Deceptive Changes: Kat LaMond Book 1

by R A Baker

  He looked into my eyes when he had settled, they were dark with passion. He bent his head and licked my wound.

  I couldn’t think of a way to get my hand out without making more of a mess. I was a mess so it shouldn’t have mattered. I pulled my hand up his cock, causing him to shiver, and out of his pants. He buttoned his jeans and kissed me softly. I let my hand fall to my side, his semen sliding through my fingers and plopping to the ground.

  I looked around. Thorn was licking his lips. Erick and Trace were still slouched in their chairs. Todd was chewing on his lip and had drawn blood. Sven walked up to him with a purpose and kissed him. Sven pressed against Todd. I knew that Sven had opened the wound further as Todd wrapped his arms around Sven. They ate at each other’s mouths, running their hands along each other’s backs. Sven moved from Todd’s lips to his neck and bit him. Todd arched his back slightly, digging his fingers into Sven’s back. Todd cried out softly as he shuddered. Sven pulled back and kissed Todd softly.

  They stepped back from each other and walked over to me, each wrapping an arm around my waist. They each gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  Thorn was looking at us but specifically at Sven. I could feel Sven tense ever so slightly against me as Thorn stood up and started toward us. I tried to back off but I couldn’t. Sven kept his arm around my waist as Thorn stood right in front of Sven.

  Thorn pulled Sven’s face to his and laid a hard kiss to Sven’s mouth. Thorn wrapped his arms around Sven’s waist and brushed my stomach. I tensed and started to pull away again. Todd stayed firmly where he was as Thorn and Sven’s kiss deepened.

  I looked at Todd and found him watching the pair. I squirmed and tried to move away. Todd leaned into me and whispered, “Just watch, Kat.” I frowned and nodded. I turned back to watch.

  Thorn moved his mouth from Sven’s and left a trail of kisses along Sven’s jaw and neck. Thorn flicked his eyes to me and bit Sven. Thorn’s eyes closed and Sven’s arm tightened around my waist.

  Sven arched his back enough to make Thorn change position and press more completely into Sven’s body. Thorn didn’t waste time on drawing out the pleasure. A minute after Thorn bit him, Sven was crying out and convulsing against Thorn’s body, gripping my hip tightly enough for me to whimper.

  Thorn pulled back and licked Sven’s throat as he looked at me, the metal stud in Thorn’s mouth gleamed with blood. I sighed and tugged at Sven’s hand.

  Sven let me go slowly and fell into Thorn’s arms. They held each other and sank to the ground. Sven had his arms around Thorn’s neck, resting his head on Thorn’s shoulder. Todd pulled me closer to him and kissed my cheek. I looked over at Trace and Erick. They were smiling and looked a lot better. They came over to Todd and me and wrapped their arms around us. We looked down at Thorn and Sven.

  Sven had his mouth to Thorn’s throat and was bringing little pleasure noises from him. Sven wrapped his fingers on the other side of Thorn’s neck and pulled him closer as he arched into Thorn.

  Trace and Erick were running their hands up and down my back as we watched Sven bring Thorn, who cried out softly and ran his hand down to Sven’s lap. Sven pulled back and smiled at me. He was happy now and I was really glad about that but it made me unhappy that I might have caused a rift between them.

  They stood up and walked over to us. Trace and Erick took their hands from my back and moved to either side of Todd and me. Sven leaned into me and gave me a light kiss on the lips and then pulled back and leaned into Thorn.

  “I’ll be much better, Katja,” Thorn said quietly.

  “What are you talking about, Thorn?” I said just as quietly.

  “I won’t try to hurt you further. I’ve been on my best behavior.” Was he trying to justify a way for me to accept him as a lover or was it something else? I nodded.

  Sven lifted his head and looked me in the eyes. “Please, Katja?” So it was about taking him as my lover. Like I told Todd, it’d be more for Sven’s sake than for mine.

  “I…” I looked at Todd. Had he changed his mind about taking Thorn to bed with us? I suppose there was only one way to know. “Todd?” He looked at me, his brown eyes darkening as he looked at me. “Have you changed your mind or do you still think the same?”

