by C. L. Quinn
Erin’s sharp gaze was appreciated, because he knew that she loved his daughter and Mal, too.
He smiled at her. “I will not take them from you. But they will be going home to Africa with me. Erin, you may accompany us and return to the village. I can see they are family to you now and that is more important than anything in the world, yes?”
The elegant redhead paused, her eyes sweeping over him carefully, scanning his face, his stance, his arms holding the baby she loved.
“Yes,” she finally said, simply, then stepped forward to take Brigitte back into her arms. “Then you had better go find your woman. She’s on the beach. She’s with a human male. Do not hurt him.”
Erin walked back up the steps and disappeared into the house.
Ahmose stood for a moment. She was with another man? Air-displacement couldn’t let him move fast enough. He arrived a few dozen yards from the small bonfire on the beach, two heads leaning close, near the flames. His first instinct was to take the man and fling him into the ocean. His second was to behead him. He went with the third.
Slowly, tamping down the steam in his head, he walked over to the cozy couple.
Earlier that night, when Jack arrived for their date, Mal had dressed carefully, casually, with no attempt to attract. She knew it wouldn’t make a difference, it just seemed prudent.
After they set up a bonfire, and began cooking the fat little hot dogs on Jack’s small grill, he looked up at her, and took her right hand, slipping the fingers from both of his hands around her palm.
“Mal, you know how much I adore you.”
Nodding, she curled her fingers around his. “I do. You know I adore you, too. But I need to tell you something.”
When he stiffened, she knew he got it. He knew by her tone and words that she was going to shoot him down before he ever got a chance to fly.
“Jack, Brigitte’s father, he’s here.”
That surprised him. Erin had told him that the father of the baby was well and truly out of the picture forever.
“Okay,” he responded, waiting for her to tell him what that meant.
She continued. “He’s, um…wow, this is complicated. I don’t know where we go from here, but I can’t make any decisions until I do. You understand?”
Jack did. He thought he might have gotten the kindest pre-Dear John note ever. Because he knew that if she thought of him like he thought of her, this man’s arrival wouldn’t have mattered. His eyes moved across her lovely face. It really did break his heart to know they wouldn’t have a chance to be together. Deciding to be the bigger man, he nodded at the news.
“I get it. You have to give him a chance.”
“Oh, hell, no.”
Just when he thought he couldn’t be surprised again, she did it. What?
“Sooo…you don’t want to give him a chance?”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe. Fuck, I said it was complicated. Can I confide in you?”
He couldn’t answer, but he nodded his agreement.
“This man is, for lack of a better way to say it, bigger than life. He’s powerful, forceful, intractable…like a hurricane. He overwhelms me, and I just don’t think I can live like that. I’m worried for Brigitte, if he takes her to his people in Africa, who will she become? Would I be doing the right thing for her? I had a plan to return to my mother’s home in Hawaii and raise her on sand and surf and popsicles. I don’t know, Jack, this has upset things. I thought I knew what our future would be, and now he has shown up.”
Jack and Mal had been leaning close over the flames when a voice interrupted.
“He is here,” said the deep voice behind them.
They both turned, Jack standing immediately, disappointed to see how huge Mal’s former lover was. Figured.
Mal couldn’t move. She had known there was a chance that Ahmose would come, but she didn’t think it would be this soon, and she hoped that he wouldn’t come down to the beach. Now, here, in front of her and Jack, angry, he did what he always did…he took her breath away. But when she noticed his attention turn to Jack, she moved quickly.
“Uh, yeah, Jack, this is Brigitte’s biological father, Ahmose. Ahmose, this is Jack, a dear friend who has been good to us here on this island.”
The look Ahmose threw Mal could have melted her where she stood. “I am Brigitte’s father. Biological and every other way that exists, little detective.”
Jack looked at Mal. “Detective?”
Mal shook her head. “Pet name, it’s stupid. Ahmose, would you mind waiting for us at the house?”
It hadn’t been a request, it had been a demand, and he knew that. He folded his thick arms and didn’t move.
“I think it’s better if this man leaves and I stay.”
Sighing, Mal knew not to try to change a hurricane’s mind. She turned to Jack.
“Jack, what I had been trying to say is that I have to work through some things with Ahmose before I can consider anything else. He’s not going to leave, so would you go on home tonight and I’ll call you tomorrow?”
He didn’t move. Jack just stood, legs apart, arms folded, and stared at Ahmose. Eventually he looked at Mal. “Are you sure? I don’t trust this guy.”
“I get that. But he’s fine, he isn’t a threat or problem.” She glanced up at Ahmose. “Really, he’s as fluffy as a kitten.”
Smiling, Jack lowered his head, then looked back up at Mal. “Okay. If you need me…”
“She won’t. Ever.” Ahmose answered for Mal, who groaned.
“You see, Jack? Like a childish kitten. I’ll see you tomorrow. The idea of the picnic was a good one.”
With one last glance, Jack started back up the beach.
“Fluffy as a kitten? You felt a need to try to emasculate me?”
“Hardly. You’re all man, anyone with eyes can see that. It isn’t possible to miss you. Anything about you.”
