Nightlord Lover (7 page)

Curiosity and libido were overriding her common sense at the
moment. She was going to have sex with two men, something she had never done
before. Actually, sex with two vampires, and then they’d what? Take a blood
offering? Or would they do it first? She tried not to think about that too much
and remembered what Jordan had raved about crimson swans experiencing exquisite
rapture and intense sensual fire. Jordan better be right. “Okay, I agree for
now.”

Garrick leaned back and allowed Ramon to ease closer to
Larissa. He brushed a kiss to her lips then slid his mouth to her neck. A giddy
sense of anticipation coiled in her chest. No fear. Why wasn’t she afraid? His
tongue moistened her skin and she shivered. “Good to hear, babe, because my
encounter with those bitches took the life out of me. I need sustenance. I need
you.”

“What did they—” The pain in her neck was sharp and intense,
followed by another sharp sting on the other side. Her vision blurred.
Instantly the pain turned to a throbbing pleasure more powerful than any orgasm
she ever had. Leg muscles tightened, her womb clenched at air as if attempting
to tighten around a cock that wasn’t there. Hands squeezed her breasts. Her
body quivered as if a heated current ran through her veins.

“Breathe, babe.” Ramon’s voice soothed her.

She opened her eyes and Garrick was stroking her hair,
kissing her brows, her cheeks. “All right?”

“Yes.”

“Want the rest?”

“Oh yes.” She wanted it all and didn’t care if she was under
their spell. “I have condoms in my bedroom.”

Ramon laughed. “Don’t you love her?”

Garrick smiled. “They’re not necessary.” He unzipped her
jeans and slowly slid them and her panties over her hips. “You can’t get
pregnant from us and STDs are not possible either way.”

By the time she kicked her panties off her foot, Garrick had
removed his shoes and tossed his pants on a chair. She noticed he wasn’t
wearing any underwear. His cock, thick and enormous, stood erect. Ramon approached
her naked from the waist down. Odd, he still had on his torn T-shirt. “You two look
amazing. Why don’t you lose the shirt, Ramon?”

“Soon.” He didn’t make eye contact and Larissa wondered if
he wanted to hide the scratches from her, or was it something else? The wounds
couldn’t be too serious. From the look on Ramon’s face, he had to be enjoying
himself.

She was soaking wet between her thighs and Garrick spread
her legs wider then opened her damp folds, revealing her swollen nub. He licked
it with his tongue, sending shock waves through her, then Ramon repeated the
same with her erect and sensitive nipples. Between the two, she would get off
in no time.

“Mmm, we’re in no rush, darlin’.” Garrick stopped pleasuring
her and she moaned. It was the first time he called her
darlin’
. She
liked that.

“I want to pleasure you,” she said.

“But you have.” Ramon got on his knees and offered his cock
to her. She leaned over and took him into her mouth. He moaned and rocked his
hips.

Raising her hips, Garrick positioned his cock at her
entrance and Larissa sighed. She gasped when he plunged into her. Perfect. He
felt so perfect. Thick and hard and deep, he thrust at the perfect rhythm and
angle. The pleasure was more than she could take. Heavens, she would never be
able to hold back this time. Gasping for breath, she had to stop pleasuring
Ramon when Garrick thrust faster.

Her hand continued to stroke Ramon’s cock while he played
with her breasts. With each stroke of Garrick’s cock, her breasts bounced and
Ramon cupped them then pinched her nipples. “I’m going to come,” she cried out
and screamed and arched her back.

A few more thrusts and Garrick too pulsed in her cunt,
answering her question— yes, vampires do have orgasms.

When Garrick pulled out of her, Ramon rolled her over so she
was on her hands and knees. She grasped when a moist finger prodded her rear
entrance. Garrick sat in front of her, stroking her hair and reaching under to
fondle her breasts. She resisted the urge to pull away from Ramon, but he was
gentle with his attentions as he coaxed her body to respond and relax. He eased
his finger past her tight opening, sending warm shivers through her. She rocked
her hips, matching his easy thrusts. Then he removed his finger, used her slick
juices to coat his cock and pressed the head at her anal entrance. Slowly he
impaled his shaft, giving her time to adjust to his thickness.

A fury of touching, pumping and fondling by both men
launched her into another orgasm, evoking new bursts of pleasure. She loved
making love to two men, so many hands to pleasure her, so many cocks to fuck
her, the possibilities were endless.

