by Kyla Riley
“Good evening,” he drawled out with dramatic flair, reminding her of Dracula from the old movies on television. He cracked a lop-sided smile and handed her a small box. It was wrapped with pink paper and a large bow atop of it.
“What’s this?”
“Just a little something,” Niall replied softly, his eyes raking over her face. “I want you to enjoy yourself and hope you don’t itch all night.” Holly tore off the paper and saw the box of Benadryl.
“I think I need to buy stock in the company,” she teased shyly, seeing the earnest look in his eyes. “I actually started my allergy shots back up and I’m still on a steroid pack right now, so I might be okay for you to kiss me goodnight without sneezing.”
“What about me kissing you goodnight and good morning?” he asked huskily, taking a step towards her. Holly stood her ground even though her legs felt like Jell-O. She looked him straight in the eye, undaunted. She could smell his cologne and felt almost a static between them that made her nerve endings tingle with attraction.
“We’ll have to see, won’t we? Tonight’s date is on my terms and I have some things I want to talk about,” she began. His nostrils flared as his eyes heated; she saw him take a deep breath and knew she was playing with fire. Leaning forward towards him, she whispered softly, her lips almost touching his.
“First question, I want to see your teeth... so come inside and take a seat.” Holly saw Niall start in surprise as he was in the process of leaning towards her to span the slight distance between them. She knew he wanted to kiss her and it was cruel of her to toy with him. The intense attraction was incredible, making her heart beat faster and faster. Stepping back, she held open the office door and gestured for him to come into the office. Holly didn’t say a word, but did wonder if he was watching her as she moved. She was watching him for subtle signs and knew he probably was as well.
Guiding him into the first examination room, she pointed at the chair silently. Niall obediently took a seat and Holly leaned it back. There was something very sensual about him being on his back, vulnerable to her. She smiled to herself thinking about a puppy wanting its belly rubbed. This was no puppy and if she rubbed his belly…sparks would fly!
“Open, please.” Holly peered in his mouth and frowned. Nothing was happening. “Can you make your tooth come out and play for a few? I’d like to see if your teeth look just like Conn’s?”
“Did he bite you?” he growled possessively, his eyes flashing with intensity.
“Down boy,” Holly muttered, backing away from him quickly. “I was cleaning his teeth today and one incisor dropped down. He didn’t bite me and if he would have, he would have regretted it.”
“In more ways than one,” Niall said under his breath and lay back in the chair once again. “I can only seem to get mine to descend if I taste blood or if I’m turned on.”
“What? Conn wasn’t, was he?”
“He had better not have been and he better not have bit you!”
“Why? Would you be jealous?”
“Hell yes- no one bites my woman but…” Niall got silent quickly.
“No one but you?” She finished his sentence in a flat tone, her eyebrow raised ironically. “Now if you are done asserting your claim for the moment, lay back again. I know it’s stupid and nerdy but I’m really fascinated about how your teeth work.” Opening his mouth again, Holly quickly jabbed her pointer finger with one of the instruments on the tray drawing a tiny droplet of blood. “Anything?”
“It has to touch my tooth, Holly.”
“Oh,” she rubbed her fingertip on the enamel and saw both incisors descend as he gave a little gasp of pleasure. “Seriously? That felt good putting blood on your tooth? Freaky,” she chuckled and grabbed a mirror, leaning in for a better look. Sure enough, the teeth looked nearly the same, but his had a slight aggressive curl to the shape of the tooth.
“Can I get an imprint?”
“What? No?” he blurted out, looking at her curiously. “Why?”
“This has my mind all in a tizzy right now. I want to look at them and maybe make a mold for science?”
“Absolutely not,” he stammered and she smiled softly as she saw he was actually blushing. “I mean, I like that you are fascinated with my teeth and all – but there is more to me than just that.”
“I know there is, but we have to start somewhere…right? How did you get those? Do you turn into a wolf at the drop of a hat or only on a full moon? If I am allergic to you, what bothers you? Garlic? Silver?
