The horses stirred, dancing around their stalls, completely alert to his presence and fearful of it.
For now.
But come tomorrow night things would be different. He could help foal the mares, and he could start taming Delilah. He would have his life back. His humanity.
If only he wanted it half as much as he wanted Viv.
The truth pushed and pulled and haunted him for the next half hour as he tried to work off the sexual energy stringing his body tight. He couldn’t, regardless of how hard he pitched or how fast he moved.
He wanted her.
In a way he’d never wanted any woman before.
Because she meant more to him than an easy lay and a way to feed the beast inside of him.
Much, much more.
He didn’t want to believe it, but then she appeared in the barn doorway, and the sight of her outlined in the moonlight stopped him cold.
There was nothing provocative about her faded pink sweats and worn tennis shoes, but his gut tightened anyway. Her eyes sparked a bright, brilliant blue, and the minute his gaze locked with hers, his heart stalled in his chest.
He loved her, all right, and that made him all the more determined to resist her when she stepped forward. He’d given her his heart once before. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
No, he would play it cool. Controlled.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, trying to sound indifferent.
“I thought I’d see where you live.” She glanced around. “It’s nice.”
“It’s a barn.”
“Yeah, well—” she shrugged “—it’s a nice barn.”
The tension eased for a few moments, and he couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’m really busy. I’ve got a lot to do before I fly out tomorrow afternoon.”
The news seemed to startle her. “Where are you going?”
“Chicago.”
“Business?”
“It’s personal.”
“Oh.” She looked surprised, and a little hurt, as if she suspected he might be flying off to meet someone.
Some woman.
“I’ve got an address,” he heard himself blurt. He knew what she was thinking, and while it shouldn’t have mattered, it did. “By this time tomorrow night, the Ancient One will be history.” He shook his head. “I’m through living like this.”
She stiffened. “Is it so bad?” she finally asked after a long, silent moment. “Being a vampire?”
“Isn’t it?”
“It could be worse.” She shrugged. “My actual life wasn’t all that great, so I guess I don’t have much to compare it to.”
“You could, you know.” He wasn’t sure why he said the words, except that she looked so sad and lonely all of a sudden, and he couldn’t resist the sudden urge to ease her pain. “You could find your father and break the curse,” he reminded her.
“By killing him?” She shook her head. “I could never do that.” She seemed to gather her resolve. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“You don’t owe him, Viv. Not loyalty. Not respect. Nothing.”
“But I owe myself.” Her gaze locked with his. “Don’t you see? I can’t do to him what he did to my mother. No matter how much he deserves it. That would make me no better than he was.” She seemed to gather her courage. “I’m different. I am. I don’t hurt people. Not on purpose. I…” Her eyes burned with desperation, and he had the sudden thought that she wanted to tell him something.
But then she seemed to think better of it. Determination lit her expression, burning up everything else, and she reached for the hem of her T-shirt instead. “We still have some unfinished business,” she said. And then she pulled the cotton up and over her head.
She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her bare breasts trembled as she tossed the cotton aside and reached for the draw-string on her pants. Her fingers hesitated, and he knew then that she wasn’t half as confident as she pretended to be. And damned if that knowledge didn’t slither across the distance to him and keep him rooted to the spot when he should have turned and hauled ass the other way.
He didn’t need another test on his already tentative control.
Oh, but he wanted one. One more touch. One more kiss. One more chance to be inside of her.
She stripped completely down and stepped toward him.
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she gripped his zipper. Metal hissed, and he sprang into her hands. She trailed her fingers over him, circling the ripe, plump head of his erection.
“I wanted so much to touch you before. Too much, that’s why I didn’t.”
He groaned. A drop of pearly liquid beaded on the head of his penis. She leaned down and closed her lips around the smooth ridge. Her fangs grazed the tender underside, and a bolt of electricity zinged through his body. Desire rushed hot on its heels. She suckled him then, and his cock throbbed in the warm heat of her mouth.
He ground his teeth together, fighting the sensation that gripped his body. He had to hold on, to hold back.
At the same time, with her mouth drawing on him and her hands tugging at his waistband, peeling the denim down his hips, it was hard to remember his objective.
Brakes, his conscience quipped. Put on the friggin’ brakes.
He couldn’t.
He pushed himself deeper into her mouth, his hands cradling her head as she sucked on him, and then he waited to see what she would do next. A long list of possibilities rushed through his head, but none of them were half as exciting as what she was doing right now.
Because it was real.
Because she was real.
Because he loved her.
Viv’s last little bit of hesitation vanished when she glanced up and saw the dark desire swimming in the depths of Garret’s eyes. He was following her, relishing her touch, eager for it.
She sucked him harder for several more moments before she finally pulled away and stripped the jeans completely down his legs. Then she pulled him down to the ground, urging him backwards onto the soft cushion of the hay. She climbed over him and sank down onto his hard, hot length.
Flesh met flesh as her body closed around his and ecstasy pulsed through her.
