“All right,” she told the group waiting for her decision. “I can do this.”
“Bite him,” Lady Juanita advised. “And get him to taste you, as well. Keep that up and neither of you will notice the time passing. Now go.” She gestured toward the door. “Jason will be looking for you, anyway.”
She nodded. “Yes. I’d better get him back to our bedroom, fast.”
Chapter Forty-five
I ’m so sore, I don’t think I can get out of bed.” Sofia ran her foot up Jason’s calf. “But then, I don’t want to get out of bed.”
She had no idea how long they’d been there. She’d hidden the clock in the nightstand drawer and had kept the curtains drawn. Time kept going in and out of focus as they made love again and again. Whenever they slept, they’d wake up to find food waiting for them, and eating always turned into lovemaking.
“Good.” Jason caught her foot in his hand and started kissing her toes, which she found thoroughly erotic. He also tickled her instep, which got her giggling. The combination of sensations drove her crazy, and she became lost in them until—
“Ow! You bit my toe!”
“I did,” Jason admitted, and did it again.
This time, the lightning bolt that shot through her was completely the opposite of pain.
“Do that again.”
“Gladly.”
He tasted her blood, and she writhed with orgasms from each little wound. When he finished with her foot, he moved to sink his teeth into the back of her leg, then to the inside of her thigh. Every touch took her higher.
His head moved higher still between her legs and his tongue began to make lazy cat laps across her throbbing, swollen clitoris. This delight took her out of herself in an entirely different sensual way, but it was no less intense. Jason’s every touch brought her pleasure.
“My turn,” she managed to gasp out after his tongue had worked wonders on her for a while.
He lifted his head to look into her eyes. His smile was teasing. “Sweetheart, was that an invitation?”
“It was a demand. I want to take you into my mouth.”
He didn’t need coaxing.
She took her time, slowly sinking her mouth onto his cock, then repeating the process again and again as she teased the swollen head and length with her tongue. She made him writhe and buck just as he had done to her, until she finally let him come.
When he was spent, she looked at him with an expression of triumph and not a little smugness. “I do believe you are wasted, Mr. Cage.”
“Madam, you are wicked,” he told her.
She batted her eyelashes. “I try.”
“Come along.” He got up and hauled her unceremoniously over his shoulder.
“Hey!” she protested as he headed toward the bathroom.
“You said you were too sore to walk.”
“I said I couldn’t get out of bed.”
“Well, now you’re out of bed.” He took them into the glass-walled shower and didn’t put her down until a pulsing, steaming stream poured over them. “And now you’re really in hot water, mortal.”
She picked up a thick bar of coconut-scented soap and washed his hair, then worked thick lather all over his long, muscled body. He took the bubbling bar and returned the favor, and they managed to make love standing up despite their slippery, soap-covered bodies.
When they were finally finished, Jason carried her back to the bed.
Just as he put her down, someone knocked on the door.
Jason swore, but went to answer it. She pulled on a robe and hurried after him, handing him a robe before he could open the door.
“Have you no shame?” she asked.
“None,” he answered, but he did tie the belt as he called, “Who is it?”
“Lady Juanita requests your presence in the central chamber immediately,” a voice on the other side of the door replied.
“Damn,” Jason whispered. A Matri’s request was the same as an order. He gave Sofia an apologetic look, and an affectionate pat on the fanny. “Of course,” he answered the messenger.
Sofia hurried into the closet to get dressed; the eagerness that radiated from her served to clear Jason’s head. He threw open the patio door curtains to discover that it was the middle of a brilliant day. He looked around the wrecked bedroom and scrubbed his hands over his face.
He remembered finding Sofia in the hallway outside the meeting room last night and their returning here. She’d said, “I want you to make love to me as a Prime.” When she’d kissed him she bit his tongue and the sharing of blood drove him into a sexual frenzy.
That had been last night, hadn’t it?
He looked at her suspiciously when she came back into the room wearing jeans and a red shirt, but she gave him such a deliriously hopeful smile, he couldn’t bear to ask her what she’d done.
He had the feeling he’d find out very soon, in the meeting room.
Chapter Forty-six
S ofia barely noticed when the Prime who opened the meeting room door announced her name. The man standing by Lady Juanita’s chair took all of her attention. Tears welled in her eyes and she could barely breathe.
He was taller than she remembered, and thinner. And when had he shaved his head? The wary expression on her father’s face was anything but welcoming.
Instead of rushing headlong, she stopped in the center of the room and waited, awkward and unsure as silence stretched out around her.
It was Jason who finally said, “What’s the matter with you, Hunyara? Don’t you recognize your own daughter?” He gave her a slight shove and whispered in her ear, “He’s all you want. Go to him.”
Sofia was shocked into movement, more by the bitterness in Jason’s tone than anything else. She began to turn to him.
Her father said, “Sofia?”
At the sound of her name, she ran forward and flung her arms around the man who’d spoken. His voice was so familiar. So was the way his arms came protectively around her.
