Chapter 1 Sig

 

My fingers wrapped firmly around the steering wheel as I took to the highway. I was on a mission to find a girl. One that stirred up my insides just a pinch. I’d met her in a coffee shop called the Groove Brew. A funky little place that had a super retro style my best friend Ryane would love. I’d have brought her with me, but she was a newly turned Vampire now, and I wasn’t sure how all those fresh clean necks would affect her. Besides, who brings a girl with you while looking for another? That would be crazy.

I’d had the girl’s number. She’d given it to me after a snarky exchange and some hard flirting. She told me to call her, and I would have, but the cup got damaged and I couldn’t read it. So, on Ryane’s suggestion, I’m driving forty minutes into town to see if I can catch her at work.

 

***

 

It took me twenty minutes to find a parking spot, as it was, it was a block away. I walked briskly, but not fast enough to raise my heart, although it was already racing. Last thing I wanted was to be running in there looking for her like some dammed deranged stalker Dragon. The shop came into view and I steeled myself. Took a couple deep breaths and opened the door. The smell of the coffee hit me first, relaxing my nerves. I loved the scent of fresh ground beans. It reminded me of growing up.

My parents had owned a boulangerie, and always served the freshest coffees and finest teas with the pastries. I used to love being in the shop when they worked, I loved to help them. It always made me feel good… Useful.

There was a line. Fuck. It figured. It was like seven in the morning on a Sunday, shouldn’t these people be in a church or something? I scented the air, it was faint but I could still smell her. I lifted my head, looking over the crowd in front of me. I didn’t see her. Just a few guys at the counter. Damn. Maybe she’s in the back. I hoped. I stepped out of line looking at the décor, waiting to see if she’d show up. A lot of the stuff was price tagged. Good, at least I looked like I was shopping. I did spy an old fashioned record player that was bundled with a band from the twentieth century called The Doors. I wondered if they were any good. Maybe Ryane would like it. I picked it up, and since the line had filtered down to stragglers I took my chance. By the time I got to the counter there wasn’t anyone left behind me.

“Hey there man, what can I do you for? Welcome to the Groove Brew,” the fellow behind the counter greeted me. He couldn’t have been more than seventeen, but like the girl I was looking for, he wore black pants and a red shirt with the company name on the chest.

“This contraption, a double espresso with milk, and what kind of pastries do you have?”

“Today’s specials are lemon honey scones or chocolate almond biscotti. Both are pretty rad.”

Rad? Really? He’d said rad. I smirked. “Gimmie three of each, and throw in two large light and sweet coffees if you could.”

“No problem.”

I was flipping through the records that were stacked with the player when he started talking again.

“You pick that up for your girl?”

“A girl, not my girl.”

He looked me up and down with a keen smile.

Really? Do I vibe that way all of a sudden? I cleared my throat. “Speaking of the fairer sex. I was in here yesterday, there was a golden blond working.”

“That would be Aella. What did she do now?”

“Oh, nothing. I- I didn’t have enough on me for a tip, so I was wondering when she’d be back into work.” I hoped my thinly veiled lie would seem legit.

He laughed. “Well, Late August, early September I suspect. She left for Europe last night. Taking a summer in Amsterdam. Lucky bitch.”

“Fuck.” I couldn’t hold it in. He looked up at me with a shake of his head as he crated the coffees and bagged the sweets.

“Sorry, man. Guess you missed your window. That’ll be fifteen even, for the foodstuffs and a hundred twenty for the record player and the tunes.”

I handed him a hundred and forty. “Keep the change.” I stacked the coffees on top of the player, and took my bags and my disappointment out of the shop.

Amsterdam? The Seelie Court was in Amsterdam. Perhaps she was a servant to the Fey. It wouldn’t be so farfetched, but if that were true, what was she doing here? Gone until September. That was right, I forgot that it was June. With the upheaval of normal life from Keegan’s kidnapping, time had moved on without us. We wouldn’t be required to go back to the University until the Fall. The students of Grigori University would be going home until then, making ghosts of this town.

