Mike stood stock still, caught between two predators far more deadly than he could ever be. I cupped my hands around his face, tilting it toward mine, forcing him to look at me straight on.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
His eyes widened, their blue deep and gleaming, a placid lake on a hot summer’s day. “For what?”
“For trying.”
I bent and kissed his mouth, a mouth I’d once known intimately. He softened under me, groaned in the back of his throat. His hands hesitantly circled my wrists, cool and smooth against my heated skin. It was just the way I’d remembered, without the urgent passion that had once claimed our couplings. He opened for me, flicking his tongue against mine, seemingly oblivious to the dark thunder gathering a few feet down the hall in Eric’s rigid posture.
Tough shit. Mike had been my first. He deserved some consideration, deserved better than having me turn my back on him, like he was no better than the girls I’d fucked my way through in high school.
I deliberately extended my fangs, dragged one across his tongue, sucked the droplets of blood welling out of him. His essence was soft rain drizzling against the roof at night and honey sweet. He moaned and melted under me, plastering himself against me, his cock hard against my thigh through his khakis.
And all I felt was a deep fondness layered on top of gratitude and memories of a long-faded love.
Eric’s anger abruptly snapped and ebbed, and his voice echoed softly down the hallway. “Give him some of yours, too, Jase. He needs it.”
This I could do. I flicked my tongue against the tip of one of Mike’s protruding fangs and encouraged him to suck , and his desperate need flared to life, consuming what was left of his uncertainty. I broke the kiss before it raged out of control, gentling him away from me and into Eric’s waiting embrace.
Mike trembled there, his eyes wide and bright, his breaths ragged. A drop of my blood clung to his lower lip, ruby red against the soft pink of his skin. He sucked it into his mouth, and for a moment, something pinged between us, a remembered connection, still there after all this time.
I let it go. Eric filled that void in my life now, him and Gigi. I didn’t need another love in my heart anymore, and never would again.
Eric turned him away from me, as gentle as I’d ever seen him, and led Mike down the hallway, and I watched the door close on that chapter of my life for the final time.
I’d no sooner stepped foot in the kitchen than the doorbell rang. Charity half rose from her seat at the kitchen table, a worried frown crinkling her young brow. I shook my head, forestalling her, and swiveled on the ball of my foot. I was the eldest, yeah, but we were steeped in Vampyr business now, following Vampyr rules. With no majordomo and the closest thing we had to a master vampire otherwise occupied, it was my job to screen visitors.
Between the anger and fear generated within me by Di’s stupidity and Anna Grace’s kidnapping, I was more than happy to just do something, anything to ease some of the tension.
I’d only made it halfway down the hallway when the odd pressure in my mind finally penetrated my consciousness. There was a vampire on the other side of the door, one I’d exchanged blood with recently, and one I knew. Relief washed away some of my darker emotions. Help was here. Thank God.
I jogged the rest of the way, slapping bare feet against slick, hardwood floors, and yanked open the door. Remy and Paolo stood on the other side surrounded by a small coterie of pets, some of whom I recognized. All were dressed in jeans and long sleeved knit shirts in various colors, dubious protection against the bright morning sun.
Paolo leaned the handle of a black umbrella against the side of the house, his creamy chocolate countenance set in grim lines. “We came as soon as we could.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Really.”
I stepped back and beckoned the entourage in. Two stayed on the porch, well protected from the sun’s rays by the scant shadows gathered along the walls. Guards, a wise precaution, even in friendly territory.
I hoped to God they considered my parents’ home friendly.
I exchanged man hugs with Paolo, ignoring the faint whiff of his blood, clear in spite of his light, woodsy cologne. “Eric’s feeding.”
Remy tilted his head, a coy smile on his full lips. “Your former lover.”
“Eric’s pet,” I said firmly, and shut the door. “We’re in the kitchen. It’s kinda bright, but no direct sunlight gets in.”
“That will suffice.”
