La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust (19 page)

He hesitated for a moment, and she worried
she'd gone too far, but then he grabbed her shoulders and pushed
her back against the wall, devouring her with his returning kiss.
Pressing his body into her, his hands ran over her curves until
they settled on her hips. She could feel his erection grow until it
was a huge, firm mass against her stomach.

Holy shit, she was so wet and hot, it was
like an inferno down there. Never, never in her life had she felt
so turned on. She was pretty sure if he kept pressing his erection
against her she was going to orgasm. He could have bent her over
right there and she wouldn't care who walked by.

As on cue, someone did and catcalled, "Yeah
man! Give it to her."

Julia felt Armand's chest heave in a sigh and
he pulled away. "Ignore them," she said.

He rested his forehead on hers. "If I
continue on this path, I'll give them exactly what they want."

"That'd be okay."

Armand chuckled. "So I could just slide these
fabulous ruffled panties aside and make love to you right here on
the street?"

"Yes." The word caught somewhere in her
throat and she had to swallow in order to breathe.

"Mmmmm." His deep moan sent more heat
shooting to her loins.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she
pulled him in. He groaned again. "Damnit Julia, you smell so good.
Everything about you smells delicious. Your blood, your
arousal...No, what I want to do to you requires privacy and
no...guests. These fools don't deserve to watch."

Besides sliding - from what she could tell -
a pretty generous cock into her, she knew he intended to slide his
fangs into her flesh as well. The idea no longer frightened her.
Instead, it turned her on more, if that were possible.

If she wasn't so flushed from the alcohol and
his body pressing into her, she would have blushed at the image
that flashed through her mind.

"Then stay the night," she breathed.

With an audible sigh instead of just a chest
heaving sigh, he pulled away until there was actually air between
them. Her hot body felt suddenly frigid. "I can't."

Maybe he had a girlfriend or a wife or a -
partner? Or maybe he wasn't as into her as she hoped, maybe he just
got off watching her get turned on. After all, she couldn't hold a
candle to other vampires like Angel when it came to sex appeal.
What made her think he could possibly find her attractive?

"Please do not think for a moment that I
don't want to," he continued, crashing into her pity party. "I
just...I just don't think I could stay in control. You're
vulnerable right now and I, well - Ah, fuck." He ran a hand over
his hair, his eyes focused on the sidewalk. Torn was a good way to
describe his gorgeous face.

She offered him a shy smile. "I'm a big girl,
Armand."

He turned back to her. "I know." He took her
hands. "You've been drinking though, and I don't want to take
advantage of you and your
willingness
right now." Jesus, she
was probably coming off like some drunk sorority girl. "Besides, it
could be...dangerous for you."

Oh.

Part of her didn't care.

Actually, most of her didn't care.

"Why don't we continue this tomorrow? I'll
pick you up here and we can have a proper date. Is six o'clock
alright?"

Her heart sank, and no matter what his words
said, it felt like she was getting the brush-off. "Sure. Six."

Again, he seemed to pick up on her emotions,
even though she tried to internalize them. "Please trust me Julia.
I've never wanted to be with a woman more."

Now it was her turn to sigh. "I guess I can
wait a few hours." It would feel more like an eternity.

His arms were tentative when he put them
around her, but she welcomed any touch he offered. Gently, he
kissed her. "Instead, if you like, you can come by
Luxure
earlier. I do have some business I have to take care of at the bar,
but I live upstairs. I'll make you dinner."

There wasn't any innuendo inferred, but she
had to wonder. "That sounds nice."

"So, you'll come see me?"

"I don't think I could stay away."

"Good." His second kiss was even more gentle,
and final. "Sleep well," he murmured into her cheek. As he backed
away, his fingers stayed entwined with hers until her arms were
completely outstretched.

"I won't," she told him.

His smile was crooked and completely
charming. "Neither will I." He released her hands and spun towards
Bourbon. She watched after him until he disappeared onto the busy
street. Letting her head fall back on her shoulders, she leaned
against the wall and closed her eyes.

