by Tina Folsom
Carefully, he wiped away the encrusted blood, laying bare the skin beneath. It looked red and angry, still not fully healed. The wound had been deep and the blood he’d given her had gone to her internal organs first, repairing them, but the skin on the outside had still not fully regenerated.
“Will it leave scars?”
“I can make sure it won’t.” By either giving her more blood, or treating the wound from the exterior.
“How?”
He lifted his head and looked into her eyes for the first time since reentering the room. “Your brother is a vampire. You must know how.”
Her eyelashes fluttered briefly, and her lips parted just a fraction. Her breath filled the air between them. “Oh.”
“Up to you,” he said, shrugging as if he didn’t care what she decided, when in fact, he wanted her to say yes. Wanted her to allow him this tiny piece of pleasure.
“I mean, if you don’t mind,” she said hesitantly. “It would be nice not to have a scar there.”
He’d hoped for it, hoped that she was vain enough not to want her perfect body marred by a scar that would be visible if she wore a swimsuit—or made love to a man.
“Fine then.”
He laid the washcloth on the bedside table and patted the wound dry with the towel. He noticed his hand trembling with anticipation, his gums itching, his mouth salivating. Seconds passed.
“If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. It’s not like it really matters. I mean…”
Luther dropped his head to her stomach and brought his lips to hover over her stab wound. “Don’t talk.”
Closing his eyes, he allowed his tongue to swipe over her skin, coating it with his saliva. The special properties in it would assure that her skin healed perfectly. Slowly and gently, he licked the area, enjoying the warmth of her flesh and the taste of her skin. No more blood was seeping from the wound, but he could taste it anyway. A microscopic layer of residue still coated her skin, allowing him to get a taste of what it would be like to drink from her.
A shudder traveled down his spine and sent a spear of electricity into his balls. He knew exactly what was coming now.
Fuck!
Beneath his tongue he felt her skin mend and regenerate. He knew he should stop now, but he couldn’t tear his lips from her. Instead, he continued to run his tongue over her now perfect skin and press his lips to it.
Katie’s hand on his nape as she suddenly touched him, almost made him jump from the bed, but her moan held him back. Her tender fingers caressed his nape, then slipped underneath his shirt and stroked the sensitive area between his shoulder blades.
He had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation for this. Maybe he’d passed out. After all, he’d given her a good pint of his blood on the drive here, and he hadn’t fed in a while.
“Luther.” Katie’s breathy murmur drifted to his ears.
He lifted his head and looked at her face. Her eyes were half closed, her lips parted. He’d never seen a more tantalizing sight.
“Please, don’t stop,” she begged, her hand sliding back to his nape, trying to pull him back.
He resisted and shook his head. “We can’t. Please don’t make me do this.” Because he knew why she was reacting like this.
Her eyes opened wider. “I want you.”
He threw his head back, groaning. “No. You don’t. It’s the blood talking.”
“No, it’s not.” Her fingers dug into his nape, trying to pull him to her.
“Hasn’t your brother told you what happens when you drink a vampire’s blood? That it causes sexual arousal?” But it wasn’t real. It was just an illusion.
“This is different,” she insisted, sitting up and bringing her enticing semi-nude body closer to him.
When she put her other arm around him, he gripped both her wrists and forced her back into the pillows. “Once it wears off, you’ll regret what you’re doing now.” And she’d hate him for not having stopped her.
“I won’t!”
“You can’t know that! My blood in you makes you want me. It’ll pass,” he ground out, still pressing her into the pillows so she couldn’t make an attempt to kiss him. Because once those lips touched his, he’d be lost.
A strange smile spread on her mouth, almost as if she knew something he didn’t. “Drinking your blood didn’t cause this.”
“It did.”
“Then why did I let you kiss me last night?”
“You didn’t let me kiss you. I forced you.”
“And I could have stopped you any time I wanted to.”
“May I remind you that according to your own admission, you don’t have any witch powers?”
“True, but I do have a really strong knee that I know exactly how to use against any man forcing himself on me, vampire or not.” She licked her lips and turned her head to look at where his hands were circling her wrists, keeping her immobile. “I don’t mind if you want to hold me down like that. If that’s how you like it.”
“Goddamn it, Katie. I’m warning you,” he hissed, holding onto his self control by a mere thread.
“If you don’t want me, you can close your eyes and imagine I’m somebody else. Just imagine I’m one of the hookers you had in prison.”
“I’ve never touched a hooker in my life!” Luther growled. “Damn you, Katie, you’d better not be blaming me later or I might just wring your pretty little neck.”
Surprise—or was it satisfaction?—flashed in her eyes, but he didn’t give her a chance to respond and sank his lips onto hers. He had to still this inexplicable hunger for a woman he barely knew.
Her mouth welcomed him. Soft lips greeted him and an eager tongue stroked against his, inviting him to a sensual duel. One he could neither win nor lose.
Slowly, he released her wrists. He felt her hands on him immediately. Katie didn’t waste time: she unbuttoned his shirt and touched his chest, caressing him as if she didn’t even notice the many scars that marred his once-perfect skin. As if she didn’t see their ugliness.
