Dylan (Bowen Boys) (13 page)

Small would never be president or even a
janitor in the building again, or anywhere for that matter, but he would get
into the one place that Lucius could not. Because he’d been inside of it, he
would know the building as well as his own, and that was what Lucius was
counting on. Counting on him knowing where the secret entrances were, and how
to get around the guards. The man had been a thief to his country; he had to
know a great deal.

Someone, many years ago, had put a spell
on the building. The very foundation and bricks had been protected by a
powerful wizard, and now no one of his kind could enter, not even with
permission. And it was Lucius’s fault.

Lucius supposed that he shouldn’t have
pissed the man off. But he’d been talking about his plan, telling anyone that
would listen to him what he was going to do once he made that stupid man cause
a war of all wars.

“You would actually create war?” Lucius
had nodded, drunk off the blood of a wolf he’d just had. “You would feed off
the dead like an animal?”

“No. We cannot feed off the dead. The
blood must be fresh, the heart still beating. We would collect those, the ones
that lay dying in the fields, and drink from them. The feast would be
plentiful.” He had closed his eyes in appreciative bliss. “They would be dying,
anyway. What difference would it make to them?”

“And what if you change one? What of that
man’s family then? Would you not feel remorse when he could not be given a
proper burial? Would you even care how his family felt if they were to find
out?” The man, his name no longer in his mind, had shaken his head. “You are
not a man, but a monster.”

“I am both, actually. A man who would
like nothing more than to live the rest of his lifetimes as a monster.” He’d
let his fangs drop to try and impress on the wizard that he was big and
powerful, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“You’re a monster, all right, but
nothing more.” The man shifted in his seat, settling down for the full details,
as Lucius remembered. “And how do you plan to carry this out? You do have a
plan, do you not?”

He’d told him. All of it. He was going
to enter the White House and murder all those within. A grand plan, he realized
now, because of the overwhelming amount of people in the place, but back then
not so many as now.

“I will turn them all and have them
creatures of the night with me. They shall be my minions and me their master. They
will protect me when I rest. I will—”

“If they are creatures such as yourself,
how will they protect you when you rest? Won’t they have to rest, as well? I
mean, who will protect any of you if all of you are down for the day?” This had
been the first of many questions the man had that Lucius had had no answer for,
and after a while he knew that he’d have to rethink his plan and make it
perfect. He realized that this one was full of holes.

“This is merely a plan, not the actual
execution of it. There are going to be flaws in it. There are for every plan
that one makes.” The man nodded. “Have you ever gone to do something and
realize right away you have forgotten some vital ingredient or something important,
and had to return at a later time to complete it?”

“No. When I go to do something, I do it
right the first time. Then, unlike you, I don’t have to go back and do it over
and over to get it right.” He stood up. “You let me know when you have it
perfect. When you do, I’ll listen to you prattle on again.”

So, years later, he’d found the man
again and told him of his perfected plan. The man sat there for the entire time
and hadn’t done anything more than nod and smile a few times. After he was
finished, Lucius asked him what he’d thought. The wizard smiled and told him
what he’d done, as well.

“I have been able to go into the
building myself. A nice piece of craftsmanship, if I do say so myself. They let
you have a free tour of it if you want, and I did. Had to see how your plan was
going to go from the planning stage to the execution part. Gotta tell you, had
you been able to pull it off before I got in, you might have been able to do
just what you said.”

Lucius nodded, then frowned. “Had I?
What do you mean had I gotten in before you? I will still be able to get in,
and you know that this plan is perfect.”

“It is. It was. But now it’s not. I
fixed it.” Lucius started to ask him how, but he told him anyway. “I’m a pretty
good wizard, as you know, and unlike you, I’m always prepared. So I went to the
big house and did a little magic on the place, so neither you nor your kind can
enter.”

“You can’t do that.” The man nodded and
smiled bigger. “Well, I will just have someone invite me in. I’ll get in that
way. I’ll…why do you shake your head?”

“Thought of that, too. Can’t enter,
ever. Not anyone of your kind. I also made it so that if you do try, or any
vampire tries to enter, they’ll go up into dust before they step foot on the
first step to the place.”

Lucius had roared his anger. The wizard
hadn’t moved. When he grabbed him around the neck, his fingers burned, and it
felt as if a dagger of silver had been stabbed into his hand. He dropped him
immediately to nurse his injuries in a corner of the bar. The wizard moved to
stand over him.

“You can’t harm another wizard, either.
Not you or any of your children. You cannot, nor can they control anyone that
would harm a wizard of any kind even if they are causing you harm. You have
messed with the wrong one.” He stood up, then leaned down and touched his
forehead with his thumb before standing again. “You are marked to us. Any
wizard will know who you are and what you’ve done to one of my kind.” Then he
simply walked away.

But there was a way in. Small was the
key. And once he was inside, he was going to have Small give him whatever information
he had at his fingertips. Then Lucius was going to give it all to the highest
bidder and sit back and wait for the bloodbath. Lucius rubbed his hands
together in anticipation. He would be the greatest vampire ever born. Or in his
case, made. Lucius made his way to the sublevels of his home. He needed to rest,
then to plan. The trial could not go on. He needed Small.

Chapter Ten

Dylan watched the news with Jack and the
rest of his family. Caitlynne had let them read over what she was going to say,
and everyone had approved and thought it was a good idea. Everyone but Jack.
She’d been staring off into space like she was now since after her meeting in
the study.

“I thought that tomorrow we’d go to the falls
at the back of my property and have a picnic. We could stay all day if you
want.” She nodded, and he knew she wasn’t really paying attention. “I could
strip you down and make love to you in the water. It’s probably very warm right
now.”

