by Lani Aames
His palms ranged over her back and the curve of her bottom. His teeth pierced her neck. She felt her pulse leap to quench his thirst. His blood effervesced like champagne in her mouth.
She plunged into his mind like diving into a bottomless lake. At the same moment, she felt him flow into all the crevices of her body and brain. She tasted her blood as he swallowed it, like fine sherry. It warmed him all the way to the pit of his stomach and spread through every vein. She felt the way her breasts and thighs seared his skin. She felt the hairs in his palms bristle when they stroked her. The electricity made her own skin tingle.
Merging deeper into his senses, she shared his vision. To him, she appeared enveloped in a halo of rose-pink and, at the apex of her thighs, turgid red. Surrounding that red haze, she saw a rainbow of coruscating light that radiated from her and undulated with each move she made.
Your aura. Claude's voice in her mind sounded deeper, more resonant, than his normal speech. It reverberated through her insides and made her diaphragm quiver like the surface of a drum. Now you see how beautiful you are.
I can hear my own heartbeat. Not only that, through his ears she heard the blood rushing beneath her skin.
In a surge of still deeper immersion, she felt his delight in her amazement. She sensed him watching himself through her eyes and tasting his own blood on her lips as well as hers in his mouth. When his hand crept between their bodies to caress her breasts, she felt the tingle in his palm along with his pleasure in feeling the ache in her taut nipples. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the tangle of sensations.
His hand skimmed over her abdomen to the triangle of hair. When he probed for the bud inside that nest, she began to melt instantly.
You're flowing with honey, he silently told her. And I feel it now, from within. Your wetness, your need.
Her clit was already twitching. She moaned and rocked her hips toward him.
I know, ma belle. I share that ache. His fingers traced spirals around her swollen bud, stroking nearer and nearer to the burning tip. At the moment she felt she would explode if he delayed any longer, he relieved that burning with frenzied caresses that sent her into convulsions that only erupted afresh each time she thought she'd reached the highest possible peak.
She tasted his blood, her blood, felt her tremors of release echoed in his mind, felt his urgency feeding hers, until both of them were sated and had to stop tasting just to breathe.
Excitement still throbbed through her tender parts, though. When Claude guided her hand to his groin, she realized why she felt that way.
I've developed an erection, with no direct contact. Fascinating. He rubbed her hand up and down his shaft. My body mirrors yours. It wants to sheath itself in you.
As soon as he projected that thought, she craved the same thing. Nudging her to roll face down, he climbed on top. She melted all over again. He plunged into her from behind, like a panther mating. And like a cat, he fastened his teeth in the nape of her neck. She felt the penetration of his teeth and his cock, along with the intoxication of her blood trickling into his mouth and the hot tightness of her sheath clenching around him. She felt his rod stiffen still harder in an echo of her clit's swelling. When she throbbed in response, his excitement grew fiercer and fed back to her in an ever-expanding spiral.
She screamed in release, and he answered with a roar of ecstasy.
Some time later, she drifted down to normal awareness. The shadow of his thoughts lingered in the back of her mind, but she remained within her own senses.
"Will it always feel like that?" she said.
He shifted position so that he lay on his back with her cuddled next to him. "We can revive it at will and control the depth of the union. We don't have to lose ourselves." His tone sounded less confident than the words.
"You don't know, either, do you?"
"I already admitted this is unexplored territory for me. And I do want to explore again—much further." He disentangled from her embrace. "Do something for me, please. Go out on the balcony."
At her quizzical glance, he gestured toward one set of drapes on the other side of the room. Opening them partway, she found a door onto a balcony identical to the one in her room. Still naked, she stepped outside.
The wind from the ocean made her skin prickle. The early morning sun shed its light on the waves. She felt Claude reaching into her brain and merging his vision with hers.
Incredible! Eloise, I can see through your eyes. I can see the ocean in daylight.
Couldn't you do that anyway?
What I see is a blinding glare. And the colors! To me, colors on the blue end of the spectrum look washed out. No, I've never seen the ocean like this. His gratitude pierced her to the heart. You show me a whole new world.
