She sent a look to Marisol, as if to say, I told you so, and turned her head to keep from laughing. “Well, we both thank you.” They reached the corner and she turned on him. “You know, you’re displaying really creepy stalker tendencies right now. Do you always follow people from work?”
“Only the ones who won’t let me talk to them,” he answered with humor in his voice. “If you gave me a few minutes of your time I promise I’ll leave you and your friend alone to go home in peace.”
He moved closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers. She was tall, he noticed. They were almost the same height and he was six feet. Her scent wrapped itself around his senses and suddenly he wondered what kissing her would be like.
Again, Christina felt the strange feeling tugging at her inner core, just being near this stranger was affecting her. She knew her friend was watching the obvious sparks between them and eating it up with a spoon when she all but gagged, trying to break the trance he held her in.
“My car is right here, so I’m gonna go. Ok?”
“Yeah, I think I’m going, too,” Christina said trying to grab at her friend who was just out of reach. “Marisol,” she yelled, startling her friend, then softened her tone. “I’m going to ride with you.” Before Marisol could answer, she ran around the car and jumped in the passenger side slamming the door.
Marisol looked in the car then back to the man and shrugged before getting herself in and pulling away.
Mikhail watch them driving away with a smile on his face, knowing she still watched him, and called to his brother.
Jonathan, I’ll meet you at home. I’m going to follow her.
You need to feed, came his reply.
Bring someone for me.
I’ll see you at home, and he severed the connection.
Moving with the celerity of his kind, he moved across the bridge back to Miami following Marisol’s car to 33rd Avenue
and hid on a roof to wait to see which building she entered. Marisol shut off the car and turned to her friend.
“You know you were wrong for that, Christina. Why’d you do that man like that? He is only trying to get to know you. What about your car? You just left it there. Are you going to stay single forever?”
“No, but I’m not going to jump on the first man that takes interest in me. I just got home.”
“Just got home? Christina you’ve been home almost a year, now. That’s long enough to get your dance studio up and running, why isn’t it long enough to start dating?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see, and don’t worry about my car. It’ll be fine until tomorrow. I’ll call Carmen and ride with her into town in the morning.” She got out the car. “We’ll still on for lunch tomorrow?”
“Oh, no, I can’t. I have so much to catch up on. Let’s make it dinner instead. How about Alberto’s, around 7:30?”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you then. Good night and thanks.”
Marisol waved to her and drove away.
Christina went up to the second floor to her apartment. The first thing she did was open the patio doors off her bedroom to let the night breeze in. Exhausted from the night’s activities, she striped and turned on the shower before getting in.
Mikhail moved quietly onto the balcony and slipped into her apartment. Going to the bathroom, he pushed the door open slightly to release some steam and watched as she wash herself. Her hands went over her shadowy silhouette seductively and he chuckled to himself wishing they were his hands. He had never wanted a woman so much. He watched until he heard the water stop and slid into a hiding spot on the balcony.
He had been with plenty of women, of course. He only fed on women and only while he mated with them. He would give them the blood wine to stop them from changing and make them susceptible to his will before he took them. Come morning she was just exhausted and had no memory of their encounter or why she was so tired. It made circumstances convenient when you had to move around so much pretending you were your own ancestor, so the locals didn‘t wonder why you weren‘t aging like everyone else.
But he couldn’t do that with this woman, not if he wanted her for his mate. He had to do it the old fashion way, so to speak. He had to make her fall in love with him and she had to give herself freely to him, he could not force her or give her the blood wine to make her bend to his will. It was one of their clan rules and he must obey.
He watched as she readied herself for bed. She applied lotion to her luscious body and brushed her hair into two long braids before sliding across the satin sheets of her bed. He waited until her heart and her breathing slowed before he went back into the room. The sheet barely covered her nakedness. Standing over her sleeping form, he spread his hands over her barely touching, and called upon the training of the elders to enter her dreams.
Chapter Three
Christina looked around and found herself at the balcony of an extraordinary bedroom that overlooked a beautiful ocean view, which wasn’t hers. She wore a long, sheer, flowing white negligee.
“Where am I? How did I get here?”
“I brought you here,” came her answer from behind.
She spun around to see the man from the club coming toward her carrying two glasses of red wine. The black short-sleeve shirt he wore fit him like a second skin, as did the black jeans he wore. They left little to the imagination. She found it hard to turn her attention away from the blatant bulge in his jeans that looked more like a snake in his pocket. Hard as it was she did so and found herself locked into the hypnotic pull of his eyes. She saw many things in that spellbinding gaze…lust, power, passion. She could get lost in those eyes that seem to glow against his dark skin.
He stopped in front of her and she accepted the glass he handed her, and took a sip to wet her mouth that suddenly went dry.
“Why? Why have you brought me here?”
“Because you entice me. The scenery here is beautiful and I’d like to make love to you here.”
She choked on her next sip. “What? Really? And just like that you think I’m going let you?” She chuckled. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“I don’t know what kind of girl you are. I’m trying to find out. But I do know you could be whatever kind of girl you want to in a dream,”
“A dream? So, I’m dreaming, huh?” she chuckled disbelievingly.