“How about we talk over dinner and then if you want to peek at my teeth again- you can,” he offered. “I may be a vampire but I do love a good steak and I’m a bit hungry.” He wagged his eyebrows at her enticingly, indicating she could be the meal and Holly felt her face pale. “I’m teasing you, Holly.”
“Oh, I guess I didn’t know.”
“I’m a normal guy with regular wants and needs. Right now, I need a glass of wine, dinner, and a beautiful companion for a few hours. Does that sound okay with you?”
“Yes, let me get my purse.” Holly slipped out of the room for a moment and practically ran back to her office. Her heart was pounding at the thought of being Niall’s dinner. He meant it innocently and was teasing her, but her mind went instantly to the gutter.
“Holly?”
“I’m ready,” she blurted out and prayed that he didn’t have a magical skill like mind control or telepathy like in the movies. Smoothing her shirt and slacks, she laid her hand on her stomach nervously. Perhaps a glass of wine and something to eat would soothe her anxiety.
They drove to a steakhouse on the other side of town and Holly interrogated him the entire drive over. It was nice that they were alone in the car and didn’t need to worry about being interrupted when she listened to him tell her about his past. Her eyes actually teared up as she listened to him tell about the horrors of that day long ago.
She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be struck down by his new stepmother who practiced witchcraft. He said it was painful and didn’t know what all was involved with changing someone into a vampire, but Niall didn’t stop talking as he relived that nightmarish day.
He and his brother tried to protect the younger ones but were struck down a second time. As the others screamed in pain, writhing… Niall had shifted for the first time. He described it as a hot tearing sensation by a rush of instinct and power. He felt lost inside, like watching a movie through a window. Conn would fade away for days on end and return with a horrific hunger that created havoc and slaughter.
“He didn’t seem like the type to want to hurt anyone,” she whispered, shocked, as she thought about the laughing man with the bright eyes. He’d been so kind once he realized that she wasn’t interested in him.
“The stories of Jack the Ripper? That was Conn reappearing after being starved for a week. That was one of the few times that we were together over the centuries, risking the chance of being weakened to the point of death. I had to be there for my brother as he had to learn to live with the anguish of what he’d done in his hunger. I don’t think I will ever forget his tears.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, Niall.”
“Don’t be,” he said simply. “We have all come to realize that the world hates and fears what we are. Because of the curse, none of us have been close until modern electronics brought us together again. It was hard enough being scattered to the wind, but it’s just as hard seeing family and knowing you can never hug them again without fear of losing your immortality.”
“And you are sure that you would be weakened?”
“Positive,” he nodded. “We all had doubts and I ended up getting stabbed by a beggar in the streets of London back in 1188. I still have the scar to prove it.”
“Seriously?”
“Hurt like a bugger too. It was infected and I thought it would never heal – and it wouldn’t until I made Conn leave my side. He was trying to nurse me through it and it was only getting worse. He left,
put some distance between us and I fed on a…” Niall got quiet and glanced at her pointedly. “I fed, period. Next thing I knew I was better and alone again. Now, shall we head inside?”
“Oh!” Holly blurted out in surprise. “I didn’t realize we’d arrived. Yes, let’s get a table.”
“Time flies when you are having fun,” he reminded her.
“I guess you could say that,” she said with a soft laugh. Niall was a perfect gentleman during dinner. They shared a bottle of wine that he asked the waiter to leave on the table for them, refilling their glasses easily as they ate and talked. It was so easy to talk with him and he was so engaging. She felt so relaxed and was enjoying herself so much, that she didn’t even realize she was touching his leg with her foot until he suddenly froze.
“Oh, sorry!”
“It’s okay, it’s just… well, I like it.”
“I didn’t realize I’d kicked off my shoes under the table,” she said softly, embarrassed, and covered her mouth to smother a laugh. “The wine must be getting to me.”
“It might be the company too,” he suggested with a tender smile. “I’m glad we did this. I am having a fantastic time.”
“Me too.”
