Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  Then his gaze narrowed on hers, and his expression turned into something dark and passionate.

  Everything, except for the sound of her heart beating a little too quickly, went totally silent. And yet, she knew they were surrounded by people. It was a busy part of the city. Vehicles drove past, and people chatted as they walked down the sidewalk.

  She moistened her suddenly dry lips with her tongue. Her breath caught in her throat when his hungry gaze jumped to her mouth and lingered there for a few seconds before he redirected his gaze to hers. Swallowing hard, searching for a hint that would reveal he was teasing her, she studied his face.

  “Jake.” His name came out sounding more like a breathless gasp when he reached out and tangled his fingers in her hair and dragged her to him.

  Staring into her eyes, he didn’t say word. His lips slowly parted and curved into a sensual smile that caused her pulse to skyrocket. Feeling awkward, she wanted to look away, but he was holding her gaze captive with his. She wished he would say something, anything to end the deafening silence.

  She waited, but he didn’t say a word. Her entire body was shuddering with insane, tumultuous need. A small part of her, self-preservation, tried to deny what was happening. It couldn’t be there. Any yet, it was. She saw the truth in his bluish silver eyes. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  He so very slowly, making it feel as if time were standing still, bent his head to get closer to her. She felt as if he were simply allowing himself to savor the moment. One thing was certain. She was fully taking pleasure in it. “I’ve never even imagined a more beautiful woman than you, Lee Anne.” His voice was a deep, throaty growl. The lusty sound of it caused so much passion to rise in her that she ached with wanting him to kiss her. “I’ve never wanted or needed a woman so entirely.”

  A short, bittersweet eternity passed before he finally kissed her forehead. Waiting for that first touch of his lips was so incredibly intense, the instant it happened sparks ignited a fire that burned in her blood. Allowing the flames to consume her, she moved closer to him. And then, when she felt his body shudder and his muscles tense in response to her body pressed into his, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to savor the sensation of it.

  She wasn’t sure when it happened, but he’d released her hair and framed her face with his hands to lift it to his. She opened her eyes and stared up at him. He looked at her as if she were his world. When he pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth, she felt and heard a low growl rumble deep in his chest. The sound of it wrapped around her body and gently pulsated over her flesh in ways that made her feel delicious, intoxicating sensations she’d never even imagined experiencing.

  Rising onto the very tips of her toes, she slipped her arms around his neck and then, without any other thought than needing to get closer to him, she arched her body into his. He gently teased her lips with his, and then he kissed his way to her neck. She let the pleasure take her, let it wipe out all thought other than his hands and hot lips moving over her flesh. She was fully clothed, but his hands wandering, massaging, caressing every inch of her body, felt as if they were touching her bare flesh, wreaking such glorious havoc that her breaths were coming in short, ragged gasps.

  She felt something dark, powerful, and dominating shift inside him. It didn’t frighten her at all. In fact, it excited her. She moved her body against his as his teeth scraped her neck and his tongue soothed the sting. His hand gripped her thigh and lifted her leg to wrap it around his thigh. The feeling of her hot, throbbing core pressing against his was so unexpectedly erotic it nearly caused her to climax. Moist, beckoning heat gathered, pooled between her legs. She felt so empty, so needy. She ached to feel the weight of his body on top of hers. She ached for him to fill her.

  By the time he took possession of her mouth and his tongue parted her lips, she had completely forgotten that they were standing on a busy sidewalk. He wasn’t simply kissing her. His lips, his tongue, his hands were making love to her, worshipping her. The hot, passionate desire he displayed as he feasted her on mouth was the single most extraordinarily sensual experience she’d ever imagined. And she’d imagined many.

  On a breeze of hot, sensual bliss, she was soaring so incredibly high. She was on fire for him. Every cell in her body was so entirely aroused. Every inch of her flesh screamed for more. She wanted more. She needed so much more from him.

