Hawk

by Rasey, Patricia A.

  Suzi had always been his Achilles’ heel. His entire reasoning at keeping her at arm’s length for years. She was like a siren’s call to his wounded soul. And tonight he had caved, given in to the need to feed from her and damn himself for longing for more. She reached down, squeezing his jean-clad thighs, her fingernails digging into the material. Kaleb knew she fought the lust caused from his feeding sluicing through her body.

  “Damn you, Kaleb Tepes,” she cried out, pleading him to stop.

  It wasn’t her words that had him withdrawing his fangs though, but the tears he heard in her voice. Her disdain of him obviously ran so deep that she couldn’t stomach the idea he could give her pleasure. He pushed her away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Sucking in air through clenched teeth, Kaleb watched her closely. Her hand covered the wound on her neck, one that he should have licked to aid in healing. Instead, he chose to allow the sting of his bite to remain. For selfish reasons, he didn’t want to spare her. Besides, without the healing qualities of his salvia, the angry wounds would last for days.

  Kaleb wanted her to think of him every time she looked in the mirror. Who the fuck was he kidding? He wanted to erase Ion’s memory from her. Every fiber of his being wanted to stake his claim. Good enough reason to keep her at bay. But now that she was back, no way in hell would he allow her to disappear again. He might not fuck her, but he sure as hell would feed from her.

  Slowly turning, her eyes downcast, she reached for her pocketbook on the bar. Surprising him, her cheeks were dry … not one wet trek from tears marred her pale cheeks. Just as she snatched her bag and meant to head for the exit again, Kaleb stopped her, this time with a tender hand on her shoulder. He heard her sniffle, knew that her bravado slipped and she was damn close to weeping.

  “You will allow no one else to feed from you.”

  Her shoulders stiffened, her muscles tensed. When she turned to face him, he could tell his softly spoken demand pissed her off. Good. Her anger he could handle.

  “I told you I was retired. No one feeds from me—and that includes you, Hawk.”

  He grit his teeth, his fangs now retracted. “As I said, I un-retired you.”

  “You can’t do that. A donor has a right—”

  “I can and I just did. My desire trumps yours. Or have you forgotten the oath you took when you became a donor? Unless I harm you in any way, you cannot refuse me.”

  “Why is it so important for you to claim me?”

  “To claim you, sweetheart … would mean I desire to fuck you.”

  A muscle ticked in her cheek. “Forgive me for misunderstanding then the pencil poking at my back.”

  Kaleb laughed, the sound cruel to even his ears. “Shall we test the size? I believe you already have and found it to your liking.”

  “I regret the day I allowed you anywhere near me.”

  “Just remember, sweetheart, you started this by seeking me out. I didn’t come looking for you.” He held her clear blues eyes captive. “If I say that I alone feed from you, then no one else shall take the pleasure in your blood.”

  “And if I allow every Son the right?”

  Kaleb grinned. “No one would dare cross me.”

  A lone tear slipped down her cheek. “Why?”

  “Because you hate me.”

  She nodded, then looked to the tiled floor.

  “By being my personal donor, you will suffer every time I slake my thirst.”

  She visibly swallowed, then brought her gaze back up. Fire radiated from the depths. “You’re a cruel bastard.”

  “That I am.” He winked. “But I promise you, dear Suzi, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to fuck you. And when you do ask, I will and I won’t stop until your last thought of your sweet Ion is erased.”

  Suzi’s breath hitched. “You don’t know anything about my relationship with your nephew.”

  “I know that you didn’t care when I came to you, to tell you of his death,” he said, gritting his teeth.

  “I grieved in private. I didn’t need every one of the Sons privy to my pain.”

  “So you say. Then you don’t deny you loved him?”

  She shook her head. “I loved Ion deeply.”

  “You slept with me before meeting Ion, yet you forgot me so easily.”

  “You slept with everyone, Hawk. Don’t try to convince me that I was special.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”

  She rubbed the twin red puncture wounds on her neck. “If we’re done here, I think it’s time I headed back.”

