To Have: Vampire Assassin League #19 (5 page)

The moment her fingers connected with his belly, Daron reacted. His muscles involuntarily twitched as her fingers became her entire hand and then the other one. She didn’t understand the power she wielded. He wasn’t certain, at first, that he could absorb it. Her first touch had awakened the beast within him. This caress set it free. There wasn’t any way to contain it. She carried mystery in her eyes. Passion with each breath. Electrifying heat with her every touch.

Her hands spread about his upper chest, her fingers skidding along his skin, and everywhere she went his muscles reacted. Tightening. Releasing. Her lips were open slightly, sending little pants of breath onto him.
By the gods!
She was unique. Unbelievable! She created a perfection that altered the senses. He’d never felt anything like this. Ever. Had he received these sensations in his natural life, he’d have remembered.

And he wanted more.

Daron leaned forward, capturing and then embracing her waist. His hands were trembling as he ran his fingers up her sides and delved beneath her bodice...and oh! By the god,
Ahura-Mazda!
Nigel had been completely wrong. Daron’s mate didn’t have really nice breasts. She didn’t have anything really
nice
. She was incredibly perfect. Everywhere. Daron’s hands cupped and massaged, bringing her nipples to hard darts that shot spikes of sensation through his palms. She wasn’t passive. She was arching and writhing, and adding fuel where it wasn’t remotely needed.

And then she opened her eyes. Daron lurched in reaction, ripping her bodice, and if he’d thought she felt perfect, the sight was beyond description. Beyond comprehension.

“Wow. Daron. I could do...laundry on these.”

She’d run a hand down his belly, before she’d tucked her fingers beneath the waistband of his trousers.

Laundry?

Was that a good thing?

She started sliding her hand to and fro, sending all kinds of stimuli just about everywhere. He ceased caring whether she complimented him or not. And then her tongue slipped out, licking at her lower lip. A roar of sound went right through his ears. Daron shook his head to clear it. It didn’t do much.

She’d moved her other hand now, wrapping it about the fabric at his waist. And the knuckles grazing his belly were taking over his existence. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t command anything. Or control. Or manage. She found his trouser ties at the side. Daron’s entire frame went ramrod stiff and tense. He could barely move his gaze down to hers.

“Problems?” she asked.

“Yes. Many.” Was that truly his voice? Gruff. Harsh.

“Can I help?”

“I...do not wish to hurt you,” he replied.

She gave a short laugh. His entire body flexed against his hold. Her merriment was enough to start sand dervishes.

“Oh. I sincerely doubt you have anything that big and scary, Daron. Although I am
very
intrigued to find out. Very.”

She pulled on one end of the bow, releasing the waistband of his trousers. The material sloughed down before stopping on his erection. That’s when she noticed, gave a gasp and brought her gaze back to his. Her eyes were wide, her lips curved, and she was openly panting. She’d missed his meaning completely. But...she wasn’t a maid? The knowledge should have angered him...but that was before he’d found her. Now, all that mattered was being with her. Joining together with her. Fusing. Melding. The fact that he didn’t have to worry over causing hurt was causing more than havoc through him.

It was threatening every bit of his control.

“Um. Is that...real?”

Her voice was stained with what sounded like awe. Daron preened. And he was grinning. He didn’t even care if his canines were on full display.

“You know...Daron...uh. Maybe I was a bit hasty. But, if that’s really all you?”

He shoved his pants to his knees, releasing his pulsing pride. She squealed, and moved so rapidly the mattress beneath them rocked. And then she was on her knees facing him, and she looked as impressed as she sounded.

“Holy shit, Daron. I mean...
holy shit
!”

She reached for him. Slid her hand down him. And that sent a blizzard of sparks right to his fuse.

A bonfire roared into existence around them. It was fueled by passion. Lust. Excitement. Daron could swear he felt flames. Heard fire. Sensed massive heat. Her bodice was the first casualty. It was hanging by strips of cloth about her neck. He shoved it over her shoulders and out of his way. Her loose-fitting, see-through trousers were next. Daron grabbed the fabric at her hips, and ripped outward. She seemed to know exactly what he needed, and exactly what to do. Thank the gods. He was ready to howl with frustrated and withheld need. He needed to be buried. He needed to be within her. Now.

