“Our mother died many years ago,” I coughed out, barely able to understand my own words.
“I am your mother now. I own you and your brother, Cian. Did you think I’d forgotten all about you two? Never! You and Lane are my prize possessions, mon trésor.”
“It’s too late, Jewels. We are not your treasures.” Lane yelled. “We don’t belong to anyone. We’ve done very well on our own, as you can see. We don’t need you, we never needed you. Let Cian go.”
I feared what she would do to Lane for speaking to her that way. We didn’t know her at all, didn’t know what she was capable of, or what she might do when she was angry.
“Yes, I see that.” She smiled and released me. “But alas. I’ve grown lonely and I need my boys,” she pouted.
The quick change in her disposition confused me, and I felt myself slipping back to that boy I’d been so many years ago.
Her dress dropped to the floor and she went to my bed and splayed her naked body out on top. “Lane, come here and kiss me while Cian fucks me.”
He took a step toward the bed. “Lane, don’t,” I said. Lane glanced at me then back at her. I knew he was experiencing the same pulls and doubts as I was, and I tried to fight against her will, no matter how strong the temptation was.
“Oh, I forgot, Lane is the younger one. He does what big brother tells him to do. Even more so now that you are vampire. Is that not so, Lane?”
She knew exactly the right thing to say to him. He hated that I had been in the world six and a half minutes longer than him. Though we’d never discussed it, I just knew. I loved my brother.
Jewels sat up, her legs hanging over the side of the bed. Like a string on a puppet, a strong force tugged at my cords as my body began to move involuntarily toward the bed. As I stood next to her, she grabbed my arms and yanked me down next to her. “I’d hoped you’d come on your own. But no worries. This works. Say it, Cian! Say the words I’ve waited too many years to hear.”
“No,” I said.
“Lane, be a good brother and come here.”
Within a couple of seconds, Lane stood in front of her.
“Let your trousers fall to the floor, Lane.”
Lane unbuckled his jeans, his half-hard cock right at the level of her mouth. She had us both in a trance. My brother, whom I’d considered very strong, stood in front of her doing everything Jewels told him to do without her even touching him.
“Make yourself hard and stroke your cock, Lane,” Jewels ordered, and he complied.
“Fight it, Lane,” I shouted at him, but he ignored me and continued to do just as she’d asked.
“See, Cian, Lane knows what he should be doing.” She grabbed Lane’s balls in her hands, squeezed, and Lane’s body jerked in response. His eyes rolled up then returned, giving off that ever-prevalent silver-rimmed glow we both sported upon sexual arousal as he stroked his cock.
Now, say it, Cian!” she growled and grabbed my cock in one hand and held me to her with the other. I was powerless in her grasp. “Say it!”
“No.”
“You are trying my patience, Cian. Lane, come closer and fuck me. Your brother is being an imbecile.” She spread her legs wide and Lane thrust his cock into her. I sat helplessly beside them, watching my brother pump into her hard and fast as if he’d been injected with a vial of speed. Jewels’ hand reached inside my lounge pants and pumped my cock up and down while my palm kneaded her breast under her commands. As hard as I fought it, I couldn’t keep my damn shaft from getting hard and erect. She moaned with exuberance as her fangs dropped again. Jewels hadn’t been our first ménage those many years ago, and she certainly hadn’t been our last. I’d watched my brother fuck before, and he’d seen me, but never before had we both been helpless and unable to control a situation.
I fought with every brain cell I had not to give her what she wanted. I even thought of Magdalena’s beautiful face and how much I never wanted to be with anyone but her. Except Jewels was very strong and powerful. Very sensual. The temptation too overwhelming.
I was no match for her as, “Mon bijou,” the awful French term floated from my lips as if they belonged to someone else. My Jewel was the English translation, and it was something she had us repeat to her every time we’d fucked her that night on the boat.
“Mon bijou,” Lane repeated, his breath quickening with each pump of his cock.
