Sacrifice (4 page)

When her quivering subsided, he covered her body
with his own. His lips were clamped firmly shut and Hallie knew he was hiding
his fangs from her. She rubbed a thumb across his mouth, pressing gently to ask
for access. When he opened for her, revealing strong white fangs, she touched
them softly and smiled to show him that she wasn’t afraid. Her caress caused a
growl to rumble through Ethan’s chest and he nudged her legs further apart,
holding her steady as he pushed his cock inside her.

‘You are so beautiful.’ He slid into her, cupping
her head in his hands while she urged him deeper inside by clasping the cheeks
of his ass. The change in position brought Ethan’s pelvic bone into delicious contact
with hers and tiny electric shocks of arousal speared through her again as she
ground against him.

Hallie jerked helplessly as wave after wave of
sensation rocked through her. With every part of them so intimately joined, she
marvelled at the way her soft body moulded around his hard muscle as if they
were created only for each other. Hallie planted her feet on either side of his
hips and thrust up towards him, allowing him to enter her deeper than before. He
gave a hoarse cry and pounded into her like he’d been waiting for Hallie to
show him that it was what she’d wanted all along.

She threw her head back against the pillows when
the first spasms of another orgasm hit hard. Her hands searched blindly for his
shoulders and she clung on to him, pulling him closer. A whimper of unrestrained
pleasure tumbled from her lips when she felt him pulse with his own release, the
intensity of his climax epitomizing hers.

She didn’t know how long they laid abed afterwards,
limbs entangled, still joined. Hallie slept wrapped in Ethan’s arms and woke
sometime later to find him watching her.

“What assignment?” she asked,
nudging him away when he looked as if he was about to kiss her. Once his lips
met hers, she knew she wouldn’t be capable of rational thought for a while.

“I hoped you’d forgotten
about that,” he admitted with a grin.

“Of course not.” Hallie
tucked the sheet around her breasts and sat up. Ethan gave a little groan of protest.
She smiled, securing the sheet in place. “I need some answers. ‘Fess up
Butler
.”

*
* * *

The
time had come to open up to Hallie and tell her the truth about his work. She
already knew that the periodical he reported for specialized in investigating paranormal
phenomena. Ghosts, stigmata, werewolves—you name it, they covered it. But what
she didn’t know was that the light hearted face of
The Faustian Times
hid Clive and Ethan’s real mission—to prove the
existence of vampires.

Clive
Hawkins was Ethan’s business partner. He was a rich man in his seventies with
an interest in all things supernatural. He’d mixed in the same social circles
as Ethan’s wealthy parents, and it was Clive who had first suggested to him
that their sudden and brutal deaths might not have been what they first seemed.

At
twenty years old, Ethan’s world shattered around him. He’d inherited a house he
had no idea what to do with and more money than he would ever need. So when
Clive first mentioned vampires, Ethan threw him out. But he kept coming back,
again and again, until Ethan finally listened to what he had to say. Clive discussed
the autopsy reports and the suspected cause of his parents’ demise, scoffing at
the MD’s belief that they could simply have bled to death from the two small
puncture wounds each of them had on their bodies.

“The
injuries were exactly three inches apart,” Ethan explained to Hallie, “and each
hole was the same shape, size and depth. Like Clive said, the chances of that
happening to both of my parents were millions to one. I understood then why
Clive had been suspicious about the way my parents had died, especially considering
that none of their money or valuables had been taken.” Ethan bowed his head,
reliving the horrible memories.

“So
we began investigating and set up the magazine to attract freelance writers to
help with research. In the years since, we’ve followed so many false leads but
eventually we stumbled across the real thing. A vampire male named Silas was seducing
and murdering women in and around
New
Orleans
. We’ve been tracking him ever since.”

Silas
was the head of a nest of vampires residing in
Louisiana
and Ethan had managed to
infiltrate his private club as a member. “But Clive suggested I move out of the
city in case my cover was blown.”

“Which
brought you to me.” Hallie grimaced. “I knew there had to be an explanation as
to why a rich guy like you wanted to live here.”

Ethan
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then tickled her chin. “You
were
a complication I didn’t allow for.”
Hallie recoiled and looked away, trying to hide her reaction to his teasing
words. “I mean, how could I know you would be so beautiful or that I would have
to force myself to keep my hands off you?”

She
smiled her forgiveness and pushed him away as his fingers caressed the curve of
her breast. He tried to show her just how hard keeping his hands off her had
been, but she avoided his touch, eager for him to finish the story it seemed. “So
what happened that night?”

Ethan
groaned. “I was stupid. I’d seen Silas and kinda expected all vamps to look
like him, you know?”

“What
did he look like?”

“Exactly
how you’d imagine—tall, pale and absolutely terrifying. Nobody besides me
seemed freaked out by him but then again, everyone in those Goth clubs dresses
the same way to try and look as weird as possible. To be honest, if it wasn’t
for the fact that I knew who he was and what he was capable of, he wouldn’t
have stood out from the crowd. So when Clive got word that Silas had agreed to
speak to me, I didn’t suspect the young woman he sent to fetch me. He wanted to
meet on neutral ground at another club he frequented from time to time, and I
thought I’d be safe.”

Hallie
gasped in shock. “She attacked you?”

“Attack
is too strong a word. She simply sat beside me in the back of his limo and
pushed my head back against the seat. Then she bit me. I couldn’t move,
couldn’t do anything. I’ve never seen anyone so strong.”

Hallie’s
hands went to her throat. She seemed horrified by what she’d heard. Ethan
waited while she processed what he had told her, guessing that once she
recovered, she would want to know more.

Her
gaze roamed over his neck and he guessed what she would say next. “But then why
did your parents die and you didn’t?”

