BloodlustandMetal (7 page)

My breathing escalated. “Your body didn’t seem to be giving
that message not too long ago when you were all over me like a—a—goddamn
animal!”

“What can I say?” he said coolly. “I’m a male and I was
distracted by a woman in my bed.” Then he clenched his fists. “It took me a
moment to remember she’s not a woman at all, but a walking, bloodsucking
corpse. It took your nasty little fangs biting into my neck to remind me of
that fact!”

I reached out to grab something to throw at him, but was
stopped by the ropes on my wrists. I kicked out at him instead, but it was
futile since he stood well out of range. “I fucking hate you!”

“I’m not exactly
your
biggest fan right now either,
vamp.”

“Oh, just piss off and get the hell away from me!”

“Gladly. I’ll be back when it’s time to take you to Stefano
and get you out of my life forever.”

He stormed out of his bedroom in three strides, but stopped
to look back at me. “The thing about shifters is we’re also animals in bed.” He
flashed a grin and then closed the door behind him.

Damn him for getting the last word. And damn him for getting
into my head. An unwelcome vision of him naked and moving on top of me like an
untamed beast came into my head.

I fumed, banging my fists on his bed and holding in my
scream. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to me like that.
This might be my last night on Earth and I didn’t want to waste it thinking
about Devon.

No, I couldn’t just sit here and have a tantrum. I had to
focus on a way to get out of this situation. I tried to wiggle my way out of
the rope, although I knew it was futile to try to untie those knots.

What else could I do? I looked around the room for a weapon,
something I could reach out with my hands or feet to grab.

Bugger. Nothing. Devon must have anticipated I would do this
because the room was pretty barren of items, especially something that could be
used as a weapon.

I hated that man!

No, animal. He wasn’t even human, but an animal!

Funny, when he kissed me, he seemed all man.
Shut up,
psyche. Don’t think about that now. Don’t think how his lips felt on yours, his
sensuous tongue exploring your mouth in such an agonizingly delicious way.
Don’t think how your body responded to the touch of his hands as they ran over
your body. As they cupped your breasts, making your nipples ache for him to
devote more attention to them with his tongue, his mouth. Don’t think about his
erection pressing against you as he straddled you, feeding you blood, the
erotic blend of blood and sex that almost had you begging him for more. Don’t think
about how his moan sent shivers of excitement through your body as you kissed
his jawline, his ears, his neck. And definitely don’t think about how his blood
tasted when you bit him. A delicious meal and sensuous pleasure that left you
almost weeping for more.

No, not had, but present tense, has.

I want more of him. To taste him, to touch him, to kiss
him again. And everything that his muscular body can give.

My mind and body sent so many mixed messages while he kissed
me that it was almost impossible to think clearly. My body yearned for more of
him, while my mind thought of survival.
I could bite him right now. Rip his
neck out and run away.

No, that wouldn’t work because I was still tied to a bed
with no apparent way to get out of this situation. If I killed him, the one
person who could untie me would wind up a stinky rotting corpse on the floor
while I waited and hungered for blood as the days went by.

And Stefano would probably be the one to come after me next.
His first stop would likely be to look for the bounty hunter he hired to catch
me.

If I killed Devon, my body would never forgive me for ending
the pleasure that it had been denied for so long. The way he had touched me had
set every fiber of my being on fire. I didn’t want it to end. Where would it
have gone if I hadn’t bitten him?

I settled back down on his bed and let the cotton of the
pillowcase cool my cheek, which was blazing from both my anger and passion. The
sheets smelled like Devon. That masculine scent where I could catch the faint
trace of an animal, although not strong enough so I could detect what type he
was.

When he slept here, did he wear pajamas? Or did he sleep in
the nude? That muscular body sliding over these sheets.

We could have been sliding on these sheets together right
now. I closed my eyes, picturing our kiss had it gone differently if he hadn’t
tied me up and instead we’d met in a very different scenario. Then our kiss
would have been the start of a very promising night rather than the first and
last one before we said goodbye.

I’d never been with a shifter before. Rewind—I’d never
met
a shifter before. The thought of a man who could change into an animal sent
another thrill of excitement through me. Remembering how he said he’d be an
animal in bed didn’t help quell the fantasy.

