Sanibel Seduction - Vampire Werewolf Menage (Fanged Romance Series Book Four) Page 2

  A few yards away, another noise distracted them both, and the hairs on her arms stood straight up from the proximity of the other. Though it truly sounded like others – many others. Without a doubt, they were herding her, enclosing her within a space at which there was no foreseeable escape.

  Gripping her with fingers so long they overlapped on her upper arm, it repeated, “Mine!”

  It didn’t take long to realize that the more she struggled, the more she incited it. It seriously wants to play first. Azure tried to relax her body, mustering a trace of courage in order to survive. Amazingly, she somehow found the will to stop her fast, jerky movements and slowed to creep away instead, to some degree concealing her panic.

  Right when a twig snapped behind her.

  Strangely enough, the golden-eyed creature ignored it. It noticeably calmed itself as though subdued by her sudden acquiescence. It eased its grip on her arm and rubbed her in a soothing manner, petting her like an unhappy child or a small, frightened animal. However, she was not inclined to give its sudden show of compassion any thought when she needed to get away.

  With the size and strength of it, the odds weren’t on Azure’s side, but desperation gave her a boost of courage. Without looking to see the other creatures gaining on them, she skirted to the left and rolled her body on the ground, gaining momentum down a slippery slope. In a flash, it toppled her, cradling her body and stilling her rolling descent. Shaking its head back and forth, it chastised her, “No!”

  She pushed against its chest as its body pressed her to the ground. Pounding heart against pounding heart, its hips met hers, and she could feel the way it truly wanted her. And it wasn’t for food. “Your body is like fire,” she gasped in sudden horror, the reality of the moment finally sinking in. “I’m not in a dream this time! Oh, no, no, no, this is not one of my nightmares!” Trembling violently, she stared into its otherworldly eyes and demanded it answer her, “Is it?”

  “No,” it growled low in a voice that didn’t belong to a human. Dipping its head, it drew a long breath against her throat. A rough tongue traced a delicate path, extending to the tender flesh behind her ear where sharp teeth delivered a possessive nip.

  “Tasting me or warning m-me?” She gasped.

  “Made for me” – his lips brushed the shell of her ear with every syllable, and then its cheek rubbed against hers – “scented you. Born for me.” One hand grasped the side of her throat, absently rubbing a clawed thumb over her jawline.

  Then golden eyes were above Azure again. Its fangs seemed to lengthen as it memorized every facet of her features with shimmering eyes moving so rapidly she couldn’t keep up – couldn’t follow them though she tried. “Beautiful mine,” it purred, “wanting and waiting – waiting and wanting. For you.”

  She swallowed thickly as it touched her mouth with its thumb, sinuously gliding the back of its claw over her lips. She was surprised to understand how glossy smooth something so fearsome could feel when used in a lulling gesture - or possibly a seductive one.

  But she wouldn’t be lulled.

  Nor would she be seduced.

  “A-any chance you’ll l-let me go?”

  A purely masculine rumble was her answer, its chest shaking hers with fascinated laughter. Cool air hit her thighs. When additional claws scraped her flesh, her arousal flew up, up, up. And to her utter shame, a jolt of liquid lust blasted through every cell in her body when it curved a large palm around the globe of her ass, firmly squeezing in an extremely proprietary manner. Oh, my. “Not good,” she mumbled with a sensual shudder, her mind frantically trying to remind her traitorous body why she should get away from a monster.

  “Good,” it countered, sliding its thick finger under the elastic of her barely-there panties, “no more darkness - no longer lonely. So good.”

  “Y-you’re lonely?”

  “No more,” it groaned, lowering firm lips to hers as that same thick finger slid over the cleft of her ass. Stroking. Stroking. Stroking. Synchronizing with its tongue as it slipped over hers, tangling and sucking.

  The faintest rationality suggested she should be worried about the large fangs pressed against her mouth and chin. Its lusty tongue speared between the sharp daggers. Maintaining its rhythmic motion, thrusting and delving unhurriedly into her mouth as its hands continued their possessive perusal of her body. It lifted her knee, angling its hips to sweeten their contact right where she needed it the most. So she asked that bit of waning rationality how could she fight whirlwinds of sensations she’d never yet known until now? Sensations overwhelming her, weaving through everything she was, branding her entire body and soul with just the feel of its body against hers. She shamelessly clung to it, thrusting her fingers through its silky hair, clutching it desperately to her body.

