Suckers Bite Back (San Francisco Vampires #5) (Vampires of San Francisco series)

by Jessica McBrayer

  “Helena,” I croak, then clear my throat. “Helena, do you think I might be able to use your bag for a while? I need to work off some energy.”

  Helena gives me one look and takes off her gloves. She comes over and touches my face gently. Then she beckons to her lover and they take off in a blur to their room. It only fuels my frustration knowing what they are going to be doing.

  I strip down to just my jeans and take up a stance in front of the bag. Squaring off I throw punch after punch until my fangs are bared and my knuckles are raw. It must have been a long time because Julian comes in and takes a seat in front me. I ignore him and take a few more punches before I stop.

  “She loves you, Sebastian,” he says.

  “I know. I want more, though. She wants more. We want more than we had before and until we get there I will wait,” I say.

  “Understood. You’ll get there. If there were ever star-crossed lovers it was you and Lily. But the stars are shooting your way now. Everything will work out.” Julian stands up and squeezes my shoulder before he leaves the room.

  I throw a couple more punches before I hug the bag. I need a shower but I feel better. Put on a damn happy face as Hannah says and face the fucking day. If I didn’t think there was a chance, a strong, real chance, I would feel hopeless right now.

  22 AIDAN

  I can hardly wait until Manda wakes. The soft curl of her lush, maiden-pink lips beckons me to kiss them. Being a selfish bastard, I do just that. I hear her moan as her hands grasp for purchase on my shirt. I pull her into me and kiss her harder and she smiles. Manda’s smile gives my tongue access to her mouth. My head explodes from her taste, a mix of the wine she drank and the essence of peaches that is her signature. I’m sure if I was vampire I would be drunk by now.

  Slowly my hand moves from her hip to the edge of her shirt, sliding my hand under the soft material to caress the even softer skin of her abdomen.

  “Oh Aidan, mmm…” Manda moans.

  My blood starts to really heat up now and I’m sure that my eyes spark. I have to make sure I don’t increase the room temp too much. Everything is spinning out of control except for her. Her scent, her lips, her skin. I drown in her. Kissing my way down her neck I edge her shirt up and she raises her hands above her head so that I can remove it. Oh gods.

  The sight that awaits me. Her soft breasts budding from her lace bra are so beautiful. I know that I could will the garment away but I want to take this slowly and treasure it. Reaching for the clasp in the front, I undo it and let the material fall to the side. Painstakingly, I lower my head to her neck again and kiss my way to between her breasts until she is arching into me, her body begging for my touch. Then, quick as a viper I latch onto one of her hard pebbles while I thumb the other one.

  I’m gently relentless in my assault and make her call out my name until her voice is harsh and she is spent. Then there is no more waiting. I remove both of our clothes with a thought and watch her looking at me. There is love in her eyes. I was hoping our first time would be full of love. But love is new to me. I thought I loved Lilith. These feelings I have for Manda are all-consuming. It’s all I think about. I need to discuss this with Julian. But I am sure about one thing. I have never been happier.

  “Manda, I think I love you. I’m scared, though. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I love you, too, Aidan. I feel the same way.”

  I lower myself into her, stretching her tightness until I am fully inside. I hear her cry out in a good way and I moan and hold my breath until I am buried. I bite her earlobe and then flick it with my tongue. Then kiss her hard not losing contact while I move out of her and begin to start some welcome friction. She is so wet and tight that I know that it won’t be long. I remind myself that I want her well satisfied. I try to hold out as long as I can and I do. She comes one more time before I seek my own release.

  Manda inconceivably starts to tighten more around me. I know she is close and so am I. My sweet goddess is going to come over with me. I want it, I need it. One more, two more, three more thrusts and Manda is there. I roar my head back feeling and hearing Manda say my name as she climaxes with me. It makes me come harder. I feel like I am so full I will empty for hours. Eventually I gaze down at the beautiful woman below me. She is glowing, glistening and mine.

  “Aidan,” she whispers. “Don’t ever leave me.” It was a plea, a demand, and a promise for her to never do the same to me.

