Blood Hunger (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #1) (14 page)

   
 
Nik ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it with both hands. What the
fuck
had made him say that out loud? He really needed to chill the fuck out with this bonded shit. He was never going to do anything about these feelings he had for her. It wasn’t fair of him to lead her on. Not even a little bit.

    
What the hell makes me think she’d even want to be with me anyway?
 

     Taking a deep breath, he psyched himself up to harden his resolve against her. He shouldn’t even like her. Her sister was keeping his brother hostage. Well, not directly, but there was no way in hell Leeha would be able to hold him without her help.

     Maybe Emma was just a really good actress. Maybe she knew about this all along. Maybe it was all a big plot to capture all of them. He was grasping at straws, he knew, but he needed to find something that would help him battle this obsession with her.

     All of this ran through his head within just a few seconds as he stared at the table in front of him.

     He realized she was asking him something. “What,” he snapped.

     Visibly startled by the tone of his voice, Emma hesitantly asked him, “I asked if I should pack up some of the food to bring along with us, or is there stuff on the plane?” 

   
 
“Oh. Um. Yeah, I don’t know. It would probably be a good idea.” He went over to help her, removing her recycled bag from where he’d stashed it in a drawer. “We probably won’t be able to fit it all. What would you like to bring?”

   
 
“Just some soup, bread…and a pear. Would you mind grabbing the tea? I can’t reach it.”

   
 
Stepping up behind her he reached over her head to grab the tea and agave sweetener for her. He heard her breath catch in her throat as he pressed the length of his body against her back.

     Putting the items in the bag, he immediately backed off and leaned back against the opposite counter.

     She was still for a moment, and then continued loading up her bag. “What exactly did you mean before, when you said that you’d never be done with me?”

   
 
He gave her nothing but a whole lot of silence in answer to her question. No way in hell he was answering that. Hanging his head, he let his hair hide his features as he stared at the floor, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

     She repeated the question. “Nik. What did you mean?”

   
 
Raising his head, his blue eyes were icy. “Nothing. I didn’t mean anything.”

   
 
He felt like a bastard as he saw doubt, confusion, and finally self-loathing pass over her face along with a myriad of other emotions.

     “Are you not affected by me at all?” she asked softly.

     The despondency in her voice was all it took to break down his resistance. Her anger he could deal with. Her standoffishness he could deal with. But knowing he was causing her pain, of any sort? He could
not
deal with that.

     Grabbing her hand, he slammed it onto his aching erection. The constant, fucking painful erection he had whenever he was within six feet of her. Groaning aloud at the feel of her touching him even through his jeans, he hissed, “Does this feel like I’m not affected by you Emma?
Does
it?”

   
 
Holding her hand there with his own, he braced himself on the cabinet behind her with his other arm and curled his hips forward, rubbing himself up and down her palm. His head fell forward until his forehead rested on her hair and he drew a ragged breath. Her answering arousal filled his nose until there was nothing else. Her heart was pounding as hard as his, and he would swear he could hear her blood rushing through her veins.

     His fangs slammed down as he remembered the taste of her, in spite of the fact that he’d just fed. He needed to stop this, before he was unable to. Removing his hand from atop hers, he made to back away, but Emma grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back towards her while that other hand, oh yeah,
that other hand
, rubbed down his cock to his balls. His head fell back on a gasp as she gently squeezed them.

     Holy shit. “Sweetheart, we need to stop.”

   
 
“I don’t want to stop,” she said huskily. Moving both hands to the front of his jeans, she undid the button and grasped the zipper with shaking hands, finally managing to get it down. As she slid her hands under the waistband along his hips to push them down, Nik grabbed her wrists, effectively halting her progress. With a sound of frustration, she looked up to glowing silver eyes. His face was tight and his lips were pulled back showing fully extended fangs.

     He gritted out, “We have to stop. Now. Or I’m going to bend you over that counter and fuck you -
hard
.”

   
 
Instead of having the effect he was hoping for, his words brought on a fresh surge of the scent of her sex. He felt her trembling, and knew she’d be soaking wet for him. He ached to touch her there, to feel her desire for him. A deep growl rose up from low in his throat at the thought.

     Leaning forward, she put her nose to his chest. Inhaling him deeply, she whispered, “Nikulas. Please.” 

   
 
He was losing his inner battle. She was like a soft, curvy 12 gauge, blowing away all of his arguments. Her whispered plea screamed at him to take her. Take her, and make her his, and never let her go.

     Releasing her wrists, he wrapped his arms around her head and shoulders, pulling her to him, struggling with the war raging within him between his desire and his fear. He heard her soft exhale as she slid her arms around his waist, her slender arms pulling him tighter to her.

     A loud pounding at the door made them both jump guiltily away from each other.

     “Nik! Let me in!
”
Aiden shouted from outside.

     Back in their own corners, they stared at each other, catching their breath.

     Aiden pounded on the door again, “Come on! Open up! The plane is ready.”

   
 
Giving Emma a look of betrayal she couldn’t understand, he strode over and entered the code to let Aiden in.

     Emma turned around and put her back to the door. Closing the cabinet, she scampered off towards the bedroom just as Aiden climbed up the steps to come inside.

     “Hallo you two! What’s going…”? He stopped as he lifted his nose and got a good whiff of the lingering scents in the air. “Ahhhh…” Smiling from ear to ear, he watched Emma hurrying to the back and then turned to Nik, staring pointedly at his opened pants.

