Dawn Reclaimed

Hunter spun Gina around, pinning her between his body and the interior of the SUV. He threaded his fingers through her hair and clamped down on the silky strands. Jerking her face up to meet his eyes. Their lips separated by a hairsbreadth of space. "You make me feel."

"Feel what?" Gina breathed. The answer she might get sent jolts of fear and excitement down her spine. His breath was hot on her lips. He smelled of wild, wolf, and man, temptation and torture.

"Alive." Hunter claimed her lips in reckless abandon. Never questioning, not asking permission, simply taking, and claiming, accepting nothing but complete and unconditional surrender. Her lips were everything he imagined they would be, soft, supple, warm, and so giving. Gina responded with an intense need. Her mouth curved, molding to his, demanding more. Her lips parted, opening for him to explore.

Gina's arms snaked around Hunter's neck. Closing any gaps of space left between them. The kiss was domineering, like the man. His lips glided across hers. His tongue swabbed and probed the inside of her mouth. Claiming what was his. His palms slid beneath her jacket. Wild fingers pulled at her blouse, loosening it from the waistband of her jeans. She gasped as he smoothed his hands across her waist and his warm fingertips slid across her flesh. Warm to warm as his hands traveled her curves, settling at the small of her back, crushing her against him.

His lips tasted like danger and wild. But, she wasn't afraid. She met his demanding strokes with probing darts of her tongue. Dipping in and out of his mouth. Always returning for more. Her hands trailed down the rough cotton of his black T-shirt. Inching the cloth up and her fingers beneath. Feeling his chest rise and fall with short, panting, choppy breaths.

Hunter paused for a breath and dove back in. Needing Gina more than air. Giving her no respite, he left her with no time to reconsider or duck away. His lips meshed hard against hers. Their tongues twisted and encircled one another. Tasting. Savoring. Enjoying. His hands encircled her ribs. His thumbs traced a path along her skin. She was so soft and pliant to his touch. The pads of his thumbs brushed across the silky, membranous lace of her bra. He groaned deep in his throat as her nipples tightened and hardened beneath his caress.

Gina leaned into him. She loved and hated the effect of his kiss and touch on her body and heart. Had more ever been said with words than could be said with a kiss? He wanted her. He needed her. In her very being she knew it. His lips had betrayed his thoughts. His hands conveyed feelings that he had no words to describe. She grabbed onto him. Holding him. Molding her body against his as a potter forms clay into shape. Her breath hitched in her throat as he caressed her with his fingers, calling her out.

Hunter scrabbled for control. He clutched at the fragile material of her blouse with his hands. His fingers burned from the heat of her skin. His lips trailed across hers. Kissing her softly and slowly. Gentle as a breeze, his mouth brushed against Gina's. "Stay."

Tristen eased the car back down the carefully camouflaged drive. Gravel crunching beneath the tires. He didn't have the same acute sense of vision as the vampire, scowling at him, did. Terrified that if he put a scratch on the car, Dane would extract a pint of blood from the nearest vein. "I'll be a son of a bitch," he muttered as he spanned the open space of the garage and landed on his father.

His eyes, wide and staring in disbelief, locked on his dad engaged in a deep and intense kiss with the woman. The sudden change in his father finally made sense. She had brought his father back from the dead. His father, for the first time in a long time, was happy. He should go out and shake the woman's hand. Congratulate her for accomplishing what he and his siblings had not. Giving his dad a reason to abandon his misery and finally embrace life again.

"Maybe you should let me park the car," Dane said in a low voice. Tristen stared wide mouthed in shock at the compromising position he'd caught his father in. Dane's worry hovered between Gina and his baby, the car. He was a vampire and his body could take a lot of damage. He could heal just about anything except for a bullet to the brain. But, with Tristen's driving, he wasn't about to test that theory too far. He'd insisted they return to the garage. Now, he wished they'd stayed out. Risking his life to Tristen behind the wheel didn't seem too bad a consequence in opposition to interrupting what was probably one of the hottest kisses in history.

Gina closed her eyes, wrapping her hand around Hunter's cheek. Pressing the warm, sleek skin against her face, she scrabbled to recover from the kiss. In truth, she was weak in the knees and breathless. Her toes curled in her tennis shoes. Hunter loomed over her, drowning her in the tide of all the things he couldn't say. "I don't belong here. I can't stay. You could come back with me."

