“See that you do, Bird. I won’t show you mercy a third time. Cross me and the Knights will be looking for a new VP and you’ll be fitted for a casket. Do I make myself clear?”
“Absolutely. You’ll see. I’ll deliver Hawk to you on a platter next time.”
Rosalee gripped the front of his tee and pulled him to his feet, their gazes mere inches apart. “You do, and I will see your wish come true. I’ll turn you and you can live your days out as a vampire. Cross me and you’re a corpse. Got that?”
He quickly nodded again.
“Good. Now I find that I’m hungry.”
Without waiting for consent, Rosalee tipped his head to the side and sank her fangs into his flesh and began to take her fill. Bird’s gasp filled the air and his penis hardened. She could easily drain the bastard and probably would once he outlived his worth. Stupid human. Did he seriously think she went around turning humans into vampires?
Chapter 13
Suzi hadn’t slept more than a few hours. Her eyes stung, dry as dirt, from shedding more than a few tears over the course of the long night. What the hell had she done? She could blame the endorphins racing through her caused by the act of feeding, but she knew better. Nourishing a vampire was most definitely a sexual act, but she had done so over the years without acting on the raging hormones surging through her. No, she had wanted to get Hawk off, wanted him to know that she was no longer the naive eighteen-year-old who hadn’t a clue what to do with a man, let alone one sexy-as-hell vampire. And had it not been for Lyle’s untimely arrival, she would’ve managed to finish what she started.
She may not like Kaleb much, but that didn’t stop her from desiring him. Only a cold corpse would be immune to his deadly charm. Damn, but she acted no better than a nymphomaniac on a dry streak. Insert Kaleb’s fangs and she went weak at the knees, bat-shit crazy, and all but begging him to take her.
Hiding the fact she wanted in his chaps in the worst way wasn’t an option either.
Hell no, his nostrils flared whenever she got wet. He knew damn well the effect he had on her. Just the thought of last night’s activities involving her on her knees and her mouth wrapping his velvety, hard-as-steel cock and she was crossing her legs. Her night had been dream-filled with unrequited desire, needs she had no intention of giving purchase to. She deserved to suffer after the way she left Kaleb standing in Draven’s office, moments away from completion.
Talk about a tease.
After tossing and turning for the hundredth time, she finally gave up the hope of getting any sleep and put in a phone call to the one person who might understand, Cara Brahnam. They had been friends going way back, and even though they had lost touch for several years, when she came back into Suzi’s life, they had taken up right where they’d left off. No one understood her better than her best friend from school. Thankfully, she had been more than willing to drop any plans she might have had and promised to come by for coffee.
Tamera had left for the newspaper about a half hour prior, starting the pot before she left. Suzi had filled the redhead in about her disastrous night upon arriving home, and how Kaleb had wanted to kill her Uncle Lyle. Maybe involving him hadn’t been such a good idea. The ever-optimistic Tamera thought Lyle could take care of himself. One look at the large man and Tamera figured Kaleb would concede to defeat. Her roommate had no idea how determined Kaleb could be when he wanted something. He might think her a cold-hearted bitch, but Suzi knew his desire for her ran thick through his veins. Kaleb Tepes was but a hairsbreadth away from giving into what they both tried so hard to deny.
Following her rapid descent down the stairs the previous night, Lyle met her at the bar and had been the gentleman, taking her home without question. He’d been concerned about her well-being, but Suzi assured him that Kaleb would never hurt her … at least not physically, though she had kept that little nugget of information to herself. Kaleb may not raise a hand in harm, but he had the power to stomp all over her heart as just he had in the past.
Never again.
His growl following her down the steps and fleeing into the night, had haunted her throughout the night. She had callously left him on the verge of an orgasm. Suzi smiled weakly as she took a sip of her coffee. Kaleb no doubt finished the job, calling her all sorts of colorful words as he reached gratification. A knock sounded on the front door, drawing her attention and disrupting her from her reflections. Rising, she walked across the polished wooden floors and opened the door.
Cara handed her a coffee-shop cup with a cardboard sleeve, then gave her a one-armed hug. “Caramel latte, two shots of espresso.”
