“I love you,” Austin whispered so softly she wouldn’t have heard it except for her enhanced half-vampire senses.
The beast’s hold on her body was broken and she threw Austin off her, lunging at Mannus, dragging him down to the ground. The talisman pulsed erratically and Mannus was dazed but not frozen. She smiled at his slow reactions.
Blood magic can work both ways, you bastard.
Mannus was powerful, the daze would be short. She had to kill him quickly. The thrall screamed behind her. Mannus began moving faster with greater strength in his arms. She broke the beast’s hold on her mind during her first kill and Mannus had panic in his eyes. He wanted to escape, but they were still struggling on the ground.
Austin shot in front of her, his legs unsteady but solid purpose in his movement as he went to the pile of weapons. He grabbed her special dagger, spun around and drove it into Mannus’s chest. The vampire roared in pain, but kept moving, struggling even harder to break free. Rebecca grabbed the dagger, holding Austin’s hand onto it under hers, and plunged it deeper into Mannus’s chest. The dagger’s full power and force of white magic came alive under her touch.
It took only seconds as the dagger’s magic flowed through the vampire, destroying his body. When the last of him turned to dust, her soul surged throughout her body and every bit of the beast was driven from her.
She tried to stand but fell to her knees as absolute weariness overtook her. Austin caught her before she fell over, held her gently, and stroked her hair when everything went dark.
Chapter 6
Rebecca woke slowly. The high-pitched squeal of a siren bringing her senses into focus. Sounds of cars and engines running came through the window next to her. Morning sunlight bathed her as she sat herself up onto the bed she slept in. She wore a pair of silk pajamas, the fabric soft on her skin and she knew she was clean with no smell of any blood or dirt on her body.
She noticed a slight movement to her left and snapped her head around. Austin was sitting in a chair next to her bed, and Rebecca’s eyes went wide when memories of the fight against Mannus and his death came crashing back to her.
“What happened? How long have I been here?” she asked.
Rebecca’s throat tightened as he answered. His voice was even, distant, hurt.
“You collapsed after your soul finished driving the beast out of you. Slept more than a day. It’s morning again,” said Austin.
Rebecca was confused. Why was he talking to her like a stranger, so detached?
He continued, “I got everything out of the house. The first police didn’t even start to arrive until after I pulled away. It’ll be written up as a drug related shoot-out and we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. I was able to destroy all of our DNA. You’ll still have to face a hunter tribunal for going after Mannus solo, but I’ll back you at the hearing. Once that’s over, I’ll keep my promise and we can both go our separate ways. Just like you want.”
Rebecca sucked in a breath.
He’s planning on leaving.
How could he even think that after what they’d been through? Hadn’t he said that he loved her? Had she imagined it?
No.
She hadn’t imagined anything. He loved her and she loved him. She wasn’t separating without a fight. Slipping out of the bed and moving in front of the chair, she knelt on the floor between his legs. His muscles shook as she slowly ran her hands along his thighs and grabbed his hands in hers.
“I don’t want you to leave. I was wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong about anything. I killed your father. You know I did. It shouldn’t have happened. If I had only been better prepared to rescue him, more determined, then maybe he could have lived.”
“Austin,” she said softly. He kept his eyes away from her and she let go of his hands, pulled herself a little higher, and placed a hand on his cheek, his stubble tickling the skin on her palm.
“Look at me,” she said as she turned his head toward her and their eyes met.
Tears started forming in Rebecca’s eyes as the pain in Austin pierced her.
She pulled his lips closer to hers and said, “I love you.” A groan escaped her lips as they kissed and she attacked his mouth. Her tongue charged past his lips before he broke off and pulled away.
His eyes flashed dangerously. “If you don’t mean it. We can’t do it. Not like last time,” he said in a voice so low it rumbled through her like an earthquake. “How could you love me after what I did?”
His eyes were burning her skin with their intensity and she gently kissed him again.
“I know what really happened. When Mannus turned me our minds touched and I saw what you did. It was the right thing. I never should have doubted you.”
“But I was too late to save him.”
Rebecca shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him believe that he failed her or her father. He hadn’t. He had saved them both, and now it was her turn to save them and their future together.
“My father was there in the basement with me. I felt him giving me strength to fight the beast, to turn on Mannus.” A tear fell from one eye and then another as she spoke. “You did what he wanted and you saved him. He loved you and so do I.”
She pulled him off the chair and down to the floor with her, kneeling in front of each other. His hands grabbed her waist and instinctively she placed a deep, passionate kiss on his succulent lips as a moan of pleasure came from her throat.
Austin pulled away, running his tongue across her lip as he went.
“I love you too. I always have. I …”
“You need to stop talking and take me. Now,” she said.
