"And what are you willing to do to get what you want?" she went on as if he hadn"t spoken.
"You mean besides compelling you to be my sweet f.u.c.k slave?"
His f.u.c.k slave? Well, all right. That had a ring to it. Smiling, she snaked her hand out and reclaimed his c.o.c.k. "I"m going to rest for the coming festivities. Wake me when we arrive, honey boy."
He leaned over and brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth. He whispered something she didn"t understand. But it didn"t matter. She liked the sound of whatever he said.
She closed her eyes and settled back against his seat, her fingers resting in his pants.
Chapter Nine.
Jace watched the soft restaurant lighting playing over the features of the woman seated across the table from him. She wore her dark hair short and natural. A pair of warm brown eyes smiled at him from a pretty face with a medium brown complexion. The red silk dress she wore caressed her slender body like the proverbial second skin. Although he had known Dawn Grier for over forty years, he couldn"t recall their ever sharing a meal out.
She sipped her gla.s.s of wine. "So, Jason, what brings on this dinner invitation? What can I do for you?"
"What makes you think I want anything from you?"
She shrugged, her eyes gleaming with amus.e.m.e.nt. "Oh, I don"t know. When a man I "ve known for forty-two years-who"s never showed any personal interest in me-asks me out to dinner, I start wondering what he wants."
He grimaced. "Okay, you have me there."
"So what do you want?"
He pushed his plate of lasagna away and sat back in his chair. "I need some advice."
"From me?" She arched a brow. "Why not go to Wilfredo or Benito?"
"I"ve already talked to Wilfredo, but I need a woman"s advice on this."
She smiled. "Then who better to talk to about women than our Benito?"
A picture of a tall, dark man flashed through his mind. Although he had come to view all of the hunters as siblings, he was particularly fond of Benito Maria Placeres. Although the Spaniard"s insistence on calling Jace Wilfredo"s blue-eyed boy annoyed the h.e.l.l out of him, Benito was fiercely loyal and always had his back in a fight.
He nodded. "Benny is good with the ladies, but I need advice on how to handle and woo a certain type of lady."
"I"m listening."
He raked a hand through his hair. "Are you still friends with Kyan Milano?"
She sat her gla.s.s down on the table, her dark eyes narrowing. "Why are you asking about Kyan? She"s not like the others." Her hand shot across the table and clamped around his wrist, her dark eyes widening. "Please don"t tell me Wilfredo is sending you after her. She"s not a rogue!"
He patted her hand with his free one before peeling her fingers away from his wrist. "Calm down, Dawn. My asking about her has nothing to do with hunting."
She settled back against her seat, gulping in deep breaths. "Then why are you asking if we"re still friends if you"re not about to warn me away before you take her down?"
He shook his head. Hunters. Sometimes they could be almost as paranoid as the rogues they hunted. "I asked because I need advice on how to woo a fem. Since your best friend is a fem-"
Her eyes widened. "You and Kyan? I didn"t know-"
"Me and... ? No!" He blinked at her. d.a.m.n, but she jumped to conclusions faster than anyone he knew. "She"s not the fem I want to woo."
"Oh. Why not?"
"Because she"s not."
"Don"t you like Latin women?"
"I"m not interested in wooing her, Dawn."
She shrugged. "Who are you interested in wooing?"
He considered her in silence for several moments. She, along with the other hunters, had heard of Wilfredo"s encounter with Tat and her brothers. Like the others Wilfredo had lavished with affection and taught to hunt rogues, she was totally devoted to him. His enemies were her enemies. She would not look kindly on helping him woo a fem who had once threatened to hunt down and kill all of Wilfredo"s hunters. "Does that matter?"
"It might. Fems, like human women, are different. What works for one won"t work with another. So who is she?"
"You don"t sound surprised to hear I want to woo a vampire."
She shrugged. "I"m not. Considering all the time we spent around them, it"s bound to happen to one or two of us."
"One or two?"
