Davis: Blood Brotherhood (2 page)

“She is. I think she might be your mate. But if I were you, I’d take it a little easy with her. She has some major trust issues.” He nodded. “Her name is Vicki Carver, and she’s a nurse at County. The mother’s name is Margarita. Her half-brother is Randall. I don’t know his last name, but I can assume that it’s Carver as well.”

They both looked at her when she moaned. Skylar could have told him the rest, like the fact that she was broke, worried about losing her mom’s house, and that she went for days at a time without food just so her mom could eat. But these were things he’d have to learn on his own. Skylar already liked the girl, and hoped that she’d be able to help them. If she could keep Davis calm and happy, that was enough for her.

“The burn…have you ever seen one do that before? Blister up like that into a ball?” Skylar had seen when it happened to Vicki and still shivered when she thought about it. She told Davis that she’d never seen anything like that and hoped never to again. “It was as if her body had rejected the poison and shoved it out.” Good description, Skylar thought.

The boil—what Weston called it later—had risen from the girl’s arm about three inches. It looked like a large pus-filled burn mark, but it was as brilliant blue as her blood beneath her skin. Before anyone could figure out what to do—if there was anything they could have done for her—it burst, and sprayed the vile-smelling liquid all over the floor. Even then it was like an acid, boiling the wax off the hard surface. Skylar was stunned when Weston gathered some of it up in a glass vial and sealed it.

“No. I’m thinking you’re right about it being rejected by her body. Do you suppose that whatever she is, she’s able to fight this thing?” Davis said he had no idea. “I hope so. It would be nice to know that someone somewhere can win against this thing.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” He stood up and moved to stand next to the bed. “I’m going to stay with her tonight. So if you need me, this is where I’ll be.”

Skylar stood up too and moved to the door. Unless they were in deep shit, deeper than they seemed to be now, she wouldn’t bother him. Skylar thought the two might need each other, much like she did Remy. She decided to have a talk with Hector. He might have arranged this.

“Not me.” Hector paced the room and talked. He did that a lot, she noticed. Worked out his problems by wearing a hole in the floor. “Do you suppose she’s his reward? Like you were?”

“I’d not say that to her if I were you. I think she’ll be touchier about it than me.” She watched him a few minutes more as he paused to pick up a child’s book as well as some colored pencils. It seemed that it had been art time before Reuben had gone to bed. “How’s Rueben doing?”

The change in his face was almost comical. The man literally lit up. “He’s doing fine. Stronger all the time. And now that he can go out of doors with the guard you’ve set up for him, he’s much less restless in here. I’ve been taking him to see Miss Catherine for study time. It was wonderful to find out that she was a school teacher.”

“It was. And she told me that soon he’ll be taking on classes that are above her teaching ability. But the guard was necessary, as you know. Now we don’t have to worry about him being out where we can’t keep an eye on him.” She waited for a few moments while he picked up the blocks that were stacked neatly in a castle-looking place. “She’s not human. I don’t suppose you know what she is.”

“I don’t. I have been to see her but not to touch her.” Hector looked over at her before continuing. “Does it matter to you what she is?”

“No. And I doubt that it does to Davis either, but I am curious as to why the poison reacted like it did. Do you have any idea why that happened?” He shook his head, but for some reason she didn’t believe him. Instead of asking him again, she stood up. Hector would tell her one way or another, but right now she was too tired to fight with him about it. “I’m off to bed. If you need anything or think of anything, let me know.”

“I will.”

As she made her way up the long staircase, she thought about her day. It was longer than she’d thought, but when the alarms went off in the command room, there was no time for beauty rest. She and Remy had a job to do, and she was going to make sure that she gave it her best. She paused outside their room when she heard voices.

“What do you mean, you have no fucking clue? I asked you to watch over them and this is what you give me?” She realized Remy was on the phone and opened the door. He glanced at her but didn’t say anything to her as he continued with the person on the phone. “There are seven hundred people in that building, most of whom are small children. If I have to go down there and take care of this on my own, you are going to be one sorry motherfucker.”

He put the phone down after ending the call. She was wondering who he’d been talking to and what the hell had him so upset when he moved to the doors to the balcony in their room and threw them open. He stood out there for several minutes before he turned and looked at her.

“I take it someone has shit in your cereal.” He laughed but didn’t say anything. “I’m thinking that these seven hundred people mean something to you. Any of them by chance coming to help us?”

