Oh God. She tried to wait, to savor the glorious sensations, to revel in the beauty of his chiseled body beneath her, but it was no use. Her muscles quivered as the pressure cranked to an almost mind-numbing pinnacle in an instant. With her fingers against the damp skin of his chest, the cords of his neck strained and he shuddered between her legs. When his sex pulsed inside, she crashed around him yet again.
MARTIN WAS PUTTING away the last of the art supplies when the front door buzzer sounded from downstairs. One of the kids must’ve left something. A quick examination of the art room didn’t reveal a stray backpack or anything else that looked out of place. Mackenzie ran a tight ship; the place was immaculate.
He glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty. Dinner reservations weren’t for another half hour. Maybe Paul had decided to pick him up here, but surely he’d have called first. It was probably just the night janitor.
He rummaged around in a few cabinets looking for the cleaning spray and rag. All he had left to do was wipe down the tables and lock up. The classroom door clicked open, but his head was buried in a lower cabinet so he didn’t get up. “Did you leave something?” he called.
“Where is she?”
The man’s raspy I’ve-just-smoked-two-packs-of-cigarettes voice startled Martin. He bumped his head and turned around to see two men saunter into the room, their arms and legs moving in unison. With long black trench coats, combat boots and sunglasses, they looked like they’d just stepped out of The Matrix.
“Pardon me? Can I help you?” There was something familiar about them, although he couldn’t place their faces. Sweat broke out on his upper lip.
The shorter one yanked open a closet door. “‘Pardon me. Can I help you?’” he mimicked in a high-pitched voice.
What the…
“The woman. Mackenzie Shaw.” The other one took off his sunglasses and even from across the room, Martin could tell something was terribly wrong.
His heart beat like a bass drum behind his eardrums as he saw the whites of the man’s eyes were actually gray.
Oh, help me, Lord. “I…I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Don’t fuck with us. We can smell her all over this place. Where is she?”
Smell? What the hell?
“There is no Mackenzie Shaw here.” What did they want with her? Although they weren’t the same two men who showed up at the University the other day, their mannerisms were exactly the same. They definitely were affiliated.
“I didn’t ask if she was here. I asked where she was. Big difference.”
Martin glanced around the room. The one doing most of the talking blocked the door to the hallway. The other one stood on the far side of the room. With the student tables between them, if he ran, he might be able to reach the door behind him that led to the adjoining classroom. Could he make it?
“Either you tell us where she is and we’ll show you mercy, or you keep quiet and we won’t. It’s really that simple.” The boss reached out his clasped hands and cracked his knuckles. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Where the fuck is Mackenzie Shaw?”
“Okay.” Martin took a step forward as if he were going to cooperate, then in a flash, he jumped backward and ran through the adjoining door into the other classroom. He could hear tables crashing as the men gave chase. He made it to the exit and yanked it open.
As he ran down the stairs two at a time, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and speed dialed her number. Damn. Straight to voice mail. They were at the top of the stairs now, barreling down.
“Two men. After you.” He could hardly get the words out. They were right behind him. The short one was laughing again as if he were enjoying himself.
Something heavy hit him square in the back and he fell forward on the last stair and slid across the tile floor of the lobby, his chin acting as a rudder. The phone flew from his hand and shattered against the receptionist’s booth.
Strong hands grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and flung him through the air. He heard a high-pitched screeching again and thought at first it was the short man until he realized the sound had come from his own lips. It was his own screams he heard as his body smashed against the far wall of the lobby and he fell to the ground like a rag doll.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND how one minute you can be in complete control and the next you feel as though you aren’t.”
She had a damn good point and Dom wished he had an answer. “Yes, I know. It’s like a switch. But one thing’s for sure, I won’t risk hurting you.”
“So you could just leave me again? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked.
“I may have to physically leave, but I won’t desert you. That was wrong of me.”