Sixteen hours. Could she possibly wait 16
hours before she saw him again?

The world started to whirl around her and
Julia jerked her eyes open. It took a minute for the spinning to
subside. Wow, she was drunker than she thought. Maybe Armand was
right. Sober sex was much better than drunken sex.

Heaving herself off the wall, she went into
the lobby and actually punched the elevator buttons. When the doors
slid open, the twenty-something guys she'd seen in the hotel bar
the night before stepped out and gave her a once over.

"That's a great outfit," one said. "I got
some beads for you. I'm sure you got something nice under there..."
He dangled a set of oversized Mardi Gras beads in front of her. She
barely bothered to glance at him. His white visor was crooked on
his head, and among the dozens of beads he had draped around his
neck were a few with college logos and ceramic breasts. He was
wearing a shirt that said something about getting bourbon faced on
shit street.

Her stomach heaved, and not because of the
liquor. "Thanks, but I'm good." Wrapping her coat tightly around
her body, she slipped past them and into the elevator, immediately
pushing the
four
. And then as an after thought, pressed the
three
as well. She didn't want these guys knowing which
floor she was on.

She was so happy when the doors slid shut
that she didn't even mind when the elevator lurched up. Armand's
scent drifted up, and she suddenly realized she was still wearing
his coat. Oops, well, she could return it when she saw him
tomorrow.

Tomorrow. She would see him
tomorrow
.
Snuggling into the plush fabric, her insides did a little
step-ball-change, grapevine, 4-step-turn happy dance as the
anticipation charged through her.

By the time, Julia trudged down the hall to
her room, every giddy piece of energy had dripped from her body.
She managed to pee and take off her wig before falling onto the
bed. Something landed on the floor with a thud, and groaning, Julia
groped along the carpet for it. If she didn't look for it now,
she'd forget about it later, or more likely, completely. When
something hard bumped into her hand she picked it up and used one,
squinted eye to check it out. Just her stupid book.

Tossing it onto the nightstand, Julia rolled
over and closed her eyes. Somehow, she managed to fight off the
spins long enough to fall asleep.

Shoved against the wall and tucked into the
corner where the bed and nightstand met, was a shining, silver
flask.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Armand was only able to spend the briefest of
moments on Bourbon before he had to turn onto an intersecting
street. He was already about to burst. The last thing he needed was
the sexual energy that buzzed thickly on the famous street feeding
his swollen desire.

Julia.

Her scent lingered on his shirt and he could
practically taste how sweet she'd be. How he'd love to have shoved
that micro skirt over her hips, slid her panties aside, and buried
himself deep into her right there on the street.

And if he'd actually taken her up to her
room...

The vivid images that poured through his mind
and further enraged his cock were dark enough to confirm this was
not the evening to enjoy her. His brand of pleasure was not
something to take lightly, and as revved up and turned on as he was
right now, he was in a pretty dangerous state.

Tomorrow, though, when he was more in
control...

God, he felt like a high school boy as he
subtly adjusted his member on the crowded sidewalk.

The wind whipped through the narrow street,
rattling shutters and sending trash rolling across the pavement
like tumbleweeds. The storm was getting stronger. It would be here
before morning. Armand hoped it lost enough energy to be relatively
harmless, or turned at the last moment, which was pretty
common.

The storm would hit in a couple of hours.
There was nothing he needed to do in preparation; his shutters were
perpetually closed. But was Julia's hotel prepared? What about
Julia? She'd been a little freaked out when he mentioned the storm
was heading inland. Maybe he should go back and get her. Would she
feel safer at his place? He wanted to call her and ask, but
realized he had no idea what room she was in, nor did he know her
last name or even her cell number.

Backing into a stairwell, Armand pulled out
his phone and clicked on the browser. The storm was indeed spinning
its way towards New Orleans, but had been downgraded to a Tropical
Depression and had lost its defined eye. Just as he thought, it was
expected to hit the city in a few hours, but with sustained winds
only reaching 30mph, it wasn't much of a threat.

