Love in the Time of Zombies (26 page)

“First,
you kidnapped me, then you ignored me, and then you got
yourself
kidnapped.”  Once she hid Marcus, Darcy came stalking back into the main lounge
area.  “I’m just saying, the way you keep causing drama is a
little
attention whore-y for a king.  Is the zombageddon stealing your spotlight or
something?”

“I’ve
never ignored you.”  He’d tried, but every second of every day, Darcy was on
his mind.

“Really?” 
Because I seem to recall me
begging
you not jump down that stairwell and
you doing it anyway.”  She jabbed a finger at him and he tried not to stare at the
erotic red nail polish.  For a woman who worked on car engines all day, she had
such beautiful hands.  “That’s pretty clearly
ignoring me
, Joseff.”

“I
was trying to protect you.”

“Great
job with that.”  She paused meaningfully.  “Hey, which of us is chained to a
wall and which of us is here to save his cute ass?”

“Did
you come here… to rescue me?”  He didn’t dare believe that, but it seemed to be
what she was implying.

She
sent him an odd look.  “What do you think?”

“Zeke’s
human was kidnapped, too.”  He suggested.  “You may have come for her.  Getting
her back is paramount.  Her blood is very…”

Darcy
cut him off.  “Yeah, bad news about that.  Z Changed her into a shifter.”

Joseff
groaned, his head going back to smack against the wall.  Well, that was just
fucking typical.  Give those lack-wits something valuable and they squandered
it.

“He
didn’t have a choice.”  Darcy assured him, seeing Joseff’s frustration.  “She
was bitten by a zombie and it was the only way to save her.”

“Her
blood was going to keep us alive.”  Joseff pointed out.  “Without humans, the
only way the vampire species is going to survive is to feed on our mates.”

“So
we’ll find mates, then.”

He
couldn’t meet her eyes.  “It won’t be that easy.  Many vampires will have to
compromise.  They’ll have to accept any suitable candidate, even if they aren’t
exactly the one they might have wished for.”

She
shook her head and unzipped the front of her spacesuit.  “I think I’d die
before I drank from someone who wasn’t my true mate.”

Joseff’s
mouth twisted in fatalistic amusement.  “I know you would.”  He said softly. 
The woman was the last of the vampires’ noblest bloodline.  She would never
lower herself to accept less than she deserved.  “You won’t die, though.  I
will find you human blood if I have to…”  He trailed off as she stepped out of
the plastic coveralls and began unbuttoning her blouse.  “What are you doing?”

“Take
a wild guess.”  Her smile was pure invitation.

He
swallowed as her shirt hit the floor and she started unfastening her jeans. 
“You wish me to pleasure you?”  Joseff didn’t care how out-of-the-blue the
offer or how bad the timing, he would gladly die for the privilege of touching
her again.  “Untie me first.”  He moved his wrist, rattling the chain.

“Not
quite what I had in mind.”  Her bra joined the rest of her clothes and she
smiled like a temptress.  “I’m tired of you screwing things up, so we’re doing
this
my
way.  Ask me to pleasure
you
, Joseff.”

His
eyebrows drew together.  Females were the only ones who could make that
demand.  He could say the words, but Darcy wouldn’t feel the need to comply. 
This was a trick.  A way to humiliate him.  He knew it.

…And
still, when she slipped off her underwear and stood before him naked, he found
himself whispering, “Please.”

She
moved closer to him, topaz eyes bright with mischief.  “Please
what?
 
You’re the king, Joseff.  Even chained to a wall.  Order me.”

His
heart beat faster.  “So you can laugh at my need?”

“Aren’t
I worth the risk?”

She
was worth anything.

“Pleasure
me, Darcia.”  He said quietly and braced himself for rejection.

Instead,
graceful hands with those mind-blowing red tips began unfastening his belt. 
“Of course, sire.”

For
a second, Joseff couldn’t fathom it.  He just stood there in stunned silence as
she sank to her knees.  She was really going to touch someone like him?  When
she could have anyone…?

