“What—oh my—”
A sudden heat rushed up her spine as his lips sucked and teased her skin. It felt like he was drawing a part of her into him and that in turn she was becoming stronger for it. Marduk pushed back against him, not understanding why. All she knew was this was more than just sex. This was a bond, a connection to who she was and would become.
“Darling.” His mouth lifted from her neck.
“Yes.” Her voice was rushed and breathless. Marduk wanted to ask so many questions and yet she feared the answers.
“You belong to me.”
Yes. “Um—” What the hell was that brand of wine?
“I know you don’t understand but you soon will.”
“When?”
“I’ll come for you.”
Chapter Two
“He asked was I looking at his ass.” Marduk Howell took the lid off her salad and grimaced. Oh yuck. Boring. At six o’clock that Monday morning when she made it, Marduk had the best intentions of eating it. Then it had everything to do with working off the pizza and garlic bread she had scoffed down the night before. But six hours later the salad looked dull and unappetizing and all her good intentions were shot to hell. Anyway, how realistic was it to start a diet on a Monday? Surely there was no point starting something on a day that was prone to be crap. No one liked Mondays or dealt with them well and being virtuous just sucked. With that thought in mind, Marduk slapped the lid back on the container and got up from the lunchroom table. I need chocolate and I need it now. Thankfully the lunchroom of the Danby Dance Shoe Company had three machines that dispensed empty calories at the push of a button. The whole “ass” incident had totally thrown her. Yes, she had been looking at his ass. In fact she had been staring at it and thinking about what had happened the night before in the shower. Marduk still couldn’t get that out of her mind. It felt so real.
“And what did you say?” Chrissie Moleta’s gaze followed her friend to the snack machine.
Marduk dug into her pants pocket for change. She always carried loose coins in case chocolate emergencies like this came up. It was better to be safe than sorry. “I said no, of course I wasn’t looking at his butt.” Marduk wasn’t surprised to hear the snort of disbelief from the other woman. “Well, I didn’t want to look like I was lusting after a man I didn’t know. That would look tacky and desperate. I may be the latter but I’m certainly not the former.” It was so long since Marduk had decent, real sex she was convinced sex was vastly overrated anyway. At least that’s what she told herself. “Do you have a ten-cent piece?” She was just that amount shy of buying the king-size Snickers bar. Unlike sex, chocolate was always available and she knew where she stood with it. There was no issue about being too fat or thin. Chocolate accepted you for who you were and was guaranteed to please and while it didn’t give you an orgasm, it made you feel damn good.
“I haven’t got any money on me,” Chrissie responded, her sandwich long since forgotten. “But you were fixating on his ass. I saw you staring at him.”
“Well, it’s pretty bloody hard not to when the photocopier is almost beside my desk.” Okay, so that was a lie. Her desk was no closer to the copier than anyone else’s and to look at his ass, she had deliberately walked over to the nearby fax machine and pretended what she was doing was vitally important to the company. Actually, the fax she planned to send was blank and an irrelevant time waster and a reason to sneak a peek. The fact was the blond photocopier guy had caught and held her attention every time he entered the office. So far that had been three times today. Not that she was counting or anything. “I must have another ten cents.” Marduk scrabbled through her pocket once more. Yes! Five more cents. Five to go. “I had no option but to look at his ass.” What else would any red-blooded woman do when a hot guy bent over and his trousers tightened over the flexing muscles of his butt? Okay, yes, she had been still lust-crazed from her dream lover and maybe she hadn’t been thinking straight but who would be after last night’s incident in the shower? Marduk still wasn’t sure if it was as real as she thought. If not for what appeared to be a love bite—or was it an errant mosquito bite?—on her neck she would have sworn she had dreamed it. Not that she could tell Chrissie about any of that. She would think her mad.