  “To where?”

  “None of your business.”

  “I just made you my business. Should I need to feed?”

  “You’ll find me here, in a club full of ravers. If you’re serious about forcing this issue, then I prefer to meet you in public.”

  Kaleb mulled over her petition, knowing full well he could deny her again if he chose to. But instead he decided to allow her this one request … for now. “Don’t force me to come look for you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  And with that she turned, her hips swaying as she headed for the exit. His dick stood up and took notice again. As she reached the door, one hand slammed into the lever opening it outward, while the other raised in a one-finger salute. Kaleb chuckled. She had just flipped him the bird. He did love her spunk. Too bad she had first belonged to his nephew, even admitted as much with her declaration of love for Ion.

  Kaleb sat hard on the barstool, still gazing at the door she had exited through. Suzi had been correct. He had slept with everyone in sight following his sexual encounter with her. She had been young then … much too young to handle the likes of him. And yet, even though he had tried to fuck her from his memory, he hadn’t even come close. He ran a hand down his whiskered jaw, and sighed. Demanding that she be his personal donor? Yeah, he was pretty sure he’d be the one regretting that.

  * * *

  “Hello,” Kaleb said into the receiving end of the phone. Still groggy from a deep sleep, he had answered it blindly, having no idea what time of day it was or how many hours he had slept. His black drapes kept any light from filtering through since he normally preferred to sleep through the biggest part of the day. He was a late night man. Something about the moon and the stars that was preferable and calming compared to the bright afternoon sun, not to mention the sensitivity it caused his eyes.

  Following Suzi’s departure at the Rave, Kaleb had hopped on his bike and headed out in no particular direction. He needed the open road to clear his head and shake off his raging hormones. The cool wind caressing his skin and damp morning air clinging to him, he rode as if hell nipped at his heels. It wasn’t until the first rays of dawn warmed the morning dew before he pulled into the gravel clubhouse parking lot. He had pulled up next to Grayson’s candy apple red custom Sportster and a blue Nissan he didn’t recognize. That was certainly nothing new for his roommate. Grayson rarely came home from the Rave alone.

  “This better be fucking important,” he grumbled, not giving the person on the other end a chance to speak. “Do you know what the hell time it is?”

  “I don’t honestly know, bro. Here in Italy it’s just about time to hit the clubs. I guess that makes it about noon your time.”

  “Viper? What the hell are you doing in Italy?”

  He heard a female voice speaking in the background before Kane said, “Cara says to tell you hello … and before you say anything, it better be nice. I’d hate to have to come back to Pleasant just to kick your ass.”

  Kaleb closed his eyes and sighed. “I wouldn’t dream of insulting your bit—woman.”

  Kane chuckled, the sound rich, making Kaleb realize how much he had missed his twin. “So what has you all so fired up you felt the need to call me four times in the last several hours?”

  “If you would’ve answered your fucking phone, you’d know.”

  “You could’ve left a message. I wasn’t at the flat wh
ere I forgot my cell. As soon as I saw the missed calls… Well, I’m talking to you now. So what the hell?”

  “We got word from the Knights you called, informing them you needed their help.”

  “Why would I call them and not my own MC?”

  Kaleb had asked himself the same question. Now, in hindsight, seemed pretty stupid to believe the other biker when he had called. But he hadn’t been able to get a hold of Kane. He didn’t want to take a chance that his twin might really need his help. He scratched his head, mussing his hair further and yawned.

  “I don’t know. Sounded urgent, they said you were in Seaside. We told him we take care of our own. I rounded up the guys and we hit the road.”

  “Why the hell would one of the Knights send out a bogus distress signal? You know the bastard’s name?”

  “No. I was more worried about answering your distress call.”

  “You get the phone number?”

  “No. It came up Unknown Caller.”

  “I’ll call Red and see what the fuck gives. Anything else?”

  Kaleb sucked in a deep breath to calm his anger over losing his fellow bikers. Kane would be livid. But Kaleb needed him in Oregon, for crying out loud, not Italy. “Yeah. Wheezer and Red Dot are dead.”

