Redemption, p.1
Redemption, page 1
Bloodlust 6-Redemption
©2023 Marilyn Lee
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. All service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.
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Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
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Further Reading: Bloodlust: Conquering Mikel Dumont
Prologue
“No.”
“What? My hearing must be bad. I thought you said no.”
Seated in a comfortable chair, full-blood vampire Deoctra Diniti watched the female pacing the length of her living room. The other fem was a tall, slender blonde with dark eyes. Deoctra frowned. She had never liked or even completely trusted the other fem she had once been foolish enough to call an ally.
“Your hearing is excellent, Lina. I did say no.”
The blonde stopped pacing to storm across the room to stare down at her. “I have no intentions of allowing you to say no to me!”
Deoctra looked up at her unwelcome guest. “You’re in my house and too deep into my personal space.”
“I’m staying in both until I get what I want, Diniti.”
“Oh?”
She glared down at Deoctra’s round belly. “In your present condition, you’re obviously in no position to object.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Deoctra saw a quick flash. Seconds later, a tall, heavily built male with green eyes and long, wavy hair held Lina nearly a foot above the floor with his fingers wrapped securely around her neck.
“If you have a death wish, bitch, I’ll be happy to grant it. Right here and right now.”
The voice of Tucker Falcone, the handsome shifter Deoctra had developed a surprising affection for following the death of her former lover Leon, held a hint of steel Deoctra loved.
But it would be a cold day in hell when being pregnant left her incapable of handling a crazy ass nocturene like Lina. Rising, she walked across the room. She placed a hand on Tucker’s extended arm, silently acknowledging a thrill of delight at the muscles she felt under her fingers. Tucker was powerful, fiercely protective of her, and totally in love with her. In a word, he was hers. All hers—as her former bloodlust Mikhel Dumont would never have been.
“Release her, Tucker,” she said quietly. While she appreciated his quick defense, she wanted the other fem to understand she was still fully capable of defending herself.
After a moment of resistance, he released Lina so abruptly that she had to scramble to stay on her feet. After giving her a long, threatening glare, he stepped back.
Deoctra stepped in front of her. “Don’t ever threaten me, nocturene,” she said, baring her incisors.
After casting a quick look at Deoctra and Tucker, Lina seemed to realize a different approach was necessary—if she wanted to escape the house with her life. “My mistake,” she said, casting her gaze downward.
“Yes, it was. It’s one you’d be wise not to repeat—unless you’ve done all the living you want to do,” Deoctra said.
“I need your help just as you once needed mine.”
Deoctra’s gaze narrowed as she recalled one of the biggest mistakes of her life—spearheading a plan to have her former bloodlust, Mikhel, kidnapped. Many things had gone wrong because of Lina’s backstabbing insistence on straying from Deoctra’s carefully crafted plan. Both she and Mikhel were lucky to be alive.
“Yes. I once needed help and was foolish enough to think I could trust even a small part of my plan to you. If memory serves, it was your straying from that plan that nearly got me killed.”
Lina bared her incisors. “I made a mistake, but—”
“You make all too many of them for someone who expects to live much longer.” Deoctra turned away.
“It was a mistake, but I did my part. I pretended to be the woman he loved and lured Dumont where you wanted him. I’m asking that you return the favor and help me get even with Andrei Forester.”
Forester was the half-brother of Mikhel Dumont and the son of the century’s old and powerful fem Palea Dumont. She had once been Deoctra’s mentor. That fact had not stopped Palea Dumont from nearly killing her and her unborn child the last time the two fems met. She was only alive because Mikhel had begged his mother to spare her life.
With Palea Dumont’s unuttered but clearly understood promise to kill her the next time they met weighing on her, Deoctra shook her head. With the life of her baby, two remaining sisters, and Falcone hanging in the balance, there was no way she’d do a single damned thing to incur the other fem’s wrath again.
“If you want vengeance on Drei Forester, by all means, take it, but don’t expect any help from me.”
“And that’s it? I helped you, but you refuse to help me?”
“Your help nearly got me killed because you strayed from my plan. My concern is for my child and for those I care about.” She paused and turned to look at Tucker. Their gazes locked, and she saw a warm affection in his eyes that sent a thrill of joy coursing through her.
While unwilling to characterize her feelings for him as bloodlust, she could no longer deny that he was nearly as dear to her as Leon had been. While she had lost all the men she held dear, she would not lose Tucker. He was hers. Damned if she would do anything to turn the power of the Walker-Dumont line against them.
Tearing her gaze from his, she turned to face Lina. “The only help you can expect from me is my promise not to tell the Dumonts of your plans.”
“I need far more help than that.”
