Honeymoon Bite (Golden Vampire Legacy) (11 page)

He pressed the bumps again, a little harder this time, until it hurt. He wanted to relive that moment when her fangs had crossed the threshold and had taken something from him and made it a part of her. A part of his body would now be inside hers forever. Nothing else in the universe compared to the thrill of her feeding. And she had promised to use him as her sole source of sustenance and energy. He now had even more of a reason to live, to serve her. His new purpose would help soothe his anxious libido.

He looked down at his cell phone. He’d given her an identical phone so she could call him when she needed him. He’d programmed only one number into it: his.

She does need me. I bring her life’s blood. I will fill her every need in time.

He rubbed his thumb over the plastic face piece as if he could will it to light up and ring with her beckoning. He could always go find her in the meantime. He had been finding her on his own for over a month now. But some time tomorrow, she would call and ask for him, as her vampire hunger overrode what was left of her doubt.

He doubted she would sleep at all tonight. It was risky, knowing her friskiness could put her in harm’s way, but she’d promised only to feed from him. She would promise much more when their love came to full bloom, when he could claim her, but for now, this little victory was all he had. He’d wait. Even the genetic pull he felt toward her, his fated female, was delicious, albeit painful. He didn’t want to make himself unwelcome. It was important she be the first one to reach out.

Anne bought extra pillar candles. She opened the Cabernet. She would put the steaks on later, after she called him. She had dropped by Victoria’s Secret on her way back and had bought a new black lace bra and panty set. She’d come home, showered, washed her hair, shaved everything she could, and rubbed her body down with almond butter cream. When putting on makeup, she did her eyes darker than usual and used red lip pumper in a cherry flavor.

She removed her robe and felt the wickedness the black lacy underwear that squeezed her breasts and barely hugged her peach, which was bruised with desire. She wished it wasn’t so hot, or she would have built a fire. But there were enough candles around for two fires, since she wanted to spend the evening naked with him, and watch the flicker of light caressed his skin.

She lit the row of pillar candles that sat on the window ledge behind the couch. Then she lit the ones on the coffee table, then ones in the guest bathroom. She lit the three candles on the tumbled soapstone vanity top in the master bath, and then moved to the bed. She was bent down, match touching a white ginger pillar wick on her side of the bed, when she noticed the burgundy red glass votive and the scented reddish orange candle contained in it. She had not put it there.

Holding the end of the wick, she raised the little stubby candle from its glass holder and read the foil label on the underside.

Blood Orange.

It shouted, “I am here. I wait by your bed at night.”

His blood was in her veins, filling her with a sexual desire she hadn’t felt in years. She welcomed the change. She felt it as a gift given by someone who truly cared for her. It was a simple fact. Marcus was a welcome guest, and she was thrilled just thinking about seeing him again.

She set the candle back down in the holder and lit it.

Thank you, Marcus.

There was no answer.

But first, she had one more thing to do before she could lose herself in the evening. She needed to set up a meeting with Robert for tomorrow. She needed to put that chapter of her life behind her so she’d be free to—what? She picked up her cell and dialed Monika’s number.

“Hello, Anne? Is that you?” Monika’s voice seemed far away.

“Tell Robert I need to meet with him tomorrow, at nine.”

“I don’t know anything about this,” Monika replied.

“I’m sure he’ll fill you in. Will you tell him?”

“Yes. Anne, I am so sorry about what has happened. Robert and I—”

“Forget it, Monika. I don’t want to hear it.”

Anne was grateful for the silence at the other end of the phone.

“Monika?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“You need to get ready.”

“For what?”

“Robert is going to need a place to stay, to save him from himself.”

“Not sure what you’re talking about.”

“He has a lot of stuff. But I’m keeping the car.” Anne hung up. One thing to tell Robert he would have to find another place to stay, quite another to tell the other woman. She was proud of herself. There wasn’t an ounce of regret in her body.

She stripped off the sheets on her bed and threw them in the washing machine. She added the new silk sheets she’d bought this afternoon and had washed in lavender soap. They were still warm and filled the room with fragrance.

Anne closed her eyes. She concentrated on the way Marcus’s lips felt on hers as she pushed the number “8,” which automatically dialed his number.

