Preacher: Sons of Sangue

by Patricia A. Rasey

  And of course, that would never happen.

  Bobby rubbed his neck and yawned. He could’ve used a few more hours of sleep before Anton had come pounding on his bedroom door about an hour ago. Following one fantastic blow job and a few more hours of making love to Tena, exhaustion had finally claimed them. He’d bet Tena was still sound asleep and naked in his bed. Just the thought of her fantastic curves and incredibly responsive body had his cock at half-mast. The sooner they got this unpleasant business behind them, the quicker he could crawl back between her spread thighs and take his time loving her.

  Hell, he could spend his days between the sheets with her legs wrapping his waist and he didn’t think he’d ever tire of her. Bobby had found his equal in every way and that was a pretty heady thought. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship, let alone a life partner, when she came crashing into his space back at Murphy’s Tavern.

  When he got back to Oregon, he’d have to face Kaleb and answer to the Sons’ president for the rules he disregarded. He’d take whatever retribution Kaleb handed out. Even so, he planned to ask the man for permission to take the curvy blonde as his mate.

  Bobby had never been surer of anything in his life.

  Tena belonged with him.

  They belonged together.

  He hoped like hell she didn’t mind sporting fangs half as much as he had. Bobby had run clear across the continent to come to terms with it. But he’d be there for her, to hold her through the change, to absorb some of the liquid pain that would course through her veins.

  With any luck, Kaleb would grant him his wish.

  He hated the idea the club P might deny him and still remove her memories. Bobby couldn’t stand the idea of knowing all they had shared the past few hours with her having no recollection of it. Surely, Kaleb couldn’t be that cruel.

  Anton had promised to talk to Kaleb and go to bat for Bobby if need be. Kaleb had been known to be difficult to deal with at times. And since Bobby was once a member of their rival club, Kaleb wasn’t about to look upon him with any favors, even if he were a Sons member now. Anton had asked to bring him into the fold, the rest of the Sons had no such loyalty to him. Hell, they hardly knew him, and had the tables been turned, he might have felt much the same way.

  “You ready?” Anton brought his focus back to the job at hand as they pulled into the police station in Tena’s car. “Let’s get this shit over with so we can get the hell out of here.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Apologizing was a foreign concept to Bobby. Normally, anything he did was without regret. Not that he felt remorse for killing the murdering bastard, but making Anton come out here to mop up afterward was inexcusable. “Sorry, man.”

  “For what?” Anton threw the car into park. “You did the right thing, bro. I would’ve done the same. You saved a woman’s life.”

  “The difference is you would’ve been able to keep it from getting this far out of control.”

  “That goes without saying.” He chuckled. “But I’m here to fix it now. Once we’re done, we’ll get you back to Oregon and finish helping you embrace your new lifestyle. I’m just glad you’re coming around, bro.”

  “I’m still not sure how my faith all fits in, not sure I ever will.”

  Anton rubbed the whiskers on his jawline, the rasp filling the quiet space between them. “You think your God has abandoned the Sons because we’re vampires? Because human blood is like a fountain of youth that keeps us young and alive? We either partake or we die, bro.”

  Bobby had been doing a lot of thinking about it. The only answer he could come up with was he had cheated death. But had God wanted him to die, he would have no matter how much Anton tried to save his sorry ass.

  “You’re right, man. I don’t think He works that way.” Bobby smiled. “Let’s get this show on the road so we can get the hell out of here. Cop shops still aren’t high on my places to visit.”

  Several minutes later, they stood in the office of the detective handling the case. Yesterday, no one in the entire office would talk to him, let alone allow him beyond the secured door. Anton had simply stared into their eyes, and with a few spoken words, had easily gained access and gotten the detective talking, while filling in a few blanks of his own for the unsolved case. By the time they left, Bobby was convinced Anton would have the detective discarding his search for the Good Samaritan.

