Caressed by Night (8 page)

“This is all insane,” she sighed and pinched her brow. Her stress headache was back. “I need some time to think and some Tylenol.”

“Would you like me to take you over to Silvie’s? Her apartment is not far.”

“No. Take me home.”

“You want to come back with me?”

She heard the shock and relief in his voice.

“My mind is a mess, but despite all my conflicting emotions, I know I can trust you. Dimitri, you used your body to protect me from the bullets and you saved me from my would-be attackers the other night. You have been a gentleman, even though I threw myself at you, and now you offered to take me to a friend’s. I feel safe with you and finding out you are a vampire is weird and straight terrifying, but in my heart I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” She shook her head and gave a light, short laugh. “I think the shock and the stress are making me ramble. The point I am trying to make is, as long as you continue to behave the way you have been, you will still have a roommate.”

“I am who I am. Nothing is going to change that.”
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His hand cradled her neck as he brought her down with him
onto the bed. He rested his head against the black silk pillows. Kerstyn
leaned over him, pressing herself against the hard length of his body.

He felt so good, so right, beneath her.

Her tongue teasingly caressed his bare chest, drawing hot
circles of torturous pleasure down his torso. She nipped each of his
hipbones. His muscles clenched and he closed his eyes, desperately
trying to shut out the demands of his body. Her fingers followed her
lips, her nails lightly scratching down his sides. She sat back on her
knees once she reached the waistband of his jeans. Flashing a coy,
sensual smile, her fingers sought the evidence of his arousal. He
shifted, trying to ease the tension of the tightly stretched fabric
containing his throbbing member.

Not able to withstand her play any longer, Dimitri grabbed her
shoulders and drew her up his body. Kerstyn settled over him, her hips
straddling his, his hardness pressing tightly against her core. She
gently rocked back and forth and smiled when he groaned. She leaned
down, her tongue tasting his flesh, skipping over his pulse. Dimitri
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, holding her tightly to
him.

“Take from me what you need.”

Her fangs were hot and sharp in her mouth. Her body pulsed
with life as her cravings grew. Fire scorched her throat. She was
hungry. No. She was starving.

Dimitri arched his neck, pressing himself tightly against her
mouth. Her lips parted and white-hot pleasure consumed them both. He
tore at his jeans and shoved her skirt up her hips. His hot and tangy
blood slipped down her throat as he—

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Kerstyn groaned as she rolled over. Her legs sawed restlessly on the bed, her core swollen with desire and need. She glanced at her alarm clock and cursed. Five minutes. She had barely dozed off and she was not surprised her dreams went straight to Dimitri. Pushing herself up, she began to take in deep breaths, trying to slow the frantic beating of her heart. That had been no ordinary wet dream. It had felt incredibly real. Her tongue ran over her lips. She could taste the saltiness of his skin and the sweetness of his blood. Her skin still hummed from the feel of his arms wrapped about her. When her eyes had popped open, she had expected to find Dimitri lying next to her.

“Of course, I had to wake up before the really good part,” she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Kerstyn was surprised she had drifted off to sleep. The stress and strangeness of the day had set her nerves on end. She was tired beyond belief, but her mind would not rest. She had been sitting on her bed for the past few hours in a daze, her thoughts a tornado of confusion. Her mind kept replaying the scene in the alley. She could see with perfect clarity the bullets falling from Dimitri’s torso and clattering to the ground. Then, once she finally managed to drift off, her thoughts turned erotic.

She stood snagging the blanket that lay in a twisted heap on her bed and dragged her vanity chair out to the balcony. The night was cool on her cheeks and stars peppered the sky as the moon blazed brightly giving life and light to the vast desert below. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she sat in the silence.

Why does life have to be so insane?
The last few days had been a test of her sanity. Her friend had thrown her out, she had lost her job, her car was dead, and the man she was living with was a vampire. She swallowed hard as she rolled that word over again in her mind for the millionth time.

Kerstyn rubbed the back of her neck and willed herself to relax as she once again thought about the ride home. She had sat in a daze, her eyes staring unseeingly out the window. Her voice was gone and when he whipped the Bentley through a Carl’s Jr. drive-thru for her, all she could do was nod when he read the menu to her.

Once they reached the house, she took her food and went straight to her room. She didn’t know if he had said goodnight or if she
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had imagined it. She needed space. She needed some time to think. Life had not only slapped her in the face, it had knocked her on her ass.

The sound of a French door opening drew her eyes down to the backyard. Dimitri came out from the covered patio, a white towel tossed over his naked shoulder. Crossing over to the teak lounge chairs, he dropped the towel and swung his arms wide. The muscles in his back rippled as he stretched.

Damn, he is built.

He reached up and tugged on the leather strip, releasing his golden hair.

Unaware of her movements, Kerstyn scooted to the edge of the chair and craned her neck for a better view. He stepped to the edge of the pool and her breath caught as he dove into the water, his large frame barely disturbing the surface and creating no sound. She watched him move beneath the water from one end of the Olympic-size pool to the other. Occasionally, he would come up. Water dripped from his face and rolled down his chest as he ran his hands through his hair before slipping under again. After what seemed like an eternity, he pushed himself up out of the water, sitting on the tiled edge. He reached for his towel, wiped his face off, then ran it over his hair and across his chiseled chest.

God, she was envious of a towel.

Heat flushed her cheeks and ran down her spine. She could not help the sigh that escaped her lips when he stood, wrapping the towel around his waist, covering the black swim trunks that clung to his backside.

