“Wallace isn’t your regular vamp,” Jeremy said. “He likes a good breakfast as much as the next guy. He just doesn’t eat as often. Blood makes up the bulk of his diet. That’s what’s in that jar you saw in the fridge. The one next to the orange juice.”
“Did not need to know that,” Colleen muttered. When she glanced toward the stairs again, she found Wallace standing right beside her chair. She recoiled involuntarily. At least he was dressed now. That made things somewhat easier.
Wallace took it with a grin that only hinted at fangs. “All settled in?” he said.
“Sort of. Look, about this morning. I’m sorry.”
“Forget it. You’re human, and you’re a chick. Put it all together, that spells nosy.” He strolled over to the stove to deliver a no-holds-barred kiss to the side of Jeremy’s neck. The side with the scar, Colleen noted. She couldn’t help noting as well the possessive curve of his arm, or how Jeremy melted into it with that little purr she’d thought belonged to her. Her guilt flared up anew.
“All that for me?” Wallace said. “Smells good.”
All of a sudden he went completely still. His lips moved away from Jeremy’s neck, and his nose took their place. Slowly his head turned, toward Colleen. His jungle eyes pierced her to her core.
Colleen tensed. The stack of responses in her mind got tossed by a wind of nerves and scattered all over the floor of her thoughts, their pages hopelessly scrambled.
To her surprise, Wallace smiled. If he meant it as reassurance, his fangs ruined the effect. “Well. Looks like congratulations are in order.”
“We didn’t mean to,” she blurted. “It just happened.”
“You didn’t mean to what? Bang the Scarecrow here? Can’t blame you there. I mean, look at him. Who could say no to all this?” He groped Jeremy’s ass. “You used a rubber, right?”
Jeremy slid away from the grope and held up the frying pan. “You want your breakfast on your head?”
“Chill, Scarecrow. I’m not angry. I said to go for it, remember?” He leered at Colleen. “When do I get my turn?”
Her face flamed. “You’re disgusting.”
“No, I’m undead. It frees the inhibitions.” He spoke to Jeremy again. “Did you ask her about the threesome?”
Jeremy thrust the frying pan at him. “Eat your breakfast.”
Wallace snatched up a fork from the counter and ambled back to the table. He plopped his body on a chair and proceeded to eat his eggs and potatoes directly out of the frying pan. While he shoveled in his food he kept his gaze trained on Colleen. Colleen made herself meet those eyes with all the nerve she could muster.
“Did he ask you?” Wallace insisted. “The threesome.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be gay?”
“The gayness comes and goes. That’s the way it worked before I died. I’ve been with women before. No biggie. It’s like falling off a bike, or something like that.” He gulped down a mouthful of home fries and suggestively licked his lips. “You look like you could go the whole night and then some. Want to? Just let me finish my breakfast.”
What she wanted was to crack that frying pan against his Neanderthal skull and snap his fangs off at the roots.
“You don’t deserve Jeremy,” she spat. She shoved away from the table and fled up the stairs.
* * * *
“So,” Jeremy said, after the echoes of the slamming bedroom door finally died away. “Were you planning on acting like an asshole all night, or was that it?”
Wallace stared down at the remains of his breakfast. He could feel her up there, right overhead. If he leaped high enough and hard enough he could punch through the ceiling into the bedroom. Then he could have her. His leg muscles flexed without any direction from his brain. Son of a bitch, he almost believed he could actually do it. Everything about her made him believe.
He said, in a soft voice colored with wonder, “I have a heartbeat.”
Jeremy’s anger vanished at once. “You what?”
One final thump, then nothing. “It’s gone again now. But I had it. It was there. She made my heart beat.” He shot his stare to Jeremy’s face. “Serious time. What was she like?”
Jeremy didn’t need clarification. “You know what I’m used to.”
Wallace nodded. “Blood lust sex. The rough stuff.”
“Rough and a half. I forgot she’s human. I…I kind of lost it. It didn’t matter. I didn’t hurt her at all. If anything, I had a tough time keeping up with her.” His mouth twitched in a sort-of smile. “She’s a lot like you in that respect.”
“Wait a minute. You lost it? You? Mr. Control Freak?”
