With a fury not often felt, Dottie threw open the closet door, stripped the hangers of her few pieces of clothing, flung them on the bed and rushed over to the dresser. She was in the process of emptying the second drawer when the door burst open.
“What in hell are you doing?” Jerome’s voice boomed across the room.
She did her best to ignore his entrance as she continued piling her belongings on the bed. When she finished, she rushed back to the closet and snatched up the small suitcase she had brought with her from New Orleans. She was in the act of tossing it onto the bed when Jerome wrapped his fingers around her wrist.
“Stop. Stop this instant.”
She jerked her arm back as hard as she could, but she may as well have saved the effort. Jerome’s grip was strong as steel. He forced her to look up at him.
“You are not leaving.”
She tried once more, in vain, to loosen his hold on her arm. “I will do what I damn well please.”
“Not if I think it’s a bad idea. And I damn well think it is.”
So he thought he could bully her, did he? Well, not as long as she had one breath left in her body. With a superhuman effort she thrust her arm upward. The move caught Jerome by surprise, but he was a thousand times quicker than she was and he adjusted his hold quickly.
“When are you going to learn you cannot best me at anything?”
“You . . . you . . .” She couldn’t think of a strong enough insult to hurl at him, so she just stood there, her arm held in midair by his iron grip, her anger setting her stomach on fire.
“Go on, finish what you have to say. What am I?” Jerome goaded.
She gave one more futile jerk of her arm before she admitted defeat. “Please let go. You’re hurting me.”
She had never before seen a man’s hardened features collapse and soften right in front of her eyes. Certainly not a man of Jerome’s caliber. And, of course, never a vampire. But in one second, Jerome’s stern, angry scowl vanished and she saw regret in his beautiful blue and gray eyes.
Jerome made a strange sound from deep in his chest and hauled her body up against his. His eyes looked deeply into hers. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I sometimes forget how strong I am.”
“I forgive you.” She stumbled on the words, not because she didn’t mean them, but because it was difficult to speak while she was caught in the thrill of being so close to him. While one part of her wanted to be free, another part enjoyed being held captive. She was caught in the midst of conflicting emotions.
Still gripping her wrist, Jerome used his other hand to scatter her possessions to the floor and tumble them both onto the bed. She should have felt fear with his take-control attitude when he crawled on top of her, but she didn’t. Instead, she felt safe. She felt protected. And most of all she felt lust.
She was trying to sort out her confusing thoughts when Jerome’s hold on her wrist slackened and he began planting hot, moist kisses up and down her neck. It was easy to give herself up to the pleasure of his breath rippling across her flesh.
Her insides quivered when his hard length pressed between her thighs. Instantly, her body heated. How could she respond to him so swiftly? So completely? Not a minute ago she was angered beyond belief by his temper and his use of force.
Even as she questioned her own judgment she knew the answer to her questions. It was before she had seen remorse and shame in his beautiful eyes. Before she had felt his deep regret for hurting her. After those revelations, her feelings toward him changed.
As she marveled at her physical response to him, Jerome levered himself on his forearms and looked down at her. The beginning of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. I expected more of a fight from you.
He fumbled with the buttons on her shirt, grumbling to himself every time he failed to slip one through the opening. Damn. Don’t you own anything easy to open?
She struggled not to laugh out loud and chance shattering the mood. Instead, she focused on threading her fingers through his dark, shoulder-length hair. She couldn’t hold back the grin. I don’t waste energy on fights I can’t win. And I like shirts that button.
You always have an answer for everything, don’t you?
Usually.
She slid her hands under his shirt. His flesh was cool to the touch, in contrast to the heat of the kisses he trailed from her neck to her mouth. The tip of his tongue teased the corner of her mouth then slipped between her lips. Her body arched upward, pressing closer to the hardening bulge between her thighs.
Jerome sucked in his breath. You’re as hot as I am, aren’t you?
A whispered yes was all she could manage as he pushed up her blouse, lowered his head to her stomach and licked a path up to her breasts. With each flick of his tongue the pulse between her legs throbbed. She held her breath for what was yet to come.
With lightning speed Jerome removed most of her clothes and tossed them to the floor with the rest of her possessions. She was naked except for her very flimsy bra. His hand slid beneath her back, found the bra’s clasp and unhooked it. Skillfully, he removed the bra without his tongue missing one beat of rhythm as it skimmed her breast and found her nipple.
An overwhelming need to participate in this delicious game of give and take came over her. She tried to work her hands between their bodies so she could get a grip on the tab of his zipper but he pressed his body closer to hers. He chuckled at her failure. She saw nothing funny about the torture he was putting her through. Heat was building inside her so fast she sometimes forgot to breathe. You’re not playing fair, she scolded.
Jerome closed his mouth over her taut, aching nipple. Did I commit to playing fair?
Before she could answer, he lifted his head. His face loomed above hers. Her heart lurched in her chest. His eyes were no longer blue and gray, but a vivid orange-red that reminded her of a blazing fire. His features transformed, his lips drew back, and instantly his incisors descended.
