Vampire's Companion (6 page)

Her steps quickened.

I need to get out of here.
Not just away from Fangs, but away from Las Vegas.

She needed to put distance between her and Terach, between her and Rico. She needed to give herself time to get over the shooting; that’s why she was so messed up.

“Cia! Wait!”

Because it was Rico, she stopped, her muscles rigid when he reached her. A slight turn of her head and she released held breath at seeing him haloed only by night sky.

“You okay?” he asked.

She laughed, and even to her it sounded shaky. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

“You want to talk?”

“No.”
Yes, but you’re taken and we’ve already argued about Skye and this place.
“I have to go. I’m heading out of town as soon as I clear it.”

“Does Terach know?”

He might as well have slapped her.

“It’s none of his business. It’s none of yours.”

She fled. Dry eyed until she was in her car and rushing away from Fangs.

I’m a mess.

She scrubbed the tears with the back of her forearm. Rico was probably heading straight to Terach’s room. Wouldn’t he get an eyeful if he walked in the same way she had?

She grasped the medallion through the material of her shirt. Why didn’t she want to rip it off her neck and throw it out the window? Wasn’t that the way she should feel?

Join us.

Her pulse rampaged. Where could she go to get her head straight?

Think. Think. Think.

Ventura.

That destination arrived as her car rocked to a stop at the station. She had enough in her emergency fund to cover a motel stay, but chances were good Tessa would put her up. Even better, maybe she’d put her to work, in an unofficial capacity. Except for the bodies, private eye work wasn’t that much different than being a homicide detective.

Calm settled inside Cia, the first she’d felt in days.

California here I come.

And when she returned to Las Vegas, things would be back to normal.

She
would be back to normal.

* * *

Ecstasy. Exquisite sensation.

Terach moaned, sliding deeper into Israel’s ass.

Muscles strained to control movement, to savor the taking with Israel’s hardened cock pressed to his abdomen.

The more he had this, the more he craved it.

A shudder of pleasure coursed through him.

The only thing that would make it better would be Cia’s presence in the bed.

She
had
to accept openly what he knew to be true. This aroused her.

Rough hands drew him down for a kiss. Israel’s tongue plunged into his mouth in carnal enticement.

Slow thrusts became impossible, unbearable.

He quickened, delving deeper, harder. The rub of Israel’s cock against his abdomen inflaming him, stirring dominant, possessive urges. Sex and blood so thoroughly entwined that his canine teeth slid downward.

Israel’s tongue scraped against them. Bled.

Need turned into savage desire.

He ended the kiss.

Israel’s head tilted back on a moan.

“Do it.” Harsh, husky entreaty.

Terach struck. Fangs piercing, the penetration throwing Israel into orgasm.

Jets of heated semen splashed on already sweat-slick skin. Blood poured over Terach’s tongue but the hunger increased rather than decreased.

He thrust harder, Israel’s second release shattering his control so orgasm ripped through him in wrenching soul-deep claim.

Terach collapsed, panting.

Rolled onto his back and allowed himself to drift in contentment.

“You’re the first in centuries.”

“The first male lover you’ve had?”

“Yes.”

Israel rose onto an elbow, his hair brushing Terach’s chest and hardening a nipple. “Tell me about it?”

Terach laughed. “Playing bartender?”

“Or shrink.”

They kissed.

“Or maybe just feeding my ego,” Israel said.

Hardly necessary.
But the words got trapped in Terach’s throat. For every visible wound on a slave’s flesh there were a thousand bleeding internal cuts.

He met Israel’s gaze, held it. “I would have fought to true death to keep you from Diarmid.”

“Thanks for that.”

Hours ago he could have denied this aspect of his sexuality, but not now, not ever again. Somehow they’d find a way to make this work.

He mentally touched the companion bond. The distance between the club and Cia’s apartment was too far to pinpoint her exact location, but she was in the general vicinity of where she lived.

