JARHARIS (11 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

He pulled her down on a velvet lounge and covered her body with his, his appetite fierce. His cock strained against the zipper of his jeans, needing set free. He tasted her mouth, hungered for her blood, but refused to give in to his vampire needs. He wanted to ravish her body and have sex with her. He pushed all thoughts of feeding aside.

He pushed her blouse off one shoulder and sampled her warm flesh, lapping her skin with his tongue. His senses reeled out of control when she tangled her fingers in his hair and pushed her bra aside then guided his mouth to her breast. He groaned and sucked her ripe nipple between his lips. The bud puckered and firmed. His tongue danced along its surface, reaping sighs of delight from her throat.

She held his head at her breast and planted tiny soft kisses across his forehead. She pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans and slid her hand across his back, feeling his skin. She slid lower on the chaise lounge, opening her legs and urging his crotch to press against hers.

Jarharis
pulled away briefly, ridding her of her blouse and bra and yanking his shirt over his head before he resumed pleasuring her with his mouth. He fell on her warm flesh, sucking her nipples and stroking her crotch with one hand. He couldn’t get enough of her body. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever been allowed to touch.

Her fingers found the snap on his jeans and pulled it free. In the next second she slid her hand inside his pants and grasped his hard cock. He pressed against her body and withered in her grasp as her fingers wrapped around his flesh. His mouth returned to nip at her lips, to taste her rosy flesh. He began kissing her face, working his way across her cheeks to her chin and lower, onto her collarbone then her breasts. She moaned and tightened her fingers around his prick.

He followed the contour of her body with his tongue, tasting her skin and leaving a wet path in his wake. When he raised his body to his knees, she pulled her hand from his pants, groaning as she released his cock. He placed one hand on the waistband of her pants and slid them off her hips, baring her abdomen to his eyes. In the next second, he whisked the garment off her body and tossed it to the floor then he lifted her legs and placed them across his shoulders.

“Oh
Jarharis
!”

He lowered his head to her crotch and began lapping at her pussy with his tongue, making her sigh and tangle her fingers in his hair. He felt the pressure of her hands on his head and concluded that he was pleasing her with his tongue. He reached one hand to delve amid the dense blonde bush and separated her fleshy lips, revealing her clitoris for his lips to pluck. He poked out his tongue and licked the tiny rose bud, making her suck in a quick breath and tighten her legs around his head.

His senses reeled out of control. He felt pleased with his efforts to pleasure her. He held her tightly and lathed her tender tissues with his wet tongue.
If only he could put the events of the night behind and spend eternity wrapped in her arms.
He dared not believe such bliss was possible.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind and pulled his head from between her legs. He unzipped his fly and allowed his prick to spring through the opening. Taking it in one hand, he guided its bulbous head to her crotch. He entered her quickly, pressing her back against the lounge and raising her hips up so he could hold them in his big hands. He began to fuck her, working his long hard cock in slowly and pulling back, looking down on her face while he moved.

Her eyes were closed, her long lashes lying softly on her cheek. Her lips parted, displaying a row of white even teeth. Her long hair spilled across the velvet lounge, framing her face like a halo. The light from the crystal chandelier in the room illuminated the supple flesh of her body, accentuating the velvety shimmer of youth.

He sucked in a quick breath as the first sensations of orgasm started in his belly. Their bodies moved in rhythm for Selena seemed to sense his impending climax. She opened her eyes and groped the edge of the lounge with both hands, herself close to coming.

“It feels…divine!”

He silently agreed, smiling down into her flushed face. Nothing else felt like climaxing inside her body. A shiver of desire raced lightening fast through his insides. He had never met a woman like Selena, soft, tender, giving—yet bold and fearless at the same time.

He shivered at the thought of her, of touching her, of making love to her. His mind soared with the realization that part of his body was joined to hers, thrusting madly inside her most inner cavern.

She was made just for me.
His admittance brought a smile of epic proportions to his face. He couldn’t deny his feelings for her any longer. He
wouldn’t
deny his feelings any longer. His chest heaved with exertion as the orgasm gathered within his body then exploded into a mind-boggling blast of incredible tingles.

“My god, Selena!
I can hardly stand it!” He lost all sense of place or time—knew only the incredible barrage of sensations racing through his body. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on his shoulders as the wildly racing feelings took total control.

Sweat blanketed his face and chest. The muscles in his buttocks knotted. He dug his fingers into Selena’s fleshy hips and held her crotch against his while the orgasm spilled through his body.

Sated at last, he released a long sigh and slid her legs off his shoulders, crawling atop her on the narrow lounge. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lowered his head to claim her lips. He tasted her sweetness, nipped at her lips with his teeth. A great need welled up inside him. He kissed her cheeks—made her close her eyes so he could kiss her eyelids, kissed her nose.

He almost spoke the words that inched up his throat.
Almost.
He swallowed the love cry down and nestled his face in the hollow between her neck and shoulder. His lips found her supple flesh just beneath her earlobe and nipped playfully. In the next instant, he was fighting the urge to take her blood, to break the supple skin and drink to his heart’s desire. He groaned and snuggled his face against her throat.

He felt her arms tighten around his shoulders. She moved slightly beneath his body. She sighed. He could feel her pulse in her neck, the steady rushing of blood to her brain. He closed his eyes and imagined the red substance, nectar to his vampirism. He shivered in longing.

