Why in vampire heavens had she not noticed their weapons when they’d first walked in?
They must have been mesmerizing her the instant they’d come in. Chances were they were from Lisbeth’s old life.
Dammit! How had they found Lisbeth? Had someone spotted her at the fashion show? But how was that possible? She’d had plastic surgery to alter her face and she took scent disguisers on a daily basis. Lisbeth took so many precautions that Zeena had been comfortable in begging her to appear as a model for her.
“Sorry, but I don’t know who you’re talking about. If you want a list of the models, you’ll have to go to the modeling agency that I use. Would you like the name of the agency?” How had they found Zeena? How did they know she knew Lisbeth?
“We were already there,” the tall male answered.
She could feel their minds continue to probe against her shield as they tried to find a way inside. They were strong. It was three against one and she was weakening. She sensed the longer they remained close to her, the harder it would be to deny them what they wanted. Thank the sweet vampires her sire had insisted she learn how to deflect mesmerizing vamps! If he hadn’t talked her into taking lessons from the Powerful Three—three psychic Warriors—she would have given these males standing in front of her everything they wanted from her.
“I’m sure you can return to that agency and ask them your questions. I don’t know who you are talking about. Have a good day, gentlemen,” she said with a firmness she didn’t feel.
The vamps glared at her with fury in their eyes, but she held her ground. The tall one emitted a harsh grunt and the three of them turned and left.
“Wow, those guys were hot! Did you see how they were built? Big, tall men,” Lora gushed as the door closed behind them. “And they sure were mad at you. I wouldn’t want those guys mad at me, that’s for sure. Who were they? Why are they so pissed?”
“Lock the door. We’re closing early,” Zeena instructed Lora, whose eyes widened in surprise.
“But we still have a couple of hours to closing.”
“Just do it. Take the rest of the time off.”
Lora frowned.
“With pay.”
She knew Lora was a single human mom who had three young mouths to feed at home along with an invalid elderly grandmother. She held down two full-time jobs to pay for a sitter for the kids and her grandmother and she was always vowing to keep her family together.
Lora’s weakness had always been big, muscular men who didn’t use condoms and didn’t stick around to find out if she was pregnant.
Lora nodded. “Okay, sure thing. Is everything all right? Did those men threaten you?”
“Everything is fine.”
Zeena waited for Lora to grab her purse and leave before she headed to the back room and to her cell phone. She needed to get ahold of Lisbeth and warn her about those three brutes. Those males didn’t seem like they would be lenient with Lisbeth if they caught her. Sweet vampires, no wonder Lisbeth was in hiding!
Chapter Two
The shrill ring tone of her cell phone threatened to rip Lisbeth’s attention from the latest sales figures she’d received. She’d taken a long nap and woken at sunset. Unfortunately the uneasiness after having smelled that obscene scent had plagued her sleep with nightmares of when she’d been a blood slave to the Queen. That scent had nagged her again upon awakening. In order to try and ignore it, she threw herself into her work.
Sales of the newest brand of organic edible condoms were way up and it was time to celebrate with some real blood to help get her energy replenished. She’d been tired the past few days and she knew why. It happened every month when the Crimson Moon drew near. The females in the Crimson Clan grew weaker around that time of the month. It allowed males to dominate them when they mated on the night of the red moon.
Thankfully Vampira’s no-real-blood rule didn’t apply to her because of her unique circumstances. She’d have to call a female who worked at the local blood bank and ask for a nourishing treat. The synthetic stuff in her refrigerator just wasn’t doing its job in keeping her wits as alert as possible. And she needed to order some more of her anti-scent pills. She’d forgotten to take the last one this morning in her haste to help out Zeena.
She’d been thinking about finding her pill bottle and taking her pill when the phone rang. At first, she thought of letting the call go to voice mail, but then she noticed Zeena’s number flashing on the screen.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. The young vamp had probably received another big order and wanted to share the news.
