Suckers Bite Back (San Francisco Vampires #5) (Vampires of San Francisco series) (14 page)

“This is what you are going to do,” Julian says. He spends the next fifteen minutes telling me how to attempt to fix things with Lilith. He has five hundred years of relationship experience with Helena, so I listen carefully.

I materialize back to my flat in Chinatown just in time to snuggle down and watch Manda sleep.

20 LILITH

When we get home I rush up the stairs to clean up and change. All the shenanigans with Petra have made me really late for dinner with Mark. I text him to let him know to pick me up twenty minutes later than we planned. After I shower, I throw on a black one shoulder dress and some Givenchy pumps. A little makeup and a single solitaire diamond necklace and studs in my ears.

I don’t have time to say anything to anyone as I rush down the stairs. In a blur of vampire, Bast is in front of me before I hit the doors. He inhales and a soft growl comes out as he looks down at my wrist. The tear isn’t healing very fast because she didn’t lick it closed. My saliva won’t work on her bite.

Bast gently takes my hand and lifts the inside of my wrist to his mouth and kisses it gently sending shivers down me. His tongue comes out and licks the wound slowly, territorially. Since it is another vamp’s bite, with his saliva the gash starts to knit together before our eyes.

I blow out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that it hurt, I just didn’t like going out marked by some bitch vamp.

Bast’s eyes are smoking under his half lidded eyes and dark, thick lashes. His mouth is full and soft. He licks his lips and inhales my scent off my wrist making me tingle everywhere. Oh the slow seduction of Sebastian St. John.

I have to be soooo careful. I gently retract my hand, mindful of his fangs, another sign that is he in a major “don’t mess with my woman” mood. I pray that Mark doesn’t come to the door. As if on cue, there is a knock. Goddess.

A slow, belly-tingling growl erupts from Sebastian. His lip pulls back showing his fangs and just as he is about to launch at the door I step in front of him and put my hands firmly on his chest. He stops instantly.

“Friend, Bast. Friend, that’s all.”

“I don’t want him to touch you, Lily. I know I have no right to ask that but it’s how I feel. I have to be honest,” he says.

“I kinda figured that out when you were inhaling me,” I say, not unkindly. I rub my hand down his chest again and he purrs for me.

There is another knock at the door. This time Bast growls and pulls my hand from his chest before ripping the door open.

Mark, mans up, oops, demons up and stares Sebastian down. The two lock glares until I wiggle in between them, searching Sebastian’s eyes, trying to tell him that I got this. Mark takes my hand and leads me to his car all the while keeping his eyes on Sebastian. He tucks me into the passenger seat and in a flash he is beside me and smiling like nothing happened.

“I’m sorry about that. Bast is a bit territorial.” I don’t know why I am apologizing. Mark is handling it well.

“You are very beautiful tonight. Of course he would feel that way,” Mark says. He takes my hand and kisses the back of it.

“Thank you, Mark. It’s the Little Black Dress affect. It’s a classic for all occasions,” I say.

He smiles and runs a finger down my cheek. I hear a growling coming from the other side of the window and look up to see Bast staring through the glass.

“Ahhh, Mark? We agreed to keep this friendly,” I remind him, suddenly very nervous of having Sebastian rip the door off the car and carry me back into the manse.

“I guess we better go if we are going to keep our reservations and if I am going to keep my car intact,” he says, picking up on the same vibes I have.

“Are we still going to Wild Fire?” I ask.

“No, Saison.”

I nod. I’d heard they change their menu daily based on what is available locally. I love that.

“I can’t wait to try their wines,” I say.

“They have great reviews. I thought you’d approve,” he says and smiles like he is proud of himself. He should be, it is impossible to get reservations there.

Mark’s sleek sports car eases through the night towards Folsom street, a place seemingly set for two star dining not the purported five star establishment. In fact I’ve heard dinner can cost as much as five hundred a person. We find a place to park and walk to a small entryway with a banked hearth and a host that ushers us into a refurbished stable. People mill around enjoying aperitifs and hors d’oeuvres. Foodies, couples – both gay and straight and out of towners all mingle together. The aroma coming from the kitchen is amazing and I wish I could still eat. I would have to content myself with watching Mark. Damn, maybe I need to feed. That might be what’s wrong with me.

