One Bite Stand

by Nina Bangs

  “Like the change, hot bod?” Sparkle glanced at Declan.

  “I love all her faces.”

  “Good answer, vampire.”

  And if there was cynicism in Sparkle’s voice, Daria understood. If she had Ganymede here right now, he’d be missing a few tufts of hair.

  Sparkle smiled, a sincere one this time. No slyness, no sexy siren. “Don’t feel bad for me. I’ve seen the best and the worst of men over thousands of years. I never expect too much.” She shrugged. “It’s easier that way. And Ganymede did what he had to do to stay a cosmic troublemaker. I understand.” Her expression said like hell she understood. “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it.” She closed the door gently behind her.

  The door had barely closed behind Sparkle before Declan pulled Daria into his embrace. “I like the lip shine, but I like the lips under it better.”

  He lowered his head and traced her lips with the tip of his tongue. Tease. She slid her fingers into all that sexy hair and pulled him closer. And when she parted her lips for him, he didn’t say no.

  It was a long, drugging kiss, and when it ended she whimpered her disappointment. But he brushed kisses across her cheek and then tugged on her earlobe with his teeth before whispering in her ear, “Let’s set the mood.”

  First he lit two candles, one on each of the night tables. Then he turned off the lights. Finally he returned to her. “We can’t control what will happen in two nights, but we can control tonight. That’s good enough for me right now.” He slipped her dress off her shoulders and then slid his tongue across the swell of her breasts. “Ever since I saw this gold dress, I imagined taking it off you.” Reaching around, he slid the zipper down.

  She wiggled with lots of this and lots of that as the dress slid to the floor. Daria stepped out of it. His expression made her smile. She’d smiled more since she’d met Declan Mackenzie than she had in her whole life. “It’ll seem strange to make love without any Red Hots or Ferris wheels.”

  He paused in his hungry scan of her body. “Would you like something special?”

  “You’re special enough for me.” She wondered how he’d feel if he knew exactly how special. She was getting a little too intense for her own good. Time to lighten things up. “I thought about maybe making love inside walls of mirrors, but it would look like I was wrestling with myself.”

  His soft chuckle warmed her. “Right. You can tell your friends your man doesn’t have much substance. Around mirrors.”

  She tugged at his T-shirt. “Time to show some skin, vampire.”

  While he pulled off the shirt, she worked at the button on his jeans. He didn’t do any wiggling as he shucked them, but Daria’s heart still did a few extra ka-thumps. Major discovery. “You wore briefs tonight.”

  He grinned, and she tucked the memory away in her special vault labeled Memories of Declan.

  “The joy isn’t just in the making love part, it’s in the peeling back of the layers until you get to the bare truth.” He pressed her against his chest as he reached around her to unhook her bra.

  Contact with that hard male chest dragged a gasp from her. It was an assault by all her senses at once. Warmth like swimming in the Mediterranean. Smooth skin with a slight sprinkling of dark hair to make the texture more interesting. A scent of whatever made one man special to one woman, and only that woman. And the taste of… She slid her tongue across his shoulder blade. The taste of the man she…

  Fine, she knew she was thinking “loved.” All the gods knew she was thinking “loved.” But that was okay as long as he didn’t know she was thinking “loved.” Because in a few more nights when she flew to Tartarus with her prey, Hades would absorb her back into his harpy family like an evil giant amoeba.

  As he stepped away, allowing her bra to drop to the floor, Daria saw a look she’d never seen before on his face. Wonder. And all those emotions harpies weren’t supposed to have welled up. Who was she to put that look on his face? Over the centuries of his life he’d seen women more beautiful than she was, but just with the expression in his eyes, he made her feel special.

  Daria held her eyes wide and refused to blink. No stupid tears were going to run down her face. She was tough, she was hard, she was… a sticky puddle of melted marshmallow.