He was convinced that Katie wanting him was a side effect of her drinking his blood, but what man—vampire or not—was strong enough to resist a siren’s call? He knew he’d pay for it later, but right now, he didn’t care what punishment he’d have to endure. All he needed was a few minutes of ecstasy in Katie’s arms. And nobody was going to get in the way of it, not even Luther himself.
“Katie,” he murmured, releasing her lips for a moment.
“Don’t stop,” she begged, her voice drugged with lust. The sound made his cock even harder.
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.” He shrugged out of his shirt, then stood and shucked his shoes and pants.
When he lowered his boxer briefs, an audible intake of breath came from Katie. He looked at her. Her mouth had dropped open and she was staring at his cock, which now curved against his belly, hard and heavy.
“Take off your jeans, Katie,” he commanded, “because if I have to do it, I’m afraid I’m going to shred them.”
She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. Not breaking eye contact, she opened her pants and shimmied out of them. Beneath the denim, she wore black lace panties matching her bra.
When her hands went to the front clasp of her bra, he stopped her, “Don’t. I’d like to do that.”
Luther put one knee onto the mattress and joined her on the bed.
25
The old mattress depressed under Luther’s weight, but Katie barely noticed it. Her attention was focused on Luther’s beautiful body. She’d never seen a man like him, certainly not naked and this close up. He was magnificent, the embodiment of power and strength.
Not even the many scars on his torso could take away from that. On the contrary, they seemed to add to the image of the powerful vampire who now brought his body over hers and pressed her into the sheets.
When she felt his strong thighs spread her legs and slide into the space between them, a contented sigh came over her lips.
“Is this what you want, Katie? A vampire like me in your bed?” He slid his palm over her breast, caressing her through the lace. “Touching you?” He rocked his cock against her center. “Fucking you?”
She arched off the mattress, pressing against him, wanting more of the delicious friction he provided. “Don’t be a tease.”
He chuckled. “You mean like you? Like you teased me until you got what you wanted?”
“I haven’t yet gotten what I wanted.”
Luther lowered his face to hers. “Oh yeah, and what is it you really want, Katie? Aside from being fucked by me?”
She held his penetrating gaze, pushing back the thoughts that leapt to the forefront of her mind. To forget and feel safe again. Luther could at least help her attain one of those things, the other she had to find within herself.
“I just want to feel you inside me. That’s all I care about.”
“That I can give you,” he said, before he brushed his lips against hers. “Many times over.”
His kiss was passionate and all-consuming, his hands gentle and more tender than she’d expected. He didn’t rush it, instead, he explored her thoroughly. Just like his tongue licked and stroked her with unwavering confidence, his hands roamed her body like a man who had all the time in the world.
Katie let her hands travel over his body, caressing his strong muscles, exploring every ridge and groove. When he pulled back, she wanted to protest, but he put a finger to her lips to stop her.
He trailed his hand down one side of her neck and ran it between her breasts until he reached the clasp of her bra. He looked up and locked eyes with her.
“I would never close my eyes while making love to you.” He unhooked the clasp with one hand.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Luther, you don’t—”
“I mean it.” He peeled away the cups of her bra and exposed her bare breasts. “When you showed your boobs to Bauer, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” He brushed his knuckles over one breast.
“Vampires can’t suffer heart attacks,” she said between a sigh and a moan.
“When you invited him to sink his fangs into your breasts, it looked real, like you meant it. I couldn’t tell if you were acting.”
Luther dipped his head to her breast and licked over her nipple.
A strangled moan tore from her throat, and she thrust her breasts toward him, silently asking for more. But he held back.
“Or weren’t you acting? Did you mean it when you invited him to sink his fangs into your tits?” There was an angry undertone in Luther’s voice.
Katie sucked in a breath, when Luther’s lips suddenly closed around her nipple and sucked on it.
“Oh God!” she cried out, suddenly aching for more, for something deeper.
Luther looked up at her. “Did you want it?”
“No!” she protested. It was the truth. She hadn’t wanted the prison guard’s fangs in her. In fact, she’d been disgusted by the thought.
Luther’s eyes turned darker. He growled softly, then kissed her breasts, nibbling and sucking on them. She loved the way he devoured them, almost as if he were feasting on them, while farther below, he rocked against her in a slow but steady rhythm, igniting her desire for him even more.
“Take me,” she begged.
Finally, he listened to her and slid one hand down to the juncture of her thighs. He slipped his fingers underneath the thin lace fabric and combed through the soft curls. When he slid past her center of pleasure, she undulated her hips.
Luther groaned. “Fuck, Katie, go easy.”
But even though he cautioned her to take it slow, Luther apparently didn’t feel that the same rule applied to him, because a second later, he bathed his fingers in her wetness, caressing her folds, exploring her.
She gasped at the delicious sensations he sent through her body. She spread her legs wider, urging him to give her more. She felt him probe at the entrance to her channel, and sighed. Finally, he drove a thick finger into her.
Katie pressed her head into the pillow, arching off the bed. Then Luther’s thumb was on her clit, spreading her juices over the sensitive organ.
