The Dark Vampire: Last True Vampire 3 (14 page)

When Jenner told Bria that she would feed from
no one
but him he’d meant it. “I’ll make sure her thirst is managed,” Jenner remarked. “Her sheltered existence is the reason she should leave this house. She needs to understand that her newfound freedom doesn’t allow for carelessness.”

“‘Sheltered’ is a bit of an understatement if you ask me.” Ronan crossed the living room to the bar and poured himself a scotch. “What did Fairchild say to you?”

“For starters, we’re out a paycheck.”

Ronan snorted. “I figured. Why pay you to protect his niece now that you’ll do it for free? Did he tell you anything more about his witch problem?”

“Nothing that made any sense. He hinted at some old vendetta from centuries ago. He didn’t offer me any specifics, though. I had a feeling I was being vetted.”

Ronan tossed back his drink. “He’s an odd son of a bitch, I’ll give you that. And there’s no doubt that Bria is as innocent as the driven snow.” He chuckled into his glass as though it amused him to see a male as soiled as Jenner with a female like Bria. “Vetted, huh? Think you passed?”

Jenner leveled his gaze on his friend. “Would it matter?”

“Not a damned bit.” Ronan’s fangs glinted in a feral smile. “What’s going on with Siobhan? She manage to stir up some shit again?”

Jenner had wanted to fill in Mikhail first, but Ronan needed to know that the female had shifted her focus. “She wants to see Chelle,” he said. “She’s offering to trade intel on the werewolf for a face-to-face.”

“Fuck.” Ronan poured himself another drink. “I was afraid of that.”

“You know how she gets. She’s like a dog with a bone.”

“More like a tiger with a carcass,” Ronan remarked.

“Why do you think she wants Chelle?”

“Proof that Set’s chest is the real deal?” Ronan suggested as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass. “It could be a power play. She and Chelle are friends. As much as anyone can be Siobhan’s friend. Maybe she wants to form some sort of alliance.”

“She’ll find a way to use Chelle if she can,” Jenner agreed. “Something’s coming down the pipes, but I’ll be damned if I know what. She’s not going to lead us to Gregor, though. I’ve been following her around for months. I think she’d rather he stayed as far away from her as possible.”

“I agree. Siobhan is going to cause us trouble, but she doesn’t give a shit about Gregor,” Ronan said. “Until he shows up at her door, she won’t bother worrying. I’ve suggested to Mikhail that he should reach out to the Sortiari, instead.”

“And he didn’t lay you flat on your ass?” Jenner asked with a laugh.

“Only because Claire wouldn’t let him. She agrees with me that it’s best to keep your enemies closer.”

“That’s the fucking truth.” As much as he didn’t trust
Thomas Fairchild, Jenner knew that something seriously evil had its sights set on his family. No matter how much Bria wanted to break from that part of her life, Jenner needed to keep him close. If only to uncover his secrets.

Ronan set his empty glass down on the bar. “All right, I’m outta here. I feel like I haven’t seen Naya in a week and I need some downtime.”

Guilt stabbed at Jenner’s gut. “I shouldn’t have stayed away for so long. You know, before Bria.” No doubt Ronan had been picking up his slack while he’d been on yet another bender. “It won’t happen again.”

From the corner of his eye Jenner spotted Bria coming down the stairs. Ronan gave him a sly smile and said, “I know it won’t. Not now that you’ve got a reason to stick around. I’ve got a couple of clients lined up for this week, so I’ll be a little scarce. Call if anything comes up.”

“You need me to field anything?”

“I think your hands are going to be pretty damned full for now. I’ve got this.” Ronan strode from the living room as he said over his shoulder, “Try not to kill anyone tonight.”

“Yeah.” Jenner’s gut tied into a series of knots as his gaze locked on Bria. Ronan said something as he walked out the door, but Jenner couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. Not killing someone might be a tough promise to keep, and they both knew it.

Jenner had never been the sort of male who found innocence alluring. He liked it rough, dirty, and messy and the females he’d chosen as bedmates always fit the bill. There was something decidedly sinful about Bria, though. A seductive purity that made Jenner ache to defile her.

