Vampire Hunters, #1

by Trudie Collins

  “You do realise you just called yourself a sex addict.”

  “I said a lot of lawyers, not all. If a woman comes on to me, I may agree, I may not, depending on how I feel. I never make the first move.”

  “I thought you once said you didn’t discuss your sex life.”

  “Circumstances have changed. So what about you? Did you date much before Alex?”

  “Some, but not much and nothing serious. I wasn’t looking to settle down until after I had finished uni. Alex came out of the blue, so to speak. Speaking of Alex, does it bother you when I talk about him?”

  JD pulled her tighter toward him. “Not now. It used to, but he’s part of who you are. I don’t see him as competition, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just hope I can make you as happy as he obviously did.” Then he looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. We should think about leaving.”

  They shared a pleasant meal, then braced themselves for their return to the Sanctuary. There was no sign of Simon’s car when JD pulled into the garage.

  “He’s probably out with Jane again,” he said. “That means 5 already know what happened in your assessment. Every Sanctuary will know by the end of the weekend. Gossip spreads like wildfire between hunters. I’m surprised I haven’t heard from my parents yet.”

  Scott, Katie, Jonathon and Craig were so engrossed in a game of Mario Kart that they didn’t hear the front door open and close so JD and Sarah managed to get to Doc and Silvia’s suite without having to answer any awkward questions.

  Silvia showed them into the lounge, then made to leave the three of them in peace, but JD asked her to stay. What they had to say was as much her business as anyone’s.

  They told them of their plans and asked for their approval. As they would be living under their roof, at least part time, it felt like the right thing to do.

  “I thought you said you couldn’t be her trainer and be involved with her,” Doc said to JD.

  JD smiled and squeezed Sarah’s hand. “I’m not being given much of a choice.”

  “Are you sure you can make this work?”

  “Yes, we are.”

  “It’s not Sarah I’m concerned about, it’s you. You’re so used to her obeying you, will you be able to cope when she doesn’t?”

  “I’m not saying it isn’t going to be a challenge,” JD said, “but I honestly believe we can do this.”

  “Then I wish you both good luck. You’re going to need it when you tell the others.”

  As the others were in the games room, the TV room was free, so JD led Sarah into it and shut the door. He had work to do, but he wasn’t ready to be parted from her yet.

  He put a film on then lay on the sofa, pulling her down beside him. They didn’t see much of the film as they paid more attention to each other than the screen.

  “If you don’t stop doing that we’re going to end up having sex on this sofa,” Sarah said as JD caressed her neck.

  “No we’re not. The door to this room doesn’t lock.”

  “Right now, I’m not sure that will stop me.”

  JD laughed and kissed her. His hand did not return to her neck, much to her disappointment.

  The film finished and JD switched the TV off. The room went silent and they could hear talking outside the door.

  “I’m not going in there. No way.”

  “She’s your friend.”

  “He’s your brother.”

  They both waited, listening for the knock on the door, but it never came.

  “I told you it didn’t matter that the door doesn’t lock,” Sarah said. Then she turned serious. “We’re going to have to face them sometime.”

  “Tomorrow’s soon enough.” He kissed her once more, then had to force himself to pull away before things went too far. “It’s late. You should get to bed.”

  “Care to join me?”

  “I would love to, but I want to take things slow and if I get my hands on you I won’t be able to hold back. Besides, I have to write a report on your assessment and I have no idea how I’m going to do that. You haven’t exactly made it easy for me. There is a lot I really shouldn’t be mentioning.”

  She kissed him goodnight in a way she hoped would change his mind. It almost did and he had to pull away from her. “Good night Sarah,” he said firmly and pushed her out the door.

  From the games room, four sets of ears listened to Sarah’s footsteps climbing the stairs then JD’s entering his office.

  “Well that’s a disappointment,” Jonathon said. “I was hoping that Sarah spending the night with him would mean he wouldn’t turn up to the 5am training session tomorrow.”

  Scott grunted. “I think we all know him better than that.”

  Sarah’s bedroom light was still on when Craig went to bed, so he knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” she called out. When he opened the door, she was sitting on the bed, wearing just her dressing gown. Her face dropped when her eyes fell on him.

  “No need to look so disappointed.” He tried not to sound insulted.

  “Sorry, I was hoping you were Jason.”

  “Want to talk about it?” he asked as he sat on the bed beside her.

  “Not really.” He looked at her, one eyebrow raised, waiting for her to change her mind. “It’s just so frustrating knowing he’s just across the hallway.”

  “Then why aren’t you with him?”

  “He wants to take things slow.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “I think we have taken things slow enough already. It’s not as if we need to get to know each other.”

  “So go and tell him that.” Sarah stared at the quilt as she played with the hem of her dressing gown. She was clearly indecisive about what she should do. “Sarah, is this what you really want?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Then go.” Craig stood up, grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet, then dragged her from the room.

