“But she’ll have to be turned,” Quentin said, staring at Lily.
“No!” Joe said, rounding on the two men.
The three males faced off, hands clenched.
Lily put a hand to her forehead and stripped away the cloth. Her head hurt just trying to keep up with the volleys the men shot at each other, she wasn’t sticking around to see them beat each other bloody.
Emmy sat down beside her and patted her knee. “You just have to let them get it all out. It’s a man thing. They can’t just agree; it’s always a contest.”
“If you don’t turn her,” Dylan said, “she’ll continue to come into season.”
“But how will she raise a child—or children,” Joe said, “when she’ll be damned to the night for half her life?”
“Auntie Darcy can babysit,” Darcy said, waving her hand to get their attention.
“Absolutely not!” Quentin said. “If the child were discovered there could be a bloodbath. I won’t risk your safety, Darcy.”
“Will he be furry?” Lily asked.
This drew the first smiles from Dylan and Quentin. Lily began to understand their attraction. Or maybe it was just her pheromones going into overdrive.
“No,” Dylan said. “He’ll appear human. Of course, there’s every chance he may be human.”
“She may be a girl,” Joe said.
“Not likely. Why do you think Lily here’s so valuable?” Dylan said, his gaze sweeping over her.
Lily blushed as all three males threw her interested stares.
“They mostly whelp males.”
“I may not even be pregnant,” she said doubtfully.
“And you make it a habit to swoon?” Dylan raised an eyebrow.
“Never!”
Three male heads nodded sagely.
Lily huffed. “I’m not staying. Joe isn’t going to want me once my heat ends—it’s just the pheromones. Hell, I might not want him.”
“Oh, you’ll want me,” he said, stalking toward her. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Lily held her breath as he squatted next to her. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “You’re staying. Period. End of story.” The firm set of his mouth told her he’d sit on her if she tried to leave.
She just wished he wanted her to stay because he loved her—not because she might be carrying his child. “I never cry,” she said, with a sniff.
Dylan and Quentin grinned.
“They’re counting off clues,” Joe said.
“Clues?” she asked stupidly.
“Fainting, crying—”
“She’s preggers all right,” Quentin said.
“You don’t like me,” Lily wailed, hating she sounded like a child.
Quentin rolled his eyes. “I have to like you. Darcy won’t let me sleep with her, if I don’t.”
“Got that right.”
“How will we protect her during the day?” Joe asked, glancing back at the two men.
“Dylan’s loaded,” Emmy said, her eyes dancing with amusement. “He can hire security to guard The Compound.”
Dylan nodded. “Most of Nicky’s surveillance equipment is still in place. Won’t take much to get it up to snuff.”
“What do you say, Lily?” Joe asked. “Will you go peacefully, or do I have to cuff you and drag you there?”
“You mean I have choices?” Lily felt like an idiot. All he had to do was give her that intensely sexy stare and she melted like goo.
The corners of his lips turned up, forming a smug smile.
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not fair. You’re using my own nature against me.”
“If it’s the only way I can get you to be reasonable—”
“All right,” she scowled. “I’ll stay until the baby’s born. I know I’ll need protection until then. After…we’ll see.”
Joe nodded. “Good enough.” He leaned forward and kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth.
Lily melted against him, her arms circling his neck.
“And we thought it got loud when the Albermarles moved in,” Emmy murmured. “Sweetie, these two are gonna rattle the roof.”
CHAPTER TEN
“So do you know what you’re having?” Lily asked Darcy.
The women had gathered in the kitchen at The Compound for an early morning snack before they all headed to bed.
She was getting used to a vampires’ hours. Looking down at the remnants of her rare steak, she realized more than just her sleep patterns were adjusting. The final transformation once the baby was born would be a cinch.
“I’m having a boy,” Darcy said, around a mouthful of Cookies ‘n Cream. The woman had already put away a pint and was starting on her second. How she maintained her slim figure was a marvel to Lily.
