Mortal Wish (Scanguards Vampires #0.5)

by Tina Folsom

  “And the blood?” she whispered.

  “There are ways. You wouldn’t have to feed directly from humans if you didn’t want to. Though you might grow to like it. But if you don’t, there are always blood banks.”

  She looked at him for a long while, clearly contemplating his words. “I’m scared.”

  Jake reached for her, stroking his knuckles over her cheek. “I know. But I’ll be here for you.”

  Slowly she moved her head closer. “Why would you do that for me? Didn’t you come here with a wish, too?”

  He smiled. “Do you know what I wished for?”

  She shook her head.

  “To be mortal again.” He sighed. “But I understand now that it wasn’t my heart’s true desire. It wasn’t my mortality I wanted.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know because I’m holding my heart’s true desire in my arms right now. I know now that I was drawn to this island so I could meet you and fulfill your wish.”

  “So the spring really does work?”

  He kissed her. “Yes. But only for those who are prepared to open their eyes and trust in the impossible. So, Claire, do you trust me to give you a second life?”

  Slowly, she nodded. “I trust you. I don’t know why, but I do.”

  “It won’t hurt,” he promised. “I’ll drain you of your human blood, and at your last heartbeat, I’ll feed you mine. When you wake, you’ll be like me, a creature of the night.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?”

  “I promise you it will work.”

  She swallowed and her voice trembled when she spoke her next words. “When I wake, will you be there?” Her eyes glimmered with hope.

  “Claire, I want a life with you. If you want that, too, I’ll be there for you through eternity as your lover. If you don’t, I’ll be by your side as your friend. The choice is yours.”

  There was no hesitation in her voice when she responded to him. “Bite me, my lover.” She closed her eyes and whispered again, “My lover for eternity.”

  His heart jumping with joy, he lowered his lips to her neck and pierced her skin with his fangs. He sucked on the plump vein, feeling Claire shiver. To reassure her that she would be safe, he caressed her tenderly and sent his thoughts to her.

  Easy, darling. All will be fine soon. Trust me. I’ll keep you safe.

  The more blood he took from her, the more her heartbeat slowed. His own heart beat faster now. It had been a long time since he’d turned a human, and the process wasn’t without risk. If he gave her his blood too early, the turning wouldn’t take and she would die suffering excruciating pain. Equally, if he waited too long, she would die, though it would be as if she merely fell asleep. Neither of those two scenarios was acceptable. He needed for Claire to live. He’d promised her.

  I’ll keep you safe, he repeated once more and removed his fangs from her neck, then pierced his own wrist. Blood dripped from it.

  “Now,” he murmured to himself.

  6

  The darkness around her was suddenly retreating, making space for warmth and light. She wasn’t sure what the source of the light was, but she could feel it shine against her closed lids. Around her was softness. Her ears picked up different sounds, some distant, some close by. Her gums itched, and involuntarily, she ground her teeth.

  The fog that had been her constant companion for the last year, the pain that had overshadowed her life was gone. In its stead she felt strength and power, an energy that seemed unreal. Even before her illness she’d never felt like this.

  “Claire.”

  The sound of her name being spoken drifted to her. As if somebody was calling her to leave the beautiful dream world she was in. She didn’t want to listen to it, didn’t want to leave the place where she felt no pain.

  “Claire, stay with me.”

  She recognized that voice. Jake’s voice. Her lover from the night before. A stranger, yet she’d never felt closer to anyone.

  Her lips parted to speak, and only then did she realize that she hadn’t been breathing. Air rushed into her lungs, filling them, expanding them. A gasp escaped on her first exhale. Her eyes flew open at the same time. While she tried to focus them, memories rushed back. Memories of her body being drained of blood, of her heartbeat slowing. Memories of her getting a new life. A second chance.

  “I’m alive,” she murmured, glancing around. She wasn’t at the beach anymore. She lay on a bed, naked beneath the sheets. The shutters of the window were closed, but she could tell that it was daylight outside.

