He watched Isobel, hoping he could imitate her. He quickly lost himself in the graceful way she moved. From there, it was too easy to recall how she’d undulated beneath him, and his temperature rose. Scan, Seere reminded himself, but he found nothing out of the ordinary in the club. And she was right in front of him – the woman he’d loved to distraction.
The DJ chose that moment to segue into a slow song and, with a smile, Isobel stepped into his arms. For an instant, he resisted, then he decided the hell with it and gathered her against his body.
Seere swayed, moving just enough to tease both of them. He’d missed this, he’d missed her. His Isobel.
She melted into him and he closed his eyes, not only to savour her breasts pressed into his chest, but to hide the red glow that likely was beginning to appear as his arousal deepened. He slipped a hand to her bottom and pulled her more firmly into him. Isobel didn’t protest, simply held on tighter. Seere let her heat engulf his senses. At least he did until his brain circled back to all the questions that had never been answered between them.
Why? Why had she left him? She’d never told him she loved him, but he’d been certain she had. Would she walk away from him tonight after they took down the murderer? The same way she’d disappeared back then?
He couldn’t stand the uncertainty, the not knowing. Why, Iso? Why didn’t you stay with me?
I’d been lost in Seere, in the brush of his body against mine. His question dragged me back to earth with a bang. For an instant, I clutched him closer, then I leaned away far enough to look into his face. Passion burned in his eyes. As did hurt.
He wouldn’t believe me, but I’d tell him the truth anyway – even if it did make me a traitor in the eyes of my clan.
I had no choice.
“There’s always a choice.” His hands flexed where they rested against me and I heard the impatience in his voice despite the volume of the music.
Swallowing hard, I gathered my courage. I wasn’t violating canon, but sharing our business with outsiders was strongly discouraged. No, there isn’t. Not for a fledgling. Until we reach our five hundredth year, our sire can bend our will to his. Mine discovered my relationship with you and disapproved of it. We argued, and when it became clear that I wouldn’t go along with him, he compelled me to obey.
Seere didn’t speak, simply stared at me. I met his gaze squarely. What I’d told him was the truth. I wanted – needed – him to believe me. It took a long time before the suspicion left his face.
Why didn’t you seek me out when your status changed?
Two reasons. I’d disappeared from your life without a word, and it had been nearly a hundred years. I wasn’t sure of my reception. He began to speak aloud, but I rested the pads of my fingers over his lips to stop him. That’s not all. The clan lord can compel anyone in his line to follow his will, fledgling or not. Seere, my sire is the clan lord.
His eyes closed when what I’d revealed registered. He leaned down, resting his forehead to mine. Tears that I believed I’d cried out a couple of centuries ago gathered and I blinked to get rid of them. I thought I’d resigned myself to eternity without him, but that was before I’d seen him again, before I’d felt his arms around me once more. We had tonight and not a second longer. By morning, either the murderer would be caught and justice administered or Seere’s people and mine would be at war.
Thoughts of the killer had me scanning the club for the first time in quite a while. But it was all clear. That made it easier to give in to temptation. I pressed my lips to Seere’s in a slow, sweet kiss that held everything that I felt for him.
We gave up all pretence of dancing and simply stood in the centre of the dance floor, arms around each other, as we let passion take over. Or nearly so. I couldn’t forget the mission, not entirely. When Seere raised his head, I could see the burden of responsibility weighed him down too.
“I want you, Iso.”
“I feel the same. Maybe after we catch . . . ” I let my words trail off.
The odds were good that if we did capture the demon who’d slain the vampires, our moment would be lost. Other enforcers would have to be summoned to help take the murderer to the clan’s estate. I’d be expected to stay to watch the execution. By then it would be close to morning and any further contact with Seere would likely be prohibited. I shook my head.
“Come on,” he said and, taking my hand, pulled me through the crowd to the back of the nightclub.
