Claiming Emerald (3 page)

She smiled. Salt immediately claimed her attention by dropping her feet. Her hands were free a second later, but a second after that, they were hauled up toward the ceiling and clipped to the hook. Salt bowed his head to her. “It was on a night that you were similarly hung that I became a vampire. I will always adore you for that, my sweet.”

“Luckily times and situations have been dramatically altered since that day so long ago.”

“Yes, but I still adore you.”

She smiled. “I’m very glad. I adore you also.” Salt like to torment her with a cattail, but he would equally tease her with sweet chatter when it was the last thing she was interested in.

His grin was enticing, the sparkle in his green eyes intense. He was so different from Rory, his hair brown, his body not as muscular. He was also about eight or nine inches shorter. Salt had the look of a well-toned runner, thin and perfectly proportioned. He touched her chin with his finger and leaned into her, his lips hard against hers as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Em returned the gesture, her tongue twining around his. Salt stepped back so the only thing touching her was his mouth. She wanted to feel his chest against hers, his body closer, but he didn’t oblige her wish. With a swish of his finger over her cheek, he pulled back. Salt walked around behind her, his palm brushing over her ass. He dragged the cattail over her cheek, up the center of her spine, and across to her right shoulder. The tails tickled her skin as they flowed back down her body and then crack, the bite of leather as it connected with her skin. Salt hit her again and again, softly at first and then getting harder. Em’s skin was stinging. She thrashed from side to side, spinning her body against the chain in the ceiling. Salt put his palm to her side, swinging her around in a circle. He twisted the chain tighter and then released her. Em’s body turned in a circle and Salt stood still. The cattail lashed out, striking whatever skin was available as she spun. It burned into her stomach, her back, and her sides, the leather never seeming to hit the same place twice.

Em was dizzy, her brain foggy with pain, desire, and sexual tension. Her pussy was pulsing, a solid euphoric throb of nerves longing to be stroked and caressed. The swing stopped, jarring her in the opposite direction. It turned slower and then switched again, the motion leaving her rocking gently from side to side. Her eyes were lidded, her mouth hanging open as she stared at Salt. He brushed her cheek with his palm. The touch was loving and gentle, in complete opposition to the roughness of the cattail. The leather hit the floor as he lifted her in the air, freeing the chain from the hook. Salt set her gently to her feet and removed the bands from her wrists. Her knees were wobbly, her entire body on overload. Salt supported her with one arm as he slid the other down to her ass and lifted her upward. Em draped her arms over his shoulders, gasping as the crush of his hard cock filled the overly taut muscles of her cunt. She was jarred by each thrust of his hips, her body so close to climax that she wanted to force him to move harder, faster. Salt did nothing, simply holding her tight to his chest, his dick deeply embedded inside.

“Love me, Em?”

“Of course I love you.” Her body was healing too quickly. She wanted to savor the burn in her skin. It inflamed her, made every touch more intense. Salt stroked the cheeks of her ass with his palms, but the lacerations from the cattail were already gone. Her head was clearing from the fog, her senses attuned only to the feel of his dick within her. “Please move.”

A smile bloomed on his face, bubbling his thin cheeks. “How fast?”

“Flash me, baby.”

He began to move his hips, slowly at first and then gaining speed, faster and faster until it was just a solid layer of friction between his and hers. Em screamed, stopping his movement as her pussy clamped hard around his cock. The muscles held him tightly, waiting, keeping her in unbearable suspense for what seemed like an eternity. It felt so good. It was agony. Em sank her fangs into his neck. The crash came as a shiver tore up through her chest, her cunt throbbing in unimaginable waves of pleasure. The waves rocked her as Salt snarled, pushing her down tightly over his dick and holding her as cold fluid flooded from the tip of his cock into her overheated pussy.

She went slack against him, jarred by tiny quivers of aftermath. Rory put his hands to her sides, supporting her as he slowly urged her to her feet. Em leaned against his chest and then turned in his arms. “Hi.”

Rory smiled. “Hi. Want to go look for windmills?”

“Sure. I could use some fresh air. We need a heater for our bedroom.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Russell is being left in the cold.”

