“Not in the slightest,” Tatiana answered and tossed her silver-blonde braid behind her left shoulder. “The only thing we ask is that you don’t let others know about us, or we’ll be hunted like animals.”
Christine allowed a nervous titter of laughter to escape. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I do have one question. Why do you want to go to the spa?”
Gabrielle gave her a hug. “Even though we’re vampires, we’re still girls and like to do girly things.”
“But I thought—”
Alex spun her around and guided her to the sleek black stretch limo waiting in the parking lot. “Come on. All of your questions about us will be answered today.”
* * * *
Christine stood before Drake’s massive mansion, looking at the huge front door. The limo dropped her off at his request, why she wasn’t sure.
The ornate walnut door opened to reveal an elderly gentleman on the other side. “Welcome, Miss McCall. Mr. Haaken is waiting for you in the study.”
“Thank you.” She looked around. “Can you point me in the right direction?”
“Down the hall, last door on the right.”
She nodded at the older man. “Thanks again.”
Christine walked down the long hallway, the sound of her low heels muffled by the rich crimson carpeting. She halted at the door and raised a hand to knock.
“Come in, Christine,” Drake’s rich baritone voice said before she could even knock.
She opened the door and stepped inside the sumptuously decorated room of crimson silk and dark mahogany. “How—how are you?”
Drake gave her a lusty smile and stood. He strode over to meet her. “Is this any way to greet your lover?”
Confusion and doubt swirled in her mind, a very dangerous mix of emotion. “I’m sorry. How should I greet you?”
“Like this.”
With that, Drake swept her into his arms and bent her backward, plowing her mouth with furious abandon. His hunger for her ignited the newly sleeping fire of desire. Flames immediately licked up her insides and threatened to consume her. His cologne sent her mind reeling with passion.
He broke the kiss and helped her stand up. “Now that’s the way to greet me in the future.”
“I’m glad you asked me to come here because we need to talk.”
“About what,” he asked as he fumbled with the buttons on her blouse.
She pushed his hands away. “Please, I have to say this.”
Daunted, he stood back and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. “All right. I’m listening.”
Christine wavered all day on what she wanted to say to him. On one hand, she couldn’t see herself with anyone else, but on the other hand, he was immortal and she wasn’t. She would be dead eventually—unless he decided differently. “I don’t think a relationship between us can work.”
“Why not?”
She turned her back on him. “Lots of reasons, one of which is that you’re a vampire and I’m human. I’m destined to die after a time, and you’ll be all alone. I can’t and won’t do that to you or anyone.”
His hands slipped around her waist and drew her back against his strong form. “Is this way of saying you care for me?”
“Yes, it is. I do care for you, Drake, and it’s because of that I won’t put your through an eternity of being alone.”
Drake cupped her breasts, his thumbs skimming her nipples. “It doesn’t have to be. You could be one of us.”
She bowed her head. “I don’t know. I can’t kill people.”
Brushing her hair aside, Drake swept a soft kiss on her neck. “Oh, my dear, you have so much to learn! We don’t kill, just take what we need, that’s all. For those of us who are older, we need less than the young ones. So we don’t feed quite as often.”
She tensed in his arms and she fought the urge to flee. “So I would have to kill.”
“You wouldn’t have the strength. I would do that for you if necessary.”
Christine lifted her head. “No, I couldn’t do that.” She spun around in his arms. “Please don’t ever make me one against my will.”
Lust blazed in his eyes. “I would never do anything against your will. You would have to be willing for me to make you a vampire. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
Christine laid her head against Drake’s magnificently sculpted chest covered with a cool black silk shirt. “Thank you for your promise, and I’ll hold you to it.”
Drake skimmed her hip. “Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, there’s another matter I’ll have to tend to.”
She knew what he wanted but right now, she was just too full of raw emotion to consider sex. She pushed away. “Not right now. I have to get home. Can you call me a cab?”
Drake frowned and picked up his keys. “A cab? Please. I’ll drive you.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” He guided her out of his study and to his waiting silver Jaguar. “I can show you something while we’re there.”
Chapter Eight
“What’s so imperative that you had to be home right away?” Drake asked as he followed her into her apartment. She tossed her keys into the glass bowl near the door.
She kicked off her shoes and picked them up. “Just a few things I need to go over about David.”
He stopped her dead in her tracks. “I want you to stop investigating David’s death.”
“Why?”
“It’s become entirely too dangerous for you to do so.”
She wrenched herself free from his grip and walked down the hall to her bedroom, keeping her anger in check. She remained silent, hoping it would convey her displeasure at his words.
Drake followed her like a stray dog looking for a meal. He stayed in the doorway and leaned against the jamb, his massive arms crossed. “Well, aren’t you going to argue with me?”
She removed her jacket and hung it up. “What for? You think you’re right, and I think I’m right. I’m not in the mood for an argument.” She didn’t lie. She’d been tired all day, probably because that great massage at the spa really relaxed her. “Besides, no matter what you say or think, the investigation is going ahead.”
