Twice Bitten Not Shy [Vampires of Eternity] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (13 page)

Demetria sat back in the chair and studied them before proceeding. They knew she could read them and even push past their mind blocks if she had wanted to, but she wasn’t. It was another curious occurrence. “Very well. I never have told you why we were cursed. Have I?”

“No, you have not,” Sebastian angrily remarked. “Like it wasn’t bad enough to be vampires, we had to be double cursed. Does this mean you will finally tell us now?”

“But being a vampire is not a curse. It is a gift. Though I doubt you’ll ever understand it the way I do. I will explain the curse, but now is not the time.”

Christian put his hand on Sebastian’s arm to keep him in his chair to hold off any unnecessary violence between them. “Please, Sebastian. Let her finish.”

“Bloody hell…”

Demetria leveled a stare that would have melted a lesser man or vampire, but Sebastian just sat back and crossed his arms. Christian felt how hard he attempted to quell his anger. But along with the anger, the pain came rushing back like a freight train. All the good they had felt from being with Gwendolyn was erased. Too much stress these last few days had taken its toll on both of them, but Sebastian more so.

“I know you have searched for a way to break the curse, besides the search for your ‘one’. I, too, have searched. ’Twill not be easy to break this curse. Your Gwendolyn is the best solution, I am afraid. However, we do need to take care of that damned gypsy.”

Christian was confused. “You mean ‘
the
gypsy’? She’d be what, almost five hundred years old by now. The only place you’ll find her is six feet underground.”

“No, my pets. You are wrong. She is very much alive and right here in town. In fact, she met with your Gwendolyn last evening.”

“What?” Irate, vexed, and in shock, neither knew what to say first. Flabbergasted, Christian wanted answers. “How in God’s blood can she be alive?”

“She’s been having her minions kill vampires, my vampires, and take some of their blood. It only helps to sustain her for so long, and then she needs more. By drinking the blood of my line she is better able to track us. She is here to make sure you and Gwendolyn don’t complete the bond.”

A million thoughts ran through Christian’s head at once, but shock won out. They had thought the hardest part had been the search for Gwendolyn and then to have to win her heart. But to know this evil gypsy meant to destroy them? How much danger had they placed Gwendolyn in?

Sebastian could feel his turmoil echoed within Christian. This was a conundrum they hadn’t anticipated at all. How could this wretched woman hate so deeply that she needed to live for five hundred years to destroy everyone in Demetria’s line?

But his anger didn’t stop there. How could Demetria have kept this from them for so long? Had she told any of her progeny? Sebastian seriously doubted anyone knew. Christian looked dumbfounded. They needed a plan of action. There was no time to waste. They would not let anything happen to their Gwendolyn, even if it meant their death. He knew that Christian felt the same. The only vibe he was getting from him was concern for Gwendolyn.

“How long have you known about this, Demetria?”

“Not as long as you think. It took me years to realize she was hunting down my line and killing them. I just realized a few months ago that she was using the blood to sustain her. Until then I thought it was her descendants carrying out her wishes.”

“Do you have any idea how to stop her?”

“No, I don’t. I need more time to work on it. I have sent messengers to those who may be able to help find the information that is needed.”

“What do we do in the meantime? If we continue to try to complete the bond, we’ll put Gwendolyn in danger.”

“I’m more concerned about you two than a human female. You must complete your bond as soon as possible. It will give us more time. You will be invincible once the bond is final.”

Christian let out a mirthless laugh. “That will be easier said than done. The gypsy, if it is her, caused doubts in Gwendolyn. We were not even allowed to touch her last night.”

“By Zeus, that is not good.”

“Really?” Sebastian’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Why do you think we were going to contact you? Our opening is Friday. We had hoped to complete the bond before then, but now that is highly doubtful.”

Christian was now the one pacing. “How do we protect her until then? She won’t let us near her.” He didn’t know what to do. “Sebastian, do we even want to try to complete the bond? Maybe we should just cancel the opening and leave.”

“What if we ask her ex-husband to watch out for her? He seems to be very protective.” Christian wasn’t convinced but he could feel that Sebastian thought that this was the best solution. At least they knew she wasn’t attracted to him, but they obviously still cared for each other.

Christian reluctantly agreed to call Roger, even though he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced this was the right course to take. The three of them worked on a plan. Now they just had to hope the rest of the pieces would fall into place. Sebastian called their staff, most of whom were Demetria’s progeny. It was going to be a long night but one that could determine their very existence.

* * * *

Gwen woke to the incessant ringing of her cell phone.

“Fuck, it’s not even 6:00 a.m.,” she grumbled when she saw the time. She grabbed the phone, and with her eyes still closed, she answered.

“What? It had better be good.”

“Gwen?”

“Dammit, Roger, I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

“I can’t. Besides, the vampires asked me to keep an eye on you. Now why do you think that is?”

“I have no fucking clue, but I’m still pissed at you from last night. You need to leave me alone.”

“But, Gwen, you’re in serious danger. I have to protect you. I got you into this. I need to get you out of it, too.”

“No, you don’t. There is nothing to get me out of. I don’t want to repeat myself again. Please just leave me alone. I need to get through the opening and then maybe I’ll have time to talk to you.” Gwen disconnected the call and tossed the phone onto the nightstand. She was shaking with adrenaline. She felt as though she had just gotten to sleep.
Damn phone. Damn Roger
. Between no sleep and the stress of last night, she fought the need to escape.
No time for running away for me
.
Apparently no sleep, either.

