Rise of the Fallen (16 page)

Finally he kicked his pants off and shoved her legs open
with his knees, pushing forward and sinking in deep as she cried into his mouth
and locked her arms around his back to hold him hard against her.

Giving himself to her slowly, he rocked into her, his back
curving as he took her deep and then slowly pulled out, gliding back into her
silky heat once more. Each solid thrust was answered with a feminine whimper,
each of which he caught on his tongue until he could no longer hold back and
dropped his mouth to her throat as he quickened his tempo.

* * *

Something clicked when he planted his lips against her
throat. Vampires drink blood. They drink from their victims' throats, and his
mouth was on her throat. Did he intend to take her blood, just sink his fangs
or whatever he used into her flesh and take her? Instead of the thought
terrifying her into a cold stop, the added risk sent her to the moon and she
pushed him over, keeping the intimate connection between them as she took him
from the top.

Harder and faster, she ground herself against him with a
need she had never felt, her orgasm hiding just under the surface. But it was
there, just waiting, rising and gripping her throat from the inside so that
each time she exhaled, she cried out a little louder than before, each breath building
a crescendo of sound and sensation.

Micah seized her thighs in his large hands. He was stronger
than he looked, pushing and pulling her easily as he bucked up to meet her
urging thrusts. The look on his face was so feral, and the grunts he made so carnal,
that she could almost hear the train of profanities that ran through his mind.
Did he hold himself back for her? She could tell the words hung behind his
clenched teeth just waiting for an invitation to spill.

"Tell me to fuck you. Tell me!" She said, so close
to going over.

With a howl that was half guttural war cry and half gracious
relief, he switched his grip from her thighs to her hips and pounded up hard
against her, slamming his length into her deep.

"That's it, Sam. God, yes, fuck me! Fuck me! FUCK
ME!"

When had Sam ever felt so debauched, yet so decadent? She
couldn't remember. Micah did things to her that no man had ever done, drawing
out of her a woman she'd never felt safe enough to be.

Before she knew what was happening, she was on her back
again, Micah's large frame driving into her from above, her legs up and over
his shoulders.

"Tell me, Sam," he said, an unbelievable quiet
coming over him as he stilled. It felt to Sam like the air around them was only
getting hotter, super charged, pregnant with unspent desire that only needed a
spark to ignite.

"What?" Tell you what?" she asked, linking
her fingers behind his neck, yearning, squirming for him to continue.

"Tell me to come." His dark eyes glittered as they
bore into hers. "Please. Hurry. Tell me."

Panting, pulling, needing him, she nodded. "Come for
me, Micah. Come inside me." She realized she didn't want him to pull out.
She wanted to feel what he felt like deep at her core.

Growling, he thrust hard and fast, hitting the front of her
tight cavern in just the right spot to stir her own stubborn release from the
shackles it had locked itself in.

"Come with me," he grunted. "I can feel how
close you are. Come with me."

"Yes." She knew she would. He didn't have to
worry. "I'm close, so close, don't stop." As if he would, but she
needed him to hear her say it. "Now, now. Micah!" Her nails dug into
his back as she gripped him and felt the first wave of release sweep over her.

His body stiffened and shuddered, his hips slamming forward
as he cried out and his cock jerked against her G-spot to send her crashing in
a wave of pleasure that shot through her body like lightning. Her muscles
quivered and pulsed around his steely presence inside her, sucking him as he
pulsed and emptied himself against her walls, warming her like he was pouring
hot water inside her.

* * *

After she had milked every last drop from his cock, and
after the last of her gentle spasms of release had subsided, Micah pulled out
and rolled her to her side and lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around
her slim waist as if he would never let her go.

"Did I hurt you?" he said, running his nose over
the sweat-dampened skin on the back of her neck. "Mmm, you smell even
better when you perspire."

"Do I?" Her body shook softly as she chuckled.
"That's a first. And no, you didn't hurt me."