  Kane let a stream of curses fly, before he inquired, “How?”

  “It was a setup. A steel cable was stretched across the road … took both their heads. They didn’t have a chance.”

  “Jesus!”

  Kaleb heard Cara’s question and Kane reiterating the conversation to her before he came back on the line. “If you were all on the road on some bogus rescue mission for me, weren’t you supposed to be out front, Pres?”

  “You’re getting the picture. It should have been Xander and me. I got a flat and we stopped. We sent Wheezer and Red Dot on ahead to get me a tire.”

  Kaleb lifted the cell from his ear as Kane let loose another stream of curses. When he finally finished, Kaleb said, “It had primordial scent all over it, Viper. I couldn’t be one-hundred-percent positive because we were getting some pretty heavy storms, but I’d stake my life on it. Now answer my question. Why are you in Italy?”

  Kane was silent for so long that at first Kaleb thought he meant to ignore his request. And in truth, it probably wasn’t any of his business. But considering Kaleb’s recent activities, he thought Kane owed him that much.

  “I came here to see Mircea. Took me nearly five months to get an audience with him since I’m not really one of his favorite people at the moment,” he finally said. “I wanted to wait to tell you in person. I needed to get this thing dissolved with Rosalee.”

  “And?”

  “The bitch is dead to me. Mircea eventually granted my wish to mate with Cara. Let me tell you, he wasn’t happy with the way it all transpired or with a primordial dead as a result. But because it all came about due to Rosalee’s actions, he granted my petition.”

  “And what of Rosalee?”

  “She’s MIA. To me that just further proves her involvement with Alec Funar … that and the text messages we found on his phone the night you took his head.”

  “You think she’s here? That she might be responsible?”

  “I really don’t know. Doesn’t make sense she’d go after you. Look, I’ll pack my shit here and Cara and I will head out. I’m coming home, bro. We’ll find this fuck responsible for Wheezer and Red Dot’s death. One way or another.”

  “Viper? You might want to also find out if any of the other primordials are missing from Italy. This may be retaliation for me taking Alec’s head and not a result of Rosalee going off the deep end after all. In any case, I doubt this ended with Wheezer and Red Dot. Whoever is responsible for this shit isn’t going to stop until I’m dead. I’d like to get to them first.”

  “I’ll ask around. You fucking stay safe, Hawk. I lost my son. I sure in the hell don’t want to lose you. I’ll be back as soon as I can get some answers here.”

  The cell went silent. Kaleb tossed it on the bed. Two damned hyped to sleep now, he swung his feet to the floor, stood and headed for the showers, not bothering with briefs. Just as he left his room, Grayson’s door opened and a pretty petite blonde stepped out. She perused his body from head to toe. Not bothering to conceal her interest, then offered him a sexy smile.

  “Aren’t you just a sexy thing,” she said as Kaleb noted the vial about her neck. She must’ve been fairly new to the society of donors as he didn’t recognize her from the club.

  “Hit the road, darlin’. I’m really not in the mood for company right now.”

  She approached Kaleb, her fingers trailing over his pecs and down his abs. “Are you sure? I could possibly assist you with your hunger … be it blood or something a bit more intimate.”

  He gripped her fingers to keep them from sliding farther south. “Sorry, I’m not in the market for a donor.”

  “How about friends with benefits?”

  “First, I’m not your friend. And second, I don’t need a fuck buddy.”

  “That’s too bad.” She smiled. “I would’ve liked to have had a little fun with you. Maybe another time?”

  Grayson emerged from his room with a yawn. She looked back at his MC brother and winked. “See you later, sweets. Call me?”

  “Go home, Shel. If I need you, I know where the hell to find you.”

  Not in the least put off by his crude send-off, she walked to the door, then turned back and kissed the air. Kaleb shook his head. No ego issues that one.

  Kaleb turned his attention to Grayson. “Where the hell do you find them?”

  Grayson offered a sheepish grin, then headed for the bar and pulled down a bottle of Jack. “Shot?”

