Gregor (Stone Society Book 2) (18 page)

So
far, he had been fairly gentle. Her moans filled the air as he thrust in and
out of her wet pussy. When he pulled his cock out, her green eyes widened. He
decided for his next trick she would need to be completely immobile. He grabbed
more rope and bound her ankles tightly to the bed. When she started to
complain, he rolled up an old t-shirt and gagged her mouth. Even though they
were far away from civilization, he wasn’t taking any chances.

Merrick
caressed the pale skin but offered no words of comfort or accolades of beauty.
No, this was the part he enjoyed the most. When a woman who had so easily
offered her body to a stranger figured out she had fucked up. When the fear
shone brightly in those green eyes, and she pissed herself knowing she was
going to die. That was the biggest turn on Merrick had ever known.

He
climbed back onto the bed and situated himself between her legs, licking her
bare mound, sucking on her clit. Her body was betraying her. The pleasure overrode
the pain and the fright, up until that moment she realized what was happening. 
Then, it was too late. He sucked on the tender flesh at the juncture of her
thigh and cunt. He pulled the blood to the surface, the skin turning red then purple.
As she wiggled and squirmed as best she could while being tied up, he marked a
colorful path up her white skin until he got to her neck. He didn’t bother
lubing the condom. He thrust his cock into her still wet pussy. As with the
other victims, he wrapped his large hand around her small neck and squeezed. As
his orgasm neared, he gripped harder. Her life leaving her body was
simultaneous with his seed leaving his. As the woman gasped her last breath,
Merrick expelled his last stream of cum.

Needing
to remove the smell of sex from his body, Merrick took a quick shower. As he
turned the water off, he heard his phone ringing again. He wrapped a towel
around his hips and looked at the caller I.D.
Fuck.

“Mr.
Flanagan, what can I do for you?” Gordon Flanagan rarely called unless he was
pissed.

“You
can tell me why you haven’t flushed her out.”

“Sir,
I have another body ready to dump. If she doesn’t come forward after this one,
I will up my game. I was thinking I need to branch out to surrounding states.”

“My patience is
wearing thin.” The phone disconnected. Merrick knew going outside Flanagan’s
game plan was risky, but his daughter wasn’t taking the bait. For all he knew,
she wasn’t even in New Atlanta. An idea had formed while he was in the shower.
He opened his duffle and pulled out a hunting knife. Before cutting the ropes
loose from the bed, Merrick decided to leave a different type of calling card.

“What
the fuck are you doing here, Jenkins?” Gregor knew Jasper played for the other
team, but gay or not, he didn’t want anyone seeing Tessa naked.

“That’s
Detective Jenkins to you, and I’m answering a 911 break-in call.”

“Since
when do detectives answer those types of calls?” Gregor walked into the
kitchen, removing his shredded shirt. He stopped just inside the doorway with
his back to the hall. He was pissed at himself for not hearing Jasper come into
the house. Gregor couldn’t say anything to Tessa about not setting the alarm.
He hadn’t even locked the fucking door.

“Since
I was in the vicinity. It’s a good thing I did, too, considering the fangs were
out. Seriously, I wouldn’t want sharp teeth so close to my junk.”

“You
couldn’t see my fangs.”

“No,
but I could see hers.”  He was pointing at Tessa who had just walked into the
room, now fully clothed.

Gregor
opened his mouth, but Tessa cut him off. “Out. Both of you out, now.”

“I’m
not going anywhere until I get some answers. Jenkins, I’ll see you at the
manor.” Jasper grinned then gave him a two-fingered salute.

 Before
he could reach the door, his cell phone rang. “Jenkins. Fuck, where? I’m on my
way.” His shit-eating grin was gone. He pointed at Tessa, “You need to watch
yourself.”

Gregor
waited until Jasper was pulling out of the driveway before speaking. He was
pretty sure another redhead had just been found. He needed to lighten the mood,
not darken it. “You taste so fucking good.” He ran his tongue over his lips,
savoring the last bit of her juices.

Tessa
rolled her eyes at him and leaned against the kitchen island. “What do I have
to do to get you to leave? I can’t bully you out; you’re a bigger bully. I
can’t shoot you; it doesn’t penetrate. I can’t tell you I hate you; you’re too
pig-headed to believe any woman wouldn’t fall down at your feet worshiping at the
Stone altar.”

Gods,
did she really hate him? The pain he felt earlier in his heart just increased a
hundred-fold. “You can give me some answers. You tell me what I want to know,
and then I’ll go.”

