“I’m so screwed,” Dusti whispered, staring at pure blackness around her. The sun had gone down while she’d slept. The woods were unusually quiet with the exception of the breeze stirring leaves.
A soft crunch noise made Dusti blindly snap her head in the direction of the sound. She hugged her waist hard, pressing tighter against the log, praying it wasn’t some animal on the hunt for an easy meal. She silently swore to fight if anything tried to eat her.
Exhaustion had caught up with her while she’d tried to get warm and she’d dozed off. That little nap had turned out to be a mistake, one she only realized now. It was impossible to even see her hand in front of her face. The treetops above entirely blocked the moon, if it was even out. Her plan of climbing a tree wouldn’t happen until morning. She’d even debated on stumbling around in the dark but fear had kept her in place.
She imagined falling into a hole or worse, off a cliff. All the unseen dangers filled her thoughts. She could stumble right into a nest of sleeping snakes. Or a bear. She shuddered, hugging her waist a little tighter. Animals wouldn’t have to hunt for her if she found them first. It was best to just stay still and quiet.
No other sounds scared her so she started to relax. Her head lowered to rest on the tops of her drawn-up knees, her breath the only source of warmth against her chest where she trapped it there with her bent body. She was cold but she doubted she’d freeze to death overnight. Things could be worse.
“I should have climbed a tree,” she muttered aloud, the sound of her voice her only comfort.
“That would have been a good plan,” a deep voice stated from behind her.
Dusti cried out, startled, and nearly toppled over.
Firm hands suddenly curled around her shoulders and a big body eased down along her back, his thighs caging her body. “Easy. It’s Drantos.”
“Damn it! You scared the shit out of me.” She twisted though, grabbing hold of him. “I’m so glad you’re here. You’re alive!” She latched onto one of his arms. The warmth of his skin made her shiver again. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you faster. You stayed in the river longer than I anticipated so it took time to track you.”
She managed to wiggle enough to get to her knees, leaning heavily against his chest. Warmth radiated off him as if he were a living heater.
“You’re freezing cold.”
“Why aren’t your clothes wet?” She touched his chest to assure she hadn’t imagined the dry feel of his shirt.
“One of us got to use that raft I built. Strip down now, take it all off. I’ll give you my shirt. I had to unfortunately leave the jacket behind.”
“Why?”
“Remove your wet clothes, Dusti. They’re just making you colder.”
She only hesitated for a second. The lure of something dry against her skin was too much of a temptation to resist. It took effort to back away from him and rise to her feet. She instantly missed being against him. His big hands helped her tug the still very damp clothing from her body. The chilly wind seemed a bit colder without the thin barrier when she stood naked. Drantos tugged his warm shirt over her head.
“Can you see anything?”
“Yes,” he admitted softly. “Don’t worry. You’re just an outline and I’m not enjoying it as much as I wish I could. Are you okay? I don’t smell blood.”
“I’m frozen and terrified but fine. What happened? Is that thing still out there? Is it coming after us?”
“He’s no longer a threat. I handled it.”
She allowed him to pull her into his very warm arms as his words sank in. His bare chest radiated wonderful heat that had her hugging him as tightly as she could. His big body felt heavenly while he cradled her against his front.
“Handled it?”
“Yes.”
“You got away from that thing?”
“You could say that. That particular enforcer of your grandfather’s won’t be a problem to us again.”
“How? You grew claws, didn’t you?” Her mind was fraught with questions and her sanity depended on getting answers she could understand. “Drantos, is that what you look like when you shift?”
“Yes. I told you what my people are.” He rubbed her back. “That really was one of your grandfather’s enforcers. It’s what we look like in our other form.”
She shivered again but it had nothing to do with being cold anymore. “That didn’t look like a wolf.” She clutched at him tighter. “You don’t look that scary, do you? That thing looked like some kind of hell beast. It’s because he’s evil, right? I totally want to believe that.”
“Damn it, Dusti. Don’t make things up to account for what you don’t want to believe. We’re half-breeds. Part Vampire and Lycan. It’s why we don’t look like wolves. We’re more.” He sighed, sounding frustrated. “Let’s talk about this later. I’m just glad you’re safe. Right now we need to find shelter and get you warm. We’re in no immediate danger.”
“How?” She wasn’t really sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“How am I going to find shelter?”
“How did you deal with that creature?”
He said nothing.
“What happened?” Dusti wasn’t about to let the subject go. “How did you get away from that thing?”