She nodded. "h.e.l.l, I"ve seen a few vampires I"d like to get to know up close and personal myself."
"Really?"
She moistened her lips. "Yes."
"Anyone I know or might have to hunt one day?"
She averted her gaze. "How do I know who you know?"
He leaned forward in his seat and touched the hand she had clenched into a fist on the table beside her gla.s.s. "Who is it?"
"Last year when Benito and I were hunting the Marcos brothers, our search took us to a club called Eternity. Have you heard of it?"
"No."
"It"s one of the clubs owned by full-blood Andrei Forester."
Jace tensed. Tat"s twin brother. "You"re interested in him?" "Not him. While Benito waited outside, I went in." While vampires could usually smell a hunter"s presence, for some reason, Dawn had the ability to move among them without setting off their internal alarms. He nodded. "Go on."
"I encountered three vampire brothers. They were the most gorgeous males I"ve ever seen. They had these beautiful clear green eyes and red-gold hair. One in particular was breathtaking. His name was Damon duPre. I looked in his eyes and felt as if I were falling into a bottomless pit."
"Sounds scary instead of s.e.xy." She shrugged. "You had to be there." "Whathappened between you two?" He narrowed his gaze. "He didn"t hurt you, did he? If he did, I"ll-" "Save it, Jason. I"ve already had the big brother spiel from Benito. Nothing happened. I pretended to be interested in taking a vampire lover, got the info we
needed and left." "And?" "And I"ve been thinking about him ever since." "Have you done anything about it?" "No. You know what would have happened if I"d dared to mention my interest in duPre to Wilfredo." He smiled. "Oh yes. I can almost hear him ranting and raving that he"s not going to have any daughter of his defiling herself with just any run-of-the-mill vampire." She nodded. "I can almost hear it too." "What about Benny?" "Every time I mention duPre, he turns Rambo on me. Two weeks ago he threatened to get a couple of the others together to take out the duPres."
He nodded. Benito, like most Latin males, was protective of all the female hunters, even though each was capable of
handling herself around vampires. "What do you know about them?" "Besides the fact that they"re all to-die-for?
Nothing. Will you talk to Benito and get
him to back off?" He frowned. "Are they rogues?" She shuddered. "G.o.d, I hope not." "I" ll look them up." "And if they"re rogues?" "I can promise you that I have no interest in killing any of them." "If they"re rogues and you"re sent after them?" He shook his head slowly. He had never refused to dispatch any vampire Wilfredo had sent him after. Each and every vamp he"d been sent to take out had deserved it. Despite what Tat thought, he did not follow Wilfredo"s orders blindly. He always researched a vamp to decide for himself if he needed killing before hunting him. "If I disagree with Wilfredo, I"ll tell him so and why."
"And if he sends others after them?" He narrowed his gaze. "There will be nothing I can do. You know it"s forbidden to harm another hunter." She sighed and nodded. "I know, and I wasn"t suggesting you do that." "Weren"t you?" "No." She shook her head. "I"m just feeling a little strange lately. duPre barely spoke to me and yet I can"t stop thinking about him." Shewidened her gaze and smiled. "And I don"t even find white guysattractive." "Why the h.e.l.l not?"
"Your d.i.c.ks are usually too small, you have no rhythm, you can"t sing and your a.s.ses are all flat as h.e.l.l. A woman likes a man with enough a.s.s to hold when she"s being f.u.c.ked."
"Well d.a.m.n, Dawn, I didn"t realize white guys had so many fatal flaws." She grimaced. "Sorry, Jason, but facts are facts." "Really? You know what they say about white men as lovers, don"t you?" "No. What do they say?" "Once you go white, you" ve got it right." She laughed. "Did you just make that up? I"ve never heard it." "You" ll know it"s true once you get the right white lover." Her smile vanished and she sighed again. "So who is your fem? You never said." "Her name is Ana...Tatiana Forester." She sucked in a breath and stared at him in silence for several long moments.
