Of Flame and Promise (3 page)

My Subaru Legacy drove up the mile-long road that led to Misha’s compound, rolling to a stop in front of the tall metal gates that opened onto his estate. Stone walls lined the exterior, with gargoyle heads sprouting every few feet. High-tech cameras were placed within the creepy critters’ gaping maws. After losing so many vamps in his keep, Misha wanted to see all, know all. He also wanted to harness the perfect weapon.

And that weapon was Celia.

A vamp materialized from nowhere. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. Vampires can’t vanish and reappear; it’s more like they’re outrageously sneaky. But his movements were so quick, so silent, it was like he was just suddenly there.

He smiled at me through my passenger-side window. I smiled back but kept my guard up. “Good afternoon, miss,” he whispered with as much sex in his tone as found in most pornos. “Are you here to see Master Aleksandr?”

“No. I’m here to see Celia Wird.”

“In that case…” I didn’t see him reach in and flick the locks, his movements too fast to register. He flung open the door, reaching for me.

The air sizzled as bolts of blue and white lightning shot from my fingertips and into the vamp, sending him soaring. I stepped out of the car and cracked my knuckles, feeding off the energetic boost my power gave me.

Fang boy flapped, crackled, and smoked against the asphalt. I held back only because he belonged to Misha. Had he been an unknown vamp, the only thing left would have been a pile of ash.

I didn’t appreciate him trying to take a bite, or attempting to use his hypnotic crap on me. Had I been human, I would have been easy prey, a thought that only riled my anger.

The vamp’s stupor was short-lived. He leapt to his feet, bounding forward.
Okay, fricasseed vamp it is.
My vision sharpened and my hands trembled with energy. I lifted them, aimed, and—

Another vamp catapulted over the gate, sweeping up the vamp charging me by the throat, his sharp nails puncturing through the skin. Tim, one of Misha’s bodyguards, had arrived.

Tim held the vamp about two feet off the ground. “You fool,” he hissed. “This is Celia’s sister.” Blood seeped from the corners of the vamp’s mouth as he spoke. “She’s under the master’s protection and not to be touched.”

Thing was, despite how vulnerable Gemini had left me, I didn’t want to be protected or coddled then. “Put him down, Tim.” I flashed him a wicked smile. “I’m having a bad day. Wouldn’t mind relieving some of that stress, you feel me?”

Tim dropped him like a stone and kicked him about thirty feet away, stepping in front of me when I stomped forward. “Let it go, Taran. He’s new. It won’t happen again.”

“Spoilsport,” I said with a sarcastic pout.

That earned me a sexy grin. “Sorry to ruin your fun,” Tim said, circling. He eyed me from my fluffy hair to my high-heeled boots. “Nice. Real nice. You still seeing that mutt?”

I leaned in and tapped his chin with my fingertip. “Be nice when you talk about my wolf, Tim, or I’ll tell Misha you insulted me.”

Tim’s face paled even though I was kidding. When it came down to it, all the vamps in Misha’s keep adored him. He was their master and the world seemed to halt at the very sight of his godlike presence. All worshipping aside, they were scared senseless of him. I couldn’t blame them. Even long before Celia inadvertently returned his soul, Misha’s power stroked my skin like a warm and dangerous caress.

Tim cleared his throat. “Maybe we should head inside. I’m sure your lovely sister can’t wait to see you.”

Lovely sister?
I rolled my eyes, knowing what he and the other vamps really thought of Celia. “Yes. I think that would be best.”

I slid back into my car, but paused when a flapping sound stirred my senses. I jerked my head to the left, where a thick patch of trees stretched along the opposite side of the road. “Did you hear that?” I asked Tim.

Tim clenched his fists. “Yeah. I did.”

One vamp, two vamps, three vamps, four. They leapt over the stone wall like a bunch of frogs with fangs. He lifted his chin and as simply as that, they were off. “They’ll check the premises. Let’s get you inside the compound.”

“I can help.” My voice was oddly vacant. For all I meant that I’d follow the vamps through those dark trees, it didn’t mean I wasn’t scared.

Tim shook his head, but his attention remained further ahead. “The master remains your protector. Nothing is supposed to happen to you, especially on his land. Get inside. They’ll report back.”

