Drawing Blood (28 page)

He ran his hand down her bare arm, keeping an infinitesimal distance between his palm and her skin. Goosebumps rose on her flesh in reaction to the electrical charge between them. Her skin responded to him like a philharmonic responded to its conductor. Barely touching her, yet hovering over her, Stryker shocked her when he kissed her hard as if unable to stop himself. She loved it and kissed him back with enthusiasm. It was exquisite. One moment he’d be demanding, verging on rough, the next he’d be so gentle and it was Holly who became demanding.

She could feel his arousal through their inconvenient clothing and she arched her hips up and pressed even closer to him. He groaned and used his hips to drive her deeper into the couch cushion. Lifting his head up, he frowned at the give in the soft couch. With one eyebrow cocked devilishly, he gathered Holly into his arms and rolled off the couch to the floor.

She landed on top of him and gasped as the impact with his hard body slammed her hips into his. Straddling him, she moved her body against his and wondered at how savage the contact made her feel.

Stryker took advantage of the opportunity and pulled her t-shirt off in one smooth motion. She was naked underneath, and when the cool air hit her skin, she congratulated herself on deciding against a bra that morning.

Almost touching her, but not quite, Stryker moved his hand up. His eyes followed the progress of his fingers. Holly could see desire reflected in his gaze and arched her back pushing her breast into his open hand. He was torturously gentle at first, but when she looked down at him and frowned, he smiled and handled her with a little less care.

Holly was ignited. She couldn’t get enough. This time she was on top. The balance of sexual power between them was about to be set right. Holly had never torn a button off a man’s shirt in her entire life. With well-made shirts it wasn’t as easy as it looked, but with her passion unleashed, she tore the shirt from his back with ease. Perhaps there were more advantages to this new half blood vampire thing of hers.

She smiled at him in triumph and ran the tip of her index finger down the centre of his heaving chest to the button of his jeans. She dipped her finger under the waistband and raked a fingernail across the skin that was still hidden from her. Their eyes locked and she met his mouth with hers, taking his tongue into her mouth and sucking on it. Grabbing a handful of his hair, she pulled his head back and exposed his neck. She waited until he started to struggle before dipping her head quickly, stopping a hair’s width from the pulse under his skin. With aching precision she ran her teeth along the length of his throat.

Her nails clawed their way down his chest to his belly button. She put a hand between his legs and pressed down then up without gentleness. Her tongue dipped into his navel and drew swirls on his stomach until she reached his fly. She stopped and looked into his eyes. They were pleading. She liked that.

In a split second, she had his pants open and her mouth on him. She used both of her hands, her tongue and her lips gently at first until he could take no more and cried out his impatience. At his protest, she lifted her head and challenged him with her eyes. This time when she swept her head down she wasn’t nearly so restrained. He was grateful for the pity she showed him and expressed his gratitude with a rather colorful expletive. Without pausing, she trapped his eyes with hers and used everything at her disposal to take him to the edge, pull him back then take him there again before driving him over the precipice. Breathless, she rested her cheek on his hard stomach and smiled to herself. That should even things up a bit, she thought.

Panting and twitching, Stryker grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up the length of his body. He kissed her, cushioned her back with his arm and flipped her underneath him. Her eyes widened when she felt his hardness against her.

“Mmm, so soon…you recover quickly,” she whispered.

He laughed. “I didn’t tell you about vampires? This is just the beginning.” Somehow before she knew it, she was naked and writhing underneath him.

Chapter 21

Again, Stryker took his time. Holly thought that once he’d gotten her naked under him, he’d lose control and finally take her, but no. Damn him, he chose that moment to prove his self-discipline to her. She groaned, yet still he held back. She clawed at the golden hair on his head and the smooth skin on his back and buttocks, but he continued to tease her.

She took a deep breath and prepared to scream her frustration. At that precise moment he entered her, surely, smoothly. Her scream turned into a moan as she felt his fullness inside her, joining their bodies. It was heaven. For a second, he looked down at her in wonder then with a very subtle movement miraculously he managed to slip even deeper. Holly had never felt so full, so completely joined.

Slowly, he set the rhythm, taking her with him until they no longer kept anything from each other. She took him inside her body and he reached between them, finding the exact spot where her sensation was most focused. She cried out and cracked, but did not shatter. He saved that for a little later when his own voice would join hers. Finally, with eyes locked on each other they both cried out loudly, triumphantly in unison.

With a last sure thrust, Stryker was spent. Holly wrapped her legs around his waist, savoring the feeling of still being joined together. Her movement caused a slight friction and Stryker lifted his head from her shoulder and smiled down at her.

“You started it.” He moved his hips against hers and started all over again.

Lacking the will to speak, Holly let her body respond for her. Her mind surrendered completely.

At some point in the night, Stryker had picked her up and taken her to bed. She couldn’t remember when, but she had a vague recollection of feeling weightless in his arms.

Sleepy, she snuggled next to him between the smooth sheets of her bed. She ran her hand over the hard ridges on his stomach. Damn, she thought idly, he belongs in an underwear commercial. She looked a little farther down and registered his body’s response to the movement of her hand and realized that perhaps she was wrong. Strictly x-rated, his body was not designed for prime time. She loved him for it.

He cupped her chin in his hand and said, “Sweetie, obviously I’m willing, but I think you need some rest.”

