Bad Mouth (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-two

Indecision skipped across Kade’s face. “I don’t know if—”

“What’s wrong? Is it dangerous?” She’d never heard of humans dying after a feeding,
other than illegal bloodings caused by derangements. “Will it hurt much?”

“It won’t hurt at all. But I’ll see—”

“Kade, everything I’ve been these past few days is the extent of who I am. No more,
no less. I’m not perfect, but I have nothing to hide. You have nothing to be afraid
of, not from me.”

He nodded slowly. “All right. Okay.”

“Do you really not want to?” Disappointment pressed down on her shoulders.

“Oh, baby, I want to. Fuck do I want to.” His chin tilted down. “I was just…”

She rubbed her palms over his chest. “I’m nervous, too. I’ve never—you know.”

He murmured really low at her ear. “A virgin. How sweet.” She tried in vain to ignore
his warm breath fanning along her throat.

“How will we collect the sample?” She’d almost forgotten the whole reason for the
feeding in the first place.

“I have syringes.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And why would you have those?”

“Hunting Slavers requires tranquilizers for the bystanders. Notice I didn’t say
innocent
. An outright killing spree would draw too much attention, and the last thing we need
are the Ancients finding out about these humans.” He took her hand. “Come with me.”

He led her past the bathroom to a room at the end of the hallway. So this was his
bedroom. It was very spacious, about half as large as the open living area. The decor
continued the same clean, uncluttered aura, but the tones were warmer with wide, dark
cherry dressers and a heavy headboard standing over his massive bed. As in the living
area, one wall was a window overlooking the Sound.

“I can’t believe I fucked you, in a car no less, and never made it to a bedroom,”
he said. She managed an exasperated huff. He watched her study the room for a moment
before he headed toward a closet. When he disappeared into it, she followed him.

“You have a walk-in closet? You never wear anything but T-shirts and jeans,” she said
as she entered. She stopped short, her eyes wide. A few suits hung near the front
and several pairs of shoes sat in an organizer near the floor, but the rest of the
closet was outfitted like an armory. Blades, rifles, shotguns, pistols, crossbows,
and other unidentifiable armament covered the walls. He checked a couple of drawers
before he found the syringes. Turning toward her, he froze and then laughed.

“You’re so fucking cute,” he said.

“What?” She couldn’t take her eyes off the arsenal.

“It’s pest control, my sweet.” He nudged her backward with his body and nuzzled her
throat. “Don’t you have some other firepower you’d rather ogle?”

Her belly flipped at the brush of his lips over her sensitive skin. Oh yes, she certainly
did have better things to ogle. He lifted her feet on top of his. She let him walk
her backward to the bed as she worked his shirt up and over his head. The tingle of
desire racing from between her legs made her thighs quiver.

“I missed you,” he mumbled against her temple. He rained kisses all over her face
and down her neck. He went lower, stripping her shirt away as he went. “I didn’t know
what I’d do if you didn’t understand, if you didn’t forgive me.” He was talking against
her breast. When she giggled, he started to draw back, but she wrapped her arm around
his head.

“Don’t stop.”

He tossed the syringe on the nightstand, guided her flat onto the bed, and tugged
her slacks down without leaving her breasts. The scrape of his teeth over her nipple
was like a live wire. Her legs folded over the back of his thighs, tugging him closer
on top of her. She struggled with his jeans until he sat back and jerked at the button,
which flew across the room.

He pushed his jeans and briefs down his strong, lanky legs. She wet her lips as she
watched. He was incredibly sexy naked. Kade had the form of a Greek god. Of course,
he’d had centuries to sculpt the perfect body.

His hand went to his long, thick shaft and stroked it. “I love the way you’re looking
at me.”

Her cheeks grew hot, partly with embarrassment but mostly with brazen need. His bold
sexuality surpassed her real-life experiences with men, as if those men had been merely
a few diluted warm-ups.

He lowered his body between her legs, and his voice softened. “Are you sure about
this?”

“Yes. Be careful with me.”

“Always.” He cupped her chin. “I won’t hurt you, Val.” He tipped her head slightly,
the red glow of his eyes brighter as he fixed on the pulse of her throat. His breathing
grew heavier. “Goddamn, I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited in my life. I could
bust right now.”