  Jake sat at the edge of the bed. “Yes, alive and immortal.” His impossibly blue eyes pinned her, his lips curving into a smile. “I brought you to my room.” He gently brushed a strand of her hair from her forehead. “I undressed and bathed you. You were soaked.” He motioned to his own nude torso and the towel that was wrapped around his lower half. “And so was I.”

  She nodded and raised her hand to touch his chest. Beneath her fingers sparks seemed to ignite. Surprised, she met his eyes. “You feel different.”

  He captured her hand and pressed it to the spot where his heart beat, steady and strong. “All your senses are more pronounced now. Everything you touch feels more real, more intense. Everything you see is sharper, the colors more vibrant. Your sense of smell is better than any animal’s, your hearing more sensitive than ever.”

  She could feel everything he was describing. And more. Slowly, she ran her hand down his torso, until her fingers brushed up against the towel. “And my appetite for sex?”

  Jake bent closer, a seductive smile playing around his lips. “More insatiable than you can imagine.” He winked. “But I’m happy to oblige.”

  He took her hand and pressed it against the towel. Beneath it, she felt the hard outline of his cock.

  “Mmm.” She squeezed his erection and felt her clit throb in response. “I need to feel you.”

  She licked her lips and felt her gums itch at the same time. Taking a hasty breath, she opened her mouth wider. She sensed her fangs descending.

  “Beautiful.” Jake’s eyes darkened and he stroked his index finger over her lips, before rubbing it over one fang.

  A bolt of energy charged through her, and she gasped. Never had she felt anything as intensely as Jake touching her there. “Oh God! What’s happening?”

  He moved closer, his lips now only inches from her mouth. “Fangs are a vampire’s most erogenous zone. Touching you there, licking you there, will feel to you as if I were touching and licking your pussy. I can make you come just by licking your fangs.” And judging by the glint in his eyes, he wanted to do just that.

  The thought aroused her, made all kinds of wanton ideas swamp her mind. Was this what it meant to be a vampire? To be ruled by ones desires, ones basest instincts? More than one of those instincts reared its head already. She swallowed hard.

  “I’m…” She didn’t know how to express what she needed.

  “Thirsty? I know. It’s natural. I have human blood for you.” He pointed to a bag in a corner of the room. “But first…” He locked eyes with hers. “I want the first blood you drink to be mine. I want you to remember your first bite as something beautiful.”

  Her eyes widened. “Bite you? Another vampire?”

  “Yes. It’s common among lovers. It heightens the pleasure. And you wanted me as your lover, didn’t you? Or did you change your mind?” A flicker of uncertainty appeared in his mesmerizing eyes.

  She hastened to dispel his doubts, cupping his cheek. “I want you.” She dropped her gaze to the artery that pulsed at his neck and ran her finger over the tempting spot. What would it feel like to bite him and drink his blood?

  A second later, Jake tossed the towel to the floor, revealing his erect cock, and pulled back the duvet. He ran his eyes over her naked body, and the admiration and desire in them made her heart beat faster. She reached for him, pulled him down to her.

  Surprised at her own strength, she smiled. “I think I�
�m going to like this.”

  Tenderly he caressed her neck, trailing his fingers along her pulsing vein. “As will I. Now that you’re as strong as I, I won’t have to be careful anymore not to hurt you. When I took you the night on the beach, I had to hold back.”

  “It didn’t feel like you were holding back.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve seen nothing yet.”

  At the thought of making love to Jake, she felt a shudder race through her, while butterflies seemed to swirl in her stomach. “Then show me. I want to experience everything. I want to live fully now. Without holding back.”

  “Anything you want, darling.”

  He nudged his cock at her center. The contact of hard male flesh to soft female flesh was more electrifying than the first time. Every nerve ending in her body seemed to be on overdrive, sending impressions back to her brain, sensations that were so intense she could hardly believe they were her own.

  Claire spread her legs wider, making space to accommodate him, and he didn’t lose any time and plunged into her to the hilt. She welcomed the forceful invasion with a moan, loving the way he filled her. While she’d always been one to enjoy slow and gentle lovemaking, she had the feeling that she would very quickly get addicted to the wild and passionate sex Jake was promising.