“Doubtful. And they, as a whole, mean nothing to me. The kids do, but there are very few of them there now. I made sure they were removed a few months ago.” She asked him from where. “There is an island off the coast of Hawaii that is in danger of some very violent weather. And as owner of said island, I thought it was important that they were safe. The guy who is helping me with this project is a little slower to react than I would have liked.”

“I see. And this island…is it a place you and I could go to—after the weather passes, of course—and have some down time?” He nodded and stood up from the railing. “Remy, I want you to come here and let me undress you.”

“Gladly.” He moved toward her like a sleek, big cat. She had no idea why she thought of him like that, but it was stuck in her head now, and she could think of nothing else. “Did you know that as of this morning, you own the island too? And all your debt has been paid off?”

“No. I told you not to do that.” Not that she cared at this point, but she thought she’d let him think she did. “I got my first pay yesterday. When you said it paid well, I had no idea how well. What am I going to do with so much money?”

The money, mostly in jewels and gems, came in the form of a drop off. There was cash as well, about twenty grand worth. She had no idea how much the other items in it were worth.

And “drop off” was just what had happened. She’d been in the kitchen with Ann, the cook, when the box was suddenly in front of her. She knew that the same thing had happened to Davis, as well as the rest of the people who worked with them. Jarvis had been so surprised by it he had asked her several times if it was a joke.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Remy was nearly naked by the time he got to her. “Skylar, you are much too dressed for me to make love to you. What would I have to do to get you stripped down and in the bed?”

“Make me come.”

His grin should have warned her of something, but all it did was make her entire body get warm. She watched as Remy raised his hand up and put his thumb and finger together as if he were going to snap them. And when he did, Skylar screamed.

The climax didn’t just take her but bowled her over, turned her inside out, and then shattered her. As she reached for the bedpost because standing up was no longer an option, he did it again, bringing her to her knees. Before she could beg him—because she was going to beg for all she was worth for him to stop—he did it twice more. Skylar was swallowed up in the darkness before he could do it a fourth time. Christ, the things he could do to her was her last thought for a while.

Chapter 2

Vicki woke quickly. Living in fear of not knowing when someone was going to be standing over you with a fist doubled up, as she had done for the last few years, had taught her that. But the man standing over her, the man dressed almost entirely in white, made her pause before she hit out. He was a doctor, she’d bet her life on it.

“Hello.” His smile reached his eyes, but she had no reason to trust that it was a genuine smile, and she backed from him when he moved closer. “I’m checking your vitals. And I’ve already changed the bandage on your arm. Do you have any pain?”

Her arm. Jerking back from him again, he let her this time. Vicki looked at her arm and then up at him again. This time his smile was huge, like he knew a great secret. She trusted that less than she did the smile.

“Where am I?”

“The clinic.”

“Well, that was helpful. Thanks so much. I don’t suppose you could enlighten me on how the hell I got here and when I did? I know for a fact that I don’t know you, so you’re not someone that I have worked with, and the fact that you said clinic and not hospital makes me think this is a private place and not public.”

“I can tell you how you got here and when.”

Instead of doing either, he sat down in the chair and pulled out a small notepad. She’d seen enough doctors to know this was not ordinary. Most doctors, in the hospital she worked at anyway, had a nurse standby, usually her, to take notes.

When he slipped it into his pocket, she sat up in the bed. “Your name is Vicki Carver, right?”

“It is. And you would be who? And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t tell me where I am. I’d like to know that now. As well as how long I’ve been here.” He stood up again and reached for a chart at the end of her bed and handed it to her. She opened it up to the first page.

“You’ve been here five days. Well, six days and five nights. This is the clinic that serves this building. There are no nurses here, except for you, of course, and I’m the only doctor. I have help, but none that are qualified to do much but stitch up a wound if need be.” He sat down again. “As you can see, you had a nasty burn on your arm. The notes I’ve put in the margins are mine, but if you have questions about them, just ask. As to how you got here, what do you remember about how you were burned?”

She read over the entire chart before answering him. The information was very detailed, and she was impressed at how clear his hand writing was. Vicki was used to working with doctors who made it their business to write so terribly that you had to call them to see what it said, then listen for ten minutes on the importance of their downtime. Christ, doctors were arrogant assholes. She had a feeling this man was different.

“I was walking home from work—eleven-to-seven shift—when I saw this man in the alley. I had a feeling that he was dead or dying, because of all the…it wasn’t really blood, I don’t think, but something. There were also a great many bodies around him. All beheaded. Again I assumed by him.” The doctor nodded. “I don’t suppose you know what they were, do you?”

