The vampires howled in disappointment as he stumbled to the front and turned the car on. His hands shook. They charged. He stomped on the gas.
Within a second, they were gone.
***
Gabriel had had many friends who were bitten by vampires.
It always ended the same. The venom drove them crazy, made them rabid. Sometimes they killed others before they were put down, but they were always put down.
His head swam, visions of blood and anger burning in his mind. He couldn’t even see the road before him anymore and when he came to a wide shoulder, he pulled off to one side. A glance in the back seat showed that Val had shifted back to her human form. Her hand pressed to her shoulder, where green venom bubbled between her fingers.
Gabriel reached for his gun, only to remember he’d dropped it in the forest. No matter. He leaned across to the glove compartment. Always kept an extra. As he began to load it, though, his door was suddenly yanked open. He looked up in time for Val to seize him by the neck and drag him from the car. Her hand caught his wrist, pinning the gun to the door, before she dropped to her knees. Her lips closed around the bite in his side and she began to suck.
By the way his body reacted, she might as well have been sucking on an altogether different part of him. His loins tightened, and he groaned, wrapping a fist in her hair. Heat sparked and spread throughout him. His wolf howled in delight. The gun slipped from his hand as he yanked himself out of her grasp. Both hands wrapped into her braids now, and he found himself thrusting his hips forward.
Val sat back. She spat out a mouthful of venom and sprang to her feet. Grabbing him by the shoulders, she turned him so that his body pinned her to the car. Her head tilted, offering her neck to his.
“Your turn.” Her voice was husky and broken.
Gabriel stared at her, in utter confusion and shock.
“Suck out the venom!”
“But—that never works.”
“It worked with Ava. Jackson was able to save her. Now do it!”
Gabriel’s head dropped. The venom tasted like death, bitter, rotten. He sucked hard, spitting out mouthful after mouthful until it was just blood in his mouth. He pulled back then, staring down at the naked woman. His hands were on her hips, holding her in place, their bodies still pressed so firmly together that he could feel every movement Val made.
She looped an arm around his neck and ground her hips forward. Already hard, the movement was painful. His gaze dropped to her throat, wanting to kiss it. Wanting to take here, here and now. Wanting to make her scream his name before he ripped her throat out.
His wolf howled as he sprang away from her. He could feel it working to a frenzy. Val’s attempts to suck out the venom hadn’t worked. Any minute now, he was going to go rabid and kill her.
He lunged for the gun.
Chapter Five
Shadow
Val didn’t know if he intended to shoot her or himself. It didn’t matter. That gun wasn’t going to go off, not if she had a say about it. As Gabriel grasped the butt of the gun, she kneed him in the face. Gabriel grunted, stumbled back and lunged. She grabbed him by the throat and kicked his feet out from under him before seizing the gun herself.
The wolf froze.
“My God, Blizzard. Never thought you’d give up so easily.”
She released the clip from the gun, letting the pack of bullets fall onto his chest. Their pelvis’ pressed together. It would be so easy for her to shift position just a little bit and welcome him inside of her. Her leopard whined with need, wanting him more than she’d ever wanted anything before. But not like this. Val rolled off him and threw the empty gun onto the backseat of the car before she kicked that door shut.
“We need to get to a safe house.”
“I’m going rabid, Val.” His voice was tense. “I can’t—”
“Don’t be such a weakling. We get to the safe house, we lock ourselves in and let the venom pass.” Her gaze traveled over his body. There were tattoos on his chest and down one side of his stomach that she hadn’t known were there. She reached to touch them but pulled herself back.
Groaning in effort, she managed to pull herself to her feet. When she held her hand out to Gabriel, she got another good look at the length of his body. Including the very hard member jutting out from between his legs. She groaned at the sight of it; her leopard pawed at her, demanding she straddle him. It wanted to mate, now.
She closed her eyes as Gabriel took her hand and pulled himself up. Her mouth was dry as she shook her head.
“The venom,” she grunted. “It awakens the animal brain. Going rabid isn’t the right term. More like reacting to a situation where you feel cornered. Like the only option is to fight. But not just fight… Oh, God!” A tight ache twisted in her core as his heat brushed next to her. His hand found hers. Pressed her into the side of the car. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to find his face inches from hers. “It also awakens… other animal instincts.”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel snarled.
“You know exactly what I mean!” She yanked a hand free and made to slap him, but he caught her and pressed her back again. “The need to mate. That primitive instinct… in you, it’s awakening your desire for dominance. To see me meek and submissive, for you to unleash all your desires on my body.”
Gabriel’s eyes screwed shut and he shook his head.
“In me,” Val panted, fighting the venom coursing through her body, “it’s telling me to claim a strong mate, a fierce protector for my children.”
His grip tightened painfully, and a snarl ripped from his throat. “I am not going to fuck you. I’m not doing this just because our heads aren’t screwed on right! I won’t!”
As if she was the one that was making him act this way.
