Bitten by the Vampire Page 5

  He guided her hand down to his penis. “Touch me,” he demanded.

  Mara wrapped her hand around his erection, her fingertips failing to meet. He was huge. She grew wetter at the thought of all that male hardness pushing deep inside her.

  “You want me.” His deep voice rubbed against her in a seductive purr. Lucien pressed against the damp curls at her center. “Here, deep inside you.”

  No. No. No.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  “Let me come inside you, Mara. Open your body to me, and let me enter. I promise nothing but pleasure, hot sweet pleasure.”

  He ravished her mouth, tongue and teeth plundering and claiming. Mara opened her mouth wider under his coaxing. Lucien hungrily pushed into the wet cavern of her mouth, mimicking what he would do to her body.

  Her nipples crested beneath the wicked thrust of his tongue. An agony of need twined with eager anticipation as he slid his hands over her naked body, cupping her hips. When he pushed her back onto the bed, still kissing her, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Lucien cupped her sex, stroking a finger around the edge of her vagina. Then he parted her with his fingers and pushed a single digit inside.

  The pleasure was so sharp, she arched and cried out. Inside and out he stroked, fire licking between her legs. Mara dug her heels into the mattress.

  Holding onto him, she shivered as he teased and stroked, culling moisture and sliding it across her cleft. He gently rubbed her clit, wringing tiny gasps from her throat. Mara opened her legs wide in a nameless plea. Lucien pulled away from the wet cusp of her mouth.

  “Your mouth is like the most succulent wine. Your skin—” He nuzzled the long column of her throat “—tastes like little sweet berries.”

  A hint of fang pinched at her neck. Mara shuddered, wondering what it would feel like for him to sink his teeth into her. Taste her deeply. Her core spasmed with need.

  Lucien ran his tongue down her throat, pulled back to look deep into her eyes. In his gaze she saw her own desire mirrored.

  “Like that?” he murmured. “Want more?”

  Mara nodded. Words had escaped her pleasure-dazed mind. He gave a wicked smile and continued his exploration.

  Tongue and lips worked wicked magic across her skin as he kissed her bare belly, licked the indentation of her navel. Wildfire blazed through her veins, pushing the cold darkness far, far down. Demon and angel danced with delight at each sizzling stroke. Then he mounted her, his muscled body heavy on top of her. Pushing up on his hands, he looked down fiercely. Against her breasts, she felt the silk hairs of his chest rub against her, heard the rapid drumming of his heart.

  Emotions filled her. She hooked her hands around his neck, wrapped her legs around his lean hips.

  “Do it,” she breathed. Lucien gave an experimental push of his hips and then slid deep inside. She gasped, holding herself still, becoming accustomed to the fullness.

  Tenderness shaded his eyes as he gazed at her. “You okay?” he asked in a rough voice.

  Mara nodded, words escaping her.

  He pumped his cock into her, hard and hot. Need pummeled her with greedy fists as she lifted her hips, urging him onward. Lucien angled his hips, his body sliding over hers, possessing her fully. She felt drunk with pleasure as the hairs on his thighs rasped against her limbs.

  The delicious torment continued as he stroked deep inside her. As Lucien’s tongue swirled in her mouth, his hard cock pumped into her body. She caressed the firm muscles of his back and toyed with the damp strands of his hair.

  The sweet pressure built higher and higher. Lucien ceased kissing her, angled his thrusts. Mara threw her head back, her mouth gasping. Almost there. Almost.

  Lucien fisted his hand in her hair, forcing her to look at him. “My name on your lips, Mara. Say my name when you come. Let go and open yourself to me.”

  She shook her head wildly back and forth, nearly sobbing with the need. Her body was no longer hers, it sang and hummed. Her back taut as a bowstring, she dug her heels into the mattress.

  Shimmering on the edge of a climax, she opened all her senses. The darkness hummed, rising up to push through with each shudder of pleasure.

  She opened herself, and the tension blasted out of her core, shattering her into a million pieces, something dark and delicious bursting from her. Lucien threw his head back, shouted her name as he bucked against her. Warm seed jettisoned into her. He kept pumping inside her until his muscles quivered and he collapsed atop her trembling body.