“I know. She…” His hand hovered at his neck, near the mark Wallace had put there. His face grew as red as his shirt. “She touched my mark, and I reacted. I couldn’t help myself.”
Wallace set his fork down and slowly got to his feet. His heart nearly beat again, this time in alarm. A mark made the chosen human the marker’s exclusive property. The marked one couldn’t respond to another vampire. They definitely couldn’t respond to a human’s touch there. No way, end of discussion.
“You sure she’s human?”
“She’s not a vampire or vamp-infected. I didn’t find any bites on her.”
“Checked her over real thorough, did you?”
Jeremy’s flush darkened. “Somewhat. In passing.”
“I got something better. That bat she was fighting threw her into a wall. I heard her hit. She should have cracked her skull open. Concussion at the least. Except when I checked her there wasn’t any blood. She had the start of a nice-sized lump. That’s it.” He thinned his eyes. “She’s not as human as she says she is.”
“She can’t be a vampire,” Jeremy insisted. “I know all the signs point to it, but the facts don’t add up. I’ve seen her in daylight. She doesn’t drink blood. She doesn’t even believe vampires exist.” He gestured at Wallace’s face. “Can’t your super nose figure it out?”
“Maybe, if your scent on her wasn’t fucking up my senses. Now I’ve got both of you on the brain.” He shifted uncomfortably. “And elsewhere. Did you call Gus?”
“He says he’s working on it.”
He’d better work fast, Wallace thought with yet another irritated growl. He couldn’t think. No, that was a lie. He could think just fine about the girl, and his Scarecrow, and the three of them writhing together like pythons on crack on that big bed upstairs. The one she was probably lying on right now, with that dark hair all fanned out on the pillow and those huge violet eyes all wide and welcoming. Sweatshirts and baggy jeans weren’t supposed to look so hot on a person. Shit!
“I need to get out,” he decided. “I’ll check the fang bars again. Maybe I’ll call up some other slayers, too. Maybe they’re having problems like this down in LA. It’s worth a shot.”
Immediately Jeremy tensed. “Stay away from slayers.”
“Hey, it’s cool. Slayers and I have a truce going. Professional courtesy and all. If not…” He shrugged. “I can handle a slayer.”
“That isn’t what I meant. You promised to leave it alone.”
So he hadn’t forgotten. “I always thought you’d want to know. I sure as hell would.”
“Well, I don’t.” Jeremy’s eyes grew dark. He got angry so rarely, when a storm did hit, Wallace always paid attention. “I mean it, Wallace. Let it go.”
“Okay, sure. Don’t get your dick in a twist. I just want to hit all the bases here.” His gaze flickered upward, toward the bedroom and its occupant. “What are you going to do while I’m gone?”
“I don’t know. Watch TV. Apologize to Colleen for your being an asshole.”
“And fuck her again.”
“I wouldn’t have put it that crudely, but probably, yeah.” Contrition flooded his eyes as swiftly as anger had moments before. “Would you rather I didn’t? I won’t touch her if you tell me not to.”
“Bullshit. You’ll touch her no matter what I tell you. You can’t help yourself
.”
“You’re right. I can’t,” Jeremy admitted. He cupped Wallace’s cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay with it?”
“I was when I thought she was human. Now? Not so much.” Dammit. The girl radiated both innocence and no-holds-barred sex appeal. He’d swear on whatever soul he had left she really was the victim here. He wanted so hard to believe it, his fangs hurt. But he had his Scarecrow to consider.
“You listen up,” he said. “You do whatever you want with her. I won’t stop you. I’m pretty sure you’re right, and she doesn’t know what’s going on any more than we do. But if she’s lying, or trying to trick us, I will kill her. I’ll rip her head right off her neck. You understand?”
For just a second, defiance flared up in Jeremy’s eyes. That by itself said all kinds of wrong. It died just as suddenly. Jeremy looked at the floor. “I understand.”
“Hey.” He tipped Jeremy’s head up to meet his eyes. “I’m just trying to protect us here. If she’s innocent, she’s included. But first I need to make damn sure what it is I’m protecting. Top of my list is you.”
