Sugar released her. “Daedalus, this is my sister.”
He nodded in her direction. “I’ve heard so much about you. This is a pleasant surprise.”
“I wish I could say the same.”
“Spice!” Sugar’s eyebrows rose as her eyes went wide.
“What the hell do you expect from me? You hooked up with a bloodsucker?” She’d dealt with her fair share of these creeps. They might be legal citizens but it didn’t keep them from being monsters.
Sugar stepped between them, then started shoving her down a hallway. Once out of sight, she grabbed Spice’s arm and led her into the master bedroom.
As the door closed she heard Daedalus comment, “I want to be the red pieces.” She insulted him in public and he worried about a board game?
“Spice Clara Monroe, you’d better behave in my house. Do you understand me?” Her little sister stood with one hand on her hip and shook her finger an inch from her face. “I love that vampire. He’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
All she could do was stare at her. She’d grown into a strong woman. Even though they shared the same birthday, Sugar always seemed much younger than her. Frail and sweet, so easily hurt and so easy to love. “You’ve grown a back bone.”
“I’ve had to, you left me.” Her voice hiccupped on the last word. “Where have you been?”
Spice glanced at her shoes. “Around.” The worn sneakers would be terrible in the Chicago winter. “I need a place to crash.” She shrugged. “The house seems full though. Could I crash on the couch until morning?” After that, she didn’t have a clue what to do. She’d sold her backpack and clothes at a thrift shop to get the cash for the bus here.
A touch on her hand drew her attention back to Sugar. “You stay as long as you need. Sisters stick together, right?” She used to always say that to Sugar when they were kids. When their parents would leave them alone and scared at night so they could go out to parties, she’d snuggle with her twin and speak those words.
Spice nodded. “Yeah—” She tried to choke back the sob but it won the battle and came out. Turning her back to Sugar, she covered her face with her hands and swallowed back the other sobs that threatened to burst from her. Tears were for weaklings.
Arms wrapped around her from behind and hugged her close. Her sister leaned her head against hers. “I’ve missed you so much. Don’t leave me again.”
A pressure built inside her chest. If she spoke, the dam would break. It hurt.
“Spicy?” Sugar’s voice carried an echo of the little girl she used to be.
“I won’t.” She spun around as the tears poured from her and grabbed onto her twin. “Never. I’ve missed you too.” Oh, how she had. She’d let shame get between them but wouldn’t let it ever happen again.
She wiped her face on her sleeve as Sugar hurried to retrieve a box of tissues from the bedside table. The king-sized bed took up most of the room and a set of crossed swords adorned the wall above it. “What’s with the decor?” Spice took the offered box and used one to blow her nose. “Thanks.”
“Daedalus made those ages ago. They’re…special.”
She quirked an eyebrow at the weapons. “How?”
Sugar stared at her. “He told me in confidence. You should ask him, I’m sure he’d tell you.”
The door creaked open, and the vampire stuck his head in the room. “Tell her what?”
Her twin’s face bloomed into a beautiful smile as she spotted him. He grinned back like a love struck fool and walked to stand next to her. She wrapped her hands around his arm. “She was asking about your swords.”
No doubt they were in love. It made things worse.
“Tell her,” Sugar coaxed.
“Umm…” He glanced at Spice. She could see a touch of animosity toward her on his face and knew it must be because she’d voiced her opinions in front of everyone. “A long time ago I preyed on any kind of human that crossed my path.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then his scalp. “There came a point when I made a decision to stop. I created these swords to defend the innocent and atone for my past. They’ve become a symbol for my clan and those who follow my teachings.”
“Who do you prey upon now?” She crossed her arms over her chest. How old was he that he used swords?
“The willing.” He gestured to Sugar. “The occasional evil doers, there are always plenty of those.”
Great, not only handsome but he had a conscience. “Who decides whose evil?”
His eyes narrowed as he glared at her. It made her soul shrivel up and hide in a corner. “I do.”
