* * * *
Claire woke slowly, burrowing deep into the hard globes of Zach's firmly muscled ass, his well defined back felt like shelter from a long storm. Brilliant sunshine flooded the room. She wondered vaguely if it would hurt his eyes. His near comatose state told her it wouldn't matter much. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about last night. It only made her more convinced that becoming a vampire was exactly what she wanted. She wasn't about to sacrifice nights like those to go back to her lonely existence.
Sighing, she ran her hands over his firmly packed body and pressed herself tightly to his cool skin. He was so hard and soft all at the same time. Lightly she touched his warm cock. The single most decadent piece of flesh on earth, she mused. Nuzzling his near-dead form, she rose to find some coffee. God help this vamp if he didn't have any. If he wanted his human to stick around, he'd better have the java.
Claire found Zach's discarded shirt and threw it over her head, inhaling his scent as she padded quietly to the door. Was being quiet a necessity, she wondered as she gently opened the door and headed down the stairs.
Her head down deep in thought, she smacked right into something hard and solid in the doorway of the kitchen. Like a brick shithouse. She stifled a scream, clamping her hand over her mouth as an enormous hunk of man steadied her.
"Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing here?" She demanded in a fierce whisper.
"I'm Jarrod, Zach's friend. Nice to meet you, Claire." His wide grin had a warmth to it that made her unwillingly smile back.
"Nice to meet you Jarrod, now what the hell are you doing here?" She folded her arms over her braless breasts, and tugged on the hem of Zach's shirt to be sure she was covered in all the right places.
"I just stopped by to say hello, figured I'd come and meet you." His hazel eyes twinkled down at her. She thumped his solid arm.
"Good, glad you're here. You can show me where the coffee is."
"Coffee's all made. Zach said you like it." His white teeth flashed as he beamed.
"If Zach wasn't my dream guy, I'd be all over you like white on rice. Join me?" She smiled at him, cocking her head. Jarrod swept his hands gallantly in the direction of the kitchen.
"After you."
The aroma of rich coffee brewing made her mouth water. Two mugs sat on the tiled breakfast bar, along with a plate filled with pastries just waiting for her.
"Grab a seat Claire, get comfortable." Oh man, could she get used to this. Wild sex by night and coffee ready and waiting in the morning, was it morning? She glanced at the microwave clock, more like early afternoon.
Jarrod filled her cup with the steamy brew, as she inhaled deeply. "Mmm, smells great," she complimented. Jarrod pushed the cream and sugar at her, while he dropped a croissant on her plate. She looked at him over the rim of her mug.
Whew, he was cute! Not as cute as her Zach, but still a nice piece of eye candy. His thick wavy brown hair was cut short, falling just above his ears. Thickly fringed lashes surrounded the most unusual hazel eyes.
"So Jarrod, are you a vampire too?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as he sat down across from her at the breakfast bar.
"Can't you tell?"
She shook her head.
"I think I missed out on the superhuman nostrils gift at birth," she joked.
Jarrod chuckled. "Yup, I'm a vampire."
Ah, they were everywhere. Hmm, and Zach was fast asleep upstairs while she was down here with his hunky vampire friend.
Claire slid her coffee cup to the end of the breakfast bar, followed by the plate of pastries. Jumping up on the cold tile counter she lay in front of Jarrod, and grabbed his collar pulling him close.
Nose to nose she said, "Okay, it's like this cutey, I want to be a vampire, now. So whadda ya say?" She pointed at her creamy expanse of her neck with a finger.
"C'mon, you know you want to, look at this tender skin, all human, one hundred percent Grade-A prime mortal flesh." She lifted her neck to but a hairsbreadth under his nose, watching him gulp.
"Now look, you do me a favor, and somewhere down the road I'll do you one, okay?" Claire moved her long curls out of the way for easier access. "Well, c'mon before the big brute wakes up. Look, why is this so damn hard for you knuckleheads to comprehend? I'm a willing participant here. I mean, sheesh, you'd think you guys would just jump at the shot to suck me dry! What the hell kind of vampire doesn't want to suck blood. Is it that I'm too easy? Do you want me to put up a fight?"
