Edge of Humanity (Only Human Book 5)

by Candace Blevins

  Aaron had me sit down with his accountant and his finance guy, and we moved most of my new millions into stocks, bonds, real estate, and precious metals. We fixed things so I wouldn’t have to pay out my ass for taxes, and I considered the possibility of taking some time off the following year to spend some serious time with my Shīfù in China.

  All of that went to the back-burner Friday, though, when I went through my closet trying to figure out what to wear.

  Cora pulled out blue-jean shorts and a camisole shirt, but I put them back.

  “Abbott and Gavin aren’t going to show up in jeans and t-shirts. I need to be dressier, but without looking out of place in the MC’s compound.”

  She pulled out a mint green cotton sundress, and then a burgundy one. “Either of these will be fine with your Tevas. The burgundy shows more cleavage, but the cut of the green one makes your ass look better.”

  I sighed and called Abbott. “What are you wearing?”

  “Black dress pants and a dark shirt. Probably charcoal. Gavin will likely wear black jeans and no shirt, if I had to guess.”

  When we disconnected, I looked at the dresses.

  “You need to be clear you’re there as Abbott’s date, right?”

  I nodded. “That’s the agreement. If I was going to see Dawg I’d wear blue jean shorts and a cute t-shirt. If Gavin will be in jeans then I could get away with that, but I don’t want to.”

  I reached for the green. “The mock turtle will send the sign I’m not trying to be sexy for vampires, right? Not teasing them with my neck?”

  Cora laughed. “If it makes you feel better, sure.”

  I was ready twenty minutes before they were to pick me up, and I was a nervous wreck. Cora sent me to the backyard to talk to my trees, and I was still there when a sexy little black convertible with the top down pulled into my driveway.

  The security spotlight over the parking area came on, and I noted Gavin, indeed, was shirtless. They looked like movie stars, one dressy and the other dangerous. In other circumstances, I’d have been taming my libido, but I still wanted to treat them both as a punching bag. My issues at this point, not theirs. This was about making the world believe we were all hunky dory with each other. I’d never trust either of them with my back again. Or my front, for that matter. Still, I had to figure out how to get along with them.

  And it was imperative the supernaturals in the city saw us out and having fun together. We could squash so many potentially dangerous rumors by pulling this off — dangerous because of the alliances forming due to the belief the top echelon of power was fractured. It was important everyone show a united front, and I was determined to do my part.

  I headed down the steps, and Cora was letting them in the front door as I came in the back.

  Everyone brings a dish of food to the MC’s parties, and I grabbed my mint-chocolate bark the bikers couldn’t seem to get enough of, and handed the container to Abbott when I made it to the foyer. He accepted it without question, and I looped my smallest crossbody mini-purse over my head and one shoulder, so it rested at my hip. I gave them both a big smile and hoped it didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I just need to grab a scarf, since we’re in a convertible.”

  I climbed the steps and heard Abbott ask Cora, “Lauren isn’t home?”

  “She’s on a date.”

  “Please tell her I asked about her and sent greetings.”

  “Right, I’ll tell her you said hi.” Cora put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “She knows you had one of your people kidnap Kirsten. Why do you think we’ll tell Lauren her mom’s out on a date with you?”

  I made my way back down the steps with the scarf and a few ponytail holders.

  “She knows I’m making nice with you,” I told Abbott. “She doesn’t need to know more. Tell me about the car.”

  All men like to tell you about their sexy sports car — doesn’t matter if they’re human or vampire.

  “It’s an antique Aston Martin,” said Gavin. “My choices are limited when I’m carrying more than one passenger, and it’s a nice night to ride with the top down.”

  While he talked, I looked in the foyer mirror to arrange the black scarf around my hair and head. I knotted it at my temple and put some ponytail holders in my tiny purse, just in case. I looked through to be sure I had everything I might need — phone, some cash, a credit card, chapstick, and lipstick. Nothing else would fit, so I hoped I didn’t need anything else.

  “It is,” I agreed, and picked up a small bag by the door. “I’m ready.”

