Just One Bite

by Kimberly Raye

  “They’ll be back soon. You should rest. You’ll never get rid of those splotches unless you sleep.”

  Demons and exorcisms faded in the face of real tragedy. “I have splotches?”

  “It’s more like a full-blown rash.”

  I glanced at the hand holding the glass. Sure enough, my skin looked red and angry. My gaze shot upward, over my forearm to my biceps that disappeared beneath the sleeve of the T-shirt. I yanked up the material on my right arm and studied my shoulder. Yikes. My stomach churned as I turned my inspection to the right arm and saw more of the same. I kicked the comforter away and surveyed my legs.

  “I need a mirror,” I blurted. It couldn’t have spread everywhere, right? I’d taken the Benadryl. I’d even said a few Hail Marys (mum’s the word). There had to be a part of my body—the most visible part—that had been spared. Right?

  Zee shrugged and headed for the bathroom while I did my do-not-freak-out deep breathing. Needless to say, I was still freaked out (and a little lightheaded) by the time he returned. I took the small compact and drank in my reflection.

  Rule number one—when suffering from a bad case of hives, DO NOT ask for a mirror.

  A bright pink bloated face dotted with dark, angry splotches stared back at me. I was puffy. I was spotty. I was a freakin’ strawberry.

  Worse, I was a strawberry with fangs. Besides being dehydrated, my nerves were still buzzing from Ty’s mouth on my neck. My primal instincts had obviously kicked in and I was still semi-aroused.

  I was also mortified.

  My chest tightened and my eyes blurred. “I can’t believe I look this awful.”

  “You think that’s bad, you should have seen yourself right after the demon hopped out. You’ve been sleeping a few hours, so it’s actually gotten better.”

  Great.

  Just friggin’ great.

  I’d waited my entire afterlife for the right vampire to come along, sweep me into his arms, and bite me. Finally it had happened and I’d spent the moment not only possessed, but looking like a bloated piece of fruit.

  Was I cursed when it came to men or what?

  Twenty-eight

  I spent the next half hour crying my eyes out while Zee went out for a pack of cigarettes. Not that he smoked, but what else was a guy to do when faced with an overly emotional female vampire?

  Finally, the tears slowed down and I felt somewhat more calm. Miserable, but calm. I buried my head in the pillow, closed my eyes, and fell sound asleep.

  When I finally opened my eyes, it was Ty who sat by my bedside instead of Zee.

  Moonlight beamed down through the windows and illuminated his tall, muscular body sprawled in a nearby chair. He wore nothing but a pair of worn, faded jeans and a concerned expression. Broad shoulders framed his muscular chest and ripped abs. His dark, shoulder-length hair was mussed, as if he’d been running his hands through it. Shadow stubbled his jaw and gave him a dark, dangerous edge.

  His electric blue gaze sparked as it met mine and I became extremely aware of how little I wore and how horrible I looked. “It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been sleeping for two days.” He looked worn and worried and my heart hitched.

  I burst into another round of tears.

  “Easy,” his deep voice slid into my ears a split second before the mattress dipped. He sank down next to me and one strong hand touched my cheek. “You shouldn’t get upset right now. It’s not good for you.”

  I knew that. My skin was still itchy and tight and every bone in my body felt heavy. I needed to heal, not freak.

  I needed…

  The tears came harder, faster.

  “You bit me,” I finally managed, wiping frantically at the stream of wetness on my face.

  “I’m sorry. I had to.”

  I slapped at my cheeks, which made them start to itch, which made me cry even more. “You…bit…me,” I finally got the words out again, in between huge, racking sobs. “And”—sniffle—“I didn’t”—sniffle, sniffle—“even get to”—sniffle, sob—“enjoy it.”

  His expression shifted and a fierce hunger fired in his neon blue eyes. A grin tugged at the corner of his sensuous mouth.

  “Is that what’s with the waterworks?”

