Forever Kisses Volume 1

by Angela Knight

  As he got out and walked around to Val’s side, her muscles coiled into knots. He swung the door open, pulling her handcuffed wrists with it. The idea of getting a hotel room with a vampire -- especially Cowboy…

  As if reading her expression, McKinnon sighed. “You’d be a lot safer inside with me than alone out here.” Kneeling, he dug the key from the pocket of his uniform pants. Muscle rolled under his white T-shirt with the movement. “Hirsch ought to be sleeping off that knife wound, but he could have more endurance than I think. And Ridgemont…”

  She winced. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.”

  He removed the cuffs and tucked them into a back pocket as Val rubbed at her chafed wrists. With a courtesy that seemed automatic, he reached out to take her hand and help her from the car. She eyed him thoughtfully as she stood. If she had to depend on a vampire’s protection, knowing he had a chivalric streak was oddly comforting.

  Scanning their surroundings warily, Cade took her elbow as they started across the parking lot.

  Val frowned. If Ridgemont did show up, McKinnon was going to end up dead. Her mind produced an involuntary image: those chocolate eyes blank and empty, that big body cold and still… She shuddered.

  Dammit, why did she care so much? He was a vampire. He’d been lying to her for years. Why did she keep seeing him as Cowboy?

  Part of the problem was that he still acted the part. Like telling her to warn Beth. Or back in the airport parking garage, when he hadn’t used that inhuman strength to knock her cold after she tried to plant a stiletto heel into his balls. Even seventeen years ago, when he’d overcome both the Hunger and Ridgemont’s compulsion to save her.

  It’d be easy to resist the undead monster of her nightmares. It was much harder to say no to the handsome Texas Ranger of her dreams.

  Even if he did have fangs.

  But if she let him win her over, she’d end up in his bed with those teeth in her throat before she knew what hit her.

  And what really worried her was that thought wasn’t nearly as appalling as it should have been.

  Chapter Seven

  Val was still glowering at her own errant libido when they stepped up to the cracked white counter to find the twenty-something desk clerk engrossed in his cellphone. Judging from the gasps and moans, she had a pretty good idea what he was watching.

  Good God, she realized, as blatantly sexual groans blared from the phone, I’m about to get a motel room with a vampire. A cheap motel room.

  Another image from one of her dreams flashed through her mind: Cowboy loomed over the woman, one of her plump thighs draped over his arm, one hand gripping the bend of her other knee, holding her legs spread wide. The tight, hard muscles of his abdomen lacing as he slowly pumped his thick shaft in and out…

  “Deeper, baby!” a female voice purred. “Pound your big cock into my tight little…”

  “Turn that off,” McKinnon snapped. “There’s a lady present.” His voice dropped to an irritated growl. “If there was another hotel with a vacancy in a hundred miles, I’d…” A tinge of red colored his high cheekbones.

  The vampire was blushing?

  The clerk’s eyes widened and went blank as he fumbled to obey. Val grinned.

  Catching sight of her smirk, McKinnon looked defensive. “Well, it was disrespectful, watching that with you here.”

  “And you wanted to protect my virgin ears? That’s sweet, McKinnon. That’s really sweet.”

  Something dark and wicked sparked in his eyes. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’d think you’d find my desire to protect your virgin anything a comfort. Under the circumstances.” He turned to the clerk. “We’d like a room.”

  Val blew out a hissing breath. Note to self: don’t tease McKinnon. He doesn’t take it well.

  * * *

  After McKinnon pulled the Lexus around to the motel wing where their room was located, Val got reluctantly out of the car.

  Golden morning light poured over the parking lot and its motley collection of cars, most of them speckled with either primer or rust or both. A woman emerged from one of the rooms towing a pretty dark-haired child who knuckled sleep from her eyes. The mother nodded at Val and McKinnon with a Southerner’s automatic courtesy.

  Nodding back, Val said absently to McKinnon, “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.”

  “If you say so.” He glowered up at the bright sky from behind the sunglasses he’d donned at daybreak. “I need to get the car unloaded. I smell barbecue, and I think it’s me.” Reaching into the back seat, McKinnon pulled out the sheathed longsword.

