The Fangover (24 page)

Chapter Twenty-three

THAT VOODOO YOU DO

C
ORT
didn’t need to be asked twice. He found Katie. She’d told him her feelings, and he wanted nothing more than to be alone with her.

“Why do I have to leave?” Raven complained. “After all, he attacked me.”

“It’s true. Let Raven stay. I will leave.”

Peter rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Whatever. Just no more fuckin’ fighting tonight. Damn it, I thought the full moon didn’t affect your kind.”

Katie shot Cort a look. “Did everyone but me know what you guys are?”

Cort laughed and placed a hand on the small of her back. “Sorry, man,” he said to both Raven and Peter, then led Katie out of the back room and through the bar.

At the front bar, Drake sat leisurely sipping a drink and tapping his fingers along with an Eagles song playing on the jukebox. He didn’t appear to have noticed the commotion in the back room.

“Thanks for the backup, man,” Cort said as he passed. Not that he’d needed it, but it was just the principle of the thing. A bandmate should be there to back up a fellow bandmate.

“I’m a lover, not a fighter,” Drake stated. “Besides, I knew you had things under control.”

“Yeah, sure,” Cort said.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Drake said. “I was talking to Katie.”

Katie laughed, the sound joyous and lovely. “Yes, I did.”

Cort rolled his eyes, even though he really did agree, she did have it in control. “You were just worried you’d lose another fang.”

“Totally,” Drake agreed without hesitation, then took another sip of his drink. “See you back at the apartment.”

Cort laughed and he and Katie left the bar.

Outside, they were immediately greeted by the Dancing Vagrant and Winston. Both seemed very happy to be reunited. The man jigged on the sidewalk, his moves surprisingly agile and rhythmic. The bird bobbed its head along with the man’s movements, quite content to be back with its owner.

“I got him back,” the man said to Katie as soon as he saw her.

“I see.” Katie smiled. “I’m glad.”

“You have no idea how glad,” Cort added wryly, and Katie elbowed him.

“Shake your groove thing. Shake your groove thing,” the bird crowed, and the Dancing Vagrant did.

Both Cort and Katie laughed. Cort supposed in a weird way they were a rather cute couple.

“Well, good night,” Cort said to the man.

The man stopped dancing. “Oh, you can’t go. Annalese will be here any moment.”

“Annalese?”

“The woman who married us last night.”

“Oh,” Cort said, “right.”

He looked at Katie. The last thing he wanted to do right now was wait for some woman, the friend of the Vagrant Dancer’s, who was probably as slightly off as he was.

“Do you really think this woman married us?” he whispered to Katie.

Katie shrugged. “I guess we could wait and see.”

Cort debated trying to convince her to leave, but decided that they had searched for answers all night, what could waiting a bit longer hurt?

Aside from his erection, which pressed uncomfortably against the fly of his jeans.

“Okay,” he said.

She rose up on her toes to kiss him, and very quickly it didn’t seem to matter that they were out on the sidewalk. Their desire overtook them.

Only when the bird began singing Barry White again, did Cort have the sense to realize where they were. But instead of waiting, he took Katie’s hand and pulled her toward an alleyway just past the bar.

“What are you doing?” she asked with a giggle.

“Taking you somewhere where I can kiss you senseless.”

“Okay,” she said readily, and he laughed.

Once in the shadows of the alley, away from the lights and few die-hard, late-night partiers, he pulled her back in his arms.

But instead of kissing her, he asked, “Why did you run away from the apartment?”

Katie looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. “I heard you talking to Drake about the fact that we weren’t married, and you sounded so relieved, that I just thought—well, I thought you didn’t want to be with me, period. It was silly of me to jump to conclusions without talking to you.”

“It was,” he agreed, but quickly added, “but I think we’ve both been doing that for a long time.”

Katie nodded. Then she reached up and touched his still bloodied nose. “Does it hurt?”

He shook his head.

She looked down at her fingers, then sucked his blood off her fingertips, the action so incredibly erotic.

