Jules (Golden Streak Series Book 5) (15 page)

“One minute
, Lenny. Can you hold her?” She blinked at Brock, who stood over her as a man. “Viktor said to tell you not to kill her but to wait for the time.”

“No.” Brock looked at her mother when she spoke.
“No. Must kill daughter now. Not be human.”

“I’m sorry,” Brock said with a smile.
“I guess we should tell you who we all are. I’m Brock Golden, and that man over there helping my brother down from the wall is Ryland. Jules is the one you tried to kill. And that will go badly for you if you are brought to trial. And this lovely white royal is Lenore, Lenny to her friends. And she’s also your daughter.”

Lenny felt a sudden and profound pain run though her body
and knew that her mother had clawed at her chest. She was off her mark if she’d been aiming for her heart. She had only seconds to move off the woman before the pain had her howling and snapping at her. Her cat stretched out and Lenny felt dizziness swamp her as every nerve ending in her body came to life with the pain. She felt hands on her, but it was too much and she whimpered. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

“Here you are
, my dear.” A blanket was tossed over her. “If you would be so kind as to shift to human, I should like a few words with you.”

When she closed her eyes as a cat
, she saw herself standing there as the cat had been. Her human self waved at her and started walking forward. When the cat moved to replace her, Lenny opened her eyes and looked up at Viktor.

“You’ll need to attend to Jules. He is dying.”
She stood, quickly pulling the blanket around her as she went. “You’ll need to save him with your new powers. You’ll know what to do.”

But she didn’t. She had no
idea what to do. “Tell me, damn it. I want you to tell me how to save the only person I’ve ever really loved.”

“Lenny?”
She looked down at Jules. “Kiss me, love. It’ll be all right if you just kiss me. I love you.”

She was crying so hard that she
could see her tears as they fell on his face. She touched her lips to his and felt his coldness. Her heart broke because she knew she was losing him.

“Please don’t die on me. You promised me you’d chase me in the woods and take me to the ground. You
can’t leave me, Jules. Please don’t leave me.” She kissed him again and held him to her. She looked up at Ryland, who took his brother’s hand. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to save him.”

The scream behind her had her turn and she looked at her mother
, who looked to be writhing in pain. At the same time a clock in the house somewhere chimed out the midnight hour. As she watched, Naomi seemed to age considerably. Gone was the twenty-something-year-old woman, and a dried-out, wrinkled one lay in her place. More and more changes took place as she got smaller and less human-like. Then she seemed to shrivel up and lay in dust.

Lenny
looked at Viktor as he stood over her. “She became human. Now, my dear, it is your and your mate’s turn. You will feel it soon.”

Lenny looked at
Jules when he stiffened. His body was glowing. When she put her hand over his chest wound, her fingers burned and she could feel something pour from her to him. When he opened his eyes and looked up at her, she felt as if a great burden was lifted from her.

He lifted his hand and touched her face. “Hello there
, love. I’ve missed you. Are you having a nice birthday so far?”

She laughed at him.
“Not so much, but it’s getting better since you woke up. Do you have nothing better to do than to lay about this house while I worry? You should have more respect for me. I’m royalty.”

He closed his eyes
, and she felt her body relax. Brock and Alistair picked him up and were taking him out to the car that had been brought to them by Sandra. Just as Lenny stood up, she swayed just a little and felt the room tumble around her. Things were circling around so quickly that she had to drop to her knees.

“Look at me.” She shook her head
at Ryland as she felt so sick. “Damn it, look at me. I need to see if you’re going to be all right.”

“I’m fucking not
all right, you moron. I’m going to be sick.” She leaned over and puked up everything on her belly. Then she lay down. “Ryland, just shoot me. Please?”

“I’m not
shooting you. Come on. You have to get up.” He lifted her up, and she felt her knees give when he tried to stand her on her feet. “You have to move around, Viktor said. He said that you can’t sleep yet.”

“Tell Viktor that he needs to be shot
, too.” She was suddenly giddy. “I feel weirdly drunk. Are I drunk with you too?”

