Blood of the Maple (12 page)

“Starving.” He nipped her again, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to drive his point home.

Brian headed for her kitchen, but his blood wouldn’t be enough. If she was Parker’s
sotiei,
she bet he’d need at least a few drops from her. “Brian’s going to make you a snack. I can’t feed you twice in one night, but I can add a few drops. Would that be all right?”

Parker pulled his mouth from her skin. “I suppose.” She hid her grin. He sounded like a sulky boy who wanted an ice-cream cone but was offered a graham cracker instead.

“Complete the ritual, vampire, but there’s no guarantee the witch won’t seek revenge if you do. If you are lost to her—”

“She’ll try to kill him.” Amara kept herself human. Barely. She desperately wanted to hunt down Terri and kick her ass, but she had to keep control. If she changed while sitting on Parker’s lap, she could seriously hurt him.

“If I can’t have you, no one can.” Dragos went to the window and looked out into the night. “Is she a danger to others in the town?”

“With that mentality? Hell yes. She’s c-r-a-z-y.”

“Thanks again, Greg.” Parker grimaced.

“You’re welcome.”

“Why can I hear you?” Amara looked at Parker, who shrugged, just as confused as she. “I couldn’t before.”

“Your connection to Parker, maybe?”

Brian shook his head before Greg could answer. “It’s Selena. She’s allowing Greg to be heard.”

“Selena, can you make him seen as well as heard?” Amara was curious about the man who’d apparently snagged the Renfield’s heart.

Selena smiled. Her markings flared. And off to her right, a large black man appeared. His long, braided hair was graying, his gaze was full of mischief and his arms were wrapped protectively around Brian.

“Wow. He’s big.”

Greg’s jaw dropped.
“You can see me?”

Amara giggled. “I’d shake ectoplasm again, but I don’t think Parker will let me up.”

Brian was smiling so wide she thought his face might crack. “Isn’t he gorgeous?”

If ghosts could blush, Greg would be bright red. He buried his face in Brian’s neck, much to Brian’s obvious approval.
“Thank you. But I think you’re the gorgeous one.”

Brian winked at Amara, pleased.

“Once Parker finishes the bond, I believe Amara will be able to hear you without my help.” The image of Greg faded, but Brian’s look of pleasure remained.

“I was wondering something, Brian. How can you feel Greg?” Parker waved toward the pair of men, one seen, the other not.

“I’m a physical medium.” Brian ran his finger down Greg’s arm. “That means ghosts can physically interact with me, share sensations, that sort of thing, and I can do the same. For some physical mediums, it’s as simple as feeling their presence or having the ability to channel them, allowing them to speak to the living. For those like me, it’s as if their bodies are really there. I can touch Greg in ways most mediums can’t.”

Amara cocked her head. “So that’s what you were doing when you were bent naked over Parker’s couch? Touching?”

Brian’s jaw dropped. He began choking. Greg’s deep laughter boomed through the room, tinged with the slight hysteria of a man who’d been caught with his pants around his ankles.

“My couch, Greg? My
couch?
” Parker buried his face in his hands. “Excuse me, I need to scrub my brain now. There’s this dirty picture in there I need to clean away.”

Dragos, still by the window, pressed his forehead to the glass. She’d bet just about anything he was biting back laughter. “Can we get back to the subject of the wicked witch?”

“Yes, please, and thank you.” Parker shifted Amara and grunted. “What can we do to keep Amara safe?”

“Keep
you
safe, you mean.”

Parker stared at her blankly. “Of course.”

Amara rolled her eyes. “Don’t go there. Maybe we should concentrate on
both
of us being safe, hmm?”

“I like that plan.” Brian leaned back against thin air, perfectly at ease in his ghost’s arms. His fingers danced over thin air as he petted Greg. Brian was turning out to be remarkably touchy-feely, which she hadn’t expected. “I say we call in some reinforcements. We’re dealing with someone who was a witch first. She probably thinks like one.”

“She might try magic to hurt us next, since her plant attack didn’t work.”

“And we have no magical protections.” Parker shook himself. “Greg, you’re a witch. Any suggestions?”

Brian started. Perhaps he’d forgotten his lover had once been the very thing they were fighting.

