by J. C. Wilder
She didn’t answer, her gaze remained fixed with his.
He remained silent for a few seconds. “Do you realize that this young woman resembles you? Is the killer obsessed with you? Why did he suddenly change his MO after all this time? Before, it was prostitutes only, now he’s reached into mid-suburbia.”
She scowled. “Does this make it an even more hateful crime since it’s no longer prostitutes? Once it hits the lily-white public, they’ll go ballistic. Is this what you’re saying?”
“That’s not what I said at all. The bottom line is that I want some answers and I think you’re the only one who can give them to me.”
“I don’t happen to agree.” She rose and walked toward the police barricade to make her escape. Frustration and anger churned in her gut, tears stung her eyes. She needed to get away from the police, from the stench of death. The cops had felt the same way about her mother. She was just a whore, they’d said. Did it really matter? Yes. It mattered then and it mattered even more now.
Henry grabbed her arm and forced her around to face him once again. “Talk to me, Shai. Talk to me now or I’ll have you hauled in.”
She pulled away from him. “Henry, we’ve known each other for years, so please trust me now. If I knew what was going on, don’t you think I’d tell you? Believe me when I say that I have no more of a clue than you do.”
Henry looked doubtful. “Then why did this guy meet you last night?”
“I don’t know why this psycho singled me out. All I know is that he did and now I have to deal with his actions. I swear to you that I’ll call you immediately if he attempts to contact me again. I honestly think he’s a crackpot and he won’t.” Shai turned and walked away from him once more.
“I’m assigning you twenty-four-hour protection,” he bellowed after her.
She shot a smile over her shoulder and continued walking. “It won’t help, Henry. Just how do you think to stop a vampire?”
* * * * *
He’d come for her tonight, and this time she was ready for him.
Stretched out on her battered couch, she was dressed in worn sweats and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. She sighed. Even in the height of August, she was freezing. In one pocket, she had a small silver cross. She’d tucked a two-foot sharpened stake under the front of the couch. In her right hand, she clutched a vial of holy water.
Maybe she was going insane, she mused as the clock struck midnight. If she were truly insane, she’d commit herself to Bellevue Hospital. But tonight she wanted answers and there was only one place to get them. The tiny marks at the base of her throat began to itch.
Vampire bites.
She pushed the thought away. Right now she needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Later, after she’d taken some Valium, she would contemplate the idea of vampires in New York.
A slight shifting in the shadows drew her attention. The figure of a man took shape in the window then her lover materialized.
He stepped through the window and Shai struggled to control her breathing as she followed Val’s movement toward her with her gaze. She felt an almost irresistible pull toward him, and it was a physical struggle to remain on the couch and lay perfectly still. Her grip tightened on the vial of water.
When he reached the foot of the couch, she swung her leg out and hooked him behind the knee. With a quick jerk, she knocked him off balance. She rolled off the couch and, using his momentum against him, knocked him to the floor. She landed on him, her elbow digging into his diaphragm.
He was much bigger than she’d remembered, she thought wildly as she struggled to pin him and uncork the tiny bottle. Maybe she should have taken some self-defense courses before trying this. She managed to get it open and spilled a few drops on her stunned lover. He hissed. With shaking hands, she dribbled a few drops on her fingertips and began to chant a traditional Catholic blessing while she drew a cross on his forehead with the liquid.
“In the name of the mother,” she gasped.
He laughed and shoved her off him and onto the floor next to him. She landed with a thud. “You have that backward. It starts ‘In the name of the Father…’”
She whipped the small silver cross out of her pocket and held it before her like a shield. “Stay back.”
Val burst into laughter and the sound of it sent shivers of desire down her spine. Until she noted that he was rolling on the floor like a child, clutching his sides.
“You’re supposed to be reeling in horror,” she snapped.
He shook his dark head and reached over, plucking the cross from her numb fingers. “I wasn’t a Christian when I lived on this earth as a mortal. It certainly has no power against me now. You watch too many movies.” He tossed the cross over his shoulder and it landed somewhere in the darkened corner of the room.
Pulling the stake out from under the couch, she pointed it at him. “Come any closer and I’ll stake you,” her voice wobbled.
He grinned, his mirth subsiding as he easily pulled the stake from her hands. “I don’t eat meat,” he quipped.
She glared and began moving away in an awkward crabwalk. Within seconds, he caught her and forced her flat to the floor, his body imprisoning her. “No!” she protested as his lips trailed fire down her throat.
He pulled back and stared down at her. “Why the resistance now, angel?” he purred. “You weren’t fighting me last night. In fact, I thought you were going to tear me apart to get me inside of you.” He nipped her earlobe, wrenching a moan from her.
“I didn’t know what you were last night.” She struggled to free her arms.
“And this matters?” He bit the top button off her shirt and spat it carelessly across the room.
“Of course it matters.” She jerked to the left, trying to avoid his oh-so-talented mouth as it descended once more.
“It won’t matter once I’ve buried myself in you.” He licked the vulnerable skin between her breasts before zeroing in on the next button. It bounced off the end table when he spat it to the side.
