by Jools Louise
I stroked his back, my big hands making sweeping motions over his silken curves as I raised and lowered him, repeatedly skewering him with slow, drugging motions. Our kisses became languid and luxuriously decadent, and we sighed in pleasure.
“I love you, too, my beautiful warrior,” he replied after a while, easing back to stare into my eyes, his as black as pitch and yet glowing with the softest light. “Such a fierce man, fighting for your survival and bowing to no one.” He rubbed his slender fingers over my broad chest, massaging my big pecs tenderly. “Even close to death, you snarled and hissed at me like a thwarted feline.” He smiled suddenly in amused remembrance. “If I recall, you tried to attack me, but your wounds were many, and you were so starved you were too weak to finish the threat.”
He tweaked my nipples sharply, and I laughed at his arch look.
“If I recall, you gave me that exact same stare, cajoling me without even saying a word,” I retorted, lifting him up a little as I snapped my hips, fucking him a little harder.
Julius gave a groan of satisfaction, balancing himself on his knees and spreading his thighs even wider. I took advantage of the increased access, gripping his bouncing cock as I upped the tempo even more. Both of us groaned like a couple of porn stars going for broke, sharing passionate kisses and sultry glances.
I was so turned on from our foreplay, and watching Julius come twice, that I couldn’t last much longer as I tunneled vigorously inside his sweet depths. He bounced with each hard thrust, his face flushed with desire and his eyes closed as he chased yet another orgasm. We came together, with twin screams of satisfaction as I shot thick cum into him, his load coating my hand and his as he came apart yet again, his claws clutching at my shoulders, drawing blood.
Holding him close, I caught up to my senses and cradled him to me, loving his trembling sighs and the occasional whimper as he came back down to earth.
“I love you, Prince Julius,” I whispered against his neck, kissing his shoulder gently. “We will endure, and if it is what you wish, then we will take back what is ours.” I eased back so that I could stare into his drowsy, sated face. “If you wish for us to take on the entire Paranormal Council to get back what Theo took from you, then that is what we will do. We have already agreed.”
Julius stared back at me, tears of gratitude and love in his eyes.
“I don’t know yet what I will do,” he said quietly, stroking my face. He looked so pale against my darker skin, almost translucent, but I knew he was certainly not weak. And if he chose to go after Theo, I would be the first to follow behind him.
As we cuddled, drawing comfort from each other, I swore something else. Whatever happened next, however long before our next meeting, I would make sure that Theo did not survive the encounter…and I would slay his murderous coven, turning them to dust.
Chapter Eight
Julius
I had brooded for weeks, neglecting my duties as leader of my coven, and it was time to stop wallowing in self-pity. I had seen the wary glances sent my way and regretted that it had taken so long to come to a decision. Now it was time for a meeting. I sent out a blood call to my coven inviting them to join me in the secret room beneath our home of seven months. We had all been gifted with the ability to use telepathy, but the younger members were not so skilled at shielding themselves. We had agreed to not use the gift until the coast was clear. I, being their prince, used it sparingly, able to tunnel into their minds without leaving a trace, should anyone be listening in.
I sat at the head of the large table, inside the purpose-built bunker, ten feet below the surface of the icy permafrost that covered the ground. Our location in Quebec was far enough north to keep a low profile, and our bunker built into the tundra that kept the ground frozen year-round. This was my war room. All covens had one, in case of accidental discovery by humans. It also acted as a safe haven if a rival faction wanted to gain access…and Theo could definitely be placed in that category. Charles being here meant that Theo wasn’t far behind, and I had the sense that Theo’s appearance could be measured in hours, not days.