Jewels’ fangs were inches from Lane’s neck when he was suddenly thrust back and onto the floor. As if a tornado were let loose in the room, Elvis’s arms shoved me out of the way, as Gage picked Jewels up by the throat and catapulted her across the room. She got up and growled at Gage, taking that rapacious stance before flashing to him. But Gage, older and stronger, was quicker as the sound of her neck snapping reverberated throughout the room. When her body fell to the floor, I released a heavy, ragged sigh of relief.
“Who the fuck is that?” Gage said, pointing to Jewels’ limp, naked body sprawled across the hardwood floor of my bedroom.
Lane sucked in an agonized breath as he pulled up his pants. “Our maker.”
“For fuck’s sake. She’s a powerful one.”
“How did you know we were entranced?” I asked.
“Ari followed Lane up here to see what was going on with the music, but he hung back when he heard the female voice.” I nodded in understanding. We’d trained Ari to be cautious when an unfamiliar vampire was around.
“I listened for a minute or two and realized what was going on, so I took off to find Gage and Elvis,” Ari confirmed.
“Thanks,” I patted Ari on the shoulder. “And Gage, Elvis, thanks for coming.”
“Yeah, thanks for having our backs, man. Now, let’s get rid of the bitch,” Lane said.
“How?” I asked. “Anybody ever kill a vampire before?”
“We could stake her,” Elvis said matter-of-factly.
“That’s so Hollywood, but it might work,” Lane said. “Anybody have a fucking piece of wood?”
“No. I’m pretty certain that a plain old wooden stake will not kill her. I’ve seen it tried before,” Gage said.
While we debated on how we could kill Jewels, she moaned. A couple of seconds later, she stood, gathered up her dress, and slid effortlessly into it, pulling the straps over her shoulders. “Boys, boys, boys, you’re testing my patience. Bringing in some muscle was against the rules. Lane, Cian, let this just be a warning. You will have me back in your lives.” She walked to the doorway, stopped, and turned. The five of us, too astonished to do much of anything else, just stood, gaping at her. “Take care of your pretty little human, Cian,” she said and disappeared out the door.
Gage and Elvis hurried to the hallway, Gage shook his head. “She’s fast. El, go check the house, make sure she’s gone.”
“How did she get in here?” Ari asked.
Lane and I looked at each other. “Apparently, a maker doesn’t need an invitation to enter the home of their creations,” I said, repeating something similar to what Jewels had said.
“That’s true,” Gage said.
“She threatened Magdalena,” I spoke softly, too afraid to utter that sentence too loudly for fear that Jewels would come back into the room and know just how much that would kill me.
“That, or she wants you to turn her,” Lane supplied. I knew he didn’t like me having such an intimate relationship with a human, but surely he wasn’t suggesting I turn Magdalena simply because Jewels had suggested it.
“I do not want or need a robot.” I didn’t need to mention Chelle’s name, but Lane knew exactly what I meant.
“It’s not quite like that. Chelle is coming along. She’s not bloodlusting for a kill anymore. It’s been five months now. I feel comfortable leaving her on her own.”
“Except, she wants to be with you every fucking minute.”
“It’s not so bad,” Lane said.
“Are you getting off on her?” I asked, incredulity clear in my tone.
“No. Well, not
recently. It’s hard to avoid, you know? It’s not like she’s butt ugly.”
“Fuck me!”
“Cian, we are vampires,” Gage added. “We may not kill to survive like most, but at the end of the day, we lust for sex and blood. And Chelle is…beautiful.”
“You, too?”
“No. She won’t have me.”
Lane laughed. “Not that he hasn’t tried for the past five months.”
Gage hit Lane on the back of the head. “I’m not bad looking. She just has a thing for the tall and dark,” he said, swiping his fingers through his long, dirty blond curls. Gage could be the poster boy for the Santa Cruz boardwalk. All he needed was a surfboard.
“That’s true,” Elvis said with a smirk.
“That’s enough,” I said. “We need to figure out how to protect Magdalena.”
“You, uh, really love her don’t you?” Lane asked.
