Mermaid Beach

A security team sent by Master Alessandro met us at the airport, which ended up being a good thing. News of our arrival in Queensland had leaked to the paparazzi and press. My mate, father, and security pushed through the cameras and shouting reporters big men as piled into the waiting limousine. “I didn’t get this kind of reception the last time we were here,” I told my Mom.

“You got ME,” Nicholas said as he pulled me close.

I looked over at the lead security man, a human who looked ex-military. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re to deliver you to the home and get you settled with the others,” he said. “Mr. Molari left this note for you.”

I opened up the card. “Nicholas and Vicki- My apologies for not being there to meet you, but I’m stuck working down in Sydney. Enjoy your time at the beach; the home and staff are at your disposal. Regards, Alessandro”

“I could use some quiet time on a beach with my lady,” Nicholas said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“It’s past ten with the time zone change, and I’m hungry,” I said. If my phone didn’t shift times automatically, I don’t think I could do it. As if driving on the wrong side of the road and using the Metric System wasn’t enough, Australia didn’t have a simple east/central/west time zone setup an hour apart. Instead, Brisbane on the East Coast was thirty minutes ahead of Adelaide in the south, but South Australia to Western Australia set you back ninety minutes. Who does that?

Nicholas asked the security guy if we could stop somewhere for a late dinner. “That won’t be necessary, sir. The chef at the house was informed of your arrival and food preferences and will have dinner waiting for you.”

“Food preferences?”

“Barbecued meats and cheesecake,” he replied.

“Busted,” Olivia said as she laughed. “Did you guys figure out the house design stuff?”

I rolled my eyes. “I need a good night’s sleep before I can look at another historical house, Mom. At least our tastes are close enough that we aren’t fighting over stuff. Nicholas will be working with the architect now, and we’ll talk again when she has drawings and options for zoning.” I wanted to get all the information on what we like to Jennifer quickly, allowing her to incorporate it in the drawings. On the flight east, we’d pored over the information she gave us on my tablet, using the pen feature to jot down notes. We even used the tablet’s drawing program to sketch out our ideas for floor plans and layouts. We’d sketched out a big house even before the pool and cottage, and it wasn’t going to be cheap.

I’d gotten a little overwhelmed, but Nicholas brought me back. He told me that he would oversee the building project, and I could focus on Sharkbait Productions and my other commitments. “It’s all in South Australia, while you’ve got commitments around the world. I’ve got nothing else going on except the Pack,” he’d told me. “You’re not alone. Let me take some things off your plate.”

He was right, and I trusted him to listen to what I wanted and make it happen.

We arrived a short time later at Alessandro’s home in a toney Mermaid Beach neighborhood. “This house is off the hook,” Olivia said.

I had to tease her. “Off the hook? What decade is THAT from?”

“Don’t start on me, young lady! It made more sense when people had phones that physically hung up,” she said with a laugh. “What do you say? Swipe right?”

"You're dating yourself again, Mom."

Our security guys got out first, talking briefly with a man in a suit who was waiting for us. When they gave the nod, we got out of the limo and walked towards the big, modernistic home. I could hear the surf and smell the salt air. “Where are we?”

“Mermaid Beach, south of Brisbane,” a security man told us. “The rest of your party is out the back, to the right.” The security detail stayed outside as the guy with the suit grabbed our bags.

The house was spectacular. White marble floors and white walls with an open floor plan kept the look clean and modern. We walked up two steps from the entryway, and we could see the pool and beach past the living room and a wall of windows broken by open glass doors. I picked up a scent. “I don’t believe it,” I said as I took off for the back yard, dragging Nicholas with me. “The GIRLS are here!”

“VICKI!” The twins yelled my name together as they swam towards the near end of the pool. “Congratulations!”

I knelt at the edge and hugged them, not caring that my dress was getting wet. As I let the twins go, I spotted the beautiful Hispanic vampire swimming up behind them. “Consuela?”

“Hello, Vicki,” she said nervously.

“Come here,” I said as I opened my arms. Talking with the doctors, I knew she might have saved my life, and she was the reason the rescue took place. She climbed out of the pool, accepting the towel Nicholas opened for her. “Thank you, Consuela. I’m glad you survived that night.” I’d been told her story on the flight back to the States; I had nothing but respect for her, standing up for what was right while surrounded by such evil. I pulled her into my arms and squeezed her. “If you ever need anything, just ask me,” I told her.

Our group greeted the others, starting with the adults. Linda called my parents over to join her, plus Jack and Kaia Steele, Lewis and Carolyn Wolfe, and Ivan and Karen Volkov at the tables. They sat around drinking beer and eating from the trays of food. The kids stayed in the pool; my brothers Mark and Chance playing with Amy’s brother Luke.

As we accepted congratulations, my stomach growled loud enough to wake people next door. “I better feed the beast,” Nicholas said as everyone laughed.

“Chef Natalie has your food ready,” Linda said. Sure enough, a platter of smoked ribs slathered in a mango-tropical fruit sauce appeared at an empty spot at the table. I sat down and dug in while Nicholas got a plate full of grilled seafood.

It was great to see everyone again, and we traded stories about the last three days. “Australia is the best place ever,” Luke said. “I can’t believe we have to go back to twenty below weather after this!”

“Our place on the water will never see snow,” I teased him.

“Can you tell us about it?”

“Tomorrow,” I promised as I rubbed my belly. “Right now, I’m taking this meat baby to bed.”

“That’s my cue,” Nicholas agreed. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

The man who had taken our luggage led us upstairs to the master bedroom. “Press the intercom button if you require anything of the staff,” he said as he left. I thanked him as I looked around, ending up on the windows overlooking the backyard and the beach. Nicholas turned out the lights so we could see better. “This is one cool house,” I said as Nicholas moved behind me.