Ramon shuddered as he approached his climax and she
tightened her internal muscles, milking him, completely at her mercy. How
thrilling to have both men, powerful and dangerous in ways she had yet to
understand, at her command for a brief moment. Grabbing her hips, Ramon thrust
his cock one last time, completing his release with a long groan, then Garrick pulled
her down on his chest.

Ramon dropped down beside them, stroking her back, her hair,
murmuring, “Beautiful, so beautiful.”

When they caught their breaths, Larissa cleaned up in the
bathroom and returned with damp towels for the men. Ramon came out of her
bedroom with a down comforter.

“If you’re cold, why don’t you put on clothes?” Larissa
asked snuggling into Garrick.

Ramon laughed. “I’m not cold. I brought this for you.” He
draped the comforter over all three of them. The hardness and warmth of male
bodies on either side of her was heaven.

“I thought vampires were supposed to have cold skin,” she
said as she rubbed her hands over both their thighs.

“Only in the movies,” Garrick said. “Life, whether it be
mortal or immortal, has warmth. Only death is cold.”

Ramon had finally removed his shirt. She gazed down at his
muscled chest and gasped. “Ramon, those aren’t scratches. They look like stab
wounds. What happened?”

“I’m fine now. You helped heal me.”

Without understanding why, Larissa slid down his chest and
started to kiss his wounds. He jerked her away.

“No, I may mark you with my blood.” He shoved her away and
stood up, running a hand through his long hair.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by mark me?”

“I’m sorry, babe. There’s more to teach you, but we’re not
ready to tell you all of it.”

She glanced at Garrick and he nodded. “He’s right. You’ll
learn more as you need too.”

“I’m a crimson swan now?”

“Yes.”

“So now what? Do I eventually become like you, immortal? Do
I have to stay out of the sunlight?” She frowned. “Wait a minute. You both have
been in my store during the day.”

Ramon laughed. “No, you’re far from immortal. An offering of
blood won’t harm you. You might be a little more aware of the presence of our
kind.”

“We can go out on very cloudy days, never direct sunlight
and only older ones, at least a hundred or more years old,” Garrick explained.
He pulled her into his arms.

A silence settled between them, an untroubled quiet. How odd
to have had sex with these men and feel perfectly comfortable relaxing like
this. She gazed up at the paintings. “I do love those paintings. The woman in
that one is so beautiful and the autumn maple tree has such vivid colors. It’s
a restless and sad picture though. It looks as if she’s waiting for someone who
never comes.”

“Hmm,” Ramon said, staring at the painting with sadness in
his eyes. “What is the one thing you remember about your childhood that gave
you great joy?”

Larissa thought for a moment. “My horse. When I was twelve I
had a horse, Captain was his name. My dad bought him from a neighbor’s farm and
I took riding lessons.”

“You’re smiling,” Garrick said. “Why is that a favorite
memory? You loved horses?”

“Yes, but it was something my dad and I did together without
my brother and outside of the bakery. He’d sit on the fence while I had my
lesson and watch. When I got brave and tried a jump, he’d clap and cheer.”

“What happened to the horse?” Ramon asked.

“I had to sell him when my dad got sick. I started working
more in the bakery and continued even after he got well to save for college. It
was still a great year.” Outside a car drove down the street with Christmas
music playing so loud it rattled the windows. “Someone has the Christmas
spirit.”

“The police chief will pull him over before he gets to the
end of the block. Loud music is loud music,” Ramon said.

“They can play it loud. I don’t mind,” Garrick said. “It
reminds me of Christmas when I was a kid.”

“Where were you as a kid?” Larissa asked. “And what did you
do on Christmas?”

“France. We’d have a big dinner then sing carols until early
morning. Except we sang them in French. I can’t remember the last time I heard
a carol sung in French.”

She turned to Ramon and gave him a quick kiss. He’d grown
very quiet. “What about you, Ramon? Did you have any special Christmas
traditions?”

He shook his head. “I lived on a farm. Our celebrations were
toned down because there was a lot of work to do and little money to waste.” Ramon
stood and walked over by the balcony door, looking out. She had upset him and
she didn’t know why.

“What happened to Ramon?” Larissa asked. “Is he okay?”

Garrick nodded. “He’s better now that he fed.” He stroked
her hair. “He was attacked earlier by the mortal women who shoplifted in your
store. They stabbed him.”

She was astonished he wasn’t more seriously injured or
enraged. “What happened to them? Couldn’t they attack someone else?”

“No.” He looked down and withdrew from her. “They’re gone.”

Larissa shot to her feet, wrapping the blanket around her to
cover her nakedness. “You mean he killed them. And you’re supposed to protect
me?”

