“Plus, your things are still in there,” he teased.
“Yeah, that is a thing too,” she shrugged, snickering. “Finally, I will get to read the ending!”
“That presupposes we’ll be able to reach the thing,” Zach pointed out. “Alex told us that the Carpathians will not stop with this defeat; they will simply send out more men once they learn there is a need.”
“Which is why we’ve decided to leave immediately,” Donovan reminded him. “Don’t tell me your men drained all the blood providers except Seth for nothing?”
“No, we’re leaving for sure,” said Zach. “I’m just not sure how.”
“Most of the others have already flown away,” said Vivian. “We can’t do that, though. Donovan is not yet turned, and I have yet to successfully take out my wings. I did try earlier, but I almost couldn’t put them back again, and I never did get around to any actual flight.”
“Very well, we will try,” Zach sighed. “But if we are overrun along the way, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Duly noted, my lord,” Donovan replied. “But perhaps we ought to bring along some shields and weapons, just in case.”
“I’ll say,” Zach said, nodding emphatically. “Quickly, to the armory. The sooner we are ready, the sooner we can leave.”
Armed and armored, the trio stepped outside once again, taking note that the van had finally left with the servants. Now, they were taking a great risk to get out as well. If the Carpathians attacked, they would have no backup since they were completely alone. They reached the car without incident. Donovan got into the driver’s seat while Vivian and Zach slipped into the back from the driver’s side.
“Let’s just hope they didn’t rig this car to explode,” said Donovan nervously as he turned the ignition key. Nothing nasty happened, and they were able to drive.
“For future reference, the next time you deliver something as important as the rest of my life, try to remember to park the car on the inside,” Zach told him wryly.
“Also duly noted, sir,” he replied.
He brought the car out onto the road and began to drive. Since he was not a vampire, he would be able to continue to drive when dawn hit in about an hour, but the two vampires in back would need to engage a special device to block out the sun or face some serious burns—or worse—if they didn’t.
Knowing that Vivian was aware of the device, he was not overly concerned. But she had never needed it before, whereas now it was imperative.
“Viv? Don’t forget to turn on the blocker,” he reminded her, just in case. “It’s almost daylight. Set it for backseat only, though. I don’t need a darkened windshield until it’s absolutely necessary. Sure hope the thing is working right, or we’re going to have trouble.”
Vivian pushed the button as she rolled her eyes, and darker shields rolled up in front of every window of the back half of the car. It was still easy to see out of them at the scenery that passed by, but the glass would prevent any sunlight or UV rays to penetrate.
“At some point, we’ll need to use the privacy shield as well,” she told Zach. “Mostly just when he’s driving in direct sunlight that comes through the windshield though.”
“It’s going to be a long drive, though,” Donovan added with a subtle smile. “I’ll understand completely if you two want to go nightie-night.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Zach pointed out. “If we intend to make you a part of our world, you’re going to need to become used to how Vivian and I—interface.”
“But it might be somewhat distracting while I’m trying to drive,” he pointed out. “I would rather we wait.”
“Fine,” Zach agreed reluctantly, one of his hands already fondling Vivian’s leg. “When we get to Colorado, though, you’re going to have to get used to things. I don’t wish for there to be any awkwardness between us, Donovan. We three must be cohesive, or that lack could endanger us in the greater scheme of things.”
“Agreed,” he said, nodding.
Vivian put up the shield.
*****
Zach tugged Vivian into his arms. “Tell the truth, Vivian; how are you feeling about Donnie? Does the thought of touching him make you as hot as the idea of watching him do it makes me?”
“I—I’m of two minds about that,” she said, blushing. “I’ll admit I used to fantasize about him, but it was never with the thought of a third. When you suggested that I bite him, I didn’t know you were thinking of sharing me in quite that way. I figured you would just not mind that he and I—well, if we got frisky here and there because of it.”
“Sweetheart, it really doesn’t work that way,” he whispered in her ear. “Not among vampires, at any rate. It’s very biologically ingrained, you see. As I’ve said before, it is all about fate—destiny. I didn’t see it right away, but once my mind tried to figure out what was to be done with him, I realized something about me that I’d never before contemplated. Maybe it was seeing how happy my twin was with his arrangement, or maybe we’re more alike than I once believed, but either way, the fantasy of watching you two play seems to be taking ahold of me.”
“Just watching?” she clarified. “As in, you don’t want to be in the fray?”
“Well, maybe not right away,” he admitted. “It will be a completely new experience for me, just standing back and letting a man touch you in the first place. Normally, it might have made me quite angry, but for some reason, I don’t feel that way. Perhaps because I know that your entire life has changed and lacks familiarity. Donnie is the only part of your world that remains the same.”
Vivian giggled. “Well, other than the fact that we’ve only ever been friends, you mean? Because I guarantee he has never touched me in any other way.”
“The bite will change those feelings, believe me,” Zach explained. “At least, it will in this case. I cannot explain exactly why it is our way, only what results we’ll gain. Only our third will be tolerated touching you, Vivian. And my lack of anger when thinking of Donovan doing so made it obvious that he must be the exception. The one we are meant to claim.”
