Shadow of the Vampire (16 page)

         
Lotharus mumbled a low curse beneath his breath before he spun in a lightning-fast move. His boot was the last thing Declan saw before the acute pain of it striking his jaw saturated his entire being.

         
UNSHEATHING HER DAGGER, Alexia dug the tip into the lock on the cell. For what felt like hours she fought with the keyhole, trying to pick the lock with everything from a meat hook to one of her claws. Nothing worked.

         
"Why are you...still here?"

         
Declan's words sounded like something between a gasp and a whisper, and the anguish in them made Alexia's throat tighten.

         
"I told you, I'm getting you out of here," she said. Ignoring the panic mounting inside her, she focused again on the padlock. She'd been trying to open the thing forever. Sweat trickled down her brow. Swiping it out of her eyes, she slid the dagger's tip into the keyhole and twisted. It slipped, slicing her across the palm.

         
"Ow! Dammit," she cried in frustration, tossing the weapon to the other side of the room. The sound of it skidding across the floor echoed in the empty space, grating her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. A glance up showed the lock still in place. An overwhelming sense of helplessness shrouded her, suffocating her.

         
Cupping her wounded hand, she closed her eyes and suppressed the urge to scream. Goddess, she needed a second to breathe, a second to think. A second, she thought, realizing Declan might very well only have seconds left. At the thought of him dying on that floor, a surprisingly large wound lanced her chest. The abrupt and unexpected ache was almost enough to make her weep. Pursing her lips, she willed the sob back. "Go."

         
Declan's gasped word came out as little more than a hoarse whisper with his exhale, but she heard it. The agony and surrender in his voice made it nearly impossible to hold her tears back this time. It didn't help that her damn hand throbbed and wouldn't quit bleeding.

         
Alexia's eyes flew open wide.

         
Bleeding.

         
"Of course," she breathed, moving in front of the bars with renewed purpose. "Declan, move over here," she commanded, punching her arm through the cell bars. "I can't reach you."

         
GROGGY AND WEAK, Declan turned his head toward the sound of her voice. Blood, hot and sticky, trickled across his lips. A jolt of energy shot through him at the taste of it. At the taste of her. For a split second, he tilted his head to what she offered. But for only a second. He turned away, releasing a resigned sigh. "Declan, please."

         
"No." His voice was raspy and his protest weak, even to his own ears. He knew he'd die without it and yet, drinking from her, tasting her, was something he wasn't sure he could do and survive again, either. The dreams already plagued him every time he shut his eyes. What would happen if he fed from her again? Only one thing was certain...what would happen to him if he didn't.

         
"Please, take it," she said. "Feed from me and fly out of here."

         
"I'm not sure I can, even if I wanted to." Declan rolled toward her, lying on his side.

         
"Oh, Goddess," she breathed. Her eyes widened at the wing, mutilated, broken and hanging by a thread behind him. Then her eyes fixed on his, steadfast resolve in their black depths.

         
"Come here. Now," she ordered, and he found himself complying. His entire body strained, fire cracking through every nerve ending in his body. "Move to the left, I can't reach you--" Her words broke off into a sigh as his mouth found its target.

         
Hungrily, his hands encircled her arm, clutching her to him. Although his fangs itched to burrow into her flesh until they struck bone, he held the urge at bay. Using all the control he owned, he carefully ran his tongue along the seam of her cut. The sweet, spicy and unique flavor of her blossomed on his tongue. His mouth watered. His head spun. Digging his fingers into her arm, he repeated the action before he closed his lips around her wrist and opened his jaw.

         
Locked into the perfect position to feed, he heard her breath hitch in anticipation of his bite. A shudder trembled along her arm. Closing his eyes, he allowed his dragon senses to hone in on her, on his prey. It picked up the frantic pace of her heart, her steadily increasing body temperature and the slight hint of sweet arousal secreting out of her pores. When the pheromone hit his nose, his cock pulsed and a primitive groan bubbled up from his core.

         
Gods, he wanted this. He knew it was wrong, knew he shouldn't let her heal him again, but at the same time he couldn't stop himself, either. In fact, he became blinded by the knowledge that he would kill anyone who tried to take her away. For a split second he realized what he thought was near lunacy. But it was only for a second and his body could not deny what she offered any longer. Lips quivering, he placed a soft, open-mouthed kiss on her wrist before he bit down.

         
At his invasion, she let loose an erotic gasp. The muscles in her arm tensed, but she did not try to get away. He pictured her in his mind's eye. Her back arched, her dark eyes shuttered, her skin flushed and her lips parted, a look of pure and unbridled ecstasy on her face. Exactly how he imagined she'd look when he drove into her heat. A pulse of want coursed through his body and blood rushed from his mouth straight to his hardening cock.

         
Closing his eyes, he focused on feeding. Focused on how sweet her blood tasted sliding down his throat. Hot and thick and her. It spread through him, like liquid fire in his veins. His belly glowed, his entire body heated and for the first time in days he felt warm and alive.

         
When he finally forced himself to pull away, he kept ahold of her hand, breathing deep the unique scent that was hers and hers alone. An intoxicating fragrance he had not sampled often, but knew he would never forget.

         
Alexia.

         
Her name whispered through his soul, searing it like a brand. An unaccustomed glow burned bright and hot as a star in the center of his chest. If he hadn't been so high from feeding, he'd think himself mad.