“Yeah, literally.”

Russell lay in bed watching them. He adored the way that Em would thrash and struggle against the restraints. To see Rory or Salt fucking her was equally enticing. He was a creature of the shadows, and he enjoyed watching. He had enjoyed it before the sonic when his three women would play with each other. He always got involved in the end, but this was different. The bedroom was too damned cold to do anything but hang out under the quilt. The fact that Em was going on the hunt for a windmill meant that he wasn’t going to enjoy her attention right now.

She was truly a woman of vision and when her vision had a course, nothing would deter her from it. She had gone after the purists with the determination of a wolf protecting her cubs. The humans were hers. She was the queen of the fortress and no one would dare challenge her title. Em was not a cruel or arrogant woman. She had a talent for talking to people and making them feel relaxed around her. As far as Russell knew, everyone adored her from the smallest child to the oldest vampire. He had even seen her sway Rory and Salt to her way of thinking with her golden tongue and sultry teal-green eyes.

Em crawled over the quilts, pulling him from his thoughts. “Do you mind waiting a bit? I promise you will be the first item on my agenda when we get back.”

“I promise that there will be a heater installed when you get back. Then you will be the first one on my agenda, also. I could always fuck you as a beast, but you said no.”

Em shrugged. “A girl has to have some principles.”

“You will let me tie you into a pretzel and beat you with rope. You fuck three men at a time on a regular basis. Principles?”

“Fuck you, Russell. You never have any problem with it when your dick is involved.”

He chuckled. The woman had an odd sense of sexual morality that excluded fucking an animal even if he was inside the flesh. He preferred to fuck as a human anyway. The fur prevented the feel of her chilled flesh that he enjoyed. “Don’t get your proverbial panties into a bunch. I wasn’t insulting you. I was only teasing you. Do I get a kiss before you leave?”

Her lips puffed up. Those oddly red lips against her opal vampire skin. Em no longer looked human, but she didn’t look completely vampire either. For some odd reason, she had retained a slightly pink blush to her cheeks. Her lips had not faded in death but remained tinted with color. During and after sex, they flushed even darker to a brilliant red. She had the perpetual look of someone who had been snacking on ripe raspberries. Her tongue drifted over her lips. “Still love me, Russell?”

“Do you see where I am sleeping even though your bedroom is colder than the morgue? Of course I love you. I keep turning down the two airheads upstairs even though they sleep in a nice warm bed.”

Her pout instantly turned into a grin. “I know you do. I keep telling you that I can put a stop to it. Just a few nicely spoken words and they won’t look at you again.”

“I’m keeping my options open in case your
owners
decide to throw me out.”

He knew the word would get her goat. Russell laughed and clasped her cheeks, drawing her into a kiss. Despite the cold, his cock reacted to the feel of her, the taste of her. Em had the taste of honey and peppermint tea. It always made him smile because she lived on blood, but never tasted like it. She returned the gesture with gusto, her fingers twisting into his hair before she was pulled back and into the air. Rory set her on her feet. “Don’t even get started on something you can’t finish right now.”

“I was only giving him a kiss good-bye.”

Rory leaned around her. “You’re not going?”

“No. I’m going to raid the auxiliary storage shed and see what I can come up with for some heat.”

“Good idea.” He handed Em a pair of jeans.

She slid them on without any panties. After almost five years, she only had a few pairs left and rarely wore them. Of course, Rory had been known to shred them from her body, so it was kind of a moot point. Em tugged on her turtleneck and then her sweater. From what she had said, they didn’t exactly get cold, but even dead skin could freeze if they were outside long enough. Salt handed her a long leather jacket and Em put it on. She followed it up with a scarf to protect her head and her face and a pair of gloves. Rory glared at the floor and Em giggled. “I hate wearing shoes.”

“You need shoes, Em.” Salt handed him a pair of socks and pushed Em onto the bed. Between them, they tugged the socks on and then put her boots onto her feet.

She flipped upward. “Where are my goggles?”

