Captiva Master - Vampire Warewolf Menage Six Feet Under Series Book 4) (7 page)

She wasn’t going to pick through that statement. Instead, she asked, “Does control come with age?”

“More often than not, it depends on the vampire.” Snagging his remaining glove with a fang, he pulled it off and pocketed it before he gathered all the blood-soaked paper towels and her shirt. “Personally, I thrive on control.” Maestru formed a shiny transparent ball around the items gripped in his palm. With the other hand, he flicked his fingers, sparking a strange blue fire. Melding the ball with the fire, he pushed the flames upward, where the ball contained their destructive fury, until they dissolved Dakota’s shirt and the towels into powder. “Don’t look at the flame,” he told her when she gasped. “You’ll burn your retinas, and I’ll have to feed you far more than what you just sucked from my finger.” Stanching the fire, he popped the weird ball and shook off the dust. “When I first arrived here, I saw a familiar truck out back. Does it belong to Rock?”

“It’s Sixten Kovac’s,” she told him. “Rock said I could use it.”

“We’ll drive it back to Captiva Island.”

Dakota had never met a more stubborn man. But that was just it. He wasn’t a man. “Maybe you haven’t been listening, but I’m not going back to
your
house.”

“When I’ve offered you no other options, it’s you who isn’t listening.” He studied the ceiling as he walked to the display case and put on his long coat, his wide shoulders tensing beneath the leather, his jaw clenched. “We’re leaving.” Spinning, he wrapped his strong hands around her waist. “Now.”

Adam appeared at the back door right as Maestru and Dakota emerged from the store. “I tried to phone you.” He pointed to the sky, though his eyes locked onto Dakota. “They’re active tonight.” For the briefest second, Maestru watched a dark shadow, indicative of Adam’s shifter, rise above the male’s body, and then resettle beneath his skin. He wondered why the alien half of Adam was surfacing now.

As far as Lovci were concerned, Maestru noticed the hunt from inside the store, and he hadn’t a doubt they were zeroing in on Dakota’s location. “Adam, this is the lovely Dakota.” He tossed the keys at Adam’s waiting hand and thrust Dakota in his arms. Put her in that red truck over there.” Without another word, Adam tossed a sputtering Dakota over his shoulder and went at it.

Wisely, Maestru made the decision not to mist her. He didn’t know how the first taste of her blood would affect him, and he wanted to experience her inside his lair, affording them privacy. He also had a notion misting would spread her Donor molecules into the horizon, leaving trails for the hunters. Not that the Dynasty Empire would ever give away that sort of Intel. Sixten didn’t agree with Maestru, and they’d forever argued the validity of Maestru’s concern. As old as he was, he always went with his gut instincts, and risks concerning Dakota were something he would never take.

Maestru prodded the surrounding area with his senses, casting feelers in all directions, determining where exactly the hunters were headed. Two were circling the river and one was making a clear beeline their way.
Fantastic.
With his next heartbeat, he was at the driver’s side of the truck, making his way behind the steering wheel. Out of nowhere, Dakota honked the blasted horn, making his sensitive ears ring like the devil. Oh, this damned horn could shatter glass! “A Lovec, a Donor hunter, is a half mile away.” Gently but swiftly, he shoved her next to Adam, disengaging her from the offensive horn. “Have I not made it clear enough for you, that your blood is a distinct calling for practically every nefarious creature? Have I not made it clear enough for you that no matter who your friends are, I
will
be the one taking care of you?” He started the truck, threw it into gear, and fought his urge to spin out of the parking lot. Keeping it casual was his best bet, for at least as long as he could manage casual. “Why were you nailing that horn?” he asked through gritted teeth, his ears still ringing.

Dakota rubbed her breast furiously. “It was a boob honk, you ass!”

Immortals had died for calling him less. Thoughts of his palm smacking her curvy backside hit him. “What the bloody hell is a boob honk?”

Adam interjected, “I figured out the honk part, but what’s a boob?” His shifter eyes started to glitter but Dakota somehow missed the effect. Quickly, Adam shielded them beneath his ever-handy dark shades but not fast enough for Maestru to miss the shifter’s hungry gaze landing on Dakota’s tantalizing thighs. Maestru’s shirt was caught beneath one plump ass cheek, and she hadn’t the room to pull the hem down and straighten it.

“Use your imagination,” she snapped, muttering something under her breath about how every man, vampire or not, had a highly active and mostly depraved way of thinking.

