by Stormy Glenn
Just knowing how close he had come to not even meeting Beau gave him chills. It was only by chance that his brother had been contacted and asked to meet with a group of shifters looking for some medical assistance. Dario had decided to accompany his brother on a whim…or maybe out of boredom.
There wasn’t a lot for a hundred-and-fifty-year-old vampire to do in the world nowadays. He had traveled the planet, seen sights most people only dream about. He had dined with royalty and partied with rock stars. He had romanced men and women from one continent to another. In all his travels, he had never found that one person that settled his soul.
Until now.
Beau made him feel complete in ways he couldn’t even begin to describe, and he had attended Harvard and Oxford. There simply were not words for the peace he had found just from being in Beau’s proximity.
The bloodlust that had been just under the surface of his control and nipping at his heels for the last couple of decades was gone. He no longer felt as if he was positioned on the edge of a pendulum, waiting to fall over one side or the other.
The other side of that coin was the fact that he would utterly destroy anyone who dared take Beau from him. It didn’t matter who it was. His entire world now centered around one beautiful bunny shifter with the symbol for loyalty tattooed on his face.
“I’m going to drop everyone off a ways from the mansion and then drive the SUV somewhere and leave it,” Dominic called out from the front seat. “I don’t know if there is some sort of tracking device on this thing. We can’t chance anyone finding where we are staying.”
“I will fly Clay home and then come back for any that are injured,” Vey said before his gaze fell to his mate. “That includes you, little bunny.”
“Oh, but—”
“Think of our kits, my love.”
Dario was amazed by the pout that slid Bailey’s lower lip out. He was also vastly amused by it, as was Vey, if the smile on the gargoyle’s face was anything to go by.
“Would you like me to get you home, my darling?” Dario asked through the link that had been established with Beau. “I may not be able to fly, but I move much faster than the human eye can detect.”
“Actually.” Beau chewed on his bottom lip for a brief moment, his eyes straying to the others in the vehicle. “If you could help with the wounded, that would be great.”
“If you allow me to take you home first, I would be more than happy to assist with the wounded.” There was no way he was leaving his mate unprotected. “Your safety must come first, my darling.”
Beau’s head cocked to one side, a curious little frown scrunching the skin between his brown eyes. “Why?” he asked out loud in a tone that suggested he truly was ignorant of the answer. “I can protect myself.”
Dario had seen the tension between Vey and his mate and didn’t want to go down the same path. He chose a more diplomatic approach. “I have seen you both at practice and in action. I have no doubt that you are fully capable of defending yourself, but it would make me feel better if I knew you were safe.”
“Oh.” The skin between Beau’s eyes smoothed. “I suppose that would be okay then.”
Dario couldn’t have been more pleased with that response. It wouldn’t have mattered if Beau had disagreed. Dario would see him safe, but having his cooperation made it much easier on both of them.
Dario leaned over and pressed a kiss to Beau’s temple. “Thank you, my darling.”
About two miles from the mansion, Dominic drove the SUV into a small, wooded park and parked it behind an open-sided pavilion. Huge, leaf-covered limbs of aging oak trees blocked out the stars in the night sky, creating a canopy that seemed to hide them from the rest of the world.
After silencing the engine, Dominic turned around in his seat and said, “You need to hurry and get out, I don’t have much time to ditch this crate.”
Beau could feel it, too. Something was coming. He opened the door and stepped out of the SUV. What seemed like the very next moment, Dario was setting him on his feet in the grand foyer of the mansion.
“I will be back as soon as I can, my darling.” Dario looked up at the ceiling and seemed to be listening to something. “Vey has brought Clay home. Alberto will be here in moments with Salvador.”
Beau laid his hand on the high-quality leather of Dario’s jacket sleeve. Who the heck wore leather over a lacy white shirt on a dangerous mission? His vampire, that’s who. Beau immediately pushed that thought way into the back of his mind. The attraction between them was strong, but would it last?
That didn’t mean he didn’t care. “You’ll be careful, right?”
