Rana stood up on unsteady legs and headed for her bedroom to change into a gray sweatshirt and navy lounging pants. She returned to the living room and flipped on the light. She was too keyed up to go to bed just yet. Eyeing the stack of books, her gaze landed on the book on vampires.
How timely, she thought with an ironic smile. She reached for the book and sat down to read. If she was going to help Lucian, she had to learn everything she could about vampires.
After a couple of hours of reading, she felt she understood his vampire race a little better: they have little, if any tolerance to sunlight, they must drink blood to survive, they have the ability to make the donor forget they'd given blood, they're incredibly strong, they can turn a human into a vampire if they take blood from the person three times within a few days time, and oh, yeah, vampires might not be immortal, but they live for centuries, so they may as well be.
She yawned and looked at her watch. It was one in the morning. Standing up, she stretched and turned off the lamp. As she passed the bay window, she noticed a man's outline leaning against the glass. Lucian. He'd never left.
She unlatched her door and leaned outside. He turned his head her way. "I said go home, Lucian."
His arms folded at his chest, his ankles crossed in a casual stance, Lucian's gaze remained steady on hers. "And I told you I'm not leaving you unprotected."
Rana flipped her hand. "And what are you going to do when the sun comes up? I'm assuming you can't handle full sunlight, am I correct?"
Lucian slowly nodded his head.
There was no way she'd be responsible for another death today. Her own was enough. She sighed and beckoned him with her hand. "Come in, then."
Lucian flashed a smile and moved toward her.
"But you have to leave as soon as it's dark tomorrow night, understand?"
He nodded as a small smile remained on his lips. She gritted her teeth at his knowing look and walked back to the guest bedroom.
Rana was conscious of his heat as he followed behind her, the animal magnetism that emanated from him. Her skin flushed and a shiver passed over her as her heart rate picked up, its steady beat changing to a more fervent pace at his nearness. His step was so quiet she didn't know he was so close behind her until she opened the door and turned to him.
"Here's your room—"
His hard chest brushed against hers, making her very aware of her taut nipples underneath her sweatshirt. The vampire thing may throw her mentally, but her body still reacted to him. Lucian put his hands on her upper arms to steady her. She hadn't bothered turning on a light, so only the moonlight lit up the hallway, casting it in an ethereal glow.
He reached up and touched her cheek, his fingers lingering at the edge of her jaw line. Rubbing his thumb across her lower lip, he said, "Good night, sweet Rana."
Rana swallowed, nodded, and walked to her bedroom. As he started to shut his door, she poked her head back out into the hall. "Oh, the window has a room darkening shade on it. It's pretty much pitch black with the shade down."
Lucian smiled his appreciation. Thanks for thinking of me, he whispered in her mind. The mental contact was both intimate and seductive.
"Don't do that," she snapped, straightening her spine. She quickly pulled her head in and shut the door behind her.
* * * * *
Lucian sat on the bed in the guest bedroom and leaned against the headboard. He heard Rana washing her face, brushing her teeth. He could smell the toothpaste she used as it mixed with her own innate scent and his cock hardened in response to the stimuli. He leaned his head back and listened to her soft sigh as she pulled the covers over her sweet body, heard the glide of the sheets against her silky skin.
Rana was so much more than he ever could have hoped for in a mate. She wasn't beautiful in a classical sense, but her face still drew him in. He delighted in her inner strength and her wicked sense of humor. After today's horrors, he wanted to hold her close and conquer all her fears. He lay back on the bed, mourning the loss of tonight—what should have been their night together.
* * * * *
Kraid had her pinned to the ground, his fangs exposed. "When I'm done draining your body, I'll rip that lovely neck of yours to shreds," he sneered. "What's Lucian going to do with a dead corpse, hmmm?" Kraid leaned closer; she couldn't move. All she could do was scream at the top of her lungs. "Lucian!"