He growled at her and she laughed again. When he started cursing at her
, she laughed harder. She had no idea why she thought he was so funny, when normally he was so stiff and bossy she didn’t care for him.

Ryland was dragging her more than she was walking because she simply
couldn’t get her mind to make her feet work. When she put one foot forward like she wanted, she grinned at him. He glared back.

“You’re drunk on power.” She nodded and grinned bigger. “What I wouldn’t do to have a camera right now.
You’re sloshed.”

“I feel really spectacular
, thanks. My whole body is humming.” She looked around. “I should find Jules. I could hum all over him. You think he’d like that?”

“I have no clue.
Will you please pay attention to what you’re doing?” She fell against him, on purpose this time, thinking she would mark him. She had no idea if it worked that way, but it would be fur…fun if it did.

When she stepped out into the night
, she looked up to the moon and nearly tumbled backwards. Ryland cursed again, but she was feeling better and pulled away. He was never more than a few steps behind her. She could feel herself getting stronger, but exhaustion was pulling hard at her. When she went to her knees this time, he wasn’t going to be able to wake her, she knew. Whatever had needed to be done to her was complete, and she needed to sleep.

Lenny smiled when she heard him this time. Ryland was threatening her with all sorts of bodily harm.
Closing her eyes, she was just glad to know that he’d get the opportunity to do so. Sleep took her.

Chapter 15

Jules snuggled into the warmth. He knew it was Lenny and decided that he was never moving from this position.
He had all he needed right here. When she moaned, he opened one eye to look at her and noticed the difference in her immediately.

“Happy
birthday.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “It is still your birthday, right? I mean, we didn’t sleep it away, did we?”

She rolled over to him and he pulled her body to his.
She licked along his throat and he felt his cock jerk to attention. When he felt her hand curl around his cock, he moaned and rocked into her.

“I don’t really care
, do you?” He shook his head as she rolled him to his back. “I was thinking that you can give me this for my birthday. Your body, I mean.”

“It’s yours.”
She sat up over him, and he groaned. “We really should be naked for this. I mean, if you want my body, I shouldn’t be hiding any of it from you.”

She put her hands in the ties of his pants and grinned at him.
She had on the shirt to the pants he had on, and if he didn’t miss his guess, he’d say she was naked beneath it. When he ran his hands up her hips, he found he was right. He took the tails of the shirt and ripped it open.

As the buttons scattered around the room
, he leaned up and took her nipple into his mouth. It hardened more as he suckled at it, and he pinched the other one to make sure it didn’t feel like he was ignoring it. When her fingers cupped the back of his head, he looked up at her.

“I want to be inside of you. If you want slow and easy later
, I can do that, but you smell of other cats, and I need to claim you.” She rocked over his cock, and he rolled her to her back. “Now, baby, I need you right now.”

She tore his pants off from the back
, and he lifted his body up just enough that she could pull them free of him. When he settled back between her legs, she wrapped them around him as soon as he entered her.

“
Please, Jules, more. I need more of you.” He moved his hands up her back and to her shoulders and grabbed her tightly in his hands. He held her still as he punched hard into her, and moaned when she cried out. “More. More now.”

He slammed into her over and over as she cried out.
When he felt his balls tighten and fill and his climax run along his spine, he licked at her shoulder. She tilted her head back, and he nipped none too gently at her throat. Her strangled “bite me” had his cat snarl at him to finish her, and he sank his canines deep.

Her scream made his cock thicken in her. When she
leaned up and bit his shoulder, his balls felt like they were going to explode. As soon as she moaned, he jerked hard and felt her mark him, and knew it was going to scar, just like the kind of wound a male did to a female when he claimed her. His body detonated inside of her as he came, pounding in her as he filled her with his seed. It was all he could do not to drop right on her, and in the end that’s just what he did. Christ, she was going to make him old before his time.

When she rolled him to his back
, Jules sat up and took her nipple. She rode him as he suckled at each breast until he felt her tighten again. When she came again, screaming out his name, he held her tightly to him as his own climax, smaller but no less satisfying, roared from him. When he fell forward again and took them both to the bed, he held her as she started to relax over him.

