Poisonous Pleasure (26 page)

“Anything for you. I’ll take Ambrose. Jason needs to stay with you. We’re all located around this area so I don’t think he can be far. I’ll return by dark. If you need anything, summon me.”

He turned away, looking at the dark haired vampire. “Let’s go find our boy. Jason, I don’t need to tell you what to do. Just protect our queen.”

Dominic changed their clothing, kissed her, and they rushed out of the large, wooden double doors. She turned to Jason, who was now standing next to the table. She sighed as she approached. “I’m changing, aren’t I? I don’t even feel like the same person anymore. The little girl is gone. I’m not who I used to be.”

Large arms quickly encircled her. “You’re turning into who you were meant to be. There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone changes. I just think with you it’s going to be different. You’re still humanly young, but your mind now has to mature more years than you can comprehend. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

“I hope so because I don’t feel so good.” She rested her head against his chest, but instantly pulled back to meet his eyes. “Look at me, Jason. If I were to walk into a grocery store like this, can you imagine what people would think? But for the life of me, I can’t ever comprehend taking it off. I feel like this is who I really am, what I’m meant to wear. It’s like the mannerisms and this,” she said waving her hand in front of her gown, “is programmed into me.”

“I prefer this over the jeans and t-shirt, trust me. But if you have to go out, just wear the gowns and make people
see
you wearing normal clothes. You know how Dom taught us to do that. Human’s see what they want to. You could walk naked in front of them and they would never know.”

“You have a point.” Marcella hesitated. “Tell me what you remember about Donavon.”

“Come, let’s lay on the bed. We’ve had a long day.”

Resting her body against Jason’s, he led the way. The mattress sunk to mold against her as she lay down and wrapped herself around her boyfriend. He took a deep breath and stayed silent for a few moments before he began to talk.

“Truthfully, I can’t remember too much. I don’t like him if that’s what you mean. I get the impression he’s a conceited bastard, and I’m not looking forward to seeing him prove it.”

The more Jason spoke the angrier he became. “Come to think of it, I don’t like him at all. Why in the hell do we have to bring him here? A part of me feels like we don’t need him. We should summon Dom back.”

“No, Jason. I feel we do need Donavon. You might not like him, but I don’t feel threatened by him. We’re going to need everyone we can get. You know?”

“I guess you’re right. But I won’t put up with his shit. I won’t. I’m sorry, Marcella, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s bad news.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Jason. Maybe in this life he’ll be different. It’s possible time has changed him.”

“Don’t count on it. Inside, I don’t feel like that’s possible. I can’t even remember what he looks like, but he’s left a big enough impression that I know he’s going to be just as big an asshole as he was back then. I’m glad he’s on Dom’s side. I’d beat the cockiness out of him if he were on mine. Shit, I still might.”

“No more, Jason. Please don’t talk about fighting right now. We’re going to have plenty of that in the future. Just thinking about you all not getting along makes my stomach nauseous.”

Marcella yawned and fought not to close her eyes. She was so tired and lying in this bed wasn’t helping her out at all. Dom and Ambrose wouldn’t be back for some time. She could probably afford to take a small nap before they arrived. The longer she fought sleep, the worse she was beginning to feel. Something definitely felt off.

“Jason, I think I’m going to crash for a little while. Is that okay with you? I’d hate to leave you awake by yourself, but I’m extremely tired.”

“Get some rest. You have a big night. I’ll keep watch over you while you sleep.”

Snuggling closer to him, the scent from his skin calmed her, providing just the frame of mind she needed to fall head first into unconsciousness. When she awoke, hopefully Dom and Ambrose would be back with Donavon and their circle could be complete.

* * * *

The breeze from the coast filled the Maserati with the scent of the ocean as Dominic and Ambrose pulled out from the driveway of the house. Looking over, Dominic noticed the vampire resting his fingers on the bridge of his nose. Confused, he brushed it off and thought about where they’d find their lost man.

“Ambrose, if you needed to pick a direction, where would it be? I’m lost when it comes to guessing. I was in Corpus, as were you, and Marcella and Jason lived here in Ingleside. Now it’s a good fifteen to twenty minute drive between the two towns. Where would you say this Donavon guy is?”

