Revelation of Blood (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5)

by J. L. McCoy

  “Fuck,” I moaned as I bucked against him. “More. Please. I can’t get enough of you.”

  “My baby’s got a filthy little mouth,” he groaned as he picked up the pace behind me, causing the jet to roll faster across my clit. “I think I like it.”

  I was on the verge of screaming out my pleasure at this point and Archer, for proprieties sake, clamped his hand over my lips. Opening my mouth, I caught the side of his index finger and bit down.

  Archer gasped behind me and a rumbling, low, sexy growl poured out of him. “Harder,” he commanded and I instantly obeyed, biting down with my regular teeth until I tasted his sweet, rich blood.

  A string of Gaelic shot out of him and he wrapped his free arm tightly around my waist and fucked me harder than I thought possible. Crying out in pleasure, my fangs descended and I desperately needed something to sink them into. Archer, reading my mind, put his wrist in front of my face and I struck without thought.

  Blood quickly poured into my mouth and I swallowed greedily, taking everything my lover was giving me like blessed manna from heaven above. Tingling started in my fingertips and poured over my body in an icy wave. I gasped and withdrew my fangs; full understanding of what I’d done hitting me at the same time Archer’s inner voice came through.

  “So fucking sweet… so tight, wet…perfect…God, I love her…best I’ve ever had…fuck…so fucking beautiful…all mine…mine.”

  His thoughts were like the icing on our delicious sex streusel and I moaned, about to climax, as he leaned into me and growled in my ear. “I can’t hold on any longer. Need to fill you up. Come for me, baby. I want to feel that sweet pussy throb.”

  “Archer!” I exploded around him and cried out my pleasure. He moaned loudly with each thrust of his hips…once, twice, four times and then he came, groaning my name.

  After dressing in a pair of Archer’s silk boxers and a wife beater, we headed into the living room and joined Jameson for dinner. Archer had ordered us each our own donor and after feeding, Jameson popped in a movie and we all cuddled together on the couch to relax as we watched Taxi Driver. It was oddly comforting being sandwiched between my two favorite men as we did something so out of the ordinary for us. It was so…normal…and I loved it.

  I had a hard time at first dealing with Archer’s mind reading power, but once the movie got going, their thoughts calmed. Hearing different people in your head all at the same time was overwhelming. I had almost slapped Archer’s feeder when she mentally wished she could fuck him. This would be one power I wouldn’t miss when it wore off.

  Before long, Jameson’s head began to bob as he started nodding off; no doubt exhausted from the lack of sleep last night. I grabbed the throw off the couch and laid it over the three of us as we cuddled closer together. Jameson soon lost his fight with the Sandman and fell asleep on my chest. I glanced up at Archer to see if that was okay and he smiled sweetly at me.

  “Jameson has accepted our relationship,” he spoke silently in my head. “He loves you very much, cion, but is content in his role as your new brother. A lot changed with him last night when he thought he’d never see you again. That said, he’s my son and we share everything. You bring joy and comfort to his life and he missed feeling that these last few weeks. I would never take away what you two share now and I am in no way threatened by it. You both are my children and I know where your heart truly lies. You don’t have to worry about me being jealous, cion. I trust you both implicitly.”

  I smiled brightly at him as he lowered his head to mine and kissed me softly. “Have I told you lately how much I adore you, Archer?”

  “I hear it in your thoughts every day, baby,” he whispered aloud with a satisfied smile.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Archer had meetings all the next day, so we caught the jet back to Austin later that evening. I knew my dad, Lucian, and Atticus Frost were waiting for my decision on whether or not I was going to join them, but I couldn’t bring myself to call them yet. I didn’t give a damn what the leader of the Dark Ones thought, but I was worried about disappointing my father.

  There was no way I could join with them. No matter what they thought was in me, I was a Day Walker through and through. Plus, I was madly in love with Archer and couldn’t see my life without him in it. The Dark Ones would undoubtedly want me to move to the underground colony in New York and that was across the country from Austin and my mate. As much as I wanted to spend time with and get to know my father, he wasn’t as important to me as Archer was…as my new family was.

