She was fading faster, turning into nothing more than a shadow before his eyes. He kissed her with all the passion he had inside him. Her pliant lips became nothing but a wisp of smoke.
"Promise me," Her voice sounded a million miles away.
"Don't make me," Greg choked up.
"Promise."
Her voice barely a whisper now. The shadow Rachel had transformed was fading.
"I promise," He said, but there was nothing left to promise to.
Rachel was gone.
"You can sleep in here tonight," Cat said showing Carrie into a nice room off one of the three hallways in the mansion.
To think she'd been here just a few hours before getting her heart crushed and now she was just glad to be alive. Her heart was still racing from the near-death experience. Not only had her life been threatened by Maura who was now thankfully no more, but she had a feeling Molly wasn't going to just ignore her presence in town. Carrie had been around long enough to know that Molly was well on her way to becoming a significant player in vampire society and to top it all off she was a magic wielder.
Sure Carrie had some protection as a born vampire and a member of the ruling family but the look Molly shot her before Shane had swept her into a passionate kiss was more than enough warning. Carrie pulled out her phone and sent a message to her father. She didn't want him storming their mansion tonight in his impatience to have her home safe. She would leave first thing in the morning. She would go to the magistrate tomorrow and face her father's wrath. Something that was suddenly less scary in comparison. She had lost Shane but that was something she could live with. Losing her life was a whole other matter. Besides almost dying had given her a new appreciation for her father's protective streak. Having round the clock bodyguards didn't seem like that bad of a deal any longer.
Maybe she shouldn't have slipped away before her father's men had a chance to spirit her away. There was nothing left for her here but terrible memories of failure. Carrie was a failure in love and a failure in life. Carrie cuddled up on the too soft mattress of the guest bed and closed her eyes. She probably wouldn't get much sleep, but she could try at least. Carrie was just beginning to relax when there was a knock on the door. For a minute she considered just pretending that she was sleeping already, but in a household full of vampires it would be obvious that she wasn't.
She got up and opened the door, half expecting an irate Molly ready to finish the job but instead it was Greg. He looked exhausted, and bruises were sprouting around his left eye and cheek. He'd taken a beating on her behalf, and she hated seeing him still suffering.
"Greg? Come inside," She said and pulled him into the room closing the door.
"I just wanted to check on you. After the night you had. I didn't think you'd feel comfortable alone," He said, but there was something else in his tone besides worry.
He seemed sad, and she had a feeling it had something to do with the Shadowy figure she'd seen him disappear with earlier. Maybe it was Greg who needed to be with someone right now. She wasn't about to turn him away. He was just as much responsible for saving her life as any of the others. More so because if he hadn't followed her when she'd foolishly left her apartment, no one would have known she was in trouble in the first place.
"A girl could be better, but you need to rest and to feed. You are in too much pain," She said sitting next to him on the bed.
Without really thinking about it she tilted her head to the side and offered him her neck. As a born vampire female it was taboo of her to do so with anyone other than her mate. Yet at the moment she didn't care. He would heal much faster if he drank from her, propriety be damned. He had done more than enough to earn the privilege of her vein.
Greg eyed her for a moment as if unsure of what to do, but she knew exactly when his instinct took over. His eyes darkening before he descended upon her. No one had ever taken from her vein before. She'd anticipated it hurting a little. Instead, Carrie was surprised by the jolt of arousal that shot from his bite to her genitals. Each pull of his mouth translating into a pulsing between her thighs. Carrie couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips or the whimper of disappointment as he immediately pulled away at the sound.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have," Greg said.
He moved away from Carrie with a look of disgust on his face. Greg made a move for the door, but Carrie grabbed his arm.
"Don't be sorry. Please stay," Carrie whispered.
Her need overriding her common sense.
Their eyes locked, bodies tense with unspoken desire. Greg wanted her, it was evident in the molten slate of Greg’s gaze. Carrie’s heart beat rapidly in her chest. Faster even than when she'd been faced by certain death. She struggled to keep her breathing even. Doing her best not to seem as desperate as she felt.
"I can't. I'm in love with someone else. I mean she's gone now, but it's still too soon," Greg said.
Carrie let her hand fall from his arm. Of course, that was apparently her type, unavailable men.
"Oh, I didn't. I'm sorry," Carrie said.
Greg knelt in front of her making sure to maintain eye contact.
"Thank you for sharing your blood with me. I really just wanted to make sure you were okay," Greg said.
"It's fine. I'm fine, thank you. You can go," Carrie said, though part of her wanted to beg Greg to stay.
He brushed a soft kiss across her forehead, innocent and sweet before leaving her alone in the room. She fell back on the bed with a frustrated groan before tears she hadn't known she was holding began to stream down her face. Her body may have survived this night, but her heart surely hadn't. She clearly needed to evaluate her choice in men.
