by Nina Bangs
Before he had a chance to slip into her mind and identify the unknown emotion, she grabbed his arms with both hands to steady herself. When she started to teeter backward, he simply went with her. She ended up laying half across his bed with him leaning over her.
“You were supposed to stand there like a pillar of strength and hold me up, not fall over with me.” She sounded like she couldn’t decide whether to maintain her anger or laugh.
“I think ahead. This position is a lot better for discussing homework assignments.” Find out what she heard. His brain was fully activated and on the job. Unfortunately, so were his supersized senses. And his senses were directly attached to a few instinctive vampire behaviors.
She looked a little worried now. “Let me up. That was a dumb assignment.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Leaning down, he slid his tongue across her lush lower lip, then tugged at it with his teeth. “It had its moments. Want to know what I imagined?”
“No.” Her eyes said maybe.
“I visualized a small bare foot—”
“I have big feet.” She shoved at him, but not too enthusiastically. “All the better to kick you with.”
“That’s the wolf’s line, and that would be me. Anyway, I love a small bare foot with a sexy arch. No bigger turn-on than kissing the smooth curve of that arch.” This wasn’t turning out to be a great interrogation technique, but his senses didn’t care.
“If that’s your biggest turn-on, you need a few sessions with Lola. I did better than that.” Contemptuous, she looked down her small straight nose at him.
That might’ve hurt more if he hadn’t noticed where her gaze landed once it slid down that perfect nose. His sex didn’t miss a thing and swelled with pride. “I doubt it. Next I pictured long slim legs and strong sleek thighs. You needed the strong thighs so you could wrap your legs around me.”
“In your dreams.” She shifted beneath him, and his body leaped directly to the excited stage without passing go. “I didn’t piddle around with any little stuff. I went for the whole torso. Wide hard-muscled shoulders, great pecs with sexy male nipples, six-pack abs, and . . . Well, you never could live up to the length and width I had in mind. But that’s what’s great about the imagination. It doesn’t have to be realistic.”
How long? How wide? He’d try to live up to her ideal. Something dark and hungry inside him began to growl. “Here I thought women always wanted hours of anticipation. You finished before you had time to enjoy it. I took my time picturing a sweet round behind, full breasts with nipples I could tease with my tongue, and the sexiest mouth . . .” He paused to think about her mouth. “Of course, I could see your mouth even with your clothes on, so technically it wasn’t part of my homework.”
The growl had grown to a roar. Eric didn’t care if she’d heard him trying to decide between type A and type O blood. He just knew he had to taste her. And he’d start with her lips. Lowering his head, he took her mouth.
Nothing gentle or tentative, he was in full berserker mode. As her lips parted, probably to tell him this wasn’t part of the homework assignment, he took complete advantage. His tongue explored the taste and texture of her. She was smooth and moist, sweet and tempting. She was a . . . chocolate-covered cherry. Sparkle had a lot to answer for.
And when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss, the powerful need to change shook him. He broke the kiss and buried his face against her neck while she slid her fingers though his hair.
Reflex actions retained from a time when he was human kicked in. He could almost feel his heart pounding, hear the labored rasp of his breathing. But other physical reactions were not quite so human. He felt the slide of his fangs and the sudden onrush of uncontrolled hunger fueled by his enhanced senses, a hunger he’d damn better resist.
Say something. The siren call of her life force flowing strongly just beneath her skin was driving him crazy in a way he couldn’t remember ever feeling before. The suddenness and strength of his need was a red flag. He hadn’t survived for so many centuries without learning that an out-of-control vampire didn’t last long. Especially in his clan. Too much human blood led to madness and ultimate destruction.
Through the rising chaos within him, he felt her hands on his chest, pushing him away. Thank you. Calling on all the discipline that had enabled him to survive when so many others hadn’t, he lifted himself off her and strode away from the bed. He kept his face turned from her until all signs of the change were gone.
Eric heard her stand up and slid into her mind to experience her emotions—shock and confusion overlaid with receding waves of sexual arousal. He felt her effort to organize her thoughts and make sense of what had just happened. He allowed himself a mocking smile. Good luck, talk-show lady.
