Red Satin Lips (19 page)

“Oh my God, are you okay Maxim?” Tamara asked getting up and going to him. She didn’t know that when a Fae finds his mate that their skin tone darkens until he claims the woman in question.

“I’m fine, excuse me,” Maxim said as he stood and flashed out of the room before Tamara even touched him.

At once, Lars saw the hurt flash in her eyes and he was there beside her. “Honey, it has nothing to do with you. Maxim just got a surprise and he’s most likely trying to figure out how to deal with it.”

“Are you sure? Damn it!” She stomped her foot. “I’ve got to stop sounding so pitiful.” She marched back to her chair and plopped down in it. “Well, are you going to tell me what happened and why his skin color looked like he was going to be sick,” She picked at her eggs.

“Quit picking at your food, child. It seems my grandfather has met his mate. Any time a Fae male meets the woman that is meant for him, his skin will darken and stay that way till he claims her sexually.” Tamara frowned and looked at Gage.

“Gage has Fae blood, but he’s also wolf so this effect is not present in him as it is with my Maxim,” Lana said and sat down in Maxim’s chair with a cup of coffee.

It took only a few seconds before both Lydia and Tamara stood up. “You mean Lydia?” Tamara looked at him and he nodded.

“No! I don’t want a man. I’ll be damned if any man tells me if I can work either,” Lydia snapped and plopped down in the chair. “And by the looks of it, he didn’t want me either so I don’t have to worry about it.”

By the time Tamara sat down, she was laughing so hard, Lars thought for sure she’d fall off her chair. “What’s so funny, baby?” he asked and kissed the side of her neck.

“The shoe is on the other foot, remember when we met? Lydia kept saying there was no mistake, to buck it up.” Tamara looked at Lydia who now glared at her.

“Don’t even say it. It’s not the same and you know it. He has a family. I’m not old enough to have a daughter how old?: Lydia looked over at Lana who was smiling from ear to ear.

“He’s over a thousand years old,” Lana said as Lydia jumped up and started to pace back and forth.

“Gage, Lars, I need some time off. I think I’ll take that vacation I’ve been saving.” She turned and stared at him.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Tamara sobered up and grabbed her arm. “Please, I need you here. My father…”

“You don’t play fair,” Lydia moaned and hugged her tight. “I’ll stay, but if the blond giant messes with me, I swear I’ll gut him.” She sat back down and looked at him.

“I know you want to ask me if I knew anything about him, and I didn’t, I swear. I’ve been trying to rack my brain to see if I can remember any women that would have been around Tamara’s father, but there’s nothing. He had to have met that woman after he saved Tamara.”

He leaned back in his chair. “That’s what we believe and Lydia, we never believe you were involved with him. You’ve been with us longer than you were with him.”

Next to him, Gage stood and stared behind him. He slowly turned to see Maxim with a man and woman. The man had long black hair and piercing green eyes just like his woman.

The woman had the same hair as Tamara, thick and full, but slightly darker than Tamara's. “This is Bane and Storm, Tamara’s brother and sister,” Maxim said behind the two in question.

“Come, sit and have some coffee while Tamara finishes her breakfast,” Lana said pushing them out of the way and nodding to the other side of the table.

Snapping out of his funk, Lars held out his hand to the brother. “I’m Lars Cooper, one of your sister’s mates. This guy next to me is Gage Evans, the other man in her life.” He shook the man’s hand, sizing him up as he did him.

“Under normal circumstances I would say it’s nice to meet you, but I get the feeling my sister and I are here other than to meet another sibling?” He shook Gage’s hand before sitting and staring at Tamara.

“You’re right, but I did want to meet you. I’m Tamara, the newest of our father’s children. At least I think I’m the newest.” Tamara sat forward and nodded to both of them.

“So what does our father want you to do?” Storm asked, sitting back and taking a sip of coffee that Lana handed her.

“How did you know he asked me to do something?” Tamara asked, taking a bite of her food, but watching everything.

“You know we’re not the only children he’s had. Storm and I are just two of at least twenty we’ve met around the world. Each one is asked to do something for him, then he promises to leave them alone after you help him.” Her brother announced.

