by Pepper Pace
I led him into the house.
“Starving.” He growled sounding so sexy. He didn’t see my eyes get big. I almost stumbled. “Little Tyler rides?”
“Little…” Just wait until he saw her. “Yeah, she rides.” I glanced back at him only to see that he was watching my ass in my low ride warm up pants. Finding himself getting busted seemed to amuse more than embarrass him.
Not quite the same Paul that I remembered. I led him to the kitchen. The girls kept it stocked although I didn’t need to use it for anything.
“Whatcha wanna eat?” I asked opening the fridge to see what we had. Paul moved up behind me close and peered over my shoulder. His body was touching my back and the heat radiating from him seemed to be absorbed by my skin.
“Whatcha got?” He responded.
“Uh…left over shrimp creole?” I looked at him over my shoulder. He was only an inch away. His lips curled up mischievously then he made a face and shook his head. “I can make you a steak?” I said while staring at his lips.
“Sounds good.” He said slowly while staring at me close.
I straightened slowly. It had to be slow because he was so close to me. I concentrated on the task at hand; cooking a steak. There were rib-eyes in the freezer. We kept plenty of meat around because it was blood food.
Paul backed up and looked around.
“You did a good job decorating this place. Last time I was here it was pretty empty.”
I placed the steak into the microwave to defrost and then handed him a bottled water. When he took it he allowed his hand to graze my fingers. His eyes held me again. Feeling an unfamiliar self-consciousness, I turned away and searched for a skillet to fry the steak. I often times wondered if the desire I felt for Paul was just the blood. Now I knew. We hadn’t shared blood in months and he turned me on more than ever. But that damned succubus in me—how can I know if my lack of a sexual outlet is what was causing me to virtually salivate at the thought of Paul.
“How are the girls?” He asked.
“Um, good, pretty much the same.” I glanced at him from over my shoulder as I went about cooking. “So…where have you been all these months?”
He sat at the bar and drank back half the water before answering. The microwave signaled the steak was defrosted. I placed it in the skillet, seasoning it lightly.
“Where wasn’t I? It seems like I’ve been gone longer than a year when I think of all the places I’ve been…” He blew out a breath, “I’ve been all over…India, China, Nepal, Africa.”
“For real?” I said, impressed.
“And more.”
He stood up and took the cooking fork from my hand. He turned the meat before the first side was barely brown. I set a place for him which took thirty seconds, if that. He had the skillet and was slipping the still bloody meat onto the plate.
“You like your meat raw, don’t you.” I said while examining the liquids pool around the barely brown steak.
“Barely warm.” He sat down and cut into the pink meat. He watched me as he put it into his mouth. I couldn’t help but to stare as he chewed.
“Uh…you want a beer or something?” I finally asked.
“Sure.” He cut off another slice of steak, bigger this time and slipped it between his lips and chewed. I got his beer and stood opposite the bar from him. He took a long swig then belched into his fist.
“Good steak. Thank you.”
I leaned on my elbows and watched him eat.
I watched the meat as much as I watched him. Never before had I wanted to taste meat—at least not since being turned, not until now. But the sight of that bloody meat made my mouth water. Funny…
Paul sliced a thin sliver and ran it through the bloody meat juices on the plate. He held the slice up to my mouth and offered it to me, a serious look on his face.
I looked at him hesitantly remembering the last time I’d eaten as a Vampire. I’d puked my guts out. It hadn’t been pretty. One lone drop fell and with lightening speed I caught it on the tip of my finger. I sucked it off and my mouth flooded with saliva.
“Mmmm.” Paul held the meat above my head and giggling I opened my mouth, threw my head back and flicked at it with my tongue. It was salty and sweet at the same time. I caught the meat between my teeth and chewed. I chewed fast, my teeth piercing the meat, causing the flavor to flood my mouth in a delicious sensation. I swallowed it in a flood of saliva and meat juice.