  Then, he went completely still. His arms briefly tightened around her, nearly crushing her to him. She felt deep, terrible anguish. She felt regret. Every muscle in her body tensed. She felt anger and frustration. But they weren’t hers. Somehow she knew the emotions belonged to him. She felt them for only a few seconds before he released her and took a step back.

  “I’m sorry.” She saw a mixture of pain and love in his eyes when he reached out for her as to take her in arms again, but then he stopped. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.” His arms folded behind his back, he looked down at her hand for a few seconds. And then, his expression void of any emotion, he met her gaze. He held out his hand for her. When she didn’t take it, he took her hand and led her into the restaurant.

  She could feel her heart racing. A kiss? It was only a kiss to him? In a state of shock, she followed his lead. To her it had been so much more than a kiss. If they’d continued, she would have … oh, God. It wasn’t just a kiss to her. It was so much more. It was a magical moment of … of sweet, decadent fires of desire merging.

  ~ Two ~

  JAKE HAD A BIG problem on his hands, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Lee Anne had consumed a little too much wine. She rarely drank alcohol because it caused her, a normally rational and calm woman, to become argumentative, unpredictable, and entirely irrational. As an ancient vampire he was a powerful, cunning predator, but at the moment he felt more like cowering prey hiding underneath a bush.

  Appearing as if she were planning to jump across the table and rip him apart with her bare hands, Lee Anne glared at him. The silence dragged on a little too long for his liking. He’d already tried everything he could think of to distract her, though he wasn’t sure what he was distracting her from. It couldn’t have had anything to do that kiss, could it? Well, perhaps it was possible.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, Jake?” Frowning, she drew her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it hard enough to make her wince.

  Maybe the silence hadn’t been so bad after all. “What do mean?” It was a stupid question, but he didn’t have a choice. As mad as she seemed to be, pretending not to have heard her would’ve been even more stupid. At the moment he didn’t really want to know how much his kiss had upset her, but later, after she sobered up, he would happily discuss it. And she would come to agree that it had been a mistake.

  “What the hell is wrong with me?” Shaking her head, she leaned across the table. “Better yet, why the hell did I go through the torture of having my legs waxed?”

  Yep. She was drunk. Heaving a deep, inward sigh, Jake nodded. It took a great deal of strength to keep from cracking a smile even as a sweat broke out on his body. Making it difficult, he knew a smile would most certainly send her spiraling into a passionate fit of rage. Oh, sure, she was beautiful when she was mad, but that wasn’t what was making it difficult.

  Deep down, he was happy she was suffering because of the kiss they’d shared. Selfish? Oh, yeah. Definitely. Cruel? Perhaps. But there was no good reason for him to suffer alone. Besides, knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her felt good.

  He should’ve resisted the urge to kiss her, but in that moment he hadn’t had the strength. He was well aware she had been purposely avoiding him since her release from the hospital. It was for the best. He should’ve left it alone … left her alone. He could’ve easily gone back to secretly watching over her. But he couldn’t do it. He was addicted to her companionship.

  During her recovery, they’d spent countless hours together. He’d never been the type of man who needed friends. But the more they were to
gether, the more his feelings for her grew into something so stirring he actually looked forward to spending time with her. He wanted her and she wanted him, but he’d never acted on it until he kissed her outside the restaurant.

  It was a moment of weakness that never should’ve happened. When he’d received the assignment from Jeremy Lang, one of the higher-ups in the secret vampire society Blood Brotherhood, it had sounded so simple: watch over and guard Lee Anne, preferably without her awareness. For years he’d done just that. And then he went and did the unthinkably stupid.

  He’d fallen in love with her.

  It wasn’t uncontrollable blood-lust of the kind most associated with vampires. No, that was what happened with murderous creatures of darkness with tainted blood, and he was one of the ancient, pureblooded vampires who’d mostly coexisted peacefully with humans since the beginning of time, harmlessly taking only enough blood to survive. Sure, lust was part of what he felt for Lee Anne, but to his horror he’d come to realize he actually cared about her, and not just because of the assignment.

