Courted by the Vampire

by Sandra Sookoo

  Two ogre-sized goons stood guard near Edwin’s tree. Ropes wound around him, and even from her vantage point, he appeared ticked off. His lips set in a fierce scowl, every so often he’d strain against his bonds as if they’d suddenly come loose. Oh goody, just what I need. A pissed off half-vamp. Hannah swept a glance around the immediate area again. As far as she could tell, only the ogres were awake. Think!

  She ducked behind a large boulder, willing her brain to turn over, to invent some fantastic way to free him. She frowned and rubbed her temples.

  Edwin?

  Hannah.

  Black clouds swirled through her head as his bad mood permeated her mind. Hannah drew a shaky sigh of relief and thanksgiving. He was awake and lucent, albeit very angry. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  You’ll be happy to know I found our princess. Trust me when I say she was definitely not what I expected. It’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you with details because you’ll snap at me. You do snap, you know, when you’re in that sort of mood.

  Edwin snorted. Tiny sparkles of amber shot across her vision. You are an amazing woman, Hannah. However, I do not snap. I have never snapped at anyone in my life, and I do not intend to start now.

  Pleased with his approval, she grinned that his starchy dander was still intact. Mentally sweeping the distracting colors from her mind, she remembered her mission. I’m going to try to get you free, but I’m unsure of how to lure your friends away.

  Spatzi, if there is one thing I have learned about you it is that you are very resourceful. I have every confidence in you.

  The warmth of his encouragement flooded her consciousness. “Thanks for the support.” She whispered the comment to the bark of the tree before her.

  As the fire died, the answer to her problem came swiftly. Rooting around in her literal bag of tricks, she extracted the magical jar and unscrewed the lid. Hannah softly called forth two of the three imps. She waited until they bounded out of the jar in a shower of orange sparks. “Now listen, boys. You have my promise that if you get rid of those ogres over there, you’ll be free of the jar forever. Can you handle the job?”

  Two knobby brown heads bobbed in agreement, pointy teeth barred in evil grins, gnarled fingers cracking in anticipation. Hannah seriously hated imps.

  She nodded then showed them their quarry. With twin snarls, they were off, their thin brown legs pumping. Imps might be small, but they were tenacious little buggers. If someone had an infestation of them, they might as well move because imps were terribly hard to get rid of. They were the pit bulls of the magical world. In seconds they gained their target.

  They jumped on the legs of the ogres and bit for all they were worth. Had timing not been of the essence, she would have laughed. Once the guards took off running in the attempt to dislodge the imps, Hannah snuck over to Edwin’s tree. A glance back showed one of the guards swatting at the imp as if it were a fly. Her giggles trailed away as Edwin cleared his throat impatiently.

  Spirals of need circled through her gut as she gazed at him. The fact he was effectively disabled wasn’t lost on her. “You know, Snookums, if we were anywhere but Horace the Black’s weird, kinky sex camp, I could think of a couple of things I’d like to do to you while you’re tied up.” She swallowed hard when he pinned her with a scathing glance. “Since we’re in imminent danger, I’ll just let you go.” She made short work of the knots then grunted in satisfaction when the ropes slackened.

  “I thought we had agreed you would never call me by that name.” He flexed his fingers and rubbed the red patches on his wrists.

  Hannah tried not to stare at his lips as he talked. She had missed him for the few hours she’d been incarcerated. “No, you ordered me not to, but I never accepted.” Relief washed over her in a tidal wave when he finally gained his footing. Other than a nasty bruise that had formed on his cheek and a couple of cuts on his arm, he appeared to be uninjured. “We probably don’t have much time. Unless you’d like to stick around and see the watch called out, we need to get going.”

  He merely blinked.

  “Edwin.” She shoved the duffle bag into his arms then pushed him toward the edge of the forest. “Come on, you’ve got to move!” Already, angry shouting rang through the camp. She prodded him in the ribs and wondered how she came to be gifted with such a stubborn man.

  “I wish to thank you for coming to my aid,” Edwin began with a somber expression.

  She poked him again, cutting off his words.