  I didn’t expect Gavin to toss me the keys, but I didn’t argue. I also had to suppress a laugh when I pulled out of the driveway. Abbott sat beside me in what was probably the most casual dress clothes he owned, and Gavin was sprawled on the seat behind us — dark charcoal jeans and no shirt. They both have gorgeous black hair, blowing in the wind, and were both sexy as fuck.

  And I didn’t want either one of them.

  Driving the little antique sports car was a little like having sex, though. Or, the way I imagined it from the Dom perspective. The clutch, the gears, the kick-ass engine with raw power, and I was totally in control. It’d been a while since I’d had so much fun driving, and the men were silent, as if they knew the car and I were having a moment.

  Tiny motioned us through the gates when we arrived, and Duke greeted us before we were out of the car.

  “Is this the 1966? The limited run?”

  Gavin nodded. “Only 37 were made. I didn’t think Kirsten would be able to handle a stick, but she drove it like a pro.”

  “It was fun. I intend to be heavily buzzed when we leave though, so I won’t be able to drive home.”

  “Harmony’s set up with her Long Island Iced Tea,” Duke told me with a grin, “or you can fix what you want from the bar.”

  Dawg was sandwiched between two scantily clad women when we went inside. His eyes focused on me when I neared, and I grinned at the hard-on clearly showing under his jeans. I so wanted to blow him a kiss, but I kept it to a friendly, mischievous smile.

  Gavin’s arm was around me, and I leaned into him and arched my brows at Dawg. This would only be awkward if we didn’t act as if it weren’t normal.

  One of the girls realized Dawg was watching me, and she leaned in and put her hand on Dawg’s cock over his jeans. His eyes closed in bliss, and I made my way to Harmony — with Gavin still attached.

  “Tonight’s goal,” I told her, “is to get me heavily buzzed without tipping me into sloppy drunk.”

  “Tell me Abbott’s carrying a dish of your mint-chocolate bark stuff?”

  I grinned. “Of course.”

  Brain took the large container from Abbott and carried it to Harmony. “My guess is she’ll just want to keep the whole thing over here.”

  “Sharing’s for the birds on some things,” Harmony agreed.

  I sat sandwiched between Abbott and Gavin a good portion of the party, but I noted Abbott went behind closed doors with the MC leadership for perhaps thirty minutes, and he made the rounds and seemed to speak with just about everyone present at least once.

  As for Dawg, I counted four blow jobs he got in the common room, and it’s possible I missed one or two since I was trying not to pay attention. His response was clear — I’d shown up with two vampires, but he had four-or-more public blowjobs while the two vampires got none.

  I actually approved of his response, though I decided it probably wasn’t wise to share my approval with Gavin or Abbott.

  I let them put their arms around me. I leaned into them. I let them help me walk once I had a nice buzz going.

  And Gavin leaned me backwards and took me in a kiss. He did it after a series of shots, when I was already off balance, and I melted under his command. His lips. His tongue. His arms holding me in place. Every cell in my body wanted more even though my psyche was screaming at me to stop. A few minutes later, Abbott followed suit. I tensed, but he his voice came in my head.

  Relax.
Just the one from both of us. Let me in. You know what I can do with my tongue.

  The memory of his oh-so-talented tongue turning me inside out, combined with the same tongue in my mouth promising much of the same, had my heated blood thundering in my oversensitive clit. I’m certain the entire room smelled my arousal.

  As promised, they didn’t push things quite so far again.

  I’m pretty sure we left around midnight. Gavin pointed out I’d had a lot to drink and should probably ride up front. I was fine, but didn’t argue. He put me into the passenger seat, fastened my seatbelt, and jumped into the back seat, over the top. The oh-so-seductive vampire once again stretched out and looked sexy as sin, and Abbott drove.

  When Gavin had fastened my seatbelt, his chest was in front of my face, but all I could see was ribs with no skin. There was no danger of me getting drunk and wanting to have sex with Gavin. None.

  I waited until we were a mile away from the compound before asking Abbott, “Did that give you what you needed?” I heard how it sounded and corrected myself. “What we needed.” I was slightly beyond buzzed and headed towards drunk, but I could still think straight.

