by Bonnie Vanak
When she asked if he worried about the gremlins, he grew serious.
“I took their blood, so I could track them. If one of them were dying, I’d instantly know it. I do it for everyone I care for, including my father, except I was required to take his blood. If my father dies, I instantly sense it and know I must assume leadership to keep the order.”
“Why didn’t you ever take my blood?” she asked.
He gave her an intent look. “I honored you too much, Sarah. If I took your blood, it would lead…to other things.”
He’d never touched her. Adrian’s sense of honor had guarded her chasteness.
To hell with honor, she thought suddenly. Does he want me?
The same funny flip of her heart happened again, this time combined with a powerful erotic tingling. Her gaze roved over the firm muscle and sinew of his body, the carved planes of his face, the sensuality of his full mouth. His dark brown hair was rumpled. Sarah started to lift her hands to run them through the soft strands.
Clenching her fists, she gritted her teeth. Survival and desire were not good companions.
But she wanted to push him downward, climb over him, run her tongue over that firm, smooth skin, taste him…
An intent look replaced his amused one. Adrian closed the distance between them. His long, tapered fingers slid around her neck, caressing the bare skin beneath the fall of her hair. Sarah’s body tightened with each slow stroke.
He pulled her toward him, his mouth lowering on hers. Sarah slid her arms around his neck, closing her eyes. Feelings surged through her at the languid way he kissed her. He deepened the kiss, coaxing her mouth to open beneath the insistent pressure of his.
His hand went to her breast, cupping the heavy weight, his thumb stroking over her hardening nipple. Sarah whispered encouragement as he touched her, each flick of his thumb making her blood run hotter, her body ache with ceaseless yearning.
When she reached behind him and cupped his taut buttocks, he shuddered with pleasure and broke the kiss.
Adrian nuzzled her neck, his hot breath feathering over her skin. He cupped her bottom, lifted her up against the cold steel of the refrigerator. He nudged her legs open, and stepped between them as she wrapped her thighs around his hips. Sarah arched against him, feeling the steely length in his groin. He lifted her so the opened juncture between her legs was centered against his hardness. Sarah dug her nails into his shoulders, tasted the tangy saltiness of his collarbone as she licked his flesh. She rubbed herself against him, gasping with pleasure, hearing him softly encouraging her to let go, surrender to it….
The feelings built to a crescendo, and with a tiny cry she let go. Her head hung back limply, sweat dampening her temples as she gasped for air.
Slowly he lowered her trembling body to the floor, his gaze burning into hers. Sarah ran a hand down his front, gliding over his flat abdomen, down to the silkiness of his pajama bottoms and his thick erection. She stroked through the thin covering, watching his heavy-lidded gaze darken.
Adrian growled deep in his throat, lowering his head to the vulnerable curve of her neck. She felt the erotic brush of his lips nuzzling her tender flesh, then the intriguing, sharp rasp of his fangs gently scraping her skin.
Ready to pierce, take her blood, marking her as his exclusively.
Reason returned like a hard slap to her cheek. Sarah jerked away, startling him. The dark intent in his eyes flared again as he regarded her.
“This is crazy,” she muttered, holding her hands out as if to stop him. As if she could stop him, this powerful vampire accustomed to getting anything he wanted. In her weakened state, he could topple her with the flick of a finger. He could take her blood, those long fangs sliding into her flesh and she couldn’t stop him, wouldn’t have the strength.
Or the will.
“I can’t do this. I’m still untouched, understand, Adrian? I’m a virgin because I need a mate of my own kind willing to take me in and that’s all I have to offer. I can’t go to another male marked by the scent of a vampire who took me and my blood.”
“Sarah, look at me,” he said quietly.
She didn’t want the enthrallment in his eyes to spellbind her. But the command in his tone made her lift her helpless gaze.
Hands clenched into trembling fists at his sides, he studied her. The haunted look on his face twisted her heart. She wanted to wrap her arms about him and never let go and give in to the passion they both shared.
