Z Day +48

  JAMES

  Rhiannon stayed the day and then a few more.

  Shae was still being overly cautious around Rhiannon. Even after their long bloodtouch, Shae was treating everything Rhiannon did or said with suspicion.

  When I’d asked about the bloodtouch, Shae hadn’t told me much. She told me all I needed to know was that she hadn’t found any evidence of Rhiannon wanting to betray us right now. That didn’t mean she might change her mind later on.

  This coincided with my bloodtouch results with Rhiannon. Shae said what I’d done, just reaching out with my feelings, was basically the right thing to do. As for the hostility of Rhiannon’s mind, that may have just been her, or it could have been her version of a block. If that was true, it put my ‘hang in there kitty’ defense to shame.

  Shae felt my easy acceptance of Rhiannon was more about her physical assets than her status as a former soldier. I had to admit there could be some truth to what she said.

  What sold Shae on keeping Rhiannon around was the mental flashes I kept getting from her. I shouldn’t be able to do that, and Shae wanted to know how it was happening.

  Shae found Rhiannon some clothes that mostly fit; at least they covered her up so she wasn’t as distracting. Of course, this didn’t stop the others from ogling her. Richard seemed to keep his cool around her, although it seemed a bit forced. This may have been because Miria took an instant dislike to Rhiannon, more so than she had to Shae initially.

  Mark, on the other hand, had no shame. While he didn’t make any open advances on her, he always seemed to be within earshot of Rhiannon. He seemed to be always underfoot until Becca finally reined him in.

  Then there was Trish. Trish took to worshipping Rhiannon as if she were a goddess. Her puppy love manifested in her constantly bringing Rhiannon things and asking if she needed anything.

  For her part, Rhiannon took it all in stride. While she appeared to look down on the “mere humans,” she was obviously attention-starved. She held up her aloof act while never once stopping them from fawning over her.

  When Rhiannon learned how “young” a vampire I was, she asked who'd been training me. When I'd told her it hadn't come up, she shook her head in disgust.

  “How do you expect to pull off this insanity if you're not even trained?” Rhiannon tisked.

  “I've been trained, have been for quite some time,” I said defensively.

  “Really?” Rhiannon said stepping into the courtyard. “Come here.”

  I stood and approached her.

  “Attack me,” Rhiannon said.

  I had seen her fight. I knew she was good, and she probably knew what she was doing right now. “Listen, I don't want—” I feinted left before going right. She caught my fist effortlessly in her hand as if I were a child and twisted me to a stop.

  “That’s good. Did you feel it?” Rhiannon asked me, releasing my arm.

  “I think so,” I was rotating my shoulder, “it was a weird tremor.”

  “Correct. Your body is trained for human fighting. It's slow and limited. Your new body doesn't want to move that slow or hold back,” Rhiannon said.

  “It did feel off-kilter,” I said.

  “Uncoordinated. The fact that you understand that means you'll probably pick it up quickly, but you still need to be taught,” Rhiannon said.

  “You offering?” I asked.

  She raised a thinly sculpted eyebrow at me. Even in her frazzled, three-day mussiness, she maintained an elegance that transcended her current state. “If I was?”

  “I wouldn't make you pay for the wall,” I grinned at her.

  “We'll need room and a place we can get loud,” Rhiannon said.

  “I figured you were the type,” I teased, feeling way too comfortable around her. As much as it was nice to be back around a fellow soldier, she was still an unknown commodity. I couldn't help it, though; I kept falling back into my military ways. Testing the boundaries of what I could say or do before finally being reeled back in. So far, Rhiannon wasn’t stopping me; she seemed to have less of a morality filter than I did.

  The military gave us classes multiple times a year on how not to sexually harass people, be politically correct and all that. It might have worked for the folks who only saw each other eight hours a day in the office. The rest of us “grunts” spent nearly every waking moment together. We either laughed through the training or took notes on all the ways to do what they told us not to do. Don't even get me started on those suicide prevention briefings.

  “What type?” Shae said, walking into the courtyard.

  “Apparently, my new instructor’s a screamer,” I nodded towards Rhiannon, who just shook her head while rolling her eyes.

  “Can you provide overwatch while we...feel each other out?” Rhiannon asked Shae, who raised her eyebrow. “See, I can do it too,” Rhiannon smirked at me.

