by Marie Jermy
“Will the ‘schmuck’ be joining us?”
“No,” Scott said from the doorway. He entered and placed Leia’s case by the side of the bed. “Your clothes,” he said to Leia. Then to Anakin, “It wouldn’t be right to intrude on what will no doubt be a very happy occasion.” He gave Archie a pat on the head and again left the room. “I’ll wait outside.”
Leia unzipped her case and removed underwear, socks, jeans, a deep-V cashmere sweater and her high-heeled ankle boots. “Scott saved my life, so don’t call him a schmuck,” she said as she indicated to Anakin to turn his back while she got dressed. Archie didn’t need telling and immediately faced the door.
“I know. And I’ll try and remember. But only because he drives a wicked car.” Anakin then huffed out a drawn-out breath. “Are you gonna marry him?”
“If he asks me. Yes.”
“I don’t think there’s any ‘if’ about it.”
“You can turn round now.” Leia laughed at the peeved expression spread across her brother’s face as she slipped her socked feet into the boots. Archie, on the other hand, looked very pleased. “You like Scott, don’t you, boy?”
One woof followed by a few more.
Yes. What’s not to like. The man drives an Aston Martin.
“What is it about boys and their toys?” Leia laughed as out of habit she took hold of Archie’s harness and he guided her from the room, Anakin behind her carrying her case.
Outside, in the corridor, Scott was conversing in low tones with a uniformed man. Yes, with his thick, collar-length blue-black hair, striking sky-blue eyes and fit and toned body, Ross Anderson was equally drop-dead gorgeous but he didn’t make her heart race like Scott did. As she approached, Ross gave her a sinfully sexy smile. But again, it wasn’t as sinful or as sexy as Scott’s. His had a devilish edge that made her bones melt.
Scott’s strong arms went around her, and accompanied with Archie’s “knock it off” woofs and Ross and Anakin developing acute cases of bronchitis, Scott softly molded his mouth to hers in a sweet kiss that after a few beats turned hot and demanding. When he pulled back, his breathing was just as ragged as hers and his black eyes promised a lifetime filled with nights of devilish lovemaking. Mornings, afternoons and evenings, too. Starting now.
“Ready?” he asked. You. Me. Jacuzzi.
Bones a molten mess, toes curling inside her boots, pussy flushed and slick, Leia could only nod as she searched for the nearest exit.
“How about you?” Scott asked Anakin. “You want a ride?”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll go with Ross. If that’s all right?”
Ross nodded. “Sure. No probs.”
“Was it something I said?” Scott asked as Ross and Anakin disappeared so fast Leia swore she saw smoke rising from their heels.
She laughed. “You know exactly.” He released her to spread his hands with exaggerated innocence and then he took hold of her hand and entwined their fingers. Once outside, the sunshine bouncing off a row of parked vehicles made her blink and wince. “Don’t suppose you have any sunglasses I can borrow?”
“Regrets?”
She bit her bottom lip as she looked at Archie. “Some.”
Scott’s fingers tightened around hers. “I’ll make a generous donation. Maybe then you can keep him.”
“By all means make the donation, Scott, but money doesn’t always get what you want. Besides, flashing the cash isn’t you.”
“It’s the only thing I can think of to keep the two of you together. You without Archie and vice versa is…Well, it just isn’t right.”
Leia’s reply of agreement was lost at the sight of Scott’s Aston Martin. As with the way their bodies fitted together when they made love or with the way he held her hand in his, the car fitted Scott perfectly. She’d always classed silver as a rather drab color for a car, but with its sleek, clean lines and totally macho-007-turn-on-appeal, she was willing to overlook the small detail. Boys and their toys rocked.
“Passenger seat, honey, and try not to drool.”
Scott may have told Leia not to drool, but in reality it was him doing the drooling. The V of Leia’s mauve-colored cashmere sweater was cut so deep that from his position he could see the front clasp of her sheer, pale gold-colored bra. There was even a crystal droplet dangling from that clasp. He was surprised as hell that he hadn’t wrapped his car around a fuckin’ streetlight by now.
“I’m wearing matching panties.”