It was good though, it would give Keegan and Ryane time to adjust to their new situations. She had the Pepper Pot restaurant to attend to and decisions to make about her living arrangements. She had the townhouse on campus that she was renting through the school and the house left to her in Samuel’s will, along with all that money. Hell, she didn’t even need to finish school if she didn’t want to, she was set.

A sudden fear gripped me. What if she dropped out? What would I do? What would Keegan do? I sped up the truck, I had questions for them that needed some answers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2 Ryane

 

“I can’t believe he left me with such a mess,” I muttered to myself as I haphazardly dragged the new garbage bag to the front door. Sig had left in a hurry and didn’t much care that he was leaving me with a kitchen floor covered in fish fry and old coffee grounds.

Just as I was about to open the door to get rid of the trash, a knock came which proved to scare me right out of my skin. I jumped, dropping the bag on the floor by the door. I looked through the peephole to find, standing on the other side were two young women, one holding a dish of some kind, while the other was looking around rather conspicuously.

I cracked the door and they both looked up with smiles.

“Um, hi,” the taller of the two quipped. They looked sorta of familiar, but I couldn’t readily place them. “I’m Tessa, this is Kimmy.” She motioned to the Gawker, who waved sheepishly. They were both dressed fairly well for such an early morning.

“Okay… How can I help you two?” My stomach was grumbling and an odd sort of burn was starting. Was I thirsting?

“We um, well, we were friends of Samuel’s and we thought we’d bring this over for you.” Tessa lifted the dish to reveal a tart pan and the smell of apples and cinnamon filled my nostrils. “It’s a tart. My mother said it was appropriate to bring by food.”

“Um, alright… Thank you, both.” I reached out my hand to take the dish as they looked past me and inside curiously. The burn in my stomach tightened. “Uh, did you want to come in? I just made coffee.” I opened the door further, but they stepped back. No! My body screamed and my fingers dug into the doorframe tightly.

“We were on our way to church…” Kimmy answered reluctantly, as though telling me where they were headed was somehow wrong.

“I insist.” I pushed the door open all the way with my hip, the tart balanced in my free hand. I never let go of the doorframe.

“I guess for a few.” Tessa pushed Kimmy ahead of her, and I closed the door. Now it was their turn to jump. “Thanks.”

“No problem, Tessa was it?” She nodded. “Come

into the kitchen. How did you two know Sam, or that I was here for that matter?”

“Um, well, that’s sorta… Private,” Tessa answered back, a blush coming into her cheeks.

“I see.” So much for my illusions that Sam was a monk. Apparently, if my feelings from these two were right, he was sleeping with at least one of them.

“Cuz that answer didn’t just tell her,” Kimmy added as she sat down on the stool at the kitchen island. “We used to come play board games on Thursday nights and stay over, okay?” Kimmy finished begrudgingly as she looked around. “You don’t plan on selling this old place do you? He loved this house.”

“It wasn’t on my list of things to do. I wish you would relax a little. You seem really hostile.” I stared at her and she seemed to relax almost as soon as I’d suggested it.

“Sorry, it’s just losing Samuel sucks. He was a really great guy.”

“Yeah, and we just don’t get why he was at that abandoned warehouse.” Tessa pursed her lips. “Did he have something to do with what happened to that Deviant Class guy, Keegan?”

My chest tightened. Like the rest of the state, she’d heard about his kidnapping, probably from the newspapers and the tabloids. Were they here for a look? That sorta pissed me off to think about. “Sam was working, I suspect.”

“Yeah, Hunting. But I thought he had retired.” Tessa looked at the coffee pot longingly.

I couldn’t believe it, Sam had told the stories of his good old days to get into these two co-ed’s panties, and I was sure it made them drop in a soaking heap. “How did you want your coffee?” I asked as Tessa’s eyes roamed over to me. If I wasn’t so insecure I could have sworn she was checking me out. As it was Kimmy had fallen to dumb proportions as she sat on the stool with her feet up on the rungs lazily. She certainly looked relaxed now.

