by Tina Folsom
Figured! When didn’t those two agree on something, particularly when it came to the punishment of fellow vampires? Sticklers for rules, both of them! Fuck, he was a vampire, not some idiot human. He had his own rules.
“In the meantime,” Samson went on, “I’m pulling you off your assignment and revoking your class A status.”
Zane clenched his jaw shut. Having Scanguards’ highest clearance revoked meant being ineligible for any dangerous or high-importance assignments. It meant being relegated to routine duties. Samson might as well have chopped his hands off.
“You can’t …” He was no fucking rent-a-cop with a beer belly and a bad haircut sitting in the lobby of a deserted building all night, guarding empty offices.
Samson held up his hand. “Before you say anything you might regret later, I’d like you to listen.”
Zane snorted. Regret wasn’t part of his vocabulary. Neither was remorse.
“I can’t risk having a loose cannon on my staff. Until we’ve figured out how to mitigate the risk you represent, you’ll work in low-risk and low-stress areas. You’ll have my final decision in two days.”
Zane nodded stiffly. “Fine,” he pressed out, barely parting his lips so he wouldn’t bare the fangs that had descended the moment the rage had started to grip him.
Low-risk! Low-stress!
What the fuck was Samson insinuating? That he was having a nervous breakdown? Those were for fucking sissies, not for men like him! He’d shove a nervous breakdown up their asses if they gave him any more shit about this.
Zane left Samson’s study and resisted the urge to slam the door. His long legs ate up the distance as he hurried along the dark, wood-paneled corridor that led to the foyer. He couldn’t wait to get out of the Victorian home that suddenly felt oppressive. He needed to smash something.
“Low-stress!” he cursed under his breath.
“Evening, Zane!” Delilah’s calm voice came from his left.
He whipped his head toward her and watched her walk down the broad mahogany staircase, her infant daughter cradled in her arms.
“Delilah.” He was unable to be any more civil than that. After all, her mate had just insulted him.
She smiled at him when a beeping sound from the kitchen put a frown on her face. “Oh, no, the cookies, I almost forgot.”
Before he realized what she wanted to do, she stretched out her arms and put the baby against his chest. “Here, hold her for a moment. I’ve gotta take the cookies out or they’ll burn.”
Instinctively, his arms came up to hold the baby before Delilah rushed toward the kitchen. “But, I …” His protest was too late. Shit!
He looked down at the little bundle in his arms, not knowing what to do next when the baby opened its eyes. They were as green as her mother’s and just as beautiful. The little girl looked straight at him. She was a hybrid, a half-human, half-vampire child, possessing the attributes of both species.
She could be out in daylight without burning, yet she would have the strength and speed of a vampire once she was fully grown. Even as a child, she was stronger and would grow faster than a purely human child. While she could eat human food, she could also sustain herself on blood. And once she had reached maturity, she would stop aging just like a full-blooded vampire.
The best of both worlds, she was a tiny wonder. Only vampire males were fertile, but they could only procreate with blood-bonded human females. Vampire females were infertile. However, this little girl had lucked out: her human genes assured she was fertile. She would make Samson a grandfather one day; and her children would be hybrids like her, no matter who the father was.
Fascinated, Zane stared at the miracle in his arms and stroked his knuckles over her rosy cheeks. He hadn’t felt such softness and sweetness since his little sister had been a baby. Ten years her senior, he’d often taken care of her, fed her, and lulled her to sleep.
“You sweet little girl,” he whispered and noticed how she opened her mouth to smile at him. Tiny little fangs peeked from her upper gums.
The baby’s little hand reached for him, and he obliged her and allowed her to capture his index finger with her fist. Her grip was strong, pulling his finger toward her face with ease. Before he could register what was happening, she drew his finger to her mouth and wrapped her lips around it. Sharp fangs descended into his flesh.
“Ouch!” He jerked his finger from her. Blood dripped from it. Zane looked back at the baby and saw her smack her lips together as if she wanted more. The little devil had bitten him!
He shook his head and looked up, his gaze colliding with Delilah’s. Her mouth gaping open, she stared at his bleeding finger and then at her daughter’s mouth.
“She bit you.” Not a question, simply a statement. “She’s never bitten anybody before. You do know what that means, don’t you?”
Ah, shit, he knew only too well.
Chapter Three
Portia Lewis shut her laptop and slid it into her shoulder bag together with her course book, waiting for her best friend, Lauren, to do the same.
“Are you going to Michael’s party tonight?”
Portia shook her head as she and Lauren fought their way through the throng of students exiting the lecture hall. “I still have to prepare for tomorrow’s criminal psychology test.”
Lauren made a dismissive hand movement. “Piece of cake. Besides—” She bent closer and lowered her voice. “—you can always use your powers.”
Portia jumped back and gave her a scolding look. “You know we’re not allowed to do that!”
It had been drilled into her as far back as she could remember. Both her father, a full-blooded vampire, and her mother, a human, had instilled in her that she had to hide what she was at all times: a hybrid, half vampire, half human. The only reason she could even talk to Lauren about this was because her friend was just like her.