Turning off his phone and sliding it into his
pocket, Armand stepped out of the stairwell and headed towards his
house, forgoing any thought of going back to Julia's hotel. It was
best for him to take a breath and a step away from her for the
evening.

Besides, more than likely, the storm would
blow over by mid-afternoon, just in time for him to wake up, Julia
to finish with her conference - if it wasn't canceled - and then,
their date.

His member immediately sprang back to life
when he thought of her. Her smell, the taste of her kiss, the way
her soft silky skin felt under his hands as he pulled her hips into
his...It was enough to drive him crazy.

Years, it had been years since a woman
excited him like this.

It wasn't just her beautiful body or the
sweetness of her smell. Physical alone didn't do enough to entice
him anymore. He was around physical perfection all the time. Having
an honest, normal conversation with an intelligent, real woman was
a bigger aphrodisiac than a double dose of Viagra.

And then there was the connection between
them, a connection that had been lacking in all of his previous
relationships. Fuck, the promise of a physical
and
emotional
connection nearly made him run back to her hotel and knock on every
door until he found her.

The idea might be ridiculous, but it made him
smile as he maneuvered through the narrow alley and, without
thinking, into
Luxure
.

The grim look Slade greeted him with slapped
Armand's grin right off his face.

Fuck. Darus.

He hadn't thought of that bastard in
hours.

Of all the nights to be on autopilot...He'd
had the promise of quiet, solitude, and time alone with some rather
enjoyable memories, and he had to blow it by mindlessly crossing
the threshold into
Luxure
.

Ignoring Slade's persistent stare, Armand
slipped behind the bar and reached for his flask. He needed another
drink if he was going to get into a discussion about Darus. Patting
his shirt pocket, he came up empty. The flask was in the coat he'd
left draped around Julia's slender form.

She'd looked so adorable in it, the fabric
hanging over her delicate shoulders like expensive silk drapes,
hiding every gorgeous curve behind their heavy, amorphous form.
Except every once in a while, a beautiful, shapely thigh, lightly
tan with the perfect amount of muscle, had peaked out and reminded
him of the temptation beneath.

"I don't know what the fuck you're smiling
about," Slade said sourly. "Your cop buddy stopped by."

That was fast.

Purposefully making Slade wait for a reply,
Armand pulled the Courvoisier off the top shelf at the back of the
bar, filled a small brandy sifter, drank it in one swallow, and
then filled the glass again. Normally, Armand was a very discrete
drinker, keeping any public consumption of alcohol hidden. But
right now, he didn't give a shit who saw him slam the expensive
cognac, meant to be sipped and savored, down his throat.

"So what did Tim want?" Armand asked
nonchalantly as he refilled the glass a final time and slid the
liquor bottle back into place.

"It wasn't Tim. It was that other bastard you
played football with in high school. Brian or some shit. The
detective. Amazing that all those dick-head jocks you apparently
used to hang with all became pigs," Slade added sarcastically.

Being skinny and sickly as a teenager, the
bartender hadn't had the best experience in high school, and held a
serious grudge against jock types. Of course, that was before he
discovered he needed a shot of blood a couple times a week to be
well, and long before he'd turned into the body builder he was
now.

"Whatever. Doesn't matter," Slade went on.
"You know goddamn well what he wanted. Asked a lot of questions he
had no business asking. Ran half the customers out of here."

Armand turned to face his angry friend.
Keeping his back to the few remaining patrons that lounged on the
plush sofas in the far corner, he leaned against the bar and calmly
sipped the cognac.

Slade just snorted. "What were you thinking,
turning Darus over to the pigs? I thought we were going to take
care of this internally."

Armand shrugged, willing his rising temper to
the depths of his belly. Letting Slade ignite the fire he worked so
diligently to subdue was not part of his evening plan. He wasn't
about to let the business with Darus and Eve darken the pleasure
he'd experienced in Julia's company.