“Clive
and I discussed that. We think that the girl was inexperienced, or decided to
turn me, possibly against Silas’s wishes. I’m not really sure why she didn’t
kill me. ”

 
“Well I’m glad you didn’t die in the
traditional sense, but can you call this being alive?”

Hallie
fell silent. Her gaze locked onto his chest and she reached out and placed her
hand over his heart, squeezing her eyes tight as if praying that she would hear
a gentle, reassuring thud. A sob tore from her throat when all either of them
could feel was her hand shaking. Ethan covered hers with his and pulled her to
him.

“Don’t
be sad. I’m still here, in every way that matters and I’ve got you with me. What
more do I need?”

His
words didn’t help to ease the shock that seemed to be setting in. “But Ethan, I
sat idly by as you were dying in agony. I should have done something…helped you
somehow—”

“Baby,
it’s my fault, not yours.” He crooned soft words into her hair, still trying to
soothe her. “It was already too late by the time I got here but I didn’t have
the strength to stay away from you. I’m sorry for putting you through that. When
I woke up in the alley she’d dumped me in, I had to get away before she came
back to finish me off. I couldn’t think of anything except getting back to
you.”

He
kissed her then, trying to chase away her tears and show her how much he adored
her by his actions. When she pulled away but wouldn’t meet his eyes, Ethan
tensed for her next question, sensing by her hesitation that it wouldn’t be a
pleasant one. “Do you…I mean, how do you eat, if that’s the right word? Do you
kill people too?”

Ethan
winced internally, but he was determined to show Hallie he could handle her
questions, no matter how much they hurt. “I’ve never killed a living thing and
I don’t intend to start now.”

“But
if you need blood, how do you get it?”

“Blood
banks. Lucky for me, I can afford to buy it. Clive helped me source it for the
first few days. I feel bad taking it from people who need it but I figure it’s
the lesser of two evils, you know?”

Hallie
shuddered and Ethan decided they’d discussed enough for one night. She looked
to be physically and emotionally drained. He pulled her into his arms, trying
to ignore the arousal raging through his body at her nearness and allow her to
get the rest she needed. Just when he thought she was about to fall asleep, she
sat up again.

“Why
would Silas want you dead? So what if you exposed him?”

“He
has to stay under the radar. Many of his clients are politicians and judges
with very particular sexual proclivities that only Silas can cater to. Clive thinks
they allow him to operate in exchange for certain ‘services’ but he needs to be
discreet.”

“What—”

“Hush.
We’ve talked enough for one night, don’t you think?”

Hallie
smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Ethan didn’t have the willpower to tell her
he meant she should rest. The way she’d accepted him for who he was rather than
what
he was filled his heart with a
gratitude he would never be able to fully express. His body was a slave to hers
and for every part of him that knew he should let her sleep; another shouted even
louder that he couldn’t afford to waste a single chance to hold her.

She
rolled on top of him, pushing him down into the mattress, giving Ethan a
triumphant smile when she thought she had over-powered him. His amusement with
her game soon disappeared, replaced by an altogether different sensation. As
her warm, silky thighs wrapped around his torso, the breath stilled in his
throat and his body hardened further at her touch. His groan of hunger became
one of frustration. Ethan’s head settled into the pillows as a jolt of desire
tore through him, and then he noticed the first faint fingers of daylight
crawling across the ceiling above them.

“Hallie…darling,
it’s almost dawn. I…I have to go.” His voice sounded hoarse even to his own
ears. He felt weak by the effects of having this intoxicating woman wriggling
and squirming over him as she trailed kisses over his jaw and down his neck.

“Then
we don’t have any time to waste, do we?” Her husky laugh travelled through his
ears and straight down to his groin, just at the very moment that she hovered
above him and aligned her delicious pussy with his shaft. About to tell her
they didn’t have time, his protest turned into a breathless curse as she
impaled herself on him. She felt so tight and wet and hot, his hands clamped
around her hips almost against his will, and he began to lift her up and down
on top of him, his breath ragged as he watched her respond to him the same way
she had before. Hallie gasped through her moist, open lips, her gaze locked
with his, her body shuddering in ecstasy.

Ethan
couldn’t take his gaze off her. He’d die before missing a second of her
beautiful body riding him if he dared close his eyes. With his heart and brain
fighting for domination over his feelings, fear that he might not have many
more chances to be with her this way, were suddenly chased away by the joy he
felt at that very moment. That in turn was replaced by an ever-growing hunger
that intensified no matter how near to her he was. He simply couldn’t get close
enough to her.

His
gaze fixed on her undulating breasts, the dusky pink nipples swaying inches in
front of his face. Capturing one in his mouth, he watched her shuddering reaction
to the gentle teasing of his tongue. Careful to keep his teeth away from her
flesh, he flicked against the tight bud over and over again, holding her body
against his mouth with firm hands on her back. A trembling began in her thighs
and Hallie’s head fell back. She twisted her fingers in his hair, as if to keep
herself from falling.

“Ethan!”
she shrieked as her orgasm hit. “Oh, God…I love you. I love you.”

The
words she gasped, the sight of her coming for him and because of him, the warm
sheath of her convulsing body around his…these things all combined ripped away
the last of his defenses and he fell helplessly into his own release.

When
she stilled in his arms and collapsed onto his chest, he stroked her hair away
from her flushed face, pressing his lips against her forehead. “I love you too,
Hallie,” he whispered, sure she was falling asleep against him.

He
didn’t have time to check if she’d heard him or not. Fiery sunlight flooded
into her room, threatening to wreak havoc upon his flesh if he didn’t move this
very second. Slipping out of her embrace, he pressed a soft kiss on her
shoulder and ran from her apartment, as fast as his new abilities would allow,
rolling under his own bed and into the cavity he’d created beneath the
floorboards.