by Amber Morgan
She spiraled into strange dreams. She hovered over a dead woman, beaten and bleeding in a muddy lane. The woman was eerily familiar, but Ruby knew she’d never seen her before. Then she was ripped into a black storm, tossed like ocean driftwood. She felt as though she was being torn apart, body from spirit, mind from matter. She screamed and raged, trying to pull herself back together, but cold, invisible hands tore at her. She caught flashes of agonized, skeletal faces sweeping around her, screaming dire, cruel things at her. She shut her eyes, but it was no good. The faces were in her head, the voices were in her mind, and there was no escape except madness.
And then a ray of brilliant light pierced the shadows, striking her straight through the heart. Ruby screamed, her blood on fire. She opened her eyes to see two shadows pull away from the mass surrounding her and wrap themselves around her. She fell into the support they offered, some primal instinct telling her they meant safety, promised life.
Seductive voices whispered her name … but not her name... “Annie, Annie,” they said, “come back to us. It’s time now.”
Ruby felt solid again, her body her own. She arched her back, moaning as phantom hands slid around her, over her, caressing her breasts, running over her hips. Worshipful, hungry hands. She cried out, tilting her head back as warm, ghostly lips kissed fiery trails down her neck. Hot shivers ran through her, making her feel alive again. And then pain—a sweet, stinging pain in her throat that was both blissful and terrible. Her body reacted as if hit by lightning, nerves singing, skin smoldering. Ruby felt the world fall away again as a shattering orgasm ripped away the last of the darkness.
Chapter Three
Ruby came around feeling languid and sated, and for a few seconds the world was hazy. She stretched and felt slippery satin sheets beneath her bare skin. When she inhaled, the scent of jasmine and sandalwood from her bedside candle soothed her, and she knew she was in her own bed. The room was in darkness, the house silent. She didn’t remember getting home though, let alone into bed. She frowned, trying to put the evening back together.
All she really remembered was mist though. She sat up in bed, groping on her bedside table for her lamp. The bedroom was bathed in a soft peachy glow, and Ruby sucked in a deep breath of relief at the sight of her room. Everything was as it should be. Lamplight shone on the collection of antique perfume bottles on the windowsill. A pile of clothes sat by the wardrobe, waiting to be hung up. It was one of those chores she never got around to, and the sight was normal, dull, and deeply reassuring. Unconsciously, she pressed her hands to her throat, a sliver of a dream passing briefly through her mind.
Everything looked right. So everything must be right. Right?
So why was she so sure something was wrong? Why didn’t she remember getting home?
She slid out of bed and reached for her dressing gown. When did she get undressed anyway? Had she come home and had that bath like she planned? The sense of amnesia was disturbing, sending skittering shivers over her skin. Something was very wrong and the knowledge squeezed at her heart, making her house seem sinister and unwelcoming.
As she headed for the bedroom door, she heard a creak on the stairs and froze. She held her breath, listening to her heartbeat thudding, and the rush of blood in her ears. It was all too loud, blocking out anything else she might hear. She knew this house. She knew the only step that creaked was the third one from the top, which meant whoever … whatever was coming up her stairs was probably right outside her bedroom door.
She reached for the handle with trembling fingers.
And screamed as a strange man opened the door.
Ruby stumbled back and would have fallen if he hadn’t reached out. He caught her wrist, gently, but with perfect strength, holding her upright. “Careful!” he said, his voice mellow and warm. “You hit your head very hard earlier. You may be suffering still.” He had an odd cadence to his voice. Old-fashioned, Ruby thought. Against every instinct she had, it made her smile.
She stared at him, trying to place him—because she was sure she knew him from somewhere. His hair was unruly, the color of ripe wheat, and a perfect complement to his blue eyes. He was aristocratically handsome, the sort of guy who played the rakish lord in TV period dramas. His clothes were simple but fine and well-cut, hinting at a lean, strong body beneath. Ruby suddenly, inappropriately, wished she were wearing a nicer dressing gown.
