Primal Cravings

by Susan Sizemore

  “Back to base?” she asked when he was finished.

  Piper shook his head. “I want to make one more stop first.”

  The gray cat yowled forlornly as they left.

  Chapter Eight

  Piper drove south, without bothering with the GPS.

  There was an occasional glimpse of ocean, water going red and pewter as the sun began to set. So close to Solstice, the day was very short. The clouds had closed in again, contributing to the early darkness.

  “From around here, are you?” Dee asked after they’d driven for quite a while.

  “No.”

  Where was he from? She’d never wondered that before. Everyone had to be from somewhere, have a history. He’d had to have walked away from his affiliation to a Tribe to be adopted by a vampire Family. Rumor had it that the Families didn’t make it easy for a Tribe Prime who walked in and said, “Hi, can I be a good guy, now?”

  She didn’t know if the whispers of adoptee candidates having to do hard time in solitary confinement were true—but when you considered some of the evil Tribe Boys were known to indulge in, their being punished for it made perfect sense. Keeping an eye on them for the rest of their long lives made sense too, at least to her mortal way of thinking.

  “Do the crime, do the time,” Piper murmured beside her.

  Dee jumped so hard she strained against the seatbelt. “Stop reading my mind!”

  “Stop thinking so loud.” After a while, he said, “You could ask me.”

  “Ask you what? You never talk to me.” Dee groaned and slapped a hand against her forehead. “Oh, goddess, that sounded whiny!”

  “My greatest crime is making you feel foolish, perhaps?”

  “I’m very good at falling into looking foolish all by myself. But, I could blame you if I was going to take it personally, which I’m not, because we’re a team.” They descended into their habitual silence, until Dee remembered something else Domini Reynard had said. “She called you Leviathan. Why did she think you’re a big whale? You have a gambling problems in Vegas?”

  He gave her a tiny, brief smile that had the hint of fang in it. “Gambling isn’t how I get my excitement.”

  Heat shot through Dee. “Keep your eyes on the road, and your fangs to yourself, Piper.”

  “A leviathan is not necessarily a whale. It is the name of an ancient sea monster. Tribes named themselves for ancient monsters. Maybe the ancient Leviathan Tribe were pirates who raided the seas. That would have been fun.”

  “Midnight Pirates?”

  “Good title.”

  “I’ve heard of the Minotaur Tribe. And there’s Hydra, and Manticore?” Or were. Dee thought those Tribes had been wiped out or converted long ago.

  There was a lot of history and information that the various types of Dark Angels didn’t casually spout out about their particular societies. For example, she would never divulge her full, secret, private, sacred, craft name to anybody. Each part of her name was for sharing for only specific important reasons on a need-to-know basis.

  “And Leviathan is also a prince of hell in mortal mythology. He’s the gatekeeper of the Hellmouth. We like to call him Grandpa,” Piper added.

  “You’re a member of Tribe Leviathan?”

  “I am Prime of Family Piper.”

  His words came out hard and flat, almost angrily.

  Since she was making a habit of insulting him when he hadn’t actually done anything to offend her, Dee decided that it was best just to keep her mouth shut. They could get the op done without banter and conversation, boring though that might be.

  She went back to checking texts and emails.

  * * *

  Jake had tried to forget his past for a long time, to accept himself as he was now. McCoy’s attitude toward him was always an irritant, a reminder. It infuriated him that this female mortal didn’t think he was as good as the other Primes in the Dark Angels.

  Wanting to impress a mortal female made no sense. He’d wanted her for a long time, but managed to ignore everything about her but the yearning he had no intention of acting on until this morning.

  The image of his brother which had come in the vision, or whatever it was Tobias had induced in him, had disturbed him deeply. He couldn’t stop thinking about them, then and now. He couldn’t keep from talking to the witch about it either, though he managed to keep silent for a while.

  “There were three of us left by the time I was old enough to know what a Tribe was and what we were supposed to be. Tribe sons are supposed to grow up fighting each other for alpha status, but that wasn’t how it was with us. We knew we were all that was left. We protected each other. I’d say that we loved each other, if I thought you’d believe Tribe Boys capable of it.” He shook his head. “Never mind. I’ll shut up now.”

  Fortunately, McCoy was smart enough not to say anything. He felt her fighting off sympathy, but as long as she kept it to herself he didn’t resent it.

  Chapter Nine

  Dee looked around carefully after Piper parked the SUV in a small lot by a steep, rickety-looking staircase. Their destination was not a savory looking place. All right, it was dark, and raining again, and the ramshackle building was wedged up against a brooding cliff, all things that lent a sinister air the place might not have in the daylight, but Dee doubted it. There were lights on inside the building, but very little illumination came from the small windows on either side of the black slab of a door. More like anti-illumination, Dee thought.

  Though there was no sign on the outside telling what the place was, there was an aura about it that said it was a bar. Not a homey, friendly sitcomish sort of a bar. This building exuded ‘a place where nobody knows your name and you better not ask ours’ sort of air.

  “What is this place?” she asked.

  “Tribe hangout.”

  She’d guessed that. “And we are here, why?”

  “Also a pickup place for slumming Clan girls,” he added.