“Yes!” she encouraged him.
A second finger joined the first, adding more friction.
“God, you’re tight!” Luther groaned. “You’re gonna make me come in ten seconds.”
“I don’t care,” she cried out. “Just fuck me already.”
He pulled his fingers from her and freed her of her panties so fast she could barely blink. She tried to slip out of the open bra, but he stopped her.
“Leave it on. It’s sexy.” He positioned himself at her center, his huge cock rubbing against her wet folds. Then he locked eyes with her, and in one long continuous stroke, he seated himself in her.
Her eyelids dropped, her breath rushed from her lungs, and her heart stopped beating. He filled her completely. “Oh God!” Katie wrapped her legs around his thighs, imprisoning him.
“Perfect,” Luther grunted, the chords in his neck bulging. “You’re fucking perfect!”
Luther began to thrust, deep and hard. Every time his cock drove into her, his pelvic bone slammed against her clit, making her shudder. Her heart beat erratically now, her breaths came in shallow pants, and her head swam with a myriad of sensations. The passion and wildness Luther unleashed on her was something she’d never experienced before. None of her previous lovers had ever taken her this hard and made her body hum so intensely with pleasure that she thought she was floating on a cloud.
She felt weightless, held by strong vampire arms, safe despite the powerful thrusts Luther delivered. In his eyes she saw the same lust and desire that she felt radiate back at her. Like molten lava, his eyes glowed. They looked like flames now, like the flames that raged inside her and threatened to incinerate her. And what she saw peeking from his lips now should have scared her, but instead the sight of his white fangs flashing fascinated her. They had descended fully, ready for a bite. She knew it, had seen her vampire friends and family often enough to interpret the signs. To know when somebody was about to lose control of his human side and unleash the power that was pure vampire.
And while she saw all the signs in Luther’s face now, written as clearly as if printed on a piece of paper, she felt no fear. No regret at having taken this risk and put herself at the mercy of a vampire who’d committed unspeakable crimes. Because the payoff was worth it. For once in her life she could forget the bitter memories of her past and live only in the moment. The moment of ecstasy.
She turned her head to the side and swept away her hair, exposing her neck. “Luther.”
26
His name rolled over Katie’s lips like the call of a siren leading a sailor to his doom. Luther recognized the invitation. Temptation curled through his body, making him thrust faster and deeper. As if sex could wipe away his need for blood. He knew it wasn’t so. If anything, his desire to drink from Katie had increased several fold the moment he’d plunged his aching cock into her.
He knew he would succumb to it, particularly now that she was offering him what he so desperately needed.
“Katie,” he ground out.
When she stretched out her hand as if to touch his fangs, he snatched it, and pinned it to one side of her head. Without a word, he dipped his head and took possession of her lips, willing his fangs to retract. They did, but only halfway. He didn’t have the strength to bend them to his will. His vampire side was ruling him now, and the vampire in him wanted blood.
Luther pumped harder into her, thrusting and withdrawing. Her wet and warm sheath was like paradise. Too good to stop. And too good to continue. He’d been teetering on the edge of his climax for several long minutes now, pushing back his urge to come whenever it tried to overwhelm him. But as Katie’s muscles squeezed him harder with every thrust, and her juices enveloped him in her silken depth, he realized he was losing the fight with his self control. A few more seconds, and he would have to give in to his release.
He ripped his lips from her, breathing hard. “God, Katie! I need you to come with me.”
With wide eyes she stared up at him.
“Tell me what you need.”
“Bite me!” she demanded.
Luther threw back his head, almost howling like a dog. “No!” Damn it, not only was it wrong that he was sleeping with her, knowing she was drugged by his blood, but accepting her blood would be the lowest to which he could sink.
“Luther, please.”
He looked back at her, slowly shaking his head.
But she didn’t accept his answer. “You asked whether I was acting when I invited Bauer to dig his fangs into my breasts. I wasn’t.”
Luther froze in mid-stroke, shock coursing through him. “What?” He grabbed both her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head.
“In method acting we portray only the emotions we feel. When I invited him to bite me, I didn’t offer it to him. I offered it to you.”
All the air rushed from his lungs. “No, that can’t be.” He tried to shake the image from his mind’s eye. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Katie.”
Katie wiggled her hands free and slipped them to his ass, gripping him firmly, shoving him deeper into her. The action made his cock jerk inside her, sending him dangerously close to the edge.
His fangs automatically lengthened again, and this time he couldn’t force them back into their sockets. From the sparkle in Katie’s eyes he could tell that she’d noticed it, too.
Slowly, he began to thrust again, in and out, while his gaze drifted down to her bouncing boobs. They rocked with every thrust from side to side. Hard nipples sat on the top of each breast, pink and ripe for the taking.
“Right there,” she murmured.
“Yes, right there,” he agreed and increased his tempo, while taking her hands again and pinning them to either side of her head. He lifted his gaze back to her face. “You can’t escape now.”
Her breath hitched, and he could hear her heart thunder. The sound of her blood rushing through her veins made his glands salivate. He swallowed hard. “You won’t be able to stop me.”
