The Lady is a Vamp (The Paranormal Investigations Series Book 1)

by MICHELLE KELLY,

  If he could keep his focus on the case and not on thoughts of what this particular vampire would feel like, naked and willing beneath him. When he had kissed her, felt her body responding to his, the intensity of the desire he had felt had only been matched by his horror as the contact had shown him the reason he couldn’t penetrate her mental shields. She was a vampire. Just as her vamp powers wouldn’t work on him, so his telepathic powers were next to useless on her. As he had sat in the booth talking to her, using all the force of his skill to try and pick up anything from her mind, giving himself a headache in the process, he had thought she was a powerful telepath herself, or just one of those rare people who were naturally immune. His attraction to her had blinded him to what he should have noticed straight away. He should have known it was too good to be true; that he had finally come across a beautiful woman who was immune to his ‘gift’.

  Gift. More of a curse when it came to his personal life. Having an intimate relationship when you were aware of every thought and feeling of the other person was impossible; when every time you touched them you were assailed by their memories. The last time Nick had tried to have a serious relationship, it had ended when they were making love and Nick had picked up on her memories of her having sex with one of his work colleagues the week before. He had sworn off relationships ever since, apart from a few drunken one night stands, when only his intoxicated state had stopped him reading their minds. Until the morning.

  Kissing Ruby, and seeing nothing except her, feeling nothing except the coming together of their mouths and breath, had been like heaven. Making love to her would, he was sure, be exquisite.

  Nick tried to keep his thoughts out of the gutter as he watched her walk up the stairs to his apartment, her hips and ass swaying sensuously under the thin material of her dress. When she looked back at him over her shoulder with a wicked expression he glared at her, angry that he had been caught staring and that she knew exactly what effect her luscious body was having on him.

  ‘In here,’ he said shortly, ushering her in and locking the door behind them, pocketing the key. Ruby raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him.

  ‘Scared I might try and escape, Detective?’

  ‘I’m trying to protect you. Unless you want me to take you straight to the station?’

  Ruby dropped her eyes, looking genuinely nervous, and Nick felt bad for being mean.

  ‘Sit down,’ he waved a hand towards the small lounge, ‘I’ll fix you a drink. You can have a drink other than bodily fluids I assume?’

  Ruby grimaced at his coarseness.

  ‘I’ll have a coffee, please. No blood, just a little milk.’

  Nick went into the kitchen to fix coffee, watching her through the door. He was pretty sure she posed no threat, but he wasn’t about to turn his back on her. He was taking enough of a risk, not taking her straight in for questioning. He could argue she was a confidential informant, but first he needed to know what she knew. Watching her sit down and cross her elegant legs, smoothing down that velvety blanket of hair, she looked both vulnerable and beautiful. When Nick handed her a coffee his eyes were kinder, and she looked at him in surprise.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said softly. Nick sat down next to her, amazed to feel his heart pounding in his chest. This woman was bewitching him, even if she thought she was unable to.

  ‘So tell me about Simon,’ he said, sipping his coffee, so hot it burnt his lips. Just how he liked it. Her own cup in her lap, Ruby looked down at it and then back up.

  ‘Simon was, well, obsessed.’

  ‘With you?’ He could easily imagine that. Simon was a young guy with a thing for vamps, and she was a hot, female vampire. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he would be all over her. Nick felt a sudden pang of jealousy at the thought of them together, but Ruby shook her head.

  ‘No. With becoming a vampire. I tried to convince him there was no such thing, but he had had an encounter with one before, abroad. At first I thought he just wanted to be a donor, but then he started asking for mine. When I refused, he said he knew another vamp who would do it. I thought he was lying, or some wannabe had convinced Simon he was the real thing, but then the other night, I sensed him. Another vampire, a powerful one. Then Simon turned up dead.’

  Ruby looked at Nick, who was studying her intensely.

  ‘Are you still trying to read my mind?’

