by Carol Lynne
She pointed toward her pack. Loaded in the gun were tranquilizer darts. “I think he’ll spot it too quickly, but it’s in there.”
“York and I will be watching your back.” Vince took a deep breath. “I’ll be in my altered form. I…um…don’t want to scare you.”
“I’ve been around vampires for years. You won’t scare me.” Lauren kissed the exposed skin on Vince’s neck, nipping at it with her blunt teeth. “Who knows, it may even turn me on.”
“Oh, really?” Vince unbuttoned his shirt, allowing Lauren to pepper kisses over his chest.
“Definitely,” she moaned, licking a nipple.
A knock at the bedroom door caused Vince to grumble. “What’s with that guy?”
“He’s impatient, and he smells our combined arousals.” She flicked the hoop through Vince’s nipple with her tongue before pulling back. “Don’t take it personally.”
Vince looked down the length of his body to his apparent arousal. He wasn’t about to admit that the thought of York smelling his pre-cum turned him on. “How can I not take it personally when I’m left standing here like this?”
Lauren ran her hand over his hardness. “We’ll have plenty of time to explore after Armand’s taken care of.” She squeezed his cock through his pants. “And who knows, maybe you and York will bond while we’re gone and you’ll invite him to join us.”
Vince buttoned his shirt while Lauren gathered her pack. “Why do you need other men in our bed?”
“Because that’s who I am. Sex with York, Drone and Benson has nothing to do with my feelings for you. I guess you could say I crave it like most vampires crave blood.”
Before Vince could try to analyze the admission, she headed to the bedroom door.
“Ready?” she asked.
“No,” he answered. He pulled her back for one more kiss. “I love you.”
York stood just on the other side, scowling, when Lauren opened the door.
“What? You’ve never had anyone you wanted to say goodbye to?” She tried to push past his large frame, but York stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“No reason to say goodbye. You’ll be back within a few hours to play kissy-face.” He narrowed his eyes at Lauren.
Standing on tip-toe, Lauren kissed York on the lips. “You know what you mean to me.”
Despite the fact that she had already told him as much, Vince wasn’t happy with the declaration.
She immediately stepped into Vince’s protective embrace. “It’s a different kind of love, sweetheart.”
Vince stiffened in her arms at the endearment. “Sweetheart? That’s not a tough guy’s nickname.”
“Too bad,” she chuckled. Lauren kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s get out of here. The quicker we get this over, the quicker we can continue what he interrupted earlier.”
Vince took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Yuck,” York groaned. “You two aren’t going to start making out again, are you?”
Lauren swatted York across the chest. “No. Come on.” She gestured toward the door. When York turned around to leave, Lauren gave Vince a deep kiss. “Later,” she said.
Chapter Six
Seated between Vince and York, Lauren wished she could always feel as protected as she did at that moment. Although Vince continued to act as if York were the enemy, she’d seen the sideways glances he’d given York’s body. Vince was definitely interested, even if he refused to admit it.
“York had beads surgically implanted under the skin of his cock. They’re pronounced enough so you feel them drag against your insides each time he fucks in and out of you,” she whispered in Vince’s ear.
She reached down and rubbed the front of Vince’s jeans. Hard as a steel rod, Vince’s cock pulsed against her hand even through the thick denim.
“This isn’t the time.” Vince pressed his hand against Lauren’s, adding more pressure to his erection.
Lauren disagreed. “Pull over, York.”
Obviously York was well aware of what was going on beside him because he immediately pulled the pickup into a dark alley and turned off the engine. “Take my advice, brother, and give her what she wants.”
“Why should I?’ Vince asked.
“Because your woman is about to venture into the lion’s den. Do you really want to disappoint her before she does?” York asked, unzipping his jeans.
Vince hit the side window with the side of his fist. “Lauren,” he warned.
“Everyone needs someone. Even if it’s a way to stay connected to someone you love.” Lauren took Vince’s hand and kissed his palm before placing it on York’s cock. “Feel him, and know he has taken care of me for years.”
Vince shook his head but wrapped his hand around the beaded surface of York’s erection. “I don’t need this. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
Lauren unzipped her jeans and pushed them down the top of her boots. As predicted, York’s fingers found her pussy almost immediately as she went to work on Vince’s zipper. “I’ll feel much better going in if I know the two of you will take care of each other if something happens to me.”
Lauren gasped as York’s fingers fucked in and out of her.
Thrusting into Vince’s hand, York leaned over and gave Lauren a lapping kiss before moving to stare into Vince’s eyes. “Give in to your natural instincts.”
Lauren jerked Vince’s cock as the two men slowly explored each other’s mouths. Fuck. She’d known Vince and York would be damn hot together, but she’d totally underestimated her reaction to it. Their unbridled passion as they continued kissing set her off even more than the fingers inside her pussy. She came, panting both their names.
Vince broke the kiss just as his cock erupted, spewing cum over Lauren’s hand and on the sleeve of her jacket.
Perfect, Lauren thought when York cried out his release. She reached down and gathered cum from both men in her hand before licking it clean. She wanted Armand to smell both men on her, to prove to him that what he’d done to her hadn’t broken her.
