Mitch (8 page)

Drinking deeply of the man, his blood still hot
as she drank from him, she watched her mate as he stood over them, his cock
limp in his cold hands. She knew that as soon as she was finished, the man
would just be left where he was, his body to be found or not by anyone walking
by. She almost felt sorry for him, but continued to roll her hips up to get
more and more relief while she drank from the man who had given her pleasure.
When she was done, had her fill, instead of sealing the wounds that would keep
him from bleeding out, she tossed him off her and rubbed the fresh blood from
his throat over her body.

Fingering her pussy, she came twice more, the
blood making the slide of her fingers much easier than when she would do it
alone. And when Horrie roared at her, telling her to stop, she brought herself
once more, then disappeared. If she stayed when he was in that state, he’d hurt
her again, and Amber needed to be healthy to take on her mother and daughter. There
was no doubt that she was going to have to do just that if she was ever going
to get into her daughter’s home again.

~~~

Vinnie wasn’t sure what to do now. Mitch was
moving through her house, not like he owned it, but more like he was a guest.
And that wasn’t the way she wanted this relationship to start out. He was
asking her if he could use the office, the books, and the television. Which, if
she was honest with herself, she hadn’t even known they had until then. She
wanted him to be at home, not wondering if he could touch things.

“Hum, Vinnie?” She looked at him and could
see on his face that something was wrong. “You should know that I can see your
father out there, and a woman. I’m not sure it’s your mother or not, but....
Also your aunt. She’s not with them, but is there all the same.”

“Where?” She got up to go to the window where
he was and couldn’t see anything more than the trees and drive. “I can’t see
her. Are you sure that it’s them?”

“Yes. And he’s naked. Your aunt is...oh.”

“What?”

“Your mother just left, sort of just
disappeared. She’s gone now, but she was there with him, also naked. Your aunt
is there, but I don’t think they see her. Or perhaps they do and don’t care.”

She was glad now that she could not see them.
“They can have sex when they’re dead?” He told her no, her father was just
watching her. “Oh. Oh, I get it. She’s performing for him. Not that that makes
it any better, but I’m glad to know they’re not having sex on my front lawn. Mother
has been trying to get me to answer her, did you know that? I think she’s found
out she can no longer come here.”

“Just those you invite, Steele said. And that
might be tricky, too, since if they come here with the intent to cause harm, it
won’t let them enter.” Vinnie nodded. “Have you contacted your grandmother yet?
She’ll also need to be invited. If you want her to come here, that is.”

“I do and yes, I’m going to talk to her the
next time I see her. She said she’d be by sometime this evening.” Yawning again,
she moved back from the window as the sun started to make its way across the
floor toward her. “I have to go to rest soon. And...I don’t want to leave you,
but I have to rest. I’ve not been doing that well lately, and it’s starting to
catch up with me.”

“I understand.” He moved, and she could see
the mark at his throat. When he caught her staring, he put his fingers over the
bite mark and smiled at her. “Will anyone else see it? Not that I care, but I
would like to know.”

“No. Just other vampires. Maybe your friends.
I don’t know that much about necros other than they...well, they used to scare
the crap out of me. You’d not believe the kind of stories I heard growing up.
And grandmother has a few of her own too.” She did know a little more than she
had. First of all, while they could call up the dead, she’d been told that only
a few of them could actually do it. Steele could, as well as Addie. However,
Addie was still learning things.

Ray was strong as well. But he was really
nice and kept them all in line and safe. Raising the dead, as in a vampire, was
only something that Steele could do for now.

Nick was talented too, stronger than the rest
save Steele and his wife, but he was gaining more and more daily. Landon
was...he was harder to read than the rest. “Laid back” didn’t really describe
him so much as it was him. Drew was nice, but he was a loner. Hard working, but
didn’t hang out as much as the rest did in any kind of group setting. Hugh had
a chip on his shoulder was the only way she thought to describe him. Not
against them or even her, but people in suits. He simply hated them all. Vinnie
wondered if there was something there that no one knew about.

As she made her way to the lower levels with Mitch
at her side, she thought about all the turns and twists she’d found when they’d
gone exploring the house last night. The doorway that had been in her study had
not been the only doorway, of course, but it had been the biggest find so far. She
paused outside her rooms when they reached them.

“There is a direct route to here. You think
that’s what they were looking for?” Mitch asked her what they could do to her
once they made it this far. “Nothing if they can’t get in, but my father could,
couldn’t he?”

“Yes. But I don’t think he can do much more
than...can you open the door from the inside? Or is there a combination nearby
that he can give to someone on this side?” She told him no, it was opened on
either side by fingerprints, hers. “I see. Then there might be a way for him to
make it work. This is...I’m only guessing here, but he could take your body for
a minute or two once he was in your room. It would drain him, but he could do
it, then take you to the door and open it by placing your hand over the reader.
Like I said, it would drain him, but he’d be in here with you. And if your mom
is in on this, and I have no doubt that she is, then she could enter, kill you,
and that would be the end of it. Why though?”

“I have no idea.” And she didn’t either. Going
into the bedroom suite, she showed him around. There was as much floor space on
this level as there was on the one above her. And she used very little of it,
she just realized. But having Mitch there with her made her think that they
might from now on.

There was a bedroom, as well as a huge
bathroom with a shower and tub. There were several walk-in closets, but only a
few of them had any actual clothing in them. A living room with a computer was set
up in one corner, as well as a landline phone that she could use if the service
to the house was blocked. She did have cell service down here, but if the power
was off for any length of time that would be useless as well.

