by Unknown
Moments later, the latch popped with soft click, and he eased open the door, offering his hand to assist. “Stay behind me,” he said, then led the way down the deserted street. They walked on the side of the street opposite the streetlights, careful to keep in the shadows.
Emmy’s nerves crackled with unease. Although she was sure Dylan was dead wrong about her friend, and not at all convinced Monica even had a steady boyfriend, she clutched the back of his vest. Monica told her every down-and-dirty detail of her life—how could she miss telling her best friend she was dating a serial killer?
When they were thirty yards from her front steps, Dylan stopped cold, drawing her deeper into the shadow of a shop doorway.
Emmy looked both ways along the street, but she didn’t see a thing wrong. “Really,” she whispered, “aren’t you being just a little overly vigilant?”
“Quiet.” His arm circled her waist, and he held her to his side. “Look to the left of the steps.”
Emmy stared, but still didn’t see anything except shadows. Until one shadow moved. A dark figure crept out of the darkness and into the light beaming down from a streetlamp. Then another stood to full height from behind a car.
Emmy gasped. One was Monica—but the other wasn’t Nicky. Still, Emmy thought she recognized the man from The Cavern. He’d been among the young men in the group surrounding Nicky. “I don’t understand,” she said, trying to read Dylan’s expression in the dark. “What would they be doing here—hiding in the dark? They’re a little old to be egging my place.”
Dylan didn’t reply. He turned and walked back the way they’d come, pulling her behind him.
Emmy heard shouts, and without knowing why, when Dylan broke into a run, so did she. The car loomed forever in the distance. With her sides aching, she gasped for a decent breath, struggling to keep up with him.
Using the remote, he unlocked the doors, and they both dove inside. The ignition revved to life, and he pulled onto the street, executing a sharp U-turn. As the headlights swept the street before them, several men were illuminated. But something about their appearances didn’t look quite right to Emmy.
Then she saw Monica, her glossy brown hair framing a face straight out of a nightmare. Her cheeks and forehead protruded. Her brow was heavy and deeply furrowed. She bared her teeth and a jagged line of white appeared, framed by long incisors that glistened when she threw back her head. The howl that followed Dylan and Emmy down the street wasn’t human.
Emmy welcomed the familiar roar of the engine and muted sounds within the luxurious car. The glare from an oncoming car startled her. She blurted, “That wasn’t a mask, was it?”
“No Emmy, it wasn’t,” Dylan said, keeping his gaze forward.
His calm reply wrapped a cold blanket around her shoulders. A shiver lifted the hairs on the back of her neck, and then the trembling began in earnest, shaking her.
Dylan’s hand landed on her arm, and she jumped.
“Easy now,” he crooned. “I’m taking you to my place. They’ll know where you are, but they won’t be able to touch you there.”
“How…how did you know they w-would be there?” she asked, the chill causing her to stammer. “Why do they…w-want me?”
His jaw tensed. His gaze slid toward her then away. “Because I want you.”
Slowed by shock, her response came several moments later. “Then why didn’t you stay away from me?”
When Dylan glanced her way, his expression was stark. “I couldn’t help myself.”
Feeling as though she was unraveling, she shook her head. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with their faces?”
“They’re vampires.”
Despite her quaking unease, Emmy found that comment amusing. “Like ‘I vant to trink your blahd’ vampires? No kidding, what was wrong with them?”
“I’m telling you the truth. They’re changed. Not human.” He swallowed, and then said, “They feed on human blood.”
Emmy remembered Dylan’s fetish for biting, and all her senses clamored danger. Twisting her hands together, she licked her suddenly dry lips. “You’re like them, aren’t you?”
His eyes narrowed, but his gaze never left the road. “Leave it alone, Emmy.”
She couldn’t. She had to know. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?”
“Dammit.” He struck the steering wheel with his palm. “Yes, Emmy. I’m a vampire.” He shot her an angry glance. “Satisfied?”
