But Gavin seemed in no hurry. He left her breast, achy and needy, to trail kisses along her collarbone and up her throat, lingering for a long moment there, letting her anticipate whether a bite would come, but only his lips moved across it lightly. He showered kisses along her jaw and cheek and across her eyelids before descending softly on her mouth. Tugging the length of her body against him, he brushed her lips, slowly sliding his tongue between them, tasting her, exploring her mouth, as one hand roamed leisurely up and down her side from her hip to her ribs, only slightly grazing the underside of her breast just enough to drive her nearly insane with desire. Chloe squirmed against him, wanting more.
She thought she heard him chuckle as he continued his slow, exquisite torture, his hand now gliding down, undoing her jeans, sliding inside her panties to cup her mound and knead gently, not quite giving the quivering little nub there the pressure she wanted. She lifted her hips to help him rid her of her jeans and wrapped her leg around his muscular thigh, striving for more friction there.
“Not so fast,” he murmured, his mouth trailing down her throat again. He lingered again, this time his tongue licking the pulsing artery. Chloe felt the slight scrap of his tooth and leaned her head back, giving him access, not caring if took her blood. She wanted all of him that she could get. But he moved on. Before she could feel disappointed, his mouth covered her breast and he drew deep on her nipple and began to suckle. Chloe whimpered in sheer ecstasy as the delicate nerve endings came to life under the alternating pressure—light and easy, strong and demanding, light and easy—that he was masterfully using. The fingers of the hand that had been palming her now delved deep inside her dripping core while Gavin’s thumb circled the now-throbbing, hard bud of her center, rubbing it relentlessly, causing the tension to build until she writhed beneath his touch, wanting—needing—more…and then her body shattered like a thousand pieces of fragile china.
Gavin moved over her, spreading her legs with his thighs and glided inside her, making all her senses come together once again. The thick fullness of him filled her as he pulled back and entered her again. And again. Chloe felt his tip press against her womb each time with each thrust. She wrapped her legs around him, encouraging him to speed up the agonizingly slow pace he’d taken. Lord, how much stamina and control did a vampire have, anyway? Her skin was sizzling, heat pooling low in her belly, threatening to erupt into a blazing inferno and yet, Gavin kept up his easy, steady pace, his dark eyes never leaving her face, his hands inflaming her tight nipples as he kneaded her breasts. Her blood was on fire. Chloe tossed her head feverishly on the pillow, her body undulating wildly beyond her control. She felt Gavin lift her buttocks, giving her much more welcome depth and pressure. Sparks flew around them as Gavin ground into her, hard and demanding now, and the volcano exploded.
Chloe lay gasping for air, Gavin beside her, a leg and arm protectively draped over her side. “Oh, my God.”
‘Shhhh,” he whispered and rose up to lean over her. Dipping his head, he licked her throat. Chloe felt a sharp sting and then, complete, blissful nothingness.
* * * *
Lucifer parked his motorcycle and walked over to the tree where the broken bodies of the two bikers lay slumped and cursed. Not that cursing helped him, but by his own horns, what had gone wrong?
Beside him, Sigurd, in his small form, snorted. “These were the men you hired?”
“Careful, dragon. I don’t take insults lightly.”
“Just asking. Balor won’t be happy.”
Lucifer’s eyes flashed red. “I’m not ‘happy’ either.” Looking around the campsite, noting the ashes of a small fire and a pup-tent still pitched, he walked over to where the stake and chain lay on the ground. Crouching down, he picked up the manacle. The metal was twisted. Someone—or something—had pried it open and not used a key.
“The damn vampire tracked her here.”
Sigurd blew a puff of smoke. “I can take of him.”
“Debatable,” Lucifer said. “He’s not human, remember? Anyhow, Balor needs him alive for now. So far, Landon has been able to follow the GPS. When the platter is found, you’ll have your chance.” He rose, scanning the area again. “There were three of them. I wonder…” He broke off as he spotted some clothing near a bush. He walked over, stopping so abruptly that Sigurd nearly bumped into him. Scarface’s shredded body lay crumpled beside the trail.
