Crimson Hungers

by Alecia Monaco

  She drew in a deep breath of steamy air and felt him thrust into her from behind with one stroke.

  “God, you’re so tight.” He pressed forward, working his way deeper into her channel. “Fuck.”

  Wanting to feel him all the way inside her, she moved her feet further apart and bent forward more, bracing herself against the slick marble wall.

  “You want me to go deeper?” His voice was hoarse with need. “Tell me.”

  “Yes,” she moaned. “I want you to go deeper.” She closed her eyes again, letting out a weak cry when he inched in further.

  “Say it again.” He reached around to rub her clit with his fingers. “Tell me.”

  “I want your cock inside me.” Her knees weakened as his fingers worked her clit, rubbing the hood against the tiny bud.

  He slid deeper, until he was seated inside her to the hilt. “You feel so good,” he groaned. “I can’t get enough of being inside you.”

  “Fuck me,” she practically sobbed. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  He drew back, and she felt her inner walls give way with the sudden withdrawal. Then he slammed back into her, until his pelvis collided with her backside.

  She let out a string of incoherent words, clinging to the slippery wall like a lifeline. Her core tightened around him, and once again he pulled out, dragging his cock out of her inch by inch before driving into her again.

  She felt wild, like a feral cat in heat being subdued by her one true master. She’d had sex before she met Rex, some of it good sex, and some of it not so good sex. Within the last twenty-four hours, she’d had great sex. But this was something different. This was primal, instinctual.

  This was sheer unadulterated fucking.

  What had Rex Fontainebleau done to her? How had he managed to locate and unleash this part of her that was pure jungle cat?

  A part of her she hadn’t known existed.

  “You’re going to come.” He pounded back into her and ground his hips, stroking her inner sweet spot until she tightened around him to an unbearable degree.

  “Yes…” She arched her hips back, meeting his thrusts. “Make me. Make me come.”

  He pulled her hips against his, continuing his ambush on her sex. Her orgasm built, then overflowed, taking her down into a blinding wave of pleasure.

  Still shuddering with the aftershocks of her second release, she felt his thrusts increase and the telltale swelling of his cock inside her. “Stop,” she pleaded, looking at him over her shoulder. “Let me finish you.”

  His eyes wild, he pulled out of her without another word and took a step back.

  She dropped to her knees in front of him, wetting her lips before taking his impossibly swollen cock into her mouth. He let out a few words that would’ve made any sailor blush and fisted his hands in her hair, keeping her head steady as he thrust his cock into her waiting mouth.

  She sucked him, drawing hard on his cock with every outstroke. With a sharp cry, his cock jerked against her tongue, and he filled her mouth with his come.

  He looked down at her, glassy eyed, watching as she swallowed. “Every time I think you’re done surprising me…”

  “I surprise you some more.” She smiled.

  Even more than that, she was surprising herself, ever since Rex came into her life.

  * * *

  Rex helped Katya out of the shower stall and took one of the thick red towels hanging from the warmer. “Let’s get you dried off.”

  She smiled, letting him rub the warm terry cloth over her damp skin. Even though he’d just had one of the best sexual experiences of his life, all it took was the act of drying her off to get his blood racing again.

  “Don’t forget my hair.” She shook her head like a dog shaking himself off after coming in from the rain, splattering him with drops of water.

  “I’ve got you covered.” He toweled her hair, watching it tighten into curls as he worked.

  “It’s going to be frizz city.” She frowned, looking at herself in the mirror. “I don’t suppose you having any styling products for curly hair.”

  He gave her a look, and she giggled… a first, he noted. His Tiger was not the giggling kind.

  “Your hair is so straight.” She combed her fingers through the left side of his hair, igniting shivers down his spine. “Like spun silk.”

  “I like yours better.” He wrapped a curl around his fingers. Under normal circumstances, he’d be completely sated after the kind of sex they’d just had. But one look at her luscious lips and he found himself going for a kiss.