What kind of animal did he turn into anyway? I pictured a
wolf. That was the most likely, wasn’t it—werewolves. But I’d heard of other
types of shifters. Bears, mountain lions, tigers. What if he was completely out
there and could transform into some kind of sea serpent?

Then my fantasy returned to Devon as a pure, hot-blooded
human male. One with passion in his eyes and a softness to his touch the way
I’d experienced with him tonight. Had our kiss progressed, Devon would have
taken his time undressing me, kissing my skin as he tortured me with his slow
seduction. I would have to be patient to savor the moment while inside I
screamed more, more, more.

My patience would be awarded when he finally entered me. We
would move as one as we relished how our bodies fit. His smooth cock inside me,
filling me almost to the point of pain. But my body would adjust to his girth,
wrapping around him and rising with him as I brought him to the point of
ecstasy. We would climb together—so close—to that peak we both sought…

No, I won’t fantasize about him! He’s my captor,
not
my lover.

I would have crossed my arms and pouted had I not been tied
up. Tied up by that jerk.

I was glad that my one chance for survival overpowered my
raging libido and bit his stupid neck.

“Asshole!” I called out.

“Bloodsucking leech,” he shouted back.

There was a reason vampires and shapeshifters didn’t mix,
after all, even if I wasn’t exactly sure why. What was so special about them
anyway? Humans who transformed into animals? What good was that? Who wanted to
be an animal anyway? At least as a human you’re on top of the food chain in the
animal world.

And if you’re a shifter who tasted like Devon did, you’d be
very tasty food for a vampire like me.

Don’t think about your lust for blood and don’t think
with your libido. Think analytically. Strategically. Use whatever weapons or
devices you have. How can get you get out of this?

Hmm, what could I do? I thought about some excuses I could
use to get out of his bed. I only came up with one. It wasn’t great, but if he
was naive enough, it just might give me enough of an opportunity where I could
attack him and get the fuck out of his flat.

And if that didn’t work, well, he was just a man, after all.
And most men had a weakness—women. And since I’d seen the way he looked at me
and felt his desire when he kissed me, I knew he was attracted to me despite
the verbal sparring. May as well use his desire to my advantage. Maybe he’d be
more sympathetic toward me.

Even better, with his defenses down, my attempt at mind
control would be more effective. It didn’t work earlier and he said it didn’t
work on shifters, but in all cases? Had any vampires ever tried it on a shifter
when his mind was occupied by other, more sensual matters?

Not bad, Layla. Thinking with your libido might actually
come in handy for this situation.

Seducing Devon wouldn’t be too much of a sacrifice, would
it? The fantasy had been swimming around in my brain, competing with my pure
and utter hatred of him.

Could you really hate someone yet be so attracted to them at
the same time? I was starting to think this was actually possible. He was
beautiful to look at. His body just begged me to reach out and touch. And I
could imagine the way he would feel inside me, filling me to capacity and fucking
me to the point of ecstasy.

And if this ended up being my last night on Earth, I
couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d want to spend it with right now than the man
in the next room. It didn’t make any sense to me on any level.

Who else did I have in my life anyway since I’d become the
undead? A master vampire who wanted to punish me, most likely torture
information out of me and then kill me. And then the other vampires who lived
at Stefano’s. Whose side would they take—his or mine? True, his bodyguards might
have warned me, but I was nothing. No power, no money, none of the assets I had
in my human life. I couldn’t give them anything that Stefano could provide. It
was a clear choice for them.

Essentially I had no one, except the guys in my band who
only knew one side of me. They didn’t even know my real name or my dark secret.
If they knew who I really was, well, they might turn on me in disgust. Even
Joey.

Joey. Poor Joey. He was suspicious enough as it was of this
guy, now he must be losing his mind freaking out, wondering where I was. If I’d
only listened to him I wouldn’t be in this situation right now. But I didn’t.
And here I was in a shitload of trouble.

All kinds of emotions swarmed through my mind as I thought
about Joey. His concern for me. His protectiveness. The way we flirted up on
stage—sometimes the fantasy almost felt real, as if we were star-crossed
lovers. But my freakish need for privacy would then push Joey away. And now I
couldn’t get much farther away from him than on the other side of the Atlantic.