“That’s as good a job as I could have done,” Sigurd said, tilting his large head for a better angle, “only there’s no blood.”
“He’s been drained, stupid.”
The dragon snarled, more smoke emerging from his nostrils.
“Don’t even think to incinerate me, dude. You won’t win.”
Sigurd lifted his head with distain. “I would not think to start in a fire in these dry conditions. The mountains provide a good lair. I have some respect for the environment, you know.”
Lucifer laughed. “Respect? What do you know about respect?”
“Probably more than you do.” He poked the lifeless body with a claw. “I thought vampires didn’t kill victims anymore.”
Lucifer sobered. “You’re right. There hasn’t been a vampire killing in centuries. I wonder why he didn’t kill Scarface like the others.”
“Maybe he was avenging his girlfriend.”
“His girlfriend? They may be having sex, but that’s no big thing. Not enough to draw attention to himself, anyway.”
“If he cared for the woman, he might.”
Lucifer started to laugh again. “What the hell do you know about human relationships anyway?”
Sigurd looked smug. “I would protect Morgan.”
“Morgan? The slut?”
His scales rattled, the ones on his neck cresting to spear points. “Do not call her that.”
“Dude. Morgan looks out after Morgan. She’s hardly the ‘damsel in distress’ type. Where do you think you are? Camelot?”
Sigurd’s scales rattled again. “Maybe that wasn’t such a bad time. I was there when knights defended their lady’s honor.”
“So was I. What…” Lucifer didn’t finish his sentence, instead looking down at the bloodless body. This was just the kind of thing one of Arthur’s damn knights would do. Had any of them survived Camlann? He frowned as he recalled Balor telling him Lancelot had. And Lancelot had found the spear.
If Lancelot had survived, others may have as well. There had been rumors that one knight, in particular, had never been found.
Lucifer looked up, his eyes glowing red. He knew exactly who the vampire was.
Revenge would be sweet. It had been a long, long time coming.
Chapter Twenty
Gavin knew when he’d failed to mesmerize Chloe the first night he met her that she was different, yet he had not sensed that she might be immortal. In fact, everything from her somewhat zany personality and bizarre orange hair to her stubborn tenacity proclaimed her human. It wasn’t until he tasted her, that he’d had an inkling.
Her blood was like sweet ambrosia and he had nearly lost himself in just the slight sip he’d taken, but it had also told him what he needed to know.
Chloe’s father had been fey.
She turned to him as the car wound its way down Tioga Road toward Highway 120. They’d had mind-blowing sex again this morning and then he’d told her.
She’d been quiet ever since, no doubt contemplating.
“How can I be a faerie?” she finally asked. “I’ve never even liked Tinkerbell and my mother took me to Disneyland more than once.”
Gavin smiled. “We don’t know that you are a faerie. I said you had fey blood.”
“What the heck is the difference?”
“People—humans—with fey blood have special gifts and skills.”
Chloe gave him a dubious look. “Are you talking about magic?”
“Who knows what magic really is? If people living in the 18th century had seen an airplane fly, they’d have thought it was magic.” He pau
sed. “You know how odd things sometimes happen around you?”
“Yeah. I’m a klutz.”
Gavin’s smile widened as he turned his attention back to the road. “Only because you’ve never learned to control the energy that sparks from you. It’s too bad your mother didn’t know. She could have taught you how to handle it.”
“How? You’re not telling me my mother is a faerie too, are you?”
If Jennifer were really Guinevere, she was probably more powerful than Chloe’s father had been, but Gavin couldn’t tell Chloe about immortals. Besides it being too much information for her to absorb at the moment, he had the damn Code he’d sworn to uphold. Gavin shook his head. “No. If she were, she’d have sensed her kind in you. But, you did say she was very accurate with the Tarot.”
“Yeah, but she always says she’s sort of a ‘channel’ for information to funnel through.”