  “I’ve changed my mind but it’s truly up to you.” Sven and Thorn were looking from one to the other as we talked. I looked at Erick, he simply nodded.

  Trace was staring at Thorn and Sven as he said, “I’ve never felt anything like this before, Kat.” His pink tongue slid out and ean along his lips. I guess it was unanimous.

  “I guess it’ll be okay.” I looked at Thorn and gave the only warning I could, “Don’t hurt us.” He nodded and kissed Sven’s cheek.

  We turned as one as we heard the door open in the hall. We broke our embraces and went out into the hall. I looked at my watch and found that it was close to midnight. Where had the time gone?

  Charles and Nadja were laughing. Beatrice and Ardeness stopped laughing when they saw us. Beatrice’s lips tightened and Ardeness had to physically pull her away. Sandra and Mark were hugging side by side and whispering to each other.

  “Did you have a good night, Charles?”

  He nodded and handed my credit card back to me. “We had an excellent time out, thank you.” I nodded. “We’re going to the guest house and sleep off the alcohol.” He turned to Nadja and whispered something that made her blush and laugh. Sandra and Mark thanked me and left with Charles and Nadja. Beatrice and Ardeness were in the living room. I walked into the room, sighing inwardly.

  “How could you?” The venom in Beatrice’s voice was frightening. I turned when Thorn walked into the room. “You!” Beatrice shouted. Thorn stopped moving and went still as a statue. I blinked and shuddered as I saw the change in him. His lips tightened into a straight line as he looked at Beatrice. She charged him and landed a solid punch to his face, blood went flying, but Thorn stayed absolutely still.

  I grabbed Beatrice around the waist and screamed at her to stop. She fought me as I half carried, half tugged, her away from Thorn. Todd and the others walked into the room as I pressed Beatrice against the wall.

  “What the hell is going on, Kat?”

  I turned and looked at Todd. Big mistake. Beatrice pulled away from me and socked me in the jaw with her fist. I went down to my knees holding my jaw. She pummeled me with her fists until Thorn grabbed her and pinned her against the wall with one hand. She kicked him and punched him but he wouldn’t let go. He was speaking her name but she wouldn’t listen as she screamed hatred at him.

  Todd lifted me into his arms. “Are you okay?” I nodded but kept my hand to my mouth.

  Todd set me down and walked up to Thorn and Beatrice. “Beatrice, stop.” She looked at him and the wild look in her eyes settled to a simmer. “Why did you just hit Katja?”

  “She stole Thorn from me. She doesn’t deserve to have him, or any of you for that matter. She may have raised me but I am not hers to command.” She turned her angry eyes to me and then back to Todd.

  “You will never do that again, is that clear?” She nodded.

  Thorn loosened his grip on her and for being nice she kicked him in the knee. He went down to the floor with her in his hand. She slammed into the floor and all the air went from her lungs in a huff. “Don’t, Beatrice. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Thorn, let her go,” I said as I walked up to them. “You want to fight, Beatrice?” She nodded against the floor. “Fine. Let’s go.” Thorn didn’t know what to do. He seemed split between letting her up and keeping her pinned. “Thorn, it’s okay, let her up.” He did as I asked.

  Beatrice got off the ground and came at me. She was wild and her training had gone out the window. I fended her off because I didn’t really want to hurt her. She grabbed my arm and started to pull me to her. I slammed my palm into her chest. Her breath went out as I followed the move and sent her flying backward, stumbling and wind milling her arms to keep her balance.

  She hu
ffed out a breath and came at me again. I let her get a hit in and took her out with a hooked arm and my leg. She went down to the ground and this time I kept her there. I flipped her onto her stomach and pulled her arms around and behind her. I put my knee on her back as she struggled and flailed her legs. “Stop, Beatrice.” She didn’t. I pulled harder on her arm and she cried out in pain. “I didn’t steal him from you.” I looked at Thorn. “You need to explain. Now.”

  He nodded and spoke softly. “Beatrice, please stop.”

  “Why should I?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Because I ask you to. I like you well enough but Katja has always been the one for me, that is, besides Sven.” He chuckled softly. “Katja has not taken me to her bed. We had just discussed this and she has consented. I don’t do this to harm you in any way. But I have been given the opportunity I have waited a long while to hear and I intend to go through with it. Maybe it won’t be that good.” I smiled a little smile.

