My wet hand ever so slowly lets go of my most severe injury of the night, and I see the shock in the faces of the two women. It’s clear that they’re vampires, but both must be new or they wouldn’t be so visibly affected by the carnage. The rest of our family is far too familiar with violence to even flinch at something like this.
Severin studiously examines the gore for over a minute before asking me, “Cosette, this bite wasn’t done by another vampire, was it?”
I release my mouth from Case’s wrist, feeling that my body has had enough sustenance to fix the rest of the mess. Slowly I shake my head back and forth. I can see the confusion in his eyes, because a vampire can thwart or fight any animal on the planet. Until I can speak again I can’t explain that the attack was done by a gigantic wolf aided by vampires.
“Okay. When you’re healed you can explain what happened to you. All that matters is that you did the right thing by coming here to your family for help. We’ll find out who or what is responsible for this. In the meanwhile, you need to rest. Case will carry you to your room. It’s been untouched since you left last year. Whatever attacked you can’t harm you while you are under our protection.”
I’m hoisted up in the air and held firmly against Case’s thick chest as he strides down the vast hallway. I’m placed on my former bed, and before his arms slip out from beneath me I’m out, exhausted from the fight of my life. I’m pulled under, lost in a sea of unconsciousness.
I awaken to the sound of soft feminine voices coming from the far corner of my room.
“She was really close to Katerina, and then, well, you know the story. I think she took her death especially hard.”
My eyes open and find those of Ambrose’s girlfriend Alina, who is sitting in a chair next to the mystery blonde.
“Cosette, you’re awake. We were beginning to worry because you’ve been out for so long.”
I try to speak and hope for the best as a quiet croak emerges, “Hey, Alina.”
She smiles and walks over to stand next to my bed. Her hand touches mine. “Hey there, lady. I’ve missed you, a lot.”
“Me too. How long have I been out?”
Alina and I have been close friends ever since Ambrose turned her over twenty years ago. She’s visited me in Savannah a few times since I moved there to be with Tristan nearly a year ago, but it’s not the same as living under the same roof. The strain between Severin and me over my former relationship hasn’t helped.
“Nearly a day and a half. It’s three in the afternoon.”
I look over at the quiet woman. She stands and comes close, her southern accent flowing through the room, “Hi Cosette. I’m Calla. I’ve heard a lot about you from Severin.”
“Hi, Calla. Are you and Severin together?”
“Yes. We met a few months after you moved away. I was human. He turned me not long after that in order to save my life.”
“That’s good. I’m happy he found someone. He deserves that … to be happy, I mean. I’m surprised that nobody has told me about you before now.”
“You know Severin, how private he is. He wanted us to meet in person for the first time and asked that everyone keep our relationship quiet until you returned. He’s relieved that you’re healing well. He would never admit it, but he’s been worried sick about you.”
I look away and stare at the wall, suddenly uncomfortable. “Yeah, well, we’ve definitely had our differences. Guess that’s what happens when you have two headstrong relatives vying to be the one who’s right all the time.”
Silence hangs thick in the air until she says, “I’ll let him know that you’re awake.”
I turn my head and look up at Alina. “Tell me the truth … is my neck still a mess?”
She points to the bathroom. “Why don’t you have a look for yourself?”
I can’t read her expression so I slip out of the high bed, surprised to see that I’m no longer in my bloody clothes. The long ice-blue silk robe flutters against my ankles as I cross toward the bathroom. I hit the switch, take a step back, and gasp. Aside from four faint reddish pink horizontal streaks across the center of my neck, I’m all healed. My fingers shake as I brush against the once unrecognizable section of delicate flesh.
“Safe to say that Case has some powerful blood. He’s into MMA magazines and Blanton’s Bourbon if you want to send him a gift basket.” We both look at each other and burst out laughing. She hugs me tight, whispering against my hair, “It hasn’t been the same without you around. Glad to hear you dumped Tristan’s materialistic ass. Still, if you want to live on your own, know that I understand it’s your business. Really, I do.”
