A VAMPIRE’S SALVATION

BY

VIRNA DePAUL

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A Vampire’s Salvation

Copyright © 2011 by Virna DePaul

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Tina Folsom, Susan and Cyndi for their outstanding crits and friendship.

EXCERPT OF THIS NOVELLA, A VAMPIRE’S SALVATION

Frankie touched her lips as she remembered the kiss Jake had given her just before he’d dropped her off last night.  It hadn’t resembled a first kiss, at least not one she’d ever received.  It had been a claim on both their parts.  It had been all tongues, teeth and racing hands.  A no-holds-barred message that the dinner and conversation they’d had beforehand had merely been something to get through so they could get to this point in the evening.  And what had come afterwards.

As she watched her reflection in the mirror, her skin turned a rosy color, and her chest began to skitter up and down as she struggled for breath.  Her eyes looked wide and dazed, her mouth red, her nipples hard.  Dear God, she was ready to orgasm just remembering that kiss.  She whimpered and squeezed her thighs together, trying to ease the ache that had begun to throb there.

She was sure if she’d let him into her apartment last night, he would have been inside her in ten seconds flat.  As it was, he’d had her pressed against the door and her legs wrapped around him before she’d even known what she was doing.

That’s what had made her stop—the fact that anyone could have come by and seen them, and she hadn’t cared at all.  As much as she ached to invite him in and fulfill every fantasy she’d ever had, she’d felt too out of control to let it happen.  She’d spent the night getting her control back and thinking about how to proceed.  Part of her was willing to take a risk, but a calculated one.

They’d have sex tonight, but on her terms.  When she was ready.  And in a way she was ready for.

She’d touch his body.  Kiss him everywhere she’d dreamed.  She’d relish every moment with him while it lasted, knowing that it was safe.  That they both had the same expectations.

Sex, not love.

Pleasure, not commitment.

She’d slake her desire with him while never jeopardizing her heart.

END OF EXCERPT

PROLOGUE

Reporters jostled for position behind the security barricades, firing questions and shooting pictures in a frenzy of lights, sounds, and motion.  For a moment, the sea of bodies parted, giving Ronald Lassiter, who stood in a building across the street, an unimpeded view of the cool redhead with the distinctive name—Francesca Marie Stewart.  With her fitted Armani suit, stilettos heels, and Chanel sunglasses, most people would guess she was an actress or the governor’s mistress before they’d guess she was—at heart, anyway—a tree-hugging environmentalist who just happened to have the Midas touch.

Oh yes, Ms. Stewart was amazingly good—and thus made an amazingly good living—at raising funds for whatever green cause she deemed worthy.  In this case, her cause was the California governor’s reelection campaign.

He had no doubt she’d work her fingers to the bone making sure she raised enough money to ensure victory.

It was just one of the things that he loved about her.  Despite what had happened to her face, she was beautiful enough to have found twenty men to support her, but she’d clawed her way up the ladder with sheer determination rather than sex appeal.  She worked hard.  Had always worked hard.  Harder than a woman with her background should have to.

Ron smiled and, since he was alone, he didn’t even bother trying to hide his fangs.  His throat felt parched, his lips chapped and, even though he’d drunk human blood less than twenty-four hours ago, his stomach ached with the need for more.  His hunger was insatiable of late, and he knew he should be concentrating on that—on stocking up on humans to feed from before the chaos started—but he was hoping there was another way.

This way.

His shirt and tie rubbed against his neck, making him feel suddenly claustrophobic.  He loosened them, then immediately breathed a sigh of relief before settling his sights on Frankie again.

He knew everything about Francesca Stewart.  How much money she had in her bank account.  What kind of birth control she used and the name of her last lover.  Where she jogged.  Where she shopped for her groceries.

Even what kind of perfume she liked – cruelty free, of course.

His surveillance told him she was proud and ambitious.  Smart.  A survivor.

So did the scar on her face.

Ron focused his gaze on the thin white line that ran from the inner corner of her right eye, down her cheek and toward her ear.  Aside from a light layer of makeup, she did nothing to hide the scar.  In fact, she almost always wore her hair pulled back, a gesture of defiance rather than a fashion statement.

He knew exactly how she’d gotten that scar, and admiration filled him once again.

She’d suffered tremendously, but this woman had depth.  She had substance.

And she owed all her success—her very life—to him.

Now it was time for her to return the favor.

CHAPTER 1

For the first time in her life, Frankie Stewart seriously considered lying or buying her way into a man’s bed.  It went completely against her moral code, but she’d never wanted anyone or anything as badly as she wanted Jake Rios.  Unfortunately for her, Jake had never indicated he could be coerced or bought into anything, let alone sex with a woman he barely even noticed.

Still, she could fantasize, couldn’t she?  She could go home, climb naked into her bed, and touch herself the way she imagined a man like Jake Rios would touch a woman.  She could lick her fingers and tug at her nipples, then rub against her wet slit again and again.  Then, when her pussy was clenching and her legs shifting restlessly, seeking something thick and hard to fill her core, she could dip her fingers into herself and make herself come.

There would be nothing wrong with that.

She was, after all, in her sexual prime.  She was independent and successful.  Her to-do-list was down to manageable single digits and it was her favorite kind of night: warm but with a hint of a breeze that would tease her hair when she walked to her car.  Sexual release was a human need; masturbation often a woman’s only way to take care of that need.

The problem was, Frankie had already “taken care of herself” the night before.  And the night before that.  For weeks.  Months.  Even years.  She hadn’t had sex since she was seventeen years old.  She hadn’t wanted to.  But suddenly she was tired of fantasies.  She wanted more.

Something warm, real and unapologetically male to hold.

Was there a chance she could get it tonight?

She glanced outside at the night sky dotted by twinkling lights, not stars but the illumination from other buildings against the windows of the Capitol.

The governor was a night owl who conducted business at all hours.  Dylan Cook supervised his security during the day; Jake worked night shift.  Frankie worked whatever hours she had to.  Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember ever seeing Jake Rios during daylight, so maybe that’s why he featured in so many of her naughtier dreams.  He was a nocturnal creature; why wouldn’t she think of him in terms of black satin sheets, candlelight, and moonlit carriage rides?

A lazy heat coursed through her body as she once more shifted her gaze to Jake.

He stood approximately ten feet in front of her desk, talking to the governor and two men on his security team and, as always, he appeared oblivious to her gaze or her thoughts.  So did the other men.  Jake held their full attention, and it was easy to see why.

From the top of his closely shorn head to the tips of his polished shoes, he exuded authority and power.  He was big—a broad, six-feet-four-inches—but he moved with the speed and grace of a cheetah.  He’d been offered the job as the governor’s head of security almost six months ago, right after he’d calmly walked up to the governor during an evening fundraising event and informed him his security measures sucked.  Nobody had known who Jake was, how he’d gotten into the secure banquet room, or how he’d approached the governor without any of his bodyguards seeing or stopping him.  If he’d wanted to, Jake could have assassinated the state’s most promising politician in seconds.

Thankfully, he’d seemed to want just the opposite.  He’d asked for a few moments to speak privately with the governor.  Ever since his request had been granted, he’d virtually been given free reign over the governor’s protective detail.

He intimidated most people, and sometimes even the governor had a hard time speaking up when Jake said something should be done a certain way.  It wasn’t simply that he was physically imposing, but that his eyes glimmered with intelligence and his deep voice held a dark, persuasive allure that made everything he said sound so reasonable.

Half the time, Frankie had to forcibly stop herself from clicking her heels together and saluting the man.  The other half of the time, she had to force herself not to jump him and rip his clothes off.

If she was looking for warm and real and unapologetically male, he definitely fit the bill.

He was hands down, unconditionally, undeniably, the sexiest man she’d ever met.

What she couldn’t figure out was why.  What about him was so compelling?  She tilted her head, trying to be objective.

Like always, he wore a dark suit and tie, and the fine material strained against the broad width of his shoulders.  Frankie knew by having seen Jake in running clothes that his arms and legs were pumped enough to put a gladiator to shame.  He used the governor’s private gym every night a couple of hours before dawn, sprinting and lifting weights, so it was no wonder he was so fit.  But despite being built, the guy wasn’t gorgeous, not by any stretch of the imagination.

While not unpleasant, his features were all hard lines and sharp angles, with a prominent Roman nose that appeared to have been broken several times.  Even the pale green of his eyes failed to soften his appearance and instead added to the image of a predator.  Far too dangerous to ever be classified handsome.  He also didn’t seem to sleep well during his off hours; often he came to work with shadows under his eyes, his skin pale, a look of fatigue and hunger edging his expression.

It was during those times that Frankie was most drawn to him.  She wanted to hold him.  Rock him.  Take care of him.

Feed him and nurture him.

She’d always been a sucker for men who needed her.  Which made her the biggest kind of fool.  The last man who’d needed her had almost killed her.

Besides, men, particularly men like Jake, typically didn’t want —let alone deserve— such tenderness.  They took what they wanted, when they wanted it, and any woman would be an idiot to forget that.

Jake nodded at something the governor said, and Frankie suddenly realized she’d never seen him laugh.  He’d never even smiled as far as she could remember.  The same could be said about her, but the reason she didn’t smile was obvious—at least to her: when she smiled, her scar puckered slightly, calling even more attention to itself.  What in the world held Jake back?  She refused to believe he was joyless or humorless, but what did she know?

She knew nothing about his personal life or his personality.  She’d never heard him talk about a girlfriend.  She’d never heard him crack a joke.  All she knew was that he commanded respect, that he treated his men as if they were just as important as the governor, and that he took his job very seriously.  And while all those traits were admirable ones for the governor’s head of security, they certainly didn’t explain why she thought—no, knew—that he would be a first-class lover.

Frankie’s mind flooded with months’ worth of familiar fantasies.  She imagined Jake naked, tied to a bed, and at her complete disposal.  Then she imagined him standing up, his hard body pressing into hers as he overwhelmed her senses with heat and passion.  Finally, she imagined a simple kiss.  An open-mouth, tongue-twining, soul-wrenching kiss that lasted for days.

A shiver ran through her body.

Whatever the reason, the man had it.  Call it chemistry.  Call it animal magnetism.  Or call it sheer madness on Frankie’s part.  Whatever it was, it called to her like a siren’s lure.  Making her blood heat.  Making her body ache.  Making her ready to do all kinds of unspeakable things just for the chance of tasting or touching that chiseled face and body.

Too bad it was never going to happen.

Suddenly, Jake’s gaze flickered in her direction, making Frankie’s breath seize.  For one moment, he seemed to stare into her soul, seeing every thought, every fantasy she’d harbored over the past six months.  Something hot flashed in his eyes just before they went blank, and he looked back at the governor.

Frankie wasn’t fooled.  He’d seen her.  Had caught her staring at him like a bitch in heat.  Shame flushed her face and she cursed under her breath.  She spun her chair around until her back was to Jake.  She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, taking several deep breaths.

What was she thinking?  She didn’t go for arrogant, macho guys.  Not anymore.

Besides, she needed to concentrate on what really mattered.

Her job.

Her emotional safety.

Neither was worth jeopardizing for a few hours of wild sex with a relative stranger.  Not even hot, incredible, make-you-think-you’ll-die-from-the-pleasure kind of sex.

After several minutes, Frankie heard the men conclude their conversation, walk out of the room, and shut the door behind them.  She gave a sigh of relief and spun her chair back around.  Her legs bumped into something hard, and she immediately saw a pair of dark trousers blocking her path.  She moved her gaze up powerful thighs, a trim waist, and a strong neck, where his vein pulsed strongly with his life force.

Her gaze connected with Jake’s.  He stared back at her silently, causing Frankie’s own pulse to skitter out of control.  Heat traveled a slow, sinuous path from her toes upward.  And her body seemed to soften in places she only consciously registered when Jake was around.  She struggled to appear indifferent to the fact that they were alone, and that she was warm and wet between her legs.

But then something happened.  Something that had never happened before.

Jake smiled.

At her.  A broad, close-mouthed grin that softened the hard planes of his expression and caused deep creases at the corners of his mouth.

If she hadn’t been sitting, the sight of his smile would have brought her to her knees.

***

Jacob La Costa Rios watched color stain Francesca’s cheeks and felt a deep sense of satisfaction.  Not because he’d flustered her, although he had to admit that was a charming sight, but because he was tired of waiting.  He wasn’t a man normally prone to patience.  Not when it came to getting what he wanted, and he most definitely wanted her.

Besides, he was no ordinary man.  He was a vampire.  An immortal being.  He’d lived on this Earth for almost two hundred years, and during those long years, he’d begun to fear he’d always be alone.  That he’d never find the life mate that would bring fulfillment to his body and peace to his soul.  Even worse, a vampire who reached two hundred years without his mate wasn’t just an unhappy camper, but a vulnerable one—one who’d slowly but surely begin to lose his strength and, ultimately, his immortality.  If he reached his 201st year and still hadn’t found his mate, his decline couldn’t be reversed.

Ever.

Which meant he’d not only die, but die alone.   No spouse and no children, since an unmated male couldn’t even ejaculate inside a female let alone impregnate her.

Thank God he wouldn’t be suffering such a fate.  He’d known that as soon as he’d seen his Frankie.

He’d only been with the governor for a few days when he’d met her.  The pull toward her had been so strong he’d been stunned.  When she’d shaken his hand, his body had nearly gone up in flames.  By the time he’d recovered, she’d turned away.  He’d immediately started planning the best way to get her in his bed.

His instincts had screamed at him to claim her.  Quickly.  Thoroughly.  Being out of her presence actually caused him increasing physical pain.  But his brain had warned him to wait.  To take it slow.

First, he had a job to do, one so important it could affect the future of vampires everywhere.  Jake was and always would be an advocate for vampire rights, and most of  his people were sick of hiding what they were.  Sick of being the brunt of every bad horror movie and vampire joke out there.  They wanted to come out of the closet, to live openly alongside the rest of the nation’s citizens, and their best chance for doing so was gaining the support of California’s newest governor and presidential hopeful.

His second reason for taking it slow was Frankie herself.  She was no slut.  No female with loose morals, who was going to be led around by her hormones.  If he wanted inside her body, he’d have to win over her heart and mind first.  Then, once she surrendered to him physically, he’d work on the rest—explaining what he was, making her immortal, and ensuring he spent a lifetime pleasing and loving her.

As always, Jake had listened to his brain.  Time had proven his decision to be a wise one.

Over the past six months, he’d seen Frankie shoot down every man, who asked her out.  She did it by rote, as if she’d never even consider the possibility of dating someone at work.  As far as he knew, she didn’t date at all.  Someone that averse to intimacy was going to need convincing when it came to taking a strong alpha male—let alone one who was a vampire—into her bed and life.  So he’d waited.  And watched.  And slowly made her grow accustomed to his sheer presence.

