All Hell Breaks Loose

by Sharon Hannaford

  “You’re too delectable to be good for me, so you must be dessert.” His voice was dark and husky.

  “Ah, flattery was the fly’s downfall, was it not? So I really shouldn’t be taken in by your sweet talk, now should I?” she asked, trailing a fingertip over his shirt, across the tight planes of his chest, down his abs and back up again.

  “Absolutely not,” he agreed smoothly.

  “What if the fly wants to be caught?” she whispered, her mouth millimetres from his, their breath mingling.

  “Lea,” he whispered, tilting his head back from her, “we need to talk.” She heard the faint crack of wood being split. At least he wasn’t finding it easy not to touch her.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “we do need to talk, that’s why I came up here.” Her fingers slid between the buttons on his shirt. She gave a little tug, exposing his skin to her touch, as buttons pattered onto the floor. Her warm hands skimming up his bare chest made his breath catch in his chest. “But I’ve changed my mind.” She allowed her hands to slide around behind him, up to his shoulders, and then scored fingernail marks lightly down his spine. He let out a hiss of pleasure. “No talk just yet. Hmmmm,” she purred as she ran her tongue languorously over one of his flat nipples. “Maybe later.”

  “You are impossible,” he growled through clenched teeth. One of his hands finally left the desk to thread into her hair. He gripped her lush curls and tugged until she turned her face up to his. “How am I supposed to resist you?” he asked her roughly. His irises had bled from darkest midnight blue to full molten gold. She loved the way his eyes changed colour as desire rode him. She loved that she could make it happen.

  “Why do you want to?” she retorted, pulling against his grip on her hair to lean closer to him and nip at his chin. Just the scent of him so close to her was making her horny as hell. She breathed in slowly, drawing his essence of cinnamon and clean mountain air deep into her lungs. His mouth captured hers, hard and demanding. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers: she felt it as his canines lengthened, filling his mouth. Then she tasted the exquisite, rich tang of his blood. He’d sliced his tongue on a razor-sharp fang and expertly turned the tables on her. Suddenly she was the one drowning, the one who couldn’t resist, aching for the taste and feel of him on her, in her, around her. She heard herself moan as her hands swept hungrily over his body.

  His hands deftly divested her of shirt, bra and Nex. She was vaguely aware of papers and files crashing to the floor as he spun and pressed her down against the surface of his desk. Skilful fingers teased her nipples, and his mouth left hers to nip and kiss a molten trail across her jaw and down her neck. He paused long enough to graze his fangs across her jugular where he’d bitten her before, she groaned in agonised anticipation. But he continued down, his mouth replacing his fingers at her breasts, his hands roaming lower to the fastening of her leather pants. She buried her hands in his hair as he used his tongue and teeth to tease her nipples. She felt her pants come undone; she was unable to do anything but lie against his desk as he bent to pull off her boots and slip her pants to the ground.

  He paused for a moment, looking down at her in the flickering candlelight, drinking in the sight of her sprawled on his desk in only a pair of lacy panties and a knife sheath strapped to her right calf. Ever so slowly he lifted her leg to the edge of the desk and began to unbuckle the sheath, bending his head to lick a warm trail up the inside of her leg as the sheath fell to the floor. Finally his tongue reached the edge of the lace and dipped to explore what lay underneath. She cried out, arching off the desk, as the first orgasm rocked her.

  At some point they made it to his bed. He’d lost the remainder of his clothes, though Gabi wasn’t sure if it was him or her who removed them. Her world narrowed down to the taste and feel and scent of Julius, the sensations coursing over her as he allowed his power to wash over her in an orgasm-inducing wave. When he finally entered her, at the same time as he sank his fangs into the tender spot on her neck, the world could have exploded, fire could have raged around them, a tornado could have ripped the house apart, and neither of them would’ve noticed.

