SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (251 page)

“Pretty,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

She gazed out the windshield. “Yes, it is.”

“I was talking about you.”

Her heart bumped in her chest. Was he giving her one of those dashing looks Tessa had mentioned? Marie turned toward him, but she couldn’t tell. It was so dark all she could see was his shadowy outline. He, however, could see her just fine. He had nocturnal vision from his vampire side.

She shakily said, “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I thought you wanted to.”

“I did.” But that was before Tessa had messed with her mind. “We can get in trouble if we get caught. In the movies, either a cop conveniently comes by and flashes a light into the car or a serial killer appears on the scene and slashes the lovers to bits.”

He chuckled. “This isn’t a movie.”

“I know, but...”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. If anyone else shows up, I’ll make us invisible to them.”

“You can do that?”

“I can do anything with magic.”

“Almost anything,” she corrected. He couldn’t wave his hand and make either of them fall in love. Not true love. Not lasting love. That had to come from within.

He reached for her. “I’ve been desperate to be with you all night.”

“Me, too,” she admitted, her resolve shattering.

He kissed her, hungrily, and she climbed across the console and onto his lap. They groped like teenagers on prom night, only today’s teens had enough sense to rent hotel rooms. She rubbed him through his jeans, then popped the snap and unzipped them, freeing his cock. From there, they got in the backseat, giving themselves more room.

Taking the lead, she nudged him down and lowered her head, licking the length of his shaft and making him shiver. She rolled her tongue around the tip, too, teasing, playing.

He grabbed fistfuls of her hair, and she gave him a naughty blow job, enjoying every big, hard inch. He thrust forward, fucking her mouth. She sucked and sucked, but he didn’t come. The man had stamina.

Finally, he made her stop. “Your turn to lie down, Marie.”

Eager, she reclined on the backseat, lifted her dress, and removed her panties, expecting him to return the oral favor.

Instead he said, “Touch yourself.”

His nocturnal vision added a strangely evocative element. A voyeuristic edge.

Reaching down, she stroked her clit, moving in soft little circles.

“That’s nice. Does it feel good?”

“Yes.” Good. Sexy. Warm. She liked that he was watching.

“Keep doing it. Be bad for me.”

She continued, eager to please him. His voice was creamy hot, the fantasy too delicious to refuse. Being bad appealed to her. She stroked a little faster. She took her other hand and opened her nether lips so he could see the moisture inside.

“That’s my girl,” he said. “Give me a taste.”

She offered him her fingers, and while he licked her sticky digits, she lost her breath.

He upped the ante, as he always did. “Lift your legs in the air.”

“Like this?” She did her best, given the tight quarters.

“Perfect.”

Zoom! In the next perilous instant, a pair of what felt like leather restraints shot down from the headliner and clamped her ankles.

While she was bound, Nicholas gave her the oral pleasure she’d expected earlier. He ate her until she came, until heat washed over her body and pinpricks of passion flooded her core.

Then he did the unthinkable. He whispered, “
Gvgeyuhi
.
I love you.”

Marie prayed for redemption.

“Did I say it right?” he asked.

“Yes.” He’d pronounced the Cherokee phrase correctly. But he didn’t mean it, she reminded herself. It was merely part of his ploy. His beautiful, unfair ploy.

“Say it back to me,” he demanded gently.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to tell you that I love you when I don’t. I don’t want to say it anymore.”

“If they’re empty words, then why does it matter? Why place so much more importance on them?”

“Because you’re trying to use them to make it happen.”

“And by refusing, you seem afraid that it might work.”

“Because this is too much for me.” Too much pressure. Too much emotion. “I’m hurting over Keith. I’m—”

“Don’t talk about him. Or think about him.” He slid between her ankle-strapped legs and fucked her, deeply, blatantly, taking her prisoner. “Think about us, Marie. Imagine that you belong to me. That you’re my wild willing wife.”

Wild
.
Willing
.
Wife
.

Confused, she dragged her nails down his back. The scratches would heal as quickly as they were inflicted. She couldn’t mar his immortal skin for good. But she tried, determined to draw blood, if only for the moment.

