He groaned and tightened his grip on her thighs to hold her in place for the big finish.
“Malveaux!” she screamed as her body spasmed in rapture.
After a moment, he raised his head and smiled, licking his lips. He crawled like a hungry cat up her body and then thrust his cock into her wet slit in one smooth movement. He growled low, gazing into her eyes. She fastened her legs around him, took him even deeper, and then encircled his neck with her arms, pulling him in for a passionate kiss.
He teased his tongue into her mouth, and she groaned, opening herself in every way.
They moved together as one, riding the wave as it exploded, the still-new sensation of sharing bodies and souls a constant surprise to each.
“Wow,” Tempest said as the vibrations pulsed through her body.
Malveaux lifted his head. “Eloquently stated, as usual,” he teased.
“I’d say ‘fuck you,’ but that would be redundant. Will I ever get used to these new vampire orgasms? Won’t my body explode, or something?”
He chuckled and rolled to the side, pulling her close against his chest. “It’s not just the vampire part that makes them cataclysmic. It’s because you’re my offspring. The same blood runs in our veins. You’re mine.”
She slid her hand across his chest. “Yeah, yeah. We’ve been all through this. You know I’m not going to be anybody’s slave. You can kiss that fantasy goodbye. I call my own shots, pretty boy.”
“I don’t want a slave,” he said. “I want you. Nothing about this process turned out as I expected. You somehow managed to become my equal. There’s just something strange about your brain, or maybe it’s the way I feel about you. Maybe that was the complicated fly in the cosmic ointment.”
She rose up on one elbow and gave him an innocent smile. “How you feel about me? How is that, exactly?”
He stared up at the ceiling, frowned, and cleared his throat. “You know. I mean you literally know, because you can read my mind.”
“Maybe, but I want you to tell me. Out loud. I need to hear it.”
“That’s too bad.” He shifted his gaze back to hers. “As the song says, ‘You can’t always get what you want.’ Every relationship needs a little mystery. I’ll just let my actions speak louder than my words.” He cupped her breast.
“Okay, mystery man.” She grinned. “I guess I like you, too. How could I not, after you got the band a recording contract and a gig at the coolest club in L.A.? After waiting thirty years for my big break, you managed to get me on the cover of Rolling Stone in only six months.” She pointed to the promo photos hanging in ornate frames on the bedroom wall, thinking about how great it was that vampires could be photographed with the new technology. “You’re now officially pawing the tit of ‘The Year’s Most Exciting New Talent.’ I’ll admit it. I was totally impressed. One blast from your vampiro-eyeballs, and people were falling over themselves to do your bidding. You’ll have to teach me more about using my vampire ju-ju to make humans do what I want. I don’t have the hang of that, yet.”
“I told you I’d make you famous.” He gave her a quick kiss. “As the saying goes, ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.’ You’re getting pretty good at keeping the band members from being aware of the fact that their lead guitar player is now a bloodsucking fiend.” He pinched her nipple. “Not to mention the hidden life of yours truly, their new manager.”
She laughed and slid her hand down his stomach, heading south. “Yeah, but you know musicians. Give them a little smoke, some alcohol, junk food, and loose women, and they don’t ask many questions.”
He caught her hand just as her fingernails raked through his pubic hair. He smirked. “What was it your imaginary uncle said about me? I’m your what?”
She retracted the fingers that were inching toward his cock, and relaxed back into the bed, frowning. “I should never have told you. You’ll never let me forget it now, will you? I don’t believe in any of that soul mate shit.”
He leaned in and kissed her tenderly. “Yes, you do.”
“Up yours.” She ran her fingers through his long hair. “You’d better watch out. I could leave you any time, find another bloodsucker to hang with. Then you’d be sorry for tormenting me.”
“Good try, offspring.” He smiled wide. “We’re bonded. Forever.” The tone of his voice changed. “Do you really want to leave me?”
“Nope.” She rolled over onto his chest and kissed him. “You’re stuck with me. Apparently for a very long time.”
