PS01 - Tall, Dark & Lonely (18 page)

me. You started eating in your room when I started coming down during dinner time, and you haven’t used our bathroom in

three weeks.”

Madison casually walked to another section. This close proximity was messing with her head. She needed some distance just

to think clearly. He had this affect on her. He was the only one. It would be so much easier for her if she feared him.

“You’re doing it again!” he said, walking after her.

She chuckled weakly. “I am not I’m looking at…at….” she stammered. What the hell was she looking at? Ha! She was still in

the woman’s section, although the clothes seemed to be a bit bigger here.

“So, when’s the bundle of joy arriving? I assume we’re talking Immaculate Conception.”

Her face turned red. He was an awful, awful man. “I’m looking for a friend,” she lied.

“How kind of you,” he said dryly. “I thought women bought for the baby.”

She shrugged and decided to go with the lie. “There’s no law that says I can’t buy something nice for my friend.”

“Of course not. So what’s this friend’s name?”

“Uh…Betty?”

“Betty
is very fortunate to have a friend like you,” he said casually.

“At least she’s not stalking me.”

“Who’s stalking you?” he asked as he thumbed through shirts.

She turned on him, fists on hips and hissed. “You are!”

He threw his head back and laughed.

“Stop that!”

Still chuckling he said. “I’m sorry but-“

“As you should be.”

“I came here to find some new shirts. I didn’t know that you were here and I’m not following you. You’re just paranoid,” he

lied, partially. He did need new shirts. When Joshua told him where she was that need became urgent.

Her eyes narrowed. “So, you’re saying that you’re not stalking me?”

He did his best to look innocent. “Of course not.”

She pointedly looked at his empty hands. “Then where are your shirts?”

Damn. “I saw you before I found any.”

“Which entrance did you come in?”

“What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Fine, the front entrance.”

“Ha!” A woman with a small child walking by jumped and hurried away.

He chuckled. “Easy now, you’re scaring the natives.”

She gestured calmly towards the front of the store. “If you truly came in through the front exit you would have come across your

shirts and you wouldn’t have seen me.”

Damn it. “I didn’t have to see you, Madison.” He leaned in, placing his mouth next to her ear. “Your scent calls me. It screams

for me.”

She swallowed. “It…it could be anyone.”

He exhaled, bathing her skin in his hot breath. It sent goose bumps down her spine. “No darling, no one else, nothing else calls

me the way you do. You’re my siren calling me to shore. My beacon. You’re the only thing I desire.”

“I don’t understand. It’s just blood,” she whispered.

He sighed heavily, sending another rush of warm air against her skin. “No, I see you don’t.” He ran his lips over her nape. She

smelled so good.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said firmly.

The scent of female arousal hit him hard. He groaned against her skin. “No, you’re definitely not afraid of me.” He pressed a

kiss to her neck. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.” He pressed another one.

“Because you want my blood,” she gasped.

His kisses made her squirm. He felt so good. She liked everything about him. It was driving her crazy. She didn’t want to feel

this way about any man. She didn’t want to be her mother who fell for every guy that looked her way and made her life all

about a man. She couldn’t lose herself like that and with Ephraim she was very afraid that she would. “Ephraim if you want

some of my blood I could donate it. That should solve your problem.”

He shook his head slightly against the crook of her neck running his lips over her skin in a more delicious manner. “It would

never be enough.”

“I could do it once a week,” she added, sounding hopeful.

His hands took hers, entwining their fingers. “It would never be enough for me.” He kissed her neck greedily.

She closed her eyes and her head dropped back of its own accord. “When,” she licked her lips. “When will it be enough?”

“When you’re
mine
,” he growled against her skin.

She gasped as cool air hit her neck. She looked around in a daze. He was gone.

“As far as exits go that was a good one,” she mumbled.

******

His words rang through her head. What did he mean by when she was his? Did he expect her to become his cow? Available for

a feeding whenever he felt so inclined? Maybe he meant to drain her all at once. If all of her blood was in his stomach then that

would certainly make her his, she would imagine.

She punched her pillow, trying to make the damn thing behave and tossed again. If he said it to keep her up all night, well then

he certainly succeeded. She sat up suddenly, kicking the covers off.

“That’s it!” If she was going to be up all night then he was going to answer her questions. He still owed her two hours. She had

those pictures developed and blown up as promised. She even had them framed and hung in his room. He owed her and she

meant to collect, now.

He wasn’t getting out of this tonight. She stormed over to the bathroom door and threw it open and gasped.

Ephraim stood in the doorway. Every muscle in his body was clenched tightly. His eyes were a fiery red and he looked so very

dangerous. She took a step back.

“I told myself that if you opened that door.” He looked at the door and then back at her, running his eyes down her baby pink

top and matching panties. “That I could have what I wanted. I waited three hours….I couldn’t leave, Madison. I had to wait…I

had to…” He took a step into the room.

For the first time since the incident in the dining room she feared him. He said her blood was his weakness and she ignored it.

She thought that she was safe as long as she kept her doors locked and avoided him, but she was wrong. She was so very

wrong.

She stepped back slowly. She had to get out of here. He was too fast, she knew that. The gun. She needed the gun.
Slowly, move

slowly
. She took another step back towards the closet.

“Go away, Ephraim,” she said, hoping to distract him with conversation long enough so she could grab the gun. Also, she said

it on the off chance that he would actually listen.

He took another step towards her. “I can’t, Madison, don’t you see that? I need you.”

“No, what you need is a pint of plasma. Go back to your room, Ephraim, and drink it from a bag.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Ephraim, think about what you’re doing. You don’t want to do this.” She took another step and then another. Thank god Jill

rummaged through her closet earlier. She left the door wide open.