“Um,” she said, pulling herself free of his grip and straightening her own blonde locks with her still-shaking fingers. “Sorry. Who the hell are you?”
He smiled and bowed—bowed! “I am Thomas Langley,” he said. “And you are Ruby Matthews and you should sit down, please.” He nodded toward the bed. “You should be resting.”
Her hands rose to her throat again. Why did she keep doing that? “What are you doing here? What happened to me?” She didn’t feel threatened by him, not exactly, but finding a strange man in one’s house was never a good thing, was it? She should feel threatened. The fact that she didn't was crazy. Dangerously crazy.
He gazed at her, eyes on fire, as if she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Ruby felt herself blushing under the intensity of that gaze. He lifted his hands as if to touch her, and just the thought that he might sent hot tendrils of lust through her. She readied herself for his touch, but it never came. He dropped his hands again and cleared his throat. “You were hurt,” he said. “You had a fall and hit your head.”
She didn’t remember that, so she prodded her skull tentatively. It made sense though. It explained why her memory was so hazy. So maybe this gorgeous man was a delusion. “And you brought me home?” she guessed. “And then undressed me and put me to bed?” The idea was both infuriating and exciting.
“Will undressed you,” he said. “I was … upset by your accident. I didn’t trust myself.”
“Will?” Ruby glanced around the room as if another man might be hiding in the wardrobe. “Who the hell’s Will? Do I know you? Either of you?”
He reached for her again, dropped his hands again. “I understand this must seem strange,” he started.
Ruby threw her hands up to silence him. A churning mix of hot desire and cold confusion was making her head ache. Thomas looked like her deepest fantasy come true, but he was a strange man in her house and the thought that there was a second man … that he’d undressed her … that she’d been hurt... Well, no matter how sexy Thomas was, that was absolutely not a good scenario.
“Please,” she said. “I appreciate your help, but please, you have to go. Right now.” She sat down on the bed hard, her legs giving out. Alone in the house with two strange men—it was a horror movie waiting to happen. She could be attacked, raped, robbed...
A memory slid through the fog in her head. An alleyway. Two figures in the darkness. She pressed her hands to her ribs, feeling tender and sore there. “Oh God,” she whispered, icy fear stealing over her. “Oh God, get out. Get out right now or I’m calling the police!”
“Ruby.” Thomas stepped toward her, hands out as if to placate her.
“Get out!” She grabbed the first thing she found on the bedside table and flung it at him. It was a wooden picture frame, with a photo of Ruby’s parents inside. It hit Thomas square in the chest. He didn’t even flinch.
“Fine,” he said, handsome face sad and hurt. “That’s fine, Ruby. I understand this is confusing.”
He left the room before she could scream at him again.
Ruby slumped back on the bed, breathing hard. Oh God. Oh God, what was happening? Who was he? What did he want with her?
And why did she wish he’d come back?
****
Will paced Ruby’s kitchen, impatience boiling inside him. His unnaturally keen senses let him track the conversation taking place upstairs: Ruby’s fear, Thomas’s failure to soothe her. Will knew it was a mistake not to turn her. Every instinct in him had screamed to turn her when they found her in the passageway. She’d hurt her head badly; the scent of her blood had blossomed in the air a
nd Will almost couldn’t stop himself taking her there and then, lapping up the sweet blood and reclaiming her.
But Thomas had been more restrained, insisting it wasn't the right time or the right way, just as he’d always insisted with Anne. It was never the right time. They’d just given Ruby enough of their blood to heal her serious wounds before bringing her home. Now, with her so close, Will’s desires were running strong again. Seeing her again had been a shock to the system. She was so like Anne. The same golden hair, the same soulful eyes. The same bountiful curves that begged to be stroked and kissed. He licked his lips, feeling his cock harden at the memory of that body under his and Thomas’s hands.
Thomas came into the kitchen, brimming with tightly controlled frustration. “I scared her,” he said. “She thinks we attacked her, Will. We should leave for now. Give her time.”
Will cursed, slamming his palm on the sideboard. “I told you we should have turned her.”
