Vampire Coalition - Complete Collection

by J. S. Scott

  If you'd just mate with the council's choice, you could go back to being quiet and withdrawn. You could completely hide your emotions again.

  Liam would no longer be in danger from the mage. She would mate to protect Liam from the wrath of the mage, even if it meant never seeing Liam again.

  "You're still here."

  Regan's head jerked to the other side of the room and her heart raced as the deep baritone flowed over her body, flooding it with relief. "Liam," she breathed softly as she came to her feet, wanting to throw her arms around him as she met his dark eyes with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?"

  He grinned at her reassuringly. "I'm fine. Which is more than I can say for the fallen."

  He was hiding something, forcing that smile. Regan had seen his various expressions for long enough to know when he was holding back the truth. "You had to kill?"

  "You should go. Get some sleep," he yawned broadly, obviously trying to change the subject.

  Regan's eyes shot to the clock. It was still several hours before he would be able to give himself up to day sleep. "Liam Hale, answer my question."

  He sighed as he dropped the veil of pretense. "Yes. I had no choice. We were outnumbered. It was either dust a few fallen or watch my brothers get beheaded. It wasn't a difficult choice," he finished calmly.

  She took his hand and tugged him toward the stairs. "Come to bed."

  "Sweetheart, I would have killed to get that offer from you a few hundred years ago," he breathed softly in her wake as she pulled him up the stairs.

  Ignoring his innuendo she demanded quietly, "How many?"

  "Three."

  "Oh God, Liam. It's horrible if you have to dispose of one." She stopped beside the bed. "Undress."

  Regan could see the signs of pain registering on his face and he didn't argue. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up before he evaporated his jeans, t-shirt and every other article of clothing from his body.

  Tears flowed freely from her eyes, knowing what was to come. How could she bear to see him suffer...again? And three times worse than she had ever seen it before. Regan took up her usual place on the floor beside his bed for her vigil, closing her eyes briefly to gear herself up for a tense few hours.

  "Hey," Liam's husky voice sounded from the edge of the bed as his hand reached out to stroke her cheek softly. "Don't cry for me, Regan. I can take it. I'm used to it."

  She didn't answer as she opened her eyes and the tears flowed faster. He might be resigned to what was to come, but Regan didn't think she could ever get used to watching Liam in pain.

  "Go home. I want you to. I'll be fine tomorrow." His fingers wiped away her tears, but they continued to stream from her troubled blue eyes.

  "No."

  "Yes. Go now."

  "Absolutely not."

  "Stubborn." His voice was starting to slur and he pulled his hand back as he curled inward to absorb the pain.

  Backlash!

  It was already starting with a vengeance.

  "With you...I have to be stubborn." Regan's chin came up and she ground her teeth as she stroked his wayward hair away from his face. She wasn't about to leave him when he needed her.

  "Ah...fuck!" Liam shouted as he started to shiver and Regan flinched as his body buckled and thrashed.

  Shit. She hated this. Regan had been through this numerous times before with Liam after he had needed to take the life of a fallen. He felt backlash pain every time he took a life. Any life. It didn't matter that he was ridding the world of evil. Backlash was guaranteed any time a vampire healer killed. And three? Dear God, it was painful when he had to extinguish one fallen. This was going to bad.

  Really bad.

  The intensity of the attack kept getting worse over the next ten minutes. Liam was incoherent and writhing on the bed. Regan knew the fact that he hadn't fed wasn't helping and she cursed his distain for feeding. Damn it. Why did he have to be so...so...moral? Any other time she might have laughed at the thought, but she wasn't rational when it came to Liam being in horrible pain.

  Liam was usually coherent during backlash. Hurting, certainly, but nothing like this. He usually talked his way through it while she stayed beside his bed and tried to take his mind off of his discomfort until he could fall into the oblivion of day sleep.

  I feel so damn powerless! And I'm a mage healer.

