Vampire Thirst (10 page)

"Ask me," he demanded softly.

"Ask you what?"

"Whatever is bothering you."

Didn’t enter my mind, my ass.
Sam took another sip of her tea. "Why did you bring me here?"

"So we could have some privacy. But that's not what you want to know, is it?"

No, it wasn't. She took a deep breath. "Why me?"

It was his turn to look away and take a sip of his blood-infused tea. "Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that. I've been asking the same question myself."

Oh, great. Forget Batman and Catwoman; they were more like two blind cowboys trying to ride a bull.

He put his cup down and stared into her eyes. "All I know is that I can't get you out of my mind, Sam, ever since I first saw you at that nightclub in New York."

Sam’s breath got caught in her throat. Even though Hikuro was a table away, she could feel his hunger reaching out to her. It was as palpable as the cup in her hands. Her heart pounded in her chest. She blinked, still trying to find her missing brain.

Hikuro was suddenly right beside her. She jumped, startled.
Damn you, vampire speed!

He smiled slightly, then brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers – long, delicious fingers that left her face and drew a path down her neck. His touch was cold and feather-light but burnt her skin like hot charcoal.

"I could smell you from across the oceans, Sam," he whispered against her ear. “You want this as much as I do.”

She swallowed dry, starting to feel the panic rise in her gut.

Damn it, Apa Dobrý, why couldn't she just let go and enjoy this amazing man?

"Hikuro, I promise, I'm not playing games. I just can't be with you."

He paused but didn't pull away. "Why not?"

"Because I can hurt you."

His brows rose slightly. He gently lifted her chin up with his fingers, beckoning her to look into his eyes. "Hurt me?"

"I'm not kidding. It’s happened before."

The snob attitude vanished in a flash. He took her hand in his. "Tell me."

Sam didn't really want to revisit those awful memories, but what choice did she have? The only way of making him understand was to come clean. She took a deep breath and opened her heart up to him. "I grew up in an orphanage in Seven Sisters, near the park where you found me last night. It was tough, but I managed," she shrugged. She wasn’t looking for pity. "One day, when I was twelve, I think, I ran away and tried my luck on the streets. But WW2 had just ended and London was completely devastated. A lot of people had lost their homes; desperation and starvation reigned. One day, three teenage boys cornered me in an alley, and tried...you know, to take advantage of me."

Hikuro shifted where he was, his jaw tightened. Sam could see he didn't like the way her story was going.

"I fought back, but there were three of them and I was very scrawny. Panic overcame me and before I knew it, electric sparks came out of my hands, my mouth, my body, everywhere...I killed two of them, fried them up like a hairdryer in a tub. I was charged with murder, but no one believed my story. They thought I was crazy and sent me to a mental institution instead of juvie. I was there for a good decade until Zoricah showed up out of the blue one day and broke me out. I don't remember much of my years at the asylum, thank Apa Dobrý, but it took me a long time to get out of the catatonic numbness I had fallen into – and to trust Zoricah."

Hikuro nodded slowly. "I can imagine what a shock it must have been having a golden dragon for a ride."

Sam chuckled despite the tightness in her chest. "Yes, it was. Before meeting her, I was convinced I was really crazy, that I had killed those boys and my mind had made up the story as a self-defense mechanism. After a decade or so just tagging along with Zoricah and Yara, I started training, learnt self-defense, karate, kung fu, jiu jitsu, but I never fully mastered my powers, Hikuro. I keep them at bay; I use a bit, enough to fight, but not too much."

Hikuro frowned slightly. "Why did you lose control at the park?"

Why indeed.
"I have no idea."

Sam withdrew her hands from his and rubbed her temples. "All I know is that ever since I met you, my energies have gone haywire."

"Why?"

Because I want you so bad. "I don't know."

“So, what you’re saying is that you’ve never fully tested the limits of your powers? You’ve never let loose?”

She shook her head. Nope.

He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve never had an orgasm.”

Sam blushed profusely at his statement.

“I’m not a virgin.”

“But you’ve never had an orgasm.”

She shook her head again.

“Not even on your own?”

May the Soartas kill her now!
She felt her face combust and looked away. She would have done anything to have a vampire’s ability to vanish into thin air, right about now.