  When she finally made it back to earth, Gabi wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she’d walked into his office. It could have been twenty minutes or five hours; she had no idea. She was lying next to him, her head resting on his chest, his arm around her as both of them tried to slow their breathing. She could feel his fingers playing idly in her hair. She pressed a small kiss to his chest. His skin felt warm beneath her cheek, and she wondered if it was the blood, the sex or the fire crackling in the hearth on the other side of the room that heated him. The fire drew her eyes, and she realised his bedroom door stood open.

  “I hope none of your staff are wandering the manor right now,” she said, her voice coming out slightly hoarse. She felt him move to see what she was looking at.

  “Well, they shouldn’t be, but if it makes you feel better.” His voice wasn’t much better than hers. A moment later the door swung shut, and an audible click sounded. If she’d had an ounce of energy left in her, she’d have sat up in surprise. As it was, she only managed a raised eyebrow.

  “I didn’t know you were telekinetic,” she said.

  “I didn’t know you could control Werewolves,” he responded.

  She gave a little amused snort. “Neither did I until yesterday morning,” she retorted. He shifted slightly under her, and his hand began to trace sensual patterns over her shoulder and down her spine.

  “Yesterday morning?” She could hear the surprise in his voice.

  “Yeah, well, two mornings ago would probably be more accurate. When we found Derek.” She felt his body tense. “When he first met Kyle, he lost control of his wolf. He lunged for me, and I unintentionally threw my power at him to stop him. It worked.”

  “Ah,” he responded enigmatically.

  “So, are there any more secrets you want to spill,” she prodded.

  He shifted again, this time turning onto his side, and settled her head on a pillow, so he could look down at her. “Lea, I’m not sure where this is going. What I feel for you is…profound. I want you in my life, and I don’t think I can do this on a casual basis.” He paused, looking away from her.

  Gabi bit her tongue when it was obvious he had more to say. Finally, he looked back at her, and there were tension lines on his face; a muscle in his jaw twitched.

  “Julius, what are you afraid of?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  His gaze shifted to stare unseeing into the flames flickering in the hearth. “I’m afraid that I can’t be what you need me to be. I’m afraid that I will only make you unhappy.”

  “What do you think I need that you can’t give me,” she was genuinely confused, “and why would you make me unhappy?”

  “I only live half a life; I can’t do a picnic in the park, the day at the beach, lunch in the plaza. And I have responsibilities to my Clan and the City; I cannot make you my whole world. As much as I would want you to be, I can’t ignore my obligations. And…” He paused.

  Gabi sensed that this was the crux of his anxieties. She held quite still.

  “I’m not sure I can care about you as much as I do and not become protective of you. I come from a different time, a time when women were cosseted and protected. Well, at least the high-ranking ones were. I respect your abilities, and I truly admire the way you handle yourself in a fight. In my head I know you can take care of yourself, but my instincts will always be to shelter you and protect you. I know that’s not what you want or need from a man in your life.”

  Gabi finally understood his reticence. She put a hand out to touch his cheek, drawing his gaze back to hers. When he looked at her, she rolled her eyes. “Do you think I don’t have my own responsibilities, that I don’t know and understand the meaning of duty to others? Have you had a good look at my life? Do I seem like the kind of woman who does picnics in the park and days on the beach? I couldn’t give up my work f
or the SMV any more than you could give up being a Master Vampire. If you asked me to do that, then we would have a serious problem.”

  She saw the answer in his eyes; he would never ask that of her, no matter how much it pained him to think of her being hurt or even killed.

  “You see? You understand, like very few other men would. Yes, we may have to work on the overprotectiveness, but do you think I haven’t lived and managed that for years already? Have you seen Byron when something happens to me?” That brought a hint of a smile to his lips. “There are things I’ll have to work on as well, so it won’t be a one-way street,” she said.

  “What will you need to work on?” he asked.

  It was her turn to glance away. “You need donors to feed from. I know I can’t provide all you need. When it comes to you, I have an ugly jealous streak. I can’t promise I’ll always be reasonable about your donors.”

  An all-male chuckle erupted from his chest. He bent to nip her earlobe, eliciting a small yelp from her.

