Dark Rapture

by Hauf, Michele

  “I can’t believe that Vince would leave all the windows open.”

  Scarlet lost all fear as she walked across the grand room toward the large windows on the far wall. Someone had left them open and the long white sheers blew like sails at high sea, whipping savagely across the room with each gust of air.

  Wings, indeed. She laughed at herself for letting her fears get the better of her. I’ve been thinking about vampires too much.

  She reached the first window and started to pull the sash shut but stopped after only moving it inches in its decaying wooden track. An icy chill ran over her skin, causing her to tremble. Outside, she could see the palm trees dancing in the wind, cancan dancers kicking their legs through layers of stiff crinolines. Gusts of wind rushed through the trees and then died down momentarily, letting the tall foliage take a rest from movement. The scent of freshly cut grass drifted in with each breeze that floated through the house.

  But there was another distinct smell, a fragrance that reminded her of…spice?

  Up and over her head, the curtains blew straight out from the rods, and then as the wind died they gently floated back down to the windows to rest until the next rush of air. As they did, the ghostly white folds nestled against her body. Startled, she turned on her feet and became entangled in the material.

  Scarlet, come to me.

  She froze, the curtains entwined about her bare legs, and looked up. Nothing but silence. Illuminated by the moonlight, the freshly scrubbed marble floor was a lake of sparkling ice. The room was still and empty, but she had heard something. She was not mistaken this time. Someone had spoken to her. And the voice sounded familiar.

  With a frantic twist and twirl of her body she freed herself of the clinging white material. Scarlet cautiously backed from the curtains, no longer concerned with closing the windows.

  Scarlet. A disembodied tone echoed down the red-carpeted stairs, floating on air, a mystical chant that permeated her mind and gently coaxed her.

  She slowly turned and looked up the stairs. The curtains billowed like great white sails from the second story windows, flashing intermittently in the dim moonlight. But she couldn’t make out the top steps, which were cloaked in darkness.

  The voice spoke her name again.

  She dared not venture farther until she could see who was calling to her.

  And then she did see.

  Her chest heated as her heart pumped loudly, pushing against her ribcage. Her fingers stiffened into claws and she tried to bring them to her chest to calm the beating, but they wouldn’t straighten.

  The toe of a black boot descended the first step visible in the moonlight, and another followed. Slowly those feet stepped down, revealing slim legs tightly clothed in black. The stranger sat, resting his elbows upon his knees, and his hands dangled casually between his legs. Between the fingers of these mysterious hands dangled a single white rose. He leaned forward and the moonlight shone across his face.

  “Sebastian!” It was only a whisper, but he smiled as Scarlet spoke his name.

  His dark eyes sparkled from beneath a veil of thick black hair, which he flipped over his shoulder. The silver cross around his neck caught the moonlight and flashed a beacon in the darkness, and a reminder that all was not what she thought. He stared down at her, silently speaking with his velvet eyes.

  Her lips parted but she couldn’t speak, all she could do was stand and look up at him. She wanted to scream. But at the same time, she wanted to run to him. Curiosity filled her veins. The power he radiated over her was immeasurable, and she lost all fear.

  But why was he here?

  He stood and walked down the steps, a black diamond sparkling in the moonlight.

  Scarlet sighed as he approached, and immediately she recognized the scent of exotic spice that followed him everywhere. “Sebastian, what are you doing here?”

  “I told you I’d see you later, and here we are.” He twirled the rose between his fingers.

  “How did you know I’d be here? I didn’t even plan to come here, I . . .”

  He pressed his fingers to her lips before she could go on. His fingers were cool but warmed quickly against her skin. “I called to you and you came.”

  The curtains whipped wildly behind her as if trying to warn her against something, but Scarlet didn’t listen. Of course she hadn’t been hearing things. It had been him. But how had he been able to . . .

  Sebastian moved closer until their faces were but inches apart and he summoned the passion in her, his eyes never wavering from hers.