He took a deep breath. “Do you really want to know?”
“No. I’m just talking because I love the sound of my voice.” She rubbed her face on his warm chest. “Answer the question.”
“Let’s find somewhere more comfortable to get you warm. We’re too in the open here. We’ll talk then.”
“Fine.”
He lifted her without warning. “Wrap around me and hold on, sweetheart.”
She didn’t chastise him for the endearment. Her arms wound around his neck and her legs hugged his waist. She should have been embarrassed that her bare pussy pressed against his lower stomach but she was too cold and tired to care. His shirt hung low enough that it covered her ass when his arms shifted their hold to shelf her butt. He started to walk.
Dusti dozed in his arms until sometime later, when he adjusted both their bodies to sit down. She had to release her hold around his hips. He cradled her on top of his lap and kept her firmly against his chest, with his arms around her in a hug.
“This is the best I can do. We can’t have a fire.”
She tensed. “Are there more of my grandfather’s things looking for us?”
“They are men, Dusti. Not things. And probably, but that’s not the only reason we can’t have a fire. I forgot to grab the lighter I used when I had to abandon my jacket. I had other, more serious things on my mind at the time. I’d borrow one from Kraven but he seemed to have lost his jacket too.”
“You saw your brother? Is Bat okay?”
“She’s fine. Kraven ran into trouble, too, and I found him first while I was searching for you. We took care of Decker’s men but more could be close by.”
“Are you sure she’s okay?”
“Your sister and my brother are fine. They’re nearby. They had to cross the river as well, and I just brought us closer to them.”
“Where are they?” She stirred in his arms, blindly looking around. “I need to see Bat. I want to talk to her.”
“She can’t hear you unless you yell out, which I don’t suggest. More enforcers could be out there.”
“Why didn’t you take us right to them? I don’t think splitting up was such a good idea.” She worried about her sister far too much, especially if Bat had seen one of those creatures.
“We’re sitting in a small dent in the ground space next to a tree that will shield us from the wind. There isn’t enough room for all four of us. Kraven found a hole not too far away. He’ll keep your sister warm and safe until the sun rises.”
“Did she see what I did?”
He hesitated. “I’m not certain what she saw or didn’t.”
“She’ll be freaked-out and scared. I should check on her, Drantos. It’s not every day you see some creature that looks like it came right out of one of those hell-dog movies. She doesn’t even like horror flicks.”
His arms tightened around her more and his head lowered to rest against the top of her head. “Kraven will deal with her if she saw one of us shifted. He’ll explain to her the same thing I am to you. We lost the ability to resemble wolves when we inherited our Vampire genes.” He drew in a deep breath. “Hell isn’t involved. It’s just genetic mutations from being half-breeds. Decker’s men could track us faster in animal form than they could if they’d remained in their skin.”
An image of that terrifying beast flashed in Dusti’s memory. It had been huge and vicious looking. The claws… She trembled.
“Easy,” Drantos urged. “I’d never hurt you. Feel my warm skin?” He brushed his fingertips over her arm. “No claws or fur, sweetheart.”
“Stop calling me that. You’re doing it on purpose.”
“I am. There’s no reason for you to ever wonder if I’d hurt you. That’s why I didn’t want to show you proof of what we are so soon. The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not one of those beast things.”
“No. Your father was pure human. Your blood is diluted enough that you’re unable to change forms. You took more after him than your mother.”
Her mind wanted to resist believing what he said but she’d seen that thing as clear as day. She’d never forget it either. And Drantos could turn into one of them. She’d been intimate with him.
“I told Bat that you were nuts,” she admitted. “I know you didn’t want me to say anything to her but I did. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about that now, Dusti.”
“I thought you were like my friend Greg. He thinks aliens are after him when he doesn’t take his meds.”
Drantos rubbed her back. “I’m not crazy and I don’t need medication.”
“I think I’m going to lose my mind. Maybe I’m the one who needs meds.”
“Please don’t fall apart on me. Call me names, insult me, but damn it, don’t cry. I can’t handle that. If it helps, remember that your mother was pure VampLycan. She could shift.”
“You’re not helping.”
“Sorry. I just wanted to remind you that we’re all not monsters. I got the impression you loved your mother and she was good to you.”
“She was the best.”
“She loved you and cared for you. Not all of us are bad.”
“If that’s true, if she had to run away from her father, why didn’t she go to her own people to protect her from being given to some bad guy?”