  “More,” she murmured, arching her back as it kissed its way to her hardened nipple, and then sucked it roughly through her clothing. Another bolt of ecstasy raced through her bloodstream, torching everything in its path, cramping the pit of her stomach with a fierce, unquenchable need. “More,” she repeated, almost begging it now.

  “More,” it echoed her chant, lowering its stunning face to her wetness.

  “There,” she cried out, unable to resist as it nibbled her inner thighs and then expertly brushed its rough tongue where she ached. She dug her nails in its neck, unconsciously marking him.

  As if nothing else mattered except for having this monster possess her.

  The minute she wished for it, wholly succumbed to it, her monster was suddenly gone - replaced by a blinding blue light and the sounds of flesh beating flesh.

  She clutched at air. Instantly realizing she had no anchor keeping her from her long descent, her body resumed tumbling down the gradient. As she rolled, thumping harder against the ground, she grasped for anything she could manage. But other than a rock clocking the side of her head, there was nothing solid to be found. Her hands uselessly slid in the mud. Tall reeds broke under her grasp the minute Azure touched them. All the while, she gained momentum. Azure cried out when she hit the water with a dull splash, swallowing the moldy, salt-infused liquid before sinking.

  The power of a dangerous swamp surrounded her.

  Its thick muck swallowed her whole.

  Kicking out, she fought with everything she had, pushing herself to the water’s surface. But something rough and hugely muscled swam by, scraping her thighs while pulling her down with its teeth. She sank lower as she bled out. Watching bits and pieces of her life walk through her mind. Flashbacks. In the way that she’d heard about from countless others as they held her hand while nearing their deaths. She had no choice but to watch these damned flashbacks – frame by frame – and she didn’t like what she saw. She suddenly hated herself for wasting her life on others while never once taking into account her own life – her own joy – her own needs. Maybe it was her lack of oxygen talking, but she should have never spent her life being a martyr.

  Someone without balance.

  In the grand scheme of things, she wasted her life worrying. I want that time back. All for nothing and taking up too many moments that she could have spent doing anything else.

  Just anything…

  Possibly, she would have enjoyed life a little bit more.

  But she couldn’t do that now. Death was her next life. Going deeper, pulling her down, wrapping her body in a cold, black abyss, a monster would finally consume her this night. In her surrender, she closed her eyes with finality, taking her last breath while in the jaws of a hungry, Everglades gator. As a small blessing, the darkness seeped inside her mind, closing off her consciousness before she felt real pain.

  A heavy set of boots ran to the water’s edge.

  “Thirty seconds,” he shouted out. “She’s been down thirty seconds! A human can’t last that long underwater!”

  A head popped up, rippling the too-quiet water. “I’m a fucking vampire. Stop your bloody shouting. My ears will bleed. Besides, I think maybe they can go longer than
that.”

  “No! No! Don’t be foolish. Not without turning their brains to oatmeal, they’re frail,” he snarled. “Faster. Hunt faster!”

  Another dive down and a full minute later, he bobbed up again and swam to the edge.

  “Collin, have you found her?”

  “Yes, Tare” – he held up her waterlogged, unconscious form – “I have the poor female.”

  “Alive?”

  “And chewed on,” he said with open disgust, nearing Tare while working his feet through the mud. Even as vampires, the swamplands weren’t easy to maneuver when they walked instead of misted. “Nothing wrong with her a little vampire blood won’t cure, though. But I need to feed immediately” – he nodded to the chunk of flesh missing from his right shoulder and bicep – “and this chit is a few pints short now.” His dark brows popped. “I had to fight off an alligator – a hungry one at that. Damn bastard nearly tore her precious leg off.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Quite. See for yourself.”

  “Shit,” Tare hissed, reaching out for her but Collin refused to hand her over, pulling her closer to his chest instead. “That shifter fought madly, refusing to go down even with immortal fire backing me up. I didn’t see her hit the water until it was too late.”

