Delilah Devlin - My Immortal Knight 04 (15 page)

“He’s here for Lily,” Joe said, his face darkening, his face transforming
into a vampire’s mask.

Joe’s leer was every bit as frightening to Pia as the rumble emanating
from the wolf’s chest. Still she clung to Max.

“Damn you! He’ll kill her. Step aside, or I’ll shoot you both.”

“Joe, please,” Lily said, clutching his sleeve. “He’s surrounded
anyway. Think!”

Joe hesitated. “Stand behind me, Lily. He’ll have to come through me.”

“Fine,” she said, slipping behind him. “Be a hero. Just hold your
fire.”

Pia leaned close to Max’s twitching ears. “Please baby. Come back to
me. I need you to change now.”

The wolf shuddered beneath her. The rumbling didn’t lessen.

“Max! I love you. If you don’t change, they’ll kill you. They’ll kill
both of us. You’ll leave them no choice.” She hugged him hard. “Please, baby.
Come back to me.”

The wolf grew silent, his body tensing at every restless movement made
by the men, but Pia sensed he listened. Some part of his animal brain heard
her.

“I love you, Max. I trust you.”

From one moment to the next, the wolf shuddered and fell to his
haunches. He whimpered as he curled on his side, then the hair covering his
body seemed to melt away, his body grew broader, his legs straightened. Pia let
go of his neck and watched as his face morphed into the one she loved.

“Max,” she sighed and threw herself against his bare chest.

He rolled to his back taking her with him. “Pia.” His fingers swept
away the tears she hadn’t known were on her cheeks. “I heard you crying,” he
said, his voice sounding rough and husky. “Did I also hear you say you love
me?”

Pia gave him a smile, knowing her lips trembled, but not caring he saw
how much he meant to her. “Yeah. I’m crazy in love with you.”

His hand cupped the back of her head and forced her down. His lips
captured hers with a “Max” kiss—hard, forceful, passionate.

Pia opened her mouth and groaned, taking his incredible tongue into her
mouth. Her hands smoothed over his bare chest and upward to cup his face.

“This opens a whole new avenue for my research,” Lily said. “And I’m
never going to take a vamp’s word for a wolf’s attributes again.”

“Lily! Just keep that damn tape measure in your pocket,” Joe grumbled.

“Joe, you’re such a spoilsport,” Emmy murmured.

“This isn’t over,” Quentin said, his narrowed eyes telegraphing his
deadly intent.

Max gently set Pia aside and sat up, leaning back on his hands so they
could see they were occupied holding him up. “You’re right. I’m only the
beginning of your problems.”

Joe stepped forward, his fists curled, but halted when his woman
grabbed his sleeve. “And you’re going to tell us what they are?”

“I don’t blame you for thinking the worst,” Max said. “Yesterday, if
I’d happened upon Lily, I might have killed her.”

Joe shook off Lily’s hand and took another step.

“He said might,” Pia interjected, scrambling to kneel at his side.

“What’s so different about today?” Dylan asked, his quiet tone not
fooling Max a bit. His body was tensed, ready to spring into action.

Max held himself perfectly still. No use exciting the men into opening
fire. “I’ve had time to think about things—about what all this means.”

“What? You found God?” Joe snorted. “Gimme a break.”

Max stared at his old friend. “Something like that. I found love. And
it didn’t matter if it would be returned. I knew despite what I’d been taught
all my life, I couldn’t let Pia be harmed last night.”

Pia’s gasp drew his gaze. Her face was pale, and her eyes glistened
with tears. “Max, you don’t have to say it.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “I do. I’m naked—”

“Mmm-hmm.”

All eyes turned to Emmy O’Hara.

Her blue eyes widened, and she lifted her hands in mock-surrender. “I’m
just agreeing. I can’t help looking. The man’s made of muscle. Hell, he’s got
muscles on his muscle.”

Dylan’s glare would have quieted a hard man, but Emmy just grinned.