  He ignored her. “If at any time you need—”

  Hannah shoved at his chest, determined to move the stubborn vamp. “Yeah, yeah, your gratitude can be expressed later. The sun will be up in a few hours and the ugly crew will be able to track us much better in the daylight.” She wiped at the sweat on her forehead. “We don’t have twenty minutes to spare for your chivalry. Now move!” She pushed him with all her might into the tree line.

  *****

  “Tell me again how indebted you are to me for rescuing you.”

  Edwin groaned and ignored her teasing.

  After fleeing Horace’s camp, he and Hannah had run indiscriminately through the forest, their only goal to put as much distance between the camp and themselves as possible. It had not been the best of plans, he admitted in retrospect. Due to the moonless night, he had lost his bearings. He would not be able to assess things properly until daylight.

  It had been a blow to his ego, but mistakes happened.

  To make up for the slight dent in their plans, he had scouted out a hollowed-out oak tree for shelter. The available space was about six foot by six foot, cramped for someone of his height, but it was free of vermin so they set up housekeeping.

  Edwin didn’t mind staying in the tree. There was a hole in the top of the trunk, which let natural light in as it filtered through the leaves of the neighboring trees. His only concern was if it rained. He had no wish to be wet again.

  “Have I not told you enough?” he complained on the heels of a yawn.

  When she burrowed against his chest, he grinned into the darkness and tightened his arms around her body, grateful for her warmth.

  “Maybe, but I want to hear it one more time.”

  Instead, he recalled the battered and soggy trail map Hannah found during their flight. They were located somewhere deep in the heart of the Nature Preserve. That was bad because there were over 1500 acres of untouched land in the Preserve with no marked trail system where no tourists were allowed to go. If he didn’t find his bearings soon, they’d be lost for a while.

  “Come on, just one more time.” She followed the plea with a gentle poke to his chest.

  He growled low in his throat. “I will not say it again to feed your vanity.” He pulled her a tiny bit closer. He enjoyed the fresh, floral scent of her skin. It put him in mind of simpler times, precious things.

  “Fine, it’s enough for me to know I came to your rescue. It kind of throws all those old fairy tales out of whack, doesn’t it?”

  The rising sun brought with it soft pastels of pinks and golds to the sky. Outside, the birds heralded the day with happy song. She sighed and her body relaxed against his.

  “Do you get your man at the end of the story, Hannah?” He pressed his lips to her hair. “Is that want happens?”

  “Not exactly.” She pulled away. “The man I want doesn’t exactly want me. I mean, not yet.”

  “So, you have a plan, then, on seducing the man you are after?” His voice was hoarse. He desperately waited for her answer. He could see her embarrassment. It swirled into his mind as electric purple curls.

  She turned in his arms to face the side of the tree. “No.” She attempted to wiggle out of his embrace but he held her fast.

  “Look at me.” He kissed the soft skin on the back of her neck. “Please.”

  Slowly, she rotated. “I’m sorry, Edwin. I didn’t mean to say that. We were joking around and it just came out.”

  “When you said the man you wanted did not wan
t you, was that a joke too?” Receiving no answer, he sighed and pinned her between his arms, leaning over her. “I think you are very much mistaken in your assessment of the situation. The man you speak of desires you more than you can know.” As he held her gaze, his heart dropped at the self-doubt in her eyes. “Perhaps he does not know how to rectify the situation due to prior statements he has made. He has never had to deal with such a dilemma before.” Waves of desire crashed into his being, but he held back. He would not force her.

  “Maybe the man we’re speaking of shouldn’t worry about what he’s said and go with his instinct to see where it leads?” She brushed her fingers along the stubble on his cheek.

  The stiff wall of his resistance began to crumble. “That path could be dark and littered with untried stumbling blocks.” He placed tiny kisses to her cheeks and forehead. “You might be afraid of the results.” The crumbles gave way to bigger chunks. The feelings he had been holding in check shoved their way through as if they were individual rays of the sun, streaming in the battered wall. Edwin dropped feather-weighted kisses to the corners of her mouth, savoring her sweet taste.

