Wild Ones (9 page)

"Better?" I
asked.

"Yes. Thank
you."

"Come on then."
We went to the bedroom, and stretched out side by side on the bed,
and I turned the TV on. We debated the potential advantages of the
various programs on offer, and finally settled for a well known,
and extremely funny sitcom. Annie walked in a short while later
with a large tray. She placed it on the bedside table, briefly
introduced herself to Jen, who reciprocated, and then she left.

"She seems
nice," Jen said while we divided up the contents of the tray.

"She's OK. And
so's her daughter, Steph, although she's a bit loopy too."

"Who were
the two guys who rescued me and brought me here?" she asked, trying
not to appear too curious. Ha! I thought, little does she know that
one of them is going to be a
sure
thing
for her. I wondered if I had made a mistake
coming down here to talk to her. What I had to say would probably
frighten her more than not knowing anything.

"The dark one
is Julius, and the one with blonde hair is Atticus."

"They
were so fast. They just came in and shot those
things
to pieces. Are they OK? I think they might
have been hurt. Those things had knives."

"Oh, they'll be
fine," I said dryly.

"What were
those things?"

"Vampires," I
said laconically, wondering how she'd react.

"I thought they
might be. They had fangs and black eyes and these enormous..."

"Yes, I know,"
I said, marvelling at how easily she had accepted a bizarre
explanation, that also just so happened to be true.

"Why me?"

"Because you
smell right," I told her. She looked puzzled, so I launched into an
explanation of the whole vampire and human woman business. I
explained about vampire law, and the protection that pregnancy
offered.

"Does it hurt?"
she wanted to know. I knew exactly what she meant.

"What do
you think? And they have
spikes
."

"What?" she
squealed.

"I know, right?
They only come out after orgasm, so if you lie dead still for
thirty minutes they go down again, and then they can withdraw." I
was actually quite stunned by the matter-of-fact way in which I was
telling her all of these things. But what stunned me even more was
the matter-of-fact way in which she accepted them.

"So let me get
this straight. My smell attracts vampires. The only way I can
protect myself from them is to try and fall pregnant with one."

"Got it in
one."

She said
nothing for a few minutes, and I thought she was going to reject
the whole mad situation, as any sane person would, and run
screaming for the hills. But apparently Jen was not sane.

"Do you know of
any vampires who could help me out here?"

"Really?"

"You
didn't see those things. I would do anything not to ever go through
that again. They were all going to rape me. And they were
really
big
."

"That's a
vampire thing. They're all like that."

"Really? How
can that fit inside any woman?"

"Carefully," I
said, remembering with a wince.

"You?"

"Yeah.
Atticus."

"Are
those two
vampires
?"

"They are. And
they didn't kill me." That was the best endorsement those two could
hope for from me under the circumstances.

"Do you think
Julius would help me? I mean, to conceive."

"Julius would
be delighted to help you," I told her dryly. If only he could hear
this conversation, I thought. He would be grinning from ear to
ear.

"Would you stay
with me while he does it?"

"Er, no."

"Please?"

"Seriously? You
want me to be there while you have sex with a vampire? Atticus will
be there already - they kind of help each other out. Immoral
support," I laughed at my own joke.

"They won't
hurt me if you're there," she said with conviction. I wondered
where she got that crazy theory from. They had certainly hurt
me.

"It's going to
hurt either way," I told her. Wrong thing to say. She burst into
tears again, and I felt like an absolute rat.

"Fine, I'll be
there. I'll even hold your hand. But I'm not watching."

"Thank you,"
she sighed, sniffing.

I had mixed
feelings about getting involved now. It had seemed like the right
thing to do, to make it easier for her. But now I would have to
experience the brutality of vampire sex again, though fortunately
not first hand. I was dwelling on this when the bedroom door opened
and Julius walked in carrying a small blonde child. Steph came in
behind him, carrying a bag and looking as if all her Christmases
had come at once.

"Mommy!" the
little girl squealed happily and bounded across the room.

