Damn.
I don’t want to give up, but I’m exhausted and afraid if I give in to the nearly overwhelming urge to sit down and nap right here, I might wake up dead and charbroiled.
Not a great look in any dimension.
I am spanking that girl’s ass sooo fucking hard when I get her back.
I refuse to quantify that with an “if.”
It’s “when.”
When I get her back.
I will accept no defeat on this.
Returning to the hotel, I reserve a room for Garrett and Amber and leave word to call me on the room phone when they get in. They’re in the air already, Garrett having connections of his own to obtain rapid transportation. They’ll arrive sometime late this afternoon, and as soon as it’s dark, we’ll head over to the ring and try again.
I thought solving the gwyllgi problem might be tricky, never dreaming that was the easy part of this whole equation.
All I want is a few uninterrupted weeks alone with her, so I can collar her, spank her, fuck her, and prove to her that I want only her in my heart, bed, and personal dungeon. And if she continues letting me feed off her, all the better.
I think of Chaldis and his boy, and that’s what I want for me and Eilidh. Peace.
That’s not too much to ask, I don’t think.
Before I collapse into bed, I call John and update him with the latest developments in our story. Including Zuzu, and that her father is alive, and what the stone ring is and does.
Which I’m sure he’d find difficult to believe if he didn’t know I was a vampire and…
Well, yadda-yadda.
But I need him to know what’s going on, in case I disappear for a few days. Or longer. So he doesn’t assume something horrible happened to me.
I thought I would sleep late, but I’m awake by nine a.m., which is completely unheard of for me. Jetlag must have really screwed up my body’s clock, which is now at war with the sun’s schedule, I suppose.
But since I am wide awake, I feed and start answering e-mails, returning phone calls, and dealing with business-related items.
None of which completely take my mind off Eilidh.
Please let her be okay.
I take a shower and rummage through her things, finding Cat and Dog.
I set them on her pillow on her side of the bed. That looks better. Like they’re simply awaiting her return.
Her imminent return.
When my room phone rings late that afternoon, I practically jump on it. “Yeah?”
“Dex? It’s Garrett. Thanks for the room.”
“Come on over. I’m awake.” I pull on a T-shirt and move the doorstop to let them in.
“You’re up early,” he says by way of greeting.
“Tell me about it.”
Once they’re inside, Amber smiles. “Told you her father’s alive.”
“Yay. How do I get her and him and Zuzu back here?”
She closes her eyes and is silent for a moment. “We’ve got plenty of time for Zuzu later.” She opens her eyes. “I know this is scary for you, but this has helped her heal so much past trauma, it’s unbelievable.”
“She’s getting a spanking when I get my hands on her.”
“She needs a leash and collar locked on her, is what she needs,” Garrett jokes.
I mean, I think he’s joking.
Sort of.
Although it’s not a half bad idea.
As soon as it’s dark enough, we head back to the ring, where I let Amber walk around first. She touches the stones and cocks her head, like she’s listening.
“It’s full moon,” she says, nodding. “This’ll happen.”
“What do I have to do?”
“You know what you have to do.” She waves Garrett into the center of the ring with her and holds his hand. Then she holds her other hand out to me. “With our help.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she says.
“No,” Garrett grumbles at the same time.
I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t be happy holding my hand, either, if I were him.
I join them and hold hands with them. “Now what?”
“Say whatever you’re supposed to say. Are we standing in the right place?”
I glance around and try to remember exactly how I was standing when Eilidh sent us through. Then again, she sent me back and shoved me, hard, so maybe how I’m standing isn’t so important.
“Lazgo mandem tanneh cahl. Fozun rostray sephiahl.”
Nothing.
I try again, and again.
And again.
We stand there trying for over an hour when I’m ready to take a break. I’m more exhausted than I thought I would be. I release their hands. “Maybe I need to listen for her. Maybe they’ll send a message.
“No. Don’t stop,” Amber says. “We’ll chant with you.”
“You sure, babe?” Garrett asks.
“Yes. You won’t catch vampire cooties, Garrett. Hold his hand again.”
He snorts but doesn’t argue with his mate. He extends his hand to me and I take it, then we shift our little circle around and try again.
* * *
Eilidh
I stand inside the stones, holding hands with Dad and Zuzu as we chant. They have me wear the ring. If we can send the three of us across, we’ll have the good ring to use. If we can’t get this to work, we’ll try signaling, but I suspect Dexter is standing right here, somewhere.
I feel it. Along with the increasingly sharp pain in my chest that I know is from missing him.
He wouldn’t not be here, not unless something stopped him. I know he survived the first night because we saw him last night.
When the tingling sensation starts, I fight the urge to scream in triumph because I don’t want to interrupt the process. “Lazgo mandem tanneh cahl. Fozun rostray sephiahl!”
Except I jump back, releasing both Dad and Zuzu’s hands, when a very solid and wolf-scented man appears directly in front of me, his back to me.
And we’re still…here. We didn’t cross.
He wheels around, biting off a growl rumbling from him. “Eilidh?”
“Garrett!” I throw my arms around him, just to hear a very vampiric growl from behind him.