I lean back, look up into Alina’s gorgeous face, and see that she’s beaming at me. “Alina, you’re one of a kind, you know that?”
She brushes a strand of hair over my shoulder and grins devilishly. “Well, Ambrose certainly thinks so. I put his patience to the test on a daily basis.”
“Am I interrupting anything?” Severin asks quietly as he enters.
Alina chirps, “Not at all. I was just heading to the living room to see if Ambrose is up for a game of pool. See ya in a while, Cosette. Glad to have you back in one piece.”
“Thanks, Alina.”
“You bet, lady. Later.”
She sashays out of my room and I watch Severin, who stands silently at the end of the bed. Jesus, why does he have to be so damned imposing?
His strong, elegant voice fills the room, “I see that you’ve healed nicely.”
I sigh and walk over to him. He has at least a foot on me in the height department so I tilt my chin and look up to answer him, “I have.”
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t here when you arrived.”
“It’s fine. You had no way of knowing. I’m lucky Case was around.”
I shudder involuntarily at the gory possibility of what would have happened if he hadn’t been. There’s only one scenario: I would have bled out on that kitchen floor, leaving my family—my loved ones—to discover my corpse. We both know it.
“Exceptionally lucky, Cosette. Judging by the extent of your injuries, I’m surprised you could even trace. Do you feel like talking?”
“Sure, why not? Look, don’t get pissed at what I’m about to say, but for the past six weeks I’ve been attacked several times by wolves.” He looks completely perplexed but stays silent as I continue, “They’re different, a mutant breed of wolves, like Dire Wolves—massive as tigers and just as savage. That is what laid into my neck the other night. And before you inquire, yes, I could have killed it, but this time I was fighting against two unknown vampires as well. They were trying to annihilate me under the guise of the wolf as the lone assailant.”
Wise, sapphire-colored eyes assess what I’ve just said. Finally he asks, “Do you think this has to do with Tristan? Could someone be trying to send him a message by harming you? Or could he be behind it?”
I shake my head. “No way. Not a chance. I ended it with him about two weeks before the first attack happened. Anyone close to him knows we’re no longer together. He reached out to me with some info to share, intel that I thought might be about the wolves, but things went south and I concluded it was a dead end, just a selfish ploy to win me back. His enormous ego apparently doesn’t take rejection well, and he never stops trying. Anyhow, the wolf thing doesn’t have the feel of anything he would ever be involved with. He puts all his energy into his dealings at the nightclub.”
“Cosette, I don’t want to bring up the past but you are well aware that I wanted you to have nothing to do with him. He’s had a hand in several known vampire deaths over the centuries. He is power hungry and dangerous.”
“He’s a wannabe, Severin, trust me. He’s content to reign supreme from his throne at Sub-Zero, dealing out whatever shady deals he does there. I doubt he’d have the brain cells to plot against rival vampires, not without getting caught in the act.”
“I’ll do some investigating and call in favors from other vampires in the re
gion. In the meanwhile, I would suggest that you remain here, where you are safe. It will be easier on me if I’m not worrying about you constantly while trying to find out who’s behind these acts of war.”
I appreciate his help, I do, but I’m not going to let whoever or whatever is after me bring my life to a grinding halt.
He lays a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Cosette, is there something you’ve left out?”
Reluctantly I say what I’ve been dreading to confess, “Yes. There is, actually. I’m involved with someone. A human.”
Without missing a beat he says gravely, “Then he’s as good as dead. Whatever is after you already knows of his existence, and rest assured he or she will use your feelings for this male against you, most likely to trap you.”
Dread hits me like a full body blow. Not Colton. Not him. He’s rare and good. I can and will protect both of us.
There must be a way, and I’ll stop at nothing to uncover it.
