by D McEntire
The animalistic noises he made were such a turn on she vowed to make it a point to bring him to this frenzy to hear it again and again.
Kern could not hold on any longer. He plunged deep, letting out a roar of pleasure as her warmth gripped his erection. They moved together with raw passion until both shattered.
Breathing heavily, Kern managed to lift himself on his elbows to look at Marie’s beautiful face. He pushed her sweat dampened hair away and smiled, watching as she also labored to catch her breath. He saw peace and satisfaction as he stared into her eyes, amazed each time he saw the unusual stars there.
Kern could not help but kiss her again, this time, gently and slowly. He wanted her to feel more than his overwhelming passion for her. He wanted her to feel his love and his need. “I love you, Marie,” he whispered against his lips, then pulled away.
Holding his breath, Kern watched the expressions play across Marie’s face as he waited for her reaction. He hoped she felt the same. He had put his heart out there, something he had never done before. He had taken the leap and prayed he wouldn't come crashing down.
When she smiled, relief flooded through him, releasing the tension in his entire body.
“I love you too,” she breathed
He could not believe his luck—could not believe this was actually happening. After all he had been through in the past eight months and after all he had done to her, she loved him and accepted him and her new life.
“Marie. I’m sorry for all the horrible things I did to you in the lab. You never deserved any of it. I’m ashamed I let my anger…”
Marie touched a finger to his mouth, silencing him. She shook her head and smiled warmly.
“No, Kern. You don’t have to apologize. You had been put through something horrible, something I can’t even bear to imagine. Even during everything that had gone on between us in the lab, I knew deep down you are one of the good guys. What had been done to you had festered in your heart and mind for so long, and had grown so wild you couldn’t help but release it. I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it’s over. We’re both going to be okay.”
Kern kissed Marie lightly on the forehead. “I discovered something, Marie. The anger in me had refused to see you as anything other than the enemy, because if I had allowed myself to open my eyes and see you had been telling the truth, it meant I had to let you go. Something I couldn’t do.”
Marie brushed her hand across Kern’s face, caressing the line of his jaw.
“If I had never found you… If we had never met, I would still be wandering through my life with nothing to live for. I had been miserable and alone. But not anymore. I’ve never been this happy. Never have I felt so much joy in my heart. Can’t you see? It was meant to happen. You needed release from your hell, and I needed saving too. I understand now why my grandmother sent me to find you. She wanted me to find love.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
After several hours, and several sessions of feeding and love making, Marie and Kern showered and emerged from the bedroom. Kern was wearing borrowed clothes since Marie had demolished his in a fit of passion.
Although Robyn had made introductions earlier, Marie was nervous about seeing everyone again. She had always been a rather shy person with few friends. She had longed to have close friends, especially girlfriends. People she could talk to.
Robyn and Rosa seemed to be very close. Marie envied them. She wondered if they would let her into their little group, but she warned herself not to get her hopes up. Marie’s stomach growled loudly, and she quickly placed a hand over it to try to muffle the sound, but knew it was too late. Everyone had heard it. Kern snickered as they stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Robyn and Rosa turned and smiled.
“Dinner’s almost ready. We’re having steak tonight, with baby carrots, sweet potato casserole, green beans, salad and rolls,” Robyn said.
“I sure hope you two are hungry,” Rosa added.
“It smells wonderful,” Marie said, letting out a breath after inhaling through her nose. Scents were so much better now, and she wondered if her sense of taste was also enhanced. Her mind recalled the taste of Kern’s blood on her tongue. Marie could feel a blush creep up her neck. Kern must have known where her thoughts had gone. His hand slid down and pinched her ass. Marie jumped and vowed to herself to exact payback.
Returning her attention to the two women in the kitchen, Marie felt she should jump in and try for a good first impression. With narrowed eyes speaking of imminent retribution for the stinging she felt on her butt cheek, she left Kern’s side and asked the girls if there was something she could do to help.
Marie was given the task of setting the table and pouring the drinks. This meant she had to ask each person what they preferred—tea, water or soda. At first, she wanted to panic but gathered her courage and pushed it aside. She didn’t know how long she would be here with these people, so she needed to get to know them.
The meal went along splendidly, Dr. Olivia thought. Everyone laughed and talked, including Marie and Kern. They seemed to be fitting in nicely, which pleased him. The Watcher deserved this. Kern deserved real happiness to fade some of the darkness he had been subjected to for the past eight months.
Dr. Pearson was on borrowed time, Olivia inwardly growled. The madman was going to pay dearly for what he had done. All of the Watchers were like sons and daughters to him. Every injury and loss he felt in his bones. The same could be said for their joy, especially what he was observing at this table.
Looking at Marie, Olivia remembered another woman who had gone through the conversion—Robyn. The world she had known, the world she had grown up in had been changed in a single day. Trigg had had to go before the Council to account for his actions. Dr. Olivia hated to tell Kern he would have to do the same, though he wasn’t worried about the outcome. Nothing was going to happen to either Kern or Marie because of this.