“I do.” She wanted to get up and brain the man. “By the way, my name is Weston Page. I’m a general practitioner, but lately I’ve done a bit of everything. We’re just getting started here.”

“And here is where?” She sat up when he grinned again. “You know, your bedside manner sucks. Fucking answer the questions. Where am I? How did I get here? And when the fuck can I go home?”

“On the compound that is keeping you safe. Remy and Skylar are in charge, and before you meet them you should know that only supernaturals can see them in their true light.” Frowning at him, she asked him what he meant. “You’re not human.”

She was still sitting there trying to figure out what he’d actually said to her when a man walked in. Vicki was sure that she’d misheard Weston and nothing more. But for the life of her, she could not think what he’d said to her. When the man walked in, she sat up in the bed higher and caught herself just as she was about to fuss with her hair. Vicki wasn’t one to fuss with anything about her appearance.

“Weston said you were awake.” Nodding, she watched him turn a chair around and sit on it so that the back was under his arms. “I’ve been worried about you. I’d also like to go and get your mom and bring her here, too, if you—”

“You stay away from my mom.” Her outburst embarrassed her, and she felt her face heat up. “My mom is none of your concern. I…I would like to talk to her, but I don’t see a phone.”

“I’ll have one brought to you. I looked at your bag and didn’t see one.” She didn’t tell him that it was none of his business why she didn’t have one, but she had a feeling he knew. “I’ve sent someone to watch over her. He’s not to engage with anyone until he talks to me, but so far she’s been safe.”

“Safe from what?” He didn’t say anything, and she flushed again. “You mean my brother. I see. Well, he’s in jail last time I heard. And even if he was out, Mom knows better than to let him in the house. I don’t know how you know all this, much less where she is, but thanks. I guess. But if anything happens to her, you’re a dead man.”

“It’s been my experience that a door seldom stops a person who wants in somewhere. And as I said, my guy is there to protect her and not to engage unless she needs him.” She knew that for a fact about the door. Randall had broken in several times as if it were nothing at all. “And if you don’t mind, I really think she’d be safer here. With you. Not necessarily because of your brother—who is out, by the way—but because of the malefactors.”

“What?” He stood up and moved his chair closer. Her body actually seemed to say it wasn’t close enough, but she didn’t voice her needs. And they were sudden too. “What is…you called those dead men malefactors when I met you, did you? You’re the man from the alley. The one with the sword.”

“I did and I am, yes. They’re the creatures that stalk humans and change them. The one that touched you, it caused a burn to your arm. It was very painful for you, do you remember?” She nodded and shivered at the memory. “I’m sorry to have brought it up. But I was wondering if you could tell me why you can see them when most humans can’t.”

“I don’t understand that any more than the man saying I wasn’t human.” She wanted him to tell her it was a joke, but he only nodded again. “Is there a rule here that says to say as little as possible until you piss someone off? I’ve never seen a less helpful bunch of people in my life.”

When he stood and towered over her, Vicki realized that she wasn’t afraid of him. Not just not afraid, but felt comfortable with him. It was a feeling that she’d not had a lot of experience with. When he ran his finger gently down her check, she rubbed against it. It was the first male contact she’d had that wasn’t a fist in a very long time. But when he pulled away, she knew that for some reason getting too close to this man would be trouble.

“You are very lovely.” She swallowed hard at the sound of his voice. It was sex and a steak dinner all rolled into one. “I’d like to taste you. Kiss you until you’re breathless from it and then start again.”

“I don’t want you to kiss me.” It was a lie and they both knew it. And even as he lowered his head to hers, she protested again, until his mouth touched hers.

It wasn’t a kiss. Their lips touched, but that was as far as it was in the realm of kissing. He took from her, gave her as much. His mouth moved over hers in a way that made her think he was memorizing her, becoming a part of her. When he asked for entrance to her mouth with his tongue, Vicki could no more have stopped him than she could have stopped her heart from beating. And it was beating. Hard and at such a fast rate that she put her hand over it to see that it was still in her chest and not pounding its way out. But when his hand moved hers and cupped her breast, she felt as if she’d not just been touched by him but marked with a heat so hot that it took her breath away.

His fingers worked at her nipple, tugging and pulling on it until she wanted to lay back and have him suckle at it. As his mouth moved down her chin, over her throat, there was a small pinch, a feeling that he’d nipped a little too hard, but then he was taking her breast into his mouth.

