My Vampire Lover (6 page)

I gazed at him, trying to visualise the kind of horror he must have gone through in those first days as a vampire. As hard as I tried, I knew nothing I conjured up in my mind could actually compare with what he had endured.

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"How did you survive this?" I asked, my voice thick with emotion.

"Henri saved me. When I told him what LePlante had done and that I could only live by drinking blood, he gave me his, just as you did tonight. Poor Henri. I did not know then how to control the bloodlust that can overpower a vampire's senses. I think I would have drained him, but he, sensible man that he was, struggled to free himself, and in doing so, made me aware of what I was doing.

"For a long time, he sheltered me in his home, where I continued with my work, until we felt it was expedient that I should 'die' and disappear from Paris. I was buried in St.

 

Germain cemetery—or rather, my casket was buried there—

 

and I came to this country. Henri sold all my paintings for exorbitant sums of money—now that I was 'dead', they had tripled in value—and he invested all the money in a Swiss bank, in my name."

 

"And your lover, Paul?"

"Of course, he saw a change in me but never guessed what it was. He thought I was ill and suggested we go to the countryside until I regained my strength." He smiled sadly at the memory. "He was very sweet for the first day or two, but then, when I could not join him outside in the daytime, spending most of the day in a darkened room, he grew bored and demanded we return to Paris."

"Nice guy," I murmured.
"A beautiful guy, Ron, but not very nice. He attended my funeral, and cried, just a little." He squeezed my hand. "He was not in your class at all." 53
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"Thanks." I felt myself blush under his steadfast gaze. I cleared my throat. "So you came to the States a hundred years ago?"

"Yes ... to New York, where I was fortunate enough to meet Marcus Verano, a vampire who befriended me and gave me the encouragement I needed to see me through those first dark days. He is the one to whom I would have turned for help had he still been in LA."

"This Marcus guy," I said, feeling a twinge of jealousy.
"You're close friends?"

"Extremely close. He was, and still is, my mentor. If it had not been for him, I doubt whether I would have survived very long as a vampire. I was filled with bitterness towards my state of existence. He made me see that fighting what I had become was useless. There was no going back—no redemption from this half-life—but it could, given the proper perspective, be more than I had thought, at first."

"Were you lovers?" I asked, wanting him to say no.
"Not in the strict sense of the word. We loved each other—
we still do—but we did not have sex, if that is what you are asking."
I blushed again. Yep, that's what I was asking.
Jean-Claude leaned over and kissed my lips. "You will love him, too, when you meet him."
"You said he left town."

"Yes. He and his mortal lover had business to attend to in Rome. He would not tell me the nature of it, but he seemed troubled. My talent for mind reading is primitive next to his—

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even if I were his equal, he could block all his thoughts from me. He is very powerful."
"You said he helped you."
"More than helped. He schooled me in vampire lore and made me aware of the myths and the truths of our culture.

More than anything, he taught me to treat those who gave their lifeblood to us, either willingly or unwillingly, with compassion and gratitude. 'Never kill a mortal,' he said,

 

'unless your own life is in danger—and even then, make it a very last resort. We are stronger and quicker than mortal men,' he reminded me. 'We can disable and escape, at lightning speed.' I have always lived by that creed, Ron ... but tonight, it failed me."

 

"Do you have any idea why were you attacked tonight?" I asked. "Had you been threatened?"

"Yes." He stroked my hair as he answered. "Some weeks ago, I received a phone call from someone I did not know. He said I should leave LA at once, or my life would be forfeit. I tried to contact Marcus, but he had already gone to Rome. He still, as yet, has not returned. Of course, I had no intentions of leaving, and when I received the second threatening call tonight, I told the person just that.

"The caller ranted at me, saying I was a vile poison on this earth, and that I, and the likes of me, would be eradicated by all means at his disposal. I took his threats seriously, Ron, and I have been careful and wary when on my own. But tonight, on my way to see you, my guard was down. They came at me from the darkness before I could defend myself.

