Nightlord Lover (12 page)

Then Larissa saw Garrick and her heart soared. Ramon stood
next to him and there was a women standing between them holding two axes. She
looked at least a dozen years older but she was attractive and looked more than
capable of handling the weapons. She spoke to him and kept her eyes on Lazaro’s
group.

“Do you still have the sword handy?” Anja asked, barely
above a whisper.

“Yes.” Larissa gripped it so tightly her fingers felt numb.

Voices rose to a roar again as weapons raised and the groups
took a step closer. “Wait!” the woman with the axes shouted. “We must settle
this before dawn or Kashia will die.”

The arguing stopped.

Was the fighting over?

“Bastian has Kashia, Lazaro. Release Larissa and leave New
Hope or Kashia will burn at Sunrise,” Garrick said.

“What have you done to her?” Lazaro spat out.

“She’s chained on top of the bridge tower and heavily
guarded,” Garrick said. “The Guild will release her only when Bastian gives the
order.”

“Shouldn’t I tell Garrick I’m here?” Larissa whispered to
Anja.

“Shhh. No. He knows you’re safe. Bastian told him.”

Lazaro said something to his cohorts and three of them left.
One went inside the house through the back and came out a moment later with
weapons. They circled around to the front of the house.

“Shit. They have something planned. Wait here. Do not move.”

Larissa’s teeth were chattering so hard now her jaw ached
and she feared everyone could hear her. Anja disappeared around the side of the
house after the other vampires and Larissa tried to see what was going on with
the rest of the group.

“Fine,” Lazaro said. “I’ve sent them to get your girlfriend.
Now you get Kashia and bring her here. As soon as she’s here, you’ll get
Larissa and we’ll leave New Hope and never return.”

Garrick nodded. “Fair enough.” He spoke to the woman holding
the axes and she gave orders. Several of the others left in SUVs.

Larissa frantically glanced around the yard, looking for
Anja. On the edge of the woods stood a guy, a teenager or in his early
twenties. He only had on a light sweatshirt and a backpack slung over one
shoulder. He took a few steps forward then stopped. Oh no, he was about to get
caught in the middle of the fight. He must’ve been walking through the woods.
She tried to wave her hand to tell him to get back but didn’t think he saw her.
Thankfully he did stop.

Wasn’t he freezing without a coat? She was. He stared in her
direction and smiled. Could he see her? Slowly he placed his backpack on the
ground. What the hell was he doing? If one of the renegades saw him, he’d be
dead. She shook her head. It had to be too dark for him to see her. Who was
this idiot?

Out of his backpack, he retrieved a sword. She looked over
at the vampires and slayers and they continued to argue and were oblivious to
this visitor. The guy held the sword in two hands and swung it level and
horizontal with his shoulders. He looked at Larissa to see if she noticed. Then
he went through each motion again, as if he were demonstrating the proper form.
He also did a stabbing motion.

She nodded and the guy smiled. Why wouldn’t he leave? He
bent down and stuffed the sword into his backpack. How the others couldn’t see
him, Larissa had no idea.

Moments passed and Ramon stepped forward. “What’s taking so
long?”

“Where is she?” Garrick asked.

Maybe she should call out to Garrick and tell him where she
was. She looked over at the visitor and he shook his head and mouthed
no
as if he heard her thoughts.

Flood lights turned off, making it more difficult for the
slayers to see but didn’t hamper the vampires’ sight. The slayers raised their
weapons and spread out.

“Not a good idea, Lazaro,” Garrick stated. “You don’t have
much time. Kashia will be dead at sunrise. Bastian won’t release her until I
text him with a code.”

A dozen more vampires from Lazaro’s house sneaked out the
back. Larissa raised her sword. How could she warn Garrick or Anja? They were
planning something. Vamps were everywhere. She wouldn’t get three steps before
they saw her. She tucked back against the tree trunk and gripped the weapon.

She searched across the yard but the guy had vanished. Had
he sneaked back into the woods?

The hidden ones lunged out of the darkness at Garrick’s
group, attacking both vampire and slayers. Bodies dropped to the ground and it
was hard to say what sides they were on. Larissa felt helpless. If she called
for Garrick, she might distract him and he could get killed. If she came from
out of her hiding place, she could get killed.