  “You really are a . . . a . . .” She stumbled over the word that sat on the tip of her tongue. The word that had been haunting her for days. She felt that if she said it, then she would have to believe it, and she wasn’t ready for that.

  His arm encircled her waist, pulling her to him, while his other hand brought the dewy rose to her mouth. He feathered it over her lips and she parted them to feel the satin petals on the inside of her lips.

  Scarlet lowered her eyes, looking up through thick black lashes, silently waiting for him to finish her sentence.

  Chapter Ten

  “A vampire,” he said finally, as he ran the rose over his mouth and eyed her for reaction.

  So there it was, he’d answered her question.

  Scarlet ran her hands over her arms and looked about the room. She was treading on uncharted ground. “Oh God, I shouldn’t be here.” This wasn't happening.

  This is just a dream. I’ll wake up soon, I hope.

  “Scarlet, you belong here.” He spoke softly, his French accent more pronounced when he whispered. “You belong with me.” He held out the rose, which she took, and pressed his cool hands against both of her cheeks. “Don’t you see? I love you. I need to be with you always.”

  She twirled the rose between her fingers and thumbed the point of the single thorn, her mind spinning. No man had ever made her feel like this before. So absolutely powerless, unable to control her desires.

  “Oww,” she whispered. The thorn had torn the skin on her thumb. Dumbly, she stared at the red liquid oozing to the surface, but was shocked to her senses when Sebastian touched her.

  He slid his hand over hers, turning her palm up. She watched, too curious to stop him.

  He trailed his forefinger along the center of her palm, cupping her fingers in his. She let him raise her hand to his lips, his eyes holding hers, and didn’t look down until he kissed the opened wound. He touched his lips to her blood, pressing lightly on the open flesh. He looked up, his tongue flicking over her skin, and she swallowed the lump in her throat upon seeing her blood on his lips.

  Sebastian DelaCourte. Musician. Vampire. An exotic creature that mystified her into submission with his bewitching stare. He fed on the blood of others and was tasting hers right now.

  He licked his lips and smiled but wouldn’t release her when she tried to pull her hand back.

  “Do I frighten you?” he asked his mouth hovering inches from her hand.

  “Yes—I don’t know.”

  Did he frighten her? Was it fear she was feeling right now?

  Or desire?

  “No. But, it’s…so— The feelings you create in me. I can’t explain it, Sebastian. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”

  He nodded, seeming to sense her uncertainty, but then pulled her hand to his mouth. His hot tongue lashed over her thumb, cleaning her flesh, and then, with a simple kiss to the very spot he had just fed on, he dropped her hand and pulled her close.

  “I want to make love to you, Scarlet.”

  His words echoed through her body, teasing her senses to heightened arousal. God yes, she wanted him to make love to her.

  No! Stop it, Scarlet! Her conscience wrestled to be heard. What are you getting yourself into? He’s a vampire!

  Her mind listened but her heart didn’t.

  “I want you, too, Sebastian. But . . .” She wasn’t sure how to put it. How did one make love to a vampire without dying? />
  ". . . I’m afraid.”

  He touched her lips again. She could feel the blood pulsing beneath his skin, hot and urgent.

  “You have nothing to fear from me, ma cherie. I will never harm you. I promise.”

  So charming. So believable. Why on earth was this man—this vampire—so handsome and irresistible? Why not ugly and monstrous and easy to run from? He seemed so sincere and genuine.

  His cheek was smooth and cool as she spread her fingers across it, his lips hot and silken. He kissed her fingers and took them into both of his hands, kissing them, running the tip of his tongue across her palms. Scarlet felt a shudder of desire and wanted him as much as he made her believe he wanted her.

  “Do you trust me, cherie?" he asked, still holding her fingers to his mouth.

  Trust him? Of course she didn’t. But those weren’t the words that came out of her mouth.

  “Yes.” She touched the black silk over his heart. “I trust you.”

