“Really. Relax.”
What choice did Jacques have?
“We should get in there,” Flynn offered.
He wasn’t going to argue. If his mate was feeling magnanimous, he’d accept it.
As they headed in, Flynn took point.
After all, he couldn’t die.
In the elevator, he knew that his mate was thinking. “Why don’t you just spill it?”
“I was thinking about when this is all over.”
“When I have to leave?” Flynn asked.
“Yes, but that’s when ‘WE’ have to leave.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Are you going to be okay giving up being a cop? That’s pretty much your whole identity.”
He knew before that moment that he’d been born to be a cop. Now, he realized something.
It had only been a path to them.
“I’m still going to be a cop. Only, I’m going to be policing the undead. I’m going to be making sure that the vamps, who are breaking our rules, pay. That’s still a cop. I just have some extra skills that make me unstoppable.”
“Like not dying?”
“Yes. That’s going to be the best. Now you two need to stay alive.”
“We intend to do just that.”
Flynn grinned at him. “You will. I promise.”
As the door opened, and they headed down the hall, it was quiet in the building. Jolie owned it, so security, if they popped up, wouldn’t question them.
Then again, Flynn could evade them.
At her door, they checked out the splintered wood.
Flynn stared at it.
“What’s wrong?”
“I smell the undead, and it’s not one I’ve picked up before.”
Jacques’s fangs slid out, and his eyes bled black. They never thought it could be a trap. Flynn joined him, and Death hummed around him.
“Be careful,” Flynn hissed.
Jacques pushed the door open, and it creaked. Inside, it looked like nothing had happened.
“What they hell?” Flynn asked, sniffing the air.
Doctor Tome was gone.
The blood was gone.
The broken furniture was cleaned up.
“Someone is screwing with us,” stated Flynn.
“But who?” Jacques asked.
He wasn’t sure, but he had a sneaking suspicion.
“We should head back to the house. I don’t want to leave Jolie alone.”
“Flynn, who?” Jacques asked.
“The Tueur have been here. I can feel them.”
He growled low in his chest, as he paced the room like a caged tiger. The predator was there, and Jacques knew he was close to coming out.
“Let’s go.”
The men headed out.
They needed to get out of there.
A war was coming.
Flynn could smell it.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
When she wandered the house, it gave her peace. Now that she’d brought some of their fledgling vampyres home, Jolie was even happier.
They would be safe.
She could find them surrogates, and life would go on for them. Jolie hated seeing them suffer.
As she wandered around, making sure that the children were comfortable, she thought back to what her mate had suggested.
They were going to need help.
So, she dialed an old friend.
When Mambo answered the phone, Jolie knew she had woken her up.
“Mambo, it’s Jolie.”
“Girl, why are you calling so late?”
“We need your help.” She explained everything to her. “Can you help a girl out?”
“You come to my shop. I know what we can do.”
Meanwhile, she gave Jolie instructions.
She memorized them.
“You’re the best, Mambo.”
“You flatter me, Jolie. This priestess owes you a debt, and she will help you.”
Jolie was glad.
They needed all the help they could get.
Hanging up, Jolie headed toward the family room to wait for her mates. Only, someone had beaten her there.
As she rounded the corner, she found Camille sitting on Detective Gress’s lap.
They jumped apart.
Jolie was amused. “You realize that you’re bonded. That’s our marriage, Detective. You absolutely can make out with the girl.”
He blushed red.
As did Camille.
“I was just offering Cami a little snack,” he said, buttoning up his shirt.
Jolie grinned. “I completely understand. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need a favor.”
“Mistress, of course,” offered Camille, as she crossed toward her. “Are you well? You look a little pale,” she admitted, touching her Mistress’s cheek.
Jolie needed blood. The babies were growing, and she was hungry. As soon as her mates showed up, she was going to have a snack herself.
“I’m fine—just worn down. I need to ask you something, and I need you to promise that you will take care of it for me,” she said.
“Absolutely,” said Camille. “What is it, Mistress?”
Jolie sat on the arm of the large settee. “If the Tueur succeeds in killing me and my children, I need you to make sure that Jacques and Flynn are taken care of, and that they don’t do anything rash and impulsive. Flynn trusts you, Tommy, and I want you to make sure you get them far from here. They won’t be thinking straight.”
Camille just looked at her with tears in her eyes. “Mistress, you’ll be fine.”
“I think you’re right, but I like to cover my bases.” Truth be told, this was more about Flynn. They could be killed. Now, he couldn’t.
He was cursed to walk the Earth forever.
With or without them.
“Don’t worry, Jolie. If it happens, I’ll take care of it,” said Detective Gress, moving toward her. “You shouldn’t stress it. No one here will let them get you.”
She had faith.
“You’ll have to help Percy get the family out of the city. Here is a list of my accounts,” she said, pulling them out of her pocket. “I will need you, and Camille, to help the family remain intact.”