“If she’d woken as a vampire, she’d hate us,” Thomas said. “We have no right to take that choice from her.”
“And because we took that approach with Annie, we lost her. I can’t lose her twice, Thomas.”
Thomas crossed the kitchen to cup Will’s face in his hands, curling his fingers into Will’s hair. “We won’t lose her,” he said. “Trust me. We just need to be patient with her.”
Will closed his eyes, leaning in so his forehead touched Thomas’s. “I’ve been patient for so long. I’m sick of it.”
Thomas brushed his lips imploringly over Will’s. “Just a little longer. Please.”
Will returned the kiss fiercely, nipping at Thomas’s lips until he drew blood. The taste was intoxicating, making him forget where they were. Thomas had always maddened him so. He pushed Thomas back against the sideboard, pinning him in place while he took his mouth, lapping up the blood.
Thomas groaned and thrust his hips hard against Will, so Will could feel Thomas’s own heavy erection. More than four hundred years and it still never failed to excite him that he could stir Thomas this way. After all this time, the thought of the other vampire naked before him, ready for Will’s cock inside him still drove him mad with lust.
They were so consumed by each other they failed to notice Ruby enter the kitchen.
Chapter Four
“Oh my God,” Ruby said, suddenly feeling faint. She was delusional, definitely. That was the only explanation she could find for two hot men making out in her kitchen. She’d hit her head too hard and this was a coma-fantasy.
At the sound of her voice, they broke apart and turned to her. She gasped at the sight of the blood smeared on both men’s lips. Thomas looked horrified. The other man looked fierce, as if he might leap on her and devour her. They were a study in contrasts: Thomas fine and fair, his companion dark and rugged. And they were both so achingly familiar. Watching them kiss, she’d felt a sense of recognition so strong it was almost overwhelming. Not to mention potently arousing. If the dark-haired one kept staring at her like that, she’d throw herself at his feet and beg to be taken.
“Who are you?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe for support. Her nipples were tender and alert beneath her gown, her pussy warm and wet, and she had a horrible feeling they both knew somehow. “What do you want with me?”
“Ruby,” Thomas said, wiping his mouth. “This is my companion, Will Farmer. We...” He trailed off, looking to Will for guidance. “How to explain simply?” he asked.
“There is no simple explanation,” Will said. “And I am in no mood for a long explanation.” He strode to Ruby. She gasped when he caught hold of her, pulling her in hard against his chest. He was a huge man, hard as granite—particularly below the belt, she realized with a jolt of raw lust. She felt both safe and wild in his rough embrace.
“Will,” Thomas said. Just one word, but a world of warning in it.
“I will be careful with her,” Will said. “But I can’t wait any longer, Thomas. I've always been the patient one, and I reached my limits a long time ago.”
And before Ruby could protest, or even register what he was doing, he bit into her throat.
Ruby moaned and closed her eyes, sinking into Will’s violent passion. His sharp teeth pierced her skin easily and for a split second she thought he was killing her. But her surprised pain quickly melted into liquid bliss. She felt it pool between her thighs, scorching her body with delicious heat, and she pressed herself harder against him, her hands reaching for that thick shaft pushing at her stomach.
Will pulled back and she whimpered a protest, desperate to have him back. He slashed his fingernail along his throat, opening up a small wound that welled with dark blood. “Drink of me,” he said, “and remember who you—we—are. What we are together.”
She couldn’t have resisted if her life depended on it. This felt right. This was something she knew, even if she didn’t know how. She stood on tiptoes and lapped delicately at his bleeding throat. His blood tasted like rich red wine, heady and dizzying. Somewhere in the back of her head a shrill little voice screamed, Vampire! Monster! Ruby ignored it. There was something far more important going on inside her. A swirling tide of memory that swept her away from her little kitchen and the modern world.
She wasn’t Ruby anymore. She was Anne Baker. The year was 1612 and she was hurrying through the crowded Cambridge streets, heading for the King’s Arms pub, where Thomas and Will spent their daylight hours. The sun would set soon and she wanted to be down in the cellar with them when they woke, to offer her blood and her body as she always did.
