Once Upon A Midnight

by Stephanie Rowe

  Boy, was I glad to see Rush. Jude popped in beside me. He had been inside the car with Rush when it jumped the curb. That would explain how Rush knew I was in trouble.

  “I thought you could use a little help,” Jude said.

  Side glancing, I winked at him and smiled. “You’re the best friend ever. Do you know that?”

  “I do, but it’s always nice to hear.”

  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” I said calmly to Duska.

  A flicker of annoyance crossed her face, and she lowered her left hand. With a pushing motion, she directed her men back. All five vampire hunters began to back away in the directions from which they had come. Even though we were outnumbered, our brute strength and the sway Rush had over Duska worked to our advantage.

  “You’re batting for the wrong team, Kris,” Duska said, still in motion. “The Center and the monsters they create abuse the power they have. Both my friends have become pawns and victims to this struggle. Help us make things right.”

  “I’m on team Chase; it’s that simple. I realize your heart’s in the right place, and in your own screwed-up way, you think you’re doing what’s best, but you’re going about it the wrong way. Guns, explosives, attempted kidnappings?” I shook my head. “Leave my sister to me. I promise I’ll bring her home safe.”

  “You’re really not going to let me help you. You’re insane.” She finally figured out that no matter how high handed or how hard she tried to convince me otherwise, I wasn’t about to let her in on my plans to save Torra.

  “More like crazy, senseless, and foolish. But I’ve learned to work with my shortcomings,” I replied.

  Duska cleared her throat. “Rush, will you tell my grandfather that I’m sorry I disappointed him and that I stayed with your family as long as I could for him?”

  A dark gloom surrounded Rush. It wasn’t anything you could see with your eyes. It was more of an oppressive presence that could only be felt by the soul. “Are you sure you want to do this to him?” His words were guttural.

  Duska holstered her weapon and sighed. “I’m finished with pretending, hiding who I am. Your species creates vampires, and I am human. There is no honor between humans and vampires; there can’t be. Vampires will always have the upper hand over us. We are their food source, Kris. And lest you forget, they are stronger and more ruthless, and they live with a dark magic inside them that prompts them to kill us for their own preservation. Survival is the ultimate motivation, the purest of instincts. I choose to follow mine, and they tell me to kill them all.” She turned and walked forward, her shoulders knocking between two of her men who were still inching their way backwards. Before she rounded the corner to disappear behind the house, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “Your sister feels the same way I do, Kris.” After dropping that bombshell on me, she disappeared from sight.

  Yeah, and at one point, so did I.

  Silence ensued. Then Rush walked over to his car, opened the door, and piled in. A few minutes later, his car was properly parked at the curb, and we were stomping up the porch stairs. Without a word, I opened the door and stepped inside. I turned around and looked at him with an exhausted half-smile, holding the door to let him come in. There was no use arguing the matter, after what had happened. There was no way Rush was going to leave me alone, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want him to.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  After a few hours of sleep, I got up and took two mugs from the cabinet above the coffee maker. After that, I poured freshly ground coffee beans into a filter and pushed the button on the machine that soon filled the house with a bouquet of heavenly roast. I loved my coffee. I was a zombie without it, and that’s why I spared no expense when it came to the quality and quantity I always kept on hand. It was my guilty pleasure.

  “Mmm-hmm…. There’s no better way to wake up; a beautiful woman in the kitchen making coffee. Is their enough for me?” Rush called out from the living room.

  “It depends. Are you talking about the woman in the kitchen or her yummy coffee?”

  “If I’m lucky enough to have a choice, there’s no contest, Kris. I’ll always choose you.” The seductive pitch sent a spearhead of lust shooting straight through me.

  After the missed opportunity earlier that morning, I had decided that because of the way Rush had grown on me like barnacles on a ship, I would allow things to progress naturally and stop fighting my feelings for him. After all, they had spiraled way beyond my control. It was time to get my flirt on, so I went to him.

