by Leia Shaw
“You succeeded with some of them.” Remembering the long night she’d spent at his mercy made a wave of lust rush through her.
His chest rumbled with laughter. “Yes, I’ll admit that was gratifying. And we do need to have a little talk about that cave incident. Especially now that you’re an all powerful…what did you call it? Vwitcheress? We need to set some ground rules for this relationship.”
“Ground rules?”
“Yes. Like no tying up your mate without their permission.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “The handcuffs were kind of fun.”
His body stilled and when she looked up at him, his eyes darkened with hunger. “Remind me you said that when we get home. I know just where I left them.”
She laughed.
They lay in silence for a while, savoring the moment of peace. When her responsibilities crept into her thoughts, she sighed. “We should probably head back. I need to start planning a criminal system and get in touch with the witches about a hex to keep the demons from leaving.” She started to pull away but he tightened his grip.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“I love you,” he whispered against her ear. His heart raced as his chest rose and fell erratically under her cheek.
She was glad he couldn’t see her face. She probably looked like a grinning fool. Several moments passed in silence.
“Are you going to say something?” he asked.
“Yes.” Although she’d never told anyone she loved them, and although it felt awkward and unnatural to do so, she reluctantly said, “I love…your body.”
James sat up, pulling her with him. “That’s all?”
She shrugged. His eyes narrowed and his fangs lengthened under his lips.
“Oh, big deal. I have fangs too.” She plopped back down on the grass.
In a blink, James was inches from her face. “But mine are bigger.”
Her lips twitched then she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, fine. I love you too.”
She pulled him to her mouth and he kissed her long and hard, making her head spin. Warm tingles ran up and down her body.
He loved her. Foul-mouth, bad temper, stubbornness and all. Tears formed in her eyes.
“Ah, yes, my delicious queen,” he said when he pulled his mouth from hers. “I love you more than anything.”
He kissed down her neck and landed at the spot between her neck and shoulder. She saw his gaze darken as he glared with desire at her tender skin.
“Mine,” he said with a smile then he pressed a wet kiss on his favorite spot.
“Yes.” With her heart full of trust, she opened her soul to him. “I’m yours, vampire. You can have me. All of me.” She kissed the palm of his hand and put it to her chest. “Heart and soul, too.”
Her vulnerability was rewarded with a breathtaking smile. With a quick flip, he lay on his back, holding her draped halfway across his body. “Thank you, cariad.”
She knew he understood what it meant to give herself to him – how hard it was to let go of the hurt and mistrust she’d held onto her whole life. It felt as if an enormous amount of pressure built-up within her had been released. Like the weight of the world was just taken from her weary shoulders.
It was ironic, since she was now in charge of an entire world, but she wasn’t alone anymore. She had, not only a lover, but an ally and a trusted friend. She couldn’t find words powerful enough to describe how she felt.
With watery eyes, she whispered into his chest, “I’m so glad you came for me. I need you more than you can ever know. And I love you…more than…”
“I know,” he said.
And she believed he did.
Epilogue
Six months later.
“More trashy motels?” Sage complained as they drove their rental car into the parking lot of the Welsh version of a Motel 6. The light was out on one of the letters and the place was a ghost town.
“Sorry, darling,” James answered. “But it’s hard to make reservations when we don’t get satellite service most of the week.”
That part of living in the Underworld, she hated. No cell phone service, no internet, no fast food chains. They’d begun traveling Topside once a week, sometimes staying overnight to catch up on “extra-curricular activities.” It was hard to find time, and privacy, when ruling a world in the midst of a war. They also stocked up on supplies.
Sage had left her usual queen garb – including crown, leather, and sexy boots – back at the castle and opted for comfy jeans and a t-shirt instead. The costume was another thing she didn’t care for in the Underworld, but she needed to maintain an image for her people.
Shortly after settling in, James left to get dinner for her. After freshening up, she pulled out her phone and scanned through the missed calls then the texts. Three were from Erin who was still in school in Albany.
Hey chica! Miss U :(
She smiled. She missed Erin too and it was hard not being able to text her anytime she wanted.
A few months ago, she’d told Erin about sorcery and about James, but not about living in and ruling the Underworld. When it came to her sister, she had to reveal things slowly.
She flipped to the next text.
OMG! Some wizard guy is stalking me, trying to get me to go with him cuz u r in danger. WTF is going on?
She gasped then hurried through the next one.
Are u in danger? Seriously. I’m freaking out. Please txt me!
Each was a day apart, the last one sent two days ago. She stared at the wall, barely breathing. Was it the Counsel? Were they after her best friend and only family?
Once the panic subsided, the fury erupted. Those fucking dickwads! She’d kill them all if they touched a single hair on Erin’s head!
Her whole body lit up with blue light. She barely registered her crushed cell phone fall to pieces on the floor.
The motel room door unlocked and James walked in, carrying a McDonald’s bag. He stopped short then rushed to calm her.
“Cariad,” he started, catching her gaze. “Take a deep breath. And push back the light.”
