Quinn’s teeth bared in a vicious grin. His eyes never leaving hers, he flexed his hips and slammed his cock into her body in a single stroke, not stopping until his balls slapped her ass, until he heard her scream of shocked pleasure. He held himself there for a moment, feeling her tissues tremble around him as they adjusted to his thickness, to the hard length of him. She drew a shuddering breath and licked her lips. Quinn leaned down and sucked her tongue into his mouth, kissing her slowly as he began to move, withdrawing an inch, then pushing back inside her. Doing this over and over until her tight sheath relaxed its hold on him, and Eve began make those soft, little moaning sounds again. Desire overwhelmed him as he lifted himself up, pulling his cock nearly all the way out, until only the tip could feel the wet heat of her, and then driving deep inside her again with a powerful thrust that lifted her from the bed. She moaned hungrily, her legs tightening around his waist, her hips lifting to meet his every downward thrust as he reveled in the slick heat of her pussy. He lowered his head to claim her mouth as he plunged in and out, driven by a desire he’d never felt before, wanting to claim her, to mark her as his before vampire and man alike.
When he felt his climax building, felt the tightening in his balls that told him he wouldn’t be able to hold back much longer, he reached between their bodies and found the hard nub of her clit, swollen and throbbing with blood. If she’d known he was a vampire, if he’d have been free to take her the way he wanted, he’d have sunk his fangs into her neck at that moment and let the euphoric in his bite send her into a screaming climax. Instead, he rubbed the bundle of nerves between the lips of her sex, slick with arousal as he stroked it against the rough skin of his finger and thumb, until he felt it pulsing against his hold, and then he pinched, grinding it hard as Eve screamed, her hips bucking against his, her back bowed as he slammed himself deep into her pussy and stayed there, feeling his cock jerk as his release flooded her body, holding her tight against his chest as her nails dug into his shoulders.
EVE STRUGGLED TO breathe as Quinn’s full weight collapsed on top of her. She wanted to say something. She should say something. But instead, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close, her heart sinking. She was in so much trouble here. She’d thought it would be just sex between them. God knew he had that covered. He was the sexiest, most fuckable man she’d ever met. She’d almost hoped he’d be a lousy lover, but, no. He was a fucking fantastic lover. He was also too smart for his own good, and sometimes even funny. And very protective, in that sexist way that assumed the man always knew what was best. He was a good guy, a nice guy. But she had a feeling he wasn’t a good man. Still, that didn’t seem to matter, because her poor, stupid heart was all warm and fluttery, already half in love with a man who did business with vampires. How could this happen? Her whole life lately was dedicated to getting rid of the worst of those monsters. She sighed. Quinn took it as a plea for air and immediately lifted his body off hers, rolling to one side and pulling her on top of him instead. Not only a great lover, but a considerate one. Damn him.
“Ow.” It was a deep grumble as one long arm reached down and gripped her leg to stop it from moving.
“What?” she asked, and then realized she was still wearing her designer Mary Janes with their sharp, stiletto heels. “Oops.” She sat up and began unbuckling the first strap. “It’s your fault. You’re the one who attacked without letting me get properly undressed.”
“I seem to recall you joining in rather vigorously. Screaming was involved. And I’m fairly certain there’s blood running down my back,” he purred smoothly, his pale blue eyes half-closed as he stared down at her.
Eve shivered with remembered pleasure, heat spreading from her cheeks to her chest. She turned her face away, focusing instead on the other shoe, only to realize she was still wearing her skirt bunched up around her waist. Blushing all over again, she shimmied out of the barely there piece of clothing, then didn’t know what to do. Should she lie back down on top of him, where he’d put her? Or maybe just stretch out on her belly next to him? That would hide her sexy bits from his too-familiar gaze. But it was a bit late to be shy, wasn’t it?
“Come here,” he growled, deciding for her, as he first pulled her up onto his chest and then rolled her beneath him. “I’m not finished with you.”
Eve felt the hard length of his penis against her thigh and her eyes went wide. She wasn’t exactly experienced, but she’d been with more than one man, and none of them had recovered this quickly. Not even close. She was still digesting that fact when Quinn’s cock slid easily between her arousal-drenched lips and deep into her body.
