Caressed by Night (3 page)

They were gone. All of her would-be rapists had vanished.

“Are you all right?” a man asked from behind her.

She relaxed when she realized the voice sounded nothing like her attackers; it was warm, deep, and comforting.

“Miss?”

“Y-Yes.”

Slowly turning toward the voice, relief flooded her body, her breathing began to slow, and her limbs went limp. She stumbled and prepared to meet the pavement again, but her rescuer caught her. He tenderly held her to him, supporting her. Kerstyn knew she ought to protest and shove him away, he was a stranger after all, but his touch was soothing and reassuring. She had never felt so safe and calm in her life.

Calm was the furthest thing from her savior’s mind.

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Dimitri had heard the vampires’ thoughts as they followed the woman from Dark. He knew he had to protect her from the depraved creatures who intended to make a meal out of her. When he materialized in the alley, the weaker vampires caught his scent and fled, leaving him alone with the woman. Instead of feeling anger as he expected, an entirely different emotion settled over him.

Lust. It was no ordinary lust, but a heart racing, blood raging, sexual yearning and it turned his body into a blazing inferno of need.

Then hunger like he had never known slammed into him. It gnawed at him relentlessly as it mixed with his unmerciful lust. The torturous combination attacked both his body and his mind. He had never wanted any woman with this kind of intensity.

His body had been dead for so long, no longer responding to sexual stimulus or blood-thirst. Thousands of years had passed since the last time he had fed. The desire and necessity for blood had abandoned him. None of that seemed to matter now. His fangs sprang free as his pants grew tighter about his throbbing shaft. This woman’s blood sang to him, beckoned him to have a taste.

Dimitri ruthlessly fought the temptation to seize her mind and take what he wanted. The dread of not being able to pull away terrified him. Realizing what precious little control he had, he shut down his senses, driving away her intoxicating scent and the warmth of her soft body against his. He forced the color from his sight, only seeing in black and white with shades of gray. Though he knew he would never forget the light fragrance of her strawberry blonde hair, the feel of her in his arms, and the sapphire color of her eyes.

He took in deep breaths and focused on the cool bite of the air.

It washed over his body, rinsing away his desire leaving him as always, cold and unfeeling, like death. He was death: a true, pureblood vampire.

“What were you running from?” he asked, his tone controlled.

“I was being followed.”

He peered over her head, his eyes scanning the alley. “I see no one.”

Nausea twisted her insides as she thought of what almost happened.
Thank God, this man was here. If it weren’t for him
–

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“Do not think about it,” he said, his arms tightening about her.

“You are safe now.”

She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest. He smelled absolutely wonderful, like dark spices. His voice felt like velvet brushing along her skin. She shivered and sighed in contentment.

“Do you need help with anything?”

His last question snapped her back into action. She stepped back, breaking the circle of his arms.

“I need a taxi.”

“A simple enough task,” he said with a shrug.

She scoffed. If it were simple, she would have been half way home by now. She turned her head up intending to face him and a broad chest greeted her eyes. She was forced to take another step back in order to get a proper look at him.

He was huge. Thick. Stacked.

He must be close to seven feet
, she thought as her eyes traveled up his torso, over his wide chest, to his face.

Her heart stopped when their eyes met. They were a near colorless shade of blue. Like diamonds. His gaze was sharp, hard, filled with wisdom and strength. Intense. Warrior eyes. Yet, he could not be much older than her, around twenty-six. His golden hair glittered from the light of the neon signs and floated about his shoulders. His face was chiseled and impossibly perfect. His lips were full and Kerstyn wanted nothing more than to feel them against hers. Her eyes traveled back down his hard, honed body.

She stood, rooted to the cement, captivated by the Norse god before her.

Damn, he’s incredibly yummy.

Dimitri forced himself to remain still while she studied him.

Again, he struggled against his urges, his heart thundering from the force of the shock of desire that still echoed in his mind.

He knew one day he would meet his mate, but he had underestimated the force of her seductiveness. He never expected she would spark such yearning deep within his soul. He wondered how
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Dorian had dealt with such overwhelming need when he had found his intended. Dorian had been the first and, until now, only vampire king to find his other half.

Dimitri’s breath caught as her small, pink tongue wet her lips and her sensual thoughts invaded his mind.

She had to go.

He forced the sexual haze from his thoughts, locking it away.

He waved his hand in the air and a cab promptly came to a stop at the curb of the outlet of the ally. He opened the door and Kerstyn slipped inside, her eyes never leaving his face.

“Goodnight, miss,” he said.

Kerstyn was unable to speak.

This was it. Their brief meeting was at a close. She didn’t want it to end, she felt like asking him to get drinks, to come home with her, to spend the rest of his life with her.

She smiled at her foolish thoughts as the cab pulled away. She had more important things to worry about just now. Getting home was her top priority. Still, she was disappointed that she had not given him her phone number. He was one man she would not mind stalking her.

The cab ride was short; she did not live far from the Strip or the party streets lined with nightclubs and bars. She quickly paid the driver and dashed up the front steps into her apartment building. She fished her keys out of her purse while hiking up the stairs to the fourth floor.

She opened the door and found Denise sitting on the hand-me-down couch. Her face buried in her hands.

“I came as fast as I could. What happened?”

Denise looked up at her friend, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Tell me the truth,” she demanded with a sniffle.

“The truth about what?” Kerstyn asked as she sat next to Denise.

“The truth about you and Bobby.”

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“Bobby? What are you talking about? You know I can’t stand the guy.”

