by Nina Bangs
“I won’t know for sure until I see the dress, but I tend to like Asima’s choice.” Donna thought the silver sandals would complement her silver dragon. She was a little wary of the four-inch heels, but they’d make her legs look terrific.
Now it was Asima’s turn to glow. “I think it’s time we showed you your dress.”
Sparkle went over to the cart and pulled the plastic off. Donna was determined to wear whatever they’d come up with no matter how . . . “Oh, wow! It’s gorgeous.”
Long, sleeveless, red, and silky with a sensual cling. Asima.
A slit up to her thigh. Sparkle.
A top that plunged almost to her navel. Sparkle.
A diamond clasp beneath her breasts that would hold the material together so it didn’t end up in a puddle of red at her feet. Asima.
The back plunged too, but since it stopped short of her behind, she didn’t worry. Donna mentally crossed panties off her to wear list. Nothing was going to interrupt the smooth flow of her beautiful dress.
For the first time that night, Sparkle and Asima looked happy at the same time. Sparkle opened one more box. “We’ll let you choose the jewelry you want. We won’t say a word.” She cast Asima a warning glance. “Will we?”
“My lips are zipped. Of course, since I’m not using my mouth to talk, I guess—”
“I’ll wear these earrings.” They were dangly and diamond. “I don’t need anything else.”
Sparkle frowned. “No necklace?”
“That’s taken care of.” She ignored their curious stares as she collected everything together and went into the bathroom to change.
When she came out, Sparkle widened her eyes and looked at Asima. Then they both stared at Donna.
“He’ll be on his knees tonight.” Sparkle’s smile was genuine. “You go, girl.”
“We did a wonderful job, Sparkle.” Asima rubbed against Donna’s ankle. “You look beautiful, Donna. Classy, elegant, and we give you permission”—there was a smile in her voice—“to be a wildcat in Eric’s bed.”
That last part came so far out of left field that even Sparkle blinked.
“Thanks for all of this.” For the first time Donna stopped to think about where they’d gotten “all of this.” “Umm, how much will everything set me back?”
Asima’s eyes took on her sly feline expression. “Oh, you don’t owe us anything. We didn’t pay for it, we . . . acquired it.”
Oh boy. Luckily, Donna didn’t have time to think about what their “acquiring” involved, because someone knocked on the door. Eric.
Sparkle handed a silver beaded purse to Donna that she’d already loaded with key and essentials, and then she and Asima followed her to the door. When Donna flung it open, everyone gaped.
“Did I ever tell you that you bring the heat, vampire? Of course I did. In that tux, you’re hot enough to melt all the chocolates in my store from right here.” Sparkle slid her gaze the length of his body.
“They don’t make men this way anymore.” Asima stared up at him with admiration. Okay, so there was a little lust mixed in.
Donna bristled. Fine. She admitted it. She was possessive. She was jealous. And she had to get rid of her two sex consultants. “Thanks a bunch for helping me out, guys. See you later.”
Eric didn’t even watch them walk away. His gaze stayed fixed on Donna. “You’re beautiful.”
Donna never knew so many emotions could be packed into two words.
So are you. She wouldn’t say the words because she’d sound like a continuation of Sparkle and Asima. But she hoped her eyes passed on the message that she thought he was the most spectacular man in the world.
Dressed in basic black and white, he was cool and elegant, but beneath it all ran the hot sensual current that made her want to peel all those clothes from his muscular body and perform erotic acts with him until dawn.
His eyes gleamed. “If we don’t get going now, we might never make it to the ball.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the intricate silver necklace with her dragon on it. “Turn around.”
Donna closed her eyes as he placed the necklace around her neck, and she tried to ignore the warm skim of his fingers against her skin. “Okay, I’m ready.” But ready for what? Maybe by the end of the night she’d know.
It was almost midnight, and Donna understood why Cinderella had shucked that glass slipper. She’d danced most of the night with Eric, and her beautiful silver sandals were now officially instruments of torture. “I think I’m ready to sit out the rest of the night.”
