Desperate and Dateless (3 page)

His Vicci might be a tough-as-nails woman, but he didn’t think the best way to introduce himself mentally was as a seething cauldron of lusts and desires and the craziness his heat would raise within him.

In the short time he had tasted her, he had become fully addicted to her sweet, refreshing aroma. Now, as he watched her from a semi-quiet corner, he felt grateful he had taken her away from the crowd, if only for those few moments.

He could tell from the jerky, skittish movements of her eyes that her mind was ticking over something. His ego insisted she thought about their kisses, their caresses, but from the other side of the room and so deeply in the shadows, he couldn’t be certain.

She watched the crowd, a frown marring her pretty face. Even in the regulation black suit she wore, he could see the keys to her femininity. Round, firm breasts resided under the shirt of the suit, tempting him to reach out and palm them. Her body looked trim, not as slender as many mercs became with the regimented discipline needed during training, but a fit, healthy slimness nevertheless.

Her hair seemed an intriguing color, not auburn, not brown, but somewhere in between. Pulled tightly back in a bun, it beckoned enticingly to Vlad, more than he wanted. Vlad felt certain the feminine taunt was unintentional, the whisper of a seductive tease to remove the ties that bound the thick mass, and let it fall where it may.

“She is an interesting creature. We could always—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence if you want your limbs to remain in place, Vasili,” Vlad growled. He shot a quick look at his friend, noticed the confusion and slightly teasing look, and returned his glance to Vicci. “What are you doing here anyway? I wouldn’t have placed you in the desperate or the dateless category. Or shouldn’t I ask?”

Vlad smiled as Vasili leaned negligently against the wall.

“I’m here with Rylan and Simeon Montague. They both wanted a night out and thought attending might be worth a laugh or two. Plenty of fresh young women, willing and eager to indulge in some of the more publicly known vampire fantasy games. Rylan has already been out back with a half-dozen of them. How he can keep all their names and numbers straight is beyond me. I don’t even pretend to keep up with him anymore.”

Vlad just nodded. Rylan Montague was a well-known rogue. His skills were legendary, as were the tales of his conquests. Many female vampires felt it a coming-of-age ritual to bed the youngest Montague.

“Simeon is here? I wouldn’t have thought it his sort of scene,” Vlad commented idly, wondering what time Vicci would be getting off tonight. When Vasili snickered, Vlad turned his attention back to the younger vampire.

“Neither did we. You should have heard Michael and Rylan teasing him before we left. Seems Simeon is thinking about settling down. We were wondering if he was starting to enter his heat, but he still seems as calm and controlled as ever to the lot of us. We eventually decided maybe he’s going through a phase.”

Vlad caught sight of Simeon dancing with two vampiresses over in another corner. There did seem to be urgency in his movements, but it wasn’t the desperate craving to have sex with either of the women, not like the urgent heat and need to mate that Vlad currently felt for Vicci.

“No,” he agreed, “he’s not in heat, but he is feeling rather strongly about something. He’ll need his friends and family near him in the months to come.”

Vlad shook his head and closed his mouth, saying nothing more on the subject. Rarely did he stick his nose into other people’s business unless specifically asked. Even though he had a lot of power, more often than not vampires were a stubborn breed. They wanted to do things their own way and make their own mistakes, not have some all-knowing pain-in-the-ass telling them what their problems were and how to fix them.

“Will he be okay?” Vasili asked.

Vlad realized he had worried the close friend of the Montagues. He looked again at the urgent, almost impatient manner with which Simeon Montague danced. The knowledge entered him as if some guardian handed it to him.

“He will be fine, but he bears watching. There are plenty of changes in store for all of the Montagues. They will need you to stand by them and be their friend.”

Vasili nodded, as if he were an old knight and had been handed a quest. “I will watch over them.”

Just when Vlad felt the urge to offer his assistance if needed, he noticed a man approaching Vicci. “I have to go,” he said curtly.

Vlad looked over to the edge of the room where two of the Vampiric security stood guarding the entrance. Vlad nodded and made a few gestures, speaking in the silent code all trained vampires knew.

He wanted to take Vicci out of there, and even after their short acquaintance knew she wouldn’t leave unless someone took over her post. Being a Prince had to have its good aspects every now and then.

The two guards nodded and commed the others. Everything was underway.

Vasili laughed and as he read Vlad’s gestures to the guards. Vlad could feel him following behind as he headed toward his woman. “You’ve got it so bad, Vlad buddy,” he said. Vlad continued to walk across the room and felt his gut clench as he heard his friend’s chuckled parting comment. “She’s got a great ass. Do call if you feel like sharing.”

Vlad stopped, turned and smiled widely, making sure to show plenty of fang to get his point across. “I will, at absolutely no stage, be willing to share her.” Vlad knew his point had reached home when Vasili’s eyes widened.

“You’re in heat! You’re going to close your Soul’s Circle! Hot bloody hell! You just
wait
until I tell the guys! They’re never gonna believe this!”

Vlad shrugged and turned back to Vicci. He knew by the time the Ball attendees heard he had chosen to close his Soul’s Circle with a human ex-merc, both he and Vicci would be long gone.
She
mightn’t know he had made his decision, but he had.

She might struggle against her fate but he would be gentle and patient with her as well as their situation, as he could be. But he knew her heart and soul had recognized him as soon as they’d met.

She just needed to get her mind around it. And a night of no-holds-barred sex would be just the thing to help wrap her mind around an eternity of being with him. She mightn’t know she would become immortal when her circle closed with his, but she would accept it just as she would accept him.