The sound of metal crashing against metal or sinking into
flesh chilled Larissa to the bone. The stench of blood mingled with the pine
scent of the hemlock. Bile coated her mouth.

A woman screamed from the opposite side of the house and
Garrick stopped fighting for a second. Larissa suspected it was Anja, but
worried Garrick thought it was her. Ramon glanced up while in the middle of
fighting two vamps. Garrick knocked one of the evil ones down then ran in the
direction of the scream. Lazaro picked up a sword from a fallen slayer and
charged after Garrick. One of the evil vamps was standing about ten feet from
her hiding place. If she didn’t move, Garrick would be dead. If she shouted,
she’d be dead and no guarantee that Garrick would hear her.

Raising her sword in both hands, she bolted out from the
tree cover and didn’t look behind her to see if the other vamp saw her or not.
She reached Lazaro the second he raised his sword to strike Garrick.

Transformed by instincts and adrenaline, Larissa called out
to Garrick at the same time she swung the sword horizontally with all her might
at Lazaro’s head. The weight and momentum sliced his head off with little
resistance. The weight of the weapon and slick snow kept the blade moving. As
she spun around, she noticed the vamp who had been standing by the tree. He
snarled, ready to attack with fangs out a second before her sword sliced his
head off too.

Stunned by two bodies crumpled in the snow, she didn’t see
the other vamp rushing toward her. She heard him before she saw him. With two
hands, she raised the sword and swung it again.

This time the third vamp ducked just before the weapon
struck. A fear gripped her heart and she held her breath, knowing it would
probably be her last. The vampire knocked her down with such force, all the air
whooshed out of her lungs. She gasped for breath but was stunned by the shock
of the fall.

He was on top of her, his weight pressing her into the snow,
his hot breath in her face, against her neck. Then the weight was lifted and
she could breathe again. He was gone. A sickening sound of a blade cutting
flesh then the thud of a body and Larissa looked up to see Garrick holding
Lazaro’s sword. The vampire who attacked her at his feet, dead with a blade
through his heart.

Larissa struggled to get up. Next to her was another
body—Lazaro. Blood splattered across the snow and all over her. What had she
done? Tremors shook her body. Why was she shaking? She wasn’t cold, she couldn’t
feel anything. Garrick smiled. “Are you all right?”

She nodded then shook her head. “I think so, I’m not sure.”
Survival instinct kicked in. She got up and yanked her sword out of the vamp’s
body. If anyone attacked her, she wouldn’t be without a weapon.

“Yes, I believe you are.” Garrick watched her with eyes that
glowed with warmth, power and pride. There was something more within the depth
of his illuminated vampire gaze. Was she seeing into his soul? His heart? Or
had she realized she’d fallen in love with a dangerous man not capable of
returning that love?

He pulled her into his arms and held her so tightly her ribs
ached. Leaning back, he searched her face then closed his eyes. “Damn, I
thought I lost you. Mortals are so fragile.”

He lifted her chin and kissed her roughly. Not a romantic
setting. The kiss that reassured the worst was over. Tenderness could come
later. And answers to questions. “I have to thank Anja. She helped me escape.
And where’s Ramon?”

“Talking to Bastian,” Garrick said. “They’re deciding what
to do with Kashia.” Looking around, she spotted Anja and the woman with the
axes among a group of vamps and slayers.

Larissa’s legs wobbled beneath her. Putting an arm around
her, Garrick steadied her. The woman with the axes stepped forward. “May I?”
she asked, referring to Larissa’s sword.

Larissa handed her the sword. The woman cleaned off the
blood in the snow and handed it back to Larissa. “I’m Darla. Nice to meet you,
Larissa. Great aim.” She glanced around at the carnage Larissa left with a grin
of approval.

“That’s not my sword,” Larissa argued. “But thanks.”

“It is now. You’ve earned it,” Darla stated. “You’re a
slayer now. And an ally for the Vampire Guild of New Hope.”

Larissa glanced at Garrick for his response. He nodded. She
felt completely drained by the thought of what she just did and not knowing how
this would change things between her and Garrick and Ramon. Did she even want
to be known as a slayer? “There was a guy who came out of the woods. He had a
sword.”

“What guy?” Darla asked. “We have everyone we arrived with.”

“A kid really, wearing a backpack. He was watching the
fighting for a while then disappeared.”