Then, within the beat of her raging heart, they both went on the attack, kissing and biting. Nothing in her safe little human life could’ve prepared her for this kind of sex, this kind of brutal excitement. She clawed and clawed. He fucked and fucked.

He repeated the dreaded words, too. “
Gvgeyuhi
.
Gvgeyuhi
.
Gvgeyuhi
.”

Marie came so hard, she nearly cracked. In the heat of their frenzied union, in the backseat of her steam-fogged car, Nicholas insisted on playing his merciless game.

Making his phony profession of love seem blindingly real.

The Vampire Bracelet: Chapter Ten

During the remainder of their two weeks, the “blindingly real” thing hovered in the air, constant in Marie’s mind and pulling her into a heap of emotion. And now as she plopped down beside Nicholas on her sofa, she wondered what to expect.

“I had a great time,” he said.

She merely nodded. They’d just gotten home from a local amusement park and while they’d shared a wonderful experience, she’d also been secretly freaking out.

He stretched his legs, resting his feet on a calf-printed footstool. “Everything we’ve been doing has been fun.”

She gave another nod. They’d been spending every moment together, engaging in activities like horseback riding, country dancing, and long evening walks.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Why are you so quiet?”

Unprepared to answer what felt like a loaded question, she cautiously replied, “We only have three days left.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about that, too. Time is running out.” He frowned. “We need to hurry up and fall in love.”

She frowned, too. “Tessa told me that I should give it a chance. But I’m scared about the way it might turn out.”

“Scared that we’ll end up together or that we won’t?”

“Both.”

His brow remained furrowed. “I want it to work.”

“For the wrong reason.”

“That isn’t true. Every day that I’m with you is beautiful and exciting. When I look at you, I can actually see my future.”

“Because you want to see it so badly.”

“Because I
can
see it,” he countered. “Because it feels natural envisioning myself with you. It even feels natural saying, ‘I love you’ when we’re playing those sexy husband-and-wife fantasies.”

Her breath hitched. “That almost sounds like you
do
love me.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He looked as jittery as she felt. “All I know is that I want to be with you all the time. If I don’t become mortal when this ends, I’ll be devastated. Not just because I didn’t win the mortality prize, but because you won’t be part of my life.”

“I can’t imagine living my life without you, either. But how qualified am I to fall in love? I’ve only been broken up with Keith for—”

He cut her off. “I hate it when you talk about him.”

“And I hate that he made me leery of trusting my own instincts.”

“Is what you feel for me stronger than what you felt for him?”

“God, yes.” It was a million times more. A billion. A trillion. “But I’m still scared.”

He choked out a laugh. “I’m petrified, too. I’ve been acting so cavalier, but I’m far from being an expert. The reading I’ve been doing hasn’t helped a bit. I’m totally out of my element.”

She searched his gaze, needing to hear his side of it. She’d never seen him so nervous, so humble. “What scares you the most?”

“Honestly? I’m worried that I won’t appeal to you if I become human. That I’ll be lacking the qualities you’re attracted to.”

His response confused her. “That doesn’t make sense. You’ll be the same, only mortal.”

“Will I?” He expressed his doubts. “I won’t be able to create magic anymore. That’s a major part of who I am. It fuels my personality.”

“That isn’t true. You’ll still be you, with or without it. The ability to create magic doesn’t fuel you.
You
fuel
you
. Your charm. Your sense of humor.”

“That sounds good in theory. But I’m still worried.” He shifted in his seat. “What about the blood?”

“What about it?”

“Won’t you miss our feedings if I become mortal? Won’t you miss the high it gives you?”

“Yes, I’ll miss it.” She had gotten used to the strangely hungered side of their relationship. “But if we stay together as humans, I’ll have new experiences with you that will matter so much more.”

He prodded her to expound. “Like what?”

“Big things, like holidays. Small things, like sitting around watching TV. Annoying things, like catching each other’s colds.”

He teased her, making a cross with his fingers and warding off the foreboding evil. “I haven’t had one of those for over sixty years.”

She teased him right back. “Then you’ll probably catch a doozy.”

They both laughed, and he said, “Tell me about the holidays. What will they be like?”