Maybe she was right.

However, he was sure she would enjoy hi
s creative
way of thinking in specific, intimate circumstances. “A little depravity never hurt anyone,” he said softly, flicking his eyes to the rearview mirror while passing the Cypress Lake intersection. He swore an oath as he spotted midnight wings blending flawlessly into the night sky. Driving the speed limit, fifteen minutes were all he needed to get past the causeway attaching Fort Myers to Sanibel Island. From there, he could have Dakota on his property within another ten minutes. No Lovec could step foot on a Master’s property without that Master’s permission. If the Lovec couldn’t acquire permission from the Master, he took his grievance to Prince Volos, where the complaint would lose itself in red tape for a while. From the look of things, they would not make it to his lair in time.

“I can feel your tension,” Dakota broke her silence, sitting crushed between two oversized males, his shirt still rucking up her thigh. “It’s getting closer, isn’t it?”

Maestru nodded. “This is one of the many reasons, you must obey me.” Instead of dealing with the incoming hunter, he wanted to bite her there, between her legs, sinking his fangs into the soft flesh and lapping her blood, sating his thirst…his desire. In this century, he rarely enjoyed group sex without being the only male present. His dominant Master Species demanded he received all females’ attentions. Strangely, he wasn’t getting that vibe with Adam in the car, even with Adam’s shifter so obviously taking notice of Dakota.

“I’ve lived on this earth for twenty-six years without…” she stopped, her fingers touching her throat in recollection of her attack.

“The Dynasty Empire,” he ground out, hitting Oycher’s speed dial, “knows about you. Maybe they know more than they’re letting on.” Oycher answered on the first ring. “Get to Amy. She chose the Dynasty Empire over Jayce Jordan’s offer today. Erase her memories of everything after she left the Habaline breeding facility. She’s to know nothing of how we hid her. Leave no traces for the Lovci to follow, not even a thread. Stay with her afterwards. If a hunter comes your way, play the game, Oycher, and play it well.”

“He’s dropping his speed, though still at least a half mile out,” Adam said, his voice etched with a savageness Maestru had only heard in Sixten Kovac.

Dakota pressed her fingers to her lips. “Why can’t I see it?”

“If you can see him, he wouldn’t be good at his job, now would he?” Maestru pulled onto a side street, taking three right turns, until he hit the local high school’s deserted parking lot. He heard Dakota’s soft gasp, but she wasn’t looking out the window. “What?”

Spreading her fingers, she showed him. “Blood, I didn’t wash my hands.”

They were royally screwed. “Adam,” Maestru demanded, hating what he was about to do, “you were raised on Donor blood. Can you manage not to…?”

Adam was already at it, licking her hand thoroughly though not biting her. In that moment, Maestru wanted nothing more than to trade places with the shifter. Nevertheless, he couldn’t convince a Lovec to hunt elsewhere with Donor blood on his breath. He watched Adam’s tongue snake around Dakota’s fingers, the male’s erection growing with every swipe. Adam wasn’t the only one. If Maestru got any bigger, he’d have to undo his fly and freak out Dakota with what was going on down south.

Dakota flinched when Adam’s fang gently scraped the soft flesh between her fingers. Still, no matter what was coming for her, she was slipping into sexual arousal because
Maestru
was slipping into sexual arousal. He may not have fed from her yet, but they had such a bond going on that one could sense the other, feel the other’s emotions and needs. The difference was, with his age and abilities; he could fuck and fight in the same breath. With her human weaknesses and youth, she could think of nothing else when heavily aroused, which wasn’t a problem since her mind frame was right where it needed to be, in this moment. The hunter was making another pass, checking the perimeter before risking a landing.

“We’re going to heat things up, Love, and throw the Lovec off your trail. If Adam and I amp up our immortal hormones, we might mask your scent enough to send him on his way.” A notion Sixten had discussed with him though Maestru hated to risk Dakota’s safety with theories. “Just trust me.”

“I’m so, uh,” she groaned as Adam ran his tongue beneath her fingernail. “Will this work?”

“It can’t hurt.” Maestru’s eyes dropped to her slightly parted lips. “But this will better our odds.” With his mouth lowering to capture hers in their first real kiss, she pressed her hands against his chest. “That’s it. Follow my lead,” he murmured, nipping at the corner of her mouth, nudging Adam to get with the program. As he continued, chewing on her bottom lip, she moaned, her entire body ripening instinctively against him, molding around him as if she were made for him. If only they were home, where he could enjoy how her hands were sliding down his chest and resting on his stomach, the scent of her female aroma hitting his palate the way no other female had in centuries.