She moaned and shifted her head, positioning her neck against his lips. A tremor of resistance strummed through his insides. He poked out his tongue and lathed her vein then he bared his fangs and drew closer. Temptation was too great. He brought one hand up to clutch her chin and sank his teeth into her vein.

* * * *

Jarharis
sat on the lounge, his head in his hands. He had done the unthinkable. He had drank from Selena’s vein, used her blood to nourish his needing body—for the second time. Torment filled his big body.

Selena picked up her jeans, made a disgruntled snort when she found the rip along one leg seam then wiggled her ass into the garment and went in search of her shirt. She found it lying on the other side of the room. She pulled it over her head and combed her fingers through her hair. “Stop beating yourself up,
Jarharis
. It was just a little blood. I’ve bled more than that with a nose bleed.”

He raised his head and stared at her. He had tried not to give in to temptation. “I’m sorry. I didn’t take time to feed—”

She crossed the room to the front door. “It’s daylight. I have to go.” She turned to face him suddenly. “Do you have a clock in this mausoleum? I have a feeling I’m going to be late for work.”

He stared at her, realizing that she sounded more concerned with being late for her job than the fact that he had taken blood from her again or that she had nearly died along with three of her
friends
only hours earlier. He pushed to his feet. His body was weary despite the nourishment of fresh blood. He needed to sleep. He stretched his arms over his head, feeling the tightness in his muscles. “You should go home and crawl into bed.”

She shook her head. “I have to get to the office and find out who was murdered last night—besides
Kaleb
and Reece and Merrick.” She bit her bottom lip. “I wish I could remember what happened.” She turned suddenly and grasped the doorknob. In the next instant the room was flooded with bright sunlight.

Jarharis
shrank to the far side of the room, one hand raised to shield his eyes. No matter how much he wanted to go with her—or to protect her—he was destined to remain behind. The door slammed and the sunlight disappeared from the room. He released a sigh of resignation and turned toward his bedchamber.

* * * *

Jarharis
opened his eyes. Finding the quiet oppressive, he raised his body to a sitting position atop his earthy bed. He combed one hand through his hair. Upon each awakening, his first thought was of blood and searching for a victim to take it from. He groaned and lifted his feet over the side of the crypt. It was his destiny—but he didn’t have to like it.

He left the bedchamber and entered the outer room. His eyes strayed to the velvet lounge and his mind was flooded with memories of making love to Selena upon its softness. He raised one hand and grasped the amulet hanging about his neck. He had tried to take it off—and found he could not. He was still puzzled by the event. He gazed down at the stone, once more marveling at its beauty. If he had known it would cause him such strife, he would have thrown it into the fire with its previous owner. A flash of light sparked from the jewel as he looked upon it. He blinked his eyes—uncertain whether he had imagined the show of light or if he was about to learn of another commodity of the amulet.

“The jewel will serve you well.”

Jarharis
jerked his head up, spying Mi as she hovered at eye level.

He considered her words. The jewel would serve him?
But what of his servitude to the Master?
“It didn’t serve its previous owner so well.”

“The witch was merely a vessel with which the Master toyed. She held no great importance.”

“And what about me?
And Selena?
Why was she saved from death?”

“You shall serve the Master and reap great rewards for doing so.” She fluttered about the room, transforming into a sleek black cat, arching her back and stretching in feline beauty then transformed back to her pixie self. She flew to within inches of
Jarharis’s
face. “Selena will soon realize her worth in the Master’s plan.”

Anger rose up inside
Jarharis
. He reached out one long arm and attempted to grab the pixie.
Only to end up grasping thin air when the imp darted out of his reach.
“And what if I refuse to serve the Master?” He gritted his teeth. He clenched his fist.

Mi laughed softly. “You can not refuse. You wear the amulet around your neck. You belong to the Master.”

A shard of disbelief stabbed at
Jarharis’s
heart. He grabbed his chest, feeling the realization as though it were a sharp wooden stake driven through his flesh by the hand of a hunter.

It can’t be true.
He combed his fingers through his hair. Wasn’t it enough that he was destined to drink blood from strangers and lie in an undead state for eternity? Did he have to serve a Master of the dark as well?

He released an angry bellow and strode to the door of the sanctuary. Flinging it open, he bolted out into the dark night. He needed nourishment for his body. He needed a victim. He looked up and down the street, deciding which way to go when he suddenly caught sight of a figure standing across the street.

Aston!
He crossed the avenue as quickly as he could summon the thought, a foggy blur that mocked time. He stood in front of the vampire. He was loath to believe that the villainous murderer had discovered his sanctuary. Woe unto the vulture if he thought to invade his haven.

I should have destroyed him last night.
Jarharis
felt the tremor of regret gather in his belly. Had it not been for the peril that Selena had fallen into, he would have ended the vampire’s life once and for all. He inched closer to the vile creature, prepared to battle to the death.

“You are alone.” Aston shifted his stance and smiled at
Jarharis
. “Where are the hunters you have offered to aide?”

Jarharis
cocked an eyebrow in speculation. Aston could only know that bit of information if Tanya had related it to him. “Where are your legion of savage vampires you threaten me with, Aston? Have they discovered your vile nature and deserted you?”

Aston threw back his head and roared with laughter.

Jarharis
watched the vampire closely. He wasn’t above using trickery to put him off guard. He heightened his senses, though not taking his eyes off the predator for fear he would lunge at him without further notice.