Vicente (5 page)

The colors had been faded before but now were deep, almost photo quality; deep blues and greens, yellows fading into darker golds, and reds to purple. Gone were his wings that curled around his body to his back, just appearing behind him and over his head as if it were a crown. Now they were spread out, at least five to seven inches from his body. And they were no longer translucent, but solid and heavier looking.

Vinnie looked over at the other seat when someone sighed. It was Yve, and he noticed immediately that she had changed as well.

“I have changed as well.” He nodded. “I am a full dragon faerie, my lord. You know what that means? About the female, do you not?”

“She’s my mate.” Yve nodded. “And she hates me.” He looked out the window and wondered how after all his planning, after being so careful for decades and decades, this could have happened to him…to them.

“I do not believe that she hates you. I do think that without proper information she will be more confused than ever before.” Yve landed on his steering wheel when he didn’t look at her. “You must talk to her, my lord. If you do not, then you and I both will die. Now that she is a part of us both, we need her to be with us. I have told you this, remember?”

“I don’t want you to die.” She nodded and moved to his hand that rested on the wheel as he stared out the window. “How does one tell a woman that hates him as much as she does me that not only is it too late for her to kick him to the curb, but her entire world is going to shift and change? Not to mention, when she finds out just how old we really are, she’s going to know that we’re not your normal pair of dragons. I don’t think she’s going to take it all that well, do you? I’ve not even told Stephen, and I’ve known him a good deal longer than I’ve known you. Have you told anyone?”

“Nay, I have not. I am still young yet, and there are those who think I have much too much responsibility as it is. What would they say if they found out that I have no more rights to being your keeper than…well, than any small brownie?” Vinnie frowned at her and asked who was giving her a hard time. “No one that I cannot hurt. I can take care of myself.”

“I know that.” He did too. She cared for him as well. “I’ll have to let her know. I know now that she’s marked. That’s about all I know for sure about her being my mate.”

“There is more.” Vinnie nodded and started the car. “I shall have to teach you the ways, my lord. You have been too long with your head buried in the ocean.”

“Sand, and I know that.” She nodded and repeated the saying twice so she’d remember it. He knew that in a few hours she’d get something else incorrect, but he didn’t really care. He loved that about her. “What will happen to her if we never…mate?”

“My lady will shift. It will be something that she needs to be aware of first and foremost. Do you not agree? She might harm herself or others. And that will not do. I will help you with the rest but for now, she must be aware of what may happen.” Vinnie pulled into traffic and wondered if he could shift and take off. He was also thinking about how Abbie would look as a dragon, and felt his cock harden at the thought. He looked over at Yve when she tisked at him.

“What?” She just glared and sat on the seat next to him. “I’m listening to you. I have other things on my mind other than Abbie, you know.”

“She will need you today. Her brother will not let her come to you even if it should be her desire.” Graham really did hate him, and he told Yve that. “He will just need to get over that notion right now. I will harm his body if he thinks to keep you apart.”

Vinnie laughed. Yve was so small that people mistook her for being helpless. But she could fuck you up faster than he could. And when she shifted with him, there would be nothing safe from her wrath. He looked over at her again.

“When we get home, I’d like to see your dragon too.” She shook her head. “Why not? Are you ashamed of her?”

“Nay. But she is no longer the one I got when we touched. I loved her, my other self.” Vinnie knew that if she had not taken him to her heart, he’d be dead. And vice-versa. They had needed each other more than he could have ever known.

“Do you think about what we are in terms of human expectations?” She said she didn’t understand. “You know. If we were to appear with humans around, do you think they’d be more astounded by us or more terrified?”

“What a question. They would be astounded. Humans have a great many of the picture shows that bombard them with things that are not real. I think…nay, I know that if you were to shift and become your true self then they would….” She looked hard, like she was thinking of something. “I do believe it is called ‘shit themselves’.”

Vinnie nearly crashed his car he was laughing so hard. By the time he pulled into their drive, he was still wiping at the tears and having bursts of laughter. He’d never heard her say something like that before, and to hear her say it now…well, it was too much. And very much needed.

They got out of the car, and Vinnie stood near his door as Yve made her way to the woman on his porch. He had forgotten she was coming by. Yve had talked him into this, and now with everything else going on, he wanted to beg off. But he’d promised, and he couldn’t go back on his word to her.

“Mr. MacIntyre?” Vinnie nodded and moved toward her. “I had no idea that your home was so vast. I thought when you called to have us decorate for Christmas that it would be much smaller.”