Hurt simmered in her eyes. She stood up to carry their plates to the sink but he grabbed her wrist and pushed a little of his energies to her. Her lashes fluttered for a moment. “As long as you’ll have me, you’ll never be alone. We may not be standing side-by-side, but you’ll always be here.” He placed her open palm on his chest and watched her face soften. “And I pray you’ll forever let me be here,” he said as he lay her small hand over her own heart and covered it with his.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the gentle hum of her prana and the beat of her heart in rhythm with his. As long as she’ll have me. He hoped it’d be forever. Seconds, minutes, maybe hours ticked by as he held his hand over hers. Her warm energies swirled inside him and he pushed to her an equal amount of his. He felt as if he could soar off the highest peak and float to the heavens with her and wondered if she felt the same.
Her voice was soft when she finally spoke and looked down into his face. With her dewy eyes heavy with emotion, her full, slightly swollen lips, she was more beautiful to him than she had ever been before. “As far-fetched as all this is, this whole bizarre world of yours, it’s the missing piece of my life. It explains everything. So last night, as crazy as it may seem, I had a glimpse that maybe I did have a future.” He shivered when she ran a light fingertip along his temple, and pulled her onto his lap.
“Knowing why my family has experienced all these tragedies is very empowering. I couldn’t fight an unknown enemy, so I gave up and refused to think of my future no matter how much I wanted someone to…to love and love me back.” Her voice wavered. “But I can fight a known enemy and for the first time in my life, I felt there might be a future for me. One with you in it. That’s why when you left it hurt so much.”
He buried his face in her soft hair, letting it pool around him, and prayed Chuck had found some answers. And if he hadn’t, well, Dom would figure something out, because he couldn’t imagine life without her.
“I’m sorry. The thought of…of tasting you again that way is overwhelming. God knows I’ve wanted to.” He inhaled the natural fragrance in the fragile hollow of her neck. Oh, to taste her sweetness again. Maybe he—
No, he couldn’t.
Instead, he flicked his tongue against her skin and she melted in closer. It was clear to him she wanted him to do it almost as badly as he did. “I don’t know that I could ever try it without the fear I’d kill you. Wearing this cilice helps, but it’s certainly no guarantee.”
She pushed back and looked at him. “What are you talking about? A cilice?”
He lifted his wrist, indicating the leather band. “It’s a constant reminder to keep myself in check around you.” She looked confused. He’d have to show her. Would she freak out when she saw it? It was bound to look messed up.
Resting his elbow on the table, he carefully unbuckled the clasp and eased the strap away from his wrist. One by one, like the teeth of a zipper, a few of the steel studs released their hold. She gasped when a tiny trickle of blood dripped from a puncture hole in the tender skin of his inner wrist.
“What the hell are you doing to yourself?” Before he knew it, she’d touched a finger to his blood and put it to her lips. Instantly, the vibration in his head got stronger.
“Oh
my— That is— Wow.” She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. When she opened her eyes, the golden highlights in her green irises seemed to have deepened in color. “My God, Dom. I thought it was just a leather band you wore. But it’s cutting you. Why?”
“It’s nothing. Really. The small amount of constant pain deflects my focus if things should get out of hand with you. I seem to do better at controlling my urges when I have it on. When I don’t—well, that’s what happened last night. Last night I was out of control.”
“You’ve got to take it off. I don’t want you to hurt yourself to be with me. I had no idea. It looks so painful.” Her fingertips were like the brush of a feather against the torn skin and she kissed his palm. With her lips just inches from his blood, he pulled his hand away, but he couldn’t help wondering what it’d be like if she had more.
“Trust me, I’m fine.” It hurt like a mother, but hell if he’d admit it.
“I hate that I’m so hard for you and your people to be around. Please, Dom. Take it off.” Her fingers raked at her hair, taking several tries to get it behind her ear. She was shaken at the sight of his mangled skin.