Her heart rate soared. “Let me out of the car,” Emmy demanded, her hands scraping the door panel in search of the handle.
“I can’t let you out of my sight, Emmy. It’s not safe.”
“And I’m safe with you? Let me out of the car.” Her voice rose, hysteria making it shrill. “Let me out of the goddamned car!”
Dylan’s expression hardened, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Settle down, Emmy. It’ll be all right.”
“I want out,” she screamed. She yanked on the door handle and pushed. The door swung outwards, and she prepared to jump.
Dylan pulled the steering wheel to the right, and the door slammed closed. Before she could open it again, he’d engaged the safety lock. Now, he had her trapped inside the car.
Emmy flew at him, raining blows at his head. “Let me out! Let me out!”
With the arm nearest her raised to protect his face, he shouted, “For fuck’s sake! Cut it out!”
Emmy was beyond heeding. What she’d seen had frightened her so badly all she wanted to do was run. One of her blows reached beyond his arm, connecting with his face.
In an instant, Dylan’s features blurred and stretched, the upper part of his face pushing outward, his teeth lengthening as she watched, finally mute with horror. She shrank against the door.
Dylan roared, his hands still clutching the wheel, but no longer controlling the direction of the vehicle. The car swerved to the left, throwing Emmy hard against the passenger door, and then back to the right, bumping up onto the curb. They hurtled toward a streetlight pole, and Emmy braced herself, closing her eyes.
A loud, animal roar preceded the sickening crunch of metal, shards of safety glass tinkling dully against the metal pole. Slowly, Emmy realized they’d come to a halt, and Dylan’s upper body was draped across her. His face—his beautiful, non-monstery normal face—rested on her shoulder. He was breathing.
She shoved him to the side, determined to slide out of the car while he was unconscious. But the door handle still wouldn’t budge, so she punched the button for the automatic windows.
He stirred, straightening away from her. “Ballocks,” he muttered, and then groaned, clutching his head.
A whimper escaped her when the window slid down. She reached for her seatbelt latch—
His hand covered her fingers, stopping her from releasing it.
Her gaze darted to his face, dreading the possibility he’d changed again and was ready to rip out her throat.
Instead, a lopsided grin broke across his face. “Hell of ride, sweetheart.”
Chapter Five
‡
“Are you all right?” Dylan asked, his hand reaching for her face.
Eyes wide, she jerked away.
“Still skittish, I see.” He looked around them and cursed. “Looks like you have your wish. You’ll have to walk.” He tried his door, but it, too, was impossible to open. Instead, he lowered his window and levered himself out of the car.
As was his habit, he immediately lifted his nose to the breeze, checking for danger. Finding nothing strange in the rain-scented breeze beyond the acrid aroma of burnt rubber and antifreeze, he knelt beside Emmy’s door. “Sweetheart, are you hurt?”
Bathed in the fluorescent light of the streetlamp, Emmy’s expression grew more alarmed as he visually inspected her for injury.
She must have thought he was envisioning a menu. She drew away from the door, fumbling with her latch. “Don’t you touch me.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t be moving so quick
ly.”
Stubborn to the bone, Emmy knelt in her seat and climbed over the console to his, and then crawled out the driver’s window. She landed with a thump on the far side of the car, letting loose an impressive string of curses.
Dylan sighed and got to his feet, eyeing Emmy over the car as she stood, afraid to spook her into further acts of recklessness.
As it was, her hands lifted as though she were poised for flight.
He eased his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You have a few choices here.”
The headlights from an approaching car drew her attention from his face. Her shoulders lifted with her indrawn breath.
“You might want to rethink flagging them down for help. You don’t know who’s in the car.”
“I’ll take my chances,” she said, stepping from the curb into the street and lifting a hand.
Dylan raised his gaze to the streetlamp and planted his hands on his hips—rather than around her stubborn neck. “Emmy, will you stop to think? If I’d wanted to hurt you, I could have done so when we were still at The Cavern.”
