by C. L. Quinn
Margot knew, she felt, when his orgasm hit, and pulled away just as he came. She crawled up beside him and he pulled her into his arms as he finished.
“God,” he groaned, his lips against her neck. He turned into her and began to lick her there, then nipped, then she felt a sharp sting, and just as she began to pull away, a stab of sexual need struck her and she felt herself flood again. Moisture surged between her legs as she pressed tighter to Xavier. He still lingered on her neck, his arms pulling her closer and tighter, his cock filling again sooner than she thought it could. Just as the need to taste him rose unexpectedly, now she wanted to feel him inside her. Penetration. Something she’d promised herself she’d never desire, never allow. Now, she wanted him, desperately, to fill her up.
He moaned, sounds that drove her need deeper, and she tried to pull away to tell him she wanted to have him inside her. But he held tight and wouldn’t let her go. His arms felt right around her, so she ground herself against his cock and waited until he knew what she needed.
Xavier came hard, the orgasm over the edge for him, like nothing he thought he’d ever experienced before, the room spinning. When he felt her crawl to him, he pulled her close, ready to tell her how amazing she was. His lips moved along the moist skin beneath her hair and he pushed it back to kiss her on the neck. He felt the pulse there and tongued her where it beat, lingered on the movement beneath her skin, licked, then nipped.
Then he bit, surprising himself, and a surge of hot blood touched his tongue.
The blood struck him, his nature surged up, blood reached for blood, and it was good….God, it was good!
Shock mingled with intense need, release, a sense of rightness, that this was who he was and more than that, more than the taste…
It was what he needed!
Somewhere in the craziness of the moment, the weirdness of his tongue, how he’d punctured her skin so easily, how it seemed not to have bothered her, he was concerned for her, if she was okay. Was she? Was he hurting her?
Her blood surged through his body, racing from limb to limb, building strength and stamina, building power, repairing his body that he now knew was working on less than fifty percent of its capacity. His mind sharpened, his senses refined, the sex drive fired to maximum.
He needed inside this woman, needed to drive into her, to fill her up, to pump, to empty himself into her. He needed the connection to finish. Finish? What?
The moment changed and he realized what he had done. He’d sucked blood from Margot’s neck, drank it, loved it! What was he? His tongue moved over sharp teeth that were not there before. Sharp teeth? Fangs?
“Scotsman, what…what did you do? I’m dizzy. I’m so horny I want to crawl inside of you. I want you to fuck me, Scottie. God, I’m hot!”
Shaking his head to try to clear it from the sexual euphoria he was lost to, he kept his hands around Margot’s waist as she crawled on top of him. Her neck was seeping, only a little, and she didn’t seem to notice.
But he couldn’t let this happen. Whatever she thought she wanted, that she wanted him to bury his cock in her, it was because of this sexual thrall, this inebriation of sexual need, that caused her to act this way. It wasn’t real. He knew it wasn’t, just like the way he’d been able to affect people’s behavior a few times without knowing how he’d done it.
This time, he thought he knew. He’d drawn her blood, and it had thrown him into extreme erotic need, it must have done the same to her.
He wanted her, but not like this. She sat on top of him her eyes bright, a smile he’d have gone to the moon to see on her face, ready to let him take her virginity anew, lovingly this time. He had to stop her, stop himself.
For the first time, he looked into her eyes to try to, on purpose, control her. Xavier moved his hands from her waist and held her face still.
“Lass, look at me,” he said firmly.
Almost giggling, she did, ready to drop down to kiss him again.
“Lass, stop movin’.”
She did, immediately, her expression now blank, her eyes now unfocused.
God, this thing was evil. But it had to be done.
“Ye will sleep now, a deep restful sleep, until I tell ya to wake.”
The second the last word left his mouth, Margot began to collapse, her eyes closed, her body like that of a rag doll. He caught her easily and lowered her gently to the bed.
“Ah, lassie, I’m sorry. I never meant this to happen. Ye’ll go home unscathed, I promise.”
Laying Margot on the sheet, he lifted her hair to look at her neck. The wound was nearly healed, although how it was, he had no idea. Though he was grateful, the mystery deepened with every discovery and it frightened him some.
What in the hell was he that he could do things like this? Did anyone else know what he was?
Yes, someone did. The man who’d imprisoned him, he remembered that he could do things like this.
The man he’d been evading for weeks was exactly who he needed to find.
Six
“Margot.”
The word, her name, kept invading her mind. She didn’t want to wake, she was warm and felt safe, but consciousness insisted and her eyes opened to stare straight up into darkness. Her first thought was to wonder where she was, her bedroom was never completely dark.
And her second thought…who had spoken to her?
A strange sound intruded and a flickering light filled her line of sight from the right. She sat up and turned her head to see the big Scottish man, naked and glorious, walking toward her with a candle in his hand. A feeling of overwhelming pleasure struck her as a smile flooded her face. God, she remembered last night!
“Ye’re a deep sleeper, little lady justice. I had to call ya three times to get ya to hear me.”
“Sorry. I don’t sleep well lately, so at any given time I’m exhausted. I feel pretty rested right now, though.”
