by Kate Hill
Matthew shook his head. “I really don’t know if it’s the right move to make. I hate the idea of leaving my research at the hospital.”
“I understand. But this new position would really give you an opportunity to explore our species.”
“I know that. It’s too bad you can’t tell me more about our home world. When you killed the First Father, you absorbed all his memories.”
“Yes, but do you have any idea how old he was? Those memories of the vampire home world are thousands of years old. They’re murky. All I can gather is that our planet was cold and dark. I’ve even attempted to learn more through hypnosis, but it’s a slow process.”
“I know that.”
“Look, Matthew—” Adam placed his fork to the side and held his brother’s eyes, “—whatever decision you make, be happy. You’ve always had more enthusiasm for your work than anyone I’ve ever known. Don’t lose that, even if it means not taking this opportunity. You will do far more good researching in private at a hospital you love than switching to somewhere you don’t want to be.”
“That’s what I told him,” Dulcie said. “But does a man ever listen to his wife? No. Never.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Mara lifted her wineglass, clinking it to Dulcie’s.
Before the conversation resumed, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Mara placed aside her napkin and left the kitchen.
Adam called, “Who is it, Mara?”
“It’s…the backup the Network sent.”
“Wait a minute.” Matthew lifted his chin. “I know that scent.” The pungency of a typhoon.
The stressed look returned to Adam’s face as he said, “Yeah. So do I. Tell me it’s not true.”
“Hey! I smell turkey.” A tall, thickly muscled Immaculate with long black hair and a goatee sauntered into the kitchen. He wore fitted jeans, worn leather work boots and a black leather coat over his sinewy bare chest. He smiled at the twins. “What’s going on with you two bookends?”
“Vincent.” Matthew sighed.
“Sharp as ever, genius.” Vincent pointed a finger at Matthew and winked as he dropped into an empty seat. “Marina told me Adam’s been having some problems, so I’m here to the rescue. Again.”
“I said I wanted help, not hindrances,” Adam muttered.
“Adam, you know he’s a good fighter,” Mara said. “Try to be patient. Hey! Vincent, that’s my dinner you’re eating!”
Vincent looked up with wide brown eyes. The slice of turkey hanging from the corner of his mouth bobbed up and down as he said, “Sorry. It looked like somebody just left it.”
“I did. To answer the damn door!”
“Try to be patient, love,” Adam mocked his wife.
“Well, he can fight.” Matthew glanced at Adam. “So that means we no longer have to worry about the attacks.”
“I’ve got it all under control,” Vincent said. “I just wanted to drop by and say hey. Mara, mind if I take some of the rolls for the road?”
“Help yourself.”
“Cool.” Vincent grasped two rolls and tore off a turkey leg. “See you later. And don’t worry. I’m here.”
Vincent left through the back door, whistling to himself.
“Why doesn’t somebody just ram a stake through my heart and finish me off?” Adam pressed his palms to his temples. “Just who I need hanging around the hospital. Vincent Dilorenzo.”
“Better than having all that extra work,” Matthew told him.
Adam stared hard into his brother’s eyes, and Matthew offered a helpless smile. Vincent was an excellent fighter, but the only thing that surpassed his martial skills was his talent for aggravation.
* * * * *
After dinner, Matthew and Adam went for a long, fast run, each appreciating the stress relief of physical challenge with another Immaculate whose powers matched his own. They raced through back alleys, scaled the sides of buildings and leapt across rooftops.
All around them the odors of the city mingled with the scent of mortals and the occasional hybrid.
The twins wanted blood. They had similar tastes and waited until they found the right sort of hybrid.
“Wait!” Adam grasped Matthew’s shoulder, nearly tripping him as he had been preparing to leap over a trash can and onto a fire escape.
“There,” Adam whispered, his breathing as harsh as Matthew’s from their run. He pointed to a group of five hybrids tossing a terrified mortal back and forth in a dark parking lot. Over gasoline and smog, the weak scent of mortal blood drifted on the air. The man was nearly drained. As one of the hybrids dragged him to his chest for a final bite, Adam and Matthew leapt into the alley.