  “Ha. Every time Katja takes a man to her bed they never leave,” she said quietly. “You don’t know her like we do. She’ll…brainwash you into being her love slave.” I laughed viciously. “It is true, Katja,” she said to me. “You threw Todd away before this whole mess even started and then raised Erick. Trace came along and you took both Erick and Trace to your bed, albeit separately, and neither of them has left. You coerced Todd to come back and slept with him and he hasn’t left either. Then there’s Sven. He left Thorn for your bed and is still with you.” I sighed. I was a slut. That’s how she made me feel anyway.

  Todd walked up to us and bent down. “You don’t know anything, Beatrice. Yes, we’re all with Kat but not only because of her. Grow up. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. Sometimes you have to earn what you want and you haven’t. You’re young, you died young, and Kat has given you the opportunity to grow up. You don’t know why we stay together or how we all got together. You only see the outside of our lives. If it was only Kat’s body that we wanted we’d probably lose interest further down the road,” he winked at me and finished his sentence, “but it’s not just her body that we want.” Beatrice started to cry. I didn’t know why either. I got off her and walked out of the room.

  It was nice and all that Todd had justified my many men but it still made me feel like a slut.

  I walked into the bedroom and slammed the door, storming into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and did the bathroom thing.

  I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the robe that was on the hook beside the door. I toweled off my hair and walked into the bedroom. Todd was in the room. He stood up and hugged me to him. I could feel my eyes stinging as I struggled to hold the tears back.

  “Don’t think what you’re thinking, Kat.” I pulled back and wiped the droplets from my eyes. “I know you, babe. Don’t take what she said and run with it.”

  “Why shouldn’t I, Todd? That’s exactly what happened. I fuck you and you stay. It’s rather simple, I suppose.”

  “It isn’t, Kat. We don’t stay because you make us. We stay because we want to. She’s just pissed off because she can’t have Thorn.” He paused for a moment and then said, “Thorn and Beatrice were never truly intimate. She shared blood with him but that was about it.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Thorn told me. He led her on with little touches and kisses but that was about it. He told her from the beginning that if you were to take him to your bed that he would leave her in a flat minute.”

  “And she accepted those terms?” He nodded. “It doesn’t look like she kept to the agreement.”

  “Because she didn’t think it would ever happen. Since he tried to kill you and such.” Todd stopped talking and kissed me roughly, then gently. I ran my hands up his back and shoulders to the sides of his face, holding him to me. We broke from the kiss. Todd ran his hands up my back and hugged me again. “I’m sorry she said those things to you, Kat.”

  “It’ll be okay. Where is she?”

  “I had Ardeness bring her to the guest house. She’s to watch her and enlist the others to help if necessary.”

  A horrible thought went through my head. “What if Beatrice hurts Ardeness or even kills her?”

  “She won’t. The only person we have to worry about Beatrice getting to is you and since the five of us will be in the bedroom with you, it’s probably not going to happen.” The five of us? I sighed softly as I thought about how crowded the bed will be tonight.

  “I’m going to get a hard drink, you want one?” He nodded and we walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Todd grabbed several glasses and filled them with whiskey. He handed me one and passed the other glasses to Trace and Erick. I sipped my drink and hissed as the alcohol bit into my wounds. I set the glass down and clenched my fists, waiting for the sizzle to go away.

  When the sizzle of pain went away, I grabbed the drink and tossed it back, slamming the glass against the table. I breathed fire and hissed in pain. The guys chuckled as they tossed their drink back. Sven came over to me and kissed me. I tasted blood that wasn’t mine. He must have cut his tongue to heal my mouth. A moment later the pain was gone. I mumbled a thank you when he pulled back. “No problem, Katja.” He kissed my cheek and went back to Thorn, sitting on his lap.

  Todd poured another round of drinks for everyone. I took my time even the first sip didn’t elicit any pain from my mouth. Thank God for vampire blood.

  I drank the whiskey and set my glass on the table when I was done. Todd started to fill the glass but I shook my head. I didn’t mind the warmth of the alcohol but I was in the mood for a Corona. I grabbed a lemon and sliced it. I grabbed several beers and passed them around.