“You think you can’t get it done?” He was hoping she’d say no, but her nod had him wishing now he’d said Yve could have anything else she wanted for Christmas but this. He’d have to be more careful next time. “I know that it’s short notice, but I want it done up right. Every room on the lower floors.”

He opened the door for her and looked around. He wasn’t sure what she’d think if she ran into his usual crew of household help. The faeries kept his house spotless, and even his cook was a troll that he’d rescued some years ago. Vinnie actually thought about taking Ms. Patrick to his kitchen just to scare her off. But he saw Yve standing on the table in the main hall and decided he might be better off if he didn’t.

“Would you like a real tree?” He would, and told her that he wanted things to be as natural as possible. “It says on my notes that you wish the tree to be decorated with cut flowers. That might not last until the holiday if you do that. I have some very lovely artificial ones that no one could tell the difference.”

“I will.” The flowers wouldn’t last long anyway. The magical creatures that lived there would eat them and replace them daily. It was Yve’s idea to have flowers for them that they’d not get under usual circumstances. The weather had kept some of the flowers they loved to eat in the summer, but most were all gone now. The decorator said she would do it his way.

It took her two hours to go through the house and to figure out what needed to be where. He was barely listening to her, but when she paused just long enough for him to realize she was waiting on an answer, he’d look to Yve. She would nod or shake her head no, which wasn’t often, and he would okay it. It wasn’t until she left that he thought he should have paid more attention.

“You do know that this is going to cost more than the cruise I suggested we take?” She nodded, then smiled at him. “I’m not sure I like you right now.”

“You love me very much. And we both know that the party we’re having will be very much fun indeed.” She flew away before what she’d said sank in.

“What party?” She didn’t answer him, and he shouted again. “What party? I didn’t agree to any party.”

He was so fucked.

Chapter 5

Woodrow moved toward his office with one thought in mind. A nap. He was exhausted and a little sore. Connie, the woman he’d fucked all night, had done things to him that he thought were outlawed in all fifty states. But mother fuck, it had been fun. And now, now he was paying for his night of debauchery. He went into his office, locked his door, and sat down. He was nearly asleep when his phone rang. It was his secretary, Jane something or other.

“You have five minutes until the meeting with the other partners starts, there are fifty-three messages from your wife, and Mr. Dillard wants to know if you can meet with him now.” He wished he’d let the stupid thing ring when she added a few more things to her list. “Your wife said she will be coming down here at noon if you do not return her calls.”

“Call her back and explain to her that I’ve been working here all night so she can afford that little pool guy she’s fucking.” He heard her shock through the phone. “Never mind. Get her on the line for me. Tell Leonard I’m having domestic problems again, and have the meeting delayed for twenty minutes if you can.”

As soon as the phone rang, he snatched it up and caught her in mid cursing. “…if he thinks I’m going to sit around on my ass and wait for him to get his ass home, then he’s fucking nuts. And I’m not going to let him fuck me again. There is no telling what sort of diseases he fucking has now. There is nothing he won’t fuck.”

“Are you sure you don’t have me confused with yourself?” She sputtered and he continued, smiling. “You call here again and piss my secretary off, and I will throw your whoring ass out so fast that you won’t have time to tell lover boy what the fuck happened to you.”

“You were out with that woman again, weren’t you? What the hell do you think you’re going to do when one of them gives you something to make your dick fall off? You’re not running to me, that’s for fucking sure.” He laughed and she told him to fuck off.

“I did. Quite a few times, as a matter of fact. Maybe next time I see her, I’ll take you along so you can see if you can get a few pointers. That kid you’re fucking, he might need something to keep it up when you tell him you’re old enough to be his mother.”

“I most certainly am not.” She started to string together some words that he was sure she was making up.

“I’m sick of your shit. When I get home, we’re going to have a little talk. I’m sick to death of your nagging whining.” Someone knocked at his door, then opened it. He waved Leonard in. “And I swear to Christ, Loretta, if you try any shit on me, I’m going to ruin you.”

He hung up and leaned back in his chair. Leonard laughed as he, too, sat down. It wasn’t even nine-thirty and he wanted to call it a day. Leonard put a file on his desk. Woodrow noticed that his nose was covered in a fine white dust. When Woodrow wiped his nose, Leonard did as well. The man was the biggest coke-head he’d ever met.

“The nurse that Nolan had help us out on our problem has disappeared. I mean, like her family is worried about her kind of disappeared.” Woodrow picked up the file and looked it over. It was on Abbie, and there was a copy of her medical record there. “Abigale isn’t there either. No one is saying shit about her, and we can’t even find anything in their billing. It’s like she was never there.”

