Lucid glanced at Tank, who nodded. “I had a feeling it was something like that. I didn’t want to rip his head off when he touched Charley.”
“How is that you or, for that matter, Maria would know so much about this when I didn’t?” Raul asked Tank.
“We have a few vampires in our pack that are blood bonded,” Tank said.
“What exactly is a blood bond?” Bella asked.
Raul smiled and nodded to Lucid, who leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Bella’s lips. “A blood bond is someone I can feed from and who can carry my children. We usually have a few of them to form what we call our family. It looks like the four of you are my family.” Lucid slid a finger down her cheek. “I haven’t had a family since I was a child, a long time ago.”
“Where are your parents?” Charley asked.
“They were murdered in the early 1800s. I was away on a business trip when I found out. That night, over a hundred of our kind were murdered in their homes. It seems one of the help informed the humans about what we were. That was the beginning of our coming out.”
Bella squeezed Lucid’s arm. “I’m so sorry about your parents, but how is this going to work for us?” She looked up at him as she twined her other hand with Raul’s.
“That’s really up to Lucid,” Raul said. “He’s more than welcome to move in here with us. There’s plenty of room, and with Tank and Charley building their own home next door... Well, it’s up to him.”
Her cheeks heated, and she looked at Charley, whose eyes were just as big. “He’d stay in our room?”
“Well, it would be his room, too, if he decides to join us. I’ll speak more with Lucid and Tank, but right now, I believe you and Charley have guests coming to see you.” Raul lifted her and moved to the door, knowing Sammy was there with some of her employees. “Come in, Sammy. You can set up in our room. Bella, why don’t you and Charley show them the way. Oh, and Sammy, we want the full treatment for both of them, please.”
“And what is the full treatment?” Charley asked, looking at Tank, then at Raul.
Tank leaned over and whispered in her ear, cupping her pussy. “You’re going to be bare down here, and so will your legs and arms. I want you so smooth I feel nothing when we touch you. Now go,” Tank said, slapping her ass and pushing her toward Bella, who hadn’t said anything yet to him. But if looks could kill, Raul, Tank and Lucid would be dead.
The girls disappeared down the hall as Raul turned to Lucid. “Come, sit. We need to talk about tonight and how you want to handle this bonding.”
Lucid shook his head. “There is no question about the bonding. I think it’s best if I make this my home. Since Bella and Charley must be close, have you thought about joining the two houses? That way they each have their own but can get from one place to the next through a tunnel underground. That would be great for security and they wouldn’t feel cut off from each other.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Maria said, coming into the room. “I wanted to let you know we’re leaving. We’ll be back after we set up the protection spells. I didn’t know about all this destiny stuff, Raul, until I asked for a daughter. You see, I had six boys, like each of my sisters did. But I wanted a little girl.” Maria glanced at her feet when Herme came up behind her and hugged her.
“You see, her best friend had been murdered a while ago during the Salem Witch Trials, and my wife promised herself long ago that if she ever had a daughter, she would name her after her. When our last son was born, Maria had a bad case of the blues; all of us were worried. Don’t get me wrong, she was very protective of our son and loved him, but in her heart, she needed that little girl.” Herme kissed her cheek.
“A year after my last son was born, I asked the Mother for help, and she visited me one night. She told me her daughter needed someone to balance her. Someone that would always be with her, because of the responsibilities she would bear.” Maria put her hand on Raul’s arm. “Where you see this as a physical aspect, to Bella, it’s an emotional one inside. Bella wasn’t just saying she would take on this role to bring your pack and Lucid’s vampires together because she wanted to; she needs to. Charley is meant to take the burden off Bella, to make sure she lives and doesn’t bury herself in others’ problems, which she would do. Anyway, her mother told of her destiny, and when I agreed, I wanted to be the best mother to both of my girls. That’s when I searched everywhere for this story. While I know your destiny, Raul, your brothers and sister will have a different one.” She turned her attention to Mario. “I don’t know how your mate will be affected, since all Bella’s sisters and brothers are different.”