Silas and Sven had returned the previous day, having disposed of Charles’s remains after his swift yet agonizing death. They had ripped his Paranormal Council ring from his finger, which was fused to his flesh when initiated. Then the ring had been delivered to Theo’s door. Sven and Silas had done that together, in full daylight, posing as UPS guys. They had worn light deflecting suits beneath their brown uniforms, and had slathered their skin with sunblock to protect their faces, dark glasses shielding their eyes. I had smiled at that, thinking of the two big men dressed in all brown material, wearing a little baseball hat, delivering mail. Their retaliation at my amusement had been to fuck me for several hours, which turned into a full-blown, coven-wide orgy once again. Vampires were sex maniacs, and I was certainly not complaining since my ass had been royally fucked by each of my inner circle…even the ladies. They just loved their sex toys.
I heard footsteps and waited patiently as my family arrived. I had twenty-one subjects, and we had a decision to make. They all had a say in what happened next to our little band. Stay here and wait for Theo’s retaliation or become nomads, gathering new members until we were strong enough to face Theo. Right now, if we were attacked, we would be decimated. He had over two hundred at his disposal, and with his evil alliances elsewhere, he could comfortably call for hundreds more to assist. Sending Charles’s ring back was an act of defiance…and war. We were, if we believed Theo and Charles, outlaws now.
I looked up as Silas, Sven, and Eva entered, looking deliciously sated, as though they had just finished making love. Eva sent me a smug look, which I returned with an arched brow and a grin. She giggled before sitting down.
Silas and Sven flanked me, leaving room for Mercer and my other circle members. The rest of the coven entered soon after, finding their seats, in order of time-served. They sat quietly, looking at me as they waited patiently for what was to come. I did a brief recce of their thoughts and knew they had the realized that changes were afoot.
I began.
“We have a decision to make,” I said, looking at each vampire in turn. “You, as my most valued and trusted coven, are part of that since it affects us all. I will respect whatever verdict you choose.” I paused, looking down at the table, gathering my thoughts. Then I stood up and moved to a secret panel cut into one wall. Flipping the lid up, I exposed a keypad and iris scanner. I paused again and looked back at my coven, who were looking at me curiously now, not knowing what was to come, although my circle had been informed of the choices at hand.
“Are we leaving?” Eva asked innocently, looking nervous. Being new, she retained many of her human traits still. She had been comfortable at the cabin, and I understood her concern. The fear of the unknown was what prevented people from moving forward. But sometimes you had to take a risk. Sometimes, you had to step off into the darkness and find your new normal. Now was that time.
“Eva, my love, we have to go…or stay and fight,” I replied seriously, and she flinched at the unequivocal choice. “Theo is on his way…soon. I have markers in place, unseen ones that I set when I first decided to use this as our safe haven.” I stared around the table, seeing their fear. They had a right to be scared. Theo would not take prisoners a second time. When he arrived, it would be a bloodbath—ours.
“They triggered one of the markers?” Xander asked, holding Zeke’s hand.
“The markers were set as soon as I crossed the border into Canada,” I explained, nodding. “There were ten in all, each one having a different signal. I’ve been monitoring them. I didn’t respond to the first four triggers, since it was conceivable that other vampires could be in the area. Only when all were triggered in sequence, did I become aware that we had been discovered. The fifth marker was triggered when Charles came. I reset them all, including that one, which is at a radius of fifty miles. It was triggered again about five minutes ago, which means they’re close but we
still have time. They aren’t using vampire speed, but Theo doesn’t know I acquired some new skills since we last met, and have placed a few traps to slow them down a little.”
I keyed a code into the keypad then used the iris scanner. A door opened, leading to a large warehouse, and I beckoned everyone to follow me through. Gasps reached my ears, and I smiled smugly. I’d been hoping for just such a reaction. Crossroads Tavern had been a biker bar, and during my wandering days, that was the lifestyle my circle and I had enjoyed. Nomads on Harleys, travelling across America, Europe, and beyond. Then we had settled, finding the tavern and making it our home.
“When did you do all this?” Aaron asked, open-mouthed as he stared around. Surrounding us were eighteen large Harley Davidson motorcycles their immaculate paint work glinting under the lights. Roadsters, Super-Lows, and Sportsters, plus a couple of brand-new models, not even released yet.
