Moon Kissed

by Michele Hauf

  And here he stood, participating in something so far from his comfort zone. It opened the doors of memory to another vampiress, dressed all in black, looking pale and hungry.

  But Evie had once saved him.

  He knew Bella would never harm him or his kind. He had to look beyond the past. Give her his presence and be strong for her.

  “I’m ready,” she said to Ivan and stepped down the alley.

  Though his arms reached out to pull her back, Severo did not call out. He would simply be here, in case she should need him. A witness. A supporter.

  “I can do this,” he murmured.

  The skirt swung from her hips and about her knees. Long legs in spike heels put Severo in instant lust mode. Those legs should be wrapped about his hips right now.

  Yes, even as he fought the repulsion, he craved the woman he had fallen in love with. She was sashaying so sexily toward another man. A human she would put her hands on and talk to sweetly. She would take a part of the mortal stranger inside her. So deeply. The act of drinking blood was wickedly sexual.

  Severo shifted his shoulder around the corner and pressed his back to the wall so he could not watch. He knew Ivan would step in if Bella needed assistance.

  “She takes to this so easily,” he said hoarsely.

  “The hunger overwhelms the most rigid inhibitions,” Ivan told him. “I know you don’t want to be here, Severo, but you need to watch. It’ll show you what she is.”

  He knew what she was. Severo had seen vampires drink blood from victims time and time again. And he’d seen them murder and maim for no reason other than for the macabre joy of it.

  What of the blood on your hands?

  Those vampires he’d killed tonight had deserved to die.

  “She’s not like those you hate,” Ivan whispered. “She never will be. I’m going closer. She needs guidance.”

  His back against the wall and his eyes closed, Severo listened, trying to hear beyond his own pounding heartbeats.

  Bella cooed to the man, who said things like, “You’re hot” and “My place is close.”

  Jerk, Severo scoffed.

  It was a strange departure from that first night he’d rescued her, while the vampires had searched the warehouse. Her heart had pattered like a bird’s. Then she’d been so frightened. Now she was so eager.

  Releasing his clenched fists, Severo reminded himself that this was part of the deal. She had to come in close contact with humans, unlike him, who put as much distance between them and himself as possible.

  And now he had a vampire in his life. A longtooth.

  The taint of blood carried to him. Beer and fast food littered the human’s scent. Unappetizing. He wondered if Bella liked the taste. It would kill him if she did.

  Turning, he crept around the building. Bella was silhouetted before the man, whose legs buckled. Ivan stood on the other side, his hand to Bella’s shoulder.

  It was like some kind of twisted sex scene. A ménage à trois Severo had no desire to join. And yet…

  When she tilted her head back in pleasure and the moon glinted on her pale neck, he wanted to know that pleasure. Her pleasure. To touch the luscious rise of her breasts. And perhaps to be the one to kick the other man aside.

  As it was, the man slid down the wall and collapsed. Bella began to topple as one of his legs twisted between hers, but Ivan caught her. She tugged free and swung about to walk away.

  As she approached Severo, the drunken grin on her face bemused him. A trace of her forefinger wiped away a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth. She thrust the finger between her red lips and sucked, smiling as she came upon him.

  A strong blood scent forced Severo backward. Yet arousal had widened her pupils. God, she was gorgeous.

  Bella grinned a sloppy smile. “I’d kiss you,” she said, “but you wouldn’t like it.”

  She wandered off, swaying but sure-footed, toward his Mercedes.

  “She’s drunk,” Severo hissed as Ivan joined his side.

  “It’ll be that way the first few times she takes human blood,” the vampire said. “It’s overwhelming in so many ways. She is not used to it and needs to be cautioned not to take too much, or she might accidentally kill.”

  “Christ.”

  “If you love her, you’ll go with her the next few times.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Then she will kill.” Ivan strode off.

  And Severo beat a fist against the brick wall.

  Chapter 22

  F or the first time in ninety years he was prepared to welcome a longtooth into his home.