“I won’t, either,” she spat back. “That’s why we need to get to the safe house. We can let the venom run its course there. We won’t have—”
Both of them moved at the same time. Mouths clashing in the middle, the woken hunger burning to a new pain. Val twisted her hands into his short hair, pulling him closer. Her body was on fire, the need for blood retreating as heat flared under her skin. Her body was too small, her skin too tight to contain it. Her clit throbbed with need.
She didn’t know how she found the strength to pull away, but she did. She whimpered with the pain of separation even as she shoved against his chest, putting space between them. The two of them stood there panting, staring at each other. Finally, she pointed at the driver’s seat.
“Get in.”
Gabriel growled deep in his chest, making her insides squirm with desire again. Fortunately, he wasn’t so far gone yet as to insist on her submission. Instead, he slid into the car. She climbed into the back, to put as much space between them as she could, and shut the door softly. They drove in pained silence, except for when Val directed him to the nearest safe house, a three-roomed cabin in the woods.
“It was designed for shifters who have been bitten,” Val explained as they made their way inside. “The doors lock automatically from the inside and can only be opened with a specific series. One that the animal brain can’t process.”
“It’s new,” Gabriel grunted.
“Yup.”
The two of them stared at each other, each before their respective doors. A thrill of fear ran down Val’s spine as she opened hers. Even here, chances of survival were minimal, especially since they had no backup on the way. She opened her mouth, but what could she say? She closed it again and walked into the room.
***
The passing days were pure torture. Val’s body moved from violently ill to trying to rip down the walls to masturbating furiously to vomiting all over the room. Dreams were fevered, equal parts ripping out Gabriel’s throat and making love with him. When the worst of it retreated enough that she could figure out the lock to get out, she found Gabriel already waiting on the other side.
Two sleeping bags lay on the floor. Gabriel was in
one, and Val zipped herself into the other without a word. She rolled over, pressing herself into Gabriel’s side and his arm wrapped around her.
“I don’t want to die,” she whispered.
“What?”
“I can’t leave my girls alone.”
Gabriel’s hand stroked her hair. It had become matted and frizzy during her imprisonment. He let out a sigh as he pulled her closer. “You aren’t going to die. The worst of it is over, right? From here on, we’ll just… get better.”
“I’m a gangster. I fight vampires.” Tears burned her eyes. “I’m going to die and leave them alone.”
“You’re a wonderful woman. Beautiful. Intelligent.”
A warm feeling started to build in her chest. She pressed her face into him, breathing in that clean scent, and allowed herself to sleep.
***
Fevered dreams pressed in on her as she slept. Occasionally she woke and drank a little water, but mostly she just slept. Even in her dreams, she could sense Gabriel still with her. His firm, solid presence kept her from spiraling off into the darkness.
She wasn’t certain how much time had passed before she woke drenched in sweat and knew the fever had broken. Gabriel lay beside her, also covered in sweat. Her whole body ached.
Val pulled away and climbed from the sleeping bag, stumbling a little, as she was still weak. The whole place stunk, but that was to be expected. She glanced around, orienting herself with the cabin. A sink sat on one side of the room, next to a toilet and a shower. A shower. With soap-on-a-rope hanging from the shower head. Relief washed over her as she stumbled for it.
It took several minutes for the water to run hot and by the time it had, the noise had woken Gabriel. He joined her under the stream of water, neither of them much caring about their nakedness as they helped one another clean themselves. Once she was satisfied with herself, Val took her sleeping bag outside, shook it out and then dumped it into the cold creek that ran just behind the cabin. She pinned it down with rocks, then went back inside. Gabriel threw his sleeping bag outside and rifled around in the cupboards. He withdrew two cans of beans and two more sleeping bags.
They ate, slept and, when she woke, Val felt much better. Stronger. She moved to the shower again, this time taking out her braid so she could wash her hair. She had cleaned herself before, but now she wanted to get a good scrubbing in.
Until Gabriel stepped up behind her. The heat of his body was stronger than the heat of the water as his hands slowly pressed against her shoulder blades. She expected them to slide down at once, but they sat there, warm and solid. Gabriel’s face pressed into the back of her head. They stood like that, the warm water running over them both.
“What do you want?” Val asked, her skin tingling where his breath wafted across it.
“I don’t know. You. Is this still the venom?”
Val leaned back against him, welcoming his embrace as his arms wrapped around her. “Do you still want to kill me?”
“No.”
“Then it’s not the venom.”
She turned, her naked body pressed against his. The salt-and-pepper of his hair looked darker, pressed against his scalp and soaked with water. Lust shone from his eyes as he pulled her against him, but he hesitated, his mouth inches from hers. Waiting for permission? Val met his gaze, slowly closing the distance between them.
The heat that had been simmering under her skin flared back to life. Gabriel’s kiss was fierce, determined. He suckled on her lower lip while backing her up against the wall, so the shower head sprayed down on both of them equally. He tasted of the beans they had eaten the previous night and she wanted more. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in tight against her. His hands moved from her hips to her back to her shoulders to her ass, as though he wanted to be touching her all over. Finally, he settled on holding her hip with one hand while reaching between her legs with the other.
