Three large pillows reclined against the oak-paneled wall, making up for the lack of a headboard. A couple of other pillows tossed on the mattress bore his head print. Kane appeared to be a restless sleeper, if the tossed sheets and bed pillows were any indication. Cara really didn’t want to hazard a guess at how many women had shared his bed. Best not to even speculate or she’d be looking for a new place to sleep. Kane had said he used Draven’s office for his sexual liaisons. Did that mean she was the first female to step foot within his room? It certainly didn’t appear as though he did a lot of entertaining from here. Maybe he hadn’t tidied up because he hadn’t believed she’d actually show.
Truth of it? She was too damned scared not to.
One set of dresser drawers sat to the left of the bed against the side wall, nothing decorating the top. No pictures, nothing personal. To the right was a small bedside table, a silver lamp with a red shade and a black book the only items to adorn the surface.
Cara tossed her overnight bag onto the mattress and approached the end table. Tales of Edgar Allen Poe was stamped in gold on the hardbound black leather. Cara picked it up and thumbed through the gold-edged pages, before cradling the book in her hands and glancing behind her. A large bookshelf lined the wall next to the opened door to the bathroom. Books crammed its surface in no particular order. The fact that he read at all surprised her and had her wondering what else she didn’t know about the man.
Unzipping her bag, she pulled out her white button down nightshirt and plaid sleep shorts, laying them next to her bag. Very conservative and not the least bit sexy. She didn’t need to be prancing around a vampire den wearing anything less. She might have chosen her flannels, had the weather been any cooler, an outfit that wrapped her neck better than a wool scarf. Cara was thrilled Kane’s room had an adjoining bathroom, giving her no reason to leave his room at all when she decided to freshen up before crawling into bed and calling it a very long day.
The knee length pencil skirt and dress shirt she had chosen for tomorrow’s trip to the office needed to be hung. Cara looked for a chair or anything to drape them across, coming up empty. The man apparently didn’t believe in extravagances. Cara opened the small closet door where a variety of tees and vests nearly filled the steel rod. She spied a few extra hangers and helped herself. The soft material of one of Kane’s black tees brushed her knuckles, causing her to want to take it to her nose and see if the material smelled of outdoors and man.
Instead, with a groan, she closed the door and leaned her forehead against it. Yep, she had just hit pathetic. Cara turned to the bed and flopped down. Even though exhaustion nipped at her heels, she wasn’t about to get much sleep, not knowing that Kane lay just beyond the door on a couch entirely too small for his long, muscular body. Not my problem. After all, he had been the one to insist she stay beneath his roof, even if it was for her own good.
The outside door banged off the wall, causing her to jump, followed by booted feet entering the living area. Some of Kane’s brothers had no doubt returned, causing her stomach to somersault. Curious on how exactly Kane would handle the situation, Cara crept to the door and opened it a crack.
“Now what the hell have you done, brother?” Kaleb demanded.
“Since when is it your business what I do?”
“When it involves this club. Don’t pretend to be stupid. I smell her all over this room. I’m betting she’s still here.”
“That detective bitch?” The words came from a second voice, probably Grayson. “You save seconds for me, Viper?”
Furniture screeched across the floor and knocked about, then something slammed hard against the bathroom wall. From the strength of the thud, Cara was betting Grayson had just been pinned to the wall separating the bathroom from the living area.
“Jesus, Viper, get a grip. I was only joking. You may want a piece of that, but I sure in the hell don’t. She’s a pig … figuratively speaking, before you decide to actually push me through the fucking wall.”
“Don’t even joke where she’s concerned, Gypsy,” she heard Kane hiss.
“You want to tell us what the deal is, Pres?” Kaleb asked, his tone accusatory.
More rustling could be heard, doubtlessly Kane letting loose of Grayson. “I told you we needed to keep an eye out for her. That’s what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, an eye out. Not invite her into our fucking home. The rest of the Sons aren’t going to like this one bit, bro. You know we need to vote on this kind of shit. You’ve been taking advantage of that P patch a lot lately.”
