All Others (Vampire Assassin League Book 27)

by Jackie Ivie

  Cam pulled from her throat. Tossed his head back. And roared.

  The sound pulsed through the falling water. They dropped. That’s when Cam looked down. Locked gazes with this amazing woman. And got dragged into the dark depths of her eyes without any thought of the consequences. Her satiny evening gown was soaked through. The material filmed her curves, showcasing perfectly-sized breasts. Tight, little nipples. Cam grabbed the neckline of her attire and ripped. Peeled the dress open. Shoved it down her legs. And out of his way.

  That was really going to clog the drain.

  That stupid thought was banished as he lifted her to begin suckling and adoring first one breast tip, and then the other. Tessa’s cries filled his ears. The shower chamber. The world. They blended with the continual throb of sound. Electrifying and stimulating and vitalizing. This woman wasn’t just exquisite. She was womanhood personified. Soft, yet firm. Curved. Strong. And he wasn’t waiting another moment.

  He still wore his belt. Khakis. Underwear. None of it presented a problem. Cam tore through every layer, ripping free. Tessa wasn’t much help. She’d wrapped her legs about his hips and was grinding into his abs, sending every sense into an even greater realm. Higher. Hotter.

  They slammed as one unit into the side of the shower. His right side smacked against a rock. Cam didn’t even feel it. He swiveled, putting her back against the wall for support.

  “Oh, Cam! Yes! Yes!”

  She tossed her head back to cry the words, adding a visual to the abundance of corporeal sensation. Rivulets of waters caressed her face, slid off her chin. Splashed onto her bosom. Cam grabbed her hips, hefted her into position, and slammed into absolute paradise. And then he stood shaking with containing the onslaught of voracious need. Rampant desire. She was slick wet. Coil tight. Hotter than the water about them. And then she was moving.

  Cam lost control. He began pumping, alternately lifting her free, and then slamming back into place. Again. And again. Wet warmth surrounded them. Drum beats meshed with the sound of running water. Her cries of pleasure and satiation filled any remaining void. Blood rushed through his veins with every heartbeat. Heavy. Quick. Violent. Breathing became arduous. Each inhalation was filled with moist heat. The exhalations carried harsh grunts.

  They matched the world about him. His movements. Deeper. Harder. Over and over. Each thrust taking him closer. Bestial need impelled his efforts. It intensified. Got stoked by her cries to an unbelievable level. Higher. Harder.

  Cam thrust a final time, grabbed Tessa into his arms, and started spinning. His heart had seized up. His breath stopped. Pulse beats joined the quick hammering of drums all around them. Water droplets flew outward at his rotations, misting every surface. He didn’t feel them. Nor realize he was the cause. He’d reached another realm. It was vast. The breadth of it stunned. Shocked. Astounded.

  It almost frightened.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Hmm. Tessa. This is really nice. I mean really nice.”

  “The bed?”

  “Wow. I just got back my motor skills. I’d hate to think my mind is lagging that far behind. No. Not just the bed, although that is especially nice. I meant all of it. That’s...uh, kind of the problem.”

  “There is a problem?”

  “Yeah.”

  Cameron was on his back, propped on pillows. Tessa’s head rested against his shoulder. Her body hugged his side. One of his fingers traced some sort of pattern along her back, raising shivers in its wake. They’d finished with their shower. Dried each other off. Nearly broken this bed frame with another lovemaking session. She’d lowered the net of canopy to enshroud the bed so she could open the balcony drapes. That let the sight and sounds of the bayou into the chamber. Dawn was at least an hour away. She’d never felt so blissful. Aglow with rapture. Somnolent with the remnants of ecstasy. She was having a hard time concentrating. And he mentioned a problem?

  “Are you going to tell me what it is?” she asked.

  He blew a heavy sigh. Air rushed over her exposed skin, raising more shivers and puckering her nipples into darts against him.

  “You are a vampire.”

  “I know. I told you I was.”

  “You don’t understand. You’re a real vampire.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “I told you already.”

  “If every other theory has been tested and failed, then the end result is fact. Immutable. Uncontestable. Irrefutable.”