  “I thought you said the bursting-into-flames thing was a myth.”

  “It is. I don’t burst into flames.” He drew the weapon and popped the trunk as he walked around to get their bags. “I just turn an interesting shade of second-degree burn.”

  “Ouch. Guess vampirism has its drawbacks.” Automatically, Val moved over to help.

  “Yeah, though never getting old, sick, or bald doesn’t suck.” He handed her one of the smaller bags and tucked two of the others under his left arm.

  “Then again, there’s Ridgemont.”

  He hefted the sword in his right hand and grimaced. “Put that way, old, sick and bald doesn’t sound that bad.”

  As they started toward their room, it occurred to Val that their teasing exchange was yet another sign of how dangerously at ease she’d become with him. And she couldn’t afford that. He’d lied to her for too many years, concealing his vampire nature behind a mask of heroism. Maybe he was telling the truth now about his motives -- but maybe he wasn’t.

  Yet her instincts still insisted she was safe. Could she trust those gut feelings, or were they just a conditioned response to a man who’d done far too good a job winning her trust?

  Those instincts also told her something else, something she had no trouble believing: McKinnon wanted her. And that could mean trouble, because the man was too damn good at seduction.

  While she contemplated the implications of that danger, McKinnon put down the bags outside the room and unlocked the door. He stepped back and gestured her inside. As she moved past him, the nape of her neck prickled with sensual awareness.

  Yeah, she thought. Way too good at seduction.

  Swallowing, she scanned the room as he shut the door. The decor was regulation cheap motel: blue carpet, drapes, and bedspread, dark, pressed-wood furniture, a standard-issue ugly print hanging over the king-sized bed he’d insisted on.

  The only bed in the room.

  “Relax, Val. You look like you expect me to eat you,” McKinnon said, putting the suitcases down. The powerful muscle in his chest rippled under the thin T-shirt, and she unconsciously dropped her gaze to watch. When she glanced back up, he grinned wickedly. “I promise I won’t even nibble -- not without an invitation, anyway.”

  Val blew out an exasperated breath. “You need to make up your mind.”

  He lifted a brow. “About?”

  “One minute you’re playing Boy Scout, the next you’re the Big Bad Wolf. You need to pick a personality and stick to it, because you’re giving me whiplash.”

  He laughed, a rich male rumble. Unnerved, she made for the bathroom beyond the bed.

  “What are you doing?” McKinnon moved after her as she stepped inside.

  “Some of us have to answer the call of nature.” She batted the door closed, forcing him to retreat.

  His voice floated through the thin wood. “I’ve been hearing the call of nature for hours, Valerie. I just don’t think you want me to answer it.”

  “Aren’t there some little pigs somewhere you should be terrorizing?” she muttered under her breath.

  He heard her, of course. “Why should I settle for pork when I can have Red Riding Hood?” That seductive chuckle sounded again, teasing heat from parts of her that should know better.

  “Stop that,” Val whispered to her nipples. They stubbornly continued to thrust against the silk of her blouse. Yep, she th
ought glumly, plopping down on the commode, I am definitely in trouble.

  McKinnon stared speculatively at the bathroom door, feeling every bit the wolf she’d called him. He tongued the tips of his fangs and tugged at his suddenly uncomfortable slacks. “The better to eat you with, my dear,” he murmured.

  Cut that out, he told himself severely.

  Yet… making love to her didn’t mean he had to change her. And there were definite advantages to seducing Valerie beyond the obvious physical delights. If they became lovers, he’d no longer have to worry about her making some stupid escape attempt and ending up in Ridgemont’s waiting fangs.

  And then there was the Hunger. He could go without feeding for quite some time, but eventually he’d weaken. He couldn’t afford that, not with a fight with Ridgemont so likely.

  Of course, he’d have to limit himself to a very small quantity of blood if he intended to make love to her repeatedly, but if her orgasms were intense enough, that would be sufficient. At least for the time being.

