Bloodlust: An Alien Vampire Romance (The Dark World Series Book 3)

by T. J. Quinn

  She moved closer to him. “Would you drive me into town, if wanted to pay a little visit to the Council Headquarters?”

  His face lit up with a mischievous grin. “Are you planning to pounce on some council members?”

  Biting her lip, she nodded. “Maybe I’ll have a little talk with a few of them and then stage a little demonstration. What’s the use of being in the public eye, if you can’t draw attention to a worthy cause?”

  Alek quickly volunteered his services. “If you let me be your wingman we can both stay on them and press our point.”

  Dakota held out her hand. “Deal.”

  She said her goodbyes to his precious daughter and whispered in her ear, “I’m glad my son has found you. I would not like to think of him living his whole life without a nice partner.”

  The girl’s eyes were appreciative, and she gave Dakota a small kiss on the cheek. The girl got the strong impression Dakota was going to battle it out with the council members to make sure Jared could do what he wanted with his life.

  Sure enough, Alek watched as Dakota worked her contacts and they were numerous, everyone from council members to their aids, to their secretaries and pages. She seemed to know everyone, and everyone knew her. Durk turned out to be Councilman Byer’s personal assistant. He certainly was not all long hair and sexy fangs when he was at work. He wore a sophisticated dark suit and had his hair tied back.

  Durk met them in the hallway, took them aside and explained. “Look, I think Byer is close to flipping on the issue, but he is afraid of losing his council seat in the next election. He needs support.”

  Dakota thought for a moment, took out her cell phone and spoke to someone on the other end. She walked slightly off to the side and continued a conversation. She could hear the two men she cared most about talking in the background.

  Durk turned to Alek. “Are you sure you are not a little out of your depth on this one?”

  Alek responded diplomatically. “Does it really matter? I’m here fighting the good fight. Can you afford to begin alienating allies at this point, especially wealthy and powerful allies? Don’t let your feelings for Dakota get in the way of the fight my vampire brother.”

  “I don’t like you very much, but I’m forced to admit that you right. We can’t afford to be enemies when our vampire brothers are in need of our support. Winning this fight is worth setting aside personal issues.”

  Dakota came back over, and Durk led them down the hall and into the Councilman Byer’s office. Strangely enough, she saw the man in the bowler hat from the night before exiting the office as they entered. He tipped his hat as she passed. Though there was none of the negative emotion so clearly evident the evening before on his face, his eyes were cold and a bit calculating.

  Byer did look conflicted as he shook Dakota’s hand. “Welcome, what can I do for you today?”

  Dakota pulled herself together and began speaking smoothly. “I am concerned about the vote on the new policy regarding vampire involvement in state and federal law enforcement programs. I am here to beseech you to support the cause.”

  “Look I do support the cause, but some of the folks around here have made it very clear they will do everything in their power to see that I am not reelected. Voting yes on that policy could cost me my career. I can’t serve the cause at all without council seat.”

  Dakota replied stubbornly. “I understand your predicament. However, I want to remind you that when you took your oath, you agreed to uphold the rights of all sentient beings on our planet, not just the natives. When those ships landed some fifty years ago when the alien wars began our vampire brothers and sisters sided with us. We gave them our oath of solidarity. Cutting them out of all positions that involve carrying a weapon is not upholding our oath. It will only encourage the few remaining bigots to continue to be suspicious of their contributions. You fought side by side with many good vampires who gave their lives for our freedom. Will you now cheapen their sacrifice by denying their children the freedoms they died to protect?”

  Durk smiled, and Dakota knew precisely why. She was making Byer squirm and feel very uncomfortable.

  The councilman was sputtering excuses at the speed of light, but Alek cut him off smoothly. “I think that voters believe what they are told during an election cycle. If you have strong corporate supporters, who can help you make yourself heard then you will get reelected and continue to vote your conscience on such matters. I am the Chief Executive Officer of Digitron, and I could provide the support and exposure you need to get reelected.”

  Byer raised an eyebrow, Alek could tell he had gotten the man’s attention, so he continued to press his point. “I will leave my contact information with your assistant. Perhaps we can meet next week and discuss your needs.”

  Dakota slammed the final nail into Byer’s coffin. “I’m going to give a press conference in a few moments. You can either be a hero or be a villain. What’s it going to be?”

  Byer capitulated, and they moved on their next councilman. All day long they made their rounds. Dakota spoke first, and Alek added additional support and information as needed. Alex was very impressive. She was an avid supporter and relentless in her pursuit of votes and kept up with her point by point. He was charismatic and resourceful, and his networking skills were amazing.

  They finished the afternoon with a press conference that Durk had arranged on the sly. Dakota delivered a persuasive speech, layered with reminders about the sacrifice that vampires had made during the time of war and urging general support among the general population.

  ~ Alex ~

  After the close of business, Alek pulled her aside. “Dakota you must be getting hungry. Let me take you for food.” She agreed but gave him the address. “I really do have to get home soon. Tomorrow is the weekend I spend with my son, and I don’t want to miss out on it.”

