BUMP

Part 15

“Josef,” Liz whispered mentally and verbally, hoping to hear her mate’s voice.

“Sorry to disappoint, but there is no ‘Josef’ here,” a voice said from the shadows.

Hearing the voice of the person she once cared for shook her from her stupor. She realized she was tired and weak, as if all her strength had been drained from her.

“Max? What’s going on?” Liz asked.

“I was told many things that have been proven true and I can’t allow that,” Liz looked confused at that, so he continued. “You see, a little birdie said you were a vampire and had some kind of connection with another. Like I said before, I can’t allow that. I don’t care about the vampire situation, but I am the only one who will have a connection with you.”

“You’re insane. I had a connection with Josef before you were even born on Antar. You hold no control over me; now, let me go!” Liz yelled, trying to move from the chair she was placed in. “What have you done to me?”

“I gave you a little taste of my power; apparently, you had a bad reaction which I was not expecting. I wonder why that is considering you were just fine when I healed you,” Max contemplated.

Josef, Liz said through her link. She was hit with more pain than she had felt since her sire was still alive.

“Now, now, my dear. I would not try that again. I got rid of that pesky link you had with the bastard who stole you from me.”

“Asshole. I’m going to love the torture you are going to receive once Josef finds you.”

“No one will find us, my love. I’ve made sure of it.”

*****

Mick, Beth, and Simone were discussing Liz’s disappearance, as Simone had called it, when Josef fell to the floor in pain.

“Josef?!” Simone asked, concerned about the pain being inflicted upon him. “What’s wrong?”

“Liz is in pain, but I can’t get through the link. Here Mick,” he said, handing over his cell phone. “Call Kyle and Michael; they deserve to be here.”

After a few minutes and two phone calls later, Mick handed the phone back to its owner. “Michael and Kyle said they would both be here in ten minutes, and Kyle was going to call Ava. He figured she would be here in about an hour.”

“Who’s Ava?” Simone asked.

“Just a friend,” Beth replied suspiciously. Something’s up with her. She’s too relaxed for this situation, Beth thought.

All thoughts and conversation ended as little feet came running down the stairs, and a little girl threw herself into Josef’s arms.

“Where’s the nice lady?”

“She’s gone out for a while, but she’ll be back soon. I promise,” he said with tenderness. “Beth will you take…” Josef trailed off not knowing the young one’s name. “Apparently, in my old age, I have forgotten to be polite. My name is Josef Konstantin and the nice lady that was with me earlier is Liz Parker.”

“I’m Aislin Brianna Roberts,” Aislin whispered into Josef’s neck, feeling shy around so many people.

“That’s a beautiful name. Aislin, I’d like you to meet Mick, Beth, and Simone. Beth would you mind taking Aislin into the kitchen and getting her some substance?”

“Not a problem. What would you like to eat, Sweetie?” Beth asked the girl, trying to calm Aislin’s anxiety.

“May I have some pancakes?” she asked shyly.

“Of course. How about some strawberry pancakes?”

“I love strawberries,” the two walked into the kitchen talking amiably like they were old friends.

“Simone,” Josef said, getting her attention. “I want you to see if either you or Beth can get enough information from her to file for adoption.”

Simone was completely shocked at what he had just said. Adoption?! That could ruin our plans. The impending silence brought her out of her thoughts, and she made her way into the other room where the other humans were still conversing.

*****

“What are you thinking Josef?” Mick asked the vampire rising off the floor. “Have you gone completely crazy?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. My mate is missing, and the only reason I am holding it together is for that little girl in there.”

“You and Liz cannot take care of a child. She can’t be more than ten years old,” Mick tried to reason, not knowing the girl’s real age.

“Liz and I already talked about it. We can’t take her back to the environment she was in, and we both love that girl so much already. We are going to adopt Aislin and raise her ourselves, and there is nothing anybody can say to change our minds,” Josef said passionately, making sure Mick would not argue more about it.

Mick sighed, knowing he lost before he even got started. He had learned a long time ago that once Liz and Josef made up their mind, that was it, nothing could be said or done to change it.

Hurry Back

Part 16

Aislin instantly liked Beth when the older woman started to talk. She reminded her so much of her Aunt Becky. She was so full of life, but Aislin wondered how long that would last. Aunt Becky had lost the sparkle in her eyes when her husband had been lowered into the ground. She just stopped caring about anyone and anything and became blind to how her niece was being treated by her own father, the brother of the husband her Aunt just lost.

Aislin’s father had never thought of her as family. She was just the nuisance left behind by the wife he had killed. His own wife, murdered in cold blood by the man she loved. How many times had that happened, a women falling in love with a man, only to be betrayed later on in life? Hopefully, that would not happen between Liz and Josef. They seemed to honestly and truly care for one another.

She hoped this wound turn out better than living with her father—no, the creature she had lived with. Everyone thought she was younger than she was, and she never corrected them, which was about to change. She was sick and tired of being afraid. Josef and Liz had the strength to save her from her situation, and she was going to have the strength to live the life they were offering.

