Once Bitten, Twice Shy (23 page)

“Rub your clit, Ivie, while I fuck you,” he instructed as he began to move his hips, pulling out and pressing his cock deeper with each thrust. Each time, his thumb would lightly press into my ass.

I moved my hand between my legs, my fingers finding my wet and swollen clit. As I drew closer to the peak, Lex moved his thumb against my ass each time he thrust into me. I continued to touch myself, my orgasm bearing down on me like a freight train at maximum speed because of his dual assault on my body. My breath came in pants and my thighs trembled. Finally, he pressed his thumb inside me. The intensity created as he breached me for the first time threw me over the edge.

I threw my head back and cried out as my body clamped down on his cock and his thumb. The orgasm seemed to last forever. Lex timed his strokes so that his dick and thumb were in perfect sync, wringing every last ounce of pleasure from me that he could.

“Fuck, that’s perfect,” he groaned as his thrusts became jerky and I knew he was coming with me.

Unable to hold myself upright any longer, my arms collapsed and I crumpled face first on the rug. Lex gently removed his thumb from my ass and braced himself over me with both hands, breathing hard.

After a few moments, I whimpered as he pulled his dick from my body, but didn’t move. I heard him walk into the kitchen area and turn the water on. He washed his hands and opened and closed a drawer. A few moments later he came back with a damp cloth.

“Spread your legs,” he said softly.

I did as he asked, still sprawled on my stomach as he cleaned me. I heard him walk away again. He returned to stretch out on the rug next to me, throwing his thigh over mine and pressing his chest against my back. I sighed in contentment as he ran his fingers through my hair, not even minding the hard floor beneath me.

“I need to put salve on your skin, little one,” he murmured.

“Later, please,” I said. “I like the way you’re holding me now.”

His lips touched my shoulder. “All right, Ivie.”

Somewhere in the house I heard his cell phone ringing.

“Dammit,” he whispered.

“Don’t answer it.”

With a sigh, he rolled away and got to his feet. “I have to. I’m waiting on a call from Conner.”

He padded down the hall on bare feet. I let myself drift on a cloud of relaxation. I heard him speaking quietly for a few moments then return to the living room.

“Ivie, you need to get up and get dressed. We have to go back to the city.”

I rolled onto my back and the look on his face had me jerking upright.

“What happened?” I asked.

Lex’s jaw was hard, his eyes burning with black fire. “The Faction took your friends.”

“Who?” I shot to my feet.

“All of them. Ricki, Kerry, and Shannon.”

Fear took over my body as I began to throw on my clothes. Then, I did something I’d rarely done before. I prayed.

T
he next five hours
were some of the worst of my life. Lex repacked my bag for me, since I was too much of a basket case to finish. Then he ushered me into the car and we took off. The sedan was older and sort of a junker. Lex pushed it, trying to get every bit of power out of the engine, but top speed was ninety. We were pulled over twice, but Lex used his vampire mojo to get us on our way.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we made it back to Dallas. Lex drove us straight to Conner’s house. After he rang the bell at the gate and we were on our way down the drive, I saw several cars out in front of the house. Probably close to ten. It hit me then that Conner, Lex, and their brethren were going all out to get my friends back and my eyes filled with tears.

Lex parked and turned off the car. I used a tissue from my purse to wipe my eyes as he came around the car as I climbed out. He took my hand as we walked up to the front door. After Lex pressed the doorbell, Finn answered the door, looking both pissed and tired.

Lex stiffened next to me but relaxed quickly. They nodded to one another is some silent show of camaraderie. Finn stepped back and we entered the house.

“Donna and Conner are in the ballroom, talking to the others,” Finn said.

After a quick stop to the bathroom to relieve myself and wash my face, I went into the ballroom. I stopped short when I saw that the room was a hive of activity. There were probably close to fifty people in there. Some I knew were vampires. I also saw the werewolf, Calder, with a group of men and women that I assumed were part of his pack. He nodded to me and I lifted my chin back.

I saw Donna talking with Conner and Lex and headed their way. A woman suddenly stepped in front of me, her eyes narrowing on me with unconcealed hunger. She had long black hair, golden skin, and gorgeous eyes the color of honey. Even I had to admit she was incredibly regal and beautiful and I was definitely not interested in women.

Oh shit. There was no time for this.

“Well, hello there,” she purred.

I almost rolled my eyes. Seriously, hadn’t any of these people seen a vampire B-movie? I noticed they tended to use phrases that sounded like bad acting, but were sincere. It was both funny and irritating.

“Excuse me,” I said politely. “I’m here with Lex, Donna, and Conner.”

She leaned closer, putting her nose almost against my shoulder, and inhaled. It creeped me out a little, but I stood still. When she was done, she straightened, regret on her face.

“Damn, there goes my afternoon snack,” she muttered. “If Lex is going to bring a treat he doesn’t want to share, he should mark it somehow.”

My first instinct was to scowl at her and ask her who the fuck she thought she was. I managed to keep that under control. Just. Instead, I murmured an almost indecipherable apology and skirted around her. I walked straight over to Lex. From the expression on his face, he had heard everything. He looked pained, as though he wanted to laugh but knew that I would be angrier if he did.

When I reached him, I looked at Donna but stomped hard on Lex’s toe. While he cursed, I moved over to my girlfriend. She looked pale and worried. As soon as I was within arm’s reach, she yanked me against her, hugging me so tight my back popped.

“Oh God, I’m sorry, Ivie,” she said, releasing me.

