A Taste For Passion

by Patrice Michelle

  Her heart hammered in her chest, her breasts tingled, wanting his touch. "Yes," she whispered against his mouth just before she kissed him.

  While they shared a kiss, the music came rushing back, the crush of people on the dance floor continued to swivel to the thumping music, oblivious to them.

  Rana unlocked her legs from Lucian's waist and slid to the floor, heat rising to her cheeks at her uninhibited and very public behavior. She took a step back. What was it about this man that brought out the wild woman in her?

  Lucian pulled her against him once more and planted a hard, branding kiss on her lips. He lifted his head and met her gaze, his own intense and searching. "Don't pull away from me, Rana. I couldn't bear it. Will you give me five minutes to speak with a friend before we leave?"

  She nodded mutely and let him lead her away from the dance floor. A man with light brown hair approached them, his expression serious. "Lucian, we need to talk."

  Lucian nodded curtly and introduced them. "Ian Mordoor, this is Rana Sterling."

  The man's eyebrows lifted and he met Lucian's gaze before he shook her hand.

  "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Sterling."

  Rana shook his hand, enthralled by his charming smile and golden eyes.

  Lucian turned to her. "Excuse me for just a few minutes." He indicated a barstool. "Have a drink if you like. I'll be right back."

  Lucian and Ian walked away, talking earnestly. Now that Rana was alone, she had more time to think about her actions on the dance floor. Her cheeks flooded with renewed heat. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind. She jumped off the stool and walked toward the club's entrance. I want this man more than anything. Now why does that thought scare the hell out of me?

  Chapter Six

  "Kraid had help."

  Lucian narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

  Ian clenched his jaw. "I found out that Kraid wasn't alone when he killed the vampire hunter. Drace was there. He helped torture the man before they killed him."

  Lucian turned to face his friend. "Do I want to know how you came about this information?"

  Ian grinned. "Let's just say you have two less Bruens to worry about and leave it at that shall we?" His smiled faded and his eyes turned cold. "I'll take care of Kraid and Drace as well."

  "No. Kraid is mine. He has to face the council."

  Ian looked shocked. "But he might go rogue, disappear on us."

  Lucian shook his head. "No, he won't. He thinks he did us a favor by killing the vampire hunter. The bastard's too arrogant to skulk away. He likes being the leader. Hell, he wants to be Vité."

  "Isn't that a scary thought," Ian returned in a half-joking manner.

  Lucian gave his friend a searching look. "There are those who will support his views on humans."

  Ian laughed and clapped him on the back. "Yes, I'm aware the vote for Vité must be unanimous, but I know if anyone can convince the other leaders of the necessity for balance, it will be you."

  Lucian nodded. "Thanks for getting the information. It should help with his dismissal as the Bruen leader."

  * * * * *

  Lucian walked back over to the bar where he'd left Rana. Her stool was empty. His heart jerked in his chest, fear gripping him. Where'd she go?

  Lucian, I'm not real happy with you right now. Kraid's voice entered his head. He tsked continuing, Banning me from the club. What were you thinking? I so enjoyed the willing donors I found there."

  For Kraid to speak in his mind, the conniving bastard had to be close.

  Looks like you'll have to work for your food, Lucian replied as he headed for the door. Kraid had to be right outside.

  Well, I guess I'll have to settle for what's right before me. He made a sniffing sound. Mmmm, you smell good. Her blood smells sweet and pure.

  Lucian reached for the door handle, anger rising that Kraid would use someone so. He froze with Kraid's next words. Just like the blood I smelled on you the other night.

  No! He can't have Rana. His heart dropped to his stomach, nausea a quick second behind.

  In a flash, Lucian stood outside. Dwayne lay sprawled out on the ground, his head at a funny angle, his throat ripped out, while blood flowed from the gapping wound. Apparently, Kraid was being picky about his dinner tonight. He looked up and saw a group of college age men approaching the club. Thankful the hedge of bushes partially hid Dwayne's body, Lucian compelled the group to leave, making sure to include any others who might be near. He didn't need to deal with the police right now. He'd take care of Dwayne's funeral arrangements himself. Once the young men turned back toward their car, he quickly moved to the side of the building.

