Not Another Vampire Book (22 page)

“Yeah.” 
She was still half convinced the ‘endearment’ was some kind of inside joke, but
the way he pronounced it made her not really care.  Kara reached over and took
hold of his free palm.  “Thank you.  Very timely with the magical help.  See? 
It’s no wonder I feel safe with you around.”

Damien
slowly shook his head, but his fingers curled around hers, holding tight.  “I
wished I shared the sentiment.  With
you
around, I just brace for the
next disaster.”  He turned and headed for the door.  “To’kel will be headed for
that ridiculous ball.  He has no intention of abandoning his plans to ambush
Slade, no matter how nicely you ask.  I don’t suppose it would do any good to
send you home, so I can deal with this alone?”

“Ambush?” 
Had Tanya called To’kel’s plan an ambush?  That seemed more complex than what
happened in the story.  Was To’kel changing his plans?  Kara shook it aside. 
Whatever.  “I’m going with you, Vlad.  You promised to take me to this thing,
remember?  ‘Later’ you said.  Well, it’s later.”  She hurried to keep up with
him as he led her out of the bar.  The sun had finally set, but the temperature
had risen about twenty degrees in the past ten minutes.  Tanya was such a pain
in the ass.  “Vlad, seriously, I don’t want you to kill To’kel.”

“He
tried to attack you, Kara Lynn.”  Damien lifted his free hand to hail a cab. 
“Right in front of me.  It was a blatant suicide attempt.  I’ll be doing him a
favor to put him out of his misery.”

“But,
he and Slade are going to fight to the death
anyway
.  No sense in us
getting involved.  You’re not even in that scene.  It’s another whole plot
arc.  I just needed him to...”

Damien
cut her off.  “We
are
involved because
he tried to attack you, Kara
Lynn.
”  He stressed the words like she was just being senselessly
stubborn.  “Now, I’m going to kill the Vampire and I see no point in debating
that matter.”  He frowned back towards the bar.  “Damn.  I forgot to pick up
your food.”

“Forget
the food and pay attention!  Leave To’kel alone.  I mean it.  You don’t need
more blood on your hands because of me.  I’m not enabling your vengeance
addiction.”

A
carriage rolled up and Damien opened the door for her.  “He believes you are a Witch. 
Vampires do not like Witches.”  He ground it out, slowly.  “To’kel will come for
you again, if I don’t stop him quickly.  The surest way to stop someone quickly,
is to kill him.  You see?”

“Wait,
he thinks I’m a Witch!?  For real?”

“Well,
it is the logical conclusion given your knowledge of strangers’ lives.”

“I’m
not a Witch, just because I know some of your backstories.  Why do you guys
keep thinking that, huh?  It’s nuts!”

“I
know.”  He nodded gravely.  “And you’ve told me the rational explanation for
your abilities.  You’re a time traveler from a different reality and none of the
rest of us exist at all.  So much less nuts.”

Kara’s
eyes narrowed.  “All that is true, Damien.”

“I
believe you.”  He paused.  “At least, about the time traveling part.”

“You…” 
That caught her by surprise.  “You believe me about being from the future?”  Wow. 
If somebody told her a story like that, she would have just laughed.

“I
do.”  He handed her a package, not meeting her eyes.  “This belongs to you.”

She
blinked up at him and then carefully opened it.  “You got me a gift?  You
didn’t have to…”  She stopped as she saw her purse.  Her wallet.  Her mother’s
picture.  Damien got her stuff back from Slade, just like he said he would.  Something
soft and warm melted in her chest.  Kara let out a long breath and looked up at
him.  “You did this for me?”  There was no other payoff for him that she could
possibly think of.

He
lifted his shoulder in an uncomfortable shrug.  “Stealing from the Vampires is
always a pleasurable way to spend an evening.”

That
meant yes.

The
novel’s brooding villain had done this just to be nice.  To make her happy. 
“Damien.”  She touched his cheek, bringing his guarded face around to hers. 
“Thank you.”  She leaned up, so she could brush her lips against his.  The kiss
was gentle.  Somehow more real than ever before.