Although she still got carried away with her power once in a while, especially when her temper was challenged, it was easier to get back in control. Slowly, the light faded as her breathing deepened and her muscles relaxed.
“Now, what’s going –” He stopped when he spied the broken phone. With an irritated glare he said, “That’s your third phone this month.”
“You keep buying me cheap ones.”
“Because you keep breaking them!” He placed the McDonald’s bag on the corner table. “So what happened this time? Did Ruby tell you the world is coming to an end? Cause you know she’s only joking –”
“The Counsel went after Erin.”
“What?”
She thrust out a hand. “Gimme your phone. I need to call her.”
Reluctantly, he handed her his. She paced while the phone rang twice…three times…four times then Erin’s voicemail picked up.
She growled and felt the light return to her body as the muscles in her hand involuntarily flexed. “She’s not answering!”
James narrowed his eyes. “Not,” he snatched the phone from her hand, “the Droid.”
“I’m going to get her.” She rushed to the door but James got there first.
“No, you’re not,” he told her blocking the doorway with his body.
“James…”
He put a hand softly on her cheek. “Just listen to me for a moment.”
She sighed but nodded.
“They’re baiting you, sweetheart. And I don’t think it’s for a diplomatic discussion. I’m sure they’d love nothing more than to have the Queen of the Underworld’s beautiful head on a pike. Putting yourself in danger –”
She interrupted him with a scoff.
“ – is irresponsible to your kingdom. You know I’m right.” He leaned in and placed his hand on the back of her neck, caressi
ng her, calming her. With his forehead resting on hers, it forced her to concentrate on his slow breathing.
“Not to mention your head happens to be very important to me.” More sternly, he told her, “I won’t let you walk into a trap.”
In a calmer state of mind, she could see his point. It was beginning to sound a lot like a trap. But she couldn’t abandon her sister to a fate unknown either. Even though Erin technically wasn’t blood, she was as much her family as she’d ever had.
“Okay. I won’t go. But someone needs to –”
“I agree. I’ll go.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I need you with me.”
“But there’s no one else we trust.”
“Hang on. Isn’t Marcelo Topside?”
“I think so. He said he had a –”
“Quest.” She rolled her eyes. “I know.”
Marcelo had left the Underworld shortly after James had arrived. She missed the friend she’d gotten to know so well in a short period of time. He was the only other person she could trust to pick up her sister, protect her, and deliver her to Sage in the Underworld. And with his ability to traverse, it would be quick and easy. She could only hope he would agree.
She held out her hand again. “Your phone.”
James eyed her warily.
“I won’t break it.”
He didn’t look convinced. “If you do, you’re giving me your blood every day for three weeks.”
“Three weeks? That’s steep.”
“It’s a brand new Droid. I just personalized it.” He held it out to face her. “Look, I downloaded Bejeweled.”
Her lips twitched. “Two weeks.”
“Three.”
She sighed and put a hand on her hip, making a big show of the concession. Though it wasn’t much of a sacrifice to let him drink from her, sometimes she just didn’t feel like being somebody’s meal. A girl’s gotta have her space now and then.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh.
She reached out to take his phone but he yanked it back. “And if Marcelo agrees to get Erin, we go on with our plans.”
“Another demand?”
He took a step closer and slid his hand softly down her side, from breasts to hips. “I have things I want to do to this body.”
Any other day and she would’ve been covered in goose bumps, but with Erin in danger, she couldn’t concentrate until she knew her sister would be okay.
She leaned in and pouted her lips for a kiss. He bent down and slowly seduced her with his mouth. Twenty long seconds later, she had his phone in her hand and was already making her call. She turned back around to give him a sly smile.
“You are a dangerous woman,” he said shaking his head.
Marcelo answered his phone with his customary formal greeting, “Reina. What can I do for you?”
“Umm. I don’t suppose you’ve ever been to Albany?”
***
Sage had convinced Marcelo to traverse to Albany, hunt down Erin, and then deposit her in Wales where she would be waiting. James had taken a shower while she worked out the details with Marcelo and sent a picture of Erin via text.
When he came out of the bathroom with a towel hung loosely around his waist, his hair shimmering and slick with water, smelling like soap and desire, she boldly looked him over and licked her lips.
He caught her gaze and gave a sexy half-smile. She felt his phone still in her hand and with one easy flex of a muscle, crushed the outer case. It was easy enough to fix, but broken, temporarily, nonetheless.
He looked at the phone then back to Sage, a brow raised at the bold challenge.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that, cariad.” His eyes twinkled with wicked promises.
A shiver crawled down her spine.
She didn’t even see him move before she was pinned to the bed, his naked body on top hers.
He looked into her eyes for a long moment, then extended his fangs and thrust deep into her neck. Shock and pleasure filled her while James drank her soul, her very essence.
Raising his head from her neck, he said, “Forever with you, darling, is going to be quite an adventure.”
Destiny United
Book 2 – Available Now!