“Fucking Immaculates!” one of the hybrids snarled, underlying fear in his eyes.
The mortal dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap as the group rushed at Adam and Matthew, drawing daggers. The blades looked like antiques directly out of the dark ages. Matthew knew the hybrids were probably centuries older than him and his twin. Yet it didn’t matter. Immaculate power was altogether different than hybrid strength, and Matthew saw in their wizened eyes that they knew it.
The vampire closest to Adam lunged at him, his dagger thrusting at his heart. Adam grabbed his wrist with one hand and his throat with the other. The hybrid shrieked, clawing and kicking. Adam thrust him against the side of the brick building. Two others jumped on his back while the remaining two dived at Matthew.
As a rule, Matthew didn’t care for fighting, but as an Immaculate, avoiding physical confrontation was next to impossible. The hybrids were quick and experienced, and as Matthew blocked and struck, he realized he was enjoying the match. He growled, unsheathing his fangs and claws. His senses sharpened until every streetlight glowed like rays of the sun. Thousands of scents became discernable, particularly those of the hybrids. He heard their heartbeats and could almost distinguish the rush of blood in their veins.
Matthew caught one hybrid’s fist as it swung at his face. He spun the hybrid into the other vampire, who accidentally slashed his companion through the heart. Matthew back-fisted the second vampire in the temple, his Immaculate strength knocking the hybrid unconscious.
Matthew whirled, tearing one of the remaining hybrids away from Adam, who had already rendered one unconscious and was about to drink of the other.
Matthew drove the vampire to his knees, twisting his arms behind his back and jerking his neck to one side.
“Don’t kill me!” the hybrid pleaded, his entire body trembling in Matthew’s grasp. “Please. I don’t want to die. I—”
Matthew’s teeth lowered to the throbbing neck. His teeth ached to bite, and he could almost taste the rich blood…
The hybrid sobbed.
Matthew released him, shoving him toward the open end of the alley. The vampire fled without looking back.
He glanced at Adam, who had lifted his face from his victim, his lips glossy with blood. Matthew shrugged at his twin, and Adam smiled. “You never were much for hunting.”
“Sorry.” Matthew squatted beside one of the unconscious vampires, lifted the body and bit. He drank enough to quench his thirst.
As the brothers walked out of the alley, Adam punched Matthew amiably in the arm. “You’re all right, Matthew.”
“I just can’t kill unless I’m furious. I don’t know what it is.”
“It’s called sanity. Too few of our kind have it, which is why the Network is necessary.”
“Dulcie’s family thinks I’m too human. I know they do.”
“Do you care?”
“No. Do you?”
Adam grinned. “Care what Dulcie’s family thinks of you?”
“Think I’m too human?”
“Not with a howl like yours. Feel like racing home?”
Matthew leapt onto the nearest fire escape. “See you there!”
“Hey!” Adam shouted, following at Matthew’s heels. “That’s cheating!”
* * * * *
When
Matthew and Adam arrived at the house, Dulcie and Mara weren’t home, so the brothers sparred. They kicked, punched and wrestled, each far more challenged by the other’s strength than they had been by the entire group of hybrids. Though Matthew fought well, Adam’s experience eventually allowed him to pin Matthew to the grass in an unbreakable hold.
“Give up?” Adam panted, amusement in his voice.
Matthew snapped his teeth, just short of clipping Adam’s hand, before he admitted defeat.
“You haven’t lost much, considering you’ve had so little time to train,” Matthew said.
“Train?” Adam dropped onto the grass beside his brother. “You’re forgetting I’ve been fighting those thugs almost every day since I started at the hospital. It’s almost nice having Vincent around to take over. I wish you were staying, though.”
“So do I, in a way.”
“In a way.” Adam glanced at his brother. “You miss work.”
“I can’t help it. I don’t think I’m going to be able to leave, no matter how good Jay’s offer is.”