“
Darcy
.” 
Joseff’s eyes went wide with shock as her mouth touched his skin.  He’d fantasized
about this so many times.  He couldn’t believe it was actually happening.  Her
lush lips wrapped around him and he thought he would die of pleasure.

His
hands twisted in the shackles, the iron cutting into his skin.  Being tied just
amplified the sensation.  His hips instinctively moved wanting to get even
deeper, but he couldn’t touch her.  He couldn’t do anything except surrender to
Darcy’s wicked beautiful mouth.

Joseff’s
head fell back in ecstasy.  She felt better than anything he could possibly
imagine.  And
God
how he’d imagined…  He tried to focus on the top of
her dark head, memorizing this moment, but it was hard to do anything but feel.

“I
love your taste.”  She licked her way up the length of him and gave a hum of
pleasure.  “Mine.”  She sucked him harder and Joseff’s whole body arched.

“Yours.” 
He panted.  “Fuck, Darcy.  I am completely yours.  I always have been.”

Darcy
lifted her eyes to his.  “I know.”  She said simply and shifted her head. 
Sharp little teeth scrapped along his thigh and everything inside of him froze.

She
wouldn’t.

She
just said she would die before drinking from a man who was unworthy.

“What
are you doing?”  He whispered.

“Biting
you.”  Her voice was warm and sure.  “Waiting any longer seems like a bad idea,
given your propensity to be a dumbass.  The mark will be here forever,
reminding you who you belong to.  It won’t hurt a bit.”  She moved one of her
hands to brush the brand high on the inside of her leg.  “I’m
very
attached to mine.”

Was
she tricking him?  Joseff tried to think.  “Wait.”

Darcy
hesitated, her golden gaze suddenly unsure.  “You don’t want my mark?”

His
heart turned over at the small question.  Darcy was serious about this.  He
could see it on her face.  His throat was suddenly too tight to speak.

The
brief hesitation surprised her.  For the first time in all the years he’d known
her, Darcy looked vulnerable.  “But, Joseff, we’re supposed to be together. 
It’s
always
been you.  Do you not love me…?”

Joseff
cut off that insanity.  “Neck.”  He got out.  “Bite my neck.”

Her
eyes cleared and she slowly grinned at that idea.  “Everyone will see it.”  She
warned.

“I
want
everyone to see it.”

She
slowly stood up.  “Okay, but, believe me, there
are
benefits to having
the bite just for your mate’s viewing.  I know mine burns hot when I think of
you and it’s in a
delightfully tingling spot.”

Darcy
had just called him her mate.

Joseff’s
brain short-circuited.  He didn’t consciously think about moving.  He just
wrenched the shackles free off the wall and grabbed her.  The chains were still
dangling around his wrists as he dragged her to the ground and pushed her
thighs apart.

She
beamed up at him, delighted that he ripped free of iron bindings to get to her. 
“Baby, you
are
the king.”  Her palm came up to touch his bruised face. 
“Pleasure me.”

Joseff
couldn’t get inside of her fast enough.  He braced himself above her, happier
than he’d ever been.  “I love you.”

“I
know.”  Darcy’s legs wrapped around his waist, her hands pulling his pants further
down so he could thrust deep.  Her body closed around his like she’d been made
for him and she gave a sound of pure lust.  “
Joseff.
”

“Mine.” 
His hand found the marking he’d left on her skin, and he somehow grew even
harder.  “You are my mate, Darcia.”

“
God
do I know.”  Darcy whimpered as he stretched her to the core.  “I’ve always
known.  What took
you
so long to figure it out, you moron?”

It
was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard.

Joseff’s
fingers traced the brand he’d left on her, his eyes squeezing shut.  He was
twice her size, pinning her beneath him, and he’d just ripped solid iron from a
concrete wall.  It didn’t matter.  The woman was still in complete control. 
She always had been.  Anyone else he could fight, but with Darcy he was utterly
helpless.