“Take-charge kind of guy, aren’t you?” Her smile said she’d decided to play it light, but her mind wanted to know exactly when she’d lost control of the situation.
If Eric hadn’t cared whether she knew he was in her mind or not, he could’ve told her he thought control was going be an issue between them—who had it and who was losing it. “I’d rather think of it as a moment of intense sexual attraction. Better not tell your listeners about this, or they’ll think you found one of the lust-filled creatures of the night.”
Her lips tipped up and her expression said she knew how to play the sexual banter game. “Why would I tell them when I can keep you all to myself?” She gripped her full bottom lip with her teeth.
A totally sexual invitation Donna was unaware she’d extended. Surprised, he realized he’d already decided to accept. Not now, but soon. On his bed. And it could very well be one of the stupidest decisions of his long existence.
“I don’t want to pry. . . . Okay, I’m prying. What could Brynn have said on air that would’ve been so awful you felt the need to lock him up? And what’s a shield? Oh, and who’s Taurin?” She paused, and her gaze turned uncertain. “Do you know anyone in the castle who has a Siamese cat?”
Great. How was he going to explain his way out of this? “Brynn has an overactive imagination. When we were kids, we’d pretend aliens were attacking us. A mind shield was a make-believe way the aliens had of imprisoning us. I guess a mind shield would be fun, but all I used was a plain old lock. Sure, locking him in was overkill, but he’s too impulsive. He’d think it was a hoot to tell your listeners some crazy story that would bring them running to the castle just like the pod story did.” Weak, really weak. “Taurin? His brother and I were good friends once. Taurin and I had a . . . disagreement a lot of years ago. He carries a grudge a long time.” He shrugged. “The cat? Conall is always feeding strays. Maybe one got into the castle.”
“Uh-huh. I haven’t forgotten what you did to my show, either. Why?” Her narrowed gaze never wavered.
Eric flashed what he hoped was a boyish grin. Probably wasn’t very good. He’d been many things in his life, but boyish wasn’t one of them. “I froze up. There I was, getting ready to answer your first question, and I suddenly realized there were millions of people listening to me. I’ve always been a private person.”
Donna nodded but didn’t look convinced. “I guess that explains everything.”
Eric tuned into her mind. She thought his explanations were a little inadequate. So did he.
He watched her leave his room, her hair still tousled, her cute behind still working its magic on his body. Eric turned back to his bed. He hadn’t anticipated having a woman in it this much for a long time.
He smiled. “That doesn’t explain one damn thing.”
6
Donna awoke to the sounds of passion. Small whimpers of pleasure from the woman, sex words grunted out between thrusts from the man, and the squeak of bedsprings in rhythm with the surge to completion.
In the moment right after waking, Donna lay there just listening. Then her mind kicked in. What? How? She forced her lids open to find Lola sitting at the end of her bed. A quick glance at her clock told her it was three in the afternoon.
A quick glance around the room told her they were alone. Wow, yesterday must’ve exhausted her. And what was going on?
Wait. She stared at Lola, all shimmery and real in the middle of the day. “Ghosts are supposed to show up at night.”
“Myths, dearie. All myths.” She smiled her sweet apple-cheeked smile. “I was going to bring you some yummy treats for Eric until I realized food wouldn’t work on him. Did you know that hot cinnamon buns cause blood to engorge a man’s penis to make him hard?”
“Uh, no.” Cinnamon buns? “Why’re you here, and what were those sounds I heard?”
“I’m here to continue your training for glorious sex competition. You get an A on your homework. Your visuals of Eric were quite inspiring.” Lola kept smiling as though she was doing nothing more than passing on a cherished recipe for cherry pie.
“How do you know what my visuals were?” Suspicion gave way to certainty. “You read my mind.” It amazed Donna that she could accept so easily something so fantastic. But all things seemed possible when she was around Lola.
“Only a few discreet peeks. And those sounds of sexual play were meant to put you in the mood.” Lola didn’t seem to have a CD player anywhere in sight. “The sensual enjoyment of hot sex revolves around your senses. I’ve left you a little something to entice Eric.” She pointed to a small bottle on the bureau. “The scent of pumpkin pie will turn a man into a sexually ravenous beast.”