“You, my lovely girl, have just added an infinite number of strokes to your spanking.”
I peek around him to see Dexter standing there, and now I scream again.
A good scream.
I also throw myself at him. He catches me as I wrap arms and legs around him and hug him tightly.
“I love you so much,” I tell him, over and over again. The pain in my chest is blissfully gone.
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
It’s the sound of the woman clearing her throat that brings me back. Amber’s standing there, smiling. “Hiya.”
“Amber!” I release Dexter and hug her. “Why are you guys here?”
“When my business partner calls asking for help,” Garrett drawls, “especially when I know a very lucrative real estate deal is being held up because his girl disappeared, again, I’m going to help.” He smiles. “I’m getting you a locking collar, leash, and trackable GPS ear tag for him to put on you for your wedding present.”
I laugh. “Thanks. Sorry about this. This one was…” A wave of dizziness sweeps over me, and I stagger. Zuzu and Dexter catch me.
“Love?” Dexter asks.
“I-I’m okay, I…”
* * *
Dexter
When Eilidh’s eyes roll back in her head, I scoop her into my arms before she can hit the ground. She goes completely limp in my arms and I’ve never felt so helpless in my very long life.
Except one other time.
Fates, please don’t let this be like that. It would utterly destroy me.
The strange man I assume is her father, Parxon, gently pats her cheeks. “She’s all right. She’s not used to doing this, and it takes a lot out of her. Especially bringing through
three people with a damaged ring. Let’s get her back to the house.”
“First of all,” Zuzu says, and he works the ring off my left hand and hands it to Parxon. “You hold on to that.”
He slips it onto his finger. “Good idea.”
Then Zuzu removes the ring from Eilidh’s finger and puts it on his own.
We race through the night, Garrett carrying Amber on his back, and quickly make it back to…
Well, a house that looks…different. Just as Eilidh said. It reminds me of a fusion of the Spanish-influenced adobe-style buildings I’ve seen in Tucson, and concrete-block ranch-style houses very common in Florida. Except it’s two-story.
It’s also large and rambling, and the grounds and house look neat and well-maintained, so I suppose that indicates wealth.
We’re hustled inside, where Zuzu securely bolts the door behind us.
“Take her upstairs to her room,” Parxon says to Zuzu, who leads the way. “I’ll be right there.” He indicates for Garrett and Amber to follow him, and I assume they’re adult enough to handle their own introductions.
This is a child’s bedroom, but with a very large bed. I gently lay her in it, terrified because she’s still so deeply unconscious.
“Are you sure she’s all right?”
Zuzu smiles. “Yes. She fainted last night after trying to contact you. She’s fine. Parxon used to faint all the time when he was young, before he learned how to master it. So did I.”
“You can use the rings?”
“Mostly. Better with his ring than this one, obviously.”
Parxon appears in the doorway. “I settled them in the living room, for now. How is she?” He steps inside, his gaze on her.
“She’s fine,” Zuzu says. “Exhausted and sleeping.”
Then Parxon’s attention turns to me. “You must be her man, Dexter.”
We can hammer out the finer points of that later. “I must.” I have to force my attention away from not just Eilidh, but also Zuzu. I cannot get over how much he reminds me of Robert. Now that I’ve been safely reunited with Eilidh, my mind can process that fact.
The larger man holds out a hand. “Parxon. Eilidh’s father.” He has her violet eyes but barely looks older than Zuzu, maybe thirty, if that.
I shake with him. “Sorry our first meeting is under such chaotic circumstances.”
“Me, too.” He’s as tall as I am, and broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair just to his shoulders and tied back. If I didn’t know he wasn’t a shifter, I’d assume he was, just from the very air swirling around him. His scent is nearly identical to Eilidh’s, too. “She was distraught when she thought she might never see you again.”
“Yes, well, that makes two of us.” I look down at my beautiful girl. “Is there any way to chain her to the bed?” I smile, hoping he realizes that’s a joke.
He chuckles. “I heard the story.” He pats me on the shoulder. “You sound very dedicated to her.”
“I love her. She’s mine.”
“But are you hers?”
I take a deep breath, an easy breath with her scent once again on me and in my lungs. My pulse finally levels out and calms. “Forever.”
“Good. Come. We shall talk.”
“But—”
“She’ll be all right.” He nods toward Zuzu. “Please, let him attend to her. He needs this time with her. You and I will have a lifetime at her side.”
It hits me what he means—Zuzu won’t leave this world and we will. After leaning in and kissing Eilidh, I follow Parxon back downstairs. We stop by the living room, collect Garrett and Amber, and then end up in a kitchen that…
Well the whole house, actually, reminds me of some sort of fusion between rustic Art Deco and old French country, with a healthy dose of the Craftsman movement.
Parxon motions for us to sit at the table and then pulls dishes of food from what I assume is the fridge and passes out plates, cups, and a pitcher of what I think is some kind of tea.
