by Tina Folsom
She concentrated and curled her middle finger, then pushed her index finger toward it, trying to create human pliers to grip the silver bullet. She yanked at it, her fingers pulling free of the wound. But there was nothing between her fingers, no silver bullet, just more blood and sinew.
Blake howled with pain.
“It slipped,” she cried out, sweat beading on her brow, her pulse hammering. Her hands were shaking now. How much time was left? What if she couldn’t do it? “Oh God!”
“Again, Lilo!” Blake ground out. “You’ve gotta scoop it out.”
“Scoop?” That was it! “Just a sec.” She jumped up and ran to the kitchen, pushing the door open and charging toward the counter. She ripped several drawers open, until she found what she was looking for and raced back into the living room, prize in hand.
Ryder stared at the item in her hand. “A spoon?”
Lilo eagerly nodded. “It will work. Hold him still.”
Ryder pressed a panting Blake back into the cushions, immobilizing his shoulder so Lilo could continue. Swallowing hard, her hand shaking, she dipped the spoon into the wound, guiding it to the spot where she’d felt the bullet. The spoon knocked against something.
“I heard it,” Ryder said. “You’ve got it. Easy now.”
She nodded to herself and guided the spoon until it was aligned with the bone, where the silver bullet had embedded itself. “I’m there. Hold him now. This is gonna hurt.”
Using the spoon’s handle for leverage, she applied weight to it and shoved the round portion of the spoon underneath the bullet. It dislodged, and with it all pressure eased and the spoon ripped from the wound, catapulting the bullet into the room. It landed on the coffee table, hitting the ornamental Chinese bowl that stood there.
She’d never heard a sweeter sound than the clanging of silver as it settled in the middle of the bowl.
Breathing hard, she looked back at Blake’s face. His eyes were closed. Her heart stopped. “Blake, no!”
“He’s alive,” Ryder assured her, wrapping the dish towel around his wound. “But we can’t let him sleep yet.”
Before Lilo knew what Ryder was planning, he was already slapping Blake’s face. “Wake up, Blake! You can’t sleep.” He slapped him again, this time harder.
Blake’s eyes opened, and his head jerked forward, fangs bared.
“That’s it, look at me, Blake! It’s me, Ryder.” He turned his head to look at her. “Lilo, in the pantry, all the way in the back, there’s a fridge. Get me two bottles of the blood that’s in there. Quickly.”
She didn’t question him, didn’t ask why there would be blood in bottles, but ran as fast as she could and found the refrigerator just like he’d said. She opened it. Rows and rows of pint bottles filled with red liquid stood there.
Her chin dropped. This was unreal. The bottles were labeled with short codes like AB-Neg or O-Pos. All the different blood types. She snatched two bottles, not caring about the labels, and raced back into the living room, where Ryder was still restraining Blake.
“Here.” She twisted the cap off one bottle and handed it to Ryder.
The young hybrid shook his head. “You’ll have to feed him. I need to restrain him. He’s close to losing control.”
Close to? Judging by the wild look in Blake’s eyes, she’d say he’d already lost it. But for whatever reason, she wasn’t afraid. Blake wouldn’t hurt her. Somehow she knew that.
Lilo slid on the couch next to him and brought the bottle to his lips. His nostrils flared and his head rocked forward. Some of the blood spilled, but she managed to tilt the bottle so the liquid dripped into Blake’s open mouth.
He swallowed, and with relief she saw that the blood seemed to calm him. So she brought her hand underneath his chin and continued feeding him, until he’d greedily emptied the bottle. She tossed it on the couch, then twisted the top of the second bottle open.
“There you go, my love,” she cooed, and pressed the second bottle to his lips.
Blake didn’t seem to register her. He appeared delirious, but he continued drinking, gulping down the red liquid quickly and thoroughly, until the second bottle too was empty.
She exchanged a look with Ryder. “And now?”
Ryder lifted his head in Blake’s direction and eased off him slowly. Blake didn’t move, instead, his head rested against the cushion and his eyes slowly drifted shut.
