Bitten At Daybreak

by Deanna Chase

  “Kiss me, Dax,” I ordered. “Make my head spin so hard all I know is you and your touch.”

  “You got it, sweetheart.” But instead of capturing my lips, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to the swell of my breast. His soft lips were glorious on my already heated skin. One hand came up to cup my other breast, his fingers gently tracing the edge of the lace. It felt wondrous. Every touch, every caress, every little kiss ratcheted up my need, making me so I was already writhing against him, and we hadn’t even gotten out of our clothes yet.

  “Dax,” I said breathily.

  “Yeah, love?” His fingers found one of my nipples and lightly pinched the sensitive peak.

  “Oh, that’s good.” I bent my head and caught his lips in a kiss that was so hot I felt as if I were going to combust right there, with layers of fabric between us, before he’d ever even touched me.

  “Jesus, Phoebe,” he said with a moan when he broke away. “I need to lose these boxers.”

  “Let me,” I said, grinning up at him as I shimmied down his body, taking the boxers with me. And then I slowly made my way back up, my hands gliding along his inner thighs until I wrapped one hand around his glorious erection.

  “God,” he said, closing his eyes, his hips jerking forward slightly as I stroked him.

  “You’re beautiful, Dax,” I said and leaned over him, running my tongue over the tip of his cock.

  “Jesus,” he said on a groan, and I started to wonder if I tortured him long enough if he’d run through the entire list of deities. But I’d have to find out another day, because suddenly Dax reached down, pulled me up, and rolled. His lips crashed down on mine, his hands everywhere.

  Before I knew it, he had my pretty bra and panties on the floor, leaving us both completely naked. He paused for a moment, lifted himself up so he was hovering over me, and just gazed down at my body.

  I smiled up at him. “Now what’s your plan?”

  “Everything,” he said with a growl and dropped kisses on my breasts, my stomach, my hips, my thighs, and then he ran those big strong hands up my inner thighs, spreading me for him before he dove into me, his mouth teasing, tasting, taking everything I had to offer.

  I buried my hands in his thick hair and held on as he laved my clit, working it so thoroughly and with such expertise that it seemed like only a second passed before I was clenching around him and crying out his name.

  “That’s my girl,” he said huskily as he worked his way back up my body, taking his time to plant more kisses and tease my nipples until I was moaning again.

  “Dax,” I panted. “Please.”

  His dark eyes bored into mine as he reached down, palming himself. “Is this what you need, love?”

  I glanced down and nearly came at the sight of him holding himself. “God, yes. That’s exactly what I need.”

  “All right, love. It’s all yours.” But instead of entering me like I wanted him to, he placed his tip against my already sensitive flesh and stroked me until he was once again teasing my clit.

  “Oh fuck, Dax. It’s too much. Too sensitive. Too— Oh!” I cried out, coming again with an intensity I’d never experienced before. My body shuddered beneath him, the wave taking me right over the edge. But he didn’t give me time to fade away on that ride, because he was already pushing into me with a groan of pleasure that brought me right back to reality.

  “There,” I said. “Right there. Perfect.”

  He was buried inside me, holding himself there, waiting for me to get used to him. But there was no need to wait. I was ready and pumped my hips, demanding more.

  He didn’t disappoint. Dax stared down at me, his movements slow and deliberate. Everything tingled, and as we locked gazes, everything else in the world fell away, and all I knew was this man. The one I knew without a doubt would cross universes to find me if he had to. Love rolled off him, filling me up from head to toe.

  It didn’t take long before the ache started from deep inside me and I started to demand more. Harder, faster, deeper. Dax obliged all my demands, never taking his gaze from mine, even watching me as my breath quickened, and my body tensed, and then I shattered. Through it all, he was there, giving me what I needed, witnessing it all, until I finally stilled and smiled up at him.

  “Did you get what you needed, gorgeous?” he asked, his eyes still sparkling with lust.

  “Yes,” I said. “Definitely.”

