Chapter 25-
by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth
Who's Your Daddy?
She loves me! She
loves me!
Dmitri grinned, not
caring that he looked like an imbecile as he reached down to touch her
shoulder. He heard Michelle’s word from across the bar. She loved
him! He couldn’t believe it. He’d hoped she cared for him, or in the
least was still attracted to him. But, love? He’d never dreamt of
that.
She loves me! She
loves me!
Expecting a soft
tenderness in her eyes when she turned to look at him, he was sorely
disappointed. She frowned up in confusion. Surely, she knew he could
hear everything she said. His kind had excellent hearing. But, as
she continued to stare up at him, her eyes narrowed in irritation, he
knew she had no idea.
“Yes?” she prompted,
sounding scornful. “Can I help you?”
The author across the
table chuckled. Turning to the vampire with them, Anya said, “Come
on, let’s get out of here. Michelle, it was great talking to you. I
look forward to your article.”
“Thanks,” Michelle
answered. Dmitri frowned as she pushed past him to stand up from the
table, shaking off his hand. He didn’t pay attention to them as they
spoke a second longer. When Anya left, Michelle turned to him.
Dmitri couldn’t stop
himself. He began to reach for her. His lips parted ready to stake
his claim. His body itched to be next to her. He’d put his desires
off so long and finally, FINALLY, here she was and she loved him.
Nothing else mattered. She actually cared for him. His grin widened
with an affected charm.
Michelle recoiled back
as if he was insane. “What’s gotten into you, wolf boy? Is there
supposed to be a full moon tonight or what?”
Dmitri’s hand reached
to touch her and the sweet perfume of her body filled his head. His
body lurched, becoming painfully aroused. The grey depths of his eyes
threatened with a shift, swirling with the dangerous passions of his
lycan nature.
Michelle took a step
back. Her words weak, she whispered, “Dmitri…?”
His grin widened. He
didn’t know what to say, as he was content to just stare at her. The
passion rose in his blood and he struggled to keep it down. He knew
the truth of her feelings now and nothing she said or did was going to
get in their way.
~*****~
Armando stalked away
from Mandy’s building blinded by rage. She had a way of turning him
into a madman with little to no effort and he never knew quite how to
handle her. Her energy and individuality had been part of what
attracted him to her, but it was also what drove him over the edge.
The fact that she’d never told him about being married had hurt worse
than when he walked in and found her kissing that pathetic excuse for
a lycan.
Mandy should have confided in him.
She should have known that he’d love her regardless what secrets her
past held. He’d roamed the earth for hundreds of years and had never
loved unconditionally prior to her. Why did she have to make it so
difficult?
He took another step and realized
what he was doing. He was giving into her yet again—setting himself
up for a lifetime of allowing her to behave any way she saw fit, and
knowing that she was permitting an aggressive werewolf to bunk with
her during a full moon proved that her judgment was not what it should
be.
“No.” He said, suddenly stopping and
turning around.
Armando used his supernatural speed
to cover the distance back to her front door and didn’t bother
knocking. She was his and he would do whatever it took to keep her.
She would have to learn to live with it or learn to live with it.
There would be no exceptions. He thrust the door open and Mandy
whirled around, her green eyes wide.
“Armando?” He could sense the fear
in her voice and knew that he looked like he felt—capable of killing.
“I am staying here with you tonight.”
“Like hell you are!” She shouted,
glancing back towards her bedroom.
Armando grimaced as he heard the
shower running. Thinking of Darren naked in Mandy’s master bathroom
was more than he could handle. “You heard me, Mandy. I am staying
here with you tonight and any other night I see fit. AND while
we are on the subject, from here on out we will not separate. I have
grown tired of only seeing you once or twice a week. You will stay
with me as well. Decide what you need to have at my home to be
comfortable and I will see to it that it is there. Are we clear?”
Mandy’s mouth dropped open and her
eyes narrowed on him.
Great, his intentions had been to
beat the living hell out of Darren and sweep Mandy off her feet, not
infuriate her. It mattered not, what was done, was done. The only
thing left was damage control. He scanned Mandy’s thoughts quickly,
uncertain if she had grown accustom to the feel of his mind merging
with hers.
She didn’t seem to notice. She was
too busy forming the idea of permanently revoking his invitation to
her home and sticking her ring up his ass. He shook the vivid image
from his head and grabbed hold of her free will. It was a gift that
all master vampires possessed, but one he’d sworn that he’d never use
on her. Now, she’d left him no choice. They were meant to be
together, and he would not allow a werewolf to stop them.