  The detective nodded. “Correct. The man who was murdered, we believe was attempting to kill the woman taken to the hospital. What we don’t know is who killed the man and stopped him in the process of murdering the young lady. This man saved her life.”

  “You have no idea who that was?”

  “No.” He tapped his pen on the desk, his eyes still unfocused from the power of the hypnosis.

  “And you no longer care,” Anton provided. “The man is surely many miles away. He’s not important to the case.”

  “We don’t believe he’s important to us,” the detective repeated.

  “You will stop looking for him.”

  “We’ll consider this case closed as far as we’re concerned.”

  Anton smiled at Bobby. “I believe we’re done here.”

  “Just like that?”

  “See why you need to learn?” Anton winked at Bobby before standing and shaking the detective’s hand. “You won’t remember our visit.”

  “Visit?” The detective’s gaze shadowed over.

  Anton left him staring into space as they walked out of the police station, having made the same declaration to all present. Anton also had a short chat with the dispatch and the live video feed would all be erased. There would be no evidence they were even there.

  A pretty freaking cool skill if you asked Bobby, one he planned to learn as soon as they returned to the west coast. No more denying what he had become. It was time to embrace the gift.

  Bobby slapped Anton on the shoulder as they walked from the station and headed for Tena’s car. “Thanks, man.”

  “No need to thank me, bro. Just get your ass back to Oregon and I’ll convince Kaleb to go easy on you.”

  “Yeah? How about giving me one more day, Rogue? Then I promise Tena and I will get on my bike and head out first thing in the morning.”

  Anton chuckled, no doubt knowing Bobby’s reasoning. “One day, bro. Then it’s back on the road.”

  Chapter 14

  Tena stood on the worn wooden deck, waving. Her car backed out of the parking lot with Chad behind the wheel. Gravel crunched beneath the tires before hitting pavement and heading down the coastal road toward the highway. Chad was driving Ivy, as well as Anton, and Kimber, who had flown to Maine, back to Oregon. By sundown, they should be a third of the way across the country. One road trip she was gladly sitting out on. Not that she wouldn’t have had fun with her coworkers, Chad and Kimber quickly becoming her closest friends, but spending alone time with Bobby took precedence.

  Bobby had tapped one of Ivy’s arteries before the foursome left, making sure he wouldn’t need to feed until his return to Oregon in a few days’ time. Much more and Tena would need to offer up sustenance, not that she was opposed to the idea. On the contrary, part of her secretly desired to, but Bobby had flat out refused, sighting something about rules and having enough to answer for.

  The idea of him sinking his fangs into her neck had the butterflies all out of whack in her stomach. Tena supposed her psyche must be somehow screwed up. The idea of real vampires should have scared the bejesus out of her. Instead, she found it hot as hell.

  Bobby draped an arm across her shoulders as her car faded into the distance. “It’s not too late, you know. I can still call them back if you’ve changed your mind. Cross-country on the back of my bike won’t be a luxury ride.”

  She turned and slapped her palm against his sternum. “And riding in that little car with three other people would be? Hell, I think Rogue took up half the real estate all on his own.”

  Bobby chuckled, humor lighting his gaze. “I’m
sure about halfway there, he’ll be having a few choice words for me, having put him in that position in the first place. He’s a damn good friend, but then I already knew that.”

  “I’m glad it’s working out for him and Kimber. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier.”

  “Same goes for Rogue. After all he went through, he deserves a good woman.” He tightened his arm around her shoulder and brought her tighter against his side and kissed her temple. “Just like I do.”

  Tena looked up at him. Her heart skipped a beat. “You deserve a good woman?”

  His whiskers moved as his lips quirked upward. “You got any good-looking single friends?”

  Narrowing her gaze, she said, “Bobby Bourassa, you better be joking.”

  “Or?”

  “Or I’ll crawl on that bike of yours myself and drive it home, leaving your sorry ass in Maine.”

  He laughed again, the sound coming from deep in his gut. “Anyone ever tell you not to touch an MC member’s bike without their permission? Especially a woman?”

