Once Bitten, Twice Shy (27 page)

“It’s you,” he said.

Kerry began to shake her head. “It can’t be. It can’t be.” She turned to Donna and Conner. “Get me out of here please.”

Donna wrapped an arm around her, shushing her and guiding her away. I looked back at Finn, and every line on his body screamed out his desire to go to her. Then he blinked and the look of intense yearning on his face disappeared.

Shannon and Ricki looked at me. “What was that about?” Shannon asked.

I shrugged because I honestly didn’t know.

“We’ll find out,” Ricki muttered under her breath. Then, in her normal voice, “Well, I need a shower. Will someone please take me home so I can take off these disgusting clothes and burn them?”

Lex stepped forward. “I’ll take you ladies home.”

“Thanks, Sexy Lexy,” Ricki said, jumping right on the silly nickname bandwagon that Kerry had begun.

To my surprise, Lex didn’t even bat an eye. Instead, he looked to me. “You should go back with Donna and Conner. I’ll meet you at their place after I take Ricki and Shannon to get some clothes and then drop them off somewhere safe.”

I blinked, surprised at his blank expression and bland words. Then I nodded. I did not want to get into a fight in front of my girlfriends. They didn’t know Lex all that well, and I wanted them to think highly of him since he would probably be in my life for a very long time.

We all exited the building together. I found Donna and Conner standing next to the SUV we had ridden in on the way to the meet. It felt like days had passed, when it had been little more than an hour and half. Kerry was standing next to a car I didn’t recognize, talking with Belinda. When she saw Finn come out with us, she said something to the coven leader and they both rounded the car to climb in. Kerry waved to me and made a ‘call me’ gesture with her hand to her ear. I nodded.

I looked over at Finn as the car reversed and drove away, my heart aching for him when I saw the naked longing on his face. Somehow he and Kerry knew one another and he wanted her badly. I decided then and there to give her a week to settle, then I was going to put on my matchmaker hat and work on getting the two of them talking.

I hugged Ricki and Shannon good bye and told them I would talk to them the next day. I promised to explain everything to them both. Ricki seemed to be taking everything in stride, especially the hot vampires, but Shannon was upset about more than the kidnapping and I could see it clearly on her face. We were all strung out and exhausted. I waved as I climbed into the back of the SUV and rode home with Conner and Donna in silence.

When we arrived at the house, I hugged Donna and Conner in turn. “I love you both,” I said softly, a little embarrassed at my show of emotion.

Conner merely kissed my cheek. “Me too, sweet Ivie.”

Donna wrapped her arms around me one more time as well. “Thanks for being my best bitch,” she said. Her face grew serious then. “I really love you too, Ivie. You and all the girls.”

Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them back. “Okay, well, I’m disgusting, so I’m going to take a shower and head to bed.”

She smiled slightly, her own eyes slightly wet. “Me too. See you in the morning?” she asked.

“Sounds like a plan.”

We parted ways and I headed upstairs to the guest room I had been sharing with Lex. As soon as the door shut behind me, I went into the bathroom and stripped off all my clothes. After I turned on the shower, I combed all the tangles out of my hair, which took a while because of its length and the curls.

Then I stepped into the shower and stood under the spray for a long time. Long enough for the enormity of everything that had happened that day to hit me. I cried then. Huge, heaving sobs that wracked my entire body.

The jag was short-lived as exhaustion took over. I carefully washed and conditioned my hair, then used my shower gel to wash away the remnants of dirt, blood, and the stink of fear. Once I was squeaky clean, I turned off the water and dried myself off.

I walked back into the bedroom, surprised it was still empty. I had been in the bathroom a long time. I was too tired to bother with clothes, so I merely dropped my towel by the bed and climbed under the blankets, switching off the lamp as I went. A few seconds later, I was asleep.

*     *     *

A few hours later,
I opened my eyes as a large, warm body settled behind mine. Lex’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly against his chest.

“Are you still angry with me?” I whispered.

He squeezed me lightly. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

I knew that meant yes, so I struggled until he allowed me to turn over and face him. A little bit of moonlight came through the blinds in the bedroom, outlining his profile and making his dark eyes gleam. Gently, I touched his cheek, slightly reassured when he turned his head to press his lips into my palm.

“Please don’t be angry with me anymore,” I pleaded.

Lex sighed. “You put yourself in danger, Ivie, after I specifically told you to stay in the SUV.”

“Yes, I did. And I would do it again. Just like you would do whatever it took to protect me, I would do the same for you.”

He shook me slightly. “It’s not the same.”

“Why? Because I’m not a vampire? Because I’m weaker?” I asked. Then I answered my own question. “I don’t think so, Lex. I think I proved today that I am in no way weaker than you. Are my strengths different than yours, yes, but I survived. I would never rush into a situation like that without some sort of plan and definitely back up.”