“Mandy,” he said, slowly, using his
voice as an additional push. “You want me to always be welcome in her
your home. Do you not?”
She blinked and began to shake her
head no. He had to give her credit. She was strong willed, but he
was stronger. He tightened his mental hold on her, careful not to
cause her too much discomfort. “You wish me to have an open
invitation, yes?”
“Y-es.” She seemed to choke
on the word.
“Very good. Now, you must state that
you recognize me as your master.”
Her eyes nearly bulged out of her
head. He felt her body trying to react. She fought against his hold
and he knew that that caused her a great deal of pain, but he couldn’t
let go now. If he did, he would lose her forever. Mandy wasn’t a
woman to stand for this behavior, no matter how necessary it was.
Mandy projected her
thoughts out at him. She wanted to kick him square in the head and do
some rather vile things to his private parts. He winched and couldn’t
help but to cup his groin. Her imagination was very colorful and
slightly alarming. No wonder she did so well writing paranormal
thrillers, she was scarier than anything he’d come up against, and
he’d come up against some of the nastiest demons the world had ever
seen. A lesser man would have run. He just filed away the need to
sleep with one eye open for a while and continued to press her. “Say
it, Mandy, recognize me as your master.”
“I re-cognize you…as…my…mas-ter.”
She said, between gritted teeth.
Instantly, Armando felt his power
encompass her. She would forever be his now regardless if she tried
to revoke his invitation or not. She belonged to him, as it was meant
to be. She was now under his full protection and if he chose to issue
an order, she would feel compelled to listen to him. Knowing Mandy,
she’d find a way to fight him on it so he saw little reason to force
her compliance any further. He let his hold on her mind slip.
He waited for her to scream at him.
Instead, her body slumped down to the floor. He ran to her, grabbing
her in his arms, looking for signs of a problem. He found that her
mind was confused and that her struggle to maintain her freewill had
given her a migraine. She was tired, hurt, and felt betrayed. The
thought that he’d caused her pain sickened him. He touched her
forehead and drew the pain from her, absorbing it into himself.
“Mandy?”
She stayed limp in his arms, scaring
the hell out of him. He wanted her mad and violent. At least that
way he knew she was fine. Her current state terrified him. Had he
broken her? Had he used too much of his power on her? He’d heard of
vampires doing that, leaving the human a vegetable.
The bedroom door opened and Armando
looked up to find Darren dripping wet and completely nude. He
couldn’t help but to glance down to survey his competition. A smile
crept over his face when he saw that although Darren was more than
capable of pleasing a woman, he didn’t compare to him. It was petty,
but gave him great comfort.
Armando smelled the wolf within
Darren try to surface. “What the hell did you do to Mandy?” Darren
demanded.
As much as he wanted to beat the man
to a bloody pulp, Mandy was his first priority. He raised his hand
and let his power flow forth. “Sleep.”
Darren fell backwards with a thud.
Armando could have cushioned his fall with his own power, but didn’t
want to. In fact, he thought of waking Darren just to watch him drop
once more. He pulled his hand back and watched as his power dragged
Darren’s large body across the floor. He deposited him in the corner
and set his attentions back on Mandy.
“Kitten?”
She blinked up at him. Her hand came
up suddenly and struck him across the face. A direct hit had never
felt sweeter. “How could you?”
The hurt in her voice almost broke
his composure. He would not cry in front of her. He had never been
prone to expressing his feelings and felt no need to start now. “I
did what needed to be done and I regret nothing.”
“I trusted you.”
She scored another direct hit, this
time with her words, and he felt a piece of him shatter. His voice
shook when he spoke. “So, much so that you never told me that you had
been married.”
“I never told anyone.”
“I am not just anyone, Mandy.” He
wiped away the tears on her cheek and realized that he’d been
projecting his sorrow onto her. She cried for him, as a true mate
would. It mattered not that she wasn’t a vampire they were connected
now. “Do not weep, Kitten. It breaks my heart to see you sad. We
will get through this.”
“No, we won’t. I’m your puppet now,
not your wife.”
Armando didn’t correct her when she
referred to herself as his wife. No, they were not yet married, but
hearing her say it melted him. “Do you really think that I would
prefer to have a puppet instead of you?”
She arched a black eyebrow at him. “Everyone
would prefer a puppet to me.”
“I am not everyone, Kitten. I am the
man who is in love with you. You are my heart, and literally my
soul. Without you, I am a shell, forever destined to wander this
earth alone. Forgive my need to secure our happiness, for you are all
that I have.”