She handed Camille a little book with all her holdings neatly listed. It was copied from Jacques ledgers, just in case.
While her fortune was great, the love of family was even greater.
“Yes, Mistress.”
Jolie hugged them both before heading toward the door. “Thank you. I know I can count on you both and trust no one else with this job.”
Jolie trusted the human with her mate.
Flynn would survive if Tommy was there to ground him. Jacques would make it, if Camille told him to push on for the family.
As she closed the door behind her, she could hear them talking.
They were making plans.
It was perfect.
After all, it was better safe than sorry.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
When her mates returned, they found her lounging on their massive bed.
Jolie had hoped to lure them into the comfortable mass of blankets to cuddle down for the night.
Who was she kidding?
Jolie wanted to roll around—naked.
As soon as she saw them, she knew.
“Uh, how did it go?” she asked.
The men exchanged looks.
“Oh no. What’s happened?”
Flynn didn’t beat around the bush.
“Tomes is gone.”
Jolie sat there with her mouth open. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
They told her what had happened when they arrived. Jolie listened, and when they were finished, she shook her head.
“Someone didn’t want him found.”
“Yeah, maybe the Tueur?” Flynn asked.
Jolie spoke up. “He said he was a donor. Maybe the vampyres he answered to took him? Are we sure he’s par
t of the Tueur?”
“Maybe. Who else would send him after you?” Flynn asked.
“I don’t know, Flynn.”
Jacques had a thought. “The Tueur wouldn’t want you exposed as a vampyre. It would bring attention from the hunters. They are fanatical, but they are not willing to betray our kind to those killers.”
“When I take over the Tueur, I’m killing all the hunters first. Let’s just put that out there,” Flynn stated.
Jolie crossed to him. “I love you.”
He loved her too.
“We’re going to be okay, right?” Jolie asked. “I mean, we have this under control.”
Flynn gently caressed her cheek. “We do, baby. I promise you’re safe. Jacques and I will keep you protected.”
She relaxed against his body. Flynn smelled like forest and Jacques. It appeared someone had a snack.
“I called Mambo,” she offered. “She’ll see us tomorrow. God! I hope she doesn’t have that snake there.”
Flynn laughed.
“We have the Tueur after us, and you’re worried about a snake?”
She grinned. “You’ll have to protect me,” Jolie offered. When she brushed him intimately through his jeans, he growled.
“Don’t tease, Jolie.”
Jacques shook his head. “I have to talk to Percy, seal up the house, and take care of some things before we rest for the night. Flynn, do you sleep?”
He thought about it. “I don’t know. I’ll try.”
“Maybe you go to death,” Jolie offered. “You are half vamp now.”
“Maybe you’ll have to wear me down and put me to sleep,” he teased, nipping her ear.
“I’ll see you in a little bit,” Jacques said, as he offered Jolie a kiss. As he went to move away, Flynn hugged him.
The three took a moment to remain huddled together. Flynn’s larger body was protectively wrapped around both of them.
It was nice.
“Take care of our mate,” Jacques said, feeling Jolie’s hunger. “I’ll be back.”
They watched him walk away.
Immediately, Flynn turned his head toward her, and his eyes were black and fangs were out.
He sniffed the air.
“You want me. I can tell.”
Jolie began backing up. “God, yes, I really do. Put your hands all over me.”
Flynn stalked her back toward the bed. As she began pulling off her clothes, he did the same.
The low growl from him turned her right on. The idea that he was about to pounce made her wild.
Wet.
Crazy.
“Flynn, hurry,” she whispered. “I need you.”
Jolie was backed onto the bed. As she tumbled, Flynn was immediately on top of her, trapping her beneath his much larger frame.
“I love this part of my life,” he murmured, allowing his lips to move slowly across her throat.
She shook.
Flynn loved it.
He craved the power that moved between them.
Using his mind, he trapped her. When he pushed off her body, she didn’t even try to move. Her breathing had quickened as he ran his fingers down her torso.
“Flynn.”
“I want your lips and teeth all over me,” he admitted. “I want to feel myself sliding in and out of that wicked mouth of yours, Jolie. I need it.”
“Set me free, and I’ll give you so much pleasure, Flynn.”
He moved to the headboard and sat.
“Jolie, come to me.”
She was no longer in control of her body. She moved toward him. Flynn was exerting his dominance.
“Pleasure me.”
She knelt between his legs.
Then she took him in her warm hand. As she stroked, he moaned.
“Use your mouth.”
She opened.
Flynn closed his eyes and let the wet, warm sound of her mouth devouring him heat his blood. This was exactly what he wanted.
As she worked him hard, his hand found the back of her head. Flynn drove her further down his erection.
Jolie moaned as she swallowed all of him.
There was nothing better than this. Jolie was in her comfort zone, and Flynn was letting her feel and not think.