“Well, if we want to pick the halfway mark there’s Portland. But who’s to say he’s not further north of Ingleside and living in Aransas Pass or Rockport?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. We should have just seen if Marcella could summon him. Do you think she could? She can summon me, but not Jason, and he’s her own servant.”

Ambrose ran his fingers through his long bangs and leaned forward making his hair cover his face. “I don’t know. We should have tried. It sure as hell would beat riding around different towns all day looking for a needle in a haystack. We all look a tad bit different than our old selves. So will he. Marcella’s the only one who looks the same.”

“You’re right. We’ll just ride through Ingleside and Aransas Pass, make a loop, and go home. Leave your senses open and let me know if you feel a pull in a particular direction. If you do we’ll head that way.”

“Sounds good to me. Hey, give me some glasses. This light is a killer. I can hardly open my eyes.”

Dom handed him a pair and looked at the soon to be setting sun. It wasn’t far from the horizon. “It really hurts you that bad when it’s this low?”

“The older you get the more the light affects you. I hate the sun. If it were up to me, I’d only be awake at night. But I had obligations I needed to take care of during the day, so I’m used to it.”

“Listen, I’ve been doing some thinking.” Dominic turned onto Highway 35 and headed toward Aransas Pass. “If I weren’t mated to Marcella and it was just a feeling I had for her, I might have reacted the same way as you and tried to harm her. Especially, if I was taken against my will. You gave in a lot sooner than I might have. I’m sorry for attacking you like that, but you have to understand how much she means to me.”

“Thanks. But I know how much you love her. From the beginning I felt it. When you watched her sleep, I envied you. More than anything, I wanted to take your place. Maybe that’s what scared me most of all. Never have I felt so strongly for a female. And trust me when I tell you, there have been plenty over the centuries. But you know I’ve always loved her, too, right? There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

“Who couldn’t love her? Just being in the same room with her makes my blood race. I’m almost afraid to bring in all these people. It’ll be us four protecting her against how many others? How many lovers will she take?”

Ambrose turned toward Dominic. “I’m not sure. But I don’t think many, if any at all. Back in the past, she seemed pretty content with what she had. Between the four of us, we’ll just have to keep her so busy she forgets to look elsewhere.”

Dom laughed. “Yes, I’m sure we can do that.”

The town of Aransas Pass wasn’t much larger than Ingleside, just laid out differently. Turning down Wheeler Street, they made the long stretch to the other side of town until they reached ten-sixty-nine. Stopped at the light, they looked around.

“A Wal-Mart and a Walgreens. This place isn’t like Corpus, is it?”

Ambrose let out a laugh. “No, not at all. Right now, we’d be stuck in traffic and fighting to make our way through every yellow light in town. It feels so laid back here. No one’s pulling out in front of you or honking.”

Just then a honk sounded from next to them. “Hey sexy, you looking for a good time?”

Caught off guard, Dominic leaned forward to see a Jeep full of girls.

“Follow us! We’ll take care of both of you.” A blonde licked her lips while she pulled the top of her bathing suit open, exposing her large breasts.

They both laughed and Dominic turned left at the green arrow.

“I’m thinking maybe we shouldn’t mention that part,” Ambrose said, still laughing. “You know our queen. She can get pretty jealous.”

“Can she?” Dominic looked over interestingly.

“You don’t remember?”

Ambrose shrugged. “Not really, but I just know, okay? I can feel it. If some woman came on to you in front of her, her temper would flare. Take my word for it and don’t let it happen.”

Dominic nodded, staring at the road. They’d be coming to their turn within the next two to three minutes. As they drove the distance, he couldn’t recall Marcella ever showing any sign of jealousy. Had he been so focused on her, he missed it?

Turning onto the road, Dominic pulled in front of the house. The red brick starter home looked no more than a three bedroom residence that would belong in a subdivision. They glided up the sidewalk laced with gardenias, walking into the fortress. He could hear Ambrose lock the large wooden doors behind them.

“Now what do we have here?” Dominic smiled at Jason, who was sitting on the bed watching Marcella sleep. He eased onto the end of the mattress and nodded his head up to his friend. “Did she tell you anything more after we left?”

