Caleb (12 page)

Damn,
she was tight. Too damn tight.

Through
their mental connection he sent a command into the confusion that consumed her
a split second before he thrust.
Relax.

Either
she couldn’t or wouldn’t. Confusion and passion warred. He slipped through that
crevice, filling her mind with his pleasure, his need. The resistance gave, and
he entered her in a slow, smooth glide. He held himself still within the tight
fist of her channel, cries of victory screaming through his head. She was his
now. Only his.

Beneath
him Allie moaned and shifted. Her heel rode up his leg, opening herself to more
of whatever he wanted. And suddenly what he had wasn’t enough. He needed more.
More of her cries, her passion, her taste.

Caleb
pulled back. Allie twisted away. Another growl welled. It was too late to turn
back. They were joined. In a few minutes it would be irrevocable. Had to be
irrevocable.

He
couldn’t get close enough, deep enough. He lifted her thighs over his arms,
spreading her wider, grinding his groin into hers on every downstroke, her joy
at the contact spilling over him in a hot incentive. He bent over, drawing her
nipple deeply into his mouth with every withdrawal, keeping her with him until
the explosion burned up his spine. He pulled all the way out, releasing her
nipple from his mouth, releasing the wild flare of emotion in her eyes with two
words. “You’re mine.”

She
shook her head. He thrust back in, letting her take what she could, easing her
into the idea with his body seeking with his mind as well. He didn’t just want
to possess her, he wanted to bind her to him. Ensure her acceptance of him as
her mate. Forever blend their lives.

He
watched as she took a fraction of an inch, and then another, her body
stretching to his need, her gasps sensual little punctuation marks to their
passion.

“Mine.”
The claim sprang out of the deepest part of him. “Tell me you’re mine.”

Another
inch disappeared. And then another. With every inch the urgency increased. He
leaned in, bending over her, centering his thumb over her clitoris, rubbing in
cadence with her gasps. Her energy pulled at him with the same desperation,
drawing him into her with her strength of will, tendrils of her energy wrapping
around his. She cried out and her hips bucked, sinking him deeper.

“Say
it, Allie. Give me that much.”

Her
heel drew up his thigh, pulling him to her. Her inner muscles tightened,
fluttered. Her back arched. Her lips parted, drawing his kiss. He changed his
rhythm, capturing her cry, her gift, holding the declaration as close as he
held her.

“Yours.
I’m yours!”

Before
the last syllable of her cry dissolved into the embracing darkness, he sank his
fangs into her neck as cleanly as his cock sank those last vital inches into
her body. Sealing himself against her, he took her scream—her climax as his,
blending their minds, bodies, and souls, relaxing into the knowledge that she
was his. At least for this moment. This time, he had her.

SHE
was going to have to rethink her perception of herself as a lover. She was
obviously much more into kink than she’d ever imagined. And Caleb had much more
influence over her than she’d ever predicted. Allie shifted her position. He
immediately pulled her against him, his hands spreading open on her back,
sheltering her. Which immediately begged the question, from what?

She
wiggled her fingers. My God, she’d let him tie her up. She tugged on her hands.
“Could you untie me now?”

“In a
minute.” His chin nuzzled her temple. A brush of his lips over the rim of her
ear shot a shiver down her spine. His chuckle sent goose bumps chasing behind.

“I’d
prefer now.” She had to get control of this situation. He reached up, his chest
rubbing against hers. She sighed before she caught herself. His skin felt so
good against her.

“I
think you feel pretty good, too.”

“How
do you do that?”

The
soft bonds on her wrists fell away on a soft
rip
. “You think very
loudly.”

“I do
not.”

“You’ll
get the hang of it.”

“Hang
of what?”

“Controlling
your thoughts.”

He
brought her hands down, massaging her muscles. Her inner slut started to purr.

“I
don’t seem to be able to control much.” Not the sickening clench in her
stomach, not her reactions to this man, not what she was becoming. “And I’m not
yours.”

“Are,
too. You said so.”

“That
was just the sex talking.”

He
pulled her into his side and draped her thigh over his. “Damned good sex.”

Her
head fell naturally into the hollow of his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean
anything.”

“I’m
saying it does.”

“Into
self-delusion, are you?”

“Nope.
I jut recognize the truth when it walks up and bites me on the neck.”

“I’m
not a possession. You can’t just claim me.”

He
cupped her stomach. “But I can hold you. You need me.”

Under
his touch, the writhing pain abated. A reminder and salvation. “Until I’m converted.”

She
didn’t expect him to agree, but the sheets rustled as he nodded, his biceps
flexing under her head as he cupped her shoulder in his big hand. The warmth of
his palm seeped into her skin, spreading beneath the surface, stretching
deeper, feeding a hunger that had nothing to do with sexual desire. “But it
does buy me time.”

She
tilted her head back, squinting against the darkness. It was no use. She
couldn’t see his face. “Do you ever give up?”

Short
and sweet, his answer left no room for doubt. “Not if it’s something I want.”

And
he wanted her. “And you want sex.”

A
flex of his shoulder muscles and her face was tipped up. “I want you.”

Such
a bald statement should have made her nervous, but it didn’t. Not coming from
Caleb. There were depths to the man. The kind that harbored deep emotion. There
was also a strength that suggested stability. He was the kind of man in which a
woman could put her faith. If she discounted the fact he was a vampire.

Pain
coiled in her gut. She frowned, remembering something he’d said. “You said
you’d been through this before.”

He
spread his fingers wide over her stomach. It didn’t help this time.

“Yes.
With my brothers.”

