A dense forest surrounded the ruins, which provided extra privacy and quiet. Add to that the waning moon, and the environment was perfect for clandestine activities.
Devereux strolled around the perimeter, appreciating the silence, looking for signs of the presence of his first date. Since he couldn’t detect the energy signature unique to vampire brains, he assumed he’d arrived first. He leaned against a tall stone that used to be part of the castle’s chapel, attuned his keen vision to the dark landscape and waited, recalling some of the more memorable nights he’d spent at this place.
As he rummaged through his memories, he became more and more enthused about the possibilities for the evening. Maybe it was time to have some fun. He chuckled, thinking that there were quite a few women associated with these ruins he’d be pleased to see again.
First among them was Belinda, the beautiful harpist with whom he’d shared many a sensuous Beltane celebration. He closed his eyes and recalled her full, rosy-nippled breasts bouncing as she rode him energetically. Or Celeste, the gorgeous seamstress who gave new meaning to measuring one for clothing. He felt a sensory rush as he remembered her nimble fingers stroking every inch of his body. Then there was the delightful Orlene, and her uninhibited – and vocal – enjoyment of sex. His smile widened. Together, they’d rewritten the book on erotic pleasure.
Oh, yes, he thought, his body stirring in anticipation, he’d have to show his appreciation to Laurence and Elliott for this brilliant idea. He wondered why he’d resisted his carnal urges for so long.
A noise, like the cracking of a branch underfoot, drew his attention to the nearby clump of trees, but as soon as he turned his head to investigate, feminine laughter sounded on his other side. “Devereux, my sweet. It never used to be so easy to sneak up on you. I hope all your reactions aren’t so slow.”
He recognized the voice immediately and his stomach tightened. Oh, no –
Maeve.
“Yes, my darling – after all these centuries, your favorite goddess has returned.”
Unaccustomed to someone being able to read his thoughts so easily, he slammed down even more protective barriers around his consciousness, hoping that might afford him at least a modicum of personal privacy. Not that anything he did would really keep someone as powerful as Maeve from doing whatever she wanted. As he well remembered, nothing could keep her from her painful agenda.
Maeve laughed and glided toward him. “Well, now. I do appreciate that you’ve become stronger in my absence, but what is this sudden anxiety, my dear? We both know it isn’t me you’re afraid of.”
She was right about that. Maeve really was a goddess, in every way: a supernatural creature with powers that dwarfed anything a mere vampire could contemplate. The problem wasn’t her taking away his willforce. It was him surrendering it.
She looked exactly the same: breathtakingly beautiful, very tall, with hip-length dark auburn hair, silver-flecked green eyes and a lush, curvaceous body, which was fully displayed in her see-through robe. Maeve was the most potent goddess still in existence, the only immortal on earth powerful enough to control him. He had no choice but to do whatever she wanted. And because she’d never been human, that could be scary territory.
The last time they’d been together, he’d barely escaped with his life. Or his unlife. Already he could feel his self-control slipping away as his body became aroused by her essence.
“I was not expecting you, Maeve.” He stalled for time as she undulated toward him, trying to figure out how to postpone the inevitable. His useless heart pounded without his conscious decision to allow it to beat, a side-effect of being near Maeve. It reminded him of being human and experiencing terror, centuries ago. “How did Laurence and Elliott get in touch with you?”
Did they betray me on purpose? How could they? They know the story.
She gave an evil, gorgeous grin, her eyes sparkling wickedly, and read his mind. “They didn’t realize it was me they were talking to. I disguised myself and pretended to be that tedious Elizabeth woman you had an affair with. The one who went berserk as a result of being turned and killed all those young girls so she could bathe in their blood. I hear you spent a couple of years trying to bring her back from the edge of madness.”
Devereux tried to shut out her voice – to distract himself, to stop himself from being pulled into her web – by mentally counting the coffins stored in the basement of The Crypt. He barely made it to twenty before his effort failed. Her words took on a life and a shape of their own, caressing his nipples from a distance. He groaned, his body tingling with need.
“Oh, my.” She batted her long eyelashes and licked her full lips. “I see you’ve started without me. Anyway, your friends were very excited about setting you up with that obnoxious cow. They seemed to think you needed help finding women. They were so pitifully eager to give you a good time that it was easy to manipulate them.” She snapped her fingers. “Bathory! That’s her name. I didn’t see any reason to let them spoil my surprise so I kept them in the dark.” She stepped close and rubbed herself against him. “Besides, you have been so naughty, avoiding me.” She retreated a few inches and he felt the tingle that let him know she was studying him with her supernatural senses. Her aroma wafted on the breeze and he groaned again. She smelled like lavender with a cinnamon edge, which was her natural fragrance. Impossible to resist. At least for him.
He made another valiant effort to regain control of himself, which took more strength than he possessed. “You know why I avoid you, Maeve. When you are near, I have no will of my own. I become your slave, and I do not want that.” A willing slave, but a slave nonetheless. Already his erection strained against the zipper of his pants. His hands moving of their own accord, he unbuttoned his jacket and dropped it on the ground.
