Picking up my blood, the glass pleasurably warm under my fingertips, I started the conversation. “So…Aunt Ashley wants to be here for our birthday…”
Mom jumped right in, both feet first. “I know! Even though she was just here a few weeks ago, I’m so excited to have her back.” Her eyes shifted to Dad as he sat at the table. “I’ve really missed having her around.”
Dad grabbed Mom’s fingertips at the same time as he reached for his glass. “I know.”
He brought the glass to his mouth; his fangs crashed down before the rim even touched his lips. My stomach felt like it was eating itself I was so hungry. Watching Dad drink only made the ache deepen. I raised the glass to right in front of my face, but spoke before I drank. “Maybe we should celebrate a little more than we usually do since she’s coming up?”
Julian’s eyes darted to his plate as he immediately began shoveling food into his mouth. I could tell he was purposely ignoring looking at Mom and Dad in case he gave himself away. I instantly started drinking my cup of blood as I let them absorb my comment for a minute or two; it was best to let the idea sink in before I expanded on it. My fangs dropped the instant the blood hit my tongue. It was like sweet, healing, molten lava down my throat. For a second, it burned away every thought, every care, and every desire. Drinking was all that existed.
Somewhere in my din of euphoria, I heard Dad ask, “What did you have in mind?”
Just as I was wondering how to subtly ask for something I was sure they’d never agree to, I felt something else that made everything in the room seem insignificant…even the blood. I slammed the glass back to the table so hard, I put a fine crack along the bottom of it. Warm blood started oozing onto the wooden surface of the table, but I didn’t care. Clutching the edge of my seat, I fought against the aching desire rising in me. Hunter was coming closer, and everything in me wanted to run to him. Mom cleaned up my bloody mess while Dad told me to try and breathe and relax. I wanted to snap at him that this was too intense, that it was impossible to just calmly breathe through it, but Dad had been through this before and he knew what he was talking about, so I tried to take his advice instead.
Digging my fingers into the hard chair below me, I forced myself to inhale a deep, cleansing breath. It helped, but just a little. I wanted to run, but I made myself sit there. I had to squirm though. He was close, so close...yet still so far away. I needed him. I needed him so much. I needed his hands on me, his mouth on me, his body on mine. A small groan escaped me as I crossed and uncrossed my legs.
“And that’s my cue to go,” Julian muttered as he rose from the table.
One of my eyes shot open as I glared at him. “You have no idea what this feels like, Julian. No idea.” I closed my eyes and clutched the chair harder as the throbbing vibrations rippling through my body intensified. I needed him. Now.
“You’re right, I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. And I don’t want to watch…again.” I could hear the horror in his voice. Under normal circumstances, I would have felt it too, but I was too electrified to care about anything Julian was saying.
While Dad told him to go wait in the living room, I shot to my feet and sprang toward the door. I couldn’t sit here and wait any longer. Dad anticipated my move and snatched me up. Quite a feat, since I was stronger than him. Struggling against him, I growled, “Let me go. I need to go to him.”
Calmer than I would have been, Dad responded, “This will pass, Nika. Just breathe in, breathe out. I don’t want you running through the city like this. He’ll be here soon. I promise.”
Breaking away from him, I again concentrated on my breathing. Anything I could focus on besides the surging rush of desire coursing through me was a good thing. I marched back and forth in frustration. Hunter was approaching fast, but not nearly fast enough for me. I felt like I was going to burst before he got here. You’d think I’d be used to the sensation by now, but I wasn’t. It was aching, wondrous, torture. I loved it, I hated it.
“Dad…” My voice was almost a groan, which was horribly embarrassing. “I can’t take this anymore. We need to stay together, so this…” I sucked in a breath, held it, then released it, “…doesn’t keep happening.”