She’d
never heard so much said with so little emotion. She reached up, brushing the
bristle on his chin, searching until she found his mouth. All the tension
missing from his voice was in that tight line. She curled her fingers into a
fist. “What happened?”

“I
converted them.”

“Why?”

“We’ve
always been close-knit.”

“They
asked you to change them?”

Still
that same flat monotone. “No. It just happened.”

She
pushed away from him, sitting up, clutching her stomach as nausea rolled
through it. “How does something like that just happen?”

The
darkness thickened. The hair on her arms rose as the very air stilled. “I got
hungry.”

“I
don’t understand.”

His
hand touched her cheek with infinite tenderness. “You will.”

OH
God, not another one. Allie clutched her stomach
against the crippling pain and watched as Jared half dragged, half escorted a
handsome young man into the study. Inside, the wild voice she didn’t recognize
screamed,
Yes!

Elation
and horror rose as the lust came over her. She shook her head, backing away,
running smack up against Caleb’s chest. His arm came around her, sure and
strong, keeping her there. This wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare. And worse
it was one from which she’d never wake up. There was no more fooling herself.
Vampires were real and she was one of them. And if that wasn’t bad enough,
Caleb expected her to suck someone’s blood. The shake of her head was as
instinctive as pressing back against him. She wouldn’t live like this.

“I
can’t do this, Caleb.”

He
wasn’t pushing her at this one as he had the others, though there was no give
in his drawled, “You have to feed, Allie.”

“No.”
She shook her head harder as her fangs cut through her gums. “I can’t.”

“Pretend
it’s carrot juice.”

Carrot
juice never affected her like this. Jared pushed the young man closer. She
heard his heartbeat, felt, with total repugnance, the lust for his blood that
rose within her as his scent came to her. Clean and healthy. She clapped her
hands over her mouth as her newly sprouted fangs ached, and again shook her
head at Jared.

She
would not do this. She didn’t have to feed, didn’t have to live. She had a
choice.

“You
can’t possibly object to this one.” Jared lifted the hypnotized man, front and
center, by the back of his coat. “There isn’t a speck of dirt on him.”

Behind
her Caleb growled as the man gazed at her through vacant gray eyes, smiled, and
then presented his neck. A glance over her shoulder showed Caleb looking at the
young man, an aggressive set to his jaw.

“Oh,
for goodness sake.” She waved her hand at the poor victim, grateful for the exasperation
that helped her contain the wild hunger. “He’s enthralled, and breakfast. How
can you be jealous?”

Her
comment was ignored. Caleb glared at Jared. “You couldn’t find anyone else?”

Jared
let go of the man, who immediately slumped to the floor. Allie yanked her foot
out of reach of his hand. Yet another discovery. Enthralled people creeped her
out.

“Who
the hell else would you suggest? She won’t touch women, the elderly, and no
matter how vile the person, if there’s a speck of dirt in sight, they’re off
the chow wagon. In an area this remote, this time of year, you’re lucky I even
found him.”

“You’re
wasting your time.” Maybe, if she said it often enough, someone would believe
her.

With
a disgusted prod of his boot, Caleb edged the man’s groping hand away from her
leg. “Well, she’s not feeding on him.”

“You
worried she’s going to want more, and you’ll have competition?”

More?
No one had told her about more. Allie looked between Caleb and his brother.
“What more?”

“He
didn’t tell you about that?”

“Jared
. . .”

That
was definitely a warning in Caleb’s voice, and it raised her suspicions nearly
as much as the quirk at the edge of Jared’s mouth. The man never smiled. She
glanced up at Caleb, not liking the set of his jaw. “No.”

“It’s
not something she needs to worry about.”

“Not
when you’re bringing her derelicts for her first feed, that’s for sure,” Jace
offered from the doorway, thankfully no offering in his hand. “I’ve got to
believe, even in that kind of heat, a woman could have standards.”

“Shouldn’t
you be hunting up something to eat?” Caleb asked, the edge in his drawl verging
on a growl.

The
young man moaned. The inner beast that had taken up residence last night within
Allie howled, demanding the meal who lolled on the floor. With every minute that
passed the demand grew. Soon, she knew, she wouldn’t be able to resist. And now
they were implying she had something more to worry about? Good God, who knew
being a vampire would be so complicated?

“I’m
not sucking anyone’s blood.” She included Jace in her glare this time.

He,
in turn, leaned his shoulder against the worn wooden jamb. “You realize you
soon won’t have a choice?”

“There’s
always a choice.”

“Not
in this.” The certainty in Jared’s voice made her want to slap him.

“In
the feeding or the other?” Whatever that was.

“I
won’t let anything go wrong.” Caleb’s hand shifted to her waist and pulled her
back against him.

She
looked at him over her shoulder. “Now something can go wrong?”

“There
might be a concern if I wasn’t here.”

“What
is this concern that you think you can control?”

The
door to the back opened. The click of the latch sounded unnaturally loud to her
ears.

Slade
closed the door behind him with a decisive thud. “The lust for blood is often
connected with the lust for intimacy.”

“I’m
going to fall in love with them?” She turned all the way in Caleb’s arms and
slapped his chest when he wouldn’t let her step back. “You wanted me to fall in
love with that smelly, lice-infested old man you tried to get me to maul?”

Caleb
caught her hand, his expression more grimace than anger. “It’s nothing as
permanent as love, and it’s feeding, not mauling.”

Sex,
they were talking sex. “I’d want to have sex with that derelict?”

Three
yeses and one no. She didn’t know who to believe, but she wasn’t having any
part of it, not the blood-sucking and not the indiscriminate sex. “I am so out
of here.”