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UNDER 18 PLEASE CLICK HERE
Chapter 20-
by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth
Main Course
Michelle did her best to pay attention to Karl as he talked, but it
was no use. He just didn’t interest her. Usually, when someone had
been so intergraded into a different culture, like the West Indies
cannibals Karl described, she’d have been taking book notes under the
table. But now, looking at him, she didn’t even have the urge to
write. In fact, she hadn’t written a damned thing worth keeping since
she broke it off with Dmitri.
“I’m sorry, what?” Michelle forced another smile, one that was getting
harder to maintain. Karl was a weird guy, even if he was the only date
besides lycan boy she’d had in a long time. “Did you say I would feel
like silk against your tongue?”
Karl chuckled, tipping his head back. His eyes lit, but he shook his
head. “No, dear girl, I said tell me about your new book, Silk isn’t
it?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry…you know, this violin.” Michelle waved her hand
absently, glad for an excuse to pull her hand away. The finger against
her wrist was getting rather annoying. She put her hands under the
table to itch the spot he’d touched. She gave the same generic answer
she gave everyone. “Yeah, Silk. It’s part of NCP’s new superhero
anthology called Ultimate Warriors. I just got the cover. It’s pretty
great. I’m on there with a couple other authors—Jaide Fox, Brenna
Lyons, and Joy Nash.”
“Hum, interesting,” he murmured. Michelle got the impression he wasn’t
paying attention. He was staring at her neck again. “Don’t you have
another one coming out in July? Something about vampires?”
“Tribes of the Vampire.” Michelle watched him, answering cautiously
and wondering about his look. “It’s a Dark Romance series that’s
starting. Book one is called Redeemer of Shadows.”
“Mmmm, and these vampires of yours, do they drink blood?” he asked.
“Uh, yes.”
Karl shivered and rolled his eyes in a most orgasmic way. “And do they
devour the flesh?”
“Ah,” Michelle was at a loss. “After that I have a contemporary coming
out, Mountain’s Captive. It’s about a man who lives in the Montana
mountains and he—”
“Has to eat his fellow mountaineers to survive the harsh mountain
winters?” asked Karl, almost hopefully. Again he shivered. If his
hands weren’t on the tabletop, she’d have thought he was up to
something nasty. Michelle was half tempted to see if a waitress had
crawled under the table to give him pleasure. She kicked around with
her foot and felt nothing.
“No, he accidentally gets drunk and married in Vegas one night. It’s a
sexier book and I think—”
“Mmm, pity,” Karl whispered.
Ignore it Michelle, you’re just trying to judge him cause he’s not
Dmitri. Change the subject.
“I,” Michelle began, only to hesitate slightly. “I have The Dragon
Lords series completely written too. The first one—The Barbarian
Prince—has sold extremely well. It’s gotten a ton of five star
reviews.”
“Humm, wasn’t Daughter of Darkness yours too?” asked Karl. “I loved
what you did to Rick, it was just divine. There is something so very
erotic about being eaten alive. And the hellhounds were to die for.
Though, I really think you could have used more violence in it. It was
pretty tame.”
“Ah, no Daughter of Darkness was Mandy’s book.”
“Oh, what about Valkyrie?” asked Karl.
“Mandy’s.” Michelle swallowed. Ok, he was really starting to stare too
much, and asking about Mandy’s creepy books was a bit unnerving. “As
is Immortal Ops before you ask.”
“Well, I shall read your Dark Romance, I promise. It’s a pity the
series will end though,” said Karl.
“What do you mean? I have no plans to end it,” said Michelle.
“Ah.” Karl’s eyes sparkled sadly like he knew a secret. Michelle
squirmed in her seat, growing very uncomfortable. Suddenly, she had
the strongest urge just to get up and run. But where could she go?
Karl could easily follow her to the abandoned parking lot. She thought
of Dmitri. She suddenly really wanted Dmitri to come and save
her—though she’d never admit that to him in a million years. Tears
came to her eyes. There was something off about Karl that she could no
longer ignore. He came across as mild mannered, but still, something
was there.
~*****~
“Would you stop staring at me!” Mandy shouted at Armando from the
backseat of Dmitri’s SUV.
Armando’s dark eyes ran over James and stayed fixated on him. “Tell me
again why he gets to sit next to you.”
Mandy rolled her eyes and let out a growl. “For starters, because
Eliza-bitch insisted on coming and there was no way in hell that I was
sitting next to her.” She leaned forward, looked over James, and
winked at the blonde vampire. Elizabeth gave her a wicked smile, but
said nothing. “Secondly, I don’t feel like sitting next to you and
Elizabeth. It’s bad enough that you admitted to going back to her to
fuck her, but flaunting it in my face is a bit much.”
Armando let out a grunt and looked at Dmitri for help. Dmitri nudged
Barbie away from him as he tried to drive and shook his head. “You’re
on your own here. I’d be pissed if I was her too.”
“Thanks,” Armando said coolly, looking back at Mandy. “I hardly call
attempting to explain myself flaunting. Apparently, we have very
different views on the meaning of the word.”
Mandy arched an eyebrow. “What? Now I’m stupid too?”
