Love Bites

by Aleera Anaya Ceres

  Now, as she stroked him, she felt as though it were happening to her as well. She gritted her teeth and, unable to handle the wait, guided him home. He sucked in a breath as he entered her.

  He shifted so she was on top of him, his hands on her hips keeping her steady as he rocked and thrusted, causing her pleasurable pain she’d never known.

  She leaned down to trail kisses over every inch of his face then melded her mouth to his. Tongues danced, teeth scraped. They couldn’t bother to stop for breath, not when they were drowning in each other.

  They made slow love, romantic love. A love she would remember for the rest of her life, even after he was gone from it. A simple chapter she’d move on from, but one she’d revisit many times. Ignacio was perfection incarnate. A bronzed god her heart had already placed high on a pedestal, and she didn’t want him down. He gave and pleasured without a second thought. He was selfless, going only as far as she wished.

  There was no possessiveness. He didn’t treat her like a fancy new car or an accessory. He treated her as if—dare she say it?—she were his goddess. The idea of Katheryn Meyers as a goddess would have seemed ridiculous were it under any other circumstance. Instead, she felt sexy and powerful and loved like she’d never been before.

  So, she rode him to their peak. They came together, each crying out the other’s name like a prayer, like a curse, as if it were the only name they could speak, as if it was the only name they knew. Katheryn fell to his chest, her hand splayed across it, right over his rapidly beating heart, and let sleep claim her.

  “Katheryn, love.” The soft endearment slowly roused her from her deep slumber. “Wake up now.”

  Katheryn slowly opened her eyes. She stifled a yawn and rolled over onto the scratchy sand. Ignacio was beside her. Darkness pressed around them. The sound of the ocean seemed distant and foreign. She smiled at him.

  “Waking me for another round, Ignacio?” she teased, stretching her arms over her head.

  “Don’t tempt me.” His eyes flared then he chuckled. “I don’t like to wake you, love, but it is time for us to leave.”

  Katheryn groaned. “Can’t we stay awhile longer?” She leaned up on one elbow. “Please?”

  “I wish we could. But the sun will be coming up soon, and we have to get Antonio back home. I know I said we’d stay the night but...”

  Disappointment was easy to push aside. As much as she wanted to stay all day, they couldn’t. Reality closed in on her. As beautiful as the past few hours had been, she couldn’t remain forever on the nude beach. She just hoped they would have many more nights like this one. Maybe, one where they could sleep entwined in each other’s arms.

  Ignacio helped her to her feet so they could dress. He pulled on boxers and a pair of shorts, while she donned underpants, shorts and a T-shirt, without bothering to put on her bra. After they were dressed, they stuffed their swimsuits into their duffel bags along with their ocean findings.

  Katheryn ached pleasurably all over, but it made her smile, remembering the many ways in which Ignacio had made love to her throughout the night.

  When they emerged, hand in hand, from behind the rocks, the beach was basically deserted. She didn’t see another person or other car.

  “It’s scary at night.” She shuddered, and Ignacio pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders for protection.

  “We’ll be fine, love,” Ignacio stated.

  They made it to his little car without a hitch. Antonio was already waiting for them, leaning his tall frame against the car. He looked monstrously tall compared to the little vehicle.

  “Katheryn.” Antonio smiled a full tooth smile as she approached. “You seem to have a glow about you that wasn’t there before.”

  His eyes glinted mischievously when she scowled at him.

  “What could that glow be, hmm?” He uncrossed his arms and moved aside so she could yank open the car door.

  “Oh, shut up,” she snapped as she got into the car. She refused to let Antonio’s remarks make her flush, especially since she had such a good time. “Nothing you can say will bother me.”

  Antonio snorted but hopped into the car, too. Once Ignacio started the engine, Antonio lapsed into silence. Ignacio turned on the radio, and Katheryn leaned her head against the side window, humming the tune.

  She only looked back at the beach once as it got smaller behind them, wishing they could have stayed if only a little while longer. She hoped there could be more repeats of lying in Ignacio’s arms.

  Another repeat of love.