After a while, she noticed that her embrace was just as protective of him, just as strong.
“You’ve grown up,” he said.
She lifted her head and nodded.
“I’m sorry it was so hard on you,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I really am.” She looked around and saw David Berus smiling at her.
“Thank you,” she said to the Prime. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“The plan was yours; Michael and I merely carried it out. With your father’s cooperation, of course.”
“Wait a minute—” Jason began.
“I think we should leave these two alone to get reacquainted,” Lady Juanita announced. “All of us,” she added.
The tug of separation as Jason left was disturbing, but Sofia concentrated on her father.
“Where do we start?” she asked when they were alone.
He looked her over carefully, then met her gaze for a long time. “You’re one of us,” he said, and seemed disappointed.
“A Hunyara wolf tamer, you mean?”
He nodded. “I’m so sorry. All I wanted was to keep you from that curse.”
She didn’t feel cursed. But how could she tell the man who’d given up his freedom to protect her that he’d done the wrong thing?
“Now you’re involved with werewolves and vampires, too, and the dangerous madness is going to continue through the generations.”
“I can’t deny it,” Sofia told him. “We just have to cope. Can you—do what I do? Are you a wolf tamer?”
He shrugged. “I have the gift, though I never wanted it. I never used it after my father trained me. I passed it on to you, but I wouldn’t let those old men raise my fragile little girl the way I was raised. Before your mother died, I promised her I wouldn’t expose you to danger.”
Well, that made sense. Mama was so girly.
“How did you learn the taming?” he asked.
“A vampire taught me.�
�� She smiled at the thought of Jason. “The same vampire who taught Grandpa and Great-grandpa. So I’ve had the best teacher. I’m not afraid of what I can do. It can help people.”
She explained to him about Cathy, and about everything else that had happened recently. He asked her about the years since they’d seen each other, so she told him what she’d done with her life. He didn’t want to talk about life inside the prison. She supposed they’d have to probe those sore spots someday, but now was the time for happy reunions.
She had no idea how long they talked, but at some point, someone brought in a tray of sandwiches and tall glasses of iced tea. Long after they’d finished lunch, another vampire came into the room.
“Mr. Hunyara, if you could come with me, please?” he asked politely. “I’m here to help you work on your new identity, and I need to take some photos before I can go any further with the project. Sorry to take him away from you,” he told Sofia as her father rose to go with him. “How would you feel about becoming a professional dog handler as your new profession, Mr. Hunyara?” the vampire asked as they left.
Sofia smiled, so grateful to the Wolf Clan for putting their well-organized resources at the disposal of her family. I’m going to have to do something especially nice for them. Lady Juanita deserves much more than a thank-you for this.
Once her father was gone, she remembered Jason and rose reluctantly to her feet. He was furious with her; she could feel it. No point in putting it off a moment longer.
She found Jason in the garden, sitting on the bench near the fountain. A warm breeze ruffled his brown hair. He was staring at the ground and didn’t look up when he asked, “How’s your father?”
His concern melted her heart. “Disoriented, I think. He’s been out of the world for a long time.”
“I know how that is,” he said. “I’ll talk to him, if you’d like.”
“I’d appreciate that.” She hated the strained sound of her own voice, and the hostility that was just under the surface of his. “Jason.”
Blue eyes as hot as lightning suddenly met hers; the blaze of fury nearly burned her to ash where she stood.
Sofia took a step back, but fought off the urge to turn and run away. “I didn’t come out here to tame a wolf,” she told him.
“I’m a great deal wilder than a wolf when I let myself go.” His tone was low and even, and really, really scary. “I am Prime.”
“How am I supposed to translate that? Does it mean that I hurt your pride and you’re pissed off at me?”
He nodded. “Very.” He was standing in front of her before she could blink. “Why did you do that to me?” he demanded. “Why did you trick me while somebody else kept the promise I made to you?”
“Because I discovered how dangerous that promise was to you, and I wasn’t going to let you go back to prison. I thank you for the promise. I truly appreciate your good intentions, but I had to protect you.”
“It’s my job—my duty and my privilege—to protect you, Sofia Hunyara.”
“Back at you, Jason Cage,” she snapped. “If we’re going to have this connection between us, it has to go both ways. We have to be equals in this.”
The fury slowly drained from his eyes, but his expression remained cold. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” he said. And then he left.
Chapter Forty-seven
I can’t believe he just stomped off to sulk and play with his wolves,” Sofia told Cathy. “It’s been three days, and I’m still upset about that conversation.”
She kept her eyes on the busy freeway, trying to pretend that Jason’s words didn’t still sting. Every mile away from her pissed-off bondmate stretched her nerves, but this trip to Los Angeles was necessary. Maybe it was better for them to be apart, anyway.
“Men can be so melodramatic,” Cathy commiserated. “He knows you did it for his own good, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Besides, it’s not as if he didn’t enjoy himself meanwhile—for days!”
“I hated hurting him. I should have done it a different way.”
Cathy gave an earthy laugh. “How many ways did you do it?”
