Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) (8 page)

"Now
that you’re done embarrassing me…" Ashleigh went to get up from the couch,
but Caleb touched her knee, and she immediately sat down. Her arms crossed over
her chest, and she glared off to the side as she tried not to cry. "Let’s
please talk about something besides Lord Drake."

"Do
you love me?" Caleb kept his hand on her knee as he leaned forward and set
his glass on the coffee table. At those words, Ashleigh began to cry in
earnest. Caleb wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Hey,
I didn’t mean to make you cry."

"Do
you wish to be alone, Master Mason?" Robert stood up as Caleb motioned for
him to leave. "As you wish." From Caleb’s arms, Ashleigh could hear
the door shutting.

"I
didn’t mean to embarrass you. I really didn’t." Caleb stroked her hair as
he held her, but her body was tense, and her severe shyness around him didn’t
wear off, even though he was trying to comfort her. "And I’m flattered you
like me enough to base one of your characters on me."

"You’re
not mad?" Ashleigh was stiff in his arms, and even though she would love
to wrap her arms around him, she didn’t.

"No."
His hands slipped from around her and went to rest on her shoulders. He pushed
her away from him a little, so he could look into her face. She was still
avoiding his gaze. "I want you, Ashleigh."

She
looked up at him, not sure what he meant by those words, but knowing what she
wanted him to mean by those words. "What?"

"I
want to make you a vampire."

Ashleigh
laughed nervously. "You’re kidding."

"Why
else would I pay to find you?"

Her
jaw dropped as she took in his serious expression. "You were the one who
paid Spencer to find me?"

“Yeah.”
Caleb reached up to her face and pushed back some of her hair, tucking it
behind her ear. "And I never knew Victoria Allure would be so beautiful…perfect."

"Really?"
She blushed at his touch.

"Really."
He leaned forward and kissed her, guiding her hands behind his head.

After
a few seconds, Ashleigh’s shyness quickly melted. She tried to pull him
downward on top of her, but he pulled away. She watched his movements closely
to see what she had done wrong.

"Wait."
He reached into his mouth, pulled out a set of false teeth, and set them on the
coffee table.

He
sent her a smile, and she could now see a set of fangs protruding from under
his upper lip. He pushed her backward on the couch, his movement slow and
methodic. Being engaged in such an intimate setting with Caleb was incredible,
and Ashleigh could feel the intense beat of her heart as she stared at him.

"I've
wanted to meet you for a really long time. When my friends told me about your
books, and about how Drake was so much like me, I had to read them. And
then…" He lightly brushed the surface of her skin, his touch so soft, it
made her skin tingle in its wake. "I couldn't stop. I loved every line,
every word. Having you here is like a dream."

He
planted a single kiss on her lips before hovering over her, his words more clear
and sharp than any other conversation she had ever had. "Thanks for
agreeing to meet me and loving me the way you have in your books. I've never
felt connected to someone as much as I do you." The tip of his nose slid
teasingly down the surface of her cheek and the curve of her neck. "How
can I thank you for coming?"

"This
is a good start." Closing her eyes, Ashleigh tried not to laugh, but a
small giggle escaped.

"I like the
way you think." He then recited a line from
Nightwalkers
, "‘You are my sun. Like forbidden rays, that if
they were to touch my skin, I would die. My body melting as the cursed blood
that flows within me burns me alive."

When his nose
swept back up her neck and cheek, the quick action made her gasp. "‘But I
would die to see a sunrise. To feel that warmth that I can only dream of. I
want to bask in the heat of your kiss, even if it reduces me to ash. I love you’."

"Wow…"
The anticipation building within her so intensely made her whole body shiver.
"Those words sound amazing coming from your lips."

"You're
amazing." His fingers slowly marched up her hips and toward her stomach,
his action light and gentle. "And when you fall asleep, I will be here to
wake you…" Her head began to feel very airy, his touches so tantalizing
that she couldn’t even move an inch for fear of losing the intense feeling. "With
my blood."