  “Aces and eights,” I smiled widely as I laid my cards out in front of me. “Read ‘em and weep boys.”

  Donovan, our flight attendant threw his cards down on the table and huffed. “That’s nine hands in a row you’ve won.”

  “Are you hiding cards up your sleeve, little sister?” Jameson winked at me as he laid down his own full house of twos and fives.

  I held up my bare wrists and cocked a sassy eyebrow at him. “And how would you suppose I’d manage that with short sleeves, my dear brother?”

  “Card shark,” Archer grinned proudly as he laid down his pair of kings.

  We were all sitting around the conference table at the back of the plane, passing time, when Archer’s cell began to ring. Pushing the speaker button and setting the phone on the table, he resumed gathering and shuffling the cards as he spoke.

  “Yes?”

  “Hey, boss man,” Quinn’s disembodied voice greeted. “How’s the flight?”

  “Did you know that your new sister here is a card shark?” Archer asked, winking at me.

  “Loch had his suspicions,” he chuckled. “She took six grand from him during last Tuesday’s game.”

  “Ah,” Archer sighed, “she’s up seven here.”

  “Take my advice, sir, and bow out when you can.” Quinn laughed.

  “Advice I could have used an hour ago, son,” Archer chuckled as he doled out the next hand of cards. “What can I do for you, Quinn?”

  “What time do you arrive, sir?” he asked, significantly lowering his voice as it became more serious. Jameson, Archer, and I took notice and we all glanced at each other.

  “We land within the hour,” he answered Quinn. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Trouble is afoot at the Circle K, athair,” he said and I felt my eyes widen in disbelief at his pop culture reference. Who would have guessed he’d seen, and liked, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure? Quinn was hard and no nonsense and the quote left me dumbfounded.

  “Explain,” Archer barked, abandoning the cards as he looked up at Jameson.

  “We’ve got Dark Ones at the club and lots of them. They started arriving last night and by their accents, most of them aren’t from around Texas. The guys and I didn’t think too much of it until tonight. VIP is at capacity and 99% of them are Dark. They’re all over the first floor, too, sir. I don’t know what’s going on, but I thought I should warn you. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  I frowned and looked from the phone to Archer. He was staring at me and by the look on his face I could tell he was deep in thought. “Have Hagan man VIP until we get there. Tell him not to pick us up. We’ll catch a cab to the club.”

  “Already on it, sir,” Quinn answered. “I figured that’s where you’d want him.”

  “I want everyone on high alert. Keep your ears open. I want to know what they’re up to.”

  “Do you think this has anything to do with Skye’s kidnapping the other night?” Jameson asked in a whisper and I felt Donovan’s shocked eyes slide to me.

  “Most certainly,” Archer nodded as he reached over and took my hand before addressing Quinn again. “We’ll be there in about seventy minutes, dheartháir. Call me if anything happens before then.”

  “Aye, athair,” Quinn agreed and ended the call.

  Archer sighed as he put the phone back in his pocket. “Well, it looks like we have to wrap the game up a bit early, guys. Skye was embarrassing us anyway,” he said wit
h a smile that failed to reach his eyes.

  Donovan gathered the cards and set about putting them away for us as Archer called Jameson and me into the bedroom upstairs.

  “What do you think they want?” Jameson asked as soon as Archer closed the door behind us.

  “Skye most likely,” Archer sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Their arrival isn’t a coincidence. It can’t be. Atticus made it very clear that he wants Skye to join their race. Maybe this is a show of force to scare her into submission.”

  “He must not know me very well, then,” I scoffed as I crossed my arms under my chest. “Atticus Frost doesn’t scare me and no amount of Dark Ones he sends is going to persuade me to join them. All it’s going to do is piss me off.”

  “You’re right,” Archer said with a smirk, “he doesn’t know you very well if he genuinely believes his tactics will work.”