It had nearly killed him, particularly because he’d refused to bed any other woman since meeting her.  Although an unmated vampire couldn’t ejaculate inside a female, he could still achieve some semblance of sexual release.  He’d always been able to find a certain amount of fulfillment in female companionship before.

After meeting Frankie, however, that had come to an end; he’d tried once and his body had rebelled against the female’s touch.  He hadn’t even been able to drink from her; the first taste of her blood on his tongue had been bitter, making him gag.  Nowadays, he had to subsist on the blood of males or bottled blood, and neither one was his blood of choice.  There was something special about a female’s blood.  A subtle sweetness that appeased hunger but also enthralled a male’s other senses…

It was no wonder his body sprang to attention and his fangs ached to lengthen every time Frankie came within five feet of him.   In a way, the past six months had cemented him to her, as well.  She would be his only means of sustenance from here on out.  And she didn’t even know it yet.

He knew she felt the same pull of attraction he did.  He sensed it in the way she looked at him when she thought he wouldn’t notice.  In the way she wouldn’t look at him when he talked to her.  And in the way her breathing escalated when he got close.  But she was tentative around him.  Unsure when she was normally so confident.  Content with fantasizing about what she thought she shouldn’t or couldn’t have.

Well, no more.  Jake was going to show her that fantasies weren’t nearly as satisfying as the real thing, even if it was with a real vampire.

Beginning right now.

***

He wanted something from her, Frankie thought, even as she tried to calm her racing heart.  And from the way he was looking at her, it involved her naked and spread-eagle, very much like she’d imagined him moments earlier.  She felt her forehead furrow despite herself.  How could that be?  She’d worked with him for six months straight and not once had he shown the slightest interest in her.  He must have some kind of agenda…

Suspicion immediately overwhelmed her, making her back stiffen and her lips purse.  He was a typical male, using sex appeal to get what he wanted.  Willing to pretend romantic interest for the sole purpose of using her.  Anger and an undeniable trickle of disappointment planted themselves in her heart, which now felt hollow and heavy at the same time.

“So what do you want?” she asked, striving to sound calm but knowing that she sounded hostile instead.

One of his dark eyebrows arched, and his dazzling smile dimmed until the corners barely tipped.  She grieved the lack of emotion on his face at the same time her breathing regulated.  She could think so much clearer when he wasn’t smiling at her like that.

“Don’t you know?”  His voice was deep and gravelly, like rough work-worn fingers trailing against the most delicate parts of her.

She swallowed hard, once more telling herself that the heat in his eyes wasn’t real.  He wanted something from her, but what?

If she were in high school, she’d think he wanted to copy her homework.  If she were in college, she’d think he wanted a job with her father’s company or to marry her for her family’s money or to get close to her uncle, a publishing mogul.  If he was any other man, she could believe he wanted inside her pants.  Now?  She didn’t know what to think.

Suddenly, realization hit her like a lightning bolt out of nowhere.  This had something to do with the governor.  What else?

“Do you need me to smooth something over with the governor?  Is he still being stubborn about security measures for the gala?”  The green gala was to celebrate the governor’s partnership with the nation’s largest car developer and their agreement to provide him, his staff, and all state employees with natural-gas vehicles.  It was one of the partnerships Frankie had been working hardest on and represented a huge coup for both herself and environmentalists in general.  It was also a deal that had shot the governor’s approval rating sky high.

Jake stared at her, a bemused expression on his face.  Then he shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. “I’ve tried telling him inviting a table of ‘everyday, ordinary’ citizens to the event is dangerous, but he won’t listen to me.  Just like he doesn’t listen when I tell him not to sneak a smoke on the Capitol’s veranda.”

Frankie jolted in surprise.  California’s go green governor, her governor, smoked?

“Don’t feel bad.  He’s very good at hiding these things.”

Things?  Frankie immediately opened her mouth to ask what “things” Jake was referring to, but he spoke before she could.

“Like you, for instance.  And like me.  We all hide who we are.  The things that make us unique.  Vulnerable.  It’s more than just part of our jobs, isn’t it?  It’s part of who we are.”

Her heart started beating fast again as he reached out, took her hand, and pulled her to her feet.  In disbelief, she watched as he raised a hand and caressed her cheek, the one with the scar.  She gasped and pulled back, and he immediately let go of her hand.  Her knees hit the back of her chair and it flew back, hitting her filing cabinets with a thud.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

He smiled again.  “What I should have done a long time ago.  Letting you know I’m interested.”

“Interested in what?”  As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to smack herself for sounding so naïve.

He just looked at her, and she could no longer deny that this was about sex, not security.  She shook her head.  “N—no.  You’re—and I’m….  It would be crazy.”

To her surprise, he nodded.  “I agree it’s complicated, our working together.  But since that’s not going to change, we’ll just have to work around it.”

He sounded so confident.  So sure that having a relationship with her was a foregone conclusion.  But then, she was jumping to conclusions, wasn’t she?  He hadn’t said he wanted a relationship.  Chances were he just wanted a night in bed together.

Instead of repelling her, the thought held instant appeal.  So much so that it jolted her out of her shock.  She’d been ready to beg and bribe her way into his bed less than thirty minutes ago.  And here he was expressing interest.

She hadn’t had a lover in so long.

Certainly not one as sexy and virile and honorable as the man in front of her.

She wasn’t one to waste opportunities, but she wasn’t foolhardy either.

She needed to think about this.

She cleared her throat and tried to project the image of a cool, calm, and confident professional.  “Exactly what are you proposing here?”

He looked surprised that she wasn’t arguing with him.  He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head.  He trailed his gaze down her body, starting at the top of her head and working his way slowly down, stopping at the more interesting points along the way.  By the time he was done, she was practically quivering.

“I want us naked.  I want you coming.  And I want to be inside you when it happens.  Other than that, I’m open to suggestions.”

The wave of heat practically knocked her over, and she parted her lips, trying to catch her breath while looking unaffected.  A hundred scenarios played in her mind, some familiar, some completely new.  All of them fulfilling Jake’s three requirements.  She dabbed at her lips with her tongue, not to flirt but because they suddenly felt so dry.  Nonetheless, his eyes followed the movement, and she could practically see the muscles in his chest and arms tighten.  She darted her eyes down, wondering if he…

Her eyes widened as she saw the distinct bulge in his dark trousers.

He groaned, and she immediately raised her eyes to his.  He hadn’t moved, but his lids were heavy from watching her watch him.  He seemed in no hurry to rush her.  To get an answer to his outrageous proposal.

And that’s what made up her mind.

He wanted her, but he wasn’t going to push her for more than she could give.

“That sounds good.”  When he started to walk toward her, she held up her hand.  He immediately stopped.

“For starters.  Why don’t we take a break for dinner.  We’ll…discuss…the exact terms of our agreement.”

For a moment, she thought he was going to protest.  She prepared to shoot him down.  To tell him she’d changed his mind.  But then he simply nodded.  “I’ll get your coat.”

Jake stepped back and turned away.  She fell back into her chair and wondered whether she’d lost her mind.

CHAPTER 2

The next evening…

Frankie smoothed the skirt of her plum-colored dress and tugged the neckline down the slightest bit.  The cut and color were far more daring than what she normally wore, but this was her second date with Jake and she…well, she wanted to knock him off his feet.  Literally.  She knew how the night would end.  How she wanted it to end.  So she’d prepared for everything down to the smallest detail.

She wore her best lingerie from Victoria Secrets, a two-piece set of black lace that hugged her figure, pushed up her breasts, and rode high on her hips.  She’d used a heavy hand with her make-up and left her hair down for the first time in weeks.  Gone was the composed, professional woman.  In her place was a hot, writhing bundle of nerves ready for the perfect man to cool her down.

She touched her lips as she remembered the kiss Jake had given her just before he’d dropped her off last night.  It hadn’t resembled a first kiss, at least not one she’d ever received.  It had been a claim on both their parts.  It had been all tongues, teeth and racing hands.  A no-holds-barred message that the dinner and conversation they’d had beforehand had merely been something to get through so they could get to this point in the evening.  And what had come afterwards.

As she watched her reflection in the mirror, her skin turned a rosy color and her chest began to skitter up and down as she struggled for breath.  Her eyes looked wide and dazed, her mouth red, her nipples hard.  Dear God, she was ready to orgasm just remembering that kiss.  She whimpered and squeezed her thighs together, trying to ease the ache that had begun to throb there.

She was sure if she’d let him into her apartment last night, he would have been inside her in ten seconds flat.  As it was, he’d had her pressed against the door and her legs wrapped around his hips before she’d even known what she was doing.

That’s what had made her stop—the fact that anyone could have come by and seen them, and she hadn’t cared at all.  As much as she ached to invite him in and fulfill every fantasy she’d ever had, she’d felt too out of control to let it happen.  She’d spent the night getting her control back and thinking about how to proceed.  Part of her was willing to take a risk, but a calculated one.

They’d have sex tonight, but on her terms.  When she was ready.  And in a way she was ready for.

She’d touch his body.  Kiss him everywhere she’d dreamed.  She’d relish every moment with him while it lasted, knowing that it was safe.  That they both had the same expectations.

Sex, not love.

Pleasure, not commitment.

She’d slake her desire with him while never jeopardizing her heart.

And if the act felt slightly hollow afterwards, she’d force herself to remember what had happened the last time she’d thought she was in love.

She raised a hand to her cheek.

And how it had ended.

***

Jake hesitated outside Frankie’s door, telling himself he was a civilized vamp.  He might want to kick in her door, rip off her clothes and throw her on a bed, but clearly he couldn’t do that.  Not yet, at least.

And not because she didn’t want him, but because she’d gotten it into her head that that’s all he wanted from her.  And all she wanted from him.

He’d been both surprised and pleased when she’d openly indicated a willingness to be with him.  However, a part of him had been immediately cautious.  It had been too easy, his mind had told him.  But his body, for the first time in awhile, had effectively stifled the voice.

Shut up, it had said.  She wants you.  So he’d let down his guard and had almost choked on his “wine” later than night—in truth, it was a vintage AB negative the restaurant owner only shared with a select few vampires—when she’d told him the terms of her acceptance.

“Just sex,” she’d said.  Anything between them was to be just sex.  It was also to be completely secret.  And it was to end when she said so, with no questions or protestation from him.

He’d been so stunned he hadn’t been able to respond.  She’d simply smiled when the waiter had appeared and then she’d ordered her food.  When they’d both turned to Jake, he’d recovered enough to give his own order—steak, rare, something he could eat in small doses, though it did little to nourish him.  Then he’d given her a reply.

“Why?” he’d asked.  “You don’t seem the type of woman to be into casual affairs.  You haven’t even dated anyone in the six months we’ve worked together.”

She’d raised an eyebrow and shot him a teasing glance over her own glass of wine.  “As far as you know.”

He’d frowned.  Was she saying she’d had lovers?  The very thought enraged him.  Made his muscles tighten and his fists clench with the need to kill the bastards, then fuck her until she remembered no one’s touch but his.  Instead, he’d maintained his cool and nodded.  “All right.  It ends when you want it to end.”

Not missing a thing, she’d narrowed her eyes.  “When I say it’s over,” she’d clarified.

Jake had hummed, and she’d looked ready to pin him down.  For a moment, he’d been tempted to use his persuasion powers on her.  To make her agree to accept more from him than sex.  Of course he hadn’t, for the same reason he rarely used his persuasion powers.  He wasn’t that weak or that dishonorable.  Barring a life or death situation, if he wanted something, he could damn well get it without resorting to coercion.  And while part of him knew he’d die if Frankie refused to mate with him, he was nowhere near ready to concede he needed to play that dirty to win her.

Besides, making her fall in love with him using his persuasion powers would only be temporary, and it would be useless when it came to the bonding ceremony.  Plus, as she’d clarified the terms of their so-called understanding, he’d realized what a sheer turn-on her spunk was for him.  And finally, Jake knew that he had other powerful means to persuade her—when it came to capitalizing on their mutual desire for one another, he was willing to play as dirty as he had to.

Lucky for him, or maybe for her, the waiter had chosen that moment to arrive with their orders.

Thus began the most agonizing meal Jake had ever had to sit through.  He’d chatted with her about work and answered her questions about his “family” as best he could while watching her sip and bite and pierce and scoop her way through dinner.  She didn’t pick at her food like most women he knew, but unapologetically savored her meal, almost as if she was starving for the sensory satisfaction after a long day of work.  His eyes had nearly crossed when she’d slipped her spoon of chocolate mousse into her mouth time and again, moaning each time her tongue absorbed the sweetness of the lush dessert.

He’d driven to her apartment like a man in a daze, and when she’d turned to thank him, he hadn’t been able to hold back a second longer.  He’d opened her mouth wide, breaching it with his tongue so he could still taste the remnants of the chocolate mousse.  Her breathy moans had spurred him on, and his hands had suddenly had a mind of their own, caressing her breasts and hips, and diving under her skirt before he could stop them.

She hadn’t seemed to care.  In fact, her hands had done their own exploring, testing the strength of his upper body before dipping down to cup his shaft through his pants.  He’d ripped his mouth away and said her name—Francesca—and suddenly her eyes had cleared as if she’d realized what she was doing.  She’d scrambled down from her perch and immediately began to adjust her clothes.

When she’d said goodnight and that she’d see him tomorrow, he’d wanted to howl in agony.  But instead, he’d nodded and walked away.

He was exercising amazing restraint with her, something his brethren would find hilarious.  It was what she needed right now.  But he knew it wouldn’t last much longer.

He knocked on the door and listened to her footsteps as she approached the door.  It swung open. Time ground to a halt.

He had the impression of hair and heat.  Of sultry perfume and creamy flesh.  Of dark, mysterious eyes, and glossy lips.

He watched her mouth move.  Heard her voice.  “Are you ready to go?  I thought  we’d—”

Her eyes widened when he growled.  And then he was on her.

All restraint gone.

A man out of control.

A vampire pushed past restraint.

A lover ready to show his mate that she was his.

CHAPTER 3

I’ve unleashed something wild, was Frankie’s first thought when Jake moved towards her.

Thank God, was her next one.

His mouth on hers was a benediction.

Something she’d been missing not just for the past twenty-four hours, but all her life.

Possessively rough but as tender as a butterfly’s delicate wings.

A fantasy come true.

Again and again, his tongue sought hers, invading the moist depths of her mouth at the same time his big hands found her breasts, molding themselves to her curves.  She flung her arms around his neck, arching her body towards his until he growled and swept her up in his arms.  Wrenching his mouth away from hers and breathing hard, he stared at her.  “Going out or staying in?” he grunted, making her smile at the sheer primitiveness of his voice and expression.

“In.  Definitely in,” she whispered, marveling at her ability to speak so openly.  To play.  Somewhere along the way, she’d lost her customary caution.  While she’d once been a much freer spirit, exalting in sexuality and experimentation, that had come to an end after the “incident” that had robbed her of both her innocence and sense of security.