  Keep your hands busy and don’t think. It was the thinking that triggered her emotions. She fumbled with her panties—unsexy gray that complied with the Harpy dress code—and finally managed to skim them over her hips and legs. Sparkle hadn’t supplied underwear. She’d have to buy… Daria closed her eyes. What was she thinking? When she left the Woo Woo Inn to go back to her harpy life, she wouldn’t need sexy underwear.

  Her eyes were closed when Declan rid himself of his briefs. When she opened her eyes, it was a done deal. Rats.

  But Oh. My. God. He was the most beautiful thing that had ever come into her life. And that image would have to last her the rest of her existence. Waterworks alert! This time she did have to blink to stave off disaster.

  Declan didn’t tell her how gorgeous she was, he just stared at her. Sometimes words got in the way. This was one of those times.

  Scooping her up, he moved to the bed and laid her on the chenille bedspread. Then he joined her. Resting on his side, he propped himself up on his elbow. “I’ve touched so many women over the centuries, but I’ve never really touched someone until you, harpy lady.” He smoothed his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm.

  Goose bumps raced in his wake, trying to keep up with his magic fingers.

  “Because when I touch you, I feel.” He thumped his fist over his heart.

  No more explanation needed. Flat on her back, she looked up into his eyes, the brilliant blue eyes he’d said all Mackenzies had. Well, tonight she’d work extra hard to turn them vampire-black with passion. Tonight he’d taste her in the most elemental way a vampire could.

  Holding her gaze, he gently pushed her onto her stomach. And then with the lightest of touches he swept his hand from her shoulders over her back and buttocks before skimming his fingers down the backs of her thighs and legs.

  She curled her toes. A reflex action. Evidently one of her on buttons was located in her big toe, because as it did its curling thing, she felt the first twinge of heaviness low in her belly.

  He moved so silently that only the give in the mattress signaled he’d shifted to a kneeling position between her spread legs. Leaning over, he pushed her hair aside so he could kiss the back of her neck. Then he nibbled his way down her spine before clasping her bottom in his large hands.

  She sucked in her breath. “You’re the best nibbler I’ve ever known.” Fine, so he was the only nibbler she’d ever known. Male harpies didn’t spend much time on foreplay.

  His soft chuckle promised lots of nibbling to come.

  He massaged her cheeks as he used his tongue to swirl a pattern of desire in the little indentation at the base of her spine. The heaviness built and she dug her fingers into the bedspread to keep herself grounded.

  How could whatever he was doing to her back make everything in front so sensitive? She rubbed her nipples back and forth against the bumpy chenille, feeling the push and scrape as exclamation points of pleasure-pain. She clenched around the sensation.

  “You’re warned, vampire, I’m turning over. Staring at the bed isn’t doing it for me.” She mumbled her notice-of-change-in-position into the bedspread.

  Declan laughed and then nipped her toe. “Guess you’ll never stay where I put you. But that’s what I… like about you.”

  She rolled over and met his gaze. His eyes were black. And when he smiled at her he showed fang. Good.

  “Hey, I’m still here.” She touched her breasts and then touched between her thighs so he’d know exactly what parts were available. “Just giving you a new perspective, unknown territory to explore, untamed lands to conquer, challenging—”

  “Shut. Up.” Then he swooped down on her breasts.

  I’m still here. Arching her back, she forced away
thoughts of how long she’d be able to say that, of how he’d feel when she was gone.

  Daria gave herself over to her senses. His mouth on her breast, the moist heat, the scrape of his teeth, the pulling sensation that seemed directly linked to that spot between her thighs. She clenched and unclenched, feeling the yearning for his erection to push into her, spread her wide, fill her. All the way to her heart. The pressure low in her body dragged small whimpers from her. She thrust her hips toward him in a bit of unspoken communication that went like, “If you don’t hurry this along, I’m going to explode into teensy tiny pieces of frustrated harpy. Then see how much fun I’ll be.” He ignored her. Sadist.

  To stave off the inevitable explosion, she touched and kissed any part of his body she could reach. And since he’d abandoned her breasts for other fields of pleasure, she couldn’t reach much. So she had to satisfy herself with smoothing her hands over his gleaming shoulders, which quickly changed to digging her nails into his gleaming shoulders as he reached the fields of home.