“If you don’t like him, then why would you sleep with him?” Kerstyn was stunned. Denise may as well have slapped her. She did not know what to say. How could her friend possibly think she would sleep with her boyfriend? She would never betray anyone like that. Plus, Bobby was repulsive and one of the biggest jerks she had ever met.

“Have you lost your mind? What would make you think I would do something like that?”

“Bobby said it,” she stated.

“And you believed him? Denise, we have been friends since middle school. You know me better than that.”

Denise sighed, “I thought I did.”

Kerstyn’s temper was on the rise. “How could you possibly take Bobby’s word over mine?”

“You are such a pretty girl, every man you meet wants to whisk you away. Why would my Bobby be any different?”

“Denise, can you remember the last time I had a boyfriend? Oh, that’s right. The answer is never.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’ve never made it past the third date. I suck when it comes to men.”

“You know Bobby is weak.”

“So now I supposedly took advantage of him? Are you listening to yourself? You have to know I would never do this to you.

Besides, why would I give up my virginity to your boyfriend?” A sob shook Denise’s shoulders. “I think you should move out.”

Kerstyn’s heart dropped to her stomach and anguish flowed through her veins. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Why would Bobby do such a horrible thing? She felt like throwing another
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shampoo bottle at the bastard’s head. And why would Denise believe his lies and still stay with him?

“You’re taking his side,” her voice shook. “He has no job, he doesn’t go to school; he lies and cheats on you. He’s a scumbag!” Denise shook her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. “I think this is for the best.”

“Where do you suggest I go?”

“I don’t know, but you can’t stay here. Bobby is moving in next weekend.”

“Denise, you believe him and you're letting him move in? What is wrong with you?”

“You need to move,” Denise snapped as she rose to her feet.

“I’m sorry, but there is no other way.” With that last statement, she stormed to her room, slamming the door.

Kerstyn felt as if she was going to be sick. This was ridiculous.

She had to make Denise believe her. Or at least she had to talk her into not kicking her out for a while. She had nowhere to go and she would be damned if she was going back home to her parents. She had to find a place to live.

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“It’s official, I am in hell,” Kerstyn groaned. “These last few days have been horrendous.”

“You wished your life would become more exciting.”

“This isn’t excitement, Silvie. It’s stressful.” She slumped in the passenger side seat. “What am I going to do? My ex-best friend is kicking me out so her lying boyfriend can move in with her. I get fired from my job because my probation period is ending and my boss would have to pay me more. He is such an ass. Then, my car decides to die on me. On top of all that, I was attacked.”
Not to mention, I let the sexiest
man alive get away
. If she had known what Denise had to say, she would not have rushed home. She would have taken her time and insisted on buying her mysterious hero a drink.

“And rescued by the Norse god of thunder himself,” Silvie said with a light laugh.

“He looked exactly like Thor: tall, blond, solid, and powerful,” Kerstyn sighed. “You know, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. Every time I close my eyes, I can feel his strong arms holding me against him, hear his deep voice, and see his unbelievable blue eyes.

It’s been three days since our run-in and I’ve dreamed of him each night.”

“Wow.”

Kerstyn smiled, a blush coloring her cheeks. “Yeah, I know. I might be over-romanticizing him because he saved me.”

“Maybe,” Silvie said with a shrug.

“No man has ever made me feel like this.” Kerstyn laughed at herself, “At work, every time someone came into the store, I looked up hoping it would be him. How ridiculous is that? For all I know, he
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could have been a tourist, only here for the weekend. I’ll probably never see him again.”

Silvie’s breath stilled as her eyes flickered like a camera’s flash.

“You never know what will happen.”

Kerstyn turned in her seat to face her friend, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing up as a chill sprinted through her body.

She could sense the change in Silvie before she heard her slightly deeper, sage-like voice. Silvie shook her head and Kerstyn relaxed.

Though her friend had never claimed to be psychic or have any type of otherworldly power, Kerstyn was convinced she did.

“Fate brought you two together once and I have a feeling it will happen again.”

“I can only hope. Then I can stop kicking myself in the ass for letting him get away.”

“Did they say what might be wrong with your car?” Silvie asked and Kerstyn was happy to change the subject.

She shook her head and said, “I have no idea, but whatever it is, it won’t be cheap. The damn thing could eat through my savings, which I need for a new place. I was up all night searching the web for apartments, but all the decent places aren’t leasing or are too expensive.

I need a new roommate and a new job or I am going to be living out of my broken-down car.”

“It sounds like you could use a margarita.”

Kerstyn huffed in agreement.

“You can crash at my place for a little while if you need to. The couch is comfortable.”

“I don’t want to impose on you. Besides, your studio isn’t big enough for the two of us.”

Silvie shrugged. “I have an idea for you,” she said as they stopped at a light. She fished her cell phone from the over-sized cup holder in her center console and began to browse through her photos. “I know this guy. He owns a huge house outside the city. I’m sure he would let you rent a room for cheap. You can stay there until you can save enough money for your own apartment. He is really nice, polite,
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and old-fashioned. In other words, he won’t bother you.” She handed the phone to Kerstyn.

“Oh, my God. That’s no house, it’s a castle.”

Silvie laughed, “I was heading there when you called me to you up from the garage. I can drop you off at my place or you could come with me to meet him and check it out. Or do you want to wait it out and see if Denise changes her mind.”

Kerstyn massaged the nape of her neck.

“I’ve tried to talk to her. She won’t listen.”

“You told her about Bobby spying on you in the shower?”

“She doesn’t believe me.” Kerstyn’s eyes flashed with rage,

“and that disgusting worm just smiles at me every time I see him.”

“Did she say when she wanted you out?”