  “You’re not the only one with a jealous streak, my Lea. I’ve only barely held mine in check tonight. How about I promise to only use older, unattractive donors in future.” His eyes glittered with amusement.

  “I’ll hold you to that promise,” she said archly. “And you’ve been jealous? Tonight?”

  His jaw muscles jumped as his teeth suddenly clenched together. “Your new Werewolf friend,” he growled. “He’s trying hard to hide it, but he is unquestionably in lust with you, and it was getting on my teeth.”

  Gabi laughed in delight. “A Master Vampire jealous of a newly made Werewolf?” she stated in disbelief. “The world might just come to an end.”

  “Don’t joke, Gabrielle,” he said, not joining her in her amusement. “He is a better fit for you. He could be everything I cannot be for you.”

  “Welllllll…he is kinda nicely put together, I have to admit,” she said contemplatively, staring off into space with doe eyes.

  Julius’s eyes darkened, and a stormy look clouded his features.

  “Oh, come on,” she teased, poking him in the ribs. “I owe you for the cute blonde who was on your lap a couple of nights ago.”

  The storm clouds vanished in an instant, and with a growl, he pinned her to the bed with his body and cut off anything more she might have had to say.

  Three men waited in a sparsely furnished room. No longer wearing their daytime attire of black suits, cream shirts and black leather shoes, but dressed instead in jeans, T-shirts and leather jackets. The Alpha Werewolf didn’t seem particularly anxious, but the other two were sweating bullets. The boss had called them to an urgent meeting, and that couldn’t be good news. Especially after the night’s events. That had been a major fuck-up, and someone was going to pay.

  “Calm down, Jarrod,” the Alpha commanded. “You’re going to Change if you don’t get yourself under control.”

  Jarrod snarled back at his Alpha, but made an effort to take his anxiety down a level. Footsteps sounded down the corridor outside.

  The door burst open, and a man stormed in. The rage pouring off him obliterated everything else about him. Even the Alpha took a step backwards, his cocky self-confidence suddenly not in evidence. The other two fell back a few steps, trying to get as far away from the man’s wrath as possible in the small room. They dropped their eyes to the ground, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

  “You fucking idiots!” The man’s voice was one decibel short of a roar. “How could you fuck up such a basic order so thoroughly?” The anger emanating from him was palpable. “I was supposed to be one Werewolf better off, instead I’m two Werewolves less. Do you have any idea how much that is going to cost me?”

  His voice had reached a level that was actually painful to the Werewolves’ ears. They hid grimaces. It was several minutes before he had finally vented the full force of his wrath. By then he’d had to pull a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the spittle from the corner of his mouth.

  “Sir,” the Alpha said, trying to keep the wolf’s angry snarl from his voice; it didn’t like being spoken to like that, but the wolf inside him didn’t know what this man was capable of, the lengths he would go to ensure loyalty. “Sir, we had no idea the Vampires would get involved. The sacrifice Barry and Tony made was to protect us all.”

  “Those capsules,” the man ground out between clenched teeth, “were only meant to be used in the most dire of circumstances. And by dire circumstances I mean that the subject is being tortured to the point where they will tell their torturers anything. NOT for simply being surrounded and outnumbered.” He stepped closer to the Alpha, speaking directly into the other man’s face. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” he screeched. “You’d better make sure that the rest of them understand what is meant by dire circumstances, or you, and more directly your family, will soon understand the meaning of the words dire consequences.” His breathing was at the point of panting, and his eyes flashed fire.

  The Alpha held his position, but his eyes were lowered. He was struggling to contain the rage of his wolf.