“I’ve heard of thirds, of course,” said Vivian. “But you know that when it came to anything sexual, no one was allowed to explain. So you think that the only reason Charles is with Will and Irene was because he was fated to them?”
“Charles and Irene knew each other before they met Will, just as you and Donovan have known each other for a time,” said Zach speculatively. “I don’t know if that has anything to do with the process, or if it is merely a similarity in these two relationships. But in any case, things will be likely to work out the same. Understand this, Vivian: sometimes, the men of a third also share together physically, or sometimes their only thought is the pleasure of their woman. In this case, since both Donovan and I appear to be interested in women, a sexual exchange between us would be unlikely. Well, unless it was one directed by you. There are some occasions, like that, in which our proclivities might change. It’s all to do with you.”
“I would not ask you to do anything that goes against the grain,” she shrugged. “I mean, I won’t tell you not to, of course. Just as you won’t prohibit me, I would not wish to hinder your happiness in any way.”
“Well then, I suppose we’ll just see how it goes,” Zach said with a smile. “Right now, however, we should probably get some sleep.”
CHAPTER 13
When Vivian awakened, the car was moving steadily and Zach was still asleep. She was once again feeling nauseated but horny, and she started to look at the back seat from a whole new point of view—as in, how easily could she and Zach make use of it. For that matter, how easily could she, Zach, and Donovan?
She found herself visualizing the contrast between Zach’s darker good looks and Donovan’s lighter tones, and the thought of savoring them together, while wholly embarrassing at the moment, was not unappealing. However, she still felt a little reluctant about the actual process. What would it be like to turn Donovan, and to desire h
im? Wouldn’t it feel a little strange after she’d spent so much time convincing herself there would never be more than they already had?
Also, her feelings for Zach were completely different than her feelings for her friend. The fire that he inspired in her was electric. Once she’d bitten Donovan, would her desire for him be the same? The questions were starting to make her head spin.
Then, Zach’s eyes popped open, and she knew she was thinking too loudly. He probably could hear every single word. The thought of it had her blushing, and his slow smile lit her up like nothing else ever could.
“Good evening, Vivian,” he said in a husky tone. “What was that about whether or not this back seat has enough room? Well, certainly there’s room for two, at least.”
“Isn’t that sort of like eavesdropping?” she asked sweetly.
“No secrets, baby,” he told her. “Now, come here and kiss me. I’d like to try out my theory about this back seat personally.”
Vivian giggled and climbed right on top of him, pressing him down onto the cushion rather forcefully. It made Zach chuckle right along with her.
“Feeling frisky, my love?” he teased her.
“Frisky doesn’t begin to cover it,” she complained. “I’m horny as hell.”
“So you’re saying you’d like to hop on for a ride?”
“You don’t seem to mind,” she replied as she moved suggestively against his cock, which was soon standing at full attention.
“With all the troubles we’ve had this week, I could use the distraction, sweetheart,” he told her. Setting her away from him for a moment, he used one hand to open his fly and his cock instantly sprang free.
“Now comes the fun part,” Zach snickered. “Maybe we shouldn’t have dressed you in jeans today, my sweet.”
Vivian grinned wryly. “I will probably do better to just take out one leg.”
“Unless you’d rather remove them completely,” he teased.
“Yeah, there’s a good idea, I could be totally naked when we get attacked by Carpathians,” she scoffed. “Wouldn’t that be pretty?”
“The view sure would be,” he pointed out huskily. “Vivian, stop arguing and get those pants out of my way. I want to be inside of you.”
She undid her fly and tugged off her jeans and underwear all at the same time. She left them in a ball on the floor and climbed back up on top of Zach, impaling herself without any further ceremony.
“Oh, yeah, that’s the sugar,” she teased.
“Ride me, baby,” Zach encouraged her, groaning softly.
Vivian was having trouble figuring out where to put her knees so she could move properly. Finally giving up on that thought, she planted one of her feet on the floor and attacked him at an angle, giggling softly.
“Clever girl,” he said appreciatively, catching hold of her hips as he began to undulate underneath her. “I think this might actually work, baby.”
The friction between them mounted, and Vivian started to moan, softly at first but then with increasing intensity as it became apparent that it was working rather well. She knew that Donovan could probably tell what they were doing, and for a moment, she was embarrassed enough by it to try to tone her voice down, but that didn’t last for long as her orgasm hit her. Her walls clenched tightly, milking an orgasm out of Zach as well.
In the afterglow, Vivian thought she noticed that the car wasn’t traveling quite as straight as it should be, and she wondered if they’d been distracting the driver. She suppressed a giggle as she imagined the look on Donovan’s face when he realized what was going on.
“What’s that naughty little look about, Viv?” Zach teased her. “Are you thinking about our audience?”
“In a way, I suppose,” she chuckled. “I did wonder what he thought of the show.”