“Seere!” But as breathless as my voice had been, I doubted he heard me. We can’t make love here, not when the demon we’re after could arrive at any moment.
I know that. He didn’t slow, just kept walking until we reached what appeared to be a storeroom at the rear of the club. He left the door ajar, tugged the collar of his jacket away from his neck, and bared his throat to me. With a smirk, he said, “Not as good as sex, but as close as we can chance.”
“Are you certain?”
Instead of answering me directly, Seere spoke in a language I didn’t understand. When he finished, he pressed me close.
The heels of my boots put me at the precise height and, wrapping my arms around his waist, I ran my tongue over the pulse point in his neck, tasting his skin. I wanted to sink into him, but couldn’t allow myself the indulgence. Instead, I pressed a kiss against his throat and eased away to extend my fangs. Our eyes met and his hands settled at my hips, urging me tightly against the lower half of his body. Carefully, not wanting to hurt him, I bent my head and pierced his flesh.
Bliss flowed through me, but I sipped slowly. This wasn’t about feeding, this was about love. And about faith in each other. Seere had to trust me not to take too much blood and I had to trust him to have truly granted me permission to drink from him. And it was about pleasure – for both of us.
The throb of his pulse was echoed between my thighs and he rocked against me. It was good, but it could be better. We could be naked with Seere deep inside me while I savoured him. There’d been times I’d orgasmed simply from tasting his blood, but I couldn’t lose myself that deeply in the moment. Not now.
Long before I was ready, I eased from him. After retracting my teeth, I licked at the small punctures on his neck to heal them. Not that he needed it. Demons mended even faster than vampires, but I liked tending to him in this small way.
“You didn’t take much,” Seere said when I raised my head.
The huskiness in his voice made me shiver and I wished we were safely tucked away in bed, free to explore each other at our leisure. “You said if the demon was strong, you might need all your powers. I didn’t want to risk weakening you.”
“Yeah.” He sounded resigned.
“We better get back to work,” I said without enthusiasm as I stepped away from him.
He nodded and this time when he took my hand, I knew it was because he wanted the closeness. When we re-entered the bar, the press of the crowd and the volume of the music made me feel claustrophobic, but I took a deep breath and forced it aside. This was my job and Seere needed me to be his partner, not a love-struck idiot.
We’ll make another circuit, he sent telepathically.
I smiled to let him know I’d heard and moved with him, staying slightly behind and allowing Seere to use his broad shoulders to cut a path for us through the crowd. Because of my position, I didn’t see what made him stiffen and jerk to a stop. “What?” I asked sharply.
Without a word, Seere dropped my hand and took off running.
Muttering a curse, I chased after him, almost needing to fight my way through the humans who blocked my path. He’d seen our target, I was sure of it, and I was angry at being left in the dust. We were supposed to work together, damn it. I reached the vestibule and kept going, bursting out onto the sidewalk.
A sense of motion had me looking to my left, and calling on all my preternatural speed. I followed. Demons were just as fast as vampires. I didn’t catch up to him, but I didn’t fall farther behind either.
We raced on
and on until my lungs ached and a stitch developed in my side, but I didn’t slow. I couldn’t. What if something happened to Seere because I wasn’t there to help him?
I crossed intersections against the lights by going airborne and then running again. Humans would see nothing except a blur – the same as when I was on the ground – but it kept me in the hunt. But damn, I hated flying and the nausea it gave me.
By the time I reached the park, I’d lost track of how far I’d travelled or where I actually was in the Los Angeles area. I could tell by the graffiti sprayed on the benches that this wasn’t a safe part of town. Since Seere and the other demon were already circling each other, eyes glowing red, it was a good thing there weren’t going to be any credible witnesses in the vicinity.
Fangs and talons at the ready, I brushed my mind against Seere’s to let him know I was there.
No teeth, damn it. Even telepathically he could growl. But he was right – I couldn’t risk getting the demon’s blood in my mouth. I pulled my fangs back in, reducing my weaponry by half.
