I smiled at the startled look on his face, and ignored the warning voice in my head. Io, what are you about?
Before Rolf could do more than sputter a profanity, I grabbed him by his shirt and, using the one move I could remember from my self-defense class, spun him around, directly at the portal. He gave a shriek, his arms cartwheeling wildly, and then all was quiet.
“Sweetling,” Nikola said, shaking his head as he strolled over to me. “I know you disliked him, but now we will not be able to keep an eye on him.”
I licked the tip of his nose before wrapping my arms around his waist. “I want you to be happy, too, you know. It matters more to me than anything. More even than showing you just how fabulous the future can be. I love you so much, I’m willing to sacrifice even my need for toilet paper.”
He didn’t expect it, not at all, and for that, I was grateful. Because if he knew in advance that I was going to flip him over my hip, right into the portal, and follow him through a second later, he would have made a big deal about it.
“And it’s not a big deal,” I told him half a day later, when we woke up to find ourselves lying in the afternoon shade of the trees. “I knew that, in the end, I wasn’t going to be happy unless you were happy, and besides, I did come prepared this time.”
“If you’re going to continue to make sheep’s eyes at him, I shall leave,” Rolf said. He’d been bitching ever since we’d woken up about ten minutes before, complaining nonstop that I had ruined his life. He had watched with acid comments when I—with Nikola’s advice—managed to disperse the swirly portal until nothing more remained of it but a memory. “It’s enough to make my stomach sour. Nikola, I shall be raiding your cellar, and expect to hear no chastisement later.”
“You are welcome to whatever you can drink,” Nikola said as Rolf staggered off into the woods, still complaining about his ill-treatment.
Nikola shook his head, and looked at the carrier bag I’d grabbed before throwing myself through the portal. “Did you bring your presents?”
“Yes. A laptop for us to play on.” I pulled out a small black laptop. “You’re going to have to rig up some way to recharge the battery, but I figure that’ll be a good project to keep you busy for a while. And the same goes for powering my hair dryer.”
He looked at the pink dryer I laid on top of the laptop. “You will need to explain electricity in more detail, then.”
“I’ll do my best. I got an encyclopedia on DVD for the laptop, so that should help with the parts I don’t know. And then there’s—”
“Toilet paper,” he said, nodding at the large package I set to the side. “I understand it is important to you, but, Io, I did not mean for you to sacrifice your happiness for mine. I was content to stay in your time and learn all that there was to learn.”
“Silly man,” I told him, leaning over to kiss him. “Content isn’t good enough. I want you ecstatically happy.”
He fell backward, pulling me down on top of him, his hands busily sliding up my skirt so that he could stroke my thighs. “I am always ecstatic where you are concerned. As Rolf has gone, and the portal is no more, I will allow you to seduce me here in the Zauberwald, but then we will discuss your heedless actions, and how you must learn that I am master in my home, and your place therein.”
“Oooh, getting all bossy with me, are you?” I murmured, kissing a line down his chest as I unbuttoned his shirt, my fingers and mouth going wild on all the exposed flesh.
“Yes. I am a dominant man, Iolanthe. You may not have noticed this about me—arms up, please; thank you—but I am, and I expect that since you made your choice to live with me at my home, a choice that I would have preferred we discuss before you made such a large sacrifice, but as you have made that choice, then I expect you will abide by my rules.”
Too many words, I said, wriggling as he peeled off my shirt and bra, his fingers gently stroking my bare breasts. I paused for a moment, looking down at him, noting the deep sapphire blue of his eyes. “I made a sacrifice. Did you—”
“Yes,” he said, pulling me down so my breast was at his mouth. I have my soul back. And for that, my love, as for everything else about you, I will be eternally grateful.
I do so love it when you get mushy on me, I said, squirming with happiness as he laved his tongue along a very sensitive nipple.
“Then I shall mush for you any time you like. Would you remove my breeches, please? But be careful, they are the only ones I have, and I wish to preserve the silken undergarment that keeps my testicles safe from the toothed apparatus.”