The great hall was packed with couples. But she was a cardinal in a flock of ravens. Donna supposed everyone thought vampires weren’t the real deal unless they wore black. But that was okay, because as Eric had danced with her, he’d slid his fingers over the material in a way that told her how much he appreciated her dress . . . and what was beneath it.
Eric glanced around the hall. “I don’t see any free tables.”
Donna followed his gaze. Holgarth and his crew of minions had transformed the room. The long banquet table in front of the hearth was gone and in its place was a band. Intimate tables with lighted candles ringed the hall, and a bar had been set up in one corner. There was also a light buffet for anyone who wanted to eat.
But the people on the dance floor were what held her attention. Fake vampires abounded. Phony fangs were on full display. The only man who didn’t look like the traditional vamp was the real one. And when some of her listeners introduced themselves and asked if she’d found any creatures of the night, she’d said no. Lying straight-faced was an art form.
“If you’re tired, I could walk you to your room and then come back here.” His pause was pregnant with all kinds of meaning. “Or we could go to my room.”
There it was. The choice she knew was coming. Instinctively she understood if she turned him down now, he wouldn’t ask again. After tonight the ball would be in her court.
But he wouldn’t have to ask again, because she’d made her decision. It had been a gradual realization starting when she opened her door tonight to find him standing there, her vampire prince in a tux, desire for her gleaming in his blue eyes. And her decision was fully formed by ten o’clock as they sat out a few dances at one of the tables.
She’d asked him if he wanted to dance with someone else, because as the castle’s resident vampire she knew he had obligations. He’d said no, that this would be her only Vampire Ball, and he wanted her to spend it with him. Brynn and Conall could pick up the slack for him tonight. And then he’d cast a speculative glance at the candle sitting in the middle of the table.
He’d been thinking about the chocolate-covered cherries. So was she. Donna had known if she didn’t use them tonight, she’d probably eat them out of pure—or impure—sexual frustration.
Now she looked up at him. “I want to go to your room.”
Eric nodded. “Wait here while I run up to your room for the cherries.” He leaned toward her, his desire touching her without spoken words. It was in the huskiness of his voice, the scent of aroused male, and the raw need in his gaze. “Should I bring you anything else?”
She smiled, a smile she hoped showed him only her hunger for him and not any of the qualms she felt about vampire neck fetishes. “Bring Sweetie Pie and Jessica with you. They’re sort of family now.”
He nodded before striding toward the stairs. Once out of everyone’s view, he used his preternatural speed to get him up the steps, into her room—who needed a key?—and out again with a plant in each hand along with the box of chocolate-covered cherries under one arm.
A little anxious, aren’t you, bud? Yeah, he was. He hadn’t looked forward to something so much since . . . Since never. Eric went down the steps more slowly than he’d gone up. If this were just all about sex, then the next few hours wouldn’t be too important. Great sex either happened or it didn’t. But Eric had a lot more riding on his night with Donna than a sensational orgasm. Tonight, some important things had come
together in his head, in his heart. Okay, he might not technically have a heart, but the emotion he felt when he was around Donna couldn’t be any more real than if he did have that particular organ beating away in his chest.
He reentered the great hall and made his way to where she still stood. The way she looked up and smiled at him. The way her eyes showed how much she wanted him. And the way her body tensed with her lingering doubts—yes, he could still sense her fear—made him want to drop Sweetie Pie and Jessica on their collective bottoms. Then he’d show Donna how unnecessary her fear of his teeth really was. But Holgarth would turn his life into a living hell if he made love to her on one of the tables. Made love. Never in his eight hundred years of existence had he thought of the sex act as making love.
“I’m surprised you didn’t haul my Dominatrix Donna outfit along with you.” Her smile teased even as it stirred his sexual hunger.
His darker hunger, the one that would demand he include it in his sexual itinerary tonight, lurked beneath the surface of his awareness, but not for long. “We’ll save that for later. Maybe some morning about five when no one’s around we’ll do some role playing in the dungeon.” Now, that had made his dark hunger rumble its approval.
