Glacier wanted Mandy so much it hurt. “We have to be smart about this.”
She nodded. “The biting. Right. Avoiding that. You could take me from behind.”
He grinned. “I like the way you think. Take off your clothes.” He backed off and reached for the front of his jeans, tearing them down his body. He removed his boxers next, avoiding looking at her until he straightened, nude.
Mandy had stripped quickly, since she’d only worn one of his shirts and the baggy boxers. The sight of her on her hands and knees on the bed, her curvy ass bared, and the way she tossed her hair to peer at him over her shoulder, had his hard-on at full mast.
Mandy smiled, showing off those cute little fangs of hers as she spread her legs. He lowered his gaze. A growl rumbled from him. The hint of her arousal taunted him but she wasn’t ready for him. He approached her and gripped her hips, flipping her over onto her back.
She gasped, looking surprised. He grinned, dropped to his knees, and grabbed her ankles. He tore her down to the end of the bed. “Spread them for me. I want a taste of you first.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“I don’t want to lie to you or fake anything. Total honestly. To get it, you have to give it.”
“I’m trying but you haven’t spread your legs for me yet.”
She actually blushed. “I’m talking about the truth, not oral sex. But you know that. I’ve had this done a few times by a guy. It didn’t really do much for me. I’d like it better if you used your fingers down there to play with me while using your mouth on my breasts. That gets me really turned on.”
“I’m not him. Spread your thighs.” He licked his lips.
She hesitated.
“You want the truth?”
“Always from you.”
“I’m going to make damn sure I can get you off before I’m inside you. I don’t think I’ll last long enough to make it good for you the first time otherwise. You don’t want me to feel guilty, do you?”
She shook her head. “No. Most men don’t care though.”
“I will. Now open for me and give me access.”
She spread her legs wide and broke eye contact with him. He grinned. She looked uncomfortable, baring her pussy to him. A faint tinge of red showed on her pale skin. “Oh baby. I’m going to break you of being shy.” He released her ankles, gripped her inner thighs, and pulled her closer. He applied enough strength to keep her pinned down and open but was careful not to hurt her. He lowered his gaze, studying her hairless pussy. He’d never done a Vamp. “You found a razor here?”
“Um, no. Once I was turned, um… Can we just not discuss this?”
She was so fucking cute. “I’ll get an answer later on that.”
“Great.”
He noticed another difference. She was pale everywhere, including her pussy. He dipped his head, loving her scent. He took it as a challenge that she hadn’t enjoyed oral sex before. He planned to change her mind. He focused on the little nub of her clit, giving it a few soft licks to test her sensitivity. Her muscles under his hands tensed and she sucked in a sharp breath.
This was going to be fun.
He grew aggressive, applying more pressure. He gently sucked and that earned him a throaty moan. He kept at it. She tried to squirm, moaning louder. One of her hands slid into his hair. He lifted up a little and grinned. She was pink now where his mouth had been. The bud had swollen too. He lowered his mouth, licking and sucking harder. Her other hand slid into his hair and she held him in place.
He knew when she got close. Her fingernails dug into his scalp, but it didn’t hurt. She tried to wiggle out from under him. He held her more firmly until she cried out his name and her clit began to soften. Her grip on him eased slowly.
He lifted up a little. She was soaked now, the scent of her making him want to snarl and fuck her hard. Her pussy had become all pink and ready for him. He straightened on his knees at the end of the bed, grabbed her, and flipped her back onto her stomach. He backed off just enough to drag her off the bed and bend her over the mattress in front of him.
She was short. Her knees didn’t touch the floor. It made him smile as he gripped his stiff cock, adjusted the tip of it, and inched closer to line them up. He began to push into her, and groaned. She was wet and tight.
“Fuck, baby.”
“Oh God, Glacier!”
“I’m trying to go slow.” He came down over her to pin her in place, braced one hand on the bed, the other on her hip as he pushed into her deep. She felt like heaven and hell combined when he paused there.
“You don’t have to hold back.”