Ahmose was silent, his eyes sliding to the remnants of the sunset, bright vermillion lining the watery horizon.
“It’s beautiful here. I see why you came.” Then he looked back at Mal. “I’m glad you understand my nature. I am male, but I am also vampire, and that means that other men cannot touch my woman.”
“I understand. But I’m not your woman.”
She was in his arms in less than a whoosh of air.
“You are my woman,” Ahmose said, simply. “What we didn’t know, was that you were from that first night. My child grew inside of you from that first night. We were meant to be.”
Her arms now around his neck, Mal let her sandals fall into the sand and put her legs around his waist. “Getting pregnant doesn’t imply anything, Ahmose. It happens every day.”
“Not to a vampire.”
He nuzzled in under her hair, then lifted his gaze and caught hers. “It’s more than that, you know it is. I don’t think you’ve stopped thinking of me, either.”
Now it was Mal’s turn to look away. He was right, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. Once she did, she would give him power over her that she wasn’t ready to give.
“We were good together. But that was only two nights. It’s not anything to build a life on.”
“Our daughter is.”
He had her there. He was right. Her eyes went to Ahmose and locked. She could see it, the depth of his emotion. He had missed her and felt deep pain when he thought that she was gone.
She wanted him, yes, it was true. Denying it seemed as childish as what she’d just accused him of. “Could I convince you to make love to me? Slowly, and properly this time? I know I sound contrary, but right now, at this moment, all I want to do is feel you again. I don’t think you mind, am I right?”
Mind. Mind? Fuck, he didn’t mind!
Ahmose took Mal’s hand and pulled her with him, slowly, down the beach. He lowered her gently onto a blanket he’d left just inside of a cave cut out of a low cliff facing the sea.
“I found this cavern last night before I returned to my room. It actually goes fa
r enough back around that curve that it would be safe for a vampire to overnight. The point, though, is that it’s lovely here, and private. I want to make love to you all night, Mal. I need you to see that we are meant to be together.”
“Erin will expect me back.”
“Erin knows I’m here. No she won’t.”
“I need to feed Brigitte.”
“I understand. You can see that it won’t take but a moment for me to get you home so that you can take care of her when you need to.”
Mal looked around her. Candles lit the corners of the cave, a bottle of wine sat near wine glasses, and she saw an iPad lying on one big rock. He’d gone to the trouble to romance her. Her eyes shot up to him, squatting beside her now.
“You’re really trying to convince me, aren’t you?”
The megawatt smile that invaded her heart immediately was so charming from a powerful man, she did exactly what she promised herself she wouldn’t do.
Mal sat upright.
“Take off all of your clothes.”
Ahmose hesitated only a moment, but when he did so, they were gone in a moment too. He stood in front of Mal, the most erotic naked man she’d ever seen.
“Please repeat the courtesy,” he asked, a full-blown erection waiting for her.
Mal couldn’t stop staring at it, and moved forward on her knees to touch him, with her fingers and then with her tongue.
Ahmose shot backward as her tongue slid all the way around the head of his cock.
“Please remove your clothes.” His voice was hoarse now.
Slowly, because she was less sure he would find her post-baby body that amazing, Mal began to peel off her dress and the lace leggings she’d donned underneath.
“I just had a baby, remember that.”
“You look perfect, as you always have.”
“Oh, there’s some flab.”
Finished, she threw her underwear onto the pile of clothes they’d discarded.
“There’s perfection. I need to sink into you.”
He didn’t hurry, but he moved forward and lifted Mal up to meet his torso, her legs immediately curling around his waist again. He backed against the cavern wall and lifted her, his eyes on hers.
She nodded. He thrust and she pushed up to meet him as he slid inside of her.
“I hope I don’t get pregnant again,” she whispered.
He moved his lips to her ear. “I hope you do.”
Scatters of pleasure trickled through her belly at the thought of Ahmose inside of her again. Last night had been so unexpected, she hadn’t known what to think. How could she know if they weren’t just incredibly needy? But tonight, it was absolute. This was more, and her body felt that. She’d always heard that the biggest sex organ is the brain, and she knew that it was true because how they felt about each other did matter.
Mal felt a connection to Ahmose she never had before, because she knew now, incontrovertibly, that he wanted her more than he ever had any other woman. That she wanted him with as much passion and need. And that they might really, really be meant to be together.
Her fingers slipped under his hair and around his neck to hold on as he began to move faster, faster, so much that the landscape around her blurred. She could feel every stroke, the full length, the heat and friction building until they surged together one last time, Ahmose pumping into her, hard, fast, and hot as she threw back her weight, suspended in his arms, and cried out.
Oh, God, was that good!
“I could do that for the rest of my life,” Mal whispered as Ahmose lowered them both to the blanket and curved next to her body, his cock having slipped out on its own now.
Ahmose brushed her hair from her moist face. “That is the plan. You will come home with me. Brigitte will meet her brother and sister. You will become my queen.”
Mal snorted softly on a laugh. “Right, ‘cause I’m everyone’s idea of a queen!”
