Sucking Bites (San Francisco Vampires Series #3) (21 page)

“Liam was so crazed. You have no idea how relieved and thankful I am to see you doing so well, Lilith. I would have been by your side no matter what, but it would have broken my heart to see you suffer as he is.”

“I love you for all your support, Aidan. I count on it. Poor Liam. It was very clever of you to think of putting him the trance. Hopefully he will not be so worn out when the cycle is over this time.” His arm is warm when I touch him and I shiver. Aidan cocks an eyebrow at me but continues talking.

“That’s what we’re hoping. Then I think it would be wise to turn him. I can’t believe I would ever say that but I couldn’t imagine a lifetime of the torture he would endure otherwise.”

“We would be there for him, but I don’t think he wants that life either. I think he’ll want to turn. He and Andrew seem to be close.”

“Yes, Andrew talked quite a bit about him while we were together this morning. I think he loves him.”

“I suppose we’ll have to soundproof another room,” I say with a sigh.

Aidan’s eyes glow and he grimaces.

“What’s wrong?” Hannah asks.

“Lilith was lamenting about having to soundproof another room if Andrew and Liam become vampires.”

Sebastian looks away. For the first time since we’ve been together he looks uncomfortable about our sex.

“I suppose you’re right. We might have to find another butler too. Although Andrew always said he wanted to remain on as our butler. I think he would be lost without his job. I know we’d be lost. Liam of course could go back to work as a lawyer. They could always live in Liam’s condo.”

“I think they would be lonely without our charming personalities,” I pipe in.

Sebastian snorts.

“Are you all packed up, love? Ready to go?” Aidan asks.

“Yes. You will have to make your bed. I don’t seem to have the knack to make a round bed.”

Aidan shrugs and the bed is made.

Hannah is ready, bag in hand as we meet in the living room with our bags. We link hands and transmanifest to the manse. Aidan makes a temporary bedroom in the parlor for Hannah so she can store her bag there. She is going to stay to see this to the end and with Liam in the guest room and our new suite under construction, our available bedrooms are limited.

When Sebastian and I climb the stairs to put away our clothes, he lingers to kiss me. He says he needs to get re-familiarized with my body. He soberly explains he hasn’t been able to touch me properly for over twenty-four hours. We regretfully go back down stairs.

“Miss Lily, you don’t know how happy I am to see you doing so well.” Andrew wraps his arms around me and we hug a long comforting time. “Liam has a chance to be sane now.”

“Oh, Andrew. It’ll be okay. I don’t know if being a vampire is the sane choice.” I pull back and smile at him and get a weak smile in return. “But it seems like it will be the better choice for him. By the way, Andrew, why don’t you just call me Lily? I’ve asked you to before.”

A shake of his head accompanies a protest. “You took me in when I had nowhere to go. You pay me an exorbitant amount of money to make tea and coffee and pour wine. You treat me like family. You will always be Miss Lily to me.”

I hold my hand up to stop him. “You are family.”

His takes a deep breath. I hug him some more and Helena joins us.

“As family, you should call us by our names, Andrew,” Sebastian agrees.

“I’ll try.”

“Good.” Julian says, finding us in our usual haunt. He’s done in the lab for a bit. “We need to talk about what you will do once you are turned. I imagine you will want to have that happen soon, since Liam will.”

“I want to continue doing my job, if that’s all right?”

“Of course, but you don’t have to. You will be experiencing a lot of new things. Let’s just take it one day at a time,” Julian offers as he leaves for his lab again.

“You’ll see. I’ll be an even better butler.”

Andrew wants to check on Liam, so I make coffee and tea for everyone. Aidan watches me with longing in his eyes. I know that look. He always gets it when he thinks I’ve done something that is kind or giving. The look he gives me makes me want him. I’ll have to be careful to stay around Sebastian for the near future. I’m a weak wench.

Julian returns carrying an IV for Liam.

