“What are you three up to?” asked Alex.
“If you must know, we’ve decided to turn Donovan tonight,” said Zach in a longsuffering tone. “Why don’t you go spend some time with Will?”
“Well, I would, but they’re almost as noisy as the three of you,” he complained. “Shall I go to the servants’ quarters again?”
“I don’t care where you go, Alex, but we are not to be disturbed. Donovan has really been looking forward to this occasion, and I’ll not have you ruining it for him.”
“Fine, fine,” he grumbled. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll figure out somewhere to go. I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”
When he left again, the three of them stepped inside the bedroom, chuckling and shaking their heads. Vivian said, “Poor Alex. We have got to find him a mate or two.”
“He’s a big boy,” Zach scoffed. “He should be able to find them on his own.”
“Yeah, if he ever pulls his head out of a video game long enough to try,” Donovan added, snickering and rolling his eyes. “He’s asked me to play four nights in a row, and he probably intended to try again just now.”
“If we were just going to pass out for six hours again, I wouldn’t mind,” said Zach with a shrug. “But you’ve been up all night and at least half of the day every night this week. I have a feeling you could really use the nap you’ll have to take.”
He chuckled. “Oh, no way. I’m pretty much an insomniac anyway. I’ll probably hate every minute and wake up ready to train.”
“That’s true; he just might,” Vivian agreed. She gasped as she said this when Donovan’s fingers began to trace down her spine from behind. Zach chuckled as he moved forward and caught her mouth in a playful kiss.
“We can stand here speculating forever, Viv, but I think maybe we could find a better use of our time.”
“I’ll just bet I could guess what you have in mind,” she agreed.
Donovan’s fingers slid under the hem of her t-shirt, and he gave a gentle tug, pulling the garment up and over Vivian’s head and pitching it off to the side. Zach kissed her again as Donovan unhooked her bra and pitched that too. She moaned softly as one hand from each man sought out a nipple to play with. The dual stimulation sent a little thrill all down her body, and it quickly centered between her thighs as she reached down and undid her own fly.
Momentarily escaping her two lovers’ touches, she shimmied out of her pants and sent them sailing in the same general direction as the rest of her clothes. “Now,” she said on a purr, “how about if we undress the two of you?”
Zach and Donovan each made quick work of getting rid of their clothes as they watched Vivian saunter over to the bed and lie on her stomach. She kicked her feet up in the air, making a big show of letting them know they were keeping her waiting there.
Both men approached the bed at the same time, each one falling upon her from one side or the other. Zach ran his tongue along the side of her neck until she turned into his kisses, while Donovan’s hand began to explore one of her butt cheeks and then twisted her ass against his front as his hand crept around to smooth deftly over her mons. One insistent digit slipped into her moist slit and easily found her sweet hole.
Vivian moaned into Zach’s mouth as Donovan’s finger began to tease and explore. Zach’s hand smoothed down over her collar bones and found their way to her breasts, teasing her aching nipples mercilessly.
“God, please, I want to—” she started to say, but then she was coming before she could even complete the plea. Her libido kicked into overdrive as she realized that Donovan was rubbing rather eagerly against her ass cheeks and breathing hotly into her ear. Vivian flipped onto her back and sucked in a breath or two as she came back down to reality.
“I believe Donovan requires a bite or two, Vivian,” Zach suggested then. He sat up and pointed to the vein connecting his pelvis to his inner thigh. “This place here is always a good choice to enhance pleasure and minimize pain on a man, though it is not one I personally have ever tried. Usually, I’m on the receiving end of that exchange.”
Donovan chuckled. “Well, I could see why. You certainly don’t want a dick in the eye.”
“Donnie, behave yourself and let me instruct my bride,” Zach scolded, smirking.
“Well, it is my thigh you’re trying to offer up for sacrifice,” he pointed out. “At the very least, I hope you’ve got it right.”
“Trust me; you’ll like it,” Zach told him.