  “Never, my lover.” I kiss her forehead gently, then her nose and finally a soft, gentle kiss on her mouth.

  I hate having to pull away from her but she is shattered. I make up for it by pulling her into my arms immediately. She nuzzles my chest and murmurs she loves me, so softly before falling back to sleep again. I hold her tightly, fiercely. Every protective instinct in me is in overdrive. Never have I felt this way. I thank the gods for Lilith Goodwill for saving me on that bridge that lonely, lonely night. She taught me about love even though my heart was broken in the process. If I hadn’t known love, I never would be here at this moment with Manda.

  23 LILITH

  I wake up slowly, remembering the night before. Everything, from Sebastian’s bruising kisses to Mark’s betrayal. I sigh and get up. My mind a twisting mess that mimics my life. I’m suddenly anxious for my appointment with Sophie. It will be good to unload some of this on another’s shoulders. To get a fresh perspective, another point of view.

  I linger in the shower built for two and wonder what it would be like to have Sebastian share it with me. Leaning my head against the cold marble, I let the hot water cascade down my shoulders trying to warm me, yet I shiver. Slowly I grab my body wash and lather and rinse. The ritual soothes me. Must get clean, washing my hair with shampoo. I let the water wash over me, taking the suds down the drain, hopefully taking my heartache with it.

  The fluffy white towel from the towel warmer quickly dries me off before I toss it in the hamper. Walking nude to my closet, I begin to cool off again, always so cold. The only warmth I have ever felt was in Aidan’s arms, but that is gone now too.

  I pick out some worn jeans, an off the shoulder sweater and thick heeled Mary Janes. I use my favorite hand sanitizer that Aidan has kept me supplied with and head for the library. Sebastian meets me at the top of the stairs and quietly takes my hand before escorting me down the stairs. It is familiar, it is comforting, it’s what I need. I smile up at him and he bends to kiss me chastely at the bottom of the stairs, squeezing my hand.

  We walk into the library, still holding hands, Julian smiles at us and I give him a small tight smile back. I don’t want him to make a big deal out of this.

  “Are you ready to go, Lily?” Helena asks.

  “I’m so ready. I have a lot to talk about today,” I say.

  Sebastian frowns.

  “Cherie, if you will permit, I would very much like to take you. I’m worried about Mark and I just want to be near you right now. I understand if you need your space, though, so please tell me what makes you the most comfortable,” Sebastian says.

  This really throws me. I never expected him to want to accompany me. For some reason it makes me feel safe and I make a quick decision.

  “I would like Sebastian to take me today – that’s if it’s okay with you, Helena.”

  “I think that would be okay. Sebastian, just make sure you are gentle with her afterwards. It can be a very cathartic and draining experience and she may not want to talk. It will have nothing to do with you, sweetheart,” Helena explains.

  “Thank you, Helena. I will remember that and take care of her,” he says softly.

  “Let’s get going, Bast. I don’t want to be late and parking can be tricky,” I say, nervous about my decision to have him take me.

  He keeps a tight hold on my hand while walking to his car. After opening my door and tucking me inside, he blurs to his side and is inside flooding the car with his familiar scent and an expensive cologne he wears and it soothes me. I inhale deeply and smile. I
miss this.

  We drive in silence as I prioritize what I want to talk to Sophie about. I must get perfectly prepared. Like my need to be germ free, I just have to do it. We arrive and like I predict, parking is tight, but we have plenty of time. I lead the way to Sophie’s office. When we enter, Aurora looks up and her mouth pops open at the sight of Sebastian. Yeah, sister, he’s hot. I giggle at her reaction and Bast gives me an amused look. We both know the effect he has on women. Wait until she hears the French accent.

  “L-lily, uh-uhm… Sophie had an emergency and is running about ten minutes late, is that okay or do you need to reschedule?” Aurora asks.

  I look at Sebastian to see what his timetable is like.

  “I have no other plans but you, ma petite,” he says.