Something had happened to Liz, and everybody was trying to protect her from it. But she was not going to just sit back and do nothing. She owed the woman her life, and she was going to do everything in her power to help. She wasn’t sure yet what that ‘everything’ would entail, but she had to try. First, she needed somebody to be truthful with her about what had happened, and she was sure that somebody was going to be Beth, who seemed to understand the girl.

“Beth,” she addressed the woman she trusted. “What really happened to Liz?”

Beth sighed, knowing Simone was standing against the wall listening in to their conversations and about to protest telling the girl anything.

“She was kidnapped, Honey,” she started, paying close attention to Aislin to see what her reaction would be. “We’re not sure who did it, but we're going to find out. Then, I promise you, they will be in a world of hurt once Josef gets a hold of them.”

Beth was watching Simone as much as possible. She still did not trust the brunette, and she wished she could communicate with Mick to convey her suspicions. At first, she seemed confused and sincere in her actions toward Liz and Josef, but now something seemed off. She was more solitaire than before, quieter, perhaps even more deviant. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if Simone had anything to do with Liz’s disappearance, and if she did, Josef wouldn’t get a chance at her.

She was all Beth’s.

“I want to help,” Aislin replied, and it took Beth a couple of seconds to realize she was talking about Liz’s situation rather than beating Simone to death.

“How could you possibly help?” Simone spat with bitterness in her voice.

“Simone. She can help in any way she wants. Why don’t you go do something productive instead of just standing there listening to a private conversation?” Beth growled at the other woman. Hell she might end up beating her to death anyways, regardless if she had anything to do with Liz or not.

“Josef told me to come in here to get some information,” Simone said, lifting her nose and looked condescendingly at Beth.

“Oh, really?” Not wanting to listen to another second of the shit coming out of Simone’s mouth, Beth grabbed her arm and forced her out of the kitchen, into the room where Mick and Josef were conversing. “Too bad, at the moment you are going to do what I say.

“Josef, what kind of information do you need?” she asked, releasing Simone’s arm as she addressed him.

“Just the general stuff: age, birthday, parents’ names. Anything that is needed for an adoption.”

“You could simply just ask her yourself,” Beth chastised.

Josef sighed, knowing the blond was right. He didn’t know what to do without Liz anymore, and hopefully, he wouldn’t have to be without for more than this night. Once Ava got there, they will be able to find her fairly quickly. If anymore harm comes to her, he will not have any mercy left. The perpetrator had earned plenty of torture, but if he was angered any more, he could think of a couple of torture techniques that went out of style after the Middle Ages, techniques he was both fond of and quite efficient at.

“Hey, where is everyone?” a voice interrupted the tense silence that had gathered in the room and caused Aislin to come out of the kitchen. She made her way to stand by Josef’s side, showing where her loyalties lied.

“We’re in the back,” Mick yelled to the person behind the voice.

All the occupants watched as two men and a woman walked in to greet them. The men were complete opposites. The first looked like your average all American Joe. He was blond with a jock build wearing something that looked vaguely like Abercrombie and Finch, his arm around a punked out black and pink haired girl. His foil was a grouchy guy wearing a faded Metallica t-shirt and baggy jeans with a matching scowl.

“Hey guys,” Beth said, happy to be seeing her friends again, but sad because Liz was not there with them.

“Aislin, these are our friends. There’s Kyle, Ava, and Michael,” Josef said, holding the girl’s hand and pointing each one out with his free hand. “Guys, this is Aislin Brianna Roberts.”

“Aww, she looks like a mini-Liz,” Kyle said, noticing similar attributes of the girl and comparing them to Liz. “Actually, she looks a lot like Liz.”

At that moment, everyone turned to Aislin and noticed the similarities as well. She was getting uncomfortable with all the stares, wanting to run up the stairs and hide in the bed she had woken up in. But she had promised herself she was going to be strong, no matter what happened.

Part 17

Everybody was sitting around one of the tables in the main room of the Crashdown café watching Ava try to connect with Liz, putting their thoughts about Aislin away until they had Liz back.

“She’s sitting down. I can’t tell if she’s tied to the chair or not, but something is wrong with her. She’s weak, almost like she hasn’t feed or slept for a week,” Ava began. “Liz? Can you hear me?”

Ava, Liz whispered, not knowing if she was dreaming. Is it really you?

“Yeah, Liz. Where are you?”

I don’t know. It’s dark here. Ava, Liz said desperately. Ava, it’s Max. Max took me, but he wasn’t acting alone. I don’t know who, but someone told him about vampires.

“Shit!” Ava exclaimed. Are you sure, Liz?

No, I’m lying, came the sarcastic reply.

“It’s Max,” Ava said, staring into the raging eyes of Josef. “But she said he had help.”

That’s the only proof Beth needed. She stood up and hit Simone so hard she fell back causing the chair she was sitting in to slam against the floor.

“You bitch! What did you tell him?” she tried to go after Simone again only to realize she was being restrained.

“What are you doing, Beth?” Mick asked from behind her, looking at her with wondered awe at the emergence of her violent side.

“She told Max about Liz and Josef. She’s the only one who knows the truth. She’s the only one who would know about their connection to each other,” Beth reasoned.

“It could have been you too,” Simone spat back, glaring at Beth with hatred trying to turn the eyes of blame onto someone else, but she didn’t count on the strength of love between Mick and Beth. Before she knew what happened, Mick had his hand around her throat, squeezing the life and breath out of her body.