  “Good. My turn.” He raised my hands over my head and held them there as he thrust into me in hard, long strokes, loving me with every inch of him until both of us were breathing hard and moaning with pleasure. “Are you going to come one last time for me, love?” he gasped out.

  The sound of his rough, needy voice was all I needed. My muscles started to clench around him, and he buried himself in me one last time before we both shattered.

  I woke deep in the night to find Dax propped up on one arm, just watching me. I blinked a couple of times and smiled up at him. “You know that’s a little creepy, right?”

  He chuckled. “Maybe a little. You just looked so gorgeous lying there naked in the moonlight.”

  I glanced at the window, noting the large full moon shining its light across the bed, illuminating me. Chuckling, I placed his free hand on one of my breasts just to feel the weight of him there. “I think I can give you a pass then.”

  “Good.” He dipped his head and placed a kiss on my cheek even as I rolled onto my side, curling up next to him. We lay there silently for a few beats, then he said, “I love you, Phoebe. Do you know that?”

  The words filtered over me, warming me all the way to my toes. A tiny smile claimed my lips when I said, “Yes, I did.” I twisted my head so that I could see his face when I added, “I love you too, handsome.”

  “Of course you do,” he said with a tiny chuckle. “Now go back to sleep. I have a big morning planned.”

  “Oh? Is it more bedroom Olympics?”

  He pressed his lips to my shoulder and said, “Something like that.”

  28

  Six Months Later

  “I think this is just about perfect,” I said, eyeing the giant twelve-foot Christmas tree. “What about you, Wil?”

  My friend placed her hands on her growing belly and said, “Looks good to me. How are we going to get it back to the house?”

  “They have delivery,” Talisen said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “My god. Could you two get any more nauseating?” I grinned. The truth was, they were gorgeous. Willow was five months pregnant and glowing so brightly I almost needed sunglasses to look at her. And Talisen, he was bubbling over with joy. I wasn’t quite sure how his coworkers dealt with him on a daily basis. I’d had to escape to Dax’s on a regular basis just to avoid a permanent toothache.

  “I’ve found it,” Dax said, a huge grin on his face.

  “Oh?” I chuckled, already knowing it was going to be something ridiculous. Dax had already picked out a dead tree, a two footer that was decorated with condoms, and a light-up naked Santa. At this rate, we were going end up decorating with strings of popcorn and calling it done.

  “It’s right over here,” he said, pulling me through the Christmas tree lot.

  The day was cool and slightly drizzly, but the weather didn’t dampen my mood at all. Dax and I had the next few days off and were spending it moving into our new house. After Willow and Talisen had found out they were pregnant, we’d decided it was time to find our own place. Of course it had ended up being just three doors down from Willow and Tal, but in my eyes that made it perfect. I’d be right there, ready and willing to help with everything baby without being under their feet. To say I was excited about being an auntie was an understatement.

  “This one,” Dax said, pointing to the biggest tree I’d ever seen.

  I laughed. “Seriously, Dax? Where are we going to put that? We have a twelve-foot ceiling, not a vaulted entry.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You didn’t even
look at it carefully.”

  “Yes I did, I—” Just as I was saying the words, I saw a very familiar head poke out from behind the mammoth tree. “Seth?” I cried out, my voice going high like a five-year-old’s.

  His low chuckle rumbled from behind the tree, and I screeched again. “Seth!”

  Without waiting for anyone to respond, I darted around the tree just in time to see him snatch a little boy into his arms and tilt his head in, whispering something.

  “Lex!” I practically screamed as I darted toward them, nearly knocking them over with the biggest hug that ever existed. “Oh my god! How? What? When did you get here? How long can you stay? Tell me everything. I’m dying to know what’s going on back… um, home?”

  “Hi, little sis,” Seth said with a huge smile and handed Lex to me. “Someone has been dying to give you a hug of his own.”

  I hefted the child into my arms, nearly crumpling under his weight. This one was all boy.