Beneath Jerome Thea twisted and turned, trying to free herself. Was she suddenly frightened of him? Or did she merely want the freedom to return some of the pleasure he was giving to her?
Thea gave one more twist of her body and sighed in defeat when she made no headway. Do you always have to win at everything?
Yes. Always.
Enjoying his dominance, he started at the rise of her hips and rushed his hands up the sides of her body. Her convulsive reaction to his touch sent an explosion of pleasure from the tips of his fingers to the top of his head. The Need burned in his loins. His cock hardened to the point of pain, made almost unbearable by the confines of his clothes.
Soon he would have to let her have her way with him. He could certainly undress himself with great speed if he chose, but he wanted the thrill of Thea’s hands, Thea’s fingers, freeing him. He simply had to be the one who gave permission.
Tell me, Thea, do I frighten you?
A little.
You know I would never intentionally hurt you.
Yes, I know that.
Do you want us to continue?
Yes.
You understand, don’t you, that if I let you take charge it’s because that’s what I want?
Thea nodded.
Then undress me. Now. Quickly.
Thea wasted no time ridding Jerome of his clothes. Even without his help, she would have set a world record. She wanted him as naked as she was. Naked and on top of her. Naked and inside her.
She tried to scoot down in the bed so she could find one of his nipples with her tongue, but he avoided her maneuver, grasped both wrists in his hands and brought her arms up alongside her head. Now she was totally under his control. Any move she wanted to make would have to be approved by him. What a tyrant.
Is that what you think of me, Thea?
Why shou
ldn’t I think of you that way? You have to control everything I do.
To her surprise he immediately relaxed his hold on her and rolled them over until she straddled him. He released his familiar chuckle.
All right. You win. I’m all yours. Now let’s see what you can do with me.
She quickly closed the link to her thoughts. She would see how smug he was now that he couldn’t read her mind.
She should have known better than to expect Jerome to play fair. Before another heartbeat passed he grasped her hips, making it impossible for her to move them. She held her breath to take her mind off the hot, throbbing juncture between her legs while she formulated a plan of action.
“Well,” he taunted, “I’m waiting.”
Damn, he was infuriating. Goading her like that while he held her motionless made her more determined than ever to show him just what she could do.
She knew from her research and her few intimate conversations with Simone that vampires were extremely sensual creatures, and once their lust reached a critical point they were nearly helpless in the hands of a skilled lover.
She had also learned from her stepsister that The Whitcombe’s were especially vulnerable since they were hostage to The Need, the vile part of their nature that tormented them the whole of their vampire lives. If she intended to counter Jerome’s control, she had to act quickly.
Stealthily, she inched one hand between their bodies and wrapped her fingers gently, but firmly, around him. She had barely ended the first stroke of his shaft when Jerome’s body shuddered and he wound his arms around her back in a near, bone-crushing hold.
The fire in his eyes exploded and his lips stretched so taut over his elongated fangs his face twisted into a grotesque mask. “What I feared might happen has taken hold of me. Either willingly submit to me, or order me to release you. But be quick about it. I can’t be responsible much longer for what happens to you.”
JEROME NO LONGER had full control over his body. The unbearable force being exerted on him was beyond anything he had ever experienced or even imagined. It was as though his body were being torn apart from the inside.
This is what Gene Malbury, his geologist friend, had warned him was likely to happen when the earth’s magnetism reached a level greater than his body could tolerate. He would be in the clutches of The Need.
He needed blood. He needed sex. He needed them with an intensity he’d never before experienced in his century and a quarter of life.
And both were so close within his reach he felt agonizing pain every second his body was denied the relief they offered.
But the woman who straddled him was no evil vampire from which he could greedily slake his thirst. Nor was she a woman of the night who willingly offered her body to satisfy his lust. The woman on top of him was Thea, and in spite of himself, she meant something to him on a level that was a mystery to him.
He could not, in all good conscience, take unfair advantage of her. But he had his limits. “Go,” he insisted. “Go now or you will be sorry.” He turned his head to the side so he wouldn’t have to look into her eyes.
When she continued to straddle him, he gave her a shove. She landed on the bed at his side. He closed his eyes to shut out the stricken look he knew would be on her face. He was trying to protect her. Couldn’t she see that?
A sudden pain sliced through his body like a hungry tiger, clawing at his loins, chewing at his insides. He swallowed his cries of agony as he fought desperately for the will to honor the promises he had made. His control was about to collapse.
“Go, damn you, go!” he shouted, as he pushed forcefully at the woman lying beside him. His nails had completed their progression to talons. The vampire was now in the forefront. He grasped the bedclothes at his sides until the fabric ripped and shredded. And still Thea did not move.
He would give her one more second to heed his warning, and if she still refused to leave, he would take what he needed and they would both suffer the consequences.