  15

  Katheryn was a drug, and Ignacio couldn’t get enough of her.

  He tried taking her out on more dates after that night, but every time he picked her up at her hotel room door, she’d pull him into the room. They’d make love repeatedly until he had to leave before sunrise.

  He was addicted.

  And so was she.

  They’d tried every position, made love for hours until they both collapsed in exhaustion. They had laughed with their naked legs entwined, had kissed and savored every sweet moment of lovemaking together.

  But he still hadn’t drunk from her. He still hadn’t told her he was a vampire.

  “Why don’t you drink from her?” Antonio had asked one night. “Why don’t you just come out and tell her you’re a vampire and get it over with?”

  Ignacio couldn’t answer, although he knew why. He was a coward. He was terrified of how she would react, terrified she’d pull away from him or, worse yet, hate him. So he kept the secret, met with her at night and left before the sun came up. He knew she was getting suspicious about their weird hours, but he’d avoid her questions for as long as he could. At least, until he was brave enough to tell her the truth.

  Until then, he would keep making excuses, he thought as he took a swig of his Blood Beer—blood extracted from a human under the influence of beer—and sighed. He was at the family bar with Antonio, nursing their respective drinks.

  “Are you going to go see Katheryn tonight.” Antonio asked before taking a drink of his own drink, cold O negative.

  “Yeah, right after I’m done here,” he said.

  “Is tonight the night you tell her the truth?” Antonio asked. He didn’t approve of Ignacio hiding what he was—Soul Mate or not.

  “I don’t know, Antonio,” Ignacio replied in a warning tone. He didn’t want to go there. Not now. Especially not with a sixteen-year-old boy. When and if Antonio found his own Soul Mate, he would understand the difficulty. Until then, his opinion was neither wanted nor heeded.

  “You should tell her, before she finds out from someone el—shit! Ignacio, duck, hide, run away or something!” The sudden panic in Antonio’s voice had Ignacio’s attention snapping up.

  “Don’t turn around, for the love of Go—”

  But it was too late. Ignacio turned to look over his shoulder and let out a curse. Rosa had just walked into the bar and was looking around expectantly as if to find somebody. Ignacio ducked his head, not at all discreetly, and tried to make himself as small as possible.

  “I think she saw you,” Antonio said, also trying to hide his face with his hand. “Shit! She’s coming over here. She saw you, and there’s a giant smile on her face.—Rosa, hi!”

  Ignacio cursed mentally. He sat up, turned and faced Rosa.

  As always, the woman looked gorgeous. Her light brown hair cascaded around her face like a waterfall. Sleek and shiny, it framed her lovely heart-shaped face. Her brown eyes smiled at him, a reflection of her curving smile. Her lips, as always, were coated with crimson lipstick. She wore a skimpy, black dress that was way too dressy for the bar they were in.

  Rosa was tall and beautiful, curvaceous and delectable. Her beauty had attracted him, and they’d fallen into bed together. It had probably been a bad idea. She lived on his block, but he’d told her from the beginning it was only sex for him. He’d wanted nothing more than a one-night stand, a good lay. She had agreed that was what she’d wanted, too. He
soon found out it had been a lie.

  After their enjoyable night together, Rosa hadn’t left him alone. She visited him at his home unannounced, and always appeared while he was with his friends. Her most recent faux pas had been to talk to his mother and try to convince her to arrange a date with him.

  Ignacio had never treated Rosa with anything but respect, for he never mistreated any woman. He never raised his voice, never called her crazy—although, he had thought it plenty of times—but had never told her to leave him alone. Sure, he’d made plenty of excuses not to hang out with her, had gently reminded her they weren’t a couple, but she was relentless in her pursuit of him.

  “Hello, Antonio,” she crooned now in her sugar-sweet voice.

  Ignacio liked Katheryn’s husky one much better. He liked everything about Katheryn much better than Rosa de Leon.

  “Hello, Ignacio.”

  The way she said his voice, like a secret promise or a caress made his skin crawl.

  “Hello, Rosa.” He grabbed his beer, knowing he’d need alcohol in his system for what was to follow.

