The Lady is a Vamp (The Paranormal Investigations Series Book 1) (6 page)

Back in the car he laid his hand on her thigh and she made no attempt to remove it, instead looking at him provocatively from under her eyelashes. Nick felt the heat rise in his groin again, his exhaustion forgotten. In truth, he was pumped. He had solved the case, had a beautiful woman next to him, and a vampire to chase tomorrow. Although he knew he should be scared, his adrenaline was surging. So much so that as soon as they were through the door to his apartment he turned and grabbed Ruby, pushing her back against the wall and kissing her fiercely. She responded with a fevered moan, lifting a leg around his hips and pulling him towards her. His hands went down to cup her perfect butt and he pulled her against him, where he was already painfully hard for her. Her hand slipped up his shirt, running through his chest hair and tweaking a nipple as she nibbled at his ear lobe.

‘Minx,’ he growled, reaching for her jeans button and pulling them over her hips to feel her already damp through her panties.

‘Well they didn’t stay on for long,’ she said breathlessly as he knelt down and tugged them off, along with her sneakers, then kissed his way back up her thighs, pausing to breathe lightly on her sex through the thin cotton, a surprisingly erotic sensation that made her insides quiver. He kissed his way up the length of her body, sucking at a nipple through her vest before coming back to her mouth and sucking at her lower lip.

‘Oh God, Nick,’ she breathed, her worries momentarily forgotten, and he answered her unspoken plea, lifting her up easily and wrapping her legs around his waist. She wound her arms around his neck and they were still kissing as he carried her over to the couch and laid her back against the cushions. She looked up at him, her eyes heavy with desire, and reached for his waistband.

‘I want you inside me,’ she said, her voice low and the need for him throbbing through her words in a way that nearly made him come in his pants. She freed his erection as he knelt between her legs, pushing her panties to one side. She was wet and ready for him, curling her legs high around his back as he buried himself in her warmth. It felt so right, being inside her, so good. He buried his face in her neck, overwhelmed by the sensation of losing himself in her body and by the strong emotions she stirred in him. Always, because of his telepathy, Nick had had to hold back with women, but with Ruby he could totally let go, surrender to the moment. Looking down at her moaning beneath him, her beautiful body possessed by his, Nick felt a surge of lust that was almost primal; she was his. His woman.

Ruby’s eyes met his, saw the intense look in his eyes as he drove his body into hers and she moved her hips in time with him, her hands clutching at his buttocks, urging him on. Her worries earlier seemed foolish now; how could this not be meant to be? She had never known such pleasure, such intensity, and she cried out with delight as he reached down and brushed her clitoris with his fingers, urging her on to her climax. Her whole body was melting into a pool of liquid fire, and when her orgasm came she shattered around him into a thousand fragments of pure, sharp pleasure. Her cries sent Nick over the edge, and he reached his own peak, staring into her eyes as he did so, before collapsing into her arms.

They held each other for a long moment, both panting and hot, allowing the aftershocks to subside. Before he sat up Nick kissed her tenderly, and the blatant emotion in his eyes made Ruby gasp.

‘This is more than sex isn’t it?’ she said, sitting up and straightening her vest. She really needed to shower.

‘I hope so,’ Nick said simply. He reached for her hand, caressing her slim fingers. ‘I’ve never felt like this about a woman before, Ruby.’

His words tugged at her heart. She wanted so much for this to be true, for him to be hers. It wasn’t just loneliness; she was used to being alone, revelled in it, sometimes. But this man had awakened in her something long buried, and she knew she couldn’t just thrust her emotions back under the surface. Even if she walked away from him and never saw him again, she would be forever changed.

‘But how,’ she whispered, ‘how can we be together? You hate what I am, I know you do.’ Nick shook his head swiftly.

‘No. I’m sorry if I said some insensitive things earlier; it’s just my way Ruby, and I was fighting my attraction to you and worried about this case … but we have more in common than you think. All my life, I’ve been different. To have met you, for us to be so perfect for each other; it’s not a coincidence. And I won’t believe that you don’t feel the same way. I might not be able to read your mind, but I can see it in your eyes.’ And your body, he thought, knowing instinctively that Ruby could never have given herself to him so fully if it had just been about the sex.