  She trembled in his arms. “It doesn’t matter to me as long as the man in question never regrets his decision…”

  He captured her lips in a gentle kiss. When he opened his eyes, he was startled to see hers shimmer with tears. “Have I frightened you?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

  “You have not.” Swirls of green and gold flashed through his mind from hers—she was happy. And that made him extraordinarily pleased. “I have taken your words to heart, spatzi, and have decided to live each day as it comes. Most of my life has been one of solitary existence, never trusting, never living, never loving.” He paused in an effort to choose his next words carefully.

  “But—”

  “Patience, woman, let me finish.” He allowed himself a small smile. “When I met you in the bookstore, I questioned all I have previously believed about myself. You have challenged everything. You are simply not logical.”

  She plucked a sprig of moss from his shoulder. “Sometimes life isn’t about the logic. It’s about how you feel.” A shiver wracked her body as he stroked her cheek. “Why don’t you start off slow and see how you like it?”

  Edwin searched her face and saw nothing but earnestness—and blatant need. His groin tightened. He did not answer with words.

  As he banded his arms around her, he brushed his lips against hers, gently at first. Then, with a more insistent pressure, he explored her mouth. She sighed when he stroked her tongue, velvet on velvet. He tasted her, sampled her sweetness, almost a strawberry essence. Pleasure snaked through him like a sensual parade. Her tiny sounds of acceptance spurred him onward. Carefully, as if she were the rarest treasure he had ever held, he explored her body, skimmed over her curves, exulted in the softness of her skin.

  He smiled then raised his head, unable to resist the urge to tease her. “You are uncharacteristically silent. It is almost as if you are incapable of speech for some reason.” He caressed her silky thighs, and then pushed the hem of her dress up around her hips. “We still have not settled on a proper nickname for me.”

  Golden streams of her pleasure painted his mind, encouraging him. She arched her back when he nibbled a path up the inside of her leg. A low roar buzzed through his ears. Soon, he would bury himself deep inside her, this woman who drove him to distraction. Edwin held tightly to his control, determined not to rush. He traced his tongue over her pale inner thigh in a meaningless pattern as he gloried in her softness, at the musky scent of her arousal.

  Hannah clutched his shoulders. “What about stud muffin?” Passion strained her voice into raspy sharpness.

  He switched his attention to her opposite thigh, nipping soft skin. When she sucked in her breath, he chuckled. “I do command some respect in the community. Try again.” He moved up her body and kissed her neck, knowing from previous experience she was sensitive there. He ran his fingers over her ribs, as if counting each one. She was exquisite. She was precious.

  “Let me think about it when I’m not occupied in other pursuits,” she finally whispered, running her fingers through his hair.

  Mild curiosity flooded his mind as she guided his mouth to hers, but surprise quickly replaced it when as she gently bit his bottom lip. Her scent filled his senses, surrounding him, teasing him, owning him. He pressed his weight into her pliant body. He had never been alive before this moment. “I will hold you to it. Right now, I am more interested in the wonderful secrets this neckline begs me to reveal.”

  He tugged the dress down to release her lace-covered breasts. “Gods, Hannah.” He devoured her with his gaze. When she shivered and clutched at his clothing, he grinned.

  “Please touch me.” She arched against him.

  “As you wish.” He teased a taut nipple with his teeth, dragging his tongue over the lace-covered bud, back and forth. She gasped her pleasure. Need built in steady waves until he thought he would explode from wanting her. Still, he fought against the red torrent of lust, ignored the erection that strained against his trousers.

  He kneaded her other breast and moved to nibble at her lips. A hot stream of desire blazed through his blood to ignite fires under his skin. She moved her hands beneath his tunic to trace the muscled plains of his chest.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  Electric shocks skittered along his nerve endings when she pressed her petal soft lips to his collarbone. “Men are not beautiful.”

  Edwin claimed her lips, drinking from her as if she were a flower and he the bee. She stroked her fingers against the stubble on his jaw. He nearly jumped out of his skin when her she fumbled at the drawstring on his pants with her other. “I want you, Hannah.”