As she worked him, letting Flynn set the pace, Jolie knew he was close to release.
His erection throbbed against her tongue.
“More,” he ordered, holding her hair so he could watch. There was nothing sexier than this picture. Flynn never wanted to forget it. “If you want my blood, you’re going to have to make me cum.”
Jolie shook at his words.
She wanted to feel him explode and pour down her throat. It would be perfect.
Just like their union.
Jolie made sure she nicked him with her fangs.
Flynn moaned in pleasure as she kept up the frenetic pace. He wasn’t going to last long.
As Jolie kept going, he set her free. Now, he wanted to enjoy her pleasuring him. When she looked up from blowing him, he grinned.
“I cum, and you get fed.”
She squeezed him.
Flynn felt the explosion coming. It started deep within his body and worked its way to her eager mouth.
When she added hand, he ruptured apart.
Jolie swallowed him. When she pulled away, he was still hard and grinning at her.
“Guess what else? I don’t wear down.”
He rushed her, pinning Jolie beneath him. “Let’s see how long it takes you to scream my name.”
Jolie gasped as he pinned her to the mattress with his erection and fangs. The second both slid into her, she was in heaven.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, arching into his strokes.
As he repeatedly drove into her, taking his time, Jolie was already close.
“Flynn!”
He released her with his fangs to stare down into her eyes. “Fall for me, baby. Let me give you so much pleasure you come undone beneath me.”
Jolie let it take her under.
The first orgasm was gentle. Her heart ached with all the love she was feeling.
As she crested, she realized he was still moving.
Quickly, Flynn drove her back up. As she teetered again, he stared down into her eyes.
“Death, come to us.”
The darkness crept from her, wrapping around them both. It brought a wave of goose bumps to Jolie’s flesh, and something otherworldly to his.
Flynn’s muscles reacted, rippling beneath her hands.
It called to her.
He was death.
She was death.
Jolie exploded again, the darkness feeding from them as she tumbled. It felt like forever. When she focused, Flynn was still moving.
“Next time, we both fall. We both feed it,” he stated.
Jolie understood.
He needed this as much as she did.
What lived in him had to be fed as much as what lived in her. She took the dead, and he was the dead.
As she took his face between her palms, his eyes changed. They glowed like embers.
Maybe she should be afraid, but she wasn’t.
“Feed, my love,” he whispered, lowering his throat to her mouth.
As Jolie found her spot, she reached for his mind.
‘Promise me we’ll always have this. Promise me that my Flynn will always love me and need me.’
He growled.
‘I vow my eternal love. You are my woman.’
It was all she needed to hear.
As she slammed her fangs into his throat, Flynn returned the favor. Her neck was at the perfect angle.
They both came as blood flooded into their mouths.
The orgasm rocked them both.
As she gulped, he slowly feasted—on not only her blood, but also the energy they created in their coming together.
It satiated the demon in him.
When he knew he could take no more, he released her. Jolie fed a little longer.
When she was finished, she relaxed.
“Azriel.”
She looked at him. “What?”
“I want to name my daughter Azriel. Can we?”
Jolie touched his cheek. “Flynn, my love, we can name your daughter anything you wish.”
He rolled, staying in her body for the comfort. As she lay over him, nestled against his chest, he ran his hands up and down her back.
“It means angel of destruction.”
Jolie lifted her head.
The old Flynn wouldn’t have picked a name like that. He would have picked something sweet, gentle, and more him.
She hoped he wasn’t alluding that his child was going to be…
“I thought that Jacques’s child was the one who would serve death.”
He stared into her eyes. “Because you feed from me, they both will. My blood is changing them.”
She gasped. “Flynn!”
He wasn’t sorry.
He couldn’t be.
He was really not Flynn anymore, and the rules had changed. His child would be powerful.
They were a family of something more than just vampyres. They were something the world had yet to see.
And it was time.
∞ Chapter Thirty-One ∞
Flynn was hiding.
He was well aware of it. All night, he tried to fall asleep, and he’d come to one major conclusion. Demons didn’t rest. He couldn’t drift into the sleep he craved.
After naming his child, and the look of horror on Jolie’s face, he wanted to escape. So, he played dead until Jolie and Jacques went to death.
Then he got up.
What was he supposed to do?
Lie?
His blood was changing them. What death neglected to tell them, he was slowly figuring out. It was probably why she took him and he died.
Now he could fully convert their children over to what it was Death needed.
He wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t be.
In life, there were sacrifices, and their little ones would be stronger.
Faster.
More dangerous.
It was survival of the fittest out there, and he was ensuring their offspring could protect themselves.
The only thing was, he felt guilty.
He took his family’s choice away.
As he rested in bed, beside Jolie and Jacques, he could hear them talking. Jolie wasn’t happy.
Dangerous Influence (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 5) Page 38