Tall, Dark, and Vampire ditc-1

by Sara Humphreys

  “Olivia?” Panic swamped him when he saw her unmoving, bloody form on the ground.

  Doug went to her side and gently lifted her into his arms. Holding her limp body, horror filled him when he saw the massive gash on her neck. If she had been human, she would have been dead. Her head lolled in the crook of his arm, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

  “Oh my God.” He picked her up and looked around the room, feeling helpless for the first time since this crazy mess started. “It’s okay. I have to get you out of here before more show up.”

  He had some ammo left, but not enough to take on another swarm. She moaned, and he watched as the wound started to close, but it wasn’t happening fast enough, and she was losing too much blood.

  Blood.

  That was it.

  It’s going to be okay, Olivia. He touched her mind with his with an odd familiarity, as though he had been doing it his entire life. Maybe he had. The instant he linked his mind with hers, everything felt like it was going to be okay.

  As he flew through the tunnels carrying her limp body, he wondered if the dreams were more connected to her than he previously thought. He wanted more than answers… he wanted her. There was more to her—more to them. Hell. He glanced at her pale, blood-streaked face, and something inside of him broke as he realized the truth.

  He loved her.

  He loved the woman from his dreams, and no woman he ever met could stand up against that redheaded siren—until Olivia. She was a part of him. This unique, strong, feisty woman was everything he was searching for, but he had no idea what to do about it. Doug found himself in foreign territory in every way possible.

  Unsure of where he was beneath the city, he followed the tracks because he didn’t want to risk bringing her to street level. The sun would rise soon; it was a sense of weakness that lurked along the edge of his senses and grew with each passing minute. Olivia winced, and her fingers curled around the lapel of his leather coat as she nuzzled against his chest and said something under her breath.

  As Doug skidded to a halt, dirt and rocks sprayed from under his boot heels, and he leaned closer so he could hear. She tugged on his jacket, pulling him to her. Her lips brushed against his cheek as she tried to get the words out.

  Sentry safe house. Her voice, faint and weak, wrapped around him like a blanket, surrounding him, comforting him, and assuring him she was still with him. By the abandoned City Hall subway station. Further south. Keep going down the tracks. Looks like an old utility closet.

  “Good girl.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Hang on.”

  Doug shot down the tracks, whipping around curves like a train on the rails, praying they weren’t too far from the station she was talking about. As he rounded a sharp curve to the left, the defunct subway stop came into view, and like a freaking light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, he saw a steel door on the right near the main platform.

  He came to a full stop, short of the faint rays of early morning sunlight that came through the cracks in the ceiling. The art deco design of the arches with faded ceramic tiles looked haunting and beautiful amid the vermin-ridden tunnels. It seemed a shame that this architectural marvel was buried here, hidden from the world.

  The steel door appeared locked and rusted shut, but it was a door to somewhere, and if he had any luck, it would be a place he and Olivia could hunker down for the day. Push the Danger sign on the door. Her voice, weak and thready, flickered in his head.

  Doug threw a prayer to the universe, held onto Olivia with one arm, and did as she said. The door gave way with an ear-shattering screech and swung open, revealing an old utility room with defunct fuses and levers that no longer served any purpose. Doug stepped inside as the door shut tightly behind them.

  He surveyed the small room and marveled at how clearly he could see everything, even though it was black as pitch. Still holding Olivia in one arm, he looked at the filthy floor and grimaced.

  “This place is disgusting.”

  A weak smile played at her lips. Orange lever on the back wall.

  Doug pulled the lever, trying not to jostle her too much, and seconds later the back wall dropped into the floor as lights flickered on, revealing a virtual oasis. Doug whistled as he carried her over the threshold, and the door slid closed behind them.

  The room was approximately thirty feet square with thick beige carpeting and aqua-colored walls, bathed in soft lighting. To the left was an oversized sofa, black coffee table, and a top-of-the-line media center. The right side of the room had an enormous king-size bed and a nightstand. The place looked spic-and-span clean as though the maid service from the Ritz Carton had just been there. Even the bed was made.