He picked up at the first ring. “Anne. Is everything well with you?” There was an edge of concern in his voice.

“Yes, Marcus.”

He exhaled in relief. “Good. I’m glad. How do you feel?”

In truth, she felt the best she had ever felt in her life. “I feel fine.” It was an understatement, but she didn’t want to seem too eager. Would it scare him off?

His rolling chuckle starting a buzzing in her ears, like he was blowing on them. “I had hoped you would feel more than fine . . .”

“Yes. You know how I feel.”

“Do I? Tell me. I want to hear you say it.”

 “I. Feel. Wonderful.” There, she’d said it. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Anne felt her face flush at his words. Everything in her body attuned to the vibrations coming from his words. “Listen,” she began. Why was she so nervous? “I was putting on some dinner and wondered if I could have the pleasure of your company?”

He uttered something she couldn’t make out. The happy ripples of his laughter trickled down her spine and warmed her.

“You hungry so soon?” he asked.

“Is it too soon? I’m
starved
.”

“That makes two of us.”

 “I have a couple of rare steaks I would like to share. You do eat rare meat.”

“Only the rarest.”

“You didn’t tell me I would feel this way. Positively wicked. Dangerous. Am I dangerous, Marcus?”

“Yes and no. To me, no. To others, like your husband . . .”

“Almost-husband,” she corrected.

“To all your human family and friends, you are dangerous.”

“As in, I could harm them.” She was enjoying playing with him.

“I promised I’d help you protect your husband. I won’t violate that promise.”

“So you— the man I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours—are someone I can trust, and my non-husband, who I have known for three years, I cannot?”

“That’s about the size of it,” he said into the phone. “But I’ve searched for you for three hundred years. Don’t forget that part.”

“I found your candle. I thought you might want to watch it burn with me.”

“Next time I’ll have to bring a bigger one.”

“You’ve already saved his life, you know.”

“Robert? How is that?”

“I admit to having unkind thoughts towards my almost-husband. But it wouldn’t have been fair to make you visit me in a jail cell, now would it?”

“Inconvenient is the word I was thinking,” he said.

“He actually did me a favor, didn’t he?”

“I hope he’ll do you one more by releasing you from your vows.”

“He already discarded me, Marcus.”

He was silent. Then he whispered, “You shouldn’t feel . . . discarded.”

“I’m needing to feel wanted right now. Can you do this for me?”

The warm breath at the back of her neck carried his words. “I shall devote my whole life to it, I promise.”

Chapter 11

Marcus put his arms on Anne’s bare shoulders as he stood behind her and kissed her neck. She shuddered as if she were cold, yet her body was burning like a torch. He brought his arms around her chest and she leaned back against him. She pressed her cheek next to his, as if seeking his connection. He’d thought she’d be more afraid of him.

Fated. She feels it too. She is mine, after all.

He turned her around, then smoothed a hand down her chest, tracing the space between her breasts with his forefinger. He eased his fingers underneath the satin bra. His fingers grazed over her nipples. She leaned back, making him hold her up with his other arm.

“Are you hungry now?”

“No. Yes.” She began to cry. “I’m confused. I feel everything . . . stronger.”

It made his heart ache to see this. He pressed her face against his chest, and she sobbed as he stroked her hair.

“It is a lot to take in. That’s why I’m here, to guide you, to keep you safe. Ease you into this life of ours. Perhaps you had too much this afternoon. In time, you will adjust.”

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. Her lips called to him. “I don’t want to adjust.”

“You will learn how to deal with the fullness of this passion, in time. It’s overwhelming at first.” He loved how her tears danced in the candlelight, like the sparkle of diamonds he would buy her.

“I don’t want to learn how to deal with it. I want to feel this way forever.” She stared at his lips, her tongue coming to the edges, as if seeking to taste his mouth. He gave in to her, covering her quivering lips. Her supple body melted against his frame.

