The Werevamp Diaries: Moon Beam Dream (The Lynlee Lincoln Series Book 5) (7 page)

“You really don’t know, Sandy.” She plopped into a chair and leaned forward so that she could cradle her head in her hands. “I remember this one time when we were little, when she and her friends decided to ditch school.  She could have just told me, but no, instead she sent a note that she was sick and had to go home, asking me to cover for her.  I was worried, so I snuck out of class to go check on her. 
I
was the one who got in trouble for cutting class.”

After telling the story, she realized how silly it sounded to still be upset about something so small after all these years.  “I’m becoming a nervous wreck.  It’s a good thing I’ll never be a mom because I clearly can’t cut it.”

Within just a few seconds, his hands were on hers, and when she looked she saw him squatting down so that he was at eye level with her. “Rhiannon Blackmeade, you’re going to make an absolutely amazing mother.  It isn’t easy, it makes you tired and irritable, but it doesn’t mean you won’t make a great mom.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she silently prayed that she wasn’t going to break down.  She really didn’t want to ugly cry on his shoulder.  “You know I can’t,” she murmured.

He grinned, cupping her face to wipe away a tear. “Physically giving birth isn’t the only way to be a mom, Rhia.  Someday, somehow, we can become parents if we decide to.  There are kids out there just dying to have a mom like you’ll be.”

She sniffed, then gasped a breath. “You think we could adopt?  You’d want to raise a kid with me?”

He leaned in, lips hover close to hers. “Raising a kid with you is just one of many, many things I want to do with you.”

The suggestion in his words was clear, but then he brushed his mouth against hers and she melted, leaning forward so that she was on her knees in front of him, digging her nails into his back to pull him tight.

S
andy’s tender kisses made a trail from her neck to her shoulder as both his hands grabbed her backside, squeezing and pulling her hips to his.  She moaned, leaning her head back to give him better access to the skin at her throat.  When she did, her hair brushed the tops of his arms, and he immediately reached up, grasping a handful of the silky brown locks and tugging them.

“Mmmm,” she murmured. “I love it when you get rough, lover.”

He didn’t speak, just continued moving lower with his mouth.  Rhiannon decided to help him get to the place she knew both of them wanted, pulling her shirt quickly over her head and opening the clasp of her bra at the front.  Not wasting a second, Sandy immediately latched onto her nipple, sucking hard and then teasing the swollen nub with his teeth.

“Tell me you want me,” he said, voice hoarse with desire. “Tell me you can’t wait for me to take you.”

She reached down with one hand and cupped his erection while the other popped open the button of his jeans. “I do.  You know I do.”

When she had him free, she immediately took hold of his cock, never ceasing to be amazed by the smooth, hot perfection of him.  His member was large and thick, pulsing as evidence of his desire for her, and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of him.  “Let me taste you,” she told him, rubbing her thumb along the head of his shaft.

“No.”

When she looked at him, she saw a suggestive grin on his face.  One of his hands slid around from her backside to her midriff, then plunged into the waist of her pants. “I want to feel how much you want me.”

Still kneeling, she slipped her legs apart as he sought her center, his fingers easily sliding between her folds.  He circled her sensitive nub, then caressed deeper to tease her entrance.

“Satisfied?”

“Not hardly.” His hand was gone, and he motioned her to stand. 

When she complied, he unbuttoned her jeans and immediately pulled them down, taking her panties with them.  She stepped out of the garment then raked her fingers through his hair as she spoke.

“Your turn.  Get out of those jeans.”

Sandy chuckled, “I said I wasn’t’ satisfied yet.” He turned her around so that her backside was facing him, her upper body leaning against the kitchen counter.  The cold tile sent a shiver down her spine and made her nipples tighten up even more.  She felt her man stand up, then he braced one hand on top of hers.

His other hand touched her rear, then reached between her legs where he immediately pushed two fingers inside her wet hole.  She thrust her hips backwards, forcing his digits even deeper inside until they rubbed the spot that made her whimper. 

“Tell me how much you need me,” he whispered close to her ear, his breath disturbing the hair at her nape.

