Eversong (Midnight Playground) (11 page)

Akila reached out a tentative hand and rested it against his chest. His heart beat as steadily as the incoming waves.
Thud, thud, thud
, filling up her senses and drawing her closer still. Her toes dug into the sand as she rose up.

His eyes widened and he seemed suddenly younger and uncertain, a man who perhaps wasn’t used to women coming on to him—surprising, since he was so attractive. She liked his hesitation. It gave her the courage to slide a hand around the back of his neck and pull his head down to hers. She heard his small gasp before she fastened her lips over his and softly plucked at his mouth.

Jacob’s hands encircled her waist, holding her steady as she leaned into him. For a moment, he acquiesced to her kiss, then his mouth opened and he kissed her back.

Their tongues met, slicking around each other, and electricity shot through Akila. The taste of him left her hungry for more. Her body thrummed with the low voltage that passed between his body and hers. She’d never experienced anything quite like the rising need inside her, a sudden flare like a spike in a heart monitor.

Jacob’s hands moved below her waist, cupping her ass and pulling her tighter against him. She felt his hardness nudging her crotch, escalating the heat there. He groaned quietly into her mouth and their kiss deepened from sensual exploration to passionate hunger.

She gripped his shoulder with one hand and drove the other through his hair to cup the back of his head. Her tender breasts smashed flat against his solid chest and her entire body throbbed. It was too intense, too soon, too crazy.

Akila broke it off, pushing her hand against his chest to propel herself back from him. She stood in the moist, cool sand, panting. His lust-glazed eyes seemed as shocked as she felt. He wiped a hand over his lips, as though wiping away—or capturing—her kiss.

“I’m sorry,” Akila said. “I don’t know why I did that.”

He shook his head. “No. It’s…”

God, she was humiliated. She could sink into the sand right now and let the tide wash her away. But even in the midst of embarrassment, her body still clamored for more. More of those kisses, more of the way he’d held her, the solidity of his body in her arms, more of his scent, his taste. His cock. She wanted to see his erection, not just feel it pressed against her. Another shudder of lust passed through her.

Akila crossed her arms over her chest and began to walk down the beach. “Maybe you should show me the rest of the property. Or the house.” Or maybe she should go to her room and hide, get entirely away from this man to whom she seemed to have an uncontrollable attraction.

“Yes.” He strode alongside her, but several yards away, and blurted random facts about the island as they walked from the beach to the interior. The vegetation grew thick around the narrow path through the trees.

“Before Mr. Kaspan purchased the island, it was uninhabited except by wildlife. He’s kept as much untouched as possible, a preserve for local species of reptiles and birds.”

“Reptiles?” Akila scanned for alligators that might pop out of the underbrush.

“Various kinds of lizards and frogs, except frogs are amphibians.” Jacob was suddenly babbling, and she realized he was covering his own embarrassment at what had happened between them, trying to pretend his cock hadn’t been pushing insistently into her crotch.

Clearly having sex with Jacob wouldn’t be a burden for either of them if she were really to follow through on Kaspan’s plan. As if she would. To be impregnated with a child? Crazy! And how in the world would it be Valarian’s anyway?

“Tell me more about this thrall thing.” She interrupted Jacob. “What does it mean that you share his blood? Why doesn’t that turn you into a…what he is?”

Jacob stopped walking and stared at the scarlet blooms that dotted a bush beside the path. “To become a vampire, one must be drained nearly to death and then ingest a large amount of blood from a donor. After a long, coma-like sleep, a period of hibernation during which the body alters and the blood changes, the person has become a vampire. But a thrall…is something different.”

He stopped talking and Akila waited. Even she was able to hold her tongue once in a while. Right now, she could tell it was difficult for Jacob to speak about what had happened to him. She gave him time to formulate the words.

“I met Mr. Kaspan in Germany toward the end of the war.” He glanced at Akila. “The second World War. I was in a camp, in bad shape. He freed me, fed me and then made me an offer. He needed someone to serve him since his previous thrall had been killed. Valarian showed me his fangs and explained what becoming his servant would mean.”

Akila could barely breathe as she listened to his voice, as quiet as if he was in a confessional. The birds calling in the trees were louder than Jacob.

“I had no illusions. I agreed to it. I welcomed the chance to repay him for his kindness.” He paused. “Besides, I had no one left to go home to.”

“How does it work?” she asked softly.

“A vow and an exchange of blood, although not enough to turn the chosen one into a vampire. I suppose you would call it a covenant. I will serve him until I die.”

“But what do you get from this arrangement?”

“Long life, health, strength, protection and a bond you could not begin to understand. I owed Valarian my life. I was happy to give it back to him. In return, he helped me accomplish something I was determined to do.”

Jacob began walking again, signaling he was through discussing the topic.

Akila trailed after him. “May I ask one more thing?”

“Could I stop you?” he said dryly.

“What’s Kaspan’s story? How long has he been alive? When was he turned and how?”

“That is his story to tell. You must ask him,” was the unsatisfactory reply.

She would indeed. There was a goldmine of a story here that spanned years and continents, life-changing experiences and deep emotions. She was determined to extract the gold if she had to chip away the rock piece by piece.

His hunger for one woman will make him a traitor to his world.

Unending Desire

© 2011 Tina Donahue

Outlawed Realm, Book 1

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimension of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to keep her mind on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect
him
. Even if it means risking body, blood and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

Warning: Contains a repressed scientist who likes to look, and the woman who delights in unleashing his inner caveman. And sex hot enough burn a hole in all three dimensions…and maybe create a whole new one.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Unending Desire:

Nikoli glanced at Regina’s hand, chiding himself for having followed her here, for wanting to be near her before Sazaar arrived. A foolhardy act that wouldn’t change anything. It wasn’t as though he could tell Regina what to expect. A horror she wouldn’t believe until it unfolded before her.