She swallowed with a mouth gone dry. “Oh.”
“Stop it. Both of you.” The command in her little sister’s voice snapped them both to attention. “I’m not a child, Spice. Being with Daedalus is my choice. I love him.”
The anger in his gaze dissolved when Sugar spoke those words. Any hope to save her sister disappeared with it.
“I know you’re both in love. That’s the problem. He’s going to ask you to cross over, to become vampire.” The way she jerked her hand on his arm told Spice she’d hit the bull’s-eye. He’d already asked her.
“I-I haven’t accepted his offer.” She stepped closer to him. “Yet. I need to think about the consequences first, but it will be my decision. Not his and not yours.” Her twin faced Daedalus. “Spice is staying for a while. We’ll need to shuffle people around.” She didn’t ask him, she told him.
Pride swelled in Spice’s chest. Maybe she worried for nothing.
* * * *
Eric chuckled to himself as he watched Sugar push her sister to her bedroom. Spice was in for a surprise. Her twin had changed since she’d left.
“I want the red pieces.” Daedalus handed the bags of food to a hungry Tyler who hurried to the kitchen with it.
Katrina followed him. “Do not gobble all the noodles this time.”
“What color do you want to be?” Daedalus asked.
“I don’t think I’m going to play.” Eric sat on the couch next to Robert and rested his right ankle on his left knee. If Spice freaked out over a vampire, how would she act once she found out he was a werewolf?
Daedalus smiled and rubbed his hands together. “I love Riskand anything to do with world domination.”
Sam sat by the board game and set some pieces for play. “Eric’s got other things on his mind.” He pointedly stared at Sugar’s bedroom door.
“Really?” Daedalus stopped placing his game markers. “There something to like in that woman besides looking like my fiancée?”
The question irked Eric. No one should judge Spice by her prickly exterior. She’d had a hard life. He knew since he’d witnessed most of it. Leaning forward, he faced the Nosferatu vampire. “I don’t think you’re qualified to make any judgments about her.”
His eyes widened at Eric’s pointed remark. He tilted his head as if seeing the Alpha for the first time. “Maybe not.”
“Don’t mind him, Daedalus. He’s been acting weird since she walked through the door, almost lost control of his inner beast when he helped to take off her jacket.”
Daedalus remained quiet until Sam finished setting the game. Then he glanced at Eric. “You need to get laid.”
Eric chuckled. “That’s your answer for everything.”
“It usually works. If you would just choose a mate from the pack you wouldn’t be having so much trouble.”
Robert, who sat next to him, nodded.
“You’re agreeing with him?” Eric twisted to face him.
“Not that sex cures everything, but the Ayumu pack is so unhealthy because Michael refused to take a mate. You shouldn’t follow the same path. The pack needs an alpha female to help you lead.”
“We need to stop thinking of them as Ayumu. They’re just as much as Omega as we are. I haven’t met anyone in the pack I could love.”
Daedalus groaned. “Sometimes you have to take one for the team. People marry for politics. This is the same thing. Your
one year grace period is over. No matter how much you patrol, you won’t be able to stop dominance challenges among the females of the pack. Once they’re done, they’ll expect you to mate the winner.”
“Don’t tell me they’re still challenging. They promised to wait until the full moon.”
“I interrupted one on the way to get Sugar.” Daedalus shrugged. “You’ve stalled for a year. Time’s up.” He glanced at the master bedroom door, then winked at him. “I’ll go check on the girls.” With preternatural grace he stood in one smooth motion and left the living room.
Katrina and Tyler carried small cardboard boxes of food to the game table.
“Cashew chicken.” She handed him one of the boxes with chopsticks. “Red curry beef.” Robert reached for it as she named it. Katrina’s voice faded into the background with the others as they ate.
