Viper (Sons of Sangue)

by Patricia A. Rasey

  “You would want to be like me?”

  “I was just curious, is all,” she quickly amended, her gaze darting from his, unable to look him in the eye.

  She might desire him, that much he knew for certain, and maybe even care for him on some level. But he couldn’t allow her to give up her humanity. Ever.

  Kane gripped her chin again and forced her to look at him. “No one should ever desire to be like me. It’s a curse, Cara. One you can’t just take back because you’ve changed your mind.”

  “How so?”

  “You never stop thirsting for human blood. Some days, it’s all you can think of. Over the years you learn to curb your thirst. But it’s hell getting there. You’ve seen what I look like when I get excited, hungry … or angered. I become the animal inside. A thing of nightmares”

  “It’s not so bad.”

  He had to give her credit for the lie. It wasn’t that long ago that he scared the living hell out of her.

  Kane smiled. “Then you humor me, Mia Bella. I’m a monster. And although I’m not guilty of draining those women, someone of my kind did, and I can guarantee he doesn’t feel bad about it. He’d take your blood without a care that your life is fragile and precious. And when he drains you, he’ll toss you aside like yesterday’s garbage. Who would want that life for themselves?”

  “Someone who wants to be with you.”

  He raised a brow. Heaven help him. “It’s not that simple, Cara.”

  “Then tell me why it’s not.”

  Kane looked back at the tree as he spoke, the setting sun now casting heavy shadows upon it. He didn’t want to think of the pain Ion had suffered before they took his head. He would have gladly given his life for his son, taken his place. There was a dark time in his life he contemplated going to the cartel and asking for the same fate. Instead, here he stood with a woman who offered him a chance to be happy again, and he wasn’t sure he even deserved it.

  He glanced back at Cara, her eyes moist with unshed tears. “Kaleb and I are decedents of Vlad.”

  “The Romanian ruler? The Impaler?”

  “One and the same. He’s a distant grandfather, guilty of many dastardly deeds, but he is my flesh and blood. Vlad believed that there was life-giving energy in blood, and he was correct. His blood line continued the practice for many years following his disappearance. The tomb he was buried in was later found to be empty. But he has never been seen since. Metamorphosis began and through the drinking of blood over the centuries, our bodies began adapting to the practice. We grew fangs to better feed, our night vision sharpened to better hunt at night, we became stronger to subdue our victims.

  “And as long as we continue to drink blood, we stay forever young and do not die. It’s our fountain of youth. Our DNA has changed. Because of it, our blood regenerates at such a rapid rate that we can’t be killed because we are able to heal ourselves. The only way to take out one of our kind is to instantly stop the heart from beating.”

  “Does that mean you’re all descendants of Vlad?”

  Kane grinned, realizing where her thoughts had taken her. “No, we aren’t all related. We’re not dating distant cousins or anything like that. If I were to give you my DNA, you would become like me.”

  “How?”

  “You drink my blood. And before you say something you might regret, Cara, that’s against the rules, too.”

  “I’m not saying that I—,” she started, her cheeks reddening. Instead of finishing her thought, and further embarrassing herself, she said, “Then how do you get new vampires if it’s always against the rules?”

  “Should I, or any of my brothers, decide to take a mate with someone not of our blood, or if a prospect wants to join the club, it’s taken to a vote. If all members agree, then our brother is given the okay to mate or the prospect becomes a member. Then he can give her his blood. Or in the case of a prospect, his sponsor turns him.”

  “And is that how you and Rosalee—”

  “No, Rosalee was already one of us. She’s the stepdaughter of Vlad’s older brother, Mircea II. She’s years older than I. Vlad’s brother made her after he mated with Rosalee’s mother, which means she’s no relation to me. But that makes her a primordial, much older and stronger than I.”

  “Like the primordial after me?”

  Kane nodded.