  Tessa shifted onto her belly in order to look up toward his face. He was regarding her with those gray-green eyes. They were such an amazing color! Light moss green. Fascinating. They stunned against his ruddy complexion, as well as the barely-there beard and mustache. Her glance dropped to his lips. They were curved into a slight smile. She returned it. But then he shook his head.

  “I still can’t see it. My mind does. But everything else is in denial. You’re so damn sexy. How can you be dead?”

  “I’m not. I’m undead. But I’m not even that, anymore. Do you want to know why?”

  “Uh...later. Maybe. I’ve got to get some facts lined up first. Why don’t we go with reanimated dead? That way I can keep it straight.”

  “Do I look reanimated to you?”

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Or imagined. That part is a solid fact, sweetheart.”

  Her heart stuttered. She caught a breath. He mimicked it, but didn’t appear to notice. “You don’t mind...my skin?”

  “What about it?”

  “My mother was a slave.”

  Tessa tensed as she watched him. He blinked several times. He had blond eyelashes. They shimmered in the candlelight.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” he finally said.

  “About my father?”

  “No. About what year we’re talking.”

  “Year?”

  “I’m going to guess you died – if that’s the right word – sometime before the Civil War?”

  “I was changed. I didn’t die.”

  “And the year was...?” he prompted.

  “1839.”

  He whistled. “You don’t look a day over twenty-five.”

  “I was twenty-four.”

  “Well...I’m thirty-nine. Now I’m feeling kind of old. Like I’m cradle-robbing, if that’s even possible with a woman who’s almost two centuries old. And dead.”

  “Undead.”

  “Reanimated,” he quipped.

  Tessa sighed. “You are a very handsome man, Cameron Preston. Very fit. And extremely virile.” She looked down and blushed even more severely.

  His heart stuttered this time. She knew because hers matched it.

  “Are you flattering me?” he asked.

  “No.”

  Her gaze flew back to his. He was smiling.

  “Those guys back there...they weren’t ghost hunters, were they?”

  “What guys?”

  “The Beethan group. At the Ramsay place.”

  “Those men were Hunters.” She spat the word.

  “Ah. I get it. They were vampire hunters. Because of course, they exist, too. And I didn’t even see it. Garlic. Crucifixes. Holy Water in the squirt guns. Wow. It feels like I’ve stumbled on an alternate reality...and nobody is even aware of it. Or if they are, they’re pretty silent. Probably because they’d get sent to the nearest loony-bin.”

  “Why?”

  He slid a sidelong glance at her. Her heart stuttered again. His did the exact same thing. She wondered if he noticed.

  “The Beethan group was after you, weren’t they?”

  “I think they just got lucky. The Ramsay Mansion is a safe place for us. I’m not the only one that uses it.”

  “Us? Did I hear that right? Us? There are more of you?”

  “Yes and no.”

  He blinked again. Then he sucked in his cheeks as he regarded her. “That answer is extremely ambiguous. And provocative. Makes me wonder if I even want to kn
ow the specifics.”

  “The yes part means that there are more of us. I belong to a league of vampires.”

  “A league.”

  It wasn’t a question. She didn’t answer it as one. “There are more vampires. I don’t know how many. Perhaps hundreds.”

  “Hundreds.”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. Please. Go on. This can’t get much better.”

  “The no part refers to my new status. I am part of an elite group. I’m mated now. A vampire has to be very lucky for that to happen.”

  His eyes went wide. His eyebrows rose. He mouthed a word. She thought it was mated. She nodded.

  “This is getting a little out of hand, sweetheart.”

  He called her the endearment again. Tessa’s heart sent a flood of warmth through her. Everywhere.

  “I think I’m going to need you to explain. And put it in really basic terms, okay?”

  “I love you.”

  He choked. Looked away for a moment. When he returned to her gaze, his was a bit wary. Unsure. “Tessa. Please. That isn’t possible. We just met.”

  “You are my mate, Cameron Preston. I knew it the moment I touched you.”

