Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (31 page)

My mind wandered back to that house in East
Austin and the kiss Archer and I shared. It was so intense; full of
the deepest, most desperate passion I had ever experienced. I
couldn’t deny that there was definitely something still between
us…at least on my end. I had no idea how Archer still felt about
me.

“We’d better go,” Trey said, breaking me out
of my thoughts. “Remember what I said, honey. I’m just a shout away
if you need me.”

“Thank you, Trey,” I smiled as he and Aoife
walked out the door and gently shut it behind them.

Jameson sighed and turned to me. “Holy crap,”
he chuckled. “I never thought I’d live to see the day that Aoife
would bury the hatchet with you. I thought she’d loath you until
the day you died.”

“She might still hate me,” I shrugged as I
laid back in bed, snuggling into my plush pillow. I was so tired
all of the sudden. “I can’t read her mind. I don’t truly know
what’s going on in there.”

Jameson took off his shoes and gently lay
down beside me on his side, propping his head in his hand and
running his fingers soothingly through my hair. “Trey read her
emotions, love,” he shook his head as he gazed down at me lovingly.
“She really does mean what she said. She harbors no ill will toward
you now. He even said she likes you. Go figure.”

I smiled and shook my head in disbelief.
Aoife actually liked me now and all it took was me feeding her. I
rolled onto my side and snuggled into Jameson’s chest. He sighed
contentedly as he buried his face in my hair.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered into it.
“I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”

I craned my neck up and pulled his face to
mine. “I’m right here,” I said seriously, glancing back and forth
between his beautiful pale green eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m
safe now.”

Jameson sighed and shook his head. “That’s
not good enough for me. I want to make sure that nothing ever
happens to you again,” he said, his eyes full of sorrow and regret.
“I want you to live here, with us, permanently.”

My brow furrowed and I pulled back. “No…I
can’t,” I shook my head apologetically. “I like my home and I love
living next door to my best friend. You can’t ask me to do that.
Besides, that’s a really big step in a relationship. We’ve only
been dating for a few days.”

Jameson ran his fingers through his hair; a
move that I had learned in the past meant he was frustrated. “Even
if we weren’t dating, I’d want you to move in here so that we can
protect you. I just want you safe, Skye. There’s no guarantee Amun
won’t come back. He’s hell-bent on ending our bloodline, so I’m
positive he’ll try again. Who says he won’t use you for a second
time to get to us?”

I rolled us both over so that he was on his
back and I was straddling his waist. I leaned down and grasped his
face between my hands, looking deeply into his eyes as I spoke.
“It’s going to be okay. I AM safe now,” I staccatoed slowly, hoping
that my words would sink into his hard head this time. “I have all
of you looking out for me. Nothing is going to happen to me, baby.
I promise. But, if you want me to stay here, with all of you, until
Amun is caught, I will if it eases your mind. I can’t stay here
forever, though.”

Jameson sighed and pulled me firmly against
his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I laid there, my
ear to his heart, listening to the slow, steady, comforting beat
for a few moments before he spoke. “I’m never letting you go again,
Skye Morrison,” he whispered into my hair.

I took a deep, cleansing breath and slowly
blew it out. “Good,” I said as I snuggled further into him and
smiled contentedly.

Look for book #3 in the Skye Morrison Vampire
Series in late Fall 2012! It’ll be available worldwide in print and
e-book format.

Amun:
Father of all vampires; obsessed
with killing off Cináed’s bloodline.

An Dílis:
Irish Gaelic phrase for “The
Faithful”; elite army to the Day Walkers; sworn protectors of their
race.

Aoife:
(Pronounced ee-fa) Works as the
second floor bartender at The Mausoleum; blood child to Archer;
married to Archer for 600 years before they split up in 1899; her
divine power is detecting spoken lies and truths.

Archer Rhys:
Owner of The Mausoleum
located in Austin, Texas; roughly 1,300 years old; blood son of
Cináed and blood father to Aoife, Hunter, Jameson, Lochlan, Quinn,
Seamus, and Trey; has the divine ability to read human and vampire
minds.