She felt a sudden emptiness, a hollow space at her core. Somehow she knew the feeling originated with Claude. He needed to touch her. She returned to the bed and flowed into his arms. His shields dissolved, layer upon layer, until she felt him invite her into the shadowed cave of his heart. His thoughts showed her a multifaceted crystal of ice that thawed and vaporized at her touch. "Mon amour, I'll never stop needing you." He kissed the top of her head. "But I can't keep you, not until you're safe from Philip. You really have to leave."
Drained, purring with languid satisfaction, she couldn't face the idea of putting on her clothes and facing the world yet. "Yeah, right. Soon. Let's just rest awhile first."
He chuckled. "Very well, ma chere. Just a few minutes."
Chapter Twelve
When she swam up to consciousness, her head lay on Claude's shoulder. He felt as cool and still as marble. No breath expanded his ribs. She swept her hand over his chest, while probing the silence of his mind.
Awareness stirred in him. His eyes opened, the now-familiar crimson gleam in their silver depths fixed on her. He gave her a drowsy, catlike smile.
An instant later, the languor he projected flared into alarm, and he sat up. "Oh, damn, look at the time!"
She rolled over to glance at the alarm clock. After six p.m.
"Confound it, you bloody temptress, I never should have let you lull me to sleep."
"Me, lull you? You're the one who goes into hibernation every day."
"Eloise, you have to get away from here. Now." He stood up and whipped the covers off her. "Suppose Philip's been watching the house all along and started to get impatient? If he decides you've ignored his warning, he might try something more drastic."
"Okay, I get your point." She felt Claude's anxiety beating against her like the wings of a caged hawk. Scooping up her clothes, she went into the bathroom to wash and dress.
When she emerged, Claude had dressed, too, though he hadn't bothered to comb his sleep-ruffled hair. "I've phoned a cab. You go up to the road and wait for it. If Philip's around, he'll see you're leaving. Escaping from the evil vampire's clutches."
"Right, but not for long. If we're physically dependent on each other now…"
"I, more than you. I can't feed on any other human donor. Only you." He rubbed his eyes. "A factor I conveniently overlooked when I agreed to the bond. I can't stay away from you more than a few days."
She threw herself into his arms. His passion and fear for her flowed over her, until she thought she might melt into him and drown all over again. She forced herself to slip out of his embrace. "We'll manage somehow. You didn't think I planned to let you stay away anyhow, did you?"
He nodded toward the nightstand. "I suggest you wear that trinket Philip gave you. Displaying an anti-vampire talisman will lend credibility to the ruse."
"Good idea." She hung the cross around her neck. "Here I go, one ruse, coming up."
Claude walked her to the foyer but stood well away from the door when she opened it. She marched up the drive to the road, overnight bag and purse slung over her shoulders, briefcase in one hand, trying to project revulsion toward all things vampiric. It didn't work. She had no talent for acting. She settled for blanking her mind, so th
at if Philip spied on her, at least he wouldn't sense her yearning for Claude.
At the edge of the road, she set down her bags and glanced both ways. Claude hadn't mentioned how long the taxi would take to arrive. She blinked in the late afternoon sun. The sea breeze cooled her flushed cheeks. So many things had happened to her since the last time she'd stepped outside in daylight. Now, with her thoughts deliberately blocked from any contact with Claude that might alert his enemy to her true feelings, she couldn't help wondering about the reality of those experiences. Had she dreamed it all? Lost her mind? Succumbed to a complex, brain-twisting form of hypnosis?
She shook her head to dispel the mental fog. Impossible. More impossible than vampires? Well, hardly less impossible. What ordinary human being could hypnotize anyone to that extent, without the aid of powerful psychotropic drugs? And the theory that Claude had drugged her into accepting such a wild tale and imagining they could read each other's minds struck her as more far-fetched than a race of naturally evolved vampires.