Ramon marched over to her, his jaw tense. “If I were mortal,
I’d be dead. But I wasn’t their first target. You were and they killed many
others.” He pressed a finger between her breasts.

“How do you know they were after me?”

“I tasted Lazaro on them when I fed. And I received images
of his hatred for you.”

“Maybe they were angry because I wouldn’t take back the
items they bought.”

Ramon shook his head. “It’s more than that. They were his
minions doing his bidding, not protected crimson swans, but they did do his
bidding. They were sent to threaten you, maybe injure you so you’d leave this
store.”

“Why?” Larissa looked from Ramon to Garrick.

“We have a few ideas,” Garrick said.

“As our crimson swan, you’re safe from all except the most
powerful. They can’t mark you without violating the Guild,” Ramon said with
regret in his voice. “After tonight I fear they don’t care about violating the
rules of the Guild. They’ll do anything to get what they want.”

“Why are you convinced I’m in danger and why do they want my
store?”

Garrick took her face between his hands. “Tomorrow. We’ll
show you.”

When Larissa and Jordan opened the store at nine a.m. there
was a line of customers waiting to get in. Shoppers scrambled through the store,
buying items as if she were having an eighty-percent-off sale. Several times,
Jordan had to go into the back storeroom to replenish the shelves and display
tables. When Larissa had a few moments, she put in a rush order from her
supplier and asked for overnight delivery. “I don’t understand it,” Larissa
said to Jordan when there was finally a lull in the afternoon. “Since I opened,
business has been dead and now it’s crazy.”

Jordan nodded. “I told you. As soon as you worked out your
arrangement with Garrick, everything would be fine.”

“I don’t know what control they can have on customers coming
in a store and buying things.”

Jordan laughed. “A lot you don’t know yet. I only wish it
could be me.”

“Your father won’t permit the Guild from using you as a
crimson swan?” Larissa asked, wondering if she was prying, but she wanted to
understand.

“That’s right. As long as he’s around and his money holds
out.”

After the dinner hour there was another rush of holiday
customers then Garrick and Ramon entered the store. “Hey, babe, how’s business?”
Ramon asked with a grin.

“Great,” Larissa said, “but I get the feeling you knew that.”

They both smiled.

“What are your plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas? I’d
like to invite you both to dinner at my place, either night or both for a
holiday celebration.” Ramon beamed but Garrick frowned.

“Count me in,” Ramon said.

“I hope we can. Depends on how negotiations go at Corydale,”
Garrick said. He seemed less than enthusiastic.

“Bastian always has a party at the Edmund Manor. He won’t be
doing negotiations those days.”

“What’s Corydale?” Larissa asked.

“A town not far from here that’s considering an alliance.” Garrick
shrugged and smiled. “Bastian has been putting everyone on edge about Corydale.
We’ll try to make it. Thank you, Larissa.” He walked back to the desk to talk
to Jordan.

“What’s up with him?” Larissa asked.

“He has bad memories of Christmas that still haunt him. We
all do,” Ramon said. “And he is right about Bastian. The vamp has had an
attitude lately.”

“What happened?”

Ramon took her hand and led her to the storeroom so they
wouldn’t be heard. “Garrick will have to tell you his experience. It’s his
story to tell. For me, I gave up my mortality around Christmas.”

“Tell me. Were you from this area?”

He nodded. “Not far. I grew up on a farm with a big family.
Christmas was decorated trees and small gifts, mostly church. I was the
youngest of five brothers. Didn’t care much for farming so I came to New Hope.”

“How long ago?”

Ramon thought. “Over a hundred and thirty years. I took a
job in a lumberyard and also opened a small art gallery. That’s when the Guild
sought me out. I became a crimson swan and my gallery thrived. I painted
portraits for the vamps and fell in love with a witch who taught me spells.”

“What happened to her?” Larissa asked.

He looked down and a grim expression crossed his face. “She
was my lover but was marked by Bastian, so she was his companion. She’d been
marked twice and was soon to be marked a third time, which would’ve made her
immortal and a vampire herself. But she delayed. It was fall and she wanted to
see the autumn foliage one last time in daylight. Then she changed her mind.
She didn’t want to give up the daylight. Bastian let her go when she asked and
we became lovers. Years later when she became ill with pneumonia, I urged her
again. I feared she’d die. She said no, ready to accept whatever her fate would
be. She died the next day.”

“I can’t imagine the pain you must feel,” she said. “It’s
such an awful tragedy. What was her name?”

“Prudence Hughes. She was lost to us in 1891.”

Larissa hugged him. “I’m sorry, Ramon.”

