Dying to Date (12 page)

“Quid pro quo,” she whispered.

“What?”

She rolled her head in his direction. If she was going to go down this road it couldn’t be brought on by a thoughtless blunder or a slip of the tongue. It had to be a conscious decision, because once they parted ways, the information they shared might come back to haunt them.

“I want to know you,” she said, staring at his profile. “And I’ll pay your price.”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I’ll ask about your transformation,” he warned.

“I know.”

There was a beat of silence. “Vampires don’t offer up that information to just anyone.”

“Yes.”

His eyes flicked to her. “This is a bad idea. Keeping our distance makes things easier.”

“Much,” she agreed. Not that she’d been very good at keeping her hands off him. Maintaining distance seemed to be a hopeless dream for them.

Tarian sighed before giving his head a rough shake. “Dammit. You’ve been a puzzle I’ve wanted to unravel since I bloody well met you.”

A small smile curved her lips. At least she wasn’t alone in this twisted dance they found themselves tangled in.

“Tell me,” he ordered.

Her eyes closed briefly as the memory of screaming horses thundered in her mind. She was about to speak of a time in her life she tried her best to forget. The most painful night of her existence.

“I should have died in a carriage accident,” she whispered. “The same accident that killed my mother.”

His breath hissed from him. “Melissa—”

“No,” she stopped him. “I think…I think I want to tell you.”

Though his gaze didn’t waver from the road, one hand reached out for hers.

“I never knew much about my biological father,” she continued. “We didn’t exactly live in a time period with alimony.”

“Redgrave is not…?”

“No. He met my mother in a busy tavern and had to have her. I was just a child when they started their relationship.”

Usually pain shot through her when she spoke of her past, but not this time. She thought of the accident without the usual shame she felt that she could barely remember her mother’s face, even though she hadn’t forgotten the warmth of her touch or the love in her voice.

As the silence stretched, Tarian offered her a respite.

“I was a strong necromancer from the time of my birth,” Tarian said, his voice rough. “But my other powers developed over time. I can sense my kind, as you know, and sometimes I can command them as I would a vampire. It only works on the younger or weak willed of my kind, but I can do it.”

She glanced at him. “Not Dominic.”

“No. Not Dominic.”

Necromancers shouldn’t be able to control others of their kind. It was a talent she’d never even heard whispers about. That he’d trusted her with it gave her the courage to continue speaking of her transformation.

“My mother stayed with Lucian for the rest of her life,” she said. “She loved him as she’d never loved another, but she refused to be transformed. She never wanted this life.”

“Did she want it for you?”

Melissa closed her eyes, thinking back to the fateful day when her mortality had ended. “I don’t know. She wanted me to live, though as what, I can only guess.”

“What happened?”

“We were traveling to meet with Lucian. It was right at sunset and we were at the edge of a steep hill. Something spooked the horses, and the next thing I knew we were falling.”

She still saw the rotating hill flash by her window in her nightmares. As they’d fallen, she’d seen her mother’s terrified face. Both knew they weren’t getting out alive.

“I was thrown free,” she continued. “Hit my head and blacked out. Lucian tells me he raced to the scene as soon as the sun set but it was too late. I was unresponsive, and my mother was pinned under the carriage.”

Tarian’s hand tightened around hers. “The transformation can’t heal extreme injuries.”

“I know.” The odds of her mother surviving even if she’d agreed to become a vampire were slim. Vampire blood had the power to heal almost any wound, but it still needed veins to circulate through. “She died making Lucian promise to take care of me. He would have anyway, but I like thinking that her last words were about me.”

“So Lucian turned you.”

“He wasn’t going to risk losing us both. I didn’t even get a choice, just woke up with an aversion to sunlight.”

Tarian glanced at her. “Did you regret it?”

“No.” Sometimes it made her feel guilty that she reveled in something he mother had loathed, but she loved her new life. Being a vampire, being strong and fast, gave her a power she’d never had as a human. Her mortal life would have been short and hard, but as an immortal she could enjoy the rolling of the years. She had experienced music, art, and culture that a normal lifespan would never have been able to offer. Even if Lucian had waited for her to wake before turning her, she wouldn’t have made a different choice.

