“You’re awake,” she says against my lips.
“I would never sleep if I could touch you all day.” I lick at her bottom lip, then graze the top one with my fang, marveling that I have the right to do so.
”Let’s go back to your room so you can touch me all night.”
She is beautiful in the blood-red of the moonlight. That’s when I note the color of the night. It’s the night of the lunar eclipse. The moon is in the shadow of the sun. Some of the sun’s light passes through the satellite, but the dilution isn’t enough to burn a vampire.
“There’s something I must do first,” I tell her.
Zahara’s grin turns down into a frown. “Are we back to you turning down sex again?”
I press a kiss to her frown. “I won’t be long.”
“You forget that you’re my captive,” she says as she tightens her arms and legs around me. “You’re supposed to do as you’re told.”
I grip her ass in my hands. My cock is ready to follow her command. To let her know that her request was heard, I press her core up against the evidence. Her gaze immediately goes hooded.
“I promise I won’t be long,” I repeat. “Then I’ll let you boss me around.”
”You’ll let—”
I capture her lips in another kiss. When she gasps, I invade her mouth. My tongue tangles with hers as though in a duel. If we had more time, I’d let her win. I’d let her have a taste of the control she thinks she wants. But I need to make this quick, and get the answers I need to give her what she truly wants: a child.
So, I suck at her tongue until she mewls. When she gives, I score the tip of her tongue with a fang. I pull at the droplet of her blood that pools there. It’s only an appetizer. I’ll be back for the main course as soon as possible.
When I set Zahara down, she wobbles. She clings to me, and I can see stars in her dazed eyes. I hold her until she regains her balance.
“Fine,” she says clearing her throat. “You can go. But don’t be long.”
“As you command,” I say, stealing another taste of her before I head off with Gaius.
I plan to follow that last order. I plan to learn how to give her the child she wants. Then she’ll have everything she asked for. And it will be me who gave it to her, and not some fool prophecy.
Chapter 22
Virius
I press my fingers to my lips. The pressure of my fingertip causes a dam at the center of my bottom lip. On either side the blood backs up, waiting impatiently to rush into the divot.
Slipping my tongue beneath my finger, I lick at the skin there. I can still taste her on my lips. She’s at the corners of my mouth as well. She is under my tongue. Her honey fills my throat.
Zahara is all around me. She is inside me. She is my entire world now. And I will give her everything she has ever dreamed of.
“We’re here.”
Gaius puts the car in park outside a club in downtown Tucson. The place doesn’t share the same upscale class that clings to the velvet ropes of Club Toxic. But its dark decor still beckons those who seek the nightlife.
Inside, the layout is that of an actual club and not a BDSM cover. A bar sits in one corner. Tables and chairs dot the walls. The focal point of the room is the stage where musical instruments lie in wait for their masters.
A woman is on the stage. She runs her hands over each instrument. She doesn’t strum chords or strike keys, but there is a hum coming from the stage, as though the music is eager to get out of her.
“Mama, listen.”
Clanging and thumps ring out from the stage as a child bangs and thrashes the drum set. Surprisingly, the raucous is rhythmic and systematic. The child’s playing sounds like what could be called music.
“You got it, baby. Rock on, Luci.” The woman bobs her head in time to the music. Maternal pride is stretched wide on her face as she smiles at the kid.
“We’re closed,” says a male voice that carries as much bass as the drum set. “Show starts at ten.”
“We’re not here for the show,” says Gaius, his trademark smile in place. “My brother and I are here to talk to you.”
This must be Dom, I think, though I frown as I look at the man. He doesn’t smell like a vampire. Not exactly. He doesn’t entirely smell human, though I can scent the blood rushing through him. I hear it pumping through his heart.
The harsh breath of air he pushes through his teeth seems like a loss of more than his temper. Dom inhales, as though he needs the breath to make words come out of his frowning mouth. “Whatever it is, I’m not interested.”
“What are you?” I say.
Dom turns his gaze on me. He might not be a full vampire anymore, but he is still a dangerous male. “I’m the man who’s about to throw you out of here on your ass if you don’t get your fangs away from my family.”
I glance back at the stage. The beating of the drums has gone silent. The woman stands in front of the child. Her hands are balled into fists as though she will tear through us if we take a step towards them.
“He’s yours?” I say, looking at the kid holding the drumsticks. “How did you do that?”
“If you’re looking for the Sex Ed class,” says the child’s mother, “go across town to the middle school.”
“Mama, what’s sex ed?” says the kid.
Both parents wince at the inquiry.
“Kate, take him to the back, will you?” says Dom.
Kate wrinkles her features behind Dom’s back.