  Rush pulled the covers down to his waist, revealing a muscled chest. With hooded eyes accompanied by a sly smirk, he slid his arm behind his head and reclined against the pillow. If I didn’t love my coffee so much, I would have dropped the cups in my hands right then and there. Good grief, the man looked incredibly hot. As his lips parted, twisting into a sexy grin, all I could do was stand there like a dumb-ass and stare.

  He held out his hand, and with my mind reeling from what he’d just said about always choosing me, I placed the coffee mug into it. I took a sip out of my own and batted my eyes. I hoped the liquid would wet my dry lips and calm the dizziness I had going on. I pushed at his leg. It was crooked up underneath the blanket. He moved it over, so I could take a seat next to him.

  After taking a sip from his own steaming cup, he leaned over and placed it on the coffee table. The blanket pulled lower, down his body as he stretched, exposing his side and the curve of his hip. The lower portion of his body was only inches from being uncovered. Oh lords, my fingers ached to yank the blanket off him, so I could drink my fill of his ripped physique. But like the coward I was, I hid my blush behind my mug as I took another long drink and made my eyes focus on something safer—something not even remotely tantalizing or sexy. My eyes zeroed in on the curtains across the room. They did the trick for about two seconds.

  “I was really impressed with the way you handled the situation over at Devil’s Playground. I know I don’t have to tell you how easily it could have spun out of control,” he said.

  Rush placed his hand on my knee. The skin to skin contact made heat flare up my leg. Not stopping its path of erotic destruction there, the fire spread into other places. I was close to having a southern belle moment by fanning myself to cool down.

  “Believe me, after being injured, and then finding out Duska not only betrayed your trust, but she also happens to know my sister? Let’s just say keeping my cool was hard, but someone had to keep a level head. And I’m pretty sure Duska won’t be holding up her end of the bargain.”

  “Which part?”

  I reclined, leaning against his knees. The way his legs were covered by the blanket resembled a tiny teepee. A rousing game of cowboys and Indians played out in my head, complete with me wearing a feather headdress and him pointing his long, loaded pistol at me.

  “All of it. Pitching in to clean up the bar and working there to pay off some of the repairs caused by the explosion.”

  Rush’s hand began to move, gently rubbing my knee. I swallowed hard.

  “I can speak with her grandfather, Conrad. Unlike his granddaughter, he is very loyal to me.”

  “No, I’m not going to bother with her anymore. I have a strong feeling we’re all better off with her gone. I’ve decided to help out over at Devil’s place myself. I’m going to put in for some vacation time at the casino; they owe me a month’s paid leave. I plan on breaking the news to Devil as soon as Torra is safe and sound.”

  Rush took the mug I had nervously clutched between my hands and placed it next to his on the table. “That’s very noble of you. I’m not sure how I feel about sharing you with a bunch of vampires, though. You may develop a yearning for fangs.”

  He cradled my face between his hands. He had taken his contacts out before he went to bed a few hours prior, so I was staring deep into his smoke-grey eyes, almost tumbling into the depths of them.

  “I gave him my word. Unlike Duska, I keep my promises.” My words tric
kled out with warm breath that played against his lips.

  I drew my fingers across his chiseled jaw, the stubbles tickling the tips, making me want to play with it more. I leaned in and gave him a light kiss there instead. Licking my lips, I waited for him to pull me against him. Rush didn’t disappoint.

  I found myself on his lap, the blanket on the floor. It left his naked body bared to me. He devoured my lips and drank me in, the very air in my lungs. I pushed away from the kiss for a second, just long enough to take in a breath, before plunging back inside. Our tongues danced, gliding like spools of loosened silk, playing against each other.

  Rush’s voice came out rugged and breathless. “I must have you. I need to be deep inside of you.”

  I turned and repositioned myself, straddling his lap, both of my knees around his waist. I could feel his hardened length pressed against my wet core as I brought myself down on him, pushing and grinding myself over him.

  I moaned, “I’m not stopping you.”