This man was as powerful and dangerous as any man she’d ever met; where was her sense of self-preservation?  But there was no denying it: while he made her feel insane with passion, he also made her feel safe.

Unable to help herself, she stroked her hand down his chest, adoring the feel of his tense muscles beneath her palm.  When she skimmed across one of his nipples, he sucked in a breath, and she bit her lip, imagining sucking on the hard nub.

Tucking her closer with one arm, he shifted and pushed her front door shut.  He engaged the lock with an audible click, never once looking away from her.

She jerked in surprise.  She hadn’t even noticed it was still open.  Hadn’t given a thought to the fact that once again, anyone could have seen them…  Heard them…

Her breath hitched and her heartbeat accelerated as she pictured what they must have looked like, him eating at her mouth and her practically begging him for more.  If they’d started stripping each other’s clothes off like she’d wanted to, someone would have gotten quite an eyeful.

For a moment, she closed her eyes and pictured it—the two of them kneeling on the couch, their bodies gliding against one another as their hands rubbed and squeezed and probed.  She’d be pinned helplessly beneath him as he fed her his cock, forcing her to accept every inch, urging her to come despite the fact another person looked on, seeing every flicker of pleasure crossing her face…

The wetness of her arousal intensified.  Gasping, she opened her eyes, forcing the fantasy away.  She was with Jake.  Here.  Now.  That was the biggest fantasy come true, and it wasn’t going to last long.  She needed to relish him while she could.

Jake looked at her with a considering eye.  “Go somewhere?” he asked mildly.

She shook her had.  “Just bracing myself.”

He quirked a brow.  “Dread?” he teased.

She marveled that the serious, all-about-business man she’d worked with for six months suddenly had no qualms about showing his lighter side.

She snorted.  “Relief.  I’ve been wanting you for so long, I was beginning to wonder if this would ever happen.”

Expression darkening, he hiked her higher in his arms.  “Oh, it’s happening, all right.”

“You know what they say.  All talk…”

He swooped in, once more covering her mouth with his and effectively stifling her taunt as he walked toward her bedroom with unerring accuracy.  Three seconds later, he’d lowered her onto her full-size mattress and pulled back, hands on his hips.

“Small,” he commented, eyeing the neatly made bed.

Shifting toward him, she cupped his dick through his pants.  “Big,” she said, her tone almost reverent.

He clenched his teeth and ripped off his suit jacket.  Then his tie.  Then his shirt.  Not once did she break contact with the treasure she touched.

Bare-chested, he once again put his hands on his hips, braced his feet apart, threw back his head, and closed his eyes.  Scrambling to her knees, she took his cue and tugged his belt loose, then fumbled with the button and zipper of his trousers.  The material parted to reveal black briefs tented with an imposing length of eager male flesh.

“Huge,” she amended, unable to keep a hint of trepidation from her voice.  Nonetheless, she gamely dipped her hand into his briefs and found him, bare skin to bare skin.  He was blazing hot, the tip of him slightly damp, velvet covering steel.  With a firm grip, she began a slow milking motion.

He hissed.  Groaned.  Opened his eyes to look at her with heavy-lidded eyes.  “Just the right size,” he gritted out.  “Exactly what you need.”

She nearly whimpered at the assurance in his voice.  Although she didn’t want to look away from his face, her gaze was drawn inexorably to the treat she held.  Wanting a better look, she used her free had to tug his pants and briefs down, pulling until they caught on his upper thighs.   His cock was thick and long, spearing out from a soft-looking thatch of dark hair like a commanding warrior, eager to ride to battle.

“I don’t know…” she whispered, unsure for a moment what she meant.   Would he truly be able to fit inside her without hurting her?  It had been so long, and the last time she’d had sex it hadn’t been pleasant.  What if her first taste of real sexual intimacy made her long for more?  Who would give it to her once Jake had moved on?  Perhaps she was rushing things.  Maybe they should go out after all…

She moaned when she felt him nip at her ear then lave the small sting.  “I’m going to make you feel so good, Frankie.  I promise.  Trust me.  Give yourself to me.”

Trembling, she tilted her head to the side, giving him better access so that he kissed his way down the column of her throat.  To her shock, he captured the curve of her neck between his teeth and held her, much like a stallion would when mounting a mare.  Her hand drifted away from him, but he quickly grasped her wrist and led her back.  Wrapping his fingers around hers, he squeezed with almost brutal pressure, guiding her into a rhythm he liked.

And still he bit her, the dominant act ridding her of her momentary hesitation.  She moved slightly, restlessly, wanting him to suck or bite her harder.  Instead, he pinched both her nipples and tugged.  Tingles of heat arrowed into her pussy then spread outward to concentrate in her clitoris.  She mewled and shifted her hips closer to his, seeking ease.   Lowering his hand, he cupped her.  A surge of pleasure blasted through her, making her buck.  Together, they groaned and she realized ease wasn’t something she’d find with him.

His every touch cranked her arousal higher and higher, making her want more.

“Please,” she gasped.

Finally, he released her neck and lifted his head.  With one hand, he pulled at her nipple again.  With the other, he rubbed at the pearl hidden underneath her dress, teasing it with firm, then barely-there strokes.

“Say it, Francesca.  Tell me you want me.  Inside you.”

“I want you inside me,” she said dutifully.

“Say ‘fuck me.’”

Automatically, she shook her head.  She didn’t use words like that, not out loud.  She had to remember who she was.  Who he was.  A co-worker.  A strong, dominant male.  One she’d allow herself to enjoy for a time but never rely on.  She needed to keep some measure of control.

“Say it,” he commanded, his voice hardening even as his fingers slowed, implicitly threatening to stop altogether.

“F—fuck me,” she cried in panic.

“Say ‘Come inside my body.  Pleasure me.  Love me.’”

This time, she was the one who tried to pull away.  Anger threatened to overshadow her desire.  What kind of game was he playing?

He gripped her chin and forced her to look into his eye.  “Say it, Francesca.  Please.  I want to hear you say the words—I need to hear you say them—and then I promise, I’ll give you everything you want.  Everything you need.”

“I told you,” she forced out.  “This isn’t about love.  It’s about sex.  If you want more—”

“I heard what you said.  And this isn’t just about sex.  This is about amazing sex.  About me making you come so hard, so many times, you’re going to think you’re dying from the pleasure.  Now just say the words, Frankie.  Give them to me.  Now.”

His voice was like a warm slide of honey.  An erotic temptation soaking into her skin.  Into her very soul.  Her pussy throbbed and so did the area at her throat where he’d gripped her with his teeth.  She wanted to feel him in both places again.  At the same time.  To experience the intrusion of his cock inside her while his teeth locked on her throat, maybe even pierced her skin…

For a brief moment, the thought seemed odd to her, but she pushed it away.

Say the words, Frankie, she urged herself.  They’re just words.  Say them and take what he’s offering.

Rising on her tiptoes, she cupped the back of his neck and pulled him down so she could whisper into her ear.  “Come inside my body,” she said, then flicked his lobe with her tongue.

He groaned.

“Pleasure me.”  She nipped at his lobe, gasping when he yanked her tighter against his body and ground his erection into her stomach.  “L—Love me.”

Love me forever, she thought.

***

Jake saw the longing on Frankie’s face—her longing not just for physical release but for intimacy.  Passion.  Connection.

She was lonely, he realized.  As lonely as I’ve been.

Longing for the solace of companionship.  Yearning for a mate.  Someone to experience life and love with.

And he was going to give it to her.  Hard.  Thoroughly.

Indelibly.  Until he was so much a part of her, she’d never feel lonely again.

At the same time, he was going to take from her.

Someday soon, he’d formally bond with her.

He’d take not just her body, but her blood.  She’d fill him up, nourish him for an eternity.

Présager Accoupler

A divine mating.

To his people, it was a holy occurrence when a vampire bonded with his destined mate.  In the old days, the clan would stand witness to the bonding, simultaneously taking their own mates.  No one without a mate was to participate in the ceremony, but they’d heard what the bonding was like: the moment he penetrated Frankie after they’d been bonded, he’d experience an indescribable kind of ecstasy.

As if taking her now wouldn’t be ecstasy enough…

He shuddered with anticipation.

Obviously sensing his need, she caressed his back.  “It’s okay.  You don’t have to wait.  Take me.  Take what you want.”

Her selflessness brought him down a bit.  He hadn’t even undressed her, hadn’t made her come, and already she was ready to service him.   No fucking way.

Pulling back from her while still maintaining eye contact, he pulled them both to their feet, divested himself of the rest of his clothes, then swept the soft fall of her hair over her shoulder.  He reached for the zipper at the back of her dress.  Slowly lowering it, he made sure to brush his fingertips against her spine as he did so.  She licked her lips, sweeping a delicate shine across their surface.  He growled, wanting to kiss her, but he was also unwilling to miss a single glimpse of her body as he lowered the delicate shoulder straps of her dress and tugged it away from her.

He hadn’t been expecting underwear as decadent as her lacy black bra and panties, and they almost blew his mind.   With an unsteady hand, he rubbed the tip of one finger across her nipple, drinking in the rough texture of the lace as it rasped his flesh, then buried his head in the deep valley of her cleavage.

She smelled like the night.  Mysterious and dark.  A respite from the bright, bustling energy of the day.  A place to rest and linger, and saturate himself in sensation.  Her blood would taste delicious.  Unlike anyone or anything he’d ever had.

Gently, he bit the upper slope of one breast.  Then, letting his fangs lengthen slightly, he deliberately raked them against her skin.  She gasped and pushed his head deeper into her lush curves.  With supreme effort, he retracted his fangs before he lifted his head.  He took several steps back.  Then several more.  Until he leaned back against her bedroom wall, naked.  “As sexy as it is, I want your underwear off.  Now.”  Lowering his hand, he stroked his cock.

Her eyes darted down to follow his movements, and once again her pink tongue peaked out to moisten her lips.  At the erotic sight, he rubbed the head of his cock with his palm.  “Hurry.”

Twisting her hands behind her so her chest thrust out, she unclipped her bra.  But instead of sweeping the lace cups away, she let the bra dangle as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties.  Without the constrictive support, her breasts swayed, bits of ivory flesh and rosy nipples teasing him from beneath the material.  Dragging in deep, rasping breaths, she pulled down her panties one centimeter at a time, drawing out the act so that his stroking hand lost its easy rhythm.

“You like teasing, do you?  So do I.  Just remember that when it’s your turn.”

She pouted just as she exposed her pubic bone.  He’d been expecting to see golden curls shielding the most vulnerable part of her, but as she allowed the panties to pool at her ankles, he discovered that wasn’t the case.

She was completely bare.

Nothing to impede his fingers and tongue from exploring her soft center to his heart’s delight.  “The bra,” he croaked out.  “Remove it.”  He wanted to see her tits.  Suck on the dark crests that crowned the graceful curves of her body.

To his astonishment, she shook her head.

“Don’t tease,” he began, trying to warn her.  He was too close to losing control to take much more.  Vampires weren’t submissive lovers.  Aside from his initial aggression when she’d answered the door, he’d managed to reign himself in, when all he wanted was to shove his dick balls deep inside her and pump himself to release.  If she continued to—

“You want them?  Come and get them,” she challenged, her chin tilted high.

A blanket of possessiveness dropped over him.  He forgot that it was their first time together.  That this was a human female he wanted to court and reveal himself to gently.  He forgot she didn’t know he was a vampire and that she had to have been celibate for a damn good reason—the most obvious one being she was scared of men and sex.

He forgot his need to be careful.

All he could think of was the way she’d teased him, then teased him some more.

He’d waited for her for centuries, searching for the female he was meant to care for in every way: physically, emotionally, sexually.  She would submit to him.   She would take all he had to give her and then some.  His cock.  His fingers.  His tongue.  Wherever he wanted.  However many times he chose to give them to her.

Here.

Now.

Always.

CHAPTER 4

Frankie couldn’t help but wonder if she’d lost her mind.  Had she really just dared Jake Rios to come and get her?

Obviously so, because he was stalking towards her with a very determined glint in his eye.

Some of her nerve seeped away, and she raised a hand.  “Wait.  I didn’t mean to—”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him while at the same time managing to rip her bra away.  Her bare breasts pressed against his chest, and his burning shaft slid snugly against the juncture of her thighs, stimulating nerve endings she hadn’t even been aware of.  She whimpered at the dual sensations, each brought to a fever pitch by the hungry way his mouth covered hers.

The kiss, however, didn’t last very long.  Gripping the backs of her thighs and spreading them wide, Jake hefted her up, and she automatically locked her legs around his waist.  Hands clutching his shoulders, her head fell back as she tried to deal with the intense assault on her system.

This was nothing like the sexual feelings she’d explored while she was a teenager, and it barely resembled the sensations she’d been able to draw from her own body with her fingers or toys.  Even last night’s pleasure hadn’t been this mind-boggling, but of course they hadn’t been naked.

Naked.  She was naked.  He was naked.  The tip of his cock was poised like a battering ram outside the gates of her pussy, ready to invade her.  She thought briefly of fighting him off, of teasing him a bit more, but a glance at his savage expression told her how foolish that would be.

Still standing, and with nothing to brace himself against, he used the power of his muscled arms to slowly drop her onto his marauding cock.  She gasped at his initial entry; the way his broad head parted her nether lips and tunneled slowly but surely deeper.  Her nails dug into his shoulders, and he grimaced, his own fingers tightening on her thighs, then on her ass as he adjusted his hold.  Fear ran through her as more of him kept coming, cleaving through muscles that fluttered in shock even as they greedily sucked him in.

“I—can’t,” she gasped.  “You’re too big.”  But even as she spoke the words, she pulled him closer to her, her body unconsciously daring him to try and escape her grip.

He shook his head, and sweat popped out on his brow.  “Just right, remember?  Just… right…”  With his last words, he bucked his hips and planted himself fully inside her.

She screamed at the sensation of fullness.  At the tip of him rubbing against some hidden spot and causing fireworks to go off inside her body.  She buried her face between his shoulder and neck, holding her breath, waiting for him to pound at her and rip her apart.  But he didn’t move.  He held himself still within her, the trembling of his entire body evidence of what his restraint was costing him.

After a minute, she took a breath and leaned back.  “Oh God.  Jake,” she whispered.

Eyes squeezed shut.

Jaw clenched.

His face was a mask of agony.  Yes, there was pleasure there, but there was also pain.  Pain from holding back.  From not taking what he needed from her.  She cupped his face, and he dazedly blinked his eyes open.

“Are you—are you okay?” he breathed out.  For some reason, his gaze kept bouncing between hers and her throat, where she could feel her jugular throbbing from the rush of her blood and the pounding of her pulse.