  Not exactly prepared. How did one prepare for such a thing? Since his hatred against them was so ingrained, he wasn’t sure it could ever be truly siphoned from his blood.

  Severo drove the Mercedes toward home. On the passenger seat, Bella lolled in a blissful state as the blood swoon lingered. Her skirt was hiked high on her thighs—another inch and she’d reveal things only he should see. He liked those long, slender gams. Better, he liked imagining what lay beneath the flirty ruffles.

  And that image gave him hope that it was all going to be all right. He still desired her. Nothing has changed, he repeated silently.

  “Ivan said you should drink once more before going home tonight. That it would sate you for at least a week.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she offered sweetly.

  She was no longer silly drunk, but relaxed and in a strangely heightened state, what he’d normally call arousal.

  “This may be cruel, but I have to ask,” he said. “Do you get off on it?”

  She sighed. So much pleasure in that sigh. “You know vampires swoon from the blood.”

  Yes. He also knew the swoon was orgasmic. And surely she and Ivan must have shared some swoons. His grip tightened on the steering wheel.

  “But get off?” she said. “No. That would imply I get some kind of thrill from a stranger. It merely serves a need. Though I had wished you were standing beside me instead of Ivan.”

  For a moment, he had wished the same thing. Because standing at the end of the alleyway, listening to his lover’s sweet coaxing and the human’s moans, Severo had gotten hard. From the temptation Bella offered with her sighs and touches. From the kiss he’d struggled to label sweet when he knew it was now dangerous.

  “Let’s go down Poplar.” She pointed out the street. “It’s not far from where I used to live. It’s quiet, but we may find a college kid walking around this late.”

  In the quiet neighborhood, they found a new development. Bella approached an acceptable candidate with the same sensual daring she’d exhibited downtown.

  Severo parked and followed, but by the time he gained on them, Bella was holding the man close in front of a green Dumpster in an alleyway. Blood scent filled the air. Both her hands on the rim of the Dumpster, she sucked at his neck. The guy initially stroked his hands over her hips, but quickly his hands dropped to his sides and he let out a long, appreciative moan.

  His jaw tensing, Severo forced himself not to interfere. The guy was giving blood, so he deserved the swoon. And he wouldn’t get far with Bella if he did try to put the moves on her.

  Was this what his life had become? He must accompany his lover each time she sought blood in order to ensure no one touched her overtly?

  Hell, he’d have to get used to it. He couldn’t go along every time. It would kill him. And it wouldn’t be fair to her.

  Bella needed this. And he grew hard as he imagined stroking the hair away from his lover’s face to reveal her blissed-out expression.

  Yet he could not touch her. He didn’t want to disturb her. He didn’t want to touch what he could not approve of.

  Christ, but he breathed as heavily as she did. When the unconscious victim slipped from her and settled onto the ground, Bella remained, leaning against the Dumpster, hands fitted to the rim, her legs spread.

  She smirked and licked her lips. There was no blood. She was surprisingly neat.


  “Ivan taught me the persuasion,” she said. “Makes them forget I was ever here.”

  Looking over her arm at him, she sent him an air kiss.

  “Don’t look at me all judgmental like that,” she said.

  “I’m not judging you, sweet.” It wasn’t worth the wasted thought. Besides, he’d gone beyond that. Her bold and sexy position had made him consider taking her from behind. “I’m admiring you. A gorgeous vixen of the night.”

  “You’re turned on?”

  “Yes.”

  Before she could react, he stepped up close behind her, bumping her, and placed his hands over hers on the Dumpster. He fit his erection against her derriere, pressing, making her know what watching her had done to him. Kissing down the back of her neck, he bit at the thin fabric covering her torso and licked along her shoulder.

  Sliding a hand up her thigh, he swept his fingers across her silken skin and found her panties. The lace, crisp and barely there, gave easily at his tug. She wasn’t wet—which pleased him; the act of taking blood was not so sexual, after all—but with but a few flicks of his fingers, she was there.