Zach chuckled. “I wondered the same thing myself.”
“It is nighttime now, though,” she added. “We should lower the shields so we all have a better view. Now that darkness has fallen, trouble may be soon to follow.”
“Don’t you want to put your pants on first?” asked Zach, grinning at her.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea unless we want the poor man to crash into a median or something, right?” Vivian teased.
She grabbed up her clothing and sorted it out, then tugged it back on again before she reached over and pressed the button to lower the extra walls. Donovan smirked at the two of them through the rearview.
“I take it you liked the seat pretty well?” he teased.
“Yeah, it seems to work,” Vivian said, smirking wickedly.
“Good to know, good to know,” Donovan replied.
“Where are we now?” Zach wanted to know.
“We are almost there,” Donovan said. “I’m expecting some sort of trouble to show up any time now.”
“I’d have to agree,” said Zach grimly. “It’s dark enough out; I’m surprised they haven’t attacked us already.”
“Maybe they’ve got an ambush set up somewhere along the road in the mountains,” Donovan suggested. “It would be much easier to take us if we have no means to escape.”
“You guys sure know how to kill a mood,” Vivian complained.
The sound of an arrow glancing off the back window distracted them all.
“Party time,” commented Donovan dryly. “Let’s find out just how fast these bastards can fly, shall we?”
“I count four,” Zach commented as he watched out the windows. “Maybe five.”
Something thudded on the roof as he said this, and began to pound. Donovan floored it, swerving back and forth along the highway, evading the oncoming traffic as he moved too far over, the tires skidding as he moved back into his own lane again. The pounding stopped, and they saw one of the vampires quickly roll a few times and get to his feet again.
“That didn’t seem to help,” Zach pointed out. “How much further do we need to go?”
“Ten miles, all uphill,” said Donovan, his voice apologetic as he swerved one more time. “There’s no point in pulling over; we’re just going to have to drive.”
One of the five vampires alit right in front of the car about ten feet away. Donovan didn’t bother to swerve this time but plowed right over the guy. He went flying off to the side and shook it off, and when he started after them again, he looked really pissed off.
“Do you think you can keep this up that long?” Zach asked worriedly.
“Well, Zach, I’m just going to have to try.”
*****
Periodically over the next half an hour, they had to dodge, maim, kill, or otherwise incapacitate a total of twenty persistent Carpathians as they headed up into the foothills and then began the descent up the mountain where the stronghold awaited. However, now they were finally at the entrance gates, and all the attacks had subsided.
“Drive in quickly and make your way straight to the compound,” said the gatekeeper. “The Carpathians have begun sending out forces to try and infiltrate the perimeter, and we’ve been working very hard to keep them outside. If they manage to succeed, there’s going to be some real troubles afterwards.”
“Do you think the stronghold will remain safe?” asked Zach with a worried frown.
“We are hoping to welcome troops from the Arimathean any day now,” he said. “The request is over a week old.”
“Strange, because I asked for help, and men were received within a day or two,” Zach said. “I wonder why they have yet to come to you.”
“Well, you are a member of the favored Knight family, after all,” he said. “Hurry along, now. You’re probably attracting Carpathians like moths to a flame.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. You’re probably right.”
Donovan drove them to the main building, and they went inside. Vivian smiled at the administrator in greeting, and she was quick to move over to her side.
“This does not look like James Knight to me,” she said, looking Zach over like he was a piece of meat. “Though I really
do like the upgrade.”
“My father recently died,” Zach explained. “Vivian came looking for him, but she ended up with me.”
“And isn’t complaining,” she teased.
“This is Samantha Arimath,” Vivian explained. “She is my mother.”
“Oh, now I see,” Zach nodded as she looked at the woman more closely. “You do favor one another, it seems.”
“And what brings you to this place?”
“Has the van not made it, then?” asked Zach worriedly. “They left before us by at least half an hour. I hope they haven’t run into troubles as well.”
CHAPTER 14
Samantha said, “I wish that we had some way to find them for you, but with such dangers afoot, we have no warriors to spare. If you wish, we could try sending out ghouls or humans, but not until morning when the threat of vampires attacking would diminish greatly. There’s nothing more I can do.”
“The three of us do require lodgings,” Zach said then. “Vivian and I will wish to keep Donovan close, as we are waiting only for his ghoul taint to diminish before she intends to turn him as well.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re taking him for a third?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zach said, smirking slightly. “And before you ask, the idea was mine.”
“How very—interesting,” she said with a chuckle. “Tell me, Zach, do you believe that Vivian is your fated bride?”
“I believe that my fate stands before me now, yes,” he said with a nod, then reached to either side and grasped each of their hands to give them a squeeze. “Why else would I feel this way?”
“I see,” she said, smiling. “I remember my own experiences with such things. However, you know that my mate was Joseph, and he has many other wives other than me. It was our third who is truly fated to me, and who is my only lover for the most part. But circumstances will be different for you and Vivian and Donovan, I should think. You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who would want a harem, from what I can see.”
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