Deceptive Changes: Kat LaMond Book 1 (28 page)

We loaded into the truck and drove around for a while, taking unexpected turns to see if we had a tail.  “That sure was some act, Kat,” Todd said with some admiration.

I smiled and tried to contain the laugh that was building in my throat.  I swallowed and said, “Men tend to think a small woman can’t be fearsome.  I just showed him how wrong he was.”

“That’s my girl,” Todd said and pulled my hand to his lips. 

Trace and Erick each gave me a kiss and then settled back in their seats.  “Where’d you get the knife?”

“I have them hidden all over.  I don’t go outside unarmed any longer.  Been there, done that.”  I shuddered at the thoughts that welled in my head.

Erick leaned up to me and said, “You were fearsome.”  I turned and frowned at him.  “You’re such a petite woman.”  As if that explained everything. 

“Okay.  First, I’m not petite.  I’m average height for a woman and second, I’ve killed a bunch of vampires before.  I just used that to my advantage.  Besides, I didn’t want you guys to get in trouble for taking out a man like Sal.”

We rode in silence for a while longer and then headed home.  No one had followed us.  I wasn’t tired and the alcohol had worn off.  Todd parked under the portico and we walked into the house.  The lights were out and the house was quiet.

We walked into the bedroom and found Sven lying in bed.  He sat up when I flipped the light on.  “You guys were gone a long while.”

“Yeah.”  I stifled a laugh at why.  At the time it had worried me but now I could laugh about Sal’s stupidity.  I sat on the edge of the bed but my men stayed standing.  They looked at me.  “What?”

“Are you okay, Kat?” Todd asked with concern. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked confused at his concern. 

“You were just propositioned and had to defend us.  Before that, you’re building was blown to bits.”

“Of course I’m fine.”  What a silly statement. 

Sven whispered against my ear, “You’re shaking.” 

I stood up so fast and crashed into Trace in my haste to get away from him.  “Sven.” I stopped, staying upright with Trace’s hand on my arm.  “You scared the crap out of me.  I asked you not to do that.”  I jerked my arm from Trace’s grip and backed away from them.  I couldn’t tell you why I was backing away from them, I just was.  It was like instinct had taken over and I couldn’t control it.

“I’m fine, guys.  Just…relax or something.”  I felt trapped all of a sudden.  I didn’t know if it was the looks they were giving me or not.  Something crashed into the window.  I spun around and found nothing.  “What the hell was that?” I breathed through my racing heart.  My men were around me in seconds when we saw a moon face appear outside the window.  I gasped as I recognized the face.  It was Sal.  Oh, God.  He was like a… I let the thought go.  How did he find us?

“This is a dream, right?” I whispered.

“If it is, we’re all in the same dream together,” Todd whispered back.

“Hey, guys.” Sal shouted and waved at us.  My mouth fell open. 

I pulled out my cell phone and called the police.  I waited a few minutes on hold and when the dispatcher came on the phone Todd grabbed it from me.  He identified himself and said that an intruder was standing outside our window.  A patrol car was on the way, the dispatcher assured us.  Todd snapped the phone shut.

I started to shake as Sal leered at us through the window.  Sven started out of the room but I called him back.  I didn’t want him to get into trouble when the cops arrived.  Trace and Sven curled their arms around me. 

I leaned into Sven and whispered, “Why didn’t you say anything?  Didn’t you hear his heart beat?” 

He leaned into my ear and said, “Your heart was beating so hard that it drowned out a lot of noises and his heart beat was one of them.  Besides, I was concerned about you not some outside creeper.”

Sal stayed where he was for a moment longer and then moved away from the window.  “Sven, where is he?”

“I can hear his heart beat.  He’s going to the front of the house.” 

We slowly walked to the front door.  A couple moments later a sharp knock sounded at the door.  I called out, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Sal,” he said with a high voice. 

I gulped at the announcement, even though I knew exactly who was at the door.  I whispered to Sven to get something to tie him up.  Sven moved quickly and grabbed some plastic ties. 