“Mick, wait,” Josef whispered with malice. Mick stepped back and let Josef take the lead. “Where is she, Simone? Where is my mate?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, I think you do,” Ava said, standing beside Josef. “And we’re going to find out everything, the easy way or the hard way.”

“You can’t do anything to me. He made sure of it. He’s your king; you can’t go against what he says.”

“He’s not my king. Zan was my king, and he’s dead. Max is just a small imitation of who Zan was,” she said, ruthlessly entering the young lawyer’s mind getting all the information they needed to save her friend.

“She betrayed you because she wanted you for herself. She told Max about vampires and Liz’s link to you, but she didn’t know about my link with Liz. She’s being held in an old warehouse or factory,” Ava told Josef without looking away from Simone.

“The old cheese factory maybe,” Michael said, voicing his thoughts.

“What’s wrong with Liz? Is she going to be okay?” Kyle asked anxiously.

“Simone didn’t know, but I think Max used his powers on Liz to block your connection with her, which means he used his powers without knowing the ramifications of what he was doing. If we don’t get to her soon, she’ll be too weak to do anything and too far gone for us to help her. The link has been keeping her alive. She was feeding off of your love for her as you were feeding off of her blood.”

“That’s why she hasn’t needed blood, she been feeding a different way,” Mick thought aloud. It was all starting to make sense to him now.

“We need to hurry,” Josef said walking out the door into the early morning.

*****

“What’s wrong with you?” Max asked anger in his voice.

“You drained my energy, blocked my link with Josef, and won’t give me anything to feed off of. Then you ask what’s wrong. I’m dying, you idiot. What did you expect? That I lived forever on nothing?” Liz snarled maliciously toward the alien hybrid, wishing a slow death on him.

“Don’t act like you’re starving. Simone told me you don’t need to feed.”

“So, she is the one helping you. I knew it. You know by now, she would have been found out. Josef isn’t the only one I have a connection with,” Liz smirked. “It’s just the only one Simone knew about. By now they would have called Ava, and she could easily find out who was behind this.”

“You don’t have a link with Ava. You can’t…” he was interrupted by Liz laughing at him softly, not having the strength for a full-blown laugh.

“I’ve had a link with Ava since she and the dupes came to town. She was trying to sleep outside the Crashdown by the dumpster when you and Tess left with Rath and Lonnie. I invited her in to sleep on the couch instead. I became hungry about an hour later and couldn’t go hunt. She said she trusted me enough not to kill her, and ever since then we’ve been like sisters.”

Liz laughed again saying, “Oh, and I bet you didn’t know she and Kyle have been talking since then as well. About a year ago, he finally had the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend.”

Max was simply shocked into silence, not knowing what to think or say at this revelation.

Kick ass time! yeah!

Part 18

Max knocked himself out of his stupor, thinking it could be true, Ava was unable to go against the king and that was him.

He laughed at Liz’s poor attempt at confusing him. “You almost had me, but I don’t believe you. Ava, Isabel, and Michael are unable to defy me. I am their King.”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. We’ll see who gets the last laugh, and I doubt it will be you. When the cavalry gets here, my bet is Ava’s not the only alien in the group,” Liz said smugly, knowing there was no way Josef would exclude Michael from the knowledge of her kidnapping.

Her mockery infuriated Max to the point of him raising his hand ready to strike her already bruised cheek for her insubordination. Nobody talks to me like that, and I’m going to continue to punish her until she gets it through that stubborn head of hers. His movements, however, were halted by the loud banging coming from out front.

“Uh oh,” Liz laughed again. “Looks like I was right. Poor Maxwell, you have nowhere to run. You can try to hide if you want to. Josef’s favorite game is Hide and Seek or was that Cat and Mouse?” Liz thought out loud and then shrugged. “Oh well, either way, you will be tortured, and I’ll enjoy every second of it.”

“You’re not that insensitive. You wouldn’t be able to harm a fly, let alone a human being, whether you’re a vampire or not,” Max said with conviction.

“You only think she can’t,” a man said, standing in the shadows of the doorway. “I know my Liz; she loves torture as much as I do. Too bad we don’t have any tar pits around here, though. That was the slowest I’ve seen someone die. Hook the person to a cable from a crane and continue to dip him in and out head first. It’s so much fun,” Max still couldn’t see the man’s face, but he could hear the humor in the voice.

“Josef,” Liz whispered to the shadows, quickly losing the strength she had been barely hanging to.

“So you’re the infamous Josef Kostan I keep hearing about. You’re not that scary,” he said with bravado.

But Josef knew better. He could smell the Max’s fear in the air, and it was coaxing his need for blood. Specifically Max’s. “Release her now,” he ordered Max.

“Not a chance,” Max laughed hearing the threat coming out of the man’s mouth. “I’m the king. You can’t hurt me.”

Josef growled, ready to strike out at the man—no boy—holding his injured mate hostage. He leapt at Max, but was stopped a couple of feet away by a green shield. Realizing he couldn’t get any further, Josef growled again, ideas flashing through his mind trying to come up with an attack plan.