Chapter 1
Marcelo elbowed his way through the crowded bar, growing more irritated with each step. Music assaulted his ears and vibrated painfully through his skull. He choked on the thick scent of tobacco, alcohol, and sex – not good sex, but cheap, dirty sex. At least there were plenty of shadows for a vampire to fade into.
While walking to the counter, he’d been bumped twice by drunk adolescents. One particularly rowdy juvenile spilled his drink on Marcelo’s boots. He loved these boots. His queen owed him for this “small favor.” The next drunk frat boy that got within a foot of Marcelo would be growled at, fiercely.
One bold woman offered to buy him a drink. Interesting. It didn’t happen often though he’d been called terrifyingly handsome by several women over the centuries. But he wasn’t there to drink or pick up a quick fuck. He was there to fine one very specific woman.
He turned on his phone and studied the picture his queen had sent of her sister one more time, although he’d already committed it to memory.
Erin Bolton. His hunt had landed him at a small liberal arts college in Albany, New York.
He chuckled, remembering the look on the students’ faces when he’d demanded to know Erin’s whereabouts. Sometimes it was good to be a vampire.
Hunting the girl had been the easy part. The next step would require a certain amount of finesse a battle-scarred vampire did not possess. He had to convince Erin to trust him, and then escort her to the Underworld.
He stared out into the sea of faces.
At the other end of the packed room, two young men pushed a laughing woman onto a table.
“No!” she yelled between giggles. “I can’t dance in front of all these people!”
Cheers erupted as the men shoved her into the middle of the table. Clearly drunk, she kneeled on top, laughing as she batted their hands away.
“Get her another shot!” someone yelled.
One appeared on the table beside her and she knocked it back in seconds.
After grimacing while she swallowed, she stood up. “Okay, okay. Just one song.”
Marcelo shook his head in disapproval. Date rape bait.
His mind drifted to the conversation he’d had with Sage, the new Queen of the Underworld.
“Five days,” she’d said, “and I’ll meet you by the portal in Wales. Oh, and be gentle with her. She’s timid.”
Then what the hell was she doing in a bar like this?
With an aggravated sigh, he scanned the crowd for her again. More noise came from the table where the girl was singing about putting a dime in a jukebox and loving rock and roll.
He rolled his eyes. He remembered when music used to be good.
His gaze made its way up the girl’s body. Might as well get a good look since she insisted on displaying herself.
Just above her brown cowboy boots, her slender calves changed to shapely thighs. Her short denim shorts were ripped up on the bottom and cut off at the perfect spot just below where the thigh met the buttocks. Her shirt was an almost see-through white, billowy blouse covered with a brown leather vest. On top of her head was a matching brown cowboy hat. This girl, whoever she was, had sexy down to a science. No wonder the men were drooling over her.
Honey-colored hair flowed down her back in loose curls as she shook all the right parts at all the right times. Her hair wisped wildly around her sweaty face. She threw her cowboy hat to a tall boy cheering loudly in the back then spun around giving Marcelo a full view of her face. Big brown eyes looked out into the crowd – eyes that looked oddly familiar.
Bloody hell!
He flipped to the photo on his phone again then held up his phone next to the girl dancing provocatively on the bar table. It was the same girl though the phone displaye
d a more innocent version with a bright smile.
The sister he’d been sent to retrieve was drunk and dancing half-naked on a table. And Sage had called her timid?
He took several determined steps forward, eager to finish this inconvenient side trip. Before he made it halfway through the crowd, one distinctive word echoed above the noise around him.
“Fight!”
Oh fuck.
A glass bottle broke then the crowd turned vicious. Alcohol did that to hormonal adolescents, which was why he hated it – alcohol and adolescents.
Anyone who dared bump into Marcelo was thrown aside, but he feared for the girl. He’d made a promise to Sage to protect her sister, a job he took seriously.
When he looked up at Erin, still on the table, it was just in time to see a beer bottle launched straight into her head. Shock filled her eyes as she staggered backwards.
He shoved his way toward the table and caught her when she tumbled off the ledge then cradled her against his chest. Up close, the girl was smaller than he’d thought. She weighed close to nothing.
With her hanging limply in his arms, he strode to the exit. The crowd parted when he slapped on his get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way face. He’d expected someone to fight him, or at least question him – he was a dangerous-looking man carrying away a beautiful woman – but no one approached him. Was this woman here alone? Dressed like bait? Drunk with no one to watch over her?
He was irritated before but now he was downright fuming. He’d never been so glad to step out into the warm summer air. It wasn’t exactly fresh air, but it was enough to soothe his anger. The last thing he needed was for the human to wake up and see fangs poking out from under his lips.
After he checked over both shoulders to be sure he wasn’t followed, he turned down an empty alley. In his world, one didn’t stay alive for long without being paranoid. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his intended location, a hotel room he’d reserved several blocks from where they stood.
Nothing happened. Puzzled, he tried again.
Still nothing. He stood in the piss and garbage filled alley, holding the unconscious girl in his arms, confused and growing angrier by the second. He’d never been unable to traverse before.