Finally she shrugged. "She"s beautiful." "Is that all you have to say?" She nodded. "Oh, I know she gave Wilfredo a verbal dusting down, but I don"t think he took it personally. And if her brother had killed you or one of the others, Wilfredo would have done a lot worse than give someone a verbal dressing down."
Wilfredo"s loyalty and affection for the hunters he called his children was well known in the hunter and vampire communities. "True. So we"ve both been foolish enough to fall for vampires. What can you tell me about wooing her?"
"Does she know of your interest?" "Yes." She tilted her head and stared at him. "You"re sure?" "Very sure." "How?" "We"ve made love more than once." She blinked. "Does she know who you are?" "If you"re asking if she knows I was sent to dispatch her brother Vladimir, yes. She knows." "And she still slept with you?" "Yes." "Then what makes you think you haven" t already won her over?" "Trust me when I tell you I have some bridges to rebuild with her." "Tell me more so I know what we"re dealing with." We? He nodded. That was one of the benefits of being one of Wilfredo"s hunters, you inherited an entire group of brave men and women who would walk through the fires of h.e.l.l to help you. He motioned to the waiter. Over fresh drinks, they sat and plotted strategy.
When they returned to the mansion several hours later, he and Dawn parted company in the upstairs hallway. "Aren"t you coming to say good night to Wilfredo?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I just want to go to sleep. I"ll see him tomorrow." He nodded and made his way to the master bedroom suite at the end of the hall. He opened the door and stepped inside. Wilfredo, gla.s.ses perched on the end of his nose, looked up. He nodded toward the recliner to his right. "Come and sit with me for a while and tell me how you"re doing, Jason, and who you"ve been with." He took the seat to Wilfredo"s right. "I had dinner and drinks with Dawn." "And did she tell you what"s been bothering her?" He didn"t bother to ask how Wilfredo came to ask that question. "Yes. We had a long talk." "Good. Now it"s time you and I had one. Tonight, while you were out, a policeman came looking for you." "Me? Why?" "He wouldn"t say anything more than that he needed to talk to you." Wilfredo picked up a business card from the table beside his chair and extended it. "He asked that you call him as soon as possible."
Jace read the name on the card. Jordan Guidry-Sonnier. Detective Sergeant, Philadelphia Police Dept. He flicked the card away. "What business can the Philly cops have with me? I don"t even live in the city."
Wilfredo frowned. "I wouldn"t be so quick to brush him off, Jason. He"s not an ordinary human cop. I tried to probe his thoughts but found a mental block."
"You couldn"t penetrate it?" "Of course I could, but then he would have been aware of it." "So who or what is this guy?" "Call him and find out what he wants with you." Jace frowned. "I don"t have time for this s.h.i.t." "You"ll have to make time, Jason." "Why?" "As I said, he"s not a normal cop. I sensed that he not only knew what we do, but was also aware of my lack of humanity. I believe he is a Ritual Latent trained in the art of detection." "So he can sense when he "s dealing with non-humans?" "Yes, and he"s quite capable of taking care of himself." Jace frowned. "You almost sound as if you admire him." Wilfredo shrugged. "Someone with his abilities would make an excellent addition to our family."
"What?" He raked a hand through his hair. It had been well over twenty years since Wilfredo had trained a new hunter.
"He impressed you that much?" "He is a man of strong convictions and courage, with a deep-held desire to protect those most in need of it." Jace arched a brow. "I thought you said you hadn"t probed his mind." "I didn"t, but when you are as old as I am, Jason, there is much you know by the briefest of contacts with another"s mind." "But wouldn"t what we do go against everything he stands for as a police officer?" Wilfredo shrugged. "We only dispatch vampires who prey upon humans. Why should that be contrary to his duties as a police officer?" "I have no idea. So you want me to contact him and tell him, what?" "Find out what he wants with you and feel him out. After that, we"ll see where we go from there."
