I couldn’t help but smile at his hopeful expression and the possibility of visiting places I’d only read about. There was still nothing in his energy or his manner to raise concern. My intuition gave me a thumbs-up. I stared at him for a few more seconds, just to make sure I wasn’t missing any slow-arriving inner guidance, then nodded. “Okay. I’d love to go to Paris. I’m trusting you.”
Have I totally lost my mind?
“You honor me.” The muscles of his face relaxed. “I swear you will be safe and well. We will share an extended night in France and I promise to show you as much of the beauty there as possible before you get tired.”
Tired? I hadn’t considered the fact that I’d be awake longer than usual. I hoped I was up to the challenge.
He stood. “Shall we go?”
“Wait!” I looked down at my T-shirt and jeans. “I’m not dressed for Paris.”
“No worries.” He paused for a few seconds, closed his eyes briefly then opened them. “I have asked my staff to arrange for appropriate clothing to be available for you at my Paris apartment. But you might wish to put on a warm coat for our initial journey. I will fetch one.”
He vanished then quickly reappeared with my heaviest coat. Holding it out for me to slide my arms into, he smiled. “Thank you for trusting me. I will give you no cause for regret.” He pulled me close, and I felt the familiar sensation of free-fall as we soared through time and space.
Chapter 4
“You can open your eyes now.”
He’d asked me to close them before we vanished from the highest level of the Eiffel Tower.
I blinked and would’ve rubbed my lids to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating if my eyelashes hadn’t been coated with mascara. I went so far as to raise my hand toward my eyes, and caught myself at the last second. “Wow!” I’d probably said that word, and other expressions of amazement a hundred times during our trip. I looked around, stunned. “I recognize this place. Are we inside the Palace of Versailles?”
“We are.” He smiled wide, took my hand and guided me around the glittering Hall of Mirrors.
I stared up at the incredible artwork overhead and studied the chandeliers dangling from the ceiling like light-and-crystal UFOs. “Everything is so intricate – so luxurious.”
Golden statue-pedestals holding more shimmering lights lined the mirrors. Our reflections shone in the soft glow. We both wore high-fashion leather pants, jackets and boots. Each of us chose a different shade of silk T-shirts, his the green-blue of his eyes and mine, sky blue. Devereux’s fashion choices were definitely rubbing off on me.
“Yes. It is an exquisite place.” He sailed his hand through the air to indicate the treasures. “The Hall was recently restored. I am pleased to have been a contributor to the project. I visited the palace many times when Maria, er, Marie Antoinette was in residence and before.”
“You knew Marie Antoinette?” No way. Did all old vampires hang around with royalty?
He took my arm navigated us around the breathtaking expanse. “I did know her. Quite well, actually. And to answer your question, no. Not all vampires shared experiences such as mine. I believe my magical skills are responsible for my unique past. I was a fixture at international courts during the reigns of many kings and queens. Most vampires were not as fortunate.”
“What does quite well mean?” I glanced up at him and could have sworn his cheeks reddened.
“A gentleman never discusses his love affairs.”
“Love affairs? Are you saying—?”
He slid his arm around my waist and ignored my last question. “I want to show you the galleries and grand apartments. No expense was spared to bring them back to their original glory. And the artwork? Such masterpieces you have never seen.”
I let the love affairs topic go, because it really wasn’t any of my business. Plus, poor Marie had lost her head, and I hadn’t. At least not yet. He could probably write several bestselling books about his various sexual encounters. I wondered if I seemed tame and dull to him in comparison. After all, a mundane human couldn’t compare with either a queen or a supernatural creature.
We spent the next few hours popping into one astounding room after another as he gave me a high-level tour, sharing stories and insights about every painting, tapestry and artifact, ending up in the Queen’s Apartment.
“Are you tired?” he asked, studying my face. “It has been more than twenty-four hours since you slept. Would you like me to take you home? Or perhaps we could… rest… a while?” He gave a wicked grin.
