Cunningham, Pat - Legacy [Sequel to Belonging] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (15 page)

In his heart, that undead organ that beat in her presence, he already suspected the truth. He’d never been a big believer in fate, but this one he’d bet hard cash on. Colleen was meant to complete them.

Not vampire, but not wholly human. What, then? Wallace vowed to get answers. He could only pray they’d be good ones.

* * * *

Colleen huddled against the bed’s headboard and fumed. She wasn’t up on current pop-culture vampire lore. Suzette was the vampire junkie, the one who read the novels and went to the movies and drooled over all those sexy actors with the piercing eyes and pouty mouths. Vampires were supposed to be mysterious and subtle. Wallace was about as subtle as a runaway truck. Maybe Suzette would know if being undead made a man act like a jackass. Better still, she should introduce Suzette to Wallace. That ought to cure her in a hurry.

A rap sounded on the door, then the door swung open. Wallace stood and stared at her. He didn’t say anything. His stare made Colleen feel naked, even in her baggy sweatshirt. Her intended comments shriveled away. She pulled the quilt up to her chest for added protection.

“I’m going out,” Wallace announced. “Scarecrow can watch out for you. Nothing gets by him.” His mouth quirked upward. “I’m a jerk, I know. Always have been. Ask anybody.”

“I don’t think I need to. You’re proving it all by yourself.”

“Pissing people off is what I’m best at.”

“I came this close to smacking you.”

“I figured.” Was that a trick of the bedside light’s incandescence, or had his expression softened? “This is a helluva one-two punch to roll with, vampires and stalking and all. You’re taking it pretty much in stride. I’m impressed.”

“Wow. Now I feel all tingly inside.”

His laugh surprised her. “And a smart-ass on the side. You’re the girl with everything.” The laughter died out of his voice. “You don’t have to put on a front for us. I can tell right now you won’t crumble. You’ve got something in you that doesn’t roll over. I like seeing that in a chick.”

“You’re not getting a threesome.”

“We’ll see.” He winked at her and withdrew, shutting the door behind him.

Colleen stared at the door. Were those meant to be Wallace-style compliments? Had he just tried to be nice to her?

She was still puzzling over his behavior when the second knock sounded on the door fifteen minutes later. Jeremy poked his head inside.

“He’s gone. Can I come in?”

“Please.”

Jeremy stepped into the bedroom. He left the door open. “I’m sorry about Wallace,” he started.

She held up her hand. “He already apologized, sort of. Is he always…?”

“So much of an asshole?” Jeremy snickered. “Believe it or not, there’s a really sweet guy under there. He wraps himself in layers of crap, so no one gets to see it.”

“I’m not trying to steal you away from him. I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t. You couldn’t anyway.” He swung his long legs onto the bed and settled in beside her. Colleen stretched out her legs to rest against his. They cuddled into each other’s arms in a move as natural as breathing. Jeremy tugged his shirt collar down and pointed to the scar on his neck. “You see this?”

When she started to reach for it he flinched away. “Don’t. Please don’t touch it again. Don’t even breathe on it. It makes me kind of crazy.”

Her hand froze. “Does it hurt?”

“Just the opposite. That’s the problem.” He covered up the scar again, and Colleen lowered her hand. “It’s Wallace’s mark. It’s like a brand. Other vampires see it and know I’m someone’s property and they leave me alone.”

“Property?” She searched his eyes for that
gotcha
twinkle and found only blatant sincerity. “Like a real-life slave, you mean? I was just kidding, you know.”

“It’s not a joke. I want you to understand, so you know what you’re getting into. I still want you. I think I could love you. Maybe I already do. None of that matters. I belong to Wallace. No matter what I feel for you, Wallace will always come first. That’s how it is, and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Not at all. It’s what I wanted. I love Wallace. I begged him to mark me, and I’ve never regretted it. What’s happening with us, well, I don’t know what it is or how long it’ll last. But this is what I am, and this is what you’ll have to be happy with. Wallace is willing to share. That may be all you get.”

“Uh-huh.” Not exactly the storybook relationship she’d dreamed of when she was a little girl. “So you’ll dump me if he says to?”

“He won’t. He likes you, believe it or not. You make me happy, and he wants me happy.” He nuzzled her shoulder playfully. “If I want to make love with you on our living room rug, he won’t squawk.”

“How big-hearted of him.”

“I’m not his slave in the way you’re thinking. He loves me, and he takes care of me. I do the same for him. C’mon, you’ve seen what he’s like. If ever anybody needed a watchdog, it’s Wallace.”

She couldn’t stop a giggle. “I can’t argue with you there.”

“Servitude doesn’t mean they chain us up and suck on our blood all the time. That’s just the movies. Vampires are really picky about who they mark. It has to be someone they trust completely. We’re the ones who can function when they’re helpless. A smart vampire treats his servants like gold. Their lives are in our hands. Sure, Wallace has a smart mouth, and he never stops to think, and he’s crude and insulting and—you know, you’re right. I should probably dump him.”

“I’m sure he has some good qualities, or you wouldn’t love him.” She leaned into his embrace, suddenly desperate for its reassurance. “You don’t think that’s why they’re after me, do you? To make me their slave or something?”

“That’s what Wallace is trying to find out. He’ll get answers, I promise. Annie says he’s a tenacious prick, and she hit that nail on the head.”