I smiled at Aaron’s astonishment and clapped him on the back. “I knew this day would come, Aaron,” I said grimly. “Theo is like a cancerous tumor that just keeps coming back. Right now we’re not strong enough to take him on, but we can certainly outrun him. His weakness is in the number of people he has around him who can be cut down, one by one. He’ll think we’re running from him…which is true in a way. But we also need to gain more members, soldiers. We need to create our own army of people who are willing to help destroy Theo and his goons.” I hugged Aaron when he looked uncertainly at me. “We have a chance if we leave now. We can drive across Canada, leaving the USA alone for now, since Theo has too many allies there. In Canada, he has limited resources that he can rely on. Which gives us the advantage. We could even hop over to Europe, Russia, Asia…wherever we want to go. For now, though, Canada is going to be our nomadic home.”
“You have somewhere for us to go, don’t you?” Eva asked shrewdly, studying my face intently. “You’ve been planning this for years.”
I nodded. “Theo’s been trying to destroy me since he was converted. He and I were turned at about the same time. We come from the same tribe in what is now England. We were from a Bronze Age settlement, taken from our homes by an enemy tribe who invaded our village. We were enslaved and used to service the masters of our household. Theo was jealous of my popularity with our elders and set me up to be punished. I was flogged nearly to death, and then converted by our sire, who found us in the midden heap, rotting. Theo had been punished also, for his part in the deceit, and ended up being turned at the same time. Our sire, Magnus, showed us the ways of his kind, spending decades in the British Isles, and then took us across Europe, after the Romans invaded, training us in battle, fighting as mercenaries for whichever coven would pay the most. Theo was a natural-born killer and took to his new occupation well. I hated the life, and left, paying off my sire with a large remuneration for terminating my service to him. When I killed Magnus, because of his interest in this coven for his own ends, I became even more of a target for Theo. The guy is scared of what I could do to him, so he chips away at me.” I paused, frowning. “We will all perish if we stay here. The alternative is a life on the road…and, yes, I have a plan. Best I don’t share all of it with you, in case you are captured. If you don’t know, you can’t tell.” I said this bluntly, not pulling my punches, but everyone nodded in understanding.
“I would not tell,” Eva said softly, sincerely.
I met her look with a grim one of my own. “Sweet Eva, you do not know what Theo is capable of, not fully. He was merely playing with you before, a cat with an injured mouse. Even the strongest of us would be inclined to give up whatever information he requested under Theo’s torturers. I have done so myself.”
Eva flinched as I spoke, and I nodded. “Yes, he has tortured me, too. Several times over the centuries. Each time, I was able to gain more information about his coven, but at a price. The first time he attacked me, I betrayed a friend, who was murdered in front of me. It will never happen again. Before I betrayed another, I would kill myself.”
“Sire,” Mercer said suddenly, warningly, and I looked at him, sharing a thought with my commander. The sixth marker had been triggered. We were running out of time.
“He is closer,” I said, seeing fear in everyone’s eyes. “The sixth marker is set to thirty miles away. He just set it off.” I stared for a third time into each of my family’s eyes. “Do we stay and fight, or do we take our fight on the road and find our freedom?”
As one, unilaterally, they elected the latter option. We chose our bikes, donned sunlight-deflecting protective gear, and then, after I had triggered the final alarm sequence, we roared along the wide tunnel leading over five hundred yards from the cabin. A narrow back road led to the main highway, eight miles away, and we left everything behind but for some essential supplies that could be packed onto the bikes.
Eva, Milly, Aaron, and Zeke all rode pinion, but the rest of us had bikes of our own. Clad in our cuts, leathers, boots, and wearing specially designed safety helmets, no inch of us was exposed to the sun, which was beginning to fade but still bright enough to do some damage to vulnerable vampire flesh. As the last rays of the day dipped below the horizon, and we were over twenty miles from the cabin, a huge explosion rent the air.
