"You can put me down. Now, please."
The man holding me didn't move. He simply stood motionless, his smoldering gaze searching my eyes. I heard a feminine mumble as he lowered his head, his face inexorably moving closer to mine.
Cassie said, "Uh, oh. Lily is going to be so pissed."
Lightning zinged through my blood the moment his lips made contact with mine. An answering heat pooled low in my middle and my clit throbbed, begging for his attention. He nibbled at my lips. My mouth opened and my traitorous arms laced around his neck and shoulders. My fingers feathered through his silky hair and I settled into the comfort of his arms and the heat of his kiss, oblivious to the fact that we had an audience.
He pulled me tighter against his chest. The rough velvet rasp of his tongue against mine sent a flood of liquid heat between my legs, soaking my panties. I squirmed in his arms, wanting, needing, to wrap my legs around his waist. I needed the sensation of his hard body pressing against my nether flesh.
Someone cleared their throat and his lips moved from mine to kiss my nose and eyelids before he straightened, obviously reluctant to bring his sensual onslaught to an end.
"Jeeze, guys. Get a room already," Mark said with a grin. He looked over at his siblings and winked. "Another one bites the dust."
He grinned at me and I gave him a dirty look. He just shrugged and his grin got wider. Somehow, I don't think he would have had such a cavalier attitude about all of this if I were his sister.
My face burned with embarrassment. With my coloring, both my arousal and the humiliation at being put on such a display was evident. I bowed my head and wished for a hole to open up and swallow me, but I was still held immobile by the steely bands of the Cartuotey's arms.
"I've been wishing for such a hole for centuries," the Cartuotey whispered in my ear. The thought of our bodies entwined, his large muscular frame covering me as he surged forward driving his hard cock into my clenching vagina assaulted my senses. Our close proximity to each other must have triggered the thoughts in my mind. If I didn't know better, I would swear those were his thoughts invading my head, but the whole idea was ludicrous.
"Put me down, dammit." I started kicking to force him to put me down or drop me. I didn't think he'd let me get hurt, so I figured he'd put me down in a hurry. Wrong! Instead, his arms tightened around me, pressing me harder against his chest. After a while, I stopped struggling since it wasn't doing me any good anyway. The more I struggled against his hold, the more determined he became to keep me right where I was.
Thank you for ceasing your struggles. I realize your need to put on a show for your friends, but I cannot allow you to demonstrate such disregard for my protection. I did not wish to discipline you in front of the others, such things are better left private, but I will if I must.
I stilled completely at that. Excuse me? I wasn't about to ask how he could read my mind and I refused to believe he was anything but human. My mind played tricks on me on the beach. That's all. I didn't see them turn into dragons, owls and other birds of prey. The whole idea was ludicrous. But since something told me I wouldn't like his answer, I figured it was better to remain ignorant. He turned into a Dragon and flew out over the water while you watched, Lily. There is definitely something not normal about him. I almost snorted at the obvious.
I can read your mind because I'm Cartuotey.
Yeah, that explains a lot. Not! I fought the urge to pinch him. Hard!
Some do call us vampire.
Vampire? I shook my head. I knew I wouldn't like your answer. Why don't you just be quiet until you can say something I want to hear? Just stand there looking all handsome and let me take advantage of your eye-candy status. I felt his grin all the way to my toes. Yet, when I looked at his face, it was as emotionless as ever.
"Hey, you guys!" Matt's yell, accompanied by his hands waving in my face, brought our attention back to the other occupants of the room. It served to remind me that there were more people here than just the two of us.
A shame, really.
Oh, shut up!
There are too many people here for my liking.
His words caressed my ear as if he'd spoken them aloud. I fought the urge to lean away from him and crossed my arms over my breasts instead. I didn't want him to see that my nipples had hardened due to his…attention.
"Too late," he whispered against my ear. "They have been like that since I first entered the room, actually."
I wriggled in his arms again. "Put me down, you creep," I hissed.