She was much smaller than him. A buck twenty at most. Probably less. She’d always been petite. He closed his eyes and began to withdraw. He paused, thrusting forward until he was all in again. He tightened his hold and began to rock his hips.
Pleasure and need overtook his ability to think as he fucked her harder, faster. She moaned loudly, encouraging him.
Her hand wrapped around his wrist that he’d planted near her head and her nails sank into his skin. He lost what little control he had left and hammered into her until he came, hard. He groaned her name.
He buried his face into her hair. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she panted back.
“You didn’t come a second time.”
She hesitated.
He chuckled. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I was close.”
He released her hip and wiggled his hand between her and the mattress, until he pressed his finger against her clit. She jerked under him as he began to rub. His dick remained hard, not softening yet. He slowly fucked her. She moaned and he felt her vaginal muscles tighten around his shaft until it damn near hurt. She came quickly.
He stilled, smiling. “Now we know you can get off without biting.”
She chuckled.
“Do you need to feed?”
“I’m good. I am tired though. Is it bad that I want to just sleep?”
“No. It’s daylight.”
She yawned. “I’m like a guy. You got me off and now I’m going to snooze.”
He laughed and slowly withdrew from her. He adjusted his hold and helped her climb onto the bed. She crawled up the mattress and he loved watching her move that way. She had the grace of a cat, only a sexy naked one. His dick perked up with interest but he ignored the urge. He followed her, shoving down the covers.
“I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Is there a chance you’ll bite me while you’re asleep?”
She turned and faced him. Her eyes widened. “I don’t know. I’ve never slept with someone before.”
“Fair enough.” He lay down and pulled her closer. “Roll over. I want to spoon you. It’ll also help keep your mouth away from my throat, facing away from me. I do want you close, though.”
She rolled over and wiggled backward, snuggling her backside to his front. He only had one pillow, so he used it and gave her his arm. He liked it when she placed her head on him. He curled around her, getting comfortable.
“You fit nice here.”
“I like being held by you. I feel safe.”
“You are. Sleep, baby.”
“Glacier?”
“Yes?” He rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Never mind.”
“Don’t do that. You can say anything to me.”
She kept her head turned away but she placed her hand on his arm, caressing his skin. “I was really lonely until you came along. Please don’t be too good to be true.”
“I have way too many flaws for that.”
“You know what I mean. I could get used to this. To you. Too used to it, you know?”
He understood what she meant. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t leave you if you don’t leave me.”
“You might be stuck with me forever then.”
He held her a little tighter. “I’m willing to chance it. What’s the longest relationship you’ve ever been in?”
“Seven months, but then I found out he cheated on me.”
“I’m not going to do that. I’ve never committed before, but I am now. We’ll make this work. We both want it to. We’ll take one day at a time.”
“Okay.”
“Sleep. We’ve got a lot of road to cover tonight.”
He knew when she drifted off less than a minute later. Her breathing slowed to a pace that would have alarmed him if he wasn’t aware that was normal for her kind. It’s why most people thought Vampires were dead during the day. She probably took a breath about every minute and her heart only beat four times between breaths.
Glacier napped until he heard the door downstairs close. He carefully got out of bed without waking Mandy, put on his boxers, and went to talk to his brother.
Pest placed bags on the counter and inhaled. He cocked his head, watching him.
“She didn’t bite me.”
“Good. I grabbed some food. You should eat.”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me rephrase that. I’m not getting laid, and I love pussy. Eat something so that when you talk, I’m smelling food instead of short stack on your breath. It’s just mean.”
“Asshole.” Glacier sniffed, dug into the bag that smelled like food, and found where his brother had shoved another bag full of breakfast sandwiches inside. He unwrapped one and began to eat.
“I take it you worked out kissing without her nailing your tongue with her fangs?”
“We haven’t kissed.”
“Shit. That’s rough. Then again, you’re the one-night-stand king. You probably don’t do that. Relationships are different.”
“I don’t need advice. Mandy and I will figure it out. Did you get her some clothes and a helmet?”
