He tried to keep his senses focused on what was just outside the firelight but found it difficult with her ripe curves covered only by a silky blouse pressed tightly to him.
"Woman, where"s yer man?"
A tinkle of laughter met the question. "I have no man."
He spun her around in his arms, his hand holding the Colt nuzzled against her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s and his fully erect c.o.c.k grazing her bottom. "I know ya can"t be alone. Where is he?"
With surprising strength, the woman broke his hold on her and danced to the other side of the fire. Her black hair and skirt fluttered around her as she danced and then his breath caught in his throat. Her fingers parted b.u.t.tons, revealing full b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They swayed and bounced as she moved to an inner music. His c.o.c.k throbbed behind its buckskin covering.
Turning her back, she bent and shimmied her hips as she lowered her skirt. An upturned a.s.s with legs slightly parted had given him a tempting view of her damp p.u.s.s.y. If she hadn"t immediately twirled around the fire, in his direction, he would have walked right through the flames to get to her. He wouldn"t have felt the heat.
The gypsy h.e.l.lcat didn"t stop until she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, breed, you do anything on those blankets besides sleep?"
Thoughts of an ambush fled his mind. He was well liked by the ladies, though many of them would never admit to lowering themselves to bedding a half-breed savage. However, this was unusual even for him.
His low chuckle came from deep in his chest. "Ma"am, my blankets been used for many thangs," he replied in his heavily accented voice.
Once again, she danced playfully away from him and settled herself upon his bedroll. "You mind sharing?" Glittering dark eyes bore into him.
It had been a long time since he thought of that night, his induction into the dark. Selena had been a beautiful gypsy vampire. She had told him afterward that she had been lonely, though not quite alone. She had watched him and thought he would make the perfect vampire mate for her because he was an outcast with no real family to leave behind.
In some ways, she had made the perfect choice. He had been weary of life as a half-breed, never accepted as white or Apache. The problems had arisen when she taught him of their powers and their needs. Almost immediately, he rejected the idea of killing innocent people to feed his hungers. She tried to convince him it was necessary but he proved he could take blood without killing.
Through trial and error, he had learned to take only enough blood to sate his ravenous hunger while leaving his victim alive and unaware of what he had done. He had discovered the easiest way to accomplish his task was by seducing women. In the heat of pa.s.sion, a stray bite here or there was not suspicious. If done in this way, he did not have to concern himself with mesmerizing his victims or erasing their memories. Of course, he did not seduce all his victims-sometimes he took sustenance from males and occasionally he lowered himself to feeding from animals such as deer. The blood of an animal was not quite the same, sometimes making him queasy. Never did it quench his hunger the way warm human blood did.
No matter the argument, Selena was not willing to change her ways. She thought it was too much work. If you didn"t kill, you had to limit the amount of blood you took and you were still hungry, therefore you had to hunt more. For her it was easier just to kill and drain the body dry and then she was sated. Eventually though, the trail of dead bodies she left behind caught up with her.
It had been a bright, sunny day when they finally caught her. He had sought his sleep nearby and sensed the commotion but had been unable to help her-or them. The hunters believed the common vampire lore. Thinking if they approached her during the day she would be defenseless. Wrong! It was true most vampires slept by day, only because they were awake all night. Since they could not tolerate direct sunlight, they preferred the night but were just as strong by day.
It had been a bloodbath. Five men were down before someone managed to shove her out a window. Her unholy screams as sunlight seared her flesh still woke him on occasion.
He had stood in the shadows of a cave entrance not more than fifty yards away but there was nothing he could do. She had not burst into flames immediately as many believed would happen. She could have survived the burn and recovered if she had escaped but while the sun distracted her, a holy man had pierced her heart with a stake.
If she had been willing to change, it could have been different. Grigore, her sire, had been livid at her death and wrought destruction on the townspeople. Grey had refused to partic.i.p.ate. Although he mourned her loss, he thought it justified, even necessary. For that reason, Grigore hated him and from time to time over the years, he"d sought Grey out. Always, he left a trail of destruction in his wake. This time Grey had to stop him, he wouldn"t allow Grigore to harm Shannon.
Grey would never force the darkness upon Shannon but he could offer her a choice. Offer her immortality at his side, but first he had to eliminate Grigore.
"There"s something I have to tell you," Grey announced.
"You don"t want a relationship with a woman who could get sick at any time," her voice quavered with emotion.
He frowned. "No. That"s not it...when I tasted you, I discovered...the cancer"s back." He regarded her closely.
Her eyes closed and she spoke softly, "I expected as much."
