The Lady Has Needs
THE LADY HAS NEEDS
IMARI JADE
Passion in Print Press
www.passioninprint.com
Copyright Acknowledgement
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Imari Jade
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by
Passion in Print Press, LLC
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Albion, NY 14411
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Cover Art by Deana Jamroz
Editing by Gail Martin
Issued 2015
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.
Chapter One
Dominick Rathbone looked down from his perch at the two wolves battling on the ground below him.
A young woman stood nearby afraid to move.
The wolves had snatched her as she made her way to her car at the laboratory where Dominick has stopped by for a quick snack. Curiosity had got the best of him. Normally, the wolves didn’t venture out of the woods much, and they certainly knew better than to trifle with a human. Hopefully, they had not been seen morphing. He bet their pack leader knew nothing about this little stunt and would probably kick their asses if he found out.
Dominick had seen wolves battle before. They were tearing at each other with claws and teeth and not paying the woman any attention. He switched his focus to her and wondered why she just didn’t flee.
She looked pretty from where he stood hidden from the world in the branches of a stately weeping willow. Dominick silently moved closer to get a better look at her. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and the black he wore helped him blend in better. He could certainly see what the ruckus was all about.
Pretty auburn hair, big heaving breasts, and a nice ass.
Dominick licked his lips. The rest of her wasn’t bad either. He wondered if the wolves would mind if he sampled her first. Her blood smelled simply delicious.
Without hesitation, Dominick moved from his position, flew down to the ground, and snatched the woman before she could react. Her screams pierced the night, giving him quite the headache. He took her up higher into the skies until she lost consciousness and kept her that way until they reached the lab. She came to just as he landed safely on his feet. He placed her on the hood of her car.
Pale green eyes stared back at him. Her white lab coat had gotten dirty, no doubt from her trek through the woods with the wolves. The hem of her dress was hiked up to her hips, exposing two shapely legs. Her gaze followed his. She quickly tried to make herself presentable. “Who are you?”
“The name is Dominick Rathbone, pretty lady. And yours?”
“Lillian Moreno.”
She showed no fear.
Strange.
“Thanks for saving me.” She had a sultry voice with a southern dialect. “Those wolves came from out of nowhere.” She paused. “You’re not one of them, are you?”
Dominick shook his head. Normally he didn’t play with his food but she had him interested. “No, something far worse, I’m afraid.” He bared his fangs and jumped on her before she could think. He feasted on her blood to quench his thirst.
Lillian fought back, kicking and pounding her fists against him until she ran out of stamina. She fainted in his arms.
Dominick only took enough to sustain him, not enough to stop her heart. He didn’t want her dead. In fact, he found her enchanting and wanted to get to know her better. Dominick licked the two little holes in her throat and sealed them. He moved away while she recovered.
“You bit me, you bastard,” she said angrily.
“You’ll survive, and I assure you that those wolves would have done a lot of damage to you, so be thankful that I came along.”
“Love that British accent,” Lillian said. Then, she slid from the hood of the car, glared at him and slapped him hard across the face. “That’s for biting me without my permission, Dominick. A lady wants to be romanced first.”
Dominick dropped fang again, turned on and ready to retaliate. He snarled at her.
Lillian raised her hand again. “If you come near me again, I’ll drive a stake through your heart.”
Dominick stepped back. “You know what I am?” His cheek smarted from the blow, but his pride forced him to ignore it.
“Yes, you damn demon. I know all about you blood-suckers. I’ve spent half my life in that damn lab trying to come up with a way to cure your kind and this is how I am rewarded.”
Who the fuck is she?
He’d been to the blood bank next to the lab numerous times and he’d never seen or heard of her before. But she seemed to know a lot about vampires and werewolves.
“Who is your master so I can tell him what you have done?” She paced as she ranted. If she didn’t quiet down some, she would draw attention to them.
“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Dominick asked.
“I’m very much afraid,” Lillian said. She bent down and retrieved her purse where she had dropped it when the wolves had grabbed her. She fished around for her key. “But that doesn’t mean you can handle me like some common whore in the street.”
For a lady, she had a very nasty attitude and a serious case gutter vocabulary.
“You’re the one who has been raiding the blood bank, aren’t you?”
Dominick bowed. “Guilty as charged.” He stayed a safe distance so she couldn’t slap him again and so he couldn’t follow his heart’s desire and gather her back into his arms, bring her home, and fuck her to death. “Why do the work when I can just come here and drink until I’m full. And lucky for you that I just happened to come along or you would be doing it doggy-style with those wolves right about now.”
Lillian looked as though she thought about what he said. “Really? Doggy-style with two powerful, male wolves?” She shuddered.
Not the reaction he expected. Maybe the lady had a little kink in her.
She regained her composure. “What pack do they belong to because I plan to lodge a complaint.”
She knew too much for a human, but the more she talked the hornier he got. “The Montague pack.”
“Jonathan’s pack? That figures,” she said. “He is going to hear from me on this one.”