Max ignored her, staring instead at Pia whose cheeks reddened. “What I
mean is I’ve got nothing to hide behind, sweetheart. I’m in love with you.
You’re my match in every way. You’re a vampire and I’m a werewolf, but we’re
more alike than any two people I know.”

“Did you join the force just to kill vampires?” Quentin asked.

Max didn’t try to hide a smirk—the man got on every last one of his
nerves. “Mostly.”

“Well at least he’s honest,” Quentin murmured. “Stupid, considering who
has a bead on him, but honest.”

“Still doesn’t explain what he’s doing here,” Joe said.

“We all know why I came.” Max nodded beyond Joe’s shoulder at Lily.
“Your wife, Joe, is a magnet for werewolves.”

“And vampires,” Pia whispered.

Everyone turned to stare at Pia now.

“I have a secret of my own to share. When you called asking for help
with Max,” she said, avoiding his gaze, “you played right into Navarro’s hands.
He’d heard things—about a breeder who might be carrying a vampire’s children.”

“And what were your orders, Pia?” Dylan asked.

Max heard the steel edge in Dylan’s voice.

Pia must have too because she shivered. “Just to report what I learned
on the ground here.”

“Navarro’s one devious bastard,” Quentin said.

Joe cursed. “That caps it. We’re leaving, Lily. We have to hide.”

“Lily needs the strength of our numbers,” Dylan said. “She’s safer
staying here, even if her existence isn’t a secret.”

“Besides, who’s going to watch over her during the day, Joe?” Darcy
asked. “I may be pregnant now, but I’ll pop in a few weeks. Remember, I’m the
day shift.”

“I don’t fry in the sunshine either,” Max said.

Laser-hot glares met his suggestion.

“Isn’t that like leaving the fox to watch over the hens?” Joe asked,
sneering. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“Hens!” Emmy spluttered.

Joe rolled his eyes. “Sorry, ladies.”

“As I told you before Joe, I’ve changed my thinking about this war
between our species.”

“Because you love Pia?” Joe’s eyebrows rose. “We’re supposed to believe
that? Just days ago, you aimed an arrow at Dylan’s back.”

“You son of a bitch!” Emmy shouted and lunged toward him.

Without dropping his aim, Dylan snaked an arm around her waist and
pulled her back.

Emmy’s fists rose. “What are you waiting for? Kill him!”

“I’m sorry for that,” Max said. “I blamed you, all of your kind really,
for the horror I saw in that house.”

“But your kind committed those crimes,” Quentin said.

Max shook his head. “Not my kind. That’s the point. I’m not like that.
You’re not like that. I didn’t see that then.”

“You do now?” Pia asked, sliding her hand over his shoulder.

His heart felt squeezed in a tight fist at the look of love and trust
in her misty eyes. “I thought there was a
good
reason werewolves and
vampires were enemies. But I fell in love with you, knowing what you were, and
I can’t think of one goddamn reason why it’s wrong.”

“Whoa,
everyone
can see how much you love Pia,” Emmy said, her
anger of a moment ago replaced with a hint of wonder in her voice.

Max smirked, unashamed his cock reacted so fiercely to Pia’s presence
beside him.

“Get him a blanket,” Dylan said, his voice filled with disgust.

“I think he needs a room,” Quentin murmured.

“He can’t stay here,” Joe said flatly.

“No, he can’t.” Dylan finally lowered his weapon and sighed. “You are a
problem. Our wives won’t let us kill you, but we can’t trust you.”

Still leaning back on his hands, Max drew a sigh of relief when the
others put away their weapons. “I understand it’ll take time.”

Dylan released Emmy and sat on the edge of a nearby sofa. His
expression was troubled. “Why are you willing to help us? And leave Pia out of
the equation.”

Max thought that last command was unreasonable. Pia was the end of his
resistance to all things vampire. “I was raised on stories of the Old Wars
between our species. I stayed on with the SU when you came aboard, because I
waited for you to show your true colors. I expected you to grow in strength and
take over. But it didn’t happen.