  “Granted, you are the sexiest thing I can imagine. Something about you sends my heart into overdrive. My temperature into fever range. My emotions into a tizzy. But, come on. There is no such thing as love at first sight.”

  “You are my mate, Cam.”

  “Improbable.”

  “My heart started beating. My senses returned. And I can feel again. That’s how I knew.”

  “Implausible.”

  “I love you,” Tessa replied.

  “Impossible.”

  “Is it?”

  “We. Just. Met.”

  He broke it into three indelible words. As if that made a difference. Tessa nearly giggled.

  “Are you saying you feel nothing?” she asked.

  He cleared his throat. Looked away. And the slightest rose shade appeared on his lower jaw before moving up his cheeks. “Tessa. Please. I think I could easily fall for you. It’s not that. I just don’t have room in my life for a girlfriend. I’m a loner. It goes with the territory. I’m a paranormal researcher, remember? We’re called pseudoscientific by most of our peers. That means we’re tolerated, but pretty-much avoided. I don’t mind. I compete in sports events for the challenge and personal satisfaction. I don’t stay for the accolade or camaraderie. Nobody knows me. My neighbors don’t even know who I am, except by sight. And I like it that way.”

  “Girlfriend?”

  The word carried her laughter. He didn’t seem to appreciate that. He put both hands on her shoulders to lift her away and to one side. And then he sat up. He was probably trying to look stern. She’d never seen anything so stirring. Tessa blew him an air kiss. He rolled his eyes.

  “You know, I should probably return to the twenty-first century. Or the Ramsay Mansion. I left some very expensive equipment there. Do you have phone service? So maybe I can call a cab?”

  “You can’t leave the Dark Plantation. Not now, anyway.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’re mated.”

  He grunted. Cleared his throat. “Give me another reason.”

  “You don’t have any clothing.”

  He shoved the sheet aside and stood up. Walked a couple of feet from her. And then stretched. Tessa gave an appreciative sigh. He had the finest back. Buttocks. Thighs.

  “Well. I can probably solve that little issue. I’ll just go see how much repair my slacks will need.”

  “It’s almost dawn, Cam.”

  “So?”

  “Sunlight is very damaging to a vampire.”

  “I can imagine. Is this the way to the shower room?” He headed for the correct door. She heard him rustle through things. Even if he found his trousers, they were probably in a heap at the bottom of the shower. Ripped. And soaked through.

  He came out wrapped in a towel. A large one. It was looped about his waist and hanging to his lower calves. He had very impressive pecs. And six-pack abs. The man was stunning. Stirring. And getting lit on one side by the first hint of dawn. Tessa sighed. She couldn’t help it. She’d ordered those towels on purpose. Now, she wished she’d gone with the smaller size.

  “Okay. Scratch the slacks. My khakis are beyond repair. Do you have anything that might work? Maybe that Len fellow is my size?”

  “You can’t go back, Cam.”

  “That part is not up for argument, dearest. We’ve moved on. We are discussing clothing. You didn’t answer my question. Or should I just go find that Len?”

  “You’re my mate, Cameron. I never expected you, but I did hope. That means I prepared for your arrival. I have an entire wardrobe of menswear for you. It might be in the wrong color range, however. I like vivid shades. And didn’t know you’d be white.”

  He crossed his arms. That put very impressive biceps and forceps on display, too. “Is that a complaint?”

  “Oh. Never.”

  “Then, point me to this wardrobe. I’ll find something in dull tones that won’t wash me out too much.”

  “It won’t matter. You can’t leave.”

  “Why not? And come up with a new reason, okay? One that doesn’t have love and mating attached to it. Because, quite frankly, I am not at all certain either exists, albeit – if they did – I would certainly wish it to be with you. Crap. I can’t believe I just said that.”

  He put both hands on his head, shielding his face. Tessa tried to keep the joy from showing somewhere on her face as she and waited.

  “I’m being tied in knots here. I mean...uh. I really did have the time of my life, Tessa. And with a reanimated undead thing. That is beyond crazy. I need some time. Space. Maybe a few stiff drinks. Some time in a padded cell.”

  “The Ramsay Mansion doesn’t exist anymore.”