"Oh, my baby,"
Jen smiled happily. She introduced the tiny bundle of energy as
Sophie, and Steph beamed when Jen thanked her and patted the bed
invitingly. Julius smiled wryly at the sight, but he frowned
slightly when he glanced at me.

"You look
tired, Millie."

"I'm fine," I
told him with a half-hearted smile, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Hmm," he said,
and looked back to where Jen sat cuddling Sophie on her lap and
talking to Steph. Jen looked up at him, smiled shyly and said,
"Thank you for saving me today. And for bringing me my baby."

Julius smiled
back, his gaze intent. "Any time." Jen blushed as only redheads do.
Oh boy, I thought.

Atticus and
Andronicus walked in then. Atticus smiled at me while Andronicus
opened his bag and removed a syringe and a needle, and proceeded to
draw some fluid out of a glass vial. That done, he looked
enquiringly at Atticus, who nodded.

"Vaccination
time, sweetheart," he told me. "You need to give Andronicus
permission."

I scowled at Dr
Pervert for a few seconds, suddenly aware that everyone had stopped
talking and were now all watching me.

"Do it, then,"
I said, rolling up the sleeve of my t-shirt. He smiled hesitantly,
and stepped forward. I felt a slight sting as the needle penetrated
my skin, and then it was over. "You should probably vaccinate Jen
too."

Andronicus
looked at Julius, who nodded. Jen looked at me enquiringly.

"It's to
protect you from the venom in their teeth," I explained.

Her eyes
widened slightly, but she nodded, and pulled her terrycloth gown
down over one shoulder. I heard a sharp intake of breath from
Julius' direction, and smiled grimly to myself. I could almost feel
his torment from here.

"Bed time,
Millie," Atticus said softly, and I smiled up at him and nodded. He
lifted me up easily and cradled me in those strong arms. I rested
my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, suddenly too tired
to resist the relentless tug of sleep.

I woke up the
next morning in a warm soft bed, pleased to note that I still wore
a t-shirt and panties. I stretched my arms out and bumped into
something. I turned and looked straight into Atticus' warm brown
eyes. A smile curled his lips.

"Good morning,
sleepyhead," he purred.

"I'm hungry," I
told him as my stomach growled.

"Me too," he
said and chuckled dirtily. I considered that for a moment, and
remembered that incredibly skilled tongue. I felt a tugging in my
lower belly and a tingling between my legs. I looked at him, at his
beautiful and talented mouth. More tingling. I considered my
options.

Oh, what the
hell.

"Fine. Go
ahead," I sighed. He knew exactly what I meant, too.

"Really?" He
looked stunned.

"Pregnancy
hormones, what can I say," I said.

He didn't need
any more encouragement than that, and I found myself naked in no
time at all, as his hot tongue practised its magic and my body
responded joyfully. I groaned with ecstasy as I came, and lay for a
few minutes afterwards absentmindedly stroking the blonde head that
lay on my belly. My stomach growled again.

"OK, OK, I'll
fetch breakfast," he chuckled, and stood up and pulled a pair of
jeans on. "Any orders, my Lady?"

I lay back and
enjoyed the way his eyes devoured my nakedness. Those pregnancy
hormones had a lot to answer for.

"Bacon, eggs,
toast, tea. Lots of it," I told him, closing my eyes in bliss as I
imagined the food. He chuckled again, and when I opened my eyes he
had disappeared.

He returned a
few minutes later carrying a tray and deposited it with a flourish
on the bed.

"Canadian
breakfast. Julius heard that you're awake, and he's waiting
impatiently just outside the door. He wants to talk to you."

"I need to get
dressed," I said urgently and hopped off the bed. I hurriedly
pulled on some clean clothes I had grabbed from my wardrobe, and
made my way back to the bed. A pile of pancakes and bacon awaited
me, all generously swamped in what smelled like maple syrup.

"You should
leave now," I told Atticus. "I need to be alone with that delicious
thing on my bed."

Atticus gave a
loud bark of laughter, and went to open the door to admit Julius,
who was pacing up and down outside.

"What's so
funny?" he asked as he stepped inside.