“Are you happy now?” Vince asked before kissing her.
Pulling back, Lauren nodded, turned to York and kissed him before answering. “Very.”
Vince and York stared at each other for several moments before coming to some kind of unspoken agreement. They both nodded before righting their clothes.
The rest of the ride was executed in complete silence, each of them contemplating what had just happened.
York parked his four-wheel-drive truck while Lauren checked the syringe tucked under her sleeve.
“This is it,” he declared.
Lauren glanced up to see the truck surrounded by a heavily wooded outcropping. The plan was for her to appear to be alone, and if she knew Armand, he’d be watching for her. Picking up the tranquilizer gun and flashlight from her pack, she took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Vince opened the door and helped her out. “Kill the sonofabitch.”
“I plan to.” Her mind on the mission in front of her, Lauren brushed Vince’s hand with her fingers. “See you soon.”
As she walked toward the rocky outcrop, she concentrated on her surroundings. The gun in her hand would be easy for Armand to spot. She knew he’d try to come at her from the side or back like the predator he was.
Fine, that was the plan. He’d know she wouldn’t go up against him unarmed. Let him think she was stupid enough to carry her weapon in plain sight.
The farther into the park she walked, the quieter her surroundings. Realizing the beam from her flashlight would do more harm than good, she set it at the base of the hill. She scanned the rocky surface as she began to climb. Keeping her eyes open, she gripped the gun, ready to use it at a moment’s notice.
With each step, she remembered the events of her past. There were years of playing house with Armand. April Lauren Dubois had thought her daddy hung the moon. Little had she known Armand was training he
r to take over where her mother had left off.
The older she’d become, the more she’d begun to question his lessons. Armand would reprimand her, sometimes viciously, for asking if other girls played those games with their daddies.
A loose stone in her path caused Lauren to slide down a few feet, bringing her out of her past. She shook off the depressing memories as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
After the attack, she’d been sent to a foster home. There, for the first time, Lauren had observed adults interacting with children in a parental fashion. She’d been amazed and had spent hours watching and learning. What would her life have been like if her mother had lived? Would Armand have gone insane, or would he have become the All-American dad?
The unmistakable scream of a mountain lion came from her left a split second before she was knocked off her feet. She felt the thud to her skull as she landed against a pile of stones. The tranquilizer gun still in her grip, Lauren tried to clear her vision and aim at the still roaring cougar.
Lauren managed to fire. She barely missed Armand’s shifted shape. Before she could squeeze off her last dart, the animal pounced, pinning her to the rocky ground and knocking the gun from her hand.
She tried to think fast. Would she be better off shifting or trying to reason with him? “Dad?”
The cougar’s face came within an inch of hers and screamed again, nearly breaking her eardrums.
“Please, talk to me?” she asked. Lauren felt the still-intact syringe taped to her arm. She just needed to distract him enough to ease off her shoulders.
“You owe me that much, Daddy.” The words caused bile to rise in her throat as she said them.
The cougar opened its mouth and took Lauren’s thin neck between its teeth. She tried not to breathe. She was afraid the slightest movement would cause one of the sharp fangs to penetrate an artery.
Armand held her there for what seemed like hours. Lauren knew it was his way of establishing dominance. She also knew her time was running out. The longer he held her, the deeper his fangs bit into her tender skin.
“Please,” she rasped.
Armand bit even deeper. Lauren felt a sticky wetness running from the wound.
For the second time in her life, Lauren thought she was going to die. The syringe pressed against her skin. If only she could get to it.
As she prepared for the end, Armand was knocked sideways. Lauren felt his sharp teeth drag across her neck, inflicting even more damage.
A split second later, she heard the shot. Without giving herself a chance to pass out, Lauren rolled. Pushing up her sleeve, she grabbed the syringe and ripped it from its protective restraint.
Holding a hand to her neck, she tried to focus. The beast was trying to reach the tranquilizer dart buried in his side, snapping at it with his teeth.
It’s now or never. Stumbling over as fast as she could, she plunged the syringe into the cougar’s neck. Armand let out a cry and swiped at her with his deadly claws.
She felt the blow to her face as the impact threw her to the ground. Stunned, she lifted a hand to her cheek. After a quick feel of the torn flesh, she shifted, knowing she had nothing to lose.
If she happened to survive the deep cuts on her neck, Lauren knew she’d be disfigured. In cougar form, she dragged herself over to Armand. Two doses of the tranquilizer had done the job. Although awake and fighting mad, his body wouldn’t cooperate.
With barely enough strength to lift her head, Lauren wrapped Armand’s neck in her jaw. As she struggled to clamp down, her humanity rose to the surface.
She warred with herself for several seconds. Would she be any better if she took his life like this? If she didn’t, how many more would die at his hands? As her teeth punctured the flesh under his fur, Lauren pulled back.
Shifting back into human form, she looked at the only blood relative she had left. “Why?”
The cougar’s eyes met hers, and for a brief moment, Lauren swore she saw remorse.
She heard running feet coming up the side of the hill as the cougar under her shifted. Lauren looked down at her father, knowing she couldn’t kill him like this.