  Except… having tasted Valerie, would he be able to let her go when this was over? He remembered all those dreams when he’d felt her move against him, all silk and seduction. Damn. He couldn’t risk it.

  Which meant he had to use other means to ensure she didn’t escape while he slept. She wouldn’t like his methods, but he had no intention of giving her a chance to get herself killed.

  * * *

  Val dawdled in the bathroom finger-combing her hair. The longer she could put off crawling into bed with the Transylvania Kid, the better. She wasn’t exactly confident in her ability to fend him off. I have to get away from him.

  Maybe once he went to sleep. She’d wait for him to drift off, then grab his car keys and make for the parking lot. With any luck, she’d be in another state before he woke up. She could meet up with Beth and…

  But was that really such a good idea? If Ridgemont caught them, they’d be defenseless. It was one thing to risk her own life, but she was damned if she’d expose her sister to that monster. And yet, leaving her sister to fend for herself wasn’t a good idea either.

  Too, the kid was due to start college in a couple of weeks. The Art Institute of Atlanta was prestigious and exclusive, and if Beth lost her slot in the fall, she might not be able to get in again.

  On the other hand, Ridgemont would be able to find Beth there all too easily. If Val dropped out of sight, he’d kidnap her sister to force her back into the open. The thought of what he might do to Beth in the meantime made her blood run cold.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  First things first, Val decided. Get away from McKinnon, then go from there.

  Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Val leaned her elbows on the counter and tried to come up with an escape plan. It all depended on how deeply McKinnon slept…

  Suddenly she smelled the sugary bite of peppermint. Absently, Val looked around the bathroom, expecting to see a bowl of candy. She wouldn’t mind a little comfort food right now…

  “Let him Turn you,” a childish voice whispered.

  Stiffening in alarm, Val whirled. There was no one in the bathroom with her. Except… The shower curtain was drawn across the tub. She reached for it. “Okay, kid, get out of there. Does your mother know…” She whipped back the plastic, but the tub was empty.

  “You’ll die if you don’t, Valerie,” the piping voice said. “It’s the only chance you’ve got.”

  The hair lifted on the back of her neck as Val stared around the bathroom. Empty.

  She jerked open the door and stared out at McKinnon. “Did you hear something?”

  He looked over his shoulder at her as he lay belly-down across the bed, the covers bunched in the floor. Both long arms stretched down between the headboard and the mattress, but she couldn’t see what he was doing. “What?”

  “Did you hear a little girl talking?”

  He turned his head and went back to work. “No.”

  “Must have been my imagination.” Under the circumstances, it was no wonder. She frowned at him as she stepped out of the bathroom, peeling off her wrinkled jacket to drop it over a chair. What was he doing now?

  The thin fabric of his T-shirt and the position of his lifted arms made his back seem a mile wide. His waist looked as narrow as a teenager’s by comparison, and his taut buns in those tight trousers reminded her of upturned cereal bowls. She wondered what he’d do if she bit him right on one of those deliciously muscled cheeks.

  The idea is to stay out of the vampire’s bed, Val. Still, the thought was a little too tempting. To distract her clamoring libido, she asked, “McKinnon, what are you up to?”

  “Making sure you don’t do something stupid.” He rose onto his hands and knees with a luscious muscular flex and backed off the bed, leaving a twisted length of sheet stretching out from under the headboard.

  “What’s that for?”

  He pulled the handcuffs out of his pocket. “Well, I’ve got to tie the cuffs to something.”

  Val recoiled. “Forget it. I don’t do bondage.”

  “Look, I’ve been smelling Hirsch’s blood for about four hours now, and it’s making me hungry. I need a shower, and I’m not going to risk you sneaking out the door while I take one.”

  She backed up, knowing she didn’t dare let him cuff her; escape would be impossible. “What if I promise to be a good girl?”

  “Sorry, you don’t strike me as that trustworthy.”

  “Neither do you.” Val whirled toward the door.

  He caught her before she got two steps and tossed her on the bed. She hit the mattress and bounced, but before she could even think about rolling off, McKinnon was on top of her.