Hunter nuzzled Gina's cheek, pushing back the biting sting of her words. Mixing in his world had brought her nothing but pain. Letting her go was a sacrifice for him. Returning her to the world she'd left behind was the best thing for both of them. Safer.

"Make me a promise," Gina whispered against his cheek.

"Anything," Hunter gritted.

"Please don't give up on life."

"I'll try." Hunter felt the gentle press of her fingers lift from his cheek. Slowly he lifted his face and met the sadness in her green eyes. He rested his lips against her forehead and inhaled her scent. "Goodbye."

Gina climbed into the passenger side and buckled up. Glancing back at Hunter through the side mirror, she pressed her fingers to his reflection. "Goodbye."

Dane slid the SUV into drive and pulled away. The cab was blanketed in silence. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say that would make things any better for Gina. He had programmed another number into the phone. Maybe someday, she'd call it.

"Dad?"

Hunter blew out a sigh and dragged his hand through his hair. "Let's go home."

Chapter 74

Claire and Grant awoke to the bed shaking and quivering like an earthquake had hit. "Wake up sleepy head!" Janine said as she excitedly bounded onto the narrow empty space between them.

"Janine, what are you doing here?" Claire mumbled. Sleepily rubbing her eyes, she sat up.

"Party. Tonight."

"Yeah tonight." Claire argued. The clock read seven AM. The party wasn't going to start till six tonight.

"Oh, come on. I've got a whole day of makeovers and serious pampering planned for you!" Janine bounced some more, eliciting a disgruntled grumble from Grant's side of the bed. Janine flipped the covers up. "Are you naked under there?"

Grant jerked the covers out of her hand and glared at her. Thoroughly annoyed. "Who let you in?"

Janine snickered and pointed to the window. "I didn't exactly knock. I didn't want to wake anybody up."

"Nobody but us," Grant huffed. Pulling the covers over his head, he groused, "Go away."

"Oh, shut up grouchy pants. I'm here to collect Claire. You go back to sleep."

"Gladly," Grant grumbled. The bed shook as Claire reluctantly rolled out. "You take care of her today."

"Oh trust me. I will," Janine said. Ushering Claire into the bathroom and thrusting a change of clothes into her hands, she commanded, "Hurry up."

The din of the noisy city three stories below was deafening after the quiet of the underground compound. Gina got back to her apartment a little after two in the afternoon yesterday. Dane had left her with every reassurance he could. Someone had stocked the fridge and dusted the place. Hell, whoever it was had even watered her plant. She'd gone to bed with the aid of one of Thomas's little pills and played at sleeping. The truth was, she was terrified at being here alone. The noises from the apartments around her did little to comfort her that she wasn't really alone.

She felt for the phone on the nightstand and the can of pepper spray. Reassured, just a little, tempted, a lot, to call the number. Despite the extra sleeping pill she dropped around two AM, she slept poorly, replaying the kiss over and over in her head. Damn Hunter for pulling that shit on her now.

Just before dawn, she gave up on sleep and sat up in the bed to see a very attractive looking blond man with a shock of curly, unruly, chin length blond hair, a thin, long aquiline nose, and startling blue eyes, focused on her. "Who are you?" She knew what he was, but wasn't stupid enough to accept that he was a friend. Her fingers clutched the phone.

"I am Carter. Dane sent me. I thought that I should introduce myself to avoid any confusion. I am the leader of the Guardians." He rose from the chair with catlike grace and stretched out his hand. He'd been sitting in the chair for hours watching over her while she slept, or tried to. She'd awake to the sounds of her screams, toss and turn as if she'd gotten used to hearing them. And then fell back into a troubled sleep.

"The Guardians?"

"Yes, we patrol the city. Primarily we're a bunch of rag tag ex-rogues." He flashed her a toothy grin and bowed low. "In charge of keeping the city safe from... all sorts of undesirables. Either myself or one of my associates will be popping by from time to time to check in on you."

"I assume, not while I'm in the shower or in bed," Gina said tucking the covers around her shoulders. The man oozed breathless sexuality. Her toes curled from the weight of his heated, knowing stare. He knew what effect he had on her, how enticing nothing more than a nod and a stare could be.

Carter grinned a suave assured grin. "Not unless you require our services. You won't see us. You won't know we're around. But, we will be. I apologize for any inconvenience my visit may have caused."

"No. I... this whole experience has been..." She had no words to describe what she'd been through the past few weeks.