“Of course, my darling.” Dario cupped Beau’s cheek and brushed their lips together.
The next second, Beau was alone. Before he could so much as look around, the open front door moved, just a bit. A breeze softly blew past Beau. Beau’s gaze automatically followed the movement of the cloth covering an antique plant stand next to the majestic staircase leading up to the second level.
At the top of the stairs, the loose carpet runner was slightly bunched up. It didn’t take a genius to know that Alberto had arrived and was going to Clay’s room. He would be a fool if he thought Salvador wasn’t with the doctor. The vampire made it clear to everyone that Salvador was his. It was too bad for Alberto that Salvador wasn’t listening.
The flapping of wings coming closer had Beau looking toward the back of the house. Blinking to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, Beau watched the duck fly toward him, make a sharp turn, and wing his way up the stairs, where he disappeared from Beau’s line of vision.
The chaos continued when Dario appeared in front of Beau carrying Bax. That was a surprise. He had thought Basil was in worse shape.
“You need to help Baxter to bed, my darling.” Dario stood Bax on his feet and waited until Beau gathered his brother close. “I will go get Basil while Vey brings Dominic back here after he disposes of the SUV.”
Beau was starting to hate how Dario just kept disappearing. It made him feel abandoned. Most of all, he hated that it bothered him.
“Beau, I don’t feel so good.” Bax had both arms wrapped around his middle and was rocking back and forth.
“Oh, crap, Bax.” Beau put his arm around his brother. “Let’s get you upstairs.”
Taking most of his brother’s weight, Beau turned them toward the staircase. Getting Bax to his room wasn’t going to be easy.
“Let’s just take this one step at a time,” Beau urged. Thank goodness they had made it to the bottom of the stairs.
“It’s the babies,” Bax confessed and a tear spilled down his cheek. “I thought I wasn’t ready to be a father. If I lose them, it’s my fault.”
Horror had Beau standing there and staring at Bax. What was he going to do? He wasn’t a psychiatrist.
“I think that’s why kits take a couple of months to get here.” Beau grasped at fragile straws for any answers to give his brother. “It gives the parents time to come to terms with all the responsibility. And by the time you’re as big as a house, you’ll be more than ready for them to be born. Nature is good at bringing people around to its way of thinking.”
“You know, in a weird, round-about-way, you’re pretty smart.” Bax’s eyes grew big and salty terror saturated the air around them, along with the metallic scent of blood. “Beau, I’m bleeding.”
“Clay!” Beau mentally screamed.
Beau knew his big brother was hurt, but Clay was his big brother. It was automatic to search for his rock since birth.
“What’s wrong?” The solid strength of Clay’s question held Beau’s panic at bay.
“Bax is bleeding. I think he’s losing the babies.”
“I’m sending”—Alberto appeared, picked up Bax, and was gone—“Alberto to you.”
“He took him away.” Beau started up the stairs. “Oh, Clay. What will we do if he loses them?”
“He won’t.” Clay’s answer was final, with no room for any doubts. “B
attle bunnies are strong, and our days of losing anything we hold dear are over.”
At that moment, Beau believed his brother. But then, when he reached the top of the stairs, he heard Bax’s fearful cry of pain.
“What is wrong, my darling? You are upset.” Never had Beau been so glad to hear Dario’s voice.
“It’s Bax. Something is wrong with the babies. Alberto is with him, but he needs Dominic.” Beau rushed down the hall toward Bax’s bedroom. If Dominic couldn’t be there for Bax, Beau would be. That’s what family did. They looked out for each other.
“Do not worry so, my darling. Alberto will help him and his babies. I am almost there with Basil.”
Beau passed Bax’s room and opened Basil’s door. Before his eyes, Dario appeared in the process of laying Basil on his bed.
Thundering footsteps pounded up the stairs. Beau leaned out the door and watched a wild-eyed Dominic race down the hall and through the door of his and Bax’s bedroom. Deep, ferocious growls erupted from the room before a mournful howl echoed through the mansion.
