by C. M. Steele
“Well, now that that’s a wrap, can we head back home? I’m sleepy and I want a nice hot bath and you need one,” Charlotte said, scrunching her nose up at him as Draco pulled her close for a kiss. I couldn’t be happier for my best friend and his mate. We’d waited for what seemed like an eternity for them to come into our lives.
“I totally could use one, too,” Leonora grumbled, sniffing her shirt in disgust, but I found her scent fucking edible. I was damn near salivating. She fought hard and strong against the best. I knew it was better that he trained her no matter how much I didn’t care for the close contact.
“As you wish,” I said to her. There wasn’t a thing I wouldn’t give her to make her smile, so a bath was such a simple and pleasurable request.
Draco nodded to us. “See you two later.” Then he and Charlotte disappeared back to their home.
I picked Nora up and carried her to our bedroom. I took my time so that I could hold her a little longer. I always made an excuse to hold her; she felt so perfect in my arms and it was something I cherished. The feel of her soft skin warming mine as I pressed her against my chest was healing. I had memories of horrors that haunted my dreams. Her presence has started to melt them away. My dreams are no longer filled with screams of vampires dying with the sun. They are of her smiling down at me with her pretty eyes and warm soul.
As soon as we were in the bathroom, I set her bottom on the vanity while I started the tub for a nice, hot bubble bath. She sighed, still looking pretty after meeting with Draco’s fist. I hated that had happened, but she had to learn and I remained as composed as possible. After that strike, though, Nora got much more angry and sure of herself. Her rage caused her to slam him down several times. She did get carried away and he tackled her, which forced her to learn a little more control. Next time, Charlotte and I were just going to have to train together or go play cards or something. It was too hard to watch my woman get roughed up and not step in. Although, it was something I was going to have to get used to if a war did break out again.
Once the bubbles were almost to the top, I started stripping her down, then helped her into the tub. “Don’t fall asleep now. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’m going to get us something to drink.”
I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses and was back in just a few moments. She had her head leaning back against the edge of the tub but turned when she saw me. I popped the bottle open and poured us a glass. Handing her the glass, our fingers touched. It wasn’t anything new or even more than a touch, but it felt like more. As I stepped back to set the bottle down on the counter, I could still feel that little touch.
She looked delectable in there, but I knew she was too tired and drained from her first real training session. “You know, if you weren’t so tired and sore, I’d…never mind. Relax, my lady.”
“I love you, Falcon.” That was the first time she said that, and it felt like it was more than just the vampire connection. It felt sincere and danced along my spine. I’d waited for those words. They were human words and meaningless to most vampires, but she was special to me, and from her those words were honest and pure.
“I love you so uncontrollably. It’s more than just being bound. I look at you and I care about everything you’re thinking and I love the look you get when you’re trying to read Vigo’s scribble.”
“Well, it’s illegible,” she countered with a shake of her head. Vigo’s handwriting was truly that of a doctor. I had a hard time deciphering it.
“It is, but you look adorable when you attempt to read it. I just want to kiss you and press that furrow between your brows away.”
“Falcon, I think you’re trying to seduce me.”
“Why? Is it working?” I asked, wagging my brows at her playfully.
She hesitated for a moment, taking a drink of her wine before flatly saying, “No.” The smile that had been etched on my face started to fade, but then she got onto her knees in the tub and sudsy water sluiced down her breasts, leaving them wet and bare. I growled and started stripping as a pretty smirk appeared on her face. We were both going to be sore and exhausted very shortly.
Chapter Twenty-Seven—Charlotte
It came to me again. The same vision and it scared me. Hearing her scream was hard for me to bear, but I knew there was nothing I could do about the visions. It was going to be dangerous and potentially fatal, and it woke me out of my sleep. I was sitting straight up in the bed with tears streaming down my face in a cold sweat. Fear and worry took over me as I tried to come to terms with the future. Being a psychologist, I should be able to talk myself down, but even this was too much for me to handle on my own. I may not be able to say anything, but I had someone to lean on when these dark dreams disturbed me. Draco was awake in a flash and had his arms around me, holding me tight as he tried to make sense of my behavior. I sat there, rocking back and forth, looking for some semblance of peace. I was so tired, yet the dream had gotten out of control and refused to let me rest. I sniffed back the moisture as I fought the tears.
He tilted my chin with his thumb, making me look into his worried eyes, and said, “Tell me what it’s about, Charlotte.”
I couldn’t tell him even though it was all I wanted to do, but telling him would change the outcome and that would be a hundred times worse. I played out the scenarios in my head, looking for a way out of this mess, and every time the rewritten story was scarier than the last. There was nothing for me to do but stay my course and be vigilant. It was hard, but I finally understood Falcon’s mother’s decision. This was hard on me, and her choice was a thousand times harder.
“I can’t say, Draco. I’m sorry, but I just can’t. Please hold me. I need it,” I sobbed.
“Always,” he said, his mind worried but his heart was full. He pulled me back down so that I rested on his chest and covered us with the blankets. “Rest, my world.”
