Party Vamps

by Jennifer North

  One of them patted her shoulder as he stood up. “Okay, ma’am. We strongly suggest you consider checking in to a hospital for observation tonight. Otherwise you need to have somebody stay with you to make sure there’s no concussion. And no operating heavy machinery. Can somebody drive her home?”

  “Yes,” said Jack.

  “We’ll take a cab,” said Len.

  The EMT looked like Noah Wyle from E.R. She tried to focus on what he was saying but her thoughts bumped and disconnected like the jagged scenes of a nightmare.

  Okay, ma’am, we strongly suggest you pack it in and get your ass back to Cleveland. Your career is over. And so is your best friend’s career. Oh, and your boyfriend blames everything on you because you wouldn’t let him suck your blood. And your clients are going to sue your ass. Just don’t drive home, okay?

  “Where’s Alex?” she croaked. Why wouldn’t they answer?

  Len got Caro down the concourse and into a cab—he’d only found one because he’d flashed his satyr horns at some freaked-out mortal and taken his spot in line.

  They were stuck in traffic for over an hour. She felt miserable. Lost. Mute. Every now and then Lenny would mutter, “I just can’t believe it.”

  When they got to the hotel he ran her a bath and, like a child, she let him help her get undressed. She sank into the bubbles and he sat on the edge of the tub, hovering like he was afraid to leave her alone, worried she’d drown or something.

  “Len, tell me.” She rasped the words out of her swollen throat. “You have to tell me now.”

  Len kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling. “The cops took Alex into custody. Jack said half the upper floor of the center was destroyed by the time he got out.”

  “Oh my God.” Her body went numb.

  “Yeah.” Len expelled a breath of disbelief. “I’ve seen Alex go all evil with those vamp powers of his—Lord of Lightning and all that shit—but I’ve never seen him lose control like that.”

  “Was anybody hurt?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know…but it kinda happened in stages so people had plenty of time to run.”

  She gulped as more tears threatened. “Oh man, Lenny. I know this account means millions for Stoked, for other companies. And I know how hard we all worked. But if anyone was hurt or killed because of some stupid plans for a party…” Her voice broke.

  “Not to make light of things, sweetie,” Lenny said as he gently stroked her hair, “but this isn’t the first time a party has gone off the deep end in the immortal scene. Vamps are fucking crazy. Demons are crazier. Turf wars, sex, parties…it’s all the same to them if they feel threatened. As you know, immortal business folks have only recently been on good enough behavior to play with mortals.” He expelled a snort of laughter. “And now that half the Chicago Convention Center is destroyed, they might be having second thoughts.”

  She rested her tired, dizzy head against the cool tile and said, “No more, Lenny. This is all my fault. Property was destroyed. People might be injured or dead. Because of me. And my pathetically twisted affair with my vampire lover. I’m going home in the morning. I’ll find someplace else to live…Cleveland probably isn’t far enough away from him. Maybe Australia.”

  Lenny laughed.

  “Len!”

  “Sorry. But you’re being absurd. Ever heard the expression you can run, but you can’t hide? He’s your mate, Caro. You sealed your destiny when you were nineteen and you let him take you, mind, body and soul. You’ve fought for ten long years against the dark-age truth of it, and I’ve tried to help you. But I’m not gonna help you run anymore. I’ve started to see the error of my ways recently and tonight shined a big, fat light on it. Truth is, you love each other. The only way you’re gonna tame Alex, stop him from going all vamp and destroying shit when he thinks you’re threatened, is by being his mate. Totally and completely.”

  Bubbles sloshed onto Len’s hip when she sat up abruptly. “Don’t you think I’d do that if I could, Len? Jesus, how I’d love to be free to love him. But I’d never be able to trust him. I’d rather be dead than go through that hell again.”

  He took her hand, kissed her wet knuckles. “No. I wouldn’t let him do it. I’d kill him first. But I won’t need to. You have to trust my famous satyr intuition, Caro. He’s different now. I can feel it. I can see it when he looks at you. I think you should try again. If trust is the barrier that’s keeping you apart, then find a way to make him prove he loves you.”