  I had to chuckle.

  “Sure,” Shae said cautiously.

  An hour later, we'd made our way to a large pasture where the grass hadn't grown up too high yet. Shae had an AR with a suppressor and kept an eye on the perimeter while Rhiannon instructed me.

  “First thing, throw out any katas or training routines you know. They will slow you down and could hurt you in the long run. You will need to start with the basics: simple strikes simple movements. Get used to how your body reacts. You'll find that as you incorporate movement, many things you used to do won't work anymore. Understanding that you can ignore some physical human rules will help you form a more complete understanding of what you're capable of,” Rhiannon said seriously.

  I looked at her, trying to absorb everything she just said. “That sounds like some serious ‘there is no spoon’ crap, Neo.”

  She nodded. “That's what my sensei tried to teach me. Simply put, you now get to cheat the shit out of the system.

  “Fighting a human is ridiculous now,” Rhiannon said. Ignore them for the most part as they can't do much to you unless they're hunters. The zombies? Bat-shit, stupid easy to take care of, even in large groups. But no matter how easy your opponent may be, don’t get lazy. Bring your ‘A-Game’ first; never play with an opponent. If you find yourself having to ‘get serious,’ you’ve already lost. If you start to get bogged down, jump the fuck away, regroup, and get back in there.

  It's the other vamps you'll have to worry about. That's what we're going to work on. You can figure out the rest on your own. I also suggest making a simple workout routine so you can get used to how you move.”

  Rhiannon approached me. “Most vamps rely on their sheer speed and strength to carry them through a fight. Most have no serious training besides the Karate or boxing lessons they took as human children. They know just enough to get themselves hurt. They aren't the ones you'll have to worry about.”

  “Most vampire security has a bit more training, but don't let that make you cocky. They make up for their lack of skill with technology. They'll all have some basic Kevlar, tasers, guns, that sort of thing. Occasionally, you'll find an old police officer who still likes using a baton, but those break too easy on us,” Rhiannon schooled.

  “Even with proper training, you're still going to be outnumbered,” Rhiannon continued. Once the fighting starts, everyone will know about it and be prepared. You'll need to improvise strategy on the fly. Adapting as many times as needed until you're done.”

  “Whoa. That’s a lot of information,” I shook my head.

  “I’m sorry, am I going too fast for you? If so, speed up. You’ve got a lot to learn but nowhere near the time to learn it,” Rhiannon shook her head.

  “OK, let’s start simple. Taking down a vamp is easy. Keeping one down is the hard part. Decapitation will incapacitate relatively easily, but that can be rather hard to do, even with the right tools. The easiest is kneecapping them. If you can get in close and break a kneecap, preferably both, they'll be unable to walk.”

  “Roadhouse rules,” I said.

  She eyed me a moment.

  “You know, the movie Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze? Be nice until it's time to not be nice? Didn’t catch that one, huh? I heard they did a remake.” I finally shut my mouth.

  Rhiannon continued as if I hadn’t interrupted, “Even with their mobility cut, they'll still be able to fight, so don't underestimate them. Again, beware the technology.”

  “Now, let's knock out some basics,” Rhiannon said as she began to show me how to punch and kick. Some actions were relatively simple and easy to adjust to. It was when you combined multiple moves or added movement that things became harder.

  I kept finding myself getting tangled up with my own limbs. At one point, I literally tripped over myself. I hadn't felt this clumsy since tech school. After a couple of hours, I had most of my simple moves tightened up.

  Rhiannon wasn't impressed with my progress and seemed to enjoy telling me how quickly I was going to die.

  Several times, she would show me what she was talking about. Watching her move was like poetry in motion. The moves were effortless, like flowing water, but tight and precise. There was no wasted effort. She did just enough to get the job done. It was efficient killing, and it was scary as hell.

  “Where'd you learn all of this?” I asked when we were taking a break a few days later.

  Rhiannon had created a training cycle for me. She ignored everything else going on and focused on “spinning me up,” as she called it. She said everything else was meaningless until she could instill the basics in me.

  The AR15 cycled as Shae dropped a shambler who'd come to investigate the noise. All you could hear was the metal inside the rifle, shifting back and forth. The suppressor or “can” on the end of the rifle displaced the sound from the bullet firing, but there was no way to counteract the sound of the machine's moving parts.

