Half in Love [Willie Krenshaw] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

With a stretch and a groan, she finally rolled over and pried one eye open enough to see the time. Midafternoon. Not bad for an avoidance tactic if she did say so herself. She slowly rolled out of bed and scuffed toward the bathroom, determined to shower before anything else. She wanted to start the day off right, showered and dressed in comfortable kick-ass wear. If nothing else, she would look confident when she faced the two vampy men hanging out in her house.

The shower accomplished exactly what she thought it would. She felt awake and ready enough to take on the world that she could wander downstairs to get a cup of coffee. Her defensive garb, a worn concert T-shirt and ripped jeans, gave her that last few ounces of courage she needed. Nervous energy skated over her skin. Would they have to talk about what happened? Could she face him without jumping in his arms and wrapping her legs around his hips? Was she ready to commit to a relationship so unorthodox it might very well get her killed in the next few hours?
Enough
,
you can’t very well solve these problems standing in the stairwell.

With a deep breath, she walked silently into the kitchen. A sense of both relief and slight disappointment crowded through her mind when she realized that Nick wasn’t in the kitchen waiting for her. She strolled to the coffee pot and giggled when she noticed he had pulled down her favorite Minnie Mouse cup. So he understood her more than she realized. Minnie and she went way back, and any bad morning was made exceedingly better by drinking from the pink and white cup. Coffee-scented steam wrapped around her senses. She even reached for the sugar and creamer to add a little something special to her otherwise black coffee.

Both hands wrapped around the cup, cradling it to her body like a lost friend. The heat infused her with a sense of calm. The coffee with its bitterness balanced today by the sugar was exactly what she needed before facing him. She fully admitted it was Nick she was wary of at the moment. Yes, the fear of the Council was hanging at the back of her mind, but they had crossed an important barrier with their little play earlier. She wasn’t sure she could take it if he acted like it didn’t happen, but she also wasn’t sure how to deal with it if he didn’t.

“You’re deep in thought over there.” The soft words still made her jump. Hot coffee cascaded over her hand and soaked into her jeans.

“Fuck.” She turned and grabbed the dishtowel off the stove and wiped at the sloshed caffeine.
I won’t look at him. I won’t.
“Stop sneaking up on me.”

* * * *

Nick cleared his throat and waited. He watched a beautiful shade of pink creep across her cheeks. He silently sighed. They were back to being strangers again, even after sharing amazing releases not six hours before. He couldn’t go back to pretending they weren’t meant for each other. He refused to ignore the need he felt coursing through his body at the moment. Even watching her wipe coffee from her hands was making him hot. He wanted her naked under him, thrusting into her body until she refused to ignore her need for him. The taste of her had done nothing but whet his appetite for more. He needed to feel her coming around his cock, squeezing him while gasping his name. He wanted to feel her teeth bite into him as he came. He wanted her to mark him, claim him, own him.

“Willie. I’m not going anywhere, so you might as well look at me.”

“No,” she whispered. “I can’t do this, Nick, I just can’t. You mess with my head too much for me to try and deal with this today.”

He strode through the kitchen and crowded her against the cupboards. With a single finger, he nudged her head up, forcing her to look at him. Fear and confusion clouded her chocolate eyes. “There isn’t anything to deal with, love. I’m not going to pressure you into anything, and you’re definitely not going to come after me, so we’re fine.”

He watched something close to disappointment move through her eyes before she clamped down her features and the smooth mask of disinterest descended. He sighed at the loss of openness. Perhaps when all this was over she would be willing to open up to him, to share herself with him instead of hiding.

“Come on. Let’s go get Alex out of your basement and get ourselves ready to face the Council.” Regret colored his voice as he dropped his hand from her chin and took a step back from her. The few inches of separation felt like miles. He ached to take her in his arms and protect her from the rest of the evening.

“Right, the asshole. Can’t we leave him down there until it’s time to go? I could forget where I put the key?” She knew she was whining, but she just couldn’t care enough to stop. Her mind was already a mess, but the thought of dealing with Alex was too much.