“I do, can’t you tell, Madison? I want you so badly I can’t breathe. I can’t think. Every thought is about you. Day and night I

think of nothing but you. It’s distracting, annoying and hell. Don’t you see? I can’t hold back any longer. I want you so badly,

Madison,” he said in a sultry voice.

She moved closer to the closet. She just needed to reach up and grab the gun. Then shoot. He would be knocked out, hurt, but he

would live and so would she.

“I want you to leave, Ephraim. Now.” She was in the doorway of the closet now.

“No, I know you want this, too. I can smell it on you every time you’re near. You want me just as much as I want you. I’m done

playing this game, Madison. I’ve come to take what’s rightfully
mine
.”

“I’m not yours, Ephraim!” she shrieked as she reached for the gun. He grabbed her, pushing her back the last few feet until her

back was pressed against the wall. She gripped the gun tightly in her hand.

She could make out the outline of his body and his red eyes. “You are mine, Madison. You’ve always been mine. You just

didn’t know it and neither did I, but you’re mine, sweetheart, all mine and I’m never going to let you go.” He shook his head

slowly as he leaned in. Oh god he was going to bite her!

The sound of the gun cocking was his only warning that she had the gun. He should have known, but he hadn’t been thinking

clearly. She pressed the muzzle of the gun into his side.

“Step back from me. The kitchen’s closed so you’ll have to find your meal somewhere else,” she said coldly.

He slowly pulled his head back. “Madison?”

“I said move back, you’re not going to drain me tonight!”

“That’s what you think this is about?” he snapped. He was angry. He wanted her so much and she thought he wanted to feed off

her. Didn’t she know that he wanted her? Didn’t she want him as badly as he wanted her?

“Step back.”

“No, I don’t want your blood!”

She scoffed, “Liar.”

He grabbed her free hand and brought it to the front of his drawers and guided it slowly over his erection. He moaned softly.

“That’s why I’m here, Madison.” He ran her hand down his long length several times and she let him. She was so shocked by

the turn of events. She was also very curious.

She would never admit that she enjoyed the last time they did this. He was so…so big. His erection was straining against the

material of his boxers and she wondered if it would burst through. His forehead dropped gently against hers. He was panting

and she realized that she was, too. She never wanted anything more than she wanted him at this moment. The pain in her body

from denying herself for so long was becoming too much. She needed him. Ephraim would take the pain away.

He dropped his hand away, but she didn’t stop moving her hand.

“That feels so good,” he groaned. He lowered his mouth on hers and kissed her gently, taking his time getting her used to the

feel of his lips. He took the gun from her putting the safety on and returned it to the shelf as he kissed her.

His lips felt so good. It was too good to be true. Any second now he would force his tongue inside her mouth and then it

wouldn’t be so nice. That’s the way it always happened. She prayed it wouldn’t happen, but she knew it would. It made her

feel almost sad.

Ephraim’s thumbs hooked into the waistband of her panties and pulled, quickly snapping them without hurting her. She gasped,

opening her mouth wide enough for him to slide his tongue inside and he did. He gently licked her lips and slowly darted his

tongue inside.

His tongue was warm silk. He moved it confidently in her mouth. It wasn’t rough and awkward like the other men. He teased

and caressed her until she was moving her tongue against his, making him groan with satisfaction.

The cool air on her breast was her only clue that he ripped her shirt off as well. His hands gently caressed her back and bottom

before moving to the front where he slid his hands up her stomach and over her breasts, brushing her hard nipples with his

palm.

She moaned and squeezed his erection. He groaned into her mouth. Curious at his reaction she stopped touching him and pulled

down his underwear, freeing him. It sprang free, slapping against her stomach.

He brushed her hand away as she reached for it again. She wanted to feel it.

“My turn.”

“What?” She sounded dazed.

“My turn,” he said simply. He pressed hot open mouthed kisses down her neck to her breast. He kissed and licked under her

entire breast except the nipple. He ignored that, driving Madison crazy. The nipple became painfully hard. She squirmed and

moaned. His hands joined his mouth and cupped her breast, gently squeezing and caressing her, but they too ignored the

nipples.

Just when she thought he was going to finally relieve the tension in her nipple he moved his mouth to the next breast and did the

same thing. She closed her eyes. “Please, Ephraim!”

He chuckled against her skin. His wet tongue flicked her very hard nipple. She gasped and moaned loudly.

“Is this what you want?”

“Yes!” she practically yelled. His mouth closed over the nipple, pulling it into his mouth where he suckled it hard while

flicking his tongue against it. He pinched and twisted her other nipple between his fingers. Her lower stomach felt like it was

swelling. It was so painful. She needed relief.

Ephraim’s mouth left her breasts to his very capable hands. He licked and nipped his way down to her legs. She tried to close

her legs out of embarrassment. He pressed kisses around the area that was bare to him to the top of her mound. When he began

lapping at the area with his tongue she moaned his name and slowly opened her legs for him.

He traced the slit with the tip of his tongue. She was so wet and swollen. He couldn’t get enough of her flavor. He had to have

more. He pushed his tongue inside her. She moaned as her hips reflexively pushed against his mouth. He ran his tongue around

her opening.

Every muscle in her body was tense. She was stopping herself from moving against him. At that moment he wanted nothing

more than for her to ride his mouth. The very idea caused his cock to jump with anticipation.

He pulled his mouth away, making her whimper. “It’s okay, baby. Put your leg over my shoulder.” When she didn’t move he

moved her leg for her, hitching it over his shoulder. She looked confused. “It’s okay.”

His hands left her breasts to cup her bottom. He slid his tongue into the very core of her, making her moan loudly. His hands

gripped her bottom tightly, moving her against his mouth. It took only a few seconds for Madison to follow his lead. She used