“Trinity?” Jonah rushed to her side, as did Cooper. “What’s up?”
“I keep getting these weird crampy like pains. Feels like my whole belly is tightening up. Man…” She blew out a breath and straightened as the pain subsided.
“Contractions,” Cooper supplied as he glanced at his watch. “We’ll need to start timing them.”
“What? Already? Isn’t it early?” She was so not ready to have the baby now. She had so much to do to get ready.
“I’ve explained to you that you could give birth anytime after your twenty-fifth week. You’re at twenty-six.”
“You should sit down.” Jonah hooked his arm under her to help her to his office.
“The child will not be born in that squalor.” Cooper waved his hand in the direction of Jonah’s office. “It’s best to get you to your suite.” He slipped his arm around her, nudging Jonah’s hand out of the way.
“Watch what you call my office, buddy,” Jonah warned him, shoving his hand around Trinity, bumping Coopers out of the way.
The two of them were acting like children.
“Oh, shut up, the both of you! Christ, you’re worse than children. And now I have to pee again. Damn it!”
“You’re water could break at any time,” Cooper informed her.
She slammed the bathroom door in his face.
“Tell me if you experience another contraction,” he called out to her through the door.
“Blow off and let me pee, Cooper.” Give a girl some privacy. Sheesh.
“My office is clean. It may not be organized to your standards but it’s clean,” Jonah grumbled.
Trinity rolled her eyes. Would the two of them ever stop?
“Not clean enough for a birth.”
She washed her hands, dried them off, then yanked the door open. “Are you two going to bicker like this while I’m squirting my kid out? Because, if that’s the case, neither of you are allowed in the room.” She took the stairs up, annoyed with the both of them.
“I need to time your contractions,” Cooper said, following her up.
“I’m more than capable of timing them myself.” Huffing a little as she came to the last step up, Trinity turned to her suite. “Just leave me alone.” She slammed her apartment door and heard Jonah speak from the other side.
“Way to piss her off, Cooper.”
She growled, threw her hands in the air, and went to her room.
They were going to drive her nuts.
***
Had she gone too far? Scooping a spoonful of tuna, Starla slopped it into Killer’s bowl. The cat dove in as if he’d been starved a week and devoured the smelly cat food in no time.
“I needed information,” she spoke softly as she knelt down to the cat. “Every man’s vulnerable spot is seeing a naked woman. I figured since Danny wanted to see mine, and I wanted to get information from him, I could work with it. They’re only boobs, after all, and they are mine. What I do with them is my business. Right?”
Killer lifted his fuzzy head, licked his mouth, blinked at her then proceeded to go back to his mushy food.
She’d gotten plenty of information from Danny in the process, so it was worth it, wasn’t it? And it wasn’t like she’d had sex with him for information. That was a whole different kettle she wasn’t willing to set to boil.
Yet.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her why she’d come into the kitchen in the first place. Standing up, she rummaged through the nearly empty cupboards, not overly thrilled with the contents. She settled for a can of vegetable soup and set it to boil. While the cat finished off his dinner, she stirred hers.
Now all she needed to do was find Chaos and the ritual and she was set. She could take the ritual to High Priestess Essema and she could end the darkness.
Starla scooped two bowls full of soup, then, carrying them to the living room, saw Danny scowl at her as she entered. “What?”
“You’re a cruel bitch.”
She was appalled. “How am I cruel?” She set both bowls on the coffee table then took a seat on the sofa.
“You get me all hot and bothered then leave me with a raging hard-on and nothing to do about it. Cock tease,” he blurted out. “That’s what you are. A cock tease.”
“I am not!” Her jaw dropped in response. Okay, so she could understand his point, but she was not…wait…maybe she was. Hell, she had teased him then left him to suffer. He was right. “I’m sorry.”
“What?”
Resting her hands on her lap, she looked up solemnly at Danny. “You’re right. That was mean and I’m sorry.”
He stared at her for a few moments before responding. “And that’s supposed to make it better?”
Sighing, she got up to pace. “It’s just…you got me thinking when you said the innocent didn’t have time for me to wait to get information from you.”
“I don’t think that was exactly what I said.”
“Close enough. I knew you wanted me. I knew what you wanted, so I decided to play on it. That was mean of me and I’m sorry.”
“Well if you were really sorry you’d release me from this frozen state already.”
She turned to him, knowing that he was absolutely right. “Sabotily.”
And she knew when he jumped out of the chair and ran at her, just what to expect.
“You are going to pay for that now.”
Chapter 11
Danny had her pinned to the wall, his body pressed tightly against hers, and he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. With each intake of nervous breath her breasts sunk in and then pressed against his chest. He could smell her fear and hear her blood rushing through her veins.
He wanted both body and blood so badly he ached. He wondered why she hadn’t frozen him yet. “You think it’s funny, toying with me, making me hard and not give me the relief I need?”