Paolo’s head jerked around. His gaze landed on the top of the stairs, not that of a predator. I shuffled through emotions for a moment and finally pinned down the correct ones flashing across the other favorite’s face. Curiosity, the faintest hint of loss, and a brief fury so sharp, it slapped into me, arousing an answering anger.
His eyes flicked to mine, flat and empty, the excess ruthlessly shuttered between one heartbeat and the next. “I must speak with your parents. Excuse me.”
He was gone before I could say yea or nay. I followed, concerned. A pet might not display a lot of emotion, but that didn’t mean we had none. Whatever was going on in Paolo’s head, I didn’t want it to spill over onto my parents, especially considering how much of my life had already hurt them.
Remy’s hand shot out, halting me in mid stride. “No harm will come to your family.”
I glanced up the stairwell, tuned in to the faint tap on my parents’ bedroom door and the murmur of male voices too low for me to make out. My father’s voice was calm, Paolo’s even. One word uttered in his accented baritone drifted to me, underscored by what I could’ve sworn was remembered kinship. Grandfather.
A deep sigh blew out of me and I relaxed. No, Paolo wouldn’t harm the grandson of an old friend. My parents would be safe enough without my interference.
Soft footsteps padded through the house, and Charity said, “Not another one.”
Remy released me with a soft laugh, and I whirled around, scowling at my middle sister. “You’re supposed to be watching Di.”
Charity stepped fully into the hallway, eyeing the men at my back. “Tangi’s got it.”
Well, shit. Tangi could do a lot of damage in a short space of time. Much as I wanted to set him loose, we still needed Di whole. Or in good enough shape to talk, anyway.
Laughter floated through my mind, accompanied by the rich tang of loamy forest and the odd displacement of a wolfy mind meeting a vampy one. I shook Tangi out of my head and jogged past Charity into the kitchen. The bond between me and Eric and Gigi hadn’t taken nearly as long to get used to as the one I shared with our resident wolf. It even felt different, which kinda made sense, seeing as how we belonged to different subspecies of the human race.
Monsters, all, eh? Even the wholly human ones.
We found Tangi standing behind Di, his face inches away from her bare throat. Acrid fear radiated out of her cringing posture. He glanced up at me. Laughter painted his expressive eyes, lightening them the same way his wolf did, not in color. In mischief.
He leaned forward and whispered, “Boo.”
Di shrieked and cringed away from him.
I pressed my lips together, attempting a stern I was sure I missed by a mile. “C’mon, Tangi. Stop teasing her.”
“Who says I’m teasing?”
The rough menace coating his words belied his small grin. I shook my head. At least he wasn’t hurting her. Much.
Tangi stepped away from my sister. His gaze flicked behind me and back. “My uncle has sent his own out searching for Anna Grace.”
A small weight lifted off my shoulders. I pulled out a chair and slumped into it, hunched against the wooden back. Officially, the pack was based out of Brainerd, where Alden lived, but members were scattered all over the state, and had been since the pack’s tussle with Oriana. That lack of centralization would work in our favor now, providing sharp eyes on roads we could never patrol on our own.
Remy strolled forward, his soft-soled shoes light along Ma’s linoleum floor.
He stroked a hand over Di’s hair, snatched her chin when she jerked away from his touch, and held her in place while he studied her. “This one,” he said slowly. “She troubles you, pet.”
I opened my mouth, snapped it shut on thin air. Yeah, she troubled me, all right. What kind of woman let her own sister be kidnapped? What kind of woman willfully placed a defenseless kid in harm’s way?
And Di thought me and Eric were evil.
I blew out a long breath, attempting to let my frustration with her stupidity go. Water under the bridge. No changing it now.
“We need a safe place for her,” I said.
“Where she will cause no additional harm.” Remy forced Di’s chin up, slid a finger over her trembling lips into the bandana covering her eyes, and pushed it onto her forehead, his touch as gentle as a lamb. “Look at me, child.”
She did, blinking up at his carob-rich face. Her breath feathered out and she paled. “You’re like him.”
“Oui, enfant,” he murmured. “You are not for me, but I know where you belong.”
I didn’t want to know. I really did not want to know.