“Glad that’s settled. I thought you’d obsess about it for the rest of your vacation.”
“Obsess. Why does everyone use that word in reference to me?”
“I wonder.”
They heard Mara’s jeep in the driveway. Moments later, the women hopped the backyard fence. They emitted the energy of a successful hunt, and each carried the alluring aroma of desire.
Matthew growled deep in his throat as Dulcie’s slanted green eyes narrowed at him.
“Good,” she said. “We were hoping you two would be out here.”
“Too tired for another match?” Mara flung a challenge at Adam.
“Sorry, Matthew—” Adam winked, “—but sparring with her is much more fun than sparring with you.”
Matthew scarcely heard his brother. His attention focused on Dulcie, who circled him, her fangs elongating. She sprang at him, her claws nearly swiping his cheek. He dodged her, lashing out with the back of his hand, controlling his strength, though she eluded him and tossed him a wicked grin.
Dulcie might not have had the power of an Immaculate male, but she was a quick, smart fighter, and he found her a challenge to capture. Finally, he locked her in his embrace. She fought him wildly, her elbow striking his ribs, her hands clawing at his hair as she snarled, her curves soft yet solid against him. God, how he wanted her!
His leg locked with hers, sweeping her foot out from under her. She clung to him, and together they tumbled onto the grass.
“I love it when you’re an animal!” Dulcie bit his lower lip, shivering with desire as his fangs pierced her mouth.
Giggling, she sank her claws into his chest through his damp cotton T-shirt. He howled long and loud, and several neighborhood dogs wailed in answer.
“Will you quit it!” Adam scolded. “You sound like a dog food commercial.”
Matthew glanced sheepishly over his shoulder at his brother and sister-in-law, who lay entwined on the grass, staring in his direction. “Sorry. Forgot you were there.”
“I honestly don’t know what possesses you—” Adam stopped mid-sentence as Mara shoved him hard in the chest, knocking him backward. He leapt on top of her with a feline roar.
Matthew laughed and said, “Well, if it isn’t King of the Jungle.”
He took Dulcie’s hand, and together they walked to their room, leaving Adam still roaring as he wrestled Mara in the grass.
Chapter Seven
“Hello, Lindsay residence,” Matthew spoke into the phone mounted on the wall in Mara and Adam’s kitchen.
With Adam working and the women shopping, Matthew was alone in the house. Usually he would have gladly gone clothes shopping with them, but he looked forward to a couple of hours alone to practice spells.
“Matthew?”
Matthew recognized the voice on the other line. His biological father.
“Brett?”
“Hey! How’s it hanging? Stupid question. Being a son of mine, it’s always up.”
Matthew’s chest tightened. Brett annoyed him more than almost anyone in the world. Matthew knew he was often short with Brett. He didn’t hate him, and his father possessed some qualities he genuinely appreciated, such as loyalty and courage. Maybe because Brett, more than anyone else, reminded him of his own animal side.
“Brett, how are you?” Matthew wondered if he sounded as uptight as he felt. “How’s Mercedes?”
“She’s here. Want to talk to her?”
“Yes.” Matthew got along well with his biological mother. She reminded him of a harsher version of Dulcie. Mercedes flaunted her sex in every way possible. At times Matthew wondered how he and Adam had come from Brett and Mercedes at all.
“Matthew?” Mercedes’ soft, Spanish accent sounded on the line. “We haven’t talked for so many months. Are you well?”
For the next several moments, Matthew spoke with Mercedes about trivial matters.
Finally, she said, “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?”
“I know you don’t like us to listen to your private thoughts, but I can sense something’s bothering you.”
“It’s work-related. Nothing important.”
“I’m sorry to interfere.”
“It’s all right. I should be more guarded.”
Mercedes’ sudden silence made Matthew wish he’d chosen his words more carefully. Though he didn’t speak often with his birth parents, he wanted them in his life. At times he wished they lived closer. If they did, he might even get used to Brett.
After jotting down a message for Adam to return Brett’s call, Matthew gathered incense and candles and arranged them in the living room. He lit the candles with the spell he’d been practicing and was about to meditate when he caught Vincent’s scent.