  Nick shook his head. Thank God she can’t read mine, he thought , or she would know I’m thinking about taking her on this couch right here and now. He cleared his throat, annoyed at himself. He never got distracted at work, what the hell was wrong with him? He had to wonder if she was able to use a little of her influence on him after all.

  ‘So,’ he tried valiantly to concentrate, ‘you’re saying there’s another vampire in the city. Don’t you lot tend to keep away from each other?’

  Ruby winced at his second use of ‘you lot’. Obviously the NYPD preternatural branch didn’t teach their officers much in the way of inter species relations. She had to fight a childish urge not to stick her tongue out at him.

  ‘Usually, yes. This new vamp may just be passing through, or intending to frighten me off and make New York his own personal hunting ground.’

  ‘If Simon is anything to go by, this new vamp clearly has more of a thirst on him than you. But that doesn’t explain why the body was just left out for us to find.’ Vamps were notoriously secretive, careful not to risk exposure…and not just to humans.

  ‘There was a weretiger at the club tonight, he left when he saw me come in.’

  Ruby nodded. ‘A scout for the Alliance; the stronger weres act as enforcers, particularly the wolves. Which puts me in even more danger if they too blame me for this, although my powers are quite effective on weres, at least when they’re in human form. It’s only the Fey that are totally immune – and apparently you. If the wolves come after me, I’m screwed. I was hoping to get an audience with the Alliance tonight, convince them it wasn’t me and I want this bastard found as much as they do, but then you came along and interfered.’

  Nick bristled. ‘Interfered? I’m investigating a murder. This isn’t about vampire territory and preternatural race relations as far as I’m concerned. A boy died. A very human boy.’

  He expected a smart comeback, and was surprised to see her dark blue eyes glisten with sudden tears.

  ‘I liked Simon,’ she said quietly, not looking at him, ‘not like you insinuated, but as a friend … I don’t have many, as you can imagine, Detective. So yes, I want his killer brought to justice too, but I can’t ignore the wider implications for me and my kind. The Alliance won’t stand for vamps rampaging the city and risking the exposure of any of us.’

  Nick nodded. All too often a large part of his job consisted of keeping the majority of the public in blissful ignorance. If half of the so-called ‘vampires’ that frequented places like Crimson Shade knew the truth, they would run away screaming.

  Except, he wasn’t, was he? He was sitting right next to a real, live – or undead, as the case may be – vampire and instead of arresting her or at least taking her in for questioning like he should, she was here on his couch. He wanted her. Badly. And he couldn’t stop the rush of compassion as she revealed her loneliness, that her only friend had been a spoilt rich boy with a vampire fetish now dead. Almost without thinking he reached out and stroked her hair. It felt like silk beneath his hands. She looked up, eyes sparkling in the light, that plump mouth trembling, and he knew he had to kiss her again.

  That lush mouth opened under his with a sigh, her tongue darting between his lips and her hands going up to his face. Cupping his chin in her hands she pulled away and looked at him wonderingly, her eyes searching his. For a moment Ruby had to wonder if this was some ploy on his part, if he still suspected her, but she read nothing in his eyes apart from raw desire. A feeling that matched her own.

  They kissed again, a meeting of mouths that was as fierce as it was tender. As his strong arms went a
round her Ruby felt herself immersed in the sensations of being held by him, of his mouth claiming hers. It had been so long since she had been held like this. She had tried before to take human lovers but it was impossible; they were terrified by her ability to control and simultaneously only wanted her because of what she was. With Nick it was different, it was real. He had no love for her kind, that much was obvious, so he desired her solely as a woman. And the fact that she was helpless in his arms, her powers useless against him, excited her as much as it unnerved her. Her body responded to his with a hunger so urgent it seemed to have ignited from nothing; her breasts ached for him to touch them and the damp heat between her thighs was coupled with an intense need to feel him inside her. His hands slid over her bare shoulders, pushing the flimsy straps of her dress down to reveal her breasts, her nipples erect and ready for him. He pulled back from the kiss to drink in the sight of her, a low noise almost like a growl emanating from him.

