Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (176 page)

Cody's eyes narrowed. He wasn't
exactly sure who or what these guys were, but he had his
suspicions. They were ignorant in ways that didn't make sense, like
not knowing about flying vampires.

From the kidnapping of humans – a
crime considered by some as abuse against animals – to attacking
one of the elder's daughters. Yeah, that meant a jump right to a
death sentence. She'd been hurt once tonight already. He cast a
worried glance down at her crumpled form. Was that wound bleeding
faster?

"So what are we going to do about
this situation? There are two of us and one of you. We can take you
out. You can't kill both of us." The older vampire grinned at Cody,
his yellowed teeth evidence of a long unhealthy life.

"You're not going to walk away from
this unharmed. You've crossed the line attacking her."

"Why? What's she to you? Just another
dumb human." The two men looked at each other and grinned before
turning back to face him. "You're into humans." They chortled
aloud. "Christ, why don't you just do your dog or something else
that's much less trouble?"

Icy rage filled his veins. They were
going to die. That's all there was to it. That they could look at
Tessa and see just an animal was beyond acceptable. It also gave
him a small insight into what Tessa went through on a regular
basis. Did she have to deal with this kind of talk from her own
people? Is that why she'd turned her back on them?

Female vampires weren't known for
being homebody 'Martha Stewart' types. They were cold, bitchy
toward their own sex and could strip a male bare with their cutting
words – if one crossed them.

Tessa's mother fell into a category
all her own, having borne three children. Most vampires had none –
or if they had any, they stopped at one. That added to the
conjecture about Tessa. He'd heard others speak about her as if she
were retarded. Not like them. Tessa was better than they were any
day. She cared. About her friends, her family, even the human race.
She hated the mess the world was in, and she never backed down from
a fight.

He straightened his shoulders and
slowly drew out his wings. He was from a damn long-lived line of
vampires and he could take these assholes. It would take a lot to
kill him.

The two men eyed him warily. They
backed up at the new look in his eyes. "Now look here. We can't
just let you disappear. Who knows what kind of trouble you're
likely to pull down on us." They shook their heads. "It ain't
happening."

Cody
extended his wings, letting his fangs slide down fully. Their eyes
widened. They
might
be vampires. He couldn't be sure. They definitely weren't like
him. His lineage went back to the beginning, to one of the ancient
ones, the oldest and strongest of the vampire clans. He had
inherited skills – some the others could only dream of. That he was
young, undeveloped and untested wasn't an issue. They'd pay for
what they'd done this night. For what they intended to
do…

"Shit. I didn't sign up for this."
The chubbier of the two backed up, looked at his partner, who was
still trying to hold his ground. Then he glanced behind him at the
vehicle beside him. "I ain't going to get into a fight I can't
win." He bolted for the driver's door of the black SUV.

"Coward," Cody growled. He never took
his eyes of the remaining asshole.

"Whatever. Keep your pet, then. But
watch your back. You've walked into something bigger than you can
imagine. These vampires aren't going to let you get away with
interfering in our business. This isn't the end of it." Calmly, he
turned and walked over to the other vehicle where he climbed into
the driver's side.

Cody waited a few minutes until the
two vehicles drove down the driveway, then he knelt at Tessa's
side. He had to get her out of here before anyone else
arrived.

"Tessa? Come on, wake up." He studied
the gray cast to her skin and frowned. Vampires had pure white
skin. Tessa's changed daily from pinkish to peach to soft white. He
kinda liked that about her. Not this color though. "Please. I
really don't want to have to explain this to your dad. He's going
to kill me for not protecting you. Tessa, please. Wake
up."

Tessa moaned softly. Her head rolled
as if she were trying to control an unwieldy ball from the
inside.

"Cody," she whispered.

Relief poured through him. 'Thank
God. Hang on, kiddo. I'm taking you home."

"Home?"

"Home," he whispered against her hair
as he slid his arms underneath her slight frame, scooping her up
into his arms. "Hang tight. We'll be there in a couple of
minutes."

"Hurts," she moaned.

Shit. He probably shouldn't have
moved her. What choice did he have though? He couldn't exactly
leave her alone and injured. Instinct screamed to get her the hell
away.

He carried her out into the
night.

"Cody?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Thank you."

The moonlight half slipped out from
behind the clouds to shine down on her ashen face. She looked more
vampire now than she ever had. "You're very welcome." He smiled.
Then he bent and dropped a kiss on her lips.

He felt her surprise. He'd surprised
himself. A kiss on her cheek, her temple, even her hair – all would
be normal and quite acceptable coming from her brother's best
friend. A soft loving kiss on those plump lips – not quite the
same.

And if he couldn't explain it to
himself, he certainly wouldn't be able to explain it to her father
or her brother. He snuck a glance at her out of the corner of his
eye. Concerned relief coursed through him when he realized she'd
fallen unconscious again.

With any luck, she wouldn't remember
the kiss anyway.

***

Tessa opened her eyes briefly. And
she shut them again as wind rushed past her cheeks. Lying warm with
a steady beat under her ear, she realized she was being carried.
She frowned. Comfort and safety enveloped her.

The one
who held her did so carefully, almost lovingly. Peeking beneath her
lashes, she studied the all black clothing in front of her face.
Great. All vampires wore black. She cast her mind back, trying to
remember what could have brought her to this spot. Her head
throbbed on the left side. Was she hurt? That couldn't be good. If
her injury didn't do it, her mother would kill her…Then it came to
her.
Jared.
She
struggled upright, only to have bands of steel tighten around
her.

