by J. C. Diem
We parked close to the house then Flynn, Kala and I carried our team mate up to the third floor and placed him on his bed. Reece’s head lolled towards me and I put my bloody palm against his cheek. He was deeply unconscious, still beneath the vamp’s spell. “When is he going to wake up?” I asked. A heavy silence was my only reply. I glanced up to see the team staring at me in pity. “What?”
“Alexis,” Mark said gently, “I’m afraid Reece isn’t going to wake up.”
“What do you mean?”
Kala rubbed a hand across her mouth, as if she tasted something bad. “Not many people know this, but vampires are toxic to shifters. We always end up dying painfully and horribly when they bite us.” I could tell she didn’t want to add that last part, but felt she had to. She didn’t want me to hold onto false hope.
My face drained of blood. “I don’t understand.” I’d been bitten by both supernatural beings and I was fine. More or less.
“There’s some kind of venom in vampire saliva that reacts badly to our blood,” Flynn explained. “Once bitten, we have no chance of survival.”
“That isn’t completely true,” I replied in a low voice. “I survived.”
Comprehension dawned and Mark leaned forward to take me by the shoulder. “Is that what happened to you in New Orleans? Were you bitten by a vampire?”
I nodded unwillingly and astonished glances were exchanged. “She messed with my memory, but I’m pretty sure she drank from me twice.”
Mark sank back in the chair. He was almost as pale as I felt. “That’s the battle that’s going on in your spirit,” he realized out loud. “The voodoo priestess knew you’d been bitten by a vampire.” He frowned as he realized the timing wasn’t right. We’d seen her shortly after we’d arrived in the city. Katrina hadn’t bitten me until several nights had passed. He shook his head in the futility of worrying about it. “I don’t know how you managed to survive, but I’m afraid Reece isn’t going to be so lucky.”
I’d clamped down on the bond so tightly that I could feel only a flicker of the pain that Reece was suffering. Opening the bond wider, I blanched at the avalanche of agony that assailed him. He was burning up from the inside. Our bond was also rapidly growing weaker. He was slipping away from me both physically and mentally. “There has to be something I can do,” I said helplessly.
Kala and Flynn shared a long look then Kala turned to me. “There is something you can try.”
I looked at her hopefully. “Name it.”
“You can attempt to strengthen the bond between you,” she said. “It worked for you when you were getting weaker and weaker. Maybe it’ll work for him, too, since he’s linked to you so strongly.”
Mark seized on the idea and hope lit his face. “I know you despise being tied to Reece, but would you be willing to try it?”
“I don’t despise being tied to him,” I replied. “I just hate the fact that we didn’t have a choice about being stuck together permanently. If we’d never met Lust, none of this would have happened.”
I couldn’t hide the bitterness at the memory of Reece being forced to have sex with me on the night of a full moon. It was the worst possible time for a shifter to engage in intercourse. Our instincts were very hard to resist during those crucial hours. He’d bitten me and I’d in turn bitten him a month later. We were so tightly entwined now that we’d never be able to cut each other loose.
“I’m not so sure that this wouldn’t have happened eventually,” Kala said. “I think this was supposed to be.”
“Did you turn into a mystic when I wasn’t looking?” Flynn asked incredulously.
“Think about it,” she said with a hint of impatience. “Philip Levine just happened to be out of the country when we needed an expert sniper and Lexi was the next best person available. She was at loose ends because she had to wait until she turned eighteen before she could sign up to be a soldier. Major Levine gave Mark his permission for his one and only child to join the TAK Squad, putting Lexi within Reece’s reach.” She lifted her hands in the air as if that explained it all. “Doesn’t this seem to be just a bit too coincidental?”
Mark looked thoughtful and nodded. “It did seem almost too easy to convince Philip to allow Lexi to join us.” He gathered himself and frowned at Reece. “If this was meant to be, then there is a chance that Alexis can save Reece.” He looked at me and met my eyes. “Are you willing to try?”
Staring down at Reece, I could feel the heat draining out of his skin. He was dying and I was the only one who had a chance of saving him. “I’ll try,” I said softly.
“Let’s give them some privacy,” Kala said and herded the other two out of the room.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Two
Knowing what I had to do, I delayed the inevitable for a few seconds by locking the door. I could feel Reece slipping further and further away from me with every second that passed. To save him, I was going to have to get naked with him yet again. If I did nothing, he would die. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
A tingle of excitement spread through me, warming me from the inside out. The other guests on our floor had left. It was just us two up here now. We had about as much privacy as we could get without being in one of the soundproof rooms at our compound. It still wasn’t private enough for me. Kala and Flynn would both be able to hear it if we made too much noise. To restore the bond, I’d have to get very physical with Reece. We both had a tendency to get vocal when we were in the moment.
Putting my modesty aside was difficult, but necessary. We didn’t have any time to waste. I stripped down to my skin and placed my clothes on the chair beside the bed. Reece didn’t even twitch when I removed his clothes. He lay inert and unresponsive when I straddled him.