  “Now this is more like it.” He kissed the top of her head and carried her to the couch. “This place is nicer than my apartment.”

  He brushed a stray red curl off her forehead, and her brilliant green eyes fluttered open, locking with his. Doug sat down, holding her in his lap. He told himself it was so he could get a closer look at the wound, but that was absolute bullshit. He wanted her close, her body snuggled against his, safe and sound.

  “You need blood, don’t you?” he asked quietly.

  Olivia’s brow furrowed. “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “Now you’re apologizing?” he asked playfully as he shoved the sleeve of his shirt up and exposed his forearm. “After all the shit we’ve been through in the last twenty-four hours, you apologize for needing a little blood? That’s some weak-ass stuff, if you ask me.”

  “Sorry,” she murmured through a faint smile.

  Doug lifted her head with one hand and held his wrist to her mouth. “Go on,” he said gruffly. “Do it.”

  Are you sure? Her glittering eyes flicked to his as her voice whispered along his mind.

  “Bite me, already.” He pressed his wrist against her soft lips and watched with genuine fascination as her fangs unsheathed and sank into his flesh.

  He wasn’t sure what to expect. Pain, maybe? A pinch, like getting your finger pricked at the doctor? Doug gasped as her fangs pierced his skin because the last sensation he expected was pleasure.

  Warmth washed through his body as a rich wave of pleasure rippled over him and made his dick as hard as a rock. This was wrong. Majorly fucked up.

  Wrong or not—he was harder and hotter than he’d ever been in his life. Doug groaned and prayed for restraint. His fingers curled into a fist, tangling in her silky, red curls as she drank from him. All he could think about doing was stripping her naked and plunging deep inside of her.

  Erotic images flashed through his mind. Memories of the dreams he had over the years and her voice, whispering wickedly in his ear as she drove him to the brink of orgasm. He saw her naked and writhing beneath him in ecstasy as she ran her fingernails down his back. All of these memories came roaring back in living color, tormenting him.

  Olivia’s body shuddered against his as she held his arm with both hands, her lips pressed against his skin erotically, and her tongue flicking back and forth on the sensitive flesh.

  She moaned as she broke her hold on him and licked the wound closed. Doug barely noticed. He felt every spot where her body touched his, and when she adjusted her position the curve of her ass pressed enticingly against his cock, sending another rush of carnal pleasure rippling over his skin. The images in his mind faded, but the physical response was still in full force.

  Doug opened his eyes to find her staring up at him through heavily lidded eyes. The wound on her neck had completely healed. A smile curved her lips, and she pressed her hand against his cheek, brushing her thumb along his hypersensitive skin.

  “Thank you,” she breathed. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Doug couldn’t speak. His body was wound tighter than a drum, and the woman draped over him held him captive in every possible way. His heated gaze wandered up her throat and lingered on her full, ruby-red lips. Her mouth parted, and he glimpsed the sharp points of her fangs. He held her tighter
, afraid she might slip away.

  “Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asked gruffly as his hand rested on her thigh. Doug pulled her closer and brushed his fingers along the deliciously sexy curve of her ass. “You ruined me.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her brow furrowed, and she dropped her hand to his chest, trying to extricate herself from his grasp. “I know you hate me for turning you. Your body’s reaction is because of the feeding, nothing more.”

  “That’s horseshit.” He held her in his iron-clad grip, and her confused eyes latched onto his. “My body, and the rest of me, is reacting to you, Olivia, and has been from the first time I dreamt of you all those years ago. When I saw you that night at the club, it was like—like coming home. Something that I’d been chasing my entire life was there in front of me, but like the typical, stubborn asshole I am, I refused to believe it. You are in my head, wrapped around my heart, and buried under my skin.”

  He grasped her biceps and pulled her into an upright position in his lap, tugging her close, so that her face was only inches from his. Her scent filled his head and intoxicated him, but now she was looking at him as though he had completely lost his mind.

