Dorian also knew it spoke tomes about the person Michael was, that he had trusted Dorian with such a secret and with the life of his new progeny. After all, Dorian had been on a mission to kill him such a short time ago.
He turned off the lights, took off his shirt and shoes, and snuggled in beside LeAnne. When she woke at sunset, she might smack him in the head for assuming that he could, but he doubted she would. They hadn’t known each other long, but during that short time, they had endured plenty. And in that short time, he’d grown quite attached to her.
Actually, he was fairly sure he loved her.
Chapter Sixteen
Dorian woke to the feel of LeAnne’s hand on his chest, sliding over his skin. He opened his eyes. She was awake, nude, and had apparently taken a bath before he’d even stirred, which was to say she was an early riser. In addition to letting her wake early, the dark gift of immortality had also been kind to her appearance. Although she was already beautiful, her skin practically shimmered and her hair resembled a flow of brown silk. He ran a hand through it; it felt like silk, too. “How do you feel?”
“Everything is so different.” She looked up from his chest to his eyes. “You’re gorgeous.”
He chuckled and pulled her to him for a kiss. She responded by parting her lips for him. Dorian slid his tongue inside, nicking it on one of her sharp new canines hard enough for him to wince.
LeAnne moaned and slid her hand up to his neck. She fed at his mouth, taking as much of the blood as she could with her tongue, then started kissing the corner of his mouth. Slowly, her lips made a trail up his jaw and down to his jugular that sent shivers down his spine.
“Careful with those teeth,” he teased.
She opened her mouth and sucked his flesh inside, nicking him again.
Dorian rolled her over, pinning her to the bed at the hips and wrists. Looking down at her, he could see her dark eyes even in the darkness. She was, without a doubt, part succubus. He would have to tell her and keep it secret, but he would worry about that later.
“I need you,” she whispered.
Dorian leaned down to kiss her again. This time, she deepened the kiss until he practically melted against her. LeAnne’s legs locked around his hips, and her hands stroked his hair. With a quick shift, she was on top, straddling his hips and holding his arms to the bed.
A little voice inside him said to stop her, but the louder voice told him to take her now. Dorian followed the louder voice. He lay back and watched her sit up, admiring her breasts. He smiled when she trailed her fingers down his arms, to his shoulders, then down his chest.
When LeAnne scooted back to free him from his pants, he sat up on his elbows. She was graceful and slow, trailing her fingers over his flesh until it gave him goose bumps.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
She laughed softly, then crawled up his body, kissing her way up his legs.
Dorian shivered when she reached the soft flesh of his inner thigh. Her hands glided up his hips, and her moist tongue caressed the head of his erection. He let his head fall back, and relaxed into the swells of pleasure she sent through his core. His hips wanted to thrust with the motion of her mouth. Dorian managed to resist that particular movement until LeAnne straddled him.
He grabbed her hips and ground her down onto him so hard that it drew a gasp from her mouth. The decadent moan that came next spurred him on. He pulled her up and pushed her down again, parting her warm flesh with sticky pops.
LeAnne let out a wicked laugh that didn’t sound like her. Her hands pushed his down onto the bed, and her breasts smashed against his chest. She leaned back, stroking his chest with her nails. For a while, he watched her writhing atop him, her breasts tempting him to catch them and fondle them with his mouth.
Dorian finally leaned up and caught one, rolling the nipple with his tongue. When she looked down, he let go, then caught her mouth for a deep, wet kiss that mimicked the pumping of their hips. She moaned against his lips. Her hips grinded against him and her mouth worked its way to his neck.
Her teeth caught his flesh. She bit softly and suckled at the blood that seeped out.
The sensation caused a toe curling, sheet-gripping orgasm to erupt within him. As soon as it hit, LeAnne clamped down, sinking her teeth into his neck. He yelled and jerked inside her, filling her to overflow as another explosion came in the wake of the first.
* * * *
LeAnne lay on her back in the tangle of sheets, giggling and half-drunk. Actually, drunk didn’t compare. This was afterglow on crack, and she felt better than she ever had. Now, she understood why Dorian bit her during sex.
“I thought you were going to kill me,” Dorian said in a raspy voice.
“Sorry.” She didn’t even try to fight another wave of laughter that came over her.
“I need you to listen.”
“Okay.” She snickered.
“No. I need you to really listen.” He propped up on his elbow and looked down at her. “You’re not like the rest of us. What you just did is not normal.”
LeAnne groaned. “Buzz kill.”
“If you can hold it together for five minutes, you need to understand something.”
She huffed and considered attacking him again, but decided she might be pushing it too far.
“All right.” Dorian put a hand on her cheek and pulled her face toward his. “You’re able to seduce against one’s will and feed off their sexual energy as well as their blood. It’s a power you have. No one can know you are able to do that. It makes you a succubus. They’re basically outlawed and extinct.”
She stared at him while she processed that information. Now that he mentioned it, she did feel a rush of power when he got off. There was something inside her that knew what to do, how to pull it from him. That dark, mischievous part had been running the show since she woke. Any other day, she probably wouldn’t have been so bold.
“Okay. I believe you. But how did this happen?”