  He watched her raise her hand to knock on JD’s door, then lower it again. She looked over at him, gave a tentative smile, raised her hand once more, knocked and walked in. Once she had closed the door behind her, he retired to his own room.

  JD was still awake and trying, unsuccessfully, to read when he heard a knock at his door. Before he could reply, Sarah walked in, closed and locked the door behind her, then leaned back against it. She looked nervous.

  “If you stay, I won’t be able to keep my hands off you,” he said, his voice soft, but serious.

  “That’s the idea.”

  He lifted the covers, inviting her to join him. She slowly walked up to the bed, stopped, untied her belt and let her dressing gown slip to the floor. She was completely naked underneath.

  “So much for taking things slow,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her into his bed.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “What’s that noise?” Sarah asked when she was woken by an annoying buzzing sound.

  “My 4.30 alarm,” JD said as he switched on his lamp.

  She groaned and rolled away from the light. “Can’t we skip training today?”

  “No.” He kissed her, then slid out of bed and walked over to his alarm. He purposely placed it where he couldn’t switch it off from the bed in order to make sure he got up each morning.

  Sarah sat up and watched him, admiring his naked body. Her eyes fell on the scratches on his back and she winced. “Sorry about your back.”

  He smiled at her as he returned to the bed and kissed her. “Don’t be. I quite like the way you lost control.”

  “Did you say 4.30?” He nodded. The look she gave him could only be described as seductive. “That gives us half an hour.”

  He almost turned her down, then said, “What the hell,” and climbed back into bed.

  It was just gone five when he reached the arena door. It was the first time he had ever been late. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the onslaught. It was
going to be nothing compared to what Sarah would be put through and he wished he could spare her, but they had discussed it and decided he had to stay out of it. He couldn’t defend her in any way if she wished things with the others to stay the way they were.

  “Why aren’t you guys training?” he asked as he strode in. “You know the routines. You should have chosen one.”

  Craig was grinning at him. He should have known it would be Craig who would lead the charge. “We weren’t expecting you. Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “That is none of your business.” The others looked at Craig in surprise. He obviously hadn’t told them Sarah had gone to his room.

  “Letting Sarah off I see.”

  “You know me better than that. She is on her way.”

  “Didn’t she get enough exercise last night?”

  “Again, none of your business.”

  Before Craig could go any further, Sarah turned up.

  “You’re late,” JD said. “Don’t let it happen again.”

  “I won’t.” She kept the smile from her face and out of her tone, but he could see it in her eyes. She looked tired though, very tired.

  Craig looked her up and down. “That answers the sleep question.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Never mind.” He winked at her. “Feeling sore at all?”

  It took her a moment to realise what he meant. She slapped him round the face, hard enough for the noise to echo around the room. Jonathon winced. He had been slapped enough times to know how it felt. “That was going too far,” she hissed.

  JD had to handle this very carefully and controlled his reaction. “Craig, there is a time and a place for everything and this isn’t it. If you want to annoy Sarah, do it in your own time, not mine.”

  The wording of the comment surprised everyone in the room, except for Sarah.

  “Does that mean you won’t interfere?” Craig asked.

  “I won’t need to. She can look after herself.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sarah mouth ‘thank you’ at him. “Now get your Bo. Seeing as Craig isn’t taking this session seriously yet, we will start with In the Hall of the Mountain King.”

  Groans reverberated around the room and Scott punched Craig on the arm. “Can we borrow the arena this afternoon?” Katie asked and JD was more than happy to give his permission.

  Seeing how exhausted Sarah already was, JD didn’t work them too hard. At the end of the session, as Craig was leaving, JD called out to him. “Craig, where do you think you’re going? You are going to have an extra one-on-one session.”

  “This is punishment for what I said to Sarah, isn’t it?”

  “No. This is punishment for disrupting the lesson. I’m sure Sarah will find her own way of punishing you.”

  Craig waited until everyone else had left the arena and JD had locked the door before speaking again. “Can we talk first?”

  “Sure.” JD knew what was coming and had been expecting it. It was one of the reasons he had made Craig stay behind.

  “I presume last night wasn’t just a one night stand.”

  “Your presumption is correct.”

  “So how do you see this affecting my relationship with her?”

  JD softened his tone so that Craig knew he was being completely honest and open with him. “I’m not planning on it affecting it at all.”

  That wasn’t what Craig had been expecting to hear. “So if we’re cuddled up on the sofa and you walk in on us, you won’t mind?”

  “Not in the least. As long as she’s with me not you when I’m available. Unless you really need her attention for any reason, of course.”

  “Fair enough.” He had been worried that he would be told to stay away from her and was pleased to hear that was not the case.

  “But I would appreciate it if you stayed out of her bed, unless I’m away for the night.”

  “No problem.” He only ever slept in the same bed as Sarah when she needed him and he now had the distinct feeling she wouldn’t be needing him anymore.

  JD turned serious. “Craig. I know I don’t have to ask your permission to have a relationship with Sarah, but I would like your blessing.”