“You mean she’s just left the hospital?” Leonard shrugged. “That can’t be right. Look at this. It says she has a broken arm, a concussion, as well as numerous deep puncture wounds that they have no idea how she sustained.” It was a lie, and they both knew it. There had been arrows in her back. His were at least three of the ones in her back, as well as one in her leg. He had watched her stumble when he’d hit her.

“Don’t know. And frankly don’t really give a fuck. She’s out of our hair as of right now. Way I figure it, she’s either dead somewhere or she isn’t going to tell. Either way, we’re home free.” Woodrow didn’t think it was that easy but said nothing. “What about this weekend? You going up with me? I know that two of the fresher ones are going to be ready to do whatever we tell them for a chance to get out.”

He felt his cock twitch in his pants. A chance to play this soon after Abbie was dangerous, but hell, the whole thing was insanely risky. That’s what made it so fucking fun. And since all of them had money and were well liked in the social settings they attended, it didn’t really matter to them if one little bitch did get away, really. Now that he thought about it, it was stupid for them to worry about one dumbass nobody. They’d have her or her family paid off in the event she suddenly got herself killed before it ever hit the papers.

“Yeah, I’ll go. Nolan going?” Leonard rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Let me guess, the wife is giving him hell about something again? Why the hell is he still married to that shrew anyway?”

“I would imagine the same reason you are still married to yours.” He wanted to get pissed, but Leonard was right. Why was he married to her? “I take it she’s having an affair too.”

“Yeah, the pool boy. And I mean boy. I think he’s nineteen. At least this new woman I’m fucking is older. But fuck me, Leonard, she can make you whimper and beg all at the same time. I’ve never been so fucking worn out from one night of sex like this in my life.” Woodrow reached down to run his fingers over his cock just to calm him down. The sucker would go and go no matter what the body said last night. “I’ve moved her into my apartment, so all I have to do is go there to get myself all relaxed.”

“She got a friend?” Leonard laughed, but Woodrow had an idea. Connie had told him right before he left her this morning that she wanted to play more. She’d even mentioned that she would like to fuck another man while he watched.

“She might.” Leonard stood up when Woodrow told him he’d ask her. “I’ll get on this as soon as I can. I know we have that meeting, but I think I should spend a little of this morning trying to find the bitch.”

“Good. I’ll fill you in on anything going on. And we’ll have lunch today in my office. I want to go over a few things about the cabin.” Leonard walked to the door, and when he was gone, Woodrow shut it and locked it. He really did want to find out what he could about Abbie.

Two hours later he was no closer to finding anything than he’d been before. He did find that she had a brother and that he’d just flown into town. Woodrow couldn’t find out where he was staying and figured he was at his sister’s house. He was just pulling up her address when his phone rang.

“I’m trying to reach Abigale Curry’s boss. This is the fourth time I’ve been transferred around, so if you plan to do so, I’m coming down there. I’ve tried to be polite, but this is enough.” Before Woodrow could ask him what he wanted, the man continued. “This is Graham Curry, her brother, and I’ve a few things to get answered about her job.”

“Mr. Curry, this is Woodrow Henson. I’m Abbie’s report to boss. What can I tell you?” Woodrow couldn’t believe his luck and leaned back in his chair. “We’d heard she was injured. A car accident, I heard.”

He was fishing to see what the brother knew. The other man snorted. He didn’t think she’d told him much. Otherwise the police would be here and he would not have gotten this phone call from him. When Woodrow started to ask again, Graham started ranting. There was no other word for it.

“I haven’t a fucking clue what’s going on with her. All I know is I get this fucking call from the bastard telling me she’s been hurt and that they doubt she’ll make it through the night. Then after I clear my calendar for her, cancel appointments that I had set up for weeks, I get here and she tosses my ass out of her room. Even my wife was upset about that one, and she was not happy I left her at home this time either. And that fucking bastard Vinnie is back in her life. He’s who called me. I’d kill him if I thought I could get away with it.” Woodrow started taking notes when he talked about her near death. He had no idea who this Vinnie person was, but it was worth checking him out. “I told him once before if he came back I’d expose him.”

“Expose him?” Graham told him it was between him and Vinnie. “Where is your sister now? She’s not called into work if she is that much better that she’s left the hospital. We need to know her plans.”

