Those had been good times.
Hell, the abrupt switch from corporate raider to vampire hadn’t really sparkled up his attitude or outlook. Happiness was for mortals and anyone but him. All this Christmas cheer? They could shove it. He’d find a sexy looker to wrap his arms around and sink his teeth into somewhere else, and in a much quieter setting.
Fifteen minutes later, he stepped onto the street and didn’t slow his stride as a taxicab cruised up alongside him. The back window rolled down and a tuft of black fur slid along the door.
“Hey!”
Daniel kept walking, but his libido reacted to the familiar voice by tensing his muscles and speeding up his heart. She’d followed him? Didn’t famous people hook up with other famous people? She must be desperate. Or else mentally unsound. That was it. She hadn’t freaked over his fangs, and now, as he’d suspected, she had developed an obsession. She wanted to get bitten.
Well, he wasn’t going to fulfill that twisted fantasy.
“Why didn’t you come backstage and talk to me?” she called out.
“You were busy entertaining the masses. A singer?”
He swung a look to her. Bad idea. Wide green eyes framed by silky black lashes had never looked so lush. Captivating. A soft cloud of black fur surrounded her face. He could almost feel his fingers running through the fur and landing on her hot skin that glistened with some kind of sparkly stuff. To kiss her pale, parted mouth, and—
Daniel paused, shaking his head at how quickly the horny thought had risen. So he had his fantasies. He turned to the cab. “I get it now. You wanted me to see that you’re some big freakin’ star. Is that what the trust thing was all about?”
“That, and I wanted you to see that I’m as much a monster as you claim to be.”
He chuckled. The woman was far from monstrous. And far too naive to be fooling around with his sort.
“I don’t need your kind of trouble,” he said.
“I see. So you’re frightened of me?”
She teased him with the same question he’d asked her. Sly chick. Nothing scared him. Not even werewolves—though he should get smart and learn to avoid the dogs like the plague.
Olivia slicked her tongue along her upper lip, and—mercy—her dress was cut so low amidst the black fur the tempting rise of her breasts drew his eyes like a target.
He could imagine touching that soft, sexy skin, warming his chilled flesh against her angelic paleness. There had been a time when he’d but to wink at a woman and she’d follow him home and into his bed. But he’d never follow with a second date. Too much commitment. And those women had only been attracted to his money and power.
Lately, his romance mojo had been broken due to the fact that his bite usually accompanied a roll between the sheets. Sure, the fangs fascinated some chicks, but they thought them fake, and when they realized they were the real thing? Daniel hadn’t known some women could scream so piercingly. Way to make a man feel like a leper.
What could it hurt to have a quickie with the pretty girl, then disappear before the sun rose? And before the media set up their cameras.
Nothing. Wouldn’t hurt a single soul. And she was asking for it, so it wasn’t like his using her—and biting her—would be a surprise.
“Slide over,” he said and opened the taxi door.
“WHY NO LIMO?” Daniel asked as the cab rolled down the street. He spread his legs and sat back, hands between his thighs. Olivia loved that he got comfortable and wasn’t worried about sitting just so and having dark sunglasses on in case a camera flashed. She was through with celebrities and their egos. She hoped she’d never succumb to a blasé attitude, but doubted she’d avoid it completely.
She didn’t move her leg away from his and the heat of their connection tickled higher. Desire curled between her legs and she licked her lips in anticipation of another masterful kiss like he’d given her last night.
“It’s easier to make an escape from all the fanfare in a cab. Usually I slip out of my gown and into something less glamorous—you’ve seen my unglamorous look—but the guy I was looking for took off so fast, I had to move quickly.”
“You want me that bad, eh?” he said, a smirk curving his lips so appealingly, Olivia tilted against his body as if she were a magnet snapping to steel, bringing their faces close.
“Anything wrong with that?”
“Not that I can figure out. So you’re someone famous?”
She had needed for it to be out there—her monstrosity. Yet she hoped it would be the least important thing between the two of them. Because right now the only thing important was getting as close to Daniel’s skin as she possibly could. “That I am.”
“I’ve never heard of you.”
“That kills me. Though I will grant that I am a rising star. I’ve been on the scene two years. My last single hit the top ten Billboard chart. You haven’t heard ‘Daydream’ on the radio?”
“Sorry. Don’t do much daydreaming lately, though I do listen to the radio.”
“You’re probably into heavy metal and don’t listen to light pop stuff.”
“Actually, I’m more of an oldies—Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.—fan. Christmas carols, eh?”
“It is the holiday season. I’m officially on a month vacation, but I agreed to a couple quick appearances during the week leading up to and Christmas Eve. I love holiday songs. What about you?”
He shrugged, then offered as if an afterthought. “‘Little Drummer Boy’ used to be my favorite.”
“Oh, I love that one! Ba rum pa pum pum. But why did it used to be your fave? Do you have a different one now?”
“No, I’ve never done all that Christmas stuff. Celebrating Christmas implies you believe in all that religious ballyhoo. And monsters don’t do that belief.”
