by Jasmine Walt
I tried to pull away. I really, really did. But couldn't. The warm, salty blood filled my mouth as my fangs dug deeper. I swallowed. Sensations I could have never dreamed of filled me with heat. I began to suck harder, lost in the moment, gulping the fast flow of blood like a marathon runner at pit stop.
The car abruptly came to a jerking stop, horns blaring, tires squealing, as the entourage screeched around us.
I felt like I was in a dream as the car seat slid back in a bucking crash and my mouth was pulled free of him. I moaned when I found my body impaled on his lap, his fangs in my neck drawing hard. Waves of excitement flowed through me, begging for more of his blood. I was filled with wave after wave of zinging hot desire as I sank my incisors into his shoulder and began to drink again, frantically at first, then slower. I slid back and forth across the hair on his stomach, his warmth filling my soul with his.
Bells ringing in my ears, and an orgasm so strong I was left breathless, joined in one confusing ball of heat. And then there was nothing.
31
I woke cradled like a child in Marcus' arms, wet between my thighs, my dress wrapped around my waist and his head resting on my shoulder.
I tried to wiggle free. The car rocked. I looked out the passenger window and noticed that the car was on the side of the road, halfway in one of the swampy ditches Florida was so famous for. I nudged Marcus. He opened his eyes and blinked at me. A big grin spread across his face. "I think we're about to slide into the ditch." I pointed out the passenger window to the dark hole threatening to suck us in.
He reached for the key and cranked the engine. Sliding the car into gear, he edged further onto the highway, his left tires still sitting in grass, and cut the engine.
I exploded. "How, in the name of hell, did we fall asleep on the side of the road?"
He yawned, stretched, looking very sated, then finally answered me. "We did not fall asleep, Susan. When Blood-Mates join, they sleep for oh…" He glanced at his watch. "…two hours." He smiled at me, way too happy with himself.
My teeth were already doing their grinding thing and he'd only just opened his damn eyes.
He continued before I could pull my teeth apart long enough to let him have it. "It's a miracle that someone did not find us. It usually only happens the first few times. But, not to worry darling, the next time we engage in sexual gratification, it will not be in an automobile at seventy-five miles an hour." He hugged me closer.
I pushed as far away from him as the steering wheel would allow, a soft rumble coming from my chest. "Well, you sure as hell should have told me that little tidbit of information, before I started-" A light went on in my head as I realized what he just said. "Whoa, just backup a minute, Fang-Boy! When did all this joining shit happen?"
He laughed at me. "I believe it was when you bit into my… um…"
I heard his joyous laughter in my head and groaned softly, the whole nasty episode forming in my mind with a clarity that made me want to die a second time. The girls were going to have a field day with this.
Two hours later, after a very quiet ride, we drove through ornate gates and a large redbrick complex loomed before us. BAMVC of Miami was painted impressively across the building front, black over gold, gleaming in the artificial light over the titled letters. Somehow, I could not grasp the enormity of the corporation. I just wanted to get this over with and go home to my own bed. Alone. I got out of the car and headed for the glass doors, Marcus right behind me.
We walked silently into the lobby and my mouth fell open.
A long spiral staircase was the center of attention, winding its way from floor to ceiling, touching briefly at each landing. The black onyx banister with translucent posts looked suspended over floating stairs of 14k gold with a runner of lush black carpet held in place by thin gold rods. The whole circular room, an impressive five stories high, gleamed with mirrored walls, allowing the stairs to be seen many times from different angles.
Not a picture anywhere, the walls were rich and shiny, with small twinkling lights that wrapped around the floors marking each level. Above each ring of lights, a solid black circular wall carried gold doorknobs every fifteen feet, but you couldn't see where each door was cut, making it one solid ebony circle with dots of gold.
The black marble floor in the lobby was spotless, like it was Windexed every time someone walked across it. The ceiling was a glass dome filled with dark sky and sparkling stars.