IT WAS NEARLY dawn when Quinn tucked an exhausted and very well sated Eve beneath the covers on her bed. She grumbled softly, but didn’t wake, one hand reaching to hug her pillow more firmly against her chest. He stroked her soft cheek with the back of his fingers, tempted to do more. But it was late, and he didn’t want to wake her. Didn’t want to explain that he had to leave, had to get back to the safety of the house he shared with Garrick, before the rising sun stole his awareness.
He let himself out, making sure to lock the door securely behind, then used his vampire speed to race the short distance to where the Range Rover was parked. The drive back to the house was an exercise in control as he sped along the narrow streets, pulling into the yard just as the first light of dawn pinked the sky. Quinn had been a vampire for 57 years, a long time in a human life span, but still young for a vampire. His power gave him an edge against the sunrise, enough that someday he’d be able to remain conscious until the sun itself broke the horizon, but not yet.
Garrick had the door open, waiting for him with a grim look on his face. “Too close,” he said harshly.
“I know,” Quinn said, striding inside. “Go ahead, you can lecture me later.” Garrick’s resistance to the sun’s rising was even less than Quinn’s, and he was already stumbling as he made his way down the hall. Quinn watched his cousin go, as he secured the three locks they’d installed on the front door, knowing Garrick would have already checked the safety of the other entrances in anticipation of Quinn’s arrival. That done, he hurried to the interior room they’d set up as their daytime resting place. It held two beds, a table, and a lamp, but nothing else. They didn’t need anything else. When a vampire slept, he had no perception of the world around him. Nothing would wake him until the sun set. Nothing.
Garrick was already out, sprawled bonelessly on the opposite bed. Quinn pulled a comforter up over his cousin, then turned and stripped quickly—he hated waking up in the same clothes—and climbed into bed, pulling his own blankets up. He wouldn’t feel the cold when he slept, but he sure as hell would when he woke.
He thought of Eve, all tousled and pink in her warm bed, and smiled as the sun took him for the day.
EVE WAS DREAMING. She and her brother, Alan, were having a picnic in Phoenix Park, sitting on the same old blanket they always used, eating sandwiches and crisps, laughing at the antics of a pair of Frisbee- catching dogs down the grassy hill. It was a beautiful day in Dublin, with blue skies and a sun so warm that she wished for the sunblock she’d left in the car. Alan applauded a particularly skilled catch by one of the dogs, then rolled over and sat up, his arms linked over his knees, his head cocked and brown eyes serious as he studied her.
He was a handsome man, her brother. Especially when he was relaxed like this, with his muscled arms bare and broad shoulders flexing beneath his T-shirt every time a pretty girl walked by on the path beside them. Eve smiled.
“You look good, Eve. It’s been too long.”
“Too long since what?” she asked around a yawn. The sunshine always made her drowsy.
“Too long since you looked the way you should . . . young, pretty, free.”
Eve’s chest constricted abruptly, as if someone was squeezing her. A cloud rolled over the sun, and she shivered, staring at her brother. “What do you
mean?” she whispered, needing to ask, but not wanting to know.
“You weren’t meant for this, love. It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I knew what I was getting into. I knew the risks.”
Eve shook her head violently, her long hair flying as she closed her eyes, rejecting what he was saying. She didn’t want to talk about that. She wanted the sun, the laughing children, the silly dogs.
“Stop, baby girl. Before it’s too late. I never wanted this for you. Stop and be happy.”
Everything began to pale as the dream faded. Eve cried out, reaching for his hand, not ready for their time to be over. When she woke, she was alone, with the pale light of a winter’s morning adding to the chill of her small flat. Tears flooded her eyes unbidden, soaking the pillow she clutched to her face to muffle the sobs, until she drifted back to sleep.
Chapter Five
QUINN WOKE THAT night with one thought. He and Garrick needed a bigger house, if for no other reason than that he needed a fucking bigger bed. Not because he moved around a lot during the day—he didn’t, no vampire did—but because he practically fell out of the narrow bed when he rolled over after waking up at sunset.
