Bite at First Sight (16 page)

Rafe shrugged. Perhaps Rochester or another Lord would be willing to take him.

“I don’t like it, my lord,” Anthony muttered once Clayton was out of earshot. “Not a bit.”

“Do you mean Clayton?”

Anthony chuckled. “Well, yes. I’ve never liked the sanctimonious prig. This time I’m referring to the whole situation. The rogues, Lenore’s disappearance, and Clayton’s worse-than-usual nettlesome behavior. I tell you, that blasted cur may be behind it all. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“I don’t argue that he is up to something, yet I cannot see a motive for him to abduct one of our people and allow rogues into the city.” Rafe shook his head as they walked back to Burnrath House. “Either way, I intend to have someone keep an eye on him.”

His third nodded. “That sounds like a capital plan, my lord. Who is up to such an odious task?”

He spread his hands in exasperation. “That’s the bitter rub. I don’t know. Clayton isn’t the only one who has been behaving oddly of late.”

“Lord knows that’s the truth,” Anthony replied emphatically. After a moment, he added quietly, “Yourself not excluded.”

Rafe paused and narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying I’ve become odd as well?”

“There’s no need to be wary.” Anthony smiled. “It’s only that I cannot help noticing that your charming physician has brought forth a side of you that I’ve never seen.”

“Quit speaking in riddles, Anthony,” Rafe growled impatiently. “What are you talking about? I hope you don’t mean to say that I’ve gone soft.”

“Of course not, my lord.” Anthony laughed again and held up his hands in mock surrender. “Well, you had been far less cantankerous, though perhaps I spoke too soon.” He sobered. “You really care for her, don’t you?”

Rafe nodded stiffly. “To my everlasting regret and vexation, I do. I don’t know what I am going to do with her.”

“You have less than a fortnight left to decide her fate.”

Rafe sighed in defeat. “Yes, and I wrote letters to every vampire over a century old that I can call friend, asking them to Change her. Thus far, I have not received a reply.”

“Thank God, you are taking some action,” Anthony said. “But if no one volunteers—”

“It is not necessary to remind me,” Rafe snarled. “I am perfectly aware that—”

Anthony held up a hand. “What I mean to say is that our kind so often thinks we have eternity. We do not. Just as the humans we once were, we must savor every moment of our existence, for the next could be our last.”

“I had no idea you were so poetic,” Rafe said gruffly. He folded his arms and looked down before Anthony could see how deeply his words had struck him.
Cristo
, maybe he
was
going soft. “So…” He trailed off.

“So savor her, while you still can.” Anthony stopped to observe a pair of drunken louts stumbling out of a tavern. “Ah, how convenient. Supper.”

After they fed and returned to Burnrath House, Mrs. Smythe handed him two letters.

Rafe’s heart swelled with hope as he rushed to his study and opened them. His spirits plummeted as he read both refusals. The death clock ticked louder in his mind.

“I will save her. Somehow, I will save her,” he whispered as he burned the letters.

The need to hold Cassandra became a relentless ache. Rafe went straight to the bedchamber. As he headed up the stairs, he willed all of his worries to abate and be replaced with anticipation. For now, it was enough that he would soon spend the day lying beside her.

He opened the door and paused a moment just to enjoy the sight of Cassandra in his bed.

The lamps were extinguished and the fire had burned down to embers. Yet with his preternatural sight, Rafe could see her sleeping form clearly, from the glorious tumble of auburn curls on the pillow to the adorable frown line between her russet brows. Her lush lips pouted enticingly.

He stepped closer…and nearly tripped over a book on the floor. Rafe picked up the novel and frowned. Had she thrown it? It wasn’t like Cassandra to mistreat a book.

A slow smile spread across his lips. She’d been vexed at his departure from the bed. Perhaps she’d even taken it as a failure to seduce him. If only she knew how close she’d come to succeeding.

When Rafe lifted the covers and got into bed, Cassandra made a small, satisfied sound and scooted closer to him. It was all the invitation he needed. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he pulled her into his arms. Instead of killing her, he would take her up on her other invitation. The Elders be damned. As Anthony had advised, he would savor her…thoroughly.

24 October 1823

“No, thank you.” Cassandra waved away the luncheon tray.

Anthony set down the tray anyway. “You must eat, my lady.” Before she could argue again, he left her alone in the dining room.

Cassandra’s stomach churned at the sight of the food. How could she consider eating after Rafe’s apparent rejection last night?

Hot waves of humiliation washed over her like rancid rain. Now he was avoiding her. After brusquely helping her dress, he’d left to seek his evening meal with a curt good-bye. When he returned, he’d gone straight up to his study and spent hours there before leaving again.

