She'd done this to him. She'd thought she was shooting away from the noise. She'd spared Sonny Adams and clobbered Pete. Her mouth went dry. It was done; she had to fix it. "Let me sterilize these and…"
"Don't waste time, Vickie! Sepsis is not a concern. Just wash my back off and get digging."
Despite that, she bathed his back with peroxide. Not that it helped a great deal. He was still bleeding like a stuck pig.
She picked up the tweezers, wiped off the first wound and poked.
Digging into his living flesh—okay, unliving flesh—was not exactly her idea of fun, but she had to get them out.
The first bit was easier than she expected. So was the second. The third one took a bit more digging, but as she dropped the little pellet on a pad of gauze, she gasped. The first wound was completely healed! Spurred on, she worked faster after that, marveling as his flesh healed over once the little lead pellet came out. But it still took her ages. She never realized how many little lead balls they crammed into one shotgun shell.
Pete said little, just gave the odd grunt or wince as she dug deep for a tricky shot. With his fast healing, it was easy to see progress. She dropped the last little pellet onto the gauze, stood back and watched as the final injuries healed before her eyes.
He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Thanks. I'm glad that's over."
So was she. "You know," she said, crossing to the sink to wash her hands, and dump the bundle of gauze, bloody towel, and shots into the trash, "if I had any doubts about the vampire, undead, revenant issue, this evening cleared them all up. You really are a vampire!"
Chapter Eight
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Right now, he held the future of their relationship in his hands. Forget mind games, glamours and dreams. She deserved the truth. All of it.
Pete nodded. "Yes, love. Does it bother you?"
"I really don't know," Vickie replied. "I half-convinced myself I dreamt last night, but I know darn well I'm not dreaming this."
He stood up and crossed the yard or so between them. "It's all real, Vickie. Very real. Can you handle it?"
She thought about that as she washed and dried her hands, folding the towel carefully to give her a few more seconds. She smiled. "Pete, love. I have no idea if I can handle it. Heck, I barely know you. But I do know I want you."
"Maybe we need to have a good, long talk."
"Afterwards!"
He knew better than to argue. He swept her into his arms. "So glad we're in agreement. Let's go check out your bedroom. Make sure there are no bogeymen under the bed!"
"I can walk, you know."
"I know, but I like having you warm in my arms. Gives me all sorts of naughty, sexy ideas."
Her giggle felt like a warm breeze over his skin. She was everything he'd ever dreamed of, sexy, loving, courageous, and if appearances were to be trusted—his. She leaned her head against his chest, her soft hair brushing under his chin. "How nice," she whispered.
He couldn't agree more. But just in case she changed her mind about messing around with a vampire, Pete darted across the sitting room and into her bedroom, pulling back the bedclothes with one hand, before laying her gently on the pillows. Her nightshirt was rucked up at the top of her thighs, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of her pussy. One peek was nowhere near enough. The sweet scent of her arousal stirred his mind—and his cock to immediate attention. "This comes off," he said, lifting the hem.
With a grin and a little sexy sigh, she lifted her hips and half sat up, as he pulled the soft cotton over her head. He'd thought her fantastic last night. Renewed acquaintance cemented that opinion. He sat on the edge of the bed, and grinned.
"Going to sit there all night smirking?"
She had to be kidding. "What do you think?" He trailed a finger down the side of her face and tilted up her chin.
Her eyes glowed with desire and a sexy little smile quirked the corners of her mouth. And what a mouth. Time to stop lollygagging around. He bent over. She raised her head to meet his lips. A wonderfully enticing sigh escaped from deep in her throat as they kissed. Her lips were every bit as sweet as he remembered. The caress of her tongue sent wild ripples through his mind.
He deepened the kiss, as her sighs and her quickening pulse echoed in his ears. He lifted his mouth. "Vickie, you are incredible. Wonderful. My beautiful mortal, I love you."
That was the goddamn crux of his dilemma and for right now, John's admonitions could go hang.
"This is almost too much," Vickie gasped, as her breasts rose and fell with her breathing. "You, loving you. Loving a vampire!" She gave a gasp.
