Till the Break of Dawn (12 page)

“Does this mean you’ll let me have a drink?” he teased.

Several shots of tequila later I asked, “So, how did you know I needed you tonight? Can you really hear my thoughts?”

I was still sitting on his lap and when he laughed I could feel the vibration in his chest. It felt so good to be close to him again. His bare skin against mine was more intoxicating than any alcohol ever could be.

“I was already on my way,” he confessed.

“So, if this was a coincidence, then what about the other night?”

Marcus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I watched as he savored the night air. It wasn’t necessary for him to breathe anymore, but as he’d once told me, old habits die hard.

“There is magic in the night and voices on the wind. They carried your words to me.”

“That’s beautiful, but what does it mean exactly?”

“That’s the best way I can explain it.”

I stroked the soft dark hair on his chest, following it with my fingertips down over his sculpted abs. When I stopped at the top of his pants Marcus said, “How about that drink?”

Since we didn’t have glasses, I took another sip from the bottle. I knew he meant to bite me now and I wanted him to. This is what I’d been fantasizing about and now I was scared. He brushed the hair back from my throat and planted a soft kiss against my jugular. I was trembling like a leaf.

Marcus rose slowly, lifting me against him. Before I knew it I was flat on my back against the wooden platform, his long lean body stretched out against the length of mine.

“I haven’t been this nervous since the first time I had sex,” I confessed.

His big hand rested flat against my stomach as he leaned over me and pressed a kiss just above my breast.

“That’s a good example. In a way, being bitten by a vampire is much the same.” His tongue flicked over the delicate skin above my collarbone. “A part of me will penetrate you and once done, it cannot be taken back.”

That was probably the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. My heart was pounding so hard that I wondered if he could hear it.

“Does it feel as good as I’ve heard?” My voice was breathy, but the flush on my cheeks was no longer from nervousness. I could feel my entire body burning with arousal.

“That all depends on the vampire. They can make it feel like whatever they want. If the vamp is cruel and thinks of pain or suffering, then it will hurt.” Marcus ran his fingertips down my right arm, lifting it as he traced the delicate veins in my wrist. “But if they think of pleasure … you might even come.”

He followed the same trail up my arm with his lips and when he reached my wrist I moaned. “Do it.”

His fangs sank into the delicate skin and I cried out. It hurt a little at first, but after that was pleasure. My God there was pleasure. I could feel the touch of his lips all the way up my arm. With each gentle tug something inside made my pussy clench. Just when I thought orgasm might overtake me, Marcus pulled back with a gasp.

Chapter Thirteen

“Damn, that’s good,” he said, laughing softly.

It was then I realized that my other hand had moved to my crotch. I wasn’t embarrassed, just sorry that he’d stopped.

“I didn’t mean to stop too soon,” he said. “But I also didn’t want to take too much. That can be dangerous, especially the first time.”

“Why especially the first time?”

His lips were stained crimson and I watched as his tongue moved in slow motion to lick the two small punctures at my wrist.

“Because it’s new and exciting and easy to go too far.”

He licked my wrist again before saying, “This will make it heal without a scar.”

Several minutes passed as we both gazed up at the stars. Finally, I sat up and took another sip of tequila. I was surprised at how fast his bite had sobered me up.

“Mandy’s brother said you’re seeing someone. Is that true?”

I had hoped we could avoid the subject of Jesse. After all, I wasn’t planning to continue our relationship. Marcus didn’t sound angry and I had no reason to lie to him. I mean in seven years he must have known I would date other people. Surely I could explain this without upsetting him.

“Technically, yes.”

I had turned my back to pick up the bottle. Before I could think of what to say next his hands were on my shoulders, his lips pressed against the side of my throat. Marcus ran his long fingers through my hair, pulling just enough to tilt back my head. When he spoke there was a hunger laid bare in his voice, the intensity of which surprised me.

“Can he do to you the things I can?”

I moved just enough to see that his eyes were glowing and his fangs were out. For a split second I was afraid. He must have sensed it, because he instantly pulled away, rising quickly to his feet.