  Kaleb shook his head. “Shower first, then you and I have a couple of bodies we need to prepare for a proper send-off.” Just before he shut the door, he looked back at Grayson. “By the way, Viper will soon be heading home.”

  “Where the hell’s he been?”

  “Italy. Went to see Mircea.”

  “No shit?”

  Kaleb shut the door, turned on the water and stepped beneath the steaming showerhead. He thought of the offer the little blonde had made. It’s not that he couldn’t have used the sexual release, but there was only one woman who had his attention at the moment, and he be damned if he knew what to do about it.

  Chapter 4

  Suzi stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she had been run through hell and back. After returning from the Blood ‘n’ Rave following her confrontation with Kaleb, she hadn’t been able to get much, if any, sleep. She had found herself tossing and turning until the first rays of dawn peeked through the white wooden slats of her blinds. She really hadn’t thought about the light color before, but in hindsight, maybe she should’ve purchased room-darkening shades. So instead of sleeping until noon as she had desired, she crawled out of bed and started the coffee … fully leaded.

  That was six hours ago.

  Nearly a full pot later and she had finally decided to step under the shower. Standing in a black lace, matching bra and panty ensemble, Suzi stared her reflection and the twin holes marring her otherwise unblemished skin of her neck. The bastard could’ve aided in the healing by simply licking the wounds following the retraction of his teeth, leaving nothing more than faint red marks today. But no, he had felt the need to mark her, and in turn, cause her to suffer the irritation. And far worse, she knew he wanted her to think of him every time she looked in the mirror or rubbed the aching twin holes. His ego governed his actions. She’d have to wear a scarf wrapped about her neck when she made a much needed trip to the store. Thankfully, she had the day off from work. Try explaining away the telltale sign of vampires to her coworkers.

  Really, anaconda bite. You should have seen the size of that sucker.

  Disgusted with Kaleb and herself for being foolish enough to track him down, she stepped into a pair of dark blue, straight-legged jeans and pulled them over her slim hips, fastening t
he button. Suzi grabbed a maroon pullover from the hanger and slipped it over her drying hair. The blouse hung loose past her waist to cover her backside. Normally she preferred clothes with a bit more flash. Today, however, she preferred to grocery shop unnoticed. Had it not been for the lack of food in the house, she wouldn’t even leave the townhouse and sulk otherwise in private.

  Hell, she had asked for this.

  Whatever made her think she could go up against Kaleb Tepes and not get hurt in the process? Technically, other than the sting of the bite marks and her wounded pride, he hadn’t exactly caused her real pain. Though eventually, the son of a bitch would hurt her and no doubt break her heart if she were ever foolish enough to drop her guard. Kaleb was a selfish bastard who loved no one other than his family and MC. He went through women like water through a sieve. And for that reason alone, she had worked damn hard over the years to ignore his existence. Well, other than her one night of weakness when she thought to proposition his twin, Kane. What better way to make Kaleb seethe than to sleep with his brother? But Suzi’s plan hadn’t worked and Kane had turned her down flat. The vampire had not been available to her, or anyone for that matter, because he had actually been in love with her best friend from high school, Cara Brahnam, though at the time he hadn’t been aware of it.

  When it came to Kaleb Tepes, Suzi was way out of her league. So keeping her distance had become a priority to protect her vulnerable heart. In the end, the one thing that had worked in her favor and earned her his scorn was his nephew Ion Tepes. Kaleb made it obvious he resented her affair with Ion and wanted nothing to do with her. And of course, she had never bothered to share what her true relationship with his brother’s son had been. Certainly, she had loved Ion the way a sister loved a brother. They spent a great deal of time together, giving her many wonderful memories following his death. She had been a donor for Ion on several occasions when a lover hadn’t been available to him, but the feeding had always been plutonic in nature. Suzi was of the wrong sex to entice Ion on any other level and Ion appreciated having Suzi as a buffer. As long as his father, mother, and uncle, not to mention the rest of the Sons thought that Suzi was his old lady, then no one would guess the real truth.