by Mairsile
“Yeah, they were morons. I mean, if you’re going to harvest the vines, don’t stop to drink the evidence. They were so drunk it hardly seemed fair to kill them.”
“What wasn’t fair was that you convinced Papá that we needed to stay to make sure no one else tried to rip him off.”
Vince laughed, remembering how much fun he had. “Best year of my life,” he admitted. Then he saw the anger in his sister’s eyes, knowing it was because he had locked her in the cellar so he could have an orgy in Ludovico’s personal bedroom. “Uh, so anyway, what were you saying about Lilah?’
Nikki growled, but decided to let it go. Vince had gotten away with his fun and no one was the wiser. And besides, Nikki made him pay for his treachery. Every time she needed a favor, she reminded Vince of that.
“As I was saying, when I met her, it was just to have a quick bite, you know? But there was something about her. Something that drew me close and I realize now, it was her intelligence and aura. She has such a pure ambience about her. Even under my influence, she kept her head. You know how most women feel amorous or act out?”
“Yeah, that’s my favorite part,” Vince replied.
“Which one?”
“Both.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “Anyway, she didn’t. That’s why I couldn’t bite her. It was almost as if she knew what was going on, yet her thoughts were still pure. I was so intrigued by that, that I had to know her better.”
“So, you, what? Just wooed her with your charming personality?”
“Exactly. I stopped using my compulsion to make her be with me and just got to know her. My heart was hers on our second date.”
“And how long did it take Lilah to fall in love with you?”
Nikki chuckled at the memory. “Her thoughts admitted it to me by our fourth date, but she didn’t tell me until our eighth.”
“You had eight dates with her and never bit her? How is that even possible?”
“Anything’s possible when you’re in love,” Nikki said thoughtfully. “Believe me, there were many times that my fangs were at her throat. I wanted it so bad and a couple of times I very nearly lost control. The longer we saw each other, the harder it became. So, on our ninth date, I erased her memories—”
Vince pulled up short and looked at her. “Are you telling me that you never had sex with the girl either? Natural or paranormal sex?”
“Yeah, I never did,” Nikki sighed. “She was a good virgin with high moral standards.”
“Bullshit. There is no such thing,” Vince rebuked. “And besides, you could have compelled her to.”
“That’s just it, I didn’t want to. I wanted it to be real.”
Vince shook his head, wondering when exactly his sister had lost her mind. He continued their flight as he asked, “Why did you wait so long before breaking it off?”
Nikki starred into the horizon. “I had tried several times, but I just couldn’t. Then when our job came too close to her college, I panicked. My life is far too violent to sustain a long-distance relationship that could possibly end up putting her in danger.”
“Okay, I get that. So why didn’t you have sex with her right before you wiped her memory? That’s what I would have done.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “She was much more than a plaything to me, Vince. I know we’ve done that in the past, but if our sire has taught me anything, it’s that women are the only thing worth living for, and as a woman, I embrace that wholeheartedly.”
“Damn, you are such a hopeless romantic. Foolish, pazzo, deranged romantic.”
“Haven’t you ever thought about settling down with just one woman, Vince?”
Vince snorted loudly. “Hell, no! I’m going to live forever, plenty of time to do that when I’m much older.”
“Ludovico, for all his ruthlessness, has been with the same woman for as long as we have known him. Longer, even. And he is still very much enamorado with her. More so, after she died and I brought her back.”
“Yes, but before she came along, I heard that he was a horny bastard who molested women, schoolgirls, even a few animals.”
“You see? The power of the right woman in a person’s life can make them sane again.”
“Your definition of sanity and mine are completely different.”
“Well it’s a moot point, anyway,” Nikki stated.
***
They arrived at the ranch a little after seven, and Vince hovered over the buildings, getting the lay of the land. Nikki could hear a few cowhands talking as they were bedding down for the night in the bunkhouse. Just as she heard a female voice filter through, Vince descended over the barn and pointed at two people making out behind it. The woman was a petite blonde.
