Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (11 page)

 I let out a
little sigh and he smiled as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.  The
ripples of sensation in my stomach grew stronger, and I noticed absently that
his teeth were beautiful, with sharp canines that were slightly longer than
normal.  I wondered what it would feel like to have him nibble at my neck.  The
sexual tension in the air was so thick it was like a physical force, rolling
over my skin, pulsing in time to the waves of red energy that surrounded him. 
He reached out and placed his hand over mine on the table, jolting me out of my
daydream.

I mentally shook
myself.  What the
hell
was that?  I doubted I would’ve even protested if
he threw me on the table right then and there.  “Shall we leave now?” he all
but purred.  I nodded silently, without thought, and we made our way to his
car.

Sliding into the
soft leather seat, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.  I felt a headache
steadily building behind my eyes.  This was so not the time.  Christian got in
the other side and I felt his eyes on me. 

“I think the
wine is getting to me.”  I said a little breathlessly, my eyes still closed.

My eyes flew
open as he leaned over the center console.  He a warm hand behind my neck as
his mouth covered mine.  I wanted to melt.  The ripples were back.  Times ten. 
My arms slid up around his neck, drawing him closer as his tongue did wonderful
things.  He drew away, and I sighed, feeling robbed.  Sure it was only a first
date, but I got the impression Christian usually got what he wanted.  And
really, what woman in my position would say no?  I had a moment of guilt over
my lack of morals, but then I thought of Ailis, the anxious mother hen, waiting
for me at home.  I decided to live on the edge.

Christian
started the car and turned on the stereo.  Dark music pulsed softly in the
background as he rested one big, warm hand on my knee, toying with the hem of
my silk skirt.  He pulled out of the parking lot and turned right, the opposite
direction from my house.  As we headed away from town and into the woods, a
flash of anxiety washed over me.  “Where are we going?”  I asked softly.

He glanced at me
and I went all tingly when he said, “To my home,” in a voice that could only be
described as a growl.

His accent had
become more pronounced.  I closed my eyes again, trying to get a rein on my
hormones.  It hadn’t even been a question.  It was a sure statement
.  Cocky
bastard.
  Everything inside me was screaming for his touch, but my
instincts were crying out for caution.  He might be used to one-night stands,
but I was an entirely different story.

His fingers were
now lightly caressing the top of my thigh.  I glanced at him and slowly let out
my breath.  Maybe I needed to rebel.  Besides, when was the last time a girl
like
me
ended up with a man like
him?
 I knew it was too good to
be true.  At that moment, I didn’t care.

I leaned my head
back against the seat again and sighed as his fingers lightly caressed their
teasing way up my inner thigh.  The tingling sensation that had been present
earlier intensified as his touch sent little jolts of pleasure racing along my
skin.  I was more aroused by that simple touch than I had ever been in my entire
relationship with my previous boyfriend.

Warmth radiated
from his touch, and sent a shock through me.  He was almost bringing me to a
climax just by touching me.  I blushed profusely at the thought.
Oh. My.
God.

 
“Will we be
there soon?”  My voice was husky, but I couldn’t help it.  How was he doing
this so easily?  I usually took a while to get warmed up. 

“Not nearly soon
enough,” he said in that low growl.  The look in his deep green eyes told me
that this was just the tip of the iceberg.  I was in way over my head.

Without taking
his eyes off the road, he gently caressed my face, slipping his hand behind the
nape of my neck.  This thumb gently traced the curve of my ear.  I closed my
eyes and tried not to pant.  His hand slipped from behind my neck, trailing
lightly down my arm before taking my hand and resting on my knee.  I wondered
just what I had gotten myself into. At least my headache had eased.

A few minutes
later, the car slowed and we pulled into a long driveway leading to a rambling,
one-story stone house.  Even in the moonlight, I could tell that the property
was huge.  Big trees and dense shrubs lined the driveway, and as I stepped out
of the car I could hear the breeze gently rustling through the branches. 
Taking a deep breath, I paused to peer up at the stars overhead, visible in the
spaces between branches.