  “Auntie Phoebe,” he said, his face all smiles and joy, just the way I remembered my brother as a young boy.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” I said, nuzzling his nose. “I missed you so much. Have you been reading?”

  He nodded. “Heather reads to me every night.”

  My head jerked up as I stared right at Seth. “Heather?” I echoed, putting him on the spot right there in the Christmas tree lot.

  “Present,” a giggling voice said from behind me. I whirled around and spotted the raven-haired girl I’d known so many years ago. Her eyes were just as green and her golden skin just as lovely. But there was a maturity to her now that hadn’t been there before. She seemed more confident, content. Though I supposed we all did compared to when we were teenagers.

  “Heather,” I said, my voice soft and full of affection. “I’m so glad to see you.”

  “Mama,” Lex said, reaching for Heather.

  She took one of his hands in hers but made no move to take him from me. “Your Auntie Phoebe has you right now, sweetie. I’ll hold you a little later.”

  He bobbed his head toward her, his sweet smile turning hearts to mush everywhere. But Heather was not swayed. She reached out and took Seth’s hand in her free one and tugged him closer, as if she was taking advantage of the child-free moment.

  I just beamed at them. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “I’m glad you seem happy because I have some bad news for you, sis,” Seth said, his eyes flashing with amusement.

  “What?” I asked suspiciously. “Something’s going on, and I’m so happy to see you right now that I don’t even care, but someone’s going to have to tell me sooner or later.”

  “Yeah, there’s definitely something going on,” Dax said, finally finding his way to my side. “Remember those two spare offices we thought we were going to have in the house?”

  I cut my gaze from Dax to Seth and back again, trying to keep my excitement in check. “Yeah. What about them?”

  “Looks like we’re going to need to keep using the kitchen table a little longer, because we’re about to have permanent houseguests.”

  I closed my eyes and chanted, “Please don’t let this be a dream. Please don’t let this be a dream.” On my third chant, I felt a small hand land on my cheek. I opened my eyes and stared into the sweet face of my nephew Lex.

  “It’s not a dream, Auntie,” he said sweetly. “It can’t be, because if it is, I’m having the exact same dream.”

  My laughter was instantaneous. “You’re right, baby. It can’t be a dream. You wanna go home and get settled in? Maybe a cup of hot chocolate?”

  “Hot chocolate,” he started to chant over and over again in much the same way I’d just been doing.

  “Perfect,” Seth said with a chuckle. “Maybe he’ll wear himself out doing that instead of running around the house.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Heather said with a chuckle.

  I eyed them, my curiosity about the situation flying off the charts. But instead of asking them what was up, I turned to Dax. “We still need a tree. You’re in charge. Get a good one. One that fits!”

  He saluted me. “Yes, ma’am. See you at home.”

  I beckoned my brother and Heather. “Ready to see the new digs?”

  “More than ready. It’s been one hell of a week.”

  I grinned at them. “Where have I heard that before?”

  Seth laughed. “It’s really good to see you, Phoebs.”

  “You too, brother. Now follow me to the car. I have lots of questions.”

  Seth and Heather shared a glance, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of secrets were lurking under there. But then maybe not. After my visit to another parallel universe, I could honestly say it wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again.

  “Seth?” I asked as we reached my Charger.

  “Yeah?”

  “Just tell me one thing. Is this just a visit or a permanent change?”

  He reached out and squeezed my hand. “Permanent.”

  My heart swelled, and I thought it might burst right out of my chest. “Good.”

  I tried to keep my questions in check until everyone was settled around the table. It was the one piece of furniture we’d managed to move in. The rest of the house was empty, much to Lex’s delight as he ran around, making his cries echo off the plaster walls. We’d only moved in a week ago, and most of our furniture was on order. Dax had left his at his old place, where Leo was taking over the lease. Now that Leo had graduated from his training and was a full-fledged Void agent, he was more than ready to live on his own. Though, I had been a little disappointed when he’d turned down my invitation to live at our place. I kinda liked having him around.