“You don’t sound convinced. Shall I step off this balcony and prove it to you?”
She looked over the balcony and raised her eyebrow. “We’re three flights up.”
“I know that. In a dream I wouldn’t be hurt, right?”
She looked over the side again and smiled. “Whatever, you’re not jumping off…”
Before she could say anything else, he put his glass down on the floor, stepped onto the ledge and stepped off. Christina screamed and reached for him dropping her glass. He hovered in the air for just a few seconds and slowly drifted to the sand unharmed. She leaned over the side staring down at him trying find her voice, but before she could he jumped back over the side of the railing as easily as a child would hop a hydrant. He picked up his glass and took a sip.
“See, a dream.” He noticed her glass on the floor. “I’ll get you another one.”
Her gaze followed him out the room as she tried to calm herself.
“Ok. I’m dreaming.” She began pacing, trying to rationalize things. “All of this is a dream.” She stopped. “No. He’s not a dream, he’s real. I’ve seen him before. I know him.”
“Yes, you have seen me, but you do not know me.”
She took the glass that he offered upon his return. “You’re that man that was stalking me,” she said with a teasing grin. “Aren’t you?”
He chuckled and leaned next to her on the balcony wall. “Yes.”
“So, why am I dreaming about you?”
“Maybe you’re intrigued by me and you really want to get to know me, but you’re afraid.”
She chuckled. “Really? Is that what you think?”
“I’m not here to think. I’m here to give whatever you need and anything you want to make you happy.”
“You want to make me happy? Why?”
“Because I want you for my wife.”
“Your wife, huh? Well, to be my husband you would have to be strong. Are you strong?”
He smiled. “You have no idea how strong.”
She nodded. “Ok. My husband also has to be brave. You know, not afraid to stand up for me or for what’s right. Can you do that?”
“I am a warrior and an honorable being. It is how we operate.”
She put her empty glass on the stand by a large, round bed and slid on to it. “What’s your name?”
“Mikhail.”
She smiled. “Well, Mikhail, since this is my dream, I can do what I want and say what I want, and you can’t hurt me, right?”
“I would never hurt you. Do what you will, say what you want. Have no fear of me.”
She giggled. “Well, Mikhail, my husband would have to be able to please me in bed. He’d have to be a good lover to keep me happy.” She turned over on her back. “Could you do that?”
“With pleasure.” He put his glass next to hers and moved to join her in bed, but she stopped him.
“Take your clothes off. I want to see you first…and don’t rush. I want to see all of you.”
He backed up and unbuckled his belt then slowly undid his zipper. Next, he pulled his shirt over his head in one smooth movement.
Her gaze fell over his upper body. She tried not to lick her lips as she surveyed him. His hair was cut close to his head and he was clean-shaven. His jaw line was square and strong. His chest was hairless and without mark. He threw the shirt on the foot of the bed. His pants dropped easily to the floor where he stepped out of them, with just minor tugging on his part. The snake that she spied earlier was now more like a python in comparison.
He stood naked before her in the moonlit room and as her mouth went dry again; she had no choice but to lick her lips openly as she continued her survey of his body. His symmetry was perfection with the graceful lines of a dancer himself, every muscle full and in perfect form. He was tall and lean, but not at all skinny. His skin was as smooth and dark as milk chocolate. Looking at him in his entirety, she found her mouth was no longer dry, but she was almost salivating.
“Do I meet your approval? May I come to you now?”
“Oh, yes, please come,” she breathed out and opened her arms reaching out to him.
He moved forward to go to her and stopped short as if a wall was between them.
“What’s wrong?”
He reached out to her, but as he did so, she started to vanish. Mikhail looked around. The night had gotten away from him. It was too close to dawn to continue this night. He needed more practice. He was tired and needed to feed. He sighed in resignation and they were back in her room. He took one last look at his sleeping beauty and left.
He traveled again with the speed of his kind back across the bridge toward Miami Beach and up to Bal Harbour where he and Jonathan lived. They owned the building and were its only tenants. They took the entire third floor for their personal use. He entered through the balcony.
“You’re running behind, Mikhail,” his brother scolded. “We still need time to get them back and return home before the sun rises.”
“Forgive me, brother. I got carried away.”
“I have already given them the blood wine; they await us in the living room.”
Jonathan led the way with Mikhail in his wake. The two women that Jonathan had for them were on opposite ends of a long couch already naked and feeling the effects of the blood wine. Mikhail and Jonathan striped and mounted each one. Mikhail regretted rushing the process, but time was of the essence, dawn was approaching. He needed to feed and return the woman in a short period of time.
Usually he preferred to seduce the woman before he fed from her. The blood always tastes better when it’s full of lust and pheromones. Although she won’t know the difference with the blood wine in her, he would. He would be able to taste the difference. He entered her and made the best of it, stroking her deeply, bringing her to a quick orgasm. She peaked and he sunk his teeth deep into her neck, drinking enough of her to sustain him for another day, then he let his own release escape…all the while pretending it was Christina beneath him.
