After the show, we went to a martini bar and everyone tried a different flavor. Except Teren, of course. He faked sips left and right, but never actually took a drink. And I helped with the deception, finishing off mine and the one he'd ordered for himself...and the second round he'd ordered for each of us.
By what I thought was maybe my fourth martini, I was completely game for singing karaoke with Tracey, who was also feeling no pain. But our stubbornly responsible men called it a night. It was probably for the best anyway, since once Teren scooted me into the car, I had a little trouble holding my fangs in. Really though, just remembering how to walk straight when you're tipsy is hard enough, having to constantly hold in your supernaturally long canines? Well, it's nearly impossible.
Teren expertly kept Tracey away from me as we said our goodbyes. My mom and sister only laughed, since they knew about me anyway. Hot Ben laughed at me too, until I gave him a big kiss on the cheek and told him, "I love you, Ben, because Teren loves you...and that makes me love you, so I love you."
He blushed horribly after I slurred that out and told me to go home and sleep it off. I gave him a thumbs up as he shut the door on me.
Driving back to where my sense could feel my sleeping children, I leaned back in the seat and giggled. It had been a long time since I'd been drunk. Pre-pregnancy for sure. Running my hands up my body, I stretched out my limbs. Every inch of my vampiric flesh tingled, especially the good spots.
"Teren...?" I mumbled, closing my eyes.
"Yes, Emma," he said back, a tremor of laughter in his voice.
"Can we have sex in the car when we get there?"
His laughter filled my ears, making me laugh as well. "Why would you want to do it in the car, when we have a perfectly spacious bed?" he murmured.
I looked over at him, my eyes hooded and my vision wavering in and out. "Because you said it's been awhile since we've been naughty in a car." My eyes drifted down his body and I sighed. "And you're right, it's been awhile."
He smiled at me, then shook his head and fixed his eyes to the road. My light-headed mind surprisingly pieced something together while we drove along. One, we had at least a half hour drive ahead of us, a half hour in which my foggy head would start to clear. And two, my husband knew this empty stretch of road so well that he really didn't need to see it, to drive it.
Giggling at what I wanted to do, I unbuckled my seatbelt. Teren immediately looked over at me, his brow furrowed. "Emma, what are you doing?"
Still laughing, I ran my hands up my flirty dress and pulled off my underwear. Teren's eyes widened as he drove the way I knew he could, without looking. "It's my birthday," I got out around giggles. "I want my present."
He dragged his eyes back up to mine. "And that would be...?" I laughed even more as my fingers started in on his slacks. "Oh, uh, Emma, I don't think..."
As my mouth replaced my fingers in his lap, he found it hard to finish that. Actually, he found several things hard...
His hand clutching my hair, he started breathing heavier. When he was as ready as I was, he moved his seat back as far as he could while still keeping his foot on the pedal. "Emma... " was all he got out before I straddled him, taking him in.
There was something about doing something highly illegal that made it all the more exhilarating. Or it could have been that the drinks I'd had were really strong and I was high off my butt, numb in all of the right places. For whatever reason, the feeling of him inside of me was unlike any other time before. Thanks to my mouth, he was warm, and incredibly hard. Filling the small cabin with the sound of my ecstasy, I jerked my h*ps back and forth over his. He laid his head back, trying not to close his eyes, trying to still drive. I wasn't sure if he would, or if he'd just pull over. I sort of wanted him to keep going, I sort of told him that too.
"Emma..."
His voice was tense with the restraint he was maintaining, focusing intently on doing two opposing actions, driving and lovemaking. While I stared down at him, I watched his fangs slip out. I smiled, working over him harder, turned on even more by the fact that he couldn't maintain three all-consuming activities. He sucked in a quick breath as his hand tightened on the steering wheel. I could hear the leather creak in protest at the amount of pressure being applied to it. A part of me hoped he didn't break it; most of me didn't currently care.
My drunken body wasted no time getting to the good part and before I knew it, I was exploding, clenching him tight to me as I ground myself into him. He panted and groaned with me, his free hand on my hip fisting the loose material of my flowy dress as he released too. The car sped up and swerved, just fractionally, before he got it under control again.
Kissing him languidly as we both came down off our high, I thanked him.
He laughed while he fought to regain his breath. "Um...you're welcome?"
As I slid off of him, fixing his pants, he groaned and laid his head back. "Oh my God." Adjusting his seat back to where it had been, he looked over at me with a forced scowl, his fangs tucked away again. "While I'm not complaining, remember what I said about you worrying about yourself? I could have wrecked us."
I giggled, completely satisfied with my evening. "I trust your abilities."
He rolled his eyes but smiled charmingly. Under his breath I heard him mutter, "I need to get you drunk more often."
By the time we got to the ranch, my high had faded, but I felt no regret over my actions. Nothing I did with Teren ever made me feel anything but happy, not even when we'd christened Hot Ben's car or had sex beside a dumpster.