Her frown reflected her indecision.
As the car drew closer, Dylan took away the choice. With one bound, he landed on top of the car. Before he registered her gasping his name, he landed beside her and dragged her into the shadows, his hand covering her mouth.
The car passed slowly as the driver peered out at the wreckage of Dylan’s BMW.
Dylan held his breath, but he didn’t recognize the face of the driver. Then he heaved a sigh when he saw a child in the back seat, still dressed in his Spiderman costume. The boy was dozing with his face pressed to the window glass.
Not Nicky’s crew. Not yet, anyway.
The car drove by and turned at the next corner.
Emmy’s elbow dug into Dylan’s waist and he released her, stepping back with his hands raised.
She scampered several steps away, putting distance between them before swinging back to level a blistering glare. “What is it with you vampires? Can’t you take no for an answer?”
He fought a smile. If she was back to scolding him, she couldn’t still be afraid. Frustration pushed her lips into a luscious pout he wanted to kiss away. He cocked one eyebrow, intentionally pushing another button. “Did I ask you a question?”
Angry red circles blossomed on her cheeks. “That’s not the point, and you know it.” She looked back at where he had held her in the shadow. “You move pretty fast. I didn’t even see you coming.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is that another vampire talent?”
“Of course,” he said, his voice pitched low.
“Don’t you give me that sexy voice,” she replied with a jut of her chin. “You’re just trying to work your vampire hoo-doo on me, again.”
This time he couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across his mouth. “Vampire hoo-doo?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about. You worked some kind of spell on me. I wasn’t looking for a man tonight. Nope. I was minding my own business when you and Nicky-boy started arguing over me like two dogs over a bone. And bam! Not ten minutes later, you’ve got me naked and panting—”
“Like a dog?” Dylan’s smile grew wider, and he took a step toward her.
Glaring, she stepped back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to kiss you.” He moved another step closer.
“Are you nuts?” Her eyes grew round, but she didn’t give another inch. “Didn’t you hear a word I just said?”
His hands gripped the sides of her waist, and he pulled her close, pressing his lower body between her thighs. He looked deep into her blue eyes.
“No biting,” she said, her breath catching when her chest flattened against his. “Biting me is strictly verboten.”
He lowered his head, his gaze studying hers for any sign of real fear. “Is kissing?”
“Kissing is…just kissing, right?” Her hands crept slowly up his chest then more quickly around his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair.
Dylan touched her bottom lip with his tongue, and then licked along the seam of her lips. He felt her sigh as she opened her mouth, letting him inside.
Her surrender emboldened him, and he reached for her buttocks, his fingers squeezing the plump velvet-covered pillows of flesh as his clothed cock prodded her lower belly.
Her hands pulled on his hair, and she stuck her tongue into his mouth, sliding it over his teeth.
When her legs widened to accommodate him, Dylan pushed against her, centering his cock on her pussy and rubbing, forward and back. He had to get inside her.
What was it about her? He stroked her tongue, and her belly curved into him. His hand sought the small of her back and pressed her so close they aligned. She was a perfect fit.
But still a human. The thought was sobering. Dylan pulled back.
She followed his hips, moaning as she ground her crotch against him.
He ended the kiss, resting his forehead on hers. Needing space to put her back in the box that kept his heart safe. “We should wait until we reach my place.”
“Too damn late,” she muttered, her fingers working over the back of his neck. “You did it, again.”
“Did what?” he asked, willing his body back into submission.
“Your vampire hoo-doo. My pussy’s so hot, I’ll die if you don’t fuck me now.”
Blood pooled in his groin, making him as hard as oak. “You do have a way with words, Emmy.” Not a man to leave a girl hurting, Dylan drew a fistful of her skirt up her long legs.
Emmy’s hands dropped to his waist. She unbuttoned the opening of his jeans and slid down the zipper. Eagerly, she shoved the pants down his hips, just far enough to free his cock.