  “Is Rosalee the one who wants me dead?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Cara. She’s not supposed to leave Italy. Her stepfather forbid it after she recklessly caused his grandson’s death. But I can’t say for sure. I haven’t heard from Rosalee in ten years, not since she went back to her stepfather.”

  Cara took a shaky breath as her gaze took in the burned-out tree. Kane wished he knew what was going through her mind, what she thought of the life he just expounded.

  Long moments later, she looked up at him. “Even if you were allowed to turn me, you and I could never mate because of Rosalee.”

  “No, Mia Bella,” Kane said. “I told you, I’m a free man. I’m no longer bound to Rosalee because of her actions. No vampire would hold me to that vow, except for maybe her stepfather.”

  “Not that I’d want to be your mate,” she quickly added. “I was just speculating.”

  “No.” He smiled. “Of course not.”

  He could see she had more questions, knew she pondered all she had been exposed to. Kane wanted to be open to her, allow her to get any answer she sought. No more secrets between them.

  “Why, if not because of Rosalee, would I be against your club rules? You said yourself, I only need to drink your blood. You already drank from me.”

  “You’re the detective who’s trying to pin some very public murders on us.” Kane ran a knuckle down her smooth cheek. “Some of my brothers detest you for that. Not to mention you’re a civil servant in a pretty high-profile job. I would never get the unanimous vote required by the Sons to allow it. One nay vote and it becomes end of discussion. And once it’s voted upon, it can never be brought up for a vote again.”

  “Oh.”

  He framed her face with his palms again. “Thank you, Cara.”

  And he meant it. She had touched his cold heart by her very desire to be with him, even if she hadn’t actually come right out and admitted it. It seemed possible she might be willing to give up everything she knew as normal in order to drink blood and commune with him. Her desire to do so made his heart open up even more.

  “For what?”

  “For even considering to become a vampire to be with me.”

  And with that he drew her against him, touching his lips to hers, reveling in how well her body fit against his. Cara smoothed her hands up his chest and about his nape, anchoring him to her. He could feel the desperation in her kiss, smell the rise of her desire. Gently pulling on her bottom lip with his teeth, he heard her gasp but a second before he slipped his tongue past her lips. His groin instantly hardened as she responded in kind.

  Lord, he wanted this brave woman.

  Sex with Cara hadn’t been just about fucking. For the first time in years it had been so much more, not just a brief joining of bodies but a connection of two souls. It felt like freediving without scuba gear, having the faith to take the dive without the benefit of any security and feeling more free because of it.

  After Rosalee, he thought it impossible to love again. She had shredded his trust in the opposite sex. Kane had never wanted to go down that road again, to count on another for his happiness. But somehow this little slip of a detective, had managed to slip through the cracks in his armor and change his perspective.

  He wanted more.

  And damned if he didn’t wish to be able to take her as a mate. Warmth spread over him, wrapping around him like an angel’s pair of wings. It was almost as if Ion reached down from the heavens, wrapped them in his embrace and gave them his blessing. He broke the kiss, his breathing labored, as he rested his forehead against hers.

  “I need to be inside you.”

 
“It’s a long ride—”

  He shook his head. “I can’t wait, Cara. I want you now.”

  Cara cleared her throat and whispered, her voice husky with desire, “What do you suggest then?”

  Kane glanced back at his bike.

  “Oh, hell no,” she laughed. “That little fender seat you added was hard enough to take the whole ride here. No way in hell are we going to try and balance on that thing.”

  “Going anywhere in my present condition will no doubt give any desk clerk nightmares.”

  Cara reached up, ran her fingers over his more prominent brow, down his cheeks, and to his lips, where she felt the sharp points of his fangs.

  “I can see where that might be a problem,” she chuckled. “But I’m not about to go all commando out here, digging sticks and pine needles into the cheeks of my ass. That might just ruin the mood for me.”

  “Speaking of damping the mood.”

  “That’s the point, fang boy. Calm down, don’t let your emotions rule your head. Then, maybe we can take this up in a room down the road where we can both enjoy the ride.”

  She took a few steps back, putting herself just out of his reach.