He walked back toward the house, disappearing beneath the patio. She heard the door snick closed. Her mouth was dry, her heart slammed in her chest as she envisioned him entering his room, dropping the towel, his trunks―

She closed her eyes. There was no denying she wanted to be with him. She needed to be with him. She wanted her dream to come true. She wanted to taste his flesh, she wanted to run her fingers over his muscled body, she wanted to straddle his hips. For the first time in her life, the thought of biting a man for his blood was erotic. She wanted to taste him in every way.

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Kerstyn dragged in slow breaths, letting them out even slower as she attempted to calm herself. She stood, bringing the chair inside with her and closing the balcony doors.

She needed to think of anything other than her dream. As she sat on her bed, she formed a mental list of questions and those questions demanded answers. But she was not about to go hunt Dimitri down before getting her lust under control. Throwing herself at him and tackling him to the ground would not help her confusion though it would quell her newfound desire.

She had ditched her dress earlier and had slept in her bra and panties. Now, Kerstyn rummaged through the clothes still scattered on the floor where she had dropped them deciding that tomorrow she would put everything in its proper place. Finding a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top with a built-in bra, she slipped into her loungewear, found her pink, fuzzy slippers, and went in search of Dimitri.

Kerstyn recited her question list again in her head as she crossed the living room, passed through the kitchen, went down the hall, and stopped in front of Dimitri’s room. She raised her hand, preparing to knock when the delicately carved double doors were thrown open. Kerstyn jumped, her breath lodged in her throat.

Dimitri’s frame filled the doorway. Her eyes met his bare chest.

Thin rivers of water dripped from his damp hair and rolled down his shoulders to his abdomen. He wore nothing but white workout shorts and a pair of super-sized, white running shoes.

She swallowed and forced her gaze to leave his pectorals and travel up his thick neck to his face.

“Can’t sleep either?” she squeaked.

He shrugged. The beast within him was restless, craving action.

The swim had been no help, not with Kerstyn sitting on her balcony with the scent of her arousal floating on the breeze. Her hot gaze had been a caress firing his blood, triggering his need despite the cool water. He had hoped in vain a cold shower would help. Now, he prayed that a death-defying workout would do what the swim and shower could not—calm the beast.

“I was just heading to the gym.”

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“Twenty-Four Hour Fitness?” she asked. She had no idea what time it was, but it was late…or was it early now? “You know, not all Twenty-Four Hour Fitness centers are open twenty-four hours.”

“I have a gym set up in the basement.”

She dropped her eyes to the floor and stepped back, giving him room to head down the hall.

“Tell me what you are thinking.” His voice was hard, rough, and felt like silk against her skin.

“Can’t you just read my mind?”

“I would rather you share your thoughts with me.” She winced.
Cross that question off the list.

“If you need more time―”

“I have questions.”

Dimitri slowly nodded and moved to the side allowing Kerstyn to slip past him. He closed the doors and, for a heartbeat, they stood in complete darkness. Then candles began to flicker, casting their soft glow about the room as a fire sprang to life in the large hearth.

Kerstyn jumped from the sudden change.

“Did you do that?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

“I can do many things.”

“You said that earlier.”

Dimitri stood, leaning his shoulders against the doors, watching Kerstyn as she walked through his room. She went toward the fireplace first, stepping around the couch and coffee table to stand before the heat. She traced the carvings of the marble mantel with her fingers as she studied the detail. Then she roamed across the rare Persian rug that covered the cool wood floors, passing his desk, his full bookshelf, and the door that led to the bathroom. She stepped around him, noting the chest of drawers in the corner by the entrance of the walk-in closet, and came to a halt at the foot of his bed. His heart fluttered in his chest. His body tensed.

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“I already know you can control my mind and read my thoughts if you wanted.” She turned to face him. “What else can you do?”

Her curiosity was cute, but dangerous.

“It is a rather long list.”

Kerstyn nodded.
He’s very powerful, check
.

“Is ‘Dimitri’ your given name?”

“No,” he answered flatly and she assumed by his tone that was the only information she would get. She was about to move on when he said, “I do not remember my true name. I do not remember my human life at all.”

“So, you were human.”

“Once,” he grated.

She sat on the edge of his massive bed.

Dimitri’s pulse spiked, his ice-blue eyes jumped with flames of desire. Kerstyn shifted, scooting further back on the mattress allowing her slippers to thud to the floor.

Tearing his eyes from her, he focused on the fire directly before him, forcing himself to relax.

“How are vampires made?”

“Fledglings are created by the exchange of blood.” Kerstyn’s hand went up to her neck. The movement caused him to smile. Her mouth went dry as he flashed his canines and she rubbed her fingers over her pulse wondering what his lips would feel like as his fangs sank into her flesh.

Dimitri hissed, “Please…do not.”

“You said―”

“It is hard to block your thoughts when they are screaming at me.”

She blushed, her hand dropping to the black comforter.

“Do you not want my blood?”

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He stiffened. As did his cock from just hearing her say
that
word. He was glad he was wearing loose shorts.

“Dimitri? Do you not―”

“I have never wanted anything more.”

Lustful shivers heated her body.
That shouldn’t please me as
much as it does
, she thought.

“You’re very strong,” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “Couldn’t you just take it?”

Oh, good God.
He ran shaking hands through his hair as his pupils dilated, then constricted. Images of their limbs entwined and his sheets bunched beneath them flashed before his eyes.

“No, I would never. Not without permission,” he said, panting.

Liquid heat pooled between Kerstyn’s thighs. She licked her lips. The soft glow of the fire danced over his torso, casting shadows on his muscled stomach. He looked delicious. She rubbed her palms over the comforter as they tingled with anticipation.