I checked in with myself. Was I tired? Surprisingly, I wasn’t. His sensuous expression provided all the information I needed about what rest meant, and I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do. I smiled. “I think a little rest would be perfect.” I looked at the expensive bed covering and pointed. “Do you mean here? In this museum exhibit?”
“No. I have a much better place in mind.” He walked to one of the brocade-covered wall panels, ran his fingers along the edge near the floor, and pushed on a certain spot. The panel swung out, revealing another room beyond. He straightened and held out his hand. “Come. A secret chamber.”
I chuckled. “Of course there’s a secret chamber.” Nothing about Devereux was ever routine or expected. I’d never be able to complain he was boring.
He grinned and tugged me into what turned out to be a bedroom, which was lit by candles and filled with antiques and colorful works of art. A huge, golden canopy-bed flanked by lengths of silk attached at the ceiling on both sides, filled half the room. The covers were turned down.
I pointed at the bed and the candles. “Did you prepare the room in advance?” I pretended to scowl. “Were you so sure of my response to your resting suggestion?”
“I would never make assumptions about you, my love. But I am ever-hopeful.” He gave a quick bow. “I merely asked my staff to make sure everything was ready, just in case.”
“So, you’ve been in this room before? With—”
He cut off my question with a kiss, then another. “Yes. I have been here before. But never with you, so it does not count.” He stroked his finger along my jaw. “I believe we both are wearing way too many clothes. Shall we?” He quickly disposed of his clothing and stood, gloriously naked, his unnaturally appealing body displayed to perfection in the candlelight.
I gave him a slow eye scan and couldn’t decide which was more delicious: his toned chest muscles, his beautiful face or his impressive erection. I got momentarily distracted by the trail of light blond hair leading to his crotch. “Oh, my. You are a sight to behold, Master Devereux.” My nipples hardened and moisture pooled between my legs. I followed his example and peeled off my clothes.
A mischievous smile spread his lips, and he scorched my body with his gaze. “I am pleased you like what you see, but you have no idea how stunning you are. How desirable. I pale in comparison.” He grinned. “No pun intended.”
He’s adorable.
He opened his arms and I stepped in. How could I possibly resist playful Devereux? Or dark angel Devereux? Or stud muffin Devereux? Or sensitive Devereux? Or Professor Devereux? Or—. My list was interrupted by his lips and tongue doing wonderful things to mine. My body temperature spiked and my heart pounded. I struggled to hold my knees steady, thinking it must be dangerous for a mortal and a vampire to kiss so passionately, so fiercely. Wouldn’t my body simply combust at some point? Then I’d set him on fire, as well, and we’d both be doomed.
Devereux groaned and the sound caressed all my erogenous zones.
I tightened my grip on his waist and hooked my leg around his calf, feeling his erection pressing against me.
Oh, yeah. It doesn’t get any better than this.
But it did.
Finally breaking the kiss, we gazed at each other for endless seconds. I thought about how much I cared for him, how important he’d become to me in such a short time. How glad I was that I’d taken the risk to come on this trip with him.
; He nodded, having received the message. “Come to bed. Let me show you how I feel.”
Clutching each other, we tumbled onto the bed. I managed to land on top of him, and I grabbed his wrists and held them over his head. “Now I’ve got you.”
With a serious expression, he growled, “You do, indeed.”
I did a quick inventory of all the blatantly sexual things I’d like to do to him, but after one look into his mesmerizing eyes, I simply pressed my lips gently to his, wanting to express the depths of the emotions I felt. The kiss deepened and I had the familiar sensation of us melting into each other again, as if our physical boundaries dissolved and we became one at the soul level.
Without breaking the kiss, he rolled us over and pressed his erection against my sex. He eased his hands up to my breasts and pinched my nipples. Then he lifted his head and grinned before he started slowly kissing his way down my body. Well, maybe kissing wasn’t the right word. It didn’t quite cover the situation. He kissed, licked and sucked every inch of my skin from my neck to my belly, his fangs teasing.
