Tempting The Gorgon: A Gorgon / Vampire Romance

Chapter 21

“There he is!” Rory boomed as I entered The Witch’s Brew for my morning usual.

I hadn’t spoken to him in almost a week since our debrief coming home after Charlotte. Things had been chaotic with last minute organizing of Venom’s grand opening and general happenings with the council. I hadn’t even been able to visit with Vinni as much as I’d have liked.

Especially after our mind-blowing scene on stage.

And the way she let me touch her non-stop after we got back.

Even with our busy schedules, I knew she had been dodging me on purpose. She was still caught up in the endorphins of what happened at the club when we first got back, but I knew my mate and knew she was probably building those walls up to keep me out before I even fully broke through them.

I wasn’t fooled. I knew she felt what I had under those stage lights. Even though Rory had been with us, it had felt like an intimate moment that I knew I’d remember for the rest of my days.

“I’m still trying to decide if I’m pissed at you or not,” I told the large ginger fae as I approached the counter.

“Me?” He placed his giant hand on his burly chest as if he were shocked at my words. “For whatever did I do to gain the wrath of our Fire Council chair?” His eyes twinkled with his usual mischief so I knew he was full of his usual shit.

“I’m curious myself,” Lennox said, popping up from beneath the counter with a rag and mug in her hand.

“Oh the big brute hasn’t spilled our trip secrets to you yet?” I asked, arching an eyebrow knowing full well Rory was more of a gossip than most of the town.

“Apparently not,” Lennox replied, throwing a glare at Rory who had an obnoxious cocky smirk on his face.

“Well, I’ll have you know,” I said before leaning on the counter so no one else could overhear. “Your newest employee was a little too comfortable with a riding crop on our trip. And he was also a little too comfortable whispering something in Vinni’s ear that I think is part of the reason why she’s been avoiding me the last few days.”

Lennox’s pupils dilated at the mention of riding crop, then narrowed at the mention of Vinni. She turned around quick and smacked Rory in the arm. She was so tiny compared to him, barely coming up to his chest, yet he shrunk back as if her hit actually hurt him.

“What in the actual fuck did you do to Vinni? I don’t care about this one.” She spared a second to wave a hand in my direction. “But that woman has been through enough. I will chop off your dick if you so much as make a minute of her life here harder than it needs to be.”

The wrath in Lennox’s gaze had even me stepping back at the potential threat.

“Slow your roll, little one,” Rory said, not backing down at her threat like most males would. Lennox was tiny but terrifying. And fierce… And a little violent. I knew for a fact her threats weren’t idle. She’d follow through on a dick-chopping if the situation called for it.

“I will not slow my?—”

She was cut off by Rory’s hand covering her mouth before he leaned down to whisper something in her ear even my vampire hearing couldn’t pick up. Lennox’s eyes bulged so large and by the time Rory pulled his hand away she was speechless.

It might have been the first time I saw the pink-haired barista at a loss for words.

She didn’t say anything before throwing down a dish rag, ripping off her apron, and stomping away. I heard her climb the stairs that led to her apartment on the second level.

I opened my mouth to speak before Rory interrupted.

“Don’t ask. I’m not ready to talk about it.” His normal jovial tone was laced with a serious vibe I wasn’t willing to cross. I nodded my head and took that as my queue to leave. I’d only made it a few steps out of The Witch’s Brew before a small body ran into me. I felt strong little arms wrap around me and recognized the scent of our newest resident.

I heard a shouted “Billy!” from down the way and knew Drew was hot on his tail.

“And didn’t they teach you never to sneak up to a vampire, little guy?” I laughed before picking him up and hauling him over my shoulder to keep him in one place for his newest guardian to catch up.

“I was always taught you couldn’t sneak up on a vampire? Is that not true for you?” the little wolf said between giggles at my back then said in an exaggerated whisper, “are you defective or something?”

“You little shit,” I snarled playfully before swinging him around and placing him back on his feet. He was wrapped up in his winter gear that had been donated by other families in town. One thing Haven Pass was good at was showing up when someone needed it. Especially the wolves.

“Billy! What in the actual moon goddess do you think you’re playing at?” Drew finally caught up to us and was out of breath. I raised an eyebrow at him, he was more in shape than most of the town, and wolves didn’t tire easily.

“I told you I wanted to go for a run. I needed to stretch my legs!” Billy said while trying to hide behind me. I grabbed him and put him in front of me so he couldn’t hide from Drew. The Italian beefcake in front of me was having absolutely none of it.

“And what did I say?”

I felt Billy freeze up under my arms which wasn’t a good sign. Drew noticed it too and lessened his dominance. Billy was only a week out of being held and potentially sold to the highest bidder. He was also just a pup, barely 10 rotations around the sun.