  ‘Beautiful,’ he murmured, cupping her breasts in his hands and bending his head to them. She sucked in her breath sharply as his tongue blazed a trail of liquid heat across her chest, flicking over one nipple and then the other before catching one breast in his mouth and sucking on it gently. She moaned, practically writhing on the coach, half shy at her obvious arousal but mostly just desperate for more. As his hands pushed her dress down over her hips she lifted them to help him, then when he released her breasts and sat back to look at her, she stood up proudly in front of him. Allowing her dress to slip slowly over her thighs and then fall to the floor she stepped out of it, wearing only her red heels. Nick swallowed, hard.

  ‘No underwear?’ he said, his voice low and thick with desire.

  ‘They ruin the line of the dress,’ she said, smiling at the look of appreciation on his face. His eyes travelled over each inch of her body, and although she should have felt more vulnerable standing there naked before him while he was still fully clothed, in fact she felt wickedly seductive, the hunger in her eyes giving her a thrill she thought she had long forgotten. The thrill of being desired, not for her supernatural powers or near immortality but just for herself. She held a hand out to him, her eyes full of promise, then gasped as Nick stood swiftly and pulled her into his arms again, his hands blazing a trail over her body, bringing a rush of heat to her preternaturally cool skin, warming her from the inside out. She moaned with abandon as he slipped a hand between her trembling thighs, stroking her folds gently until she pushed herself into his hand.

  ‘You’re so wet,’ he murmured into her mouth. In answer she pushed her hips into his groin, where she could feel his erection straining through his pants.

  ‘You’re so hard,’ she teased, brushing a hand over him, eyes going wide as she felt how thick and long he was. He growled again and then dropped to his knees in front of her, hands clenching her buttocks and pulling her towards him. His tongue flickered over her, finding the swollen nub at her core and gently sucking on it until she moaned high and loud, her fingers curling in his hair, lost in the moment. His mouth on her pussy felt exquisite, and she could feel her body opening to him, wanting all of him. It had been so long … Her orgasm hit her, sweet and sharp, and she bucked her hips even as he pulled her closer to him, slipping his fingers inside her so that she tightened around him, increasing the strength and intensity of her climax until she shuddered against him, spent, her hands on his shoulders. Her legs were shaking, her body a pool of heat. Nick stood and kissed her, and the taste of her own arousal on his lips made her insides tighten again.

  ‘That was amazing,’ she whispered, feeling shy again and lowering her eyes, so that he took her by surprise when he whisked her up and over his shoulder, carrying her into the bedroom.

  ‘Put me down,’ she laughed and he dropped her onto the bed, a huge soft mound of a thing, seemingly the only luxury in his typically Spartan male apartment. She sat up, watching him as he stripped off his clothes with quick movements, his eyes dark with lust and his breathing hard. His body was stunning; every inch of him chiselled and naturally tanned, a light dusting of dark hair over his chest and legs and around his impressive and very ready erection. As he walked towards her she reached for him, encasing that smooth hardness in her hand and squeezing it as she stroked. He groaned, then bit his lip as she knelt down and licked slowly around the end of his shaft, looking up at him with a wicked gleam in her eye, her hair tumbling around her naked shoulders. He joined her on the bed, lifting her head between his hands and kissing her again so they were both kneeling in front of each other. He gripped her thighs and pulled her onto his lap, his erection nudging against her swollen flesh. Her cry of pleasure when he eased himself inside her nearly brought him to an instant climax and he paused for a moment, clutching at her hips. Ruby rocked her pelvis on to him, her head tipped back in abandon, small involuntary cries escaping from those beautiful lips. Nick was lost. To feel her like this and be inside her beautiful body without his damned telepathy causing a riot of unwanted images and emotions … this was heaven. Pure, unadulterated bliss. As her rocking movements grew more insistent Nick clutched her buttocks, lifting her up and down onto him as he thrust up into her, his movements hard and urgent. He felt her moist heat tighten around him, saw the tell-tale blush creep across her breasts and neck and he groaned his approval.

