Embrace the Heat Read online

  “What did you say?” the human asked through his teeth.

  “Please just let her leave,” he said and met the human’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever you ask, just let her go.”

  The human walked over and grabbed the female by her long red hair. She was one of the few vampires with longer hair. The only reason any vampire had long hair was that humans wanted it long. The human jerked her head back roughly until she cried out. “Come over here, unzip your pants, and take what I have so generously offered you,” the human said calmly.

  “Please just do it,” the female pleaded. “Just get it over with.”

  The human backhanded her. His ring cut into the side of her face. Droplets of blood trickled from the cut, contrasting vividly with her pale skin. “Shut the fuck up! I tell you when you can talk.”

  “Don’t hit her!” Simon yelled. He wasn’t sure where his courage had suddenly come from. Maybe he really was at the end of his rope. Maybe this was part of some death wish.

  The human pushed the female down onto the floor and stalked toward Simon. It wasn’t his physical presence that frightened Simon. He was a weak looking man with very little muscle tone. What frightened Simon about this man was what he could accomplish with a word. This man’s power and sick obsession with Simon were terrifying.

  The human smiled. “You don’t like her?”

  Simon didn’t answer.

  “That’s fine,” the human said with a genial smile. “I’ll have her pleasure me instead.”

  Simon looked at the poor female on the floor. She hadn’t moved. She looked too terrified to move or speak. Her cheek pressed against the cold floor, and her eyes focused on Simon.

  The door opened, and a tiny girl who looked to be about six started to enter with a big stack of laundry. When she noticed the room was in use, she panicked and dropped the laundry. Her eyes were wide with fear.

  “I didn’t know anyone was in here,” she said, nearly in tears. “Sorry.”

  When she started to leave, the human called out to her, “Don’t move. Come in and close the door.”

  With shaky hands, the girl came into the room. She didn’t make eye contact with any of them, just stared at her tiny bare feet.

  “After that whore finishes sucking me off, I’ll have this little blood brat chained down and hold a fucking knife to her throat while she sucks your cock. How does that sound?”

  Simon’s eyes widened in alarm. “You can’t! They don’t let you use the children like that.”

  “My father owns this place and everyone here,” he said with a satisfied smile. “I can do whatever the fuck I want to any of you.”

  “Please don’t,” Simon said with his head bowed. “I’ll do what you say.”

  A slow evil smile spread across the human’s face. “That’s much better. What do you have to say to me?”

  Simon nearly choked on the words. “Thank you for bringing me this gift.”

  In that moment, Simon swore he would see this human dead someday. He would see all of the humans who used his kind dead.

  Chapter Two

  Sixty Six Years Later

  Layla was so excited! Today she was going to see her mom. It’s not that she wasn’t happy living with Raven. Actually, living with Raven was better than living with her mom. Raven spent time with her and never forgot her anywhere. Well, Layla had to stay with sitters a lot because Raven worked, but the sitters were nice, and Raven was there to tuck her in every night.

  “Ready to go?” Danny called from the door to the room. Danny was her age but already a lot taller than her. Layla hated being shorter than everyone, but at least she was stronger than most of them, even Danny. Sometimes they pretended to train like Raven; Layla usually won.

  “Yes!” Layla squealed and spun around in circles. Her blonde hair swung out behind her. That’s when she caught the worried look in Danny’s green eyes. Freezing mid spin, Layla glared at her friend. “You don’t think she’s coming, do you?”

  Danny cringed, his cheeks flushed a shade nearly as deep as his dark red hair. “I hate seeing you get so excited when she might not be there.”

  “It’s our birthday,” Layla said extra slowly. “I’m turning seven, and she’s turning twenty seven. She has to be there. Moms don’t miss birthdays.”