  “After the service, there was a man,” Rhiannon paused, her facade shifting a little. “He taught me a lot about fighting. Then, I had a while to get firsthand experience with the down and dirty. Finally, I attended a school in Japan that filed down all my rough edges and honed the sharp ones.”

  “Sounds like a lot of sacrifice,” I said.

  Rhiannon looked me in the eye. “Yes. That's one way of looking at it. Now let's continue.”

  Her training was grueling, but I felt more comfortable with what I could do than I had at the end of our first night. I didn't feel I was as good as I'd been when I was human, even though I was so much faster and stronger now. Of course, I'd had ten years to perfect that style. I'd only been doing this vampire stuff a few days.

  As we were returning from another intense session, I heard Rhiannon mumbling to herself. “What was that?” I asked.

  “I was just saying how much work I've got cut out for me,” Rhiannon said.

  I frowned, “I'm not that bad.”

  “Right. Denial is the first step. I'll give you one more day; then, I must check-in. Some of us,” she looked at Shae, “are actually missed when we're gone.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” Shae snapped.

  Shae and Rhiannon had been acting hot and cold toward one another since that first night. Constantly sniping at one another one minute, then giggling together like school girls the next. I didn’t understand the relationship, but then again, I never claimed to be able to understand women. The closest thing I could think of was they were acting like rival siblings. There had to be more there I just wasn’t privy to.

  “Take it for what it's worth, Princess. You've been gone, what, two months? I seriously doubt anyone has noticed. It's not like you had a real job,” Rhiannon snapped.

  “Hey, easy—” I started to Rhiannon but Shae cut me off.

  “No, the Ice Queen here has a point,” Shae said.

  Rhiannon cocked her head.

  “I hadn't had a purpose there for quite a while,” Shae admitted.

  “I wouldn't call boffing Pagoda much of a purpose,” Rhiannon scoffed.

  I saw Shae's jaw tighten as she restrained herself. She handed me the AR and turned to Rhiannon. “What is your damage?”

  “My damage?” Rhiannon said.

  “Yeah, what's your deal?” Shae said. “You've been plain nasty since you arrived, and all we've been is hospitable. We saved your life when you passed out and didn't kill you when you freaked out—”

  “Not for lack of trying, short stack. As if you could have anyway,” Rhiannon added.

  I looked at the two as they faced each other. Rhiannon was easily a head taller than Shae and had a good fourteen kilos of muscle on her. I didn't know if that sort of thing mattered to vampires.

  “OK, fine. Yes, I wanted to kill you at first; could you blame me? I’m sure you would have done the same in my place.”

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  “Meh,” Rhiannon shrugged dismissively.

  “But, it's like you go out of your way to say the nastiest things possible. No wonder you're always alone; no one wants to be around you,” Shae spat with uncharacteristic venom.

  I instinctually grabbed Shae's arm, “Easy...”

  She turned to me, about to bite my head off, but saw my expression and froze.

  “Yeah, you're right,” Rhiannon mumbled and was gone.

  “Wait!” I called after her retreating form, but it was too late. I turned to Shae.

  “What?” she barked, still angry.

  *You really don't see it?* I asked.

  *See what? The reason she's being a witch?* Shae said; it was the closest I’d ever heard her get to cursing.

  *She's hurting bad,* I said.

  *Aren't we all?* Shae retorted sharply.

  *No. Not like this. We have each other, friends and family who care about us. From what you said yourself, she's alone. And she's just as much a slave in that compound as you are,* I said gently.

  Shae frowned, *That still doesn't give her the right to treat everyone like garbage.*

  *No, it doesn't. But it also doesn't mean we have to return the favor,* I said.

  Shae was quiet a moment before finally sighing, *Oh, shut up. Don't lecture me on what I already know; I'm the adult in this relationship, not you.*

  I smiled, *Yes, ma’am.*

  We turned and started back towards the house.

  *It’s not that I hate the woman,* Shae started, *She just seems to have a way of pushing my buttons in all the wrong ways.* She looked up at me, *and before you turn that into something smutty, it’s not, OK?*

  *I didn’t say a word,* I said in defense.

  *You didn’t have to, you thought it,* Shae said, rolling her eyes.