Suddenly Max was knocked backward not understand what had happened. Looking up from the ground, he saw Michael standing there with his hand raised, ready to push Max back again.

“You’ve done enough damage, Max. What the hell happened to the boy who cried over a dying bird? The man who wanted to do nothing more than heal others? The Max I knew would rather die than hit a woman, let alone Liz. Look at her! Look at what you have done to her. Look at the marks on her face, Max. That shouldn’t be possible. What if she had been human? You would have killed her,” Michael said, trying to get through to the man he once called brother.

Max didn’t understand what Michael was talking about; he was the same Max he had been when they were younger. Liz had disobeyed him, and he had carried out punishment accordingly exactly like he would do with Michael for his disobedience.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Michael shook his head after seeing the look of familiar determination on Max’s face. There was no way to get through to him. Now all he could do was step back and let Josef know Max was free game.

“You can’t come any closer to me,” Max informed Josef smugly.

“Yes, he can. I’ll make sure of it,” Ava’s voice and expression were full of menace, moving over to Liz making sure she was all right.

That was all the incentive Josef needed. He leapt at Max once again savoring the fear coursing through the alien’s body and put a choke-hold on him.

“By the time I am through with you, you will be begging for death. But first…” Josef trailed off squeezing enough for Max to lose consciousness.

With the alien momentarily disposed of, he raced over to check on Liz. Even though he trusted Ava, he needed to see the damage caused by Evans.

“She’ll be fine. I’ve healed her a little, but she’ll need blood.”

“Would you mind donating?” Ava shook her head.

“Thank you,” Josef gently placed his hand on Liz’s cheek and called her softly, trying to rouse her. “Liz? Baby, wake up.”

“Josef?”

“Yeah, come on. You need to feed.”

“No, I can’t. I’m too hungry; I’ll have no control.”

“I promise I’ll stop you before you take too much. You can take enough to sustain you, and then we’ll find out what Max did to our connection. I know it’s only temporary, but the sooner we get it unblocked, the sooner you’ll, no we’ll feel better,” he reassured her.

“Who’s volunteering?”

“Ava.”

“Okay,” she whispered, forcing herself to stay conscious.

Ava brought her wrist to Liz’s mouth waiting for the penetration, but Liz was too weak. Josef reached for Ava’s arm and broke the skin for Liz. When she had enough she let go of Ava, who promptly slid to the floor.

“That’s a rush,” Ava laughed. “Remind me to donate more often. It’s almost like being drunk.”

Michael could not believe what he had just heard. Losing God knows how much blood caused… intoxication? He shuddered thinking of the one and only time he drank relentlessly. That’s not going to happen. Note to self, never donate blood to a vampire.

Loved this part.

Part 19

With a little help from Josef, Liz was able to stand on her own, but he retained possession of her waist to help her balance. At least, that was the practical reason. The impractical but all emotional reason was he couldn’t stand not touching her, now that he had her back. That touch was the only reassurance he’d had for several long, agonizing hours that Liz was in fact still around. She hadn’t left him willingly, and she was still here.

“Where’s our ward?” Liz asked; worried about the girl they saved, and effectively breaking into his thoughts. “Did she ever say her name?”

Trust his mate to worry about little things like the names of little girls they were taking in instead of the larger issue at hand.

“We found out her name is Aislin Brianna Roberts. Kyle and Beth stayed with her, and Mick is guarding Simone.”

“I can imagine how Beth acted when she learned Simone was in on Max’s plan,” she laughed knowing how protective Beth was of those she considered family.

“I didn’t even get a chance at her. You should have seen it; she was out of her seat one second, and Simone was on the floor the next, holding the left side of her face,” Josef described joining Liz in her laughter. “Mick was so proud of her; he was practically glowing.”

“Beth violent? And I missed it!” Liz’s bottom lip was caught in a pout and Josef couldn’t resist nibbling on such bounty offered.

“Well, she’s still breathing, but I’m sure we won’t have a problem convincing Beth to join the dark side,” he winked at her, thoroughly enjoying the flush on her cheeks not entirely due to Ava’s borrowed blood coursing through her veins.

“I’m sure,” Liz responded in kind, giving him a small but passionate kiss.

Beth and Mick were the last things on her mind at that moment.

*****

Max blinked against the darkness threatening to consume him once again. Confusion wracked his mind, clouding his thoughts. How…instantly he roared in pain, fire burning through his shoulders. He could feel some kind of liquid running down his arms and noticed it was blood from where the chains were cutting into his wrists.

“Ah, welcome back to the land of the living,” Josef chuckled merrily. “Temporarily, that is.”

“Yes, because as soon as I am satisfied, you’ll be riding the edge of death,” Liz nodded her head in agreement running her hand over her lover’s shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss through the cloth before leaning over and fiercely claiming Josef’s mouth, nipping at his lips and drawing blood as she did.

“No…Liz…” Max groaned at the sight.

“Aw, does that bother you? So possessive, and so stupid. How could you ever think I would be yours forever?” Maliciously Liz darted toward him slashing her nails down his chest causing blood to trail down and coat her fingers. She raised her hand and started to lick the blood from them.

“Michael will stop you,” conviction flooded through Max. He was the King; Michael his General sworn to protect and defend him. He knew his friend wouldn’t let this continue.