  Danny ducked his head, and Layla instantly felt bad. Danny didn’t really know when his birthday was. Raven had made up a day, but his mom didn’t celebrate his birth. Danny’s father had been killed years ago, and his mom was strange. She’d take Danny places and leave him there. That’s why Danny was at Raven’s now. His mom had told him to sit and wait while she got supplies. When it got dark, he’d walked to Raven’s house. He knew his way home now, but he was always a little angry and embarrassed when his mom forgot him. She didn’t do it on purpose. Raven said something was broken in Danny’s mom, and Layla had to agree.

  “Sorry for opening my big mouth,” Layla said and hugged her friend.

  Danny tried to squirm away. He thought girls were gross. “Stop hugging me, Layla! It’s okay. You’re right; moms should be there for birthdays. I’ll bet you won’t forget your kids’ birthdays when you’re a mom.”

  Layla couldn’t even imagine wanting to be a mom. Life sucked too much. They were stuck on the island and weren’t even allowed near the water for fear of being killed. Who would want to bring a kid into this world? Besides, she was never kissing a boy. “There is no way I’m going to be a mom. Do you even know how babies are made?”

  Danny grinned at her. “Sure I do. Do you know how babies are made?”

  “Sure, boys kiss girls on the mouth,” Layla explained.

  Danny laughed at her. “That’s not how it happens. Well, there’s usually kissing at first. Sometimes the man puts his thing in the woman’s .”

  “Danny!” Raven called from the kitchen. Raven was making peach pie for Layla. Luckily Layla’s birthday was in spring or she might not have a sweet treat. They canned fruit for the winter, but they didn’t use it for anything frivolous. Winter was a time to save up their food for emergencies. During the spring, Raven could get a jar of peaches without causing too many problems. Raven was a wood nymph, and she helped their crops grow strong. She was also the only nonhuman living on the island, making her an outcast to most.

  “What?” Danny called back. “She’s gonna have to learn how babies are made, especially if she doesn’t want to have one.”

  “I don’t want to know where you got your information,” Raven said sternly as she walked into the room. Her long brown hair was pulled back from her face. “Layla will learn how babies are made when she’s older. You and I are definitely going to talk about this later.”

  Danny gave Raven a sheepish smile. “Did I get it wrong?”

  Raven laughed. “No, you got it right. I just want you to tell me where you learned that from. Something tells me you were spying on people again.”

  Layla stuck her tongue out at Danny, and he made a rude gesture with his middle finger. “I know what that means,” she said.

  “Good,” he said back, “then I’m not wasting my time.”

  “Both of you behave,” Raven warned, and then she smiled at Layla. “Have you decided what you want for your birthday?”

  Layla thought for a moment and said the only thing she could think of. “I wish you were my real sister.”

  “I wish I was too. Let’s go see your mom,” Raven said and held out her hand.

  Layla gripped her hand, and Danny took hold of Layla’s other hand. The gentle squeeze from Danny made her nervous.

  Three hours later, Danny was still holding Layla’s hand. Now, Layla was leaning into Raven’s side so people passing by wouldn’t see her cry. She didn’t want them to see that her mother’s failure to show up hurt.

  In the two weeks following her birthday, Layla kept expecting her mom to show up with some excuse, but she never did. Raven asked around and from what she could find, two days before Layla’s birthday, her mother vanishe
d without a trace. Nothing was taken from her home. All of her clothes were still there; making it seem like her mother had just disappeared into thin air.

  Chapter Three

  Twenty Years Later

  Simon hated being late to meetings, and he was pretty sure Connor was going to be pissy today. Connor was the leader of their vampire settlement, and he’d been ordered to travel to the head of the vampire government, Fangri La, for some big meeting. Connor hated going to those meetings, and now he was forced to bring his mate, Raven along. As a wood nymph, Raven didn’t travel or handle big city life very well.

  So, it was a given that Connor wasn’t going to be happy regardless of what time Simon showed up. Unfortunately, Simon had needed to extract a very determined wood nymph from his bed. Narissa had managed to slip into his home while he was showering and tried to convince him to stick around for sex. He’d been forced to escort her all the way to the front gate while she insisted on staying to help him relax after the meeting.

