by C. M. Steele
“Well, you do not have to worry about that anymore.”
Goodness, I hadn’t thought about that. It’s funny how something I would have noticed before takes on no relevance after what I know now. “That is good to know.”
“Yes, like the rest of our body, we regenerate easily. Your regeneration will build in strength as you age, but one day your injuries will fade in hours.” Again, more information that I had to store in my vampire book of care. I suppose there wasn’t a book on Amazon about how to manage now that you’re a vampire.
I closed the books, they were giving me a headache anyway. His handwriting was so indecipherable that I didn’t know why I bothered. “I know this is crazy, but have you gathered DNA from older vampires to study?”
“Yes, we have, and unfortunately, their DNA is identical to ours. There are very few vampires with different genetic traits.”
“I know Falcon is special, but I’m sure there are more traits that with time haven’t been discovered because everyone is afraid to admit their abilities in fear of being attacked.”
“I suppose there could be. As of present, we all share: strength, flight, speed, vision, hearing, and the ability to read human thoughts. Although, I can see that there are levels of skill in each of those. Very few are like Falcon and Draco with their added ability of teleportation. Their abilities are strong in all areas, and that is what has kept them alive in thousands of battles.” Vigo’s respect for them was strong and I didn’t sense any resentment. He meant what he said about them.
“Thank heavens for that. And that explains why his mother said he was important.”
“Yes, they can destroy ten vampires to another’s one vampire. They are amazing to see in action. Although, I hope for your sake, you do not have to witness it. Falcon saved my life on the battlefield, then kicked me out for not being up to par. It was right before the curse was put on us. It was the last time I got to see my son.”
“I’m sorry about your loss, Vigo.” I truly wanted to weep for him. As a vampire, they were supposed to live forever, yet he had lost a child. One that wasn’t old enough to understand the danger.
“Thank you, your ladyship.”
“Oh, stop with that.” It was a bit unnerving because I hadn’t earned the title. I was mated into it and, so far, contributed nothing to the vampire world.
“It’s what I should call you. You may not feel like you’re something special, but you’re the mate of someone special and that in itself means that you’re worthy of him and everyone’s respect.”
“Thank you, Vigo, but enough of that. I’m ready to get some work done.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Uh-oh, someone is coming,” I said in a whisper. It wasn’t Draco or Falcon, but it was someone that I knew for sure.
“Well, they cannot come in here,” Vigo said, pulling out the slides and slipping one under the microscope.
There was a knock, so I went to the door annoyed that whoever it was didn’t bother calling the lab first. I opened the door to see Dr. Cortez standing there with an arched brow and tapping her shoe. I was trying to keep my cool, but she was looking like she had been left waiting. This lab was off limits and that was that. If she had a problem with that she could take it up with the big man upstairs.
I stepped out of the locked lab, crossing my arms and looking at her with derision. “Hello, Dr. Cortez, how can I help you?”
“Okay, I get that you’re more than likely sleeping with one of the bosses or is it because you’re the mayor’s daughter, but this is bullshit. That lab is special. None of us got to train there.” Wow. That came out of left field. Sniffing the air, I could smell alcohol. Had she been drinking on company time?
“Well, that’s not my problem, and if it bothers you so much you can take it up with Dr. Lombardi. But, so you know, there’s a phrase that explains why I’m in there and you’re not. Too many cooks in the kitchen. I’m just an assistant. You would be more hands on. So do yourself a favor and mind your own business because I don’t think he will take it kindly. Also, it smells like you had a few cocktails at lunch today.”
“You spoiled, rich, little tart,” she hissed, her hand about to come up towards my face. She dropped it before it was too noticeable, but I didn’t miss what she wanted to do. Fucking nut job. What was with Falcon and all these damn crazies? Did Draco hire them from a fucking psych ward?
