BOOK FOUR in THE GUARDIAN'S SERIES
Book One: A Guardian's Touch, Book Two: A Guardian's Love, Book Three: A Guardian's Passion
Disclaimer See Part 1
Feedback: Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, so feel free to drop a line or two at steinwillard80@gmail.com .
PART 14
Chapter 22
Jessica gasped softly the moment she entered the room, her eyes wide in shock.
Earlier in their room when Clarissa woke her and told her the family was waiting for them, she wasn't really sure what to expect. Except for a slight shiver at the knowledge that she'd been sleeping rather peacefully in a cellar filled with deadly vampires, she'd known that Clarissa wouldn't have exposed her to them if she'd thought they would harm her. But nothing, NOTHING at all, prepared her what she was looking at now.
Standing in a haphazard formation, were the most beautiful people she'd ever seen together in one place. Never, not even at a photos shoot had she ever been expose to such beauty before. Her startled gaze went back to Clarissa who stared at her with an amused look on her face.
“Jessica, meet my family.”
She lifted her hand and touched her chest, looking for something. But what? She felt her index finger itch and she immediately knew what she was missing. Her camera. It was impossible to look at them, without wanting to immortalize them on film.
“I forgot my camera,” she murmured softly and was surprised to see a beautiful redhead chuckle softly. Blushing she averted her gaze and only looked up when she felt the familiar presence of Clarissa stepping closer to her.
“Let me introduce you, my love.” She lifted her hand and gestured to a dark, unbelievably handsome man with sharp dark eyes. The man was tall and muscled and his eyes slowly took her in as he stood calmly with his back to a window . “That's Jonas, my adopted brother.”
Shyly, Jessica nodded at the man and was immediately intrigued by the sadness in the man's eyes even as he was smiling. He acknowledged her greeting with a deep bow.
“Over there,” Clarissa continued, turning her to face the gorgeous redhead and a tall blonde man with twinkling blue eyes, “…is Genevieve and Pierre, Trinity's parents. The other two…”
She stared at the couple for a few seconds longer. Trinity's parents? Wow, they didn't resemble their daughter at all, but it was evident that good looks indeed ran in the family. They were obviously very much in love from the way they were holding hands and the loving looks they threw back at each other and then at her. She looked away from them slowly and her eyes moved on the next couple.
Her eyes widening as she found herself facing the two women she'd met three years ago at Gabriella's office. Just like the first time she'd met them, they were standing close to each other. This time however the dangerous-looking blonde's arms were resting loosely around the brunette's waist. She just shook her head. She would never have thought them to be vampires. Except perhaps for the blonde. She exuded a very dangerous aura which befits her nature. But it didn't subtract in anyway from her irresistible good looks.
“We've met before,” she murmured softly and saw Clarissa's eyes widen in surprise.
“You did? You didn't say anything.”
Jess could feel all eyes on her and she swallowed hard.
“I…we've met at Gabriella's office about three years ago.”
She blinked when she felt all the attention moving from her to the gorgeous vampire couple.
“It's a long story,” the beautiful brunette said quickly and stepped forward. “Hi, again. I'm Inger and this is my wife, Paloma.”
Jessica quickly shook the offered hand. She nervously nodded in the direction of the silver-eyed vampire before stepping back into the protective arms of Clarissa. The silver-eyes flashed momentarily before a faint smile formed on the woman's sensuous lips. Inger looked from her to her wife and playfully slapped the vampire on her arm.
“Behave, honey.”
Jessica's jaw dropped when a big bright smile came over the vampire's face, transforming her stoic countenance into one of even greater beauty. She pressed closer to Clarissa and felt her lover's arms lock around her and for a few seconds she bathed in the familiar closeness. Clarissa gently kissed her hair before she turned her away from Inger and Paloma.
“Last but not least, I want you to meet Tahlia and Jemima.”
The first thing she noticed about the pair was the fact that they were an unbelievably attractive couple just like Inger and Paloma. The only difference was that the darker of the two women exuded raw power as well as an unmistakable authoritative presence. She glanced into the midnight black eyes of the woman and blinked. They were so dark that there were almost no sign of any irises. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she slowly reached for Clarissa's hand.
The dark vampire took a step forward and Jessica whimpered softly as she tightened her grip on Clarissa's hand. Her eyes were locked on the vampiress as she came to a standstill a few feet from her. Now this was a vampire for sure. It was evident in the dangerous aura surrounding her 6ft plus frame and in the slow feline gait she moved.
“Welcome to our family, Jessica,” she said in a deep contralto and held out her hand. Jessica stared at her hand as if it would change right before her eyes and attack her. She felt a soft nudge from behind and reached out a shaky hand. She was pleasantly surprised to feel a warmness transfer from the woman's hand to hers. When she looked up into the black eyes it was to find them glow with amusement. “You need not fear me, Jessica. Instead be afraid for those who in future attempt to harm you.”