  Stroking her and rubbing his erection against her, he brought her to a swift orgasm. Her quiet murmurs entered his ears as music. Her shudders he drew into his body. He hadn’t come, but he didn’t need to. Experiencing her bliss did it for him.

  “I’ll take you home now,” he said, and lifted her into his arms and carried her away.

  A light dusting of snow whitened the brown grass behind the mansion. Bella had headed right for the shower, mumbling something about brushing her teeth.

  He’d done it. Watched his lover take blood from another man.

  And it had turned him on. How sick was that?

  Or was it sick? He’d shared an intimate new part of Bella. Something she would keep private from the world, except for him. He could only love her for allowing him to witness her new ritual.

  And he did love her. That would never change. But right now it felt tenuous. Yes, he was unsure. Would she want to bite him? And how could he refuse her when he knew the one thing vampires required to become close to their mates was sharing blood?

  The notion of being bitten or sharing blood did not appeal to him. The werewolf did enough of that for his taste.

  So she had become the animal he already was, and he was having trouble dealing with it?

  Lifting his head, he sniffed the air through the open patio door in their bedroom. The snow cleaned the fall rot from his senses and his focus immediately found her. She was behind him, sweet with lemon shampoo and minty toothpaste.

  Yet he wasn’t confident he truly wanted to be here.

  Yes, he was.

  Probably.

  “Hell, pull it together, man,” he muttered.

  She smelled like the Bella he remembered. But there was something else. Some undertone he didn’t want to translate into thought. Yet his mind processed the scent and reacted to it before he could argue. His body stiffened, his fingers arching into claws. A defensive tickle ran up his neck.

  Vampire.

  “Severo?”

  Shaking out his hands at his thighs, he cursed his instincts and put on a smile as he turned to her.

  The white silk robe clung to her nipples. Like a bride marching down the aisle for her groom, Bella stepped up to him. Winter’s blossom—with a taint of blood.

  He hated that he could not make this perfect for her. For himself.

  You can. Just put off all doubt. See her for the woman you first fell in love with. Remember you savored her fear?

  He could scent that same fear now. And he hated himself for making her feel that way.

  “You look great, sweet. Two days away and I’d almost forgotten how bright your eyes were. Come here.”

  Yes, he could do this. He wanted to do this. He needed to make the effort of stepping into the usual, with the hope that it would erase his rising doubts for the future.

  Her body fit against his. The scent of lemon in her hair and the silk threads briefly overwhelmed her clean smell. And yet she was no longer clean or human.

  Her chest melded with his. He buried his nose in the crown of her hair. She might be tainted, but she was his mate.

  “I missed you,” she said. “I didn’t know if you’d welcome me into your arms. I know this is hard for you.”

  “Nonsense,” he murmured and stroked her hair down her back.

  The feel of her made his body react as it always did. He hardened and the lust surfaced. Good, then. He hadn’t lost the desire. The quick interlude out in the alley had simply been a reaction to something so intense. This was different. They were alone now. No secrets. No lies.

  “You’re mine, Bella. My mate. Forever. Did you learn what you needed from Ivan?”

  “He was a perfect gentleman and showed me the ropes. I’ve blooded my fangs, as Ivan called it.” She smirked. “I like that. Sounds so decadent.”

  She was different. Not so uptight, easier with him. Accepting of what, he imagined, was an incredible change in her life.

  A stroke of her finger along his beard, accompanied by sad eyes, made him look aside. “It made me feel good that you took me in the alleyway, after watching,” she said.

  “I needed you. It was an instinctual thing.”

  “It felt great. Like it always feels when I’m with you. You controlled me. I belong to you.”

  “As I am yours.”

  “Will you kiss me now?”

  A kiss?

  Why the hell had this been done to him and Bella? They had been so perfect. His future had been designed with her at his side. Even the werewolf loved her.

  All that had changed now. The werewolf would never accept a vampire. Never.