“Stone,
I don’t have time for your games or your questions.”

“Then
make time. It seems you are the all-knowing when it comes to bonding. How is
that? How did you, Tessa-Trixie-Tabitha-Andrea-Flanagan-Blackmore become the mating
Dalai Lama?”

“Wow,
I’m impressed. How long did you spend practicing that one?  You know what? Ask
me your questions. The sooner I answer, the sooner I can be alone.” She jumped
up on the island, crossing her ankles. “What’s your first question?”

“Do
you really hate me?” Gregor shouldn’t let her know she was getting to him. He
shouldn’t care as much as he did, but she was crushing his heart.

“No,
I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you very much. Next question.” She leaned
back on her hands, her breasts jutting out in front of her.

“Are
you going out of town again?”

“Yes,
next.”

“Where
are you going this time?”

“I
don’t see how it’s any of your business, but to speed this shit along, I’m
going to Egypt. One of the other watchers has gone missing. His daughter has
set out to find him, and she has no experience in that sort of thing. I’m the
only one who can go after her and keep her safe.”

“Who’s
supposed to keep
you
safe?” Gregor knew she wouldn’t allow it, but he
was going to either go with her, or at the least, follow her.

“I’ve
been doing this a long time now. I don’t need anyone watching my back.”  Her
beautiful green eyes were dull. She truly believed she was alone in all this.

“Who
is your father?”

She
flinched. “Not up for discussion. I thought you wanted to know about mating.”

“Okay,
if Jonas was ostracized for mating with a human, why didn’t he change his name?
I mean, yeah, he modernized it, but he’s been hiding out for hundreds of years.
Why not change to an alias like you have?”

“My
aliases are to keep Flanagan from finding me. Society believes Jonas to be dead. 
If the Gargoyles want to find him, they will, no matter what he calls himself.”

“How
many humans have mated with Goyles?”

“Honestly?
I don’t know the exact number. In our family the only ones I am certain of are
Jonas and my father. If Rafael has mated with the chief, that would be three. As
far as the half-bloods, I’m guessing around twelve.” Tessa shifted so she was
no longer leaning on her arms. Gregor was glad. While he might be an ass man,
any part of his mate turned him on.

“How
many children does Jonas have?”

“Seventeen.
Well, sixteen now.” Tessa hopped down and went to the refrigerator, pulling out
two beers. She unscrewed the top off both and handed him one. This was getting
to be a habit.

“Why
sixteen? Do half-bloods die the same way Gargoyles do?”

“Because
one was killed before he transitioned.”  Hmm, that was a conversation for
another time.

“How
many siblings do you have?”

“Just
Tamian. My mother wanted more children, but my father wouldn’t hear of it. She
is going to remain young forever, and he will not risk her having another
child.”

“What
do you mean remain young forever?”

“Just
like the Gargoyles stop aging, when a human mates with a full-blood and has a
child, the aging process stops. My mom looks as young as I do. As a matter of
fact, we could almost pass for twins.”

“Interesting.
Are there any other side effects of the mating process?”

“None
that we’re aware of.” Tessa leaned a hip against the counter and drank her
beer, waiting on the next question.

“What
happens when the half-bloods have children? Do those children shift as well?”

“We
don’t know yet; we are still waiting to find out. Now, I’ve answered your
questions. I would like for you to go.”

“One
more question.” Gregor knew the answer before he asked, but what the hell.

“What?”
Her annoyed look was back.

“Will
you have dinner with me?”

It
took her almost a full minute to answer. “On one condition.”

“Anything.”
He would promise her the moon if she would just spend some time getting to know
him.

“I
will have dinner with you if you promise to forget about us. I will give you
tonight. After that, I’m out of your life. For good.”

“Anything
but that.”

“Then
the answer is no. Look, Stone, I’m sorry. Really, I am. If I were anyone other
than who I am, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But I cannot be your
mate.”

“Okay.
One night. But you have to give me all night. Not just dinner. I want you at my
table then in my bed… all night. Afterwards, if you still feel the same, I will
let you go.”

“Really?”
Tessa didn’t look convinced.

“Really.
One night is better than nothing. At least I will have the memories to keep me
company.” Gods, he knew he sounded like a sappy woman. He was going all in,
counting on the bond to kick in and Tessa changing her mind.

Sighing,
she relented. “Okay, one night. Then you have to let me go and not interfere.”