“It’s called a zipper, and I have good news.” I pulled off his shoes and socks, and helped him out of his jeans and underwear before grabbing the carrier bag. “When you were with Ben and Finnvid trying to calm Rolf down, I picked up a few more undies for you. See? All sorts of colors.”
He looked at the rainbow of silk material I splayed across his belly, his penis happily waving at me as he touched first one, then another of the underwear. “Presents?”
“Yes, my darling, presents. For you. I bet if we’re careful, we can make them last a very long time. And then when they wear out, we’ll make a pattern from one, and have some more made up for—Nikola!”
He didn’t give me any warning, just pulled me over his body, and impaled me, the silk underwear beneath my thighs as his fingers dug into my hips, urging me on.
It didn’t take long for me to give in to the pleasure that I knew I’d always find with him. He murmured words of love that filled me with so much joy, it threatened to spill out over me, drowning us both. And when he pulled me tighter, his mouth finding the sensitive flesh of my neck, I braced myself for that fraction of a second when he bit deeply, taking what only I could give him, and returning it with love.
It was heaven. And no matter how much I might miss the conveniences of my former life, I knew that this new one would be infinitely better.
Subject: Um…
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Hey guys, guess what? We found another portal!
Look for Time Thief,
an exciting new paranormal romance
from Katie MacAlister,
coming in May 2013.
And if you missed Ben and Fran’s
love story, read below for an excerpt from
In the Company
of Vampires,
out right now!
“And I said to her, Look, you don’t own me, okay? Yes, we have incredibly hot sex, but there’s more to a relationship than just that. And she said that she just wanted to be with me, and couldn’t live without me, and all sorts of things like that. Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice to have your girlfriend want you and all, but there’s such a thing as stifling someone! There are times when I think you’re so lucky, Fran. You have no idea what it’s like to be in a relationship that’s doomed from the very start.”
I stared blankly at the sidewalk, my heart contracting at Geoff’s words. She was a remarkably pretty girl despite her masculine name (she said her parents didn’t believe in conforming to traditional gender roles), with shoulder-length black hair and cute freckles. Although we’d been roomies for almost a year, I was still a bit startled by her lack of awareness.
“You tell your boyfriend you want some space, and poof! He gives you space. You see him, what, once a year? And the rest of the time he leaves you alone to do whatever you want. Now that’s a mature relationship. Do you have a couple of bucks I can borrow? I don’t get paid until Friday.”
“He’s not really my boyfriend.” I reached into my jeans pocket for my Starbucks card, handing it to her as she stopped at the walk-up latte window and ordered a latte and an Americano.
“Thanks, Fran. You’re a doll. What were we talking about? Oh, your boyfriend. You’re so lucky with him.”
“He’s just a guy I know. Use
d to know.”
“Your setup is perfect,” Geoff said with blithe disregard. “He’s in Europe, and you’re here, doing your own thing. No one on your back all the time, telling you what to do. No one demanding that you stop what you’re doing to pay attention to her. No one pressuring you with drama queen scenes, saying she will die if you’re not right there for her. I envy you, Fran. I really do.”
I accepted the latte she handed me, following as she led the way down the street toward the old redbrick building where we shared a third-floor apartment, each step causing my soul to cry a little more. I ached to tell her the truth, but had decided when I first met her that she would never understand. Her feet were too firmly planted in the everyday world. How could I explain that my former boyfriend was a vampire?
“I told Carmen that I needed a little space, too, but you know what she did? Started cutting herself.” Geoff’s cell phone burbled. She pulled it out as she continued to talk. “Like I don’t have enough of my own emotional issues that I have to deal with hers, too? Do you have any idea what a stress it is to be bisexual these days? My therapist says I’m just asking for trouble, but what does she know? Oh, great, it’s the drama queen again. This is like the fiftieth time she’s texted me today. I had to turn off my phone in surgery because she wouldn’t stop sending me messages, and Dr. Abbot said she was going to end up pulling some poor dog’s tooth instead of cleaning it if my phone made her jump just one more time.”
