Full-Figured Vampire 1 - Real Vampires Have Curves

by Gerry Bartlett

  "He's an alcoholic, Glory." Derek was on one side of me, Freddy on the other. Other women looked at me with envy. If they only knew my two handsome men dressed in yummy butt-hugging denim had eyes only for each other. Bummer.

  "How can a vampire be an alcoholic?" We'd stopped in front of a club with country music booming out of the open door. "All of the ones I've met say they can't drink alcohol without getting sick. I only tried it once and thought I was going to die." You think mortals get hangovers? Try a six day death wish.

  "He only feeds when the clubs are closing, or he sees a drunk leaving a club early. That must be what happened tonight." Derek shook his head. "The higher the blood alcohol level, the better for old Trev."

  "You're kidding." I wracked my brain. Had I ever fed from a drunk? "Maybe you'd get a buzz, but I'd still worry about a hangover." "Cotton-Eyed Joe" started inside.

  "Trev doesn't worry about hangovers when he's getting a double whammy. A vicarious high." Derek noticed my toe tapping to the beat of the music. "Forget Trevor. We promised you dancing. How's this?"

  "Perfect. I'm so ready for a cowboy." I pulled them both inside. "Both of you will dance with me, not with each other. In here I think that would get you beat up. But we'll have a signal. If a good looking cowboy asks me to dance and I want to, I'll say 'Beat it, boys.'"

  "That's a signal?" Freddy laughed and shouldered us through the crowd. "Obviously you're not into subtle."

  "Nope." I scanned the room as we found a table near the dance floor. Fortunately the few waitresses seemed overwhelmed and no one asked for a drink order. I can drink things other than Bloody Merrys as long as they aren't alcoholic, but I wasn't here to drink. The bass was vibrating through my body and I was looking for Mr. Right Now.

  Derek pulled me up and onto the dance floor and we twirled into a two step. The man could certainly dance. After a few minutes, the lights dimmed and the song slowed to a sexy ballad. Tim McGraw. What a waste.

  I led Derek toward our table. Freddy had been joined by a cowboy. They stood with their backs to us. Nice broad back on Mr. Cowboy. Snug well-worn jeans, black Stetson and boots. He was tall, built and just what I'd been looking for.

  "Dance, Cowboy?" I asked, putting my hand on his arm. Then he turned around, covering my hand with his. Blade. Damn it to hell.

  "Dance? Sure, babe."

  He pulled me onto the dance floor and into his arms. Chest to chest, thigh to thigh. Blade held me tight, his cheek against my hair and I didn't bother to pretend it didn't feel good. We moved to the music and, with my eyes closed, I could relax and lean into him. Solid. Strong.

  "You look good." The words drifted into my mind just as Blade leaned down to press his lips to my neck. Right over the old jugular. Naturally that's a vamp hot spot and I felt his mouth on me clear down to my toes. My nipples sprang to attention and my body screamed "Come and get me."

  No. No. No. I leaned back and looked up. He hadn't missed the Glory hallelujah reaction. He was grinning and looking so much like a real cowboy that my heart squeezed. Time for a distraction. I wasn't ready to climb back on this horse just yet.

  "What's with the cowboy look?"

  "I'm blending. What do you think?" He rubbed my back.

  "I think you couldn't blend if your life depended on it." Oh, great. His life did depend on it. Mouth to brain—be nice.

  "Maybe you could give me lessons. On how to blend." He looked around. "I thought I was doing all right." For once he didn't sound completely sure of himself. And didn't that fire me up even more?

  "You are. Really. And I love the hat." My inner slut slipped my hand inside his back pocket. I've always loved his nice firm butt. "So why are you here blending? I thought you were in Lake Charles with Mara and your state-of-the-art security."

  "I wanted to check on you. I left Mara there."

  Glory one, Mara zip. As if this was a contest. I basked in Blade's concern for a moment. Whoa. "Check on me? Like I'm not capable of looking out for myself?"

  "Here we go again." Blade tightened his hand on my waist. "For once, lass, can we no' just enjoy the moment?"

  He'd brought out the big guns. He knows I'm a sucker for the Scottish accent. And I actually was a little blown away. I never dreamed he'd seek me out again so soon after I'd turned him down in the desert.