  With eager abandon, he licked and nibbled a path of pleasure up my neck and over my chin, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth; he let out a deep growl. After the sound that punctuated his need for me, he slid the tip of my chin into his mouth. He gave it a gentle nibble and a long suck before releasing it to yank my shirt over my head. I wasn’t wearing a bra, so his hands went straight to my breasts; smooth thumbs began a slow caress over my straining nipples.

  His hands shook like a school boy experiencing his first sexual encounter in his eagerness to touch me. I leaned in against his trembling palms. Throwing my head back, I gave him unrestricted access to my body, free rein to do with it as he pleased.

  I was eager and filled with want of being his sensual playground. His fingers tugged at the zipper of my shorts. I stood up on my knees, far enough to shimmy them down my hips. I had to lean back, however, for him to pull them over my legs. I ended up with my head between his feet, with my legs splayed open before him, spread eagle. The only thing left between Rush and the most intimate part of my body was a thin, black strip of silk.

  Rush bit down on his lower lip. So help me, I almost reached down and ripped those freakin’ panties off myself. He looked so damn sexy…edible, even. With a lazy smile and slow bat of my eyes, I began massaging my breasts. My nipples were taut and extremely sensitive from Rush’s petting. I groaned and squirmed, keeping a leisurely pace, pressing my fingers into the soft flesh. His hungry eyes shot straight to my hands, entranced by what they were doing. My chest rose, straining to meet his heated gaze, beckoning him to take over.

  “Touch me,” I pleaded, unable to stop my hips from swiveling. They begged for a release from his sweet torture. I was imprisoned, and he was my jailor.

  Lust-filled eyes gave my naked body a thorough once-over; he took pleasure in my delicious agony. My cheeks prickled and flushed. Heaven’s breath; I was being driven mad by the man. It was the look on his face. It branded me with an unspoken desire, a searing passion that bit every part of my exposed flesh that his eyes deemed to land on, and he didn’t spare an inch.

  His large erection jerked, right before wide-set shoulders bunched forward, muscles straining, he crawled up my legs. My breath hissed out, hindered, as I tried to calm my frenzied nerves. I prayed to God above and even the pixies in the flower garden—anything real or imagined that I could possibly conjure—that I wouldn’t lose control while Rush took his torturous time with me, slowly licking my trembling flesh as he ascended my body.

  His tongue left a wet trail that evaporated, instantly cooling my enflamed flesh. My belly tightened the moment his tongue reached the inside of my thigh. With a flash tug and masterful flick of his wrist, the lingering silk undies were assassinated, torn away from my body, sent flying in the air to land somewhere behind him.

  His head slipped between my legs. I dug my fingers into his shoulders and pressed my head back against the arm of the couch. Biting my bottom lip, I moved my hips in time with his licks, matching his slow, deliberate rhythm. After several long, pleasure-racking draws from between my folds, he continued up my body. He grabbed hold of my hands, licking and sucking my fingers with an erotic hunger.

  “In me. Now!” It was a rumbled, animalistic demand from deep within my chest.