  She tapped his chest with her forefinger. “You guys are a bunch of archaic, chauvinistic cavemen that need to get with the times. Women’s lib and all.”

  “Caveman, huh?”

  Not giving her time to respond, Bobby picked her up and draped her over his shoulder, leaving her backside skyward. His large hand smacked her ass, stinging her flesh. A tremor of desire snaked down her spine.

  They had twenty-four hours before they headed across the country.

  Twenty-four hours in which to convince Bobby they belonged together.

  Tena hadn’t exactly figured out how a relationship with a vampire might work, but Kimber and Anton seemed to be making a go of it, giving her hope. She wasn’t above using sex as a way to get what she wanted. The door to the cottage slammed shut behind them and Bobby headed for the bedroom where he promptly deposited her upon the queen-size mattress.

  Back-crawling to the headboard, she watched him yank his shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. His shorts quickly followed, leaving him gloriously naked.

  Good Lord, his momma and papa gave him good genes.

  The mattress dipped from his added weight before he began a slow crawl toward her. Her blood raced through her veins and her pulse beat heavily in her ears. Mr. Bear-alicious didn’t even begin to describe the naked vampire on his hands and knees before her. He was sex-alicious. Never had she been so turned on in her life.

  This vampire did that for her.

  Bobby braced his hands on either side of her head. “We need to talk, doll face.”

  She quirked one of her brows. “Seriously? You’re naked and … you want to talk? Can’t we get to the sex part first and talk later?”

  “Oh, we will.” His obsidian gaze held hers. “I plan on keeping you busy and sated. Let’s just hope you won’t be too sore to get on the back of my bike tomorrow. We have a long ride ahead of us.”

  Razor-sharp fangs protruding from his upper lip drew her gaze to his mouth. Tena ran her fingertips down his cheek to his lush lips, partially hidden behind his beard and mustache. He was oh-so-sexy as a human. But as a vampire, he was downright sinful.

  Bobby gripped her wrists and pinned them above her head. “Talk first.”

  “If you must.” She let out a shuddering breath. “Can you blame me for wanting to get to the good part?”

  “Trust me, I’m just as anxious. But there’s something that we need to discuss first.”

  Tena’s tongue darted out as her gaze dropped to his mouth, earning her a growl. He dropped his hold on her and slanted his lips over hers, kissing her deeply, one full of equal parts passion and possession, before kissing a path to the soft point of her neck.

  “And then you’ll bite me?” Her words trembled out of her.

  She didn’t know why, but the thought of him sinking his fangs gum deep into her throat damn near had her on the brink of an orgasm. She licked her lips again, drawing his heated gaze.

  “Talk.”

  “Fine.” She all but rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest to keep from reaching for Bobby and outright attacking him. “You should’ve kept your clothes on, then I wouldn’t be so distracted.”

  “Which is why I haven’t ripped yours off yet.” He winked at her. “Once we talk, I’m all yours.”

  “Promise?”

  “Absolutely. Something tells me I’d love to see your dominant side.”

  It was her turn to laugh. Oh, she would make him enjoy every second of it, starting with her lips wrapping…

  His knuckle tipped her chin up. “Eyes up here.”

  “Can I help it that you’re so damn sexy?”

  “Glad you think so.”

  “So what is more important than you and me getting our freak on?”

  Bobby sat back on his haunches, shaking his head. His laughter was most definitely contagious. The sound of it wrapped her in warmth. But truthfully, Tena was more than ready to get past whatever he needed to talk about, because him sitting there naked as the day he was born was a huge distraction. She could barely concentrate on his words.

  “Well?”

  “I’m a vampire.”

  “A little hard not to notice.”

  “You’re a human, and according to Sons of Sangue rules, you and I can’t happen.”

  “I’ll become a donor like Ivy.”

  Bobby scratched his nape. “Not happening, doll face. Ain’t no one tapping those arteries but me.”

