INTO THE FIRE (Forbidden Love)

by James, Danielle

  He drained the little box in less than thirty seconds. He crushed the box and tossed it over his shoulder in the general direction of the trash can. By the sound it made, Rebel could tell he missed. His throat was still dry and his tongue felt like sandpaper. More, he had to have more. He got another. And then, another. But still, it wasn’t enough. He wanted food. And not just rare steak like most vampires ate. He spied a cheese stick in the meat drawer of the fridge. He pulled the plastic off of it and bit off a bite.

  Heaven.

  The texture was exquisite on his tongue, as was the tangy taste of sharp cheddar. More. With the cheese stick hanging out of his mouth, he began to load his arms with an assortment of items from the fridge. He filled his arms with sandwich meat, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and some kind of leftover pasta. He spread it all out on the dining room table and began to hunt the cabinets as well. He found bread, crackers, cookies, and hash, among other things. He laid his bounty on the table and started to eat.

  Ham sandwiches were wonderful. Rebel remembered how much he used to like tomatoes, and he bit into one without bothering to cut it first. He hadn’t gotten any silverware on his foraging stint, anyway. The juice ran down his chin as he chomped down for a second bite. Delicious.

  He shoved a handful of the cold pasta in his mouth and wanted to weep with joy. The flavor of garlic and herbs caressed his taste buds and made him moan. He scooped up another. He chewed. The pasta was something Italian, but Rebel couldn’t remember what it was called. It had some kind of white wine sauce on it, thick sauce that clung to the noodles and coated his mouth like a blanket.

  He washed it down with another juice box. This time, it was apple. He made a mental note to replace Jade’s drink stash.

  And cookies! How long had it been since he ate cookies? Too damned long, that’s how long. Chocolate chip cookies were most definitely food of the Gods, he thought as he shoved two in his mouth at the same time.

  Milk. He needed milk. Who could eat cookies without milk? Rebel shoved out of his chair and yanked open the refrigerator. He opened the milk and drank straight from the carton. A river of white ran down the sides of his mouth and down his neck. Rebel swiped the back of his hand across his mouth and sat back down at the table where his buffet was spread, taking the milk carton with him. He shoved another cookie in his mouth, ripping the packaging beyond repair in his haste.

  When he had eaten as much as his body could hold, Rebel sat back in his chair and put his hand on his swollen stomach with pleasantly content smirk on his face. Then he yawned. Eating was very tiresome.

  Jacque sat back from his microscope and rubbed his eyes. He yanked the ear buds out of his ears and he could still hear his favorite Disturbed album blaring from his IPod. He had been staring at the sample of Rebel’s blood for hours, watching whatever was attacking it and changing his cells at an unstoppable rate. The invader was best described as some kind of retro-virus. It was impervious to all sorts of chemicals. Jacque had introduced a variety of immunizations and antibody agents into the sample, but it had been futile. Whatever it was forged on within Rebel’s blood like an army of mercenaries, attacking and conquering all it came across. The virus, for lack of a better word, was multiplying spontaneously and relentlessly.

  The only answer that Jacque had come to was that this was not an effect of drinking Leigh’s blood. Her blood was clean of this mutant virus, whatever it was. Jacque had run every test he could think of. Every scenario he thought of was proven wrong. He tested all of Rebel’s bodily fluids and all of Leigh’s. Including urine and saliva.

  Saliva.

  Jacque quickly found the sample of Leigh’s saliva and set it in front of him. The tiny vial had only a couple of drops left in it, but it would do. There was one test Jacque hadn’t thought of.

  He pricked his own finger and let a single drop of blood drip onto an empty slide. He looked at his blood under the microscope and then with a tiny dropper, added a single drop of Leigh’s saliva to the mix.

  Jacque watched as nothing happened. For a minute. Then, the mixture began to change. The cells in Leigh’s saliva began to change once mixed with blood and began attacking the cells of Jacque’s blood. Holy hell! That was the answer!

  Jacque sprinted through the quiet house to Rebel’s room, only to find Leigh asleep and alone in Rebel’s bed.