“He can only heal during his restorative sleep.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to let him sleep until he wakes up by himself.”
She trembled now. Her eyes fell on the blood that had soaked not only Blake’s clothes, but also Ryder’s and her own. Everywhere she looked, there was blood.
“Is he gonna make it?” Tears rose to her eyes, and she knew she couldn’t hold them back any longer. At least Blake wouldn’t have to see her like this.
“He’ll make it. Thanks to you.” Ryder looked at her, the admiration in his eyes evident. “I’m glad that you’re not afraid of us.”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, but she tried to smile through them. “How can I be afraid of any of you, when I see how you love and protect each other? Like a real family.”
Ryder smiled. “We are a family.” He cast a glance at Blake. “Blake is like an older brother to me and to all the hybrids.” He rose. “I’ll get him upstairs and put him to bed. You should get cleaned up, too.”
But before Ryder could lift Blake from the sofa, they heard the sound of the front door ripping open and then slamming shut again. A second later, identical twins appeared in the living room.
“We lost him. Sorry,” one of them said.
“How is he?” the other asked.
“He’ll make it. We got the bullet out. Well… actually, Lilo got the bullet out,” Ryder said.
The twins looked at her in surprise. “Wow. She’s totally like Mom, don’t you think, Damian?” one of them said.
His brother jabbed him with his elbow. “Just as courageous. I’m telling you, it’s not true what they say about blondes.” He grinned, nodding at her. “Our mother is blond, too. And very smart.”
“Hey, guys,” Ryder interrupted. “Can you give me a hand with Blake? We need to get him upstairs so he can rest.”
“Sure,” Damian said. “Benjamin can take his legs, I’ll take his head. You should follow protocol, notify HQ, and then get the boys out of here.”
Ryder nodded.
“Protocol?” Lilo echoed.
While Damian and Benjamin lifted the unconscious Blake and carried him out of the room, Ryder turned to her. “When an attack like this happens, there’s a strict protocol we have to follow: we followed the first step, saving the life of the injured vampire. Now we need to put everything else in motion. I need to remove the minors from his house. I’ll take them to my parents’ house. They’ll be safe there. Since it’s daytime now, headquarters will send two human guards to watch the house so Blake can recover. And we’ll execute a dragnet to capture the assailant.”
“It was Ronny,” she told him. “Hannah’s boyfriend. Blake saw him. He’s the one who—”
Ryder interrupted her. “I’m up-to-date on the case. I’ll let HQ know. They’ll hunt him down. He must have had a car or another mode of transportation nearby, or he wouldn’t have risked being out so close to sunrise. I’ll find out from Benjamin and Damian where they lost him.”
She nodded slowly. “And what should I do?”
He let out a breath. “You’ve done enough for one night. Why don’t you get changed, shower, rest?”
“But Blake, I need to look after him.”
“There’s nothing you can do right now. He’ll sleep a very deep sleep. It’ll be hours before he wakes. Take that time to rest. I’m sure once he’s awake, there won’t be time to rest until we’ve got that son of a bitch.”
She looked down at herself. Yes, she needed to shower and wash off the blood. Blake’s blood.
“Are you sure I can’t do anything?”
Ryder grinned. “You truly are like Nina.” He motioned to the ceiling, where she could now hear footsteps as the twins carried Blake to his bedroom. “You’re quite a woman. Blake is a lucky guy.”
She opened her mouth, but the automatic protest that she wasn’t his girlfriend didn’t roll over her lips. Instead she smiled. “Thank you.”
29
After Ryder and the twins had left with the younger boys, silence had descended upon the house. Scanguards headquarters had called shortly afterward and confirmed that two human guards were stationed outside the house, one in front, one in the back, ensuring nobody would be able to surprise them. Ryder had left her a direct number to call should she have any concerns.
She’d taken a shower and changed into comfortable clothes, a loose fitting T-shirt and sweat pants. She’d also eaten and then tidied up the kitchen, all to kill time. But time had a way of creeping along at a snail’s pace when one was waiting for something. In the end she’d started dozing off, and at some point she’d fallen asleep, her body and mind exhausted.
