by Alana Melos
“He let you?” I asked, arching my brows.
Michael spread his hands out and shrugged. “He couldn’t do it,” he said, then grinned again. “I guess he could have just thrown you inside or taken you back to our lair, but Dee Dee would have been fucking pissed.”
I got stuck for a second on who Dee Dee was, but then I remembered his curvy girlfriend. “Yes,” I said, my voice dripping with disdain. “That would have been terrible.”
He got up, snorting back a laugh. “Don’t worry, sexy,” he said. “I’m still all yours.” He moved over to me and knelt down. I shot a look at him, but he ignored it and tilted my head to the side and brushed my hair away. “Bite’s all healed up,” he said. “Huh.”
The warmth of his fingers on my skin pulled me as they played a pleasant tune over my sensitive skin. I’d forgotten about the bite in the midst of the headache, which was down to a very low drone now. Soon it’d be gone. Instead, warmth and pleasure suffused me at his touch, and I sighed softly. “Nos fed me blood?”
Michael shook his head, his green mohawk bobbing back and forth. His thumb rubbed over the new scars which were over the old scars. “He dripped blood on you or something,” he said. “I don’t fucking know.”
Though they shared a body, they didn’t share perfect memories back and forth. I had the impression that though they worked together more or less, they still hid things from each other. I glimpsed the power struggle from time to time, but never in a real way.
He moved his hand, tracing my collarbone. I sighed and looked at him, a pleasant haze filling my sight. “What are you doing, Michael?” I asked.
“Just seeing the goods,” he replied, letting his hand move down to the swell of my breasts, rimming the edge of my red silken robe. Smirking, he looked up at me with his beautiful brown eyes, gauging my reaction.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” I asked, sing songing the last word, openly mocking him. I didn’t care for his girl, but I supposed he probably did.
His fingers moved lower, pushing the robe aside. The slow, sensual nature of his actions aroused me in a way the vampire in him didn’t, couldn’t. I wouldn’t have imagined it from the punk. The surprise excited me. As he moved the robe, it snagged on my nipple, and he left it there, one side almost all the way exposed. Michael leaned up, pushing forward as he knelt so close I smelled him. He smelled good… earthy, sweaty, with a hint of some aftershave I didn’t recognize. It added a sharp smell to him.
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” he said, his normally brash voice soft. “I’m game if you’re game.”
“What about Nos?” I asked, tilting my head back so our mouths were lined up, a bare inch apart. I knew already Nosferatu wasn’t a kisser, but I had a feeling Michael liked to use his mouth. I gave him a slow smile at the thought.
“You should hear him,” Michael chuckled, a dark gleam in his eye and a hard edge in his voice. “He’s practically shitting himself with jealousy. Keeps saying that you’re hissss….” He let the s draw out in a mockery of Nosferatu’s whispered accent. “Not to touch.”
“I don’t belong to anyone,” I said, getting ready to push him away. Jesus, I was so fucking tired of that shit!
“I know, babe,” Michael said quickly, his voice back to normal. “I don’t want to own you. I just want to fuck you.” He paused, then shrugged, “Or lick you, or whatever you want.” His fingers pulled on the robe, causing it to slide against my nipple, which hardened slowly in response.
We hadn’t gone over any lines yet, if either of us really had them. It wouldn’t change our relationship… I didn’t think. I… I wanted to save him for a bad day, and it had been a bad day. A bad few days. Real bad days with the headache and losing control and passing out and Rory and… damn, Rory. I turned away from Michael to look out the window and get a gauge on the time. Twilight was rapidly approaching.
Aw, fuck it. I had time. If not, they could wait.
“Better make it good, before I change my mind,” I said.
“Best you ever had, baby,” he said, his voice low. His mouth covered mine before I could refute that. It wasn’t a hard kiss, or invasive. Rather, his lips melded with mine as he teased my mouth open with his tongue. He tasted me, and I him, exploring each other’s mouths with sensuous ease and comfort, almost like we were already longtime lovers. Because of his brash and crude attitude, I hadn’t expected this and, like his fingers on my breast, the kiss excited me. His hand slipped inside my robe and cupped my breast. He rolled his palm over my hard nipple, causing me to moan into his mouth. Out of instinct, I stretched my telepathy forward, searching for his thoughts and emotions.