Ruby nodded. She too, felt the hand of fate in this. But could he truly accept her? Remembering his look of disgust as he had glanced up at the ‘kissing booths’ earlier, she wasn’t so sure.

‘What about when I need to feed? Can you handle that?’

Nick closed his eyes briefly. He had been hoping they wouldn’t have to talk about this yet. The truth was, the whole thing made him feel pretty damn squeamish. It wasn’t the blood itself – hell, he was a homicide detective; he had seen enough of the red stuff to be impervious to it. It was the level of intimacy that bothered him. As much as he wanted to have Ruby body and soul, he wasn’t quite ready to share that much of himself. Aware he was being hypocritical, he tried to be pragmatic.

‘How often do you need blood?’ he asked.

‘Once a week, maybe more. Usually just a few drops is enough.’ She picked up his wrist, turning it over and tracing the thin blue veins on the underside. Although vampire enthusiasts and stories favoured the neck for its erotic appeal, the wrist was the easiest place to take blood. She looked at him. He hadn’t flinched, hadn’t moved his hand, but his face was carefully composed.

‘Do you want me to show you?’

‘Now?’ the look in his eyes was unmistakable; the idea revolted him. Ruby dropped his hand, feeling stung. It could never work between them if he couldn’t accept all of her. The truth was, Nick made her feel like a woman again, and that was a beautiful feeling, but he had to accept the vampire side of her too.

‘This is part of who I am Nick. If you can’t deal with it …’ she left the words unspoken, but they both knew what they meant. Nick picked up her hand again.

‘I can deal with it; just give me time. This is all new to me too. Let’s get this killer caught and we can concentrate on where we’re going with this, okay?’ When Ruby didn’t meet his eyes he lifted her chin gently so that she had to look at him. ‘I’m not letting you go now that I’ve found you,’ he said, and his words thrilled her even through her uncertainty. He was probably right; they had only known each other for a few hours, even if it had been the longest night of her long life. And besides, she had other things to concentrate on … such as facing the vamp who had destroyed her whole existence.

Taking her silence as acceptance, and noticing the dark shadows under her eyes, Nick took her hand again and pulled her to her feet.

‘Let’s get a shower. I’ll throw your underwear in the machine. I need sleep and by the looks of you, so do you. Or do you usually sleep in the day?’

Ruby shrugged, following him into the bathroom. ‘It varies. My tolerance to sunlight is pretty good, though you won’t catch me sunbathing.’

‘Good,’ Nick had never understood the craze for scorching your skin lazing around in the sun.

Nick turned the shower on and they discarded their remaining clothes and stepped into the water, the warm jets heavenly on tired skin. Even though he had just spent himself for the second time that night, he felt his cock twitch at the sight of her naked under the stream of water, her head tipped back and breasts thrust out so that the water cascaded over them. She looked like a goddess. He stepped behind her, trailing his hands over her lower back and the creamy globes of her ass, and she murmured with approval at his touch. He lifted the thick blanket of her hair and nibbled at her shoulder, causing a shiver to flow down her spine. He felt her body’s reaction to him and it thrilled him. Nick pushed his growing hardness into the soft flesh of her buttocks, then reached around her for the shower gel. Unscrewing it, he drizzled some out over her breasts. She gasped.

‘What are you doing?’ she laughed, arching her back to press her breasts into his hands as he rubbed the fresh smelling gel into her skin.

‘Giving you a wash,’ he murmured into her ear, ‘because you’re one very dirty woman.’

‘I thought you liked me dirty.’ She tipped her butt up to press tantalisingly against the tip of his cock and was rewarded by his frustrated groan in her ear and a hard tug on her nipples, just the right side of pain, that made her sigh with pleasure.

He soaped her breasts, interspersing his massage of her once again aching flesh with gentle twists and sharper pinches of their peaks until she was wet and needy for him again, and he hadn’t even touched her between the legs yet. Ruby went to turn to face him but he pushed her up against the shower wall, one hand in her hair at the nape of her neck and the other slipping in between her legs to her swollen flesh. Before they had stepped in the shower Ruby would have sworn she couldn’t orgasm again, but obviously Nick – and her body – had other ideas. As his fingertips teased her clitoris, alternately dipping in and out of her she shamelessly pushed herself back onto his hand, steadying herself against the tiled wall, the warm water still cascading over her breasts, belly, and thighs and adding to the delicious feelings that were building in her at his touch. It was as if the expert motions of his fingers were rubbing and stroking away all her worries; they could wait until tomorrow.