“Mmm. I can hardly wait. Do you have a candle?” She took one of the plants from him.
“Somewhere.” He led her from the great hall and down to his room. She didn’t say anything more until she stepped through his doorway. “I forgot how startling your dragon is. Does she have a name?”
Eric was busy setting the plants on the floor. “Hmm? No, I never named . . . Did you say her?” He straightened. “The dragon’s a he.”
Donna shook her head and remained staring at the dragon as he set the box of chocolates on his night table. “I don’t think so. I don’t think you and a male dragon could’ve lasted together this long. All that raging testosterone.” She moved closer to the figurehead. “How old is she? Really.”
“Almost as old as me. Most of what I told you was the truth. I just didn’t tell you the whole story. My brother, Var, carved the dragon for my longboat.” He walked over to run his hand across the smooth wood. Eric didn’t touch the dragon often, and doing so brought back some of the old memories. “Var never got his shot at becoming immortal. He was twenty-five when he was killed somewhere along the Scottish coast during a raid. The dragon is the only thing I’ve kept from that time.”
He hadn’t meant to put that sadness in her eyes. Time to lighten things up. “You’ve decided my dragon’s female, so why don’t you name her?” Eric moved to his bed and sat on the edge while he got rid of his shoes. He wasn’t a formal kind of guy, and the sooner he got out of this tux the better.
Donna tilted her head to study the dragon. “I think you should name her Sparkle in honor of tonight. Our cosmic troublemaker’s been a regular Energizer Bunny in her subtle attempts to shove us toward sexual bliss. She gave me the idea for the cherries, plus she and Asima worked on my dress and every other accessory I wore . . . except the silver dragon.”
She placed her palm over the tiny dragon, and he swore he could feel the heat of her hand on his flesh. “The dragon belongs with you.” I belong with you.
Silence hung between them for a moment. Then Donna took a deep breath and smiled at him. “I owe you an orgasm, vampire. The Nolans always pay their debts.” Her gaze was sensual temptation. “And some debts are so much fun to repay.”
Eric slipped out of his jacket, tossed it onto the chair next to his bed, and then pulled off his tie. He paused to watch her. “Come here, talk-show lady.” No compulsions, no scooping her up and carrying her to his bed. She had to want this as much as he did—tough to imagine she could even come close—and she must be willing to accept him sexually in his vampire form. Freyja help him, he didn’t know what he’d do if she walked out his door now.
“No.” She lifted one foot at a time as she removed her sandals.
“No?” He was getting mixed signals here. She wouldn’t come to him, but she was taking off her shoes.
She kicked her sandals aside and then smoothed her fingers over the silky shimmer of red temptation she’d worn all night. “I love this dress. It’s easy access—no zippers, no buttons, nothing to get in the way of a woman who’s anxious to give lots and lots of pleasure to that special someone.” She removed the brooch that held her dress together in front. “And I’m sooo anxious, vampire.” The dress slid smoothly from her body to pool in a crimson puddle at her feet. She stepped out of it.
Eric sucked in his nonexistent breath. She stood in only her silver dragon, the smooth unbroken flow of her beautiful body igniting a flash fire that threatened to roar out of control. Both of his hungers roared to life. He started to stand up.
“Whoa, tiger. Sit. I have entertainment planned.” She glanced down at her body as though looking for something that was missing.
He could assure her that everything important was there. More than there.
“I had a super sexy bra and thong picked out to wear tonight. Very red. I was going to drive you crazy by peeling them off slowly and with lots of teasing. Sort of like peeling a firm, just-ripened banana.” Her smile was sensual and rife with hidden meanings. “Oops. Wrong fruit.” Her gaze dropped to where his erection was making an obvious bid for freedom. “Nope, I definitely can’t be the banana.” She shrugged, calling attention to the lift and thrust of her full breasts. Wasted effort, because his attention had been fully engaged since she dropped her dress.
“Guess you’ll have to pretend I’m still wearing them.” Her smile dared him to try.
“Sure. No problem.” He gripped his lower lip between his teeth and concentrated on holding back the change.