  * * * * *

  In a holding cell in the bowels of Chicago’s Immortal Council building, Alex sat very still, very quiet.

  His father’s lawyers were upstairs, deep in negotiations—maybe legitimate but probably corrupt—to get him free. For once in his life, Alex was happy to use his father’s power and leverage in the community. Happy to pad the palms of the people he’d pissed off.

  Because if the Lyra problem went away, then he wouldn’t have to kill her. And if he didn’t have to kill her, then he wouldn’t have to go to prison. And if he didn’t have to go to prison, then he would be free to find Caro and fuck her and suck her into oblivion.

  His father was right. It had been smart to be progressive with business. Smart to enter the twenty-first century in terms of civility and manners. But a bloodmate had nothing to do with civilized behavior. And it had been stupid of him to think otherwise. When it came to love, it was smart to be a throwback.

  And when he got out of here, he was going to find Caro and get back to basics.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Caro was tidying her kitchen, taking care of pre-bedtime chores, when someone knocked on the front door. Probably her neighbor, Mrs. Clark. She’d promised to have her over for after-dinner tea but she’d been so busy with new client proposals she’d forgotten about it. Immersing herself in work and getting over her cold had been her goals for the last three days.

  She was exhausted and her mind was always half-occupied with thoughts of Alex and the mayhem in Chicago. She hadn’t been able to look at the news, even though she knew now that nobody had been seriously injured. Lenny was handling the fall-out with Stoked with his typical steadfast charm and skill, already working on a new concept for their products launch. Now she just had to come up with a plan to insure something like this never happened again. And that should be easy, right?

  Oh Jesus, how had life gone so wrong?

  She opened the door, expecting to see a worried-looking Mrs. Clark.

  Alex.

  Alex was standing on her front porch. Why hadn’t she sensed his presence?

  He was wearing black leather and he looked…wow.

  Her heart thumped a too-fast beat and she clutched the doorknob to keep from falling on her ass.

  “Can I come in?” The question was roughly put, definitely more command than request. She thought briefly about saying no, shutting the door in his face. But the big-bad-wolf expression that crossed his stark features quickly nixed that idea. She valued her house. Didn’t want to have it come down on her head.

  She let the door swing wide and gestured for him to come in.

  He looked huge in her grandmother’s living room. Brutally out of place among the dainty antiques, overstuffed furniture and whimsical knickknacks.

  She shut the door behind her and he turned to face her. The scent of leather, night air and sex hit her hard. Her body reacted like she’d received a deeply sensual touch. Her spine curved, her nipples hardened. The sweet slickness of arousal came down to pool in her pussy.

  “What are you doing here?” Dumb question, she thought, as in a boldly graceful move he stepped forward, snaked one arm around her waist and slammed her against his body.

  The connection was thorough, visceral and enflaming. Nothing existed but need. Worry, hesitation and rationalization went up in smoke.

  He cupped her buttocks, easily bringing her off the floor. Her pubic bone connected roughly with the hard ridge of his cock. He brought his other hand up to the back of her head, fisting
his hand in the fall of hair at her nape, curling the strands into his fingers so her head fell back and her throat was exposed. She was braless under her thin T-shirt and the cool stiffness of his leather jacket was sweet pain against the points of her nipples. She wanted to rip the shirt off and rub against him.

  He laughed, the rumbling sound a passionate mixture of anger, arousal and frustration. “I’ve come to claim what’s mine.” He pressed cool, firm lips to the pulse at the base of her throat. His tongue licked a hot stroke up the side of her neck. Once. “My sweet…” Twice. “Fuckable…” Three times. “Caroline.”

  She hung on to his shoulders, clinging helplessly to him, knowing he was both the source and the solace for her hunger. He thrust his hips against her—hard, smooth and slow—as if they were naked and he was thrusting his cock into her cunt. She groaned. Aching and ready to beg for the real thing.

  Oh God…Alex, please.

  You don’t have to beg, princess. I’m going to give you everything you need.

