The Seven: Four tales of passion, danger and love (8 page)

"Okay, fine. We wait."

"Thank you. Was there anything else?"

"Uh, yeah. How about taking me home?"

"Wanna ride my horse sugar?" His voice slid into a low southern drawl that sounded all too real and had the heat kicking up a notch inside her.

"Oh yeah."

"Then climb on."

She gave him her hand and he pulled her up in front of him. Once they were settled, he unclipped the radio from his belt and called his foreman to tell him he was headed home and to call when the cattle were loaded.

That done, he turned the horse and headed home.

Five minutes into the ride, Layla was eager to get back to his house and not because the ride was unpleasant. Being nestled between Augustus' legs with her ass plastered against his groin, and the motion of the horse had her feeling a lot warmer than the temperature warranted.

Added to that was the feel of his left hand resting lightly on her hip, fingers occasionally stroking lightly and how he'd lean in close to speak softly in her ear. She'd never been on a horse before and had no idea it could be so…stimulating.

Well, stimulating was an understatement. Her mind had taken a dive "into the gutter" as Grannie would have said. Into thoughts of him naked and all the delicious sensations he evoked.

They were riding through a small grove of trees when he suddenly reined the horse to a halt. Layla turned in the saddle to look back at him. "What's wrong?"

"Not a thing."

He swung out of the saddle in one smooth move and lifted her from the horse. Layla heard the
oh hell yeah
of her out of control libido when he lowered her in a slow slide down his body.

She ended up dangling off the ground, his strong hands supporting her beneath her ass and his mouth plundering hers. Layla wound her legs around his waist and gave in whole-heartedly to his kiss.

When he backed her up against the closest tree, she ignored the rough scrape of bark against her back. Augustus worked the hem of her dress up as she went to work on the buckle of his belt, all the while their mouths, teeth, and tongues vied for dominance.

By the time his pants were bunched around his skins, her panties were lying torn on the ground and she had her legs wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. A tilt of his pelvis and one push, and he was inside her.

Layla had read about and even written about women losing their minds when their man was inside them but until now she hadn't believed a word of it. Until now, being the key words.

Augustus literally made her lose touch with reality. She didn't feel the scrape of bark against her shoulders or where a protrusion poked into her back. She didn't feel the breeze or the sun from the small shafts that filtered in through the leaves. She didn't hear the distant lowing of cattle, or the buzz of insects.

Nothing else existed but him and the sensations that rioted through her from the joining of their bodies and his lips on her skin.

Layla had never been particularly unreserved in the act of love. She wasn't given to screams and moans, to digging in her heels into the small of a man's back or tearing at the flesh on his shoulders.

Until now

Augustus had changed everything. She arched her neck, pounding her head back against the tree and screamed in pleasure. The slight chuckle that rumbled in his chest conveyed his delight and then turned into a low-pitched growl.

That growl lengthened and grew, becoming the sound of a great hungry beast. It should have frightened her, but she was way past fear. Time after time, he took her over the edge, allowing her no respite between orgasms.

She'd never known such pleasure. It was incomparable. At least she thought so until the moment his teeth pierced the skin of her neck.

Then reality shifted in a way that she hadn't imagined possible. What she'd thought was the most sublime pleasure paled. Her entire existence was pleasure. All consuming pleasure that stopped time.

At least until his mouth deserted her neck and he drew back. She nearly wept in disappointment and may have had it not been for what met her eyes when she opened them.

This time her scream was not one of delight. "Wolves!"

Before she could scream again the wolves were on them. Layla slammed her eyes closed, holding onto Augustus with a death grip, waiting for them to be torn to shreds. Terror had sweat springing from every pore of her body and her heart hammering like it was trying to pound its way out of her body.

She mentally flailed for something to hold onto, something to ease the terror.

At least you'll die together. Oh no, wait, he's a Vampire. He'll probably survive.

Her inner voice was no damn help at all. Layla whimpered and waited for the first stab of pain.

But it wasn't sharp teeth and growls that assailed them. Yipping and prancing, the wolves circled and danced like excited children.

Augustus held her aloft with one hand beneath her and waved at the wolves with the other. "I'd hate to have to go to your Alpha about you failing to respect boundaries."

Say what?
Layla stared at him in shock, then at the wolves who immediately settled like scolded puppies.

Before her eyes, one of them changed. It was amazing and completely surreal. In two seconds time a handsome young teenage boy stood in place of the wolf, completely at ease in his nudity.