  "Enjoy the moment. Fine. But we need to talk, Jerry."

  "Jeremiah, lass. Och, but I've missed your fire."

  "Hmmm." What could I say? Fire? Right now I was a four alarm. Blame it on my long dry spell, but if we'd been alone I might have shown Jerry some fire works. We'd always clicked in bed and he wasn't even put off by my thunder thighs.

  How do I know? When we're making love, Jerry lets me into his thoughts. Talk about erotic. In their heads, men get pretty graphic, but they love the female body. When they're getting lucky, they're grateful and very appreciative. You might say "blinded by passion." Cool, huh?

  I knew he was reading me. He slid his hand down to my butt and pulled me closer. And we danced. Even got two slow ones before the pace picked up and the lights brightened. Jerry led me back to the table where Derek and Freddy were talking.

  "Let's go outside." Blade issued his order then guided, no, pushed me toward the door with his hand on my back. Naturally Derek and Freddy followed.

  "Jeez, who died and put you in charge?" What had I just said? I had to get a grip on my big mouth. Blade's face hardened and he just looked at me. And let me see his grief for Mac. Dark, bottomless, the loss of the brother of his heart. And all his fault. If he'd only—

  "Stop it!" I grabbed his hand and held on. "You are not responsible for Mac's death. Westwood is."

  "I should have sensed the danger sooner. Mac and Mara were there visiting me." Blade squeezed my hand. "I'll not lose you, too, dearling."

  Derek and Freddy were watching us. Freddy, for sure, was picking up on my chaotic thoughts, though no one could read Blade unless he let them in.

  "Come home with me, Gloriana. I'll keep you safe or die trying."

  I shuddered at that promise. I didn't doubt he meant every word.

  "No freaking way." I grabbed his arm. "You mean well. I get that. Look at me, Jerry." His dark eyes met mine. "Read my mind, my heart. Whatever." I saw his jaw tighten.

  "I have plans, Jerry. A life that doesn't include cowering inside a damned casino while you throw yourself in front of me to catch arrows in your chest." The world swirled around me for a moment and I wobbled on my high heels. Blade caught me, holding me tight against his side. I took a breath and pushed away from him, relieved that I was steady again.

  "Believe me. I can take care of myself. And, if I do need help, I have friends here."

  "She's right, Blade. We're perfectly capable of protecting her and she's opening a store here." Derek. Who'd obviously not been around Blade enough to realize he didn't exactly welcome interference.

  "I'm sure you think you can protect her, Derek"—Blade swept him with a dismissive look—"when you're not trolling for students, that is." He locked eyes with Freddy. "Frederick, I'll talk to you later. Gloriana and I need to be alone."

  Freddy, the coward, the deserter, the first-class chump, merely nodded. "You have a place to stay?"

  "Aye."

  And Freddy took off, dragging Derek with him. Just like that.

  "What if I don't want to be alone with you?"

  Blade leaned down and kissed my lips, slowly, thoroughly, sliding just the tip of a fang across them until I was damp and dizzy.

  "Come along, sweetheart. I need you."

  Hmmm. And didn't I need him? For comfort. Old time's sake. Satisfaction guaranteed. I could go on and on. Could you blame me if I followed him meekly to a silver Mercedes convertible parked at the curb?

  "Nice car." Good. Despite a lust-fogged brain, I could at least speak again.

  "I thought you'd like it. It's yours."

  "Mine?" I determinedly squelched the urge to happy dance. The price of independence—do not accept
expensive gifts even though he'd obviously read my mind and bought my dream car.

  "Valdez told me how that piece of crap you drive endangered you on your trip." He tossed me the keys. "Drive."

  Damned furry snitch. And now Jerry was trying to hook me with a little drive. But I'm not stupid. I got in and started the engine. Oh, but it purred. "Keep me," it whispered as I shifted into drive.

  "Where to?" I pretended nonchalance as I pulled away from the curb. The cool night air lifted my hair and I felt like a princess in her coach-and-four. I waved to the peasants crowding the sidewalks as we breezed down Sixth Street as fast as the traffic allowed.

  Blade gave me directions until we wove our way up to the top of Castle Hill and stopped in front of… yes, a castle. Talk about your stereotypes. The Gothic monstrosity perched on the summit with its stone turrets and massive wood door shouted, "Vampires live here. Keep out."