Athair:
Irish Gaelic for the word
“Father”.

Callum:
(Deceased) Blood son of
Treasach; was made vampire a few weeks before Jameson and
ultimately grew up with him; divine power unknown.

Cináed:
(Pronounced KIN-awd)
(Deceased) Blood son of the original Day Walking vampire; blood
father to Archer and Treasach; divine power unknown.

Conriocht:
Irish Gaelic word for
“Werewolf”.

Courtney:
Works at The Mausoleum as a
cage dancer; brief object of Martin’s attentions.

Dan Kennedy:
Skye’s old boss and
forever friend; owns Drop Kick Dan’s bar in downtown Austin,
Texas.

Dancers:
Cage dancers at The
Mausoleum; known dancers are Courtney, Seth, Staci, Peyton, Brian,
Eden, Rachel, and Alex.

Dark One:
Nickname given by Day
Walkers for vampires who cannot go out in sunlight; once a dark,
depraved, morally corrupt species who are under new leadership.

Day Walker:
Nickname given by Dark
Ones for vampires who can walk in sunlight; first Day Walker was
born in 541 A.D.

Dylan:
Cousin to Dean/Dic Cruz; member
of Dean’s Kaxaw werewolf pack; age and pack position unknown.

Dheartháir:
Irish Gaelic word for
“Brother”.

Dic/Dean Cruz:
(AKA: Dean Ian Cruz)
Owner of Tricky Dic’s Hookah/Head Shop/Beer Bar; frequent customer
of Skye’s at The Mausoleum; Alpha werewolf to Central Texas’ Kaxaw
Pack.

Drop Kick Dan’s:
Austin, Texas bar
owned by Dan Kennedy; Skye worked here for 4 years while going to
school at UT.

Ducky:
Barback at The Mausoleum; works
the first floor bar.

Gavin:
Recent friend of Skye’s; lives
one block from her house.

Greyson Mead:
(Deceased) Friend and
business associate of Archer’s from Houston, Texas; Day Walker
whose divine power was reading people’s minds; was murdered by Amun
in the PVIP section of The Mausoleum; age unknown

Gunnar:
Works at The Mausoleum; his
official position and vampire status are unknown.

Hagan:
(Pronounced HAY-gan) A member
of the elite army of An Dílis/The Faithful for over 700 years;
fierce warrior; over 900 years old; appointed to Archer as a
temporary protector to him and his family; divine power
unknown.

Hunter:
Works the first floor bar at
The Mausoleum; blood child to Archer; born in southern United
States; age and divine powers unknown.

Jameson Doyle:
Lead singer of The
Manky Laner, a hard core Irish punk band in Austin, Texas; works
part time at The Mausoleum in the VIP and PVIP sections; blood
child to Archer; born in Northern Ireland in 1717; made vampire in
1744; Skye’s current boyfriend; divine power is Healing (both
humans and vampires).

Jesse Prescott:
(Deceased) Human
ex-boyfriend of Skye’s turn creepy stalker; killed by Martin.

Lochlan:
Works the second floor bar at
The Mausoleum; blood child to Archer; from Ireland; age and divine
power unknown.

Lola Finch:
Half-sister to Jesse
Prescott.

Lyric:
Nikki St. James’ current
boyfriend; notorious Jain vegan.

Marcán:
(Pronounced MAR-cawn)
(Deceased) A member of the elite army of An Dílis/The Faithful for
over 100 years; appointed to Archer as a temporary protector to him
and his family; has unparalleled eyesight; age and divine power
unknown; killed by Amun.

Martin:
(Deceased) Dark One who tried
to feed from dancer Courtney opening night at The Mausoleum,
attacked Skye, and was thrown out; worked with Amun to kill off
Cináed’s bloodline; killed by Skye.