“The home next door sold for twenty million,” he said. “Not much room for our wolves to run.”

“No, I prefer our land.”

“I do love the view,” he said. I felt fingers along my side, gathering my dress before pulling it over my head.

I stayed facing the window as he unsnapped my bra. “Baby, everyone is less than ten yards away from us.”

“Then you better be quiet,” he whispered in my ear. He didn’t make it easy for me as I leaned against the door to the private overlook.

His skillful tongue burrowed inside me, making my squirm and fight to keep from making noise. “Please,” I whispered. “Don’t tease me.”

He pulled off his shirt, rolling it up and offering it to me as a gag. “If they look up when I do this, what will they see?”

With that, he pushed his cock into me, stretching me around his length. I let out a low moan into the shirt; I couldn’t stop myself. I worked my hips back at him, urging him to move harder and faster as I rapidly approached a crest. I came once, then again a minute later, screaming into the cloth as he pinched my nipples before filling me with his seed.

I heard the round of applause from around the pool. Blushing madly, I spit out the shirt.

He pulled out as I put my hand there to keep from dripping, and he picked me up and carried me next door into the bathroom. We showered quickly, then headed for bed.

I woke at seven to the sun streaming into the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. I looked outside after I finished, seeing the twins stretching in the grassy portion of the yard. I’d been neglecting my exercise, and I wasn’t going back to sleep anyway, I thought. Going to the dresser, I found my exercise gear and started getting dressed. “What’s going on,” Nicholas asked groggily.

“Going running with the girls,” I told him.

He got out of bed, his hot body giving me other ideas as he passed me. “I’ll join you.” Fifteen minutes later, the group included Jack, Brent, and a trail car of security personnel.

Nothing about my life was easy.

The beach was almost empty, the sun was out, and the morning air felt good in my lungs. Jack set a challenging pace as we ran north along the high water line. As we ran barefoot through the soft sand, I knew I’d soon be paying the price for my lack of exercise.

It didn’t take long for me to start feeling the burn. We’d gone a little over a mile, passing Kurrawa Beach, when I started breathing hard. Another mile later, and my legs started cramping up. I wasn’t the only one having problems; Makani and Noelani wanted to turn around. “I’ve got… a better… idea,” I told them as I pushed forward. “Follow me.”

I slowed the pace a little and turned off the beach when we reached a familiar sight; the SkyPoint observation deck where we’d filmed some of our series. I stopped at a beach hut selling flip-flops, called 'thongs' Down Under. “What’s going on,” Jack asked.

“If you want to keep running, you can turn around and head back. We’ll take the security guys; there’s a place I saw the last time we were here and didn’t have time to visit.”

The twins looked at each other and nodded. “We’re with Vicki,” Makani said.

“I’ll stay too,” Nicholas said.

Jack and Brent knew something was up, and Brent figured it out first. “It’s must be about food; Vicki has that look,” he said.

I smiled as I turned to the woman at the booth. “Six pairs,” I said as I pulled my phone from its pouch and paid. We cooled down as we walked a few blocks, passing the hotel and turning right.

“I should have known,” Brent said when we turned the corner. “Pancakes in Paradise?”

“Spotted it from the top,” I said with a grin. We entered the place, taking a table in the corner. I loved pancakes almost as much as ribs, and that was saying something.

“They have all-you-can-eat pancakes,” Brent said.

“No,” Jack replied. “I know how this works. There’s enough room in the car for the girls, and the rest of us will have to run back home. Do you want to do that after pounding fifteen pancakes?”

“They can come back for us,” Dad said as we all laughed. I ordered a Canadian with the Works, which gave me eggs, bacon, grilled banana, and pineapple along with the pancakes. I had to steal some of Nicholas’s food, as he ordered grilled banana crepes with a butterscotch sauce. Absolute heaven.

The food was great, and we relaxed as we talked about the day. Brent, Lewis, Jack, and Ivan were going golfing at Burleigh Golf Club, while the twins planned to join a large group going shopping on the Gold Coast with the security guys. “I think we’ll take a nap and relax,” I said.

And that is what we did. We had the house to ourselves after lunch, and we took advantage of it. While we recovered, we worked through some of my email and work backlog.

The days flew by, and I cried a little as I said goodbye to my family and friends. School had already started, and Mom wouldn’t let them miss more. I promised them we’d get together again soon, perhaps over spring break when I’d be starting work on the second season of our reality show.

It was only Nicholas, Consuela, and I to head down to Sydney. It was a little more than an eight-hour drive, and we decided to travel with the security guys rather than fly. I’d never seen some of the Australian Coast, and I had plenty of work to catch up on.

When we got to Sydney, we still had a little time and daylight before dinner with Alessandro. Nicholas gave the driver some addresses, and we headed into the city. We saw the pier where a young Philip Corcoran had arrived in the Colony as slave labor and the nearby prison. We visited the farm, now housing, where he’d worked after winning his freedom, and finally the claim he farmed before leaving for a new land claim a hundred miles south. I pulled up stories about the places as we walked around, learning more about my mate’s heritage and his Pack.

Consuela was interested, but I could tell she was getting nervous as the day went on. “What’s going on,” I asked her.

“Is it wrong that I’m more comfortable around you guys than vampires?” She looked down at her hands. “Being around a Coven makes me nervous.”

“Has Alessandro done anything to make you worry?”

“No, he’s been great,” Consuela replied. “Help in our world comes at a price, and I’m afraid of what Alessandro might demand of me.”