Footsteps sounded off the wooden flooring. Cara could imagine Kane pacing. “I went to her place this morning to check up on her.” The footfalls stilled. “The primordial’s scent was all over her damn room. We don’t keep an eye out for her and she’s dead.”
“And we should care, why?” Grayson asked.
“Because we aren’t fucking animals, Gypsy. She’ll stay in my room. I’ll take the couch.”
“Be sure that you do, brother,” came from Kaleb.
“As I said, Hawk, my business is none of yours. If I decide to fuck her then I don’t intend to ask your permission.”
“It’s club business when it involves that bitch. She’s trying to pin these murders on you … us! And you think we need to make sure she’s safe and cozy? Quit thinking with your dick.” Grayson’s voice raised. “Why not get it the hell over with then toss her out. I don’t give a rat’s ass what that primordial does with her.”
“Watch yourself, Gypsy,” Kane threatened. “Anyone touches the detective and they answer to me.”
“Is that a threat?” Grayson asked.
“I don’t make threats.”
Booted footsteps came her way, causing her to back farther into her room when she heard a door slam.
“Be sure that fucking her is all you do,” Kaleb said, his tone hushed.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Hawk?”
“The canines better stay to yourself. You know the rules. You step over that line and I’ll cut the P patch from your chest myself.”
Several seconds later another door slammed, followed by silence. Cara hedged past her doorway and back to the living area where Kane stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips, head hung so his hair hid his expression. She must have stood there a few seconds before he growled, “Wanting something, Miss Brahnam? If not, I suggest you make yourself fucking scarce.”
Cara turned, ran back to his quarters and slammed her own door.
Well, that certainly went well.
* * *
“Are you fucking serious?” Rosalee squealed through the cell’s ear piece.
Alec held the phone away and grimaced. He knew she wasn’t going to take the news of Cara Brahnam moving into the Sons’ clubhouse well.
“I’ll still have access to her. She can’t be with Kane or the Sons twenty-four-seven. Stop going all dramatic.”
“I swear to the god you believe in, Alec, that I will be in the States before you can formulate a plan to stop me if, you don’t do something soon.”
Alec rolled his eyes, not that she’d see. Sometimes Rosalee could be a royal pain in his ass. How the hell had Kane put up with her as long as he had? Because then she wasn’t a bitter vampire bent on revenge. Just a few short years with her and Alec was ready to throw his hands up and say fuck it. Let her fight her own battles. He wasn’t some imbecile she could order around so easily. After all, he, too, was an original.
“Stop threatening me, Rosalee. You and I both know you don’t want to be anywhere near the States when I take down Kane. He’d suspect you the minute he laid eyes on you, if not figure a way to kill you on the spot.” He bit back an expletive, and instead added, “and stop ordering me about like a fucking child.”
Alec took a deep breath. What he really felt like doing was a disappearing act and letting Rosalee mop up after her own mess, which Alec already knew she wouldn’t. No, she’d find someone else to screw, and get them to do
her dirty work. Besides, he wasn’t quite done with Rosalee yet. His goal was her stepfather’s respect, and damn if he wasn’t going to get it … one way or the other.
“Alec? Are you still there?”
“I’m here, Rosalee … where the hell did you think I went off to?”
She made an unbecoming sound into the phone, but left his question hang unanswered.
“Look, this is nothing more than a snag in our plan. Kane will still pay.”
“You best hope so, Alec—or you better not step one foot back into Italy.”
“Idle threats, my dear. You can’t stop me. You may be older than I, but we still stand on the same ground. Your stepfather actually likes me; he wouldn’t allow you to turn your revenge on me.”
“My stepfather allows me anything I desire.”
And that’s why you’re such a spoiled brat.