As we pulled up to our beautiful second home, a vehicle turned into the mammoth driveway behind us; I could hear its tires crunching up the road, even under the soothing low jazz playing through the speakers. Halina rushed out from the main doors and tilted her head at us, then at the car as it came into view. I couldn't sense any other movement in the house and figured every other immobile blip on my radar was asleep.
Teren's brow furrowed as he looked over at a black sedan with dark tinted windows pulling up beside us. Looking at me for just a second, he opened his door. Feeling my head clear considerably, I got out of my side as Teren walked around to join Halina. The ranch didn't often receive visitors during the day, and as it was well after two in the morning, it was a little outside of standard visiting hours.
The car's taillights brightened then blinked out as the vehicle was shut off. Just as I was planning on how to grab my kids and get out of here, if things turned violent, the sedan's doors opened. Surprise flitted through me at who stepped out. Surprise and a trace of fear.
Her face splotched from what looked like hours of crying, her eyes completely bloodshot, an obviously distressed Starla stumbled out of the door. Blinking at seeing her, I watched as Gabriel popped up from the other side. Stepping out of the driver's side was a familiar blond mixed vampire that I'd briefly met in L.A. a few years ago, Jacen.
Looking between the three of them, I felt a sobering ice flood my veins. They all had serious expressions and glum faces. Starla sniffled, seeming to be on the verge of losing the tenuous hold on her composure.
"Gabriel?" Teren asked.
"What is it?" Halina immediately added.
Gabriel smiled briefly at her before swinging his emerald eyes to me. My heart nearly stopped from all of the anticipation swirling in the air. "Emma...we need your help."
Chapter 8 Please Help Me
Stupidly dazed, my head swam a little bit as I stepped forward. Cursing myself for getting carried away with my birthday celebration, I pressed my fingers to my temple. "Gabriel?" I croaked out, sure I was having some sort of alcohol induced hallucination.
He tilted his head at me while Halina calmly walked to his side. "Are you...inebriated?" he asked curiously, inhaling me from where he stood.
Feeling heat flush to my cheeks, I was preparing my mouth for the brilliant response of, "No," when Jacen leapt forward.
"You have to help her. You owe her!" he nearly shouted at me. Teren moved in front of the mixed vampire, shielding me. Jacen sort of resembled Starla, with a slight build, over-styled hair and blue-green eyes. Those eyes were wide and fearful as they stared at me.
I had a feeling Jacen would have flung Teren over the Prius, stormed over to me and lifted me into the air, demanding my assistance for whatever his problem was, but Gabriel blurred over to him before he could move. Lightly touching his fingers to Jacen's shoulder, Jacen reluctantly straightened. In a more subdued voice, he said, "Please," and slunk his arm around Starla's waist.
It was a little surprising to see the affection, since those two snarked more with each other than legitimate brothers and sisters did, but Starla buried her perfectly spritzed-in-place head into his chest as she stared at me, teary-eyed.
"Help her with what?" I said slowly, proud that I didn't sound the least bit slurred, although, even I could smell the alcohol on my breath. I smoothed my hands over my hair, just in case I was at all frazzled from my romp in the car with Teren.
One of Gabriel's hands reached around Halina as she stepped into his side, the other lifted to the open front door of the house. "May we come inside?"
Teren blinked out of his stupor, placing his arm around my waist in a steadying way as I minutely stumbled. "Of course, please, come in."
Starla sniffled again, clutching Jacen tight. The cutely similar couple leaned against each other for support as Jacen led her up the granite steps to Teren's family home. Gabriel looked down at Halina for a moment before they both followed. My head evening out in the crisp, clean, cattle-fragranced air, I took a deep breath as Teren and I followed our surprise guests.
Starla and Gabriel had both been here before, of course. Starla at times reluctantly driving Gabriel up to visit with Halina, and even more reluctantly spending the evening in the living room, playing board games with Jack, Alanna and Imogen while her "father" occupied himself with his girlfriend. But Jacen had never been. Surprisingly though, he didn't even look around. His pale eyes were fixated on Starla; he didn't seem to notice his surroundings at all.
Concern flooded through me as Halina led the group into the comfortably plush living room. Whatever was distressing Starla and Jacen had to be bad. As Halina draped her body across a lounge chair, Gabriel walked over to stand in front of the lit fire. The flue behind him was encrusted with stones that were shaped into a giant flame. I'd always thought it was an exquisitely beautiful piece of art, but as I sat down, I also noticed that it provided a fitting backdrop for what looked to be a speech.
Teren and I sat close together on a long couch, staring over at Starla and Jacen on a nearby chair. Jacen held her tight as she gazed at the floor, still looking like she was suffering from shock.
"We are very sorry to intrude on your evening," Gabriel began calmly.
My heart rate increasing, I shook my head. "What is this about, Gabriel?" I didn't need his formalities. I needed to know why Starla looked on the verge of an emotional collapse.
His eyes drifted over to his daughter, his child by responsibility, if not blood. The aged eyes seem to tire right in front of me. "There has been an...incident," he looked back to me, "in my lab."