Quickly, she assessed what she was feeling.  She still felt stuffed full, but it was as if she was now feeling everything he was.  An odd mix of pleasure and pain, concentrating in her breasts and between her legs, but she didn’t want to give either sensation up, not one single drop.

Wasn’t there something wrong with that?  Pleasure, fine.  But pain?  She wasn’t a masochist.  Shifting slightly, she eased him partially out of her, then moaned at the way he immediately narrowed his eyes and thrust back inside her.  He hit that spot again, and her pleasure ratcheted up higher.

“I’m—I’m sorry.  It’s just, I can’t—I can’t stop myself.  I need you, Frankie.  Need to be inside you.”

She barely heard him given the pleasure that roared through her.  “It’s okay.  It’s great.”  Her speech was as broken as his, her breathing just as laborious.  “Put me—put me down on the bed.  Lay on top—top of me.  Please.”

He studied her, his expression slightly suspicious, as if he actually believed she wanted to deprive herself of what was going to come next.  That would make her a masochist.  “I—I just want you to be able to move freely.   To give me all you have, Jake.  I promise.”

With a jerky nod, he stepped closer to the bed and lowered her onto it.  Amazingly, he kept himself seated firmly inside her the entire time.  She spread her thighs wide to accommodate his body between them and buried her fingers in his short hair.  “Good.  This feels good.”

“Good,” he echoed, his voice muffled since his mouth was pressed against one of her breasts.  Quick as a snake, he captured her nipple in his mouth and sucked gently for a second before stroking her with his tongue.  Then he suckled stronger, pinching her other nipple with his fingers so that her legs tightened convulsively against his sides, pleading for more.

“You like that?” he whispered.  “Because I want to suck your other tit before moving down to your pussy.”

She moaned in agreement as his mouth released her nipple and left a moist trail across her chest on its way to her other breast.  Both nipples were hard points, aching the way her clit ached with her desire for him.  Thrusting her hips, she tried to force him to move inside her, but he wouldn’t be rushed.  He feasted on her breasts for several minutes until she was pulling at his hair and begging.

“Okay, baby,” he finally relented.  “Let’s give you what you need.”  Rising up on his elbows, he pushed up just enough that he could reach one hand between them.  With his thumb, he pressed lightly against her hot button, then flicked it gently.  Again, she jiggled her hips, but he wouldn’t move, wouldn’t give her the powering thrusts or firm touch to push her over the edge.

“Why?  Why are you holding back?”

“I thought you liked to tease,” he countered.  “Payback, remember?”

That pissed her off.  She arched her body violently, trying to buck him off her.  “Bastard.  Get off!”

He laughed.  “Oh, no doubt I’m going to get off.  We both are.  I’m just going to make you wait first.”

“Argh!  You arrogant pri…”  Her curse drifted off when he suddenly withdrew from her body, lowered his head and buried his face between her thighs.

His tongue lashed at the spot he’d fingered seconds earlier, and he hummed in pleasure.  “Damn, you taste good.  Like oranges and cinnamon.  My favorite combination.  And your smell…”  He breathed in deeply, causing her to blush in mortification.  Using his fingers, he parted her core and ran one finger through her slit before plunging its full length inside her.  Although it was big, it wasn’t nearly as big as his cock, and she wailed in frustration.

He immediately inserted a second finger, then another, pumping them deeply within her channel so she quieted and absorbed the delectable sensation.  He curved his fingers and steadily pushed her higher, making her climb the mountain for longer than she thought she could, showing her what pleasure his determination, ego and stamina could bring her.  As the governor’s security detail, he was ruthless.  As a lover, he was even more so.  But he was also strong.  She knew he wouldn’t let her fall.  He wouldn’t fail her.

With a groan, thighs trembling, her sudden climax took them both by surprise.  It was so intense she flung out her arms, twisting and clawing at the bed sheets in an effort to ground herself.  She couldn’t.  Her vision tunneled.  Colors exploded behind her lids.  His dark voice chanted endearments she barely comprehended, some of them sounding vaguely French.

When her pleasure ebbed, she clung to the aftershocks as greedily as she clung to him.  He’d thought to make her wait, but her body had bested him.  In doing so, it had given him a gift as well.  Because now that she’d experienced such pleasure, she wanted to give it back to him.  In spades.

***

When Frankie pushed at his shoulders, Jake rolled onto his back, cursing when he almost fell off her diminutive mattress.  He couldn’t wait to buy her a real bed, a king size mattress they’d be able to splay across in order to indulge upon each other’s bodies.  He’d pleasure her so thoroughly the small release she’d just experienced would seem like child play’s.  Then again, he wasn’t going to wait until he bought her a new bed to give her that.  He pushed himself up on one elbow, then gasped when she straddled his waist and shoved him down again.

“My turn,” she said.

She was flushed.  Eyes glittering with passion.  Hair mussed and lips puffy.  He stroked her waist, feeling slightly more mellow since she’d found release.  “I think you already had your return, naughty girl.”

“Then it’s your turn,” she shot back.

Scooting backwards until he was forced to spread his legs and make room for her, she kneeled and planted a tender kiss on the head of his cock.  God, it felt good.  Almost as good as when he’d been sheathed deep inside her, but not quite. He might as well have been a virgin when he’d plunged his length into her, because no woman had ever been as slick, as hot, or as tight as she was.  Every sexual encounter he’d ever had paled in comparison, and he’d felt like he’d been experiencing pleasure for the very first time in his life.  The only thing that might equal the ecstasy he was experiencing was her blood on his tongue…

But then she took him in her mouth, and he was plunged into sensations so intense he saw stars and bellowed her name.  His mind went blank except for one refrain: Don’t stop.  Don’t stop.  Don’t stop.

She didn’t stop.

He blinked hard as her mouth pulled back and began a steady, suckling motion over the tip of him.  Her smooth hands cupped his balls and fondled them gently.  Breathless, he stared down at her, mesmerized at the way his thick shaft forced her ruby lips into an almost perfect “O.”  A thrill buzzed inside him as he imagined her other lips parting to take him inside her.  At the thought, his hips jerked forward, burying several more inches of him in her mouth.

Her eyes rounded, then grew heavy-lidded once more as she rubbed her tongue against the side of his shaft.  Cum boiled inside his balls, making him bask in the knowledge that, this time, with her, he’d be able to release it.  He’d shoot himself inside her when she made him come.

And she was going to make him come if she kept sucking him.

As much as he wanted that, he wanted the first time to be inside her core even more.

He wanted to believe, even though he shouldn’t be able to impregnate her until they were formerly bonded, that when he came inside her, he might plant their child in her belly.

A mate.  A child.  They were all within his grasp.  Treasures he’d cherish forever.

Even though it nearly killed him, even though she moaned in protest and tried sucking him even deeper into her mouth, he forced her jaw open and pulled away.  Swiftly, he flipped her onto her back, climbed on top of her, crowded his hips between her thighs and, with unerring accuracy plunged himself into her honeyed depths.

He heard her breath catch.

Saw the way she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

Keeping his face close to hers, he nonetheless pulled back, then thrust forward.  Back then forward.  Over and over again.

He cleaved himself into her until he had to clench his teeth to hold back his confessions: he wanted to open himself to her, tell her what he was and what he wanted from her.  Maybe because she sensed him holding back, insecurity flashed across her face, and she turned her head away, hiding the cheek that bore her scar.

He stopped moving.  “No,” he snapped, causing her gaze to fly back to his.  “Don’t you dare hide yourself from me.”  Raising his hand, he cupped her face, caressing the slightly raised ridge on her check despite her slight flinch.  “You are the most beautiful female I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Her mouth moved to protest his compliment, but he pressed his fingers lightly against her lips.  “Look into my eyes,” he whispered.  “See what I see.”

He allowed it to happen then.  He used his persuasion, not to make her act against her will or to make her believe a lie, but to give her mind the freedom to see what was right in front of her.  How gorgeous he thought she was.  How beautiful, inside and out.  A damn scar couldn’t detract from the way she enthralled him.

The moment he saw the acceptance and wonder in her eyes, he tucked his hands underneath her ass and pulled her more tightly into his body.  Her eyes darkened when he began thrusting again, and this time he gave up all thoughts of teasing.  He went at her like a wild man, his cock powering into her, his tongue pushing itself into her mouth again and again.  Her nails dug into him, and her mouth dropped open as release came barreling down on her.

With a final thrust that took him deeper than he’d ever thought possible, he sent them both careening into ecstasy.  A flush swept up from her chest to her face.  Her soft cries played a graceful symphony accompanied by his groans and the sound of their flesh slapping against one another.

An image of his fangs sinking into her flesh overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t control the way they lengthened.  They pushed out of his gums. Her eyes, glazed with pleasure, sparked with fear when she saw them, but only for a moment.

He forced his eyes to stay open even as he shuddered with his orgasm and growls rumbled in his throat.  He expected her to faint or to fight him.  Instead, she did something he could barely fathom.

Squeezing her eyes tight, she tilted her head back as far as it would go, exposing the graceful column of her throat in all its glory.

The sight of all the creamy flesh being offered to him was more than he could take.  With a roar, he bent his head, plunged his fangs into her flesh, and sucked her warm, liquid essence into his mouth.

***

I’m dreaming, Frankie thought.  Either that, or Jake had killed her with pleasure and this was how she was going to spend an eternity in heaven, his body connected to hers and his mouth drinking her blood.  Heavenly, after all, was the best way to describe what was happening.  The strong pulls of his mouth at her throat didn’t hurt; rather, they reignited the pleasure of her release, steadily causing more and more intense explosions to go off inside her.

Maybe she’d entered an altered state long ago.  That would explain the look of adoration that had been in Jake’s eyes when he’d caressed the scar on her cheek.  No man had ever looked at her with such genuine affection, and it made no sense that Jake would.  They barely knew each other.  All he’d wanted from her was sex.

Sex, she told herself.

But even as she tried to make herself believe that, she felt him drinking her blood, taking her into himself as his palms smoothed over her breasts and hips and hair.  His touch wasn’t that of a man who simply wanted sex from a woman, but a man who’d found something precious and never wanted to let it go.  Between her thighs, his hips still pumped shallowly, his cock swelling ever larger as he seemed locked in one orgasm after another, just like she was.

When their spasms of release finally began to fade, her eyes stung with tears.  She felt one escape, trailing down her cheek and throat.  Obviously feeling the moisture, Jake hissed, gently withdrew his fangs, and looked up at her.  “Damn it, you’re crying.  Did I hurt you?”

Mesmerized, she stared as his fangs retracted back into his gums.  His tongue swept across his bottom lip to capture the drops of her blood that clung there. “Frankie, answer me.  Did I hurt you?”

Slowly, barely able to move, she shook her head.  It felt as if she was drifting in a sea of honey and everything she did—even trying to think clearly—took effort.

He lowered his head, and she tensed, waiting for him to bite her again.  Instead, he licked at the spot he’d bitten.  When she glanced at him questioningly, he said, “I closed the puncture wounds.  You won’t even be able to see them.”

Tentatively, she raised her hand to her throat and prodded at the area that was only slightly tender.  He watched her carefully, and for the first time he looked unsure of himself.  Of her response to him.  “You’re a…”  She stopped, unable to say the word.

Vampire.

Of course, now it made sense why she only saw him at night.  He really was a nocturnal creature, or at least he’d convinced himself he was.  But his fangs weren’t a delusion…

“I’m a vampire.”  So calm.  So matter of fact.

When had the world gone mad?  When had she?  Swallowing hard, she forced herself to respond to him even as she shifted beneath him.  He was resting on his elbows, keeping his upper body slightly off her even as his penis remained a thick intrusion inside her.  “Are there—are there others like you?”

He tilted his head, as if amazed by her composure.  Arching his hips, as if wanting to remind her he was still inside her—as if she needed reminding—he started a whole new set of pleasurable contractions inside her. “Many.”

Gasping, she closed her eyes, reeling from the newest assault on her senses.  “Are you—are you going to hurt me?  When we’re done, I mean?”

He remained silent, and she forced her eyes open.  He gazed at her, his expression grim. “Never.  I’d die to protect you, Frankie.”

She studied him.  Believed him.  She knew she should be crying out in horror or wondering if she really had gone insane, but she’d learned long ago that reality could turn on a dime and people could change who they were faster than a person could blink.

Her first love had turned into a dangerous criminal before her eyes—why couldn’t Jake turn into a vampire?

She reached up and touched his mouth, pulling on the upper one until his lips parted.  “Let me see them,” she whispered.

His fangs sprang out, but otherwise he didn’t move.

She pushed up on her elbows to inspect the sharp points.  Prodded at one with her finger until he shuddered.  Curious to see what would happen, she leaned closer and flicked her tongue against one fang.  He groaned.

“That feels good?”

“Yes,” he whispered.  “Very good.”

His tone was low and husky, shivering through her like the orgasms he’d given her, dragging her further away from reality and notions of how she “should be” reacting to this startling turn of events.  Eyes locking with his, she laid back and arched her hips up.  Again, he groaned.

“As good as this?”

The heat in his gaze intensified until she expected smoke to rise off her body.  He shook his head.  “Nothing feels as good as his.  Nothing ever will.”

She had two choices.  She could do the rational thing, accuse him of being psychotic or a monster, and flee.  Or she could do what she wanted to do: stay with him, enjoy her time with him just as she’d intended, and trust that no matter what he needed to drink to biologically survive, he was still the same man he’d always been.

She thought of her scar.  Of the secrets it represented, yet how it represented nothing about who she really was deep down inside.   It was just as likely that Jake’s fangs and need for blood didn’t represent who he really was.

And if she was putting herself in danger because of her romanticism?

Well then, she supposed nothing had changed since she was seventeen years old.

Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.  Then her  fingers smoothed over his shoulders in a contented, kneading motion.

Nothing feels as good as this.  Nothing ever will, he’d said.

Her response?

“Prove it,” she challenged.

And he did.

CHAPTER 6

Although barely audible to the human ear, a creak outside Frankie’s door alerted Jake to someone or something’s presence.  Carefully, he pulled away from her, which wasn’t easy given the way she clung to him, their arms and legs tangled intimately.  She moaned softly in her sleep and pouted adorably before shifting to her side, facing him with her thighs slightly spread and her breasts pushed enticingly together.

Instantly, his mouth watered, his fangs and shaft lengthened, and his fingers curled with the need to touch her.  His sex drive had always been plenty healthy, but he’d never been this insatiable before.  He’d fucked her hard throughout the night and she’d only slept a few hours.  Unlike him, she needed sleep and she was supposed to go to work in the morning, then attend the big gala that evening.  He needed to get his dick under control and let her rest.

Besides, there was that sound again.

Swiftly, he dressed—making sure he was armed with both his gun and his dagger with its solid silver blade—and padded to her front door.  The closer he got, the more agitated he became.

He sensed a threat.  Not to him, but to Frankie.