“And I need to be alive for my baby and the others dear to me! If you think for one minute that you can proceed with your asinine plan of a duel assault on Palea Dumont and hope to live much longer, you clearly have a death wish that I promise you she’ll grant you. And none of her children will beg her to spare your miserable life.”
Lina’s eyes flashed with Deoctra recognized as a dark and vile hatred. “So be it, Diniti. Others are brave enough to help—even if you aren’t.”
By others, Deoctra knew Lina meant the Defense League of the Brotherhood—the full-blood organization to which they had once both belonged. “Then I suggest you seek help from those so–called brave fools and be thankful that I’ve pledged to keep your plans to myself.”
Lina turned and flashed from the room. Seconds later, the entrance door opened and slammed with a powerful force that only a full-blood could generate.
Tucker placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’ve made a dangerous enemy in her.”
She nodded. “I know, but better her than Palea Dumont.”
His hands tightened on her shoulders. “When I think of her daring to threaten you, I could hunt her down and kill her like the old bitch she is.”
Hearing the venom in his voice, she turned to look up at him. As powerful as he was, she knew he was no match for Palea Dumont or her older sons. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of what Aleksei, Vladimir, or Andrei would do to him if he dared threaten their mother—who was all too capable of taking care of herself.
She was exceedingly grateful that Aleksei, a particularly powerful full-blood, had not sought out Falcone and killed him as retribution for the assault on his son, Acier Gautier. None of Palea’s children would overlook an attempt on their mother’s life.
“We have a truce, Falcone, and I want to have my baby without the fear or worry of knowing I’ve done anything to incur her wrath again.”
“What are you going to do about Lina or should I say Veelee? Isn’t that what she’s calling herself now?”
“Do?” She shrugged. “I’m not going to do anything.”
“Shouldn’t you warn the Dumonts about her plans as a gesture of goodwill?”
She tossed her head, sending her long dark hair flying around her face. “The last time I tried to warn them, I nearly got killed. I won’t be a party to Lina’s crazy plans, but I see no reason not to wish her a measure of success and to do what little I’m willing to do to help—by minding my own business.”
Chapter One
Dacoda Chandler stood naked in the moonlit bedroom of a small but luxurious cabin nestled deep in a thick cluster of woods. Although she knew many men would not find her dark, full-figured body attractive, she took delight in the certainty that the nude male sprawled on the big brass bed in front of her did not share that view.
His eyes lingered on her full breasts. She tingled with anticipation as his gaze slid down her round belly to the
That this handsome male, with mesmerizing blue eyes and a mocha complexion, should hunger for her was a source of delight. The huge, fully erect cock resting halfway down one muscular thigh beckoned her.
With her heart racing, she crossed the plush carpet to the bed.
He rolled onto his side and sat up. Placing his big hands against her waist, he drew her between his thighs. “What is it about you that continues to intrigue me, my sweet bitch?” He tenderly cupped her breasts.
She sucked in a breath, touched by his gentleness. And by his ability to make a word, she’d always considered vile sound like a prized endearment. She stroked her fingers through his soft, silky hair. “I’ve missed you so much, my honey boy.”
His dark, sinfully long lashes swept down, concealing the expression in his eyes. He silently glided his hands down her sore breasts to rest briefly against her belly before closing around her waist. “Even now...after all that’s happened between us, I can’t stay away from you.”
She stiffened. Andrei’s words provided a guilty reminder of the illicit nature of their liaison. Her eyes filled with tears. She placed her hands on his shoulders, her thighs trembling. “This is wrong, Andrei. We should—”
“We should do exactly what we’re about to do.” His hands tightened on her waist.
“It’s wrong,” she whispered.
“Ask me if I give a fuck about that.” His lids swept upward, and he curled back his lips. His glowing eyes and sharpened incisors were an unmistakable reminder that she was alone with a full-blood vampire. He would expect to suck her already sore breasts and feast on her blood as he repeatedly ravished her.
Instead of frightening her, the knowledge heightened her already inflamed passions. She took his hands from her waist to place them on her belly again. “Does this bother you?”
“You know it does.” He stared up into her eyes. “You shouldn’t be pregnant, or the baby you’re about to pop out should be mine.”
Detecting a hint of confusion and pain under the anger, she leaned down to brush her lips against his forehead. “You know I love you.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You’re having his baby!”
Slipping a hand over his six-pack abs, she cupped her hand over his shaft and whispered against the corner of his mouth. “I’ll always love you, my handsome honey boy.”
“Then why the fuck are you married to him instead of me?” he demanded.
The unexpected question sent a jolt through her. Sitting on his lap, she linked an arm around his neck. “He proposed,” she reminded him. “You never did.”