"Shh," Lucian said soothingly against her temple as he held her in his arms. "It's okay, I'm here, Rana. It was just a dream. Nothing can harm you."
Rana clung to him, the remnants of her dream, the fear, the terror, still very real in her mind.
Lucian ran a calming hand down her hair, rocking her in his arms. Finally, the tremors stopped and his stroke turned more sensual than soothing. Rana closed her eyes and drank in his intoxicating, masculine smell. He'd removed his shirt, but he still wore his pants. His skin felt warm against her. Here in the dark, she didn't have to look into his eyes and be reminded he was a vampire. She imagined he was the Lucian from her dreams even if just for a few moments.
His hand dropped to her shoulder and touched the strap of her nightgown, sliding it down her arm, his lips tracing its path. Heat curled in her belly, and adrenaline kicked into high gear setting her heart at a rampant pace.
"Your skin is so soft," he murmured against her shoulder.
She put her hand on his bicep, reveling in the feel of his hard muscles.
He took her hand and stroked his tongue against the gash on her palm, before he set it on his bare shoulder. Reaching for her breast through the silky sleep shirt, he urged the bud to a hard, sensitized peak with a gentle brush of his fingers. Rana gasped at his touch, thrilling at the vibrations thrumming through her body. It felt so good when it was real.
Wait! What was she doing? She couldn't do this. Rana stiffened and pushed his hand away.
"Rana, I care for you very much. Please don't let this change us."
His plea broke her heart. She closed her eyes, unable to face his tortured expression or her own tumultuous emotions.
Lucian cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips lightly to hers. Her body ached for him, his heat, his touch.
But she was on borrowed time. She couldn't let herself fall for Lucian. Nor could she let him believe they'd have a happy ever after. It was best to let him think she didn't care for him.
She pushed him away, saying in an unaffected voice, "Thank you for rescuing me. Again. Good night, Lucian."
He stared at her. It was hard to read his expression in the dark, but she thought she saw hurt and anger in his eyes. He lifted himself from the bed and stood beside it for a long agonizing moment. She waited, holding her breath. If he pushed her, she didn't think she'd be able to resist him.
"Good night, Rana." He turned and walked out of her room.
* * * * *
Anger coursed through him. He wanted her. She wanted him. He knew she did. But she pushed him away. Why? Because he was a vampire?
Well, being a vampire had its advantages, too, he thought as he settled into the bed and let a wicked smile ride up his face. There was no reason they shouldn't have their night together. He leaned back against the headboard, closed his eyes, and worked his magic.
Because of their deep connection, it was easy to share his feelings of desire with Rana. He smiled at her gasp when she felt the clawing, pit-of-the-stomach need he experienced. Lucian concentrated on her soft skin, her sensitized nipples. He brushed an invisible tongue across one and then the other. By the audible gasp and thudding of her racing heart, he knew exactly when the throbbing desire took hold of her. Spread your legs. Let me touch you. Your hand is my hand, he whispered on the edge of her mind. Not enough so she would know it was him, but enough to push her over the edge.
He shuddered when she touched herself and he heard her moan. To know she was in the other room, rubbing her damp labia, sliding her fingers inside—a place he so desperately wanted to be—almost did him in. He freed his sha
ft from his pants and stroked himself in the same rhythm of her rampant breaths. His heightened sense of smell caught the scent of her arousal and the seductive aroma hit him hard. He tightened his jaw as his own pace on his cock increased with hers.
Lucian imagined the hand that touched her throbbing clitoris was his hand and the fingers that sunk into her wet sheath were his, that it was her hand that held him in a firm grip, knowing exactly what to do to get him off. And she did, in a way. When her muffled cries of ecstasy reached him, Lucian felt his balls tighten as her feelings, so strong and pure, permeated the walls between them. His mind reached out and absorbed her emotions like a sponge, reveling in both the real and vicarious sensations the link between them allowed as he finally surrendered to his own explosive climax. You're mine. My anima, he whispered along the perimeter of her mind, right before she fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, as soon as Rana opened her bedroom door, Lucian opened his. They stood there staring at one another for a tense, heart stopping moment.