Funny, the only person who I felt any sort of connection to
right now was Devon. I didn’t know what it was or why. It didn’t make any
sense, but then nothing did lately. In fact, nothing had really made sense
since I became a vampire, struggling to come to grips with what I was.

What I did know was that seducing Devon wouldn’t be a
sacrifice at all. In fact, I was looking forward to it.

Devon

I nursed a Jack Daniels in my leather recliner while waiting
for night to fall. At the same time, I dreaded it. Stefano was expecting us and
that would be the end of my time with Layla.

Why did this give me a pang of regret? She was a vampire and
she attacked me! If anything, I should be glad to get her out of my sight and
move on to the next job. Let Stefano deal with her. She’d be his problem.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” she shouted from my bedroom.

I couldn’t help but smile. She was a crafty little minx. I
had to admit, I was looking for a reason to go back in there and she gave me one.

Reentering the room, I said. “You’re lying.”

“No, it’s true. I really, really have to go.” She squirmed
on the bed and made an uncomfortable face that made me laugh out loud.

“You are some character, Layla Costa. Quite the actress,” I
said. “And you must think I’m just some dumb
animal
who you could trick.
I hate to inform you, sweetheart, but I know more than you think. I may not
know much about vampires, but I know enough to do my job well. And that means I
know you’re full of shit. You don’t use the bathroom
ever
.”

She made some humph noise and then pouted. I imagine she was
frustrated that this new plan of hers failed. She was hoping that I would get
her out of the bed, maybe even untie her so she could go to the bathroom. Once
she had a little bit of freedom, she’d either make a run for it—or she’d attack
me first and then run. Either way, I wasn’t going to let that happen on my
watch.

“Don’t make that face. You look so cute. I might have to
come over there and take my chances with that dangerous mouth of yours again.”

She pouted for another moment and then looked up. “What
look? This one?” A fuck me message was clearly spelled out in her eyes.

Why was she doing that? I clenched my fists in an attempt to
keep from running over to the bed and climbing on top of her. “Don’t encourage
something you don’t want to happen.”

“Why not?” she purred.

“Because I’m already so on edge, it won’t take me much to
come over there.”

She tipped her head and smiled. “I might be nicer this
time.”

Oh God, was she luring me in or just playing me?

My growing erection said
Who gives a damn?

“Why are you doing this?”

“Plain and simple. I want you. Even though you’re a jerk,
this may be the last night of my life. And my last opportunity to be with a
man.”

In two giant strides, I was at the side of my bed. “Are you
sure you want this?”

She nodded and followed it with a breathy “Yessss.”

“Don’t fucking bite me this time.”

“If you’d let me continue, you might have liked it.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s why you did it—for my sensual pleasure.”

She shrugged. “It can be enjoyable for us both.”

“Let me say it clearly then.
Don’t bite me, vamp.
”

“Okay, okay.” She bit her bottom lip. “Untie me then.”

“No way. Are you nuts?”

“How can I touch you with my hands tied up?”

“Is this part of your game? Seduce me so I’ll untie you and
then you’ll get away?”

“No.” I’ve dealt with enough liars to know I was dealing
with one right now.

“We’ll have to manage with you tied up, now won’t we?” I sat
on the bed next to her and lifted one of her hands to my lips. The resistance
of the rope stopped me, so I bent down and kissed one of her wrists, leaving a
trail up her arm. “Besides, I kind of like you like this. It’s very hot.”

“It would be hotter if I could run my hands over your back,
over your chest. It’s not fair being able to see but not touch.”

“You don’t play fair.” I sat back, gently letting go of her
wrist. “But I’m not a fool. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get something.”

In the living room, I rifled through my bag, grabbing the
silver handcuffs and spray I made with a combination of silver dust and garlic.
For good measure, I grabbed a silver knife I had in there as well. It was in a
beautiful embroidered knife holder that I picked up in China. Never hurt to be
prepared. Especially with a dangerous vampire like Layla.

When I returned to the bedroom, she saw my supplies and
said, “Oh come on. Is this really necessary?”

“With you, absolutely.”

I put the spray and knife down on my bureau and headed over
to her with the handcuffs.

