Pixie Dust (Karli Lane #1) (27 page)

“Oh.”  I said.

“Does that make you uncomfortable?” He asked.

“No, of course not.” I replied. “I mean, I don’t enjoy thinking about all the women out there who know you as intimately as possible, but it is what it is. I was actually surprised because I was expecting you to say something more recent. Why did you stop?”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve stopped per se.” He paused. “I just haven’t felt the desire to do it since the last time.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I used to turn anyone who asked because I enjoyed giving the gift of immortality.” He looked away from me as he said, “I learned the hard way that I must be more selective with my generosity. The last woman I converted brought a lot of pain to others.”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps that is a story for another time. To be quite frank my darling, it is not something I enjoy discussing. I’d much rather focus on more pleasant subjects. What other questions do you have?”

“How does one become a vampire?” Okay, I had some idea from Vance’s story, but I wanted a first-hand view.

“To change someone into a vampire,” he said. “The body must be drained nearly dry, the heart must be slowed to nearly stopping. Once the human’s body is to the point of near death, they must drink their Sire’s blood. It only takes a small amount to initiate the change.”

“Then what?”

“Then, they go into a deep sleep while their body reinvents itself. When they wake, they find themselves equipped with fangs and all of their vampire abilities.”

“What about the fangs?” I asked.

“What about them?” He countered.

“I know that they extend when you’re about to…..um, feed. But are they also affected by your mood?” Okay, I already knew the answer but for some reason, I wanted to hear him say it.

“Well,” he began. “I have a feeling you already know the answer to that but I’ll play.”
Crap! Can’t I get away with anything around this guy?
“A vampire’s fangs lengthen not only to feed, but also when they are angry, or….. aroused.” He smiled at me to prove his point. Yep, there they are. And I know he’s definitely not angry with me right now.

Feeling embarrassed, I said, “Okay, I think we’re done with the questions for now!” I got up quickly and started walking towards the bedroom. He moved so fast, I didn’t have a chance to react until he was already framing my face with his hands. “Whoa, um what’s---”

“I’ve been dying to do this since last night.” He dipped his head to place a searing kiss on my lips, making my body temperature rise. Gasping, I softened my body towards his, letting him pull me into his embrace. He parted my lips with his tongue, tasting me and drinking me in. Just as the tension was building to a delightful level, he pulled back and smiled down at me, leaving me breathless and wanting. “Now you can go hide from me, my sweet.”

Stunned, I said, “What? I wasn’t trying to hide. I was just…um….going to go get dressed so I can get home. I have some stuff that I need to…. ah, do.”

“You keep telling yourself that my dear. Maybe then, one of us will believe it.” He shook his head in amusement and stepped aside. “Please, take as much time as you’d like. I need to head downstairs to go over the receipts from last night. I trust you can let yourself out?”

“Uh, yep. I’ll be fine.”

“Goodbye my love.” He said as he kissed my forehead and walked away.
Holy Christ that was a kiss!

Chapter 23

***************

I pulled into the hotel garage that evening and got out of my car, all ready for work. I don’t know why, but I was feeling very uneasy all of a sudden. Something moved to my right, justifying my suspicions. I squinted my eyes, trying to find the source but nothing was there. God, my paranoia must really be getting the best of me. Just in case though, I started walking faster. Another noise startled me, causing me to drop my keys. “Shit!” I screamed. I looked around and still couldn’t see anything. Christ, I needed to get out of here. I bent over to pick up my keys as I prepared myself to run.

I stood up and saw a blur of something right before I was thrown backwards into the air. I landed on the concrete, hitting my head…
hard
. My brain ricocheted against my skull. Panicked, I tried to stand up but was slammed into the pavement again by an invisible force. Everything started to fade. I tried focusing on the fluorescent lights above but was slowly sinking into oblivion instead.   

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of me as a giant form was landing on top of me, smashing me with its weight. It was huge, at least two hundred pounds and seven feet tall. It had red, scaly skin, long black claws, and a set of teeth that would make a piranha envious. I screamed out in terror, kicking and trying to get free but I was no match for this thing. It bent down and bit me, sending a blinding pain through my upper arm. Omigod, this must be the Stryker demon! Why me? Why is it attacking me? I cried as it gnawed through my flesh. It had paralyzed me somehow from the neck down and I could no longer even attempt to fight it off. I cried as I felt every agonizing bite it took. I could see it tearing off piece by piece like a wild dog chewing on a raw steak.

