Chapter 9
As he strode defiantly into the small lit square, I, like everyone else, was watching Sasha closely. He was dressed in his jeans, dark t-shirt and a leather vest with his name stitched into the left breast. He did look beaten and hurt, but he still held an air of confidence and strength around him. And, he still looked sexy as hell. His eyes moved between Preacher, Valentina, and Bernhard as he moved, but not once, not for an instant, did he look at me. I thought he was going to walk right by me like I didn’t exist.
To my relief, he drew level with me and turned in a flash, taking me in his arms and kissing me fiercely. I felt giddy, light-headed, and happy, despite our situation. Sasha was alive. There were groans and mocking wolf whistles from the crowd, and I’m sure I heard Valentina curse and spit, but everything quickly melted away as his lips pressed against mine, our mouths opening in unison to allow our tongues to come together. My skin was on fire with the electricity of it, the sensations making me suddenly very aware of how naked and exposed I was under the oversized jacked.
I broke off the kiss and held him close, our mouths close to each other’s ears.
“Nice outfit,” he whispered. I didn’t know how he could make a joke at a time like this, but I loved him for it.
“Thank God you’re alive. I was so scared,” I sighed back at him.
“I’m here now,” he breathed back, “I won’t let harm come to you.”
“If you’re done?” Valentina had a sharp, sarcastic tone in her voice. Sasha’s face turned fierce and he rounded on her violently, taking a threatening step forward.
“If you touched her, I’ll…” he started to snarl.
“You’ll do nothing, boy!” Bernhard shouted over him. “You really think attacking Preacher’s daughter is going to lead to anything except all-out war between San Antonio and Austin? You’re here to marry her and seal this treaty.” Sasha stopped, his jaw clenched, his fists opening and closing. His eyes flicked to Bernhard. “Trust me, the only way your mortal survives this night is if you keep your word and marry Valentina. Right now.”
Valentina couldn’t help looking over at me with an entitled, superior look on her face. I guess, vampire or not, a spoiled bitch is still a spoiled bitch. Then I spotted something and kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. The patch on the back of Sasha’s vest. It was the same as about half the bikers here. It said ‘Angel Dogs’. It was the same as Rectum’s.
“Sasha,” I whispered, hoping his heightened hearing could pick my voice up. “Those bikers you killed last night, the ones who attacked me. They were vampires.” Without facing around, he lowered his head slightly. I got the impression he was trying to tell me he knew that already. Of course, he did. Heightened sense of smell. Not only were they vampires, they were Bernhard’s vampires. “You can’t trust him!” I shouted. He paused for a millisecond, then turned to me, not the slightest trace of shock or surprise in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, April,” he said, “I have no choice.” Whether he was doing it to save me, whether he’d just changed his mind about he and I, or whether he’d been lying to me all along, it didn’t matter. I didn’t matter why. All I knew was that I loved him so deeply, my heart and soul belonged to this man and now I was going to witness him being married to someone else. I could feel my heart splintering into tiny fragments. I fought to stop the tears running down my cheeks.
“But,” he continued strangely, “You really do look good in that jacket.” He patted the lower left pocket of his own vest and turned towards Bernhard.
“Oh, don’t cry, kitten,” teased Valentina as she took her spot next to Sasha. “Come, you can be my maid of honor.” Her loud mocking laugh pierced my eardrums as I was walked over to her left side. I had no more strength to protest. It didn’t appear that I had anything left to fight for, so I numbly obeyed.
The two gang leaders debated for a second before Preacher deferred to Bernhard, letting him perform the ceremony. “All yours, good buddy,” he said, magnanimously, and ambled over to join congregation behind us.
The words Bernhard spoke didn’t even register in my brain. I shoved my hands in the jacket pockets and kept my head low, praying this would be over soon. I was consumed with bone-deep exhaustion.
Somehow I was brought back to attention when Bernhard said the part about anyone having just cause speaking up. I thought, fuck it and figured I’d get in one last grand-hurrah to piss everyone off. I opened my mouth to speak, and the word was on the tip of my tongue when Sasha said, “I do.”
