by Susan Hayes
“Right.”
Her smile grew, and she kissed him again before adding, “I’m sorry I let him get to me. My temper is something someone probably should have warned you about before you signed on as my personal bodyguard. I should have trusted you. This is what you do.”
“And this is what you do, too. We really are a lot alike.” The realization of just how much they had in common settled like a warm weight around his heart.
“Yeah, we are. But I’ll still deck you if I find out you’re keeping secrets from me again.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Ask away.” He settled deeper into the couch cushions and closed his eyes. He couldn’t remember ever opening himself up so much, but somehow it wasn’t hard to do when Val was in his arms and her warm body was snuggled against his.
“Do you know which vampire killed your mother?”
His lungs stopped working midbreath, and his thoughts derailed into a tangled wreck. When he could breathe again, he cracked open an eye to find her looking at him with concern.
“If it’s too personal, don’t answer it.”
“It’s not—it’s just I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that before. I try not to think about it.”
“Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t actually know for sure. Brethren records show there was a vampire in the area at the time, but it was never identified. They’re pretty sure it was a fledgling because it was making mistakes an older vamp would never make. Sloppy kills, victims left alive, things like that. And of course, there was my mother’s attack. An experienced vampire would never attack an obviously pregnant woman. They all know how dhampir are created and don’t want to accidently bring one into being.”
“So every time you kill a vampire, there’s a chance…”
“That I’m taking out the one that killed my mother. Yes.”
“No wonder you don’t take vacations,” she muttered and rested her head on his chest, right over his heart. Her words repeated over and over in his head. She was right. He’d been on the same mission since the day the Brethren had explained to him what he was and how he’d come to be.
“But I am going to take a vacation, soon,” he reminded her. “With you.”
“Just as soon as we kill him.” She paused before adding, “And Ingrid, and Denise.”
“You won’t be killing them. They’re already dead. You’ll be saving them from a fate they never would have wanted.”
“There’s no way we can save them for real though, is there?”
“There’s three ways to make a vampire. The first one only applies to blood mates, which we’re not dealing with in this case so I’ll skip the description. The fastest way to create a vampire is to feed the victim a vampire’s blood and then kill them. They’ll resurrect as an undead creature at the next sunset. It’s quick and easy, but minions created this way are weaker. To make a more powerful vampire, the victim must be fed vamp blood and then be left alive to let it work its way through their system like a poison. In those cases, if the sire is killed before the victim’s transformation is complete, then the victim will not die and they stay human.”
“So if he’s killed them already, we can’t bring them back.”
“No, luv. We can’t. All we can do is make sure they don’t hurt anyone else.” She sighed heavily, and he wished there was something more he could say to ease her guilt at what was to come.
“How do you do this?” she asked in a voice soft and tinged with sadness. “You lead this dark life, and you do it alone. I have Paladin, and there are still days it’s hard to do this job. You don’t have anyone. I don’t know how you manage.”
“It’s what I was born to do, so I do it. I only get philosophical about it late at night when there’s a beautiful woman in my lap, asking me questions.”
“Would it be easier if I went and got us more whisky?”
“It would be easier if you stopped asking so many deep questions.” He winked at her and was rewarded with a smile.
“What if I stopped talking altogether?” She turned and nuzzled into his hand, the first flush of desire darkening her cheeks.
“Brilliant idea.” Aedan’s dick hardened instantly, and he let his hand drift down her bare back, tracing the line of her spine. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to behave myself with you topless.”
“That’s your own fault. You’re the one who tore my shirt off,” she pointed out with a grin.
“Yeah, I did. I should likely confess something else while we’re on that topic. For vampires there’s a deep connection between blood and sex. For dhampir it’s a bit different. Some of us get off on violence.”
“So when I was fighting to get past you to get to Ingrid…”
“It was all I could do not to fuck you senseless right there in the hallway.”
Her grin turned feral, and she squirmed hard against him, making him groan. “So all I need to turn you on is throw a hip check? Baby, that’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I can see makeup sex with you is going to be memorable.” He lifted his head to kiss her still-laughing mouth.
She wriggled against him again, working her fingers between their bodies and under his clothing to wrap around his cock. “Mhmm,” she hummed in agreement. She managed to stroke a fingertip over the sensitive slit at the end of his dick, spreading the pre-cum over the head. The feeling of her hand sliding over his slick skin made his cock harder still, and he broke their kiss with a shuddering groan.
“You keep this up and I’m going to be inside you before you know it.”
“Promises, promises.” She pumped his cock with her hand as she nibbled her way down his neck to his chest, biting just hard enough to entice. “You need to be naked first.”
“So do you. So, as much as I am enjoying this, you need to let me up.”
She grinned at him in challenge as she fisted his cock from root to tip. “Make me.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He surged off the couch and caught her in his arms on the way up. He lifted her high enough he could suckle one sweet nipple into his mouth, enjoying her low moans of encouragement. He let go of her breast with an audible pop and lowered her to her feet, his hands already tugging at the waistband of her pants. She was trying to get his shirt up over his head at the same time, and both of them laughed as they blocked each other’s efforts.
