by Wendi Wilson
“That’s Warren Thornberry, the man we’ve come to talk to.” Levi’s brow wrinkled just the slightest before smoothing out again.
Warren Thornberry, of the rich and famous Thornberrys. I swallowed hard and gripped Levi’s hand as we walked toward him.
“Ah, Levi,” Warren said, slipping around a busty blonde to greet us. “And this must be the lovely Piper Williams.”
He reached out, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. It took every ounce of my willpower not to yank my hand away. His entire vibe screamed danger.
“Nice to meet you,” I breathed, noting Warren’s light British accent.
Beside me, I had the impression Levi was holding back, stiff and watchful.
“Lovely,” Warren said, kissing my skin again before letting me go. His eyes lifted up, tracing my form before meeting my gaze. “Welcome to my home, Piper. It’s not often we have guests.”
A trill of laughter sounded from his entourage. He said guests, but he meant humans. I tried not to shiver.
“Don’t worry,” he said, noticing my nerves. “We’ll make you feel right at home. Follow me.”
He led the way through the crowd, out of the room, and down a hallway. After a series of ornate doors, he opened one and crossed the threshold. We followed.
Compared to the room we’d just left, this one felt more… well, normal. It appeared to be an office with several bookshelves lined with ancient tomes and interesting items. I noticed a tribal shield and some sort of family crest before drawing my eyes back to our host. Warren strode around a large oak desk and sat in a leather chair. Levi and I perched on matching arm chairs on the other side.
A cozy wood-paneled office was a welcome change from the huge room filled with vampires, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“There. You see, Levi. I know how to make your girl comfortable.” He laughed good-naturedly, but Levi ground his teeth.
“We appreciate you seeing us on such short notice, Warren.” Levi’s voice was even, no sign of emotion. “There’s something of great importance we need to talk to you about.”
“Charles told me,” Warren said, leaning back in his chair. “The matter of Scott Williams.”
Hearing my father’s name on a vampire’s lips made my stomach twist, but I’d been preparing for this. I clenched my fists, using the trick Levi taught me to calm down. After a count of five, I lifted my eyes to Warren’s and spoke without allowing my voice to waver.
“Do you know who killed my father?”
Warren sat up, putting his hands on the smooth grain of his desk. “Piper, I am sorry about what happened to your father. Did you know that The Shadow Lake Vampire Society was formed to stop something like that from ever happening? Of course, when we heard about the tragic events from a year ago, it rocked our community. I promise you many changes were made.”
He spoke like a politician, deftly meandering around my inquiry while trying to placate me. But I had come too far. Too late to back down now.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Thornberry, but you didn’t answer my question.”
I expected him to be mad, but Warren Thornberry barked out a laugh. “I see why you like her, Levi. Spunk. Yes, I love it.” He clapped his hands together and returned his gaze to me. “I love it when someone sees through my bullshit and calls me on the carpet. It was a test, Piper, and you passed.”
A smile crept up my face, but I felt unnerved. A test? I’d heard billionaires tended to be eccentric. It seemed Warren Thornberry was no exception.
“Piper, do you know how my family became vampires?” He studied me carefully.
I shook my head.
“You see, my father amassed so much money in the eighteen hundreds, he ran out of things to buy. He had multiple homes. Dozens of ships. Women.” Warren waved his hand around the room as if in demonstration. My gaze flitted to the old photos and trophies, unable to imagine what the Thornberrys must have amassed.
“But he began to age and soon realized the only thing he couldn’t buy was eternal life.”
“Ah,” I said.
Warren pointed at me. “Exactly. You get it. He went out searching for the key to everlasting life and came home a vampire. Somehow he stumbled upon a vampire in Turkey who agreed to turn him, rather than kill him. You can get anything for the right price. Anyway, he returned home and transformed the rest of us.”
Warren went silent, and I imagined what it might be like to have a hungry vampire for a father. Did he insist they change? Did he give them any say in the matter? Did he bite them in their sleep?
The horror.
“Now you can see how all this came to be.” He gestured to himself before continuing. “I’ve been a vampire for one hundred and sixty years. I’ve only been a decent vampire for about fifty of those. The things I’ve done...” He dropped his eyes to the desk as he fingered a round paperweight thoughtfully.
Levi spoke up. “From what I understand, you were instrumental in the formation of The Society. Without you, so-called “good vampires” wouldn’t exist. You stood up to your father and founded the movement. We’re all here today because of you.”
Warren smiled at the compliment, but didn’t respond.
I managed to find my voice again. “However long it took you to see the error of your ways, the important thing is that you did. That’s why we came to you. We think you might be the only one who can help us solve the mystery of what happened to my father.”
My heart was pounding as I sensed how close I was to learning the truth. Leaning forward, I put my hand on his desk and dropped my head until he was forced to meet my gaze.
“I was there the night it happened. I heard…” I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue. “For so long I’ve been told I was crazy for what I believed happened to him. I’ve gone over that night a thousand times in my head. Please. I need to know.”
An understanding smile warmed his face. “Piper, we investigated the event thoroughly. I put my best team on it to try to find out who attacked your father.”