“No, I never thought it was funny.” Her eyes were steady on his.
“You enjoyed it!”
“I did what I had to in order to get what I wanted.”
“And now I’m going to do what I have to in order to get what I need.” He spun her around, tossing her onto the sofa, pouncing on her before she could get away, and pinned her to cushions.
She didn’t stop him in any way, which completely baffled him. So he continued.
“You flash these gorgeous tits at me, even give me a tiny sample, then pull them away without a care. Well, you can’t pull away now.” With one quick tug he tore her vest open. Buttons flew across the room to ping off of walls and whatever got in their way.
“You’re right,” she panted beneath him.
“Damn straight I’m right. Women think it’s so fucking funny to tease a man, get him hard and horny, then refuse to satisfy him. Let’s see who’s laughing now.” He pried her legs apart with his knee and shoved his hand beneath those flirty shorts she wore. When his hand found her damp and hot he took great pride in knowing he made her that way.
Then she whimpered and reality slapped him hard in the balls.
What the hell was he doing?
Pulling his hand free, he scrambled to his feet, taking a deep breath to calm himself. His dick was throbbing and he could still feel her juices on his finger tips but he wasn’t going to step over that line. He never had before and he sure as hell wasn’t now.
“Fuck!”
“Why’d you stop?”
He made the mistake of looking over at her. She was still on her back, her vest lay under her armpits, her breasts exposed and her legs were spread. She was ripe for the picking.
So go for it.
“Fuck it!” He pounced again, pinning her but just as he was about to take what he so desperately needed his damn conscience kicked in. “Fuck! Fuck!” He jumped off of her an
d began pacing the living room floor.
“What’s the problem?”
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe what I was going to do.”
“Have sex with me?”
He turned to her and regretted it instantly. She was still half naked. “I don’t rape women.”
She sat up, her brow furrowing. “What are you talking about, rape?”
“I was going to rape you.”
The door flew open, making Starla scream and Danny instantly came to her defense. Fists ready, he jumped in front of her.
“Well, looky here, Sam. We got us a party.”
The rather large looking vampire stepped aside, allowing four more of his equally large friends to enter the house. Danny knew there was no way in hell he was going to be able to defend himself and Starla against the five of them.
Grabbing Starla’s arm, he yanked her up and darted from the room. He scooped Killer up as he ran through the kitchen. They tore out of the back door and kept running.
He could hear the vampires laughing at him in the distance.
“My purse!”
“Leave it!”
“But it has all my stuff in it. Danny, stop! I can’t run as fast as you. Stop!” she shouted, tugging at his hand.
He slowed down, glancing behind him and was grateful to see no one had come after them. He came to a stop, holding Killer tight to his chest. Great, now he was out of a house.
Again!
“Why did you do that?” Starla hurried to button up her vest with the scant few buttons that hadn’t come off when he’d ripped it open.
“Didn’t you see those guys?” he panted, trying to catch his breath.
“Well, yeah, still…Why didn’t you try and fight them off?”
He stroked the cat as he spoke, soothing not only Killer but himself as well. “Five of them against two of us, one of which is a girl. Yeah, taking them on would have been a bright idea.”
“Well, you don’t have to get snippy about it. I was just wondering.”
“Look at me, Starla. Do I look like I could take even one of them on in a fight?” Despite being in his thirties, he had the body of a seventeen year old. He was no match for a big, burly vampire looking to have some fun.
“I thought vampires had super human strength?”
“We do, I do, and so do his friends. He had at least a hundred pounds on me. He would have taken me out in one jab to the gut then what do you think would have happened to you.” Exactly what he’d been planning to do to her.
His gut rolled with sickness.
“I can take care of myself, Danny. All I would have done is freeze them just like I did with you.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to freeze them. You’d have been too scared to use your powers just like you were when I attacked you earlier.”
“I wasn’t afraid of you earlier and I can use my powers anytime, especially when I’m afraid or have you forgotten what happened when I first woke up after you hit me.”
“You hit me!”
“Right, sorry. All I’m saying is, I can defend myself.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you stop me when I was about to…to…rape you.”
“It’s not rape if the party is willing and I was willing.”
His jaw dropped in shock. “You were not willing.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I could smell your fear. I heard you whimper when I shoved my hand down your shorts.”
“Sure I was a little scared, but mostly I was turned on. That wasn’t a whimper of fear but more like one of anticipation.”
“Anticipation? You wanted me to fuck you?” She was out of her friggin’ mind.
“Well, I might have liked it a little gentler and maybe not right at that moment, but after what I did to you, I had it coming.”
“Are you saying you deserved to be raped?”
“I already told you, it’s not rape if the party is willing and I was willing.”
“Are you for real?”
“Completely.”