  The minute his lips brushed hers, he felt the flame of their connection licking its way through him. Blood rushed south and he could feel himself getting hard all over again.

  Damn, she had him acting like a mortal teenager.

  She opened her mouth, inviting him to deepen the kiss. He responded, stroking her tongue with his, tasting the warm well of her mouth. He couldn’t resist the impulse to graze her bottom lip with his fangs, asserting his vampiric power. If only she’d let him drink from her, his wildest fantasies would be complete.

  “Rex…” She spoke his name against his lips.

  “Hmm?” He sought her breasts with his hands, wondering if they’d make it back to the bedroom or if he’d end up taking her right there on the bathroom floor.

  “My cell phone is ringing.” She planted a firm hand on his chest. “Hold that thought.” She wrapped a towel around herself and ran back into the bedroom.

  With a sigh, Rex wrapped an extra large bath towel around his waist and followed her. They seemed to be able to spend a few minutes without contact, he mused, but he wouldn’t want to be far out of reach if she needed him.

  “But, Alvin,” Katya spoke into her flip phone in a terse voice, “you know I’d never let something like this interfere with my job.”

  Despite the fact that a gorgeous woman sat half-naked on his bed, Rex could feel his cock going down faster than a ship after a collision with an iceberg. He didn’t need to hear anything else to know the conversation was not going well.

  “No, I don’t understand.” Tension ran through her voice. “How can you take me off the case, just like that?”

  Rex sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. Katya kept her gaze fixed straight ahead.

  “How did you lose Cameron?” She shook her head and held a long pause. “And your answer to this is what?”

  Rex held his breath, watching an angry flush creep across her cheeks.

  “Fine, Alvin. I’ll report back to you when my vampire problem is cleared up. Until then, good luck solving this case without a Psion on your team.” She ended the call and snapped her phone shut with a violent click.

  Rex waited for her to speak first. When she didn’t, he said, “I don’t need to ask how that went, do I?”

  She tossed the phone onto the nightstand beside her gun. “I’m off the case until we work through this mess we’re in.”

  Her words stung him unexpectedly. “I think it’s pretty obvious that they’re not going to solve this without you.”

  “Yeah, which means there will probably be another victim before they reinstate me.” She made a sound of frustration.

  “What was this about losing someone? Cameron?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Apparently our best vampire hunter has gone rogue. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Cameron Zane.”

  She knew Zane? He was impressed. “Of course I have.” The guy was a madman, a vampire-hating legend.

  “He’s been taking assignments on the side to hunt down vamps without authorization so they took his badge, which means they’re not only short one Psion, they’ve also lost their best hunter.” She buried her face in her hands. “Can you come sit beside me, please?”

  He did as she asked, wrapping an arm cautiously around her. One minute she pushed him away, the next she called him to her side.

  But you know she wouldn’t have anything to do with you if she didn’t have to, he reminded himself. It
’s only this energy accident keeping her with you.

  The minute they recovered their autonomy from each other, she’d be out of his life. She’d go back to her world of law enforcement and he’d stay in his own eternal night.

  A night that suddenly loomed before him in all its unending loneliness.

  Could he do the right thing and let her go when the time came? Just say goodbye and thanks for the memories, it was nice knowing you, and so on? Could he act as if knowing her hadn’t changed him forever?

  He wasn’t sure he could. Hell, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Maybe being noble and unselfish was overrated.

  A shuddering sigh from the forlorn figure at his side caught his attention. He looked down and saw a tear rolling down her cheek.

  Aw, dammit. He hated it when women cried. He’d offer his own balls tied up with ribbons on a platter if it would make a woman stop crying.

  “Hey, now.” He rubbed her shoulder in a gesture more comforting than sexual. “Why don’t we go somewhere tonight, get your mind off all of this stuff?”

  She sniffled and looked up at him with a lost expression in her hazel eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

  “When’s the last time you went to Galveston?”

  She huffed out a breath. “Too long ago, probably.”