Vivian cast Donovan a saucy grin as she moved down between his legs.
“Say, while you’re down there—” said Donovan, leaving the rest of the statement up in the air.
Vivian giggled. “Come on, stop making me laugh. I’m trying to bite you here.”
“Yeah, not exactly the best time for your body to be shaking,” he realized, wincing slightly as her fangs sank in. But he soon realized it wasn’t that bad, and his cock got hard as a rock, two things which made him a whole lot less likely to complain.
“See, what did I tell you?” Zach said. “Enough for now, Vivian. We don’t want to make him too sleepy. Donovan, I want to watch you take her, and I want you to make it good. If she isn’t screaming, you’re not doing your job. You got that?”
“Not a problem, my lord,” said Donovan, grinning wolfishly.
“Something tells me I’d better brace myself,” Vivian commented dryly.
“Get on your knees, Vivian,” Donovan told her then. “I want to take you from behind.”
Dutifully, Vivian flipped back over and raised up her backside. Donovan caught her roughly around her hips and dragged her to the position he wanted, then dove into her with a grunt of pure pleasure. She echoed the sound almost immediately after him.
As per the order he had been given, Donovan pounded into Vivian mercilessly. She moaned and groaned and shoved herself against him, smiling up at Zach as he watched. She knew the very moment when he’d decided spectating wasn’t nearly as fun as jumping into the fray.
Lying on the bed again, Zach reached up and played with Vivian’s breasts, bringing the nipples more fully to life. She bit at her bottom lip as the sensation of his touch fueled everything that Donovan was making her feel, and her orgasm crashed over her like an ocean wave in the middle of a storm—not that she’d ever gotten to see one yet, but her imagination worked just fine.
Her voice rang out in an appreciative crescendo, and then Donovan moved aside, crashing to the mattress as he panted. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, but he looked quite satisfied with his handiwork.
Zach pulled Vivian down on top of him, holding her for a time until she had a chance to catch her own breath. Then he flipped her into the middle of the pillows and mounted her. She groaned feverishly, still quite heated from her previous activity.
“Bite him again, Vivian,” Zach suggested as he began to move slowly inside of her.
With a soft moan and a slightly sideways shift of her body, Vivian turned and bit into Donovan’s neck. He groaned softly, but he was still panting and had yet to recover after their rigorous exercise—probably because he was already partially drained.
“I don’t think I can take much more,” she told Zach. “I think I’ve drained him dry.”
“That’s good, Viv,” Zach said, increasing his speed as she let go of Donovan. “He’ll probably be out for a time, and then he will need to feed. But for now, what do you say I make you scream for me?”
“I don’t want to scream right now,” she said in a soft voice. “I would much rather take it slow.”
“Yes, that’s always nice too,” Zach agreed. He slowed down, his movements now languid and gentle, just a subtle rolling of his hips as he savored her. They stayed like that for a long time before either of the spoke again. Then Zach said, “Take just a little blood from me, Vivian. When Donovan feeds, he will receive a bit from us both, but it will have processed through your own. That way, it won’t harm him, but he will be bound to me through you.”
�
�All right,” she agreed and turned her head a bit, her fangs piercing the side of his neck. The slow movements continued as she nursed there, drinking just enough to gain the desired result and stopping when Zach told her to.
Then, they made love in earnest, coming blissfully together before they dropped off into a well-sated sleep.
Zach was still asleep when Donovan opened his eyes. He looked confused and hungry, and Vivian cast him a comforting smile.
“It’s all right, Don,” she told him. “I’ve got what you need. You’re going to be just fine.”
*
After Don fed from Vivian, he was out for two days. Zach and Vivian slept beside him both days, and at one point, Zach told Vivian they should just go ahead and get a bigger bed.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Just because I’ll be bound doesn’t mean you have to be involved if you don’t want to.”
