Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 04]

by Charming the Darkness (epub)

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she cocked one hip to the side and tilted her head as she glared down at him. “Are you for real?”

  “As real as you are.”

  “I don’t drink blood.”

  “I could change that?” He bore his fangs in a mock smile. He could imagine how it would feel to penetrate her flesh and drink her dry.

  “Not even if I knew I only had a week left to live.” She crossed her arms over her chest again. “So you’re saying because you were raised by this Chaos guy that you’re a jerk?”

  “I prefer evil.”

  “Any man who takes care of a helpless kitten, feeds him expensive cat food, and appears to actually care about the cat, isn’t evil. No, you’ve just got attitude.” She reached down to scratch the cat’s head, bending at the waist and gave Danny a glimpse at some nice cleavage.

  “Wanna scratch something else, honey?”

  She yanked her hand back, disgusted. “See, that’s not evil. That’s just jerkish.”

  “I’ve got something you could jerk.”

  “Stop it!”

  Oh, this was too much fun. He was getting to her. “Why don’t you plant that sexy ass of yours right here on my lap and rub that gorgeous—”

  “You’re repulsive.” Throwing her arms in the air, she marched from the room.

  Danny’s laughter woke the cat, who took out his dislike at being woken on Danny’s crotch. “Hey, watch it, Killer.”

  He sat back, imagining just how nice her body would feel naked against his.

  ***

  He has some nerve!

  Running the tap good and cold, Starla scooped water into her palm and threw it on her face. She splashed it several times before shutting the water off and drying her face. Then because she was still warm, she wet the cloth and blotted her chest to relieve the heat she was feeling all over her body.

  How on earth could she be attracted to such a…Neanderthal? The man was crude, vulgar and…he was a vampire. Enough said. Yet her loins tingled with arousal. It was unnerving. She needed to get away from him…but he was the only one she knew who could help her figure out the ritual. Damn!

  What she needed was to convince him she would make it worth his while if he helped her. And since he had sex on the brain, she could…no, she couldn’t. Yet…what other choice did she have? He wasn’t giving up the information.

  Tossing the damp towel into the washroom sink, Starla drew in a deep breath.

  It was time to charm the vampire.

  Chapter 9

  Danny stared down at the cat as Killer meticulously cleaned each and every toe on all four paws. He had nothing else to do, couldn’t get up and leave, so he sat and watched the cat wash himself.

  “You do know where those toes have been, right? Seriously, Killer, think about it. You step in your own crap, kick it about, and now you’re licking those very toes. That’s righteously disgusting.” Then the thought struck him. “Oh, fuck, you lick my face with that tongue.” He wished he could shudder because he was thoroughly disgusted. “Well, no more, pal. Got it? You keep that tongue to yourself.”

  “I think it’s so sweet the way the two of you get along.”

  Danny glanced up to see Starla standing in the hallway that led to the bedrooms, one arm raised up and resting on the wall beside her, bent at the elbow. Her fingers were playing with her hair. She wore a black satin vest, which he was pretty sure was most likely meant to be worn over another shirt. It was tight and the tiny white buttons down the center dipped low enough to show off the line between her breasts. Along with a fair amount of soft, plump flesh. She hadn’t changed her shorts and in the way she stood, with one leg bent, her foot rubbing the ankle of the other leg, made her legs looked even sexier.

  He swallowed the drool before it had a chance to dribble down his face.

  Then she sauntered toward him and his mouth went dry.

  “He really loves you.” Her eyes shifted to meet his and he felt his heart speed up. “And you love him.”

  “Yeah…well…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. When her hand came down onto the cat’s head, everything inside Danny’s body tensed.

  “Neither of you have anyone in your lives. It’s nice that you have each other.”

  He wished with all his heart he was that cat right now. Killer was getting the rub down of his life. “We have things in common.”

  “Like, being an outcast?” Her eyes met his with a sultry look.

  He drew in a deep breath. “There’s that, and not really getting along with our family.”

  “You have a family?”

  She leaned over a little more, awarding him a very close view of her ample cleavage. The scent of some sort of perfume found its way to his nose and tickled his already sensitive senses. “Most everyone does.”

  She knelt down between his legs and he nearly swallowed his tongue.

  “I suppose so. Do you have siblings?”

  “A twin brother and an older sister.” He was having trouble catching his breath. Kneeling between his legs, Starla rested her left elbow on his right knee while her right hand caressed the cat. With her close proximity to his dick all she had to do was shift her hand slightly and he’d be as happy as the cat.

  “You have a twin brother? That’s so cool. Is he a vampire too?”

  “No. Jesus, woman, are you trying to turn me on?”

  She looked up at him with complete innocence. Then she smiled. “Maybe.”

  He certainly hadn’t been expecting her to say that. “Huh?”

  She twirled her fingers along the cat’s fur in a very seductive manner. “I figure, I want something from you and you want something from me. Maybe we could…work something out.”

  “Really?” he asked with skepticism. What was she pulling now?

  She stopped petting the cat and instead, sat up a little higher and rested her arms beside him on the chair. She was close enough to his face that he could feel her breath on his mouth. “Really.”