When Portia and her dad had moved to San Francisco after her mother’s death in a car accident six months earlier, she had struck up a friendship with the mayor’s daughter after realizing that Lauren was a hybrid too. They were signed up for many of the same courses at the University of San Francisco, a private catholic school. Because the aura of hybrids was so different from humans, they had recognized each other instantly, both glad to have a best friend they had so much in common with.
When she’d told her father about her new friend, he’d seemed displeased, making Portia wonder whether he was somewhat envious that she had instantly found a friend while he still mourned the loss of his wife. She missed her mother terribly, but she knew she had to get on with her life. Luckily, Portia had always been good at making friends quickly. It was a survival mechanism she’d developed early on, because her family rarely stayed anywhere for longer than a year. Her father always moved them to a new town just when she started to feel at home. She understood it to a certain degree. As a vampire, he had to be careful not to attract attention. Humans around him would eventually find it odd that he never ventured outside the home during the day, never extended or accepted dinner invitations, and didn’t age. She had accepted it, but at the same time, she longed for a place to grow roots and stay.
“Eric will be there,” Lauren baited her and brought her back to the present. “You know he likes you.”
Portia felt her cheeks flame and wished that her vampire side prevented her from blushing, but unfortunately only full-blooded vampires didn’t blush. As so often before, she covered her insecurity about guys with an offhanded remark. “You know he’s not all that hot. I’ve been with more exciting guys before.”
What a big lie that was! She’d never had a boyfriend, but not even Lauren knew that. Despite the fact that they were friends, Portia still hadn’t been able to confide in her that the prospect of getting naked with a guy not only made her nervous, but terrified her.
“Not hot? You’re kidding me. Eric is pretty much the number one heartthrob on campus.”
“Shh, not so loud,” Portia cautioned. “
I don't need everybody hearing us talking about him.” She cast a nervous look over her shoulder, hoping none of Eric’s friends were close.
Lauren put her hand on her arm, making Portia halt in midstride. She turned to look at her friend, wondering why Lauren suddenly gave her this penetrating look. “What?”
Lauren’s eyes bored into her. “Oh, my God, why didn’t I see this earlier?”
“Hey, move along, or get out of my way,” an impatient voice ordered from behind.
Portia stepped aside to get out of the person’s way when Lauren dragged her into the closest doorway.
“What are you doing?” Portia protested.
“We’ve gotta talk,” Lauren insisted as she darted cautious looks down the corridor as if about to reveal a big secret. She opened the door to a small study room and, finding it empty, virtually pushed Portia inside, shutting the door behind her.
“Lauren, I’ve got another class in five minutes.” Portia glanced impatiently at her wristwatch and hugged her bag to her chest. “I’ve already told you that I can’t go to the party because of that criminal psychology test. Honestly, I’ve been to plenty of parties in my life, and they’re all the same. It really gets boring after a while. So don’t be a nag.”
Lauren blew out an impatient breath. “Forget the party. This is more important.”
More important than a party when all Lauren lived for at present was entertainment? Listening to this was definitely worth being late for her next class. “What changed your tune?”
“Tell me about your last boyfriend.” Lauren’s casual tone belied the intense look in her eyes, as if she were a tigress waiting to pounce on her prey.
Portia furrowed her forehead, wondering what her friend was suddenly so interested in. “There’s really nothing much to tell. Why do you want to know about him?”
“Just answer the question.”
“He was nice. We went out for a few months, we broke up, I moved. End of story.”
“Oh, yeah? How was the sex?”
Instinctively, Portia’s body tensed, and she pulled her bag closer to her chest. “It was fine.”
“Fine, huh? Not hot, not exciting, not sweaty, not earth moving?”
Unease crept up Portia's spine at Lauren’s insistent question. “What do you want, Lauren?”
“You’ve never had sex.”
Portia took an instinctive step back, crashing into the desk behind her. She quickly steadied herself, forcing her face into an indifferent mask she used when she wasn’t prepared to exposed her feelings.
“That’s ... that’s ludicrous. Of course, I’ve had sex.” Admitting that she hadn’t and that she was a total innocent, was just too humiliating.
“I can tell when you’re lying. Your eyes do this thing ...” Lauren made a circular motion with her hand. “Anyway, I know you well enough by now to have figured that out.”
Portia let out a sigh. Somebody had finally caught her in her deception. And there she’d thought she’d played this role well enough: she’d pretended to be worldly and sophisticated, and whenever the subject of guys and sex came up in conversation, she’d talked as if she knew everything about it. She’d gone so far as to read everything about it, and even to chime in when other girls talked about their preferred brand of condoms. What a huge lie all that had been. And she’d done it so that nobody would think her odd; so she’d fit in, when she knew she didn’t.
Lauren waited patiently and flicked a strand of her long chestnut hair over her shoulder, drawing Portia’s attention to her graceful neck and the pretty head that sat on top of it. Raising her eyes to meet Lauren’s, she collected all her courage. “I’m still a virgin.”
“Not good,” Lauren murmured, shaking her head.
“I’m just waiting for the right guy.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have that luxury.” Lauren’s voice became even more urgent.