  Boneless with pleasure, Mara fell back, gulping down several deep breaths. His lungs bellowing for air, Lucien pillowed his head beside her. Their mingled heartbeats gradually slowed until they beat in unison. She listened, wondering if he controlled that.

  Lucien lifted his head with a sleepy, adorable look. Sweat dampened his dark hair. “Yes, I matched my heart’s rhythm to yours.”

  The sweat-dampened sheets began to cool. He pushed off her, watched her with a guarded look. The space between her legs felt wonderfully sore, her muscles ached.

  She felt well-loved.

  Loved?

  What kind of starry-eyed B.S. was that? Lucien didn’t love her. He couldn’t love her. He hadn’t even shared a small part of himself, while she’d poured herself open and given him everything.

  Everything… Mara groped for her demon powers. Nothing.

  Her gaze whipped up to see him study her with a speculative look.

  Stunned realization pushed past the languid pleasure thrumming in her veins. “You seduced me,” she breathed.

  Ebony hair mussed, Lucien propped himself up on one elbow. Splendid in his nudity, honed muscles glistening in the light.

  “I warned you would be mine, Mara.” A wicked gleam shone in his onyx gaze. “You did not say no. Had you disagreed, I would have stopped.”

  “I need to protect myself! Were you there in the basement when Jones beat me? Taunted me, wanted me to beg for my damn life? All because he condemned me as dangerous, when he didn’t know me at all. You think sex with you will stop me from going after Jones?”

  She swung her legs over the bed’s edge and tried to stand. Weakness shot through her limbs and she fell back.

  “It wasn’t merely sex, Mara,” he said quietly. “I weakened your demon.”

  Sitting up, he stretched out his long fingers. Inky blackness danced along the tips. Lucien regarded his hands with a solemn look. Then he inhaled deeply, and the darkness suctioned into his mouth.

  For a terrifying second, his eyes flashed crimson. Evil. Is that what I look like?

  Then he fisted his hands, breathed out evenly and his eyes resumed their normal color.

  Mara drew in a deep breath, reaching for her source of strength. Still there, but dimmed as if diminished in strength. No wonder she felt listless.

  “How?”

  “When you climax, your demon rises to the surface. I pulled part of it inside me.”

  The hurt was so piercing, she could barely breathe. They’d made love and he’d taken advantage of her. Deliberately. He’d warned her this would happen, but she’d been so intent on pleasure, she’d forgotten.

  “You took my powers. I can barely move. Lucien, you had no right.”

  Regret flickered in his gaze. “I will not allow the hunters to destroy you, Mara. It was the only choice. You still have not learned to control your darkness.”

  “There’s always another way.” She gritted her teeth and stood, swaying on two legs. Forcing one foot in front of the other.

  She barely made it into the bathroom.

  Nausea rolled in her stomach. Mara leaned against the sink and gulped several deep breaths, forcing it down. Lifting her gaze to the mirror, she stared at her kiss-swollen lips. Desire had bitten her, hard and fast. The vampire was a wonderful lover, but a dangerous one.

  How could she ever risk sex with him again, knowing next time he could drain her?

  She rested most of the afternoon. When she finally woke, feeling groggy
and still weakened, Mara went into the living room. Petra hung upside down from the ceiling light fixture. Lucien was reading and glanced up.

  At her mutinous expression, he sighed. “I had hoped a rest would revive you.”

  “It did. Just enough for me to have strength enough to walk the hell out of here. Hunters or no hunters, I’m leaving.”

  Petra gave her an arch look as she swung on her perch.

  “Good idea. I wish you’d leave, Darklighter. Something is searching for you, something that walks on four legs and likes to eat Alpo. I don’t like four-leggeds. Having you around means they might sniff me out as well.”

  “Nothing will get to you or Mara.” Lucien flicked a finger at the door. “I’ve warned off the hunters from touching her. And as long as you refrain from snacking on mortals during the day, you’ll be fine, Petra.”

  A loud belch burbled up from the gremlin. Lucien narrowed his eyes.

  “Petra? Have you been eating in public again?”