She moved, rotating her hips, her inner muscles contracting, sucking at him as the delicious pressure built inside of her.
A groan worked its way up his throat, and she saw the startled glimpse in his gaze, as if he felt everything as intensely as she did, and feared it.
When he grasped her buttocks, she thought he meant to slow her down, but he didn’t.
His voice, raw and husky, echoed in her ears. “I’ve missed you so much.” His fingers sank into her flesh. He tightened his pelvis and thrust upward at the same time that she pushed down, and it was like pure magic.
Sensation swept her up and pushed her to the edge as she sank deliciously deep. The sensation receded when she withdrew, and then hit her again when she slid back down.
Up and down.
Over and over.
Again and again.
Until pleasure crashed over her, and the most decadent orgasm flowed through her body. Along with a rush of pure joy that had nothing to do with the way his body pulsed deep inside of her and everything to do with the way he was looking at her.
His eyes blazed with passion and desire and a possessive light that said he would never, ever let her go again.
His fingers tightened on her bottom. The muscles in his arms bulged. His body went taut and a deep, husky growl rumbled from his throat.
His eyes fired even hotter, and his fangs flashed in the moonlight.
Before she could stop herself, she threw her head back and offered her neck to him.
She had the fleeting thought that he would refuse. While she truly felt something for him, she had no illusions that his feelings went any deeper than the lust that lived and breathed inside of him. No way would he want to bond himself to her.
But then his mouth closed over
her neck, and his tongue stroked her pulse point. And then…he sank his fangs into her.
She’d thought the orgasm phenomenal, but it paled in comparison to the dizzying rush that crashed over her in that next instant, gripping every inch of her body.
She rode the tide of pleasure, holding tight to his shoulders as he feasted on her and heightened the sensation.
But then he pulled away, and the feelings disappeared.
He stared up at her, disbelief blazing in his eyes. Reality crashed down around her, and she knew then that her worst fear had been realized.
He’d drank from her, bonded with her, and now he knew her head. Her heart.
He knew the truth.
“You did this to me,” he growled, and the betrayal in his gaze hurt far worse than the stake she’d envisioned in her dreams. “You.”
19
GARRET DIDN’T PULL OUT a stake and punish Viv for turning him all those years ago.
No, what he did next was much more painful.
He pulled away from her.
“I couldn’t just let you die,” she said as he turned his back to her and reached for his clothes.
“It was you,” he said again as if he couldn’t quite believe it. But he did. She saw it in the stiffness of his body as he yanked on his pants, the tense set of his shoulders as he worked at the zipper on his jeans. Anger warred inside of him, battling with the hurt.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, but he didn’t so much as spare her a glance as he pulled on his boots and pushed to his feet.
She didn’t blame him. She’d lied to him too many times for him to believe her now.
She’d lied to herself.
No more.
He knew the truth, and so did she.
She loved him. She always had, she’d just been too naive to realize it. Too scared. She’d been hurt so much by the people that she loved and so she hadn’t wanted to love anyone.
She hadn’t wanted to love him.
But she did, and so she let him walk away. Words were little solace for the pain she’d inflicted on him. An apology wasn’t going to erase the past. There was only one thing that could do that.
She pulled on her clothes and headed back to town to confront Matt Keller.
If her instincts were right about him, Cruz and Molly wouldn’t be far away.
“I’M SORRY.”
Her soft, desperate voice echoed in Garret’s head as he gunned the engine on his motorcycle and hit the dirt trail that led across the North pasture.
A rut caught the front tire, and the handlebars shook with the force of it. The custom chopper wasn’t made for this and he damn well knew it, but he couldn’t stop himself. He tightened his grip and opened the bike up as fast as it would go. He had to outrun the voice. The past.
The truth.
She was sorry.
He knew it as surely as he knew the sun would rise in a few hours. The knowledge sat deep down in his bones. His heart.
She hadn’t wanted to turn him anymore than she’d wanted to turn all the others in her past. He’d seen their faces when he’d drank from her—faces that haunted her dreams and refused her any peace—and he’d felt her remorse.
The bike jumped, startling him as much as the regret now swimming inside of him. Her regret.
For ruining so many lives. For betraying him.
She hadn’t meant to.
Rather, she’d saved him because she hadn’t been able to bear losing him. And then she’d turned her back on him because she hadn’t been able to bear his hatred should he discover the truth.
Because she loved him.
Then and now.
Always.
The realization sent a burst of pure happiness through him, followed by a rush of dread. He gunned the engine faster, pushing the bike as fast and as far as it would go. Because maybe, just maybe if he burned up the engine he could escape the inevitable that beat at his temples.
Viv was the vampire. The one he and Jake and Dillon had been searching for all these months. The key to his humanity. The answer to his desperate prayers.
The Ancient One.
And she had to die.
It was the only way to free all of them. To free himself. He was tired of being a slave to the beast inside. He wanted to be normal again. To laugh. To love. To be whole.
He slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop. The transmission screamed as he swerved the bike in a one-eighty and shifted into gear. And then he did what he should have done in the first place—he headed for town.