I turned to tell Marcus how beautiful it was, but a tall, thin blond man with a big smile walked out of the wall, closing a seamless, doorknob free entranceway behind him. He was dressed in a knee-length caftan of brightly colored silk, yellow cotton pants peeking out from underneath, and a pair of leather huaraches covering tanned feet. His blond hair fell around his shoulders and face as he strutted toward us.
I looked at the wall, trying to find the invisible door as his soft, amused voice came at us with a flamboyant giggle. "Marcus, welcome." He grinned and slid his arm around Marcus, waving his fingers at me as he sized me up and down.
"Does everyone know?" I asked Marcus, defensive.
"Susan, any immortal can smell…our encounter…a mile away. I'm sure Dennis can see my mark on you, as well," Marcus announced with as much flourish as Dennis had just addressed him.
"That I can. Moreover, I congratulate you. You've waited a long time for a mate and she looks like a little spitfire." He batted his eyes at me. "Look at all those curls, and what a dazzling color, darling. Is it natural?" Dennis asked, his hand fluttering to his lips.
"Yes, it is," I spat at him through clenched teeth. My jaw ached. I really needed to get a grip on the grinding thing before all that was left in my mouth were two big fangs.
"I would love to give you some details of the last few hours." Marcus puffed up like a damn blowfish.
"Nip it before I climb up on something and slap the shit out of you!" Jesus, could he work any harder at pissing me off?
"Oh, God, aren't you the lucky one?" Dennis offered, hugging Marcus a little too close, again. If I didn't know better, it looked like the tea bagger had a piece of him somewhere along the line. My feathers furled.
Marcus laughed and I didn't have time to kick him in the shins before we heard loud singing.
"Mother di-id Mar-cus. But I knew she wo-ould!" Resi's irritating attempt at humor came floating from the stairs with her after it. "Did you find a motel somewhere and have wild sex, mating yourself to this beautiful man that is soon to be my new father, Susabella?"
Resi danced up to Dennis. They grinned at each other like long lost friends. It had only been what, maybe four hours since her arrival? And she was, as usual, the belle of the ball. Dennis giggled, grabbed her, and they whirled about in a circle of laughter and colorful silk that had me blowing smoke from my ears.
"No, we did not find a room and mate!" I yelled, my voice echoing off the walls of the tall room, bouncing up five floors, only to roll back at us while I watched my daughter's smile deflate.
"You didn't mate?" she asked, in a less smart-alecky tone.
I stood smiling, and paid special attention to my cuticles, fingernails, and nail beds while I waited for her to stew a bit. I heard Marcus huff in my head.
Marcus, you better be nice or you'll regret it later, I pushed, acting like a wife already, and hating it.
My supposed mate ignored me. Turning to Resi with one of his heart stopping grins, he announced, "Your mother is right, Resi. We certainly did not join in a motel room. Although I must say, I did try to persuade her to at least pull off the road." He smiled wickedly at me.
Dennis laughed with the shrill giggle of a stracciamanici, or in English: a sexually insatiable girl.
I stood there glaring at them while my daughter started jumping in circles, Dennis joining her in a little dance. She bumped into his hip, pumping her arms, pointing at me at the appropriate times. "I told you. Ha-ha-ha. Ha. You couldn't stand it." Sidling around Dennis' now gyrating hips. "You had se-ex an
d you sucked his blo-od." The two of them slapped palms. "And now you're mai-ted. Ha-ha-ha. Ha!"
Marcus laughed out loud.
Dennis grinned at him and started his own chorus. "You got joi-ined," then both of them together, "Ha-ha-ha. Ha! I…"
"Shut the hell up, both of you, and get out of my face before I kill you a second time, Resi." Her song cut to a squeal, getting copious amounts of laughter from both Dennis and Marcus.
"Oh, my, my, Fang-Boy, you really did find a treat, now didn't you? Are the rest of the family members like these two, and do they have any brothers?" Dennis asked, with flurry of hand movements.
The fact that he used my pet name to address Marcus did not go unnoticed. I slammed my eyebrows together, frowning at Dennis.
"A proverbial jackpot, Dennis, my boy, a proverbial jackpot." Marcus beamed at me, getting another round of laughter from the flamboyant young man.
