“That’s impossible. It’s too soon to know.”
“Trust me,” said March. “He speaks the truth.”
“I will give her the bite.” Another werewolf strode into the living room, flipping shut a cell phone. “My grandmother Leona says I must do this for you.”
They’d smelled another werewolf around the perimeter, but hadn’t seen him. Chris didn’t know him at all. And neither, apparently, did Leo.
“You’re Leona’s grandson?”
He nodded, but offered no other information. “My magic gets its strength from sex.”
“You’re not having sex with her,” said Chris, moving to block the wolf.
“It doesn’t have to be with her,” he responded. “And I’m not particularly attracted to females.” He let his black gaze slide over Chris.
Leo growled.
“Stop,” said Chris. He reached back and took Leo’s hand. “Look, I’ll suck your dick if it means you can save her.”
“What about the baby?” asked Leo. Chris could tell Leo wasn’t in the sharing mood. He’d claimed his mates, and watching Chris suck another werewolf’s cock while he bit Raven wasn’t setting well with his alpha tendencies.
The werewolf shrugged. “Werewolves are strong, there is a good chance the baby will survive the change. But I cannot guarantee it.”
“I suggest y’all do something,” said a honeyed voice from the doorway. The blonde practically glowed with vitality. And she was nearly full term. Her small hands rested on her rounded tummy. “C’mon,” she said to Theo and March. “Let’s give them their privacy.”
The werewolf undid the buttons to his jeans and pulled out his cock. Chris looked at him. “You mind if I know your name before I suck your dick?”
“Rolf,” he said. “And your woman is dying.”
Leo lifted Raven to a seated position. Rolf sat on the edge of the couch and brought her close, so that his mouth rested on the point between her neck and shoulder blade. Chris got to his knees and sucked on the flaccid penis protruding from Rolf’s jeans.
It hardened in his mouth, and Rolf moaned, shifting so Chris could take even more. Chris worked his shaft with hands and mouth, using every damned skill he had.
As Rolf ejaculated, he glowed Wilmont. Sparks danced in the air, the man’s face elongated into a snout, and then he sprouted sharp teeth. He leaned down and bit Raven.
The magic flowed between Rolf and Raven, and when Rolf finally let her go, her skin was bleeding and bruised. And she was still gray and limp.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” yelled Leo.
“Now, we wait,” said Rolf, as if the two males weren’t pissed off at him. Chris moved away, sitting near Leo, who put a hand on his shoulder.
Rolf rose and straightened himself up, re-buttoning his jeans. He slanted a look at Chris. “Thanks for the blow job. You’re really good.”
“And you’re really an asshole.”
Rolf laughed and sauntered out of the room.
* * *
WHEN RAVEN WOKE up, she was pinned between two men on a really comfortable bed. Chris and Leo held her as though she was fragile, but she felt the opposite. She felt strong. Wonderful. Something felt different about her.
She could smell them. Her boys. Not unpleasant scents. Leo was sandalwood, and Chris… his scent was a little like pine.
“Hey,” she said. She couldn’t move, and she was starving. “Hey! Is there an IHOP or what around here?”
“Raven.” Chris’s blue gaze caressed her face. “You’re okay.”
He put a hand against her heart, and she realized it was beating strong and steady. She felt healthy. That was the difference. Holy shit.
“Raven.” Leo put his hand over Chris’s and Raven felt some serious warm fuzzies.
“What happened?”
“You’re werewolf now,” said Leo. “We made the choice because…”
“We didn’t want to lose you.”
“Okay,” she said. “I guess it worked.”
“Yes. And it appears that you are with child.”
She stared at Leo for so long, he blushed. “Excuse me?”
“Preggers,” confirmed Chris. “But not mated. Not yet. Unless you want to.”
Raven couldn’t even think for a minute. Then it hit. She was gonna be a freaking mommy. And these two men wanted her. She had love blossoming right here, right now. From death to second chance… damn, she was lucky. “Well, I’m not raising a baby alone,” she said primly. “So we’re doing the mating thing.”
