2 Vampires, Warlocks, And Exes (5 page)

I shook it off and clutched the towel to my chest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snapped.

He folded his arms behind his head and reclined against my pillows. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he asked. “It’s late. I’m going to bed.”

I shook my head vehemently.
“Nuh-uh. We are
not
having another one of your little sleepovers.”

He laughed.
“Fine by me if you’re not interested in sleeping.” He scanned my nearly naked body disinterestedly. “Although I am
really
tired, so it may take me a while to get going.”

Motherfucker, but I almost responded to his challenge by dropping my towel and mounting him. Instead, I angrily went through my dresser drawers trying to find the frumpiest thing possible. I went to the bathroom
carrying an old, shapeless UNLV t-shirt and gray yoga pants. To add to the effect, I piled my hair into a big messy ball on the top of my head. 

Vance grinned when I walked back into the bedroom. “Cute.”

I put my hand on my hip. “Bite me.”

“Only
if you promise to bite back,” he said and winked.

Oh God
, I flashed back to the night I was attacked. I had been poisoned by a demon so Leo needed to remove my infected blood and replace it with his own. His bite was one of the most erotic things I have ever experienced. Drinking his blood in return only made it better. My guilt for fantasizing about one man while with another must have seeped into my subconscious because my vision blurred and then started to change. Leo had turned into Vance. And then there was Leo
and
Vance.

“
Omigod!” I ran back into the bathroom and locked myself in. I sat on the edge of the tub as visions of threesomes danced in my head. Holy fuck, I was so turned on that I was about to explode. My hand subconsciously started moving down to my wet center.
Wait a minute
…Vance was in the next room. In my bed. My skin prickled with the need to be touched by him. I found myself rising automatically, getting ready to walk out into the hall.

I placed my hand on the doorknob just as a knock startled me out of my stupor. “
Karli, are you okay?” Vance asked.

“Uh, yeah.
I’m fine,” I lied. “I’ll be right out.” I took one last deep breath and opened the door. Oh God, he was practically bulging out of his light gray boxers. Gulp.

He framed my face with his hands. “What happened? Are you sure you’re okay?”

My skin sizzled beneath his fingertips. I looked into his eyes and my heart melted. Gone was the cocky jackass who loved to push my buttons. Instead, there was nothing but genuine concern in his gaze as he cradled my cheek. “Oh, fuck it,” I said under my breath.

His brows
creased in confusion. “What?” he asked.

I grinned. “I said, fuck it.” I grabbed his head and pulled his lips down to mine. He instantly responded with so much force that it took my breath
away. I awkwardly pulled my pants down and broke away for a second so he could tear my shirt off. I was standing there in just a pair of red lace panties, with Vance in his boxers and we were making out like a pair of horny teenagers. I shoved my hand down his shorts and wrapped it around the base of his thick, hard cock. 

He gasped before pulling away from our kiss. “
Karli, wait a second. What are you doing?”

I gave him one long stroke. “What does it look like I’m doing?” I asked
flirtatiously.

He groaned. “Christ, I know I’m going to regret this
, but you need to remove your hand from my dick.”

I loosened my grip. “Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you right.”

He extracted my hand. “You heard me.” He turned away and slammed the heel of his hand into the wall. “Fuck!”

I threw my hands up in frustration.
“What’s the problem, Vance? Isn’t this what you’ve wanted all along?”

He picked my shirt up off the floor and threw it at me. “Put some clothes on
, please.”

Okay, I was starting to get offended here. “Are you kidding me? Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want me?” I nodded to his gigantic hard on.
“Because your dick seems to think otherwise.”

“
Of course I fucking want you!” he shouted. “My balls are bluer than the fucking ocean!” He winced as he adjusted himself.

I pulled the shirt over my head. “Well
, then what the hell is wrong with you? Jesus, I’m offering myself up to you on a fucking platter.”

He groaned again as he closed his eyes. It looked like he was counting to ten. “
Goddammit, Karli. Don’t you think I know that?” he said through gritted teeth. “If this were anyone but you, I’d probably behave like a typical guy and jump at the opportunity.”

“Excuse me? Did you really just say that you’d sleep with anyone
but
me?”

He went into the bedroom and started pulling on his jeans. “No, damn you. That’s not what I meant.”

I stomped into the bedroom until I was standing six inches away from him. “Well, then enlighten me.”

He sighed as he pulled me into a tight embrace. “I meant that
because
you’re you, I’m not going to let my dick make decisions for me.” He pulled back to frame my face with his hands again. “Because you’re too important.
This
is too important. I know you don’t take sex lightly. Trust me, Karli, I would love nothing more than to make love to you for countless hours. But I’m not going to let our hormones do something that I know you’d regret in the morning.”

“Vance, I wouldn’t---”

He put his fingers on my lips. “Karli, don’t.” He left me standing there as he walked out into the hall. “Look, if you still want me in the morning, I’d be more than happy to stay in this apartment with you for weeks going at it like bunnies. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to get that wish granted.” He closed the door. “Good night, Karli. I’m going to sleep on the couch.” 

What the hell
had just happened?

