Red Blooded

by Deidre Knight

  Sweat slicked his chest and abdomen, causing them to slide together. The sensations were tightening within her, making her want even more of him, to take him even deeper inside her. Was it like this for a Normal virgin? She doubted it. Her mating demands were so intense, it was impossible not to yield to them, to follow the drive.

  And she was driven, absolutely compelled, to taste of him. Right then, no waiting. She pressed a slow sweet kiss to his neck, suckling at first, licking. In a way, he was a virgin of sorts himself, and she knew she should prepare him. “Dillon,” she whispered, “this hurts the first time, too. But only for a moment.”

  “This?” he panted, eyes closed, lost in their coupling.

  “When I drink…. here.” She nibbled his pulse point, feeling her fangs elongate slightly. She nicked him intentionally, to prepare him. “I’m going to mark you here. It’ll only last a moment and will heal over immediately.”

  “Do it,” he groaned, rotating his head to give her free access. “I’m ready. Just like you were.”

  Striking fast and hungrily, she latched on, suckling and moaning as his warm, coppery essence filled her mouth. It was intoxicating. Beautiful as he was. And she came on the spot, rising up and groaning as Dillon answered in kind. He shuddered inside of her, crying out, pressing her face closer against his neck. “More,” he grunted, riding out the release. “Take more.”

  She’d heard that the act of blood sharing was erotic and arousing. Dillon’s obvious pleasure definitely confirmed those rumors. She sucked harder and he groaned atop her, rubbing his thumb along her own neck, feeling the vein. Vampires rubbed veins out of an itch and burn to taste their mate’s blood, and although she would have to help him drink from her, the compulsion was a confirmation of their mating.

  With a gasp she released her hold on him, and turned her wrist, sinking her fangs into the vein to open it. “Take me,” she moaned, lifting her wrist to his eager mouth. “Drink, Dillon,” she encouraged, and with a visible swallow, he bent his head low and latched on. The pain spiked worse than when he’d entered her moments earlier, but was washed away in an explosion of lights behind her closed eyes. Had Dillon experienced that, too––seen these strange stars just from the impact of sharing blood?

  He moaned against her palm, thrusting his hands all through her hair, and she felt his cock stir against her again. She’d read and heard enough to know that Normals didn’t usually get hard again so quickly, and his stiffening erection was yet more evidence that they were now mated.

  At last, he began to slowly disengage his mouth from her vein, clearly having a hard time making the break. But he did, and with a satisfied, deep sigh, lay his head against her shoulder for a moment. His breathing was heavy, labored, but his deep satiation was more than obvious.

  “Okay. It’s official. I know I’m gonna fall in love with you, too,” he said, his eyes drifting shut.

  Dillon woke from a dreamy, satisfied nap with the pressure of cold steel against his jugular. “Who the fuck are you?” a man with a thick Southern accent demanded. “And why are you in my sister’s bed?”

  Uh, oh. Dillon moved cautiously, indicating the blade. “Drop this and I’ll tell you everything.”

  The knife remained pressed hard against Dillon’s throat; beyond the bedroom, the thumping sounds of dance music indicated that the party still raged. There had to be a way out of this situation, a rational way to explain to Kate’s brother that they were kin now. No knife fights between family members. Just not cool.

  “Tell me what you did to my sister,” the guy demanded.

  Dillon countered. “Move. The. Blade,” he insisted, smelling bourbon on the brother’s breath as he hovered over Dillon. “Then we talk.”

  Why wouldn’t Kate wake up? Was she still beside him? Dillon couldn’t be sure, but he moved his left leg slightly, trying to feel for her with his toes.

  Then suddenly the blade was gone, but only for a second—that chilly, sharp object was now pressed against Dillon’s balls. Beside the bed, Dillon could hear Lulu starting to growl. Good doggie. Protect your master’s prize jewels.

  Kate’s brother continued in a seething voice. “I’m of a mind to make sure you never touch Kate again.” The blade pressed cold and hard against Dillon’s groin, the point well made.

  Beside Dillon there was a rustling sound as Kate moved groggily beneath the sheets. And then she sat up with a gasp and a cry. “Toby! Move that knife right now!”

  “Did this guy fuck you? Or, no…more than that, wasn’t it? I can tell. You mated, didn’t you? That’s what went on. You’re both naked…. Oh, Katie.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Toby,” Dillon said sarcastically.

  “He’s mine,” Kate said proudly. “Yes. We mated.”

  Toby’s voice reached new decibels. “Have you lost your ever lovin’ mind? Daddy’s gonna be pissed as hell. What were you thinking?”

  “I love him,” Kate announced, strength and pride in her voice. “Now put the knife away, Toby.”

  Dillon released a tight breath when the pressure was removed from his balls. He slid backward in the bed, feeling for Kate and pulling on the covers so neither of them was exposed.

  “This is my older brother, Toby,” Kate whispered, leaning against him slightly.

  Dillon nodded. “Got that one already, cupcake.”

  “Why’s there a dog in this room? Is that his?” Toby asked, annoyed as ever.