“Necromancers are born not turned,” Tarian said. “We never have a choice.”

“Did you want to be something else?”

A humorless smile twisted his lips. “For years. No necromancer child gives thanks for what we are. Not in a world that despises us.”

Melissa looked away, knowing she’d been part of the world that had perpetuated anti-necromancer sentiments.

“Things changed during the wars. I was young and revolutionary.”

“I doubt you were fighting for a world where necromancers and vampires were treated as equals.”

He tensed. “No. I fought for the extinction of your kind.”

She tried not to let the knowledge hurt. After all, Lucian had fought to eradicate necromancers, so fair was fair. Still, she couldn’t help wondering if any trace of those hate filled years existed in the man she knew today.

“What changed your mind?”

“My father died. Killed by a vampire on the field. Suddenly it wasn’t a game anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Tarian shrugged. “It was a long time ago. My mother and I did our best to survive. She was always more of a pacifist than anyone else in the family.”

“So you learned from her.”

“Yes.”

She smiled, cuddling up on her seat. “I’d like to meet her.”

“She’d have liked you,” Tarian replied. “But she died several decades ago.”

The pit of her stomach dropped. Losing one parent was bad enough, but if anything happened to Lucian she wouldn’t know how to exist.

“I’m sorry.”

“We were in hiding, and she was pregnant. Hard to get good medical care when you have to avoid all the places decent doctors are likely to hang out.”

Yet another reason to hate vampires.

“My sister survived,” Tarian said. “And I had a reason to keep going.”

“You had to protect her.”

“Yes.”

Melissa rested her head against the back of her seat. He’d lost his father in a war with her people. His mother had died because vampires used their influence to push his kind as far from the rest of the supernatural world as possible. Yet despite his past, he’d still faced off against what remained of his family in order to protect a kidnapped vampire.

“I don’t understand why you don’t hate me,” she whispered. Anyone in his position should.

Tarian slammed on the brakes, swerving the car onto the shoulder of the road.

“Jeez, give warning much?” she squeaked as he reached for her. “Dominic will be after us.”

“We lost him long ago, if he was ever following in the first place. Besides, this is more important.”

“What is?”

“You.” Sliding his seat back, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “Not for a single moment have I hated you,” he told her. “You had nothing to do with my sorry past.”

“My people—”

“I don’t think all vampires are evil, even if you think all necromancers are monsters.”

She stiffened in his arms. “I don’t…” her voice trailed off as the defense fell flat.

“We’re your boogeymen,” he replied. “No use denying it.”

Twisting, she cupped his face between her hands. “That was before I met you.”

“And now?” he breathed, his lips an inch from hers.

She stared into his beautiful eyes. He was reordering her world, making her question beliefs she’d never doubted. Even worse, he filled her mind. Her waking hours were spent wondering about him, arguing with him, wanting him. Her daylight sleep spent dreaming of him. He was worming his way into every corner of her being, and the walls she’d built to keep him out were crumbling around their feet.

“Now?” she whispered, trailing her fingers along his strong jaw. “Now I’m finding I care less and less about what you are, so long as you’re by my side.”

As soon as the words were out she wanted to call them back. They were too revealing. Too pitiable. The last thing she wanted to be was the lonely vampire he’d once accused her of being. A few days and a couple heated embraces weren’t enough to warrant such a declaration. She knew it as well as he. However, it didn’t change the ever present need growing within her, not just to have him in her bed, but to have him in her life.

She focused on the curve of his collarbone. He was centuries older than her. Had lived experiences she could only dream of. No doubt her words sounded very young to him. And very naive.

“We should get going,” she murmured, wanting to dispel her embarrassment. They’d go back to the road and talk of something light. Something that didn’t reveal their pasts and further blur the line between ally and lover.

His fingers caught her chin as he gently forced her to raise her face. Knowing there was no help for it, she looked up and fell into his sapphire gaze. The world disappeared around them until she wasn’t thinking of Dominic, or the wrath of her father. She wasn’t thinking about saving lives or fighting prejudice.