Amazing.
Could she be the pack leader’s concubine? “You better go before those wolves come looking for you again.”
Lillian pulled a revolver out of her purse. “Let them,” she said. “This thing is loaded with silver bullets.”
His cock picked this particular time to rise. There was something about a badass that simply turned him on. “It didn’t save you the first time,” Dominick said matter-of-factly. “I did.”
She waved the gun at him. “It can’t kill you, but it can make you wish it had.”
Dominick hissed at her.
Maybe I should have left her with the wolves.
“I have a good mind to turn you over my knee and give you a sound thrashing.”
The woman shuddered again, and then she smirked arrogantly at him. “Good night to you, Mr. Rathbone.” She put the gun away. “If you want blood, just come to the lab and ask for me.”
“And if I want more than blood?”
Lillian ran her gaze over him and chuckled. “I don’t do dead things. I like my men warm-blooded, hot-natured, and packing in the briefs.”
Did she just insult me?
Lillian opened her car door and slid in.
“I can make you cum with just a flick of my tongue and have you screaming out my name in several different languages,” Dominick bragged. Who in the hell did she think she was anyway?
Lillian just rolled her eyes, shut the car door, and started it up.
Dominick watched her drive away. Why did he get the feeling that this woman might be the death of him?
Lillian returned and rolled down the window. “Get in,” she said to him.
Dominick foolishly slid into the passenger seat and Lillian drove away from the curb again.
§§§
Maybe she was a little bit out of her mind, or starved for companionship, but there was something about the handsome vampire that just got to her. Not in the heart, but between the legs.
Maybe it was those cool brown eyes or all of that thick blond hair that did it for her. She’d met other vampires before but none of them had turned her on within the first hour in their company. It had taken some negotiating for one of them to get her out of her clothing. She wasn’t opposed to dating one of the undead. She just hated waking up the next morning next to a corpse. The wounds on her neck still stung where he had bitten her.
“Where are you taking me?” Dominick asked.
“My place,” Lillian answered. She ran her gaze over him while they were parked at a red light. He was really handsome and she dug his accent. And he looked like he had some nice muscles under that tailored suit.
“You’re taking a vampire to your apartment. Are you crazy? You know, once I find out where you live, it might be impossible to get rid of me?”
“I’ll take my chances,” Lillian said. “Maybe once you get there you might not want to leave.”
“What?”
Lillian smirked. She had absolutely shocked him. After hearing his name, she had realized who he was. He was one half of a powerful vampire team that owned one of the only casinos in the area making money. They also owned a couple of hotels in New Orleans. Lillian had been interested in them for a long time since they also controlled the vampire population in eastern New Orleans, but she’d never had the privilege of meeting them until now.
The light turned green and Lillian started driving again. “What do you do, Dominick? Do you have a job or are you independently wealthy?”
“Both,” Dominick answered. “I help manage a casino, a couple of hotels, and I own a club in the French Quarters.”
She did not know that part. “What kind of club?”
“Jazz,” he answered. “What about you? What do you do at the lab?”
“Technically, I study blood, blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. I’m a medical technician.”
“And you like working with cells and blood protein?” Dominick asked.
“Yes,” Lillian answered. “I’m also studying to be a hematologist so I can help with cancer research.”
Dominick looked over at her. “I’ve never met anyone like you before. “
Lillian drove into her driveway and parked her car. She got out and Dominick followed her up the walkway and up the stairs.
“Do you live here alone?”
“Yes, so don’t think about doing anything stupid.”
Dominick laughed. “You’ve invited me to your home. I think you’re missing some cards in your deck.”
Lillian laughed at him and opened the door. “Wait right here until I turn off the alarm.” He couldn’t come inside anyway unless she invited him or turned off the wards she had set on the house. She wasn’t magical but her family did know a powerful voodoo mambo that helped them out with charms and incantations to protect themselves with. The house itself was enchanted and Lillian would know in a few seconds if she had made a big mistake. Lillian entered first, turned off the alarm, and headed back to the door. Dominick stood just outside looking simply elegant in a black suit, shirt, and tie. “You may enter my home.”
Dominick stepped over the doorsill and the house allowed him to enter.
Well, what do you know? The house likes him.
Normally, it wouldn’t have let him inside and would have automatically tossed him into the yard. Lillian was far from being a fool. If she didn’t trust him, he would be dead by now.
“You have a lovely home,” Dominick said looking around as they left the foyer and front room.
“Thanks.” She took him to the den. “Would you care for a drink?”
“You keep blood in your home?”
“A synthetic kind,” Lillian answered. She walked over to the mini bar and fixed him a drink she had invented for her vampire friends. She walked over and handed it to him. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to. Most vampires I know only want to drink the real thing.”
Dominick accepted the glass. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be right back,” she told him. “I just need a quick shower and then we can get down to business.”
“Mind-numbing sex?”
Lillian nodded. “But you will have to be the judge of that.” Lillian walked away and left him. He would be okay. The house had her back.