One part of him was amused at her ardor, the other part was desperate to be inside her, and so he ripped away her red panties and picked her up by the buttocks.
She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.
The head of his dick bumped against the soft hair covering her mons, then slid along her moist cleft.
Emmy groaned and flexed her hips.
Finally, he was gliding inside her, swallowed from tip to root, enveloped in warm, wet heat. His cock swelled, the skin stretching tighter, his balls aching for release.
“Move, you gotta move.”
Her voice, thick and plaintive, spurred him. Walking with her in his arms, he stepped toward his car and pressed her back against the passenger door.
With her anchored, he bent his knees and pulled out, relishing the moan of protest that rose from her throat before he slammed back inside her body.
Her legs constricted around his waist, but Dylan pulled out again, and then rubbed the head of his penis along her drenched slit.
“Please,” she begged, but then pushed her hands between them.
Before he understood what she was doing, he saw the top of her bustier was pushed beneath her breasts, lifting the mounds upward, and she’d opened his vest.
When the tips of her soft, naked breasts rubbed against his chest, he felt his face tighten with a shifting of bones. He tried to lower his forehead to her shoulder, but she was pressing wet kisses to the side of his mouth.
“I need more,” she pleaded. “Hurry. Just give it to me hard.” She slid her lips along his jaw and nipped the underside if his chin.
Unable to wait a second longer, he gripped her hips hard and pulled her down as he rammed upward into her. Then he lifted and lowered her again, nothing gentle left in the sweet pounding he delivered to her pussy. The car creaked, her breath gusted, and he hammered faster.
Emmy’s arms tightened around his neck, her eyes closed tight. “Harder. Oooh! Please, harder.”
Along with his face, his body hardened and his cock lengthened. Mustn’t drink, he reminded himself, the last vestige of his human mind relenting beneath primal instinct.
Instead, his teeth sank into his bottom lip and his thrusts deepened, shortened, and finally hammered. Reaching so far insid
e, he battered against the mouth of her womb.
Aware she writhed and moaned and pleaded, but unable to think beyond the tight, warm hole that gloved him, he continued to move. Faster. Harder. Deeper.
Until the warm place tightened like a fist, and she let loose a long, keening howl.
He thrust again, and then again, before flinging back his head to roar. His sex erupted deep inside the woman’s belly. Marking her with his seed.
When sperm pumped inside, he at last lowered his head to her shoulder, shuddering as he dragged air into his starved lungs. With the last pulse of his orgasm, Dylan’s face realigned, and the curtain of his bloodlust lifted.
Emmy’s legs trembled as they unclasped his waist and lowered to the ground.
Wary of what he might see in her gaze, Dylan lifted his head.
Emmy’s eyes opened, and her gaze met his. Distress wrinkled her forehead, and her lips quivered.
She was afraid again.
Dylan cursed and lifted her off his cock, and then wiped the blood trickling from his mouth with the back of his hand.
Waiting until she pulled down her skirt, he smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “Did I bite?”
“No,” she said frowning, “You also haven’t come yet.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Your man-thing is still as hard as a rock.”
He grinned. “Well, I did come, but I don’t deflate like a balloon from a pinprick. I didn’t bite. And I won’t. I promised.”
Her face tilted to the side. “You can come without, um, a transfusion?”
“Of course I can. But it’s a lot of work.”
“That was all for me?”
“Now, do you trust I won’t hurt you?”
“Hell no,” she said, her voice gruff. Then she shrugged. “You’re a man. You’re into pausing! Guess you figure you’ll get your freak on later.”
Dylan was satisfied with that. She saw him as a man. “Will you stick with me until we can get to a safe place tonight?”
Her gaze narrowed, and then she must have remembered her breasts were bared because her mouth gaped. Her hands flew up to cover them, and she turned away to adjust her top. “Trust me, he says. When every chance he gets, he has me flashing the world.”