“Well, that is one way to harness energy, isn’t it?”
Chloe started. “I used to see the prettiest lights around her sometimes when I was a little girl. It was usually just before I broke something and they’d all blink out. I always thought it was all my fault.”
He glanced back over. “You just didn’t know how to control the forces.” It had taken him a good hundred years to control the urge to drink a victim dry and he’d had Templar training. Without guidance, Chloe’s powers were scattered. “Maybe that’s why you are on this trip with me. You’ll get a chance to use those gifts.”
“I thought I was on this trip so you could protect me from the big, bad dragon,” Chloe replied, grinning and sounding more like herself.
Gavin didn’t return the humor. “Do not forget the dragon—and Adam Baylor—have been hunting you. Now we know why.”
“Geez. I’m trying to stay upbeat here.”
“Sorry,” Gavin said and reached over to take her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss. “It is just that I now have another reason to protect you.”
Chloe traced his jaw with her thumb. “Which is?”
This time he did grin. “I’ll show you as soon as we get back to the hotel.”
* * * *
Chloe rolled over the next morning, burrowing into Gavin’s warm embrace. She had no idea vampires had so much stamina, not that she was complaining. Gavin was the best lover she had ever had.
He kissed the top of her head. “Happy?”
“Yeah.” She wrapped her arm around his sculpted chest and cuddled closer. “Sex is so much better with you. It’s kinda weird—but I feel like I’m a part of you. Like there’s no you and me. Just us. Oh, Geez. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get all soupy and sentimental—”
“Shhhh. I like sentimental.” His hand trailed down her spine lightly. “It’s a side of you I haven’t seen.”
“Yeah, well, most guys don’t like women to get all clingy.”
“I am not most guys.” He ran his finger along her throat were a tiny prick mark lingered. “In case you have not noticed.”
Heat flooded her as she remembered her body shattering with earth-jarring force when Gavin brought her to climax and then again, erupting like Vesuvius, rapturous euphoria spreading through her as he drank from her.
“Do you want to make love…” he started to ask as Chloe’s cell phone began John Lennon’s Imagine.
“That’s my mother,” Chloe said as she leaned across him to pick it up. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, Sweetie. Where are you?”
Chloe blushed, then realized her mother was probably not being literal. “Sonora.”
“Oh, good. Then you haven’t passed it yet.”
“Passed what?”
“Put me on speaker phone, sweetie, so Gavin can hear.”
How did her mother know Gavin was with her? It was early morning—or at least, she thought it was. Time had a way of slipping by when her mind was boggled. Gavin grinned as if he’d read her mind. She tried to glare at him, but it came out as a lopsided smile instead. How could she angry with a man who treated her body like it was some kind of temple to be worshiped at? Love-making, he called it. For the first time, she understood the difference.
“Are you there?” her mother asked.
Chloe blushed again, making Gavin laugh. She really needed to focus.
“I’m here, Mom. You’re on speaker.”
“Good. I had the worse feeling of impending doom yesterday, like something awful was going to happen to you. I just couldn’t shake it, so I went into deep mediation.”
Chloe glanced at Gavin. She hadn’t wanted to worry her mother about the abduction, especially since Gavin had saved her from real harm. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“I know that. A brilliant light flashed through my mind earlier, followed by the images.”
Chloe was afraid to ask what images. If her mother had tuned into their ecstatic sex—love-making—she’d have a hard time facing her any time soon. A corner of Gavin’s mouth quirked up, but his voice was neutral.
“What did you see?”
“Do you remember I drew both the Ace of Pentacles and the Knight?” Jennifer asked and then went on. “I always thought the mountains in the background on that card were the Sierras since that’s where the gold was found. But last night, the coin in the hand on the ace turned into a golden platter and the arch became a tunnel or something.” She paused. “Yet, that didn’t feel right, so I used some fly agarics.”
“The magic mushroom?” Chloe asked in disbelief. “You always told me that was too dangerous!”