It was still light, when she opened her eyes again.
Lilo shot up from her reclined position on the couch. After cleaning off the blood as best she could, she’d tossed a blanket over the stains. Now she listened to the sounds that had woken her. Above her, a floorboard creaked. Her heart beating like a drum she rose and rushed to the hallway. Everything was quiet there. Nobody had come in.
She walked up the stairs. The last time she’d checked on Blake had been three hours ago, and he’d been deep asleep.
At the bedroom door, she paused, then turned the knob gently. If he was still asleep, she didn’t want to wake him prematurely. She pushed the door open and stepped into the room, then took two steps so she could peek at the bed. It was empty.
The sound of another floorboard creaking made her whirl around.
Blake stood in the doorway to the en-suite bathroom, only a short towel wrapped around his lower body, his hair and upper body damp. He’d never looked more virile in her eyes.
“You’re awake.”
Without thinking she walked to him, her eyes zooming in on his shoulder. Where only hours ago a gashing wound had marred his body, almost perfect skin had grown, though she could tell that it hadn’t completely healed yet.
She stretched her arm out and ran her hand over his injury. Beneath her touch, he shuddered. “Shouldn’t it have healed completely?” She raised her eyes to his face.
His azure-blue eyes pinned her, the smoldering look he gave her making her weak in the knees. When he’d first made love to her, he’d looked like that. And that memory made her insides erupt in flames and liquid pool at the juncture of her thighs.
“It takes longer with bottled blood. It’s not as potent.”
His voice was strong again. But his words made her curious.
“I thought the bottles contained human blood.”
“They did. But when it’s bottled it loses some of its potency. Blood coming directly from a human is preferable in a case of severe injury.” Blake shrugged. “But as you see, I’ve recovered. And all thanks to you.”
Lilo shook her head. “Why didn’t you say something? I could have given you—”
His finger over her lips stopped her. “That’s exactly why I didn’t. I want your blood, but not as an act of charity. And I didn’t want you to feel obligated to give me your blood.”
She grabbed his wrist. “But you saved my life. You took a bullet for me!”
He blew out a breath. “The bullet was silver, Lilo. It was meant for me, not for you.”
“You can’t know that. And when Ronny shot at you, you couldn’t know it was silver. Yet you threw yourself on me to shield me. In my book, that’s still saving my life.” She tipped her chin up in challenge. Did this man have to rile her up like this? Couldn’t he just accept the cold hard truth, the fact that he was a hero?
“Woman, do you always have to be so stubborn?”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m—”
“—brave.” He smiled at her. “My brave Lilo.” He sighed. “I could feel the bullet in my bone. I knew it was lodged in there. I had a one-in-a-million chance of survival. But you did it.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “With a spoon.”
He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
“You gave me strength when I needed it. You said what I was yearning to hear.” His eyes started to shimmer golden as he looked at her. “Or did I hallucinate when I heard you say you didn’t regret it?”
She ran her hand up his bicep and over his shoulder. “No, you didn’t. It’s the truth. I don’t regret that we had sex.”
“That we made love,” he corrected softly.
“That we made love,” she repeated, feeling heat rise into her cheeks. “I wanted you to know it, because I didn’t know if you’d make it, and I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn’t told you.”
“Ah, my beautiful, brave Lilo. And now? You saw me at my worst. An out-of-control beast. Few have ever seen me like that. It couldn’t have been a pretty sight. Yet you’re still here. You didn’t run away.”
“Why would I run away? With you I’m the safest I’ve ever been in my entire life. And now that I know what the world is really like, and what hides in the dark, I need to know there’s somebody who can keep me safe.” She smiled. “Besides, I still have to thank you for saving my life.”
He rolled his eyes in mock-frustration. “I thought we’d cleared this up. I didn’t save your life. You saved mine.”