He shrugged against her. “Maybe she feared it would cause deaths in whatever clan that took her in, if her father tried to get her back. I don’t know, Dusti. No one could answer that but her. We would have tried to protect Antina and welcomed her if she’d sought sanctuary. Maybe she believed everything bad her father ever said about us. He feels we’re too soft and weak because we’re not as bloodthirsty as he is. That’s why he wants to rule all the clans. It’s possible she felt we couldn’t protect her. We like to live in peace but that doesn’t mean we’re not deadly when we’re on the defense. We are. Was she happy in the human world?”
“Yes.” She fought tears. “My parents were really in love. You could see how much they meant to each other every time they touched. That was often. We were a happy family. She used to say meeting my father had been the best moment of her life, besides having her daughters. We had a lot of great times.” Memories of her childhood surfaced in her thoughts. “We laughed a lot.”
“Didn’t you ever notice anything strange about her?”
Dusti racked her brain. “She looked pretty young for her age. Everyone used to comment on it. Of course, it’s just in the genes. Bat and I get mistaken all the time for being in our early twenties.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-one, and Bat is thirty-three.”
“You don’t look it.” He paused. “You may have inherited the very slow aging process we possess.”
“What does that mean?”
“Vampires don’t age at all from the time they are turned. Lycans have a lifespan of about five hundred years.”
She couldn’t imagine. “Are you kidding me? How is that possible?”
“Vampires use blood to heal and survive. As long as they feed, it repairs most damage, including any from aging. Lycans heal much faster than humans. The same applies but they don’t need fresh blood. They just have to keep in good health by eating regularly and allowing the shift to happen from time to time. It would be as if a human refused to use their legs to stand and just sat around nonstop instead. Over time, it would make their bodies weaken.”
She let that sink in. “What about what you are? How long do you live?”
“We’re not sure.”
“How is that possible?”
“We’ve only been in existence for about two hundred years. We age slower than Lycans. “
“How do you know that?”
“Just meet a Lycan and a VampLycan born the same year. The Lycan will look a few years older than one of ours. It’s the best measure we’ve found so far. It’s estimated that we might live eight hundred years or so but that’s a guess. It would also depend on what traits are more dominant of the two. A mostly Vampire-blooded VampLycan will probably live longer than a mostly Lycan-blooded one.”
“My grandfather had gray hair when he visited us.”
“He probably dyed it and put on makeup to look aged before going into your world. He was playing a role for you and your sister. Some of us do that if we have dealings with the same humans long enough. We try to blend in and not raise suspicion.”
“What kind of dealings?”
He hesitated.
“Is it a secret or something?”
“No, I was thinking of a good example to use. There was a family who used to own some land by one of our borders. My father met them thirty years ago. They ended up moving away but kept ownership of the land. Two years ago they wanted to sell it, so they contacted my father and wanted him to meet them. He always makes it clear to surrounding human families that he’s interested if they’re ever willing to sell. He hasn’t aged in that time and they would have noticed. He had to pretend to be his own son.” Drantos chuckled lightly. “He didn’t want to wear makeup or dye his hair to appear older.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes. They sold the land to him and weren’t suspicious.”
She let that sink in. “I’d ask you how old you are but I’m afraid to know the answer. I don’t want to be grossed out if you’re super old, considering where your mouth happened to be earlier. Just tell me you weren’t born in the year eighteen hundred and something.”
He chuckled again. “I wasn’t.”
“I’m glad you think this is funny.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
“No. Do you want to know how old I am?”
She shook her head. “I’ve had enough shocks for one day. You only appear to be about thirty.”
“We grow a bit faster than humans do as children but then it slows once we hit adolescence. Lycans tend to hit between the mid-twenties to low-thirties range and then the aging just seems to halt there for a few hundred years. We might be the same way. I’m older than the number you said I look but I was born in the nineteen hundreds. Are you warmer? You’re trembling less and your skin doesn’t feel as chilled.”
“You put off a lot of heat.”
“We run hotter. I wish you had gained that trait from your mother. I knew you hadn’t though when I saw how cold you became when the sun went down last night. In that regard, you’re totally human and need to be kept warm.”
The silence stretched between them. Dusti wasn’t sure what to say. She knew so little about Drantos except he certainly wasn’t at all similar to any guy she’d ever been interested in. She needed answers though to the questions relevant at the moment. The future seemed bleak.
“Are more of those…men going to come after us?”
“Not the ones who attacked Kraven and I.”