“Tamera made coffee,” Suzi said matter-of-factly, taking the offered cup. “But this is so much better.”
“I thought you might think so. You sent me the SOS and I was worried. I thought the treat might cheer you up. So what the hell has Kaleb done this time?”
Cara kicked off her shoes and strode over to the sitting room, dropping into the large, cushioned chair facing the picture window, curling her legs beneath her. She took a sip of her own coffee and sighed.
“Delicious. I’m so glad you called. It gave me a reason to run out for real coffee. Not that rot-gut stuff the guys call coffee at the clubhouse.”
Suzi sat in the adjacent brown, worn-leather recliner, placing her paper cup on the leather and wood trunk that acted as a coffee table in the center of the room. Leaning back, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Tears filled Suzi’s eyes. She swatted away the lone tear that passed her lashes and cleared her throat.
“You’re going to think I’m an idiot, Cara.”
“What happened?” She leaned forward and laid a hand on Suzi’s knee. “I’m sure whatever it is, Kaleb is likely at fault. He wouldn’t know how to treat a woman even if she came with an instruction book. You want to tell me about it?”
Suzi took a deep breath. Where to start? She knew Cara wouldn’t judge her. Cara likely felt that Kaleb deserved everything he got. He was far from innocent in what had transpired. After all, he had been the one who demanded they see each other every three days so that he could feed, when there were plenty of willing donors to take her place.
Finishing with her tale of the evening, omitting the part about voluntarily giving Kaleb head and leaving him with a full-blown hard-on as she raced into the night with her fake fiancé, she waited for a reaction from Cara, who sat tight-lipped. Suddenly, she cracked a wide smile, then burst into laughter. Great. Not exactly the reaction she had hoped for. Shouldn’t she be pissed at her brother-in-law for being so rude to Lyle?
Heat rose up Suzi’s neck and centered in her cheeks as she waited for Cara’s mirth to subside. She wasn’t sure if she should be mad at Cara for her reaction, or maybe join her, realizing the ridiculousness of the situation. Besides, Kaleb had been the one left to suffer. Not that she hadn’t left the club horny herself, but by the time she had arrived home and humiliation had set in, her ardor had cooled … at least until the erotic dreams began.
“I’m not laughing at you, Suzi,” Cara finally said, containing herself. “Really … it’s Kaleb who’s the butt of this joke.”
“How do you figure?”
“You should have seen him last night when he got back to the clubhouse. He was ready to murder someone. I know now, you were the cause of his sour mood.” Cara sat back and took another sip from her coffee and sighed. “Though, I’m not quite sure why Lyle Murphy, or his arrival up the top of the stairs, would cause such an outlandish reaction from Kaleb. Lyle is as gentle as a giant teddy bear. The man is beyond nice.”
Suzi had a hard time looking Cara in the eyes, knowing full well why Kaleb had been so angry. But how does one admit to being so turned on you couldn’t control yourself, then not bothering to finish what you started?
“So you know Lyle?”
“Of course, I do,” Cara said. “He owns Murphy Bar’s next door to the Blood ‘n’ Rave. I used to hang there occasionally with the guys from
work. Now? I’m not so sure I’d be welcome. My coworkers aren’t too happy with my choice of mate.”
“I don’t suppose” Suzi toyed with her fingernails.
Cara leaned forward and laid a hand over Suzi’s, stilling her actions and forcing Suzi to look at her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I’ve told you about Hawk and how he reacted to Lyle.”
One of her brows rose. “Yes, but you obviously left an important detail out. What is it?”
Suzi looked out the window. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Come on, Suzi.” She drew her attention back. “What kind of a detective would I be if I didn’t detect that you’re nervous about something that happened. You can’t even look me in the eye. What is it? You have to know I’ll take your side in this. Kaleb deserves everything you dish out and then some.”
Suzi stared at Cara, another tear slipping past her lashes, feeling the need to confess the entire story. She hadn’t even told Tamera about her naughty desire to get Kaleb off.
“I won’t judge you, Suzi. Surely, you know that.”