He glanced over at his friends then smiled at Matt, Mark and Cassie. "We shall be leaving now, if you don't mind. My mate wishes to go home."
Chapter Three
"What?" I started to wriggle again. "I never said that, dammit. Put me down!" I glared over at Matt and Mark. They were both across the room leaning against the pool table. "Are you two just going to stand there gaping like a couple of monkeys or are you going to help me?"
Matt pushed away from the table and looked at the man who held me. "Why are you doing this, Darius?"
"She is my mate."
Matt sighed, shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back again. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Then take her. You know we can't stop you."
"What!"
Mark just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, his arms crossed over his chest. Cassie looked between us, her mouth agape.
I didn't know how to take their reactions. I know I didn't expect them to just stand there like this. I anticipated at least a little help. "That's it? You're going to tell him you can't stop him? You two really are a couple of damned monkeys!"
Matt just gave me a sad smile and shrugged while Mark squatted down, scratched his head and armpit making primate noises.
I glanced at Cassie. "Your brothers are assholes. I hope you know that," I said with a snarl. I put everything I felt for her brothers and their indifferent actions into the baleful glare I threw their way.
"You're not telling me anything I didn't already know," she said with a wry grin. "But once you know everything, you'll realize there is nothing they can do to help you. I know it doesn't do you any good to hear that now, but it's the truth." She moved to join her brothers against the pool table. It was an obvious show of solidarity that wasn't lost on me.
Well, hell.
Darius turned and headed toward the stairs and I struggled in earnest. "Put me down, dammit!" I wiggled and pushed against his chest until he almost dropped me. "Ha! I'll get free yet, you jerk!"
"Stop this nonsense at once, before you injure yourself."
"Nonsense? Nonsense?" Incensed, I took a page from one of my younger cousin's books. I stiffened my body and straightened right out in his arms. When that didn't work, I fisted my hand and swung at him, clipping him on the jaw. His teeth came together with a sharp clack and he stilled.
"Put. Me. Down. Now!" I said the words slowly, emphasizing each one. I'm not a weak woman he could bully and I intended to show him that. I would fight him tooth and nail until he got sick of it.
He took a deep breath, obviously frustrated. I stifled a grin and fought the urge to wink at Cassie. I won and we both knew it. He dropped my feet to the floor with a resigned sigh.
My eyes widened as I came into contact with the telltale bulge beneath the material of his pants on the way down and he grinned. Before I could yank free of his hold, he bent over, shoved his shoulder into my middle and straightened.
"Dammit, you guys! You can't just let him haul me off like this!" I kicked and screamed, pounding at his back as he strode up the stairs and out of the house. How could Cassie and her brothers let him take me away without a fight? They let him carry me from their house like a sack of grain--against my will, no less. I felt lost, alone and…betrayed.
The sun shone bright when he walked from the house. Yeah, vampire my ass. His car sat in the driveway and I almost whistled. It was a thing of beauty even upside down. I've always loved sleek sports cars, especially r
ed or black ones.
He dumped me unceremoniously in the passenger seat and bent to look me in the eyes. He held my head in place with his hand on my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "You will sit here quietly. You will not attempt escape and you will refrain from calling me derogatory names."
My eyes widened when I attempted to do just that and my mouth wouldn't open. I silently screamed when the seatbelt moved to buckle itself around me and, for the third time since morning, fought to retain consciousness. What the hell was he? It didn't take long to remember that whatever he was, he apparently wasn't human. Yet, it was increasingly obvious that he was all male. At last, I gave up the battle to remain conscious and succumbed to the darkness.
I woke cradled in his arms and berated myself for fainting. Where the hell was I? He didn't volunteer the information and, like an idiot, I apparently slept through the entire drive to his home. I got a glimpse of a huge, white-trimmed brick house surrounded by trees before he carried me through the front door.
I tried not to gape at the fact that no one stood on the other side of the door when it slammed shut behind us and the lock turned with a loud click. "What are you?"