  He rubbed his hips against mine, undulating, causing a sweet friction that sent me over the edge. After sucking my lips into his mouth, he reached between us to grab hold of his massive length. He teased by rubbing against me, sending waves of anticipation and pleasure rippling throughout my aching loins. Then finally, after easing his swollen head past my entrance, he delivered a long thrust, not stopping until he was seated deep inside of me.

  ~~~

  "Aren't you tired?" I could barely move my arms or my legs. They were like leaded weights, but Rush's mischievous hand continued to travel down my body.

  "Are you kidding? I've wanted to touch you like this for as long as I can remember. I can hardly contain myself around you."

  "You flatter me."

  His hand sought the depths between my legs, his thumb beginning a gentle glide over the sensitive flesh there, sending a warm, euphoric spasm through my body.

  "If you knew the fantasies I've had about you, you'd be more than just flattered."

  "Show me."

  He lifted his mouth from my nipple, only after giving it one last tug. With a sexy arch of a single brow, he smiled up at me.

  "It would be my pleasure," he said with a throaty voice.

  I found myself flipped onto my stomach. At first, my body clenched, scared of what could come next, but then I threw caution to the wind and relaxed. Somehow, I trusted him, probably a lot more than I should have.

  I felt a prickle of longing heat in my belly as he pressed one feathered kiss after another along the width of my shoulders. I twisted my head all the way to the side and eagerly received a long, deep kiss filled with lust and unbridled passion. I loved the way he tasted and how his tongue challenged me to take more. All the while, his large, firm arm snaked underneath my belly, lifting my waist up, settling my body into a kneeling position. I couldn't help it. I shivered in anticipation, and then, he filled me completely.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  I came awake with the bitter taste of stale coffee and sleep on my breath.

  “Did you sleep well?” Rush asked, squeezing me with the arm he had casually draped over my back. His other one was tucked behind his head and the arm of the couch.

  “Yes, thanks. Were you watching me sleep?” I asked, feeling my brows pull up and scrunch together. “’Cause even though it’s kind of sweet, it would still be really creepy.”

  He chuckled and smiled wide enough to show off his fang-free pearly whites. I loved that about him. He was handsome, bore the subtle, but ripped, physique of Adonis, and was a whirlwind in bed. Rush was the total package, all without being a vampire—a creature who underwent magic plastic surgery to accomplish such rugged and mouthwatering perfection. I guess some people just had great genes.

  “Beauty like yours is meant to be appreciated. But in answer to your question, no; I was not staring. I’ve been too busy cursing the moron contestants on this week’s episode of Wheel of Fortune.” He scowled at the television. “I seriously doubt any one of them has ever read a book.”

  So he was a word snob. Good to know.

  I spotted the top of the remote poking out of his fisted hand. He’d been watching television while I slept. I didn’t even remember dozing off. Mortified, I wiped my mouth and sat up, hoping I hadn’t snored or drooled all over him. My body twinged in several spots, but not from my earlier injuries. Those had healed. It was from some good lovin’.

  “I take it, you’re an avid fan?” I quipped, spreading out my arms to stretch.

  He threw his legs over the side of the couch to sit up. After tossing the remote on the table, he stood and gave a cat-like stretch of his own. I could almost hear him purr.

  “You can say that.” He winked at me. “Can I tell you s
omething sort of embarrassing?”

  A moment of surprise flickered across my face. How quickly we had moved from annoying each other to sharing intimate secrets. “Sure.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be a contestant on that show. It’s among the top ten things on my bucket list.”

  The subtle scent of sweat and sex swirled around my nostrils, reminding me of our earlier sessions. I blushed. “You have enough money to buy that show and all the prizes on it. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to find your way behind that big wheel.”

  He slipped a shirt over his head. The muscles in his back and shoulders bunched and tightened. I watched his every movement with keen interest.

  “I like doing things the old fashioned way, on the level. It wouldn’t be as much fun for me if I didn’t earn it.”

  I smiled, enjoying his answer. I liked the unspoiled, real man that lay underneath all my first impressions of him.

  After pulling on my shirt and jean shorts, I stepped around Rush and fished through my purse on the kitchen counter. Taking out my cell phone, I checked for any missed calls. There was only one, and it was from work. I was scheduled to deal poker in the VIP lounge that night. There was no chance of that happening, so I hit the return-call option on the notifications.

  “Good afternoon. You’ve reached Atlantis Hotel and Casino. How can I direct your call?”

  I smiled at the sound of Helen’s soft greeting. She was the owner’s personal assistant, and she was one of my dear friends.

  “Helen, it’s me, Kris.”

  I heard the shuffling of papers and a muffled sound like Helen had covered the receiver with her hand. After a few tense seconds, she got back on the phone.

  “Sorry girl. I had to tell that worthless assistant of mine to take over phone duty so we could talk. I swear…dealing with her is like trying to teach an old poodle how to piss outside.” She took a deep breath and continued. I let her. It was always best to let Helen run out of steam before attempting to interrupt her. “Now, are you going to tell me where in the world you’ve been the last two days? You missed work yesterday, leaving Paul to deal your blackjack shift. You know how that old bastard gets when he has to stay late. You’re on his shit list now; just thought I’d warn you.”