Once Bitten, Twice Shy (24 page)

“Goddammit,” Conner swore.

My wide eyes turned to Donna. I had a bad feeling that things just became extremely dangerous for our three friends. Aside from the three vampires in the room and me, no one else would really give a damn what happened to them because they were human.

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, all five of us whirled around to see a tall, curvaceous woman dressed in all black leaning against the wall. None of the supernatural beings in the room had heard or felt her enter. That alone made me worry.

“Hello, Conner,” she said. She nodded to Lex. “Alexander.”

Both vampires nodded in return. Though it seemed pretty clear that they weren’t pleased with her arrival, they did seem to have a grudging respect for her.

“Belinda,” Conner responded. “What can I do for the head of the Coven?”

I turned wide eyes to Donna. Holy shit, she was a witch. From what Conner just said, it sounded like she was
the witch
, as in top bitch.

She straightened from her casual position and sauntered toward us. “Well, you could start by explaining why one of our own has been taken, yet you did not bother to call us into your little meeting this afternoon,” she said with a deceptively friendly tone.

“What?” Disbelief filled Conner’s tone. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Belinda seemed surprised. “Surely you knew you’d had a witch in your home recently.”

Conner shrugged. “No, I didn’t.”

She tisked him as she shook her head. “That Kerry has become one hell of a powerful witch.”

Donna went rigid. “You mean Kerry Gayle?” she asked.

Belinda turned her eyes to my friend and smiled a cat’s smile. “Yes, my dear.”

I felt a smile tug at the corners of my own mouth. Everyone else in the room looked at me as though I had lost my mind.

“Why on earth are you smiling, you crazy whore?” Donna asked.

My grin grew wider as I looked at her, then Belinda. “Because that little piece of news means that the girls aren’t completely defenseless while they are being held captive by those assholes. We may actually be able to get them out of there in one piece.”

The witch met my eyes and studied me closely for a moment. “You’re absolutely right, Ivie Lang. With the help of the Coven, Kerry and the other women will be safe.”

I only hoped that we tore those fucking, kidnapping vampires a new asshole while we were at it because they obviously needed to be taught a lesson.

“F
or the last time,
Ivie, you are not going with us,” Lex and Donna said in unison.

I scowled at the pair of them. “I won’t go inside, I’ll stay hidden in the vehicle or down the street, but I am going.”

“I forbid it,” Lex stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

I copied his movement. “And you’re not the boss of me.” Great, now I sounded like a petulant child. I glared at Lex and said, “Either you can take me with you, or I will follow you. Your choice how that goes.”

Lex began to stalk toward me, all six-foot plus of pissed off alpha male. “Well, then. Perhaps I should chain you to the bed or lock you in Conner’s basement. Both sound appealing at the moment.”

I completely ignored how hot he was when he was angry, though it was extremely difficult. I focused on him, trying to find that connection. When it locked into place, I raised my hand. “Stop.”

Amazingly enough, he did. Lex stared at me in shock. “How did you…”

Donna realized something was up and began to move toward us. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try. I reached out to her, the thread between us snapping taut much more easily than it had with Lex.

“Go sit,” I said, using my other hand to point to the chair a couple of feet from her.

Looking both surprised and annoyed, Donna turned and walked to the chair. She began to fight as her body lowered, slowing her progress but unable to stop it. It was then that they both began to fight me in earnest and my concentration wavered. It was the first time I tried something like this and I was shocked at how well it worked.

Ever since Lex said I could call him, it had been in the back of my mind that perhaps my abilities extended beyond conversations with vampires, but to actual control. Which sounded awesome, because I decided it might be fun to get a little payback against the assholes who jerked me around and messed with my brain. It also occurred to me that maybe I could use the skill to keep vampires from ever controlling me again. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone for fear that the wrong person would discover my ability and decide the vampire population was better off with me dead.

Finally, I couldn’t contain their struggles any longer and I released my hold on Donna and Lex. Donna popped out of the chair like a jack-in-the-box.

“Wow, how the fuck did you do that? If I wasn’t so freaked out and pissed off at you right now, I’d be impressed,” she said.

Lex merely stood a couple of feet from me, staring at me with a blank expression on his face.

Donna continued, “If those people that the vampires killed all those years ago had your abilities, I can see why they might want them dead.” As soon as she realized what she’d said, a look of horror crossed her face. It was almost comical, except I had been concerned about the same thing. “Oh God, we have to keep this a secret,” she said frantically. “I don’t know how the Council would react to this. It could be very, very bad.”

Lex nodded in agreement. “Yes, it could.” He never took his eyes from me. “Ivie, may I have a word with you in private, please?”

Oh shit. Now it looked like I was about to be reprimanded. I wanted to squirm both with fear and excitement. I never knew how Lex might react when he was angry. He might yell and walk away to calm down, or he might spank me and fuck out his anger.

I followed him out of the den and down the hall to the half bath. I paused when he held the door of the bathroom open and gestured for me to go first. He was a large man and it would be a tight fit. As soon as I was through the door, he crammed himself in next to me and shut and locked the door. Before I could blink, he had my hair wrapped around his fist and was pressing me belly-first into the wall.

I felt his lips touch my ear as he leaned into me, flattening me against the unforgiving surface.

“Do you know what you could have done?” Lex hissed.

I was wrong. He was beyond angry. I didn’t speak, only shook my head.