Dr. Olivia understood fully the Council’s concerns. Before he himself had undergone the change, it had been known among the vampires that not all humans were capable of going through the conversion. Those whose minds could not handle the change had gone insane. There were those who had died during the process. Most importantly, if a human did survive the change, their fate depended upon how they chose to live their new life.
If a new vampire is brought across correctly and educated properly, especially on the consumption of blood, he or she would most likely live a normal life as a vampire. However, if the new convert was not properly educated or taken care of during the first thirst, which happened within hours after the completion of the physical transition, he or she would go mad with bloodlust and become a Rogue. If that happened, the new vampire would have to be destroyed.
These scenarios made the issue very serious, thus the need for strict monitoring and repercussions, Olivia thought grimly. He, himself, had converted many humans to join the Watchers and had taken full responsibility in ensuring their physical and mental well being had been monitored both during the transition and after. Although his sense of judging a person’s character had never steered him wrong, and not one of the human conversions had gone awry, he had stopped recruiting humans amid pressure from the Council.
But there was another side to the coin. Watchers gave their lives to protect humans and those of their own race, except the Rogues. How could one who has given so much each and every day for the benefit of others be denied a chance at happiness?
Watchers spent their lives hunting and killing Rogues, battling evil and darkness. Should they be denied the light of a mate just because that mate is a human? No. Not while he walked this earth. Dr. Olivia planned to return to Headquarters and call a meeting of the Council. They had major work to do to iron out this situation and its consequences. Things were going to change starting now.
Marie stood by the door, giving Kern a long, heartfelt kiss. He was going out with the other Watchers, his first time on the streets since his capture. Her stomach was in knot
s, already worrying about him before he even left.
“He’ll be fine,” Tank assured her. “We’ll keep an eye on him.”
Kern scowled. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Marie cupped his cheek and smiled. “Just be safe, okay?”
Robyn and Rosa flanked her as the men walked out the door, then both slipped an arm in hers, turned her around and headed for the kitchen. For this occasion, Robyn had made chocolate chip cookies and had filled the freezer with Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Rosa provided the coffee, and the three women sat at the kitchen table.
“I just found him. I don’t want to lose him.”
Robyn passed Marie a dish of ice cream, and Rosa poured her a cup of coffee.
“It’ll be okay. I’m sure Kern is a fine warrior. We don’t know the circumstances behind his abduction. Besides, he’s not alone this time.”
Marie sighed and nodded. She knew the girls were right about Kern not being alone, but she worried anyway.
Following Tank, Trigg and Vane, Kern crossed the street. The roadways were dark. Memories of that fateful night seeped into his head. Several times he caught himself checking over his shoulder. If the others noticed, no one said a word.
They climbed the stairs in a parking garage, checking each floor for Rogues. On the fourth floor, they found what they were looking for.
Using the guise of walking to their vehicle, two Rogues, a male and a female, followed a well-dressed couple at a leisurely pace. The Watchers knew the vampires were waiting for their chance to approach the humans.
Kern watched Tank break from the group to reach the humans first. Mental persuasion and memory alteration would be needed after the battle was over.
Trigg cleared his throat rather loudly, and the two Rogues glanced over their shoulders, then stopped in their tracks. With a movement of his index finger, Trigg motioned for the two to turn around and come closer. Hesitantly, the Rogues did turn, but stood their ground.
Kern almost laughed when Trigg let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I guess you’re going to make us walk all the way over there.”
After Trigg shrugged, Kern received a wide grin from the Watcher. The expression told him the show was on, and Kern had the stage.
Without hesitation, Kern walked toward the Rogues, taking his time to give the male the once over, then the female, sizing up the competition. He hated fighting females. The memory of striking Marie rushed at him, but he tamped it down. This was not Marie. This female was a killer. The foulest of creatures, a Rogue.
Thankful Dr. Olivia had had a new set of daggers made for him, Kern unsheathed his weapons and assumed the warrior stance. He waited until the Rogues either made their move, or turned tail and ran. Though the latter was rare, it did happen. It was usually the newly turned who did not yet have the balls for battle. The longer they had been Rogues, the less remained of their former self until they became nothing but mindless killers. These two did not run, but advanced on Kern in unison.
Kern’s fighting skills had not been lost. Like riding a bike, it only took a moment to get his balance. The Rogues were taken down easily. He made sure the female went first, still having a modicum of guilt in fighting her. For this he made sure she didn’t witness the male die in case they were indeed a couple. He knew his reasoning had to do with Marie. She was always in his thoughts where she would stay even after he took his last breath.
When Kern walked through the door, Marie was on him before he could blink, checking him over for injuries, then hugging him hard. He heard soft chuckles from the other warriors, but he didn’t mind. He wasn’t going to take it as a reflection of his fighting skills. She loved him, which was all that mattered.
Almost a week had passed, and Kern and Marie began to settle into a routine as part of the Louisville Cell. Kern had decided to join Tank’s command, after talking it over with Marie.