Crazy urges stampeded through Eric’s head. He wanted to barge into the master bedroom and see what they were doing. The king-sized bed would easily accommodate the twins and Daedalus. Women threw themselves at the vampire all the time. Why wouldn’t Spice? He didn’t need to be telepathic to read Daedalus’s mind when he saw the sisters hugging—identical twin ménage.
“If Eric has to mate within the pack that means Spice should be free game.” Sam’s words interrupted his thoughts as if slapped by a wet glove.
He grabbed the thick, muscled, short man by the scruff and pinned him to the floor. Moo Shu Gai-Pan spilled onto the carpet. “No one touches her. She’s mine.” He stared at each of his original pack mates, then released Sam.
“Yes, Alpha.”
To hear them address him by his title hurt. What was wrong with him? Twice in one night he’d lost control.
“I’m sorry, Sam. Here, have my dinner. I’ve lost my appetite.” He stood to leave. All he wanted was solitude to pick at these new emotions tearing him apart.
The bedroom door opened, and Daedalus stepped out. A tick in his temple twitched. “Spice will be staying with us for a while. We need to play musical beds until we can figure out a better solution.”
“She can have my room.” Eric nodded to her as she leaned out of the doorway. “It’s across the hall from you. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“Thank you.” Her soft words made his heart soar.
Chapter 3
Spice snuggled into Eric’s pillow and tugged the blankets over her.
Her sister led a pretty nice life. Daedalus slept all day someplace in the basement so Sugar could use part of that time for herself. She worked an occasional shift in the evening at the city library, and her friends lived under her roof. No one seemed to be sponging off of her like Spice worried.
Yesterday afternoon, Katrina took her shopping and bought her some clothes, the basics: jeans, socks, underwear, sweaters, and a thicker jacket.
“I’ll pay you back as soon as I can, Katrina. It’s very thoughtful of you.” For once, when she spoke those words, she meant them.
“No need. When I came to Chicago to live with Eric, Sugar did this for me. It is like a circle. One day you will do the same for someone else.”
At a loss for words, Spice hugged her. This wasn’t a con or a handout but something a real friend did. “Thank you, and I will.” The promise rung with truth and lightened her heavy heart, but something Katrina said echoed in her head. “You came to Chicago to live with Eric? Not Tyler?” Doubt and dread tangled themselves with her shredded confidence as she waited for the answer. If Katrina and Eric had a past, she didn’t want to complicate her life more by getting involved.
“Both. They lived together next to Sugar. It was strange to be in an apartment with only boys, so I stayed at her place a lot.” Katrina’s pager went off and she glanced at the message. “Sorry, have to go. My office needs me.”
“Sure, ah, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a Chinese interpreter and work for many of the companies in the area who deal with China. Daedalus helped me set up a small company.”
Food for thought.
Katrina owned a business and the vampire was involved. Again.
The others had been nothing but kind to her as well. Spice had questioned each one about their lives, and they shared similar stories. All struggling to get by until Daedalus came into their lives. She wondered if any of them realized how much he helped, guiding each of them on the right career path that matched their personalities. Social working vampire? She kind of hoped he would act as her compass and send her in the proper direction too. The choices she’d made sucked, and she couldn’t trust her desires anymore.
She pulled the blankets closer around her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. The soft bed squeaked a little as she rolled over. Enough thinking, she needed to sleep. Tomorrow she had a job interview at local bookstore. Sugar set it up for her.
The flannel blankets smelled like Eric. At first, she wanted to toss them in the wash but the scent offered comfort, a reminder of his gentle, contagious smile. Last night she fantasized they were his arms wrapped around her body.
He was the only one she hadn’t questioned. Whenever they got a moment alone any coherent thoughts went south, straight to her crotch. Thank goodness the last few nights he’d been out. She didn’t want to screw up her chances by crawling under his covers the first night. Impulse control worked better when the temptation wasn’t available.
At first, she thought he went to see a girlfriend and she moped around the house, but Sam cleared all that up for her today. He told her they patrolled the neighborhood, like a volunteer watch, and this week was Eric’s turn.