“I’m glad.” They finished their food and decided to head back to her office so she could indulge in her curiosity. Holly had to admit she was fascinated with the whole thing. Vampire with those teeth and then part wolf? When she asked him about changing into a dog, he blushed and said he hardly ever made a full change since it was so painful for him. It was more like he got really hairy just about everywhere. His eyes sparkled with intimacy as her eyes had dropped immediately to his lap in the car and she burst out laughing. Wine or not, she wanted to know as much as possible about the man.
Jingling the keys in the lock, she opened the office and they walked inside. Holly locked the door and turned around to see that Niall was gone. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m a good patient,” he chuckled from one of the back rooms. Walking down the dim hallway, her breath caught at the intimacy of being there in the office alone in the dark. The switch was at the end of the hallway and she’d already passed it. Seeing the fluorescent light flicker on in a room, she smiled. So that is where he was! she thought playfully.
Niall was already in the chair and in the process of laying it backwards as he sat awkwardly, holding the pedal down with his foot. “Just don’t lean me back too far, I’m stuffed,” he said with a grin and patted his stomach.
“Then I am safe from you using me like a snack?”
“Sure, we’ll say that,” he teased lightly and opened his mouth. Holly plopped down on the stool and spun it around playfully before sitting still. She grabbed a mirror and leaned over him, peering in his mouth. Without warning, his fangs began to descend and she practically cooed in delight and stopped.
“There’s no blood,” she blurted out, looking at Niall as she realized it wasn’t the blood causing them to descend. It was her. He’d said blood or desire would cause them to make ready for feeding. “Are you…” she whispered, watching him.
“Do you even have to ask? You’re here and close to me,” he admitted softly. “Fascinating thing, did you know when a wolf meets his mate, the female alpha initiates the mating?”
“I don’t think we are anywhere close to being mates, or boyfriend and girlfriend – are we?” Holly asked. “I mean, shouldn’t you mate with another of your kind? I’m normal.”
“You are amazing and I can’t explain how attracted I am to you. From the very first time I met you, something in me responded.”
“I can’t be your… mate,” she said quietly. Her eyes held his as he slowly leaned up on one arm from where he was laying. “I’m too… too…” she breathed, and then suddenly leaned forward to kiss him. She could feel his teeth and expected to cut herself or poke her lip. Instead, she found herself opening up to him and slowly meeting his tongue in a heated kiss.
When it came to Niall, the urge was far more overwhelming. She didn’t know who started first, but suddenly buttons were popping off and clothing was flying everywhere. Holly was standing there in her bra and slacks as he lay back in the chair, slowly unzipping her pants. She pushed the pedal to sit him upwards. His words echoed in her mind. The female alpha initiates the mating- is that what she was doing? Or just indulging in an incredible lust-filled fantasy of her own?
She swung a bare leg over the chair and saw him smile slightly in approval, his teeth bared. His hands touched her skin, making her body feel like it was on fire but in a sensual way, not an allergic reaction. This is what she’d been craving since the wedding reception!
His lips teased their way across the edge of her lacy bra, skimming the skin and then pulling down the cup to ravage the delicate pink bud that was hidden. Holly gasped with exquisite desire as it shot through her body, firing every nerve ending. A deep moan was ripped from her throat as he repeated the motion with her other breast and yanked her bra downwards to bare her chest completely to him. At the sensation, she knew that there was no going back. If there was an earthquake it wouldn’t have bothered her; she was still going to have Niall tonight.
The fire in her blood wouldn’t allow her to move from him until she was sated. Reaching for his pants, she practically whimpered in delight as she saw what awaited her. He was built as fiercely as her mind could have ever imagined. His shaft stood proudly, taunting her with unspoken pleasure. She was about to move her leg in order to remove her panties, but Niall tore the seam, pulling them from her body. Surprised, she saw his eyes were practically glowing in intensity and instead of being afraid?
She felt something primal in her kick into high-gear.