  “Our whole objective was to save her. Throwing her to swamp creatures sort of defeats that purpose.” Collin kept walking since the female wasn’t in any shape to fang her throat in order to mist her to safety. “She would have died without me. I claim her.”

  “Can’t be done.”

  “And why not?” Collin snapped irritably. “Nothing’s given me the greatest pleasure since I’ve touched her, felt her just now. And she’s unconscious, mind you. Which leads me to believe we’d fit rather well when she’s up and around. Why exactly would I want to give up such intriguing possibilities when I can have her in my lair?”

  “Get over it,” Tare warned as they neared a clearing full of unmarked vehicles. “I scent that she’s a mixed-blood - probably why the thing was after her – and we’ve had enough trouble with the werewolves lately thanks to Maestru.”

  Collin gave a mirthless laugh. “I scent that she smells like my savior. My one.”

  Tare snorted. “Scent my ass. She looks like an exotic angel with lush, ripened curves. That’s why you think she’s your one.” Tare opened the door to their blacked-out suburban, helping Collin settle her inside. “I can see that you’re going to be, uh, reluctant to give her back. But you will. We will. And she’ll never know what happened on this night. She’ll never remember that thing that hunted her.” He lowered his voice, staring into the depths of Collin’s eyes. “We’ll wipe her memory clean. Be thankful that we had saved her before he claimed her. We’ll have him locked away shortly, and he won’t be able to hurt another again.”

  “He didn’t look as though he was hurting her at all. But I guess you’re right as always.” Collin sounded haunted, almost hollow. “Maybe I just need to feed, get her to her home…and then I’ll forget her.” He firmed his voice, seemingly to convince himself of his resolve, “Yes… I’m quite sure I can forget her once she’s safe and out of my sight.”

  Chapter Two

  Sanibel Island, Florida

  “Thanks for misting Tatum back to Sanibel on such short notice,” Jayce, the North American Alpha, thanked Dru, shaking the vampire’s hand. The only bloodsucker he would trust with his queen’s life. Thankfully, he was a doctor, one of the few they had to treat their pack members – not to mention he was also Jayce’s brother-n-law. So he came in handy.

  “I enjoyed bringing Renee to Miami,” he said, eyeing Tatum critically. “I didn’t realize I would be back within hours.”

  “That makes two of us, man.”

  Everyone had enjoyed an exceptional day together on Miami Beach, a day which brought most of their new family together. Rebecca’s new mates Ciaran and Blade were there, as well as Renee, Bane, Arian, and Dru. They’d all said their goodbyes only to need Dru hours later. Tatum had started cramping so badly that she wanted to go to the hospital, frightened by intense pain. Jayce knew better. The hospital wasn’t what she needed.

  Tatum needed her Alpha.

  Full moon wasn’t upon them yet, though the celestial pull this time of the year was undeniable. A perfect time to get her pregnant with the next Alpha – a precious child, something they’d wanted for far too long. And with the moon’s added boost, his beast was working her body and preparing her for its seed. By pure instinct, Jayce knew he could pull everything off before the sunrise – a couple of hours away.

  “Let me know when you’re ready to mist her back to Miami,” Dru said as he started dissolving into air, “I’ll be with Renee, waiting on Captiva.” Jayce watched him mist away with the remnants of the night.

  Tatum grinned in a silly way, giggling. Buzzed on some pain medicine Dru shot her with and was more than horny from the good doctor’s vampiric bite, which was chocked full of climax-inducing endorphins. Those things coupled with her heat made for one playful mate.

  She started climbing his back like a little hellcat, clawing to get up. He growled at her, “That would feel better if you were naked.” Inciting him further, she ground her center against his hip. “Hmmm, you’re grinding that cute, little clit on me, stirring up the Alpha Beast the way only naughty queens can. Matches and gasoline, honey,” he purred, pulling her around to his front, “matches and gasoline.”