His tongue laved her throat, and he groaned. She didn’t feel his fangs when they bit
into her, only his lips against her skin. A blast of pleasure rippled over her. Arousal
seared her veins, its fire exploding along every nerve. The intensity turned her feral.
She cried out and thrust her hips against him rhythmically. Her fingernails dug into
his back.

“Please! Oh please, Kade,” she cried. She’d gone completely out of her mind and into
a world of animal sensation. If he didn’t do something now, she would burn to death.

The suction at her neck strummed her core as if his fingers flicked her there. Her
breath rasped in and out. She was going to climax, and he wasn’t even inside of her.
He growled against her throat. Without warning, he ripped her panties away and then
he was in her, meeting her thrusts with his own powerful strokes.

His breath caressed her throat as he sucked from her and rocked his hips against hers.
She dug her fingers into the tight, straining back muscles rippling as he surged over
her. Her heels pressed into his hard thighs, urging him on faster. Something wildly
explosive built higher until she ached all over with its sweetness. When his fangs
withdrew, spikes of ecstasy zigzagged like a pinball driving her to her peak.

“Kade!” she screamed. At the sound of her pleasure, his body tensed against her, and
he came with a satisfied roar. He collapsed next to her on the bed, his arms around
her, and his leg tucked between hers. His palm rested over the trim patch of pale
hair between her legs.

“Mine,” he whispered at her ear.

She turned her head and caught his lips with hers. “Mine,” she said.

His eyes flashed bright with pleasure. “You feel okay?”

“I feel amazing.” She thought about it. “Well, a little tired.”

He frowned. “It’s normal, but I don’t like making you weak. You should have let me
use my service.”

“No.” As in
no way in hell
.

“Just no?” He gave her a lopsided grin. “At least I won’t have to feed often. I get
most of my sustenance from transformations.” His grin faded.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never fucked and fed before.” Whatever he thought of it sobered him.

“Are you…disappointed?” She almost didn’t want his answer.

“Disappointed?” He laughed. “Val, the earth shifted. I didn’t know it could feel so
fucking good. I’ll have a hard time keeping my dick out of you when I’ve got my fangs
in. And vice versa, you know.”

“Do the service girls all react like that?”

“Like a Baptist girl at church camp?” he asked. She rolled her eyes at him, but he
ignored it. “They always do, and it always made me want to heave the blood back up.
Nothing worse than getting dry-humped by a horny bitch in heat when I’m trying to
enjoy a meal in peace.”

“There’s no stopping that pit of profanity, is there?”

He didn’t answer, but he rubbed her with his palm and she tightened her thighs around
his hand.

“Your pussy is like velvet. You wax?”

She laughed. “Your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

“It already has. Anyway, I think you like what I do with my bad mouth.” He slid down
in the bed and ducked his head toward the junction between her legs. She pushed at
his head.

“Where’d you send your merry men?” she asked with a laugh. His expression sobered
as he looked up at her, and she tensed. “Where, Kade?”

He sat up. “I wanted to—”

“To what?”

“To find Parrish for you. They’re hunting for Parrish.”

“Why? What are they going to do with him?”

“Val, he wasn’t created by the Slavers. We don’t know where he came from.” He glanced
out the window. “A rogue maybe.”

“What will they do with him?”

“They won’t kill him, Val. Unless they have to.”

“Unless they—” His sudden outcry interrupted her. He bent over, his head pressed to
the bed. “What’s happening?”

“It’s all right,” he huffed. “It’ll pass.”

His rolled over, his eyes closed and his head tipped back. It was over in only a few
seconds, but still alarming. He started to sit up but slid back to the mattress and
rolled toward her instead. He reached out for her, pulling her close.

“Does this always happen after a feeding?”

He stroked her hair. “Unfortunately.”

“You saw, didn’t you?” She felt him nod. “No corpse in the closet?”

He chuckled against her top of her shoulder. “I’ve never viewed anyone so…clean.”

“Do you see everything?”

“Not everything. Only little random samples along the way.” He lifted his head to
look her in the eye. “So, uh, sex before me has been a little…bland for you?”