Darla smiled. “The hitchhiker? He usually appears when
someone is in danger.”

“I think he tried to give me a lesson on how to fight with a
sword,” Larissa said.

Garrick’s leather coat came around her body and he lifted
her up in his arms. “You’re shivering,” he said. “We’ll talk more about this
later. You need to get home and get warm.”

“We almost lost you,” Garrick said, pulling her against his
chest. That thought tore through him. Steam from the hot shower swirled around
them. Ramon stroked her back with a bath puff foamy with coconut-and-lime gel,
while Garrick rubbed her skin with his hands to bring back the warmth. “I hated
not getting to you sooner.”

“Bastian was right,” Ramon said. “If we had charged into
Lazaro’s place without the slayers and the Guild, Larissa could’ve been harmed.
The safety of all the residents of New Hope and Lambertville, including the
Guild, could’ve been at risk.”

“She can take care of herself anyway,” Garrick said, his
voice edged with pride. “Did you see how she swung that weapon?” Her courage
and strength overwhelmed him.

“No, I was busy. I’d like to next time.”

“I hope there won’t be a next time,” Larissa added. “Why
would Anja join Lazaro’s clan? She did turn away in the end and help me, but I
don’t understand why she got involved in the first place.”

Garrick stroked her breasts that were slick with soap. He
was getting harder by the moment. “Anja was never part of Lazaro’s clan. She
was Bastian’s spy. Lazaro thought she was part of the group. The meetings in
Corydale were an excuse to meet privately with the slayers to warn them about a
possible attack.”

“Corydale residents don’t want an alliance with the Guild?
They don’t know what they’re missing,” Larissa said with a teasing tone. Her
hand grasped his cock then reached behind to grab onto Ramon’s. She smiled, not
so innocently.

“They do want an alliance,” Garrick said. “It’ll work out in
time.” His hand slid down her belly, eased between her legs and worked a finger
inside her channel. She was so hot and wet inside. As he heard her pulse kick
up, his cock hardened.

Arching her back, she leaned into Ramon. Garrick slid his
thigh between her legs. When she rocked her pussy against him, he watched her
breasts bounce under the spray of water.

“I-I want you. I want you both,” she whispered.

How vulnerable and beautiful she looked. He wanted her too
and for more than sex and the blood sustenance. His heart gave an uneasy lurch.
He remembered how he’d lost loves in the past such as Jeanette and how those
who chose to remain mortal had slipped out of his life like Darla. How could he
bear to lose another?

Larissa stepped away from Garrick and moved into Ramon’s
arms. She kissed him then whispered something in his ear that Garrick couldn’t
hear even with his heightened sense. Ramon smiled and nodded. “I knew all
along.”

“Knew what?” Garrick said, a pang of jealousy digging in his
chest for being left out.

“I’ll tell you later,” Larissa said. “But I have a
question.”

“Which is?” Garrick asked.

“I want to know more about being marked,” she said to
Garrick.

He nodded. “A vampire transfers his elixir into the
recipient through his fangs during a blood collection. Afterward you’ll be
connected on a psychic level with your nightlord, the one who marks you. You’ll
need less sleep, have a heightened hearing and increased strength. You won’t be
sensitive to light. After the second marking all of these changes will become
enhanced and you’ll be more sensitive to light.”

“What about free will?” she asked.

“You’ll be partly under the control of the nightlord. It’s
more of a survival thing but you retain your free will,” he said. “The third
marking makes you immortal. The Guild must approve this.”

Larissa turned off the shower and got out, grabbed a towel
to dry off. “I understand.” She threw them each towels. When she finished
drying off, she hung up her towel and stood between the two men, naked and
glistening. So amazingly hot.

“Come to me in the bedroom,” she said. “I want you both to
make love to me. Then I want to be marked.”

“Who do you want to have as your nightlord?” Garrick asked.
Who would she be bound to?

“You’ll find out.” She walked naked into the bedroom.

* * * * *

She sank down on the bed and both men stood at the end.
Wrapping her arms around her knees, she smiled at them as her heart gave a
nervous lurch. “How do we start? Do you mark me now or after we make love?”

“That’s up to you.” Ramon eased onto the bed, straightened
her legs and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The kiss was deep and
passionate, playful. “We both love you and we both can protect you.”

