20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  Now was not the time to be thinking about whether he’d fucked any other vampires or not.

  Her muscles gripped him on every thrust inside, shaking control from him. Thoughts strayed and vanished until the only thing he felt was the steady movement of his body grinding against hers, his focus solely on the increasing loudness of her screams.

  He tore himself from their kiss and bared fangs.

  She gripped his shoulders, yanked him against her and sank her fangs into his neck.

  Jonas pumped harder, faster, letting the fog of vampire magic ease the pain from the bite into pleasure while she drank from him.

  Some part of him hated what was happening but he knew how to separate his mind from his body and keep the task at hand in the forefront. Fuck her.

  Distract her.

  Steal from her. Well, maybe.

  Except Tempest’s tongue flicked over his skin while she drank and her pussy continued squeezing him.

  His balls slapped her ass with each thrust and he held her tighter against him, aiming to drink from her with as much desperation as she displayed.

  Even the Fae blood from earlier didn’t help him; goddamn useless bikers were probably drugged too.

  Tempest continued sucking on him, ramping up the sensations in his body, and making him feel light headed.

  He forced himself from her jaws and ignored her hiss while pistoning himself inside her.

  Harder, faster, deeper, he pumped until she cried and her head slammed back against the pillows.

  She arched upward, giving him one last squeeze that sent him over the edge when her orgasm hit.

  Trembling against him, her nails dug into his flesh, ripping at skin and causing the most delicious pain he’d ever felt from a woman.

  Raking her nails down his shoulders, she stopped when he stilled, flooding her with his seed and groaning loud enough that his noises hurt even his eardrums.

  Sensitive vampire bullshit.

  She lifted her head one more time but Jonas shifted just out of reach, though most of his muscles remained frozen while he continued releasing inside her.

  Another caress of her velvet heat had him screaming her name while hovering just above her.

  Those fangs were fucking deadly.

  And he needed to drink from her.

  Panting, the both of them remained motionless for several minutes.

  When her fangs retracted, color returned to her face and her eyes dimmed until the blood red glow had disappeared, leaving her beautiful tri-color irises.

  “What are you doing on top of me?”

  When he didn’t move, she frowned.

  He shook his head. “Wait, are you serious?”

  “Jonas, I swear I said no fucking funny stuff and oh my fucking Lord and Lady, are you…did we?” She looked between them. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “We did. I’m still buried inside you and you fucking bit me.”

  “I what?” Her jaw dropped and she cupped her cheeks with both hands. “Wait. No. No, no, no. Not possible. I—”

  He cleared his throat, reluctantly pulled himself from her and shifted so he lay on his side against the wall. “I’m afraid,” he moved his sweat slicked hair off to the side to showcase the bite marks. “Those are yours.”

  “No. That can’t be.”

  “Lick your lips, Tempest.”

  When she did, he watched all the color slowly seep out of her features.

  “You have to go. If you don’t, I’ll hurt you. For real. You have to g—”

  Jonas pressed two fingers over her mouth. “You’re going to have to talk.”

  She shoved away from him and leapt off the bed before stalking away from him and spinning around when she reached the two-burner stove. “I…uh…I”

  “You don’t remember anything, do you?”

  Her sullen look told him all he needed to know. “You never feed that side of you, do you?”

  Tempest looked down, her raven colored hair falling over her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She picked up her panties and bra and stalked toward the bathroom stall. “When I get out, you need to not be here.”

  “Fat chance at that, darlin’.”

  “Whatever.” She flipped him off and tossed her clothes in a pile on the counter beside the stall before shutting the stall door and turning on the water.

  Shrugging, Jonas clothed himself, deciding on leaving his torn shirt on the floor as a reminder and a dig at Tempest. Sliding his leather cut over his shoulders felt good, as the final piece once he’d laced his boots. Now if he just had a bike to ride after fucking such a wild woman.

  Figuring Tempest would be in the shower more than a moment, he made his way to the front of the cabin, took the keys from the ignition and slid out of the truck.

  Cristin leaned against the side of the truck, arms crossed, head down.

  When Jonas approached, Cristin looked up. “Get your thrill?”

  Jonas clapped him on the shoulder. “You can smell it.”

  “I can. It’ll be obvious for a long while.” He tapped the side of his neck and smirked. “What’s our next move?”

  “Good question.” Jonas looked at the night sky, saw the orange moon hovering large and bright against the black backdrop of the night sky. Treetops dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. “I don’t know where we are. Her GPS isn’t reading a signal either, so I’m guessing we’re father off the main road than we thought.”

  “Well I drove as far as I could before the sun crested the horizon. We need to get these bikes, brother.”

  “I know. I know. What I don’t know is how I’m going to convince Elvira in there,” he jerked his thumb toward the cabin, “how to give me a sample of blood so I can take it back.”

  “You don’t have a vial of any sort, do you?”

  “No.” Jonas shook his head. “She wouldn’t let me drink from her, either. Bit me right on the fucking neck and—”

  “Rode you like a Harley.”

  If Jonas were alive, he might consider blushing. “Something like that.”

  “Least you got some, mate. Now what do we do??”