She started to protest and he put his thumb against her lips. She sucked it into her mouth and touched the pad with her tongue and then her teeth. He arched his head back with pleasure and groaned.

Laughing, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you in your dreams.” He pulled her even closer. She rested her cheek on his chest and his steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

* * * *

Holly woke the next morning with a smile on her face. He was right. He’d been with her in her dreams. Not all of her dreams were erotic, just most of them. Looking out at the sun shining through her bedroom windows, Holly realized she’d never felt so content in her life. Stryker had spooned behind her during the night. Now, snuggled against him in the morning light, she shivered as she felt his lips travel from behind her ear, down the curve of her neck to her shoulder. His teeth grazed her sensitized skin and he lifted his head.

He said, “Good morning, Holly. I won’t bother to ask how you slept. I know. I was with you.”

Even first thing in the morning, their bodies moved as if choreographed. Just as her neck felt strained, he’d shift her to a more comfortable position. It was amazing. If he had morning breath, Holly didn’t notice and for one panicked moment worried about hers. She smiled without showing her teeth and prepared to dart to the bathroom and brush her teeth.

He laughed at her and pulled her underneath him. “I know what you’re doing and don’t.” He laughed at her mutinous expression and used an index finger to trace the line of her mouth as she pressed her lips together. “I know your scent, Holly, just as you know mine. You will never smell like anything but you to me. Thankfully, it works the other way too. I will always smell like me to you. We will catch each other’s scent and it will never be unpleasant for us unless the other is suffering. I promise.”

She looked skeptical until he said the last two words. Finally she let the air out of her lungs and spoke. “Great, no quick dashes for the toothpaste in the dawn’s early light. Isn’t that convenient for morning after sex? ”

“It sure is,” Stryker said. His mouth touched hers, his tongue tracing the line of her lips just before delving inside to stroke the particular spot underneath her tongue that he seemed to like so much.

He pulled away, kissing her lips lingeringly. “God, you taste like a flavor I’ve known existed since the day I was born. Like something I’ve always sought out and never found until now. Ambrosia, food of the Gods”

Intrigued, Holly kissed him and tasted him the same way. It was an indescribable sensation. She wanted to drink him as if she’d been left in the desert for days and he was the first drop of water she’d found. She pulled back reluctantly. “I know what you mean. This is sweet, literally and figuratively.” She laughed.

His sobered expression wiped the smile off her face and suddenly worried, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Holly, but I’ve been very selfish. I’ve taken away your free will. My brother was right. I should have pulled out of Muskoka as soon as I sensed your presence.”

Holly frowned. At first she instinctively sought to dampen the hot flash of anger she felt at his words. Over the years, she’d learned to control her anger, preferring to be even-tempered and agreeable, but not this time. He’d freed something inside of her and she liked it. She’d had enough of his martyrdom. She sat up in bed, dragging her body away from the temptation of his nakedness. Unlike the night before, her movements were stiff and filled with rage. Likewise, her voice was not soft and husky when she spoke.

“Stop right there! You’ve already done all the apologizing I’m going to bear. Why do you give me so little credit? Damn it, you’re as bad as my father.” Her temper once ignited raged like an oil fire. She jumped out of bed and started to pace. She threw words at him like darts and ruthlessly aimed for the bull’s eye.

“What makes you think I’m so delicate that I can’t handle this? Bloody hell! After what happened last night, you sure as hell better not start treating me like a child or I’ll have you arrested for pedophilia! You keep saying that what you’ve done isn’t fair to me. Well, I say, you better let me be the judge of that.” She continued in a voice meant to ridicule. “Oh, the big vampire guy brags about his self-control and his integrity! Well, don’t underestimate me, Nosferatu! I’m a hell of a lot stronger than you give me credit for.” She was yelling now and for once in her life she didn’t give a damn. “Did it ever occur to you that I made a choice? What happened last night was pretty great.” Standing at the foot of the bed, naked, she narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t even bother to pretend either of us could have stopped it from happening. So shut the hell up and let’s do it again!” She’d vented her built-up fury. Feeling better now, she smiled provocatively. Stryker jettisoned from the bed. Taking her with him, he pressed her against the wall and entered her. She could have sworn he did it all in one exceptionally smooth and well-aimed movement. Arching her back and putting her arms over her head she stopped thinking altogether.

* * * *

And he could cook too! Holly pinched herself just in case she was dreaming. She sat at the kitchen table as Stryker made pancakes. When he started mixing the batter, she told him that she wanted him to make a hippopotamus for her or she wouldn’t eat them. He laughed at her challenge. The ones that didn’t meet with his exacting standards were piled on his own plate and by the number accumulated, Holly hoped he had a good appetite.

At last be brought over a stack of hippos on a plate and set them in front of her, a smile of triumph on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ah, hippos are easy.”

He looked outraged and moved to take her plate away. She gripped his wrist. “Never take food away from a hungry woman. These look delicious.” She let go of his arm and used her knife to drop a large pad of butter on top of the hippos. The butter melted as he kissed her and Holly wasn’t sure it was from the heat of the pancakes.

Finally he sat down across from her and tended to his own rather misshapen pancakes.

She said, “You’re a good cook, but I guess you’ve had a lot longer to learn than most men.”