Lightning crashed from the sky, narrowly missing Seere. I swallowed a gasp. The second bolt connected, but didn’t seem to cause any harm. He raised his hands, formed a glowing ball of energy between them, and hurled it towards the killer. Our enemy shunted it aside as if it were nothing more than a beach ball.
I wasn’t used to standing around, watching a fight, but I was out of my depth here. Far out of my depth. Vampires couldn’t control the weather or harness fireballs. I was glad the demon wars had ended long before my birth.
They threw more lightning fireballs at each other. Then they added ropes of fire to the mix. What kind of shields did they possess? Neither of them seemed to feel any ill effects.
Apparently growing frustrated with his lack of success, the murderer hurled a burst of lightning at me. But I’d expected that and my own protective field took the hit. It wobbled, but didn’t fall.
Seere threw himself at the demon with enough force that I heard the thud of bodies from where I stood. They went down, rolling on the grass, and when my lover ended up pinned beneath the other male, I launched myself at the enemy, my talons slashing at his exposed back.
My claws glanced off whatever shielding the killer had and, with a snarl, he turned on me, hitting me with enough force to send my body sailing backwards.
I landed hard. My head slammed into the ground and I had the wind knocked out of me. Lying there, I struggled to clear the black spots obscuring my vision and draw in air before the killer decided to jump me. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Seere’s growl and detected more sounds of battle.
Shaking my head to clear my eyesight, I got to my feet. I wasn’t entirely steady, but I staggered towards the fight. Both males were fast, so fast that there were times even I couldn’t detect what was happening.
The killer restrained Seere against a tree trunk so I ran at him again even though I hadn’t penetrated his protection earlier. I didn’t succeed now either and, when he hit me this time, I probably flew twice the distance I had before. I remained prone, struggling to recover.
“Trying to protect your vampire whore, cousin?”
“Trying to prevent a war, Berith,” Seere replied, the final word punctuated with a grunt.
I heard sounds of impact, of flesh meeting flesh, but I couldn’t prise my eyes open. Part of me longed to curl up and sleep, but that wasn’t an option. I was a full-powered enforcer, damn it, and not some fledgling.
“You’re weak,” Berith said with a defiant sneer in his voice. “Your whole line is weak. There never should have been a truce. Vampires are an aberration and they need to be eradicated.”
Coughing, I rolled to my hands and knees. I wasn’t much help, I knew that, but I couldn’t leave Seere to fight alone. My stomach heaved as I stood. There was another flurry of attacks, only half of which I saw clearly. Then Seere was on the ground again, his cousin poised above him.
Now, Iso! His protection is down.
With all my strength, I ran at the demon. When I reached him, I slashed the talons of my right hand across the side of his neck. There was enough force there to rip out a large chunk of flesh and drive him backwards, away from Seere. But Berith didn’t fall. Blood spurted and I hurriedly closed my mouth.
Seere was on him then, his own claws extended. Before Berith could react, my lover sliced down, severing his head from his body.
I stood there, staring stupidly until Seere lurched over to me. “You’re covered in blood,” he said. “Keep your mouth closed until I clean you up.” He lifted his hand and, without touching me, rubbed his fingers together. I felt the bloody moisture on my face, on my neck, arms and clothes disappear. “There.”
“Are you OK?” I asked. He used magic to remove the blood from his own body as well.
“Healing already.” I frowned, but Seere waved off my concern and framed my face between his hands. “He hurt you.”
“I’m fine.” I would be in about an hour or so. Right now, I felt as if I’d been tackled by the entire defensive line of the Oakland Raiders. I raised my arms so I could curl my hands around Seere’s forearms. “I don’t know why demons are worried about a war with my people. The way your cousin kicked my butt, you can handle us easily.”
Seere shook his head. “From what I was told, the vampires came up with a way to even the playing field during the wars. I bet the enforcers who fought at that time could tell you how.”
