by KD Jones
“If I touch you I will never be able to leave.” His breath fanned against her neck making her shiver.
“Where are you going?” She walked over to her dresser and picked up her hairbrush and began to brush through her long dark curls. The thought that he would leave her ate at her.
“Boston. One of my warehouses blew up. I need to talk to the investigators.”
She turned to look at him in concern. “Was anyone hurt?”
He nodded. “My second in command, Charles, was visiting the warehouse along with several employees that were working that day. Two humans died. I need to go and see to my people and make sure that the families of those that died are taken care of.”
Jackie put her brush down and went over to him taking him into her arms. “I am so sorry Adrian. Do you know why the warehouse blew up?”
He held her against him taking comfort. “It’s just a blood bank warehouse. I have many throughout the United States and overseas. There should have been nothing there that could cause it to blow up. It has to be intentional.”
“A blood bank? I thought you owned a nightclub.”
“I own many businesses, love, but years ago when we figured out that vampires could live off bagged blood I invested in blood banks.”
“There’s one here in town. Is that yours?”
“Yes. That was the business I was hiring security guards for.” He cupped her face. “I want more than anything to take you with me so that I can protect you, but I know that Samantha will be graduating soon and she has already missed time from school because of the lone wolf incident. I needed to make sure that you were safe, so I have two of my best enforcers assigned to guard you and Samantha.”
“Those are the friends waiting downstairs?”
“Yes, but they are vampires, and will not be able to guard you properly during the daytime. I am sending for reinforcements. The day guards will arrive in a couple of days.”
“So you’ll be gone for a while?”
“It could take a week or two to get everything settled.” He watched as she pouted. Damn that was sexy. Adrian leaned down and took her pouting bottom lip between his teeth.
Jackie rubbed her naked body against his fully clothed one. The roughness of the fabric made goose bumps rise all over her body. She didn’t think she would still have the same reactions as a vampire that she had as a human, but she did. There was so much she still didn’t know about being a vampire. Could she even go out in the sunlight?
She pulled away from his nibbling. “When do you leave?”
“I have a private plane waiting for me at the Strange Lake Falls Airport, I need to leave immediately.” He frowned when she pulled away from him and walked over to her closet.
“I guess you better introduce me to your friends then so you can leave.”
Chapter 14
“You’re kidding me. You mated her?”
Jackie wasn’t sure what to expect when Adrian introduced her to his people, but the perfect blond acting like a jealous bitch in front of her was not it. Pulling her shoulders back she stood her ground staring the other female in the eyes.
“Christina, you will apologize right now!” Adrian yelled with anger.
Christina flinched from the power that came with Adrian’s anger.. “I apologize, Sire.” Christina said it to him instead of Jackie on purpose.
Jackie frowned. She suspected that there was more to Adrian and Christina’s relationship than him just being her maker, and she didn’t like that at all.
Turning her attention to the male vampire named Brock, she looked him over. The guy was huge. He had a shaved head and the blackest pair of eyes she’d ever seen, but what made him intimidating was the tattoo that ran across his cheek and down his neck disappearing underneath his tight black t-shirt. The man had muscles rippling all over under that shirt.
“Jacqueline.” Adrian had been speaking to her while she was ogling the big male vampire. Oops.
“Yes?” She turned her attention to the man that somehow in a matter of days had become her whole world.
“I will call you once I am in the air. You have my numbers right?” He came over to her and caressed her face. Everyone else faded away until it was just the two of them.
“I have your numbers. We’ll be fine. Go take care of your business and your people.” She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. The thought of him leaving was killing her on the inside. She had never needed anyone like she needed him and she hated it at the same time as she loved it.
Jackie sighed with contentment when Adrian leaned down and took her lips in a deep kiss, clutching her tightly. A throat clearing behind them reminded them that they weren’t alone, and they reluctantly pulled away from each other
Adrian turned and faced his enforcers. “Guard my family with your lives.”
Both Christina and Brock nodded. “With our lives we pledge protection.” It was an old vampire tradition for the guards to pledge themselves. It showed that they respected him greatly to do so. It also meant that no matter what Christina may feel towards Adrian’s mating, she would die to protect Jackie and Samantha. That meant everything to him.
Instead of leaving right away Adrian walked over to Samantha. He looked down into a beautiful young face that reminded him so much of his beloved mate. “My vampires are unable to guard you and your mother during the daylight hours. I have requested special day guards to come but it may take several days. I will need for you to help look over your mother. I know you go to school during the week...”
“I can help watch over Jackie during the day. I was recently involuntarily retired from my job and I am bored. I know I’m not as strong as a vampire or werewolf, but I am good with a shotgun.” Mary stepped forward and offered her assistance.
Adrian nodded his head and turned back to Samantha. “I want you to be extra careful. I have no one look after you while you are at school. You’re my family now, so you may be a target.”
“I’ll be careful.” Samantha said with a smile.