  When we got back to the house, Rhiannon was gone. Miria was the only one up as she was on guard duty.

  “Miria, you see Rhiannon come through here?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah, she was in and out of here pretty quick. Y'all get into it or something? She seemed more ticked off than normal.”

  “Yeah, something like that,” I said.

  “I don't blame her, considering how you used to treat her,” Miria said.

  I stopped just as I was about to drop down into the courtyard. “What do you mean?”

  “Back in school. You were pretty much a jerk to everyone back then, but she kept trying anyway,” Miria said.

  “What are you talking about?” I honestly hadn’t a clue.

  “Don't tell me you don't remember. Geesh, you really were an asshole,” Miria said.

  “Miria,” I sighed.

  “It was your senior year after Shae had disappeared on you. You know, your zombie year,” Miria said.

  “What's she talking about, James?” Shae looked at me with concern. “Zombie year?”

  “Uh,” I said, clearing my throat uncomfortably. “Remember, I told you after you disappeared that I was kinda a mess?”

  “Kind of a mess?” Miria said incredulously. “We talked about having you committed, you moron.”

  “What?” Shae whispered.

  “He used to just sit there and stare off into space most of the time, sometimes drooling,” Miria said.

  “I didn't drool,” I said defensively.

  “Shut up, you didn't have to watch. I still have no idea how he passed enough classes to graduate. When I'd visit him at Dad's he didn't eat unless someone made him. He never left the house unless it was for school or to look for you. He slept all the time and didn't do anything. He just shuffled around the house like one of those shamblers,” Miria said.

  “It wasn't that bad,” I said.

  “If you say so,” Miria disagreed. “All that girl did was try and cheer you up.” Miria turned to Shae, “She'd sit next to this useless vegetable at lunch nearly every day talking to him, and I don't think he ever said two words to her.”

  “James?” Shae looked concerned. “You knew her in school?”

  “I don't know what Miria's talking about. I've never seen that woman in my life,” I said honestly.

  “Seriously?” Miria exclaimed. “I asked around school about her. Apparently, she'd had a crush on you for like two years, but you were going out with Shae and didn't give her the time of day. You really don't remember her? She used to ride your bus.”

  “She rode my bus?” Now I started to feel bad. I'd been so self-absorbed and depressed in school...had I really ignored that girl? That girl who was now a lethal killing machine.

  The sound of a bike starting up in the distance reached my ears. It was the one we'd driven back from Drakes. “I have to go after her,” I said.

  “It's too close to sunrise,” Shae said.

  “You stay, I'll go. Sun's not a problem for me,” I said.

  *I—* Shae started to say something but stopped herself.

  *I just…I don’t think she’d turn us in…but…I have to…something tells me I have to go after her.* I wasn’t sure what was compelling me; it felt like I was being pulled in two directions.

  After a moment, Shae took my face in her hands and looked me in the eye. *Trust your gut.* Something else flashed across her face for just a second and disappeared. “Be careful,” she added.

  “I will,” I said.

  “I meant with my bike,” Shae said with deadly seriousness.

  I kissed her on the forehead and then was racing through the pre-dawn light. The thought of having alienated this girl in school, then not recognizing her here and then what Shae had said...it was too much. Something inside me wouldn't let this go. I had to talk to her, even though I knew this wasn’t rational. Most of my life hadn’t been rational lately; why change now?

  Shae’s bike was still where she had stashed it, untouched. It fired up at my touch, and I roared down the back roads. While the sidecar slowed down the other bike, Rhiannon still had a good head start on me. Not to mention, I still wasn’t the best rider, so I was taking my time on the roads. I figured Rhiannon was heading back to Pagoda’s compound, so I headed that way. I didn’t think I could just drive up to the place, but that's exactly what I did.

  We hadn't done a lot of recon on the compound, mostly just studying the surveillance maps of the area and getting details from Shae. I’d visited the compound a few times with Shae all those years ago. My knowledge was limited to the one or two areas we stuck to during the visits. She’d always driven, but I still had a good idea of where I was going. After a few wrong turns and a lot of detours to avoid shamblers, I finally pulled up to the gate.

  A guard stuck his head over the four-meter stone wall and gave me the once-over. “Go away,” he said before disappearing back behind the wall.

