Samson's Lovely Mortal (12 page)

“It’s not that I don’t love kissing you, but I can tell you right now what that’ll lead to in about two minutes. And you don’t want to have to fight me off when I can’t control myself any longer.”

“I don’t think I’d be very good at fighting you off.”

“It would be fun if you at least tried.” It sounded like something which could indeed be a lot of fun.

“Ah, a man who likes to hunt.” She gave him a knowing look.

“Especially when the prey looks so delicious.” His eyes told her just how delicious he found her.

Delilah let her finger slide over his lips. “Go on; catch me if you can.”

Samson playfully closed his mouth, but she pulled her finger back.

“Not fast enough.”

She’d let him catch her, but not just yet. He’d have to work for it a little first.

“Give me another chance.”

Her finger went back to his lips, teasing him with her soft touch. She watched him intently trying to figure out when he would snap his mouth shut. His poker face gave no indication. His tongue reached for her finger, slowly and sensually licking it as if he had no intention of snatching it. Another flick with his tongue, and suddenly his mouth rocked forward, engulfing her finger and snapping shut.

Samson held her hostage and sucked at her gently before releasing her.

“You let yourself be distracted by my tongue—that was your downfall,” he warned her, his eyes flickering. “Never take your eyes off the hunter. You never know when he might strike.”

He pulled her down onto his chest. “How about a kiss for the victorious hunter?”

“Since when does the prey kiss the predator?”

“Never heard of Little Red Riding Hood?”

“She didn’t kiss the hunter.” But she would kiss Samson. He’d caught her. He deserved his prize.

“But she kissed the wolf. What if I was the wolf? Would you kiss me?”

“What version of Little Red Riding Hood were you reading as a kid?”

“The adult version, of course!” He flipped her onto her back so quickly she barely knew what was happening. A second later she was pinned underneath him. She didn’t complain: in her opinion, it was a good place to be.

“Since you’re not going to kiss me of your own free will, I have no choice but to torture you.”

He jumped off the bed and picked her up in his arms.

“Where are we going?” What kind of torture?

“Into the bathroom for some water torture.” He smiled, and his eyes twinkled like a rascal who was planning a prank. Torture suddenly sounded like something she had to try.

His bathroom was windowless and enormous. In addition to an oversized vanity with two sinks, there was a large Jacuzzi-type tub and a huge walk-in shower. The toilet was separate behind a wall.

“I’m kind of looking forward to this water torture you’re promising.”

“Are you telling me I can’t scare you with anything?”

“I guess not. But if you want me to pretend….” She could playact a little if it turned him on. Not that she thought she needed to. Just being herself with him seemed to turn him on.

Samson set her onto her feet and switched on the water in the shower. Once he’d tested the temperature, he gave her a little shove toward it. “After you, my lady.”

Delilah stepped into the shower and felt him right behind her. The water started raining down her torso, and she soaked up the warmth.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered. “I want you to only use your sense of touch—nothing else.”

“Hmm.” She closed her eyes, curious about what he had in mind.

His hands touched her shoulders and painstakingly slowly ran down her arms, pausing in the crook of her elbows before connecting with her wrists. Samson encircled them and pulled her arms up, then eased her toward the tile wall of the shower, pressing her against it. He placed her hands flat onto the wall before releasing her.

“Don’t move.” His order was spoken calmly and with the confidence of a man who was used to his orders being followed. She’d obey: as long as she enjoyed what he was doing. A couple of seconds later, she was certain she’d obey for however long he wanted her to.

His hands went back to her shoulders before descending over her shoulder blades, down her back and over her hips, stopping just short of her round cheeks. Instead, he ran them down the side of her thighs. Hot flames shot through her under his touch. The fact she couldn’t see what he was doing only intensified the sensation.

Delilah heard him shift behind her and suddenly felt both of his hands on her ass making circular motions before moving upwards again. She breathed heavily.

“Lower.” She yearned for his hands on her backside again.

“I’m afraid I make the rules here. Are you ready to give me a kiss yet, or do I need to torture you longer?”