 I didn’t notice
him coming around the car.  Suddenly he was just there, pinning me to the door
aggressively, nuzzling my neck as his hands roamed over my body.  The pulsating
waves of desire, beat at my skin like a physical force.  I felt as though I
couldn’t draw a full breath.  His hands lowered to my hips, pulling me against
him so that I could feel him through our clothes. 
Oh…wow.

I leaned back,
looking into his face.  His eyes glinted in the night.  I shuddered in sudden
chill, again wondering just what the hell I was doing here.  For all I knew,
Ailis was right.  I concentrated for a moment and sure enough, his bright red
aura was more prominent than it had been before, but with a different “flavor”
than the vampires I had met.

He bent and
deftly swept me up into his arms.  I let out a little shriek, and he chuckled,
the sound rumbling through me.  He carried me to the door as if I weighed
nothing at all.  When he reached the door he let me stand again, removing the
arm under my knees so that I slowly slid down the hard length of his body.

He unlocked the
door and stepped inside, grasping my hand to draw me in with him.  He released
me briefly in order to switch on a light.  It was set with a dimmer switch and
the light that flooded the room had the soft ambiance of a candle.  He paused
to enter a code into a set of alarms by the door.  Grasping my hand once more,
he led me silently to a sunken living room, where he deposited me onto a couch
of soft leather and suede.  “Wait here.”  He said softly, and retreated into
another room.

 I sank back
into the sumptuous couch and soaked in the atmosphere.  Christian’s house was
beautiful.  Very unlike a typical bachelor pad.  The whole house was decorated
in deep, rich earth tones.  Attention had been given not only to the soothing
colors, but the textures of the room as well.  The couch and love seat were a
combination of smooth leather and soft suede.  The area rug on the glowing hardwood
floor was hand-woven, bumpy and uneven.  Even the walls were textured, ranging
from smooth paneling, to rough brick, to stucco.

The most
striking features were the plants and the sculptures.  Every corner or
horizontal surface contained a potted plant, ranging from a beautiful white
orchid on the coffee table to a pair of giant trees on either side of the step
down to the sunken living room area.  Amongst the plants were various
sculptures of wolves.  It felt like I was sitting in the middle of a forest,
the wolves peering out at me from beneath the trees.

Christian came
back into the living room carrying two glasses of wine.  His eyes met mine and
I was staggered at the wash of desire that flowed over me.  He seemed
distracted, but he shook it off and handed me a glass of wine.  I drank deeply
while he turned on a stereo somewhere among the jungle of plants.  The music
that flowed out of the invisible speakers wasn’t the dark rock that I was
expecting, but some primitive sounding instrumental mix with pulsating drums
and deep woodwinds that seemed to reverberate in my bones.

The music and
the wine had my body practically humming.  I leaned my head back and watched
Christian approach with a predatory look in those deep green eyes.  He sank
down on the couch next to me, taking my wine glass from my hands and placing it
on the coffee table.  I think I surprised him when I reached out and gently ran
my fingers through his low ponytail.  His hair was black as midnight, thick and
silky to the touch.  He grasped my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing
the soft underside of my wrist while he gazed into my eyes.

 I reached
forward and lay my hand along his jaw, urging his mouth down to mine.  He
kissed me deeply and the tingling sensation rose again in my belly.  His hands
rested on my hips, pulling me closer as he trailed kisses from the corner of my
mouth to my throat.  He paused, nuzzling my throat gently before nipping
lightly at the tender skin.  I froze in sudden apprehension.

What if the
feeling of wrongness I had been having all night was actually my supposed
“powers” trying to warn me about something?  The dark beauty, the unexplainable
attraction…and his aura was just amazing.  This was all new to me, but I
thought the ones with big, obvious auras weren’t human.  His aura was the
strongest I had seen.  Sure, I
thought
it was different from a vampire’s
aura, but I could be wrong.  I sat still, with my eyes squeezed shut, waiting
for him to rip my throat out.