“For starters, thank you very much for whatever you did that helped bring him back here,” he says. “Secondly, I hope you were not planning to return tonight. It will be tomorrow night at the earliest before I can return you. I am too exhausted, as is Zeuzehn, and Eilidh is obviously in no condition to go. But you will be safe here with us until then. We will keep the doors locked and the shutters drawn and wait until nightfall to take you back. We are still within the phase where my ring can transport you. But we must return you tomorrow night, or you will be stuck here until the next phase.”
Relief fills me. “Excellent.”
He leans back in his chair and studies me as he eats pieces of fruit that look like grapes. Then he focuses on Garrett. “You know this man, correct?”
Garrett looks reluctant to answer. “It’s complicated.”
Amber elbows him. “Yes, we know him. Dexter’s a good man.”
“You are the one who can see things?”
She nods. “That’s me.”
“Meaning he is a wolf, correct?” He points to Garrett.
Garrett darkly scowls, but nods.
“Do not worry. I have lived my life keeping secrets. I cannot wait to finally be able to join my daughter in her world. I have dreamed of this for so long and honestly had lost hope. Thank the fates and old ones for Zeuzehn’s faith and efforts. I truly do not deserve that man’s friendship.”
I lean forward. “So…yeah. About that. Our talk got interrupted the other night. What’s the deal with you two?”
“He is my husband, but we are not mates—we are friends.” He points to my shoulder. “Let me see where she marked you.”
“What?” me and Garrett both ask.
Amber smirks.
“She is half jotnun Alpha, and she said she bit you. She didn’t know what it meant.” He points at Garrett. “We all share common ancestry, from before the old families. People who could shift were among the sorted. People with the virus.” He points at me. “Alphas still mark their mates in our world. We have a kind of venom that bonds our mate to us, and us to them. She instinctively marked you because you are her true mate.”
Garrett stares at me in shock. I finally unbutton my shirt and show them the mark.
Parxon nods after he examines it. “That is good. She should mark you several more times. Because that will only improve your chances of her venom overcoming aspects of the virus.” He pops another grape into his mouth.
“Aspects?” Garrett and I ask.
We could take this duet on the road.
Parxon nods. “We will need to test. It’s possible her venom might neutralize it in some ways. According to the old stories accumulated throughout the ages. But she is half human. And your version of the virus is far older and different in many ways. Mutated over the eons.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Garrett asks.
“No.” Parxon eats another grape. “As I told her, it might not mean you can tolerate direct sunlight, but, for example, perhaps you no longer explode. It might only mean a bad sunburn.”
Stunned, I stare at him. “Seriously?” Amber smiles and sips her drink, so I focus on her. “What did you see?”
She shrugs, the playful smile still curling her lips. “Just you and her walking in sunlight. Carrying a baby.”
Garrett must be thinking along the same wavelength I am. “Holy shit!” we gasp in unison.
“Or maybe not,” Parxon said. “It could possibly manifest in a number of ways. As I said, we must test. Most importantly is for her to rest so we can return you all to your world tonight.”
“What about you?” I ask. “Come with us—I can support you and Zeuzehn both. You can walk away, right now, and I can set you up, anywhere in the world. Eilidh needs you.”
“I can’t disappear yet,” he says. “I have too many loose ends to tie up first. I’m the last heir of one of the last old families. If anyone figures out the old myths are true, and I can still cross, it could be devastating for both worlds. There’s a reason this
was kept a closely guarded secret by the old families, and why it was forbidden and punishable by death to engage in the old magicks after the sorting was completed. They will destroy Zeuzehn and bury the evidence if we do not properly prepare. I cannot let that happen to him.”
“Then how do you set it up?” I ask. “This is kind of my specialty. I’ve built and rebuilt hundreds of lives. Maybe I can be of some help.”
“I need to move some things across to your world from this realm first. Knowledge that should not be destroyed, but I cannot risk leaving it here, because if we ever need it again…” I understand what he means.
“If we need the ability to stop anyone who figures out how to cross?”
He nods. “Exactly. Once I’ve taken care of that, then I can place Serxon’s body and make it look like mine. No one knows we never cremated him.” He grimly smiles. “We disinterred old bones and placed them, along with cattle meat, in the coffin on the pyre. As my mate, Zeuzehn helped me perpetuate the ruse. We were the only two allowed to bathe and tend and prepare Serxon’s body, per our old customs. We sealed Serxon’s body in a freezer in my lab in hopes of one day using it to stand in for my body, when I was finally able to cross. I’ll stage it on our land, and there will be no investigation because there will be no birthright claims.”
“I’ll buy you a house in our world,” I tell him. “Near the stones, so you can move things there, for now. I’m beyond wealthy in our world. I will completely support you. Whatever you need.” In my head, I’m already calculating how much I’ll need to spend to buy all the properties surrounding the stone ring.
It’s pocket change, really.
Especially when it means Eilidh’s happiness.
Finally, it looks like we will get our chance to settle down and enjoy our new life together, without dark mysteries lingering over our heads.
Parxon nods. “Thank you. I am very grateful.”
“Is there anything we can take with us now?” I ask.
“Yes. I have several boxes of notes, journals, and old books and scrolls that need to be moved off-world.”
Garrett scratches the back of his head. “And nobody else can cross, except you?”
Her Vampire Obsession Page 37