“Come on. The faster he gets his beauty shower and fluffs his ego, the faster we can get going. I don’t want to give the Council any reason to be angry tonight.” Nick turned and headed out of the kitchen, but stopped when a small hand hesitantly landed on his arm. He turned a quizzical eye to her.

“Do you think I’ll make it out of there tonight? I mean, I know what I’ve done to your kind, how many I’ve taken out. If what Alex says is true, the Council finds me an irritation at best.”

“We will protect you. That’s why Alex is here. He can be an ass, but he’s definitely enthralled with you and at the moment that’s a good thing. Remember what I said about his pull with the Council? If he says you stay, then you stay.” With two fingers, he tweaked her nose and grinned when she scrunched her face into an adorable mock grimace. “So, don’t irritate him until you’re free and clear of the Council.”

“Shit, I barely can keep it together for a few minutes with him around. How am I going to survive a ride with him in close quarters?” The fear left her eyes when she grinned at him. He watched a mischievous glint sparkle in her eyes and rejoiced at the change. “We could make him sit where the dead guy was yesterday. That at least would keep me grinning for a while.”

He laughed and gave her a quick hug before she could push him away. “You’ll do fine, and if it makes you happy, we can definitely make him sit on the cootie seat.”

* * * *

The drive to the Council was nothing but pure, unadulterated torture. Willie had taken the backseat and tried to focus her thoughts on the landscape but kept getting pulled back into the conversation. Alex was trying to give her pointers on behavior and language, but all she heard was him droning along in an annoying tone about keeping her cool. Like that was going to happen. She was walking into the equivalent of the House of Horrors at an amusement park, and he wanted her to keep her mouth shut.

They hadn’t let her eat anything before leaving. Her stomach was noshing on itself, grumbling away. Alex said it was impolite to turn down a meal, if offered, at the Council’s headquarters. She didn’t want to explain to either of the males that she didn’t really enjoy drinking her meals and avoided taking blood whenever possible. It was one of the unpleasant side effects of being part vampire, and if she could avoid it altogether, she would. So she went along with their wishes. If she didn’t get food, and didn’t end up dead, she was making them drive by some sort of fast food on the way back home. Going without food made her cranky and made her kitty cranky.

Along with no food came the “no weapons” edict as well. She really wasn’t happy about walking to her death without an ability to defend herself, but Alex had a point that it would really look bad if she showed up with a blade strapped to her back. Especially when said blade had killed close to a hundred bloodsuckers. They all deserved to have their heads removed from their shoulders, but still. Not something she really wanted to remind the Council about.

“Are you listening to us, Willimena?” Irritation was thick in Alex’s words. She almost snickered knowing she was finally getting to him.

“Yes. Don’t touch Nick. Don’t act like he is important. Don’t attack anyone. Blah, blah, blah.” She shrugged. “I got it.”

“Willie. You have to maintain distance and control while you are there. They can’t be given the idea that I mean anything to you or you to me or they will use it against us. Turn to Alex with questions when we are there. If we make it look like he is your protector, it will go much smoother.” Nick watched her from the rearview mirror. His eyes told her what she needed. He was just as pissed about this as she was.

“Yeah, I know.” She sighed. Might as well be open with them, right? “Both of you need to know that if my kitty gets out, I might have a tough time keeping her from hurting someone. We have spent years killing vampires. She has been close to the skin for days now, so it’s likely that something big might push her through my control. If that happens, Nick will be the only one safe from her. She accepts and agrees that he is our mate. If anyone approaches him in an aggressive manner while I am in that form, they will probably get attacked. We didn’t like it when he was fighting the other night.”

“Well, then we will endeavor to keep you in this form, won’t we?” Alex grinned conspiratorially at her, and she wondered if he wouldn’t push her to cat form just for the show. She shook her head and stared out the window again.