  A mage healer. She was a mage healer, and although healing a vampire wasn't exactly her specialty, Regan wondered if one of her spells might work on him and help relieve some of his misery.

  Regan tried to think rationally, her thoughts frantically going over various options. Maybe she could try something to throw him into his day sleep early...and he could drink from her. Her power was nothing compared to Liam's, but her blood was certainly stronger than a human's.

  She didn't hesitate as she stood and pulled her pink tank top over her head and shoved her jeans down her legs. Kicking them off, she slid quickly into the bed beside Liam, clad in only a delicate pink bra and panties. Body to body contact might help. She would use any benefit she could get from being close to him. She wasn't sure this would work on a vampire, but she needed her healing magic to connect with him.

  Regan chanted the familiar spell without thinking about it as she scooted up against Liam's thrashing, groaning body. Oh God, please let this work. I can't stand to see him like this. Her heart was aching as she finished reciting the magical words of the spell, willing her strength and power into his body as she wiggled against him, her back to his front.

  Yanking her hair aside, she reached behind her and pulled his face against her neck. "Bite me, Liam." Her command was firm and loud, hoping his instinct would take over. "Take my blood."

  She closed her eyes, willing him to strike her neck. His body straightened as his arm encircled her waist and his lips nuzzled the vulnerable skin of her neck.

  Yes. Take what you need. Bite. Please.

  Regan nudged back and stretched her naked skin against his. She shivered as the light hair on his thighs and chest abraded her smooth skin. His body was blazing hot and now firm against hers, turning them both into a furnace. She pushed against him, willing him to take what she offered, begging him to take it. Cocking her head to one side to allow him better access, she pressed her hand more firmly to the back of his head.

  "Regan," she heard his tortured groan as his tongue traced her vein before he sunk his fangs into her exposed skin.

  The initial strike was painful and her body tensed with the shock, but the slow suck and draw lulled her into a place of pleasure that she had never experienced before. She squirmed against him and buried her fingers into his hair as she encouraged him to take whatever he needed from her.

  She tried to concentrate on her magic, but the experience was so erotic and her body so heated that she wanted to reach her other hand into her panties and find release. Her body arched back into him and she released a hungry moan. "Liam." His name came out soft and breathy.

  Regan swallowed a squeak of frustration as she felt him disconnect and close the tiny puncture wounds. His warm palm moved in a soothing, circular motion over her quivering belly as his tongue continued to lap at the punctures, laving over the tiny wound in sensual circles.

  He finally buried his face in her hair at the side of her neck, panting wildly. "Did you know?" he asked her in a breathless, husky voice that was coherent but still filled with pain.

  Confused but relieved that her idea had worked and he was talking, she replied, "Know what?"

  "That we're mates."

  His voice was demanding and she couldn't deny it. It wasn't a guess. Somehow, he knew the truth. "Yes," she admitted in a strangled voice, her body quivering.

  His other arm came around her like a vise, locking her firmly against him. Her ass was pressed against something intrusive, large...and extremely hard.

  Oh, holy shit! Regan knew exactly how he knew she was his mate. The evidence was pressed firmly against the cheeks of her ass.r />
  The mystery was solved and the secret of releasing a healer's mating instincts was no longer an enigma.

  "An intimate act with your chosen mate will release the mating instincts of the vampire healer..."

  The act of intimacy was the taking of blood from their chosen mate. Was it always like that, or had it been so sensual only because she was his mate?

  "Liam, I--"

  Regan never got to finish her statement. Liam flipped her to face him and his mouth covered hers with a ravenous hunger and swiftness that took her breath away. Before she could blink, she was engaged in a kiss so hot that any thoughts that she had flew from her mind as his desire and her own completely consumed her.

  *****

  Chapter 3

  Mine!

  Liam's blood was pounding so hard through his body that all he could focus on was the roaring in his ears and the primal desire and possessiveness that swamped his entire being.

  Regan. Soft. Feminine. Hot. His to possess, his to claim.

  My mate!

