“What do you mean, you’ve always missed me? You don’t want to be here. If she hadn’t called you and made you come—”
“She didn’t make me come. I want to be with you. I know it’s been a while, but—ow!”
She’d kicked him again.
She clearly didn’t believe his words. Jon couldn’t understand why.
“You don’t want to be with me. Somehow you made me think it was all a dream, just so you could, you could…have your way with me.”
He could feel how she believed that with all her heart. This belief was her armor against him, and her weapon. “I—” But words weren’t enough, so he kissed her.
At first, her lips were hard and set beneath his, denying his touch, denying emotion. But he held her, cradled her against him, gentle but insistent. Her body slowly melted against his, and fire ignited between them.
Remember me, he whispered into her mind.
Chapter 8
“W hat are you doing out here, tempting fate?”
She gasped and whirled around to face the man who’d snuck up on her. He was tall and older than she was, maybe in his twenties. Even in the dark, she could tell that he had blond hair and blue eyes. He looked stern, but there were dimples hiding at the corners of his face. “Do I know you?”
“No,” he said. “Don’t you know it isn’t safe out here?”
“Of course, I know that.” She laughed, not at him but at the awful place where they stood. His words were a joke. She appreciated that he was worried about her. She looked into his eyes and knew she could tell this man anything. “But there’s a poodle that needs rescuing,” she went on. “And nobody else to do it since FEMA wouldn’t let us take pets with us when we left.”
“You’re risking your life for a poodle?”
“Someone has to,” she said over her shoulder, as she turned around and started on her way once more.
“Hey, wait for me!” he called after her.
She smiled to herself as he caught up with her. Being with him made her feel safer than she ever had before. She knew he wouldn’t leave her alone.
But that was exactly what he’d done.
Desi hated that she couldn’t help wanting Jon Coyote’s kiss. It wasn’t fair or right that her body betrayed her like this. She didn’t stop being angry at him as he kissed her, but the anger wanted to morph into passion just because his tongue slid over hers and his hard body fitted so perfectly against hers. The way his hand pressed against the small of her back sent a shiver all the way up her spine. Damn, but the man could kiss!
Which didn’t stop her from pulling away from him after a few delicious moments. “That isn’t going to work,” she told him breathlessly.
The triumphant glint in his blue eyes told her he was certain that it would. Her sizzling nerve endings agreed with him, but Desi forced her hands to push against him.
This time he let her go. “I suppose we should talk first,” he agreed reluctantly. “You remember how we met now, don’t you?”
Desi put a hand to her forehead. She’d never forgotten the young man who helped her rescue animals during the flood, but this was the first time she realized who he was. Was that why she was a Coyote fan?
“You make me dizzy,” she told him.
He gave her that famous dimpled smile. “You’re my dizzy Desi, then.”
She suddenly wanted him to kiss her all over again, and she put some distance between herself and the object of temptation. Up close, the man was even more devastatingly handsome than on a stage or in a music video. He looked like a slightly fallen archangel standing there with his wavy dark blond hair, blue, blue eyes, and fantastic body. Then there were those tight jeans—
Her memories told her that they’d only shared sex in a dream, but now she also knew her teenage memories of him were real. Yet she also knew that this was the first time they’d ever been this close—except for that one touch during the concert three months ago. Her mind believed the night they’d spent together was a dream. But her body remembered his touch, how his kisses could make her drunk with lust. Real lust, not just a fan’s fantasy.
He’d made her believe in the dream. Why? How could she forgive him?
She backed up until she came up against the ornately carved mantel where there were still plenty of art objects to throw at him. Not that she’d meant to destroy her hostess’s property; she’d just been so darned mad when Jon walked into the room. And speaking of Martine Shagal…
“Your family is—” she began.
“Not exactly normal,” he finished for her.
“Holding me prisoner,” she finished for herself.
Oh, they’d been polite about it, even kind. Martine had given her a tisane that cleared the morning sickness right up, and Desi was certainly grateful for that. Martine had also tried explaining the peculiarities of the Shagal Clan in an oblique way, always coming back to how Jon would have to fill in the details when he got here. But the fact remained that once Madame Helene had delivered her to this Garden Quarter mansion, it had become Desi’s prison. She resented the confinement almost as much as being pregnant and not knowing how it had happened.
“You’re an honored guest of the Clan,” Jon said. “Very special and important to the family. I know our ways seem peculiar—”
“My grandma’s a voodoo queen,” Desi told him. “My Uncle Ray is now my Aunt Rayelle. My brother lives with a pack of feral Catahoula Leopard dogs, and my sister’s a Wall Street stockbroker. I don’t mind peculiar. I mind incarceration.” She swept a hand around the elegant room. “Even in luxury.”
Jon considered what she’d said for a moment, then asked, “Any vampires in your peculiar family?”
“Not that I know of—but Aunt Tess claims she lived with a werewolf for a while.”
“Do you believe in werewolves? Or vampires?”
