Run the Gantlet (6 page)

“I have no idea what wil happen next, shorty. This may al fal apart and we may never see each other again. But I like you. I like you a lot and I believe you feel the same way. And yes, the sex is excel ent and that doesn’t always happen straightaway.” And it had for them. The answer was compatibility. And while there were moments when Arrow doubted the cosmos knew what it was doing or that the mumblings of a long-dead woman were relevant, he did believe that whoever pushed them together was right in their actions. “So let’s enjoy what we have for as long as we have it.” Arrow felt her body relax under his.

“I real y hate you.”

“Yeah, me too.” In fact he loved the way Eloise hated him. “Turn over.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask so many questions,” Arrow told her though he actual y liked that she queried everything. It was a sign of intel igence he admired. Arrow helped her rol over and up onto her hands and knees.

“This is not my best angle.” She tried to drop back down to cover herself.

Arrow caressed her ass. “I beg to differ.” He adored her body, every ful and luscious curve. Too many women starved themselves for what they thought men liked. What men wanted was a real woman to hold on to, cel ulite and al .

“Don’t do that.”

Eloise’s shiver shot up his arm. He liked that she had trouble with being in control around him. “Do what?” Arrow’s hand moved down between the globes of flesh.

“T-that,” she stammered.

Arrow slapped her butt playful y. “I plan to do that and much more.” He pul ed her legs apart, her pink inner flesh on display. He moved in and touched his tongue to her clit. The shriek Eloise let loose charmed him. It had been a long time since he had tasted a woman so innocent and yet so wil ing to express her pleasure. This was not just sex. This was more.
But I will not name it yet.
Arrow continued to tongue her, loving the way her hips rocked back and forth against him and the taste of her.

“Oh…” Eloise groaned as she pushed back for more.

“Do you feel like you want to explode?” He tongued the folds of her pussy ruthlessly.

“Yes.” The word came out as part whisper, part sob of need.

“And?” Arrow pul ed back from her. He needed to know he was not the only one consumed by the wildfire between them.

“I need you.” She craned her head around. “Happy, fang face?”

“Yes, I am happy.” Some defeats were sweet and meant to be. That Eloise needed him humbled him as much as it heartened him. Arrow prodded her butt with his cock. He smiled when she pushed back against him eagerly.

“You want me now?” If Eloise said no Arrow knew he would not be able to cope. No woman had affected him so.

“You owe me for the rushed moment back in the harem.”

The aggravated tone of her voice made him smile. “I thought I just repaid you.”

“I want more.”

“Excel ent.” His first thrust into her from behind made them both sigh. It was a joint need met and matched.

“Why did I never do any of this before?” Eloise moaned as she met him thrust for thrust.

The thought that another had or would touch her like this again appal ed Arrow. That was unusual. “Because you never had me.” The sound of his bal s slapping against her ass made him plunge harder within her. Arrow wanted to be as unforgettable to Eloise as she was rapidly becoming to him.

“You’re so cocky.”

“You should know.” Eloise was fil ed to the hilt with him. Arrow told himself to go slowly and that al this was stil new to Eloise, but damned if he could when his cock was gripped so tightly within her. When she arched her back in delight, he could feel the spasms of pleasure rip through her body. That he had done that to her made him come wildly inside her. There would always be time for more later. Now was al about claiming each other.

After they calmed down, he removed his spent cock and rol ed her so they lay on the carpet in each other’s arms.

“Bite me,” Eloise murmured as she looked into Arrow’s eyes.

It was then, by that invitation, that he knew he loved her. As his fangs once more pierced her flesh and the sweet blood flowed, he accepted as fact that there was no power on Earth that he would not fight to keep this woman by his side.

Chapter Five

“Do you hear moaning?” Eloise was comforted by the warmth and safety of Arrow’s arms. He had rol ed her on top of him. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “There it is again.” It was a low, keening sound that echoed with sadness.

“I thought that was you so overcome with passion for me.”

Eloise slapped his chest. The things she had done with him made her hot al over. “I think it’s Caitriona.” The sound was lonely and wild and not quite of this world. As if in confirmation, the floor started to shake beneath them and pictures crashed down from the wal s.