No one would dare cross her stepfather, except her step-uncle, if indeed Vlad Tepes were still alive and the rumor of the empty tomb to be believed.
“Come now, Rosalee, you know you wouldn’t harm a hair on my head. Who else would put up with your tirades? I said I would take care of Kane and I will. In my own time. I do have a plan. I’m not the complete idiot you think me to be. But first, I’ll toy with him. Have a little fun.”
“Toy with him how?”
“You do want him to suffer, no?”
“Of course I do. That’s what this is all about. Kane humiliated me, stomped on my heart. Sent me back to Italy and my stepfather as if I was a nuisance. I was forced to suffer alone. I lost my son—we lost a son and he didn’t even have the decency to help me grieve.”
Alec was about to ask her if she even had a heart but thought better of it. If she had one when she met Kane, the arrogant vampire had most certainly ripped it to shreds.
“Rest assured, when I’m finished Kane will wish he were dead.”
Chapter 15
Silence cloaked the clubhouse. His brothers had not shown their faces, nor had Cara left the sanctity of his room following his tirade. Jesus, since when had he taken to treating women with so little regard? Not to mention, she had followed his order without question. Kane paced the floor in his bare feet, wearing nothing more than his unbuttoned jeans, low on his hips, and a pair of boxer briefs beneath. He had wanted to strip, being accustomed to sleeping nude, but having a woman in the house had not allowed him the luxury.
Instead, he lay on the couch, watching the ceiling fan slowly circle, hunger gnawing at his gut. He had fed two nights prior, but having Cara in such close proximity made him ravenous, and not just for communion either. Never had a woman led him around by his dick. Oh, he enjoyed sex, quite regularly in fact. But this woman had him turning away perfectly willing candidates. He wanted the detective in the worst way. And since she had gotten beneath his skin, no other woman would do. His desire for her bordered on obsession.
Kane ran his hand through his hair, frustration clawing its way through him. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he decided a quick trip to the Rave was in order—maybe he could appease at least one of his aches. With Cara occupying his room, though, a change of clothes was out of the question. He wasn’t about to knock on her door. Not because he didn’t want to disturb her, but because he didn’t trust himself to keep his hands off her. His animalistic nature lay too close to the surface, while his hunger spun dangerously out of control. And although he desperately needed to get laid, for now he’d look for a donor only, not a willing sexual partner.
That meant avoiding his last donor like the plague.
Suzi had made it quite obvious she had designs on him, but he wasn’t about to selfishly slake his desire while thinking of another. Christ, when had taking any willing party become so distasteful? A few months earlier and he would have gladly taken her offer. Kane had known of the cute, petite brunette donor before. But never once had she approached him, making Kane wonder why the sudden fascination. Besides, she seemed more to Kaleb’s liking. When Kane had brought Kaleb into the conversation, though, she hadn’t wanted to talk about his twin. Kane couldn’t help being curious about their history.
He’d best steer clear of that one, if for no other reason than her mysterious past with Kaleb.
Decision made to partake in communion, he’d make a quick trip to the Rave, feed, and be home within the hour. He supposed it was his only chance at finding rest. Kane headed for the bathroom, wanting to take a quick shower and wash away the day’s grime from the road.
Kane paused by his closed bedroom door and listened to the silence coming from his room. Cara was likely fast asleep, alone, in his bed. A bed large enough for them to share. He groaned. A cold shower seemed in order. He turned back down the hall and opened the door to the bathroom.
Light spilling into the hallway was his first clue that the room had an occupant. The second was Cara’s shriek. Kane’s heart leapt to his throat and his gut clenched like a vice. She sat, perched on the edge of the tub with razor poised in hand. Sans clothes.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
His gaze dropped to her now crossed legs. A small trickle of blood ran down where her feminine hair had been freshly removed, disappearing between the V of her thighs. Shit, the scent called to him as she stared at him wide-eyed. Blood rushed instantly from his head to his dick. His unbuttoned jeans did little to hide his exact reaction to the vision in front of him. And what a vision it was. Cara’s gaze caressed his bare chest and slowly trailed to the front of his unbuttoned jeans, barely containing the heavy bulge. She couldn’t miss his reaction to her.