“Say, isn’t that your blonde virgin with her hand between that cowboy’s legs? I didn’t know she was bi-sexual.”
“Damn it!” Nikki exclaimed, falling off Vince’s back and landing with a thud in the dirt. She jumped up immediately and ran at twice the human speed, jerking Lilah back as she shoved the cowboy away with a strength that no human woman possessed.
“What the hell? Who do you think you are?” Lilah shouted at her.
She looked at her quickly, catching her breath at her piercingly beautiful green eyes. It was those eyes, like emeralds, which drew her to her at the beginning. Natural blondes don’t usually have green eyes, and she could count on two hands how many naturally blonde, green-eyed women she had met in the span of her life.
“Oh my God! Are you crazy?” She shoved Nikki and started toward the stunned cowboy, but Nikki grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back. She screamed and hit her with everything she had but Nikki was immortal, it would take a lot more than a few punches from small hands to hurt her.
Vince ran over and placed a hand on Nikki’s arm. “Remember, you can’t kill him.”
The cowboy jumped up, shaking his head to clear it. He saw Nikki holding Lilah and he charged, shouting for the men in the bunkhouse to help him.
“Yeah, right,” Nikki grunted at Vince. “But I can beat the shit out of him.” Nikki pushed Lilah into Vince’s hands and took off.
Lilah continued her rage on Vince. “Wow, kitten has claws,” Vince quipped. “Naughty kitten.”
Nikki had the mauler on the ground inside of a minute and was working her way – fist flying, legs kicking – through the other five men. Using a mixture of different martial arts she had learned throughout the century, Nikki froze when she heard Lilah scream.
“Let me go. You don’t understand; he’s my husband!”
The sucker punch to her gut when Nikki dropped her guard was nothing compared to the twisting stab to her heart. Oh, God. Her husband?
Chapter Four
November 5, 2016
da Polenta Ranch, Texas
Nikki was a rarity in the vampire world. She had scruples that most immortals scoffed at. She would never take a woman against her will, nor would she bed a married woman intentionally. But would her principles hold if she’d fallen in love with her before she knew? She didn’t have time to give it much thought, as she fended off six hired hands without hurting them seriously. Of course it helped that they were human males who honored the cowboy code of never hitting a girl.
Vince released the girl, and Nikki watched as she ran into her cowboy’s arms. I thought she was a lesbian? Wait, maybe she’s bisexual and we can both share her. Vince thought with a grin. Nikki walked over to him and punched him in the arm. She whispered, “Trust me, she’s all lesbian.” At least I thought she was.
“Who the fuck are you people, anyway?” the man asked indignantly, holding Lilah in a protective grip as the other cowhands slowly picked themselves up off the ground.
“You must be Dominique Delgadillo, am I right?” Leonard asked, walking up to her with a double-barrel shotgun in his hands. He eyed her keenly, taking in her lean muscular figure and pale skin.
“Yes, sir. Ludovico da Polenta sent me.”
“Interesting way of int
roducing yourself, girl.”
“I apologize, sir. I thought Ms. Dupree was, uh, being attacked.” Her eyes filled with remorse when she looked at Lilah. “I was not told that she had married.”
Laughing, Leonard shook his head and set the shotgun down. “She’s not married to him, or anyone else for that matter.”
She’s not? Nikki exhaled audibly, and a smile crept along her lips. I should have known. She gave her maiden name at the bar and wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. She played me. Nikki looked at her again. But why did she have her hands down that cowboy’s pants?
Lilah stuck her tongue out at Nikki and then snuggled deeper into the cowboy’s arms.