“Be reasonable. After what happened the other night, you still want to continue this?”
She bent and removed her skirt and took off her blouse. She stood in her lace teddy in front of him but she didn’t care. He’d already seen her naked. “Yes, I do. Once it’s finished, then I can go back to being a cop.”
He sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing I can do to talk you out of this.”
She lifted a leg to remove her thigh-high stocking. Drake dimly groaned, so she slowed her action, teasing him immensely. “No, you can’t, though you can still help me.”
Drake pushed up from the jamb and was on her in two strides. She read the lust in his smile and the desire in his eyes as plainly as she read a billboard. He knelt in front of her and hooked his fingers in the elastic of her stocking, slowly drawing the silky expanse down. He removed with the nylon with a flourish and threw it aside. Slowly, he kissed and nibbled up her smooth leg, massaging her calf with his strong fingers.
Christine dropped her head back and enjoyed the magic of his mouth as he worked his way up her thigh, kissing every inch of the inside. Soft snaps erupted as he undid her teddy. She creamed for him, her knees weakening.
Drake touched her quivering pussy and deeply groaned. He traced the outer edges of her drenched labia with his expert tongue. The walls of her sex clenched in anticipation of his kiss and touch.
He moved in closer and spread her lips apart, baring the tender flesh to his exploration. He blew softly against her swollen clit, making the nub harder than before.
Just as she was about to beg him to do more, he closed his mouth over her mound. Rocking, she pressed her hips into his face as he lapped at her juice.
Flick. Suck. Flick. Suck. She teetered on the brink of an orgasm, ready to fall over at any moment.
Her nipples burned to be touched, and she couldn’t help herself. She cupped the full globes and pinched the taut peaks until the skin pebbled with delight.
The long-awaited orgasm unfurled in her belly, a slow burn threatening to consume her. She moaned in ecstasy, pushing herself harder against his face, silently begging for a deeper penetration.
Suddenly, Drake pulled back, his lips wet. “Get on the bed on all fours,” he commanded.
Christine immediately obeyed, waiting for his hard cock to satisfy her aching pussy.
“Lower your head as much as you can,” he said. The sound of his zipper descending filled the air, making her more aroused. She’d never had sex in this position before.
Christine pushed down, her head nearly to the bed. Drake cupped her pussy and lifted her slightly.
“That’s good.”
How strange it felt to be in this position, to be available for his use. Drake’s cock slipped in easily, stretching her to the limit. Instantly, her channel gripped him tightly. Grabbing her hips, he held on and fucked her as if his life depended on it.
Christine gripped the bed and cried out into the mattress. The feelings crashed one into another, a wild wave of orgasmic emotion.
She rocked her hips forward, milking his cock in an attempt to drain the organ of every ounce of come. Drake groaned when she did that, so she managed to keep in time with his thrusts, her mind a mess of climatic delight.
“Oh, hell, I’m coming again!” she screamed into the bed, trying to hang onto the last shred of reality she had.
Bursts of bright light exploded in her brain as the orgasm took hold. She rocked with his thrust and held tight. Drake shuddered, descended on her neck and clamped down, sending her orgasm into overtime as he drank her blood. Holding on, he kept her steady as he jerked in an effort to empty his large cock inside of her. “Oh, my God, that was un-fucking-believable,” she murmured into the bed.
Drake leaned against her, still fully inside. “You, my dear, are the wonderful one.” He slipped out. “You really are something.”
She collapsed. “I think I need to take a shower.”
“Good idea.” Drake helped her to her feet. “You lead the away.”
Christine almost set a foot outside her bedroom door when Drake stopped her. “Ever have sex in the shower?”
“No?”
“Good. Consider this a first.”
* * * *
Drake had wanted to spend the night, but she couldn’t let him. The longer he stayed around her, the more attached she found herself becoming. His allure was too strong for her to ignore anymore.
Once he left, she settled into bed, flipped on the light, and started to read a romance novel she’s been waiting to read for months: Untamed Fire. It looked good in the store, especially since the hunky blond cover model on front look amazingly like Drake.
She flipped to the first page and started to read. The writing flowed so easily and kept her up quite late because she couldn’t put it down.
Christine glanced at the clock. One. Damn, she’d started at eleven. Where had the time gone? Oh well, it wasn’t like she had anywhere to go tomorrow. It was only Thursday, and her best chance of getting some more info at Berserker would be Friday and Saturday nights.
Her lights flickered. She sat straight up. What the hell? Christine waited for flashing to start again. Didn’t happen. Okay, it might be her imagination toying with her again.
She settled back in bed and the moment her head hit the pillow, the lights went out.
“I paid my fucking electric bill,” she muttered and pushed out of bed to go and see if anyone else’s electric was out.
David’s voice echoed from the darkness of her bedroom. “Don’t leave me, Chrissy. I need help.”
She spun on her heel. “Where are you, David?”
“I’m right here,” he said from the shadowy recess of her wardrobe. “Please help me.”
Fear shook the very foundation of her soul, but she fought to control her emotions. “How did you get there? You weren’t there when I turned out the lights.”
