Scarlet Heat

by Evangeline Anderson

  Taylor wrapped her arms and legs more tightly around me and caught my rhythm, impaling herself eagerly on my cock, meeting me thrust for thrust as she sucked my neck.

  Suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore. My balls were tight with the need to come and the wolf inside me was howling that we had to claim her now—to claim our mate. Somewhere deeper, I felt the beast agree. Taylor was ours—mine. And I had to mark her, had to claim her so that she stayed mine forever.

  I grabbed her hips tightly in both hands and brought her forward, pumping into her as deeply as I could. And then I felt myself exploding—flowing into her. My blood, my seed, my life force—everything that was in me was filling her up.

  At that point something amazing happened. I felt a warm, golden glow start somewhere in my abdomen. Soon it began spreading to the rest of my body. It healed the brand on my cheek—I could feel the flesh there mending itself, knitting together as the mark of the brand smoothed away. But even better, I could feel the glow of power healing the hole in my heart—the empty socket that had been left behind when Taylor had broken our bond wasn’t there anymore. It was healed—filled in completely.

  Filled with her.

  It felt wonderful—like a chronic pain I had somehow learned to live with was suddenly gone. Like my heart was whole again. Because it was.

  “Taylor,” I whispered hoarsely, stroking her back. “Baby, do you feel that?”

  She retracted her fangs and licked my neck to seal the punctures before looking at me.

  “Yes.” Her eyes were bright. “It’s back, Victor. Our blood-bond…it’s back.”

  “More than a blood-bond now,” I reminded her, kissing her fiercely. “It’s a life-bond now.”

  She looked worried. “Is that…are you all right with that?”

  “Of course, I am,” I promised her. “It’s what I wanted all along. It’s fucking perfect.”

  “Victor,” she murmured, her eyes wet with tears. “I love you so much. I’m so glad you feel the same way.”

  “I never stopped feeling it,” I whispered, kissing her gently. “You’re mine, baby. Mine forever and I’m never letting you go. Never.”

  Chapter Thirty—Taylor

  “What did I tell you? When I’m right, I’m right.” Addison grinned at me and took another bite of her apple.

  “Yeah, yeah, and you’re always right.” I grinned at her. “Give me some of that.”

  She handed me the apple and I took a bite from the other side. Now that I was back with Victor, I found I could really appreciate being able to eat again. The apple was juicy and crisp in my mouth and I couldn’t remember ever tasting anything so delicious. Of course, all food tasted that way to me now, for some reason. And I seemed to get hungry for really crazy things at the most unreasonable hours. Like pickles and ice cream at four in the morning—that kind of thing.

  Addison laughed at me and said I ate like a pregnant woman, which I usually shrugged off. But honestly, I was beginning to wonder if I should buy a test. It was ridiculous, of course, vampires don’t have babies. Then again, I didn’t seem to be fully a vampire anymore. I could eat regular food and even go out in the sun. I still needed the occasional drink of blood from Victor but that wasn’t a problem since he really liked feeding me. It almost always led to sex, which was always a delicious addition to a midnight snack.

  “So you and Victor are going to have a re-bonding ceremony?” she asked, taking back her apple.

  I nodded. “We’re going to do it right this time. The dress, the cake…everything. Small but classic. I’m sure Corbin told you he agreed to officiate.”

  She smiled. “Yes, and I promise I’ll wear a dress that isn’t black to be your bridesmaid this time.”

  “Perfect.” I stood up and stretched, enjoying the feel of the warm sun beating down on my shoulders. We were sitting on the front steps of her condo and it felt good to be outside during the daytime again.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Addison looked up at me, shading her eyes with one hand.

  “To do something I should have done weeks ago—I need to thank Gwendolyn,” I said seriously. “After all, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here enjoying the gorgeous sunshine and your yummy apple and having Victor as my man for good. I’d been…somewhere else.”

