Chapter Five

Her slick channel pulsed and wrapped around him, milking his thick poled erection. God, the man had a cock poets should write sonnets about—Ode to Alaan’s Wrist-Thick Cock. Immeasurable pleasure from every delicious slide of the vein-ribbed rod streaked clear down to the little hairs on her toes. Then he seemed to grow impossibly bigger.

“Feel me, Tameth. Feel how you make my dick so hard. God, woman, you make me want to drive into you until we’re both cross-eyed and knock-kneed.”

“Ummm, yes. I want you driving into me,” she panted, wondering how she’d ever formed the words without any air in her lungs.

“Oh yeah, baby.” He pushed deeper, riding her with a stamina that nearly took her knees out from under her.

“Oh, Alaan, more. Fuck me. Oh, God.”

“I love your pussy, it feels so good, Tameth. But there’s something else I need.”

“Take it, baby,” she panted, yanking the fall of her thick ponytail away from her neck. “Take what you need, Alaan. Bite me.”

The second his incisors pierced her skin, the pleasure-pain streaked through her body, quickly replaced by an exquisite explosion of every cell in her blood. Back arched wildly, Tameth’s soul splintered and flew apart as she came exquisitely hard. And yet he moved within her, each stroke sending her on a silver streak towards another wild soul-shattering orgasm.

Withdrawing his fangs, he eagerly suckled the lifeblood from her body. Each pull of his lips in time with the stroke of his cock. In. Out. Deeper. Harder. It was devastatingly beautiful as he fell apart on a muffled cry, soaking her channel with his thick, pungent juices.

Breathing harshly, still draped over the seat, her skirt up around her waist and leather jacket hanging by a sleeve, she reveled in the weight of a sated Alaan spread over her back, panting.

He kissed her softly on her temple and said, “Tameth, love, there’s something you forgot.”

Instantly, all the languorous heat that had been spread through her body swept into her stomach and transformed into a cold knot of apprehension. Oh, she knew what he meant, all right.

Still buried deep inside, he eased back on the seat and settled her in his lap again. Then he whispered the words that would change their lives forever.

“Tameth, bite me, love.”

She didn’t answer. Couldn’t get the words past the fat lump in her throat. Instead she let him cradle her head, place sweet little kisses against her temple. Needing something to do with her hands as she sat there, Tameth began to ease her blouse down around her body. His expression was soft, so caring, she would have done anything he asked in that moment. Except the one thing she knew he didn’t really want.

Gently smoothing the sweat-slick tendrils away from her face, he said, “Bite me back, sweetheart. Bond with me.”

She pushed up and off of him, flinched at the sudden loss of him filling her and sat back down on his knee. With her dark gaze fastened on his beautiful London blue eyes, Tameth gave the only answer she knew to give.

“No.”

“No?”

While sharing blood with a lover was not uncommon, it was not something to be taken lightly. Tameth had never bitten a lover. Had vowed to keep such a precious gifting just that—precious. The intensity of her connection with Alaan had only grown stronger as the days passed and she was more than sure now that they were bondmates. But she was a bondmate he didn’t want. He was just getting off, right? But to her, it meant her heart.

He licked the slightly swollen site of the little wound he’d made on her neck, sending a shiver into her lower back. “Bite me, Tameth.”

She looked down at her fingernails and fidgeted. It annoyed her. She never fidgeted.

“No, Alaan. I-I can’t.”

“Come on, baby,” he crooned in that oh-so-deep voice of his that sent the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. Scooting down in the seat, he appeared at ease as he gathered her to him and cradled her against his breast.

“I want you, Tameth. I can feel the bond forming between us. Bite me, love. Bite me…right here.” She turned to see him motion to the spot on his chest right over his heart.

In a near panic, she sat up and began to straighten out her skewed clothing, more than aware of the growing concern in his mind. Not to mention the rock hard, scrumptiously large, oversized, perfect body.

She blew out a breath and took in a calming one. Then did it again as he waited and watched.

“Tameth?”

“Nope. Not today,” she said, fumbling with her bra, blouse and jacket all at the same time. How the hell had he gotten her clothes off? And where were her panties? Oh, now she remembered. He’d destroyed them. The memory sent her pulse racing. Damn it, but she wished she’d brought an extra pair so he could do it again.