“My best guess,” Dorian said. “Michael is either an incubus or has the bloodline but his is dormant.”
She let the information settle in. Not only was she a vampire now, she was one of the vampiro. Plus, she had special slutty powers that made her a succubus, one of a basically extinct line. “Just freakin’ great. So I’m the Loch Ness Monster of vampires?”
Dorian chuckled. “That’s not completely inaccurate. But you’re much more attractive.”
She smacked him in the chest. “Smart ass. How do we keep this a secret?”
“Well…” He was quiet for at least a minute. “You’ll have to eat with no one but me, for sure. They will know if they ever see it.”
“Okay.” LeAnne had no problem with that. It wasn’t like she was going to fuck people in front of her friends anyway.
“And make sure you don’t get hungry. That part of you could take over and turn on anyone, even Tori.”
“Eww.”
He laughed again. “For a vegetarian human, you sure made for a vicious vampiro.”
“Thaaaaaanks.”
He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss that stirred the hunger in her again. LeAnne pulled away this time.
Dorian gave her a questioning look. “That’s all it took?”
“Yep.”
“Great.” He sighed.
“Guess we’ll be feeding a lot if that’s the way it’s gonna work. I don’t want to kill you.”
“You can’t kill me, love.” He said the words, but something in his tone told LeAnne it was bullshit. He was as worried as she was. He quickly added, “They’re up. We should probably get dressed and join them. We still have to things to settle, like your human business.”
“And Tori,” LeAnne muttered.
It was the thing she’d been dreading most, so it was best to get it over with first. She pushed herself
away from Dorian and kept pushing until she was dressed and ready to confront her friend’s anger. The closer the moment came, the more nervous she became until Dorian caught her by the elbow and pulled her into a hug.
“I love you,” Dorian whispered, then kissed her.
LeAnne’s heart swelled. As much as she hated to admit it since they’d known each other such a short time, she loved him, too. It was as if something inside her recognized him and knew fate put them together. The feeling defied logic.
Someone knocked.
She wanted to keep holding onto Dorian, but she kissed him once more and yelled, “Come in.”
Jonas peeked around the door. “We need to get going.”
LeAnne let her hand slide down to Dorian’s. She held onto it and led him into the hallway. As she neared the main room, a knot grew in her throat that made it hard to swallow. LeAnne wanted to be back in the bedroom, back in Dorian’s arms, but as they moved closer to the others, part of her relaxed. She assumed it was the part of her that sought Michael’s nearness, the draw to to her creator that Dorian had explained. The feeling was something akin to being homesick, though different in a way that she couldn’t explain. She simply wanted to be near him.
However, her ache for Dorian had little to do with blood ties and more to do with love. Although she hated to admit it, hated to open herself to that kind of heartache—she loved him.
“Michael wants you in his office, Dorian.” Jonas patted LeAnne on the back. “And he would like you to check on Tori. She’s in the theater.”
Dorian squeezed her hand. “Are you okay with doing this alone?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.” She kissed him on the cheek, then let him go. When he disappeared behind a door on the other end of the hall, she turned toward Jonas and sighed.
“If Tori gets too bad, text me.” He walked toward the theater door. “I have the feeling Michael is overwhelmed by her emotions. She could be by his too.”
“I will.”
“Just try to keep her from going off the deep end.” He whispered, “I heard her say she was leaving him.”
“’Kay.”
“And keep her away from Ewen. She would try to take him right now. I’d hate to have to kill him.” Jonas really seemed to care for Tori, despite his love for Elena and loyalty to Michael. He was acting like a mother hen, and it was cute.
. “I’ll take care of her. You take care of Dorian for me.”
“It’s a deal.” He stopped just in front of the theater door and whispered, “If I wasn’t garante, I wouldn’t leave tonight.”
Then, LeAnne heard a ghostly version of his voice whisper through her mind. She needs me.
She eyed him. “Did you just…?”
His eyes narrowed at her, then his face went that vampire kind of blank. “Did I what?”
“Nothing.” She wouldn’t force the issue, but she had the distinct feeling she just heard him telepathically.
“You heard that, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Let’s keep it that way.” He reached for the door.
LeAnne grabbed his wrist. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“With Tori. You have Elena.”
Anger flashed across his face, but Jonas swallowed and seemed to get it under control. “Not a conversation we’re having, LeAnne.”
“I’m not judging. I just don’t understand. I thought the vincolo took all the other options away.”
He nodded. “I know how it looks, and in any case but ours, you’d be right. But Michael ties us to each other. The creatore’s bond trumps all. And there are—special circumstances. We think so, anyway.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and reached for the door again. “We don’t have time for this. Just take care of Tori and stay out of trouble.”
Although he didn’t say it, LeAnne knew he would never betray Michael completely. He couldn’t, but something in his tone made it clear he didn’t want to either. She admired him for that.
He opened the door, casting a pale light into the dark, movieless theater. Tori was nowhere to be seen, but her human skin scent filled LeAnne’s nostrils. The overwhelming aroma made her blink.
“Are you gonna be okay?” Jonas said.
“Yeah. It just surprised me.” She walked on in, determined to face her angry friend.
