by Ever Coming
“How are you, love?”
“That…that…yeah,” was all I could get out before I pulled his face to mine, savoring his lips and began to move my pelvis, enjoying the feel of him inside me.
“I’ll take that as you would like to continue?” he teased as my head fell back in pleasure.
He moved slow and steady, the desire no less there, but the connection needing more than hard and fast. He was truly making love to me and my eyes filled with unshed tears at the beauty of it. He told me how perfect he felt inside of me. How he had waited all of these centuries for me. How he never dreamed this was possible for him and just as I fell over the edge once again, I was pretty sure I heard him say, “I love you.” Only this stupid time I fell asleep as I came down.
11
A crash pulled me from my sleep. At first, I didn’t know where I was, but as the bed moved beside me and a finger gently pressed against my lip indicating I needed to be silent, it all came back to me. I was with Jameson, my bond mate, and we had just spent the evening making love. Only now, the tension in the room wasn’t lust filled, it was different. Serious.
“Stay here, love.” Another crash. “It sounds like I am needed elsewhere.” I nodded, not fully registering what I was agreeing to as he pulled on his pants and left the room. I would say he ran, but his speed wasn’t related to that. It was something else.
As soon as he left, I heard another crash and a groan of pain. I was so not staying here. I grabbed Jameson’s shirt off the floor, tying it, not wanting to take the time to button it, and threw on my skirt before running out the door.
I ran to the front room, assuming that was where Jameson had gone, barely able to see in the near dark. I stumbled more than once before a hand covered my mouth. It wasn’t Jameson’s, but it was cold, telling me what I needed to know. It was a vampire. Initially my street smarts told me to fight, scream, do everything I could to get away, but this was no random dude in the street. He was a vampire and I could be killed in a nano second if I didn’t play it smart.
“That’s right. Play it smart and you might make it through this,” the unfamiliar voice spoke low in my ear, probably afraid Jameson would hear him too soon.
As he dragged me into the front room all I could think was it was too soon. I knew vampires had far more dangerous lives than people assumed, and not from vampire slayers, but from their own internal struggles for power. Jameson didn’t seem the type to be part of the underbelly, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t pissed someone off who was. Tears fell from my eyes despite my effort to contain them.
The scene before me was straight out of a horror show. The man who had pushed me at the bus stop was lying on the ground, his head next to him. Bob was lying on the floor holding his side, blood pouring from an open wound, and holding Bob was my now very feral looking mate.
“Look what we have here,” the man holding me bellowed out. “I see you did me a favor getting rid of my hired hand. Poor schmuck had….now I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He tssked at my mate who looked like he was about to pounce. “It seems like you chose the pleasure of her blood over making her strong and one of us. She is so fragile. It would take so little.”
“I will kill you,” Jameson vowed.
“If he dies, I will make sure she goes first. Mark my words.”
“What?” I gasped, realizing my mistake too late as he yanked my head back by my hair. He was “being gentle” since my hair was still attached to my head, but the warning was clear: Shut the fuck up.
“Bob has a power I need. I was pretty sure it was he who Brent had been after, but then none of my intel could prove it until schmuck over there caught him eyeing this bitch at the bus stop.” All the pieces started to fall into place. I was never the victim. I was the lure and the proof he needed for something entirely different.
“You wanted a mate that badly?” The stupid words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. The look in Jameson’s eyes told me I had done well, so when my head yanked back again, I took the pain without a squeal.
His evil laugh filled the air. It was so dark, you could almost see it. He was the type of vampire you read about in horror novels. “You stupid bitch, why would I want a mate? Mates make you fucking weak and that is why I need him. When I know who the bonded mates are I can attack the vamps at their weakness and grow my empire.”
“Empire?” Bob mumbled out, easing my worry that he was already dead. “You, my friend are delusional.”
“Says the man lying on the floor, bleeding out.”
“Says the man who sees your future.”
That made the vampire behind me stumble just enough that when I heard “Duck” in my head, I was able to drop to the floor just as a shot was fired. From there, all hell broke loose. I heard the man behind me screaming in pain as he let go of me and I saw a blur that I knew to be Jameson. I crawled over to Bob, knowing that the only thing I could do right now to help was to keep my friend from dying. I pulled off Jameson’s shirt and pushed it against the open wound as a way to keep the blood from flowing. It was far from sterile, but something had to be done.
I dared a glance behind us and saw no one.
“They are gone, love, and all will be well,” Bob gasped out, his breathing labored and slow. This wasn’t good. The bloody knife beside him caught my eye. It was a good thing the man who did it was good and dead because I would have been the one ripping his damn head off if he still had a breath in him.
