Oh. She wanted me like that. I stared at her wide-eyed."Um." Athena was a dangerous woman. I didn't want to hurt her feelings in fear of being backhanded into eternity. "Um."She tilted her head. "Don't you find me attractive? Most do.""Uh, yeah … but Athena, I'm not gay."Athena shrugged. "I have had male lovers just as I have had female lovers. But I'm not gay either. I'm just, as you would call it, a Vampire. A physical release for me has no boundaries. My body or shell has little to do with that release." She grinned like a child with a toy. "I'll show you."She took a step back and transformed into a tall, well-built man. He still looked like her with long black hair and green eyes. "Is this better?" My eyes grew wider. I didn't know that we could do that …"Or what about this?" Her voice became masculine. She transformed again, and I had to turn my head away.She looked exactly like Alexis."My love," she said in his voice. Then she placed her hand on my cheek. I je
I rolled my eyes. "Everything has changed. I can't be the same person if you take away my choices. I can't be me if you lord your power over me. I won't be the same person you fell in love with if you take away my will! You don't want a willing lover—you want a possession.""That is not true."I shook my head. "Look. I chose to love you, not because you gave me permission to do so but because I wanted to do it. I didn't want to wait ninety-nine years before I could be with you, and I begged you to let me return to you." I stepped closer to him. "But it was you who sent me out into the world to live and to love, remember?" "Now you act as if I have betrayed you?" I closed my eyes, contemplating the grief I'd feel if I lost my love for Alexis. I didn't want to have this breakdown right now! "Will you please return me to my battle? I have some unfinished business I need to take care of." Alexis turned his back, lowered himself to the floor, and walked away from me. "I apologize,
Monica squeezed my hand.I closed my eyes in relief. "Are you in pain? Squeeze once for no, twice for yes."She squeezed my hand once. "Do you know what happened to you?" She shakily squeezed my hand twice."I'm so sorry that happened to you, sweetie. But we got them, all of them. The Vampires have been feasting on Werewolf blood. They're gone, sweetie. They're gone." Monica squeezed my hand twice. "Yes, Monie, Yes." I took a deep breath. "Do you want me to turn you?" No response. I felt tears drip down my cheeks. "You're not going to make it, Monica. If you weren't a donor, you would have never survived as long as you have." I kissed her neck lightly. "It's your choice, though. Your choice, sweetie."There was still no response. I heard a low rumbling noise vibrating against my lips. Monica was trying to talk past her ruined face.I strained to hear her. "B-bite m-me."I closed my eyes. I had never turned anyone although I had been asked to more than once. I had
Paul came through the French doors into the bedroom drying his hair with a towel before climbing in bed with me.He wore nothing more than a smile. Paul loved to swim first thing in the morning and enjoyed walking around in the buff. Good thing the patio was private. We loved making love under the moon and stars, but now it was daylight.That's right—daylight. I could wake up whenever I wanted. Or if Paul wanted, he could wake me. The sun no longer offered me a barrier.The bedroom in our new home was the best place in the entire world. We never stayed another night in the old house. The memories were too horrible. While we waited for our new home to be ready for us, we stayed with Ran in his and Julie's house, and that was a soothing balm for us all. Paul and I disagreed over having a television set in our bedroom. He wanted one. I didn't.I won. But we had a sound system that played every type of music from R & B to Alternative and Oldies. The floor of the bedroom was a
I knelt beside both of them. "Hi, baby Julie. You gonna let Uncle Ran give you your bottle?"Ran chuckled. "Kim, I'll be B. J.'s protector, but I think I'll leave the feeding and diaper changing to you and Paul."I'm glad I had a "protector" in Athena. Her tip saved me from the Elder Council, which finally completed its investigation of me. I'm obviously still among the undead because the Elder Council did not carry out its wish to rid me from the Vampire Nation. When Malarias returned from Spain and I was able to give testimony to the Elder Council, it saw something intriguing within my memories. They saw I was privy to more than the secret of day walking Vampires. They knew that I knew the Elders willingly sacrificed Master Vampires to pointless deaths by initiating them to an Elder Council that only day-walkers could join. They also knew that I knew the ultimate reason for their exile of Alexis—to prevent us from joining forces and becoming a powerful duo. What saved my life wa
-The Return of Alexis-I rubbed my eyes and tried not to fall into another funk. Some thought that after a year my emotions should have improved. After all, we'd saved Tyler and Jason and we'd defeated the werewolf pack that had attacked and almost destroyed us--the beasts that killed my Tige, my vampire father, and Julie, my vampire sister, daughter, and friend. I had lost too many friends. Terrible things had happened in this past year. Monica with her California tan, piercing blue eyes, and model good looks. It still haunts me to think about what had been done to her beautiful body as well as Tyler's and Jason's.My eyes burned with tears I knew I should not shed. I brushed them away quickly, not because I was tired of giving in to them, but because the sight of my tears would be a dead giveaway to the changes I've been trying so hard to conceal.You see, what gives a vampire life is blood. It's what our sweat, our saliva, and our tears are made of. When we cry, we cry blood
I wasn't much into pain but the succubus in me loved it. Paul lapped gently at my injured nipple. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of his tongue as he took the time to probe and tease. Then he moved on to the other nipple and showed it the same attention.I wrapped my legs around his waist, reached down between us, and undid his pants. He reached back to push his pants down over his wondrous ass. Paul's ass was like a statue of Adonis, perfect in every way. Using the heel of my bare feet I pressed him closer.Paul suddenly gripped my legs and slid my body forcibly down to the end of the chair.I hissed, sounding like a snake. Paul's responding growl rumbled loudly from his chest. Our creatures were coming forward. My teeth lowered and Paul's did, too. When his teeth lowered, his face morphed slightly. His jaw elongated and widened to accommodate the massive teeth there.He nipped the air inches from my face, and I hissed louder. I locked my legs around his back even tighte
"Kim …"A slow blush traveled up his neck to his cheeks. "I know that it sounds really kinky, but I liked it when it hurt.""Oh," I said quickly—maybe too quickly. "Um, do you want me to … hurt you more?"He glanced up to the ceiling after an uncomfortably long pause. "Julie's awake.""She's not crying," I said, not letting him off the hook so easily."I should put her back to sleep before she's fully awake." Paul kissed my nose. "We can … talk about this later." He seemed uncomfortable about this. I wasn't too comfortable myself.I've done plenty of outrageous and unconventional deeds as a vampire from hopping from one lover to another to questionable actions with my donors that might be considered borderline lesbian. So I'm not judgmental. His nervousness, however, gave me pause.I know he wasn't going to ask me to dominate him because his werewolf would never allow that even if the pain turned him on. My brow drew together. Was he going to ask if he could dominate me? Maybe P