by Leeah Taylor
“And here I thought I’d be the nervous one. No worries, Kitten, I’ll be gentle.”
Juliette bristled. “I thought I told you I wasn’t your kitten?”
Yet the pet name washed over her with a shadow of something. A whisper of a vague memory.
His hands flew up in front of him. “Won’t happen again. Take your time.”
She straightened up in the chair, and he stood perfectly still, waiting for her to give him permission.
She cocked her head up at him. “Have you done this before?”
“Blood share?”
“We aren’t sharing.”
“You aren’t my first if that’s what you’re asking.”
Chortling, she relaxed back in the chair. “Yes, I am. Maybe not the first you’ve fed from, but it will be the first with an experience like this.”
“I’m sure I can hold my own.”
The confidence and flippant disregard for her warning didn’t feel right. Other vampires she’d met were nervous but not him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, and she couldn’t afford to figure it out either.
“Money?”
“Right,” he reached into his back pocket, took out a wallet, and pulled three hundred dollar bills out. He laid them on the dresser behind him. “Satisfactory?”
Juliette nodded and began unbuttoning her white blouse. She laid it over her lap and slipped the thin strap of her tank top down her shoulder, then her bra strap to give him the best access.
She tilted her head to the side, swallowed hard, and nodded up at him. He moved with deliberate steps. The intensity of his stare refused to let her look away. The air sparked with an energy that prickled under her skin. His eyes darkened to almost black as if the same prickling energy was fueling him.
Fingertips grazed over the side of her neck, and she leaned into the soothing sensation of his touch. A calm swept over her. Oddly comforted by his closeness. He cradled her neck, and eyes met hers with a look she didn’t understand. A longing that made little sense but had the blood roaring between her ears. He brought his lips to the base of her neck, hot breath blazing over the spot, and a shiver slithered down her spine. Something didn’t feel right. Magic hummed under his touch. Almost hypnotic. But it shouldn’t.
“Remember the rules,” she breathed out.
A smile pressed into the base of her neck. “Oh, I will, Kitten.”
He didn’t give her a chance to react before his fangs pierced the meat of her shoulder. She jerked back as red hot heat blazed to life and he gripped tighter to the back of her neck.
Red fucking flag!
It started with a tingling heat, spreading from her shoulder down into her chest, and, like a match to gasoline, her entire body ignited into an inferno. Every muscle flexed and tightened. Her mouth went dry, and if she screamed, she never heard it.
Magic pulled tight in her chest with a warning, and a burst of purple energy exploded from her fingertips. He grabbed to the hand and deflected it before it could hit him in the chest, a growl vibrating through him like a feral dog. Realization slammed through her. He knows who I am. The magic collided with the mirror above the dresser and shattered.
She tried to jerk away again and cried out when the bite tore into the flesh. The grip on the back of her neck tightened. He drank deeper, draining the fight out of her. A foggy haze muddied her thoughts. Every red flag flew up. With a gentle tug he released her. The spot pulsed in time with her racing heart.
Juliette blinked to clear her vision but only made out a dark, shapeless shadow moving away from her. She heard only the pounding of her heart behind her ribcage. Lurching to get out and escape the invasion of the poison like acid. Burning through the muscle in her chest.
Sandalwood engulfed her as a shadow hovered above her. A soft kiss pressed to her cheek.
“Thank you, Kitten.”
She fought to keep the room in view, but the darkness descended, and she finally succumbed to it.
3
Juliette
Bright light pricked into Juliette’s vision, pissing off the pulse in her head. The pounding got louder until she pried her eyes open, and the room crept into sight. It took several blinks to clear her vision and the haze clouding her mind before she remembered what happened. It all seemed like a dream, she needed it to be a dream, until she saw the shattered mirror.
She shot up from the floor, holding her head and groaning as the room spun, and hot sickness boiled up in her belly. He was a werewolf. How could she have missed that? He had fangs. Werewolves don’t have fangs. Not like that. Did this guy just con me with fake fangs? God, am I that desperate for money?
She searched the dresser for the money. The bills were folded neatly where he’d left them. Well, at least that worked out. She cursed herself for ignoring the red flags that had gone off like sirens since the moment he called her. Why didn’t she go with her gut?
“Housekeeping!”
There was a loud bang on the door, and keys jingled against the knob. Juliette jumped to her feet, heart pounding in her chest as she sprinted across the room and collided with the door before it opened.
“Hey!” the woman yelled. “Say something next time.”
She held her breath, pressed up against the door, and listened as the jingling keys faded away before sinking to the floor.
Werewolf bites really suck.
“Shit, what did I do?” Her eyes shut against the pulse behind them.
She touched the top of her shoulder, an angry burn erupting at the spot, and winced. Why would a werewolf be drinking blood? How could she have been so stupid not to see it? He was a vampire. He had to be a vampire. She’d know if he was a werewolf.
I really screwed up this time.
“Oh, shit.”
Juliette staggered to her feet, swiped the money from the dresser, and ran out to her car. Yanking open the door, she snatched up her purse and emptied it onto the seat. She cursed under her breath and grabbed her phone. The screen lit up, and twenty-seven missed calls stared back at her. Each one from Riley.