“Hey, sweetie, got good news for me?” she said after she answered.
Silence greeted her and uneasiness hugged her like a smothering blanket. Alarm bells went off.
“Zeena? What’s wrong?”
“Lisbeth, something’s happened.” Zeena’s breathlessness made Lisbeth’s anxiety increase.
“Three big males were here asking for you. They asked for you by your human name. They tried to mesmerize me into telling them information about you, but I managed to stop them. I don’t know how much information they got, but I don’t think it was too much. At least, I hope it wasn’t anything they could use. I’m not sure though.”
Lisbeth went rigid, her attention fully focused on Zeena.
“What did they look like?”
“Well, they oozed anger and confidence. They were tall. Very muscular. Only one of them spoke. English, but he had a slight accent. Russian, I think. The tallest male wore all black and he had gold chains around his neck.”
Jaymes. It had to be. Lisbeth shivered in both fear and excitement.
“One of them had a crossbow slung over his shoulder.”
That would be Luca Locke. He never went anywhere without that crossbow.
“And the other one had a tattoo with a rose across his cheek.”
Oh vampire. Tristan Deadblade.
“All of them were probing my mind.”
The three males always worked together.
That scent she’d smelled at the fashion show—she recognized it now. Damn! Why hadn’t she been able to pinpoint it back at the fashion show? Too many other scents had interfered, that’s why. Her ex-dungeon guard must have seen her and then gotten out of there as fast as he could. What were the chances that he would be here the one time Lisbeth had dared cut loose? The odds were phenomenal of that happening.
She couldn’t think straight. Hell, she couldn’t even think. She forced herself to take a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She grabbed on to the first question that formed.
“How long ago?” Lisbeth asked.
“Just a few minutes.”
Urgency slammed into her. The males could still be lurking around Zeena. They could come after her at any time.
“Okay, I want you to return to your clan. Lay low so they can’t get ahold of you. Cut off all contact with me. You did good, Zeena. I’ll go into hiding. I’ll be in touch.”
“Stay safe, Lisbeth. Please.”
Lisbeth nodded and disconnected.
She should contact Mati, who until recently had been the leader of Vampira, but the group was in transition. Mati had announced she was stepping down due to breaking Vampira’s number-one rule of sleeping with males and she’d gone off who-knew-where with her men. The members hadn’t stopped her resignation. The rules of no sex with males were in place for a reason—to help protect the members from the aggressive men who sought them. Most females had agreed it would be best for Mati to leave the position of leader.
In the meantime, Vampira wasn’t accepting any new recruits while they considered applicants for the extremely powerful position of head. This problem from her past couldn’t have come at a worse time. Fear and vulnerability sank deep inside her.
Dammit! Why did those males have to come hunting for her? Why now after all this time? Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?
* * * * *
Tristan Deadblade grinned as he listened in through
the airwaves to the conversation between Zeena and his old flame. Satin’s husky voice had his breath backing up into his lungs and making his entire body tremble with need.
The call was disconnected and Tristan ushered the other two males to follow him around to the dark alley beside the female’s fashion shop.
“What’s happening?” Luca asked.
“It’s the beauty of being a full-blood Crimson Clan vampire, my males,” he teased. “My hearing is exceptional. My ears get better with age.”
“You mean your ears get bigger with age.” Jaymes chuckled as he and Luca eagerly awaited information.
“Good one.” Luca laughed.
It amused him that the two rogues could so easily joke when such pressures surrounded them.
“Not as big as yours,” he said to Jaymes. “And certainly not as big as yours,” he replied to Luca, who sobered.
Luca was touchy about his big ears and tended to hide them behind a mop of hair. He frowned and touched his earlobes. Jaymes and Tristan laughed.
“Come on, what did you hear?” Luca persisted. Patience when it came to Satin wasn’t his strongest point.