“I am serious, my lady. I am ruler of my village, of the children of the moon, for centuries past. We do not use the word often, because I don’t like it and I don’t feel it applies, but it is true. I am like a king in the village. You will be my queen.”
Whoa, Mal thought, one crazy fucked-up fairy tale at a time.
“You are not serious.”
Ahmose nodded again. “I am completely serious. You will be my queen.”
“I don’t know, Ahmose, maybe I want to be a cop again when all of this blows over.”
“You will not. As vampire, you will live a different life.”
“What? Vampire?”
“Mal, you will live with my family. You will become vampire at my side so that we can raise our children together.”
Now, he was freaking her out. Mal couldn’t think. It all felt overwhelming again. She needed to speak with Erin. And her father. He would be here shortly, and that would help her to clear her mind and perhaps see where she was going.
Reaching for her clothes, Mal stood, holding her dress in front of her as if it could shield her from her jumbled emotions.
“Ahmose, I need to think about this, I really do. Will you take me home?”
“Yes, but for this last night.”
He came to her on his knees, bare in more ways than just his body. “I want you, forever, Mal, and I need you to know that. If you do not feel the same way, at least let me have a chance to show you that I will be a perfect partner and I will make you incredibly happy.”
Oh, God, she’d made him beg for her…on his knees! How could she resist a king on his knees? This magnificent man, on his knees, asking for her to accept him.
She did. She already knew she needed him, and they had the baby together. She just had to face her fears.
Mal surged forward into his arms, his face now buried against her chest.
“You’ve won me. All of my doubts fell away just now. We will come with you. I’ve learned that to get something, sometimes you have to risk everything. You’re worth any price, vampire king.”
“Wait till you see your crown,” he said, his mouth still against her, while his tongue ventured out every once in a while to taste her.
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“I’m just kidding. We are very organic creatures, little detective. We live on the earth for the earth, for the Mother, because this planet is a living being and we are her children. You will learn who we are as you come to know us. My village holds the collected magics and hearts of almost forty first blood vampires. There is a lot of love and laughter there. Our daughter will be with her kind. She’ll be happy.”
His tongue curled out and slid across a nipple.
“And so will you.”
“Whatever happens, I’m with you. The idea of forever, of centuries, terrifies me, though.”
“It won’t. It is a gift to stay here to care for the Mother, to love this man who wants you more than anyone who came before or could ever come after, and to watch your children grow up and find their place in the universe.”
Ahmose stood, and at the same time, he was dressed and so was Mal.
“What the hell?” she yelled.
“It’s a way of movement for vampires exponentially quicker than humans. You will love being vampire!”
“I’m so freaked out!”
Lifting her into his arms, Ahmose kissed her.
“I will never let you fall. No one will ever hurt you or our daughter again. Don’t be afraid, Mal. You are going to have a huge new family that will protect you, too. Now, hold on, baby, here we go.”
Canzone and Ballgame watched, shocked. Ballgame sneaked a peek at his boss, then looked back at the now empty cave.
“What did I just see there?” Canzone finally asked.
Ballgame always tried to provide whatever Canzone wanted, but he couldn’t help him here.
“Yeah…I don’t know, sir. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Ballpark, I need to find out. I want her under surveillance every minute from here on out,
you hear me?”
With an unhappy nod, Ballpark walked away from Canzone as he used his cell phone to arrange for two more guys to come to the island with the appropriate equipment.
Looks like I’ll be staying, he thought, as he closed his phone. Although he had to admit that even he was curious to find out what the hell had happened on that beach.
They arrived in a rush of air, and when he stopped in front of the house, Mal had trouble catching her breath.
“What…” deep breaths, deep breaths, “…the hell was that?”
“That’s a method of moving through the world without detection. It’s fast and efficient, which is a vampire trait. You’ll feel a little dizzy for a moment, but you’ll balance out. I’ve got you, don’t worry.”
He set her down easily on the deck, but kept an arm around her.
Mal heard a sound and looked to her right, where Jack stood, speechless.
“Guess I can say I’ve seen everything now. What are you?” Jack said, looking at Ahmose.
“I’m the man that this woman belongs to.”
Mal snorted. “With, Ahmose. Not to, with.”
“Forgive me. I’m somewhat possessive right now. Mal, what is your relationship with this man?”
“Friends. Close friends. Never more, Ahmose, so no jealous fits.”
“Fits? No. It isn’t a fit if I throw him into the sea, is it? He wants you, Mal, this I do know. His pheromones reek.”
Jack was visibly getting more upset. “Bridget, this man is not good for you. He’s an asshole. If you want me to, I’ll get him out of here.”
“Jack…” Mal held a hand out towards him, afraid he was going to confront Ahmose.
Turning to Ahmose, she said, “You need to let me speak with Jack. Can you go inside? Visit with Erin and spend some time with Brigitte?”
“I will remain with you,” he answered.
Mal purposefully trapped his eyes with hers. “You will go inside and stay there until I give you permission to come back out.”
Ahmose smiled. “I get what you’re doing. All right, I will comply, mistress.” He looked at Jack. “But first…”
