The Gods & Monsters Trilogy (Book 1): Gods & Monsters

by Janie Marie

  She held her breath as her situation grew worse than she could have imagined. Not only was she asleep with a man she didn’t know, but she was lying right on top of him. Her left arm was wrapped around his neck while her face was snuggled into the crook there. She felt her cheeks heat up. Before she got too embarrassed about her cuddling, she realized the steel bar holding her in place was, in fact, an arm, and his other arm was wrapped around her back where his hand nearly rested on her butt.

  Her mind screamed to get away, but her body was another entity altogether. She pulled herself closer and ran the tip of her nose along his hot skin, breathing in more of his scent.

  His hold tightened, and he let out a sigh. For a moment, she wanted to suck down his minty breath.

  What the hell, Jane?

  Finally, Jane’s loss of sanity cleared, and she froze when her nose touched the stubble along his jaw. The man beneath her seemed to have woken, but neither of them moved. However, the rhythmic beating of his heart, which had no doubt kept her in her blissful slumber, began to pound in his powerfully built chest.

  “She’s awake.” The voice didn’t come from within the room she was in. Jane didn’t know how she could come to that conclusion, but she knew it was well out of normal hearing range. She couldn’t focus on her strange ability to hear so clearly; she had more important concerns to address.

  As they both held their breath, Jane decided she would make the first move. She moved at a remarkable speed to cross the room and instantly met the concerned gaze of her captor as she turned around. All her confusion about her swiftness vanished along with the urge to scream for help.

  Those eyes. She knew them immediately as her savior’s—her mystery man in black. Just like before, the sight of them calmed her, and all hysterics she’d been prepared to unleash died on her lips.

  Jane didn’t know why she felt so relaxed under his gaze, and even though he was still a complete stranger, she continued to look over every inch of him. Luckily for her, he seemed to know she needed to assess him, and he kept quiet while she continued to look him over.

  He’s gorgeous, she thought a little too excitedly.

  Blinking repeatedly, she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. Gorgeous had never been a word she’d use to describe a man, but the man who sat on the bed was just that, absolutely gorgeous.

  She quickly became aware of how much man he really was, too. She wanted to slap herself; she’d been all over him.

  He wore the same black hi-tech military-style uniform she’d seen him in before. His muscles were fighting against his T-shirt, and Jane instantly fell in love with the veins running up and down his arms. The sudden urge to run her fingers up them shocked her, and she clenched her hands at her sides.

  When she saw his gaze drop to her clenched fists, then back to her face with a smirk teasing his lips, she knew she’d been caught. He knew very well the effect he had on her, and he was enjoying it.

  She was embarrassed, and knew she should start asking questions, but she couldn’t stop looking at him. Besides his tempting body, she found herself studying his face. Just as she had imagined when she ran into him before. Absolutely perfect. It wasn’t fair to other men how attractive he was.

  Jane took in his stubbled jaw, across the sharp angles of his cheekbones to his flawless lips. She wanted to slap herself for focusing on how soft they looked, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to feel them on hers.

  Something was wrong with her. She shouldn’t be thinking like this, yet she already knew before ever seeing him that she wanted him to touch her.

  He suddenly smiled, and it nearly knocked her to the floor. She didn’t fall, and she found her eyes drawn to his. Her memories didn’t do them justice. They were beautiful and caring. Jane could only let them pull her into their blue depths. She didn’t even remember what she was so startled over or dwell over how unworthy she considered herself to be in his presence. She was practically a drooling bimbo now, and she didn’t care.

  He slowly lifted his hands in surrender and began to stand.

  That small action jolted her from admiring him, and she took a quick step back, prepared to flee or defend herself if needed. She didn’t think he would hurt her, but she wasn’t ready to let her guard down simply because he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quickly.

  The deep timbre of his voice sounded sexy as hell to her, but she still screeched, too panicked to swoon anymore. “Who are you? Where the hell am I?”

  “Shh, it’s okay,” he said, keeping his voice low. “My name is David. You are in a house my team and I are using as a base camp.”

  “Camp?” She looked around as she tried to figure out where she might be. “Why am I here with you?”

  The sight of the hurt look on his face made her chest ache. She didn’t know why she would feel this way, but she knew she didn’t want to see that look on his face again.

  Jane softened her features, realizing he had saved her once before. He’d probably just done so again. “Why am I here?” she asked, calmer.

  “What is the last thing you remember?”

  Jane stood a little taller as she considered his question. At first, nothing seemed obvious, but as if a play button had been pressed, she was quickly bombarded with memories.

  She had come home after her run-in with this man, then gone to sleep and woken up later than normal. She’d felt awful. Sick. All she’d wanted to do was go back to sleep. Jason. My eyes!

  Her hand flew to her face in horror as she stared straight at David. She looked right at him, but she did not see him anymore. Her memories raced through her mind, blinding her from all that existed around her.

  She had become infected. She’d left her babies! She’d left her home.

  She whimpered and looked down at her hand as she remembered trying to shoot herself.

  “I’m going to make it better, my love... I’ll make the pain go away,” David had said.