Claire smiled at him knowingly. "That's it, isn't it, muscle man? You like it rough don't'cha? Okay, what do you want me to do? Run? Scream? A scratch or two? I'm a desperate woman, Jarrod, don't make me beg."
Jarrod's nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent.
With utter calm, he looked her directly in the eye. "Claire, let go of my shirt, please."
"Aw, c'mon," her tone was desperate and pleading. "Give a girl a break, would ya? What's the big secret anyway? I mean, is my neck not tempting enough? Does my scent offend you? Look at this neck, Jarrod, and tell me you're not dying to sink those porcelain bad boys right here... I..."
"Claire!"
Oh shit. Claire looked into Jarrod's eyes, crinkling at the corners with laughter. He removed her hands from his collar and sat her up. Her cheeks flushed as she caught sight of Zach, who stood by the fridge with his hands on his hips, glaring at her. God he was dreamy...
"Hey, Zach. How are ya, buddy?" Jarrod asked with a chuckle. Zach and Jarrod shook hands and thumped each other heartily on the back.
"You," he pointed at Claire, "come with me, miss." He grabbed her at the waist and threw her over his shoulder, one hand on her thighs and the other splayed over her ass.
"Hey, Jarrod, thanks man, I'll catch ya later." Zach called over his shoulder. Claire heard Jarrod's mocking laughter over her shoulder.
* * * *
She swatted Zach's lower back as he bounced his way up the stairs. "Put me down, you damn Neanderthal" she ground out as she bobbed helplessly against his back. With a whoosh of air and a dizzying rush, Zach deposited her on the big bed she probably should have stayed in. She stared up at him, eyes narrowed. She crossed her legs at her ankles and waited for her reaming.
Oh, those big black eyes staring up at him, just waiting, he thought. God, she was perfect. Her breasts thrust forward temptingly and her nipples winked at him. Those nipples that were tight, and tasted like honey when he wrapped his lips around them. He saw the hint of her smooth cunt, just barely visible beneath his shirt. His cock tightened painfully thinking about licking it, and thrusting his tongue into the tight passage as he suckled the sweet taste of her.
Those long legs, smooth as silk, wrapped around him as he thrust into that tight sweet passage, made him forget everything else. He wanted to bury himself inside of her and never come back out.
His cock rose hard as a hammer and mocked him. Damn this woman, and damn fate for taking her from him time and again. He couldn't let her go now, the time spent without her between centuries would, if not kill him physically, then emotionally. He didn't know how to make her understand without telling her everything, and he'd been warned by the elders of his clan over and over not to tempt fate.
His heart constricted painfully in his chest. They had so little time together between lives. He had to figure out who the hell kept killing her, where the hell she disappeared to. There had to be a way, and screw the elders and fate and all the damn forces that conspired to keep them apart. This century he would make her his mate and he would spend the rest of eternity loving her, if it killed him...
* * * *
Zach paced the floor in front of the bed, his jaw clenched tightly. "Claire, I thought I could trust you."
Put like that, he made it sound like she'd asked Jarrod to sleep with her, for crap's sake.
"That's almost exactly what you've done." He barked at her.
She cringed at the Amazing Creskin act. Oh.
"Listen to me, I know you don't unders
tand the traditions of my family just yet, but if and when we turn someone, it's because they're our Life Mates. It's a personal thing, and meant to be shared between two people who love one another."
Oh well, it's a fine time to tell me that now. Now I'll be considered the vampire wannabe slut.
"It's not something to make a game of. What I caught you doing could be construed as cheating, you know."
His solemn tone made her heart sink to her toes. He sat at the edge of the bed, broad back turned, and refused to look at her. Claire scooted down and wiggled under his arms, laying herself on his broad lap.
"Now, Zach, you know that's not true, not if you can really read my mind, anyway."
He shrugged his shoulders indifferently
"You're getting pretty good at fending me off in that pretty head of yours. How do I know you don't really want Jarrod?"