The only thing on her mind was a burning desire to kiss him once more.

Their lips touched in a caress far more sweet than it was passionate. Tarian’s hands slid down her back, holding her closer as his mouth slanted over hers. In her many years, she’d been kissed by more men than she could remember, but never had anyone touched her with such care. Her necromancer kissed her, and she felt treasured, precious.

He’s not mine,
she told herself.
Don’t get used to this.
And she could. So easily. She could imagine herself fifty years from now, being calmed by his touch.

The universe had never been kind to her, but showing her such a perfect future only to snatch it away seemed particularly cruel.

His lips glided over hers before she felt the brush of teeth on her lower lip. A low moan caught in her throat. It seemed Tarian had adopted her penchant for love bites.

“Reckless,” she said, tilting her head back so he could trail his mouth down her neck. “We should be driving.”

“Tell me again,” he replied.

She leaned back. “What?” she teased. “That you’re slipping past all my best defenses?”

“Seems only fair. You’ve obliterated mine.”

Her smile slipped from her face. The words might be light, but the meaning behind them was anything but. The embarrassment over her words drained away. It wasn’t warranted. Not when he’d echoed the sentiment.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“What can we do?” he replied. “Other than drive fast and pull over early.”

Her heart clenched. Unless some miracle happened, one night in his bed was all she’d ever get.

Why am I surprised?
Her bad luck had run strong since the night her mother had died, when a five-minute delay in their accident would have had Lucian at their side.

“Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s drive fast.” So she could enjoy her time with a man who had every cause to hate her, yet didn’t. A man who had gone above and beyond to protect two races, without a word of thanks. A man who made her burn brighter than she could imagine her true mate ever would.

A man she’d be walking away from all too soon.

He helped her back into her seat before pulling onto the road. Melissa allowed the conversation to lag, knowing there was nothing more that needed to be said. For the first time, in a life filled with diplomacy and double talk, words were simply unnecessary.

Chapter Twelve

Melissa stepped into the hotel room and flicked on the lights. This was the last night she’d have to sleep on sheets that smelled of astringent and shower with tiny bottles of formulaic body wash. Tomorrow she’d be back in her own bed.

Without Tarian.

She glanced back at her partner as he shut the door behind them.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “We could get room service.”

“No.” He strode toward her. “At least, not hungry for food.”

Heat flooded her at the lust in his expression. Melissa tamped down the butterflies in her stomach when he reached for her.

Tarian danced her into his arms to bring a smile to her face.

“You’re far too serious,” he murmured as he walked her backward toward the bed.

“Don’t worry. Vampires can’t get frown lines.”

“Tomorrow you will be in the arms of your family.”

She nodded. “And our alliance will be at an end.”

“I’m not ready for that.”

Melissa closed her eyes, knowing the feeling. “Me neither.” But there was no delaying the inevitable. They needed to reach Lucian in time to plead Tarian’s case.

“One last night,” she whispered, looking up at him. “One last touch.”

“Like this?” He trailed his fingers down her cheek.

“That’s a little more subtle than I was thinking,” she said. “I want more.”

A soft smile flitted over his face. “From an enemy?”

She pressed her body against his. “I don’t think that word has applied for a while now.”

His lips claimed hers.

Melissa moaned as she twined her arms around his neck. One brush of his fingers and her panties were soaked through.

This isn’t wise,
her inner voice cautioned.

Screw it,
she replied. She was this far down the rabbit hole. Might as well enjoy the madness.

Grabbing Tarian’s shirt, she pulled him back toward the bed.

“We don’t have to worry about the dawn this time,” she said, her fingers skimming over his rock-hard erection.

Tarian hissed through his teeth. “Melissa…”

“Don’t start something I can’t finish?” she said. “Short of a group of zealous necromancers descending on this hotel room, nothing is going to stop me.”

He raised his head to meet her gaze.

“I don’t care,” she whispered, seeing the question in his eyes. “What happens next, what we are to each other… I don’t care. For once in my life, can’t I just leap?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I’m here to catch you.”

His arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the floor. Laughter bubbled up in her throat as he tossed her onto the motel bed.

Melissa righted herself, bouncing on the mattress.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, crawling back onto the center of the bed.

“Not a single thing.”

Tarian gripped his shirt and tugged it over his head in one easy motion.

Hot
, she thought, licking her lips in anticipation. She’d battled her desires for days and now here he was. No barriers, no pretenses. Her golden opportunity.

“Quid pro quo, right?” she asked, rising to her knees. Gripping her shirt, she pulled the cheap polyester over her head.

“More,” he replied, staring straight at her breasts.

Melissa dragged a teasing finger along the rim of her bra. “If you want this gone,” she murmured, pulling down on the lace to give him a peak of a nipple. “Then you need to lose another piece of clothing.”

“Women have an unfair advantage in this game,” he said, pushing the denim of his jeans over his hips.

She smoothed her triumphant smile with a hand. “Looking good, Tarian.”

He stood before her in only his boxers. “Bra,” he demanded. “Off.”

Obligingly, Melissa reached around for the clasp. Parting the metal hooks, she wiggled out of the confining contraption.

Tarian had no words as he stared at her, bared from the waist up.

A moment of hesitation hit her, since she didn’t have the chest to rival most immortals. She didn’t have the curves that brought men to their knees. Glancing down at her small breasts, she tried to muster her moxie. If he wanted this to go any further, then he had better think she was incredible, despite the handicap her immortality imposed on her.

“Seven hundred years,” he said, his gaze locked on her. “And you are still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

The honesty in his voice warmed her. Her doubts melted away under the complete acceptance in his gaze. It didn’t matter what issues she had about her body; to him she was perfect. And for the first time in her life, she was beginning to feel that way.

“Come to me,” she said, reaching out to him.

He crawled onto the bed and hooked a hand around each ankle.

Melissa gasped as he tugged her flat onto her back. Her fingers flew to the clasp on her jeans and quickly undid the few buttons keeping her clothed.

With heated eyes, Tarian stripped the denim from her body.

“I think you missed something,” she teased, wiggling backward in only her black silk underwear.

“Luckily, I’m a man who knows how to correct his mistakes.” Gripping her panties, he tore the loose binding around her hips.

Melissa glanced at her ruined underwear with only mild regret. “You realize I’ll have to go commando tomorrow.”

His pupils dilated at the thought. “I’ll never be able to drive us where we’re going,” he said. “Not when I know all I have to do is reach over and…”

Melissa caught his questing hand as it inched up her thigh. “Not so fast,” she taunted.

“No?” He stood back against the side of the bed. “I guess it’s only fair.” He shed his boxers and Melissa’s mouth went dry.

She’d known Tarian was muscled and hard in every area, but the sight of his cock jutting proudly from his body made her want to lick her lips.
Hers.
For tonight at least. She’d be damned if she wouldn’t make it count.

“Come here,” she said, holding out her arms to him.

Tarian wasted no time crawling back onto the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight as he leaned into her waiting arms.

Melissa lay flat against the sheets, looking up at him. As much as she’d dreamed of this moment, she’d never really expected to experience it in real life.

Her fingers rose to trace over his cheekbones, examining him with a gentle touch.

“Beautiful,” she breathed. In every way. Tarian satisfied all the requirements she’d once set out for a mate.

“That’s my line,” he said, as his mouth touched hers.

Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the pleasure of his touch. His mouth dragged along her in a sensual caress that had her moaning for more. Parting her lips, she met his questing tongue with her own.

Their panting breaths mingled as Melissa hooked a leg over his hip. She undulated against him, pressing her breasts up against his hard chest.

His hands caressed down her sides, sliding over her hips as he explored the smooth lines of her legs. Melissa raked her nails down his chest, keeping her touch light enough to tantalize but not to hurt.

That she had the right to touch him in any way she saw fit filled her with a raw power she’d never felt before. One hand dipped low to brush against his erection, and she smiled at his swift inhale.

“Did I do something you like?” she asked, wrapping her fingers around his hard cock.