"Give me all the details Mom. Last I saw you were…" Resi's hands flew to her ample bosom. "Ohmygod, you didn't bite his…"
"Well, your mother decided to-"
"Oooh, no you don't, Blood-for-Brains," I nipped him short with a smirk in Dennis's direction. I'd show him. I had a virtual cornucopia of pet names.
"Holy shit. You did! Didn't you?" Resi's eyeballs tried to pop out of their sockets.
"Oh honey, that one's going to be all over the party lines tonight," Dennis said with a snap of his fingers and a big grin.
Zaire appeared looking like a Nubian Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, dressed from head to toe in leather. "They want all of us upstairs in the conference room. The 'Night of the Living Dead' team is awaiting our arrival."
32
We filed into the long conference room. Ten immortal men and women sat in silence at a long cherry-wood table, all of them as white and hard looking as alabaster in contrast to the black clothing they wore.
Dorius sat at one end of the table wearing a self-satisfied expression. Paul, with Gibbie on his shoulder, sat at the other end with a copy of Jeni's email to Dorius on the table in front of him.
The little shit who bit me was sitting against the far wall in a chair way too big for him. He was wearing a shoulder holster with a .45 caliber Smith & Wesson tucked safely inside its glove, and a German shepherd at his feet. His black suit looked like he'd bought it in the children's section of some vintage Halloween shop. He had on yellow rubber gardening boots with a cartoon picture of Spiderman on the toes. His feet hung in the air in front of the chair, his knees supporting an ashtray as big as his face.
Christopher tapped a smelly cigar on the ashtray, a grin plastered across his face. His hair shined, slicked back with gobs of some greasy substance, and his cheeks puffed as if he had something stuffed inside his jaws.
Dorius cleared his throat. "The council will discuss the impact of the email and your infractions. Then they will vote and give me their decision. I administer the punishment based on the Book of Rules. And there will be punishments."
Marcus frowned, a burble of anger rumbling in his chest.
"Talk to the kid," Zaire said with eyes shooting daggers. Resi wiggled closer, putting her arm around Zaire's waist.
None of the council members showed any signs of emotion.
My mother stared at Christopher under hooded eyes.
"Go ahead, ask him what happened," I snapped, shooting Christopher a scowl. "Because until you do, we're not sitting back with our mouths shut like little children, got it?"
JoAnn pinched my arm, getting a swat.
"Damn right," Zaire, blurted out, "I'm not sitting here while you dead-heads let him get away with murder."
I glanced at the council. Their faces looked like blank sheets of paper.
Christopher grinned, his jaw buckling over whatever the hell he had stuffed in his cheeks. He gestured to Paul to give Zaire a drink, then studied me.
In a forced voice, Christopher patiently wheezed, "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns. You found paradise in the immortal world - had a good time - made a good living. I understand, um, it's all about family. Nothin' personal, right? So, go ahead, um, make him an offer he can't refuse."
"Can I slap him? I really want to slap him," I snapped.
One of Marcus' eyebrows reached for his hairline.
"That boy has shit in his mouth," Mom said.
"Is he mentally retarded or something?" Resi asked.
Jeni smiled at Christopher, her eyes in deep concentration. "The Godfather, right?"
"He sure didn't sound like that in the restroom, I tell you." JoAnn said, frowning at him.
"Christopher," Dorius warned. "I don't know what the hell you're trying to prove with this new Mafioso persona, but I suggest you sit there and keep your mouth shut until it's your turn to answer questions. And put out that damn cigar!"
Buster growled, getting to his feet.
"Buster down!" Christopher hissed.
Buster laid down.
Jeni giggled.
None of the ten immortals sitting at the long table even blinked. I wondered if they were really alive. I pulled my gaze from them to the boy. "You bit me you little shit. My family's not gonna take the fall for you! And you killed that woman! Not me!"
Dorius growled.
Marcus shot me a strained smile. "Let's all calm down before this gets out of hand."
I was trying to come up with a rebuttal when Marcus favored me with a gentle push, Susan, my love, take the women out of the room. Clearly, none of you can sit without words of anger spewing from your mouths.
