by Amy Robyn
“I’m following the father,” Terrance says in my ear. “I can tell by the heavy breathing that you have things well in hand there.” He chuckles. I pull away from the heaven I find in my mate and stare down at her. Her heavy-lidded eyes are glazed with need and I want to be the one who fulfills those needs but I know she isn’t ready for that. I slowly side her to her feet and as her body comes in contact with the hardest part of me, I groan.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to your door,” I say as I take her hand. She sighs as she falls in step beside me. I hate leaving her. It leaves me feeling empty at just the thought. I want to be there to protect her. Now, I understand why Drake went and stayed with his mate rather than let her be alone. I understand all the guys who found their mates now.
“This is mine.” She says as she stops in front of one of the doors. It’s in the middle of the hall so I can’t even stay outside her doorway without being seen. I count the doors, so I’ll know which window is hers. I can at least watch from outside a little. It doesn’t make me feel any better about leaving her here.
“The father is circling around and coming back,” Terrance says in my ear. Why the fuck would he be coming back? “I’m staying close to him. If we can grab him now it will help us.” I nearly groan. How am I ever going to explain this to my mate?
“No,” I say before I can stop myself. Shit. She looks up at me and cocks her head to the side.
“Yes, this is my room.” She looks at me as though I have lost my mind. I chuckle.
“I was just thinking about something else.” I deflect by hurrying and asking a question. “Would you like to spend the day with me tomorrow? I’m not sure what there is to do around here for fun, but I would like to spend it with you. If you’re not busy.” She smiles up at me and I nearly drop my head down and take her lips again.
“Be here at ten and bring coffee.” I do kiss her now but gently and without any tongue. I run my fingers down her braid until I reach the end and the loopy curls. The locks are so soft that they sift through my fingers like silk.
“I’ll be here,” I tell her as I finally pull away from her when it’s the last thing I really want to do. I’m overwhelmed by the emotions she evokes in me. I never felt anything like it. It dawns on me clearer than ever that what I had with Polly was wrong. It would never have lasted. There wasn’t this kind of desire that burns through you like a strike of lightning burning away any doubt. Ava is the woman meant to be mine and I will do whatever it takes to keep her with me. If she’ll have me, after all, is said and done. She opens her door and walks inside.
“See you tomorrow.” She says over her shoulder before the door closes. I swear it feels as though she took my heart with her. I press my hand against the beating muscle and groan as I lick my lips where I can still taste her. It’s strange how you can meet someone in an instant and your life is irrevocably changed. I press my head against her door for a moment to catch my breath before turning away. Every step away from her seems to weigh more than the last. It feels as if cinderblocks are strapped to my feet and with every step weight is added making it nearly impossible to leave.
I make it to the main door of the building and I’m greeted by her father who is leaning against the wall.
“Stand down,” I say quietly so only Terrance can hear.
“Are you insane?” He asks through the tiny earpiece.
“Bigger fish possibly. I’ll explain later.” That’s partially true. I know now that he’s meeting with other branches of the military and I need to know if he’s told others about us before we take him out. The other more pertinent reason is that I need more time with my mate before she looks at me with horror and dawning realization of what I am.
“Sir.” I nod in the General’s direction, letting him know I see him.
“I just wanted you to understand why it is that you can’t date my daughter. He places his hands behind his back and his feet spread apart and I shake my head. He thinks he can intimidate me.
“And why is that? I think she’s a grown woman and can decide for herself who she dates.” I let him know I won’t be backing down.
“She is already promised to someone else.” He growls out to try and intimidate me further. Oh, how little this man knows about me.
“If that was the case I’m sure she wouldn’t want to date me. I’ve only met her, and I already know she would never agree to date me if she was promised to another man.” I keep my body relaxed so he can easily see that his intimidation techniques are not working on me.
“You little shit.” He growls and takes a step toward me, but I don’t step back. I don’t move a muscle. I keep the look of boredom pasted on my face. “You think she wants some no-name nobody when she could marry a four-star General.” He really doesn’t know his daughter all that well. She sounded repulsed by the guy and here her father is, shoving him down her throat.
“She didn’t sound all that interested in the man to me,” I tell him and the General clenches his jaw until you can see it straining with a fine tick along the jaw ridge. Yeah, I’m starting to really piss the man off. Good.
“She doesn’t know what’s good for her and you need to stay the hell away from her.” He takes another step toward me and still I hold my ground. “You don’t want to mess with me boy.” Again, with the growling. It makes me wonder how many times he’s done this in the past. Is this why Ava is still single? Not that I’m complaining but a woman as beautiful as she is, should have men clambering at her feet.
“If she asks me to back off then I will. Until then, I will be dating her as much as she wants.” I tell him as he presses his chest into mine. Well, more like his belly because it sticks out much further.
“You just made an enemy you don’t want to be having.” He glares up at me and I want to laugh but I try really hard not to. He doesn’t realize we’re already enemies. It’s a struggle to keep from snapping his neck or worse delving into his mind. Either way would be catastrophic for my budding relationship with his daughter. I will be delving into his mind sooner or later, but I need to be careful about the timing. He will feel it when I do and know exactly what I am.