I held my breath, waiting.
“We tracked the vampire all the way to Siskiyou Mountains, but once they entered the caves, we knew that was as far as we could go.”
Levi leaned back in his chair, blowing out a disappointed breath.
“What?” I asked, glancing between them. “What’s in the Siskiyou Mountains?”
Levi’s deep frown didn’t lift. “You know how we are the “good vampires”?” He made air quotes around the words.
I nodded.
“Well, there’s also a group of bad vampires. Wild savages who hunt humans for sport.”
“Let me guess,” I said, my stomach sinking. “They live in the Siskiyou Mountains.”
Levi gave me a sad nod. “They’re the reason the woods around Camp Shadow Lake are off-limits. They’ve been known to come down from the hills to hunt, and unsuspecting children are easy prey.”
“So we just let them get away with it?” I asked, glancing from face to face.
“Maybe not,” Warren said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s time someone put them in their place.”
Levi’s dark gaze shot to the billionaire. “Taking them on is suicide. That’s why you didn’t do it when you had the chance.”
Warren leaned back, steepling his fingers before lasering in on Levi. “True, but then, you have to ask yourself, young vampire… What are you willing to risk for justice? Or for love?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Love? What the hell was he talking about?
I tried to focus on what Warren had told us about the human-killing vamps hiding in the mountains, but my stupid brain kept coming back to his final words as Levi drove us back to camp. Why would the old vampire even mention the word? And why did Levi clam up like an oyster after Warren said it?
In an effort to make things less awkward for the rest of the ride, I started jabbering—awkwardly—about the other things Warren said.
“So, he basically knew nothing, except that my fa
ther’s killer ran to the Siskiyou Mountains to hide with his bad vampire buddies.”
My tone went from irritated to flippant by the end of the sentence, and I flinched internally when Levi’s eyes turned on me before quickly skittering away. I was sure I sounded like an ungrateful bitch, which was the last thing I wanted him to think of me.
“Thank you for taking me to see him,” I said, my voice softer and filled with emotion. “I really appreciate you trying to help me figure this out.”
“I’ll always help you, Piper.”
Something about his phrasing sent heat coursing through my body. My hands fisted into my dress, the red sequins scratchy against my palm.
Why did that “always” sound like forever? Stop it, Piper. Warren has no idea what he’s talking about.
Levi and I had known each other for what, a week or so? And the first few days of that, we’d been at odds. I couldn’t let Warren’s word choice get into my head like this. Warren Thornberry had no idea what he was talking about.
Love? Bullshit.
“You look really beautiful tonight, by the way.”
“You already told me that,” I tittered, cursing myself for the nervous edge to my voice.
“No, I said you look amazing which isn’t the same as beautiful,” he said, quietly. “What I should have said was you were amazing. Seeing you in there with Warren Thornberry...” He shook his head. “Even vampires are afraid of him, but you weren’t.”
“Oh,” was all I could manage. Did I tell him I didn’t know enough to be afraid of Warren Thornberry. My heart rate kicked up a few notches, and I started to freak out, knowing he could hear it. Which only made it beat faster.
“So, I just wanted you to know—all joking aside—that you were divine. Plus, you… in that dress…”
His hand snaked over and squeezed mine before prying it away from the fabric of the dress and interlacing our fingers. My breath started coming in little pants, and I prayed he wouldn’t notice. Or that he’d at least be gentleman enough not to mention it.
“We’ll find the truth, Piper,” he continued. “We’ll find the vampire who killed your father.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, and there was no mistaking what his touch and his words were doing to me.
I sounded like I was thanking him for something much more pleasurable than a few words of promise. I glanced over to see a muscle ticking in his jaw. Great. I was taking everything he said out of context and now he was pissed. Awesome.
Forget Badass Piper. Meet Hussy Piper.
My self-recriminations were cut off as the car suddenly veered to the side, tires squealing on the asphalt as Levi slammed on the brakes. My heart leapt in fear, my desire snuffed out as I clutched the door handle and pushed back against the seat.
“What’s the matter?” I squeaked as soon as the car jolted to a stop. “Was something in the road?”
Before I could blink, Levi was in my personal space, his cool, minty breath caressing my skin. I sucked in a sharp breath, holding it until his lips brushed against my cheek. The air slowly seeped from my lungs as his feather-light kisses trailed over to my ear.
“I can’t take it anymore. I just need to taste you.”
Before I could freak out over the vampire connotations of that statement, his mouth was on mine. His tongue teased my lips open, dipping in to steal a taste. A groan vibrated in his chest as he deepened the kiss, and my hands crept into his dark hair, gripping the soft strands in my tight fists.
Levi groaned again, this time deeper. More animalistic. His hand snaked up to the back of my neck, his fingers kneading the tension I hadn’t even realized was building there. As my body relaxed, his kisses slowed and grew softer until his lips were nipping softly at mine.
“Delicious,” he whispered, kissing me softly once more before pulling away and leaning back into his seat. “But I have to stop. I can’t lose control and chance hurting you.”
