by Denise Agnew
Jared nodded. “It’s dicey. It makes me think that with this upsurge in crime the Halloween party might be cancelled anyway.”
“Don’t count on it,” Erin said with sarcasm. “I’m not sure the people around here get it. Even if crime has gone up, it’s likely the mayor is going to think the reason is something entirely different.”
“Like?” Micky slumped onto the loveseat with a sign.
Erin leaned forward. “Devil worship. He’s not exactly one of the most enlightened people in town. He doesn’t understand the true origins of Halloween.”
Clarissa felt an inherent discomfort with people like the mayor who stayed deliberately ignorant of the truth. “One of those people.”
“Yes.” Erin clasped her hands.
“Why would he allow a party if he thinks Halloween is devil worship?” Micky asked.
“Because he understands that most other people don’t think of Halloween that way,” Lachlan said.
Ronan’s voice was out low and derisive as he said, “Political book.”
Jared settled down next to Micky. “What if we could convince him that something evil was about to happen at the party?”
“How?” Erin asked.
The cop ran his hand through his hair and smiled ruefully. “Beats the shit out of me.”
Lachlan laughed softly. “Thanks. You’re a lot of help.”
Jared tossed his friend a chagrinned expression.
“We can’t worry about the mayor,” Ronan said. “We can’t rely on anyone but ourselves. I know you all feel like were riding this wave by our arses. The ancient one and this darkest evil will find us, one way or the other. We can meditate on what could happen tomorrow. Maybe one of us will have an inspiration.”
“What about Sorley?” Micky asked. “Do you think he’s beyond help?”
Clarissa saw the hurt on Ronan’s face as his finely carved lips twitched in reaction. When she’d first met him she’d thought of Ronan as cool and yet hot, a man with two emotional switches. Now she’d witnessed more of his depths, it made her feelings for him grow in turn.
“No. But I don’t know what we can do at this point. Maybe he’ll come back on his own, and maybe he won’t. We can’t go after him. It could be that’s just what the ancient one wants. We may have won two battles against that bastard but the war isn’t over. We can’t afford to let our guard down one minute.” Ronan drew a hefty breath before continuing. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve got to have some vampire beauty sleep.”
Lachlan grinned. “A bit knackered, eh?”
“A bit what?” Jared asked with a puzzled frown.
Ronan looked down at Clarissa and winked. “Tired. And tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.”
Clarissa felt heat fill her face. Who needed the devil when Ronan Kieran could make saucy jokes in front of all their friends?
She didn’t get a chance to retort. Lachlan said, “We’ll brainstorm while you rest. Something will come to us.”
Ronan tightened his arm around Clarissa’s waist and led her away. As they ascended the stairs, Clarissa knew they had one last chance.
Tomorrow was Halloween.
Chapter Eighteen
Ronan dreamed again of being in a tunnel. The icy pall promised to harden his heart and his soul as it encircled his body and held him captive. He wanted to understand the message but nothing new came to him. Instead he lingered on the edge of consciousness. Then the dream changed slightly. He saw two forms in the tunnel, menacing, waiting to harm his woman. His heart beat against his chest in fear.
No, he wouldn’t let them hurt Clarissa. “You can’t have her. I love her.”
The dark forms disappeared and he knew he’d vanquished them. Before he felt safe, the tunnels darkened.
Wearehereweareherewearehere.
Wearehereweareherewearehere.
Wewillhelpwewillhelpwewillhelp.
Once again the Shadow People wanted to reassure him; he felt no threat coming from them but uncertainty lingered.
Warm, tender hands caressed his chest, lingering in the hair over his pecs and bringing his nipples to hard, aching points.
Kin to a leprechaun. That feels way too good to be a dream.
Palms swirled over his nipples continually and then swept down his stomach and traced every ridge of muscle with teasing strokes. He shuddered as instantaneous arousal drew his cock into a tight, hard muscle. He wanted those hands all over him, but at the same time he sensed urgency in the touch. When a hot, wet mouth encompassed his cock, his eyes flew open and he looked down.