He felt sure they could face the rest of their lives together.

Vlad pressed a heavy hand on the vampire trying vainly to chat up his woman and spun the man around. “Roger,” he said heavily, leaning close to his ear to be heard over the music, “still trying to push yourself on unsuspecting women, I see.”

The tall, skinny vampire scowled underneath Vlad’s penetrating gaze. His golden earring flashed as he violently shook his head.

“Vladmir, still trying to play—”

“I would not finish that sentence if I were you.” Gone was the teasing quality of his voice that had been present when chatting with Vasili. Roger was scum and they both knew it. Vlad felt relieved when Vicci didn’t contradict him in front of the vampire. It proved more than anything else that Roger and his attentions had been unwanted.

“Go play with someone else, Roger.” The vampire scowled, but knew better than to cause a scene. He slunk away and Vlad released a pent-up breath. He would have torn the other vampire apart if necessary, but the scene it would have created would have caused a lot of damage for them both, physically as well as politically.

“I would love to say that macho scene wasn’t necessary, but that was one greasy, slimy vampire. I couldn’t work out how to handle him without causing him bodily damage.”

Vlad smiled and stood next to her. “Bodily damage would probably be wonderful for him, just not here and now.”

Vicci nodded. “I know. It was why I hadn’t done anything yet.”

Vlad nodded to the security guards who wove their way toward them both. “I’ve arranged for you to be let off early tonight. The party will be winding down soon anyway. Want to come into the woods with me, little girl?”

Vicci eyed him warily. “I feel like I should know the reference…one of those Old World-Style Fairy Tales?”

Vlad grinned widely. “Ever heard of the Big Bad Wolf?”

Vicci laughed. “I thought you were a vampire? There aren’t any werewolves here tonight or I’d have sensed them.”

Vlad shrugged and held out his hand. He knew if she took it here, in front of all these vampires and humans, she would be committing herself for the evening. Most of the people present mightn’t literally be watching them, but in front of so many people, it would be a positive, definite place to start.

“Follow me home, pretty girl.”

He waited patiently while Vicci looked at the beefy guard standing a few feet away from them. She then turned and looked Vlad up and down once, and then twice.

“You’re a Prince, huh?” she finally asked.

Vlad just smiled. “So I’m told.”

When Vicci bit her lip, he wanted to kiss her and then bite her lip for her. He knew she would taste incredible. He felt the heat within him rise up hungrily. He tamped it down with a lot of will and difficulty.

When she took his hand, he felt the lightning bolt course through him. She had chosen him. She might not understand or approve, but she had made her choice. He pulled them both outside, dodging the grinding, flowing crowd of people.

He needed to get them back to his lodgings fast before the heat and hunger truly burst from him and caused them to
really
create a scene.

Chapter Three

Vicci followed the incredibly handsome vampire outside onto the street. She smiled to herself. Had it really only been a few hours ago she had entered the ball, sighing internally over the stupidity of having to watch a bunch of desperate and dateless vampires shimmying up to each other?

She laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“What’s so funny?” her “date” asked, leading her over to a midnight blue Cruiser. As she watched him de-activate the alarm without letting go of her hand, she shrugged her shoulders casually.

“Just the thought that, if anyone had told me at the beginning of the night I’d find myself a bed partner at a ball full of dateless, almost desperate vampires and teeny-bopping wanna-be human girls, I’d have laughed myself sick and then hit them just for good measure.”

“Ah yes, the surreality of the evening is bemusing to me as well.”

Vicci cocked her head to the side. She watched carefully as Vlad opened the Cruiser door for her and waited for her to enter the vehicle.

“How so? I mean, surely you came tonight expecting to find yourself a bed partner?”

Vicci caught her breath as he smiled. While his hair seemed beautifully mussed, his teeth were startlingly white against the tanned color of his skin, and his brown eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness of the night.
This is a beautiful man
, she realized.

Blinking, gathering her wits, she tuned back in as he spoke.

“I came tonight just to enjoy myself, dance a bit, catch up with local gossip. Watch and see who was around and who was missing. Just socializing. I haven’t felt the need to indulge in a casual fling for many a moon. You, my dear woman, are a brilliant find.” Vicci frowned and stepped up to the car. A group of the guys had traveled together to come into the complex, the vamps having sent a big transport for all the security detail. Vicci pressed her earpiece once more.

“I’ve grabbed a lift back, guys. I’m being covered.”

She smiled at the ribald comments that came pouring in from many of her work buddies. Turning the entire comm unit off, she packed it away in a pocket of her suit. Now truly alone in their privacy, Vicci turned back and looked at the vampire who still stood with the Cruiser door open.

She looked deep into his eyes, wanting to gauge the truth of his next response. “So why pick me up? Why indulge yourself tonight if you’re so set against a fling?”

Vicci felt her heartbeat accelerate again. Vlad smiled so widely she could see his fangs.

“Who said anything about a fling, casual or otherwise?”

Gulping steadily, Vicci bent herself into the front seat of the Cruiser. She didn’t think she wanted to ask any more questions.

She looked out into the night as Vlad came around to the other side of the Cruiser, started it, pulled out into the driveway of the complex and headed for the street. Vicci watched the expansive, semi-familiar scenery pass them by. She chewed her lip in thought as the Cruiser ate up the miles back into the city. She hadn’t felt this off-kilter since she had been a fresh recruit. After nearly twenty minutes of silence between them, she knew she would start to babble soon, ask silly questions and betray her growing nerves.