“Last year I was looking for an interesting way to lose weight that didn’t include eating celery sticks.” She leaned forward and then reached behind her to release an imaginary bra. Her hair tumbled around her face, hiding her expression and focusing his interest on the invisible bra.
Her breasts would fill his palms perfectly. He had large hands, and it took a lot to fill them. Eric resisted the urge to rush over to her and test them for fit.
“Personally I feel that celery sticks have no redeeming value.” She straightened and then stood for a moment contemplating the importance of celery sticks in the grand scheme of things. While she contemplated, she slowly rolled each of her nipples between her thumbs and forefingers until they were tight hard nubs.
Eric groaned. “You’re killing me, woman.”
“Goody.” Her smile would’ve done credit to Donna the Dominatrix. She turned her back to him and slowly slid her imaginary thong off with lots of provocative wiggling. “So how do you feel about celery sticks?”
Who the hell cared? He was going up in flames without a ray of sunlight to be seen. “Celery sticks. I’ve never personally eaten one, but I understand the strings get stuck between your teeth. Vampires wouldn’t be good candidates for diets that included celery sticks.” He was growing hotter and harder by the second. If he still had lungs, he’d be gasping for air at the sight of her bare little ass, and as she turned to face him, her full luscious breasts.
“Anyway, I took this class that taught erotic exercise. We did pole dancing, that kind of stuff. It was fun, but I thought, yeah, like I’m really going to use these moves for a man.” She pressed her back against the side of the figurehead and then slowly arched her back. The thrust of her breasts tempted, inviting his touch. “But guess what? I’m motivated. I finally found a man I want to impress.” She turned her face toward him, her lips pouty and inviting, her eyes challenging him to watch and want.
“Didn’t your mama ever tell you it isn’t nice to tease a vampire?” His voice came out a husky rasp, but he was lucky he could talk at all.
“I haven’t been ‘nice’ for a long time. Bad girls have more fun.” She moved to the front of the dragon and reached up to touch its ferocious head. “Okay, I know. So I’m really only a bad girl in training, but I think
you’ll always bring out the bad in me. And that’s good.” With her arms still stretched above her head, she began to rotate her hips.
Eric ripped his shirt off and tossed it over his jacket, all without blinking in case he missed one of her man-killer moves. The growl forming deep in his throat was the beast stretching and coming to life. It had hopes for a mind-blowing night.
Turning her back to him again, she bent at the waist, spread her legs, smoothed her palms slowly, lingeringly up her inner thighs, and then touched herself. Mesmerized, Eric followed the almost hypnotic motion of her finger as she rubbed back and forth, back and forth, before finally sliding her finger into all that moist heat. He watched her bottom flex as her muscles clenched around her finger, and he imagined her flesh, hot and wet, tightening around his cock. He groaned.
When he finally decided he couldn’t stand anymore, she leaned further over and grinned at him from between her legs. “Getting hot, Mackenzie? I sure am.” She wiggled her behind at him.
“You have no idea.” She had no idea how close he was to changing forms before he even got her as far as his bed. That would not be a good thing. “I’m getting close to the edge. Push at your own risk.” He didn’t know how she couldn’t feel the heat shimmering off him in waves.
She straightened and turned to face him. Her face was flushed, and she was laughing. Strands of her hair fell across her face. “Oooh, you scare me.”
“Good. Because I’m a scary guy.” He was so hard and ready that it even hurt to smile.
She made a big production of reaching up to rake her fingers through her hair. “Want me to stop, hmm?” Then instead of dropping her hands, she slid her fingers down her neck and over her breasts. With a sensual sway, she moved to right in front of him, and then circled each of her nipples with the tip of her fingernail. “You’re right. I think it’ll feel a lot better if you do it.”
“Wise decision.” His voice had disintegrated to low and gravelly. “I’ve reached my personal tolerance level for sexy teasing by hot talk-show hosts.” He stood so he could get rid of his pants. They joined the jacket and shirt. He didn’t have anything else to take off.