Salt walked over and took three of the four pairs of goggles from the hook on the wall. He handed her one and then put a pair on himself. Rory did the same. The clear safety goggles were handy when it was snowing really hard.

They looked like the North Pole explorers that Russell had seen on the Internet. “Have a good time.”

“I’m sure we will.” Rory pulled up his hood and they headed out the door. Russell had always wondered what it would be like to actually be one of them. He had no idea how his body would react because he was already a shifter, but it didn’t stop him from wondering.

* * * *

They walked down the vampire’s hallway and into the main room. Em glanced around. A few of the household members who relied on gas for power had gathered in the main room. They were playing cards. Jerry glanced up from the game. “Good evening. We figured that it would save power if we came in here. We all turned our units down to fifty just to keep things from freezing. We’re gonna sleep in the cubicles tonight.”

Most of the remaining cubicles were used for storage, but a few of them were still empty. Em saw that there was a pile of blankets on one of the back tables. “I think that is a good idea. We are going to go see if we can hunt down some windmills.”

“Adrial told us. Francis knows about windmills, but he is refusing to leave the house tonight. It is really nasty out there. I’m not even sure if you are going to be able to get the door open.”

“I’ll get it open,” replied Rory. “Enjoy your game. We need to get hunting.”

“Be careful.”

“Always,” replied Em with a smile. Jerry smiled back.

In her side vision, Em saw Mia hurry over as they were walking toward the door. “Em.”

She stopped and turned to face the child. “Hi, Mia.”

“I made you a present for good luck.” Mia held up a bracelet with bright red beads on it.

Em took off one of her gloves and took it from her. “Mia, this is beautiful. Thank you so much.”

“You are welcome so much. Mommy said that red is a color of protection.”

“Why do we need protection?”

“I don’t know. I just think you need the bracelet.”

It had been discovered when Mia began to talk that she had premonitions about things. When Mia told an adult that something was going to happen, they had all learned to pay attention. Em pushed the bracelet onto her arm. It was brilliant against her lighter than human skin. “What do you think?”

“I think it looks nice, and it will do its job well.”

Salt leaned down to look at her. “What about us? Don’t we need protecting?”

“No.”

The vehemence in which Mia had replied sent a chill up Em’s spine. As a vampire she was almost indestructible, but reverence had to be given to the concept of almost. She pulled her glove back on. “Give us some good vibes to find the windmill, Mia.”

“I already have. You will find them.”

“Will we all make it back, Mia?” asked Rory.

Mia turned her small brown eyes up to Rory. “I think so.”

Rory tugged off his gloves. “We are not going. I’m not going to risk your life to find the windmills. We will wait until the weather clears.”

The door opened. Holden and Adrial came in, stomping the snow from their boots. They walked up to face Em. “Two of the generators are gone. The filters got gunked up with the bad fuel and the motors burned out. We need to put up a couple of windmills and run direct power lines from them. Make sure that you grab the inverter with each unit. Hopefully the batteries aren’t fried after five years. The newer units had a life expectancy of fifteen to twenty years. If we need updated storage, the only other thing we can do is go search out some car batteries and see if we can wire them in. They won’t hold as much power, but they will do for now.”

“What the hell is an inverter?”

“It’s a big box that is usually in the base of the tower that stores the power that the windmills create. We have them for the solar units also.”

Em felt really stupid. She had learned a lot since the sonic, but had no idea how the solar panels worked. Wiring was not her forte. “Okay. Any suggestion of what to use as a sled to get the damn things back here?”

“They weigh thousands of pounds. There are some chains in the storage sheds.” Adrial rubbed his chin in thought. “The problem is that you have to be careful not to damage the blades. They might be rusted without maintenance. You might be better off to just go out there and get a feel for what you are looking at. We might actually have to construct something to get them back here safely. I’ve never seen the units, so I don’t know what the tower heights and blade lengths are.”

Em was slightly disappointed. She had thought they could bring back at least three units tonight. “Okay. If we can get them back safe, we will. Otherwise we will come back with dimensions.” She strolled into the kitchen and shoved two full rolls of twine into her pocket. If worse came to worst, they could use them for estimates.