         
He liked her. Hell, maybe even more than liked her. And the crazy thing was he'd never done more than kiss her. Not that he didn't want to. In fact, he'd grown stiff as the iron bar keeping her from him, achingly hard, his balls drawn up tight between his thighs. As he laved a trail up her vein, he imagined it was the soft skin of her belly, her inner thigh. Gods, what he wouldn't give to taste her there. Just once.

         
As if she could read his mind, she breathed out a tiny sigh. The erotic surrender was almost enough to make him explode. Using every ounce of control he owned, he released her wrist and scooted away from her. Letting out a shuddering moan, he lay on his back parallel to the bars, letting her strength flow through him. Covering his eyes with a forearm, he tried to channel all of his energy into healing his nearly fatal wounds.

         
That became impossible when a tiny hand closed around the hard length of him. Declan hissed in a breath, his hips bucking forward in a silent plea. One she answered. She began stroking him softly, her fingertips tickling his sensitive tip before smoothing the skin down the length of him. His back bowed off the floor and a shudder racked through him.

         
Biting his lower lip to keep from crying out, he looked out from beneath his arm.

         
Alexia's beautiful eyes were wide. Excitement, interest perhaps, but no fear. Again, her delicate fingers squeezed and pulled, teasing him. He fought the urge not to beg her to do it harder. Instead, he bit down so tightly his jaw muscles burned, and he let her caress him to near madness. Desire vibrated through him, pulsing in a low, dull throb in his groin.

         
Her other hand weaved between the bars, tentatively running her fingers along the clenching muscles of his torso. A low groan rolled out of his chest. Shifting, he vaguely realized that her hand roamed over the now perfectly smooth, healed flesh of his stomach.

         
Declan looked up to tell her thank you, but at the sight of her his breath caught. She watched him intently, her eyes flickering with something dark, something primal, something the male in him could no longer ignore.

         
Without taking his eyes off her, he rose to his knees in front of her. Her lips parted in a sigh, her chin tilting up slightly in silent invitation. Jabbing his hands through the bars, he cupped her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Caressing her cheek against his palm, his mind pulled ten different directions all at once. Then she opened her eyes and he could only think of one thing.

         
"Come here," he growled, pulling her to him.

CHAPTER TEN

         
AT HIS THROATY COMMAND, Alexia eagerly leaned forward. However, he tightened his hold, keeping her scant inches from his lips. She glanced up from his mouth, the heated look in his eyes scorching her to the marrow.

         
Slowly, he tipped his head to the side, closing the distance between them. His breath warmed her lips. The scent of him, dark and spicy, curled around her, overpowering the metallic scent of the bars. The tips of her nipples crimped, hardening to painfully aching peaks. Every inch of her cried out for him to kiss her, to claim her.

         
Right now, she could only pray to the Goddess that he'd listen. For she didn't care if Lotharus beat her within an inch of her life, for once she wanted to feel passion, feel desired, feel alive.

         
Slowly, her tongue slid between her lips, wetting them. His eyes lowered. His thumb repeated the action, brushing back and forth over her mouth. A light tingle hummed across her lips and she nearly whimpered with need. Then his hand was gone, the pad of his finger only a whispered memory on her lips.

         
She leaned toward him, her forehead pressing against the cool metal. This time, he met her, coming so close their noses brushed.

         
"Alexia." He breathed her name against her lips before covering her mouth with his. The hands on her face slid to her nape, his long fingers curling around the back of her head, holding her to him in a tender embrace. Without taking his lips from hers, he tilted his head to the side, angling for a better position through the bars.

         
In an agonizingly slow glide, his tongue traced the outline of her lower lip, seeking entrance. Alexia yielded with a shudder and parted for him. He groaned, low and feral as he took what she offered. Unbelievably slick and hot, his tongue came into her mouth, tasting hers in a sensual move that made her head spin. She swayed slightly from the bliss, thankful he held her tightly, unsure if she could remain upright on her own.

         
His hands tangled in her hair, then moved lower as he devoured her lips with his expert mouth. Alexia whimpered a soft, relinquishing sound as she eagerly opened herself up to the feast.

         
Large and sure, his hands slid down her back. She arched into each exploratory perusal. Every nerve ending in her stood alert. Each brush of his fingers and lips caused a riotous hunger to rise in her, one she wasn't sure she could ever feed. His touch aroused her in ways she couldn't justify or prevent, so she gave in to them.

         
When his hands encircled her rib cage, pulling her tighter against the bars, against him, a wave of fire crashed over her. Hot, consuming, frantic. A rush of heat pooled between her legs. At the unaccustomed feeling, Alexia squirmed. The leather pants intensified the heat building between her thighs. She moaned, kicked a knee through the bar and wrapped her hand around his back, pulling him closer, tighter. She needed something. Needed...

         
The scent of him, deep and rich like a fine chocolate, tingled though her veins. Her fangs itched and stretched. Gods, she hadn't drunk in days and the thirst was almost unbearable. She tore her mouth from his, gasping as his lips fell to her throat. Saliva flooded her mouth as quivering hunger and need trembled through her in unison, although she couldn't explain why. She'd never fed from a person, and yet everything in her screamed to sink her teeth into him, to taste him as he had her.

         
His mouth found the space behind her ear, her neck, her collarbone and back up. Spearing her fingers through his hair, she held his mouth in place. A low groan of approval answered her seconds before fangs pierced her flesh. She cried out at the ecstasy of his playful nip, feeling a fiery shaft of desire jolt her core. Her hands wrapped around his wide shoulders, clutching him to her. Flesh afire, she wriggled her body as close as she could against his. Cold, unyielding iron pressed into her flesh, however, inches of skin meeting his was worth every second of discomfort.