  I nodded. “That”—the word ended on a catch as I sniffled again and swiped at my face—“and the fact that I look really awful and I’d pictured things totally different when I finally found The One and you don’t get a do-over when it comes to first bites and—”

  “You think I’m The One?” he cut in. His gaze darkened and he suddenly looked as if he wanted to pound something.

  Which wasn’t exactly the vamp-stranded-in-a-blood-bank grin and euphoric “I feel exactly the same way about you” I’d been hoping for.

  I stiffened and started to ramble. “Not that you are, you know. It’s just that I was possessed and my brain obviously short-circuited and now that I think better of it, I can clearly see that you’re not even close to my vamp in shining armor. Your hair is too long and—”

  “Lil.”

  “—your eyes are too blue and you don’t have near the taste in clothes—”

  “Lil.”

  His deep voice slid past the frantic pounding of my heart. I blinked. “What?”

  “Give it a rest.” His anger faded into something hot and intense.

  He leaned forward, his face just inches from mine, and my nerves went on instant alert. Anticipation bolted through me. “Are you going to bite me again?”

  “No.” He grinned and leaned even closer, forcing me back down into the mattress. “Not yet.” His lips barely brushed mine as he loomed over me. “Not until I do this.” His tongue darted out to sweep my bottom lip and then he was kissing me. Slowly. Deeply.

  Oh.

  “And this,” he murmured, dipping a hand beneath the hem of the T-shirt to stroke my bare breast. He played with my nipple, rolling and plucking until a moan worked its way up my throat. He hiked up my shirt and touched his mouth to my bare nipple. He sucked the ripe tip before moving on. His lips trailed from my breast, down the tender skin of my abdomen to the vee between my legs. He trailed his tongue over the thin material of my lace thong and traced the slit between my legs. “And this.” He swept the lace aside and gave me a long, luscious lick.

  Oh.

  Ty had a mouth to die for, and he definitely knew how to use it.

  He nibbled and sucked at my clit until I gasped and came up off the bed. Large, strong hands urged me back down, holding my legs apart as his lips and tongue worked their magic.

  I dug my fingers into the sheets as he lapped at me and suckled and…ahhhhhhhhhh.

  A delicious heat simmered between my legs and spread through my body until I burned from the inside out. He kept tasting me and I spread my legs wider, wanting him closer and deeper and—

  Geez, this vampire was good.

  So good I didn’t think I could hold on for much longer. Sensation built and my body started to hum.

  I was going to…

  But I didn’t want to…

  Because I’d been waiting to…

  “Bite me,” I gasped as he thrust his tongue deep inside me. “Just…one…bite.”

  “Soon.” His deep voice whispered through my head and stirred my senses even more. I plunged my fingers into his hair, holding him closer, urging him on.

  “Now.” I sent the silent message. “Please.”

  He suckled me for a few more mind-blowing seconds before replacing his lips with his fingers. He pushed all the way in and pleasure pierced my brain. He shifted his mouth an inch to the right, to the inside of my upper thigh. His muscles went tight and a growl tickled my skin.

  The first convulsion hit me—so hot and delicious—just as he sank his fangs deep. Pleasure sliced through me as the most delicious orgasm of my afterlife gripped me.

  He started to drink and the convulsions kept coming, over and over, fast and furious, until I spiraled so high on a cloud of satisfaction that I tho
ught I would never come down.

  I floated for several long moments, my heart pounding, before he finally drew back. He lapped softly at the blood that trickled from my thigh before pushing to his feet and shedding his jeans.

  I caught a quick glimpse of his massive hard-on before he reached for me. He grasped the edges of the T-shirt and pulled it over my head. His gaze hooked on my breasts and my nipples pebbled in anticipation.

  “Beautiful.” The word echoed through my head.

  I smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  The bed dipped and he settled himself between my legs. He braced his arms on either side of me and captured my mouth again. I tasted my own salty sweetness on his lips as he nudged my slick folds with the head of his penis and thrust deep.

  Yowza.

  He started to move, pushing deep and then withdrawing. Once. Twice. Again and again. His hard length rasped my insides and created a delicious friction that worked me up all over again.

