Sexual Appetites of Vampires

by Donna Fletcher

  Michael returned and handed her a mug of hot tea and gave the throw a slight tug. “Didn’t we already determine that shields don’t work against me?” He sat on the edge of the ottoman table directly in front of her. “Still feel the need to protect?”

  “You did show your fangs,” she reminded before taking a sip of the chamomile tea and wishing it was something stronger.

  “It’s a testosterone driven, male vampire thing.”

  She had to laugh, his dark eyes filled with humor.

  “I have said it before to you and I will repeat it as many times as necessary. I will never hurt you and I will always protect you—even from me,” he said with a playful wink.

  And again she laughed.

  “Now, I think we should enjoy the day. We can do any number of things besides making love frequently, read together, watch movies together, have a delicious lunch and nice supper together.”

  “I take it the theme is togetherness?”

  “A good theme, don’t you think?”

  “I do,” she said, wishing their togetherness could go beyond today.

  “So after you finish your tea what would you like to do?”

  She was quick to answer, “Play in the snow.”

  His brow knitted, though humor remained in his dark eyes. “I have to warn you. I make a mean snowball and my aim is perfect.”

  “Not as perfect as mine,” she said, puffing out her chest.

  “Now that’s a challenge I can’t ignore.”

  They talked and laughed and as soon as she finished her tea she went to her room and changed into leggings and a knit top. Michael had more clothes and fur-lined boots waiting for her when she met him in the foyer.

  He had changed into jeans, a heavy sweater, and boots.

  He held two pair of sweatpants out to her and a sweatshirt plus a sweater. Once she put them and the boots on, he wrapped a knit scarf around her neck and playfully tugged her up against him.

  “You will let me know if you get cold,” he said and kissed her.

  “I won’t get cold; I have your kisses to warm me.”

  He kissed her again. “Does that mean if I kiss you enough, you just may melt the snow?”

  She brushed her cheek against his and whispered, “Touch me and we’ll both be so hot the snow will evaporate in no time.”

  “Don’t tempt me or your backside will get frostbite.”

  She stepped away from him, snatching the knit hat that stuck out of his jean pocket and pulling it down snugly on her head. “Not if I ride you.”

  A hint of red popped in Michael’s eyes, and she quickly yanked the front door open and ran out, falling into a mountain of snow.

  They were like two teenagers making the most of a snow day. They made snow angels, a snowman and had a snowball fight that to Michael’s surprise Lara won.

  At first Lara was concerned that Michael would get cold, having added no other clothes to what he had on. Then she realized that he didn’t feel the cold like humans did, and yet he appeared so very human.

  Kisses intermingled with their fun and laughter and Lara fought to keep the thought of what a wonderful life she could have with this man. She warned herself to think and live only in the moment, not to go beyond, for if she did she knew sorrow would strike her heart.

  Lara’s grumbling stomach warned it was passed lunchtime and brought their play to an end. Lara made hot chocolate for herself and they took their plates, veggies for Michael and a hearty soup for Lara, into the room off the kitchen to enjoy.

  Lara once again was in her skirt and knit top and Michael had slipped out of his jeans, wet from the snow, and into black sweatpants and left on the light gray knit top that had been under his sweater.

  They talked and laughed, no longer the strangers they had been upon meeting, now—not only friends—but lovers.

  “I was thinking,” Lara said when they finished eating.

  “Hopefully, the same I’ve been thinking,” Michael said with a smile.

  “Staying out of my head, how very nice of you.”

  His smile faded. “More that you’ve been keeping me out of your head.”

  “I’m learning,” she said, sticking out her chest proudly.

  “So you have, though I miss being there. Miss you calling out to me.”

  Strangely enough, she missed him being there as well. His absence in her thoughts had left a void, left her feeling alone.

  An awkward silence hung over them, as if each were waiting for the other to speak first. Lara finally did. “I would like to have a look, in bright daylight, at the room of torture.”

  “Whatever for?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Curiosity? Perhaps to view history up close with someone who has lived it?”

  “It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

  “Once we’re done, your bedroom is only a few steps away and I did mention a ride.” She smiled, stirring her libido that had been simmering ever since she had suggested the idea.

  Michael was off the couch in a flash, tugging her up along with him. “Let’s go.”

  Lara laughed softly as she followed him, though her laughing smile died when she stepped into the room of terror. The room was brighter than she had expected, though it was more from the daylight shining through the bare windows.

  Michael must have heard her thought, since he said, “My grandfather insisted that the windows be left unencumbered so light could always shine on this room. It was his way of exposing evil.”

  Lara reached out and took hold of Michael’s hand, as if needing his protection from the awful devices.

  He held her hand firm and guided her around the room, offering explanation of certain ones, while others were self-explanatory.

  Lara cringed when Michael pointed out the breast pincers, though did not go into detail how they were used, the name saying it all. A pear-shaped device hanging on the wall caught her attention and when she looked to Michael, he shook his head.

