Blood: Under the Skin Book 1

by K. B. Ladnier

  I was aware that it was a childish act of revenge, but I felt justified after the swat she gave me. I gave a yip in amusement as she continued trying to stop me. I hopped into her coffin and began rolling around.

  “Is he doing what I think he is?” I heard Hollis ask Claudia between Lucy shouting at me to get out of her coffin.

  “Oh, yeah. He sure is. Don’t you dare touch my stuff!” She replied, shouting that last part at me over Lucy’s voice.

  Lucy stopped shouting and sighed, “Seriously, Sloan. Get out of my coffin. Shift back and talk to me.” She loomed over me with her arms crossed and foot tapping.

  I internally snickered, having the perfect idea of how to piss her off just a little bit more. I did as she asked and jumped out of her coffin, only to go over to her favorite pair of black, leather boots and hike up my leg.

  Lucy gasped, pointing her finger at me in warning. “Don’t you dare! That is not funny!”

  I inched it just a smidge higher.

  “Sloan…” She crouched, ready to pounce should I actually go through with it.

  “Stop torturing her, Sloan. I think you got your revenge. This loft now smells like ass, so you win.”

  I huffed at Claudia’s remark and lowered my leg. Lucy let out a breath of relief and began to rub my long, pointed ears.

  “I know you’re mad. I’d be mad too if the situation was reversed. Which is why I need you to turn back human so we can talk this out,” she paused, giving me a sad look that she knew I wouldn’t be able to resist. “Please…” she added.

  My tail lowered between my legs. I didn’t want to turn back now, knowing that I wasn’t going to like this conversation. Now that the anger had fled and I got my fun for the newspaper hit out of the way, the sadness was creeping in. I had to face this, though. Claudia’s words about needing to do what was best for Lucy replayed in my head.

  If I loved her, I needed to let her go and hope that she would somehow still choose me in the end.

  With that in mind, I shifted back.

  I noticed Claudia immediately jump and spin around at the sight of my nakedness. I held a laugh back and faced Lucy.

  She brought up her hands and framed my face like she did the night before. “I’m so sorry that you had to find out what happened between Hollis and I like this. In my defense, it started because I was in a blood haze and attacked him. I had no idea feeding between vampires could flip a switch like -.”

  “Whoa, whoa, wait,” I interrupted her, not sure if I heard her correctly. “Feeding between vampires?”

  Lucy smashed her lips together and closed her eyes, showing me, she hadn’t meant to say that.

  She looked to Hollis, who nodded his head. “You may as well tell them. Better they know now anyways.” He looked over at a gaping Claudia, who was staring at him like he’d just grown an extra head.

  “Yeah,” Lucy replied hesitantly, as she turned back to me. “He is half vampire and half human.”

  “No fucking way! You’re like the Bigfoot of vampires!” Claudia shouted. “How the hell does that work? Can you go out in the daylight? Do you sleep in a coffin, too? How about silver? Blood? Wait, don’t answer that. Obviously, you like blood. I can smell it on your breath.”

  Lucy groaned. “Claudia can you please refrain from badgering him right now? Or actually, can you both wait in the hallway? I think I need to talk to Sloan alone.”

  Claudia poked out her bottom lip, but Hollis gripped her arm and nodded towards the hallway.

  “Come on. She’s right. We should let them talk.” He said to her, giving Lucy an encouraging smile before pulling Claudia out the door.

  I was surprised by this. I half expected him to argue that he wanted to be in the room. I hated to admit it, but I liked him just a minor amount for respecting the situation. It wasn’t a lot of like, since he was trying to steal my girl, but it was enough that I didn’t want to kill him anymore.

  That’s progress.

  When they closed the door behind them, Lucy pulled away and grabbed some of my extra clothes from her dresser. She handed them to me and sat at the bar counter while I dressed. I threw them on quickly and took the seat next to her, my shoulders sagging and eyes staring at the counter like it was the most interesting thing in the world. I wasn’t sure I could face her as she told me that it really was over between us.