She would see him again in a few nights, no matter how carefully they had to avoid Philip's hypothetical surveillance. They belonged to each other now. She had to hang onto that belief.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the movement of a shadow.
She clutched the cross on its chain around her neck. The shadow oozed toward her. A man in white loomed at her side.
She stumbled backward with a yelp of alarm. Philip grabbed her wrist.
"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me."
He took off his sunglasses. "You stayed here longer than I expected. I became worried about your welfare."
"Well, you can forget it. You warned me to get away, and I'm leaving." With the cross digging into her curled fingers, she remembered Claude's remark about faith in the symbol as a focus for resistance. Maybe it would help her guard against Philip's psychic perception. She concentrated on keeping her mind blank.
"But why didn't you leave much sooner, hmm?" He scraped a fingernail along her jawline.
Eloise shuddered. "My cab will get here any minute. Just let go of me."
"Could it be that my old friend seduced you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He squeezed her wrist painfully hard. "You can't lie to me. I can see through your flimsy shields."
"Let go or I'll scream." She scanned the road. No cars whose drivers might notice if she struggled. No houses in sight, nobody close enough to hear a cry for help.
"No, you won't." Philip's eyes impaled hers. "Be still."
She froze. Inside, she strained against the psychic manacles, but her muscles remained paralyzed.
Philip picked her up and slung her across his shoulder. A whirlwind rushed past her. The landscape went gray before her eyes. A second later, her vision cleared to show a view of the ocean. At her feet she saw emptiness, dropping straight down to the tide line. She stood on a ridge overlooking Claude's private beach. Philip's arm encircled her waist from behind, tightening like a vise when she made a feeble attempt to wiggle free.
"Go ahead and scream now. I want Claude to know I have his pet."
"I'm not his pet," she whispered.
"More than a pet? No?" The soft voice mocked her. "Then he won't mind if I have a taste." The man's tongue circled her earlobe, then penetrated the ear.
She trembled, swallowing a spasm of nausea. Yet, to her disgust, she also felt a faintly erotic flutter in the pit of her stomach.
"Whatever pleasure he can give you, so can I." Philip's teeth rested on the side of her neck, not quite piercing the skin.
Eloise gave up her attempt to maintain the mental barrier. Claude! I need you!
His response crashed like a tidal wave against her barrier, flattening it instantly. Eloise? She felt him rush toward her.
Seconds after she called, Philip half-turned, still gripping her around the waist. "Claude. Stop there." The nails of his free hand dug into the skin of Eloise's neck.
She saw Claude standing about ten feet away. Unlike Philip, he wore short sleeves and no hat. This early in the evening, the sun still glared on his unprotected skin and eyes. She sensed his incipient headache and the way the light scorched his arms. Those discomforts faded to the background, though. His fear for her dominated his thoughts.
"Philip, old thing, you don't need to do this. I admit I treated you shabbily. You have a perfect right to your anger. But Eloise has nothing to do with that."
"Of course she does. You destroyed my favorite—my beloved. I'm taking yours."
"What makes you think she's my favorite, much less 'beloved'? That's a human emotion."
Eloise reached for Claude's mind and hit a blank wall. She assured herself he probably had his shield up to keep the attacker from reading him. Yet she couldn't tame the fear that he displayed no emotions because he didn't feel any. Because all the passion and need she remembered had been nothing but an illusion to add spice to the feast.
Philip edged to the very rim of the cliff and leaned so that she momentarily tilted outward above the drop. Her stomach churned. Head spinning, she clung to the arm locked around her waist. A shaft of alarm from Claude stabbed her.
With a cold chuckle, Philip straightened up. "What a disgraceful lack of control, Claude. You broadcast that reaction like a beacon from a lighthouse. Now tell me you don't feel anything for this pet."
"Only what I'd feel if you endangered any ephemeral for pure vengeance. I bitterly regret the death of your donor. I don't want to see anyone else die for my negligence."
"Is that an apology? And a plea, no less?"
"Take it as whatever you'd like." Claude glided a pace or two nearer, stopping when Philip clawed Eloise's neck once more. "I'll apologize all you want. Hell, I'll grovel. Just let her go and face me like a man of honor."