Goosebumps covered Beau’s arms and tears sprang into his eyes. This wasn’t good. No, this was not good at all. Warm arms brought Beau into the cavern of Dario’s embrace. “Alberto says Dominic is overreacting. Bax will need to stay in bed for a while, but he and the kits are well.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, my darling. Alberto will not allow harm to come to your brother or his kits.”
For a moment, Beau let himself lean back into Dario’s arms. He was surprised by the warmth he felt wrapped in the vampire’s arms. Weren’t vampires supposed to be cold-blooded? Why did Dario feel so warm to him?
Beau had been so cold for so long. The metal cages they had been housed in as prisoners held no warmth. Beau had spent so many nights huddled in the corner, shaking from the coldness of his cage. Not even the rug some lab assistant with a smidgen of sympathy had tossed into his cage had kept him warm.
He still had that ratty old rug, but only pieces of it that he was weaving back together after it was nearly destroyed in the explosion at the sewers. It was faded and thread-worn, but Beau wouldn’t give it up for anything. It was a connection with his past, whatever that was. He knew from listening to the lab technicians talking that the rug had been in the bottom of their small cat carrier when they were sold to the lab.
As it smelled of Beau and all of his brothers, he suspected it had been around all of them for quite some time. Beau liked to imagine his mother made it for him and his brothers before they had been taken away…or sold, whatever happened to them to land them in the clutches of a psychotic scientist and his evil minions.
The whys and hows didn’t really matter.
It was his rug.
“Are you hungry, my darling?” Dario whispered into his ear.
“A little, but I think I am more tired than anything.” Beau’s shoulders lifted in a sigh. “It seems like I haven’t slept in forever.”
“Why?”
Beau shrugged again. He wasn’t sure he had a complete answer to Dario’s question, which made it hard to reply. “Many reasons, I guess. Clay says we always have to be watchful and sleep with one eye open. We never know when we could be found out or when we might need to run again. Clay insists that we always remain prepared and vigilant.”
“While I agree that you must always stay vigilant in watching for the enemy, you must also stay vigilant in looking after yourself. But, not to worry, my darling.” Dario tucked an errant lock of hair behind Beau’s ear. “You have me at your side now. I will remain vigilant for both of us.”
Beau worried his bottom lip with his teeth for a moment as he thought of his fondest wish. It was one he never spoke of to his brothers for fear they would ridicule him for its simplicity, and for its uselessness.
“Ask, my darling, and it shall be yours.”
It was weird having someone be able to read him so clearly. It was also useful. There were times when he hesitated to say anything. Dario was apparently able to tell when that happened.
“Would you”—Beau swallowed down his fear—“Would you come lay down with me until I fall asleep? And maybe stay with me while I…while I sleep?” Beau knew his cheeks were flaming with shame. He was a big, bad ninja bunny and he was afraid to sleep alone.
“You honor me with your request.”
Beau spun around to look up at the tall vampire. “Really?”
It wasn’t stupid?
“Nothing you do or think could ever be thought of as stupid, my darling.”
Oh, there went that whole mind-reading thing again.
Alberto, with Salvador following, emerged from Baxter’s room and came toward them. “Clay is resting with his duck. I’ve finally calmed Dominic down enough so that Bax can get some rest.” Alberto nodded to the room behind them. “I’ll see to Basil before I go up and check on Bailey.”
“I have decided to bring back my guards,” Dario informed his brother. “I will have Cealio place them along the perimeter of the property.”
“I think that is a wise idea.” Alberto placed his hand on Dario’s shoulder as his passed him on the way into Basil’s room, and Beau almost wet his pants. “You have healed sufficiently, my brother?”
“I am well, Alberto,” Dario replied.
Beau took a deep, shaky breath as he stared at Dario, realizing for the first time that the handsome vampire had been hurt. “What happened?”
Dario shot Beau a smile. “Nothing to worry about, my darling.”
“But—”
Dario peeled back the corner of his shirt, showing off pink, puckered flesh that looked as if it had been healing for at least a couple of weeks. It was almost healed.