Paul sliced off another large piece he teased me with it and let me lick off the juices but then he put it in his own mouth and chewed. I wanted to lick the meat juices off his lips—
I sat up straight. That was a strange thought. I looked away confused. Vampires don’t eat…not even bloody meat.
“More?” Paul asked.
“I better not. You remember what happened the last time.”
He offered me his beer but the smell of it didn’t appeal to me and I declined. Paul turned to look at the door then I heard Tyler giggling. She and Jason came in all hugged up on each other. When she saw us she jumped.
“Paul? Paul!” She ran to him and jumped into his arms almost exactly the way I had except he had been standing when I did it. “Paul Kininsky! I can’t believe you’re back.”
His eyes grew large. “Tyler?” He said as he caught her slight body. He gave her a brief hug then appraised her in disbelief. “What happened to you?” He frowned. “You’re not turned are you?”
“No.” She smiled happily. “I just got clean, that’s all.” She turned to Jason who was looking embarrassed since he was only wearing his jeans. I believe his shirt was still in the other room. “This is my boyfriend Jason.” Paul stood and they shook hands. “Jason, this is Paul. Paul Kininsky. He’s…a friend.” She said while eyeing me. “Look, we’re going to go-“
“Oh?” I said anxiously. “You don’t have to leave-”
“No, it’s getting late and Jason has school tomorrow. Thanks again for bringing Jason in. You are awesome.” I nodded sheepishly.
Jason looked at me embarrassed. “H-how often should I come back?” He seemed anxious for my response.
I looked at Tyler and shrugged. “Twice a week.” That would put him in heavy rotation with the rest of the ladies if I continued to feed once a day. Truthfully, since my scars have been repaired my desire for blood is even less than usual. Still I haven’t had an episode where I felt like I was going to starve to death. And if at all possible I didn’t want to ever feel that again.
Tyler and Jason left and Paul cleaned up his dishes even though I told him that the maid would get it in the morning.
“You’re probably exhausted. I’ll show you to your room.”
Paul picked up his bag and followed me up the stairs.
“I’ve been riding all day. I really should have stopped but then I wouldn’t have gotten here until the morning and I really wanted to see you. Awake.”
I stopped on the stairs and looked at him. “I really missed you.” I gave him a quick hug but he was slow to let me go. I slipped out of his arms and led him up the remaining stairs knowing that his eyes were on my ass.
The room I chose for Paul was decorated with large dark wood furniture and hunter green walls. He had his own fireplace and his master bath had a stand alone shower as well as a Jacuzzi tub.
He raised his brow. “Nice. Kat’s doing?”
“Of course.” I looked away reliving the feel of his arms around me. God…it was too much. I needed some type of release. “I…guess I should let you get some rest.”
He put down the bag. “Hold on. I’m going to use the restroom. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Okay.” I said trying to hide my pleasure. The way I was feeling if he just crooked his finger in my direction he could have had me anyway he wanted! And the idea of it was pleasing but scary. Despite all of the sexual tension between us, Paul and I had never had sex.
He went off to the bathroom and when he returned he was minus the jacket and looked like he had splashed h
is face. I couldn’t help but admire the veins running down his hard biceps.
“So how’s Tony?” He asked while removing his wallet from his back pocket and placing it on the dressing table.
“Oh. Not too good. We…decided to stop seeing each other not long ago.”
He raised his brow at me. “I see.”
“Well,” I added quickly. “I’m back with Alexis.”
“I was going to ask you about him next. How’s he doing?”
I sighed. “Well..not good, either. He’s imprisoned.”
“Oh? For how long?”
I looked at the ceiling. “For…two hundred fifty years.”
“Damn…Vampires are rough. I almost forgot.” He watched me closely.
“Yeah.” I fiddled with a knick knack that was on the dresser.
He strolled to me. “How are you doing, honey?”
“I’m fine.” I smiled shyly. He was close and still walking to me. I leaned against the closed door.