"Now you're talking in human terms. Since when does a vampire's honor depend on an ephemeral's welfare? At least, according to you. I could always find another pet, you said."
Eloise felt the anger boiling under the surface of Claude's mind. "Damn it, I said I was wrong."
"You think a simple apology makes up for her death and all the years I lost?"
"What more do you expect? I can't bring your donor back."
Philip licked Eloise's ear again. His tongue felt the way she imagined a snake's forked tongue might. Fear swamped any trace of arousal. "I'll take this one as a substitute," he said.
Claude bared his teeth. "Not a chance." His hands curled like talons.
"Fascinating. You're in love with this woman."
"Don't be absurd." The chill in his voice sounded almost genuine enough to confirm that she had fantasized those hours of passion they'd shared.
A growl rumbled in Philip's chest. "You know we can't lie to each other. I can see the strength of your feeling for her."
"We used to be friends. I don't want to kill you."
"You'd make yourself an outcast for an ephemeral? Better and better." He nipped the side of her neck.
She felt the trickle of blood and the flick of his tongue. He didn't continue feeding, though. He obviously intended the violation just to taunt Claude. To underscore the message, he grazed her breast with his free hand.
Claude stood motionless, staring at the two on the edge of the cliff. He spoke inside Eloise's mind: I don't dare charge. He could tear your throat out before I got anywhere near you. His thoughts lay bare to her. She saw a vision of herself lying on the ground with blood fountaining from a fatal wound and felt his near panic at the image.
Then what do we do?
The reply came as an unexpected shock: You have to make him drop you.
Her stomach lurched. What?
Rather, you have to make him let go long enough for you to jump off the edge.
Are you nuts?
Claude's mental voice thrummed with tension. It's the only way. I can catch you before you hit the ground. He won't be expecting that.
He expected her to believe he co
uld cover the distance faster than she could fall? She went lightheaded at the mere thought. I don't think I can make myself do it.
It's our only reasonable chance. Eloise, please, you have to trust me.
Trust a man who wasn't even human? Letting him feast on her blood and ravish her body and mind was one thing, but this—! Trusting him too far in this case could have a fatal result.
On the other hand, so could not trusting. The wet suction of Philip's mouth tugged at her throat. At any moment, he might decide to sink his teeth in, just to watch Claude's reaction.
All right, she silently answered. I'll try.
Make her captor let go? How? What did she know about a vampire's vulnerability? Too bad Philip didn't suffer from a religious phobia. The cross wouldn't work as a weapon. What about physiological weaknesses all his kind shared? She rummaged in her memories of the nights with Claude. One "weakness" came to mind, the way he'd practically whimpered when she'd tickled his palms.
Philip had one hand within easy reach, loosely cupping her breast. She insinuated her own hand between his arm and her body. At the same time, she went limp, hoping to make him think she'd given up resisting. Her fingertips brushed the fine hairs in his palm. He growled into her neck, looked up, and said to Claude, "Ah, she likes it. You see, any vampire can please her. You're wasting energy to concern yourself with this woman." He returned his mouth to the minute wound.
Swallowing her revulsion, she stroked the hairs in a light spiral pattern. He moaned with evident pleasure. She leaned into his arm, toward the cliff's edge.
Now, Eloise, Claude urged. I'm ready.
While she mechanically kept up her fake seduction, her brain screamed, I can't do this, I just can't!
Then let me help you. I promised not to override your will, but if you give me permission, I can make you jump.
Let him take over her mind and body? Operate her like a puppet? Still, if she didn't have faith that he would release his control the instant after he caught her, she might as well admit she didn't trust him at all. Fine! Do it!
She dug her nails into Philip's palm and gouged the most sensitive spot. With a howl of pain and rage, he momentarily spasmed and relaxed his grip. She mentally reached for Claude and felt his will wrap her mind like a spider's silk. He slipped inside her nerves and muscles like a man putting on a cloak.