He gathered her closer, nuzzling her cheek, her neck, wanting her to know she was not alone. "I can cure you."
"You mean turn me." Blue eyes stared directly into his. There was no fear, only resolve.
"Yes. Vampirism is a disease, a regenerating disease. You will crave blood but there is no need to kill. I don"t kill people-not usually." He resisted the urge to add a compulsion for her to accept his will. It would be her choice either way.
"You killed the men who attacked me." It was more a statement than a question.
"Yes but..."
"What about the prost.i.tutes last night? I know you took their blood but did you kill them?"
"No. There was no need for that."
"Two female prost.i.tutes were found dead near Thirty-fourth and Central Avenue with their throats ripped out."
"Grigore."
"Is that the vamp I saw?"
He nodded his head. "I think so. He has a grudge against me."
"What happened?"
Grey explained about the death of his sire Selena. "He never forgave me for not seeking revenge. Over the years, our paths have crossed a time or two with b.l.o.o.d.y results. I should have ended this sooner. If I had, those girls would still be alive."
"Maybe. Some people say when it"s your time, it"s your time."
"It was my time long ago and yet I am here."
"I"m glad."
For the first time in a long time, he was too. "So will you allow me to help you? Not all vampires are like Grigore. He is a sick, twisted vampire because he was a sick, twisted man."
"You don"t have to explain. I know vamps aren"t crazed bloodsuckers, at least not most of them, but I"m not sure... "
"If you weren"t sick I"d be content to stay with you, to allow you to age, knowing someday I"d lose you but I can"t... I don"t want to lose you now. I don"t want to watch you suffer." A fierce emotion burned in his eyes. "I have to protect you from Grigore, he" ll come after you. He"ll try to turn you but in such a way as to make you his slave, just to punish me. If I turn you it will prevent that, at worst he could... "
"Kill me."
"He will try but I"ll protect you. You"ll have a better chance as a vampire."
She nodded her head as she considered his words. "What about my a.s.s?"
"Your a.s.s?" His hand ran up her thigh and squeezed. "What about it?"
"If I"m a vamp, will it be firmer? You know, lose the jiggle."
"I like the jiggle," Grey replied, squeezing the two generous mounds of flesh.
"You didn"t answer my question."
"All of your muscles will be firm, strong."
"No more squats and leg lifts."
"No surgery, no dieting, no squats-as for the leg lifts. You"ll be lifting and parting these pretty legs for me-for eternity."
"That"s my kind of exercise."
Chapter Six.
What did she have to lose? Another surgery and more chemo, h.e.l.l, she could even keep her job...she might have to adjust her hours. Nuzzling her face into his neck, she muttered, "Bite me."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"It involves an exchange of blood-I suck you-you suck me," his voice lowered an octave.
"Ohh, I like the sound of that!"
"Do ya now! Where do ya want the bite?" He trailed his tongue down the vein in her neck. "Here?" He gathered a breast in his hand and his tongue flicked the nipple.
"Maybe here... or how about I sink my fangs into your hot little c.l.i.t."
Her heart thumped, every nerve in her body screamed. "I don"t think... "
"Ya want it. Ya know ya do." His gaze smoldered with intense heat. He grinned, fangs gleaming, and she swallowed deeply.
His breath was hot and heavy as he shifted down her body, spreading her thighs. Hunger flared fiercely and her heart pounded. "G... Grey."
"So wet and ready." His dark eyes devoured her p.u.s.s.y. His fangs gleamed, he looked like the dangerous predator he was. However, he didn"t want to kill her. He wanted to save her.
His tongue parted her folds, sifting through her slit. "Oh my G.o.d!" She writhed, begging for release. The tip of his tongue flicked her c.l.i.t and her hands burrowed in his silky hair. "Please, Grey."
She felt the coolness of his fangs on the hood of her c.u.n.t. Their eyes met, his flared with hunger as he growled. The vibration teased her p.u.s.s.y then his fangs pierced and she screamed, bucking against his mouth. Pain turned to pleasure as the sweetest sensations built. His tongue rasped her c.l.i.t as he suckled deeply, powerfully. It felt as if he sucked her soul out through her p.u.s.s.y. She rippled with pleasure and gushed cream to join with the blood.
She whimpered helplessly as his fangs released. Rising up, his fangs dipped with her blood, he slammed his thick c.o.c.k into her aching depths. A long nail raked a gash above his left breast and he drew her mouth to the wound. "Suckle me."