He trailed his other hand down her back and down, stroking the cleft at the top of her buttocks and running teasing fingers between her cheeks, rubbing at the opening in small circles. She writhed on his hand at the unfamiliar sensation, wanting to come, but he eased the pressure on her clitoris just enough to keep her on the brink.

‘Nick, please,’ she begged, and he bit at her shoulder as he slid his hand down between her legs to her aching sex and pushed two, then three fingers into her, his other hand increasing the pressure on her sensitive nub. It sent her over the edge, again, tightening around his hand, calling his name in a long drawn out sound that was almost a scream.

It seemed to go on and on, and when her shuddering started to subside and he withdrew his hand only to lift it to her mouth for her to taste herself she convulsed again, a sweet sharp spasm that had her turning and almost falling into his arms, her head on his damp, strong chest. He stroked her hair, soothing, yet she could still feel him insistently hard against her.

‘Let me taste you.’ She sank to her knees, feeling the water at her back, taking his erection into her hand.

‘Ruby, you don’t have to.’

She smiled up at him. ‘I want to.’ And she kept her eyes on his as she swirled her tongue around the end of his shaft and then up and down his length, slowly at fast then more firmly, then slowly again until he was twitching under her hands, desperate for her to take all of him. Ruby encased him in her mouth, taking him as far as she could and wrapping her hand around the base of him to move in time with the silken strokes of her mouth. Nicks eyes looked glazed, his hands twitched at his side, then one came to rest on her shoulder and she felt the tension in him and smiled to herself. She wanted to do this for him, to bring him to the heights of pleasure with her mouth, just as he had done for her the first time they had made love.

Ruby increased the pace and intensity of her movements, steadying herself with a hand on Nick’s thigh and feeling his muscles knotting and tensing. He gripped her shoulder as he climaxed, grinding out her name through clenched teeth. She didn’t pull away, aroused herself at the feel of his orgasm in her mouth. Only when she felt his body relax did she stand and face him, smiling shyly. She had only ever performed that act with her husband, and that had been another life. In this one, she knew suddenly with a fierce realisation as he looked at her, his lush mouth smiling with satisfaction, she was Nick’s. Even if they had no future together, he had indelibly marked her for life. The thought of their not being together brought with it a pang of fear, and she went into his arms again.

They were quiet as they dried themselves and as Ruby towel dried her hair Nick went into the bedroom and pulled the covers back. It was nearly dawn, and he needed at least a few hours sleep. He looked up as Ruby walked in, admiring the feminine lines of her body, and smiled at her through tired eyes. Although she had the dreamy, post-coital look of a woman well loved, he still sensed there was something bothering her. He got into bed and held his hand out to her and she slipped in beside him and curled into his body. There was still so much he wanted to say, but his eyes were fighting to stay open. He slept, Ruby fitting into his embrace, as if their bodies had been fashioned for one anothers.

Chapter Six

Ruby woke a few hours later, the sun through the gap in the curtains irritating her; she had deliberately not asked Nick to close them more fully so that the rays would awaken her. One strong arm was thrown casually over her body and it was with reluctance that she wriggled out from his embrace. It would be so easy to just lie in his arms and forget what awaited her or to just let Nick and his team take care of it, but she knew she couldn’t. Since she had realised the vampire that had killed Simon had been the very same one that had killed her family and altered her whole being all those years ago, she had felt responsible. She should have tried to track him down before, so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. For a long time after she had been turned she had been scared that turning into a monster with an all-consuming blood thirst was inevitable for every vampire, and that it would happen to her. As time had gone on and her powers had gone stronger and she had realised that wasn’t the case, it had been all too easy to tell herself that the vampire who had sired her had obviously disappeared, perhaps even been destroyed, but she hadn’t ever really tried to look. How many innocents had he destroyed between her and Simon?