His dark eyes reflected the green lights in the dash as his smile and sigh of contentment made me blush. I wanted to look away, to hide my burning face, but something about his gaze was hypnotic, freezing me in place.
“I can tell you’re freaking out about what Warren said,” he whispered, reaching over to brush a thumb over my cheek.
“Wh-what?” I stuttered, my brain misfiring under his touch.
“You’re trying to ignore it,” he continued, his fingers spreading wide before slipping into my hair. “To pretend he has no idea what he’s talking about. That he’s making assumptions based on my apparent devotion to helping you.”
I moaned as his deft fingers massaged my scalp, and all the blood in my body headed south. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I didn’t care. All that mattered was the way my nerve endings were igniting under his touch.
“Piper, look at me.”
That statement brought me back to my senses, and my teeth released the bottom lip I didn’t even know I was biting. My vision cleared, and I met his gaze as he used his grip on my hair to turn me toward him.
“I know I look like a teenage boy, but have no doubt that I am a man who knows what he wants. I don’t play games, and I am not afraid to express my feelings.”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat and nodded, acknowledging that I heard what he was saying.
“You evoke something in me,” he continued, his voice softer than before. “Something I’ve never felt, neither in my vampire life nor my human one before it. There’s a strong urge to help you. To protect you. To make sure you’re okay. Safe. Happy.”
My breath shuddered out of me as his fingers started massaging my scalp again. I was finding it physically impossible to speak, but that was okay. Levi didn’t seem to expect a response as he kept talking.
“But even more than that, I have a constant desire to touch you. I have since the beginning, which is why I kept my distance. I didn’t want to add vampire-lust to the already long list of things stressing you out. I tried to stay away.”
And Hussy Piper was back in full force as his words sent a shock of pleasure straight to my core. My body begged me to climb over and straddle his lap, but I was frozen in place by his voice and the look in his eye. He needed me to hear what he was saying.
“I am done holding back from you, Piper.” His free hand reached over and grasped my hand, pulling it up to lay it flat against his chest. “If my heart were to beat, it would only beat for you.”
He pulled me forward, his mouth pressing to mine as if to seal his words with a kiss. My own heart pounded against my chest, thumping hard enough for the both of us. The kiss was both sweet and electric, and I felt like a live wire ready to explode.
But it didn’t matter what, exactly, he made me feel. What was important was that I felt it. For the first time since my father’s murder, positive, hopeful emotions outweighed the despair, the remorse, and the guilt.
I didn’t need to pretend to be Bubbly Piper as true giddiness bubbled through me. I saw a sliver of a chance for happiness, and Levi Kass gave that to me.
And I was never going to let him go.
“Shut the front door!”
I slapped a hand over True’s mouth before it woke up everyone in the entire camp. We were sitting on Saka’am’s porch in the middle of the night, and she’d done a good job of keeping her voice down until I got to the part about Levi and me on the side of the road.
I left nothing out. I really wanted her opinion on whether or not I was overreacting, reading things wrong, or making a huge mistake. Her excited shout told me I wasn’t doing any of those things.
She nodded her head, prompting me to remove my hand from her mouth. As I pulled it away, her lips pulled up into a wide, Cheshire-cat grin.
“He lo-o-oves you,” she sing-songed, her whole body shimmying with excitement.
“Shut up, True,” I hissed, my eyes probing the darkness around us. Anyone could be listening. “He never said that.”
“Not those exact words, maybe. But Piper, don�
�t kid yourself. That was a declaration of some strong-ass feelings.”
I pressed a palm against my chest, hoping to keep my heart from beating right out of it. True took what Levi said the same way I did. That he cared about me. No amount of modesty or self-deprecation could take that away from me.
A smile tugged my lips upward, and True laughed. She threw her arms around me, hugging me tight before pulling away and staring into my eyes.
“Are you going to let him bite you?” she asked, one dark brow arched.
“What? No! Why would I do that? Why would he?”
“Isn’t that some kind of sexual thing with vampires?” she asked. “Like they bite each other to get off, or something?”
“Shut. Up,” I groaned, shoving at her shoulder.
Laughter trilled out of her as she tossed her head back. “It’s so easy to mess with you.”
It should’ve struck me as odd that we were joking around about love and vampire bites, but True had a knack for making everything seem so simple. It didn’t matter that Levi was a blood-sucking mythical creature come to life. All that mattered was what I felt for him, and what he felt for me.
And what I felt for him was… exciting. Thrilling. Wonderful. And I didn’t want to ruin it by worrying about logistics like whether he’d want to bite me during intimate moments.
Or whether he’d still want me when I’m old.
I didn’t mention that worry to True. This… whatever it was… was too new to be planning for some far-distant future I might not even have.
A vampire had killed my father and might be after me. Another vampire wanted to erase my memories to keep herself out of trouble. And God only knew what other plots and plans revolved around me that I was oblivious to.
No, I’d save the future planning for later, when all of this was over. For now, I was going to let Badass Piper live in the moment while Hussy Piper enjoyed herself.
“So, what’s the next move?” True asked, pulling me from my delicious imaginings.