by J. L. McCoy
“Fuck, Skye. You feel fucking incredible,” he panted hotly against my back. “I’m so close. Come for me, baby. I need to feel you.”
“Yes,” I trembled, my orgasm just barely out of reach. “Bite me.”
He took his hand off my hip and wrapped it around the front of my throat, pulling me up and tightly against his chest. His fingers and cock continued their delicious assault as he struck fast, sinking his fangs deeply into my neck.
I immediately cried out in ecstasy as I shattered around him; my body arching further back against him as the waves of pleasure poured through me. After taking a few sips, Archer withdrew his fangs with a guttural moan as he released himself inside me. He continued to kiss my neck long after his peak as his body slowly rocked in and out of me.
“God, I love you, Skye,” he whispered into my ear.
“I love you, too, Archer,” I answered, softly stroking the only arms that I wanted to hold me for the rest of my life. “So very much.”
**********
Freshly showered and appropriately dolled up, I arrived at Drop Kick’s with two minutes to spare.
“Morning, D.,” I waved as I walked into his office. Dan must have just arrived himself because he hadn’t yet booted his computer up. “No word from Nikki on my end. Did she call you?”
“No,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“I’m so kicking her ass when I find her,” I frowned, angrily crossing my arms over my chest. Being angry was easier for me than being worried, so I chose the only emotion I could to successfully get me through my day.
“If she hasn’t contacted one of us by closing, I’m going to the cops to file a missing person report.”
“I agree. I’ll go with you if you want.”
“Will you? Police stations completely freak me out,” he frowned, running his fingers through his thick, light brown hair. “I’ve managed to avoid them ever since my fifteenth birthday went to shit. I spent the night in the drunk tank downtown and walked away the next morning with a lovely M.I.P. ticket to explain to my mother.”
“Minor in Possession,” I chuckled. “Nice. Bet your mom loved that.”
“You know it,” he raised a humorous brow. “She grounded me for a month and took away my pager.”
“Ha!” I grabbed my stomach, laughing hard, then wiped at my teary eyes, “Your pager? Oh, Dan…don’t look now but your age is showing.”
“Laugh it up, sweetheart,” he grinned at me. “You’ll be thirty-four before you know it.”
I felt the smile slowly slide off my face as I turned to stow my messenger bag. My body would remain twenty-three for as long as I walked this earth. The thought saddened me. I realized I’d never age, have children, wrinkle, or die from natural causes. I wouldn’t get to experience life the way every other humans would, the way it was intended to be, and I felt a bit cheated.
“You okay?” Dan asked, walking up to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.
Turning around, I put on my best fake smile and tried to push the depressing thoughts away. “You said pager,” I chuckled and shook my head as I walked out and made my way to the floor to start prep.
Dan had me work behind the bar with him all day and I have to say, I really, really enjoyed it. We both needed something to take our minds off Nikki, so we did what came naturally to us; we cut up, laughed, and played my entire shift and, before we knew it, Fiona showed up to relieve me.
“Call me if you haven’t heard from her by two,” I said, hugging him tightly. “I’ll come pick you up after you close and we’ll go straight to the station.”
“You got it, doll,” he nodded. “Fingers crossed you don’t hear from me.”
“Fingers crossed,” I said, my brow furrowing a bit as the worry crept back in. I accepted my tips from Dan then headed through the floor door to pick up my bag.
As I got near, I heard my phone ringing. I’ve really got to change that ring tone. It abruptly stopped as I was digging around for it, but started right back up again the second I found it. Not recognizing the number, I answered it a bit cautiously.
“Hello?”
“How come I had to find out from Corvus that you decided not to join us?” a man asked angrily.
I felt my brow pinch in confusion. “What? Who is this?”
“It’s your father, Skye. Have you forgotten about me already?” he asked with an impatient sigh.
“Lucian?”
“Ah, so she does remember me. I was beginning to wonder.”