Their relief was palpable. “There’s more to talk about,” said Leo. “We must tell Theo about Queen Fiona.”
“And decide if we should return to the pack or stand with March,” added Chris.
She grabbed their chins. “First, we mate. Then, we eat. And then, we plot.”
Leo kissed her. When he was done turning her to Jell-O, Chris took his turn. As they made love to her, Raven thought about the future, a real future with two men, and a baby, and… well, werewolf stuff.
Her heart was beating because of these two men.
And her heart was beating for them, too.
Blood Wild
Wolves on the Prowl #3
RETRACT YOUR FANGS, girl. Adrianna LaBelle sipped her merlot as she checked out the yummy man sitting at a table directly in her line of vision.
The darkness of the club couldn’t hide the pulse beating under his firm, smooth skin. The loud music couldn’t drown out the strong thrum of his heart. The stench of cigarettes and cheap perfume couldn’t mask the scent of his blood.
Hmm. How lovely it would be to puncture his neck, imbibe the warm fluid. Her gaze flicked to his face. He had green eyes, blond hair expensively cut, slight crook in his nose, kissable lips. He was dressed in a nice suit… well, a nice suit for an accountant.
His gaze pierced hers.
The heat in those dark-as-sin eyes nearly melted her. As he got up from the table, his stare never wavering, she dipped into his mind to assess his carnal thoughts. She hoped they involved sweaty bodies, twisted sheets, and her. But she found…
Nothing.
Adrianna pushed harder against the unexpected mental block and gasped when he pushed back. Stop trying. You don’t want to see what’s in my head.
She gaped at him, unable to answer his mind contact or to utter a word when he stood in front of her and grasped her shoulder. Never had she found a human with such strong psychic abilities.
“Hello, my beautiful vampire,” he whispered. She tried to move out of his grip, to discard the wisps of lust clinging to her, but he laughed off her attempts. “I won’t let you escape this time.”
This time? She looked closely at him, but didn’t recognize his face. “Who are you?”
“My name is Cav Dixon. And you are Adrianna LaBelle.” He grabbed her hand, twirled her away from the bar, and led her to the dance floor. With one yank, she could rip his arm from his shoulder, but curiosity outweighed her desire to do so. A slow song played; Cav placed his arms around her waist and smoothly navigated her through the crowd.
They swayed together. The warmth of his hands filtered through her thin dress and he exerted just enough pressure to suggest possession. His gaze held hers and burned with both arousal and fury.
Cav moved her closer and closer to the edge of the dance floor. The back door was only a few feet away. Curious about his motives, she allowed him to whisk her out of the building. A warm breeze teased her upswept hair; already the barely tamed curls were loosing from their pinned prison. In the night sky, the pearlescent moon hung round and full, surrounded by diamond stars.
“Never figured I’d find the undead partying in Key West.” He grasped her upper arm and led her toward the stone path that meandered to the beach. “Aren’t you supposed to be in New Orleans?”
Adrianna laughed. “I don’t go near New Orleans.”
“Bullshit. It’s June. All vampires go there to pay homage to your bitch queen.”
Adrianna
didn’t. Paying homage, as the human so eloquently put it, meant bringing a victim to Queen Fiona for her torturing pleasure. The vampire court was a relic of a world that no longer existed. Those fools reveled in the barbaric -- and the bloodier, the better. Many vampires like Adrianna had eschewed the old ways, but that didn’t mean they outright disrespected Queen Fiona, either. Her memory was long and her wrath often involved dismemberment.
He walked faster and Adrianna let him drag her along. Where did he think he was taking her? And what did he think he was going to do once they arrived? Her body trilled in excitement. She might not hunt anymore, but she still felt the urges. Two hundred years was a long time to forego the death dance.
The path ended abruptly. Adrianna’s heels sank into the sand, popping free as Cav yanked her forward.
She pulled out of his grip. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere dark and quiet… so I can be alone with you.”
“If you weren’t gritting your teeth so hard that would almost sound sexy.” She sighed, crossing her arms. “You’re a vampire hunter.”
