Bite of Envy (Just One Bite #4) (14 page)

It was the longest declaration of love Lizbeth had ever
made, and that pronouncement made Diandra glow. She understood now, or at least
she thought she did. This woman was to Lizbeth what Jonah had been to her- she
was a shadow of what had been, and not a reflection of what would be. It was
time to let the insecurities go, once and for all, before they ruined the life
they’d built together.

“So,” Lizbeth said conversationally, “how about you fill me
in. I’d love to hear how the training went.” So Diandra told her everything,
and they clung to each other as, once more, they were overcome with laughter.

Carson threw his cell phone against the wall and howled with
anger. His condo was soundproofed, which was a good thing when he was in a full
temper. He didn’t think about it until after the fact, but when he raged from
room to room, destroying priceless antiques garnered over centuries of his
immortal existence, his neighbors would cower in fear as they called the cops
if they could hear him.

He’d been trying for hours to get that stupid bitch cop on
the phone, without any success. He’d called from the cell phone and then his
landline, and every time he’d gotten the automated recording that announced
that he’d reached the city morgue, asking him to leave a message and assuring
him that the staff would get back to him as soon as possible.

He’d assumed it was a mistake at first, and somehow he’d
dialed that unfamiliar number without meaning to, but when it happened a second
time he’d grown concerned. A third time had him switching from his cell phone
to his private home line, but he’d gotten the same stupid message when he’d
carefully dialed the cunt’s number.

Carson had even gone so far as to try and change his phone
numbers, to no avail. Every time he tried to contact the various companies he
dealt with, he still received the same stupid recording. He was pissed to the
fangs, and that stupid, stupid newbie was going to pay for it. She was going to
pay in a hot wash of her pumping blood as her heart helped it flow free of her
body. He would make sure she suffered as he oh-so delicately opened each vein in
her body. But that was just the finale, he assured himself. First he’d start by
cutting off a hand, then cauterizing the stump. She wouldn’t bleed out that
quickly- she had to suffer. Plus there was the added bonus that cauterizing the
stump would prevent a new limb from growing to replace the one he removed. Then
after her hand disappeared in a puff of dust, he’d cut off the other hand and
repeat the pattern. Then he’d move on to those delicate feet, he mused. When he
was finished, and only then, he would start on those veins. He had plans for
her, and he was going to start putting them into effect right now.

Lizbeth settled in for a good night’s sleep, and hopefully
some romantic meeting in her dreams with Diandra. She knew, thanks to Drew’s
efforts, that Carson would leave her be tonight, and the thought made her smile
as she spooned up behind Diandra, cupping the now-thin waist. She still
marveled over the transformation of the body she had known so well, simply
because of the addition of the vampire strain in the DNA. She loves Diandra
regardless of her appearance, and there were actually times she missed the
heavier body she’d fallen in love with. She didn’t begrudge Diandra the changes
that made her happy- it was simply a matter of how those differences emphasized
how their lives had changed in the blink of an eye.

Drifting off to sleep, she fell into another shared dream.
Diandra waited for her, naked in front of a roaring fire. There was snow
drifting lazily outside, and the walls around them told Lizzie that they were
in a log cabin. She smiled at Diandra, and then took in the scene around her.
She could see they were on top of a hill- the view outside was amazing.
Surrounded by pine trees, the air was redolent with the smell and it reminded
her of Christmas morning. Turning from the breathtaking view, she admired the
wood-enclosed hot tub in the middle of the floor, and the bear skin rug on the
hearth. Although they were against hunting for sport, she knew instinctively
this rug had been fashioned from a kill made to supply a family with food to survive
winter’s harshness, and that she could admire. She also knew, since this was a
dream, that
it was safe to be there- the rug wouldn’t catch
on fire, and the heat from the flames would add to their lovemaking rather than
cause them discomfort.

Turning to Diandra once more, Lizbeth merely envisioned
herself naked, and then she was. She strode to her lover, grabbing a handful of
hair and making a fist. She pulled Diandra in for a bruising kiss, knowing in a
dream like this that they couldn’t truly hurt one another. Dia responded in
kind, gripping Lizbeth’s small breasts in a way that would hurt were they
awake. In dreams, however, it did just what Dia intended- it shot Lizzie up and
over the first crest of pleasure. As Lizbeth screamed out her orgasm, she
plunged two fingers inside Diandra and took her over the crest with her.