The tone of his voice, the sureness of it, made her heart stutter. “What does that mean? How can you be so sure?”
He adjusted his body into a more comfortable position and pulled her firmer against him, and continued to hedge. “We did what we had to.”
“What is that?”
“They won’t be coming after you again. At least not those three.”
Her eyes opened to pitch darkness. The grim tone of his voice finally gave her a hint. “You killed them?”
“Two died. One conceded. We had no choice, Dusti. They would have killed my brother and me if we hadn’t won in battle. That would have left you captured, taken to Decker, and he would have handed Bat over to Aveoth.”
She’d known deep inside that’s exactly what he’d meant. He’d killed to protect her.
A laugh burst from her, totally unexpected. Random, silly thoughts followed. She pictured trying to put that beast she’d seen into a coffin. It wouldn’t fit. That seemed funny to her, despite knowing it shouldn’t. It happened when she was under too much stress. It was as if twisted humor helped her cope.
“You find it funny that I had to take a life?” He sounded surprised.
“No. I think I’m having a breakdown of sorts. And I was just thinking that I couldn’t even get a guy to buy me flowers, and you killed for me. We haven’t even been out on a date yet.”
He pulled her tighter against his body. “I’ll cut down a field of flowers to give you when we reach the safety of home. We don’t have any restaurants in the village but I’ll cook you dinner.”
“That’s so sweet of you to say. Its total bullshit but I appreciate it.”
“You’d be surprised over what I’d do for you, Dusti.” Sincerity rang in his tone.
“You just want to finish what we started today.”
“I won’t deny that.”
“You can’t hide what you want from me in that regard. I can feel you digging into my stomach. My, what a big bulge you have.”
He tensed. “I can’t help it. You’re touching me and in my arms. I know you need rest though. You’re exhausted.”
She nodded again, enjoyed rubbing her cheek against his hot skin. She loved the way he smelled too. Masculine and woodsy. The woods part may be coming from the tree we’re next to, she acknowledged, but it didn’t matter.
She focused, pushing away lightheaded sensations that threatened to make her giggle. Her head swam again and she felt as though she might float away. Her fingers and toes tingled…
The symptoms sank in. She wasn’t having an emotional breakdown. It was more of a physical one.
“We have another problem.”
“I know you’re hungry. I can hear your stomach rumbling. We’ll catch something at first light, and I hope you enjoy sushi since we can’t start a fire.”
“It’s not my favorite but I can eat it. That’s not it. You said you had to leave your jacket behind. My shots were inside it. I’m feeling lightheaded and dizzy again. My thoughts are a mess and my emotions are all over the place. It’s going to get worse. I’ll start to ramble, as if I’m drunk, if I don’t pass out soon. I’ll go into shock next, then lapse into a coma. It happened once when I was fourteen. I hated taking the shots so I’d lied to my mom about giving myself one. I blacked out and next thing I knew, my mom was staring down at me with that look on her face that said I was in big trouble. She yelled at me for an hour about how dangerous it was not to take my shots and how I could have slipped into a deep coma.”
“I told you that you don’t need shots. You take after your grandmother.”
“Right. What are you going to do? Kill a rabbit and make me drink its blood? Big ewww. I’d throw it up before I could even get it down. I know you said I’m part Vampire but I can’t stand the sight of blood. I tried volunteering at a hospital in my teens for extra credit during high school and fainted the first time I was in the emergency room, when they brought in some guy with a head wound. That makes me a shitty Vampire, doesn’t it?”
“Dusti.” He sounded irritated.
“I need a shot, Drantos. That’s what I’m saying. I think the cold water was too much of a strain or something on my body. I’m exhibiting all the symptoms of when I’ve gone without a shot for too long. Only worse. The stress probably didn’t help matters.” She fought to calm her thoughts and keep in control of her emotions. Tears filled her eyes but she managed to resist bursting into sobs. “It’s going to get worse. It always does.”
“Do you trust me at all?”
She paused to feel out her emotions. “Yes. You’re not a lunatic. You saved me on the plane, protected me again from that beast by the river, and you found me tonight to keep me from dying in the woods.”
He chuckled. “You don’t have to sound so irritated about it.”
“I just don’t feel well. I get kind of bitchy when I’m dizzy and scared. It beats the giggles. Trust me.”
“Straddle me.”
“You’re going to hit on me now? Really?”
“Straddle my lap,” he repeated. “Do it.”