Clarissa was, in no uncertain terms, sucking him off.
When he found his voice, his accent thickened. “Mother Mary, what a beautiful, feckin’ sight.”
At his words her head snapped up and she smiled. She flipped her hair back from her face. She kept his flesh in her hand, firmly working him from base to tip. “Hi.”
He glanced around and saw moonlight streaming from under the curtains and through the fan window. “Is it Halloween morning? Where the hell did yesterday go?”
She smirked. “It was all that lovemaking. I think we were both in a stupor by last night.”
Yesterday, after he’d obtained some much needed vampire sleep, everyone had gathered in the living room to try and make plans for Halloween. Nothing new came to mind on what they should do. Disappointed, they realized the only thing they could do was arm themselves and hope for the best. They would all stay together. No one would leave the house alone. Last night Ronan and Clarissa retreated to their bedroom and spent a good chunk of the night fucking like bunnies.
He smiled. “What time is it?”
“Four in the morning, to be exact. I woke up and there you were. Irresistible.” She kept the pace going, her hands slipping over him one and then the other in a sensual massage that sent jolts of electricity to every point in his body. “Besides, you were dreaming and you didn’t look happy. Want to tell me about it?”
“I’ll tell you if you keep doing that.”
With a smile that said she appreciated what he had to say, she murmured, “Gladly.”
Her mouth encompassed him, a glide and slip and stroke that put shame to any blowjob he’d every experienced. His breathing went ragged, his heart galloping as she licked the tip, then traced her tongue down his length. She then licked his balls and pressed one finger between his balls and anus. When she rubbed the spot a shiver racked his body. She tongued his balls and stroked his cock at one time and he about came unglued from the multiple sensations.
He threaded his fingers into her hair and drew his legs up to give her more room. “Holy shit. Oh God.”
“I take it that means you like it?”
“Do I like it?” He about choked. “I want to be inside you.”
“Not yet,” she said as if putting together a casual shopping list.
Torture. She meant to torment him to within an inch of screaming.
He liked the way she’d grown bolder, more adventurous with her sexual play since he’d first taken her. He groaned as she licked him from stem to stern, her warm tongue and even hotter lips scalding him with sensations so intense he wondered if he could take the pressure without shooting seed down her throat. Clarissa slipped her mouth down over his cock and took him deep.
He gasped and his hips surged up. “Bloody hell.”
Her mouth explored every texture, vein, and contour. Feck, he’d had it. He would die right here and now.
“Clarissa.” He gasped for breath now. “Ride me.”
She released his cock and slid up his body. She straddled him and when she dropped down over his cock with a plunge and gloved him in sweet, tight flesh, he about came on the spot.
Instead he said between pants, “That’s it. Oh, that’s feckin’ it. Come on, ride me.”
She did as requested as she lifted and slammed down. The sensation made him moan and he pushed his hips upwards to impale her more deeply. Silken, slick and hot, her inte
rior held him captive. He dared open his eyes and saw her looking down at him, her lips parted and plump. Then, before his sight she became a sex goddess, a woman unleashed and swamped by ecstasy. She stopped moving and before he could protest the cessation of action, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Her sweet channel clasped him like a fist, then released. Clasped, then released.
“God, oh God.” He couldn’t keep the words out of his throat. “Yes.”
Clarissa closed her eyes and pumped him, moving up and down with a quick, gyrating motion as she rotated her hips. He reached up and caught her nipples between his fingers and played. She moaned louder as he plucked at the tips. Quickening his movements he thrust upward harder as she met him with downward strokes.
He felt her hovering on the brink, bliss only seconds away. Determined to make her come now, he clasped her hips and thrust faster. Her head tilted back, her tongue coming out to lick her lips. Seconds later she burst, and the feeling of her tight cunt clutching his flesh sent him into a powerful, groaning orgasm.
