JARHARIS (6 page)

He didn’t answer. He took hold of her upper arm. “Come on. You’re in danger here. I’m taking you home.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere with you—and don’t pull that flying stuff with me again either.” She jerked her arm free and straightened the top of her dress. “I don’t need you looking out for me. I can take care of myself.”

Jarharis
was growing tired of her arguing. Since he couldn’t make her see reason, he decided to take matters in to his own hands. He grasped her upper arms and pulled her against his chest. He drove his mouth down hard against hers, kissing her.

Obey me!
He felt her body sag against his chest. He pulled his lips from hers and lifted her into his arms. Taking to the sky, he set his direction toward her apartment.

CHAPTER SIX

Selena moaned and rolled her head on the pillow.
Jarharis
looked down at her from his leaning position beside her on the bed. Perhaps he had commanded her sleep to be too lengthy. He sighed. He had spent hours watching her slumber, admiring her beauty, wishing she belonged to him.

He dashed the last thought that appeared in his mind. He was not mortal. He could not hope for such a woman as Selena for his own. He had no right. A wave of anger filtered through his insides. Damn the curse of vampirism.

“Where—” She suddenly bolted upright in bed, her eyes wide as she caught sight of
Jarharis
. “What are you doing here?” She scrambled to clutch the sheet against her naked breasts.

 
Jarharis
watched her, a smile across his lips. He had wanted to wake her, but he feared her reaction to what he had done while she was under his command.

“Where are my clothes?” She jerked her head from side-to-side, finally spying her dress and undergarments on a nearby chair. She turned back to glare at him. “As I recall the evening, I was about to lure Aston into a trap—and you ruined my plan.”

Jarharis
nodded his head. “I didn’t like your plan.”

“I don’t remember telling you.”

“I suppose you don’t remember taking your clothes off either.”

“No, I don’t.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, as you can clearly see, you’re naked.”

She clutched the wad of sheet between her breasts and glared at him. “What time is it? What did you do to me while I was unconscious? And when are you leaving?” She drew in a quick breath. “And who are you? What’s your name?”

“One thing at a time.
First of all, it’s about
midnight
. And as for my leaving—”

“What did you do to me while I was unconscious?”

“You weren’t really unconscious—more like a little bit incapacitated.”

“What does that mean?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “My name is
Jarharis
Sutherland.”

She narrowed her eyes on him, leaning closer. “What kind of powers do you have,
Jarharis
?” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Can you kill someone with a thought?”

He shook his head. “I’m not a killer.”

“But you’re a vampire. I know you are. I’ve read up on vampires and I know for a fact that you are one.”

She sounded adamant. He was amused at her display of knowledge. “And what facts about vampires are you aware of?” His voice took on a teasing note as he smiled into her face.

“Don’t patronize me,
Jarharis
. I’m quite serious about what I do.”

“Honey, you aren’t very good at it. Why don’t you find something else to occupy your time?”

She bristled and flung an open hand in his direction.

He caught her wrist and brought her hand down to his crotch. “Your hand will be better appreciated here then against my cheek.”

She tried to wrench her hand free, losing her grip on the sheet and exposing her breasts in the process.

Jarharis
held her easily, pressing her hand against his aroused cock and reaching his own hand up to caress her ripe nipple.

Selena sucked in a quick breath and drew back, pulling her breast from his grasp. “Don’t tell me we had sex again!”

“Not yet. But I’m hoping to very soon. I’ve laid here and lusted after you for some time now and my nuts are aching so badly I can hardly stand it.” He tossed the sheet aside, drawing a surprised yelp from her and tugged her across the bed and into his arms. “I can’t think beyond wanting to dive between your long legs, Selena.”

He raised one hand to her nape and held her head steady while he lowered his mouth to cover her lips. He kissed her passionately, pressing his chest against her breasts and groaning lustily when her peaked nipples met his flesh.

He had never wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Selena. He craved her body as much as he craved the time period he had left behind. He devoured her mouth, tasting her lips and her gum. His tongue delved along her teeth and dipped across the back of her mouth, wanting to sample more, but unable to for reasons too insane to believe. He was acting mortal in so many ways, kissing, stroking, enjoying. He had been able to push aside the hot ferocity of vampirism for a short time. He pleasured his body as though it was alive and not the dead thing he had become.