Arrow rol ed them around so his back deflected any blows. “Don’t move.”

“That’s unlikely. You weigh a ton.” The wal s shook and ornaments were fal ing and smashing into pieces around them. “Holy crap,” Eloise cried out as the curtain rails crashed down.

“Caitriona is testing us.”

“By breaking my stuff? I want to kick her ghostly ass.” She winced as the light fitting fel and bounced off Arrow’s broad back. “That had to hurt.”

“I’m okay.” Arrow held her close. “She needs us to remain united.”

“She needs?”

“This is as much about her faith in us as ours in each other. If we can do this and she can rest in peace I say we do it.”

“You
are
a romantic, fang face.” As quickly as it started, the crashing stopped. “That was pretty amateur.” Eloise’s words sounded braver than she felt.

“Caitriona’s just starting.”

“So we have five more goes at running Caitriona’s gantlet.”

“Looks that way.”

The doorbel sounded. They were on the other side of the wooden door. Eloise stifled the sudden giggle that came to her lips. They were naked and entwined on one side and someone was on the other.

“Who is it?” she cal ed as she pushed Arrow’s mouth away from her breasts.

“Delivery for Eloise Gaunt,” a voice cal ed back.

“Just leave it on the step please.” She was hardly dressed to receive anything at that moment other than the hot cock that was stirring between her legs once more.

“Okay, ma’am.”

Eloise looked affronted. “He ma’amed me. I’m not old enough to be a ma’am.”

Arrow laughed and moved from her body and stood. He held out his hand and pul ed her to her feet.

Eloise stepped back as he opened the door and picked up the box. He was completely oblivious to his nudity. She doubted her neighbors would be.

Eloise looked at the prettily wrapped parcel. It was velvety red with a plush red bow. “Ooh pretty.” She eagerly took it from Arrow. No one had ever sent her anything like this before.

“Be careful,” Arrow warned, looking at the package in concern.

“Oh please, you just flashed my neighbors with ful frontal nudity. I’m more careful than you.” Eloise lifted the lid and burrowed through the crisp pink tissue paper. What was below confused her. It looked like chocolate spiders. Who would send her this? “What the—”

Arrow slapped the box from her hand but it was too late. The spiders, which were real, not chocolate, sprang to life and ran al her over her naked body.

Eloise screamed. “Get them off me!” She started thrashing around, trying to slap them off her skin.

Arrow grabbed her. “Stand stil .”

“Fuck off, they’re not on you,” Eloise shrieked at him. She was headed for ful -on panic and any calm she had was gone.

“Panic makes ’em worse.” He made her stand stil .

Dozens of spider legs ran over her skin and in places she did not want to contemplate. “Oh this is icky.” She clutched at Arrow’s shoulders as he started systematical y picking them off her and crushing them under his foot.

“Icky?” He was amused by the word.

“Ooky then.” How on earth had Caitriona done this?

“Your ancestress must have some mind control,” Arrow murmured almost as if reading her mind. “That tel s me she had and stil has great power.”

Eloise had never thought that deeply about Caitriona. She had always been an inconvenience. “Whatever. Just get them off me.”

“Be patient.” He was moving fast without panicking.

Eloise scoffed and tried to refrain from jumping around too much. “I’m never patient.”

Arrow chuckled as I continued his task. “I had noticed that. This is a hel of a test, huh?”

“Okay, so this would be a test about patience.” She understood that now but that was not to say she liked it.

“It’s a virtue. And that you trust me to help you.”

“I would let a psychotic axe murder pluck spiders from me now.

“Liar.” Arrow nearly had al the spiders removed.

“Whatever.” As the last one came off and was crushed underfoot, she sighed in relief. “Now I’m going to have to clean up dead spider bodies along with everything else.” Her sunroom was a mess. Knickknacks and paintings were scattered on the floor. Eloise blew out a sigh. “Like I haven’t got enough going on in my life at the moment.” Even as she said the words the bodies in question disappeared before her eyes.
Whoa!
“Did you see that?”

Arrow nodded and pul ed her into his arms. “Caitriona.”

