by E A Price
“Arturo,” she purred confidently.
“Juliet.” His eyes flashed in desire and Ryder stiffened slightly.
Arturo took her free hand and kissed it – Ryder was hanging onto the other for dear life.
Arturo clicked his fingers at a vampire currently ensconced on the couch opposite Honor, ordering him out of his seat, making room for Juliet. The male pouted and grumbled, but he moved.
Juliet sat demurely on the edge and pulled Ryder down next to her. She nodded at Honor and beamed at Arturo.
“So, Juliet,” Honor said. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit here? You so rarely visit us.”
Arturo’s eyebrow ticked. Honor was acting like it was her club, as though she was something more than a guest herself. It vexed Arturo, but he let it go.
Juliet rested her hand on Ryder’s thigh and gave it a squeeze. “He wanted to see a real vampire club.” She turned to Arturo. “I couldn’t think of a better one than this.”
Her words dripped with so much sugar she almost got a toothache. Arturo ate it up, but he wasn’t altogether happy at seeing Ryder with her. Arturo was hardly the stuff of dreams, not like Ryder who could virtually make her orgasm just with a smile. Just a few inches taller than her, Arturo was paunchy and his eyes too close together. Juliet marveled at how being dead could make people sexy apparently.
“Your donor?” Arturo flicked the question at her. Disapproval radiated from him.
Juliet rubbed her hand up and down Ryder’s leg, and a rumble rattled in his chest. She didn’t dare look at his face. His body quivering next to her and the scent of his growing arousal in her nostrils was almost overpowering.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Arturo, may I talk to you in private?”
“Of course, in my office?”
Juliet nodded and tried to follow him. Not an easy task given that she had become attached to a six-foot-ten sabre-tooth tiger. He didn’t want to let her go, and honestly, she didn’t exactly want to leave him alone with Honor or any of the other blood sucking idiots salivating over him. But perhaps a little time apart wouldn’t hurt. She was starting to enjoy the hand holding a lot more than she should.
Finally alone with Arturo, they indulged in a few niceties – not that there were many. There were no families to ask after, and neither wanted to speak of private business. When that was out of the way, she got down to the purpose of her visit. Arturo had excellent connections. There were likely few vampires in the city he didn’t know.
“Are you aware of any vampire who was or is intending to take a shifter as a mate?”
Arturo gave her an appalled look. “No, of course not. Even young vampires know the risks, they have it drilled into them by their makers.”
It was in the interest of every vampire everywhere that none of them mate with a shifter. Even the most selfish or reckless vampire was still self-involved enough to want to save their own hides.
“Have you had any vampires with shifter donors in here recently?”
“Not for three or four months. Not until you brought your… male in here.” Arturo’s round face screwed up in dislike.
“You have not heard any rumors?”
“No. I have not heard anything like that for decades. The last time was when I was in Canada – a female vampire wanted to mate an elk shifter. What is al this about anyway?”
Juliet gave him a reassuring smile. “It is to do with a case. It is of no consequence.”
“Ah, your career with the SEA.” Said with so much scorn that Juliet found whatever little affection she had for Arturo evaporating. He thought like many vampires did, that the SEA and their laws were beneath them. Douche.
Arturo took hold of one of her hands, holding it palm up and circling a finger over her skin. It was a small touch, one that would have sent her sex into spasms had it come from Ryder, but from Arturo, it merely made her want to shiver.
“It has been too long since we got together. Perhaps we could have dinner tomorrow night?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I already have plans.”
He was disappointed, but not surprised. Whenever he saw her, he asked her out on a date, and she always said no. If she lived another thousand years, she would never be interested in a romantic relationship with him, and she suspected he knew that.
“You should be careful with that shifter. Males like him tend to get attached to females. When your relationship ends, it could be bad.”
“You need not worry; I know what I’m doing.” She suspected the person most hurt when Ryder ducked out of her life would be her.
“If you wish to experiment, you might want to start with something a little… tamer.”
“I quite like his lack of tameness, but I appreciate your concern. Take care, Arturo.”
She gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek and sought out her untamed companion.
Chapter Thirteen
“So, how did you meet?” asked the female called Honor. She had a smile as soothing as a great white shark.
Ryder returned her smile, showing all teeth until she finally faltered and even gulped. Never try and out-dominate a sabre-tooth tiger. She was trying to make him feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t working. The only thing bothering him was the fact that his mate was currently away from him and with a pipsqueak of a vampire who showed her far too much interest. Grrr.
Two more minutes and I’m hunting her down warned his tiger.
“At the SEA,” he replied finally to Honor. But only after her eyes flickered away from his.
“Was she arresting you?”
One of her donors snickered. Like most of the other vampires, she had a couple of human donors around her. They were young, buff males with pouty mouths. He imagined Juliet surrounded by males like them, drinking their blood, allowing them to touch her… his beast snarled, and Honor shifted uncomfortably, sensing his anger.
“No,” he replied pleasantly enough.
Honor gave him a look that was surely supposed to be seductive. Again, it reminded him of a shark and was about as attractive as a shark too. Actually, probably a little less attractive.