“Yes.” Her cry burned from her throat. He was sucking at her nipple so hard that she curled her fingers into his hair to have him suck harder. She also thought if he stopped now, she would hurt him. The pleasure of it was so intense, so overwhelming that she was close to coming. When he lifted his head from her, Vicki looked into his eyes and nearly came with what she saw there.

Hunger. He was hungry for her, and she wanted him to have his fill. “I want you. I want to take you right here and now. Taste your cum on my mouth while you ride my mouth. Then I want to take you, slide my cock into your heat and fill you with my body. Christ, I want you.”

All of that sounded good to her, and she nodded to him. Vicki knew that if she tried to speak, tried to tell him that’s just what she wanted too, that it would be garbled and incoherent. When he pushed her back against the pillow and pulled the gown free of her body, she watched his face as he looked at her. Vicki closed her legs when she felt how hot and wet she was.

“Not for me.” He pulled her thighs apart and slid his finger into her curls. “So wet. And hot. Christ, I need to drink from you. I want to taste you when you come. I need to drink you down.”

It was all she could do not to scream when he buried his face at her pussy. She did cry out when he sucked on her clit and her climax, quick and hard, had her pulling the pillow over her mouth so she’d not bring the house down on them. But he wasn’t finished with her and before she knew it, Vicki found herself in his arms and her legs wrapped around him as he took her to the wall across the room. His mouth was buried at her throat. And when he lifted his head, she thought perhaps he was going to devour her right then.

“I’m going to fuck you. It’ll be hard, I’m sorry, but I need you.” Her back pressed against the wall, and she felt his cock at her entrance. Before she could tell him that she was a virgin, he slammed deep, taking her breath away with both the pain and the pleasure.

He didn’t move and neither did she. Vicki wasn’t even sure she could, but held him to her as he spoke. What he said didn’t really matter, but the fact that she kept hearing him say he was sorry over and over touched her heart deeply. When he finally lifted his head and looked at her, she could see that he was truly sorry, but he was no less hungry for her. Sliding her hips up to get into a more comfortable position brought a low and sexy moan from him.

“You move like that again and all my good intentions of putting you back to bed without finishing this will go out the window.” He sounded so gruff that she laughed. “You’re making me harder every time you tighten around me. You’re so wet that I can feel you on my balls. And Christ woman, you are so tight that sliding inside of you is going to be pure pleasure.”

“Like this.” She squeezed him hard, feeling his cock move in and out of her as he rolled into her. “That feels wonderful. Do it again.”

He complied with her command and kept doing it over and over. He moved slowly, his body holding her still while his hips gave her so much pleasure. When she felt his mouth at her throat, she moved her head enough so that he could kiss her there. The bite—because she was sure that was what it was—brought her to the most explosive climax she’d had so far. And when he ordered her to bite him, it was as natural to her as breathing to take the wrist he offered her to her mouth and bite deeply.

Blood, hot and spicy, filled her mouth. Swallowing when her mouth filled made her need more of him. Not just his taste now, but the man himself. Sucking hard, she drank of him, taking his blood like it was a lifeline. For some reason, and Vicki had no idea why, she thought it was. The man was hers. When he cried out that he was coming, his body pounding her hard enough that she knew the wall was being sorely abused, Vicki came with him, screaming around his wrist even as she licked at the wound she’d created. When he came again, his body pressing against her clit, her sweet spot being touched over and over, Vicki came again and knew that things were never going to be the same.

~~~

Davis was afraid to move. He just knew that as soon as he did this was all going to be gone and the woman in his arms was only going to be a wet dream. A fucking fantastic one, but a dream all the same. When she moaned, Davis lifted his head from her throat and looked at her. Christ, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. And she was as real as he was.

“I need to get down.” He noticed that she didn’t look at him, so he pulled her chin around. “I really want to get down please. I want to get back in the bed.”

“My name is Davis Brown. I didn’t tell you before and I’m sorry for that.” She nodded and pulled her chin from him. Davis pulled it back. “Did I hurt you?”

“I don’t think so. But I really need to…I never do this. Ever.” She flushed when he smiled at her. “Okay, that was stupid because I’m pretty sure you knew that I’d never done this before. But right now I’m embarrassed all to hell, and I’d like to go to the bed please.”

Davis lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his chest as he took her to the chair. He wasn’t nearly done touching her, and he sat down with her across his lap. When she started to struggle, he held her until she settled. But she was stiff as a board and that had him grinning.

“I’m sorry that I took you like I did. Next time we’ll have a bed.” Her head started shaking, and he stopped it with a kiss. “There will be a next time, Vicki. You know that as well as I do.”