Stunned by the uncommon words of welcome, Jessica just stared at the deadly vampire. What an introduction. And yes, how reassuring at the same time. It was wonderful to know that she had a very dangerous ally on her side.
Tahlia turned away and held out her hand. Her beautiful blonde partner joined her and Jessica felt herself relax immediately at the woman's brilliant smile. They were like night and day. From the way the dark vampire melted as she looked at her partner, it was obvious that the blonde held immense swaying power in their relationship.
“Hi, Jessica,” she said softly and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her cheek.
Jessica was thoroughly charmed by the gentle beauty and immediately smiled back at her.
“It's a real pleasure to meet you all.” She turned leaned back against Clarissa. “I am especially glad that you were there for Clarissa. She's had a hard life and I am indebted to you all for taking care of her until I found her again.”
The silence in the room was deafening as all the eyes once again focused on her. Inger stepped closer and placed her hand on her shoulder.
“You are the best thing that could've ever happened to Clarissa. I believe I speak for all present when I say that we are very proud to have you join our family.”
Blushing lightly, Jess turned around and looked into the beautiful face of Clarissa. She found a long red tear streaking down her most favorite vampire's cheek.
“Oh, baby…” She gently pressed her lips against Clarissa's. She pulled away and stared deep into the sad eyes. “I love you.”
She heard a soft sniffle and slowly turned to locate the origin of the sniffles. She was stunned to find Inger looking at her with wet eyes. Wait a minute…Why was her tears not red like…
“Inger is human, my love. We have three humans, including you, in our fold,” Clarissa murmured softly in her ear. That makes sense, she thought. Inger was the least intimidating figure in the room.
As she looked on the pale-eyed vampiress gently enfolded Inger in a tender embrace, kissing her gently on the cheek. She turned wide eyes on Clarissa and found the vampire lifting a questioning eyebrow.
“This is unbelievable,” she whispered softly and saw Clarissa's eyebrow hike even higher.
“They are vampires, Jess. There is no whispering around them. They can hear you clearly.”
Jessica blushed again and taking pity on her, Clarissa pulled her into her arms.
Inger came over to her and took her hand.
“ Now that you know you will not be on my menu for dinner, maybe we could go find real food while the night crawlers have their meeting. Gabriella should be waiting for us in the hotel dinning room.” Her sapphire eyes twinkled as she took in the guilty blush which spread over Jessica's face. Not waiting for a reply, she dragged her to the door.
At the door, she turned to look back at Clarissa and found her brown eyes resting on her, an exquisite look of love in them.
<I will come find you soon after the meeting. I love you…baby.>
Her grey eyes melted as she looked at her gorgeous lover.
<You called me ‘baby'…I like that. See you later.>
Inger chuckled softly and pushed her through the door and towards the stairs leading from the cellar. “It's really cute to see you both make cow-eyes at each other.” Her twinkling eyes looked into hers. “I have been with Paloma for 20 years now and we still can't get enough of each other.”
“Twenty years? That's a long time.”
“Yep, and it was all wonderful. I don't regret one minute of it.” She smiled dreamily. “I met Paloma through my mother when I was 21 years.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes. Paloma and my mother are childhood friends.”
Frowning slightly, Jessica stopped before they reached the stairs.
“Your mother…? Have I met mother tonight?”
Inger grinned. “Tahlia. She and Jemima raised me since I was 18 months old.”
“T…Tahlia is your mother? Really?” Jessica's eyes were big as she stared at Inger. “But…”
“I know she's a bit intimidating. But she's a big softy and really sweet.”
“That's an understatement if I've ever heard one. I can believe that from Jemima.”
Inger smiled and pulled her with her again.
“Jemima was the stricter of the two and she never let me get away with anything. Tahlia, I could wrap around my pinky. She is so laid-back .”
“Yeah, that I need to see.”
Inger glanced at her and laughed. “She is very powerful and dangerous, but once you see her other side, you will know what I'm talking about. Now come, I'm starving. We can talk some more over dinner.”
************************************
Tahlia waited until everyone was seated. “We have found the mole within the agency and he is being dealt with as we speak.” Her black eyes were glowing with an unholy light as she studied her folded hands. “Irmgard called Wolfgang for a meeting at her place where she passed on ‘sensitive information' to him, swearing him to secrecy. She had him followed from her place to his and later to a bar where he met with a man known to be an informant for Mary.” She looked up slowly. “It is safe to assume that Wolfgang had been the one who bugged the conference room, because a search of his house delivered a few audio tapes believed to contain recordings of our previous meetings.”
Tahlia gracefully came to her feet and walked over to the window. “Jonas, I want you to accompany Clarissa to her meeting with Mary. I don't really foresee any trouble, since Mary seems to be convinced that Clarissa has been turned. It could be useful to know why she is so desperate to meet with Clarissa.”
She turned away from the window and made eye contact with everyone in the room. When they met the beautiful blue ones of Jemima, she felt her anger subside slowly.