He understood fully the new, confusing emotions she was experiencing and the intensity that grew in her flesh by the hour. He was suddenly grateful for the more than three hundred years he’d had to prepare. He’d always thought the wait as a curse, when in fact it had been a gift. Anne was young in her new life. And just a few hours had passed since her first taste of her fated male. She was in need of a satisfaction he was not prepared to give her tonight. In his world, the fating mark would be followed by a night of beautiful sex. But he was enjoined from this claiming. He wanted to be very careful. There was eternity at stake.

He picked her up and sat down on the couch, with her in his lap. He could smell the heat of her passion. “I like these new clothes,” he said, hooking a finger through the ribbon of the black thong at her hip.

“I’m overdressed.” She begged him with her eyes.

“Insatiable. I had hoped it would be so.”

“You knew.” She lightly covered his lips with hers and whispered, “Take them off me. Rip them off me.”

“Anne, I cannot . . .”

“Don’t tell me what you cannot do,” she said between kisses. “Do what you can. Please, I need your hands and mouth on me.
Please
.” She laid her head against his heart. Her hand slid underneath his shirt to fan out over his burning chest. She unbuttoned one button and kissed him there. Her little tongue wickedly played with his nipple.

The fact she was consumed with his nearness and the heat of his body sent him into his basic primal nature. He felt the pain of knowing he would have to stop her, but secretly hoped he did not have the strength to. He could not have asked for a better partner. Anne had taken to her new appetites like she had missed them her whole life. He hoped he could teach her fast enough to keep her from getting bored.

“I am flattered you wish to cook dinner for me . . .”

“But you don’t want . . . food,” she purred to his chest.

“Perhaps a little wine. But dinners are a bit different for us now.” He smiled with his lips closed. He found it amusing she had forgotten she was trying to entertain him as a human man.

“A little taste then, Marcus.”

“Yes, of course . . . Anne.” This he could give her. He would never deny her the taste of his blood.

Her bite was almost a tickle. She supped his essence but was not greedy. He felt her heartbeat race as his blood hit her system and her passion rose.

“You want me?” She looked at him with those deep eyes. “You want me, Marcus?” His hand had found its way to between her legs. His long forefinger was tracing the mystery of her sex over the panties. The muscles at her lower belly contracted. She arched into him. “More.”

He tore the ribbon and her panties went limp. Her pelvis rocked back and forth, calling to his groin.

She turned and raised one knee, giving his fingers access to her. “Do you want me?” she asked again as she guided his hand to close in on her mound.

“Yes. But I cannot take you yet.”

“I release you from your vow.”

“You’re not released from yours. So I must uphold it.”

“But he has. He has chosen Monika. I am released.”

“He must release your vow, not your body.”

She sighed.

It was difficult for him to know that he could satisfy her every need, but was not allowed to do so. He’d not yet been given permission. “Soon, soon, my pet.”

She raised her arms up to his neck and pulled his head down, then kissed him. She demanded to know his mouth with her tongue. She found his fangs. Her tongue eased over one sharp point, lightly piercing her own skin, and she moaned. A single drop fell to his tongue and he swirled it, mating with hers. The taste of her blood was sweet, and it heightened his passion.

“Careful, careful, pet.”

But she wouldn’t be denied. She raised herself up to straddle his lap. Her white breasts shone in the candlelight as she arched and undulated in his crotch. He found himself groaning as his cock rose in response to the feel of her warm body massaging it through his jeans. He touched her nipples and then squeezed them with his hands. She was perfect for him, filling his palms with the flesh he had missed for centuries. He kissed the nipples, and then suckled them, grazing one with a sharp nick. He lapped the single drop of blood from her like it was the last on earth. He could feel his resolve and control vanishing. He wanted her, wanted to fill her with his seed. He could not bear the thought of being without her for even a minute.

“Marcus, take me. Please take me.” His heart soared with the words, words he thought he might never hear. His hands moved up and down her back, then he kneaded her buttocks as she leaned into him, arms about his neck, squeezing her breasts together, pressing them into his waiting mouth. She rose up, tilted her pelvis over one of his hands that had drifted down her front side to between her legs, and spread her folds by using his own fingers. He rimmed her opening, stroking gently. He felt the slick muscle of her opening and breached her with his first two fingers, indulging in the warmth and wetness there. She moved her sex back and forth, allowing him to massage her clit with his thumb.