“Last but not least, I want you to meet Tahlia and Jemima.”
The first thing she noticed about the pair was the fact that they were an extremely attractive couple, just like Inger and Paloma. The only difference was that the darker of the two women exuded an unmistakable authoritative presence. She glanced into the midnight-black eyes of the woman and swallowed. They were so dark that there was almost no sign of any irises. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she slowly reached for Clarissa’s hand.
The dark vampire took a step forward and Jessica whimpered softly as she tightened her grip on Clarissa’s hand. The vampiress came to stop a few feet from her. If ever she’d wondered what a vampire looked like, there was no doubt that the specimen before her was one. The tall, black-clothed six-foot-plus frame almost throbbed with power. Jessica couldn’t help feeling as if a predator was sizing her up.
“Welcome to the family, Jessica,” Tahlia said in a deep contralto and held out her hand. Jessica stared at that hand as if it would change into a claw right before her eyes. She felt a soft nudge from behind and reached out a shaky hand. She was pleasantly surprised to feel warmth transfer from the woman’s hand to her own. When she looked up, it was to find the black eyes glowing with amusement. “You need not fear me, Jessica. Instead, be afraid for those who in future attempt to harm you.”
Stunned by the unusual words of welcome, Jessica could only stare at the deadly vampire. As strange as the welcoming was, she had to admit, it was extremely reassuring to know that she had such a powerful ally.
Tahlia turned away and held out her hand. Her beautiful, blonde partner joined her and Jessica felt herself relax, immediately, at the sight of the woman’s brilliant smile. They were like night and day. From the way the dark vampire suddenly seemed less lethal when the blonde joined her, it was blatantly obvious that the blonde held immense power in their relationship.
“Hi, Jessica,” she said softly and startled Jessica when she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Charmed by the gesture, Jessica automatically smiled back at the woman.
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you all.” She leaned back against Clarissa. “I am especially glad that you were there for Clarissa. I’m indebted to you all for taking care of her until I could find her again.”
The silence in the room was deafening, as all the eyes once again focused on her. Inger stepped closer and placed her hand on Jessica’s shoulder.
“You are the best thing that could’ve ever happened to Clarissa. I believe I speak for all present when I say that we are very proud to have you join our family.”
Blushing lightly, Jessica threw a quick glance at Clarissa. A long, red tear streaked down her lover’s cheek.
“Hey …” She gently wiped the tear away.
A soft sniffle sounded and, turning to find its origin, Jessica was stunned to find Inger looking at her with wet eyes. Wait a minute … Why were her tears not red like …
“Inger is human. We have three humans, including you, in our fold,” Clarissa murmured softly in her ear. That makes sense, she thought. Inger was the least intimidating figure in the room.
As Jessica looked on, the pale-eyed vampiress enfolded Inger in a tender embrace, kissing her gently on the forehead. She turned wide eyes on Clarissa and found the vampire lifting a questioning eyebrow.
“This is so surreal,” she whispered softly and saw Clarissa’s eyebrow hike even higher.
“They are vampires, Jess. There is no whispering around them. They can hear you clearly.”
Jessica blushed again. Clarissa took pity and pulled her into her arms.
Inger came over and took Jessica’s hand.
“Now that you know you will not be on my menu for dinner, maybe we could go find real food while the night crawlers have their meeting. Gabriella should be waiting for us in the hotel restaurant.” Her sapphire eyes twinkled, as Jessica blushed guiltily. Not waiting for a reply, she dragged her to the door.
Jessica turned back and found Clarissa’s brown eyes resting on her, an exquisite look of love in them.
Her grey eyes melted as she looked at her gorgeous lover.
< See you later.>
Inger chuckled softly and pushed her through the door and toward the stairs. “It’s really cute to see you two make cow eyes at each other,” she teased gently. “I have been with Paloma for twenty years now and we still can’t seem to get enough of each other.”
Shocked, Jessica stared glanced at Inger. “Twenty years? That’s a long time.”
