Fashionably Hotter Than Hell: Book Six, The Hot Damned Series (15 page)

“Would he call you as a joke?” I asked tightly as my anger began to rise.

Raquel and I should have been locked in a room having mind blowing sex, not answering a Vampyre sibling prank call in a vault of death.

“No, definitely not. He values his body parts too much to be that stupid,” she answered. She closed her eyes and concentrated. “He’s here. I know he’s here.”

I opened my mind and let it wander. One of my gifts was reading minds. If Gareth was close by, maybe I could pick up his thoughts. He was, I did… and it wasn’t pretty.

“To the right,” I said tersely.

Raquel opened her eyes and stared at me. “You found him?”

“I found
someone
,” I told her cautiously. It was possibly Gareth, but if it was him he’d changed dramatically.

“What the Hell do you mean?” she asked nervously.

“I’m not sure. Follow me and stay behind me,” I instructed.

With a huff and a hiss, Raquel punched me in the shoulder. “I’m as powerful as you are,” she insisted. “We walk side-by-side.”

“While that may be true,” I conceded. “I’m still a macho cavedude. I just mated with the love of my life, whom I’ve chased for hundreds of years. It would do wonders for my peace of mind if you would walk behind me.”

She glared at me and I grinned. Even pissed off she was hotter than Hell. I could literally see her brain working as she tried to win our impasse. Then her eyes lit up and it was all I could do not to slam her against the wall and take her.

“What do I get if I do?” she asked as a smile pulled at her beautiful lips.

“What do you want?” I asked curious at what she would choose.

There was very little if anything I wouldn’t do for her and I wondered if she was aware of that fact.

“I want to be on top,” she informed me with a sexy glint in her eyes and her hands on her shapely hips. “And I get to boss you in the bedroom for an entire evening.”

“How about this,” I countered. “You can boss me in the bedroom for a week straight and every Tuesday for the rest of eternity if you walk behind me.”

“Really?” She clapped her hands together with delight and danced in a circle.

It was a no brainer and a win—win. Watching her naked and atop me was a fantasy of mine. As long as I ended up buried to the hilt inside her body I didn’t give a shit who was in charge.

“Really,” I promised. “Now get that hot little ass behind me before you force me to spank it and let’s find your brother.”

“Yes, sir,” she purred suggestively and dramatically lowered her gaze with a snort.

“What was that?” I asked as she continued to giggle.

“I was being submissive.” She burst into full blown laughter. “Don’t you want me to go all Fifty Shades of Mated Vampyre for you?”

“Sweet Jesus, did you read that book too?” I asked as I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. My gal was anything but submissive, and I liked it just fine—actually I loved it. She was a freaking animal in bed.

“You read it?” she demanded shocked.

“I most certainly did not,” I huffed.

“But you said
too
,” she accused. “As in you
read
it.”

“Astrid read it and unfortunately, I got a play-by-play synopsis of the damned thing,” I said with a sad shake of my head. “Those are hours of my life I will never be able to get back.”

She laughed and threw her arms around me.

“So I take it you read it?” I inquired.

She nodded and winked. “I did. It reminded me of
Twilight
except they screwed all the time.”

“You know it was based on
Twilight
fan fiction,” I told her.

She gaped at me.

“What?”

“You read
Twilight
?”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped. “Astrid did.”

“I’m starting to think Astrid is a convenient excuse for you to hide your metrosexual reading tendencies.”

“My metrosexual reading tendencies strictly pertain to the classics, not fiction where Vampyres sparkle in the sun,” I informed her flatly.

“Come on. I thought that part was really funny,” she said. “I especially liked that they drank animal blood and hated werewolves.”

“Have you ever tried animal blood?” I asked her.

“Hell no. Have you?”

“On a dare from Astrid after she read the damn book. We both did,” I replied sheepishly.

“And?”

“It was bland and quite gross. However, Astrid heaved for several hours after our stunt, which made the entire unsavory business worth it.”

Raquel’s laughter made my heart sing. The thought of making her happy for eternity made me feel ten feet tall.

“I love you,” I told her.

Her laughter disappeared and her eyes glowed green with desire.

“I’ve loved you for so long I don’t remember what it was like not to love you,” she admitted and pressed her body to mine.

The feelings that rushed through me were so much more than sexual. I was whole with her in my arms. Never had I let myself imagine how perfect it would be to have her truly be mine.

“Has Astrid ever watched
Love at First Bite
or
Buffy
?” she asked with an evil snort.

“No and please don’t suggest either,” I begged.

I’d seen
Love at First Bite
and
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
. My sister, Cathy thought they were hilarious. We drank shots of vodka for every time a set of fangs popped out. Those were some of the very few times I’d tied one on as a Vampyre.

“How about once we find my brother and kick his ass for bringing us here, we watch every cheesy Vampyre movie ever made,” she suggested with wide and excited eyes.

She looked like a child on Christmas morning. I wanted to laugh and kiss her senseless. “What do I get if I take part in this mind numbing activity with you?”

“Ummm… what do you want?” she asked with a lopsided grin.

“Actually, I have everything I’ve ever wanted, but… ”

“But what?”

She stood up on her toes and tried to go nose to nose with me. This of course was impossible due to our height difference so I lifted her up to aid her in her quest. With her breasts mashed against my chest and my erection making me slightly dizzy, I forgot what we were talking about. The only thought in my brain was to get her naked.