Panting, she backed Dia up to the hot tub, and together the
women fell over the edge and into the frothy, fragrant water. There was a
jumble of emotions and textures, the smooth glide of hands over wet skin, and
the softer feel of more intimate parts under seeking fingers and mouths. The
air was heavy with pheromones, panted moans and half articulated oaths. Above
it all, under it all, and through it all, there was love. Always only love.

When they’d had their fill of pleasure, they curled up
together in front of the fireplace, the magic of their shared dream preventing
them from wetting the rug as they let the soothing lick of flames dry the
moisture from their skin. There they slept, and in sleeping in their dream,
there they woke into the real world as the rising sun painted the sky in
rainbows.

Lizbeth and Diandra dropped off a blood baggie outside the
bedroom door where Sandra lay sleeping. Without speaking, neither woman mentioned
that they’d rather not wake her, so they continued quietly downstairs where two
tall glasses of blood sat waiting beside the coffee carafe. Adrian’s wrists
were smooth and perfect, and his little healer sat in her high chair having a
great time attempting to eat oatmeal out of her chubby little fists.

“Well,” Lizbeth said dryly as she took the first welcome sip
from her glass, “she may be smart and beautiful, but her table manners leave
something to be desired.”

Diandra laughed as she pressed a kiss to her baby’s golden
curls and accepted the oatmeal RaeLynn lovingly pushed against her mother’s
lips. “Ah, yes, but she’s the most mature person in the household- at least,
according to Eamon.” Everyone laughed, even RaeLynn, as Eamon made his appearance.

“You called,” he said with a chuckle of his own as he sat at
the table next to Lizbeth and gratefully accepted a cup of coffee.

“Actually, I’m glad you’re all here,” Lizbeth began. She
gestured for Adrian to have a seat before he could head to the kitchen to make
their breakfast. “No, please Adrian, this concerns you, too.”

Diandra’s eyes narrowed as she tried, and failed, to get
past the wall Lizbeth had placed around her thoughts. “What did you do,
Lizzie?”

“No peeking,” Lizbeth shot back, softening it with a smile.
“I wanted to talk to you all, not allow everyone open access to what’s behind
door number three.” She took a bracing sip of coffee and tried to put her
thoughts in order. Once she was ready, she met everyone’s eyes in turn and
began her story of what’d she’d had done to Carson’s phones last night to earn
herself a brief respite. “So you see,” she said when everyone was up to date,
“I earned a night of peace, but I also know I’ve pissed him off to new levels.
Now, he may flood the streets of Bethany with blood in retaliation…”

Eamon cut her off. “No, he won’t. Instead, he’ll come here.
We need to be ready, because it won’t take long. He’ll be coming to make you
pay for what you did.” He frowned at her, and Lizbeth was pissed.

“Eamon, damnit, I can’t keep going on this way. I needed
sleep, a full night of it, not this interrupted bullshit he’s been feeding me
steadily for months. I needed to do something, and turning off my damned cell
is not an option.” Lizbeth slammed a fist on the table for emphasis, and
cringed when the table creaked in warning. She’d forgotten, yet again, about
her increased strength, and had run the risk of permanently damaging the heavy
oak.

Eamon merely shook his head. “I’m not saying what you did
was wrong, Lizbeth. I’m merely pissed that you didn’t tell me last night. One
day’s work is not sufficient to prepare. He will attack tonight. You need to
call out of work- we all need to prepare.” Ignoring her frown, he turned to
Adrian. “Forget breakfast- we’ll have some toast or cereal or something
instead. I have something I need you to do.”

Adrian smiled. “Oh, I love it when I actually get to do
something useful.” Diandra frowned, thinking he was being sarcastic, but
shortly realized that he meant every word. “What can I do to help?”