Both Bernhard and Valentina stared at Sasha in disbelief. There were groans and clucking noises behind me, but I was sure I heard Preacher let out a quick snort of laughter.
“You want to repeat that, son?” said Bernhard ominously. He wasn’t expecting an answer.
“I have just cause,” declared Sasha. “I love only one woman.” I couldn’t contain my smile as he pointed at me, “I’ve loved her for centuries. You knew that, father, and you attempted to have her killed.”
“You didn’t exactly leave me a choice,” Bernhard yelled back, his voice booming, “I couldn’t risk this peace treaty falling through just because your mortal lover appeared out of history. How long do you think you’ve got to spend with her anyway? Fifty years? You’re a dumbass…”:
“It’s still fifty years more than you’ll have,” said Sasha softly. His arm darted like lightening, reaching behind his back and under his vest. His movements were too fast for me to follow, but I realized that he’d drawn a pistol and fired. Bernhard moved too, diving out of the way in a blur. But, Sasha had counted on that. He’d fired ahead of Bernhard and the bullet caught him in the face, and he quickly fired twice more into Bernhard’s chest.
Still turned away, he didn’t see Valentina drop into a fighting stance. I knew she was going to attack Sasha from behind and only had a heartbeat to react, but I was ready, palming the small knife Sasha had slipped into my jacket pocket when he’d kissed me. Channeling as much fury, strength, and hate as I could muster, and by this point I had bucket loads, I stabbed Valentina in the back, easily penetrating her flimsy tank-top, and plunging the blade into her heart. Withdrawing it, I stabbed her again, and I kept stabbing. I couldn’t afford for her to turn around, so I stabbed her as she froze in shock, stabbed her as she fell, and stabbed her as she lay on the ground until my hand was slick with blood and I couldn’t hold the knife anymore.
I saw Sasha kick over the nearest torch setting Bernhard’s body on fire, then turn to me. His eyes widened as two huge hands came around my chest pulling me off of Valentina’s lifeless form.
“That’s enough, little human,” came Preacher’s slow, deep voice as he lifted me clean off the ground. “And stop waving that pea-shooter at me, if you want your mortal to live, boy.”
To my surprise, Preacher sat me gently back down and let me go. I ran to Sasha and threw my arms around him. It took me a second, but I realized there were a lot of angry noises coming from the crowd, yet no one was rushing us. I also knew that I had just killed the only remaining gang leader’s daughter and I had no idea what the punishment for that might be.
“So,” I managed breathlessly, “Now what?”
“Way I see it,” Preacher seemed to be thinking out loud, “This here makes you head of San Antonio, boy. I believe you just staged a coup. And, I’m guessing that if I were to end you now, there’d be no choice but to go to war. Believe it or not, I don’t want that.”
“What about her?” asked Sasha, waving his gun at Valentina’s limp body.
Preachers massive bulk edged closer. “I reckon you might have done me a good turn there,” he said in lowered tones. “Hundred and fifty years and she ain’t never grown up. Was always just a bit too much for me to handle.” I stifled a laugh and Preacher shot me a disapproving look. “My gift to you two, disappear. I hear of either of you even setting a foot in Texas, it’ll be your last.” He made a gesture and someone tossed a set of van keys to Sasha.
“Go
,” Preacher grumbled, “‘fore I forget what a big softy I can be.”
Sasha swung me up into his arms, ran us to the van I was brought in, and helped me inside. We were both grinning ear to ear.
“Are you really totally naked under that jacket?” he asked with a smile once we were belted in.
“Seriously?” I scolded him. “Is now really the time?”
“Okay,” he teased, “I’ll give it a few minutes.”
An hour later, I felt as though we’d put in enough distance that I could breathe again. We were headed east towards Huston and then on to Louisiana. I sat curled up on the seat with my legs under me and snuggled against Sasha’s side. He had his arm around me as we drove and I’d opened my jacket so he could softly stroke my breast.
“We’re not really leaving San Antonio permanently, are we? I have a life there, a job,” I complained.