Liz stood in front of him, her head tilted slightly as she laughed. Josef took her hand and sucked one of her blood covered digits into his mouth, laughter apparent in his eyes.

“Max, Max, Max…” Josef moved in front of him, “Even if he wanted to, Michael couldn’t stop us, and I stress the words wanted to, which he doesn’t. You are a lost cause, an affliction on the face of this planet.”

Liz picked up where Josef left off. “Ava won’t be coming either. She fixed the little glitch you caused, and saved me the embarrassment of draining you dry before Josef and I could have some fun and teach you a lesson. She sends her regards to your family though, should we inadvertently kill you.”

“Nooo…” Max moaned, the betrayal cutting him deeper than the knife Liz was now marring his chest with. Where she’d pulled it from, his pain fogged mind couldn’t remember…or refused to.

“Yes, and there is more…” Liz knew how to strike him down. “I never loved you…you were a cheap thrill that quickly faded into annoyance. I fought almost daily not to drain you dry. You disgust me.”

Tears streamed down the King’s face, Liz and Josef looked at one another and smiled. I think I broke him.

I believe you did, Josef leaned into Max sniffing him and pouted, “This was almost too easy, we haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. I think he soiled himself.” Josef crinkled his nose adorably in offense.

*****

“Boys and girls of every age, wouldn’t you love to see something strange, come with us and you will see, this, our town of Halloween. This is Halloween; this is Halloween.”

Josef was looking at Liz like she had grown another head.

“What?” she asked confused. “It’s stuck in my head.”

He could not think of anything to say so he just shrugged. He loved the woman, but sometimes even he was scared of her.

“I guess we should take him home,” she said, referring to the body quivering on the floor. They had cut him down when he’d started to have difficulty breathing.

Josef smirked with menace and remembered glee,thinking of the alien’s cries for mercy before passing out for the fourth time.

“We still have a rat to take care of, but we can’t be merciful with her. She broke our code of silence; that is an automatic death sentence.”

“We weren’t being merciful to Max; he’s still alive. Mercy would include killing him and putting him out of his misery,” Liz explained to Josef.

He wanted to argue with her, but to rile her up, but for the life of him, he could not think of anything to say once again. Damn that woman. If I didn’t love her, I would probably end up killing her.

Aww. I love you too. And you know that would go both ways too. I would have probably killed you years ago, especially when you were using those stupid women for substance.

Josef laughed feeling carefree for the first time since Liz was captured. God help whoever takes her from him again.

Part 20

“So, Love, what are we going to do with Simone?” Anticipation coursed through Liz’s body with the thought of torturing another person responsible for betraying the man she loved as she and Josef walked into the café.

“As much as I would love to set you or even Beth loose on her, she’s not just our problem now. She threatened all those in our territory with her knowledge of vampires. They have a right to decide her outcome as well.”

Liz couldn’t help but sigh. She did not liked being on the LA Vampire Council and had not planned on being on it. It was too much politics for her, but with her being older than Josef, she had no choice. It was either that or move again, and she was not about to leave her mate for a second time. So, she had sucked it up and accepted their invitation. Josef had more than made up for it, but she still hated it.

“Do we have too? Can’t we take care of her here? Nobody will ever know the difference,” Liz purred seductively, hoping to appeal to Josef’s primitive nature.

The look Josef gave her told her more than words he knew what she was trying, and wryly he replied, “I would love too, but there are too many vampires that know she came with us. I’m not the only one she contends with in the office.”

“Okay, okay,” Liz sighed again, reluctantly organizing what needed to be done in her head with her usual efficiency. “Who do we have, Elsa, Guillermo, Mick, you, me, and Landon? Shit! Landon!” Liz exclaimed as they walked through the swinging doors heading into the back. “I hate that sadistic bastard. He’s worse than us, Josef. Why did he have to move to LA?”

“Because he loves you,” came a sarcastic comment from Mick as he walked down the stairs, bringing out a growl from Josef.

“He doesn’t have a chance,” Liz said wrapping her arms proprietarily around Josef’s waist. “Where’s Simone?” The woman’s name was spat out like something foul, and her lips curled back to show fang in disdain.

“She’s down in the basement with Ava, Kyle, and Michael. They wanted to spend some ‘quality’ time with her, and Beth is upstairs in your bedroom with Aislin.”

“Good,” Liz said maliciously appeased somewhat. Her family would do a sufficient enough job to tide the bitch over until more permanent punishment could be arranged. “Come on. We have a lot of phone calls to make, and my guess is we’ll have to leave for home before we can do anything else. Landon and Elsa will want to witness the punishment personally.”

“Alright, how about we start with Elsa? Liz will you do the honors?” Mick asked with a magnanimous bow that would have fooled anyone else.

“Why me?” Liz arched a delicately plucked brow Mick’s way.

“Because she’s still furious with Josef, and probably me by this point.”

Scowling and heaving a put upon sigh, Liz grumbled to herself about men and their stupid prides. Seriously, how hard is it to apologize?

*****

“Hello?”

“Elsa? Hey, it’s Liz.”