Her warmth penetrated his cold flesh, heated his mind, spoke to his senses. He desired her more than the thing he had been deprived of. A flash of recognition rose in his brain. He felt himself falling in love with this mortal woman.

Woe with me. Woe with me. Have I no conscious?
He groped her back and slid his hands along the contours of her hot flesh, clutching a fleshy buttock in either hand. He caressed her body, reveling in the purity of her soul. He moaned his discord at his very actions, yet he couldn’t contain the need coming forth like a spray of arterial blood. The similarity shook him to the bone. How could he compare making love to Selena—enjoying her body as he was—to the overpowering gluttony of sating his urges for fresh blood?

His eyes jerked open, flashed red, closed.

His cock pressed against her hot body, urging entry into her core. He lowered her body to the bed and climbed atop her with an urgency that defied reason. He parted her legs with his knee and slid his cock into her passageway.

A shiver of longing coursed through his big body then culminated in a surge of desire as he began to move, sliding to the hilt inside her silken passage, pausing, savoring then drawing back and doing it all over again.

He closed his eyes and experienced every nerve tingling sensation. Erotic musings filled his brain. Hot sensations of orgasm began all too soon as he savored and thrust, held her body beneath his and claimed her for his very own. The climax rose in mountainous peaks and overshadowed all else. He felt its electrifying bolts stream along his limbs, knot his balls and tighten the muscles in his buttocks.

“
Jarharis
.”

Her voice was a mere whisper in his ear as he became caught up in the wonder of the orgasm. And he wasn’t quite certain she had actually spoken, until he became aware of her body thrashing beneath his own. She was in the throes of her own orgasm. He smiled and continued to thrust inside her body, suddenly losing sight of his own keen pleasure in lieu of pleasing her. He levered his upper body up on his elbows so he could look down into her face. Her eyes were pinched
closed,
her long lashes lay on her cheek. She panted through her mouth. She bit her bottom lip. He dipped his head and kissed her.
Touching his tongue to her teeth when she smiled at him.

“I’ve never felt an orgasm…so strong.”

He gazed down at her. What could he say? “Vampires are the best lovers.”

Her eyelids fluttered open. She stared up into his eyes. “Tell me you’re not a vampire—I can’t fall in love with a vampire.”

A renewed surge of death seemed to touch him. He sucked in a long breath and tried to deny she had ever spoken the words. He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers again, halting any further conversation between them.

Pretend its just sex, you fool.
He lay atop her body—his cock still nestled snugly inside her cave, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. He didn’t want to let her go—ever. Reality of the moment suddenly cut into his thoughts. The moment he released her she would want to resume the hunt for vampires. He couldn’t let her do that. Now that he had interceded between her and Aston, he would surely seek her out and harm her.

Jarharis
rolled off Selena and propped his back against the head of the bed. He watched her as she sluggishly moved to join him. She rested her head against his shoulder. He curled his arm around her shoulders, lowering his hand to toy with her naked breast. For all her modesty earlier, he had to smile at her brash display now. She was totally naked and stretched out beside him, unabashedly comfortable with being that way.

“How did you find me and why are you here?”

“I found you by accident and I’m here because I want to be.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Now I have a few questions.” He considered what he was about to ask her. If he knew more about her desire to hunt vampires—perhaps he could keep Aston away from her. Or convince her to stop any further exploration of her hobby.

“Don’t expect me to be honest with you.”

He chuckled. “I haven’t been around a lot of woman—so tell me, are most women liars?”

She giggled and stroked a hand across his chest. She plucked at the dark spray of hair spanning his broad torso then trailed her fingertips along the wispy trail leading down his abdomen to his crotch. “Hell yes. We all lie to get what we want.” She giggled. “And I bet you’ve been with lots of women. You fuck like a pro.”

“A pro?
You have categories for lovemaking?”

She leaned her head back so she could look into his face. “Not lovemaking,
Jarharis
.
Fucking.
Yes. There are categories. And you’re a pro.”

“Should I thank you for the rating?”