“Shit!”
She checked the time, realizing it was three in the afternoon. Shit! She’d been out for 15 hours, and Riley had to be worried out of her mind. She scrolled through her contacts and clicked call. The battery flashed and then died.
“Shit,” she gritted out, getting into the driver’s seat, her fists connecting with the steering wheel. “Shit!”
She had herself convinced that Riley probably had the police tearing the town apart looking for her. This was number two on her list of most stupid things she’d ever done. The consequences could be devastating. What other reason would a wolf have for posing as a vampire to get her blood but to go after Sterling?
Maybe he just had a fetish for blood?
She parked in front of the apartment and cut the engine, relief washing over her when there were no cops swarming the parking lot. Maybe Riley isn’t freaking out. Maybe she thinks I met someone. Maybe that was the lie she needed to go with? She didn’t want to explain the real reason she went missing. Or why her neck was mangled to hell. How would she explain any of it?
Juliette pulled the visor down, and the picture fell into her lap. She picked it up, and the men in it stared back at her like they knew she’d made another epic mistake. If Damien found out, he’d have her head on a platter. She tucked it back in place and tilted her head to the side to inspect the bite. It was inflamed and oozed red, tender to the touch. Just angry. Why wasn’t she honest with Riley? Why didn’t she just call Lucien?
She stared at the chipping paint on the door before finally getting out of the car. The weight of the world never felt so heavy on her shoulders. A rush of familiar energy washed over her, and awareness prickled over the back of her neck. She shot a look up to the landing on the second floor and held her breath for someone that wasn’t there.
Shaking the feeling, she headed to the door. No doubt in her mind that she would find Riley furious on the outside, but with
that undercurrent of fear and worry that always made her feel guilty. She was the only family Riley had now.
Juliette took a deep breath, shoved the key into the door, and went inside. Riley was pacing back and forth in the living room, wearing a path in front of the ugly brown couch.
There was a pizza box on the counter of the tiny kitchen on the other side of the room. Guilt gripped deeper and tighter to the pit of her stomach. Riley had probably spent her tips, every cent, on a pizza because she hadn’t eaten dinner. Neither had Juliette. Yet Riley believed the bills were paid. Food be damned. Who needs to eat?
“No, she hasn’t been missing for twenty-four hours, but this isn’t—” Riley stopped pacing with her back to her. “But… Yeah, fine, I’ll call if I find her dead somewhere.”
Juliette sighed. “Riles.”
She spun around, eyes bloodshot and wild with questions. “Oh my god, Jules, where the hell have you been?”
Before Juliette could find a lie, Riley crashed into her. Hugging her tightly like she might never get the chance again.
Riley sniffled. “Scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m fine, Riles.”
Riley pulled back, looking her up and down.
“What the hell happened to your neck?” She gaped, wide-eyed. “My god, is that a werewolf bite?”
Juliette swept the hair forward over her shoulder to hide it and went for her bedroom, looking for an escape.
“It’s nothing.”
“Whoa, that’s it? Where were you?” Riley hurried behind her and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to turn around.
It was the hurt staring back at her that cut deeper than anything else. Riley didn’t understand she was just trying to keep her safe.
“Jules? Not even a call. A text. Something. I thought you were dead.”
She pulled away into the bedroom. “I was nowhere, and it’s nothing. I’m home safe and sound, okay? That’s what’s important.”
Riley stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the eviction notice posted on our door this morning, would it?”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The landlord promised he wouldn’t do anything until the end of the day. Bastard.
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll take care of it.”
“Take care of it? What have you been doing to take care of it?” Riley’s lips curled, and her hand flew up. “No, you know what? I can take a guess at what you’ve been doing. The better question is how long have you been whoring yourself out to pay our bills?”
Heat crept up into Juliette’s cheeks. She spun around, pointing a finger in Riley’s direction. “It’s none of your business what I’ve been doing as long as the bills get paid!”
“Are you kidding—”
“And me? Is it my business?”
The voice caressed over her. He stepped into the doorway with a hardened stare. Heart in her throat and stomach in her feet, she sucked in a breath. He wanted answers. With just a look he was demanding answers.
It was him up there watching. Why is he here?
Eyes wide and breath caught in her throat, she barely found her voice. “Lucien.”
He slipped around Riley, crossed his arms, and stood between the two of them.
Lucien hadn’t changed. He still wore a black suit, black dress shirt, and black tie. Tailored just for him. Gold cufflinks with the letter F on them. Chestnut brown hair was styled back out of his face.
Only the best for the diplomatic peacekeeper. Twenty years of regret sliced to her core and nearly brought her to her knees. Those deep, dark green eyes, like jade, watched her with an intensity that made her squirm and mouth run dry.
“I can take it from here, Riley.” He didn’t look away from Juliette. “Thank you for calling.”
“Thanks for coming,” Riley said before walking out.