“More torture.” The choice was easy. If this was torture, what would happen if he decided to shower her with pleasure instead?

His hands went underneath her arms and slowly traveled down her sides to her hips before moving inwards and down the middle of her ass. She moaned when she felt his hand rest in between her legs. Hoping he wouldn’t notice, she tilted her pelvis backwards to force his hand to her front. He pressed her back toward the wall.

“No, no.”

Seconds later she felt something warm and slick on her ass. His tongue was licking every inch of her backside. Samson knew how to torture a woman. She felt how hot liquid surged to her already moist flesh and started oozing from her. Finally she felt one hand reach underneath her, probing her moist folds.

With his other hand, he pulled her hips toward him and widened her stance. Delilah felt him turn, and finally his face was right underneath her, in between her legs. He’d positioned himself with his back against the tile wall, his legs stretched out in front of him, his face at her core. With both hands he clasped her ass and pressed his face into her sex, letting his tongue slide over her warm flesh.

“Oh God!” she yelped.

He held her firmly so she couldn’t escape, while his tongue played with her clit. His strokes were masterful and relentless. She knew the only way he would stop was when she came. And she wanted to come … right in his mouth.

His tongue was skilled in finding the right spot and the correct pressure to apply to her to make her gasp at every stroke. His moans mixed with hers, telling her how much he enjoyed pleasuring her. Never had she met a man so selfless when it came to pleasing her.

His hands gently stroked her ass, and his tongue teased her in a rhythm that made her body tingle. She felt her body heat up, burning from the inside as if it was a volcano ready to erupt. The molten lava in her core boiled to the surface, and in one big explosion her body released all its tension, shooting waves of pleasure into her every cell.

Delilah braced herself against the tile wall, her legs shaking, when she felt him get up from underneath her and cradle her in his arms.

“How about a kiss now?”

Delilah turned and opened her eyes, finding herself staring into his, which had turned from its hazel color to a dark gold.

“Anything you want.” She meant it. He didn’t even have to ask.

His lips merged with hers, and he took her and smothered her in a long and passionate kiss. His hands pressed her against his naked body, and she could feel his hard cock against her stomach. She wondered how difficult it had to be for him to touch her like this while he had to wait for Carl to come back with the condoms.

There was something she could do to ease his need. Delilah pushed herself away from him, earning her a startled look from him.

Samson was about to protest the interruption when he felt her hand sheathing his cock.

“Do I get to torture you too?”

“Under one condition. Continue kissing me.” He’d never felt anything like it with anybody else. When he was submerged in her kiss, she transported him to another world, a world of sunshine and warmth. He was getting addicted to it. The images were so vivid he could almost sense the sun on his body and smell the flowers in the meadow. Yet he had no idea why he had those visions with her.

He sought her lips again and was instantly transported back into the summer meadow. She slid her hand up and down his erect cock, tugging on it harder with each movement. Her hand was soft and warm, and the water trickling down on them made every movement smooth.

Delilah knew how to excite him. Just feeling her breasts crushed against his chest, her lips on his and her tongue dueling with his, aroused him more than any vampire female ever had. But the touch of her hand—it was something out of heaven. The way she ran her hand over him, squeezed him with just the right pressure and moved his skin back and forth, was as if she could read his mind, knowing instinctively what he wanted and what brought him closer and closer to his climax.

“Delilah.”

Her hand squeezed him again, faster now and harder. In a desperate attempt to steady himself, he dug his hands into her hips and pressed one thigh in between hers. But the onslaught of sensations her caress sent through him was too much. His breath quickened, and his body tensed as he felt his seed shoot through his cock and spray against her stomach.

He braced himself against the wall behind her and buried his head in the crook of her neck, trying to hide from her that his legs shook like those of a teenager experiencing his first sexual encounter. This human woman drove every sane thought out of his body.

“I think that’s all the torture I can take for now.” It wasn’t what he’d wanted to say. He’d wanted to tell her what he felt when he was with her, but he couldn’t. He barely knew her. She would think he was crazy. And besides, it would never work: he was still a vampire. He shouldn’t even feel the things he felt with her.