  He cupped her sweet ass, pressing it against the ridge of his needy cock, readying to explode deep inside her luscious heat. At the same time, he scanned the area, looking for anything that could harm her. He didn’t sense others in the immediate vicinity, besides Rock and four pack members from his security detail. Rock was circling the marsh, double-checking for shifters. Two Norwegian pure bloods who were Arian’s brothers prowled on the west side. And Jayce scented Heath and Jude Faden coming up behind them. All guards were the best of the best, hugely powerful and ready to kick ass at any given moment. They sure could pack an unholy punch when separate, but when combined, look out. So the Alpha could concentrate on his mating without scanning its surroundings continuously in order to keep Tatum safe.

  Heath and Jude closed in on them, keeping several paces behind. Ciaran’s blood ran strong through their Were veins, new power the pack needed as of late. Their females were scarce, and the ones they were blessed with were constantly faced with danger. Jude and Heath were powerful trackers who aided in finding what mixed-bloods were unmated so Bane could appoint a specific unmated male to each of them, watching them from a carful distance.

  “Is this what I think it is?” Jude whispered to Heath, realizing Jayce could hear but not Tatum.

  “Looks that way,” Heath rumbled, throwing out waves of powering with every step.

  “Jayce,” Tatum grumbled, talking against his throat between little flicks from her tongue.

  “Tatum,” he answered sternly, knowing where this was going.

  “You said two witnesses were needed for this conception,” she huffed, but didn’t stop her grinding. “I distinctly see four, and Rock makes five. You promised you would never lie to me.”

  “Never deceived you, honey.” His canines were shooting down, scraping his bottom lip. “Plans change all of the time. Where you’re concerned, we’ve been dealing with some nasty, greedy hands.” She wiggled around, trying to bring herself to orgasm, but he held her off. He needed her sitting on the verge of sexual desperation, and then she might forget she had an audience. Not likely, but that’s what he was hoping for. “I’m not taking any chances out here in the marsh. Your safety is paramount.” He was a slave to Tatum, his only desire in life was to please her, be inside her. Everything else was secondary. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

  “A hundred times or so, but you can say it again if you want to.”

  “Oh, I love you. I love you when you’re grouchy just as you’re getting right now.” He dipped his head down, running t
he tip of his nose over hers. “I love you in the middle of the night -”

  She interrupted, “You love me a lot in the middle of the night.”

  “It’s Bren’s fault,” he said innocently. “He always gets hard in his sleep, and those wet, fleshy sounds when he takes you wake me up. All that moaning and groaning, how’s a man supposed to get any shut-eye?”

  “It’s the very reason I have bags under my eyes.”

  “You don’t have bags under your eyes.” He gently kissed one, right at the edge where her eyelashes always tickled him, and pulled back to enjoy how it sparkled far better than a flawless sapphire. “Relax with me, now.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “You will in a minute.” He lifted her dress over her head and laid her back on a soft blanket. Bren had told her to leave off her underwear, and for once, she’d listened. “I can’t believe you followed instructions,” he laughed lightly, enjoying the view that had nothing to do with the island. “I’ll have to conjure up another reason to spank you later.”

  “Why do we have to make up reasons, anymore?”

  His smile widened at her honesty, she loved her little erotic punishments as much as he enjoyed delivering them. Under what was left of the moonlight, she glistened for him. A sheen of perspiration spread across her skin as her pupils dilated, all evidence of her readiness. He moved a giant palm on each knee, spreading her wide for his perusal. Tatum’s arousal scent hit his beast, a drugging aroma for all Weres, but especially for her true mate. He stared at her a long, hard moment. Not caring that five beasts walked around them, their bodies inhaling deeply, their sex growing hard for what was his. None of that mattered tonight. His Beast never deterred from its viciousness but remained level per the enormity of the moment. The rules were followed. Two witnesses were always required during the conception of an Alpha.

  During this time, they could look all they wanted, fantasize how they needed. Jayce was in the now – the moment he’d longed for, relishing the thought of blowing his seed all inside her to conceive their first child. He’d never felt so proud in his life, so fucking masculine. One with a primal purpose to procreate - to keep his line going for his species - but more than that, he wanted to raise younglings with Tatum and Bren. Just like any other family.