Eloise slumped against his body, surprised at how much she needed him not just physical y but emotional y. “I can’t do this another four more times.”

“Yeah you can.”

He had more faith than she. That was weird, considering he was the vampire. The so cal ed “dark one”.

“So we stick together to make this ancestress of mine happy.”

“Yes.”

And then what? They part ways? After al there was no commitment here. It was sex and a task to succeed at. Arrow had never mentioned anything more permanent. Eloise looked into his eyes.
I want permanent
. The thought both shocked and thril ed her.

“Let’s take it one day at a time, shorty,” he said as if guessing her thoughts.

* * * * *

Eloise had just placed the last price-tagged bottle of Tibetan yak spit on a shelf beside the Oil of Goat’s Nuts and the fingers of cinnamon-flavored seaweed sticks when Arrow appeared. Of course she knew he would. He was the persistent type. Eloise had managed to avoid him that night after the spider incident. She had simply explained that she needed space.

“And I’m kind of sore from…wel …you know.” Arrow knew and his simple okay had been sweet, but she knew he would not leave her that easily next time.

Nor did she want him to.
I just know I am going to hell
. How did she deal with avoiding someone only to turn around and then want them? And a vampire no less. It was wrong on so many moral and ethical levels. But then Eloise had never been one to worry about stuff like that. Consequences happened. Of course the consequences had never been so big or so life changing before. Eloise wondered what Uncle McManus would say if he were alive now.

There was only one other person in the store at that moment. That was Swerve and he was a regular. Eloise was pleased to see that although Swerve was, as always, stoned, at least he was ful y dressed. The red-haired Swerve had a thing about clothing. He preferred to be naked. He usual y walked into the store, removed his clothes and left them on the counter. “Clothes wreck the natural karma flow, man. I need to feel the peaceful vibes of your store.”

While Eloise was al for flowing karma and peace, there were enough odd things in the store without a bouncing cock to worry about, as wel . But the thing was, Swerve was completely harmless in that dopey, sweet way. Eloise suspected he was also very smart because sometimes he came out with the most amazing information about the products they sold. Swerve had already bought two bottles of Tibetan yak spit. When Eloise asked why, he had simply tapped his nose and smiled at her. “This wil save the world one day.”

“Okay then,” she had murmured, and rung up the purchases. It was not for her to wonder why people bought the stuff they did.

Eloise looked at Arrow. Damn he was gorgeous.
And he is mine—well, at least for the moment.

“How do you feel, shorty?”

If anyone else persisted in cal ing her shorty she would have been angry, but Arrow made it sound special.
Or maybe I’m just getting too caught up in this
whole thing with him and damn Caitriona.

“I have to work. It’s how I pay the bil s. You vampires would not know about stuff like that.” Her words came out harder than she wanted them to. If Arrow took offense in them he did not show it.

“What the hel do you live off? Fresh air?”

“As I can move through space, I can col ect the things I need without anyone noticing.”

“Hey, man.” Swerve gravitated over to Arrow almost as if kindred souls in weirdness recognized each other.

Eloise introduced the two men and watched as they performed some strange handshake-male-bonding thing. It looked complicated and yet natural as if it were something like a club handshake.

“Narley teeth. Are they real?” Swerve moved in closer as Arrow bared his fangs ful y for him to see.

“Yeah.” Arrow was amused.

“Cool. I gotta get me a set of those.” Swerve looked around the store as if expecting to see them.

Arrow pointed to the far corner. “I think there are some on a shelf over there.”

Eloise shook her head. “We don’t sel teeth.” Swerve drifted off as Swerve did, stoned yet steady on his feet. He had the grace of a stoned bal erina.

“He’s on another planet. He’l forget about them by the time he gets over there.” Arrow went around the cash register to stand beside her. “Ever had sex on the counter? No, of course you haven’t.” He looked pretty cocky in that knowledge. “’Want to do it now?”

Eloise backed away from him.
Yes.
“I have customers.” She was working. She had to focus on that and not him.

“One customer and close the store.”

“I can’t.” Wel , she could. Their rush hour was when the kids came in from school and spent their money on weird things to frighten each other with. They al wanted to be Harry Potter
.