  “It did,” said Abbott. “I’d like for Gavin to carry you in the house and to the playroom. What’s in the bag in the trunk?”

  “A naughty card game. We may as well have fun in the playroom. How do ya’ll keep up on the latest lingo? I know most of what’s in the card game because I kind of live some of it, but most of my friends my age don’t — and ya’ll are way older.”

  “We pay attention,” said Abbott. “Language is fluid, and once you get used to listening for new words and using them instead of the old ones, it becomes second nature. Slang changes faster than most words.”

  “And the fucking thing you sit on in the parlor, which is now a living room or a great room or a front room,” Gavin said from behind us. “Davenport, settee, couch, sofa. I’ve stopped calling it any damned thing at all. Fucking annoying. A table’s been a damned table for centuries.”

  Abbott chuckled affectionately, and I had a feeling it wasn’t the first time he’d heard this particular rant. “Genitalia is the hardest to keep up with. Maypole. Talleywacker. Dolly. Bayonet. Schlong. The list is endless.”

  “I just go in her head and see what she calls it,” said Gavin.

  Abbott inclined his head. “It wasn’t always an option, but now that we have it, I admit to frequently using the tactic as well.”

  Abbott pulled into the garage and looked at me. “Sit still, please.”

  Gavin was over me in seconds, his fingers deftly removed my seatbelt, and I was in his arms, being carried like an infant. I wanted to fight him, but I constrained myself. We needed to make it look good.

  The vampire’s wicked hands wandered while he walked me through the kitchen and downstairs great room, but when there wasn’t an audience, he was a perfect gentleman. He settled me on a sofa in the playroom instead of standing me up, and I asked, “Do you still stock ginger tea down here?”

  “We do.” Abbott left the playroom, and returned several minutes later with a small pot of tea and a single cup. “You’ll want to let it steep a few minutes.”

  We managed to avoid all serious talk while we played naughty card games. About two hours in, I was seriously fading.

  “You can sleep if you want,” said Abbott. “Preferably on me a while, and on Gavin a while, so your smell will be right when we take you home.”

  “Lucky for us, most people assume vampires prefer a woman on her menses,” said Gavin.

  “Period. On the rag. Shark week.” Gavin didn’t look amused, but Abbott laughed.

  I slept in Saturday and awoke to a sunshiny day. I didn’t bother with clothes, just put my bathing suit on, grabbed my e-reader, and headed downstairs. Cora and Lauren were watching television in the family room, and I nodded to them as I walked by.

  When I’d swam so many laps I thought my arms might fall off, I floated in the water on my back to catch my breath. I was looking forward to diving into the latest book in a series I follow, but I had the day to myself and was in no hurry.

  “You made a big splash last night.”

  I jumped at Nathan’s voice. He’d arrived while I swam and I hadn’t heard him. I breathed through the adrenaline spike, but it didn’t help. I hate being surprised.

  “You’re back.”

  Yeah, it was a stupid, inane thing to say, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

  “I am.”

  “Did RaeLynn tell you about our talk?”

  “She did.”

  “How long have you been back?” This was my last attempt at conversation. Another two-word answer and I’d grab my e-reader and start reading.

  “Since about midnight.” He sat on the diving board and dangled his bare feet in the water, apparently not caring that he got the bottom of his jeans wet. “I haven’t been to bed yet. Too many things I need to handle locally before I can sleep.”

  I looked to the left and saw his boots at the top of the steps. He’d been here long enough to unlace them and take them off. Damn, I needed to pay better attention to my surroundings. If the Celrau had sent a shapeshifter to ambush me, I’d be dead. “I’m something you need to handle?”

  He laughed. “Any man who thinks he can handle you is in for a surprise.” His eyes focused on the water, and neither of us spoke. The time dragged until the silence was uncomfortable, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I’m glad you’re here. I’m not sure where we are. I don’t like being awkward around you.” When all else fails, state the obvious and see where it takes you.