"I told you," he said, taking the stairs two at a time until we reached the upper corridor.
"Um…" I looked around, wondering what he thought he was doing. "Where are you taking me?"
"To bed."
My mind raced at his declaration. I mean, I wanted to, I just wasn't sure I wanted to. My gaze darted around the picture covered hall as I contemplated whose bed I would find myself in. "Um…" I said again. I tried to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't go to bed here in his house. My mind didn't cooperate and for some reason I couldn't voice the many reasons why I couldn't sleep with this man.
He just looked at me and raised a glossy black brow. "Yes?"
I licked my lips and wondered what it would be like to kiss him again. Without an audience. Would he taste the same? Would it feel the same? And most importantly, would I be able to stop myself before I did something incredibly stupid like have sex with him?
I don't know what he expected, or what I expected for that matter. I know I wasn't about to just jump into the sack for a little afternoon delight with this guy. I didn't know him. But you want to. The words hung before me, flashing over his head like a neon sign. I swallowed thickly. Man, I needed to get control of myself before I jumped his bones and screwed him senseless. This guy was a walking tower of sex. My libido zinged into high gear and I squeezed my thighs together to stop the pulsing of my nether parts.
I fisted my hands and crossed my arms over my breasts. I had to do something to keep them under control. My fingers itched to touch his hair, to know if it was as soft and silky as it looked. I squeezed my hands tighter, until my nails dug into the skin of my palms. I refused to let the man get to me.
"It is too late to worry about such things, courimeo," he said and lifted his brow again.
I frowned at him. Why did he have to have such animated eyebrows? A part of me loved how expressive they were. Another part of me wished they were like big hairy-looking caterpillars slashed over his eyes. I could ignore big, bushy, caveman eyebrows. Big and bushy isn't sexy at all. Instead, the tips of my breasts tingled and liquid warmth settled between my legs. Such beautiful and emotion-filled brows should be outlawed. Why did I ever think his face was unreadable before?
He grinned at me and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. I didn't dare do it. He would probably take it as an invitation for another bout of tonsil hockey. My breasts tingled again as his warm breath tickled my neck.
Entering a large, upstairs parlor, he sat down in a huge chair that was almost a love seat and settled me in his lap. I still refused to look at him. Instead, I let my gaze wander around the large, sunny room.
Painted in pale yellow with white trim, the room was bright, almost too bright. Dark, hand-carved furniture dominated the room. Unlike other furniture, it was huge, made especially for someone of great stature. Small rugs were scattered over the hardwood floor. The largest rug sat in front of a huge fireplace that dominated one wall. A large painting over the mantle showed a landscape of another world. I wouldn't have expected to see something so modern, so like science fiction in this room.
"We need to talk," he said pulling me against his chest when I struggled to rise.
"We can converse just fine while I sit across the room." I wriggled in a futile attempt to free myself. I stilled, mortified when I realized he apparently liked my struggles. "I don't need to sit in your lap while we have our conversation."
"I happen to like you in my lap."
"Yeah. I guessed that much." I frowned. "I'm not comfortable." My face burned at the reason.
"Why are you not comfortable?"
The look on his face told me he knew exactly why I wasn't relaxing and he enjoyed every minute, every second, of my continued discomfort. I was not going to voice it. I refused to tell him that I was uncomfortable because his huge cock pressed into my hip. It was almost like sitting on a baseball bat. How embarrassing! He chuckled and I struggled to get up again. He enjoyed my discomfiture too damn much and it started to tick me off.
His arms tightened around me like bands of pure steel. "Please, Lily, just sit here for a moment and try to get to know me." He palmed the back of my head and gently pulled me toward his chest. I tried not to feel the hard muscles beneath his shirt or smell the spicy fragrance of his cologne.
