Gabriel stopped him at the door with a hand on his forearm. “You think she’s our mate, too, don’t you?”
“Yes. I have no doubt. We’ll find a way to bring her home, Gabriel.” Snapshots of her sandwiched between them as they drove into her in unison went off in his head. She was so diminutive they’d have to be careful not to harm her. Who was he kidding? She was a mystic. A goddamn siren. That put her at the top of the mystic food chain. That meant she was hardier than she appeared, and she could take whatever they dished out. If he had his way, she’d take all they had to give her.
Maximus went out the door in search of prey.
***
Sameya caught the vampyr as he exited the hotel wearing a top hat and a skin-tight, black shirt that V’d in the front. What a fine figure he cut in his black leather pants that clung to his exquisite ass. His shiny black shoes were the only piece of attire that caught the light. Perfect attire to prowl for a victim.
Behind him, she matched her stride to his long-legged gait. Not easy with the congestion on Bourbon Street. He hooked left onto St. Louis Street and glanced over his shoulder. She remained invisible, so he might sense her, but no way could he see her.
“Spoil sport,” he whispered with a grin and swaggered down the badly cracked sidewalk, his confidence evident in his stride.
Sameya bit back a grin, gawking at his superb butt encased in leathers. What a waste on a leech.
“I can hear your footsteps, siren.”
To acknowledge his comment confirmed her presence. British accent. He hadn’t grown up in America.
He stopped walking. She stopped. He chuckled. “We’ll play it your way, naleah.”
She frowned at the endearment but held her tongue.
The farther they moved down the darkened street, the more sparse mortal activity became. “You’re with me.” The vampyr made a ‘come here’ hand gesture. A Caucasian, balding male exited a dark alley with a cigarette hanging from his thin lips. Sameya watched as the human made no protest, not even when the vampyr clamped his hand on the back of his neck and guided him down a series of side streets. No objection when they crossed North Rampart and Basin Street and walked to the locked gate at St. Louis Cemetery.
“Be a doll and break the lock for me.” He pinned her with his focus.
Sameya leaned against the brick wall and crossed her arms over her chest.
The pathetic mortal, unsuspecting of its imminent demise was the one that spoke. “With what?”
“Don’t be difficult, Sameya. I know you’re there.”
She came away from the whitewashed brick. How’d he know her name? She hadn’t shared her identity with Gabriel. And by the Empress’s glory could he say her name again? In that foreign lilt, her name sounded amazing on his lips.
The vampyr’s silver-blue eyes altered and glowed that vibrant green, evidence of the killer inside him. A clucking of his tongue and he sighed as he palmed the lock, pulverizing the metal. He kicked the gate open.
His body was smooth, graceful even when busting in bolted doorways. Sameya followed him inside the cemetery, shutting the gate behind them so as not to draw attention from a stray drive-by police cruiser. Two steps in his direction, she halted, realizing the vampyr stood staring in her direction wearing an ironic grin.
“I knew my little voyeur was with me.”
Sameya slammed to a halt. Heat hit her cheeks and she thanked her stars he couldn’t see her blush. A big error closing the gate, especially when she could serenade anything that came to investigate.
“Watch this.” The vampyr braced the spine of the man against a mausoleum and sank his fangs into his throat. The mortal struggled but for a moment before going limp. Fangs retracted and he lifted his head, licked the wounds, sealing them. He adjusted his victim in his arms so he could face, Sameya. “It would please me greatly if you would go corporeal while I finish dining.”
Once more, he bit his victim. This time with gusto and the male cried out. Glowing emerald eyes stared in her vicinity as he drained his victim. No point in hiding any longer, she released her magic.
His eyes widened as she appeared, traveled from her head to her feet and swept back up again. Gods help her, but his gawk felt like a physical touch and she rubbed her thighs together to alleviate the sudden ache there, deep inside her.
I cannot be the mate to a bloodsucker. But would the shifter have been any better alternative?
Releasing his victim, he lifted his head.