  I took the metal cap off, stuffing the lemon inside and drank the cool liquid. “Feel better, Kat?” Todd’s smile crumbled when I shook my head.

  Erick turned to me and said, “You aren’t any of what she said, Katja.”

  “Well, you may not think so but having it spit out like that, I feel like a…a slut, someone who just fucks and then goes off somewhere.”

  “Then what are we? Are we just sluts, too?” Trace’s voice was hard yet quiet.

  I looked at him. “No. Just me.” Todd laughed and the other guys joined in.

  Sven said, “I’ve met a lot of whores in my day, Katja. You aren’t one of them.”

  I smirked and batted my eyes at him. “Thanks and all.” He chuckled and blew a kiss at me. I rolled my eyes in response.

  Thorn looked at me. “I’m sorry, Katja.” I arched my eyebrow. “For leading her to believe that I wanted more from her when all I was doing was using her for food and a little touching. I used her to get even with Sven a lot more than I used her to get to you. You wouldn’t take me anyway and Sven didn’t want to be with me without being with you. I couldn’t deal with him having your scent all over him, and me being so near. Intolerable.” He ran his tongue along his lips and played with the metal stud.

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m sorry about causing a problem between you and Sven. Enough said on the subject. Let’s just enjoy the alcohol and see where the early morning leads us.”

  I drank more beer and started to choke when both Sven and Thorn were beside me and giving me kisses. Beer ran down my chin. I wiped at it and coughed. When I looked at them, they had surprised expressions on their faces.

  After a few more coughs and when I could speak, I said, “Don’t do that,” with mock anger. “You know I can’t see you guys moving. Only when I have a heavy dose of vamp blood in my body can I see you guys move.” Todd handed me a napkin and I cleaned as much of the beer from my face and clothes as I could.

  I tossed the napkin on the table and sipped my beer. My throat was raw from the coughing so it burned a little as it went down. They gave me kisses again but this time at normal human speed, maybe a little slower. Smart asses.

  “Go sit down, guys. Enough. I’m going to enjoy my alcohol haze.” They chuckled.

  Thorn sat down
and Sven sat on his lap again. I was happy that I could make at least the two of them happy. I finished my beer and grabbed another. I was planning on being very intoxicated tonight, um, morning.

  Trace went to the fridge and grabbed sandwiches for us and another round of beers for the guys. I looked at Sven and Thorn. I knew that the vampires could drink alcohol and I had completely forgotten to ask. “Did you guys want a drink?” They shook their heads. At least I remembered to ask. I unwrapped my sandwich and started eating.

  “Todd,” I started but didn’t want to ask because it would bring the whole Beatrice thing back. “Why did you change your mind? I mean, about Thorn?”

  “I had to change my mind.” I looked at him skeptically. “It’s true, Kat. I could see the tension between Thorn and Sven. It’s my duty as king to keep the peace as much as possible. I could have done one of two things and the second idea seemed the better of the two. I didn’t want to take Sven out of our bed.” He drank more of his beer, then said, “To add another vampire isn’t such a terrible burden especially if it makes the one vampire already in our bed happier.” He kept his eyes downcast and started eating his sandwich.

  “What of you two?” I looked at Erick and Trace.

  Trace spoke quietly, “I have never, outside of Sven, felt something that…uh, fantastic. You have got to try it, Kat.” My stomach flopped around for a second and then went still.

  Erick chewed his lip and then ran his tongue along his lips. He spoke softly, “I’m just glad you accepted having Thorn join us especially now that he did what he did.”

  Were we just using the vampires for a free orgasm? Or did we really want to keep them? I suppose Beatrice’s comments had started me thinking of being used. I had to ask the questions. “Sven, do you feel that you’re being used?”

  He chuckled. “No, Katja. If I felt that way I would have left at the beginning. You and the guys treat me like a beloved person, a lover, a partner, if you will. Thank you for allowing Thorn to join.” He leaned into Thorn and kissed him happily. I hadn’t seen Sven look this happy, well, ever. When he first came to us, it was to save my life and Thorn wasn’t with him.