"Sorry Mr. Augustus. We didn't mean any harm."

"I'm sure you didn't Dexter, but there are times – like now, when you have to respect the privacy of others. Humans – and Vampires for that matter – do not mate while in the presence of the pack."

"Sorry. We'll go. Just … could you just not mention this to Connor? He'll kick our asses."

"I think we can keep this between us. If…" Augustus looked around at the other wolves. "If you all vow that you'll not make the same mistake again."

Amidst yips and barks, Dexter smiled. "We promise Mr. Augustus."

"Then off with you."

"Yes sir." Dexter started to turn away as the pack headed off then paused. "By the way, your girl's hot."

"Yes, she is."

"See you Mr. Augustus!"

Two seconds later the wolf Dexter bounded off with the rest of his pack. Layla watched in amazement then turned her gaze to Augustus. "Well, that was –"

"An unexpected interruption?"

"Yeah, that too. But … but the way he transformed. It's … well, let's just say that it's going to be a whole new world once your kind and mine are all part of the same society."

"If we make it there."

"We will." She could feel the doubt inside him.

"I hope. Now… where were we?"

"About to take me to your home? Not that I'm complaining but a shower and soft bed sounds real good."

"That's it?"

She didn't understand the question. "What do you mean? Isn't that enough?"

"You don't have anything to say about—"

"You biting me?"

"Yes."

"Oh I do and once my neurons are firing properly I'll deal with that. But for now…"

She looked into his eyes. "All kidding aside, I don't have the words for it yet. I didn't think I wanted it and it would have been nice if you'd asked first, but honestly I have to say, you were right."

"About what?"

"That now nothing else will ever be quite the same and I guess that scares me a little."

"Why?"

"Because despite what I know I should do and probably what I will do which is go back to my life and hope we can find some common ground, you're like an addiction and I'm scared that it might just eclipse everything else."

"Would that be so bad, Layla?"

"I don't know, Augustus. I just know that I don't want to wake up one day and resent you for where I am in life."

"It is your choice. I told you. You can leave. Leave for a day, a week, or forever. The choice is yours. I will not stop you. I don't want you to leave, but I will not stop you."

"And that's the real problem. Now you don't have to do a thing because I'll never be able to forget, or to stop wanting more."

"This is not the place for such a discussion. Come, let's go home."

She nodded and waited for him to adjust his clothing, lift her into the saddle, and climb up behind her. Neither of them spoke the remainder of the ride home. She didn't know what he was thinking. She was too consumed with her own thoughts.

Like it or not, she'd not only fallen in love with Augustus, but fallen victim to his Vampire nature. That unbalanced the scales of their relationship in a manner that couldn't be undone.

The way things stood, she'd be his prisoner no matter how far she ran.

Chapter Ten

One day, when I'm old, I'll be telling my grandchildren about this, about how I was there on the Sanctuary ranch, a center for the Seven in Texas when the world learned about them.

Well, if I live long enough and actually have kids.

Right now, I don't know where I'll be next week. Heck, I'm not even sure where I am right now. Somewhere in Texas, living with beings that a few weeks ago I thought were myth or fiction.

My life seems kind of like fiction. Some of it is beyond my dreams – Augustus is … well he really is the man of my dreams. I couldn't have created a more perfect man. But I'm a little scared by the way I feel about him. It's too soon for me to be in this deep, which makes me wonder, is it real or is he somehow controlling me?

I don't want to think that way but I can't help it. I have way too much time on my hands and that always sends my brain into whirling dervish mode. I'm nervous that if I don't go back home soon my book is going to sink like the Titanic.

After all, I did disappear from a major book tour – my dream. Will I still have that dream when I get back home or has that been shot out of the water?

There are just too many darn questions.

Layla couldn't remember being this nervous. Ten days had passed since the President had gone on national television and made the announcement. She'd watched the broadcast at the guesthouse, where Augustus' people had set up a big screen outside so that everyone at the ranch could watch.

After the general announcement, the President had introduced three of the Council, a Vampire, a Shifter, and a Fae. The Vampire was a woman. Beautiful and appearing to be in her mid-thirties, she had raven black hair that was like silk, glistening in the lights, sea green eyes and a slim build. Asha Iltani .

The Shifter was introduced as Darian Nikolov. He was a giant of a man, easily as big as Connor, with shaggy black hair and eyes the color of tarnished gold. The Fae, Lucan Concoran, was also male and one of the most beautiful men she'd ever seen. Slight in comparison to Darian, his hair was silver, worn long and straight and his eyes seemed to be the same color.