She groaned and tipped her head
back. He pulled her closer to him. “Mandy?”
“Why did you have to go all poetic on
me? Gawd, it’s hard to stay mad at that and I’m hella
good at holding a grudge! My head still hurts.”
“Here,” he said, touching her
forehead again, drawing the remaining pain into himself.
“Thanks.”
“Does this mean that I am forgiven?”
“This means that if you ever hold the
fact that you’re my…mas..mast…oh, hell, you know the word,
over my head I will stake you in your sleep. Are we clear?”
“Crystal. Besides, I caught a
glimpse of your rather vivid and somewhat disturbing imagination.
Tell me, would you really do the things you envisioned?”
“What do you think?”
He shuddered.
“What did you do to Darren?” She
asked, peeking over his shoulder.
“I put him to sleep.”
She stiffened, her eyes wide with
fear. “You didn’t.”
Armando laughed despite himself.
“Oh, how I wish I would have ‘put him to sleep’, no he is merely
resting. He will not wake until I permit it.”
“Is it painful?”
“No.”
“Good, leave him and take me to bed.
I need to be held, and if you tell anyone that I said that you’re fair
game for direct sunlight.”
He picked her up and carried her
towards the bedroom, knowing that she would need to be near him often
now that she was his. He was also smart enough to know that
she wouldn’t want to hear that little piece of information at the
moment so he left it alone. He also left off the part about her start
towards immortality. Each time he drew blood from her, or touched her
mind he would strengthen their bond, allowing her to live as long as
he did. Most would take the news that they’d live forever well, Mandy
was not like most people. She was certainly a breed all unto herself
and he loved her for that.
~*****~
“You’re scaring me,
Dmitri,” Michelle said, backing away. His eyes were filled with a
dangerous light. She’d seen the wolf in him before, but there was
something different in his look—something terrifying and oddly
erotic. “I’m going to go and get you some help. Don’t move…I…I’m
just going…Mike.”
Michelle stumbled away
from him, swallowing nervously as she made her way across the bar.
Seeing Mike doing his horrible impersonation of Tom Cruise from the
movie Cocktail, she grimaced. A bottle of wine flew through the air
and he caught it behind his back.
“That’s what I’m
talkin’ about, baby!” Mike swore. A group of giggling twits watched
him from the bar.
“Mike,” Michelle
began. “There’s something wrong with your cousin.”
“Yeah, doll, I know,”
Mike laughed. “He needs a good shagging! Why don’t you hop on him
and help a lycan out? You know, let him give you some LLL.” He said,
putting his hands up to indicate about ten inches.
The girls giggled.
“LLL?” Michelle
asked, unsure that she wanted to hear the answer.
“Long lycan lovin’,
sugar.” He grinned foolishly and Michelle threw her hands in the air.
Why do I bother?”
“Hey, do me a favor,
sugar,” Mike said as a large group of customers came into the bar.
“Dmitri got a shipment of A pos today for the vamps and we’re out up
here. Could you ask him to bring a couple cases up?”
“No, Mike…”
“Thanks sweeting!”
Mike blew her a kiss before turning back to the giggling brigade once
more. “Watch this, loves!”
“Mike seems busy,”
Dmitri said from behind her. “Come, help me with the cases. The door
sticks and if someone doesn’t hold it open I’ll get locked inside.
The locksmith will be here tomorrow to fix it.”
“Does it look like I
work here?” Michelle demanded.
“You’re here enough,”
he shot back, with the same strange grin. “Just help out, would
you?”
Michelle could no
longer resist the soft tone of his voice, than she could stop
breathing. Pretending to be more exasperated than she really was, she
sighed and nodded. “Fine. Just hurry up. I want to go home.”
Dmitri led the way
into the office. Then, pushing a button on the wall, waited as the
hidden basement door slid open. Michelle grabbed the door and stood.
“No,” Dmitri
motioned. “Down here.”
Michelle frowned,
looking down the dark stairwell. “I…You’re not trying to kill me or
anything are you? It’s so dark.”
“It’s not made for
humans. We don’t exactly need a lot of light to get around.” Dmitri
turned on the stairs to look up at her. Light from the office fell
over his handsome face. “Come on, I promise nothing down here will
hurt you.”
“I’m going to regret
this,” she mumbled, stepping down. The office door closed behind her
and she felt along the wall as she walked down. Reaching the bottom,
she felt a hand on her waist.