“Aye, well, ya had a good night.”
“I remember. Scotsman, it was a good night. Usually, I come away from encounters like this feeling less than...um, clean. I never let the man stay. I have never stayed with a man. I’m sorry, I must have just crashed afterward.”
“Ya did. It’s fine, lass, ye’re easy to sleep with.”
“Huh. I thought no one would ever know.”
Xavier squatted beside her as she sat on the mattress, the sheet falling away, her beautiful breasts inches from his tongue.
“Did ya really think ye’d spend the rest of yer life alone?”
Following a moment of silence when Margot just looked into his eyes, and felt lost in them, she lifted a hand to thread her fingers through his hair. She remembered doing that last night as he tongued her and brought her to orgasm. “I’m sure of it, lad.” Moments later, their eyes still locked on each other, she whispered, “But thank you.”
Surging towards her, Xavier scooped her into his arms and stood, spinning around, her own arms grabbing his neck to hold on.
“Ye’re welcome. Anytime ye’d like a repeat performance, I’m up for it.”
A surge of arousal struck her loins at the intention of the word up. Her mind went exactly where he wanted it to go.
“I may take you up on that, then. For now, I should go home. I’m due in the office today.”
“Aye, it’s full daylight now, and ye’ll be safe to catch yer cab in front of this building. Have him call ya when he’s here and just go on down.”
He should put her feet on the floor and let her dress. Instead, Xavier pulled her close and buried his nose under her hair near where he’d taken her blood last night. He’d cleaned her up, and noticed that the two punctures were nearly healed. She’d never know unless she remembered, but he didn’t think she did. At the time, strangely, she’d reacted as if inebriated, and she’d never asked him about the bloodletting.
Even he had no idea what had happened. What he did know were two things. He’d sucked in her blood, hadn’t been able to stop himself, as if it were natural for h
im.
And he liked it and wanted to do it again!
When he felt her hand moving against the side of his face and her lips close to his, he did something else that he knew was natural. He kissed her, his tongue seeking her warmth, needing the connection. He had to place his scent on her, even though it made no sense. The act was like that of a dog in heat; he wanted to mark her as his.
She kissed him back, with as much passion as he was. This was something new for him, in this life, and he thought it might be new for him in all of his life. This woman touched his soul, his spirit, his lifeforce.
Soul, spirit, lifeforce. Odd words, and yet they meant something to him, something significant…
Could this mean that memories, or at least fragments of them, were beginning to come back to him?
The kiss ended and Margot slid down. “Thank you. I’ve never had a better time. Sexually speaking, of course. Do you want to see me out?”
“I can’t go into the front room. I have an extreme reaction to daylight. I don’t know if it’s an allergy or what it is, but it burns me skin. But lass, I hope we’ll see each other again. Soon.”
“Sure, yes. Then, thank you for…you know what.” She smiled as she reached for the door handle. “You’re really good, you should sell tickets.”
“What if the only client I want to serve is you?”
Margo didn’t know what to say to that, so she nodded and slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind her.
Alone now in his living room, she shook her head. What was this between them? Were they beginning a relationship? If so, this was another first for her.
A sharp rap on the bedroom door caught her attention.
“Lass? I’m exhausted, so I’m returnin’ to bed, but I wanted to say somethin’ before ya go. Don’t even think that this is over.”
She had no answer to that either, so she moved back to the door and lay a hand on the scratched wood. She didn’t know why, but she knew that he was still on the other side.
“Sleep. Perhaps we will see each other again.” Margot started to turn and stopped. “Scottie? You said that one of the only things that you knew about yourself was your first name. What is it?”
After a pause, he answered. “Xavier.”
“Xavier,” she repeated, letting the word linger on her tongue. It suited him. “Okay, thank you, Xavier. Good night.”
After she pulled her cell phone from her bag, Margot went straight to the entry door, walked out, made sure it locked behind her, and headed down the steps.
Back to Manhattan and her real life.
On the other side of the door, Xavier dropped back to rest against it. She was gone. She’d been the first person to say his name since he’d escaped his jailer. It seemed right that it was her.
This encounter had been transformative, in more than one way. The relationship he was unexpectedly building with Margot had shown him something new. Yet, he felt, knew, that the blood draw…taking her blood…was something that he’d done before. And not only that. Whatever he was, drinking blood seemed to be a normal part of it.
The blood had coursed through his body, had targeted his entire system from head to legs. Since he’d awakened in that basement, tortured repeatedly by that asshole, his mind had been damaged…fractured…incomplete. The blood he’d taken from Margot had absorbed into him, a lifeblood to his nature, and his body had known what to do with it. After ingesting the blood, healing had started almost right away.
Now, his mind was clearer than it had been before the blood. He needed more. He needed to feed again because he thought that it might repair his mind. He could be well again, find out who he was, what he was, what life he’d had. This limbo he’d lived for weeks had been confusing, exhausting, frightening, and at times interesting. While he enjoyed many moments, it was time to go home.