Chapter Eleven
2:58 a.m.—Present Day
Savannah
I hold my right shoulder with my left palm and swing the aching arm around in a wide circle several times to loosen it up. It’s still sore as shit from the fight this past weekend and I know that the plaster work I’m about to tackle tonight is only gonna make it worse. No matter, it’s better than lying in bed staring at the fuckin’ ceiling, wondering why Cosette blew me off two nights ago. I tense up with fury just thinking about it.
Nah, I’ll do what I’ve done for the past two nights, work myself into exhaustion until I can hardly see straight, then, thankfully, stagger to the couch and pass the fuck out. Yep, that’s the plan. Again.
A floorboard creaks in the hallway right outside the bedroom I’m working in. I call out in a menacing voice, “Who’s there?”
If some crackhead just broke into my place looking for something to pawn, they’re gonna need a trip to the dentist for some serious work when I’m through with them.
I stalk out to where the sound came from and see her standing there, watching me silently. Those gorgeous eyes glitter up at me.
She steps forward, saying softly, “Colton—”
I cut her off harshly, “If you don’t have a bulletproof explanation for what the hell happened to you the other night, then get the fuck out of my house. Right now!”
I’m furious and it seems to catch her off guard for a moment. I’m about to turn away when she says, “I was attacked on my way to meet you.”
I eye her suspiciously, wondering if she’s playing games with me, simply because she can. My eyes drop, scanning her from head to toe. She looks uninjured … not even a scratch.
“It was two vampires and a wolf. I lost a lot of blood and had to trace to my uncle’s home. I … I’m sorry if you were angry.”
“Why didn’t you at least text me or better yet, come to me for help? I was fuckin’ worried way before I was angry with you. By the way, how the fuck did you get in here?”
“I traced here, and believe me, I wanted to contact you, but my cell went flying when I got hit from behind. I would have come to you but only vampire blood is strong enough to heal the damage from such a vicious attack. Please believe me.” She steps in closer. “I was really looking forward to us spending time together the other night, Colton. I’m sorry things turned out the way they did.”
My hands are on my hips as I blow out a deep breath and stare down at my boots before looking back up into her angelic face. “Get your ass over here, woman. I missed you something fierce.”
She takes the final few steps and wraps her body around mine. Smelling her hair, I murmur against it, “Damn, you feel so fine. Thought you blew me off for someone else, maybe one of your kind or some bullshit like that.”
She tips her face up to mine, and while running her index finger along the edge of the cut near my eye, she whispers, “Never. That would never happen. Oh!”
She gasps as I dip down and scoop her up into my arms. She clings to my neck. In only eight strides we make it inside my room, and once I reach the foot of the bed I toss her up into the air and she lands on the white comforter, giggling.
“I miss that vision in my bed, you know that, sexy girl?”
She says playfully, “Well, technically, I was only in your bed once and even then I was fully clothed at the time.”
I hastily kick off my work boots, grip a fist behind my neck to pull off my shirt, unfasten my belt, and the top button of my jeans and crawl up from the foot of the bed. I mock-stalk her as I say in a warning voice, “We’re gonna change that, effective right now. No covering up that body in my bed, babydoll. Nuh-uh, not acceptable.”
She shrieks in excitement and frantically moves back toward the headboard, but it’s too late. I trap her, pulling on one ankle. Her fancy high heel flies off to land somewhere on the hardwood as I drag her beneath me.
“Somewhere you need to be, wildcat?”
Her eyes flare in a lustful daze as my mouth lowers down to claim hers. Just before our lips connect, I answer the question for her in a barely audible whisper, “Didn’t think so baby, ’cause you know there’s no escapin’ from me, lover.”
What begins as a slow exploration soon turns greedy and fast, the electricity in the air building like a storm rushing in from the ocean.
“Mmm.” The appreciative moan slides from my throat as I taste what I’ve been missing.
I have her pinned with my weight, but that doesn’t stop her from writhing beneath me, desperate for more.
Only on my terms, darlin’.