She was already slick for him, the sexual tension from the past few days building to a peak. His thumb stroked her clit and a shiver ran through her whole body. Val arched herself to him, fighting to keep her footing on the slippery floor with one foot while she lifted her other leg to give him better access. His body undulated, brushing against her while he devoured her mouth.
Panting with desire, Val fumbled behind them and turned off the water altogether. Her clit was on fire as Gabriel stroked it with firm, even pressure. Her eyes shut as her head fell back to the wall. He pressed against her belly, semi-erect and Val found him with her hand, stroking him with the same rhythm that he gave her. His dark eyes bored into hers.
He lifted her suddenly, pulling her away from the wall. Her legs circled his hips as he kissed her, walking blindly from the shower. When he set her down again, he turned her rapidly so her back was against his chest. One arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him, while his free hand continued to toy with her clit. He ground into her ass as the fires flared throughout her body.
Need twisted inside of her, making her whimper, as his mouth delved into her neck. Shivers of pleasure left her trembling on edge and she clung to him. His kisses were becoming more urgent as he slowly laid her down, draping himself over her. The sleeping bags felt suddenly lumpy, but Val didn’t care. Her whole body ached with need as she kissed every inch of Gabriel that she could reach. She spread her legs for him, reaching between their bodies to help guide him inside of her.
She didn’t expect him to pull back, but he did. He panted as he wiped a drop of water from her cheek. “Is this okay?”
Something warm burst inside her chest. When was the last time she’d had a man ask her that question? She cupped his face in her hands and brought him down for another kiss. Their tongues tangled as he started to nudge in her. Then he pulled back once more, his expression a little harder than it had been before.
“I need a clear answer, Val. Is this okay?”
Val laughed softly, wrapping her fingers in his hair now. “Yes. Don’t you think I’d let you know if it wasn’t?”
Gabriel shrugged. “I guess I’d rather be certain than have you suddenly put me in a headlock. And you’re good with me on top?”
It had been years since she had allowed a man to top her. Val hesitated a moment, warring with herself. She wanted to let him have his, yes. She wanted to be the receiver for once, rather than giving and giving and not getting anything back. But it was such a vulnerable position. With him on top of her, he could do anything he wanted and what could she do to stop him? Her fingers dug into his shoulders.
He must have seen the reluctance in her eyes, because he turned them both, letting her be on top. Her hair dripped into his face, but he smiled, tracing a hand over her back and then round to her breasts. “I like the view from down here anyway.”
Val laughed, shaky. How could such a simple gesture be so disarming? The warmth in her chest, completely unrelated to the heat flaring under her skin, grew. She eased him inside of her, sighing with pleasure as he reached to every part of her, and began to grind against him. Gabriel groaned, his hands still exploring her body. His dark gaze smiled up at her as she leaned forward slightly, resting her hands against his chest.
His girth inside of her made everything feel that much tighter. She groaned in sweet agony, legs tense, spine erect. Her head fell forward as she ground hard against him. Pleasure sent shivering bolts up her spine and down her legs. His hips thrust up, matching her rhythm. His teeth clamped over his lower lip as he panted.
Her core tightened to a point where she couldn’t take it anymore and bolts of electricity exploded through her. Her muscles turned to mush and she collapsed over her lover, writhing and whimpering and panting with desire that didn’t seem to be anymore sated than when she started.
When they were both finished, her leopard curled up into a ball in her chest, yawned and settled down to sleep. Val rolled off Gabriel, panting for breath, as the shock waves still caressed her.
“Hey.” His voice was breathy and hoar
se as he touched her face. “What’s wrong?”
It was only then that she realized she was crying. Val turned her face, not wanting to look at him. She sniffled, mortified by the tears still running down her face.
“Val?” He wrapped his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Six
Blizzard
His first thought was that there was no way she could know that fast.
Then it sunk in.
She was pregnant.
Val was pregnant. The woman he just had sex with was pregnant. His brain was slow on the uptake, due to the jelly-like sensation that still filled him. He licked his lips, wondering why she was telling him—so she couldn’t pretend like he was the father in the future? So he wouldn’t think he was and cause trouble? Because she was afraid? Because she had no-one else to tell?
A shudder ran through Val’s body and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him. He kissed her shoulder, trying to show her everything was alright. “Hey. It’s okay. You’re going to be fine. Unless…” She had been bitten. “Are you afraid that the attack—”
“No.” Val shook her head as she choked on a sob. “No, I’m not worried. I got bitten a few times when I was pregnant with Freya. I just...”
Gabriel waited a beat. “Who is the father?”
“I don’t know.”
Ah. He ran his hand down her arm. “Do you want him in the baby’s life?”
Val snorted, a definite no for an answer. “They’re all losers. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I only sleep with losers.”
Gabriel frowned. “I hope you’re not including me in that.”
Blizzard_A Paranormal Romance Page 4
