Everlasting Desire

by Amanda Ashley

  For once in her life, she was going to leap before she looked. For once in her life, she wasn’t going to play it safe.

  As if he knew she had resolved her inner conflict, he pulled her up against him, his hand sliding seductively up and down her spine.

  She had to touch him. Tugging his T-shirt from his jeans, she ran her hands over his chest, felt his muscles tense at her touch.

  Still holding her against him, he backed her toward the bed and then, supporting her with his arms, he lowered her to the mattress before stretching out beside her.

  “Rhys…” Murmuring his name, she explored the width of his shoulders, the taut planes and ridges of his chest and belly.

  Knowing what she wanted, he yanked his T-shirt over his head and tossed it aside, giving her access to his upper body.

  Turning onto her side, she explored the width of his shoulders, the whorls of curly hair on his chest, the hard ridges of his stomach. She paused now and then to kiss him here, lick him there. Growing bolder, she pulled off his boots and his socks, and then, after a moment’s hesitation, she tugged his jeans down over his slim hips. The black briefs he wore did nothing to hide the fact that he wanted her.

  He let her explore his body from head to foot, and then he turned the tables on her. “My turn,” he said, his voice thick, and in the time it took her to blink, she was lying naked beneath him, and he had begun a slow exploration of his own.

  His hands were large yet gentle as they played over her quivering flesh. The touch of his cool skin did nothing to douse the flames that threatened to consume her from the inside out. Each stroke of his hands, each heated caress, carried her to a place where she had never been before, a place she hoped never to leave. She had made love in the past, but it had never been like this. Never before had she so desperately wanted or needed a man’s touch. Never before had she known such wonder, such pleasure.

  He murmured her name as he shucked his briefs, and then he rose over her, blatantly male and aroused.

  With a throaty growl, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and lifted her hips to meet him.

  One thrust, and she felt like she might shatter. She clung to him as the world spun out of focus. Never had she been so aware of her own body, or felt so vibrantly alive. She had heard of two bodies becoming one, but their joining went beyond that. It was as if their hearts and souls had seamlessly melded, so that she knew what he was thinking, what he was feeling. She knew where he wanted to be touched, just as he seemed to know exactly how to please her.

  And please her he did, with every caress, every murmured word, until one last thrust carried her over the edge to blissful fulfillment.

  Sated and complete, she murmured his name and then, with a sigh, she closed her eyes and fell into the warm abyss of slumber.

  Rhys stayed at Megan’s side long after she had fallen asleep. Gazing down at her, he wondered if she would have second thoughts or regrets when she woke in the morning. It had been a long time since she had been intimate with a man. What would she think if she knew her latest lover was not a man at all?

  He wondered absently if she was using any kind of birth control. Not that it mattered. He carried no diseases. He could not father a child. It was the one thing that bothered him about being a vampire. Not that he would have made a good father, not that he had ever really wanted kids, but he would have liked to have had the option just the same. It was the one thing he had always envied about his friend, Delacourt. Erik had been a married man with children before he was turned. It was possible that Delacourt still had descendants living somewhere in England.

  Muttering an oath, Rhys dropped a kiss on Megan’s cheek, dressed, and left the house.

  Filled with a sudden anger he refused to examine, he headed for his club. Even though it was late, there were still a few men and women lingering over drinks at the bar.

  Rhys looked the women over, made his choice, and tapped her on the shoulder. When she started to speak, he silenced her with a look. He didn’t want conversation tonight, he didn’t want anything except a few minutes of forgetfulness.

  The woman followed him into one of the rooms and closed the door. When she started to undress, he shook his head. He didn’t want an hour of meaningless sex; he didn’t want to seek comfort in the arms of a stranger. What the hell did he want?

  Megan. Her name whispered in the back of his mind as he pulled the woman, none too gently, into his arms and buried his fangs in her throat. This was what he was, who he was. He would never be good enough for Megan DeLacey, never be able to give her the kind of life she deserved. He needed to remember that.

  He lifted his head and stared at the woman in his embrace. And then he lowered his head and drank again. This is what you are, whispered a mocking voice in the back of his mind. A monster.

  He drew back as his victim’s heartbeat grew slow and erratic. If he drank any more, the girl would die. Odd that he should worry about that now. He had rarely given much thought to the fate of his prey before. In the past, he had attacked men and women without a qualm, taken what he needed without regret, and if his victims didn’t survive, he had shrugged it off. Humans were prey. He was a predator. It had been as simple as that. Until the night he stepped into Shore’s and gazed into Megan DeLacey’s guileless brown eyes.

  With an oath, he sealed the wounds in the woman’s neck and lowered her onto the bed. After ordering the bartender to take care of her, he left the club without a backward glance and headed for home.

  And all the while, the word monster echoed in the back of his mind.

  Chapter 13

  Tomás lifted his head, his senses drinking in the sights and sounds of the evening countryside. He had left the Ferretti behind when he left Texas. As much as he loved the yacht, there was a lot to be said for the speed and power of a fine car, and the sleek, black Lamborghini Murcielago convertible was fine indeed, able to accelerate from zero to sixty in just over three seconds.