Boy did that tickle me in all the wrong places.
Resi took up the slack. "We don't have discussions without everyone concerned in the same room. That's the way we operate." She grabbed the email from Paul and slid it in front of the alabaster brigade. "Here, read this, and you'll clearly see we didn't even know all of you existed until the wolf came to our door!"
Zaire's fangs slipped out and she stood up in front of Christopher. He didn't even bat an eye.
Gibbie flew off Paul's shoulder, hovering between Zaire and Christopher, silver sparkles flying everywhere. "Sit back down and pull your thong out of your ass. I'm sure they intend to talk to the kid, and you aren't helping."
Zaire shot Gibbie a 'shut the fuck up' look, and turned to me. "Mom, I'm gonna bite something real soon if this little shit doesn't do some explaining, fast." Her eyes had those little gray sparks crackling around her irises and she was definitely ready to duke it out with Christopher.
Pheromones were flying all over the place, my nostrils flared with the heavy scent. My first thought, and it was a purely selfish one, was that maybe with all those pheromones flying around the room, the alabaster brood couldn't smell Marcus all over me.
JoAnn shook her head, still staring at Christopher. "You look so cute and innocent, and so very inappropriately dressed." I had no idea what that had to do with anything, but then JoAnn was always on a different page than the rest of us.
Christopher did not favor JoAnn with a glance. His eyes were locked on me. He rubbed his chin, took another puff off his cigar, plucked a crystal glass off a small table next to his chair, and sipped as everyone stared. I waited as he ran his hand over his jaws, sucking on whatever he had stuffed in his cheeks.
Finally he spoke. "I understand. The wolf protected you, and you didn't need a friend of me. But, uh, now you come to me and you say - 'Christopher give me justice' - but you don't ask with respect. You don't even think to call me Godfather."
"What the fuck?" Zaire waved Gibbie aside. Resi grabbed her, getting a look that could wilt flowers.
"Does anyone else want to slap that little shit?" Mom asked.
"Does anyone else see how old he really is?" Jeni asked.
I wondered what the hell Jeni was up to.
"Christopher, I warn you," Dorius grumbled.
Marcus was back in my head. He was smoldering. I suggest before you speak, Susan, you understand that what you say you will seal your fate. I will fight for
you until my death, no matter what your decision, but I can assure you, it will not be necessary if you get control of your clan.
Mom shook her head. "Kid, you're essere un po' di fuori!"
"Ohhh, I don't think he's out of his mind," I told Mom, glaring at Christopher.
Marcus, still strutting around in my mind, was growling so loud I wanted to cover my ears. Susan, it would behoove you to make your stand in a diplomatic manner. I've waited too long for you, and don't intend to lose you. Say something! And make it good.
I sucked in a deep breath and winged it. "All right, damn it, listen up. Sure we fucked up. We didn't know what we were doing was wrong." I pointed at Christopher, "And he didn't tell us shit. He just disappeared after he killed the woman and made me."
I eyed each alabaster knick-knack. "He bit me and left me for dead. We dealt with it ourselves when I grew fangs." I glared at Dorius. "And then a damn werewolf showed up at our door, yapping about some package you sent. JoAnn thought it was a timeshare advertisement and tossed it. But we immediately stopped when we understood what you expected of us. We're not rogues."
My eyes passed over my family. "I believe these men and women have a decision to make and we're not going to change that with a cocky attitude or a fight. It will only make them believe we had it coming to us when we die in a battle we can't win. They out-number us, and out-power us." I looked right into Zaire's angry steel gray eyes. "Our fate is in their hands, so suck it up and let's all behave while they read the email."
Very well said, Susabella. Now speak only when you are spoken to. The council has presided over issues like yours for hundreds of years. They will make the right decision.
Before I could bitch-slap Marcus, JoAnn piped up, "Oh, for heaven's sake - do I have to do everything?" She got up and walked over to the assortment of suitcases and duffle bags that were in a pyramid in the corner of the room. Everyone watched as she reached into one of the bags and pulled out a cell phone.
Holy shit, that's my phone! She found it!