  “I pushed for too much, too fast. It seemed fate had given me an opportunity — an excuse to bend the rules before I broke them. I tried to bend as many as possible while I could, but I miscalculated.” He shrugged. “Your decision to stay away wasn’t a terrible one. I get it, now that I’ve calmed down. If I hadn’t forced Abbott to fight me, things would’ve been fine.”

  “I hurt your feelings, and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.”

  “You were right — a personal relationship in the midst of the supernatural politics was too much. I’ve been doing this eight hundred years. Abbott and the other old ones have had millennia to learn how to weave in and out of the rules. You’re still figuring things out, and you made the best decision you knew to make at the time.” He blew out a breath. “It’s what any smart advisor would’ve counseled, including me — if I’d been thinking straight.”

  The fist around my heart started to ease, but I needed to be sure. “So we’re good?”

  “We are.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed in relief. He understood. We were good. “What else do you need to handle today?”

  “Aaron’s pissed.”

  “I imagine so. You took his wife to a fight.”

  “Putting Jonathan in a holding cell probably wasn’t my smartest move. I bought him a new truck — the make, model, and color Sophia says he was about to purchase. I don’t suppose you’ll go with me to deliver it?”

  “I will. I’ll also go with you to talk to Aaron, if you think my presence will help.”

  “Letting him see we’re okay can’t hurt.”

  “Okay. Give me thirty minutes to get ready?”

  “Not a problem.”

  Jonathan crossed his arms and stared Nathan down when offered the keys. I’d followed in the Sherpa, and I didn’t get out. Figured the men needed to handle this one.

  As king of cats, Nathan could force the issue, but he knew he was in the wrong. It made me feel a little better about Nathan. So many times, it’d seemed like he was abusing his power even though my instincts told me he wasn’t — that it was a lion thing I couldn’t understand. It was nice to see him not using that power when he could.

  Bethany climbed in the passenger seat of the Sherpa while the two cats had a staring contest, and two wolves had Jonathan’s back.

  “I don’t suppose you can tell me what�
��s going on?”

  Could I? She knew what everyone was. I shrugged. “Sophia wanted to go with Nathan for a fight-thing. Jonathan didn’t think it was a good idea. Nathan put Jonathan in a holding cell to keep him from interfering. It was a bad call. This is Nathan trying to make things right.”

  “Fuck. I don’t think a new truck is going to do it.”

  “Probably not, but it’s a start.”

  “He took her into a fight? Really? I’m surprised Aaron didn’t kill him.”

  “Nathan and Abbott were having a disagreement. No one in the fight would’ve hurt Sophia. Nathan took her as a voice of reason.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure why he took her, because he didn’t listen to her.”

  “He’s a man and a cat. Reason only comes into it if they happen to like the advice. I know. I live with a leopard. I love him, but life might be easier if I could manage him with a squirt bottle.”

  Laughter burst out of me in a snort. I could just see the look on Nathan’s face if I tried the squirt bottle thing with him.

  Eventually, the two came to a truce, Jonathan accepted the truck, and Nathan motioned me back into the Sherpa when I moved to get out of the driver’s side.

  “Stay put. You can drive.”

  “I have concerns I stepped back into the wrong reality at some point,” I told him once we were on our way. “One where men don’t think driving the little woman around makes them more of a man.”

  He looked up from his phone, back down to it, and a few seconds later asked, “Who else have you driven?”

  “Gavin wanted me to drive his antique Aston Martin, and he wasn’t even sure I could handle a straight shift. I looked up the cost the next day. One like it — or perhaps it was that one — recently sold at auction for one point seven million dollars. I drove the fuck out of it. Cornering turns, playing in traffic. If I’d known how valuable it was, I’d have been a nervous wreck.”

  “When you went to the RTMC party? That was more about posturing. If Abbott had driven and you’d been in the front seat, he’d have put you ahead of Gavin by doing so and that wasn’t the message they wanted to send — but putting you in the backseat wasn’t an option. Having you drive resolved the issue.” He did something else on his phone before asking, “Do you feel good about your torture session with Gavin? Was it a good call?”