“Yeah.” Pest pointed to one of the bags. “Tinted face shields. I bought two with headsets. I figured you’d like to be able to talk to each other without yelling. I tried one on to be sure it fit you, and guessed hers would be smaller. I hope they’re comfortable.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Any word yet from Kelzeb on where he’s sending you?”
“No. It’s just after nine. I figure it will be a few hours.”
“I’ll stick around to make sure the Lycans don’t try to keep you here tonight when you head out. I rented a motorcycle. It’s not nearly as nice as yours, but it will do until we blow this city and we’re far from their territory. I’ll return it when we part ways, before I fly to my next gig. I did get orders this morning.”
“What’s the mission?”
“I’m on my way to Miami. There’s been some bodies found. It might be a serial killer, but I need to make sure it’s a human doing the killing and not something else.”
“Blood drained? Torn up?”
“Cut up, but not all the pieces have been found. Four dead in the past eight days. I’ll hit the scenes where body parts were discovered and sniff around. Some of them were inside buildings. It might mean scents have lingered that I can pick up.”
“Good luck. Check in.”
“I always do.”
“I’m going back to bed to get some sleep. See you around five. We’ll hit the road as soon as the sun is down.”
Glacier headed upstairs and entered the bedroom, prepared to climb back in, when his cell dinged. He bent, retrieved it from his jeans, and turned it on. He had two missed calls and half a dozen texts. The number all of them had come from had him curling his lip and heading back out of the bedroom. He returned downstairs to find his brother still eating.
“What’s up?”
“Fucking Kevin. I’m going to call him back. He sent me a couple of messages.” He didn’t bother to read the texts but instead just called the alpha. Kevin answered on the first ring.
“I want you to come to me right now to fight. I’ve assembled the entire pack to witness it.”
“Fuck you. I’m not challenging you, Kevin. You were drunk last night and being stupid. I refuse to apologize because you’re an idiot.”
Pest snorted a laugh.
“How dare you!”
“I saved your life. You’re welcome. I don’t want your pack. I just wanted to save Lycan kids. And I did. Marco and his second are dead. Your problem is solved. I’m out of here tonight and you’ll never see me again.”
“I’ve been challenged twice this morning. I had to kill two members of my pack because of you! I’m not letting this go. Stop being a coward. Get your ass in front of the pack house. I’m going to fucking kill you to show my people that I deserve to be their alpha.”
“I’m a GarLycan, Kevin. Not an alpha. You get that I can turn to stone and just stand there until you’ve worn yourself out from doing me absolutely no harm, don’t you? What’s the point of that? I don’t want to kill you, either. Do you know why? Because I don’t want to lead your pack. I punched you because you were drunk as shit and not listening to me. Marco and his second were in your territory, on their way to distract your pack. They would have taken you down faster than you could have said ‘fucked’. Understand?”
Kevin snarled. “You didn’t even give me the chance to kill the Vamps. You humiliated me!”
“You did that to yourself by getting drunk when your pack was still in danger. You had them out of lockdown. How many of them would have been killed wandering around the woods thinking they were safe? Especially since they were drunk.”
“You won’t come fight me?”
“No. I won’t. There’s no point. Kick some ass if you’re challenged and handle it. It’s not my problem.”
Kevin snarled.
Glacier met his brother’s stare and rolled his eyes.
“I want you to leave my territory within the hour, you coward.”
“Kevin, that’s not going to happen. I have a Vampire with me that Lord Aveoth wants to keep alive to learn more about their council. She’s been cooperative.”
“That makes it even better. You embarrass me in front of my pack? Now you’ll fail your mission to turn over the Vampire to your lord. I hope he kills you for failing him. You’re going to get out of my territory within the hour and leave the Vampire in the building for us to collect. You try to leave with it and we’ll attack until it’s dead. Either way, you lose, asshole.”
“This guy is a fucking idiot,” Pest whispered.
Glacier held his brother’s gaze. Pest could easily hear the conversation in the quiet room, with them standing so close together. He gave a grim nod.