She shrugged. “Well…”
Chapter 9
J on was glad that Desi was reacting with such spirit to the situation. He’d built up an image of her as sweet and gentle, and passive in the last three months, as well as convincing himself that she was way too young for him. He didn’t know why, considering how brave and resourceful she’d been as a kid.
They’d laughed a lot the one night they’d spent together. He’d been in a talkative mood, and she’d been a good listener. Just being with her soothed his soul. Rico was right that she’d always be younger than him, as any mortal he fell in love with would be. But a mortal bondmate lived as long as her bonded vampire. He recalled that she’d read his palm and been really surprised at the length of his lifeline, and she’d showed him that she had a long lifeline as well. He should have realized what that meant then, but the desire that had been brewing for a decade had gotten in the way. Most of their night together had been spent making love, and she’d been—perfect.
“You told me you’re a vampire,” she answered. “In the dream.” She rubbed her temples, then shot him a furious look. “It was real.”
“Of course, it was real. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you so soon, but—”
“You made me forget!”
“I did not!”
“Do you always hypnotize your groupies? Which I am not,” she added firmly. “I didn’t go to the concert to meet you. I don’t even remember how I met you.”
Jon laughed. “I don’t do groupies. Well—not for years. That got old fast.”
“Then how do you explain…” She patted her belly.
She really didn’t remember? Why didn’t she remember? He’d only made the intensity of their meeting fade—he didn’t want her to forget him. If she truly didn’t remember, he couldn’t blame her for being so pissed at him.
“I meant to come back,” he told her. “I’ve been meaning to since we met—again. Maybe I should have taken you with me—but it would have been too dangerous right after we left New Orleans.”
“You had a show in Memphis,” she told him. “How is a concert in Memphis too dangerous?”
“I thought you said you’re a vampire.”
“I am.”
“Right.” She patted her abdomen again. “Dead people don’t get women knocked up. Or run around in the daylight. I’ve got the DVD of the concert you did in Barcelona—two hours in the midday sun.”
“An awesome show.” He nodded fondly at the memory of that particular gig. “I take drugs.”
“You’re a musician,” she countered. “Of course you do. I read that you’d been through rehab.”
“I’ve never done those kinds of drugs. I take sort of allergy drugs,” he corrected. “For the vampirism.”
“Vampirism’s an allergy?”
“No!”
“A lifestyle choice, then?”
“No. We’re born, not made. If we want to live in the daylight, we take certain drugs to protect ourselves. We don’t need to take the drugs if we don’t want to. I find it convenient to live in the light, so I take them. We do need to drink blood as part of our nourishment, but we don’t need to kill, or drain our partners like in the movies. Sharing blood with our lovers is emotionally satisfying for both parties. Our sharing blood won’t turn you into a vampire, but it will—”
“Is my baby going to be a vampire?”
“Our baby. I don’t think so.”
“You’re not sure?”
He sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Desi folded her hands in front of her stomach. “I’m a prisoner here. I have plenty of time for explanations.”
“And you deserve them. If we have a girl, she might become a vampire, which is a very good thing, since there are so few females of our kind. But far more males are born than females, and males with human mothers can’t become vampires.”
“Oh.” She held her hands over her belly, and concern, hope, and pleasure ran across her expression as she looked into his eyes.
Jon stepped closer. He hated being on the defensive; that was no way to spend your life with someone. “Let’s get one thing straight,” he said, and moved in front of Desiree faster than she could have blinked. As she gasped at his sudden closeness, he said, “Pay attention.”
Then he let his fangs grow.
Chapter 10
D esi watched in complete fascination as Jon changed before her eyes. This couldn’t be some kind of special effect, and it wasn’t anything like the fake fangs worn by the Goth types who favored the vampire tours and clubs of the Quarter. These fangs were the real thing, bright and shiny and sharp. Sexy.
Instead of frightening her, the sight of them pressing against Jon’s full lower lip sent a strong shiver of desire through her. Desire even stronger than the first time she’d seen him live onstage when she was sixteen. Which hadn’t been the first time she’d seen him, even though she’d thought so at the time.
She wasn’t sixteen anymore, and he was far more than her rock god fantasy man. He was other, alien. Still the sexiest thing alive. And he was the father of her child—and she couldn’t remember how it had happened.
“I am a vampire. And I claim you as my bondmate. You belong to me, Desiree.” He spoke as solemnly as if he’d made a vow. Maybe he just had.
“Belong?” Her emotions shot from desire back to fury, and the next thing she knew, she’d raised her hand to slap the very real vampire.
He grabbed her wrist before she could move. Then he brought it to his mouth and kissed it, grazing the sharp edges of his fangs along the tender flesh over her pulse.
“Oh, dear!” Desi gasped, and closed her eyes. Her knees went weak. “This I remember,” she said on a sigh. She adored the man—except for the fact that she also hated him. “You shouldn’t have made me forget,” she told him. “That was wrong. It was evil. Cruel.”
