He strode out of the room. She watched him go with great appreciation of his naked form, let out a deep, long sigh, then hurried to catch up with him. She found him in the living room pulling on his pants.
He picked up his tattered shirt and held it up for her to look at. “You’re as violent as your camel. All I was trying to do was get around that great bloody thing parked in the yard to get to you and this camel leans over the fence and—”
“Llama. She usually only spits at humans. She guards the sheep from—”
“Ah, she knows a predator when she sees one.” He tossed the shirt onto the couch. “I suppose I’ll have to walk around shirtless and you’ll be helpless to do anything but have your way with me. Oh, it’s going to be a long, hard day. I know it.”
While James continued raving, Thena went to the closet in the guest bedroom and brought back a black polo shirt. “This should fit.”
James took the shirt, and gave her a look of pure jealousy. “Who does this belong to?”
His tone was downright daunting, not that Thena had any intention of being daunted.
“It’s my cousin Ted’s shirt—the one in Delta Force. He came to visit in the spring but got a deployment notice so fast he left his stuff and went. I haven’t heard from him and I’m a bit worried.” She pointed sternly at James. “So no nonsense from you about my seeing other men.”
And why was she saying things like that? Because he looked and sounded like he really was jealous. He’s an actor, she reminded herself.
She went into the kitchen, discovered the electricity was back on, and set about cooking eggs and bacon and toast, along with coffee for herself and a pot of tea for James. She knew from their many conversations that he preferred tea.
How domestic.
How ridiculous of her.
###
Her mental shields were snapping back up!
Damn it, why did the woman have to be so psychically strong? And so scared of sharing the life in the spotlight James Wilde lived? Why was she afraid he would walk away from her? That she was some sort of aberration? A celebrity’s fling?
Actually, he thought she’d prefer it if he only wanted a fling. Commitment-phobic, that’s what she was. As much as this frustrated him, it also pleased him. He thought he knew why she was wary of settling down with a man.
It was because she’d subconsciously waited for her bondmate, only she didn’t know it.
And being a mortal, she didn’t know how to recognize a bonding when it started happening. That was why she’d put up mental barriers in the first place. Those walls had started to fade yesterday, but the girl was stubborn. She was rebuilding walls she didn’t know existed, and he had to do something about it quickly.
He followed her to the kitchen. For a few moments he stood in the doorway, caught by the pleasure of watching her move, enjoying the domestic normalcy of her actions. He appreciated the aromas of cooking bacon and toasting bread, too. He didn’t only hunger for blood. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten while he’d been acting on lust, instinct, and fear for Athena’s safety. Bonding made a Prime crazy in so many ways.
He waited for her to look at him. He knew she was aware of him watching, but he wanted the contact of her looking him in the eye.
“Your tea’s done,” she said.
“I love you,” he said.
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked away. Stiffened her spine and straightened her shoulders—he enjoyed how her breasts shifted beneath the cloth of the robe as she moved.
Her gaze returned to his. Love and fear warred in her expression. “I—”
“James Strahan loves you. Don’t argue with me that we barely know each other. Don’t tell me that you’re older than me. Don’t dare do anything but admit that you love me, too. You do love me, yes?”
“I—”
“And take into account when you answer that Wild Jimmy Wilde doesn’t exist.”
“James, I—”
The kitchen door opened before she could finish. James glared at the middle-aged man who entered. This had to be Ed Caven, the farm manager. James fought down the urge to kill this perfectly innocent person for being in the same room with his as-yet untasted mate.
“Changed the blown out truck tire, but there’s an SUV blocking the drive,” he said. “Oh,” he said, when he noticed James. “Hello.”
James managed a stiff nod. He managed to relax the muscles that had stiffened, ready for combat, at the sight of another male near his woman. By the goddess, bonding was no picnic for a Prime of his years, one who’d thought he was over all that hormonal, instinctual horny aggressiveness young vampires were prey to. Bonding certainly made a Prime feel young, which was not necessarily a good thing.
He knew about Ed. Ed was happily married to Thena’s cousin Carol. He was a nice guy. No threat.
Ed looked him over carefully, held tilted to one side. “Aren’t you—?”
“I’m his stunt double,” James cut in hurriedly. “We’re—related. That’s why we look alike. My name’s Jim too. Jim Strahan.”
Ed crossed his arms, and chuckled. “That’s too bad. I guess you better leave.”
“What?”
“Because it’s James Wilde she’s been having a long-distance romance with.”
“I never said that!” Thena protested.
“With all the texting, talking, sexting, and Skyping going on, it’s been hard not to notice,” Ed said.
Thena blushed deeply. The heat of the blood near her skin make James’s fangs throb. He hid a smile at her being so embarrassed at not being as secretive as she’d thought she’d been. Well, she was bonding, too. Bonding wasn’t discreet.
Ed added, “Don’t worry, me and the missus won’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you,” James and Thena said together.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilde, but would you mind moving your car into the garage so that horse trailer can get hauled out of here?”