Samson tried to convince himself that the reason he felt like this was because he was so starved for sex. It would just be tonight until he had stilled his hunger for sex. After that she wouldn’t mean anything to him, he was sure. For certain there was no good reason why he would want her any longer than that. After all, he was just following doctor’s orders. And who in their right mind would continue taking medicine once the illness was cured? Who indeed?

Delilah stopped in front of the painting over the fireplace in Samson’s bedroom. The scene of a stately home surrounded by expansive grounds and a small pond drew her in. There was something oddly familiar about it, almost as if she knew the place.

She felt Samson stop behind her.

“When did you paint this?” she asked him without thinking.

“How did you know I painted this?” His voice sounded as surprised as she was herself. For some inexplicable reason she knew he’d painted it. She could see Samson standing in front of an easel, paint brush in hand, shirt and pants dirtied by various colors of oil paint.

“I don’t know. But when I look at it, I know you painted it.” She astounded herself by the certainty with which she said the words.

“I did. It’s my ancestral home. My family came from England.”

“It’s beautiful. Is the home still in your family’s hands?” It was more a castle than a home, but the warmth Delilah felt when she looked at it made her realize it had been a true family home with love and laughter.

She turned to him and saw the pain in his eyes for one second, before he planted a smile on his lips.

“No, not anymore. They lost everything after some unwise investments. The family became penniless, and everything was sold off. That’s what brought me, uh, my ancestors to the United States. Their only son came to this country in the late eighteenth century to make a name for himself.”

“And did he? Make a name for himself?” Delilah asked with interest. She loved history, especially when it was connected to somebody she knew personally.

“Yes and no. He was successful in business in the end, but he never saw his parents again. It was the biggest regret of his life, having to leave them behind. Never to hug his mother again, never to converse with his father about the things that mattered to a young man.”

There was pain in his voice. She felt a sense of loss slam into her chest.

“You say it as if you knew him. It was over two hundred years ago.”

Samson blinked then gave her another smile. “I’d like to think that I know him. It’s what I would have felt in his situation. Losing family is the hardest thing to get over.”

She understood all too well. “When did you lose yours?”

“Too long ago.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She felt his need for tenderness and molded into him, wrapping her arms around his back.

“Come, join me in my favorite spot.”

Samson pulled her down onto the large floor pillows in front of the fireplace. Delilah rolled onto her stomach and gazed into the flames. Shadows created by the fire danced on her bare skin. Her long dark hair was sprawled over her shoulders. Some of the strands were wet from the shower.

His body was turned toward her, and his head rested on his hand as he admired her beauty while he played with her hair. He enjoyed running his hand over her bare ass, caressing her more tenderly than he’d ever caressed a woman before. Her skin was deliciously soft and flawless.

“You said you’re on a business trip. How long will you stay in San Francisco?”

Samson dipped his head to kiss the delightful indentation at the base of her back.

“Till Wednesday. I’m taking the red-eye back to New York.”

He felt a sharp stab in his chest. Indigestion? Not likely—vampires didn’t get indigestion.

“New York? I used to live in New York. Tell me what you do there.” He wanted to get her talking so he could get his mind off what he really wanted to do—bury himself in her again, and again, and again. Maybe nibbling his way over the swells of her ass would take the edge off. He did just that, letting his lips graze over her delicate skin.

An appreciative moan was her response before she spoke again. “I work as an independent consultant. I travel a lot for my job.”

“What kind of consultant?” He wasn’t really interested, but he still hadn’t heard Carl come back and knew he had to kill the time somehow. As much as he wanted to go down on her again, he didn’t think he’d have enough self-control left to stop himself from plunging into her this time. There was no way he wanted to piss her off by sleeping with her without a condom, since he figured she was the kind of woman who’d just ditch him if he did something against her will.

Of course, as a vampire he could always force her, but he didn’t want to. He wanted her to come to him of her own free will. He had the feeling that sex with Delilah was much more satisfying when she wanted him. The thought of forcing her gave him a strange sense of guilt.