*****

All of a sudden, I was in a dark, dank room strung up by a leather strap with my body hanging from a rafter. I was in a haze, like I was coming out of anesthesia. My arms hurt terribly from holding my weight. I looked around trying to figure out where I was but couldn’t quite make sense of it. It came in flashes, but someone was with me.
Squinting my eyes, I tried to make out the shape in front of me. Female. It was definitely a woman standing in front of me. Touching me. She leaned in to kiss me on the lips. As she pulled back, everything became clear. Maria. It was Maria with me in this horrible place. She gave me an evil smile with her fangs extended right before she slid down my body and pierced my skin.

I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat.
Vance was sitting on the edge of my bed holding me in his arms, trying to calm me. “What happened?” he asked.

I took a deep breath
, trying not to hyperventilate. “Maria...she attacked me.”

“
Shh, baby, it was just a nightmare,” he cooed.

“No
, Vance, this felt bigger than that,” I insisted. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I have this horrible sense of foreboding where Maria is concerned.”

He pulled me into him and started petting my hair. “Honey, don’t worry about her. I won’t let her hurt you. I promise.”

“You can’t protect me twenty-four seven, Vance.” I thought of Roxy almost killing me. “Look what happened last time you tried. One of your men got killed, and I came damn close.”

He tightened his grip. “
Karli, listen to me. I will find out why she’s here and I will send her packing.”

“You can’t just make her leave town
,” I argued.

“No, but I can make her meet the sun if I have to.”

I reached over him and turned on my lamp. He had an awfully determined look in his eyes. “Vance, listen to what you’re saying.” I sat back on folded knees. “You’re talking about
murdering
someone in cold blood.”

“No
, I’m not, Karli. I’m simply saying that I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”

“She hasn’t even
done
anything to me! I know what I said earlier, about sensing the big bad from her, but that’s all it was. A hunch.” I narrowed my eyes. “You seem quite eager to pull the trigger. Are you sure this isn’t personal?”

He scoffed. “Of course it’s personal. If she tries to fuck with you, I will make her regret it.
She’s already stolen the most important thing in my life. I’m certainly not going to let it happen again.”

“My God, what the hell happened between you two?” I asked
in astonishment.

He
lay down next to me and tucked me into the crook of his arm. “Don’t worry about it, Karli.” He turned off the light. “Get some sleep. I’ll be right here if you have any more bad dreams.”

Seven

Okay, I’ll admit it. Waking up in Vance’s arms was not an unpleasant way to start the day. Not just for the physically gratifying part of it. Which
, just to be clear, was very nice. But more so because this felt right, so completely natural.

I stretched befor
e looking over to find that he was already awake, smiling down on me. I sat up to join him.

“Good morning
,” he said.

I yawned.
“Morning.”

“Any
more dreams?” he asked.

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. “No. Not that I can remember anyway.”

He kissed me on the forehead as he was getting out of bed. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

While Vance was in the bathroom, I got dressed and went into the kitchen to brew some coffee. A little while later, he joined me at the small
, round dining table adjoining my living room.

He took a sip from the mug I had waiting for him. “So I talked to Leo last night before I went to sleep for the first time.”

I gulped my java down. “Yeah? Why?”

“I told him about Maria being in town and that I needed his help finding h
er,” he replied.

“How is he going to do that?”

He shrugged. “It’s a vampire thing. He can get information where I can’t.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He stood up and searched my kitchen cabinets for a travel mug. As he was transferring his coffee into one, he said, “I need to take this to go. I have to get to the station to gather some more information. My new partner will be in at nine.”

“New partner?”

He nodded. “Yeah, her name’s Tara. She just transferred here from North Carolina.”

“Since when do you need a partner?”

“Since this
town has been going to hell,” he replied. “Well, more so than usual anyway. We’re expanding the preternatural cases department. I met her last week when she first came to town. It’s been funny watching all the guys at the station fawn all over her.”

“Why would they do that? Is she pretty?” Okay, there may have been a hint of jealousy in my tone.

He smirked. “Yeah, she’s pretty. A hot little brunette. But she’s happily married so they’re making fools out of themselves for nothing. Besides, I already have a hottie that I have my eyes on.” He wagged his eyebrows and grabbed his keys out of his pocket. “Anyway, like I said before, I have to go.”

“What?” I asked. “You can’t just leave me hanging like that.”

He bent down to kiss me softly on the lips before heading towards my front door. Before leaving he replied, “I’m not leaving you hanging, Karli. We’ll talk about this later. I’ll call you.” Damn him.

*****

Erica followed me to the back room as I arrived to work later that day. “Hey, Eri,” I said. “How was San Diego?”

“It was incredible!”
she replied. “My family loves Jake and they’re so happy for us!” She lowered her voice before continuing. “Karli, I completed the bonding ritual with my sisters. I can’t even tell you how amazing I feel! I never knew how powerful I could be. It’s like I’m tuned into
everything
around me now! I’m
part of
everything
! ”

The ritual she was referring to was held in a very high regard
in the world of witchcraft. It could only be performed by thirteen siblings of the same sex blessed with magical genes. Since having that many children in one family these days was rare, let alone all of the same gender, it was virtually unheard of. From what Erica’s told me, the ritual would make all of their powers increase exponentially and it would pass down to their children, creating a much stronger magical bloodline. 

I hugged her and offered a smile as I pulled back. “I’m really happy for you
, honey. I truly hope that you and Jake never lose the magic between you.”