“I thought you said you knew I was too tired for sex.”
“That was before I knew what you needed.”
“I need sex? I hate to break this to you but it’s only going to wear me down more and make me sicker if I do physical activity. I think the swim across the river exhausted me or sent me into shock.”
“Please trust me.”
She hesitated but when his arms released her, she moved. She didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver. She could feel the chilled vegetation brush against her legs when she faced Drantos and put her knees on either side of his hips. His thighs shifted together and she adjusted until she wasn’t touching cold Earth anymore except for under her knees. The rest of her sat on his lap. The bulge in his jeans pressed against her pussy and her hands flattened on his chest.
“Now what?”
“I’m going to supply you with blood. Lean in until your face is at my throat.”
It took her seconds to understand his meaning. “You want me to bite you?” The absurdity of it caused her to laugh. It wasn’t funny but she couldn’t help herself. “You are nuts. I don’t have fangs.”
“No, but I have claws. I’ll scratch my skin to bleed for you.”
All humor left. She wished she could see his face. “No. That’s insane. I’m starting to get a bit woozy but I’m not that far gone.”
“You need the iron, Dusti. You’re part VampLycan.”
“You drink blood?” She reached up to examine her neck on both sides where he’d bitten her the night before. She didn’t find any scabs or flaws on her smooth skin. “You drank my blood?”
“I nicked your throat with a fang, then I licked it closed. My saliva heals wounds. It’s one of the Vampire traits passed down to us. It hides the bite marks quickly on someone we’ve fed from to help us survive without detection. The more saliva, the faster the healing.”
Dusti leaned back away from him. “Are you serious?” She searched her skin again with both hands but couldn’t find any healing injuries on her neck where he’d been kissing her.
“Calm down. I smell your fear. We don’t need blood the way a Vampire does.”
“Then why did you take some of mine?”
His arms wrapped around her waist and he sat up enough to press against her chest, pinning her to him. She didn’t resist. He was warm.
“Easy, Dusti. We get our blood through eating meat. You’ll never find a vegetarian VampLycan. I told you that you take after Marvilella, your grandmother. She needed to drink fresh blood about once a week or she’d suffer some symptoms of illness. You obviously need it as well. I needed to test your blood to determine exactly what you are.”
“And what am I?”
“Mostly human, but more Vampire than Lycan.”
“You could taste all that with just a little blood?”
“Yes.”
“How do Lycans, Vampires, and humans taste?”
“You really want to know?”
“I’m trying to be rational. Work with me or watch me flip out.”
He chuckled. “It’s impossible to explain. Can you tell the difference between chicken, pork, and beef? I can tell the difference between species.”
“That disturbs me on so many levels.”
“I’m sorry.” He rubbed her hips with his hands. “You still need blood.”
“Maybe my body will recover if I just rest. It happens sometimes. I’ve had to go without my shots for a few days when I didn’t have time to go see my doctor.”
“Who is this doctor? You said he knew your mother?”
“He was an old friend of hers and she only trusted him. My mom was really protective of us. She didn’t want her daughters to be treated by some careless doctor who might mess up. She read the news a lot and would point out malpractice lawsuits as reasons why we needed to go to Dr. Brent for everything, so he’s always taken care of me. He kept seeing me even though I couldn’t afford to pay him after our parents died, for the visits to refill my prescriptions. Bat and I would drive to see him once a month until we moved back to California after she got her law degree. He said we were like family to him.”
“Your mother knew of your Vampire needs, and this doctor knows what you really are too. That’s why you can’t get your prescriptions filled by a pharmacy. Your doctor gets it from the Vampires. It’s not iron you’ve been dosed with. I tasted what I suspect is blood, mixed with a little bit of a sedative, plus a light chemical…something that probably keeps it from clotting.”
It put a new spin on things. “Are you sure? You just said you know the taste of blood, but you don’t seem sure.”
“It’s almost like a synthetic of blood, or maybe mixed. It was odd but had the same metallic taste. The sedative was probably added to prevent you from feeling a blood high. You would have felt that otherwise.”
“A blood high?”
“It can range from feeling aroused to experiencing a sense of being intoxicated. Dr. Brent isn’t human. I’d bet on that. He either makes up your shots himself or, as I said, he gets it from Vampires.”
“You expect me to believe Dr. Brent steals blood from different people to put in my shots?” She scoffed. “No. He’s a nice man.”
“He could have taken the blood from other patients he has, or some Vampires own blood banks. They pay money to those who donate.”