“Aidan, I wonder if you could help me administer this to Liam. He is going to dehydrate unless we can get some fluids into him. Can you just zap this into him or is it easier to do it manually?”

“I can ‘zap’ it into him, but I will have to be in the same room as he is to do it. It will probably be a good idea for me to check on him anyway. I want to put a pallet down for him to lie on. Check if he is comfortable.”

“Thank you, my friend. The IV should hang from a pole.” Julian hands Aidan the mixture meant to keep Liam hydrated. “We will have to change it periodically. I figure that will give us an opportunity to check on him. He has destroyed the camera I installed.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Aidan pops into the cellar with Liam. At first we hear nothing, then we hear a deep howl and a growling that is so guttural it makes my hair stand up on the back of my neck. I start to whine. I go to the door and start to pound on it. I whine louder. I howl too. Then everything is quiet. I am surprised to see all my family surrounding me.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Liam woke up when I inserted the IV. I had to put him back into the trance,” Aidan says.

“His response triggered something in you, Lily,” Julian says. “You started whining and then you went straight to the door and started pounding on it. And you howled. As soon as he was quiet you seemed to snap out of it.”

“We’ve learned that she that it isn’t good for her to be around other full-blooded werewolves,” Helena says.

“Yep, that’s a big fucking no-no,” Hannah says.

Julian frowns at Hannah. Sometimes he thinks Hannah’s language is unbecoming a female vampire. Hannah shrugs. Sebastian has no expression on his face. I think I freaked him out. Aidan has a twinkle in his eye. That one he gets when he’s found a way to cause trouble.

“Lily, let’s do those tests now,” Julian suggests. Aidan becomes serious again. “Is the IV in Liam?” Julian asks Aidan.

“Yes. He wasn’t fully cognizant of what was going on. I can go in and change the bag without waking him up now.”

“Come, Lily,” Julian says.

The others follow. Look at me, the world’s largest guinea pig.

First, Julian takes more blood. Then he has me run some sprints across the room. I’m a blur. I don’t think that I am any faster than normal, though. Next he tests my reflexes and they test the same as before. He tests my vision and hearing. They test out to be the same as before also, except for my new heat sensing ability. That’s a definite plus for hunting but it’s taking some time to get used to it. Finally he tests my strength. He hands me a steel bar. As a vampire I could have bent it. As a werewolf, I am able to twist it into a bow. Everyone is impressed by this new attribute.

“That must be why you couldn’t get away from Liam when he attacked you last month,” Julian says.

I stand back and do some back flips and twist in the air. They all move back and look wary. I’m exhilarated.

“What? I told you my joints felt different. They are more elastic. I feel like I’m flying when I jump. Woo hoo,” I shout as I jump across the room in one leap.

“I guess if she has to have side effects these are relatively harmless ones,” Aidan says.

I jump back across the room, grinning from ear to ear. Now everyone is smiling with me. I grab Hannah and take her with me across the room with a giant leap. She screams the whole way.

“Give a girl a little warning! Shit, Lily!”

I giggle uncontrollably at Hannah’s uncool expression of fear.

“Who’s next?”

I grab Helena and soar across the room with her. Her husky laugh brings out Julian’s fangs.

“It’s just like flying!” she agrees.

“Bast, come here, darling.”

“I’ll pass, Cherie.”

“Aidan?”

“I already fly, love.”

“Julian? Come on, I know you want to.”

“You know I do!”

I take him up in my arms and leap and spin in midair. He is beaming when we land.

“Andrew, come here. I won’t drop you, I swear.”

Andrew lets me take him across and then demands I do it again. It’s good to see him enjoying himself. When I’m done showing off, it is time to change the bag on Liam’s IV. I stay in the conservatory/lab just in case. Sebastian stays with me.

“Cherie, it is so much fun to see you happy. It warms my heart.”

“I
was
having fun. Are you sure you don’t want to have a go?” I tease. I’m sure it’s a male thing. I know he won’t take me up on my offer.