He was flawless. Muscles bulged everywhere and it was hard to choose my favorite feature. Starting at his abs, I ran my hands up the contours of his body to his chest. His face was handsome even when he was unconscious. Male models would kill to have his cheekbones. His dark brown hair was kept short at the sides with a mini Mohawk. He looked very young and vulnerable. My heart beat faster at the thought of losing him.
Leaning down until my face was only inches away from his, the bite mark on his right shoulder caught my eye. It wasn’t showing any signs of healing yet. It occurred to me that we now had the exact same bite marks on our shoulders. My mother had bitten us both on the right side and we’d bitten each other on the left. We were a matched pair.
Acting on instinct, I leaned down until our chests were touching and sank my teeth into him. I bit him directly over the mark that I’d left a few weeks ago. Reece reacted to the pain instantly and his back arched. Holding on with my teeth and hands, I smashed through the flimsy mental shield that was between us.
What’s happening? He was understandably groggy and confused. His veins were on fire as his body battled the vampire toxin that was killing him.
It was quicker to show him than to explain. Watching the barrage of images, he grasped the fact that he was dying with calm equanimity. “It’s for the best,” he rasped out loud, shocking me into sitting up and glaring down at him. Even though he was in agony, his eyes dropped down to my chest and he smiled slightly. “At least I’ll have a memorable sight to take with me when I die.”
“You’re not going to die,” I ground out.
“I’ve been bitten by a vampire.” His voice faded in and out and he was on the verge of blacking out again. “There is no hope for me.”
The fact that he was awake at all gave me hope. Mark had been certain Reece wouldn’t regain consciousness at all. I shook him hard enough for him to wince in pain. “Mark thinks I can save you with our bond.”
He lifted a brow in doubt. “Why would he think that?”
“Because it saved me,” I replied and sent him a mental picture of my mother biting me. I hid her identity from him and just thought of her as a rogue vampire. He was already weak and I didn’t want to shock him into getting worse.
Understanding rose and he shook his head in disapproval. “You should have told us you’d been bitten,” he admonished me.
“Save your disapproval for later. Let’s worry about saving your hide first.”
“What do you have in mind?” His hands went to my hips and he slowly smoothed them down my thighs. Burning up from the inside, his body was still capable of responding to my nakedness. Men were truly mystifying creatures.
“I’m thinking you should bite me then we can have sex,” I said bluntly. Seduction wasn’t in my meager sexual repertoire yet. Frankness was more my style.
Blinking in surprise, he lifted his left shoulder in capitulation. That caused a fresh rill of blood to flow from his wound. I astonished us both by leaning down and licking the blood away. He made a noise of pleasure then tilted my head aside and brushed my hair out of the way. Holding the back of my neck gently, he pulled me in close and bit down on my shoulder. It should have been painful, but I felt only pleasure as he sucked my flesh. He gained strength from my blood and the bond also grew stronger.
I was on the verge of ecstasy already and he’d barely even touched me. He made a sound of disappointment when I pulled away. It changed to a groan of sexual torment when I bit him again. His hands cupped my hips and pulled me against his groin. I was more than ready for him when he guided himself inside me. I sank down onto him and moaned at the sensation of completeness that I’d been longing for.
“Don’t stop,” he urged and I bit him again, much deeper this time. He shuddered when I sucked the blood from the wound then he flipped me over onto my back.
Bracing myself just in time, I muffled my cry of pleasure with my hand when Reece bit me. A small flood of blood poured into his mouth and he drank it down. Heat built inside both of us, replacing the fire in his veins with a different type of flame.
My legs went around him and he began to move faster, piercing me deeper each time our bodies came together. I locked my hands around his neck, holding him in place as he sucked at the wound that was already closing. His tongue probed at the torn flesh, wringing another cry from me.
When the bite healed completely, he levered himself up onto his elbows. Our eyes locked and he paused for a second as his pain receded. The toxin had been dampened by the infusion of my blood and our bond became stable again.
His mind was open and I felt his pleasure at being inside me. He also felt my enjoyment at being taken. Reece knew what I wanted and he was happy to comply. Our mouths met and he plunged inside me deeply. His kiss muffled my moans as he relentlessly drove me towards the edge. It didn’t take long before my body jolted in intense pleasure, clenching on the inside and causing him to follow me into climax.
The heat between us flared almost hot enough to ignite us both before it finally receded. Instead of being painful, it left us feeling invigorated.
Reece shifted to lie beside me and took my hand. “Thank you for saving me, Lexi. I know that can’t have been easy for you.”
It had been surprisingly easy, physically. Emotionally, I was awash with conflicting emotions. How could something that felt so right cause me so much anguish? I shut down the bond before he could glean my thoughts.
Reece thought I didn’t want to sleep with him, but he was very wrong about that. In all of my eighteen years, I’d never enjoyed anything as much as being in bed with him. My dilemma was that he didn’t feel the same way about me. Not to say he didn’t enjoy himself, but for him it was purely physical. He didn’t care for me the same way that I did for him. I was nothing more than a burden that he felt responsible for.
“How are you feeling?” I asked and tried to hide how empty I felt.
“Much better,” he replied.