Jeremy smiled wanly. “I’ll be fine. Handling vamps is what I do best. If it turns out she really is a succubus, I’ll do what I have to.”
“That’s my Scarecrow. Always ready to take one for the team.” He pressed his lips to Jeremy’s neck. His tongue laved the mark he had put there. Jeremy shivered with delight. Wallace trailed his mouth upward, over Jeremy’s chin to his lips, and tasted the sweetness of reciprocated love. Whatever the chick was, she couldn’t change that.
In his heart, that undead organ that beat in her presence, he already suspected the truth. He’d never been a big believer in fate, but this one he’d bet hard cash on. Colleen was meant to complete them.
Not vampire, but not wholly human. What, then? Wallace vowed to get answers. He could only pray they’d be good ones.
* * * *
Colleen huddled against the bed’s headboard and fumed. She wasn’t up on current pop-culture vampire lore. Suzette was the vampire junkie, the one who read the novels and went to the movies and drooled over all those sexy actors with the piercing eyes and pouty mouths. Vampires were supposed to be mysterious and subtle. Wallace was about as subtle as a runaway truck. Maybe Suzette would know if being undead made a man act like a jackass. Better still, she should introduce Suzette to Wallace. That ought to cure her in a hurry.
A rap sounded on the door, then the door swung open. Wallace stood and stared at her. He didn’t say anything. His stare made Colleen feel naked, even in her baggy sweatshirt. Her intended comments shriveled away. She pulled the quilt up to her chest for added protection.
“I’m going out,” Wallace announced. “Scarecrow can watch out for you. Nothing gets by him.” His mouth quirked upward. “I’m a jerk, I know. Always have been. Ask anybody.”
“I don’t think I need to. You’re proving it all by yourself.”
“Pissing people off is what I’m best at.”
“I came this close to smacking you.”
“I figured.” Was that a trick of the bedside light’s incandescence, or had his expression softened? “This is a helluva one-two punch to roll with, vampires and stalking and all. You’re taking it pretty much in stride. I’m impressed.”
“Wow. Now I feel all tingly inside.”
His laugh surprised her. “And a smart-ass on the side. You’re the girl with everything.” The laughter died out of his voice. “You don’t have to put on a front for us. I can tell right now you won’t crumble. You’ve got something in you that doesn’t roll over. I like seeing that in a chick.”
“You’re not getting a threesome.”
“We’ll see.” He winked at her and withdrew, shutting the door behind him.
Colleen stared at the door. Were those meant to be Wallace-style compliments? Had he just tried to be nice to her?
She was still puzzling over his behavior when the second knock sounded on the door fifteen minutes later. Jeremy poked his head inside.
“He’s gone. Can I come in?”
“Please.”
Jeremy stepped into the bedroom. He left the door open. “I’m sorry about Wallace,” he started.
She held up her hand. “He already apologized, sort of. Is he always…?”
“So much of an asshole?” Jeremy snickered. “Believe it or not, there’s a really sweet guy under there. He wraps himself in layers of crap, so no one gets to see it.”
“I’m not trying to steal you away from him. I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You couldn’t anyway.” He swung his long legs onto the bed and settled in beside her. Colleen stretched out her legs to rest against his. They cuddled into each other’s arms in a move as natural as breathing. Jeremy tugged his shirt collar down and pointed to the scar on his neck. “You see this?”
When she started to reach for it he flinched away. “Don’t. Please don’t touch it again. Don’t even breathe on it. It makes me kind of crazy.”
Her hand froze. “Does it hurt?”
“Just the opposite. That’s the problem.” He covered up the scar again, and Colleen lowered her hand. “It’s Wallace’s mark. It’s like a brand. Other vampires see it and know I’m someone’s property and they leave me alone.”
“Property?” She searched his eyes for that gotcha twinkle and found only blatant sincerity. “Like a real-life slave, you mean? I was just kidding, you know.”
“It’s not a joke. I want you to understand, so you know what you’re getting into. I still want you. I think I could love you. Maybe I already do. None of that matters. I belong to Wallace. No matter what I feel for you, Wallace will always come first. That’s how it is, and that’s how it’s going to stay.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Not at all. It’s what I wanted. I love Wallace. I begged him to mark me, and I’ve never regretted it. What’s happening with us, well, I don’t know what it is or how long it’ll last. But this is what I am, and this is what you’ll have to be happy with. Wallace is willing to share. That may be all you get.”