  “Leigh!” he said, shaking her shoulder. “Wake up!”

  She opened one eye and stared at him groggily in an attempt to escape the sleep that had hold of her.

  “Where is Rebel?”

  Leigh sat straight up in bed, suddenly wide awake. “Shit, where did he go?” She leapt out of bed and ran to check the bathroom. It was empty.

  The pair ran through the house, searching, and waking people up as they went. When they entered the kitchen, they stopped dead in their tracks.

  Rebel was sitting in a chair at the table, his head down on his arms. The table was covered with food and leftovers, an empty milk carton turned on its side. The sliding glass doors to the pool let in a stream of sunlight that settled across Rebel’s back.

  “Fuck! Get him out of the sun!” Gage shouted. Five vampires grabbed their brother and raced him to the safety of the shadows.

  SEVENTEEN

  Merrick waited in the Green Room for his turn to go out on stage. It sucked beyond any belief, mortal or immortal, that he had been reduced to waiting on someone else. But this was how it was going to have to be. He placated himself by remembering that the Joni Howard Show was dreadfully difficult to get a spot on.

  If not for his plan, he wouldn’t even have bothered. But this was the best way to win over the humans. Joni Howard was like a God to them. She was right up there with Oprah and Ellen. Her big thing was political issues. And as of now, Merrick and Leigh were one. Since Angel Knight was the California Clan Leader, and since he had a good relationship with the local law enforcement, Merrick had to try to appeal to the humans’ sense of right and wrong. Appeal to their sympathies.

  Elizabeth was supposed to be there with him, but he hadn’t seen her yet. Perhaps she was waiting in another room. Perhaps she changed her mind and decided not to help him after all.

  The thought twisted like a knife in his gut. He had been so certain that Elizabeth was on his side; that he had won her over. She had loved flying with him. She seemed to enjoy talking with him. She was so sweet and innocent; surely she hadn’t merely been yanking his chain.

  “Hey, buddy,” a crew member called out to Merrick, “Check the monitor and you can watch the taping until your turn.” He motioned to a TV with his arm, and then, he was gone.

  Merrick grumbled at being called “buddy,” but turned his attention to the TV. Joni Howard was on the stage giving her monologue. When she finished making a joke that Merrick didn’t get and the crowd erupted with applause, she welcomed her first guest. Elizabeth.

  Merrick watched the screen intently as she strode out onto the stage as if she belonged there. Her golden hair was loose around her shoulders, framing her lovely face and contrasting beautifully with the slinky black dress she wore.

  “Welcome to the show,” Joni said, embracing Elizabeth in a stage hug.

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth replied, taking a seat opposite Joni.

  “Ok, well, let’s get straight to the point,” Joni said. “Dragons are real.”

  “Yes,” Elizabeth replied. She had her hands folded in her lap and her ankles crossed. She looked only slightly nervous.

  “And you had the opportunity to spend some time with one, am I correct?”

  “I interviewed Merrick Kelly, yes. He is quite an unusual individual.”

  “Tell me about him.”

  “Well, he’s a dragon. I saw him change shape right in front of my eyes. He’s kind and gentle, well educated,” Elizabeth said.

  “And gorgeous,” Joni interjected.

  Merrick took pleasure in the blush that spread across Elizabeth’s face. “Yes, he is very attractive,” she admitted.
<
br />   “So, tell me about your time with him,” Joni prompted.

  “I visited Merrick Kelly at his hotel room. We talked for a couple of hours. He told me about his species, and his feelings in regard to Leigh Harmond,” Elizabeth began.

  “Leigh Harmond is the only other living dragon, am I correct?” Joni asked.

  “Yes,” Elizabeth answered.

  “What can you tell us about her?”

  “Just that she was once promised to Merrick, and since she is the only other living dragon, he wants her back.” Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she spoke. If Merrick didn’t know better, he would have thought that she didn’t want Leigh to come back to him.

  After a few more idle questions and answers, Joni asked, “So what are your feelings on this matter?”