  "You've got to be kidding. Who lives here?"

  "A friend with a sense of humor. He puts on a great Halloween party. Maybe well come back for it."

  "You're ruining the mood for me, Jerry, by assuming I'll do your bidding." I might as well speak my mind since he could read every thought anyway.

  "Sorry." He leaned over and kissed me again, a long, lingering, tongue tangling symphony of a kiss that had me humming along.

  Again. I'm not stupid. I was not going to keep the car. Or go to Lake Charles. But I was going to satisfy this itch that Blade, for centuries, had known how to scratch just so. I followed him inside. Up a stone staircase that could have come straight from Castle Campbell except that this marble gleamed and, of all things, a bat chandelier hung above the landing.

  "Bats?" I laughed as Blade tugged me into a bedroom and slammed the door. "What? No coffin?"

  "That's in Damian's bedchamber."

  I fell onto the exquisitely soft, red-velvet coverlet. Blade grinned down at me. Oh I loved the way he looked when he wasn't angsting over all his responsibilities. This Blade was fun, playful as he fell on top of me. I ripped open the snaps on his shirt and ran my hands over his smooth chest and down his flat stomach. Always the same, always perfect. I could feel his need pressing against his jeans.

  "Ride 'em, cowboy," I whispered as I slid down his zipper.

  "Not yet, lass." He pushed his hand under my skirt.

  "What the hell are you wearing?" He pulled up the fabric to look.

  "Control panties. Not exactly a girdle, but—" He pressed a kiss on the heavy duty spandex just "there" and I wished the thing to hell and gone. It had been a struggle to get it on tonight, but it flattened my stomach and kept my butt from jiggling. How on earth was Blade going to work it off?

  "Not to worry. And I like it when your butt jiggles." A knife gleamed in his hand. Did I mention why he'd picked Blade as his surname? Knives, swords, daggers have always been his weapons of choice and he's damned good with them. Years later someone created a comic book character with the same name—a vampire hunter. Talk about irony.

  Forget irony. Jerry slipped the tip of his stiletto under the elastic above my navel. I gasped, then forgot to breathe as he slowly cut the spandex. It parted like butter until, yes, hello, he was right where he'd kissed me just moments ago.

  My poor strangled tummy thanked him. But the cool steel of that knife so perilously close to my most private parts… Call me freaky, but I shivered with a perverse need to have him keep going. He looked up, his heated gaze leaving no doubt that he'd go as far as I wanted him to.

  Did I stop him? Are you kidding? I opened my thighs and held my breath. And he kept going, the cold steel skimming across me, lower, lower until I grabbed his hair and made him look at me.

  "You wouldn't."

  "Wouldn't I? Anything for your pleasure, lass." But he tossed the knife aside and bent his head to trace me with his tongue and—hoo, boy—his fangs. Oh, God, but he had a way with his fangs. Heat, need and the satisfaction that I'd always felt only with Jeremiah Campbell sliced through me, sharp as that knife he'd used moments ago. I wanted him naked. And deep inside me.

  Of course he heard my "Do me, baby" thoughts. His clothes vanished along with mine before he pulled me on top of him and drew my lips to his neck. I pressed my fangs into his tender skin and warm blood flooded my mouth just as hot satisfaction flooded my thighs. I couldn't think, but Jeremiah could, his voice whispering inside my head.

  "Yes. Taste me, Gloriana. Come with me. You are beautiful. Mine. Mine."

  He moved under me, hard and fast, his hands on my ass, urging me to keep pace. No problem. But I was coming apart, bit by bit. I shivered and called his name in my mind since I couldn't bear to release him and his delicious taste. Finally I licked his neck and threw back my head, wild as he reached between us to touch me.

  "God, Jeremiah!" I leaned forward until he sucked one of my nipples into his warm mouth, the pressure making me clench around him. Oh, yes. He rolled us until he was on top. I opened my eyes and saw him there, so strong, the muscles in his arms taut as he held himself above me. But he was pale. He'd let me feed from him and he'd been hurt just days ago.