“Don’t make threats, Kevin. You don’t want to fuck with me or Lord Aveoth,” Glacier warned.
“Step outside, asshole.”
Glacier walked to the door and unlocked it. He peered out into the alley. The scent of trash hung in the air, but sudden movement above drew his eye. He looked up to see six Lycans standing on the roof of the next building, watching him back. He turned his head, spotting more on other roofs. He backed inside.
“What are you doing, Kevin?”
“You’re not going to embarrass me without paying for it. I gave you the chance to face me with honor. You refuse to fight? You’re not leaving with the Vampire. I’m taking it from you. I don’t want to start a war with the GarLycans, but I will. You’ve got one hour to leave. You try to take the Vamp, my men will open fire. I mean, you did encourage us to use guns. We’ll shoot the fuck out of the Vampire if you carry it out. Enough holes and it’ll ash. And it’s daylight, anyway. What are you going to do, asshole? Carry it down the street in a body bag in front of humans?” Kevin laughed.
“Or just stay in there. My men followed Graves after you dropped off that borrowed van. You know those explosives you wouldn’t let me use at the restaurant? We have them, asshole. They’ve been planted around the exterior of your building. So stay there. Please. You might survive if Gargoyles are as tough as you claim, but the Vamp won’t. It’ll be blown to bits. And don’t think I didn’t learn from you, either. There’s one sewer tunnel under that place. It’s rigged to blow if you try to access it.”
Pest motioned to the door and made a few hand signals. Glacier nodded. “Do any of your Lycans out there have cell phones, Kevin?”
“Of course.”
He nodded at Pest. His brother yanked open the door and stepped out, glaring up at the pack.
“You should call them. I’m not the only GarLycan here, dick. Your pack is getting a visual on another one now. You don’t want to do this.”
“Fuck you! I don’t care if there are a dozen of you assholes! You’re going to pay for embarrassing me.”
Glacier grit his teeth. “Fine. You want a fight? I’m on my way.”
“That option is off the table now.” Kevin snickered. “You leave that building to come after me—hell, anyone does—and my enforcers blow it. You might come kill me but your Vamp will be chunks.” He laughed. “I always get my revenge.” He disconnected.
“Fuck!”
Pest backed inside the building, locking the door. “I missed the last part.”
“We leave to go after him and he blows the building to kill Mandy. We stay after one hour, he’s going to blow it anyway.”
“Fuck. How are we going to get her out of here? They’re sporting guns. A few of them flashed ’em at me just now. That prick is right about what’s going to happen if we wrap short stack in a tarp and carry her out. I saw humans down on both streets. Gunfire will draw them, the cops will come, and it will turn into a fucking media mess.”
“There’s only one thing to do then. We all need to walk out of here.”
Pest stared at him, precious long seconds passing. “Fuck. You can’t do it, bro.”
“What choice do I have? Leave Mandy to die? I won’t. Stay here and have us both shell around her, hoping our bodies protect her? We’d be buried under rubble and the humans would eventually start digging. They’d find us.”
“You can’t just make that decision without permission first. This is Lord-Aveoth big.”
Glacier closed his eyes. “Yeah. I know.”
“He’s never going to agree to it. It’s law, bro.”
Glacier took some deep breaths. “I have to ask.”
He called Kelzeb.
“I’ve called both alphas. They are discussing it. Neither has gotten back to me yet,” his boss stated after answering the phone.
“I need to speak to Lord Aveoth.”
Kelzeb didn’t answer.
Glacier filled him in quickly. “I need to talk to him.”
“Fuck. I’ll call you back in five minutes. He’s in his quarters with his mate. I need to give him an update and then you’ll get his answer.”
“Don’t be long. I don’t trust that crazy Lycan to not just blow the building.”
“I’m leaving my office now.” He hung up.