“Yep, and it’s been wonderful. I don’t regret one single minute of it.” She smiled dreamily. “I met Paloma through my mother when I was twenty.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes. Paloma and my mother are childhood friends.”
Frowning slightly, Jessica stopped before they reached the stairs.
“Your mother …? Have I met you mother tonight?”
Inger grinned. “Tahlia. She and my other mother, Jemima, raised me since I was eighteen months old.”
“T … Tahlia is your mother? Really?” Jessica’s eyes were big as she stared at Inger. “But …”
“I know, she’s a bit intimidating. But she’s a big softy and really sweet.”
Jessica barely stopped the snort of disbelief lest she offend the Inger. “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. I can believe that of Jemima.”
Inger smiled and pulled Jessica along.
“Jemima was the stricter of the two and she never let me get away with anything. Tahlia, I could wrap around my pinky. She is very laid back.”
“Yeah, that I need to see.” Realizing she had said that out loud, Jessica clasped her hand over her mouth.
Inger chuckled. “She is not what she seems at first glance, but once you really get to know her, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Now come, I’m starving. We can talk some more over dinner.”
†
Tahlia waited until everyone was seated. “We have found the mole within the agency and he is being dealt with as we speak.” Her black eyes were cold as she studied her folded hands. “Irmgard called Wolfgang for a meeting at her place where she passed on sensitive information, swearing him to secrecy. She had him followed from her place to his own, and later to a bar where he met with a man suspected to be an informant for Mary.” She looked up slowly. “It is safe to assume that Wolfgang was the one who bugged the conference room, because a search of his house delivered a few audio tapes containing recordings of our meetings.”
Tahlia gracefully came to her feet and walked over to the window. “Jonas, I want you to accompany Clarissa to her meeting with Mary. I do not foresee any trouble, since Mary seems to be convinced that Clarissa has been turned. It could be useful to know why she is so desperate to meet with Clarissa.”
She turned away from the window and made eye contact with everyone in the room. When she met the beautiful, blue eyes of Jemima, she felt her anger subside slowly.
“Mary is fickle, and, therefore, I want us all to be on guard, armed and ready to engage at a moment’s notice. While Jonas and Clarissa are inside, we will wait outside. If they do not come out, we will go in and get them.” She pursed her lips. “Prepare yourselves, because, no matter what, Mary Huntington will not survive this night.”
“When do we move out, Tahlia?” Pierre’s blue eyes were hard, a sign, Tahlia knew, that he was mentally preparing himself for the imminent battle.
“We meet back here in an hour. This will give us enough time to go out and feed.”
Tahlia stayed behind, as the others filed out of the room. She quickly walked over to where Jemima sat waiting for her. Tahlia knelt in front of the blonde, taking her hand and bringing it to her lips.
“Promise me you will listen to what I have to say before you bite my head off, please.” Jemima’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she nodded slowly. “I do not trust Mary, Jemi
. And I have this strange feeling that she might be after the girls. I know you do not like it when I go into battle without you, but tonight I beg you to take care of our daughters. I cannot leave them alone with Genevieve, you know how Inger is. She is bound to get them all into trouble.”
After her impassioned plea, she sat back and waited for Jemima’s answer. The blue eyes stared deep into hers for a long while, before the blonde sighed.
“Ok. However, I need your promise that you’ll come back to me tonight…in one piece.” She cradled Tahlia’s face in her palms. “I love our daughters fiercely, but I can’t go on without you.”
Tahlia moved her head and placed a kiss in Jemima’s palm. “I promise to come back to you, my love. Knowing you are waiting for me is incentive enough to rush back to you.”
They shared a kiss and ended up with their foreheads touching.
†
Even with all the noise in the large dining room and her actively taking part in a discussion about the origins of the Royal Clan, Jessica knew the exact moment when Clarissa entered the dining room. All her senses immediately blocked out everything and everyone around her only to center in on one particular spot. Her spoon paused in mid-air and she cocked her head to the side. No, she wasn’t mistaken. There was an inaudible buzz in the room. She glanced at the other diners to see if they could detect it, but they continued with their activities, oblivious to the soft humming. When she looked at her dinner companions, they were both looking at her, smiling.