“As you can see, I am fine.”
Yeah, Beau could see that. He could also see a good portion of Dario’s glorious chest. Jeepers, he thought his insides were going to be burned alive.
Alberto patted Dario’s shoulder gently. “Get some rest.”
Once they were alone again, Beau turned toward Dario and demanded, “I felt that. What was that? And who is Cealio?”
When Dario cupped his cheek, Beau’s body calmed. “Ah, the bond between us is growing stronger, my darling. Soon we will have to seal our bonding.”
Beau crossed his arms and, yeah, he stuck out his lower lip. “You didn’t answer the question, princey. For a second there, I thought my insides were ash. And who is Cealio?”
He had already asked that, but he wasn’t getting an answer.
Dario pulled Beau into his arms and lifted him until their bodies fit tight together like two pieces of the same mold. Beau chose to ignore the fact that his feet no longer touched the floor or that he secretly liked the safety and security of Dario’s arms.
For comfort’s sake only, he rested his arms on Dario’s shoulders, and maybe his fingers accidentally tangled in the vampire’s long, silky hair.
“I will tell you who Cealio is for a kiss.” Dario’s black eyes sparkled in merriment.
Beau blinked. He ended up blinking again just to make sure he heard the man right. “You want me to kiss you?”
Dario’s sculpted eyebrows came together in a deep frown. “Why are you surprised by this? We have kissed several times already.”
“Well.” Beau chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, pondering the question and his answer to it. What would make him sound less like a goober? “Those weren’t real kisses.”
Nope, still sounded like a goober.
Now it was Dario’s turn to close his eyelids slowly before staring at Beau as if he had grown two heads. “Maybe you had better explain this idea of yours that the kisses we shared were not real.”
Holy, holy, the prince was pissed. Beau would have backed away, but the whole ‘feet not touching the floor’ thing kind of stopped him. Time to think fast.
“I think the truth would be the easiest answer,” Dario’s comment sliced through Beau’s chaotic thoughts.
“Well… um… you see…”
Beau huffed and just spit it out, “Every kiss I’ve seen included tongue.” There, he’d said it.
The princey’s smile was wide and showed a bit of fang, which was kind of hot…which made it even weirder. If Beau wasn’t one of the tough Battle Bunnies, it would have scared the ever-loving- bejeezus out of him, too.
Okay, maybe it still did.
A hand at the back of his head urged him forward and firm lips covered Beau’s. The rest of the world faded away and only what Dario was doing to him existed. Dario tipped his head to the side. The brush of skin against skin sent a heated zing straight to Beau’s dick. Now their lips were sealed tightly together.
Beau changed his mind. There was no tongue involved, but this was a real kiss. If he had his way, it would go on forever. And then a firm tongue probed the corner of his mouth. Beau’s eyes snapped open and he jerked his head back, breaking the kiss.
“Holy crap.” He could do nothing but stare at Dario in awe.
Dario’s deep laughter rumbled against Beau’s lower belly and dick. Beau’s dick hardened even more. Yikes, this could get embarrassing if he didn’t cool things down.
Apparently, Dario had different ideas. One moment he was in the hallway, and the next, Dario was following him down onto his bed, body against body, and so close nothing could squeeze in between, not even air.
“Now, my darling.” Dario kissed the corner of Beau’s lips. “Cealio is my head bodyguard and in charge of my soldiers. Kiss me again and I will answer your other question.”
Technically, Beau thought Dario had kissed him, but his balls were starting to hurt so good. Yeah, that didn’t make sense, but that’s the way it was. Kissing seemed to make it even better, and Beau wanted to know what Dario tasted like. So, Beau lifted his head, sealed their lips together, and jammed his tongue into Dario’s mouth. Ouch. He forgot the fangs.
And then all hell broke out.
Chapter Six
The taste of Beau’s sweet blood rolled over Dario’s tongue and thrust him into a red haze, thick with lust and desire…and the need to claim and possess the man beneath him. The need was so overwhelming that Dario’s body ached almost to the point of pain.
