Part 30 (1/2)

Darnell clapped Sam on the back and chucked Phoebe under the chin. ”So tha.s.s all she wrote, folks. I'm all for gettin' on outta here now, if y'all don't mind. Don't like the killin' t'all.” His huge brown eyes held sorrow-remorse for what had to be.

Nina's eyes gleamed, mirroring Wanda's. ”You guys go. We'll handle this s.h.i.+t.”

Phoebe looked to Sam in confusion.

He pressed another kiss to her lips. ”The evidence, honey. We have to be sure no one gets their hands on the formula-and clean up the mess.” His eyes went to the man in the corner of the room, his gurney haphazardly smashed against a file cabinet.

”You go, too, Sammy. You had one s.h.i.+tty night. You both need to feed and rest. Go. Go fast before I hand you a broom and a dustpan,” Nina teased.

Phoebe grabbed Nina's hand, her chest tight with grat.i.tude. ”Nina-”

”Don't even, Sentimental Barbie. I don't do sappy, teary bulls.h.i.+t. It's over. Now get the f.u.c.k out before you start with the c.r.a.p about how I like you. Because I don't.” Yet her harsh words were tempered with a smile. One that was genuine. Honest.

Phoebe stuck her tongue out at her. ”Do so. I heard you, Nina, when ... when I was-”

”Spewing body parts all over the floor?” Nina joked on a snicker.

Phoebe nodded, smiling. ”And I'm never going to forget it. Never.” She gave a strand of Nina's hair, covered in dust and debris, a tug. ”Never.”

She pinched Phoebe's cheek. ”Yeah, yeah. Now get out. You two have some s.h.i.+t to talk about. Hoo-boy, do you have some s.h.i.+t to talk about.”

Wanda gave a hesitant look to Nina, then ran a finger across her throat. ”Not now, bloodsucker.”

Sam gave them each a worried glance. ”Talk about?”

Nina gave him a hard punch to his arm. ”If I was you, Sammy, I'd fight for the right to pick out the china. You should have at least one f.u.c.king thing that's all yours and yours alone.”

Marty flicked a finger at Nina. ”Shut up, Mouthy McMouth.”

Nina flipped Marty the bird. ”f.u.c.k you, Marty. They're gonna find out anyway. Might as well be now.”

”Find out what?” Phoebe asked.

Nina clucked her tongue. ”First-way to problem solve under so much f.u.c.king pressure, kiddo. Having Sam bite you was genius. I just wish we'd considered that as an alternative when that lady Meredith and Raymond were kicking the bucket. Second, you know that genius problem-solving thing you did to save Sam?”

Phoebe tilted her head. ”You mean let him bite me?”

”Yeahhhh,” Nina crowed. ”Know what that means in the world of vampire?”

”Is this the equivalent of me giving her my letter jacket?” Sam asked, his eyebrow raised.

”No, dummy. It's the equivalent of you giving her your b.a.l.l.s. You two”-Nina pointed at them-”are officially mated-for life. So go celebrate. But hurry the f.u.c.k up and get it over with before I get back. I'm G.o.dd.a.m.n tired, and the last thing I wanna hear is the two of you screaming *Give it to me, baby' while I f.u.c.king get some shut-eye.”

And then she cackled in true Nina form.

PHOEBE curled against Sam on his bed. Okay, it wasn't his bed. It was the FBI's, but for now it would do. Her stretch was content-sated. Penny was sleeping peacefully at Highland Hills, where no one even knew she'd been gone, while Darnell hovered over her like a mother hen, with strict instructions from Archibald to keep her safe until he was there to orchestrate her discharge.

Nina, Marty, Wanda, and Darnell had all returned safely from O-Tech after cleaning up and taking the man, who'd turned out to be homeless, to a place where he'd be given a proper burial with the respect he was due for his suffering.

Greg, Nina's mate, had taken on the task of making sure every last piece of evidence, every last traceable bit of the formula, and anything relating to Terrence's madness was destroyed. But he'd only done that after meeting Phoebe and giving Nina the kind of h.e.l.l that left her mumbling words about divorce by rope of garlic beating and big trees in their backyard with limbs that would make nice sharp wooden stakes.

”Well ...” Sam drawled in a s.e.xy coo.

She closed her eyes, pressing her nose to his chest, savoring the scent of him-still here-with her. ”Well, what?”

”Do I call you Mrs. McLean?”

Straddling him, Phoebe chuckled when she wrapped her legs around his waist, rolling her hips against the rigid flesh of his c.o.c.k. ”I prefer Mrs. 007 or even Mrs. FBI, but I'm okay with McLean, too,” she teased, running her tongue over his lips.

He sipped at her mouth, sending hot shafts of heat to the place between her legs. ”I really didn't want to lie to you, Phoebe.”

She grasped his c.o.c.k between her hands and lifted her leg to slide down on it for the second time since they'd consummated the strangest union ever. Sam groaned his pleasure. ”I know. I know. Ditto for me. I get that you were trying to protect me-us. So let's not rehash. We have other things to do. Like figure out where we're going to live, how we're going to make a living, and whether you leave the toothpaste cap on or off.”

Sam's fingers slipped between them, cupping her s.e.x, he used his thumb to part her folds and swirl her c.l.i.t in tight circles. ”I most certainly do not leave anything off.”

Phoebe fell forward on him with a gasp of delight. ”That's so good ... to know,” she purred as he took her stiff nipple between his lips and licked it.

He slipped his hand from between their bodies and wrapped it around her hip. ”I hate doing laundry,” he said from around her nipple.

The slow storm Sam created in her every time he was inside her began to stir, stretching her, teasing her, filling her. ”Me, too. Let's just throw the dirty stuff away and buy new.”

”Sounds like an excuse to shop.”

”You'd rather me naked?”

”Duh.” He growled the word, thrusting upward, making Phoebe jam her hands into his thick hair.

”What about dirty dishes?” she hissed, the spiral of electricity dragging her down. ”Do we throw those away, too? Ohhhh ...” she purred when he touched that spot that never failed to bring her instantly to o.r.g.a.s.m.

Sam wrapped his arms around her back and drove into her a final time, capturing her lips and slipping his tongue between them. Their groans mingled in satisfaction before Phoebe collapsed against him.

”Where were we?” he asked in his husky afterglow voice. ”I got distracted.”

”I can't remember.”

”Then it couldn't have been that important.”

”Right now, nothing's important but the fact that Penny is safe, and we're still not breathing.”

Sam chuckled, caressing her cheek. ”You were really something in there, lady. Talk about thinking on your feet. I never would have considered biting you as a way to save me.”

”There but for the grace of a Manolo Blahnik,” she muttered against his neck. ”It just seemed like simple math. And forget me. h.e.l.lo. You gave up that antidote for me. Now that was true chivalry. Thank you. Thank you,” she whispered, her throat tight.

Tucking her closer, Sam snuggled down under the blankets with her. ”Geeks so rule.”

”No argument here. No argument here,” she muttered, drifting off into vampire sleep.

Happy. Safe.