Chapter Fourteen

She couldn’t believe it, her brother and sister were sitting in the same room with her. Both of them were cautious as was she. “Did he keep his promises to leave you alone?”

“To a point, but we each suffered much until it was over,” Bane said.

“Did you know he has a new mate?” she asked and watched the shocked expressions on their face.

“It’s not possible, is it?” Storm asked Bane and he shook his head.

“If our father said he had a mate, he’s lying. I remember him telling me that there would never be a woman for him. That every couple of hundred years he would find a beauty and impregnate her. Baal wants children all over the place. It’s like he’s building an army.” Bane sucked in his breath.

“That’s what he’s doing. When I told you that we’ve met twenty other siblings, these were the ones that are like us. We don’t carry the gene, but we have no idea how many he has that do carry the gene.”

Next to her Lars leaned over and showed Bane the list of people. “Do you know why he’d want all these people together or who the woman is that has been killing for him?:

Bane whistled and shook his head. “He hates most of the people on that list so whatever he has planned for them isn’t good, but I’ve never heard of our father using a woman to kill anyone.”

She tapped her fingers on the table. “I’m supposed to arrange a party for this, excuse my language, this bitch. Supposedly, if she gets to have this induction or has this party like they did in the old days all the killings will stop. Have you ever heard of the Black Widow?”

Storm and Bane hissed looking at each other. “She’s supposed to be dead!” Bane said and stood, but sat back down.

Storm rubbed his arm. “The Black Widow is his mother. Bane had thought he’d killed her the last time she surfaced, but it looks like he didn’t.”

“This makes no damn sense,” Tamara frowned and pushed her plate away, but Gage’s mom reached around her and pushed it back in front of her. “I didn’t give you a lot, so please eat. You have little babies inside you that need the food.”

“Babies?” Bane leaned forward. “You’re pregnant with twins?”

The way Bane said twins had him putting an arm around Tamara. Gage snarled moving closer to her to.

Easing back, Bane held up his hands. “I meant no harm. It’s just something my mom used to say as I grew up. You have to understand my mom is crazy and violent. If she’s alive, Tamara will be the first person she’ll go after, especially if she finds out you are carrying twins.”

“Explain,” Maxim ordered behind them, having Lydia and Tamara jumping.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Tamara said and grabbed her chest, but couldn’t help smile as Lydia snarled at him.

“Stupid giant,” Lars heard Lydia mumble and couldn’t help but smile. Gage laughed along with his mom and dad.

“Ignore them.” Tamara said. “Why is it a big deal that I’m having twins or possible triplets?”

“From what I can remember, legend has it that only the child of Baal who gives birth to twins could send him and his children back to the dark side,” Bane explained.

“No, there is no way I can do that and if I could, does that mean we go to? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going anywhere.” Tamara curled up closer to him.

Her brother shook his head. “No, you have it wrong. We won’t be affected, you don’t carry the gene.”

“I still feel it’s wrong. It’s not me, it’s all of us.” She glanced at Maxim. “If we need the others, can we get them here in time for the party?”

He nodded. “I can get some to help us, but will they come?”

She looked at Bane who whistled. “Each of us has a reason to want him gone, but we’re going to have to be careful. Benita, my mother, is not only crazy, she’s different.”

Next to her, Gage stirred. “How different?”

“When Baal took my mother, he also gave her his blood, hoping to produce a super son, I guess. Anyway, not only did it not take, it changed her. She is literally a Black Widow spider when she shifts and she sees Baal as her mate. Oh, she takes other men, but she eventually kills them.”

The thought of a spider had her shaking so badly that Tamara grabbed onto Lars and Gage taking deep breaths, but that wasn’t going to help. She jumped up and ran out of the room straight for the bathroom, but she didn’t make it.

Half on the floor and half in the toilet, her breakfast came up. “Spiders,” she shivered and another round of stomach spasms had her hugging the toilet. A cold washcloth was placed on her forehead and she knew it was Lana.

“I was sick with Gage for the whole nine months and I swore I’d never have another child again, but somehow that didn’t happen,” she snorted and cleaned up the mess on the floor.

“It’s not that my stomach was upset,” she took a deep breath and wiped her mouth on the towel. “It’s the thought of spiders. When I was six, mom took me on a trip, needless to say one nice large spider found its way into our room and bit me. I ended up in the hospital for over a week. I’m highly allergic to the antidote too.”