  There was nothing hesitant or slow about the way he thrust into her, his cock impaling her. Deep and hard. Powerful and fast. Relentless. She wrapped her legs around him, her ankles locking below his butt, and every time he drove into her, she pulled him deeper, demanding he give her more.

  His eyes pinned her, a red rim around his irises, an orange glow spreading. His lips were parted, showing the tips of his fangs, and by God, how the sight turned her on. He was all vampire now. Powerful, immortal, and all hers.

  “Bite me,” he murmured, tilting his head to the side and bringing his neck to her lips. “Taste me.” He rocked harder into her and growled. “And later, when you’re exhausted from your orgasms, I’ll fuck your pretty mouth.”

  The erotic image snapped the last thread of her self-control. Her fangs extended to their full length, and even if she’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have been able to stop her next action. She set her fangs at the spot where his neck and shoulder connected and licked over the glistening skin. The salty taste only heightened her thirst, and she pierced his vein with the sharp tips, lodging them deep in his flesh. If he tried to move away, her sharp canines would rip his flesh, but Jake didn’t jerk back. Instead, he plunged his cock deeper, just as she pulled on his vein and took her first conscious taste of his blood. Though he’d turned her by giving her his blood, she had no memory of it.

  This was her first true taste of Jake. His blood was rich and thick; its taste sent a thrill into every cell of her body, awakening everything that was female and vampire in her. She sucked harder, needing more of this addicting elixir he so freely offered.

  “Fuck!” he ground out and shuddered. “It’s too good!”

  She felt him spasm inside her, flooding her with his essence, but still he didn’t slow down, didn’t stop his relentless thrusts. He shifted his angle and continued, his cock just as hard as before his orgasm, while she swallowed his blood and let it permeate her body, sending a tingling through all her cells.

  Her orgasm came without any preamble, simply hit her out of nowhere and swallowed her like an ocean wave. Gasping, she pulled her fangs from Jake’s neck and bucked toward him.

  “Yes, that’s it, darling!” he praised and rocked inside her a few more times, before he pulled out of her.

  Before disappointment about the abrupt end to their lovemaking had time to spread, he’d already rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her ass up in the air. A second later, he was back inside her, his impossibly hard cock fucking her from behind.

  She cried out in pleasure and surprise. “Jake!”

  “I told you I wouldn’t hold back.” He gripped her hips tightly and slammed into her.

  “But you already came,” she managed to say, lifting herself onto her elbows.

  “I drank pints of your blood. I’m going to be hard for a very long time, no matter how many orgasms I have.”

  The revelation made the fire in her belly burn even brighter. Her vampire lover would make love to her until they both couldn’t move another limb. And right now, he was taking her so hard, plowing into her from behind, that a human woman would have screamed in agony. Yet, she, Claire Culver, newly turned vampire, welcomed every thrust of his hard cock into her soft center, craving more the more Jake gave her.

  “Fuck me, Jake!” she cried out, not caring if anybody in the Bed and Breakfast could hear them.

  He pounded into her, gripping her so tightly that despite her new vampire strength she wouldn’t have been able to escape him.

  “Did you like my blood?” he asked breathlessly, his voice a mere growl now.

  “I loved it.” It was the truth.

  “Good.”

  As if he wanted to thank her for her answer, he slipped one hand to her front and found her clit with unerring precision. He rubbed his moist finger over it, once, twice, and she erupted once more. An orgasm more powerful than the first washed over her. Jake shuddered at the same time, more of his semen spilling inside her, lubricating her channel even more.

  “Fuck, yeah!” he groaned and slowed, while her pussy still quivered with aftershocks.

  ~ ~ ~

  Still shaking from his second orgasm, Jake pulled from her sheath. He couldn’t get enough of Claire. But he didn’t want to steamroll her either. He had to assure himself that she really wanted this, that she really like being fucked like this. After all, there was no way she could have guessed how wild he’d get in bed, and how insatiable he truly was.