  That was all he needed to hear. Sebastian’s kiss was primal and urgent. He devoured her mouth in a tremendous release of pent-up passion. And this time she had no desire to resist. Matching his fierce movements, she answered his pleading kiss with all her soul. Time stopped, leaving the two endlessly entwined in the darkened room that was lighted only by the moonlight and the intense chemistry that bound their souls together.

  His delicious low whisper invaded her frenzied mind. “If you truly do trust me, then come.”

  Taking his hand, Scarlet followed as he led her up the stairs. At the top, he stopped and took her into his arms, ravishing her neck with wet kisses. Her inhibitions were weakening, yet she tensed and held her breath as he preyed slowly over her beating jugular. She had no idea how much the scent of her blood intoxicated him as his mouth sought out the pulse of her life.

  “Are you going to—” She stopped, unable to finish her sentence, for he was wreaking such blissful havoc over her body. With a sigh, she dismissed her worries. If he was going to bite her, then so be it. He had told her that he wouldn’t harm her, and it was too hard not to believe him right now. She wanted him desperately.

  There was no turning back.

  He lifted her from the floor and she dropped the rose at his feet as they left the wind-swept hall and entered Vince’s bedroom. He laid her down on the thick velvet spread and then lit a candle in a silver holder on the table near the bed.

  Breathless and exhilarated at the same time, Scarlet sat up on her elbows. Sebastian stood over the candle, beckoning the wick to take light. The flames sent long shadows from his eyes up over his lids, and for a second she felt afraid.

  But the fear simmered to desire as her skin tingled wickedly awaiting his touch. He was the wild child she’d dreamed of meeting. And she was ready to give herself to him. In body, and in blood, if that was what he wanted.

  “What’s going to happen?” she asked, running a tense hand across the goose bumps on her neck. “I don’t want to . . .” To die.

  Gently, he tipped her chin up. “You’re not going to die, Scarlet. That is the last thing that I would ever want to happen to you.” He spoke calmly, as always. “I am a vampire. I drink the blood of mortals to survive. Trust me when I tell you that in all my existence, I’ve never . . . killed. I need so little from each person that it’s never missed, I promise you.”

  Why had he hesitated on the word killed? She looked past him toward the door. No, she didn’t want to leave.

  “So that means you’re going to bite me?”

  With a quiet laugh Sebastian cradled her in his arms, lowering her across the bed. “First, I want to make love to you. I want to unlock the secrets that your body keeps, and dive into your soul. And if you allow it, I will drink from you. It is an unmeasured pleasure that I hope you won’t deprive me. I yearn for no one else but you, Scarlet. After we have made love, trust me when I say that my heart will be true to you.”

  The fever began as Sebastian caressed her body, kissing her fingers, her shoulders, the outside of her thighs, until slowly he had freed her body of her dress. His fingers were gentle and smooth, mapping out her sensual spots with ease. He quickly gained familiarity with her entire body while her hands played curiously over his chest, releasing a moan of satisfaction from his lips.

  He seemed so normal as her fingers explored his straight lines and hard curves and sweaty slopes. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find underneath the elegant clothes. Wings? Horns? No, he was all man.

  “You are the gods’ mead.” His hands roamed over her body, commanding full attention from every pore, stimulating a deep passion within her. “Such wicked desires you unleash in me.”

  He pushed his fingertips through her hair, and then pulled them out, spreading her silky mane up and across his face like a dark veil, breathing in every inch of her, enjoying everything that he touched.

  At the same time, Scarlet felt his hair dance across her naked breasts like thousands of tiny fairy feet pirouetting across her skin. With a quick flip of his hand he tossed the tresses over his shoulder and hovered inches above her, drinking in her curvaceous body.

  Her breasts quivered and rose in anticipation of his masterful mouth as he lingered excruciatingly close to them, yet never touching, until, seeming to read her mind again, he showered them with kisses that fell on her skin like delicate snowflakes melting upon the spring-warm ground.