They dragged me down the alley to finish me off, but they 55
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were panicked and clumsy when they drove the stake into me. I knew they had missed my heart, but I feigned death, and they fled, thinking their work was done."

"But you don't know who the caller was?"
"One of the attackers mentioned a name, saying they had to call him as soon as I was dead."
"What was the name?"
He hesitated for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was something like Delaney."
"Do you know anyone by that name?"
He shook his head. "No. It meant nothing to me."

"Delaney," I mused. "Sounds Irish. There must be hundreds of Delaneys in LA." I paused, remembering someone. "I have a friend in the LAPD. Haven't seen him in a while, but I could call him and see if he could check on any Delaney with a police record."

 

"The man who called me sounded educated and authoritative," Jean-Claude said. "Somehow, I don't think he will have a police record. It is more than likely that he does not soil his own hands with his criminal intentions."

"Hmm, maybe..."
"And I would rather the police were not involved in this, Ron. It could prove ... awkward."

"Yeah, you're right. We can't have them poking around." I stood and held out my hand. "I should see you home—make sure you're okay, before I leave you alone." He took my hand, and I pulled him to his feet, putting my arms around him, holding him close. "Unless, of course, you'd rather I stayed?"

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His lips met mine in a hard kiss. Then he drew back, and gave me a sly smile. "Come home with me," he said. "And then we shall see."
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Chapter Four
Jean-Claude's condominium was only two blocks from my apartment—convenient, huh?

"I've seen you run by here almost every morning," he told me as he ushered me inside. "That is when I was first intrigued by the sight of you—in those little shorts!" He had picked up a remote from the coffee table and pointed it at his CD player. The sensuous sounds of a woodwind instrument filled the room.

"So, you wanted me for my body, not my mind," I kidded him, looking around the spacious living room. I don't know what I'd expected his place to look like, antique furniture maybe, but it was decorated in a minimalist style, lots of space and clean lines.

 

"Yes," he said, smiling. "And I still want your body." He unbuttoned my shirt and slipped his hands inside, caressing the sides of my torso. "Will you stay a while?"

"Mmm, you bet. What's that music?"
"Part of Brahms clarinet concerto. Do you like it?"
I opened my mouth to say yes, when my cell phone jangled in my pocket. "Sorry," I mumbled, dragging it out and looking at the caller ID. Jonas... "Where the hell are you?" he barked in my ear. "We went back to the restaurant, you weren't there, and you're not here at the apartment." "You should be a detective," I chuckled. "You're very observant."
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"Quit the smart talk. We were worried."
"Take it easy. I'm over at Jean-Claude's."
"Well, you could've called to let us know. So..." He sounded more relaxed. "He showed up, after all."
"Yeah. I'll be home in a little bit. Don't wait up."
"Okay. Tell him hello from us."
"Will do." I closed my phone and slipped it back in my pocket.
Jean-Claude nuzzled my nipples.
"My brother says hello," I said, my voice strained with pleasure. "God, that feels good."

He looked up and smiled at me. He was so fucking adorable ... a fucking adorable vampire. I cupped his beautiful face in my hands and kissed him.

"You know," I said. "Jonas and Ted said there was a possibility you might be a vampire."
His eyes widened in surprise. "They did?"

"Yeah, they were joking, of course. I told them you couldn't take the sunlight. That and the fact you wouldn't eat Ted's dinner had them doing all sorts of crazy guessing."

 

"Not so crazy, as it turns out," he said. He looked at me with tender eyes. "Ron, if this is going to be too much for you to handle, I will understand." "No, it's not. Of course, there are things I don't understand yet. You'll have to tell me what you need from me, what I can and cannot do around you. That kind of thing."

 

He nodded. "I just want you to be completely sure you can accept what I am—and it's really a case of what I can and cannot do around you. For instance, you know I must 59

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occasionally feed on a living human. It cannot be you all the time, for obvious reasons."
"I could go get transfusions."
"Ron, be sensible," he said, chuckling at my earnest expression. "Don't you think the hospitals would be just a tad suspicious of you coming in every few days for a refill?"
I laughed with him. "Yeah, that was a dumb idea. I'm just worried about you exposing yourself to more danger."