“Why? Can’t they just grab someone and take it?”
“They can but some Vampires have been known to inject blood when they travel or need to go into hiding. I’m not sure what they add to it so it doesn’t coagulate but we’ve been aware of the practice for some years.”
“But Dr. Brent seems so normal.”
“Most of the non-humans do in the cities. They’ve had to learn to hide what they are. I’m guessing your doctor is a sympathetic Lycan or Vampire who helped your mother out when she had children.”
“You mean a VampLycan.”
“No. It’s extremely rare for one of us to move to a city. Your mother is the only exception I’ve ever heard of. You’ve seen one of us changed. There’s no way anyone could mistake us for a wolf or a coyote in a park if they ever caught sight of us shifted. Lycans live in wooded areas if possible, or near big parks so they can shift and run from time to time. They need to shift or, as I said, they can get sick after a while. Vampires prefer big cities. Tons of feeding options, it’s easy to blend in, and they are a lot more social with humans than Lycans are. Your doctor has to live in the city if he’s been treating you all of your life. VampLycans can visit cities, even stay there for a few months if they have business to attend to, but never more than that.”
“I’ve seen Dr. Brent during the day.” She paused. “But none of the rooms have windows. I never realized that until now. His offices are set up in a basement of a large building.” She wondered suddenly if the man she’d always known could really be a Vampire or a werewolf. “Is it true that Vampires sleep during the day? I’ve been to his office plenty of times during daylight hours.”
“He’s probably a sympathetic Lycan. Old Vampires can move around whenever they want but younger ones lapse into comas when the sun rises, until it sets.”
“Do you transform every full moon?”
He snorted. “That’s bullshit movie stuff. I admit it calls to us but we don’t have to shift. It’s more a case of better hunting, since most animals tend to let their guard down when the lighting is better.” He took a deep breath. “You need blood, Dusti. Face it. We lost your shots. I’m going to have to bleed so you get better.”
“Tag, huh? You’re it?” She winced. “I don’t think I can do it. Even if I were willing—and I’m so glad I’m blind with how dark it is because I’d faint at seeing blood—that’s just so gross.”
“I’ll distract you.”
“I don’t think—”
His lips closed over hers. The kiss stunned her but when his tongue invaded her mouth, it quickly snapped her out of it. She kissed him back. Just the taste of him, the feel of his tongue exploring hers, sent desire shooting throughout her body. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, pulled him closer, and he unwound his arms from behind her. He reached between them.
She heard his zipper moving, knew when he lifted them both that he’d tugged down his jeans enough to free his cock, but she wanted him to. Her hand slid lower over his chest to explore his tight abs until her fingers curled around hot, aroused flesh. His cock felt thick, velvety, but also reminded her of steel from how hard it was.
He growled into their kiss, tearing his mouth away from hers. Dusti protested.
“Don’t stop.”
“Lean back for me. Arch your hips so I can reach you.” His voice came out harsh, deep, and sexy as hell.
She released his cock to lean away from him a bit. Her hands reached back to curve around the tops of his thighs just below the knee to brace her body. She raised her hips a little off his lap until a few inches of space separated them. He delved his hand between her parted thighs, found her clit and massaged it. He used his other hand to shove the material of the shirt she wore out of his way. His calloused palm surfed up her stomach until he teased her nipple with his fingers.
Dusti threw her head back and moaned. She wiggled against his talented fingers, knowing it wouldn’t take long for her to come. Drantos’s touch made her hotter than hell. Everything he did seemed amplified a hundred times from what lesser men had made her feel when they put their hands or mouths on her.
“You’re getting so damn wet,” he rasped in that harsh tone. “You smell so incredibly good that I want you over my face again but now isn’t the time.”
She disagreed but only managed to moan instead of getting the words out. Her hips rocked against his fingers. He pinched her nipple, jolting her passion to a higher level, and made her ache painfully to come.
He released her nipple with one hand and pulled the other away from her pussy. “Lift up and take me.”
She didn’t know what he meant until he took over. He gripped her hips, lifted them with his strong hands, and she had no choice but to sit up. She blindly found his shoulders, clutched the tops of them to keep her balance, while he slowly eased her down on top of his cock. The broad head of it pressed against her pussy, slid a little in the slickness of her need, and then he eased her weight down.
Dusti’s nails bit into his skin as she moaned. Her face fell forward until her forehead rested on the curve of his shoulder. He tortured her with the unhurried way he eased inside her. The thickness of his cock stretched her vaginal walls until he was all she could feel.