“What? What the hell do you mean not today?” She’d never heard him sound so confused and petulant. If the situation hadn’t been so serious she would have laughed.

“Just what I said, Alaan. I’m just not ready to exchange blood with you.”

He sat up so swiftly she toppled off his lap and landed next to him, half on and half off the seat. Her swollen sex rubbed against the leather of the seat as her legs went all akimbo. Why couldn’t she manage to get her skirt pulled down, damn it?

“What the hell do you mean, you’re not ready? Are you telling me you don’t feel, don’t recognize what’s going on between us, woman?” he fumed. She didn’t answer. “But you’ve bitten that Kenoe asshole, haven’t you? Tell me, damn it!”

She started to give him a classic smart-assed retort, then thought better of it. He was obviously pissed. Wouldn’t be wise to mess with his prime male sensibilities right now. So she steeled herself for his reaction and told him the truth.

“No, Alaan, I’ve never bitten Kenoe. I’ve never bitten anyone.”

“What?” Now he really looked baffled, his beautiful blond brows drawn down into a questioning frown. But he didn’t stay confused for long. His emotions swung right back around to pissed. And determined. “Well, you will bite me, Tameth. Make no mistake about it.”

“Alaan, I…” Wait, where the hell was he going? She snapped her mouth shut, schooled her features, and suppressed her amazement when quick as lightning, the man yanked his jeans up over his perfect backside and jumped out of the SUV. Well of all the nerve. How dare he leave her in the back seat undressed—well-loved, but still undressed.

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead as the driver’s side door was snatched open with such force the whole vehicle shook. A formidable blond-haired god climbed in and peeled out of the driveway with her bare-assed in the back seat.

“What the? Alaan! Where the hell are we going? I told you I have a date with Kenoe.”

“Fine,” he growled, flipping open his secure video phone. Tameth peered over the seat and felt Alaan force back the urge to howl his frustration when a handsome vamp’s face filled the screen.

“White-haired skinny little fop. Damned harem-keeping idiot,” Alaan said under his breath.

“Hatsept here.”

“Yeah, I know who the hell you are,” Alaan snapped.

“How can I help you, Serati?”

“Tameth won’t be able to make your date.” He spat the last word as if it were some kind of poison.

“Oh? And why is that?” Kenoe challenged. Tameth bit her lip to keep from grinning when the legendary Hatsept smirk appeared on his handsome face. Alaan jerked his head around and snarled at her. “Damn it, woman, put some clothes on.”

“Well, you took them off in the first place,” she snapped back, not repentant at all that one of her breasts still peeked out of her top.

She could tell he wanted to fuss but snapped his mouth shut instead when a smooth voice floated out of the vid phone speaker.

“Excuse me? What was that about clothes?”

“Nothing,” Alaan said, teeth gritted so tight she wondered how his incisors held up under the pressure.

Kenoe pressed the issue and Tameth wished he were there so she could give him a squeeze. “So, why is Tameth indisposed? We had a date to visit the British Museum together. It’s not like her to stand me up, Serati. She is an honorable woman.”

“Are you questioning her honor, Hatsept?” Alaan sneered.

“Not at all. Just pointing out that it’s not like her to leave me hanging.”

“Well, she…uh…”

The man was basically breaking her plans with Kenoe. Now he had to cover for her. Tameth wondered what fabulous tale he would weave so he wouldn’t make her look bad.

“She just learned that she must accompany me to see Bix. It’s about the assignment we’re working on. I’ll brief the team when we return this evening.”

She stifled a gasp. The man lied outright and had no shame. Now what Alaan was this?

“This evening? But it’s barely nine o’clock in the morning.”

Way to go, Kenoe, she thought. Keep the pressure on, sweetie.

“It’s going to take all day. You have a problem with that, it’s too damned bad. Serati out.”

 

 

Damned woman, Alaan growled to himself for the fortieth time while speeding up the M1 highway towards the sprawling countryside. His fingers wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel they throbbed.

