needed to take Margo up on her offer to shop for him.
Word had somehow gotten out that tonight’s act at the Venetian Theater was a not-to-be-missed event—Mac’s first and final public performance.
Rose sat down and turned toward him in her chair, lowering her voice. “Why don’t you care? Why aren’t you mad at me? If I hadn’t made you come here, they would never have found you. You would have been safe.”
“I knew it.” Hobie’s sober voice made them both turn in his direction. “As soon as you came into the Belly Up, boy, I knew you were on the run.”
Jolene nodded and covered Hobie’s hand with hers. “He also knew you were good people, An—Mac. Whatever bad things you’re running from?” She lifted her chin. “We want to help. First things first—we have to find a way to leave without drawing any unwanted attention. We need a distraction.”
Mac felt something like amazement tightening his chest. “Jolene, what about the competition? The library for the kids?”
Her eyes misted over with tears. “They’re just books, you silly man. We’ll get them back eventually. You’ve already made it to the finals, which will get us enough of what we need. People…friends are more important any day of the week.”
Rose made a noise that sounded distinctly like a sniffle. Mac leaned toward her to whisper in her ear. “Demons don’t cry, wild Rose.”
“I know that,” she whispered back. “But I feel the need to remind you I’m only half-demon.”
Mac turned back to Jolene and placed a hand over his heart. “I am honored to know the both of you, and I’ll never forget the kindnesses you’ve shown me. Never. And usually, for someone like myself, that is a very long time. I’m proud to call you friends. Which is why we’re still performing tonight and we’re going to win. I’m sure of it.”
And he was. Between Rose’s gifts and his own, by fair means or foul, one small town in Nevada would have the most well-funded school district in the state.
“This is really sweet, Mac,” a sardonic voice said from behind them. “I wish I’d gotten it on camera. Didn’t I tell you that if you got out more you’d make friends? ‘What Saint said’ should really be on a T-shirt by now. I’d make a fortune.”
Gasping, Rose stood abruptly and wrapped her arms around her cousin. “Saint. You came.”
Mac frowned. “Did you tell him to?”
Her expression was all the answer he needed. “He was already on his way when I called, Mac, I swear. He knew you’d need backup, even if you refuse to admit it.”
Mac stood and shook Saint’s hand, lowering his voice. “The whole point of me disappearing was to distract them from you and…” He frowned again and looked over Saint’s shoulder. “…Thomas. I didn’t see you there. Can one of you idiots tell me where Margo is? Ume? Home right? The answer forming on your lips is ‘safe at home, Mac’.”
Thomas wore an alert expression in his gre
en eyes as he took Mac’s hand in a firm shake. “They’re safe, Mac Attack. Liam and a few of our scarier friends are getting them seats as we speak. You, however, are in big, big trouble young man. Running away is never the answer. Esther is such a wreck she’s taken to chain rattling.”
“I was turning their attention away from you and your women,” Mac growled. “You brought them? Both of them?”
Thomas shrugged. “They really wanted to hear you sing, dude. They promised us things.”
“Ume promised not to kick my ass,” Saint snorted. “Because she could. I’m thinking a kitsune and a demon against a room filled with vampires and bounty hunters? Bring it on. We’ll be done in time for dessert.”
Gripping Saint’s arm, Mac snarled, “This isn’t your bloody videogame, friend. And the others don’t have my sense of humor.”
“Thank Hell for that right?” Saint joked, reaching up to cover Mac’s hand with his—a gesture that shocked him. “I am your friend, you walking Scottish tragedy. This started because you wanted Thomas and Margo to be happy. You saved me from myself and sent me after Ume. Are we not allowed to return the favor? You appear to have gotten some of the sticks out of your ass, which must be a relief, but you still haven’t learned to share the glory.”
Thomas winked at Rose. “Mac’s got a thing about—”
“Heroics?” Rose interrupted wryly. “Saving people? Sacrificing himself? Brooding?”