“Uh-huh.” Not exactly the storybook relationship she’d dreamed of when she was a little girl. “So you’ll dump me if he says to?”
“He won’t. He likes you, believe it or not. You make me happy, and he wants me happy.” He nuzzled her shoulder playfully. “If I want to make love with you on our living room rug, he won’t squawk.”
“How big-hearted of him.”
“I’m not his slave in the way you’re thinking. He loves me, and he takes care of me. I do the same for him. C’mon, you’ve seen what he’s like. If ever anybody needed a watchdog, it’s Wallace.”
She couldn’t stop a giggle. “I can’t argue with you there.”
“Servitude doesn’t mean they chain us up and suck on our blood all the time. That’s just the movies. Vampires are really picky about who they mark. It has to be someone they trust completely. We’re the ones who can function when they’re helpless. A smart vampire treats his servants like gold. Their lives are in our hands. Sure, Wallace has a smart mouth, and he never stops to think, and he’s crude and insulting and—you know, you’re right. I should probably dump him.”
“I’m sure he has some good qualities, or you wouldn’t love him.” She leaned into his embrace, suddenly desperate for its reassurance. “You don’t think that’s why they’re after me, do you? To make me their slave or something?”
“That’s what Wallace is trying to find out. He’ll get answers, I promise. Annie says he’s a tenacious prick, and she hit that nail on the head.”
Look at this, she thought. Here they were, snuggled together in a tiny portion of this enormous bed, practically in each other’s laps, drawn together by forces she didn’t understand and had no intention of fighting. She sighed into his hair.
“Does he…does he bite you? Does he drink your blood?”
“Now and then he’ll take a swallow or two. It’s more foreplay than feeding. He d
oesn’t drink from humans if he can help it. Why?” He flashed a mischievous grin. “Do you want him to bite you? I’ll pass the word along.”
“Don’t you dare.” She echoed his grin. “Do you bite?”
He grazed his teeth along her neck. “Only if you ask me nice.”
She didn’t ask. In fact, neither of them spoke much after that. Their love play remained blood free. Jeremy tugged up her sweatshirt and abandoned her neck for her breasts, and Colleen was grateful for the switch.
Maybe becoming another’s slave wasn’t quite so bad. Colleen gasped and moaned as Jeremy’s hands mastered her body and his mouth set his mark on her lips. He made surrender so easy.
Thoughts of Wallace popped fleetingly into her head. How could a vampire make love? Weren’t they supposed to be dead? She’d have to ask Suzette.
Then Jeremy applied his tongue in a way she was certain no vampire, not even Wallace, could match. With this living, fiercely passionate man in her arms, she had no trouble banishing all thoughts of the undead.
* * * *
Colleen’s prickle woke her with a psychic kick to the subconscious butt. She cursed it irritably. She was comfortable, safe, and sated. Why would it want to wreck that?
Because there was someone in the room.
She jerked upright. Jeremy’s arm slid off her stomach. He murmured her name and rolled over, setting his back to her.
The first thing she noticed was green, glowing eyes in the dark. Wallace stood at the end of the bed with the door ajar at his back, as motionless as—Colleen gulped—well, as a dead man. This time she refused to hide beneath the quilt. If he wanted a fight, bring it on.
The admiration he’d alluded to earlier glowed in his eyes as he roved his leisurely gaze over her naked body. His rough voice abruptly growled through her head. And how was your night?
She blasted back with all the mental strength she could muster and was pleased to see him rock back a step. Get out of my head!
“Okay, fine. Just testing. Jesus. For a chick who just got laid, you sure are cranky.”
“Don’t worry, I can hear you. Don’t do that again. It’s creepy.”
“No problem.” He circled the bed and sat on Jeremy’s side. Instantly, Colleen’s anger gave way to alarm. Her hand shot out to rest on Jeremy’s naked hip. “Please. Don’t punish him.”
Cunningham, Pat - Legacy [Sequel to Belonging] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 10