He
began kissing her, his hands making slow passes up and down her curvaceous
frame. With each kiss, he could feel her body go more and more limp. Pulling
away from her, he let his nose rest against hers, his stare locking with hers. She
gazed at him with a distant, dreamy expression.

He
let the tip of his nose slide down her cheek again, his lips lightly kissing
her skin and making her tremble. She couldn’t move, but her whole body felt as
if it were in a state of pure pleasure, so great she had gone into a light
unconsciousness. The world around her was watery, but the sound of Caleb’s
voice was crystal clear. "My kiss is painful but worth every second."

Then,
he bit her neck. Ashleigh’s mouth shot open, but no sound escaped it. A few hot
tears fell from the corners of her eyes. Caleb took several bites, each one
more painful than the last. This was not like in her books. This hurt. A lot. She
could feel her flesh being torn, the wetness of her blood flowing from the
wound, and Caleb’s taut lips pressing hard against her neck as he drank.

It
seemed to last forever, though it was only a few minutes. When she closed her
eyes, she blacked out, which was a welcome relief from the pain.

The
next time she opened her eyes, she was lying in bed. The change of location,
and her abrupt waking, made her body shoot up into a sitting position. It was
dark, but she could make out the shapes of furniture as she scanned the room
for any sign of life.

She
could taste blood lingering on her tongue, a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Fresh
tears escaped her eyes. She felt shaky and weak in her own body, something she
was not used to. Her hand shot up to her neck as she felt for a wound, but
there wasn’t one. She didn’t know where she was, or even if she had dreamt the
entire thing. But this wasn’t her room.

"Lay
down." Caleb, who had been lying down next to her, grabbed her shoulders
gently as he sat up. "The loss of blood will make you dizzy for a while."
He eased her back into a laying position, their bodies facing each other, although
neither of them could see each other. "Laying with me isn’t so bad, is it?"
He stroked her cheek.

Ashleigh
sprung forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and clinging to him as
tightly as she could. "No." She could now feel his bare skin against
her arms. This shocked her at first, but didn’t make her hold him any looser. "Everything’s
spinning. I’m so dizzy."

"Eating
something will help." Caleb’s familiar voice was like a siren song in her
ear. As she listened, that nervousness around him began to flutter in her chest
again. "Let me get you something." He pulled away from her and sat up
in bed, waving his hand and turning on the light. He shielded his eyes at
first, glancing toward the door.

Then,
he turned back to Ashleigh, who had now sat up as well, a small smile on her
face as she gazed at Caleb. She was eyeing his shirtless figure, and from the
nature of her expression, he knew what she was thinking about. The thought made
him laugh, but he kept it soft and light.

The
door to the bedroom opened, and Robert came in wheeling a cart of food. "Good
morning, Master Mason."

When
Caleb pointed to the window, Robert went over to draw the curtains. The soft
light of early morning burst into the room, still faint and easier on the eyes
than the harsh glow coming from the bedside table. He poured a glass of juice
and took it over to Ashleigh. "Drink this, Miss Brown."

Ashleigh
took the glass from his hand, slowly putting it to her lips and taking a few
sips. Caleb jumped off the bed and walked over to the cart. He grabbed some
food and tossed it onto a plate before filling up another for Ashleigh.

"Is
there anything else you require, Master?" Robert stood near the food cart,
his hands held neatly behind his back.

"No."
Caleb smiled at Robert, a great happiness in his voice. "Thank you."

"Do
you wish for me to inform your father of your—?"

"No."
Waving as he ate the pancake in his hand, Caleb didn’t turn to Robert as he
spoke.

"As
you wish. I will call for you in a few hours. Enjoy your morning, Master."
Robert turned from them and walked out of the room.

"Here."
Caleb set the plate on Ashleigh’s lap before jumping into bed next to her. "I’ve
got…" He took another bite, speaking with his mouth full, "To leave
this afternoon. I’m doing a concert in Delmar tonight."

"What
time do you have to leave?" A small, but very cute, frown filled her face,
Ashleigh scooting closer to him and playfully banging her hips against his.

"Why?
You wanna come on tour with me? Because you can."