  Kraid held Rana in front of him like a shield. "Nice of you to join us," he drawled as his hand fisted in her hair. He had her neck bent back to receive his bite, his teeth an inch from her throat.

  "Lucian!" she screamed in terror, trying her best to pull away, but stiffening when Kraid's teeth hovered closer to her neck.

  Lucian kept his expression calm while he spoke in her mind. Rana, please be calm. I won't let Kraid harm you. Trust me.

  She whimpered. He could tell his speaking in her mind was freaking her out, too, but he needed her help to save her.

  "I told you what would happen to you if you so much as thought about hurting my mate," he said in a deadly tone.

  Kraid's laugh sent a chill down his spine. It was a crazed man's laugh, as if he were hyped-up on drugs. Nothing was worse than a vampire out of his mind. Not one remorseful thought would enter his thoughts as he went on a killing rampage.

  Kraid's head snapped up, his eyes narrowed to glittering slits. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you, Lucian?"

  Rana, when I say 'now', I want you to jerk free of Kraid's grasp and move away as quickly as possible. Blink if you understand me. He thanked his lucky stars when she blinked.

  "You're hiding behind a woman, aren't you? he said, showing his fangs, letting a look of utter disgust reflect in his eyes.

  Rana's gasp of shock permeated his bloodlust filled brain, sinking his heart. Now she knew the truth.

  Kraid bared his fangs and hissed at him.

  Now, he said in her head.

  Rana stomped on Kraid's foot with her high-heeled shoe and ripped away from his grasp.

  Lucian cleared the ten feet distance in a single leap, pouncing on Kraid before the vamp knew what hit him, sending them both to the ground. They hissed at one another, rolling on the pavement. He clasped Kraid's throat tight between his fingers, cinching them closed around it.

  Kraid clawed at him, shredding the skin on his shoulders. Lucian slammed his fist into Kraid's chest, loosening the vamp's grip on his arms.

  When Kraid's hand made it to his throat, Lucian decided he had played long enough. He dug his hand into the flesh and muscle of Kraid's chest, seeking his heart when the sound of screeching tires, followed by a dull thud, entered his consciousness.

  Rana!

  He looked up in time to see her body sailing through the air, hit by an oncoming car as she'd tried to run across the street. Guilt assailed him as he rushed to her, his fight with Kraid forgotten. She wouldn't have been running if it weren't for him and his vampire world.

  He couldn't get to her side fast enough. As he crouched over her, he heard Kraid's gleeful voice in his head as he flew away. Isn't it funny how life seems to repeat itself? First Elizabeth and now Rana.

  Lucian touched her pulse and finding none, roared his anguish at the sky.

  * * * * *

  Rana stood there staring at Lucian while he leaned over her body. The man who'd hit her had jumped out of his yellow cab and was babbling incoherently to Lucian. "I hit her. Oh, God. She just ran out in front of me. What have I done?"

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. He's a vampire. He's a vampire. The words reverberated in her head. She'd finally found some happiness in her life and Lucian turns out to be a blood-sucking vampire. Life just wasn't fair.

  A thin, older man
walked up and stood beside her. He observed Lucian speaking in calm tones to cab driver who'd hit her.

  She looked at the man beside her and stammered as she pointed to Lucian, "He..he's a vampire. I…I just saw him leap ten feet in the air. He's got fa…fangs and red eyes. And…and oh, God, I guess that means he drinks people's blood."

  The man put a hand on her shoulder and said in a calm voice, "I know, Rana. Calm yourself."

  Her fears suddenly disappeared. Her mind registered the fact that Lucian was a vampire from a logical perspective instead of an emotional one. She stared at the old man. He didn't look like an angel in his blue jeans, red sweater and a baseball cap over a thatch of silver hair. But how else could she explain the feeling of calmness that passed over her at his slight touch and unhurried command?