  “Get back in with the bikes. I’ll go up with her in the cab and hopefully figure something out.”

  “Do you think the MC is out looking for us?”

  Jonas shrugged again. “No idea, man. How deep are we with loyalty?”

  “I mean,” Cristin blinked, “you know I’ve got your back. Pliny and the others support Davin. Why?”

  “Because they bailed on us at the first sign of trouble.”

  “They were smart. The Phouka outnumbered us and would have crushed us had they not split.”

  Nodding, Jonas rubbed his chin. “I want to know why or how the Phouka were working with the Sluagh.”

  “Good question.” Cristin slid his hands into his pockets and turned toward the back of the truck. “You better hurry.”

  “Right.” Jonas started for the driver’s side door, spotting Tempest sitting in the driver’s seat with her damp hair spilling over her shoulders. She appeared to be searching for something.

  He tapped the window.

  She looked at him and glowered when he dangled the keys before her.

  She thrust the door open. “Give those to me.”

  “Gladly.” He sauntered around to the other side of the truck and tried the door handle. Locked. Holding up the keys again, he jingled them.

  The door clicked and he pulled it open, climbed into the passenger seat and yanked the gun out of her hands with preternatural speed before tossing the keys at her and shutting the door. “I thought we’d moved past all that gun nonsense.”

  “You thought wrong.”

  “Oh, come on. You bit me. Drank from me. That warrants that I at least get to ride up front without fear of lead filling being added to my Adonis-like body.” He didn’t miss the sly smile she tried to suppress.

  She jammed the key into the ignition and started the truck. Flippin
g switches and gauges, she swore when she saw her GPS still didn’t seem to find a signal. “Where the fuck are we?”

  “We were hoping you knew that.”

  “We? Oh, right. Your cohort thief.”

  “Hey now, Cristin was aristocracy by human standards before he was turned almost three hundred years ago. He was hardly the same sort as I.”

  “And him being upper crust somehow redeems him how?”

  “Don’t know.” Jonas shrugged. “But you’re cute when you’re picking at me after sex.”

  “And why can’t you just fly home?”

  Jonas shifted, securing his seatbelt. “Because like you, we have no idea where we are. The Firebrand Fae MC must have hightailed it all night.”

  “Shit. So, because of this biker rival, I’ve lost how many fucking days?”

  “I don’t know. And it isn’t our rival. They were here before us, far as we know. Just happened to show up at the same time as we were attempting to borrow the bikes.”

  Tempest scowled at him. Putting the truck in gear, she gunned the engine and pulled it onto the highway. “How far did your friend get us?”

  “Drove until the sun stopped him, then he bounced into the storage unit with the bikes where he is now.”

  “You wouldn’t have him ride up front with you?”

  “He’s not interested in watching me work magic, darlin’.”

  “Ugh.”

  “So, you’re stuck with us. Even if we wanted to return to the clubhouse, we have no idea which direction that is until we hit the main road. And besides, you’re going to pass it anyway. Might as well adhere to trucker code and give lonely hitchhikers a ride.”

  “Lucky me.”

  Chapter 5

  For the next few hours, she drove without saying a word to Jonas. It didn’t bother him much, but the niggling feeling that she was not only hiding something from him, but from herself concerned him.

  They’d passed many different environments as they’d moved down the road, not stopping for anything. She’d kept the truck at a steady speed.

  He admired the way she handled the rig with the skill and care of a professional. Almost like how he rode.

  It brought to mind the question he knew she’d hate to hear. “So, what was that earlier?”

  Tempest didn’t so much as look at him but her movements were seen if one had vampire eyes.

  “I mean the wild vampire act. I dig it, but it seemed so unlike you.”

  “I didn’t mean to do that, okay?” Her shoulders slumped.

  Her tart reply caught him off guard. “What do you mean? Sleep with me? Of course, you did.”

  “No, not that. Asshole. That was…needed.”

  “So, I was just a means to an end.”

  “Are you going to whine about getting the best pussy you’ll ever have?”

  “I intend to repeat that.”

  “Fat chance. I know how bikers are.”

  “Says you. I’ve—” He stopped himself. Trying to get into her pants again by mentioning other women probably wasn’t the best move. “I was curious about the radical shift in attitude. Your vampire side came out.”

  Still with her hands on the wheel, she stiffened.

  His curiosity roused, he poked at her some more. “What don’t you like about that side?”

  “Look,” she turned slightly toward him, glaring, “I have my reasons.”

  “Tempest, I’m here. We have a long ass ride. Your other guns are in the back and trying to get them would result in you being pinned down and probably properly fucked by the best vampire dick you’ve ever had.” He didn’t try to hide his grin. “After whatever this is ends, we’ll never see each other again. So, tell me an interesting story.”

  “Fine.” She sighed, the rise and fall of her chest catching his eyes. “Once, there was a creature born of two sides. When she was stranded, the community around her had no idea of her unique situation until they found fangs protruding from her body. They abandoned her because they thought she was a freak. They were right. Parents were killed by your kind.”

  Jonas resisted the urge to put a hand on her shoulder and comfort her. At least he’d wait until she’d stopped the truck before offering physical comfort.