Thea made her decision. She was not leaving.
Tentatively, she put out a hand and touched Jerome’s shoulder. His body was trembling harder than when she’d been on top of him. She could not desert him, now. She slid her hand under his neck and turned his head toward her. She locked her gaze with his. “I am not leaving. I’m staying here.”
“Fool,” Jerome mumbled as he rolled his body toward hers. “Damn, beautiful fool,” he growled, as he crawled on top of her.
She opened her body to him as he put his mouth to her neck. He thrust inside her with no preliminaries, no foreplay, no apologies. She was more than ready for him. She had been primed for him from the moment he swept her clothes from the bed to the floor.
You can still turn away, the ethereal voice that she was now sure belonged to Lilith whispered.
No. I do not want to turn away. I want to stay.
The bite vaguely registered in her brain. All of her senses were focused on the sensations that began low in her belly and set fire to every nerve in her body. Each thrust Jerome made was so connected with the pulsing in her neck that her entire body throbbed.
She felt lightheaded and her body seemed to float. There was the same separation of body and soul she had felt during her first sexual encounter with him. Only this time it was so intense it felt as though their bodies had fused together. As if they were one. One body. One spirit.
Her body’s release came with the speed and force of lightning bolts drawn to an energized target. Everything inside her split and shattered at once. At the same time, Jerome’s huge body bucked and convulsed over hers, his moans of ecstasy edged with an undertone of agony. They held tight to each other as they rose to unbelievable rapture in the realm she had visited only once before. They were still wound in each other’s arms when they returned to the world where mortal and vampire had first joined as one.
When her body returned to normal, she sensed Jerome’s tongue laving the puncture on her neck. His warm breath sent pleasant shivers through her body. She had never felt so cared for, so special, in her life.
Jerome’s lips moved gently across her flesh. “How do you feel, Thea?”
How did she feel? She had never felt so alive. It was as though she had just received a triple dose of adrenaline. She combed Jerome’s tangled hair with her fingers. “I feel wonderful.” She felt a sudden moment of fear. “Why do you ask?”
Jerome rolled to his side, taking her with him. “I was afraid I may have lost control and taken too much blood from you.” He lifted her hair and examined her neck. When she heard his sigh of relief she knew everything was all right and she released a sigh of her own. “I did try hard to restrain myself,” he continued, “but sometimes . . .”
She snuggled closer to him, silencing anything else he may have been about to say. His hair had fallen across his cheek and she smoothed it back. “You worry too much about me. And maybe not enough about yourself.” She was remembering when he had come home injured and she had to fight to help him. “Jerome?”
“Yes?”
“When are you leaving for New Orleans?”
She was unprepared for his swift reaction. He propped himself on an elbow and looked down at her, a dark scowl on his face. “How do you know about that?”
The sense of security she had enjoyed until now quickly vanished in the face of his anger. “Simone mentioned it to me. She said something about Julian being ill and that he needed you. I . . . I don’t remember exactly what she said.”
“Damn nosy, interfering woman. My brother can play the heroic lover with her if he chooses, but that doesn’t give him the right to discuss private family matters with her.”
Dottie’s heart began to hammer in her chest. What had set Jerome off so intensely? She had seen him angry before and she had heard that anger reflected in his words, but never as vehemently as no
w. She closed her eyes as if to shut out all the rage. “I’m sorry if I said something to upset you. I won’t mention it again.”
Jerome took hold of her shoulders, making it impossible for her to turn away from him. “There will be no opportunity for you to bring this up again. I have important matters to take care of away from home.”
Jerome released her, stood quickly and seemed to waver from side to side. He shook his head a few times as if to clear it and then sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her. “Gordon will be at your disposal for anything you may need.”
She didn’t know what to say. What could she say? Once again he had dismissed her. They looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds. He made a move as if to stand again, but then suddenly she was in his arms. His kiss was long and passionate, as tender as his words had been harsh. He released her gently.
“Goodbye, Thea,” he whispered as he crossed the room. “Perhaps it is best that you leave. Have a safe trip home.”
Chapter Fourteen
JEROME CLOSED the door to his chamber and leaned back against it. The room spun wildly around him. His head pounded. He felt as if he were going mad.
With the help of the few pieces of furniture in the room he steadied himself enough to make it to the open coffin. He practically fell inside, his body craving the curative copper lining as deeply as it had hungered for the sex and blood he had just taken from Thea.
If he were mortal now he might be entertaining a quick and decisive way to end his pain. But he was an immortal and as such he rebelled at the thought. He was no coward. He was a Whitcombe. And the Whitcombe’s were fighters.
He would regain whatever strength had been drained from him by this last magnetic shift and then he would go after Zurik. He would find him and destroy him for what he’d done to Thea. Regardless of whether or not he went to New Orleans, he would not allow a monster like Zurik to take another woman hostage.
Above all, he would not allow Zurik to hurt Thea ever again.
The Vampire Jerome Page 14