His tempo increased as he repeatedly drove himself into her, but she had the sense that he was restraining himself. “Give me all of it, Erik. No holding back.”
“Kacie,” he gritted out her name, breathless from exertion. “It’s everything I can do now not to bite you. Christ, I want to taste you so bad.” He drove into her again and she nearly came off the bed.
“Do it,” she begged, feeling like a spring that had been wound too tight. “It’s all right. You know it is.” She grabbed his head and brought his mouth to her neck. She was skirting the edge of something wonderful and there was only one way she could enjoy it. “I give you my blood freely.” She felt her orgasm coming and didn’t want to go there alone. Driven by a need greater than any she’d known, she tightened her inner muscles around his shaft. “Now, Erik,” she cried.
When his teeth sank into her flesh the sharp pain triggered her orgasm, and it hit her like a supernova. Her vision turned blood red and the spaces where her two upper canines had fallen out during the walk home were suddenly filled with fangs. She barely noticed them over the sudden craving she had for blood. Acting on an instinct that was foreign to her, she angled her head and sank her fangs into Erik’s neck.
As the blood flowed into her mouth, he surged into her one final time. Raising his head, he gave a primal roar as his body tensed and he found his own release.
Chapter 13
How long they stayed frozen in that position, letting their orgasms carry them, Kacie had no idea. Slowly, as she became aware of her surroundings once more, she noticed the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She looked up and saw that Erik was staring down at her, looking completely stunned. His mouth was also covered with blood.
He bent to kiss her, licking the blood from both their lips in the process.
“A week ago, that would have totally grossed me out,” she said with a shaky laugh. “Now I find it erotic.”
He smiled down at her tenderly. “Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“The man gives me the best sex I’ve had in my life and asks if I’m all right. No, I’m not all right. You’ve ruined me. No human male could possibly satisfy me now.”
His expression grew ferocious. “Good, because I’ll kill any man who tries.” The possessiveness of that statement sent chills along her spine. There was no teasing, no humor in that statement. He was dead serious.
Though her tone had been light and joking, the truth was that their lovemaking had left her shaken. She’d never experienced anything like it before and she didn’t like the thought of any other women getting the opportunity—at least not from Erik. “I hope you enjoyed it, too, because I feel the same way.”
As her words registered, a smile spread across his face. “Enjoy is not a word I would have used to describe a lifechanging experience such as that. I think I just found a whole new religion.” He lowered his head and dropped a kiss on her lips.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back as thoroughly as she knew how, until they were both breathless. It amazed her that just kissing someone like this could be so arousing and yet, with him, it was. Her entire body tingled all over and she wondered how long they’d have to wait for a repeat performance.
She got her answer almost immediately when Erik, already hard, teased the opening between her legs. She raised her eyebrows at the obvious invitation in his expression. “Really? So soon? I didn’t think you could—I mean, I didn’t think men could . . .” She stopped at his smile, his fangs showing. She had her answer before he said it out loud.
“There are a few advantages to being a vampire,” he informed her with a promise in his eyes as he slowly entered her.
It didn’t take Kacie long to become addicted to sex with Erik, but it wasn’t just because he was an excellent lover with tireless stamina—though that certainly didn’t hurt. She suspected that her emotions might run deeper than her current infatuation with him, but she’d had enough earth-shattering revelations for a while and didn’t try to analyze the way she felt.
For the rest of the night and well into the morning, they made love. Each time, they exchanged blood because that seemed to make the experience that much more powerful for both of them. Kacie was amazed that their necks didn’t hurt from the biting, but then reflected with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment that neither of them had restricted their bites to the neck area. Despite that, there seemed to be something in the commingling of the changeling and vampire blood that caused the cuts, bruises—and bites—on both of them to heal at a much faster rate.
By the time they fell asleep in each other’s arms, both were exhausted, well sated, and, for the first time in a long time, blissfully happy.
“What do you want?” Michael asked when Erik called him on his cell phone the next evening.
“I want to talk to you, in private.” He’d convinced Michael and the others to get cell phones several years back, securing postal boxes, with Gerard’s help, where the bills could be sent. Now he was grateful for a way to communicate with his former friend besides the psychic link, which was shared with too many others.
“So talk.”
“Not like this,” Erik went on, glancing at the bathroom door. He could still hear the sound of Kacie’s shower water running. “In person. At the Point,” he added, referring to the highest spot on the cliff, about halfway between the castle and the lair.
“If you think you’re going to change my mind about Sedrick’s killer—”
“Just hear me out.”
There was a long pause before Michael spoke again. “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
Erik sighed. “I give you my word that I’m coming alone—that is, if my word is still worth something to you.”
Again there was a prolonged silence. “What time?”
“In an hour.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
He was about to disconnect when Michael stopped him. “Don’t you want my word that I won’t trick you?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Michael sounded like he was looking for an excuse to be offended, but Erik wasn’t going to give him one.