  Tomás smiled as he goosed the convertible up to ninety. As much as he had enjoyed his stay in Texas, boredom had eventually set in, urging him to seek new hunting grounds, new prey. A new method of transportation. Hence the Lamborghini, which he had purchased on the spur of the moment. He had hired someone to sail the yacht to San Diego.

  He wondered idly if humans realized how long eternity could be, how monotonous life became when one had seen all there was to see, done all there was to do. For a moment, he considered settling down for a while, taking a wife, pretending to be human. How many times had he done that in the past? A hundred? Two? Inevitably, when his wife began to age and he did not, he had to move on. Occasionally, he turned those he wed, but he was too selfish, too territorial, to share his hunting grounds with anyone else, even someone he cared for. All things considered, it was better to live alone.

  He grinned inwardly. Perhaps he could find the excitement he was looking for in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.

  Chapter 14

  Rhys let his glance sweep the faces of the Vampire Council. “The rogue is on the move again,” he said, his voice gruff. “He’s racking up killings from one end of New Mexico to the other.”

  “Maybe it isn’t an old one,” Seth Adams suggested. “Maybe he’s newly turned.”

  “Could be,” Stuart agreed. “Maybe whoever sired him neglected to show him the ropes, so to speak.”

  Rupert shook his head. “No, it’s definitely one of the old ones. I told you, a trusted friend of mine saw one of the victims. He said the vamp responsible was definitely ancient.”

  “Then I guess the next step is to try to pin down where the old ones are,” Rhys said. “Adrianna, New Mexico is your home base. Call around and see what you can find out. I want the rest of you to get in touch with the vampires in your areas and see if any of the old ones have moved on. Once we know who’s where they should be, and who isn’t, we can start to narrow the list.”

  “I still don’t know why you’re so bothered by a
ll this,” Julius said. “So what if a few humans come looking for us?”

  Rhys glared at him. “What if it’s more than a few? There’s already a new hunter in LA. He’s probably heard about the killings. Just because we haven’t heard of hunters in other cities doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We’ve had it pretty easy the last few years. Most of the human population has more important things to worry about than whether we exist or not. But if this rogue keeps killing, eventually people are going to sit up and take notice. I don’t know about you, but I like things the way they are. And what if some of the young ones decide to stop being careful?” Rhys glanced around the room. He had their attention now. “I don’t care what the rogue does back East, but he’s heading in this direction. I like it here. I’m not ready to pack up and move on. What about you, Hastings? You ready to leave Oregon? And what about you, Winchester? You ready to give up your place in Montana? How about you, Nick? You ready to move on?”

  Nick shook his head. “No. You said he’s in New Mexico. How about if I go there and see what I can find out?”

  “I don’t need any help,” Adrianna declared.

  “Maybe not,” Nick said, “but I’m tired of sitting around, waiting.” He looked at Rhys expectantly.

  “Might be a good idea to have someone there. Take Adams with you.”

  Adams reared back in his chair. “What? I don’t want to go to New Mexico!”

  “Who does?” Julius asked, laughing.

  “New Mexico is my home,” Adrianna said. “If you want someone to look around, I’ll go.”

  Rhys sent her a quelling glance. He didn’t like Adrianna, and he didn’t trust her. Better to keep her close, where he could keep an eye on her. “We’ll play it my way for now,” he decided. “Nick and Seth are going to New Mexico. The rest of you get busy and check the lairs of the old ones.”

  “What are you going to do?” Adrianna asked.

  “Check my own sources,” Rhys retorted.

  “You’ve been a little testy the last few days,” Stuart observed. “Anything we need to know about? We don’t usually meet this often.”

  “No.”

  Winchester looked up from his cell phone. “Must be woman trouble.”

  “This meeting is over,” Rhys said. “Get the hell out of here, all of you.”

  Jaw clenched, he watched them vanish one by one, but not before Adrianna clapped Winchester on the back and said, “I think you nailed it that time.”

  Chapter 15

  Megan was glad to be back to work on Tuesday night. She had rattled around the house all that day, trying to reassure herself that she hadn’t made a big mistake the night before. She had fallen asleep in Rhys’s arms, and expected to awake there, as well. But he had been gone when she awoke, almost as if he had never been there at all. She couldn’t believe he would just leave without a word, not after the romantic night they had shared. She had been certain she would find a note saying he would see her again later, which just proved how wrong she could be. She had searched the house for a note that didn’t exist, waited all day for a phone call that never came. Had he been stringing her along the whole time, just waiting to get her into bed? Silly question, she thought, when the answer seemed obvious. How could she have been such an idiot?

  She let out a sigh as one of her least favorite customers swept into the store. In his midsixties, Richard Archibald Clark was the CEO of a major corporation based in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

  “Megan, my dear,” he exclaimed, wrapping her in a bear hug. “You’ve had a horrible couple of weeks, haven’t you? First the attempted robbery, and then the fire at the Drexel concert.” He tsked softly. “Parker gave me all details. Terrible, just terrible.” Holding her at arm’s length, he ran his gaze over her. “Praise the Lord, you look none the worse for wear.”

