Vampire Awakening (5 page)

Before she had a chance to fully appreciate the tingling sensation washing over her, Caleb pushed her hand away from her sex while continuing to explore with his own. His fingers ran through the moisture of her slit as he parted the lips, getting his first look at her most intimate of areas.

“Oh, darlin’, you're ready for me, aren't you?” He didn't really pause to wait for an answer. “Mmm. So wet and creamy.” He slid his fingers top to bottom, gathering her moisture. He brought them covered in her juice up to her lips. “Taste yourself for me, baby. Tell me what it tastes like.” He pressed his fingers against her mouth, and she opened to him, allowing his fingers to sweep inside. Despite the awkwardness of his request, Abby was surprised to find that she liked knowing how hot she was for him as well as the fact that her obedience thus far seemed to please him.

He pulled his fingers from her mouth, sitting back a bit from her. Waiting.

“It's—it's sweet and—um, tangy.” As he watched her intently, she realized he'd yet to remove his pants. She couldn't wait to see and feel more of him, wanted the feel of him over her as he plunged into her, his cock forcing its way between the folds of her pussy as she sucked him inside.

“You okay, darlin’? You're looking a little tense.” His arousal-thickened voice pulled her from the runaway path her thoughts had been heading down.

His mouth curled up at the edges, his eyes getting darker if possible. He reached for his pants without breaking eye contact, undoing the button fly one slow button at a time. A few buttons later, she realized he wasn't wearing underwear when she saw a flash of flesh nestled in black curls. When he freed his cock, its hard length bounced against his flat stomach before jutting out toward her.

Unable to resist the compulsion, Abby moved up to her knees, getting close enough to reach out and touch him. When her hand circled around his thick flesh, a sharp intake of breath sounded from Caleb. She marveled at the feel of velvety skin encasing hard steel as she stroked up and down the shaft. His cock wept, and she swiped the moisture with her fingertip, bringing it to her lips.

“Enough, Abby.” He grabbed her wrists and shoved her back down on the bed, covering her with his body with unnatural speed. She blinked, her mind wondering how, when she felt the head of him pushing at her entrance. All thoughts other than her need fled her mind as he speared her balls deep in one smooth, swift thrust. Caleb leaned down and kissed her, forcefully tangling with her tongue as his hips began a rough pumping in and out of her wanting pussy. With his second downward stroke, she burst into pieces, her orgasm taking her by surprise. She screamed into his mouth as he continued to take her over and over again. The heightened sensation of him filling her each time his balls slapped against her bottom gave her more pleasure than she thought possible.

His muscles clenched and strained under her hands as she clutched at him, pleading for more. Breaking the kiss, he nuzzled at the curve of her neck, nipping the skin with his teeth. Her mind filled with intense thoughts of hard-driving sex and blood.

Blood? What?

Again her thoughts were released with Caleb's increasingly frantic moves, bringing on another powerful orgasm to take her breath away. His buttocks tensed as a deep groan sounded from deep within him. Abby felt a quick, sharp prick in her neck when he bit at her, sucking on the skin. Her world fractured into tiny bits of color all around her as her muscles clamped onto his cock over and over again. She simply couldn't imagine sex had ever been like this. She would never forget something so full of thoughts and feelings and incredible pleasure.

In what seemed like an eternity later, Caleb collapsed against her, his forehead resting on her shoulder. They both fought to get their ragged breathing back under control. His slick, masculine form pressed down on her as a constant reminder of his dominance over her. He'd taken control of their encounter, and she'd let him.

Was this what she'd been waiting for all along? A man to guide her? To control her?

The questions overwhelmed her as the emotional meaning of what they'd done crashed down on her. Her breathing became shallow and rapid as she fought a sudden panic rising within her. He rolled to her side, removing his weight from her body yet encircling her with his arms.

“Abby, what's wrong? I can feel your fear. Relax, darlin’, and let me take care of you.” He ran his hand over her head in a rhythmic petting pattern that, along with his heat and strength, soothed and comforted her. “It's normal to be anxious and overwhelmed after what we just did. I imagine without your memories—”

“That was normal for you?” she interrupted.