  Jane looked back up to him. He had saved her. Why he had called her such a precious thing didn’t register. Not even Jason had said such tender words to her. Instead of wondering about his tenderness, though, she remembered fangs.

  He had fangs! He’d bitten her and drunk her blood. She touched her neck and felt the healed puncture wounds under her fingertips. Her mouth fell open as she remembered him drinking from her and then ordering her to suck the blood from his wrist.

  Vampire.

  David watched her nervously. She was terrified, and he had no idea how to make it better for her. He realized she was too distracted to notice her quick movements.

  He had heard the others become silent. They were waiting and listening as well.

  She looked so beautiful. When he first saw her, she had already become the loveliest creature he would ever look upon, but now she was an angel. Her flawless, snowy skin radiated a faint silver glow in the dim room. The moon’s light complemented her fair complexion and brought out the darkness of her long hair. It was still tangled, but the rich dark-brown color with hints of red mingling within the brown tones prevented him from finding her tangles unattractive. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair every day for the rest of his life.

  During her transition, any time he had attempted to extract himself from her, she would cling to him tighter, preventing him from prying her off. She would press her face into the crook of his neck, and her hair would spill over his face, allowing him to breathe in more of her sweet smell.

  He found it amusing that she was so clingy and grumpy while she slept, but he was only concerned with her waking and finding them in such a compromising position. Still, he would move from time to time, and she would hiss and dig her nails into him. It wasn’t threatening to him, and he enjoyed the feel of her soft body squeezing his.

  Every part of her beauty enchanted him, but it was her eyes which truly captivated him. They were unlike any immortals he’d ever seen.

  He still r
ecognized their beautiful green and brown hazel color, but now they were more vibrant. The green seemed to dance between dull olive tones to a fiery emerald color, while the brown almost turned a golden-amber color around her pupil. They mesmerized him with their constant shifting of color. It was as though they couldn’t decide which color they wanted to be.

  David wanted to stand there and watch her all day, but he had to help her through this. “Do you remember now?”

  She gaped at him.

  What he was had been dismissed as fantasy these days. If any sane person claimed vampires were real, they would be laughed at. Now the entire world was experiencing another outrageous monster, maybe learning other immortals existed wouldn’t be so hard.

  “I’m not dead?” she asked after a few minutes.

  David shook his head. “No. You are not dead.”

  A small look of relief crossed her face. “You’re the guy from the street when I was running?”

  He nodded to her. “That is the first time I looked upon you, yes.”

  She stared at him for a few seconds. “I got infected. I left to keep them safe. I was going to kill—but you—”

  David interrupted her. “Yes, you were infected. I do not know when you contracted the Zev virus, but I was informed when you fled your home. I came as fast as I could. I couldn’t let you die.”

  He felt like a fool as he watched her head tilt to the side at his words. He shouldn’t have said that.

  He watched her confusion at his affectionate gaze. She seemed shocked to see him looking at her like he was. It might be odd for a stranger to appear so enamored with them, but her reaction confused him. It was as though she wasn’t used to receiving such an adoring look.

  David started to wonder over the idea that she wouldn’t be used to being shown affection but stopped all thoughts when she looked at him in horror.

  “What have you done to me?”

  David’s heart plummeted. This was what he had feared. “I made you what I am.”

  She scanned him again. “What are you?”

  “I am called many things.” He knew she’d figured it out. Clearly, she wasn’t ignorant. A bit reckless with her safety, obviously, but he could tell she was a clever girl.

  “Are you bad?” Surprisingly, she didn’t sound so scared now.

  “I’m not sure how to answer that,” he said calmly. “Some say I am bad, but I promise I will never harm you.”

  A faint smile touched her lips as she nodded, appearing to accept that he wouldn’t hurt her. “Am I bad?”

  “No, my love,” he said, too quickly to stop himself. “You could never be bad.”

  Her eyes widened at his words, but she quickly shook her head.

  The dismissal of his softness toward her relieved him at the same time it caused a slight twinge of pain in his heart. David wasn’t going to let it bother him, though. She didn’t know who they were to each other anyway. He couldn’t expect her to jump into his arms.

  “Does my family know I’m here?” she asked, looking hopeful. “Can I go home now?”

  His heart sank. “They are safe. Men from my party are keeping watch over them. I’m afraid, though, you cannot return to them.”

  Her lip trembled slightly. “Why?”

  “Sweetheart, it’s not safe. They will be in danger around you.” He paused, trying to decide what to say. “Please do not be sad. We will keep them safe. I promise.”

  His attempt to comfort her was ignored, and anger overcame her sorrow. She probably wasn’t even aware of it, but he saw a deadly girl clawing her way to the surface.

  Her sweet face that was previously so sad and confused morphed into one of a dangerous predator. Her eyes slanted upward, reminding him of a cat preparing to attack, and the soft curves of her face became more defined while her new fangs revealed themselves. Beautiful.

  Despite his attraction to the lethal female she was becoming, David shifted defensively. He would never hurt her, but he couldn’t let her harm herself or anyone else. She was unstable right now, and he would have to watch her.