“But Mary is fickle and therefore I want us all to be on guard, armed and ready to engage in battle at a moment's notice. While Jonas and Clarissa are inside we will wait outside. If they do not come out, we will go in and get them.”
“When do you want us to move out, Tahlia?” Pierre's blue eyes were hard, a sign that he was battle-ready.
“We meet back here in an hour. This will give us enough time to go out and feed.”
Tahlia stayed behind as the others filed out of the room. She quickly walked over to where Jemima sat, waiting for her. She went to kneel in front of the blonde, taking her hand and bringing it to her lips.
“Promise me you will listen to what I have to say before you bite my head off, please.” Jemima's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she nodded slowly. “I do not trust Mary, Jemi. And I have this strange feeling that she might be after the girls. I know you do not like it when I go into battle without you, but tonight I beg you to take care of our daughters. I cannot leave them alone with Viv, you know how Inger is. She is bound to get them all into trouble.”
After her impassioned plea, she sat back and waited for Jemima's answer. The blue eyes stared deep into hers for a long while, before the blonde head nodded.
“I will do that. But I need for you to promise me that you will come back to me tonight still, okay. And I want you in one piece. I love our daughters fiercely, but I cannot go on without you.”
Tahlia nodded. “I promise to come back to you, beloved. Knowing you are waiting back here for me is incentive enough to rush back to you.”
They shared a deep kiss which ended with them sitting closely with their foreheads touching.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jessica's heartbeat accelerated at the sight of her tall, gorgeous lover as she appeared in the door of the hotel's restaurant. She was going to lift her hand to let her know where they were seated when the brown eyes looked up and straight into hers. She felt her fork fall out of suddenly nerveless fingers as the brown eyes held hers captive as Clarissa came towards them.
She watched the slow stealthy gait of the vampire as she made her way through the tables to her. She moved so beautifully, graceful but purposeful. She was taken back to last night when this powerful creature was sitting on her lap, her fingers buried deep inside of her. A slow heat pulsed to life in her lower extremes at the memory. The sienna eyes were blazing with an inner fire as they held hers, transfixed. She heard a faint snickering and reluctantly breaking her gaze from Clarissa's, she found the two sisters grinning at her mockingly.
“You will have to learn to control your thoughts, Jess,” Gabriella smirked as she bumped lightly against a grinning Inger. “Everyone in the restaurant can see on your face what you are thinking.”
She blushed and quickly looked away.
“Ladies,” Clarissa's voice was hoarse as she greeted the grinning sisters, her gaze locked on Jessica. “Can I steal Jessica for a moment?”
With identical naughty smiles, the sisters nodded, making Jessica blush even deeper. Clarissa held out her hand and helped her out of the chair. Jessica frowned when they walk towards the bathrooms instead of the exit of the restaurant as she had initially thought. They entered the restrooms and without a word, Clarissa bundled her into an unoccupied stall and locked it behind them. Before she could ask why they were locked in a toilet stall in a five star hotel, she was spun around and pressed against the cool wall, her mouth filled with Clarissa's tongue.
“Oh….Ohhhhh….” she moaned as she felt the zipper on her jeans being slid down. Clarissa's hand slipped in, pushing her pantries aside and delved into her core. Her arms curled over the broad shoulders as she swallowed the soft grunts coming from Clarissa. The slick friction on her clit was driving her insane and she was glad that her mouth was locked securely under Clarissa's.
Clarissa stroked Jessica to a paralyzing climax, holding her upright when her legs gave under her. She pulled away from the kiss and looked into the slightly dazed eyes of her lover.
“We are about to leave now. I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave.”
Jessica swallowed hard to lubricate her dry throat as she looked at the tall vampire standing very close to her, her talented fingers still buried in her sex.
“Are we going to say goodbye like this every time?”
Clarissa smiled faintly. “If you like, yes.”
“I do. I like it very much.” She leaned closer and hugged her lover closer to her. “Please be careful and come back to me. I'll be waiting.” She pulled the black shirt away exposing a board tanned shoulder. She bit down hard, drawing blood and making the vampire shudder. “Just so that Mary knows you're taken, I want you to carry my mark with you.”
She gently licked over the wound and stood back looking into the Clarissa's eyes. She was shocked to find them glowing red. She blinked quickly and found them they to be back to normal.
“It's funny, you know,” Jessica murmured as she looked into the eyes of her lover.
“What is, angel?”
“You guys go around biting people, but you balk at a tiny little nip.” The corner of her mouth lifted in a teasing grin. “You are such a sissy.”
Clarissa shook her head. “My reaction had nothing to do with pain. Instead…” She grabbed Jessica's hand and held it against her throbbing sex. “…it was the most erotic experience I have ever had.”
Jessica slowly began to move her hand over the area her hand was resting on. She heard the soft intake of breath as Clarissa bucked her hips. She leaned forward and gave Clarissa a hard kiss.
“Let me ease the pain, sweetheart.”
Clarissa nodded. “Just make it quick. I can not wait anymore.”