Armando started to say something but Mandy’s temper was out of
control. She turned to James and grabbed his face. His blue eyes
widened as she yanked his mouth to hers. He opened his mouth to
protest and she used the opportunity to thrust her tongue in. Two tiny
fangs greeted her and she artfully avoided piercing her tongue.
“MANDY!” Armando shouted, as Elizabeth and Barbie laughed.
Mandy ignored Armando’s protest and lost herself in the moment with
James. He was a fantastic kisser and that caught her off guard. She’d
expected him to bungle it. It seemed like a very James thing to do. He
didn’t. He moved his cool hand around and cupped the back of her head.
His tongue dove deeper into her mouth, and for a moment, she couldn’t
breathe. James eased up a bit and Mandy’s inner thighs burned with
desire.
“Oh, hold Armando tight, Barbara. I wouldn’t want him to break up the
show,” Elizabeth said, laughing hysterically. “If you would like to
hop in the back and fuck her, I’d be all for helping you climb over.”
It was James who pulled away first. Mandy went for seconds and caught
his swollen bottom lip with her teeth. Their eyes met and James shook
his head no. Love, I want this, but not with him lookin’ on. She heard
James’ voice in her head and it was as clear as if he’d spoken aloud.
She gave him a puzzled look and he kissed her lips gently before
pulling back. You just bonded with me. It’s common for vamps to bond
through intimate moments. Never had it happen with a human before
though, kind of neat.
“Are you finished whoring around?” Armando demanded.
Mandy smiled at him and touched her lips. “I don’t know. Are you?”
He threw his hands in the air and let out a large sigh. “You will be
the death of me.”
“Funny, your sire made sure to point out that you were already dead.”
~*****~
Michelle glanced around the park nervously. She still wasn’t sure why
she’d allowed Karl to talk her into a walk. Not that he gave her much
of a choice. He’d all but insisted she accompany him.
As they walked further into the park, the darker and darker it got.
The already uneasy feeling she had with Karl intensified, and she
closed her eyes for a moment and wished for Dmitri to come rushing in.
She was being silly. Karl wasn’t a threat. She was just being paranoid
and looking for reasons not to like him. He touched her arm and she
tensed up. She didn’t mean to, it just sort of happened.
“Are you okay, my dear?” he asked. The words ran off his tongue, but
they sounded anything but sweet.
Her cell phone rang and made her jump. Karl moved closer to her and
put his hand on her shoulder. “Now, do we really need unnecessary
interruptions this evening?”
Yeah, like a million of them would be great right now. Michelle
thought to herself. She fished her phone out of her purse and answered
it, hoping it was Dmitri or Mandy.
“Hey babes, it’s me Jaci. I just got your message. You’re planning an
engagement party for who?” Jaci Burton took a small breath before
continuing. “I could have sworn that you said Mandy, but I know that
our Mandy isn’t the type for settling down.”
Michelle glanced at Karl, afraid to take her eyes off him for too
long. She nodded and realized that Jaci couldn’t see her. “Yeah, it
was for Mandy.”
“Was?” Jaci asked, putting a lot of emphasis on was. “What the hell
did she do this time?”
Michelle thought of Mandy laying on Dmitri in the bathroom at the
Raven and felt her nostrils flare. “My boyfriend.”
“Oh, sweet heavens. You going to be all right? You two still talking?
Do you need anything? If you need anything give me a call. Hey, how’s
your Tribes book coming? It’s part of a series, right? The next Devlin
book was just released. Running Mate was a hit and the readers wanted
more so I gave them Fall Fury. It’s tied into Summer Heat, so I think
people will enjoy it,” Jaci continued.
~*****~
“Try her again damnit!” Dmitri shouted.
Mandy opened the door and stepped out. They had pulled over when she
finally found some cell phone reception and Dmitri had done nothing
but scream at her since she started to try to reach Michelle.
He climbed out of the driver’s side and ran to her. “Anything?”
She put her hand up and pushed on his chest. “No, and if you keep it
up I’ll stick this phone right up your…”
“It amazes me how you must fondle every male around you,” Armando said
wryly.
Mandy and Dmitri turned to see Armando stalking towards them. Dmitri
moved closer to Mandy and whispered in her ear. “Try not to provoke
him. I’m not sure he’s in the right state of mind. Elizabeth makes us
all crazy.”
“Do not try to protect her,” Armando said, reaching for her.
“Oh,” Mandy said, looking towards her phone. It connected but only to
Michelle’s voice mail. “She’s either on it or has it shut-off.”
“If he harms one hair on her body I’m killing James,” Dmitri said,
coldly.
“I will do it now and save you the trouble,” Armando said, heading
back towards the car.
Mandy ran after him and grabbed his arm. “Stop!”
He spun around so fast that she lost her balance. Armando made no
attempt to help her. She hit the pavement with a thud, scraping her
palms and elbow. Cold, hard eyes looked down at her. “Never put your
lips on his again. Are we clear?”
“Mandy?” James asked, appearing next to her suddenly.
She growled at Armando as he tried to beat James in offering her a
hand up. “Don’t touch me!”
James helped her to her feet and she looked down at her hands. Pieces
of gravel were imbedded in the tiny cuts that covered her palms.