The hot red line of lust was there, but the predominant thread was that of savage satisfaction, a dark, smoldering dark red-green of a certain kind of anger which I associated with revenge. It played havoc with my mental senses. I touched the thread and instantly I knew he was angry with Nosferatu for some reason, and this was his revenge: to have me before Nos could.
I put both of my hands on his bare chest and pushed, adding my teke to it so he toppled back and landed hard on his ass. “How dare you!” I snapped, my anger flaring into a tempest. “I’m not a fucking prize! The next man who does that to me is losing his favorite head.”
To his credit, Michael laughed ruefully and shrugged. “You want me,” he chortled. He wasn’t angry at me at all, which I didn’t quite get. Just because I could read a person’s emotions didn’t mean I always understood them, and the reasons behind them.
“Yeah maybe,” I gave him as I stood up to tower over him. He didn’t bother to move on the floor, but sat there with his genial smirk. “But damned if I’m going to fuck you now.” I glanced out the window again, “I have to get going anyway.”
“I’ll shower with you, babe,” he said, his grin widening. He dropped me a bawdy wink, and I had to laugh. The tide of emotions switched in an instant. I offered him a hand, and he took it, pulling himself up so that he stood in front of me, close as ever. “Still gonna fuck you one day.”
“Maybe when you dump your girl,” I said. “I don’t really do sharing well.”
“Hey, hey now,” he said, his dark eyes still gleaming. “Didn’t say I was gonna date you, just fuck you.” He ground against me, his long length still hard and ready to go.
A wave warm of affection for him washed over me. The realization of what it was made me stiffen, though I kept the smile. He sensed the change in my demeanor, his grin fading slightly as a curious expression came across his face. “I have to shower,” I said. “Get out.”
In response, he grabbed my hips and thrust hard into me. Since he was taller, I felt his length against my stomach, and my hand twitched as my body was still revved up. He let go and backed off then, and made a circle towards his face with a forefinger, “You’ll miss all of this, babe.”
I gave him a mechanical smile and waved him off. When he left me alone, I let the smile fade for good and went to clean up. My head still buzzed pleasantly. The warmth I felt for Nos’ human half wouldn’t leave me. It wasn’t love or anything, but it was honest affection. I did miss him. It would be easier to sink into him, let the simple act of sex wash things away like I always had. This time… this time was different. Thoughts of the interplay between Rory and Adira came to me, about how they showed their affection for one another physically. It would have been like that.
And that was wrong for me.
“Dammit,” I swore and took a deep, steadying breath. I didn’t have time for a break down. I had work to do, so I showered and got on with it.
Chapter Seven
I took a cab to a place a few blocks away from the Red Swallow where I’d left the vamp and wolf. The drugs I’d taken earlier had given me more of a buzz than I thought and by the time I’d left the shower, I was humming disco under my breath. In other words, I didn’t trust myself to fly all the way over. Plus, my hair had to dry yet and it was still winter.
Flying the rest of the way, I d
idn’t shunt the cold breeze away from me. The slap in the face woke me up and focused me. By the time I’d reached the motel door, my head had stopped buzzing and I shivered from head to toe. A quick scan showed Adira and Gerard inside.
I opened the door to the tacky motel room. Gerard sat in the chair I’d been sitting in before wearing fancy casual, slate grey trousers with a matching jacket and a dark blue button up shirt sans tie. The blue looked good with his ice colored eyes, really made them pop. Adira had taken the time to wash and dress in something clean. She had an ivory scarf over her dark curls which melded into the cream colored dress she wore. It hugged her curves, accentuating them and the colors worked well with her skin color.