Fearful of behaving inappropriately, of running her off and losing his only chance to be this close, Nikoli lifted his hand. After weeks of fantasizing about touching her, he cautioned himself to temper his reaction.

The warning did little good.

Longing he’d never experienced stole his breath as he clasped her exquisitely soft fingers, his thumb stroking hers.

Lids sliding down, Regina parted her lips on a quiet sigh. Color rose to her cheeks, the same as it had this morning in her bath when he’d watched her, hungering to touch and taste every inch of her flesh. To smell it. A pleasure unknown in his dimension.

On E2, sterile air replaced all fragrances, a matter deemed necessary to keep the populace disease-free. Here, the scent of food, drink and muggy rain bombarded Nikoli. Even so, it wasn’t enough to keep him from catching Regina’s fragrance. Light and faintly sweet, it reminded him of what her people called vanilla and peaches.

Blood rushed to his groin, pooling in his cock. Another word from her realm. A language Nikoli had learned over the years as he’d monitored the spontaneously occurring portals, never realizing he’d someday cross through one he had created into a dimension more electrifying than he could have ever imagined.

Time passed more swiftly here than it did on his plane. As people moved about, their bodies seemed to blur. The vibrant colors dazzled when compared to his realm’s somber hues, making Nikoli slightly dizzy, the same as touching her.

“Regina,” he repeated, enjoying the sound of her name. He glanced at her fiery red hair, gold earrings—the color of stars on his side—soft gray sweater and black pants.

Gently, she squeezed his hand, her expression soft with arousal. “And you are?”

There was no need to lie. Tonight would be their only time together. Tomorrow, Regina would be safe, and he would surely be dead. Even if he escaped harm from Sazaar, Andris and the others, death awaited him on his return to E2. Fear or sorrow should have overwhelmed Nikoli. Instead, gratitude for this small slice of time, this moment of unrestricted joy, quickened his answer. “Nikoli Zorr.”

Regina moved her lips as though testing his name. Her resultant smile said she liked it. “Nikoli.” Her iris’s green tint was darker now, lushly verdant in the room’s scant light. She studied his features. “It sounds Russian. Were you born there?”

Prepared for her questions, he continued to lie. “My parents emigrated from a small isolated village in Romania. They brought me over when I was twelve. I’m afraid our accent is quite unique.”

“It fits you,” she said. “Do you work here?” She glimpsed at his shoulders. “Are you on your way home?”

“Sir?”

Nikoli glanced over at the young woman who had waited on him. She regarded Regina’s hand in his, then flashed him a hungry smile.

Unmoved by her seduction, growing cautious, he said, “Yes?”

“You forgot your change.” She rested a series of bills and circular coins near his cup, then regarded him, her expression expectant.

Nikoli wasn’t certain how to respond. Of the currency he’d stolen, he hadn’t known how much to offer for the drink. Overwhelmed at seeing Regina, at being close enough to hear her speak, he’d watched her hand over a bill for her order but hadn’t noticed if she’d received anything back.

“Thank you,” he said.

Brows drawn together, the girl glanced at the bills.

Nikoli sensed she wanted them back. Why, he didn’t know. Taking a chance, he slid the one on top toward her to see what would happen.

“Thank
you,”
she said, pocketing it. Ponytail swinging, she hurried back to her station.

“Wow. You’re a good tipper,” Regina said, arching one brow.

Nikoli wasn’t certain what she meant. His only answer was the truth. “I wanted her to leave.” He smiled. “It was the only way I knew to get rid of her.”

Regina laughed.

The carefree, tinkling sound stroked Nikoli’s soul. With great care, he squeezed her fingers.

Regina’s expression grew distracted, her smile fading as she glanced at their hands, her fingers hugging his. Not caring if he acted recklessly, Nikoli held on to her for a few seconds more.

After he released her, Regina wrapped her fingers around her cup. She asked again, “Do you work in this building?”

“On the third floor,” he offered, lying easily, giving her the name of one of the companies he’d passed on the way down here.

Nodding, Regina captured a bit of the drink’s whipped cream on her fingertip, then brought it to her mouth, licking it off.

The back of his neck tingled.

“Do you own the company?” she asked.

His attention remained on her mouth, the promise of its wet heat beyond her plump bottom lip. He imagined his tongue stroking her lips, parting them, seeking entrance. Once claimed, he pictured Regina offering even more of herself. On her knees, she’d take his cock into her velvety palms, lifting it to her mouth, drawing it inside, providing shelter, elation, completion. Sounding distracted, he said, “Yes.”

“What business are you in, Nikoli?”

The shameless images in his mind evaporated with her question. Stalling for an answer, his knowledge of this realm, he peeled off the white circular cover on the top of his cup and placed it to the side. A word popped in his mind, one he’d seen quite a few times on this plane. “Consulting.”

“On what?”

His pulse pounded. He thought back to things he’d seen here. “Computer software designs.”

Regina’s quick nod told Nikoli he hadn’t said anything strange.

She smiled. “My system could certainly use some expert help. Carly’s always complaining about how we need to move my accounting and other files into the twenty-first century. Sad to say, I’ve let her whine without really doing anything to fix the problem. I figured she could just live with it since she’s my only employee, kind of a combination bookkeeper-receptionist-secretary. But hey, if you know software, maybe you can give me a couple of tips on what I need to do.”

Sweat trickled down Nikoli’s back. He had no idea what to suggest. The systems on this side were centuries behind the advancements on his. “Of course, but I generally work with large firms with hundreds of employees.” To take the focus off himself, he asked, “What business are you in, Regina?”