Mario moaned. “Great, and here I was taking notes on what not to do.”
“Smartass,” Raul grumbled. “So, did you know about Lucid?” he asked Maria, who shook her head.
“No, but it makes sense. Since both girls need to be together, your friend here will be that bridge. They might love each other, but they’ll still need to be alone with their men, if you get my drift.”
Herme snorted. “They know what you mean; come on, woman, we need to get this done so you can rest before tonight. I take it we’re staying here for dinner.”
“Yes, I won’t risk going out until it’s time. We’ll have an early meal and leave here at five. Lucid, do you need to call in someone so we can inform your people about what we need to have done?”
“My second is supposed to be here in the next hour. I think, while the women rest, we can plan our moves,” Lucid said as the women came back in. Charley glared at them.
“You owe me big-time. I will expect a shopping spree after this!” she pouted, and Bella smiled, going into the kitchen.
“If you’ll excuse me. Lucid.” Raul nodded to the kitchen, and both of them followed Bella while Tank kept Charley busy.
Something was wrong. Bella was quiet and withdrawn. In the kitchen, she was reaching up into a cabinet for glasses when he grabbed them for her and placed them on the counter.
“What’s wrong, Little Mite? Talk to us,” he said, turning her and trapping her against the counter.
Lucid stood back, watching. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”
She looked at Lucid, then at Raul. “I’m uncomfortable about this whole thing. I’m not going to have sex with Charley, Raul. She’s a sister to me, and sure, we’ve gone to the clubs together, but nothing else. We just watched each other’s back. Even the thought of doing anything sexual with her— yuck.”
“We know that, Little Mite, but Lucid is going to be living here with us, sharing our bed. How are you going to feel about that?” He ran a finger down her cheek. “You are stunning, you know that. Bella, you will always be mine. There will be no other, but Lucid’s kind form families this way, and the five of us are his family Sure, there were will be times when I’ll be the only one with you. We all time to be alone with our lover, and the same will go for Lucid.”
She sighed. “I feel like a freak here. Everyone around us just accepts all this.” She waved her hands, indicating everything about the situation. “I mean, I was raised with humans—well sort of. The only other species I was around was Charley’s family, but now I’m a wolf and I have powers I didn’t even know I had. I’m going to mate one of the most powerful men around, and now I’m told I’m bonded to a vampire, which more or less means I have two men, not one.” She held up her hand, stopping them as they opened their mouths to speak.
“Now, don’t get me wrong; the thought of having both of you in bed with me at night, well yeah, what girl wouldn’t want it? I mean, look at you two.” She lowered her head and cracked her knuckles, whispering, “But I’m just me; you’ll get tired of me. It was one thing to be with you, Raul. I mean, I could try and come up with different ways to please you, but with two men...” She shook her head. “If you go to others I’d have to kill you.”
Raul wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her until she was sitting on the counter. He stepped between her legs. “Look at us, Bella,” he
ordered.
She looked up and he smiled. “We will never get bored with you, Little Mite. I can be with no other and don’t want any other. You are my chosen one, the one I will spend eternity with, and I have plenty of evil things to torture you with, so believe me when I say I’m never going to get tired of you. As for Lucid?” He glanced at his friend, who laughed.
“There will be no other women for me. You and your sister will be the only ones I’ll be with from now on. As Raul has said, we have many, many toys to change things up, and, honey, from what I’ve seen so far, your curves alone can make any man hard. You’re lucky I don’t strip you down right here, but with family roaming around... wait, didn’t they say they were leaving?”
Raul smiled. “They sure did.” He lifted her down and stepping back. “Strip. You can carry your clothes to the bedroom where Sammy is waiting for you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“What?” she asked, looking from Raul to Lucid. Bella hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she was scared about this arrangement, and now, they wanted her to strip in front of Lucid? Sure, she felt some strange bond to him growing, but he was still new to her.