  There was no technique or skill involved as he claimed her mouth with his and forced his powerful thigh between her silky legs. Raw need raged through him as he ravaged her mouth, his hand behind her head to keep her lips accessible. His nostrils flared as he breathed in her feminine, light floral scent, a fragrance that made his already hard cock twitch and his heart hammer.

  He devoured her mouth like a starving man, his tongue marauding, conquering, sweeping the warm cavern, demanding her surrender. He growled in satisfaction as her arms crept around his neck and her tongue entangled with his, giving herself to him.

  Not enough. Not nearly enough.

  He barely gave them both a chance to breathe before he rolled her beneath him, desperate to stake his claim. Groaning with the satisfaction of having her pinned beneath him, he continued to own her lips and mouth, nibbling at her lips and then going back inside to insist she cede to his dominance.

  His hands wandered over her body, over her hips, touching every bare inch that he could access. His mind was lost in his need to conquer this woman, make her his in every conceivable way.

  His whirling brain tried to process the onset of a humming numbness that slowly crept over his body. Liam snarled, trying to fight the onset of day sleep.

  No! Not now. He needed. Had to have...

  "Liam?"

  He registered Regan's soft, concerned voice as he rolled onto his back so that he wouldn't crush her.

  Liam panted, trying to fight the urge to close his eyes, unable to process what was happening because of the unrelenting tug of day sleep.

  Damn it. Not now.

  But day sleep would wait for no vampire. It beckoned. He responded.

  She knew. Regan betrayed me. She knew that she was my mate.

  Liam could feel the backlash still beating at his vulnerable body. His mating instinct had taken over, covered the pain for a time, but now that he was being blanketed with the instinct to sleep...it tore through him again with a vengeance.

  As the day sleep yanked him toward darkness, Liam's last conscious thought was that the backlash didn't hurt nearly as bad as the thought of Regan's betrayal and rejection.

  His heart bled.

  And then he slept.

  *****

  I stayed with Liam too long.

  Regan felt panic rise in her body and adrenaline kick into high gear as she stuffed articles of clothing into her suitcase that sat open in a rocking chair beside her bed. It swayed erratically as she shoved each item into the growing pile. She didn't have any idea what she was packing, she simply opened drawers and threw things into the case until it was nearly too full to close.

  She should have left Liam to his day sleep immediately after the success of her spell had thrown him into an early slumber and taken her ass straight home, but she hadn't been able to leave his side and had fallen asleep curled into his body, not waking until an hour ago.

  Regan shot a nervous glance at her bedroom window and noticed that the sun was setting. She had to get away from here, as far away from Liam as she could possibly get before he woke. He would track her, find her, and she couldn't risk that.

  Sitting on the suitcase to close it, she grasped the tab and zipped it closed. Screw it. If she didn't have everything she needed, she would buy it when she was away from Colorado, away from Liam.

  Regan wanted to throw herself on the bed and weep, but she didn't have time to give in to the sorrow that was trying to devour her soul. To protect Liam, she had to leave and get herself so lost that she could never be found...by anyone.

  Her only other option was to try to convince Liam to reject her, release her. It was an alternative mentioned in The Book Of The Vampire Healer, a choice given only to healers. Somehow, Regan highly doubted that Liam would agree. She knew him well enough to be fairly certain that he would see her as a new responsibility...and he would take it seriously, whether he wanted her as a mate or not. The threat of the league of mage assassins wouldn't even budge the judgment of her stubborn vampire. Actually, it would probably cement his decision, claiming that she needed protection.

  Regan grunted as she hefted the heavy suitcase off of the chair and dropped it in an upright position. Her hands were trembling as she attached the pull strap to the case so that she could wheel it. The mage were strong, stronger than a human, but the suitcase felt like it was filled with lead. Or maybe it was the fact that the task was abhorrent to her and it was her heart that was full of lead. The thought of never seeing Liam again was tearing her apart, but what other option did she have?