There was no way on earth she could speak at that moment because his fingers were moving in and out, stroking in a delightfully sinful way.  She splayed her hands out, holding onto the counter as he worked her into oblivion.  When she cried out in ecstasy, he released her hand and cupped his over her mouth to quiet the sound.

Her insides were still throbbing when he twisted her around to face him.  She had no idea when he’d taken his clothes off, but there he was gloriously naked, his erection standing tall.  She hopped up onto the counter and spread her legs, moaning as he slowly started to enter her. 

Rhiannon pressed her lips to his, opening her mouth to rub his tongue with hers as he drove hard to lodge inside her.  As he began to move, she tore her lips free, groaning deep in her throat.  Sandy put one hand to the center of her chest, pushing her down so that her back was against the counter.  While he steadied her hips with one hand, he tweaked her nipples with the other, continuing the steady plunging of his body into hers.  It was all she could do to close her eyes and get lost in the sensations.

Then his fingers dug into her backside and she looked up, needing to see him as he exploded with release. The sight of excruciating pleasure as he gritted his teeth to keep from crying out was her undoing.  She bit her lip, to stifle her moans as her own orgasm convulsed through her center.

R
hiannon’s head was hanging off the back of the counter, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession.  Her phone rang, and she tried to clear the sex from her mind so that she could remember where it was.  Thankfully Sandy was faster, because within moments he was holding the receiver against her ear.

“Hello?” she managed to breathe.

“I need you now.  She’s bad, and we have to do something.  Get ready because I’m coming to get you.”

“Oh, my God!” she cried out, sitting straight up in panic. “No, don’t.  It’s a really bad time.  Give me...”

But it was no use. Prieto was there, appearing in a cloud of purple smoke right there in her kitchen.  And while Sandy had managed to slip on his jeans, she was still sitting there dumbfounded without anything covering her body.  Her boyfriend immediately stepped between her and the fallen angel, shielding her from his gaze.

Prieto turned around and presented his back to them as soon as he realized his error. “I apologize.  I wasn’t thinking.”

“Yeah,” Rhia said as she scrambled to get her clothes on. “You clearly weren’t.  You know most people knock, but then I guess angels think they have liberties and all.”

“I didn’t see anything.”

Sandy snorted in disbelief, and when she faced her boyfriend, she was surprised to see his face a splotchy red and the muscle at his temple flexing as he gritted his teeth.  She’d never once seen him jealous before, but then he’d never been in a circumstance where she was naked in front of another man. 

“Are you dressed?” Prieto prompted.

“Um, not yet, but you can talk while you wait.  What’s her condition?”

She watched from the corner of her eye as he braced his legs apart and held his hands together behind his back.  “The meds you left her aren’t making a dent in the pain.  She’s raging with fever and...”

He paused his words just about the time she had slipped her shirt over her head.  “Okay, you can turn around.”

When he did she saw that his face was a little ashen, and there was a strangely hollow look to his expression.  “And what?”

“The hemorrhaging has started.  I’ve only seen anything like it once in my life.  And once was enough.”

Rhiannon nodded, swallowing hard.  “Okay, give me a minute to gather some extra supplies.  Then we can go.”

As she sailed off to the laundry area and her special storage room, she heard steps following close behind her.  Her werewolf ears knew immediately that it was Sandy. 

“I’m coming with you.”

She opened the cabinet and started selecting vials of medicines. “Hello?  Who’s going to stay with Remy?”

He snapped his mouth closed and frowned.  Then his brows lifted and a little smile turned up his lips. “Lynlee can take him.”

Rhiannon finished packing her satchel, then set is aside and approached her man, putting her hands on his cheeks and tugging his lips down to hers. “Babe, I love you.  Prieto’s a pretty face, but he’s an asshole, and even if he weren’t I wouldn’t be interested.  When I commit, I commit.  Okay?”

“Yes.” He nipped her lips then hugged her tight to him. “But Lynlee’s just as committed to Beck, and look what happened.  He’s got strange powers, Rhiannon.  And he just saw you naked.”

She drew back with a perky grin. “No, he didn’t.  He said he didn’t.”

“He lied.  He saw plenty.”

She patted his cheek. “Angels don’t lie, sweetheart.”

She sauntered back towards the kitchen only to stop short when the familiar sound of Sandy’s magic signaled in front of her as he formed from a pile of sand to block her path.  As soon as he was solid, he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her in for a demanding and bruising kiss.  It completely took her breath away.