  “You ruined me for any other woman, did you know that?” He brushed his lips along her cheek and ran his hand along the curve of her ass as it pressed against his erection erotically. “None of them could even live up to the idea of you, to the redheaded siren who haunted my sleep with promises of perfection. All my life, I thought I couldn’t commit to anyone because of my fucked up childhood or some bullshit notion about fear of commitment. It was all because of you, wasn’t it?”

  He pulled back and lifted her chin with the tip of his finger, forcing those pools of green to look at him.

  “You had my heart before I was even born.”

  Doug brushed his thumb over her lower lip. He watched as she licked the tip of his thumb and took it into the moist cavern of her mouth and suckled. All he could do was picture that gorgeous mouth wrapped around other parts of his anatomy.

  Her eyes snapped open and captured his as her tongue wound slow, erotic circles around the tip of his thumb. Pulling one leg across his lap, she straddled him, pressing herself harder against his erection as she linked her arms around his neck, and he covered her mouth with his.

  Doug buried both hands in her hair, angling her head, and devoured her with equal intensity. He licked and suckled at her plump lips, bathed his tongue with hers, and moaned as she ran her fingers along the back of his neck.

  In a tangle of limbs, he reached between them and pulled down the zipper of her catsuit, baring her gorgeous white breasts. Olivia shrugged off her coat, tossing it to the floor and arching back, as she offered herself. Doug took one mound in his hand and lapped at the hardened, pink nipple as she held him to her, urging him on.

  “I want to lick every inch of you and taste every curve,” he murmured against the swell of her breast. Doug flicked the rosy peak with his tongue as he peered at her wickedly. “But you’re wearing far too many clothes.”

  In a flash, still holding her in his arms and with her legs wrapped around his waist, he leaped to his feet. Olivia clung to him as he walked her to the wall and pinned her there. A smile played at her lips as she dropped her legs from his waist and stood. She licked his lower lip as her hands pressed against his chest and pushed him away.

  Before he could protest, she unhooked the ammo belt and let it drop to the floor as she peeled the skintight catsuit from her torso and bared herself to the waist. He grinned and moved forward to take her in his arms, but she leaned back against the wall and kicked up her booted foot, placing it on his chest, keeping him at bay. The spiked heel dug into his chest and probably should have hurt. It only made him want her more.

  “How about a little help?” Olivia whispered wickedly with a nod toward her tall boot.

  Doug’s lips lifted as he held her gaze. He complied with her request and slowly unzipped the knee-high leather boot. He tossed it aside and ran his hands along her calf and down to her perfectly manicured toes. Olivia put both her hands above her head as she switched feet and pressed the heel of her other boot into his chest. Doug made quick work of removing it and tossing it onto the couch with the other.

  “You’re not quite finished,” she rasped as she clasped her hands above her head.

  Olivia arched her back, making her pert breasts jut temptingly toward him. Doug’s gaze wandered over her. He had never seen anyone more beautiful or seductive, and although he dreamed of her forever, he hadn’t really seen her until now. While she seemed like a seductive temptress, she was actually baring herself and putting herself in a position of vulnerability.

  Eyes on hers, Doug shucked his coat and tossed it absently to the side as he inched closer bit by bit, until his leather-clad thighs brushed hers. He hooked his thumbs into the catsuit around her waist and pulled.

  As he dragged it over the curve of her hips, he trailed kisses between her breasts and lapped at one nipple and then the other. Olivia’s body quivered as his tongue ran down the center of her belly, and his fingers rasped over the lush skin on her ass as he bared her to him. He breathed in her musky scent and kissed the silky smooth skin along the inside of her thigh as he stripped her bare.

  Doug dropped the garment to the floor as he rose to his feet and brushed his fingers along the sides of her legs, over her hip, and finally wrapped both hands around her narrow waist. Olivia’s eyes, glazed with lust, stared at him with desire as his hand found its way to the nest of curls, and his fingers slid inside. She gasped and clutched his shoulders as he massaged her clit with his thumb and explored. Her eyes widened as the orgasm built inside, and his dick throbbed with every sweet sigh and sound of pleasure she made.