He shut the car door at the same time the gates began to part. I drove through, a familiar unease raking down my spine like the point of a dagger. Tim took off in a slow jog that turned into a blur of speed. Despite the designer dress shoes he wore, he barely made a sound as his feet struck against the blue slate double-wide driveway.

The moment I cut the engine and unlocked the door, Tim was opening it for me. He motioned toward the main doors. “I’ll give you an update as soon as I have one. In the meantime, Celia’s in the kitchen eating lunch with the master.”

Although I was unnerved by what waited just outside vamp camp, I stopped and gawked at him. “Damn, Tim. Are you serious? He’s sucking someone dry while she’s nibbling on a sandwich?”

Tim laughed despite the tension stiffening his shoulders. “No, hot stuff. He doesn’t feed in front of her. Besides, you know we only take about a pint.”

I shuddered. I was a nurse by trade and could handle blood, but that didn’t mean I wanted to drink it. I hopped up the steps to the main doors. Two more vamps appeared and opened them for me, permitting me access into a massive foyer with a cathedral-style timbered ceiling. They gave me the once-over, flashing a little fang with their grins. I groaned. Although it had been a few weeks, I still couldn’t get used to the fact that my sister was shacked up with a master vampire.

The heels of my tall boots stomped against the blocks of bluestone that made up the floor. A few vamps loitered with their meals, laughing with and teasing their enamored humans. A particularly leggy blonde watched her vamp with lustful eyes, hungry for that orgasmic rush the feed would bring her. I didn’t see the point—at least not from her perspective. She would be influenced to forget the experience, and the supernatural world along with it.

Personally, I preferred to remember my toe-curling orgasms.

The vamp lengthened his fangs, stroking the blonde’s jugular while his stare lifted to meet mine as I neared. “Hey, Taran,” Hank said. “You look—”

I batted my hand. “Yeah, yeah, good enough to eat. Save it for someone you can actually snack on.”

I flounced past him and down the hall that led into the enormous French-inspired kitchen, stopping in the arched entryway. Just as Tim had said, there was Celia. I removed my coat and tugged on the hem of my sweaterdress. The scoop neck fell just above the swells of my breasts.

My ensemble was sexy, and like most of my clothes, fashionable. But it didn’t matter. At least, not to Misha.

Celia sat crossed-legged on a chair like a little kid, wearing her usual tank top and shin-length yoga pants. No makeup. No cute clothes. And long, wavy hair wrangled into a messy ponytail.

Yet she held the hottest guy with fangs completely captivated. I smiled to myself. Celia was beautiful without even trying. Maybe it was her palpable strength or her kind heart. Or maybe it was simply the way her smile reached her green eyes despite the sadness that hovered beneath the surface.

I shook my head. Her problem was that she never considered herself desirable. It wasn’t her fault. Her inner tigress scared anything human and made her unapproachable. That changed when a certain sexy vampire and a royal-among-werewolves crossed her path.

Too bad that royal werewolf turned into a royal douche.

Celia straightened and her face lit up when I stepped out from beneath the archway.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Just wanted to surprise you.” Truthfully, I hadn’t called or texted because I wanted to catch her unprepared—see if she was really “all right” as she claimed. My sisters and I—and, hey, even our friends, too—were worried about Celia. Not just because of the whole Aric fiasco, but because of who she turned to during her lowest point.

Misha caught the underlying white lie beneath my half-truth. He raised an elegant brow, but didn’t call me on it. “Good afternoon, Taran,” he said, the allure in his voice sweeping along my skin to cop a feel. He took in my appearance, giving a rather long and thorough glance.

So, you’re not so enamored with Celia, are you, Drac?

No sooner did the thought cross my mind than his eyes wandered back to her. I couldn’t help my laugh, knowing that short of standing there naked I was no match for Little Miss Golden Tigress.

Misha rose, cutting Celia off when she was almost to me. Tim was suddenly there. Man, that super speed really wigged me out. “Nothing, Master,” he said.

“You’re certain?” Misha asked him.

“A full sweep was conducted. No presence of demons was detected.”

“Demons?” Celia asked, her attention flicking back to me.

I shrugged like it was no biggie, even though I struggled to keep from cringing. “We heard some flapping outside the gates. And, ah, a couple of eaten humans were discovered on the Nevada side. The
weres
suspect demons and such.”

Yeah. That went over well.