“I can fix it.” Tessa got up, coming around to me. “I know where everything is. Sam liked to be taken care of, especially after the Thursday doubles.” She bumped my hip playfully, sending a surge of energy into my center, making my insides twitch.

What the Hell? I wasn’t into girls, and yet the smell of this one, was intoxicating to me, and what’s more, she was flirting with me. She reminded me of spring, clean and fresh, as she reached over my head and her silky chestnut hair touched my arm for the briefest of moments. I cleared my throat with a nervous laugh.    “It’s-”

“Go have a seat, I can take care of this.” She pressed her hot pink manicured hand to my shoulder and I couldn’t help but smile as I sat down next to Kimmy.

I looked at them both and had this feeling that if I didn’t try too hard I could be tumbling with them both in no time, which sent a surge of heat through my already aching body. Where was Keegan when I needed him? “So Kimmy, I take it you both knew what Sam used to be into?”

“Yup, he was a god among them, but he didn’t work anymore.”

“I guess he must have talked about me, seeing as you knew I was here.”

“He used to brag about you all the time.” Tessa smiled as she put down the three coffees then went for the cream and sugar bowls. “Made me jealous, even though I hadn’t ever spoken to you. We both had Professor Jordan for Economics fourth period last semester.”

“That’s why you look familiar.” I took a sip of my coffee, it turned in my stomach. No coffee! Don’t leave me!

Kimmy didn’t touch hers, but she was staring at Tessa. “Tessa? You think we should go, maybe?”

“Oh, but you just got here. Stay, keep me company,” I coaxed as I made eye contact with Tessa, she seemed to be the decision maker of the pair.

“Kimmy you can go, but I think I wanna stay. See what develops.” A wide smile crossed her face, lighting up her blue-green eyes.

“Cuz that would happen. Aren’t you dating a Deviant? Specifically, the one in the papers? The one who was in the warehouse where Samuel died?”

I stared at her, anger brewing. “Are you accusing me of something?” I growled, surprising myself. “Don’t just stand there throwing insults, either woman up, get the fuck out, or shut the fuck up.”

Kimmy looked away, slouching into her seat, a slight tremble to her pinkish lips.

“Wow, you’ve got a temper.” Tessa brought my attention back to her with a grazing of her fingers over my hand on the counter. It sent a shiver up my arm and the burning in my gut was made worse.

“Not usually. Usually… I’m tame as a kitten.” I smiled at her hand still on mine. “You got a plan there? Honey? Or are you just gonna tease me?” I couldn’t believe what I was saying. Somehow it seemed to be working though.

“Oh, I can tease you for hours if you’d like.”

Kimmy snorted a short laugh. “She wouldn’t know what to do with you.”

“Oh, like you would?”

“I ever get a complaint out of you?”

Tessa turned beet red as she pulled her hand away from mine and slunk around the counter with a pouty look on her face. “Shh, that’s our secret. For Samuel’s eyes only.”

“Well, I’d love to see a bit of that,” I jested, but no sooner than I had finished saying it, Tessa was kissing Kimmy, and Kimmy was crushing her between her now open legs. “Oh- Well,” I stuttered as they made a mess of the kiss. It was over the top, but I guess Sam must have liked it like that. “Easy, there.” I put my hand out to separate them. “Don’t rush.”

They looked at me, and Tessa’s lips twisted up into a grin. She grabbed my stool and pulled me to them as I raised an eyebrow. Their hands were on my arms and they both made to kiss me. Their lips were soft like the edges of rose petals, as they parted mine, slipping their tongues inside, caressing and probing the cavernous space. It was a little awkward at first, but then there were two sets of hands on me, one pulling me in, the other making claims on my breasts. I pulled back from their kiss with a gasp, I needed air.

Tessa laughed as she pulled me toward her again. “Kimmy likes to watch me.” She whispered in my ear. Her breath was hot and made me groan as she licked my lobe.