“Nothing vital. She fell asleep pretty fast. The way she’s changing is scaring her a bit, I think. The clothes, her manners, she’s not used to them and she can tell her behavior is different. Other than that, all she wanted to know about was Donavon. So, did you have any luck?”

Dom shook his head. “No, we didn’t know what the hell we were doing. We just cruised through town, seeing if we felt anything. I’m wondering if Marcella can summon him.”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

Knocking on the door made them all stop and look at each other. Marcy stirred in her sleep, fluttering her eyes open.

“Who’s here? Did you find Donavon?”

“No, we didn’t, and I have no idea who that is.”

Dominic strode forward making a peep hole appear in the wood so he could see. A groan passed his lips while he turned around. He could feel his heart beating through his chest for some unexplained reason.

“Ambrose, you answer it.”

“Who is it?” Marcella stood, walking toward him.

“No one,” he said quickly. “Why don’t you go back to the bed and rest?”

She narrowed her eyes at him and placed her hand on her hip. “No one. There are sounds of knocking and no one’s there? Odd. Let me see for myself.”

Marcella strode passed him and he quickly grabbed her around the waist and ran, placing her a few feet away. “Yep, I think it’s a ghost. They seriously follow me around all the time. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed. Let’s go up to the second floor and you can show me around. You know, I really don’t remember much about this place.”

When something passed through her eyes, he could have slapped himself for saying something so stupid. He did see spirits at times, but they sure as hell weren’t following him around, more like trying their best to hide from him.

“Wow, a ghost. That is absolutely amazing. I’d like to meet this ghost since I’ve never truly seen one before. Please, remove yourself from my path.”

Another round of knocking came louder and Dominic cursed. “Look, we don’t even know who these girls are, okay. They must have followed us or something.”

Marcella walked passed him, stopping at the wooden door. She quickly changed her appearance to a pair of jeans and a tank top, revealing her tattoos. Swinging the door open, she stared at the three girls. Two were blondes, the other a redhead. They were strikingly beautiful and dressed for the beach in short shorts and bikini tops.

“Hi, we’re looking for the guys that were driving that car. Are you the dark haired one’s sister?”

Dominic watched Marcella stare at the blonde asking the question. The look in her eyes were not her own. The golden color grew paler as she studied them.

“Sister? No, I’m not his sister. What do you want to see them about?”

A round of giggles didn’t so much as make her smile. The cold look on her face made the girls stop after a few seconds. The redhead shifted uncomfortably from the side.

“Well…we thought they were cute so we wanted to see if they would like to go to the beach with us tonight.”

“Oh. You wanted them to go to the beach.” A small laugh left her lips. Marcella turned and looked right at him, burning him with her gaze. Slowly, she made her way to look at Ambrose. “These girls want to know if you both would like to go to the beach. Would you? Do you want to go play in the sand with the beautiful girls?”

Another round of giggles echoed on the outside and Dominic looked from Ambrose to Jason, panicked. He hated not knowing exactly what happened in their past.

“Not I,” said Ambrose quickly.

She turned her gaze to him and took a step forward. “What about you, Dom? Would you like to go to the beach with them? They desperately want you to go.” The narrowing of her eyes made his mouth open and then shut.

“The other dark haired one can go too if he wants. He’s damn hot!”

Marcella’s eyes closed for all of two seconds when she opened them and looked at Jason. The blaze making them glow could not be mistaken. Dominic was glad she had her back to the girls.

“Jason, love. How about you?”

“No way, baby. You know you’re all I need.”

“So what about it, cutie? You gonna come with us?” Dominic looked at the taller of the blondes, the one who exposed her breasts.

The glow left Marcella’s eyes and she quickly turned around with a smile that looked so fake that Dom had no doubt that she wasn’t fooling anyone. “Listen, girlies. As much as I know you would like all three of my lovers to go with you, I’m thinking they don’t want to. You see, I keep them pretty busy.”

“All three?” One of the blondes jaw parted as she looked from Marcella to the guys.

“Oh yes, honey. Well, that’s a lie. Actually there are four, but he’s not home at the moment. I’m sorry you all had to go out of your way. Have a fun time.”