Selene stiffened and muttered, “Oh, crap.” I buried my face in her hair to hide my smile and held in my chuckle. She was so fucking adorable.
“You have to come with us, Selene,” her mother demanded shakily.
Selene’s father beckoned her with a gesture and a demand. “Come with us, Selene. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“He-he’s a—”
“I know what he is.” My girl straightened her posture, and her head tilted as she lifted her stubborn chin. “I’m not going anywhere.” Seeing her stand up to her parents and exhibit such strength was sexy as fuck. She would definitely be getting extra orgasms later.
“Selene!” her father hissed. “You can’t believe anything he says. He’s just trying to lure you in so he can kill you.”
I scoffed and shot him a withering glance as I responded in a voice that was pure steel. “I would never hurt my Selene.”
“He must be a thief,” her mother added, though her argumentative stance had faded, making room for fear and hesitation. “How else would he have your great-great-grandmother’s heirloom? Her husband had that made for her and picked an amethyst that was the same shade of purple as her eyes.”
I was about to explain when Selene spoke first. “Look around you, Mother,” she said with a sweeping gesture. “Do you really think Athan has any reason to steal? Besides, you said it was stolen generations ago. It’s bound to have changed hands since then.”
Her mother shook her head, and I rolled my eyes. I was already bored with these two and wanted them out of my house. “I found the ring in a little shop a century ago. Something about it intrigued me. Now, I know it was because it belongs on the finger of my consort, with eyes that match it perfectly. Just like the original owner.”
I kissed the top of Selene’s head, and she melted back into me.
Her parents sputtered for a minute; then something must have occurred to Selene because she cocked her head to the side. “How do you know what a consort is, Mom? And that Athan is a vampire?”
Her mother’s lips twisted as an expression of disgust harshened her features. “Your aunt was supposedly a ‘consort,’” she said, using air quotations as she spit out the word. “Her mate”—she glared at me with hatred in her eyes—“killed her. They’re monsters. Murderers. And if you choose to stay here, I have no doubt you’ll meet the same fate.”
This was an interesting development. “Are you sure it was her mate who killed her?” I asked softly.
Selene’s head fell back, and she twisted her neck to look up at me. “Didn’t you say something about nightwalkers hunting consorts?”
I nodded and brushed her hair behind her shoulder so I could run a finger over the mark on her neck. As though to make sure it was still there. But it was also a reminder that Selene was still in danger as long as she was unturned.
“See?” her mother shrieked. “They hunt down their supposed mates and drink all their blood until they’re dead.”
Selene looked at her parents once more. “Nightwalkers.”
“Exactly,” her father piped up. “Besides, who would want to live a life condemned to darkness?”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Selene interjected.
“I’m so glad you understand now,” her mother sighed. “Let’s go.”
I was about to threaten them when Selene patted my arm and minutely shook her head. She was silently asking me to let her handle this. I would never deny my consort anything in my power, except when it came to her safety. I could have pushed the protection angle in the current situation, but I knew she would be much more tactful and patient with her parents than I would. If she wanted to continue to have a relationship with them—such as it was, considering she’d barely seen them since they’d sent her to boarding school in Switzerland—it was far more likely to happen if I wasn’t threatening their lives and throwing them out of our home.
“No,” she said gently. “The mistake is yours, Mom. I’m gathering that you aren’t aware of the different breeds of vampires?”
Her father snorted with derision. “They all drink blood, don’t they?”
“You drink scotch, which I find disgusting, yet I don’t judge you for it,” Selene snapped. Once again, I hid my amusement with my face in her silky tresses.
Her well-played rebuttal had him pausing long enough for her to forge ahead before he could try to argue her point. “Athan isn’t like the vampires in books. Or the one that killed Aunt Lola. I do not doubt that a nightwalker hunted her. But Athan is different. His kind are called daywalkers. He was born, not bitten.” She went on to explain the differences between the types of vampires, and it impressed me that she’d retained everything I’d told her in the last twelve or so hours. And it had been a lot to take in.
When she finished, her parents remained stubbornly silent, and Selene sighed. “I know you two aren’t big on relationships”—she’d attempted to keep her tone neutral, but I picked up the thread of resentment in her voice—“but I’d like to try to maintain one with you. However, Athan is my mate. I’m choosing him, and if you can’t accept him, or what I’ll become once he’s claimed me...well, you found your way in, so you can find your way out.”
Fucking hell. I was harder than a damn baseball bat and on the verge of throwing Selene over my shoulder and marching off to find a private place to fuck her. Her delectable little ass wiggled against my hard-on, and I growled in her ear. “Watch it, love.”
Her breathing picked up a fraction, and I almost forgot her parents were there until her dad grumbled, “I can see that you aren’t going to be reasonable about this. But we love you, and we’ll do our best to accept you.”
“And Athan,” Selene demanded.
Her mother sniffed and glared at me. “As long as you’re still alive...or whatever you’ll be.” Then she spun around and marched out of the room. Her father’s parting glance was a little less frosty, but certainly not the loving response one should receive from their father.