He leaned in to kiss her. Their kiss quickly became as frantic and needy as it had been on the street, only now there was no winged chaperone to keep them in check. Soon they had their clothing yanked and askew, their hands roaming over each other’s bare flesh.

Cort reached for the zipper of her jeans, yanking it down. He shoved at the waistband, getting it down so he could sink his fingers between her thighs and stroke her wetness, her heat burning his fingers.

She gasped, dropping her head back against the brick wall.

“Why the hell did we wait so long to do this? To reveal to each other how we feel?”

Katie shook her head, half answering him, half responding to his touch.

“I don’t know. But I’m so glad we finally told each other.”

Cort made a low noise of agreement. He kissed her again. Stroking her lips with his, stroking her clitoris with his thumb as his fingers penetrated her.

She cried out, the hoarse sound so sexy, he groaned, too.

Without breaking their kiss, he reached for his own zipper, releasing his hard, aching cock.

“I want to go slow, but I can’t, baby,” he murmured against her lips.

He felt her smile. “We’re in an alley. I don’t think we are supposed to be going slow. I think it’s supposed to be hard and fast and dirty.”

He chuckled, thrilled by her words. “Oh, you are a bad girl, Katie Lambert.”

“Only for you.”

He growled, loving that fact. He positioned her and took her just as she said, thrusting into her hard and deep and fast.

Soon they were both panting and making low noises of their impending release. He filled her over and over, her body writhing between him and the wall. Then he felt her body tense, her muscles clamping around him, her orgasm holding her, and him, in its powerful grip.

“God, yes, baby. Come for me.”

She cried out, giving into it, and he rocked forward, deeper, preparing for his own orgasm.

And just as he thrust to the hilt and he felt his cock throb and his come filling her, he shouted, his ecstasy increased a hundred times as her fangs penetrated the fragile flesh of his neck.

She sucked, drawing his blood deep into her body. His cock inside her, her fangs in his, and his blood filling her.

It was heaven, pure heavenly bliss, beyond anything he’d ever felt. And this time he didn’t try to stop her. He wanted to give himself to her in this way. He wanted to feed her, satisfy her desire, her lust, her hunger. He wanted to be her everything.

She was his, and he was so very much hers.

So she drank and they both came again from the rapture of it.

And when he knew he had to muster the strength to stop her, she lifted her head on her own. She licked her red lips, regarding him with a combination of guilt and pleasure.

“I wasn’t supposed to do that,” she whispered.

He cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her lips. “I wanted you to do that. I wanted you to feed from me.”

“And I want you to feed from me,” she said.

“I have. And I will again. But right now, I just want to get you home.” He looked up at the sky. “In fact, we need to get home.”

She looked up, too. “Okay.”

They straightened their clothing and tried to compose themselves as best they could. Not an easy task, given the intensity of what they just experienced.

“You know,” Katie said as they reached the street, “I don’t think either of us has really said exactly how we feel about each other.”

Cort stopped, reaching for both of her hands.

“That one is easy for me. I’m falling in love with you. I have been for years.”

Katie’s gaze moved over his face, and he could see tears glistening in her gorgeous blue eyes.

“I’m falling in love with you, too.”

They kissed, and Cort couldn’t recall ever feeling this damned good.

“Here they are.”

They parted to find the Dancing Vagrant standing beside a short woman in colorful flowing skirts. Her lovely skin was smooth and the color of café au lait. Her hair fell in cornrows around her face, and she had the most piercing blue eyes Cort had ever seen.

Cort didn’t need her to say a word to know she was a voodoo priestess. But that didn’t mean a marriage performed by her would be recognized as valid.

“My friend here says you wanted to talk with me about your marriage last night,” Annalese said, her voice as lovely and smooth as her skin.

“Yes,” Cort said. “We don’t know exactly what happened to us last night. In fact, we can’t remember much, or anything really about what happened, and we wanted to know if we are truly married.”

Annalese raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. “Yes. You are.”

Cort nodded, looking at Katie, trying to read her reaction to the news. She regarded him, clearly trying to do the very same thing.