Pleasure tingled through every cell of my body.
Circling my nipples with the tip of his tongue, he played my libido like an instrument, causing me to quiver and vibrate in time with his movements.
“Oh. My. God. Devereux.” I grabbed handfuls of his impossibly soft hair and pulled his mouth to mine.
His erection rubbed against my clitoris.
I moaned and opened my legs further in invitation.
He slid inside me, groaning low in his throat.
I wrapped my legs around his hips and took him deeper. He began thrusting, setting up a powerful rhythm I matched, stroke for stroke. After several minutes of delicious friction, the beginning of an outrageous orgasm shivered through me and I broke the kiss, needing to gasp for breath as the intensity mounted. “Oh, yes, yes, yes…”
He pumped harder and I made a sound between a scream and a sob.
“May I take your blood, my love?” Devereux’s voice was thick, more heavily accented than usual.
Hell, yes! I raised my jaw for easier access.
I guess he heard that because he reared back and sliced his fangs into the vein in my neck.
The sounds escaping from my mouth didn’t sound like me anymore. They were primal, old-brain. The nuclear orgasm shimmering toward its peak now exploded, radiating out from between my legs and my neck. I grabbed onto his ass with my fingernails and convulsed in what felt like a mini-seizure.
Still drinking my blood, he bucked and then thrust one last time, pushing further inside me and shuddering with his own release.
He raised his blood-covered mouth from my neck and kissed me again.
I still wasn’t sure how healthy it was that I enjoyed the taste of my own blood on his mouth, but I couldn’t deny that it turned me on.
I held onto him through the erotic aftershocks, as wave after wave of ecstasy rocked through me, and finally let go.
He raised himself onto his elbows and grinned down at me. “I take it the resting was successful.”
I hooted out a laugh. “That’s an understatement. I think we should practice this resting thing again when we get home.”
“If you insist.” He leaned down and slid his tongue across my lower lip, then jiggled the mattress a couple of times. “Perhaps we should take this bed with us. It is very comfortable.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I kinda miss the coffin. It was cozy—”
Faster than my eyes could track, he stood and scooped me into his arms. “Je t’aime, mon âme soeur. Your wish is my command. Back to the coffin…”
I gasped as the cold air hit me. “Au revoir, Paris!”
Other books by Lynda Hilburn
All available to buy: http://www.lyndahilburnauthor.com/books.html
Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist series (in order):
Devereux: The Night Before Kismet
The Vampire Shrink
Until Death Do Us Part
Sex in a Coffin
Blood Therapy
Crimson Psyche (coming soon)
Other paranormal tales:
Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker
Undead in the City
Vampires! A Bundle of Bloodsuckers
Dream Vampire (by Lauren J. Hunter)
Blood Therapy
Book #2: Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist series
Reaching out to an old friend…
A half-hour later I sat at my desk, drinking coffee, and eating a banana-nut muffin, while I fired up my laptop.
Since I was willing to do anything that might help my situation, I’d put the diamond cross back on after my shower, along with the pentagram necklace. I should have felt relatively safe because the sun was out, but I no longer had any pretense of thinking I knew what was, or wasn’t, possible in the world of the vampires.
I toyed with the cross, grabbed my phone, called Alan’s cell, and went to voice mail.
“Hey, Alan. It’s Kismet. I need to talk to you. Please call me back as soon as you can. It’s important. You have all my numbers. Bye.”
Last we’d spoken, he was still in Sedona following Lucifer’s trail of drained bodies, while at the same time continuing his search for his mother – his mother the vampire. On Halloween, he’d told me his childhood story of her disappearance. He’d never gotten over her abandonment and had become a forensic psychologist, joined the FBI and devoted himself to exploring the strange and unusual in hopes of catching another glimpse of her.
“Come on, Alan. Call me,” I said to the silent phone. “Where are all my alleged abilities when I need them? Seems like I ought to be able to contact you psychically. Well, hey, let’s give that a try.” I held my hands out, palms up, adopting what I thought might be a mystical pose, and said, “Ohm, ohm. Alan! Ohm, ohm. Call me now!”