“Your job got pretty trashed this afternoon, I’m sorry to have to tell you,” he said. He turned and looked at me. “Anyway, being a mom is going to be a full-time job.”
“What do you mean, vampires and humans can’t have children, can they?”
“We had five in the eighteenth century. But they’re always born mortal.”
“And who says,” I sat up to look at him now, “I’m ever going to have kids?”
“You do,” he gently placed his hand on my stomach. My heart skipped a beat.
“How do you know?” I croaked.
“Magic.”
We drove on in silence for a few more miles, neither of us able to keep the smiles from our faces.
“What about your painting?” I remembered suddenly, not wanting to leave it behind.
“We don’t need it right now,” he smiled, “and don’t worry, when the time comes, it’ll find us both again.
THE END
DRAGON KEEPER
STORY DESCRIPTION
Kaitlyn is a small-town girl with big dreams of making it in Hollywood. But, it seems her voluptuous body and soft curves don't mesh with the bleach-blonde, plastic-boobed, stick-figure girls at auditions.
Brett is one of the hottest producers in the movie industry. His success is not at all harmed by the fact that he’s also a mysterious and enigmatic recluse. Everything he touches turns to gold.
The truth is that as successful as he is as a man, as a dragon he’s failed. He is losing control and it’s only a matter of time before he must be “put down.” When Kaitlyn is hired as a caretaker, Brett’s instantly drawn to her full body and luscious curves, but he knows it's not safe to get close to her.
Kaitlyn soon learns that her employer’s chiseled jawline, dark hair and bedroom eyes don't make up for his mood swings and outlandish behavior. She's not sure what the wants from her, but when she sees whips, chains and shackles, she knows that it can't be good.
Chapter 1
I was dreaming. I knew it was a dream because I was on stage holding the Oscar I'd just won close to me as I smiled graciously for the cameras snapping pictures. One of the camera men threw a rose towards me, and I grabbed for it, but missed. It hit my arm and stung me. "Ow," I complained. Then another rose was flying towards me, pelting my arm. "Hey!" I shouted. Suddenly, I was bombarded with roses. They hit my skin and scraped me with their thorns.
I opened my eyes.
Colin sat in the chair opposite me, a dinner mint in his hand. He threw it at me and missed, picked another one out of his bowl, and this time struck me square in the shoulder.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I hissed.
"Throwing mints at you," he said, aiming for my eye. I ducked.
"Yeah, I got that, but why?"
"It's entertaining. I can't go out for entertainment since I had to throw in extra to cover your rent this month, so this way, you're making it up to me."
A mint hit my head, made a soft thud, and bounced off, landing on the floor. "Colin, I'm sorry." A ducked away as another mint hit me square in the jaw. "Stop it! I'm looking for somewhere else to go. Believe me, ow! I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here."
He scowled at me then grabbed the bag of candies off the coffee table and refilled his bowl. "I find that hard to believe, Kaitlyn."
It had been two weeks since our breakup, and I wasn't any closer to finding a place now than I had been the night he'd dumped me.
"You could try harder I think. You haven't had a job since we got here. No wonder you're so fat. You're just lazy." A fresh round of mints flew through the air at me. Apparently Colin wasn't going to stop till I was black and blue. "It's not so hard to be an actor," he said. A mint hit my eyeball and fell into my lap. I rubbed at my eyes, which were starting to sting with tears from the peppermint. "How many jobs have I gotten since we landed here?" he asked.
"I don’t know. Several." It hurt to admit how much better he was doing than me.
"That's right." This time he popped a mint into his mouth and sucked on it. "You have as many auditions as I do, I'll give you that, but you're never gonna get anything when you're so fat. Get to the gym. That'll help a little at least. You can't do much about that nose though. I can put you in touch with a good plastic surgeon if you ever decide to take the chance." He stopped talking and squinted his eyes at me, scrunching his lips together. He looked like a toad. "God you're pathetic. What did I ever see in you?"