A tear streaked down Di’s cheek, and I cursed under my breath. Fuck. I was gonna have to ask.
“She’ll be safe. As long as she behaves.” Remy bent and pressed a light kiss to the tip of her nose, then slid the bandana over her eyes. “Such a waste. Three sisters in the light would have been ideal.”
I scowled. It was goddamn bad enough two of my sisters were beacons and now known to the Vampyr. They’d never have a normal life. They’d never be able to live without having someone breathing down their necks, pretty much assuring they’d have to endure the turn or ally with a vampire who’d protect them.
For a price.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, tired to the bone. There was always a price to be paid, wasn’t there? It didn’t matter what form it took. Blood, sex, honor and dignity. Life demanded its pound of flesh, and we anted up whether we wanted to or not.
Charity plopped down beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. “It’s gonna be ok, Jase.”
Remy’s mahogany eyes slid to her, lighting with something akin to speculation.
I jabbed a finger at him. “She gets to decide. Nobody leaves this house without everybody agreeing on that.”
His light laughter edged into an uncharacteristic smirk. “Her decision was made some days ago.”
How could you not know, préferée du monstre sans pitié?
I didn’t need to know French to understand Remy’s gist. A part of me was proud of Eric’s rep, even as part of me regretted he’d ever had to become so hard, just to survive.
For himself. For his family.
I shook off the guilt and tugged Char under the shelter of my arm. “She’s too young.”
Tangi coughed into his fist, not even close to hiding a grin, and I gave up. Just for now. Saving Anna Grace from the hunter and Oriana was our priority. I’d deal with Tangi and Charity once we got our baby sister back.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ma, Pop, and Paolo entered the kitchen through one doorway at nearly the same moment Eric glided through the other, fully dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans. His cheeks were flushed pink and satiation glittered in his hazel eyes, and for the first time since the fire, his bond pinged in my mind.
What he said wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
He’s resting.
I blinked, completely in the dark as to who he was.
One corner of Eric’s lovely mouth twitched, and for the life of me, I could’ve sworn humor tinged his thoughts. Mike. You were thinking about him.
I snapped my mouth shut in mid-gape. Oh, hell no, I wasn’t.
You were. Deep down. Eric grinned, slow and sweet and knowing, and came even with me. Thanks for trusting me with him.
Like I’d even been worried. Which I hadn’t. Eric wasn’t petty enough to hurt Mike just because the man was my former lover. He knew where my heart lay. Didn’t he?
Eric wrapped a warm hand around my nape and squeezed gently. Later, his mind whispered. The single word was filled with a wealth of sensual promise, with the soft touch of his hand on my skin, with the rasp of his tongue against mine, and the hours of past pleasure we’d given each other. Hours, days, and a lifetime more to anticipate.
My dick twitched to life, hardening under the thin material of my shorts. I scowled at him and crossed my legs. Jesus. Now was not the time.
Sorry, Jase. The blood.
Oh, I understood. He was still high on the donation Mike had offered. Best guess? Eric was unaware of infusing everything he did with the innate sensuality of blood and sex. I didn’t blame him for what he couldn’t help. I blamed myself for always reacting to him that way.
Let it always be so, lover, he thought, and I coughed into my fist, hiding a grin. Yeah. Let it always be so.
Pa sagged into a chair next to Di, Ma at his side. “I want to go after this bastard.”
His harsh words jerked my attention away from the pleasure fluttering through my groin.
Eric’s hand tightened on my skin. “We have people out looking for her, Mr. Bellmont. Until we know where she is, it would be futile for us to go after her.”
I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the table, meeting Pa’s determined gaze evenly. “We could head off in the wrong direction. Better to stay here and wait for her and the hunter to be spotted.”
Ma slumped into him, like the strings holding her upright had been cut and she no longer had the strength or will to sit upright on her own. “It seems wrong to just sit here, to do nothing. We should do something, shouldn’t we?”
Her words hit me hard, hammering my heart into a wounded mass. I wanted to say something. I wanted to reassure her and tell her it was gonna be ok. Everything was going to be ok, but the words wouldn’t come, no matter how hard I tried to bite them out.