Oh the guilt. "Well that's just plain silly, how can I want him if you're my Life Mate? Listen, I'm sorry, I was overzealous. Okay? I broke my promise to you, it won't happen again. Can you forgive me?" She did the big-eyed thing and batted her eyelashes.
"I don't know, Claire." The depth of his tone lightened a little. She sighed, time for some vampire ego stroking.
"How can I make it up to you then?" She offered sweetly.
"I don't know if you can," he replied, sounding like a spoiled child. Claire ran her hand lightly over the lump in his pajama bottoms.
"Yeah, well the monster says otherwise..." On cue the monster awakened, fresh and ready for a new day.
"Well, the monster doesn't know what he's thinking, he can't think straight when you're holding him in your hand." Claire felt his chest rumble while he tried not to laugh, grazing his jaw with her teeth.
"Make ya a deal?" She offered.
"It's gonna have to be a pretty good deal, I mean, I just caught you tempting my best friend with your neck. How can you make something like that up to me?"
She giggled.
"Wanna see me naked?" She sat up and began to unbutton his shirt. Letting it fall from her shoulders, she straddled his hips and moved hers in a tantalizing circle over his cock. Zach leaned forward and licked each nipple with a growl. His large hands cupped her ass.
"C'mon Zach, you know the monster wants to come out and play." She cajoled breathlessly.
"Oh, all right, I guess," he said with mock resignation, lying back on the bed, his thick cock poking at the fabric of his pajama bottoms. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and grinned that grin that made her heart flutter and her throat go dry.
"But I'm warning you, it better be good..." Claire ran her hands over his broad chest, scraping his nipples as she licked the rigid planes of his abdomen. She let her breasts graze his skin, taunting him as she ran her lower body over his cock.
"Oh, I promise you vampire, it will be good." Her tone was husky, filled with raw desire as she licked her way to his hard cock, nipping it through the thin material.
"Okay, but we have to make it fast," he said with a gasp. Her head popped up, questioning him with her eyes.
"Why?" His hands shrugged his pajama bottoms down and he tugged her forward to settle her on his thick cock. Her moan was loud as she felt the wet slide of his flesh enter her. His thick length seared her as her hips began to twist with a slow, steady rhythm.
Zach grunted as he rolled her tight nipples in his fingertips. "Because my parents are expecting us."
Her head fell back on her shoulders; she felt the soft brush of hair caress her waist. "Okay, vampire..." she said between choppy breaths, "but could we finish first?"
"My pleasure," he whispered, as he lifted his hips upward to touch the deepest part of her inner walls, rubbing her clit with his thumb. Claire came with a shudder as he washed her with his hot seed.
His strong arms wrapped around her slender form, pulling her to him and kissing the top of her head.
"So did we make up?" Claire inquired, giggling into his throat.
Zach chuckled. "Well I suppose so, but the monster still feels a little put out."
"Oh really?" She teased. "Well I'll tell you what vampire, I'll kiss him and make it all better after we get done at your parents."
Rolling her over he growled, "Now that, you vampire wannabe, is a deal."
Chapter 4
Zach's family was boisterous and loud, but most of all warm and welcoming. Claire felt a bit of hesitation at first, being an only child, with little or no family. She wasn't used to large family gatherings. From the moment Olivia Kowalski opened the double oak doors to the Kowalski home with a wide smile on her beautifully preserved face, Claire hadn't been able to shake an absurd sense of coming home.
"Zach! Oh, baby boy, it's so good to see you." Olivia threw her arms around Zach and kissed him soundly. Her thick black hair was swept away from her face, sharp angular cheekbones and skin like smooth cream. Talk about preservation. Holy facelift!
Tall and slender, Olivia's blue eyes, so like Claire's vampire, swept briskly over Zach's frame. Clucking, she picked invisible lint off the shoulder of his jacket. The delicate scent of lilacs wafted under Claire's nose. A faint sense of déjà vu assaulted her. She held onto Zach's arm tightly, feeling a dizzy rush of familiarity.