“I’m sorry, love,” I told her quietly once we were alone. She turned in my arms and stared up at me with sad eyes.
“I’m used to it,” she muttered with a delicate shrug.
“Well, now you have plenty of nosy family who will inevitably drive you crazy.”
She wound her arms around my neck and went up on her tiptoes to brush a sweet kiss across my lips. “Sounds perfect.”
I finally had my consort all to myself again, and I swept her up into my arms and took her straight back to our bed. After wearing her out with the orgasms she’d earned as a reward, we both fell asleep.
We woke just as the sun was sinking below the horizon, and I rolled on top of my mate, hungry for a “morning” snack.
“Selene!”
The sudden and unexpected voice startled us, and I scrambled out of bed to face the intruder.
Thana was walking toward us from another part of the room, obviously having teleported to our home. “Kieran is going to be so mad at me for slipping out on him since he wanted me to wait until he’d talked with Athan, but I just had to see that you were okay.” She stopped and gasped when she realized I was standing naked by the bed and clapped her hands over her eyes. “Oh, crap! I’m sorry. I thought—”
Kieran popped into the room as the last words fell from her mouth and scowled at his woman. “Baby, you are hell-bent on a spanking today, aren’t you?”
I turned to toss a quilt over Selene even though the sheet fully covered her. If she hadn’t been, I would have blinded Kieran already. And I wasn’t thrilled with the thought of anyone, not even a woman, seeing what was for my eyes only.
Then I glared at him before turning my irritated eyes to Thana. “Leave,” I demanded through a clenched jaw.
“Watch your tone with my wife, brother,” Kieran snarled from beside me.
Knowing I would have the same reaction if he spoke to Selene in such a manner, I couldn’t fault him for his warning. “Sorry,”
I mumbled. I sighed and softened my voice before making a request. “Would you two please wait downstairs while we get some clothes on?”
“Sure thing!” Thana squeaked, still covering her eyes. She turned and walked straight into the nearest wall, making Selene giggle, and Kieran rolled his eyes affectionately. He stalked over to her and pulled her into his arms before they disappeared from the room.
Shortly after that, we met them in the library, and Selene and Thana ran to hug each other. I couldn’t help smiling at the joy it brought to my consort’s face.
After a few minutes of chattering, they began to whisper.
Kieran and I stood a few feet away from them, and I filled him in on what had happened with Selene’s parents.
“Athan.” Selene’s sweet voice drew my attention, and I gazed down at her lovingly.
“Yes, my love?”
“I want to talk to Thana.”
I smiled and nodded, then started to turn back to my brother until she cleared her throat and pinched my forearm. “Alone,” she insisted. She clearly saw my intent to argue because she added, “About girl stuff and um...the…um, claiming.”
A light bulb went on then. Of course, Selene would want to talk to another woman who’d been through the ceremony. “Stay close, love,” I requested before kissing her temple.
She smiled and gestured to the door to the kitchen. “We’re just going to go wander in the gardens.” The kitchen had an exit that led to the back of our property where I’d built a botanical paradise years ago.
With one more chaste kiss on her lips, I let her walk past me, but not without a firm pat on her sweet ass. She threw me an admonishing look, and I just smiled wickedly, a wealth of promise in my expression.
Once the girls were gone, I led Kieran into the kitchen and poured us each a glass of blood. While our consort’s blood would always be the most delicious to us, we’d still need bagged blood so we didn’t drain each other. Not that it would kill either of us, but it would make us weak and vulnerable.
“Have you talked to Stephan lately?” Kieran asked.
I swallowed the liquid in my mouth before answering. “Not really, he’s been working a lot. He was at the party last night, but I took off with Selene.”
Kieran glared at me. “Yes, something that greatly distressed my wife, who’d missed her friend for a very long time. If I didn’t know what you were experiencing, you’d be groveling to her right now.”
I snorted. We were matched pretty evenly in size and had yet to end a tussle in anything other than a draw. Stephan was more toned and had several inches on us, and his strength wasn’t to be underestimated either.
“Thana says he’s been working so much because he’s struggling with how long it took us to find our consorts. It’s a good thing I have a female who sees that kind of shit because I missed it completely.”
Nodding, I drained the rest of my glass and rinsed it in the sink. “I can understand that. He’s young. It’ll probably be even harder now that I’ve found Selene. I wish there were a way we could help him find her.”
Kieran brought his empty cup to the sink, and I washed it out as well before putting both glasses in the dishwasher. “I know. But it’ll happen when the time is right. I think maybe we should try to take his mind off it a little more.”
“Silas is having an anniversary party next month. There are bound to be numerous single women there.” I chuckled as I thought of my friend. “Any excuse to do some matchmaking. I swear he grew a pussy when he mated.”
Kieran laughed, then shrugged. “Maybe, but at least it ups the odds that some of us will find our fated mate.”
“True.” I cocked my head and smiled in the way only a brother can when he’s about to fuck with his sibling. “I’ll call Stephan in the morning before he goes to bed and tell him we’re taking him to the party.” We walked toward the door to the garden, and I added, “Hog-tied if we have to.”