“Plans? Good luck with that. And how did you know she left the…? You know, I don’t really care. All she’s told me is that she’s going to do things her way and for me to back off. I’m her brother and it’s my responsibility to care for her. When she lets me. I’ve never seen a woman who needs a keeper as much as she does.” Woodrow wondered if they were talking about the same woman. The Abbie that worked for them was the most organized, independent woman he’d ever met, and she could whip a department into shape better and faster than most men he knew. And she’d done so without doing it on her back as most would.

“Do you think you can get a message to her to call the office? We’d really like to see about her coming back to work.” Graham snorted again and Woodrow thought about how immature he sounded. Not to mention a world class prick.

“I’ll try. But as of now, I’m going to stay for a few more days, a week at the most. Then I’m going back home. She’s not seeing the bastard as far as I know, and right now that’s a priority in my book. He’s an animal, and I want him away from my sister. If she can’t make good decisions about this, then I’m going to do what I threatened them with.” Woodrow decided he’d dig a little deeper into the brother as well. He’d bet his last dollar that he was a lawyer of some sort. And a man who was used to getting his own way. “I just called to see if you guys knew where she might be. The staff at the hospital told me that she just checked out about an hour ago, but they won’t tell me where to.”

“As I’ve said, we didn’t know either. Last I heard she was in an accident and, like you, I thought she was near dead.” Woodrow made another note to see if he could find out about her release to another hospital and underlined it twice. She was out there somewhere with knowledge enough to cause them a little bit of trouble. And if her brother was an attorney, he would have to be bought off as well. Maybe he’d look into that as well. It might be a way to find her quicker. “I believe if you give me until the end of business tomorrow, we might have something here. Would you like to meet for dinner somewhere and discuss it?”

“Sure. I’m writing this entire thing off anyway, so I might as well have some fun while we’re at it. I don’t suppose you know of a girl who might like to party hard, do you? While the wife is away, the mouse might as well get some fun in, right?” Woodrow decided that despite this man’s faults, he thought he might like him. “I like it rough.”

“I’ll see what I can find.” Woodrow hung up a few minutes later after giving Graham Sable’s number. He called her to let her know that he had a client for her. While he was on the phone with her, he decided that he might need just a little of her voice to jump start his night. It was the tone of her sleepy voice that had him freeing his cock and taking it to his hand.

“You like to jerk off a lot, don’t you, baby? Wouldn’t you like it better if I were to go down on you under that big desk of yours? Suck you while you did some wheeling and dealing on the phone?” He moaned and her throaty laugh had his balls tighten up. “Hum, I can almost feel you sliding in and out of my mouth. That thick cock of yours was made for sucking. Oh, baby, my pussy is so wet for you.”

Woodrow closed his eyes and thought of Connie. Her pussy had been so clean that he’d been able to suck her clit without a single hair in his mouth. He decided that it was his favorite way to eat pussy, clean and wide open. When Sable told him she was coming, he did as well. It wasn’t a hard climax or really all that satisfying, but he’d come and that was enough for now. After telling Sable that he’d settle up with her when he saw her next, he told her again about Graham. She said she’d care for him herself. For the first time since he’d met her and fucked her, he wasn’t jealous because he was sharing. Woodrow started looking up Graham Curry as soon as he cleaned himself up.

~~~

Kennedy was just coming down the stairs from the nursery when someone rang the doorbell. She told Butler that she’d get it and moved to open it. When she saw the woman standing there leaning heavily on the cane, she rushed to help her in.

“I’ve a mind to knock you on your butt. What are ye doing out and about when you were just…did you leave the clinic? I don’t think ye should have done it.” Abbie sat down on the couch and leaned her head back. “Should I call Vinnie?”

“No.” Kennedy raised a brow at her tone. She’d nearly broken her ear drum with her shout, and Kennedy decided that Vinnie needed to be informed that his mate was out. But when she sat down, she thought the girl might need to be left alone for a while yet.

“I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t know his phone number.” She never lifted her head from the couch as she spoke. “The only one I could find was Mr. Payne’s, and that wasn’t all that easy to get. Did you know that the man down at your gate said that the only reason he was letting me in is because of who I smell like? What does that mean?”

“He’s a bear. Could probably smell Vinnie on you.” Kennedy giggled when Abbie lifted her arm and inhaled deeply. “I’m doubting that you’ll smell him like we do.” Brigitte came in with a tray of tea and cookies. “Thank you, dear. I was just thinking that Miss Curry could use something.”

“I’m exhausted, if you want to know the truth. And don’t call me Miss Curry. It makes me sound like a spicy dinner, and I’m not.” Kennedy laughed as she poured the tea. “I would like to talk to Vicente if you know his phone number. Or if you don’t want to give it to me, have him call me.”