“The ropes aren’t enough for you?”

I put one of the silver handcuffs around her wrist and the
other around the bed rails. “I’m untying one.”

As I untied the first wrist, I felt her staring at me.
“Why?”

“Simple reason, really.” I untied the second one.
“Compromise.”

With one arm free, she moved her wrist in a circle and
jiggled her arm around to reinvigorate it.

“It’s not very comfortable to be tied to a bed all day long,
you know?”

“I can imagine. And I apologize. You needed to be restrained
and I figured the ropes were more gentle than the handcuffs.”

“And now?”

“This way you can have one arm free.”

“There must be a way to do this without handcuffs.”

I thought about it. Even with one hand free, she wouldn’t be
able to untie the other without me knowing. I’d keep her within an arm’s length
at all times.

“Fine. No handcuffs,” I said. “And you can touch my chest
all you want.” I took off my T-shirt and grinned widely for her. “Win-win.”

“Anyone ever call you a strange bird?” she asked.

“All the time.” Then I took her free hand and placed it on
my chest, keeping my hand over hers all the while.

She looked into my eyes with an imploring expression. “You
don’t trust me, do you?”

“Not one bit.” My eyes fixated on her lips and my cock
twitched as I thought about how they would feel on me.

“But you want me?”

“Unfortunately yes. With every fiber of my being.”

“Then kiss me.”

I ran my thumb over her bottom lip and she kissed it. Then
she pulled it into her mouth and sucked it gently.

“Oh don’t do that,” I said with a moan.

She stopped. “Why not?”

“Don’t stop!” I cried.

She laughed. “You’re sending mixed messages.”

“It just feels—so good.” I leaned forward to kiss her.
“Remember, no biting. I have the knife and spray within arm’s reach.”

“I know.”

Then my lips were on hers, tasting her soft flesh still
tinged with the saltiness of my blood. Working my tongue into her mouth, I
feasted on her. She had been in a semi-upright position, but now she settled
back onto my pillow, sliding her body down. I lay on top of her, one part of me
eager to touch her more, the other on the defense for any quick moves.

Her free hand had moved over my back and she ran her
fingernails gently down from my shoulders to my ass, squeezing the flesh at the
bottom. I kissed her neck, moving down to her breasts.

“What is it about you?” I asked as I pulled the top of her
baby doll dress down to reveal the white satin cups of her bra. Why did I come
back here when I could have stayed out in the living room, waiting for the time
for us to leave? And then I’d have her off my hands. Out of my life forever.
She’d just be another job I’d taken care of. No feelings involved. But why did
the idea of never seeing her again trigger a suffocating sense of loss? How
could I lose something I never had?

I should stop this before this fire grew too big to control.
However, I couldn’t resist kissing her, touching her, inhaling her sweet
scent—yet she’d tried to suck my blood just a short while ago! What was wrong
with me?

I pulled one of the bra cups away and freed a pink, perky
nipple, which I immediately tasted. Licking the hard bud and then covering it
with my warm mouth, I devoured it as though I’d never have the chance again.

Which I wouldn’t.

She murmured something and said, “I feel the same way about
you.”

Why did she have to do that? Was she playing me or did she
really have feelings for me? For someone who had spent all his life being aloof
when it came to women, I now realized how badly it hurt when you were the one
left unsure of what the other person was feeling. Probably since I’d never
cared much about the other person before.

After spending countless time lost in the sensation of
laving her breast, I remembered with delight that another awaited my attention.
I hastened to unfasten her bra to access her other breast as well. I pulled the
top of her dress down around her shoulders to expose more of her skin, eager to
explore her other pale breast, small, firm and luscious.

“I know I should stay away from you,” I said, “but I can’t.”

I kissed down the lacy dress over the sides of her waist
while one hand glided up her leg to touch her thigh, the same one that had
tormented me earlier while she was asleep.

“I know I should despise you,” she replied. “And maybe I do.
But I also want you so badly it consumes me. And I don’t want to stop this.”

“Then don’t.” I kissed her shin and moved up, taking a
moment to lick around the back of her knee, making her squeal.

“That tickles.”

“I like to hear you laugh. It’s better than hearing you
scream.” Then I continued the torture, licking the back of her knee until her
giggle dissolved into full-blown laughter.