Each of them was well spoken and in the news conference that followed, they, along with the President and leaders of other countries answered hours of questions.

It seemed to have gone well. At least until after the conference. That's when the trouble started. Police stations across the nation were flooded with calls, people wanting protection, demanding that the mutants be rounded up, locked up, or exterminated.

By morning, the National Guard had been called into several major cities and Washington, D.C. was in lock down.

Layla had watched the concern and then the disappointment reveal itself on Augustus' handsome face. To his credit, he remained calm and positive, at least to his people, assuring them that they were safe and that the Council would see to it that none of them were harmed.

She wasn't so confident. However, things seemed to be turning around. Darian Nikolov had appeared on several morning news casts, as had Asha Iltani and Lucan Concoran. Asha had already been interviewed by all the big name primetime news and daily talk show hosts, and had even appeared as a guest on several of the nightly talk shows.

It appeared that a great portion of the human population was willing to accept The Seven. A lot of them were downright excited about it. Fan pages had already started to appear on Facebook and Twitter was abuzz.

Still, Layla was nervous as she sat beside Augustus on the private plane, enroute to New York where she would meet her publisher and publicist.

"It will be fine." He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

Layla was pretty sure he was using his Vampire charm to calm her and for once she didn't mind. She needed to have her wits about her for this meeting.

With the news and media abuzz about The Seven, she didn't expect to be recognized when they got out of the limo at the hotel. When she heard someone shout her name, she looked around in surprise.

"Layla! Where've you been? Who's that with you? Is it true you were kidnapped like the heroine in your book or is this just a promo stunt?"

Before she knew it, there was a crowd of people with microphones shoved in her face. Behind them were video camera operators and photographers capturing the scene.

Layla was stunned and the way people were crowding her made her uncomfortable. She looked up at Augustus. "Help?"

He did just that. He wrapped one arm around her and started for the lobby door. Anyone who stepped in his path earned a look that had them sidestepping quickly to get out of his way. He never uttered a word and she marveled at his ability to dispel the people with just a look.

"Thank you," she said as they entered the lobby. "That was … uncomfortable."

"I thought authors craved such attention."

Now why did that statement embarrass her? Were she and others in her profession that desirous of the public eye? Was she one of those people shouting "look at me" in a manner of speaking?

"What are reporters doing here? How did they even know we'd be here? We didn't tell anyone of our plans but—"

"Your publisher and publicist." Augustus finished the sentence for her.

That brought a flash of annoyance she quickly tried to quell by reminding herself that if it was Sheila's doing, then she was just doing her job. Still, she'd give her own reaction more thought later. At the moment, her publicist, Sheila Rayburn was descending upon them and it was clear that Sheila's attention was more on Augustus that her. To her credit, she turned her attention to Layla when she drew near.

"Girl, you really had me going there for a while."

"Excuse me?" That wasn’t the greeting Layla had expected.

"This disappearing stunt."

"It wasn't—"

"Not that it wasn't freaking brilliant, but you could have clued me in. Until we got that email we thought something really had happened to you. Which media outlets are those reporters with? What did they ask and what did you tell them? Has anyone asked for an exclusive—?"

"Whoa! Slow down. We just got here and we haven't talked with anyone."

"Good. We need to go over what you're going to say before you speak with the media. I've got you booked into the penthouse and have the key cards so why don't we go on up? Where're your bags?"

"We just have the two overnight bags." Layla indicated the two small pull-along pieces of luggage sitting beside them.

"Okay, fine. The elevator's that way." Sheila grabbed Layla's arm and started marching her toward the bank of elevators, leaving Augustus to take hold of the luggage and follow.

"
Who
is that?" Sheila leaned in to ask.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce you." Layla stopped walking to wait on Augustus. No sooner had he reached them, Sheila chimed up with, "I hate to ask, but would you mind terribly catching the next car? I need to speak with Layla privately for just two minutes."

"Certainly."

"No." Layla didn't like it. Sheila was treating Augustus like he was Layla's hired helper or servant.

"Please?" Sheila gave him a flirtatious smile.

Layla looked at Augustus and he gave her a smile. "It's fine. I'll be right behind you."

She nodded and Sheila smiled. "Great. Here's your key card. You'll need it to access the penthouse level."