"Good morning." He finally broke the silence. The lines around his eyes and mouth made him look tired and even more dangerous.
Rana knew she couldn't look much better. When she woke up, her entire body ached. She felt like she'd been hit by an eighteen-wheeler, not some rinky-dink yellow cab. She didn't bother with niceties. "You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?"
"No. I told you, I must protect you."
"It's daylight now, Lucian. Surely, you can give yourself a break."
He slowly shook his head, a determined expression on his face. "Kraid will only rest for a little while. He'll discover you didn't die in that accident and come looking for you."
Her brows drew together. "Why would he come looking for me?"
"Because of me." Lucian sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "He knows how much I care for you..."
"Don't say that." She cut him off.
He looked surprised by her comment. "Why?"
"Because we can never be, Lucian." She turned and walked down the hall.
His strong hands were on her shoulders, turning her around before she'd taken three steps. "Because I'm a vampire?"
She winced at the pain his sudden movements caused, drawing in her breath.
Lucian let her go, his eyes apologetic. "I'm sorry, Rana. I forgot you don't heal at the same pace."
Rana was thankful he'd been distracted from his question with his thoughts of her welfare. But his statement peaked her curiosity. She reached over and pulled his torn shirt away from his shoulder. There were no deep gashes, only faint lines.
She met his gaze. "Amazing."
He grinned. "Being a vampire does have its advantages."
Rana let go of his shirt and turned away in a huff, angry that he could be so flippant. Kraid played for keeps. And from her reading, she knew vampires weren't invincible.
Without thinking, she closed all the curtains in the house before she walked into the kitchen. Once there, she opened cabinets, pulled down coffee and slammed them closed in her frustration.
"Want some coffee?" she grumbled over her shoulder.
"Sure," Lucian said from the doorway.
As Rana set up the coffee pot, she felt the weight of Lucian's gaze on her back. She opened the fridge and pulled out bagels and cream cheese.
"Why can't we be, Rana?" he asked softly as he sat down at the table.
Rana set out coffee cups and poured him a cup, adding two teaspoons of sugar to his. Leaving the spoon inside the cup, she set his on the table with a thump.
"Because you're a vampire," she stated bluntly, hoping that would get him off her back.
His expression unruffled, Lucian took the spoon between his fingers.
She watched him stir his coffee, thinking, three circles to the right and one circle to the left, and Lucian did just that.
He regarded her with a thoughtful expression as he lifted the cup and took a sip. When he set the cup down, he gave her a broad smile. "You knew just how I like it."
Rana opened her mouth to deny his statement but was thoroughly confused as to why she'd put sugar in his coffee without asking, why she didn't think to ask him if he wanted cream, when somehow she knew he wouldn't. And then there was that whole stirring thing. How strange.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said, grabbing her bagel and turning away. She ignored his chuckle as she stomped down the hall.
* * * * *
Rana returned to the living room an hour later. She'd taken her time with her shower, needing the distance from Lucian's disturbingly magnetic presence.
She found him sitting in her reading chair with the book on vampires in his hands. He lowered it when she entered the room.
"This book is filled with all kinds of inaccuracies," he said in an arrogant tone.
Rana raised an eyebrow and sat down on the soft brown leather couch, curling her feet underneath her. "Oh, really? Well then, care to enlighten me?" She couldn't have engineered a better way to ask Lucian about his race without seeming entirely too interested.
Lucian opened the book and drew his finger down the page. "Here. It says you can detect vampires because they have no reflection in mirrors. That's not true." He flipped some more pages. "Here, it says we hate garlic." He looked up and met her gaze. "That's not true." Thumbing further into the book, he reached another section. "It says we can't abide the cross. A cross is just a religious symbol, no more, no less."