She felt the bond growing between them, he knew she did. So why wouldn’t she just accept him as her bondmate and bite him already? Then again, he felt like a fish out of water, flopping around on the shore. One minute he wanted Tameth with all his heart and soul, the next, all he could think about was protecting her from the dangers of loving him. There was only one person who could possibly understand what he was dealing with.

Why him? Why now? Why the raging hard-on from hell? Well, that one he could answer. The woman’s scent filled the cabin of the SUV, swirled around his body and squeezed him like one of those little rubbery anti-stress balls. At least she was dressed now, if the little leather jacket and skirt could be called clothes. And when had he started to care what she wore? He shook his head and focused on the road. Hell if he knew.

“What? What is it?” Tameth snapped. She had every reason to be upset, knew he was sending mixed signals, but he just couldn’t help it. His body might be on a one-track road, but his head was all over the map and it pissed him the hell off.

“Nothing’s wrong.” He snapped the lie right back. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t a lie—nothing had ever felt more right than Tameth in his arms. But damn it, he wasn’t supposed to yield to it. Not again. But he had to have her, felt his soul shrivel up just a little every time he considered life without her for another single day. She seemed to want him, or had when he was plowing between her luscious thighs, but she chilled up the second he mentioned bonding. So what was the deal? Did she only want some casual sex, a fucking Kenoe replacement? Well he wasn’t sharing her, damn it! And to hell with what his catapulting feelings said.

An hour or so later they pulled into the gravel driveway of a modern-looking manor. Tameth immediately recognized the vamp who stood outside the front door. Several more patrolled the grounds in front of the house and, from what she could see, the gardens off to the east.

The second they cleared the car doors, she and Alaan were both embraced by the huge fellow.

“Jaidyn! It’s so good to see you. So this is where mother packed you off to, eh?” Alaan said, clapping the man on the shoulder with a friendly camaraderie.

“Yes, Master Seeker. She said that if anything happened to Carin or the little ones, she would castrate me herself. Quite a love she has for your adopted sister.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Alaan said sarcastically.

“So what are you two doing here?”

“Actually, Jaidyn, I’m not quite sure. Ask him.” Tameth motioned to Alaan.

Jaidyn cocked his head to one side as his gaze drifted from Alaan to Tameth and back. Alaan felt pride swell up in his breast. Clan Serati might be a ruled by a Matriarch, but Jaidyn was one of very few males with serious pull, and his woman stood her ground, held his gaze, practically daring him to ask her about what was going on between the two of them.

Suddenly her expression brightened and she said, “But before you ask him, point me in Carin’s direction, will you?”

Alaan allowed himself a small smile. Even though an awkward silence had descended between him and Tameth, he was glad the decision to drop in on Bix and Carin made her happy.

“Absolutely no problem,” Jaidyn replied with a smile of his own. “She’s supposed to be up in her apartments feeding the new lad, but I’ll give you directions to her labs just in case.”

Tameth cocked her head. “Labs? Here?”

The same words teetered on the tip of Alaan’s tongue, but should he have been surprised? After all, this was Dr. Carinian Bixler they were talking about.

“Every property she and Bix own has a lab in it. A genius, that woman is,” Jaidyn said, admiration clear in every syllable.

“Thanks, Jaidyn,” Tameth said quickly, already striding into the house. Alaan’s eyes were plastered on her skirt, knowing she wore nothing underneath it. Immediately his head started to swim with a heady combination of desire and frustration. She didn’t want him.

“Is something wrong, Master Seeker?”

“No. No, nothing. Where’s Bix?”

“In the gardens with little Alaina. You can go through the house if you like.”

“No, that’s fine. I don’t mind the walk. I’m suddenly in need of some good, cool English air.”

“Too bloody cold if you ask me.” Jaidyn sniffed, turned on his heel and headed back indoors.

Alaan strode around the side of the house. As he made his way to the extensive gardens, he quietly greeted the vampires that made up Carin’s personal guard. Many he’d trained himself. Every Seeker on the property had been personally chosen by the V.C.O.E.

And Carin was one of their most important allies in the constant fight for survival. Vampires were in no way weak, but they certainly had enemies. Unfortunately, those enemies were other vampires.