Caleb grinned. “Hardly. I’d definitely say we shot past normal and went straight to extraordinary.” His deep, scratchy tone lulled her past her worries and into a new sense of security. After several silent minutes stretched out between them her breathing slowed to its normal pace. Her lover’s touch soothed her. With her troubled thoughts dissipating, exhaustion stole over her as he continued to stroke and pet her. Her limbs grew heavy and she could barely fight to keep her eyes open. Between the bedroom gymnastics and her post coital stupor, she’d lost track of time. A glance at her bedside clock would require her to wiggle free from Caleb’s, something she had no desire to do. They’d left the bar so late…

“It's okay to close your eyes, Abby.” He brushed the hair from the side of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Rest, sweetheart, everything will be fine, I’ll make sure of it.” As her lids closed, a fleeting thought of what he meant drifted in and out of her mind. What had he meant?

What would he protect her from?

Caleb watched with amusement as Abby fought sleep. Based on her natural reactions to his commands despite her mental reluctance, he doubted in her past life or this one, she'd ever experienced anyone quite like him. That thought brought a smile to his face. He never wanted anyone else taking control of his sweet and so sexy woman. He found that contrasting combination in her wildly erotic.

But they both harbored dangerous secrets. Whatever she carried locked in buried memories had brought trouble to her doorstep. His job required her secrets but if he managed to keep his from her, then her life as it was could continue.

Caleb frowned. Their sex had been more than explosive. With the first drop of her blood his body had begun to change…comingle…

He brushed his hands along the sweet curve of her hips and ass. His cock tightened as thoughts of rolling her over and having her again began to overtake his train of thought. The sweet scent of her skin beckoned him to take more. With the blood call beginning to override his objections, he blazed a path from her hips to the warm and welcoming spot between her legs. This time he would take her from behind with his mouth at her neck.

A soft whimper from Abby froze Caleb to the spot. No, not like this. He wasn’t some baby vampire who couldn’t control his urges. She deserved more than a rutting beast in her bed. He scrubbed his face and blew out a rough breath.

Get a grip, Caleb. If you scare her off too soon it will ruin everything.

He rolled to his back, careful not to touch anymore lush, naked skin to tempt him and waited for the need to subside. He had a bad feeling it wasn’t ever going away completely. Yes, he’d taken her blood but she’d gotten inside him long before then.

Precious minutes ticked by while he waited for Abby to fall asleep. When her steady, rhythmic breathing told him that she was finally in a deep, restful place, Caleb rolled away from her to find his discarded clothing. Based on the fatigue weighing his limbs and sluggish movements, he knew dawn approached, leaving him barely enough time to get home and safe before sunrise arrived. While the mere presence of sunlight might not make him burst into flames like the movies, it sucked the energy from his body at an alarming rate. No vampire could last long in the daytime before his body shut down and dehydration killed him.

Moments later, dressed and ready to leave, he bent to brush a kiss on her cheek when a voice in her head startled him. She dreamed, and he could hear the whisper of it in his own mind.

Awaken, Abby. It's time.

Chapter Three

“I want to taste your every breath. In my dreams it was you.”

Caleb's body clenched at the sound of Abby's breathy voice that escaped from the open door at The Dirty Drummer. Damn. He was running late tonight, and she was already on stage. His black cowboy boots hit the compacted dirt of the parking lot a little harder as he hurried inside.

Stepping through the thick metal door, he was taken aback by tonight's atmosphere compared to what he'd experienced before. The lights in the bar were all turned down, and a spotlight lit up the stage. His breath caught at his first glimpse of the singer onstage. Gone was the casual appearance he'd seen last night, replaced with his Abby dressed in head to toe black leather. Her long raven hair framed a pale face, making her violet eyes appear luminous. Following her regally held neck, his gaze landed on the tight, black leather bustier that pushed her gorgeous breasts up and over the top while straining to keep them contained. For a few brief seconds his mouth watered as he remembered the unbelievable sight of her tits bared to him and him only. Tearing his gaze away from the tempting sight he drank in the rest of her outfit.