  She spread her legs wider, begging, trying to control the tremors starting to rack her body. And if she grew vocal with some of her begging, so be it.

  His fingers trembled as he skimmed her inner thighs. She smiled. Small things could give such pleasure. Now if he d just hurry, hurry, hurry.

  He wasn’t in hurry mode tonight. His breath warmed her just before he flicked the most sensually sensitive spot on her entire body with his cruel tongue.

  She cried out, a low keening wail of exquisite joy. And by the time he stopped his tongue-teasing long enough to push his finger deep into her, she was panting.

  In and out, in and out, his finger mimicked the rhythm of sex. Not enough, not freaking enough. She pulled herself up far enough to grasp his damp, tangled hair and yank. “Warning. I will not survive one more minute. That’s a promise. Then you’ll have to explain a dead harpy to Hades.” Each word was forced out at the end of a pant.

  He grunted. It seemed like Mr. In Control was reverting to primitive. Great with her. She was feeling her inner animal too.

  Declan slid his body over hers, his skin hot and slick, his arousal a demanding pressure against her stomach. Then he rose over her and she arched to meet him.

  She was so wet, so ready, that when he buried himself in her, she wrapped her legs around him and ground her hips against his. When she clenched around his cock, every muscle locked into place, squeezing, squeezing, drawing a moan from him.

  Her orgasm pounded, pounded at the door, begging for release, screaming for her to let it go, and go, and go.

  He began to move. Driving into her and then withdrawing, leaving only the head of his cock inside her, making her craaaazy. Then he repeated the plunge and withdraw over and over, faster and faster, until she couldn’t stand the pressure buildup, until her personal escape valve was ready to explode.

  A blur of ohmigod-I’m-almost-there was quickly blotting out any rational thought. Hang on one more second. She had something to say. Important. Really important. She snagged the thought a second before it disappeared from her radar.

  She yanked his head down to her neck. “Share with me in every way, Declan Mackenzie. I freely give this.” The words had been faint, because it was tough to speak when you couldn’t breathe. She hoped he’d heard.

  He had. She felt the prick of his fangs just as she flung open the door and let her orgasm race free. But no one had told her she’d be riding it.

  It launched skyward, and she tightened her legs, her entire body around it, to keep from falling. It spun and bucked, unbearable pleasure rushing at her in wave after wave. She shrieked her pleasure as it tossed her into the stars. Wind whipped her and sensation beat at her. And then with one final buck, it tossed her off.

  She fell, but just as he had once before, Declan fell with her. Daria knew without question he’d always be there to break her fall. Or maybe she only knew it in this half-world between extreme pleasure and reality. A world that didn’t put what-ifs or we-can’ts into the equation.

  It was a soft landing. Declan moved off her to once again rest on his side. She lay on the bed still trembling, still trying to catch her breath, still fighting tears. She started to turn her head away so he wouldn’t see the glistening in her eyes.

  He stopped her. “Don’t.” She appreciated that he hadn’t peppered her with questions, hadn’t demanded answers. He just waited.

  One tear escaped. Could she escape too from her personal prison of other people’s expectations? No, reality was back in control. Hades wouldn’t let her go. Declan still waited.

  “I don’t want to leave you.” I love you. She couldn’t quite say those last three words, not when she knew her leaving was inevitable. Saying the words would hurt too much.

  Another tear escaped. Renegades.

  “I know you don’t.” He smiled as he wiped the tears from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I love you, harpy lady, and we’ll find a way.”

  She could only nod, her throat clogged with the repressed emotions of a lifetime. Daria hoped he understood.

  He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The candle flame’s light leaped and danced across the hard planes of his face, chasing shadows that mimicked the passing of years, ever changing but still the same. Their lives would be like that, flickering moments in time, casting longer and longer shadows until everything sputtered out. Because eventually all things did end, even the lives of immortals.