  “Where?” Addison looked at me, frowning a little. “I mean, is it like they always say—a warm light and all your dead loved ones and all that?”

  I shook my head. “Not exactly. I mean, I don’t remember much—I think that was part of it. But there was another place too. A pit filled with these big, slimy things with no faces…Ugh.” I shivered, feeling suddenly cold, despite the warm sunshine.

  “What?” Addison rose to stand beside me, her face anxious. “Was it that bad?”

  “It was awful. Hellish.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to think about it, okay?”

  “You don’t have to,” she reminded me. “You and Victor are life-bonded now. He’ll live as long as you do and vampires are practically immortal.”

  “True.” I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the sunlight, trying to dispel the half remembered images. People complain all the time about how Tampa Bay is too hot but after six long years of living in the dark, I was more than glad to be out in the heat and light again.

  “Well, I have to get back to Corbin.” She held out the apple to me. “Want the last bite?”

  “No thanks.” I smiled. “I’m going to go back to Victor’s place—our place I mean—as soon as I leave Gwendolyn’s. I’m making steak and corn on the cob for dinner with strawberry pie for dessert.”

  “Look at you, getting all domestic.” She grinned at me. “You always did like cooking. Maybe you should go to culinary school instead of finishing your veterinarian degree.”

  “Nope, I’m going back to school this coming semester,” I declared. “I spoke to the director of the program, and given my extenuating circumstances, he agreed I can take up right where I left off.”

  “Extenuating circumstances? You mean you told him you were taken and forced to become a vampire against your will?”

  “Something like that.” I smiled. “Actually, I may have used just a tiny bit of glamour on him. Not to cheat or anything—just to get back where I was.”

  She nodded. “I think that’s understandable. Wow, so Celeste was right—you really are unstoppable. Someone with all a vampire’s strengths and none of their weaknesses.”

  “But unlike Celeste, I don’t want to do anything crazy like conquer the world,” I said dryly. “I’ll be happy just to finish vet school and settle down with Victor. I’m really thinking of opening a practice just for dogs—since cats still don’t like me.”

  “You could treat the local pack,” she suggested. “Their wolves, I mean. Now that that little bitch LeeAnn is gone, they might be decent people.”

  “We’ll never know about that,” I said. “Since they’re all scared to death of Victor. You know the pack master showed up at our house and made a personal apology?”

  “But wasn’t LeeAnn his daughter?” Addison asked.

  I nodded. “He was really upset about her but he understood why she died after he found out she was working with Celeste. It was sad, really—he kept talking about how he’d failed her by being too permissive, letting her get away with too much. He really blamed himself more than Victor’s beast.”

  “That is sad,” Addison said softly. “But…so he’s not seeking any kind of vengeance?”

  I shrugged. “He says he’s not. And he begged Victor to leave him and the rest of the pack strictly alone. They’re even going to move their hunting grounds to be away from our land.”

  “Wow. That’s good in a way but lonely for Victor,” Addison said. “Doesn’t he miss having a pack to run with?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “He’s been a lone wolf for a long time. And anyway, now he has me. I’m still a vampire, you know. If he wants someone to run with him, I can keep up with him when
he’s in his wolf form.”

  “Now there’s an interesting mental image.” Addison smirked. “The two of you down on all fours, howling at the moon…”

  “Very funny.” I elbowed her and grinned. “Look, I really have to get going. Gwendolyn told me she has some kind of an appointment tonight so I need to go see her before she has to go.”

  “Got it. You have the keys?”

  “Right here.” I held up the spare keys to her little Focus, which I was still driving. The police had found it abandoned barely a block from Gwendolyn’s house and Addison had graciously forgiven me for getting it stolen in the first place. “You sure you don’t mind?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “Nah. Corbin collects cars so I always have something nice to drive. You can have it.”

  “Thanks, roomie.” I gave her a hug. “For everything. If you hadn’t made me go talk to Victor…”

  “You’d still be moping around my condo being a pain in the ass.” She hugged me back. “Go on—go see Gwendolyn. And tell her I said thank you too, for bringing my best friend back from the great beyond.”