“This way,” Dmitri
murmured. A tingle went over her spine. He led her to a nearby
room. “This is the door that sticks. Just hold it open while I set
these cases out.”
Michelle held the
door, unable to help herself as she watched Dmitri’s tight body move
under the weight of the cases. He brushed past her, his strong arm
grazing close to her chest. If she didn’t know better, she’d think
he’d done it on purpose.
“Excuse me,” Dmitri
breathed as he passed again, coming close to where she stood. His
dark eyes pierced into her and she couldn’t move.
Michelle watched him,
almost dazed as he bent over to grab another case. Her lips parted
and her mouth went dry. Damn, but he had a really nice ass. It
almost wasn’t fair. Then, hearing a scurrying noise behind her, she
jumped in fright. “Ahhh! Rat!”
“Don’t! The door…”
Dmitri dropped the case with a thud and began to turn.
Michelle hurried from
the door, crashing into him as she tried to get away from the rodent.
Warm, strong arms wrapped around her from behind as she stumbled into
a solid chest. Shivering, a weak noise left her lips and she gasped.
“If you wanted to get
me alone, all you had to do was ask.”
His soft voice flowed
over her in a hot wave of desire. She blinked, momentarily confused.
His hands stroked up her arm with a masterful skill that left her
breathless.
“I…I…” Michelle
couldn’t move.
~*****~
Mandy clutched onto
Armando’s shoulders as he released himself within her. Her body shook
as he kissed the tiny bite mark closed on her neck. Sharing blood
with him was beyond erotic, and she was surprised that she’d allowed
him to do it, especially during sex. He pulled out slowly, wrapped
her in his arms, and slid down on the bed next to her.
She snuggled into the wall of his
chest and for the first time in her life, felt comfortable in the arms
of another. Michelle would have paid good money for a Polaroid of the
moment. She laughed softly.
“Kitten?”
Mandy stroked his smooth chest,
tracing her way down his chiseled abs. She looked up into his dark
eyes and frowned. “What’s wrong? You look so serious.”
Armando’s expression softened as he
moved his mouth to hers. His kiss was sweet and slow. He sucked on
her tongue before pulling back with a groan. “I fear that we will not
get out of this bed today if we do not stop now.”
Mandy let out a sultry laugh as she
sank down, drowning his stomach with kisses. He jerked and grabbed
her shoulders. “Kitten, you are insatiable.”
“Thanks.”
“I have to go into the club tonight
to meet with the realtor about purchasing the adjacent property.
Don’t you have to meet with your bridesmaids soon as well?”
She nodded her head as she licked his
navel, running a trail of kisses down the line of dark hair that
started there. Armando sucked in his breath and she moved down over
him. His body obviously wanted to play more and so did hers. She
cupped his sac and looked up at him. His eyelids were heavy and his
body tight. “Funny, looking at you now you’d never guess that you
were the master in this situation.” She licked the tip of him and he
jerked before moaning slightly. “Are you the boss, Armando?”
Armando let out a shaky breath as his
hand moved to her hair. “Somehow I knew you would be able to twist
the arrangement around to suit you.”
She let her tongue run along the
length of him. “Are you complaining?”
“Why would I do that?” A mischievous
grin covered his face.
“Do you think you should wake Darren
up now? I’m sure he’ll be sore.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Is that your new answer for
everything?” Mandy asked, running her tongue back over him. He
tipped his head back and closed his dark eyes. There was no doubt in
her mind that she held complete control over him, master vampire or
not.
~*****~
“I wasn’t!” Michelle
managed at last, pulling up and away from Dmitri. He chuckled, taking
a seat on a crate, as she went to try to open the door. Pounding on
the metal, she screamed, “Help! Come on! Mike!”
“He can’t hear you,”
Dmitri drawled lazily. “He’ll not come down until he realizes the bar
hasn’t been stocked.”
Michelle shivered. It
was really dark in the room and she could barely see. “Where’s the
light?”
“Ah, there’s a light
in the fridge,” Dmitri offered.
Michelle squinted and
made her way over to where she remembered seeing it. She found it and
felt around for the handle. Opening it up, she turned to see Dmitri
lounging against a makeshift seat in the boxes. Turning, she looked
into the fridge.
“Oh, gross!” She
instantly shut it. The thing was filled with blood packets. “You
guys knock off a Red Cross or what?”
“Talk to Armando.
It’s his flavor. I prefer whiskey.”
She heard another
shuffling and screamed, hurrying from the fridge. Her foot hit a
crate and she fell back. Dmitri caught her before she hit the floor.