  “Toby, let us get dressed and we’ll come talk to you out in the living room,” Kate said.

  “We got about sixty people still here, Katie. We ain’t talking about anything out there. The party is mid-swing.”

  Lulu growled again, sounding even more agitated. “Uh, Toby,” Dillon suggested. “You better bring it down a few notches or Lulu’s gonna go for your leg. Just a guess, can’t say for sure.”

  “Why the hell did you bring a dog to the party?” Toby demanded in an exasperated tone.

  Kate just started to giggle beside him and said in a stage whisper, “You’re going to feel like a real shit in about ten seconds, brother of mine.”

  “For what?” Toby said, and it sounded like he slapped his thighs.

  Kate nestled up against Dillon’s side. “Because Dillon’s blind, Toby. That’s his guide dog.”

  “Shit.” Toby cursed some more. “Sorry, dude.”

  Kate took hold of Dillon’s hand. “That’s not all.”

  “There’s more?” Dillon and Toby asked, almost in perfect union.

  Kate must have bobbed her head, because the motion gave the mattress a slight shaking vibration. “Yep. See, I didn’t even get to tell Dillon this part. But…the reason Daddy’s not gonna have my head on a platter—”

  “Or mine,” Dillon interjected.

  “Or anyone’s…is because Dillon is a war hero, Toby. An Iraq war veteran.”

  “I don’t get it,” Dillon blurted. “Why would that make a difference to a vampire clan?”

  Toby blew out a whistle. “Damn, girl. Daddy’s still gonna be pissed, though. You didn’t preserve the bloodline, and that won’t be forgotten overnight.”

  “Daddy will accept him, Toby,” Kate said in a quiet, intense voice. “And he will honor Dillon, you know it. Even if it takes time.”

  “A Get Out of Jail Free card for you, huh?” Toby agreed with a reluctant sounding sigh.

  “Yep, I see your point. Well played, Katie.”

  “I still don’t get it,” Dillon said. He got impatient whenever anyone ignored him in a conversation because it made him feel not just blind, but invisible. “Why should my service record make any difference to your father or family?”

  A knock came on the door, then there was a male voice. “Toby, man. We need to go on a beer run.”

  “I’m going to let you explain the rest to your new mate,” Toby said, then muttered, “Still can’t believe it. Cannot believe it.” His voice trailed away as he left the room.

  “Explain what to me?” Dillon asked.
>
  Kate took his hand in her smaller one, threading their fingers together. “See, Dillon, in our society, warriors are the most revered of all individuals. Even Normal warriors who defend our country. So my father? He’d have killed anyone else, really. But he won’t be able to do anything other than approve this mating. I realized it earlier. When we were about to make love.”

  For a moment, Dillon relaxed, leaning back against the headboard. But then he sat up with a jolt, his heart beating crazily in his chest. “We still got a big problem, though.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Mason. I gotta sell him on you. That you’re not Night of the Living Dead come to life. That you’re mine. And good.”

  Kate groaned and rolled up against him. “I don’t like Mason.”

  “You should.”

  “Oh, and why’s that? He’s like the total bane of my existence,” she said.

  “Because he’s one of my best friends. And I can make him understand about you.”

  Kate slid her hands over both his thighs, cuddling close. “You really think?” Her tone was undeniably vulnerable.

  “Hell, yeah. I can make Mace get it. Get you. We’re brothers in arms, and trust me, he will understand.”

  Kate led Dillon out onto the deck, and wondered if everyone there could tell they’d been making love. Her face felt a little burned from his beard stubble, and Dillon had this kind of blissed-out-and-happy expression on his face. It was adorable, and as soon as they could dispense with Mason, she was planning to drag him right back into bed.

  Speaking of that devil, she spotted Mason walking up the side steps to the deck. His gaze was on Dillon, and she wondered if Mason saw the same sparkle in Dillon’s unfocused eyes that she did. If Mason knew him well enough to sense a major change in his old friend.

  Mason’s own expression changed, became quizzical. And then he glanced at Kate, still while making his way toward the deck railing where they were both leaning. He paused for a moment, just standing in the crowd, looking back and forth between them both. And then his green eyes grew wide and shocked.

  She leaned closer against Dillon. “Your friend’s here.”

  Dillon nodded. “Let me handle this one.”

  “Actually, lover man, I think it’s already been handled,” she laughed, bracing herself for whatever Mason was about to say. He stood in front of them both, speechless, it seemed. He started shaking his head, and managed a sharp glare in her direction, then said, “Okay, Dillon, let’s spring your ass from this joint.”

  “Actually? I plan to stay,” Dillon said and unfolded his cane. “I’m set. Got Lulu, got my cane…got Kate.”

  “You’ve got Kate?” Mason repeated numbly. “What does that mean?”

  She laughed, nudging Dillon in the side. “Is that like ‘Got milk’?”

  Mason scowled. “Just how drunk are you both?”