Lily had made a study of her two companions over the past couple of days. She now understood Joe’s attraction to the reed-thin, muscular woman. Emmy on the other hand was lush and everything feminine, with her golden hair and plump curves. Between the two of them, Lily felt like a plain, brown wren.
“Joe will be thrilled,” Emmy said. She’d claimed she wasn’t hungry at all, but had picked at both their dishes. She glanced up at Lily’s face. “Oops. Sorry.”
Lily gave her a small, tight smile. “It’s okay. I’ll have to get used to all this togetherness. At least until my baby comes.”
“Why are you so set on leaving?” Darcy asked, concern shadowing her eyes.
Lily shrugged. “I couldn’t bear for Joe to stay with me because of the baby, when he’s in love with you.”
Darcy shook her head. “He’s not in love with me. We’re just friends. He wanted me because Quentin wanted me. If anything, Joe has a thing for Quentin.”
“Not a man on man thing, mind you,” Emmy piped in. “Like I said, everything’s a competition. Who’s the meanest, toughest—”
“The best lover.” Darcy shivered. “That was pretty irresistible, when they were trying to one up each other.”
“I bet it was,” Emmy said dryly. She waggled her eyebrows with wicked amusement. “So how was it? With both of them?”
“You had Joe and Quentin in bed with you—at the same time?” Lily asked, feeling a little queasy.
Darcy winced. “It’s not like it sounds. I mean, it was the ultimate thrill, but Joe needed me. It was just after Quentin turned him. He needed blood—and sex.”
“And you just had to be the one to give it to him?” Emmy asked. “Sure.”
“Yeah,” Darcy said, a lovely pink tingeing her cheeks. “ Something like that.”
“So who’s the biggest?” Emmy asked slyly.
“Is size really a characteristic of vampire males?” Lily asked. “I mean, I’d guessed that, but sometimes I think Joe’s just teasing me.”
Emmy’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “Yup. At least, I’ve seen Dylan and Quentin’s man-things. They’re both pretty impressive.”
Emmy and Lily turned to Darcy, who blushed brighter.
“I didn’t exactly see his…thing, after he was turned. He was behind me.”
“I knew it!” Emmy crowed. “You had a man-wich!”
“Emmy, Christ!” Darcy’s lips twisted into a wicked grin. “Actually, yeah. So you see, I can’t attest to the fact that one or the other is larger, but Joe was certainly…”
“Substantial?” Lily couldn’t resist asking.
Darcy nodded and the three shared embarrassed glances before bursting into laughter.
“Let’s go back to what you said before,” Darcy said. “ Lily, you just have to stay. It would tear Joe apart not to see his child grow up.”
“And there’s so much work for us to do here,” Emmy said, spearing the last chunk of Lily’s steak. “What with The Council starting up and the work with the Special Unit.”
“Joe tells me you’re a professor, an expert in vampire traditions.” Darcy’s expression reflected true interest.
Lily snorted. “I don’t think my research has taught
me all that much. Look how I was blind-sided with this werewolf thing.”
“But you could continue your research here,” Darcy insisted. “You’ll have plenty of subjects to study.”
“Joe’s not very supportive of some aspects of my research,” Lily grumbled. “He’d have a cow if I pulled out a ruler.” Lily brightened. “But I haven’t seen everything yet, have I? I mean, I’ve never seen a vampire fly.”
“Fly?” Emmy asked around a mouthful of steak.
At the two women’s amused expressions, Lily’s shoulders slumped. “Tell me he wasn’t teasing me about that.”
“Don’t you see?” Emmy said. “You just can’t trust what they tell you. These guys are jokers. You have to stick around to see for yourself what they can do.”
“They really can’t fly?”
“Nope. But they are wickedly agile and fast. Maybe you could set up some kind of physical trials to make some comparisons—human to vampire.”
“They’re fast tongued, you mean. It looks like I’ll need to pull together a whole new survey.”