  Dee’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Uh….”

  “Bikers also stop in sometimes.”

  She held a hand up. “Go back to the Clan girl part. Why would a vampire Clan daughter princess go to a Tribe hangout?”

  “To get laid.”

  This made no sense, according to the rules of the vampire world Dee knew about. She bit her lip. “Um….”

  “They bring bodyguards,” Piper said. “The Clans aren’t going to let their precious females get carried off by a bad boy Tribe Prime. It’s not about romance, it’s about adding diversity to their tiny gene pool. The Clan girls pretend it doesn’t happen, and the Matri and elders pretend places like this don’t exist, as long as the Clans get an occasional baby out of it.”

  “It’s about survival of the species,” Dee said.

  “And hot, hard, dirty sex,” he added. And there was that trace of fanged smile again.

  And once again, heat went through her when he did it. Heat, and something darker she didn’t try to identify. “I take it you’ve been here before,” she said.

  “Where do you think Tobias gets some of his intel on Tribe activities?”

  Yeah. That made sense. “You want me to wait in the car?” she asked.

  Walking into a vampire—a bad-guy vampire—and biker—and Clan sex club—bar was not high on her bucket list of things to do before she died. In fact, walking in to a bad-guy vampire biker bar might work out hastening the kicking the bucket part.

  “Oh, no,” he said.

  The way he said it made her suspicious. What he said next made Dee even more suspicious.

  “Do you have a knife on you? What is it you Craft folk call your witch daggers, athames?”

  “I call mine a Swiss Army Knife,” Dee said. She had several Blessed and Purposed blades she used for spell work, but nothing beat her good old, go-to multi-tool for a bit of quick and dirty magical work. And all the other functions it was good for.

  “Why do you ask about my knife?”

  “Let me have it. And
no lame jokes, please.”

  She did not comply, but crossed her arms and looked at him.

  He finally said, “There’s no magic involved, but I do need your knife. You don’t want me to use fangs or claws for this.”

  Mention of his natural weaponry got the response he wanted. Dee reached into a purse pocket and brought out the red-enameled folding knife. She tossed it to Piper, heard him click the blade open. Then she caught the sharp, metallic smell of blood.

  “What the—?”

  “Hold out your hand. Cup your palm.” Piper’s tone brooked no argument.

  She did as told, and drop by drop, hot liquid spilled onto her skin. Dee was motionless, hardly breathing, awareness focused on what Piper did. She understood magic. Blood was a powerful carrier of magic—and every deep fear and need of the animal psyche. There was something darkly sensual in this touch of blood between them in the closed intimacy of the car.

  She was holding hot vampire blood in her bare hand.

  Dee came out of the moment in a rush of disgust.

  “Euww!”

  She would have flung the stuff away if Piper’s hadn’t grabbed her hand between his. “You have to drink it.”

  “Hell no!”

  “Taste it while it’s fresh, woman. It won’t work otherwise.”

  “You want me to drink your blood?”

  “I’d prefer tasting yours—I haven’t eaten recently—but I won’t touch you. That’s the point. This is business. Just lick it off your hand. There is a good reason. Partner.”

  “Then explain! I don’t automatically take orders from you—partner!”

  “This is to keep you safe in there.” He pointed at the brooding shell of the building up the hillside. “My blood needs to be in you. The Primes need to sense me on and in you.”

  “Would it have been so hard for you to say that in the first place?”

  He didn’t answer. After a moment Dee blocked the anger from her mind. As well as his presence beside her. And every other emotion. Dark Angels did what they had to do. She licked the blood off her palm as quickly as she could.

  She expected to gag, but didn’t. She expected—some sort of sensual rush. But it was just blood, warm and metallic on her tongue. She certainly didn’t crave more of it after she swallowed. Wasn’t vampire blood supposed to contain some sort of aphrodisiac addictive thing?

  “You need to taste a direct hit, straight out of the bottle, to get the full effect,” Piper told her. “You’ve no idea what you’re missing,” he added smugly. He opened the driver’s side door. “Let’s get a move on while it’s still nighttime.”

  Dee got out of her side of the SUV in a cloud of confusion. And maybe a hint of resentment. Not that she really wanted a proper taste of vampire blood, especially not Piper’s when she knew so many other nicer Primes. But a girl had to wonder what all the lustful fuss was about with vamps, didn’t she?

  She glanced toward the sinister building. “What am I supposed to do in there?”

  One moment Piper was on the other side of the SUV, the next he was beside her. She’d never gotten used to how fast the supernaturals could move, but she’d learned to pretend it didn’t disconcert her. Mostly. This time she squeaked in alarm.

  He grasped her wrist and tugged her along. “Keep quiet and pay attention,” he told her. “And act like you adore me.”

  Chapter Ten

  If anything, the bar was dingier and grungier than Dee expected it to be. Which said quite bit.

  When, she wondered with her first step inside, had the floor last been mopped?