  “Mind if I join you guys?” she asked, not bothering to wait for an answer as she took a seat beside him.

  “Actually, Rosa,” Ignacio downed the rest of his drink and stood up. “I was just leaving. I have—an appointment.”

  Her face fell, the excitement leaving it as she watched him. “I thought I’d buy you a drink.”

  Her bottom lip trembled, cutting daggers through Ignacio. He hated to see a woman cry. “I really have to go...”

  “Just one drink. Please?” Rosa put her hand on his arm.

  Ignacio looked at Antonio for help, but he knew it was futile. His resolve was already melting under the sharp rays of guilt.

  “Just one drink.” Ignacio agreed and sat down.

  Rosa ordered him a Blood Beer, as well as one for Antonio. When their drinks arrived, Ignacio reached for it and downed it in one long swallow.

  Rosa eyed him as she reached for her own beer. “So, what appointment do you have?”

  Antonio shrugged as if to say, “Your business, you explain.”

  God, Ignacio hated when Rosa looked at him with those enormous eyes. He hated to lead her on, hated to be rude. His mother had always told him honesty was the best policy, so why, lately, did he find himself being less than honest?

  He sighed. He’d never had to lie to anyone, and he didn’t want to keep doing it. He thought of Katheryn, thought of her ex and how he had lied and hurt her. It would destroy him if he was stooped to that man’s level. It would destroy him if Katheryn thought him a liar, too.

  He looked into Rosa’s brown, expectant eyes. He supposed it was time to start being honest to everyone around him. Starting with Rosa. He stood. Her eyes widened a fraction when he caressed her cheek with his palm, then ran his thumb across her soft flesh.

  “Rosa, I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” she asked with bewilderment.

  “I’m sorry if I have led you to believe we could have something, be something. I’m sorry, Rosa, if I used you. We had a good time, but I cannot keep this going. I love another, and I have to go find her.”

  He turned from her and walked away.

  “Wait, Ignacio!” Rosa called to him. “Oh—shit!”

  He turned at her curse and saw she’d stood up, ready to follow him. But now had blood dripping down the front of her dress. Antonio was beside her, chucking his empty glass to the side.

  “I’m so sorry, Rosa. Here, let me help.” He grabbed a handful of napkins and began wiping at her chest, which earned him a smack in the face.

  Ignacio grimaced but turned and ran away, grateful for his friend’s distraction. He left the bar and ran all of the way to Katheryn.

  Tonight will be the night, he thought hopefully.

  Tonight, he would tell her his true nature and hope for the best. He couldn’t stand the lying anymore. She was his Soul Mate, and she deserved to know. She needed to know before she left for her country. She had to know who and what he was and what she would leave behind when the time came.

  He took a deep breath as he raised his hand to knock on her hotel room door. He would kiss her, ask her about her day. Then he would confess and hope she understood, hoped she wouldn’t care what he really was.

  Once she realized they were Soul Mates and he explained what that bond meant, she would understand, she would accept. She would stay with him. She wouldn’t return to Washington. Instead, she’d want to stay here with him.

  Letting out a breath, he knocked.

  Katheryn opened the door in a white fluffy robe, belted at the waist. When she saw him, her eyes widened.

  “I didn’t think you were coming,” she said, stepping aside to let him in. “It’s late.”

  As soon as he walked in and closed the door behind him, he pulled her into his arms. “I missed you.”

  He kissed her, and it was their undoing.

  She grabbed him desperately, deepening the kiss. Her hands went to his hair, and his bunched at the back of her robe. He hadn’t meant for things to get so heated, hadn’t wanted them to. He’d had a plan, and this wasn’t it. He pulled away from her.

  “So how was your day?” he asked.

  “It was fine.” She kissed him again, driving him insane.

  “Wait!” He grabbed her hands and pushed them away from him. “I want to talk first.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “We’ll talk after.”

  And she was all over him again. Laying kisses all over his cheeks, his neck, his earlobes.