“Wow,” she murmured, panting. 

“I want you to know I don’t like this.” His lips slanted over hers again, his tongue sweeping deep as if to make a point. “And I love you, too.”

She nodded, eyes wide.

“Are you coming?” Prieto called out from the other room. 

“Yep.  Coming.”

Within a few minutes, they were back in the catacombs of the prison, standing in the exact alcove they always dropped into.  “Why don’t we just pop right into her cell?”

Prieto was clearly rattled because instead of his normal non-answer, he just shrugged. “Part of the protections.  This is the only place the magic for transporting can work.”

That was the answer she wanted.  She let him get a few steps ahead, then she snatched her amulet from around her neck.  Letting it fall from her fingers, she kicked it against the wall where it would be less likely to be seen.  The necklace was a gift from Lynlee, cut from the same stone that allowed the witch to track and contact any of her clients. 

“So,” she began as she caught up to him. “When exactly?”

He paused in his steps, but didn’t look at her.  “When what?”

“You said you’d seen something like this once.”

“Yes, in España.  Many years ago.”

Rhiannon’s mouth dropped open as realization dawned on her.  Prieto was an angel, which meant he was centuries old.  “The black plague.”

He continued walking, not saying anything else.  She wondered at the reaction he seemed to be having to Red’s illness.  Was it just that he was afraid she would die and he’d lose his prisoner?  Or could there be something else going on?

The moment he opened the cell door, she was assailed by the scent of blood.  Under most circumstances that would have had her werevamp mouth salivating, but this was different.  The smell was putrid, and it pervaded the entire room, spilling into the stone hallway like a thick pall.

But as bad as that was, Red looked ten times worse.  She was writhing in the bed, sheets and blankets knotted up around her limbs.  Black splotches covered most of the skin that was visible, some of the sores oozing thick black liquid.  Gasping, she struggled for breath, and the loud rattle was a clear sign that her lungs were filled with fluid.  When she coughed, a trail of red spittle slipped from her lips down her chin.

“Red.” Prieto rushed the bed, arms looking as if he might have embraced her.  Still he stopped short, hands fisted at his sides in restraint. “Red, Rhiannon’s here.”

Swallowing, Rhia mentally put on her doctor’s hat and immediately crouched down beside the bed.  Using one hand to rummage in her bag, she held Red’s wrist in the other, checking her pulse.  It was erratic and racing, but somehow still strong.  It was a wonder because she could just about imagine the woman’s organs were all in freefall.

“Hurts,” Red murmured, moaning in such a plaintive way that it physically hurt Rhiannon’s heart.

“I know.  Let’s try this.” She measured a dose of morphine, injecting it quickly.  While she waited for the drug to take effect, she placed a thermometer under the woman’s tongue.  But before the little machine could make a reading, Red lurched forward grabbing for the trash can beside the bed and vomiting the thermometer and a nasty mix of bile and blood.

“Sorry,” she managed.

“Don’t worry.  I’ll get another.” Rhiannon eased her back onto the bed, pleased when her scrunched up face loosened a bit and her muscles relaxed.  “A little better?”

“A little.”

She rubbed the woman’s oily red hair back from her face. “Good.  Try to rest while you can.”

Red’s eyes fluttered shut, and Rhiannon immediately stood and faced Prieto. “Did you get those things I ordered?  The saline, the IV administration kit?”

He nodded, eyes focused on the phoenix who was resting, but still panting and wheezing for air.  “Yes, they were delivered yesterday. What can you do to help her?”

Rhiannon studied him a moment, struck by the emotions she could see roiling in his eyes.  “I need all of those supplies.  And hot water, enough to give her a sponge bath.  And take this with you.” She handed him the trash can. “Don’t bother cleaning it.  Just get her another one.  Or maybe two.  Can you do all that?”

Now he was staring at her, eyes narrowed as if confused.

“Prieto,” she hissed. “Get a move on.”

P
rieto flinched, then gave her a sharp nod and exited the room.  Rhiannon didn’t waste any time, retrieving the cell phone from her pocket and quick dialed, even as she searched for some anti-nausea meds.