“Liz, if this is about Josef, forget about it. I will not talk to that son of a bitch or Mick either for that matter. Do you realize how much I had to do to clean up the mess he left when he killed his personal assistant? And Mick’s not any better putting up with him.”

“I understand completely. Trust me I’ve had to clean up after Josef for a good three hundred years before I met you. Although, some of the messes I’ve made,” Liz trailed off sheepishly. “But that’s not the reason I called. We need to call a meeting of the council over an issue that arose while we were down here in New Mexico.” Her voice took on a brisk professional air, all business.

“What happened, Liz,” Elsa asked, concerned for her friend’s health and recognizing that tone of voice.

“It’s about Simone.” Yep, the disdain was still there in force and then some.

“The freshie lawyer Josef was fond of?”

Liz growled at the reminder and took an unnecessary breath to calm herself down. “Yeah, the freshie lawyer. She has broken her contract of silence by telling another.”

Silence for a beat on the other line in that stillness only the truly old vampire masters could achieve. Then in the same coolly professional manner Elsa continued.

“You’ll have to bring her back here for the meeting. What about the one she told?”

“He’s been taken care of,” she said smugly.

“It sounds like you had some fun, Lizzie,” Elsa teased, and the tension that had gathered during the call dissipated like that. ”I trust you, and as much as I hate it, I trust Josef to have rectified the situation. I’ll call the other members, just get the accused back to town.”

“Not a problem. Thanks Elsa.”

“You’re welcome, Liz. We’ll see you when you get back.”

*****

“She’s really not happy with you two,” Liz began with a smile on her face. “You both need to apologize to her.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Mick exclaimed and nearly quailed at his grandsire, granddam’s reproachful glare.

“My ex-PA deserved what he got,” Josef said not at all guilty for doing something that needed done.

“It’s not that he did or didn’t deserve it. It’s the fact that he just disappeared from his family and friends. Elsa had to find a body similar to his body type and set up a scene where the body was unrecognizable. That’s hard to do now with technology,” Liz patiently informed her lover. “All she wants is an apology and gratitude for all she’s done for you in the past.”

Josef sighed realizing Liz had a good point. “Alright, I’ll make it up to her when we get back to LA, but for now, I need some alone time with you.” Josef leered at Liz, picking her up and carrying her on his shoulders up the stairs.

“Wait, I want to check on Aislin.”

“She’s fine. She just needs some sleep,” Mick called to them softly so only they would hear him. “It can wait until tomorrow for you to check on her. If she wakes up now, you’ll never get her to leave your side. You can check on her in the morning.”

“Good advice. That means straight to our room,” Josef said with anticipation.

*****

Josef pushed her against the door as soon as it was closed taking possession of the mouth that had consumed the blood of their enemy. Passion flowed through their bodies washing away everything but what they were doing to each other.

He grabbed the edge of Liz’s shirt and pulled it slowly up, all the while kissing every inch of her body being exposed before him. Finally the blouse was off and she was left in only a silk bra. He took one of her silk covered breasts into his mouth and massaged the other, wanting to push her limits of control. He wanted her reckless and wild, only thinking of the pleasure he was building in her body.

Josef, please,” she begged needing more, needing his body inside hers.

Not yet, Love. I want you to lose control.

Liz moaned thinking of all the other times he had said that to her. All the times he had brought enough pleasure through her body to knock her unconscious.

All thoughts slipped away as a hand ripped the rest of her clothes off and claimed her hot, wet mound. She could feel a finger enter her entrance, joined by another a couple of seconds later.

Josef! She moaned through his head as she was pushed over the edge into the first of many climaxes they would both share throughout the night.

Part 21

Liz awoke the next night the double wide freezer housed in her and Josef’s bedroom, having fallen asleep in his arms after a long flight back home earlier in the day. Sensations coursed through her body from the soft lips of her lover.

“Josef,” she moaned feeling him hit a sensitive spot on her neck. He was the only one who could caress her body into submission. While his lips were working on her neck, his hands burned paths down her body, touching every inch.

“Please…Josef.”

“Please what, Liz?” he said as his body slid down hers, breathe ghosting over her collarbone, lips caressing downward toward her breast. “Please what?”

Liz could not think as he took her nipple into his mouth as his hands made contact with her mound applying pressure gently. Wanting more, she raised her hips hoping he would take the hint her body was telling him.

He slowly slid a finger into her tight passage as he moved to the unattended breast which was begging for attention. Her walls clenched around him as he added another finger, then another, moving them in and out.

“Josef,” Liz moaned again feeling the pleasure about to explode, but something was holding it back. “Josef, please open up for me.”

At once their connection flared to life, bringing Liz and Josef to orgasm.

“Wow,” Liz said once she gained enough breathe after the wonderful release her mate had just given her.

“Tell me about it,” Josef said breathing in her sweet scent. “I don’t think that’s ever happened before. You brought me without even a touch. Thank you.”

He started to kiss her lips gently showing his gratitude and leading her into a peaceful world of love; only to be knocked back to reality when a voice sounded on the other side of the bedroom door.

“Time to wake up guys. Everyone’s waiting on you,” Beth said through the door.

“We’ll be out in a second,” Josef responded groaning with the thought of strangers in his living room.