  Yeah, that was not going to happen again. He’d first met Narissa six months earlier when he’d been more than a little infatuated with Raven and hoped to find a wood nymph just like her. Narissa wasn’t anything like Raven, and she refused to accept that things were over between them.

  He let himself in through Connor’s back door. This was just a small meeting of their inner council and some of Raven’s humans. Raven had brought eight humans into their community. They were unlike any humans Simon had lived with before. These humans went out and fought alongside the vampires. Two or three of them always attended main council meetings. Simon still wasn’t sure he liked the changes, but the humans were growing on him.

  “I don’t even want to hear your excuse, Si,” Connor said when Simon walked into the living room. Yep, he was seriously pissed. His light brown hair was messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it. His brown eyes were narrowed, and he was still in full fighting gear from his patrol that day. Even the Kevlar vest was still in place, making Connor seem unnaturally bulky.

  Simon sat on the loveseat by himself and waited for the meeting to start. When nothing happened, he looked around at the rest of the room. “Who are we still missing?” he finally asked.

  “Layla,” Connor grumbled.

  “Great,” Simon said with a grin. “That means the little smart ass gets her backside chewed out instead of me.”

  The look Connor gave Simon suggested that he thought Simon was an idiot. “Yeah, because I want Raven mad at me before we’re stuck in a jeep together for twelve hours.”

  Raven smacked Connor on the arm. “I am not that bad.” Then she smiled at Simon. “I asked Layla to help Muriel out with the baby today because Muriel was feeling a little under the weather. That’s why Layla is late.”

  Simon’s lips curled into a smile. Muriel was a human and married to his friend, Jack. They’d tried to infect Muriel with the Moon Virus during her first pregnancy, but it hadn’t taken. Luckily it had passed on to their baby, Cole. Muriel had been one of Raven’s humans, but she’d actually come to the settlement before Raven. Muriel had fallen in love with Jack before discovering he was a vampire. Simon actually felt bad for Layla. Watching a vampire baby was a lot of work and made him wonder why any of them had children.

  “Then I’m still on time,” Simon said.

  “Don’t push it, Simon,” Connor warned, but his lips were twitching.

  Layla rushed into the room, looking far less composed than usual. Simon had never had any human friends before Raven’s humans, but Layla had quickly become one of his closest friends. He’d jumped in front of a bullet to save her life six months earlier, and it was something he’d never regretted. She was smart, feisty, and a total smart ass. She was also a lot of fun to tease. The woman was nearly a foot shorter than him but tough. Her long blonde hair and soft brown eyes gave her an almost innocent appearance, but he knew she could be downright brutal in a fight.

  Layla groaned inwardly when she noticed that the only seat left was right next to Simon As soon as she sat down he gave her a panty melting smile. She knew he didn’t intend it to be panty-melting. Still, every smile he gave her did just that, much to her own embarrassment.

  It was hard to control her involuntary shiver when he leaned in to tease her. His warm breath caressed her ear. “Tsk tsk. Late to an important meeting? Shame on you.”

  “Bite me,” she snapped back.

  “Is that an offer?” he asked with a wink.

  “Knock it off, Simon,” Connor ordered. “At least Layla has a good excuse for being late.”

  “I have an excuse,” Simon argued.

  Connor snorted. “Yeah, Ian told us all about your reason for being late. He saw you hurrying Narissa out of your home today.”

  Layla tensed, even though she tried hard not to. It might be easier to see Simon with another woman if it wasn’t Narissa. That wood nymph was just plain nasty to everyone, and Layla didn’t trust her. Okay, jealousy might play at least some small part in her dislike of Narissa. Still, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stand her.

  “I didn’t invite her over,” Simon insisted. “You’re free to ban her from the settlement. It would certainly make my life easier.”

  Connor shook his head. “Not handling this problem for you. Let’s get down to business.”