“Stop,” she said. “I can’t take it!”

“Okay.” I resumed kissing her leg, up to her thigh. I
remembered the vision of her writhing around onstage the other night during the
Hot for Teacher
song, when she bent over to expose her white cotton
panties to the guitarist and he smacked her on the ass. “Please don’t tell me
you’re wearing white cotton panties under here.” I moved the lacy edge of her
dress.

“Why not?”

“The whole naughty-but-nice outfit will kill me.”

“Well then, keep exploring.”

I kissed her thigh some more, inching up higher. “So which
is it, Layla? Are you naughty or nice?”

“Maybe a little of both. Why don’t you find out?”

I pulled up her dress as I kissed her upper thigh and saw she
wore a tiny pair of white cotton panties. Touching the thin cotton fabric over
her mound, I felt her excitement through the wetness there. Inching my fingers
on either side of the seams, I pulled the tiny panties down while she lifted
her hips to help me remove them.

Once I saw her gleaming pink lips just begging to be
touched, I complied, stroking her with one finger. She moaned in appreciation
and I slid it inside her. Her tight, wet walls closed around me, foreshadowing
the sensation my aching cock was dying to have.

Layla used her free hand to pull her dress down over her
hips. “Help me get this off,” she said. “I can’t do it with one hand.”

I put my other hand over hers to stop her. “Leave the dress
on.”

She laughed. “You like it like this?”

I scanned the way the dress was pulled low enough around her
waist to expose her breasts and high enough to reveal her pussy. It covered
nothing but part of her midsection and it was so frigging hot.

“Unbelievably.”

She giggled. “Hurry up, Devon. I need you inside me now. I’m
so ready for you that I can’t even think of anything else.”

I undressed quickly and then located a condom in my
nightstand. My cock was already hard to the point it ached and I struggled to
put the condom on, so great was my need to be in her.

I climbed on top of her and stroked her wet folds with my
cock. She used her free arm to pull me closer. “Now. Please, now,” she
commanded.

There was nothing hotter than a woman who wanted it and
wasn’t afraid to show it. I knew she’d be into the experience rather than
worrying if I thought she was too fat or if her thighs were jiggly.
Self-confidence, especially in a body that wasn’t perfect, showed me that she
was someone to reckon with. And explore.

Not that I found any imperfections with her body. She was so
little underneath me that I thought I would crush her. But I knew that within
that small frame she had the strength of an immortal being, one who would crush
a human man even of my size. And with all her curves in all the right places
just begging to be touched, I thought she was the most enticing female I’d
encountered in a long time. One I intended to touch and kiss and fuck for as
long as possible until I had to let her go.

When I slid inside her welcoming body, I was rewarded with
the tight, warm experience I’d anticipated earlier. The softness, the warmth,
enveloped me. The sensations all went to my head as I lost myself in her,
riding her higher as I sensed her rising tension as she lifted her hips to meet
my every thrust. Her thighs tightened around me and she clawed my back as she
climbed closer and closer still.

Layla

My emotions were now even more confused. Devon filled me to
such capacity that I couldn’t even follow what was going on in my head. I hated
Devon. I wanted Devon. I was seducing him as a ploy to get him to free me. He
was seducing me and I lost all reasoning when he kissed me. The handcuffs
humiliated me. The handcuffs were incredibly titillating. I wanted to fuck him.
And I wanted to kill him.

Every one of these feelings was so intense and so passionate
that it carried over to my response when he touched me. When his fingers
touched my skin, my body responded in a way it never had from a man before.
When his lips met mine, an overwhelming need for him clawed away inside me,
begging for more. And when he finally filled me with his cock, the sensation
carried to every nerve in my body that an orgasm immediately threatened to take
over all rational thought.

I dug my fingers into his shoulders more as he buried
himself deep inside me. I had seduced him in an effort to somehow find a
loophole and get out of this situation. But the deeper I fell into his arms,
thoughts of escape fought with the powerful sensation of wanting to be
enveloped in such a masculine embrace. I lost myself in him. My want for him
was overpowering. I didn’t care how much I hated him at the moment, I wanted
him more than I’d ever wanted anyone before.