by T. S. Joyce
“I think you should watch what you say next,” Garret advised him in a snarl.
“If you add a human to this coven, I will leave, and then where will you be? Three vamps does not a coven make.” His shoulder dripped a trail of red across the dark wood floor as he made his way into the hall and disappeared.
Aric sighed and rubbed his hand down his face, then looked over at Nicole thoughtfully.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” Evan said. “She’s not here to join. I wouldn’t want her to.”
Evan made his way past Aric and Garret into the hallway to the basement. He wanted to take a quick shower and think.
And maybe throttle Shane if he said one more fucking word against Nicole.
Chapter Four
It stung. The severity of his words. The surety in them as he told everyone he didn’t want her to be a part of his coven. She hadn’t asked to be. She barely knew these vampires, and this wasn’t a life she would ever choose, so why had he embarrassed her like that?
Like she wasn’t good enough for this group of friends? She meant people. No…she meant supes. She wasn’t good enough for this group of supes. They weren’t friends. They were strangers who drank blood and probably slept in coffins and burned in the sunlight, and did she mention drink blood?
“Evan can fix your scar,” Sadey said, breaking the awkward silence that had descended heavily on the room.
“He can?” Nicole asked. “How?”
“Vampires can kiss a booboo and make it go away, so to speak,” Dawn said and then waggled her eyebrows.
“Um, I don’t think he would want to fix the scar even if I asked. He seems upset.”
“Evan is a complicated man,” Sadey murmured, pushing her mashed potatoes around on her plate with a fork. “But he’s a kind man. Smart. Level-headed. Loyal. He’s right, though. You wouldn’t want to be part of this. There’s always heat on us, and there’s always danger. It would be even more so for a human.”
“We need to hunt your attacker and get you back to normal life,” Garret said, straightening up from where he leaned on the doorframe to an office. “It’s too late to hunt tonight. We only have a couple hours until dawn.”
“Stay here tonight and get some rest,” Aric told her. “You’ll be safe here. Tomorrow, the coven will have a meeting and plan the hunt.”
“You’re not just protecting me, you know,” she said. “You’re protecting the town if you get him.”
Aric nodded and made his way to Sadey, rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Will you show her where the spare bedroom is and the clean sheets? I can tell she’s still a bit uncomfortable around vampires.”
“I’m sorry,” Nicole rushed out. “I think you’re really nice and very kind for letting me stay. It’s just…”
Aric smiled kindly and gestured to her cheek. “There’s no need to explain.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“There’s no need for that either,” Garret rumbled. “It’s the least we can do for our kind terrorizing you.”
Dawn stood and swung her blond hair out of the way before she picked up Sadey and Nicole’s plates. “I’ll get the dishes tonight. Nicole, you get settled, and we can chat at breakfast. Are you going to work tomorrow?”
“Oh, no, not yet. I’m a therapist. Or counselor? Whatever term you prefer. I cancelled all my appointments this week because of…well…” She waved her fingers at her face. “I don’t want to traumatize my clients more. I’ve just been responding to them by text messages and emails when they have a hard time come up. I probably won’t go back until next week. The police told me I’ll heal up faster and cope better if I just get back to my normal life, but I guess I don’t really know what that is anymore. Everything is strange now. Home used to be my favorite place. I liked my routine. I functioned well that way. I woke up the same time every morning, drank the same brand of coffee, put clothes on, did my make-up, fixed my hair, went to the gym, in the same order every morning. I filled the same time slots with clients every day, had the same lunch—a bologna sandwich with mustard and plain potato chips, and a sparkling water at the same time every day. Came home at the same time, one hour before dinner, which I made depending on the day of the week. Spaghetti Mondays, and taco Tuesdays, and Wedge Salad Wednesdays, and so on. I read the same genre of books for thirty minutes before bed every night, and I went to sleep at nine o’clock. Every night. I did margarita Tuesdays with a couple girlfriends once a month. Used the same decorations around my apartment for holidays. Change wasn’t something I dealt with because I didn’t have to. I was comfortable. My life didn’t feel boring. It felt full. But now? My life doesn’t feel safe anymore, and my old routine seems so far out of reach, and I keep thinking about that night, and that monster. It’s hard to focus on anything else.”
“And that feeling of chaos, milady, is normal life for you right now,” Sadey said. “And ain’t a damn thing wrong with it.”
Relieved, Nicole laughed and nodded her silent thanks to Sadey. The last few days had been so heavy. It was nice to have someone understand but still have the ability to lighten the mood.
She followed her downstairs to a basement that had six rooms, three on each side of a hallway.
The home was a large Victorian with the upstairs interior decorated in dark woods and bronze tones. Down here, bronze sconces dotted the wall between the doors, and the walls were painted a deep burgundy.
“Vampires sure like their dark colors,” she observed.
“They sure do,” Sadey answered, coming to a stop at the second door on the left. “This used to be Urick’s room, but he left. Most of the coven left.”
“I gathered that. What happened?”
Sadey sighed and rested against the wall. “They used to be called the Asheville Coven. Their numbers were huge but quality was low, if you catch my drift.”
“They were bad vampires?”