Vampires had superior eyesight, hearing, and smell.  Humans smelled like citrus, while a vamp’s scent was distinctly more floral.  Right now, it smelled like a fucking rose garden was moving closer and, by the sounds of it, climbing the interior steps leading to Frankie’s front door.  The only question was: was this vampire friend or foe?

Jake opened the door and stepped into the shadowed hallway.  As he did, the creaks from the stairs ceased instantly.  Someone spit out a curse and Jake felt a disturbance in the air as that same someone turned, swiftly moving back in the direction they’d come.

Whoever it was had sensed Jake and had turned tail and run.

Foe.  Definitely foe.  And no way was Jake going to let the bastard get away.

He lunged down the stairs, following the sound and scent of Frankie’s stalker.  In seconds, he barreled through the front door of the building, just in time to see a male figure running with vampire speed down the street.  Jake went after him, his legs eating up the miles, steadily gaining ground until finally, with a powerful lunge, he launched himself at the fleeing male and brought him down.

They hit the rough concrete and rolled before, almost in unison, gaining their feet.   The vampire gripped his arm and swung him in the air, propelling him against the side of a building half a block away.  Jake grunted at the impact, then flipped to his feet.  He got a running head start, then somersaulted over the vampire’s head. Mid-air, he reached inside his jacket and withdrew his fighting blade.  When he landed, he grabbed the male by the hair and pressed the flat part of the blade against his throat.  The smell of singed flesh immediately wafted up at him.

“In case you can’t tell, this is silver, dickhead.  If you so much as breathe too deep, I’ll slice off your head.”

The male stayed frozen but couldn’t stop himself from sucking in breaths of air.  Jake pressed the blade harder against the vamp’s throat, this time turning it so it sliced his flesh and drops of blood trickled out.  The vampire howled with pain.

Gripping his hair even harder, Jake yanked his head farther back.  “Who are you and what do you want with Frankie Stewart?”

“Fuck…you…” the vampire breathed, his flickering gaze alerting Jake to the others’ presence just before he smelled them.

Growling and making sure to keep the male in front of him, Jake turned.

Shit.

Three more vampires stood in front of him, their eyes narrowed and their mouths curled into mocking sneers.  “Release him,” the vamp in the middle commanded.

With a flick of his wrist, Jake plunged the blade half an inch inside his captive’s throat.  The vamp screamed and clawed frantically at Jake’s arm as more smoke sizzled out of the wound.

“Or what?” Jake said as soon as the vampire’s scream faded.

“Or we’ll gut you with your own weapon.”

Jake shrugged.  “You’re welcome to try.  Or you can just tell me what you want with Frankie Stewart and I’ll let him live.  Maybe I’ll even let all of you live.”

The three vamps looked at each other and laughed.  The middle one shrugged.  “Kill him then.”

The vamp he was holding flinched.  Coughed weakly, the sound phlegmy.  “Bastards!”

Jake tsked.  “Your friends don’t have much loyalty.  Any last words before I do as they say?”

“Wait.”  The vampire struggled weakly in Jake’s grasp.  “They want both of you.  They—”  He screamed and jerked violently just before he went completely limp, his dead weight dragging him to the ground.  Jake let him go so he sprawled out in from of him, but the knife one of the vamps had thrown stayed embedded in his chest.

The three vamps advanced on Jake.  “What’s that old pirate saying,” the leader said.  ‘”Dead men tell no tales?’”  He narrowed his eyes at Jake while fingering another throwing knife.  “We’ve been wanting to shut you up for a long time, Rios.  Perhaps now’s the—”

“Sunlight,” one of the other vamps shouted.  All of them except the vampire on the ground jerked and turned toward the horizon.  The sun had barely begun to rise but Jake instantly felt his skin begin to blister beneath his clothes.  Damn it, he needed to know who these vamps where.  Who had hired them.  “Wait,” he yelled and lunged forward, but the three vampires had already vanished, their figures a blur as they fled around the street corner.

Frantically, Jake looked around, then at the male on the floor.  He needed to search him for ID and clues, but there was no time.  He was miles from Frankie’s apartment with only seconds to find shelter or he’d be burned to a crisp.  He saw a door to an old warehouse several feet ahead.  If it was open, he’d be saved.  If he had to spend even a few seconds ripping it open…

With an inhuman roar, Jake ran, managing to grab the dead vamp as he passed him.  Heat rippled along his back, shooting intense pain throughout his body.  He could smell his skin beginning to smoke just as he pulled open the unlocked door and flung both himself and the dead vampire inside.

***

Frankie stared at her standard breakfast of yogurt and granola.   When her bedside alarm had gone off as usual, she hadn’t bothered to get up and eventually it had stopped on its own.

She’d been awake for hours, waiting for Jake to return, hoping he’d run to the store or gone for a walk or returned to his place for some clean clothes.  But if that had been the case, he certainly would have been back by now.

Obviously, he had no intention of coming back, and his absence had nothing to do with him needing to protect his vampire form from daylight—assuming, that is, that hadn’t been a preposterous lie and the myths were right about sunlight being dangerous to his kind.

No, Jake had left her bed and he’d done it when it was still dark out.  He hadn’t left a note, and he wasn’t answering his home phone or his cell phone, which he always, always answered.  He’d snuck away as if he was ashamed of having had sex with her and without even giving her the courtesy of a few answers.

Like how often he had to drink blood to survive, how he’d become a vampire in the first place, and exactly how many “more” of him existed.

Of course, any answers he’d have given would probably all have been lies anyway.  Just like their night together had been a lie.

Pushing away her uneaten food, Frankie stood, wincing slightly at the aches and pains her movements caused.  She felt like she’d been run over by a truck, especially between her thighs; it was why she was wearing a pantsuit and flats as opposed to a skirt and heels.  She hadn’t bothered pulling her hair back, but had left it flowing loose around her shoulders.  She’d have to have her hair done and wear heels for the gala tonight, so she might as well enjoy being comfortable while she could.  She deserved that much after Jake’s betrayal.

Her phone rang, and she couldn’t stop her momentary flash of hope.  The screen flashed with a private number.  She snatched up the receiver.  “He—hello?”

“Frankie, it’s Dylan Cook, with the governor’s security team.”

Jake’s second-in-command, a steely eyed ex-marine who headed up the governor’s security during the day.  Was Cook calling to tell her something had happened to Jake?  Was that why he hadn’t come back? “Yes?”

“May I speak with Jake, please?”

Frankie’s body stiffened.  “What makes you think Jake—I mean, Mr. Rios—whom I assume you’re referring to—is here?”

Dylan laughed.  “It’s okay, Frankie.  Jake told me he’d be spending the night with you.  I’m sorry to call so early, but it’s important.  Jake and I need to go over—”

“Jake Rios is not here,” Frankie snapped.  Her anger was a living, breathing thing, prodding all the sore spots on her body.  He’d told Dylan Cook he was going to spend the night?  Even though it had only been their second date?  The arrogant, filthy braggart—

“What do you mean, he’s not there?” Cook’s voice was clipped.  “He’s not at his house.  I’ve called his phone and cell with no answer.  I figured the only thing that could keep him from answering was if…”

“If he was getting laid?” Frankie’s sneer was so ugly, she supposed it was a good thing Dylan Cook couldn’t see it.  “Is that what you were going to say, Mr. Cook?”

“Uh no…I mean…”

“You could very well be right, Mr. Cook.  Maybe Mr. Rios is getting laid right now.  Maybe he’s playing at being a vampire because he’s hoping it’ll get him laid by a horde of Goth groupies.  But he’s not getting laid by me.  Not now.  Not ever.”  Never again.

“Frankie—I mean Ms. Stewart—I—”

Frankie hung up the phone and pressed her hands to her mouth to stifle the sobs fighting to come out of her.

Dear Lord, she’d lost it.  Dylan Cook was going to think she was crazy.  She’d certainly felt that way, imagining Jake boasting about his intentions to fuck her last night.

Her eyes welled with tears and she ruthlessly blinked them away.

You’re strong, she reminded herself.  You’re a survivor.

She took several deep breaths.  Over and over again until she finally began to feel calm.

Yesterday had been a mistake.  An anomaly.  Her career was her life, with no room for a man.  No room for weakness.  She’d thought she’d learned her lesson long ago, but apparently it had taken another punch in the gut to make it sink in.

Better to be lonely than to ever be made a fool of again.

She’d remember that if Jake Rios ever tried to convince her otherwise.

CHAPTER 6

That evening, about five minutes after the sun set, Jake “the vampire” Rios, walked into the office.  Sitting at her desk, Frankie tried to ignore him.  She really did.  But her anger and hurt were so intense she could barely keep her hands from wringing his neck or her fists from pummeling him, so ignoring him seemed an impossible task as he walked toward her, a determined glint in his eyes.

She’d barely been able to function throughout the day—she’d kept wondering if she should tell someone, anyone, about Jake’s unusual drinking habits, but she’d retained enough sense to know how insane she’d come off if she did.

Insane enough that she’d never work in politics, let alone advance her social causes, again.

He looked tired.  As if he hadn’t slept all day.  Edgy.

Hungry.

But that could be because the big gala was in a few hours, and maybe he and his men had been off somewhere or secretly communicating by phone—

A horrifying thought occurred to her.  Were his men vampires?  Was the governor?

She gasped and shot to her feet, knocking over several piles of paper on her desk.  Instantly, she crouched down to collect them.  Her hands collided with Jake’s.

While hers were shaking, his were not.

Her face was flushed.  Again, his was not.

She hated the way her body could barely contain what she was feeling, and how he seemed completely unaffected.  He handed her a sheet of paper.  “Frankie, let me explain—”

“Thank you, Mr. Rios,” she interrupted, her tone chilly, before straightening and retaking her seat.  “Mr. Cook already called me this morning and explained why he thought you’d be at my place.  That and your extended absence are explanation enough.”  Studiously, she avoided looking at him.  Then, unable to fake disinterest a second longer, she glanced at him.  He was just standing there, steadily watching her, his expression grim.

Good.  Let him feel some of the discontent she was.

She crossed her legs and felt a small spurt of satisfaction when his eyes immediately followed the movement.  Satisfaction died a slow death as heat climbed her body, centering between her thighs and alerting her to the fact that she already missed him there.  Her entire body was quivering.

Vampire, she reminded herself.

But even worse, a prick who runs in the middle of night.

Pressing her thighs together, she looked away and checked her e-mail a final time,

She’d changed her mind.  She didn’t want answers.  She just wanted to get out of there.  Away from him.

To: Francesca Stewart <francesca.stewart@calgov.com>

Fr: One Who Cares <caringfriend@gmail.com

Subject: Ryan Turner

It’s time to return the favor.  Tell the governor to deny Jake Rios’s request or everyone you love will be endangered.

Queasiness made her stomach roll, and she literally felt the blood drain from her face.

Memories swamped her.

She was seventeen and in love with Ryan Turner.  She hadn’t cared what her parents thought: that she was too young to fall in love and that she needed to be careful of others who wanted to get close to her because of her father’s status and wealth.  One night, she was pulled awake by a hand across her mouth, only to feel relief when she saw who it belonged to.  She’d followed Ryan’s urgings to go outside with him, anticipating a romantic tryst like the ones she read about in her romance novels.

But then her beloved Ryan shoved her into a van with two strangers and told her she was his ticket to easy street.  They’d held for her two days.  Contacted her parents and asked for one million dollars.  When her father hadn’t paid them fast enough, Ryan’s friend had sliced her cheek as he’d stood silently nearby.  She’d known then that she was going to die.

But she hadn’t.

Because someone or something had intervened.

She’d never been able to explain what had happened, but one by one, the men had left the van to investigate a strange noise.  Eventually she’d been left alone so long, she’d been able to work herself free from the rope they’d tied her with and open the van doors.

Free.  No trace of them anywhere.  Somehow she’d found her way home and her parents had covered the incident up.  Frankie had survived, but she’d been forever changed.

She knew instantly that the person demanding a favor from her was the person who’d helped her escape that night.  But she had no idea who he was or what he wanted her to stop Jake from doing.

“What’s wrong?”

Jake’s voice snapped her out of her trance.  She shook her head, and her gaze alternately bounced between the words “Ryan Turner,” “Jake Rios,” “request,” and “endangered.”

“Who is Ryan Turner?” Jake questioned.   When she didn’t answer, he crouched in front of her, swiveled her chair so she faced him, and gently grasped her arms.  His touch made her feel even more dizzy, and she longed to curl up in his arms.  But then she remembered last night, and how his heat and hardness had lulled her into a false sense of security.

But clearly she wasn’t safe.  Especially not now that she’d become involved with him.

Tell the governor to deny Jake Rios’s request or everyone you love will be endangered.

As if there was anyone she loved.  Her parents were dead.  She had no friends.  No children.  And the only man she’d let close to her in all this time had tossed her aside…

A chill seemed to climb its way through her heart and to her face until it settled along her scar.  Her breath hitched.  Vaguely, she sensed Dylan Cook step up to her desk.

“Frankie, listen to me,” Jake said, his tone low and metered.  Implacable.  “Who is Ryan Turner?”

Who was Ryan Turner?  He was a young man with sandy brown hair, light blue eyes, and a slight Southern drawl.  He had a slight cleft chin, strong white teeth that showed often because he liked to smile, and hands that had once made her feel cherished.  Ryan Turner was the boy she’d given her virginity to; the one she’d thought she would marry someday.  Only that obviously hadn’t happened.  She didn’t even know if he was dead or alive.

“Frankie—” Jake began again, but she shook her head.

The chill had spread from her scar throughout her entire body now.  She was so cold she doubted she’d ever feel warm again.  She shrugged off his touch and deliberately pushed her chair backwards, away from him.  “Don’t—don’t touch me,” she said softly.  “Ryan Turner is…”

Jake looked at her with narrowed eyes, his jaw clenched as if he didn’t like the way she’d pulled away from her.  Too bad.  He’d left her alone in her bed.  He’d made her feel loved when obviously that had just been an illusion.  She’d experienced that particular cruelty twice in her life now, but never again.

“Ryan Turner is the man who kidnapped me when I was seventeen years old, held me for ransom and then, when he didn’t get it, let his friend cut me.”

Horrified understanding spread across Jake’s face, as well as Dylan’s.

“Ryan Turner,” she continued, “is the man who gave me this scar.”

***

Frankie crossed her arms over her chest and stared daggers at the object of her displeasure.  When Jake failed to look up, Frankie glared even harder.  Finally, she gave up, sighed, and sank back into her office chair.  Everyone in the office was running to do his Lordship’s bidding.

Well, no one in the office was actually running.  Rather, they moved slowly but efficiently.  Taking apart her computer.  Dusting for prints.  And, she knew, doing the same thing to her car.  All because of that vaguely threatening email.