Eric broke the silence, his words calm, steady. “We’re doing everything we can, Kathy. Trust me on this.”
She breathed out a sob, slapped a hand over her mouth, and whispered a muffled, “I do.”
Pa draped his arm around her, comforting her the way I hadn’t been able to. “You have a plan.”
Eric nodded. “Marco’s on his way.”
I jerked my head around and looked up at him. “How long?”
Too long, maybe. To the others, he said, “Alden has men out searching for Landis’ car.”
Remy nodded. “My men are as well. We’re spreading the word to everyone who can help.”
And amassing a small army along the way, but my parents only needed to know there was no way in hell we were letting anything else happen to Anna Grace.
The doorbell rang and I knew immediately who it was. Only one vampire emitted crazy around here and it wasn’t one I particularly wanted to be around, given how she hurt me pretty much every time I saw her.
The doorbell rang again, chiming three short barks. I sighed and shoved my chair back. She wasn’t going away anytime soon, sounded like, so I might as well let her in.
Eric pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. “I’ve got it, Jase.”
Yeah, I was ok with him taking care of Mad Trilly.
I settled back into my seat and observed for a while, taking pointers from Paolo’s deft manipulation of the conversation. He made it seem so easy, the way he laid out our plans and simultaneously soothed the jagged worry smothering the small crowd gathered in Ma’s too-bright kitchen. Who was doing what, when we were going in. Strategies and tactics and, hell, more deets than I’d ever thought could go into the small war we were preparing to wage against Oriana, and all without spilling the exact plans to Di, the curious little fox.
Had to admire a man who could talk around her like that.
Eric reentered the kitchen halfway through, resuming his place at my side. Trillium and Kyle hovered in the doorway, her curiously contained, for once. I glanced at them out of the corners of my eyes, and marveled. She was wearing rea
l, honest to God jeans, and her hair was a cloud of loose, blonde curls flowing down her delicate back, not the Raggedy Ann red it used to be.
I glanced at Kyle, caught his eye. What’s going on?
His lips curved into a small smile. You already know the answer to that, Adonis.
I refocused on Paolo, shrugging off Kyle’s smug reply. Eric. Wasn’t he the answer to everything these days? Ma’s cancer, her rekindled romance with Pop. Mike’s injuries, my legs. Eric was behind all that and a helluva lot more.
Love swelled within me, consuming me inside and out, and with it came the beauty of knowing he was mine and Gigi’s, always and forever. We were going to get through this. We were going to get Anna Grace back. We were going to destroy Oriana. And Gigi was going to be ok. Everything was going to be ok.
For the first time since she’d broken one, my belief in a good outcome solidified into certainty. Faith. Where had mine been in the past few months? I’d let it be buried under the storm of sorrow we’d endured, let self-pity nearly destroy the best parts of my life.
No more.
I reached back and snagged Eric’s hand, threaded my fingers through his for all the world to see, and held on the way he’d always held on to me.
I stole ten minutes during Trillium and Kyle’s catch up session for a quick shower. God, I’d never felt so nasty in my life as I did then, maybe because of the fire, maybe because inside, turmoil had wiggled its way into every inch of me. Oily smoke clung to the air in our bedroom, our clothes, my hair, making a shower nearly useless. I was by God taking one anyway. Who knew when I’d get a chance to clean up again?
Mike had wisely chosen another room to recuperate in. I hadn’t heard him moving around, but I knew he hadn’t left. I could still feel him nearby, more because of his growing bond with Eric than anything Mike and I had once shared.
And that was exactly the way I wanted to keep things between me and my former lover.
When I came out of the bedroom, as clean as I was going to get, the police had finished taking over the living room and setting up a monitoring system on our phones. They worked around our war council, never seeming to notice Di’s bindings or the fact that a certain percentage of the assembled crowd skirted any direct sunlight streaming through the windows. From time to time, they called Pop or Ma out of the kitchen to answer questions, but otherwise largely left us alone.
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