But before he could state his feelings, the voodoo priestess continued, “But my marriage isn’t the bond that brings you together. You should know that. What has joined you is far more binding than a religious ritual.”

Cort frowned, not quite sure what she meant. Was this another mystery that would have them searching for more answers?

But to his surprise, Katie squeezed his hand. She seemed to understand what this lady meant.

“Thank you,” she said to the voodoo priestess and to the homeless man.

Both nodded and left them.

“Okay,” Cort said, frowning at Katie, “I’m totally lost. What just happened?”

“You were the one who crossed me over,” Katie said, and then explained the story of her accident and how he’d saved her by giving her immortality.

“That has to be an unbreakable bond, right?” she said.

Cort nodded, suddenly realizing that was exactly why he’d been feeling so possessive and protective of her. They were bonded. They were a joined couple as surely as any wedded couple.

“Wow,” he said, shaking his head, amazed.

“Are you freaked out by that idea?” she asked, worry still lingering in her eyes.

But he didn’t hesitate. “Not in the least.”

She smiled then.

They started down the sidewalk, heading back to his apartment.

“I have to say, I feel really awful about the loss of Johnny,” Cort said after a moment. “But that was sure one hell of a wake.”

Katie nodded. “I think Johnny would be happy for us.”

So true. That was one thing about Johnny, he enjoyed a good story with lots of twists and turns. And he would love this one.

“You are totally right,” Cort said. “I wish he was here to hear about this.”

Katie squeezed his hand again. “I’m sure he knows.”

Cort nodded. He’d miss his friend, but in a weird way, his passing had given him the love of his life.

And he couldn’t be sad about that.

“But we still don’t know why we blacked out,” Cort said.

“True, maybe we should go find Wyatt and the others. Maybe they have some answers.”

“Yeah.” Cort pulled out his cell phone and dialed Wyatt’s number. It went right to voicemail. He hung up and shoved it back in his pocket.

“You know what?” he said, moving closer to Katie. “I’ve had enough searching for clues tonight.”

“You have?” she said, smiling in a way that was sweet and seductive all at once.

“Yeah, I think we have more important things to do now.”

She raised an eyebrow, her sexy little smile not slipping. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Well,” he said slowly, pretending to think, “we do have a marriage to consummate.”

She laughed. “I think we already did that.”

“But not nearly enough.” He pulled her against him, and kissed her hard.

When they parted, she pursed her lips. “I suppose it is going to get light soon. Maybe we should head home.”

“Oh really, that’s the only reason, huh? The threat of impending sunrise?”

She tried to look serious as she nodded, but she couldn’t, instead laughing again.

“Okay, I might want to get my new husband naked, too.”

He caught her hand and started walking. He didn’t need to be told that twice.

“Do you think we should try to find the others?” she asked.

“I’m sure they are fine,” Cort said, being serious for a moment. “We’ll see them tomorrow.”

Katie nodded.

After a moment, Katie squeezed his hand and said, “I have to admit, no matter what happened to us, I think last night was the best night I don’t remember.”

He stopped and looked down at his amazing wife. “I think so, too.” He kissed her. “I think so, too.”

Chapter Twenty-four

A GOOD BARTENDER IS HARD TO FIND

(And They All Lived Happily Ever After. And After. And After.)

J
OHNNY
sat behind his drum kit and pounded away, watching his sister ogle Wyatt from the deejay booth and vice versa, glad his plan had worked. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been the nicest thing in the universe to fake his own death, but hey, it had worked, hadn’t it? Stella had finally stopped ignoring the nose on her face and had fallen into Wyatt’s arms.

For years he’d been waiting for those two to make a move on each other and they hadn’t so Johnny had stepped in and taken matters into his own hands. Plus, it had neatly gotten him off the hook with Bambi. He hadn’t really been that worried about giving her his DNA because he knew he couldn’t be the father and he knew Bambi had a number of studs in her stable at any given time. He had been more worried about the fact that she seemed to have decided she wanted to be with him in some kind of family relationship and she was a tenacious chick. Who was good in bed, not so good otherwise.