“Oh,” she ran her hands over her breasts, “but I do. I’ve rarely encountered anyone who could please me as you do. But let me ease your mind. I will be here for only a brief time. After we give each other unimaginable ecstasy, I will set you free. For now.”
Entranced by watching her touch herself, but expecting her usual deception, he frowned. “Why would you do that?” He knew he shouldn’t give her any ideas, but he couldn’t believe she was being so reasonable. Without thinking, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. “I always had to escape before. What is different about this time?” Who was he fooling? He hadn’t escaped so much as she’d temporarily lost interest and let him get away.
She caressed his bare chest with her eyes, then her hands. “Things are very complicated right now,” she admitted. “There are two minor gods fighting over me and I’ve enjoyed using both of them. I can’t let them damage each other. I have plans for them so they both must remain healthy. Therefore I mustn’t be gone long. In fact, I’m sure they’re both out looking for me already.” She leaned in and nipped at his lower lip with her white teeth. “It’s a good thing you have all that vampiric speed and resilience.”
He was surprised by the sound of his pants unzipping, the only noise in the stillness. He looked down, expecting to find her hand on the zipper and saw only his own. And as if he were watching from outside his body, he saw himself shimmy the leather pants down his legs. He stepped out of them and nudged them aside. His muscles tensed with the inner struggle.
No. I will not willingly be her puppet.
Feeling both excited and angry, he stood, naked and aroused, frantically searching through his centuries of knowledge, looking for anything he could use to break the compulsion.
She sauntered around him, sliding her hands along every surface. “Yum, my dear. I believe humans these days describe someone like you as a hard body. Perfect.”
He groaned, not sure if it was from pain or pleasure, because he knew she would force his need to build until she was ready for him to release, no matter how agonizing for him.
“I see you still have no fondness for undergarments,” she said, with a dark chuckle. “That’s another thing I always
appreciated about you: fewer layers to peel off.” She looked around, tapping her finger on her chin. “Let’s make ourselves more comfortable, shall we?”
She flicked her wrist, and suddenly they were inside a candle-lit bedroom. Red and gold brocade covered the walls, which were lined with paintings of Maeve in her various incarnations. She’d gone by many names in different cultures: Aphrodite, Hecate, Artemis, Bast, Freya, Morrigan, Kali, Shakti, among others. A large colorful sculpture of her favorite, the winged goddess Isis, filled half the room. In the center was an expansive bed with a blood-red duvet, turned down in readiness for nocturnal activities.
Though still struggling to resist, Devereux found himself jumping onto the bed and holding his arms out to her. He was ravenous for her body. The result of that interior war made his motions jerky and unnatural.
I feel like a fool, and uncomfortably like a human under vampire control.
She laughed. “Such a warrior. Even though you know better, you still fight me.” She sashayed around the bed, her wicked smile in place, clearly enjoying the view. “You are an exquisite male specimen, Devereux. Beautiful. Those blue-green eyes, that face. Really quite on a par with the minor gods.” She stared at his erection. “Hmmm. Perhaps the major gods.”
Wanting her more than he could endure, he reached out to touch her, but she danced away, laughing, as the intensity of his need grew, until it was so strong he was tempted to take matters into his own hands – but his obsessed, controlled brain wouldn’t let him. Only sex with Maeve would satisfy. Only the feel of her skin against his would relieve the rising tension.
“Maeve, please.” Hating to hear those words coming out of his mouth, but unable to stop himself, he managed to force the last part of his brain that was still under his control to add, “I thought you were in a hurry.” All he could do now was try to speed up the process, get it over with, despite the fact that his body – especially his aching penis – wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his existence having sex with the goddess.
She leaned in and licked her way across his chest, claiming each nipple, sucking greedily as she wrapped her fingers around his shaft and slid her hand up its length. “You’re right.” She crawled onto the bed, pulled the filmy robe over her head and stretched languidly, giving Devereux an unobstructed view of the body he craved. “Take me,” she mewled.
He made a growling sound and, quick as a snake, grabbed her, gathered her close, and pressed his hungry mouth to hers. He rolled on top and rubbed himself against her, already moaning in ecstasy, ready to burst.
Almost delirious with lust, they tumbled across the bed, switching positions every few seconds until Maeve ended up straddling him. Finally she impaled herself, and he eagerly began thrusting. They groaned as the orgasmic wave built, and within seconds they both screamed their release. Devereux’s body shook from his staggering surrender and his blood-lust rose.
Crazed, he pulled her down, his fangs pierced the vein in her neck and he sucked, drawing in the unearthly elixir. He was almost certain that drinking her blood in the past was the main reason he attracted so many women. Her blood held magic, and she’d changed him. He didn’t know if it was a good idea to drink more, but he couldn’t help himself.
Appearing blissed out, Maeve wailed, making inhuman noises.
In the midst of the chaos, Devereux thought he heard the sound of men yelling nearby. Assuming it was simply his fevered brain reacting to the supernatural sex, he stopped trying to make sense of it and kept sucking on her neck, before turning his awareness to his erection, which she’d never allowed to deflate.
A loud voice, close to his ear, bellowed, “Stop! Now!”
