by Tina Folsom
“Ms. Rice,” he ground out, his lips barely moving. “Don’t—”
“Savannah,” she coached and laid her hands over his, squeezing, so he was forced to squeeze her boobs. “Please, you can have all this. You can have me. Doing whatever you command. I’ll make sure you’ll enjoy it. I promise. You can fuck me now.” She lowered her hand to his crotch. Hardness greeted her there. He wasn’t as unaffected as his rigid stance suggested. “Or I can suck you. Would you rather have me do that? Do you want me on my knees, your cock in my mouth?” She didn’t care what she had to do to make him help her. She had no pride left. Her only thought was her daughter.
His hands on her breasts were suddenly gone. Before she could say or do anything else, John’s hands were framing her face, and his mouth was crushing her lips with a kiss that she hadn’t expected. A kiss that could only be described as untamed. And to her surprise, not unwanted. By either party. She felt his need, a desire that she’d seen in his eyes and that he was now unleashing. And despite the reason why she was trying to seduce him, her body reacted to him. Reacted as if he was a man whom she desired.
He tasted of power and strength, and she’d forgotten what a man like that tasted. His mouth was punishing, his tongue demanding surrender. She didn’t resist, couldn’t have, even if she wanted to. She responded to his kiss, sliding one hand to his nape, the other to his waist so he couldn’t escape, couldn’t change his mind now that he’d accepted the deal she was offering. She pressed her body to his, and heard him groan in response. But he didn’t free himself, instead, he pushed her back toward the wall, crushing her between it and his equally hard body.
She moaned, unable to hold in the unexpected pleasure this kiss ignited in her.
John seemed to become even more passionate as a result of her reaction, one hand now sliding down to her ass, palming it as if he had every right to do so. And he did. She’d given him that right by offering him carte blanche. By offering him her body to do with as he pleased. Though she hadn’t thought it would please her as much as it did.
All of a sudden, she felt cool air on her lips and realized he’d severed not only the kiss, but their embrace too. He stood a couple of feet away from her now. She must have been so dazed from his kiss that she hadn’t seen or felt him move.
He breathed heavily and stared at her, his eyes picking up the light from a lamp near the couch, which made them shimmer golden. There was something beautiful yet dangerous lurking in those eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out as if he could barely speak, his jaw tight as if he couldn’t open his mouth. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
She suddenly felt naked, exposed. “John…” She didn’t know what to say now, what to do, so she did nothing.
“This is wrong. I can’t do this.”
Her heart sank. He didn’t want her. Which meant he wasn’t taking her deal. He wasn’t going to help her. She slammed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing. She’d humiliated herself, and for what? For nothing. She lowered her head, couldn’t bear for him to see the despair in her eyes.
Why didn’t he leave? Why wasn’t he at the door already, hightailing it out of her flat? Was he enjoying her humiliation, her defeat?
“I can’t take what you’re offering. I’m not that kind of man. I’d never sink that low.”
“Sink that low…” she repeated. “Yeah, you’re right.”
She suddenly felt his hands grip her biceps and snapped her gaze to him.
“You misunderstand me. I would never take advantage of a woman who’s vulnerable. What I just did was a mistake, and I apologize for it. But I’m just a man, and there are moments when even I can’t fight against my needs. When even I slip. It’s not your fault. You did what you thought you had to do. It’s my fault entirely. I should have resisted.”
His fault? When she was offering herself to him? Begging him to take her? How could it be his fault?
“John, I—”
“No, please, I need to make amends.” He swallowed hard. “I’ll help you find Buffy. I’ll do anything in my power, use all my skills, my connections, my resources, whatever it takes, to bring your daughter home.” He let go of her arms and took a step back. “But I’m not going to take any form of payment from you. Not your money, and not your body. You should never have to sell your body to anybody. No matter the reason.”
Her lips parted and a surprised puff of air escaped from her lungs. Had she heard correctly? “You’ll help me? You’ll take the case?”
He nodded.
“And you don’t want…” She hesitated and searched his face.
Their gazes connected.
“I would never want what’s not freely offered. You might think now that you won’t mind sleeping with me, but you’ll resent me for it later. Trust me on that. It’s best if we never mention this again.”
Pretend their passionate embrace had never happened?
Slowly, she nodded. Her respect for him had just tripled. She knew no man who would reject her offer and still help her. Only a saint would do that. Or a eunuch. And John was neither. He’d been aroused, and his kiss had been experienced and passionate. No, John was no saint. He liked sex. He found her attractive. And still, he’d said no, while at the same time promising to help her find Buffy.
No, John was no saint. He was a man of honor and integrity. A man she could trust.
10
John felt that his fangs had finally receded fully into their sockets. The danger was over. For now. But he was still in Savannah’s flat, still in her presence. And he could still taste her on his tongue.