“Immortality comes with a price. Watching friends and lovers
die,” he said. “Some are more painful than others and for some, the pain never
leaves. Making new friends and new memories helps.”

Garrick walked into the storeroom. “When you close up, we
have something to show you.”

* * * * *

The last thing Garrick wanted to do was tell her about the
tunnels and the underworld chambers. It would make her uneasy and probably give
her nightmares.

In the basement, Ramon unlocked the several levers and bolts
that secured the trapdoor in the center of the floor. After that, he waved his
arms to release the protective spell, his supernatural lock.

“I never noticed this when I moved in,” Larissa said. “What’s
down there?”

“Underground tunnels. They haven’t been used for a long time,”
Garrick said. Bastian had assigned him as guardian of this particular section
of tunnels.

Ramon swung the door open and it slammed against the floor.
The gaping hole emitted the scent of lavender mixed with a damp swampy odor. Wind
howled below like a storm at sea. Reaching inside the hole, Ramon flicked on
lights. “We won’t be traveling in the dark. Follow me.”

Taking Larissa’s hand, Garrick helped her down the stone
steps. At the end of a short hallway they turned into the main line. The walls
were built of stone and brick and at least ten feet high. After a few yards,
they reached an intersection where the tunnel branched into four directions. “All
this for the Underground Railroad?”

“They’ve been expanded over the years for our use.” Garrick
stopped at the entrance to one tunnel that sloped down steeply and ended at an
iron gate. They wouldn’t be traveling anywhere near that passage. “Never come
down here unless it’s life or death and never, ever enter that tunnel for any
reason.”

Larissa rubbed her arms. “Why? Where does it go?”

“Under the Delaware into Lambertville.”

She shrugged. “Why is that one so dangerous?”

Garrick hesitated for a moment but knew as a crimson swan,
Larissa had to be aware of a few rules. “Our enemy, the Council of Slayers,
live there. They’ll know you’re a crimson swan and they will kill you as easily
as they will kill us if we enter their domain without permission. Crossing the
Delaware into Lambertville is forbidden.” As Garrick thought about what the
slayers had done over the years, a vicious hunger swept through him. His teeth
were out, ready to attack. Fortunately the darkness hid that primal side. He
didn’t need to frighten Larissa. She’d need time to adjust.

Pointing to the tunnel to the right, Garrick said, “That one
goes toward town and to the access points of other businesses.” He then pointed
to the one directly across from the forbidden tunnel. “This one you don’t want
to enter either unless we take you. It leads to the Grotto of Eos, the vamps
sanctuary and chamber of entertaining.”

“And what does that mean?” she asked.

“The cave of the goddess of dawn,” Garrick said. “It’s a
maze of secret tunnels and chambers.”

She stopped to listen. “I think I hear laughter, groaning.”
Her arms tightened around her waist and she leaned back against Ramon. He
rubbed her shoulders. “What kind of entertaining?”

Ramon laughed in his mischievous, sensual way. “Not unlike
the threesome we had last night, babe, but some of our kind have wretched, even
dangerous tastes. It’s a place of pleasure and pain, but also torture and death
for swans and enemies who betray the Guild.”

Looking up at the ceiling and the stone walls, Larissa shook
her head and her breathing quickened. “The air is thin down here. It’s hard to
breathe.”

Garrick pulled her against him. “The air is fine. Take slow
breaths. You’re safe when you’re with us.”

“But the entrance to these tunnels is inside my house. How
can I feel safe?”

“Let’s keep moving.” Ramon strode down the fourth branch of
the tunnel.

“I don’t think so.” Larissa tried stopping.

“It’s not far,” Garrick said in a soothing tone.

“Where are you taking me? Maybe we should go back.”

“To the Beaumont House, where we live,” Garrick said.

She leaned close to Garrick as the darkness swirled around
her. “I don’t understand why you’re showing me this. I’ll never come down here
by myself anyway.”

“It’s a precaution, babe,” Ramon said. “We have enemies in
the Guild and there’s a chance they may come after you to attack us.”

“But don’t your enemies know of these tunnels too?” she
argued.

“Yes, but they don’t know that you know.” They continued to
walk in silence for several minutes then Larissa stopped.

“I’m confused. Jordan said I should trust you. But you said
if I became your crimson swan, I’d be protected. Now you say I’m still in
danger. Which is it? Or was this all a seductive lure so you’ll have sex and
blood on hand as needed?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She marched up a set of
wooden steps and opened a door into a wine cellar. Several dusty bottles
stocked the floor-to-ceiling racks. “You have a taste for wine and blood.
Interesting,” she said sarcastically as she ran up the steps to the main floor.

