by Carly Fall
Leaning down, he took her left nipple in her mouth, his fingers teasing the right one to a tight peak. Desire flooded through her at his touch while moisture gathered between her legs. She ran her hand over his head, his short hair tickling her palm. When she closed her eyes, the room began to spin as he continued his ministrations, and an orgasm built quickly within her.
She opened her eyes as Connor dropped to his knees and made fast work of getting her jeans off. He nuzzled the scrap of silk covering her sex, then looked up at her.
“I can smell you,” he whispered, his eyes glinting with mischief and lust as he stood. “And now, I’m going to taste you.”
Before she knew what happened, he brushed his hand over the table, sending papers flying everywhere. Then he moved her so her butt met the edge of it, and slowly laid her back.
The cold glass brought relief to her scorching skin, but did nothing to quell the desire within her. She had a brief concern about the table not holding her, but as he yanked her underwear down her legs and he kissed her knee to her inner thigh, all worry disappeared. When his mouth landed on her core, his tongue gently lapping at her, she didn’t care if the table did shatter and she ended up in a bed of glass. It would be worth it.
She sucked in her breath, feeling as though there wasn’t enough air in the room as he licked and suckled her. Her chest burned, her leg muscles quivered, and her blood raced through her veins. Balling her hands up into fists, she never wanted this to end. Her orgasm sat right outside of her reach, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he knew it and intentionally kept it at bay.
“You taste better than anything I’ve ever had on my tongue,” Connor said, his deep voice reverberating through her core. “I could stay here all night.”
That would be fine with her, but he had to give her release, or it seemed as if she might die.
After another moment, he got to his feet, and she admired the hard planes of his body as he disrobed. His erection stood from his hips, and she wanted nothing more than for him to step between her legs and impale her.
Instead, he grabbed her hands and pulled her off the table, then sat down in a chair.
“Ride me, Sami,” he muttered.
She palmed his cock and thought for a moment about torturing him the same way he’d done to her, but decided against it. Another time. Right now, she needed to come, and her being on top would allow her the control to make sure it happened.
Sliding down onto him, she gasped at the invasion as he groaned. She laid her head on his shoulder for a moment, then began to move, the friction of their bodies a beautiful sensation.
“Oh, Sami,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed us.”
His words echoed in her head, as if he spoke to her on a bad phone line. She heard them, but their meaning didn’t register. All that mattered was the intimate joining of their bodies.
“Bite me, Sami.”
The memory of the taste of his blood going down her throat made her mouth water. She opened her eyes and stared at the pounding pulse in his neck. The perfect elixir lay less that an inch away.
She looked at the beating vein, wanting it more than anything she’d ever desired in her life.
“Do it, Sami,” he groaned. “Do it now.”
Almost as if she were in some sort of trance, her fangs descended, her mouth pooling with saliva. She had to have the blood. She had Connor’s body within her, and now, she needed the red nectar.
Drawing her lips back on a light hiss, she pierced his skin. He gasped and stiffened beneath her. She’d hurt him, but the moment his blood met her taste buds, any concern she had vanished.
His taste … she tried to pinpoint it, but couldn’t. It reminded her of chocolate, wine, and cherries, the beautiful tonic slipping over her tongue with ease.
As his body relaxed beneath her, her orgasm came up on her like a steam engine. The room didn’t exist; the large window without a covering didn’t matter, nor did what happened after her and Connor finished. The blood. The release. The sheer ecstasy that muddled her head, the way she gave her body completely over to him. She sucked his vein harder, wanting every last drop he could give her, wishing the supply was never-ending.
You’ll kill him.
No, that, she didn’t want to do.
She disengaged her fangs and flung her head back as she trembled violently from head to toe. Somewhere, she heard a scream, and only as her body stopped convulsing did she realize that it came from her own throat.
Beneath her, Connor swore, his hips bucking against her, his breathing coming in short spurts.
As he relaxed and laid his sweaty forehead against her chest, she held him tightly and closed her eyes, not wanting to be liberated from this perfect cocoon of pleasure.
“Oh, God, Sami,” he whispered, his breath tickling her breast.
She looked down at the top of his head and rubbed her hand over it. Tears stung her eyes, and she planted a kiss in the middle of his scalp.
Tempted to tell him she loved him again, she bit back the words. She’d already let him know about her feelings, and she worried that saying it again would only destroy this perfect moment.
Instead, she just held his head to her breast and prayed that one day, he would be able to say that he loved her, as well.
* * *
Two hours later, they laid in her bedroom. She’d thought this room fit for a princess, but now, she had her prince.
Connor snuggled behind her, spooning her. His breath whispered against her ear, his arm holding her close to his chest.
She sighed, wondering if this afternoon could have been any more perfect. Connor brought her to such heights of pure pleasure, it almost frightened her, but at the same time, she only wanted more.