Eamon fixed him with a look, making sure the man understood
the gravity of the situation. “I need you to spend the day in prayer.” Everyone
looked at him in shock, but he ignored it, concentrating fully on Adrian.
“Whatever powers you pray to, we need you to pray to them now. Do whatever you
have to, but it would be useful to have the full attention of every deity we
all worship to make sure we stand a chance of surviving.” He turned his
attention once more to the room. “We all must pray, but we’re going to work on
training as a unit while he prays. RaeLynn will be fine playing on the beach,
won’t you, princess?” The baby nodded seriously at him, making it clear she
understood him. “Giles Carson is old and powerful, and we don’t know what he’s
capable of besides the obvious. We must work together and annihilate him before
he can take out any of us.” He looked over their attire and rolled his eyes.
“And for the love of God, go get changed into some workout gear and meet me on
the beach.” With that, he drained his coffee, stood up and headed for the
sliding glass door, making it clear that he expected his orders to be followed
to the letter. Not surprisingly, they were.

Diandra reluctantly woke Sandra and filled her in on what
the day’s plans were. Sandra sat sipping from a blood baggie, listening without
interruption as Dia laid out the details of what had happened the night before
and what they expected would happen tonight. “So, in effect, Lizbeth has pissed
off Carson so he’s coming after all of us?” she summed up, finishing the baggie
and depositing it in the trashcan beside the bed. She got up and stretched,
reaching for the tie that held her robe in place.

Diandra nodded and turned her back, realizing the woman was
planning on disrobing right in front of her to dress for the day’s activities.
“Yes, that’s right. He’s coming for Lizbeth- there’s little doubt it’ll be
tonight as his temper and ego won’t allow him to wait.”

Sandra laughed from just behind her, and Dia tensed. “What’s
the matter? Are you afraid of a little nudity?” she asked in a mocking tone.
“Or is it just that you’re afraid you’ll like what you see?”

Diandra spun around and took in the sight of Sandra’ nude
body before her. She started with the sleep-tousled blonde hair, worked down to
the mocking green eyes and pert little nose. She skimmed over the full lips and
down over the mounds of her full, round breasts that tapered to a narrow waist,
gently curving hips, and toned legs. Then she just as slowly worked her way up
to meet Sandra’s gaze. It was full of a dark, hateful triumph. She was
convinced of her own allure, and that all those who saw her would desire her.
Diandra sniffed in disdain. “I much prefer Lizbeth’s body over yours,” she said
as she turned her back and headed for the door. “You know what’s funny? I
thought vampirism was the ultimate diet plan, but you’re still looking a bit
solid around the middle.” And with that, she shut the door behind her,
partially drowning out the screech of anger from the woman inside. She headed
to her own room to dress with a very satisfied smile on her face.

Ten minutes later, the vampires were all assembled on the
beach. A large blanket had been spread on the sand for RaeLynn, filled with her
favorite toys and a small container of teething cookies for her to gnaw on if
she grew hungry.

Eamon sized up the women and took control. “Sandra, you’re
first. Lizbeth, you’re her opponent.” He glared back at Lizbeth, sensing the
dirty look almost before he made eye contact with her. “You need variety.
You’ve sparred with Diandra, and I’ve been training you. While Sandra is here,
she might as well make herself useful.”

Sandra bristled under the insult. “That’s fucked up and you
know it,” she told him, striding to the center of the area he’d designated for
the practice fights. “I can’t help it if there’s not much I can do to be of use
right now, but I’ll teach Carson a thing or two tonight,” she swore.

Lizbeth laughed as she reluctantly came forward to join her.
“Somehow I doubt it,” she replied, and then she lunged. Sandra never saw it
coming, and the next thing she knew she was on her ass on the wet beach.
Lizbeth was straddling her, one hand wrapped around that slim expanse of
throat. “You’re not quick enough,” Lizzie finished, standing up and offering
Sandra a hand up.

Sandra howled with anger and pulled Lizbeth down onto the
sand. Her new strength didn’t matter much, Diandra mused as she watched the
fight. She was too busy relying on her new speed. She rolled her eyes- and the
dumb reporter was still fighting like a girl. She had a handful of Lizbeth’s
hair and was attempting to yank it out even as she struggled to scratch at
Lizzie’s eyes. Dia exchanged a glance with Eamon and then waded into the fray.
She thought about extricating her lover, but decided that would be difficult
with Sandra hissing, growling, biting and clawing, much like an angry feline
would. Instead she calmly walked over and waited until she had a clear shot.
With blinding speed, her fist shot out and she punched the angry blonde as hard
as she could without breaking her neck. For a moment those angry green eyes
went wide, and then the sight went out of them as they rolled back in her head.
She collapsed in an unconscious heap on the sand, releasing Lizbeth as she
fell.