Oh, how he wanted to feed from her.

Tentatively, Adam rested his hand on her thigh, his thumb circling the inner curve, going a fraction higher with every swipe. With his other hand, Adam pushed Dakota’s hair off her shoulder and licked the side of her neck in an animalistic fashion, his hand on her thigh inching higher, teasing her senseless. Dakota’s arousal blossomed, though Maestru sensed her slight unease at having two immortal males dwarfing her in such a confined area.

Not wanting her thoughts straying to her attack, at a time where she was helpless, Maestru moved one hand to her other thigh, spreading her legs without touching her core. Moonlight highlighted the sweet lips of her pink pussy, its glistening flesh begging for attention. “Feel the air touch you, where you are exposed. Imagine my tongue there instead, lapping.” Her back arched, her nipples pebbling underneath the fabric of Maestru’s shirt. “Put your hand there. Go on,” he urged, placing her hand directly on her swollen folds. “I want to see you bring yourself to pleasure.” Adam brought one of her thighs over his knee as Maestru fixed her opposite thigh over his. “Slip your fingers inside,” he whispered against her damp temple, keeping one eye on her, and one on the hunter. “That’s it,” he praised when she obeyed. “What did you find?”

“I’m dripping.” She threw her head back on Adam’s chest, her mouth parted from choppy breaths.

“I can smell her,” Adam said, reaching down to cover his index finger with hers, urging her to reach her climax. “Fifteen yards in,” he nodded to the sky, still helping Dakota masturbate, swiveling his wrist so her finger twirled inside her delicate flesh.

Maestru could swallow Dakota whole about now. “Do you want my fingers there?” he asked, smiling against her throat. “Say it.”

“Yes,” she shivered as her body neared the pinnacle. “Do you enjoy Adam directing your hand?” When she jerked violently, Maestru pressed. “Answer me.”

“Y-yes,” she gasped, her climax teetering.

Maestru always enjoyed a lick of pain when he climaxed. Perhaps, Dakota enjoyed it, too. “Pinch her labia, Adam. Squeeze it lightly. That’s it.” She bucked furiously, drenching her fingers and Adam’s hand while crying out in sensual delirium. “There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a female in the throes of her climax, I always say.”

Adam’s head was down, but his eyes were fixed ahead. “He’s landing.”

“I’ve got this,” declared Maestru.

When the Lovec hit the ground, Adam pulled Dakota into his lap. His lips pressed to the side of Dakota’s throat when he declared, “I’m going to kill him if he even
thinks
about touching her.”

The inherent possessiveness in Adam’s statement was not lost on Maestru. While she sat in Adam’s lap, recovering from quite an orgasm, Maestru moved his lips over hers with practiced pressure, barely tasting, careful not to hurt his tender human with his strength. He hoped Adam remembered to do the same. When he reached for the door, he made a slow circle with his index finger, meaning Adam should continue with Dakota, and slid out of the truck.

“We’re not looking for a fourth,” Maestru mocked when he faced the Lovec, his anger charging the air.

Wisely, the Lovec stepped back a few paces. “I need to see her.”

Maestru lunged, landing atop the winged monstrosity and pinning him with a well-placed knee to the chest. “Why would you think a Coven Master would accept being followed by the likes of you?” He backhanded him, knocking the Lovec’s fang loose. “You’ve interrupted my dinner and my fuck. Give me one reason not to strip your wings, feather by feather.”

The Lovec’s pupils constricted. “I suspect you have a Donor inside that truck.”

“No, you’ve chased the
remnant
of a scent. I just left a Donor I have waiting for you on Fort Myers Beach.” He stood, bringing the Lovec with him by the throat, restricting his airflow. “In fact, the report should reach your commander by tomorrow.” After a couple of warning shakes, Maestru dropped him. “But if you want to save yourself another trip and meet your nightly quota, I’ll lead the way to her now. Only as a favor to Prince Volos, I will assist you, and you’d better hope that Volos doesn’t hear of you provoking me this night.”

“I can’t believe I’m back here.” Dakota mumbled wearily as they stepped through the side portico of Maestru’s lair and entered a long corridor dotted with paintings.