Uncomfortable about the situation and disappointed about the fact that Lauren didn’t seem to understand her, Portia spun toward the door. “I’ve gotta get to my class.”
In vampire speed, a blur to the human eye, Lauren blocked the exit. “You’re skipping class today. There are more important things in life than school.”
“Don’t be so dramatic; just because boys and sex are important to you, doesn’t mean everybody thinks the same. You and I, we’re very different.” Portia squeezed her bag tighter as if it could protect her from the things she didn’t want to face.
“I agree, boys aren’t important. Sex is.”
Portia rolled her eyes. “For you maybe.” Imagining herself in bed with any of the guys she’d kissed held no particular appeal. Lauren’s standards, however, appeared to be somewhat lower.
“You’re turning twenty-one in what, five weeks from today?”
Confused about the change in subject, she answered automatically, “In six weeks. Why?”
Lauren pressed her lips together and hummed to herself as if contemplating a massive problem such as the eradication of world hunger. “Then we have six weeks for you to lose your virginity. Granted, that’s not a lot of time, but there are enough horny guys out there we can take if we don’t find anything better. I can count at least a dozen—”
“Hold it! What the hell are you going on about? I’m not just going out there to lose my virginity to some idiot. I’m going to have sex when it feels right. And besides, I’m not planning on dating until after college. I promised my father.”
Her parents had always drilled into her that it was important to find the right person. And knowing how happy they had been together, she had to agree. The love between them had been palpable. Portia wanted the same for herself. She didn’t want to throw her virginity away at some guy she didn’t care about. So far, she hadn’t met anybody who had even tempted her in the slightest to take this step.
“Weren’t you listening? You don’t have time to wait.” Lauren made it sound like the world was going to end. “You have to lose your virginity by your twenty-first birthday or you’ll be a virgin forever!”
“That’s ludicrous! Even at twenty-one I’m still young enough to attract guys. Besides, once I’m twenty-one, I won’t age anymore.”
“Exactly!” Lauren waved her hands in a dramatic gesture. “And that’s the point. At twenty-one your body will freeze into its final form. It’ll be set in stone. Your physical form won’t change after that. Which means, if you still have your hymen in place then, you’ll always have it.”
Portia’s heartbeat stuttered to a halt. Her hymen would remain intact? “But—” It couldn’t be.
“Every time you have sex after you turn twenty-one, you’ll be in pain, because each time the guy you’re having sex with will tear through your hymen. And every day it will grow back, because your body thinks you’re injured and will repair itself. Sex will always be painful for you. Do you see now?”
Portia swallowed hard. Her knees buckled, and she sought support from the desk behind her. “You can’t be serious ... this can’t be true.”
Why was this the first time she'd heard about this? Her mother had never mentioned anything about that, and her father had only always cautioned her about boys. She raised her eyes to her friend, her head full of questions.
Lauren shook her gorgeous locks. “I’m telling you the truth. Go, ask my father. He made sure that I lost my virginity with plenty of time to spare. Hell, he screened the guys himself and helped me pick one.”
Portia looked back at the few times she’d struck up friendships with boys. “One time, my dad found me kissing a guy in the backseat of a car. We moved to another town a week later, but …” Her voice faltered as she remembered the times she’d gotten close to boys, but it had never led to more than a few kisses and some touching. Before she could go any further with any of them, had she even wanted to, she’d found herself in a new town and a new school.
Lauren gasped. “Your father kept you away from boys? But he must know what he’s doing to you. He can’t
not know.”
Portia shook her head, not wanting to follow the implications of Lauren’s words. “No! My father loves me. He would never do anything to hurt me.”
She believed that. He was her rock. He’d always been there for her. Even more so after her mother’s death. She only had him.
“You said you promised him not to date until after college. Did you come up with that or did he demand that?”
“Demand?” She glared at her friend, yet at the same time she remembered how her father had explained that it would be better for her to wait. And she’d agreed with him, secretly relieved that she didn’t have to deal with this issue until later. “He didn’t demand it. We discussed it.”
Lauren tsked. “Do you always do everything your father wants you to do? Have you never rebelled?”
“I have no reason to rebel. Yes, my father is strict, but it’s because he wants the best for me. And I only have him. Without Mom ... I have nobody else. No other family. You can’t understand that. You’ve never been alone.”
Lauren put her hand on Portia’s arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. But you have to face the facts: you have to lose your virginity. You have to get rid of your hymen.”
“What if my father doesn’t know about this? He never hangs out with other vampires. We weren’t part of a coven or a clan. Maybe he doesn’t know because we never integrated in vampire society. We moved around too much for that.”
Lauren shook her head, her eyes full of pity. “He has to know. You don’t raise a hybrid daughter without knowing this.”
“I don’t believe it.” And she would prove Lauren wrong. “I’m going to talk to him tonight.”
Chapter Four
The sun had already set over the Pacific, when Portia got home and found her father sitting on the couch poring over a file he instantly closed when he saw her.
“Evening, sweetheart, how were your classes?” Her father gave her a cheerful smile.