  “You need to get the hell away from me, Detective, before I rip those khaki pants from you and take you against a tree. I have no problem fucking you right here.”

  “Those are the exact kind of thoughts that caused your issue in the first place.” She waggled a finger at him before turning her back and heading for the break in the woods. Her sexy, swaying ass did little to help the situation.

  Just as she reached the picnic area, Cara called back, “There’s a motel right around the corner. I’ll meet you there. You best hurry before I’m forced to take matters into my own hands. But don’t worry, if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you watch.”

  His growl followed her as she slipped from his view. Damn, her confession of starting without him had his balls tightening. Cara certainly wasn’t helping him get rid of his raging hard-on or his damn fangs.

  Chapter 22

  Alec had the perfect plan. Kane wouldn’t be able to hide his little bitch away forever. She’d make a mistake sooner or later … and that’s when he’d nab her. It was time to go for Kane’s jugular.

  Flush out his weakness.

  This started out as Rosalee’s desire to get revenge. But now Alec took it personally. The last thing he needed was Rosalee running her mouth all over Italy at how a lowly vampire got the best of him, a primordial. His position in Italy wouldn’t be worth squat.

  He glanced at himself in the mirror and adjusted the collar to his pristine white shirt, which accentuated the paleness, the dead chill his flesh had begun to take on. He needed to feed. Five days was far too long for him go without. Truth of it, he could go much longer but what was the point of abstaining?

  Tonight, he’d drain another. Drink his fill. He’d make sure that little bitch had no choice but to arrest Kane, put him behind bars. They’d never hold him, not without causing himself a lot of attention by easily bending the bars or pulling them from brackets. Kane would have no choice but to comply with the law or risk exposing his brothers.

  Step one: get Kane behind bars.

  Step two: drain his little bitch.

  By the time Alec was finished, Rosalee would be bragging about him all over Italy. She’d be proud to hang on his arm, to take him as a mate. He’d certainly get Mircea’s attention. They’d create the most powerful family in all of the world. No one would dare defy them.

  Kane had become a liability by shunning Rosalee, and Alec was about to teach him some manners. After all, the primordials couldn’t have lowly vampires making them look bad without repercussions. Alec might allow Kane to walk away with his life, but his little bitch wouldn’t be so lucky.

  Alec’s cell chirped. He picked it up from the tall dresser next to the mirror where he stood. Sliding the lock screen on his phone, he tapped the message icon that told him he had one unread message.

  What’s the status?

  Lord, that woman was impatient. Damn good thing more than five thousand miles separated them, or he’d wrap his fingers around her pretty little throat. Two days had passed since her last phone call. What the hell did she expect? Impatient bitch.

  Curbing his anger, he figured it best to placate her. The last thing he need was her running to Step-Daddy. Besides, Mircea might not be happy to hear they schemed against Kane Tepes. After all, her defiance of Kane the last time had caused Rosalee her present predicament. He didn’t want her stepfather aiming his exasperation in his direction.

  Kane will be set up on the morrow to take his fall.

  And as soon as he finished up here, he’d put his plan into motion. His target ended his shift promptly at eleven. He’d follow him, and when the opportunity afforded him no witnesses, he’d drain him, stage the scene, then sit back and watch the show.

  His phone chirped again. Alec gritted his teeth.

  Don’t fuck this up, mocked him from the screen.

  Oh for fuck’s sake, he thought, give him patience.

  * * *

  Cara’s heart beat so heavily in her chest, sending blood pounding through her ears, she thought maybe, she ought to worry about going into cardiac arrest. Staring at the back of the heavy steel door, Cara waited for Kane to enter. Time seemed at a standstill. What was taking him so long anyway? If he didn’t hurry it along, she might just follow through with her threat to get started without him. The ache between her legs was damn near unbearable.

  She had walked from the clearing in the woods and headed for the hotel just down the road. It had taken her all of fifteen minutes to arrive, another ten to secure a room, and five to strip naked and crawl beneath the white, cotton sheets. She had left a key card for him with the concierge. By her estimation he should have been following her through the door.