He leaned over from his place, holding her inches above the floor.
“Relax,” he soothed.
“You’re so jumpy.”
She heard the smile in
his voice and stiffened. Defensively, she whispered,
“There was a rat.”
“We don’t have rats at
the Raven,” Dmitri growled, almost sounding offended.
Michelle heard another
noise and gasped. She jolted in Dmitri’s arms, shivering as she
reached up to hold onto him. If there was one thing she was
absolutely terrified of, it was snakes and rats.
“Oh, Oooooh,” Dmitri
whispered as her arms snaked up. His arms tightened around her.
“Maybe we do have rats.”
“You’re laughing at
me, aren’t you?” she whispered. Her body trembled in fear and she
refused to let him go. Before he could answer, she insisted, “I can’t
see anything. It’s too dark. Do you see anything? And be honest,
don’t lie to me.”
His arms shifted,
drawing her closer. Her heart beat erratically, a curious warmth
replacing the unreasonable fear. Dmitri’s breath whispered over her
neck, as he said, “There is one very large rat in the corner.”
Michelle made a weak
sound, instantly lifting her feet off the floor. She sunk onto his
lap and Dmitri groaned.
“Hey,” he soothed.
“Don’t worry. He won’t come near me.”
“You’re sure?” Her
face turned naturally to his. She felt the unmistakable length of his
arousal next to her hip. It excited and scared her. He was so big,
so powerful. She nervously bit her lip. There was something about
him that took her breath away each and every time. His hand found her
hip and began to massage lightly, working up her side. A small sound
left her. Her eyes fluttered closed. “Dmitri, what are you doing?”
“Protecting you from
rats,” he whispered back. She felt his lips close, brushing ever so
lightly against her mouth.
“Dmitri?”
“Hum?” His mouth drew
closer still, rubbing gracefully back and forth in a kiss so tender it
made her toes curl.
“Is there really
something there?” Michelle angled her head, waiting in breathless
anticipation for him to kiss her. Unbidden, her hands crept over his
chest to his neck, holding him for support.
“Mmmm,” was his
groaned reply as he lowered his mouth to hers. Instantly, the soft
caress became demanding, sawing against her lips. Heat rolled through
her stomach, making her gasped into his opened mouth.
She didn’t know how he
managed, but his fingers snaked beneath her shirt and found hold on an
aching breast. Rubbing his thumb back and forth, he budded her nipple
against his roaming fingers.
Michelle squirmed.
Her hips angled and he took full advantage, gliding his fingers over
her stomach to her waistband. She grabbed at his shirt, pulling it up
so she could feel his muscled chest. His hips rocked along hers,
pushing the hard length of his passion up into her hip. He was so
huge!
“Dmitri,” she gasped,
pulling her lips away. He merely changed course, kissing eagerly down
her throat, nibbling her with his teeth. Primal sounds of passion
reverberated in his chest. “Dmitri, I…”
Dmitri, I’m scared.
The words never left
her mouth. His hands boldly parted her jeans, reaching to find the
aching torment of her sensitive opening.
“Damn it, Dmitri!”
Michelle froze. Mike
continued to curse and she could hear him kicking at the case left by
the door. Dmitri stopped at her sound of complete horror. She pushed
up, trying to straighten her clothes. The door opened and she turned
to see Mike peering in at them, a wide grin on his face.
“Well, well, didn’t
mean to interrupt,” Mike winked at them. “Just let me grab another
case and I’ll leave you be.”
Michelle glanced back
to see Dmitri hadn’t smoothed his clothes. His rugged disheveled
appeal was almost too much for her senses. Only Mike’s laughing kept
her from going back into her arms. Dmitri’s eyes burned into her. It
was as if he didn’t hear or see Mike.
“I…” Michelle turned,
needing to get away so she could think straight. She might care for
Dmitri, but he’d made it clear he didn’t care for her. Or did he?
His eyes said otherwise, but his actions as of late were another
story. “The air’s too stale. I can’t breathe down here.”
Michelle ran past
Mike. They listened to her leave.
“Having fun?” Mike
teased.
“If you weren’t my
cousin, I would rip out your throat. You have the worst timing,”
Dmitri growled.
Mike only laughed
harder. “Ah, now, come on.”
Dmitri surged to his feet. His fist to Mike’s
mouth stopped anything further he might try to say. Then, storming
out the door, he pushed it shut, locking Mike inside. With a grim
look of satisfaction, he walked back upstairs, leaving Mike trapped.