Lilah had changed, both physically and emotionally. Physically, Nikki thought that she was even more beautiful, more powerful. Her shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail, gave Nikki a clear view of her soft, freckled neck, just as she remembered it. Her royal blue, western-style blouse gave her cheeks color, and made her green eyes sparkle. It was cut just above her hips, and fit snugly to her form. Her butt still had the slight saddle spread from years of horseback riding, and on her it looked good. Her boots matched the color of her blouse, which was partially unbuttoned. She could see the soft swell of her breasts between the lapels. It stirred memories in her that a cold shower would not alleviate, but emotionally, this was not the Lilah that Nikki knew. She would never be so immodest and devious and she would never come on to a man like that.
“No, she’s not married, but she is grounded for a month,” Leonard said, sneering at the cowboy he blamed for his daughter’s indecorous behavior.
Lilah finally left the man’s arms and walked over to her father. “For God’s sake, Dad. You can’t ground me anymore. I’m not a child!”
“You think not? Well, I can cut your allowance and lock you in your room if you don’t start behaving. I asked Ms. Delgadillo here to assure your safety, and if that’s what it takes, I’m sure she would be amiable.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Dupree,” Nikki agreed, giving Lilah a mischievous smile, equivalent to sticking her tongue out at her. “Whatever it takes.”
“Okay, now wait just a damn minute,” Lilah demanded, taking a step closer to Nikki and drilling a hole through her head with her eyes. “Just who the hell is she?” Other than arrogant, self-absorbed, and drop-dead gorgeous. Lilah thought she saw Nikki wink at her. She found her pretentious and self-serving, but what disarmed her was her good looks. Like her father, she was six inches taller than Lilah was, but unlike him, there wasn’t a wrinkle on her unblemished face. Her dark eyes were alluring and she had a virile, outdoorsy look that was very attractive. Every muscle on her body was hard as a rock, especially her butt. She had a sudden desire to bounce a quarter off of it.
“She is your new bodyguard, Lilah,” Leonard answered. “This was not how I planned to introduce her, but nonetheless,” Leonard turned and looked at the ranch hands, “I want all of you to know that Ms. Delgadillo will be with us indefinitely. Treat her as one of our own,”
There was a lot of grunting and groaning, although Nikki wasn’t surprised by that. She was glad they were told of her purpose. It would make her job that much easier and keep the amorous cowboys at bay… hopefully. Unfortunately, given the dirty look that Lilah was shooting at her, she was not going to go along with it willingly.
Leonard sent the ranch hands away and waved his hand toward the house. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Nikki realized that Vince had disappeared. She looked around and saw him walking with his arm around the shoulder of one of the men as they entered the bunkhouse. Very well played, Vince. She fell in beside Leonard and Lilah and walked up the steps into the house.
The ranch house was a typical western-style house with two-floors, a wraparound porch with lattice railing, and picture windows. Wicker chairs with thick cushions, arranged in clutches along the oblong porch, set next to padded wooden swings, where bronzed ceiling fans whirled overhead.
The living room was also western motif, with birch wood flooring, brown leather furniture surrounding a large mahogany coffee table in front of the stone fireplace. Frederic Remington original Wild West paintings hung on the walls, and an original Remington sculpture of a cowboy breaking a wild horse sat on the mantel piece. A thick, mahogany staircase led to the second floor. The kitchen was the only room in the house that looked modern. It was as large as the living room with the same birch wood flooring. The restaurant-style range that included a broiler with a raised griddle took up one wall opposite of the refrigerator / freezer units. The island prep station was made of the same wood as the floor, with a granite countertop. Nikki recognized Mrs. da Polenta’s style in every room she walked through. She loved interior decorating.
Nikki followed Leonard and his daughter through the kitchen and over to the breakfast nook where she sat down on the hardwood bench that encircled a wooden, picnic-like, table. The one part of the house that she was not shown was the East Wing, accessible only by a hallway leading off the kitchen. Her sire’s wing was almost as large as the rest of the house.
An older woman brought over a fresh-brewed pot of coffee and set it down, along with cups, spoons and assorted condiments. Nikki notice the Hispanic features in her eyes and face.
“Supper is almost ready,” she announced with a thick accent, and walked back to the stove.