“No, that’s okay. I like my feet on the ground.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I’m more excited to see what this new flexibility will mean in bed,” he says wiggling his eyebrows. Leave it to a man to think like that. I give him a stern look. But I am relieved that he isn’t put off.

“It’s not much longer before we can retire for the night. Here comes Hannah. They must be done with Liam.”

“I’m closing my eyes just in case there are indecent things happening,” Hannah yells.

“Rest easy, ma petite, nothing going on here.”

“You guys are starting to disappoint me. No action in the shower this morning either.” Hannah shakes her head in disgust.

“We’re just waiting until we can respectably say goodnight and then watch out. I plan on making Lily howl again,” teases Sebastian.

“Ohmygod, what if I do?!”

“Then my reputation as an arduous lover will remain intact.”

“And
I
will lose my dinner and have to buy earplugs and probably have to sit on Aidan to keep him from blasting you to oblivion.” Hannah’s lips curve down in a smirk.

“I won’t howl. I promise. I would die if I did. I would just die.”

“We’ll see,” Sebastian says with a wicked grin. I can tell it is going to be his mission now.

“Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking, Mr. St. John.” My eyes feel as big as saucers as I back away from him.

“I’m not thinking anything.” His innocent expression fails miserably.

“Yeah, right.”

“Come on you two,” Hannah interrupts. She puts one of her petite arms around me. She is a small but mighty thing. She pulls me away from Sebastian. “Andrew made some mulled wine for us. We were going to meet in the library. I’m too innocent for this kind of conversation anyway.”

“Oh pleeeaasse! Hannah, the puritan,” I say. She smirks again, her point made.

We retire to the library. Andrew pours wine, I sit near Aidan and Sebastian takes a seat on the other side of me. Zing and Zang. Flanked by two hot men. We pass the evening talking and take turns in a Scrabble tournament. Andrew beats everyone but Julian. Finally it is late enough for Sebastian and me to respectably retire.

“Julian, I am going to change the IV bag for Liam again and then pop out to rejuvenate for a while. I’ll be back in four or five hours if that’s okay?” The tired tone of his voice surprises me.

“Sure, Aidan. This would be a horrible experience without your assistance. Our energies have to get boring after a while. I imagine you’re hungry for something different,” Julian says.

“Fortunately, you all have very rich and exciting energies.” Aidan smiles. But he still looks tired. Didn’t know a fire spirit could run low, but his human form looks a little frayed around the edges. “I just need to clear my head for a bit.”

“You do what you need to, my friend.”

Aidan takes care of Liam, but is back to kiss me goodnight and then is gone.

“I think that was his tactful way of being out of the house while you two make noise,” Helena says.

“He and I talked for many hours last night. I don’t wish to cause him pain,” Sebastian admits. “Come, Cherie. Let’s go to bed.”

I follow with a mixed heart.

Sebastian shuts the door to our room. Sitting on the bed he removes his shirt and shoes and socks. He pulls me to his side, then he takes off my shirt. I shiver when he runs his fingers across my collar bone. His lips follow as he nips my neck. I gasp when he gets to the space between my breasts. He smiles.

“At least we know everything still works,” he says.

He undoes my bra so smoothly, it’s got this vampiress purring. Gently, he cups one breast while he takes the other in his mouth. My back arches to meet his exploring tongue and I wrap my fingers in his hair.   

He continues his assault while he slips his hands lower to unbutton my jeans. I eagerly help him. Moments later I struggle with his buttons. He distracts me, moving his hot, wet mouth from one breast to the other. I finally have him unbuttoned and tug desperately at his jeans. His tongue laves my breast as he releases himself from his jeans, then scoops me up and lays me on the bed, lowering his body, his knee nudging my legs apart.

I am on fire. Our kisses become more urgent. I stroke him and he shivers.

“What do you really think of my eyes,” I ask, insecurity racing through me. Its ugly need demanding an answer even as he makes me feel loved and wanted.