“Baby, I don’t want any barriers between us—and that includes our third,” Zach insisted. “How can we please you properly if the two of us are not in sync? That’s like trying to operate a car without any brakes. It might go forward, but it’s very likely to crash at some point, don’t you think?”
Vivian giggled. “Your mind never ceases to amaze me, Zach, do you know that?”
“It is what it is,” he shrugged. “Well, come on, we’ve got to go do the training now. If he wakes up, Don is sure to know where we are, though maybe we should have a blood provider check in on him sometime tonight. He’s sure to wake up hungry.”
She caught his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “You’re always so thoughtful, Zach. I grew up expecting a cruel taskmaster, but instead, I’ve found a true prince.”
“Hey, don’t get all mushy right now,” he chuckled. “We’re on the way out the door, not back in it again.”
Vivian giggled. “Well, I mean every word of it.”
“Tell me that again later, when I can properly ravish you,” he told her, grasping her hand and tugging her along with him to the main cave. They headed for the exercise hall hand in hand.
“We’ve got trouble,” said Will as they entered. “The Carpathians made a run on the perimeter not one hour ago. Ravi only had twenty soldiers with him, and they have been trying to hold off the onslaught alone. But even twenty of the most seasoned warriors cannot hold off nearly one hundred enemies forever. The men here are ready to follow you, Lord Knight. The army is yours to command.”
“And yours, too,” said Zach decisively. “We must defend the walls at all costs. Some of the female archers are also ready; it is just their armor that is lacking. Brothers, each of you take your trainees and help to keep the perimeter secure. I shall bring a group of archers on top of the Center’s roof, where we might easily pick the enemy off one by one.”
“The roof is unprotected,” Samantha protested. “You cannot bring the women up there. If the enemy were to fly over the walls, they could easily pick them off too.”
“We will just have to improvise,” said Zach grimly. “If I am to lead this battle, you must learn to trust in me, and do as I say.”
“Now I can see the part of you that came from James,” she replied dryly. “Very well, but I expect you to return every single one of them to the caves again in one piece.”
“That’s a mighty tall order in the middle of a battle,” he pointed out. “Still, I will do my best to fulfill the request. We will only have to hold them off until dawn at most, unless they are foolish enough to send in their ghouls.”
*****
The battle raged for about six hours before it finally died down, but there were surprisingly few casualties among the Arimathean stronghold members. They managed to maintain the perimeter, so the women on the roof were never placed in any real danger. Many of them were able to boast about making a kill or two, though.
“That was so exciting,” said Irene to Vivian as they returned to their caves for the morning. “I never would have thought I’d ever fight in a vampire battle and actually survive to tell the tale.”
“You’re a natural with a bow and arrow,” Vivian told her. “I wish I could do half as well.”
“You two did well in the skirmish, but this war is not over yet,” said Zach grimly. “They are only going to keep coming, and in greater numbers. Samantha and I have agreed that we may be better off to evacuate during the day.”
“What?” Vivian gasped. “How are we going to do that? We could easily send off the ghouls and humans during the day, but that would only be observed by the ghouls and humans belonging to the enemy. And there’s no way to move over two hundred vampires at a safe time.”
“Not through the sunlight, anyway,” said Zach, tapping the side of his head. “But perhaps through a hidden network of caves?”
“You mean there’s a way we could actually escape?” Vivian gasped.
“Yes, indeed there is,” he smirked. “And since there is no sunlight, we could easily do so during the day.”
“By the time the Carpathians attack the perimeter again, we could be well away from this place,” Will added, grinning at Irene.
“And go where?” she wanted to know.
“Down into Mexico, maybe even further,” said Zach. “As long as we are not seen leaving, they’ll not be able to find us indefinitely. All we need to do is establish a stronghold and dig in someplace, and you two will be able to stay safe. Even if they did get to us, it’s up to you two to continue on—to birth the newest members of the Knight line.”
“Oh, I’m really not liking the sound of this,” said Vivian with a frown. “And exactly when were we planning to go?”
