by Becca Van
“Hey, Callie.”
“Hi, Brent.”
“You running late?”
“Yes, I had a last minute visitor. Didn’t you see him leave?”
“No.” Brent frowned. “I haven’t seen anyone besides you and Greg.”
“Oh. Never mind. I have to do a quick run-through and turn the lights off.”
“Do you want some help?”
“No. It shouldn’t take me long. I won’t linger tonight.”
“Hot date?”
“I wish.” Callie laughed and then hurried up the stairs.
After everything was turned off, she waved to Brent, took a deep breath, and headed out. As she walked down the stairs, she glanced about and was relieved when she saw Dex and Vlad walking toward her.
She stopped at the bottom of the steps and waited until they reached her.
“Hi, Callie, how are you this fine evening?” Vlad asked.
“I’m well. How are you both?”
“Good,” Dex answered. “Are you heading home or are you eating out tonight?”
Callie nibbled on her lower lip as she tried to make up her mind. She didn’t really want to go home to an empty house, and she would love to share a meal with these two hot, sexy men again.
“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Vlad asked. “It’s the least we can do after you let us share your table last night.”
“I’d like that.”
They both smiled at her and moved to either side of her, and then they both offered her their arms. Callie hooked her arms around theirs and let them lead the way.
“Do you have any preferences on where you would like to eat?” Dex asked.
“No. I don’t mind.”
“We know a nice little Italian restaurant we think you’d enjoy. That is if you like Italian food.” Vlad looked down to meet her gaze.
“I love Italian food.”
“Good,” Dex said. “How was your day?”
“Strange.”
Both men stopped walking and looked into her eyes. Vlad was frowning, and Dex looked like he’d tensed up.
“How was it strange?” Vlad asked in a calm voice, but the intensity in his eyes belied his tranquil demeanor.
Callie told them about the men she’d spotted following her that morning and about Mr. Goldberg. The muscles in both men’s arms flexed as they tautened up even more.
“What did this Goldberg look like?” Dex asked.
Callie brought his image to the forefront of her mind and described him to them. With each word she spoke, Dex and Vlad looked tenser. Their mouths were pulled into tight lines and they were both frowning. Plus they looked rigid enough to pounce.
“I don’t like the sound of this Goldberg person,” Vlad said and urged her to start walking again.
“Neither do I,” Callie muttered and knew they had heard her when they looked at each other over the top of her head.
Callie pushed today’s unsettling events to the back of her mind as they strolled along the street arm-in-arm-in-arm. With every step they took, Callie became hornier. Their arms brushing against hers sent shivers and quakes through her body, causing her breasts to swell, her areolae to pucker, and her nipples to harden and throb. Her pussy pulsed, and each time it clenched, moisture dripped from her cunt.
She’d never felt this way before, and even though it was a little disconcerting it was also wonderful. She’d begun to think that there was something wrong with her because she’d never met a man, or men, who turned her on before. She was a virgin, never having been with a man before, but she had urges just like any other woman. She’d just never found a man she had wanted to become intimate with, but she had played with her toys and knew there was no way she had a hymen. SOL as she’d dubbed her self-operated lover, her vibrating dildo, did the trick when she needed it to. She hadn’t had to worry about pandering to any male egos or going through the motions of going out on a date with someone she had no connection with.
But the two men she was currently walking down the street with were different. They had manners, and she felt small and feminine as they walked at her sides. She wasn’t a beauty as far as she was concerned, and she wasn’t ugly either, but she didn’t think she was anything special. However, Dex and Vlad made her feel special and she was aware of her own femininity right now as she had never been before.
“Here we are.” Dex’s deep voice broke her from her introspection and opened the door for her before stepping aside.
Vlad guided her into the small, intimate restaurant and after consulting with the hostess he led her to the table. The seating was like that from an old diner with horseshoe-shaped benches and a table in the middle. She scooted in and was quietly pleased when both men moved up close to her.
“Do you any family close-by, Callie?” Dex asked.
“No,” she answered and hoped they didn’t hear the sadness in her voice like she had.
Dex reached up and lightly gripped her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet his. “What happened to your family, honey?”
“They were killed by some gang members in a drive-by shooting.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” Vlad stroked a finger down her cheek and she shuddered with desire.
“Did the police catch them?” Dex asked.
“Yeah, you know what hurts most of all?”
“What does, baby?” Vlad asked in his quite deep timbre, and goose bumps rose up over her skin.
“They shot up the wrong house,” Callie whispered quietly.
“Damn, honey. That must have been hard to deal with.”
“It was.”
“How old were you when your parents died, baby?” Vlad moved until his side was pressed against hers. She was having a hard time concentrating since his thigh was hard up against hers, but she was also glad because having that human-to-human contact made it easier to deal with the trauma of her parents’ deaths.
“Ten.”
“Did you have any other family to take you in?” Dex asked.