A soft snarl tore from Drantos. His grip on her made her entire body shake slightly when he seemed to tremble too. He froze there to keep her suspended over him.
“Wrap your arms around me,” he ordered.
His deep, passion-rough voice made her hotter. He didn’t even sound human but she sure hoped he wouldn’t change into a beast under her. She ran her hands over hot skin, not feeling any hair. She relaxed from the tension the thought of him shifting had caused.
She wound her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He lowered her more, until her ass rested on his bared thighs. He was all the way inside her. She moaned, adjusted her knees to brace on the moss next to his hips, and lifted her weight up. She sank down, moaning again at the wonderful sensation of him inside her. She started to slowly ride him.
Ecstasy had her crying out against his skin with her parted mouth. Every nerve ending seemed focused on the slide of his cock while she moved. Drantos growled softly, his hands cupping and squeezing her ass. It helped her glide up and down on him until he tightened his hold, halting her.
“Don’t stop,” she pleaded. “I’m so close.”
“You need blood. Trust me. I don’t want to stop either but you need to take from me. I’m going to reach up to scratch my skin.” He took a ragged breath. “Then I’m going to fuck you until you come, sweetheart. Trust me on that. Just take my blood while I do it.”
“I don’t know if—”
He lowered her fast on his cock, making her cry out in rapture. He held her still with his strength.
“You’ll do it for me—for us. I’m not going to allow you to stop me from caring for you. You’re mine.”
His words didn’t make sense but the flames of burning desire inside her body could only make her concentrate on her lust. He released her ass with one hand, reaching up. His entire body stiffened for a second, and then he gasped.
“Drink, Dusti. Do it for me.”
The irony scent of his blood filled her nose. She felt wetness against the side of her lip, a little to her left on his neck. His hand returned to grip her ass and he lifted her, nearly withdrew totally from her body, and pulled her down again. She cried out in pleasure.
He froze. “Drink.”
She turned her head, opened her mouth, and tasted the coppery wetness found there. She hesitated but Drantos started to move, his hips bucking under her thighs, driving in and out of her pussy in deep strokes that stole her breath from the raw intensity of sexual hunger. She licked at him, not caring anymore that she was drinking blood, as long as he didn’t stop. The climax built, her vaginal walls gripping him tighter and upping her pleasure. She sucked on his neck as frantically as she wanted to come.
Drantos snarled. “That’s it, sweetheart. Damn, you’re perfect.”
His hands lifted her hips and slammed her on his pumping hips faster. She cried out, released his skin, and started to climax hard. Her entire body jerked from the blinding pleasure. She seized, shook violently, and clung to him for dear life.
Drantos suddenly turned his head, nudged her, and she felt a sharp bite of pain where shoulder met neck. She cried out as another climax tore through her, the second time as violent as the first. Drantos shook with her, his hips bucking under her, and she felt it when he came. Hot jets of his semen warmed her insides.
They stilled, both panting, until Drantos released her neck. His tongue lapped at where he’d bitten her. The pain eased until she only felt the rasp of his tongue on her skin. She lay against him limply, her body too tired to even attempt to move.
He softly growled. “You’re mine, Dusti.”
“I felt you.”
“I bit your neck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t resist. I just needed to taste you again.”
“I meant when you got off too. I’ve never felt a guy come inside me before.”
He nuzzled her neck again. “There are going to be a lot of new things we’ll experience together.”
He tipped his head back and Dusti startled when he licked her along her jawline. She pulled back.
“What are you doing?”
“Cleaning my blood off you.”
She grimaced, realizing she’d actually taken his blood. “Seriously?”
“Do you want to scare your sister when she sees you in the morning? There’s no doubt she heard us.” He chuckled, his voice not as deep as when they’d had sex. “You’ve got blood all over your face. Turn toward me. You know you like my tongue.”
She hesitated. “I guess some handy wet wipes would be great to have right now.”
“Yeah, but they aren’t here. I am. Allow me to clean you.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and held still while he slowly licked the blood away. It felt weird but not unpleasant, especially when he sealed his lips over hers to brush a tender kiss there. She parted her mouth to deepen it but he pulled back.
“If I kiss you, I’m going to fuck you again. You’re exhausted.”
She realized his cock remained rock hard inside her. “I know you came so why aren’t you softening?”
“I’m not human.”