  The others in the room seemed relieved. Shelby and Carla had been out on patrol that day and both looked exhausted. Carla was leaning into Shelby’s side, looking like she was ready to doze off. Both were born vampires who had been around during the original vampire rebellions. They’d actually grown up together and fallen in love at some point. Both were on Connor’s leadership council, and Shelby was usually left in charge when Connor had to be away from the settlement.

  Rand and Norah looked like they were fighting or ready to tear each other’s clothes off. It was really hard to tell with them. Layla had first met Rand when he was being held captive by humans on the island settlement she’d grown up on. Despite the fact that he was probably three times her size, she’d been the one to free Rand from the cage the humans were keeping him in. During his captivity, Norah had believed Rand was dead, everyone had. His return had been a happy thing, but Layla had noticed that they were fighting a lot recently.

  Ian always looked irritated, so he probably didn’t count. While he’d warmed up to Layla and her friends in the six months she’d lived at the settlement, Ian’s wife and daughter had been murdered by humans. Layla wasn’t sure if he was moody before their deaths or if losing them had killed something inside of him. She did know that he’d been banned from feeding from human donors because he was needlessly cruel.

  Danny and Mark were the only other humans in the room, and the only ones who didn’t seem anxious to get the meeting over with. Layla had known Danny for as long as she could remember and Mark for more than ten years. They were two of her closest friends.

  Connor had been leaning against the staircase with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He pushed away from the wall to start the meeting. “We’re hoping to be away for no more than a week, but it’s looking more like it’ll be at least two weeks,” Connor said. “The leadership from a couple of territories that are currently not reporting to the vampire council will be at this gathering. I don’t know if any of them neighbor us, but we’ll be delayed longer if they do, especially if they’re attending to gain alliances. While I’m gone, Simon is in charge.”

  Simon looked shocked, but he quickly covered up his reaction. Layla almost laughed at his baffled expression.

  “Me?” Simon asked. “You usually leave Shelby in charge. Remember that whole rebellion thing I had going on less than a year ago?”

  It had been before Layla’s arrival at the vampire settlement, back in the days when she lived with humans and thought all vampires were evil killers. At that time, Simon had wanted to take Connor’s position as leader of the settlement because Simon didn’t trust humans. While Simon still had his issues with humans
, he’d grown to trust and respect several and no longer sought to take control of the settlement.

  Connor smiled at him. “You haven’t tried to start any rebellions in months. Seriously, Si, the issues you had with me no longer exist. I think I can trust you to handle things for a few weeks.”

  “I have a question for Raven,” Layla said. “Has Connor suffered some sort of head injury recently?”

  Simon poked her in the ribs. “Smart ass.”

  “It’s cute the way they flirt, isn’t it?” Shelby teased, her green eyes full of laughter.

  Connor obviously wasn’t amused. “No, it’s annoying. Si, I need you to stay on top of the training while I’m gone. We have a batch of younger vampires who are going out on patrol soon, and I need them ready. Jack is back on patrol soon too. It’s all in the rotation schedule. You shouldn’t need to make a new one unless I’m gone longer than two weeks or a change needs to be made.”

  Simon nodded, and then Connor turned his attention to Layla. “You make sure your phone is on and charged at all times.”

  Layla nodded and knew she looked guilty. Her phone was in her pocket, but it was turned off.

  “It’s not even on right now, is it?” Simon asked as he rolled his eyes.

  Layla shrugged. “I didn’t think I needed it for a meeting at your house,” she said to Connor.

  “I know the technology is new to you,” Connor said patiently, “but it’s really important that you have your phone on for many reasons. It also stresses Simon out when you don’t turn it on, and I don’t want you adding to his stress level while I’m gone.”

  “It doesn’t stress me out,” Simon insisted. “When I can’t reach people to call in back up or notify them of emergencies, it irritates the hell out of me. There are many reasons to keep your phone on, Layla.”

  “Phone sex,” Danny added.

  “You have sex with your phone?” Layla asked.

  Neither Danny nor Mark made any effort to control their laughter. Simon’s lips twitched, but he was obviously trying hard not to laugh at her.