“So…uhm…” I desperately thought of something to say. “How long are you going to be in town?”
He wet his lips and I grew thoroughly moist. “I wasn’t planning on leaving…If that’s all right with you?”
My entire body perked. “You going to crash with me?”
His body was brushing mine lightly. I looked at his chest shyly. My panties were soaking wet!
“If you don’t mind. I gave up my loft long ago.”
“It’s cool.”
He took two fingers and traced my cheek down to my neck. I shivered. “Remember what I told you was going to happen when I came back?”
My eyes met his. Yeah, I remembered. He said when he came back he was going to make me his.
I looked away. “Paul, Alexis and I…”
His fingers on my face caught my chin. I knew what he was going to do, but I was still surprised when his lips touched mine. Once before and only once did we ever kiss. With no other contact we both had climaxed; just our bodies pressing against each other—oh, and my teeth in his neck.
This kiss was no attempt at foreplay, no teasing attempts to entice, it didn’t ask permission; that kiss claimed me.
Gently but with command he pulled me against him. I caught my breath when I felt him hard against my pelvis.
And that sound was the only permission he seemed to need. With that gasp Paul’s hands moved to my hips where his fingers teased against the low ride of my pants and the skin at the swell of my ass. He pulled me taut against his erection; as if he wanted me to feel just how much he wanted me.
I couldn’t stop myself from sliding my hand up his chest. With little control I gripped his hair and put myself into that kiss. I was not just one man’s… I could have any of them…
Paul suddenly pulled his pelvis away from mine without ending the kiss. His fingers ran down my cleavage dragging the material down with it. I squirmed wanting his fingers on something more sensitive. He softly pulled his lips from mine watching me wanting him as his fingers trailed down my belly. Closing his eyes briefly he sniffed deeply and when he looked at me again his pupils were dilated. Fucking strange because they were ringed in hazel and it reminded me of tiger eyes…
Without hesitation his fingers entered my waist band. I jumped a bit in shock at the boldness of his touch. His fingers slipped beneath my bikini panties across my hair to glide between my moist, hot lips.
My eyes fluttered closed. He went to remove his hand, fingers gliding across my sensitive clit. I shuddered, my knees almost buckling.
Still staring at me he brought his fingers to his lips. I gripped his hand alarmed and stopped him before he could put his fingers in his mouth. His fingers were tinted pink with my wetness. Vampires are blood; the tears, the semen, the wetness between my legs…what we Vampires accept as natural is something I’m not so sure wouldn’t thoroughly disgust a human.
“Paul, I’m a Vampire,” I said uneasily. “What makes my body wet is blood.”
He smiled. “It’s okay. I’m a werewolf. It’s what I eat.” Then he put his blood tinged fingers into his mouth and licked them clean.
CHAPTER 10
I pushed him back in total shock. “What did you just say?” He continued to back up until he reached the bed where he sat down watching me. “Oh…God…” That thing that had watched me through our link wasn’t just some confusing manifestation of what I was becoming. It really was Paul.
“Don’t look so surprised. I told you that I wouldn’t come back until I was something more than human. So…now I’m back.”
“Jeez, Paul…You say that just like its something so normal. I’m a werewolf.” I mocked. I know I was freaking out but…werewolves were real?! And my Paul was a werewolf.
He stood. His expression was serious for the first time that night. He knew I was freaking. Carefully he pulled me into his arms. I didn’t resist because I was sniffing him. How could I have missed it…something under his human smell…faint but wild.
“I didn’t want to shock you. I just wanted you to see that I was still me.”
“Paul. A couple days ago I sensed you watching me—but it was different. You were different. I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I know!”
He watched me curiously as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
“You don’t remember? It was just a couple days ago.”
His eyes took on a distant look. “A couple days ago there was a full moon and I…wasn’t myself.”
“What the fuck? What the fuck does that mean?! Are you like a giant hairy dog? Or do you look like Lon Chaney?”