  “Sloan … look at me, please.” She said softly, laying her hand on top of mine in my lap.

  I shook my head. “I can’t, Luce. I know the minute I do, I’ll agree to whatever you’re going to say no matter how much it breaks my heart. I can’t deny you anything you desire. Even if it isn’t me.”

  Her hand shot out and gripped my chin, forcing me to look at her. My eyes widened at the look of ferocity she was giving me.

  “I know you are hurt. It is completely my fault for that. But never, ever, think that I don’t desire you. The moment I told you those things last night, I regretted them. Seeing you hurt like that broke me in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. I was lying to not only you, but myself as well when I said I didn’t love you like that. It was me not wanting to love you like that. You deserve so much better than me, Sloan. You always have. I thought by turning away from us that, maybe, just maybe, you could survive the blow and find someone else to give you all those things I said you deserve. Because you should have those things. But, I’m also a selfish bitch and want you more than I should be allowed to.”

  My breath hitched at her confession, giving me hope that I could get her back. I didn’t give a shit about the things she felt I needed in my life. I just wanted – needed – her. Just her.

  “When I was being drained last night…” she stopped and swallowed hard, her eyes glazing over as the edges filled with blood. “All I could think about was how I hurt you and how I never got to say goodbye. It killed me inside to have left things that way. Then suddenly everything just stopped and Hollis was there. He saved me, then took care of me while I rested. When I woke up, I wasn’t me for a second.”

  I stood and grabbed a couple of tissues for her, handing them over as I sat back down. She wiped her eyes and looked at me solemnly.

  “I hadn’t meant for things to happen the way they did with Hollis. I just charged him and latched on. When I had gotten enough blood out of him to get through the insanity, I was all supercharged with lust. I have never fed from a vampire before. I didn’t know the consequences of it. Not that I would have cared at the time. I just wanted blood. Then things just escalated…”

  She continued wiping her eyes as I stared at her in silence.

  I knew that she regretted how things happened with Hollis, but I also could tell that she wasn’t against it happening either. So, I asked the one thing I was afraid to hear the answer to, even though I already knew it.

  “Do you love him?” I whispered, interweaving my fingers through hers as I looked down at them.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know how it’s possible to love someone you barely know, but I did feel something for him the minute he walked into the shop and more when he was at the bar. The way he held me as I lay there dying … it made me feel safe. Cherished. Not unlike how I feel when you hold me. He cleaned off the blood so I wouldn’t have to rest in it and tucked me into his coffin before staying up all day to watch over me. How could I not have feelings towards him after that? Is it love? I just don’t know. But it is deep caring. I hate telling you that, but it isn’t fair for me to lie to you when I feel the same for you.”

  I nodded in understanding, swallowing back the lump in my throat. If she loved him more than me, then I would have to let her go.

  “What now?” I asked.

  Her hand squeezed mine, making me look up to fully look in her eyes finally.

  “Sloan, you mean the world to me, but I’m not sure how to process this or where we go from here. I’m still figuring it out.”

  As much as it hurt hearing she held strong feelings for Hollis, it was a
soothing balm to my heart knowing she at least felt just as deeply for me.

  Chapter Ten

  Lucy

  I was such an idiot.

  I knew what I said was a bad idea, but I couldn’t lie anymore; not to him and especially not to myself. I couldn’t pretend not to feel the way I did for Sloan just to keep him from having a future that he had stated plenty of times he didn’t care about. I was being exactly what I told Sloan I was; selfish.

  I wasn’t pretending that what happened between me and Hollis didn’t happen, but I was confused about what to do now. All I knew to do was be honest to them both. I knew in the end I would have to choose one or the other, but right now I couldn’t do that. Right now, I needed to just let the chips fall where they may. I couldn’t make the right choice without fully thinking it through.