  Without looking, he reached over to clasp her hand. “You forgot to shield your thoughts. I promise you that when we finally sputter out, we’ll be sitting side by side on the same mantel. And we’ll have a hell of a big puddle of wax to prove we lived long and well.” He turned his head to grin. “Believe it.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I believe.”

  He exhaled deeply before speaking. “I don’t care if Loki’s whole army plants itself on the front lawn. Stay with me for the rest of the night.”

  Daria returned his smile. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  Then he blew the candles out.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Memo: To All Harpies

  Subject: Theft of Office Supplies

  Thieves are welcome in Tartarus. Stealing is a respected profession. But it has come to our attention that office supplies are disappearing at an alarming rate. This will impact our profit margin. Be aware that we have installed mini-demons in every office, and they will be watching. Punishment for stealing from the company will be a hundred years of counting the fleas on Cerberus’s furry ass.

  Special note: Hades expects whoever stole his blue-and-green gremlin to return it immediately. Reliable hole-punchers are hard to find.

  Remember, he who steals from Hades is dead meat.

  HADES THE VIGILANT

  Daria’s dream was fraying around the edges. As she drifted toward wakefulness, only snatches remained — a dark room, trying to reach for a lamp, unable to move, something watching in the blackness. Sleep hypnosis. Her half-awake self recognized what held her in the dream.

  As she came fully awake, Daria realized this wasn’t sleep hypnosis at all. She still couldn’t move. Her heart pounded and her breaths came in panicked gasps as she strained against whatever held her.

  “A simple binding spell, harpy woman. It will wear off quickly.” Fenrir sounded amused.

  If she could have moved, Daria would have jumped a foot off the bed. She couldn’t even roll her eyeballs to locate Declan’s father. Even as the thought surfaced, he moved into her range of vision and sat down on the edge of the bed. He was a huge man, and the bed sank under his weight, threatening to dump her onto the floor.

  Despite pounding heart, panicked breathing, and clammy hands, she tried to take stock. Declan’s room. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he lay beside her on the bed. Daria sensed it was late afternoon, still light outside, even though she couldn’t see past the heavy drapes pulled across the window.

  Fenrir stared at her from cold
yellow eyes, the eyes of a wolf. He and Declan might look something alike, but she’d never confuse the two.

  “It was pitifully easy to fool all of you.” He settled in to tell her how. “If you remember, when I wanted to escape your pathetic attempts to destroy me, I simply sank into the ground. It’s one of my talents.” His expression said he had many, many more.

  “Get to the point. What’re you going to do to Declan?“ She wasn’t worried about herself. If Fenrir had meant to kill her, she’d be dead.

  “I learn from my mistakes.” He frowned. “Of course I never make mistakes, only miscalculations. Anyway, it occurred to me I might circumvent your gargoyles by tunneling underground and coming up beneath this place.” Fenrir paused to give himself a virtual pat on his back for outstanding brilliance. “And of course I lied about the summer solstice deadline. I never intended to wait that long.”

  Ganymede had been outfoxed, or maybe outwolfed.

  “I came up in your cellar. That stupid dog was there looking for evildoers.” Fenrir’s smile said Trouble had found a doozy. “He is also bound for the moment.”

  “What’re you going to do with Declan, dirtbag?”

  Fenrir rose. “I’ll take my son now. Then I’ll complete the ritual that will open a portal to the home of the gods Once there, we’ll bide our time until the summer solstice.” His eyes burned with his fervor. “I’ll join with my father, Hel, and Midgard to ensure that the forces of evil triumph at Ragnarok.”

  Yeah, yeah, forces of evil, and on and on and on. The only good part about Fenrir’s long litany of his own genius was she could feel the binding starting to recede. If he talked for a little longer, she’d be free.

  Fenrir must’ve had the same thought, because he moved around the bed and out of her range of vision. Uana felt the mattress shift as he picked up Declan. A moment later he returned to her side of the bed. He’d wrapped Declan, still in his vampire sleep, in the comforter from the foot of the bed and then slung him over his shoulder.