“But what?” she repeated, enjoying my lust addled confusion.

“What was the question again?”

“You are such a guy.” She groaned and nipped at my lips.

“And that’s a problem?” I asked as I ground the evidence of my guy-ness into her girl-ness.

“Not a problem at all. When the blood returns to your brain you can set your terms. But right now we need to find Gareth,” she said as she pressed her lips to mine and slid back to the ground.

She was correct and for the life of me I still couldn’t figure out what the question had been. Honestly, I didn’t give a fuck. Holding her and knowing she was mine trumped pretty much anything at the moment.

“I’ll get back to you on terms and you will get behind me,” I told her as I adjusted my pants and started moving toward where I sensed Gareth.

“Yes, sir…
master
,” she quipped with another snort and a quick grab of my ass.

“Hands to yourself, Red… or we’re going to have hot monkey sex in a tomb,” I warned.

“Promises, promises,” she muttered as she pushed me along.

I silently willed my dick to behave. It wouldn’t endear me to her brother if I was jack-knifed over because of a raging erection for his sister.

No. Wouldn’t do at all.

Chapter 14

I was correct. I’d sensed Gareth.

But he wasn’t the same man I remembered—not by a long shot.

“Well, well, well, it’s about time, sister o’mine. It was getting quite boring down here with only the rats to converse with,” Gareth quipped weakly with a confidence that belied his haggard appearance. His accent was unique—British tinged with a bit of Russian.

He was heavily chained with silver and trapped in a filthy cage warded by very dark magic. The enchantment held Raquel and me about a foot back from the bars and sizzled with menace.

I hadn’t seen Gareth in approximately a decade—mere minutes in Vampyre time, but I didn’t remember him looking anything like he did now. He’d been a striking man and stood at least six foot four. However, he appeared to have shrunk… and aged.

How was that possible? We were immortal for God’s sake. We stopped aging around thirty.

He looked at least forty-five. His jet black hair was laced with grey. His blue eyes were dull with a world weariness and his face was gaunt. This was not the vibrant, arrogant asshole I’d spent many violently pleasurable hours with, but at least his personality still seemed intact.

I stared at Gareth in shock. His pained laugh knocked me back into stark reality.

“Raquel dear, I haven’t been laid in a month. I think my balls may have shrunk back up into my stomach which is not helpful to my reputation. Heathcliff my man, good to see you. As you can see, I’m in a bit of a bind here and was hoping you could help me out. All bad puns intended.”

Raquel paled as she took in the horrific sight of her brother. Her slim hand covered her mouth and tears ran down her cheeks. “What happened to you?” she whispered in a strangled voice.

“Good question. I may have fucked the wrong gal,” he mused with a smile on his lips that didn’t come close to reaching his eyes.

“Stop it,” she hissed and tried to approach the bars of the cage.

Her attempt to get closer was in vain. The magic hissed and turned a vicious and sparkling blood red. It curled into the shape of large hands and threw her back. I caught her in my arms and held her firmly. There was no way in Hell she was doing that again. Whoever had warded the cell was determined to keep Gareth inside and all others away. The magic was powerful and as black as they came.

“Who put you here?” I asked as I kept a solid hold on Raquel in case she tried again.

Gareth observed my grip on his sister with great interest. With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, he chuckled. “As to your question—I have no fucking idea who put me here. But I have a question for you… Is there something the two of you would like to share?”

“Heathcliff and I are mated,” Raquel said as she stared at her brother.

He was silent and watched her strangely. “You’re serious?” he asked as he attempted to stand.

His chains weighed him down and he fell to the floor with a sickening thud. I felt Raquel’s gasp in the pit of my stomach. My instinct was to lash out at him. Did he too think I wasn’t good enough for his sister? The simple fact that his pride was suffering blows more painful than any words I could throw at him was the only thing that held me back.

He crawled to the edge of the cage and tried to reach for his sister. The spell zapped him and his weak form was blasted back to the corner of his prison.

“Gareth,” Raquel screamed.

Blood poured from a wound above his eyebrow and he quickly put up a hand to halt any idea she had of trying to approach him.

“Stay,” he commanded. “Don’t come near me.”

“You’re dying,” she whispered brokenly. “You’re aging and dying.”

“Yes, well that sucks for me, doesn’t it?” he replied wearily. “I am happy for you, beloved sister of mine—and for you, Heathcliff. I am forever in your debt for saving her and loving her.”

“I’ve always loved her,” I told the man whose intentions I’d misunderstood.

“Yes, well, you didn’t give up. You broke the curse. My sister is something of a conundrum with a conscience. Quite frustrating if you ask me.”

“No one asked you,” she snapped.

“Touché,” he shot back with a smile.

“I didn’t kill him,” she told her brother. “And he didn’t care if I did. He loves me.”

“Then he’s just as crazy as you are little sister. You two should be very happy together,” Gareth said as he mopped at the blood pouring down his face.

“How long have you been down here?” I asked as I assessed the area for cameras or any other recording equipment. It was clean.

“A month—a day. I don’t know. Somehow I lost track of time. My brain is muddled,” he said and then shook his head in confusion.

A Vampyre of his age could go a long time without drinking blood, but in his compromised state this was clearly not the case—even a day was too long in his condition. The silver chains alone had stolen much of his power and strength.

Gareth needed to feed, but getting it to him was an issue.