Cav nodded.
“Why aren’t you in New Orleans?” she asked. “Usually the hunters descend there right now because the pickings are so good.”
He stared at her, his lips pressed together. Out on the beach, his suit and those shiny black shoes seemed out of place. Adrianna wanted to rip off those staid clothes and see what yummy surprise was hidden under them. He was a boxer man, she was sure.
“Come on.” She left her high heels and walked barefoot toward the ocean. Gentle waves kissed the shore. Their foamed edges looked like lace edging on black chiffon.
Adrianna sat down, uncaring about how her flirty gold dress might fare against the beach grit, and stretched out her legs. Once again, the breeze toyed with the strands of her hair. It was an unremarkable shade of brown, a rather un-sexy color for a vampire.
Cav sat next to her, his gaze on the undulating dark water.
“When I was human, I lived on a small farm in France with my family,” said Adrianna. “That was nearly two hundred and fifty years ago.”
“You don’t look a day over eighteen.”
“Ah. So you know how old I was when I was changed.” Adrianna wondered how much more he knew about her. “It gets easy to justify murder when your main source of food is people. I was only forty-seven in vampire years when I decided to never hunt humans again.”
“You almost sound sincere.”
Adrianna glanced at him and saw him staring at her hungrily. What are you thinking, mon amour? Too bad his psychic shield was so good. “We cannot live without blood,” she said. “But we can live without the hunt. When you can look a human in the eyes and see his terror, hear him beg for his life, and still rip out his throat, then you are a monster.”
“Your queen says that vampires are the lions of the human world. Lions don’t worry about the feelings of zebras when they kill them.”
“She is not my queen,” said Adrianna. “Animals live by their instincts. They do what they have been genetically programmed to do. Vampires don’t have that excuse.” Adrianna drew up her legs and wiggled her toes into the sand. “Many vampires live successfully, without hunting or killing, in the world of humans.”
“Like you?”
“Of course.”
She felt the heat of his gaze, but she waited a long moment before turning to meet it. The lust flickering in those dazzling green eyes caused her pussy to clench. Oh, you are so yummy. She licked her lips, held his stare for another heartbeat, and then turned away.
“What are you waiting for?” he demanded raggedly. “I know you want to sink your fangs into my neck.” His breathing was uneven. Her ears picked up the increased beat of his heart. She might not be able to read his thoughts, but she could practically feel his fear, his excitement.
“I’ve already had dinner, thanks. The blood bank served a terrific AB entrée with a lovely O for dessert.”
“Great. I get the one vampire who still has a soul.” He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He re-directed his gaze toward the ocean. “I found you in Chicago last month.”
The bombshell was dropped casually, with the intention of rattling her.
“You were the one tracking me?” she asked pleasantly. Outwardly she showed no signs of distress, but inwardly, she cursed her complacency. Because she rarely fed directly from humans and never killed them, she was almost always off the radar of hunters. How had this one found her? And why?
His mind was blank, as immovable as a mountain. If she wanted answers, she would have to ask direct questions. Damn it.
Ignoring his verbal bait, Adrianna allowed herself the luxury of thinking, of waiting. She had accumulated enough wealth to do anything she pleased. She often visited Chicago because she enjoyed the city so much. Apparently, she was not as random about her movements as she’d thought. She’d sensed someone watching her, following her, but never managed to figure out his identity. Now, she knew why. Cav’s psychic abilities were strong enough to protect him.
“I’ve been off my game,” he said suddenly.
Once again, Adrianna found herself off-balance. She’d expected him to interrogate her, but instead his tone was confessional.
“Tired, unfocused, weak. But I still managed to follow you home. It was easy to sneak into your nest. Your wolf is a mental pushover.”
“You entranced Rolf?” Her guardian was huge, vicious and fiercely loyal. And yet, Cav had managed to control him. Adrianna’s stomach squeezed in dread. “You could’ve staked me.”