  She gasped, and clutched her head, over her right eye. “I’m going to die.”

  “I have been told I am a good lover, but I do not think you will die from my skill.” He buried his fingers in her hair, and then stared into her eyes. “Do you wish me to continue?” Anxiety niggled through his gut. Something was not right. Her eyes clouded with pain.

  Crying out, she clutched at his arms in confusion. “Help me.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “It hurts so much.” Her right eyelid began to twitch.

  He brushed her forehead, which was hot and feverish. “Talk to me.” He tapped into her mind, stunned at the thick fog of opaque blackness.

  Gone were the happy colors that usually populated her being. “I sense an outside presence in your mind. The identity is unknown to me.” Edwin kept his voice low, soothing, and all businesslike as he sat up. He cradled her against his chest. “Hannah?” He dipped into her mind once more, but only saw a great, angry vortex. Her anguish, her pain swirled as she trembled in his arms. Anger built within him to sweep all traces of passion away. “You must fight whatever it is. Do not let it win.”

  Tears streaked her cheeks. She pressed her palms to her forehead. “Help me.” Her whispered words were barely audible.

  “Stay with me.” He railed against the ineffectual part he played. Beneath his fingers, her pulse weakened and fluttered.

  She clutched his shirt. “I can’t see. The pain is too much…” Her eyes stared blankly at his face. “Edwin.” Her breathing was ragged, irregular as she gasped for air. With a high-pitched, anguished cry, she crumpled in his arms.

  “Hannah!” He laid her down on the ground, a finger to her neck.

  She had no pulse.

  Chapter Twelve

  White light filled her senses, washed around her, cleansed her. Hannah wandered through long empty corridors—the walls, the ceiling, and the floor were all white. Through the swirling haze that masqueraded as her brain, she thought about Edwin. Where was he? Was he well?

  Another long corridor stretched before her, to empty into an open-air courtyard. she walked down the hallway, her footsteps a silent testimony to her passing. As she entered the courtyard, the impersonal whiteness g
ave way to mellow sunlight. Emerald green grass tickled her bare feet. A reflecting pool, also of white marble, held prominence in the middle of the oasis, not even a tiny ripple marred the perfection of the turquoise water’s surface. She itched to draw a finger through the inviting water but refrained from doing so. It would be sacrilege somehow.

  At its end, an ancient Roman temple gleamed in the sunlight. She wished for a pair of sunglasses as she skirted around the pool, compelled to reach a set of steps that led to a raised platform within the temple. The white marble of the structures only served to enhance the colors of everything else in the courtyard. It drew the eye to each individual wonder, forcing the beholder to concentrate on nothing but that color.

  Brilliant red roses sprang from pale green bushes to frame the building. Impossibly long stems curled in loving tribute as the flower heads worshipped the light as if in adoration. A huge gilded cage filled with chattering blue birds rested at the other side and elicited a sigh of appreciation from her. A wave of calm swaddled her, soothed her cares. She didn’t wish to leave the calm-inspiring garden. Here she would be safe.

  With another sigh, Hannah took a step toward the birdcage.

  “Are you absolutely certain you do not wish to depart this place?”

  She was startled out of her reflective mood by the sound of another’s voice. Shading her eyes, she glanced at the raised dais to find a woman reclining elegantly on a white velvet chaise lounge, her lavender eyes alight with gaiety. “Where am I, and who are you?” Hannah half suspected she was having another Alice in Wonderland moment. What was more, that fact didn’t bother her. She was completely at ease.

  The woman’s laughter trilled into the air, the sound of it reminiscent of harp music as she glided lightly down the steps. “Poor lost Hannah. You stand before me, content with yourself, and content with where you are.” A Roman-style gown of a mossy green draped elegantly down from her shoulders to swirl at feet covered with sandals that shimmered of gold. Curling russet hair cascaded along her back and sparkled in the sunlight as if it were the finest spun silk. A plain golden crown nestled in the thick hair to wink in the sunlight. “You remind me of a nymph I used to know.” Alabaster skin framed her beautiful eyes to perfection.