“Little Mite.” Raul’s voice dropped down to the Dom voice she loved to hear.
“But what if—” She sighed and stripped, keeping her gaze down. If he didn’t like her body, there was no way she could change it, and she’d tried. Treadmills, diets and so forth never worked worth a shit for her.
Lucid pulled her into his arm. “Look at me, beautiful lady,” he said. His voice had a little growl to it that had her looking up quickly, but she wasn’t prepared for the heat in his gaze.
“That’s right; I find you very attractive, and if I ever see or hear about you going on a diet, I’ll spank your cute, round ass after I plug it. I hate when women get together and start jabbering about diets and whether or not they’re fat. As a matter of fact, it’s not allowed in my club. If any Master or Dom hears a woman speaking of such things, she’s brought up on stage, and we show her how much her body is liked, by all of us—and we have excellent hearing too.” He growled before leaning down and nipping her bottom lip.
She looked over at Raul, and he raised his eyebrow. “Your attention should be on your other Master now, shouldn’t it?”
Her gaze flew back to Lucid, who smiled as he cupped her breasts. “I can smell your desire, and I can’t wait until tonight.” He leaned down and sucked a nipple into his mouth and scraped the tips of his fangs against the tip. “One taste,” he whispered before sinking them into her skin and drinking.
“Fuck!” she moaned, dropping her clothes and grabbing his shoulders. Her thighs damp again, and the small orgasm that spread through her was a surprise.
Lucid swiped his tongue over the holes in her skin when he lifted his head up and removed his fangs from her. “Such a strong life force and a pure heart at that.” He covered her mouth with his, sliding his tongue inside. His kiss was light but powerful, and he pulled on her hair, drawing her head back, giving him a better angle where he seemed to make love to her tongue.
He pulled away and nipped her chin. “Beautiful. I can’t wait to see her strung up tonight.”
The heat disappeared as Lucid stepped away from her, and she swore if tongues could see stars, hers would be seeing them right now.
“I take it his kiss was up there on your scale.” Raul laughed, putting her clothes into her hands and pushing her toward the door to the hallway. “Go. We’ll bring drinks to you and Charley while Sammy works on you both.”
Lucid ran his fingers down Charley’s naked breast as she stood near Bella now. “I consider myself very lucky indeed; two beautiful women, and they are ours.” Lucid turned Charley toward the hall and slapped her ass. “Go on; you have people waiting for you,” he said to them both.
Bella glanced at Charley, and they both burst into giggles as they moved down the hall, but not before Bella heard, “Handful and stunning.”
Upon entering the bedroom, Bella stopped and stared at the two long foldout tables set up in the middle of the room.
Sammy smiled at them. “Come on, ladies; it’s time for your pampering.”
“Some pampering, pulling out every hair on my body,” Charley grumbled, staring at the waxing stuff one girl was working with.
Bella patted her on the back before laying her clothes on the bed. “We might as well get this over with,” she said and hopped up on one of the tables with Sammy’s help.
“I want to personally thank you and your mate for helping me this morning,” Sammy told Bella. “If your guards hadn’t come when they had, two of my employees would have been killed, and it would have shut me down. I use this business to support my children.”
Bella cocked her head to the side and studied her. “You’re part vampire and part wolf?”
Sammy nodded. “My mates are missing. No one has seen them in months,” she said, looking away.
“I’m so sorry.” Bella sat up and touched Sammy’s arm. “When all this is over, I want you to come by the house with your children; you might be able to help us, and I think you could use the company, no?”
“Are you sure? I know you’ll be busy.”
“I’m sure. I’m going to try and draw both groups together—at least that’s what Raul and Lucid would like—and we both know it can’t be done unless the women help.” She snorted and lay back down. “Now tell me what happened with your men. Maybe a fresh perspective might help?”