The door closed behind her, and LeAnne’s eyes adjusted quickly. In the dark, she could see almost as well as in the light. That advantage let her navigate the room easily. At the front, Tori was on her side, curled across two seats. She didn’t turn to look up, but there was a shift in the air, a tension, that told her Tori definitely knew she was there. Just to be sure, she walked to the other side and took the seat at her friend’s head. This close, LeAnne could smell the saline aroma of tears, liquor, and blood. Then she could hear Tori’s blood pumping through her veins, which stunned her at first, then made her mouth water.
Movement caught her attention. Jonas knelt in front of Tori. He didn’t seem to notice the tempting chug of fluid just under the skin. He ran a hand up her arm, stopping at the shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Tori let out a sarcastic laugh. “I thought you left.”
“I’m going to. I just wanted to get LeAnne settled. She needs to stay with someone tonight.”
“I want to be alone,” Tori said in a hoarse voice.
“I’m sorry. Michael wants you together.”
Sniffles filled the air. “He’s an insensitive prick.”
“I won’t argue with you there, but he’s right.” Jonas glanced up at LeAnne. “She didn’t ask for this, and technically he did save her life.” He paused, seeming to let her process the information, and looked back down at her. “She’s your best friend, hon. Her entire reality just shifted. Maybe you should cut her a break.”
Tori was quiet for a few heartbeats.
“Dammit. I hate when you’re right.” She breathed deeply, then sat up with her legs stretched out on the seats. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. No one needed to explain their closeness now. LeAnne understood it perfectly. Jonas the rock, steadying Tori against the turmoil of emotions she felt toward Michael. She was glad Tori had that.
“She’s all yours.” Jonas kissed her on the cheek and stood with a soft chuckle. “I’m not sure who’s more dangerous right now, you or her.”
He was gone before LeAnne had a chance to respond, so she turned her attention back to Tori. LeAnne tried not to breathe the blood-scented air any more than she had to in order to speak. “Want me to turn a movie on?”
“No. My head is killing me, and the light made it worse.”
“Probably because you’re holed up in here like Ms. Havisham.” LeAnne cringed at her own words. She hadn’t meant to say it aloud.
“Kiss it, LeAnne.”
“Sorry.” She let the apology resonate before she continued. “Do you need anything?”
“Nah.” Tori lay back down and rested her head on her hands.
The scent of tears was even stronger. “Tori, I’m so sorry about all this.”
Her friend shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it.”
“I just wanna say one thing.”
“You just did.”
LeAnne sighed. “I’m going to tell you another. Michael loves you. I don’t think he ever would have turned anyone but you.”
“That’s two.” Tori sniffled. “He never wanted to turn me.”
“I doubt that.”
Tori grumbled, “I don’t.”
“Okay, maybe he wanted to protect you, but he didn’t plan this. Did you want him to let me die?”
“No, but he should’ve been more careful. He knows what he’s doing. Hell, he’s a padrone.” Tori wiped her eyes. “I really don’t think this was an acciden
t, LeAnne. No matter what he says.”
“He’s been starving himself for you.”
“What?”
“He hadn’t been feeding from anyone but you.”
“Why?” Tori asked.
“Because he thinks you’re insecure about the women he was feeding from.” LeAnne leaned back in her seat, breathing a little more freely.
“Why the hell didn’t he say something?”
LeAnne laughed. “Probably because he knew you. You’d have told him to and lied no matter how much it hurt you.”
“Yeah. I would have.” Tori wiped her eyes and sat up. “I don’t understand how I didn’t know he was doing that.”
“He’s strong. I’m sure he can do a lot that you don’t understand.”
Tori nodded.
Sensing her friend was coming around, LeAnne added, “No one expects you to be okay with this. They just don’t want you to do anything rash. We can work it out if you will just try to understand.”
“Easy for you to say.”
LeAnne sighed. Tori was right. She hadn’t been the one waiting, tied to this group for so long. As much as she hated it, there wasn’t anything LeAnne could say that would make it less true.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Tori said. “Would you mind starting a movie?”
“Which one?”
“The scarier, the better.”
LeAnne nodded. Scary movies weren’t her thing, but Tori watched them when she was stressed, as a form of self-distraction. If it worked, it would be worth suffering through the gore with her.
Chapter Seventeen
LeAnne sat on a stool in the kitchen, twisting a plain Bic pen she’d found between her fingers. It was odd how hollow she felt without Dorian or Michael there, especially Michael. With his physical closeness came a stronger sense of his presence because the connection her vampire birth created. She knew it would be there until she truly died, not just because she was told, but also because she could feel its permanence. That same sensation relaxed and contented her in a way she’d never known before. When she focused on it, the feeling grew to fill her entire being in the most wonderful way. It was almost like crashing into the most comfortable bed after an exhausting day. Maybe that was because she was crashing. LeAnne had been the responsible one her whole life, the one who took care of the kids and nursed her mother through one heartbreak after another. She had never been the kid, let alone the one with a reliable parent who did everything for her. Now, in a twisted sort of way, she knew how that felt. Perhaps it was the kid inside her who relaxed.
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