Pest began to pack things up. “No means no. If Aveoth denies your request, you can’t just do it anyway. It’s Gargoyle law. He’ll have no choice but to order you punished, and her put to death. He’s pretty cool but he can’t let something like that slide. It would make him look weak to the entire clan. Shit’s already tense, thanks to our departed dickhead of a father. Aveoth has a mate to consider, too.”
“I know.” Glacier sighed. “I’m going to get dressed.”
He rushed upstairs, put on clothes, his boots, and packed his shit. He woke Mandy. She startled and sat up.
“I don’t have time to explain. Run downstairs, get what Pest bought for you and blacken your hair right now.”
She looked confused.
“Do it fast.”
She got out of bed, put on one his shirts, and stumbled past him out of the bedroom. Pest met her in the hallway.
“Here, short stack. Spray-on hair color, clothes, and some makeup are in these bags. Need help with covering your hair in the back since Glacier is busy?”
“I got it, Pest. Thanks. What’s going on?”
“You heard my bro. No time to explain. Just hustle your ass. Faster is better. We might be attacked at any moment.”
Glacier met her frightened gaze and nodded. “Hurry.” He began to shove all his things inside his bag. Minutes later, his phone buzzed. He answered it.
“What a fucking mess,” a deep voice rumbled. “Kelzeb told me everything.”
“Thank you for calling me, my lord. I can’t let her die. You know what I’m asking. But I’ve been loyal to you. I just need to feed her once. Just for today.”
“It’s a huge fucking risk.”
“I know. We’re changing her appearance. No one will recognize her for what she really is.”
Lord Aveoth grumbled. “I have Jill. I get it. I’d level this entire fucking place to keep her safe. I have a condition, though. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to save this Vampire of yours? This is a big fucking rule to break. I need to cover my ass because at some point, someone is going to find out. I can handle the GarLycans, but the full-bloods here might raise hell. This law is thousands of years old. In Europe, it’s an instant death sentence for you both. Every fucking clan would hunt you down to end your lives. Thankfully, I’m the biggest power in the United States as far as Gargoyles go.”
“What terms? Tell me.”
“You mate her, Glacier. I can sell that shit to our clan when they find out. We all respect mates. It also means keeping her away from any Lycan packs. If they find out, we’re all in danger because that information is valuable. I’ll figure something out though, since you can’t bring her here. You have my permission to feed her if you mate her. One other thing.”
“What?” Glacier’s heart pounded. He was willing to mate Mandy to keep her safe.
“If you ever part ways, it’s by death. If she ever betrays us, you put her down yourself. Swear to it. She can’t ever share this knowledge. She’ll be your mate, or she’ll be ash after you feed her. The fucking clans in Europe might come after us if you let her go and word spreads. I won’t risk the lives of our people or our VampLycan neighbors, who would find themselves in the middle of a war zone.”
He closed his eyes. “I swear on my honor.”
“Do it. Feed her. And once she’s your mate, your body belongs to her. That includes your blood. I won’t have you weakened by your mate in the future. Do you understand me?
He opened his eyes, stunned. Lord Aveoth was giving him permission to allow his mate to feed from him whenever she needed to. “I do. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Get the fuck out of there and call Kelzeb when you’re safely out of their territory. No one threatens one of mine this way. I’m sending your brothers to deal with the alpha.”
“Tempest is already here. Once the enforcer attacked Mandy, I asked him to be with her when I had to leave her alone. He said he had some down time.”
“Nebulas is two states over from you. Kelzeb is sending him orders now. I don’t expect you to lie to your brothers. Kelzeb will also inform Creed what’s going on. Now get the hell out of there as soon as you mate her. You can romance her later.”
Lord Aveoth hung up and Glacier shoved his phone into his pocket. “I love that guy.”
Pest grinned from the doorway. “I heard what he said. Give me your bag. I’ll have us ready to roll by the time you come downstairs. You know that talk Neb had with us about taking our time screwing women? Forget it. Ultimate quickie, bro. I want out of here in ten minutes.”
Glacier watched him leave and sighed. Ten minutes to talk to Mandy, get her to agree to become his mate, and seal the deal. “Shit.”