  Best not to contemplate it. So she peered around, though without night-vision goggles or supernatural powers, seeing into the depths of the room was difficult. The place was crowded with shadow forms. Impressions of movement gave an almost underwater aura to the darkness. There was the sound of breathing, disembodied voices, groans and moans and flesh-on-flesh rhythms that made her glad she couldn’t see what was going on. Piper’s hand remained clamped around her wrist, and she didn’t mind at all. Her skin crawled with nerves, and the sense of danger.

  What were they doing here? Had Piper stopped in for a bite? To get laid? He’d implied this had something to do with intel gathering. Who was he here to talk to?

  No fear, Piper’s voice said in her head. It attracts the sharks.

  It was the shark in her head that disturbed her the most. She had shielding, good shielding. His catching her surface thoughts was one thing, but his thoughts penetrating so deeply inside her —

  Calm down. It’s the blood. It will wear off.

  Oh. All right. That made sense. She supposed.

  Talk to me.

  Why is it so dark? There were lights showing from outside.

  We’re not in the front room.

  Wait a minute! I don’t remember coming in.

  Witches set psychic wards. Tribe Primes have their own protections. The bouncer at the door is a very good telepath. He put a blank on you.

  What?

  Call it a perception filter. They like to keep any mortals allowed in confused, scared. Fear adds a kick to the taste of blood.

  There was another vampire in my head?!

  No other way to get you in.

  YOU LET ANOTHER VAMPIRE IN MY HEAD?!

  Calm down. You’re drawing attention to yourself. Everybody’s going to want a bite of the energy you’re putting out.

  Dee had totally lost track of the world outside the conversation going on inside her and Piper’s heads. It was an abrupt jolt to suddenly be looking out of her eyes, to register all her external senses. Being alone with Piper had been so—intimate.

  “It’s like having sex without having sex, isn’t it?” he whispered in her ear. The warmth of his breath teasing her skin and the press of his cheek against her hair was very real.

  Take it off, she thought at him.

  Piper’s fingers brushed across her shoulder, tugged at the top of her blouse.

  I meant take off the perception filter, you—

  Laughter sounded in her head. Piper could laugh?

  I’ll see what I can do, witch. Close your eyes.

  What do you mean close my eyes? Inside my head?

  The eyes in your face, not the inner ones.

  Dee was already nearly blind as she stood in the midst of a room full of Tribe vampires and who knew what other sorts of bad guys. It took a huge effort to trust Piper enough to do what he said. She had to think about it, too, taking a moment to orient her mind and body to do what she told each to do.

  The world didn’t seem to get any darker when she lowered her eyelids.

  It took her a moment to understand that the finger touch leaving trails of light and fire all over her was inside her mind even as her body reacted to the psychic sensations with a rush of physical lust.

  By the time Piper thought, You can look now, Dee had almost forgotten what she’d asked him to do. She worked hard to get her senses under her own control.

  Must everything be about sex with you guys? she demanded after the lust had tuned down to a manageable ache.

  Everything is about sex with everyone, Piper answered. Isn’t it?

  She opened her eyes rather than share another thought with Piper. Okay, the place was still dim, but the frightening, writhing darkness no longer trapped her vision.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  After a quick look around, she turned to press against Piper. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. This mimicked the adoring way other mortal women she’d seen were clinging to males they were with. It was pretty disgusting, if you asked her.

  Thralls can’t help loving their masters, Piper thought. She went stiff, started to pull away from him, but he held her closer. Be disgusted but don’t show it. His thought was harsh and commanding, and oddly steadying. They were on an op, and the op wasn’t to rescue sex slaves from Tribe masters.

  They could come back and do that later.

  Right now
finding out how Tobias’s feeling, Domini’s hints, Mr. Sacher’s disappearance, and her own intimations of earthquakes came together to make a crisis they could avert was their reason for mingling in this mob of scum.

  You’re here to ask questions, right?

  Piper slipped her arms from around his neck, but kept a tight hold around her waist as he steered her toward the back of the room. Dee was aware of stares from faintly glowing eyes as they passed. She picked up a lot of emotions turned on Piper, hostile, assessing, jealous, challenging. She was no empath, these Primes were just very obvious. Obvious enough to make her skin crawl, make her want to defend herself, even though no one’s attention was directed at her.

  Then she remembered how the Clan and Family Primes she knew were always playing macho, chest-beating games with each other for the attention of any women that happened to be around. The guys she knew were good-natured in the way they challenged each other, but she sometimes got the feeling things could turn into serious fights if the challenging ever went too far.

  The Primes in this room were Tribe Boys. Fighting for possession of females was war for them. Life and death hung on winning mating rights when they went after vampire females. Hopefully things didn’t get out of hand like that over mere mortals like herself.

  Dee tried to ignore her sudden fear, especially since the fear was more for Piper than for herself. She tried to make it a joke when she thought, Tell me you didn’t bring me into this dump so you can pretend to your buds you can get your own girl?

  He responded to her fear, anyway. You are safer in here than if I’d left you in the car. You’ll be fine. They sense you’re blooded. They know you’re with me.

  So that was why she’d had to drink his blood, to let other Primes know she belonged to him. He’d done it to protect her, but it was still humiliating, infuriating, and rather horrible. Now was not the time to argue about it, however. Yep, this here was business. Stomping him into the dust could come later.