“Well, that’s not good, but can you see changing into one of those things. Yuck!” Lana shook and joined her on the floor. “We’ll just make sure you’re never near that woman,” she was saying, but already she was shaking her head.

Looking up, Lars and Gage stood in the door. “I’m going to have to face them both or this isn’t going to work. We all are.”

“No!” Gage snarled and pushed into the bathroom. He scooped her up in his arms and took her to the den. “You are not leaving this house!” The wolf was close to the surface as he sat down on the couch, curling around her in a protective manner.

“You’re squishing me, Gage,” she said and tried to push him back, but he growled.

“Damn it Gage, pull the wolf back. We don’t have time for this. Do you think I want to face them? I’m scared half out of my mind and I’m depending on both of you to be standing at my side when we do this.”

Behind them Lars stood up. “Gage, your smashing our woman and it’s hard for her to breath. Come on, we need you thinking here, if we’re going to keep her safe.” Lars placed his hands on his shoulders and started to rub them.

She waited, but slowly Gage relaxed and eased up. Bane, Storm, Lydia and his folks all sat around waiting. “Move out of the way, Gage, I have some water for her and crackers. It will help settle her stomach.” His mom inched forward, but stopped when he snarled.

“Please, Gage, she’s just trying to help.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Don’t ask me to kiss you till I brush my teeth. Now get up. I need a toothbrush.”

He snorted, but moved so she could stand. With a deep breath, she focused on Bane. “I know I’m on the right path, but I won’t know unless I have us all here. This place is protected and he won’t know who’s here.” She looked up at Gage. “Do we have enough rooms for everyone?”

“We have the extra bunk house that has ten rooms and six rooms in the guest house,” Maxim said. “But will they be willing to come here and help?”

All eyes turned to Bane, who shrugged. “All I can do is call them. Each of us is always afraid of the threat of our father finding us, but if you can keep him away from us, they’ll come. But we still have to deal with my mother. She’s a power house herself and even I, her son, didn’t stop her.”

Wrapping his arms around her from behind her, Gage nuzzled her neck. “You get your brothers and sisters here for now, we’ll go from there. Did you inform your family you’d be here for a few days?” Gage asked and both Bane and Storm nodded.

“Mom, why don’t you put Storm in the room across from ours and Bane in the one next to ours? That way the three of them can get to know each other and try and figure this out. You go brush your teeth while they start making the calls.” Gage, once more in control, stepped away from her and started issuing commands when his brother and wife came in.

“I have Furor and his men already stationed around the dome. We have four safe rooms all around the dome that grandfather protected. I thought the women could work on the catering, food, and band, that sort of stuff. But, Lars, aren’t we going to need the council’s help on this? Including your grandfather?”

Her heart went to her throat at the thought of seeing his family again. “They’ll help if it means we deal with the person responsible for my grandmother’s death.” Tamara heard him say as she stepped out of the den and headed upstairs to brush her teeth.

“Wait up, Tamara, I need to talk with you,” Ana yelled and came up next to her. “I wanted to personally say I’m sorry about that outbreak last night. Gage’s old fling is gone. She’s been sent back to her mother’s on the Fae realm. They’re going to watch her for the next few years, but the rest of the women wanted me to tell you that they were sorry they didn’t get to talk with you.”

They climbed the stairs and made it into her room. “Please tell them not to worry. I’m sure we’ll have…” Tamara stopped and looked at Ana. “How many of the women have Fae blood?” She shook her head and continued to the bathroom. “Never mind. It would be too dangerous,” Tamara said.

“What were you thinking?” Ana asked, standing in the doorway as she brushed her teeth.

If humans were serving the food, they would be on the menu, but if shifters and Fae were serving, the bitch wouldn’t have it so easy if she tried to touch them. Tamara frowned and rinsed out her mouth, before turning to Ana. “I was thinking it would be too easy for this bitch to kill any humans that are helping with the party, but if we had…”

“Our own there, especially with Fae blood, she couldn’t do shit,” Ana smiled. “I know for a fact the women would volunteer for this and over half of them carry Fae blood.”