Carin’s expertise in biotechnology had royally saved all their butts a few years ago. While she’d been trying to find a way to extend her life by emulating vampire traits in her own body, a rogue scientist was trying to do the opposite. The bastard had actually found a way to destroy vampire DNA without killing the humans he needed to fulfill his sadistic pleasures. And a V.C.O.E. insider helped him. Carin had single-handedly found a way to counteract the rogue’s nasty vamp-killing agent, as well as inoculate her mate, Bix, and the others against future attacks.

Their entire race was indebted to one beautiful spitfire of a woman. And as Bix’s mate, Carin continued to work tirelessly to ensure that they were all taken care of. Alaan wondered sometimes if Carin had become a vampire, though he knew turning a human was impossible. It just seemed that whenever she was in residence at Council headquarters in Montana, she was forever after one of his veins to draw blood for this sample, or that test. And it was usually after Bix had managed to escape her clutches.

After walking through what felt like an endless canopy of evergreens, Alaan turned a corner and came upon Bix sitting on a stone bench in front of a fountain. He tossed a giggling Alaina into the air. The darling little imp, her long black curls flying around her head, squealed and squirmed with delight.

Alaan stopped short. His lungs seized as his heart overflowed with a longing so complete it was unnerving. And all for something he’d seen a thousand times. It was common to see Bix playing with his little girl, but this time as he watched the two, listened to Alaina scream and yell with glee, “Higher, daddy! Higher!” Alaan’s heart squeezed tight with longing for a child of his own. He imagined her with golden skin, a black fall of silken hair like Tameth’s. And whether the little munchkin had his blue eyes or not, she would definitely inherit her mother’s attitude.

Sigh. Tameth. He was in real trouble where she was concerned.

Finally the invisible bands around his chest released and he opened his mouth to greet his lifelong friend.

“Damn it, Bix, she won’t bite me!”

Bix turned a questioning yet amused eye on his bellowing best friend as he held his daughter in mid-air.

 

 

 

Tameth found Carin in her bedroom changing an adorable, but very smelly, new baby boy. Little Russian looked just like his daddy, with the exception of his darker hue. He was the sweetest, most handsome little baby Tameth had ever seen. Even at just a month old, his little head was a riot of silky black curls. Fat cheeks with a matching tummy and chubby legs were evidence that he definitely ate well. Tameth had no idea what color his eyes were—he’d slept through the diaper change.

Carin placed the sleeping oversized baby in his crib and shooed Tameth out the bedroom door into the living room.

The second the door snapped quietly shut, Tameth’s arms were filled with a squealing Carin who hugged her like they hadn’t seen each other in years rather than just a few months. The gesture of sisterly kindness brought tears to Tameth’s already misty eyes. She cleared her throat and quickly blinked them back. But not fast enough for Carin to miss her watery smile.

“Okay, chicklet, out with it. And don’t even try to play yourself, Tam, ‘cause I can see it in your eyes that something’s wrong. Not to mention the fact that you’re supposed to be on assignment in London. What are you doing way out here in Staffordshire?”

“Well it wasn’t my idea,” Tameth started, sitting down on the edge of the loveseat before bouncing back up again. Bare thighs rubbed together underneath her little leather skirt as she moved across the floor. A wince broke through the surface of her calm facade, tender folds of her still swollen mons brought to mind the cock that had stretched her wide open not long before arriving here.

“Tam, you all right? Why are you frowning?”

“Sure. Yeah, I’m fine,” she said firmly, easing the frown from her forehead.

“Tam, you know you’re welcome here but if Bix finds out I had anything to do with your current mission in London, he’ll kill me!”

“It not the mission. It’s Alaan. He. Well, we. I mean I…” She turned to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Oh, God!” A muted yelp erupted from her mouth just before she jumped back as if she’d been scalded. Perhaps because she had indeed been burned. By him. Everywhere he’d touched, every spot he’d tasted, the flesh was still deliciously heated. The last thing she needed to see while she sorted out her feelings was that man down in the gardens beneath Carin’s balcony windows.

“Damn it, Carin! You could have warned me your apartment overlooked the gardens,” Tameth squawked, moving quickly away from the window. Besides, she’d seen enough. A glimpse of Alaan pacing back and forth in front of Bix, slashing his hand through the air. The way his mouth moved a mile a minute, he was obviously cursing a blue streak. The stiff set of his shoulders screamed his anger. He looked furious enough to bite.