Darcy’s expression grew solemn. “Why don’t you think Joe loves you?”
Lily sighed. “Because he’s never said it. And because all he ever said was that he wasn’t staying.”
“I think you’re wrong,” Emmy said. “You should have seen his face when you fainted.”
“Maybe,” Darcy said, tapping the side of her cheek with a finger, “you have to make him say it.”
“How would I make him say anything?”
“Darc is right. They may be big, bad vampires, but they’re vulnerable too. Our guys are especially so. They’re macho men. They think they have to keep those emotions deep inside—hidden. They don’t like being weak.”
Darcy nodded sagely. “Yeah, they think love makes them weak. Until you do something to really shake them up.”
“Like what?”
“Well, there’s this little thing I tried on Quentin. He’ll do anything I say if I use it on him.”
“Anything?” Emmy leaned closer.
“What do you do?” Lily asked.
“They are macho men, and very nervous about anything that they can’t control.”
“Are we talking about a sexual act?” Lily’s body alerted. Good Lord, just the thought of sex had her wet!
“Come on, Darc! Out with it.” Emmy squirmed with excitement.
“Well,” Darcy glanced nervously over her shoulder then leaned across the table. “I put my finger inside him. He says he hates it, but when I do it he shivers all over.”
Emmy screeched with laughter. “You finger-fuck him—in the ass? Oooh, Dylan would never let me—”
“Exactly.”
Emmy and Darcy turned to Lily. She realized her mouth was still hanging open and shut it. “No way he’ll let me do that.” She bit her lower lip. “So how did you work your way around to doing that?”
* * * * *
Dylan and Joe turned from the monitor to stare at Quentin whose face had blushed a fiery red.
“Ballocks!”
Joe enjoyed the other vamp’s discomfort immensely.
“So that’s what all the bellowing is about.” Dylan grinned with delight. “ Quentin, I’ve known you for a hundred years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn quite that shade of red.”
Quentin’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You are never to mention it again.”
“What do you think, Joe? Will Lily get up the nerve to give you a poke? Will you let her?”
“Fuck no!” He shuddered at the thought.
“Dylan, are you going to tell the women about the surveillance cameras in the kitchen?” Quentin asked, a very unsubtle change of topic.
“Nope. How will we ever know what they’re plotting?”
“Have to keep a few steps ahead of those three,” Joe agreed.
“Looks like you still have some work ahead of you to convince your little lovebird to hang around,” Quentin said.
“Yeah, it does.” Joe took a deep breath. “And now’s as good a time as any.”
“Let’s get the women to bed before they hatch any more plots,” Dylan murmured.
* * * * *
The door to the kitchen slammed open and Joe stalked inside. By the look on his face, he had a bone to chew. Lily stood and circled to far side of the table.
“Hi Joe,” Emmy chimed. “He looks mad—or horny as hell, doesn’t he, Darcy?”
“I’d say he looks mostly pissed,” she said grinning. Her smile slipped when the other two vamps entered the room. “He’s not the only one.”
“Why don’t you join us?” Emmy asked innocently. “We were just talking about…things.”
Lily didn’t like the way Joe’s eyes narrowed, nor did she like the grim smile curving his lips. She feinted right, intending to make a getaway through the kitchen door, but Joe was on her in a second. With an effortless heave, he lifted her over his shoulder.
“Joe, put me down!”
He headed for the door.
“Remember the finger thing!” Emmy called after her.
Joe swatted her bottom. “Forget the finger thing.”
“Emmy I think they knoooow!”
* * * * *
Once again, Lily felt the raspy stroke of her vampire’s tongue against her most intimate flesh.
She held her breath, trying to decide whether she should let him know she was awake. But his tongue took the choice from her, stabbing deep within her pussy to circle her inner walls, a delicious scraping against tissue already super-heated and swollen from hours of lovemaking.