“A beast.” Donna might be the queen of late-night talk radio, but even she had no words to deal with this olfactory fact. “Question. If the taste of food won’t work on Eric, what makes you think the smell of food will? And you’ve been hinting that he’s somehow different. Why?”
“Hmm. You might be right about the food smell. I’ll get something else to you if the pumpkin pie doesn’t work. And Eric is so much more than a man. He’s more powerful, more sensual, more . . . everything.” She waved her hand in the air to demonstrate how much more than a man Eric was.
“Why?” Donna tried to ignore her prickle of unease at Eric’s more-than-a-man status.
Lola chose to ignore Donna’s question. “My real purpose for today’s visit is to sex up your wardrobe. And we’ll start with your nightwear. Can I be honest?” Lola didn’t give Donna the chance to decide if she could survive her honesty. “That shirt thing you wear is hideous. Throw it away. Please. I’m leaving a few little things to liven up your bedtime.” She pointed to the desk chair where Donna could see a pile of clothing.
Curious, Donna climbed out of bed and padded over to the chair. Ohmigod. Black fishnet stockings, calf-high leather boots with stiletto heels, a black leather bustier with cups pointy enough to drill holes in wood, a black mask and gloves, and the ever-popular whip. What to say? When in doubt, resort to sarcasm. “You’re too traditional, too timid in your nightie choices, Lola. Sometimes you have to experiment, let it all hang out.” Hah. The bustier would let more than she had and some of what she didn’t have hang out. She would never wear this in front of Eric.
“Oh, you will, Donna. Trust me.” Lola’s smile never wavered, but her eyes had the feline intensity of a night hunter. “You’re after big game, not Mr. Mouse. A powerful sexual animal like Eric won’t be intrigued by the ordinary. He’ll want a woman as powerful as himself, a sexual challenge. A woman with the capability to tame him will intrigue Eric.” Lola’s eyes lost their intensity and once again became happy granny eyes. “A woman with a big whip is really sexy.”
“Right. I’ll morph into Donna the Dominatrix next time I trap him in my room.” She put on a thoughtful face. “I probably should carry my gear around with me just in case I corner him in the dungeon.”
Lola didn’t see the humor. “No, you have to do it here. Sweetie Pie and Jessica need you.”
“How did you know . . .” Her mind. Lola could access her mental files anytime she wanted, so of course she knew about the plants. How scary was that? All this interacting with a ghost was giving her a pre-caffeine headache. “You’ve done your good deed for the day, Lola. And as much as I treasure your input on my sexual life, I have to get some coffee and make sure everything is set up for my show tonight.”
“I’ll pop in again soon. Oh, and don’t pay any attention to Asima. She’s such a tight-ass.” Lola’s shimmery shape started to fade.
“Whoa.” Donna had sort of pushed Asima to the back burner, assuming she was a consequence of that hot Mexican food, until a better explanation came along. “Asima is real?”
Lola chuckled. “You thought Asima was last night’s jalapeño peppers? I should be so lucky.” She sighed her regret over Asima’s realness. “Asima thinks you can finesse sex. She knows nothing. Sex is hot and sweaty and real. By the way, don’t go to the opera with her. She tries to sing along. Ever heard cats on a back fence? You’ve been warned.”
“Wait. Who or what is Asima?” She hoped Lola would forgive her for the sounds of rising panic in her voice.
Lola didn’t answer. The Cock Crows at Dawn’s late great madam faded away leaving Donna with a bottle of Eau de Pumpkin Pie and a Bitch Woman costume. She needed coffee. Perhaps her daily shot of caffeine would make sense out of the senseless—a cat who sang along at the opera and a ghost who often sounded a lot more now than yesterday.
Dumping the complimentary packet of coffee into the coffeemaker, she picked up the phone and started her daily calls to her family.