She collapsed onto his chest and he cradled her close, a smile coming to his lips as he barely panted out the words, “I think she’s trying to kill me.”
With a sigh she subsided against him. “Mmm.”
Obviously she was in no condition to talk. He heard a soft snore. Surprised, he held her in his arms and smiled. He’d fucked her into oblivion, all right. He held her close, fierce protectiveness singing through his veins.
He would keep her safe through this, even if it cost him his immortal life.
* * * * *
The ancient one watched his captives struggle for control.
Captive and helpless described the smaller, much younger vampire’s hopeless situation. The spineless little immortal, once powerful in his own right had been too cocky. He lost some of his dignity as he struggled against the force field surrounding and trapping him. Nearby a newly made vampire thrashed in the force field. This one had balls. He’d give him that.
Poor vampires, struggling with your sanity and your fear and the realization you’ve betrayed people you love.
“Let me go!” The new vampire struggled, yanking against the hold. The man’s voice was guttural and determined. “I’ll tear out your throat!”
The ancient one wasn’t concerned by the threat. “You will do my bidding from now on.”
The new vampire’s eyes glowed like hot fire, a silver and gold mixture like nothing the ancient one had ever seen. “No! I will not hurt them!”
“Yes.” He walked closer to the vampires and stared down at them from a much superior height. Capturing the skinny vampire’s gaze, he held him in the thrall, drawing his will from him. “There’s nothing you can do but obey. Nothing. I am in your mind. The darkest is in your mind. There is no freedom for you. You are a slave. Open your mind wider, deeper, to the darkest.”
“Feck you!” the skinny vampire said with a viscous snarl.
Unaffected by the inferior vampire’s wrath, the ancient one snickered. “I don’t think so. You’re not my type.”
As the ancient one bellowed another laugh, the new vampire wriggled against the invisible force field once more. “No!”
Sighing, the ancient one said, “Isn’t that refrain getting a little old?” His voice went deeper, harsher, invading the other vampires’ skulls with ease. “Open to me. Open!”
Grimacing, the skinny vampire appeared to resist with everything inside him. No words parted the immortal’s lips, but the ancient one could read chaotic thoughts. The ancient one sensed both vampires’ minds going blank, once again under his complete thrall.
The newly made vampire shifted against the cold tunnel wall, his eyes wild with anger. Certainly, the ancient one had to admire the new immortal’s lack of fear, or at least the ability to hide it. “You wonder why I brought you across? Why I didn’t just kill you as I have all the others? Because you have a mission to fulfill.”
“I don’t give a shit what you say,” the new vampire rasped, his voice sounded choked and rusty.
With a hollow laugh the ancient one disengaged the force field. Both captured men slid down the tunnel wall.
The ancient one said, “You will bring Clarissa Gaines and Erin Greenway to me. When they first see you they will trust you and it will take them off guard. Bring them here and we will feast on their blood. Do you understand?”
The skinny vampire nodded and so did the new vampire. They spoke at once, “Yes.”
The ancient one gestured down the tunnel. “Then go.”
The vampires walked sluggishly toward the outside world, and within a couple of seconds they’d disappeared completely from the tunnels.
Amused and satisfied with his work, the ancient one laughed again, this time allowing the hearty, happy sound to bellow forth full strength. Tonight all of Pine Forest would pay for its stupidity.
Lachlan Tavish and Ronan Kieran would know special pain when the veil between worlds became most thin. After they watched him feast on their women, he would kill Tavish and Kieran and enjoy their blood as well.
* * * * *
Clarissa woke and her entire body felt achy and the mysterious nausea returned. Somewhere in the time since he’d last made love to her, they’d rolled over and faced away from each other. They’d spent all that morning making love, cherishing each other between trips to the refrigerator to gain sustenance. She’d lost count long ago how many times they’d made love. If their world was to come to an end, they would have no regrets.