She sighed and swirled her spoon in the steaming bowl of watercress soup. Truly, she had only herself to blame. Time and again she’d been counseled that men preferred virtuous ladies. She shouldn’t be surprised that Rafe had been repelled by her wanton attempts to seduce him.

Although
he
admitted
that
my
offer
tempted
him
, a tiny inner voice whispered. Cassandra shook off the indulgent attempt to soothe her wounded pride.
Yes, but he also tacked on a “however,” which renders the statement nothing more than an empty platitude
.

And why was she obsessing over unrequited, inconvenient desires when her situation so far had more dire aspects? She was on the precipice of so many unknowns. Surely facing the prospect of eternal life or early death should be more than enough to occupy her thoughts.

Despite such cataclysmic prospects, Rafe’s striking visage, piercing eyes, and sensuous lips refused to leave her mind. Cassandra’s fists clenched at her sides. She
had
to stop thinking about him. Doing so served no practical use whatsoever.

Lifting her chin with determination, she forced herself to eat a few bites of her meal before retiring to the library. She could not allow her foolish fascination with this vampire to cause her to neglect her studies.

With that in mind, she retired to the Duchess of Burnrath’s old writing room and composed her article on pain remedies for
The
Lancet
.

Once finished, she studied a book on burn treatments, but as she started wondering if certain balms would work on vampires, Rafe’s scarred face once more invaded her mind. Did his burns still hurt? Or were the damaged areas without sensation? How would it feel to run her tongue across that roughened skin?

When he joined her in the library after midnight, it was all she could do to appear composed and indifferent.

Why didn’t he want her? Why did it matter? She thanked God he couldn’t read her mind.

“Would you like to retire upstairs for your treatment?” she ventured carefully, setting down her book. “I think it should continue for at least another few weeks, especially the work with your hands.”

He remained silent for the longest time, a strange and unreadable expression playing across his exotic face. “Yes, I would like to go upstairs…very much indeed.”

At
least
he
hasn’t developed an aversion to my touch
, she consoled herself as she followed him up the stairs to the bedchamber.
And
at
least
I
will
enjoy
the
feel
of
his
glorious
body
for
a
little
while
longer.
The secret place between her thighs throbbed in remembrance of last night’s erotic encounter.

The door closed behind them and the sound of the lock clicking into place made Cassandra freeze. Rafe hadn’t locked the door since he’d begun sleeping next to her in the bed.

“Well, my lady, shall I assist you with your gown?” he asked softly.

Her pulse accelerated. Did he want her out of her clothing, or was he simply being helpful?

“Y-yes, thank you.” She turned around before he could see her flaming cheeks.

With unbearable slowness, he worked the buttons free, lingering on each one like a caress. Gently, he pulled down the dress, his fingers trailing down her body. Heat pulsed between her thighs at his touch. Then he went to work on her stays. Cassandra bit back a gasp. By the time she was down to her chemise, she was trembling.

Biting her lip, she turned around to see Rafe removing his own shirt. As always, she stared in mute awe, captivated by his savage beauty.

Before her silence became disconcertingly apparent, she retrieved the leather ball from the bureau and held it out to him. “Shall we b-begin now?”

Rafe regarded her with a burning look that had made her knees turn to water. “I think that instead of squeezing that infernal ball, there is a much more suitable way for me to exercise my hands.”

“And that would be?” Cassandra had to look at the floor, lest she once more fell under the spell of the rippling muscles of his bare chest.

“I believe I should return the favor.” Rafe’s silken, rumbling voice commanded her to meet his gaze.

Fresh heat flooded her core once more at the thought of him touching her so intimately. “Y-you mean you want to…” She trailed off dumbly.

Rafe’s lips curved up, giving her
that
smile, the one that sent her abdomen fluttering. “I am certain you are sore from your ministrations to me, so lie down.”

Overcome with awe at the dreamlike situation, Cassandra nearly collapsed on the bed as she complied. When Rafe sat beside her, she looked up and met her own reflection in the mirror. Quickly, she shifted her hair to hide the improper longing in her gaze.

The heat of his hands through the thin fabric of her chemise immediately brought a low moan from her throat. Cassandra bit her lip to prevent from crying out in sheer bliss as his fingers worked deeper magic on her aching shoulders.

Suddenly, Rafe paused. “This will not do.”

No! Don’t stop!
A small whimper escaped her lips. Cassandra struggled to feign composure and prayed he hadn’t noticed.

“This infernal thing is in the way.” His hands returned to her shoulders, grasping the straps of her chemise and pulling the garment down.

Though a voice from her well-bred past shouted that she was behaving like a harlot, Cassandra squirmed and shifted to aid him in exposing her bare flesh to the heat of the fire and the touch of a vampire. In fact, she felt a pang of regret when he neglected to remove her chemise fully, instead leaving the cotton bunched up at her hips.

