Cassadaga Moon Read online

  “It’s quite simple, darlin’. Jamison, Scottie, and I are going to sit down with the police and tell them anything and everything they want to know about the vampire subculture.”

  She squeezed his hand. If anything ever happened to him, she would die. And as if someone pulled a chair out from under her, a powerful rush of emotions pulsated through her veins, making her throat ache.

  “You just be careful. I don’t want you tracking some lunatic down. You’re a professor, not a vigilante.”

  “Yes, love. I promise to be careful. The last thing I need is to kick the bucket when I’ve been married a short time. And, may I add, we haven’t even had the blood-fest part of our wedding ceremony yet.” Oh goody. Blood-fest. Truthfully, she could wait for that ceremony, probably indefinitely.

  “I’ve decided I’m going with you.”

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  “That’s not even funny, Mia.” He leveled piercing gray eyes at her, pinning her in place. “You promised you would stay with Cindi and Paige.”

  Mia jumped up from their sitting position on the bed and he followed.

  “I lied. I’m an actress, remember?”

  * * * *

  Over my dead body. You will not step foot from this state.

  “You are not going, and that’s final.” What was she thinking? He would never put her in danger again. A muscle jumped in his jaw.

  “Seriously, darlin’, I don’t want to worry about you in an unfamiliar state where a killer is running loose.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m going.” She wasn’t going anywhere. If it meant tying her to the bed and locking the door, he would do it. He held up a hand in restraint, as if warning her off. “Please, Mia, stay here. You and Cindi can spend every dime I own. As long as you are safely tucked away here at the house, I won’t worry. Please?”

  “I can spend all your money in Vegas.”

  Anger moved across his face, and he picked her up, tossed her on the bed then pinned her against the mattress. “Mia, Mia, Mia. No, you are not going.” His mouth pressed into a tight line. “Please, baby, don’t make me restrain you.”

  “You would do that?” Surprise twisted her features.

  He touched his lips to her neck. “I would do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” And he meant it. Her life was worth more to him than anything in the world. But could he keep her safe in Vegas? He could fly her out there in a few days. If the truth be told, he didn’t want to spend any amount of time without her. He touched her hair, loved the way it felt against his fingers.

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  Her brown eyes searched his face. “Are you still going to tie me to a chair if I insist on going?”

  The weight of her pleading expression pierced his skin. “Yes and no.”

  “What?”

  He clarified his words. “No, I won’t be restraining you here, but yes, I will be restraining you in Vegas.” She flung her arms around him. “I can go with you?”

  “Jamison is probably going to have a coronary. Yes, you are coming with me. ”

  One half-hour later, Jamison hung his phone up and glanced at Mia. “It looks like Paige and Cindi are as adamant about going as you are now that they know you will be joining us. Jamison sounds like he’s ready to blow a gasket.” Jordan whistled low and shook his head.

  “Cindi can be a handful when it comes to protecting you, darlin’, and Paige was given the responsibility of protecting both you and Cindi, so it looks like we are all going as one big, happy family.”

  “I was coming even if you said no,” she added.

  “That’s what you think.”

  You feisty little minx. I adore you.

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  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Jordan awoke before Mia, packed a suitcase, made a few phone calls, and ordered breakfast. She lay on the bed still sleeping, her thick brown hair strewn against the pillow. Fuck. From just looking at her, he was hard. He gazed down at his boxers, the only stitch of clothing he wore, and snickered at the suddenly tented material. Two days and you’ll be next to me again.

  “Good morning, honey.” Her beautiful brown eyes had opened while he was gazing at his tented dick.

  “Good morning to you, darlin’.” He smiled. “You called me

  ‘honey.’”

  He waited, the hunger in his loins consuming him, until she crawled completely down the bed before pouncing on her and pinning her against the mattress with his body. He covered her mouth with his. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered.

  She mumbled softly, “Jordan, you’re hurting me.” He stopped. He didn’t want to hurt her, just take enough of her memories with him to get him through the next few days without her.

  Forgive me.

  “I’m sorry. I just love you so much, woman.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Her desire for him spoke volumes from the way her gaze roamed his face and her hands slid against his back, and over his butt. She wanted him. And damn if he didn’t want to bury his cock inside her pussy. He imagined how wet it probably was, and that just about sent him into sexual overdrive. Temporarily content with her verbal love

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  admission, he tightened his hold. “You belong with me.” Reaching between them, he ripped her panties from her body.

  She chuckled with disbelief. “Hey, that’s the second time you ruined a pair of my undies.”

  Her stab at humor warmed his heart and flooded his body with peace. “I’m sorry…again. I’ll buy you a dozen when you get to Vegas.”

  She grabbed hold of the waistband of his boxers and slid them from him.

  The moistness between her legs hovered beneath his penis. Lifting her with two hands, he flipped her on top of him, guiding his full cock into the folds of her body. She moaned, welcoming him further.

  Amazement gripped him as his shy, beautiful, innocent bride turned to putty in his hands. When he thought he couldn’t take anymore, she bit his lip, and then passion lifted his body into euphoria.