  ‘Come for me, baby,’ he urged, feeling his own climax building as she screamed her release, one hand tugging in his hair, the other making scratches on his broad back. The sensations only heightened his excitement, adding a delicious edge to his own release and he clutched her, pulling her against him as he pumped his release into her as if they could truly merge, their bodies entwined like two halves of a whole.

  She shuddered against him as he breathed heavily against her neck, the world slowly coming back together after their shattering release.

  ‘Wow, that was intense,’ he said in wonder, pulling back to look at her. He was amazed to see tears on her cheeks, ‘Are you OK?’

  Ruby smiled and nodded, running her fingertips across his lips. Not wanting to press, especially when he had too many intense emotions of his own whirling around inside of him, Nick lifted her off him and then laid her down next to him in one smooth moment. She was so light and dainty in his arms, he felt a surge of protectiveness. Vamp or not, she was all woman in his arms.

  The only problem was how long could he keep her there?

  Chapter Four

  They lay quiet for a while, Nick with an arm flung over her, Ruby with a hand resting lightly on his muscled thigh, both struggling with the intense emotions their lovemaking had released, both of them reluctant to move or speak, knowing that then the moment would be over, and they would have to deal with the consequences of their coming together.

  Finally Nick broke the silence, tenderly smoothing her hair away from her forehead as he spoke.

  ‘We need to work out our next move.’

  Ruby looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was talking about, before clarity hit her. D’oh. The case. He was a cop, after all. She propped herself up on one elbow, looking at him intently.

  ‘Why did you become a cop? Because of your gift, or did you want to be one anyway?’

  Nick smiled wryly.

  ‘It was always my ambition. Like any boy, I wanted to catch bad guys, and it seemed a way I could make my telepathy work for me, rather than against. I kept it secret for a long time, until one of my superiors who had worked with the Preternatural Branch before sussed it out. Finding out that the monsters under the bed were real freaked me out, but it made me realise I wasn’t such a freak myself.’

  He stopped, realising what he had said as Ruby looked hurt.

  ‘That’s what you think I am, a freak?’

  He shook his head swiftly, moving closer to her.

  ‘No of course not. I’m sorry, that was insensitive, I only meant that, I thought I was the only one who was different, you know? I think you’re beautiful … and brave.’

  She frowned,
‘Why brave?’

  ‘You could have just got out of town when you realised Simon was dead and there was another vamp around,’ he pointed out, ‘but you went straight back to the club to investigate. Maybe you should have been a cop too,’ he grinned, the idea of Ruby in uniform making a pleasant image in his mind. Ruby chuckled wryly.

  ‘Hardly. I was a pickpocket, and then a barmaid,’ she said, a dark look crossing her face. Nick looked at her with interest. Truly, he hadn’t thought about her past, but of course she couldn’t have been a vamp forever.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked carefully. Ruby was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

  ‘I pretty much grew up on the streets until I was taken in by Madam Betty. I became a pickpocket, a good one,’ she added with a trace of pride, ‘you would never have caught me. I was lucky enough to get away from that life; I married the son of an innkeeper. We were attacked one night by a vamp who killed everyone apart from me. I was the only one he gave his blood to – I have no idea why, I never saw him again.’

  ‘So you were left to fend for yourself?’ Nick asked, sensing her pain behind the matter-of-factly way that she spoke, reeling from her revelation that she had been married. He had never really thought of vamps of being human, but now he realised Ruby was every bit as much flesh and blood as he was. Okay, so she had some odd eating habits and was a couple of hundred years older than him, but you couldn’t have it all. He decided then and there he would never let anyone hurt her again.

  But Ruby seemed to have other ideas. She was sitting up now, hugging her knees to her chest, withdrawing from him. He touched her back, marvelling again at the translucent perfection of her skin.