  Elizabeth breathed out a sigh before answering. “As an environmentalist, I hate to see the extinction of any species. If these two were merely animals, they would be tossed into a cage together until they successfully procreated. However,” she said when Joni raised her eyebrows and a collective gasp rose up from the audience, “They are not animals. They are people, maybe not human, but they have feelings and thoughts and a conscience just as humans do. We would never cage a human, or a vampire, or a werewolf. We most certainly can’t go about caging the last two dragons on Earth. They are magnificent creatures that demand respect and admiration.

  We want to convince Leigh that she should be with Merrick because it is the right thing to do.”

  “I have heard rumors that Merrick believes Angel Knight has somehow managed to brainwash Miss Harmond into thinking that she is the mate of one of his men,” Joni said, “How do you feel about that?”

  Elizabeth hesitated. “I really don’t know.”

  “Well, let’s get the story straight from the dragon’s mouth,” Joni said into the camera. “Please give a warm welcome to the last living man-dragon, Merrick Kelly!”

  Merrick recognized his cue and waltzed out onto the stage.

  EIGHTEEN

  “Get him on the couch!” Angel hollered. “We got to see how badly he’s burned.”

  Antonio and Gage dropped Rebel on the couch, stomach down. Jacque wasted no time inspecting his friend’s back. “Um, guys,” he said, uncertain what to make of it, “He’s not burned.”

  “What?” four vampires asked in unison.

  “Just what I said,” Jacque continued, “He is not burned. His skin is warm, but not burned.”

  “Well no shit,” Rebel said in a muffled voice. “You would think I would know better than to let myself burn.”

  Rebel pushed his face out of the cushions and turned to Leigh. “Morning, Sweetheart,” he said with a wolfish grin.

  “Yeah,” she said sarcastically. “Just what the fuck were you doing in there?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

  “I was hungry,” he said, pushing himself up to a sitting position. “Food is kept in the kitchen. Man, who made that pasta?”

  His brothers just stared at him with their mouths gaping. “I guess I ate too much,” Rebel continued without pause, “Cause I felt really sleepy after I ate and dozed off. I’ll clean up the mess, though. Oh, and tell Jade I’ll replace her juice boxes. I was very thirsty and those things are awesome. Oh, and we need more cookies.”

  “You drank juice?” Angel asked slowly.

  Rebel nodded. “And ate cookies.”

  “Ok,” Gage said, shaking his head, “Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”

  “That was why I went to his room,” Jacque told Leigh, who stood there just as dumbstruck as everyone else. “It’s your saliva. Whatever it is in it was what was attacking him. I introduced it to a sample of my blood, and it attacked. I think it changed him somehow.”

  Leigh’s eyes widened and Jacque could almost see the light bulb come on over her head. “When a dragon mates, they share their magic with their mate. Maybe his body rejected it,” she said in a timid voice.

  Rebel stood quickly and in an instant had Leigh in his arms. “I would never reject my mate,” he said. He lightly trailed his fingers along her neck where a black tattoo marked her as his. “And like I told you, you are mine.”

  “I think, Cowboy,” Leigh said with a smirk, “That the correct way to say it is that you are mine.” She touched his neck where she had made her mark.

  “Wait, before you too get all mushy, could someone explain how the hell he ate food and wasn’t burned by the sun?” Antonio asked.

  “My magic. It changed him,” Leigh said.

  “That makes sense...” Jacque mused aloud, “I mean, the cells of his blood were changing. It only makes sense that it might change his other cells too! It has made him able to eat regular food… and withstand the sun…” He smacked himself on the forehead. “I’m going to want more samples,” Jacque said. “Everything you got.”

  Rebel lifted a brow at his brother and turned both himself and Leigh to face him. “Sure thing,” he said.

  “How are you feeling now?”

  “Fan-fucking-tastic,” Rebel replied. “I could go for days,” he said with a pointed look at Leigh. She had to feel his erection, what with the way it was shoved into her stomach.

  “Back up, Cowboy,” she said in her familiar condescending tone. “We all know how well that worked out last time.” She ignored the chuckles from the other men.

  “I’d do it again,” Rebel said.