  Lee Anne picked up her soupspoon and waved it in front of his face. “And, Jake, just in case you’re wondering, it hurt like hell. I’m serious. I actually cursed at the lady that did it. I felt terrible.”

  Deciding it would be best to remain calm and appear to be one hundred percent agreeable, he smiled and nodded. Still, he kept a close eye on the spoon clenched in her tiny fist—he wasn’t stupid—and opted for silence to avoid any chance of her twisting the meaning of his words.

  “I’m serious.” Leaning forward a little more, she moved the spoon a little too close to his face. He was fairly certain she was considering stabbing him with it. “It hurt like hell, Jake.”

  He didn’t doubt it. He also didn’t doubt that it was going to hurt like hell if she stabbed him in the eye with the spoon. Maybe remaining silent wasn’t the best thing to do.

  Lifting his eyebrow, he nodded. “I’m sure it did.” Giving her a little sympathy couldn’t hurt. It might even help calm her down a little. Not a lot. Because he knew that would take much more than empathy. He was fairly certain that as riled and as intoxicated as she was it would take a miracle. And, as a general rule, he wasn’t the type to receive miracles.

  She tilted her head to the side. “What did you just say to me?”

  “Oh, shit.” He leaned back in his chair to put a little distance between his face and her spoon. Sure, she was quite talented at it, but how the hell did she twist that?

  “Oh, shit?” She paused. The silence seemed endless. “Oh, shit? Why would you say that, Jake?” She shook her head. “Forget it. I don’t really want to know. But don’t you dare sit there like some high-and-mighty, righteous, holier-than-thou jerk and judge me.”

  “I wasn’t.” Heart pounding, he swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “For your information, I felt bad—so bad that I apologized and left her a really nice tip.”

  He nodded. “That was a kind, generous gesture.”

  “Kind?” She narrowed her gaze on his. “Generous?” He was fairly certain she meant to laugh, but what came out of her mouth sounded more like a demonic cackle. He suddenly felt very afraid. “I never realized the words were in your vocabulary.”

  Sitting absolutely still, he just stared at her. She was obviously too irrational to be disarmed by what he was saying. Why had he tried to say anything? Wasn’t the original plan to remain silent? Well, he was quick learner. From this point on he wasn’t even going to nod or shake his head.

  “I apologized because I hadn’t walked into the spa blindly. Experience told me it was a painful procedure. The only reason I was mad was because I knew all along it would be for nothing. Would you like to know how I knew it was for nothing?”

  Nope. No way. He didn’t want to know anything. What he wanted was to run for the hills. Obviously waiting for him to respond, she glared at him. Did she think he was an idiot? He wasn’t going to take the bait. No matter what she said or did from this point on, he would sit there and remain absolutely silent. He’d also learned from experience. And experience told him this was the part of the conversation that always led to him being pegged the bad guy.

  Normally, he wouldn’t mind the title. Being bad was entertaining. It was great fun—he was a vampire after all. But since she’d leaned even further over the table and was again holding the spoon dangerously close to his face, he doubted that being bad would be such great fun at the moment.

  He really wished she’d put the damn spoon down. He watched and waited for her to do or say something. Anything would be good. Her cheeks were turning a brighter shade of red with each passing second. She was furious. He could literally hear her heart pounding. And? He focused on her lungs. Yep. She was holding her breath. The seconds dragged on so damn slowly.

  Then, without a single indication she was going to do it, she slammed the spoon down on the table hard enough to turn heads and to cause him to flinch. “I knew you would never actually get close enough to notice if my legs were stubbly.”

  Just then, Jake heard the sound of male laughter in his head. He looked for the source of it and saw a long-time friend, Joseph Payne, sitting at a table nearby with Mia Harte. I’ve never heard of a vampire having trouble taking care of a woman’s needs. Just this morning I saw a commercial for a little pill that humans can take when they suffer the same condition. Perhaps you should give it a try. And if it doesn’t work there’re always other ways to get the job done. Google it. I’m sure you’ll find lots of interesting, useful information.