  “I'm here to see Ms. Rhiannon,” I called from the bike.

  This seemed to give him pause—apparently, no one called on Rhiannon.

  “Is she expecting you?” His head reappeared, and he seemed to be appraising me more closely now.

  “Of course. She asked me to come,” I lied.

  He gave me one more disapproving glance. “No weapons inside. Check them at the gate box.”

  The steel gate clambered open, revealing a large driveway that led to the front of the main building. Just inside the gate was a large metal box on top of a table outside a guard shack. While Mr. Hospitality secured the gate, a second guard told me to place my weapons in the box.

  I took off the pistol and machete before retrieving the knife from my boot. The guard closed the box, locked it and handed me a metal chit, like he was valet parking my gear.

  “You can park on the left side of the road,” the guard pointed. There was a large building to the left with several garage doors coming out of it. There was a small paved area adjacent to it that he indicated. If they recognized Shae’s bike, they didn’t say anything about it. I parked and walked up to the main building.

  It was a stone structure with high walls and small windows. It was still the original mission building but heavily remodeled. The front door swung open as I approached. A gentleman wearing slacks and a button-down with rolled-up sleeves ushered me inside.

  “You're here to see Ms. Rhiannon Kachou?” the man asked.

  “Yes, she asked me to come,” I lied again.

  “Very well. Please follow me.”

  He led me into a small side room that appeared to be some sort of study. Books lined one wall, while a desk and chair lined another. There was a small couch against the front wall near the window.

  “Please make yourself comfortable,” he said before retreating out of the room and closing the door.

  My head still spun from the mad dash here, and I started pacing the room like a caged tiger. After a while, I relaxed and began thinking about this place. I tried to remember everything I'd seen and compared it to the intel we already had. My trained eye started making mental notes that I'd have to double-check once I got outside again.

  My brain filled up to bursting on trying to analyze the place. I pulled a book down from the shelves to try and center myself. I'd picked a book at random and plopped down on the couch. It turned out to be a book of poetry. While I wasn't big on poetry, the author appeared to have been a vampire soldier during the Civil War. I was fascinated.

  So much so that time breezed by without me noticing. Only the sound of a car outside pulled me from the book. I heard shoes crunching on rocks outside before the front door opened and closed.

  “Where?” I heard Rhiannon bark.

  “The study ma'am,” the man replied.

  The sound of heels clicking on the tile floor marked her approach. The sound was ferocious as I could hear her stomping towards me. I put the book down and stood up just as she threw the door open. I caught a brief glimpse of a cream-colored pantsuit, and then she was crushing her body against mine with enough ferocity that I froze in shock.

  Her mouth locked on mine as she rudely shoved her tongue into my shocked mouth. I was just getting my senses back when she bit my lip hard, drawing blood.

  *Don't say a word, and for God's sake, kiss me back like your life depends on it because it does,* she ordered, the bloodtouch allowing her to speak in my mind.

  I reluctantly followed her lead and, overcoming my initial shock, wrapped my arms around her. One of my hands wrapped roughly around the back of her neck, the other slipping down and pulling her tighter to me.

  *They're watching, don't stop,* she commanded.

  I caught the doorman glancing at us as he passed, an odd look on his face. My hands raked her back as my body automatically responded to the extremely close proximity of the beautiful woman.

  *Should I take you right here?* I half-joked.

  She seemed to shake herself and regain some self-control I hadn't realized she'd lost.

  *No, my bedroom, now.* She turned without another word and left the room.

  It only took a moment for me to regain my composure and follow her up a set of stairs to the second floor. I kept my mouth shut the whole way, wondering what was going on. We passed two others who I couldn't tell if they were house staff or security.

  She turned left into a room and pulled me inside before closing and locking the door. She put her finger on my lips and grinned at me seductively before pulling me towards one of the biggest bathrooms I'd ever seen. Again, she closed the door behind us, pushing me against it and kissing me deeply.

  *Not a word. Follow my lead and try to look like you're enjoying it,* she broke away and went to the walk-in shower. When she turned it on, steam appeared almost immediately. I nearly cried out of jealousy as our water heater had stopped working while I’d been in San Antonio.

  As she stripped out of her clothes my brain finally regained enough control to speak, “Rhiannon—” was as far as I got. The next thing I knew her finger was on my lips as she somehow got me out of my clothes one-handed.