He rubbed my arms reassuringly. “I’m not quite sure. It’s only happened twice and I wasn’t near a mirror. I feel like a wolf, but still like a man. I was on all fours but I could run on two legs. I hunted like a wolf. We were in a pack. We chased down small animals. I wasn’t skilled enough to drop big game like the others-”
“Others? Please tell me everything. How did this happen?” I couldn’t even form all of the questions I had.
He led us to the bed and we sat facing each other. He was holding my hands. I could feel this current coming from his body; something I didn’t recognize and hadn’t felt in anyone else.
“When I left here I had a vague idea of other supernatural beings from Mara. She told me of some legends; demons, lycans, witches, fairies, even trolls. I knew that I’d have to start in the Old World. Not easy with all the unrest overseas. After I got robbed and shot at one time too many I decided to keep moving until eventually I ended up in Poland which seemed to always come up when I asked about supernatural beings. Outside of Lithuania I got my first solid lead. Everybody had stories about supernatural occurrence, and always about shape shifters. But no matter how hard I dug they were only stories. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I’d just pack up and head home. But whenever I thought I’d do that, I knew that I could never come back here and watch the way those mother fuckers hurt you, and not be able to protect you.” His eyes blazed when he spoke.
I gripped his hand briefly in appreciation of his concern. It occurred to me that he wasn’t saying anything much different then what Tony had said. Tony had wanted to protect me also—he just didn’t want to break outside of the Vampire rules to do it.
“After roaming around Poland for some weeks, I found myself drinking in a bar in Estonia where I heard tell of a particularly interesting story of werewolves in an old little town that was cut off from most other civilization. The story went that many years ago the surrounding areas were constantly attacked by wolf like creatures. Eventually the villagers ran them out and the creatures settled elsewhere and stayed mostly to themselves. I figured it was worth looking into. You wouldn’t imagine how many stories I had to listen to just to get to something that I could even follow up on.
“I mean, when I was in Africa I found a witch doctor that could make a demon enter me which would give me unlimited power,” He was shaking his head. “Whether it was true or not, I didn’t want to be possessed. I
knew I wanted to be a lycanthrope. But I didn’t want to be strong and powerful only three days out of the month. I wanted to be able to change at will. What good would it do to if I could only shift during the full moon?”
“What was so different from so many of the other stories and what particularly interested me was that these people in this village weren’t governed by the moon. Certainly, they celebrated the moon, but the story went that they stayed in various forms of change all month long—at will.”
Paul stopped talking and worked his lip with his teeth thoughtfully. I shook his hand to get his attention.
“Okay, what happened then?”
“Oh. It took a long time to get to the town. I had to use a mule and couldn’t get a guide willing to get me directly there. Funny thing is that…somehow I could sense them. I felt them somewhere deep in my gut. I think it was the effect of being a blood donor to you that made me sensitive to those things. But I found them.”
He shook his head. “Kim, they were so poor and inbred. They welcomed me. That I wanted to be a lycan didn’t surprise them. They knew they were a step above on the evolutionary chain. My new blood could-would enhance the breed.” He grimaced.
“What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “They were dying out. There weren’t more then fifty people in the entire town. The babies didn’t always make it because of all the inbreeding so when the old died…that was that. Some of the men had tried to go out and bring women back to freshen the blood but it caused trouble. In modern times kidnapping women only brought the law down on them. Some of the men that left wouldn’t come back; either killed or trying to find a better life.”
“So, they allowed me to live with them and I got to see how they changed.” His eyes gleamed again. Telling the story had saddened him until now. “All those months and I finally got to witness something useful. When I first got there they all hid and I didn’t see anything but people peeking from behind cracked doors and dirty windows. The first person to speak to me was…not exactly normal looking, but a far ways from a Werewolf. They weren’t quick to let me see what they could become, not until I proved myself. And the first time I saw what they could become I wasn’t scared…I knew it was what I wanted. The power-”
