Coming Together

by Brandy L Rivers

  Her face lit up with a big smile, the one that never failed to brightened his day. “I’ve always loved cats.”

  Eddie absorbed the radiance she exuded. Reaching out, he twined his fingers with hers. “How am I going to hide what we share from everyone else?”

  “Don’t know. I’m wondering the same thing.” She sighed, her smile crumbling. “I feel bad about Stefano. And no, he has no chance at all. He scared the hell out of me last night, and even if you and I didn’t have each other, I’m over Stefano. Didn’t mean to, but I feel like I led him on.”

  “He’ll get over it,” Eddie murmured.

  Brent shook his head. “I’m not sure how stable he is. Tiana encouraged him to pursue you. She doesn’t seem to understand the problem.”

  “Maybe last night freaked me out more than it should have. Between all the memories from the awakening, Stefano’s lookalike dead wife, and three vamps gnawing on me, I could have misread what I saw in his thoughts. But whether or not those were memories or fantasies, I want nothing to do with him.”

  Brent shook his head, his eyes squinching. “We can’t totally write him off, Jackie. We may require his help. Shutting him down completely may only earn his anger. Right now, neutral is the best policy. We don’t want him to become the enemy.”

  She shook her head, throwing her hands up. “I won’t lead him on. I can’t pretend interest after last night.”

  “I’m not asking you to. Instead, try to be his friend. We need him on our side.”

  “Fuck, this is your fault. You’re the one who pushed us together in the first place.”

  “I saw the way you looked at him in the beginning, Jackie. You were interested. Besides, right now, do you really think it wise to take your and Eddie’s new relationship status public?”

  She let out of a huff. “I’m not stupid. With Kim’s father in town, that would be insensitive and moronic. Not to mention the rumors that would start. I don’t want Eddie to look like a jerk. The timing sucks. But I don’t want to give Stefano false hope either. That seems like a really stupid idea.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, and why you must make it clear you aren’t ready to start a new relationship. For now, be cordial without giving a definitive answer.”

  “That’s leading him on,” Jackie pointed out with narrow eyes.

  Eddie pulled her closer and slipped his arm around her. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll play the broken, grieving boyfriend, and demand all of your time.” He winced at his own words even as he shrugged.

  “And I’ll be the best friend who can’t stand to see you suffer.” Leaning up she kissed his lips softly. “When no one is around, we can be more.”

  “I don’t want to wait,” he whispered against her lips.

  “Neither do I. We’ll have time here, alone.” She kissed him slowly.

  Brent cleared his throat, pulling them out of the moment.

  She glanced over at him with a heavy sigh. “I suppose we should go, huh?”

  “Would be best. Want to be out of here long before dark so Stefano doesn’t try to find you.”

  “Perfect plan.”

  Chapter 15

  Rattling chains pulled Sidra awake. Clive sagged against the rack where she’d left him, daggers skillfully placed in his shoulders to pin him upright.

  He had to feed soon. They had healed the previous night’s injuries only for her to inflict her own, reminding him who his mistress was.

  Before they could search out Stefano, and the whore he found so damned fascinating, Clive had to be at a hundred percent. That meant hunting before slipping into the night to find their real prey.

  After everything they had done to break Stefano, she didn’t understand how he could crave anything that resembled his painfully innocent wife.

  Although Jackie was far from innocent. She’d killed a man. Fucked more than her share of men, and a few women along the way. Poor Stefano couldn’t begin to handle her.

  Dragging her eyes over Clive, she smiled. He watched her with raw lust as he slowly lifted his head. “Mistress,” he purred.

  She drew a slow breath as she closed the distance. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to play. We need to get you whole before we can put my plan into action.”

  “What plan is that?” he asked with interest.

  “Remember that wannabe dom who’s obsessed with Jackie?”

  Clive nodded slowly.

  “We’re going to change him. Let him show Stefano how to treat her. Maybe he’ll take care of our problem for us.”

  “You want to be rid of her so fast?” Clive asked lightly.

  She didn’t appreciate Clive’s interest. As punishment, she yanked the daggers out of his shoulders, letting him slump against the cold stone wall while the chains held him up.

  “I want her not to tempt Stefano further. She could help him find the strength to move on. I don’t want him to move on. I want him so low he has no choice but to turn to me.”

  “Then why wait to destroy the girl?”

  “If another vampire does it, we can take him more easily while he’s distraught. Perhaps she doesn’t have to die. Maybe once his opinion of her is ruined, we can use her ourselves. First, I want to know more about this man and why she avoids him.”

  “As you wish,” Clive answered obediently.

  Sidra opened the cuffs, letting him fall to his knees as he looked up at her.

  “I don’t have the strength,” he admitted.

  She had been hard on him, probably too hard. Kneeling before him, she pulled her hair to the side and offered her throat. “Drink enough to sate yourself.”

  His fangs slid into her neck as his hands curled around her hips, drawing Sidra against his body. He pulled at her vein briefly, before closing the wound and leaning back. “Only you I crave like this.”

  “You want the girl,” she reminded darkly.