  “No more fuck-ups,” the man yelled. “You three imbeciles had better make this right. I want two new recruits to replace the two clowns who pulled the plug on themselves. And I want the other one. One more cock-up and we’ll see how well your little sister’s modelling career does with her face sliced up.” He spent another long second staring at the Alpha as the Werewolf fought to keep his features impassive, then he speared his gaze on the other two, as though reminding them that they had just as much to lose. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Gabi wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night spooning with Julius in his enormous bed, but duty called—for both of them. Gabi was already feeling sorry for Jonathon babysitting Rocky; he’d looked severely concerned when she’d dumped the jacket and the tiny creature in his lap. Julius probably needed to be doing his Master Vampire thing. Though he had trusted staff running his various business interests, she knew he kept an eagle eye on everything to do with his Clan. He didn’t protest when she dragged herself out of his arms, but lay tangled in the sheets and watched her as she dressed and tried to tame her unruly curls.

  “Come here,” he said suddenly.

  Gabi eyed him warily; it wouldn’t take much for her to fall back into bed with him.

  He smiled wryly. “I’m not going to try and keep you here, I just want to help you with your hair,” he explained. A hairbrush flew off the dresser and landed in his hand.

  “Show off,” she grumbled.

  He grinned, unaffected by her accusation. She succumbed and went to sit on the edge of the bed with her back to him.

  “I’ll pull out all the stops to try to impress the great Angeli Morte,” he said in a deadly serious voice as he gently threaded his fingers into her hair and began to work at the tangles.

  Gabi rolled her eyes, knowing he’d get the message. It only took him a few moments to remove the knots, but he spent an extra few moments just pulling the brush through her hair, then he swept it to one side and placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

  “I think you’re good to go, Lea,” he purred.

  It took every ounce of self-denial she possessed to stand up and walk away from him. She paused in the doorway, but didn’t look at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she whispered.

  “Call me before you go to sleep,” he said.

  She nodded and dragged herself away.

  She found Jonathon on a sofa, a laptop on his knees, browsing the internet with one hand. His other hand was cupped against his abdomen with the tiny squirrel curled up, fast asleep inside it.

  “It was the only way she’d settle down,” he told Gabi sheepishly.

  She let out a knowing chuckle. “She may be small, but she’s a professional manipulator already,” she told him as she went to grab the jacket hanging from a nearby chair. “Give her a grain of sand, and she’ll want the whole beach.�
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  Jonathon smiled and leaned back into the sofa, rubbing his eyes. Gabi wasn’t sure that Vampires experienced eye strain, but didn’t comment on his affectation. As she leaned over to gently scoop the furry critter out of his palm, she noticed the website open on the laptop. The majority of the screen was taken up with medical jargon, but one word repeated several times on the web page.

  “There are websites discussing lycanthropy?” she asked, surprised.

  The doc nodded. “If you know where to look. Those of us with a genuine interest share as much information as we can. The websites are heavily encrypted and as secure as we can make them,” he assured her.

  “Wow,” she said, impressed. “Anything interesting?” She settled Rocky back into the pouch inside the jacket, and the baby squirrel hardly stirred.

  “Well actually, tonight, yes,” the doc said. “One of the contributors to this website is a friend of mine. He’s a bio-chemical engineer, and his mother is a Magus, so he has a particular interest in the supernatural. He was approached last week by a very shadowy organisation who wanted information on lycanthropy. In particular, they wanted to know what kills and what sedates lycanthropes.”

  Gabi felt ice tingle through her.

  Jonathon looked up at her, concern on his face. “They were offering a large amount of money for genuine research.”

  “Damn,” Gabi breathed. “Do you think there’s a way that we can trace whoever is asking for the information?”

  He grimaced. “If anyone could’ve, it would’ve been Sebastian,” he said, referring to the Vampire computer genius who’d become a statistic in the war with Danté.

  “If we can find another computer whizz, would your friend help us to try and track these guys?” she asked.

  Jonathon nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think he would, but you’ll need to bear in mind that he has a career and reputation to maintain. Lycanthropes are nothing more than interesting bugs under a microscope to him.”

  “Okay.” She chewed on her lower lip, thinking. “Tell Julius about this, and I’ll contact Byron. If he can find someone with ace hacking skills, he’ll contact you, and we’ll see where this leads us. It could be nothing more than one of those paranormal magazines fishing for information.” But her gut instinct was telling her otherwise.