The Vampire's Protector [The Protectors 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Doris O'Connor

  Eva finally stopped pacing, and took a long swallow of her orange juice. Dimitrius found himself growing envious of the way her lips caressed the lip of that glass, and he followed the movement of her slender throat as she swallowed. Unbidden, his fangs ran out with a soft click, and Eva startled. Putting the glass down she stepped up to him, and ran her fingers over his fangs. Pleasure and need surged through him, and he grasped her shoulders. Whether to push her away or pull her in closer, he couldn’t say. He just needed to touch her.

  “Careful, you have no idea what that does to me.” He growled the words, and her pupils dilated in need.

  “Oh, I think I do.” The breathy quality of her voice shot straight to his dick, and he groaned when she resumed her tentative exploration of his fangs. Like livewire those strokes connected to his dick, and he shut his eyes and gave himself over to her touch. A gasp of pleasure filled pain escaped her when she pricked her finger on the sharp tip of one of them. Her life-giving essence filled his mouth and she moaned when he wrapped his tongue around her finger and sucked. Tiny drops of her sweetly scented blood coated his esophagus on the way down, and his powers surged anew. He grasped her wrist, and kissing each of the digits in his mouth slowly pulled her hand away.

  Another swipe from his tongue closed the pinprick wound on her finger.

  “Wow.” Her whispered response made him smile, and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “It’s a neat party trick, but you shifters can do that, too, after a bite, so it’s not that wow,” he said, and she shook her head.

  “Only in the mating bite, and besides, I know you could make this hurt, if you wanted to, right?”

  Dimitrius nodded again, and she tugged on her hand, but he held firm.

  “No, I like holding onto what’s mine, and I already told you. You. Are. Mine.” To emphasize his point he delivered little bites up her arm while he spoke, until he reached her neck, and let his fangs graze the delicate skin there. A shiver went through her slight frame, and she whispered her answer.

  “You’re not playing fair, Sir.”

  Chapter Seven

  Dammit, she couldn’t think, couldn’t even breathe properly when he did that. Every cell in her body simply yearned for him to bite her again, and in turn she wanted to retaliate and sink her teeth into his neck and mark him as hers. She had never wanted anything more, and that thought finally broke through her befuddled brain.

  “I never said I would play fair. I want you, myshka. Naked, in my playroom, so that I can still the doubts in your mind. I want you to just feel, and to surrender to me.”

  Oh, those words delivered in that deep, gravelly cadence sounded heavenly. It had been so long since she allowed herself to just float away in her happy place, but she couldn’t, not until they had cleared this up.

  “I can’t.” She pushed away from him, and his frustrated growl echoed in her soul, and joined her eagle’s squawk of indignation.

  Dimitrius swore softly in Russian while running a hand through his hair and it was the sexiest thing she had seen in a while. Fangs fully extended, jaw clenched, and dark eyes blazing he looked every inch the vampire. That image should send her running or into attack mode, but it just made her want to jump him. He might be deadly, but he was her deadly vampire, and she was not prepared to share him.

  “Why can’t you just feed from me?” she asked, and his jaw tightened. The intensity of his gaze froze her in place, and he shook his head.

  “I could, but you would need to feed from me to help you recover, and it’s too dangerous a game to play. I could turn you by accident.”

  Her breath stalled in her lungs and she tried to say something in return, but nothing happened.

  “I see you understand me now,” he said, and Eva managed a feeble nod.

  “Have you ever done that?” she asked once she could get her voice to work.

  “No.”

  That one word sliced through the air with a vehemence that made her stomach churn anew.

  “No, as in you haven’t turned anyone by accident, or no, you’ve never turned anyone, period.”

  The low growl that reverberated from his chest should have warned her to leave well enough alone, but she needed to know. Somehow it was of vital importance to her right now.

  “Please, Sir, tell me.”

  Dimitrius focused his attention back on her, and the myriad of emotions that crossed his harsh features made her unease grow.