  Without missing a beat, she leaned over, pulling his black bag from the hidden drawer. Catching his undivided attention, he slowed down their grinding to watch the love of his life pull out the silver talon. Reluctantly he took it from her. “I’m not sure about this, Mia.”

  “I want to give you my pranic energy.”

  He looked at her with unflinching directness. “Really? I don’t know if I should. I mean the state we are in. I don’t want to cut too deep.”

  “I trust you.” She moved the hair from her shoulder, inviting him to cut her neck. “I trust you with my life, Jordan.” His mind convulsed with turmoil, but his heart was in an uproar.

  She was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she loved him.

  Truly loved him. Could he be careful?

  “You trusting me isn’t the point. I don’t know if I trust myself.” Deciding he could be cautious since her faith in him outweighed his own, he secured the talon.

  The cut was quick.

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  She flinched, pressed her tits against his chest. His cock stiffened inside her as his lips moved to the scratch, then she grinded mercilessly when he licked the blood. The orgasms came rapidly, one after the other, and she cried out in ecstasy, giving him the perfect opportunity to trail his mouth from her neck to her lips. Inviting him in, she took his lips, sank her tongue into his mouth. Not having enough time to swallow, the blood still caked his tongue. Fuck, I’m going to gross her out. Get ready, she’s going to haul ass.

  Her body tensed before she pulled off his mouth, She studied him as she ran her tongue across her top lip. “My blood tastes like…it tastes kind of sweet.”

  He sighed so loudly his body shook. “I thought for sure you were going to jump off my body and haul ass out the door.”

  “After the orgasm you just gave me? I’m not sure I could’ve moved that fast. I’ll admit the taste was a bit gross at first. But then again, it’s my blood. I’ve cut myself and sucked the blood before. Of c
ourse, not from another human being’s mouth. Just chalk it up to the things we do for love.”

  Beautiful. “You drive me wild, woman.” Tears glazed her big brown eyes, toying with his sanity. He didn’t ever want to see her cry. The thought of her hurting froze him in his tracks. “Mia, baby, what’s wrong?”

  “I hope you always love me like you do this moment. I’d die if I lost you.”

  The tip of her finger drew an imaginary line down the side of his face.

  “Woman, you are under my skin, in my pores, in my blood. I will love you always, for eternity. I guarantee.”

  “I would do anything for you, Jordan.”

  How did a man like him score a woman like her? He still had the uneasy gnawing in the back of his mind he was going to fuck it up and lose her. Maybe her God loved her enough to show a man like him redemption.

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  He marveled in the thought. Redemption.

  “What you did for me this morning, giving me your blood without me asking was so unselfish, so magical, and very, very damn hot!” He half smiled and prepared to blow her mind. Again.

  “I have an idea. When I get to Vegas tonight, how about I score a pair of Las Vegas Police Department issued handcuffs?” He was joking, however, he wanted to see what she said. He did, after all, promise to restrain her once she arrived in Sin City.

  A curious gaze pinned him in place. “If that’s what you want, Jordan, I will try anything for you.” Her words hit him like body blows.

  “Really? You would let me cuff you to the bedposts?” He waited while his curiosity piqued as well as another member of his anatomy.

  Again.

  “They wouldn’t be tight, right?”

  “That depends on how tight you want them.” I promise I won’t make them tight, not even slightly uncomfortable. Just say yes.

  She leveled a childlike expression at him, making him want to taste every inch of her body for a second time.

  “Perhaps we could cuff one wrist and see how it goes,” she added.

  He tried not to laugh, although containment was becoming next to impossible.

  “Ah, sweetie, if I am going to cuff you to the bed, it’s going to be all or nothing. I’m going to cuff both wrists to both bedposts and drive you insane with loving you, every inch of you, until you come in the palm of my hand.”

  He tightened his legs around her. If she wasn’t careful, he was going to grab the towels from the bathroom and tie her up now.

  She turned a nice shade of red. My favorite.

  “You really know how to make me blush. I can feel my face flushing. Am I bright red yet?”

  “I love red on you. And, darlin’, I could make you blush so much more, but I think I’ll leave that for another time.” 200

  “Oh goody. I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can I.” A devilish grin broke across his face.

  Mia changed the subject before she ended up shackled. She wasn’t quite sure she was ready for that yet. Drinking her own blood from his mouth was still fairly fresh in her mind. One new event at a time.

  “So mister bondage man, when exactly will the ladies be arriving in Vegas?”

  Looks like Jamison has you, Cindi, and Paige scheduled to arrive in two days. That gives you gals time to pack, and us time to get settled.”

  * * * *

  The next day, Jordan called them several times from Vegas explaining how they were working with the Henderson Police Department, specifically Chief Joey Jasperillo, and the number-one crime-scene investigator, Linda Levoux. Cindi and Mia had returned from lunch earlier. Cindi was walking toward the door when Mia called her back.

  “Cin, we never talked about what happened between you and Tristan last night in the blood room.”