If he got any better she’d have to file a patent on him as the perfect man. Warm, melting-chocolate brown eyes, strong prominent cheekbones, and thick just-tumbled-out-of-bed hair inflamed her whenever she thought about him.
Like now.
Sliding her hand inside her panties, she located her throbbing clit and tried to imagine it was Eric’s fingers that massaged the spot, but she’d never been very good at pretend. He would probably be real gentle and tease the area until it made her crazy.
All she managed to do with her thoughts was get more hot and bothered. She stuck two fingers in her pussy and pumped as she reached under the tight t-shirt. Her nipples hardened at her touch, and she clenched her thighs around her hand. His fingers would be longer and thicker than hers. He wouldn’t need to stroke so hard to make her come. Breaths coming faster, she got closer to the light at the end of the tunnel but she couldn’t finish the deed. Not when the focus of her fantasy slept on the couch at the end of the hall.
* * * *
The smell woke him. Creamy and sweet, the intoxication of it would have made him swoon if he wasn’t already lying down. Every woman carried their own unique scent, this one didn’t belong to Sugar or Katrina. It could only be Spice, in his room, tucked into his sheets, and on his bed.
Did she have someone in there with her making her so heated? He sat upright and yanked the blankets off. His hard-on tented the boxers he wore. Inhaling deeply, he realized no other smells joined hers, she must be alone. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the couch.
They had this floor to themselves. Daedalus had taken Sugar out for the night. They wouldn’t be home until much later.
Spice probably lay naked on his bed, touching her body, running her hands along her smooth white skin, nipples perked and ready for tasting. He stroked his cock. Nothing would please him more than to offer to help her out with those needs, but he wanted more than a quick hump. It frightened him how vulnerable she seemed. In high school, she intimidated the crap out of him. Now, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and tell her everything would be all right, that he’d take care of her if she’d let him.
The smell faded and he slowed his stroking, she must have climaxed without him. He sighed and opened his eyes.
She leaned against the wall, watching him.
His cock went soft, and he snatched his hand out of his boxers.
“Hey
there, big guy. Don’t stop on my account.”
He stared at her for a moment, unsure what she meant. She wasn’t angry? No, she still smelled turned on. His heart raced. Could he masturbate in front of her? He did a few experimental tugs but the shock of finding her in the room with him traumatized it.
“Need some help?”
His mouth went dry. Several different comeback lines twirled in his head, but he couldn’t decide what to use. “I wouldn’t mind.” He tried to make it sound sexy, but it came out more like a croak. His fantasy was turning into a nightmare.
“I’ve been thinking about you.” She stepped across the living room, then pulled her t-shirt over her head, standing in front of him with her round, firm breasts exposed. Her nipples peaked, giving them little up-turned tips. Only a tiny pair of pink panties kept her from being naked.
He loved pink.
His cock got over its issues and returned with a roaring standing ovation. It ached with lust. He took off his shorts while sitting and continued where he’d left off. Things had gone from bad to great in seconds. He would have been happy to just look at her, but then she knelt in front of him and spread his legs so she could fit in between them and rested her breasts on his thighs.
With a held breath, he gave silent thanks to God for not letting him come right there and then. He suspected what she wanted to do, and it could be a big mistake to let her. She felt alone, he understood this, but using him to fill the emptiness would just hurt them both. They deserved better and needed to take things slow.
She replaced his hand with her own.
His beast roared inside his head and shattered any thoughts from processing. Taste, smell, and desire ruled him.
Her small, delicate fingers tightened and caressed his cock with a slow, steady pace. How could he stop now? The beast’s reaction to her shocked him. It never seemed interested in mating with anyone, only fighting, until Spice walked back into his life. Every time she touched him it wanted to surface, as if needing to touch her as well.
No matter how much he tried to distract his mind from the onslaught of pleasure, he felt on the edge of exploding. Not yet, please not yet.
The Alpha Page 2