“That’ll be nice.” She looked at him.
“They’re going to have me put into prison, aren’t they? I know they said they
weren’t, but I killed a shit ton of people for Mann, and I’m pretty sure that
no matter how you dress it up, I still pulled the trigger.”

“Caitlynne told you that you were a
victim, like the people you killed. And according to the list you provided, not
one person on that list was exactly what she’d consider model citizens.” He
took her hand when she stood up. “Jack, come away with me for a few hours and
let’s forget this.”

She told him she would go, but she
wanted to get something from their room. He went to the kitchen to throw
together some of the things that he’d bought yesterday for their picnic. When
she came down, he could see that she’d armed herself, of which he had no
problem. It was the sadness in her eyes that bothered him.

He pulled her into his arms. “It’s going
to be all right, baby. You’ll see. Mann will turn himself in, or some agent
will pop a camp in his head.” He’d hoped that she’d laugh, and she did.

“Its pop a cap, not camp, and being a
fifth grade teacher, I would think you’d have heard that term a great deal.”
She kissed him on the neck. “Let’s go and lose ourselves today, okay? I don’t
even want to think about what we have and what we know.”

“Agreed.” Lifting the basket, she eyed
him. “I have nothing in this basket but things to sooth my lovely mate. If a
few things that we might need got in here, we’ll just have to make the best of
the situation. And I don’t know about you, but I will be glad when we can have
our home back. All this company is driving me nuts.” They went out to his
garage, and he settled himself over his bike. She looked at him with a cocked
brow.

He handed her a helmet. “I thought we
were going to walk. Isn’t that the best way to get around back there?”

“It is if you don’t know the terrain
like I do. Hop on.” He waited for her to wrap her arms and legs around him
before he started the bike. Her heat wrapped around him, distracting him, but
he had plans today, which included being between her hot thighs. He took off
with her laughter ringing in his ears.

He took her around the outer edges of
the property, the long way around to where he wanted them to end up. Stopping twice
to stretch, he showed her where he knew that some deer played. They had also stopped
to watch a hawk mate with his female in the air. By the time they got to the
falls, her cheeks were pink and they were both starving.

“You were maybe feeding an army,” she
teased him as she took out the containers. “I see we have cold chicken…my
favorite, by the way. And macaroni salad and potato. One, two, three…five ham
sandwiches on rye, and dill pickles.”

He reached in to the basket when she
opened a pickle and chomped on it. “I have also, for the lady, some cheese cake
bites, as well as strawberries and cream. Iced tea, as well as some very lovely
white wine, if you so desire.”

They sat on the blanket he’d brought and
filled their plates. While she put salads on his and hers, he opened the wine
and poured them both a glass. Dylan laughed when he saw the portion of chicken
she’d put on her plate.

“Hungry?” She smiled at him as she ate a
leg. “I hope you know that I didn’t just bring you out here for the food and
view. I plan to ravage you later.”

“I know. That’s why I’m storing up
energy.” She handed him one of the pieces on her plate. “You should know that
you’d better be ready for me, too. I’ve been very lonely of late.”

His body tensed, and he growled low. He
suddenly didn’t want to waste time on eating when he had her in front of him.
When she put out her hand to stop him from moving toward her, he stopped.

“I’m really hungry. I mean it. If you
make me miss my meal, I’m going to be very pissy with you.” She looked up at
the sky, and he knew now why she’d lingered over a flower, and had wanted to
see the den he’d found better. She was waiting for dark. Dylan took her plate
away from her.

“The food can wait. I can’t.” She moved
back and looked panicky. “I’m going to make love to you with the sun shining
over us. I’m going to touch you in ways you can’t imagine.”

“Dylan, I told you. I’m not comfortable
with you seeing me naked. Please.” He shook his head,  grabbed her leg, and
brought her to him. “Dylan.”

Her shoes came off first. He tossed them
away from them, but not so far that they wouldn’t be able to find them. Then he
slid his hands up her thighs and over her smooth skin.

“When I shaved your legs I had never
enjoyed touching anything as much as I did you. Your skin was so soft and
smooth. Hearing your soft moans made my cock hurt, but I couldn’t stop until I
was finished.” Dylan pulled her to him so that she was on his lap, facing him. “I
want to touch you again, feel your warmth in my hands.”

Her shirt pulled up over her head, and
he did that now. Her bra, a pretty little pink thing, made his mouth water, and
he licked along the curve of her breasts that was exposed. Her moan made him
want more. Unhooking the front clasp, he opened the cups slowly and watched her
full breasts spill into his hands. Leaning down, he kissed the first of many
scars he knew she had.

“Tell me how you got this one.” He
licked along the entire length of it, knowing it was from a knife. “How badly
were you hurt when this was done?”

“I was in training. I took a step to the
right instead of the left and he grazed me. I got seven stitches and a write up
for being stupid.” He nodded and moved to the other breast and another scar,
where he asked her the same question. “Bullet. I was going into a market while it
was being robbed. I took exception to that, because I love that little shop and
the people who own it.”

“Did you kill him?” She nodded. “Good. Where
did you get this one and this one? They look to be from about the same time.”

They were along her ribs. He held her
softly and kissed each one of them, then took her nipple into his mouth for a
small taste. Her breath caught, and he looked up at her.

“I was…I was supposed to take out a
target and…. Dylan, are you going to do this to every scar on me? If you are,
then you’re going to be a long fucking time before you are inside of me.”

“I want you to be able to make love to
me in the daylight, with the light on if need be.” She wrapped her hands around
his neck, and he rolled her to her back. “I want to take you out here someday
and take you in the way of my kind. Hard and fast. I want to have you stand
against the tree so I can enter you from behind and watch your breasts swing
when I fuck you.”