“Does it make you jealous that I’ve fucked a lot of men?”

She’s lying.
He smiled down at her. “For all your experience, you’ve remained pretty tight.”

She slapped his belly and levered herself to a sitting position. “You’re so experienced—I thought I should be experienced, too.”

He pulled her into his arms. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“All right.
Twenty-four.”

“You’re a baby.”

“Well, how old are you?”

Do I dare divulge my real age?
“It doesn’t matter. I’m older than you. Let’s leave it at that. Tell me about this vampire club you belong to.”

She raised her eyebrows. “How do you know about that?”

“I know many things.”

“Sure you do. Hell! You don’t even know how old you are.”

He drew in a long breath. “I’m thirty-three. Or rather, I was thirty-three when I was turned.”

She studied him for a moment.

He grew nervous under her inspecting gaze, despite all his powers. He stared at her and admitted to himself that if it were possible, he would claim her for his very own. She was the perfect woman, beautiful, good in bed.

Fool!

She drew in a long breath. “My boyfriend was killed by a vampire. Soon afterward, I learned about the club and joined.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve never actually killed one—but I’ve seen some. One of the other members actually killed one. And I heard all about it.”

Jarharis
combed a hand through his hair. She sounded almost childish, talking about vampires and never actually killing one. The urge to protect her surged up inside him. She had put herself in danger that very evening and yet she seemed unaware of what she had done.

“Are there other club members besides the three males I saw you with last night?”

“There are twelve of us. Three teams of four.” She traced his male nipple with one fingertip. “Want to join my team?”

“I want to keep you safe, Selena.” He hesitated to speak his mind. He hugged her close. Aston would take advantage of her in the blink of an eye. Perhaps he should take care of Aston then maybe she would be safe.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Daylight was rapidly approaching.
Jarharis
sighed. He hated to leave Selena. Her body was so delectable in every way. She was pleasing to look upon and even more so to fuck. But, as with every evening of his life to come, he had to be wary of the approaching daylight. Once the darkness gave way to morning, he had no powers and became totally helpless, dead in all respects from the curse that haunted him forevermore.

He felt Selena’s even breathing beside him. Sexually sated, she had fallen to sleep minutes earlier nestled against his side, her arm flung possessively across his naked hip. He smiled as he eased from the bed, gently removing her limp arm from his body. He pulled on his clothes and strode to the window of the bedroom. He had given much thought to relieving the world of a vampire. He had decided Aston must die.
And soon.
Else he would have to guard Selena day and night.

He could not be with her during the day.

Nor she with him.

A thought suddenly materialized in his mind. He grasped the amulet hanging around his neck. Its powers mystified him. If it could somehow help guard Selena in his away hours—

He raised the window frame and
shapeshifted
into a bird. Taking to the sky, he winged his way back to the building he now called home, its gift a mystery still. He arrived mere seconds before the sun broke the horizon with its yellow glow, rushing through the rooms and into the bedchamber. He stretched out in the familiar earth given him as a sanctuary and closed his eyes, the weight of his body great.

* * * *

Jarharis
knew the second he opened his eyes that something terrible had happened. He rolled to his feet and lunged from the room, his mind consumed with thoughts of Selena. As he jerked the door to the outside world open, he halted suddenly, feeling a presence behind him. He whirled around on one heel, his eyes racing to find the object that had invaded his sanctuary. His first thought was that of Aston, but then he reasoned that he too was only awakening from his night’s sleep. His powers were as limited as his own right then.

He relaxed a little. He walked through the foyer of the expansive house, his eyes searching, his senses alert to any movement. He wasn’t prone to imagine things—vampires were too realistic to believe much beyond their need for blood. He combed one hand through his hair. He wasn’t one to fall prey to trickery either. Anger rose inside him as he searched the rooms. Finding nothing, he turned toward the door, only to have the feeling grip him again.

“Show yourself!” His voice was a loud bellow, a verbal warning to whoever had invaded his private quarters. “Show yourself!”