  “You don’t want to know, though I’m sure the shape tells the tale.”

  Lara turned away from the device, only to cringe when she saw the spike-studded chair she had accidentally sat on. She had been lucky to only catch the end of it.

  “Who does this sort of thing?” she asked.

  “Those who believed themselves righteous people,” Michael said. “You have to realize the time period, the ignorance, the fear, and the righteous who believed they could save everyone from evil. Unfortunately, evil had yet to be justly defined.”

  “Your grandfather was caught up in this madness?”

  “He and countless others and even when rules were passed to ban the use of torture, it continued in secret. And while my grandfather left his homeland for many reason, the driving force had been the torture that had been inflicted on my grandmother.”

  “Your grandmother? What happened?”

  “It had been a harsh winter between weather and wars, leaving food scarce. My grandparents had taken their two small children to hunt for food when soldiers came upon my grandmother. She mentally warned my grandfather to get the children to safety and she would join them shortly. Unfortunately, the soldiers managed to subdue her, since she was so weak from not feeding. They beat her unconscious so my grandfather heard nothing from her. And when her captives saw how quickly she healed, they hurriedly chained her and began the torture.”

  Michael paused for a moment and Lara could almost feel how much the thought of what his grandmother had suffered upset him.

  “If only my grandmother had fed, she would have been able to defeat them, but she made sure her children fed before she did, leaving her vulnerable when they attacked. But as soon as she regained presence of mind, she reached out to my grandfather.” Michael grinned. “You have to hear the pride and love in my grandmother’s voice and how it shines in her eyes when she tells this tale. She swears two of her captives died of fright when my grandfather burst into the room, his eyes glowing a fiery red and his fangs dripping w
ith the blood of the men he took down to get to my grandmother. Needless to say, there wasn’t a man left standing, and my grandfather got her out of there and fed right away. As my grandmother proudly says time and again, you can always count on Valaine men to protect their women. And she’s right. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect the woman I love.”

  Love me.

  She hurriedly chased the thought away, not wanting him to hear it, not wanting him to know how she felt, but wanting to make love with him, but when didn’t she not want to?

  She tugged at his hand. “There’s someplace else I’d rather be.”

  “Where’s that?” he asked.

  “On top of you.”

  She was up in his arms and out the door in the blink of an eye.

  Chapter 14

  Night came much too fast for Lara and though there were hours left, they weren’t enough for her. She didn’t want to leave him, say good-bye and never see him again. But he had made no move to tell her how he felt and he had to know how she felt. He had told her often enough how she was an open book to him. She could not believe he hadn’t heard her thoughts on how much she loved him. Yet he had said nothing about loving her, so what was she to do?

  Enjoy.

  She almost laughed at the thought, since she had been doing just that. Right now she lay snuggled in his arms pretending to read a book just as he did, though he didn’t pretend. He was actually reading.

  They had lingered in his bed talking after more than an hour of making love. Exhausted, yet more than satiated, they had talked of their childhoods and memories that brought laughter and some that brought tears. It had been so very intimate in more ways than one. And of course the sex had been...

  A silent sigh spread through her, recalling how she had felt slipping him into her and riding him with such abandoned pleasure. And after she had an explosive climax, he had flipped her on her back and drove into her making her have one of those mind-blowing ones. She couldn’t imagine a more powerful climax, but then he hadn’t bitten her so she couldn’t really say.

  “Your thoughts and your grinding softly against me will have you naked beneath me very soon.”

  She stilled, and then with a smile continued to move against him.

  He dropped his book along with hers and did exactly as he promised. And she wondered how it was that she could want him so frequently. Never, ever had she felt this way about sex. She could take it or leave it, but not with Michael. The more she had him, the more she wanted him.

  They lay naked wrapped around each other on the couch when they finished, a blanket thrown across them.

  “We should just stay naked for the rest of the night,” he said with a laugh, “since we’re both ravenous for each other.”

  She wondered then if she had vampire blood in her somewhere since she realized that he was right. Her voracious sexual appetite matched his. And how she would appease it once they parted, she had no idea.

  “Though I do think a nice formal supper in the dining room would be a good way to celebrate our time together.”

  Our time together.

  This was it. The hours were ticking away. Their time together would be done.

  “Let’s make it a bit formal. Go have yourself a soak while I see to details and wear that lovely long skirt you look so delicious in.”

  “Why? Do you plan on eating me?”

  “Sweetheart, I intend on tasting every single inch of you tonight.”

  How could her passion stir after she had just climaxed twice? Damn, if he hadn’t infected her with his insatiable sexual appetite and damn if she didn’t care—at least for the moment.

  He roused them up off the couch and pointed her toward the door. “Go and meet me in the dining room in an hour.”

  She scooped her clothes up, though didn’t bother to slip them on. She did however make sure to wiggle her naked butt at him as she walked out of the room. He was behind her in a second, and she let out a yelp when he slapped her bottom lightly and whispered, “This is the first place I intend to taste tonight.”

