by Michelle Fox
She shook her head. “That’s not for me.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve already told you why.” She held up a hand. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
She felt bad as his shoulders slumped and he fell silent, but she wasn’t able to say anything that would make him happy. Talon wanted a future she couldn’t give him. They finished the drive back to the bar in silence.
As he pulled into the parking lot of The Crescent, he said, “Well, this is the end of the road. Axel won’t bother you again.”
Gretchen undid her seat belt. “Thanks for your help, sheriff.”
He gave a curt nod and exited the car. She followed suit and searched her purse for her car keys. Talon came over to where she stood, hands shoved in his jean pockets.
“Goodbye, Gretchen. You know where to find me if you need me.”
She held out her hand, once again feeling bad for the guy. In her mind’s eye, her wolf was slumped on the ground, positively dejected. Buck up. This is what’s best for us. Her wolf huffed at her, refusing to agree. “Goodbye, sheriff.”
He took her hand, his grip gentle and sparking the heat that always seemed to flare to life between them. They might not be mates, but some level of attraction could not be denied. Her wolf yowled in agreement.
Gretchen shook her head as she pulled her hand away. Talon was an unwanted distraction. She needed to check on her dad, to make sure he was settled and get her butt back home. She had a lot of work to do to get her career back on track. There was no time for feelings she didn’t want to feel in the first place. That made her wolf growl and pin her with a hard stare.
With a wave, she headed for her car, very aware of Talon’s gaze tracking her movements. Settling into her car and starting the engine, she found herself wondering if she was making a huge mistake. There’d been plenty of guys in her life, but none of them had made her think twice about walking away.
“Dammit,” she hissed under her breath as she eased her little Civic out of its parking space. I don’t need anyone. I don’t want anyone. I’m not going to end up like my dad.
With those thoughts fixed firmly in her mind, she squealed out of the parking lot, hitting the gas a little too hard. She refused to look back and see if Talon was still watching.
Chapter Thirteen
~Talon~
Talon shuffled slowly into the bar, his heart heavier than stone. Damn, he couldn’t believe she’d walked away. He knew they were meant to be together. The connection between them sizzled hotter than a live wire. How Gretchen could be immune made no sense.
With a sigh, he headed for his office. Gretchen would have to wait. He needed to deal with Axel before the shifter woke up and started causing trouble.
His team was there, serving the few patrons who liked to stick it out until closing time. Talon nodded to Keira who was behind the bar helping out. She nodded back as she began filling beers off the tap for a row of men at the bar. Someone had put on Russian techno music and the televisions featured the baseball games that were on that night.
Talon took a minute to just sit in his office chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a hell of a night and it wasn’t even over yet. “Maybe I should’ve made her stick around for this part,” he mused out loud as he thumbed through his phone looking for the number he needed.
But that was forbidden. The Pack Council had strict rules about who could know what. A lot of Talon’s job involved sensitive information and secret policies that law abiding pack members should never have any reason to know about. The strays knew about them, though and it was up to Talon to follow them.
Axel Sharpe may have thought being kicked out of his home pack was the worst that could happen to him. He had no idea. Or if he did, he didn’t care. The stray was just the type to decide nothing could touch him, but he was about to find out how very wrong he was.
With a sigh, Talon hit the green call button on his phone.
“It’s been a while, sheriff,” said a smooth, cultured voice after the first ring.
“How are you, Xander?” Talon asked, resisting the urge to shake off the vampire’s voice. That Xander’s power could brush against him even over the phone creeped him out. Dude had a serious amount of power, and as strong as Talon was, he couldn’t match it.
“Thirsty, my friend. Always thirsty. Do you have something for me?”
“I do.” Talon swallowed, and finding a sour taste in his mouth, he reached for a bottle of water.
“Excellent. Meet me at my club in an hour.” The line went dead and Talon slipped his phone into his pocket.
***
An hour later, Talon pulled up to a strip club on the fringe of Hudson. The place had a gravel drive that crunched and spit rocks under his tires. Neon lights promised nude girls and first drinks free. As usual, the parking lot was packed.