"Understandable and regrettable." Carter lowered his eyes. "Please feel free to call on us anytime."

"Thanks, I will." Before Gina could blink, the man was gone. The curtains fluttered slightly in the wake of his departure. "Damn." Gina sighed as she leaned against the headboard. Flipping open the phone and shuffling through the list of saved numbers. Her eyes locked on one. Hunter's. She poised her thumb over the select button and then snapped the phone closed. She couldn't call him. She couldn't let him know how much she missed him or how his kiss had touched her. Was there much point?

Claire spent the day being buffed and puffed. Her toenails sported a shiny layer of petal pink polish with little white flowers painted on the tips. Her fingernails glimmered with the same sleek polish, minus the flowers. Her face had been scrubbed, mudded, scrubbed, and buffed. Janine was attentively and carefully applying a thick layer of make up below Claire's eyes. "My God girl, when is the last time you had any sleep. Someone go get me a spatula," she teased.

The women, they still made Claire uncomfortable. They were all so beautiful, and she was nothing but a huge, round, ugly weeble wobble by comparison. She mussed that being beautiful had to be par for the undead. She hadn't seen an ugly vampire yet.

Claire glanced at the clock in disbelief. She must have been in bad shape. Evening was approaching. She winced as Alex pulled her hair accidentally while braiding it in a tight, neat French braid.

"Ta da!" Janine squeaked in delight. "It took a lot of doing, but you're absolutely cute as a button." She pulled a box out from under her bed and plopped it across the covers. "A little present."

Claire opened the box and pulled out a soft gray knee length skirt and richly colored burgundy blouse of chamois material. The calf length boots were made of soft, sleek chocolate brown leather, considerately, low healed. "Thanks," she said as Janine threw herself into Claire's arms and hugged her tightly.

Claire went into the bathroom to change. Hearing feminine giggling as she dressed. When she emerged, the room was empty except for Grant. "Hi. I didn't expect to see you." She planted a soft kiss on his cheek, wiping away a stain of shell pink from her lipstick.

"You look amazing. I wish I could come so I could spend the evening staring at the most beautiful woman in the room."

"As far as I'm concerned you can crash the party."

"I wish. I have strict orders from Janine to stay away. I won't see you until tomorrow afternoon."

"Why?"

"Bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"You mean I'm..."

"Having a slumber party with the undead. Yes." He chuckled. "Don't worry they'll take good care of you." He pressed a kiss to Claire's cheek. "See you tomorrow."

"Ok." Claire smiled and watched the man, who would be her husband in less than twenty-four hours disappear down the hall.

There was a sharp knock on the doorjamb. "Can I come in?"

"Barbara!" Claire turned. Barbara looked happy and eternally beautiful. "I wondered where you'd been hiding. How have you been?"

"Fine Claire. You look..." she snickered. "I can't lie you look amazing, about ready to pop, but amazing."

Claire sat on the edge of the bed holding her hands in her lap. "Is Thomas ok? I think I may have hurt his feelings the other day. I didn't mean to. But, I think I did."

Barbara sat down next to Claire and took her hand. "Sometimes, the truth has to hurt. You did nothing wrong. He needed to hear the truth from you and that's what you did. He'll get over it. And, in time, he'll move on. I would have loved you as a daughter in law, but I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"I feel so bad. By the time I realized how he felt. It was too late. Nothing could change the feelings that I have for Grant."

"Then you've made a wise and thoughtful decision. And I can't fault you for that." Barbara squeezed Claire's hands. "Try to relax and have a good time. Know that I'm thinking of you and wish I could share this happy occasion with you."

"You can't come?"

"No. I'm supposed to be dead. I can't risk their safety and mine by being spotted."

"I forgot." Claire blushed. "I'm sorry."

"Truthfully Claire, I'm not. If Thomas hadn't risked everything to save me, I wouldn't be talking to you now or getting the chance to welcome your baby into the world. Hopefully someday, holding a grandchild of my own. It was worth it. I got you something." Barbara pulled a small box out of her pocket.

Hesitantly, Claire unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside was a worn and faded rattle.

"It was one of Thomas's favorites when he was a baby. I want you to have it."

"Thanks," Claire said. Putting the rattle back into the box. Barbara gave her a gentle squeeze across the shoulders. "Have fun tonight, Claire. Know I'm thinking of you."

"Thank you, Barbara, for everything."

Barbara gave Claire a warm smile and left Claire for the last moment's worth of peace she was going to get until tomorrow evening.