“You’ll get used to it. It’s like she has this homing device that only you can zero in on. Freaky, isn’t it?” Gabriella said, as she studied Jessica from over the rim of her wine glass.
“Do you hear it?” Jessica asked carefully of the other two women.
“Probably not as loud as you do, but yes, we do.” Inger shrugged. “We can sense each other’s presence anywhere and everywhere, but bonded pairs have a stronger link, or in this case, frequency.”
Not needing to hear anything more on the subject, Jessica decided to test the theory. She turned in her seat to glance at the door and almost swooned at the sight of Clarissa making her way over to them. The brown eyes held hers captive, as Clarissa came toward them, causing the spoon to slip out of her nervous fingers and clatter onto the table.
She watched, transfixed, as the vampire made her way through the tables to her. She moved so beautifully, graceful but purposeful. Jessica recalled the gorgeous creature sitting on top of her, Jessica’s fingers buried deep inside of Clarissa. A slow heat pulsed to life in her lower extremities at the memory. She heard a faint snickering and reluctantly broke her gaze from Clarissa’s. She found the two sisters grinning at her.
“You’ll have to learn to control your thoughts, Jess,” Gabriella smirked, as she bumped lightly against a grinning Inger. “I’m sure that everyone in the restaurant can guess your thoughts by simply looking at you now.”
She blushed and quickly looked away.
“Ladies,” Clarissa greeted the grinning sisters, her gaze locked on Jessica. “Would you mind if I stole Jessica for a moment?”
With identical mischievous smiles, the sisters nodded, making Jessica blush even deeper. Clarissa held out her hand and helped Jessica out of the chair. Jessica frowned when they walk toward the bathrooms instead of the exit door, as she had initially expected. They entered the restrooms and without a word, Clarissa bundled her into an unoccupied stall and locked it behind them. Before she could ask what they were doing in a toilet stall of a five-star hotel, Clarissa spun around and pressed her against the cool wall, kissing her as if they’d been separated for weeks.
“Oh.” She gasped when she felt the zipper on her jeans being slid down. Clarissa’s hand slipped in, pushing her pantries aside and two fingers slid into her. Her arms curled around the broad shoulders, as she pressed her mouth against Clarissa to swallow the soft grunts coming from the blonde. The slick friction was driving her insane and she was glad that her mouth was already occupied lest she crack the foundation of the twenty-floor hotel with her cries and cause a massive cave-in. Instead, she held on tightly to Clarissa and kissed her as if her life depended on it.
Clarissa stroked Jessica to a paralyzing climax, holding her upright when her legs gave under her. She pulled away from the kiss and Jessica struggled to focus slightly dazed eyes on her lover.
“We are about to leave now. I just wanted to say good-bye.”
Jessica swallowed hard to lubricate her dry throat, as she looked at the tall vampire standing very close to her, talented fingers still buried in her sex.
“Are we going to say good-bye like this every time?”
Clarissa smiled faintly. “If you like, yes.”
“I do. I like it very much.” She leaned closer and hugged her lover closer to her. “Please, be careful and come back to me. I’ll be waiting.” She pulled the black shirt away exposing a broad, tanned shoulder. She bit down hard, drawing blood and making the vampire shudder. “Just so that Mary knows you’re taken, I want you to carry my mark with you.”
She gently licked over the wound and stood back, looking into the Clarissa’s eyes. She was shocked to find them glowing red. She blinked quickly and found they had shaded back to brown.
“It is funny, you know,” Jessica murmured as she studied Clarissa closely.
“What is, love?”
“You vampires go around biting people, but you balk at a tiny little nip from our kind.” The corner of Jessica’s mouth lifted in a teasing grin. “You’re such a sissy.”
Clarissa shook her head. “My reaction had nothing to do with pain. Instead …” She grabbed Jessica’s hand and held it against her sex. “I find it most erotic.”