  The gremlin’s mint-green face pinked. She jumped down to the floor. “Well, maybe just once. Or twice. I met this dude from India while shopping and you know how I adore curry…”

  The dawning horror on Lucien’s face made Mara afraid. “You ate him?”

  “Of course not. I only took a little blood.”

  The glass coffee table shattered into thousands of shards. Lucien shot to his feet.

  “We’re leaving.”

  Mara fought down panic. What would make this powerful Ancient so afraid?

  As he barked orders at Petra to leave the room, Mara understood. Lucien didn’t fear for himself, but for the gremlin.

  Petra ran back inside. “Lucien, there’s Alpo-eaters coming down the hallway.”

  He swore, jamming a hand through his hair, mussing the elegant curls. “We’ll go out through your room, Petra. Take the stairs. If there’s more, they can easily trap you in the elevator. We’ll head for the airport.”

  “Airport?” Alarm filled her.

  “Back to my home in Michigan. It’s isolated and safe there.”

  “I can’t leave the city!”

  “I don’t have time to argue. They’ll be here in a minute to take Petra. Petra, go out the balcony, it’s faster than the stairs.”

  “We’re seventeen floors up. What are you going to do, fly down?” Mara stared at the gremlin.

  “Duh, of course,” Petra said, rolling her eyes. “It’s Miami. They’re used to seeing crazy things.”

  Lucien used his powers to lock the door behind them.

  Chapter 8

  Every instinct screamed inside Mara to fight, not flee. She’d never be rid of Jones until he was dead, and Jones was here, in Miami. She had to stay here.

  But as she heard voices next door and the sound of furniture being overturned, a chill slid down her spine.

  “Stay back,” Lucien warned.

  Splaying out his fingers, he directed a blast of light through the walls to his suite. Two loud, angry howls followed.

  “They’re trapped, but only for a few minutes. I can dematerialize, but can’t take you with me during the day. My powers are too diminished by the sun.” Lucien herded her out into the hallway toward the fire exit as Petra stepped onto the balcony.

  “Seventeen flights?” Mara whispered.

  “Channel your inner work-out demon.”

  When they’d reached the bottom and burst outside into the street, her muscles screamed in protest. Mara’s knees buckled. She sagged against the wall, her lungs bellowing out sharp breaths.

  “Where’s Petra?” she asked.

  Worry lined Lucien’s brow. He seemed to reach out with his powers. “Damn it. Petra went back to the room to stall them. She wants to buy us time.”

  Mara looked up and recoiled in shock. An aura of white light pulsed around Lucien’s tensed body. Her angelic half reacted, reaching eagerly for it, twining with the white energy, until tendrils of their mingled light swirled around them both.

  It was worry for Petra, she realized. Lucien cared deeply about the little gremlin.

  “I can’t leave you here alone. It’s too dangerous and I will not see you hurt.”

  The white light pulsed stronger around him. Mara felt awed and awash with new feelings for this powerful vampire. Lucien was determined to save her. People usually threw her under the bus. Even her sisters had grown distant. But this vampire was slowly getting under her skin with his fierce protectiveness.

  Mara thought of crazy, brave Petra confronting the werewolf hunters. “Why are they after her?”

  “She violated the rules. Petra’s forbidden from taking human blood.”

  “But gremlins eat meat.”

  “Petra’s not truly a gremlin.” He swore. “I will not let them get to her.”

  “And I can’t climb those stairs. Go, Lucien. I’ll be here.”

  “I will be back straight away. Stay here in the shadows and don’t move.”

  The quick brush of his lips sent blood singing through her veins. He dematerialized.

  No one had ever made her feel this crazy way before. He was lethal and yet tender. She longed to fall into his arms, stay there and feel safe. But she knew no place was safe.

  Mara fisted her hands. “Why?” she whispered. “Why did you wreck my life, Jones? I never hurt you, never did anything bad to anyone.”

  Strength returned, pouring into her jellied limbs. Rage loaned it to her as she pushed away from the wall and stood. The dim darkness inside her suddenly blasted into full power, like a jet powering up.

  Struggling to leash her emotions, Mara thought quickly. They’d need a cab to the airport. She walked out to the main street to coax a cab in her direction.

