Jacob’s anger and worry at discovering Grace had left the library alone erupted into mindless fury as he interceded the two rogues reaching for her, malicious intent written all over their faces. He tried to rein in his anger, but when the one on his right lunged at him with a snarl, he lost control and with one back handed swipe, knocked him to the ground, leaving him in a stunned heap as the other one came at him with a knife.
The rogue went nuts, punching at him with one hand, jabbing him with the knife with the other. Knowing he needed to get as much information from him as possible, he tried to deflect the blows without killing the son of a bitch but all that got him was a stinging slice across his forearm. Jacob’s fangs sprang from his gums as he smelled the metallic odor of his own blood. Not being able to claim the mate he had waited so long to find topped his list of why that small injury sent his rage flying out of control and with a snarl of fury, he grabbed the rogue by the back of his head. With a violent twist of his arm, he snapped his neck, killing him instantly then pierced his dead heart with his own blade, his body nothing but a pile of ashes before he hit the ground.
A cry from Grace behind him had him lunging after the other rogue who had roused enough to attempt to get to her. Wrestling him to the ground, he fought the mindless demon hand to hand, managed to avoid getting cut again by his blade before pinning him with an arm across his neck. “Who sent you?” he rasped, tightening his arm a fraction before easing enough to let him talk.
“Fuck you,” the foul smelling being managed before reaching out and grabbing his knife from where it had fallen from his hand and plunging it into the side of his own neck.
Jacob had no doubt he had acted on orders from his maker and had no choice but to gore his heart, smoking him to ashes without getting any answers. Rising, he turned to Grace who was staring wide eyed at him, a mixture of relief and fear on her pale face. As he took a step toward her, she cringed back, a move that only added fuel to the firestorm of rage still consuming him.
“Don’t,” he bit out. “Don’t cower from me as if I’m no better than they were. I can understand why you couldn’t take my word for it that I mean you no harm, but I don’t understand why you didn’t listen to Abby.” The abject terror on her face wasn’t enough to quell his anger even though he realized he was her worst nightmare relived. He needed a way to get through to her simply because without her cooperation, he couldn’t keep her safe. He knew his anger was fueled by knowing what would have happened to her had he arrived just a few minutes later
“I’m sorry. I saw, I see you’re not like them…” Grace stammered to a halt, not sure how to explain it was the whole situation she feared, not just him. Gone was the remorseful rescuer she had faced last night and in his stead was a man whose huge body was practically vibrating with rage, a man with glowing red eyes and lethal looking fangs much like those of the creatures he had just killed, yet she didn’t fear him nearly as she had the other two. Unbelievably, her body was having the same response to his nearness as it had earlier despite the fact she had just come close to being dinner for two very evil monsters, which did nothing but confuse her further. If the hard bulge straining against his black leather pants was any indication, Jacob’s reaction mirrored her own and she had to reluctantly admit that the shiver that went through her at that thought wasn’t because of fear.
“I don’t think you do,” Jacob interrupted her, fighting his own body’s response to his mate. His cock was hard enough to pound nails, his palm itching with a heated pulse that was distracting at best. Ruthlessly shoving aside his need to simply take what was his, to take her against the wall with the remnants of death surrounding them; he pulled her next to him and glared down into her wary blue eyes, her small, curvy body igniting his simmering lust to the point of pain. Cursing, he snarled, “But I know a sure way to show you what they’re capable of. Hold on.”
Shimmering, Jacob took her to the morgue, hoping he wasn’t irrevocably losing any chance he had to see if they could make anything of their connection. They landed in the darkened morgue, Grace’s gasp and rigid body telling him she knew where they were. Using his preternatural vision, he located the drawer where Marie’s body still lay and opened it up.
“This is what would have happened to you had I arrived a few minutes later, only they probably would’ve raped you first. She was targeted simply because she was someone special to Damien. Imagine what they’d do to someone who was a potential mate.”
For the first time, Grace was grateful for Jacob’s tight hold on her as she stared down at the ravaged body of what was once a beautiful woman. Cuts and bruises marred her otherwise flawless skin, deep puncture marks from her neck down to her thighs made her shiver in horror. “Take me out of here. Please, Jacob.”