“It was probably a bird—an owl or something,” I offered when her tigress eyes replaced her human ones. It was a trick she’d pulled more than once, but it gave me pause every time.

Celia lulled her tigress back to sleep, her normal eyes returning once more to meet Tim’s gaze. “The vamps didn’t see or smell
anything
unusual?”

He waited before responding. “No. If anything was there, it’s gone now.”

“Set up patrols outside the grounds,” Misha said in a tone that sounded easy, but was packed to the gills with command.

“Yes, Master,” Tim responded.

His disappearance seemed to lift the tension the word
demon
had stirred. For all their power, demons and their babies avoided Tahoe’s magic like poison. And Misha’s pad had a front-and-center view of the lake. So for now, maybe it could’ve been an owl I’d heard.

Or at least I hoped it was. Nothing was like it seemed anymore.

Celia continued forward and drew me into a hug. “It’s good to see you.” She pulled away, holding me at arm’s length. “No demons, right? You didn’t see anything?”

I tilted my head. “That’s right.”

“Then why do I smell your magic?” Her nose crinkled and she knitted her brow. “And why does it smell angry?”

I flipped back my hair. “Nothing to worry about. A new vamp decided he wanted to have a taste. I decided I didn’t want to let him.”

All it took was a look from Misha and the vamps lounging near us righted themselves and swooshed past me. Within seconds, one of the kinkier ones dressed like a naughty Catholic schoolgirl returned, dragging the vamp in question by the foot and dropping him directly in front of Celia.

“Here you go, Master. Tootles.” She gave a little pinky wave and bounced away in a wild pair of killer leopard stilettos. For all I grumbled about the naughty Catholics, they had excellent taste in footwear.

Once more, Celia’s tigress eyes returned to the surface. “This him?” she asked me.

At my nod, she yanked him to his feet by the collar and hissed. She wasn’t as hostile as Tim, but I could still sense the rage. The vamp hissed back. He wasn’t afraid of Celia. But he should have been. And
shit
was he ever scared of Misha.

The vamp’s glare lessened in severity as he caught Misha stalking forward. Trembles racked his body hard enough to rattle his withdrawing fangs with each of his master’s encroaching steps.

“Kitten,” Misha said to Celia. “Take some time to entertain your sister. I will see to young Sal’s discipline.”

I held up a hand. “Misha, it’s not a big deal. It won’t happen again.”

Misha regarded him carefully. “You are correct. It most certainly won’t happen again.”

Whatever she sensed in Misha’s features made Celia loosen her hold. The vamp slumped to his knees, bowing before his master. Celia stepped past him to place her arm around me. “Come on. Let’s head to the guesthouse.”

Celia encouraged me to hurry with a firm press to my lower back. We stepped through the doors leading out to the terrace. She took my purse, allowing me to shrug back into my coat when a strong gust of wind blew snow from the morning’s dusting across the flat stone and around my boots. Once outside she continued to rush us ahead, down the steps and through the path leading into the garden.

“So what’s Count Hotness going to do to him?”

A bloodcurdling scream had me whipping back toward the house and stirred flickers of lightning to zap from my nails.
“That,”
Celia answered. She shook her head, continuing forward. “I was hoping we’d make it to the house before he killed him.”

“Misha killed Sal for trying to get a taste of me? In all fairness, I can’t blame the poor bastard for wanting a bite. I’m like a tall glass of O positive to your peeps.”

She shook her head. “Misha killed him for disobeying. We—you, me, Emme, and Shayna—are off limits. He’s made that more than clear, I assure you.”

I reached for the handle of my purse when she offered it. “But he didn’t even know who I was.”

“It doesn’t matter. He should have asked. Taran, this whole crap with the Tribe has raised the danger factor and fueled paranoia. No one’s safe. You could’ve been a threat to Misha, or his family. In failing to question you, he could have put the entire compound at risk.”

“So he deserves to, like, re-die? No time-out—no going to bed without a flaming redhead with big jugs?”

Celia’s expression split between darkness and sadness. “This is their way, Taran. I don’t condone many things that go on here. But there are practices and beliefs among the undead that have remained in place since the dawn of time. Insubordination could potentially lead to human fatality—”

“Or Misha’s ass in a sling.”

She shrugged. “That, too. Which is why discipline usually results in death, and why the exterior grounds will be watched until Misha is satisfied that no threat exists.”