  When they arrived at the address Dakota had given, he recognized it as another vampire run establishment. Immediately upon walking in, she was greeted by almost everyone. He got the feeling it was another of her favorite haunts.

  The local stations were playing news clips of their meetings with council members today. He had to admit that they looked good together, quite like a power couple. He was amazed that everything little thing she did seemed to garner media attention. It was a bit exhausting.

  Durk was there, and Dakota motioned him over. He smiled widely. “You flipped him and three others in one day. That is an all-time best for you my friend. You two were totally on fire today. What on earth possessed you? You only needed one vote. Why did you talk to almost every single council member? You could have just walked away after Byer and still won the vote.”

  Dakota smiled tiredly. “It’s not about winning the vote anymore. It’s about winning the war. We need every single council person to have their head screwed on straight about universal rights. It’s not just about one piece of policy. We need to begin holding our elected officials accountable for protecting alien rights and more particularly vampire rights across the board.”

  Duke nodded, “You may be right about that, Dakota.”

  “Do you mind if I ask about the guy in the bowler hat?”

  “His name is Mr. Abrams. What do you want to know?”

  “Who is he?”

  “Abrams is representative from some big pharmaceutical company out west. He’s not an ally on this issue or any other. I remember him advocating for the government to give him aliens accused of war crimes to his company to test new pharmaceutical drugs on.”

  “I hope the hell no one agreed to that.”

  Shaking his head slightly, Durk replied tightly. “Gods no, they ran him out of town on a rail. He shows back up every now and then with some crazy scheme. Steer clear of him Dakota, he’s bad news.”

  “Duly noted my friend, he creeped me the hell out.”

  Alek sighed. “I could tell by looking that the man was stone cold crazy. He has that look in his eyes, like he could bludgeon one of us with t
hat fancy cane, step right over our lifeless bodies and have coffee.”

  The waiter interrupted their conversation by dropping red wine and some kind of food Alek did not recognize onto the table. He looked at Alek, but Alek waved him away. Alek noticed several couples feeding and preferred to feed from Dakota. He looked at the food that was put down for Dakota and saw it was shaped into bite-size pieces and there were about six of them. The food did not smell, and she just slipped one into her mouth every now and then, chewed a couple of times and washed it down with wine.

  Sure enough, Dakota slipped her chair closer to him and slid her hand into his. He recognized the pose from the couples bar. Even after everything they had shared he was still somehow reluctant to bite her without her giving him permission verbally. He never approved of vampires assuming such things.

  She took a drink of wine, leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Feed, you must be famished. I have not seen you eat today.”

  He gently drew blood from the side of her slim wrist.

  Durk rolled his eyes, said his goodbyes and slid out of the chair. He was clearly not going to stand around and watch Dakota play love games with a vampire that was not him.

  Alek’s eyes followed him over to the bar, and he noticed Arianna sitting at a table with Marko. They were involved in an intimate conversation.

  When Durk was gone Alek spoke. “I think he still has a thing for you.”

  Dakota said lightly, “Again, that’s not my problem. I still have a thing for you.”

  She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. She ran her hand through his hair and traced the outline of his ear. He asked about her food.

  “The chef here knows what I like and makes it every time I come here.”

  “Dakota I am sorry to say I think that you are wasting your time with the council members. The academy trains personnel for law enforcement and they seem only intent on graduating humans for state and federal justice programs.”

  Dakota looked stern. “The academy has a monopoly on training right now, but that will not always be the case.”

  Alek looked at her strangely. “No more talk. Now is the time for love.”

  She leaned over and kissed his lips. He immediately got lost in her kisses, and he could feel the bloodlust rising again. He stood up, pulled her to her feet and headed towards the door.

  Alek didn’t care for Durk’s eyes always and forever being on the woman he loved. He’d been watching Dakota from across the room, even though he was flirting with an attractive blond. Alek saw Durk’s head jerk up to stare at them as he walked past with Dakota in tow. His behavior was out of bounds, and Durk was probably wondering why Dakota would allow him to pull her around like his own personal blood slave. Alek slowed his pace and dropped his hand from around her wrist.

  Chapter 7

  Making the Bond

  ~ Dakota ~

  When they climbed into his limo, she noticed that his eyes were dark red. He drew her into his arms again, kissed her lips, trailed kisses down to her neck and whispered, “Please come home with me one more night. I need you more than I have ever needed a woman before. I will ensure you get where ever you need to be as early as you like tomorrow.”

  She melted into his arms and ran her hands over his body as he kissed her. She unbuttoned his shirt and slid her hands over his chest. He was strong and muscular, and the muscles rippling down his torso made her want to be on top him.

  She whispered, “As long as you keep issuing invitations in no uncertain terms, I am not certain I will be able to resist seeing you with your bloodlust on, making love to you or sleeping in your strong arms. I think that means you have all the power in this relationship.”

  He nuzzled his face in her hair and responded, “Thank the gods, I was beginning to feel like a little lost puppy following you around for a scratch behind the ear.”

  She giggled and replied, “Hell no, I’m the lapdog in this analogy.”