She shimmied onto her perfect butt, wrapped her legs about him, and was more than directing. She was making certain of his aim, her hand guiding, and moving aside just as Daron grabbed her hips, and rammed. Hard. Unbelievable moistness enveloped and squeezed him. Tight. Hot. He’d never felt anything like this. Ever. He worked in deeper, shuddering with every bit of gained space. It was better than incredible. Beyond amazing. Joining with his mate was a force of nature and it was massive. Strong. Powerful.

And she was there, right with him, wrapping her legs about his hips. Instinctively matching a rhythm that had explosive force behind it.  Her legs gripped about him, pulling every thrust deeper, giving just a bit for his withdrawal. Gripping for the return thrusts. Flexing again for his withdrawals. She rolled when he did, her legs locked tightly, maintaining the rhythm even as they swiveled back. This was beyond imagination. More amazing than paradise. And when she achieved pleasure, her screams resembled throes of musical notes to his ears. He wanted it again. And again. Each time, his heart thumped in heavy beats along with hers. His lungs tightened. His throat constricted. And his efforts increased.

He called her his love. His woman. His mate. His heart. His reason. His sanity. His missing half. And when he ran out of words to describe what she meant to him, he delivered his emotion with his body, and with kisses. Soul-deep kisses that carried love, and life, and wonder. Tension ratcheted higher, taking him with it. Daron pushed up, gaining position, power. Strength. His movements increased. Getting wilder. Harder. And going deeper. Exquisite pressure built within his spine. Intimate. Fiery. And then it moved, lancing through him, reaching his groin, and Daron exploded.

Ecstasy slammed through him. His heart became a caged entity. His breath stalled. He barely heard her accompanying cry. He was shuddering. And emptying. And sobbing. He also had them hovering well above the mattress, doing a slow spin as absolute wonder poured over and through him. It controlled everything. It even erased time. He held her tightly to him and lowered them back to the satin covered bed. Close to his heart. Meshed. Enjoined.

He couldn’t believe he’d been this lucky.

He’d gained the one thing that mattered.

As far as he was concerned, she was worth every second of the twenty-four hundred year wait.

He watched her sleep. Seconds became minutes and then they blended into hours. He built his palaces underground for several reasons. This particular one was his latest recreation, and it truly was his favorite. He’d recreated the other Persian palaces as well. Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa, and Babylon were all deep underground in various arid locations of the globe. Hidden and secure. That was one reason his palaces were underground. They were immense. They were covered with gold and silver. That is how a Persian prince stored wealth. In plain sight. Any one of his rooms could be dismantled and melted into bars of purest silver or gold, while the gems embedded into the walls would fetch a good price from any jeweler. Having such wealth meant protecting it. Building each palace far beneath the earth’s surface was an excellent security measure.

Another reason was the solitude and quiet. He could hear any of the numerous fountains in the complex as water gurgled and dripped, forever recycling. And right now, as he watched Evelyn, he could hear every breath. If he concentrated he could hear her heart beating. Or maybe it was his? It didn’t matter. They shared the same heart beat. The same breath. They might even share the same pain.

And the same joys.

But the main reason he built his palaces far beneath the earth’s crust was because it obscured the passage of time. If one didn’t know day or night, yesterday from today, whether it was midwinter or the height of summer heat, then one didn’t care. One night followed the next in an endless cycle. At first, immortality had been a supreme gift of the gods. He’d roamed the planet at night, feasting. Fighting. Challenging any braggart and conquering without remorse. He took any assassination that Akron offered up. And once he discovered immunity to sunlight came with age, he’d searched out and fought in battles. Any battle. Any war. Just for the sensation of feeling alive again.

And when that failed, he’d turned to improving his mind. He’d learned every spoken language, and some that had disappeared. When printing had first started, he’d devoured everything he could get his hands on, until reading grew insipid and boring. Then, it was the invention of radio waves. Television. The internet. Immediate access to virtually anything. And even those grew boring over time. He rarely turned on any of his technology anymore. It didn’t work. Nothing had worked for any length of time at alleviating the endless span of his existence.

Until he somehow found her.

Evelyn.

His mate.

She opened an eye as is if he’d called to her. Oh! She had eyes of a beautiful blue-green shade. Deep as any ocean, clear as any pool. Her other eye opened. And then she smiled. Daron returned it.

“Hi,” she said, clearing her throat. “Wow. I usually don’t sound like a frog in the morning. Um. It is morning, isn’t it?”

“I am not certain,” he replied.

“Oh. Okay. Man! Do I ever feel fantastic!”