“Right.” She rested her cheek against the curve of his shoulder. “I don’t feel weak or dizzy anymore. I guess taking your blood worked. I don’t want to believe this but I can’t dispute the fact that the blood is affecting me the way the shots do.” She actually felt better faster than she normally did. “Thank you.”
“Never thank me for giving you what you need. It’s my privilege and honor to care for you.”
She chewed on her lip. He sounded sincere. Part of her felt uncomfortable with the situation. She hadn’t known him that long but they’d just had sex. It was a first for her. She normally dated someone for months before taking that step. Drantos was different. It wasn’t just because of how they’d met or the fact that they’d gone through so much together in such a short time. There was a strong attraction Dusti hoped they shared. She wondered if he felt the same way.
“Was this just sex to you?”
“No.” He held her tighter.
“Okay.” She relaxed a little.
“I’ve never felt this way about someone else.”
She liked hearing that. “Me either.” She was warm now, no longer cold, and felt comfortable in his arms. They were still physically joined since he kept her on his lap. It was the most intimate after-sex time she’d spent with a man. The silence bothered her, though; made her feel like the emotional connection was missing. She just wanted to hear his voice so she said the first thing that came to mind.
“Talk about firsts. I’ve never jumped into bed with someone this fast—and I drank some of your blood. Are you a little freaked-out too because you bit me during sex?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Did you fall asleep already? I know guys conk out after sex but I thought you were different.”
“What do you mean by freaked-out?”
“You know, the whole being bitten and having sex thing.”
He cleared his throat. “You’ll get used to it.”
He spoke so quietly she barely heard the words, but she had. Uneasiness slowly sank into her. “You’ve done this before then? You bite women during sex?” Does he do this often?
She’d thought what they did was special. She was feeling things for him. Did that mean he’d just walk away in the end? What they’d shared had felt so exceptional to her.
He cleared his throat again and he massaged her with his hands. She thought he would lift her off him but instead he settled her more firmly against him. “Neither of us were virgins.”
“What does one have to do with the other?”
He held her just a little tighter. “You know how you don’t want to know my actual age? I believe this is another subject you don’t want to discuss tonight.”
Confusion had her lifting her head away from him. She wished she could see his face. “What are you not saying? Now I’m going to imagine all kinds of bad stuff. Just tell me. Do you drink blood from all the women you have sex with? Is what we just did together your normal?”
He took a deep breath. “Fine. Sometimes during sex, VampLycans draw blood. It’s foreplay if they are into rough sex, or if they want to test to see if the woman could be their mate. One will bite, but we don’t bite each other at the same time.”
She let that sink in. The image of Drantos with other women, allowing them to fuck and suck on him, wasn’t one she enjoyed at all. She forced her body to relax and rested her head against his shoulder again. It’s not as if we’re engaged or even dating, she reasoned, trying not to feel jealous but failing. Pain surfaced too. What they’d done was way out of her comfort zone and she’d mistaken it for a lot more than he seemed to.
“Dusti? I can feel your heart pounding. I told you that you didn’t want to know.”
“It’s no biggie,” she lied.
He remained silent. She held still for a full minute.
“I should get off you. I can’t sleep with you inside me.”
He softly cursed. “I shouldn’t have told you. You’re angry.”
“No. I just don’t sleep straddling a guy’s lap with his dick buried inside me.”
He growled. “You will with me.”
“I still plan to curl up on your lap. You’re keeping me warm.”
“You’ll stay where you belong.”
That had her eyebrows lifting. “What does that mean?”
“Sleep. You need to rest. You’re comfortable and warm where you are. You’re right where I want you.”
“Just because I fucked you doesn’t mean you can order me around.”
His body tensed. “Sleep, Dusti. We’ll finish this argument in the morning if you want to have one. We need to rest. It’s been a long day.”
She relaxed. “Fine. We’ll fight in the morning. If I wasn’t exhausted, you’d be in a world of shit though for acting all caveman with me.”
His hands roamed her body, massaging where he touched. “None of them mattered, sweetheart. You’re special to me. You and I exchanged blood together during sex. That’s a first for me.”
Some of her anger eased. He probably said that to all the women he had sex with but she wanted to believe it. She allowed the exhaustion to take hold. She didn’t want to deal with the fact that she might be falling in love with someone who wasn’t human and that her entire world had turned upside down.
I’m not totally human either. Tears filled her eyes but his massaging hands on her body soothed her into a dreamless sleep.