“I
have loved you forever.”  He said hoarsely.  “I would gladly choose death
before I tasted another.”

“I
know.”  She leaned up, her hot breath on his throat.  “Also, I’ll kill anyone
who tries to take you from me, so I’m not worried.”  Her fangs sank into his
flesh and Joseff gave a bellow of triumph.

“Yes!” 
His body pistoned inside of his mate.  “That’s it, my love.  Take what you
need.”  His fingers tangled in her hair, holding her head against him.  “Take
all of me.  I’m all yours.”

She
made a mewling sound of pleasure, her bite wild and deep.  Joseff fucking
loved
it.  The savage marking would leave no doubt that she’d taken his blood in a
fit of passion.  The thought of others seeing it, and knowing that she belonged
to him, sent Joseff over the edge.  The tight walls of her sheath milked him,
while her lips drank from his neck, and it was the best moment of his life.

“
Darcy!
” 
He felt her body contracting, signaling her own release, and then he was lost
in bliss.

“I
love you.”  Darcy breathed into his ear.

Joseff
the Unconquered kissed her temple and knew he’d just won his greatest victory. 
“I know.”

Bright side
to the zombie apocalypse:

Don’t
worry.  You prepped for this by watching every season of
Supernatural
.

Mostly for
the angel, sure.  But, there were almost defiantly a couple of episodes with
zombies.

Zeke
found the rest of the pack by the slot machines.

The
humans had arranged a series of iron cages around the casino floor and all of
them were filled with supernatural creatures.  The area was being used as some
kind of holding area, although he wasn’t sure what they were holding them
for
. 
Three guards milled around, keeping watch and harassing the caged beings like
they were animals in a zoo.

Four
guards if you counted Zeke.

He
walked down the row of goblins, and sirens, and witches, his eyes finally
falling on Powell.  The shifter looked like he’d been beaten with a club, but
he was still breathing.  Glancing around, Zeke saw that the rest of the pack
was alive, too.

He’d
told Cale that they were too mean to die.

His
pack-mates recognized Zeke even through the plastic suit.  He could tell by the
way their eyes sharpened and their smiles stretched.  Shit.  That probably
meant they were going to want to talk to him.  He didn’t have time for this.  He
needed to find Scotlyn.  She was the only thing she cared about.

Powell’s
lavender gaze gleamed and he slowly stood up in his cage.  He was a big guy,
with a crew cut and a goatee.  Next to Brewer, he was the oldest Macready, a
fact he used to try and keep the rest of them in line.  “Well, maybe you’re not
such a pussy, after all, Z.”

Zeke
rolled his eyes, even as he forced himself to stop by the cage door.  He
really
didn’t have time for this.  “Hey!”  He called, turning to the other guards.  It
seemed like the quickest solution.  “This one’s trying to escape!”

“Oh
come
on
.”  Powell muttered, as the humans came hurrying closer.  “You have
to help us out here.  We’re part of your pack.”

Zeke
slanted him a frustrated glare.  It was amazing how willing shifters were to
forget the “every man for himself” dictate when they were the ones being
abandoned.  Worst part was… Powell had a point.  Social Darwinism sucked and
Zeke wanted no part of it.  He’d been a jackass earlier when he voted to leave
the rest of the shifters to die.  Apparently, Scotlyn had been right all
along.  The end of the world
was
a good time to start helping people.

He
had to save the pack…  No matter how damn annoying they were.

“At
least, give me a gun.”  Powell hissed.

“I
need my gun.”  Zeke raised it as the humans hurried down the aisle.  Sometimes
it paid to be a Black Hat.  They weren’t expecting one of their own to open
fire, so it was a turkey shoot.  Three quick shots and the guards fell to the
balloon-printed carpet.  None of them even had time to go for their weapons.  Brewer
would be proud.

A
cheer went up from the supernatural prisoners.

“Damn.” 
Powell said.  “I can’t believe how stupid humans are.”