The doorbell rang. Matthew considered pretending he wasn’t in until Vincent tapped on the living room window and waved through the glass. Rain matted his hair and ran down the tip of his nose as he shouted, “Hey, genius! How’s about letting me in?”
With an agitated sigh, Matthew opened the front door.
“Sheez,” Vincent said as he stepped inside, shaking out his hair, animal-like.
Matthew wiped a drip of water that flew in his eye and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Adam?”
“There hasn’t been trouble around that hospital all night. I thought I’d take a little walk farther out of the city and see what’s up.”
“I assure you, there are no problems here.”
“I know that. I was passing by, caught your scent, smelled the incense and figured you might be practicing a few spells. You must be pretty good at it now. If I had your talent for that stuff, I’d be a monster.”
“You are a monster.”
“How’s about letting me watch a few spells? I can probably help you meditate. It’ll be like old times.”
“I don’t practice often, but when I do, I like to be alone.”
“Just one lousy spell. Come on, genius.”
“If you don’t get out of here, I’ll invoke the goddess of illusion and make you disappear.”
Vincent’s eyes widened. “You can do that? See ya later, genius. I’m swamped with hybrids who need their asses whipped.”
Vincent strode toward the door and slammed it behind him.
Smiling to himself, Matthew turned toward the living room. Vincent was easy to manipulate.
The door opened suddenly, and Vincent stuck his head in, scolding, “Genius, there is no goddess of illusion.”
Matthew turned on his heel and walked back to the door. “Sharp as ever, Vincent. Talk to you later.”
“Later—” Vincent’s sentence was cut off as the door slammed in his face.
Matthew finally settled on his knees by the coffee table and closed his eyes. Free of distractions, he meditated for nearly an hour before attempting to extinguish the flames by ritual.
After several unsuccessful tries, he snuffed out the candles when
he heard Mara’s car pull into the driveway.
With a sigh, he packed everything into the small wooden box, pondering over why bringing forth the flame seemed easier than putting it out, just as some of the deities were easier to approach than others. Goddesses were particularly hard to invoke. Hecate, the goddess of fertility, interested him most. Vampire cycles were rare, and it was particularly difficult for immortals with similar cycles to pair off. Usually when one was in cycle, his or her partner wasn’t. He and Dulcie were close in age and both in the middle of a cycle that wouldn’t occur again for at least another seventy-five years. If only they could conceive. He’d been studying procreation on his kind in private, searching for a scientific method to aid in conception. If he decided to work for Jay, he’d have more time and better resources to study vampire sexuality.
“Hello.” Dulcie stepped into the living room followed by Mara, both women carrying shopping bags.
Mara inhaled deeply. “I love that incense.”
“Sorry. I meant to have all the smoke cleared out of here before you got back.”
“No, leave it burning. I’m going up to the study to work. I have a pile of historical files to log for the Network. Latin. I hate Latin. I really miss having Adam around.”
“If you need any help, let me know,” Matthew offered.
Mara winked. “I might just take you up on that. Adam’s been trying to teach me, but languages just aren’t my thing. It took me forever to pick up Spanish.”
Mara hurried upstairs, leaving Matthew and Dulcie alone.
“Want to see my new clothes?” she asked.
“Try them on for me in our room.”
“I got you two beautiful silk ties.”
“Did you?” Matthew peered into the bag.
She jerked it away playfully. “Wait until we get upstairs, then you can tie me up with them.”
Matthew growled in her ear as they raced to their room.
While she searched through her shopping bags, Matthew undressed. Dulcie’s gaze riveted to him, her pulse quickening as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the expanse of his well-defined chest. His steely abs tapered to a lean waist. Unzipping his pants and pulling them down, he revealed a nest of dark curly hair from which sprouted his semi-erect cock. Dulcie grinned, knowing within moments that thick appendage would swell even more. Then every long, hard, veined inch would drive her to astounding heights of pleasure.
