He shrugged. “I was doing some work, but the project isn’t due for several weeks.”
“What were you working on?” Then she added. “I’m sorry if I’m being too intrusive.”
“You aren’t being intrusive,” he assured her. “I’m translating a very old Gothic document,’ he explained and seemed a little excited about the prospect. “That’s what I do. I know it sounds kind of boring.”
“Boring? It sounds fascinating. You get to read things that haven’t been read in centuries.”
Nathaniel seemed pleased with her excitement.
They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, his gaze dipped to her mouth.
He moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her. “I want to kiss you.”
Her pulse quickened. She waited for him to move, but he didn’t. He just stared at her. She nodded, and he leaned forward slowly. Finally, his lips met hers. It was a soft, almost chaste kiss. His lips barely brushed against hers, and then they were gone. It was just enough to make her want more.
“Please,” she moaned.
That was all the invitation he needed. He kissed her with a passion she had never experienced. His lips were hot, and demanding. His tongue hesitantly probed her mouth, and she moaned. Finally, with great effort, he tore his mouth away from hers.
“You look exhausted,” he said as he stroked her cheek. “Try to get some rest.”
Her eyelids fluttered shut. It was strange, she felt like he was still talking, but the words made no sense so she was sure it was a dream.
“Sleep. When you wake up, you will remember nothing of the attack. You will believe that you spilled red wine on your shirt, and it was ruined. We spent a pleasant evening talking, and you fell asleep here. Tomorrow you will go back to your life, and have no desire to return to this house.”
Chapter Four
“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Dominic said as he moved Lydia’s hair to the side so he could kiss the back of her neck.
Lydia flipped him off, and then giggled as if he were tickling her.
Dominic took that opportunity to remove the drink from her hand. He walked to the door of the study, pushed it shut, and locked it. The music from the party was barely a hum at this end of the house.
As he moved toward Lydia, she smiled coyly at him. He lifted her onto the desk, and slipped her shirt over her head. His hands actually shook a little as he undid her bra. Never had a woman seemed so alive. He hadn’t experienced desire this strong in centuries, if ever. His mouth covered her breast and he suckled it gently. The veins stood out beneath her pale white skin, and he carefully pierced her flesh with his long fangs. The sting caused her try to pull away, but he held her tightly, continuing to suckle the puncture wound, until she relaxed against him again.
The taste of her blood aroused him even more, and he pulled away slightly to watch the scarlet droplets trickle down her milky white flesh. Many in his family had their retractable fangs surgically removed now, but he scoffed at the idea. A pill could replace the nutrients that the blood provided him, but it couldn’t replace the erotic sensations elicited by taking blood.
Lydia’s eyes remained closed, as his fingers slipped beneath her panties and into her hot moist flesh.
She tried to unbutton his shirt, but she was too intoxicated, and her fingers were clumsy. Dominic smiled at her feeble attempts with the buttons, then pulled her hands away, ripped open the front of his shirt, and threw it across the room.
He wanted to take her now, but anticipation was half the fun. The hunt was just as important as the kill, so to speak. Hunger mounted as if he hadn’t fed in years, when it had only been a few weeks.
She was like a drug and it was not long before his patience ran out. He quickly undid his pants, shoved her skirt all the way up and tore her panties off. Then he pushed into her, feeling her warm flesh tighten around him as the vibrations of energy continued to radiate from her body.
Lydia gasped as his mouth moved across her neck.
The energy rushed into Dominic as he thrust in and out of her. He felt her entire body shuddered with her release. Finally, he came in a violent wave. He’d fed longer than normal, but how could he resist?
He kissed her on the cheek, and murmured. “You are wonderful.”
Lydia tried to smile, but she couldn’t. Her limp body sagged against Dominic’s chest and he knew she was on the verge of unconsciousness.
The sound of a fist pounding on the door startled her. She tried to lift her head, but she was too weak.
Dominic balanced her weight against him as he pulled his pants back up and buttoned them. He lifted her from the desk, placed her on the leather sofa, and then gathered up his shirt to wrap around her almost lifeless body.
Once again there was a loud pounding on the door. “Dominic, are you in there?”
“Give me just a moment!” Dominic shouted. He kissed Lydia gently on the cheek, and brushed her hair back from her face. “It’s my cousin, Nathaniel, but don’t worry I will send him away quickly.”
When Dominic opened the door Nathaniel was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked irritated.
“What do you want?” Dominic asked tersely.
Nathaniel leaned in closer and spoke softly so he wouldn’t be overheard. “Do you have a girl named Lydia in there with you?”
“What do you want?” Dominic asked again with growing agitation. He didn’t want to share her. All of that energy was his.
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “I asked a question, and I want an answer.”
“She’s here,” Dominic admitted reluctantly. “Why does that matter to you?”
Without responding, he shoved Dominic against the wall, and walked into the study wondering if all of his cousins planned to give him grief that night. His gaze took in the scene quickly. Lydia lay sprawled on the leather sofa wrapped in Dominic’s shirt, her eyes were barely open. Dry blood stained her pale cheek. He felt another surge of irritation which he quickly stifled. Agreeing to this party had been a mistake. He was going to talk to all of his cousins in the morning and make sure no one brought humans back to his house to feed on again.