Danny paced a few feet before turning back. “In that same reasoning you could say then that any woman that enticed a man is asking for rape.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” She took Killer from him when the cat began to push away. “But if that woman purposely tries to turn a man on she’d better expect him to act on it. Right, Killer?” She stroked his tiny head.
“Leave him out of it. He hasn’t even reached puberty yet. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” He ran his hands through his hair. “You were willing to let me rape—”
“Have sex with me,” she corrected with a raised index finger.
He shook his head in disbelief. “Woman, you’re killing me.” Taking his cat from her, he brushed against her breast and deeply regretted it. He strolled away still baffled.
“Where are you going?”
“Well, I guess I need a new home since mine was just invaded.”
She hurried to catch up to him. “All of my stuff is there. My car is still there.”
“Don’t count on it.” With those brutes he was betting they’d take her car the first chance they got.
“We can’t just let them take our stuff.”
“Looks like we can and are. Fuck, I’ll need blood.”
“You’re not getting it from me,” she piped in defensively.
He stopped abruptly causing her to stop a few inches ahead of him. “You’d be willing to let me fuck you but you won’t let me drink from you?”
She nodded. “Well, yeah. I don’t want to become a vampire.”
“Who says I’d turn you? I might just drink you dry and leave you to die.”
She stepped right up to him and stroked the cat in his arms. “I’m betting you wouldn’t do that.”
“Then you’d lose. Evil, remember?”
“If you’re as evil as you claim to be you wouldn’t have stopped yourself from raping me.”
“It’s not rape if the party is willing,” he reminded her.
She smiled and he felt his heart skip a few beats. “You’re not such a tough guy, Danny, and we both know it. Where can we get you some blood? And, no, not from me,” she warned, holding up her hand.
He let out a long breath. “The blood bank, though the last time I was there they were running low. Since every vamp and his dog came to town, the blood supply has been dwindling. We need to seek shelter first, before someone else decides to pick a fight with us.”
“And how do we seek shelter?”
“We find a house that’s not occupied.” Stroking his friend’s head, Danny headed forward. He just hoped they didn’t get caught in the meantime.
Chapter 12
Trinity looked up at the ceiling over her bed and thought how desperately it needed a fresh coat of paint. It was looking a little dingy. Maybe she could get Cooper to paint it. That should keep him occupied and out of Jonah’s hair. And hers, for that matter.
At least they’d stopped arguing after she threatened to rip both their arms off and shove the limbs up the other’s ass. And they’d stopped banging on her bedroom door after she’s sent them both a nasty electrical zap. She didn’t like hurting her friends, but damn it, they were giving her a headache.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Basil materialized in the room. “Sweet God, Basil, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
He came up right beside her on the bed, taking her hand in his. Pure worry was etched like a painting on his face. “Cooper said you were in labor.”
“I’m not in labor. At least I don’t think I am. The contractions stopped.” Which was of great relief to her. She dreaded when the real thing started. She prided herself in being able to handl
e pain, but those contractions had been something else. It had felt like her gut was being wrung tight.
He laid his hand on her belly, smiled when the baby kicked. “When was the last one?”
“Twenty minutes ago. My water hasn’t broken yet either. I think it was those false labor thingies.”
“Still, we should keep watch. It could just be the beginning.”
And that was what terrified her. “I’m scared,” she laughed at her own fear, feeling silly for it. “Listen to me. But, hell, I’m terrified of delivering this baby. Delivering, her.” She stroked her belly lovingly. “I can’t wait for her to be here but I terrified of her coming out. It’s going to hurt.”
Basil smiled giving her face a gentle stroke with his fingers. “Yes, but it will be worth it in the end.”
“Says the man who doesn’t have to squeeze a watermelon out of his penis.”
“I’ll be right at your side, my love.” He kissed her hand reassuringly.
“What if I can’t do it?” She hated admitting that she was worried she couldn’t handle it.
He rested her hand on his cheek. “I’ve never known you to not be able to handle anything. You’ll deal with this just as you deal with everything in your life. Head on.”
Leaning against him, she wished she was as confident as he was.
***
After walking for the better part of an hour, Danny finally found a house he thought would work for them to hide out in. It had a high fence surrounding the property with a gate he was sure he would hear opening and closing if anyone entered through it. The house itself was a tall two-story with brick on the front and siding on the top. If no one was already occupying it, it would serve them well enough.
“Wait here while I go check it out.”
“I could cast a protection spell on us so we can’t be harmed inside the house. That way both of us could go in and look.” She held up her hands when he gave her a look. “It’s better than having you get the pulp beaten out of you.”
“Thanks for the confidence. Fine, cast away.” He held his hand out for her to go ahead.
“Done.” She spread her lips in a wide grin.
“Just like that? You didn’t even say anything.”
Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 04] Page 7