Talon rolled to a stop, waiting as a couple crossed the road. The woman was an attractive blond in stilettos that had more in common with stilts than shoes. She picked her way through the gravel, hands held out for balance. Her male companion, a swarthy man in a black suit, offered his elbow, which she took with a grateful smile.
They stepped under a street lamp and Talon caught the fang marks on the man’s neck. The woman, he noted, had clean unbroken skin.
“Leading the lambs to slaughter,” he muttered under his breath, not feeling much different from the woman’s companion. With a sigh, he drove around to the other side of the club, where deliveries were made. His visit couldn’t be seen by the public. Parking by the metal door that served as the back entrance, Talon stepped out of his Charger and popped the trunk, his hands curled into fists and ready for Axel if the stray caused any trouble. Fortunately, Axel was still out cold. Talon slung the man over one shoulder, grimacing as the silver burned his neck, and slammed his trunk shut with his elbow.
“Xander,” he called out. “I know you can see me.” The vamp had a security system that rivaled the CIA. Cameras were everywhere, recording everything. From what Talon had seen and heard, the vamp was paranoid someone would sneak up on his lair and stake him.
A few seconds later, the door swung open with a metallic screech that pierced Talon’s ears like thousands of sharp knives. He resisted the impulse to grimace and kept his expression neutral as Shane, one of Xander’s men, stepped forward.
A smile split the bouncer’s lips, showing just a hint of fang. “Oh, a fresh one. Nice.” He peered at Axel, delight sparkling in his eyes. “Go right back. Xander’s in his office.”
Talon nodded and strode into the club, hating the feel of the vampire’s gaze on his back. Given a choice, he wouldn’t deal with them at all, but the Pack Council relied on the bloodsuckers to help control shifters who refused to follow pack laws.
He passed a dressing room, catching a glimpse of half-naked girls inside. The smell of cigarettes assaulted his nose and he winced at the stench. Vampires all smoked like the fiends they were and the build-up of first, second and third-hand smoke hit him like a stink bomb.
Talon figured the cigarettes must be a replacement for food. Blood sustained them, but from his few dealings with Xander, he’d gotten the impression good flavor was hard to come by and that shifters were something of a delicacy. Any time he brought in a stray to be bound, Xander was practically giddy with anticipation.
One of the dancers stepped into the hallway and smiled at Talon, her red lips full and pouty. “Well, hello there. I’m hungry. You’re hot. Let’s make it work.” She thrust her impressive breasts at him, the white lace contrasting with her dusky nipples underneath, and ran a suggestive hand across her stomach down to the lace panties that covered nothing.
“I’m not food,” Talon said, his voice terse. This vampire had power that skittered over his skin like a cloud of hungry mosquitoes. He resisted the urge to scratch, knowing his reaction to her power couldn’t be stopped. His wolf growled in his head, prepared to fight.
“Ah, too bad, honey. You wou
ld like the way I eat.” She put a cigarette in her mouth, flashing her fangs in the process.
“You wouldn’t live long enough to even feel your fangs sinking into me, honey.” Talon brushed past her, eager to get the weight of Axel Sharpe off his shoulders and be on his way. He liked sex as much as the next shifter, but vampires did not turn him on. At all. The only woman he did want kept trying to flatten his balls into pancakes. Somehow vampires were still worse than that. Funny how that worked. Must be the mating instinct. He’d take anything from Gretchen, but he didn’t even want the vampire in front of him to so much as look at him.
The woman laughed. “Be careful you don’t hate us so much you end up loving us, baby.”
Talon ignored her and kept moving until he reached Xander’s office, a swanky room full of leather, dark wood and plush carpet. He crossed the threshold and found the vamp lounging on a chaise lounge to the side of the office entrance.
“Sheriff Garde,” Xander said, his voice languid. He wore an expensive black suit with a red tie and matching paisley handkerchief in the breast pocket. An e-cig hung from his mouth, some kind of berry flavor judging by the scent that hit Talon’s nose. He couldn’t decide which smelled worse, straight cigarette smoke or the cloyingly sweet chemical concoction that tried to pretend it had been food once upon a time.