Nikki St. James:
Best friend and next
door neighbor to Skye; 27 years old; works at Drop Kick Dan’s and
moonlights at Cherry Bomb Tattoo Shop as a skin artist; dating
Lyric.

Pádraig:
(Pronounced PAW-drig) A
member of the elite army of An Dílis/The Faithful for a short time;
fast, deadly warrior; appointed to Archer as a temporary protector
to him and his family; age and divine power unknown

Primo:
Member of Dean’s Kaxaw werewolf
pack; age and pack position unknown.

PVIP:
Stands for Platinum level VIP;
PVIP is located on the second floor of The Mausoleum and is only
open to select vampires.

Quinn:
Works the stairs leading to the
VIP/PVIP second floor at The Mausoleum; blood child to Archer; age
unknown; has the divine power of mesmerization (can alter one’s
memories/make them do as he pleases).

Ruarc:
(Pronounced ROO-ark) A member
of the elite army of An Dílis/The Faithful; second in command of
the entire army and first in command of the field unit that visits
The Mausoleum; known to Skye as Emerald Eyes (E.E.) before properly
introduced; age/divine power/birth place unknown.

Saint Fionán of Cluain Eraird:
Priest
in Ireland visited by the original Day Walker before he was made
vampire in a vicious attack; Saint Fionán and the Holy Father are
credited with the creation of the Day Walker race in 541AD through
prayer.

Sayer:
Member of Dean’s Kaxaw werewolf
pack; age and pack position unknown.

Seamus:
(Pronounced SHAY-mus) Works
the front door at The Mausoleum as a bouncer and takes admission;
blood child to Archer; from Ireland; age and divine power
unknown.

Sissy Schneider:
Friend of Skye’s;
went to the University of Texas with her; has a crush on
Zephyr.

Skye Everleigh Morrison:
23 years old;
human; born in Houston, Texas; moved to Austin, Texas to attend
University of Texas majoring in Ancient History and Classical
Civilization; roommate/best friend to canine Styvi Nix; works at
The Mausoleum as Archer’s Executive Assistant and manages all human
employees; best friend to Nikki; current girlfriend to Jameson
Doyle.

Sliocht:
Irish Gaelic word meaning
“Descendants”.

Styvi Nix:
(Pronounced STEEVY-nix)
Miniature French Bulldog; 2 years old; canine best friend/roommate
to Skye; other best friend is Nikki; loves treats, snuggling, and
chasing butterflies; dislikes when her naps are interrupted, the
green bits in her Kibbles n’ Bits, Archer and most other flighty
vampires.

The Mausoleum:
Bad-ass
Gothic/Industrial club in downtown Austin, Texas owned by Archer
Rhys; currently the hottest club in Austin; mecca for vampires
looking to party; work place of Skye.

Treasach:
(Pronounced TREE-sak)
(Deceased) Blood son to Cináed, blood brother to Archer; blood
father to Callum; lives in Gairloch, Scotland; he and his whole
family were killed by Amun.

Trey:
(AKA Nathaniel Herschel Thomas
Hatfield, III) Works the first floor bar and front door at The
Mausoleum; blood child to Archer; made vampire in June of 1865;
born in Georgia, USA; has the divine power of Empathy (can strongly
feel the emotions of vampires and humans alike); good friend to
Skye.

VIP:
Stands for Very Important Person;
VIP is located on the second floor of The Mausoleum and is open to
all vampires.

Zephyr:
Member of Dean’s Kaxaw
werewolf pack; age and pack position unknown; works at Tricky
Dic’s; crush to Sissy Schneider.

J. L. McCoy resides in the beautifully weird
city of Austin, Texas with her opinionated Pekiweenie Isabel and
handsome husband Kenny. She has always been a passionate reader and
enjoys watching movies, traveling, listening to heavy metal/classic
rock/80s music, getting mani/pedis with her girls, and singing
karaoke. She loves body art and is hopelessly addicted to Sonic’s
ice and Route 44 un-sweet raspberry iced tea.