Shai groaned. Already her body betrayed her. Her breasts ached and she squirmed against the wonderful-terrible hardness in his pants. “I don’t want you,” she protested as her desire grew to an almost unbearable level. “I can’t want you.” She moved restlessly beneath him.
He chuckled against her plump breast. “You lie to me, beautiful. Your body tells me the truth.” He nipped the rosy peak of her breast. “Tell me why you’re trying to lie to me.” He noisily suckled her.
She could barely think, let alone speak coherently. “Let me up. I can’t breathe.” Letting go of her nipple reluctantly, he gave a devilish smile that curled her toes. He moved off her body and gave her room to rise. She struggled to pull her rumpled self back together, but it was difficult when most of her shirt buttons had been bitten off. She settled for pulling the two halves together, then crossing her arms under her breasts, all the time aware of Val’s avid gaze.
When she felt a minute bit calmer, she looked down at the vampire who still sat on her floor. “I have some questions for you,” she announced then settled on the edge of the couch. She regretted her move when he rose from the floor and sat next to her.
“I am an open book.” He reached out, captured a bright red curl and twirled it about his finger.
Shai started to rise, but he refused to relinquish her lock of hair. Instead, she scooted herself into a corner of the couch and tried to sit as far away from him as possible. “Wh-wh-who are you?” Her voice trembled.
He grinned. “It is a bit late for that, isn’t it? I think you know me very well by now… Better than most…”
“Did I have a choice?” she snapped.
He looked surprised. “A choice? From what I understand, you never wanted a choice. If I remember correctly, your exact words were that you wanted ‘a dark, mysterious lover to ravish you long into the night. A man who would force you to give in to your body’s demands.’”
She frowned. The statement niggled her brain. Then
it hit her. “That night at the Casa Roma. You weren’t there when we were talking about that—”
“I heard you nonetheless. You were with your friends and the pretty blonde asked you what your secret fantasy was. You said you wanted someone to enter your room by the bedroom window and ravish you until dawn. To give yourself completely to him and your desires, I believe.” He dropped her curl and captured her hand. “Did I not do this?”
“I was drunk and you were eavesdropping,” she stated baldly. “You can’t just break into people’s homes…”
He shook his head as he turned her hand and traced the delicate lines of her palm. “You invited me in. You knew I was there that night and you knew who I was and exactly what I wanted.” He kissed her palm.
Shai tried to ignore the current that tingled up her arm. Oh, how she wanted to give in to him. “No! I didn’t know, I thought you were a dream, a figment of my imagination.”
He dropped her hand and sat back with a pained expression on his handsome face. “I’ve been friends with Jennifer for many years. Surely this will go a long way to reassure you as to my character.”
“She’s never mentioned you before.”
“Do all of your friends know all of your other friends?”
“Well, not really—”
“Is there anything else?” He captured her ankle and tugged her toward him. “I’d really like to move on to more important matters.”
“What could be more important than a dead woman wearing the nightgown you cut off me?”
Val stopped and stared at her, his expression annoyed. “What are you speaking of?”
“Have you been reading about the serial killer here in New York?”
He nodded, his expression guarded.
“The police found another body tonight. She closely resembled me and she wore the chemise that you cut off my body just last night.”
Shai watched his expression turn stony. She was hoping he’d show some kind of emotion that would tell her one way or the other if she were off base. She was sorely disappointed. “What can you tell me of this?”
“What would I know of dead women and torn lingerie?” His tone was remote.
“You tell me.” She wrenched her foot from his grasp and stood. “You know a hell of a lot more than you let on.”
Val ran his fingers through his hair, causing it to tumble onto his forehead. His expression was exasperated.
Damn, but he’s gorgeous.
“He will not hurt you, Shai. I swear it.”
She tensed. Now she was getting somewhere. “You know who he is?”
“Yes, but—”
“Give me his name,” she demanded.
“No. You cannot stop him. No one can.”
“Is he blond with icy blue eyes? Stands about six feet and built like a wall?” she snarled. “I already know his physical description. I met him last night. All I need is a name and I can get him put away for good.”
His expression turned dark. “You met him? Where?”
“He called and asked me to meet him—”
“You actually went to meet him?” he roared as he came up off the couch. His eyes glittered with a strange black light and she wondered if she’d been unwise in letting that piece of information slip.
“It was in a restaurant and it was crowded. He couldn’t have hurt me in public—”
“You’re a fool! He could have killed you and left you to bleed to death in your soup and none would have been the wiser.” He paced the floor like a caged animal and she couldn’t help but admire the ripple of sleek muscles under his black cotton shirt and black jeans. “You’d have been a number like the rest of them—”
“I don’t think he wants to hurt me. It appears he’s playing a game with me,” Shai interrupted. “He said he enjoyed the chase and that I was to catch him.”
Val whirled to face her and gripped her upper arms. “You’ll go nowhere near him,” he hissed.
“Indeed!” She tried to pull away, but he didn’t release his hold. “Who do you think you are?”
“Your master, little one. You gave yourself to me, don’t you remember?”
“W-w-well yeah, but I thought it was a sexual game. I didn’t mean you could have control over me body and soul.”