“I’ll go first,” she offered as she let go of his shirt and dropped to her knees, taking his pants and underwear down with one clean jerk. With his pants still around his knees, she leaned in and sucked his cock deep into her mouth, and his legs nearly buckled at the sensation that surged through his body. She finished undressing him one-handed as she cupped his balls with the other hand, rolling them between her fingers as her tongue worked its way up and down his dick.
“Jesus that feels good.” He rolled his hips, pushing himself deeper into the velvety heat of her mouth. She hummed something in response, and he could have sworn all the blood in his body flowed to his cock. He tore his shirt over his head and threw it aside, his hands already tangled into her hair before it hit the floor. She was tall enough that she had to bow her head even when she was on her knees, and the thought flashed through his mind he’d be able to bend her over and take her from behind without having to worry about any height issues for once. The image of her long, lean form bent in front of him sent a spike of lust hammering straight through him.
Her fingers stroked up the back of his thigh, a gentle caress that was a marked counterpoint to the powerful swirl and suction she was using on his cock. His balls tightened as she toyed with them, and he bucked his hips again. Her teeth raked lightly along his shaft, and he almost missed the moment she slid a finger between his butt cheeks and pressed hard, just breaching the rim of his anus.
“Fuck!” He groaned as the triple set of sensations nearly broke his
control. His hands tightened in her hair, and she laughed at him, the vibrations setting off another flurry of pleasurable sensations. She swallowed him so deep he forgot to breathe, and when she wiggled her finger inside his ass again, he lost the battle to stay in control and came harder than he had in his life. He fucked her mouth as his orgasm washed through him, and he could feel her sweet lips tighten around him every time she swallowed another spurt of his cum.
He loosened his hold on her hair as his wits slowly returned, and she licked his cock one last time before looking up at him with an expression of smug amusement. “Pleased with yourself, are you?” he asked as he reached down to help lift her back to her feet and then scooped her into his arms without effort. She squealed in protest as he held her, her feet kicking out wildly as he looked around the room for the perfect place for what he had planned next. A large wing chair caught his eye, and he headed for it as she laughed and tried to wriggle free. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m not nearly done with you yet.”
He laid her carefully over one of the overstuffed arms, her head on the seat and her delectable ass stuck up in the air. “Don’t you move a muscle,” he warned her as he stripped her pants off and then stroked his hand down her back and over the curve of her bare bottom. The lips of her pussy already gleamed with evidence of her arousal, the scent of it just strong enough to tease at his senses. He laid his hands on the twin globes of her ass and kneaded them as he dropped to his knees and then nuzzled his face between her thighs. His tongue teased along the seam of her pussy, and he felt her quiver in anticipation, her thighs parting.
“You like that?” He puffed a soft breath over her wet skin, watching her squirm in response.
“Yes!” she gasped, and he moved his hand from her ass to slide a finger into her folds.
“Talk to me, Val.” He grinned to himself as he flicked his fingertips over her clit. “Come on, you made me confess all my secrets. It’s time for you to fess up to at least one of yours.”
“Now?” Val’s response was more of a strangled gasp that a proper word.
“Yes, now.” He pinched the tiny pearl buried in the folds of her pussy and felt her entire body shiver in reaction. “How do you like to be pleasured? When you’re with a man, do you want him to touch you with his fingers, his mouth, or his cock?”
“Mouth. I want you to touch me with your mouth.” She wiggled her hips to emphasize her words. “Then I want your cock,” she added, and he could hear the laughter in her voice.
“Now you’re getting ahead of yourself, one request at a time.” He tweaked her clit one last time, and then he moved his hand out of the way and delved into her pussy. He ran his tongue from end to end and was rewarded with a keening gasp. She tensed and tried to lift her upper body so she had more freedom to move, but he swatted her ass and then reached over to press down on her back.
“Fine,” she grumbled, and he felt her relax back down into the cushions. He swirled just the tip of his tongue around her soft flesh, enjoying the chance to savor her like this. She’d surrendered herself to him, at least for this one moment, and he was going to indulge himself. She moaned, and he slowly sucked her clit into his mouth, closing his teeth gently to hold her in place as he lashed the sensitive skin with his tongue. He heard her panting, and he pushed her higher, keeping up the relentless pace. He wanted her to come screaming his name. He needed her to forget everything but him and this moment. She was right, his life was dark and lonely, but tonight he had her, and he wanted her to remember him when he was gone.
He released her clitoris and shifted his head just enough he could stab his tongue deep into her pussy. Her honey filled his mouth, and he could hear her muffled cries of pleasure as she pressed her face into the seat cushion on the other side of the chair. Her thighs tensed, and he worked his tongue deeper, fucking her with it until she finally shuddered to a climax.
Without giving her a chance to recover, he stood up and fisted his already half-hard cock, bringing it back to readiness with a few quick pumps. He stepped between her legs and wrapped his hands around her hips, bringing her back just enough he could drive himself home with a single thrust.