It wasn’t possible.
“I will never, ever, do anything to hurt you. Do you understand? Even to the extent that it might hurt me. I will never do anything you don’t want me to.”
Slowly she relaxed, but his body tensed even more. He jammed a hand through his mussed hair. Something she couldn’t read flickered in his eyes.
“Have dinner with me. Tomorrow night.” His mouth twisted up in a mocking smile. “I promise I won’t bite. Please.”
Sarah nodded, leaving the room. Won’t bite. She could trust he wouldn’t.
But never trust herself not to want it.
♥ Uploaded by Coral ♥
Chapter 6
T he gremlins were having trouble with the Christmas tree.
All six struggled to straighten the seven-foot balsam pine delivered that afternoon. Fresh pine tickled her senses. Sarah smiled as she unpacked the boxes of decorations. She’d seen little of Adrian last night, as he had a meeting in town. Now she enjoyed watching the little green monsters try to best the tree. The tree was winning.
“It’s crooked,” she teased them.
“We’s know that,” Wedgie said. “We’s just trying to decide what to use to anchor it to the wall so it’s straight.”
“Sometimes whatever you have on hand works best,” she replied, and went upstairs to change for dinner.
An elegant, floor-length red dress was laid out on the bed. Sarah picked up the garment, stroking the red velvet designer dress. Two diamond clasps were at the shoulders, the bodice was a deep V. She spotted a note in Adrian’s firm, bold handwriting.
“Please indulge me and wear this tonight. The shoes are in the closet.”
Clutching the treasure, Sarah padded over to the room-size closet.
On the floor were red Jimmy Choo shoes. They fit perfectly. A smile touched her mouth as she headed into the shower.
Her cell chirped softly. Sarah’s heart sank when she saw the number. Terrence. Probably questioning her hasty departure. She answered it.
The startling conversation that followed filled her with joy and hope. When she closed the phone, she studied the bracelet holding her captive.
“Distant cousins or not, you and your father are family,” the alpha male had told her. “Cameron admitted what happened. He’s ashamed and wants to apologize. My mate and I would be honored if you and your father would join our pack. We’ll help you defeat your enemies, honey. Draicon must stick together.”
Draicon needed to stick together. Not Draicon and vampires. She could finally bring her father to a pack that wanted them.
Sarah fiddled with the silver binding on her left wrist. It was looser. The gremlins had made one mistake in fashioning the magick handcuff. They’d failed to take into account that the metal shrank in the cold outdoors, but would expand inside the warm house.
She tugged harder, succeeding in inching it a quarter of the way down her hand. Sarah stared at the bracelet. She was strong enough to yank it off now, if she risked the pain. Escape was in her grasp.
With trembling hands, she stroked the soft red velvet. One dinner with Adrian surely could not hurt. She had tonight. Tonight must be enough.
Even though in her heart she knew it could never be enough.
Sarah dressed carefully, pulling white silk stockings over her long legs, enjoying the swish of heavy velvet as it cascaded to her ankles.
The image staring at her in the mirror was stunning. Sarah touched the glass, hardly able to believe it was her. “I look pretty,” she murmured.
Jazz played softly in the background as she went downstairs. In the dining room a polished walnut table was set with china, sparkling crystal and heavy silver. A setting of red poinsettias and fresh holly adorned the center. But it was Adrian, clad in a black designer dinner suit with a white starched tie and pearl-buttoned shirt, who made her breath catch.
She murmured a compliment, gratified at the admiration in his own eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.
Her hand lovingly caressed the red velvet. “Your favorite color.”
A roguish grin touched his full mouth. “The color of passion.”
The same color tinted her cheeks. Adrian’s smile deepened. He held out her chair, but instead of pushing it in, easily lifted the chair with her in it to the table. Sarah turned with a teasing look.
“Show-off.”
“Always,” he murmured, and they laughed.