And the thought of him biting her again was more than pleasant.

Damn it, she was doing the flip-flop thing. So not like her.

“Tam, sit down. I’ll call downstairs for some tea and you can tell me what’s up, ‘kay?”

She told the whole story, from the moment Alaan kicked her door in to find her getting a shoulder massage from Kenoe, to the wild sex they’d had in the SUV a little more than an hour ago. Tameth was relieved when Carin took in the tale without interrupting. Or laughing. Or tsk-tsking.

“Well, woman, I won’t say he doesn’t smell good on you,” Carin teased with a big toothy grin plastered across her face.

Tameth blushed so deeply it was a wonder her cheeks didn’t sizzle. Carin wasn’t a vampire but her mating with Bix combined with the infusion of his blood when she lay dying after a rogue attack years ago had altered her DNA significantly. Other than the need for blood, she exhibited the same natural traits as the nearest four-star vamp, including greatly enhanced strength and a keen sense of smell. Plus the woman was an empath with strong psychic abilities. It wasn’t like Tameth could have hidden anything from her even if Carin hadn’t been able to scent Alaan all over her.

And regardless of whether Carin thought Alaan smelled good on her or not, Tameth couldn’t do anything more than face the truth—he didn’t really want a mate.

“But Tameth, if the man said he wants to mate with you—better yet, bond with you—why don’t you believe him?” Carin asked directly.

“Because you don’t just go from years of a solid I-ain’t-gonna-mate attitude to suddenly wanting a mate overnight. He’s never shown me any special attention in all the years I’ve known him, before or after Sher’s death. Why now, Carin?”

“Perhaps it’s a biological thing?”

“Girl, does everything have to be biological with you?” Tameth chuckled into her tea cup.

“Now Tameth, you know that’s a dumb question.” Carin laughed. “Look at who you’re talking to—Mrs. Biological, in the flesh. Be right back,” she said, setting her tea cup on the table. She rose and went into the bedroom and returned with her and Bix’s gorgeous new son. Tameth wanted to hold him, but didn’t dare for fear of her heart splintering into a thousand pieces. Suddenly her hand flew to her womb.

It did a funky little erotic flutter just as her mind went blank trying to remember her last menstrual cycle. Oh my God, what if? Neither she nor Alaan had thought about using protection while humping like horny bunnies in the back of the SUV.

Carin laid the baby on his tummy across her lap, picked up her tea cup and took a quick sip. Pinning Tam with a me-big-sister-you-listen glare, she said, “Tam, look, no sex for a human male is uncommon enough, but a full-blood, bad-assed, prime male Seeker not having sex? Girl, it’s unheard of. Alaan hasn’t had any coochie since that Sher person was murdured, what, six years ago? Yet, he gave it up to you. Doesn’t that say anything?”

“Sure,” she snorted. “It says he was finally too horny to resist the offer.”

“Girl, please! Don’t be absurd. I’ve seen women throw themselves at Alaan. He either totally ignores them or blows them off so coldly you can see frostbite on the boot print left on the back of their asses when he kicks them to the curb. But you, woman, you get under that vamp’s skin. And from what you told me, you didn’t offer, chicklet. He. Took. It.”

The finger poking into her chest with every word belonged to a woman who was a mountain of calm reason. Anything coming out of Carin’s mouth should be considered, but should she dare hope? Was Alaan really sure about what he wanted? Or was he just having a temporary lapse in his determination to remain single? Sigh. What a quandary.

“What are you saying?” Tameth asked cautiously. Determined to keep her composure, she poured them both another cup of tea. She’d never know how she kept her hands from shaking and sloshing Carin’s favorite Earl Gray all over her leather skirt.

“Thanks, Tam. Mmm, that’s good. It’s chilly today. And I bet Bix has Alaina outside playing without a coat again. Blasted man.” Carin rose and headed to the window.

“Carin,” Tameth called after her. “You were saying…?”

“Oh yeah, sorry. I get sidetracked, sometimes. Okay, now think about it. Whenever you’re around, especially if you’re accompanied by a man, he scowls, growls and looks ready to kill, right?”