I murmured something noncommittal.
We stopped in front of the residents’ door at the side of the building. The first floor was taken up by a bookstore, one of my favorite places to spend time. “My hands are full, Fran. Can you get your keys?”
I set my latte on the large metal mailbox that was attached to the building and hunted through the backpack I used as a bag for my keys, my fingers groping blindly in its depths.
“I tell you, if I could, I’d trade Carmen for your Brent any day.”
“Ben,” I corrected, his name bringing another little zap of pain to my chest. “He’s not mine. You can have him.”
“He’s like the ideal man, leaving you alone except for when you want him. If I was into guys as much as girls—and I’m not because some men are okay, but most of them have way too many issues for me—then I’d definitely give you a run for your money with him. But I’m not, so you don’t have to worry.”
“That’s reassuring,” I murmured, the tiniest of smiles making an appearance as I pulled out a couple of paperbacks in order to grope around the bottom of my backpack. If there was one thing I knew about Ben, it was that he wasn’t looking for another woman.
At least I didn’t think he was. I frowned, thinking about the last time I’d spoken to him. It was the last and biggest in a series of arguments, and he’d sounded so distant and cold….
“I’m loyal that way. It’s one of the reasons why we’re such good roomies. Because seriously, there are some weirdos out there you can get stuck with. And you’re just as normal as they come.” She glanced toward my hands. “Well, almost as normal as they come. But you know, hey, everyone has their little quirks, right? And I can definitely put up with you being a tiny bit paranoid about germs and insisting on wearing latex gloves all the time. It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s probably good, actually, given all the colds and flus that go around nowadays, and if you want to look like a goth by wearing black lace gloves over the latex ones… Well, that’s no big deal, either. My last roomie was into that Lolita crap, and you looking a bit gothy is a big improvement on that, let me tell you! Although you don’t really look goth anymore since you cut your hair and dyed it auburn—”
I frowned harder into the blackness of my bag, still not finding my keys, so frustrated by that fact, it took me a few seconds to realize that Geoff wasn’t talking anymore. I looked around, my eyes opening in surprise as a large man in black overalls shoved Geoff into a van.
“Goddess!” I yelled, dropping my backpack to run toward them. “Stop that! Help! Someone help! My friend is being kidnapped!”
“Mmrph!” Geoff said, the man’s hand over her mouth. Her eyes were filled with panic as she struggled. A second man was in the back of the van, grabbing her legs as she tried to kick the first guy.
“Help!” I screamed again, but the street, normally filled with shoppers, was strangely devoid of anyone else. It was up to me to save Geoff. Without thinking, I leaped forward as the driver of the van gunned the engine, throwing myself into the back of the van on top of Geoff and the first man, who was in the process of slamming shut the door.
“Let go of her,” I growled, curling my fingers into a fist the way Ben had showed me all those years ago. “Or you’re going to be really, really sorry!”
“You’ll be the one who is sorry,” the man said in a heavy Scandinavian accent, his eyes holding a red light that warned me he wasn’t a common, average kidnapper. “The master seeks this one. Begone.”
Before I could land the punch I was about to make, the man threw his weight against me, sending me flying backward. Frantic to keep from falling, I grabbed at him, but it did little good. All I got was a necklace the man had been wearing before I tumbled out of the van, hitting the street hard enough to knock me silly for a few seconds. When I looked up, trying desperately to clear my vision, the street was empty.
“The master,” I repeated, getting painfully to my feet and hobbling over to the sidewalk. I’d heard someone refer to the master five years ago. “Oh, no, it couldn’t be him. What on earth does he want with Geoff? It’s me he swore to get revenge against!”