“The female was speaking with Satin. If we hurry we can follow the lingering airwaves and catch a ride to where she is. She sounds just as beautiful as ever,” Tristan said.
“Fuck, yeah! Let’s get moving then!” Luca urged.
But Tristan grabbed him. “A reminder. Traveling along the electrical waves is dangerous. You both need to hold on to me tightly as we follow it. No letting go, understand?”
Both males nodded, each grabbing one of his elbows. It wasn’t easy dematerializing onto a call wave by himself, so having two rogues along for the ride would prove to be difficult. But he’d done it before with them and they should be just fine.
Excitement whipped through him. In a matter of moments, they would finally capture Satin. The female had disappeared over fifty years ago without a word of goodbye and without a trace. The only answer they’d been able to come up with about her escape was that someone close to the Queen must have helped Satin. Much to the Queen’s annoyance, she’d never found out who had done the deed.
Tristan concentrated and nodded his head to the other two as he found the electric signature between the two females. Instantly they were airborne, dematerializing and riding the wave.
* * * * *
Lisbeth popped the scent concealer pill into her mouth and surveyed her apartment trying to think of anything she might need while she was away. Nothing came to mind. Just fear and anger and an array of emotions she couldn’t put a name to.
She’d become complacent living under the pseudonym of Lisbeth Crowe. She could just scream at how stupid she’d been in not following her strict regimen. But when Zeena had called this morning crying hysterically and asked Lisbeth to help her out by modeling, Lisbeth hadn’t had the heart to say no. She’d dropped everything, including the drug that would have concealed her scent, and dematerialized to be there for her friend. Now she was paying for her incompetence. Big time.
Fear and hopelessness clogged her throat and she wiped away the wet tears streaming down her cheeks. She would probably never return here.
Damn that Queen! Damn her stupidity!
* * * * *
A splitting headache brought Jaymes Colddusk to his knees as he materialized beside Luca and Tristan. Luca seemed in similar distress, holding his head as he gazed around the luxurious apartment they’d materialized into.
Tristan, on the other hand, appeared well as he moved through the apartment. He didn’t have to tell them that Satin had already left, leaving nothing but her enticing scent hanging heavily in the air.
“Bitch!” Tristan growled as he returned and began sniffing the air. “I can’t fully grab onto her scent. She was here, but now she’s gone. She must have taken one of those anti-scent pills the Queen had mentioned. I may still be able to grab hold. In the meantime, we need something to prevent her from dematerializing when we catch up to her.”
Luca cursed. “We forgot about that part.”
Jaymes shook his head, his face scrunched with disgust. He’d forgotten about that too. If Satin knew how close they were, she would just materialize and dematerialize, her scent getting weaker and weaker as the scent disguiser did its magic, until they couldn’t follow her anymore.
“We need to focus, males,” Tristan complained as he continued sniffing the air. “In our excitement we’re overlooking things. Had she been here, we could have lost her by her just dematerializing. When I lock onto her again, she won’t be so lucky.”
“I’ll get right onto a concoction to prevent her from getting away. I’ll follow your scent trails when I return with it,” Luca replied. He dematerialized.
Jaymes grimaced as his head continued to pound.
“Didn’t know Luca and his passion for potions would come in so handy,” Tristan said and grinned at Jaymes. The male was happy. Extremely happy, and Jaymes knew Tristan had hooked onto her signature again.
“She was standing right here not more than a minute ago. I’m going to follow her.”
“I’ll go get some of those walk-in-the-sunlight drugs we read about in that female’s mind. Then I’ll catch up with Luca and we’ll follow your trail.”
Tristan nodded and vanished.
Jaymes inhaled a deep breath and caught a lingering faint scent of Satin. His cock swelled and pulsed with eagerness. His headache dissipated as his anticipation rose. Soon they would have Satin. Then they would make her pay for leaving them the way she had. Her punishment was something he’d been waiting for half a century. He could hardly wait.