“I stood over you with that spike hovering about your heart and… I couldn’t do it. You were lying there -- naked and perfect and vulnerable. I wanted to kiss you, not kill you.” He curled up a fist and slammed it into the sand. “I’m a hunter! Growing a conscience about slaying the undead is the last thing I needed.”
She heard the defeat in his tone and guessed at its cause. “Something is wrong with you?”
“Yeah. I went to a doctor and he did a bunch of tests. Cancer.” The word fell bitterly from his lips.
“Ah. You believe that a vampire hunter murdered by his own prey offers you a noble end. That’s why you tracked me here.”
“No,” he said, his eyes blazing with pure lust. “I want to fuck you. If that means my death… well, I’m already dying.”
Shocked, Adrianna stared him. She certainly wasn’t opposed to having hot, sweaty sex with him, but she wasn’t in the habit of murdering her lovers. God! Had it never occurred to the darling idiot that she could save him? “Two bites and you could be mine forever.”
“Just yours?”
She smiled and let her fangs descend. “The first bite is on the neck. I drink from you and a chemical is released into your system that makes you… happy. Humane vampires stop there when they feed. The wound heals, the victim feels like they’ve had a couple of margaritas, and that’s it.”
“When you feed, you also leave your mark.”
She inclined her head. “That is true. A marked human is not supposed to be harmed or to be fed on by another vampire. We are very territorial.”
“I know.” He watched her, his eyes snapping with heat, with need. “And the second bite?”
Her body tingled with anticipation as she dipped her hand between his legs. “The second bite is on the inner thigh. I drain you to the point of death, and then release another chemical that essentially poisons you.”
“Then I’m changed?”
“I know it’s so Anne Rice, but you have to drink directly from me to complete the process. In your death throes, I’ll open the vein on my wrist and you suck as much blood into your system as possible. Then you’ll pass out. I’ll take you to my nest and watch over you. The transition takes two days, sometimes three, and if you wake up, you’ll be a vampire.”
“If?”
“Not everyone is strong enough,” she admitted. “And with cancer ravaging that fine, fine form… I can’t make
any guarantees.” She climbed onto his lap and pushed him onto his back. “What do you care? You are going to die no matter what.”
He slid his hands up her thighs, under the silky hem of the dress, and cupped her hips. His thumbs hooked under the thin lace of her thong. He looked so resentful, and yet intrigued. Did he really want her so much that he was willing to forego his own principles to have her?
She had conquered him without even trying.
It was so odd.
Ah. Adrianna was not in the habit of denying herself. Hunter or not, there was something primal about Cav that made her crave him almost as much as she sometimes craved the hunt. Vampires were not humans. They weren’t as concerned with morality. When you lived forever, the lines of conscience were blurred. And that was why she’d worked so hard to create her own boundaries, her own rules.
Cav had the choice never given to her.
Her sire, Pierre, wanted her, body and soul, forever. So he killed her family and changed her. He taught her how to be a vampire, including how to hunt. He was very skilled, and very dangerous. He didn’t care if he took the life of a human child or slated his thirst on old women. He told her that the longer a vampire lived, the weaker his connection to humanity. Queen Fiona was one of the oldest; she thought humans were errant animals cavorting in her garden of delights.
Perhaps Pierre had allowed his kinder emotions to fade, but he’d held on to lust and greed as though they were shiny gems. He took what he wanted because he had the power to do so. For forty-seven years, she’d lived as his slave and his protégé. Unwilling, but learning her lessons all the same.
Adrianna hadn’t regretted, not even for a second, the moment she plunged the oak stake into his black heart. He turned to ash before her eyes. That was the same day she swore she would never hunt again. Pierre had been a liar. Vampires didn’t lose their humanity. They chucked it away, gladly.
“Adrianna?”
She blinked down at Cav and saw the questioning look in his eyes. “Lost in old memories,” she said. “What do you regret, Cav?”
It was an impulsive question. She looked away, suddenly feeling vulnerable. What had possessed her to give away even a sliver of her control?
Going Wild: Wolves on the Prowl: The Complete Collection Page 6