  “After,” he agreed breathlessly and ripped open her robe to find her naked. He kissed her breasts, trailed a path with his tongue down to her bellybutton. He dropped to his knees to press kisses into her. Her legs buckled, but he held her steady with his iron grip.

  He dipped into her, sucking then pleasuring her with his tongue. Her whole body vibrated in readiness. She gasped and cried out, her fingers curling through his hair to urge him on. When he felt as hard as rock, he stood and lifted her. Her robe fell from her shoulders, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Without bothering with the bed, he rammed her into the wall roughly and gave her a bruising kiss. The Blood Beer thrummed through him. He felt dizzy, but he wanted her. His blood ran hot, almost boiling. She kissed him back with the same desperation he felt.

  Her fingers undid the button and zipper of his pants, and she pulled his boxers down so he sprang free. He lowered her onto his erection, relishing her gasp, her arched body. Her head slammed into the wall behind her, but she didn’t seem to care, She cried out his name as he pumped into her, faster and rougher than he ever had before.

  He kissed her cheeks, kissed her neck and held his lips there. Her pulse jumped in her throat, rapid, fierce and ready.

  Just a taste. The voice of his inner animal urged. Just one taste.

  He didn’t think, didn’t have the time to. His animal urge overpowered everything else. His Soul Mate’s blood called to him. He wanted to taste her. He’d waited far too long.

  He licked her jumping pulse. She shuddered.

  “Can I take, love?”

  “Yes. Do it.”

  He bit her.

  Her scream of pleasure reverberated through his entire body. Her orgasm fell to pieces, and her body went limp, but he was still hard inside of her. His gums were swollen, and he greedily drank her blood. The explosion of her flavor on his taste buds was intoxicating, so exotic, so full of lust and love, his own body orgasmed into her.

  He removed his teeth from her, shuddered his release then leaned back to smile at her. But when he did, all he saw was horror. Her body was tensed, her eyes wide with shock, disgust and fear.

  He gently placed her back on her feet, and as soon as he did, she scrambled away from him to grab her robe, wrapping it frantically around herself.

  “You...you’re a...” Her voice trembled with fear.

  Ignacio saw his reflection in her blue eyes. His eye
s were no longer yellow. They were savage red, and his fangs were extended, his mouth caked in blood. In Katheryn’s blood. She gripped her neck then brought her hand away to look down at it. It dripped blood, pouring from where he had bit her throat.

  “Katheryn.” He reached out to touch her, but she cringed back. That alone was enough to slice his heart. “Katheryn, I can explain.”

  “You’re a vampire?” Her voice shook, on the verge of tears. The blood from her neck stained her white robe.

  “Yes,” he answered shamefully. “I’m a vampire.”

  “You bastard!” Katheryn shrieked.

  Suddenly, she began grabbing things, whatever was in reach, pelting them at him. He didn’t bother to dodge anything, didn’t move aside when she grabbed the telephone and the lamp from the nightstand and threw them at him.

  The lamp broke against his face, cutting his skin. As soon as it did, the flesh began to heal. The sight of it stopped Katheryn in her tracks. She stared at him in awed disgust.

  “You lying bastard! You’re a vampire! You just used me for blood! For blood and sex! You’re no better than Hunter! How dare you?” She began throwing things at him again.

  “Katheryn, let me explain, please. I wanted to tell you, but after your dream, I thought you’d be afraid.”

  She stopped, a shoe raised above her head, ready to be thrown.

  “What dream?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

  He sighed.

  “Remember the dream you had the first night you were here in Spain?” When she didn’t respond, he took it as a yes. “I had the same dream. And it made me afraid to tell you the truth. I was afraid of how you’d react.”

  She had to believe him. She had to. He was desperate for her approval, desperate for her to see and to accept.

  Katheryn’s eyes narrowed in confusion then she hissed through her teeth and pelted him with her shoe. “You’re a liar! You’re a lying vampire. You probably hypnotized me and then used me to drink from!”

  She was about to throw something else when she suddenly swayed in place. The blood from her wound flowed rapidly now. The whole front of her robe was stained with it. She’d lost a lot already, along with what he’d drunk.