  Gently, he turned her back onto her back. Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction, her heartbeat raced, and her skin glistened with sweat. She reached for him. He bent down to her and kissed her, tenderly at first, but within seconds, the kiss turned heated. With a moan, he ripped his lips from her.

  “God, Claire, you’re driving me insane.” He shoved a hand through his damp hair and threw his head back. “The things I want to do to you… How I want to take you, make you mine…” He sighed. “If you don’t stop me, I’m going to take you every which way I can. And I mean every. So you’d better put the brakes on, or I can’t guarantee what’ll happen.”

  Her eyes turned molten. By God, she was all vampire, through and through. Down to the insatiable lust for sex. He’d done that to her. But had she really wanted this? Had she truly chosen this?

  She opened her eyes wider, her lashes crashing against her brows, a motion so seductive, it robbed him of his breath. Her tongue emerged, licking over her lower lip. She knew exactly how she was tempting him. Luring him.

  “That night at the beach,” she murmured, her hand sliding down to his ass. “When you bit me while you made love to me the second time, I could feel that you wanted to take me harder, but you restrained yourself.”

  “You made me so wild, your blood… it only added to my desire for you.”

  “It felt good. All of it. The bite; your cock inside me; feeling that you wanted me.”

  “I still want you. Now even more.”

  “Then take me any way you want to, because I want the same. I want to experience everything with you. No holding back.”

  “A woman after my own heart.” He lifted himself off her and got out of bed, pulling her with him.

  “What are you doing?”

  He led her toward the bathroom. “I want to shower with you, and then I want you on your knees in front of me, sucking my cock as if it’s the best thing you’ve ever had.”

  When her eyes started to glow only the way a vampire’s could, his heart jumped with joy.

  “Under one condition.”

  He froze. “Condition?” He wasn’t used to a woman making demands.

  Claire molded her luscious body to his, bringing her mouth to his ear. “Don’t pull out before
I’m done with you. I don’t want to spill a single drop.”

  He sandwiched her between his body and the door frame. “God, woman! What are you trying to do to me?”

  “I just want to please you.”

  He sank his hungry mouth onto hers, silencing her so she couldn’t utter any more seductive words, while he lifted her up and slid her onto his cock. He took her right there against the wall until another orgasm had calmed him enough so he could proceed with his original plan of watching Claire kneel in front of him, his cock in her beautiful mouth, while he thrust back and forth, claiming one more part of her.

  7

  Three months later – New York City

  Jake cursed and slammed the guy into the wall next to a dumpster, noticing from the corner of his eye how Claire was already taking care of the young woman the man had attacked and clearly planned to rape.

  No matter how often he and Claire roamed the streets of Manhatten at night, there seemed to be an endless supply of criminals. But even though at first he’d vowed not to get involved in humans’ problems, one look at Claire’s pleading face, and he knew that he couldn’t deny her anything. God, how he’d grown to love this woman. It was time to tell her just how much.

  “You know we have to help them,” she’d said shortly after their arrival in New York, when they’d come upon a man robbing an elderly couple at gunpoint. “If we don’t do it, who will?”

  Who indeed?

  So he’d given in. And—grudgingly—he had to admit to himself that he liked helping people, saving those who couldn’t save themselves. And the more humans he and Claire saved the more of his humanity he seemed to regain. The goodness in Claire’s heart was contagious, and she’d clearly infected him with it. Though there was no way in hell he’d admit it to anybody. After all, who’d ever heard of a nice vampire?

  “She’s hurt,” Claire advised him now, while she tried to calm the scared woman.

  “Heal her.”

  In the meantime, he’d take care of the jerk, who was now getting back onto his feet and turning around, fists at the ready. Jake grunted with satisfaction. He loved beating up assholes, and when they tried to put up a fight, it was even more fun. And most of the time he didn’t even use his vampire powers to exact punishment. He got more satisfaction out of it when he traded kicks and blows with his opponent and let him believe—if only for a while—that they were matched in strength.