“I can’t cast anything anymore thanks to the grim reaper. I’d suggest we call in a living witch who has a connection to the earth.”
Parker’s gaze drifted to Brian. “Do we know someone we can trust?”

“I can put in a few phone calls.” The Renfield reached for his cell phone.

“Don’t worry about it.” Dragos turned back around. “I’ll take care of that.”

Selena frowned. The markings had faded, her eyes hazel once more. “Who?”

Dragos smiled, his expression full of heat and desire. “Kate, of course.”

Selena sighed. “Of course. On that note, I’m out of here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Parker, Greg.”

Parker stood after placing Amara on the couch. “Ours as well, Miss Selena.” Parker kissed her fingers. “Please, feel welcome in my home.”

Amara damn near growled at the pleasure in Selena’s eyes. “Thank you, Parker.” Selena winked at Amara. “Have a good night, Amara.”

Dancing butterflies filled her stomach. She knew what Selena was talking about, and it had nothing to do with being
good.
“I’ll walk you to the door.”

She ignored the way Dragos’s shoulders had stiffened. If he didn’t want to acknowledge the witchdoctor, that was his problem. Whatever was going on between them, she couldn’t allow it to affect Parker.

Then again, maybe Amara could pay Selena back for helping Parker with a little magic of her own. “I’m thinking of throwing a party to welcome Parker to the neighborhood. Why don’t you come? It might be a good way to draw Terri out.” She leaned in close and whispered in the witch’s ear, low enough to pretend she thought Dragos couldn’t hear. “Besides, there’s this guy I’ve wanted you to meet.” She waggled her brows and winked, even though they both knew there was no man. But what Dragos didn’t know might lure him out into the open without Kate, his sometime lover and the town’s treasurer.

Selena’s eyes sparkled as she carefully did not look at Dragos. “Sounds good. I’ll be here.” She stepped out the front door with a cheery wave. “Night, everyone!”

Without a backward glance, the witchdoctor left. At least one pair of eyes stayed glued to her car until it turned the corner.

“So we have a plan to bring Terri to us. Any ideas on how to protect us from another attack?”

Trust Parker to bring her back from romance to the real world.

“I’ll contact Kate as soon as I get home. She will be more than happy to work for us, I think.” Dragos drifted toward the door. “Move into Amara’s home as soon as possible, Parker. She is, after all, your
sotiei,
and her home has better protection spells. Amara, you might want to see if any of Glinda’s wards are still in place.”

“How?”

“Greg might be able to see them. I know for a fact that just before she died, she keyed several of them so you could activate them.” Dragos stepped into the night. “It’s time I headed home. Call if you need anything. Good night.” Dragos sauntered down the walk, fading in a self-generated mist that floated off on the evening breeze.

“Can you do that?”

Parker laughed. “Turn into mist? Yes. It’s not as complicated as it looks, but I don’t think I have Dragos’s dramatic flair.”

“He
does
like to make an exit, doesn’t he?” Amara tilted her head, thinking through some of the things she’d learned that night. “I think Selena is his
sotiei,
but he doesn’t want to acknowledge that for some reason.”

Parker shut the door. “Is he sleeping with this Kate person?”

“I think so.”

“Then Selena cannot be his
sotiei.
”

“How do you know?” She settled in next to him on the couch, trying to ignore the hungry gleam in his eyes.

“Because after one meeting with you, being with anyone else is unthinkable.” He pulled her close and nuzzled her neck, his warm breath tickling her. “One taste and I was ruined for anyone else.” He bit her gently, fangless, a reminder of how pleasurable his bite could be.

“Maybe if he tasted her, he’d know?”

Brian came back with a glass full of greenish-yellow goop and a bandage on one finger. “He
could
be resisting, I suppose. If he thinks claiming her would put her in danger, he
might
be able to distance himself enough to sleep with someone else. And the rejection of his
sotiei
when she found out would widen the gulf, until eventually the connection could conceivably break. Honestly, though? I don’t think she is. He showed none of the strain of being around his
sotiei
without touching her, and his beast didn’t react when she nearly passed out.” He handed Parker the glass. “Drink up.”

Parker sniffed and made a face. “It’s like being handed a fast-food cheeseburger after dining on filet mignon. No offense.”

“None taken.” Brian went back to Greg and leaned against thin air.