  "Going somewhere?" The low, growling voice sliced through Regan like a knife and she spun around to see the object of her thoughts leaning against her bedroom door.

  His stance was casual as he rested one shoulder against the door frame, but Regan could sense the tension in his hard, muscular body. Her mouth went dry and her whole body froze. Just this morning she had been pinned beneath that enormous, powerful body and kissed to the point of insanity by those perfect lips that were now forming a small, mocking smile.

  "I-I-have to go out of town." Lame. Very lame. But it was the truth...sort of. She looked away, unable to meet his angry gaze. She licked her dry lips and stared at the cream colored wall off to his right. Be strong. Be strong. If he knows the truth he won't let you leave.

  "And what might that truth be, mate of mine?" Liam snarled as he advanced into the room. "That I'm good enough to have as a friend, but not as a mate?"

  Oh, shit. She had forgotten the mind communication between acknowledged mates. She shielded her thoughts, slamming a barrier down to contain her rampant emotions as she answered, "That's not true. Get out of my head, Liam. I don't appreciate having my thoughts read and analyzed by anyone but me." Her eyes shot to his face, furious at his invasion. Big. Mistake. Regan had never seen his face so intense, his eyes so stormy. Instinctively, she backed up as he slowly moved forward like a big cat stalking prey.

  "Yes, obviously you don't want to share much of anything with a lowly vampire," Liam snarled back as he crowded her, his body stopping as he literally had her back up against the wall. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you aren't going anywhere." His index finger traced her lips and slowly glided down her neck, stroking the lines of her collar bone. "Discovering my mate has put me in desperate need of a fuck, and I plan on getting what I want."

  Regan shivered as his tongue replaced his finger and he licked over the places his fingers had just traveled. His denim-clad thigh slid between hers and she was dizzy from his masculine scent that assaulted her senses. Even angry and uninformed, she wanted him. She should be feeling insulted by his blunt language and his I'm-taking-what-I-want attitude, but honestly, it heated her blood.

  No. No. I can't give in to him. Remembering all of the reasons that she had to flee, Regan pushed hard against his chest. "Liam, stop."

  It was like an insect swatting at an elephant. Liam grasped her wrists in one of his hands and trapped her hands
over her head, leaving her helpless. Her lower body was ensnared by his strong thigh and her hands were confined. She couldn't keep a moan from escaping as his mouth came down on hers, sweeping her into a dark tunnel of desire and need.

  Buttons popped as he tore her blouse open while his lips and tongue continued a relentless, volatile assault, demanding her full surrender. He tasted fiercely male, untamed and wild, and Regan's response was unconditional. She needed this. Needed him. She met his marauding tongue with carnal thrusts of her own that had him groaning into the embrace.

  He freed the front clasp of her bra and roamed her breasts, cupping the flesh, teasing the sensitive nipples until Regan could only arch into his hand, begging for more.

  Liam ripped his mouth from hers and Regan wanted to weep from the loss. "How does it feel to be touched by the lower class, Regan? I wonder if you'll like getting down and dirty with a vampire instead of the polite sex of a blue blooded mage," Liam panted as he pulled the remnants of her shirt and bra from her body. Her wrists were captured again and placed firmly over her head, making her breasts jut out from her body. He clasped her chin between his fingers of his other hand and forced her gaze to his. "There's nowhere to run. No place that I won't find you," he rasped harshly. "Did you really think that you could run away from me?" The question was rhetorical.

  "Liam, I wasn't really running from you. I-"

  "Save it! Right now I just want to fuck you. I'll have you screaming my name, begging for it, even if I'm not worthy of being your mate," he told her abruptly as he lowered his mouth to her beaded nipples, nipping and laving them with tortuous, erotic strokes that melted her bones and soaked her panties.

  Dear God, she had never seen Liam so fierce, so passionate, but it was her undoing. He was angry at what he believed was her rejection and she couldn't blame him, but maybe it was better if he continued to believe that. Maybe he'd eventually release her so that she could protect him.