Instead he sat
back in puzzlement.  “Mya…” he said in his deep rumble, “do you want me to
stop?”

I felt foolish
for letting my imagination run away with me.  “No.” I said, my voice a bit
shaky.  I shrugged.  “I’m just not used to this.”  I gestured weakly between
us.  “I don’t usually do this sort of …thing.”  I looked down at the floor and
willed myself not to blush.

He laughed
softly.  “I am
very
drawn to you.  And you react to me like magic.  Is
something wrong with this?”

I didn’t think I
was capable of blushing any deeper than I already was, but I somehow managed to
do just that, my cheeks flaming.  God, he sounded like something out of a
romance novel.  I made a face and rolled my eyes heavenward.  He placed a
gentle finger under my chin and lifted my head so that I had no choice but to
meet his gaze.

“It was never my
intention to make you feel uncomfortable.”  He frowned.  “Somehow I have
difficulty with…restraint… near you.”  He sighed.  “If you want me to stop, I
will.  I will drive you straight home right now if that is what you really
desire.”  He paused and glanced at me slyly.  “But I don’t think that is the
case.”  He kissed me again before venturing, “Am I right?”

I let out my
breath in a sigh and slowly nodded my head.  He slipped one arm behind my back
and the other under my knees, pulling me onto his lap.  He kissed me
tentatively at first, tenderly, questioning the sincerity of my decision. I
gave up analyzing my feelings and just went with it, deepening our kiss, and
becoming more aggressive.  He made a noise low in this throat and stood,
carrying me into the bedroom as though I weighed nothing at all.

He hit another
one of those dimmer lights as we entered the room, revealing a huge bedroom
complete with its own stone fireplace on one wall.  The bed was a gigantic
wooden monstrosity that looked like it had been crafted out of whole trees. 
The rich colors and textures were here as well.  The massive bed was covered in
black silk sheets with a glistening fur throw folded at the foot.

I felt my brows
draw together in puzzlement.  “Christian, who are you really?  I mean- you’re
obviously not a deliveryman.”  God, I sounded naive even to my own ears.

He just chuckled
lightly.  “Let’s just say I was just filling in.” he said softly, pausing to
nuzzle my neck.  “My family owns the supply company.  And a research center. 
And a couple hospitals.”

Now that made
more sense.  I would have a fireplace in my bedroom too if my family owned a
medical research center.  “But you’re not-”

I think I’d meant
to ask him if he was human.  But Christian ran his tongue along my earlobe
suggestively, and I was sidetracked from my questions.  He certainly didn’t
seem intent on doing me any harm.  He crossed to the bed in two long strides. 
Kissing me fiercely, he slid my sweater up, his hands lightly tracing the
length of my torso.  He pulled away briefly to free me from the shirt.  As he
leaned back down to kiss my neck I tugged impatiently at the edge of his shirt,
pulling it up and over his head.

 He was glorious,
with broad shoulders, and a wide muscular chest, lightly dusted with silky
black hair.  He wore a wide gold chain tucked under his shirt, and it brushed
my hand briefly, warmed from his skin and glowing dully in the dim light.  It
seemed familiar somehow, and I slid my fingers along its length pausing at the
Celtic charm dangling from the end.  Seeing my attention on the necklace,
Christian slid it off and tossed it onto the nightstand.  He returned to me
aggressively before I could comment.

My hands traced
the rippling muscles of his back while he unhooked my bra with one hand.  The
other hand tangled in my hair at the nape of my neck, pulling my head back to
allow better access to my throat.  We rid each other of clothes in an instant. 
He stretched out full length beside me, his long, hard body pressed close to
mine.  I felt like I had been waiting for this for a very long time.

He kissed me
again, sliding one arm under my shoulders as the other cupped my breast, his
thumb making slow circles over my nipple.  I ran my hands over his amazing
body, trailing my fingers across his hips and to his massive cock.  He was rock
hard, and a drop of moisture glistened from the tip. I wrapped my hand around
him and began to stroke him firmly.  He let out a growl and flipped me onto my
back, startling a gasp from me.