"Get used to it," he said, putting a little growl in his voice. "Because I need you."
"You do?"
"Hell, yes! You saved me twice, after all. Not many mortals manage that."
"True," she agreed, the corners of her mouth twitching a little. "Doesn't that mean you owe me?"
"Owe you what?"
She leaned back on the pillow, meeting his eyes with a steady gaze and an unmistakable smirk. "I'll think about that while you kiss my breasts!"
With an invitation like that, what hormonally inspired man or vampire could follow John's advice?
Her nipples were warm and sweet to his lips, and soft—but not for long. They hardened alluringly under his tongue, coming to ripe, firm points that just begged to be sucked some more. He took her left nipple in his mouth, suckling as if to draw life and sustenance. Her heartbeat was steady against his ear as his mind and soul basked in the warmth and love that was Vickie Anderson. He moved to her right breast, marveling at the joy to be found in her arms. Her hands tunneled through his hair, stroking his head, as she crooned soft sighs of need.
He'd be only too delighted to oblige.
He kissed the pale skin of her rib cage, and the fullness of her breasts, trailing a line of kisses down her chest to her navel, resting his face against the softness of her belly, and relishing the headiness of her arousal.
Sweet moonlight, Vickie desired him! He'd never disappoint her. He stroked her thighs and she opened her legs. Wide. As if in need of more embrace. In need of him.
He slid lower on the bed, until he lay between her thighs, her beautiful pussy just inches from his face. Gently he opened her soft folds, and smiled at the sight of glistening, aroused woman.
His mouth came down. She let out a groan of pleasure that became a cry as his tongue found her core. Her body rocked, her back arched, and he grasped her hips to hold her where he wanted her.
It didn't take long. Her need was as tightly wound as his. All it took was a few gentle strokes of his tongue, his lips soft on her aroused flesh, and she came, yelling aloud her satisfaction, as her hips left the bed. Her body stiffened with her climax, and then sagged limp and lovely on the mattress. Her breasts heaved with her hastened breathing, her racing heartbeat echoing in the little room. Limply she rolled on one side, and propped herself up on her elbow. "That was incredible!"
"Just like you, my love."
"Why, thank you." A little dimple appeared in her left cheek. "Yes, it was wonderful, but please don't tell me it's all over."
No way! "What more do you anticipate?"
"For starters, I'd like to see you naked."
Sheesh! He'd been so hot for her, he'd not even stopped to take his pants off. And they were so damn tight they verged on uncomfortable. "I can take care of that."
Pete was off the bed, his shoes kicked off and his pants unzipped, in seconds. A couple more and he was back on the bed, leaving everything in an untidy heap on the floor.
"Better?" he asked, kneeling up.
"Much," she agreed, rolling over to get a better view. Her eyes widened with shock as she looked at him. "What happened?" She reached out to his cock, pausing a few inches from him.
Feeling the warmth of her hand, he looked down. Dammit! No wonder she'd hesitated. He was lucky she wasn't gasping with shock. He was bruised purple from nuts to knob and most places in between. "What th
e hell happened?" she repeated.
"Sonny Adams kneed me in the family jewels."
She stroked him with the soft tips of her fingers. "Does it hurt?"
He shook his head. "It's a bit tender, but that's all." Her blasted buckshot had burned, his cock felt tight, but that could just be because he'd never been this hard in his life.
Her mouth quirked up at the corners. "Sonny knees you in the groin and you stay standing?"
"Yup!" He had to grin. "I think it rather nonplused him."
She let out a lovely, sexy laugh. "I imagine he's still trying to figure that one out. It was no doubt supposed to lay you flat."
"Didn't work."
"No," she agreed, her breath catching as she closed her fingers around him. "Sure it doesn't hurt?"
"You don't have to treat it like spun glass. Don't let looks deceive you. I bruise up as fast as I heal."
"I see." He doubted it, but he could explain—later. "Sure it doesn't hurt?" He shook his head. "Isn't there something I can do?"
"You could kiss it better."
She rolled her eyes, her breasts jiggling as she chuckled. "For that smart-ass comment you deserve to be thrown out into the night, but…" She rolled on her belly and scooted to face him. "I'd miss so much!"