  He rose to his feet and offered her his hand. “When Mr. Charles arrives with your clothes, let’s get you dressed and head down to the island. I have the perfect place to wash all your worries away.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Sounds like an offer to drown my sorrows.”

  He winked at her. “Tiger, by the time I’m through, you won’t even remember that those sorrows ever existed.”

  Chapter 10

  “Is this yours?” Katya eyed the metal monstrosity suspiciously.

  “My one and only.” Rex patted the seat of the motorcycle like a proud parent showing off his young.

  “Rex… I don’t know about this.” She took a step back from the bike. What had her Bubbe always told her about men with motorcycles? That they would make a good girl go bad?

  Good Lord, she’d already left her good girl status so far behind, a ride on a motorcycle with a vampire would hardly make a dent in it.

  He tossed her a silver helmet. “Suit up.” He put on a black helmet and closed the visor.

  “You’re always telling me what to do with my clothes,” she grumbled. “Take this off, put that on…” She slid the helmet onto her head, suddenly feeling as if she were boarding the space shuttle.

  “Speaking of clothes, you look especially edible tonight.” Rex straddled the motorcycle seat, raking her up and down with his gaze.

  Katya flushed with pleasure at his words. She’d chosen a simple pair of black jeans and a red silk shell from the selection the boutique had sent over, but she did feel pretty in it. Since she wasn’t working, there was no need to bring the tranquilizer gun with her, and she’d left her necklace back on the bedside table in Rex’s bedroom.

  She felt strangely unencumbered and free.

  “Hop on.” Rex patted the space behind him invitingly.

  Eh, what the hell. She allowed herself a philosophical shrug and climbed onto the bike behind Rex.

  He turned the key in the ignition, and the machine beneath them roared to life with a metallic howl.

  “Hold on tight.” He shouted to be heard over the grinding engine. “And enjoy the ride.”

  She wrapped her arms around her sexy escort with a smile of pure happiness.

  * * *

  Endless stretches of gray-paved highways vanished beneath them as the motorcycle tore through the night. The wind whipped around them, and Katya felt suddenly at one with the darkness. For once, it was a friend and not an enemy, concealing things to be hunted and feared.

  The darkness held nothing but Rex.

  They roared across the ship channel bridge, down the stretch of highway leading to the island. Katya leaned into every turn with Rex, letting his body guide hers. The vibrations of the bike between her legs combined with his nearness to make for heady arousal.

  She wasn’t sure where he was taking her, but she knew she’d want him inside her again before the night was through.

  But for the moment, it was enough to ride the wind with him, to feel secure and safe with him in her arms.

  It was enough just to be with him.

  * * *

  “Where the hell are we?” Katya stared.

  “Welcome to Red Hawaii!” Rex made a sweeping gesture.

  Katya simply continued to stare. She’d never seen anything quite like it.

  The building was constructed from bamboo or something damn near like it, with a thatch roof that made it look like something straight off Gilligan’s Island. Tiki torches illuminated the entire structure, bathing it in a molten glow. A facsimile miniature volcano bubbled what looked very much like red lava near the door, periodically shooting puffs of smoke into the air. Carved stone Tiki gods flanked the entrance, and palm trees swayed in the Gulf breeze, completing the image of an island paradise.

  “It’s a…” she searched for the word. “A Tiki bar?”

  “No.” Rex grinned at her. “It’s a vampire Tiki bar.” He took her hand and gave her a tug. “Come on, let’s get a table.”

  “Do they serve food here?” She walked double time to keep up with him as they crossed the parking lot. “’Cause I’ve got to tell you, Rex, I think we’re burning up as much energy as we’re giving each other.”

  “They have a human cook, and a very highly rated menu for the human swans that come here.” He shuffled across the sand piled high around the entrance. “Remind me not to wear my cowboy boots next time.”

  Katya laughed as he pulled her up the steps and into the dimly lit bar and grill.

  She’d thought the outside was wild, but the interior of Red Hawaii put the exterior to shame.