The star of the show lay in the bed, still chained. He looked more alert than when I left, though still naked. His skin still had those lines of fur, so they weren’t healing any time soon. As I looked him over, I thought I saw part of his skin ripple. “You sure he can’t change, Adira?” I asked.
“I will tear you all apart with my bare hands,” Rory snarled, as if on cue.
“He cannot,” Adira said. “I have just given him the wolfsbane.” The plant-werewolf shook the chains, straining them with all his might. His muscles bunched, highlighting every vein in his body before he gave up and relaxed against the bed again, his strange green eyes glowing with hate.
Ever keen, Gerard narrowed his blue eyes as he stared at me. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice the picture of kindness, but the look on his face hard and flinty.
“Of course,” I said, waving his concern away. “You’re taking lead on this anyway. I’m just playing back up.”
“Right,” he said, and connected with me telepathically. Your thoughts feel fuzzy, he sent, concern for himself staining his thoughts. He didn’t want to go in with a partner who wasn’t a hundred percent. Understandable, but annoyance welled in me for his doubt.
I had to take some painkillers for a headache, I replied. They’re mostly done now, though.
“Are we ready?” I said aloud.
“I am, yes,” Adira said. “Regulus and I have talked it over. He briefed me on the procedure and the chance for success. There is not much for me to do other than watch.”
“Which are slim,” he said. “After a brief inspection, there’s something there… sure, but how much, it’s hard to say.”
“I’m going to strip the flesh from your bones and eat it while you watch, ape,” Rory said, his words slightly slurred.
“Did you get the price negotiated?” I asked as I took off my black gloves and tucked them into the pocket of my trench. It was a brown one, since I was feeling a bit noir today and my red leather one had been trashed. I set my sheathed o-wakizashi on top of it. The cabby had raised a brow at me carrying the sheath, but hadn’t said anything. I’m sure in this town, he’d seen much stranger. I’d worn black thigh high boots and a crimson dress with long, loose sleeves and a scooped neckline. It was thin, and didn’t offer much protection against the cold, but this was all I expected to do tonight. After this was done, the plan was to hole up and lick my wounds for a couple of days while I tried to sort out my head.
Adira gave Gerard a hard look, then nodded stiffly. “Only if you’re successful,” she said.
I raised a brow at Ger, but he just gave me the good ol’ boy smile he was so good at. “If you’ll sedate him,” Gerard said. “We’ll get started just after. I need to talk to my partner for a minute while you put him down.”
“Knock him out,” Adira corrected, her voice hard.
“Oh, that’s what I meant,” Ger said as he took my arm in his and drew me aside. He didn’t bother speaking aloud. Are you ready for this? he asked, his thoughts sharp, clear, and cutting like a razor. If you’re not, I’ll do it alone. I won’t go in if you’re less than perfect.
I’m always perfect, I sent back, letting him see my irritation. Do you doubt me?
Never, he said. But the… painkillers. They could interfere.
I knew he was talking about my recent instability, but I chose to ignore it. They’re pretty much out of my system, I told him. Don’t worry.
Though his smile widened in realtime, he mentally rolled his eyes at me. The only people who tell you not to worry are the ones you should worry about, he sent. I’m serious on this. If you are less than a hundred percent, you’re not going in… and this will probably fail. I don’t know him. You do. But this is very dangerous. A single misstep could lobotomize the both of us. Now. Are you good to go?
I nodded instead of replying.
Yeah, that’s not going to soothe my fried brain if you’re wrong, he sent, but he let it go. Once we’re in there, you follow my lead, got it? You do what I say, when I say it. Promise me, Reece. Give me your word, and I’ll believe you.
I promise I’ll obey you, I sent, a slight curl of alarm floating through my head at his seriousness. Hard, organized, focused, and full of hate… he’d never been this adamant on things before. There was always some wiggle room with his plans, with him. This time, his thoughts came to me like steel. I told you I promised!
He gave me a hard look once more, then nodded. “Then, let’s go get comfortable, shall we?” Ger cocked his head to the side, listening. “And it sounds like the mutant is silenced.”