“Well,” he raised an eyebrow, “what shall we do to fill all that time?”
She gazed down at his erection and smiled, walking her fingers down his thigh. She touched the drop of liquid beading at the top of his cock and raised her finger to her mouth. “Are there vampires in L.A.?”
He barked out a laugh, obviously surprised by the change of topics. “Yes, as a matter of fact, there are lots of us. You’d be surprised how many Hollywood celebrities and members of famous bands are vampires. There are even vampire gangs. Why do you ask?”
An evil grin blossomed across her face. “I thought after we get done screwing each others’ brains out, we could go piss off some more vampires. Fry some of the bad ones. That was fun.”
“Ah, yes.” He laughed. “I can see it now. Malveaux and Offspring, Vampire Assassins for Hire. That has quite a ring to it.”
“And speaking of rings, pretty boy. I want one. A big diamond, and maybe a queen-of-the-guitar-players crown, too. After all, we have to keep up appearances.” She kissed him.
“Well, that’s the least I can do.”
“You got that right,” she mumbled as her hand closed around his cock. “Shut up and kiss me.”
I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read my books. I hope you enjoyed them and you’ll tell your friends about them.
And continue reading for excerpts from Blood Therapy and The Vampire Shrink
Blood Therapy
Book #2: Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist series
Reaching out to an old friend . . .
A half-hour later I sat at my desk, drinking coffee, and eating a banana-nut muffin, while I fired up my laptop.
Since I was willing to do anything that might help my situation, I’d put the diamond cross back on after my shower, along with the pentagram necklace. I should have felt relatively safe because the sun was out, but I no longer had any pretense of thinking I knew what was, or wasn’t, possible in the world of the vampires.
I toyed with the cross, grabbed my phone, called Alan’s cell, and went to voice mail.
“Hey, Alan. It’s Kismet. I need to talk to you. Please call me back as soon as you can. It’s important. You have all my numbers. Bye.”
Last we’d spoken, he was still in Sedona following Lucifer’s trail of drained bodies, while at the same time continuing his search for his mother – his mother the vampire. On Halloween, he’d told me his childhood story of her disappearance. He’d never gotten over her abandonment and had become a forensic psychologist, joined the FBI and devoted himself to exploring the strange and unusual in hopes of catching another glimpse of her.
“Come on, Alan. Call me,” I said to the silent phone. “Where are all my alleged abilities when I need them? Seems like I ought to be able to contact you psychically. Well, hey, let’s give that a try.” I held my hands out, palms up, adopting what I thought might be a mystical pose, and said, “Ohm, ohm. Alan! Ohm, ohm. Call me now!”
I’d just taken a breath to laugh at myself when the phone rang. I jumped in my chair.
“Hot damn!” I read the caller ID screen and saw Alan’s name. I scooped up the phone and answered. “Alan? Is that you?”
“The one and only.”
“You got my message?”
“Message? No. I haven’t had time to check my voice mail today. I was out all night riding with some cops, and just got up a while ago. Now I’m sitting in a coffee shop, updating my notes, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to call y
ou. Weird, eh?”
Actually, it’s excellent. Maybe I finally have a reliable skill!
“Yeah, weird. But I’m glad you called. Do you have a few minutes? What time is it there in Sedona?”
“As of two days ago, I’m no longer in Sedona.” A small crash echoed through the phone. “Shit!”
“What was that?” I took a bite of muffin.
“I just managed to spill my coffee on myself and drop the mug on the tile floor. That was the clatter you heard. What a mess. Hold on . . .”
“Do you need more napkins, sir?” a young-sounding voice said in the background.
“No. I’m good, thanks.”
“Would you like a coffee refill?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Alan?”