  I lifted my hips, meeting each thrust. In and out. Deeper and harder. Until he bucked one last and final time. His penis twitched and throbbed and I felt a warmth rush through me. The sensation sent a jolt of pure desperation through me. I grasped at his shoulders and pulled him closer.

  I lapped at his salty skin and felt the pulse of his artery beneath my lips.

  “Do it,” came the deep rumble in my head. “Come on, baby.”

  My hunger stirred and raged and I felt the sharpness of my teeth against my tongue.

  With a loud hiss I pulled my lips back, sank my fangs into his neck, and started to drink. Without regret or remorse or the never-ending fear that my ma was going to kill me.

  Because Ty Bonner was The One and I loved him.

  End of story.

  Epilogue

  I absolutely, positively DID NOT love Ty Bonner.

  I’d simply been caught up in the heat of the moment, freaked over the possession and thirsty.

  Yes, I’d been really thirsty.

  Stress and dry mouth definitely made for an altered state of reality. To think that I’d actually thought…that he and I…that we…

  Temporary insanity, all right.

  That’s what I told myself over the next few days as I settled back into my normal routine. With a little help from Maids-R-Us (okay, so a lot of help), my apartment made the transformation from drooling demon den back to posh vamp digs. I borrowed Max’s Visa Gold card (I’d kinda sorta maxed out mine and forgot to pay the bill because I’d been so worried about Evie) and replaced my wardrobe. I’d even thrown in a few extras—a Tiffany bracelet and a Swarovski crystal belt that was the total bomb—to cheer myself up and distract me from you-know-who.

  Evie came back to work right away (yeah, baby), typing and filing and sucking down lattes as if she’d never been possessed by a vicious demon. The bruises were still there, but she’d explained them away as the result of a wild party, too much to drink, and rough sex with a guy she still couldn’t remember.

  “All I know is I’m never drinking appletinis again,” she’d vowed on her first day back in the office. “Ever.” She’d handed me a stack of messages and a pile of bills, and just like that my afterlife had morphed back into the same old, same old.

  No more demons.

  No more Vinnie (he’d called off the engagement with Carmen—much to his mother’s dismay—but since I’d fulfilled my end of the bargain, he’d let me off the hook). I was still trying to match him up, but at least I didn’t have to worry about getting staked and stuffed into his trunk. I also had Crusher on my side because I was the Great Vamp Hope when it came to finding a date for his yearly Christmas party. Not that I’d found him one yet. It was only April and I had oodles of time.

  No more mom bugging the hell out of me (at least when it came to Remy). I’d agreed to a real date with him. No hunt, no parents. Just the two of us sipping drinks at the Waldorf, plenty close to Nina One, who’d promised to bring reinforcements (Rob, along with Jack and Mandy, who were now back from their honeymoon, much to my mother’s delight) and save me after the first fifteen minutes.

  No more Ty.

  Really.

  How could I possibly love a guy who’d dropped me off at my apartment after a night of fantabulous sex and mutual biting, and hadn’t so much as called me since?

  He’d had to go away for a few days and tie up some loose ends. That’s what he’d told me and I’d been fool enough to believe him.

  I’d believed a lot of things after that scrumptious night.

  Like maybe, just maybe my mom wouldn’t freak when she met him. And even if she did, she might actually grow to love him the way I did (or the way I’d thought I did during my moment of temporary cuckoo).

  I’d also believed that Logan (the badass vamp who’d made Ty and held a world of guilt over his head) wouldn’t get pissed and come after us. Who knew? Maybe Logan would see us together and think awwww. Maybe his black heart would soften and he would buy us a really great present to wish us well on our afterlife together.

  Even more, I’d believed that Ty had actually returned my feelings.

  Stupid, right?

  It was now five days later and I’d come to my senses.

  Ty was a jerk and I wasn’t wasting another moment thinking about him or the fact that he hadn’t called, e-mailed, or even texted since he’d gotten back into town yesterday. Ash had dropped that bomb when he’d stopped by to see how Evie was doing (and to flirt with me, of course).