“It takes the edge off. I’m like a pitbull with a barbed collar—manageable until the thing comes off. I’ll remove it…for now.” As he pulled the strap away from his skin, he sucked in a hiss of air through his teeth. Blood had dried around each spike and now acted like glue. Plastering on a fake smile, he ripped it off in one single movement. Dios mio.
Her face screwed up in knots and she jumped as she sensed his pain. Great. Now she was going to be acutely aware of the thing when he put it on again. He tossed it onto the table and, gripping her shoulders, he turned her away so she couldn’t see it, but he couldn’t sway her that easily.
“You’re hurting. Don’t give me that look. All this prana and mind-reading business isn’t one-sided, you know. I can feel how it hurts you almost as if I had it on myself. Let me get some salve and bandage it up. Shirl’s got to have a first-aid kit around her somewhere.”
“Not necessary. I heal fast. It’s feeling better already.”
She gave him a lopsided scowl and climbed off his lap. Nope, she wasn’t buying it. He heard her rummaging through the bathroom drawers, and a few minutes later she returned with a tube of ointment and a box of bandages.
“You may heal faster than I would, but I still know a nasty wound when I see one. You’re not putting that damn thing on again. Gimme your hand.”
Too bad. As long as she was around him, the device wouldn’t be far away.
He watched as she squeezed a small amount of ointment onto her pinkie finger. Cradling his forearm gently in her hands, she seemed to be examining the wounds for an extraordinarily long length of time. In his head he felt the beating of her heart increase its tempo and he ground his teeth together. No, he couldn’t let her go there. Making love to her was one thing, but if she took any more of his blood, he knew his willpower would be gone. Shredded. Zilch. Cilice or no cilice. Like committed couples who shared blood, his body would need that from her. It wasn’t a one-sided thing. If she fed directly from him, he would need to feed directly from her. But that would have disastrous results. He pulled away.
She scowled and grabbed his hand again. “Hold still, will you?” Then she gently touched her finger to each puncture wound.
“You were saying something about biting and making love. What do you mean? Is biting like a sexual thing?”
“Sometimes. Blood sharing is a common practice when we make love. Not necessarily when having sex just for the hell of it, but when there’s a deep emotional connection between committed couples, some feel the urge to share blood. Or so I’m told.”
She applied the last bandage and his eyes met hers. Yes, she felt the same urge. The urge to share blood. She wanted his, too.
“Committed couples? Have you ever shared blood with anyone?”
“No. Never had the desire till now and I’ve, uh…” He coughed. How could he word it so she didn’t think he was some easy man-whore? Hell, most unmated vampires were. Who was he fooling? He was no different. Before he’d met her, there weren’t many weeks that passed without several hook-ups. Casual sex to the extent his kind engaged in wasn’t as accepted a practice among humans. But it was a healthier, more acceptable way to deal with their aggressive natures. “I’ve had lots of experiences and… Well, it’s just never happened to me before. I wasn’t expecting it.”
“And it’s not something related to my being Sangre Dulce?”
“The bloodlust—yes. But the emotional connection, the need to drink from you—no. And you know your desire for me to take more of your blood?” He waited for her to nod her head. “I’ve got the same feeling, too. Like a drumbeat in my head. I want you to have some of mine again.” He’d hardly realized that was what the need had been, but seeing her taste the drop of his blood clarified what he hadn’t been able to define.
She was quiet. He’d have to tell her it was against Council rules to share with a human. Unless they had gone through the mating ritual.
“Mackenzie…I—” His lips went suddenly dry. “Given my family history, I freaked out.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
Why the hell had he even brought it up? Things had been going along perfectly fine without mentioning that. Just thinking about it made him feel sick. But there was something about the strength behind her eyes that made him want to tell her things he’d never felt comfortable sharing before. He wasn’t sure he could get the words out.
Running his fingers through his hair, he got up and walked to the window. The sun had dipped behind the distant horizon of the peninsula and washed the sky in enchanting shades of pinks and oranges. His heart banged against his ribs and when he felt an unfamiliar welling of emotion, he realized he was looking at the sunset as Mackenzie would.