But vaguely threatening or not, no one, especially not the governor’s head of security, Jake Rios, was taking any chances.

Shivering slightly as she remembered the violent expression that had twisted his features after she’d dropped her little bombshell, Frankie stood up again and began pacing.  Her entire body was bristling with nerves.  Jake had yet to tell her what “request” he’d made to the governor and why someone would threaten her in order to make sure it was denied, but that was no surprise.  He was practically a stranger to her.  Cold and expressionless once again, he barely resembled the man who’d asked her out and taken her to bed.

Something between them had changed, and it couldn’t be coincidence that it had changed after she’d had sex with him and he’d drunk from her.  Maybe he hadn’t liked how her blood had tasted?  Or maybe that’s all he’d really wanted from her, and now that he’d gotten it, he was simply biding his time until he could wipe the entire encounter from her memory or something.  Vampires could do that kind of thing, couldn’t they?

A hysterical laugh burst out of her.  No matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she actually believed what Jake had told her about being a vampire.

And vampires could live forever, couldn’t they?  Was Jake Rios immortal?

Pacing wasn’t making her feel any better, and her imagination was clearly running away from her.  As had become her habit when he wasn’t looking, she let her gaze travel down Jake’s tall, powerful frame.

Frankie didn’t flatter herself that Jake’s quick response was due to any personal concern for her.  She wouldn’t mistake his attention for genuine interest in her again.  But because she worked so closely with the governor and traveled with him almost everywhere he went, a threat to her was a threat to the governor.  One that he apparently took seriously.

He scanned the room, not missing a thing, making sure every task was being done to his satisfaction.  Absently, she raised a hand to her marred cheek before she realized what she was doing.

Frankie snapped her hand down, and Jake glanced at her and frowned.  Before he could say or do anything, Eddie Johnson, the Press Secretary’s Senior Aide, walked in.   Frankie breathed a sigh of relief when Jake turned toward him.  Eddie shook his head, then walked up to Frankie to crouch down next to her.

He patted her hand.  “How are you holding up, Frankie?”

She felt Jake’s gaze on her again but kept her own on Eddie.  “Like a bother.  But I know we have to take the email seriously, even if it is just some kind of twisted joke.”

“Threatening everyone you love is more than a twisted joke, Ms. Stewart.”

Frankie jerked at the sound of Jake’s voice.  He was staring down at her impassively, his hands clasped in front of him and his back straight, like a soldier at the ready.  She felt an evil impulse to kick his shin or knee him in the nuts.  Anything to assure herself that the man, vampire or not, indeed had blood running through his veins.

“That may be.  But unlike you, some men actually get carried away by true passion, Mr. Rios.  Sometimes it makes them act impulsively when they have no intention of harming anyone.”

He narrowed his eyes at her jab.

“Heat of passion may be a defense to murder, but that doesn’t change the fact that someone dies, Ms. Stewart.  Passion is better controlled by reason, wouldn’t you agree?”

Since when did he bother controlling passion with reason, she wanted to snap.  But Eddie was looking at them with a puzzled expression on his face.  She stood and took his arm, leading him away from Jake.  “Look, Eddie, it’s not unexpected to get this kind of response given the governor’s new stance on green fuel, especially with the gala scheduled for tonight.  There are a lot of extremists out there who believe—”

His cell phone went off and he looked at the screen. “I’m sorry, Frankie.  I have to get this.  Just listen to what Jake says and do everything he tells you.”  Eddie rushed from the room.

To her surprise, Jake closed and locked the door behind Eddie before turning back to face her.  “This has nothing to do with the governor’s stance on green fuel,” Jake snapped.

Frankie cocked a brow.  “Then what does it have to do with?  And why would someone think I have any influence over whether the governor grants something you’ve requested, anyway?”

“Because,” he gritted out, his cool façade suddenly swept away like a quarter tossed into the sea.  He strode toward her, grabbed her arms, and jerked her into arms, heedless of the fact that Dylan and several others still watched.  “Obviously someone knows what you don’t, Frankie.  That you’re mine.  That you’ll always be mine.  And that I’ll do anything to ensure your safety.”

She was still sputtering at his response when his mouth slammed down on hers.  Immediately, his kiss infused her senses with desire so that she almost forgot the threatening e-mail and the fact he’d abandoned her in the middle of the night.

Almost.

Furious at his ability to sway her so easily, she ripped herself away from him and stumbled backwards.  He watched her intently, clenching his fists as if to stop himself from reaching out for her.  She glanced around the office, at the impassive faces of those around her, all security personnel who’d joined the governor’s officer after Jake had.  And she knew.

She turned to Dylan.  “You’re all vampires, aren’t you?”

He didn’t betray himself by so much as a flicker, but it was in his lack of response that she found her answer.

“They’re not all vampires, Frankie, but they know I’m one,” Jake said.

Of course.  Dylan couldn’t be a vampire; he actually walked around during the day.  But which of the others…  With a sob, she backed away from him.  From all of them.

“Frankie…” she heard Jake say, a warning in his voice.

Her thoughts were a conflicted mess, with part of her wanting to run into his arms and hide, and the other part of her wanting to run from the threat he represented.  Not any kind of physical threat, regardless of his blood-sucking tendencies, but a threat to her heart.  Because she knew what Jake didn’t.

Frankie didn’t have any loved ones that could be endangered by the person threatening her.  But if anyone was close to fitting the bill, it was Jake.

***

“She’s going to bolt,” Dylan said.

“I know,” Jake sighed, just before Frankie turned and ran towards the office door.

He beat her to it, blocking her path with inhuman speed.

An almost hysterical giggle burst out of her, and Jake told himself to be careful not to push her too far, too soon.  She’d already accepted his vampire nature with amazing aplomb, only to have to deal with that threatening email this morning.  Right after he’d left her bed without so much as a “thank you, ma’am.”

Of course, he hadn’t left her voluntarily, but she didn’t know that.

He’d tried to talk to her and explain, but she’d frozen him out.  He’d let her and that had been a mistake.  He’d still wanted to give her the illusion of control.  He’d wanted to give her space.  Then that damn email had shown up…

Someone knew of his plan to approach the governor about vampire integration.  But how?  And who?

Immediately, his gaze swept the individuals behind Frankie.  A few vampires.  All trusted friends.  Could one of them have betrayed him?

“Get out of my way,” Frankie ordered.

His gaze returned to her, and he felt his expression soften.  “Listen to me, baby—”

“Don’t call me that!”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the door, not caring who heard their conversation now.  Dylan and the others would have guessed by now that she was his mate.  That made the idea of one of them betraying him far less likely, because such an individual would know Jake would do anything to protect her.  “You didn’t mind when I called you that last night,” he taunted her, breathing a sigh of relief when the accusation and fear in her eyes transformed into rage.

He’d take her rage over her fear any day.

“How dare you talk to me about last night after you—”

“After I what, Frankie?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the others, but they’d all huddled together at the far side of the room, giving them at least the appearance of privacy.  She turned back to him.  “After you sucked my blood then left, that’s what.”

He nodded.  “I did, but not because I wanted to.”  He wasn’t surprised when she looked doubtful.

“Look, I know men haven’t given you cause to trust them, Frankie, but you can trust me.  I’ll never lie to you, I promise.”  He stepped up to her and raised his hand, cupping her scarred cheek despite her instinctive attempt to move away.  “I’ll never hurt you or betray you.”

She gasped and looked away, but he saw the tears that flooded her eyes.  Ryan Turner had been her first lover and, it turned out, a criminal even then. He’d used her and had stood by as his pal had sliced Frankie’s cheek.  It was a helluva lesson in betrayal for a seventeen-year-old girl to undergo, and he wanted to kill the bastard for daring to hurt her.  If he wasn’t already dead, that is.

Frankie had told him about how the men who’d kidnapped her had vanished into thin air.  Such a thing seemed impossible and, as such, Jake knew immediately a vampire had been involved.  A vampire who’d apparently done her a favor and was now asking for his own.  His run-in with the four vampires this morning merely confirmed it.

He couldn’t help wondering if Frankie’s three kidnappers and three of the four vampires he’d run into last night were the same individuals…  Had Frankie’s savior turned them?

“I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you, Francesca Marie Stewart.  I’ll kill Ryan Turner if you want me to.  Maybe even if you don’t want me to.”

Hesitantly, Frankie raised her hand and pressed it to the one he still used to cup her face.  He saw her yearning to trust him, to believe in him, on her face.   Taking her hand, he pressed a kiss into her palm and nodded.  “You can count on me, Frankie.  I’ll protect you.  And I’ll cherish you.  Forever.”

“Forever?” she asked, her tone clearly dubious.

He smiled.  “Take me back to your place and let me explain, okay?”

“The gala—”

“We don’t have to show up for almost an hour.  Let’s talk first.  Please?”

She bit her lip, and he saw the war that waged inside her.  He held his breath, relaxing when he saw acquiescence in her expression.  Frankie wanted so badly to act cold, but it just wasn’t in her nature.  When she cared for someone, and he knew she cared for him, she couldn’t help giving all of herself, no matter what had happened to her in the past or what ludicrous scenario a person threw at her.

“Okay,” she said.  “You can explain.  But then if I want you to leave…”

“Then I’ll leave,” Jake promised.  As a vampire, he wouldn’t be able to stay in her home if she wanted him gone anyway.  But that didn’t mean he’d leave her alone.  Public property was fair game and he’d hound her to his dying day until she trusted him again.

And loved him.

CHAPTER 7

When they got back to her apartment, Frankie brewed a pot of coffee and was handing him his cup when she suddenly frowned.  “I assumed…Do you drink coffee? You drank wine at the restaurant, but…”

He took a sip of the coffee but said nothing.

Holding her own cup, she took a seat on her sofa and sighed.  “It wasn’t wine, was it?”

Shaking his head, he took the seat next to her.  “I normally don’t drink bottled blood, but I knew…well…”  He flushed and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

Was he actually blushing? Something that felt very much like amusement ran through her.  “What is it?”

“I—I—figured I should be at my strongest for when we…”  His voice trailed off again.  “Damn it.”

She straightened and set her coffee cup down on the low table in front of her couch.  “For when we had sex?  Yes, Dylan told me you were planning on spending the night here.  Are you always right?”  She snorted.  “What a stupid question.  You’re a vampire.  You probably have mind control powers, don’t you?”

His expression gave her her answer.  “Oh my God!  You do! If you want something to happen, you can make it happen.  And I fell right into step, didn’t I?  I—”

Jake put down his own mug with a thud.  “I never used mind control on you, Frankie, and you damn well know it.  I told Dylan where to reach me and, yes, I believed we’d be spending the night together.  I was right.  You gave yourself to me of your own free will, because you wanted me as badly as I wanted you.”

She shot to her feet.  “So badly that you left!  You didn’t even bother calling me all day.”

Jake stood as well, towering over her, getting in her face.  “I couldn’t.”

“Oh right.  You also ‘didn’t want to leave’ me.  But you did.  So what happened?  Did you start having doubts about sleeping with someone from work?”

“No.”

“Were you worried that I’d start getting clingy, expecting things from you?”

“Stop it, Frankie—”

“No, wait, let me guess.  You forgot to mention that you have a girlfriend and needed to officially break up with her before you—”

“Damn it, Frankie,” he roared.  “I almost died!”

His words shut her up quick.  There was no trace of amusement on his face.  He looked completely serious.

“But—but if you’re a vampire—” she whispered.

“I am a vampire, Frankie.  I’m immortal but not indestructible.  Vampires can still die.”  With a groan, he sat, collapsed back into the sofa cushions, tipped back his head, and covered his eyes with his palms.   His heavy breaths rasped in the silence.  When he finally lowered his hands, he looked pale.  Tired.

Hesitantly, she sat beside him again.

Died.  He’d almost died?

Her heart practically shriveled as she tried to imagine such a horrible thing.  She placed a hand on his thigh, relieved when he didn’t jerk away.  “What—what happened?”

He stared at her, straightened, then took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb softly against her palm.  The gentle touch soothed her, and she couldn’t help herself—she reached up, pulled his face down, and kissed him.  He groaned and opened his mouth, enticing her tongue to rub against his for several long, desperate moments.  Finally, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers while he cupped her face with hands that shook.  She wrapped her fingers around his wrists, growing more and more scared by the second.  “Tell me,” she urged.

“After you fell asleep, I heard a sound outside your front door, someone coming up the steps.  I got up to investigate.  I saw him—I could tell by the way he smelled that he was a vampire.  He ran.  I followed him, only to be blindsided.  I had him subdued, but then three others showed up.  They killed the vampire I’d subdued rather than allow him to reveal what he wanted with you.  With us.”

Frankie gasped.  “They killed him…and then they almost killed you?”

He shook his head.  “That was their intent, but the sun was rising.  I made it to cover, but just barely.  I’d been exposed to the sun—even trace amounts of sunlight can kill a vampire—and it debilitated me.  I was out for hours, Frankie.  That’s why I didn’t answer any of your calls.  I woke just before sunset and, even though I’d dragged the dead vampire’s body into the building with me, hoping to find out his identity, I found nothing.  All I could think about was getting to the office and explaining to you what had happened.  I didn’t want you to think…well, what you obviously ended up thinking.”

Frankie winced and smiled ruefully.  “You mean that you’d used my body then tossed me aside like an overused dishrag.”

“Right,” Jake said.  “Do you still believe that?”

Frankie bit her lip.  He looked so uncertain.  So afraid her answer was going to be “yes.”  Instinctively, however, she knew he was telling the truth.  She shook her head and his expression immediately filled with relief.  “I did.  But I don’t.  Not anymore.”

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her so hard and so long she struggled to breath.  “Jake.  Jake!  I can’t breathe,” she laughed.

He pulled back.  “I’ll breathe for you,” he whispered, just before he claimed her mouth with another heart stopping kiss.

Several minutes later, he’d stripped her down to her underwear and was getting ready to divest her of those, too.  She moaned when he sucked her nipple through the delicate fabric of her bra, but flinched when he cupped her between her thighs.

He immediately gentled his touch and pulled back.  “Did I hurt you?”

“It’s just…I’m still a little sore.  From last night.”  She blushed, hating to admit the limitations of her human body but knowing he really would hurt her if he took her again.

He groaned, kissed her, but then pulled completely away.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly.  “Just be gentle—”

He shook his head.  “No, baby.  I don’t want to cause you any amount of pain and I need to get my strength back anyway.”

She reached out and smoothed her hand against the evidence of his desire.  “Seems like you’ve got plenty of strength left in you.”

He chuckled, carried her palm to his mouth, and kissed it.  “Tonight, after the gala, I’ll show you just how strong I am when I’m with you.  Only with you.”

