Blood of the Maple

by Dana Marie Bell

  “Yes, please, and thank you.” Parker shifted Amara and grunted. “What can we do to keep Amara safe?”

  “Keep you safe, you mean.”

  Parker stared at her blankly. “Of course.”

  Amara rolled her eyes. “Don’t go there. Maybe we should concentrate on both of us being safe, hmm?”

  “I like that plan.” Brian leaned back against thin air, perfectly at ease in his ghost’s arms. His fingers danced over thin air as he petted Greg. Brian was turning out to be remarkably touchy-feely, which she hadn’t expected. “I say we call in some reinforcements. We’re dealing with someone who was a witch first. She probably thinks like one.”

  “She might try magic to hurt us next, since her plant attack didn’t work.”

  “And we have no magical protections.” Parker shook himself. “Greg, you’re a witch. Any suggestions?”

  Brian started. Perhaps he’d forgotten his lover had once been the very thing they were fighting.

  “I can’t cast anything anymore thanks to the grim reaper. I’d suggest we call in a living witch who has a connection to the earth.” Parker’s gaze drifted to Brian. “Do we know someone we can trust?”

  “I can put in a few phone calls.” The Renfield reached for his cell phone.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Dragos turned back around. “I’ll take care of that.”

  Selena frowned. The markings had faded, her eyes hazel once more. “Who?”

  Dragos smiled, his expression full of heat and desire. “Kate, of course.”

  Selena sighed. “Of course. On that note, I’m out of here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Parker, Greg.”

  Parker stood after placing Amara on the couch. “Ours as well, Miss Selena.” Parker kissed her fingers. “Please, feel welcome in my home.”

  Amara damn near growled at the pleasure in Selena’s eyes. “Thank you, Parker.” Selena winked at Amara. “Have a good night, Amara.”

  Dancing butterflies filled her stomach. She knew what Selena was talking about, and it had nothing to do with being good. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  She ignored the way Dragos’s shoulders had stiffened. If he didn’t want to acknowledge the witchdoctor, that was his problem. Whatever was going on between them, she couldn’t allow it to affect Parker.

  Then again, maybe Amara could pay Selena back for helping Parker with a little magic of her own. “I’m thinking of throwing a party to welcome Parker to the neighborhood. Why don’t you come? It might be a good way to draw Terri out.” She leaned in close and whispered in the witch’s ear, low enough to pretend she thought Dragos couldn’t hear. “Besides, there’s this guy I’ve wanted you to meet.” She waggled her brows and winked, even though they both knew there was no man. But what Dragos didn’t know might lure him out into the open without Kate, his sometime lover and the town’s treasurer.

  Selena’s eyes sparkled as she carefully did not look at Dragos. “Sounds good. I’ll be here.” She stepped out the front door with a cheery wave. “Night, everyone!”

  Without a backward glance, the witchdoctor left. At least one pair of eyes stayed glued to her car until it turned the corner.

  “So we have a plan to bring Terri to us. Any ideas on how to protect us from another attack?”

  Trust Parker to bring her back from romance to the real world.

  “I’ll contact Kate as soon as I get home. She will be more than happy to work for us, I think.” Dragos drifted toward the door. “Move into Amara’s home as soon as possible, Parker. She is, after all, your sotiei, and her home has better protection spells. Amara, you might want to see if any of Glinda’s wards are still in place.”

  “How?”

  “Greg might be able to see them. I know for a fact that just before she died, she keyed several of them so you could activate them.” Dragos stepped into the night. “It’s time I headed home. Call if you need anything. Good night.” Dragos sauntered down the walk, fading in a self-generated mist that floated off on the evening breeze.

  “Can you do that?”

  Parker laughed. “Turn into mist? Yes. It’s not as complicated as it looks, but I don’t think I have Dragos’s dramatic flair.”

  “He does like to make an exit, doesn’t he?” Amara tilted her head, thinking through some of the things she’d learned that night. “I think Selena is his sotiei, but he doesn’t want to acknowledge that for some reason.”

  Parker shut the door. “Is he sleeping with this Kate person?”

  “I think so.”