“Dr. Cortez, may I have a word with you?” Falcon called out, coming up behind her. I hid my smile because Falcon wasn’t going to let anyone speak to me that way. I hadn’t done anything wrong, and her pettiness wasn’t appreciated or accepted.
“Dr. Lombardi.” Great, her protector is here. She’s nothing but a mediocre whore.
He held a hand up to stop her from speaking. “Don’t make excuses. I hired you for a reason, as I had a reason for hiring Ms. Dulles. I don’t need my staff to feel harassed. Do yourself a favor and start looking for another position. I can give you a good reference if you can leave with grace. If not, well then, I’ll inform them that you’re not a team player.”
“You’re firing me?” Over this bitch?
I was thinking to myself that my sense of hearing was better when Falcon was around. He was like my own personal amplifier. Most of the time the thoughts were choppy or I only caught every other one. I was going to have to bring it to his attention. He assumed that I was great at it, but I wasn’t. I had trouble very often, and the more I tried to focus on people’s thoughts, the more lost I got.
“That’s what I’m doing,” he stated. His tone made my heart skip a beat. That deep voice that exuded strength and power. I was so turned on that I would let her see what a whore he made me.
“Ms. Dulles, please get back to work,” he hissed. I knew why though. He could smell my heated need rolling off of me. Even his bossy tone was really sexy.
I love you. Get in there before I take you upstairs.
Stop being so sexy, and I love you, too.
“Yes, sir,” I added with a straight face and a slight nod. I entered the lab again and Vigo was waiting with his arms crossed and shaking his head in disappointment.
“Falcon has got to watch what he’s doing. The constant firing of female staff members for you will be noticeable.”
“Yes, I know. I fear a lawsuit will be on his hands, and lawyers aren’t going to hesitate to ask questions and make accusations, but she had it coming.”
“Yes, I heard it all. She didn’t like me either. Before she acted as though it was man thing. But, please have a talk with him,” Vigo pleaded. He was correct and it could get messy.
As soon as we got home for the night, I told him what Vigo said and how I agreed. “It’s going to be fine. If it makes you feel better, I will contact my lawyer when he gets back from his vacation.”
“Yes, that would make me feel a lot better.” I smiled at him because he was eager to please me. Ever since I met him, I have felt so special that I never wanted to go back to being forgotten and unloved. I would do anything to keep him happy, too. And to start that off, I walked toward the stairs, then slid the zipper of my dress Clutching the straps, I slipped it off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor. His gasp was clear even from across the room and he was on me in a flash.
“I should try to please you more, my love,” he whispered against my ear before taking us both down to the floor for a night of fun.
Chapter Thirty-One—Falcon
I should have listened to Leonora and Vigo when it came to my temperament and anything that bothered Leonora. I’ve just received a lawsuit alleging gross misconduct and illegal firing. I sent an email to my lawyer to have him meet me at my office. We needed to wrap this up quickly before the press got wind of the suit and brought more attention to the company. It wasn’t anything I was too worried about, but I didn’t want the headache that dealing with them would cause. I had better things to do with my time then spend it explaining myself to overpaid stuffed shirt doctors.
An hour later, Mr. Strut arrived, looking ever the country lawyer.
I handed him the package before he sat down. “A lawsuit. Not sexual misconduct?” he asked, reading it out to himself.
“No.”
He continued reading the document, shaking his head the entire time. “So she claims you fired her because she was outside of the special lab. That your hiring practices are based on sexual and government favors. That’s ludicrous and it will be tossed out with ease. First, political favors are passed around like candy. Who does she think you’d screw here?”
“My fiancée,” I admitted. It was easier to just get it out there before it complicated matters.
His head jerked back and he sat upright in the seat. Tilting his head and cocking a brow, he said, “Fiancée? That news to me.”
“We haven’t made it official because I didn’t want it to look like there was any improprieties. She’s Leonora Dulles.”