“You did not see that!”

His cell rang from the jeans on the floor. Laughing, he dragged himself out of bed
and fumbled in his pockets until he found the phone.

“What?” He was only silent a moment. “On my way.” And then he threw his clothes back
on.

“Where are you going?”

He didn’t look at her as he dressed. “They found Will. They’re holding him for now.”

The earth quaked under Val. They had Will, finally. She would see him in his changed
form. What would he say to her? Could he even speak? What kind of man had he become?
She jumped from the bed, reaching for her clothes.

“I’m coming.”

His eyes shot her a warning. “Val, I want to flash there.”

“No.” When he didn’t even slow, she grabbed his arm. “I have to see him, Kade.”

She didn’t let him turn away while he thought it out. This was too important to let
him get overprotective on her. It was her case, anyway. She needed to see Will if
she was ever going to heal the wounds he’d left behind.

“Let’s go.” His lips formed a thin line of displeasure, but he took her hand and led
her out of the penthouse. It wasn’t too far by car, only a half-hour drive before
they arrived at an empty warehouse. The streetlights were all out except one near
the corner of the building, stretching the shadows around the crumbling mass even
longer. Graffiti plastered the front wall and red spray paint streaked the double
door, barely visible in the tiny light above the entry.

He shoved the doors open wide, the shriek of the hinges echoing through the cavernous
interior. Dust choked her throat and she had to fight back a coughing fit. She couldn’t
hear anything but their footfalls as they made their way toward the rear of the building.
Gripping Kade’s hand in a vise, she wrinkled her nose at the musty smell of disuse
and rust.

A feral scream of rage tore the silence and seized her insides. That had to be Will.
The sound of a scuffle followed and then more silence. Soon she heard the murmur of
voices as they approached an office in the rear corner.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked.

She looked up at the concern on his face. “I have to do this.” He flashed an encouraging
smile, and her heart squeezed. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Good. Now let’s get this over with.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Kade knew what to expect when they entered the office, but he was pretty damned sure
Val had never seen a deranged vampire in person. But she was a determined woman. God,
he loved her. No weak, watery like or lust for him. He’d fallen hard. He hadn’t seen
much of her life after his feeding, but a good portion of what he’d seen involved
either Will or himself, and that surprised him more than anything.

Could it be possible she’d fallen for him too?

A few days ago, he would have ruled that out. He was the epitome of unlovable. Any
of his friends could have told him that, and Ezra often did. But she’d allowed him
to feed from her. There’s no way she’d have done that if she didn’t care.

“We forgot to get a sample.” She whispered as if they had to sneak up on the group
waiting in the office. Her voice wavered. He wanted to clear her worry away like it
was a physical being.

“The venom stays in the blood for a while.” He lifted her shaking hand to his lips.
“It’ll be all right. I won’t let him get to you.”

The look in her eyes nearly brought him to his knees. She was a wonder, a miracle.
How could she make him so weak and so damned strong at the same time? He would keep
her forever, no matter how old and frail she became. But then he’d be left with eternal
centuries without her. He could decapitate himself or go to Alaska during their long
daylight and lay in the sun hoping that would take him out, but then he had no progeny
to take over the
Dominorum
. His duties would force him to suffer her loss.

He reached for the doorknob, but Val stopped him. She took a deep breath. Another
shriek pierced through the door. Finally, she nodded. He kissed the top of her head
and then opened the door.

Chains around his wrists, ankles, and neck held Will low to floor. That would keep
him from finding enough purchase to put any considerable force on the restraints.
His red eyes glowed, as they always would, because deranged stayed in a perpetual
state of bloodlust. His fangs were full length and bared in fury.

He looked too thin. Wherever he’d been, he’d been kept from feeding. Someone had to
have held him prisoner. At this point, that was a good thing. He’d be weakened by
it. He stank of old blood, unwashed bodies, and nasty sex. Kade wished the guys had
at least hosed him down so Val didn’t have to endure the filth.

Ezra seared an angry glare into Kade. “You brought her here?”

“It’s my investigation, Ezra.” Val stood tall, her shoulders squared, and faced the
angry vampire as she would a pouty child. “I wouldn’t let him leave without me.”