  “I want to go home,” she said, baring her fangs.

  “I know you do, but it’s not safe,” he said. Such a threatening display from any other immortal would have earned his wrath instantly, but he couldn’t be that way with her. He didn’t want to be the normal, fierce warrior who others of his kind were accustomed to. No matter the fact she was eyeing him like he was her next victim, she would always be delicate and someone he would be soft with.

  “No,” she said sharply. “I don’t know you. Thank you for helping me, but I’m going back to my family.”

  Her swirling hazel eyes suddenly fixed on a green so dark they almost passed for black. Almost.

  She trembled with much in her rage that the ground beneath their feet began to vibrate. It was faint, but he could feel it due to his heightened senses, and it seemed to have worried the others.

  Jane’s furious gaze darted toward the door when their footsteps drew closer. David took advantage of the distraction and lunged for her before she could react. She screamed and thrashed in his hold just as the others burst into the room.

  Arthur, followed by Gawain and Gareth, entered the room and looked on as David held her tightly against his chest. She was a lot stronger than he had expected, but not as strong as him.

  “Shh… It’s all right. You have to fight it,” he said soothingly, eying her neck. He could barely hold back from kissing or biting her.

  Her silver glow pulsed with every furious breath she took. Despite the illumination she emitted, the air felt heavy and dark. The faint vibration of the floor had spread to the surrounding walls and grew in strength. As he expected, there was a lot more to her than the average immortal.

  David held her tightly. “You will be able to see your family eventually. Calm yourself, sweetheart.”

  Temper tantrums from newly made immortals were to be expected. They were notorious for being the deadliest during the weeks, and sometimes months, after their change. It was part of the reason he had been created. David wouldn’t treat her as he would any other immortal, but he had to calm her by any means necessary.

  At the mention of seeing her family, she stilled. Gradually, the lovely hazel color returned to her eyes, and the trembling walls ceased. Whatever she had just done appeared to have exhausted her, and she slumped back in his embrace.

  “There we go,” he said. “Good girl.”

  When he turned her in his arms, she quickly crumpled against his chest. David lifted her and went to sit on the edge of the bed, not ready to let her out of his hold. He caressed her hair, gently rocking her as if he were soothing a baby. The repetitive action visibly relaxed her and drew a sigh from her lips.

  “Jane, my name is Arthur.” He stepped forward.

  She seemed to show more ease and looked at his brother-in-law. David knew he was reading every thought she was having, and something she was thinking clearly amused Arthur because of the slight smile he wore. David wondered what she’d be thinking that was funny, but he trusted Arthur to tell him anything important.

  “You need to relax,” Arthur said. “David will not let any harm come to you, and we will keep your family safe. I give you my word that when it’s safe, you will be able to watch over them yourself.”

  Jane nodded.

  “I know you have an idea as to what we are now,” Arthur said. “So do you understand the danger—why we must take these precautions with you?”

  “You are vampires.”

  Arthur nodded. “Yes, that is one of the many titles we hold.”

  “So, I’m a vampire, too?”

  “You are one of us now.”

  “Do I have to kill people?” Her voice cracked, and David squeezed her, hating that she sounded fearful now.

  “We are not like what you see in movies,” Arthur told her. “But we do need to drink blood.”

  At the mention of blood, her eyes glowed a bright shade of green before they quick
ly went back to their normal vibrancy. “Is that why I feel dizzy?” She sounded like a young child.

  David had seen many new immortals, and her behavior was nothing new to him or the others. While most became volatile, many often became so overwhelmed with their new senses and intense emotions that they often reverted to child-like states of mind. He smiled. She’s like a baby doll.

  Arthur spoke again. “It has been two days since you were turned. Your body needs nourishment.”

  As she began to squirm again, David tightened his grip and looked to Arthur for guidance.

  “Jane.” Arthur drew her attention. She was behaving like a hungry toddler, and that’s exactly how they’d have to treat her. “You will have to feed from David.”

  David waited anxiously, continuously darting his gaze between her and Arthur. From the side of her face, he saw her eyes flash to an icy-jade color, and he knew her hunger had won.

  She quickly turned her head and focused on the pulse in his neck.

  Fuck. He couldn’t believe how much this turned him on. Knowing that she was thirsty for his blood had him ready to rip off her clothes. Her pink tongue wet her lips in anticipation while her fangs began to lengthen. Awareness of their audience slipped away from David and the need to have her consumed him.

  Arthur stood, chuckling. “We will give you two some privacy.”

  David watched them leave as Gawain mouthed, “Have fun,” before he shut the door.

  Returning his focus to the woman in his arms, he lifted her slightly to look into her glowing eyes. “It will come naturally, Jane.”

  She shivered when he spoke. The urge to flip her over onto the bed entered David’s thoughts, but the instinct to feed her pushed the temptation away.

  He placed his hand behind her head and guided her to him as her predatory instincts took over. Within seconds, she sunk her fangs into his neck.

  She straddled him and her fingers tangled in his hair before he could react. He knew these were the results of her hunger; she was only securing his neck to her mouth—similar to a lion preventing their prey from fleeing.