Sheila didn't wait for a response before she was pulling Layla to the elevator. No sooner had the doors closed, Sheila started in on her. "So that's why you took off? Not that I blame you 'cause
damn
he's hot as a match but still, that was a ballsy stunt and it could have backfired on you in a big way.

"I thought your publisher was going to go nova when you didn't show up for your flight to LA and we couldn't find you. It wasn't until we planted that "missing bestselling author, possible abduction article that I was able to get things under control."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Sales, honey. Sales. Less than twenty-four hours after the article came out, you'd sold nearly sixteen million copies, and the press was going nuts. Like I said, it was ballsy as hell and I probably wouldn't have had the guts to try it but kudos to you. The publisher is over the moon happy and just asks that before you pull another stunt you let us in on it so we don’t end up standing around with our dicks in our hands, so to speak."

"But I –"

"What?" Sheila gestured toward the door that had opened.

"Never mind." Layla wasn't about to reveal the truth of what had happened. She hadn't even thought to ask Augustus what they were going to tell people and until she spoke with him, she wasn't saying a word.

And maybe she didn't have to. Let her publisher and Sheila think it was just a publicity stunt. If they were happy then it let her off to hook of having to reveal who Augustus really was. Correction,
what
he was.

She stepped off the elevator and waited for Sheila to open the door to the suite. It was quite a lavish place. Sales must be good for her publisher to spring for a place like this. That relieved her a little but also made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She was profiting from something she shouldn't be. Should she?

Well you were abducted against your will. It's not like you chose to be drugged and hijacked to some ranch in Bumfuck, Texas.

Since when was her inner voice anything other than the voice of conscience? That worried Layla. Was fame affecting her more than she realized?

She didn't have time to ponder the question. Augustus entered the suite and she hurried to him. "Let's go put our things in the bedroom, okay?"

His expression clearly spelled that he was puzzled at her behavior but he nodded and preceded her as she spoke over her shoulder to Sheila. "You don't mind, do you? It'll only take a minute. Thanks!"

Once inside the bedroom she closed the door.

"What's wrong?"

"Shhh!" She didn't want to take a chance on Sheila hearing. "They think me being gone was some publicity stunt – that I just took off, presumably with you."

"Why would anyone think that?"

"I don't know they just do. And apparently it worked because I sold millions of books and the media is all gaga over where I've been and who I've been with. Anyway, the point it, we don't have to tell them the truth."

"I don't lie."

That kind of stuck a pin in her balloon. "But—but, why not just let them believe what they want?"

"It's not true."

Layla blew out her breath and sat down on the edge of the bed. Boy oh boy, her Grannie was probably not just rolling over in her grave but stomping mad right now at the idea that Layla
wanted
to perpetuate a lie.

It wasn't that she wanted to lie. She just didn't see the benefit in telling anyone what had happened. She looked up at Augustus. "So you want people to know you kidnapped me?"

"I didn't say that. I simply said I don't lie."

"Yeah, so if someone asks?"

"I will tell the truth."

"And that could get you arrested."

"Not unless you press charges."

Damn it all, did he have to have an answer to everything? "Fine, but….but what kind of image will that give to the media about The Seven? I mean if someone digs around will they find out that you're a Vampire?"

She could see from the narrowing of his eyes that the question had struck a nerve. All of his kind was trying to appear as non-threatening as possible for the sake of integrating into mainstream society. Something like this just might paint them in a bad light.

"I do not want to lie."

"And you don't have to."

"Oh?"

"No. We just say … okay, give me a second."

She took longer than a second but finally an idea occurred to her. "Okay, what we say is that when I left the signing, instead of going to the hotel, I went to the airport and took a private flight to Texas and have been staying with you ever since."

"A clever way of skirting the truth."

"But not telling a lie because that's what happened, right?"

He chuckled. "In a manner of speaking."

"Okay, so we go with it?"

"And when you're asked how we met?"

That one stumped her. "I … damn. Okay, we just don't tell them. We say we're private and don't care to share the details of our relationship."

"Which is?"

"Huh?"

"Our relationship."

Now that one did more than stump her. It killed all the fire in her engine. "I… I guess you need to answer that one."

He extended his hand and when she took it, pulled her to her feet. "I'm not in this alone, Layla."

"I know but −but I don't know where you think we are and…"

"And?"

"And I don't want to make a jackass out of myself before I know where you stand."

What he did next shocked her into speechlessness. He dropped down on one knee, keeping hold of her hand and looking up at her.