Mom rubbed my back. “I know it’s hard, honey, but you can do this. It’s only temporary. It eases up after—”
I cut her off with a sharp glare. “After a year or more. I can’t…” I ran my hands through my hair, down my body, as fire swept through me. “I can’t do this for a year…”
Hunter was just a few minutes away now, and I felt on edge, prickly with desire. Any second I was going to erupt. My somewhat-calm breaths, shifted to short pants. My eyes locked onto the front door, willing Hunter to burst through them. I heard Julian groan again, and Dad sighed. Mom rubbed my back in sympathy, but her tenderness was grating in my current condition, and I stepped away from her. The small movement toward Hunter was more than I could bear. I shot toward the door like a bullet exploding from a gun.
Dad wasn’t quick enough to stop me this time. “Nika!” was all he got out before I was gone.
I accidently ripped the front door off the hinges as I fled the house. I could feel Mom and Dad behind me, but their presence in my head was nothing compared to Hunter’s. We crashed into each other’s arms at the end of the street, and melded together into one body—arms, legs, lips. Bliss flooded me as our bond finally got what it wanted: the two of us together. Nothing in this world felt as wonderful as this.
Our greeting intensified as we sank to our knees near a stop sign on the corner. Groaning between fiery kisses, Hunter laid me onto the concrete, then pressed himself on top of me. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer. I could tell how much he wanted me. The feeling was definitely mutual. I ground my hips against his, begging him to do the same with a low, throaty moan of pleasure. It didn’t even occur to me to be bothered by the fact that we were rolling around on a dirty sidewalk. Nothing was bothering me at the moment. Nothing but the fact that Hunter and I were both wearing way too many clothes.
Just as I thought to rectify that problem, my fingers skimming up Hunter’s back, taking his t-shirt with them, Hunter was yanked away from me. I leapt to my feet to return to his embrace, but arms wrapped around me, restraining me. A familiar voice chuckled from behind me, but all I could focus on was Hunter’s dark eyes boring into me, drinking me in from a distance. I burned with need, and struggled against the person holding me captive. Hunter wrestled with his restrainer as well, even dropping his fangs and growling as he twisted and pulled.
An amused voice broke through my frustrated fog of desire. “Watching them meet up never gets old. I think I’ll miss it when their bond settles down.”
I recognized the voice and the sense of humor. Shaking my head to clear away the tidal wave of passion pounding me, I looked over my shoulder. Halina was standing just behind my mother, who was pinning my arms behind my back. Reason flooded into me as my eyes darted between the two women. Mom was holding me back from ripping the clothes off my boyfriend…in the middle of a public street. We’d been moaning, groaning, and grinding when they’d pried us apart. My grandmother was laughing her ass off at our sexual display. It was mortifying to put it mildly, and the buzz from the bond faded in my embarrassment.
As my breathing started returning to normal, I looked over at Hunter. Dad was holding him tight, and neither man looked happy about it. Dad was annoyed; Hunter was still…frustrated.
Ignoring Halina, who was enjoying this way too much, I told Mom, “I’m fine now.”
I relaxed in her arms so she’d let me go. Once she saw that I was more or less myself, she released me, and I headed over to Hunter. His eyes were wild as I approached. It stirred something primal inside me, but I pushed it back. Not now. Not here. Gently, I placed my hand on his rough cheek and stroked his skin in a soothing pattern. He calmed as he stared at me. When he blinked a few times in rapid succession, I could tell the crazed lust we’d both felt was fading fro
m him too. A part of me was grateful, a part of me was sad. We’d never been able to act on the wild, animalistic intensity. I had a feeling it would be incredible if we ever caved to the rush the bond gave us. But Dad was always around to pry us apart and calm us down. He was just as tired of it as we were.
A smile lifted the edge of Hunter’s lip. “Hi,” he muttered. If his face could have flushed with color, I was sure it would have. Words often escaped us when we greeted each other lately. At least at first anyway.
“Hi,” I laughed back. “I missed you. Obviously.”
Hunter made a sound that was both a laugh and a sigh. “I did too…” He tried to give me a hug, but Dad still had a hold of him. Frowning, Hunter said over his shoulder, “I’m okay, you can let go.”
Instead of doing what he’d asked, Dad tightened his grip. “Just to be on the safe side,” he answered, smirking.