  “What changed your mind? I thought I repulsed you?”

  “You don’t repulse me. You’re crude and a jerk, but you most definitely are not repulsive.”

  He could see tiny flecks of gold in her brown eyes. “Is that so? You think I’m hot?”

  Her lips curved up in a sly smile. “A little. You have all this long, dark hair…” she ran he fingers through it. “which is so appealing. You have such a strong handsome face, and your body’s not too bad either.” She slid her hands from his hair all the way down his arms.

  Everything inside of him came to life when she ran her index finger along the center of his chest. As if repulsed by it, Killer jumped from his lap with a hiss. “You’ve made claims before that you haven’t followed through with. How can I trust that you’ll do what you say this time?”

  She stood up, much to his dismay and took a step back. Then she undid the first two buttons on her vest. “Now do you believe me?”

  His mind was mush. Before him was the soft, milky flesh of two very ripe tits teasingly trying to burst free of their satiny jail. “Uh huh.”

  “Good. Tell me about the ritual.”

  His eyes remained glued to her breasts. “I want to see more.”

  “You’ll see more when you give me something.”

  He pried his eyes from her chest and smiled deviously as he looked up at her. “Oh, I’ve got something for you all right.”

  “Danny,” she warned.

  He sighed. “Chaos learned two years ago that a ritual to raise the vampire king was in existence. You see, Chaos used to be Avadur’s right hand man. Though Basil was the one who sired Chaos, he preferred to think of himself as Avadur’s.”

  “Who is Basil?”

  “Another button.”

 
She let out a long breath and released another button on her vest.

  Danny licked his dry lips and continued. “Basil is the only son of the first two vampires. Basil had his father banished back in the middle nineteen hundreds or something because Basil wanted to rule his kind. Thing was, he did a piss poor job of it so Chaos started claiming his own warriors, building his army. Chaos hates Basil for banishing the king, so when he found out about the ritual, he knew raising the king would destroy Basil. Another one,” he urged her on.

  Hesitatingly she released another button. “Go on.”

  Only two more buttons and he was going to be witness to some very nice tits. It was worth it. “I don’t know where he got the ritual. He went out of town for a few days and when he came back, he had it. No one knew where he kept it, but he told us all what was needed. Five virgins’ blood on the total eclipse of the sun.”

  “How did the darkness come into play?”

  “Last two buttons.” He wasn’t about to give her more until she gave him everything. Or close to it.

  She chewed on her lower lip which was incredibly sexy, then slowly released the last two buttons.

  “Yeah, baby, now we’re talking.” But just when he thought she would remove the vest, she let her hands fall at her sides. “Um…I think you forgot something.”

  “Nope. Go on.”

  Now she was just being cruel. “Come on! Take it off.”

  “Give me something more and I will.”

  Damn woman! “I overheard Chaos telling Fritz that he’d had to bargain with the Dark Mystics in order to get the ritual. I should have known Fritz would take over. The bastard!” His temper flared and if he’d had his hands free he would have punched the chair he was in. He hated Fritz.

  “What was the bargain?” Starla urged him on.

  Danny huffed and continued. “Chaos would relinquish his soul to the Dark Mystics upon his death and they could do with him as they like. Remove it,” he insisted, his eyes glued to her bulging breasts, begging to be released.

  It took her several minutes and Danny was sure she was going to chicken out and do her vest back up. Then she grabbed hold of the front on each side. He watched with pure rapture as she slipped the vest away, revealing two of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen in his entire life. Sure, he’d seen his fair share of tits in his life, but none as beautiful as the ones revealed to him now. They were perfectly round, lush and milky with dark red areolas and sharp, erect nipples. They sat on her chest like regal goddesses and if he’d had mobility he would have eagerly dropped to his knees in reverence.

  “Hot damn,” he murmured.

  “How can the ritual be broken?”

  Imagination was not always the best. Wanting to feel those mounds in his hands and in his mouth was all he could think about. “I want to touch them.”

  “How can the ritual be broken?” she reiterated.

  “Chaos has to die.”

  “In any particular manner?”

  “Nope. My turn.” He just had to feel them. Much to his delight, she stepped forward, took his hand in hers, and lifted it to her breast. When she laid his palm against her flesh he felt as if he’d died and gone to heaven. Her skin was so soft. “Jesus!”

  “Where is Chaos?”

  “I don’t know.” He wished with all his might that he could give it a squeeze.

  She backed off, letting his hand drop.

  “Hey!”

  “You don’t tell me what I want to know so you don’t get to touch.”

  “I did tell you what I know. I told you everything.” He could still feel her breast in his palm. Damn, he wanted more.

  “You didn’t tell me where Chaos is.”

  “Because I don’t know.”

  She chewed her bottom lip while staring at him. “You’re serious?”

  “Perfectly. Now bring that baby back here.” She knelt down and grabbed her vest, much to his dismay. “What are you doing? No, no, take it off,” he pleaded as she slipped back into the vest. “Come on!” He wasn’t ready to give them up just yet.