  “I’m sorry for hurting you, Sloan. After you left, I immediately lost it. It was the worst I had ever felt in my entire life. I would’ve rather died there in that disgusting alley, than ever have you look at me the way you did before. I just don’t know what to do now. How does one-person handle caring this way for two people at once? The books I read make this seem like it’d be a lot easier than it actually is.”

  He arched his brow at me, giving me that damn cocky grin. “What kind of books do you read?”

  “Um. Well…um.” I stuttered, not entirely sure I should tell him.

  His smile widened, showing off his perfect white teeth. I loved when he smiled. His sage eyes grew brighter and it was like staring into his soul. I’d kill a thousand vampires if only his smile was the reward.

  “It can’t be that bad,” he laughed, “Is it dirty? Do they describe the man’s throbbing member and his corded abs? Oh! Is the cover a shirtless Fabio? Please say yes, so I can make fun of you for the rest of your life.”

  I giggled and punched his arm playfully, glad that his mood had improved, even if it was only a little. If telling him my guilty pleasure was what it took to keep him in this state, then damn right I would tell him.

  “No not Fabio, but occasionally there’s a shirtless man. Or men.”

  “Oh, ho! Really? Keep going.” He crossed his arms and waved his hand to proceed.

  “Ugh. Alright!” I relented. “It’s called reverse harem! It’s where one girl ends up with multiple guys.”

  “At once?”

  “At once. Well, relationship speaking. I mean, sometimes there might be like sex going on between the girl and two or more of the guys at a time, but for the most part it’s still one on one.”

  He sat there staring at me, gauging if I was being serious.

  “This is a real thing?” His grin looked a bit Cheshire, making me hesitate to answer.

  “Yeah, it’s real. The last one I read was a book called Of Death and Darkness. It had vampires in it and everything. A whole coven, if you could believe that.”

  “And she is with all of them?”

  I sighed, realizing we were just going around in circles and that he was doing this on purpose. “Well, she’s with four of them, but yes.” I groused.

  I mentally started counting down as his expression began to morph.

  One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi…

  Sloan exploded into laughter. I’m talking, on the floor, rolling around, can’t breathe kind of laughing.

  “It’s not that funny!” I admonished him, tossing the salt shaker that was on the counter at him. He held up his arm to deflect it, but lucky for him my aim was total shit.

  Hollis and Claudia burst into the room, obviously having heard Sloan’s raucous laughter.

  “If you start rubbing his belly, I’m leaving.” Claudia remarked, perching on the edge of the sofa as Hollis went and leaned against the wall closest to us.

  “Hey! I’m offended by that!” stated Sloan, who was calming himself and standing. “I was just laughing about a genre of book Lucy has failed to mention in the past that she reads. The whole reverse harem bullshit. Please. That’s insanity.”

  “Oh! Did you tell him about the one with the vampires? Of something or something. Shit, I can’t remember the name.” Claudia asked.

  I gave myself a good face palm, not having wanted this conversation to get so out of hand. “Yeah, I did. That’s why he’s rolling around like a dog in heat.”

  I saw Sloan stick his tongue out at me from the corner of my eye.

  “That’s a good one,” we hear Hollis say in a completely serious tone.

  We all stopped and stared at him, our jaws dropping in tandem.

  “You read romance?” I asked, completely surprised that a big, bad STF agent like him would willingly choose to read a book on romance, let alone one that involved multiple guys instead of girls.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I think they’re interesting. I’ve had a polyamorous relationship before. It was a long time ago and I didn’t exactly love the girl, but she was with me and two others at the same time. We knew about the arrangement and were fine with it.”

  Is this real life?

  “Seriously? That didn’t weird you out? You didn’t have to like … do stuff with the other two, did you?”

  Hollis’ eyes widened. “Hell, no! She was never with all of us at the same time. Maybe with the two of them. Things like that happen when vampires nest together. We all lived together for about a decade, but had separate rooms. She would stay with us each twice a week then by herself one night. I was friends with the other two men and there was no jealousy.”