“Then she should get her money’s worth.” I looked to Kimmy. “Just sit back and enjoy it,” I cooed, running my hand down her blouse, circling her hard little nipple through the thin fabric. She nodded with heavy lidded eyes. I grabbed Tessa by the head, assailing her with my mouth, feeling her fingers as they wrapped into my hair, scratching at my scalp. I licked down her throat and the feeling of her quickened pulse thumped against my tongue. I felt a twinge of pain in my mouth and realized my fangs had descended. I nipped at her neck and she jolted backward.

“Ouch!” She giggled, holding where I had pinched her. I could smell the blood I’d drawn and my stomach did an excited flip flop. “You bit me?”

“Yes, and I’m going to do it again, only now you are gonna like it,” I demanded gently, grabbing her by the head and shoulder. My head swam as I licked the blood that had seeped from the tiny pricks I’d made. Her blood, her essence, was tart and metallic, and I craved more of its tangy flavor. My brain seemed to shut off to everything around me as I broke the skin deeper this time, blood rising easily. She let out a hard yelp, and I covered her mouth on impulse, as the blood flowed steadily out of her and into me. I felt my whole body flex against her, my breasts rubbing against hers, as her chest heaved upward from the pressure I was using.

“Tessa?” Kimmy asked, worried. I picked up my head, blood still on my lips as I looked at her.

“Shh.” I put my finger up to my lips and Kimmy settled back down. “You’ll have your turn, don’t you worry.” I gave a pleased smile as Tessa let out a quiet whimper, but my hand over her opened mouth muffled her considerably. I went back for her throat, finding a better vein, and began to suck furiously. She had begun to twitch, when suddenly I felt strong arms around me pulling me backward. I tried to latch on to my prey, like a spider on a fly, but it was no use. I was off of her.

“Fuck, Ryane. You gotta learn to let go or you’ll kill them.” Keegan’s voice was right in my ringing ears as he held me with my arms crossed in front of me to restrain me. “How did you even manage this?”

I stopped flailing as Tessa slumped to the floor, her legs bundled under her. “I don’t know! I just got the feeling I could.”

“Empathic compulsion.” He let me go, and bent down to Tessa. Biting into the thick of his palm he pressed the wound against her neck, holding it there for a moment before pulling away. “You gotta be more careful. You really nearly killed her.”

“I’m sorry, I was just so hot, heavy and hungry suddenly. I couldn’t stop. She tastes so fucking good.” I licked my lips, still tasting her. I bent down to him, teasing a kiss from him. “See, it’s addictive isn’t it?”

He licked back the blood I had left on his lips with a nod. “It can be, when they are aroused. These two clearly are attracted to you. But where did they come from?”

“Friends of Sam’s apparently. How- What the Hell was I doing?” The fog was beginning to lift as Tessa moved on the floor. Kimmy was still silent and unmoving in her space.

“You were hungry and these two were receptive to your glamour and your compulsion. The Vampire side of you won out in this circumstance.”

“Will she be okay?”

Keegan nodded. “Sure, in a little while. Get her some orange juice and then you can try again. She wasn’t enough. I can tell from looking at you that you are still thirsty.”

“But won’t I hurt her?”

“Not her.” He looked to Kimmy who picked up her head, looking at him. “You, my little turtle dove, are going to help my girl here. You got that?”

Kimmy nodded and began to unbutton her blouse as I went to the fridge getting Tessa a large glass of orange juice.

“I didn’t know you could do that. That we could do this to people.” I nodded in Kimmy’s direction as Keegan lifted her up, taking her to the couch.

“We can, but some are more talented than others. You seem to be blessed.” He laid her down and waved me over.

“She’s all yours.”

“I don’t want to force anyone.” The idea that this could constitute as a form of rape crossed my mind.

“Thing about compulsions, you cannot make people do things they wouldn’t do anyhow. If this was completely out of the norm for these two they would have freaked out and been gone by now.”