  “Then Selena cannot be his sotiei.”

  “How do you know?” She settled in next to him on the couch, trying to ignore the hungry gleam in his eyes.

  “Because after one meeting with you, being with anyone else is unthinkable.” He pulled her close and nuzzled her neck, his warm breath tickling her. “One taste and I was ruined for anyone else.” He bit her gently, fangless, a reminder of how pleasurable his bite could be.

  “Maybe if he tasted her, he’d know?”

  Brian came back with a glass full of greenish-yellow goop and a bandage on one finger. “He could be resisting, I suppose. If he thinks claiming her would put her in danger, he might be able to distance himself enough to sleep with someone else. And the rejection of his sotiei when she found out would widen the gulf, until eventually the connection could conceivably break. Honestly, though? I don’t think she is. He showed none of the strain of being around his sotiei without touching her, and his beast didn’t react when she nearly passed out.” He handed Parker the glass. “Drink up.”

  Parker sniffed and made a face. “It’s like being handed a fast-food cheeseburger after dining on filet mignon. No offense.”

  “None taken.” Brian went back to Greg and leaned against thin air.

  Amara touched one finger to Parker’s lips. “Give me a nip, Parker.”

  A dot of red appeared in his eyes. Parker’s fangs descended, piercing her skin, there and gone again so fast she scarcely registered the pain, let alone the pleasure. She pressed her fingertip until the blood beaded, then added it to the concoction.

  Parker drank his dinner in three long swallows and shivered. “That’s much better. Thank you, Brian.” He licked the wound on Amara’s finger closed. “And thank you, m’lady.” His heated look scorched her, turned her inside out.

  She could hardly contain her answering smile. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her, and she’d prove it once they were alone. “You’re welcome.”

  “I’ll wait until morning and run next door, pick up some clothes for Parker and myself. Greg and I will sleep in Amara’s old room.” Brian winced at Parker’s low growl. “Parker will sleep in Amara’s new room. With Amara.” She had a hard time stifling her giggle when Brian muttered, “Duh.”

  Amara patted Parker’s arm. “He’s right. He’ll be most comfortable there. The bed is large enough for him and Greg to roll around in.”

  She couldn’t help giggling at Parker’s reaction. Her big, bad vampire stuck his fingers in his ears and lalalal’d at the top of his lungs. He wished Greg and Brian good-night, grabbed Amara and practically dragged her to bed. He already had her in his arms and in her bedroom, the door slamming shut behind them, before she could offer them her good-nights. “Hi.”

  She grinned up at him, remembering when he’d startled her the other night. That night she’d screamed in his face and tried to deck him.

  Tonight she would give him a much warmer reception. She unzipped his pants, pulled out his semierect cock and toyed with it. “Hi.”

  “I think I like your greeting better.” Parker cupped her breasts, stroking her nipples through the whisper-thin cotton of her sundress. She arched into the touch, licking her lips at the thought of what she wanted to do to him.

  “Give us a kiss?”

  She got down on her knees, ignoring his delighted smile, and took him into her mouth.

  His head banged against the door. “Now that’s what I call a kiss hello.”
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  She chuckled, earning a groan. His cock jumped in her mouth, hardening more. She looked up at him through her bangs to find him staring at her, his fangs out, his eyes burning. He buried his hands in her hair, guiding her movements, and rocked his hips into her. He set the pace, fucking her mouth, giving her his pleasure, careful not to push too hard or too fast.

  “Do you want me to come in your mouth? Hmm? Is that what you want?”

  The thought of tasting him, drinking him down, filled her with need. She sucked harder, stroked the flared head of his cock with her tongue, eager to have him spill into her mouth. He hissed out a breath and tugged her hair. She’d have to tip him the rest of the way over.

  Amara cradled his balls and rolled them in her palm, massaged them in time with her strokes. But it wasn’t until she accidentally grazed him with her teeth that Parker finally lost control. He held her in place while he fucked her mouth with total abandon.

  “Yes,” he hissed. “Now. Goddess, now.” His come erupted on her tongue, more sweet than salty with a touch copper. She hummed her approval, drank him until he was drained. She didn’t let up until Parker started to laugh.