He looked at the canopy over the bed as he held her.
Looking around, he could see old furniture that had been well cared for, drapes that were very beautiful, and he would bet very old as well. There was a fireplace between the two large covered windows that he would bet were floor to ceiling. When he looked up again, this time at the ceiling, he saw punched tin in a design that looked like hearts and flowers. It, too, was well cared for. Looking to the other side of the room, he could see a grouping of chairs made of the same material as the drapes and another fireplace. Bookshelves lined another fireplace and this one was lit. He looked at Lenny when she lifted her head.

“Where are we?”
She shrugged and looked around, too. He sat up when she rolled to her back and got a good look at the room. “This isn’t my apartment, and I’m pretty sure that none of my brothers have a room like this. And if there was a hotel that looked like this, I’d buy it. There would be a fortune in owning one like this. Look at this place.”

He found a suitcase open on a chest and pulled out a pair of pants.
There were clothes in it for Lenny as well, and he handed her one of the tee-shirts and jeans. He supposed he should have given her the panties and bra as well, but thought it would be fun if she went commando, too. They both went to the bathroom, and she whistled.

“Christ, look at this. Gold spigots, nice tile
, and a shower built for seven hundred.” He pulled her into his arms and nipped at her neck. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

He kissed her.
“If you’re thinking we should take a shower, then hell yeah. I’m thinking after the bout of fantastic sex we just had, we could use a nice scrubbing.”

She reached in and turned on the water
, but before they could strip down again, someone knocked on the door. He thought maybe they should ignore it, but as they had no idea whose house this was, they should probably be nice. But damn, he wanted her again.

The door opened as they were exiting the bathroom
, and a staunch looking man in a suit bowed. Jules looked at Lenny when she giggled. The man held out a small tray with an envelope on it.

“
My lord, my lady, there are several people awaiting your arrival in the drawing room. They have requested me to come and…fetch you.” He held out the note. “The elder Golden has requested you have this.”

“Elder? My mom?”
The man nodded. “If you want to live for a while longer, buddy, I’d refrain from calling her elder.”

He read the note
, then handed it to Lenny, who looked at the man hard. “It says here we’re to meet with attorneys for the estate of Divinity. What does this mean?”

“I’m sorry
, my lady. I have not been made aware of anything other than three days ago the two of you were brought to this suite and I was told to care for you. I have done so to the best of our abilities.” He looked nervous and Jules almost felt sorry for him. “There is a man downstairs that I have seen before when the other mistress was in a foul mood. But there…I do believe that he is somewhat of an authority figure.”

“Viktor Ravengric.”
The man nodded at him. “Okay. Can you tell them we’ll be down soon?”

“Yes
, sir.” He started to leave the room but turned back, nervousness still on his face and in his stance. “Will you be requiring sustenance? We haven’t had to…you are not vampires, are you, my lord?”

“No.
We’re tigers.” The man didn’t even blink, but he could see the relief on his face. “Yes, something to eat would be great. Sandwiches and whatever else you can find would be great.”

Lenny nodded
, too, and the man left. He looked at her and she sat down. She looked as confused as he felt. When he grabbed up a shirt to go with his pants, he handed her a bra and panties to go with the shirt and pants. Now that they had to meet with the authorities, both of them had to behave, he supposed.

“I think something is off about this.”
He laughed at her. “I mean, he called us ‘lord’ and ‘lady.’ What the fuck is up with that? Not to mention he didn’t say we checked in to this place. He said we were brought here. And where is here?”

They moved into the hall and
tried not to look like country bumpkins as they walked to the stairs. This was beyond a hotel and more like someone’s house. There were things here that Jules had seen in fine galleries behind glass. He stopped to stare at a large vase sitting on a pedestal at the top of the stairs.

“It’s mine.”
Lenny touched it softly. “I made this about five years ago for someone. I never knew who. You think we’re staying here because he wants me to commission another piece for him?”