“Deal.”

Jasper
and Dane arrived within minutes of each other. The dumping site was in a wooded
area on the south side of the city. CSU was on the scene, taping off the area. Jasper
had been in his new job a few days and was already tired of seeing the yellow
barriers. He couldn’t swallow the knowledge that a human life could mean
absolutely nothing to someone.

Dante
was at the scene, standing over the victim. He motioned them both over to where
he was. Pointing at the body, he said “This is new.” Instead of the victim
being fully clothed, this one was naked from the waste up. Purple marks that resembled
hickies dotted her torso, and words had been carved into her chest:
Andrea,
where are you?

“Who
the hell is Andrea?” Jasper asked no one in particular.

“My
guess would be Flanagan’s daughter. If I remember correctly, that was her name.
Dante, did the DNA evidence on the last victim give us any leads?” Dane asked,
staring at the body.

“It
did. Trevor called as I was driving over here. The DNA belongs to one Richard
Merrick. He was dishonorably discharged from the Army several years ago. I have
Julian searching for his whereabouts. I’m going to call him back and add the
name Andrea to his list of searches for anything to do with Flanagan, just to
be sure. If we are right, he is trying to flush his daughter out using
lookalikes. There is also something off about the DNA of the victims, and I
have Trevor looking into it. If he can’t figure it out, I’ll throw that to
Julian as well.” Dante walked off to where the victim was being placed in a
body bag. Without another word to either of them, he left the scene.

 “I
will never get used to him,” Dane said to the tail lights.

“Sure
you will; he just doesn’t have a reason to smile. All he sees is death, and
most of the time it’s useless killings like this one. I was just thinking I’ve
been on this job less than a week, and I’m already feeling empty.”

Dane
nodded, “Let’s take a walk.”

When
they were out of earshot of the others, Jasper sighed, “It’s hard to wrap my
head around the fact you’ve been seeing shit like this as long as you have. How
do you do it?”

Dane
sighed. “I guess the same way Dante has, you eventually get numb.”

Jasper
thought for a minute. “I’ve worked mostly as a firefighter the last
half-century, so the trauma I’ve seen has been of a different sort. Very few
fire deaths were arson. Most were accidents, not the brutal murder this was.”

They
continued walking, canvassing the area looking for clues as they talked. “I
can’t wait to meet Sixx. I hope he can turn my financial situation around the
way he has for the rest of you. If you all have so much money, why do you still
have day jobs?”

For
Jasper that was an easy one. “If you help me move, you will get to meet him. As
for working, have you ever taken a vacation and by the end of it you were so
stir crazy you were jonesing to get back to your job?”

“Yeah,
relaxing can be a chore.” Dane laughed now that he thought about it.

“Imagine
relaxing for over four hundred years. That puts a whole new spin on stir
crazy.” Jasper had come to the manor during Dane’s meeting with Rafael. After
grabbing a beer, he was invited to join the conversation. “What made you decide
to open up?”

Dane
stopped and squatted down, looking at a footprint in the dirt. “Kaya. She told
me I could continue on the lonely path I was on, or I could have a family, a
Clan. I had time to think about what I wanted. My biological family kept this
shit from me my whole life. Sure, they may have thought their reasons were
legitimate, but I’d rather have known what I was up against from the start. If
they are so scared of whoever it is they’re hiding from, I’d rather have all
the knowledge of our kind at my disposal, as well as the backing of my
Brothers. I may not be a full-blooded Gargoyle, but Rafael said that didn’t
matter to him. Jasper, I have felt alone my whole life. If I’m going to live
forever, I don’t want to be alone anymore. I think Kaya always thought she’d be
alone forever, too. It’s odd, thinking about her being a Queen. I’ve known her
a long time, and if anyone can lead a group of Alpha men, it would be her.”

Jasper
understood what Dane was saying. Even though he was nearly five hundred years
old, he never felt part of the Clan out west. He had hidden the fact he was gay,
and it had been a lonely existence. He finally found a lover in Craig, but he
had wanted to hide their relationship. Craig was convinced they couldn’t come
out as lovers and not lose their jobs as firemen. When Sin told Jasper it was
time he moved, he freaked. He felt alone in his world where he knew people. He
couldn’t imagine moving again, starting over. It turned out to be best thing
that ever happened to him. Now, he wasn’t flaming, but he sure wasn’t hiding
his sexuality, and Rafael’s Clan couldn’t care less.