He expertly uncorked a bottle of wine and sampled it. He poured her a glass. They sipped the vintage. Sarah sighed with pleasure.
“You always did appreciate the finer things in life,” he noted.
More so now than before, since I have no money, she thought. But she wouldn’t let even that gloomy thought ruin the splendid evening. She raised her glass.
“To Rick,” she offered.
His dark, heavy brows knitted together until comprehension dawned on his handsome face. “Ah yes, Casablanca.” He looked boyish suddenly as they clinked glasses. “We’ll always have Paris.”
Sarah drank and set her glass down. “I always wonder whatever became of him. Did he ever find happiness after the war, after letting go of his one true love?”
A mask dropped over Adrian’s face. He toyed with the stem of his glass. “Maybe he couldn’t let go emotionally, but kept her guarded in his heart, like a secret never shared with the world.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that.
Dinner was rare prime rib. Sarah ate heartily as Adrian drank from a crystal goblet filled with dark crimson liquid. She gestured to it.
“Did you put a new lock on the fridge?”
“No, I simply warned them if they tampered with my food supply anymore, no more Friday night DVDs.”
“The gremlins like to watch DVDs?”
“Not watch. Eat,” he replied.
They laughed again.
He leaned forward, reaching out for her hand. “I’ve missed your smile, Sarah.”
Her hand trembled in his. Adrian stroked a thumb slowly over her wrist, the burning intensity of his gaze filled with sexual promise. Her nostrils flared as she caught his delicious, woodsy scent. She studied the hardness of his body, wondering what his muscled weight would feel like lying atop her as he pushed inside her. Moisture trickled between her legs, preparing her flesh for him. She wanted him with a hot, insane need.
Sarah withdrew her hand.
“I need to tell you. The pack I visited, the alpha called and they want to take in my father and me. When I leave here, I’ll have a family again.”
His expression quickly shuttered. “I’m pleased for you.”
But he sounded distant, as if her news was an unwelcome reminder of the barriers sharply dividing their worlds.
They finished eating. Adrian led her into the living room. A window was cracked open, allowing in the cold ocean breeze. Glittering with gold garland, colored lights and brightly colored balls, the Christmas tree stood in a corner. Sarah walked over to it, murmuring with pleasure.
“I wonder how they got it to stay upright.”
A small, teasing smile touched the corners of Adrian’s mouth. “Look in the back.”
She did. Sarah stared at the white, rust-stained garment tied to the tree and nailed to the wall. Her bra.
“They needed something rather large and supportive.” This time he chuckled openly and she went to mock-punch him.
He caught her wrists as the music system began playing a sultry jazz tune. His playful expression turned serious. “Dance with me, Sarah.”
So few indulgences she’d enjoyed. For once, she threw caution to the wind. One dance. All she had was tonight, and Adrian’s own special brand of magick.
She went into his arms. He held her tight as she rested her head against his broad shoulder. Adrian guided her around the room, humming into her ear. Each shift of his body pressed his hard muscles against her softness. It felt good, so right, as if she belonged here. He rocked against her, eradicating everything but the thought of him. If only the night were endless, and the hours would never cease.
All too soon, they would. And soon she would leave him once more.
“The night I fled the beach, I whispered a promise to you.” Sarah’s throat tightened with the admission. “You were my only friend, Adrian, and it broke my heart to never see you again. So as I ran away, I promised I’d come back to you someday.”
He stilled, his expression filled with tenderness. “I never stopped looking for you. Needing to lure in your enemies was an excuse. It was you I searched for all these years, Sarah.”
When his lips captured hers, she sighed into his mouth. It was here and right, this moment, living only for the passion of his kiss. Adrian cupped the back of her head, tunneling his fingers through her silky hair. He kissed her with an urgent desperation, as if he never wanted to let her go.
As she kissed him back, she remembered he would have to release her. Their people despised each other. Adrian was needed as his clan’s future leader. A Draicon like her, especially a crippled one that no man wanted, could never fit into his world.