“Come on, Lily. Let’s join the crowd,” Mark says and winks at me.

Mark eats with gusto, enjoying everything that is present and I drink with earnest, relishing the tastes and textures they provide. During dinner we talk and talk. It is such a relief not to worry about anything. Mark tries to reach for my hand and I shake my finger at him.

“You can’t blame a guy for trying, Lily. It actually felt like a natural thing to do. Sorry,” he says.

“No problem, we do get along well, Mark, but right now I desperately need a friend and that’s all. Please be my friend?”

“Of course I’m your friend. Someday I’ll hope for more, but today I am your friend,” he says with perfect sincerity.

“Thank you, Mark,” I say. This time I take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

“That reminds me,” I say. “Speaking of friends, do you have one named Petra?”

His eyes turn dark and his mouth sets in a grim line making his face cloud over in dark shadows.

“Yes I do. Please say you have not met her. She is deranged, dangerous,” he says.

“She chose to take my kickboxing class so she could kick my ass but we were pretty evenly matched. Tore my wrist open though, the bitch,” I say. Before the words finish leaving my mouth Mark grabs both of my wrists and is inspecting them. He sees the faint marks that are all that is left of the tears Petra gave me.

“Fucking bitch, she will die for this, I swear. How dare she mark you? She was trying to kill you, I assure you, Lily. She is psychotic. She will not stop. You need some protection. Let one of my body guards watch over you or better yet stay at my house, it has state of the art security and I am there too.” His eyes are serious, dead serious. I believe his sincerity but something smacks at a set up. This seems too convenient. All of a sudden I need his protection, or so he thinks.

“Mark, I appreciate the offer but I have a lot of protection at home. No one sleeps but me…”

“Oh the Devil take it, you still sleep. I forgot. She doesn’t. You are too vulnerable. You have to stay with me, please.” He begs.

“Mark, let’s talk about this somewhere else, please.”

“You’re right,” he says, looking around like Petra could be anywhere. I was more concerned that the humans were going to hear something we didn’t want them to hear.

“Why don’t you take me home and we can talk to Julian. He can reassure you about my safety,” I say.

“No one will make me feel okay about this, but I’ll do what you want. Let’s go.” We paid before the meal so all we have to do is get up and go. As we walk to the car, Mark has a new purpose. He is in full protection mode.

When he is sure I am in the car with my seatbelt on and the doors locked he stands next to me outside the car and makes a series of phone calls, then he gets into the car and peels out of the area and races to my Pacific Heights neighborhood. It is a mad dash and I am surprised how well the car moves and how well Mark makes it respond.

Before my door is open Sebastian is there pulling me out. He smells like a pissed off vampire. Meaning his natural heavenly scent is intensified tenfold. He envelopes me in his arms and I feel a low growling coming from him. He lifts me into his arms and carries me into the house. I see Mark trailing behind us looking like he will be committing murder on someone soon.

“Cherie, Hannah and Diel are here and Hannah is pissed, just a warning,” Bast says as he nuzzles my neck. My nerve endings spark to life like they haven’t in months.

“Shit,” I say and gasp.

“I know,” he says in my ear. I don’t know if he is referring to the feelings he is making my body feel or the fact that Hannah is angry.

“Lilith Goodwill, get your skinny ass in here!” Hannah yells from the other room.

With a sigh, Sebastian lets me down and jerks his head to Mark indicating he should follow us. The looks they give each other make my skin crawl. This is so not going to be good. I get my hand sanitizer out and slather some on.

I round the doorway of the library and come face to face with a baby bump and an angry mom-to-be in the form of my best friend Hannah. She is wearing a new maternity shirt I bought her that has fangs on it and says “I’m pregnant and I bite.” Some cool shredded maternity jeans and of course her combat boots finish out the outfit. And she looks like she is ready to use them on me.

“What the hell have you been getting up to while I’ve been gone? Hanging out with this Demon riff raff and getting wasted and b’stoned! WTF Lily. I raised you better. Andrew raised you better…”

“Here, here,” Andrew pipes in. I throw him a glare and he shuts up.

“Do you have any idea what I would do without you? Sister, give me a hug so I know you are truly okay,” she says with a shaky voice. “Damn hormones.”

I immediately envelop her in a tight hug and rock her gently. She feels so good and solid. She is what I need. A grounding stone to keep me from flying away into the nothingness that I feel all around me.