  I can see Aurora melting out the corner of my eye, yeah, yeah, his voice is like melted chocolate. And I am a sucker for a good voice with a hint of foreign lands. The first thing I noticed about Aidan over the phone was his English accent.

  “Thanks, Bast. Aurora, I won’t need to reschedule.”

  “Good,” she says and drools. At least she has the grace to look embarrassed. Poor girl.

  We wait about fifteen minutes. Bast holds my hand and rubs small circles on the top with his thumb. It sends tingles throughout my body and somehow calms me at the same time. When Sophie comes out she does a double-take at Sebastian and me and zeroes in on our hands.

  “Lily, I’m ready for you. Do you both want to come in for a while or is this a solo session?”

  “I never thought of it before, but I think for this time I would like it to just be me. But I would like the option to have Sebastian come to a future appointment,” I say looking at both of them. They both nod. Sebastian’s startled look is quickly replaced. I think he likes the idea too. He replaces it with a gentle smile.

  I turn towards Sophie’s office but Bast pulls me into him and kisses me by my ear and whispers, “Thank you.” I smile and nod.

  I find my favorite chair in Sophie’s office. The one where I can stare out the window and I pull the soft throw over my lap, snuggling in.

  “Well, throw me a bone, Lily. I was surprised to see Sebastian here with you, holding your hand and then that kiss, whew,” she says waving her hand as if she were trying to cool down. She smiles and I know she is joking.

  “Sophie, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “I can understand that. It looks like you enjoyed being with Sebastian, though. Let’s start there. How did all that come about?” she asks me.

  I start at the beginning of last night and tell her about my kick boxing incident and then dinner out and then the mess with Mark and Sebastian’s revelation. After that I tell her about my make-out session with Sebastian. How I felt about it and how he was treating me today.

  “Sounds like Sebastian is looking for a deeply committed relationship,” Sophie says. “How do you feel about that?”

  “He’s always said that, since he decided I was more than a little sister. It took me awhile to trust him. He was such a player.”

  I took a moment to really think about it. Aidan flashes across my thoughts and for once I clamp down on those thoughts and put them aside. And I don’t feel guilty. Not at all. My internal monologue is finally making some sense. It is liberating.

  “I think I feel really good about it,” I say smiling, truly smiling for the first time in a long while. All thoughts of hurt feelings over Aidan’s new attachment suddenly feel less powerful. They don’t cripple me or distract or make me feel guilty. I let them go. It feels so good.

  “What about Aidan?” Sophie asks. “You’ve been hurting over him.” As if she’s read my mind.

  “I know. I know that he is happy with Manda and that makes it easy to let go of the guilt that I was feeling. I feel like a weight is being lifted off of me.”

  “Lily, you are making progress in leaps and bounds. I can see that you are really working. I think your background has something to do with it. I also want you to know when we get through this I want to tackle your OCD issues and your abhorrence to taking blood.”

  “Ugh, okay…”

  “It will be for the best. From my understanding you are going through gallons of hand sanitizers and cartons of handi-wipes a week,” she says and then smirks at me.

  “Not quite. But yeah, it’s been worse lately. Whenever I’m stressed it gets bad.”

  “We can work on that. Get to the root of the problem. Am I making you nervous,” she asks raising an eyebrow.

  “Why?”

  “Because you reached for your sanitizer. You are using so much it is dripping on your jeans. I don’t think you even know you are doing it.”

  I look down and see she is right. Man that is just spooky. I realize my fangs have descended too. I’m trembling.

  “My fangs. Why am reacting this way?” I ask.

  “Because I am threatening your only and deepest coping mechanism. It’s instinctive. No worries, Lily. We won’t push it and we will take it slowly,” Sophie says carefully as if talking down a person on a ledge.

  I laugh nervously and put my hand sanitizer away. I sit on my hands as I desperately want to get my handi-wipes out now.

  “It’s okay, Lily. Use them. Don’t try to go cold turkey and don’t feel bad about using them.”

  I sigh and take out my handi-wipes and wipe down the table in front of me. I instantly feel better. Walking over to the trash can to dispose of the now germy wipe, I notice myself in a small mirror. What have I become?