  He seized upon her mouth and she moaned at the goodness of the familiar feel and flavor of his lips, his tongue. As he clenched her hips harder and moved forward, she could feel how juiced he was, how the power and strength flowed through his veins with singular purpose. He swallowed her gasp when she hit the wall, the plaster at her back a sudden cold, jarring reality in the face of the hot, dreamy vampire at her front.

  She was on her feet long enough to lose her jeans and panties then twined her legs around him, pulling him closer even as he suddenly pulled back slightly. When she realized he was trying to get at bare skin she helped him, tugging at his jacket, his shirt, the waistband of his pants, while he smoothed a hand under her shirt, over her hardened nipples—dear God, yes!—and then dipped down over her belly, seeking and easily finding her sweetest, neediest spots. He didn’t linger, he was moving quickly, efficiently, responding to the frenzy she was trying to convey with her kisses, her questing hands. Letting her support herself for just a moment, he freed his fingers long enough to conquer his zipper.

  Victory. With the rigid length of his cock at last free, she pushed black leather down over his clenched buttocks and with a grunt and a thrust, he was deep, deep inside her.

  His head dropped back, black hair spilling, and he groaned long and hard. He was so beautiful…

  He began to thrust up inside her, working the angle with his hips, widening the stance of his feet, impaling her with each motion. Over and over he surged against her and she began to gasp as he pushed her harder against the wall. She came in a rush, her pussy spasming, grabbing and holding the thick, pistoning length of his cock.

  “So fucking good…you’re gonna get it all this time.” Alex ground his teeth as he clenched her buttocks tightly with his hands. With a wrenching shout he jackhammered his hips, blasting his cum high up into her womb, no condom, no layers of civilization between them. She gripped his ass with wet fingers as he continued to thrust, obviously desperate to prolong the sensation. His movements slowing, she slid her hands up to his neck, pulling him forward for a long, love-thirsty kiss. This was a sip, a taste…and now she wanted to take deep, quenching gulps.

  The hunger was unified and unifying, the promise of mutual satiation imminent.

  He pulled back, breath rasping, leather creaking over his heaving chest. He rested his forehead on hers. She unclasped her legs from his waist and he slowly withdrew his cock from her body. She tried to stand. It worked. Sort of.

  She didn’t have to worry about holding herself up for long because he tugged his pants up over his ass and swung her up into his arms. He carried her upstairs and she was surprised when he walked unerringly to her bedroom door and opened it.

  You remembered…

  He quirked an eyebrow at her as he turned on the bedside lamp and set her on the bed. But when he started stripping, she knew that now was not the time for a trip down memory lane. That long black hair, those hungry green eyes. All those heaving muscles.

  Forget memory lane. He looked ready for the highway to hell.

  He grabbed her feet, tugging her down to the end of the bed. He pulled her to a sitting position, abruptly removing her remaining scrap of clothing. His hands went to her breasts, cupping, kneading, roughing up the nipples with the edges of his thumbs. She sucked in a harsh breath. Oh yeah. She definitely wanted to go down this road…

  His cock was a glossy, towering beacon, inches from her mouth. She licked her lips, wanting to taste.

  “Suck it,” he breathed, curving his fingers around the shaft, pushing it down closer to her open mouth.

  She kissed the salty-sweet crest of the head. Then she opened wide and sucked in, breathing hard, moaning a little as she tried to accommodate the thick bulb of the head and part of his shaft. Her fingers covered his and she felt his skin quiver.

  He cupped the back of her head and began to thrust, slow and easy, gliding his cock head against her tongue, her cheeks, the back of her throat. She looked up at his face. His eyes were on her mouth, watching the rigid column slide in and out, in and out. His lips parted, his lids drooped. The eroticism of his expression was as arousing as the feel of the slow stroke of his cock. She cupped his balls and he groaned, “Ah God, princess.”

  He withdrew abruptly but she clung to his glistening shaft, rubbing her cheek over the seeping head.

  “I want to taste what’s mine,” he whispered before bending down to kiss her wet lips. He dropped to his knees, slid her hips to the very edge of the bed, draped her legs over his shoulders and went after her aching pussy.

  She leaned back on her elbows, closed her eyes and let the sensation rip her apart.