  Fangs burst in his mouth, and a growl rumbled in his chest. Instead of being horrified, it urged him on. He massaged her bare breast in one hand as he worked the tiny bundle of nerves with the other.

  “Yes.” She whispered his name, and her hands dropped to the fly of his pants, impatiently releasing him. “I want to touch you.”

  When her long fingers wrapped around the length of him, he slammed one fist against the wall, struggling to stop from coming. She ran her hand up and down the length of him, matching his tempo as she ran her thumb over the head and back down again.

  Just when Doug thought he was reaching the brink, Olivia released him from her grasp and smiled. Hands on his shoulders, she pushed him toward the sofa and urged him to sit. Fangs bared, she ran the tip of her tongue along her lips and straddled him.

  Clinging to him, she held herself above the tip of his cock, lingering there for one exquisite minute before finally impaling herself on his shaft. Pleasure slammed into him as she sheathed him with her tight body. Doug cried out, gripped her hips, and suckled her breast as she rode him, fucking him fast and hard.

  She tensed around him, milking him, as the orgasm crested, and her fangs emerged just before she sank them into his shoulder. Doug touched her thoughts with his. Olivia. Carnal pleasure scorched his body in a flash of lightning as he joined her in mind and body—tumbling, free-falling over the edge and into oblivion.

  As he drove into her with one last thrust and the exquisite orgasm rocked him to the core, he could think of nothing but tasting her. Through the brilliant, blinding haze of pleasure, only one thought raced through his mind.

  Blood.

  On a curse, with her nude body curled around him, Doug bared his fangs and drove them into the tender flesh of her breast. Her warm, rich blood coated his throat, and lights burst behind his eyes. It felt as though his heart came roaring to life and beat in his chest once again. He didn’t know how or why—he once again had a beating heart. As her sweet, cinnamon flavor bathed his tongue, all reason dissolved, and the world he knew exploded.

  Chapter 13

  Breathless and frightened, Olivia ran through the woods with her hand securely linked in Douglas’s. They snuck away from the village and made love for th
e first time under cover of the moonlit forest, but someone had found them. In a panic, the two straightened their clothes and began to make their way back to the village quietly, but the distinct sound of footsteps behind them hurried them along.

  “Someone is following us,” Douglas whispered. He pulled her closer in the shelter of his tall, strong body, which only moments ago had been pressed deliciously on top of hers. He leaned against a large oak tree and looked around frantically. “I can feel their eyes on us.”

  Suddenly, an unfamiliar male voice wafted through the air. “You can run, but you can’t hide.”

  Olivia snuggled closer to her lover and gripped his overcoat in her shaking hands. “We must go.” Fear crawled up her back as the forest seemed to come alive. “I’m frightened.”

  “Come.” He gave her a reassuring smile as he pulled her along. “I can see light from the lanterns outside the meeting house. We’re almost there.”

  The bitter wind blew harder, stinging her face and eyes as she ran blindly. It was punishment. She knew it. Punishment for being a sinner and fornicating with Douglas before their marriage, and if her parents found out, they would be horribly ashamed. She knew the risk, they both did, and yet the fear of being caught didn’t stop them. All that mattered was being together.

  One big gust of wind came, blowing her bonnet off, allowing her unruly red hair to fly around her as the crisp fall wind blew harder. Olivia held her heavy skirts in one hand while she struggled to traverse the rocky, stick-strewn path back to town. Her boots, the ones with the tiny heel, the ones she begged her mother for, were not helping her cause.

  She wiped the tears from her eyes just as something swooped down from the trees and blocked their path. The Shadow Man loomed over them like the angel of death, and though most of his face was hidden, she saw his fanged grin. Olivia opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as Douglas protectively pulled her behind him.