  “Enough, sweet. Bloody hell. I think you sucked out my brain.” He helped her to her feet and guided her toward the four-poster bed. Parker touched one of the posts, an evil gleam in his eye. “I approve of your bed. All sorts of interesting places to attach hooks.”

  Amara gulped. “H-hooks?”

  “Mm.” Parker pushed, and Amara fell onto her back, her legs dangling over the edge. “The better to tie you up with, my dear.”

  When he crawled on top of her, she put her hand on his chest. “I’m not into pain, Parker. Pain hurts me.”

  He placed a soft kiss on her palm, then repeated the gesture on her other palm. “I know.” He took both of her wrists in his hand. Without taking his eyes off her, he pulled her arms over her head. “Don’t move.”

  Did she want to play his game, or did she want to challenge him, see what would happen if she disobeyed?

  He skimmed his hands down her body. Her breasts ached for his touch, but he avoided them, brushing the sides but ignoring the peaks. She considered moving her arms, but his next action left her motionless. He lifted her skirt and moaned at the sight of her bare pussy. “I love a woman who wears a dress without knickers.” He lapped once at her wet folds before forcing her legs apart. His stern look had her trembling. “My turn. Remember, keep your hands where they are.”

  Amara gave a shuddering sigh when his mouth descended once more. She grabbed her wrist, determined to play along, to let her vampire be the dominant partner this time. He wanted to play, and she would let him. He wouldn’t hurt her, and if he continued doing that swirly thing with his tongue, she might grant his wish and put hooks in her bed. Her entire body was a giant instrument of pleasure, expertly played by Parker’s mouth. He took her clit into his mouth and sucked it, strumming it with the tip of his tongue in mind-bending strokes. She bucked, desperate for more, and the tips of his fangs grazed her wet folds. The thought of him biting her there both scared her to death and aroused the hell out of her.

  Her body moved without conscious control. Her breasts were hard and aching, desperate for a touch, a lick, anything he cared to give them. She tightened her thighs around his head, then parted as her body raced toward orgasm. She lifted her legs and dropped them again, alternately thrusting her hips into Parker’s face and twisting beneath him, trying to find the angle that would send her screaming into the abyss.

  But her hands stayed right where he’d left them, and that tiny bit of control she’d given him made the pleasure that much deeper. She trusted him, and he rewarded her in the best possible way.

  “Goddess, Parker. If you stop, I will fucking kill you.”

  Parker hummed around her clit, and Amara screamed as she came, unable to breathe, every muscle locked tight in ecstasy.

  The tremors finally eased, and her sight returned. And oh what a sight it was. Parker was still lapping at her, keeping her vaguely aroused and unable to come all the way down from the incredible high he’d given her. He kept it up, over and over, licking her, tasting her until she moved under him again, frantic to keep his tongue right there.

  Parker looked up at her desperate face and smiled. Something sparked deep within his gaze as it landed on her needy breasts. He focused his attention on one, and Amara shrieked. Phantom fingers plucked at her nipple, this side of the pleasure line of pain. That touch sent her once more over the edge, her body rippling under his touch in an explosion that rocked her to her core.

  She opened her eyes to find Parker sliding into her. He’d lifted her legs, planted her calves on his shoulders. He cupped her ass, lifting her to meet his thrusts. His cock pounded into her, sending her bouncing. Only his grip on her ass kept her from sliding away from him.

  He licked his wet lips and stared down at where they were joined as he took her over and over. “You were made for me. Made to take my cock.” He clenched her ass, and she knew she’d have some bruises from the strength of his grip. Their flesh slapped together, and Parker’s eyes narrowed to slits, leaving a ruby gleam beneath dark lashes.

  Amara’s breasts ached. She needed to be touched, needed her nipples toyed with. She was so damn close to coming, but she couldn’t quite get to where she needed to be. Why wasn’t he touching her?