“Don’t know
, but some of this stuff is the real deal. No fakes. Whoever this guy is, I hope he has receipts for this crap.” He laughed. She sounded like a true cop and him the artist. They held hands as they came into the entrance hall. Lenny stopped moving and looked at him.

“This is my mother’s house.”
He looked around, having never seen the house when he’d been brought there. “You think they want to put me in jail for her dying?”

He didn’t see how it was her fault
, and they both went into the room that voices were coming from. Lenny launched into a tirade that had him laughing. His entire family was staring at her as if they’d never seen her before. He supposed they hadn’t seen her like this.

She’d changed a lot.
Her face and body were the same, but they were fuller, her skin softer, and her hair, fiery red before, now seemed to glow with it. And her eyes? Christ, they seemed to glow with a shade of green he’d never be able to duplicate in any medium. She was simply more than beautiful now; she was gorgeous. And the first person she just happened to see was Peter, and Jules almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

~~~

“I will not be responsible for her death. The bitch deserved to die, but I didn’t kill her. When she became human, I guess her age caught up with her, but whatever the reason for her just shriveling up like an old apple, it had nothing to do with me. And absolutely nothing to do with Jules. So whatever burr you have up your ass about her being dead, take it to somebody who gives a shit, because I certainly do not.” Lenny looked at Viktor when he clapped his hands and stood. “You are on my shit list, so if you value your balls I suggest girth up, because I’m gunning for you, too.”

“You should know that these people are now
beholden to you for the death of the shriveled up apple.” Lenny flushed, having not noticed the others in the room until Viktor spoke. “And these people are the attorneys that your mother-in-law spoke to the two of you about when she sent the message up.”

Ryland laughed
, and she might have hit him if he hadn’t been holding his little girl. Gabby crawled from his lap and made her way over to her and put her arms up. Without thinking, she reached down and picked the little girl up and held her. Gabby snuggled into her neck and sighed.

“Perhaps we should tell you why we’re here.” Lenny thought that was a good idea
, too, and sat down when the man who’d spoken stood up. “This is the deed to the house, and we are not taking our usual cut from the accounts but giving it with the house as well as—”

“Deed to what house?” Alistair stood up and walked over.
“I’m her attorney, and I work for the Realm, and as such, I’m going to be the one you deal with.”

She started to tell Alistair that she was going to deal with his ass
, but Gabby kissed her mouth just then. Bronwyn laughed from across the room. She just knew she’d put her up to it. While Alistair talked with the attorney, she looked around the room. She wondered why they were all there and why she and Jules were. Keith got up and handed her his little computer.

The screen had gone blank
, but Gabby, even as little as she was, just reached down and opened it back up. She got off her lap and onto her uncle’s when Jules came to sit next to her. Keith explained.

“This is the site that only a few
of us can get to. It’s the Realm’s. See what this says? It talks about you and Jules and the rest of us helping the enforcers to take care of a nasty piece of work. They don’t mention our names, but it’s there.” She looked up at him. “You’re a hero to them, and they’re trying to figure out how to repay you.”

“For killing my mother.”
He shook his head, and Jules took the tablet and continued reading. “I don’t understand. Who else did I help them with? And why, if you know, are we here and not…I don’t know, at some sort of office?”

“When you took the roof off the
mausoleum, you killed nine of the most notorious vampires we had on our books. Five of them were wanted in three different realms, and two more of them were wanted by others for murder of their makers. That is a crime that means certain death.” The man sat down as Alistair and the other men moved away. “Do you know your new sister-in-law well?”

Lenny looked at Jules
, then at the four women sitting talking quietly along with Sandra. She wondered if she’d ever feel that comfortable with them, and realized that she nearly did. She looked back at the man and nodded.

“Em had some very nasty family. One of them, the second oldest
, had converted a great many people who were as bad as he. Winfred had decided that he was above the laws governing us, and had not given any of his children any training, only telling them to kill when they fed.” She held Jules’s hand when he curled his into hers. “There were five of his children, the last of them, inside that building. You also took out the others that have been mentioned, and two that were…they were responsible for the death of your friend and colleague, and your injuries. You helped us more than anyone will ever know.”