TangledIndulgence Page 8

  Her transfer to Hadamard.

  Walking into the bar and fighting with Mal.

  Storming off into the club. Discovering a side of herself she didn’t know she had.

  The amazing sex with Mal, his care and utter concentration on bringing her off until they finally made love.

  Using Marissa as bait and losing her.

  Adira’s heart clenched. Whatever the young woman suffered through right now was on her head.

  Realizing she loved Mal.

  And then agreeing to become a Vampire, to leave her life behind and become something totally new.

  Be linked to a man who had a fully functioning team and didn’t really need a newbie Vamp. Adira had never before doubted her capability as a Sentinel. Being this insecure in the face of Mal and his Superheroes shook her.

  Mal tightened his grip on her until it grew nearly painful. Never ever think that again. You are my life. There will never be a moment in time when I don’t need you. But more than that you are an extremely skilled Sentinel with years of experience. Whatever Vampire powers you develop will only make you more dangerous. My team and I would be honored if you join us.

  She turned around and clung to Mal, her face pressed into his neck, inhaling his scent, hanging on to his hard body in an attempt to come to terms with the new her.

  His words unclenched a tightly held part of her she hadn’t even known was in lockdown.

  He held her pressed against him, saying nothing else. He was just there, like a boulder in stormy waters.

  And her life was a fucking hurricane.

  Slowly, but steadily she gathered control again. Adira had never before had a panic attack, but this one had been a doozy. With a sigh she cuddled into Mal, no longer clinging on for dear life but holding him.

  His palm stroked up and down her back. Better?

  She nodded, loving his voice in her head.

  He laughed. Then I will talk nonstop until you want nothing more than for me to shut up.

  She smiled and nipped his neck. And froze.

  Yes, that will be yours for the rest of our lives. You will feed only from me.

  Adira swallowed. I’m still a little creeped out by the thought of drinking blood.

  That’s okay. I can ensure it doesn’t taste like blood but something you enjoy. You’ll get used to it with time.

  She nodded. Her thoughts went back to the young woman she could have saved but didn’t.

  We will find her, never doubt it, but we need to have a plan. It’s no good if the Superheroes go off half-cocked and all die. He kissed her neck. I have the team working on all leads.

  Adira sighed and nodded. Thank you.

  She shifted slightly. His hard dick rubbed against her stomach. Her core clenched. She moved her hips, rubbing against the soft skin of his cock. “Looks painful.”

  Mal cupped her ass and pushed against her. “Only if I had no way to take care of it.”

  Sparks shot through her. “Good thing then that you do.” Her voice grew husky as he slid one of her legs over his hip and turned her on her back. His erection rubbed against her moist slit, making her wetter and wetter.

  She drove her hands into his hair as he pulled her into a deep kiss. She sucked on his tongue, making him growl. So she did it again, wallowing in his taste.

  Mal pulled back and kissed his way down her neck. She moaned in delight when he hit the sensitive spot where neck met shoulder. Her nipples were hard and she rubbed them against the coarse hair decorating his chest, raising their sensitivity through the roof. They tightened even more, making her whimper.

  He followed her unspoken demand and sucked one hard tip into his mouth, his lips and tongue playing with the peak until she clenched her fingers in his hair and growled. His laughter echoed along the link as he sucked her nipple with strong movements. His hand hadn’t been idle, but worked on the other.

  Adira slid her fingers down his nape and dug her nails into his shoulders. The pleasure racing through her body was beyond anything and it was pushed even higher by the shared sensations traversing the link. She didn’t just feel Mal sucking her nipple, she also experienced what it was like to do so.

  Sensations, impressions, pleasure so strong it came close to pain.

  She never wanted it to end, but the need to feel his hard length inside her, to be linked to him not just mentally but physically, won out. Mal.

  Yesss! He nipped her nipple one last time and stroked up her upper thigh until he cupped her ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her feet behind his back. Mal pulled back and the tip of him slid inside her. She clenched around him, moisture flooding his cock head.

  They moaned in unison as he slid inside her tight sheath with one hard stroke.

  Adira drowned in the shared sensations. Knowing what Mal’s thrusts did to her as well as how her tight cunt felt to him was unbelievable.

  But it wasn’t just the ecstasy. It was also the soul-deep connection, the bond between them, the love that held them together. A brand-new love that also felt ancient. Their love increased the sensations by a thousand. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hang on before shattering into a million pieces.

  Mal drove into her, his plunges now short and hard. She clung to him, raking her nails down his back, tightening the grip of her thighs around his waist.

  Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her mouth and her fangs dropped. For a second she froze, but then the pleasure dragged her back into the melee.

  Do it. Mal’s husky voice, the need radiating from him, the demand that she took him willingly was enough for Adira to overcome her hesitations. This was Mal. If she couldn’t enjoy biting him she had no idea how she’d cope with her new life.

  Before she could think twice she sank her teeth into his neck.

  Life. Love. Ecstasy.

  She forgot she drank blood. She took a part of Mal inside herself, shared incredible intimacy with the man she loved.

  Adira licked the wound closed and clung to Mal as he drove them to the end.

  Bite me.