  Lucian reached over and felt her pulse. He wouldn't find one. She realized with a wry smile, she was dead. Now that she knew the truth, her blossoming relationship with Lucian was over. Which is probably a good thing because I think he and I would've had two entirely different views on the expression, 'dinner for two'. I'm fine with being an appetizer, but not the main course. A morbid, but happy thought struck her. Her death meant she'd be able to see Jack again.

  The man next to her looked at her and shook his head. "You're too eager to die, Rana. You must go back." He spoke as if he'd read her mind.

  "No. I died." She gasped at his words. The idea of seeing Jack again held great appeal right about now.

  He smiled and his wrinkled face became even more creased. "Technically, you're not dead. You're in limbo. You must go back, Rana. Lucian needs your help."

  She sputtered as anger rose within her. "But…but you're an angel. Why would you want me to help him?" She gestured toward Lucian, refusing to acknowledge the sadness in his face as he looked down at her. "He's evil."

  He gave her a patient look. "I'm not an angel. I'm a…Gatekeeper...of sorts. Do you know what the name Lucian means?"

  She shook her head.

  "It means 'Man of Light'."

  At her confused expression, he sighed and explained, "Even the darker side has varying degrees of evil, Rana. Lucian is the light in the darkness that is his race. And that's what vampires are—a race of people called Kendrians. Lucian's leadership is needed, but he resists. You need to help him find his way and accept the position of Vité at the vampires' council meeting in two days time."

  When she started to interrupt, he held up his hand and continued, his blue eyes meeting hers. "But in order to accomplish this task, you must remain pure until he takes the oath of leadership."

  She'd been watching Lucian stroke her face as the man explained her task. At The Gatekeepers last words, she shifted her gaze back to him. "Pure?"

  He nodded. "Yes. You mustn't let Lucian make you a vampire."

  She laughed, rubbing her neck to keep away imagined neck bites. "No problem there, Mr. Gatekeeper. I like the sun too much and the idea of drinking blood makes me nauseous. Plus, who wants to live forever?"

  His chest rumbled with his suppressed laughter. "Vampires do eventually die. They just age very slowly, over centuries."

  She looked at him. "If I do this? If I help Lucian, then I'll die?"

  The man nodded. "I can't change what has happened, Rana. But Lucian needs someone to help him right now."

  She set her lips in a firm line. "Okay, I'll do it." Putting her hand out, she asked, "But could you remove this ring before I go back. The scent it emanates seems to…um…attract him quite a bit." Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

  The old man smiled, shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. You have to go back as you came. I can't interfere."

  "You already have," she snapped. "You're sending me back." Even though she was angry, her heart ached when her gaze landed on Lucian bending over her, rocking her body in his arms, holding her close.

  "Such vehemence from someone who wanted to die two seconds ago." The old man chuckled.

  She flicked her gaze back to him. "Hey, you'd be a bit ornery too if you'd just discovered vampires exist, been hit by a car and killed, only to find out you can't die yet, because you have to go help a reluctant vampire become the leader of his people all the while keeping those fangs at bay. Yeah, I'm seeing life through rose-colored glasses, no doubt about it."

  Before he sent her back into her body, The Gatekeeper told her, "I'll heal your wounds, since you can't very well help Lucian if your pelvis is crushed."He grinned at her shocked expression before he continued, "How about we skip the listing of your internal organ injuries."

  * * * * *

  Rana sucked air into her lungs in one long gasp. Lucian looked down at her, his expression shocked. "Rana?" He touched her cheek and then slid his hands over her arms and legs as if looking to see if anything was broken. "It's a miracle," he whispered, returning his gaze to her face.

  Rana jerked from his grasp, scrambling away from him like a crab, wincing in the process. Man, she was going to be one big walking bruise. Hey, Mr. Gatekeeper, I thought you'd heal all my wounds. I hurt like hell! She looked at her burning leg where the asphalt had torn her pantsuit. A streak of road rash dotted her thigh. Moving her hand to touch it, she noticed a gash on her palm as well. Okay, so maybe the hell comment wasn't the best choice of words.