A faint noise pulled his eyes upward, toward the high ceiling of the room.
His brow quirked.
He blinked his eyes. Just above the doorway he saw a tiny black cat, sleek hair, long tail, suspended as though on a string, hovering. Suddenly it zoomed upward, stopping mere inches from the ceiling. It pushed its body up, stretching its back in a black bow and yawned, as though having just awakened from a nap.

“What the hell?”
Jarharis
rubbed his eyes. He had never seen anything like the cat—a figment of his imagination? He shook his head. No. He wasn’t given to seeing things form out of thin air. He considered his ability to
shapeshift
for a moment. He rubbed his chin with one finger, contemplating.

“I can take on many forms.”

He jerked his head upward, pinning his eyes on the black cat. It floated in the space near the ceiling then began a slow descent, moving toward him, its legs moving as though it were walking. It stopped within inches of his face.

A rainbow of colors suddenly sparked, causing
Jarharis
to throw up one hand to shield his face. When he opened his eyes, the cat was gone and a tiny fairy hovered in its place. She was pale as alabaster, with white-blonde hair that billowed around her head, tiny translucent wings fluttered on her back, keeping her aloft. A cherub face and brilliant blue eyes stared at him from the halo of pale hair.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?”

“You may call me Mi.”

The voice was so shrill and yet so soft, that
Jarharis
had to strain his ears to hear her.

“Who sent you?” He cocked his head and assessed the tiny creature, reminding himself to be on guard. For
all the
little imp’s beauty, she could be there to do him harm. He almost laughed at the thought. What could a tiny fairy possibly do to him? He was at least a hundred times her size.
And with powers of his own.

“My master sent me to tend you,
Jarharis
.”

Jarharis
folded his arms across his chest. A smile toyed with the corners of his mouth. How could this tiny creature tend him? “And who is this master you speak of?”

Mi laughed and flitted upward toward the ceiling then veered sharply to the right and returned to hover before
Jarharis’s
face.

“I bring news of the whore you met in the nightclub last night. She lies dead in the alleyway.”

At first
Jarharis
didn’t know what she was talking about—but then he remembered the woman named Lily he had met in the night spot—the woman Aston claimed belonged to him. A shiver of dread passed within him. He drew in a long breath. He was leery of asking how the woman died.

“Aston killed her. He pierced her throat with his sharp fangs and drained her body, fortifying himself.”

Jarharis
wasn’t surprised. He nodded his head. Perhaps he was to blame for Lily’s death as much as Aston, though he had not taken a drop of her blood.

“You must be on guard against Aston. He is your enemy now. You have betrayed him.”

“I owe Aston no allegiance. And as for my having betrayed him, I have not.”

Mi giggled softly and fluttered her wings, propelling her tiny body about the room.

Jarharis
turned to keep his gaze on her, waiting for her to settle in one spot so he could continue
their
conversation.

“He has summoned his legion to his side. They will be coming for you,
Jarharis
.”

“His legion?
Vampires?”

Mi giggled and flew very close to
Jarharis
. He could see her tiny face and read the alarm in her expression.

“You must take every precaution.” She held his gaze. “You must unite with the vampire club and utilize their resources.”

Jarharis
threw back his head and roared with laughter. “That bunch of juvenile vampire hunters? They play at something they know nothing about.” He gritted his teeth, suddenly angry at the intrusion of the little imp. “You’re wasting my time.” He waved one hand at the fairy and turned to the door. “Be off with you.”

Agitated that he had wasted time listening to the apparition, he stormed through the doorway, slamming the door behind him. He had better things to do than cater to a fairy that suddenly felt like invading his midst. He pushed the event out of his mind and allowed his gnawing hunger to dictate his moves. He took to the air, the fastest and, so far, the safest, form of moving about the city, to search for a victim. He wanted warm blood to revive his body. Once he had fed, he would investigate the news the fairy had brought about Lily.

He spied a woman sitting on a bench in the park. He lit in a nearby tree and looked down up on her. She was alone, a hand-held music machine in one hand, earphones in her ears. She swayed slightly, perhaps moving to the rhythm of the music she listened to.

Jarharis
issued a mental command to her and leapt from the tree branch. A second to
shapeshift
, and he strode toward her, moving on silent feet through the darkness. Approaching from behind, he reached out and clasped her neck, raising her body from the bench. He pulled her into the shadow of the tree. She whimpered only slightly as he sank his fangs into her jugular vein.