His eyes blazed at her. “You never gave me a chance.”
Staring at him, she shook her head. “You said love was a human emotion and—”
“I don’t need you tossing every reckless thing I said back at me when I’m least able to cope.”
His obvious pain tore at her emotions. Part of her knew she should be home with her husband. Another part wouldn’t be anywhere but where she was—with him. “Evan will expect me home soon.”
He uttered a vile oath at the mention of her husband’s name. Fearful he would threaten to kill Evan again, she sought to soothe him. She took his hand and placed it between her legs. “Are you going to waste the little time we have together, or are you going to fuck me with that big, gorgeous cock of yours and get high on my blood?”
He snatched his hand away. “I’m not just a big dick.”
She stifled a sigh. Why the hell was she cheating on a man who loved her as deeply as Evan? Andrei possessed an explosive temper and probably only wanted her because she now belonged to another man. When she’d offered him her heart, he’d tossed it back at her, uncaring for how much he hurt her.
“No, you’re not just a big dick, Andrei,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “You’re the male who owns my heart.”
“Then why the fuck—”
She pressed her fingers against his lips to silence him. “You’re the male who owns my heart,” she repeated. “What do you intend to do about it?”
He surprised her by laying his head against her sore breasts.
She suppressed the impulse to draw away and kissed his hair instead. “Love me, my honey boy.”
He lifted his head to look at her.
She shivered with anticipation at the hunger she saw in his blue gaze before placing his hand against her stomach. “Take me, but be gentle.”
“How can you expect me to accept this situation without making him pay?”
“Oh, Andrei. Don’t.”
He caressed her belly. “How could you let him get you pregnant?”
She pressed her cheek against his hair. “I don’t want to talk, Andrei. I just want you to love me. I need to feel you inside me loving me as only you can. And I’ll love you as only I can, my Andrei.”
“I will...if you promise to leave him and come live with me,” he replied.
Her heart raced. That was probably as close as he would ever come to admitting any finer feelings for her. She had fallen into lust with him at first sight of his picture on his twin sister’s desk. After they’d met, her passion had quickly turned to love. For her. Not so much for him.
Although he’d been reluctant, Dacoda knew he’d allowed Tatiana to talk him into accompanying her to her family reunion. Even though she knew he wasn’t human and that he preferred slender blondes, she’d flirted with him—until he’d succumbed to her advances and made love to her.
But even after he’d admitted that he was sexually attracted to her, he’d made it plain that he had no desire for a lasting relationship. That hadn’t changed until he realized Evan had fallen in love with her.
Andrei would always be able to lay claim to most of her heart. But Evan owned the other part. Unlike Andrei, Evan had never wavered in his love—even when she’d been foolish enough to cheat on him with Andrei. Evan had forgiven her. He’d been a good husband, and she knew he’d be an excellent father to their child.
Although her treacherous heart longed for even the smallest crumb of Andrei’s attention, she wouldn’t repay Evan’s devotion by leaving him for Andrei. Nor would she risk subjecting their child to Andrei’s mercurial temper. While she didn’t fear him, she was uncertain how he’d react or respond to Evan’s child.
He brushed his lips against her cheek. “Be my bitch, Coda. Leave him and come live with me.”
She shook her head. “You know I’m tempted, but I can’t leave him, Andrei.”
“Why not?”
She hesitated and then sighed. There was no point trying to hide her feelings from a male who could read her mind. “I love you.”
“So you claim.”
“I love you,” she repeated. “But I love Evan too.”
“I could make you forget him.”
While aware that full-bloods could conceal their presence, Andrei had never been able to hide his from her. She wasn’t sure of the source of her certainty, but she doubted that he could compel her as effectively as he thought. “No. You couldn’t.”
“Don’t be so sure of that, Coda.”
“Even if you could, I have no wish to forget him.”
“You greedy bitch!” He lifted her from his lap and rose abruptly. “Be careful what you wish for.”
She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
He stalked across the room to the window before he turned to stare at her. “You like the idea of having us vie for your affection,” he accused.
Even as she shook her head, her cheeks burned. She silently acknowledged the validity of his charge. After years of being treated as a confidant by all the males of her acquaintance, she found having two handsome males hungry for her love and her body thrilling.
Crossing the room to slide her arms around him, she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “Okay, but I don’t want either of you hurt, and you know I love you both.”
He jerked away and glared down at her. “But you can’t have us both.”
She lifted her chin and met his blazing gaze. “Why can’t I?”
He bared his incisors and bent to hiss his answer at her. “Because I’ve had enough of your damned infidelity. Either leave him and come live with me, or I’ll kill him.”