Amara touched one finger to Parker’s lips. “Give me a nip, Parker.”

A dot of red appeared in his eyes. Parker’s fangs descended, piercing her skin, there and gone again so fast she scarcely registered the pain, let alone the pleasure. She pressed her fingertip until the blood beaded, then added it to the concoction.

Parker drank his dinner in three long swallows and shivered. “That’s much better. Thank you, Brian.” He licked the wound on Amara’s finger closed. “And thank you, m’lady.” His heated look scorched her, turned her inside out.

She could hardly contain her answering smile. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her, and she’d prove it once they were alone. “You’re welcome.”

“I’ll wait until morning and run next door, pick up some clothes for Parker and myself. Greg and I will sleep in Amara’s old room.” Brian winced at Parker’s low growl. “Parker will sleep in Amara’s
new
room. With Amara.” She had a hard time stifling her giggle when Brian muttered, “Duh.”

Amara patted Parker’s arm. “He’s right. He’ll be most comfortable there. The bed is large enough for him and Greg to roll around in.”

She couldn’t help giggling at Parker’s reaction. Her big, bad vampire stuck his fingers in his ears and
lalalal’d
at the top of his lungs. He wished Greg and Brian good-night, grabbed Amara and practically dragged her to bed. He already had her in his arms and in her bedroom, the door slamming shut behind them, before she could offer them her good-nights. “Hi.”

She grinned up at him, remembering when he’d startled her the other night. That night she’d screamed in his face and tried to deck him.

Tonight she would give him a much warmer reception. She unzipped his pants, pulled out his semierect cock and toyed with it. “Hi.”

“I think I like your greeting better.” Parker cupped her breasts, stroking her nipples through the whisper-thin cotton of her sundress. She arched into the touch, licking her lips at the thought of what she wanted to do to him.

“Give us a kiss?”

She got down on her knees, ignoring his delighted smile, and took him into her mouth.

His head banged against the door. “Now that’s what I call a kiss hello.”

She chuckled, earning a groan. His cock jumped in her mouth, hardening more. She looked up at him through her bangs to find him staring at her, his fangs out, his eyes burning. He buried his hands in her hair, guiding her movements, and rocked his hips into her. He set the pace, fucking her mouth, giving her his pleasure, careful not to push too hard or too fast.

“Do you want me to come in your mouth? Hmm? Is that what you want?”

The thought of tasting him, drinking him down, filled her with need. She sucked harder, stroked the flared head of his cock with her tongue, eager to have him spill into her mouth. He hissed out a breath and tugged her hair. She’d have to tip him the rest of the way over.

Amara cradled his balls and rolled them in her palm, massaged them in time with her strokes. But it wasn’t until she accidentally grazed him with her teeth that Parker finally lost control. He held her in place while he fucked her mouth with total abandon.

“Yes,” he hissed. “Now. Goddess,
now.
” His come erupted on her tongue, more sweet than salty with a touch copper. She hummed her approval, drank him until he was drained. She didn’t let up until Parker started to laugh.

“Enough, sweet. Bloody hell. I think you sucked out my brain.” He helped her to her feet and guided her toward the four-poster bed. Parker touched one of the posts, an evil gleam in his eye. “I approve of your bed. All sorts of interesting places to attach hooks.”

Amara gulped. “H-hooks?”

“Mm.” Parker pushed, and Amara fell onto her back, her legs dangling over the edge. “The better to tie you up with, my dear.”

When he crawled on top of her, she put her hand on his chest. “I’m not into pain, Parker. Pain hurts me.”

He placed a soft kiss on her palm, then repeated the gesture on her other palm. “I know.” He took both of her wrists in his hand. Without taking his eyes off her, he pulled her arms over her head. “Don’t move.”

Did she want to play his game, or did she want to challenge him, see what would happen if she disobeyed?

He skimmed his hands down her body. Her breasts ached for his touch, but he avoided them, brushing the sides but ignoring the peaks. She considered moving her arms, but his next action left her motionless. He lifted her skirt and moaned at the sight of her bare pussy. “I love a woman who wears a dress without knickers.” He lapped once at her wet folds before forcing her legs apart. His stern look had her trembling. “My turn. Remember, keep your hands where they are.”