  “Isn’t Austin considered your city?” I asked, sitting down on the bed beside Jameson. “Can’t you just make them leave?”

  “Not if they have no intentions of leaving. I’m not looking to start a war, remember the promise you made me agree to? No retaliation? If I order them to go and they refuse, violence is our only option, thus breaking my promise to you.”

  I frowned and rested my forearms on my knees. “There’s got to be another way to get them to leave.”

  “Have you called Atticus to tell him you’ve decided not to join the Dark Ones?” Jameson asked.

  “No,” I shook my head as I held out my hand to Archer, “but I will right now. Maybe if I politely decline he’ll call them off.”

  Archer placed his cell in my hand and I dug Atticus’ business card out of the back pocket of my jeans. After dialing the number, it was answered on the first ring.

  “Corvus Frost,” a man said and I realized it was him.

  Taking a deep breath, I put on a fake, friendly tone and spoke. “Corvus, it’s Skye Morrison. How are you?”

  “I am well, kitten,” he purred sexily. “So good of you to call. Have you news for Father or is this a social call?”

  “I have made a decision,” I smiled tightly as I glanced up at Archer. His nostrils were flaring and I knew he hated the tone in which Corvus was talking to me. “While the offer from your father was very flattering, I fear I must politely decline at this time.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “Father will not be pleased, Skye Morrison,” Corvus said in a low growl, his tone completely changing.

  “Tell your father I very much appreciated his hospitality during my visit and that I’d like to remain in contact with him and Lucian. Just because I declined his offer doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly.”

  “I will relay your message to our master, Miss Morrison,” he said with a sigh. “I am disappointed with your choice but do hope to see you again soon. I enjoyed meeting and dancing with you. You were a vision.”

  “Yes,” I rolled my eyes and smeared the fake pleasantries on thick, “I enjoyed meeting you as well, Corvus. I’m sure we’ll run into each other in the future.”

  “You can count on it. Until then, beautiful girl,” he said and ended the call.

  “Fucking Corvus!” Jameson growled from beside me as I handed the phone back to Archer.

  I frowned and glanced over at him. “What’s with you and Corvus anyway? Why do you hate him so much?”

  Jameson looked at me and then Archer. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not important.”

  “Oh, now I really want to know,” I raised my eyebrows as I crossed my arms. “What is it? Tell me.”

  “No,” Jameson said as he got up and walked to one of the windows. Changing the subject, he addressed Archer. “So what do we do now? Do you think Skye’s phone call to Corvus will work?”

  “If it doesn’t, I fear our only other option is direct force. I’m not having a city full of Dark Ones pressuring my mate.”

  “We don’t even know for sure if that’s why they’re at The Mausoleum,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe there’s a Dark convention in town.”

  Archer gave me a look and shook his head. “No. It has to do with you. There’s no other explanation. Why would so many of them come to MY club when there are more suitable Dark clubs in San Antonio?”

  “Aye,” Jameson sighed, turning to Archer. “They don’t like your house rules and that’s why most Dark Ones go to Bloody Kisses. It may be an hour away, but biting is allowed there.”

  “So, back to the issue at hand,” I sighed. “We need to have a contingency plan in place in case they really are in town for me. What are our options?”

  “Fight,” Archer answered.

  “Fight,” Jameson agreed.

  “You’re not starting a fucking war over me,” I frowned. “There has to be another way.” My mind raced as Archer and Jameson continued to talk. I didn’t want us fighting with Atticus’ people and would only agree to it if it was our very last option. I wasn’t going to allow them to hang around my life pressuring me or making things difficult for my family. I wasn’t positive they’d do that but Archer and Jameson were, so I believed it. They knew Dark Ones a lot better than I did. My few hours with them made me no expert.

  Suddenly, a thought entered my mind and I stood. “What about the wolves?” I asked. “They aren’t going to like the sudden increase in vampire visitors to the city. What if we talk to Dean? If it looks like the Dark Ones aren’t going anywhere, maybe a visit from him would work. After all, isn’t a bite from a werewolf fatal to us? That would scare sense into anyone.”