He
gave a low groan as if he felt it too.  “Kara Lynn, it was such a simple
thing.  For you, I would do so much more.”  His hand tangled in her hair,
caressing.  “And, looking at those items, I understand now why you believe this
is all a book.  You are from the future and this time is unknown to you.  But,
don’t you see that this belief comes from your confusions with 1892?    It is
the most logical…”

“No.” 
She shook her head, cutting him off.  “This
is
a romance novel.”

“It’s
not, Kara Lynn.  This is real. 
I
am real.”

Kara
didn’t have a response to that insistent appeal, because… Maybe he was right.  Damien
seemed more alive than any man she’d ever met.  How could he be fictional? 
Honestly, when she looked into his eyes, she didn’t know what to think.  This
was all a story, but Damien seemed like so much more than a character in a
book.  So much more.

Damien
sighed as Kara grabbed up her fifty yards of skirt and she stepped into the cab
without saying anything else.

 “Fair
grounds.”  He told the driver and climbed into the seat across from Kara.  He’d
apparently decided to let the subject of her supposed delusions drop.  “Dare I
ask who’s watching Matilda, by the way?”

Lord,
Kara did not relish explaining that one.  “Do you really care?”

“No. 
But if she’s died, I do worry about the smell getting into the carpets.  It is
July.”

“Don’t
remind me.”  The heat in the carriage was unbearable.  Kara hiked up the long,
heavy skirts of her dress trying to get cool.  Her thighs were covered, but the
bare length of her legs was exposed to the air.  It helped a little.

Damien’s
mouth parted in shock.

She
glanced his way and smirked.  “Oh please.  Deal with it, Vlad. 
In the
future
, people show a hell of a lot more skin than this every day.”  She
wiggled her fingers ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ style and tilted her head back on the seat. 
“God, it’s sweltering here.  When was the air conditioner invented?”

Nothing
from his side of the carriage.

Fine.

She
closed her eyes, agitated for no particular reason.  “And time travel is waaay
more rational than Witches.”  She muttered.  “Ask Einstein.  He might be born
by now, already adding up all the little ‘Es’ and ‘Ms’ and ‘C’ squareds.”

Minutes
ticked by in silence.  The carriage really was like an oven.

Damn
Tanya.

Kara
might have dozed off.  She suddenly became aware of a prickling sensation down
her spine.  Like something was stalking her.  Her eyes fluttered open to see
Damien staring her, intently.  The angles of his face pulled taunt.  She
followed his gaze and saw that her legs had shifted further apart, revealing
the black scrap of lace that apparently passed for underwear here in Tanya’s
world.  Kara didn’t know a lot about actual 1892 fashion, but she was pretty
sure it wasn’t hoopskirts and thongs.

 Kara
automatically tried to snap her knees together.

“Do
not.”

The
dark words had her breasts tightening, her heartbeat speeding up.  Kara
instinctively obeyed, her thighs parted like something out of
Basic Instinct
. 
She didn’t say anything.  She just watched him watch her and waited, her body
growing damp.

Damien
wasn’t human.  She’d never been more aware of that than at that moment.  His
eyes glowed with animalistic intent.  Predator and prey.  She was in his
crosshairs and she loved it.

“Wider.” 
He still didn’t look at her face, his ebony gaze fixed on the junction of her
thighs.

Kara
shifted her legs further apart, a feeling of sexual powers coming over her. 
For the first time in her life, she felt utterly sensual.  She licked her lower
lip, suddenly so aroused she whimpered.

He
appreciated that sound.  He glanced at her face, his eyes gleaming.  “Good
human.”  Damien eased off the seat and knelt in front of her.  “Don’t move.” 
His hands slid up her legs, from her feet to her thighs, touching with
possessive intent.  Stroking her gold anklet, he hummed with approval.  “I like
this.”

“Thanks.” 
Kara tried to focus on reality and not his warm breath on her skin.  “I got it
on eBay.”

“My
people gave chains like this for great women.  They were a mark of power.”  He
rolled the pad of his thumb along the rope links.  “It suits you.”

“Well,
enjoy it while you can, because I’m probably gonna have to sell it for food if
I can’t get home soon.”