He turns and walks away. I watch as he walks back to his car and drives away. I sigh in relief as the red taillights disappear from view. Terrance steps out of the shadows.
“Eric is following him now.” He doesn’t look happy about it. Eric is one that we rescued from the underground facility where a crazy scientist was creating vampires to use as test subjects. We’re still unsure of where their loyalties lie. “Explain to me why we didn’t just end the whole thing now.” He lifts a brow at me but before I can say anything, he’s right in front of me. “Your heart is beating.” He growls.
“Ava is my mate,” I tell him as I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. “And no that’s not why we didn’t grab him now. He has a General coming to dinner on Sunday and I need to know if he’s told other branches about us. I need to know how deep we need to go.” I wouldn’t think they would believe him though he obviously has a lot of credibilities or he wouldn’t be in the position he’s in today. If he told too many people, they would start to insist on psych evaluations. I hope they would anyway. Most people hear the word vampire and they automatically think you’re crazy.
“Fuck, man. She’s going to hate you for taking out her father. I need to call William about this.” He pulls out his phone. I know what he’s going to say and like hell will I step aside and let someone else play boyfriend with my mate. Already, I don’t like having Terrance anywhere near her even though I know it isn’t rational. Terrance would have about as much interest in her as he would any other woman. A vampire doesn’t feel desire until he or she has found their mate. It’s physically impossible. I know this and yet the thought of him near her makes me want to lash out at him. Irrational or not.
“Hey, man we got good news and bad news. Good news is that Thomas has found his mate. The bad news is his mate is Ava Bendix.” I can hear William swe
ar from where I’m standing. I wince. The last thing I want to do is complicate our mission.
“I hope for his sake she isn’t close to her father. There is no way he would stand aside and allow one of you guys to take point on this one. We’ll need to proceed but far more cautiously. Make her see what her father is doing. It will be more dangerous for you all but might salvage their relationship.” I nod my head toward Terrance.
“He agrees. The General is having dinner Sunday with the General from the Navy. Thomas wants to make sure no other factions know about us.” Terrance tells William.
“Get an invite to that dinner Thomas. I know it’s asking a lot of you and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” I know he wouldn’t. He understands completely what it’s like to find your mate.
“I will get the invite. She doesn’t seem to like this General even though her father wants her to marry him. I think he’s using his daughter to get closer to this General.” I say quietly though I know he can hear me. He curses again.
“Tread carefully, Thomas and let me know what we can do from here.” William disconnects and Terrance whistles.
“This just got complicated.” I shake my head at him.
“Yes, it has, and I have a feeling things are going to get even worse before they get better,” I tell him. I have the fight of my life ahead of me because there is no way in hell I can walk away from my mate and she just might end up hating me by the time this is over.
Chapter 5. Ava
He showed up promptly at ten with coffee and even some doughnuts, making me smile. I have been courted by men, yet this is the first time I have ever been interested in one. I had trouble sleeping last night. I kept touching my lips and remembering the way his kisses felt. I’m glad he was my first kiss, he made the wait worthwhile. Am I still scared, you bet your ass I am, but I won’t be letting it stop me from seeing where this will go.
“Back when my father was different, he would play chess with me. I became pretty good at it.” I tell him as I set up the board for us to play. I didn’t want to go to the movies or a noisy restaurant because it isn’t very conducive to carrying a conversation and I want to know everything there is to know about Thomas.
“It’s all about strategy.” I place the last piece down before turning to him. He smiles as he sits down across from me.
“I love playing chess,” Thomas says with a smile. He chose the black side and we start to play. It doesn’t take long for me to realize just how intelligent he is.
“How is your father different now? If you don’t mind me asking?” He asks casually as he continues to focus on the board. I hate talking about my father but there’s something about Thomas that makes me want to tell him everything about me.
“He used to care about his family. He would come home every day and we would all spend time together. He was happy, and we were too because we were all together. He used to talk to my mother about things going on in his life. One day, it just stopped. There was no warning. My parents didn’t fight. They just quit talking about everything. He quit coming home until my mother needed to leave to visit my grandmother or my aunt. He would come and stay with me though I don’t know why. He hardly talked to me. The games of chess stopped.” He leans forward in his seat and takes my hand.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” I shrug my shoulders.
“I’m over it now. He did so many things that have damaged our relationship to the point of it being non-existent. It doesn't really matter what he does now. I have no idea why he’s stayed in Kansas for so long and he insists I come to dinner on Sundays.” I roll my eyes and he chuckles.
“Don’t forget trying to set you up with old men too,” Thomas says with a laugh, but I can tell he likes it even less than I do, if that’s possible.
“There is that too. I have no idea what he’s thinking with that. He’s never cared if I dated before. He can’t just come back into my life and pretend to be a father again. The man who loved me and my mother died a long time ago. I have moved on.” I tell him adamantly.