If nothing else, he wanted to see if he had any type of real relationship with this beautiful woman. Where they went from here, what they could mean to each other, if they were meant to be. In his deepest core, Xavier believed that he had never felt this kind of connection to a woman before.
In spite of the extraordinary healing he’d experienced with the blood draw, he needed to get back to the mattress. This daytime thing, the phenomenal tiredness, bone and soul deep exhaustion, was just one more weird-ass mystery that he needed to solve.
Now, he had hope. The second his head hit his pillows, Xavier was unconscious.
Koen matched Tamesine’s steps as they moved through the colorfully lit streets of New York City.
“I felt a draw here as soon as we arrived. I still can’t sense his lifeforce, but I feel as if something’s in the air. I can’t explain it. Have you any sense of him? Or Claude?”
“No, Koen, I don’t. Yet, like you, the spirits in this city feel at unrest. I’m growing stronger at interpreting spiritual waves. I think you are right…your brother is here. Claude is too. Now we must find out what happened to him, where he is and why he is invisible to us.”
“He’d better not be shacked up with a dozen gorgeous American women, drunk and happily fucking each one in order.”
“No. Xavier’s a wild card, I know, but he’d never worry us like this. His entire household is terrified he’s dead.”
“I won’t accept that. I really do feel like he’s near, Tam.”
“I believe you do, because I believe he is.”
“He’s one of the biggest badasses I’ve ever known. What the hell could have happened to him?”
“I told Marc that I am certain Claude is involved. I don’t believe in coincidences, not anymore. They’re too convenient.”
“Let’s do first meal and start searching. I can’t believe your freaking magic circle didn’t show his whereabouts.”
“It’s on the spiritual plane. The day to day ordinary events are of no concern for them. Please, Koen, be careful. They have ears everywhere.”
“What the fuck are they going to do to me?”
“Karma, my dear. Karma.”
Koen got that. He believed in the often capricious and ironic events of Karmic intervention. He’d been there himself more than once in his thousand years.
“Shit. You’re right. Dinner’s on me tonight.”
Tamesine laughed. They didn’t pay for menial things like food.
It was unseasonably warm in the city tonight. For a late autumn day, Claude thought the air particularly kind. He wore no jacket, his muscled arms bare for the women to admire the ripped body that Tamesine’s first blood vampire genome had built for him. He was especially pleased with this body. Sex, which had never really interested him much before he’d changed, had become his favorite new activity. He grinned. Behind killing his enemies, that was.
He was committed now to taking Xavier’s life forever, then moving through the rest of the first blood community, just to show them who ruled the universe. They didn’t want him changed, they’d wanted to murder him. But his clever ploys kept him alive.
Now, it was his turn. His ability to keep Xavier as long as he had showed that it was possible. Success lie in merely using the simplest method possible; attack the first blood when he or she was alone, kill them temporarily with his highly accurate head shots, and then take the final blow for permanently removing the threat. Simple.
“Where were you last night?”
Margot glanced up from her computer as Freddie entered her office.
“What? At home, of course.”
“No you weren’t.”
Leaning back in her chair, Margot folded her arms.
“And how would you know that?”
“I came by to bring you my father’s sleep remedy. It consists of a considerable amount of Kentucky moonshine, but it works like a charm. You weren’t home. You’re always home. So where were you?”
She couldn’t help the warmth that spread over her, followed by a wide smile. Margot walked around the desk to face Freddie. “I was with a man.”
Freddie’s eyebrows
popped straight up, her mouth a perfect O. She knew that Margot did not do sleepovers with her infrequent lovers. “Do tell. And I mean it, do tell.”
Her eyes on Freddie’s, Margot shook her hair back, not sure how much to say. She didn’t have any girlfriends to confide in, and Freddie was dear to her. Her assistant probably knew her better than anyone else in this world.
“He’s so not the type of man you’d ever expect to see me with. He’s a mass of oversized muscles, arrogant, overconfident, just the kind of male I never liked. The man’s apartment is a dismal box, he’s a cook in a seedy bar, probably doesn’t have two nickels to rub together most of the time, I’m sure he’s never even seen a tux. He’s also kind, gentle, and protective. Freddie, he’s just beautiful.”
“Why, look at you glow. I think he sounds perfect for you. I’ve watched your dates pick you up over the years. They all had tux’s, the perfect teeth, perfect hair, supercars, all with as much to offer as a crisp two dollar bill. You’re a lot of woman, you need a real man. I’d like to meet him someday.”
“Freddie, I don’t know where this could go. I’m not even sure I’m going to see him again.”
“You spent the night with him. How did he make you feel? What did he do for you?”
“God…” The word came out on a breath, her eyes closed, her face lit with joy.
Freddie tilted her head. “Um, hum. You’ll see him again. Don’t think about where this can go, don’t analyze him, or how you feel when you’re with him. Just feel. Life races by, Margot, faster than any of us have any idea. If he touches you, if he knows how to touch you, he’s priceless.”
“How this ends, I don’t know. You’re right, though, he makes me feel incredible when I’m with him.”
“Ride that horse, Margot. Ride him into the sunset.”
“Western movie analogies? Where did that come from?”