I cut him a sharp look at the phrasing. Rory’s an ally, I sent to him. You could be a little more respectful.
His lip curled up in a sneer. For that freak? He shook his head, then smiled. If you want. I’ll be the picture perfect guest.
You better be, I replied, then let it drop. I tried to think back to our time in Axis, and didn’t recall any particular prejudice or hate, but the memories were a little fuzzy. It didn’t matter. He’d do what I told him to do.
We turned back to Adira, who finished administering the drug. Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten ahold of a needle, and had evidently refined the recipe. Either that, or she was knocking him out with some other drug. “We need quiet for this,” Gerard said smoothly. “How long will the drug hold him?”
“A couple of hours,” Adira replied. “When he wakes, he’ll still be groggy, out of it. He won’t get free.”
“See that he doesn’t,” Gerard ordered. “And see that we’re not disturbed.”
“How long will this take?” she demanded, staring daggers through him. There was no love lost here, not at all. I wondered what he made her pay, then shrugged it off. It wasn’t any of my business, so long as I got what I wanted.
“That depends entirely on your point of view,” he replied. When he smiled, some of that boyish charm showed through, “But don’t worry. We should be done before the drugs wear off, one way or another.”
Adira nodded briefly, giving the both of us a cool, warning look. I knew without peeking at her threads she was warning us subtly that we had better win. When she turned her attention to Rory, the lines of her face softened. She bent over and brushed a kiss over Rory’s lips. I watched her and read the emotions flowing across her mind, letting them color my own. We’ll get him back, I promised her. I’ll do everything in my power to get him back.
She looked up at me, nodded once, then melded into the shadows. Gerard stood and moved the chair he sat in closer to the bed. I did the same with the other, placing it next to his. I’m glad she’s gone, he sent.
But she’s not, I replied, frowning at him. She’s in the shadows, watching.
At least she’s giving me the illusion of privacy, he sent back. This isn’t my specialty and I want to pretend like we’re alone. He settled into the chair with a heavy sigh, his aged face looking drawn and wan. His eyes narrowed and a fleeting thought skipped across his mind, The things I do….
I arched a brow, but he gestured at me. Get comfortable. Relax. Empty your mind.
Doing as I was bid, I settled into my seat and closed my eyes, trying to relax. This was something new and if there was one thing I loved more than blood and mayhem, it was new things, new experiences. It took me a minute to take s
ome deep breaths and calm my body as well as my mind.
You ready?
As ready as I’ll ever get, I replied.
Not sure what we’ll find… and there might not be anything real of him left. Just a few scattered memories maybe, Gerard sent to me. Just follow my lead.
He stretched forward into Rory’s mind and I followed, flowing on a current of thought. Instead of just establishing contact, he sank into Rory. I sensed him still, but he was dimmer… not as there. I touched Rory’s threads and thought about my own mind, how I would sink under the surface to see the deeper part of me and tried to do the same here. It wasn’t like it was in my head. There, it was a gentle transition. Here, Rory fought me. He didn’t know he was fighting me, but he fought nevertheless.
I pushed through, trying to penetrate his defenses. I wasn’t attacking him… just trying to establish whatever deeper connection Gerard had. The mind before me didn’t see it that way. It sensed the intruder and pushed back against me. The sensation of running through a jungle came to me. Leaves whipped against my face. Branches lashed my arms. I ran forward even though I stayed still. The better part of me, what made me me, left my body and entered Rory’s.
I found myself in a jungled forest, much like the outskirts of town, and stumbled forward into a clearing. Gerard stood there, smirk upon his handsome features. Yet, it wasn’t the Gerard I knew now: older, wiser, with grey in his hair. This was the Gerard I’d met before: young, vibrant, with a devilish look in his eye and a wicked grin on his lips. When he saw me stumble forward, he reached forward to steady me.
“Watch yourself,” he said, laughing. I blinked, as I ‘heard’ it with my ears and not my mind. The rules here were different, and I wasn’t quite sure what I had gotten myself into.