He caught himself before falling—vampire reflexes were good for many things—and sat up, shivering slightly. The rental house was damn cold. It had been completely renovated, including a new HVAC system, but the best heater in the world couldn’t make up for thick stone walls and floors which seemed to hold on to the cold and damp no matter how much energy went into warming them. They were probably great on hot summer days, but he and his cousin would be long gone by then, moved into the new house in Dublin and ruling the territory.
Assuming they weren’t dead.
On that cheery note, he headed for the shower. Garrick was still out, but he’d be waking soon. They’d been turned within only a few weeks of each other, but Quinn’s greater power gave him the ability to endure more of the sun’s presence at both ends of the night. It was a strength that would only grow as he aged.
He turned on the shower, letting it run to warm the bathroom before stepping inside. The hot water pummeled his sore muscles. He liked to think he was in good shape—hell, he was in great shape—but he hadn’t exactly trained for hefting crates filled with weapons in and out of cars. Not to mention, hours of vigorous sex in a too-small bed. He was beginning to sense a theme to his life, having to do with small beds. He grinned to himself, feeling good despite the sore muscles and small beds. The sex had been great. Eve was beautiful, but he’d learned a long time ago that beauty didn’t equal sensuality. He’d suspected since meeting her, however, that underneath that angry exterior was a lushly sensuous woman, and he’d been right.
He frowned, reminded of the anger that had her risking her life to kill vampires. That doused his good humor faster than a cold shower. Quinn didn’t make a habit of lying to his sexual partners. Most of the women he’d met since he’d become a vampire had known what he was from the moment they’d met. Hell, he’d met most of them in one blood house or another. People—women and men both—came to those places for one reason only. They wanted to fuck a vampire, which meant they eagerly offered a vein. It was an easy dinner for the vamp, with a side of hot, casual sex. No explanations or apologies necessary. But the women Quinn had sucked and fucked in the past always knew exactly what they were getting. Eve didn’t. In fact, if she’d known, she’d have stabbed him with that wicked knife of hers instead of taking him to her bed.
He stepped out of the shower, grimacing at the thought of Eve’s reaction when she discovered the truth. He didn’t even consider not telling her. He wasn’t that big of an asshole. The only way that would work was if he never saw her again, and he found himself surprisingly reluctant to accept that outcome. He told himself it was only because he still needed to uncover the truth behind her killing spree, but just as he’d always been honest with his sexual partners, he was honest with himself, too. If all he’d wanted from Eve was to uncover her secrets, he could have had that already. He possessed a vampire lord’s skill when it came to telepathy. Of course, the deeper he probed, the harder he had to push, and the greater the potential for irreparable damage. He had a feeling Eve would require a lot of pushing, but it would take him no more than a few minutes to have her telling him everything he wanted to know. Even if he managed to avoiding harming her, though, he couldn’t do it. If she ever realized what he’d done, she’d hate his guts and never trust him.
And he didn’t want that with Eve, damn it.
He walked into his bedroom, which was separate from the smaller one where he and Garrick slept, and began to dress. He heard the shower come on as his cousin rose for the night. Stomping his feet into heavy duty boots, he tied them off and headed for the kitchen.
The coffee was on a timer, already brewed. Most renters might have been turned off by the small kitchen, especially if they had a family, but it was perfect for a pair of repatriated vampires. He drew in the delicious coffee scent, but went to the refrigerator first and pulled out a bag of cold blood, running it briefly under a stream of hot water, to take the worst of the chill off. The microwave would be faster, but it also destroyed the nutritional value for vampires. Normally, he’d let the blood sit in the hot water for at least twenty minutes, but he had no patience for that tonight. Drying the bag with a towel, he popped the valve and drank it down, tossing the empty bag into the trash. He then poured a cup of coffee and drank half of it to remove the taste of cold blood from his mouth, thinking about how sweet Eve’s blood would taste instead. Cursing himself for obsessing over the one woman he couldn’t feed from, he pulled over his laptop and began his nightly scan of the financial news. His legal work had all been in corporate litigation, which meant he’d had to be as knowledgeable in finance as he was in corporate law. That experience was serving him well now that he was on the verge of ruling a territory. Vampires were involved in all kinds of businesses, most of which were legal, despite Sorley’s preference for criminal pursuits. Most vampire lords collected tithes from the various businesses under their rule, in return for their protection and, frequently, their financial backing. It was relatively common for a vampire lord to sit on the board of the larger businesses in his territory. That being the case, Quinn had made a study of the Irish economy and financial laws before undertaking to seize the territory, not to mention staying up to date on trends in the European financial markets.