She moaned and pressed her mound closer to his wicked mouth. She opened her eyes and stared down her body, shocked to discover her thighs draped over his shoulders, his arms wrapped around them. His hands burrowed between her legs to hold her lips apart. He lowered his head and his mouth ate at her delicate folds.
He’d tilted the lampshade to direct light in a long halo across their bed. Lamplight bathed their bodies. The sight of his dark hair and latte-colored face between her white thighs triggered a primal response. His male animal appealed to the wanton core at her soul.
The intimacy of his act, with her legs spread wide and his mouth sucking where few men had ever wandered, shook her. A wave of tender longing caused her a moment’s panic. Keep it light!
“Do you always raid the leftovers in the middle of the night?” she asked.
Joe caressed her outer lips and looked up into her eyes. The hard edge to his features frightened her, reminding her she was tweaking a tiger’s tail.
“Not much for sweet-talk, are you?”
“Do you really want to talk?” he asked, and drove two fingers inside her vagina.
Lily bit her lip to keep from crying out. His fingers had unerringly found her G-spot. She couldn’t move more than an inch or two up or down, yet the urge to pump her hips was so strong her belly trembled and her thighs quivered within his arms. “Later,” she moaned. “We’ll talk later.”
She sank her fingers into the short, dark curls on his head, tugging him down to encourage him to stroke her with his tongue—which he did.
“Joe…” Her head thrashed on her pillow as a wave of heat swept over her breasts, tightening her nipples into exquisitely tuned points. She lifted a hand to caress one turgid tip and squeezed her breast, shooting more heat to her melting core. “Come inside me!”
Joe didn’t let up, didn’t give any indication he even heard her plea. He sucked the hood of flesh that covered her swelling clitoris and let it pop noisily out of his mouth, then he sucked it again, and again at the same time shoving his fingers deep.
Lily’s belly spasmed and her shoulders lifted off the mattress. Her fingers tugged her nipples, pinching, twirling them between her thumb and forefinger. Her other hand scraped his scalp, digging in to push him closer.
But he resisted and smoothed his whisker-rough cheek against her open cunt. The friction, so acute it was painful, caused a shudder to wrack her body
and her vagina convulsed, opening and closing, clutching his fingers, squeezing her passion-milk from her inner walls.
His tongue lapped at her cream, a low moan rising from his chest to vibrate against her. Still, he didn’t stop.
Lily mewled, her throat tightening around an incoherent litany of moans and pleas. “Please, please, pleeease!”
He pressed back the hood guarding her clitoris and closed his lips around the glossy, engorged button, his tongue rubbing in delicious circles, wringing a second wave of dark ecstasy from her loins.
As the last deep shudders shook her body, her hands fell to the bed and she stared at the ceiling.
Now his strokes soothed, and her mind wandered to the coming months when she would leave him.
She’d found her proof of vampires’ existence in his living, breathing form. A lifelong quest satisfied. Her victory however, was hollow. Despite the fact she’d known him less than a week, she knew her heart would be irrevocably torn when she left.
She loved him without knowing a damn thing about how he really felt. She did know the dimensions, textures, and colors of his body. And she knew that something in his relentless pursuit of her surrender, the harshly, etched pain that clung to his broad shoulders and handsome face, and his barely leashed power called to something equally primitive and pain-filled in her soul.
Joe’s face lifted from between her legs and he shifted first one thigh, then the other, from his shoulders. A predatory gleam glinted in his eyes and Lily’s breath hitched. He wasn’t finished with her yet.
He rose on his hands and knees and “walked” up her body until his knees prodded the back of her bent thighs and his face was directly above hers.
Her gaze swept down his taut belly to his heavily engorged sex and she reached for him, curving her palm around him, drawing a hiss of breath from between his teeth.
Reaching lower, she cupped his balls, rolling them in her palm, and watched with growing satisfaction the expressions that crossed his face—dark need, taut restraint.
“Now, can we get back to what we were discussing previously?”
Joe lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, were we talking?”
“I was thinking about my last choice.”
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