Devereux jerked his fangs from Maeve’s vein and stilled the lower half of his body, inexplicably in charge of himself again. The tone of the words had sliced through the goddess’s enchantment, and he sobered. Or maybe it had been something about the voices themselves.
“No!” Maeve said, springing upright on Devereux, the holes in her neck already closed, the blood drying. “Not yet. You weren’t supposed to find me for hours. You’ve ruined all my fun. I only had one orgasm – ”
Two large males were standing next to the bed. Both sported togas and golden crowns. One had a shaved head except for a long black braid at the nape of his neck, the other had short, curly brown hair.
“Maeve,” the curly-haired one said, “you promised to choose between the two of us.” He glared at Devereux, his face a mask of disgust. “You swore you would not contaminate yourself with earthly creatures again.”
Ah, Devereux thought. Gods. No wonder their words awakened me.
“Damn!” Maeve climbed off Devereux. She leaned over and kissed his lips. “I’m so sorry, darling. It looks like the parade has been called on account of petulant deities. We’ll talk soon.”
Reaching out her hands to the two gods, she rolled her eyes and sighed. “All right. Let’s go.”
The moment she touched them, all three vanished, the illusion of the bedroom disintegrated, and Devereux found himself lying on the cold, hard ground in front of the castle ruins.
He sat up, and shook his head, savoring the fact that he’d just dodged a potentially lethal bullet.
If I were so inclined, I would say a prayer to those two gods for my deliverance. But since I am not...
Mumbling to himself in the old Druid language he often used, he quickly rose, gathered up his discarded clothing, and dressed. Thanks to the timely arrival of the gods, he’d been saved from the escalating torture Maeve liked to inflict on her “lovers.” Of course, as a vampire, the physical torment never affected him except to keep him in a constant state of arousal, but he still objected to that on several levels.
Truthfully, even in the beginning, before she’d shown her true colors, he’d never really liked Maeve all that much, though he’d been stupidly flattered by her attention, his small brain making the decision to disregard his intuition about the malevolent goddess. Being forced to service her had always been humiliating. And he knew her well enough to be sure he hadn’t seen the last of her.
“Wait until I get my hands on Elliott and Laurence.” His voice echoed through the ruins. He shoved on his boots and brushed dirt off his leather pants. “They were right, though, about my choosing to stop after the first date. I have no intention of following through. I will simply refuse to think about it being over... Cac!”
Date #2
Devereux felt himself flying through time and space until, as if cosmic brakes had been applied, everything stopped and he was unceremoniously dumped on his ass on a marble floor.
“Efutue! Yes,” he said, leaping to his feet, his hands fisted at his sides, “I will definitely kill them when I get back. A slow death. I will drain the blood from their miserable carcasses, then tear off their conniving heads and burn the remains in a huge bonfire, while I dance in celebration. I will – ”
“Oh, my,” said a tiny, breathy voice. “That sounds terrible. I hope I haven’t done anything to contribute to whatever those people did to you.”
Devereux spun around to face the speaker, assuming a fighting stance. After what he’d just been through, it was best to be prepared for anything.
The meek voice belonged to a petite, beautiful woman with long golden-blonde hair and big blue eyes, dressed in what looked like a lab coat. She reminded Devereux of a slightly older version of Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
“Who are you?” he demanded, crouched low, still scanning the area. “Where am I?”
She threw her shoulders back, stepped forward and locked gazes with him, her wide eyes making her look young and innocent. She held out her hand. “I’m Lilly, a chemist at Devereux International’s Chicago office. That’s where we are.”
He straightened and studied his surroundings properly. “Yes, of course.” He took the hand she still held out toward him. “I was just here last week, approving a new line of blood research.” He tilted his head, frowning. “I d
o not remember seeing you then. Am I to assume my... friends... Elliott and Laurence, arranged for you to meet me here?”
“Yes,” she said in her tiny voice, as if she would frighten herself by speaking any louder. “I was part of a group the site manager introduced you to on your visit. When your friends put out the call, I told them I had seen you from afar and would love to meet you, both as a scientist and as a woman.”
Well, he thought, making sure his mental boundaries were firmly in place and she would not be able to read him, if she even had the capability, perhaps things are looking up. While she does seem to be quite young – maybe not even twenty – there is a depth of intelligence in her eyes that speaks of wisdom beyond mere years. Maybe something can be salvaged from this insane idea.
“I see.” He willed the tension to roll off his shoulders and pointed to the chemist’s paraphernalia in the room. “This looks interesting. Introduce me to your research and we can get to know each other.” He gave the smile he’d heard women describe as devastating.
Obviously charmed and flustered, Lilly opened her eyes wider and pressed a palm to her chest. “Yes, um, certainly, of course. Right this way.” She took a few steps, turned back to look at him, and tripped over a briefcase, crashing to the floor like a mini-redwood in the forest.
He hurried over to lift her up. “Are you all right?” The question was an unnecessary one to ask a vampire, but good manners required he be concerned.
“Oh, yes.” She stood. “I’m just embarrassed. I was trying so hard to make a good impression on you and now I’ve shown you my dark secret. I’m the most clumsy vampire on earth.”
Vampires! A Bundle of Bloodsuckers Page 8