His blood hummed through her body, making her feel more alive and stronger. By drinking from him, she’d also increased the bond they shared, and she wondered if this was how the relationship between her mother and father had been. Had the sex been as intense? After so many years of her mother drinking from her father, she could understand why Eris hadn’t wanted anyone else. Breaking that bond would have been heart-wrenching.
Blood.
Her eyes flew open.
What if the drug only affected certain blood types?
Connor’s soft snores met her ears, but she knew she’d never rest now, not until she’d checked out her theory.
She slowly disengaged from Connor’s grasp and slid out of the bed. Padding into the living room stark naked, she got down on her hands and knees and pulled the papers on the floor back together. She reached for Connor’s T-shirt and pulled it on.
Not bothering to move to the table, she quickly arranged the papers, gathering the medical records first. Picking up a pad of paper, she looked for the pen. It lay near the kitchen, so she crawled over and retrieved it.
She returned to her spot and picked up the first medical report.
What was the blood type?
After a few passes, she finally found it.
B Negative.
Did they die?
Yes.
The second file noted the victim’s blood type also as B Negative, and also deceased.
The third, A Negative, dead.
Interesting.
She rifled through the rest of the papers looking for Candy’s. A smile crept over her lips as she found the blood type—AB Positive.
This had to be it.
To be sure, she scrawled a quick chart on the pad of paper with three columns: Blood Type, Alive, Dead.
Twenty minutes later, she’d gone through all of the medical records they had and noted them. As she looked at the results, her confidence soared. She had found the answer to why Candy and some of the others had lived, while some had died.
She debated waking Connor, but decided he had to know now. Standing, she walked into the bedroom and placed her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. He slept so peacefully, she thought aga
in about letting him rest, but this was too important.
“Connor,” she said when he didn’t move. “You have to get up.”
He slowly turned to his back and groaned.
“Come on, Connor. I think I know—”
Suddenly, his arm shot out and grabbed her by the waist. He flipped her over his torso, and before she knew what happened, she was on the bed next to him.
“I think I know I don’t like sleeping alone,” he mumbled as he pulled her closer.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Connor, listen to me. I think I know why Candy and some of the others lived while others died, and most aren’t affected by the drug at all.”
He opened his eyes, then propped himself up on his elbow, seemingly now wide-awake. “Why?”
“Her blood type.”
Confusion crossed his face. “What?”
She squirmed away from him and sat up on the bed in a cross-legged position.
“See, everyone who died was blood type A or B, but all were negative.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“But Candy is AB Positive.”
After staring at her for a long moment, he finally shook his head. “Not following, Sami.”
She sighed, realizing that most of the general population didn’t spend a lot of their lives thinking about blood. However, as a vampire, she had studied it and knew plenty.
“Okay, let me start at the beginning.”
“That would be good.”
“The most common blood type by far is O Positive, and ethnicity doesn’t matter. Latino, Caucasian, African American, Asian … O Positive is the most prevalent blood type.
“Now, when you get into the A’s and B’s, the numbers start going way down, with the exception of A Positive. It’s also high across all cultures, but not as high as O Positive.
“Every one of those people who died were either A or B Negative. Both of those blood types together make up only nine percent of the Caucasian population and three percent of the African American.”
“So you think that the drug only hurts people with A or B Negative blood?”
She nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Those with that type of blood end up dead. Candy’s AB Positive, and alive. If I were to make an educated guess, I would say that the people who take the drug without any problems are members of the O Positive or A Positive groups, which is a good chunk of the population.”
“What about the O Negative group? Or the AB Negative?” Connor asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t have the data to look at.”
He glanced around the room. “Based on what we have, it makes sense, Sami. How do you know so much about blood?”
“Connor, I’m part vampire,” she said, rolling her eyes.
He chuckled. “That’s true.”
Grinning, she took his palm in hers and studied his strong hands. At least they’d solved one mystery, but now, they had two more to tackle. First, Pedro Chavez, and second, how to get this drug off the street and cut off the dealer at the knees.
Connor squeezed her hand. “You want to know what turns me on?”
She looked up at him. “What’s that?”
“A really smart, beautiful, half-naked vampire talking to me about blood.”
As she broke out into laughter, he crawled on top of her and pinned her to the bed, kissing her neck and cheek.
“Let’s stay in tonight,” he whispered as he sucked on her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine.
His invitation did sound tempting, but she wanted to get to the end of the assignment without anyone else dying.
However, his kisses did make her skin warm, and her body seemed to melt, resembling liquid heat.
“How about a compromise?” she asked as he lifted her shirt and ran his tongue around her belly button.
“As long as I can continue what I’m doing right now, I’ll do whatever you say.”
His mouth found her breast, and she arched her back as a groan escaped her.
“We have to go out tonight, Connor.”
To her own ears, her voice sounded far away, as if she’d been taken to another plane of existence.
She closed her eyes as she heard him sigh.
“Okay, Sami, but I get my way with you for an hour.”
