Surrendering: A Regent Vampire Lords Novel, Book #1 (7 page)

Sighing heavily, she unceremoniously finished her second glass of wine and opened another bottle. She had a paper to write, she had homework to grade, she had a grant to think about. But all she wanted to do instead was sit and daydream, like a lovesick puppy about a man she could never have.

Jesus, Kate. Get a goddamned grip.

Pouring her third and what
should
be her final glass, but probably wouldn’t be, she headed into the bathroom and filled the Jacuzzi tub with steaming water and lavender vanilla aromatherapy bubble bath. Lighting some candles and turning on Michael Bublé—
don’t judge
—she quickly disrobed and eased slowly into the scalding water, groaning with relief. Bubble bath, wine and a sultry crooner…what more could a girl want?

Why…one very tall, very erotic, very virile man with onyx eyes peering up at her from between her thighs of course.

Kate spent the next thirty minutes sipping wine and reliving her carnal dreams with this incredible man—like she hadn’t done that hundreds of times over the last four months. She ran her hands over her nakedness, wishing they were his. Unable to stop, one slipped below the water and stroked her slick center. She remembered Erin telling her how quickly she’d gotten off from the jets of her tub and at the time that had sounded ridiculous. But now, badly needing to take the edge off, Kate stretched her legs, positioning her sex perfectly between the maximum speed stream of water and
Oh. My. God
. Within thirty seconds, an incredibly hard orgasm tore through her, sending warmth spiraling throughout her body. Head falling back, she reached for the controls and turned off the pulsating water, recovering slowly from the quick rush.

Damn. Erin was definitely onto something.

Glass long empty, water cooled, and feeling a bit less tense, Kate decided it was time to leave her wallowing and soak up the alcohol she’d consumed with some food. Except she didn’t have much in the house, so she’d either have to do take out or run to the store. And since she’d consumed three very substantial glasses of wine in the last hour, take out it was.

Forty-five minutes later, long hair pulled into a messy bun and dressed in black yoga pants and a ratty yellow Golden Eagles sweatshirt that had seen better days, the doorbell rang. Expecting to see a delivery boy from the
Jade Garden
, her favorite Chinese restaurant with
the
best cashew chicken and egg drop soup to ever to pass her lips, she quickly opened the door without checking the peephole.

And immediately regretted it.
Oh God.
Breathe Kate. In, out…in, out.

Instead of the deliveryman, standing on her front porch was the man of her dreams. Literally and figuratively. And in one hand dangled her food.

“Hello Kate,” he drawled, full lips turned up on one corner.

He stood there in the same breathtaking suit she’d seen him in earlier, but with a heavy, long black overcoat shielding him against the elements.

“Hi.” Her voice was breathy. Lord, he was just sinfully good-looking.

“I think I have something you want.”
 

There was no truer statement
ever
made than that one. She wanted, all right. Oh, how she
wanted
. He laughed as she stood quietly gaping at his sheer perfection.

“I was talking about the food, but by the way you’re devouring me with your hungry eyes, I can see maybe food’s not all that’s on your mind.”

He strode confidently through the door, but not before leaning down and running his nose seductively along the unencumbered expanse of her neck, inhaling deeply. A sexy, low rumble sounded in the back of his throat.

“Mmmm, you smell good, Kate.”

Good god. Cue the fan.

 
He stood back, his burning eyes roaming over every inch of her body. Her
hideously
clothed body.
Go her
.

Finding her voice, she finally asked the question that had been burning in her mind for the last sixty seconds.

“How did you know where I live?”

He smiled mischievously and sauntered quietly through the living room into the kitchen. He was as comfortable as if he’d been there a dozen times before. Having no choice, she followed him but stopped in the doorway and watched as he efficiently found a plate and silverware and set them on the table before dishing up her food.

“What are you doing?”

He looked up from his task, confusion clouding his face. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m feeding you.”

She couldn’t help the small smile that passed her lips. She should be irritated and in truth she was, but irrational delight overrode any other emotion she felt. But that didn’t mean she was letting him off the hook. He seemed very good—
too
good—at dodging her simple questions.

He gestured for her to sit, but she wasn’t about to fall in line that easily. “You haven’t answered my questions.”

He walked toward her, but gliding would have been a more accurate description. He moved with such stealth and grace, it was almost unnatural. Stopping only inches from her, his piercing gaze pinned her so firmly in place so she couldn’t move even if she’d wanted to.

“Really? Because I was certain that I had,” he said in a low, deep voice that went straight to her loins.

Unable to speak, she could only shake her head in disagreement.

Leaning down so close his breath feathered her lips, he reached up and drew the back of his fingers lightly down her cheek.

“Where you live is public information, Ms. Martin and as for what I’m doing here? I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“Oh,” she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry as the Sahara. She felt dizzy and didn’t know if it was the wine or his scent affecting her. Probably both. His evident desire for her was heady and she found herself making excuses on why it might not be so bad after all to sleep with this man.

Just when she thought he’d lean down to kiss her, he took a step back taking his body heat and unique scent away with him. Disappointment stabbed deep. She wanted his mouth on hers more than she’d ever wanted anything else. Even more than she’d wanted that little electronic Barbie car as a child, the one you could sit in and drive around your neighborhood. And she’d wanted that a
hell
of a lot.

“Now, why don’t you take a seat and eat before your food gets cold,” he motioned as he pulled out the chair like a gentleman.