The others in the house sequestered themselves in the living room listening to news reports and keeping the doors barred. To their surprise some of the violence in Pine Forest had calmed, not something they expected. Clarissa knew a growing hope in her heart that maybe she’d been totally wrong about the mayhem to come…maybe all of them had been wrong.
She could hope.
Wincing, she looked at the digital clock and noted the time read almost four-thirty in the afternoon. Night rapidly approached. Ronan would be stirring soon from his daylight slumber. She felt the need to think, to enjoy a little personal space.
She got out of bed and searched for her clothes. As she slipped into her boots and tied them up, an odd notion came to her.
She looked at the dresser and hesitated, then moved toward it with sure strides. She didn’t have to fumble to find the second pregnancy kit Erin had given her. Clarissa headed for the bathroom with the idea of taking the test, but a strange intuition made her stop. A creepy feeling ran down her spine like a worm traveling with a slow and insistent pace.
Leaving the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter, she went downstairs. She saw the porch light on through the back living room curtains. Peaking between the curtains she saw Erin standing outside. Clarissa went through the dining room and opened the back door.
Erin jumped and turned swiftly. “Oh jeez, you scared the hell out of me.”
Clarissa smiled and closed the door behind her. “What are you doing out here without a coat?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
Clarissa’s smile widened. “Touché.”
Erin’s expression turned serious. “I haven’t been out here more than a minute. I heard…it must have been my imagination, but it scared me.”
An odd premonitory sense kicked in and tickled Clarissa’s psyche. She approached Erin, oblivious to the iciness for a moment. “What did you hear?”
“I was walking through the living room and I heard your voice calling to me. When I stepped out here, though, you obviously weren’t here. I was just about to come back in when you startled me by showing up.”
Clarissa’s sense of danger increased. “Something’s wrong, Erin. Come on let’s get back inside and—”
Before either of them could move, two dark shadows swept out of the encroaching night from around the right side of the house. Though it could only be a few seconds, time seemed to slow down for Clarissa. She flinched but stopped short of a startled shriek. Erin seeme
d stunned, her eyes wide, hands going up to defend.
Clarissa moved in front of Erin, her body feeling lighter and stronger than it had in some time, as if another power gave her strength. Her defensive stance in front of her friend made Erin grab her arm from behind, but Clarissa didn’t move.
“Sorley?” Erin asked, her voice choked with fright. “You scared the hell out of us. What’s going on?”
Clarissa recognized the other man with him and stiffened with apprehension. Something still wasn’t right. “Jim.” Jim’s hair was tousled and his face held two or more days’ growth of beard. His down coat was torn in two places near the zipper and smudged with dirt. “Are you all right?”
“He’s all right now,” Sorley said, a hint of Irish wryness peeking through their startling appearance. “He wasn’t before, but he’s seen the truth.”
Although her heart hadn’t stop pounding, Clarissa said to Jim, “You’ve decided the paranormal is real?”
Jim’s smile held an uncanny edge, and then she observed a change in Jim’s eyes, a flicker of flame that matched Sorley’s. “Jim, were you bitten by a vampire?”
He nodded. “You could say that.”
“Enough chitchat. That’s not what we’re here for,” Sorley said.
Sorley’s clipped tone scraped over Clarissa’s nerves. “Everyone’s been worried about you, Sorley.”
When he smiled she saw his fangs and another trickle of unease did a dance across Clarissa’s skin. “Did something else happen that we don’t know about?”
Jim laughed softly. “Oh, yes. And now that I know what it is, I want you to be a part of it. With me.”
She glanced and Erin and her friend returned her worried look. A niggling panic worked itself into her like a slow splinter into a finger. “Jim, there is no us. I’m with Ronan Kieran.”
He looked confident. “No, you’re going to be mine. You were promised to me.”
As Jim’s lips parted she saw his fangs and then the reality hit her full force. “Oh my God. You weren’t just bitten, you’ve been turned into a vampire.”