He scoffed. “Back up? Who was your back up?”

“Donna.”

“Donna was almost killed today.”

“So were you,” I replied. “And so was Conner.” This conversation was going nowhere. Lex was utterly convinced he was right and there would be no changing his mind tonight. “Obviously, you aren’t willing to see my point, but I will say one more thing. With the upheaval taking place in your world right now, any one of us could die on any given day. We can be vigilant and we can be prepared, but it is still a possibility. Does that mean we should run away and hide? I don’t know about you, but I think that means that they win. And I don’t want those assholes to win. The only way evil can prevail is when good people do nothing, Lex. I refuse to do nothing.”

Lex was silent for a long moment before he sighed, his arms relaxing slightly. His lips touched my forehead, then my mouth. “You’re right, little one.”

His assent shocked me. I thought it would take at least another 48 hours of me arguing with his stubborn ass before he could at least concede my point.

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“You’re right.”

“What?”

He growled, his arms tightening around me again. “You heard me the first two times.”

I grinned in the dark. “Sorry, I just thought it would be a while before you said those words to me again, so I wanted to be sure I remembered this moment.”

Lex chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll make you pay for it.”

I tucked my head under his chin, pressing my ear to his pectoral. “I look forward to it.” I closed my eyes, settling in to go back to sleep, happy knowing that it was over. For now. “I love you,” I murmured.

“I love you too.”

Feeling content, I drifted to sleep, wrapped around my very own Greek warrior.

K
erry stood on
the balcony of her hotel room, staring out across downtown Dallas. Despite the horrors she’d faced over the last few days, she couldn’t sleep. Or maybe it was because of them.

The night air was cool against her skin and the light of the full moon fed her power. If she were at her home in the country, she would have gone out at midnight, sky clad, and drawn down the moon. After the stresses of being kidnapped by vampires, her power was severely depleted. Though rest and a few potions would help her gain her strength quickly.

The word vampires echoed through her brain, drawing her thoughts to one in particular. Until Ivie had introduced them, she had no idea what he truly was. Though she had never met him in person, Kerry saw him in her dreams night after night.

Sometimes they would be sitting together quietly, working in her herb garden or studying old texts about magic. Others they would be arguing passionately about something, anything. Then there were the times that made her shiver, and not because she was standing in the cool night air. Those times, he would strip her naked and do things to her body that made her moan. He would take her, sometimes gentle, sometimes rough, but always she could see his unique eyes glowing in the dark. Bright and shimmering, like amethysts.

The night breeze blew through her hair, carrying with it a voice.

You are mine, Kerry Gayle. You know it as well as I do. Come to me.

Her heart ached to do just that. From the books she had studied, Kerry knew what her dreams meant. The man with incredible eyes was her mate, the other half of her soul. He was also her enemy. Finn. A vampire. Blood drinker.

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the beautiful voice that beckoned her. Kerry knew, if she gave in, he would lead her to her death.

The End

First of all, I need to thank my awesome betas, Tania and Amber for reading the book and giving me such great feedback. You ladies have been a huge help!

Also, thank you to Donna for getting me in touch with Tania, organizing my blog tours, listening to my ragey rants, making sure I meet deadlines, and talking me out of quitting when I get to that point in every book where I think everything I write sucks. Muah!

A HUGE thank you to The Whorehouse. The original five, who inspired this series, are such a great group of ladies. I love you all to bits. So, thank you, Donna, Ivie, Kerry, Ricki, and Shannon for allowing me to use your likeness and several of the hilarious situations and conversations we’ve had in the last year. Now that our group has grown to include Trinity, Desiree, Joanne, Cheryl, Suzy, Laurel, Tara, Buffy, and Angie, I may have to develop some new characters!

Lastly, I need to thank all the bloggers and readers who keep promoting and buying my books. I love you all so hard! Smoochies!

A native Texan, C.C. grew up either reading or playing the piano. Years later, she’s still not grown up and doing the same things. Since the voices in her head never shut up, C.C. decided to try and profit from their crazy stories and started writing books.

Now that she has a baby girl at home, C.C.’s non-writing time is usually spent cleaning up poopy diapers or feeding the poop machine. Sometimes she teaches piano, cooks, or spends time bugging her hubby and two beagles.

C.C. loves to hear from her readers!

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/authorccwood

Twitter:
@cc_wood

Website:
www.ccwood.net

Girl Next Door Series:

Friends with Benefits

Frenemies

Drive Me Crazy

Girl Next Door – The Complete Series

Kiss Series:

A Kiss for Christmas

Kiss Me

Seasons of Sorrow

Bitten Series

Bite Me

Once Bitten, Twice Shy