  He smiled at her, doubting that was remotely possible then started the vehicle and headed to his house. Once again by the time they arrived at his home everyone was in bed. They went immediately to his room, pulled off their clothing and slid between his crisp white sheets.

  His hands were suddenly moving on her with purpose. She had not known him to be so domineering with her before. He pinned her underneath his powerful body, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with a passion. He ran his hands up her body and through her hair as he kissed her passionately. He held her head firmly between both hands and forced his tongue into her mouth performing a delicate dance with her tongue that immediately made her wet. He slid one hand down and pulled her right leg out around his body.

  She knew he wanted to be inside her and her insides were melting at his domineering behavior. She never would have thought being handled so firmly would be so very arousing. She immediately wrapped both legs around his waist, and he whispered, “God, I love you” into her ear. He began to work himself into her body. He was large, very hard and having him inside her body was such sweet pleasure.

  He whispered, “Touch your hair.” She brought her hands up to each side of her head and flipped her hair straight up and out of his way.

  He immediately stopped moving as soon as he was fully seated inside her and laid his arms over her wrists as he held her head in his hands. She realized she was totally immobilized and his gaze was burning into her.

  She suddenly realized how dominant he could be. He ran one thumb over her bottom lip and demanded in a soft but husky voice, “Tell me how you feel about me…the truth…not what you think is appropriate to say or what you think I want to hear…the truth about how you feel right at this moment.”

  She looked intently at him and asked, “Are you always so domineering?”

  He looked taken aback and finally responded, “I’m afraid I am, off and on.” He sighed. “That sounds like that might be a deal breaker for you.”

  She gazed at him for several minutes, but he didn’t move. She could feel his manhood filling her, and although he was gentle, she could not even move her arms or turn her head from his gaze.

  She chose her words carefully, “I feel overwhelming love and compassion for you as a person.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What the hell does that mean? You love me as a friend like you do Durk? That you feel sorry for me?”

  “Almost from the first time I saw you at that Christmas party two years ago I was strongly attracted to you. You are very unlike anything I thought I wanted in a mate but amazingly I find that you are everything I actually do want and need in a mate. You are extremely attractive to me. I am more physically attracted to you than any male I have ever met. I think you’re totally off the charts hot. You’re also warm, funny, friendly, romantic and I just love being with you. In fact, I can’t imagine being satisfied with any other male after being loved by you. I know you are my one and no other male will ever do. Is that what you expected me to say?”

  He looked down at her, and she could see the total shock on his face. He slowly replied, “Is all that actually true? Is that really how you feel about me?”

  “You tell me? I have been all over you every single minute we have been together since I rescued you. Do you think that might be because I am totally enamored with you?”

  He responded shyly, “I don’t know…maybe.”

  He released her arms, and she immediately touched his face with her hands, kissed him gently and whispered, “I forgot to mention, the domineering behavior looks good on you. I didn’t think I would like something like that but, come to find out I love it. When you act like that it really turns me on.”

  She saw one eyebrow crook up in disbelief, and she added, “Today when you pulled me out of the bar like that, it made me immediately wet for you.”

  A slow smiled crept onto his face. “That’s the reason I don’t do well with women, they never like that kind of thing. It’s hard for me to not act like that at times.”

  She kissed his neck
. “Bring it on baby, I absolutely love it.”

  Well, that was invitation if ever he heard one. Best to test now than overstep later, Alek thought to himself. He immediately pulled out of her, stood up bringing her up with him and walked across the room pinning her against the wall with her hands splayed over her head. She looked at him with a surprised smile on her face and opened herself to him.

  He lifted her a couple of feet off the ground and eased her down onto his manhood. Her feet were a few inches from the floor when he was done. Looking deeply into her eyes, he spoke with a hard edge to his voice. “Don’t move your arms.” Bringing up one hand under her left leg and the other under her right leg, he slowly moved his hands up the wall. The result was spreading her open to his advances. He raised her just enough so that he could work himself in and out of her at will. It was a bit of an odd position, but he efficiently managed it with his superior upper body strength.

  He began moving in her slowly as he looked her in the eyes. His gaze burned into her and his eyes were questioning. She realized she must have been answering him with her facial expression because he relaxed a bit.

  She whispered, “So very sexy” and a smile slid onto his face again.

  He began to move faster and deeper and leaned over to take her lips in a hard, deep kiss. She could feel his chest grazing her breasts as he moved on her and it was so arousing. Again, his lips were demanding, and she found herself immediately opening her mouth as his tongue probed her…exploring and teasing her.

  She asked, “Don’t you want to feed?”

  He whispered breathlessly, “It’s not always about the blood…sometimes like now it is just about the sex. You are so soft and beautiful. I just want to love you my way.”

  He whispered in her ear as his movements became stronger and more possessive, “This is mine…all mine. Do you understand? I don’t share.”

  She whispered, “God, yes. I feel drawn to you, especially when you’re like this.”

  He immediately began kissing her shoulder as he took her with slow, powerful thrusts. Her body was being pummeled by his raging need leaving her breathless, and suddenly her body felt like it was about to be flung off a precipice.