He’d acted impulsively, without thinking. And like an animal. But his control had snapped like a twig under the weight of an elephant, leaving him no choice but to do what his body commanded. What, in fact, Savannah had offered. Offered under duress. And that was the reason his mind had finally triumphed over his base needs, and he’d been able to wrench himself out of her arms. Not a moment too soon either. His fangs had already descended, readying themselves for the bite they craved. Savannah had no idea how close she’d come to finding out what he truly was. Not the hero she believed him to be, but the vampire who wanted to drink her blood.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He acknowledged her words with a nod. She was probably relieved that she didn’t have to go through with her offer. After all, what woman would willingly submit to a stranger, giving him leave to do with her as he wished without even knowing how depraved the man might be? Not that John considered himself to be depraved, but he had his appetites, and those were insatiable. A quick fuck in the missionary position wouldn’t be sufficient to slake his hunger. Particularly since he’d not engaged in that kind of activity in a while.
“I should go now,” he said.
She nodded in agreement, but didn’t move. “What are you going to do to find her?”
“I need to check up on all the people in her life and find out what Buffy has in common with the other children that disappeared. Things like going to the same school, having had the same babysitters, the same doctors, anything that ties them together. There has to be something.”
“I understand. If there’s anything I can do to help…”
“I received your email with the information about your employees. I’ll start there.” He didn’t mention that he’d already looked into the babysitter’s background and checked out her place. “I’ll be in touch soon. But if you remember anything else, even if it seems insignificant, I want you to call me. Day or night.” He pulled out a card and gave it to her. It only had his name and cell phone number on it. “This is my private line. Call me on this number only, no matter what time it is, even if you think I might be asleep.”
She took the card. “I will.”
With a last look at her, John walked past her into the hallway and out the door. Downstairs he opened the front door and stepped outside, glad to be able to breathe in the cool night air and rid himself of Savannah’s del
ectable scent. A scent that was driving him insane with lust.
The twins were waiting for him, both leaning against one of the Porsches on the opposite side of the road. They exchanged a grin.
He crossed the street to join them.
“I hope we weren’t rushing you,” Benjamin said with a smirk.
“As I said before, it was a short errand.”
Damian motioned back to the building. “Yeah, I could see that. Short, but clearly worth it.”
John looked over his shoulder and stared up at the brightly lit second floor window. The living room, where he’d kissed Savannah. And the spot where he’d pressed her against the wall and kissed her was framed by the window as if a photographer had arranged it so. With hybrid vision, which was as perfect as vampire vision, the twins would have seen everything as clearly as if they’d been sitting in front of a television screen.
Shit!
He spun his head back to Damian and Benjamin and glared at them. “It’s none of your fucking business. Not a fucking word. Is that clear?”
The two hybrids exchanged a quick look, then nodded.
“We didn’t mean any harm,” Damian said.
Benjamin added, “You’re entitled to your privacy. We won’t interfere.”
“Good. Time for your hands-on-training.”
“Excellent, what are we gonna do?” Damian asked eagerly, and both hybrids stared at him in eager anticipation.
It struck him then. It didn’t matter that Scanguards had rejected the abduction case, because all he needed were a couple of guys who could do some snooping around for him. And two very eager—and rather capable—guys were right in front of him, willing to follow any order he gave, just to prove that they were ready for their final examination so that they could join the ranks of full-blown bodyguards at Scanguards.
But he had to make sure they knew the rules of this game. And the rules were whatever he decided. Because for the next few days he would be their superior, the one who decided how they spent their time.
“Listen up. I’ve decided that you’re advanced enough to engage in a covert super-secret operation. Nobody, and I mean nobody can find out what this mission is. It’s vital if you want to pass this test. Understood?”
Both grinned. “Cool!”
“During this mission, assume that anybody might be armed and dangerous, because they may be. This is a live-ammunition event. Anybody could attack you at any time, human or vampire. Their weapons will be real, as will their bullets and their intention to harm you. Trust no one, except me and each other. Everybody is a suspect until you can prove he’s not.”
They nodded eagerly, their eyes wide with excitement.
“Take the utmost precaution in whatever you do. Treat this as a real mission, not a training exercise. Keep your cover. Nobody can find out you’re not human. Use every skill you might find necessary.”
“Yes, of course,” Damian said rather impatiently. “Come on, don’t be so mysterious. What’s the goal?”
John let out a slow breath. “The goal is to crack a child trafficking ring and save a dozen girls aged nine to twelve.”
“Wow!” Benjamin exclaimed and bumped shoulders with his brother. “Awesome!”
“Who’re the bad guys?” Damian asked.
“That’s for you to find out.”
“Got it,” Damian said.
John motioned to his car. “I’ve got the facts in a file.” He motioned them to follow him to his car. He’d brought the file with him to hand it back to Donnelly after telling Savannah that Scanguards wasn’t taking the case, but all that had changed now.
It took a half hour to relay all the pertinent facts to the twins, and for them to photograph those pages from the police reports that they deemed important. Then he gave them their final instructions.
“The last girl disappeared four days ago. Buffy Rice. She’s the freshest lead. That’s why I want you to start with her. We need to look at her environment, at the people who know her. Her mother runs a cyber security company and employs two programmers, Alexi and Rachel. I want you to split up and take one each. Find out what they’ve been doing every minute since Buffy’s disappearance. Look into their background, their finances, their habits. Anything odd, I want to hear about it. I’ve got their details here.” He pulled out his cellphone to scroll to the email Savannah had sent him.