He smiled. “Too late, beautiful, you’re my responsibility. If you do not have the sense to keep yourself safe, it looks like I’ll have to do it for you.”
With a wave of his hand, she felt a prickle of energy race along her skin before surrounding her, scooping her off the floor. She gave a stifled shriek as she floated across the room and into the bedroom to land none too gently on the bed. “What the hell—” she squealed and tried to escape as the energy subsided.
He appeared in the doorway and, with another wave of his hand, white silk ties appeared at the bedposts and tied themselves around her arms and legs, securing her spread-eagled to the bed. Panic fluttered in her chest as she tugged against her bonds to no avail. “Let me go.”
Val approached the bed, a warm smile curving his lips. “Not until much later, my love. When I’m sure you’ll be safe.” He settled himself on the edge of the bed and leaned against the footboard. “What do you suppose we should do to amuse ourselves until then?”
Shai struggled against her bonds, tears of frustration burning in her eyes. She didn’t want to give in to him, but already her body was betraying her. An ancient voice from her soul seemed to be calling for her to give herself to him. She was helpless to resist.
“No,” she whispered.
He shook his dark head. “Give in, Shai, for you know you will in the end. You cannot resist me any more than I can resist you. We’re both helpless against our desires. This is your fantasy, is it not?”
She squeezed her eyes shut as his familiar touch moved over her, efficiently removing her clothing. Nimble fingers worked their way over her body until they lightly caressed her breasts. Slowly, they parted the buttonless shirt and her eyes flew open when humid night air touched her breasts.
Val sat unmoving at the end of the bed, his eyes dark with untamed desire, his arms crossing his chest. He smiled as she arched under his invisible caresses. “Do you like that? I can watch you be pleasured by an invisible lover, all the while knowing that I am the only one.”
Invisible lips settled over the rosy crest of her breast and began to suckle while she twisted and whimpered on the bed. Already, he knew where to touch, to caress, to arouse cries from her soul. Fingertips traced a trail of fire to the tops of her sweats. With a flick of his finger, all of her clothing disappeared and she lay naked and vulnerable on the bed before him.
“Just wait ‘til you see the things I can do for you, my love. I can give you the world,” he crooned as her invisible lover took her to the heights of pleasure.
She strained toward mystical hands as they plundered her body. No part was left untouched, unkissed. She didn’t want him this way. She wanted him, the man, not the magic.
“I want to feel you against me,” she gasped out. “Your flesh against mine.” She looked deep into his blue eyes. “Please.”
Val looked startled, yet absurdly pleased. Suddenly the invisible hands on her body were gone and there was only the two of them. “Your wish is my command, Shai,” he breathed.
Slipping the dagger from the top of his pants, he dropped it soundlessly to the rag rug beside the bed. She held her breath when he reached for her. Long-fingered and lightly calloused, he had capable hands, sensual hands.
He moved between her thighs to stroke her warm, sensitive flesh. She shivered when his strong fingers pressed into her skin. Lightly, he skimmed upward, parting her pussy.
“I saved the best for myself, of course.” He dipped his head.
Shocked, she tried to twist away from him. “Val!”
He kissed the inside of her thigh. “Do not be so shy, angel. We have shared much more than this simple kiss.”
He dipped his head and touched his tongue to her clit, and she
cried out at the exquisite sensations he aroused. She tried to get away from his tormenting kisses, but he held her firmly against his mouth by gripping her hips and holding her still. Ripples of ecstasy began deep inside and radiated out as whimpers broke from her lips. Soft breathy cries filled the room as Val brought her arousal to full flame.
He kissed a path of fire up her body, pausing to suckle here and nibble there as Shai lay sated in his arms. He gave her a knowing smile then took her lips in a kiss that was earthy and powerful. He tasted of dark, carnal desire and her sex. Her hands and legs were released all at once and she wrapped her legs around his jeans-clad waist and tangled her fingers in his hair.
She clung to him as his tongue thrust deep into her mouth in an erotic imitation of the dance to come. She wanted him against her, not hidden by the barrier of Levi Strauss. She reluctantly let go of his hair and skimmed her hands down to liberate the buttons on his jeans, sighing as the heavy length of him sprang free. He was magnificently made. She broke their kiss as she slipped her hand around his erection and began stroking him in a lazy fashion.
“For me?” she purred.
Val grinned. “But of course, madam.” He gripped her by the waist and rolled over until she was sprawled across him. He laced his fingers behind his head. “To do with as you wish.”
She put her hand on his chest to catch her balance. A feeling of power surged through her and she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to impale herself on his flesh and remain there the rest of her life. She arched backward. Her long hair brushed her backside and she shivered. His erection jumped and throbbed, pressing tightly against her vagina.
She rose onto her knees and poised over him. Their gazes clashed and she smiled just before impaling herself on his willing flesh. He filled her so perfectly as if they were made for each other. Raising her arms behind her head, she thrust her breasts outward in a silent invitation. She tipped her head forward, shifting her hips slightly as she adjusted her position. “I’m perfectly content now. How about you?”
His grin was wicked. Suddenly, he shifted his legs up and she tumbled forward onto his chest. Before she knew what was happening, he’d turned her onto her back and she lay pinned beneath him.