  “To break her. You’re the one I want to worship.”

  A smile graced her lips. “Come, we have much to do.”

  First stop, a ritual chamber not far from their temporary lair in the Seattle Underground. They were well off the beaten path of the famous tour, hidden away from where tourists wandered.

  Wiccans had been gathering nearby, every few nights, for some lame ritual with no true magic behind it. A few sensitives belonged to the coven, but they were mostly human. Some of them had minor psychic abilities, or could sense Others, but had no real power or magic.

  A striking girl with long, dark hair lit candles around the altar. Power churned around her, gathering like a storm. Maybe she was more Other than not.

  A young man stood, watching her, nearly panting. His body responded, desperately waiting to take her.

  Sidra pulled Clive to a stop and nodded in the girl’s direction—her signal he could have his way with the woman as long as she died in the process.

  Killing Stefano’s siren was an option, but she had other ideas she wanted to explore first. So many uses, if she could only make her cooperate. They weren’t so different.

  Strong, independent, confident. They didn’t need a master, wanting to rule their life. Too often men would choose to hold them down, force them to submit. With Jackie by her side, perhaps the siren could serve a greater purpose. Force men to learn their true place, beneath women like them.

  Clive slipped into shadows and flowed past the man, reforming behind his prey. “Beautiful,” he whispered against her ear.

  Bright blue eyes flew open as her head whipped toward him. His hands curled around her hips, pulling her back into his body. She moaned low in her throat, pressing against him.

  “Do you want me?” he murmured, already lifting her skirt.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Her companion stood staring, his mouth agape, as Clive thrust into her hard. Clive ripped her shirt open, letting her breasts spill out.

  One hand crushed the soft mounds as he hammered into her. Cries of her pleasure echoed in the chamber. The other man never moved,
entranced by the show before him.

  Clive’s fangs descended before clamping onto the woman’s jugular. She screamed out her release. Fear flowed from the man as he slowly backed away, right into Sidra.

  He spun around as Sidra grinned, displaying her own fangs. A vision in leather skirt and corset, paired with thigh-high spiked boots, one the fool didn’t appreciate.

  Sidra snarled, grabbing his shoulder, she jerked him back around so he could watch the finale.

  As the woman fell forward, Clive gripped her thighs and ripped her body in half with a delicious, wet sound.

  Sidra stepped in front of the man and sneered at the puddle of piss around his feet.

  “No sport at all,” she muttered.

  She plowed her hand into his chest, breaking past bone to grip his heart. The sniveling moron screamed as she pulled it out and sank her teeth into the beating organ.

  * * * *

  Stefano paced frantically, despite knowing he drove Tiana up the wall. Her amused tone stung. “You’re wearing a hole in the floor. What’s going on with you?”

  “She’s out there, all alone. What if Jacqueline comes back early and Sidra finds her?” Every instinct urged him to protect her. “I must find her.”

  Tiana took him by the shoulders, stopping him in his path. “Give her space. Last night must have scared her. Two vampires took from her, then she offered you even more blood. Think about how everything might have affected her.”

  Stefano nodded. “I could protect her. Keep her safe.”

  “She doesn’t want that in a man. She’s an independent woman who is perfectly happy taking care of herself and her own problems.”

  “She could have died last night.”

  Tiana laughed. “Who froze Sidra solid?”

  “Jacqueline.”

  Her brow arched. “And who struggled against two powerful Shadowstalkers? Something neither of us has ever seen.”

  “She did.”

  “Jackie doesn’t want a savior. She wants a man to support her, and her decisions.”

  “If I don’t find her tonight, she will never choose me. I terrified her. She turned to Eddie. I can’t lose her.”

  “No. She needs time, Stefano. Let her have it. She turned to Eddie because he’s been there every time her world falls apart. I’ll give you a word of advice. If you want a chance with her, don’t ever try to make her push Eddie away. She’ll never allow that.”

  “She’ll fall into his arms. He’ll take her heart.”

  “He just lost the woman he was going to propose to. Eddie may as well be her brother. Give it a chance.”

  Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes. His heart ached. “If Brent calls, please ask if she’s all right?”

  Tiana smiled. “Of course. Though I don’t expect him to call while camping.”

  Chapter 16

  Jackie stared out the window, wondering how her world had become so surreal. Vampires stalking her. Sirens awakening her. Her forbidden love shared the same hidden emotion all these years. And her mother, who was supposed to be dead, might not be. Not to mention access to powers she didn’t understand, or know how to prevent herself from using.

  Eddie drove, Brent rode shotgun, while she sat curled up in the back. She couldn’t help worrying what Stefano was doing. Would he try to find her?

  The night before, while he’d been drinking from her, he really freaked her out. More so than the other vampires. The more images that played through her head, the more she wanted to stay far away from him.

  She’d seen his thoughts and memories. Visions of her, or maybe Eloise, pinned beneath him, being told to accept his love. Whatever he felt, it wasn’t love. A twisted obsession would be more accurate. He wanted a possession, not a lover. There had been flashes of his wife, of him yelling at her anytime a man looked her direction. Something was broken in him.

