How about an earth-shattering orgasm? Where the hell had that thought come from? Sex hadn’t been something that had been on her mind lately, but since meeting Michael Valaine it had suddenly become a constant. Sex was, in a way, the reason she was here.
She finally managed to say, “Thank you.”
Michael gave a nod and turned to leave when he stopped, turned back around and with a hint of a smile said, “I will make certain you have multiple orgasms.”
Chapter 4
Lara sat staring at the empty doorway, her cheeks burning bright red. “Idiot, idiot, idiot, he can read your mind.” She placed her wine glass on the table and rested her face in her cupped hands. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening,” she mumbled. “I’m trapped in a nightmare and I need to wake up. Wake up now, Lara, do you hear me? Wake up now!”
She raised her head and her shoulders slumped as she looked around. “Of course it couldn’t be that easy. All right, since this is real, you need to protect yourself. How is the question?”
She sprung off the sofa. “His library.” There hadn’t been much money when she was growing up, and she had loved to read as had her dad. He always told her that if she wanted to know anything about anything, the library was where you would find your answers. Of course once they had gotten the Internet, it had become her chief source of research. But right now that wasn’t available to her and from what Desmond had told her Michael had a substantial collection of vampire books.
With quick steps, she hurried out of the living room to the library. She entered without worry that Michael would be there. Taking care of matters wouldn’t have taken him to the library, though she did wonder where he had gone off to and why. She paused a moment to warm her chilled hands in front of the fire. The fireplace was early Victorian, ornate and ostentatious, but that would be expected in a home built in the early 1800s. She had read, this morning while having breakfast at Molly’s Place, the book about the founding of Mull. It mentioned that the Valaine house had been built in the early 1800s.
A sudden thought had her turning with a huge smile. If the library was that old, she could only imagine the literary treasures it held. But first things first, she silently admonished herself. She was here to look for books on vampires.
To her surprise and delight, she discovered that brass plates marked the topic for each shelf. She got busy reading each one, keeping in mind that she didn’t think she would come across one marked vampires.
After the lower shelves revealed nothing, she climbed the sturdy library ladder that ran along a brass rod. It was when she moved slowly along to the middle of the wall of shelves that a brass plate caught her eye... Unearthly Creatures.
She couldn’t help but smile and think that it was no little coincidence it should bear the title of the book she was connected with. She reached out and ran a finger along the spine of each book while perusing the titles. One immediately jumped out at her... The Life of a Vampire.
The embossed cover had faded with time and the edges were worn. She searched for the date of publication and her eyes widened when she found it... 1875. There was no author’s name, only edited by Samuel Bidford and it had been published by Bidford & Sons, Willington, NY.
She opened it and read the brief Forward.
You might ask why a reputable publishing house would dare publish such nonsense... The Life of a Vampire. It is the belief of this publisher that any work that provides insight or reveals truths should not only be published, but widely read. Vampires, you say, though, I say no mythical creature should be ignored. Has each and every such creature sprung from only the imagination or is there a small kernel of truth to each?
We, as a rationale society, cannot scoff at unearthly creatures as if they are nothing but myths if we wish to protect ourselves against evil. We must examine the improbable and ascertain for ourselves if such strange phenomenon exists.
This is why I chose to publish The Life of a Vampire, for you to judge for yourself and reach your own conclusions. Naturally, the author remains anonymous for obvious reasons, though I must say that he appeared nothing more than an average man to me. What he wrote, however, will leave you wondering.
Lara eagerly, though with a bit of trepidation, turned the page.
I am a vampire.
She drew a quick breath. Those were the exact words Michael had said to her shortly after meeting him.
Believe what I say or not, it is your choice, though know this... vampires do exist.
She shut the book, her stomach muscles tightening nervously. Had she just gotten the answer she was searching for? Did vampires truly exist? But how had they kept their existence secret for so long? And if she believed Michael, then she would also have to believe that people could be cursed.
This was becoming much more complicated than she would have ever thought. She had written several blogs on curses after investigating some incidents her readers had written her about, but none had proved valid. All had to do with old beliefs dying hard combined with all too malleable people.
No one was truly capable of cursing another person, and yet...
Lara propped the book on a shelf and continued perusing the section. There were more books on the subject than she could possibly read while here. She would definitely have to be selective, and so she began glancing through the titles that caught her interest. Some she returned to the shelf, their content too common to the myth. Others proved interesting and those she added to her pile, while others were just comical and gave her a good laugh.
As far as sexual appetites went, after a quick perusal of the books and combined with the research she had previously done on the Internet, research seemed to agree with what Michael had said about vampires’ sexual appetites being ravenous. But then most normal guys were as well, so to her there was no difference. There was nothing that set vampires apart from human males... except of course for the bite on the neck.
It was another thing she couldn’t wrap her head around. How could someone draining your blood be sexy? Then how did she explain her attraction to Michael? Vampire or not, he was a man, a good-looking man—no—a gorgeous hunk of a man. The kind women dream about, but are completely out of the average woman’s league. Handsome and hunky goes with gorgeous and slim.