Scott groaned as Leia’s hand smoothed down and up his thigh, inching closer yet never touching his rock-hard cock. “You’re killing me.”
“I know.”
“Wench!” He braked sharply at a red traffic signal and still Leia laughed. “Before I take you home and ravish you in the Jacuzzi, I just want to drop by mine. Change my clothes. You can meet Henry if you want to.”
“Henry Pakefield? The vampire?”
“The vampire,” he repeated, grinning. “Archie? How about you? You want to meet him?”
Two woofs sounded from the backseat.
No.
Leia expressed concern. “I’m with Archie. He’s going nowhere near Henry. He drinks from animals.”
Scott slowed and pulled up outside the front of an Art Deco-styled building. He switched the ignition off and turned to Leia. “Yes, he does, but not of the domesticated kind. Archie’s quite safe. It’s you I’m more concerned about.”
“How so?”
“You’re a woman. Exactly Henry’s type. He’s got sex on the brain.”
“Like somebody else I know!” Leia laughed. She leaned toward him and brushed a kiss across his lips, capturing his groan at the mouth-watering view of gorgeous breasts and rosy puckered nipples sheathed in gold. “You have nothing to worry about. Scott, I love you, and only you. Is Sam Carrick here, too?”
Scott managed to tear his gaze from that view and shook his head. “Sam lives in Brisbane.”
“Sunny Brisbane? Bit risky for a vampire, isn’t it?” she said with a wink.
“Not for a ‘New Generation’ vampire it isn’t. Which means he can survive the sun for up to five hours. Don’t ask me how that’s possible, because I don’t know. All I know is, it has something to do with the genetic makeup of a new generation of vampires. Hence their name.”
“Is Henry ‘New Generation’?”
“No. He’s old school. And as with Henry, Sam’s also ‘not-of-the-domesticated-kind vegetarian,’ so Archie will be safe with him, too.”
Upon entering, Scott followed Leia as she quickly toured his apartment, before leading her into his bedroom. As with his living room, her eyes glued to the large window and the views of Central Park. “So, how does the mental image of my humble abode compare with the real thing?” he asked.
“Almost exact. Although you could have told me about the amazing views you have.”
“Close the curtains.”
Leia did as requested. Her eyes widened when Scott lifted the mattress of that huge wooden bed of his to reveal another sleeping area. Dressed in what she assumed was one of Scott’s gray tailored suits, a man lay in the fetal position asleep. Scott shook his shoulder.
“Henry, wake up!”
The man instantly stirred and sat up, hitting his head. “Aw, Scott, you woke me just as the party was getting started.” Fangs gleamed as he smoothed a hand over his mussed light brown hair. The same hand then shot out as if to shield his face from the sunlight showing through the chink in the curtains. A hiss worked up from his throat and his eyes burned red. “Hell, what are you trying to do? Fry me?”
“Henry, meet Leia Howard. Leia, Henry Pakefield. Five-hundred-year-old vampire, producer of fake ID’s and connoisseur of fine wines, blah, blah, blah.”
The change in Pakefield as he levitated to Leia was instantaneous. His eyes now a striking violet color, he was all smiling fangs and cordiality. He took hold of her hand and raised it to his lips. “A real pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Leia.”
“Likewise,” she
said, smiling.
“She’s already spoken for.”
Pakefield waved a dismissive hand towards Scott. The violet of his eyes deepened as he stared unblinkingly at Leia. “Forget about Scott. You and I will be good together. Come to Bucharest with me. Live with me. Share my bed.”
“Henry,” Scott growled.
Leia then laughed when Pakefield suddenly jerked his intense stare away from her and pinched the bridge of his aquiline nose. “Nice try, Henry.”
“I don’t believe it!” Pakefield shot Scott a pointed look. “She can’t be compelled.”
“And that’s a criticism, how?”
Pakefield levitated back to the bed and pulled the mattress down over him, muffling his reply of, “Makes her another you.”
“Oh dear, not a happy vamp,” Leia remarked.