“Is Alexi a girl’s name?” Damian asked.
“He’s a guy.” John suppressed a chuckle. Figured that Damian would want to investigate a girl. “Enjoy, he’s all yours. Benjamin can take Rachel.”
Benjamin grinned and winked at his brother. “Better luck next time, bro.”
Damian shrugged it off.
John copied the names and addresses for Alexi and Rachel and texted them to the twins. Their cellphones chimed, and they both looked at their displays.
“Got it,” they said in unison.
“Clock’s ticking,” John said. “Check in with me every couple of hours, whether you’ve got news or not. I want to know where you are at all times. Stay safe.”
As he watched the twins saunter to their cars and get in, he could only hope that nothing bad would happen to them. Amaury would have his hide if harm came to his sons. But Scanguards had left him no choice. He had to help Savannah. Not because of that kiss or her offer of sex, but because his heart was breaking seeing her eyes tear up whenever she spoke of Buffy. She needed her daughter safely back in her arms. And once he’d achieved that, he would be at peace again, too. He would be able to go back to his lonely life and continue to live night by night. Do his duty to Scanguards. And maybe one day get over the loss he’d suffered.
Maybe by saving this little family, he could make up for having failed to save his own.
11
Outside of New Orleans, four years earlier
John stood at the door to the guard room and watched his men, a dozen well-trained and heavily-armed vampires, march past him after receiving their orders for the night. As leader of the king’s guard, he was responsible for them, and for the safety of his king and queen, and their three hybrid children.
The triplets, David, Zack, and Monique were celebrating their sixteenth birthday, and tonight’s celebration meant that a large number of guests were expected at the royal estate north of New Orleans. Which meant extra security was needed tonight. It also meant that he was required to remain here all night and most likely the entire morning, rather than return to his home in the Garden District, a home he and his blood-bonded mate Nicolette shared. A home that would soon hear the laughter of their first child.
John looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps approaching from another corridor. Cain, his king, but also his best friend, walked toward him, a smile on his face.
“Evening, Cain,” John greeted him. “You look relaxed.”
Cain winked at him. “Faye has that effect on me. Besides, I might be able to get rid of those kids soon. When do you think I can ask them to move out? I mean, they’re sixteen. They should be able to live on their own, right?”
John chuckled. “They cramping your style?”
“More than you know.”
Despite his words, John knew that Cain was only joking. He loved his children, and if they lived separate from him and Faye, he would only worry. And then John would have to hire even more vampire bodyguards to protect them. Already now, each of them had a personal security detail.
Faye suddenly appeared from the corridor and joined them. “How’s Nicolette?”
John grinned. “Getting fatter every day.” And he’d never seen anything lovelier.
Faye smiled. “Not much longer now, right?”
“Another month at least.”
“I doubt it. When I saw her last week, she looked like it could be any day now.”
Cain put his arm around his wife’s waist. “Since when are you a doctor?”
“I’m not. But women know these things.” Then she looked back at John. “You did tell
her that she’s invited to tonight’s celebrations, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I relayed the invitation. She wasn’t sure how she was feeling, so I left it up to her to decide later. I know she wanted to take a nap. She might come later.”
“And drive herself?” Faye asked, in surprise.
“Of course not. I made sure there’s a car and driver available for her if she wants to join us later.”
Faye let out a breath of relief. She was ever the doting queen. “Thank goodness. I really hope that she’ll feel well enough to join the festivities.”
“Me too,” John said.
“You know, I was thinking,” Faye added, exchanging a quick look with Cain. “Why don’t you two stay at the king’s guard cottage until the baby comes? Then we could keep an eye on her while you’re on duty.”
“That won’t be necessary,” John said and pointed to Cain. “Cain’s ordered me to take a vacation starting as soon as the birthday celebrations are over.” He would have never asked for it, but Cain had come to him the night before, announcing his decision in a tone that brooked no refusal. Not that John would have protested. Spending more time with Nicolette before she gave birth to their baby was the best gift his friend could have given him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Faye said to Cain and slapped him on the shoulder. “I would have personally thanked you for being so nice to John.”
“Oh, you already thanked me earlier,” Cain claimed and smirked.
A meaningful gaze passed between them, and John had to shake his head. They were still lovebirds, even after such a long time together. Just like John and Nicolette. Though he and Nicolette hadn’t been lucky enough to be blessed with children in their first year of marriage, as Faye and Cain had been. But then, the king and queen had had help: since both of them were vampires, they had asked Maya, a vampire physician from Scanguards, to perform her ground-breaking stem cell treatment on Faye, so she could conceive. Something vampire females hadn’t been able to do before Maya had made her discovery. Maya’s treatment turned a vampire female’s womb into a human womb. The resulting fetus was therefore half vampire, half human, incorporating some of the human DNA from the donor’s stem cells into its genetic makeup.