  Turning my attention to my brother, I said, “Okay. I can’t stand it. What happened? How did you end up back here?”

  Again the pair shared a look, this one wistful.

  “You guys are killing me. Details, now!”

  Seth sat back in his chair and draped an arm over the empty seat next to him. “I think we might owe you a thank-you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Because without that deal you made with Allcot, we might not be here today.”

  “What deal?” I asked stupidly. “I haven’t seen Allcot in months actually.”

  “I don’t mean the one from this world,” he said easily. “I mean the one you saw banging Pandora on his desk six months ago.”

  That made me sit up straight. “My deal? The one to set Willow and Dax free?”

  “That and the one to send us home,” Seth said with a one-armed shrug.

  “No. No!” I pressed my hand to my forehead, fighting the headache again. “I told him to call off that part. I didn’t want to be making decisions for your lives that weren’t my decisions to make.”

  “Hmm, well it seems you did, and you did us a huge favor. You see, it took six months for the witches Allcot hired to figure out how to reseal a couple of the portals. There were two that kept giving them trouble. And by then the other Phoebe had left to find Dax, and Pandora and I were already divorced. Her actions during her honeymoon period with Allcot led to some… interesting developments, and long story short, I ended up with custody of Lex.”

  I glanced over at my nephew and smiled at him as he rolled a toy truck over the old hardwood. “Custody. Wow. I wouldn’t have thought that was an option considering how powerful Allcot is.”

  “You and me both, Phoebs,” he said and shook his head as if he still didn’t believe it. “Anyway, when it came time to close the portals, they couldn’t do it until all the other spells were stripped. One of them was yours.”

  “Wait. I didn’t bind that spell.” I stared at them in confusion.

  “You didn’t, but Allcot did using your DNA. He hired Genevieve to do it for him, and all he needed was a piece of your hair or a used toothbrush. Since you were living there, it was easy for her to get.”

  “Anyway, she cast the original one and it took her some time to figure out how to strip it
. Once that was done, the city wanted to close the portals, and that meant we had to go.”

  “And Lex? How did Pandora take it?”

  Seth glanced over at his son. “She’s not really in his life much anymore.”

  “She’s a new vampire,” Heather said. “All she wants is blood and sex. It’s not conducive to raising a child.”

  “Oh my god,” I gasped out. “That’s what you mean by her actions during her honeymoon period?”

  Seth nodded, his expression turning angry. But as soon as he looked at Heather, she placed a soothing hand over his and smiled. His anger vanished, replaced by something that looked a lot like contentment.

  My heart was so full I thought it might burst. “You guys,” I said, fighting back tears. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “We are too,” Heather said. “And we promise not to impose for too long. We just need a bit of a buffer to get situated in this reality.”

  “Please don’t worry about it. Stay as long as you like. Heck, stay forever.”

  “That’s right,” Dax said as he walked through the door, wrestling a large tree that looked maybe a little overkill for the space, but I just looked around and grinned. A new house, Dax, and Seth’s family, with Willow and Talisen just a few doors down.

  My life was just about perfect. Now all I needed was a new dagger to replace the one I’d broken off in the chest of a vamp last week.

  “Phoebs, come here. I have something for you,” Dax said.

  “Again? What’s next, a puppy?” I made my way back to the den where we were going to keep the tree.

  “I doubt it’s a puppy. Not unless it’s a really flat one.” Dax was standing next to the undecorated tree, holding a box. He held it out for me. “It’s for you.”

  “Why?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Because Santa dropped it off as a housewarming gift, that’s why.” Dax kissed my forehead and whispered, “Hurry up. We’re all dying to see what it is.”

  “Right.” Judging by the uneven wrapping job with two different types of paper, I was guessing Dax had done it himself. But I didn’t care. I was just excited to get another present. Once I ripped the paper off, I stared down at the embossed box lid.