I’d just taken a breath to laugh at myself when the phone rang. I jumped in my chair.
“Hot damn!” I read the caller ID screen and saw Alan’s name. I scooped up the phone and answered. “Alan? Is that you?”
“The one and only.”
“You got my message?”
“Message? No. I haven’t had time to check my voice mail today. I was out all night riding with some cops, and just got up a while ago. Now I’m sitting in a coffee shop, updating my notes, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to call you. Weird, eh?”
Actually, it’s excellent. Maybe I finally have a reliable skill!
“Yeah, weird. But I’m glad you called. Do you have a few minutes? What time is it there in Sedona?”
“As of two days ago, I’m no longer in Sedona.” A small crash echoed through the phone. “Shit!”
“What was that?” I took a bite of muffin.
“I just managed to spill my coffee on myself and drop the mug on the tile floor. That was the clatter you heard. What a mess. Hold on…”
“Do you need more napkins, sir?” a young-sounding voice said in the background.
“No. I’m good, thanks.”
“Would you like a coffee refill?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Alan?”
“Yeah, I’m here – looking like I wet myself – but I’m here.” His mouth shifted away from the phone. “Thanks, I’ll try to hang on to this one.” He cleared his throat. “So, like I said, I left Sedona. A few days ago I started hearing rumblings about activities in San Francisco that sounded like our repulsive, bald, toothsome friend so I hit the road. I’m now staring out across the water at the notorious Alcatraz, and thinking life doesn’t get much better than this.”
“San Francisco? I just saw something about serial killers there. Are you involved with that, too?”
“No. I heard about it, but nobody’s said anything. I’ve got my hands full with Stink Vamp and the six deaths I’m sure he’s involved with, and as psychologically interesting as it would be to chase some version of Hannibal Lecter, I can only handle one fiend at a time. Of course none of the lo
cals have put the pieces together about the six drained bodies yet, so I’m the only one who knows that there’s a supernatural angle.”
“Well, as awful as this sounds, if you have to track him somewhere, I can’t imagine a more beautiful city.”
“Yeah, it’s great. I’ve spent a lot of time here over the years. And let me remind you that you have a standing invitation to come and visit, wherever I am. I’d be glad to show you the town.” He laughed. “And the inside of my comfortable hotel room. We could tour this side of the bed, then that side, then the table in the corner…”
Nope. Let’s not go there.
“Gee, thanks.”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Okay. What’s up? You didn’t give me any grief for the hotel room remark. Is something wrong? What was your message about?”
“I saw Lucifer.”
“What do you mean?” The easy banter ended. His voice acquired a serious edge. “Where did you see him? My undead intel is pretty solid that he’s primarily killing on the West Coast.”
I took a sip of my coffee to give myself time to decide what I wanted to say.
“I’m sure you’re right. We both know vampires can be on the other side of the world or in another century from one moment to the next. There’s really no way for humans to track them.”
“So, where was he?”
“In Aspen. I went to a vampire wedding with Devereux last night, and Lucifer showed up in time to ruin the nuptials. It was bad enough that he was even there. But he seemed to focus on me. He stared and pointed before Devereux took off after him and both of them disappeared. Of course, he stank – engulfed in his usual horrible rotting-corpse, sewer-from-hell odor. I smelled him a few nanoseconds before I saw him. But just because he was there doesn’t tell us anything about where he is now.”
It felt so good to be able to talk to someone who knew.
“Yeah, you’re right about that. You said the last time we talked that you’re still getting voice mail messages from the Brother Luther part of the maniac’s personality. Is he still calling?” Another crash. “Turds! What the hell is up with me today? I just dropped my bagel plate. Damn tiny tables. I’m going to gather my stuff and walk back to the hotel room. Don’t hang up. So, about the messages…”
Sex in a Coffin (Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist) Page 5