Hikuro lowered his chin and glared at her through long lashes. “Well, my dear, that’s gotta change.”

Chapter 15

Hikuro could not believe his ears. Sam had never reached climax, had never let herself go completely. That must have been Hiad on Earth! And it would have to be amended, pronto.

He ran his thumb along her lower lip and spoke against her mouth. “No wonder you can’t control your powers, Sam. You don’t know how far they can really go.”

“But I can hurt people, Hikuro. I would kill myself if I hurt you,” she answered, not meeting his eyes. “We…this,” she pointed at both of them, “is a disaster waiting to happen.”

Her sweet insecurity collided face first with the lioness he knew she was. It was only then that Hikuro understood his irrational attraction to this woman. Sam was a walking paradox. Her looks were diminutive and coy, but when she was on the battlefield, or dealing with the many times he had pushed her buttons, the powerhouse came out full force. He had fought beside her in New York, for Hiad’s sake, he knew she could control anything she wanted – or anyone when it came to the male gender, him included.

“Sam, there’s no use in covering the sun with a frying pan.”

She frowned at his weird analogy. “Covering the sun with a frying pan?”

He leaned closer and kissed the tip of her cute nose, her cheek, along her jaw. She tasted so good. The aroma of peaches permeated in the air. “I mean you can’t ignore your power. You need to let loose, know yourself fully, in order to control it.”

She shivered under his touch. “Hikuro, stop, it’s too dangerous.” Her words came out, but she cocked her head sideways, giving him more access to her delicious collar. Her hand tugged at his shirt. Yes, she did want him as much as he wanted her. He could feel it; he could smell her arousal. His cock jerked upward.

Down boy. Tonight we’ll have to be patient. Tonight is Sam’s night.

Hikuro slowly licked a path down Sam’s neck, while his hands caressed her shoulders. As soon as he brushed them over her breasts, he felt Sam stiffen under his touch.

Hmm, he would have to take baby steps, show her the way.

He kissed her neck lightly, “I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to.” Releasing her, he stood up and turned the lights off. The room went suddenly dark and he heard Sam draw in a startled breath. “But I want you to explore yourself.”

“Sorry?” Sam looked around, wide eyed, as if trying to find where he was. Without a vampire’s acute eyesight, she could probably only distinguish shadows. A small smile crossed his face.
Even better.
 

He silently sat behind her and enveloped her hips with his legs. She was so much shorter than he was, but their bodies fit together perfectly.

“I said, I want you to touch yourself, Sam,” he whispered in her left ear.

He covered her right hand with his and glided it underneath her top, over her flat stomach. Both their hands found silky smooth skin.

She drew in a sharp breath.

“Can you feel how warm you are, Sam?”

She nodded.

He captured her other hand and caressed her thigh with her own fingers. Tiny sparks of electricity followed her strokes. After a moment of hesitation, Sam slowly gave in and leaned backwards against his torso. Hikuro reveled at the feel of her weight resting on him. He knew it wasn’t simply a sign of repose. No, it was a milestone – at that moment, Sam had decided to trust him. Something tugged at his heart. A strange feeling of…he didn’t know. But it was definitely the beginning of something big.

He pushed Sam further – right hands gliding along her inner thigh, left hands pulled down the straps of her top and bra. Fingers touched her naked nipples and Sam let out a soft moan.

“Good, isn’t it?” he whispered. Her pear-shaped breasts felt deliciously soft, perfectly fitting in his hand. The knowledge that Sam was also caressing them, pinching her peaks, stroking her sensitive skin, was mind-blowing. By Apa Dobrý, he was getting harder by the second. Hikuro sensed his control slipping. If they carried on like that, there would be nothing in the world strong enough to keep him out of her sweet core.

He took a deep, steadying breath.
It’s her night.
He snaked his fingers away from temptation and caressed her naked arms instead. Sam arched her back against him, her left hand fully exploring her nipple.

Wow. Hikuro bit his lip.

He then captured her other hand and guided it along her belly, back and forth, and underneath the hem of her jeans.
Time to take it up a notch.
Using his vampire speed, he opened the zipper and slid down her jeans and panties. Sam gasped in surprise. Her hands paused.