This time, Grace was prepared for the disorientation as they suddenly arrived inside her apartment and she took a moment to cling to Jacob’s much taller, much harder body before stepping away from him. She should have found his tight hold, the feel of his muscled strength against her repelling, but instead of the invading cold she experienced every time Mason came near her, Jacob’s closeness only generated body enveloping heat. The sight of her ransacked apartment took her mind off her confusing response and she looked around with a sinking feeling of despair.
“Why would they do this?” she asked him as she took in the knife gauging rips in her sofa, the smashed television and her destroyed computer.
“They have no conscience, Grace. My guess is they were criminals before they were turned and the enhanced pleasures of their vampiric state only made them worse, especially since there’s virtually no way they’ll get caught. Whoever made them, and we have an idea who that might be, made sure they were completely loyal to her and would do her bidding if caught.”
“How?” Grace watched him move around her small apartment, his eyes and teeth back to normal, his face not nearly as scary as it had been when he was fighting off her would-be attackers.
“Brainwashing, for lack of a better term. She gets them addicted to the bloodlust, taking blood during sex, and they soon exist for nothing else but the pleasure of pleasing her and getting their next fix. We need to leave in case any of your neighbors heard them and called the cops. Get what you need for now and we’ll clean this up later.”
“I’ll just grab a few changes of clothes and my toiletries. Give me a minute, please,” she said as he made to follow her down the short hall to her bedroom.
After viewing Marie’s ravaged body, Jacob didn’t expect her to argue about returning to the plantation with him, but her calm, resigned attitude surprised him. He didn’t want her cowed or afraid, he just wanted her safe. Nodding, he simply replied, “Hurry.”
“I am not ever going to get used to that,” Grace mumbled when they returned to the plantation house, suddenly appearing in the dramatic twenty-foot high entry foyer. As soon as her disorientation cleared, she stepped away from Jacob. The brief look of bleak resignation that crossed his face was quickly masked, but left her feeling guilty, as if she was solely responsible for it in the first place. “If you’re going to insist on hauling me around, can’t you do it like a normal person? Cars have been a great mode of transportation for quite some time now.”
Jacob smiled at her sarcasm, glad to see her spirit hadn’t been completely beaten down by the shocks of the past few hours. Her immediate rejection of him when they materialized had hurt, but he had to admit she was holding up well given all she had been through lately. “Next time I pick you up from work, I’ll do so in a more conventional manner.” Despite knowing she was still recuperating from all she had been through, it was becoming increasingly difficult to be so close to her without giving in to the urge to touch, to take what was his. If he wasn’t expected to join Jon on patrol tonight, he’d be tempted to stop in and spend an hour or two with Daisy and Mandy just to relieve the constant ache from the erection he had been sporting since rescuing Grace last night. They weren’t who he wanted, who his body was craving and practically demanding he fuck, but it was either that or stay away from Grace, and that simply wasn’t an option for him. With a stern order for his cock to behave, he said, “I have to go. Abby’s car is out front, so she and Damien are here. You can unpack your things in my room. I’ve relocated to another room,” he told her hoping to set her mind at ease on that score. “Can I trust you to stay here, where I know you’ll be safe?”
r /> Grace could detect nothing but concern on his face, and, despite knowing what he and Damien were; she believed she was safer with them than on her own right now. “I’ll stay here at night until it’s safe for me to return home.”
Relieved, Jacob took what he could get for now and her cooperation was the first step in gaining her trust. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”
Grace blinked rapidly as he shimmered out of sight. “Weird, just plain weird,” she muttered as she picked up the bag she had packed and started up the wide, majestic stair case with it. From what she had seen of both the exterior and interior of the pre-civil war era home, the house maintained all the grandeur of its past glory. The huge mansion was the epitome of luxury, space and graciousness, the rooms she had seen filled with well-preserved antiques strategically placed among more modern furnishings. The exterior was the very picture of Southern hospitality with its columned porch and galleries that looked like they extended around all four sides of the house. The brief glimpse she got as she left with Abby this morning was of tall French windows that swung open to allow the breeze to cool the interior while green wooden shutters filtered the southern sunlight.