He almost cried out as her mouth closed over him. Holding her head, he closed his eyes, threw his head back, and lost himself in sensation. Sweet moonlight, she had a magnificent mouth.
And it went on and on…
How could her mouth be soft, firm, sweet, wet, and demanding all at the very same time? How could she reduce him to a quivering mass but make him feel like a warrior or a king, with a single sweep of her tongue along the side of his cock?
She moved her head back and forth as her lips circled his cock in a glorious, dragged-out caress. It was enough to make a man shout to the skies. Hell! His groans were echoing off the low ceiling. He straightened his neck and smiled down at her. As if sensing his gaze, she looked up, and he almost lost it there and then. The sight of his cock, all but hidden by her sweet lips, and the sparkle of delight in her eyes, just about finished him.
He couldn't last much longer. Didn't want to!
"Vickie," he muttered, easing off. "You're undoing me. Can't wait any longer."
He settled her back on the pillows. Spread her legs. Knelt between her thighs and, lifting her hips slightly, drove deep into her warmth.
She was so wet, so ready and so… his.
He stroked slowly at first, hoping to prolong the pleasure for both of them, but she was as ready as he was. Her hips rocked with his rhythm, and when her inner muscles tightened around his cock, it finished him.
He drove in deeper, hearing his own groans echoing inside his skull, until he came with a great burst of joy, shouting her name. Vickie came seconds later, surrounding him with warmth. Staying deep inside her, he wrapped his arms around her soft body, and rolled them both on their sides. She smiled up at him, eyes misty with satiation. "You're not stopping there, are you?"
"I took blood twice last night," he replied. "You can only spare so much."
"What about doing it for me?"
"Tomorrow," he promised.
"Don't you need it? You said metal weakens you. Lead shot is metal."
He nodded. "Vickie, between your shooting at and having your wicked will of me in bed, I am what you might call… depleted." He grinned. "But I'll last. All I have to do is ride my Monster a few miles up the road. Even a mere mortal could do that."
"Casting aspersions on mere mortals?" She frowned. "You've just had a very nice time with a mere mortal."
"Vickie, you're no 'mere' anything. You're mine." To prove his point, he shifted his hips and moved inside her. "Remember?"
"As if I'm likely to forget in a hurry." She kissed him full on the mouth before rolling on her back and letting him slip out of her. "I can wait until tomorrow." She grinned. "Wouldn't want to deplete you."
His hand eased over her breast. "I'll be full strength when I return."
She kissed him again, leaning into his shoulder, sighing with utter pleasure and satisfaction. "Pete, this is the wildest thing. I come up here to get away for a few days, and meet you. Three days ago, I didn't believe in vampires, and now…"
"What were you trying to get away from?" Sneaky perhaps but, heck, he wanted to know more about her.
"I'm a cop in DC," she went on, "and just once in a while I have to get clean away."
"That was lousy shooting for a cop."
"That old shotgun shoots low. I'd forgotten. I aimed high but not high enough. Sorry."
"It wasn't your gun?"
"My grandfather's. This is my grandparents' house. After my parents died, my grandparents raised me. They moved to Hilton Head six years ago, and I promised to keep an eye on the house. It makes a wonderful bolt hole. I love my job, but sometimes, I need a total break."
"Yeah!" That he knew only too well.
"What about you?" Vickie asked. "You said you were down here working for an environmental group. As a vampire?"
Time for a bit of the truth. "That's my cover, Vickie. I'm a new vampire, a friend lent me the cabin."
"How new?"
"I was killed a little over a year ago." There, he'd said it.
Her heartbeat raced in the silence. "Hell almighty, I've just had sex with a dead man!"
He longed to wrap her in his arms but hesitated. "I'm not dead, Vickie. I was, for a few hours, but I'm not anymore. It's a different level of living."
Vickie let out a nervous laugh. "That's one way of putting it."
She was upset, but not upset enough to pitch him out of her bed—not yet at least. "Does it bother you more than it did last night?"