She was not gorgeous and slim, attractive and shapely, was even stretching it a little, and yet he had commented on her natural beauty, but exactly what he had meant by natural, she wasn’t quite sure. She wasn’t one for much make up, since to her, her pale complexion—when made up—looked like the painted face of a corpse. She usually wore a bare hint of a blush and rose-colored lipstick with a bit of glimmer. If she wanted to highlight her eyes, she added massacre, though that wasn’t very often. So what was there about her that interested Michael Valaine?
I vant to suck your blood.
She laughed at the more common line in satirical Dracula movies. Her laughter died fast and she cast a nervous glance around the room. She was alone, the crackling fire the only sound. She worried for a moment that Michael was there and had placed the thought in her head. Vampires controlled like that, didn’t they?
She shook her head. She had to get busy reading. The books she didn’t finish here and now, she’d take to her room to read before going to sleep.
Sleep?
How the bejesus was she going to sleep when a vampire’s bedroom was only a few steps from her door? And why did Michael need a bedroom when vampires didn’t sleep? Then what would he be doing all night?
She shook her head. Way too many questions. She needed to start reading and see if there was anything in the books that might help her situation.
Once she deposited all her books on the large square ottoman table between the oversized chairs and sofa in front of the fireplace, she returned to the ladder. She decided to see if there was a section on curses, hoping it would provide some insight into Michael’s theory of vampirism starting as a curse.
It took a while but she fi
nally located the section under spells. It was up high, in a corner, the ladder stopping just out of its reach, almost as if tucked away on purpose.
Lara scanned the titles, squinting to read a few. One struck her interest... Forever Spells. She stretched, reaching out for the book, struggling to grasp hold, but failed. It was just beyond her grasp, so with one arm hanging over one rung of the ladder and one foot planted firmly on another rung, she stretched further out. Her finger almost hooked onto the top of the spine when suddenly her foot slipped off the rung. It happened so fast that she didn’t have time to lock her arm tightly on the ladder. She felt herself begin to topple and reached out, trying frantically to grasp anything she could, but connected with nothing solid.
Suddenly an arm coiled around her waist, and she found herself braced against Michael’s chest. Her arms instinctively went around his neck and she shuddered at the possibilities if he hadn’t prevented her fall. Then she shuddered again as their bodies seemed to mold and fit together, conforming to each other’s contours as if familiar with each other. And then there was his intoxicating scent, one whiff sent her clitoris into overdrive. It tingled, hummed, throbbed, and screamed to be touched.
He pressed his cheek to hers and though cold to the touch, it felt good, since she was growing as hot as Hades.
“Are you all right?” he whispered, his warm breath tickling her ear and sending shivers through her already overstimulated body.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, raising her head to look at him, though she should have given it thought, since one look in those dark eyes of his and she wanted to surrender. She froze. A tint of red glowed in his eyes. She quickly turned her head away and realized that they hovered in mid-air beside the ladder. If she had had an ounce of doubt that he was a vampire, it vanished in that instant.
“What book did you want?” he asked.
He sounded so calm, so in control, as if being suspended in mid-air was a common occurrence to him, but then it was. Somehow she managed to raise her hand and point.
“Forever Spells?” he asked.
She nodded and wondered if he would deny her reading it.
In the next instant, she felt them float upward, and he reached out and slipped the book off the shelf.
“An interesting choice,” he said. “Would you like another book?”
Lara shook her head unable to speak. How could she when she was hovering several feet in the air in the arms of a vampire?
“I frighten you,” he said softly as he lowered them down.
She grasped hold of his arm when her feet touched the floor and managed to whisper, “Vampire.”
He smiled. “Yes, the word does say it all.”
She reluctantly stepped away from him, her legs wobbling as she did.
He reached out and once again his arm circled her waist and he walked her over to the reading area in front of the fireplace, though she didn’t feel her feet touch the floor once, and eased her down to sit on one of the oversized chairs. He went to a cabinet and returned shortly, handing her a glass of red wine.
“Drink,” he insisted.
“Trying to get me drunk?” she asked, attempting to make light of the situation, for her own sanity, and took the glass, her hand trembling slightly.
“No, I want you completely sober when I make love to you.”
She stared at him in shock, glad she hadn’t taken a sip of wine or she would have spit it all over herself. He was reminding her again that they would not just have sex, but make love and damn if it didn’t stir something in her. She had long ago lost her virginity—a painfully memorable moment—and since then had had limited sexual encounters, all not only leaving her feeling totally unsatisfied, but completely disillusioned about sex.
After retrieving all her books off the various shelves and placing them on the ottoman table, he sat in the chair beside her. “You should be more careful.”
“I’m trying to be,” she said saluting him with her glass of wine, certain he’d understand the double meaning.
He responded with a slight nod and a faint smile, then said, “This isn’t the kitchen.”