Ezra scowled until he noticed the fading marks on Val’s throat. His eyebrow shot up
as he looked between Val and Kade.

“Well, well, well.” He nodded with approval.

When Val finally faced Will, her composure slipped. Tears glistened in her eyes. Kade
would do anything to protect her from this, but he felt her need for closure.

There was no recognition on Will’s face. His fiery gaze burned into Val with lust
and famine as he’d look at any human, like a walking meal. Hungry sounds came from
the back of the deranged’s throat, and he strained against his bonds. The vampire
was halfway changed, his face, torso, and fingers lengthened slightly, and his eyes
at the cusp of that familiar slant. Kade had known he would look this way, had known
he’d smell this awful. Had Val known that he’d be so very different?

“He doesn’t even look like Will,” she said. “Is he aware of what he’s become?” She
looked at Kade, her eyes shining. He brushed a tear from the corner of her eye.

“I don’t believe so, my sweet. I think the Will you knew was gone not long after he
transformed, maybe even before he transformed.”

She nodded in understanding. “He’d changed a lot during our marriage. By the end,
transformation was all he could think about. It was like some crazy addiction.”

“You know you can’t do anything to change an addict,” Guns said softly. His dark eyes
held a wealth of sympathy, and Kade was grateful for the man’s compassion. It rarely
showed its face. “They have to want to overcome it themselves.”

Guns would know. He dealt with addicts on a daily basis in his work with gangs. The
others murmured their concurrence.

“There’s nothing you could have done to help him, Val,” Luc said. “And there’s nothing
you can do to help him now.”

If she hadn’t known it before, she accepted it then. Her shoulders shook and she sank
into Kade’s embrace, her arms wrapped around his waist and her damp face buried against
his chest. He willed his strength into her as he nuzzled her fragrant hair. Her fingers
clutched his shirt. She’d have internal scars from this, but her wounds would heal.
Maybe she could end that unfinished chapter of her life and free herself for him.

He lifted his head from her hair and glanced around at his team. They’d pulled through
for him. Again. Yeah, even the humans. Luc and Guns were good men, and he didn’t need
to taste their blood to know that. How could he have spent so much of his life hating
them all? Maybe he’d been as blinded by his early experiences as Val had been by her
marriage to Will. Maybe they both needed to put the past behind them

“So what do we do with T-Rex here?” Declan asked. He shot a nervous look at Val. They
couldn’t very well kill Will in front of her. There was no rehabilitation for the
deranged. They had to be put down, to put it nicely.

“This kind of solves one problem, don’t you think?” Ian said.

“Ah, right!” Luc said, nodding. “We can close the blooding cases.”

Val eased away from Kade, but kept an arm around his waist. “Right. We have to turn
him over to the VLO.” She looked up at Kade, relief in her expression. “We identify
him as the one committing the bloodings, all of them. This will tie up all the cases,
including the ones committed by the deranged your team…took care of. Then the public
can rest in peace, and the legislation would lose some wind.”

“Two problems solved,” Ezra said, his ever-present grin in full force. “You are one
smart lady. Damn, Kade, if you didn’t have dibs…”

He growled at his friend, though he knew Ezra was only joking. He cupped Val’s face,
kissed her forehead, and gave her a direct look. “You know, baby, what they’ll have
to do with him.”

She nodded in reply, fresh tears pooling and then spilling down her pretty, rosy cheeks.
He rubbed away the tears with his thumbs. He’d rip out his heart to take this pain
from her. It didn’t matter that she hurt over another man. It wasn’t love; it was
her beautiful soul, the one he’d tasted a little of, which made him only want more.

Without warning, the office door flew open, bouncing into the wall. Kade whirled,
his fangs readying for battle. A
Dominus
in the midst of changing form stood in the open doorway behind the team. The two
long windows along one wall and a smaller one along another shattered and more
Dominorum
entered the space.

His team pulled their weapons.

Val’s arm tightened on him, but she didn’t scream. He pushed her behind him against
the only wall with no windows. She tried to move around him, but he pinned her in
place with one hand while he let the change sweep him. His teammates dove into battle
with enthusiasm, but were outnumbered as more vampires entered through the broken
glass.