  He hadn’t changed his mind, had he? Please, please don’t let the answer to that question be yes. Her libido had hit a high note and nothing short of Kane crawling between her thighs and burying himself to the hilt would assuage that ache he had started moments ago. The man was like a walking, talking sex toy. One she couldn’t wait to unwrap and play with. Cara licked her lips, and ran her hands down the white sheet, pebbling her nipples that begged to be touched. Instead, she fisted the sheet at her sides and groaned her frustration. Hell, he knew exactly what he was doing, the rogue.

  A half hour passed and the infuriating vampire had yet to make an appearance. If he wanted her hot enough to beg, then he had accomplished that in spades. Cara wasn’t above pleading for what she wanted … scratch that … needed. And damn if she didn’t need him right this second. Where the hell was that vampire, anyway? She had left him hard and wanting back in the woods. That part she wasn’t mistaken about. His erection lay proof, trapped between them as he leaned down and kissed her. And oh what a kiss it had been. One hot enough to melt hell.

  Maybe he had decided to feed first. After all, Kane had made it clear that drinking from her again was out of the question. Quenching his thirst might help him keep those fangs to himself. Damn the donor society for taking away all her fun. Cara had a strong feeling that if Kane ever decided to latch onto her neck, she’d never allow him to use the society again, not if it felt anything like what she had experienced two nights back. From zero to orgasm in two-point-one seconds.

  A shiver passed through her.

  Cara shifted beneath the sheets. The ache between her thighs had become damn near intolerable. If fang boy stayed away much longer, she’d wrap the sheet around her and go find him, to hell with who saw. She had needs, damn it.

  Cara groaned. She had it bad. Somewhere along the way she stopped caring what Kane was or what he became when they got all hot and heavy. Truth of it, his vamp boy look was kind of a turn-on, especially knowing she could be the reason for the change in him. Come to think about it, his morphing into vampire certainly had its benefits. She’d always know if he were angry, hungry or horny. A heavy
sigh escaped her. Cara just wished he’d hurry it along because she was more than anxious to get to the hot and heavy part.

  As if on cue, the key card sounded on the door handle and she found herself pulling the sheet to her chin. Where the hell had her bravado just gone off to? Now was not the time to second-guess jumping into the sack completely nude, regardless whether he favored his women a little less forward. No time to worry about who he preferred to be the aggressor, she thought as the door swung inwards. He could beat his chest caveman style for all she cared. At least she wasn’t going to have to go it alone. Cara never had been a fan of one-sided orgasms. No, she wanted a repeat performance of the kind Kane had given her two nights back.

  The door closed and the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on leaned against it. His thick black hair lay in wild disarray, one that begged her to run her fingers through. His brow remained pronounced, accentuating his high cheek bones and hollow cheeks. His eyes shined like twin obsidians. Cara knew without a doubt his full upper lip hid two razor sharp fangs … two fangs she wouldn’t mind sinking into her flesh again, even if it was against his nature to break his stupid rules. Shouldn’t that be her decision if she wanted to share her blood or not?

  Maybe when they got back to Pleasant she’d have a talk with Suzi about joining the Please-Suck-my-Blood club. Although, the only one to be doing any sucking from her veins would be the magnificent vamp before her.

  “You look as though you’re ready devour something.” Kane grinned wickedly. “Should I be scared?”

  Cara ran her forefinger across her lower lip, then stuck the digit into her mouth and suckled it before slowly withdrawing it, earning her a groan from Kane as his smile left his face.

  “You should be very scared, biker.”

  “Jesus!” he blasphemed.

  His deep voice smoothed over her like an aphrodisiac, causing the ache to grow between her thighs. She swore if he just stood there, whispering the naughty things he wanted to do to her, he wouldn’t even have to lay a single finger on her and she’d likely orgasm. Dear Lord, the man oozed sex.