The sun was just coming up as she glanced out her window.
Okay, now what? Beans ’n’ Buns for coffee? Ughhh.
Her first instinct was to run to Sebastian and Christian, but that would be a mistake, too. She still didn’t know how she felt about all she heard last night from Roger, coupled with the fact that they had bitten her.
Damn, why is everything so freakin’ complicated?

As Gwen stood in the shower to ease her stiff muscles, she thought about the mess she found herself in.
Maybe it’s time to fess up to Bree?
She decided to give Brianna a call. They could meet at Beans ‘n’ Buns, which would keep her from a total flip out. At least Gwen hoped it would. They still had things to finish up, and she needed a dress, and there were only two days left before the opening.

Bree walked through the door of Beans ’n’ Buns at 9:00 a.m. on the button. She was dressed in her usual Goth black dress, boots, and dramatic makeup. Gwen watched her assistant come toward her and wondered how she would react. She knew she’d have to tell her everything, and then maybe they could come up with a plan of action.

Bree gave Gwen a big hug and sat down at the table. “Are you okay, boss lady?”

“I’m okay, I think.”

“You look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“So, does this impromptu meeting over caffeine mean you’re ready to tell all?”

“Yeah, it does. And since you’re enjoying picking on me, let’s see how you are after you hear all of this crap.”

“I’m sorry, Gwen.” Gwen could see she felt badly about teasing her. Without Bree, her life would be horrible. There was no way she’d be able to get through this without her.

“No worries, but first we both need caffeine. I know I need a lot more of it. Do you want your usual?”

“Please, and a toasted bagel with hummus?” Bree gave her a big smile, as if she needed to convince Gwen to get it for her. Sometimes she really showed how young she was. Usually it was easy to forget she was in still in her midtwenties. She seemed like a very old soul, and Gwen was lucky to have her.

Gwen put Brianna’s bagel, hummus, and her large soy chai latte on the table and went back for her own large café mocha with an extra shot.
I probably should have made it two, considering everything.

Bree took a sip of her chai and spread the hummus on one half of her bagel. Gwen knew it was only a matter of time before she started firing questions at her. She knew her assistant too well to think otherwise. So she sat back in her chair and sipped her mocha, waiting for the barrage to start. She didn’t have to wait long.

“So what the fuck is going on? First you looked like shit when you came in yesterday, and then last night you disappeared. I tried calling you over and over for hours. No answer. So what is going on?”

“You aren’t going to give me a break, are you?” Gwen hid her smile behind her mocha and took another swig.

“Nope. Not after yesterday I won’t. I was freakin’ worried about you all night. Sorry, boss lady, but you’re spilling it all.”

Gwen knew it was going to come to this so she might as well get it over with.

“I don’t know any other way to say this. Sebastian and Christian are vampires.” Gwen watched the expressions play across Bree’s face. She forged ahead and let it all pour out like verbal diarrhea. “Roger knows and is working with some weird gypsy lady. They want me to destroy the guys somehow.” She stopped for long enough to take a breath and another long drink of her coffee. She watched as Brianna seemed to process everything she had just told her.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yup, pretty much. That’s how I feel. And it gets worse.”

“How could it get worse?”

“I’m pretty positive I could fall in love with the guys.”

“Don’t you mean vampires?”

Gwen gave Bree a look that said if they were anywhere else she would be dead right now.

“Yes, I mean vampires. But, shhh. Really, it’s not like I want to be carted off to the funny farm, either.”

“So you are falling for two vampires, errr, men. Well, I have to give it to you, boss lady. When you go for it, you really go for it.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m crazy, and what makes this worse is that Roger is so weird about all of this. Thank the goddess he doesn’t know how I feel about them.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a very good thing.”

“True, and really there’s still more.” Gwen knew she was blushing. Her cheeks were hot, and she could feel it traveling up from her neck.

“Shit, you slept with them, didn’t you? Both of them?”

“Yes, well, yes.”

“Wow. Uh, you go, girl.”

“Yeah, it was great until I flipped out.”

“Why did you flip out, other than the fact that you probably had the best sex of your life?”

“They bit me.” Gwen thought it was funny that Brianna was looking at her in a whole new light.

“Why did they bite you?”

“I don’t know. I flipped out and left before they could tell me.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Looking back on it, I probably overreacted, but I when I saw the bites, it freaked me out. Just knowing that vampires really exist was kind of a lot to deal with.”

“True, that would be a shock for you, I guess.”

“C’mon, Bree. You don’t really believe that they exist, do you?”

“I don’t have proof, but I did figure they existed. I mean, why not?”

“Well, they were my nightmares when I was a kid. I never expected them to be real.”

“So are there more of them?”

“More of who?”

Bree leaned in and was careful to keep her voice down. She whispered, “Vampires?”

“You know, I have no idea. But I would imagine there are many of them, whether or not there are more in this town. I’d have to ask. But I don’t know how secret this is. I know they don’t want anyone knowing, but the cat is out of the bag.”

“So what are they like?”

“Oh my goddess, they are amazing, but you’ll see them tomorrow night. I don’t have a good feeling about this, either. I think something is going to happen.”

“Because of Roger and the gypsy?”

“Yes, I guess so. And, well, do I really want to fall in love with two vampires?”

“Hmm, I admit that could be tricky.”

“No kidding.”

“So now what, boss lady? What are you going to do?”

“Well, let’s go to the office and make sure we have everything ready.”