Nita continued to eat, listening with rapt attention as Vlad went through the details of what they needed from her. “That’s it? I’m to meet with Leighton and follow him back to his lair?”
Vlad gave a short nod. “Without being seen.”
“You can’t just massacre that many people without bringing suspicion on you by the local police.”
“We’ll burn the bodies afterward. There will be no evidence to tie us to the scene,” Vlad amended.
Nita pushed her plate aside and took a drink of her wine. “When should I contact him?”
Vlad was surprised at how quickly she’d agreed to help him. He set his wineglass aside. “You’ll do it, then?”
“You’ve saved my life. Twice,” Nita explained in a soft voice. “Of course I will do it.”
“We will plan for tomorrow night, once your mother is here and out of danger.”
Vlad found himself watching her full lips as she licked the wine from their surface. He wanted to taste her, to peel her clothes off and feast on every inch of her body.
“Mom’s not going to come here willingly,” Nita whispered, her gaze dropping to his mouth as well.
Vlad leaned in, slowly descending toward Nita’s wine-stained lips. “Then we won’t tell her where she’s going until she gets here.”
Brushing his lips over hers, Vlad swiveled on his stool, wedging his knee between hers.
He cupped her face in his hands, holding her still for the onslaught of his hungry mouth.
Nita kissed him back, uncertainty giving way to the passion she’d shown him in the woods.
Vlad’s fangs shot down to throb in time with his cock. He broke off the kiss and pulled Nita to her feet with an urgency once foreign to him.
She held her arms up, giving silent permission for Vlad to remove her sweater.
He pulled it over her head, leaned in and swiped his tongue across a straining nipple.
Nita gasped, slipping her fingers into his hair to pull him tightly against her.
Vlad sucked the pebbled flesh deep, eliciting another sound from the depths of her throat.
Without breaking the suction on her breast, he freed the button of her jeans, unzipped them, and coaxed her to stand.
He quickly dragged them down to her knees, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her onto the bar.
She lay back with a gentle push from Vlad, allowing him complete access to her incredible body.
Vlad’s gaze dropped to her smooth mound as he divested her of the cumbersome jeans and tossed them on the floor behind him.
His hands slid up her calves, stopping at her knees to push her thighs apart.
“Beautiful,” he breathed, dragging his hands up to slowly trace a finger over the soft flesh of her sex.
Nita’s hips jerked as he inserted a finger into her wet heat and gently withdrew, only to repeat the process.
“Please,” she moaned, her head arching back to expose her neck.
Vlad’s fangs ached to sink into the pulse point of her throat. The vein pulsing there called to him, beckoning him to sample just a taste.
Instead, he leaned in and softly swiped his tongue over her clit, wringing another sound from deep within her chest.
Her flavor was like no other: sweet, clean, and addictive.
He continued to penetrate her with his finger while devouring her with his mouth.
Her head rolled from side to side, her breathing grew uneven, and her legs came up to lock around his shoulders.
Vlad curled his finger inside her, brushing against her G-spot as he lashed his tongue over her swollen bundle of nerves with vampiric speed.
Nita suddenly cried out, her hips bucking against him and her legs squeezing his head with a strength that surprised him.
Vlad continued to massage her G-spot with his finger, but backed off her oversensitive clit to lick around it, drawing out her orgasm for as long as possible.
The feel of her contracting around his finger nearly brought on his own release.
“Vlad,” she moaned, moving to sit up. “Take me back to your bed.”
“You are still weak,” he began, only to close his mouth as she reached down and gripped his cock through his jeans.
“I’m not that weak,” Nita assured him, running her palm up and down his length. “I want you inside me.”
That was all Vlad needed to hear. He scooped her up into his arms and blurred his way up the stairs before he ended up taking her like an animal on the bar.
Chapter Twenty
Nita’s body was on fire. She wanted Vlad in that moment more than she had when he’d taken her in the woods.
He dropped her in the center of his bed and yanked his shirt over his head. His jeans and boots came next.
Her gaze lowered to his well-endowed erection, standing proudly from his body in all its pulsing glory. “I want to taste you.”
His cock jerked in reaction.
Nita got to her knees and crawled to the edge of the mattress, never taking her gaze from his impressive sex.
She stopped in front of him, glorying at the groan that slipped from him as she wrapped her hand around his shaft and closed her mouth over its mushroom-shaped head.
Heat formed behind her eyes, and a strange sensation overtook her. She felt fevered, impatient, and completely alive for the first time in her life.
Fisting him in a firm grip, Nita allowed her hand to slide up and down his great length while teasing the tip with her tongue.
His hands sank into her hair, holding the back of her head as she took him deep into her throat.
“Fuck,” he snarled, tightening his hold on her hair.
Nita could feel his hands shaking, feel the restraint he used to keep from thrusting forward.
It only made her want to taunt him, force him to give up that control he held onto so tightly.
She swallowed the head of his cock.
Vlad roared his release, his hips jerking in short, quick bursts, his seed exploding to the back of her throat in hot, wet jets of satisfaction.