“Yeah, I’m here – looking like I wet myself – but I’m here.” His mouth shifted away from the phone. “Thanks, I’ll try to hang on to this one.” He cleared his throat. “So, like I said, I left Sedona. A few days ago I started hearing rumblings about activities in San Francisco that sounded like our repulsive, bald, toothsome friend so I hit the road. I’m now staring out across the water at the notorious Alcatraz, and thinking life doesn’t get much better than this.”
“San Francisco? I just saw something about serial killers there. Are you involved with that, too?”
“No. I heard about it, but nobody’s said anything. I’ve got my hands full with Stink Vamp and the six deaths I’m sure he’s involved with, and as psychologically interesting as it would be to chase some version of Hannibal Lecter, I can only handle one fiend at a time. Of course none of the locals have put the pieces together about the six drained bodies yet, so I’m the only one who knows that there’s a supernatural angle.”
“Well, as awful as this sounds, if you have to track him somewhere, I can’t imagine a more beautiful city.”
“Yeah, it’s great. I’ve spent a lot of time here over the years. And let me remind you that you have a standing invitation to come and visit, wherever I am. I’d be glad to show you the town.” He laughed. “And the inside of my comfortable hotel room. We could tour this side of the bed, then that side, then the table in the corner . . .”
Nope. Let’s not go there.
“Gee, thanks.”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Okay. What’s up? You didn’t give me any grief for the hotel room remark. Is something wrong? What was your message about?”
“I saw Lucifer.”
“What do you mean?” The easy banter ended. His voice acquired a serious edge. “Where did you see him? My undead intel is pretty solid that he’s primarily killing on the West Coast.”
I took a sip of my coffee to give myself time to decide what I wanted to say.
“I’m sure you’re right. We both know vampires can be on the other side of the world or in another century from one moment to the next. There’s really no way for humans to track them.”
“So, where was he?”
“In Aspen. I went to a vampire wedding with Devereux last night, and Lucifer showed up in time to ruin the nuptials. It was bad enough that he was even there. But he seemed to focus on me. He stared and pointed before Devereux took off after him and both of them disappeared. Of course, he stank – engulfed in his usual horrible rotting-corpse, sewer-from-hell odor. I smelled him a few nanoseconds before I saw him. But just because he was there doesn’t tell us anything about where he is now.”
It felt so good to be able to talk to someone who knew.
“Yeah, you’re right about that. You said the last time we talked that you’re still getting voice mail messages from the Brother Luther part of the maniac’s personality. Is he still calling?” Another crash. “Turds! What the hell is up with me today? I just dropped my bagel plate. Damn tiny tables. I’m going to gather my stuff and walk back to the hotel room. Don’t hang up. So, about the messages . . .”
“Uh, huh. He calls at least once per day. Same tirades as before. I’m going to burn in hell, satan’s whore, I’ll be punished, washed in the blood – same demented song. Sometimes he just sobs and says help me, help me, over and over. But I guess that’s the child part. I wonder if there are only three personalities, or if we’re in for additional surprises?”
A door slammed.
“All right. I’m back in my room. With my luck an earthquake will shove California into the ocean today, and I can’t swim. Hey, do you know what Skype is?”
“Sure. I use it to meet with clients who can’t come to the office.”
“Cool. I’m all set up for it, too. Why don’t we connect face-to-face, so to speak? I’ve turned on my computer and now I’m adding you to my contacts.”
“Okay.” I put on my headphone microphone and made sure the camera was working. “I’m ready.”
Alan’s smiling face popped onto my computer screen. Behind him was a nondescript tan motel wall with a colorful oil painting of downtown San Francisco. “Hello there, gorgeous.” He waved his fingers.
“Hi, Alan. Nice to see you.” And it was. His eyes, always some variation of bluish-purple, or purple-blue, really stood out today against his faded tan, messy brown hair and five o’clock shadow. “You look a little tired.”
“Yeah. It’s been a rough few days. You, on the other hand, look great. So, picking up where we left off,” he frowned, “is this the first time you’ve seen Lucifer? You haven’t told me that he’s shown up before.”