I was wondering that myself. Colin had never seemed to care for me very much. Ever since our first date back home in Bliss, Idaho, he'd treated me like garbage. But, when the population of your town never rose above 3,000, you didn't have a lot of choices. Besides, at least we'd both shared the same dreams of moving to Los Angeles and becoming an actor. I figured that no matter what happened, at least we'd always have that in common.
The joke was on me.
Of course, moving to L.A. had worked out for him. He'd gotten cast in some plays and bit parts in a few TV shows. He even had an agent. A real agent, not one who worked out of the trunk of his car like mine. Who would've thought six months ago we'd end up like this? Me on the couch, penniless, Colin's star on the rise.
Another mint sailed passed my ear. "Stop that," I said. "If you're so bored why don't you go fuck another one of those plastic floozies you've gotten so fond of since we moved here?"
He paused, his expression flickered a fraction of an inch before resuming its normal visage of disgust when looking at me. "You knew about that, huh?" he asked.
"Of course I did." He had started cheating on me our first week here.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
My bottom lip trembled. I held it back. No way was I gonna let him see me cry. "I thought it would pass."
He laughed. "You're pathetic. Anyways, I got a date. So, here." He handed me the bowl of mints. "Go ahead and fatten yourself up some more why don't you? It'll probably make your mom happy."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the fatter you get, the sooner you'll run back home with your tail between your legs. Your mom never wanted you to leave in the first place. She knows you're a loser." He got up and winked at me before going into what used to be our bedroom. I heard the shower start and knew it was safe to let the tears fall. I popped a mint in my mouth and pulled the newspaper towards me.
The want ads were a joke. A couple waitressing jobs I'd already applied for—the competition here was fierce, hotel clerk positions that wouldn't give you the time of day unless you were a model, and things that I would never consider in a million years, no matter how bad things got, like escorting. Everyone knew that escort was code for prostitute. I'd never stoop to something like that, no matter what.
I scanned the last page quickly, just to see if there was anything I might've missed. One ad caught my eye. CARETAKER: LIVE IN POSITION. No other qualifications were listed, and no other details.
"Hmm... caretaker of what?" I mumbled to myself. It was probably a trick. I'd learned one thing living in this town for the last six months—people spoke in veiled euphemisms. "Athletic" meant flat chested.
"Writer" meant out of work. I assumed "Caretaker" meant sex slave, or something to that effect. I tossed the paper aside and pulled out my phone. Soon I wouldn't even have this anymore. I had enough left on my credit card for one more month of service, and then I was finished. Colin was right. I'd have to go back home with my tail between my legs.
The doorbell rang and Colin yelled, "Can you get it?"
I pushed myself up and opened the door to find a beautiful blonde with fake boobs and lips pumped full of something synthetic.
"Hi," she breathed. "I'm Leah." She was clearly trying to sound like Marilyn Monroe. I thought Marilyn would turn over in her grave is she saw this girl. Fake hair, fake lashes, fake everything. Her dress accentuated the over-plasticized nature of her body.
I might be big, but at least my body was real—and real men liked real curves. They liked women whose breasts didn't feel like rubber and whose walk had a little oomph to it when she moved. Some men did. Other men, like Colin, liked plastic Leah.
"Hey babe," Colin came into the room dressed in a towel and pushed me aside. He grabbed hold of her, pulled her to him, and licked her face like she was a lollipop. She giggled. My stomach churned. I brushed my bronzed hair over my eyes, trying to hide the disgusting sight before me.
"Come on," he said, pulling her into the bedroom. I watched in shock as he closed the door behind them.
"He's not..." I muttered to myself. No, not even Colin would do that. There are some lines you just don't cross. When your recent ex-girlfriend is still living with you and sitting outside your door, you don't bang the milkmaid.
But I had overestimated Colin again. I heard the squeak of our—his—mattress begin to pulse in a certain rhythm I knew only too well. Colin rarely varied anything in bed. I searched frantically for my headphones, but it was too late. Leah started screaming his name and moaning like she was making a porno. I assumed she'd had a lot of practice.
CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA UNDERBOSS Page 17