  “I’ll tell her,” I said. “And I might invite her to our next girl day—do you mind?”

  “No,” Addison said thoughtfully. “Ask her—I didn’t like her at first but now, well…I think she may be all right.”

  “I think so too.” I hugged her once more and she waved at me as I drove off in the dusty little car.

  The trip to Gwendolyn’s little yellow bungalow took less time than I thought so I got there a little before our scheduled time. I parked in front of her house, reflecting as I did how much happier I was than the last time I’d been there. Then I had been going to sever my bond with Victor. Now, not only was the bond back, it was stronger than ever and we were planning a life together. I had been through hell to get where I was but I truly believed it was worth it.

  I knocked on her front door but no one answered. There was a car in the driveway though —a little old VW bug that had seen better days—so I assumed she was home. On impulse, I tried the doorknob and was surprised to find the door open.

  “Gwendolyn? Hello?” I called, letting myself into the little house. “It’s Taylor. Are you here?”

  There was no answer at first but then I heard angry voices coming from the back of the house. Should I go find out what was going on? It was obviously a private conversation but what if Gwendolyn was in trouble? What if she needed help?

  Careful to be quiet, I crept down the hallway that led to the back bedrooms. The raised voices seemed to be coming from her workroom.

  The door was open and I saw Gwendolyn standing there. She was all Gothed up with the heavy black eyeliner and the fake lip piercing in place and she was arguing with Laish, the same man I had seen here twice before. No, not man—he was a demon, I reminded myself. Though the only thing demonic I could see about him was his strange, ruby-colored eyes.

  “Just what did you think you were doing?” he demanded, glaring at her. “Opening a door into the Abyss on the very edge of the pit, stealing back a soul from Heaven—do you have any idea what a risk you took, Gwendolyn?”

  “I had to do it,” she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. “She was there because of me. If I hadn’t gone back for her—”

  “She would have gone to the Heavenly Realm where she belongs,” he shot back. “Which was where you should have left her instead of foolishly risking yourself doing something that is absolutely forbidden.”

  I recoiled a little at his anger. Every other time I had seen him he had been so debonair, so courteous and urbane with his charming little French nicknames and his eagerness to help Gwendolyn in any way she needed. Now, however, the gloves were off. His eyes flashed like rubies in the dim room and his face was very white and angry.

  No, not just angry—he was furious with Gwendolyn, I realized. I wondered if I should step in and protect her (though I didn’t know how much protection I would be against a demon, even a minor one) but she seemed to be holding her own pretty well. Also, he wasn’t threatening to hit her—he was just shouting at her.

  “You acted like a fool, Gwendolyn. You’re a very talented and beautiful witch but sometimes you act as though you haven’t a brain in your head. What is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing! And Taylor does not belong in the Heavenly Realm,” Gwendolyn shouted back. “She belongs here on the physical plane, with the man who loves her.”

  Laish smiled angrily. “Why Gwendolyn, and I was so certain you didn’t have an amorous bone in your body. I thought all your thoughts were bent on revenge—not starry-eyed romance.”

  “My revenge is none of your business,” she snapped. “In fact, you know what? None of this is. My whole life isn’t your business.”

  “I told you before,” he growled. “I am making you my business, Gwendolyn.”

  “Fine. Then if what I was doing was so dangerous, why didn’t you come and warn me or try to stop me?” she demanded. “It happened over two weeks ago and you’re just now coming to bitch me out about it? Where were you when I was forced to open the door into the Abyss? Where were you when I needed you?”

  Laish sighed and some of the fire died out of his strange red eyes.

  “I was far beyond the Shadow Lands—beyond even the Abyss,” he said in a low voice. “I cannot tell you what I was doing—only that I wanted to come to you when I felt the risk you were taking. Wanted to but could not.”