His hips pressed into mine and I could feel him getting hard against my lower back. As he ground into me, he spoke, “If anyone other than Donna, Conner, Finn, or myself had seen you pull that little stunt, you would have been killed. Either in that instant or a convenient ‘accident’ would have occurred in a few weeks or months time. Though the Council will not admit to it, I know for a fact that several of them have had people such as yourself killed. There are a few that had important ties, families, or other powers that were forcibly turned, but it is rare.” His voice was so deep it was practically an inaudible growl.

“Forcibly turned?” My voice wavered.

“Yes. Why don’t you ask Finn what he thinks about it? He was like you. Able to control vampires while he was human. When they turned him, not only could he control them, he could also read their minds with ease. He’s one of the most powerful of us and it’s not because of his age. Though he killed his maker and those who plotted to use him, it still did not undo what was done.”

Well, I had definitely almost screwed the pooch. “I understand,” I said quietly.

Lex’s grip on my hair loosened slightly. “I know you do. I merely wanted to impress upon you the importance of keeping this between the five of us. No one else can know.”

“Okay.”

Just as quickly as he pressed me to the wall, Lex yanked me back, turning me so that I faced him. I gasped as his hands grasped my waist and he lifted me to sit on the vanity by the sink.

“And you will not go with us tonight when we meet to do the exchange with The Faction. It is too dangerous and they have to know I won’t deliver what they want. We are certain this is an elaborate trap.”

I shook my head stubbornly. “I’m going.”

Lex growled, pressing his erection right against my clit. “You will do as I say.”

“No!”

His eyes flared and my body jerked as he tore away the center of my pants and my underwear. “You will stay here.”

I met his eyes, refusing to back down on this. “I’m going. If you try to make me stay here, I will stop you and I will go without you.”

His eyes brightened until they were difficult to meet, the chocolate brown lightening to brilliant topaz. I fought back a moan as his fingers slid across my clit and down, pressing deep inside me. I knew it was completely twisted but I was equally pissed off and turned on. I lifted my hips in time with the strokes of his hand. Then his fingers were gone.

Lex’s stare never left mine and he put his palm to his mouth and licked from the base of his thumb to the tips of the fingers that had been inside me. It was fucking hot. When I felt the head of his dick prodding my pussy, I realized he was using the combination of his saliva and my own wetness to ease his way.

My eyes never left his as he pushed into me, sliding home with a single thrust. I took every inch, reveling in the slight burn as my body opened to his invasion. Then he grabbed my hips and began to move, hard and fast. I knew I would be bruised later, but that ramped up my arousal further.

“I’m going to fuck you so raw you won’t be able to follow us,” he said, sounding no less pissed off than he had earlier.

For the first time, I didn’t give way to his demands. Instead, I demanded. I grabbed the short strands of hair at the nape of his neck and yanked his head back.

“I’m coming with you and I don’t care what you say. It’s happening.”

Lex groaned, fucking me harder and causing the vanity to shake beneath me. I felt the muscles in my lower body tightening and knew that I wouldn’t last much longer.

“Please, Lex.”

His eyes were hot and piercing when he finally caved. “Fine, but you stay in the car.”

“Okay,” I said breathlessly.

The relentless pounding of his pubic bone against my clit finally threw me into a climax so intense that I lunged forward and sank my teeth into the upper part of his pectoral. When I broke the skin and tasted blood, Lex shouted and I knew he was coming.

As the frantic movement of his hips slowed and finally stopped, I leaned back against the mirror behind me, licking my lips. His blood tasted sweet and only slightly coppery, nothing like the flavor of my own.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured.

His hands smoothed down my sides and hips over my pants and I realized that he had ripped the front of the jeans I was still wearing. I wanted to shake my head and laugh, but I was too relaxed.

“For what?” he asked.

“I didn’t mean to bite you so hard.”

Lex threw his head back and laughed. I did smile then because I always loved seeing him laugh. Still chuckling, he leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips, the first kiss he’d given me since he dragged me into the bathroom.

“You can bite me like that any time you like. Biting is foreplay for vampires. Especially if it draws blood. It adds to the experience.”

I tilted my head to the side and looked at him. “You didn’t bite me.”

“I didn’t want to risk weakening you in case I couldn’t convince you not to come tonight.”

I nodded. That was a good plan.

“Actually, if you’re insisting on being there tonight, you should probably drink a little more of my blood.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

Lex’s face grew serious. “It will bolster your physical strength, help you heal, and will keep other vampires from controlling you with their minds. Well, mostly. A very strong vampire would be able to persuade you anyway, but there are very few who would manage it. My blood may also boost your natural powers and make you stronger. If something goes wrong, you would be able to get away.”

Any other time he might have mentioned this, I would have said no immediately, but tonight was important. My life and the lives of people I loved would be at risk. I couldn’t afford to be weak.

“I’ll do it,” I said before I could think too deeply about it.

Lex stared at me in surprise. “You will?”

I nodded. “Yes. I want to be as prepared as possible. You never know, you might need me to save your ass,” I quipped.

Lex cupped my shoulders with his hands. “This is serious, Ivie.”

I frowned at him. “I know it is, Lex.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. If you take my blood, you will be tied to me in the eyes of vampire law. When a vampire shares his or her blood with a human, it is meant to be a gesture of love or honor. It means we hold that person in the highest regard. It also means that our lives are connected from now on. You would not be able to escape from me then, even if you never allowed me to Claim you and turn you.”

I blinked up at him, realizing exactly what he was offering me. “So this is like the vampire equivalent of going steady?” I asked.

Lex rolled his eyes. “It’s a bit more complex than that, but, yes, it’s a big deal.”