  Disengaging herself, Megan forced a smile. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Clark, but I’m fine now, really.”

  “That’s my brave girl.” Mr. Clark shrugged out of his coat and tossed it to his assistant, Vi. Vi was a mousy little thing somewhere in her midthirties. Megan had never heard the woman speak a word.

  “I’m in need of a new suit,” Mr. Clark said, all business once again. “Something dark, no stripes.”

  “I think we have just what you’re looking for,” Megan replied, moving toward the north side of the store.

  “Yes, you always do,” Mr. Clark said, beaming at her.

  An hour and a half later, Megan breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Clark and his assistant left the shop.

  Several customers came and went over the course of the next three hours, and then, as sometimes happened, there was a lull around midnight. Force of habit had Megan looking toward the entrance every few minutes, but there was no sign of Rhys. She checked her cell phone, but there were no missed calls, no messages.

  She moped all day Wednesday. By Thursday night, she was angry with Rhys, and furious with herself. How could she have been so naive? She wasn’t a dewy-eyed teenager. She was a grown woman. So, she’d made a mistake. It was time to get past it. She had been attracted to the man, there was no denying it. So attracted she had slept with him, but she told herself she didn’t care. It was over and done.

  As the evening wore on, she convinced herself she hadn’t even liked him that much. She had just been lonely, looking for a little attention, and she had gotten carried away because he was so damned good-looking. Because he had made her feel special. Because his kisses had made her go weak in the knees.

  “Hah! Weak in the head is more like it!” she muttered. A few kisses, a few dances, a few compliments, and she had taken him to her bed. How could she have been so gullible? So incredibly stupid! Well, she was glad he was out of her life, the jerk. And relieved that she would never have to see him again.

  Until she saw him walk through the door Friday night.

  Rhys paused near the entrance, his gaze sweeping the interior of the shop; then, not caring that Mr. Parker was watching, not certain of what Megan’s reaction would be, Rhys crossed to where Megan was standing and drew her into his arms.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and kissed her long and hard, right there in front of her boss and anyone passing by who happened to look in the window.

  He kissed her until she was breathless, pliant in his embrace, and then he kissed her again. “I missed you.”

  She blinked up at him, her lips slightly swollen from the force of his kisses.

  In the distance, Mr. Parker cleared his throat as a customer entered the store.

  Muttering an oath, Rhys took a step away from Megan, though he continued to hold her gaze with his own. “Can I see you later?”

  “What?” She blinked several times as though to clear her head.

  “Can I see you later?”

  “Oh.” She touched her fingertips to her lips. “Yes, of course.”

  “Till then,” he said with a wink, and left the store, whistling softly.

  He was a fool, Rhys thought, no two ways about it. But three days without seeing Megan had proved to him, once and for all, that he didn’t want to live without her. No doubt he would be hurt in the end. Sooner or later, she was bound to discover what he was, and the preternatural shit would hit the fan, but until then, he planned to spend as much time with her as he could. And when it was over…well, he’d worry about that when it happened.

  But for now, he had a date.

  He was at the back door at two A.M. sharp, waiting for her. One look, and Megan wanted to throw herself into his arms. She had to remind herself that she was still mad at him for making love to her and then letting three whole days and nights go by without a word.

  As though reading her mind, he drew her into his arms. “Forgive me?” he asked, and kissed her.

  Megan tried to hold onto her irritation, but with his lips on hers, it was impossible. When he finally let her come up for air, she said the words she had been wanting to say, even though she feared it would be a mistake. �
�I love you.”

  Dammit, why hadn’t he seen that coming? “Megan.”

  Shoulders slumped, she looked away. She knew it! Why hadn’t she just kept her big mouth shut?

  “Megan, look at me.”

  Still not meeting his gaze, she said, “Forget I said anything. I’m going home.”

  Rhys blew out a sigh, his arms tightening around her when she tried to pull away. “Dammit, Megan, you don’t know how complicated this is.” He knew she was attracted to him. Why hadn’t he realized that a woman like Megan DeLacey wouldn’t take a man to her bed unless she loved him? Maybe coming here tonight hadn’t been such a good idea after all. But when he thought of leaving her again, he just couldn’t do it.

  She met his gaze, her eyes sparking with anger. “Let me go.”

  “Calm down, woman. You must know I love you, too, or I wouldn’t be here now.”

  She stared at him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

  “Come on,” he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Megan unlocked her car, then handed him the keys, and he drove her home. She was a bundle of nerves by the time they pulled into the driveway. Rhys parked the car, then came around to open her door.

  Hand in hand, they walked up the porch steps. Megan unlocked the front door, felt her heartbeat jump into double-time when he swung her into his arms and carried her across the threshold.

  Like a bride, she thought, resting her head on his shoulder.

  They didn’t talk as he carried her up the stairs to her room. Setting her on her feet, he removed her shoes one at a time, his hand lingering on her calf, and then, ever so slowly, he undressed her, his gaze and his hands caressing each inch of exposed flesh.

  When she stood naked in front of him, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots, then started to remove his shirt, but she batted his hands away. “My turn.”