“If you ever tire of Juliet…”
“I won’t.”
“If it happens, you should look me up. I’m always looking for a strapping new donor.” Her eyes traveled over his chest.
The two males surrounding her scowled, and Ryder tried not to look too amused. Not by the two pretty boys, but by her. As if he would throw over Juliet for her. As if any male in his right mind would. The woman looked like she just missed out on one of the lead roles in ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane’. A movie his mom used to love for some reason – not one he would have chosen because there was a serious lack of car chases.
Juliet returned before he could say as much. She was somewhat subdued even for her, and the bastard male, Arturo, looked smug.
His beast growled and his insides clenched in fear, but nothing had happened. If it had, he would be able to scent it. He took a deep breath of relief and told his beast not to be so stupid. Juliet may be denying him as a mate, but there was only one male who ignited her arousal, and that was him.
He took a Self-satisfied, self-congratulatory moment and he was ready to leave.
“Time to leave,” she murmured, echoing his thoughts.
He rose, only pausing when Honor snatched his hand.
“Think about what I said,” she purred.
Juliet’s eyes flashed, and quicker than he would have given her credit for, she had pulled him away from Honor and was baring her fangs at the female.
“Mine!” she roared.
Honor tried her best to look amused, but she couldn’t hide the aggravation lancing her face. Ryder gave the irritated Honor and grumpy looking Arturo a half wave before allowing his tiny mate to pull him out of the club.
The other vampires watched them with interest. Though one, a large, stocky male in a turtleneck regarded them with a sour expression. Bit rich growled his beast. The vampire
smelled like a female lion shifter – clearly he had no problem getting up close and personal with shifters!
Once outside, he took charge, pushing her body against the wall and pressing his lips to hers. At first, she was too surprised to stop him, but as the kiss deepened, she melted into his embrace, taking as much pleasure as he did.
Vaguely, he could scent Arturo’s lingering scent on her. He had touched her – not intimately – but it was still enough to make his prowling beast want to rip the damn vampire’s arm out of its socket and beat him to death with it. For now, he would satisfy himself with replacing Arturo’s scent with his own.
He took as much as he dared with the kiss, fearing any second Juliet would pull away and remind him she did not want to be his mate. But as the seconds stretched into moments, she didn’t stop him, and he enjoyed it for as long as he could, and that wasn’t a hardship.
She tasted heavenly, greater than even he could have imagined. She tasted of strawberries and something else, maybe hope and desire and endless happiness? He was being fanciful, but when it came to Juliet, all he could see was a bright, sunny future. He was hardly an optimist, but he didn’t like to dwell on the miserable parts of his life. They were done, in the past, no changing them now, but the future, well, that just looked rosier by the second thanks to the petite creature currently being crushed in his arms. Good job she didn’t need to breathe.
“Get a room,” grumbled the bouncer to the club.
His tiger was all for ignoring him, and Ryder untangled an arm long enough to give him the finger and earn himself a huff and an expletive too crude for his little vampire’s ears, but Juliet clearly didn’t like being watched.
She patted his chest and gently pushed him away, ducking her eyes. “Now is not the time,” she whispered.
“So there’ll be time later?” he clarified.
Juliet groaned, and Ryder chuckled, rubbing his chin over her shoulder.
“What are you doing now?” she asked impatiently.
“Rubbing my scent over you.”
“So we can both smell like a horny shifter? Thank you, thank you so much.”
He hinted a note of sarcasm in her voice, but he chose to ignore it. “It’s so that others can smell me on you. So they know who you belong to. Remember, you are mine.”
As he lifted his head, he caught something flicker in Juliet’s eyes. It was brief, but it was there, and a second later her body which had been so pliable moments before stiffened in his arms.
“Put me down, please,” she said coldly.
Ryder frowned, but he did, letting her slip down his body.
Stiffly and without another word to him, Juliet walked to her car. He was a little flummoxed; he had to admit that. He hadn’t said anything stupider than he usually did, but clearly, she was annoyed. More than that, she was really hurt.
His tiger whined, but he wasn’t sure what to do.
Still, she didn’t stop him when he let himself into the passenger seat of her car, only giving him her usual eye roll before she started driving.
That reminded him, he really should report the bike he came on as stolen.
*
Four hundred and forty years ago
“Please, she is dying. This is my last chance.”
Master glared at her. “I already told you, no.”
Mary clenched her fists, despair and fury warring within her. “Please, I would like the chance to say goodbye.”
Her youngest sister and only surviving sibling was dying. She overheard the gossip of the servants. Over the last few years she had heard news of her family, bits, and pieces reached her ears thanks to the new human servants. Master refused to allow her to visit the village, or for her to have any visitors. For almost sixty years she had been little more than a prisoner. She had hoped at last he may have softened his stance and at least let her say farewell to the last family member she ever knew, but it seemed unlikely that he would. He wouldn’t even allow her this one, tiny kindness.
“No.”