“Oh, what a load of crap.” Chrissie looked at her in amusement. “Besides, you have to physically get up from your desk and turn a corner to get to the photocopier from where you sit, or stand on your chair to see it or—”
“The point is—” Marduk interrupted, well aware that she had made an effort to see the man rather than merely glance up and keep working like any good, dedicated employee would. Not that she was one of those. She was more the I’m-just-here-to-pay-the-bills kind of worker. This was not a career, it was a mortgage payment. “Even if I was staring at his ass, what of it?” She was a grown woman who understood the consequences of her actions. Yes, Marduk had embarrassed the hell out of herself when he caught her staring at his backside. Her face still burned from the look he had given her. If she had to describe that look in one word she would have called it smoldering. Yeah, that was it. The man was smoking hot. And his eyes—they were the darkest eyes she had ever seen. Kind of strange considering he was blond and yet they fitted that strong face perfectly. There was something about him that made her keep staring long after the ass incident was over. He was sexy more than handsome, raw rather than just good looking. He was the sort of man you dreamed of throwing you over his shoulder and stalking off with you with the intention of making love to you until standing was not possible. There was just something about him.
But he didn’t do any of that. He had simply asked in a deep, husky voice, “Were you looking at my ass?” Part of Marduk wanted to say, “Yes, I’m a bad, bad girl. Please punish me,” just to see what his response was. The other, smarter part of her brain ordered her to lie and then walk back to her desk as if nothing had happened.
“It’s just a male ass. We see them all the time.” You could justify anything if you really wanted to.
“Sure, sure,” Chrissie responded, with a grin on her face. “And there’s five cents under the machine.”
Marduk wasn’t too proud to drop to her knees when chocolate was involved. After a little maneuvering, she managed to secure the coin. Once on her feet, she slammed the coin into the slot and pressed the button. The Snickers bar moved forward then stopped. It was stuck. “Bugger…” Marduk put her hands on either side of the machine and shook it. “Besides, men look at women’s asses all the time and it means nothing. It’s just momentary sexual attraction.” She shook harder but the chocolate bar refused to budge. “Give me a hand here.”
Chrissie got up and wandered over. “Photocopier guy is certainly hot.” She shook the machine in time with Marduk.
“Oh god yes.” Marduk stopped shaking and started kicking the metal to free her purchase. There something cathartic in that. After a few more well-aimed blows, the machine spat out the chocolate bar. “Ha! Toy with me?” Marduk grabbed her prize. “I think not.” She ripped the wrapper off and inhaled the scent of chocolate. This was her happy place. “Anyway it was just a moment. It’s not like it meant anything to either me or the photocopier guy. It’s not like I know him and he’s probably forgotten me anyway.” Marduk bit into the chocolate and sighed. Oh yeah, baby.
“Well, technically you could say you know him. He’s been here a lot today.”
“To fix the photocopier. That what photocopier guys do.”
Chrissie conceded that. “It’s a piece of crap machine.”
Yes it was but the Danby Dance Shoe Company was on the skids. The economic crisis had hit some Australian companies hard. Danby was one of them. The bosses thought they would be able to ride out the slump as the theory was that people tended to keep spending money on entertainment to keep their spirits up. That was a crap theory that was proved wrong in Danby’s case. People simply didn’t want to dance or exercise and if they did they were not buying new shoes to do
it in. Because sales were bad, nothing in the Brisbane office was being replaced. Everything was about making do. Staff was cut to the bone and those that were there were doubtful how much longer they would be. The only saving grace with the photocopier was that it was under warranty so it was one of the few things that got fixed.
“So what did he say after your denial on the ass staring?”
Marduk swallowed her mouthful of chocolate. “That was the weird thing. He just said, ‘The truth will out.’”
“What does that mean?”
“I have no idea. There are so many odd people around. Anyway, it’s not like I care.” Her past relationships with men had always been odd, erratic and bordering on difficult. On the whole, the idea of being celibate for life was appealing. It meant not dealing with men who thought her too overweight or too opinionated or who wanted to do odd things to her that she suspected were illegal and not even possible unless she could unscrew her legs. “Men are strange.” And the blond guy was bound to have some weird quirks. The ones that looked the most interesting always did.