Nathaniel knelt beside her. “Hello, Lydia. My name is Nathaniel,” he said gently.
Lydia didn’t respond, or couldn’t respond in his opinion.
“Your cousin, Hannah, was feeling a bit under the weather, and she’s fallen asleep. I think she had too much to drink. She spilled red wine and had to borrow a shirt. I’m going to have a room prepared for you to stay the night as well.”
Dominic moved to stand closer to her. “I will take care of her.”
Nathaniel stood and looked around the room once again. Then he looked at Lydia who was almost unconscious. “It appears that you already have. For your sake, I hope that there are no marks left for her cousin to see. I don’t want to have to alter her memory anymore tonight.”
Dominic looked amused. “So you’ve altered her memory?”
Nathaniel nodded. “Aiden attacked her so it seemed like a good idea. Tomorrow they leave here, and don’t come back.”
“Of course,” Dominic agreed in the same amused tone. “I’m sure she won’t remember a thing. Now I must care for my Lydia.”
Nathaniel stepped closer to him, his voice just above a whisper. “You are not to feed on her again.” Without another word he turned and walked out of the room.
Dominic grabbed Lydia's blouse, and then scooped her up into his arms. There was only a faint hum of energy now. It was still impressive considering how much he’d drained from her.
“Where are we going?” she asked weakly.
“I’m taking you to my bed.”
She managed to smile, but it obviously took a lot of effort. “You want more already?”
He carried her the short distance to his room, and laid her on his bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. She tried to sit up and pull him toward her, but couldn’t.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asked.
It amazed him that she asked this so calmly, not at all discomforted by her own helplessness.
“I’m enjoying myself.” It was the truth. Normally his hosts were unconscious after a feeding, but Lydia was strong.
“I can think of an activity that you might enjoy more,” she purred and to his amazement managed to sit up.
His eyebrows rose in surprise, and then he noticed that they weren't the only part of his body that had risen. He pushed her back down onto the bed roughly.
“Let’s see if you can sit up after this,” he murmured.
His lips pressed against hers, as she unfastened his pants. The low hum of energy had increased in just those few minutes, tempting him to feed again.
Chapter Five
It was difficult for Hannah to claw her way through the haze of sleep. When she finally managed to open her eyes, her surroundings were unfamiliar. The sunlight coming through the crack in the drapes confirmed that it was morning, but she was not in her own bed. She was on a strange sofa, in a strange room, wearing a stranger’s shirt. It took her a few minutes to remember the events of the previous night.
She spotted her purse sitting on the coffee table with a note beside it.
‘Dear Hannah,
I hope you are feeling better this morning. I checked on your cousin, and she decided to spend the night. I made sure your friends got home safely.
I put a few essential items in the washroom. Please help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Just walk to your left, and go down the second set of stairs. Dominic will bring your cousin down there to meet you after she wakes up.
Yours,
Nathaniel’
In the bathroom she found clean towels, soap, shampoo, conditioner, a new toothbrush and toothpaste.
After a shower she felt better. She hoped that Nathaniel wouldn’t mind her keeping his shirt. Hers was missing so she assumed Nathaniel had thrown it out. Confusion made her brow furrow. She had a hazy memory of spilling red wine on her shirt, but she knew Aiden had torn it.
Purse in hand she headed to the kitchen. It was a nice kitchen. The walls were a cheerful shade of yellow. It had oak cabinets, a large island in the center, and several windows that gave it a bright, open feel. There was also a breakfast nook with a table and four chairs close to the veranda doors. A large bowl of fresh fruit sat on the island. She hadn't planned to eat anything, but she was famished. She grabbed an apple and bit into it.
“The party is over.” The angry words caused her to spin around, and drop the apple.
The voice belonged to a young man wearing shorts, a tank top, and running shoes. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned his hip against a counter, and scowled at her. “I suggest you take yourself off of the property. I would also suggest that you avoid taking any of our belongings with you.”
Her voice quivered slightly as she replied. “I was told I could help myself to anything in the kitchen.” Her hand motioned nervously to the bowl of fruit on the counter.
He raised one eyebrow in the most annoying, and arrogant way. “And who told you to help yourself to anything you wanted from my brother’s closet? I recognize the shirt, because I bought it for him. I know this may be hard for you to understand, but sharing a bed with some guy you hardly know doesn't give you the right to shop through our closets. If you expected payment for your services, you should have said something in advance.”
Hannah stared in stunned silence for a moment. After the shock wore off she was outraged. “Nathaniel told me that I could wear this shirt, after one of your crazy ass cousins tore mine. As for your other accusation, I did not share anyone’s bed last night. Although I fail to see how that’s any of your business. I am sick and tired of people in this damn house attacking me!” She picked up the apple, and threw it at his head.
Unfortunately, he ducked and then had the nerve to laugh at her. His hands went up in surrender, and he flashed a boyish grin that revealed twin dimples. “I'm sorry about what I said, and how I said it.” It was hard to tell how contrite he was, because he was obviously amused by her.