She went dreamy. “They’ll be perfect and hectic and everything they’re supposed to be. During Christmastime, we can decorate our tree with homemade ornaments, string lights around our house, and hide the presents we bought each other. And on the actual day, we can cook for our families and ply them with eggnog.”

He grinned. “What about New Year’s Eve? Are we going to get sloppily drunk?”

“Sloppily, happily drunk,” she supplied. “With lots of midnight kissing.”

“I like that.” He looked ready to kiss her now. But he queried her instead. “What’s our Valentine’s Day agenda? Do you have anything in mind for that?”

She thought about it for a second. “You can write me a love song.”

He gazed longingly at her. “A love song, huh?”

She nodded, answering his look with one of her own. “If you become mortal, it will be because you love me.”

He finally said it. “I do love you, Marie. By God, I do.”

In an instant the dream turned into reality. “I love you, too.” She couldn’t deny it any longer. Living without Nicholas would be impossible. “I want everything with you.” Everything she’d mentioned and more.

“So do I.” He drew her into his arms. “We’re going to have a big beautiful wedding.”

“And a slew of gorgeous kids.” Their mouths came together and they kissed like desperate fiends. He’d just proposed, and she’d just accepted. Her heart swam with it.

He tugged her onto his lap. “We’re also going to have explosive sex as often as we want.”

“Are we still going to use restraints?”

His eyes flashed. “What do you think?”

She rubbed against him. “I say yes.”

“Absolutely, yes.” He carried her to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. “Would it be wrong for me to use my magic tonight?”

She contemplated his question. In three more days, their new life would begin, his mortal existence, the future they were meant to have. Their destiny, she thought. There was no such thing as wrong. “I think it will be fitting. A farewell of sorts.”

“Then I’m going to restrain you with these.” He created two wickedly rugged pieces of rope. “And this.” One long silky piece of rope.

Once he did away with their clothes, he secured her wrists to the bedpost. Next he harnessed the silky rope in an intricate design, winding it around her breasts and knotting it between her legs. He did this magically, making it slither on its own. Marie’s breath rushed out. She was caught good and tight, the piece between her legs causing a delightful friction.

As he sat back to admire his handiwork, she gazed expectantly at him. As always he was the quintessential bad boy, with his tousled dark hair and rangy muscles. But with those exotic green eyes, he also reminded her of a jungle cat. He behaved like one, too. With the grace of a panther, he moved toward her.

Slow. Calculated.

A chill snaked through her bondage-wrapped body, and he went for the jugular. Fangs bared, he made the connection.

Hard. Sharp. Feral.

She cried out, but he didn’t stop. Her cry was one of excitement. In the throes of his seduction, she relished the feeling, the feeding, the frenzy.

While he drank, he strummed her clit, using the rope to do his dirty work. The more he took, the deeper he rubbed.

Choppy pants. Deep-throated moans. Were those sounds coming from her? She arched her hips, giving him complete control. She wanted him to be her husband, her master. She couldn’t wait to marry him. He was still playing with her pussy, making the rope do its thing.

Her nipples grew achingly taut. Her clit pulsed like a heartbeat. Every hot thrilling moment was an awakening, a screaming burst of pleasure.

Blood and sex.

The climax that exploded could have been fireworks. Colors shattered before her eyes: diamond-white, emerald-green, wedding-ring gold.

The second it subsided, he made the clit-taunting rope vanish and nudged her legs apart, warning her that he wanted to fuck. Eager, she braced herself for his penetration, and he slammed into her, thrusting to the hilt.

“You’re mine,” he said, passionately against her ear. “All mine.”

Hearing those words in the midst of her post-orgasmic, drugged-to-the-nines condition sent another dizzying stream of stupor through her veins.

He fucked her, hard and fast. He drank from her again, too. Finally, he came in a flood of hip-pounding spasms, dragging her into madness with him.

He recovered quickly, but she drifted on the edge of slumber. She curled up next to him, encouraging him to hold her. Gone were the restraints. She sank onto her pillow and closed her eyes. When he became mortal, he would be able to sleep, too. But for now, he was still a supernatural being.