  Sloan didn’t look convinced. “You never got into a fight with any of them over her?”

  Hollis shook his head. “Not once. But again, I never loved her. This was before I was an agent and I lacked any sense of responsibility. It was all just fun for me. After a while, I grew bored with the relationship and I left. Not long after, I joined the academy and trained to be in the STF. Once I was in, I never really had any time or need for a relationship.”

  I could hardly believe my ears. The mystery of Hollis was unfolding more and more every day. But could I really be with two men at once? Would Sloan even agree to something like that? It was such a strange concept, but I guess I’d forgotten that polyamorous relationships did sometimes develop when large groups of vampires chose to live together in what we called a Nest. Whether it was just in our nature, or some kind of biological thing, I wasn’t sure.

  “Man, vampires are strange,” Sloan concluded.

  Claudia, who had been silent the whole time, finally decided to put her two cents in. “You know … that’s not a bad way to solve this little dilemma.”

  I gawked at her. “You aren’t serious!”

  “Why not? I can pretend I didn’t hear the whole conversation going on in here if you’d like me to, but I don’t want to. You like him and you like Hollis. So? Date them both.”

  “She can’t date us both!” Sloan argued, pointing between him and Hollis.

  Claudia put her hands on her hips and faced off with him. “And why not?”

  “Because … it’s not normal. At least not for humans or wolves, it’s not. We are with one person and that’s it.”

  Claudia grinned wickedly. “You would be with only one person. It’s her who wouldn’t be. She’s not a wolf, so I see no point behind your argument.”

  “Do you ever see the points behind my arguments?” He asked in a sarcastic tone.

  “Meh. Not really.”

  Sloan threw his hands up in defeat and began to pace. While he did this, Hollis edged his way over to me and sat in the seat Sloan had vacated. He smiled warmly at me and brushed a stray dread from my face. It was his thing.

  “Are you alright?”

  I beamed at his sincerity. “I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

  He bobbed his head. “Yeah. I understand that,” he paused and watched as Sloan continued pacing and muttering to himself. He chuckled and turned back to me, lifting his thumb over his shoulder to point at him. “I don’t know what’s going on in his head right now, b
ut just know that I feel the same way for you that you do about me. I don’t know how you wormed your way in so quick, but I cared about you the second I saw you. So, if this is something you want to do, date him and me, then I’m all in. I shared a woman I didn’t love because I didn’t care if she was just with me. But you, I care deeply for and if this is something you truly want, then I would do it. Your happiness means more to me than my ego.”

  I felt like my heart was going to explode with all these emotions running rampant.

  “What? Seriously?” Sloan interjected, obviously hearing what Hollis had said. “You wouldn’t care? With me? Even though I attacked you?”

  Hollis shrugged. “No. You attacked me because you care about her and because it’s in a wolf’s nature to protect the one he sees as his mate. I expected it and would’ve been disappointed had you not tried to attack me. It shows me you’re strong and that you can be there for her when I can’t. This case I’ve been assigned is about to pick up, and I may be working more often than I normally would. Day and night shifts.”

  Claudia gasped at his mention of him working a day shift. She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth before removing it and mouthing ‘sorry’, falling silent again.

  “Anyways,” he continued, a grin on his face at her outburst. “I won’t be able to be here as often. You can be. With the case heating up and the possibility that those vampires that attacked you were sent by the vampire I’m looking into, it’s likely they’ll try again,” he focused on Sloan, “You work with her and are already adjusted to her schedule. My schedule will be off so I’ll be resting during some nights. The situation works.”

  Sloan just stood there, staring at him. Claudia and I looked at each other, then back and forth between them as they appeared to be having a silent conversation.

  Finally, Sloan nodded and looked at me.

  “Alright. If you want to try this, Lucy, I’m in. I’d rather be with you and share you, than not at all. For some reason, my wolf is appeased with this idea. He likes the idea of another protecting you and doesn’t seem to be as inclined to kill him anymore.”