“Of course I remember you,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Shit! With all the excitement the night I returned to Austin, I’d forgot to call my dad and inform him of my decision too. “I’m really sorry I didn’t call you before. We had a lot to deal with when we landed in Austin and I guess it just slipped my mind.”
“So, will you tell me why you turned down Master’s offer?” he questioned, his mood mellowing somewhat.
I sighed as I took a seat in Dan’s office chair. “New York is a long way away from Texas, Dad. My life is here; everyone I love is here. I can’t just turn my back on everything.”
“You don’t belong with them, Skye,” he said gently. “Can’t you see that? You belong here…with me. You carry the Dark mark; you share a soul with our creator. How long before the Day Walkers turn on you? How long before you are locked away somewhere like Amun? Every moment you stay with them, you risk your life. You are my daughter and I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt. Come home, Skye…come home to us. We are more your family than they will ever be.”
Hanging my head, I wrapped my free arm around my stomach and hugged myself. The pain in his voice was unbearable; his suffering and worry apparent. “Lucian…Dad…I-I can’t. I’m sorry. I need to be here. My best friend is missing right now and no one knows what happened to her, mom is angry at me and I have to somehow make things right, and I have a job and a house that I can’t just up and leave.”
“All those things are easily taken care of,” Lucian said quickly, hope in his voice.
I sighed and told him the biggest reason why I couldn’t leave Austin. “Dad, I’m in love with Archer Rhys. He’s a Day Walker. Do you honestly think he would give me the time of day if I turned my back on everything he’s given me? I don’t want to lose him.”
“There are much more suitable men out there for you, Skye,” my dad said in a growl. My brow furrowed at the unfamiliar sound coming from him. It seemed he had something against Archer. I couldn’t imagine why though; it’s not like they really knew each other. “I heard from a reliable source that Corvus Frost is very taken with you. He’s a powerful man and would make an excellent mate for you.”
“No one will ever suit me as well as Archer,” I explained gently. “He’s…everything to me. He saved my life.”
“He polluted you with his blood,” he argued. “You would have awoken as something truly unique if he hadn’t interfered with the process. Now, you are a half-being; a hybrid. You should be angry with him!”
“He. Saved. Me,” I said clearly. “I never asked for any of this, Lucian, but I’ll tell you one thing. If I had to choose between being like Archer or being like Amun, I’d choose Archer all day long. Amun is sick; he’s a monster. I’d rather die than be just like him.” Sighing, I tried to calm myself as my anger started taking hold. When I resumed talking, I did so gently. “You’ve never had to come face to face with him. If you did, you’d understand.”
My phone beeped, signaling I had another call, and I pulled it away from my ear to see that it was Archer. “Dad, I have another call,” I said quickly, interrupting him. “And I’m really late for work. I have to go. We’ll talk more soon, okay?”
He sighed, obviously unhappy, but ultimately agreed. “I love you, Skye. Always remember that.”
“I’ll…I’ll call you soon,” I said gently. I couldn’t return the sentiment and it was an uncomfortable goodbye for me. My father and I were practically strangers. How he could say he loved me was baf
fling. He didn’t really know me.
Pressing the switch call button, I transferred over to Archer. “Hey, baby,” I answered, running my fingers through my hair as I stood from Dan’s chair. “I’m leaving Dan’s now so I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“No,” he growled, his voice unusually harsh. “Stay inside until Jameson gets there. Do not leave with anyone except him, understand?”
“Honey, what’s wrong?” I asked quickly, worried.
“We’ve got a bit of a situation here at the club,” he bit out. “He’ll be there in less than two minutes. Just wait for him. He’ll bring you back to the club.”
With that, Archer ended the call and left me reeling. What the hell is going on? I stared dumbfoundedly down at my cell phone as different wild scenarios ran through my head. Archer’s tone told me that something was very, very wrong.
I heard the employee exit door open and a second later, Jameson was standing in front of me. The look on his face scared me more than Archer had.
“What’s happening?” I asked fearfully, my voice barely above a whisper as I clutched my phone to my chest.