She stretched, dislodging some of the satin sheet that covered them. Daron pulled in his cheeks as he considered her.

“Wow. Daron. I think that may have been the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“What do you mean ‘may have’?” he asked.

She turned her head toward him. She caught him eyeing portions of her the sheet was no longer covering. He actually felt a flush overtake him as he moved his gaze back to hers.
He could flush?
It was as incredible as it was unbelievable. She lifted her eyebrows and sat, taking the sheet with her. And then she busied herself with tucking fabric all about her form. Long tendrils of hair trailed about her, too, adding another layer to her veiling.

“You aren’t going to start the despotic potentate thing again, are you?” she asked when she’d finished.

“No. Most assuredly,
eshq-e man.
I am simply wondering how I can add to my efforts. Last longer. Stay harder. Perhaps the alchemists truly did have some potion for virility that I should have procured.”

She tipped her head to one side. “I so hope you are joking.”

He didn’t know how to answer. So he didn’t. He simply sat up, too. He didn’t bother with hiding his nakedness. She had most of the sheet. So, he hooked his hands together and looped his arms about his knees to face her.

“Come on, Daron. You are a world-class lover, with a package to back it up. Oh shit. Now I’m going to blush.”

“You are? Why?”

“Because I’m trying to have a conversation here...and it’s impossible while I’m looking at you. And. And. And you need to go put some pants on or something.”

“My nakedness bothers you? Truly? I was known as a very handsome man. Much wanted by women. This is...a new feeling for me. Forgive me. I shall fetch my trousers.”

He was off the mattress so rapidly it lurched slightly along its foundation, screeching a little.

“Oh, come on, Daron. You have mirrors. You know you’re hot. I’m going to even go to an eleven here. Okay? That isn’t what I meant.”

He found his discarded pants in a heap. They were a new pair. Fashioned of leather. They were stiff and cold against his legs as he pulled them on. Yanked on the ties about his waist to cinch them. Put his entire attention on tying a bow with precision. It helped calm any tremor.

“Look. Daron. Come back here. We have to talk.”

He searched through the pile of fabric for his tunic next. It was fashioned of thick silk and severely wrinkled from his misuse.

“Don’t put that on. And get back here. Now.”

She sounded serious. Daron turned to her, holding the shirt in front of him. It probably looked like a defensive move if he pondered it. He didn’t.

“You heard me. Right now. Drop the shirt and get back here. Don’t make me chase you. I’m warning you.”

“You would chase me?”

She sighed heavily. It was loud in the stillness. “Look. Your Highness. I’m from New Jersey. I’m not wet behind the ears. And I’m not a player. We don’t go around telling gorgeous guys that they’re gorgeous. The heads on their shoulders are already big enough. They don’t need inflating. So. You coming back here or not?”

“You think me...gorgeous?” There was a surge of something joyful that bloomed through his chest. It wrapped about his heart and squeezed with what felt like fingers. The shirt fell from inattentive fingers.

“Look. Daron. You already nailed it.
Every
woman you run across is going to think you’re gorgeous, and if they knew the assets you have, well. You’d get crushed beneath the weight of women who want you. There. Does that feed your male ego enough?”

He frowned. The words didn’t match the tone. She sounded almost angry. “I do not understand,” he answered

“And that there is exactly why we need to talk. Right here. Right now.”

“It is?”

“Yep. So. You coming back over here, or do I really have to chase you? Because I’m telling you right now, if that happens, I am really going to be pissed off.”

The bed bounced with his arrival. He settled back where he’d been, only this time he was covered by trousers. And she was looking at him with her mouth wide.

“What?” he asked.

“How...did you just move that fast?”

“It is one of my powers.”

Her features dropped. So did her shoulders. She even tilted her head to one side and looked at him with what looked like skepticism. When she spoke, he knew that’s what her expression meant.

“So, now you’re going to tell me you’re a superhero? And expect me to believe it? Oh, come on.”

“No.”

“Good. Because I’ll stand in line for hours to buy premium-grade merchandise, but I’m not wasting a moment on bullshit.”

“What?”

“Wait a sec. Let me rephrase that so that even a guy from Mars can understand. You have been feeding me a line of bullshit since we met and while I’m beginning to suspect I got slipped a
roofie
or something, I am completely sober and alert now. That means the party is over, Your Highness. Finis. Done.”

“What party?”

“This one.”

“I do not understand.”

“That again? Okay. Straight up. Who are you really? Where am I? And what the hell is going on?”