“He’s dead?” Sameya nodded at the human.
“No.” He licked and healed the wounds.
“You don’t plan to kill him?”
“He’ll die tonight. With my teeth in his throat.”
Sameya crooked her head, studying him. A fine specimen of the male species, it was a shame he was a vampyr. But…she’d enjoyed witnessing him sink his teeth into his victim. “Finish him so I can observe.”
“Come closer and you can experience his death with me.”
She elevated an eyebrow, silently questioning his intentions.
“No hidden agenda. Do you wonder why I picked him?”
Sameya shrugged. What’d she care for his reasoning? All mortals were unworthy of life; she only focused on the worst of the scum. “Not really.”
He frowned, as if surprised by her response. “He’s a rapist of little girls.”
“Then he should die in pain.” She stepped forward. “I can give that to him while you feed.”
A hint of a smile graced his lips, and for a long moment she became spellbound by them. Would they feel as good on her body as they were pleasing to look at? A longing sigh escaped her. Most likely, she wouldn’t feel anything.
Just like I’m feeling nothing now. What a lie that is!
He repositioned the mortal, tonguing his victim’s skin like a medic would a wound with an alcohol swab. “Place your fingers on his neck right below where I put my teeth.”
Sameya stared into his eyes a long moment before redirecting her attention to the human’s neck. She placed the pad of her index and middle finger centimeters below his teeth. His fangs surged out and pierced the male. His victim jerked, but offered no other resistance.
She slammed him with magic a few seconds later, and their quarry screamed in agony. “Quiet,” she cooed to their prey. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he executed mini-jerks in the arms of the vampyr, but his screams had turned silent.
Curious about the mystic’s fangs, she shifted her middle finger to rub along the incisors where they punctured skin. The vampyr groaned.
She elevated her focus; his attention was locked on her. Growing bolder, she slid her digit up his fang to his gum line. His grip tightened on the mortal as a rattling breath left the human’s lungs, expiring much too soon in Sameya’s judgment.
He released their quarry, clasped her wrist with his fingers and pushed her back against the same mausoleum he’d held his prey against minutes before. In her personal space, with his big body pressed against hers, Sameya didn’t back down, but glared up at him. Amusement twitched his lips.
“Unhand me.”
“No.”
“I will bury you, vampyr.”
“You’re welcome to try, doll face.” He lifted a hand and ran a finger along her shoulder, down her arm. “I’ve been around the block a few times. I won’t be that easy to defeat.”
Sameya shivered from his touch. As if she had suddenly ignited with fire, he released her and tucked his hair behind both ears.
“What’s with the top hat?”
He sacrificed a boyish grin to her. “It’s a statement.”
“What does it say?”
“It’s a mistake to think I’m trivial.”
Sameya glanced at the dead mortal. He could say that again. Following the long line of his legs, she noticed the bulge in his leathers. How could she not notice with the size wedged within those restrictive pants? Ripped abs weren’t hidden all that much beneath the fitted cotton either. Broad sh
oulders made her feel more petite than she was. They didn’t grow men like him and Gabriel in Atlantis.
If I allowed it, he could overpower me easily. Feeling as if dragons swirled in her belly, she wondered why that thought tingled her skin with anticipation rather than unease.
The way he watched her with his gunmetal eyes…with such heat it unnerved her.
“What’s with your Goth look?”
Huh? She didn’t understand the term. “I don’t comprehend.”
“Don’t do the internet much?”
“No.” What a colossal waste of time.
“The red streaks in your hair.” He indicated by capturing a lock and holding it out. “The black eyeliner, long lashes, and the very red, kissable lips.” The pad of his thumb dragged across her bottom lip.
Her skin tingled, felt too tight to contain her soul. Around him she couldn’t think straight. She shook herself out of the weird haze he induced. She thought she understood his meaning. “I require no adornment.”
“Hmm….” He rubbed his chin with his fingers.
“What’s your name?”
He ignored her. “I would’ve thought this look lured the wrong crowd.”