“Some are,” Chrissie agreed as she sat back down at the table. “I think he was interested in you. I saw him glance your way several times.”
Okay, Marduk had felt that too. It was good to know she had not imagined it in a moment of hormonal rush. “Don’t be insane. He’s just so, so— And I’m not, you know… Why set my hopes high for something I can’t have?” She slumped down on the opposite chair and took another big bite of chocolate. Suddenly Marduk felt depressed. At thirty-four she was all alone with no hope of a decent man. Ninety-five percent of the time this didn’t bother her. However at times like this, when she saw men like the photocopier guy, Marduk felt a little blue.
“Who says you can’t?”
“It would be like mating outside your species.” Like attracted like no matter what propaganda there was about opposites attracting. Did anyone ever see George Clooney with a plain girl? That was a big no.
Chrissie shook her head and picked up her sandwich. “Don’t be silly. He would be lucky to have you.”
Marduk snorted. “Now you sound like my mother.”
“Well, mothers always know,” Chrissie mumbled through a mouthful of cheese and lettuce on white bread.
“Photocopier guy is hot and hard-bodied. Men like that don’t go for women like me.” She was short, with boring brown hair and, as her Great-Auntie Joan liked to say, chubby. However Joan considered buxom a good thing and made a point of telling Marduk how “chubby” she was every time she saw her. Women in my day had real breasts and hips like yours. None of this flat-chested, whippet-hips nonsense. Men like an ass to hold on to. Auntie Joan was an expert on men. She had been married six times and enjoyed countless “liaisons” as she liked to call them on a regular basis. The fact that she was eighty-two barely slowed her down. She just became more sexually inventive. I wonder if Auntie Joan had a dream lover too? And did he really exist anyway? One minute she had been in the shower all hot and needy and the next she had woken up alone wondering what the hell had happened.
“Men like curves.”
“Not the ones I’ve dealt with.”
“Well, that last guy who gave you the gym membership on Valentine’s Day was a wanker. I never liked him. His eyes were too close together.”
“Yes, that’s a true indicator of wankerdom.” Marduk smiled at her friend’s loyalty. “He said I was fat.” Realistically she knew she wasn’t but spiteful words always struck home. Marduk looked at the last piece of chocolate left in the wrapper. If he had really hurt her she would not be eating chocolate. She would have been at the gym trying to fit an image. Thank god I have good self-esteem. Marduk put the last bite of chocolate in her mouth and savored it.
“Yeah, well, he was small balled.”
“Thankfully I never got to see his balls.” Sex was not automatically a part of every relationship. Some people you wanted to jump straight away. Others you had to think about. “Anyway I’ll probably never see photocopier guy again.” Now he was a jumper.
“Yeah, that would be a shame. I’m sure we can shove something into the machine to jam it up so he has to come back out.” Chrissie looked at her with a plan in her eyes. “That Celtic cross tattoo on his neck was lickable.”
Yeah, it was. “It’s actually an ankh.” Her friend looked at her vaguely. “It’s an Egyptian sign that’s all to do with eternal life and stuff.”
“Well, I liked his stuff a lot.”
So did Marduk but liking was not having and wanting something you could never have was unrealistic. The chocolate was finished and the salad remained. Marduk knew what she had to do. “I’m going to get change for the machine.” It seemed like a three-chocolate-bar kind of day to her.
* * * * *
Decatur had barely been able to control himself when he realized Marduk had been staring at his ass. When he turned around and caught her in the act, the flush of red that rose into her cheeks was so sexy and cute that he wanted to lift Marduk over his shoulder and carry her from the room and away from all the problems they had or would face. “And there are going to be problems.” He was trapped by a madman and Marduk was unwittingly caught up in the madness. I should walk away. I should leave her alone.