“No. Apparently I can’t be compelled, either,” Scott said, sitting down on the corner of the bed to remove his clothes and boots. He rolled his jeans, shirt, boxers and socks into a ball and tossed them into one corner of the room, scoring a direct hit into the laundry hamper. Going over to a large chest of drawers, he donned clean boxers, another pair of faded jeans, and a navy blue sweatshirt and returned to the bed. Tapping on the wood as he put his socks on, he said, “Henry, I’m keeping your boots.”
“Fine by me. Just as long as I keep your suit. Now go away and leave me to get back to my party.”
Scott stared longingly at the sheets as Leia ambled over and stood between his parted legs. His hands settled on her hips while hers went to his shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to press her down into those sheets and make love to her until his cock wilted from exhaustion. Not that he thought he’d get that far—Pakefield, he was sure, would quickly complain about bed springs and heady moans ruining his own “party.” Besides, he’d had enough of performing in front of an audience. And anyway, a Jacuzzi beckoned.
Pulling on the boots, he rose to his feet, gave Leia a quick kiss, and, after grabbing a container of coffee from a kitchen cupboard, he was driving to Leia’s brownstone in Queens.
On the way, while Archie snoozed, Leia teased Scott’s thigh and his cock and asked him about the Federation.
“Tell me about the Federation. When was it founded?”
“Do you know, I’ve no idea. I do know that the North American Division was founded when Christopher Columbus discovered America. So what’s that? Fourteen-ninety-two? If I remember my dates in history.” He removed her hand from his fly as his foot slipped on the accelerator and the car took a corner at streetlight-wrapping speed. “Honey, I would prefer to arrive at yours in one piece.”
“Mmm, me, too. But, honestly, Scott, you and this car, a damned powerful and sexy combination. I can’t seem to contain myself.”
“Try.” He laughed, recognizing his own words. He flashed his shark-like grin. “I meant what I said earlier. I want you working alongside me at the Federation. In fact, you can start by standing in for me while I go to Geneva.”
Her delicate brows drew together. “Geneva?”
“It’s where the Elders are based. Leia, yes, I’m duty-bound not to reveal the existence of the Federation, but there’s no way I’m gonna stand by and say nothing about you. If I’ve found a cure for blindness then people need to know. And that’s final! No arguments,” he said tossing Leia’s words back at her.
She laughed. “No, no arguments. It’s the right thing to do. But won’t these Elders need to see me?”
“If they do, they’ll summon you.” Scott continued answering Leia’s questions about the Elders and the Federation. However, when he was halfway through his explanation that only vampire blood would heal his scars and not the healing laser pen, he noticed she had zoned out and was wringing her hands together. He knew exactly where, or rather who, her focus was on. “About Laura. I carried on my relationship with her even after she died. You see, nine times out of ten, if a person has unfinished business when they die, it enables them to come back. As ghosts. And I was Laura’s unfinished business.”
“That’s what Williamson meant! He, too, said he had unfinished business.”
“Yeah. Me. Popular guy, aren’t I?” His laugh was brittle.
“Is Laura still with you?”
“No. She passed to the other side when she finished her business. She told me it wasn’t right for me to…To stop living, was what she said. She wanted me to find love and happiness with another woman. And I did. I literally collided with her. You.”
Scott parked outside Leia’s brownstone. Turning the ignition off, he unbuckled their seat belts and drew Leia into his lap. Cradling her face in his hands, he tenderly kissed her. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me, Leia.”
One woof from the back seat had Scott and Leia laughing.
“Is that a yes?” Scott asked.
“Yes,” Leia confirmed.
Epilogue
Leia paced the concourse, checking the “Arrivals” board every second for the joyous information that told her fiancé was mere minutes from her.
Scott had been gone for one very long month. They’d missed their first Thanksgiving together. And if this plane was delayed any longer through adverse weather conditions across Europe, Leia realized as she checked the board again, they’d miss his birthday, too. That would definitely be a pity because she had a surprise present for him.
Sure, they’d phoned, texted, e-mailed, and spoken and seen each other using a webcam every day, but it wasn’t the same as being together. She’d missed his warm arms around her, his cold hands caressing every inch of her bare flesh. His firm, kissable lips on hers. His hard cock in her pussy. Her mouth. She’d even missed smoothing her fingers across his permanent frown.