"Last night I thought I was dreaming. I woke up convinced I was. But now…" She looked up into his eyes. "I'm not." She paused. "Not wishing to sound snippy or anything, but all your talk of loving me, and me being yours. How exactly does a vampire handle that sort of thing?"
"Since I'm new at this vampire lark, I'm doing it the way I always have—except I never met anyone quite like you, Vickie. I'm feeling pretty poleaxed one way and another."
She wrapped him in her arms, drawing him close so his head rested against her luscious breasts. "Oh, Pete." Her voice caught. "I've never met anyone quite like you either." She let out a little laugh. "And they say cops see everything!" It didn't sound like a complaint. "Think you can come spend a weekend in DC?"
Could he? "Got a nice, safe, light-proof place for me during the day?"
"Dracula could go about in daylight, why can't you?"
Should have expected something like this. "He was a few hundred years older than I am." He hadn't even had his first rebirthday yet. "Plus, he was fiction. I'm stuck with the night for a while." Like the next fifty years, if John was right. He'd break that to her later. "I don't turn into a bat, or a large dog either, don't float around in a mist, and can't fly."
A little furrow appeared between her eyes as she pondered that added data. "I'll admit I was curious about the flying bit." She kissed him on the nose. "I'll be happy to settle for what I've got. And yes, I think I can fix up a light-proof room. I live in a duplex, and there's a finished basement a former tenant set up as a darkroom. I'll put a cot down there or do you use a coffin?"
"Another myth."
She snuggled close. "Seems I've got a lot to learn about vampires." She chuckled. "The cop and the vampire! Sounds like a title for a romance novel."
Sounded like problems with the division, but heck, he'd cope. Nothing was keeping him from Vickie. "You've been a cop long?"
"Seven years. I joined right after graduating from college." And to think he'd suspected her of being involved in the local drug trade.
"And you come up here when you need a break?"
"Yeah. I was beginning to think this was turning into a busman's holiday though."
"Why? Meeting me?"
She shook her head. "No…"
"What?"
/>
"There's something going on up here. I've been of two minds to call the sheriff, but I've nothing but a suspicion." He waited for her to go on. "Could be I just dislike them so, I'm ready to suspect them of anything, but I saw Sonny Adams buying the drugstore out of lye and cold capsules."
Heaven help him! "Sure about it?"
"Sure I saw him? Hell, yes. Could be they are spring cleaning, or stripping furniture and someone in the family has severe allergies, but they're ingredients for crystal meth. I should call the sheriff and ask if it's a problem around here. I wouldn't put it past that lot to be manufacturing."
Time to fill in the blanks. "There is a local problem. I've spent the past six weeks scouring the woods for the lab. Either it's well-hidden or they keep moving."
That appeared to shock her more than the revelation he was dead. "Why would you be looking for a meth lab?"
"I'm with the DEA."
"I see." He suspected she really didn't. "Vampires work for the DEA?"
"Paranormal division of the DEA." No point in mentioning the werewolves and ghouls yet.
He heard her swallow. Well, he'd have a hard time believing it, if he wasn't already dead.
"What happened?"
"I was a DEA agent and got shot. One of the team working with me was a vamp. He turned me."
"Does it hurt?" she asked after a long silence.
"Being shot? Yes, worse than buckshot, but not for long."
"No, you big lug. I mean getting turned into a vampire!"
He stared at her. "Not hurt," he replied cautiously, "but there is a lot of sensation."
Her eyebrows rose as she considered this. "Pleasurable sensation?"
He nodded. One more time when he needed a deep, calming breath. "Don't give me that look, Vickie! It wasn't that sort of pleasurable!"
"I see." She pursed her lips like his second-grade teacher when she'd caught him and a buddy throwing a toilet roll around the boys' bathroom. "What sort of pleasurable was it?"
Fair enough question, he supposed. Putting it into words wasn't easy. "Remember when you were a kid, and you'd lie on your back on the grass in summer, and look up at the sky until you felt light-headed? Everything was quiet and the sun warmed you and if you shut your eyes you could feel the earth rotate. You'd be perfectly happy and utterly relaxed."
Immortal Bad Boys Page 14