Suzi nodded, then took a deep breath before letting Cara in on the other of part of her tale. She sure hoped her good friend wouldn’t judge her. Suzi had openly cursed the ground Kaleb walked on. What would Cara think when she found out how Suzi truly felt?
“I left Hawk with a hard-on.”
Cara chuckled. “I’m sure it wasn’t the first time he fed and didn’t get laid. It’s really not a big deal, Suzi. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“No, it wasn’t just excitement from communion.” Suzi shifted in her chair. “I fed him, and I should’ve stopped there. But I didn’t.”
“Did Kaleb take advantage of you? If so, I will knock his block clean off his shoulders when I get back to the clubhouse.”
“More like the other way around.”
Cara’s gaze rounded, but she patiently waited for Suzi to elaborate.
“I took advantage of him, Cara … and then I didn’t have the decency to finish him off.”
“You had sex?”
“No. I was giving him a blow job when Lyle knocked on the office door to check on me, to make sure that I was okay.” Suzi winced, rubbing the back of her neck. “Hawk was probably damn near on the edge when I stopped. I was so humiliated. So instead of being an adult about it, I just turned tail and left.”
Cara sat perfectly still, not saying a word until a bubble of laughter burst forth. Suddenly, she was laughing so hard she was mopping up tears from her eyes. Suzi couldn’t help but chuckle herself. She supposed if the shoe were on the other foot, she would’ve found the situation damn near hysterical. After all, she would bet that Kaleb wasn’t used to being denied.
“I’m sorry, Suzi.” Cara tried hard to contain her humor. “But surely you have to find this hilarious.”
“Well, maybe not exactly hilarious. You remember I have to deal with him in two days again when he’s ready to feed. I’m not so sure he will be amicable company.”
Cara winced. “That or you’ll be dealing with a vampire bent on seducing the pants off you. You best be careful, Suzi. I think you might be playing with fire.”
Suzi shrugged, unwound her arms from her knees, then leaned forward and grabbed her coffee. “Hawk probably just found another willing female after I left.”
“Would that bother you?”
She pondered the question when she came up with the one answer that disturbed her most. Tears sprang back to her eyes as she looked at Cara. “I don’t think I want to know if he did.”
“So it would.”
Suzi nodded. “I’ve been trying hard to deny that I want Hawk. I always have. But I also knew I would be just setting myself up for hurt. So it’s been easier to hide behind the hate I’ve carried around in my heart these past ten years.”
“Suzi,” Cara leaned forward and placed a hand on Suzi’s knee again. “You have to go after what you want. If you want Kaleb, as I think you do, then I’ll help you. He won’t know what hit him.”
Suzi swatted at a tear. “You’re forgetting he hates me.”
“Does he think you hate him?”
“With every fiber of my being.”
Her lips turned up. “He thinks you hate him, when you really don’t. Maybe he doesn’t hate you either, Suzi. What if he’s denying what he feels? Self-preservation can be a bitch.”
“You’re forgetting about Ion.”
Cara leaned back, settling into the deep cushions of the chair. “Why don’t you fill me in on that part of the story. The most you’ve told me is that after Kaleb acted like you no longer existed, you dated Ion.”
“Hung with,” Suzi corrected. She had never shared Ion’s secret with anyone … until now. She trusted Cara, and if she were to get her understanding, then she needed to know what had really happened. “Ion and I were good friends. We were there for each other, told each other secrets no one else knew.”
“That was before I left town, right?” Cara asked.
Suzi nodded.
“You couldn’t share it with me?”
“You wouldn’t have understood. I was a donor. You would have freaked knowing I was feeding vampires. As you recall, I took you to the Rave. You left town rather quickly following that night … without saying goodbye.”
Care winced. “Guilty.”
“I had my reason for keeping it all a secret, Cara. I thought by taking you there, maybe you could see for yourself, maybe even join the donors. But it didn’t work that way. Instead, I frightened you into leaving town. You stayed away ten years.”
“I left because of Kane.”
“But you would’ve never known about Kane and the vampirism if I hadn’t taken you there.”
Cara narrowed her gaze. “You think I blamed you?”