Look at this, she thought. Here they were, snuggled together in a tiny portion of this enormous bed, practically in each other’s laps, drawn together by forces she didn’t understand and had no intention of fighting. She sighed into his hair.

“Does he…does he bite you? Does he drink your blood?”

“Now and then he’ll take a swallow or two. It’s more foreplay than feeding. He doesn’t drink from humans if he can help it. Why?” He flashed a mischievous grin. “Do you want him to bite you? I’ll pass the word along.”

“Don’t you dare.” She echoed his grin. “Do
you
bite?”

He grazed his teeth along her neck. “Only if you ask me nice.”

She didn’t ask. In fact, neither of them spoke much after that. Their love play remained blood free. Jeremy tugged up her sweatshirt and abandoned her neck for her breasts, and Colleen was grateful for the switch.

Maybe becoming another’s slave wasn’t quite so bad. Colleen gasped and moaned as Jeremy’s hands mastered her body and his mouth set his mark on her lips. He made surrender so easy.

Thoughts of Wallace popped fleetingly into her head. How could a vampire make love? Weren’t they supposed to be dead? She’d have to ask Suzette.

Then Jeremy applied his tongue in a way she was certain no vampire, not even Wallace, could match. With this living, fiercely passionate man in her arms, she had no trouble banishing all thoughts of the undead.

* * * *

Colleen’s prickle woke her with a psychic kick to the subconscious butt. She cursed it irritably. She was comfortable, safe, and sated. Why would it want to wreck that?

Because there was someone in the room.

She jerked upright. Jeremy’s arm slid off her stomach. He murmured her name and rolled over, setting his back to her.

The first thing she noticed was green, glowing eyes in the dark. Wallace stood at the end of the bed with the door ajar at his back, as motionless as—Colleen gulped—well, as a dead man. This time she refused to hide beneath the quilt. If he wanted a fight, bring it on.

The admiration he’d alluded to earlier glowed in his eyes as he roved his leisurely gaze over her naked body. His rough voice abruptly growled through her head.
And how was your night?

She blasted back with all the mental strength she could muster and was pleased to see him rock back a step.
Get out of my head!

“Okay, fine. Just testing. Jesus. For a chick who just got laid, you sure are cranky.”

“Don’t worry, I can hear you. Don’t do that again. It’s creepy.”

“No problem.” He circled the bed and sat on Jeremy’s side. Instantly, Colleen’s anger gave way to alarm. Her hand shot out to rest on Jeremy’s naked hip. “Please. Don’t punish him.”

“I wasn’t going to.” The light from the hallway outlined the hand he stroked lovingly over Jeremy’s hair and flashed on his teeth when he smiled. “I am so happy we got this bed,” he murmured. “He used to sleep all scrunched up. Now I’ll be lying there and all of a sudden I’ve got an arm in my face and a leg on my crotch.” He transferred the smile to Colleen. It held a touch of an edge. “You better watch yourself, sweetheart. Sprawlers can be deadly. He’s liable to roll over and smother you.”

“If you’re that worried about me,” she snapped in a matching murmur, “then tell him to leave me alone. He has to do what you tell him, right?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to work. Half the time he doesn’t listen to me. Worst damn slave I ever had.” The light caught his shrug. “Only damn slave I ever had.” He aimed his smirk of a grin at Colleen. “Can’t argue with his taste in women, though.”

“Let’s not get into that again. This situation is difficult enough.”

Wallace rubbed his thumb lightly over the mark on Jeremy’s neck. His proof of ownership. Jeremy smiled and made a happy sound, but didn’t wake. “Yeah.”

Colleen circled her palm along Jeremy’s hip, unconsciously mirroring Wallace’s thumb action. “So what are we going to do?”

“We do whatever he wants.”

His face softened as he looked down at Jeremy. In that moment Colleen saw Jeremy’s Wallace, the man he’d fallen in love with. The man Wallace kept hidden from her and, by all accounts, everyone else. This unexpected Wallace surprised her and made her reevaluate just who was master here and who was slave.

He glanced her way, and just for a moment, his tenderness expanded to include her, too. Colleen was struck anew by his masculine beauty, and the depths of caring he was obviously capable of displaying toward those he cherished.

Slowly, as if to avoid startling her, he lifted his fingers from Jeremy’s neck to her face. Colleen held breathlessly still. The vampire’s touch was remarkably warm, light as a butterfly’s wing.

So beautiful…like a little butterfly…

The silver-eyed image from her dream tried to superimpose itself over Wallace’s face. For a second they intersected, green and silver eyes blurring together. The common denominator gleefully trumpeted itself at a mind determined not to hear it.

Colleen ducked her head aside. It wasn’t the violent recoil the silver-eyed man’s touch would have prompted, but the result was the same.

“Yeah, well.” Wallace withdrew his hand. “You’re not the only one who got lucky tonight. I think I’ve tumbled onto something. How about we wake up Sleeping Beauty here?”

Before she could respond, he ducked his head between Jeremy’s legs. Colleen quickly turned her head away. She did
not
want to watch. She was
not
a watchy person. Nevertheless, it was hard to avert her eyes from those porn-star lips and what they were doing to Jeremy’s cock. His tongue made a leisurely sweep up its length, and Colleen’s thigh muscles tightened.