Even for a hunter, Austin had both of their clothes off in record time. Kneeling naked in front of each other he took her and pushed her back onto the floor, moving himself in between her legs. Rebecca ran her hands along his shaft, kneading is slowly, guiding it to the entrance to her pussy. He held it there, his tip just inside her folds.
“Will you still marry me?”
She pulled him into her, locking her legs tightly around his waist.
“Yes.”
They gave each other all the love they had held deeply inside, letting go of all the pain and regret of lost time or hurt. It was the kind of passionate love that binds through life and death, and lasts forever.
Author Note
In German mythology, Mannus lived in the 1st Century AD and was the father of three sons who founded three great Germanic barbarian tribes. These tribes eventually spread across Europe and Scandinavia, and participated in bringing on the fall of Rome. In some literature, Mannus is also referred to as the Norse god Heimdall or his close kin.
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Excerpt - Shades of Love
Chapter 1
“Ohmygod, Casey that was amazing. It was like taking a trip to heaven. I can’t believe how good you are.” He paused. “Seconds?”
Casey Miller smiled. She loved making people happy the way she knew best.
“I’ve got plenty to go around, so help yourself Mr. Richards,” Casey said.
Mr. Richards didn’t need any further encouragement. He had the serving spoon in a second and was piling more shrimp on his plate. The sounds of chewing, gulping, licking fingers were all around her. She felt intense satisfaction that her gourmet food gave people such pleasure when they ate it and she just couldn’t help but smile.
Casey sighed and remembered the conversation she had with her accountant: Catering sa
les are going well but your fixed expenses are too high.
She wasn’t smiling and wasn’t sure what to do. As the owner of The Practical Gourmet it was her responsibility to figure it out. It just wasn’t possible to work any harder. Right now she had catering events booked months in advance and she was doing everything herself. There was just no time to figure out what else to do to make more money. Hiring additional help made sense, but no one would stay once they found out about one of her other little problems; they would certainly quit and she couldn’t risk rumors starting to spread, so it was just her. Her and her three big problems.
This job at the Chicago Museum of Architecture was particularly fun. She liked old homes almost as much as she liked cooking great food. The museum was opening a new exhibit on Colonial American homes and the turnout was great. Invitations went to all the big donors and it looked like most of them had come. Nearly 200 of Chicago’s affluent were in attendance, sitting around the various tables, listening to the parade of speakers and most importantly, eating her fantastic food.
She turned away back to look at her buffet table and all the wonderful foods she had created to make people enjoy eating something delicious. The thought of possibly losing her business, her home, everything, was too much; she started to tear up under the strain of it all.
An older gentleman next to her licked some sauce off his fingers. “Here you are, Miss. I’ve got some tissue you can have. I always bring extra to these things. Some of these speakers can just be so mind-numbing to listen to I just have to cry myself. But that’s OK. It’s the good food and good company that I come for.” He handed Casey some tissue and asked for a business card. “You make such good food. I’ll just have to tell my wife to have you for our own family events coming up.”
Casey thanked him and gave a weak smile in return. Another catering gig that I probably don’t have the time to do thought Casey. She sighed again and slumped down in a nearby chair.
She rubbed her left cheek and still couldn’t understand how things had gone downhill so quickly from just two years ago. Her business was thriving, she was a new fiancée, and she didn’t have any issues with her house. Now it was all turned upside down with her business failing, her love life in tatters and her house was haunted. It wasn’t exactly where she expected to be in life, but there it was what it was and she needed to deal with it.
She shook her head. Keep moving. Keep busy. That was the key to getting it off her mind and finally getting ahead. She stood up and went back to her table. More fruit she noted and she started making her way back to the museum kitchen area for things to restock the table. How Colonial architecture influenced later Civil War era building was the topic of the next speaker and Casey glanced up at the Master of Ceremonies and felt a flutter in her stomach as she walked by and out of the event area.
Lucas Stern passed the podium off to the next speaker and the audience applause. He could barely stand it. Walking to the side of the stage in his tuxedo he felt acutely self-conscious. The museum had invited him to be MC because of some writing he had done on 19th Century Era American homes had caught the eye of one of the trustees, and he was a regular donor. It was an honor to be asked, and he was pleased to accept, but he hated wearing something so formal. Tuxedos were so constricting to the normal clothes he wore daily and the last time he wore a tux wasn’t exactly a happy occasion.
A ghost hunter! Get real. What women would want you? Chasing ghosts is for children and psychos. I want a real man.
Two years later it still stung when he thought about it. Louise was ‘the one’ or so he had thought and they were about to get married when she finally realized that he hadn’t been joking about what his real occupation was.
He forced a grin as two trustees passed him on the way back from the buffet table and one of them leaned into him, “You’re doing a great job, Lucas, but you should be having fun yourself. Go grab something to eat.”
He nodded in agreement and turned straight for the open bar instead. A drink sounded better right now.