He suddenly pulled from her mouth and yanked her from the bed. “You better fucking hold on.”
Nita barely had time to wrap her legs around his waist before he thrust balls-deep inside her.
She cried out at his sudden entry, gripping his shoulders and holding on with everything she had as he pumped into her with the speed of a vampire.
The friction of his cock against her vaginal walls created a heat unlike anything she’d ever felt.
His hands cupped the cheeks of her ass, holding her still for his continuous penetration. “Bite me,” he snarled, arching his head back.
Nita stared at his neck in hunger, her eyes relentlessly burning in their sockets.
The thrusting of his cock grew stronger, faster. “Fucking bite me.”
Nita dropped her head forward, opened her mouth against his skin, and sank her teeth into the vein pulsing beneath.
Vlad spun her around, pressing her back against the wall. He let go of her ass, gripped her behind the knees, and spread her wide.
Nita’s eyes rolled back in her head as he slowed his powerful thrusts and ground his pelvis against her tormented clit.
She screamed against his neck, never pausing in the suction she had on his flesh, and shattered into a thousand pieces.
Her pussy convulsed around his enormous cock, milking him as he continued his slow, sensual grind.
“Nita,” he growled, his body shuddering uncontrollably until his legs collapsed and he dropped to his knees, taking her with him.
It took everything Nita had to release the suction she had on his vein. She opened her mouth to pull back, but his hand locked onto the back of her head.
“Don’t stop,” he rasped, his cock still buried inside her.
Nita returned to his vein, lost in the feel his blood sliding down her throat, his scent surrounding her and his ever-hardening cock coming to life inside her once again.
* * *
*
“Your mother is on the phone,” Vlad announced from the bathroom doorway.
Nita switched off the shower and quickly dried herself before wrapping a towel around her body and accepting the cell phone Vlad held.
“Mom?”
“Yes, honey. I’m here. I’m at Winters Inn.”
Relief washed through Nita like the warm water of the shower she’d recently stepped from.
“Thank you for trusting me. I’m sending someone to pick you up. His name is Mordecai. He’s a nice man, Mom. And he doesn’t know anything, so please don’t bombard him with questions.”
“I won’t. But I do have several questions for you.”
Nita knew all too well what kind of interrogation she would be in for once Virginia arrived. “I’ll tell you everything when you get here.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Nita ended the call and handed Vlad his cell.
Dressing in record time, she left the bathroom and headed for the stairs with him following close behind.
She spoke over her shoulder. “I’m going with Mordecai to pick up my mom.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Vlad insisted, grabbing on to her arm.
Nita stopped at the top of the stairs and spun around to face him. “You can’t prevent me from going, Vlad. She’s my mother. If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself.”
“And if something happened to you, I would slaughter the entire town. Including the Kiana clan,” Vlad growled, gripping her tighter.
Nita’s stomach clenched at the look on his face. Vlad cared for her. She could see it in the depths of his pale blue eyes.
If she was honest with herself, she felt something for him too. Something unnatural and wrong, but it was there, chipping away at her terrified heart.
Shifters didn’t love vampires, she thought in panic, pulling her arm free of his hold. They couldn’t. “I’m going. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Vlad’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Then I am coming with you.”
Nita shook her head. “You can’t risk it. It’ll be daylight soon.”
She ran the rest of the way down the stairs, nearly slamming into Vlad, who suddenly appeared at the front door.
“Please let me pass, Vlad. You don’t own me.”
“But you own me,” he rasped, his gaze softening. “You might not feel this bond between us, Nita. But I do.”
Nita’s heart twisted in sorrow. “We can’t bond. I’m the Kiana leader, Vlad. And no matter what has happened between us or how much of your blood flows through my veins, it will never change that.”
She reached around him and gripped the doorknob. “I can’t abandon my pack. I won’t.”
Vlad stepped aside, allowing her to pull the door open. “Remember what I said. If you are not back by sundown, I will go to Kiana territory in search of you.”
Nita averted her gaze, unable to look into his eyes. “I’ll remember.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Vlad dropped his forehead against the door as Nita pulled it closed behind her. He couldn’t allow her to go out alone. Not with the wolves probably out searching for her at this very moment.
Pushing away from the door, Vlad summoned Angelo.
He appeared within seconds. “Sire?”
Informing Angel of the situation with Nita, Vlad plucked his cloak from the closet next to the door and draped it around his shoulders, fastening it at the neck.
“If I do not return,” Vlad rasped, pulling the hood over his head, “see to it that Nita and her mother remain safe behind these walls.”
Vlad slipped outside without waiting for Angel to answer.
Staying a short distance behind to go unnoticed, Vlad followed the car Mordecai drove, down the mountain and into town.
The vehicle stopped in front of the motel, and Nita climbed out, rushing up the stairs to the second floor.
Vlad hung back, watching as she rapped on a door and disappeared inside.
Opening his senses, Vlad explored the surrounding area. Other than humans and some unseen wildlife, no other creatures lurked nearby.
The door opened again, and Nita stepped out with a short gray-haired woman under her arm.