  “You ate the whole fucking bag?” Angel called from the kitchen.

  Rebel looked down into Leigh’s face. She looked worried. “I was hungry,” he answered with a shrug. Like it was no big deal. Like just days earlier his diet didn’t consist of blood, blood and more blood. “Still am,” he said to Leigh, flashing her a feral smile that displayed his sharp canines in all their perfectly white glory.

  “And here I was worried that you were going to die,” Leigh muttered.

  Angel entered the room once again, dish towel in hand. “Brea says they’re coming home. I just thought I’d give you fair warning, man, Jade is pissed.”

  “Jade?” Leigh asked.

  “My daughter,” Angel replied.

  “Is it safe for them to come home yet?”

  “Actually, I’m more worried about what she’ll do to Rebel when she finds out he ate her cookies,” Angel laughed. “But seriously, I don’t think Merrick poses a real threat to my family at this point. He’s made his argument public. Any attack physical attack against us now would be fool-hearty on his part.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Leigh said. “I hate the thought of putting anyone in danger, especially a child.”

  “Believe me,” Antonio said, “Jade is far from defenseless. She’s got her father’s strength and her mother’s temper. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to hurt her.”

  “Still,” Leigh began, but she was interrupted.

  “We all need to get some sleep,” Gage said. “Go to sleep. Take Rebel upstairs and make him rest. We will discuss all of this tonight.”

  “I have tests to run,” Jacque answered.

  “Later,” Gage said. He looked at Rebel and then back to Jacque. “They need to rest.”

  Jacque followed Gage’s eyes back to where Rebel was looking at Leigh with naked hunger in his eyes. Oh, he got it. “Ok, but as soon as the sun goes down, I want those samples.”

  “Yeah, let’s go rest,” Rebel growled in Leigh’s ear as he swooped her up into his arms. “I feel the need to visit my bed. All. Day. Long.”

  Leigh made a very unladylike sound and punched him in the chest. “Put me down!” Rebel ignored her and shot his brothers a final smile before racing up the stairs with his reluctant cargo in hand. “Damn it, Rebel, stop!” Leigh shouted at him.

  He unceremoniously dumped her on his bed. “What?”

  “We need to talk,” she said.

  “No, we don’t,” he answered while stripping himself of his pants. “And what the fuck are you wearing?”

  Leigh blushed a little. “I
didn’t want to leave you alone,” she said. “So I borrowed a few things of yours. You don’t mind, do you?” she asked sheepishly.

  Rebel eyed her outfit. She was wearing his t-shirt. His boxers. A powerful possessive streak snaked through him. Of course, they were too big and the shirt hung down to her knees and the boxers had been rolled several times at the waist. He liked Leigh in his clothes. She was his. “I don’t mind,” he ground out, “But take them off. Please.”

  A bark of laughter escaped Leigh’s throat. “Since when do you say please?”

  Rebel leaned over the side of the bed, his face mere inches from hers. “Since now. Since you are my mate.”

  Leigh snorted.

  “You can play whatever game you want, tell yourself anything you need to, but make no mistake,” he told her, “You. Are. Mine. You wear my mark. And, I saw the mark you left on me. Whether you deny it or not, the physical proof is there.” He leaned further over her, forcing Leigh to lie back on the bed. “You claimed me, and allowed me to claim you. We are bound to each other for now and for always. You changed me somehow, and now you deal with it.” He sealed the speech with a kiss to her lips.

  Leigh had expected him to kiss her. She expected a brutal, claiming kiss. But what she got was so gentle and loving, it nearly broke her heart. Rebel skimmed his lips over hers, just a whisper of a touch, before sealing their mouths together. His laved his tongue over her bottom lip before darting to taste the inside of her mouth. Leigh could taste the faint flavor of chocolate on his tongue, mixed with the heady flavor that was Rebel’s own. An appreciative hum reverberated in her throat as she opened wider for him.

  Someone had the audacity to knock on the door.

  “Go away,” Rebel growled against her lips.

  “Sorry,” Gage called from the other side of the door. “I wish I could, but Angel says you got to see this.”