The brown wolf bristled his thick fur against the northern wind. Looking up into the plum colored sky. No human thoughts entered his mind. Driven purely by instinct and drive. Forgetting everything the man that cohabitated this body felt. Nose thrust high into the darkening sky he loosed an eerie, soulful cry.

Marianne stared out into the dark. Her dad had disappeared last night and hadn't come back since. Normally, this wouldn't concern her in the least. But, she thought he was different. That he was going to stick around this time. "Do you think he'll be back?" she asked. Pressing her nose against the glass.

Tristen looked up from his book. Juggling his feelings about his father with clumsy hands. Not knowing exactly where his thoughts and feelings fell in relation to his dad. He'd enjoyed their time together. Realizing how precious and rare it was. He just didn't have it in him to hate his father. But seeing the hurt on Mouse's face hedged his feelings in that direction. Mouse was still a little girl. She didn't know the man her father had been once upon a time. The only thing she had known was his absence. He couldn't lie to her. Lying would only make matters worse in the long run. "I don't know. C'mon I'll tuck you in," he said, setting his book to the side.

Daniel glanced up from the TV when he heard Mouse's question and Tristen's sugar coated reply. "He won't be back. This is how he works. He sprints in here. Pretends to be father of the year for a few days then disappears. Mouse, we're orphans."

Tristen glared at Daniel. "Shut up."

Daniel glared back. "You know better than anyone that I'm right. He's been like this since mom died."

Marianne's eyes flooded with tears. "Tristen, is that true?"

Tristen knelt beside Mouse and looked into her eyes. "Dad doesn't have a very good track record."

Daniel snorted and turned his attention back to the TV. Ignoring his brother and sister. "Track record. That's a joke."

"D'ya think this time will be different?" Marianne asked, needing but not

wanting to hear the truth if it was bad.

"I hope so. C'mon I'll give you a piggy back ride." Her little arms curled around his neck as she climbed on.

Marianne snuggled close, burying her face in Tristen's hair. "Giddy up," she giggled. The days where she could enjoy being a little girl were almost gone. Tristen tended to treat her more like a child than Daniel did. Someday, he was going to make a great dad. As for her middle brother, he was going to make a great hermit.

Thomas hoisted another beer, frowning at the sounds of laughter from the private party in the back room of the One Shot. His shift had been long and tiresome. Sore throats. Colds. Snotting kids and whining adults filled his ER all day. The summertime crazies were out en force today. He couldn't stand to go home alone. He couldn't bear the sounds of Claire's giggles lilting over the din of bad country music and warm beer. Enough of these and he wouldn't be feeling anything soon.

"Mind if I have a seat?"

Thomas glanced up, mildly buzzed. Surprised to see Mack in a pair of worn jeans and a faded, short sleeved, button down, plaid shirt instead of in uniform. "Sure. I take it you're off duty?"

"Yup. How many of these you had?" Mack asked, motioning the waitress over. Thomas had that slanted, bleary-eyed look of a man on the verge of a good bender. He sat cockeyed on the barstool, leaning on the bar for balance.

"A few," Thomas answered. No point in lying to Mack. As a cop, Mack had seen enough drunks to know better anyway. The waitress, Cindy, took Mack's order and eyed him suspiciously. Thomas wasn't a very good drunk and she could tell he'd had one too many. He held up his empty longneck, indicating he wanted another.

Mack ordered a round of black coffee and cut Thomas off. "I think you'd better let me drive you home." God, he wished he could think of something to say better than that. This dive had more than its share of regulars. Thomas wasn't usually one of them. Something was eating at him. But, like most men, Thomas didn't want to talk about it.

"Sure Mack, whatever." Thomas frowned at the steaming mug of black coffee Cindy set on the bar in front of him. Didn't matter. He had plenty of beers in his fridge at home. He would get Claire out of his head if he had to drown her out.

The party was a complete success. And Claire had to admit, the centerpieces looked pretty against the light blue tablecloths. She'd unwrapped the usual shower gifts. From her mother, a stroller, from Ginger, a set of earplugs, Tylenol, and an airplane sized bottle of gin, a onesie from Jan, and more diapers, bottles, and pacifiers than she could count from everyone else.

She was beginning to unwrap her bridal shower gifts. A blush heated her cheeks when she held up another present from Ginger, a maternity sized crotchless pair of satin panties in hooker red.