Melissa captured his lower lip between her teeth as she pumped her fist over his erection. Every moan that escaped him spurred her on. Tarian could control her with a thought, but right then, she was the one with the power. She couldn’t stop her grin.

“Vixen,” Tarian murmured. Grabbing her hands, he pressed them over her head.

Melissa tugged against her pinned hands. His strength held her in place, but they both knew she could tear free if she wanted. Score one for vampire advantage. “Don’t you want to see what I can do with my tongue?” she taunted, arching her back to thrust her breasts up for his view.

“Yes,” Tarian panted. “But not quite yet.”

His hands left her wrists as his mouth kissed its way down her torso.

“Tarian,” she breathed when his lips ran over her navel.

But he dipped lower. Heated hands pressed against her thighs, forcing them wider apart as he ducked between them.

The first lick of his tongue along her slit nearly sent her rocketing from the bed.

Pleasure swamped her senses as he moved higher to encircle her clit.

“Yes,” she cried as he wrung waves of delight from her willing body.

One hand joined his expert mouth. He teased a single finger along her folds as he took her clit into his mouth.

Melissa reached out to fist her hands in the sheets around her. The light scrape of teeth against the most sensitive nub on her body left her gasping with pleasure. When one finger stroked into her, she was beyond words.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as she fought not to press him forcefully against her. He drove a single digit into her while his tongue tortured a response from her. There was no stopping the helpless pleas that escaped her lips. Though her body craved a more complete release, she struggled not to rock against his mouth.

“Tarian,” she gasped. “More.”

Her lover left her with one last lick before climbing her body.

“Ready?” he asked, grinning down at her.

“I’ll pay you back for that,” she vowed, reaching up for him.

“I look forward to it.” He reached down to adjust himself and Melissa felt the head of his cock press against her slit.

He drove into her without another word, and she threw her head back in pleasure. When he sat fully lodged within her, she fought to come to terms with the new feeling of fulfillment. Tarian stretched her to the limit, but he gave her time to get used to him, even as his muscles tensed and his breath came in shallow gasps.

Melissa wiggled, only to be rewarded by a bitten back curse.

“Again,” he panted.

She was more than happy to oblige.

Tarian gripped her hips and withdrew to the tip before surging back into her.

Melissa planted her feet squarely on the bed as he rocked into her. The changed angle forced him even deeper in to her, wringing gasps of pleasure from her lips.

She wrapped one leg around his hips to urge him forward. Again and again she lifted her pelvis to meet his thrusts.

More,
she begged, unsure whether the cry had left her mouth or merely echoed in her mind. Every movement within her spiked a sensation unlike any she’d known before.

They writhed together, straining to find completion. Melissa felt her orgasm pulling at her, demanding just a little more. Just another stroke.

Her teeth scraped against his skin as she fought the urge to drive her fangs into his neck.

“Do it,” he groaned.

It was all the permission she needed.

Melissa bit down. Blood washed over her tongue as Tarian thrust wildly within her. Every sensation, every touch, was heightened. Her body clenched around him even as she tried to match his desperate speed.

She swallowed the rich blood as he drove back into her, and her world shattered. Waves of pure pleasure buffeted her. Melissa heard Tarian cry out as his climax claimed him, felt the hot seed spurt into her, but his satisfaction only added to her own release.

Melissa thrashed as the sensations crashed over her. She clutched Tarian tight, as her anchor in the storm. Even when the tingles of pleasure started to fade, she refused to release her grip on him.

Luckily he seemed to share her affliction. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close as she took one last pull on his throat.

“Amazing,” she purred, lapping her tongue over the tiny puncture wounds.

“Seconded,” he panted as he rolled to his side.

She snuggled against him, closing her eyes in utter contentment. Sleeping with him was supposed to have gotten him out of her system, but she feared their tryst would have the opposite effect. How did she give up the best sex of her life?

Trailing her fingers lightly over his chest, she knew she was well and truly stuck.
Can’t let him go, can’t find a way to keep him.
What was she supposed to do?

In the absence of an answer, she merely watched her lover’s happy face and wished, just this once, that the night would never end.