I looked down at the necklace in my hand. Because of my gloves, I couldn’t feel anything other than the weight of the gold chain. I should have called the police and reported an abduction. I should have screamed until someone came to help me. I should have let someone with power get Geoff back. I should have…
“Bloody boiling bullfrogs!” I snarled, ripping off one of my black lace gloves and the thin latex glove beneath it, taking a deep breath. If it really was who I thought it was behind the kidnapping, the police wouldn’t be able to help at all, which meant it was up to me to find out who was behind the abduction of Geoff.
The second my bare hand touched the chain, my head was filled with images, a variety of faces that I didn’t recognize, a confusing jumble of women in old-fashioned outfits with bodices and long skirts, of men riding horses across a coastline, waving swords and yelling at the top of their lungs, and of a big structure burning while screams ripped into the night.
“And if that doesn’t say Loki at work a millennium ago, then I don’t know what does,” I growled a minute later, stuffing the necklace into my pocket as I pulled on my gloves again, hurrying down the road to a busy cross street. I hesitated at the bus stop, knowing time was of the essence. If the emotions I’d felt on the kidnapper’s necklace were right—and I had no reason to doubt my psychometric abilities—then he and his buddies were planning on hustling Geoff to the airport in a few hours. I had little time to make it to the warehouse they were using before she was out of my reach.
“This situation calls for a little splurging. After all, if you can’t spend a little mad money when your roomie is kidnapped, when can you?” I muttered to myself as I hunted down a cab. I finally found one and gave the driver instructions on where to go. “I don’t know the address, but I do know it’s on Knowles Street. Big warehouse with the picture of a penguin painted on the side.”
“Sounds like the old Icy Treats place,” she said, punching in a couple of buttons on her laptop before pulling out into traffic. “Shouldn’t take us long to get there.”
Fifteen minutes later we pulled up a half block away. I looked at the warehouse, worried that we were too late, but no, there was the nose of a black van just barely visible from behind an industrial-sized trash bin. I glanced back at the cab, gnawing on my lower lip for a second. “Um…how much would it cost for you to wait here for me?”
“How long will yo
u be?” the driver asked me. She had bright yellow hair—not blond, actual yellow—and so many piercings on her head I couldn’t count them all.
“I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes?”
She named a figure. “But you’ll have to pay me what you owe me now. I’m not allowed to let customers leave without paying.”
I flinched at the amount she mentioned, but gave a mental shrug as I pulled out some cash, thrusting it toward her. “Wait for me. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Ten minutes. After that, I leave,” she said, getting out of her cab to lean a hip against it. “I need a smoke anyway.”
I nodded and hurried behind the trash bin, peering around it in the very best James Bond “sneaking up on kidnappers” manner. No one was in the van, and although the warehouse had windows, they were boarded up. I prayed they had no sort of high-tech security system as I dashed to a small door along the wall, pausing to snatch up a big piece of metal pipe that was lying near the trash bin. I weighed it for a couple of seconds, trying to decide if I could actually bring myself to use it, but the memory of the stark horror in Geoff’s eyes had me clutching it tight. “You are going to be one sorry god if she’s hurt,” I snarled under my breath.
The door creaked a little when I opened it a few inches, making me flinch and hold my breath, but no sound emerged from the warehouse, and nothing met my gaze as I peeked in. Sending a little prayer to the god and goddess my mother always swore would always protect me, I slid inside, braced for an outcry or attack.
The warehouse was mostly empty, a huge old building filled with a whole lot of black, and a few faint rustling noises that I took to be rodents. I wasn’t particularly afraid of rats and mice, finding the two-legged variety much more worrisome. But the relative quiet of the warehouse worried me. Was I too late? Had the men taken Geoff off in another car?
The faintest murmur of male voices had me stiffening as I turned to the right, where the vaguely black shape of a staircase loomed. I gripped my piece of pipe and started up the stairs, blindly feeling my way up each step, moving slowly and carefully so as not to alert anyone to my presence.
A Tale of Two Vampires Page 28