  “What?”

  “You wanted another reason. There. You have it.”

  “The Ramsay Mansion doesn’t exist? Don’t tell me it never did exist and I’ve imagined this entire thing. Just don’t. Okay?”

  “A 4-D team obliterated it last night.”

  “4-D? What does that mean?”

  “Deploy. Disinfect. Destroy. Disappear.”

  “Destroy? Somebody destroyed the Ramsay Mansion?”

  “And the bodies of two Hunters. Your equipment. Every trace is gone. That’s how we stay hidden. We don’t leave evidence.”

  He paced the room, his hands gesticulating wildly. “Has everyone gone insane? You can’t destroy the Ramsay place! There were spirits there. One was malignant. Evil. And now it’s loose. I have to get back. ASAP! You don’t understand. Ah!”

  A shaft of sunlight touched Cameron’s foot. He yelled and leapt across the room, cleared the bed and landed on the opposite side, taking a section of the canopy netting with him. Tessa slapped the button to close the drapes and dove for the mattress edge. Peeked over it. Cam was wound into a ball shape on the floor. He was rocking.

  “Cam?”

  “Where is the exit from this funhouse? Huh? Where? Just point me in the right direction.”

  “I’m sorry, my love, but I did warn you.”

  “About what? A nuclear strike?”

  “Sunlight.”

  “Oh. No way. I’ve been in the sun my entire life. I get freckles. Moles that require melanoma cancer screening. Premature age lines around my eyes. That was not the sun.”

  “You’ve never been a vampire before though.”

  He stopped moving. Ripped free of netting. Gave her a long look that could mean anything. It was intent. Angered. Frightening. She watched his pupils grow, darkening his eyes to black. Tessa’s skin rippled with goosebumps.

  “I’m a vampire now? Is that what you just said?”

  She nodded.

  “How? When?”

  “The swamp. Last night.”

  “Don’t you think somebody should have asked first?”

  “You were dying! I had n
o choice!”

  His eyelids slowly lowered. His head dropped. “Why am I feeling so tired all of a sudden?”

  “The sun’s almost up. You need rest.”

  “This is...not settled. Not...by a long...shot.”

  His body went limp. An arm thumped against the floor. If he hadn’t been wrapped with netting his legs would have dropped, too. She’d need to get him into the bed. Rest with him. But first, she had to alert Leonard about the coming evening.

  Because there was going to be trouble.

  A lot of it.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cameron Preston.

  The sound of his name came from somewhere. It wasn’t voiced. It was almost inaudible. It barely intruded on the darkness that surrounded him. He didn’t know another way to put it. The void about him was beyond his experience, and light-years past his imagination. His eyelids felt filled with lead. His brain function seemed to be missing. The same went for his motor skills. His parietal lobe sent the message for something to move. A finger. An eye twitch. Anything.

  Cameron Preston.

  The sound of his name filtered through the blackness again. It was so ephemeral. Barely there. As if he was at the back row of a theater and the sound system hadn’t been turned on. Cameron willed a response. A raised hand. A simple “yes” answer. He’d be satisfied with just a grunt. Nothing worked. He might as well be several thousand leagues under the ocean. With a submarine atop him. Then a heartbeat happened within his chest. It was in extreme slow-motion, taking long seconds to occur. He waited to the count of twenty for another heartbeat to follow. That was odd.

  Cameron Preston.

  Well. Whoever called for him was certainly persistent. Cam’s struggle this time yielded an eyelid lift. It took an act of will not to yelp and shut it, and solid effort to get the other eye to open. He was getting seared, both eyes taking on an inordinate amount of heat as if in punishment for using them. He blinked, but that did nothing against the burning sensation. He couldn’t even raise a tear. But, after a moment, they actually worked. He could see.

  Maybe.

  It took a few moments to observe the surroundings and assign meaning. A couple of heartbeats echoed through his chest. It looked like he was still in an alternate universe. He was in a prone position. A canopy of netting drooped above him. A last hint of sunlight seemed to be infiltrating the chamber. It must be peeking around the drape edge. That might explain the searing sensation in his eyes.