Bit the Jackpot (5 page)

"A stripper? I had no idea you had this kinky side, Seamus." She smirked a little. "But if she would actually like to put on something other than a silk robe when she comes to, I'd be happy to give her a T-shirt."

He hadn't gotten that far in his thought process. He was still somewhere in the
just get her tucked away in his apartment
step. "Thanks. But I'm sure I have a T-shirt if she wants one."

"You really are stubborn, aren't you?" Alexis followed him to the front door.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Seamus cradled Cara against his chest and bent awkwardly to turn the doorknob.

"It kills you to have anyone help you. And I think you would shrivel up and die before you actually
asked
for help."

There wasn't any truth to that. He was not stubborn. He was self-sufficient. He could ask for help if he needed it. "You don't know anything about me. I can ask for help." He stepped out into the hallway. "Look, if it makes you feel better, you can get my key card out of my back pocket. It's in my wallet and I don't think I can reach it."

"Fine, I can do that."

"See? I can ask for help." His body rocked a little as Alexis reached into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Yeah, you just sound like an ungrateful prick doing it, but whatever."

"Is there a reason my wife's hand is on your ass?" Ethan said from several feet behind them.

Shit. Seamus just couldn't catch a break. "She's getting my wallet out."

"I could say a million witty things right now," Alexis said. "But Seamus needs to go, honey. He has a bloody chick in his arms."

"Seamus?" Ethan asked in a quiet, questioning voice.

Alexis was too young of a vampire to figure it out, but Seamus knew Ethan was on to him. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned around and faced his friend, mentor, the vampire who had turned him. "Can we go into my room if we're going to discuss this?"

Ethan studied Cara. "We can discuss it later. Take care of her. And if she needs someone to talk to, I'm sure Alexis would be happy to walk her through the change."

"The change?" Alexis's voice rose as she handed him his key card. "Did you turn her? Seamus!"

"Keep your voice down," Ethan reprimanded. He nudged her toward the open door. Alexis smacked him back but let Ethan push her into their apartment.

"Thanks, Ethan." Seamus adjusted Cara's weight in his arms. "And Kelsey is missing again. We were at the Some Like It Hot nightclub on Spring Mountain and we were attacked. Maybe you can call her."

To his credit, Ethan probably had ten questions, but he didn't ask them. He just nodded. "Absolutely."

"Thanks." Seamus walked down the hall, swiped the key card, stepped into his suite of rooms, and gently laid Cara down on his bed.

Now he had no clue what the hell to do with her.

She was covered in blood. It was on her cheek, chin, chest, caked in her hair, streaked down her arms, and crusted all over the back of her robe.

The least he could do was wash her face and arms. And maybe inspiration on what to tell her would hit while he was soaping her up.

Cara was having a really excellent dream where she was an Egyptian queen and a buff slave was washing her, rubbing his big, strong hands up and down her arms, across her neck, and down her chest, causing her nipples to tighten and warmth to pool between her legs.

Lazily, she lounged on her back, and through half-open eyes checked out the slave guy servicing her.

Remarkably, he looked like Seamus Fox, the weirdo from the club. Strange that he would be in her dream, and strange that she didn't remember leaving work after meeting him.

He had that intense look on his face again, just the way he had looked at her in the club. Like he was concentrating, like he could see into her mind, her body, her soul. Cara tensed up as his head bent over her. He was going to lick her nipples, suck them hard, and she was really looking forward to it.

Except instead he froze and said, "Uhh…"

Cara frowned. That didn't sound very Egyptian slave-like. And why did her chin feel wet?

"Egyptian slave?" he said, leaning over her, the washcloth clenched in his hand. "Cara…"

Oh, my God, she wasn't sleeping. She realized it all at once, that she was still in her robe and jeans, that she was in a room she'd never seen before, and that her skin felt damp like Seamus had in reality been washing her. She glanced at the washcloth. Washing off the blood.

She tried to sit up, panic gushing over her. Holy crap, she'd seen some weird alley fight, she'd been hit by a car, she'd thrown up blood.

"Easy now. You're still adjusting to the change." Seamus pushed her onto her back.