They probably could, but I didn’t think they’d fill me in, not when they’d worry I’d spill the secret to Seere. It didn’t matter, though – not this minute. Time was short, I knew it, and there was something I wanted to share. Needed to share. I held both his hands in mine and moved closer to lean in to him. “I loved you then, though I never said the words,” I told him quietly. “I love you still and know that I’ll love you in the centuries to come even though we’re apart.”
His hold tightened briefly before he relaxed his grip. “I love you too, Iso. Always have, always will.”
I was blinking back tears when his lips found mine. Releasing his hands, I wrapped my arms around Seere and held him close. Our kiss was both passionate and sweet and I poured my heart into it, trying to make up for the empty years stretched out in front of me.
But with the demon dead and dawn still hours away, maybe we could steal some time. One night wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
“Is Berith’s body enough to calm your clan’s need for vengeance?”
We jerked apart. The male who’d spoken was unknown to me, but he was a demon. With his dark hair and light blue eyes, he bore enough resemblance to Seere to be a relative. Considering the array of bodyguards I saw, I suspected it was his father – the demon king. My clan lord stood beside him, his own contingent of personal enforcers present as well.
“An execution would have been a safer course of action, but if we hoist his head and body on pikes in the courtyard, that should suffice,” my sire said.
It was surreal. A vampire clan lord and a demon king conversing as if they were buddies. Neither one of them seemed the least bit shocked or surprised to find Seere and I locked in an embrace. As I recalled the anger I’d faced 200 years ago when my sire had discovered my relationship with a demon, it made it seem more bizarre.
“This whole thing was a set-up,” Seere said, half in disbelief, half in realization.
“You think Berith wasn’t a threat?” his father asked.
“Not that part; Berith was real. I’m talking about Isobel and I discovering we were assigned to work together. That’s what the two of you arranged, isn’t it? You were hoping we’d rekindle our past relationship.”
The leaders shared a glance and it was my clan lord who answered. “It’s difficult to end old hatreds when those who warred yet live.”
“You didn’t feel that way before when you ordered me to stay away from Seere,” I told him.
“Times change. It’s necessary for vampires and demons to become allies or
the future might be grim indeed.”
“Politics. With Seere a demon prince and me a daughter of your blood, if we bond, we’re a symbol of unity for both sides.”
My clan lord inclined his head and I scowled. I thought he’d saved me from an expedient marriage 600 years ago, but it appeared destiny – and my sire – had other plans. It angered me, but before I could work up enough ire to confront him, Seere took my hand and anchored me at his side.
“They might have manipulated us for their own ends,” he said, cupping my cheek with his free hand, “but don’t forget we get something we want out of this too. A future together.”
That made my temper evaporate and I smiled slowly. “A win-win situation.”
“Exactly.”
Seere’s father and my clan lord turned away, dismissing us, and began issuing orders to their troops. And as the demon and vampire guards worked together to collect the pieces of the murderer’s body, Seere wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me away. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere private so we can start catching up on all the years we missed.” His grin was erotically predatory. “I had this fantasy tonight about you and those boots you’re wearing.”
My blood heated and my fangs dropped down just the smallest amount. I remembered the pleasure I’d had in the past while playing out Seere’s fantasies. Eternity had never looked better.
Love Bites
Angie Fox
Katarina Volholme D’Transylvania checked her teeth for lipstick and then, as if to tempt fate, added another layer of Sinfully Scarlet gloss. This was it. Her rebel moment. And it had only taken 873 years.
Her fingers shook as she stowed the gloss into the back pocket of her black leather pants. They felt wickedly snug. Glorious. Her mother would have had a heart attack. Well, if her mother’s heart still beat.
Katarina, or Kat as her family called her, belonged to one of the oldest vampire families in Romania. She’d learned to sit straight, mind her manners and never, ever drink from the help. She’d been the perfect little princess. Until now.
Love Bites UK (Mammoth Book Of Vampire Romance2) Page 24