Slowly, Garrick’s hands slid up her thigh, over her belly to
her breast and teased the nipple with a gentle touch that made her shiver. As
good as she felt, doubt drifted into her mind. “What does love mean to an
immortal? Eternity is a long time.” She couldn’t look at either of them. She
knew where her heart was but what if his love faded over time?

“Love is the same for immortals as it is for mortals, only
more intense. Memories don’t fade, the love doesn’t fade.” Garrick voice
sounded sad.

“Are you still in love with those you lost in your past?”
she asked.

“The feelings don’t go away, or the memories. But situations
change.”

“Like Darla,” she said. “Did you love her?”

“I remember how we were twenty-five years ago as if it were
yesterday. We had our time and that was in the past.” He took Larissa’s face
between his hands and looked at her with such depth she didn’t dare breathe or
she’d break the spell. “You are my present, my future, my eternity. I don’t
want time to separate us. I can’t let you go.”

She nodded and opened her mouth to speak but he pressed a finger
to her lips.

“Not yet,” he said. “Tell us later. It doesn’t have to be
tonight.” He kissed her deeply, plunging his tongue to meet hers. Her body and
all the doubt and worry faded. Whatever she decided, it would be the right
decision. He parted from the kiss, leaving her breathless.

“Oh that’s nice,” she murmured.

“Maybe you should see who’s the better lover before making a
decision,” Ramon teased as he pulled her into his arms.

“Not a bad idea,” she said, smiling and lightening the
tension.

He brought his leg between hers and rubbed his thigh against
her pussy. “Waiting until after is a better idea,” Ramon said with a serious
tone this time.

“There’s no rush.” She hoped they didn’t detect the
hesitation in her words. They seemed sincere about their love. She had no doubt
of her love now but what about after she was marked? She’d be bound to one of
them. Would that change her? “Now, you were saying about the better lover…”

“Sounds like a dangerous dare.” Garrick’s lips brushed over
hers, and she parted her lips, anticipating a deeper kiss, waiting, aching for
it. “You want my mouth?”

“Yes,” she whispered. Garrick moved first to her neck at the
same time Ramon’s hands roamed her breasts and lower, teasing her clit. She
shuddered from Ramon’s touch but also from feeling Garrick’s teeth gently
scrape over her throat. Stretching her neck, she wanted him then, would’ve
welcomed a crimson swan offering.

When his gaze met hers, his brows rose. His fingers touched
her cheek. “So much worry in those eyes for someone so aroused. Enjoy the
pleasure. No need to rush into being marked tonight. Okay?” Garrick watched
her.

She nodded but her heart broke. Didn’t he realize she did
want him? Couldn’t he tell she was in love with him? Then Ramon’s tongue lapped
at her pussy and her fears whirled out of her head for the moment. “Oh God
that’s good.”

“That’s better.” Garrick moved to her breasts, kneading them
and sucking her nipples. Her body was on fire. Heat and lust surge through her.
Kneeling beside her, Garrick gazed down at her. His eyes danced up and down her
figure, and her skin tingled under his regard. How could he excite her so with
just a look? His cock was so hard that Larissa couldn’t resist the chance to
pleasure him. Grasping his cock, she pulled him toward her and took him into
her mouth. He moaned and slipped a pillow under her head.

Ramon’s mouth and fingers were taking her to places she
never imagined. He plunged a finger inside her channel and increased the rhythm
of his tongue. The orgasm slammed into her with little warning. Her hips bucked
and she had to stop pleasuring Garrick to allow herself to cry out.

Ramon knelt between her legs while her body still throbbed
and he thrust his shaft into her. Arching off the bed, she grabbed Garrick’s
arms. “Straddle my chest,” she said. “I want to take you into my mouth again.”

He did so without hesitation. She loved pleasuring him and
hearing his moans and gasps. “So good, so beautiful,” Garrick said.

Ramon tucked his hands around her ass, lifting her to pump
deeper. Then he groaned and slipped out of her. “A second longer and she’d have
me coming.”

Not wasting any time, Garrick eased down between her legs.
His mouth had a different touch than Ramon. Both aroused her in amazing ways.
Ramon moved to her side, touching and sucking her breasts. His teeth clamped
over her nipples, sending shocks of intense sensation straight to her clit.

“So wet and sweet,” Garrick said. “I could do this all
night.”