I eyed him with suspicion.

He sighed a little laugh, watching Kimmy as she pushed herself into an upright position, “Don’t believe me, ask her.”

“I had a feeling about you two,” Kimmy spoke up groggily. “When I saw you in the courtyard, I knew that there was more to you.”

“In the courtyard?” I asked incredulously, bringing a smile to her face.

“I knew that you were like them. I used to work for Claudette, until she spooked and closed up shop last month.”

Keegan’s eyes narrowed, focusing in on her. “Claudette? You were a runner?”

She nodded with a proud smile. “I was, and I was good at it. Sex and blood, what a combination. But I’m sure you know that.”

“Do you know what happened to Claudette?”

She shook her head. “All I know is now I’m a free agent. Have my own list and everything. Money is good, but it’s dangerous.” She looked around. “I could use a nice posh gig or two.” Her tone was obvious. “I’d give you a great deal, and Tessa was looking to get into it, although it seems you’ve popped her cherry already.”

I was stunned, as Kimmy’s demeanor was so different from the girl who had walked in not so long ago.

Keegan shrugged his shoulders. “That’s up to you, my love, she’s not my type. Too easy to break.”

“I’m a Hell of a ride though.” She grabbed me by my shorts, pulling me down into a kiss, her hands sliding down past the elastic waistband to cup my ass firmly. She tasted like hot rain and I fell into her instantly, my hands keeping me hovering above her. I moved for her throat only to find Keegan’s hands on her too.

“Easy, there. Don’t go for it all at once,” He whispered. “Take a lesser vein. It bleeds slower and lets you take your time without hurting her.”

His fingers tapped her throat, showing me where to put my bite. I licked up to his fingers, pushing her blonde hair aside. She let out a moan, sliding her hands around to the front of me, as I bit down. Her blood spilled into my mouth and I writhed. She was a different flavor; spicy and deeply smooth. I quivered as I felt Keegan’s hands at my hips, pulling my shorts off of me, leaving me open to her wandering fingers. I groped her small breasts, leaving her throat to take a tall standing nipple into my mouth, my fangs rolling against it. My hunger was fierce as I opened her there as well. She shimmied under me, pushing me up, turning me onto my back. She sucked on her fingers and trailed them down me, tracing my opening before sliding them into me. Keegan grabbed my arms, holding them above me as she worked my insides to heated spasms.

I moaned and she pushed deeper inside me, her tongue finding my most sensitive spot. Keegan kissed me as I felt her slide her now naked body onto mine, her hard clit slick as she opened me up, rubbing it onto mine. I tried to sit up, my orgasm coming hard, but she pushed us down into the couch with her weight, rubbing harder on top of me, sliding and teasing me with her fingers between us. I looked down to see that she was covered in my bites as she shook to orgasm, little yelps escaping her parted lips. She fell down onto me, her fingers finding their way back to my clit as she rolled us to the side, bringing me to the top. She pushed me up, pulling me open with her thumbs to reposition me on her again and Keegan moved behind us. I heard the zipper of his pants and then felt his cock as it teased me. He pushed me onto Kimmy, so our chests collided and she wrapped her legs around me, lifting her throat to my mouth.

“Yes.” She murmured. “Fuck yes.” Her nails dug into my back as I bit her again, needing, wanting to drink all of her. Keegan slid up into me and I came with the first swallow. I opened up to him, as he fucked me, slowly, pushing me and my body harder against her. The stimulation had my head going fuzzy as I felt him slip out of me, and then against me. She moaned hard, as her body lifted. Having us both in such a state, he took the opportunity to slip into her, then back up into me. I could feel every thrust as we moved. He took to me, hard and fast, then pulled me up off of her, pounding me. She watched as he drove me senseless with every thrust, my gasps muted by his fingers in my mouth which I sucked with promise.

“Welcome to the Deviant Class,” he growled into my ear as he came inside me. “You’re in for a wicked ride.”