“Don’t be afraid, Sam,” Hikuro murmured in her ear. He wanted her to know he was right there behind her. His hands covered hers again. “Feel your skin, feel how smooth it is.”

Slowly, he guided her fingers down her navel, along the sensitive flesh between her most intimate place and her thighs, and then over her dark curls. She felt so damn good. His shaft ached, begging for attention. Hikuro positioned himself closer. The edge of her buttocks rubbed against him the moment his fingers guided hers into her wet folds.

Fuck!
She was as wet and soft as a forbidden fruit. He drove her fingers deeper inside her. The delicious aroma of peaches flooded the room.

Sam let out a startled cry. Her breathing became ragged, her head dropped backwards. “That’s it, Sam. Touch it, enjoy it, find your sweet spot.”

“Oh, Gods…” She moaned again. Her hands were moving of their own accord, faster, fiercer. Her hips rocked against him.

It was too much. Hikuro’s fangs extended, his eyes shot to her exposed neck.
Control yourself! This is her time.
 

He breathed in and out slowly, and he tried not to look at what Sam’s fingers were doing, but it was impossible.

“Hikuro, oh, I’m…”

“Don’t stop, my love.” She was so close, he could smell it. “Don’t be scared. Feel it fully, feel your heat run through your entire body.”

She did. While one small hand explored her drenched core and clit, the other had gone back to pinching and rubbing her nipple.

Oh, fucking Hiad!
Hikuro wanted to be inside her, to replace those fingers with his cock and show her how much more she could really take. He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head sideways. Her thick veins popped out. Sam let out another moan – or was it him? His touch didn’t startle her, or slow her down. He knew she was deep in the moment, lost in the roller coaster of pleasure. There was no going back now. For either of them.

Hikuro let his fangs extend fully and, with one quick stroke, pierced her skin. Warm, metallic liquid flooded into his mouth. Sam’s blood was everything he dreamed of and oh, so much more. It had a spiciness he had never tasted before, as if coated in pepper. It tingled his tongue and throat, and all the way down to his core. The more he drank, the more Sam cried out. She shook wildly when the first spasms of pleasure hit her. Her hips rubbed against him, creating agonizing friction. The light, peppery taste of her sweet blood morphed into an overwhelming rush of dark spices that tipped him over the edge. His shaft grew thicker and wept, then his body shattered into a million pieces with the force of his own orgasm.

Wow.

“Are you…still…alive?” Sam asked, between shallow breaths.

He kissed her neck and licked the tiny wounds he had left behind. “Very much.”

If this was what she felt like at her first attempt, he didn’t know if he’d survive climaxing inside her. A small smile lifted his cheeks. May the Soartas damn him to the fires of Hiad if he didn’t try.

Chapter 16

Rafe enjoyed London but that fucking never-ending drizzle did his head in. After Wyvern’s little visit, Rafe had no choice but to catch the first flight across the ocean. He virtually kicked himself for getting into debt with a dragon. Now he was bound by their little agreement. At first glance, it was a straightforward, win-win deal – he would put a tail on the draconian demigoddess, find out if she was still fucking the vampire king, and report his findings back to the draconian senator. And for that piece of information, his five-figure debt would magically disappear. But something was off. He knew it; his wolf knew it. As the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Rafe took the small piece of paper out if his battered jeans’ pocket and checked the address. Yep, this was it alright. He looked at the pile of rubble in front of him. The house that was supposed to be there had burnt to the ground not long ago. His nose caught the odors of freshly charcoaled plastic and rubber. Yuk. He’d spent the last decade in one of the most polluted cities in the world, but he still wrinkled his nose with the smell of burnt modern appliances. And this house had been full of them.

He ducked under the yellow police tape and strolled around the site where Zoricah’s home had once been. A burnt-down door frame indicated a hallway leading up to a living room and open-plan kitchen, which was fairly intact.
Hmm
, so the fire hadn’t started with a forgotten roast in the hot oven then. Interesting. He sniffed the air again, and caught something else this time around. Something acrid. He bent down and ran his fingers over a broken piece of marble, probably a part of the mantle of the fire place. Brown powder stuck to his fingers. He brought them to his nose and sniffed. Iron oxide – a key ingredient to make explosive devices, such as grenades.