“I’ll tell you in the car,” he said, grabbing my hand. “Come on.”
He flitted out of Dan’s office at vampire speed and dragged me with him to the Porsche. “Key’s, love.”
“Where’s your car?” I asked, confused.
“I ran,” he answered. “It was faster.”
Digging around in my seemingly bottomless bag, I finally found the car keys and tossed them across the roof of the car. Once he unlocked the doors, I slid in quickly.
“Tell me something,” I begged as he turned out of the employee lot toward The Mausoleum. “Please. What’s happened?”
“We’re going to take care of this, Skye” Jameson said, glancing over at me. “I promise you.”
“Dammit, Jameson, talk to me! Take care of what?” I cried, fully turning to face him in the seat. I was properly freaked out at this point.
He sighed heavily and glanced at me again with unsure eyes. “Nikki and Lyric came into the club tonight.”
“What?” I gasped in shock, and then smiled. “Really? She’s okay? God, I’m going to chew her ass out when I see her. Scaring Dan and me for nothing! She’d better have a good excu-”
“Skye,” he interrupted gently. My brow furrowed as I watched him swallow thickly. “She didn’t come alone. She was brought in…by a group of Dark Ones.”
“What?” I whispered, not understanding.
“They’re demanding to talk to you.”
Fear gripped me tightly and held me mute as Jameson drove the remaining two blocks over to the club. My brain couldn’t immediately process what the Dark Ones having Nikki meant, and I chewed my bottom lip nervously.
When we arrived in the employee lot, Jameson threw his arm around me and supported me as he led me inside and through the club. I noticed the change right away as soon as we stepped onto the floor. Dark Ones were in mass and what few humans were here were keeping their distance from them. This is not good…
Eyes followed me as Jameson led me to the stairs. Quinn was strangely silent as he stepped aside and allowed Jameson and me to pass. I gazed into his worried eyes as I passed him and he briefly squeezed my shoulder for support.
As I climbed the last step, my eyes were drawn across the vast VIP crowd to a table in the back. Nikki was sitting in a booth with Lyric and a few Dark Ones I’d never seen before. One face was familiar though, and I growled when I saw him.
“Maintain your composure, cion,” Archer said softly, suddenly beside me, as he thrust a tall glass of amber liquor in my hand. “No matter what you see and hear, remain calm. They will try to bait you, so do not allow it to happen.”
“I’ll kill them if they’ve hurt her,” I growled lowly as Archer pulled me into a hug.
“Not in the club,” he whispered into my ear as he pulled my head against him.
“You need to get the humans out of here,” I seethed as I pulled back from him and looked up into his eyes. “It’s not safe.”
Archer sighed and brushed the hair back from my face. “Pádraig and Trey are working on that now, but it’s not as easy as it looks.”
“Miss Morrison,” a man purred behind me and I turned to face him. “If you will follow me, Mr. Ley would like a word with you.”
Hagan and Hunter approached as I stared at the Dark One. “I think I’d like a word with him as well,” I growled menacingly as Archer, Hunter, and Hagan followed me to the table.
Weston smiled widely when I approached and held his hand out in front of him. “Please have a seat, Skye Morrison. We have much to discuss.”
I slowly took a seat across from him, Nikki, and Lyric as I studied Nikki closely. She looked pale and frightened in a revealing dress I knew she didn’t own. She was covered in bite marks and she refused to meet my eyes as she stared down at her hands.
“Nikki?” I said gently. “Are you okay, honey?”
Nikki didn’t answer me and flinched when Weston put his hand on hers. “Go ahead, answer her.”
I watched as she swallowed thickly, still refusing to look at me, and answered. “I’m fine.”
“Answer her truthfully, child,” Weston chuckled, as he stroked her hair.
She slowly slid her eyes up to me and I saw heavy tears behind them. Her eyes were glassy and she appeared to be under the influence of something. “It hurts,” she whispered.
“What hurts?” I asked as I reached across the table to touch her hand. “Talk to me, Nik. What hurts?”