“You will be fine,” I lied as I pressed the cloth into him as hard as I could without him wincing. He had to be fine. He just had to.
“Love, lean back. I need to help him now.” Jameson was back, looking more human than before, and if I hadn’t known what was happening, I would have thought he just emerged out of the bathroom or the hall, not out of a fight that I was sure ended with the evil bastard’s death.
“Yes, love, I took care of it.” He knelt on the other side of Bob, directly across from me. “Now, Bob, I need to turn you.”
“No.”
“We have talked about this and you told me one day you would. Well, that day has to be now or you will have no more one days.”
“You are wrong, my friend. Your security detail called your doctor friend before you even got out here and he will fix me.” That had to be where the shot came from. How had I missed an entire security detail? “Today is not my day.” He smiled a small smile. “We have three beautiful children to make first.”
Epilogue
“And here is my bedroom.” Mary was practically bouncing with excitement as she showed me her new apartment. True to their word, she had come so far. She was holding down a job at a local factory making really good money and was now living in an assisted apartment. I had never seen her happier, which had me starting to cry…again.
“Again, love?” Jameson wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close.
“It’s your fault,” I huffed as I rubbed my very round belly.
“I know.” He beamed. I loved seeing that smile. He was as excited to be a father as I was a mother in a few short weeks. Life couldn’t be much better.
We had been married shortly after what we now refer to as the incident. It was a small and beautiful ceremony. I went back to school instead of working at Jameson’s insistence. He felt, and was accurate in said feelings, that I would always regret not getting the degree I had given up on all those years ago. Now here we were, five years later, expecting our first of three children, if Bob was to be believed. And anyone who doubted Bob was a fool. He saw so much more than he ever let on, even to us, and we were his most trusted friends.
“And this is my bathroom. See, Angelica, it even has a closet for my towels just like yours.” My sister’s excitement broke through my revelry. “Uncle Bob gave me these.” She pulled out a towel, complete with a monogram. “He says that way it won’t get lost at the laundromat.”
“Uncle Bob is very smart.” Jameson felt the towel she held out to him.
&nb
sp; “He is and he told me, one day, if I work hard I will be able to go to school and get a real diploma. A real one. He also said that one day I will be all better, like before I got hurt.” She leaned over conspiratorially. “I think it’s because I’m pink and he likes pink. He says I’m more a fuchsia, but that’s just ‘cause he’s fancy.”
Better, she said better. I spoke to Jameson through our bond, one of the best perks of being bond mated, in my opinion. Do you think it is true?
If Bob told her, it is true. He gave my sister a high five at her news. She said she is pink.
I know. I think she may be more than better when all is said and done. I snuggled my head into his chest.
I agree, love. I agree.
“Hello, Mary,” Bob called from the hall behind us. “I heard you were giving tours of your new place today.
Mary ran to him and gave him a bear hug. “I am. I just showed Angelica your towels and told her the secret you told me about getting better.”
“Sweet Mary, you should never hide things from Angelica, but that is a secret for only family.” His voice was firm and she nodded against him. I kicked his foot from behind because fuck it, I’m pregnant and who’s going to stop me.
“It wasn’t time for you to know yet,” he said to me, and I knew he was right. Most of his visions needed let lie. “So, I have an ulterior motive for coming today.”
“Do tell.” Jameson took his bait, probably reading the same excitement on his face that I did.
“Arabella got top billing tonight at The Stage and I want my family to all be there front and center.” Bob had been performing at The Stage for a year now and started as the opening act, performing before most people even thought to go out. As Arabella built up a fan base, he kept moving to better and better time slots and finally, Arabella was where she longed to be. I was so happy for Bob.
“Will you send a car, Jameson?” Mary asked, bouncing on her toes.
“Or you could home with us and get all gussied up,” I offered. My gussying up would be something tent-like, but it would still be fun.
“That. I vote that.” Mary practically ran out the door to the car.
“So it’s all true?” I asked, scared to have too much hope.
“It is, but it won’t happen while she’s human.” He looked down, probably fearing he said too much already. “But don't go changing her. She is not yours to change. You are, after all, not fuchsia.” And with that, he flitted away and I knew we would never get anything else out of him on the subject until he was good and ready.
“Thank you.” I stood on my tiptoes, giving Jameson a quick kiss.
“For what?”
“For helping make every single one of my dreams come true.” I kissed him, this time with gusto. It was true. Every one of my dreams was coming true. Every. Last. One.
About the Author
Filled with the desire to write books she wouldn't want her mama to know she read, much less wrote, Ever Coming was born.
Ever Coming is the slightly naughty pen name of an international best selling author who simply wanted to get her hawt on. When she is not reading and writing the naughty, Ever is usually found enjoying time with her kids and husband.
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