“But…”
Master leaped to his feet, grasping her arms. “No buts. You do as I say and only as I say. Your body, your mind – everything about you belongs to me.” He clutched her to him, painfully crushing her in his grip. “You are mine. Mine! You belong to me…”
Chapter Fourteen
Present day
The loud honks of another driver brought her back to reality. Ryder chuckled in the seat next to her as he flipped the bird to the driver she almost clipped.
“Either you’re a really bad driver, or a really good one not afraid to take risks. Either way suits me.”
Juliet flashed him a small apologetic glance. She’d been miles away, probably not the best idea to daydream while driving a car.
Must concentrate, she told herself, forcing herself to stare at the road, but she couldn’t. Her eyes were drawn to Ryder.
No, he wasn’t like Master. He was better than that. But that harsh, possessiveness as he said those words had scared her. Took her back to a time when she had no choices, back to a time best forgotten.
You belong to me.
Juliet tried to shake it away.
“You cold? Want me to warm you up?” he asked hopefully.
“Vampires don’t get cold.”
No, he was nothing like Master. But he was a shifter, and he was possessive. Too possessive?
Perhaps she should stop the car, kick him out now. What would be the point? He’d probably just run to her house anyway, break in, burst into her room, pounce on her, rip her clothes off...
Hell’s blood! Juliet pulled into her driveway and frowned as she noticed her front door slightly ajar. Ryder noticed a second later.
“Fuck, stay here. Lock the car doors.”
“Ryder!”
He was out the car and dashing into the house before she even had the chance to unbuckle. Damn, sexy, heroic shifter! What if someone was still in there? He could get hurt!
Ryder was at the door again twenty seconds later, and she got out the car, ready to give him an earful for running in there half-cocked. But as he strode toward her, and pulled her into his arms, she thought better of it, particularly when he started stroking her hair.
“Robbery,” he grunted in a throaty voice. “Got your TV and a few other things. Thank fuck you weren’t there when it happened.”
He squeezed her, and she let him. He needed the reassurance more than she did, and honestly, feeling his large body against hers was nice. Too nice. But she would allow it this once, if only as a reminder that he really wasn’t anything like Master. No, she was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that he was hers.
*
“TV, iPad, laptop…” Wes, the liger shifter agent, ran down his very short list. “Anything else?”
Juliet shook her head. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. The burglars got in through a window at the back, rifled through a few rooms and took a few electrical items out the front door. The damage was minimal and the items easily replaceable.
In all her years it wasn’t the first time she had been robbed. She’d also been mugged a couple of times. Or at least, she’d been the victim of attempted muggings. Both times the perpetrators tasted delicious.
Ryder paced up and down anxiously, and she watched him, half-heartedly enjoying the fluid movements of his long limbs.
Wes had a crime scene technician there trying to lift some prints off the window, and another agent was currently questioning her nearest neighbors, but she doubted anything would come of it. Her neighbors weren’t situated particularly close and they were used to her late night comings and goings. They generally ignored any people or vehicles near her house at night, and it appeared the robbers used gloves.
Juliet wasn’t going to let it bother her. In the scheme of things, she had much more important things to worry about.
Wes cocked an eyebrow at Ryder but didn’t say anything. The liger knew who he was – half the SEA did – but he thankf
ully wasn’t about to question Juliet on what he was doing at her house.
“There’s some magical residue on your window,” said Wes. “They must have used magic to get into the house. Magical substances are expensive, and it doesn’t seem worth it just for your TV, so maybe whoever did this was a witch. That narrows down our suspects.
“There wasn’t much in the way of scents, meaning the burglars covered theirs’. But then, a good deodorant could do the trick in that department.”
Juliet patted his arm, ignoring the glower from Ryder. “Just do what you can. Everything is insured, and my house will survive.”
It was in a mess at that moment, but at least they hadn’t destroyed anything or used spray paint to ruin her décor.
“You might want to think about beefing up your security.”
“Too bloody right,” agreed Ryder, not bothering to mutter under his breath.
“Things might have been different if they broke in here during the day,” finished Wes with a meaningful look.
Yes, either they might have subjected her to sunlight, or she might have eaten them. She wasn’t sure which she preferred at that moment.
“The fact that they broke in at night would suggest they had no idea that I am a vampire,” she argued. “I would think this was just a random burglary. My house is far away from others, and perhaps they watched me leave in my car. I doubt this needs much overthinking.”
Wes gave her a worried glance. “Still, maybe you should stay the rest of the night and the day at a hotel.”
She was slightly touched by his worry. She knew Wes to be a good agent, but she would not have thought he had any concern for her wellbeing. Perhaps it was just part of being a good agent. Hadn’t she always cared for the victims in her investigations? She wasn’t so sure about that.
“I’ll be fine.”
“She’ll stay with me,” interjected an increasingly irate voice.
“I’ll stay here,” she countered giving Ryder a steely gaze. The one she used on members of the Council of Supernaturals. Didn’t seem to be having much of an effect now, though.
His eyes melted to the golden yellow of his beast and she could see his muscles rippling, wanting to shift into his dominant, primal beast. He planted himself in front of her, immovable as a boulder and folded his arms.