“He should have called me. I’m faster than a plane.”
Leia checked the board again, then turned to Sam, who leaned casually against a pillar, twirling Scott’s car keys around his fingers.
From the first moment of meeting Sam Carrick, “New Generation” vampire and Scott’s best friend and mentor at the Federation, they had become good friends themselves because of their closeness to Scott. She saw a lot of Ray Ferris in him. Stood to reason—they were father and son. The only difference, of course, were the fangs.
Leia never thought a vampire to be afraid of anything apart from a stake, but Sam was exception to the rule. He was afraid to reveal to his family, including his brother-in-law, Ross, what he had become. It was for their own protection, he’d said. She’d understood that and that was the reason why she hadn’t breathed a word to Jessica. Though in the future, Sam would have to say something. Not even Botox would explain why he wasn’t ageing.
A wet nose pressing into her palm drew Leia’s attention downward. She smiled and scratched Archie’s ears. Five times she and Scott had returned Archie to the Ferris Guide Dog Trust and five times Archie had “escaped.” On the sixth attempt, Ray Ferris, before he left for London, threatened to report them for animal cruelty and abandonment if they brought him back again, though he had accepted Scott’s extremely generous donation.
She’d adapted to a life with sight remarkably smoothly and without major incidents. Well, apart from cooking. The first time she’d cooked for Scott she’d almost sliced her fingers off and reduced his penthouse to a cinder. She’d solved the problem of further accidents by closing her eyes, almost giving Scott a heart attack in the process, but then he’d shrugged, knowing it would take time.
The one part of her new life Leia had slipped effortlessly into, though, was her role as Scott’s second-in-command at the Federation. Everybody, be they ghost, vampire, or whatever, liked and respected her, and heeded to any advice and help she offered. Though she did have the sneaky suspicion that if they didn’t then they would not only have to answer to Scott but Sam as well.
Archie’s ears then pricked up and, with a joyous woof, he tore off down the concourse. One glance at the “Arrivals board” told Leia the Geneva flight had finally landed.
“That dog needs a leash,” Sam remarked, as with lightning speed Leia found herself standing beside Archie, watching the arrival of the first passengers through security.
More and more people filtered through. Then she saw him. With a swiftness that impressed Sam and even before Archie bounded forward, Leia launched herself into Scott’s outstretched arms, her lips and tongue assaulting his.
“Damn, I’ve missed you so much,” Scott said, coming up for air. “But if this is the reaction I get, I’ll go away more often.”
“Don’t you dare.” He gave her an odd look. And she knew why. She’d deliberately blanked her mind. She didn’t want him to learn of his birthday surprise just yet. She stood back so Archie could lick Scott’s face off and then watched as Scott back-slapped and hugged Sam.
“How’s Alice?” Scott asked Sam.
“Totally into me. She says hello.”
“Jessica wanted to come,” Leia told Scott, “but she’s just finalized a big case and went home. She was that tired. And Ross would have been here if it weren’t for an emergency at the precinct.”
“Which roughly translates, he’s still pissed with me,” Sam said.
“Give him time.”
Sam rolled his piercing blue eyes at her, those amber flecks glinting with humor. “Well, that’s something I’ve got plenty of. Him, no.” He stroked his chin in fiendish contemplation. “Unless I turn him.”
“You wouldn’t?” Leia admonished with equal humor shining.
“Credit me with some taste, will ya? I’d rather turn Archie,” he said, directing a thirsty-laden stare at Archie.
Archie woofed.
You might be dead, pal, but you’ve still got balls to bite.
His case in one hand, Scott took hold of Leia’s hand with the other, and with a more sedate pace, they started walking, conversing in low tones. “Leia never said you were in New York.”
“Shit, I had to, Scott,” Sam replied with mock gravity. “Don’t ever leave Leia in charge again. The Division’s a mess. She’s pissed off everybody, whether they’re breathing air or not, in all fifty states. Canada, too. Not that that’s a bad thing. She even taught that ghost Dee Wallace to kick ass. Not that that’s a bad thing, either.”