“Yep. The shift in power to Aric weeded out the murderers. They didn’t like his ethics. He moved them here to Winterset, and it was one war after another. The Bloodrunners exiled them from Asheville in the first place, and then my ex stalked me, and then Aric aimed the coven at him to save me. Then Garret’s origin came in a few months later and dragged a coven with him to annihilate Garret and Dawn. All of their human feeders were killed. So much blood, so much war, and we kept losing members of the coven as time went on. Now this new vampire is killing here, and Shane is getting tired. They’re my family, and I wish my people could just have a break. Have a rest for more than a few months at a time, you know? But I’ve learned the hard way. There is no peace with vampires.”
“Maybe someday there will be,” Nicole murmured. Hope was important.
“Sheets and towels are in the room, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall,” Sadey said, pointing to a closed door at the end. “If you need anything, Evan is in the room right across from yours. Goodnight, Nicole. Rest. You’re safe.”
Sadey turned to leave, but Nicole stopped her. “Hey, Sadey?”
“Yeah?”
“Covens aren’t like I thought they were. You and your people have been kind to me. I won’t tell anyone the things you’ve shared with me tonight.”
Sadey smiled and rubbed her arms as if putting warmth back into them. “I sure appreciate it. And I can tell you are being truthful.” She tapped her ear. “I have good instincts.” Her eyes flashed the gold of her snow leopard, and then she turned and headed for the stairs.
Oh, Nicole knew what Sadey and Dawn were. They had registered as Snow Leopard Shifters and officially pledged to the Winterset Coven. It had made front page news of the town newspaper.
Nicole watched until Sadey disappeared up the stairs and then turned back toward the room. She startled hard. Shane was watching her from an open door at the end of the hallway. His eyes were black.
He eased back into the room and shut the door softly, just as the bathroom door at the end of the hallw
ay opened, and there was Evan.
The handsome vampire was looking at the ground, a small frown furrowing his dark eyebrows as he walked her way. His hair was all wet and messy, no clothes on save a towel he’d secured low around his waist, and he strode with the confidence of an apex predator.
His nostrils flared and he looked up, his eyes black as a demon’s. He startled when he saw her.
Fingertips in the air, she gave him a little wave. “Hi.”
“I’m sorry I bolted earlier.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him. “Today has been crazy. This week has been crazy. No, this year has been crazy.”
“This century.”
She huffed a laugh. Goodness, the world seemed different after today. “If you’re a hundred, it means you have a hundred interesting stories.”
He cast a quick glance at the door to his room then back to her. “When did you sleep last?”
Nicole shrugged and let off a sigh. Reality wasn’t as fun as getting lost with a tall, dark, and handsome vampire. “Slept a few hours since the attack.”
“Want me to put you to sleep with my hundred interesting stories?”
Her heart hummed against her breastbone. “Yes.” She’d never heard a word from her lips so infused with hope before.
Her life had been one big terrifying shadow over the last week, and she hadn’t been able to see the edges until tonight when Evan had drawn a laugh from her. In the dark moments, she’d been scared she would never laugh again. Something about this man banished shadows, defined edges of the darkness, and made her feel…something. Anything. The numbness didn’t exist when he was near, and that was a certain kind of magic she didn’t wish away.
He shoved open the door to his room and disappeared inside, closing it behind him softly.
Unsure of what to do, Nicole wrung her hands and then straightened out the sweater he’d given her over her jeans, tucked her hair behind her ear nervously.
The door opened and Evan stood there, chin lowered, eyes lowered. He pulled the door open wider and stepped back, twitched his head in an invite.
This was big. She could tell this room meant something to him.
Slowly, she stepped inside past him and looked around. The walls were light beige, and the crown molding was a glossy white. This was the brightest room she’d seen in this house yet. Against the windowless back wall was a desk with a computer, papers stacked neatly on the corner. The dark wood floors boasted a light gray rug under a king-sized bed with a coordinating comforter the color of storm clouds. The bed wasn’t made, and there was a small pile of clothes on a recliner in the corner, but other than that, the room was tidy. It smelled like the cologne on his sweater. He turned and opened a dresser drawer, pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants, and dropped the towel. With a wicked glance at her, he busted her staring as he pulled them on. She couldn’t help it. His dick was huge and half mast, and his muscles rippled with his movement. He didn’t bother with underwear and, thank the Lord for small blessings, because she could clearly see the bulge of his dick pressing against the thin fabric of his sweats.
Next, he pulled a T-shirt out of the bottom drawer. Pity.
“Your lip is poking out,” he said in a deep, warm tone.
She sucked that lip back in and tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“This shirt isn’t for me,” he told her.
She frowned as he approached, but when he handed her the garment, her brain clicked. The sweater wasn’t her pajamas tonight. His T-shirt was.
She moved to pull at the hem of the sweater, but he stilled her hands and squared up to her. Pitch-black eyes on hers, he leaned forward. His lips brushed her earlobe. Just the touch of his lips there, and she leaned into him without telling her body to do so. A soft rumbling sound emanated from him as he straightened up and pulled the shirt off her. She lifted her arms to help, and when he dropped it to the floor, she let off a shuddering breath of anticipation.