So it had all worked out, if not exactly according to plan.

There had been no predicting everyone blacking out. He couldn’t explain that any more than they could and he wasn’t taking any flak for it.

The plus side of faking his death was that he had a renewed sense of how lucky he was to have the friends and sister that he did. Seeing that they had been genuinely torn up was touching. He figured he had an obligation to make sure he was a better friend and brother from here on out. He’d even paid Stella the fifty bucks he’d owed her.

At the end of the Bon Jovi song, Cort called a break. Johnny still couldn’t believe Cort had married the washboard girl. But they, too, were making eyes at each other and there was a lot of cuddling going on in the bar. Johnny put down his sticks and reflected that maybe they were on to something. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a woman who loved him to come home to every night.

Which meant maybe he was actually maturing. Crazy.

“I still can’t believe you’re alive,” Cort said, giving him a grin as they climbed down off the stage. “You’re such a bastard.”

“You should be grateful to me. If it wasn’t for my wake, you wouldn’t have bagged Katie.”

“Good call. Man, I’m stupidly happy. Who would have thought?”

“Not me,” Johnny said in all sincerity.

The whole band gathered around a table in the back of the bar and Johnny ordered them a round of drinks from Jacob, the bartender. He was feeling generous. Katie snuggled up next to Cort, and Stella took a stool next to Wyatt. Drake was messing with his fang implant. Saxon was smearing ChapStick on his lips.

“I can’t believe you guys were hanging with Raven the other night. I was like, seriously?” Johnny said, shaking his head. It had been highly entertaining following his friends throughout their night of drunken ridiculousness.

“What?” Drake stopped messing with his tooth. “What do you mean?”

“I’d have thought he was your long-lost brother the way you were cutting up with him. Cracked me up. He was with you most of the night, at the casino, at the Bourbon Cowboy, the wedding chapel . . .”

Astonished faces met him. “You mean Raven wasn’t trying to kill Saxon?” Wyatt asked.

“No, though Saxon did borrow five hundred bucks from him. He seemed to think he knew how to play blackjack.” Johnny gave Saxon a look. “Word to the wise. Don’t play blackjack. But yeah, you were the five amigos, having a great time. Six, actually, if you count the priest. I was kind of jealous, I’m not going to lie. I think Raven was flattered actually. The guy doesn’t have a lot of friends.”

“How did Benny end up with us?” Stella asked.

“Who the hell is Benny?”

“The priest. The stripper priest.” She waved her hand around. “You know, the guy in the robe.”

Johnny shrugged. “He was just walking down the street and Cort grabbed him and asked him to marry him and Katie.” He turned to Katie. “Beautiful ceremony, by the way. The rings were a nice touch.”

She flushed. “Thanks.”

“Though I can’t believe you gave away my Elvis cookie jar. I loved that thing and it wasn’t cheap.”

“eBay, dude, eBay. Buy yourself another one,” was all the sympathy he got from Cort.

Jacob brought over their drinks, juggling them all with consummate bartender skill. He was distributing beers all around.

“So I guess the only question that’s left is who drugged us? Why did we all black out?” Wyatt asked.

Jacob didn’t miss a beat. “I did.”

“What?” Cort’s foot fell off his stool to the floor and he gaped at Jacob.

“Yeah, you were all so broken up over jackass here dying.” He shot his thumb at Johnny.

“Hey.” Johnny knew he deserved it, but still.

“So I slipped you all a little happy drug. I had no idea you were going to black out. That doesn’t happen to werewolves.” He put the final beer down. “My bad.”

Johnny let out a crack of laughter. Now that was some funny shit.

“Living on a prayer, dude,” Saxon said.

As usual no one seemed to know what the hell Saxon was talking about. So Johnny raised his beer. “To friends.”

“To sex, blood, and rock ’n’ roll,” Drake said.

“Cheers.” Stella raised her beer. “Wait, this isn’t drugged, is it?”

Half of them were already drinking.

Jacob paused. Then he grinned and shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think it is.”

Johnny drank it anyway, not worried about it.

You only lived once. And forever.