James took her hands into his and glared at Armando. “This make you
feel like a man, did it?”
Armando balked. “I never laid a hand on her.”
“Well, you got me there,” James said sarcastically, pulling her hands
closer to him. “You okay?”
Mandy nodded. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
“Hate to break up the little love fest, but do you smell that?”
Elizabeth asked, looking off towards the park entrance.
“Ooo, I smell it too,” Barbie said, her voice full of glee.
Mandy’s forehead wrinkled as she tried to figure out what they were
talking about. James took a step towards her. “I smell the fear too.”
“Michelle!” Dmitri said, taking off running into the park.
~*****~
Michelle looked down at her smashed cell phone. Karl stomped on it one
final time before he looked up at her with evil in his eyes. He licked
his lips and let his gaze roll over her. “You’re going to be so good
to eat.”
“Uh, nobody goes there without my permission buddy and there is no way
in hell that I’m granting you permission,” She said looking down her
body.
Karl let out a wicked laugh and rolled his eyes. “I’m more interested
in your flesh. I do so enjoy a good meal. Most of what I eat now is so
tainted with evil, and I’ve always wanted to feast on an author.” He
took a step towards her and she backed away. “I wonder if I will
absorb any of your creativity.”
Michelle took a step back and found her foot twisting out from under
her. She fell backwards. Karl covered the distance between them with
three strides and reached for her, his eyes wild.
Michelle screamed and kicked out at him. It did little in the way of
stopping him. He grabbed hold of her arm and held it steady. He
reached his fist back and smiled. “I am going to hate bruising that
pretty face, but I need to prep your body for my feast.”
There was a growl from her right and then a large blur. Karl’s body
was propelled backwards with a gust and Michelle was left sitting on
her backside, puzzled and scared.
Something touched her arm and she screamed out again. “Are you hurt?”
Dmitri asked softly.
Michelle let out her breath and reached for him. His grey eyes, floppy
sun-streaked hair, and cocky attitude had never been a more welcome
sight. She touched his face timidly, sensing that he was on the edge
and not wanting to see him shift into a wolf. She wasn’t sure her
heart could handle that right now.
“She’s MY MEAL! Get your own!” Karl screamed as he lunged at Dmitri.
Dmitri caught the man in mid-motion and whipped him around, slamming
him against a tree in the process. Michelle jumped to her feet as she
saw Dmitri pummeling Karl’s face with a closed fist.
Blood gushed from Karl’s mouth and nose. Michelle stopped within a
foot of touching Dmitri and said his name softly. He either didn’t
hear her or ignored her. Either way, he was about to kill Karl and she
didn’t want to see Dmitri locked away in a supernatural facility for
eternity.
“Stop! He’s not worth prison!” Michelle yelled.
Dmitri turned to her, his eyes blazing of wolf. He growled at her and
continued to punch the now unconscious Karl.
“Pumpkin, no!” A bubbly voice said from behind her. “Don’t kill my
Karl.”
Michelle turned to see Barbie standing there. The rest of the gang was
on her heels. She looked back at Dmitri and raised an eyebrow. He’d
let Karl fall to the ground and was in the process of taking several
deep breaths.
“Oh, sorry,” Michelle said wryly. “I didn’t realize you only answered
to pet names. Makes sense, being part dog and all.”
Dmitri’s mouth dropped and his eyes widened. “I just saved your life.”
“Thank you, Pump-kin,” she said coldly as she turned and stormed off,
pushing past a guilty looking Mandy on her way out of the park.
Mandy grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“Michelle, this is bullshit. NOTHING happened.”
“You look awfully guilty for ‘nothing’ happening.”
Mandy rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. It was shaky and
Michelle thought Mandy might cry. That wasn’t a normal Mandy thing to
do and it caught her attention. “What’s wrong?”
“What you saw was me falling on Dmitri in the bathroom. I slipped,
honest. It wasn’t sexual and nothing has EVER passed between us like
that. You are my best friend and I would NEVER do anything to hurt
you.”
Michelle moved closer to her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Part
of me knows that. I just…I don’t know. When it comes to wolf-boy I get
a bit mixed up.” She let out a small laugh. “None of this explains why
you’re so upset.”
It was Mandy’s turn to laugh. “Aside from the fact that I thought you
might be eaten alive and die with this misunderstanding between us, I
sort of pushed Armando over the edge,” she said, lifting her hands to
show Michelle how bruised and bloody they were.
“Oh, my gawd!” Michelle cried out. “What the hell happened?”
“I kissed James.”
“Oh,” Michelle said, things suddenly becoming clear. She’d speak with
Armando about hurting Mandy later, now she needed to focus on her
friend. “Was it just to piss Armando off, or was there more to it?”
Mandy looked at her, shocked. “Why…why, do you ask that?”
“Because the way you said James’ name makes me think you might be
closer to him than you realize.”
She watched as Mandy dropped her head down. It was clear that she
hadn’t thought on her own. Why would she? She was too close to it all.
“Come on, let’s go over to your house and raid your freezer. You’ve
always got the best stash of ice cream,” Michelle said laughing.
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