“Yeah. I do. And I need your help.”
“Okay, then. You got it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Magdalena
When I arrived home from work, Vanessa had the TV on. She and Tanner sat on the sofa, eating something that smelled delicious. I hadn’t had much to eat since the few bites of the small salad I’d managed to choke down at the local eatery by the bridge. I’d only been able to handle a few bites before I couldn’t eat anymore. I’d watched Josh scarf down a gigantic hamburger stuffed with avocado, bacon, mushrooms, cheese and whatever else was on that concoction, and I’d almost lost the few bites of salad I’d struggled to eat after the murder scene we’d covered. So, by now, I was famished.
“What is that you’re eating, it smells divine?”
“Chicken Marsala. Tanner made it. There’s more in the kitchen if you’d like some.”
“Thanks. I think I will.”
“Grab the bottle of red we left on the table on your way back, will you?”
“Sure.”
I fixed my plate and grabbed the bottle, along with another glass. We shared everything like food and drink. It had always been that way, even in college we always took care of each other.
I took my plate and sat down on the sofa next to V.
“It’s been all over the news,” she said in between bites of chicken and green beans.
“What?”
“The murder in the park. How come Josh gets all the glory? I thought you were supposed to be with him on these outings.”
“I was. What do you mean?”
Tanner flipped the channel and there was Josh, standing by the murder scene, talking about it on TV.
“I’m still new. Don’t worry, I’ll get my chance. I couldn’t have spoken anyway. I was too choked up about it. It was horrible, V. I almost lost my lunch.”
She put her arm around me. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but you picked your profession, and these are the things that you’re going to be dealing with on a daily basis.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She laughed. “Anytime.”
“Hopefully, we won’t have a murder every day.”
I finished eating and went to my room, leaving Vanessa and Tanner on the sofa. I was exhausted. The murder had me drained. All I wanted to do was take a long, soothing bath and go to bed. I missed Cian, but I didn’t think I could stay up late enough tonight to see him. I’d never tried to call him back today. I didn’t want to ruin his sleep. I took the phone out of my purse and frowned at the blank screen. No calls. I threw it down on the bed and headed to the bathroom.
I soaked in the tub, closing my eyes, wanting to forget the horrible scene that continued to play in my mind like an eighties Halloween horror movie. Cian’s band, they called themselves “The Lost Boys.” Why would they pick that name for their band? The vampires in that movie did a lot of killing. Could he have lied to me about that?
I had to believe he told me the truth. He said he’d never lie to me. What sort of relationship could Cian and I have if I always doubted him? I finished soaking and shaved my legs before getting out of the tub. I thought about calling Cian, but I was exhausted. I pulled on my light blue, silky negligee and hopped into bed. He’d show up here sooner or later, I was sure of it. Getting some sleep now was probably a smart thing to do.
I was a light sleeper and started at the soft sound of breathing.
“Cian?” I uttered with a smile, glad he was there. I wanted to talk to him about the murder and get his thoughts. But he didn’t answer me. My dark bedroom didn’t afford any clues as to who stood in the corner by my window.
“Who’s there?”
“Probably your worst nightmare,” a female voice whispered, as a woman stepped forward, allowing the moonlight to illuminate her face. It was the face of the woman in our artwork. She grabbed me and pulled me up by my arms, my legs dangling inches from the floor, her dark eyes holding me with her gaze. I couldn’t move. I opened my mouth to scream, but I couldn’t utter a sound. How had she entered my room? I hadn’t invited her in. Had Vanessa?
“When you brought home that portrait of me and so graciously hung it on your wall, you welcomed me into your home. You know, I could kill you now, but I want my boys to watch. I want Cian, in particular, to see as I drain every last drop of blood from that beautiful vein of yours.” Her finger traced a sharp trail down the side of my neck, and I almost lost control of my bladder. “If he behaves, maybe I’ll let him finish you off. Yes, you are beautiful, and I see why his mind is so clouded with lust for you that he’s forgotten who his real lover is.”