“He does? I’ve never noticed…”

Carin’s mouth fell open while her head tilted to the side in question.

“Girl, if you tell me you’ve never noticed how Alaan reacts to you, I may just have to slap you silly. How does everyone notice this stuff but you? Tell me, how do you feel when he’s around?”

“It’s crazy,” Tameth replied, unsure how to piece together what she wanted to say. It was hard to acknowledge in her own mind, let alone explain to someone else. With a huff, she was up on her feet again, and recommenced wearing a hole in the plush royal blue Aubusson carpet. That alone was irritating. She was a Seeker, for chrissake. She wasn’t supposed to pace.

“I feel like I know when he’s there, but deeper. Almost like I know what he’s feeling. I’m not a strong psychic like you, but I could swear I hear the man in my head.”

“Tam, I think you’re in trouble.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how I felt when Bix first came into my life. And you know Bix and I are more than mates. We’re bondmates. Do you think Alaan is your bondmate, sweetie?”

What could she say? It was just too much to believe. And since the words were determined to remain stuck in her throat anyway, she just sat down on the edge of the loveseat and shook her head.

“What do you mean, no?” Carin asked, hiking a now wide awake and squirming baby over her shoulder. “You’re not saying much, Mizz Outspoken, but personally, I don’t see why he couldn’t be your bondmate.”

Tameth dragged in a sigh. “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t bite him back. Until I’m sure, there’s no way I’d want to be mated or bonded to a man who doesn’t really want me. I can’t compete with Sher’s ghost, Carin. And I shouldn’t have to.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, chicklet.” The two ladies chuckled at the man-sized burp that burst out of the little tyke over his mama’s shoulder. “But you’re being ridiculous, Tam. You know a true bondmating is more than exchanging blood. It can only happen if you both truly want it in your hearts. I’m telling you, when I bonded with Bix it bordered on the spiritual.”

Tameth looked down at the floor between her knees, not bothering to school her features or keep the downcast look off her face. Carin left her chair and eased onto the loveseat next to her, putting her arm around her friend in a show of support.

“For Alaan Serati, of all men, to come out and say he wants to mate and bond with you means he feels the bond already forming. He’s my brother and I know him. He’s not stupid, though he can be an idiot sometimes. I think you’re nuts not to believe him. Besides, he didn’t ask you to compete with anyone, right?”

“Right,” Tameth groaned. After all, Carin really was right. So what was her problem? Her real problem? Maybe she could sort it out sooner rather than later?

“Come on, Tameth, the man is all tied in knots when it comes to you, sweetpea. And speaking of tied in knots…how was the sex? I’ve heard rumors about a particular blond, deep-voiced, gorgeous vampire that would make my husband lock me away for life if he even suspected I’d heard those stories,” Carin whispered conspiratorially.

Tameth smiled, feeling loads lighter, though she couldn’t figure exactly why. She hadn’t really changed her mind about anything.

“Well, I’ve heard the same rumor.” She laughed. “And the boy has quite a package. Enough to…”

“Tie it in a knot!” the two women crowed in unison.

After a round of good humor, Carin sobered and pinned her friend with a hard, serious stare and asked her flat out, “Tameth, why are you playing games with Alaan?”

“I’m not trying to play games, Carin, I swear. But I have to know that he really wants me, and not still pining away for Sher.” She was back to pacing again. “I mean, how do I know he’s forgotten her?

She couldn’t decide whether to flinch or laugh at the “girl, please” look Carin drilled her way.

“Uh, Tam?”

“Yes,” Tameth said through gritted teeth. Here it comes, Tameth. She’s gonna make sense and you’re going to feel like a numbskull.

“Can you tell me why Alaan needs to forget Sher? The woman is dead. She’s gone, Tameth. Even if the man thinks about her, he’s making love to and going home with you. Spending time with you. Having little fat babies with you.” With a flustered wave of her hand, Carin plopped the cooing tot into Tameth’s hands. Tameth held him close, buried her nose into the soft folds on his neck and inhaled. He smelled like baby powder and brand new skin.

“Okay, enough about Alaan. Tell me where that gorgeous Kenoe figures into all this? Damn, those Clan Hatsept boys are all so good-looking.”