“I envied how strong you were—how organized. My kin are surviving at
the brink of extinction. We talk about building our numbers to face you, but it
never happens. We live in isolated communities—we haven’t learned to blend well
with humans.”

Max felt his face tighten. “We don’t police ourselves. I think that’s
our greatest failure. I’d like to learn from you.”

“Why?” Dylan asked. “So you can take the knowledge back and teach them
how to defeat us?”

“No, so I can teach them how to get along with you so that we don’t
have to live on the fringes.”

Dylan stared at him. “I think we have a lot to talk about, Max, but we
can’t build trust in a night.”

Max nodded. He had his life still. One step at a time.

“We have a special room here—it’s contained.”

Max stiffened. “A holding cell?”

“It has a few more comforts than that.” Dylan gave Pia a wink. “You’ll
stay the night. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“What about work?”

“We still have patrol, but we’ll be keeping you covered tonight.”

“I don’t suppose you can tell us about the werewolves?” Joe asked. For
the first time this evening, his tone was a shade less than hostile.

Max drew a deep breath. “My brother was responsible. He left for New
Orleans today. He’s gone home.”

“Did he leave any nasty reminders behind?” Quentin asked, flexing his
shoulders and looking as though he halfway hoped he had.

“I don’t know,” Max said. “But I believe his remaining wolves were
killed last night.”

“Damn.” Joe’s face reflected disappointment. “It could be a really
boring night.”

Dylan rose and kissed Emmy on the lips then he turned to the men.
“Let’s head out.”

Max rose slowly to his feet, happy to be included, even if the vamps
would be watching him as closely as the criminals. He gave Pia a quick kiss and
indicated to Joe to precede him. “After you.”

Joe’s eyes narrowed. “No, after you.”

Max lifted an eyebrow and led the way out of the room. “Didn’t know you
had a thing for my ass, Garcia,” he said, over his shoulder.

“Just don’t drop the soap when you hit the showers.”

* * * * *

The women had gathered once again around the kitchen table for a little
late night gossip. Waiting for the men to come back and see whether they’d
killed Max had taken the toll on their patience. At least two of the women were
well into their cups.

“Max-sh has an amazing body,” Emmy said, tilting the last of the
whiskey to spill into Pia’s glass. “I couldn’t help noticing that.”

“I think everyone noticed you noticing,” Darcy said dryly.

“Yeah, he does,” Pia replied dreamily. “And an incredible tongue.”

Darcy blinked. “A doggie tongue?”

Pia waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah.”

“So, what else does a werewolf have that’s different from the average
vamp?” Darcy asked, leaning as far forward as her round belly would allow.

“I don’t know. He’s never…you know…” Pia blushed. “…um…transformed
while we…”

“Never?” Emmy giggled. “Looks like you have lots-sh more surprises
coming.”

“Max is surprising even when he’s in purely human form.”

“It seems like it might be a little weird, making love when he’s in his
wolf’s clothes,” Lily said. “All that hair, and all. But I wonder if his cock
is like a dog’s.” Her eyes brightened with intellectual curiosity.

“Lily!” Darcy gave her a playful slap, then turned to Pia. “Do you
think?”

Pia shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Darcy held up her hands, formed a circle with two fingers and poked
another finger through the middle, and then cinched the “O” tight. “Well, when
dogs mate, they kind of ‘lock’ together,” she said, emphasizing her point by
trying to pull her finger free. “But his penis swells inside the bitch.”

“Swells? Like what, a balloon?” The thought was vaguely alarming, but
the Jack Daniels kept her from worrying too much about it. Pia downed the last
sip of her drink.

“I don’t know, I’ve never really been
that
into canine sex,”
Darcy said, wrinkling her nose. “Thought you might know something.”

“I still can’t get past the ‘bitch’ part,” Emmy shook her head sadly.