  “Oh, Sebastian,” she whispered his name breathlessly.

  “I love the way you say my name. It sounds like a sensuous prayer coming from your lips. It makes me eperdu d’amour.” His words were spoken in hot breaths and Scarlet pulled him back down to her lips, not wanting him to ever lose contact with her again.

  Madly in love. Yes, that was an accurate description of the way she felt right now as Sebastian took command of her body.

  He sucked and nibbled her bottom lip, then began his trek downward. Slowly his tongue journeyed down her stomach until he came upon her moist apex that ached for his attention. Pausing inches from her body, he looked into her eyes, awaiting her command.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  Her head pressed deeply into the feather pillow as she felt his tongue venture inside, and swiftly he brought her to a pulsating climax. Her body arched with a rush of adrenaline and the heat rose from her skin as her fingers quivered like her insides.

  The dream of a dark knight had become a reality.

  She whispered his name, Sebastian, her sweet decadent lover, and arched her back as intense waves of blissful fury spread through her veins. She reached out and caught his hair in her fingers and pulled him up. Their bodies locked together and moved rhythmically to the silent music of their hearts. And then, he was within her, moving in and out, feeding upon her soul. Together they gave and took of each other until the moon reached its peak in the sky.

  Soul mates.

  A cry of satisfaction escaped her lips and Sebastian shuddered over her sweating body as they reached their xanadu together. She had no fear of him now as she gazed into his obsidian eyes, small dots of white hunger sparkling in their centers. He could do as he pleased. Nothing mattered to her anymore, as long as she was in her lover’s arms.

  ***

  Already, Sebastian could feel the pleasant pain in his gums as his canines slipped down from their hiding spots. Leaning close to Scarlet’s sweat-glistening body, he nudged the strands of her hair away from her neck and gazed hungrily at her pumping vein as he continued to thrust into her. His tongue grazed across his teeth and he let the small amount of blood trickle down his throat.

  She seemed eager to accept him now. No matter what he should ask.

  He whispered urgently, “I need you now, Scarlet.”

  “Yes,” she gasped. “Please.”

  And then, without so much as a second thought, Sebastian introduced his reality to her.

  ***

  Scarlet’s eyes flashed wide open and her body convulsed and went stiff with the first painful intrusion of
the vampire's teeth. He held her tightly, one arm wrapped securely around her waist, and his other hand resting firmly upon the hardened tip of her breast, which he continued to control with his fingertips.

  Within seconds, her blood started to flow from the punctures on her neck, and involuntarily she relaxed, feeling her body go numb with pleasure as Sebastian sucked ravenously at her neck.

  She gasped with pleasure, delighting in the pain that was quickly becoming a frantic rush of unadulterated passion. She felt on the verge of another powerful climax. It pulled inside her limbs, flowering into a shaking tumult of bliss.

  Sebastian fed greedily upon her, his eyes closed in fierce determination. When the point of fulfillment had come, and his body swelled with unfathomable ecstasy, he shuddered as the swoon rode through his body. Scarlet looked up to see her lover locked in a pose of satisfaction. She felt no pain, only joy.

  ***

  His mouth worked rhythmically on her neck. He should have stopped, allowing her to drift into dreamsleep, only to awaken with no memory of his bite.

  But he didn’t.

  Already her body lay limp across the rumpled sheets. She was drained and unable to move, her mind beginning to blur. His cross, which lay on her chest, rose and fell minutely as her breathing slowed. But the sucking on her neck continued to produce intense pleasure, so she made no attempt to stop him.

  Not that she could have.

  Rising up on his knees, Sebastian brought her fragile limbs up, gently resting her head across the crook of his arm, while he maintained his vise-like grip on her neck.

  Death’s bony white hands closed around Scarlet’s soul. Her hands fell to her sides and onto the bloodstained satin sheets. Her lips quivered against Sebastian’s chest as they released a weak plea for mercy.