I grabbed the ties from him and opened the door.  Sal staggered in and put his hand out like he was going to touch me.  I swatted his hand and put him on the floor with a leg swipe.  He went down with an ‘oomph’ and I tied his hands together, with Todd’s help we lifted him and sat him on the porch to wait for the cops. 

A patrol car came up the drive a few minutes later.  The plain-clothed officer, some young kid Todd knew, came up to us.  “Todd?”

“Chaz.  They have you doing patrol?”

“Yeah.  What happened?”  Todd filled Chaz in on what had happened. 

How did Todd explain the proposition without complications?  He didn’t.  He told Chaz exactly what Sal assumed about us.  Chaz didn’t even try to ask, he just raised an eyebrow.  He grabbed Sal by the arm and led him into the patrol car and then walked back to us.

“Do you know why he might have done this?” Chaz asked.

“We don’t even know how he found us.  We drove around after the bar thing and no one followed us.”

“I can answer that.  Apparently, Katja here is something of a star in our little town.”  I didn’t like the way he said ‘star’, he made it sound like I was a leper or something.  “The newspaper informed the whole town of her address.”  I groaned.  So that was how he found out.  Great.

“When did this happen?” Todd asked.

Chaz sighed.  “Don’t you guys read the newspaper?  When Katja, uh, Ms. LaMond, bought this house, the newspaper ran a front page article.”  We groaned in stereo.  Chaz looked at us and lifted an eyebrow.  “Maybe you shouldn’t buy a house under your name, Ms. LaMond.” 

After that remark, Todd and Chaz bullshitted for a little bit and then Chaz left. 

We walked into the house and went to the kitchen.  Sven muttered, “You should have let me kill that flabby man.” 

I frowned at him.  “No.  We don’t kill ‘innocent’ humans.”  He sighed at my answer and rolled his eyes.

I grabbed waters from the fridge and gave them to my guys and sat down at the table.  I drank from the bottle and then sighed. 
Now
, I was tired.  “I think I’ll go to bed now.  I’m really tired.”  They nodded like that was acceptable.  I wasn’t too sure if it was acceptable or not, I just knew that I was tired and wanted to curl up in bed.  I breathed a sigh and walked out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.  I pulled the curtains like a smart person and grabbed pajamas. 

After changing, I fell into bed and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

><                            ><

I woke up to a hand running along my face.  I hit the hand and opened my eyes.  It was Sven.  “What?” I croaked out.  My voice sounded horrible. 

“You were having a nightmare.”

“Oh.  Well, I’m awake now.” 

He kissed my cheek and said, “You sure are.” 

I smiled at him and slipped out of bed because my bladder was killing me.  I went into the bathroom and did the bathroom thing. 

I walked out and saw that all four men were watching the door and me.  “Yes?” 

I looked at them as they watched me.  “Come to bed, Kat,” Todd said, beckoning me with his hand.  My heart thudded in my chest and I shook my head.  “We just want to cuddle.  You kept us up half the night with your cries.”  I frowned at Todd, at all four of them. 

Todd patted the bed and smiled—his bottom lip half hidden behind his teeth.  Gosh, he was just so darn yum.  Yum?  Yeah, okay, he was yum.  Okay, so I was going to give in.  It’s not like it was a hardship or anything. 

I crawled back into bed and stayed where I was for a moment, then climbed over Sven’s body to cuddle next to Todd.

Todd wrapped his arm around me and kissed my shoulder.  Sven turned around and pressed against my back, cuddling me.  I fell asleep smooshed between them.

><                            ><

I woke up a short time later to whispers.  I sat up and found my men whispering in the doorway.  I watched as they talked with each other.  They were dressed similarly in pj bottoms and t-shirts.  Todd was waving his hands around, his muscles tightening and loosening as his arms moved.  Trace was standing with his back to me.  Erick was standing next to Trace but turned toward Todd.  He was speaking quietly and with emphasis.  Sven was standing near the door and watching me. 