“Xander,” he said, his voice clipped.
“Drop him there.” The vampire waved a hand at the floor and then took a long drag on his e-cig. Pulling it out of his mouth, he offered it to Talon. “Would you like some? I can share.” On that last, he became coy, tilting his head and looking at Talon from underneath his eyelashes.
Talon set Axel on the floor and shook his head. “No. I’m good.”
“You look delicious as always.” Xander’s gaze traveled the sheriff’s body, wide with want. The vampire had never been shy about his desire for Talon.
“Not interested, as always.” Talon gestured to Axel, eager to finish his business and be done. “Here’s a new one to bind.”
“So here’s our bad dog.” Xander poked the stray with a foot, curiosity lighting his eyes. “Looks like he’s seen better days.”
“Actually, he’s a cat shifter. Lion.”
“Oh, a pussy cat. My first.” Xander smiled with delight.
“Do you have my paperwork?” Talon asked.
Xander stood, unfolding a lean, but powerful frame and crossed the room to pick up an envelope on his desk. Handing it to Talon, he said, “You’re all set, sheriff. Thank you for the unexpected treat.”
Talon opened the envelope and skimmed the paperwork inside. “Everything looks to be in order.”
“And why wouldn’t it be? This is a sweet deal for me, I wouldn’t want to mess it up. I love the morsels you bring me and,” his gaze flicked up and down Talon’s body again, “I get to see you again.”
“Just make sure he’s bound tight. If he gets loose, I’ll have to kill him.”
Xander gave him a salute, undermining the formality of the gesture by also sucking another long drag on his e-cig. “He’ll be locked down tight in about thirty seconds.” The vampire kneeled next to Axel and leaned down to sniff the man. “I’ll own his mind and keep him so busy pleasing me, he won’t even remember whatever trouble he managed to stir up among the shifters.”
The vampire removed his pocket handkerchief and wiped down Axel’s neck and wrist. “I don’t like too much salt with my food,” he said. “And it looks like this pussy has been sweating a lot.”
Talon eased back toward the door, not wanting to see what would happen next. By the time a vampire was discussing his flavor preferences when it came to sucking blood, he was out.
Xander moved in a flash, inserting himself between the door and Talon. “Stay, sheriff. Make sure it’s done right.”
Talon froze. “I don’t need to see it.”
“But I insist.” Xander took Talon’s elbow in his hand and guided the sheriff over to the chaise lounge. “You see this as a punishment, I know, but it is a great gift. This pussy will know so much pleasure, it will make your cock hard for a week just thinking of it.” He made to touch Talon’s crotch, but the sheriff blocked him with a swift movement of his arm.
“Touch me and you’ll lose your hand,” he growled at the vampire.
Xander threw back his head and laughed. “You shifters are such a touchy lot. So bound by convention. After a hundred years or so, no one cares about what’s right and does only what feels good. Too bad shifters don’t live long enough to relax a little bit.”
“I prefer to be alive.”
“That’s what they all say before they turn. Trust me, none of us want to go back. We don’t miss our heartbeat. The darkness we live in is full of delicious delights.” Xander returned to kneel at Axel’s side. He shook the stray by the shoulders. “Time to wake up and meet your master.”
Axel groaned, his eyes flickering open and shut as he fought his way into consciousness. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Xander.
“Shh. Be a good pussy.” The vampire patted the stray’s cheek.
Talon rolled his eyes. “We’re not pets.”
“To me you are.” Xander leaned into Axel’s face. “You’re my pet now, boy. Mine to love, to hurt, to bend or break.”
Axel struggled, fighting the silver chains wrapped around his body.
“Hush, pussy.” He caught Axel’s chin and forced the man to meet his eyes. “Just look at me. Right here.” With his free hand, Xander tapped a finger by his eye. “Yes, just like that. Oh, you’re a good kitty, aren’t you? We’re going to have so much fun.”