"That's very sweet, but I have been doing it for many years. And, trust me when I say, I do not harm anyone I drink from. There were some things in my early life I did not fully understand, but my friend, Marcus, taught me the vampire's bite actually adds some years to a mortal's life."

"It does?" I hugged him to me. "Bite me again, then we'll have lots more years together."
He kissed my neck. "You are truly wonderful, Ron, but we must take this slowly. I want you to fully comprehend what you're getting yourself into." "I know I love you," I told him, holding him tight.
"Mmm," he sighed with pleasure. His hands were on my butt, pulling my crotch into his, rubbing his hardness against mine. "You ever going to show me your bedroom?" I teased.

"Immediately." He took my hand, and we almost ran across the living room, and into his master bedroom. I had no time to notice the décor as we both hit the bed, tearing at each other's clothes. For someone who'd just had a near-death experience, Jean-Claude showed remarkable powers of recovery. His lithe, supple body slid over mine as he climbed 60

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on top of me, his lips on my mouth making me shudder with desire. I felt his erection throb between my thighs, and I groaned with the almost overpowering weight of my lust for him.

 

"You have a condom?" I whispered.

 

His smile was so sweet. "I could not tell you this before, Ron, but now that you know me better, we have no need for condoms. Vampire blood is immune to all disease."

His kisses were the greatest I'd ever experienced.
He's made kissing an art form,
I thought, as his tongue caressed the inside of my mouth, leaving no part unkissed. I held him tight, never wanting to let him go, wishing that these precious moments together would morph into an eternity, and take us to a plane where only he and I existed, safe from those who would harm him.

But right then, the purely sensual, physical attraction between us, was too much to ignore. Our bodies entwined so tightly together they seem to fuse as one. As I entered him, his sweet warmth enveloped me, bringing me to an ecstasy that bordered on the unbearable. A long, shuddering moan escaped me, and he whispered my name, his lips on my skin sending shock waves of desire through every fibre of my being. I plunged deeper, and his legs around my waist held us securely locked together as we moved in a slow intense rhythm, our eyes fixed upon one another, his hands holding my thighs, pulling me ever closer, ever deeper inside him.

He inserted his lubed fingers into my anus. He probed gently at first, stroking the sphincter. Pushing past the tight 61
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muscle, he massaged my prostate, causing waves of ecstasy to flow over me.
"Jean-Claude," I murmured in his ear. "I can't hold back.
Come with me..."

His body stiffened under me as his orgasm overcame him, and his hot cum sprayed over his chest and mine, bringing a choking cry from his lips. I lowered my face to his, and covered his mouth with my own, feeling the hot charge of my ejaculation leap from my balls and surge through me, filling him with the essence of our mutual passion.

I leaned over him, marvelling at the sight of his hard, slim body that showed not one sign of his earlier attack. I kissed his chest where I remembered the wound had been and felt a slow anger build in me. Anyone wanting to hurt this beautiful man, or to take his life, was going to have to go through me.

"I can feel your anger," he said, stroking my face. "You will not endanger yourself on my behalf, Ron. I forbid it." He drew me close to him and kissed my lips. "Promise me."

 

"I just want to know who this Delaney guy is," I said defensively. "He's already proven he's a real danger to you.

 

What if he tries it again when he finds out his hired thugs blew it? And didn't you mention he said you and your kind, or something like that? He might go after your friend Marcus, too."

 

"He would need an army of thugs to vanquish Marcus, and even then, I think they would fail. Marcus is perhaps the most powerful vampire ever. He is legendary among us."

"Maybe so, but I still think we need to track down the loon and put a stop to his tactics."
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"We'll talk of it later when you are not quite so angry. We will need clear heads for devising a suitable plan of action." "Okay, I can take a hint. I'll shut up about it—for the time being."
"Good." He gave me one of those disarming smiles. "Now, before you go, there is something I want you to do." Ooh,
yeah.