  “Contrary to popular belief, siring another vampire is not something to be undertaken lightly. It’s a huge responsibility,” he said, and she held her breath. He really did seem in turmoil right now.

  “Okay, if that’s the case why do we have so many here in Cumbria? Someone must be turning them.”

  Dimitrius swore again, and made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, before his lips kicked into that sardonic smile she was used to seeing on him.

  “Ah, now, my little Protector is asking the right questions.”

  Eva resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him, and wrinkled her nose instead. His eyes danced with amusement as though he knew exactly what she was going to do.

  “I’m not little,” she said.

  “You are to me, myshka.” His voice softened as he murmured those words, and Eva’s annoyance fled as quickly as it had risen. Jeez, she was a hopeless case where he was concerned.

  “That’s neither here nor there, and you still haven’t answered my question. If it’s not done, why do we have so many vamps here, and yes, I know the whole gateway stuff, and yadda, yadda, but, seriously? I’ve never understood that, and I don’t think the others do either. I mean we all thought with that Angelique Dubois dust, this would stop, or slow down, but it hasn’t. It seems to be getting worse and come in waves. I don’t understand why.”

  Dimitrius sighed in answer.

  “Not all of us run by the same code. That Dubois woman was one that didn’t,” he said, and Eva didn’t like the intonation he put on those words.

  “You knew her?” she asked.

  Dimitrius shrugged his shoulders.

  “Yes, of course I knew her. She was one of the older ones and she really ought to have known better. Anyway, she’s gone now and good riddance, I say.” Dimitrius stepped away, and stared out into the dark night visible through the kitchen window.

  Eva’s heart sank at the tense set of his shoulders, and a shudder went through him when she stepped up behind him, and snuggled into his back.

  “As old as you?” she asked and he tensed anew.

  “No.”

  “But there are others as old as you?” she asked, and he turned abruptly so that she was facing him.

  “So many questions, myshka. Wouldn’t you rather play?” He winked at her, and Eva had a hard time keeping a straight face.

  When she didn’t reply, he smiled and tapped her nose.

  “Curiosity killed the cat, my dear,” he said.

  “And cats are no match for my eagle. This is my job, please. I’m breaking untold rules by being here, and that’s fine. I was never one for keeping to rules anyway, but, please, give me something. Anything to stop the others from going apeshit when they find out. I don’t want to have to choose between you and them. Not if I can help it.”

  Dimitrius grew serious, and her breathing sped up under his silent scrutiny.

  “And if you had to choose? Who would it be?” he asked, and Eva shut her eyes and shook her head. His cool hands lifted her hair off her neck and his scent enveloped her as he drew her up against his body. “I won’t put you in that position, ever, Eva. I can look after myself, but I am curious as to what your answer would be. Tell me, please.”

  It was the hesitant please that did her in. Combined with the careful way he was cradling her neck as though she was something truly precious, she could only say the words on her heart.

  “So help me, it would be you, Sir. You’re my mate.”

  * * * *

  The whispered words seared a path a
cross his dead heart, and leaning down he kissed away the tears escaping from under her closed eyelids. A moan escaped his girl, and he smiled.

  “Relax, sweetheart, I would never make you choose.” That made her eyes fly open and she looked utterly confused.

  “Then why ask me? And it might come to that. You don’t know the others. They all hate vamps with a vengeance, and they’ll never believe that you’re not behind all of this. And you’re not, are you? I mean, I know you’re not. You’re not like those other vamps. You’re a good vamp, right?”

  She paled when Dimitrius shook his head.

  “I’ve told you already, there is no such thing as good vamp. Do not put me on a pedestal. I am who I am, and I have killed plenty of humans and shifters over the years. I just don’t do it in my own back yard, and besides killing one’s food supply is rather counterproductive, wouldn’t you say?”

  Eva shook her head, and pursed her lips in such a way that he wanted to kiss her rather badly.

  “I don’t believe you. Besides when is the last time you killed someone?” she asked.

  “Yesterday.”

  Her face fell and she gaped at him.