“I
doubt it will come to that.”  Strong fingers massaged up her calves.  Her
knees.  Higher.  Spreading her open.  Holding her before him, like a sacrifice.

Kara
felt a flicker of panic in the midst of her lust.  “This is not a good idea.” 
Real or not, he was still trapped forever in
Eternal Passion at Sunset
. 
He didn’t know what he was doing.  She was taking advantage of him.  “You don’t
really want… 
Oh!
”

Damien
ripped the panties right off her body.  Just tore the lace free with a savage
jerk.  “I do want.”  He murmured, tossing the fabric aside.

Kara
was panting, now.  “Okay, see?  We’re definitely in a romance novel, because no
guy really does that… 
My God
.”  Her head fell back as his mouth found
the very core of her.  “Damien.”  Magic had to be involved in whatever he was doing. 
It just felt too good.

He
made a growling sound that vibrated through her and she choked back a sob.  His
lips and his tongue were everywhere.  Pushing, licking, driving her higher. 
Her fingers fisted in his hair and she tried to rock against him.

Hands
found her hips, keeping her still, angling her to his mouth.  Overpowering
her.  Kara gasped at the sensation of being at her mercy.  It didn’t scare her. 
Damien had never really scared her.  She had no idea sex games appealed to her,
but she suddenly felt like the helpless prisoner of a seductive sorcerer.  In
fact, she kind of
was
.  Her arousal somehow spiked even higher.

“Don’t
move.”  He breathed, again.  “I can’t lose control.”  Then, he went back to his
work.

Kara
squeezed her eyes closed in pleasure.

She
should have known that Damien would want to dominate like this.  The elegant
layer of civilization peeled back to reveal the predatory nature of his
species.  He could have done bondage without the leather and chains, just from
inhuman strength and extreme sexual talent.

Suddenly,
he pulled back.

Kara
nearly cried.  “Don’t stop.”  She was so close, now.  “Damien, please.”

He
sat back from her, breathing hard.  He wanted something.  She could tell from
the intensity in his eyes.

And,
from out of nowhere, she knew what.  Kara lowered her gaze, her heart pounding,
and instinctively turned in the seat so her back was to him.  Flushing, not
sure what she was doing exactly, she held the heavy skirts up so her bottom
half was bare to his gaze.  She bent slightly, so he could see her from this
new angle.  “Like that?”  She whispered.

“Fuck
yes.”  He whispered it on a groan.

Definitely
not Tanya dialogue.  Damien was making up his own lines, now.  Finding his own
voice.  Even when that voice was swearing, Kara loved hearing it.

Her
other hand braced on the back of the bench, she turned to stare at him.  He was
so aroused.  She could tell not just from his body, but from the rough cadence
of his breathing.

“Stay
still.”  He ordered, again and then he stood directly behind her, leaning
forward so he didn’t hit his head on the top of the carriage.  Caging her with
his sheer size, like a male animal with its mate.

Kara
nearly came as his palm slid down and began rubbing against her sensitized
flesh.  Testing it.  Parting it for his touch.  “
Vlad.
”

“Why
do you call me that?”  He nuzzled the side of her neck.

“Vlad
the Imapler.”  It came out as a moan.  “He was a big, scary guy who… impaled
people.”

“I
like that.”  His tongue touched her ear.  “Will you let me impale you, Kara
Lynn?”  One finger almost entered her and she sobbed.

“Yes.” 
It was total surrender.

 He
could be gentle and forceful at the same time.  It more gasoline on the fire as
he readjusted her body, with strong, insistent movements.  Spreading her thighs
even wider, Damien suddenly supported most of her weight.  Kara whimpered again
as he caught her arms by her sides.  She was trapped against him and she’d
never been closer to a climax in her life.

He
hesitated, breathing fast.  “The Vampires say Wizard Warlocks mate like
creatures.  The first time take our… women it’s always from behind, keeping
them still.”  His hoarse voice was in her ear.  “It’s so we don’t hurt them
during the mating.  Instinct, because things can get out-of-control.  We aren’t
monsters.  The women consent.”