All too soon he broke the kiss. Torment filled his gaze as Adrian solemnly regarded her. She put a finger to his warm, wet mouth. “Don’t say a word. Just dance with me, for every moment we have left.”
They resumed dancing, Sarah resting her head against him. She breathed deeply, taking in his delicious masculine scent of pine and forest, mixing with a faint, odd fragrance of…fruity cologne.
A familiar tingling ran down her spine. She only experienced it when a certain Morph was present. Sarah wrenched away and ran to the French doors.
He was right behind her. “What is it?”
“They’re out there.”
Adrian frowned. “I can’t scent them.”
“They’ve learned to disguise their scent. I’ve discovered how to detect it. The Morphs last night were sent in to assess weaknesses and find their prey. Now that they know I’m here…”
Her voice trailed off. “But how could they track me so fast, especially since you killed all the ones last night?”
Adrian studied her with a calm look. Suddenly she knew.
“You let a couple escape to bring the others straight to me. Adrian, how could you?”
“I did what I must. The safeguards around the property will protect you.”
“And I warned you they can find a way past your damn safeguards. Killing them is everything, isn’t it? And here I thought I mattered.” She clenched her fists. “You’ll do anything to get your justice, and you don’t care who stands between you and them. Even me.”
“Not true, Sarah.” He folded his arms across his chest. “But why have you spent the past ten years running away instead of confronting them? You’re a fighter.”
“I’m not running now. I’m going out there to face them, even if they kill me.”
“Dammit, why won’t you tell me what’s really going on?” He pushed forward, crowding her until she was pressed against the glass doors. “Don’t you trust in my ability to defeat them? I told you I’d never let them hurt you.”
“It’s not that. I have to do this alone.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why, when before, we faced them together?”
“Because there’s one Morph I must find the courage to face by myself.” She slipped beneath his grasp.
“Where are you going?” he demanded.
“Upstairs to change. Then outside, to do what I couldn’t do ten years ago.”
When wo
uld Sarah trust him? Adrian wondered.
He sped outside into the cold, bitter air. Adrian loosened his tie, dragged in a lungful of air, smelled nothing. Even his adroit senses could not pick them out.
But Sarah could. She had spent years learning about them, fleeing from them. It was quite possible they could break past his defenses.
He couldn’t let her rush headlong into danger. Even though you placed her in it, his conscience nagged.
Minutes later, dressed in old jeans, a faded Steelers T-shirt and her sheepskin jacket, she burst out onto the deck. Adrian snagged her about the waist.
“I have to show I’m not afraid,” she shouted, struggling to release herself. “Let me go.”
“Why now, Sarah?” His arms anchored her to him. She possessed the strength of her kind, but he was far stronger.
“Because I can’t run anymore, I have to make a stand.”
“Just like you did on the beach? When you trusted me to stand with you?”
Her struggles ceased. Dark eyes wide in her face, Sarah stared at him with a woebegone expression. Adrian’s heart lurched. “Sarah, together we can defeat them. You can’t fight them alone.”
“I have no choice,” she whispered brokenly. “This is my problem. My war.”
“No, you made it my problem and my war the day you asked for my help.”
Her gaze grew flat. She inhaled deeply. “The scent’s gone. They’re gone.”
They went back inside. Adrian crossed the living room to stand near the Christmas tree and touched a seashell ornament. A hollow feeling settled in his chest as he stroked his fingers over it. Sarah had made the ornament for him as a gift.
A sickeningly sweet odor filled his nostrils. He studied Sarah shrugging out of her coat. “Are you wearing perfume?”
“I only wear it to cloak my scent and haven’t since I’ve been here.”
“Odd,” he mused. “I smell citrus. But I never eat fruit and the gremlins detest anything healthy.”
Sarah went preternaturally still. “Oh, crap, why didn’t I see it before? Those defenses you set, the safeguards, they were against anything coming onto your property unless it was invited in, right?”