  Suddenly Val was covered in hard, hot male, his long fingers wrapped around one of her arms. She tried to flail at him with her free hand, but the bracelet’s cool metal had already snapped closed. As the lock clicked, he caught her swinging fist and cuffed that wrist too. She cursed him breathlessly, bucking, but he ignored her struggles and calmly knotted the sheet around the short chain between the cuffs. Furious, Val arched against him… and was suddenly aware of a hard ridge mashing against her belly. It felt huge. She froze, eyes widening.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a hard-on,” he told her. As he spoke, she glimpsed the tips of his fangs. “That’s why I’m taking the shower.”

  “May I suggest throwing in a few ice cubes?” she gritted.

  “I might just do that.” He rolled off her and turned toward the bathroom, bending to pick up the sword he’d propped against the chair as he walked by.

  Val watched his broad back disappear through the door, then let her head drop to the pillow. As she blew out a breath, her stiff nipples rubbed against the lace of her bra. “Save a few cubes for me while you’re at it,” she muttered.

  “If you let him Change you, you could have him forever,” the young voice whispered.

  Val froze as icy fear instantly killed her arousal. “McKinnon!” she yelled, but water was already hissing through the pipes. She lifted her head and bellowed at the closed door, “McKinnon, dammit, use those vampire ears! I need you!” No answer. “Ah, hell.” Disgusted, she turned her head away…

  A glowing little girl stood beside the nightstand.

  Val yelped and tried to roll off the bed, but the handcuffs jerked her up short. Kneeling with her arms twisted painfully, she stared at the child. “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Abigail McKinnon,” the voice said, though the little girl’s lips didn’t move. “Cade is my brother.”

  McKinnon had said he was born in 1846. Any little sister of his would have to be…

  “Oh, man,” Val moaned. “First vampires, now ghosts. I’m trapped in a Halloween After-School Special. All we need is Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolfman.” She gave her hands a hard jerk, but the cuffs held fast.

  The ghost blinked huge, dark eyes that looked a lot like Cade’s. “There is no such thing as Frankenstein’s monster.”

&n
bsp; “Does that mean there’s a Wolfman?” Val asked with a flippancy born of raw nerves. “No, don’t tell me -- he’s your other brother.”

  The little ghost’s face hardened with bitterness. “My other brother was shot down at Gettysburg. Pa tried to save him, but took a chunk of shrapnel in the chest and died for his pains. Cade is the only one left.” Anger twisted that soft, glowing mouth. “And you’re going to get him killed.”

  Hoooo boy. “I didn’t ask Cade to get involved in my problems. I can take care of myself.”

  Abigail laughed silently. The mental sound of it was too grating and bitter to come from a child. “You’ve never seen what Ridgemont does to women like you. If you have any sense, you’ll beg Cade to make you a vampire. Now. While there’s still time. It’s the only way either of you has a chance in hell.”

  No matter what she looked like, Val realized, the ghost was not a little girl. Not mentally, anyway. “But I don’t want to become a vampire.” Twisting her hands around, she fumbled surreptitiously for the knot tying the handcuffs to the sheet. She was damn well going to get loose and get out. She’d had enough of this. Count Cowboy and Ghost Brat could find somebody else to play with. “I don’t want to become some evil thing that drinks blood.”

  “My brother is not evil, girl.” The ghost’s lips peeled back from her small teeth. “Don’t confuse what the others are with him. Yes, Ridgemont and Hirsch are twisted and evil, but then, they always were. Cade is a good man whether he drinks blood or not. And he deserves to live.”

  “So do I, damn it!” Val lifted her head to glower. “I just want a normal life. Ever since my folks were murdered, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.” Hoping to distract the ghost while she picked at the knot around the cuffs, she began to babble. “Two kids and a husband that loves me. And a dog. One of those big, fuzzy dogs.” Damn, McKinnon had tied her tighter than a calf at a rodeo. “An Irish Setter, maybe. Setters are nice dogs. I had a friend who owned a Setter…”

  “Idiot.” Abigail floated upward, her full shirt beginning to lift and whip around her as if in a rising invisible wind. “You don’t get a normal life. You’re going to become a vampire.”