“I told you. I am Prince Daron. Son of King—”

“Stop.” She put a hand up. He stopped talking. “Skip ‘the who’ part for now. Skip the Ecbatana Palace stuff, too. Just go to the ‘what’s going on’ section. Okay? Can you just answer that?”

“I am not certain you are ready.”

She chuckled. “Unless you’re going to tell me I’ve been beamed aboard a UFO, I’m ready. Come on. Tell me. I can take it, Big Guy.”

“Very well. I...am a vampire.”

She tipped her head back and laughed. It was a hearty sound that reached out to him, giving the same sense of merriment. He was grinning as she finished, brought her head back down, and looked across and up at him. She finally settled to a giggle and dabbed at her eyes with a section of the sheet.

“Okay. Okay. Stop. You’re killing me here. Tell me something believable.”

“You do not believe me?”

She shook her head.

He opened his mouth and watched her look turn to something resembling shock as his canines elongated. Grew sharp. Puncturing sharp. Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes went wide. And when she finally spoke, her voice was shaky.

“All right. I did not see that coming.”

“It was too soon. I knew better,” Daron remarked.

“You’re a vampire.”

“Yes. I know. I told you.”

“You’re a frickin’ vampire!”

Her voice was stronger. And it was rising.

“You said you could take it.”

“Yeah. I can take reality. I can’t take this. And what on earth makes it so I have to? Huh? Why me? Can you just answer that?”

Her voice was even higher-pitched and louder. Daron pulled his fangs back in and regarded her for a long moment.

“Well, Dracula?” she asked.

“My name is Daron.”

“You know...gaining points back for being cute and confused went out the window with the wash. Okay? I just found out I’m in a vampire’s lair, and I’m almost too scared to go on. What does that mean for me? That I’m one, too?”

“Not yet,” he answered.

“Not
yet
?”

That was at screech level. Daron winced. She was shaking, too. How he longed to wrap his arms about her. Hold her close. Soothe her. But he didn’t dare.

“What do you mean, not yet?”

She was speaking through clenched teeth. Breathing extremely hard. Daron matched it. It was making him light-headed. He matched her for shakiness, as well. He moved the slightest fraction of an inch closer to her.

“We have shared blood,
eshq-e man.
You are half-turned, but you will become a full vampire next. It is a foregone conclusion. There is no other outcome
.
”

“Oh yes, there is. I get the hell out of here, and find a very good therapist to deal with my newly discovered psychosis.”

“Evelyn.”

He put every bit of his power into her name. It came out as a throb of bass tones. She didn’t react as he expected. She was still breathing hard. And she had her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

“I suppose you’re going to try the ‘hypnotize-with-your-eyes’ thing next?” she asked.

It didn’t work?

She was definitely glaring at him. Nothing about her looked remotely mesmerized. He’d have to try something else.
But what?
Daron licked his lips. She pulsed slightly before she immediately clamped down on the reaction. He put a hand out toward her, palm upward, almost exactly like before.

“Take my hand, Evelyn.”

“Oh no. No. I am not touching you.”

“You are frightened of me?”

“Horrified and shocked are probably closer to how I feel at the moment. And ticked. Okay?”

He considered her for a moment. “I have something to show you.”

“Like what?”

“It’s in another room.”

“Start describing what it is, if you expect me to come with you.”

“The internet.”

“You have the internet? A vampire with a web site? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I have existed for over twenty four centuries, Evelyn. I have seen many changes take place in the world. I have owned and tried out most of them. Yes. I have an internet connection, but I rarely use it. It bores me. Just like every innovation that has come along.”

“You’re really only taking me to see your computer? That’s it? No games? No use of your – what did you call them? Oh yes. ‘Powers.’ None of that?”

“Yes.”

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

“Well. I want you to know that I’ll go with you not so much because I believe you, but I want to find out what’s really going on. And staying here is not going to make that happen. So. If you have an internet connection, lead on. I’ll be right behind you.”

“You won’t take my hand?”

“Uh...no. But don’t read anything into that, okay? It’s not you. I wouldn’t take any vampire’s hand at the moment. Call it my Jersey sense of self-preservation.”

“You will follow?”

“You’re promising to show me your internet. Do I really look that stupid?”

No. She looked fresh. Young. Beautiful. Sensually alluring. Physically stirring. And something he sensed. She appeared emotionally fragile behind a really brave front.

The last thing she looked was stupid.