  Her words tightened every muscle in his body, but he wasted no time. His fangs sank into her breast and she exploded in pure ecstasy.

  Her pulsing core catapulted Mal over the edge.

  The world around them disappeared. Reality became a dream. All that was important was their touch, their link.

  They floated in limbo for what felt like hours. Finally, Mal licked the wound at her breast closed and slumped across her. Shivers of pleasure chased through her intermittently. Her legs slid off his hips and one hand flopped at her side. The other was still tangled in his hair. She managed to caress his nape. We will kill each other with pleasure.

  He laughed, the vibration shifting his half-hard cock inside her.

  She hissed.

  Mal murmured words of comfort as he slowly pulled out and rolled to his back, holding her tight against his chest.

  What a way to go.

  Adira had to smile. I love you.

  Mal looked at her and the emotions in his eyes brought tears to hers. I love you too. No matter what, always know I am at your side.

  The kiss they shared was a promise, a vow for the future.

  Despite the mind-shattering climax she’d just experienced, his heat and scent so close to her, the pleasure so close to the surface, she was thinking about round two.

  At least until a sharp knock sounded on the front door.

  They looked at each other. Mal frowned. “The team is busy tracking down any and all leads on yesterday’s transport. They would have known to message before coming.”

  She stroked her hand across his chest, her fingers teasing his nipple. “We can just stay in bed and wait for them to go away.”

  “I like your plan.”

  Mal drew her close for a soft kiss, but pulled back when a clicking sound echoed through the house and the front door opened.

  He jumped out of bed and grabbed his gun. Adira followed his example, but added hi
s shirt to her ensemble.

  “Malachy?” A male voice echoed through the house.

  His muscles unbunched, but his face remained grim. “He’s a friend,” he said as he pulled on his trousers.

  “A friend who just walks in on you?” Adira found her underwear and trousers and donned them. “And was that the lock I just heard?”

  “Yes, your ability to hear has increased substantially. And he’s a friend who will be in pieces unless he has an extremely good reason to disturb us.”

  Mal holstered his weapon and strode to the door. At the top of the landing he leaned on the bannister and looked below. “What the fuck do you want, Duncan? And why do you think it’s all right to just barge in?”

  Two Vampires stood just inside the doorway. The one Mal had called Duncan stood about six-four, had raven-black hair and gray eyes. He was sleekly muscled. The other stood six-three, was bulkier than his partner, but the way he stood showed he’d be a problem in a fight. Long black-blue hair and silver eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Mal, but we need your help.”

  Mal grimaced and walked down the stairs. “Adira, meet Duncan O’Clare, friend and pain in the ass. Duncan, this is Adira, my lifemate.”

  They did that man embrace where they half hugged, half slapped each other on the back.

  Duncan nodded to her. “Adira Kapur, we have heard a lot about you and everything good.” He gestured to the other Vampire. “Please let me introduce Nikolai Ranweth. He’s a friend and works for the Council.”

  Nikolai shook both their hands.

  Mal took her hand. “Let’s take a seat.” They settled in the seating area. He looked at Duncan. “What’s up?”

  Nikolai leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. “We are here for two reasons. You helped take down a human gang selling other humans into slavery last night?”

  Mal frowned and rubbed his thumb across Adira’s fingers. “Yes, we stopped one shipment and potentially took out a chunk of the group, but I’m not yet certain that we cut off the gang’s head for good.”

  “You did when Jim Sturrs was killed.”

  “That wasn’t us,” Adira interrupted. “Whoever came to receive the shipment killed Jim when we arrived on scene.”

  “Did they take anyone with them when they escaped?” Duncan scooted to the edge of the seat. “Did you see a young woman with them?”

  “Do you have a picture?”

  Duncan pulled a small comp from his pocket. “It’s a little out of date. Sydney hasn’t allowed anyone to take her picture for some time.”

  Adira pulled the image closer. It showed a statuesque woman with a svelte body, long, strawberry-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. “It’s her, but when I saw her last night she’d lost substantial weight and her hair was short, like a pixie cut. I only saw her for a few seconds, but she put up quite the fight. In the end one of the me—sorry, Vampires, punched her and she passed out.”

  Duncan jumped to his feet and paced along the seating area.

  “Who is she?” Mal asked.

  “My lifemate’s best friend.”

  Mal frowned. “Aren’t you mated to a Naema? Is she a Naema too?”

  Duncan nodded.

  “Why would Miguel Calatrave take your mate’s friend?”

  Silence.

  The tension in the room shot through the roof.

  “What do you know of the Spaniard?” An edge had appeared in Nikolai’s voice.

  “He is the one who killed Jim and took the Naema and a young woman we weren’t able to save.”

  Duncan and Nikolai exchanged a glance.

  “Tell us what’s going on,” Adira demanded. “This is more than human trafficking.”

  Nikolai turned to her, but remained silent.

  “Sydney is gifted with numbers and has been helping us with a major case,” Duncan interjected. “She told us she’d made an important breakthrough, but wanted to check it out before she presented the information to us.”

  Adira set the comp down. “Looks like her breakthrough pushed her in the path of the wrong people.”