As he pulled his T-shirt over her head, she knew she couldn’t deny his request. Being with Connor made the rest of the world disappear and put her in a perfect place where happiness and pleasure ruled.
In the meantime, everything else would have to wait.
17
They left the apartment at about ten that night and took a car over to the nightclub, Train.
Despite her lack of rest, Sami felt invigorated and refreshed, like she’d just come from a long, relaxing vacation. She knew Connor’s blood was the reason. It energized her in ways that she never could have imagined—making her physically stronger, giving her mental clarity. Connor had even commented that she looked healthier and happier than he’d ever seen her.
“You look really pretty, Sami,” he whispered in her ear, then placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “I still wish we could have stayed in. I have so many dirty thoughts going through my head right now … the things I want to do to you …”
Her cheeks warmed, but she smiled as she checked the rearview mirror to make sure the driver hadn’t heard him.
Frankly, she would have liked to stay in, as well, but duty called over pleasure, at least for tonight. Besides, she’d taken more of Connor’s blood than she probably should have, and his body needed time to replenish. She’d tried to stop drinking from him, but he’d insisted. He loved the sensations just as much, if not more, than she did.
After arriving at Train, they went to the coatroom. A curvy blonde greeted them with a warm smile, her nametag reading Violet.
“How y’all doin’?”
“Good, thank you,” Connor answered with a grin as he pulled off his jacket. “You sound like you’re far away from home, Violet.”
She giggled while taking their coats. “Yes, sir, I am. But, I like it here, so I’m happy.”
“Let me guess … Arkansas?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Mississippi, then California, and now here.”
“Damn. I was close.”
“Close don’t count unless you’re playin’ horse shoes,” she said.
“Same applies to grenades,” Connor murmured as he stared at her.
The woman laughed. “I wouldn’t know nothin’ about that.”
She handed Connor the ticket for the coat check, then said, “Y’all have a great night.”
“What did you mean about the grenades?” Sami asked as they were led down the hall for dress inspection.
“Well, you get points in horseshoes if you get close to the stake. When someone throws a grenade, a lot of damage can be done to those standing by. It doesn’t have to land directly on its target to be effective.”
She furrowed her brow. It had been an odd thing to say, but he had served in the military, so she supposed his mind would conjure up the parallel.
She knew they’d pass the dress inspection without any trouble. She wore a long-sleeve black dress that hugged her torso and flared just a bit at the skirt, hanging down to her mid-calf. Connor looked handsome in his black button-down shirt, jeans, and Gucci boots. Unfortunately, she’d opted for heels. Perhaps she’d hoped that her shoe choice would dictate the weather, but it hadn’t. She now had wet feet and wished she’d worn boots.
After being given approval, they walked into Train and she glanced around but didn’t see Pedro anywhere. A bit of relief swept through her, but it was quickly followed by disappointment. She wanted to get to the bottom of why he was in Seattle, especially since he’d lied to her on why he was here.
They found a table, and Connor went to the bar to get a couple of drinks. She glanced around, still on the lookout for Pedro.
A few minutes later, Connor returned.
“I decided to stir things up a bit,” he murmured, taking a sip of his beer.
Uh-oh. She didn’t like the sound of that.
“What did you do?”
“I asked the bartender for Ambrogio. I was thinking on the way over that maybe that’s the name of the drug since it’s packaged with a sticker with that on it, instead of the dealer or manufacturer name.”
It was possible. She’d thought it the name of the person who’d created it, but perhaps she’d been wrong.
“What did he say?”
“He asked me what was mixed in the drink, because he’d never heard of it before and he didn’t know how to make it.”
She couldn’t help but giggle. “That didn’t go over very well.”
“No, it didn’t.”
A group of people she placed in their twenties came in. They were a bit loud as they took their booth, but Sami didn’t pay them any more attention. She looked around the place for someone who seemed to be hiding something, possibly someone sitting alone who didn’t show any interest in the music, the dance floor, or the drinks.
A man from the boisterous group leaned in and spoke to the woman next to him. She nodded enthusiastically, and talked to the person sitting on her other side. Pretty soon, the whole table began to whoop, and one of the guys left. He returned a few moments later and looked around, as if to make sure no one watched him.
To her, it appeared like he set something in the woman’s hand. She, in turn, seemed to pass it to the next person, and so on.
One by one, they sipped their drinks, and Sami swore they all took something, although the motions were very subtle, so she couldn’t be sure.
After a moment, Connor stood. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked toward the exit door and spoke to a male employee manning the area. A moment later, he was led back toward the coatroom. When he’d been gone twenty minutes, she began to panic a bit. Where had he gone?
She glanced at the table that she’d been watching. A few of them had gone to the dance floor, but all seemed much more mellow than when they came in. They talked in low tones, a contradiction to their energetic entrance.
Just as she was about to go find Connor, a woman from the table stood, then immediately collapsed.