Bella listened to Sammy’s story while her new friend tortured her for the next hour. At the end of the procedures, Bella sat up and stared at her.
“Wait, what do you mean your men were investigating Crapon, Inc.? Why would they do that?” She looked over at the door as Raul, Lucid and Tank came in carrying drinks. “A little late, aren’t you?”
“For some time, we believed Crapon has people in the pack spying on us. They’re also run by a renegade group, if you can call them that,” Raul said, handing her a cool glass of lemonade before separating her legs and kneeling between them.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to close her legs and push him away.
“Hold still.” He slapped her thigh. “I will inspect you,” he growled and pulled her pussy lips apart, running his fingers over the newly waxed area.
Her face heated, and she glanced at Sammy, who laughed. “Don’t worry, we get this all the time. Hell, even my mates...”
“Stop, Raul.” Bella put her drink down and jumped off the table, ignoring him.
“Sorry, I got distracted. When did your men leave?” Bella asked, grabbing the robe on the back of the door and wrapping it around her. “Damn, I need my laptop. Is Maria back yet?” She smiled as said woman came in, holding out her case for her.
“What’s up?” Maria asked.
“Remember when I was working with that teen who I couldn’t find out a damn thing about? The one whose parents I couldn’t find any info on and who I said seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere?” Bella asked and Maria nodded.
“Yep, he stayed with us for a few weeks. Why?” Maria asked, following Bella out of the bedroom to the dining room, where Bella pulled out her laptop and power cord.
“Plug this in, will you? This old thing won’t run unless it has power.” She nodded to Lucid, who stood at the other side of the table, watching her.
“Bella, what’s going on?” Raul asked, coming up next to her.
“I think I have a lead for you. I don’t know why, but this boy, who was later killed by a group of thugs after leaving Maria’s home, gave me a piece of paper. He told me to read it and destroy it. Well, I just thought he was being a little bit, you know, dramatic even for a teenager. Anyway, I copied what the message said on here and destroyed the paper. Back then, the words didn’t make sense, but maybe now they will. But if I’m not mistaken, it said something about this Crapon you mentioned.”
She sat at the table and took a drink of the lemonade Sammy had put down on the ta
ble for her. “Thank you.” Bella smiled up at her. “Let’s hope this is something.” She squeezed Sammy’s arm before turning to her computer.
“Do you know who killed the boy?” Raul asked, sitting down next to her as Mario sat across from her, next to Lucid.
“No, it was as if the cops dropped the ball or wouldn’t touch the case. I was furious.” Bella put in her password.
“She was more than furious. I had to go down to the station and get her. The captain was ready to lock her up because she was causing such a scene.” Maria stepped up to the table. “We gave the boy a proper funeral, but he was killed by one of us. I could smell the magic on him.”
“But we couldn’t trace it back to anyone at the time. Plus, we couldn’t draw attention to Bella, and going after them would have,” Herme said, coming in and standing next to Maria.
“What? You didn’t go after them because of me?” Tears filled her eyes. “Damn it, I hate this destiny crap.” She pulled up the note and slid the computer over to Raul. But Raul didn’t even look at it.
He turned to her and grasped her chin. “Look at me.”
“What?” Bella asked, looking up into his gaze.
“Little Mite, they did what they had to. They had no choice, and don’t even blame yourself, or I’ll paddle that ass. Understood?”
“I’m still going to feel guilty, but maybe we can get his killers now?” she asked.
Raul snorted and tapped her nose before turning to the computer. “Fuck!”
* * *
Call in Garth,” Raul told Tank, “and tell him we’re changing the route and that we need him here to discuss it. Mario, go. You have to meet with Jason Crow.” He turned her laptop around and moved it across the table.
Mario stood, growling. “I’ll take care of it, but I’ll come back before—”
“No, it’s time Tank took over. You’ll be leaving soon enough. We’ll see you at the club tonight, and be safe. Who knows who they’ll target next.
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