I blushed as I looked into his eyes.  His held a desire for more than just sex.  He was hungry.  I cleared my throat and they turned to look at me.  Damn.  I gulped as I caught the looks in their eyes.  Predatory.  I reprimanded myself for clearing my throat, I totally shouldn’t have done that.  They stalked-as in I was there prey-up to the foot of the bed.  I curled into a tight ball but still stayed sitting up.

I jerked back and gasped when Sven appeared at my side.  “Don’t do that,” I said angrily. 

He chuckled.  “I need to feed.”  His voice was low and seductive. 

My heart beat had settled down a bit but now it was beating fast and hard.  “Okay?”

“I would like to feed from you, Katja.” 

“Just feed, right?” 

“Of course,” he said in the same low seductive voice. 

“Okay.” I held out my hand and closed my eyes tight.  His hand slid onto my wrist, his thumb rubbing my pulse.  I peeked through my lashes at him.  He was just looking at me.  I opened my eyes all the way and asked, “What?”

“I don’t want to feed from your wrist, Katja.” 

Oh.  I nodded and pulled my hand from his.  I moved my hair from my neck.  I looked at my men and found them staring at us.  I swallowed loudly.  I guess they wanted a show.  Sven moved next to me and wrapped his arm around my back and side.  I cringed as he bent his head to me. 

“I can smell your fear, Katja,” he breathed against me. 

“I can’t help it,” I squeaked out. 

“I like it.  Your heart is beating like a rabbit’s.”  He pressed his nose to my neck, breathing deeply as he nuzzled my pulse. 

I pulled back from him and looked into his eyes.  His dark blue eyes turned a deeper blue.  I shuddered as I gazed into his eyes.  “Don’t be afraid, Katja.  I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“Uh huh.”  I couldn’t think of anything else to say since I was still looking into his eyes.  The thoughts that passed through his eyes were plain and easily read.  He wanted me to be afraid.  He wanted my heart to hammer its way through my chest.  He wanted me to be the rabbit he had compared me to.  He liked that fear for some reason.

I might have been a little afraid but I was still Kat and I wasn’t going to be
that
afraid.  He bent his head when I turned forward, exposing more of my neck to him.  I hissed as his fangs slid into my skin.  His arm tightened around me at the first splash of blood while his other hand wrapped around the other side of my neck and held me in place.

I rolled my eyes to look at my men.  They just watched.  Todd’s hands clenched into fists and raw need filled his eyes.  Sven pulled back and licked the wound and kissed my cheek then slid off the bed.    He walked directly up to Todd and pulled him into his arms, bending his head quickly.  Todd sighed as Sven’s fangs slid into his skin.  My mouth fell open.  Holy crap.  Todd wrapped his arms around Sven and held him tight.  I snapped my mouth closed and watched as Sven fed off of Todd.

Todd cried out softly and arched his back, Sven bent with him, holding Todd in his arms.  They both stood up straighter even as Sven continued to feed.  A few moments later, Sven pulled back.  I blinked at Todd’s expression.  His eyes were blurry and his mouth was parted.  Sven held Todd in his arms and half carried him to the window seat.  Todd shuddered while Sven held him.  It was a delayed reaction to either the feeding or the orgasm, I couldn’t tell which.

Someone rang the doorbell.  Who could that be?  I walked out of the room, remembering to grab a weapon on the way out.  I hid the knife at my side and looked out the side window.  It was Sal.  What the hell did he want?

I kept the security chain in place and opened the door.  “Yes?”

“Hi.  It’s Sal.  From last night?  I wanted to apologize for my behavior.  I was pretty drunk last night.  I hope you can forgive me.”

“Uh huh.  Thanks.  ‘Bye.”  I started to shut the door but he put his hand out, effectively stopping me.  He was really starting to annoy me. 

“You don’t understand.  I’m apologizing only for scarin’ ya.”

I was tired of him and I wanted to be back with my men so I threatened him, “Leave now.  Or I’ll bury your body and no one will find you.”  The threat was mostly empty but he got the point quickly.  He turned and walked down the stairs.  He turned once to look back, then started walking again and didn’t look back.

I needed to find another house and quickly.  This wasn’t going to happen again.  I sighed and shut the door, then walked into the bedroom.