  Mal hadn’t taken his eyes off Nikolai but now turned to his old friend. “What is going on, Duncan? You didn’t come here to ask if I saw your mate’s friend.”

  Duncan paused. “Not only. Mal, I need you and your team to help a Council investigation.”

  “No. You know how I feel about the Council.”

  “If you won’t help,” Nikolai’s interruption stopped Duncan from responding to Mal’s words, “maybe your mate will.” He turned to Adira. “Sentinel Kapur, you have been asking a lot of questions regarding the disappearances of fringe group people. You’ve made progress and presented evidence against a number of human gang members, but none of your superiors allowed you to act.”

  Adira narrowed her gaze at the Vampire and crossed her arms over her chest. “So?”

  Nikolai smiled. “Your diligence—or should I call it obsession? Your attention to the cases resulted in your transfer to Hadamard. I came to offer you a position with a Special Forces Unit of the Vampire Council, which is investigating the disappearances. Originally it was in a support capacity as the enemy is Paranormal and therefore too dangerous. But now that you are a Vampire yourself you are capable of going into the field. Would you like to take down the bastards who have been feeding off your people for the last year or so?”

  Adira’s heart rate went through the roof. She grasped Mal’s hand. I need to find her.

  Mal didn’t ask who she meant. He knew she had no choice but to find Marissa. She’d disappeared on the same shuttle as Duncan’s mate’s friend.

  Why don’t you want to work for the Council?

  Mal growled. They always look after their interests first before taking care of their men. Most of them have no honor.

  “I don’t work for or with people who don’t share all their information.”

  “We can’t share our information unless you work for us. This is of the highest security clearance and we can’t risk information leaking.” Nikolai didn’t flinch from her demand.

  What do you think? Adira asked Mal.

  Duncan knows my feelings about the Council. He wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.

  “Mal and I will join you, but we will not work for the Council. We will work with you and only if you share. The minute we find out you’ve held anything back the Superheroes and I are gone.”

  Duncan snorted. “The Superheroes? Damn, if they ever hear that description they won’t fit through doors any longer, their egos will be too big.”

  Nikolai smirked. “They already have trouble fitting through doors. I like the title, as long as they don’t start wearing tights.”

  Mal didn’t join their humor. “What have you got?”

  The Vampires grew serious. “For close to a year Ferals have been kidnapping and trafficking humans as blood slaves. We have managed to take down a few of the higher-ups, but the leader is still unknown and unchallenged. Basically we’re putting out fires, but have no way to take away the kindling.”

  Adira gaped. The peace between humans and Vampires was based on the assurance no Vampire would treat humans as cattle. Ferals were those Vampires who didn’t follow the rules and were hunted for their crimes. But as far as she had been aware, Ferals were the exception. If what Nikolai said was correct far more Vampires than ever imagined had gone over to the dark side.

  This trafficking ring could break the uneasy truce.

  They could be facing another galaxy-wide war.

  Mal took her hand. This group is unlike any Feral problem we have ever encountered. They sound smart, organized and appear to have a long-term plan in place.

  “And now you’ve seen Calatrave with them we’re in even deeper shit.” Duncan sank next to Nikolai on the sofa.

  Who is this Vampire? Adira asked.

  He is one of the oldest of us and has a reputation for being a fierce and nearly undefeatable fighter. From what I’ve heard he always achieve
s his goals, no matter how long it takes.

  “And you think this Calatrave is the leader of the Ferals?” Adira asked.

  Nikolai looked suddenly tired. “I never would have thought so, but then I never imagined him part of this group. I’d always thought of him as a man of honor and not someone who would abuse those weaker than him.”

  Duncan gripped his shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe the Spaniard has a good reason for being part of this gang.”

  Nikolai only looked at him.

  Regret flickered through Adira at the other Vampire’s betrayal, but she had only one focus now. Save Marissa and as many of the victims as possible.

  Failure was not an option.

  Mal pulled her close and kissed her. I love you.

  Adira smiled and kissed him back. I love you too. Now let’s call your team and see what they have found.

  She had no idea where this investigation would lead, but she knew that with Mal at her side the young woman she’d sacrificed stood a much better chance.

  They would take down whoever had dared to take her people.

  And now she no longer had to follow human laws.

  The other guy, whoever he may be, didn’t stand a chance.

  About Tina Christopher

  Tina Christopher spent her early years flitting across the Channel between Germany and England. After touring the world extensively, she finally laid down roots in Toronto. And while Canada’s winters may be frigid, Tina’s characters are anything but!

  Like most writers, Tina often hears voices in her head, but it took the encouragement of an editor friend before she actually put fingers to keyboard. While those first stories will never see the light of day, she’s subsequently honed her craft and learned to build not just worlds, but entire galaxies. Her first book from Ellora’s Cave features a galaxy filled with Vampires, Humans and angel-like aliens called Naema.

  When not imagining faraway worlds and scorching-hot encounters, Tina can be found on her sofa working through her never-ending TBR pile or venturing into the real world—whether to a nearby café or a passport-required destination. She’s a member of RWA’s Toronto chapter. Her two degrees in environmental conservation, majoring in large animal studies, come in handy when wrestling with supernatural beasties.