  Parker opened his eyes. He must have seen how much she needed, because he moved her legs and wrapped them around his waist. “Hold on, sweet.” She did as she was told, holding him tight between her thighs. He shoved the dress farther up until it was above her breasts, exposing them to his greedy gaze. He moved his hand to hold her steady while he fucked her, his palm on her stomach. He stroked her breasts with his free hand, finally giving them the attention she craved. He plucked and twisted her aching nipples. She cried out, the mix of pleasure and pain driving her closer to the edge.

  He slid his hand down her sweating stomach until his thumb brushed the edge of her clit, circling the soaking flesh until she was on the verge of coming. Parker’s jaw clenched. “So fucking close. Come for me, sweet. Come on my cock.”

  Parker moved his thumb a hair, and that was all she needed. Her body bowed off the bed, the orgasm so intense she came close to blacking out. Her vision darkened, her lungs seized and she didn’t care that she could be dying. She’d be one hell of a happy dead woman.

  Parker bellowed, his body throbbing as he emptied his seed into her. He gasped, barely able to catch his breath, sweating like a pig and more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. He collapsed on top of her, his knees barely on the bed, his cock inside her, still hard despite the fact that he’d already come. His hot breath danced across her breasts; his forehead pressed against her breastbone. “Gods above.”

  Amara couldn’t answer. She wasn’t sure her lungs worked right anymore. She couldn’t seem to gulp in enough air to do much more than pant.

  He lifted his head and grinned, so full of male satisfaction that she tightened in response. “You’re a very good girl.”

  Amara tilted her head. “Hmm?”

  “You didn’t move your hands.”

  Amara blinked. Hell. She’d forgotten all about them.

  Parker laughed huskily and dragged her up the bed. “That’s my girl.”

  Amara smiled. His girl. She liked the sound of that.

  Chapter Six

  “Good evening, Ms. Gallagher.” Parker’s good humor was being seriously strained. This was one of the worst evenings he’d had since moving to Maggie’s Grove. He’d hoped things at the local farmers’ market, another twenty-four-hour, one-stop shopping place for the vegetarian vampire, would be better, but from the scowls he was receiving, he’d been wrong.

  Ms. Gallagher, a woman who’d shyly rung him up on several occasions in the past few weeks, took one look at him and almost growled, “You’re with Amara Schwedler, aren’t you?”

  What the hell is wrong with these people? He hadn’t
met such hostility since he’d walked into a speakeasy nearly a century ago and flashed a fake badge. “Yes,” he drawled. Her stare was beginning to piss him off. It bordered between afraid and hostile, a look he’d seen several times since he began shopping.

  “You know she’s not normal, right?”

  Parker smiled sweetly, while inside, his rage boiled over. She was the third person to tell him Amara wasn’t normal, whatever the fuck that meant. “You’re right. She’s not normal.” He leaned in close, until her pupils expanded with fear. His eyes had gone deep red. “She’s better.”

  Slowly he leaned back, out of the woman’s personal space. He left his selections on the counter, too angry to continue shopping. If one more person called his mate a freak, he was going to kill someone. True, Amara was unique, but she wasn’t a monster. This was Maggie’s Grove, for fuck’s sake. Women rode broomsticks without generating comments; werewolves bayed at the full moon, and people couldn’t care less. The mayor was a fucking vampire. And they had the audacity to call his sweet Amara abnormal?

  He snorted, amused, but it didn’t help his fury. People got out of his way; they understood what an angry vampire was capable of in this town and weren’t about to let him take his rage out on their flesh.

  “Parker.”

  Ah. Now, there was someone he could fight. “Dragos.”

  “I understand you’ve been butting up against the bit of prejudice we seem to have in this town.” Dragos stepped close, but not close enough to feel Parker’s claws. The street had emptied, people ducking into doorways or businesses to get out of their way. “I want it stated for the record that I do not agree with the way some people treat your singele sotiei.”

  There was a masculine gasp behind him. “Someone mated that freak?”

  His beast broke its leash, eager for the taste of blood. Before the speaker had finished, Parker had him by the throat and up against the wall, leaving him no time to react. Dragos sighed, resigned to the coming fight. Parker had no problems handing out object lessons. He smiled, allowing his fangs to show. “What did you say about my wife?” He clenched his hand around the man’s throat until he could barely breathe.