* * * * *
Lisbeth wandered back and forth in front of her living room window of her final destination—her luxury home nestled on a veiled island just twenty miles west of the Gulf Islands off the British Columbia coast. Ordinarily she would be standing outside on the extravagant wood deck beside her outdoor gas fireplace, sipping on some synthetic blood. She’d be admiring the tall pine trees, the green grass hugging the rocky shores and the sparkling dark-blue ocean with the pink and pale-blue clouds in the evening sky. But after a day of materializing and dematerializing, she was exhausted. Yet, due to her increasing nervousness, she simply could not do anything but pace and think about her three ex-lovers who were surely on her trail.
She owned several homes throughout the world. And she’d traveled to each and every one of them, stayed for an hour to rest before traveling to the next. Because of the scent disguiser she’d taken earlier, it would be near to impossible for anyone to follow, but her males were good at tracking. They would keep searching for her.
If it was just the three males coming for her, she could handle it. She would love it. But because they were slaves to the Queen, Lisbeth dared not trust them. Ever. The fact that they were hunting her meant the Queen must still have a hefty bounty on her head. Or maybe…
Lisbeth held her breath as hope flared. Maybe they were coming just to be with her? Had they perhaps escaped slavery as she had done?
She shook her head and hugged herself. No, they didn’t have the help available when she’d had the opportunity to escape. She hadn’t been with a male since she’d been with them—all three of them at the same time.
For over the last half-century she’d taken care of her sexual needs on her own. It had never been enough, but she’d accepted that in her new life in Vampira the need for sexual fulfillment would be out of her reach.
Outside, the sky grew dim. She slid open her patio doors and stepped outside. The early July air was cool against her bare arms and she shivered. But she needed the fresh air to help keep her awake.
Out across the bay seagulls swooped low over the ocean waves to catch their supper of fish. In the water, several white swans leisurely swam. Such a serene sight. She just wished she could calm down and enjoy the view but Zeena’s descriptions of the three males kept racing through Lisbeth’s thoughts. It was as if she was reliving her past over an
d over again. Hearing their voices calling out her name as they orgasmed inside her, one after another.
Lisbeth’s breaths quickened as her body tensed with awareness. Three males having sex with her. All at the same time. They’d been such sexual vampires, using any excuse to get into bed with her. Yet her bed had been in a slave quarters area of Queen Crimson’s mountain palace. Windows and doors had been barred.
But Lisbeth had defied the Queen by accepting help from an unlikely source and then she had hidden in the human world. She should have remembered that no one got away with disobeying the Queen. Ever.
Oh sweet vampires! She would never be at peace, would she? She’d had a good run of it though, making herself believe she was free.
From the corner of her eye, a flash of red caught her attention and Lisbeth froze. A lone crimson rose lay on her wooden bench. Had it fallen from her rose bush that was on the other side of her house? Or had the males placed it there? Memories zipped through her mind again. Of her males lavishing her with crimson roses, knowing it was her favorite type of flower.
The air around her grew hot and she knew instantly what was happening. They’d used the rose to keep her attention off dematerializing. A flurry of movement erupted to her right side. They were here. She had to leave! She was about to dematerialize when something stung her arm.
She cried out in surprise and shock.
Everything went black.
* * * * *
“Your sleep dart is impressive, Luca,” Jaymes commented as the three of them tied an unconscious Satin’s wrists and ankles with soft leather bindings to one of the beds in her upstairs rooms. He couldn’t get enough of touching her satiny skin or gazing upon her luscious body and gorgeous face. Her brown hair was splayed out across the pillow like a fan. Her cheeks appeared a bit more prominent so he assumed she’d had cheek implants, and her eyes were made to give her a bit of an Asian appearance. Her nose was different too, a bit smaller and narrower.
“Thank you.” Luca grinned. “I knew my studies into potions would pay off one of these years.”
Crimson Heat: 4 (Vampira) Page 4