She smiled, then jerked as the rest of his words sunk in.  “Oh my God.  The gala!”  She looked at the clock and shot to her feet.  “I completely forgot!  We’re supposed to be there in twenty minutes!”  She ran around, searching for an appropriate outfit and getting her stuff together, then stopped to glare at him.  He hadn’t moved.  In fact, he’d stretched out on her sofa, his hands folded lazily behind his head.  “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

“And miss you running around in your underwear?  Not a chance.”

***

They arrived at the Capitol Park Hotel thirty minutes later.  Jake checked in with Dylan while Frankie made sure there weren’t any last minute emergencies with the decorators or caterers.

I did this, Frankie thought as she glanced around the elaborately decorated banquet room.  She hadn’t set everything up, but she’d been the one to instruct the staff on the smallest of details.  They’d done a wonderful job.

Everything was perfect.  Everything was in its place.

A sense of pride filled her and she glanced at her watch.  Within the hour, there’d be two hundred guests filling these tables, each signing a check for a thousand dollars or more in exchange for some filet mignon and a commitment by the governor to continue his green agenda.

“It looks like a St. Patrick’s Day party gone crazy in here.”

Frankie frowned, but instantly smoothed her expression before she turned to face Thad Morris, the governor’s Communications Director.  “You know what I always say,” she said in a mild, unshakeable tone.  “When it comes to asking people for money, subtlety is best left on the doorstep.  The only way these people are going to give us what we want is if they truly believe in the governor’s dedication to going green.  Think of the tablecloths as a subliminal message.

Morris grinned good-naturedly and planted a heavy hand on Frankie’s shoulder.  Although she stiffened, Frankie refrained from throwing the offending appendage off of her.

She glanced around for Jake, but he was still talking to Dylan.  Leaning in close, Morris whispered, “If anyone can pull it off, you can, eh Frankie?”

She smiled stiffly and nodded in silent agreement, breathing in a sigh of relief when Morris slowly withdrew his hand then walked across the room to join the governor and several other men.

Just then, Jake stepped into her line of vision. Her body reacted the way it always did when she caught sight of him.  With longing.

Him.  I want him.

She’d been so angry with him, so hurt all day, only to learn that he’d almost died.  Renewed panic made her tremble.  She could have lost him!  Forever. And then she’d gotten that e-mail at work and he’d taken it so seriously.

Fear crept inside her, chilling her skin.  Frantically, she pushed her fear away.  She couldn’t let a vaguely worded email paralyze her.  She was here with Jake.  That meant she was safe.  They both were.

She’d been a fool to let a few aches stop them from making love again.  True, he’d promised to give her his full attention after the gala, but she just couldn’t wait that long to have him again.

Things were set in here and they had time before the guests began to arrive.  Perhaps they could sneak out for a while.  Get a room… Because she wanted—no, she needed to feel his hands on her, his mouth on hers, and the beat of his heart against her own.

Just then, Jake looked up and his gaze met hers.  He grinned and winked, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Only he didn’t.

He had no idea how wicked her thoughts were or how wicked she could be, at least where he was concerned.  Maybe it was time to show him…

She looked around until she saw Dylan.  She supposed she should apologize to the man.  And then she’d ask him for a little favor…

CHAPTER 8

Frankie was up to something, Jake thought, and he was pretty sure it was something he was going to like.  A lot.

They’d barely checked in with the rest of the staff when Frankie had walked up to him and, calm as could be, slipped him a room key.  Then she’d whispered, “Ten minutes,” before slipping out of the ballroom.

He’d been hard ever since.

He’d literally counted the seconds while talking to Dylan.  His friend had assured him that everything was running smoothly, that they had more than enough men to handle security, and that he’d cover for Jake for thirty minutes or so until the guests arrived.

Not as much time as he wanted, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.  And since Jake’s body was begging him for another turn at Frankie, he’d take what he could get.

When he’d entered the hotel room, the shower was running and there was a note on the lavish king-size bed.  Now, propped up against several pillows, he could still hear the sound of running water through the bathroom door.  She’d drawn the curtains closed, casting the room in soft candlelight.

She’d been so angry with him earlier and he thanked his lucky stars that she’d believed him about what had happened.  They hadn’t talked about the email she’d received since they’d left the office.  She clearly wanted to forget about the threatening email and shove Ryan Turner back into the neat little compartment in her mind; Jake was perfectly willing to give her that, at least for the moment.  Eventually they’d have to face the threat head on, but for now Dylan was handling things and Frankie was in the safest place possible—with him.

In her written instructions, she’d ordered him to lie down on her bed, wait until he heard the water in the bathroom turn off, then look inside her nightstand drawer.  She’d mentioned she was going to slip into something far less comfortable, and that he was going to like it.

Closing his eyes, he imagined her poured into some nasty lingerie.  Perhaps a black leather corset that pushed her breasts up so high her nipples would be completely visible.  He’d have her rouge them a deep red so that when they were finished making love he’d have scarlet streaks marking his chest, his face, his dick—wherever she rubbed against him.

Tit for tat.  Because he’d mark her, too—just like he’d done last night.  He hadn’t gone crazy—he’d left only a slight bruise on her neck, which she’d been able to cover with make-up.  Part of him, however, longed to mark her so thoroughly that no amount of make-up could disguise it.  He wanted others to see that she was his.

The water shut off.

He sat up in anticipation, shrugged off his jacket, then slipped off his weapon and put it inside the nightstand drawer she’d mentioned.  Then he stared at the handcuffs and velvet blindfold inside the drawer, took them out, placed them on the bed, and stripped bare.

She wanted to restrain him.  With metal cuffs, no less.  They weren’t silver so they didn’t burn his skin, but he still had to push away his natural reluctance anyway.  He’d never let a lover restrain him.  He’d let her do it because she was his mate, but it wouldn’t be easy for him.

He eased himself back on the bed.

Exhaling, he closed his eyes and pictured her body, wet and rosy from the shower.   Wrapping his palm around his dick, he squeezed and rubbed himself.  It felt good but it wasn’t enough.  He wanted her hands on him.  Her mouth.  He wanted to drink from her again.

The bathroom door opened and… fuck…  She wore a teddy.  Certainly not the one he’d imagined; this one was even better.  It was a frothy confection of virginal white lace and hooker styling.  The white garter belt and stockings she wore made her slim legs look a mile long.  Her breasts were covered, just a hint of curves visible above her neckline, but the cut-out at her crotch showed the faintest glimmer of pink, moist flesh.

He instantly grew harder, his dick towering towards his belly and quivering with eagerness.

“I’m glad you waited to let me do the honors,” she whispered.   She walked toward him, trailing her fingers across his naked flesh.  He instantly resisted her attempts to place his hands above his head, but she pushed harder, using leverage and the distraction of a kiss until he forced his arms to relax.

He felt the cool, hard press of metal around his wrists.  His arms stretched taut as she secured them to the bed, only the slight shaking of her hands revealing her nervousness.

He gritted his teeth at the way her lace teddy rubbed against his skin and nipples.  It gave him what he wanted.  Contrast.  Hard and soft.  Cold and hot.  Raging awareness of the here and now that was addictive.

He stared into her eyes.  His muscles tightened when she rubbed against him again.  He groaned and marveled once more at her increased assertiveness.

Last night, she’d let him lead her.  Today, she was doing the driving.  Whether it was because she was still pissed at waking up alone or because she was testing his limits, wondering if her aggression would drive him away, he didn’t know.

He didn’t care.  He’d take everything she dished out and love it.

“That’s a good boy,” she whispered.  “You’re such a big, strong vampire.  So capable.  So concerned for everyone’s well-being, including mine.  I’m going to reward you for that.  It’ll be so good to let go of your control, won’t it baby?  So good.”

She reached into a dresser drawer and took out some silk scarves.  Quickly, she moved down his body and tied his feet to the frame.  Moving lazily, she got on the bed, a naughty smile quirking one corner of her mouth.  She crawled toward him and then, shifting so she presented her ass to him, she sucked his cock into her mouth, concentrating on the sensitive head.

Liquid-tight heat surrounded him.  He closed his eyes and moaned.  For a second, he couldn’t help himself—he reached out with his mind and thought about caressing the globes of her buttocks, knowing she would feel it just as surely as if he’d touched her.  She mewled and squeezed him with her hand, milking him until agony pierced his balls.  He punched his hips up, plunging his aching flesh deeper into her mouth.  She sucked harder, and he grimaced when the pressure in his balls grew so intense, he knew he was going to come.  Then she pulled back.

He growled and strained against his binds. “What the hell—?”

She stood and slowly peeled off her stockings, then the white teddy.  “That’s some…trick.  Touching me with just your mind.  Any other talents I should know about?”

“Plenty more.  Release me and I’ll show you.”

She laughed.  “I don’t think so.”  Picking up the velvet blindfold, she wrapped it around his cock and squeezed softly.

He arched into her fist and hissed.  “Take me,” he commanded.  “Take me inside you.”

She shook her head, her defiance driving him crazy.

“I can make you,” he threatened, even though he had no intention of doing so.  “Mind control, remember?”  He lowered his voice.  “Is there anything you want me to make you do, Frankie?  Anything dirty that you’ve been too ashamed to try?  Because if I make you do it, then you can’t be blamed, can you?  You can just lie back and enjoy it.”

Her breathing escalated.  “It?” she squeaked out.

He shrugged.  “You tell me.  What would it be?  You want me to tie you down?  Spank you?  Bring in another man?  Come inside your ass?  I can do it all.  Whatever you want.  However you want.”

“However I want?” she said

He nodded.   “So what’s it going to be?”

After a slight hesitation, she straddled him once more.  Then, breasts swaying against his chest, she unlocked the handcuffs from the bed.  Immediately, he nudged her away to undo the scarves at his feet.  He turned toward her, waiting.

She opened her arms to him.  “I want you to make love to me.   Slowly.  Tenderly.  As if we have all the time in the world.”

He felt a grin split his face.  “That sounds perfect,” he said.

And all the time in the world was exactly what they had, Jake thought.

CHAPTER 9

Frankie had tried to play the femme fatale.  She’d had fantasies about using cuffs on Jake ever since she’d met him, and she’d eagerly seized what might have been her last opportunity to fulfill that fantasy.  She’d been so excited about what would happen next that she hadn’t even hesitated to ask Dylan for his pair of cuffs.  The fact that this encounter might help her forget that damn email would just be the icing on the cake.

But as exciting as it had been to don her white teddy and handcuff Jake to the bed and drive him crazy with her mouth, she’d quickly grown tired of the game.  When he’d talked of forcing her to accept what she really wanted, she’d realized that what she really wanted was quite simple.  What she wanted most wasn’t about bondage or kink or games.  Sure, that could be fun every once in awhile.  But since their future together was uncertain and a mad man was stalking her, what she wanted most was pure, honest emotion and a true connection with a man she desired and cared for.

She wanted to be made love to, and she wanted to make love to Jake.

And he seemed honestly willing and capable of giving her that.

Although the email had scared her, and although the knowledge that he’d chased someone down last night scared her as well, she wasn’t going to dwell on either fact.  She was going to take this opportunity to be with Jake while she could, because who knew?  When they were done, he might vanish again, this time for good.

The thought of him vanishing again scared her so much that she shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, as if she could keep him from leaving through sheer desire.  He laughed and hugged her back.  Eased away and tilted her chin up.  “Hey.  Easy there.  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Frankie.  You’re trembling.”

“I’m just…I’m just looking forward to all the slowness.  And tenderness.”  She couldn’t help looking away at the last second and she felt his gaze on her.  He knew she was still lying.  He was going to push.  Question her about—

She gasped when he bent and placed a gentle kiss behind her ear.

“I haven’t forgotten.  Tenderly,” he said as he pushed her breasts together.  “And slowly,” he chanted as he moved from one nipple to the other, alternately kissing them with closed lips and sucking them with a firm, steady pressure.

Sighing, she buried her fingers in his hair, stroking the silky strands.

Slowly and tenderly, he moved down her body, kissing each of her ribs, then languidly licking her belly button until she grew ticklish and laughed.

Slowly and tenderly, he planted a kiss on her inner thighs, and then on each of her knees, before settling himself between them and placing her legs over his shoulders.

Slowly and tenderly, he licked her, spearing his tongue against her clit and inside her hot core while he looked up at her.  Occasionally, he paused to call her “beautiful” or “sweet” or “darling.”  But she discovered “precious” was her favorite endearment.

“You’re precious,” he crooned.  “So precious to me, darling.”

He made her feel precious.

And even though he never said he loved her, she realized that’s what he was doing—he was making love to her, just like she’d asked.  She felt it in the way he held and kissed her.  She saw it in the way he looked at her.  And she heard it in the ragged groan that escaped him when he buried his shaft deep and snugly inside her.

She responded in kind.  She loved him with her body, her mouth, and her eyes.  She willed him to read her thoughts and feel the love inside her.

But she couldn’t say the words.  Because he hadn’t said them and because it was far too early for such declarations and because he was a vampire who was going to live forever and had probably loved so, so many different women during his lifetime.

But she loved him nonetheless.

When her body found release, shaking from the force and intensity of the pleasure he’d given her, he slowly and tenderly told her that he wasn’t done.

And then he started all over again.

***

They made it back to the ballroom just as the initial VIP guests were arriving.

“Stay close to the governor,” Jake said.  “I have to see to some things and I need to know you’re safe.”

“I will,” she promised.

With a quick nod, he turned and took several steps away from her.  Abruptly, he stopped, turned, strode back to her, then pulled her up for a quick kiss.  It left her stunned and breathless, but she was smiling when he walked away, heading to the area where security was checking people in.

Smoothing her hair back and trying to calm her thudding heart, Frankie scanned the room.  She groaned at seeing the governor talking to Thad Morris.

The last thing she wanted was to chit-chat with Morris again, but she didn’t want Jake to worry, either.  Taking a deep breath, she headed across the room.  She froze when she heard shouts behind her.

“Stop him!”

“Bitch!  Wasting taxpayers’ money on crap like green fuel!”

“Restrain the other one—“

“Sir, get back here—”

“Frankie, move!”

That last shout sounded like Jake.  Frankie whirled around just in time to see a linebacker of a man rushing toward her.  He was huge, almost as wide as he was tall—or at least that’s what he looked like to her panicking mind—with a shaved head, wrinkled clothes, and a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

He was almost on her, his hands reaching out, so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath.  “Jake!”

Turning slightly as if that would prevent the man from barreling into her, she waited for an impact that never came.  The floor beneath her feet shook, and she glanced down.  The bald man was lying face-first on the ground, his arms wrenched behind his back.  He groaned when Jake yanked them up even higher and pressed his knee into the man’s back, but his gaze was on Frankie.

“Are you okay?” he barked.  “Did he hurt you?  Touch you?”

Frankie shook her head.  “No.  I’m fine.”

Dylan reached Jake’s side and, obviously having acquired another set of cuffs, restrained her would-be attacker.  “Take him in,” Jake said, then immediately rose and rushed to Frankie.  He took her in his arms.