He didn’t want to wait until tomorrow’s nightfall or give her time to shore up resistance and denial. Sitting, he said, “I’m going to shower.”

“I’m going to just lie here for a few minutes.”

Terach stood, gaze roaming Israel, possessiveness riding him, more primal than he’d ever experienced as a human.

Israel’s cock twitched and his stirred with renewed interest. He laughed and leaned down, risked another kiss before getting in the shower, supremely satisfied.

His smile lingered until hot water struck his skin and soap washed away the scent of Israel and sex, casting him back to those first days after Gian had made him vampire. With safety had come the intense need to bathe, as if plunging into icy streams or water heated by inn servants could cleanse him of the defilement he’d experienced as a slave. His sire had known, had lingered in the area and altered his own plans so his newest son could hunt and kill those who’d made sport of him, those who’d preyed upon him when he was viewed as less valuable than a horse. But the drain of blood hadn’t been enough. Only time had turned acute memories into duller ones, wrapping them into his psyche with centuries of distance.

And now he owned a slave. Could he live with that?

Even if they were equals in his heart, the stigma of it remained. He’d be shunned by some. It would cost him alliances and friendships, perhaps ultimately, his self-respect.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. Turn Israel?

And if he refused it?

Offer to introduce him to Gian’s other sons? To Brann’s sons, in the hope one of them would make Israel their companion?

The back of his throat burned. His heart thrummed.

Contend with one uncertainty at a time.

He reached along the companion bond. Chill engulfed him at finding it taut, thinning, stretched by distance and nearly beyond range of his being able to locate Cia.

He jerked the shower door open, hurriedly drying himself as he returned to the bedroom. He tossed the towel onto the floor, snagged his jeans and pulled them on.

Israel was instantly on his feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Cia. She’s leaving the area.”

Terach grabbed a shirt. Shoved his feet into shoes then bolted from the room.

He entered the main area of the club, pushed through the crowded humans, intent on the exit.

Stop.

Gian, I need to—

Come to me.

Instincts dueled. Bonds dueled, his sire versus his companion.

He took a step toward the exit. Israel caught up to him.

Come to me.
Though Gian didn’t enforce the command with his will.

Terach took several more steps before common sense prevailed. Before the imperative to get to his companion yielded to the respect he owed his sire.

She wouldn’t leave the city without informing her captain. Modern technology meant she could easily be found and he couldn’t afford to be caught outside in the sun, chasing her.

He joined Gian, the tightness in his chest easing at finding Skye sitting next to him, beer bottle in hand. Even before discovering her Angelini heritage and making a vampire one of her mates, she was a famed hunter of the missing.

“Good of you to obey,” Gian said, amusement lacing his voice.

“If I’m slow to do it, possibly it’s because I take after you.”

Gian laughed. “Brann would no doubt be quick to agree. But then he claims I’m a disrespectful ass when it comes to him. I take it you finally realized your companion is fleeing the city?”

Bite had replaced amusement. Everything inside Terach stilled. How did Gian know?

A flicked glance at Skye answered the question. Rico must have provided the information. “Where’s she going?”

“Ventura.”

He could be safely there in under an hour, sending Israel after her in the car in case her plans deviated while he made the trip via private jet. He could commandeer some of the humans who guarded Fangs during the day. They could be trusted to secure whatever location he chose for his daytime resting place.

The bond stretched thinner, the connection minutes from breaking. He pulled car keys and a wad of cash from his back pocket, thrusting them into Israel’s hand while he sent the image of Cia’s car mentally. “Go.”

Israel’s resistance pounded against Terach’s senses. His fingers closed around keys and cash with enough force to whiten the knuckles. He took them, pivoted.

Terach grabbed his arm, unwilling to part this way.

Where once he would have been self-conscious about letting others witness his desire for another man, possessive urges dominated now. His mouth claimed, tasting anger and fear of separation, and driving them back with the thrust of his tongue, incinerating them with the ravenous promise of what it would be like when they were together again.