Giving my father an admonishing glare, I peeled his fingers off of Hunter. “Stop it, Dad.” When Hunter was free, he chastely wrapped his arms around me. Sliding my hands under his arms, I put my palms on his shoulder blades and squeezed. He felt wonderful. Firm and hard, yet soft and comfortable too. And now that we were both undead, we were equally warm, or should I say, equally cold. I just wanted to crawl into his lap and burrow myself in the shelter of his embrace. But that couldn’t happen right now, so I pulled apart from him after a politely brief hug.
Halina was still laughing at us when we stepped away from each other. Dark-haired and pale-eyed like the majority of our family, Halina seemed the youngest even though she was the matriarch. Of course, her being dressed like she was on her way to a nightclub might have had something to do with that.
Hunter frowned at her. “You didn’t have to follow me tonight. The meeting’s not ‘til later.”
Halina shrugged as she shook her head in amusement. “I know, but watching the two of you paw at each other like dogs in heat is too much fun to miss.”
I frowned at her analogy. Dogs? In heat? Eww. Not a sexy image.
Now that the intensity of the bond igniting was over, my hunger came back to life. Clutching my stomach, I looked up at Hunter. “I need to eat.”
His dark eyes were concerned as they washed over me. Being newborn, I needed to eat frequently to be at my best. Hunter hadn’t properly fed himself when he’d first converted, so he was very sympathetic to hunger pains. “Okay, let’s get you something.”
I grabbed his hand and started leading him toward home. Mom, Dad and Halina fell into step behind us. “You probably need to eat too,” I told him.
Hunter grinned and leaned into me. His eyes drifted to my neck as he murmured, “I could use a bite.”
I giggled at his innuendo. I wish he’d bite me again. We’d only done it once, back when I was alive, but it had been incredible for both of us. I was ready for round two, and so was Hunter. Dad cleared his throat, and I flicked my gaze behind us to see him scowling. He’d understood Hunter’s innuendo, and he wasn’t thrilled.
Halina lightly shoved Dad’s shoulder as she took in the exchange. “Lighten up, Grandson.” She pointed at Mom. “You nibbled on your girlfriend often enough, and it’s not like Hunter can truly hurt Nika now.”
Dad’s expression grew insolent. “Yeah, but I wasn’t sixteen. Or a girl.”
I stopped in my tracks and put my hands on my hips. Mom and Halina took the same posture as me and we all stared Dad down. He looked between the three strong, independent women he’d just insulted. This time, Hunter chuckled.
Dad held his hands up. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just meant—”
Mom crossed her arms over her chest. “That as women we’re weaker and somehow inferior to men.”
Dad shook his head. “No, absolutely not. You’re taking it out of context. I just meant…you’re women, and need to be protect—”
Halina leaned in and cut him off. “I would shut up now, if I were you.”
Dad sighed and closed his mouth. After another second of us staring him down, he added, “I apologize if I offended you. I’m an idiot.”
Hunter laughed again, while the three of us relaxed. Grabbing Hunter’s hand, I allowed myself to giggle too. Maybe chagrining Dad would help Julian and me convince him to let us have a party. It couldn’t hurt. Perfectly content, I swung Hunter’s hand. My day was going well already, and it had only just begun.
NIKA WAS HAPPY. Our bond wasn’t an empathic link, like the bond with her brother had been before her conversion had broken it, but some things I didn’t need to feel to know. Her smile told me everything. She was satisfied—with me, and with her life.
I was finally feeling content myself. I’d accepted what I was, and accepted my new family. I’d fought for them, protected them, and was continuing to protect them. The meeting tonight was just one more step in the road to keeping my family safe. And I’d do anything to keep my family safe. Anything.
Holding Nika’s hand, I walked at a human pace with her back to her father’s home. I hated that she was living in a hovel under the two-story dwelling, but I also understood and respected Teren’s desire to keep his teenage daughter under his roof for as long as possible. I’d probably feel the same way if I was her father. But I wasn’t. I was her boyfriend and her sire, and being separated from her was frustrating. Especially with how explosive our reunions were.