“I was careful, Sweetie. Anyway, the arch is a covered bridge.”
“A covered bridge?”
“Yes. Actually, it’s the longest one in California and it’s at a place called Knight’s Ferry. Not far from where you are.”
“You saw the platter there?” Gavin asked.
“I’m not that clairvoyant, even with the mushroom,” Jennifer replied, “but remember I also drew the knight. That card was you, but it also represented a place. Knight’s Ferry. Your platter is somewhere very close to that bridge.”
“Thanks, Mom. I really wish you hadn’t used the mushroom though.”
“I had to. I feel like you’re in danger. The sooner you find this thing, the better.” Jennifer hesitated and then she added, “Take care of her, Gavin.”
“I will guard her with my life. You have my word,” he answered as he put an arm around Chloe and brought her to him.
Even as she reveled in his protective embrace, a disturbing thought flinted through her mind.
Chloe had the saddest feeling that it would be a really long time before she saw her mother again, if at all.
* * * *
“We’re going to have to clean out the trunk of this car before we turn it in,” Gavin said as he looked at the handful of brochures and information Chloe had collected at the Visitor’s Center at Knight’s Ferry.
“Well, if my mother thinks the platter is here, I don’t want to miss anything.” She shuffled the papers and looked down the street. “The General Store has been here for more than a hundred years. So has the bed-and-breakfast we’re staying at.” Chloe gave Gavin a mischievous smile. “I’m looking forward to reliving ‘history’ in that bed later.”
“Vixen.”
She let her hand roam over his butt, feeling seductively female as she savored the fact that Gavin liked what she was doing. He had showed her all kinds of things he liked last night and this morning and she was ready to practice all of them.
“If you keep that up, we won’t get any exploring done.”
“What kind of exploring are you talking about?”
Gavin caught her hand. “We’ll do that kind of exploring later. Any ideas of where to look for the platter?”
Chloe pretended to pout and Gavin brushed her forehead with a kiss. In truth, she couldn’t remember when she had ever felt so completely happy. She inhaled deeply, taking in the clean air. The Stanislaus River wound its way through gulches and bubbled over rocks, some of which were visible in the cl
ear water. “The brochure says we should be able to see salmon running upstream since the river is low this time of year,” she said as they started along the trail leading to the bridge. She glanced back at the papers. “The original bridge was knocked out during a huge flood in 1862 and wasn’t covered. This one was built the next year.” She looked up. “If you think the platter arrived here shortly after the forty-niners, wouldn’t this bridge be too new? Of course,” she added as an afterthought. “Who would hide a gold platter in a bridge?”
“True,” Gavin answered, “but the clue said ‘Where gold glistens, in hidden terrain, there lies buried important remains’. I would imagine whoever the guardian was put it in the ground. But where?”
Chloe looked around the wilderness area. Jagged, shrub-covered ravines and steep, boulder strewn hills surrounded them for miles. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“I guess this is where the faerie blood comes in then,” Gavin said.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. Balor would not have sent the dragon to follow us nor would he have bothered trying to abduct you if he did not think you could lead him to the platter.”
“But what do I do? Wave some magic wand? Which, by the way, I don’t have since my mother didn’t send me to Hogwart’s.”
Gavin smiled. “No need for wands. Didn’t you say you used to see lights around your mother when you were little? Have you ever seen them since?”
“No, not until…” Chloe hesitated. “Well, no. Not really.”
He gave her a scrutinizing look. “Until when?”
She swallowed hard, feeling the heat rush to her face. “Not until you made me come,” she replied in a near whisper, “but that was different.” Lord, she hoped he wouldn’t laugh at her.
Instead, his expression turned serious. “I felt them too. Those sparks—lights—were our connecting. We were both intensely focused. Don’t you see? When you are in that state, you can harness your abilities.”
“So you’re going to give me the climax of my life and I’ll know where the platter is? I’ll go for that.” Chloe started to laugh and then stopped as Gavin shook his head.
The Immortals III: Gavin Page 17