Armand’s eyes flashed with anger. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”
Lauren closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. “I was your child, not your mate.” She was becoming increasingly weak and found it difficult to keep her eyes open.
“Look at you. Even if you survive, no one will ever want you.” Armand choked out a laugh.
“Wrong answer,” Vince said. He knelt at Lauren’s side and scooped her up into his arms. “I’ll always want you,” he said to her.
Unable to hold up her head, Lauren moaned.
She heard York’s deep voice talking to Vince.
“Finish him,” Vince growled.
“You can’t,” she mumbled. “Only me. He’ll heal himself.”
“Shhh, rest. I’ll get you home.” Vince cradled her tighter to his chest.
Lauren heard a loud scream before silence reigned.
“What?” she asked. It wasn’t possible. She’d been taught the only one who could kill a shifter was another shifter.
“York?” she whispered.
“Later,” Vince replied with a kiss to her forehead.
They seemed to make it down the hill in record time with York close on their heels. She heard the two men talking as the truck started, but Lauren was unable to focus on the words. She felt herself drifting, floating into the darkness.
“Stay with me,” Vince begged.
Those were the last words she heard before the darkness enveloped her.
* * * *
“Lauren, wake up, honey,” Vince called to her through the fog.
Fighting to reach the only man she’d ever loved, Lauren struggled to open her eyes.
“Lauren, we can’t get the bleeding to stop. I need to know what you want me to do.” She heard Vince but couldn’t comprehend what he asked.
“Lauren?”
“Love me,” she said.
There was silence for a few seconds as she started to drift off again. She felt pressure at the base of her neck then heard York talking.
Chapter Seven
With his teeth buried in one side of Lauren’s neck, Vince stared into the eyes of the man draining her from the other side. In the short hours that he’d known York, Vince had come to trust the vampire. The changing of a human to vampire wasn’t an easy one. Not only did a precise amount of blood need to be removed, but he still wasn’t sure how pure his blood was. For that reason alone, he’d asked York to help him. It was the only way of securing his place in Lauren’s bed while being assured that she would survive the transition.
York released Lauren’s throat and motioned for Vince to do the same. He lifted an ornately carved knife from the bedside table and drew it across his wrist, slashing deep. “I’ll feed her first,” he told Vince.
Vince watched York closely, learning what he needed to know. His body tingled as Lauren’s blood coursed through him. The moment he’d sunk his teeth into her vein he’d truly felt like a vampire for the first time. Fane had told him to drink from another was to lose his humanity, and although Vince feared his sire had been right, he knew he’d never fully embraced the vampire he’d become.
“Your body is ready to fuck,” York said, staring at Vince’s groin.
Vince ran a hand over the erection in his jeans. “Yes.”
“It’s a natural side effect of feeding.” York nodded toward the knife. “Your turn.”
With York’s blood ensuring Lauren’s transition, Vince didn’t hesitate. The knife sliced through his skin painlessly.
“Quickly, her survival instincts are kicking in. She’ll need it.” York pulled his arm away and reached for Vince’s. “Here,” he said, settling Vince’s wrist over Lauren’s parted lips.
Although Lauren began sucking the blood from Vince’s wrist the rest of her body remained deathly still. He glanced up and met York
’s stare once again. “She’s strong.”
York nodded and sealed his wound with a few licks. “Very, but did you expect any less from her?”
“I didn’t know what to expect. This is my first time, remember?” There was something about the way York licked at the blood on his wrist that had Vince ready to lean over and do it for him. Fuck! He needed to keep his mind on Lauren.
“Of course, it’s the reason I’m here, remember?” York grinned.
“What will we tell her about Armand?” Vince asked, trying to change the subject. He didn’t blame York for what had happened with Armand. Hell, Vince had seen the damage York inflicted on the shifter. No way should Armand have survived, but according to the cops that had arrived after they’d fled the scene, there was no body found on the outcropping.
For the first time since he’d picked Lauren’s bleeding body up from the cold, hard ground, he truly felt as though he’d be with her again. Despite his failure as a cop, he needed to concentrate on the woman he’d spend centuries with. There would be time to track Armand, and the bastard had made it personal.
“A few more minutes should do it,” York said, removing his clothes.
“What’re you doing?” Vince stared at York’s unusual cock as it was revealed.
“Tell me you don’t feel it?” York lay on the bed and began to masturbate.
Vince didn’t need to ask further questions. Yes, he felt the sexual tension increase with each draw Lauren took of his blood. “Is it always like this?”
“Yes. It’s the best part. Vampires are sexual beings. Accept what you are; embrace it.”
Vince didn’t turn from the sight of York’s unusual cock.
“Does Lauren know you were born a vampire?” Vince asked, trying his best to ignore his own throbbing erection.
“What’re you talking about?”
Although York tried to play off Vince’s question, Vince knew a lot of vampire history thanks to his sire. “The beads in your cock were implanted shortly after your first change as a sign of your purity. Only those born into the species get that honor.”
“Who told you that?” York didn’t deny Vince’s accusation or slow the speed of his hand on his cock.