Saint whistled. “That’s my favorite demon girl. Man, she has so got your number. Fast, that one. Smart too. She gets that from me.”
“Rose?”
“Yes, Mac?”
“Stop helping them.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s time for us to head back to the theater and get ready, anyway. Can you take Jolene and Hobie to their seats? Please? I’ll meet you backstage.”
She pursed her lips as though she desperately wanted to argue, then nodded and walked away.
When the trio was out of earshot, Thomas chortled. “Mac has a girlfriend.”
Saint smirked. “Mating has neutered the lion, I see. Are we gossiping now? I know something that’ll make your toes curl.”
“Suck it, Saint.”
“Children, stop fighting,” Mac sighed. “Listen to me very carefully. Saint’s cousin and I are going to win this competition. After we do I want you to promise me a few things…as my friends.”
“Anything.”
“Wait, let’s hear what it is first.”
“First,” Mac lowered his voice, “know that you cannot help me. This is my choice. What started out as a minor distraction and irritant has blown up into something that cannot be ignored and I take full responsibility for it. But I will not be able to countenance any injury to you or your women. Once we’ve won, take them away from here—Rose and the two humans as well. Keep them safe at all costs.”
Thomas ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. “This is bullshit, Mac. Trumped-up bullshit. You didn’t go to the White House and bite the First Lady’s neck on CNN for Christ’s sake. You agreed to let Gerard frigging Butler play you in a movie.”
Mac crossed his arms. “I never agreed to that.”
“The point,” Saint continued. “Is that you are—and let me see if I can find the kindest way to phrase this—a big, dead, redheaded moron.”
Mac smiled. “I’m glad you chose the kindest way.”
“You’re welcome. Why are you so determined to give up now, after we scared away the slayer, after all this cloak and dagger you’ve been enjoying for months?” Saint narrowed his dark eyes, and Mac saw them flash a momentary red. “Rose. Another sacrifice you’re sure to not be thanked for. You’re doing it for Rose.”
“I’m tired,” Mac corrected, hating Saint’s ability to read him as much as the demon disliked his empathy. “I just want to look my accusers in the eye, have it out and have it done. However it ends, I’d rather it be on my terms.”
Swearing, Thomas clenched his fists and shifted restlessly on his feet. Mac gripped his shoulder. “Before you rush to blame yourself, I’d like to thank you, Thomas. I mean that sincerely. I’ve wanted to kick your ass for a while, but now I can see that it all came out the way it was meant to. You found Margo, Liam found Julie, Saint found Ume. None of that would have happened if you hadn’t started the Shifting Reality vlog.”
“I would’ve found Ume.” The current of certainty running through Saint’s voice silenced them all for a moment. Then he winked. “But you’re right. Everyone else would still be sad, shedding couch potatoes if Thomas hadn’t started the vlog I showed him how to make. And Rose wouldn’t have come to hunt down the bloodsucking criminal to earn her freedom from her hostile, leather-clad psycho sisters.”
Mac nodded. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
Thomas growled. “I don’t understand.”
“We know,” Mac and Saint spoke in unison, causing more than one head to turn.
“Ready to rock?” Saint smiled and waved his Blackberry at his friends. “The show must go on…apparently.”
When he got backstage and saw Rose standing off to the side, away from the other competitors, he shook his head in admiration. She was, without doubt, the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.
Even if she weren’t wearing every man’s schoolgirl fantasy outfit—her breasts straining against the white, buttoned-up top and her long legs revealed by that swatch of plaid fabric—she would still have him on his knees.
Before he could stop himself he was at her side, whirling her around in his arms and kissing her with all the passion she’d awoken inside him.
Rose didn’t hesitate in her response. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her tongue tangled with his, fueling his hunger.
Mac lifted his head. “I want you.”
She licked her lower lip. “You can have me, vampire. Anytime. Anywhere.”