“Is it dark enough for you to comfortably go outside?” she asked, as she gathered the dishes from the table. “Want to take a walk? I promise not to push you in. I might even let you give me a piggyback ride.”
The fresh air sounded good. He needed to clear his head. “Sure. But you couldn’t push me in even if you wanted to.”
“We’ll see.”
Her concern for his comfort outside suddenly registered. Could she even fathom what she did to him? That a simple thought or word from her was all it took for him to grovel at her feet? How just watching her made him forget an outside world even existed?
“Love those boots,” he said, as he watched her pull on the bright red galoshes he’d seen her wear earlier. If they weren’t obviously an adult size, he’d have sworn they belonged to a seven-year-old.
“Next time, I’ll have to bring my own. You’ll love them. They’re pink Hello Kitty ones.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“WATER BREAK. Catch you in five.” Lily left her class on the mats and walked down the hallway of the mixed martial arts studio.
She dialed the field office number. Was Dom back yet? She had assembled her team earlier and they’d be ready for orders as soon as he arrived. With nothing to do but wait, she headed to the Krav Maga center where she sometimes subbed as a martial arts instructor.
“You’re an angel, Lil,” Johnny Sinclair had said when she told him she’d be happy to take over his zero-dark-thirty class. “I’m working swing today at the precinct and have a full load of classes here this morning. Didn’t have time for coffee or breakfast. Back in thirty.”
If Dom didn’t arrive soon, it meant he probably wouldn’t be coming until this evening. She doubted his lack of UV sensitivity could last two full days in the sunlight. Was it a good sign that he didn’t come back right away? Maybe, maybe not.
As she rounded the corner, a strong pair of hands grabbed her waist, pushing her against the dark wall. Greedy lips met hers as her sports bra was shoved up over her breasts. Dipping his head, her visitor sucked roughly at her nipples.
“I love it when you surprise me like this. I on
ly have a minute. Think you can be fast?”
The zip of his fly was his answer and she dropped her workout shorts to her ankles. Turning around, she splayed her hands on the wall and arched her back.
Without any fanfare, he entered her hard and her breath caught in her throat as he growled. His fingers moved her hair aside and she felt his mouth against her neck. She had to bite her lip to keep from making a noise with her students just around the corner. Once, twice, three times and, as his fangs pierced her skin, she climaxed along with him. A moment later he sealed the twin puncture marks and withdrew. She pulled her shorts back up and straightened her sports bra as he zipped up his jeans.
“What a nice treat.” She kissed him long and slow as she ran her tongue along the tips of his fangs. He tasted warm and spicy. “But what the hell are you doing here? You know it’s not safe.”
“I have more information for you. The operation is going online within the week. Two females are set to ovulate and the males are ready to go. Several other capture orders are being undertaken as we speak. They hope to have five or six breeding pairs over the next few weeks.”
“Any closer to finding the location?”
“Unfortunately, no. It’s cloaked and they’re keeping it top secret. Just the researchers and the Overlord—I mean Pavlos—know where it’s at. Everyone else is on a need-to-know basis. All I’ve been able to determine is that it’s located somewhere west of the Cascade Mountains within about three hours of the city.”
“Baby, you’re good like that.” She grabbed his ass and yanked him close. “Now be careful.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Always.”
And with that, he released her and was gone.
Dom leaned against the cabin’s deck rail, the cup of tea now lukewarm in his hand, and stared into the darkness.
“My brother, Alfonso.” A bitter taste filled his mouth. He could hardly stand to form that name on his tongue, but the need to open up to Mackenzie was something he couldn’t fight any longer. “He used to date a woman with Sangre Dulce. He ended up draining her dry one night and left her for dead. I discovered the body and had to cover up the whole goddamn thing from the human authorities. It was difficult—her family was very influential. The Agency tried to locate Alfonso, but he was never caught.”
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