“Well, he’s helping me, uh, sort of figure things out.” Looking up in time to see understanding flare in Carin’s intelligent eyes, Tameth grinned shamelessly.

“Girl, you’re using Kenoe to make Alaan jealous, aren’t you? Well, from everything you’ve told me, I think it’s working.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have anything to be jealous about.”

“Why?”

“Because…Kenoe is gay.”

“What! You sure he doesn’t swing both ways? I thought you and he…”

“I’d consider him my occasional lover, but all we’ve shared are a few comforting kisses. Wait, that’s not quite true. When I’m bent or stressed he gives a hell of a massage along with the occasional tongue lashing.”

“Tongue lashing?” Carin asked with raised eyebrows.

Tameth knew the woman understood exactly what she meant. But there was no harm in painting the picture just a little bit clearer.

“Yes, Carin, tongue lashing. As in female blowjob. Coochie hummer. Clit licking?”

“Okay, damn it. I get it. Hell, after this conversation I may need to go find my husband for a little midday quickie. Sheesh.”

Tameth handed Russian back to his mother and laughed at Carin’s disgruntled, hornyfied expression.

“We’ve slept in the same bed, Carin, but that’s as far as we’ve ever gone. We’d get ready to have a hot round of sweaty sex, but before we could do anything we’d look into each others’ eyes and burst out laughing. We just don’t feel that way about each other. He’s like another you to me. A close girlfriend I can share anything with. Only I wouldn’t go down on you!”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Kenoe Hatsept doesn’t like coochie? I’ve never heard of a gay vampire,” Carin crowed, eyes wide with wonder. Bisexuality was common enough, but it was practically unheard of for a prime male vampire to be gay. It had more to do with the genetic compulsion of a slow-breeding race to reproduce than any kind of moral stance.

“I know, but anything is possible, right?”

“Hmmm, I sense a story there.”

“So do I,” Tameth said thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, Kenoe’s not telling. I have a feeling something happened to him when he was younger, but where and with whom, I have no idea.”

“Wow, you just made my day. That’s the juiciest secret in all of vampiredom. Wait until Alaan finds out. Woohoo!” Carin giggled.

“By the way, the blood suppressant worked like a charm. No side effects so far, so can you give me another inoculation?”

“What for?” Carin asked, already up and headed for a locked cabinet across the living room.

“Just the thought of bagged O-positive, bleecchhkkk!” Tameth’s tongue blanched at the thought of the bland stuff sliding over it. It always tasted like it had a touch of cod liver oil in it. Ewww.

Forehead wrinkled with concentration, only seconds passed before the other woman had a suggestion. “Well, just use a voluntary donor. With so many Seekers in London, I doubt they all use the bagged stuff. I’ll have to work on some kind of flavor enhancer. In the meantime, I can check with the Matriarch. Maybe for this trip we can set up…”

“No!” Tameth flinched at herself. She hadn’t meant to shout. Her feet carried her across the carpet and back to the balcony windows. Damn it, this pacing was becoming a bad habit. Forcing herself to sit calmly, Tameth explained.

“If I can’t have a shot, I’ll just deal with the bagged stuff. I can’t do a donor, Carin.” Plowing forward with a deep breath, the words tumbled out. “I-I just can’t see myself taking any fresh blood except Alaan’s…”

“But you won’t bite him? What the hell kind of sense does that make, Tameth?”

The legendary hand-on-hip-foot-tappin’ Carin was in full effect.

I knew I’d feel like an idiot before I got out of this room, Tameth thought as her gaze rolled towards the ceiling.

“But you know I love you, Tam.”

The injection device from hell was loaded and only inches away from her neck. The cool swab of an alcohol pad was quickly followed by a small prick.

“Yeah, Mizz Bixler, I know.” Tameth hissed, grimaced and braced herself at the scalding rush of the suppressant as it entered her bloodstream.

“Damn it! Can’t you do anything about the sting?”

“Big baby,” Carin teased, stuck out her tongue, then said, “So, how ‘bout a shower, lady? ‘Cause if you walk into a room with my brother, and he starts growling and unsheathing his fangs because he smells himself on you, I may just have to shoot him.”