  “Oh Goddess, Sophie,” I say before crumbling to the floor. She’s instantly at my side, arms around my shoulders.

  “Let it out, Lily. What’s going on? Talk to me.”

  “I can’t even function without these damn things. What a fucking mess.”

  “Lily, look at me. Look at me.” I look up at her eyes and only see concern, no judgment.

  “This is not who you are, Lily. This does not define you. Repeat that,” she says.

  “T-this is not who I am,” I say.

  “And this does not define you.”

  “And this does not define me,” I gasp as I say the last affirmation. I don’t believe it deep down yet, but it does make me feel better.

  “What triggered this, Lily?” Sophie asks.

  “I saw myself in the mirror and was disgusted with what I saw.”

  “I think this is the first time you’ve seen your OCD clearly, but that doesn’t make you disgusting. It’s not disgusting, Lily,” Sophie says, taking my hands. “It’s a coping mechanism. You’ve needed it and it’s seen you through some hard things but now it’s time to for you to leave it behind.”

  “I don’t know if I’m strong enough, Sophie. I feel so dirty inside.” I’m shaking and can’t stop. I feel my stomach roil and I lean to the side and retch but nothing comes out as there is nothing in there. I heave again and again until my eyes burn from unshed tears. Sophie scoops me up and takes me to my favorite chair and wraps me tightly in the blanket. She kneels in front of me. There are advantages to having a vamp shrink.

  “I think you are in shock, Lily. You need blood. I’m going to get Sebastian. Hang tight, Lily,” she says and is gone in a blink. I continue to stare vacantly out of the window, numb, freezing and dazed.

  Slowly I come to enough to feel the warmth of Sebastian’s hands covering mine, which means I am freezing and colder than usual if Sebastian feels warm. I slowly swing my head to his to face him. I hear him gasp.

  “Lily, ma cherie, you must feed. If you don’t want my neck, take my wrist, please, ma petite. Take my blood, please,” he says. I hear his voice crack on the last word and it gets through to me. We have never fed off each other for sustenance, only during sex. It is unusual and the costs mean a lot more feeding on humans to sustain the level of blood the other vamp is taking.

  “Bast?” Relief floods his face.

  “Yes, Lily, please cherie, Sophie says you need to feed. You’re in shock.” He inserts himself be
tween my legs and tilts his head to the side, exposing his neck.

  I hesitate for a second not sure what I am supposed to do. Everything is foggy. I look up at Sophie and plead with my eyes.

  “Lily, blood is not bad. You need it to survive. It is healthy. You do not kill. You do not kill. You are not dirty, Lily. You are clean and pure and kind. Sebastian’s blood is good and safe and clean. He is not dirty. Don’t you think so?” she asks me. Something clicks and I know I could never feel that Sebastian is dirty and wrong. I nod at her.

  I trace my fingers through Sebastian’s hair and he shivers. Nuzzling his neck, I inhale his dark spicy scent and images of our bodies entangled together, of our love, flash through my mind. I cradle his head and sink my fangs into his neck as gently as I can.

  As I pull his blood into me, Bast lets out a low moan, and his taste explodes in my mouth. He pulls me closer into his strong, warm arms and runs his hands up and down my back. I drink long and hard. His is the purest blood I have ever taken and I feel the love in it. I pull back and lick the wound clean, helping it to heal. I lean my head against his forehead. He continues to hold me while I kiss his head softly, over and over, I move down his face to his mouth and he waits for me to take the lead. I slip my tongue across his lips. Sophie has discretely left the room.

  Bast groans and pulls me closer to him, moving his mouth hungrily against mine. I meet him with everything I have. I run my hands through his hair and he growls possessively. That’s when I hear Sophie clear her throat. I gradually pull away from Bast. He won’t let me go far, though. He picks me up and holds me in his lap. I cuddle up in it.

  “Lily, how are you feeling?” she asks.

  “Restored. Not just physically, but emotionally too. I’ve answered an internal debate I was having with myself,” I say as I look at Sebastian. He searches my eyes and squeezes my hand.