Why couldn’t you be normal like everyone else?
He shook his head to get the shriek of her voice out of his mind. When Louise realized the truth her affection turned to venom in an instant and she walked out leaving him at the altar.
It was humiliating for him and all his guests. The ones who were hunters had understood, but everyone else thought he was crazy. It had taken an awful amount of work to mend a lot of strained relationships after his wedding fiasco.
The speaker started going over all his wonderful credentials to speak on his subject matter and Lucas suppressed a yawn. Why do speakers do that he thought. Their full bio and credentials are in the fucking program, so why not just get on with their speech? He never did that in the rare occasions he was asked to speak. Announce your topic and get to the point.
The bar was still too far away. He started snaking his way through the tables.
You and your ghosts stay the fuck away from me, you hear. I never want to see you again.
He hadn’t let any woman have more than a few dates ever since. It wasn’t worth getting close to anyone who was just going to ditch him when they learned he was a hunter. After all, a shot or two of tequila was better than getting screamed at by a shrew that didn’t care to understand him or how important his work really was. That was all he really needed: good dates with a happy ending and an occasional drink to pass the time. Sometimes after a few shots of tequila, he even started to believe it.
People started crowding Casey as soon as she made it back with more fruit. The smell of fresh strawberries seemed to be a particular hit and before the new tray had even made it to the buffet table it was nearly half-empty.
She took a moment to arrange everything perfectly and took a step back to admire her work when she hit a solid mass. Casey spun around, ready to apologize to whomever she stepped into when her eyes locked with the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen. No exotic green or dazzling blue, but eyes that were simply brown and practically glowing with electricity, power, and danger. She felt a lump in her throat fall down into her stomach and she backed away slightly, her apology a bare whisper.
“You just said you were sorry, but it’s alright. I’ll keep it a secret,” said Lucas.
Casey stammered, her eyes trying to break free from his gaze when she finally looked away to the rest of his face. His skin was perfect, with no cuts or blemishes over any part of his face, from his sandy blonde hair to his prominent jaw. His own hungry eyes never wavered a moment from her, she felt her skin grow warmer. Suddenly she realized how a gazelle felt when a lion regarded it and heated up a few more degrees.
“I don’t know what secret you’re talking about,” she finally got out.
An amused smile broke across his face and she wanted to tell him to move away but didn’t. “It’s the strawberries,” he said. “The guests really cleared the strawberry tray, but they missed the best parts about them.” He went over to the table and grabbed one of the sweet, smaller berries and covered it in whipped cream.
“Strawberries are so sweet and delicious people can eat them plain, but I always like my sweet things with a little extra on them. Don’t you?” he said in a far too seductive voice. He pushed the berry into his mouth, finishing it off in a single bite and made another. “Try one.”
Casey’s thoughts were slow coming to her and she wondered what type of drug he must be to get her so tongue-tied. She tried stepping back again, but the movement rubbed her bra against her breasts and she stifled a groan. There was no denying that her nipples had become aroused and tender. She stopped moving.
“I can’t,” she said. “This is work for me and I need to keep the table up.”
Lucas motioned at the table. “Your table looks wonderful. Just like you do. You can try just one, no one will know. You’re not one of those always have to be safe & secure type of girls are you?”
Casey frowned at his derisive tone when he said ‘girls’. “I sm
ell the liquor on your breath. You’re drunk and you need to stop making a fool of yourself.”
“I’m most certainly not drunk. I’ve had one drink and you dodged the question. Are you a girl that always does things inside the lines? The safe way?”
He paused. “Maybe it’s because we’re strangers. My name is Lucas. What’s your name?”
He was still holding the berry for her and she shot a glance at his ring finger, relieved that it was empty. At least he’s not a married fool, she thought to herself. She couldn’t understand why she was even talking to him except for how hot she was feeling.
She pulled herself up to her best height and replied in the most indignant voice she could muster, “My name is Casey Miller and no I don’t always stay in the lines. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Well now, we’re not strangers any longer. Would you try the strawberry now? It really does have the sweetest juices.”
She reached for the berry for him to brush her hand away. “No, open your mouth and let me,” he said.
She opened her eyes wide with shock at his suggestion and opened her mouth to refuse when he touched the berry to her lips. Three fingers held the berry to her mouth while his pinkie caressed the underside of her chin. A small squeak escaped from her throat and her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick the cream before she bit and swallowed the sweet fruit.
He didn’t withdraw his hand like she expected but instead ran his fingers lightly over her lips. Her body started trembling slightly as the berry juices on his fingers hit her senses and without thinking she parted her lips slightly and moved her head forward to take his fingers into her mouth. Her tongue circled around, licking the juices off them until they were clean and then she pulled back.
Austin's Lost Bride (The Sterns) Page 5