  “I won’t bite,” she whispered, a touch of hope lifting her voice.

  A nudge of her nose along his jaw sweetened the lust, which predominated over the all the emotions he’d rather not deal with right now. Maybe she had the right idea.

  Just let go. Concentrate on the now.

  Severo kissed the corner of her mouth. She tasted like Bella. Soft, salty, clean.

  Things would be fine. This kiss bonded two souls. It drew the two together, wanting and needing and giving.

  They hit the bed stripped of their clothes. Bella couldn’t have dreamed of a better welcome home than this. He had accepted her. The werewolf had welcomed a vampire into his home.

  He’d once said to her that she would always have his heart. And she did still.

  Severo’s hand glided up her back as he pulled her on top of him. She bent to lick his nipple, a small, hard jewel. His satisfied groan heartened her. A familiar tune, yet one she could listen to over and over.

  His fingers massaged her breasts. Her loins tingled, aching for his entrance. He flipped her on the bed so she lay on her stomach. He trailed kisses down her spine as he slipped a finger inside her.

  “So ready,” he growled. “So hot. I’ve missed this, Bella.”

  “Quickly, please,” she cried.

  Gripping the pillow, she spread her knees as he lifted her under her hips and brought the backs of her thighs against his. His favorite position.

  He pushed inside her and she gasped as his length filled her. Fast and frenzied, he worked them both up to a spectacular climax. Bella gasped and reached for the headboard. He drew her up against his chest. She wanted to wrap her arms around him. This position gave her an incredible orgasm, but it always left her aching for face-to-face contact.

  It was the wolf in him that liked to take her this way, and she loved it for that reason. When his body relaxed, he dropped onto the sheets by her side.

  Bella kissed him along his torso, licking the sweaty moisture and reaching to grip his semihard shaft. A lick to his bicep, and she trailed her tongue upward and kissed his neck. Opening her mouth wide, she leaned in—

  “Bloody hell!” Severo shoved her off him and scrambled away. The palm of his hand, held before him to keep her back,
hurt worse than a slap. “No fangs, Bella.”

  “What?” She ran her tongue along her teeth and a sharp canine pricked it. “Oh hell, I didn’t realize. I would have never—”

  He stood. The back of him, naked and muscled, flexed as he gripped his fists.

  “I wasn’t thinking,” Bella offered. “I didn’t feel them come down. I don’t know why—”

  “Because your kind have sex and they want to take blood. And vice versa.” He spun on her. “Didn’t Drake teach you that?”

  “Well, yes, but like I said, he was a gentleman. We didn’t do anything…sexual.”

  Though the swoon had been sexual. She couldn’t deny that. Ivan had explained about the blood and sex desires being intertwined, though at the time, she’d thought it incredible. Every time she had sex, she’d want blood?

  That wouldn’t be good for this relationship.

  “I must need more time to get a handle on things. I’m so sorry, Severo. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

  “Well, you did.” A heavy sigh lifted his chest. “I don’t want your bite.”

  His confession hurt. Deeply. He was denying her. Denying her very nature.

  He approached the bed to sit at the edge. “I mean, I love you, Bella. And I know you can bite me, and nothing untoward will come of it, save an increase in blood craving, but…there is a stigma attached to wearing a vampire’s bite.”

  “You were never bitten, and if you were now, it would mean you’d succumbed to the captivity once again.”

  He winced.

  “I won’t do that to you, lover. I don’t need to bite you. I think. I may need to give Ivan a call.” She rubbed a palm down her leg and shivered. Sex was over. But was the relationship? “Can we make this work?”

  The ferocity of his gaze chilled her. Once she had admired that look, so intense and ever focused only on her. Now it made her scared for what he might never share with her. He put up a good front, but the truth was Severo might never be able to accept her.

  “It’s not what you think,” he said carefully, so gentle. “Bella, I can accept you as you are now. And those fangs, which fit so prettily over your bottom lip? They’re kind of sexy.”