By the time she’d finished drinking two cups, she’d managed to once again make everyone mad at her. Modern technology was so cool. She could reach out and irritate the world long distance. Her sister, Trish, bothered her the most. Trish’s newest obsession wouldn’t tell her where he worked. Donna had only suggested that a man who kept secrets wasn’t someone to trust your future to. Trish had countered with the I-love-him-so-I’ll-trust-him garbage. Donna would always steer clear of men with secrets.
Secrets. That reminded her of the strange conversation she’d overheard last night and Eric’s even stranger attempt to explain it. And his kiss. She couldn’t forget that toe-curling, hormone-exploding, totally awesome kiss. Note to self. Stay far away from Eric McNair. Unfortunately, self thought he was really hot.
Finished, she dressed and headed toward the door. Time to find out more about the castle to pass on to listeners, and then talk to Ken and Franco.
Donna was cursed. This castle was cursed. And if she got out of Galveston with her career intact, she’d kiss the ground that New York stood on. “What do you mean the vampire canceled? He was a live guest, or maybe dead, who knows. Anyway, I didn’t want to talk to him on the phone. I wanted to make an impact by having him here in the castle. I don’t have a damn guest now.” Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in—
Ken grinned. “You’re turning red. Hey, you have me, and I’m good. Bill, the guy-who-would-be-vampire, has a friend who also thinks he’s a vampire and offered to fill in. Bill said his friend lives in Houston, and he left a half hour ago. Not much traffic this time of night, so he should be here within fifteen minutes.”
Donna was not mollified. “What’s this new guy’s name? How do we know he’s not a crazy?” She thought about that. Okay, so someone who thought he was a vampire already had a wire shorted out somewhere. She might now be open to ghosts and telepathic cats, but she absolutely did not believe in the supernatural type of vampires, only cheap imitations. “How do we even know he’ll talk? Remember Eric? I always check out and interview guests before putting them on the air.” She paused to suck in air so she could continue her rant. “Bill really lives his life as a vampire and could discuss the whole vampire culture intelligently. Who knows what this new guy will say?”
Ken shrugged. “Take him or leave him. It’s almost airtime and we’re out of options. If you don’t want to take a chance, you can go to open lines for the whole night.”
Donna made her decision. She didn’t want to take listeners’ calls for four straight hours. Somehow she’d escaped any pod calls last night, but she wouldn’t stret
ch her luck two nights in a row. “We’ll go with him. You didn’t tell me his name.”
“Bill forgot to tell me, and I forgot to ask. So sue me.” Ken grinned, his good humor restored. “I’ll get his name and make sure he’s sitting next to you when he’s supposed to be. Trust me.”
She sat down at her table and forced herself to relax. Everything would be great. The new vampire would show, dazzle her listeners, and inspire tons of admiring calls. Donna was just beginning to believe herself when she looked into the small audience gathered in front of her and spotted Eric. She remembered that he had the night off. He’d pulled up a chair and was evidently settling in for the long haul.
Arrgh! He made her nervous. Almost nothing other than missing guests or those of few words made her nervous. Maybe it was the sensual smile he offered her that promised he not only remembered every detail of his homework assignment but also The Kiss.
Forget about him. Right now she had to concentrate on her show. “Welcome to the night and Donna till Dawn. Once again we’re broadcasting from the Castle of Dark Dreams.” She filled the next few minutes with some facts about the history of Galveston and then zeroed in on her bombshell for the night. “I can hardly wait to tell you about another fascinating and strange experience I had in the castle last night. I’ll fill you in on all the details right after the station break.” She loved that quick break after her intro monologue. It whetted her listeners’ curiosity.
She dared a quick peek at Eric and wished she hadn’t. His expression was thunderous. But then the humor of it struck her, and she smiled at him. He didn’t smile back. He had no idea what she was going to blab to her millions of listeners, and Eric didn’t strike her as a man who wanted to be out of the loop. Too bad. She upped the wattage on her smile. Eric the Evil might’ve controlled their kiss, but she controlled the airwaves.
The break over, she launched into her tale. She told them about Asima. Not too much, only the parts about the barf bag and the opera. But she knew it was enough to motivate all the listeners who had an opinion on, had seen, or thought they were telepathic animals to call the show. Donna took calls for about twenty minutes, and then she was ready for the main attraction.