Juliette closed her eyes against the steady pulse pounding in her head. She tried to remember how to breathe. I shouldn’t have given Riley that number. It’s supposed to be in case of an emergency. Lucien standing in her room, under the circumstances, did not bode well for her.
“Does Damien know you’re here?” she asked.
“No. I rather prefer my head and heart right where it is.” His tone suggested Damien was his last concern. “What in God’s name do you think you’re doing? And don’t lie to me.”
He’d know if she did.
Finding the courage, Juliette looked up from the ground. The first sting of tears blurred in her vision.
“I’m surviving, Lucien, the best I know how.”
He jerked back as if the words cut him. “Best you know how? At what point did we ever teach you how to—”
“Whore myself out?”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“You were going to imply it.”
Lucien shook his head as the disappointment grew. “I wasn’t, but by the sounds of it I don’t need to. What are you thinking? Werewolves, Juliette?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She tossed her phone on the bed. “Not like I’m human, it won’t kill me.”
“You’re not not human either.”
Nope, I’m the witch, wolf, vampire mutt. Thanks for reminding me.
“And?” She shrugged. “I’m also not not a werewolf but yeah.”
Lucien frowned. “And this is a risk you’re willing to take?”
“If it keeps the lights on, Lucien—”
Waving his hand and dismissing the words before she could get them out, he took a step towards her. She backed up until the back of her knees met the edge of the bed.
He looked hurt by the gesture. Disappointed that she’d ever think he’d hurt her. She knew he wouldn’t, but this was now and not then. Everyone was a threat.
“No, absolutely not. Why didn’t you call?” he pleaded. “Why is it Riley, a stranger, didn’t hesitate to call at the first sign of trouble, yet you couldn’t just to ask for some money? I would have made sure you were comfortable.”
Juliette dropped to the edge of the bed with an aching pulse in the side of her neck. It needed to be healed. She yanked open the drawer in the nightstand beside her bed and pulled out an orange-tinted pill bottle.
“I don’t want your money, Lucien.”
She let her shoulders fall, reaching for the mortar and pestle from the top of the stand.
“You’d rather get paid for your blood? Let random guys feed from you for a few bucks?”
“Vampires,” she corrected him. “They’re just vampires.”
“Pfft, just vampires.” He swept a hand in her direction. “And this werewolf apparently.”
Heaving a sigh, Lucien moved from the door to the space beside her on the bed. He took the mortar and pestle and pill bottle out of her shaking hands before covering them with his own.
“It’s not the fact that you’re allowing something so intimate to happen with total strangers,” he said, pulling away.
Lucien took out two dark brown shriveled pods that reminded her of leather out of the pill bottle. An earthy, licorice smell tainted the air around them, and she scrunched up her nose. If it weren’t for her lack of healing ability, she’d detest the whole purpose of Ingeot root, but she didn’t heal fast like Lucien.
“It’s the fact that you’re being so careless with your blood,” he said.
“It’s my blood,” she reminded him.
He nodded, a bit of empathy in his expression, and dropped the pods into the mortar.
“You’re right, it is, but it’s also a threat to Sterling and our family.”
She looked away. “Your family.”
“No, Jules.” He grabbed chin, making her look at him. “Our family. If Damien were to find out you were giving it out, and for a price, he’d hunt you down. His love for you be damned.”
Something resembling a laugh worked its way up her throat, and she pulled away. “His love for me has always been damned.”
She’d
wasted countless decades, over a century, trying to make Damien admit what she knew was true to know it. And in the end, he’d broken her heart, so she’d betrayed his.
Lucien went quiet as he worked the pestle into the pods, the licorice smell making her stomach churn harder. He pierced the tip of his thumb with a fang since the healing properties of his blood would be a good boost and squeezed a few drops into the mortar.
“You’d think you would keep a ready paste with you for this very reason” He scolded her while spreading the paste over her shoulder.
It tingled deep into the muscle until it burned, yet she barely felt it. She was caught up in the sense of comfort Lucien gave her by just being there. She missed home. She missed him. She missed her family. If she tried hard enough, she could almost remember what it felt like to love even Damien.
“Never had a need to before,” she said.
She knew how careless it sounded.
“You’re meeting random vampires to sell them blood. Assume you always need some,” he said. “You aren’t a full-blooded vampire. You’re a hybrid, Darling. You don’t heal the way you should.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Thanks for reminding me that I’m a half-breed mutt.”
“Stop that,” he demanded with an edge of disgust in his tone. “Told you a long time ago, you’re not a mutt.”
“Sure,” she said just to move on.
Lucien pinched the space between his eyes. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you don’t remember?”
“I just don’t know. It all went so wrong so fast.”
Lucien tensed. “Maybe you should come back—”
“Absolutely not.” Juliette pushed up from the bed, needing some space between them. “Just as you like your head and heart where they belong. So do I. I’ll take my chances here. I’ve made it this long on my own.”
He sighed. “I don’t want another call from Riley. You scared me. You scared Chelsea.”
She bit down on her bottom lip when it started to tremble. Memories of late-night movie nights, sneaking out and up to no good shenanigans crashed her thoughts.