Hot blood gushed into his mouth. He sucked greedily, suddenly feeling the urge to hurry and be on his way. The woman gave no resistance, her body completely his to take from. He drank his fill, felt his strength return and cast the woman aside, levering her body over the bench. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping away the traces of blood on his lips then turned. Halting his feet, he looked back at the woman. Her body was draped across the bench haphazardly. He grimaced. He wasn’t usually so callus with his victims, especially those that didn’t fight him. He took hold of the woman and placed her upon the bench as he had found her minutes earlier. Satisfied that he had righted the wrong, in some small fashion, he quickly
shapeshifted
and took to the sky.

The Wharf nightclub was abuzz with people. Couples clung to each other on the dance floor, the bar was lined with drinkers—clouds of cigarette smoke hung in the air, making visibility poor.
Jarharis
entered the bar and searched the crowd for Aston.

There’s nothing like meeting trouble face on.
He made his way to the back of the room, listening to the chatter from those he pushed past. Someone mentioned Lily and his ears pricked up. He paused and tried to discern the conversation from the other voices vying for his attention.

“She’s dead alright. The cops found her this morning behind the club.”

“I heard all her blood was drained from her body.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who would do such a thing?”

Jarharis
didn’t need to hear any more. It was true. The woman was dead.
Murdered.
And he may have been directly to blame for her death.

He checked the booth where he had seen Aston last night. The booth was empty. He turned, deciding to ask some of the patrons if they had seen him.

“I don’t know Aston.”

On three occasions he had gotten the same answer. Perhaps Aston wasn’t as well known as he had thought. But then, the bar was crowded and maybe he had just picked three people new to the area.

Bullshit!
He pushed his way to the door, wondering how many of Aston’s legion was in the room. He chided himself for having the thought. He was beginning to have doubts about the fairy’s message to him. But why had she appeared to him in the first place? Who had sent her?

He thought of the amulet suddenly and its magical powers. He had been given a place to call home, a safe sanctuary where he could sleep without worry. Or could he? Suspicions flooded his body. He was of the undead. What could he possibly fear?

A fucking stake through the heart!
He swallowed down the nervousness that suddenly gripped his insides. He was vulnerable during the day and there was little he could do about it. He couldn’t be woke up, nor communicated with, should he magically come across someone that he could be soul mates with.

Who am I kidding? There will never be anyone I can totally trust or call my own. I have no soul mate.
He left the club, shaking off the reverie he had sunk into. He needed to be with Selena. He needed her body to give him pleasure. He felt a smile touch his lips at the mere thought of lying with her again. He turned his feet in the direction of her apartment.

He paused on the street in front of the nightclub. Gazing overhead, he took note of the low hanging clouds and the threat of rain on the slight breeze. Maybe Selena and her hunters would choose to stay inside tonight because of the weather. He smiled slightly. For all her intentions toward ridding the world of vampires, she had managed quite nicely to put herself in harm’s way.

He walked the distance of the city block and stood on the corner. To his left more nightspots appeared, their garish lights flooding into the street. Loud music blared through the stillness. Perhaps he should check inside for Aston. He headed down the street, determination fueling his quick steps.

He had not as yet fully explored the city or learned the habits of the people living near his sanctuary. For all accounts, he had been preoccupied with Selena and her little vampire club since his arrival in the time era. He pushed thoughts of the woman aside for the time being, needing to be at his utmost best when he entered the nightclub and started searching for Aston.

The music ended just as he pushed through the entry. Teeming crowds of young patrons clustered near the door, assessing him as he made his way through their mass. He strode forward into the wide room, confident in the fact that he looked somewhat similar to those gathered there and therefore didn’t draw any unusual attention to himself. Once he had fed his complexion flushed and took on the appearance of a normal human male. He could move around freely amid the mortals without suspicion.

He searched the sea of heads for Aston, his gaze traveling over the numerous males at the bar and coupled with attractive females at the scattering of tables and booths. The loud music started up again, disrupting his hearing of conversations near where he stood. He decided that Aston wasn’t in the club and turned to leave.