Both Axel and Xander went still, their gazes locked. Talon held his breath, the hair on his neck rising at the tension that filled the air. His gut clenched at the thought of what would come next.
Axel wouldn’t lose his life, the Pack Council didn’t execute strays unless there was good cause for it, but they would take away their free will. Axel wouldn’t be a shifter anymore, he would be Xander’s personal puppet. Bound to the vampire by blood and powers that Talon knew were real, but didn’t understand. Shifters controlled their packs with laws or brute force, never hesitating to beat down a challenge or punish a transgression. Vampires, however, could infest minds with their eyes, their gazes boring inside like worms until they owned every breath, every thought, every heartbeat.
Talon reconsidered his decision to have the stray bound. Maybe he should’ve sent Axel to Alaska instead. Maybe this wasn’t right, but his wolf growled and shook his head at that thought. An image of Gretchen came to mind and the way Axel had looked at her. Just that flash of memory was enough to make his blood hot and his wolf ready to attack. No, Axel had to be bound or else Talon was going to kill him. He had to know the stray could never come back and cause his mate any trouble.
Xander lifted Axel’s wrist to his mouth, and gave a smile that peeled his lips back until his fangs became prominent. It seemed to happen in slow motion, even though Talon knew it was really just a nanosecond. The vampire set his white fangs right over where the pulse would be and then pushed until they slipped into the skin, like a knife piercing water. His long throat rippled as he sucked out the stray’s life, taking his mind with it.
Unable to stand it anymore, Talon stood and made for the door. This meant leaving his silver chain behind, but he was beyond caring. The chain could be replaced, but the memory of Xander treating one of his own kind like food would be forever. “I’m done, here. See you next time.”
Xander gave a languid wave as Talon walked out, but he kept his eyes on Axel and didn’t stop feeding. Suppressing a shudder, Talon made his way down the hall and toward the door. Another dancer stepped into the hallway, this one wearing a blue teddy that barely reached her thighs. Catching sight of Talon, she stopped mid-step, her plump mouth an ‘o’ of surprise.
“Well, aren’t you a tall, dark and handsome ball of fur?” She crooked her finger and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Come say hello.”
&nb
sp; Talon held up a hand and met her gaze with a hard stare. Xander, he knew better than to lock eyes with, but this was a young vampire, barely stronger than a human. Her power held the weight of a dust mote. This one he could handle. “I’m the sheriff, not your new toy.”
Another girl joined them, this one he recognized from previous visits and she seemed to know him as well because she pulled the other vampire back. “That’s not the new pet, Sabrina.”
Sabrina pouted. “No? Oh how very disappointing.” She gave Talon a coy look. “I’d be willing to take you on if you’re looking for an owner.”
Talon just turned his back and kept walking. The sooner he got out of there, the better. I can’t stand vampires, he thought as he settled back into his car. He locked the doors for good measure. Sure, vampires were strong enough to just yank the door off, but the lock should make it take a few extra seconds.
Not that anyone was coming after him. He rotated his shoulders, trying to let go of how creeped out he was. It was over. He’d done his job and protected his mate. Axel wouldn’t bother anyone ever again.
Time to focus on something else. That, of course, brought Gretchen to mind. She’d kicked him in the balls, bitten him and told him to fuck off. Yet, the smell of her filled his memory, teasing and tempting.
Why had he let his mate walk away again? Oh yeah, right. He wasn’t a caveman. Every fiber in his being quivered with the knowledge that she was meant for him, but he wouldn’t force her. Talon wasn’t one of those alphas who fucked their mates into submission. Maybe that approach worked for some, but Talon had a feeling that would break Gretchen in ways that could never be fixed. No, his girl had trust issues with a capital T.
He didn’t fully understand it, but he had the sense to not back her into a corner…at least not beyond that first kiss. He knew he should regret that, but remembering how sweet she’d tasted and the softness of her pressed up against him, he found it awfully difficult to feel any remorse. Also, she’d exacted her pound of flesh for that. He’d gotten his, she’d gotten hers. They were even.