“I-I—don’t know,” he answered in a strangled whisper.
“Come into the moonlight,” she coaxed.
A distinct shuffling pierced the air as he moved. Brushing of feet against her carpet followed, giving additional rise to already high wall of terror.
“I don’t want you to see what they’ve done to me.”
His shadow blocked out all of the available moonlight. She didn’t need to see his face exactly, but she knew it was him.
Christine embraced him hard and, so glad to be holding him again, pushed aside the stink of earth and mold. “I knew you weren’t dead.”
“I wish they had killed me.” His damp, wounded hands touched her face. “I fought my way back here to be with you.”
“Oh, David, I’m so glad you’re alive!” Tears pricked her eyelids. “Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
“There isn’t much to tell because I don’t remember much. After the ambulance took me to the hospital, I remember a nurse giving me a shot. Then it was lights out. When I woke up, I was in a dark place and was tortured to feed someone’s dark, sadistic desires.”
“Did they tell you why they did this to you?” She caressed the side of his face and noticed the deep wounds, probably a few weeks old, in the process of healing.
“Yes, but there’s no time to tell you what they told me. They’re hunting me as we speak, and I have very little time, but I will need your help.”
“Tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it.”
“I want you to meet me at midnight on Saturday in WarfieldPark near Gorwich Pond. I’ll tell you everything then, and you can help me get somewhere beyond their reach.”
Her tears flowed. David was here and alive needing her help, and she was damned well going to give it to him. “You’ve got it. Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you.”
David brushed a kiss across her cheek with his crack lips. “I knew I could count on you, my dearest Chrissy.” He looked pensively out the window. “I’ve got to go because I don’t want them tracking me to you. If they find out what I’ve told you, you’ll end up like me, and I couldn’t stand that.”
“I’ll meet you then.”
“Don’t tell anyone where you’re going, not even that big Viking-looking boyfriend of yours. No one can know.”
She embraced him again and held fast to him. “I won’t. Drake won’t know, I promise. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“As good as. I’ve seen you two together, and he is very protective of you.”
Her brow rose. “How have you seen us?”
“I can’t explain now. I will later. I’ve got to go.” He went to the window and climbed out. “Remember, midnight on Saturday.”
Christine watched him fall to the ground and limp away into the shadows, becoming one with the night.
She turned away and leaned against the sill, her thumb against her lip. Tears flowed. Finally, her persistence paid off. David was alive and needed help to get beyond the reaches of his captors. Drake be damned, she was going to help him.
* * * *
Saturday night approached, filling Christine with anticipation. She should go to Berserker and act as though she was doing her investigation to throw Drake off the track of her activities. At least, he’d know anything was amiss.
The loud ring of her phone interrupted her thoughts, and she looked down at the caller ID. Drake was on the other end, wanting to speak to her. She hesitated then picked up the on the third ring.
“Hi, sweetheart. What took you so long to answer?”
She sighed and said in a sarcastic tone, “I guess you think I’m sitting here living and breathing just for your phone call.”
“Such sharp words come off your tongue. Maybe I should show you how to properly use that tongue.”
“You already have,” she answered back, her hostility waning. She wanted
to be mad at him for making her want him so badly, but she couldn’t be, at least not now. “What’s up?”
“Are you coming to the club tonight?” His voice contained a ring of sexual excitement, enticing her body to react. Instantly, her pussy convulsed at the thought of being pinned against a wall and fucked senseless by him.
“Absolutely. I have an investigation to conduct.”
“Good. Also, when you dress, forget the underwear.”
“Why?”
“You never know.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can, and it’s my wish that you don’t.”
A beat passed. “We’ll see.”
“There’s no seeing about it,” he said harshly. “If I don’t want you to, you won’t.”
“Getting a little pushy, aren’t we?”
“Let’s just say I like easy access to what belongs to me.”
“Hey, now, we discussed this—”
Click. The line went dead. Damn, why did he always hang up right before she could argue anything with him? She hated when he did that.
Christine pushed off her bed and went to her closet. To serve him right, she should wear a pair of old jeans, a T-shirt, and flip-flops, but she wouldn’t do that. His command sent shivers down her spine, and she had to admit she harbored secret desires to have a man dominate her, not in the S/M sense but in the sense he told her not to wear underwear and her pussy belonged to him. She’d never tell anyone that, lest she be thought of as easy. She had never mentioned this to Jason because he dominated her in ways she didn’t care for.
Her pussy continued to quiver as she searched through her closet for something to wear. She found a purple tunic minidress with a matching belt. She didn’t care for the fact the hem fell midthigh but she couldn’t do anything about it. Drake wanted her to wear something spectacular, and this was the closest she could find.
Christine stared at the full-length mirror and played with her hair, trying to decide which way to wear it. She finally decided on a soft updo with soft tendrils falling around her face. She smiled. A kind of a sexy, but innocent, look should bode well tonight and keep Drake from suspecting anything.
Ranson, Tracy L. - Prince of Darkness [Bloodborn 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 13