Israel’s resistance lessened. His body softened.

Only the possible loss of Cia gave Terach the strength to break the contact rather than drag Israel back to the bedroom to sink cock and fangs into him. “Go after her. Please. Keep her safe.”

“Hold,” Gian said, dipping a hand into the biker’s jacket Skye wore and retrieving a pen.

He snagged one of the bar napkins littering the table and wrote a phone number on it. “Raphael’s cell,” he said, directing the information at Israel. “He’s one of Brann’s companions. He’ll be able to track and guide you to Cia.”

Gian placed a black credit card with no spending limit on the napkin, pushing both across the table. Israel took only the phone number then left.

“You test him?”

“Perhaps. And perhaps I test you. Remain in Las Vegas until tomorrow night. When you wake, come directly to me.”

No!

It swelled upward from deep within. Terach’s muscles bunched. His hands curled into fists with the effort not to shout the denial.

Gian’s expression remained unchanged, centuries of history flowing back and forth between them like a silent tide.

“As you will, Sire,” he said in a tone textured with thick resistance.

Chapter Four

Cia emerged from the motel bathroom fresh from the shower and feeling human again despite the long day yesterday and early morning arrival.

Her cell rang.

Grabbing it, she smiled.

“What’s up?” Tessa asked.

“I’m in town.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“You’re the answer to a prayer. How long are you here for?”

“I’m on leave.” It came out stark, more pain-filled than she’d intended.

“What happened?”

She forced herself to sound carefree. “Why don’t I tell you over coffee and a pastry if you’ve already eaten lunch?”

“I’ll do you one better. Come to the house. The kitchen is all yours. In fact, the place is all yours. Tell you more when you get here. I’ll even have lunch waiting.”

“I’m on my way.” A quick double check, not that she’d done more than unpack the clothes she needed for today, and she was out the door.

She jerked to a stop at seeing the black SUV parked to the left. Heat crawled up her neck and into her face at recognizing Terach’s lover in the driver’s seat.

She’d dreamed of him last night, dreamed of
them
, as though instead of turning away from the bed and rushing from Fangs, she’d joined Terach and this stranger in it.

Ignore him.

Impossible.

A light haze appeared around him. It clung, darkening to become mustard yellow washed through with gray.

No. No.
She didn’t want this in her life again. She’d left Las Vegas to get away from it.

He shouldn’t have come after her. Terach shouldn’t have sent him. Rico shouldn’t have betrayed her destination.

She turned away, the ache caused by Rico’s involvement unsustainable when it collided with the image of Terach’s hair draped over this man’s thighs, his mouth obviously on this man’s cock.

Behind her a car window rolled down.

“This is how you repay Terach when he saved your life? By acting like a scared child and running. By throwing away everything he has to offer, including love.”

Coldness swept in. Her lungs froze. She whirled, the colors hazed around him still there. “Tell me why you think he saved my life.”

He bared his teeth. “On one condition. I’ve got the task of watching over you and keeping you safe. Let me hang with you and I’ll tell you at nightfall.”

No.
But she bit off her first response.

No.
And that second response was even weaker.

Her gun hand tightened on the suitcase handle.

The need for answers had driven her to Fangs in the hopes they would lead to her being cleared for duty. Here was validation that something had happened that night besides a one-night stand.

Did she really want to find out what? Did she really prefer the truth over a self-diagnosis of PTSD?

Her palm grew slick. Fine tremors went through her. The color around him changed, mustard shading into orange with streaks of light gray, then fading altogether.

“Until nightfall,” she said, stomach cramping.

“You coming back here?”

“No. I’m staying at a friend’s place.”

“I’ll follow you,” Israel said, silently cursing himself.

He’d made a mistake. He’d let desperation get the better of him.

He’d thought himself calm, cool and collected despite having to chase after her instead of remaining with Terach.

But when Cia had turned away…