  “I need to find Choas.” She began buttoning the vest.

  “Good luck with that. Aw, come on! Don’t do them all the way up.” But she ignored him and did every single button up hiding those gorgeous mounds of flesh. “Damn it!”

  “Any idea where he might be?”

  “None. Fritz has him locked away somewhere. How about a sneak peak of what’s below?”

  She sat on the sofa, crossing her legs. “Why does Fritz have him locked away?”

  “I gave you all I’m going to give you. If you want to start revealing the lower part of your body I’d be more than willing to share more information with you.”

  “It’s not important.” She stood up, dusting her hands. “I’m starved.”

  “What? No way. Get back here,” he demanded as she left the room. “Starla! Jesus Christ, woman, I’m throbbing like a bitch here.” But all his pleas didn’t make her turn around and satisfy him.

  “Great! Just fucking great!”

  He stared down at his hard-on and was helpless to do anything about it.

  Chapter 10

  Trinity waddled down the stairs, one hand resting on the small of her back, the other holding onto the rail along the wall. Her belly was so large she couldn’t see the steps below her as she walked. But it didn’t bother her one bit because she knew it meant her daughter was growing inside of her.

  Her daughter.

  She was still getting used to that. She was going to be a mom and her child was a girl. She couldn’t wait to dress her up in pretty red dresses. No pink for her girl. Red was the color of passion, of the blood that fueled them, and also happened to be Trinity’s favorite color. Her daughter was going to be the prettiest little girl in the world.

  And right now her pretty little daughter was pushing down on her mommy’s bladder. Thank God there was a washroom on the main level because Trinity wasn’t sure she’d make it back up the stairs before peeing herself. Since becoming pregnant, Trinity had decided not to teleport herself. None of them, Cooper especially, knew what it would do to the baby. Why chance it, Trinity decided. It wasn’t like she needed to beam herself anywhere. Although at times, she wished she could just to escape the home she’d been hold up in for the past five months.

  She did her business and, stepping out of the washroom, nearly ran Cooper down.

  “So sorry.” He laid a hand on her belly which had bumped into him as she’d stepped out of the washroom. “I was just about to clean up in there.”

  She backed off, glancing at the room behind her. It didn’t look like it needed a cleaning to her. “You know, Coop, you don’t have to do the cleaning here. We are capable of cleaning up after ourselves.”

  “It keeps me busy,” he said simply, running a hand through his sable hair.

  It amazed her how dapper he always managed to look. His short brown hair was always in place and always shone like silk. Even when he was cleaning a toilet he looked good. Not many people wore a suit and tie to scrub mold and mildew, but Cooper did. And every suit he wore, no matter what style or color, made him look incredibly handsome. He had the wrinkles at the side of his eyes of a man who should be in his forties, and she really didn’t know exactly how old he was. But for a man of whatever age he was, he looked damn good. He had that dignified middle aged man look and if he knew her thoughts right now he would surely be blushing.

  She’d noticed his restlessness as of late. The Digital Domain was far from the huge mansion of a home he’d been used to taking care of. She figured he was probably bored out of his mind. Something they had in common. “We should be back home in a few weeks,” she reassured him.

  He nodded, yet she could tell it did little to reassure him.

  “And ju
st think. In a few weeks you’ll have your hands full, helping me take care of this little one here.” She rubbed a circle over her belly, then cringed at the pain that suddenly shot into her. “Whoa!”

  “Are you all right?”

  She panted through the cramp, or whatever it was, and nodded. “Just a weird twinge.” She rubbed her belly a little more, hoping to ease the pain. “Do you know if Jonah’s in his office?”

  Cooper nodded, his eyes ever watchful. “He seems to be a little preoccupied with something on his computer. He was a little gruff with me when I went in there earlier.”

  “Oh, Coop, you didn’t try to clean his office again?” The last time Cooper had attempted to clean Jonah’s office it had resulted in a near breakdown on Jonah’s part. Everyone knew not to touch his stuff but Cooper being Cooper couldn’t handle the messy office and had attempted to tidy it up. It had taken her an hour to calm Jonah down and to bring some peace between him and Cooper. She didn’t want to go there again.

  “Well, the bloody room is in shambles. It is beyond me how any civilized human being could stand to work under such horrifying conditions.”

  “Jonah likes his stuff in its place,” she explained.

  “His place is horrendously messy.” He threw up his hands.

  “That’s why the sign says, ‘Stay out unless you want to die’,” Jonah informed him, stepping out of his office, pointing to the metal engraved sigh on his door. “And you keep forgetting, vampire hearing now.” He narrowed his eyes at Cooper, tapping his ears while the cane dangled from his wrist.

  It was still a sight to get used to, seeing Jonah hobbling along with a cane. In the months since his accident that resulted in his wife and unborn child’s death and rendering him paralyzed from waist down, Jonah had come a long way. His days of wheeling around in a chair were over as were the crutches he’d come to rely on. Now all he needed to assist him in walking was a silver cane. It was amazing.

  “Please, will the two of you not start again. Youch!” This time the pain had her buckling.