“It’s okay. I needed to have my back adjusted after that five hour ride in the car.” I didn’t mention the forty-five minute ride Lex had given me on the cabin floor, which had a lot to do with the stiffness in my muscles as well.

I faced Conner. “Do you have any new information?” I asked.

He had called and kept Lex and I updated as we drove in, but I hoped perhaps they had news since the last call an hour ago.

Conner shook his head.

“Do you know what they want?” I asked.

I watched as Conner’s face shut down. Lex’s expression was blank and Donna just looked worried as hell.

“Okay, will someone please share?” I asked.

Lex leaned down and put his mouth directly to my ear, speaking almost soundlessly. “We can’t discuss it here. Too many eyes and ears.”

I stared up at him. “Then let’s go somewhere we damn well can.”

Lex caught my hand in his and squeezed gently. “Later.”

“But…”

He squeezed my hand again, looking at me as though he were trying to tell me something very important. “Later.”

It suddenly occurred to me that The Faction was still recruiting new members and they might very well have spies in this very room, so I just tightened my grip on his hand and nodded.

Lex’s eyes softened slightly.

“I need your attention, please.”

Conner’s announcement somehow boomed throughout the room without him raising his voice. It was a very cool trick. The dull roar that filled the ballroom became silent. When the last voice stopped speaking, Conner moved toward the center of the room, everyone circling around him.

“Thank you all for showing your support to the vampire nation,” he continued. “I have called you here today because of a situation that has come to light the last few months. There is a group that is moving against the Vampire Council. They are not honorable and intend to use whatever means necessary to achieve their goals, including harming our loved ones.” He looked around the room. “Those who are allied with the Council may also be targeted. You must take measures to protect your people.”

I was only listening to Conner with half an ear because the woman who had stopped me earlier caught my attention. She was standing very still and appeared to be listening intently to every word Conner spoke. But something about her just seemed off. I realized that she didn’t look stressed, tired, or even worried. In fact, she appeared smug to me.

I nudged Lex with my foot to get his attention then looked across the room at her. His gaze followed mine and his body tightened. I knew he saw what I did. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and saw him give Finn a look. Finn acknowledged whatever Lex was trying to tell him silently and began to casually move across the room toward the woman. Before he could get near her, she looked at me, winked, and freaking disappeared into thin air.

I knew Lex saw it as well because he touched Conner’s back and leaned in to say something in his ear.

“I’m afraid that more information has just come in and must be acted upon now. If you have further questions, speak to Asher Leroux and he will answer them.” Conner raised a hand. “Calder Atwood, could I speak to you for a moment?”

The room began to clear out, but Calder remained. As soon as everyone was gone, Conner and Lex began speaking at once.

“Ivie, tell me exactly what happened,” Conner demanded.

Lex wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “How did you know?” he asked.

Donna blinked. “Know what? What did I miss?”

I looked at them all. “That woman,” I began.

“Pat,” Lex interrupted.

I blinked at him. “What?”

“Her name is Pat.”

Donna raised an eyebrow. “Really?” she said incredulously. “The Vampire Pat just doesn’t sound menacing. You guys need to work on your name choices because you kind of suck at it.”

Conner looked like he wanted to tell her to shut up. Instead he sucked in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Pat is short for Cleopatra. You know,
the
Cleopatra.”

My eyes widened.

“Can vampires get headaches?” I clamped my mouth shut as all eyes came to me. Shit, I hadn’t meant to say that.

“I never had a headache after I was turned until six months ago,” Conner said dryly.

“Hey!” Donna exclaimed.

“Excuse me, people,” Calder drawled, “but didn’t anyone notice this Pat bitch disappearing into thin air during this little meeting?”

I nodded, grateful to be off the subject of vampire headaches and domestic spats.

“How did you know something was wrong?” Lex asked again.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Everyone else was listening and at least looked concerned. She just seemed….off. I’m not sure why, except for that smug little smirk she was doing such a horrible job of hiding.”

Conner looked at me with disbelief. “That’s it? That’s why you had Lex stop the meeting?”

I threw my hands in the air. “Well, when Finn started heading toward her, she looked straight at me, winked, and then
poof
she was gone! That doesn’t exactly make her look innocent.”

Lex spoke up then. “Finn was going to attempt to read her. I think Pat knew what was about to happen and made sure we couldn’t glean any information from her.”

Calder shifted from foot to foot, looking every inch the aggressive wolf he truly was. With his golden skin and hair and beautiful green-gold eyes, my other single girlfriends would be all over him in a hot minute. I kind of hoped he helped rescue them because they would at least get some great eye candy out of this entire hellish situation.

When I realized the insane tangent my thoughts had gone on, I mentally shook myself. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, but this wasn’t the time to be thinking about my remaining three single friends tackling the sexy werewolf and making him their sex slave. Even if it was funny.

Before the conversation continued, Conner’s cell rang. He removed it from his pocket, glanced at the screen then froze.

“It’s Pat,” he said. He slid his finger across the screen and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

He listened for a moment, then held the phone out to Lex. “They want to speak to you.”

Lex took the phone. “Lex,” he clipped.

As he listened to the caller, his eyes grew colder, then began to glow. The color of his irises became clearer and more brilliant until I could no longer meet his gaze. Whatever this Pat was saying, it was pissing him off in a big way.

“Understood,” he said abruptly before taking the phone and throwing it across the room in a blur of motion.

I took a step back, unsure what Lex might do next. Everyone else did as well. We watched as he stared at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists.

“What did they want?” Conner asked softly.

Lex’s head whipped up and round, his body strung tight.

“Your head, as well as the heads of three other Council members, by sunrise the day after tomorrow.”