James went out with Ed and pulled the rented SUV into an empty slot in the garage. When he came back in he found a plate of food covered by another plate waiting for him on the table, with a pot of tea next to it. He ignored it, because he heard the shower running.
James grinned and followed the sound to the bathroom off the master bedroom. That’s what we need, he thought at her. Wet, slippery skin, sweet-scented soap, hot water pouring over us as we—
Shut up and get in here! was Athena’s shouted reply.
He knew his thoughts made her hot. He also knew she wasn’t quite aware or quite believing they had this connection between them.
“Time to fix that, my love.”
###
Thena barely noticed the pleasant warmth of the water pouring over her. Her eyes were closed, her head full of erotic words and images. Her insides ached and pulsed and yearned. When James stepped into the shower behind her she leaned back with a mixed groan and sigh. Their bodies fitted perfectly together, her back against his chest, hips joined, her buttocks pressing against the stiff shaft of his penis. It was all perfect. They stayed that way for a while. Tension built between them, desire begging for them to Do something!
James’ hands, spreading gel soap, came around her waist, slid up her stomach to her breasts. Slid down between her legs to tease her clitoris. Flames licked through her. She leaned eagerly into the smooth slide of his caresses. The bubbles smelled of lemon. It mixed with the sharp tang of desire in the steam around them.
He turned her to face him and she ran her hands through his hair. He loved having his scalp touched. Had he told her that, or did she just know it?
He kissed her earlobe, ran his tongue over it. He chuckled at her moan and wriggle of reaction. Your ears are very sensitive.
It’s hot. You’re hot. I’m hot.
She kissed his throat, his chest, his shoulder, nipped his ear. His turn to let out a deep moan.
“My turn,” James whispered in her ear. Then he bit it.
###
> A warm, sweet, sexy drop of blood flowed onto James’s tongue. Desire burned hotter through him. He held Thena tightly as her body reacted orgasmically to the aphrodisiac secreted by his fangs. This wasn’t cheating, he told himself. It was only foreplay. This was no true tasting, even though her blood was sweeter and more satisfying than any he’d ever had before.
I’m a vampire, he thought to her.
And I’m a natural blond, Thena thought back, laughing, sarcastic, loving the hint of pain in his bite, totally disbelieving the truth. Do that again, she urged.
James tried to tell himself that she’d just given him permission to take her as a Prime took his mate, but that wasn’t what she meant at all. Not until we’re married, he told her.
She turned her head to look at him. “What?”
He lifted her, cradling her buttocks. “Put your legs around me.” She did and he thrust hard into her.
This wasn’t the next best thing to tasting her. Having sex was the best thing, too.
###
After making love, drying off, and getting dressed, Thena walked back to the kitchen with James, their arms around each other’s waists. She loved touching him, loved all the hard, soft, hot, maleness of him.
She pried herself away from his side to put the plates into the microwave. Then she finally poured herself her first cup of coffee and turned back to look at him. She leaned against the counter by the sink. He stood close by.
He watched her with a soft smile on his lips, but the expression in his eyes was serious.
She recalled a question he’d asked her before Ed interrupted their earlier conversation.
“I love you, James Strahan,” she said.
“You look surprised,” he said.
“I am surprised. Those are the best words I’ve ever said. The most freeing. Is being in love supposed to be relaxing?” It was the acceptance of the truth, she supposed. The crossing of a barrier into new territory. “What happens next?” she asked.
His smile widened. We have a lot of talking to do.
It took Thena a moment to realize that there was something different about his teeth. And that he hadn’t spoken out loud.
“Are those fangs?”
He took two steps closer.
“Those are fangs.”
The sharp points of his canine teeth seemed to retract as she watched. Cool.
“How’d you do that?” she asked. “I thought you said that sort of thing was done CGI these days.” She thought they’d been talking about being in love, and was annoyed at his so quickly moving on to the vampire movie he wanted her help with.
“That wasn’t a special effect,” James told her. “Sweetheart, I am a vampire. I am Prime. All that stuff I told you about fictional vampires, well, it’s not fiction. I was trying to prepare you for this.”
He moved so fast all she was aware of was a blur. He grasped her arms, the touch gentle, but she felt the sharp length of claws resting on her bare skin. The fangs were back, longer and sharper than before. She looked into his eyes. They glowed, a yellow that shifted to red as she watched.
James spoke in her head. I am a vampire Prime. I am James Strahan, of Family Strahan, son of Matri Morrigan Brianni Strahan. I am your bondmate and you are mine.
Yes, of course. It all made perfect sense now.
No, it didn’t.
But there he stood before her, touching her, big and real and changed into a nightmare creature—except that despite the eyes and the fangs and the claws, he was still the handsomest man she’d ever seen. The sight of him like this was terrifying. At least, it ought to be.
But it was, in fact, really, really hot.