Erotic memories flooded her, and Sofia laughed as well. “More than I can remember.”
“Jason’s a Family Prime who thinks like a Clan boy. He needs to remember his pragmatic roots and learn to appreciate you.”
The air conditioner in the borrowed car strained as the heavy traffic slowed. “Thanks for volunteering to help me pack up my apartment,” Sofia said to her cousin.
“No problem,” Cathy said. “It’ll give us something to do after the vampire docs do the blood tests on us at their clinic.”
“How many vampire clinics are there?”
“I have no idea. But I do know that this one in L.A. is where most of their medical research is done. I’ve never thought much about vampires until now.”
“You had your own werewolf problems to deal with. Do you think this Hunyara werewolf-vampire connection is real?”
“I don’t trust anything Eric told me,” Cathy answered. “But I hope it is real, just for the sake of keeping the werewolves from coming after our Hunyara asses. Man, life has changed in the last few days! We’ve discovered family secrets, you got your dad back, I’ve got control of my shape-shifting, Mike’s given up being the Tracker, and Sid’s quit the firm and has gone to stay with her sire.”
“Everything changes.” Sofia saw the sign for their exit and moved over a lane. She sighed. “I never thought I’d drop out of college, but I posted it on my blog for the world to read about, so it must be true. So here I am, back in town to do just that. Along with a million other things.”
“Blood tests and getting you moved are first on the agenda, though,” Cathy said.
“So it would seem,” Sofia said, and she and her cousin grinned wolfishly at each other.
“One very good thing about being a werewolf is that we heal fast,” Cathy said as she removed the Band-Aid on the inside of her elbow.
“While I have a bruise the size of a quarter,” Sofia complained, rubbing her arm. It felt like a half gallon of blood had been drawn by the vampire technicians. “And it itches.”
“Whiny wimp,” her cousin teased.
“You’re buying my ice cream cone,” Sofia declared as they reached the ice cream shop down the street from her apartment. There had been other medical tests, too, and the doctor who ran the clinic had asked lots of questions. They’d spent several hours there before returning to her university neighborhood. The doctor had wanted them to spend the night at the clinic, but they had other plans.
“How long before we know anything from the blood tests?” Sofia wondered as they waited in line.
“They told me several weeks, maybe months. DNA testing results really take much longer than they show on TV crime shows.”
“I guess.” Sofia was thinking of Jason, so she bought a double scoop of the deepest, darkest chocolate she could get.
When they had their ice cream, they went to the small park across the street. They found an empty bench under a tree and enjoyed their cones in silence for a while as they looked around the busy neighborhood a couple of blocks from the university. There was plenty of foot and car traffic to watch.
“I’m going to miss this place,” Sofia said as she wiped her fingers with a napkin. “I’ve enjoyed school.”
“Look at it this way,” Cathy said. “The world loses a literature teacher and gains a wolf-taming superhero.”
Sofia snorted. “I guess I can go along with that. Except that I was majoring in electrical engineering. I read for fun.”
“Whatever.” A dangerous grin lit Cathy’s features. “I think the bad guys read your blog and followed us to L.A. I recognize a couple of vehicles that are circling the park.”
“Why, cousin dear,” Sofia said as they stood. “Do you think we’re about to get kidnapped?”
“I certainly hope so.”
“About time,” Sofia said. They began to walk toward the st
reet. “Let’s head back to my place. That ought to make it easier for them.”
Chapter Forty-eight
G ood morning, ladies.”
The unfamiliar voice roused Cathy to consciousness. The only scent she could detect, other than her cousin’s, was that of coffee. The lack of smells told her they were in the presence of the enemy, but at least the bastards weren’t complete barbarians—unless they didn’t offer her a cup when she opened her eyes.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” the man asked.
“No,” Sofia answered. There was a hysterical pitch to her voice.
Cathy sat up and gave her cousin a frown. “Don’t be an idiot—accept the man’s hospitality.”
Sofia looked their captor over carefully. He was tall and strongly built, with a long braid of blond hair and a heavy beard. His presence pretty much filled the one-room cabin.
“Not exactly a man,” she corrected herself. “Werewolf.”
He nodded.
“Oh, God, not another one!” Sofia had her arms wrapped around her drawn-up legs and was looking at their captor with wide, terrified eyes.
Cathy gave a disgusted shake of her head. “I bet you’re Nathan,” she told the werewolf. “Eric told me about you.”
“Did he?” the deep-voiced male growled.
“May I have some coffee?” she asked.
He poured a mugful from a thermos and brought it to her. When she reached for the cup, he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. “What happened to Eric?” he demanded. “What did he tell you?”
“Eric’s dead,” she said with a grimace of pain, leaving out the fact that she’d killed him herself. “He died when the Bleythin pack showed up to ‘rescue’ me. They didn’t ask if I wanted rescuing,” she added. “Then they made me go back to spending the moonchange locked in a cage. Eric promised me freedom. You didn’t have to knock me out to get me here; I was hoping you’d come for me.”
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