“They’re not strangers, Love. You’ve known them for longer than five decades,” Liz said stepping into their walk-in closet for presentable attire. She chose a red, floor-length, satin spaghetti strap dress, knowing it would drive Josef crazy, and to think he’ll have to wait throughout the whole meeting with the knowledge she had forgone underwear. Oh, yeah. He would be driven out of his mind. And to prove her thoughts, he gave a low growl out in the bedroom.

*****

Beth gave a curse under her breathe about stupid vampires sending the human to “wake up” two ancients, who everybody knew was not asleep to begin with, with all the noise they were making. All she could do was give a sigh and trudge to her doom.

Thank goodness they were finished by the time she made it to their door; otherwise, Mick might have to find another woman to love.

“I see you made it in one piece,” Guillermo laughed.

“Ha, ha. You’re hilarious. Don’t you have bodies to harass, risk free,” Beth retorted.

“Yeah, but it’s not fun when they can’t fight back,” he said with a wink.

Beth figured what she was going to say next would just be another chance for Guillermo to argue with her, so she turned to Mick instead. “I’m going to take Aislin to that little restaurant you took me to for supper. Give me a call when you’re ready for us to get back. I’m sure Liz will be in a mood for some shopping afterward.”

“Sure stuff half-pint,” Guillermo responded before Mick had a chance.

“Who are you calling half-pint, Midget? I though vampires were supposed to grow when they were turned,” Beth said with a wink toward Mick before rising up on her toes and giving him a passionate kiss. “Later.”

“Later. Have fun!”

“Always,” she said walking out the door to collect Aislin, who was on the front porch swing.

“You ready?”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t we wait for Liz and Josef?” Aislin asked confused.

“We’ll catch them when we come back. We’ll take a small shopping trip and make Josef carry the bags,” Beth let out a laugh at the thought.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m just remembering the last time Josef went with Liz and me shopping. It was hilarious. Liz made him carry all of her bags and mine as well. Liz and I were walking back to the car just as happy and carefree as possible, and Josef was trailing us, trying not to trip on his own feet.”

Aislin joined Beth in laughter understanding it would take quite a bit of bags for him to lose his balance. She could still remember the safety she felt being in his arms, while Liz and he were taking her home, praying her “father” wouldn’t be too mad at her.

“Come on. I know the perfect place to get something into you, other than that crappy airline food. I still can’t believe you ate it,” Beth said winking.

“Hey! I need all the nourishment I can get; I’m still a growing child,” Beth was amazed at the progress this brave girl was making. She was joking about her life, which should have taken a few years of psychiatric help to overcome. Beth had no doubt Aislin would fit in with their psychotic little family perfectly.

*****

Josef and Liz made their way into the living room to meet with the other council members. At once they noticed their ward was nowhere in sight, and as one they looked at Mick with questioning eyes.

“You couldn’t have been making that much noise not to hear Guillermo and Beth going at it,” Mick said rolling his eyes.

“We figured it was the usual bickering between them and tuned out the racket,” Josef said.

“Damn sexual tension,” Liz commented with a sadistic twinkle in her eye.

Mick groaned at his two friends. “You never grow up, do you? You’re always going to be like children.”

“Damn straight,” they said together.

“Okay…Who else thought that was a moment out of The Twilight Zone?” Guillermo asked, trying to hide behind Elsa.

“Shouldn’t we get down to business?” Elsa, the only sane one, asked.

Liz made her way over to Elsa and tried to put her arm around the taller woman’s shoulders. “Elsa, Elsa, Elsa. Haven’t you learned yet, punishment is not business. It’s all fun!”

“Elsa’s right. We need to decide what to do with the freshie. I say you give her to me to do with as a chose,” Landon moved his eyes up and down Liz’s body, picturing what she had underneath the dress, or what she didn’t.

“Landon, I’m going to gouge your eyes out if you do not quit looking at my mate,” Josef growled, pulled Liz away from Elsa, and placed his arm around her waist, showing his possession to the other vampire.

Mick sighed at the dramatics taking place in the room and started speaking. “Landon, we all know what you would do with her. A little torture here, a little torture there. Then you would fall in love and turn her. Sorry, but not going to happen. She wants to be turned, that’s what started this whole mess.”

“How about burning her?” Elsa piped in, loving the idea of using the new flamethrower she received yesterday.

“Not enough,” Liz said. “We want her to suffer more than that. She would end up unconscious from the pain, and then, no more screams.”

“You are sadistic. I hope you know that,” Guillermo told Liz.

“We all know that,” Josef winked, cheekily while his tone was laced with pride. “That’s why I fell in love with her. Good old sadistic punishment. You can’t get any better than that.”

“Okay, so Landon’s idea is out, and Elsa’s idea is not satisfactory. What next?” Mick said taking control once more.

“How about the Tar Pits?” Liz mentioned and turned toward Josef. “You told me it was fun. Let’s try that.”

The room was drowned in silence as everyone thought about the possibilities.

“Let’s put it to a vote,” Elsa said. “All in favor?”

“Ay,” rang throughout the room.

“All opposed?”

“Nay, I still like my idea better.”

“You’re out voted, Landon, so sit down, shut up, and deal with it,” Josef growled.