Tat stood at the airport, watching as an emotional Erica turned from hugging Mikhel to look at Vlad. "Oh, thank you so much!" Before Vlad could respond, Erica flung herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her lips against his.
Instead of giving her a quick hug and a polite peck, as Andrei might have done, Vlad palmed her a.s.s, ground his hips against hers and devoured her lips. Within seconds, Mikhel"s face reddened as Erica moaned and shuddered in clear ecstasy in Vlad"s embrace.
After watching with growing annoyance, Mikhel swore softly and pulled Erica out of Vlad"s embrace. "What the h.e.l.l do you think you"re doing?"
Vlad smiled at Erica, who blushed and leaned against Mikhel. Vlad shrugged. "She was thanking me and I was telling her she was welcome. So. Are we ready to head out to Boston?"
An hour later, walking down the hall to her condo door, Tat thought that the others" flight to Boston, with Vlad piloting, was going to be very interesting.
Several feet from her door, she saw several vases filled with roses of various colors placed along the outside wall of her penthouse condo.
She carried the vases inside before she plucked the small card from between the petals of the middle vase containing a dozen yellow roses. Holding the small card against her chest, she closed her eyes. Which of her lovers had sent the flowers? Jason didn"t appear to have a romantic bone in his hard, beautiful body. But after she"d sent him home, allowing Jason to stay, Tim had no reason to send her such a profusion of roses. The only other male who had shown much interest in her lately was Vitali Boucaro, but he hadn"t given her the impression he was the flower-sending kind of vampire.
Heart racing, she read the message.
Forgive me. Jace.
Tim would have written about sending roses for his beautiful rose and pleaded for forgiveness. She wasn"t sure which approach she liked best. Each male had different qualities and abilities. And she missed and wanted them both. There were valid reasons why she should avoid each. Jason was the hunter who had set out to kill Vladimir. Pursuing a relationship with him would p.i.s.s off her entire family. Tim was no longer the human she had fallen so deeply in love with. After having initially rejected her, he had decided he"d made a mistake. Instead of just asking for her forgiveness, which she would have freely given, he had a.s.sumed that to win her back he would need to be something more than human. He had aligned himself with a group of vampires called the Vamptues. Many of the Vamptues were also nocturenes.
As she understood it, the process of becoming a member required at least two steps. In addition to the living tattoo he"d been required to get, Tim had to swear allegiance to the vampire whose blood had been used in the Vamptue creation. It was also rumored that the living tattoo quickly took on a life and personality of its own, usually in keeping with that of the blood donor.
In a very short time, the human she had loved and known as Mike Timbersmith would no longer exist. Already, with their recent encounters, she could detect a disturbing difference in his behavior.
The ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. She laid the card on the marble-topped hall table and picked up the cordless phone lying there. "h.e.l.lo?"
"Hi, sweet."
"Jason." She struggled to keep her emotions under control. "This is a surprise."
"Why?"
"After some of the things you suggested the last time we saw each other, I didn"t expect to see you again."
"How can you say that when you know how I feel about you?"
I love you. The memory of his hastily whispered words sent a tingle down her spine. What did he know about the dangers and pitfalls of loving a full-blood vampire? She had no doubt that he was in l.u.s.t with her, as she was with him. But in love with her? She doubted that.
"I"m going to be blunt, Jason. We share a powerful l.u.s.t for each other, but we have no future together. We"ve explored our shared l.u.s.t on two separate occasions and that will have to be sufficient."
"Don"t count on that, Tatiana. You can talk of powerful l.u.s.ts all you want, but it won "t change anything for either of us."
She frowned. "What"s that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"Are you brazen enough to imagine I"m in love with you?"
"Are you liar enough to deny it?"
She narrowed her gaze. "You have a strange way of apologizing, Jason. Let me give you a little advice. Accusing me of f.u.c.king around and calling me a liar is not the way to get on my best side." She broke the connection and resisted the urge to slam the receiver down.