"Millie's
sudden lust for food."

"Yeah, Father
said Mother went crazy for food and..." his voice trailed off and
he grinned.

I looked at him
with disgust, then went back to eating. Nothing had ever tasted so
good.

"I wanted to
thank you for helping Jen yesterday, Millie," Julius said. "I saw
her this morning and she told me that you'd explained everything to
her, and that she was quite prepared to give it a try. Thank
you."

"No problem. I
just wish someone had explained it all to me," I said pointedly
between mouthfuls.

"You wouldn't
have believed us," Atticus spoke, a frown creasing his brow.

"You could have
tried," I said, looking down at my plate. There was an awkward
silence.

"You're right,"
Julius said. "We should have tried to explain. It wouldn't have
changed what happened, but maybe you would have seen the whole
thing differently."

"You
think?"

"Sorry,
Millie," Atticus said softly. "For everything."

"That's
OK," I smiled at him. "I understand now that you had to do it. And
this is a
very
good breakfast.
It's almost making up for it all." Lying through my teeth. Needs
must, I guess.

"Almost?"

"I have a few
things in mind that you could do later to make it all better," I
grinned at him.

Julius' eyes
widened. "Father wasn't lying. I'll leave you two alone now." He
started backing out of the room with exaggerated nervousness. "By
the way, I think Jen will be ovulating tomorrow evening by the
smell of things."

I grimaced. "Do
you know what TMI stands for?"

"Too much
information, sure. But Jen said you promised to be there to hold
her hand."

"Is she still
insisting? I really don't want to."

"Please,
Millie? She says it will make her feel safe. You can wear a
blindfold if you want."

"Yes, but I'll
need earplugs too." I shuddered and looked up at his pleading
expression. "Fine, I'll be there."

"Thanks Millie.
I'd kiss you on the cheek, but then I'd have to die a horrible
death."

"Whatever," I
grumbled, still annoyed with myself for that damn promise. I was
not looking forward to tomorrow. Atticus came and sat next to me on
the bed.

"I saw Father
yesterday afternoon. He gave me something to give to you."

"Really?" I
said as soon as I had swallowed the last mouthful.

He said
nothing, but instead held out a small box. I took it form his hand
and opened it. A stunningly beautiful bracelet lay nestled in the
velvet lining. Onyx and gold were woven together as two intertwined
snakes that wrapped around the main band. I picked it up, and
marvelled at both its lightness and its solidity.

"It's
beautiful," I breathed. "Please tell him thank you."

"I will. I'll
put it on for you. The clasp is very tight, so don't panic if you
can't get it off. Just ask me, and I'll do it for you." He took it
from my fingers and placed it around my left wrist and closed it.
There was an audible click as the clasp locked into place.

"Now, my Lady,
you mentioned a few things I could do to make it all better,"
Atticus said, a very mischievous and rather hopeful glint in his
eye.

"Yes," I said
slowly, prolonging the tension. "I want to see my folks today and
my cousin, and I need to do some shopping." I chuckled at his
obvious disappointment.

He sighed
dramatically. "Alright then. I will take you to visit your parents
this morning, and I will drop you and Steph off at the mall later
this afternoon for a couple of hours. She'll be only too happy to
show you around." He sighed again. "You can go and visit your
cousin tomorrow. I don't think you'll have time today."

"OK," I told
him. "We should get going."

"Right." I
watched as he dressed, strangely fascinated by the way his muscles
moved under his skin. He caught me watching him and raised his
eyebrows enquiringly.

"Maybe later,"
I said.

"You do sleep
very heavily at the moment..."

I shrugged.
"Don't you dare wake me up." He grinned with delight, and I
laughed, shaking my head in mock despair at his persistence.

My parents
spent pretty much the whole morning looking surprised. Firstly
about the fact that I was back early from my alleged two week
holiday. Then about the fact that I was allegedly married. And
last, but not least, about my alleged pregnancy. I hadn't wanted
them to know any of it, but Atticus had insisted on telling them.
Maybe he thought it made it all more real. I wasn't so sure.