Callie nodded but had a sip of the white wine the waitress had brought over to moisten her dry throat and mouth. “My mother’s mother took care of me until I finished high school. She had a massive coronary the day after I got my diploma.”
“What did you do then?” Vlad asked.
“I already had a part-time job in a restaurant and had enrolled in college, so while I waited for college to start I asked my boss if I could go full-time. Any time I had off was spent sorting out all my grandmother’s stuff and packing things I wanted to keep, and when college started I ended the lease on the rental we lived in and moved into a college dorm.”
“How long since you finished college?” Dexter asked.
“A year.”
“So that makes you twenty…” Vlad paused, waiting for her answer.
“Three.”
“A babe in the woods,” Dexter muttered but Callie heard him.
She raised her eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head and smiled at her. When the waitress brought her the lasagna she had ordered, she picked up her fork and started eating. She watched Vlad and Dexter do the same with the meal they had ordered, but for the life of her she couldn’t work out what was on their plates or see the food on their forks as they went through the motions of eating and drinking. When she looked at their plates she could see there was food on them but the image seemed to be blurred. No matter how hard she tried to see it, it wouldn’t come into focus. She shrugged the anomaly away and concentrated on her own food. When she’d had enough she pushed the plate back and sipped at her wine, and when she glanced at their plates they were empty.
How could this be? How could she sit in front of them and watch their food disappear and yet not see them eat any of it? And yet being in between them with their legs against hers, their bodies brushing hers felt so right.
And the other question swirling around in her mind was, why?
Chapter Four
“How the hell does Pike know about her alread
y?” Vlad asked.
“We don’t know for sure it was him.”
“You think it wasn’t?” Vlad met Dex’s eyes over the top of Callie’s head.
“No.” Dex sighed.
“He could be using a human to watch us. If he’s put a protection spell or concealing spell around his minion, we wouldn’t be aware of his presence,” Vlad stated.
“Damn it. I wish we could find this asshole and his cohorts and be done with it.”
“Me, too.” Vlad sighed before both of them looked down at Callie.
“Is there any way we can reveal the bastard who is watching us?” Dex asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. Maybe I should pay Zoe the white witch a visit. If there is a way to expose our shadow, she would know.”
“Do it. After we’ve finished with our mate, go and see her.”
Vlad nodded his head in acknowledgement.
“She’s questioning herself and her attraction to us,” Vlad said, changing the subject.
“I’m aware of it,” Dexter replied.
“I want her to come home with us,” Vlad stated.
“As do I.”
“Would you like to come back to our place for a cup of coffee or tea?” Vlad asked and held his breath as he brushed her mind with his own. He watched her facial expressions as she tried to decide what to do. Her skin looked so soft and creamy, and her lips had a natural red tint to them that was so tempting he couldn’t resist having a small taste. He bent down and brushed his lips over hers but held in his smile when she gasped and shifted in her seat before lifting her eyes to his and meeting his gaze. Her arm lifted, and she rubbed the tip of her finger over her lower lip as she stared at him.
“Why did you do that?” Her voice came out husky and breathless, and when he inhaled he nearly groaned at the sweet, musky scent of her desire.
“You’re a very beautiful woman, Calista. I couldn’t resist.”
She lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly before glancing over at Dex and then back to him. “I’m not…”
Dex reached over and grasped her hand in his. Vlad and his friend were aware of the shiver running through her body that she tried to hide, but they were on the edge of her mind and felt everything that she did.
“Let’s get out of here.” Dex slid across the seat and helped Callie do the same.
Vlad moved up behind her and pressed his front to her back and felt her shiver again. Dex led her from the restaurant and out into the night while he paid the bill before joining them and they all started walking.
“Where are we going?”
“To our house for coffee,” Dex answered.
“You live together?”
“We do,” Vlad replied. “We do everything together.”
“Oh.” Callie tried to remove her hands from theirs, but neither of them would let her distance herself from the physical connection they had with her.
“We are not gay, sweet one.” Dex smiled down at her and when Callie met his eyes she shifted slightly as if trying to connect more of her body with his.
“Okay,” Callie said, and must have realized she was leaning into Dex and straightened up once more, before facing the front. “What are you then?”
“The answer to that question is far too complex to answer out here on the street.” Vlad squeezed her hand, leaned down, and kissed the top of her heat. “We will explain everything to you when we get home.”
“All right. Do you know how mysterious you sound? You are both so intriguing.”
“You are more so, honey.”
Callie laughed. The husky, tinkling sound filled Vlad’s heart with joy, and from the expression on Dex’s face, it did the same for him.
“I’m not intriguing. I’m normal and boring. What you see is what you get.”
“You are not boring, baby. You will never be normal or boring,” Vlad said.
Callie shrugged but didn’t respond. She trusted them without knowing why. Vlad just hoped that once they told her she was their mate, she wouldn’t laugh in their faces or look at them with horror.
Fifteen minutes later Dexter opened the high wrought-iron gate and swept his arm out for Callie to precede him. She walked up the cobbled pathway as she stared about her at the gardens and the bluestone brick house.