"You didn't have to do that. You didn't need to put yourself at risk like that," Shane said taking Molly's hand in his.
Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head.
"Yes, I did! I couldn't lose you, not to her," Molly sobbed.
Shane pulled her into his arms. Molly hated that it had come to this. That it had taken nearly losing everyone she'd come to care about before she'd realized there was no way she could live without Shane. For once her crazy powers had come in handy freeing her family, and they were her family, from Maura once and for all. Shane pulled back a little and kissed her.
"You could never lose me. Even if I had died back there, I would always be with you. I love you, and nothing will ever keep me from you again," Shane said.
He kissed Molly again. She melted into him, letting her emotions flow from her lips to his. The kiss was innocent enough at first, but it became more frenzied and passionate as he pressed her against the wall.
"We should probably go to your room," Molly gasped breaking out of her lust fueled stupor long enough to realize they could be interrupted at any moment by the other occupants of the mansion.
Not that it was likely. Molly was sure Cat and Gretchen were thoroughly occupied by their mates at the moment. That still left Gretchen's brother and that little slut Carrie. Just the thought of the woman who'd tried to steal Shane from her shifted Molly's mood.
"Good idea," Shane said not sensing the change.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall to his room. It was different than she remembered. It had been modernized at some point during their separation. Molly hated to think that Carrie had held any part in the redecoration of this place. Finally aware of Molly's lack of interest in his advances Shane pulled back and made her look at him.
"What's wrong love," He asked.
Molly took a deep breath.
"Did she help you with this," She asked.
He chuckled softly before kissing her.
"So by losing me to her, you meant Carrie, not Maura. I told you she is nothing more than a friend regardless of her feelings for me. The only woman in my heart is you. No, Carrie had nothing to do with the redecoration of my space. That was all Cat, she surprised me with it when I returned from rehab. Now can we get back to being all over each other now or do you really want to cont
inue down this unimportant line of thinking," He said.
Molly sighed and kissed him and thankfully was able to let it go. Not that Shane gave her much time to dwell on anything but the feel of his fingers between her legs and his mouth over hers. He remembered just how she liked to be touched. Rough thrusts of his fingers inside of her, but light, playful forays over her clit with his thumb until her body clenched around him. The first of many orgasms she knew he was still capable of ringing from her.
Molly and Shane were content for the moment to let their bodies do the talking. There was still much to discuss between them, but for now, it could wait. They had forever together to fix what still needed to be fixed. Their love story was far from complete. In truth, it had only just begun.
Epilogue
If Rachel could cry, she would. She no longer had access to the world of the living. The gray had called her back. She had hoped for more time, but her duty was done. Maura was no more. Alexander, Claude, and Shane had found true love at last. The men she had watched over for so many years no longer needed her protection. They weren't free of danger just yet. There were other things in store for them, but that was their concern. She could do no more for them. Not for the men and not for the women they loved.
Rachel thought about Molly. She'd tortured the poor girl a hundred times but hadn't honestly looked into her soul until the meeting with the Council. It had been more comfortable that way, seeing Molly as an adversary. A problem to be fixed instead of a lost girl with a higher purpose than just succumbing to the love of a man. Of them all, Molly's journey would prove to be even more treacherous. Her story was still to unfold. At least now she had some sense of her powers.
Rachel let everyone believe that it was Maura's powers within Molly. That hadn't been entirely true. Molly came from a long line of magic users. Her abilities buried after years of disuse and a lack of training. It was Molly who had brought herself back, her love for Shane had raised her from the dead. Maura had only put her head back on her body and opened the channel for Molly's magic to complete the rest.
Rachel could only hope that Molly continued to use her magic for good. That she returned to save her blessed sisters from their bondage and freed her people from the tyranny and persecution that had forced them into hiding. Alas, it was all beyond her influence at this point.
Rachel was free of her curse. She could finally move on. The light of the afterlife glowed in the near distance. With a heavy heart, Rachel moved towards it. Her time was up, she could finally rest. Despite her infatuation with Greg, she knew deep down he was meant for another. Rachel stepped into the light.
STELLA WILLIAMS
Stella Williams is a Blogger and Romance Author, who lives in Washington State. She has a degree in Anthropology from The University of California, Santa Cruz. Her first novel, Xander’s Claim: Maura’s Men Book One, a paranormal romance, was published through Amazon late 2013.
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Catch up with the rest of Maura’s Men
Xander’s Claim: A Maura’s Men Novella
https://amzn.to/2P79iZ1
Claude’s Conquest Maura’s Men Book 2
https://amzn.to/2PaZlKe
Shane's Redemption (Maura's Men Book 3) Page 16