Unafraid (6 page)

“You will come and open this door now,
Tessa!” He put every bit of compulsion he had into forcing her
human mind to comply with his demand to open the door. He was tired
of standing in the hall looking like an idiot while he talked to
her door.

“Did you just try to make me open the door?
Was that some kind of vampire mind trick?” Shit, she had said that
too loudly. He scanned the hall for witnesses but no one had heard
her slip. “Well you can go to hell! I’m not letting you in, so go
back to wherever it is you’ve been! You’re not welcome here!”

Griffin was stunned. His power, whether
telepathic, telekinetic or social, had never failed him before. His
name had always been enough to open any door. She had felt his
mental push but easily deflected it. She did not know he was a
powerful male and a future leader of his entire species. Griffin
suspected she wouldn’t give a shit if she did know. His influence
in a society she had no part in meant nothing to her. It only made
him want her more.

He would have to earn back her trust. For the
first time in his life his money, his position in the House of
Vaughn, and all of the vampire guile he possessed meant absolutely
nothing. Griffin would have to win her respect on his own merit. A
shiver of self-doubt ran down his spine. What if it was too late to
fix this? Thankfully, he did have an ace up his sleeve. Using his
extrasensory gift of telekinesis he flipped the lock and opened the
door. Tessa screamed.

FOUR

Tessa could hear the frustration in Griffin’s
voice. She knew he was used to being obeyed by others. He had been
very vague about his life, but the quality of his clothing and his
proper speech gave him away. He was bossy and rude, but she didn’t
care. She enjoyed seeing his nostrils flare and his eyebrows rise
every time she challenged him or denied a request. He liked it.
Griffin had enjoyed trying to bully her into granting his wishes.
There was something going on in his head that even she could tell
was new for him. He demanded her total submission, but she refused
to give in completely. Even when she allowed him to spank her and
play dominant games in bed, she’d still been topping from the
bottom. He may have been doing the spanking but she was in charge,
instructing him on how to play the game. That was all over now. She
hadn’t heard a damn word from him.

After their weekend together, Tessa had
foolishly believed that she had formed some sort of bond with
Griffin. She ached for him when he left and she waited anxiously
for him to return. He hadn’t and after a few days she accepted that
she would likely never see him again. The fact that he’d changed
the subject when she asked if they could go out on a real date, and
he hadn’t left her any way to contact him, should’ve been a clue to
his intentions.

It was obvious she’d imagined the connection
between them. She was a novelty for him and nothing more. So, why
was he at her door now? She wanted to know but didn’t think her
heart could take it if he used her and disappeared again.

“You will come and open this door now,
Tessa!” he demanded. Suddenly Tessa needed to open the door. She
had to open the door to let Griffin in right now. She walked toward
the door before the anger came rushing back into her mind. Hell no,
she wasn’t letting him in so he could hurt her again. Wait. Had he
just tried to put the vampire whammy on her?

“Did you just try to make me open the door?
Was that some kind of vampire mind trick?” No answer. There was
silence from the hall, so obviously he had tried to force her. That
bastard tried to use vampire super juice to manipulate her!

“
Well you can go to hell! I’m not
letting you in, so go back to wherever it is you’ve been for the
last week!” Tessa was pacing and desperately wishing her place was
bigger because there wasn’t anywhere to go. It was still quiet in
the hall so Griffin must have done as she asked and left. That hurt
too. Damn it! She wanted him to leave, didn’t she? She didn’t want
her heart crushed again but now that he was gone, she wished he
would’ve fought a little harder to stay. But really, what did she
expect? A guy like Griffin didn’t need to stand around dark
corridors, begging for a woman’s attention. He probably picked up a
new piece of ass as soon as his feet hit the sidewalk.

The thought of him with another woman had her
guts in a knot and the backs of her eyes burning. Damn it! She
would not cry again! But it was too late to call back the tears.
She wiped frantically at the tears that just kept coming and cursed
the gift that allowed her to see the future. She flopped down on
her tattered easy chair just before she heard the click of the
locking mechanism on the dead bolt flip. The door swung open.