“My appearance is not my choice.” What was his problem with her looks anyway? No one else had ever expressed a problem.
“Don’t get me wrong, you’re hot as sin.”
“I eat syn.”
“Pardon?” He adjusted his top hat to a more secure angle.
“Syn. Mortals like your rapist.” Sameya indicated his human victim.
“Ah….” Why did that breath of understanding electrify her skin? And what about her statement pleased him so much? “An honest reaper.”
“I’ve never met a dishonest one.”
“How many do you know?”
“I’d wager more than you.”
He chuckled, and her body reacted with a quiver down her spine to center between her thighs. Again!
Empress’ delights, she disliked the jumbled way he made her feel. Confused one moment and aroused the next. “What is your name?”
“Call me mate.”
Her breathing died, then escalated. She forced a lame-ass sounding laugh past her lips. “Don’t get cocky. I’m not into leeches.”
“Don’t disqualify me from the running.” He sidled closer, aligning his body against hers once more, but maintaining space with his palms on the mausoleum on either side of her head. “Not when Gabriel and I haven’t had the gratification of making you come…yet.”
She gasped, her eyes rounding at his foregone conclusion. “Better men than you have tried.”
“None of them were your mates.”
“Wait! Mates? As in plural?” She flattened her hands against his chest to push him away, but forgot to add pressure. The hard contours of his body fascinated her more than was practical. “That’s…insane.” But gods the idea fascinated her. “Sirens don’t partner outside our race and we certainly don’t have more than one partner.”
Sameya didn’t realize she spoke the thought aloud until the vampyr thrust both his hands into her hair. After he had her anchored into position, he shifted closer, widening his stride to fit her pelvis between his legs. His hard-on nestled against her abdomen as he tilted her head back by her hair.
“No more insane than a vampyr mating a shifter.” His mouth landed on hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip, licked the corners and crease. Distracted by the exhilarating sensations, she was unprepared to counteract his move when he placed the pad of his thumb against her chin and tugged, parting her lips for his tongue to thrust inside.
Sameya squealed her surprise at the wet contact of his abrasive tongue. His fangs grazed her bottom flesh, and her eyelids snapped upward. He watched her, eyes glowing green. He pulled her tighter against his hard frame as his hand moved down her neck, over a breast, and across her belly to land on the front of her thigh. The fingers in her hair shifted, twisting her head to an angle that deepened the kiss.
I should stop him now before it get out of—
The forays into her mouth, thrust inside, withdraw, and repeating the movement, were subtle hints of sex. He fucked her mouth with a skill she’d never known possible. She grew so hot every pore in her body should’ve melted, or at the very least ignited.
Sameya squirmed against him. Needing more of something she couldn’t name. With his tongue in her mouth, thinking straight became impossible.
His hand shifted from her thigh to dive between her legs. She jerked when he rubbed his thumb against her clit. Hard enough she could feel it through her Basilisk skin pants.
Empress save me that feels good. He broke the kiss and lifted his head; his gaze intense as he rubbed her where few had ever touched her. Desire burst in her belly and raced along her flesh.
The vampyr released her suddenly, taking several steps away, his fists opening and closing as he began to pace a small path in front of her.
Sameya slid down the tombstone, panting like she’d raced someone, but that made no sense because running didn’t tire her. But…what had his hand between her legs been creating? The elusive orgasm? She hoped not because that meant this intimidating vampyr would be her mate.
A hand to her throat wrenched her out of her thoughts. The vampyr slid his palm upward to tilt her head back to meet his glowing green eyes. “You were this close to coming, Sameya.” He indicated how close with the fingers of his other hand. The pads were almost touching. She tried to shake her head in denial, but his grip tightened, threatened without words for her to remain silent. “You’re not the only one reluctant about this relationship.” His hold on her loosened slightly. “Regardless that you’re a reaper, Gabriel and I want you. Come to us, my little voyeur, and we’ll show you what you’ve been missing. Not just the orgasm, but family and people who will die for you.”