Chapter Four
Christina went through her day feeling strange and all but looking over her shoulder. Finally, it was over and she rushed to meet her friend at Alberto’s. Marisol was there waiting when she arrived.
“Hey girl. Boy, am I glad to see you,” she said hugging her friend.
“Yeah, I got that feeling. You only called me fifteen times to see if I was still coming. What’s going on?”
“Wait. I need a drink first.”
“I already ordered you one. Now talk.”
“Marisol, I had the weirdest dream last night.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah, about that guy from the club last night.”
“The cute one that you blew off?” She scoffed. “I don’t doubt it.”
“Yes. In my dream his name was Mikhail.”
“Nice. He wasn’t some crazed maniac in this dream, was he?”
The waitress returned with their drinks. “Are you ready to order?”
“Can you give us a minute?” The waitress nodded and left. “You were saying?”
“No, he wasn’t a crazed maniac.” She took a long sip of her drink. “He was naked.”
“Naked?”
“Is this supposed to be a Margarita? It sucks. It needs more tequila.”
“We don’t come for the drinks, we come for the food. Now get back to him being naked. How naked was he?”
She took another sip. “Naked as the day he was born. Although I doubt he looked that good when he was born,” she said with a chuckle.
“Mmm. What’d he look like?”
She finished her drink. “He looked fantastic.” She smiled at the memory. “Nice body, strong and tight. Like melted chocolate, you just want to eat with your fingers.” She chuckled. “We were this close to doing it, too.” She squeezed her thumb and forefinger together.
“You dreamt about a fine, naked man and you didn’t do it? Sounds more like nightmare.”
She chuckled again. “Yeah. I don’t know what happened. I can’t remember any more of the dream.”
“Maybe you did do it and you just don’t remember.”
This time she laughed. “Oh no, I would definitely remember if we had, even if it were a dream.”
Her friend laughed, too. “Come on, let’s order. A person could starve waiting on you. I’ll take you to your car when were done.”
Outside of Alberto’s, Mikhail peered through the window. He smiled when he saw her inside and called to his brother.
I may have just over a half hour at best. Their food has just arrived. Are you ready?
Yes. We can take them back to our beach so we’re not seen, came the reply.
I’ll meet you there with the blood wine, he said and severed the connection.
Mikhail took another look through the window and walked away. She was right; they had come close, too close. He could smell her lust for him. It was the sweetest scent he ever smelled. He had to go to her again, to try to open her eyes to what was meant to be, but this time he would not let time get away from him. He would feed early so he would have more time with Christina. He’d had time to think of a plan and tonight he would put it into action.
He arrived at the beach stopping briefly inside their place to retrieve the blood wine and glasses.
“Ahh, here is my brother now. Right on time,” Jonathan said as Mikhail walked on to the sand.
“Oh, Jonathan, he can’t be your brother. He looks nothing like you,” one of the women said with a giggle.
“Yes, Jonathan. He is like the night when you are like sunshine with your fair hair and skin,” her friend said agreeing with her.
He smiled. “I’m nothing like the sun, I can assure you and I am aware of our physical differences, but we are brothers all the same.”
Mikhail handed them each a glass and it wasn’t long before it took the desired effect. He could smell the lust building in them. Reaching out to the woman on his left, he slipped his hand under her skirt. She responded to his touches and lay back on the blanket. He pulled her panties off in one quick motion and slid his fingers between her already moist lips to rub her pearl of pleasure. She moaned softly. He lifted her shirt high to expose her breasts and took one into his mouth. Mikhail suckled and rubbed knowing she was nearing that blissful feeling. He looked over to Jonathan, who had mounted his conquest like a stallion on a mare and had already begun feeding.
Mikhail released his hold on the female’s nipple to free his hardening member as he continued to rub her to climax. Smelling the mix of lust and pheromones in her blood, it urged him onward. He wanted to be ready to enter her and begin feeding when she came. Her moans told him to move quickly and he did so. Just as he entered her, she released her glorious pearled juices onto his rock-hard erection. Mikhail sank his teeth deep into her neck and drank of her, enjoying the wonderful mix in her blood stream immensely. He stroked her hard and fast taking her orgasm to the next level, pulling, and tugging on her neck until he had his fill, then released his pleasure. When he was done, he turned her over to the care of his brother.
“Return them. I’ll be back late again.”
He went back to the restaurant to see Christina leaving with her friend. They got into her car and drove away. He smiled knowing where she would end up and moved to meet them there.
Chapter Five
“Are you coming tonight? I know we don’t dance, but I feel like dancing,” Christina asked when they pulled up at her car.
Concerned, Marisol looked Christina over. “Can you dance like that two days in a row? Maybe we should wait another day or so.”
She sighed. “I’m ok. I mean, my leg hurts, but it always hurts.”
“Let’s wait another day, ok? Just to let it rest, alright?”
The Dioni Chronicles-Book1-Mikhail's Hunt Page 2