  “Oh, well…” Gwendolyn shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

  “Ma chere…” He cupped her cheek and looked earnestly into her eyes. “Do you really not know that you might have been lost forever? If you had slipped into the pit even I could not have saved you.”

  “But I didn’t,” she said sharply, stepping away from his touch. “I’m fine. In fact, better than fine—or I was, anyway, until you showed up.”

  His eyes hardened.

  “Very well, continue to push me away if you like. But know this—if you failed to shut the door that you opened, if you left it open so much as a crack—you will not be fine for long.”

  A look of worry flitted across Gwendolyn’s face but she masked it quickly and turned it into a frown.

  “I closed it, okay? So everything is absolutely peachy and you can leave me alone and stop lecturing me now. All right?”

  “I will go,” he said stiffly. “And this time I won’t return unless you call me.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” she shot back. “I’ll call you about the same time that Hell freezes over.”

  “Actually, Hell is quite cold.” His deep voice was filled with quiet fury. “I know one is always told about the lake of fire but most of it…most of it is colder and lonelier than you can imagine, Gwendolyn.”

  Some of the anger died out of her face but she still lifted her chin defiantly.

  “Goodbye then. For good this time.”

  His eyes flashed. “For good.”

  There was a popping sound and a small puff of cinnamon-smelling smoke and he was suddenly gone.

  Gwendolyn turned to stalk out of the room and saw me standing there, rooted to the spot.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded grumpily. “And how much did you hear?”

  “All of it, I think,” I said apologetically. “I’m sorry but we have an appointment—or had one, about five minutes ago now.”

  “Shit, that’s right.” She ran a hand through her long black hair. “I’m sorry, Taylor—I completely forgot. It’s been a crazy day what with trying to get everything ready for when Grams comes back and then that asshole showing up…”

  “I heard what he was saying,” I said quietly. “I guess I owe you more than I thought.”

  “Nah.” She made a shooing gesture. “You don’t owe me anything, don’t worry about it.”

  “Yes, I do,” I persisted. “And I’m really sorry, Gwendolyn—I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

  “Forget about it.” She sighed. “I get m
y own damn self in trouble. Grams always says I take too many risks, stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Well, I’m really glad you did this time,” I said seriously. “If you hadn’t I wouldn’t be here.”

  “And why are you here—talking to me, I mean?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “You said on the phone that your bond was restored and everything was hunky-dory—it doesn’t sound like you need me at all.”

  “I just wanted to thank you and to invite you to our re-bonding ceremony,” I said, smiling. “And ask if you wanted to come with Addison and me the next time we have a girl day.”

  “A girl day?” She looked at me like I had spoken in a foreign language.

  “You know,” I said. “Sushi and a movie? Or sometimes we just hang out at her place and eat popcorn and watch cheesy chick-flicks. It’s fun. I just thought…” I cleared my throat. “Well, I like you and it seems like you could use some girl friends.”

  “That’s really nice of you. You know, I’m in a coven full of female witches but I don’t ever really hang out with any of them.” She made a face. “They’re all so judgmental. So yeah, maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

  “Great.” I smiled at her. “I’ll call you the next time we get together.”

  “I’d like that.” She smiled, a bit shyly I thought. It occurred to me that, though she put up a fierce front, Gwendolyn was really very vulnerable inside. It made me like her even more.

  “You know how you said you don’t usually like vampires?” I asked her. “Well, I don’t even know any witches—or I didn’t until this. But I’d like to get to know you.”

  “Back at you,” she said, smiling. “But I’m afraid I’m not your typical witch.”

  “Who is then?” I asked. “That warlock guy—Shadowlock—that Celeste was working with?”

  Her heavily made-up eyes widened.

  “She was working with Shadowlock? He’s the most powerful warlock in the whole damn country. No wonder I had such a hard time breaking his spell—I’m amazed I could do it at all. Are you sure it was him?”