Finally, I shrugged and gave in. It's not like it would kill me to sit on a handsome man's lap and soak up some of his warmth. It wouldn't hurt me to relax against him while he talked. And I doubt he brought me here to kill me after leaving Cassie's house the way we did. He has to know that Matt is a cop. Cassie's brother may have let the man carry me off like a sack of potatoes but I'd like to think that he'd draw the line at my murder. Besides, I was so tired, I couldn't see straight. Almost all the fight had gone out of me. My struggles as he carried me to his car wore me out.
I rested my head on his shoulder. Darius merely sat in the chair and stroked my hair for the longest time. I relaxed in his arms after a while, growing used to the steady beat of his heart and his slow, even breaths.
It was kind of nice. No one but Daddy ever held me like this. He was the first person since Daddy disappeared who ever made me feel so safe, so cherished. I fought the tears that burned my eyes. He knew. Somehow he knew that deep down I craved this. I wanted--no--needed this closeness with another human being.
His hand stilled in my hair and the unspoken words hung between us like a black curtain--a door--that hid either happiness or despair. But he's not human! My mind screamed the words at me even as my hand moved to the center of his chest. He wasn't human. I knew that and suddenly I didn't care. Even though I knew he wasn't exactly like me, I knew he had a heart. I knew he could bleed and, like me, he needed someone to love.
His mind touched mine. Before, he had been so sure of himself, so steady. Now his touch was feather-light as he probed my mind, looking for my fear, determined to vanquish it. The rock-hard evidence of his desire pressed against my hip and he held me as though nothing mattered to him but my needs, my comfort. His mind linked with mine like the most intimate of touches. Gently, he sifted through my life, my memories and for some reason I did nothing to stop him. Besides, I wasn't sure I could.
His arms tightened around me, comforted me when I remembered how my father slipped through the open portal and disappeared forever. Killing rage burned through him at my uncle's attempt to molest me and he comforted me when the memories of the psychiatric hospital brought back horrible nightmarish memories of my life among the truly insane.
When he shared his memories with me, it all began to make sense. His behavior, his caveman attitude became perfectly clear. He'd spent so many years alone, my chest hurt just to think of it.
"Then do not think on it." He whispered the words, his lips pressed against my temple.
"How did you-
- How could you--" My face heated at my unspoken question.
Hundreds of years passed with no women, only cold, unfeeling machines to see to his carnal needs. So many lonely days and nights with no one to hold him, comfort him. And too many years left to wonder if he would ever know the touch of a real woman's hand.
I reached up and placed my fingers against his cheek. He closed his eyes at my soft caress, like he savored my touch. He put his hand over mine, and I noticed his was so much larger and darker than mine.
"I do savor your touch. I savor every little thing about you. Your life, your very breath is a miracle to me." He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed every one of my fingers before turning it over and pressing an opened-mouth kiss to my palm.
Desire crawled through my blood, making me burn. I closed my eyes. How could I resist such need? It filled him, consumed him. Would I ever find another man who wanted me this much, who needed me this much? Who would treasure me as much as this man wanted to? I read his intention in my mind. Somehow our very thoughts were linked together.
If I didn't know better, I'd think his hand trembled against my head as he held me to his shoulder, stroking my hair. Yet, I couldn't see it. I couldn't bring myself to believe he needed me so much that he literally shook with it.
I didn't know what to do--didn't know how to deal with it. It gave me a power over him I never dreamed possible. A power I never thought I would ever have over any man, let alone a man as intense and dangerous as he obviously was.
He took my chin in his hand and turned my head to stare deep into my eyes. Soon, I had the strange sensation of falling forward into the moss-green depths of his gaze. I knew something extraordinary happened between us and I would never be the same. Something about his steady gaze screamed love me, stay with me and I will take you to heights you've never dreamed of.
God, I wanted to. I wanted nothing better than to turn my life over to a man who would love and protect me, but that wasn't in the cards for me. I'd come to realize there is no one out there for me. My perfect mate had either not been born yet or I was born too late. I fought the urge to giggle. If he was as old as his memories made him seem, perhaps I wasn't born too late after all.
Afraid to Dream Page 3