"The change?" That's right. He had told her he was a vampire. That she was one now, too. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare, and it was her life. "Seamus… is that really your name?"

"Yes, it's really my name."

"Am I really a vampire?"

"Yes."

Not what she wanted to hear. Not good, not good at all.

Overcome with nine thousand conflicting feelings, all of them ugly and frightened and hysterical, she stared up into his gorgeous face and searched for something—compassion, friendliness, anything. All she saw was discomfort.

"It will be fine," he said.

"I hate you," she replied, and embarrassed herself by bursting into tears.

Seamus dropped the washcloth, put out his hand, and patted her head. "Shit, don't do that. Don't cry, it's okay."

She swatted at his hand. He was petting her like a dog. "Go away and die." Then she started laughing, hysterical snuffling snorts. "But you can't, can you? You can't die."

"No." He shook his head, looking baffled. "And neither can you now."

Pushing hard on his chest, she sat up. She couldn't lie there like that, feeling helpless, him hovering over her. She choked back more sobs and demanded, "Why didn't you leave me dead in the street? I don't want to be a vampire! I don't like the sight of blood. I don't like black. I'm in vet school and I have three dogs and two cats at home."

Just the thought of her animals sent her into a panic. "My babies! What's going to happen to them? I have to call my neighbor so she can let them out in the morning. They're used to me getting home around three."

"Your… babies?"

"My dogs. I have two Labs and a Chihuahua, plus a tabby and a tiger." Cara stood up, tugging her robe together at her breasts, and glanced around. Where was the freaking door? She may be dead, but she wasn't Seamus's prisoner. Cara spotted the front door and charged for it.

She got two feet before her legs gave out from under her. The carpet rushed up to meet her and she was two inches from a resounding splat when Seamus grabbed her and scooped her up.

"Whoa… take it easy. You need some time before you go tearing off." He smiled down at her as he cradled her in his arms.

It was that charming smile again. The one that pissed her off because she couldn't help but feel her body respond to it. The memory of his hands rubbing over her chest rushed through her mind, making her feel warm and distracted. He really was so damn attractive.

"I'll take care of your pets," he said in a low, gentle voice. "And I didn't leave you on the street dead because it was my fault you were there in the first place. I'm sorry, Cara. I'm very, very sorry."

It was hard to hold on to all of her anger when he looked so full of remorse, so solemn. Cara relaxed in his arms a little, realizing that if he hadn't turned her into a vampire, she would be dead. Something she didn't really like the sound of. Maybe vampire wasn't such a bad deal given the alternative. She would just have to readjust her expectations for her life. But she wanted to go home, be alone, and think.

"You can't go home," he said. "You have to stay with me until I think it's safe for you to leave." He smiled. "And in the meantime, maybe we can explore that Egyptian slave fantasy of yours."

"What?" Cara scrambled to get out of his arms, her cheeks burning. "I don't know what you're talking about!" The bastard was reading her thoughts. Just plucking them right out of her head.

"Yes, I am," he said, with no sign of an apology.

"That's incredibly rude!" Cara managed to get her feet on the ground, but her waist was still trapped in Seamus's grip.

He shrugged. "It's a vampire talent. One I'm good at."

"Well, stop it!" She wiggled in his arms, jerking backward against his grip. All she managed to
do
was bounce right back into his chest. Her cheek hit his pectoral muscle and her lips tasted the cotton of his T-shirt.

Desperate to get away from him, she bent her knees and dropped down to slip out of his arms, but he just grabbed her shoulders. He had the strength of ten men. The strength of a vampire. He wasn't even struggling to hold her and she suddenly became aware that her face was on his crotch. Her nose was pressing into the denim on his thigh and she could see a bump that wasn't a cell phone.

"Sorry," she said, mortified. This was not a position she'd intended to get into.

"I'm kind of enjoying it," he said, sounding amused. But he still helped her stand until she was facing him.

Cara was breathing hard, feeling dizzy, a sharp burning sensation in her stomach distracting her. Seamus's lip was right in front of her and it was pink, soft. There was a smell she didn't recognize, sharp and tinny, and saliva pooled in her mouth. She went to lick her lips and bit her tongue by accident.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Seamus asked, his hands stroking her shoulders. "You smell my blood, Cara. You want more, don't you?"