7
Selene
Thana hushed me when I started to talk after we stepped outside. “If we’re going to girl talk, we need to be farther away. Kieran and Athan have great hearing.”
She practically dragged me across the patio and into the garden. I looked around in awe at the flowers surrounding us. “Wow, this is so beautiful.”
“Yeah, Kieran and Athan definitely inherited a green thumb along with their vampirism.” Thana huffed, which I found hilarious.
I bent over at my waist, slapping my thigh as I giggled. “Remember that time in science class when we had to measure plant growth, but you almost failed because you kept killing your sunflower? Even though Mrs. Walters said they almost grow themselves?”
“Don’t remind me.” She planted her hands on her hips and glared at me. “She was so awful about it, acting as though I’d killed the stupid plant on purpose or something.”
I straightened and grinned at my best friend. She looked so grumpy about the memory from almost a decade ago. Moving closer, I gave her a big hug. “At least she didn’t get the chance to fail you.”
“Only because you rescued me by planting three different kinds of plants and bringing me the one that sprouted the quickest.” She laughed and shook her head. “I ate the crap out of that darn radish once the assignment was over even though I don’t like them. I just did it to spite her.”
“Oh, my gosh.” I giggled so hard that tears streamed down my cheeks. “I totally forgot about that. You waited until Mrs. Walters had lunch duty and brought the radish into school even though you bought lunch, just so you could eat it in front of her. Man, she really hated you after that.”
“So much,” Thana groaned, dropping down onto a stone bench and tilting her head back to stare up at the night sky. “My mom gave me this huge lecture about not being petty with authority figures, but then she went into the school and raised hell with the principal about how Mrs. Walters better not take the whole thing out on me.”
Sitting down beside her, I gripped her hand in mine. “Your parents really were the best.”
“I miss them so much,” she whispered, resting her head against my shoulder.
I hugged her close. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when they died. I hate that your aunt took you away and never brought you back.”
“I never blamed you,” she vowed, squeezing me back. “All’s well that ends well. Now that you and Athan are together, you’re going to be a part of my life forever. And after the crap my aunt pulled when Kieran and I met, we’ll probably never see her again.”
Shifting to face her, I asked, “What exactly happened with Aunt Judy? You were kind of vague about everything that went down with her last year, which I’m guessing had to do with the fact you were trying to avoid the whole vampire thing.”
“Girl, I’m so glad I can finally tell you the entire story.” She proceeded to blow my mind with a tale of her surprise arranged engagement that led to the death of a nightwalker and her being claimed by Kieran.
“Whoa, that’s wild.” My eyes were wide as I stared at her. “And here I thought the way I met Athan was unusual. My story pales in comparison to yours.”
“I don’t know.” Thana tapped her finger against her chin. “Athan finding a ring that was meant for you a whole century ago is kind of shocking, too.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to wrap my head around all of this.” I stared down at the amethyst that had belonged to one of my ancestors and sighed, “But I can’t deny that some part deep inside me knew that Athan was mine right off the bat.”
Thana bumped her shoulder against mine. “I’m not even shocked by how easily you’re accepting all of this. You used to love that show with the girl in high school and the vampire brothers that came out a year or so before you were shipped off to boarding school.”
I giggled over her vague description of the show I made her watch when we were tweens. “I guess it isn’t a surprise that I ended up with a vampire since I’ve always been kind of obsessed with them. Before I discovered The Vampire Di
aries, I was addicted to True Blood.”
“We were darn lucky your parents never caught us watching that one.” She fanned herself, most likely remembering one of the many sex scenes we’d been scandalized over back then. The show had been something we definitely shouldn’t have been watching at that age, but I’d been drawn to shows depicting the supernatural world after binge watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and there had only been so many to choose from.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure if they would’ve freaked out more because of the sex or the vampires.” I shook my head and heaved a deep sigh. “I can’t believe they’ve known about them all this time and never said a word.”
“I bet that’s a part of why they hated how much you were fascinated by vampires. What are the odds that your aunt was a potential consort who was killed by a nightwalker?”
I wiggled my fingers in the air, the moonlight bouncing off the amethyst. “Probably the same as Athan finding this a hundred years ago.”
“Good point,” she conceded with a smile.
“Soooo,” I drawled, wagging my brows. “I guess we should get to the reason I wanted to have this little chat.”
Thana bounced on the bench, rubbing her hands together. “You have questions about the claiming, right?”
“Yup.” I nodded, my cheeks heating as I thought about the few details Athan had already shared with me.
“Losing your virginity, no matter how good last night was, will pale in comparison to what happens when Athan claims you.” The pink in her cheeks matched mine, making me giggle. It came out sounding super nervous, probably because I couldn’t imagine a night more intense than the one I’d already spent with Athan. “The level of dominance during the claiming is through the roof.”
Considering how Athan had mastered my body last night, drawing reactions from me that I didn't think were possible, my jaw dropped. “How so?”
She traced her finger over the inside of her wrist and shivered, her lips curving up in a smile of pure feminine satisfaction. “If it’s anything like my claiming, there will be a little bondage, some biting, and lots of orgasms.”
With the Sunrise Page 4