He removed her black cotton shirt next, which left her in her bra and leggings.
Evan seemed to caress every inch of her collar bones and shoulders with his eyes before he ran his knuckle down her chin, to her throat, to her cleavage, under the curve of her bra and around to the back. The snick of her unfastened bra filled the silence of the room. Evan hooked a finger in the front of her loose bra and pulled it slowly from her arms, dragging chills across her skin with the scratch of the straps. Her lingerie joined the discarded clothes on the floor.
A tremble worked its way up her spine, and he hooked his finger under her chin, lifted her gaze to his. “You’re safe.”
“I know.” She didn’t have a guess at what made her whisper that with such certainty. She shouldn’t feel safe with a vampire, not after what had happened to her, but despite his inhuman eyes, Evan wasn’t a monster. He just wasn’t.
He left her leggings on but pulled her close. He took her hands and guided them behind his back. When she pressed her palms to his smooth, cold skin, he ran his fingertips down her back softly as he swayed them side to side.
This was the most intimate thing she’d ever done with a man. She memorized every curve of his back with her hands and reveled in the power of drawing a soft moan from his lips when she scratched it gently. And all the while, he memorized her body with his touch. Her nipples were drawn up hard against his stone chest and felt so right there.
He traced the curve of her shoulder to the tip of her collar bone, drew along that as well. Up her neck to her cheek, to her scar.
“I can fix this,” he whispered. “I can re-open it and seal it closed, and it’ll heal fast. I can do the same with bites. But a part of me doesn’t want to change your scar.”
“Why?” she asked on a breath, afraid to break the quiet magic of this moment.
“Because you earned it, warrior. You can go two ways. You can look in the mirror and know sadness when you see the mark. You can know fear. Or…” He dragged his fingertip so softly back up the length of it. “You can be proud of yourself for fighting. For surviving.”
His words stirred something inside of her, a pride she hadn’t expected, because over the last few days, she’d been picking apart what had happened. How could she have handled it better? How could she have changed the pain she’d put Tanya through? But Evan was telling her she did okay. That she was okay. That the scar didn’t define her. It enhanced her life experience.
She liked it.
Feeling bold, she pushed up and pressed her lips to his and then lowered back down to earth. It had been a fast peck, and his lips had been hard and cold. He searched her eyes as the slightest smile took the corners of his mouth. His sharp canines were longer now, poking out just a little. Stunning, complicated beast.
He cupped the side of her face and leaned down, hesitated an inch from her lips, and then kissed her. Really kissed her. His other hand on the small of her back dragged her tight against him, and she clutched onto his strong shoulders, desperate to keep this moment just as it was.
Nothing else existed when he touched her. No troubles, no fear, no overthinking.
She could just…exist.
His teeth gently scraped her lips as they went on kissing, always gently. He angled his head to the other side and drove his tongue past her lips, kissed her deeper as he eased her backward against the wall. Intertwining his finger with hers, he held her hands above her head, but even this, holding her hands in such a dominating way, was gentle. It spread flutters of anticipation through her middle. She loved the contrast of his cold skin against hers.
Nicole was pinned, trapped, but it didn’t feel scary. It felt safe, like a heavy comfort blanket draped across her lap.
His kiss grew more passionate, deeper, harder, and his teeth scraped her lip with a sharp sting, and when he drew away, she could taste iron with her tongue.
His focus went straight to her bottom lip, and his features morphed into something more predatory.
“You’re hu
ngry,” she murmured.
His gaze drifted to the tripping pulse at the base of her neck, and then a deep, guttural sound vibrated through the air.
Slowly, he released her hands and took two steps back, eyes still on her neck.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” she asked.
“Too long to do this with you.”
She sucked her bottom lip and tasted more iron. “Is that why your eyes are staying black tonight?”
“You need rest.” Eyes on her neck…on her neck…
“Will you feel better if you take from me?”
A frown transformed the faraway look on his face. “I don’t want to take from you. I want to give to you.”
What a raw admission that was. “I feel the same.”
Evan swallowed audibly. “I don’t feed in my room. I don’t bring anyone in here.”
Fists clenched at her sides, Nicole made her way past him to the bed and sat at the edge. She locked eyes with him before she moved her hair off her neck and tilted her head. “You won’t hurt me.”
Evan lowered his chin, and the uncertainty in his expression faded away, exposing a slow, wicked smile in its place. He disappeared in smoke and reappeared in front of her. His knee on the bed, he cupped the back of her head and laid her down. “I won’t hurt you. I’m going to make you feel good.”
Chills rose on her skin, and she matched his smile. He eased her leggings down and drank her in as she lay there naked before him. Naked but not vulnerable. The hungry intensity in his eyes as he dragged his attention down her body made it impossible to feel self-conscious.
The only barrier between their skin was the soft cotton fabric of his sweatpants when he settled between her thighs. His body rolled against her as he kissed her neck, and she thought, here it comes, the pain of his fangs. But the pain didn’t come. Only pleasure as he sucked at her skin. He laved his tongue against her throat and then moved to the other side of her neck and gave it the same attention. Then he kissed her again, sucked her bottom lip where his fangs had pierced her earlier.