“Financial stuff. It’s really not that interesting.”

It sounded like she didn’t want to talk about it. Being the hunter he was deep down, he felt the challenge rise to get an answer.

“Try again.” To encourage her, he placed soft kisses on her sexy ass.

“What?” She turned her head back to him and gave him an inquisitive look.

“Let me get this right. You don’t want to tell me what you do?” Samson propped himself up.

She cringed. “Because it’s really not that interesting. And once I tell you, you’ll think I’m boring just because of what I do.”

“Issues, issues. There’s no way I could ever look at you and think you’re boring.” His eyes deliberately scanned her naked back and ass. No, boring was definitely not the right adjective to describe her. Luscious, hot, sensual, but not even those words could really capture what he saw.

“You’re going to laugh.”

“Have a little faith in my abilities to control myself.”

“I’m an auditor.”

“An auditor?” he repeated before he felt a stifled laugh build in his chest. He tried to suppress a grin, but too late. She was worried he’d find her boring because she was an auditor? That was just too funny.

“You can audit me anytime.”

“I could count and measure all your parts to make sure everything’s where it should be.”

“You’d better have a real large measuring tape on you.”

A second later a pillow hit him in the face.

“I knew it! Go ahead, make fun of the little auditor—but it won’t be original. I’ve heard every joke before.”

Samson snatched the pillow and threw it right back at her, starting a pillow fight. He knew she wasn’t mad at him when he heard her giggle. Delilah rolled and hit him with another pillow which he immediately appropriated before immobilizing her by pinning her down underneath him. She panted. He kissed her before he released her again.

“What made you want to be an auditor?”

“It was just something I was good at.” She appeared reluctant to talk about her career choice.

“But you didn’t know that before you started the job. There must have been something that interested you.”

“It wasn’t really interest in the job, more like … I don’t know, the fact that I could be in control of something.”

The answer surprised him. Delilah didn’t strike him as a control freak. “I’m not quite sure I get that. What do you mean by control? Did you want to be the boss?” She was a strong woman. He could certainly see her as a leader in her field.

She shook her head. “Nothing like that. I wanted to control risk, to make sure things didn’t go wrong.”

“But is that really what you do now? Control risk?” As if she was afraid of something. What could she fear?

“In a small way, yes. I make sure things get fixed when they go wrong. I find the culprit and correct the situation. It eliminates risk in the future.”

“Why is that so important to you?” Samson was curious now. Why was a gorgeous woman like her interested in such a seemingly mundane field? Shouldn’t she be interested in something more feminine?

“Because some outcomes can hurt people. If I can reduce risk, I can reduce bad situations.” Interesting concept.

“And people won’t get hurt?”

She nodded.

“Couldn’t you help people better if you’d become a doctor instead?” It seemed like a much more straightforward path to helping people if that was what she wanted to do.

She waved him off. “God, no! I get nauseous at the sight of blood. Figures I can handle, blood I can’t.”

Samson swallowed hard. If she couldn’t handle blood, it could definitely be a problem later when … What the hell was he thinking about? There wouldn’t be a later. She’d never have to deal with blood. He wouldn’t bite her.

Time to change the subject. Fast.

He pinned her down once more, imprisoning her wrists and lowering his head. Her breath mingled with his. “You’re the most exciting woman I’ve ever met.” Too abrupt a change of subject? Maybe, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Is that why you’re hard again?” His erection was hard to miss, pressed against her warm thigh.

“And the most perceptive. And if Carl doesn’t show up here in the next ten minutes I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” He underscored his statement with an exasperated breath.

Delilah rubbed her thigh against his hard-on, tempting him even further.

Little minx!

“Make that five minutes,” he corrected himself and moaned.

Samson loosened his grip on her wrists, and she freed one hand to put it on the back of his neck. “Maybe I can help you pass the time.” She pulled him down and touched her lips to his. As soon as he felt her soft skin and then seconds later her moist tongue slip into his mouth, he was completely lost. For a few seconds he gave into her, returning her passionate kiss, but the urge to penetrate her was getting to be too much. With all his remaining strength, he pulled himself off her and rolled onto his back.