“How about now?” He smiled down at her as her eyes flashed. “There must be some corner where we can…warm up our vocal chords.”
“I know just the place.” Rose took his hand and turned, pulling him behind her as they wove through the frazzled-looking crowd and headed toward the dressing rooms.
She opened the door to the first empty dressing room and tugged him inside. Mac slammed the door behind him and spun her around, pressing her against it as he kissed her again.
“We have time, Mac,” she assured him in between kisses.
“It’s been too long. Hours,” he muttered. “You’ve ruined me, Rose. I can’t wait another minute.”
“We have enough time,” she soothed him again, breathless. “Take me here. Take whatever you need.”
“I’ll never get enough.” Mac slid his hand over her thigh-high stockings and under her short, tempting skirt. “Every time I touch you, I want more. Every time I taste you—” He shuddered. “Rose, I need to taste you again.”
She tilted her neck with a submissive smile and he realized she thought he meant her blood. Mac dropped to his knees in front of her, watching her lips part on a gasp when she realized what he wanted. “Let me.”
She lifted her skirt without a word and Mac buried his face between her legs, inhaling her scent through the white lace panties. “I’ll never get enough,” he repeated, groaning against her sex.
He spread her legs with his shoulders and tugged her underwear to one side, revealing her to his gaze. She was perfect for him. The lips of her sex were pink and full…already so wet. “I’ll make you sing, demon.”
“Mac.”
He lifted his hands to spread her open for his tongue. “Sing for me, Rose.” He leaned forward and filled her with his tongue. No gentle teasing strokes. Not flicks or nips. He had no patience. He had to taste her. To claim her one last time.
She cried out, one hand dropping from her skirt to grip the back of his head, holding him close. “Yes, Mac. Fuck me like that. Make me come.” She rocked her hips against his mouth, lifting one leg over his shoulder so he could press deeper. Faster. Taste more.
<
br /> God, she was sin and sugar and everything he’d ever wanted. And she loved it. Loved everything he did to her. He moaned and she tightened her grip in his hair.
“Please, Mac. Oh fuck, don’t stop. Don’t ever stop,” she moaned and he smiled, tasting the new flood of her arousal on his tongue. She never wanted him to stop.
He loved that about her.
“He has to stop eventually Rose.” The dry female voice made every muscle in his body tense. “First of all, even a vampire’s tongue would get tired, and secondly? We do have a show to perform.”
Rose lowered her leg. “Magnolia.”
Mac prepared for an attack, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect Rose. He stood slowly and turned, dipping his chin in a show of respect. “The leader of The Devil’s Garden. It is an honor. I intended to seek you out after the show.”
Magnolia looked nothing like Rose. Tall and rail thin with straight blonde hair in a tight braid and sharp, taut features that made her look hard. Or maybe it was her eyes. When she laughed, he didn’t see a spark of real humor in them.
“Did you hear that, girls? He was going to seek me out. Very gentlemanly of you, bloodsucker. Mama taught you manners.” She nodded, looking him up and down. “That’s good. Ours taught us something too, didn’t she, Rose? She taught us how to fuck a man into submission. How to survive in this male-dominated society with nothing but our wits and tits.”
She smacked a riding crop against her thigh, drawing Mac’s attention to her prop. He supposed she might intimidate younger vampires—dressed in the obligatory skin-tight little black dress and sky-high stilettos, she projected a menacing air. But he was more interested in something she’d said. “Girls. Are the others here too?”
Magnolia glared around him at Rose. “Of course they are. I tell my sisters everything. When I found out our misfit toy here was performing for an audience, I knew we all had to be here to encourage her. What kind of sisters would we be if we didn’t support her new career?”
The woman stuck out her scarlet painted lower lip in a parody of a pout. “This was your new plan right, Rose? Collect Scotty McHotpants for us and begin your new life as a Vegas showgirl? You wouldn’t be the first demon who betrayed her family to be a star.”
My Vampire Idol Page 5