  That’s my sweet girl…so wet, so delicious. These curls, these pretty petal lips and that luscious nectar all for me…

  He moaned and thrust his tongue deep inside her crease, curving, delving—scooping out her juices like a spoon glides through melted ice cream. She screamed when he stabbed his tongue tip against her clit and held it there. The orgasm unfurled, an oddly violent blooming—it had her arching and bucking against him, moaning his name with each gasping breath. She fell back against the bed, panting, fingers fisting into the bedspread.

  He ran cool hands up her thighs, eased her legs off his shoulders and then held onto her knees, adjusting her lower body for the coming invasion, all the while speaking to her with his mind.

  Caroline, my sang d’amour, I’m going to fuck you now. Take you the way you should be taken. You’ll feel me in your body…my soul enter your soul…my pleasure become your pleasure…my blood infuse your blood.

  She watched him through heavy lids. The quintessential vampire—darkly dangerous, sinfully sensual, irresistibly seductive. A night raider who’d come to claim her soul—nostrils flaring, pale muscles rippling, eyes silvering and then flickering back to green.

  He adjusted his grip, grasping her buttock in one hand, his cock in the other. His entry was slow, masterful. Her head dropped back against the mattress, the anticipation unbearable, the sensation beyond belief. He began to thrust, pulling her against him as he stroked and she went limp, letting him dominate her body, willingly allowing him to conquer her completely. She was his vessel.

  He seemed to swell inside her, get bigger, stronger. She squirmed, writhing under his controlling hands as he impaled her more forcefully. Hot streaks of pleasure ripped through her belly, sending their sweet messages to every nerve in her body. He surged, shifting their bodies farther onto the bed. His knees were on the mattress and he cupped her buttocks, lifting her, angling her for deeper penetration. He pistoned into her until there was no thought but him, no feeling but him. She was so primed, so ready…

  Come into me now, my love.

  He rocked back on his heels, still holding on to her, still pulsing pleasure into her with every thrust. Their gazes locked together and held. She straddled him, placed her hands on his shoulders. His eyes dilated to midnight as he turned his face, nuzzled her marked wrist. His mouth opened.


  And then he bit down and sucked.

  She climaxed.

  Oh God! The sting was sharp, the pleasure-pain a scarlet peak to climb and get over. Her belly and her pussy clenched at the same time and she curved into his body. He held her wrist with both hands. His lids fluttered and shut over his beautiful eyes. He drank and the pain peaked and sent her rushing headlong into pleasure, into the mystical place where their thoughts became one.

  I could drink you forever.

  I love you forever.

  I have to stop.

  Don’t stop…

  More pleasure waits. So much more. Move on me…God, yes. Slow and easy now. That’s how we like it. Now fly us to the edge.

  He released her wrist and his head dropped back, the strong muscles of his throat working as he swallowed. She held on to his shoulders with both hands again. She could see her blood on his lips, the points of his teeth.

  She gyrated her hips, easing up, down and around, working his cock with her pussy, working her fluids into his skin. Oh, the sweet goodness of it. She felt his pleasure, her pleasure.

  One now. They were one in every way. Tendrils of sensation became thick vines, twining them together, erupting in verdant, voluptuous blooms. Her vision blurred. Alex bucked and cried out. They went careening full speed to the edge of pleasure. When they hit the edge, they dove, knowing they were there to catch each other. Knowing the ride of love was infinite.

  * * * * *

  Alex woke up in his favorite way. He felt his cock hardening against the sweet flesh of his lover. He was lying on his side with Caro nestled in front of him, his penis cradled between the satin cheeks of her buttocks. He licked the smooth skin of her shoulder, caressed her sleep-warmed breasts.

  She moaned softly and he smiled, knowing that he hadn’t let her sleep much in the last twenty-four hours.

  He stretched and felt a variety of interesting aches. They’d been earned in such a pleasurable fashion that he didn’t mind the pain. When he felt her nipples harden against his palm, he moved his hand downward, tickling the flesh of her labia. The muscles of her thighs clenched and he heard her sigh as she turned her body to face his. Without opening her eyes she reached up to put her arms around his neck and he kissed her deeply, languorously.