Her flesh was hot and slick as he slid deep into her pussy, her inner walls gripping him tightly. She moaned his name, and he withdrew almost completely before thrusting himself in balls-deep again. “You might want to hang on tight, luv. This is going to get a little rough.”
She clamped her body around him hard, and he looked down to see she had her head turned enough to see him. “Bring it on, lover boy.” She threw down the challenge with a gleam in her eyes and a smile on her kiss-swollen lips.
Her smile was all it took to break the last vestiges of his control, and he let himself go. His cock pounded into her, and he had to hold onto her hips to keep both her and the chair from sliding across the floor with each thrust. The sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the room and blended with her moans as he claimed every inch of her body with his own. Something deep and primal rose up inside of him, and he knew he was marking her, leaving bruises that would brand her as belonging to him. He caught sight of the bandage on her neck, and he had to bite back a growl of fury that Christoph had marked her, too. He would not share her. She was his, and he would die to protect her. That thought filled his head as his cock filled her pussy again and again.
He could hear her soft pants and knew she was close to another orgasm. He wanted to feel her come around his cock before he came. He reached between them and found her clit, swollen and hard beneath his fingertips. As he pinched it, she tensed and screamed his name, and his world went gray as her pussy gripped his cock so hard he saw stars. He managed one last thrust before he came, pumping his seed into her pussy until he was finally spent. With his heart hammering in his chest and his breath coming in sharp gasps, he draped himself over top of her and pressed a kiss to her sweat-dampened neck.
“Wow,” she whispered, and he felt her draw in a deep breath. “That was…damn. I haven’t got a word for how good that was.”
“We’ll have to invent one,” he murmured and eased himself back up onto his feet before helping her stand. “Because I am damn sure we’re going to need it for the next time we do that.”
Chapter 10
Sin, Jase, and the remaining members of Val’s team were seated around a conference table in one of the meeting rooms, reviewing all the safeguards that had been put in place since Christoph’s actions last night and discussing their newest information. They’d managed to find footage of Ingrid’s abduction. She’d been taken from the parking garage beneath her apartment building as she arrived home the night before.
Only an hour ago a team had finished sweeping the building for bugs. They had found several, all of them of the same make and type, and all of them placed after last month’s sweep. No one doubted that it was Christoph who had been spying on them. Only a vampire could have slipped through Paladin’s extensive security and put the bugs in place.
As the meeting had wrapped up, Sin had produced a pill bottle and handed a green capsule to every member present. “These are temporary tracking devices,” he’d informed everyone. “Swallow it.”
“I am not swallowing that.” Val crossed her arms over her chest and inclined her head toward the gelatin capsule sitting on the table in front of her.
“Yes, you are. We all are.” Sin made his point by popping his into his mouth and washing it down with a few swallows of water.
“I’m with Val on this one.” Jase prodded his with a finger and wrinkled his nose in distaste. “It even smells like metal.”
“Suck it up, princesses. After years of being served army food, there is no way either of you can claim that’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever been told to eat. Remington’s orders are we’re all going to be tagged for the next while. You can swallow that, or I can call the good doctor and we’ll start discussing ways to surgically implant something in your ass. Your choice.”
Val picked up the capsule and glo
wered at it, well aware that Aedan was grinning at her from across the table. “You just wipe that smirk off your face, Aedan Doyle. If you had to do this, you’d be complaining, too.”
The dhampir shrugged and tapped the back of his left shoulder. “Mine’s a bit more permanent than yours, luv. And you don’t hear me complaining.”
“You’re implanted with a GPS tracker? Really?” She suddenly felt a bit foolish at her reluctance to use the temporary tracking device they’d all been given.
“As of last year, yes. Your boss isn’t the only one who likes to know where his people are at all times.”
Jase groaned. “Wonderful. If Remington hears about that, he’ll have us all chipped and tagged like cattle within a week. At least this one only works for three days.” He tossed the pill into his mouth and dry swallowed it.
“Yeah, like your life is so interesting that we’d want to track your every move.” Val snickered and swallowed her own tracking capsule. “You’re totally domesticated these days. I bet you are home most nights trying to put together your kid’s crib and stroller.”
“Don’t forget Lamaze classes,” Sin chimed in, and Jase shook his head.
“No Lamaze classes. Jazz is going to have the baby here.”
“What?” Val gawked at her best friend. “We don’t have a maternity ward here. Why isn’t she going to a normal hospital, and why no classes?”
“You think she’s going to be able to just breathe through childbirth?” Jase gave her a pointed look, and understanding slowly dawned.
“Oh shit, right. Hospital would be a very bad idea.”
“I think I’m missing something here.” Aedan interjected, looking from Jase to Val with confusion. “Why wouldn’t Jase’s wife want to give birth in a hospital?”
Sin and Val burst out laughing, and Jase’s face turned bright red as he muttered, “She’s not my wife.”
“Yeah, because mister romance over there hasn’t gotten up the guts to propose yet. And don’t you laugh, Sin. You’ve been with Michelle for almost a year now, and I haven’t seen a ring on her finger either. I don’t know what they see in you two.”