Fresh-faced and dewy, she didn’t appear very different from earlier except her hair that she’d piled high on her head and gathered in a ponytail. Not an ounce of makeup marred her natural beauty and she wore the same
tight-fitting pants but had swapped her T-shirt for a billowy blouse. The knee-high black leather boots she’d put on gave the ensemble just enough of an edge. “Is this okay?” She looked down the length of her body. “The boots are Claire’s.”

Not for long.
Jenner would pay any amount Claire asked in order for Bria to keep them. He imagined what she’d look like wearing nothing but those boots, her raven hair cascading over her shoulders, the rosy points of her nipples peeking through that dark veil.

Gods.

Jenner scrubbed a hand over his face. He should have stayed away. Merely sleeping in the next room was becoming too great a test of his mettle. At least offering to take her out added the buffer of curious eyes and crowds of people to keep him from reaching out to touch her. Public displays hadn’t bothered Jenner in the past, however. Maybe it wouldn’t deter him now.
Fuck.

At a little past midnight, the clubs would be starting to heat up. His plan wasn’t to ease Bria into anything. Throwing her in the deep end was the only option, and taking her to some tame, out-of-the-way place frequented by humans wouldn’t do anything to teach her a lesson in exercising caution.

“Let’s go.”

He didn’t comment on her appearance and her expression fell a little. Bria could have been wearing a fucking trash bag and she would have ignited Jenner’s lust. Flowery compliments weren’t exactly his thing. Thomas Fairchild’s sheltered niece wanted to hear that she was beautiful. And Jenner’s single-minded thought was that the female couldn’t look more tantalizing and fuckable.

A regular motherfucking Tennyson.

Bria came to a halt just outside the door. “We’re riding on that?”

The Ducati didn’t offer the most practical means of transportation. Jenner liked it because it was fast and maneuvered well in traffic. A quick getaway was a hell of a lot easier when you could weave through the string of cars clogging up Sunset. Ronan and Mikhail liked their flashy Aston-Martins and sleek town cars. Jenner didn’t give a shit about the flash ’n’ flare. He was all about stealth.

“We’ll fit.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “You scared?”

He couldn’t help but taunt her. If only to see that fire spark within her once again.

“No.” Gods, that defiant tone nearly brought him to his knees.

“Then get on.”

As he navigated the winding path of Mulholland down into the city Jenner wished he’d reconsidered taking the bike. Bria’s body pressed tightly to his back and her palms molded to his chest as she held on to him. The heat of her body permeated his clothes; her thighs resting against his sent a tremor through his muscles. Jenner gripped the handlebars tighter and accelerated. The faster he put a little distance between them, the better.

Bria’s heart pounded as though it would break through her chest. The bite of the wind on her face and the sound as it rushed in her ears exhilarated her. The speed of the motorcycle as it raced down the steep, winding road thrilled her. And the male whose back was molded to her chest excited her beyond reason.

She wanted this moment to never end.

Beneath her palm, Jenner’s heart beat a steady rhythm. Bria let her eyes drift shut and she focused on the
thrum . . . thrum . . . thrum . . .
that vibrated through her very soul. Their tether was still a mystery to her and Jenner himself an enigma. He was gruff and demanding. At
times harsh and even lewd. He’d shown a side of himself with Lucas that was decidedly violent. Because of Jenner, though, she might finally be able to stop sneaking around like a thief shielded by night and know true freedom. Not even her uncle could expect her to return to the coven now that she’d been tethered. She’d only known Jenner for mere days and already he’d given her the most amazing gift anyone had ever given her. He’d never know how much this moment meant to her. Bria let go of his chest and threw her head back and her arms wide.

The bike swerved and Bria’s stomach rocketed up into her throat. Jenner reached back and grabbed her arm, wrapping it back around his torso. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” he barked above the rush of the wind. “Do you want to crack your skull on the gods-damned pavement?”

Bria wrapped her other arm around him and held on tight. A secretive smile curved her lips as she rested her cheek against his back. Had the big, bad vampire been concerned for her safety?

As they made their way into the city Bria soaked in the sights with newborn eyes. She marveled at her vampiric senses. So much keener than they’d been before. Her uncle had always insisted that their biology was closer to humans’. That though their eyesight was sharper, their sense of smell more discerning, to a vampire their kind were just as mundane. Bria believed that now. Los Angeles pulsed with a vitality that filled her with wonder. A riot of colors and sounds and scents that threatened to overwhelm her senses and yet she couldn’t get enough. Bria considered tonight a victory, no matter how small.