Not knowing what to make of this bizarre encounter, she walked to the small round table and took a seat. He sat just to her right and all of a sudden she wished she hadn’t drank so much wine. While the haziness clouding her brain was absolutely in part due to him, it was also undeniably the alcohol. A woman didn’t face a man like Dev without a very clear head unless she wanted to end up underneath him in short order. And while she
so
did, she worried with her inhibitions lowered she’d make a mistake of epic proportions and end up hating herself in the morning.

Because nothing had changed between this morning and now, saying
no
was exactly what she needed to do, but she was wound so damn tight that she wasn’t at all sure she’d be able to.

C
hapter 12

Dev

She was as affected by him as he was she. He could smell her arousal the second she opened the door. It was intoxicating. Unfortunately, he could also see her internal tug of war. She wanted him but she didn’t want to want him and that was messing with her head. He needed to put her at ease, while letting her know he intended to pursue her…hard. Dev had a lot of work ahead of him in a short amount of time. He loved a challenge and he won every single one of them. And he fully intended to win this one.

So
let the games begin
.

They sat in silence while she picked at her food. Unlike the myths, vampires didn’t live on blood alone. It was their main sustenance, yes, but they also enjoyed food just as humans did. Dev’s tastes ran a little higher-end than MSG filled Chinese food, however, and the smell of the sickly sweet chicken concoction Kate pushed around on her plate unpleasantly assailed his nose.

“Am I in danger?” she asked tentatively as she placed her fork down and looked in his eyes for the first time in several minutes.

“Yes,” he said plainly. She
was
in danger and he would not lie to her about that.

She looked slightly taken aback, as if it wasn’t the answer she’d expected.

“Has there been a threat or something? Did you see someone outside my house?”

“No. There has been no direct or indirect threat, but it’s only a matter of time. You’re a threat to him. Once this monster finds out about your special skills, Kate, he
will
come for you.”

She looked truly frightened for the first time and while he felt bad about that, he didn’t feel bad enough to back down.

“So…are you patrolling outside my house then?”

He regarded her silently for several moments. His stubborn Moira was not going to be easily convinced to come with him. He answered her as honestly as he could without revealing too much too soon.

“I won’t let a moment pass that you’re not protected, Kate.” He’d follow her all over the goddamned city for days if he had to.

At his response, her shoulders relaxed slightly.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

She picked up her plate, having hardly eaten a thing, walked to the garbage and deposited the bulk of it in the oblong, plastic lined container. He couldn’t stand being more than a few feet away from her and didn’t want to be ushered out the door yet, so he poured a glass of red wine from the open bottle on the counter, took her hand and drew her back into the living room. He could smell the fruity potion on her breath when he walked in and knew she’d already imbibed in a few glasses.

“Sit,” he waived her toward the couch and handed her the cup when she surprisingly complied without a flippant comment. He took his rightful place right next to her.

Glancing shyly between her glass and his face, he was surprised at the tender feelings that rose up out of nowhere. Dev was not tender anything. He was hard, demanding and passionate about many things. No one would—or could—ever accuse him of being tender. Now, however, as he observed his future mate that’s the exact sentiment he felt.

“Do you want to talk about your dreams?” He asked quietly. He wanted to know everything about her. Her hopes and dreams and deepest desires.

She smiled sardonically. “Not particularly, no.”

“Okay. Then tell me about your teaching.”

Quite frankly, he didn’t care what the fuck they talked about. He just wanted to spend time with her. And since he wasn’t about to take advantage of a woman who’d clearly had a little too much to drink this evening, spending it talking to her was the best he was going to get.

At that question, her eyes lit up and she spent the next hour telling him about her current PhD studies and her love for teaching and research. He hung on every word she said, drawing it in and tucking it away for future reference. She was passionate, like him. And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that passion would extend to the four walls of the bedroom. Just thinking about it made his stiff erection throb with anger at being kept from his Moira. He’d kept his hands in his lap for most of their conversation because he couldn’t control his bodily reaction to her.

Guilt ate at him for how much her life would change after they bonded. Because she would be the mate of a powerful Vampire Lord, she could not be allowed to continue teaching at the University and that gutted him. She would be crushed, so together they would have to find something else that could replace that passion, but where she’d also be safe from harm.

“Well, I should be going to bed. I have an early day tomorrow.”

She yawned and he could see how tired she really was. While he was loath to leave, he couldn’t come up with a plausible reason to stay, either.

He rose, as did she, and she walked him to the front door. While he may walk out of the house, he wasn’t going any further than that. Against Ren’s wishes, he would personally keep watch over her.

“Well…good night Dev. Thanks for stopping by,” she said softly as she held the open door, signaling it was time for him to depart.

Leaving without tasting her was probably the second hardest thing he’d done today. Watching her walk out of the precinct without him was the first. He wanted to taste her mouth, her skin, her pussy. He wanted her blood running in his veins. He craved anything and everything that she would give him.

But instead of doing any of those things, he leaned in and gently touched his lips to her forehead. “Goodnight, love.”

Then he turned and walked out door, already strategically planning for tomorrow evenings visit.

C
hapter 13

Xavier

Xavier thrust ruthlessly into her quivering body again and again. She was a tight little thing, and a virgin, if the blood smeared between her pale thighs was any indication. Of course, he’d ravaged her for the last several hours, so it was just as likely he’d ripped up her tender flesh. She was almost useless now. Her broken body was half drained of blood and she was just lying there, taking his abuse. Eyes vacant and glassed over.