As she sighed for the millionth time and actually rolled her eyes like a teenager, she noticed they had slowed. Her attention riveted on the Greek revival mansion they were slowing in front of. A mammoth building surrounded by a high fence sat on a completely exposed hill. She hadn’t really paid attention to their drive, but she was sure that they were in an area she had assumed would be farm country. The front of the building was lit by discreetly hidden spot lights, bringing the beauty of the architecture to life and shedding full illumination to the building. No one would be sneaking around into the front of this house.

Nick pulled into a driveway and stopped at a gate building a few feet off the road. A security guard sauntered from the little building and bent to peer into the truck. He was dressed in black from head to toe. A pair of pistols in holsters flashed in the light. Over his shoulder rested a machine gun. She guessed that the sheath strapped to his thigh housed a large blade. He was well outfitted to protect those within the walls even if it was a bit flashy to have all his weapons in plain sight.

She gave a sniff and scented vampire. He pulled off the bored-as-sin security guard very well. If she didn’t have her sense of smell, she would have sworn he was human. He even shuffled his feet like a human male. Very interesting that the Council either chose their guards based on their human qualities or they trained them to blend in if a human drove up. The attitude and smirk were definitely bloodsucker quality until the guard caught an eyeful of Alex as he leaned into the open driver’s window.

“Good evening, Sir.” The vampy guard actually backed out of the window and bowed at the waist. Willie didn’t know if she should be impressed that she was riding with someone that garnered that kind of attention or if she should be scared.

Alex snickered and looked back at her. Maybe he really could read minds. Not a good thing with the types of thoughts she usually had running through her mind about the two men sharing the vehicle with her. He winked at her, and she blanched. Shit. She was actually grateful when he turned his attention back to the genuflected male. “Rise. We have business inside, so open the gates.”

As if he was a marionette, the guard stood up with smooth, graceful movements, turned, and walked into the little building without another word or glance. Within moments, the black iron gates started moving on silent hinges. She couldn’t help be impressed. She didn’t want to like Alex, but for this alone she promised herself to cut him some slack. She had a feeling that getting into this estate could be difficult at best, and she didn’t want to think about how it would have been without him there to smooth their way.

“Don’t underestimate the power inherent with age, Willimena.” Alex snickered and turned to Nick. “Drive right up to the porch and we will have someone park your vehicle.”

Nick nodded in response. While he drove up the winding drive, she marveled at the building. The columns that graced the front of the building were huge. They gleamed in the light and made the whole building look imposing. They parked just as Alex suggested. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the Hummer.

“You will remain near one of us at all times. Even if you must visit the powder room, you’ll allow one of us to escort you.” Nick’s tone was the same one a parent would use with a wayward child, but she understood the reason for the directive. She was the enemy at the moment. The only protection she had from a very fast demise was standing with her right now. She nodded her agreement before stepping around the vehicle and between the vampires. “We will keep you safe, you have my word, but you have to help us guard you.”

“I get it,” she grumbled. “I don’t like any of it, but I understand.”

Nick reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a little squeeze of reassurance. She hated to admit it, but she did feel a little better when he was touching her. She squeezed back and gave him a little smile. For everyone’s benefit, she wouldn’t allow herself to be scared, but she would take the comfort he offered.

Before they reached the large double doors, the right one opened. She snickered and swallowed the laugh at the flash of irritation from Alex. Well, she couldn’t help it. She’d only seen a butler in a full black tuxedo in the movies. The male was short, old, and looked like he had crawled out of a Victorian novel. As he beckoned them through the door with white gloved hands, she sniffed and was mildly surprised that he was human. Interesting.

She walked into one of the largest rooms she had ever been in. She guessed that it would have been called a vestibule, but it could have doubled for a ballroom. Gleaming black marble floors went on for an eternity, meeting stark white walls. There were paintings and sculptures scattered along the walls, breaking up the monotony of white. She was sure the artwork was expensive, but she was too keyed up to really study any of it.