I had felt the last markers triggered, and sent my coven on ahead, waiting with Sven for the last marker—our failsafe—to be set off. Right now the entire complex had just gone up in a cloud of fury. I knew that Theo would not have been killed, as he had been unwary enough, in his fury, to make an unguarded call to his coven after the house had blown up, but I also knew that the explosion would have taken half of his coven out…with a bit of luck. As retaliations went, it wasn’t a bad one. I still felt sick, though, having to kill, despite the fact that Theo’s guards were hardly worth concerning myself over. I fired up my Harley again, and Sven and I roared off into the night.
Chapter Nine
Eva
Flames lit the night sky, glimmering and dancing and illuminating our eighteen Harleys and the Crossroads Coven…now a biker gang on the run. We had found a secluded glade, deep inside a dense stand of forest, and were resting up after a hard day’s ride.
Using daylight as our friend, we had filled up our gas tanks several times during our journey across Canada and were now over five hundred miles from the cabin. My butt remembered every part of the ride, and I winced as I shifted on my sleeping bag, laid out on the hammock, which had been erected between two tall saplings. It was a warmish evening, the moon winking through the canopy above, so I sprawled on top of the thick sleeping bag, enjoying the gentle breeze wafting over me. Sighing, I felt restless, not sleepy, despite my fatigue. Ordinarily we would have traveled by night, but that would make us stick out. Theo would be looking for anyone who used darkness as a cover. We could blend in far better during the day, using our leathers and sunblock and special suits to shield us from the sun’s lethal rays. We each had crash helmets, as well, adding to the protective layers. None of us wanted to end up burnt to a crisp.
Sven sent me a look from his position a few feet away, perched on a fallen log, his loose tawny hair gleaming in the firelight. He looked like a Norse god, despite his big body clad in a close-fitting T-shirt and sweatpants. He eyed me for a moment and then smiled in amusement. “You did well today, little one,” he said, his deep voice husky, shivering over my nerve endings like rough sandpaper.
“I stayed on the bike,” I retorted dryly, rolling my eyes.
“That’s what I meant,” he said with a low chuckle, getting to his feet and walking over to where I lay.
I bit back a laugh at his sally and held my breath, seeing the desire in his eyes. I had never known such a sexy group of people in my life, and my coven was all generous with their affections. There was no shyness here, only love and physical desire in harmony. The rules of play were few. No meant no, and if a person had a safe word, it was respected and adhered to. Faye and Amelia were off-limits to the males in the coven but would play with the girls endlessly, and Zeke
and Xander preferred man-love to pussy. Apart from those conditions, there were no limits.
I had shared my body many times now, and I had developed a special affection for Sven, Silas, Mercer, and Julius. They were so passionate and so generous with their love. They brought me to my pleasure repeatedly before they allowed themselves to achieve satisfaction. My favorite game was watching them all jack off on my body, covering me in their thick semen and then reaching my own pleasure as they licked me clean.
Sven reached out and tweaked my nipples, which prodded insistently against the soft fabric of my pajama top. I didn’t feel the cold and didn’t need the fabric for warmth, but I loved the feel of the soft jersey material hugging my body.
“Are you okay?” Sven asked, cupping my breasts in his big hands, and I sighed blissfully, enjoying his attentions.
“I am now,” I replied, grinning at him wickedly.
He leaned down, his lips finding mine, and kissed me, pulling aside my top before continuing to massage my exposed flesh, his thumbs rubbing insistently against my turgid nipples. I arched my back, groaning in delight against his mouth, sucking on his avid tongue as the kiss deepened, the hammock swaying gently.
“Hmmm, you seem a little too excited to go to sleep,” Sven murmured teasingly, nipping at my chin. I sent him a sultry look, an unspoken invitation, which he accepted, lifting me from the hammock before draping the big sleeping bag on the ground. He lay me upon the soft covering and followed me down, lying between my spread thighs, kissing me hungrily as his big cock rode my clit.
“Please,” I begged, wrapping my legs around his solid waist, my heels digging into his taut backside as I rubbed my crotch against his engorged cock.