What about forever?
She thought. What would forever
be like? The idea rushed around inside her head, leaving an unsettled feeling
in her gut.

“Don’t go there,” Ramon whispered. “I see the worry in your
eyes again.”

“Nothing will happen if you don’t want it to,” Garrick said
then continued to pleasure her.

How could she explain what she needed? How could he promise
love forever, literally? All logic and worry floated out of her head as her
body succumbed to the men’s lavish attentions. With fists gripping the sheets,
she moaned and writhed on the bed. God, she was going to come again. “Garrick,
oh God, yes,” she cried out as the second orgasm soared through her. His finger
plunged in and out, rapidly stroking her and drawing out a deeper, longer
climax. “I can’t stand it. Take me.”

He nudged her entrance with the head of his shaft then
thrust into her tight passage, slamming his cock balls deep. Ramon knelt beside
her. He stroked her breasts while she jerked him off.

“I could make love to you both like this forever,” she
blurted out, not thinking about what she said.

“Hell yeah,” Ramon said, laughing.

Garrick locked his gaze with hers, that surreal, intense
look of his that sucked the air out of the room. He mouthed, “I know.” Then he
closed his eyes and groaned loudly as she felt his cock pulse inside her with
his release. The wet heat of Ramon’s release sprayed across her breasts.

Both men collapsed on either side of her. All of them drunk
with pleasure and exhausted. Ramon leaned up on one elbow. “Be right back.” A
moment later he came back with a warm, wet cloth to clean up. Garrick then
tucked a sheet around them. “Sleep,” he urged. “You’ve been though a lot.”

“What about you two?” she asked. “You don’t need to feed?”

“We’re good. We’ll stay until you fall asleep. Get some
rest,” Ramon said. “We’ll come back this evening.”

“You’re leaving?” Had they changed their mind? “What about
marking me?”

“There’s no rush,” Garrick said. “I think you’re having
second thoughts.”

She sat up in bed. “That’s not it.”

“You can’t decide between the two of us?” Ramon asked,
smiling.

He knew that wasn’t it and was teasing her.

Ramon got up and got dressed. “Why are you going?” Garrick
asked.

“You two need to talk. I’ll be at the Beaumont.”

“Are you coming back tonight for Christmas Eve dinner?” she
asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it, babe.” He gave her a quick kiss then left
her apartment.

“It’s morning. Is he using the tunnel?” The blinds were down
but she knew the sun had come up.

“Yes. He’ll be fine.” Garrick pulled her into his arms.
“Tell me. Are you worried about getting marked? Or is it the permanent psychic
and physical bond? It’s not necessary to do this now that Lazaro is gone.”

She groaned. “You don’t get it.”

He took her face in his hand. “Just say it. What’s wrong?”

Taking a breath, she looked into his eyes. “I do want you to
mark me. Not just one time, or two times. I want you to mark me three times. I
desperately want you forever. You said Darla was your past, but you didn’t say
if you had loved her. You said I’m your present and you want me for eternity
but do you love me? I love you, Garrick. I can’t believe I can love you so much
after only a few weeks but I do. But if you don’t feel love, if you’re not
capable of feeling love, then I’ll walk away. Is that what happened to Darla?
Did she walk away because you couldn’t love her?”

“That’s not it.” He shook his head. “I did love Darla, still
do, but not as a lover. She didn’t want immortality because she had a son. She
wanted to be a mother and a grandmother. So I let her go.”

“Does she regret it? Do you regret it?”

He took a breath. “It was difficult at first. That was
twenty-five years ago. She told me not to let you go. I told her not without a
fight.”

Larissa smiled and saw the truth in his eyes. “I like her,”
Larissa said. “I envy her strength.”

“You have strength. More than you realize. I sensed it
before you became my swan.”

Tears burned in her eyes. “You’re avoiding my question. Can
you love me?”

He didn’t speak for a moment and she felt her heart crack
open wider. Maybe vampires couldn’t love. “I loved you the first moment I saw
you in the store in that silk gown. I knew then, I know now. I love you.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I would never coerce you into our world with
promises of love. You have to make that decision on your own.”

She curled her naked body along his length. “Then don’t
waste any more time. Mark me, Garrick. Be my nightlord.”

The moan from him was both passionate and desperate, primal.