Jessica slowly began to move her hand where it rested. She heard the soft intake of breath as Clarissa bucked her hips. She leaned forward and gave Clarissa a hard kiss.
“Let me make it better, sweetheart.”
Clarissa nodded. “Just make it quick. I cannot wait anymore.”
Chapter 13
Thomas Bauer quivered under the unblinking stare of the vampire. It was at times like these that he didn’t give a damn about the expensive cars and fast women that the money she gave him bought. He just prayed that he could conclude this meeting – alive.
She’d wanted complete assurance that the Royal had gone rogue and he’d brought her the information. Hopefully, this would be the last time he had to deal with her. He watched the vampire as she studied him over the rim of her goblet. His breath hitched when she lowered the glass and he saw the thick, red stain on her lips. Blood! He felt his heart constrict and averted his eyes.
Soft, taunting laughter filled the quiet room and he quickly looked up, only to take a hasty step backward. Mary was standing a few feet away from him, her eyes glowing with an unholy light in her hard face.
“For the second time, you bring me this same piece of information, human. Has it crossed your mind that this is all you are privy to?”
Puzzled, he shook his head.
“I … I don’t understand,” he stumbled nervously, scared stiff of the cold woman standing in front of him. What is different this time? Usually she would just stand across the room from him and listen to whatever information he had to give her and then she’d dismissed him. She was acting out of character tonight and he knew, instinctively, that it didn’t bode well for him.
Mary took a slow step forward, her whole appearance menacing.
“Has it not crossed your pea-sized brain that they are onto you and are feeding you fabricated information?”
Thomas’s heart skipped a beat. Wolfgang was a reliable source and was well-respected by his colleagues. It was impossible to think that they would suspect him. Or … were they too lax, perhaps.? He shuddered at the thought. Mary was not going to like it if the latter were true.
Mary snorted and slowly started to circle him. He could smell her power, her evil. He felt her hand on his shoulder and with a yelp he jumped away from her. W
hen he turned to face the vampiress, he felt a slow stream of wetness trickle down his pants. Gone was the woman; in her stead was a very angry, hungry predator. Mary’s skin was pulled tight around her face and it was dreadfully pale. But it was her eyes, which held him spellbound. They blazed a deep red as they stared at him, unblinking.
“You have played right into their hands, you idiot.” She spat the words at him. Her hand snaked out and she dragged him to her. “For that you will pay with your life, human.”
She slammed her fangs deep into his jugular, prompting another stream of urine staining his Armani dress pants.
The pain was unbearable, but Thomas had a few desperate seconds to think about his expensive sports car parked in a shadowy part of the castle grounds, his million dollar penthouse apartment, and the gorgeous, young model he was supposed to have dinner with later. With a soft sigh of regret, he gave in to terror and eventually death.
†
Mary tossed the lifeless body away from her and threw her head back, enjoying the way the thick warm liquid trickled down her throat. At least the human was good for something. His adrenaline-filled blood was just what she’d needed. Without turning to Geoff, she spoke.
“Get the men ready for war. As soon as Clarissa gets here, bring her to me.”
She glanced at the body of the human. Blood never lies. He, too, suspected the Royals of launching a surprise attack. She stood still as the man’s life played off in her head. He was driven by greed and had made countless enemies in achieving his goal. He did manage to obtain it all, but still greed, the insatiable monster, drove him to want more.
She grimaced. He reminded Mary of herself. Her human life almost ran parallel with his. She’d also wanted the biggest castle, the fanciest clothes and, of course, the influence a title brought with it. She was aiming to be a Duchess, but just as it was within her reach, Tristan re-entered her life and made her a much better offer. She never regretted the choice she’d made then. She didn’t need a title. She was the last surviving member of the Supreme Renegade Council. She was a goddess to her followers. If only she could get Clarissa to join the ranks. She was created by Tristan and had a responsibility to ensure the continued existence of the Renegade Council and their Race.
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