“Because I know you live by that code of honor we talked about in the church.” Erik disconnected the call, not waiting to hear Michael’s response. Honor and integrity—that was the code—now he was going to break it by lying to Kacie.
The sound of the shower stopped, so he went into the bathroom and caught Kacie stepping out, her skin glowing from the heat of the water and, he hoped, from the three orgasms she’d had before getting out of bed. “Now that you know I paint,” he said, taking the towel from her so he could dry her off. “How about posing for me instead of making me paint you from memory?”
She glanced at him in surprise. “After seeing the real thing, you still want to paint me?”
“Are you kidding? Now more than ever.”
She blushed but there was a gleam in her eye. “It might be fun.”
He kissed her, surprised at how easily she came into his arms. Only in his wildest dreams had he thought this possible. “I would love to stay here all night, making love to you, but I can’t.”
She leaned back and he prayed they weren’t about to get into their first fight. Well, not their first fight, he amended, but their first one since the start of this new relationship.
“Where are you going?”
Once again, he considered telling her the truth, but knew there was no way she’d let him go if he did. “I have to run into town to meet Penny. Wait; before you get upset, we’re discussing business, nothing else. And while I’m there, I’m going to tell her all about the new woman in my life and how much I love her.”
He watched her eyes grow wide at the announcement. “You do?” Her voice was filled with wonder and doubt.
“Yes, I do—more than life itself,” he assured her, kissing the tip of her nose. “Which is why I want you to stay here and be safe. I don’t think I could stand it i
f anything happened to you.”
She kissed him then and he savored the sweet taste of her lips until he knew if he stayed even a moment longer, he wouldn’t be able to leave.
“I have to go, love. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He walked out, hoping his parting words wouldn’t be the last he spoke to her.
Kacie watched him leave and turned back to the mirror. She was fascinated by her new fangs and leaned closer to get a better look.
Compared to her other teeth, the fangs were twice as long. Like the canines they replaced, they narrowed to a point at the tip. They appeared solid, even sounded that way when she tapped on them with her fingernail, but she knew they were hollow because when she’d tasted Erik’s blood, not only had she tasted it on her tongue, but she’d tasted it through the fangs, though she had no idea how that was possible.
She turned again in the mirror, getting a different angle on her new appearance. She concentrated on her eyes and when they started to glow, she smiled so her fangs showed. “I vant . . . to drink . . . your blood,” she intoned, then quickly looked around to make sure Erik hadn’t sneaked back in behind her.
Thinking about him reminded her that he was with that woman and she couldn’t help feeling a definite spark of jealousy. She had a good mind to go down to Myrtle’s to make sure that Miss Penny Lockwood understood that Erik was off limits. But she’d promised him she wouldn’t go out and as much trouble as she’d caused him these last couple of days, she owed him that much at least.
Still, how much trouble would she get into if she ran upstairs to her room? Now that she was a changeling, she had the strength and speed to fight off a vampire. What she didn’t have was something decent to wear. She couldn’t keep wearing Erik’s oversized sweats. For one thing, they were too big; for another, they didn’t exactly show off her figure. It was hard to feel attractive when you looked like a sack of potatoes.
Not seeing how she could come to any harm if she hurried, Kacie left the apartment and went up to her room. After doing a quick search, she realized that her figure had changed over the last three years. None of her old clothes fit.
Before she gave up, however, she decided to check out Jess’s room. They were close enough in size that her clothes might fit. It was worth searching her sister’s closet to see what Jess had left behind before traveling to America.
She was thrilled to discover that not only were there clothes, but they fit. As a bonus, Kacie even found some clean undergarments and shoes. Stepping into the attached bathroom, Kacie discovered perfume and makeup. Gathering up all of it, she carried it down to Erik’s apartment and sealed herself back in. Then she set about making herself look nice for when Erik returned.
Unfortunately, the entire primping process didn’t take long, especially at changeling speed. All too soon, she was standing in the living room, bored out of her mind. She was too restless to sit and watch the television, so she wandered around his apartment, ending up in his bedroom. They’d made love in his bed at least a dozen times, enough so that she’d thought she’d be sore for a week, only to discover that each exchange of their blood left her so energized that she could have made love a dozen times more. A familiar warmth stole over her at the recollection.
Ignoring the bed, she looked around his room, trying to get a feel for the man himself. His room was nicer than she would have expected, but that was mainly because the furniture was antique. He’d probably purchased it new—a couple hundred years ago.
She also noticed that he didn’t have a lot of clutter about, except for the corner bookcase, which seemed to be filled to overflowing with journals and scrapbooks. Those piqued her curiosity, so she pulled one out and sat down on the floor to look through it.
The first book was filled with sketches of people and places, which she assumed Erik had drawn. There were no photographs in these books, but that made sense given the dates scratched at the bottoms of the pages. These drawings were done in the years prior to the development of photography.