“We don’t need food or drink, but can eat for the pleasure
or to satisfy mortal appearances,” Ramon answered. Larissa continued several
paces ahead.

When Larissa entered the main floor all she intended to do
was walk straight out and back to her place. She was having second thoughts
about this whole arrangement. It was far too cloak-and-dagger. The mystery,
secret passages, blood offerings… What was wrong with her? Why did Jordan think
this was such a great idea? Her feeling of unease couldn’t be explained away.
If they wanted to hold her to the deal, she’d have to find a way to undo it.
Garrick had said he wouldn’t do anything without her permission. Well, he didn’t
have her permission anymore.

The smell of fresh pine and a fire from a fireplace
somewhere filled the old Victorian-style house. Polished wood floors creaked
with each step. The wood trim was worn but the walls were freshly painted or
covered in new wallpaper. Antiques, Victorian furniture and old paintings and
photographs decorated the hallways and rooms. The house reminded her of an
elegant bed-and-breakfast.

Christmas decorations covered the walls, banisters and
tables. Vampires were into Christmas? Interesting. The place was a maze of hallways
and rooms. She continued walking and was drawn to the room with the sound of
the crackling fire.

Peeking inside the large parlor, she admired the huge twelve-foot
Christmas tree, lit up and decorated with colorful ornaments. A young woman in
her twenties sat in a chair by the fireplace reading from a tablet. Her black
hair was streaked in purple and spiked in a punkish style. She wore a black
fitted dress with lace trim and ankle boots. When she looked up her eyes were
rimmed in dark liner and smoky shadow.

One look at Larissa and she jumped up, dropping the
electronic device on the chair. She hissed, her fangs out, eyes glowing red.
Larissa screamed.

“Hey, Anja,” Ramon said as he raced into the room. “This is
Larissa, owner of Silk Fantasies and Garrick’s swan.” Garrick stood between
Anja and Larissa, a six-foot wall of muscle and leather. How he got there,
Larissa didn’t know. She’d felt a breeze and then Garrick was there.

“Stand down, Anja. She’s under my protection,” Garrick said.

Anja glared at Larissa for several moments, eying her from
head to toe. “You bring a mortal in here?” Her turquoise-blue eyes narrowed and
didn’t stop staring.

“She’s been threatened,” Garrick said calmly. “You remember
what that’s like, don’t you?”

Anja nodded. Her hostile look eased. “I get that you have to
protect her. I even have an idea from whom, but why bring her here? Can’t you protect
her better at her place?”

Garrick didn’t answer.

“You’ll have to mark her, you know. She’s a mouse and an easy
target. Even if she’s marked, it’ll be difficult to keep Lazaro away from her.
If he wants her, he’ll find a way to get her.”

“I’m not marking her, not unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Ramon is going to work a spell. That’s why we’re here.”

Anja laughed, picked up her book and sat back in the chair. “Good
luck. Say a few prayers while you’re at it. I hope it works. I don’t care much
for Lazaro and his bitch Kashia. Your new swan seems nice enough.”

“Good night, Anja.” Garrick led the way to the second floor.

“What spell?” Larissa asked. “And explain about marking?”

“I’ll explain when we have some privacy.” Garrick passed a
few doors and opened one at the end of the hallway. He touched her cheek. “I
know you’re ready to bolt. Give us a chance to explain our world. We will never
harm you. That’s a promise.”

“Okay, I’ll listen but I’m beginning to think this isn’t
such a good idea.” She entered the room. The furnishings were Victorian but
with a masculine touch, heavy wooden antiques and dark fabrics. “Both of you
share this room?”

“I have the suite on the third floor,” Ramon said.

“Does Lazaro live here too?”

Ramon laughed. “No, he’d like to be the ward of the Beaumont
House but Bastian has entrusted that privilege to Garrick. Lazaro lives at
Edmund Manor. It’s next door, much larger but Lazaro is subservient to
Bastian.”

The suite was like a large studio apartment. Larissa walked
around the room admiring the antiques and paintings. “No Christmas decorations.”

“Not in a long time,” he said gruffly. Garrick started a
fire in the potbelly stove, returning to that dark, serious side of him as if
he hid a dangerous secret. “I need to get wood. Be right back.”

Larissa waited for several minutes after Garrick left then
glanced at Ramon. “Want to explain why he’s so edgy about Christmas?” She
wanted to know details.

“His parents both died of yellow fever around Christmas,”
Ramon said.