  “You have it.” He appreciated the gesture, but there was something he needed to add. “One thing though. Cheat on her and I will break every bone in your body.”

  “Try to you mean. But don’t worry. I have no intention of ever betraying her. What makes you think I would?”

  “You have a bit of a reputation for sleeping around. You’re not as bad as your brother, and let’s face it, nobody could be, but you have to admit you are a bit of a player.”

  JD didn’t deny it. “Was. I haven’t slept with another woman since I first set eyes on Sarah. When was the last time I didn’t spend the night here?” Craig thought back and couldn’t remember the last time JD hadn’t been in the house for a 5am session. “By the way, this little chat has come out of your time, not mine. You still owe me an hour.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  As soon as they left the arena, Katie grabbed Sarah and dragged her into the TV room, closely followed by Jonathon, Scott and Simon. They sat her down on the sofa and she rolled her eyes. She knew what was coming.

  “Now that the relationship between you and JD seems to have changed, there are some things we need you to promise not to tell him.”

  “Like?” There was a long list and she wasn’t sure where they were going to begin.

  “The rules for starters. I have a feeling he won’t be too pleased with us if he found out about those.”

  Sarah managed to suppress her smile. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot?”

  “You’re sleeping with my brother, so yes.”

  “Craig told everyone that I went to Jason’s room last night?” she said in horror. She had expected him to tease her when they were alone, but hadn’t believed he would betray her like that.

  “No. We kind of worked it out for ourselves by his comments. I find it interesting that you went to JD though, not the other way round.” She did not like the way Jonathon was smiling at her as he spoke. Then the barrage of questions began, each one more crude than the last.

  “So tell me, is he as strict in the bedroom as he is at training?”

  “Does he make you obey him in bed?”

  “Does he correct your positioning?”

  “And how is he planning on punishing you? Whips? Chains? Handcuffs?”

  Sarah was genuinely shocked. She had been expecting an interrogation, but not like this. “You guys are unbelievable.”

  “You decided to join this family, you should have known what to expect.” Scott was grinning at her.

  “I’m not going to answer any of your questions, you know that.”

  “But the question is, will you answer his?” Simon asked.

  “I will tell Jason everything he wants to know, as long as it doesn’t break a confidence. How’s that?”

  “Good enough.”

  “So is he as good in bed as he is with a sword?” Katie asked.

  This question Sarah had been prepared for. “Let me put it this way. Have you ever craved something, wanted it for months then when you finally get to have it it’s not as good as you were expecting?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well last night was nothing like that.”

  With that, she stood up and left the room.

  “Hey,” Katie shouted after her. “That doesn’t answer the question.”

  “I know.”

  Does this mean you will let me off punishments

  During breakfast, JD and Sarah explained to the rest how they were planning on handling being lovers as well as student and trainer. JD assured them it wouldn’t affect them at all, but Jonathon wasn’t satisfied with that.

  “I think we’re entitled to more details. Anything that affects our trainer affects us.” He was grinning slyly as he spoke.

  JD neede
d to shut him down, fast. “Really? That’s how you want to play it is it? Alright. Then that goes both ways. If I have to talk about my love life, so do you. That means that we have to know everything about a girl you pick up. What her name is, what she does, how old she is, how you met etcetera. And we need to know all of this before you sleep with her.”

  Jonathon glared at him. “What?” JD continued. “Changed your mind about wanting to know details have you?”

  Katie laughed. “Oh Jonathon. You should know better than to go up against him. You will lose every time.”

  Just before breakfast was over and everyone went their separate ways, Sarah brought up the subject of Craig’s punishment, much to his disgust. “When is it?” she asked.

  “Everyone free at four pm?” Katie asked and received nods from all around. Then she turned her attention to Sarah. “Why do you ask?”

  “Can I join in?”

  “Sarah,” Craig cried out in protest. Four against one was bad enough without Sarah wanting to make it five.

  “Of course you can,” Katie said and grinned wickedly at Craig.

  Craig refused to speak to Sarah for the rest of the meal, which everyone found amusing. As they finished eating, they all drifted off to do whatever they had planned for the day. Each one made sure they let Craig know how much they were looking forward to seeing him at four before they departed.

  “That’s going a little too far,” he said as he left the room, leaving only JD, Sarah and Katie still present.

  “I’m going shopping,” Katie said to Sarah as she stood up. “Want to come with me?”

  “I’d love to,” she lied. She remembered how tiring her last shopping expedition with Katie had been and was not up to it. “But I have my usual Sunday morning training session.”

  “Aren’t they over now that you have passed your assessment?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “You’re not just using that as an excuse to keep spending time with her alone are you?” Katie asked JD.

  “Of course not. Why would I need an excuse?”

  Katie opened her mouth, then closed it again. “Never mind,” she said and left the two of them alone.

  Sarah yawned. “Training is going to be a waste of time today by the look of things,” JD said. “You’re exhausted.”