  I’d dodged the effort by slipping him a DED card and begging him to let me hook him up just once.

  Things were back to normal, all right.

  “I’ve got a live one for Mia,” Evie said as she walked into my office with a stack of folders. She wore a green smock dress, matching patent leather knee-high boots, and a ton of bling-bling. “Twenty-one-year-old computer geek. Glasses. Awful taste in clothes. Hasn’t had an official date ever. He’s so horny he can hardly speak. I met him yesterday. He’s my landlord’s nephew.” She handed me the folder. “Since we haven’t had much luck with the really hot studs, I thought we might go the opposite direction. Maybe someone so sexually repressed will have more pent-up oomph and can keep up with her once it’s unleashed.”

  It made sense. “Have I told you what a great assistant you are?”

  She grinned. “Three times in the past hour.”

  What can I say? I’d missed her.

  “I really am glad you’re okay.”

  “So am I. I haven’t had a hangover that bad since my senior prom.”

  I felt a pang of envy. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wondered what it would be like to actually be human.

  Not half as great as being a born vamp, I knew. But still. A girl could fantasize.

  I flipped through the folder. “Looks like a go. I’ll give Mia a call and set it up.”

  “Could you help me in the outer office first? We had a delivery for you and it’s kind of big.”

  “Office supplies from Max?” Amazing what a little blackmail (he so didn’t want my parents finding out about his fling with Viola) could accomplish.

  “Better.”

  My excitement bubbled. “The hobo bag I ordered off the QVC?”

  “Bigger.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “The three pairs of Chanel boots I ordered off the Internet?”

  “Smellier.”

  I followed her into the outer office and came to a dead stop a few steps from her desk.

  At least I thought it was her desk, but I couldn’t really tell because it was covered by a monstrous vase stuffed full of bright pink roses.

  “Go on,” Evie said, a smile spreading from ear to ear. “Read the card.”

  My heart stalled and my hands shook as I reached for the small white card. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “Are you kidding? You don’t pay me nearly enough for roses. Maybe carnations.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Besides, these are clearly after-sex flowers and, while I think you’re
really hot with fabulous taste, you’re not my type. I mean, you would be if I were into girls, but I’m totally not.”

  Well, maybe.

  The window into her thoughts opened and I slammed it shut just as fast. While I liked being a vamp and knowing what was up when it came to humans, there was such a thing as too much info.

  Especially if the info came from my assistant, whom I loved like a sister.

  A sister. Got that? I sent the silent thought and watched her eyes widen a split second before she seemed to relax.

  “It’s from someone male,” she added.

  I unfolded the white vellum and read the black scrawl:

  Sorry I haven’t called. Things have been crazy. Call me…Ty.

  “I knew he liked you,” Evie said, peering over my shoulder. “I knew it. Are you going to call him?”

  “Maybe.” I picked up the flowers and walked back into my office. Maybe not.

  Indecision rolled through me as I set the vase on my desk, sank down into my chair, and reached for the card again.

  Call me.

  Where was the undying emotion? The feeling? The love? At the very least, he could have written Love, Ty.

  But no…

  Because he doesn’t love you.

  I drew a deep breath and the sweet, sultry scent of roses spiraled through my nostrils and made my heart pump faster.

  Then again, he did have good taste in flowers, and he had gone to the trouble of sending them and filling out the card himself rather than using a computer-generated message.

  That had to mean something. Right? There was only one way to find out.

  I gathered my courage and reached for the phone.

  If you enjoyed JUST ONE BITE,

  get ready to sink your fangs into this excerpt from

  Kimberly Raye’s next book

  Sucker for Love

  Available from Ballantine Books in May 2009

  Chapter One

  Are you tired of nursing down that bottle of O+ all by your lonesome? Did you spend the last full moon drinking Cosmos and lusting over the American Kennel Club finals? Do you spend every evening scarfing a Hungry-Man (or woman) and watching TiVo?