It lifted its head to look at me with its soulless yellow eyes. I made the mistake of looking down at my mutilated arm which appeared to have been put through a meat grinder. “Oh, God!” I cried as I was choking back vomit. The beast began vibrating, shimmering with an energy that I couldn’t quite make sense of. It stilled, before it resumed tearing into my body, making me dizzy from blood loss. It continued eating my flesh for what felt like days. I remained there helpless, while I prayed for someone to come to my rescue.

My pleas with the heavens were finally answered when something swooped in, lifting the beast off of me. I could hear growling and fighting in between my bouts of total darkness. Blood splattered all over my face. I found myself hoping it belonged to the monster. I managed to turn my head to the side to catch a glimpse of my knight in shining armor. It looked like Leo, but a much more feral version than the one I’m used to. His eyes were wild and he was covered in blood. He roared like an animal before launching himself on top of the beast and viciously tearing into its neck. He was a savage creature in his own right, completely untamed and unrefined. I would have been scared, but I lost consciousness again before I had the chance.

I woke up someplace different. After a moment, I realized that I was in Leo’s bed, wearing only my bra and panties. I still couldn’t move…… And somebody was licking my arm. No make that,
Leo
was licking my arm.
What the hell?

Gasping, I asked, “What are you doing?”

He pulled away after one more lick and sat up in the bed. “I repaired the wound on your arm earlier, but you bled out a lot.” He smiled. “I was cleaning up a bit.”  Speaking of clean…..he was pristine, not a hair out of place. What the heck?

“Oh. Thanks… I guess. What happened?”

 “You were attacked. Do you remember anything?”

I winced. “Yeah, I do. It’s just you look……different. It must have been my imagination.”

“Different, how?” He asked.

“Cleaner.”

He laughed. “I’d imagine so. I was quite a mess earlier. You’ve been out for a few hours. I showered once I knew you’d be okay. I didn’t want to scare you when you woke.”

“A few hours?” I exclaimed. “But I’m going to be okay? How do you know?” I tried moving my body again but it wasn’t cooperating. “I can’t move.”

“Your arm is healed but your blood has been poisoned.” He said. “That is why you are still paralyzed. The Stryker’s bite contains venom which is slowly working its way through your blood stream. I would imagine that is rarely the cause of death in most of their victims, considering they usually dine on their hearts. Seeing that yours is intact, the poison would eventually do the job.”

Fighting back bile at the memory of that beast chewing my flesh I whispered, “So, I’m going to die? Didn’t you just say I’d be fine???”  

“Yes, as long as I remove the poison.” He replied.

“How are you going to do that?” I asked. 

“I can suck out the infected blood.” His fangs lengthened at the mere thought of it. “Once the poison is gone, you’ll need to drink some of my blood to replenish your supply since you’ve already lost so much. That’s why I had to wait until you regained consciousness. ” Okay, he looked a little
too happy
about that last bit.

“I don’t get it. Wouldn’t you get poisoned?”

“No.” He said. “All immortals are immune to toxins so it will have no effect on me.”

 “Will I turn into a vampire?”

 “The poison hasn’t been in your system long enough to spread very far; I’ll probably only need to take a small amount. You’ll be fine, maybe a little tired at most. My saliva will heal the bite wounds and my blood will help your body repair any internal damage. Besides, humans are the only species that I can change.” Yeah, not
exactly
accurate. “And I am certain you are not one of those.”
 
Okay, you’ve got me there.

I thought about the excruciating pain when the demon bit me. “Do you have any liquor to numb the pain?”

“Of my bite?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yes. I think I’ve had all the pain I can handle for the evening.”

Giving me a wicked smile he promised, “I assure you my dear, you will feel no pain at all.”

Gulp. “How did you know I was in trouble? And how did you find me?”

“I could sense it.” He replied. “I’ve had your blood before which allows me to sense your location and your emotions.”

“From that far away? At
all
times?”

“Yes, my love. Anywhere and at
all
times.”

“Well, that little talent was something you failed to mention.”
Grrrrrr!

“A man has to keep some mystery.” He smiled.

I had another flashback and winced. “Oh my God, please tell me you killed that thing.” I begged. “Please tell me that it will never be able to hurt another person again!”

“Unfortunately, I cannot.” He answered. “I heard your heartbeat slowing and saw you faint. You became my priority so I abandoned the fight to check on you. It simply disappeared while I was distracted. I still sensed it but couldn’t see anything. To the best of my knowledge, a Stryker demon does not possess any abilities other than brute force. I think we are dealing with something quite unique.”

“Everything is so fuzzy.” I said. “I know that I saw the demon start to shift back right before you came, but I can’t piece it together.”