Jon stepped back and threw up his hands. “I didn’t make you forget anything!” Then he looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe a little.”
“You made me think the best sex of my life was all a dream.”
His confusion returned. “Why would I do that? I would never make a woman forget she had sex with me, that would be like—”
“Rape,” Desi put in.
Chapter 11
J on suddenly had to sit down. He stumbled backward into the nearest chair, trying to come to terms with what Desiree had said. She had every right to be upset, if he’d done what she believed he had.
He struggled to bring up the exact memories of what they’d done that night, ran a hand through his hair, and looked into Desi’s accusing eyes. “I remember telling you I’m a vampire. I shouldn’t have done that, so I made you forget it. That’s not something that we talk about on first dates. Believe me, I wanted to see you again and probably couldn’t have stayed away. But something came up, and—”
“Something?”
He looked up at her and couldn’t help but smile. She fought it but couldn’t stop a faint answering smile. She was small, bright, beautiful, confused, angry, and very, very curious. Her curiosity charmed him. Everything about her charmed him—of course it did; they’d been born to be bondmates. What had ever made him even pretend she could be anything else?
One touch of her hand had been the first clue. One taste of her blood had been addicting. One night of lovemaking had been the best night of his life.
She was also far more psychic than he’d believed her to be on the night they’d met. Hadn’t she told him so ten years ago? Underestimating her abilities led to his mistake after the concert, and their current problem.
“I didn’t mean for you to think the lovemaking was a dream. I would never lie to you. But I did accidentally screw up your memories. Sweetheart, I am so sorry.”
He got up and went to her, putting his fingers gently on her temples. “I did too thorough a job when I got into your head. This is the stuff you were supposed to forget.”
“You know about BBD?” he asked as the limo glided along the dark street in a very, very bad part of town.
“Big Black Dog,” she answered. “It’s your charity. You’ve spent years helping runaways, getting homeless kids off the streets. You fund shelters and rehab facilities. I’ve contributed to BBD.”
“Thank you.” He stroked her cheek and kissed her. His touch left tingling heat on her lips and skin. “But we do a bit more than fund BBD. We’re guardians of mortals, following the traditions of our ancestors. Apparently, some Primes of our Clan back in ancient Egypt swore an oath to Anubis—the original Big Black Dog—to serve and protect. I took that same oath when I came of age.”
The limo came to a stop in front of a dark alley between two rundown warehouses. Her awareness was more focused on the way he made her feel than on what he’d said, or where they were. But when he opened the door to get out, a flash of worry went through her. “Where are you going?”
“Hunting.” He smiled, showing long, sharp fangs. “Stay here.” He disappeared into the shadows of the alley.
It was a command, telepathic, hypnotic. It took her only a few moments to break the spell and reach for the door handle. The limo driver tried to stop her, but she eluded him. Following Jon was easy, even though he moved silently in the dark, even with the heavy footsteps of the driver pelting behind her. It was impossible for her not to know where he was.
She dodged through a broken doorway and found him deep inside the huge old building. There were adult male bodies on the floor and teenage girls locked up in cages. And there was blood on Jon’s mouth when he dropped the last body and turned to look at her. His eyes were glowing.
“That was what I made you forget,” he said, bringing her out of the memory. “I didn’t mean for you to see me rescuing those girls—not like that, giving in to the blood craving that can make me turn violent. I shouldn’t have taken you with me, but I couldn’t stop myself. I needed to be wit
h you and knew we didn’t have much time. I couldn’t take you with me to Memphis, because what happened here was only the beginning of a series of raids to break up a forced prostitution ring. It was dangerous work and—”
“Shhh.” Desi put her hand over his mouth. “Let me think.” After a few minutes, she said, “So, in order to make me forget that fight in the warehouse, you made me forget everything?”
“I didn’t mean to,” he answered. “But you’re a stronger psychic than I thought.”
The door opened, and Martine Shagal stuck her head in. “You two are missing the party. Come downstairs now.”
“But—” Jon said.
“Come and introduce your lady to your bandmates.” Martine opened the door wider and gestured them forward.
“They’re here?” Jon sighed. Of course they were. Though he’d taken the band’s private jet to race to Desi, there was nothing stopping the rest of Coyote from taking commercial flights. He wanted time and privacy, but he was going to get teasing and well-meaning advice instead.
“Might as well get this over with,” he grumbled. He put his arm around Desi’s waist and guided her toward the door.
Chapter 12
T he level of conversation fell as they stepped through the door, but Rico was used to making an entrance. He smiled and walked into the living room to greet friends and family. He was a Prime in his prime, with his arm around his bondmate, and all was right in his world. Their joined psychic aura was strong around them, so he could enjoy the party without worrying about a challenge for his mate from any unattached pup.
He did smile at all the ladies he saw, for it would be rude for even the most strongly bonded vampire not to show appreciation for all that female beauty. Being Prime, he of course kept a jealous eye on Gemma to make sure she didn’t even look at another male. It was a terrible double standard that vampires lived by.
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