“We’re meant to rest only for a few hours, then everyone will begin to pack up and go,” said Zach. “Some of these caves lead deep into the Earth’s underbelly, so unless there are Carpathians below, we should be home free.”
“Hate to burst the bubble, but Carpathians have been in Colorado just as long as Arimatheans, Zach,” Vivian pointed out. “I highly doubt they’ve existed so long and not discovered those caves as well.”
“Well, I suppose we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” he replied. “Now, come on; I’d like to find out if Donovan has revived. I’d hate to have to carry his ass through caves, but we both know that, if I have to, I will.”
Vivian’s affectionate smile upon hearing these words made him blush. “You big softy,” she snickered, punching his arm.
“Hey, now, it’s all about you, my dear, remember?” he pointed out. “Keeping you happy and all that.”
“You don’t have to pretend that you don’t care,” she said. “We’re all family here. I mean, Will, wouldn’t you do the same for Charles?”
“Hell no,” he grumbled. “I’d leave his sorry ass behind.”
“What a lie!” Irene snorted. “These men. They’re all bluster on the outside, but both of them have hearts of gold.”
“Oh, no way!” they said at the same time, and then all four of them laughed uproariously.
Zach said, “We sleep until around nine. Set an alarm so you wake on time.”
“Will do, brother,” he agreed. “By the way, has anyone seen Alex tonight?”
“Yes, I did,” said Vivian. “He was set to protect all the virgins, and last I saw of him, he was reassuring them that things had settled down and they should be fine until tomorrow night. I suppose somebody ought to tell him about the new plan, though.”
“Wherever he comes to sleep for the day, he is certain to learn about the evacuation,” said Will. “Everyone is already being told.”
“I sure hope Alex hasn’t been—too interested—in any of the ladies,” said Vivian worriedly. “My father would think nothing of killing him if he decided to take one for his own. That honor belongs only to the vampire for which a maiden has been grown.”
“Well, unless something happened to the man, like what happened with James,” Will pointed out. “And I have a sorry feeling that some of the men for which these girls were meant won’t be with us before all
of this is done. The Carpathians won’t easily give up on their vendetta.”
“Are you still standing there, Will?” Zach complained. “Go home, and get some sleep. We have a busy morning.”
“Yeah, yeah, brother,” he grumbled. “Don’t be so bossy.”
“I’m supposed to be bossy,” he pointed out. “I’m the clan’s lord.”
“No, that doesn’t mean you should be bossy, only that you should be well informed, quick thinking, and ready for anything. That’s not at all the same thing.”
“Humor me,” said Zach, one brow arched sternly.
“Yes, sir,” said Will, turning on his heel and heading for the entrance to his designated set of caves, which was almost directly across from their own. Zach chuckled as he turned the other way, tugging Vivian with him through the front door.
Donovan looked up guiltily from next to the blood provider who was lying comatose on the sofa. “Guys? I think I may have taken too much. I didn’t know. Do you think he’ll be all right?”
Rolling his eyes, Zach stepped over and ran a hand along the man’s throat.
“Nope, sorry, this guy is toast,” he told him. “I suppose I’ll need to apologize to his wife.”
“He had a wife?” asked Donovan, and Zach realized he was close to tears.
“Donovan, simmer down,” he told him. “You know that death is just part of what we are. It’s no different than a wolf with a rabbit, or a lion with an elk. A vampire does whatever it takes to survive. Speaking of which, I know that you’re weak, but I believe your over-indulgence could not come at a better time.”
“What do you mean?”
“We are fleeing from the Carpathians again—en masse this time,” he explained. “Using the caves, Samantha believes we could sneak everyone out of here while it’s still daylight. So if you can’t sleep because you’ve been resting so long, you could always start packing up some things. Just remember, though, we’ll need to travel light.”
Keep It In The Blood: A Vampire Romance For Adults Page 11