He sat up and moved away from her. “Okay. Here’s the deal. You stay right over there.” He pointed to one end of the floor pillows. “And I will stay on this side.”

“And then?”

“We’ll talk. Maybe I should loan you a robe.”

“A robe? So you’re done looking at me?”

“Not even close. But it might be fun to rip it off you once the condoms get here.” He could already imagine the scene. Damn, was his mind not capable of thinking of anything else but sex, or rather, sex with Delilah? He had the feeling it might take longer than one night to get this out of his system.

***

Carl pulled the limousine into the garage and got out. In two trips, he brought both the groceries and all of Delilah’s personal items into the foyer, including the flowers Samson had given her. The house was quiet except for the low voices he could hear coming from upstairs. His hearing was as sharp as Samson’s. In the kitchen he saw his boss’ note immediately. When he read it he raised his eyebrows. His boss thought of everything.

Without hesitation he moved all blood from the main fridge into the smaller one in the pantry and locked it. Delilah would not find anything out of the ordinary, and their secret would be safe. He didn’t like the idea that the woman was staying in the house, but he would be the last man to question his boss’ decisions.

Carl was absolutely devoted to Samson. His loyalty was unsurpassed, and he would give his life for him should it ever become necessary. After all, Samson had revived him when a gang of criminals had robbed him of his human life. Granted, he was now a vampire, but in Carl’s books it was better than being dead.

Carl finished filling the fridge with human food before bringing Delilah’s luggage, as well as the bunch of red roses, into the guest room. He knew she wouldn’t be staying in the room: he could hear them both in the master suite.

He paused in front of the door and set the box of condoms down when he heard Samson laugh. He hadn’t heard his boss laugh like this in a long time. He was finally happy, at least for a moment. And it would only be for a moment. What Carl had found amongst Delilah’s things when he’d packed for her concerned him. He needed to bring it to Samson’s attention.

He lifted his hand to knock at the door, but hesitated.

He remembered Samson’s explicit instructions of not wanting to be disturbed tonight, and despite his concerns, Carl didn’t have the heart to disrupt him. Samson needed a night of fun and games. It would have to wait.

Carl left the house, knowing his boss would have already heard him on the stairs. There was no need to let him know he’d executed all his wishes.

As soon as he was back in the car he dialed a number.

“Yes, Carl?” Ricky answered instantly.

“We need to talk. It’s urgent.”

“I’m with Amaury. We’re down in Dog Patch, behind the old mill.” Dog Patch, part of the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, was one of the shadier neighborhoods in San Fran and not a place where humans liked to hang around after dark. Vampires, on the other hand, did, because it was away from the curious eyes of humans.

“Fifteen minutes.” Carl pressed harder on the accelerator, and the car shot down the hill heading for the Embarcadero.

***

“What do you mean? Was he armed?” John Reardon hissed into the cell phone. He nervously paced on this patio, constantly glancing back at the house, hoping his wife wouldn’t overhear him.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m telling you: I’m out.”

“That wasn’t the deal, Billy. I’ve already paid you.” John’s voice was panicked now.

“And I’ve earned my money, but the bitch keeps on getting help. You told me she didn’t know anybody here, and suddenly she’s with this guy who defends her with his life? I’m telling you, there was something creepy about that guy. Don’t mess with her.”

“Damn it; just give it one more try. I’ll see her in the office tomorrow, and I’ll find out what she’ll do in the evening. I’ll make sure you’ll get her alone. Please, help me out.”

He heard Billy inhale sharply several times until he finally spoke. “If you weren’t married to my sister, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Okay,” he paused again, “but this time you’ll tell me the whole story. Then I’ll decide if I continue to help you. I’m not gonna risk my neck for you blindly anymore. Family only goes so far.”

“It’s better if you don’t know too much.” As much as John wanted his brother-in-law to help him get him out of the mess he was in, he thought it safer if Billy didn’t know everything.

“Bull. Start talking or I’m out.” Billy’s various brushes with the law had given him a badass attitude.