  "Jeremiah." I pulled his head to my neck, shuddering with pleasure as he took me. If I live to be a thousand, I'm sure I'll never feel a pleasure greater than Jeremiah Campbell, hard inside me, drawing on my life force. I felt an answering pull deep inside. Powerful, seemingly insatiable. No wonder I held on to him with both hands. He took me and I took him until I was wracked with pleasure, dying and yet being reborn, again and again. Finally, I shattered. Complete. His.

  Chapter Four

  "I am not yours." Okay, so maybe I was a little late with that declaration.

  "Of course not. You are your own woman. Damnably independent. I get that." He lay against the pillows and watched me as I crawled out of bed and attempted to pull together my outfit.

  Damnably independent. Yep. But I couldn't get too excited about making that point when my knees were still weak and I couldn't look at him or I'd be right back in that bed for another round.

  Get dressed. Right. Forget the panties. They went in the trash and I was glad to see those modern day iron maidens go. At some point he'd cut my bra apart too and that bugged me. Black lace double D bras aren't cheap.

  I was surprisingly at ease prancing around naked in front of Jerry. Hey, he'd seen me in the buff more times than either of us could count and if my figure flaws hadn't sent him away screaming before, they sure wouldn't now.

  "You're beautiful, Gloriana. I wish you'd realize that."

  I pulled on my blouse, but left it gaping open as I faced him. Yeah, he did look like he was enjoying the view. I picked up my skirt and twirled it around my finger.

  "I realize that you want me to obey you. Drive that sex-mobile to Lake Charles with you and lock myself inside your casino. But it's not going to happen." There. Could I make it any clearer?

  He sat up and snatched the skirt out of my hand. "You are the most difficult woman I've ever known."

  "Hmm. I'll take that as a compliment."

  "Then mayhap ye'll come back to bed, lass." He grinned when I let my blouse slip off my shoulders and fall to the floor.

  "Mayhap." I sauntered toward him, well aware of how my breasts quivered and my nipples said, "Taste me." He definitely wanted me again and, boy, was that a power trip. "I've always had a weakness for lusty Scots."

  "First turn around and walk away. I want to see this butt jiggling you're so fashed about."

  "Make me." I put my hands on my hips. He was beside me in a flash. Some vamps can do that, move at warp speed. Another vamp trick I'd never learned. He walked around me, then dropped to his knees.

  "Aye, I'll make ye, lass. Make ye scream for me." He kneaded my buttocks.

  "Will not." I gasped as he slid a finger inside me.

  "Such a fine generous arse ye've got here. Soft." He stroked me with his tongue. "Tasty."

  Generous indeed! But Jerry truly didn't care. He pressed his thumb between my thighs until I had to
bite my lip.

  "Did I hear ye moan then, lass?"

  "No! I won't scream for you either, Jerry." I turned and pushed my fingers through his hair, soft with just a bit of curl in the dark strands. Strands that would never gray above a chiseled face that would never sag or wrinkle.

  "Will ye no'?" He leaned against me and kissed my belly. "And if I scream for you?" He looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Will that please ye?"

  "It might." I pulled him to his feet and wrapped my arms around him, more pleased than I liked to admit. I'd never been to Louisiana. Maybe… No, he was obviously doing a vamp whammy on me. But I pressed my cheek to his cool bare chest anyway.

  Uh-oh. We're supposed to be warm, though I figure we're well below a mortal's normal temp. His heart thumped in the slow steady way all vamps did near dawn. About half speed.

  "Take care of yourself, Jerry. You're still healing. You should have stayed home."

  "I couldno'. You are my heart, lass. Come home with me."

  I believed him. That he truly cared for me. But something in me insisted I had to make my own way. I couldn't belong to anyone. Even someone as seductive and as damnably delicious as Jeremy Blade. Sometimes I hate myself, you know? But logic, which I was struggling to get a grip on, told me this sudden urge to keep me close had a lot to do with Jerry's losing Mac.

  Hey, when a vamp actually dies, it shakes us up. And makes a vampire want to do something life affirming, like, pardon my bluntness, maybe screw your brains out.

  I dragged Jerry back to bed and made love to him, pushing him back when he tried to take charge. No. This was my farewell party for two. I kissed a path down his chest to his stomach, smiling as his muscles clenched. Lusty indeed. I licked the moisture from the tip of his shaft then took him into my mouth. I cupped his balls, squeezing lightly until he moaned and slid his fingers into my hair.