“I see.” She tapped a finger on his mouth. “Just because you keep saying it, doesn’t make it so. I don’t see a monster sitting next to me.”
With a glance in the rearview mirror to verify the cabbie was humming to the tunes streaming through his ear-buds, Daniel then flashed her some fang.
They were pretty and sharp, but— “It’s going to take more than a little fang to scare me off.”
“Yeah, why is that? What do you see in me that you can’t find in anyone else? So much so that you’re willing to risk the bite? Convince me you’re not a fang junkie.”
Fang junkie? Not her. But what did she see in him beyond his obvious physical appeal? Freckles and a sexy smile did not make for the ultimate boyfriend. Though the fact he’d not ripped into her throat last night, and had coyly played along with her and had come to see her tonight earned him major points in the romance department.
“I’m not interested in you biting me.” But certainly the risk had been what initially attracted her. “I’m interested in the man who had no idea who I was last night, and who wanted to kiss me and make some skin-on-skin contact. Someone who doesn’t care if my next record tops the charts or if I can walk on stage in a sheer dress with strategically placed rhinestones.”
“You have a dress like that?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I might.”
She studied his mouth, which was slightly parted, and she could feel the heat of his breath kiss her cheek. So close, yet she didn’t want to kiss him with the cabbie three feet away. She wasn’t stupid. Even the most unsuspecting carried a camera, waiting for opportunity to make a cool bundle on the pictures they could snap of her.
“What say we monsters discuss it further at my place?”
The cab rolled to a stop and Daniel glanced up and down the street. “This neighborhood doesn’t fit with my idea of where a star would live. It’s old money and old ladies walking old dogs.”
“Exactly. No one ever thinks to look for me here. And New Yorkers are famous for ignoring celebrities, no matter where they see them, which makes for a perfect vacation getaway.” She reached over him and opened the door. “When I take off this gown, I shed Olivia Adorata, the s
tar, and become plain ole me. A girl who wants to help you shed your monster, too. You want to give it a go?”
Having already gotten used to Daniel’s apparent need for long stares, she loved the intensity of the connection. It burned into her and read something in her that even she didn’t know about. Was it a vampire gaze that could seduce her to his will? She didn’t feel as if he were trying to overtake her mind, perhaps only wrestling with his own confused sense of right and wrong. “Are you willing to take the risk?” he finally asked.
She nodded. Probably a wiser response would have been “What are the risks?” but right now all she desired was to slide her hands up Daniel’s rock-hard abs and push him down on her bed.
Risks, be damned.
How was that for a girl who normally had trouble making decisions without her mother’s approval?
OLIVIA LED DANIEL INSIDE the cozy second-floor apartment and flicked on the stove burner to boil water for tea. She couldn’t come down from a performance without chamomile tea. Though other things she had in mind to do—sexy, lustful, naughty things—might have the same effect, by no means would those things calm her.
She’d forgo calm for that option in a heartbeat.
The vampire stood by the door on the rug, looking around, hands shoved in his pockets. He looked too normal. Perhaps that was his most dangerous attribute. Must be easy for him to lure in an unsuspecting woman for a bite.
“Having second thoughts?” she asked. Should she be asking herself the same question?
No, she was far from unsuspecting. She was charging into this affair with eyes wide-open and a heart that wanted to learn, love and experience. And this time, she was dressed properly and had makeup on, thanks to a professional stylist.
“I’m just trying to figure you out.”
She ran her fingers along the rabbit fur edging the dress’s neckline. “That’s probably dangerous.”
“So no strings, no callbacks? Is that how tonight is going to work?”
“If that’s what you want.” She didn’t want to be pushy, but it did disappoint her he wasn’t planning for a repeat performance.
Hell, one step at a time, Olivia. You may regret this soon enough.
She strode through the living room, lifting her long, wavy hair to splay it out across the fur. Admittedly, she worked the dress because she sensed Daniel’s eyes take in her figure. Let the seduction begin. She knew what she wanted.
Yet he had become oddly reluctant since crossing her threshold, and that baffled her.
“Daniel, you should be right here.” She slid a palm up her stomach, her fingertips stroking the fur that topped her breasts with a soft come-on. She tried her best come-hither look. “What’s the problem?”
He stood before her in a blink, and she wasn’t sure if it had been vampire speed, or just a hungry man being given permission to take as he desired. He pressed a cool hand over her breast and leaned in. “No problem. Just want to be sure we had the rules down before diving in.”
“I hate rules.”
“I do, too. No man ever made his fortune by following the rules.”
“True, but now that you mention it, I do have one. No biting.”
“Impossible.” He ducked to nuzzle his nose against her neck, which pricked up her defenses, but also sent a surprising shock of desire skittering across the surface of her skin. “You don’t get to tell a vampire not to bite.”
“It’s not that I’m afraid of being bitten.”
“Then what?” He licked her neck, chasing those skitters with liquid, warm shivers through her entire body.
Olivia sighed and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer so she could feel the hard length of his erection against her hip. Oh, baby, she wanted some of that. But she was anything but reckless. Caution must be weaved into this delicious fantasy or it could become a nightmare.