Adrian bent and kissed her forehead gently. It was just like he would have done had his own child been born all those centuries ago. A sadness entered his eyes but was quickly replaced with a happiness he didn’t know he could feel. He had a daughter now. And he was going to do everything in his power to protect her.
He glanced at Jacqueline and found her with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. She was beautiful and sexy and she was his. He had to leave or he would whisk his mate back upstairs for another round.
“I will call you in a few hours. Be safe my love.”
“You too Adrian. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.” Jackie fought her tears. She feared for his safety. Someone could be after him, and if they were willing to kill those that worked for him, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill Adrian himself.
“Don’t worry for me. I’ll be back before you know it.” He bent and gave her a quick kiss before turning to walk out the door.
Jackie and Samantha both walked to the door watching him get into his limousine. Mary came up and wrapped her arms around both of them giving them a comforting hug.
Adrian watched his family standing in the doorway as he left. He held his cell phone to his ear. “Marshall, I want the bank note to that farm I told you about. I don’t care how much we have to pay, get it by the end of today.” He hung up his phone and leaned back into his seat. He was determined to take care of his family and their needs. No matter what, they were his to protect.
Chapter 15
The three women closed the door and walked back into the living room where Christina the vampire bitch was pacing back and forth. Jackie chose to ignore her. “What have the two of you been doing while I was…busy?”
“You mean while you were bumping uglies with Adrian?” Samantha asked making her mother’s face turn red. Mary made a choking sound.
“Samantha Mary Tegan!”
“Sorry Mom. Just wanted to tease you a little. I’m happy for you though. Adri
an is a great guy.”
Jackie’s anger faded as she smiled. “He is isn’t he?”
Mary answered her previous question. “While we were waiting we tried to get information on vampires so we would know what to expect. The bitch with teeth wasn’t forthcoming, but Brock was happy to answer all of Samantha’s questions.”
Samantha blushed and turned her head so her mother wouldn’t notice. Too late. Jackie glared at the large man with the tattoo. The large man looked uncomfortable but otherwise showed no signs that he had been listening to their conversation. She would have a talk with Adrian about this. Samantha was too young to be in a relationship especially with a vampire that was bound to be way too old for her. She chose to ignore the situation for now.
“What things did you find out?” Jackie asked.
“Well, you won’t erupt in flames if you’re in the sunlight, but most vampires fall into a deep sleep during the day to revitalize their bodies. Kind of like hibernating bears.” Samantha started spewing off random vampire facts.
“Good to know. What else?”
“Well you can eat and drink anything you want, but your body needs constant supply of blood because you go through so much of it. You can get blood from live donors or from bagged blood. Did you know that Adrian owns a bunch of blood banks?”
“Yes, I did know about the blood banks. So I can still eat chocolate?” Jackie was lingering on the most important piece of information.
“Oh yeah. It may taste different. I know when I was turned to werewolf my taste buds increased ten fold. Even the tiniest bit of sugar tastes way too sweet.”
“Okay so go light on all spices. Got it.” Jackie listened as her daughter went on and on about vampirism. Just how talkative was Brock?
“... then they rise from the ground and create a new identity.”
Jackie missed most of that. “What?”
“Vampires go to ground, like get buried or something, for decades. Then they rise and create new identities claiming to be a relative so that they can keep their money and stuff that they amassed. Adrian is really old so he must have a fortune.”
Amassed? It was a new vocab word for Samantha. “We don’t talk about other people’s money or lack there of Samantha.” Jackie was still stumped over the whole ‘going to ground’ thing.
“Sorry Mom. Anyway, you should have about the same strength as werewolves, but you have to have blood to stay strong and you will hibernate during the day.”
“Thanks for finding all that out for me.” Jackie smiled at her daughter and best friend. What would she do without them?
✯✯✯
Hours later Jackie was trying her best to ignore the two vampire guests in her house, but it was hard when that blond bitch kept snorting every time she walked by. Jackie was getting close to a boiling point. Mary had left for the night to go home and rest, but she planned on coming back in the morning to watch over a sleeping Jackie.
Jackie’s phone rang and she rushed to get to the cordless, feeling a little dizzy because she didn’t expect that kind of speed. Wow, what a head rush. “Hello?”
“Hi baby. How are you?” Adrian’s deep voice caressed her over the phone line.
Jackie smiled ear to ear. “Fine. How about you? Already in the air?”
“Yes. I miss you.”
Her heart warmed up. “I miss you too.” She opened the French doors leading outside to the pool area. The moonlight was shining down making the water sparkle. “When will you reach Boston?”
“A couple of hours. I wish I was with you.”
“Me too. I have a ton of questions for you.”
“What do you want to know? I’ll tell anything and everything.”
“Good to know. Where to start? Oh yeah, when exactly was the last time you fucked Christina?”
“What?”
“Come on Adrian. That woman has been giving me the evil eye since before you left. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there was something going on between you and her.”