He slowly closed the bathroom door behind him, as his canines elongated and his eyes heated in their darkening. His face took on the shape of the hungry animal barely contained within. His refection in the mirror told him as much. Why his appearance hadn’t caused Cara to flee from his presence he didn’t know.
“You have about thirty seconds to gather your things and get the hell back to my room.”
“Or what?” she whispered.
The scent of her answering desire traveled to his flaring nostrils. Lord help him.
“Or, make no mistake, I will follow through with my promise to fuck you.”
Her mouth rounded in an O, but she didn’t move. Kane wasn’t sure if it was fright or desire that held her in place. And frankly, he didn’t care. If she didn’t move soon, he’d make good on that threat.
Cara laid the razor carefully on the side of the large tub. She took in a shaky breath. Her gaze held fast to his. By the scent of her arousal, he knew she waged the war to run as suggested, or take him up on his promise. She couldn’t lie, couldn’t tell him she didn’t want this as badly as he. Perched on the tub, completely exposed, her thighs quivered and her nipples pebbled. His mouth watered with the desire to draw one between his teeth, to nip it and taste her sweet-ass blood, then soothe it with his tongue. Hell, he wanted to dive between her thighs and take his fucking fill.
“Your time is nearly up, Mia Bella,” he said as he slowly advanced. “I’m not a patient man. When I make a promise to take what I want … I follow through.”
He stopped, mere inches from reaching out and touching her, breathing in her blood’s rich scent before releasing a growl.
“Fuck it,” he said and dropped to his knees.
A palm on the inside of each of her thighs easily uncrossed them. His gaze trailed the blood as it disappeared between her swollen folds. His mouth went dry. Never had his eyes feasted on anything so erotic. The time for her to flee now past, his eyes held hers briefly before descending on her. His lips closed over the small cut on her bare mons, suckling it just before his canines pierced the soft flesh.
Cara gasped, one hand steadying her on the tub’s edge as the other fisted his hair. But instead of pulling him away as he thought she might, she held him tight to her center. A moan escaped her throat. Her thighs trembled on either side of his head.
Kane’s blood roared through his veins, drowning out all sound as he drew her life-gi
ving fluid into his mouth, loving every blessed drop. Hell, he was dizzy with want. Never had he thirsted so deeply, never had he desired so strongly. He had known that it would be like this, all the more reason he should have abstained.
Another moan left her body, her fist tightened in his hair. The scent of her desire increased. He used his hands to further spread her thighs, gliding his fingers down her moist slit, into her slick folds. His dick ached, wanting appeasement.
The time for turning back had vanished.
Kane spread her wetness across her clit, mixing her juices with her blood. Slipping two fingers inside, he felt the tremors of her approaching climax.
Kane quickened his rhythm, his fingers shoving in and out of her as he wanted to do with his cock. Her breath hitched, drawing his gaze, and she glanced at him, heavy lidded. Her thighs tightened about him, her face tipped heavenward, and she whispered his name. Kane felt the answering pulses of her orgasm against his fingers.
Slowly he withdrew his fangs and his hand, sitting back on the tiled floor of the bathroom, wiping the remaining blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His own breath labored as he looked up at her.
He wasn’t done by a long shot, but he’d put the ball in her court. If she wanted more, then she’d have to ask for it. He watched as her breathing leveled. Her eyes stayed focused on his. He couldn’t tell if she were ready to take flight or wanted a round two.
“What’s it going to be, Cara?”
Long seconds passed as she said nothing. A final shiver passed over her shoulders and she took a deep, steadying breath.
“I had no idea.”
His brows knit together. “Of what, Mia Bella?”
Viper (Sons of Sangue) Page 16