  One pulled up to the curb. The driver wore a ragged knit cap with the colors of the Jamaican flag. Mara caught a familiar scent on the back door handle. Jones. He had used this cab, had been here. She must find him.

  A red haze of fury fogged her mind, clogging all rational thought.

  The fire exit door banged open. Someone yelled her name.

  She fumbled with the taxi’s back door handle and flung it open.

  Even as she slid inside and closed the door, she knew. The overwhelming scent of evil clouded her mind. Panicking, she searched the door. No handles.

  The driver turned, tipping up his cap and flashing a familiar-gap toothed smile. Jones.

  “Welcome, demon. No need to state the destination. You’re going straight back to hell.”

  Lucien swore as the cab sped away. He’d knocked together the skulls of the hunters, sending them unconscious, but now Mara was trapped.

  “Go straight to the airport,” he yelled at Petra. “I’ll meet you there.”

  Heart hammering in his chest, he ran on the sidewalk, tracking the cab. Mara’s terrified look stamped into his brain as her fingers scraped at the window like a trapped animal.

  If Jones laid a single finger on her…Fangs exploded in Lucien’s mouth.

  Legs pumping fast, he passed startled pedestrians, who looked confused at the microburst of air. Though the sun diminished his powers, he maintained his legendary speed. Lucien raced into the street, weaving around the vehicles until he spotted a pink taxicab stopped at a red light.

  The driver was reeling back, screaming as a whirling gray mass attacked him. Fear kicked up Lucien’s heartbeat.

  He materialized beside the taxi.

  The door yanked open with a protest of screeching metal. He grabbed Mara around the waist while maintaining a glamour.

  Jones touched his wet, reddened cheek. “Hello, Lucien, nice to see you again. She’s dead now. The hunters will claw into her and hurt her badly now that she’s attacked me.”

  “If you’ve hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out myself,” Lucien said tightly.

  Jones laughed, thumped his chest. “Can’t touch this,” he sang mockingly. “You know the rules.”

  “Get out of here.” Lucien used his powers to depress the gas pedal. Startled, Jo
nes screamed and wrestled for the steering wheel as the cab sped away.

  He hauled Mara to the sidewalk. Wrinkling his nose at the sulfuric smell of demon, he held on tight. She shrieked. On the curb, Lucien pulled her hard against him. Her gray skin was icy, her amber eyes swirled with blood red. Her strength astonished him. He wrapped his arms around her.

  He began to rock her, using touch to soothe and calm.

  “Shh, Mara. It’s all right. It’s all right. You have nothing to fear. I’ll make damn sure he’ll never get his hands on you again. I’ll rip him to shreds if he dares to touch you.”

  Crooning, he used his hypnotic voice to draw out her cold fury. Gradually she stopped fighting. The blue returned to her eyes and her skin became pale, her nails returning to the blunt, pared ends. The cold, dark aura swirling around her faded.

  Mara sagged against him, her eyes closing. His heart cracked. Lucien stared at the woman in his arms, her angelic self chasing away the snarling demon.

  He could save her, he realized.

  Maybe in saving her, he could even save himself.

  Cradling her in his arms, he traced her moist, red lips with an index finger. Mara’s eyes fluttered open again. Light caught the flecks of blue, chasing away the demon red completely.

  “Lucien? I lost it again. Is Petra okay? Please tell me she’s not hurt.”

  “She’s fine. I reached them just before they laid paws on her.” And cracked their skulls open, he thought grimly. The hunters would awaken with headaches and fresh determination.

  “Good. You care about what happens to her, I can tell. It’s nice.” Her voice drifted away. “I wish someone felt the same about me. No one has, since my parents died.”

  The simple declaration shook him to the core. He held her tighter. I could care.

  He did not want to.

  She looked shaken, worry creasing her brow. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t hurt me,” he assured her.

  “Good. I don’t want you to get hurt, Lucien.” Mara touched his face.

  The caress was a warm, velvet stroke. Emotions coursed through him. No one had cared about him in years. Even Petra, his closest companion, took his well-being for granted. The warmth in Mara’s eyes undid him, as did her rosy mouth. It was a promise of the sweetest taste of heaven, a chance to redeem his damned soul. She smelled like fresh peaches.