“Mark, what were you doing with Lily just now? I thought I made myself clear about that,” Diel says leveling a harsh look at my friend. I need to come to his defense.

“He is my friend, Diel. Just my friend and we were having dinner,” I explain to the room.

“Yes, but by association he has put you in harm’s way again, Lily. You need to distance yourself from him,” Sebastian says.

“No!” Mark says, panic in his eyes.

“That’s for me to decide isn’t it?” Diel asks. Diel is a Duke therefore has a lot of pull in the underworld. Let’s just say he gets what he wants.

“Yes,” Mark hisses out.

“Watch it,” Diel snarls. “Sebastian, please explain.”

“Lily has been taking kick boxing classes.” Hannah spins and looks at me with narrowed eyes, evaluating me. “A female vampire in the class named Petra openly attacked her. Tonight she took her vein and tore it, more like ravished it.” Sebastian glares at Mark again. “Petra said that she loved Mark and wanted Lily to leave him alone.”

“Petra is insane, she’s psychotic. Lily needs to stay with me. I can protect her,” Mark says.

A chorus of harsh “no’s” echo through the room, one of which is mine. Mark does not back down.

“That’s so not going to happen. You low rent Sebastian wannabe,” Hannah says. Pregnant or not she’s sizing him up. Diel and Sebastian step between them.

“Let me at least provide body guards. They are completely loyal to me. They would guard her with their life,” Mark pleads.

“No,” Sebastian says vehemently.

“Maybe,” Diel says.

“No,” I say. Hannah is shaking her head too, agreeing with me.

“Why, Sebastian?” Diel asks.

“A few days ago I was jumped by one of Mark’s goons. It wasn’t much of a challenge but I didn’t appreciate it…” I groan. “Easy cherie, all is well, that’s why I didn’t say anything. I wanted to handle it between the two of us. But I easily took out his body guard, meaning a determined vampire could do it again. Besides, I don’t want to have to watch my back all the time,” Sebastian says.

“Mark, you will not be providing any protection and what’s more you will not have any contact with Lily for one week. Hopefully we can sort out this mess with Petra. After what she’s heard, that’s assuming Lily wants anything to do with you anymore?” Diel asks looking at me.

“I don’t know. I think maybe we just shouldn’t see each other anymore, Mark. I think that’s best,” I say hating the pain in his eyes.

“Lily, please give me another chance. I was out of my mind wanting to talk to you, see you, anything. I was desperate…”

“Yes and lucky for you Sebastian is one hell of a vampire and fighter or I would be in a much worse place right now,” I say suddenly tired of all this drama. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to retire.”

I go to my room and start pacing. It isn’t long before I hear Hannah’s knock on my door.

“Come in,” I say and give her a tight smile.

“Too much?” she says.

“Yes. I’m tired of being pushed around like a pawn. I really thought Mark was going to be a friend. I knew deep down he wanted more but I never thought he would go after Sebastian.”

“Diel just told me that Mark wants to mate with you. He is very serious about you, Lily. You need to stay away or get with him. No in-between for him,” Hannah explains.

“Oh, good Goddess, what a mess. I need to step up my kick boxing classes, I think. The more self-protection I can get the better.”

“I agree. I’m surprised to hear about you taking them. It’s about fucking time you give up the princess routine and get with the show. What else don’t I know about?”

“I’m seeing a psychologist.”

“A head shrinker, eh? Well, that’s good. I heard about Aidan from Andrew. That’s enough of a mind fuck for anyone. And I heard about your job. I’m so sorry about that, sister.” She comes over and wraps her arms around me again. I feel the baby bump as I hug her tight. She steps back and I rub her tummy.

“What would I ever do with without my Hannah?” I ask.

“You’d be totally lost, girlfriend,” Hannah says.

“You are so right.”

I hear Diel coming, he must’ve dealt with Mark. I don’t need his pity so I politely tell Hannah that it is time for me to go to bed. She looks at me with sad eyes. She knows what’s really going on. Hannah meets Diel outside the door and I hear them talking. I hate this. What I need is the quiet.

After Hannah leaves, I take a hot shower. The water does wonders to relieve my tension. I slip on a nice silk gown and am not surprised to hear Sebastian at my door.