Then why did you jump in the first place? For this to work you have to sink in all the way.
“I don’t want to…die. Or end up a vampire. Could you imagine the media frenzy over that?”
“Not going to happen.” He licked a trail along her jaw and to the lobe of her ear. “I wouldn’t make another monster if I was forced. And despite my former nickname of Killer when I was an investor on Wall Street, I’m not a real killer.”
She believed him. The conviction in his tone spoke of integrity and honor. Wall Street? Everything about Daniel felt right, and not at all monstrous.
Or maybe she was already lost in the fantasy of surrendering to this man’s dark and dangerous allure. It was a delicious fall, and she deserved the plunge.
She pulled open his shirt and melded her body against his, fitting her breasts to his warmth and measuring the steely tension in his abs with an inhale.
“Man, that feels so wrong in all the right ways,” he murmured.
His hands slid around her back and down to cup her derriere through the body-clinging red silk. The hardness of him crushed against her hip, pleading her surrender, and she tilted her head, allowing him to kiss from her neck down to her breasts.
In the kitchen the teapot whistled.
“Tea’s ready,” he whispered on a gasp.
“Screw the tea. I need to feel your body against mine, skin to skin.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. But first.” Daniel rushed into the kitchen and turned off the burner below the whistling teakettle.
She crooked a finger and led him into her bedroom where the almost-full moon glowed through the sheers and fashioned the purple-and-white room more glamorously than a Hollywood movie set.
Daniel walked in, noticed the stereo on the vanity and flicked it on. “Let’s find some mood music.” He played with the controls until a soft Rat Pack beat crooned into the room. “Ah, Michael Bublé. I like this one.” He tugged the shirt over his head. Hard muscles strapped his body like steel. His outstretched hand pleaded to Olivia. “Come sway with me, Olivia.”
She took his hand and he did a few steps, hips shifting in the subtle cha-cha rhythm she was familiar with, having incorporated it into one of her songs last year.
“You dance,” she said. “That’s impressive.”
“I do have a few moves that I intend to unleash upon your unsuspecting soul tonight.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“It could be. Ready for this?”
She nodded and he spun and then dipped her, bringing her up smoothly. The rush of the elegant move chattered out in a gleeful laugh. Olivia spread her arms over his bare shoulders and matched his moves. They managed a pretty respectable cha-cha in the aisle between the bed and the vanity.
“I’ve never danced with a guy before. You’re spoiling me, Daniel. And look, you’ve freckles on your shoulder. That’s so sexy.”
“I’ve noticed you tend to chatter when you’re nervous. Are you nervous?”
“No. Yes. No.” She nuzzled against his cheek and let out another giggle. “Yes.”
He whispered the words next to her ear, “Sway me more.”
And Olivia fell hard. He could sway her all he liked.
The song segued into another smooth dance number from the past, and Daniel caught her about the waist and found the zipper down the center back of her gown. Both still swaying to the music, his fingers moved down her spine, and she loosened in his embrace and snuggled her revealed breasts against the rough texture of his shirt and the hot hardness of his chest.
“Still nervous?”
“Aren’t you?”
“A little,” he whispered against her mouth, and then kissed her. “Makes touch more exciting, don’t you think? Being unsure, tentative, but eager.”
“Very.” The gown dropped at her feet. Olivia stood in tiny red panties and a matching strapless bra. She slid up a foot and crooked it along his leg. When she unzipped his jeans, he sucked in a gasp.
“Mercy.” He slipped his fingers through her hair. “You’re moving fast, Olivia. Let me catch up.”
Shrugging down h
is jeans revealed he believed in going commando. His erection sprang up proudly. The man was fashioned of sin and dark danger. The idea of him standing in her humble little apartment, getting naked before her, was almost too much to fathom. For once, she was not the one being admired or draped across an arm as an accessory. It felt great to be on the adoring end. Powerful.
He lifted her in a sweep and laid her on the bed and crawled over her legs. “I love these sweet little nothings you’re wearing.” Dancing kisses along the inside of her knee, one, then the other, shimmered delicious chills up her body and peaked her nipples tightly. His tongue traced a love letter along her thigh.
“You smell like sugar,” he breathed.
“I baked cookies all day. It’s my vacation tradition. I get very domestic when I’m not working.”
“Here I thought it was because you’re so sweet.” He lashed his tongue higher, seeking the humming core of her. Snagging the delicate lace with his tooth, he tugged her panties down. “But I know better, because only bad girls invite monsters into their beds. Nothing sweet about that.”
“Well, you didn’t jump out from under my bed, so I think I can handle any dark scaries you have in mind.”
His tongue speared her folds and the heat of him tangled her thoughts and she lost interest in chatting. Clutching the sheets, Olivia closed her eyes and surrendered to the heady sensations the man’s touch stirred within her, a wicked witch’s brew of sensation. And when his tongue trailed up her stomach, she sighed at the lost connection to her core, but the humming only increased as he kissed one nipple and then the other through the lace bra.
She slid her hand over his and moved it between her legs.
“You do like to order me around,” he murmured against her neck as his kisses giddied her closer to the edge.
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