  Archer rubbed his bottom lip and gazed thoughtfully over at Jameson. “That might work. What do you think, Youngblood?”

  “Do you think Dean would agree? I mean, you’re a vampire now. Does he even still talk to you?”

  “Of course he does,” I frowned. “It took a little convincing at first, but we’re still close. He, Zephyr, and Primo even helped An Dilis and I track Amun. Dean said he’d always be there for me and I know he means that. If I need him, he’ll come.”

  “Well it’s settled then. If the Dark Ones don’t leave in the next few days, we call in the wolves,” Jameson smirked. “Hopefully that will fix the problem.”

  “Hopefully,” Archer agreed with a sigh.

  **********

  It was close to midnight when Archer’s jet landed. We grabbed our bags and headed across the terminal to the pick-up area to hail a cab. The ride to The Mausoleum was pretty silent, at least out loud. We were all in our own heads, wondering what the Dark Ones were up to, so it was pretty loud in my head.

  After we got to the club, we entered through the back door and stored our luggage in one of the storage rooms. As we made our way down the hall and toward the sounds of the club, I took a quick look down at what I was wearing. My jeans, chucks, and Black Sabbath t-shirt weren’t exactly appropriate for the club, but it would have to do. I didn’t want to bother with changing in the stock room. Besides, Jameson was wearing pretty much the same thing as I was so I felt marginally more comfortable. Archer, of course, was in a charcoal grey suit and white dress shirt. He always looked professional.

  Our arrival immediately drew the attention of half the first floor as soon as we walked onto it, and I realized why; a good third of it was occupied by Dark Ones and when they stopped to look, so did the humans that were dancing with them.

  “This doesn’t look good,” I commented silently to Archer and grabbed Jameson’s proffered hand as he cut a path for us through the crowd. “There’s so many here.”

  “Don’t let go of his hand, cion,” Archer thought. “Find Quinn and let him know we’ve arrived. I need to stop by the bar and talk to Hunter for a moment.”

  I nodded my head and leaned into Jameson, giving him Archer’s instructions as Archer broke from us and headed to the bar. We found Quinn at his post at the stairs and his eyes looked relieved when he saw us.

  “About damn time,” he smiled as he hugged Jameson. “I’ve missed you, brother.”
<
br />   “And I you,” Jameson replied, slapping his back. “Anything happen between the time you called Archer and now?”

  “They’re getting rowdy,” Quinn growled as he surveyed the first floor. “Pádraig’s already removed a handful of Dark Ones for being too aggressive with the humans. One tried to feed on a human who hadn’t yet learned of our existence and that didn’t go well. I had to mesmerize her into thinking his fangs weren’t real while Pádraig threw him out. I’m glad Archer is here. If they have any sense, they’ll calm down now that he’s here. Where is he by the way?”

  “He’s talking to Hunter,” I answered. “He’ll be here in a second.”

  I saw Hagan at the top of the stairs and he motioned with his head for me to join him. “I’m going to go talk to Hagan for a minute.”

  “I’ll keep Quinn company,” Jameson smiled over at his brother as he punched him playfully in the arm. “Lad looks a little lonely.”

  “Welcome back, Morrison,” Hagan said quietly as I approached. His face was tight and I could tell he wasn’t happy. “I heard about your adventures while you were away. Funny thing, so has our VIP guests. Seems you are all they can talk about.”

  “Really?” I frowned as I came to a stop in front of him.

  “Some are talking about what it could mean for their race if you join them,” he growled, folding his thick, corded arms over his chest. “I don’t like you being here, Morrison. I think we should talk to Archer about taking you home.”

  “Hagan,” I sighed as I stepped toward him, our faces close so we could talk privately and not be overheard by other vampires. “They can’t really hurt me without the sword, remember. I’m the safest person in the room.”