Our tongues lap hard as the kiss turns almost violent in its intensity. She slides her hand down between us to palm my cock, as if I need additional incentive. At this point it feels like an iron bar trapped in my jeans. I’m panting, nearly gasping for breath as I wrap my hand around her lower thigh. Her legs drift apart, allowing me full access. My thumb plays casually against the silk of her panties, and I smile inwardly, noting that she’s already damp and ready to take me. I’m going to make her scream before I enter her this time. I watch her lustful eyes as I continue my slow assault over and back against that sexy little clit of hers. Her fangs have dropped and I must be fucked in the head to want nothing more than to have her plunge them deep into me. The thought of her taking my blood, drinking from me so she has what she needs gets me impossibly hard. I grip the front of her panties and rip them clean off as she whimpers in need. She splays her legs out wider to accommodate me while her fingers make quick work of the final four buttons of my jeans. I help her out and lift up as they slide down my legs, followed by my boxer briefs. I hastily kick them off my ankles and hear the buckle of my belt land with a clink on the floor. Then I turn my attention back to my sexy prey.
“You fuckin’ turn me inside out with that beauty you have going on, you know that?” She’s staring up at me as I unfasten her skirt and slide it down and off her smooth legs. One side gets caught on her other heel. I pull it off her foot and toss it backward, along with the mini.
“Colton,” she sighs, “I’m aching for you to take me.”
“Sit up for me.”
She does as she’s told and I slide her top off before reaching around to unfasten her sheer bra.
“Such a good girl …. Thinkin’ you might be on your way to a reward tonight.”
I pull it down her arms and see that she’s eyeing my cock like she’s starved for it.
She comes up to her knees and drapes her arms across my shoulders while saying in a seductive voice, “I’ll do my best and more to earn that sweet reward, cowboy. I want to taste it. Please?”
I answer her by leaning in to kiss her lips before dropping my gaze down toward my straining cock. She smiles playfully and lowers herself onto her stomach before me. Her mouth is slick and warm as her tongue licks just the tip in a light, playful manner. Then she gets serious, engulfing first the head and then lower, taking me so fuckin’ deep …. Only once do I feel the side of a fang slide lightly again
st my skin. I don’t mind, knowing that she only wants to give me pleasure. Her small hand can hardly wrap around it as she starts up a smooth tempo, fucking me perfectly with her gorgeous mouth. My head cranks back and a primal growl resonates through the room. It makes her pause, but for only a second before she continues working me quickly with her little vixen lips.
Pure fucking bliss.
My hands skim the length of her hair as she continues to drive me right into the red zone. She uses one hand to start playing with my balls and I know right away that I have to shut this down or I’ll cum in her mouth.
I gently hold her head and pull her away from me, prompting a little moan of protest. I lift her under the arms before pushing her down onto her back. As I watch her fall against the pile of pillows, I say, “Behave for me now… or else.”
She gives me a curious, sly look and asks, “Or else what?”
“Or else I’ll spank your sassy ass into obedience, that’s what.”
Her eyes go wide but within the black pupils I can tell that she’s excited by the idea of me punishing her.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
The challenge in her sweet voice is unmistakable. I cross my arms firmly over my chest and say quietly, “Try me, Cosette. You’re on the verge right now. You’ve been warned. Now lie back and spread those fine legs for me.”
A look of defiance passes across her face as she pushes her luck. Her glossy lips mutter, “Make me, cowboy.”
Before she can move an inch I grab her right wrist and haul her across my knees.
“Colton!”
I ignore her protests and press my arm firmly against the center of her back, essentially immobilizing her as I use my left hand to lay into her pert little ass. I’m bound and determined to teach her a swift and effective lesson in obedience. In the bedroom, I make the rules. Period. I know that with her strength she could effortlessly break my hold, but she stays still, taking the spanking with only minimal protests that mostly come in the form of sexy little huffs and groans. So she enjoys being a good girl for me. Excellent. When her cheeks are nice and pink I stop and reach down to play gently against her folds, using only my index finger. Just as I thought … soaked.
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