His hot blood filled her mouth and she groaned. Fire flowed through her veins and her p.u.s.s.y clenched. His exotic taste consumed her and she sucked deeply, vigorously drawing his blood into her body as she devoured him. It was an addictive, gnawing hunger. He yanked her mouth from his chest as his fangs pierced her neck and his c.o.c.k plunged repeatedly. Her blood boiled and she convulsed, liquid fire pulsed through her body. White light erupted behind her eyes and her head fell back as everything went dark.
She gasped, drawn back to wakefulness as a cool cloth brushed her face. "What?"
"I thought you might want to get cleaned up."
Her eyes roamed his nude form, noticing the absence of a gash to his chest, though blood still smeared his flesh. Her eyes darted down and her head spun. She lifted a hand. "Wow."
"Take it easy, your body needs to adjust."
She felt high, as if her eyes were too wide, taking in too much. "Did we do all this?" Blood splattered her thighs, stomach and the bed.
"Yeah. Somebody got a little carried away." His mouth curved in a s.e.xy grin.
"Sorry."
"How do you feel?"
"Hungry," she purred.
"I"ll teach you how to feed without killing," his voice took on a serious note and she giggled.
"I"m not hungry for food." She raked her gaze across his well-developed abs to his c.o.c.k. It twitched under her bold stare then surged to life and her blood burned at the sight. "I wasn"t thinking about sucking-blood." She licked her lips before wrapping them around his shaft.
"Mmm," she moaned. He tasted salty, musky as she worked her tongue on the sensitive underside of c.o.c.k.
"Saints blood," Grey hissed, his stomach flinched as he settled back on the bed.
His hands wrapped in her hair, guiding her mouth. She swallowed around his thick c.o.c.k, taking more, deeper into her mouth, her throat. Her senses reeled. All of her senses...taste, touch, smell, heightened to the extreme.
"f.u.c.k, Shannon," he growled. "Take it all." He thrust upward, holding her head in place, and she swallowed his length. Laving his c.o.c.k, devouring his turgid length, she grasped his b.a.l.l.s and felt them tighten. Her teeth grazed his flesh as her tongue circled his pulsing shaft. His hips pumped and he growled deep in his chest. She rolled his b.a.l.l.s in her hands. Grey roared and his c.u.m shot down her throat.
Slowly, her head bobbed as she drank all he had to offer. His semi-erect c.o.c.k slipped from her mouth and stretched along his stomach. "Tasty." She grinned as she felt her incisors protrude.
The sun had set on the second day after Shannon"s rebirth and Grey couldn"t wait any longer. Grigore had slaughtered three college kids last night and unless Grey stopped him, he"d kill again tonight. The news report suggested the killings were cult or gang related. They said it would have been impossible for one person to commit such heinous crimes.
Grey"s eyes turned to Shannon as she rested in his bed. She"d taken to the change extremely well, though she had yet to feed from anyone but him. She found the prospect of biting a stranger disquieting but he didn"t mind. She could feed from him for eternity. Truthfully, he would prefer it. The thought of Shannon sinking her teeth into anyone else inflamed him, especially if it were another male.
She was his. He would protect her and provide for her for all eternity. His lip curled into a smile. Immortality used to be a bleak sentence of a doomed existence but now it held the promise of an everlasting paradise. Now he had a reason to survive and he would do whatever it took to protect their future.
"Shannon, I"m going out-for dinner. I"ll be back soon."
"Okay." She rolled over and stretched. "I"ll get a shower while you"re out."
"Don"t leave the loft."
"Yes, master."
"Mmm, I"ll let you be my submissive b.i.t.c.h when I get back. Make you work for your supper." He winked and headed for the door. He hadn"t told her that he intended to hunt down and kill Grigore. He"d left a note with an explanation, a key to his safe and his bank account numbers on his desk. If he didn"t return, he knew she"d find it. As an estate planner he had no doubt she"d be able to take care of herself if need be. His only concern was killing Grigore. Even if he had to sacrifice himself, Grigore would die and Shannon would be safe.
It didn"t take Grey long to find what he was looking for. In an abandoned warehouse two blocks over, he found Grigore feeding on a young woman while a naked, entranced man greedily sucked his c.o.c.k. Revulsion rose in Grey"s throat. He had seduced many a woman and taken their blood but he"d never enjoyed the games Grigore played.
Obviously, the rumors about Grigore were true. He"d heard he took pleasure in mesmerizing men and forcing them to commit s.e.xual acts unnatural to their nature. Then partially removing their memory but leaving them with glimpses of what they"d done, just enough to drive them crazy.
"Grey, how nice to see you again."