“You said…” His little voice quivered and I had to gulp down my own emotions.

“Shit kid, come here,” Drew said before kneeling to more his height. Billy left my arms and stepped toward Drew.

“I told you I would take you for a nice long run as soon as I got to the restaurant and made sure the opening crew showed up, didn’t I?”

Billy nodded his head of rich brown curls so they flopped around. It looked like someone had put some gel in them and I smiled at him getting the full Hemlock pack experience, complete with asinine haircare routines.

“Did you think I was lying to you?” Drew asked, keeping his tone calm and even without any of the alpha wolf vibes he normally carried. As the eldest of the Hemlock’s he’d already held a more authoritative role over his siblings before his parents died. Since then he’d become more of a father figure and his once carefree and spontaneous edges were dulled into more authoritarian despite the town rallying around to help him.

“No sir,” Billy answered, lowering his eyes slightly. “I didn’t want to wait so I just ran.”

“I know, I was behind you the whole way,” Drew mumbled before sighing heavily. “All the way from our pack house.” He looked at me for the last bit and I barely managed to stifle my laugh. The kid had run over five miles leaving Drew in the dust.

“I can’t explain it. I needed to run right at that moment.”

“You don’t need to explain it, pup,” Drew said, standing before him now, putting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “I was young like you and practically raised my brothers and sister. Your first lesson as the newest Hemlock is to embrace patience.”

Billy perked up at that, his brown eyes going wide. I hadn’t caught a lot of his backstory, but I’d known enough to realize his parents were long passed away and he’d never had any family. He didn’t even know his full name and only went by Billy. He’d spent the first day or two with Bert before being placed with Drew as a permanent foster with the full support of the council.

“Am I really a Hemlock?”

Drew considered Billy’s question before hunching to so he wasn’t looking down on him.

“Only if you want to be. But name or not, you’re part of my pack. Which means we are going to practice you not being a complete little psycho and running without anyone.”

Billy looked as if he might start to cry but coughed instead. The little guy had already learned to stifle his emotions which made me sick.

“I’d like to be a Hemlock.”

Drew nodded and wrapped him in a hug.

I didn’t hesitate before wrapping my arms around them both.

“As a Hemlock in Haven Pass you’ll also have to learn to accept some invasive vampires.”

“I saw an opportunity for a wolf snuggle and I never miss out on those.” I squeezed tighter until both of them started to breathe heavier. I took a few step backs after releasing them. “Drew will make sure you know how to contact me when you want to run and everyone else is busy. I know the best trails in the woods.”

“And he’ll outrun you any day of the week. Until you can shift anyway.” Drew said before giving a wink in Billy’s direction.

“I have to get going, but I’m glad to catch the scene from this Hallmark movie.”

“Oh shove off,” Drew yelled as I sprinted away and toward the club where my mate was no doubt working herself to the bone.

There’s a joke in there about me having a bone for her to work with, but it would be undignified of me to say that about my fated mate.

I would have to say it to her instead.

Walkinginto Vinni’s newly furnished office upstairs at Venom felt like coming home. There were spots of her personality everywhere and her raspberry and vanilla scent swirled around creating this concoction of boner-inducing warmth I couldn’t stay away from. It was my new favorite room in the club.

The custom built in bookcases already had a few books, some of which I found for Vinni myself. There were some beautiful art on the walls of gothic architecture that all managed to look sexy as hell. There were even some closeups of a boudoir shoot that had my mind whirling with ideas of what I could do with Vinni in front of a camera.

“Where’s the boss lady at?” Cliona stepped into the office right as I readjusted my pants from the embarrassing reaction to my mate’s space.

“Probably looking at every corner to make sure it’s perfect even though most everything is done except for some last-minute details for the morning. But you can’t tell her that or she will hiss at you.”

“I knew I liked her,” Anya added. The two females sat in the wingback red leather chairs that faced my Vinni’s desk. They looked more serious than normal and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“What do you need with her? I have been helping around here so I might be able to help,” I offered. I was also being a nosy shit.

The two females looked at one another before Cliona shook her head slightly at Anya who rolled her eyes.

“Well that’s not helping with my suspicions.” I eyed each of them with a more serious tone than I normally would. Anya was a respected elder not only of this island but the entire paranormal world. She was world-renowned for her help with trafficking victims and her many memoirs. Cliona was the leader of our island and technically my boss even if she didn’t pull rank often. She was also mated to one of my best friends which made her someone I would protect with my life.

I glared at them both, nonetheless.

“It’s another youngling who needs a quick rescue,” Anya said, waving her hand at Cliona to keep her quiet.

“And why does that mean you need to talk to Vinni? I’d go with her, obviously.”

“You will not, Archer,” Anya told me with a stern tone that brokered no room for argument.