It was a new world and she was going to revel in every new experience.

Bria stared up at the gleaming red and gold sign that hung above the nightclub’s entrance and the way the
pieces were meant to resemble scales that formed the words
The Dragon’s Den
. Music filtered from the club to her ears as Jenner maneuvered the motorcycle into a parking space. The heavy bass echoed through her, caressed Bria’s skin with a ripple of decadent vibration. People waited impatiently in a long queue to be let in, some of them dancing and enjoying the music from the sidewalk. The energy was palpable. It made her come alive.

She couldn’t wait to go inside.

“Not so fast.” Jenner’s arm flew out to stop her before Bria could dash across the street. “Time to go over the ground rules for tonight.”

Ground rules?
Bria knew little of how a tethered mate was supposed to behave, but Jenner treated her more like a ward than the female whose soul his was bound to. It sent a shock of agitation up her spine. “I’m not an incompetent child, Jenner.”

He cocked a brow as though to challenge her statement.
Arrogant male
. “You will not leave my side tonight. Heed all of my warnings and don’t reveal anything about who or what you are. Do you understand me?”

His ground rules spelled out pretty clearly for Bria that Jenner did in fact find her incompetent. Her earlier sense of elation sank like a stone in her stomach. She’d heard the same warnings from her uncle time and again. On the very rare occasions she was allowed to leave the protection of the coven with Lucas, he reminded her of how vital it was to be inconspicuous. To never let anyone know she was Thomas Fairchild’s niece.

“I understand,” she said, infusing a frosty chill into her voice.

“Good.”

Jenner took her hand in his and led her across the street. Bria fought the urge to jerk her hand away. She didn’t appreciate being shepherded like a toddler lest she be hit by
a car. “If I’m not to leave your side or interact with anyone, what are we even doing here?” Did he think she’d be appreciative of their little field trip if he expected her to hide in a corner of the club and make herself invisible?

“You’re here to learn a lesson, Bria.”

Jenner bucked his chin at the bouncer and he moved the velvet rope aside. Grumbles of protest sounded from behind them and Bria couldn’t help but wonder what sort of clout Jenner had that would allow them immediate entrance. It would stand to reason that Jenner would take her someplace where her safety would be ensured. For once, Bria wanted to rush headlong into danger without someone worrying or trying to coddle and protect her. Perhaps the freedom she’d seen in Jenner was nothing more than another shackle.

I suppose I’m about to find out
.

Inside the club, the sensory overload nearly sent Bria racing for the door. The sound of the music, overlapped with myriad voices, deafened her. Under the press of bodies and layers of scents, her chest constricted as tiny pins pricked at her skin. Her attention caught on the individual dust particles dancing under the swath of bright laser lights until everything around her blurred.
Too much.
It was all too much. Bria swayed on her feet and Jenner steadied her, holding her body close to his.

“Lesson one: You have to learn focus, Bria.” Jenner’s lips brushed her ear and the warmth of his breath coaxed chills to her skin. “To weed through the sights and sounds. You don’t need to breathe if you don’t want to. Cut off the scents that assault you. What you see as strengths your enemies will see as a weakness. They’ll exploit your keen senses and use them against you.” He cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head to one side much like he had when he’d fed from her the very first night they’d met. A tremor raced through her as he slashed across her neck
with one finger and whispered, “You’re so distracted, I could easily cut your throat.”

Bria cleared her throat and tried to quell the shaking in her limbs. Jenner was a deadly male. Dangerous and exciting. “I would heal if you cut me.” The only way to kill her now would be to put a stake in her heart or take her head completely off.

In a flash of motion he angled her body until her back was against the wall. He brought his fist up and with a downward cut brought it down to rest above her left breast. “I cut your throat to weaken you.” His fist relaxed until his hand splayed out across her chest. “And now you’re dead.”

Her silly bravado crashed and burned. In a single moment he’d shown her that that her vampiric immortality did
not
make her infallible. Jenner’s point made, Bria had no choice but to admit a temporary defeat. “Never let my guard down,” she said on a breath. “Understood.”