  They’d carried the Tiki motif even further. Live parrots squawked in cages hung near the bar. Cozy booths lined the perimeter of the room, each draped with bamboo curtains for privacy. Miniature Tiki torches blazed on every table. Tropical plants filled every available inch of space, and the scent of coconut hung heavy in the air.

  Good lord, they even had Don Ho playing in the background.

  “Rex!” A dark skinned vampire wearing a tropical print shirt and cut-offs made his way toward them, two menus in hand. “Good to see you, man!”

  “You too, Arnie.” Rex gave the other vampire a friendly smile.

  “Table for two?” Katya watched as Arnie sized her up. Could other vampires sense that she was Rex’s swan?

  “Sounds good.” Rex put a possessive arm around her. Katya knew she shouldn’t enjoy that sort of macho shit, but she couldn’t help riding the rush of belonging when he did it.

  Damn that man for making her enjoy being owned.

  Arnie led them to one of the sequestered booths. When they were seated on the same side -- easier to maintain contact that way, Katya reasoned -- he passed them each a menu.

  “Can I start you two off with some drinks?” Arnie took a pad and pen from the pocket of his cut-offs. “Maybe some pineapple poppers?”

  “I don’t know what pineapple poppers are, but if humans can eat them, I want some.” Katya scanned the menu.

  “You got it.” Arnie jotted her request down on his pad. “Anything to drink? A Mai Tai? Some of Vlad’s Polynesian Passion?”

  “A Mai Tai sounds good.” Katya swallowed. Good Lord, she was thirsty, and hungry enough to eat a whole pineapple, skin and all, much less an order of poppers, whatever the hell those were.

  “I’ll take a Vlad’s Pineapple Power,” Rex said. “Thanks, Arnie.”

  “Sure thing.” Arnie grinned. “Someone will be over to take the rest of your order in just a minute.”

  When Arnie was out of earshot, Rex bent his head until his mouth was level with her ear. “You know what I really want to eat?”

  Heat swirled low in her body. “What?”
Damn if her voice wasn’t already breathy.

  “You.” He flicked his fangs over her earlobe. “A mouthful of hot, wet…”

  “Rex,” a silky voice said from just outside their booth. “So good to see you again.”

  Katya peered through the bamboo curtains to see one of the most exotic creatures she’d ever laid her eyes on.

  A creature, she noted with a pang of annoyance, who had her almond shaped brown eyes fixed on Rex.

  “Pele.” Rex sat up straight, his spine suddenly stiff. “It’s been a long time.”

  The female vampire drew closer to their table. Katya couldn’t help but stare. She’d never seen anything like Pele before.

  The vampire was obviously of Polynesian ancestry. Her figure redefined the word voluptuous, and she’d managed to show it to its best advantage in a tropical print bandeau top with a matching sarong tied loosely around her curvy hips.

  A glittering jewel hung from her pierced belly button, and her silky chocolate colored hair flowed like satin ribbons to her backside. A vibrant red hibiscus tucked behind one ear made her look like any man’s beachcomber fantasy come to life.

  Katya looked down at her own attire, which had seemed so festive when she’d chosen it. It was like being a plain brown hen standing next to the mythical bird of paradise.

  “Too long.” Pele smiled, revealing fangs that indicated she was hungry. Katya suspected it had nothing to do with a craving for blood and everything to do with Rex.

  All of which gave her an unaccountable desire to rake her nails down the female vampire’s face until welts of blood marred her perfect caramel skin.

  “Pele, this is Katya,” Rex was saying. “Pele owns Red Hawaii.”

  Bully for her. Katya forced herself to smile. “Quite a place you’ve got here.”

  Pele gave her a smile of equal insincerity. “Thank you.” She immediately turned her attention back to Rex. “Why haven’t we seen you around lately?”

  “Oh, work’s been keeping me busy. You know, the usual.” Rex patted Katya’s thigh under the table, and she returned the gesture by running her hand up his thigh until she located his zipper.

  A slight shudder rippling through his body assured her that she’d effectively distracted him from Pele.