Micah felt her body humming with life. "You've never
come that hard, have you?"

"No. How do you know these things?"

"It's my spider sense." He smiled into her soft,
short hair.

"Yeah, whatever. You're probably digging inside my head
again, aren't you?"

"Maybe just a little."

"Well, stop it."

They were silent for a minute then Micah said, "You
don't enjoy dancing at the Garter, do you?"

Sam's head bowed slightly, as if she was ashamed. "No.
But you know why I do it. I don't have much choice."

"What if I helped you? Found you another job? I can be
very persuasive." He ran his hand over the curve of her hip.

"I can see that." He heard the smile in her voice
then she rolled in his arms to face him. Her smile faded. "I don't want to
be a charity case, Micah."

"You're anything but a charity case, Sam." He
combed his fingers through her short hair. Making love to her had been
wonderful, and it had come out of nowhere. Who would have thought showing her
his knives would lead to…well,
that?
He felt so full of life all of a
sudden. Not even with Jackson had he felt this alive. "God, I loved making
love to you just now." The words swooshed out of him on a heady exhale as
if he hadn't intended to speak aloud.

Sam snuggled closer as he tightened his embrace. "I
did, too. You do things to me…make me feel things—"

"You've never felt before?"

"I told you to stop that." She play-bit his
shoulder.

"Habit. I can't help myself." His fingers brushed
over her back.

"Try."

He chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

They both drew silent once more, breathing against each
other, enjoying the post-coital reverie. But soon enough, Micah's thoughts
returned to her career and he pulled away enough so he could look into her
eyes.

"Seriously, Sam, I will do what I can to help you if
you want to quit dancing. I don't like you working there, anyway." He
didn't want her returning to the Black Garter, especially now that they'd
consummated their relationship, which strengthened his bond to her. The thought
of all those men eyeing her with lust and touching her or themselves as they
jacked off while thinking about her made him want to hurt someone. He stroked
her hair off her forehead and ran his fingertips over the curves of her face.

"Big bad Micah doesn't like anyone looking at his girl,
huh?" Her hand skimmed over his chest.

He grinned, making sure to flash a little fang. "Damn
straight."

She leaned in and kissed him. "That's sweet, but I told
you. I don't want to be a charity case. I'll manage."

Damn stubborn woman. Micah would clean his own savings out
and give it all to her if she asked him to. "Well, I won't let anything
happen to you."

Her smile widened and she placed her hand in his. "Why
do I get the feeling you mean that?"

"Because it's true."

"Are all vampires like you?"

"No."

"Well, are they at least as nice?"

If only the other members on his team could have heard that.
He chuckled. "Absolutely not."

"What's so funny?"

"I'm known as the blankity-blank-so-and-so S.O.B. on my
team."

She nodded. "Oh, well, I guess I can see that,
too."

"I bet you can."

The two moved closer together, their naked legs
intertwining.

"Should I feel honored to have the famous Scarlet in my
bed?"

She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved his chest. "I
don't do Scarlet off stage."

"I bet I can talk you into it. I've seen how you can
bend." He nuzzled her neck.

"Oh, you have, huh?" Her fingers combed into his
hair, and he purred against her skin.

"Yes. Will you give me a private show sometime?"

Her head bent back and her breasts pressed against his
chest. "It'll cost you."

"How much for a whole night?"

"Hmm, we can work it off in trade. How's that?"

Rolling over on top of her, Micah trailed his tongue down
her body as he sank between her legs. "Well, let me get started
then."

The last thing he saw before closing his mouth over her
swollen clit was Sam's eyes closing dreamily, her head nodding as she pressed
into the pillow.

"Yes, please," she said.

It was late when Sam woke up with Micah nestled behind her
and his hand cupping her between her legs as if he had fallen asleep trying to
stimulate her into yet another orgasm. How many times had she come before they
had finally fallen into an exhausted, sated sleep sometime around one o'clock?
She rubbed her palm over her face, trying to remember. Three? No, four times.