"I
can't." She had already drank her large glass of juice and was feeling a
little better. She reached over him and set her cup down on the table,
purposely leaning as close to him as she could. Her body brushed against his, and
Caleb watched her closely as he quickly chewed the food in his mouth.

"Well,
you still have a while to decide. We're supposed to leave at noon." He set
his plate down on the dresser near him then leaned his face closer to Ashleigh.
"But if we get distracted, we might stay here until two." His eyes
were locked with hers, both of them smiling at each other.

Caleb’s
hand reached down to her plate and grabbed a piece of bacon. He quickly shoved
it into Ashleigh’s mouth, his action surprising her, her hand reaching up to
grab the end of it. "But you have to eat that whole plate of food first."

Ashleigh
narrowed her eyes on him, a playful anger in her furled brow. She watched him
reach over the side of the bed, feeling under it for something. After a few
seconds, he pulled up a black guitar, the surface of it scratched and nicked,
showing its many hours of usage.

He
set it in his lap, strumming the strings a few times before reaching over and
grabbing a piece of toast from his plate. He took a quick bite before tossing
it back. He started playing a song, his eyes watching his fingers move as his
full mouth tried to chew his food. His cheeks were puffed, his attention
focusing on the guitar instead of Ashleigh.

"Do
you always sleep with that?" Ashleigh smiled as she watched him play, a
piece of toast held delicately in her hands. She was still a little shy around
him, but not as bad as she had been the night before. Caleb's playful, friendly
personality made talking to him very easy.

"Yeah."
Caleb watched her get up from the bed and walk around it to the food cart. "So
you better get used to it." He laughed, grabbing his half eaten toast and
letting it pause near his lips as he watched her pick up a bagel and slather it
with cream cheese. "You look hot in that dress. Why don't you take it off?"

"What?"
Ashleigh laughed as she turned to him.

His
hair was now very messy and sticking up all over the place. There was
playfulness in his devilish smile. "Get naked." He motioned toward
her with his hand as he tried to keep a serious tone to his voice, turning back
to guitar briefly and strumming a few cords.

"Here."
Sticking out his tongue slightly, he captured it under one of his fangs. "I’ll
give you some stripping music." He started playing, his eyes looking down
for a few seconds then back at her, "Come on. I’ll do it, if you do."

Ashleigh
was eating her bagel, her mouth full so she couldn’t respond. She just sent him
a giant grin.

"Aww...you’re
no fun." Caleb turned from her, playing his guitar as he sang softly. He
wasn’t watching her, concentrating on his music instead. When he heard the
sound of a zipper and quickly looked up, Ashleigh’s back was toward him.

Her
hand was paused on her zipper near the middle of her rear, revealing her neon
pink panties. She reached her arms up to her shoulders and pushed down her
sleeves. Her shoulders were slowly exposed then her back.

Even
though she could feel his eyes on her, she couldn’t see him and that was making
her brave enough to strip for him, something she had never been brave enough to
do before.

She
knew she had his attention because he had stopped playing, and she could hear
the plunk of the guitar as it hit the floor. At the same time, she shoved her
dress down her hips.

Her
backside was not her best feature, but Caleb’s eyes weren’t focused on that. They
were watching her hands go up teasingly to the back of her bra. They paused
there, her bright red fingernails short but long enough to show she hadn’t
bitten them in a few weeks.

She
heard the bed groan with Caleb’s movement. Her fingers undid the thick strap,
letting it hang open for a few seconds before reaching for her bagel and taking
a bite. She knew to most men her breasts were her sexiest feature, and for good
reason. They were large and perfectly formed, their heaviness pulling the back
strap apart further as the cups tried to support their weight on their own.

She
pretended like he wasn’t there, one of her hands holding onto her bagel and the
other pushing down one of the straps of her bra. She heard him move again, this
time the sound from the bed lighter. As she took another bite from her bagel,
she pushed the other strap off her shoulder, the weight of her breasts pulling
the bra off the rest of the way. Before it fell to the floor, Caleb’s arms
wrapped around her, his hands cupping her breasts.