“Wait, Leonora Dulles, like the mayor’s daughter?” I nodded. “Nice, I heard she’s beautiful. But it would be better if you two were already married. There’s nothing that says you can’t hire relatives, and she’s technically not a relative until she’s got that wedding ring on. Does she have a science background?”
“Yes, that’s why I hired her for the position. She just graduated from University of Chicago with a Masters in molecular biology and a bachelor’s in bio-chem.”
“Okay, again, nothing wrong with that.”
“Of course not, and who I choose for whatever lab is up to me. Besides, it was what she said to Leonora that got her fired. You can’t verbally attack another employee and let me witness it.”
“Did she now?” He smiled brightly in that dirty lawyer way that made me feel good that he would get this resolved quickly.
“Yes, I saw her going down to the lab, so I made my way down there, and that was when I heard her telling Leonora that she was essentially fucking her way through the company.”
“Well, that’s grounds for being fired,” he said with a positive outlook.
“So, you’ll handle this?” I asked with confirmation.
“With pleasure.” He left my office, and by the end of the day, he called to say the suit was being dropped. I sat back in my chair and thought about all the trouble that’s been caused since I met Leonora. If people knew how long I waited for her, there wouldn’t a fucking peep from anyone. Well, except for the fact that I was over four hundred years old.
Even that snotty woman I just fired had a lover and she was only forty. That bitch should try centuries without anyone. Sometimes I truly hated being in the human world. It was no longer an option right now, but should we end this war and win, I will retire with my queen back to my castle.
I stopped down in the lab to tell Leonora the news, and she was sitting there with Vigo’s notes, studying everything he recorded. Her brows scrunched together as she tried to decipher his chicken scratch and I thought it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, which was crazy, but I think it was the scientist in me that loved how brilliant she was. Every time I came down here she had them in her hands, looking for anything we missed, and it hurt that she was just as lost as we had been. She came here with so much enthusiasm I wondered if she was starting to get defeated.
“I’m sorry, give me another minute, Falcon.”
“Take your time. You know how irresistible I find it when you study,” I said, ogling her.
“Wow. That has to be the nerdiest yet most seductive comment I’ve ever heard.”
“Can’t help it.” I looked around the room and didn’t see Vigo anywhere. Usually he closed up the lab. “Where’s Vigo?”
She got up and started putting the notes away. “He went home already. It’s his wife’s birthday.”
“Ah, shit. I forgot.”
“No problem. He told me yesterday, so I ordered a large box of steaks for them and a basket of sliced fruit dipped in chocolate,” she said, licking her lips.
“We’ve got some fruit at home. We could pick up some chocolate,” I offered with a suggestive grin.
“Sounds delicious.” She nodded, moving to my side with an extra pep in her step. Having had to wait for her has paid off in dividends and worth the wait.
Chapter Thirty-Two—Leonora
“I need to attend a meeting with some private investors. It’s in Chicago, so please don’t go anywhere,” Falcon said, kissing my forehead. He mentioned this meeting at least once a week for the past month.
“Did you want me to go with you?” I asked. He had been thinking about taking me but was still torn about it.
“No. I’m leaving you here with Draco. I’m taking Charlotte with me.” I arched one of my brows at him. That didn’t make much sense to me. Both of us being forced to be separated instead of me playing his assistant for a couple of days. I thought if he wasn’t going to take me that he was going to fly solo, but I guessed wrong.
“Why her and not me?” I asked, a bit of jealousy and envy laced in my question.
“Normally, I would take my assistant. Since I don’t have one, I’m taking Charlotte. I need Draco to be here to take care of you.”
“Why can’t I go as your assistant?”
“Because I have to actually work and having you around with a bunch of old men ogling what’s mine just might set me off.”
“Are you always going to be this jealous?” I asked teasingly. I loved it and really, it wasn’t jealousy, it was territoriality, but I was the same way. I hated the nasty thoughts running through that bitch’s head when she looked at my Falcon. I couldn’t imagine listening to ten voices all at once talk about him like she did.