Lilah had lagged behind the two, and went to the refrigerator, grabbing a soda. Then she gave the old woman a kissed on the cheek before joining the others. “Okay, so explain to me why all of a sudden I need a bodyguard?” she demanded, trying to twist the plastic top off of the cola bottle. She frowned when it wouldn’t loosen.
Nikki held out her hand and offered to open it for her, but she only sneered at her kind gesture and handed it to her father instead.
“Mr. da Polenta told me that there’s a cartel trying to muscle their way into Texas and they want this ranch. He thinks that Rebecca’s murder was a message,” Leonard said bluntly, twisting the cap off and handing it back to her, “so he sent Ms. Delgadillo and another man who will arrive tomorrow, down here to protect you.”
Lilah slumped back against the bench at the mention of Rebecca’s murder. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and she let them fall as she unconsciously stared at the soda bottle sitting on the table. Grief, mixed with questions yet to be answered, left her angry.
Nikki’s heart thumped with longing to hold her in her arms and comfort her. She could hear her thoughts and knew she was still in shock at her friend’s death. She had questions, but after the display she had put on, she didn’t think that right now would be a good time to ask them. “Ms. Dupree, I am sorry for your loss,” she offered sincerely.
Lilah shot her a look, but then softened her brow. She only nodded.
Her father laid his hand across the table, and Lilah embraced it. Their bond, no matter how put out she got with him, and vice-versa, was strong and desperately important to the both of them.
Nikki glanced around the large kitchen, thinking about Lilah’s mother. She remembered the plump, brown-haired woman when she came to see Lilah at the Texas A&M University. Nikki had followed them to a restaurant and concealed herself at the bar, wearing a cowboy hat and leather jacket. She unashamedly listened as the two ate lunch, chattering on about the latest fashions. She followed them as they shopped in town, and she saw Lilah’s tears as her mother drove away. Lilah’s mother had died in a car accident not long after that visit. Focus. Blinking away the memories, Nikki asked, “Who else lives in this house, Mr. Dupree?”
“Our housekeeper, Dorothea.”
“No one else?”
Leonard lowered his head. “My wife died three years ago; it’s just the two of us and Dorothea now.”
“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories,” Nikki said, kicking herself. She asked because she wasn’t sure if Leonard had remarried. She glanced over at Lilah, who used her sleeve to wipe the tears falling on her cheeks a
s the housekeeper appeared out of nowhere and handed her a tissue.
“Dorothea Capella, this is Dominique Delgadillo,” Leonard said, glad to be able to change the subject. “She’s one of the two bodyguards I told you about.”
“Es un placer conocerlo, Dominique,” Dorothea said, and then thought to herself, Hmm, there’s something behind those dark eyes. I’m keeping my eye on this one.
Nikki stood and offered her hand. Dorothea took it, and Nikki wrapped her other hand over hers. Her fingers squeezed gently as her influence opened Dorothea’s mind to her. She looked into her eyes and probed her consciousness. She didn’t sense anything devious in the woman, just that she had a strong motherly love for Leonard and his daughter. An older woman in her sixties, Dorothea had been with the Duprees for fifteen years and Nikki could feel her sorrow over Mrs. Dupree and Rebecca’s deaths. The gray-haired, chubby Hispanic woman was only dangerous if someone tried to hurt Lilah. Nikki liked that.
“Sí, el placer es todo mío. It’s a pleasure to meet you, also. Please, call me Nikki.”
She blinked after Nikki released her hand and then giggled. “I will, gracias.”
Lilah looked from Dorothea to Nikki. Great, now Dorothea likes her. “Look, asshole—”
“Delilah! Your language,” Dorothea cautioned.
Leonard jerked around to look at his daughter. “I agree. What has gotten into you? Ever since your mother died, you’ve become a completely different person.”
Lilah looked angry, but her thoughts revealed to Nikki that she was terrified. I don’t know! I don’t know what’s wrong with me! “I don’t want anyone to control me, especially her,” she said sharply, pointing at Nikki.