  Fuck off, Joseph. If I want any sex advice I’ll get it from someone who’s getting it.

  Running his hand through his hair, Jake glanced down at the spoon. He was slightly relieved that it was no longer in his face, but he didn’t really feel any better. She was suffering because he was an idiot. He felt terrible for ever thinking she should suffer with him. In truth, he had been waiting for her to question the lack of physical intimacy between them. Their sexual tension and frustration had been growing every day. He’d thought he was prepared to deal with it, but now that it was happening, he wasn’t sure how the hell to handle it.

  He’d really fucked up. He’d always known there was no future for them. He didn’t like it, but he’d accepted it for her sake and the sake of his people. He’d never intended to do it, but he’d hurt her deeply. He shouldn’t have kissed her.

  Deciding it was too late to keep his mouth shut, he decided to try to calm her down by using a compulsion. “Shh.” Lowering his voice, he leaned forward. “You’ve only been out of the hospital for a few weeks. It’s not good to get so upset. Just relax,” he whispered, deepening his voice, merging his mind with hers. “We should get you something to eat. It’ll help you sober up and think more clearly.”

  Staring into his eyes, she sat in what appeared to be a trance-like state for a few seconds. He smiled; the compulsion was working. But then, shaking her head, she blinked. “Huh?”

  Once more, he tired to merge his mind with hers. No doubt the reason it hadn’t worked was related to the alcohol she’d consumed. “You need to calm down. There’s no sense in getting all worked up over nothing.”

  “No sense in it?” She rolled her eyes. “You think it’s nothing?”

  Oh, damn. The way she said the words, the low tone of her voice, caused his stomach to flip. He watched her jaw clench and unclench. An instant before he’d said the words he knew it would be a mistake. And it was. A terrible, he’d just thrown gasoline on an out of control fire, mistake. Why would he continue to try to use a compulsion to calm her while knowing it would fail? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results wasn’t just stupid. It was entirely insane.

  “Nothing?” Her beautiful, emerald green eyes were on fire with what appeared to be homicidal rage. “Nothing?” She shook her head, her mouth half-open for several seconds, obviously searching for the best words to tell him to go to hell. “I can’t believe you’r
e making light of our situation.” She picked up the spoon again and waved it in his face. “No.” She dipped the spoon in her soup bowl and looked down at it as she stirred it. “You’re not really making light of our situation, are you?” She dropped the spoon and reached for her glass of wine.

  “You’re right. I’m not.” He reached out to take the glass from her. “Listen to me, Lee Anne, you’re not thinking clearly. I was only trying to help you. I certainly never meant to insult you by pointing it out. You shouldn’t drink anymore wine.”

  “Get your hand away from my glass.” And, startled, he immediately did as she said. He actually tasted fear. She was so mad that she looked and sounded possessed by something very dark and dangerous. She lifted the glass to her mouth and downed the wine in less than five seconds.

  It was a bad situation bound to get worse when the waiter promptly filled her glass again despite Jake shaking his head at him. Clearly, the waiter was a moron.

  “It’s not the situation. Oh no, you aren’t really making light of the situation.” She giggled. There was no humor in it at all, however; in fact, the dark, sadistic sound of it was quite frightening. He actually got goose bumps. “You’re making fun of my feelings.” By the look on her face, it was obvious she wanted to say more.

  Honestly, he wished she would’ve spoken, rather than downed another glass of wine. And once again, the damn waiter was right there to fill her glass. The idiot was really starting to piss Jake off. When the waiter turned his head to smile at Jake, seemingly hoping for a tip for his promptness, the fool didn’t even seem to notice the predator fury in Jake’s eyes or hear the threatening growl rumbling deep in his chest.

  When the waiter walked away Jake softened his expression and shifted his gaze to Lee Anne. “I’m not making fun of your feelings, love. I’m trying to save you from embarrassing yourself. You know what alcohol does to you. Drinking isn’t going to make you feel better.” He shrugged. “In the end, it’s going to make you feel worse.”