Turning to Claire, Olivia smiled warmly and tucked her hand into the crook of Claire's arm. "Come with me and meet everyone, it's so good to see you aga..." she trailed off, her porcelain smooth skin turning pink "...after Zach has told me so much about you, Claire. You're just as pretty as he said you were. We're all so anxious to get to know you." The gentle lilt of her tone and the inviting aroma of freshly baked bread drew Claire to follow her. Faces similar to Zach's in one way or another looked up expectantly as Olivia pulled her along into the ruckus being made on the patio. Zach tagged along behind her, stopping here and there to kiss women on the cheek and pat men on the back.
"Everybody, this is Claire," Olivia announced. Masses of dark-haired men and women swarmed her, hugging and kissing her like they had known her all their lives. Zach's father gave her a bone crushing bear hug, and his brown eyes twinkled with pride at Zach.
"It's so good to see you, honey." Jacob Kowalski cupped her cheeks with big hands and kissed her.
"Pop..." she heard Zach say over her shoulder. Claire was too caught up to give much thought to the subtle warning tone she heard Zach take with his father.
"Hey Pop, take your big paws off of her, she's my woman." Zach said playfully and thumped his father on the back as they enveloped each other in a hug. Zach's father was incredibly handsome, and another candidate for Facelifts-R-Us.
Not a bad gig, this vampire thing.
Zach took her hand and led her out onto the big brick patio. Little Kowalski's played on the big swing set off to the right, laughing and screaming. The setting sun was beginning to fade behind big puffy clouds as twenty or so Kowalski's laughed and talked. Zach's mother ran in and out of the house with platter after platter of food, her beautiful skin flushed and radiant.
"Your mother is beautiful, Zach." Zach ran his finger down her nose with affection as he settled in beside her on the patio swing.
"Of course she is, she looks just like me," he said smugly.
"Will she always look like that Zach? I mean how old is she? She doesn't look any older than me."
Zach brushed the long curls from her face and nipped at her lips.
"I dunno for sure, it's a big vampire secret, and I'm not gonna be the one to ask her." Zach mocked a shudder.
"If I become a vampire, will I always look like this?" She just couldn't comprehend not growing old, not having to entertain the idea of osteoporosis and liver spots and whatever the hell else came with getting older.
"We age far more slowly than mortals, so yeah I guess you'll look like this for a few centuries. Which is okay by me, gorgeous." Zach teased, as he pulled her onto his lap and ran a discreet finger over her silk-covered breasts. She groaned, and brushed his hand away.
"Stop, Zach, they'll see us and th
ink I'm some kind of slut letting you cop a feel. At a family gathering, no less." Claire chastised him, secretly wishing she could just rip his clothes off, throw him down on the patio lounger and screw his brains out. Zach put his hand between her tightly closed thighs and winked at her.
"We vamps are a lusty bunch, no one will even notice."
Lusty didn't define Zach. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly, groaning at the damp rush of heat between her thighs.
"They will so, and I will not have your family thinking I'm some kind of tramp."
Zach pinched her bottom, "Didn't I tell you about the Kowalski family ritual?"
She shook her head.
"No, it must have slipped your mind, blood sucker. What do I have to do? Turn into a bat? Do blood shots?" She was only half joking.
He picked her up off of his lap and stood when he heard his mother call them to dinner. "Nope, nothing like that honey... I have to sacrifice your mortal virginity in front of the entire Kowalski clan ... at an orgy." He said nonchalantly, with that wicked grin as he dragged a laughing Claire off to dinner.
* * * *
Dinner was a noisy, messy affair and the best meal Claire had eaten in a long time. She watched them joke as they passed food around. The entire family included her in their conversations, expressed an interest in her. You couldn't be with the Kowalski's and not be drawn into their warmth. Claire again felt that nagging tug on her heart, as though this was where she belonged. Something inside of her acknowledged an inner peace she couldn't identify specifically. Acceptance and completion were words that came to mind, as though she had finally found something she didn't know she'd been looking for. It made no sense, she didn't know these people, but on some level she felt a peculiar bond.
It's A Vampire Thing Page 6