“I love you, Draco.”
I climbed atop my lover and slid down his hardened length, looking for relief. We rocked back and forth until we were chanting each other’s name and coming hard. I collapsed on his chest, falling back asleep with my mate protecting me.
The dreams didn’t stop, but with Draco there to hold me, they became less frightening. He was the calm to the thunderstorm headed our way.
~~~~~
I woke up late. It was after ten thirty on Sunday morning, so I started our breakfast. I found it fascinating how human they were. Yes, at times they craved blood, but it wasn’t something they had to have. Just yesterday, I saw him down a medium rare twenty-ounce burger with a plate of fries and a glass of Pepsi. The man could eat and it didn’t matter if it was a wild rabbit, which I wasn’t interested in seeing, or if he was slamming a tray of tacos. The man was huge so it was natural. He was lucky he was wealthy because we needed money to fill his appetite.
I started the two pounds of bacon while I chopped up some fruit for me. I ate more these days, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was one of them now or if it was from the constant physical activity I’d been doing lately. I grabbed my Bose speaker and hooked up my phone with the Bluetooth. Once it was paired, I turned to an 80’s radio station. Within seconds I was dancing around the kitchen to the rhythm of the beat.
Hungry Like a Wolf by Duran Duran was playing, and I laughed at the irony of it. I was a vampire now.
Breakfast was almost ready when I heard my sleepy lover wake up.
Chapter Twenty-Eight—Draco
I don’t know how the king could keep his composure when Queen Maria had her visions. Seeing Charlotte withdraw from me and unable to tell me what is haunting her sleep upsets me so much. I held her in my arms the rest of the night, hoping that I could keep the visions at bay. I woke up to cool sheets beside me and the sound of dishes moving around. I smiled to myself; last night seemed to be just a dream. My mate was back to the sunny woman, blasting music throughout the house as she got ready. I watched her as she shook her ass to some song I never heard of and she looked sexy a
s hell doing it.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I called out. She turned around and blushed before turning off the music.
“Sorry. I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to music.” The smile on her face made her light up beautifully.
“What song was that?” I loved seeing her shake every part of her body. I wanted her to do that a bit closer to me. I wanted her on my cock again like we hadn’t gone at it in the middle of the night. I hoped this feeling never passed.
“It was I Want to Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston.”
“Oh well, I liked it and I’d dance with you anywhere. Come here and give me a kiss. One day we’ll hold a grand ball in yours and Leonora’s honor and our good fortune.” To see her in a ball gown that accentuated those breasts and slender waist had me rock hard, I was about to come.
“That would be wonderful.” Her genuine smile gave me some bit of hope that we weren’t doomed. After all, Falcon’s mother gave her life because of her visions and for her people. I can’t lose my Charlotte.
I pulled her into my arms and bent my head for a kiss. Breaking our kiss, I said, “Marry me, pretty girl.”
“Gladly,” she whispered against my lips before kissing me.
“Thank you, beautiful. God, it smells so good in here.”
“Sit down, beast man. It’s time for breakfast,” she said, turning around and placing a large plate of bacon down on the table. My eyes widened, making her giggle at me before taking a seat with me. Breakfast didn’t end with bacon. I enjoyed a sweet side of Charlotte.
~~~~~
We arrived at the office around eight the next morning; it was still early and no one was around, so I took a little Monday morning meeting with my new assistant, which consisted of her getting nailed to my desk and coming all over me while I came deep inside her. Thankfully, these walls were pretty soundproof and Falcon wasn’t in yet. What a way to start the workday. Mondays may now be my favorite day. First, the meeting with Leonora setting off the chain reaction to finding Charlotte; now, a quickie to get the day going. I couldn’t ask for more, or rather I shouldn’t.
Two hours later, Falcon came in looking disheveled but smiling. I guess he was held up. I gave him a wink then handed some papers to Charlotte. “I need these scanned and emailed over to Vanderburgh’s office.”
“Yes, sir,” she purred.
I growled at her because she knew that I was ready to give it to her again, but we were trying to keep it under wraps.
I walked into Falcon’s office while he was spraying on some cologne.
“Seems like Monday may be my favorite day,” he said to me with a wide, toothy grin.
I started laughing, “I was thinking the same thing. It feels so good to finally have them.”
“Yes, it does,” he said with a nod.
I slipped my hands into my pockets on my slacks and rocked on my heels. This was tough for me to do because I really felt bad about what happened on Saturday. “I came in here to apologize about Leonora. I didn’t mean to hit her.”
Falcon nodded. “I know you didn’t. It’s comes with the training. She’s a quick learner, though,” he finished, beaming with pride.
“Yes, that’s true. It still sucked. I felt bad about that shit all day. Is that why you had me train her, so you wouldn’t feel bad?” I hated that Saturday wasn’t going to be the only training session.
He shook his head; his look souring immediately. “No, I made her cry and I hated myself for it. She didn’t like me being mean to her.”
“I get that shit. I would lose it if I made Charlotte cry.” Hell, I didn’t even make her cry last night and I hated myself for her anguish.