  *Not a word yet,* she said, her finger touching the blood from my lip. She grabbed me in a most unladylike manner and pulled me into the shower.

  By this time, the steam was filling the room, fogging the mirror and the glass walls of the shower. She pulled me under the blissfully hot water and meshed our bodies together, her mouth once again on mine.

  *What is going on?* I started. My brain was trying to ignore her amazingly distracting act and failing miserably.

  *First off, you're a moron for coming here,* she said.

  I shuddered as my body continued to respond to her. I would love to say my love and devotion to Shae made me immune to Rhiannon’s talents but said talents were quickly chipping away at any form or restraint I had.

  *Second, they watch everything here. And I do mean everything.* She arched her back and motioned her eyes to the corner of the room where a small dome was.

  I thought it was a smoke detector at first but realized it was a camera after closer inspection.

  I surprised myself when I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her roughly back to my mouth.

  *Oh yes, cowboy,* she purred, not acting this time.

  *They watch you in the bathroom?* I asked, incredulous.

  *Whole damned house is wired. Pagoda doesn’t care about privacy; it's his house. To him, he owns everything in it, and he gets what he wants.*

  I felt her shudder as her frantic grinding seemed more genuine than before.

  *Of course, it's genuine you...I can't think of anything bad enough to call you right now. I've never had anyone here. NO ONE is allowed to touch me; it's Pagoda's #1 rule when it comes to me.*

  *Then why the hell did you attack me?* I asked, trying to think about anything other than what she was doing to my body right now.

  She clawed at my shoulders and shuddered again. *I panicked. They told me I had a visitor when I showed up. I had no clue who it was until I saw Shae's bike in the yard.* She seemed to briefly lose control of herself. *Oh fuck this is good.* I watched her eyes roll up a moment. *I figured it would be her, but then I saw you, and all I could think about was this.*

  I wasn’t sure how to take that last part, but I soon didn’t care as I was losing control of myself. What I thought was supposed to be an act between us was quickly becoming something more.

  *But Pagoda's rule,* I gritted my teeth momentarily as I felt her shuddering against me again.

  *Fuck Pagoda...he's not here...but security is,* she said.

  I couldn't take much more of this. My body was screaming at me as her slick body writhed against me.

  Her mind was suddenly in mine as I realized she'd bloodied her own lip, allowing our blood to mingle. This time, there were no defenses keeping me out. There was no rage or anger being held back. Now, all I sensed from her was need.

  And then what happened in Natalie’s room was happening all over again. I couldn't think straight or tell who was who. Was this need mine or hers and did I really care?

  I spun her around and pressed her roughly against the wall. Her passions, her need filling my mind, sweeping caution and restraint aside.

  *YES!* she growled.

  An indeterminate time later, we were both lying on her bed, still joined. Her long, wet hair was tangled about us. It was a good thing we had mind speech, as with the way we were both panting, neither of us could speak.

  *Holy shit,* I heard her voice in my head even though we weren't kissing anymore.

  *How?* I started.

  *You probably broke something…down there. It's been a while,* Rhiannon said nonchalantly.

  *Oh,* was all I could manage, my body finally calming down.

  *The hell you are,* she said in response to me starting to relax. She shifted her hips to keep me from relaxing and froze. *Ow,* she grunted.

  *Are you OK?* I asked, concerned.

  *I'm pretty sure,* she slowly relaxed her body back down on top of mine. *Like I said, it's been a while. I should have stretched out first.*

  *Do you want me to...* I started, trying to think of something to help.

  *Would you just shut up?* she shook her head. *Anyone ever tell you you think too much?*

  I chuckled as we lay there for a minute. I felt the water from the shower still on our skin getting cold, and I pulled the blanket up around us as best I could without moving.

  *Such a gentleman,* she sighed. Then she looked me in the eye, *Why are you here?*

  *I...was worried,* I said lamely.

  She studied me for a minute. *You do realize I am in contact with your mind, right?*

  *Am I lying?* I asked.

  A confused look came across her face, *No. You're not.*

  *I felt bad for what Shae said; she was out of line,* I said.

  *Not by much, she wasn't. I don't know if you noticed, but I have a bit of a temper,* she said.