“I didn’t know what to think, Cara. All I knew was I took my best friend to a den of vampires and then you left me.”
“I’m so sorry, Suzi. I had no idea what you were thinking, or into for that matter. I didn’t leave because of you. I left because I feared the monster I saw that night.”
“And now?”
“I was so wrong. Had it not been for you, I would’ve never met Kane.” Cara smiled, a wicked gleam in her eye. “And I plan to pay you back. I’m going to help you get Kaleb. After what I witnessed last night, you had him tied in knots. I am positive he didn’t hook up with some willing club raver. You definitely pushed his buttons. Now, tell me about you and Ion.”
Toying with the cardboard sleeve on her cup, Suzi knew it was time to let the past go. “Ion was gay, Cara.”
“So? I’m not sure what that has to do with anything other than answer the question of whether the two of you dated.”
“Kane and Kaleb didn’t know. None of the Sons did. He didn’t want them to. He feared what they might think.”
“He didn’t even try to tell his father?”
“No. And he thought by hanging with me, then his secret would be safe.”
“What did Kane think about you dating Ion?”
“I’m not even sure he knew. To be honest, I don’t think Kane really knew I existed at all until the day at the Rave when I tried to sleep with him, the night we saw you when we came out of the Rave.”
Cara grimaced. “I remember. I was pretty jealous of you being with Kane.”
Suzi laughed. “Well, that was certainly unfounded. By then, Kane was already yours. He just didn’t know it.”
“He needed a little convincing.” She chuckled.
“Anyway, Kaleb did know I was with Ion. Only he thought I was Ion’s girlfriend. I never bothered correcting him because Ion wanted his secret kept. So when Ion went off to see his boyfriend, he probably just told his uncle he was going to see me. When Ion died, Kaleb took it upon himself to give me the bad news.”
“How’d that go?”
“That’s when he figured me to be a cold-hearted bitch. I didn’t cry, and he’s hel
d that against me. Hell, I was so stunned I didn’t know how to react, so I just left. I had to be the one to tell Ion’s boyfriend. It killed me to have to deliver that kind of news. Kaleb never talked to me again and avoided me when we happened to be at the Blood ‘n’ Rave at the same time.”
Suzi took a shuttering breath. “I had to watch him parade woman after woman in front of me. I learned the easiest way to protect myself from the hurt was to hate him.”
“And now?”
A tear slipped past her lash. “I realize how much of a liar I’ve been.”
“You like him?”
“I think it’s much worse than that, Cara.” She smiled weakly, her lower lip trembling. “God help me, I think I’m in love with him. I’m afraid I always have been.”
Cara sat forward, holding her cup between her hands as her elbows rested on her knees. “Then, girlfriend, we’re about to teach Kaleb a lesson in Love 101. Besides, I still owe him for the way he’s treated me in the past. This should be fun watching him squirm. When we’re through, he’ll be begging for mercy.”
Chapter 14
The sound of a couple of V-Twin engines cut short, just before a knock sounded on the door. Cara had left the clubhouse a few hours earlier, giving them the privacy they needed to meet with the Knights’ president and vice president. Kane had messaged Cara, telling her to take the day out, not to return too soon as they had important club business to attend to. Not that women didn’t have their place with the Sons, but the MC was comprised of only men. When it came to club politics, then the women were to make themselves scarce. Besides, he had heard that Cara took her job back at the Sheriff’s Office. He knew because of her love for Kane that she would never jeopardize the MC, but he wasn’t about to take a chance that something might accidentally slip from her lips or put her in a situation where her ethics would be compromised.
Kaleb walked over to the old oak door and swung it inward. Red and Bird stood alone, as requested, on the stoop. He stepped back and invited them in. Grayson sat on the sofa, booted feet kicked up on the scarred coffee table, long arms outstretched along the back of the fabric sofa. His sunglasses perched on his head, holding back his overlong rich brown hair, his bright blue eyes undoubtedly not missing a thing. After their last meeting, Kaleb got the idea that there was no love lost between the once rival VPs. He couldn’t help wonder about the story behind it, or if Grayson simply did not like the man for any other reason than a conflict of personalities.
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