Her bathroom and the brief look she got of the kitchen this morning when she grabbed a cup of coffee before leaving, held all the modern conveniences of the twenty-first century set within a backdrop of old world charm. Setting her bag on the bed, she pulled out her clothes and found room in Jacob’s closet to hang them. Looking at his clothes, she saw styles that dated back decades, making her wonder how old he was, how long he had lived here and where he was originally from. Not only was she still reeling from the difference in Jacob’s demeanor from concerned rescuer last night to enraged, avenging vampire tonight, she now found herself wondering about a man who had seen and done things she had only read about in history books.
Thirty minutes later, hunger drove her downstairs and she was pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen completely stocked, raising more questions about her hosts and what was true and what was fiction when it came to their undead state. While fixing and eating a salad, she found herself thinking of Jacob more out of curiosity than fear. Rubbing her finger over the mark on her neck, she felt a small jolt that was reciprocated in her nipples and pussy, but nothing like the warm, pulsing, erotic ache she experienced when Jacob was near.
For a woman of twenty-nine who had never had much interest in sex, these new feelings were difficult to ignore. Thus far she hadn’t given any credence to Abby’s explanation about her being Jacob’s mate, compatible only with him, drawn only to him with these enhanced sexual pulls. It was just gratitude, she told herself over and over even though she didn’t believe that. She may be glad he and the other two had come to her rescue, but it was one of their kind that had drawn her into their violent world, had caused her so much trauma, had apparently put a target on her back for these more dangerous creatures, and that was something she couldn’t forget.
After finishing her salad, she decided she needed to take her mind off Jacob and went in search of Abby to ask the other woman if she would give her a tour of the estate and grounds. If she was going to be staying here for a while, she needed to learn her way around the huge estate. The converted ballroom she had glimpsed from the foyer was empty, so she went down the hall where she heard the murmur of voices. All thoughts of asking Abby for a tour flew out of her head when she found her in a small parlor straddling Damien’s lap, her naked body bowed back as she lifted herself off Damien’s hard cock with slow, undulating motions.
It wasn’t the intrusion on such an intimate act that kept her rooted in the doorway, her eyes glued to the couple instead of fleeing in mortification. It was the look of pure ecstasy on Abby’s face, her eyes glazed with pleasure that kept her watching and had her wondering. Just because she had never experienced much pleasure in sex didn’t mean she wasn’t aware that she had been missing out on something special, but seeing the ecstasy she had been denied reflected so openly on Abby’s face and the blatant response of her body to Damien’s hard, forceful upward thrusts, had her longing to experience what she had so obviously been missing.
Her own nipples beaded into tight pinpoints that felt like Abby’s looked, her pussy creaming, swelling in need as she watched the way Abby’s folds enveloped Damien’s cock, the gleaming moisture coating his shaft proof of her own highly aroused state. Abby cried out when Damien slapped her ass as she lifted again, his mouth descending at the same time to draw on one of her distended nipples. Grace shuddered as she wrestled with the idea that that slap could make Abby even more excited, but by the looks of her, that’s exactly what it did. She was glad she couldn’t see the look on Damien’s face. She feared it might mirror that on Mason’s when he was about to climax, the look of a vampire ready to stake his claim by sinking his fangs into her soft, vulnerable flesh. But when he made no attempt to do so, even as they both sped up their movements, Abby’s soft cries and Damien’s deep moans signaling their release, she had to give him credit for his restraint.
Grace shifted her eyes from the couple only to gasp in shock as she spotted another man seated in the far corner calmly watching the other couple. She recognized him as the third man who had come to her rescue last night, his sheer size alone making him unforgettable. Her gasp drew the attention of all three and she turned to flee in embarrassment when she was drawn up short by the other man suddenly appearing before her, blocking her path. She quickly took a step back, her aroused body instantly going cold with fear.