“I think I lost a hundred years of life when I saw him going for you.”

“Who is he?  How did he get past security?”

“There were two of them.  Said they were part of the governor’s ‘ordinary citizens’ table.  Dylan questioned his friend’s background check, and this one made a run for it.”

“Are they…”

He nodded, his expression turning even grimmer.  “They’re vampires, but neither are part of the group I fought last night.  Plus, they’re both wasted, which slowed them down.  I need to question him.  Find out if he was hired by the same person who hired the others.”

“You need to leave?  Now?”  She tried to keep the tremor of fear from her voice but didn’t quite succeed.  She wanted to stay with him.  She didn’t think she’d ever feel safe outside his arms again.  But he had a job to do.

He rubbed her arms and stared at her.  Then he frowned.  Then he turned to Dylan.  “Dylan, I want you to take the lead on the interrogation.  I’ll check in with you by phone in the morning.”

Dylan nodded.  “Got it.  I’ll talk to you then.”  After roughly jerking the bald man to his feet, Dylan led him away.  Over his shoulder, the man yelled, “He’s not through with you.  If it’s not me, he’ll send someone else after you, Frankie.  You owe him.  You owe him!”

Frankie took a step toward him.  “Who?  Who do I owe?”

But the man was gone and Jake’s hand on her shoulder kept her from going after him. She chewed her lip, torn between vulnerability and practicality.  “It’s okay,” she told him.  “If you need to go right now and talk to him, I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head.  “No.  You need me and, when you need me Frankie, I’ll always be here for you.  Dylan’s a good cop.  He figured out something was fishy with the background checks.  He’ll start the investigation and then I can jump in.  Right now, let’s get you out of here.”

“But the gala—“

The governor, surrounded by his bodyguards, walked up to them.  “It’s okay.  You two get out of here.  Take the day off tomorrow, Frankie.  We’ll be fine here.”

Jake shook his hand.  “Thank you, Sir. I’ll talk to my men, but Tony will be in charge.  I’ll make sure Frankie gets home safe and stays that way.”

The governor smiled.  “Yes.  You do that, Jake.  And take as much time as you need.”

CHAPTER 10

Jake drove Frankie home, stripped them both, then held her in his arms while he smoothed her hair and showered her with kisses.  Although she tried to initiate more, he shushed her and said, “Just let me take care of you.  Rest, baby.  I’ll tire you out later, I promise.”

Feeling so safe and warm, Frankie immediately started to drift to sleep, but she forced her eyes open to ask, “Do you—do you think it was a vampire who saved me from Ryan and the others?”

He caressed her face with his knuckles.  This time, she didn’t even flinch when he touched her scar.  “Yes, I do.  It makes sense, especially because two sets of vampires have come after you in such a short time period.  Whoever he is, though, he must know who I am, and as such he knows you’re going to be well protected.  If he tries something again, we’ll be ready.”

“But why would he save me, only to try and hurt me now?”

“I don’t know, baby.  I’m not entirely sure he’s trying to hurt you.  His message didn’t threaten you with physical harm, remember?  And the vampire who came after you tonight?  He was drunk.  Vampires don’t have a high tolerance for alcohol.  Who knows if he even knew what he was saying or doing.”

“Do you—do you think Ryan was a vampire?”

It was a question she’d been dreading asking, but she could see he wasn’t surprised by it.  “I don’t know.  There’s a chance if he wasn’t before he kidnapped you, that he was afterwards.  Now hush.  Sleep.  We’ll figure things out.  I promise.”

His promise was all the assurance she needed.

When she woke, she was still wrapped in his arms, but he was on the phone with Dylan.  She listened to him finish his conversation while stroking her palms across his chest.  When he hung up, he kissed her mouth, then both of her palms.

“How about we put these hands to better use?” he teased, trying to draw her hands down toward his straining erection.

She shook her head and pulled away.  “Tell me what Dylan said first.”

Jake groaned and rolled her underneath him so quickly she laughed.  “I need more kissing first,” he demanded.

Lowering his head, he ate at her mouth, using his tongue and teeth and lips until she’d almost forgotten why he wasn’t trying to get inside her.  Almost.  “Hey, not fair.”  She moved her mouth from side to side, evading his kisses.  “Tell me what Dylan said.”

In a cunning move, he swooped in for one last smacking kiss, then he sat up and faced her.  “Okay, so here’s what we know so far.  Nothing.  The vampires who tried to get into the governor’s gala are Michael Bishop and Andy Stall.  They don’t have a criminal record and they’ve denied trying to kidnap or hurt you.  Since they were intoxicated and unable to fight off another vampire’s probings the way they normally would, my men tried mind control on them.  They couldn’t access their thoughts or control their actions, which means there’s a very powerful vampire who’s put a lock on their minds.”

“But the one man…he said I owed someone something.  That proves he’s working for the same person who sent me that email.”

“I believe so, but he says it was just drunken blathering and that he doesn’t remember even saying it anyway.”

“So that’s it?”

“For now.  Dylan’s called in someone who’s particularly good at unlocking minds.   She’ll arrive in a couple of hours.”

“She?  So there are female vampires?”

“A few.  But no one as intoxicatingly beautiful as you.”

She snorted.  “Right.”

He faked a wounded look.  “You don’t believe me?  Then I obviously haven’t done my job.  So…”

Slowly, he lowered his face and placed a gentle kiss on each of her eyebrows, her nose, and then her chin.

“So…” she urged as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“So how about I give slow and tender another try?  I’m not sure I got it quite right the first time.  Or the second… Or the third…”

She laughed and pulled him into her arms, forcing away her worries about IOUs and who might or might not want to hurt her.   When she pulled back to look at him, she gasped.  His eyes were blazing with emotion.

“I love you, Francesca Marie Stewart.”

Her lips trembled and she smiled, amazed at how her entire world had changed in such a short amount of time.  “I—I love you, too,” she said.

“Enough to be mine forever?”

She blinked, immediately understanding his choice of words was deliberate.  “Is that possible?  Eternity?  Can you make me…”

“Yes, I can.  You’ll turn once we bond.  If you—if you grant me that honor.”

Bond.  It sounded perfect.  “Will it hurt?”

He smiled.  “Not at all.  In fact, I’ve heard if you take what we’ve experienced in bed together and double it, that just might equal a portion of the pleasure we’ll taste during the bonding ceremony.”

“No way,” she breathed.

“Way.”  His smile dimmed.  “But being a vampire isn’t always easy.  Right now, we have to stay hidden.  There are those who try to destroy us.  Vampires have been persecuted for centuries.  I’m trying hard to change that, but…”

She tucked her knees under herself and bounced on the bed.  “That’s what your request is, isn’t it?  Why you approached the governor in the first place?  You’re trying to find an advocate who’ll help?”

“That’s right.”

“I have connections as well, you know.  Powerful connections.  And my father left me lots of money.  If it’ll help…”

“Thank you, Francesca, but no.  This isn’t about money or what you can do to advance my cause.  I want you because my heart and soul need you.  You’re my true mate.  The one I’ll love for eternity.  The one who’ll keep me strong so I can do what I need to do, and be happy doing it.”

“Sounds like the best job I’ll ever have.  Because I love you so much, Jake, and I always will.”

“You’ve saved me, Frankie.  You’ve made life worth living.  Whatever we face in the future, we’ll face together.”

“So long as we spend lots of time together—in bed and out—I’ll be happy.”

EPILOGUE

Francesca Marie Stewart and Jacob La Costa Rios formally bonded together in a ceremony that vamps across the nation lauded as one-of-a-kind.  Although Jake refused to let anyone witness their physical bonding, he and Frankie opened up their spacious new home the next day to vampires Jake loved and trusted.

The rumor was that Frankie had worn a form fitting, red silk, vintage Chanel suit that made her fiery tresses shine like flames and that, even though she’d worn her hair down, she’d secured one side with a ruby encrusted comb so that her scar, as well as the bite marks on her neck, were displayed for all to see.  Female vampires everywhere sighed, recounting the way Jake had often paused whatever he was doing to kiss his bride on the lips, as well as on her marred cheek and marked throat.

Regretting the need to leave out others, Jake circulated an announcement to the rest of the vampire community.  In it, he apologized for having to limit the affair, but explained that threats had been made against Frankie and that, of course, his top priority was keeping her safe.  In the circulation, he vowed to continue his efforts to advocate for vampire integration and challenged any individual, vampire or human, to try and stop him.

“Challenge accepted, Mr. Rios,” Ronald Lassiter murmured.

He’d held back, when clearly he needed to be more aggressive.  For now, he’d let Frankie and Jake bask in their recently wedded bliss.  Instead, he’d concentrate on the female who was attempting to break the minds of the two buffoons he’d hired to scope out the governor’s gala.

He knew Jake had to suspect a vampire had helped Frankie escape her kidnappers so long ago.

Would he figure out that Chelsea Morgan, the female vampire brought in to help him with his investigation, was none other than that very same vampire’s daughter?

Time would tell.

THE END

To read more about whether Jake’s hopes for vampire integration come to fruition, read the next installment in the Beyond Human Novellas, coming soon.

To Pre-Order Virna DePaul’s debut single-title, Chosen By Blood, go to www.Amazon.com or http://www.barnesandnoble.com.  Please read an excerpt below.

If you like sexy contemporary romance, check out This Magic Moment by Virna DePaul.  Thank you for your support!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Virna DePaul was an English major in college and—despite a passion for Shakespeare, Broadway musicals, and romance novels—somehow ended up with a law degree. For ten years, she was a criminal prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office. Now, she’s thrilled to be writing stories about complex individuals (fully human or not) who are willing to overcome incredible odds for love. She lives with her family in Northern California. She loves to hear from readers. Visit her at http://www.virnadepaul.com.

EXCERPT

Please read an excerpt of Virna DePaul’s upcoming paranormal romantic suspense novel Chosen By Blood (Book 1 in the Para-Ops Novels) (Berkley Publishing [May 2011] Available for Pre-Order now on Amazon.com and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

A firm knock interrupted them. Muscles pumped as if for battle, Knox slowly stood. He didn’t turn, not even when Mahone called for his visitor to come in.

“I came as soon as I—”

It didn’t matter that he was in Mahone’s office, that Mahone was watching him, or that he and Mahone had just been discussing something as important as his clan.

He hadn’t been in the same room with her in years, but his body’s reaction to her presence was the same as it always was: instantaneous.

Her scent hit him like a sledgehammer and was followed by a wave of longing so intense it almost felled him. His skin prickled and his fangs ached as he fought to keep them sheathed. He couldn’t stop the hardening of his dick, however, or the urge he had to grab her and transport her to the Dome. To his bed. To someplace where duty and time dissolved, and he could just be with her.

She didn’t gasp or take a breath. Her words simply stopped. Something rare crystallized inside him.

Had she gotten over him? Had she found someone else?

Another emotion—pure, undiluted rage—filled him at the thought of her with another. It made everything else, every other emotion he’d ever felt, seem innocuous. Made him want to rip off his clothes—the luxurious symbols of civility that he normally loved—and make her see him as he truly was—primal, lethal, and fucking ready to prove to her that she was his, once and for all.

Instead, he took a deep breath and willed himself to calm. He opened his mind. Just a hair. Just enough to sense the desire buried beneath her resolve. Enough to dismiss that foreign emotion of fear and tamp down his rage.

When he was assured of his control, Knox slowly turned and faced the human female he’d wanted to bite from the moment he’d seen her. She was dressed conservatively in a white oxford shirt and navy blue pants, her auburn hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Taller than most females, she was neither delicate nor bulky. While most would consider her average in looks and sex appeal, Knox saw what most didn’t.

He saw the strength in her supple body.

He saw her courage, her compassion, and her integrity.

And at that moment, he saw the fiery sensuality that flared in her eyes before she banked it and stared at him with a practiced look of mild curiosity.

Felicia had always tried to hide her attraction to him, but she’d always failed. Nevertheless, he’d abided by her wishes and kept his distance.

But not anymore.

Not-the-fuck-anymore.

He didn’t speak the words, but given the way her eyes widened, she’d guessed at his thoughts. Knox dipped his head in a courtly bow. “Hello, Felicia. Imagine running into you here.”

END OF EXCERPT

EXCERPT

Please read an excerpt of Venice Vampyr, a erotic vampire novella by Tina Folsom:

Why this raven haired beauty could infuriate him like this, Raphael had no idea. Yet, she did. The moment he’d heard the gondolier say that she’d been the one who’d jumped into the frigid waters to save him, he’d felt like an ice cold hand had squeezed his heart. For the first time in his life, true fear had traveled through his body. Fear for another person. Fear of what could have happened to her.

And when the gondolier had told him how long Isabella had stayed under water and how hard it had been to pull them up, all he could think of was paddling her stubborn ass to teach her a lesson so she would never again put herself in the path of danger like she had.

“Damn it, woman, if I were your husband I would make sure you never jumped into another icy canal and risked your life.” Yes, if Raphael were her husband, there’d be a hell lot of things he’d do, starting with –

“And how would you try to achieve that, you arrogant, ungrateful man!” Isabella spat and pushed off his hands.

Arrogant? Maybe. But ungrateful – no, Raphael wasn’t ungrateful for having been given a second chance. But he was incensed about her apparent lack of concern for her own safety. As for keeping her from jumping into canals to rescue drowning strangers? He had just the right remedy for that.

With one swoop, he pulled her into his embrace and ripped the dressing gown from her grip, dropping it to the floor. “When I’m done with you, you won’t have any energy left to swim in dirty canals and save undeserving strangers.”

His mouth captured her plump lips. She’d parted them, clearly to voice her protest, a fact he now used to his advantage. Greedily, Raphael swept his tongue between her lips and dove into her. The delicious caverns of her mouth greeted him with the intoxicating flavor of an aroused woman.

He’d noticed that he didn’t leave her cold, and it pleased him to no end. He wasn’t taking a shrinking violet to bed. No, the hot-blooded woman in his arms knew full well what would happen now – or at least her body did. And her body didn’t protest anymore. On the contrary, her arms came around his neck, a hand slipping into his hair as she held him closer.

Raphael felt her generous breasts crushed against his chest with only her thin chemise and his own clothes impeding a closer contact. She was soft in all the right places and warm, so deliciously warm. He felt her heat seep into his body. Hunger attacked him, hunger for Isabella’s body and her blood. He tampered it down, not wanting to scare her. If he wanted more than just one night, he’d have to hide his blood lust from her. And he wanted more than just this one night.

The moment she stroked her tongue against his, a bolt akin to a lightning strike hit him. A deep rumble started in his chest, his body wanting to give voice to what she did to him. When she stroked against him a second time, he freed his mouth from hers and let out the moan that had threatened to choke him.

END OF EXCERPT - novel available in e-book format and Paperback from Amazon.com and other online retailers