  *No. You?* I chuckled. She squeezed down on me like a vice, making me inhale sharply. *Uncle?*

  *You wish.* She slowly released me, but not before my body redistributed blood flow.

  *And then there was—* I started.

  *Leave it to your sister to recognize me,* she frowned, reading my thoughts. *You really don't remember me, though?*

  I could feel the hurt coming from her, but she wanted me to be honest. *I'm sorry. I was a real mess back then.*

  She stared into my mind’s eyes for a moment. *Damn. You were, weren't you?*

  I nodded, and she sighed.

  *I never had a chance with you, did I?* she shook her head.

  I frowned, *Sorry?*

  A moment later, she laughed out loud. *Don't worry about it. I'm sure there's something you can do to make it up to me.* Again, she was squeezing me, but this time, it was a strange rhythm that I couldn't describe if I had to. All I knew was she had me at attention in moments.

  *Honestly, don't worry about Shae. I did this to you,* she said, reading the sudden wave of guilt in my thoughts.

  I'd been caught up in the moment with her at first, trying to keep up the “show” for security. Looking back, it had been stupid to go along with it. But the shock of having someone throw themselves at me like that blindsided me. It hadn’t taken long for me to get lost in the combination of our lust and give in to it.

  *No, it was me; that was my lust I pushed on you,* she said.

  *Not entirely,* I confessed.

  *You think I'm “cute?”* she blinked, rereading my thoughts. *Do you really think the word “cute” applies to me?*

  *Hey! You said cute, not me,* I said.

  *Holy Toledo! You think that too?* she was shocked by the thought that followed.

  *You are a woman, after all. Underneath that fa?ade of control, you're sexy as hell,* I said honestly. *Well, until you said holy Toledo that is.*

  She smacked me upside the head a bit more than playfully. *You don't have to flatter me; you're already well inside my pants now,* she teased.

  I couldn't help myself; I pushed...just a little.

  She grunted and smiled. *OK, I release you. We've done enough to appease the cameras.*

  But I could sense something else there...a deeper sadness or loss? I couldn't put my finger on it as the connection seemed to fade.

  *For pity’s sake, James, take her again,* Shae’s voice seemed right behind me.

  *SHAE?!?* I couldn’t help the sudden panic I felt.

  *Ow, not so loud,* Shae said.

  *How the? Who the? What the?* I stammered, trying to figure out how Shae was talking to me.

  *Don't ask. For the last hour or so, I've been piggybacking on you two’s…“conversation.” Now take care of her; that's what you're there for,* Shae said.

  *But—* I started, not able to understand what that last part meant.

  Her sigh came through our link. *We keep faith with one another,* she paused then continued, *but we also take care of what is ours,* Shae said.

  *I don't understand,* I tried again.

  *I'll explain the morality of a 300-year-old vampire later. Right now, take care of her. There’s more going on than you know,* Shae’s voice was cryptic.

  *You're 300?* She’d never even hinted at how old she was before. I couldn’t wrap my head around the number.

  *Not now, focus,* Shae’s frustration bled into the link.

  *But—* I said.

  *Goddess, you're stubborn .* Something seemed to “click” in my head, and then I heard her talking to Rhiannon.

  *Rhi?*

  *Shae?* Rhiannon was suddenly very, very still as she glanced around nervously.

  *Please do me a favor and bang this eejit’s brains out again? He won't listen to me when I tell him to do it,* Shae said.

  *Uhhh...* Rhiannon was at a loss as well.

  I didn’t understand how I could hear Shae from so far away. It went against everything she’d explained to me. The three of us talking to each other like this also made no sense.

  *Argh! Seriously? After what I just watched, now the two of you have cold feet?* Shae exclaimed.

  *How—* Rhiannon didn't understand either. *How are you talking to me, too? No one has called me Rhi since…what the fuck is happening?*

  I don’t know exactly what happened next. Our bodies, seemingly smarter than our minds, and took over of their own accord. All I could do was hang on.

  *Wow, you were right,* Shae seemed to say to someone else I couldn’t hear. Then, Shae turned back to the two of us, *Have fun, you two.* And her presence was gone.

  *That—* I started, but Rhiannon stopped me.

  *Don't know...don't care...don't stop!* she said as she pushed back against me.