  “You can’t have. I mean I would have seen…I mean…”

  Dimitrius forced himself to step away from her, and grabbed the newspaper of the work top instead. She swayed slightly when she saw the headlines.

  Serial killer strikes again. Left victim badly injured.

  “That’s not you.” She whispered the words and then straightened her shoulders and threw the newspaper across the kitchen. “I refuse to believe you did that. Stop trying to scare me away. It won’t work.”

  The belief she had in him was humbling if misguided, but it sure felt good to know she was so ready to jump to his defense.

  “Damn you, stop it, and tell me the truth.”

  “I am, and let’s just say that killer got a taste of his own medicine.” Her shoulders sagged in relief, and he smiled. Maybe she hadn’t been that sure after all, not that he could blame her. She was clever, his girl, and his mood lifted instantly. She really was his.

  “What did you do?” she asked, and he shook his head.

  “You don’t want to know, myshka. Mind you, it might solve our predicament. If I take out the human scumbags, do you mind me feeding off them? Or maybe I should just stick to men?” He winked at her. “Would that be acceptable, bearing in mind I’m not really into men.”

  “You think this is funny?” Eva erupted in predictable fashion, and his amusement increased. She really was cute when she got all fired up and he let his gaze wander over her form. The silk of her dress clung to her slight curves, and he could clearly make out the shape of her breasts, as they strained against the material in her effort to control her breathing. With her face flushed and her eyes sparking fire, she looked utterly edible, and he was done with talking.

  “Are you shouting at me, girl?” he asked, dropping his voice on purpose, and she blanched when she seemed to register his expression. She recovered just as quickly, and hands on hips stared up at him.

  “You’re damn right, I am, Sir. You can’t just drop a bombshell like that, and not expect me to react, and besides, I had you under surveillance. You should never have…I mean…” Her voice trailed off as it seemed to dawn on her that she was digging her hole deeper. “Damn it, I should have known. I’m crap at this job.”

  In a flash he had her over his shoulder and she screeched in surprise, when he slapped her delectable ass hard.

  “Enough, woman. With the swearing and the doubting yourself. I’ve seen you in action. You’re damn good at your job, and I will not have you think less of yourself, because you can’t move as fast as me. None of you Protectors can. That’s the whole reason why you will never have to choose, and why I would never stop you from doing your job.” He let his hand linger on her backside, as he whisked them up the stairs and into his playroom in the blink of a human eye.

  The heavy door whooshed shut behind them and he slowly slid her down his front, until she could stand on her own two feet. Eva swallowed hard and backed away from him until her back made contact with the St. Andrews Cross, and she jumped.

  “Ah, perfect for what I have in mind.” Before she could even grasp his intention he had her wrists and ankles secured to the cross, and a blindfold tied over her eyes. Eva’s mouth fell open and she yanked on her restraints but the leather cuffs held firm, and he quickly checked them again to make sure they weren’t too tight. A groan escaped her, when he ran his hands up from her ankles, taking the hem of her dress with her. He stopped just shy of her sweet cunt, and lifted the material up, so that he could see his fill.

  Already her pussy lips were glistening in her arousal and he blew across her damp slit. With her legs forced apart by the position on the cross, she was beautifully open to him, and her clit contracted in front of his eyes, when he blew up and down her slit again. Goose bumps broke out across her skin, and she whispered his name.

  “Dimitrius, please…”

  He pinched the sight of his earlier bite mark on her inner thigh, and Eva squeaked her protest.

  “What do you call me, girl, especially when we’re in a scene?”

  “Sir, I’m sorry Sir, but please...we can’t...oh.”

  Whatever protest she was about to make stopped when he shoved two fingers knuckle deep into her pussy hole, and curled them upward. A renewed gush of her juices was his reward, and her internal muscles squeezed around those digits.

  “Always so eager, myshka, it’s really rather delightful.” He withdrew his fingers, and Eva moaned when he pushed them into her mouth. “Clean them, girl, and see how wet you are for me.”

