Page 114 of Heartbeat Girl
“Frederick found your girl,” Larissa said, handing me the paper in her hand.
I took it. Excitement and nerves clawed at my stomach.It’s time to move on. My vampires were ready. Most of all, Liam and I were ready for an adventure. I had fun being a singer’s wife, and I’d always be one. But I wanted to see who we’d be next. The choices were endless. Our lives eternal. Liam and I would live through all the stages we walked together.
Larissa arched her brow. “Are you sure you guys want to go? The Underworld is nothing like the human one. It’s dangerous.”
I flashed my fangs. “So are we.”
Liam’s palm resting against my back was the anchor that gave me my reassurance. We’d be okay. We’d start again in a new world. Exhilaration had me bouncing around. Liam noticed and took one in his hand. “Ready, my beatless girl?”
My body heated even after all those years together. Liam had been right. Other than my first feeding from Marilyn, I’d fed from no one but Liam. Over the years, I stayed tangled in the sheets with my husband. He let me kiss him from tip to toe while he played every inch of me like an instrument. He said I was his most favorite sound. And he told no lies. I would know if he tried through our bond.
“Where you go, we go,” Steve said, resting his hand on my shoulder.
“Stop acting like you’re special just because she’s been your sire longer,” Addison griped. She was one of ten people I turned or took from another sire over the years. We might have picked a few more up through the years. Not forced. They were all special cases, and I thought hard before changing anyone’s life.
I grinned the moment another hand yanked Steve’s off my shoulder. Addison replaced him, sliding in behind me, and smiled over my shoulder as she went on. “We’ll follow you wherever you go.”
I could feel Steve’s hate pulsing through the link I shared with him. But it was Liam who scowled at Addison. She averted her eyes and leaned away. I didn’t know which was worse. Liam or Steve. Both acted horribly with me sharing a link with other vampires.
Steve cut in front of Addison. “We don’t have to take the others with us.”
“I second that,” Pete piped in from the other side of Liam.
I arched a brow at them. “You don’t have to come with me. Neither of you. It’s my choice to go to the Underworld.”
Steve’s hurt wafted over me. Unlike Pete, who tried to hide his, Steve let his passions, hunger, pain, and sadness bleed all over me. It irritated the hell out of Liam, but I thought he genuinely wanted to share his emotions with me.
“Where you go, I go,” Steve whispered.
Liam pulled me into him. “Do you ever give up?”
He glared. It was so icy it felt like daggers slicing between the two of them.
Penny, another one of my new vampires, huffed from behind us. “None of you deserve Jayne.”
“Why are they coming again?” Steve scowled back at my other vampires.
“Because we’re our sire’s family,” Addison murmured. “A true family. Not the revolting way you molest her with your eyes.”
Oh, for goodness’ sake!
“Whoa,” Larissa interrupted. “Are you fucking kidding me? These three are still growling and pissing over you?” Larissa rubbed her temples, then waggled her brows. “Well, I do know how good you taste.”
It wasn’t just Liam who stiffened. All of my vampires did, including hers. I tsked as her men glared at her. I’d been around her enough over the years to know she had no room to make fun of my vampires. I saw how much her own pined over her.
I egged it on. “Maybe I’ll find them some nice demon women in the Underworld.”
She laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“Mind your mouth,” Steve told Larissa. “I know where Jayne’s heart lies, and she knows mine.”
Just stop talking Steve…
I sighed, sensing how this would end, and mentally started counting down. Four, three….
He continued, “I can’t hide it from her. She’s my sire—”
I closed my eyes and cringed at the crack that bounced off the walls. It was never easy seeing or hearing Liam snap Steve’s neck.