She screamed in angry frustration. She
couldn’t help it. How was she supposed to fight with a man that
cheated by doing shit like disappearing for days, attempted mind
manipulation, and used his vampire juice to open locked doors?
Griffin stepped through the door, looking perfect, and her heart
skipped a beat. His deep blue eyes bore into her and he ran a hand
through his sable hair, making the fine white highlights in the
front stand on end.

She did what any sane woman would do when her
home was invaded by a vampire. She picked up the nearest object, a
floor lamp, and chucked it at him before she reached for something
else to throw. She lobbed several books, a can of air freshener,
her shoes, and an open can of soda before she realized there had
been no crashing noises, no grunts of pain, or curses coming from
Griffins direction.

She looked up to find him standing there
mutely watching her temper tantrum. All of the items she had thrown
at him were hanging suspended in the air between them. Even the
soda that escaped from the can hadn’t hit the carpet. It looked
like the picture you see of astronauts on the shuttle. The liquid
floated like brown bubbles. The can and the liquid floated past her
to the sink, while the rest of the debris gently floated to the
ground without as much as a sound. She stared. Holy shit. Griffin
had some serious telekinetic vampire voodoo.

“I’m sorry, baby. Just let me explain,” he
pleaded. She couldn’t take anymore. The dam burst.

“Get out! Get out now!” She backed away as he
stepped toward her. “I have nothing to say to you! You haven’t had
anything to say in a week so I’m no longer willing to listen! Get
out!”

But he didn’t leave. Tessa swung widely,
striking him before she tried to dodge him. Griffin wrapped his
arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides and held her there
while she struggled to free herself. It was no use fighting. She
could never overpower him. In fact, she got the feeling he wasn’t
even making an effort, which just pissed her off even more. His
vampire juice probably made him super strong.

She fought and cursed at him until she wore
herself out. Griffin held her gently and murmured earnest words of
apology and tenderness. Finally, she sagged in his arms, mentally
and physically exhausted. He kissed her eyelids, her nose and her
cheeks. When he reached her mouth, Tessa wanted to resist, knowing
that making love to him even just one more time would seal her
fate, but it was like fighting the tide. Every cell in her body
screamed at her to take what he offered. His absence for the last
week had been painful. He kissed her more deeply, slowly,
expressing all of the regret he felt for having hurt her and she
gave in to the wash of heat and desire simmering between them.

“You’re going to destroy me,” she told him
between kisses, but he never paused, too deep in thought to hear
her prophecy. It didn’t matter now. What would be would be, no
matter how hard she fought it.

His hands roamed over the curves of her hips
while his tongue leisurely explored her mouth. Tessa felt cool air
on the dampness between her legs and suddenly her yoga pants were
around her ankles. Griffin stepped on the crotch of the pants and
wrapped his hands around her ass to lift her out of them and onto
the counter. The thick column of his manhood pressed tightly
against her heat and rubbed. No longer able to hold back, Tessa
began tugging at his clothes. She wanted to feel his hot, bare skin
against her chest, but he pulled back. Never breaking eye contact
he pulled his crisp white dress shirt from his pants and tugged it
over his head.

“I’m going to taste you now, Tessa. I need to
breathe you in and take your sweet flavor into my body. I can’t
wait any longer. Do you understand?” He spoke slowly and calmly but
his eyes had shifted to black and fangs pressed into his lower lip.
He was at the end of his rope and slipping. His broad muscled chest
glistened with a layer of sweat in the cool room. Griffin dropped
to his knees before her and gripped her inner thighs with his big
hands, pushing her legs as far apart as they would go.

With one long swipe of his tongue Griffin
licked her from her entrance to the hard little bud that made her
cry out with pleasure. She watched, fascinated, as he nibbled,
sucked, and licked her into a frenzy of need without letting her go
over the edge. He buried his face in her heat and lapped up every
drop he could find. Tessa was so close to exploding, but he teased
and teased, drawing out the anticipation until she pleaded with him
for relief.