She wasn't sure what she wanted, just that the world seemed sharper, the colors brighter, the sound amplified and super heightened. Her mouth watered, her eyes narrowed, and she focused on the vein in Seamus's neck, pulsing, pulsing, pulsing.

"Go on," he whispered, pulling her flush against his body. "Take what your body wants."

His hand pushed her closer and closer to him until her lips hovered over his flesh, an inch from his neck. Cara shut her eyes, flicked her tongue out, licked him. His breath caught, and she felt a deep hot hunger rip all the way through her, consume her, inflame her. She wanted with a ferociousness that was as frightening as it was powerful. Cara opened her mouth and bit, sinking her new fangs into his body, instinctively sucking his blood up and over her tongue.

It tasted unpleasant, like alcohol on the rocks, harsh and stinging, but even as her mouth protested, her body rejoiced. She felt it warm her everywhere, winging out in all directions, an erotic heady elixir of power and satisfaction. Heat pooled in her womb, tugged at her nipples, tickled between her thighs. She spread her legs on either side of his thigh and rocked herself against him, the hardness of his erection catching her own inner thigh with each bump.

She drank and moved, body pressing against his with growing urgency. It felt delicious, frantic, a desperate desire for more, more, more. Seamus cupped her breast, brushing aside her robe while she continued to draw on him, sucking harder and harder, her grip intense, her body flush with pleasure. When he pinched her nipple, she broke the bite and gave a soft cry as she came. The orgasm took her by surprise, stealing her breath, and sending her head flinging back. She ground against him and rode it out, the sharp pleasure intense and all-consuming.

Cara forced her eyes open, sucked in some air, and stared at Seamus as her body shuddered in tiny aftershocks. "Whoa. Does that always happen?" Maybe this vampire thing had fringe benefits. That was the best orgasm she'd ever had.

Seamus shook his head, his eyes dark and filled with lust. "No."

"Too bad." Cara wiped her mouth and grimaced at the blood. "It tastes disgusting in my mouth, but what it does everywhere else…" She shivered in pleasure. "Amazing."

He pulled his hand from her breast. "You're amazing, you know that? Gorgeous, just absolutely gorgeous." Seamus brushed her hair off her forehead. "Everything will be fine."

"Okay," she said, because she was feeling too satisfied to care otherwise.

"Now why don't you take a shower while I go check on your animals."

Cara touched Seamus's neck where she had bitten. The holes were quickly healing. She wondered how soon he would let her do that again. "Can you bring my babies here? I'd like to see them."

"Of course I can. I want to help you adjust, Cara. I want to make sure you're comfortable. Whatever you want, I'll try to give you."

She ran her finger over his flesh where the wound was almost completely gone. He really, really felt good.

"Whatever I want?" She licked her lips again and wondered if there were other places she could bite him.

"Don't let her leave," Seamus told Alexis for the third time.

"I heard you." Alexis rolled her eyes at him.

"And don't let her drink any more blood. She's had enough." More than enough. He'd let her feed off him three times.

"Yes, Dad."

Seamus paced back and forth, not at all sure it was wise to leave Cara with Alexis. "As soon as Ethan gets back from looking for Kelsey, ask him to stay with you and Cara, okay?"

Alexis saluted him in mockery. "Sir, yes, sir."

The water was running in his bathroom, distracting him. He didn't want to leave Cara with Alexis. He didn't want to imagine what she looked like right about now, naked in the shower, water rolling all over those fabulous curves. He still had a lingering pseudo-erection from watching her orgasm, and the thought of her naked, what he could do to her…

"Yuck. You're projecting. Close your mind, Seamus." Alexis crossed her arms over her chest and grimaced at him.

Wonderful. Seamus slammed the door to his thoughts closed and rubbed his jaw, incredibly embarrassed. Alexis was the last person in the world he wanted to know he was horny. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "I'll be back in half an hour and call me if you have any questions or anything goes wrong."

"I won't let her leave, I won't let her feed, I won't open the door to strangers, and I won't let her play with stakes," she said, rolling her eyes. "Will you just leave? You could have been there and back six times by now."