Growling, she advanced ever so slightly towards him, presenting her breast almost at his mouth as she felt the tip of him at her moist entrance. She’d had sex once before, but nothing compared to the feelings coursing through her. She wanted to savor it, relish it and enjoy their joining, but instead she gave in to instinct.
Holly thrust her body downwards against his as he surged upwards in unison. The invasion of his member plundered her, stretching her to the hilt as he fit deeply inside. She couldn’t speak, only moan and move – and for Niall it seemed to be the same. He was cradling her, moving himself in and out of her body in a rhythmic pattern, drawing a combined gasp and moan from them with each thrust. She felt such fire, such intensity building in her body, like a rubber band stretched too far, and knew she was going to explode soon.
“Holly,” he ground out harshly, his face strained as she rode him. His fingers dug into her hips, guiding each movement, causing them to climb higher and higher. “Holly, I didn’t know… I need to…”
“Do it,” she ordered mindlessly, feeling her head spin as she clung to his shoulders, grinding herself against him. She could feel his sac tightening behind her and knew he was close as well. The feeling of his strong body against hers was incredible. “Do it,” she repeated and gasped as Niall leaned forward.
His teeth pierced her breast, sending shockwaves through her as her body spasmed in ecstasy. His grip on her tightened as he began to pump mindlessly into her in a movement as old as time. Holly screamed as another wave of passion rolled over her again and again. Her legs were not working any longer and neither was her mind, everything centered on where the two of them were joined. She felt like she was soaring and had left her body behind, but he was with her.
They were one.
She heard his roar of pleasure as he flooded her feminine cavern with his essence and jerked his mouth from her breast. Fascinated, she looked down to see her blood on his teeth and instead of being disgusted- she felt possessed and satisfied. His eyes were locked with hers as he held her hips firmly in place, his body deep inside of hers.
Licking his lips, she saw that he expected her to be sickened. Nothing could be further from the truth right now. Holly leaned forward and kissed him, ignoring the metallic tang on his tongue, needing to solidify something she didn�
��t understand but knew was there. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind now, she knew what he meant by being mated.
It should terrify her and probably would once she had two brain cells to rub together, but for now she wanted to exist in the numb blissful pleasure that was buried deep within her body.
11
Did you give me parvo, rabies, or something else?
Holly texted Niall angrily from the bathroom floor of her apartment. It had been a beautiful evening with Niall and they’d made love one more time, this time enjoying each other in a leisurely pace before parting. There was no expectation and no commitments made, it was simply scratching a wonderful itch both of them needed… until she got home.
Expecting to start itching or sneezing, Holly hurriedly took a shower once she got home and immediately put her clothing in the washer. As she stood under the hot water, her stomach gave a painful lurch. Thinking it was indigestion, she rinsed her hair with the intention of getting out of the shower and taking some Pepto-Bismol. Instead, as she bent over to turn off the water she felt nausea. Wringing her hair out and reaching for the towel bar, the entire room went sideways causing her to flop down painfully onto the bath mat on the tile floor.
“What is wrong with me?” she asked aloud and groaned as her phone dinged in response to receiving a text message. She would look in a few moments once her dinner finally came up and the nausea subsided. Moments later, Holly realized that she would never, ever eat ranch dressing ever again. Reaching up from the floor, she grasped her plastic cup that held her toothbrush and awkwardly filled it with water. Rinsing her mouth, she spit weakly into the toilet and flushed it. Shivering, she reached up for the towel and pulled it down from the bar, covering herself like it was a tiny blanket.
Her phone dinged again and then moments later rang. Holly stared at it wistfully as she lay there weakly on the floor. She felt like she was burning up with fever. Shutting her eyes sleepily, she nodded off. Sometime later, she heard her phone ringing again and reached for it. Her arm stretched in front of her and seemed almost as if it was someone else’s. Her fingertip caught the phone edge and nearly flipped it into the toilet, but she managed to catch it awkwardly. How long had she been asleep? She saw that she had eighteen text messages and twelve missed calls from Niall and several others from another number. Pushing redial, she called Niall first.