  Tena drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “So how do we fix this?”

  “When we get back to Oregon, I plan to ask Kaleb to take you as my mate.”

  “Mate?” What the hell was a mate? “Like a girlfriend?”

  Bobby shook his head. He reached out and grabbed one of her hands, interlocking their fingers. “More like a wife.”

  Her breath left her body. Her shoulders slumped. She was all about the sex. A relationship, yes. But was she ready to promise him her forever? “We hardly know each other. What if you wind up hating me?”

  “Not possible.” His gaze held hers. “One more thing.”

  She nibbled on her fingernail. Could they do it? Through sickness and in health? The idea of not having him in her life, gave her pause, more so than the idea making this thing more permanent. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about sharing. Bobby would be hers.

  “Do you love me?”

  For a moment she thought he’d out-and-out deny the silly emotion. Finally, he said, “I’ve lived my life not knowing what I was looking for. Hell, I wasn’t even aware I was looking until I met you. Being tossed about the foster care system teaches you real quick to look out for yourself.

  “I thought walking away from you was the best thing I could do for you when I woke up after my change and realized I was a monster. I hadn’t counted on you following me. I tried damn hard to push you away. And even after you saw the vampire come out, you didn’t run. I have no fucking clue why, but you didn’t. And it was then I realized how scared I was that you would see me as some sort of a freak. I wanted you to accept me. I needed you to be there for me and you were.”

  Bobby ran a finger down her cheek. “You made me so fucking ecstatic to know that you weren’t going to turn your back on me as so many had in my past. Christ, my heart swelled at the thought of all you were willing to overlook just to be with me. Yeah, doll face, if what I’m feeling isn’t love, then I doubt I’ll ever know what the hell it is. What about you? You think you could love a beast?”

  She smiled. “You big goof. I fell in love with you back in Oregon. Why do you think I chased you across the continent? Ummm… You mentioned one more thing? What else is there, Preacher?”

  Bobby winced. “Being my mate involves you becoming a vampire.”

  Her mouth dropped. Seriously? Tena was all in at forever, happily ever after, but sporting her own set of fangs? “Kimber…”

  “Kaleb allowed Kimber and Anton to remain
as is for the time being. He has history with the club. I don’t.”

  “And if I say no?”

  “Then when we return they’ll erase your memory of me.”

  Tena toyed with the hem of her shirt, having trouble looking Bobby in the eyes. It was one thing coming to terms with him being a vampire. But becoming a bloodsucker herself? It didn’t seem fair to come this far, to find the one man she wanted to spend her life with—better yet, the one person who wanted her in his life forever—only to lose it all because of her fear of the unknown.

  Oh. Heck. No.

  Part of loving someone meant being all in. So if becoming a vampire was what she had to do to keep Bobby in her life, to not turn her back on him, then fear or no, she would do what she had to. She wanted her happily ever after, damn it, regardless of what she had to do to get it.

  “Yes.”

  Bobby’s fingers gripped her chin and tilted up her gaze. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying I love you, Bobby. And if it takes me becoming a vampire to be with you, then I’ll do it. The idea of forgetting what we shared makes me nauseous.”

  His grin reached his eyes. “I will make it my life’s mission to make sure you never regret going through the change for me.”

  Moisture filled her eyes. “I’ll hold you to it.”

  “Please don’t cry”—he wiped away a lone tear escaping her lashes—“or I swear I won’t let you go through with it.”

  “You will, or I’ll petition the Sons of Sangue myself.”

  Bobby leaned in and kissed her, drawing her lower lip between his. She tasted the flavor of her own blood as his fangs nicked the soft flesh. He used his tongue to quickly soothe the sting. Sitting back, he framed her face in his palms. “How about we table this discussion for a later date?”

  “You mean you’re finally done talking?”

  His grin grew, washing her in warmth and love. Yes, this beast of a man loved her. She could feel it all the way to her marrow.