“No touching,” Weston barked, the sound startling me, and I slid murderous eyes to his.
“Everything hurts,” Nikki’s voice trembled, drawing my attention back to her.
“What have you done to her?” I growled angrily as I found Weston’s eyes again.
“I’ve done only what is necessary to insure your cooperation, Miss Morrison,” he said simply.
“Cooperation with what?” I asked as Archer and Hagan visibly stiffened beside me.
Weston smiled slyly and sat back in his seat as his eyes drank me in. “I’ve heard some very interesting things about you, Miss Morrison.”
I sighed heavily and crossed my arms under my chest as I pursed my lips at him. “I’m sure you have.”
“A mutual acquaintance of ours wants you very badly,” he said, his smile widening, showing a bit of fang. “I’m here to deliver you to him.”
Archer, Hagan, and Hunter growled fiercely as they stood beside me and I raised a hand to calm them. “If your friend wants me, he can come and get me himself. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Weston laughed, as if he found what I said to be the most amusing thing in the world. “We thought you might say that, that’s why we took your friend. See, I’ve heard from Lyric here just how close you two are…practically sisters. He says that you’d do anything for this girl.” He leaned forward as the smile slid from his face. “Is that true? Would you do anything to save your friend, Skye?”
My eyes flashed to Lyric’s for the first time and they narrowed at him in anger. “What have you done, you sonofabitch?” He simply shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care that I was currently devising in my head six different ways I could kill him with a single finger.
“Lyric is only doing what his master bids of him,” Weston said beside me and I slowly peeled my eyes away from Lyric to look at him.
“He’s not a vampire,” I frowned, not understanding. “He has no master.”
Weston smiled widely as his hand reached out to stroke Nikki’s neck. I growled a warning, but he ignored it as he spoke. “Lyric has been feeding Jonas for over two years now. Imagine my delight when I was at Jonas’ den last week and mentioned your name. Young Lyric here perked up and shared that he happened to be dating your best friend. He practically offered her up on a silver platter. Very conveniently, I might add. I’d been wondering how we were going to get you to cooperate with us. Is what Lyric s
ays true? Will you do anything to save her life?”
My breathing increased as my anger took hold. I felt my eyes flicker black as I slid them to find Lyric. “How could you? Nikki cared about you and trusted you; we all trusted you. I’m going to kill you, you slimy piece of shit!” My hand flashed out and wrapped around Lyric’s neck tightly. His eyes bulged with fear as I squeezed, his fingernails clawing desperately into my arm.
“Release the human,” a Dark One growled suddenly as he flashed to stand beside him. “If you kill him, I will personally rape and dismember the girl…piece by pretty little piece.”
Archer put a steady hand on my shoulder and spoke loudly in my head. “Let him go, cion. His death will only make things worse. We’ll make him pay, baby…I promise. Now is not the time, though. There are too many of them here.”
Reluctantly, I let go as I shoved him away from me. “You majorly fucked up, Lyric.” I ran my fingers frustratedly through my hair and glared at him. “I thought you were a practicing Jain…do no harm and all that. You’re letting them hurt your girlfriend.”
Lyric shrugged again as he massaged his throat. “Hey, I left food for your dog, didn’t I? I don’t care what happens to Nikki now. She was going to break up with me anyway,” he replied, indifferently. “Besides, I want to be a vampire like my brother. Pleasing Jonas is my only concern now.”
A man stepped up to the table and I recognized him instantly. He was the Dark One who had put his hands on Lola the other day in the club. “Hello, sister,” he smiled sinisterly. “Good to see you again. I’m Jonas, Lyric’s older brother.”
“Biological brother?” I asked, surprised, glancing back and forth between them. They had the same hair color, but other than that, they didn’t look much alike.
“Half-brother,” he clarified, “on our father’s side. I was awakened almost a decade ago, now. Lyric was still a teenager at the time. He’s hoping to join us soon and his willingness to help the cause almost guarantees that will become reality.”