“There has been nothing between me and Christina in twenty years.”
“But you did have a relationship?”
“I turned her. There are two things a vampire must have when first rising after a turn, the first is blood and the second is…”
“Sex. So you turned her gave her your blood, and then fucked her. Do you do that with all the vampires you turn? What about the males? Did you fuck Brock too?” She was angry. She had thought she was special to him, but it turned out that he treated her just like all the other vampires he made.
“No! Of course not! Usually I have blood donors there for both the feeding and the sex for vampires that are turned. Christina had been gang raped, beaten, and left for dead. I found her and she begged me to help her. She had a little sister she needed to take care of. Their parents had run off and left them to fend for themselves. I turned Christina and didn’t have a donor available. I have not been with Christina since I turned her and she awoke a vampire.”
“So it was just that one time.”
“Once. No more. She may have harbored feelings for me over the years, but I have never returned or encouraged those feelings. I will have her replaced tomorrow evening.”
“No don’t. I overreacted. She hasn’t done anything to me really.” Damn, she felt bad for Christina now, but she still wasn’t going to let the other woman intimidate her.
“Are you jealous?” His voice echoed with humor.
“No. Okay yes. Exactly how many vampires have you turned and slept with?”
“I don’t think I will answer that question, but I will tell you this, I have not mated any of them. In hundreds of years there has been no one but you for me.”
Damn. The man knew exactly the right thing to say. “Come home to me soon.”
“I will my love. As soon as I can.”
✯✯✯
The first day Adrian was gone came and went without any problems. Mary showed up in the morning as Samantha prepared for school. The two vampire guards disappeared into guest bedrooms. At the evening rising she got a call from Adrian.
She had found out the hard way that she should only use a small amount of toothpaste when she brushed her teeth. Her taste buds were much more sensitive and so were her fangs.
The second day was about the same. Her lesson of the day was that she too needed to leave all the inner doors of the house open. She tried to go to the bathroom and ripped the door off its hinges. “Damn it!”
Jackie had a bag of blood that was supplied for them by Adrian. He had bags delivered directly to Jackie’s house from the local blood bank that he owned. He was making sure that she was taken care of while he was away. It was a little bit controlling but she found it to be very sweet.
Unlike the other two vampires who slapped the bag onto their fangs to drink, Jackie wanted to be more civilized about it. She would cut the end of the bag and put its contents into her dark blue water bottle.
Day three started out like the previous two days as Jackie grabbed her blood bag for the day.
“Yuck.” Mary wrinkled her nose. She went into the living room where Samantha was currently working on her homework. “How’s it going kiddo?”
“Fine. I have final exams starting next week.”
“I can’t believe that you’re graduating High School. It was just yesterday that you and Connor were outside playing cops and robbers.”
“He’s graduating college early this summer right?”
“Yes, he wants to take some graduate courses abroad. I don’t want him to, but it’s what he wants.” Mary sounded sad.
Samantha reached out to gently squeeze the woman who was always like her second mother to her. “He’ll be back though. He just wants to spread his wings a little.”
“I know. I just always hoped he would want to come back home to live, but Strange Lake Falls isn’t exactly the action packed town he has become used to.”
“Give him time.” Samantha sat up straight and raised he
r head to sniff the air. A low fearful whine escaped her. “Mary…”
Mary knew something was wrong. “What is it?”
“Someone just drove up. They’re getting out of the car and approaching the front door. I scent…a wolf.” Samantha’s voice cracked.
Mary stood up and walked over to the gun cabinet. She took out the shotgun and headed toward the front door. She looked back at a frozen Samantha. “Go to your mother. Now!” Samantha raced off. Mary sat the shotgun in the corner behind the door. She didn’t wait for the person to knock before she swung the door open.
She gasped in shock at the man on the other side of the door. He had his fist raised to knock on a door already open, and Mary could swear that the man’s fist was almost as big as her face. The man was huge, probably a good six feet eight inches tall. Wide shoulders that looked ready to tear open the tight t-shirt he was wearing. Mary took inventory of his face. He had a very masculine chin that was nibble worthy. Firm lips, white teeth, strong cheekbones, a roman nose, and shoulder length curly reddish brown hair, but it was his eyes that captured her attention the most. He had the greenest eyes she had ever seen. Like a forest. He looked just as stunned to see her, as she was to see him.
“Can I help you?” Mary opened the door a crack keeping a distance between them.
“I’m here for Samantha Regan.”
“You have the wrong house.” Mary shut the door in the man’s face.
✯✯✯
The man stood there feeling confused and frankly shocked. He was Alpha; no one shut a door in his face, especially not some human. He pounded on the door again.
The woman swung the door open again with a bang. “What do you want now?”
“Let me start over. I am Ric Nelson, the new Alpha of Strange Lake Falls. Are you Jacqueline Regan?” He thought from what he was told over the phone the mother was supposed to be a Vampire. This woman was definitely human.