Quickly flipping through to the end, she closed one book and put it back on the shelf so she could take out another. This one was more modern, filled with sepia-toned pictures from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Below each of the prints, someone—presumably Erik—had written in names and dates.
She was most intrigued by the photographs of Erik. He appeared just as he did now, not a day older and not a day younger.
There were also pictures of Michael and Ty. She studied their pictures, trying to mesh the happy, smiling faces with the same men who’d tried to kill her.
Giving up, she turned the page and glanced at the next set of pictures. One in particular caught her eye. She thought she was seeing an example of early trick photography until she read the caption. She took a closer look, studying the picture to make sure there was no error.
A low-grade humming started in the back of her head as she realized the significance of her find. She needed to tell Erik right away.
Rooted precariously near the edge of the cliff at its highest peak was the old tree that marked the Point. As Erik approached it, he extended his senses, trying to pick up the essence of other vampires. He’d meant what he said about Michael being an honorable man and trusting him to show up alone. In fact, Erik was so sure of Michael’s integrity that he was literally betting his life on it. However, that didn’t mean he should throw caution to the wind and not be careful.
To his relief, Michael’s essence was the only one he detected. As he neared the top, he saw Michael approaching from the other direction.
They stopped a short distance from each other and Erik saw that, like himself, Michael had a sword strapped to his back. This was a habit left over from the first two centuries of their lives, when a man lived and died by the sword.
“Why did you want to talk to me?” Michael asked.
“I want to put an end to this,” Erik said.
Michael glowered at him. “Fine, bring me the woman and it’ll be over.”
Erik shook his head. “She didn’t know about the pact when she killed Sedrick.”
“Do you think it would have made a difference?”
“Maybe not,” Erik admitted. “At least, not at first, but things are different now. She’s not the same person she was.”
Michael studied his face and his expression changed to one of understanding. “I gather the situation between the two of you has changed. She no longer hates your guts?”
Erik actually felt embarrassed. “No, she doesn’t.”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you,” he said, though he didn’t sound it. “Is she good in bed?”
Erik bristled at the question. “Careful. You’re talking about the woman I love.”
“Come on, Erik,” Michael chastised him. “How gullible are you? Of course she’s going to be suddenly agreeable. You’re the only thing keeping her alive. What’s sex with a vampire compared to losing your life?”
“That’s enough, Michael,” Erik warned him.
“No, Erik. I don’t think it is. Damn it. She killed Sedrick.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Both of their voices were getting loud.
“Well, you sure as hell don’t act like it bothers you. My God, you’re sleeping with my brother’s killer.”
Erik shook his head, disgusted with himself, not trying to deny it. “I know. But I never told them about the pact. Sedrick’s death is as much my fault as it is hers.” He took a deep breath. “So, if we can’t reconcile, then let’s finish this, here and now.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Erik,” Michael said. “She’s the one I want.”
Erik shook his head. “As long as I live, I won’t let you have her.” He stepped back and pulled his sword from the scabbard on his back.
“You’d better hope you kill me,” Michael told him, pulling his own sword. “Because when this is over, I’m going after her. Not only did she kill my brother, but she took away my best friend.”
“I understand,”
he said with the same lack of enthusiasm he heard in Michael’s voice. Then he slashed the air with his sword in a practice stroke. “Let’s do this.”
They came together, and the clashing of their swords rang out loudly in the night. It hadn’t been that long ago that they’d stood on this same stretch of ground, similarly engaged. Only then they’d been practicing, not fighting to the death. Unfortunately, being equally matched, there would be no quick victory for either of them.
“Let me know when you want to stop playing around,” Michael goaded him after an hour. Erik clenched his teeth a little tighter and thought that he’d never felt this depressed before in his life. Even if he beat Michael, he’d lose.
“When I finish with you,” Michael continued, “and go after Kacie, maybe I won’t kill her. Maybe she’d like to sleep with a man who knows how to pleasure a woman. What do you think? Should I fuck her?”
Erik felt rage color his vision and lunged at Michael, who easily blocked him and then countered by trying to slice open Erik’s midsection. Erik jumped back, but not far enough. Michael’s blade sliced open his shirt and grazed his skin, leaving a nasty cut behind. As blood oozed through and soaked Erik’s shirt, Michael laughed. Erik knew then that Michael was only baiting him in order to break his concentration. It was a trick they’d used on each other many times in the past and Erik would have anticipated it if he’d been thinking clearly.
With renewed vigor, he pressed forward, forcing Mi-chael precariously close to the edge of the cliff.
On the next blow, Erik surged forward, bringing his sword down in a mighty strike. Michael blocked it, but the effort sent him stumbling back.
Erik stared in horror as Michael’s foot caught on a root and he teetered on the edge of the cliff, his arms beating the air as he tried to regain his balance. Then, as if in slow motion, Michael disappeared over the edge.
Without thinking, Erik flung his sword aside and dived after his friend.
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