  Her body quivered as it always did when his touches tempted or his words excited. She didn’t say anymore, she hurried off and up to her room.

  While her long, gray skirt was nice, she wished she had the little black dress she took everywhere with her when she traveled. She had two. One with long sleeves, low neckline, and snug to mid-thigh and the other was almost identical except it was sleeveless. Black high heel sandals went with it, both items fitting easily into her carry-on.

  Carry-on!

  She had brought her carry-on suitcase and she hadn’t fully unpacked from her last trip. Could she have left the black dress in the zipper compartment in the back? She had thrown only a few things in the suitcase when she had packed for this short trip and had never bothered to check the back compartment.

  She unzipped the section she had neglected to check before packing and smiled. Her long sleeve black dress and her shoe bag with the high-heel sandals were there. She pulled them out, shaking the few wrinkles as best she could from the black dress, then draping it over the chaise.

  A smile spread across her face as she entered the bathroom to take a shower. At least she would leave him with a memory of her that he just might not be able to forget.

  Lara stared at herself in the mirror when she finished. She looked different. Did she dare say sexy? She had never thought of herself as sexy, but seeing herself now, she actually felt that she looked sexy. Or was it that she felt sexy, truly sexy, for the first time in her life?

  It wasn’t her body that had changed; it was how she thought of herself that changed.

  She wasn’t seeing her faults; she was viewing herself with confidence.

  She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and gave it a shake, leaving it looking a bit untamed, and then she added a bright red lipstick to her lips. A last spritz of wild honey body spray and she went to join Michael for their last meal together.

  His back was to her when she entered the formal dining room and she was glad of it, since the atmosphere caught her by surprise.

  Romantic.

  The whole room was scented with it; dim lighting, flickering candles, a fire crackling in the fireplace, a bottle of white wine chilling in a silver bucket, the table set for two with fine china and white linen napkins and soft strands of light classical music drifting in the air.

  While it strummed her passion, it stirred her heart much more.

  He turned then and seeing how his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her was the best complaint she could have ever gotten.

  “I’m rendered speechless. You’re too stunning for words.”

  Okay, maybe that was the best complaint she had ever gotten.

  He held his hand out to her and she walked over to him, wondering how he could appear more handsome each time she saw him. Of course the expensive black suit he wore with the cobalt blue shirt and black silk tie no doubt added to his good looks.

  “That dress is lethal,” he said as he took her hand and drew her close. “And so are those red lips of yours. I’m going to enjoy kissing them bare.”

  She playfully turned her head away when he went to kiss her. “And here I thought to paint your whole body with my red lips.”

  He took hold of her chin and turned her face to claim a sharp kiss. “Tempt me with such an image and—” His eyes began to glow red and he quickly shut them.

  Lara gulped back the lump that rose in her throat. She realized that he was fighting back his vampire side more and more when it came to sex. While she trusted him, she also thought it would be foolish of her to add to his struggle.

  “Later,” she whispered, pressing her hand to his chest.

  His eyes opened to reveal a spattering of red that faded more slowly than usual. “You can count on it.”

  He held out the chair for her to sit and he took the seat at the head of the table. Conversation flowed naturally between them as it always did. They ne
ver seemed to lack for something to discuss. Tales of his travels fascinated her and tales of her work intrigued him. And always underlying their discussions, or anything they did, was intimacy.

  It came in a simple touch, a laugh, a smile, an unexpected kiss, a playful poke, or a look that had them both knowing that soon, very soon, they would make love.

  It was a lovely meal, though Lara wasn’t concerned with the meal as much as she was with the time left to her with Michael. She had been enjoying herself so much that she hadn’t realized several hours had passed, bringing morning that much closer.

  She finally asked the question she had been putting off. “What time will the car service be here tomorrow?”

  “Not until after lunchtime.”

  She smiled, keeping her thoughts quiet.

  He reached out and took her hand, caressing it lightly. “Do you feel you have everything you need for your chapter on sexual appetites of vampires?”

  She had to smile. “More than I thought possible.”

  He turned her hand over, his thumb gently tracing circles on her palm. “I’m surprised that your curiosity hasn’t had you wanting to experience sex with a vampire firsthand.”

  “It’s tempting,” she admitted and chose her words carefully, making sure she didn’t once let the word love slip in. “But if I did, then I would completely surrender to you.”

  “And you don’t want to surrender to me?”

  “It’s tempting,” she said again and battled with the thoughts that wanted to rush into her head and scream, it isn’t surrender it’s love.

  “Perhaps I haven’t tempted you enough,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.

  “Perhaps you haven’t tempted me with just the right thing,” she whispered before his lips met hers.

  “Tell me,” he said and his lips encouraged with a kiss.

  She sighed, loving the taste of him. “That’s for you to find out.”