He was checking one of his several portfolios when he heard Garrick’s heavy footsteps coming down the hall. He grimaced, knowing what his cousin would have to say about the whole Eve situation, especially with Quinn cutting his return so close this morning.
Garrick went directly to the coffee pot. Another victim of habit.
“Sleep well?” Quinn asked. It was a joke between them, a meaningless question. There was no good sleep or bad. There was simply sleep. Although he’d heard of master vampires who’d reacted to the death of their vampire children during sleep, or, more rarely, vampires powerful enough to follow their mates during daylight, which could certainly lead to less than restful sleep. Especially if the mate was unfaithful or in physical danger. Quinn didn’t have a mate and didn’t particularly want one. He had his hands full right now, when it came to vampire entanglements. Not to mention petite vampire hunters.
Garrick’s only response to his question was a wordless grunt. Not a good sign. He stood with his back to the room, sipping coffee, before finally walking over to sit opposite Quinn at the kitchen’s center island. “Did you eat?” Garrick asked, giving him a dark look.
“Yes, Mom.”
Garrick was not amused. “What the fuck was that this morning, Q? Anything could have happened—an accident, a flat tire, a fucking traffic jam—and you’d have been stuck out there all day. And that’s assuming you found a bush to crawl under for protection before sunrise.”
“Thanks for the visual.”
; “This isn’t a joke,” Garrick snapped.
“No, it’s not,” he sighed. His cousin was the only vampire who could have spoken to him like this without being on the receiving end of a violent reaction. Garrick was genuinely concerned, and, besides, he was right. It had been unforgivably stupid on Quinn’s part. “I’m sorry, Gar. I lost track of the time.”
“I hope her pussy was worth it.”
Quinn felt a surge of heat at the crude comment. He didn’t want anyone talking about Eve like that. Not even Garrick. But he forced back his anger, knowing it would only make Garrick push harder. Besides, he wasn’t sure why the remark made him angry. The two of them had talked about the women they fucked in far cruder terms before. But this was Eve. And, for some reason, that mattered.
“Can I assume she doesn’t know you’re a vampire?” Garrick continued. “You know, given as how she didn’t stake you mid-fuck, what with her being a vampire killer and all. And I’m guessing you didn’t get so much as a taste of her blood despite fucking her all night long.”
“What the hell, Gar?” Quinn said, his understanding finally reaching its limit. “What’s your problem?”
His cousin met his gaze across the counter top. “We’re about to kill a God damned vampire lord and seize his territory, which might just involve a serious battle or two. And you’re off fucking some woman you should have already eliminated, before she kills you or—”
“Enough.” Quinn came to his feet with a roar of sound, his power suddenly filling the small room, echoing off the stone floor and walls.
Garrick stood at the same time, watching Quinn warily, but without fear and still defiant.
Quinn gripped the island’s marble counter top so hard, he felt it straining beneath his fingers, until he let go and shook his hands out. “Look,” he said softly. “I’m sorry about this morning. It won’t happen again. But I don’t need a lecture from you or anyone else about the dangers of what we’re trying to do here. I appreciate your support and wouldn’t want to do it without you, but in the final analysis I’m the one who’s going to be going toe-to-toe with Orrin Sorley. Taking down a vampire lord isn’t a team sport. It’s me against him. So, don’t think for one minute that I haven’t examined every aspect of my fucking strategy, or obsessed over every detail.” He drew in a deep breath, then added, “And don’t talk about Eve like that. I don’t know what’s going on with her and the vampire killing, but . . . she’s not just a piece of ass, all right?”
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