     “Interrupt something, did I?” His grin widened as Nik stormed off to the bathroom without a word. The click of the lock echoed through the interior right before the shower came on.

     Aiden looked around at the suddenly empty space. “Was it something I said?”

   
 
Turning on the water as hot as he could stand it, Nik yanked his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. Grabbing the waistband of his pants and boxer briefs together, he let out a hiss as the material slid over his still raging erection. It sprang free, hanging heavily at the juncture of his hips as he kicked off his pants and underwear and got into the shower stall. He moaned aloud as the spray of water hit him, his abs tightening and his cock kicking up in response. He needed some relief from this, or he was never going to make it to Seattle.

     Palming his thick length, he slid his hand up and down along the shaft, slowly at first, the water making it slick, squeezing the head as he came to the top. He thought of Emma’s small hand covering him, and his hips started pumping faster of their own accord, his grip tightening as he imagined it was her holding him. His breathing grew harsh and his heart pounded loudly in his chest.

     Closing his eyes, he remembered the feel of her perfect little ass in his palm, her breasts pressed against his ribs as he kissed her the first time. He remembered sinking his fangs into her lip, her blood on his tongue…

   
 
Out of his mind with lust for her, he turned his head and sank his fangs into his own arm, feeding from himself. Bracing that arm against the wall as he continued to drink, he felt his balls tighten and his cock start to pulse in his hand as he came almost violently, exploding onto the wall in front of him as his whole body surged forward, instinctively looking for his witch.

     Biting down harder on his arm to smother the yell that erupted from his chest, he rode out his orgasm for long minutes, until finally, with a few last strokes, he released himself. Removing his fangs from his arm, he licked the wound closed and dropped his head as he steadied himself against the side of the stall.

     He stayed as he was for a long moment, eyes closed, powerful arms hanging limply at his sides, hot water pounding on his hanging head, trying to catch his breath.

     Eventually, he straightened up and wiped the water out of his eyes. Looking down his ridged stomach to his still-hard cock, he came to the realization that he was fighting a losing battle.

     He’d hoped that taking care of it himself would at least release some tension, and it had. A bit.      

     Yet, it didn’t change anything. He still wanted Emma. Every cell in his body craved her. He wanted all of her. Completely. And it pissed him off because this was a distraction he did not need right now.

     Speaking of which, he had a plane to catch. Grabbing the shampoo, he scrubbed his head and body clean and quickly rinsed off, then shut off the water. He rubbed himself nearly raw with the towel, and threw on some running pants and a T-shirt, then shook the water from his hair.

     Grabbing his stuff, he went out into the RV to find Emma and Aiden already gone. Gritting his teeth at the idea of them alone together, he shoved everything into his travel bag, slipped on his sneakers, and slammed out of the RV, not even bothering to lock it behind him.

     Emma walked out to the runway alongside Aiden towards the small, private jet they would be taking to Seattle. The night air was chilly, but refreshing, and helped clear her head.

     He had his duffle bag slung over one shoulder and was carrying her small suitcase in the other hand. Emma brought along her backpack and bag of food. Glancing sideways at her companion, she couldn’t keep from asking sarcastically, “So, did you find someone to eat?”

   
 
Aiden raised his eyebrows, “Are you jealous, luv?”

   
 
“No!” She shuddered slightly as he chuckled.

     “Actually, I did find quite a delectable young flight attendant…” Sneaking a peak at Emma, who had a sudden fascination with the nonexistent scenery, he elaborated, “A voluptuous brunette, with juicy arteries and
huge
tits…”

     “Ug! Never mind!” If her hands had been free she would’ve slapped them over her ears. Since that wasn’t an option, she stepped farther away from him and walked faster as he made gross smacking noises at her with his lips.

     Where the hell was Nikulas?

     Aiden easily caught up to her. “Seriously, luv, do you really think I
eat
people? I’m not Hannibal Lector, though we do share the same hilarious wit, don’t you think? I guess you really don’t know me well enough yet, but no worries! We’ll have plenty of time for that on the plane ride! By the time we reach Seattle, we’ll be best mates, you and I.” Scooting up in front of her, he walked backwards, his eyes sparkling at the prospect of a new friend.

     Rolling her eyes, Emma looked back over her shoulder to see Nik following them at an easy run.

    
Oh, Thank God
.

     Swiveling her head back around, she ran smack into Aiden, who had come to a dead stop, and was staring at her with a hurt look on his face. “Oh! Sorry!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you’d stopped.
Directly in front of me.
”

   
 
Tilting his head with a sad frown, he asked, “You really don’t want to be my friend, Emma?”

   
 
Are you kidding me?
“Um. I didn’t say that, Aiden.”

   
 
“But you rolled your eyes at me,” he declared. “I saw you.”

   
 
“Oh, nooo…no…I was just wondering what was taking Nik so long.” She silently begged that the vampire in question hurry it the hell up. She should’ve waited for him instead of being so anxious to get out of that damn RV.

     A breathtaking smile lit up Aiden’s face. It really
was
too bad he was a total nut job.

     “Oh! He’s on his way. I see him coming now.”  He turned around and started walking again. “Come along then.”

   
 
Dragging her feet, she followed behind him, glancing back once more to reassure herself that Nik had almost caught up. Honestly, he made her a bit nervous, this one.