  “She then found herself in a unique position. Survive with what instinct she could cultivate, or die.” She cocked a brow when she stared at him. “Which do you think she did?”

  He held up a hand. “Fine, that all makes sense. But why don’t you have more control over your vampiric tendencies? How does that even work?”

  “Jonas, are you hearing me? I don’t fucking know!” Frustration rang in her voice.

  “Hey.” This time he did reach for her and once he touched her shoulder, waves of tension flowed from her.

  “No one fucking taught me, Jonas.” She slammed a hand on the steering wheel. “No one fucking taught me shit about this side of me, so I have been forced to deal with it.”

  “Have you ever been around other vampires?”

  “No. Not until your fucking gang of blood suckers showed up and decided to hijack my load.”

  “Faery is big, but seriously?”

  “Are there a lot of undead here, Jonas?”

  “Good point. Far as I know, there may be about a hundred of us living under the radar. The locals don’t take kindly to us being here.”

  She sniffed. “Which is the huge altruistic reason why you want to get back to your realm.”

  “Well, that’s part of it.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  “Your dry tone is amusing. I’ve already told you my story.”

  She shook her head. “No, you told me part of it. You said you needed my blood. Why mine specifically? And what are you curing? And if not for you, then who?”

  Jonas didn’t like the line of questioning, but some honesty would get him a lot farther than none at all. Forcing himself not to shut down, because this was for his sister, the whole reason he was in this mess, he rolled his shoulders to ease tension from his body.

  “Look, the blood is for a cure born of a Fae disease. And I’m not sure how the hell she got it, but it’s for my sister.”

  Tempest frowned. “There’s more than one of you?”

  If he opened up, she would too, and maybe there was a solution in all of this through cautionary honesty. “Yes. She’s...younger than I am. I turned her to save her from cancer. The cancer mutated to something Fae, and no one knows how. But your blood, the blood of a mixed-race Fae, is what is needed for the curing process.”

  Tempest sucked in a breath. “Jesus. You’re not kidding.”

  “No.” His voice went low. “I’m afraid I’m not. She’s dying, Tempest. While none of us in the MC want to remain in Faery, the reason I have for hijacking these bikes is much deeper than just trying to get home.”

  It wasn’t his sister’s fault, and curing her cancer with ever-lasting life shouldn’t have been a death sentence. Jonas clenched a fist, inhaled through his nose, noted the soft scent of Tempest’s cherry vanilla, along with the smell of leather from his cut and the cab, before he exhaled slowly.

  “You’re not pulling any shit.” She looked at him, this time with compassion in her eyes. “You’re really serious.”

  “I am.”

  “I’m sorry, Jonas.”

  “Thank you.” He shifted and stared straight ahead, eyes peering through the darkness to see the road lit by the truck’s lights. He didn’t want to ask if she’d help; as Cristin pointed out, he had no vessel to keep her blood in currently. A vial or two would be enough, he remembered. “So what about you? How did you become a trucker? And why did that become a thing in Faery?”

  “You mean how did we end up embracing an antiquated system over magic?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Long as I’ve been alive, the Fae had trucks. I’ve been fascinated with them and when I finally found my path, it was through driving big rigs. I’ve never been one for the Fae, and they don’
t like me once they realize I’m a half-breed. So, this was a natural choice.”

  “I imagine you get to see a lot of Faery.”

  “I do. It’s quite splendid when you can appreciate it for what it is, without any bias.”

  Jonas stretched his legs out. “I know about that.”

  “I’d bet you would. Being a thief and all.”

  “I was good at what I did.”

  “Then how come this was botched?”

  He didn’t miss the teasing in her voice. It actually made him smile, just a little. “Who said I botched it?”

  “You and your cronies aren’t stealing my cargo.”

  “Well, if by my cronies,” he cleared his throat, “you mean the Undead Souls, I told you, we’re playing it fast and loose. See how shit goes. As to stealing shit, I used to work alone. This whole team thing has taken me some time to get used to.” Not untrue. The MC worked well together, once he’d schooled a few of them on earlier heists. But some of the bigger jobs took a lot more planning, and Davin had been quite impatient.

  “You’re still planning to rob me. And you know what that means.”

  “It means we go back to the Shadowlands.”

  She sighed. “It means I die, and you get a bounty on your head from the Faery Queen and her guards. Meaner, stronger bikers.”

  “Speaking of, what the hell was that maneuver earlier?”

  “Hm?” She cocked a brow and set a hand on the gear shifter.

  “That whole we told you to stay quiet, and you charge the fucking biker guarding the entrance thing.”

  “Oh, that? Yeah, I got tired of waiting for the big bad vampire to save me and my cargo. I have places to be. Shit to do. A retirement to look forward to.”

  Jonas snorted. She really was fun to banter with. If he didn’t have other plans for the future, he’d—no. He shook that thought from his head. He needed to remain focused on his goals.

  Get his sister cured. Then he could fathom a future move, with or without the Undead Souls.

  They’d become such an integral part of his life, without judgment of his past. None of them seemed to mind that he was a common thief.

  And yet, high-priced art from the 1800s still carried quite a price tag, and fetching those artifacts for potential clients had made him quite wealthy.