If we were just allowed to be together all the time, moments like tonight wouldn’t happen. The bond-driven desire wasn’t all bad, the intensity of it was really, really nice, but it wasn’t appropriate. And it certainly wasn’t private. Someone was always around whenever we came together, ready to bust us apart. It made me shudder to think what might happen if someone wasn’t nearby to separate us. Nika and I could easily end up in a compromising position in a very public place if we weren’t careful. Just another reason for us to live together.
Studying the cracks in the sidewalk as they passed underneath my feet, I considered just how public that little moment had been. Stifling a sigh, I glanced over my shoulder at Teren walking behind us. He still looked embarrassed over his earlier comment about women needing protection, but that didn’t stop him from watching me like a hawk. I should talk to him again about Nika staying with me at the ranch. I would even promise not to touch her until her eighteenth birthday, if that would make him feel better. Refocusing on the path in front of me, I vowed to do just that. I’d promise him abstinence in exchange for a chance to improve Nika’s life. And Nika wouldn’t like it, but I’d stick to that promise. It would be difficult, but we were already abstaining, so it wouldn’t be that much harder than it was now. And right now, turning Nika down had its moments.
We’d only caved and made love once when she was still alive, but that one time frequently ran through my mind, haunted my dreams. The softness of her skin, the taste of her lips, her moans in my ear, her blood in my throat…the memory of it all was almost too much to handle. It made me instantly want to be with her again. But she was adjusting to so much; I knew from experience how difficult the transition to a pureblood vampire was. I wanted to give her time before we took the relationship to that level again. Because once we did, I knew we’d never go back.
But I’d happily put sex on the back burner if it meant living with her. I’d tolerate almost anything to never be separated from her again. As for drinking from her again…well, that might be infinitely harder to resist. I’d wanted to bite her three times already, just this evening.
I sensed Halina sliding to my side before I saw her. Cool and sleek, her long hair dark as night, she had a Cheshire grin on her face as she walked beside me. “What?” I asked, already knowing the answer. She was amused by my relationship with Nika, and she was happy that I was finally a committed member of the nest. Much like Nika, Halina was content.
“Just noticing all the dirt on Nika’s back, is all.” Her smile changed to a lopsided grin. Frowning, I examined Nika’s shirt. Halina was right. There was even a stray piece of litter in Nika’s hair.
Great.
I brushed off the debris and plucked out the bit of garbage while Halina laughed. “So,” she said. “Since you’re the commander of the Vampire Justice League, can we talk about your bodyguards? They’re driving me absolutely crazy.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Can you please stop calling it the Vampire Justice League? It’s starting to catch on. People won’t take us seriously if they think that’s really the name.” Halina had jokingly called the group that from nearly the beginning, but I’d heard others say it too. People were even shortening it to VJL.
While Halina chuckled at my response, Nika laid her head on my shoulder. It instantly distracted me from Halina. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I shook my head, slightly bewildered. “I’m many things, but amazing is hardly one of them.”
I heard Teren clear his throat behind me, and I wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with my statement, voicing his displeasure that Nika was touching me in such an intimate way, or clearing his throat simply because he needed to clear his throat. Vampires got tickles, same as humans.
Nika lifted her head and gazed at me with clear adoration on her face. “I’m asleep for one day and you decide to change the world.”
I smirked at her assessment of what I’d done. “I wouldn’t say I’ve changed the world, just leveled the playing field, maybe. And it’s not amazing. I’m just doing what I can to right a wrong, protect the innocent. It’s all I’ve ever done.”
Halina leaned around me to look at Nika. “See. Vampire Justice League.” Nika laughed at her grandmother, and I smiled at both of the women in my life. When Halina brought her eyes back to mine, she asked, “So? Thing 1 and Thing 2? What can we do about them?” Her eyes narrowed to catlike slits. “Do I really need to get board approval to eat them now?”
I gave my creator a reproachful glance as we reached the Adams’ family home here in the city. “No, you may not eat Rory and Cleo.” I sighed as I stepped onto the porch. “They’re just trying to help.”