The rest of the day I worked on finding ways to spend time with Charlotte. It was stupid of me, but I missed her so terribly that I couldn’t think straight and she was just outside my door. I had a staff meeting tomorrow and I wasn’t prepared for it. When we got home that night she told me that she put together my meeting materials and notes. Damn, that woman was my everything. After a hot meal and a good fucking, we both passed out sated and ready for another day.
Chapter Twenty-Nine—Falcon
Another week had passed and there was no word that our mates had been found. It seemed a bit off in my eyes. I sat in my home office, thinking about how fast information traveled in this world. It wouldn’t take long for it to get out. Especially after the little tabloid piece that was splattered all over the internet yesterday. I knew it had been Veronica’s work. She couldn’t stand that she would never be mine and this was her retribution. There was no way she could have understood the magnitude of the situation, but that didn’t make me pity her any more. If someone came after Leonora, Veronica would pay.
“What’s bothering you, Falcon?” Leonora asked, plopping herself in my lap. I’d been so lost in thought that I didn’t hear her. I had to be more careful about that. Danger was around the corner, and I had to do everything I could to keep her safe while working on a cure for our people.
“Everything that can touch you negatively.”
“That could be so many things, but all I need is my strong warrior by my side.” She grabbed my legal pad with random notes on it. It was those who were supposed to be shifters, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
“I’m just searching for answers in the shifter community, but I can’t get someone who knows a thing. It’s either they don’t want to say anything or they don’t know their history.”
“Did you inform them that if Stavros and The Lamia gain power they will take over everything, including them?” she asked me, setting the pad down and wrapping her hands around my neck.
“I don’t want to bring up The Lamia yet, just in case they have people working together.”
“I thought they didn’t like vampires.”
“They don’t, but you know the phrase. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“Yes, I’ve known that one for years. It was something my father preached.”
“You know I’m doing all I can to stop myself from throwing him off a building. He’s on my list of people I despise the most.”
“I’m there with you, but they haven’t tried to contact me since they left my stuff at the door.”
“Umm…”
“Um, what? Hmm, Falcon?”
“Security has not been allowing you to receive any calls. And I blocked their number on your phone.”
“Good. I don’t want to talk to them. There’s nothing that they could say to excuse the past twenty-two years of neglect and disrespect.”
“Yes, I know, but I shouldn’t have done it. I was just worried that they would get close to you and hurt you. I haven’t killed a human in centuries, but if they hurt you I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”
“I know, and I know they have been. You didn’t monitor my personal emails. They’ve been messaging me for weeks. I was just waiting for you to be honest with me. You know we’re going to be together for centuries. And you should know a woman has a memory like an elephant and we have been known to bring up the past in arguments.”
“I have read that somewhere.”
“I’ve never really had those kinds of arguments, but I’ve seen it many times.”
“Either way, I just want to apologize. I’m not quite sure how to do the right things. This is my only relationship and I never thought you’d come.”
“Well, I’m here and you make me come all the time.”
“That I certainly do. In fact, I do believe that I’ve wasted enough time today on lousy thoughts. Let’s go to bed so I can make sure I keep you coming back for more.”
I carried her off to the bedroom for a late-night snack and a couple of screaming orgasms.
Chapter Thirty—Leonora
I spent weeks going over Vigo’s notes and I wasn’t finding anything that would help with our dilemma. Each book had daily entries, and I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong. The vampire DNA was very similar to humans’ and pr
imates’ DNA. There were variations on multiple alleles, but the variations differed from one vampire to the next. The commonality was miniscule, which left the mind to wonder where the attack was happening. What caused the cells to dry up and forced their bodies to turn to dust?
A part of me felt like there wasn’t a possibility of a cure. What if it passed like time and there wasn’t any way to bring people to the light?
Vigo walked into the lab about an hour after I got there. “So did you find the answer yet?”
“No. What if there…” I didn’t finish because I remembered he had a lot invested in finding a cure.
“There isn’t one?” he asked.
I felt like such a bitch for even bringing it up considering his circumstances. “Um…yes.”
“There has to be. And I know what you’re thinking. That it’s my hopes and dreams that are hanging onto the fact, but it’s not. His mother had always been right and true. You have to believe. If all the things that make us who we are, are real, then why not this?”
He had a valid point. They were considered just a myth, but now I knew it was legit. “I suppose, but so much time has passed.”
He smiled at me as he donned his lab coat. “Time is irrelevant to most of us. What you see as a lot of time, we see as a mere moment. I have been through many lifetimes and you have been looking at the pages for weeks.”
“That is very true. It’s like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity in a way.”
“Yes, time moves the same, but how we perceive it varies. As humans, your maximum life span is one hundred twenty years, and that is due greatly to medical and nutritional advances. Our oldest vampire is nine hundred. I remember a time when humans did not live past thirty five years of age. I believe humans do not give their dentists enough credit. Infections were the main cause of death for millenniums,” he finished with a chuckle.
“That I can agree with. Most of us only go when our teeth are already damaged and the pain is extensive.”