There were no windows to let the sunshine in,
only one more exit that didn’t use the door she showed him now, a large storage
of old books, and the vault she’d had put in when she bought the house. In it
was cash, a great deal of it, her jewelry she’d collected over the years, and
the things her grandmother had given her.

“I’m going to show you how to get in, then
I’m going to put your prints on this reader. Once you put your hand on it,
you’re going to feel a small pinch. It’s taking a sample of your blood. It’ll
do that every time you use it. It’s a secondary safety that I’ve had put in.”

He nodded. “Good idea.” As he put his hand
over the reader for her after she’d set it up for him to be added, he smiled at
her. “I won’t come in unless you say it’s okay. I mean, I know how much you’ll
need your—”

“I want you to come in any time you want. I
want you to treat this house as your own. All the time. Because it is your home
now. As much as it is mine.” He nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t going to. “I
want you to be a part of my life, and that includes this house and the things
we now own together. Like the cars and the other things. There is...Mitch,
you’re my mate, which means that we’re together forever.”

“Until I die.” She shook her head. This was
something that she’d spoken to her grandmother about as well. “What do you
mean, no? I’m just...well, basically a human.”

“No, you’re only half right on that. You’re
human, yes, but you’re not going to die. Not so long as I live. Hugo either. When
I took you into my heart you became a part of me. My blood will give you the
ability to heal much faster; you’re going to be able to move quicker too. Not
like I can, but fast. Your body will be able to take more as well. A bullet to
the body, so long as it’s not to the heart, will not kill you. A shot to the
head will kill you, if it’s in the right place. Otherwise, you are like this
superhuman. Broken bones will only take hours to heal rather than weeks, and
you’ll never get sick again, not from the flu or even any kind of diseases,
including cancer.”

He didn’t move when she took his hand off the
reader, but she knew he was thinking. Vinnie wasn’t sure if he was upset or not…he
had the most unreadable face she’d ever seen. But the longer he stood there,
the more nervous she got, until he pulled her to him and kissed her like he
meant it. Breathless when he lifted his head, all she could do was smile at him
before she trusted herself to speak again.

“What was that for?” Instead of answering
her, he kissed her again, taking his time as he tasted her, her body craving
what he was giving her. “Mitch, I have to rest, but if you keep that up, you’re
not leaving here.”

“I wanted to tell you that...while I’m not
sure if I love you yet, I do care for you a great deal. And this gift that you’ve
given me, I will not abuse it.” He kissed her again, and using the reader, left
the room, closing the door softly behind him. She stood there, frustrated and
happy at the same time. She was going to make him pay for this.

Going to her bed, she stripped down and lay on
the covers. She had a mate. She also had a father who was coming for her, a
mother that was in on it, and an aunt that hated her almost as much as she did
her. But for so many reasons, Vinnie didn’t care about all that. She had a
mate. And that was all she could focus on.

“Child, I must have a word with you.” Vinnie
sat up on the bed when her grandmother appeared. She wasn’t really there, but
her image was just as clear as if she was. “Your mother is in with Horatio. And
Millicent is there as well, but I’m not finding her in on any of the things
that they’re about.”

“How did you find out?” As far as Vinnie was concerned,
if her grandmother said it, it was a fact. “And what are their plans?”

“I don’t know what they think they’re going
to do, but they want this house and all that’s in it. Not you, of course. That
would just be too good. No, this house. What does it have that you can think
of?” She told her of the tunnels behind the wall that Luther had shown them. “I
would...that would be a way to get around the city if they opened up there. Do
you suppose they can? And once they have it...what do you suppose they want
this house for at this time?”

“I have no idea. Really, I don’t. We looked,
but there are so many tunnels that we had to back track a great deal.” She
suggested that she send down Hugo. “That’s a wonderful idea. He could do it.
Sniff his way around better than we could. I’ll send him now.”

“Good. And while you’re at it, have that
young man of yours move in with you.” She told her that he’d moved in today.
“You’re wonderfully smart, my dear. How did your parents never see that
before?”

“They’re too wrapped up in whatever Father was
doing to care, I guess.” Her grandmother agreed with her. “But this is my house
and I’m not giving it up without a fight. But what I don’t understand is, when
Luther put it up for sale, they were offered it first. And when they told him
that they weren’t interested, I got it. Is it because I own it that it bothers
them so much?”

“I think, and as much as it pains me to say
this, I think they want it because they’re selfish people who would take candy
from a baby should they want it. Hell, my dear, even if they didn’t want it,
they’d take it.” Her grandmother looked around, then back at her. “Mason said
to tell you that he’s got a few of his buddies looking out for your man as
well. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’ve also sent him to watch over the
others of the household as well. There is no reason for them to be hurt in the
crossfire, so to speak.”

“Thank you. But I’d let Steele know if I were
you. He’s a nice enough man, but I’d not like to have him as an enemy. He
seems...you know that controlled sort of anger that you say I have?” Her grandmother
said that she did. “I think Steele is better at it. He has this angry calmness
about him that scares me and impresses me. But I’d tell him.” She said she
would first thing.

After they discussed a few more things, her
grandmother started to leave. But Vinnie called her back for one more thing. It
was something that she’d been thinking about for some time. And after talking
it over with Mitch, he thought it was a good idea as well. The house needed
more people in it, he told her.

“Come live with us.” Her grandmother looked
so shocked that she stared open mouthed at her as Vinnie continued. “We would
love to have you here. And this place is certainly big enough for us to live
here and never see each other. There are four other apartments down here with
mine you’d be able to stay in. And that way you can get to know Mitch a little
better.”