  She sighed. “I was waiting for you to ask me about that. Tristan told me you and Jordan watched from the doorway. It’s bloodplay, nothing more.”

  “Nothing more?” Cindi was quite nonchalant about Tristan beating her with a whip. Nothing more? “Are you and Tristan in a relationship?”

  “He would like to think so.”

  Yeah I bet he does.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Yes and no. The welts hurt, but the soft touches afterward make it worthwhile. I know this sounds cliché, but it hurts so good. It’s another world in the blood room. I can be anyone I want to be when

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  I’m restrained or doing the restraining. Dark fantasies can lead to ecstasy beyond one’s wildest dreams. To trust your welfare to another human being is the ultimate in vulnerability.” Cindi’s words were weaving an unsettling path through Mia’s consciousness because of her own strange desires brewing. “Cindi, I can only admit this to you. I am curious. I want to experience what goes on it that room. But I’m afraid.”

  Cindi pulled Mia’s hand into hers. “Don’t let the fear cripple you.

  I’ve heard Jordan is a pro in the blood room. Rumor has it he’s careful, loving, and thorough without even being in love with any of his submissives. He loves you, and because of that I know he would never hurt you.” She glanced at the clock. “We need to get a move on.

  Meet you downstairs.” Cindi slid out of the room before Mia could ask more questions. She tried to imagine herself in the bloodplay arena. Perhaps with Jordan, it would be okay. And maybe not.

  Paige, Cindi, and Mia reached the Orlando International Airport in a little less than an hour, with the limo driver’s speed never reaching below seventy miles per hour. They boarded the airplane, and before Mia knew it, they were flying safely in the skies. She slept a few hours, awakening just in time to feel the plane descend into Las Vegas. After collecting their luggage at baggage claim, they walked across the airport and up the stairs to wait for Jamison and Jordan outside of Starbucks.

  As soon as they reached upstairs, Cindi’s gaze hit the first slot machine, and she took off running. The machine clanged, and in thirty seconds flat, she lost her money.

  With the realization of seeing her husband moments away, Mia suddenly felt nervous. In an attempt to pull herself together, she stopped, stepped away from the crowd of moving people, and leaned against the wall.

  “What’s wrong?” Cindi’s expression turned serious, even with her gaze scanning for more slot machines.

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  “What if, after he sees me, his feelings are not the same or not as intense as he thought they were?” She tilted her head back to bring the urge to puke to a halt. “Everything has happened so quickly. It’s been a whirlwind. What if after having a few days without me he realized he’d jumped the gun about me? I mean it does seem too good to be true. Love at first sight isn’t logical, so people say.”

  “Mia, there is a hunk of a man coming for you. He loves you.

  Everything about you. Who gives a shit what other people think or say? Now stop your needless worrying and put a smile on that face.” Paige nodded in agreement, which was odd, since the woman had glared at Mia through the entire wedding. She was probably one of Jordan’s skeletons, too.

  She hesitated. “Thank you two for being so good to me the past few days.”

  “That’s what best friends are for,” Cindi added. “Now let’s go.” So they did.

  When they reached the entrance to Starbucks, her man was standing there, waiting for her. His blond hair rested against his shoulders, and he wore his trademark black leather pants, a Harley-Davidson hoodie, and steel-toed, black boots. There he was, her Jordan, her man, her life.

  But before he caught sight of her, she had to freshen up, so she talked the girls into ducking into the bathroom for a quick second, never expecting the gun to her back or the muffled screams of Cindi and Paige to be the last thing she heard when her world went black.

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  Chapter Eighteen

  Sliding in and out of consciousness was a godsend for Mia. She wasn’t sure how much longer her body could withstand the deep lacerations that were coming more frequently now that John Ennisbrooke knew he was a hunte
d man.

  What had happened days ago was still a blur to her. It had happened in seconds, a sharp object in her back, a strong hand around her waist, and then a voice telling her to keep moving if she wanted her husband to live.

  She shifted her body to her right foot, trying to alleviate some of the pain, when she heard the door open.

  “So, how is my pretty blood doll today?” John asked, strolling toward her. She refused to open her eyes, refused to look into his crazy, deranged face.

  She licked her swollen, cracked lips. “Please, can I have water?

  Please?” And then she repositioned her weight to the other hip, wanting to scream from the sudden surge of pain.

  He came close, close enough that his rank breath touched her cheek. “Well, that depends.” He curved his lips into a dangerous smile. “You give me what I want, and then you can have what you want.”

  He stepped back and yanked on the chains suspending her from the ceiling. As the pain shot through her body, as if someone was ripping her limb from limb, she shrilled, urgently wishing death would take her. But even her tears dried up, even they’d abandoned her. His second tug on the chains sent her into massive hysterics.

  “Please, no more!” she begged.

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  Losing the feeling in her legs, the dislocation of her arms was imminent. She listened as footsteps moved to the other side of the room, then the sound of metal screeched closer as a gurney came into view.

  “Hell!” he shrieked as he rattled her chained arms. “I’ll be damned if you are going to die on my watch before I have had a chance to enjoy all your suffering.”