Vlad breathed a sigh of relief as they ambled down the stairs and climbed into the backseat of the vehicle.
Once the car returned to the road, Vlad blurred his way home, praying like hell that he arrived ahead of the sun.
* * * *
Vlad awoke to the sound of Nita’s laughter. It washed over him in a warmth that instantly soothed him.
He dressed in record time and moved silently to the top of the stairs to peer below.
Nita sat on the floor of the foyer, playing with Lucius while her mother stood nearby, holding a ball. Shon sat in a chair with Laura on his lap, and Angel leaned against the wall with his arm around Ember.
Everyone had a smile on their face, including Mordecai, who had just stepped into the room.
Vlad’s heart swelled with emotion as he stood there watching Nita interact with his family. Even her mother seemed happy and relaxed.
Nita suddenly lifted her head, her gaze zeroing in on Vlad. “We were beginning to wonder if you would sleep all night.”
Vlad had needed the sleep after being caught in the dawn’s early light. Though he managed to forego the blisters by making it indoors in time, the rising of the sun had managed to drain him of strength.
“I was starting to wonder that myself.” Vlad glided down the stairs, stopping next to Nita to offer her a hand.
She accepted his palm, smiling as he pulled her to a standing position.
“More,” Lucius cried in a baby’s voice, tugging on Nita’s jeans.
Nita laughed and ruffled the child’s hair. “After dinner. I promise.”
“You will make a wonderful mother someday,” Ember informed Nita while plucking her small child up from the floor.
The insecure look in Nita’s eyes wasn’t lost on Vlad. He would ask her about it when they were alone.
“Dinner is ready,” Mordecai announced, offering Virginia his arm.
The older woman blushed, accepted his assistance, and allowed him to lead her to the dining room.
Everyone sat at the table, drinking wine while the shifters and Lucius ate.
Vlad’s gaze drifted to Nita more than once. He had so many questions to ask her. For instance, why her mother wasn’t kicking and screaming about being in a room full of vampires. And why the mention of children caused Nita anxiety.
“I trust that you have everything you need, Mrs. Franks?” Vlad asked, gaining Nita’s mother’s attention.
“Please call me Virginia.” She moved to stand. “Might I have a word with you?”
Vlad glanced around the table, the corner of his mouth lifting. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that no matter where they went in the house, the others would hear. Their vampire hearing would pick up sounds several hundred feet away.
“Absolutely.” He stood to follow her into the foyer.
Nita stood as well. “Mother?”
“Finish your dinner, my daughter. The Impaler will not harm me.”
Vlad stopped in front of the elder shifter once they reached the foyer. “What is on your mind?”
Virginia wrung her hands, staring at her feet for several heartbeats before meeting his gaze. “I would like to begin by thanking you for saving Nita’s life.”
“There is no need for thanks. I owed her.”
“Yes, well. You have my undying gratitude. She is all that I have left.”
Vlad felt uncomfortable with her praise. “My guess is that you didn’t bring me out here to thank me.”
“You’re very perceptive,” Virginia murmured. “My daughter told me of the vision she had during her time in the mountains. I am aware of what is coming, and I also know that Nita will remain the leader of the Kiana. No matter how much you wish it otherwise.”
Vlad’s jaw tightened, but he
kept his voice even. “And how do you know this?”
“Because the spirits have spoken. It is her destiny.”
“Tell me of this vision,” Vlad prompted in a soft tone.
Virginia shook her head. “It is not my place. But I can tell you this: fate put you in her life for a reason. Her destiny cannot be changed…nor can yours.”
“I will not hurt her,” Vlad assured her. And he meant it.
The old woman’s gaze softened. “It is not her that I fear for.”
At any other time, Vlad would have been insulted by her comment. “Do not concern yourself with me. I have been alive for a very long time.”
“As have I,” Virginia quipped. “But things change. I never thought I would be eating dinner with a group of vampires, yet here I am, doing just that.”
She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and continued. “Since the day I drew my first breath, I have been taught of your evil. I learned to fear you, track you, and kill you before I reached puberty. Your kind and mine have fought for centuries, killing one another to the point where we’ve nearly become extinct.”
“Not all vampires are evil,” Vlad pointed out, offering her a chair.
She took a seat and smoothed her brown skirt. “Perhaps you are right. Some of the shifters will be unable to accept the change that is coming, and unfortunately they will pass away to be with the old ones.”
Vlad knelt in front of her and clasped her hands in his. “What change?”
“I do not know,” she answered, her weary eyes sparkling with sadness. “Protect my Nita at all costs, and the spirits will protect you in return. She carries your blood now, and that is something that only death can change.”
“I will never let her die,” Vlad vowed, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. You have my word.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nita stepped outside by way of the back door. She held her mother’s cell phone in her hands and took several steadying breaths.
Having memorized Leighton’s number, Nita quickly dialed it and pressed the phone against her ear.
“Leighton,” he barked, answering on the third ring.
The Rise of Vlad (The Seeker Series Book 3) Page 8