He kissed her hard before standing. Damn him for not being as affected as she was. Her submissive pose chafed her pride, but she made no move to rise.
He jammed his hand in his back pocket, fetched a card, and held it toward her. She didn’t move to take it, so he tossed it at her feet with a smile. “That’s where you’ll find us. Don’t make us wait long.”
“I don’t want what you’re offering.”
“Liar.” The vampyr canted his head to the side. “You’re braver than that, Sameya.”
She stiffened. “You know nothing about me.”
“You’ll come.” His eyes said she’d come in more ways than one.
Sameya shook her head. Why in all the earths would she join them? She held no control over the vampyr, and she’d bet her palatial room in Atlantis he wasn’t the submissive type. As for Gabriel…she hadn’t known many shifters, but none of them were docile. Sounded like a nightmare situation.
“Join us soon, Sameya.”
She struggled to her feet. “I vow to you, vampyr, that not even on the soul of my Empress will I join you or Gabriel.”
“Don’t make me force you.”
Threats were a bad move. “You may be immune to my serenade, vampyr, but you cannot force a siren to do anything.” Sameya bolted, using her magic to speed up her departure.
He surprised her by catching her in a dark side-alley, one block over from the Cathedral. Sameya saw only a glimpse of his face before he slammed her against a wall and sank his fangs into her throat.
Chapter Six
“Goddamn it, Maximus, what were you thinking?” Gabriel paced a small path in front of their bedroom door.
“I was thinking she’d runaway and we’d never see her again.” He’d found her defiance entertaining until she vowed on her Empress’ soul not to join them. If she went back to wherever she’d been hiding before, they’d never find her. Of that he’d been certain.
The predator inside him rebelled against that outcome. Neither would the man allow her to walk out of their lives without a fucking brawl. Both halves of him would fight for her. Gabriel was the same; he needed more time to acclimate to Sameya
’s captivity. It was for all their best interest.
When he caught her, he’d been mindless with the need to show her to whom she belonged, so he’d reacted on instinct and sank his teeth into her neck. And sucked unadulterated ambrosia into his body. Her blood was nirvana.
Sameya had moaned, sealing her fate with the sound. No more proof necessary to confirm her identity. Only a mate enjoyed a vampyr’s bite. Letting her walk away after he’d found her, was more than he could tolerate, so he’d flooded her system with venome and promised the next time he’d forgo the toxin so she could appreciate the experience.
“It’s not like you argued against bringing her to our home and trapping her here with magic.” Right after entering the hotel room in New Orleans, Maximus had placed her on the bed and called for a helicopter to take them home immediately. Less than two hours later, they’d landed on the helipad twenty minutes outside their secluded estate on the outskirts of Chimera, Alabama. A limousine at the ready to see they arrived home safely with no questions about the comatose woman with them.
Their mind manipulation abilities were a spectacular talent to possess, not to mention the obscene amount of cold-hard cash they paid their servants for loyalty.
On the drive to their house, Gabriel had contacted their local gal-pal, Kat, a witch who could fuck you up before she broke a smile. Asking few questions, she’d met them at their home and hexed their abode, locking Sameya within the private boundary. The magic had a one-week time limit. Not very long to convince her to remain with them.
“Congratulations. She’s beautiful.” Kat ran a fingertip along Sameya’s cheek, her gaze locked on his siren. Kat’s leather one-shoulder top flattened her ample breasts. That thing couldn’t be comfortable. Her long brown hair offset her teal eyes. As far as witches went, Kat was the best of her ilk. Highly sought after, she garnered a huge asking price for her spells. They’d been close friends for over three hundred years. She’d even been his and Gabriel’s lover for a short period of time, so he knew how ample her breasts were, and that top did nothing to showcase them.
She spoke a series of words that stung Maximus’s skin and a diamond-encrusted collar appeared in her palm. She pressed it into his hand. The magic coming off the piece tickled his flesh.
Taboo Kisses Page 4