He turned a few more pages and read, "'Vampires can only be killed with a wooden stake driven through their hearts.'" He rolled his eyes. "Give me a break." He looked at her once more. "Hey, I bleed. If you cut something off, it stays off. Yes, I can be killed in various ways."
Rana shuddered at his words. And yet he didn't disagree with the drinking of blood, the aversion to sun, the superhuman strength, the ability to move faster than the eye can see, the almost-immortality, the night-vision, etc.
She leaned forward, needing to know for certain. "So you don't disagree with the rest?"
He shook his head. "No, some of it was right on."
She looked at her watch and then faced him, gulping for what she was about to ask, but he looked worse now than he had earlier. "Don't you need to eat?"
His smile was tender. "Yes, but I can wait."
Rana shook her head at his stubbornness and grabbed a book off the stack she'd brought from the store. Settling into the contours of her sofa, she sat back and opened it. Lucian smiled at her and reopened his as well.
After a couple of hours, she noticed the slant of the sun coming through the bottom of her curtains. It was two in the afternoon and she'd skipped lunch.
Jumping up from the sofa, she looked at Lucian. "I'm fixing a sandwich, do you want anything?"
When Lucian looked up from his book, his eyes were slightly glazed, his expression very tired.
"Are you okay?" she asked in alarm.
Lucian snapped out of his haze and looked at her, his face set in hard lines as if he were holding back pain. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not," she insisted. "It was daylight when I saw you at the graveyard. How early can you go out?"
"It depends on how overcast it is. If it's a sunny day, I have to wait until at least five in the afternoon."
Rana folded her arms. "When five o'clock rolls around, I'm kicking your vampire butt out of my house. You need to feed, Lucian. I don't want your health on my conscience."
He set his mouth in a firm line. "If I'm able to be out and about, so is Kraid." He gave her a steely look. "I'm not leaving you. Period."
Rana walked away, shaking her head at his bullheaded attitude. She mulled over Lucian's protective nature while she ate her sandwich. It both thrilled and worried her. He's said he cared a great deal for her. The thought saddened her. Why did he have to be a vampire and why did she have to be dead? Once she'd eaten, Rana made a sandwich for Lucian.
Setting it down on the end table near his chair, she said, "Eat som
ething, please."
Lucian flicked his gaze to the sandwich. "Thanks for thinking of me, but blood is my only food source."
"But you drank coffee earlier."
He smiled. "That was purely recreational. I don't need it to survive."
Rana sighed with frustration and sat down, picking up her novel. Well, she tried at least.
* * * * *
Lucian's entire body shook with his need to feed. He bit back the clawing hunger and instead focused on Rana. Her blonde hair fell forward as she bent over her book. He watched her delicate hand absently brush the strand away from her face and tuck it behind her ear.
He adored her pert nose, her wide set eyes and expressive eyebrows. He loved her full lips when they quirked upward in humor, her strong sense of self, even in the face of near-death. Even her dedication to her grandfather's memory made him want her more. He wanted to see that kind of dedication in her expression when she looked at him. Instead, he saw uncertainty, anger, and betrayal reflected in her eyes when she cast her gaze his way.
Lucian closed his eyes as his strength weakened. Normally he could go for weeks without eating if he was in a deep sleep, but having to constantly deflect Rana's scent so Kraid couldn't detect her, drained his energy considerably.
He sunk further into the chair and clenched his jaw as the sound of Rana's beating heart and the whooshing pulse of her blood pumping through her veins grew louder.
* * * * *
After another hour had passed, Rana lifted her gaze when Lucian's book dropped to the floor. His face was very pale, his entire body tense.
She rushed to his side, but he quickly jumped up from the chair and moved over to lean against the front door, closing his eyes. "Stay away from me, Rana. My body is craving blood and I don't trust myself around you."
Rana stood up and looked at her watch. It was only four. He still had another hour to go. While she contemplated what to do, Lucian slid to the floor, landing on his butt with a soft thud.
A Taste For Passion Page 8