“If you decide to stay away forever, let it be because you don’t love me, not because you’re afraid.” He walked to the edge of the platform. His back remained turned to me. “I may be a monster, but I’m
your
monster. Don’t ever be afraid of me.”

And just like that he was gone. I don’t know if he swam or flew away or what. He was just gone. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew I couldn’t leave things this way. He had completely misunderstood my intentions. I dove in the water, amazed at how fast I could swim when I needed to. I ran inside, snatched on some clothes, grabbed my purse, and jumped in the car. My hair was still very wet and soaking quickly through my shirt and onto the seat, but I really didn’t care. What I cared about was letting Marcus know how I felt and setting things straight.

He hadn’t told me the name of his hotel, but there was only one place he could be. In the next town over there was the area’s only Blood and Coffin. A Blood and Coffin is the vampire version of a Bed and Breakfast. This one was called Ever-Dark and it wasn’t too far away. I had no idea if they actually offered coffins to their guests or not. In an effort to try to control my nervousness, I wondered how the place might be decorated. But that train of thought didn’t last long. Before I knew it I was practicing what I was going to say out loud again.

When I arrived I was met by security at the door. I suppose I did look strange, soaking wet and all.

“I’m here to see Marcus Payne.”

The guard raised his eyebrows. “You must be,” he said, “because nobody knows his last name. Hell, most people don’t even know he has a first name.” He stepped aside and motioned me through the door. “Tell the lady at the desk who you are, she’ll help you.”

As I approached the front desk I could see the clerk giving me funny looks. I glanced around at the décor to keep from meeting her eyes. Everything was lush, with an eighteenth century flare. It was exactly what I’d expect in a place that catered to vampires.

Finally I reached the counter, and there was no more avoiding her look.

“I know this looks … weird. I’m here to see Marcus Payne. I realize that you can’t let just anybody in, but I’m not some crazy fang hater. I’m here to try to explain myself because I let him slip away once and I don’t intend to do that again.” I ran a hand through my wet hair. “Holy shit I sound like a nut. I’m sorry. I probably wouldn’t let me go upstairs.”

To my surprise the clerk laughed. “Are you Dawn?”

“Um, yes.”

“He came in looking just like you about twenty minutes ago. He said that if you came by to send you up. Room 109. You’ll have to get him to let you in. The room key is coded to his blood and there’s only one copy.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I was just relieved that she thought I was funny and not a stalker. The fact that he’d left my name with the front desk was encouraging.

Marcus opened the door wearing nothing but a black robe. He’d been in the process of drying his long hair and still held a towel in his hand. Beads of water clung to the exposed skin of his chest. My eyes were drawn to his flesh just as my hands would soon be if I didn’t start talking.

“I’m not in love with him,” I blurted out. Well, so much for rehearsal. Marcus just stood there and I felt compelled to keep talking. “The man I’ve been seeing,” I explained. “His name is Jesse and I’m not in love with him. He’s a nice man, but he’s not you. We’ve only been seeing each other for a short time. A few weeks. I would have already ended things, but he’s out of town and I thought it would be awful to tell him something like that over the phone.” I sighed. “For seven years I’ve tried to do what was expected of me, to find someone normal and settle down. But I don’t want to settle down and I’ll be damned if normal doesn’t bore the shit out of me. I withdrew from you before not just because I wanted to have a shot at normal, but because I didn’t know if I could handle what you were. You deserve someone who knows for sure.”

“Are you sure you want to be here?”

I stepped into the room and dropped my purse beside the door, closing it behind me with my foot.

“I’ve never wanted to be anywhere more.”

He leaned forward slowly, then faster than I could imagine he had me pressed back against the door. He lifted me with both the force of his body and the passion in his kiss. As I rose higher, whether by his vampire powers or those of his body, I did not know, I wrapped myself around him.

Whatever it was that Marcus did for me I didn’t want to lose it. I didn’t want to walk away from him and never feel again what I felt tonight. No one had ever touched me the way he did, and it had nothing to do with my body.