Kern was waiting for the right time to ask Marie if she would be his mate. He knew she loved him, but did she love him enough to be his for all time? Did she love him enough to be bound to him both emotionally and physically for as long as they both walked the Earth? It was a very big step to take and not one to be taken lightly.
He didn’t want to subject Marie to a constant state of worry. He was a Watcher. His life was much more dangerous than a civilian vampire’s. But he was also selfish. He needed her by his side, to look upon her face with each awakening and be his last beautiful sight before his eyes closed at dawn.
A few inches of snow had fallen over the city, and while the guys were playing a rather serious game of cards, Marie went to the roof to enjoy the cool, night air.
Christmas Eve was tomorrow, and she couldn’t stop thinking about her parents. Even though they had abandoned her, not willing to except her abilities, she still missed them, especially now during the holidays.
Something on the street caught Marie’s eye. A woman and her small child were walking along the sidewalk, chatting and laughing as they tromped through the snow. She could hear the child’s giggle and almost laughed herself. What she noticed next gave her an uneasy feeling. A person who seemed intentionally to stay within the shadows followed not far behind. The wind blew Marie’s hair about her face and a horrible scent reached her nostrils. Evil.
Marie’s heart pounded. Something bad was going to happen to the woman and child. Without thought, she bounded down the fire escape, then stopped where the stairs ended at the door to the second floor of the building. On impulse, she hurtled over the railing, landing silently and uninjured in the alley below.
The woman and child had kept walking. Snow crunched under Marie’s feet as she ran along the sidewalk, heading in their direction. The shadowed figure had caught the woman’s attention by then. In obvious panic, the woman increased her pace, pulling the child along as fast as its little legs could move.
Not wanting to be discovered, Marie slowed, but kept her eye on the apparent stalker. The woman glanced over her shoulder and bumped into a man who had stepped out of nowhere.
Holding the child close, the woman instinctively began to retreat. Without realizing it, she had backed the child and herself into a small alleyway between two buildings. Her eyes were wide with panic. Two more men stepped out of the shadows.
“Please. Leave us alone.”
Marie heard the woman’s plea, and as she peered into the alley, she saw the woman protectively push the child behind her.
Four men had corralled the two. Frantically, Marie looked for a way somehow to get in between the woman and child and the men.
God, what is that awful smell from these guys? Don’t they ever bathe?
Looking at the building beside her, Marie noticed the railing of a fire escape. Well, let’s see if this works.
Crossing her fingers, Marie broke into a run and leapt into the air. To her surprise and delight, she landed at the railing of the fire escape. Climbing over quickly, she headed for the roof to find a way to sneak down the rear.
With her newfound strength, Marie used the window ledges to lower herself far enough to where she felt comfortable dropping to the ground.
Marie needed some sort of weapon. Right about now she was beginning to think clearly and berating herself for being stupid enough to take off on her own. She should have run downstairs and alerted the guys. If she left now, the Watchers would not return in time to save the woman and the child.
Marie knew it was now or never. She snatched up a metal pole lying beside a dumpster, then sprinted around the building. When she reached the spot where the woman stood, she saw the child behind her, clinging tightly to her coat, face buried out of fear. The men were several feet away and still closing in slowly, their faces sneering with obvious delight.
“Back off, goons.” Marie shouted, and in a blink of an eye, she was standing directly in front of the woman.
“Well, look what we have here,” drawled one of the men.
“Looks like it’s going to be a table for seven now instead of
a table for six.”
The men halted their approach, but continued their taunts. Marie was breathing heavily now, fear invading her senses. She had never been in a real fight before, but vowed not to back down. She knew she was facing more than ordinary men. They were Rogues. But she was there to protect this woman and her child from these monsters, and that was what she was going to do.
Marie held the pole high, like a baseball bat. Remembering the swing she had taken to Dr. Pearson, she smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Folding his poor poker hand, Kern got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. He rose from the table slowly, sending out his senses to every part of the building, but could not locate Marie. Alarms rang in his head.
“Has anyone seen Marie?”
The other Watchers stood, and Kern could tell they were sending out their own probes, but from the look on their faces, they had also come up blank.
Kern’s alarm reached boiling point. Marie was no longer in the building. He took off down the stairs to the garage, and shoved open the door to the outside. His heart beat frantically as he reached out for her, hoping to sense her and that she would answer his call.
Warm fingertips brushed his face, and Kern knew it was Marie. “This way,” he growled. The Watchers followed close behind as he ran down the sidewalk. Kern smelled the Rogues before he saw them.
Kern tried to control his anger at seeing the bloodsuckers near his mate. Although he had not officially asked her, in his heart and in his mind she was already his. He would protect her with his last breath.
In a burst of fury, Kern whipped around the corner, catching the Rogues by surprise. He plowed into the closest one. He didn’t have a weapon. He didn’t need it. His protective instincts were in full attack mode. Kern tore into the Rogue, ripping him apart with his teeth as the other Watchers took out the remaining three.