  She eagerly complied and Dimitrius smiled his approval, before he withdrew and laughed at her pout.

  “Careful, girl, or I’ll have to find something else to occupy that mouth, in fact…” He let his words trail off and stepping up to the side board pulled out a lifelike dildo, and a large feather. Oh yes, time to torture her a little bit. By the time he stood back in front of her, having made a big production of opening and shutting drawers, her breath was coming in short staccato bursts, and she’d grown even wetter. Head cocked to one side she seemed consumed with the need to listen, to find out what he was doing and she jumped out of her skin, when he ran the tip of the dildo though her wet slit.

  A groan escaped her when he circled the toy around her clit, and then trailed it slowly up her body, until he rested it on her chin.

  “Open, and give this cock some attention. Make it good girl, I want this nicely warmed up and slick, so that it can slide into one of your holes. I want to fill them all tonight.”

  Dimitrius didn’t catch her groaned reply, too focused on shoving that dildo into her mouth when she opened up. She struggled to take it in and gagged around it, yet she kept up licking and sucking, as he thrust the thing slowly in and out of her mouth, forcing her to take the fake cock a little deeper each time, until it hit the back of her throat. Eva whimpered, and gagged, but made a valiant effort to swallow around it, nostrils flaring, as it cut off her air supply.

  Dimitrius counted to five in his head, and then slowly pulled the dildo out. Before she had even taken a huge gulp of air, he positioned the toy between her legs and pushed it into her cunt in one swift move. Eva screamed and yanked on her cuffs—a scream that turned into a moan when he turned on the vibrations, and held the dildo in place with his palm, while flicking her clit with his thumb.

  Her needy moans and pleas were music to his ears, and he ran his fangs along the pulse point in her neck, and drank in her arousal.

  “You’re not allowed to come, myshka, until I give you permission. If you do, I’ll start this all over again. I’ve got all night and you won’t get my cock. Are we clear?”

  He pulled back to study her, and Eva frantically nodded her head, while biting her lip so hard she drew blood. Stepping closer he swiped that drop away with his tongue and flicked the vibrations higher, making her gro
an. Her whole body shuddered in need and she started to grind herself against his hand as much as her bonds would let her.

  “I can’t hear you, girl.” Dimitrius growled the words and took his hand away, while pushing the dildo up higher. “I want you to keep this in no matter what, do you hear me?”

  “Ye–es, Sir.” Eva gasped the words in between desperate gulps for air, as her body shook and her muscles tightened, as she no doubt tried to stave off her impending orgasm.

  “Good girl.”

  Dimitrius stepped back farther, better to admire the view of his girl at his mercy. Head thrown back, and with her breath coming in short pants out of her open mouth she made a delightful view, as her body hurtled toward release. The fine sheen of perspiration coated her skin, and her nipples were hard little points of need clearly visible through the thin silk covering them. The unintelligible sounds spilling from her lips, made him grow hard as nails, and he stepped closer to turn the vibrations up to maximum.

  “No coming, girl, or I shall not be pleased,” he said as he took hold of the hemline of her dress. “This will have to go. I want to see all of you.”

  Eva screamed and pleaded, and using his claws he tore her dress in half so that she stood in front of him naked. The heavy musk of her arousal filled the air, and he inhaled against her quivering abdomen, and then trailed his lips south, until he reached her swollen folds. The dildo slipped in and out of her, as her internal muscles clenched and released around it, and he swirled his tongue around her clit while lapping up her feminine arousal.

  It proved too much for his girl, and she exploded around the toy with a screech.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t...oh, god.”

  Dimitrius swore and yanking the dildo out, pushed his trousers down, and drove his cock into her clenching hole. Like a warm, velvet fist her cunt muscles gripped him in rhythmic waves, and he ruthlessly fucked in and out of her, seeking his own release. His orgasm built in record time, and when he sunk his teeth into her neck she came again, taking him right with her, while her sweet blood coated his tongue and Dimitrius gave himself up to the sheer pleasure of taking his girl.