Pulling the sheet up to cover myself, I rolled onto my elbow and peered at his wounds. His had healed and so had mine. “I thought it took a while for bites from other shifters to heal.”
He shrugged. “Our rapid healing must have something to do with our bond.” He was regarding me with a neutral expression. He was hiding his thoughts from me as hard as I was masking mine from him.
“Well,” I said and looked longingly at my clothes. “I guess we should tell the others that you’ve clawed your way back from death’s door.”
“As I recall, you were the one doing the clawing,” he replied with a grin. I saw what he meant when he stood and I caught a glimpse of his back. Quickly fading furrows marred his skin. “I’m going to take a shower,” his smile was strained this time and our awkwardness built.
I waited for him to walk into the bathroom then quickly scooped up my clothes and dressed. I scurried next door into my room and locked the door before taking a shower of my own.
Battling tears, I wished that I could feel good for once rather than horrible after being naked with Reece. It just didn’t seem right that our bond should cause us so much mutual misery.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Three
Reece was waiting for me in the hallway when I emerged from my room. Kala and Flynn would have heard at least some of what had happened between us. They knew that Reece was alive and were anticipating our arrival.
“I told you it would work!” Kala crowed softly even before we appeared in the doorway of the parlor.
Flynn grinned fiercely and gave her a high five. “For once, I’m glad you were right.”
Mark’s relief was palpable when he saw his agent looking so well. “How do you feel?” he asked as Reece took the seat beside him. I sat on the other couch next to Kala.
“I feel great,” he replied. “It’s hard to believe I was bitten at all.”
“What did you have to do to restore the bond?” Kala asked. Her expression was curious rather than lecherous for a change.
“There was some biting, blood drinking and, uh, nakedness involved,” I replied.
Flynn pressed his lips together as he tried to hide his smirk. Kala was less successful and sniggered. Mark sent them both a heavy frown. “I take it your bond has been restored?” he asked.
We both nodded and Reece pulled his t-shirt aside so they could see the now healed wound on his right shoulder. “I’ve never seen a vampire or shifter bite heal this quickly before,” he said.
Mark leaned in close to examine the wound and flicked a glance at me. I read the knowledge in his eyes as he mentally compared our scars. He knew we’d been bitten by the same creature. “Alexis, is there something we need to know about the vampire that attacked you both?” he said evenly.
I looked away as tears welled and spilled over. I couldn’t hide the truth from them any longer, but there was someone else I had to talk to first. “I need to make a phone call,” I said as I used my sleeve to wipe my tears away. I’d been dreading this conversation, but I couldn’t put it off any longer.
I retreated to my room before taking my cell phone out of my pocket. I dialed my father’s personal number and hoped he had his phone switched on. He answered far more quickly than I’d expected.
“Lexi?” he said anxiously. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Dad.” The connection was startlingly clear and I had a feeling he was no longer overseas. “Where are you?”
“I’m home, honey,” he replied and I heard weariness in his tone. “I just arrived a few minutes ago. I was going to call you after I’d had a few hours’ sleep.”
I felt guilty that I was about to snatch his ability to sleep away. Then I reminded myself that he’d been lying to me almost since my birth. He was the one who should be feeling guilty here, not me. “There’s something we need to discuss.” My tone went slightly chilly.
He drew in a sharp breath and I couldn’t blame him for his automatic concern. The last time I’d called him on an urgent matter, I’d had to break the news that I was a werewolf. This discussion was going to be just as bad. “What is it this time?” he asked tightly.
It was best to just get to the point rather than drawing it out. “Mom didn’t die when I was a baby, did she?” I
said. “Well, I guess she did die, just not completely.” I wasn’t handling this well. Taking a deep breath, I held it for a couple of seconds then let it out again. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s a vampire?” Silence met that statement, but I sensed it wasn’t a shocked silence. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know that she wasn’t murdered by a human.”
“I knew,” he confessed and sighed quietly.
I was already aware that he’d been hiding this from me, but it still hurt to hear him admit it. A realization hit me and I put a few things together. Mark had looked at me as if he knew me when we’d first met. He’d also hinted that the scar on my shoulder hadn’t been from a dog bite.
“Mark knew, too,” I realized out loud and a sense of betrayal rose. I’d been played by the two men I trusted the most. They’d been keeping secrets from me, ones that had affected my entire life.
“Don’t jump to any conclusions, Alexis,” my father ordered. “You need to know the full story before you can judge our actions.”
Very tempted to throw my cell phone at the wall, I paced backwards and forwards as I tried to get my temper under control. For the first time, I was thankful that Reece had been training me to learn how to reign in my rage. “What else have you kept from me?” I ground out.
“I need to speak to Agent Steel,” he said, evading my question. “Put him on the phone.”
“If I see Mark right now I’ll probably tear his head off,” I replied honestly. I now knew just how easy it was to dismember someone. “I don’t want to see or speak to either of you until I manage to calm down.”
With that, I hung up and tossed my phone onto the bed. Leaving by the stairs would bring me into close proximity with the others. I didn’t want to risk my anger spilling over. Crossing to the window, I shoved it upwards and dived through headfirst. Falling three stories, I landed on my feet with uncanny agility and started running.