It was time to reclaim his humanity.
“WHERE ARE THEY?” Viv demanded when Sheriff Matt Keller hauled open the motel room door after her second knock.
“Do you know what time it is?” He wiped at his tired-looking face and glared at her.
“Cruz and Molly. You know them, right?” She pushed her way into his room and kicked the door shut. Her gaze sliced through the darkness, touching every corner as if she expected the duo of vampires to pop out at her.
Or rather, she hoped. Then it would all be over and the pain twisting at her heart would end.
“You led them to me in Washington, and you’re leading them to me now,” she told him. “Where are they? Just tell me, and I’ll go to them. I’m tired of waiting. I want this over with.”
He flipped on a nearby light. The small bulb pushed back the shadows to reveal a worn duffel bag sitting next to the bed. His badge and gun lay on the nightstand next to a half empty bottle of soda. He eyed her. “Have you been drinking?”
“I know you know where they are. Tell me.”
“I don’t have a friggin’ clue what you’re talking about, lady, but I’ll make sure to add ‘crazy’ to the other list of offenses on your rap sheet.”
“I know you didn’t come here just to get my notes on the Butcher. You’re working for Cruz and Molly. What are you? A blood slave?” That would explain why she hadn’t been able to read him. If he were feeding one of the vampires, they would have control over him. They could block his thoughts. They could wipe his mind clean until he was little more than a zombie.
But they couldn’t make his eyes glow.
She watched as the green depths magnified, growing brighter and more intense.
“What are you?” she asked again. As much as she was hoping for the blood slave explanation, she had a gut feeling she wasn’t even close.
“I should be asking you that question.” He stepped closer then. “I know you’re not human. I can feel it.” His tall body loomed over her, backing her up a few steps.
Insane, right? She was a big, bad vampire.
But Matt Keller seemed just as dangerous. Strength rolled off him, along with a feral air that stalled her heartbeat and made her wonder if he didn’t intend to save Cruz and Molly the trouble and kill her himself.
“You’re like me, aren’t you?” he demanded. Before she could respond, he continued, “You are. You have to be. You’re too strong to be human. Too different.” His gaze grew brighter, hotter and his mouth opened. She saw the teeth then. Not just a pair of fangs, but two full rows of them. A growl vibrated up his throat. A wildness lit his eyes and carved his expression. Reality dawned.
“You’re a werewolf?” It had been hard enough accepting the truth of what she’d become, and she’d lived every painful moment of the change. Denial pumped through her. There had to be another explanation. “I don’t believe this. There’s no such thing.”
His lips pulled back and he growled, a strange, inhuman sound that slid into her ears and chased away all doubt.
“Oh, my God.”
“God didn’t have anything to do with it.” His expression relaxed, and the savage air that had gripped him seemed to ease. The muscles in his face shifted, his bones pushing and pulling until the familiar face of Sheriff Matt Keller stared back at her. “It’s genetic, at least that’s what my father told me. And it’s rare.”
“I hate to break this to you, but I don’t howl at the full moo
n.” When he gave her a sharp look, she added, “Not that your instincts were wrong. I’m not human, but I’m not a werewolf, either. I’m a vampire.”
He looked at her as if she’d just confessed to giving birth to the three-headed alien in Oregon. “There’s no such thing.”
This from the Wolf Man? “Listen, buddy, if werewolves can exist, so can vampires.”
“Werewolves don’t exist. Just one. Me.” He looked so alone in that next instant that she could actually understand why he’d come all the way from Washington. “I’m all that’s left since my folks died. That’s why I was so determined to find you. I thought maybe…Finally…” He shook his head and eyed her. “You’re sure you’re not a werewolf?”
“Trust me.” To prove her point, she flashed him her fangs. She went on to tell him the short version of her life story—namely that she was being hunted by two vamps determined to destroy her. She finished with “That’s why I barged in just now. I thought you knew them. I’m really sorry.” She glanced at the rumpled sheets. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I couldn’t sleep anyway.” He eyed the open window. Beyond, the moon hung huge and round, and his eyes glowed for a split-second. “It’s two days until the moon is at its fullest. I’m supposed to mate then. At least, I think I am. But then, I’ve never actually done it because there are no female werewolves around. Which means I end up with a human female.” He shook his head. “It’s not the same. Not that I actually know, I just feel it. I keep thinking there ought to be more excitement to it. More oomph…” He let his voice trail off as if he’d already said too much. “I don’t mean to dump all of this on you. I just don’t get a chance to talk about it much. Don’t sweat the barging in. I never really sleep much, especially this time of the month. I’ve tried pills, warm milk, the works, but nothing helps.”
“Do you really howl at the moon?”
“Do you really suck blood?”
“Point made.” She grinned and he grinned and despite the fact that he was a werewolf and she was a vampire, she actually felt a sort of camaraderie. Not the same connection she felt with Garret, of course. That was deeper, more profound.
Love at First Bite Bundle Page 52