He stared down at the woman lying on the bed. “But I can’t.” He had told himself not to come to her that evening but it had been impossible to stay away. The bedcovers were twisted and thrown to one side and Marduk was naked. “Beautiful.” There was no other word for Marduk. That she slept that way intrigued him. Not many women did and it told him a lot about the raw, sensual needs of Marduk. That she had wanted to give herself so willingly to him last night had made him mad with need to touch and taste whatever she would allow him. It had been almost impossible not to slam his body into hers. “But I want more.” Just the taste of her sweet blood on his lips had almost driven him crazy with lust. It had taken everything he had not to push her back up against the wall and fuck her until she couldn’t stand.
While Decatur was aware that some women found vampires irresistible, it was important that Marduk accept him as a man and a lover first. That she had been purely turned-on by who he was and had wanted him and made no pretense about it had been refreshing to him.
Because of that he didn’t rush in as he normally did and take what he wanted. Decatur wanted to analyze the lady in the clear light of day. How she reacted to other people, situations and him. There was no need for an overt sexual rush. The chemistry was simmering away. The need to understand Marduk as a whole person caught at Decatur. After hundreds of years, encountering all types of women, he’d found Marduk was different. That she had lusted for him through pure need was exciting. As much as he wanted her body he also wanted her heart.
Decatur groaned as she shifted in bed and her legs opened to reveal the curls of her pussy. He was no saint. He wanted her but it had to be mutual. Maybe it wasn’t fair her not being able to see him but he knew few things in life were fair. He had promised himself he would just look and not act. “Promises are damn hard.”
He sat down on the bed and rested his hand lightly on her stomach. Decatur loved the real curves and valleys of this woman. Marduk was a real woman and not a simulated replica of one.
“Who’s there?” she murmured half asleep as she rolled closer to him.
“It’s me, darling.” When Marduk snuggled against his side, Decatur held his breath and sought for control. The need to take her in his arms and make slow, deliberate, never-forget-me love was overwhelming.
“Oh…um…okay…hmm…” Marduk curled her legs unconsciously toward him and sighed. Then suddenly she opened one eye. “Oh, holy crap. It’s you!” She sat up in stunned realization and looked around her, hands feeling for the man she knew was there somewhere.
When Marduk touched him, Decatur smiled. “Surprised?” He loved the way her bare breasts jiggled as she reached over and tried to cover herself with the twisted bedsheet.
“I’m l
osing my mind.”
“No you’re not.”
She scrambled back up toward the headboard, clutching what covering she could. “Yeah, I am because I can’t stop thinking about an invisible man.”
Decatur grabbed her ankle before she could get too far away. “Where are you going?” Neither of them could escape the other. They were inevitable.
“I don’t know.” Marduk looked around her in confusion. “Who are you? Why me? And why am I talking to someone who doesn’t exist?”
The answer was simple to Decatur. “Because you need me.” As I need you. No matter what else they would have to face, that was the reality of the situation. We are meant to be.
“I need no one, mister.” She slapped at the hand on her ankle. “This is so weird.”
Decatur grabbed both her legs and pulled her toward him. There was no way he could not make love to her this night. To deny himself would be like denying air to breathe. “Weird how?”
“Well, duh, I can’t see you.” Marduk held on to the bedding to avoid sliding forward.
“Therefore I don’t exist?” Damn. I love spunky women. He gave one hard pull and she landed in a heap on top of him. Decatur pushed the hair from her face. “Are you fighting me because you can’t see me?” He rolled them over so he was on top.
“Well, yeah.”
The more she squirmed beneath him, the more excited Decatur got. Usually women fell into his arms without thought or effort. That he had chosen to use one of the few powers he had, invisibility, made this one of the most exciting conquests of his life. “So losing control with the unknown scares you?”
“Call me crazy but it does.”
“What else do you feel?” Can you feel how madly my heart beats for you and only you?
“I feel nothing else.” That was a lie of course. Marduk could feel cock. Hard, long, delicious cock. Yum. To admit anything else would be crazy. She could not see the man who held her but she could feel him lying between her legs. Every part of that made Marduk feel aware of the fact she was a woman made for just this moment. This man. “I can’t believe in this happening.” When did my dreams become so real?
Decatur the Vampire Page 2