“Fine,” she conceded, realizing that she wouldn’t win this argument with him. “Then maybe I should get a little thank you from you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”
“Promise me first that you’ll give me whatever I ask for.”
He tilted his head to the side, pondering her request. “Given that I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for your ingenuity, I can’t really refuse you anything. You can have whatever you want. My car? My house?”
She stepped out of his embrace and pointed to his midsection. “I’d like that towel, please.”
He looked down at himself. “This towel?”
She nodded, suppressing a grin. She’d managed to surprise him. “Yes, that towel. And I’d like it right now. You can’t possibly deny me such an inexpensive gift.”
“No, I can’t.” He reached for the side where the towel was tucked in and undid it, pulling it away from his body and handing it to her.
She took it and tossed it behind her with barely a glance. “Thank you.”
“Already tired of your gift, I see,” he commented, pointing to the discarded towel on the floor.
“I’ve never been very fond of wrappings,” she said, and went down on her knees. She reached for his already semi-hard cock and wrapped her hand around it, feeling it grow with every second. “I’ve always liked what was inside.” She looked up at him and reveled in his heated gaze.
“Lilo, I hope you know what you’re doing,” he warned.
“Don’t worry,” she murmured. “I believe I’m very good at this.”
She brought her face closer and guided his erection to her mouth, licking over the bulbous head with her tongue.
“Fuck, Lilo!”
“Shhh.” She blew against his heated flesh. “Let me do this.” She lifted her eyes to look at Blake, then wrapped her lips around his tip and slid down on him until she could go no farther.
~ ~ ~
If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he’d died from the gunshot wound and gone to heaven, because Lilo on her knees in front of him, his cock in her mouth, was more than he’d hoped for in his wildest dreams. Particularly not this quickly. After having confessed to being a vampire less than twenty-four hours earlier, he’d expected that she would need time to accept him for what he was—not immediately want to go down on him and worship him with her divine mouth.
/> But the intense pleasure she was unleashing on him with her soft lips and her wicked tongue was too real to be a figment of his imagination. No, he was truly awake, and Lilo was making love to him with her mouth. Her eyes were closed now and she sighed softly, her breath teasing his engorged flesh, sending a tingling sensation down his shaft and into his balls. They tightened in response.
“Lilo, baby,” he groaned and shoved his hands into her hair, not to force himself deeper into her, but to pull back a bit. “Easy, or you’re gonna make me come too quickly.”
She opened her eyes then and lifted her gaze while she continued taking him into her mouth, then sucking on him as she slowly withdrew.
He’d never seen anything more erotic than the scene that was unfolding in front of him. Her lips were plump and red, wrapping tightly around his hard-on. The warmth and wetness of her mouth felt as if he was diving into paradise. She was all feminine softness as she licked him with such devotion.
“So beautiful,” he murmured.
As if to thank him for the compliment, she brought one hand to his balls and cradled them.
A spear of white hot heat charged through him, nearly robbing him of any control he still had—which wasn’t much to start with—and forced a moan over his lips. If she continued like this, he’d spill in her mouth in thirty seconds flat. And he wasn’t going to let that happen.
But he couldn’t resist the urge to thrust his hips on her next descent, asking for more friction. Lilo wrapped her hand more tightly around his root while she caressed his balls with the other and licked her tongue along the underside of his cock, teasing the sensitive flesh.
“Fuck!”
He wrenched himself free of her and pulled her up to stand.
“Strip. Now! And get on the bed!”
“But I wasn’t done,” she said coquettishly.
“Oh, no, you were done,” he insisted. No way could he have taken another second of her sensual torture. “Now strip!” Because if he had to do it, he’d shred her clothes to rags.
Smiling, Lilo pulled her T-shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. She wore no bra, and automatically, he reached for her breasts, cupping the perfect globes, loving the weight in his palms. But she stepped back and walked toward the bed, turning her back to him, stopping a foot away from it. He watched her as she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her jogging pants and pushed them down her legs, letting them pool at her bare feet, before she stepped out of them completely.