“Wow. This place is beautiful. Your garden is so lush with all those plants and flowers. It sort of reminds me of the English gardens I’ve seen on TV.”
Vlad hurried up the steps to the front door, and with a sweep of his hand the door opened. Callie paused on the threshold and looked up at him.
“Do you enter of your own free will?” he asked. He needed to know that she wanted to be with them in their house, to get to know them better like he wanted and needed to know her. He didn’t want her to feel as if she was being pressured. Although it would cut him to the quick if she refused.
“Of course I do. What sort of question is that? I’m here aren’t I?”
Vlad nodded but stayed silent and indicated for her to enter. She stepped over the threshold and then paused, drawing in a deep breath. He knew she felt the magic of his and Dex’s protection spells and waved his hand to lessen the effects on her. She would have felt like she was walking through a fog and quicksand at the same time. He mentally cursed himself for not remembering to lessen the effects on her before she stepped through. She took another deep breath, this one much easier than the last, and he placed a hand on her lower back and urged her forward to the living room.
“This place is amazing,” Callie whispered. “It’s like an old castle or something.”
“This house has been in my family for hundreds of years,” Vlad said as he walked her over to the sofa.
Dexter walked over to the fireplace, and with a wave of his hand flames erupted, warming the room.
“How did you do that?” Callie asked as she stared at Dex.
“The fire was already prepared for our return.”
“Okay.” Callie frowned. “But how is it that the fire took so quickly? Did you use some kind of accelerant?”
“Would you like tea or coffee, baby?” Vlad asked.
Callie turned and blinked. “Tea, please.”
Vlad walked quickly from the room. He didn’t need to put any kettle on or wait for the tea to steep. Once he was out of sight he conjured the hot cup of tea with a wave of his hand, just the way she liked it. Black with a little lemon, and then he hurried back to her side and placed it on the coffee table within her reach.
“That was fast. Do you have a maid?”
“No. We are the only ones here.”
“Then how did you…”
“Do you believe in the supernatural, sweet one?” Dex asked, interrupting her question.
Callie picked up her cup of tea, took a sip, and sighed before placing it back on the table.
“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. Why?”
“Would you believe me if I told you vampires exist?” Vlad asked.
Callie smiled and then chuckled. “Um, sure if you want me to.” She stopped laughing, and the smile left her face when she met his serious gaze. She glanced over at Dex before meeting his eyes once more. “Do you?”
“Yes,” Vlad replied. “I also believe in wizards and witches.”
“Um,” Callie licked her lips her gaze going back and forth between them. “O–Okay.”
She shifted on the sofa, about to push to her feet, but Vlad sat beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Callie, I would never lie to you, but I understand that you would have difficulty believing such things.”
“Ya think?” she said facetiously.
Vlad nodded at Dex. His friend rose to his feet and moved to the other side of the coffee table. Far enough away from Callie that she hopefully wouldn’t be frightened but close enough to keep her attention. He watched her face as Dex drew on the energy in the room and the palm of his hand filled with a ball of fire and light. Callie’s long brunette
hair stirred in the slight breeze, and as she stared at Dexter, her mouth dropped open. The beat of her heart sped up until it was racing inside her chest and she was panting for breath.
“Oh. My. God,” she whispered in a hoarse voice between gasping pants.
Dex clapped his hands together, and the ball of fire and energy disappeared. His blood brother then disintegrated his human body until he was as insubstantial as the dust particles floating in the air. He hovered in the air for a few moments before his body started to reform until he was once more a solid being.
Vlad reached over and lifted Callie into his lap. He stroked a hand over her hair and back as she hyperventilated. Her face pale, beads of sweat on her brow and upper lip.
“Breathe, baby. You’re safe with us. We would never hurt you, Callie.” Vlad pushed further into her mind and pushed calmness toward her and was pleased when her panting grew less and her heart rate began to slow. He loved having her in his arms, on his lap. The heat of her body was amazing and all he wanted to do was strip them both naked and sink his hard throbbing cock into her wet heat, but he didn’t. He stayed still, his only movement his hand stroking over her head and down her long thick braid. Finally she stirred in his arms and Dex cautiously walked over and sat beside them, taking her hand in one of his.
“What are you?” Callie whispered and she pushed into a more upright position.
“We are vampires, Callie,” Vlad said in a calm, soothing voice. How he managed that when inside his guts were twisting in knots he had no idea, but he couldn’t show her how scared he was that she would rush to the door and leave them, never to see her again. That wasn’t acceptable to either of them. Callie Morgan was their salvation. Salvation from a long lonely existence. Not winning her over was unacceptable. It would be so easy to use their voices and minds to control her into believing and accepting them for who they were, but she was their mate and needed to accede to being with them of her own free will.
“We exist on blood but we aren’t killers. We have never drained a human dry when we feed. We have been on this Earth for hundreds of years, living a long lonely life. You are our redemption, baby. You are our mate.”