“He was waiting for me when I came out after seeing you at the door last night to warn me off you. Said you were promised to someone else.” He tells me, and my mouth drops open in shock. What the hell has gotten into my father? He has never done this before, has he? I never showed an interest in a guy, but for some reason, I think it has to do with the other General that’s been coming around the last few weeks. He eyes me like I’m a piece of candy and it makes my skin crawl. He’s old enough to be my father for god’s sake. I’m not about to date someone to further my father’s career and it’s starting to feel like that’s exactly what he’s expecting me to do.
“I’m not promised to anyone and certainly not the man he has in mind.” A shiver of revulsion passes through me.
“That’s good to hear. I told him you weren’t the kind of woman that would date someone while promised to another.” He smirks, and I can’t help but smile over at him. He barely knows me and already he knows me better than my own father.
“Do you have any plans tomorrow night?” I ask out of pure frustration. It will stick it to my dad to show up with a date. Thomas frowns.
“You’re not asking me to your father’s as revenge, are you?” He asks and my cheeks flush. Yes, revenge was part of it.
“Not fully. I do like you a lot and would like to spend more time with you, but I must admit that I look forward to seeing my father’s face when I ruin his plans by showing up with you.” I think about it for a minute. It’s not the only reason. “Also, that General, General Cypress creeps me out,” I tell him, and he leans back in his chair in thought. He runs his fingers through his hair.
“Have you told your father that he creeps you out?” He asks as he looks at me and I see his agitation. I have seen it in the mirror every time I get ready to go over to my father’s house.
“Yes, he doesn’t seem to hear things he doesn’t want to.” He reaches across the small table again and takes my hand.
“I will go with you but only if you consider it a date and you’re bringing home the guy you’re interested in to meet your father. I don’t want it to be to get back at your dad.” He says, and I swallow hard. I am interested in him yet it’s even more than that. There’s something about him that has my heart racing every time he touches me or how my body reacts to his nearness as though it’s dampening and readying for him. I have never known need outside of the books I like to read.
“It would be like that for me Thomas. I don’t know what’s happening between us but already you mean more to me than I can understand. I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships or any of it for that matter, so I have no idea if these feelings are normal or not.” I shake my head. I’m sure fudging this up. I have no way of explaining my feelings. I have never needed to before.
“I feel exactly the same way. You were the last thought in my head when I went to bed last night and the first one when I woke up this morning. I want to be with you and not just sexually. I want to know everything about you. I would scare the shit out of you if I told you all the things I want with you. I don’t think you’re ready for that level of commitment.” Holy hell. Did he really just say that? I’m not sure if I should pull him toward me and kiss him or run for the hills. I lean across the table, knocking pieces over in the process to lightly kiss him. I go to pull away and he pulls me back before delving deeper into my mouth. He groans and lifts me over the table as though I weigh nothing more than a feather.
If I thought last nights kiss was intense this one beats it by a mile. His tongue tangled with mine and I can do nothing more than kiss him back. I want him to feel the same intensity as I am. His lips move over mine like a dream as he takes me to another world. A world full of passion the likes of which I have never known. Thomas cups the back of my head so gently as he tilts my head to the side to deepen the kiss making my toes curl and a dampness to form between my thighs. I clench my thighs together to relieve the ache. I have never re
sponded quite like this before. I would get a little tickle while reading a spicy book but never with this kind of potency.
Chapter 6. Thomas
I drank two pints of blood before coming here because I didn’t want to be tempted to take her blood, but I had no idea that she would have this kind of impact on me. If I taste her now, I will be tied to her. Not mated entirely until I take her blood at the same time I take her body. I would no longer be able to ingest any other blood and I could never be without her again. It’s a frightening prospect when she could end up hating me after it’s all said and done. Her father needs to be taken out. Whether it be by death or his memory wiped clean. Either way, she will lose her father. I would be the man who destroyed her family. I can only hope she will forgive me in the end.
She moans, and I press her down against me. The smell of her desire nearly driving me mad with lust. My cock is thick and hard on her bottom. She will probably stop this soon and I want to remember this moment for eternity because when I’m alone again, this will be all I have, the memory of what my mate tastes like. Her body molds perfectly with mine as though she was made for me, just for me. I guess in a way she was and I for her.
“Tell me to stop, Ava,” I say against her lips as I grind up against her again. I can’t seem to control this need to be inside of her. The need to complete our mating. She has no idea what she’s doing to me. The pulse in her neck keeps drawing my attention and a hunger I have always been able to control is pulling me in a direction that could be catastrophic if I can’t get a handle on it.
“I don’t want you to stop.” She whispers as she pulls away from my lips, so she can stare down at me. My heart that was already racing gallops to a speed that has a ringing starting in my ears.
“I don’t think you understand. If I take you now, there’s no turning back. It’s you and me until my heart stops beating. I will never be able to let you go.” I press my forehead to hers as I squeeze my eyes closed attempting to gain some control over my body.