“Uh-huh.” I sipped from my coffee cup. “This was the first time. I hadn’t gotten complacent about him – I know he can materialize anytime he wants to. I’ve also thought I smelled him a couple of times. But I can’t stay in a constant state of terror. My heart can’t take it. I’ll stroke out or something.” I adjusted my microphone. “It’s not like I have anywhere to run to. I’ve been wearing the protective necklace Devereux gave me, and I know he has some of his vampires watching me. Maybe even some humans during the day. Normally that would annoy me, but anything that keeps the boogieman away is all right with me. Not being able to find Lucifer has really pissed Devereux off.”
“What do you mean he can’t find him?” He glanced down at the coffee stain on his white T-shirt. “Isn’t that impossible? From what I hear, Devereux’s like the vampire Pope – infallible.”
“Apparently not. He hasn’t talked to me about it, but one of his vampire friends said the entire community has been shocked by him being bested by Lucifer at the Vampires’ Ball on Halloween. I don’t think anything has ever rocked Devereux’s confidence like this. He’s been very moody. Angry. Gone a lot. Searching for Lucifer without any success.”
“Really?” He moved closer to the camera. “That’s too bizarre. According to the vampire grapevine, Devereux’s the biggest badass around.”
“Well, judging by what I’ve been hearing, there’s definitely a dent in his badass reputation. Vampires are saying awful things about him. I actually heard one guy at the party call Devereux a sissy. Which, now that I think about it, seems like a pretty sissy word for a vampire to use. And I’ll bet Devereux is trying to keep a stiff upper lip through this whole thing. No wonder he’s acting strange.”
“Wow. That doesn’t bode well for the vampire community, since Devereux keeps them in check.” He paused. “Something else is going on here. You sound weird today. You’re not yourself, either. What’s up? Are you two still an item?”
The Vampire Shrink
Vampire in the Waiting Room . . .
I met with a few more clients that afternoon and early evening and had just kicked off my shoes when I heard the door to the reception area open. I quickly scanned my appointment book to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anyone. Finding I hadn’t, I put my shoes back on and opened my office door.
Sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room was the very same gorgeous, blond-haired, leather-clad man I’d seen outside my building and in Midnight’s drawing.
My stomach lurched and I think I gasped out loud.
He stood w
hen I opened the door and it was fluid motion, as if he had simply willed himself vertical. His body was all lean muscle radiating some kind of primal power. He moved elegantly over to me and gave a slight bow of his head. He offered the kind of smile that made my Inner Nerd want to fan herself and hide in the closet.
Dressed in black, his snug leather pants, form-fitting silk T-shirt, and long leather duster gave the impression of high fashion rather than Harley-Davidsons.
I froze in the doorway with my mouth hanging open, speechless, staring into the most amazing pair of turquoise eyes I’d ever seen.
He picked up my hand gently and kissed the back, his lips soft and silky. “I am Devereux. Is this a good time for an appointment?”
So many emotions slammed against each other inside me that I didn’t know which one to act on first. Fear decided to step to the front of the line and my mind began to weigh options in case the man physically attacked me. He didn’t seem menacing at the moment, but he was much bigger and stronger than me, and I hadn’t spent nearly enough time in the gym. Hell, I hadn’t spent any. Obviously, he had.
My heart raced and I still hadn’t formed a coherent sentence or done anything beyond stare at him like a zombie. What was happening to me? My eyelids felt as though they were coated with cement, my jaw sagged open, the air suddenly became thick, and a sumo wrestler was pounding on my chest. The normal background white noise acquired a sharp edge and turned into a persistent buzz, vibrating in my ears. I felt as if I was in some kind of trance.
“I am very sorry.” He took a step back from me and released my hand. “I have frightened you. That was never my intention – sometimes I forget how intense we can be. You must be a keenly sensitive individual. I will endeavor to control myself. Please accept my sincere apologies.”
You will endeavor to control yourself? I’m the one having the meltdown here.
Vampires! A Bundle of Bloodsuckers Page 25