She scrunched her brow, then recalled he had given her directions to the kitchen before leaving her in the living room. “I was more hungry for information than food.”
“Well, you do have a chapter to write. Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about... sexual appetites of vampires.”
Her curiosity was definitely aroused as was she. Damn, she hadn’t been attracted or aroused by a man in ages and now that she finally was, he had to be a vampire. She was treading on dangerous ground here. He wouldn’t be generalizing when it came to a vampire’s sexual appetite, he’d be speaking from experience. She would know the intimate details of his sex life. She took a sip of wine, settled back in the chair with a knot in her stomach and said, “Tell me how the sexual appetites of vampires differ from that of human males.”
Michael smiled, a compelling and all too sly smile. “I will try to explain it, though it would be much better demonstrated.”
“What makes you think I’ll have sex with you?” Lara demanded.
“You already want to have sex with me. I can feel your ache; it grows stronger by the minute, and your scent is so robust, so irresistible... your skin hot, your nipples hard and I want to—”
“Stop it,” she shouted, fearing she would lose control any minute and demand he make love to her. “I will not be caught up in your spell and bent to your will.”
“Isn’t that exactly what human males do, persuade and seduce women? And to be fair, women do the same to men. And isn’t it our sexual appetites that drive us to seduce whether male or vampire?”
“Then what you’re saying is that vampires really aren’t all that different than those of human males. Both are ravenous.”
“Not entirely true, since with a human male it would depend on his age and health whether he was ravenous for sex or not. Not so with a vampire, due to his longevity and vitality, his sexual appetite rarely wanes. However, I think the biggest difference is that not all sexual encounters of humans are satisfying.”
“Are you saying that every sexual encounter you have is satisfying? There hasn’t been one that has displeased or disappointed?” she asked as if she hadn’t quite understood him.
“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying.”
“And your partner?”
“I would never leave a woman I have sex with feeling anything but fully satiated.” His brow knitted and he stared at her.
Lara turned away not wanting him to read her thoughts again and discover how disappointing sex had been for her through the years.
He leaned forward in his chair. “Lara, look at me.”
“I don’t want you listening in on my thoughts. They are private. Mine alone.”
“Your thoughts are easily heard when you speak them so clearly.”
“You mean clear enough for a vampire,” she said, keeping her head turned away.
“Granted, my senses go deeper than the common male, but—”
She whipped her head back around. “No buts, stay out of my thoughts.”
“Then stop sending them to me,” he said with a bit of annoyance as he leaned back in his chair.
Was she sending him them? How was that even possible? And how did she stop it?
“Why did you agree to participate in this book?” he asked. “You present fact, not fiction on your blog and this editor who hired you is obviously looking for sensationalism.”
His question had mirrored her own when she had taken on the assignment. “My intentions were to find out what I could, piece it together, discard the ridiculous and write what possibly could be, though make it clear that it was nothing but fantasy.”
“And now?”
“That’s a good question. What now? Why did you admit to me that you’re a vampire? It wasn’t necessary. And now that I know...” Her stomach churned waiting for an answer.
“You wonder if I
will let you tell the world?”
“It has crossed my mind.”
“It would be a hard sell.”
Lara had to laugh. “You’re right it would be, but it doesn’t answer my question—why did you tell me?”
“That answer is best left for a later time.”
“I would prefer to know now.”
“Not just yet,” Michael said and from the firm tone of his voice, Lara knew even persistence would get her nowhere. “Your lips constantly tempt me to kiss you.”
“Kiss not bite?” she asked, trying to make light of his remark that stirred her in places she didn’t want to think about.
“I would love to bite you.”
He said it with such seriousness that it startled her, and she quickly said, “But you won’t.”
“There will come a time you will want me to.”
“You’re so sure?”
“Very,” he said with such confidence that it made her shiver.
Lara silently questioned the sanity of any further discussion about sex with him. Somehow it always seemed to come back to them eventually making love. And it troubled her that she could easily, though foolishly, surrender to this man. But he wasn’t only a man, he was a vampire. Something she continued to have difficulty believing even though she was seeing proof with her own eyes. And that’s what would stop her... surrendering to a vampire. It wasn’t what she had planned for her life. But then life never quite turned out as you planned it.
However, never in her wildest dreams would she have believed she would not only meet a vampire, but give thought to having sex with one.
Needing to get away from the topic of sex completely, she said, “I could use a bite to eat.” She cringed at her choice of words.
Michael laughed. “So could I.”
That made her eyes pop wide open.
“One of the misconceptions of vampires is that we exist solely on blood.”
“You don’t?” she asked surprised.
“It is our main source of nutrition, but through the years we have evolved and we can now enjoy certain foods and drink.” He stood and leaned over her to slip her wine glass out of her hand and took a sip. “To my pleasure, wine is one of them.” He sat the glass aside and offered his hand to her. “Come, we’ll get something to eat.”
Sexual Appetites of Vampires Page 4