Hands on hips, she scowled at him. Her eyes darted to the fruit bowl as she considered throwing something else at his head.
“Perhaps I should move this fruit bowl before you realize that the grapefruit would hurt more.” He cautiously moved the fruit bowl to the other side of the room.
“Next time I won’t aim for your head,” she grumbled.
In response, he laughed so hard that he had to lean against the counter for support.
“I may have overreacted with the apple.” Her anger faded. “It was kind of a rough night.”
“Yeah, well I was still being an ass.”
She nodded. “Yes, you were.”
“This is the part where you assure me that I wasn’t being an ass,” he explained.
“Oh, so you want me to lie?” There was now a teasing glint in her eyes.
“That would be nice,” he admitted.
“So you’re Nathaniel’s brother?” She wished that she hadn’t tossed the apple, because her stomach picked that moment to growl.
He must have heard it, because he quickly moved the fruit bowl within her reach, but not before he took the grapefruit out. “So does this mean we can start over?”
It was impossible to stay angry with him, but she had a devilish urge to tease him. “I fail to see how we can start over after you called me a thieving slut.”
He gave her another dimpled grin. His hazel eyes were alight with laughter. It occurred to her that there was really no similarity between this man and Nathaniel. His skin was paler, his facial features were softer, and his hair was blond and in need of a trim.
“I didn't mean to insinuate that you were a thieving slut. It was more like a pilfering tramp, or perhaps a villainous vixen, but most definitely not a thieving slut,” he said deadpan.
Hannah was enjoying their exchange. “Oh, now that's different. Villainous vixen has a nice ring to it.”
He leaned against the counter again. “You have a good sense of humor, and lucky for me you throw like a girl.”
The first thing Nathaniel noticed when he walked into the kitchen was Hannah’s smile. He moved to stand close to her. “Good morning, Hannah. I see you’ve met Noah.”
“Well, we were moving in that direction.” Noah winked at her. “I'm Noah, Nathaniel's younger brother.”
“I'm Hannah, his most recent damsel in distress.” She turned to smile at Nathaniel.
Nathaniel looked shocked, but quickly recovered.
“What’s this about a crazy cousin attacking Hannah?” Noah prodded.
Noah noticed that Nathaniel suddenly looked utterly fascinated with Hannah.
“Please don’t mention any of this to my cousin,” Hannah said, and then looked toward the entrance to the kitchen. “I hope she’s okay. I know you said Dominic was safe, and I shouldn’t worry. I guess my nerves are little frayed after last night.”
“I’m sure she’ll be down soon,” Nathaniel assured her. “You seem well rested. I’m surprised that you have so much energy after your ordeal last night.”
Nathaniel looked at Noah. “I‘ll explain everything later.” Then his full attention returned to Hannah. “I don’t want Hannah to relive the details.”
Hannah smiled at him and blushed. He was staring at her with the same intensity he had just before he’d kissed her. That thought made her blush more.
Noah cleared his throat to get his brother’s attention. “I need to go over some receipts with you this morning. I want to get them logged into the books before I go to the bank tomorrow morning.”
Nathaniel smiled proudly at his brother. “I neglected to mention that Noah is not only my brother, he’s also my accountant and financial advisor.” His tone was warm. “He’s responsible for ensuring that I don't squander away my money on frivolous whims. He also gets me the best return on my investments. No easy
task these days.”
“You'd think that he would pay me with an impressive job title like that, wouldn't you?” Noah added. He lifted himself onto the island in the middle of the room.
“I need to make sure that Hannah and her cousin get home safely. Can this business wait until this afternoon?” The tone of Nathaniel's voice, made it clear that it wasn’t a request.
Before Noah could voice his opinion, Lydia staggered into the room with Dominic.
“Good morning everybody,” Lydia mumbled weakly. Her body rested heavily against Dominic’s side. Her skin was even paler than usual, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
In contrast to Lydia, Dominic appeared fully rested, bordering on manic. The sight of Lydia made Hannah's lips narrow into a grim line. “Are you feeling okay, Lyd? You look, well, you look terrible. You didn’t drink more after we got here did you?”
“I may have had one little drink, but I’m fine. I just partied too much last night.” Lydia tried to stifle a yawn. “It was well worth it though. I had a superb time.”
Hannah looked suspicious. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe she was just on edge after the events of the previous night.
“Too bad you got sick last night. You missed a great party,” Lydia said around another yawn.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “If this is what someone looks like after a great party, then I think I'll pass.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lydia asked defensively.
With her hands on her hips, Hannah examined Lydia, and then replied in a matter of fact voice. “It means that you can barely stand on your own. In fact, I’m not sure you can stand on your own. All in all, you look like hell.”
“I just need a little more sleep, that’s all. I would have slept in this morning, but I figured you’d want to go home. I was trying to put your needs first.” Lydia was whining, a sure sign that she needed more sleep. Lydia was generally a sweet person, but never a morning person.
Hannah’s arms dropped to her sides. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you.”
Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) Page 3