His hands slid beneath my shirt and I arched against him. I hungered for the feel of his skin against mine. My need for him was so sharp that it could easily have been considered pain. It was then that I glanced over his shoulder and noticed the photos. Pictures of me. They were everywhere.

Marcus paused, sensing my distraction. He looked behind him.

“I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

He lowered me to the floor and I walked over to the bed. For several moments I was speechless. How could he possibly have gotten these? We didn’t use a camera that night. But as I drew closer I understood. They were drawings. Images of me lay spread out before him as my body once did.

“They’re beautiful,” I whispered.

I reached to touch one and felt him move closer against my back.

“This is how I remember you.”

My eyes stung with unshed tears. “I never looked like that.”

Marcus tilted my face up toward him. “You look like that now. That same look in your eyes. It took me years to get it right.”

He was killing me. Had I really left him? Why was it again I chose to stop seeing him? Looking into his pale green eyes, I couldn’t for the life of me remember.

“And what look is that?”

I knew he was going to kiss me again and felt my lips parting in anticipation as I rose on tiptoe to meet him. Despite the heels on my sandals, I still needed the extra lift. I expected him to say “desire” or “passion” or even “lust,” anything but—

“Love.”

The word was whispered against my lips as I fell into his arms. His soft, gentle kisses were an answer to so many unspoken prayers. He deepened the kiss, taking my mouth as he once had my body: completely. I opened my mouth and all of my being to him. If Marcus had asked for my soul in that moment, I would have given it.

He moved the pictures aside with one scoop of his hand and deposited them on the nightstand. When Marcus turned back to me my breath caught. Since he was so tall, he always bent slightly forward when he was around most people. The only time I ever saw him rise to his full height was inside the ring. As he looked down at me now, his hair fell forward framing his face and his pale eyes seemed to come alive in the semi-darkness of the room.

The fire that burned behind his eyes might burn me as well, but I no longer cared.

“Your eyes are glowing.”

There were two lamps in the room and he reached for the one that wasn’t lit.

“Do you want more light?”

“No,” I said, putting my hand over his. “I like it.”

He took a step toward me, a slow smile curving his lips as he moved. When the back of my knees hit the bed he gave me a gentle but playful push. Marcus knelt beside the bed before slowly crawling up and over my body. All the while I watched as his wicked smile grew wider. When he reached my lips, all traces of humor were gone. He kissed me with something beyond hunger or need. There was loneliness in his touch and it hurt to know I was the cause of it.

The longing in his kiss was almost more than I could take. I opened to him, letting his tongue plunge inside my mouth. I wanted to lose myself in his kiss, in his mouth, and in the hard flesh just beneath his robe. What I wanted was something fast and hard, but Marcus had other plans.

He pulled the t-shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. I rose to my elbows in order to allow him easy access to the clasp on my bra. His lips seemed to burn wherever they touched me and when he reached my nipple I almost came. He drew the taut flesh into his mouth, sucking it, flicking the peak with his tongue. His assault on my tender flesh was merciless and I loved every minute of it.

He ran his tongue between the valley of my breasts, up my throat and finally to my ear. I had never thought of the ear as an erogenous zone before I met Marcus. And truthfully, I’d forgotten what he could make me feel when he touched there until this moment. He licked my ear from top to bottom and I shivered. But when he pulled my earlobe into his mouth I screamed. My pussy throbbed with need and I was so wet I was certain my juices were beginning to soak through my jeans.

“Oh God, Marcus.”

He ran his tongue up and over the top of my ear, pulling that part into his mouth as well and I whimpered. I hadn’t even realized he’d been unfastening my pants during this time until he opened them and pulled back from me.

“Don’t stop.” I grabbed the front of his robe, pulling him back toward me.

“I had no intention of it.”

He removed my hands from his robe, laughing softly as he moved to pull down my jeans. As soon as they hit the floor he was back on top of me, pressing his hard cock against my thigh as he devoted his attention back to my ear.

“Do you realize how many neglected erogenous zones the body has?” he whispered. Marcus flicked his tongue across the top of my ear again to emphasize his point.