"Don't move. It's hard enough to
carry you while I'm flying, but landing with you struggling…not
good."

Cody.
Her eyes widened. He was the
one holding her so carefully? Like a delicate package that could
break with the slightest mishandling.
No,
not possible.
She couldn't help tucking
this memory away for closer examination later.

Cody had always been the too-familiar
extra brother and the not-quite-familiar-enough dashing ancient,
the most respected lines of vampires. An allure of mystery
surrounded his entire family. Even though their fathers were best
friends, Tessa had always felt slightly awed around Goran, Cody's
father. There was an older son too, only he was almost a century
older.

Tessa had met him only once and he
seemed as unapproachable as his father. Cody, on the other hand,
had always treated her like an annoying younger sister. Even going
so far as calling her various nicknames, like Tizzy, on
occasion.

Now Cody flew like an archangel,
strong and sure, confident in his abilities. She relaxed into his
arms and enjoyed the novelty of being carried through the
night.

"What happened?" she murmured softly.
She didn't know if he could hear her with the wind whistling around
them. The wind's chill cut through her clothing and attacked her
skin. A shiver slid down her spine. A mallet beat on the inside of
her skull, increasing its tempo every time she moved. She dared not
make a sudden move and send them both crashing to the
ground.

"We were attacked back at the house.
You were hit in the side of the head – again."

"Don't remember."

She felt
his concerned gaze on her.
Interesting.
Then again, her family
was liable to roast him alive when they found out what they'd been
doing. She dimly remembered the earlier part of the evening, but
the head smacking part didn't ring any bells. Maybe that was just
as well. She shivered again, loving the male warmth that wrapped
around her as he snuggled her up closer in his
arms.

"We're almost there. Hang
on."

She couldn't actually hang onto
anything. Her arms were caught up against her chest, and her chest?
Well, she was tucked up against Cody's heart. All kinds of weird
feelings churned around in her stomach, making her wonder if she
were going to be sick. She'd never felt this type of connection and
warmth before.

Cody had always been there – in the
background. Part of the family, but not family. She'd never
considered him anything other than David's irritating best friend.
Now all kinds of feelings were washing through her, and heat was
just one of them. Was this, as she suspected, all due to her head
injury?

Cody descended so quickly, the wind
rushed past her face, lifting and tossing her long hair. The moon
shone behind him, raising his features in relief. How had she never
noticed the clean, chiseled lines of his jaw and high cheekbones?
Or the way the breeze picked up those jet-black curls to play in
the wind? Good thing her hands were tucked out of the way, or
they'd be reaching to see if those strands were as silky as they
looked. Waves of warm delight washed over her, making her tingle.
She frowned with confusion.

What was going on here? She'd never
considered Cody in this light. She'd been too busy drooling over
Jared.

The landing, despite all his efforts
at gentleness, jarred her.

"Ohh." She moaned in pain as her head
bounced.

"Sorry." He straightened and stared
down at her, worry etched into his features. "I tried to be
careful."

"It's okay." It wasn't really,
because now the hammer inside her head had been replaced by a
sledgehammer. As she gasped for breath she tried to hold back the
tears. "It's not your fault."

"I don't think anyone else is going
to believe that," he muttered.

She almost didn't catch his tone. And
couldn't come up with one good reason why people wouldn't believe
him. Cody was one of the good guys. Everyone knew that.

"Oh, my God."

Tessa stirred at the voice. "Where
are we?"

Cody never broke stride as he walked
down the back pathway. If anything, his back stiffened as he
entered the house to the concerned cries of everyone
present.

"We're home."

"Oh, no." She so wasn't ready for
this. She turned her face further into his chest.

He cuddled her closer. "Sorry. Your
mom needs to see to that injury. This is the second one tonight.
Any more than this and it could be the end of you."

"I'm tougher than I look," she
muttered so only he could hear. She refused to open her eyes and
face the glaring accusations she knew would surround
her.

"What the hell happened?" Her
father's roar filled the room, followed by startled silence. "Is
that Tessa? Now what did she do to her hair?"

Tessa moaned, as her dad's voice
turned the sledgehammer in her head into a jackhammer.

"She's been hurt – again. It's her
head. She's in a lot of pain. Can I lay her down somewhere?" Cody
stood in the middle of the living room, turning around, looking for
a place to put her.

Tessa's mother rushed over to them.
Tessa tried to open her eyes but couldn't stand the light from the
kitchen. "Light hurts," she mumbled.

"Let's take her to her room." Her
mother led the way and Cody followed, still carrying Tessa. In his
arms, she didn't feel she was large and awkward or any other of the
other million mixed-up feelings she usually had to deal
with.

Now there were new ones.

"Here. I'll pull back her covers."
Blankets rustled, then Tessa felt the coolness of cotton sheets
under her back as the beautiful warmth of Cody's body lifted away.
She protested.

"
Shhh
. You'll
be fine now. Let your mother take care of you."

Cold on both sides, Tessa curled into
a ball while her mother pulled the blankets over her.

"Cody?"

"I'm here." He reached over to take
her hand gently in his.

"Thanks," she whispered and let the
darkness take her away.

***

"Go. I'll look after her. You need to
explain what happened to Serus. I don't know what's going on, but
this has to stop. She's not like us."

Cody looked over at Tessa's mom in
surprise. "Rhia, I think she's more like us than you
realize."