We were outside, flying through space, time, I couldn’t tell, as everything became a blur. Objects whizzed by so fast they were unrecognizable and I threw up in mid-air. We stopped moving at the entrance to a cave. The sound of the ocean roared in my head. She tossed me into the darkness as if I weighed no more than a few ounces. I tumbled and rolled, and felt something bang against my head. Then everything faded away and I was lost, floating through a cloud.
The sky was pale blue, clouds cotton white. Rays of sunlight flowed down through the atmosphere. It was so beautiful.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cian
I stood inside Magadena’s room. The bed was empty, and I checked the rest of the house, but there was no sign of her. It was ten o’clock at night. I peeked inside her roommate’s bedroom. Two bodies slept, tangled in each other’s arms with soft sounds of snoring. Magdalena was gone. My dead heart fell into my stomach as my eyes shot to the painting above the fireplace.
Jewels.
I yanked the portrait off the wall and smashed it against the bricks on the fireplace.
“What is going on?” I turned to see Vanessa, her mouth gaping as she clutched her arms across her chest and over the thin nightgown she wore. “Why did you do that?”
I gazed into her eyes to compel her back to her bed, to forget what she’d just seen, but she held up her hand.
“Don’t waste your time. You can’t compel me. I know what you are.”
I studied her for a couple of seconds, suddenly recognizing the signs. How had I missed them? The clear and red quartz stones used as decorations around the apartment, as well as several other art sculptures and wall hangings, depicting different versions of unicursal hexagrams. The pentagram symbol she wore around her neck that she twisted in her fingers should have given me a clue right away. “You’re a witch,” I said, understanding.
She nodded.
“Yes. Now that we’ve established that, why the fuck did you just destroy that beautiful painting? And where is Maggie?”
“I don’t know, but my guess is that the monster in this picture has something to do with her disappearance.”
“Her disappearance?”
“Yes.”
“Who is she?” Vanessa pointed at the torn portrait.
“She’s…”
“What’s going on, babe?” The groggy male voice stopped me from saying the word I hated more than the monster I’d become.
“Tanner. It’s okay. It’s Cian.” She looked a
t me and gestured with her head toward Tanner. “Go ahead. It’ll work on him.”
“Tanner,” I said, “Go back to bed. Nothing happened here. You didn’t see this.”
Tanner turned around and shuffled back to bed.
“So, who is that in the picture?”
“The female is my maker. I have no idea who the male is,” I confessed.
“What does she want with Maggie?”
“My guess is; she wants me.”
“I’m beginning to get the picture here. Did Maggie tell you about the murder she investigated this morning?”
“No, I haven’t talked to her. It’s been a hellishly busy fucking evening, and I hadn’t realized she’d called until just a bit ago. I came over instead of calling. What sort of murder?”
“It’s been all over the news. A dead woman left on a bench, bite marks all over her body, her neck broken. Classic, unexplainable shit. You don’t know where Maggie is, do you?”
“No. Does Magdalena know about you?”
“No. It’s my family’s bloodline and we don’t go around announcing it.”
“She’s your best friend,” I countered.
“Best friends have their limits. She didn’t tell me about you, either. If you and your boys hadn’t beaten Kellen’s hairy ass to the ground, I never would have known.”
I smiled, glad to learn that Magdalena was true to her word but worried as hell about what Jewels would do to her. I went toward the door to leave. “I need to find Magdalena.”
“Wait, maybe I can help.”
“How?”
She hurried over to the bookcase, opened a small marble box, and pulled out a crystal shaped with the five points of the pentagram at the top and ending in one point at the bottom. “I should be able to locate her with this.”
“Okay. Come on.”
“Wait.” She went to her room, and a minute later came out wearing some jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. Then she stepped to the sofa and picked up a flowered scarf. “This is Maggie’s. It’ll help the amulet mark her location.”
I tore out of the apartment like a bullet and headed home with a witch in my arms.
Tempted by a Vampire (Immortal Hearts of San Francisco Book 1) Page 13