Then Rafe’s fingers once more worked their magic, the pleasure so much more intense that her core throbbed with desire. His hands left her shoulders to massage her back. A low moan escaped her lips at the intensely blissful sensation. No one had ever touched her like this.

“This angle isn’t working,” he said, softly in a teasing voice.

He shifted on the bed and knelt, straddling her hips. As he resumed his exquisite ministrations, Cassandra arched her back. His long hair brushed the sides of her rib cage in a tempting whisper. His groin was so close to her aching center that she wanted to scream in frustration. Did he comprehend what he was doing?

Then his hands moved lower, massaging the taut muscles of her hips and easing tension she didn’t know she possessed. She looked up at the mirror. The sight of Rafe kneeling behind her and the sheen of firelight on his muscled arms as he touched her took her breath away. His glittering amber gaze met hers in the reflection, and his lips curved up in a wicked smile. Cassandra’s lips parted in awe. He was so beautiful that it was decadent.

With sensuous slowness, Rafe bent down and kissed the backs of her thighs. His hands slid down her hips to grasp her legs. Gently but firmly, he moved them apart slightly. Her eyes widened at the brush of his hair against her skin and the sinfully tempting heat of his mouth moving closer to her…
My
God!

She gasped as his tongue flicked across the center of her womanhood.

“My, Countess, you are wet.” His deep voice rumbled against her core as his fingers continued to stroke her trembling thighs. “
Te
deseo, Querida
. I want you.”

“Rafe…” she murmured.

He turned her over with dizzying speed. Before she could draw another breath, his delicious weight was on top of her, his hardness pressing against her wet cleft. He slid her chemise all the way off. His lips devoured hers with intoxicating ferocity before moving down. Drugged with pleasure, she watched his large hands gently caressing her breasts as he licked and sucked her nipples as if they were a banquet from the gods. His eyes were closed in pure, unmistakable bliss. Cassandra tangled her hands in his hair and shifted her hips, mad with the need to ease the pulsing ache he’d invoked.

“Please,” Cassandra panted, writhing beneath him like one possessed. “
Please!
”

Rafe stopped and raised himself on his elbows to look down at her. “Is this what you want, Countess?”

His eyes glowed amber fire, his scarred face and bared fangs the epitome of predatory hunger. A small part of her knew she should be afraid, but all she could feel was utter and complete exhilaration.

“Yes!” she whimpered, certain she would die if he didn’t take her soon.

His weight left her body, and she heard the harsh sound of fabric tearing as he removed his trousers in a blur of speed. Then he was on top of her again, his hot flesh pressed to hers.

With a low growl, Rafe thrust deep inside her. Cassandra cried out at the intense sensation. It was like being overtaken by a storm. Wrapping her legs around him, she rocked her hips to match his thrusts, urging him deeper. The feel of him brought her closer and closer to the peak of soul-rending ecstasy. A small scream escaped her lips as she was sent over the edge.

While she was still gasping and shuddering beneath him, Rafe suddenly grasped her thighs and thrust into her harder, taking her with unchecked savagery. Her body rejoiced in overwhelming submission. The sound of his flesh striking hers brought her arousal to new, unfathomable heights.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. This was not what she expected. This was far more…

The thought fled as his fangs plunged into her neck, triggering another orgasm. Unbelievably, his thrusts deepened, intensifying the climax and sending her into a new realm of consciousness in which the universe seemed to simultaneously explode and unite.

Rafe let out a primal growl and collapsed in her arms. Cassandra quivered beneath him, reveling in the feel of his heart pounding against hers. His mouth nuzzled her neck, inciting aftershocks of her climax.

When he rolled over, pulling her into his embrace, Cassandra gasped. “Well, that was quite…vigorous and…well…overwhelming.”

Rafe raised a brow. “I didn’t hear you asking me to stop.”

She blinked and curled her fingers around his hair. “I suppose I didn’t.”

She waited for him to say more, but he remained silent, running a soothing hand down her back. Blissful tingles ran down her body, and once more she was filled with wonder at his dynamic juxtaposition of roughness and gentleness.

I
love
you…
She clamped her lips shut before she could voice such an illogical statement aloud. Surely it was an overreaction to his introducing her to physical passion.

Instantly, her heart protested, but Cassandra shunted its dangerous assertions aside. For now there was nothing she could do except savor the peace and comfort of being in his arms. Besides, surely things would be further resolved when he Changed her.

As if sensing her thoughts, Rafe pulled her closer. Cassandra laid her head on his chest with a sigh, contenting herself to play with his silken hair and caress the captivating angles of his face before sleep claimed her.