  "You're hurt." Lucian reached for her again, but she shrunk away, her eyes wary.

  The wounded look in his eyes went right to the pit of her stomach, but she needed to be strong. He'd led her to believe he was something he wasn't—a normal human being.

  As if he'd read her thoughts, Lucian spoke softly, "Rana, I'm still the same man."

  She slowly stood up on shaky legs. "No, you're a vampire. A little something you forgot to mention to me." Angry with herself for even caring one smidgen that she was hurting him, she looked around and noticed they were alone on the road.

  Spreading her arms wide, she said with sarcasm, "Well, isn't that just lovely, the guy who hit me just took off and there are no witnesses to boot."

  "I told him to go home."

  She looked at him in surprise. "What? And he just listened to you?" she asked, taken aback. Then it hit her—scenes from all those old vampire movies ran through her head. "You compelled him to leave, didn't you?"

  Lucian nodded, regarding her with watchful eyes, gauging her reaction.

  She started to ask, but she stopped herself, thinking, What's the point? Technically, other than a few bruises, she was fine. After rubbing the dirt off her torn pants suit, she put her foot back in the shoe she'd lost while flying through the air and turned to limp back to the nightclub, intending to call a cab.

  "Rana, I want you to come home with me where you'll be safe," Lucian called from behind her.

  Rana stopped and turned back to him, laughing. It was either that or breakdown in hysterics. "Safe from whom? Kraid?"

  She walked right up to him, meeting his gaze head on. "What about you, Lucian? When you get really hungry, are you going to take my blood, too?"

  The insulted look in Lucian's eyes, before he masked it with a blank stare, made her regret her harsh words. She waved her hand wearily and said, "I'm sorry. Being hit by a car has a tendency to make me a little crabby. Can you just take me home?"

  He pressed his lips together in a firm line and nodded as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He called Ian and asked him to take care of Dwayne.

  Great, that gorgeous Ian guy was a bloodsucker, too? Rana shook her head as she followed him to his car.

  * * * * *

  Lucian walked Rana to the door, expecting her to slam it in his face. She said over her shoulder as she walked across the threshold, "Come in and take off your shirt."

  He wasn't sure he understood where she was going with her request. She seemed angry, not amorous. He stood outside her door, wary, studying her.

  "Come on." She waved him in as she walked down the hall.

  Lucian pulled off his shirt, grimacing at the gouges on his shoulders. He followed h
er into the bathroom.

  She pointed to the closed commode. "Sit."

  He lifted an eyebrow at her imperious tone but complied without comment.

  Rana pulled down alcohol and cotton balls from the cabinet above the sink. He grasped her wrist when she moved to apply the cleanser to his wounds. "I'll heal just fine, Rana."

  She met his gaze, her own fearful at his touch. He realized her tough act and sarcastic comments were bravado. She was terrified of him. Sarcasm and anger he could deal with, but this…this fear from the woman he loved, it stripped him bare.

  He rubbed his thumb over her wrist, holding her gaze. "It's me, Rana, Lucian, remember?"

  Her pulse beat faster underneath his finger and she closed her eyes. Was it from fear? With all his vast powers, the one he didn't possess—the ability to read minds—he'd kill for right now just to know what she was thinking.

  Rana's eyes flew open. She jerked her hand from his grasp and put the alcohol away. When she turned back, she refused to look at him again. "You can go now."

  "Rana."

  She closed her eyes once more and said, "Just go, Lucian."

  He set his jaw as he stood. "I'll leave your home as you requested, but I won't leave you unprotected."

  Lucian pulled on his shirt and walked out.

  * * * * *

  As soon as she closed the door behind him, Rana leaned against it and sank down to the floor, tears flooding her face. She cried until her head hurt.

  Wiping away her tears, she lifted her head, sniffling. She'd begun to really care for Lucian. For that matter, if Kraid hadn't interfered, she'd have already slept with the man. She sighed. I guess I should be thankful for 'evil-guided' favors.