Her slim leather pants rode low on her hips, baring a tempting strip of flesh he needed to bite. He closed his mouth to hide the fangs that elongated at the very thought. The little minx on the stage gyrated her hips in a slow, seductive wag, causing the crowd of drunken men to cheer and whistle. A dangerous red haze filled his vision. His fully descended fangs cut into his bottom lip. He had half a mind to drag her out of the club by her hair, take her back to his place, and show her that she was his.

His? What the fuck? Why couldn't he get those thoughts out of his head?

Thoughts of her body, her scent, her innocence had plagued his sleep all day long. He'd woken with a nearly uncontrollable thirst that only she could quench. He'd been forced to hunt in an attempt to abate the bloodlust, or he would have been unable to control himself around her. And the last thing he wanted to do right now was scare the hell out of her. Funny, now he believed a good scare might be just what she needed. He’d throw her off balance with a little surprise.

He chuckled. What a sadist he was becoming.

No, he was in control, and he would wait. Stalking his prey had become a necessary skill in his world. He'd learned the fine art of patience if nothing else in all these years. Caleb found a small table in the darkest corner of the room and signaled to one of the waitresses. After ordering his favored scotch, he sat back to watch.

Abby had moved into a rousing country rock song that had the crowd roaring along with her. Every time her boots stomped the scarred wooden stage, the audience stomped and clapped at the same time. She had the crowd riled tonight, and appeared to love every minute of it. Caleb was restraining himself and the effort to do so kept his back teeth locked tight. He raked his fingers through his hair and turned away from her, his attention going from man to man. The lust they felt for her was beyond obvious. He didn’t need to see their desire, the room reeked with it. She was
his
.

With his anger rising, Caleb mentally withdrew from the scene in front of him and attempted to reel in his wayward emotions with thoughts of the mission, the real reason he’d come to this two hick town. He couldn't let his developing attachment to this woman interfere with finding that damn cousin of his. Russell had gone on a rampage and left a trail of dead bodies a mile wide throughout the Southeast, and so far Abby was the only witness they had found.

Unfortunately, she didn't remember a damn thing, likely due to a mind wipe that only the oldest and most powerful vampires could even attempt without killing their subject. More than likely Russell had been playing around with her memories, not giving a flying fuck whether he killed her or not. Either he’d gotten lucky and his plan had worked, or he'd become far more powerful than his family had thought. Either way, Russell was trouble on the verge of exposing them all if Caleb didn't find him and soon.

The song ended, and the band announced they were taking a fifteen-minute break. The disappointed crowd loudly protested as Caleb abandoned his table and made his way backstage to intersect Abby as she exited the stage. The excited patrons crowded around the backstage door, so by the time Caleb made it back there, he found Abby and the drummer, Brian, huddled together on the steps in deep conversation.

For a brief moment, Caleb allowed his temper to flare as it tore at his insides like the talons of a powerful jungle cat. He struggled with the urge to attack the man who dared to touch Abby. Technically he didn't have any rights over her—yet. But damn it, she was his, and no man and especially no vampire should dare to touch her. Clenching his teeth hard, he forced a mask of calm over his face.

“What do we have here?” The two sprang apart like a couple of teenagers caught necking by their parents. If he wasn't so mad, he might have laughed at their reaction. Abby sprang to her feet, planted her hands on her lush hips and glared at him with a fair share of annoyance.

“Christ, Caleb, are you trying to scare me to death? How do you do that?” She pursed her lips bringing his attention back to the arousal he’d barely banked since he woke.

“Do what?” He stalked closer.

“That sneak up out of the middle of nowhere without a sound. What the hell is your problem?” Her voice wavered.

Caleb took a step back as her voice lashed at him. Not to protect himself but protect her, because right now he wanted nothing more than to turn her over his knee and give her the paddling of her life. A lesson in humility could be effective, but he doubted she’d agree with him. There was more going on here than him surprising her.