His satisfied growl rumbled through her core,
setting off tiny shockwaves. In one sudden move Griffin thrust two
fingers into her core and sank his fangs into her inner thigh. The
climax he ignited had her screaming his name and convulsing with
wave after glorious wave of pleasure that seemed never ending.

* * *

Griffin suckled at Tessa’s thigh while she
screamed his name and pulled at his hair. The hot, vanilla
sweetness of her blood ran down his throat and the musk of her
satisfaction surrounded him, clouding his brain. Lost in his need
for her, Griffin struggled to pull himself away. He’d had enough of
her blood and now that he’d fed, his other needs were taking over.
He hadn’t come there with sex in mind but that was where the pull
of their attraction for each other led them in a hurry.

He would never forget the tears he’d seen
streaming down her face when he entered her home. He had caused
those tears. In the week he had been away from Tessa he hadn’t
really thought about whether or not he was hurting her. He thought
he may have been pissing her off by not contacting her again, but
he hadn’t expected to see tears and true pain on her beautiful
face. Griffin had returned to fulfill his own need to be near Tessa
again, not out of consideration for her needs or feelings. That
said something about him that he wasn’t ready to deal with. For now
he had to appease the hungry beast clawing at his mind demanding
Tessa was his to possess. Griffin got to his feet and pulled
Tessa’s trembling body into his arms. He knew he had some
explaining to do if he wanted to make a go at any kind of
relationship, but for now he would apologize as best he could and
move on to a more intimate and infinitely more satisfying way of
making up for his mistakes.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.
Very soon I will explain my reasons for being such an ass.
Hopefully then you’ll be able to forgive me.” He kissed her and
prayed she would agree to talk about things later, because if he
wasn’t inside of her soon he wasn’t sure what he would do. He had a
powerful need to mark her in every way possible.

She kissed him back and Griffin felt relief
and need take over his mind when he laid her luscious body out on
the sofa bed. He stood and quickly shucked off his shoes and pants.
Tessa watched him undress with a tentative smile. When he tried to
crawl over her on the bed, she scurried away to the other side.

“Lay on your back,” she ordered. Her tone
suggested there would be no argument if he wanted his prize. He
very much wanted it, so Griffin sprawled out on the bed as she
demanded. His erection stood at attention, awaiting her
pleasure.

Tessa straddled his thighs and began to
firmly stroke him. It felt so good. Her grip was perfect, not too
gentle or too tight. After a moment of mindless pleasure, he had to
begin doing long division in his head to distract himself. She
would unman him if she kept up her delicious torture. Just when he
believed the end was near, she slid up his body and took his mouth
with force. She pressed her delicious body against him, circled her
hips and allowed the wetness at the apex of her thighs to coat him
while she rubbed against his length, pleasuring herself but never
allowing him to enter her body. He was going to lose his mind. She
was playing a dangerous game with a desperate male. He had tasted
all of her pleasure and craved having her heat wrapped around him.
He growled and gripped her hips.

“Do you want that, Griffin?” she asked with a
purr.

“Tessa, it has been too long and I need you.
Yes, I want it.” He thrust upward but she pulled away. He released
her hips and she settled back onto him.

“Tell me your body is mine, Griffin, mine and
no others,” she demanded. “Who do you belong to?” She rested her
entrance just where he needed it and hovered there, circling her
hips, waiting for a response. She was staking a claim in the same
way the beast roaring with triumph in his head had attempted. He
loved seeing his woman behave as possessively as he had.

Griffin’s logical mind bristled at a female
demanding anything from him. He would not submit to anyone. At
least not until she circled her hips again, lowering herself just
enough to take his tip into her body. Then he was lost.

“I belong to you!” he panted and his hips
bucked but she moved again.

“Only to me, Griffin?” she asked.

Oh hell. He never wanted to belong to anyone
else. “I belong to you and no one else, Tessa. Baby, please!”