Excitement quickened her step. Countless sunsets ran through her head. Would she ever tire of the vampires? It seemed impossible. The way they took her, filled her and completed her, it was more than any one mortal man could possibly provide. All that was missing from their union was her own transformation. Will was keen to turn her and bring her into the vampiric life. Thomas was more hesitant.
“I wouldn’t take the sun from you, my love,” he’d say. “You don’t know what a gift that is.”
Anne didn’t think she’d miss it, not if she had Thomas and Will forever.
As she turned down a side street to avoid the crowds, a shadow fell across her path. Two big, burly men blocked her way. “Well,” one said, eyes gleaming with wicked intent. “What have we here?”
Anne backed away, only to hit a third man who grabbed her, pinning her arms to her side. “Ripe and sweet,” he sneered, squeezing her. “And all alone.”
“No!” Ruby lurched back to the present, terror coursing through her. “I don’t want to see. I don’t want to see it again.” Sobbing, she buried her head against Will’s chest. He hugged her tight, but his embrace did nothing to stop her fear. It was her old nightmare, the nightmare that haunted her every October, culminating every Halloween in a vivid dream of murder and devastation. “Don’t make me see it again.”
“Ruby, sweet.” She heard Thomas’s voice, felt him come up behind her, encircling both her and Will with his arms. “That was an old life,” Thomas said. “It can’t touch you now. We’d never let you be hurt again.”
“We’ve waited so long to have you back,” Will said. “We’d destroy anything that tried to hurt you. We won’t lose you this time.”
Their words were so odd, but Ruby took comfort from them. She couldn’t disbelieve their fierce passion. She raised her head, wiping her tears away to gaze into Will’s eyes. “Was I her?” she asked. “Anne, was that me?”
He nodded, running one finger gently down her cheek. Behind her, Thomas nuzzled her neck and kissed her hair. It was both reassuring and deeply sexy, being caught between them both like this. Anne had spent many a night between them like this, Ruby thought. She had a flash of memory, of Will and Thomas naked, candlelight glowing off their sweat-sheened bodies as they fucked each other for her pleasure. She shuddered, her fear rapidly fading.
“You were our Annie,” Thomas said. His lips grazed the lobe of her ear and he bit softly. “We failed you
before, but now we have a second chance, Ruby.”
“You were our third, our heart.” Will drew his finger down her throat and between her breasts, parting her robe. His fingertips brushed lightly over her nipples and Ruby whimpered. She was trembling, eager, wetter than she’d been for any man before. That tiny part of her mind still screamed that this was insane, that she was crazy and they were monsters. But a louder part, a part she thought might be Anne, urged her on.
“All we’ve wanted, for all this time, is to be with you again,” Thomas said. His fangs slid across her throat, not biting down, but the promise was there.
Ruby almost came there and then at the thought of them both plunging their fangs into her. If it had been so incredible with just Will, how much more spectacular would it be if they both did it?
“Will you give us what we want, Ruby?” Will asked, rolling her nipples between his rough fingers. “Say yes.”
“Please say yes.” Thomas cupped her buttocks, squeezing just hard enough to draw a cry from her.
Ruby was already nearly senseless with anticipation. She shut down the small, annoying part of her brain. “Oh yes,” she whispered. “Please, please, yes.”
Chapter Five
They carried her up to the bedroom. Will stripped her of her robe and laid her down on the bed. For a moment, both men stood over her, just staring. Normally she might have felt self-conscious, but they drank her with their eyes, their awed expressions telling her they found her perfect. She felt like a goddess, all-powerful and ready to be worshiped.
“Touch me,” she said, cupping her breasts for them.
Will moaned and fell upon her, tongue lapping at her left nipple, swirling around it and tugging it into his warm mouth. Thomas took her right breast, kneading, kissing, sucking, biting, sending hot waves of pleasure through her. She knotted her fingers in their hair, holding their heads to her breasts, urging them on with soft, frantic whispers.