Kade drew his blade but could do nothing to aid his men without leaving Val exposed.
A bolt from a crossbow hit him in the shoulder, sending a shock of pain to his middle.
He bit down on the agony, not wanting to alarm Val. One of the
Dominorum
came at him, and he let go of her long enough to engage the attack. He prayed she
didn’t leave her safe spot behind him.

He dodged the other vampire’s strike and landed a stab into the artery on the man’s
arm. The
Dominus
screamed like a bitch and the blood spurted out of him.

The
Dominus
came at him again, but the wound had weakened his thrust. Kade ducked the blow and
came up slicing his wicked blade through a femoral artery. The vampire couldn’t match
Kade’s speed. His block was ineffective, and with another thrust of Kade’s knife,
the
Dominus
lay in a heap soaked in blood from the man’s jugular.

Kade ripped the bolt from his shoulder and engaged the next contestant. He tried not
to let the exhilaration go to his head. It’d been a while since he’d participated
in a battle and it brought back fond memories. From glimpses, he saw his team doing
fairly well. No losses yet. None in the end, if he had any say in the matter. A second
later, the next
Dominus
had lost his head to Kade’s expertise.

“Val!” The yell came from the window. Kade glanced up to see Douchebag standing outside
the window. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”

“Graham?” Val cried.

One
Dominus
grabbed Graham by the scruff and pulled him away, and the remaining
Dominorum
retreated. Kade moved to go after them, but Val screamed with anguish. She was lying
on the floor, a crossbow bolt protruding from her midriff.

“Fuck!” He knelt, ripping his shirt away to bundle around the bolt. Her precious blood
pooled next to her body. Agony whipped through him. He should have gotten her out
when the battle started. Her eyes glazed over with pain, and her eyelids fluttered
shut. She was going to die and he could do nothing. He had no juice to transform her.
He searched the room.

“Ezra!” Kade called. “Ezra, I need you. Turn her. Turn her now!”

Ezra dashed to his side and knelt, but Val’s hand clamped with surprising strength
onto Kade’s wrist.

“No!” Her eyes were wide with terror. “No, Kade. I’d rather die. Please don’t do this
to me. I could never forgive you.”

His world dimmed as the shock of her words struck. She’d rather die than share his
life. He’d known she might not consider turning, but to choose death over a life with
him made it abundantly clear how she felt about him.

Guns squeezed his shoulder. “Ambulance is almost here.”

“She’s conscious. She’s breathing. Pulse is rapid, but steady.” Luc offered encouragement.
“She’ll be all right.”

Were his feelings that plain to see? He nodded, his gaze returning to the woman he
loved. Her eyes had closed, but she still breathed, her heart still beat, and the
bleeding had slowed. If she died, it would be because he’d fed from her, weakened
her. Siren wails reached his ears. They were close, but not close enough to ease his
tension.

He scanned the room. Will was gone, the chains broken where he’d been restrained.
Lucky for the team, these
Dominorum
had lacked skill and focus. What purpose would they have for freeing Will?

Ezra walked over to examine one of the dead vampires. He checked two others before
sinking onto the deck. “They’re fucking
Dominorum
Enforcers.”

“Yeah. Thought so.” Kade made eye contact with each of his teammates. Grim awareness
filled their expressions. If they went after the Enforcers who took Will, they’d face
the entire
Dominorum
along with the Legion at their command.
Fuck
.

In one night, he’d gone straight from heaven into a hellish nightmare. His parents
were behind this attack. The full effect of that knowledge didn’t even have the chance
to fully sink in. He was too consumed by his worry for the woman he knelt beside.
She may have spurned his race, the very core of who he was, but he’d be damned if
he’d let her die like this on a cold, dirty floor of an abandoned warehouse.

His teammates were right. She was stable, though pale and unconscious, and she would
recover from this. But he wouldn’t. He had to do what was destined from the day he
met her, the incredible, brave human who’d turned his life upside down. He’d let go
of her, let her get on with her life, while he spent his centuries alone to dream
of how things could have been for them. Yeah, this was a fucking hellish nightmare.