Her body felt well used, but in a good way, and a pleasant
ache throbbed between her legs. After their first time, which Sam now blushed
over—she'd never been one for rough sex like that, but now wondered why the
hell not—Micah had used his mouth like a cunnilingus master before taking her
again on top. The loving had been softer and more savory then, and he made love
to her with the tenderness of a man more in love than in lust.

After dozing for a few minutes in each other's arms, he had
awakened and pulled her on top of him. She had been too tired to do much of the
work, but Micah had had more than enough energy left in him for the both of
them, securing his arms around her as she had laid against him and he had
pumped into her from the bottom.

Wow, things had moved fast with Micah. She had only just met
him and already felt like she was falling in love. How had that happened when
she was normally so cautious and distant?

A soft smile touched her lips as she replayed the morning's
memories over and over in her head, his breath warming the back of her neck as
he continued to sleep. His leavings still seeped from her, and she wondered if
maybe they should have used protection. Or maybe vampires couldn't impregnate
humans.

God, was she really thinking that? Was Micah really a
vampire? And were creatures known as drecks really trying to kill her? Maybe
she had merely dreamed all that. She had had something to drink, and she rarely
drank, so maybe her mind had played tricks on her.

"No." Micah's gravelly voice broke the silence,
startling her.

"What?"

He cleared his throat. "No, your mind's not playing
tricks on you." He pulled her closer, sliding his hand down further
between her legs, purring when he felt what he had left inside her coat his
fingers.

"You're not supposed to be in my mind, remember?"

Soft lips found the place just at the base of her neck, just
above the bone at the top of her spine between her shoulders. "I'm sorry.
I connected with you before falling asleep so I could make sure nothing
happened to you while we slept. It's something mated males do."

Something about that made her heart skip. He protected her
even during sleep. How sweet.

"Your thoughts about what we did this morning woke me
up," he said. "I like that you were thinking about us."

"Me, too." Admitting it out loud made it more real
somehow. "What time is it?"

She felt him turn his head, then he rolled back and snuggled
closer. "Almost 7:30."

Seven-thirty! She needed to get up and get ready for work.

"No," he said, holding her tight.

She reached around and slapped his ass. "Get out of my
head. And, yes, I need to work."

"No," he repeated, tightening his hold so she
couldn't break free. "You call in sick for a while."

"Micah—"

"I'll cover your lost wages until you can go back.
If
you want to go back. How much do you average a night?"

"If I want to go back?"

"Yes. Just think about what we talked about earlier. My
offer still stands to help get you out of there. Now, what do you average a
night?"

Did he seriously want to know her nightly salary? Surely he
didn't plan on replacing what she would lose by calling off.

"Yes, I do. Now, how much do you make?" he said.

"Fine. Maybe I should just think the figure since you
won't get out of my mind."

"You could do that." He chuckled and pulled her
closer, obviously enjoying playing with her like this.

She had to admit, it was fun if not a tad annoying.

"Okay, I'll just tell you. On weekends I've made as
much as $800 in one night. During the week it's closer to $500 a night."

"I'll give you a thousand a night until I deal with
Apostle and the others. Will that do?" His palm rubbed her up and down and
she felt his hardness press against the back of her thighs.

"Micah—"

"Don't argue. Yes or no. And don't say no."

Sam sighed. "You're incorrigible. Fine then. Yes. That
will do."

"Good, then it's settled." He lifted her leg, and
she felt the head of his cock probe her saturated nether lips, parting them.

"Yes, it's settled."

Then he was sliding home, rocking into her as she reached
her hand around and held the back of his head. She could get used to waking up
like this.

"So could I," he said.

"We need to do something about your disobedience."

"Mmm, what did you have in mind?"

"I'll think of something. Now, shut up and fuck
me."

"Yes, ma'am."

And holy heavens, did he ever.

* * *