The microwave dinged and James stepped back, suddenly looking completely human again.
“Food at last!” he said. He took the plates of warmed bacon and eggs out of the microwave and carried them to the table. “Come on, love. We’ll talk over breakfast. If I don’t get some protein in me right now, you’re going to be down a pint before I can stop myself.”
She followed him to the table, too stunned by the last few seconds to do anything but sit down opposite and watch him eat. Lustily. Gustily. As though he really was starving for meat.
Well, he claimed he was a vampire. Blood was protein and—
“This Primes stuff is real?”
He put down his fork. “Every word of it, love.”
“But—you’re a celebrity.”
“That’s bad enough, I know. You hate the celebrity stuff and don’t want anything to do with it. But the thing is, the celebrity stuff is my way of hiding in plain sight. I promise to keep you away from the media.” He gave her a boyish grin, inviting her into an adventure with him. “We can have a lot of fun dodging the media, keeping our private life private.”
“You are a celebrity, and also a vampire?”
“Don’t get fixated on the incongruity, love. I am a vampire. A vampire who is a very talented actor,” he added with a proud lift of his chin. “Acting is the day job. Prime is what I am.”
“Vampires have day jobs?”
“Most of us do, yeah. There’s a lot of us who go into the military since the daylight drugs have been developed.”
“But, you’re not a soldier?”
“I’ve done the soldier of fortune routine most of us Primes get into at some point. Being a soldier and adventurer has its moments, works off the youthful testosterone, but those moments bore me now. I’ve always enjoyed the stage, dabbled in acting in plays a lot when I was young and living in Dublin. Did some work in the West End. That was for pleasure, but this movie star James Wilde thing, well, that’s for the money. For one thing, my brother Tobias runs this commando group that protects immortals. All that militarism needs funding, and I help provide money for the cause. But mostly I make movies because my Family’s trying to buy up the island where most of us live. Buy it and keep it a quiet, protected place for us and the werefolk affiliated with us.”
“Werefolk?”
“Let’s not go into all that just now. You can meet our selkie and other neighbors when I take you home to meet the Family.”
Of course, his family were all also vampires. Right.
Well, in a way, his family didn’t sound any odder than her own. “Just wait until you meet my mother,” she muttered. Then she remembered her mother’s objection to Thena’s involvement with him. “You’re so young! Are you going to look like that forever?”
He shook his head. “Not forever. We don’t live forever, love. We call ourselves immortals, but we’re not. Some make it to four or five hundred, but we all age and die eventually.” He reached across the table to take her hand. “And stop worrying about being a cougar. I’m the one who should be ashamed of being with a young thing like you. I’m eighty-three, and you’re a slip of a girl compared to that.”
“So I’ll get older while you stay—”
“No! We’re bonded. Well, we’re in the process of bonding. We want no other lovers, you and I. Right?”
“I certainly don’t.”
“And our souls are becoming entwined. As soon as we taste each other—start sharing blood—we’ll be together as long as we live. Aging at the same rate,” he added. “In fact, you’re likely to age backwards a bit—not that you aren’t perfect to me right now—but sharing my blood will do away with any toxins and diseases that affect you now.”
Thena heard all James had to say, but her attention stayed focused on one thing. “You’re really eighty-three?”
“Consider my age this way—think of all the time I’ve had to learn how to master making love.” He chuckled, and gently squeezed her fingers. “I love how your skin heats when you blush.”
I need to taste you, Athena.
Hunger flowed from him, through her. Longing—for life for love for her.
She was on her feet without any memory of standing—
Just as someone knocked on the back door.
###
James swore, in an ancient langua
ge he hadn’t used in so long he was surprised he remembered it—but these were the only words in which it was possible to express his frustration.
Athena turned from him and went to the door. He fought hard to remain in his mortal form and followed her, standing close behind her as she opened the door. He put his hand on her shoulder when he registered her surprise and annoyance at who was standing on the back porch.
“Damn it, Finn! Get off my property!”
Can I hurt him for you? James asked.
To James’s senses alcohol rose off the man like a heat haze. His thoughts were dominated by dark, self-destructive anger. He suspected it was a permanent feature of this Finn’s being.
“That horse—” Finn began.
“Belongs to your daughter!” Thena cut him off. “She can barely stand you as it is. Take that horse away from her and you’ve lost her. Don’t you get that?”
“My wife—”
“Left you because you’re a drunken jerk. Take your truck and get off my property.”
James knew he wouldn’t have argued with Thena’s stern voice and expression. But it was apparent this Finn wasn’t a very bright guy.
James gently moved Athena aside. “Let me take care of this, sweetheart.”
“But—”
James took Finn by the arm and led him away from the house. Finn tried to break out of James’s grip, but that wasn’t going to happen. He led the man around to the truck parked in the front of the house. He saw Thena already standing on the front porch by the time he and Finn got there. Her concern for Finn’s welfare was touching, considering how annoyed she still was at the man.
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