“Okay, am I driving into the office then?” I asked, climbing into bed.
“Yes, and Draco will meet you just so you’ll be safe.”
“Can I drive any car I want?” I asked with my eyes wide and my smile big so he’d say yes.
He laughed at me and kissed my nose. “Yes, you can. You have your license now and, of course, your abilities make it safer for you to drive anywhere.”
“Fantastic, but I’m going to miss you,” I said with a pouty lip.
“I’ll teleport Charlotte and myself in every night so I get to love you nightly and hold you while you sleep.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” I said, straddling his waist.
“I want Draco to stay here,” he added, lifting my blouse off my body. His hands slowly ran up and down my sides. I shivered with anticipation.
“I’m not worried about humans,” I moaned out as he sucked on my lace covered breasts.
“I am, but they aren’t my only concern. My interest in the shifter community has been noted. Just be safe, my love,” he whispered against my neck. I started grinding my hips on his hard cock. He was only wearing his boxers to bed and his tip was already sticking out of the hem.
“So essentially, you’ll be gone during the day and so will I. There’s no need for Draco to babysit me. Besides, then I can’t drive the pretty blue mustang.”
“Fine, but you promise to be safe for me.”
“Of course. I’ve survived twenty-two years without you, not knowing all about you weirdos.”
“Weirdos? Huh?”
“Yep. I managed to stay away from danger despite you lurking in the wild.”
“I’ll give you wild,” he growled. Falcon lifted his body with me straddling him. Hovering, he pulled his boxers down and, with a thud, pushed us both down. His cock buried itself in my depths as we landed. “You beast,” I moaned, coming immediately, and he came with me. I was going to miss him and this.
~~~~~~
Falcon kissed me goodbye and I was so damn sad. I still had to go into the office. So, I started to get ready and block out all thoughts of Falcon. It took an hour to get ready. I wasn’t feeling too hot, but I think it was because I was missing my Falcon already. I didn’t know how it was possible, but I was missing him more than usual. At least one positive was I got to drive his classic Mustang.
It was a 1957 beauty, and I was a bit nervous about driving it, but he said I could. Of course that was when he was in an after-coming stupor, but he still said yes.
I hopped down the stairs and skipped into the large garage with all the custom cars. Taking the keys from the lock box on the wall, I got into the little beast. It was a shiny blue and way too pretty for me, but it wasn’t going to stop me. Climbing in, I ran my hand across the sexy dashboard. I wasn’t a car girl per se, but I knew a beauty when I saw it.
I slipped the key into the ignition and turned it over. The baby roared and I felt out of my league. Nevertheless, I was driving it to work. Pulling out of the driveway, I was cautious but in control. Draco was calling, but I knew our meeting point so I ignored it. I had to concentrate on the road with this baby.
Exiting the gate, I hit the main dirt road and picked up speed quickly. Before I knew it, I was punching eighty before slowing down for the first turn. Then, out of nowhere, I was sideswiped. Spinning out of control, I crashed into a nearby tree. Stunned, all I could think about was how angry Falcon was going to be about his car. What I didn’t realize was that there was another car and two people got out of it. They dragged me out, cutting my leg against the shredded metal on the door. I was confused for a moment before looking up to see two people I knew, and I knew I was in a shit load of trouble. Getting ready to fight back, I felt the sting of a stun gun and I lost my bearings.
Chapter Thirty-Three—Falcon
I decided to park my car at the airport for convenience. I hated to be driven around, and Draco and Leonora had to leave for the office soon. The drive wasn’t too long, but I wanted to have a talk with Charlotte. I hated leaving Leonora behind. I didn’t want to, but it was best to take the heat off our relationship. There were rumors and things, but the vampire world hadn’t gotten wind of it quite yet.
“Is there anything you can tell me, Charlotte?”
“About what?” she asked, playing dumb to my question.