  Dillon stood up taller, no longer leaning against the railing. He stepped forward a couple of tentative steps, not using his cane, and then reached out for Mason’s shoulder, clasping it. Pulling Mason into an embrace, Kate saw Dillon whisper something in his ear, words she couldn’t hear. For a long moment Mason just gaped back at Dillon, then slowly cut his eyes in her direction. A smile filled his face, and he nodded, as if Mason and Kate had just shared a powerful secret all their own.

  He lifted two fingers to his forehead and saluted her, still grinning. “You could’ve told me, you know. Long ago.”

  She shrugged. “Told you what?”

  “That I didn’t need to hunt you. I mean, I’ll still have to convince Jamie, but…ah damn it.” Mason strode toward her, and with a quick brush of his lips, he kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for putting the light back in his eyes. And thanks for not being lethal or dangerous so that I can wish you two the best.”

  And, then, just like that, Mason turned and stepped into the party crowd without another word or allowing her to respond.

  Dillon sidled back against the railing, reaching for his beer. Taking a long swill, he seemed perfectly content to just let Mason go—without explaining anything to her.

  “What did you tell him?” Kate asked in disbelief. “Mason isn’t going to hunt me, isn’t going to have a problem with us? I don’t get it.”

  “I told Mason that you’re a good woman and that I’m going to fall in love with you, and that I’m the only person you will ever drink from. Because I’d kill any man who even so much as thought about letting you drink from him. Or woman.”

  “You actually just said all that? To Mason Angel?”

  Dillon bobbed his head. “Heck yeah, I did. Oh, and that we’re mated. I told him that, too. Just kind of laid it out there. Balls to the wall, baby.”

  “So you don’t think he’ll try and kill me or anything?”

  “I told him the only thing you were a danger to was––” Dillon shook his head, grinning.

  “Nah, not ready to tell you that.”

  Kate swatted the top of his head. “Fess up.”

  “Well, that the only thing you were a danger to…was my heart. Not to anyone else.”

  She flung herself into his arms. “But, see? You can poke me in the eye anytime, and I won’t leave.”

  “I have a better idea, and although it involves poking, it’s way more pleasurable,” Dillon promised, nibbling on her ear. “Back to your room?”

  “And I’ll bring the wine and Chaka Khan CD’s?”

  Dillon laughed, working his mouth lower along her neck and then murmured, “You had me at Chaka Khan.”

  Kate giggled, holding him even closer. “You had me at poking.”

  EPILOGUE

  The Breakfast Club was bustling with early morning patrons, several of whom kept taking too much interest in Lulu. It wasn’t that Dillon minded people petting his dog; she was sweet-tempered and had changed his life from the moment he’d gotten her. But the attention was as distracting to Lulu as Kate’s cats had been. Plus, it was usually women who came over, and he could sense Kate’s possessive streak starting to kick in again as yet another female finally left the table.

  “All right, I love Lulu, but she’s a babe magnet. And that’s a problem for me because you’re mine.”

  He reached along the table and found her hand, squeezing it. “Four months in and you’re still jealous. I like it!”

  She flicked the back of his palm. “Four months in and my mail order bride has an even bigger ego. Me loving you has obviously unleashed an arrogant streak for you.”

  He grinned, trailing his fingertips along the table until he located the plate of bacon he’d ordered, then poked a piece in his mouth. “Just one of those five or ten million things you found out about after signing on for this tour. Or that you will.”

  “I love you, Dillon,” she said, her tone unexpectedly serious. “I’m so glad I took the leap and didn’t worry or fear.”

  He reached for her again, pressing the back of her hand to his mouth. “I love you, too, Kate. You saved me. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I may be cocky now, but I was so lost when you found me. You’ve healed all the crap that was going on in my head, just by being with me, living with me. Every day brings something new, and that’s given me purpose like I just didn’t have before you.”

  “Does that mean you might propose soon?” She laughed, and suddenly her arms were about his neck and she was holding him close. “Or is that my job in this instance?”

  “Marry me?” he asked, not even hesitating. Balls to the wall, like always. Why should marrying his mate be any different?

  Kate said nothing, just kept her arms tight about his neck. “Katie?” he asked uncertainly, and only then did he feel the dampness of her tears. “Why are you crying, babe?”

  “Because you asked me.”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

  She sniffled, pressing her face against his. “No, it’s just that I wanted you to so much. To be like a Normal and
have a wedding on the beach.”

  He leaned close, whispering in her ear. “You are a Normal,” he said, “at least in the ways that count. But it just so happens you’re also a vampire. And that’s cool because it means we get to have hot, randy, wall-bumping, vampy sex. Doesn’t get any better than that.”

  And it didn’t. Or any better than sitting in a breakfast café, eating pancakes with the woman you loved, your faithful dog beside you. Happy. Happy and alive.

  No, it didn’t get any better than that, not by a long shot.

  About the Author

  Deidre Knight is a literary agent, mom, wife, novelist, and Southern woman, and proud to answer to all of those titles. After selling hundreds of romance and women’s fiction novels for her clients, she’s delighted to bring her tales of otherworldly adventure to someone other than her own family. She lives in Madison, Georgia. Please visit Deidre on the Web at www.DeidreKnight.com or join her at www.GodsofMidnight.com.