Part 22

Liz sat in a chair Josef had placed in their bedroom, in her favorite blue dress. The chair was there for her to write, and revel in the ability to relax from stress. Her trusty diary in her lap, she began to write for the first time in weeks.

I’m Liz Konstantin or Kostan, since that’s the name Josef chose in this lifetime, and it has been exactly two weeks. Yes, he finally talked me into taking his last name. Now let me continue…I think I’ve been neglecting you, so I’m going to rectify that right now.

Josef and I have had so many problems during this time, but we’ve somehow worked through them all. Simone was one of the problems…well, not Simone but Simone’s family.

Her sister had shown up after a couple of days looking for her. Supposedly, Simone called her every other day, and she had missed a day. Luckily for us, by the time they found Simone’s body lying beside the tar pits, it had been devoured by hungry strays, cats, dogs, and rodents alike. Those poor animals, being starved enough to eat that woman.

The sister was so distraught with grief that Josef volunteered both of us to make the funeral arrangements. Let’s just say I was not jumping for joy on that one, but he had to play the gracious host (like always). And I just got roped into it, but he has been making up for it with hot steaminess.

Anyways, back to the funeral. Josef and Beth were able to make a speech on the belated lawyer’s behalf, while I sat in the front laughing my ass off and trying to hide it with sobs. I still don’t know how those two were able to keep a straight face, but then again…I’ve never been able to pull it off.

The story in the papers and at Buzzwire is that Simone had been walking over the bridge of the tar pits and was hit by a car, forcing her over the side of the railing and into the shallow end of the pit, breaking one of her legs, and causing cuts and bruises all over her body. She was able to drag herself to safety from the tar, but unable to protect herself from the ravenous animals.

The cops are now looking for a yellow viper (which is now back in Roswell and changed back to its lovely color of blue), that has been identified as the as the assault vehicle. The witnesses (Elsa and Landon) had been on a midnight stroll through the park when they saw the car come speeding down the road, but thought nothing of it at the time of their romantic outing (yeah right).

Let me tell you, the sweet sound of Simone’s screams made me grab Josef and dance right there on the street. It took us back to the good old days of the eighteenth century where we tortured everyone we could and just danced away from the scene without a care in the world. The thought still gets me tingly inside.

Our next problem was the adoption for Aislin. We were not about to suspend Simone’s punishment just to get the papers authenticated, so we needed to find another lawyer. Ava helped us with this one.

I was talking to her, and she mentioned Max had seen the light and wanted to make amends with me and Josef. After hanging up with her, I said “What the hell” and dialed his number. He wanted to know what he could do, and I told him the situation we were in. He said he would talk to his father, Phillip, about it, and give us a call back.

About an hour later, Phillip was giving us a call about the adoption, and said there should be no problem. He didn’t counting on Aislin’s father, though. That man was determined to get his daughter back no matter what…well, until they found his body. The coroner (Guillermo, who had flown down to examine the body himself) said the man died of an overdose. Poor man never had a shot at a life with angry vampires out to get him.

Surprisingly, Kyle had been right when he mentioned Aislin (he’s dubbed her Bob which Josef and I were not too thrilled about. Do you realize how many jokes come with that name?). It turned out I could adopt her legally because I was her only living relative, and we found all the evidence we needed in the asshole of a father’s house. Aislin’s father turned out to be the love-child of Grandma Claudia and some reporter by the name Steven Roberts. The adoption went without a hitch after that, which left other things to go wrong.

Josef’s new personal assistant took us for a round, meaning he thought he could steal money from Josef’s bank account and nobody would notice. Luckily I do the paperwork for the account; otherwise, we would be out of a million dollars. So now I’m stuck doing the job of his PA because I refuse to let him hire anymore people without my approval. You would think after four centuries the man would learn who to trust with money…

A hand reached down from behind Liz, grabbed the book off her lap, and tossed it onto the table next to her.

“Haven’t you learned not to talk bad about your mate?” Josef breathed against Liz neck, taking in her heavenly scent and nibbling on her pressure point.

“Haven’t you learned not to sneak up on an innocent vampire? It could be dangerous for your health,” Liz retorted huskily back to her lover, enjoying every caress he was bestowing on her body, his lips on her neck, his hands on her shoulders, and his erection pressing into her back.

Josef pulled her up, spun her around so they were chest to chest, and raged an attack on her lips taking her breath away. His arms wrapped around her waist and picked her up forcing her back against the closest wall. She brought her legs up around his waist crossing her ankles to give her more leverage to rub her lower body against his erection.

He quickly realized the only material between his hard cock and her soaking pussy was his pants. “You’re not wearing any underwear. Naughty, naughty Liz,” he said huskily into her ear while unzipping his pants to free himself from the confines, and slowly lowered his lover onto his erection causing a growl to escape both of them.

He paused when he was finally buried inside her, feeling her walls contract around him. He reveled the feeling of being inside her slick warmness. Liz, however, had other ideas that involved her moving up and down, causing his dick to slide in and out. He grabbed her waist and brought her down harder and faster than she could accomplish. They moaned each other’s name as they came to orgasm as one, not at all disappointed that it didn’t last long because they had all night and all eternity together.

THE END