  And to think she’d flirted with him, had some interest. Only when his mind touched hers, did she realize how deeply disturbed Stefano had become. He would never be okay with Eddie, or any of the other men in her life.

  Sure, Eddie could be overbearing at times, but that was born out of legitimate worry, and he never failed to back down. Stefano would attempt to suffocate her freedom. Something she couldn’t live without.

  “Jackie?” Brent asked softly. When she moved her eyes to him, he added, “We’re here. Let’s set up camp, get the fire going. You know the drill.”

  “I do.” She grabbed a couple bags from the back and followed to the fire pit that had been their second home since they were kids. Jackie had fallen in love with this site when Eddie’s parents first brought them. As they got older, they were allowed to camp on their own. So many summers were spent in the woods and near the lake.

  Brent set down both tents, not that either she or Eddie would resort to shelter unless it rained, which was unlikely with the clear sky.

  Eddie stepped beside her and nudged her shoulder. She locked eyes with him, and fell into the love and desire warming his gaze. A shiver traveled down her spine. All this time there had been something between them that neither could admit. The knowledge was freeing, but their circumstances constricted what they could, and couldn’t do, in public.

  “You okay, Jackie? You’ve been awfully quiet the whole trip.”

  She set the bags down and turned toward him as he put the cooler on the ground. He stood and moved closer.

  Her heart thundered in her chest. “Better now that we’re out here. I don’t really want to go back to deal with… anything.” She drew a slow breath and let it out. “We have to go back tomorrow though. I’m dreading reality.”

  His fingers threaded into her hair as he moved closer. “Yeah, we have to go. I’m speaking at Kim’s funeral.” He shook his head sadly. “After all this time of worrying about you, it’s Kim who’s dead and gone. I never even considered she might be in danger.”

  “You didn’t know there were Shadowstalkers.”

  A frown pulled at his lips as he shook his head. “I knew something bad was going down. I’d sensed it for the last couple weeks. But you were the one I worried about. Never her. That makes me an asshole.”

  She laughed softly. “In your own words, ‘She can shift into a dragon and eat bitches for breakfast.’”

  “But she didn’t. She died, and a part of me feels like hell because her death finally pushed us where we should have been all along.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. “Shh, Eddie. Don’t do that to yourself.”

  “Trying not to. But with the funeral tomorrow, I can’t help feeling like the world’s biggest dick because I finally have the one woman I wanted but never thought I could have.”

  “You’re not a dick. You loved Kim. It was never a ruse.”

  He held her tighter as he sucked in a breath and let it out. “She was never first in my heart.”

  There were no words. Nothing she could say would ease his pain. Jackie held him, wishing she could make everything right again.

  Brent cleared his throat. “Eddie, you’d be an ass if you didn’t feel some guilt. You’re a good man. Don’t doubt yourself.”

  “Thanks.” He released Jackie and went to work setting up camp. Jackie joined in.

  Wanting a lighter subject, she glanced over at Eddie as she unrolled the sleeping bags. “You ready for tonight?”

  A sparkle danced through his eyes. “Got you here, don’t I? I can do anything with you around.”

  Her brow arched. “You’d be able to do this without me. You’re tough like that.”

  “Not like you.” He glanced away. “No matter what the crisis, you solve it, and bounce back even when you fall down.”

  “Couldn’t bounce back without you,” she admitted. “Especially last night. I couldn’t let Stefano die, but when he drank from me—I don’t trust him now. I can’t pretend I’m interested. He’s not right.” So many images had swirled through her head while he drank from her. After learning about his
dead wife, some of them made more sense, and seeing the way he treated the woman he devoted his life to scared her worse. She wanted nothing to do with him now.

  Eloise had seemed to like his possessive, assholeish qualities. Seeing how Stefano showed his love made her blood run cold.

  Brent walked away, giving them a moment. Eddie moved in front of her. “Hey, you can handle him, as much as I hate the idea. You already kicked one vampire in the nuts and froze another. After which you bravely saved fangface, and managed to get away before he could follow. You got home. I only helped clean you and held you up until you could find your feet again. And that didn’t take long.”

  “You’re the one who raises me up. I’ve always needed you.”

  “Same for me. My world would crumble without you. I can’t imagine life without you, Jackie.”

  “Everything would fall apart if you weren’t here.” She pressed her lips to his as he held her tight.

  When he released her, he nodded to the gear. “Best get set up before Brent comes back.”

  She gave him a smirk. “Sure.”

  * * * *

  Night came and the full moon pressed on Eddie. He couldn’t remember a damned thing Grampa had told him during his phone call earlier that day. His muscles twitched so bad he had to lean against the tree.

  “You sure you want to watch this, Jackie?” The animalistic growl to his voice made him shudder.

  What if I lose control and rip her open?

  She frowned. “Of course. Unless you don’t want me to.” She leaned beside him and took his hand.

  Every muscle started to relax. “You aren’t afraid I might do something that could hurt you?”

  A soft laugh left her lips, confidence shining and bright in her eyes. “You won’t hurt me.”