Vampire Awakening (6 page)

“Are you angry with me?” It was an unnecessary question. Her displeasure was written all over her face and in the arms she crossed over her chest. She was so damned beautiful.

“Hell yes, I'm pissed. Who the hell disappears in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye or a thanks for the fuck?”

Caleb inwardly cringed at her crass language. His teeth clenched, the muscle in his jaw pulsed erratically. He took a couple of steps toward her, intent on doing whatever it took to make her understand.

“Abby, maybe you should calm down,” Brian interrupted, stepping in between them and blocking her from Caleb’s view.

A vicious hiss erupted from Caleb at the intrusion. He wouldn’t tolerate another vampire encroaching. In fact, this male was becoming quite a nuisance.

“Back off and let the lady say what she needs to say,” Caleb warned.

“Brian, I can handle this,” she insisted, nudging the man to the side.

Brian glared at him for a few seconds more with thinly veiled menace in the darkening of his eyes and the points of his teeth poking from behind the bottom of his lip. Caleb had already surveyed their surroundings and if Brian attacked, it would take a major miracle to clean up the damage. No, any fight between them would have to come another day.

Surprisingly, Brian grinned as if reading his mind. He turned to Abby and placed a small kiss to her cheek. “Whatever you like, love.” With little fanfare, the drummer eased from the room and left Caleb alone with Abby.

“Why are you back? I figured since you got what you wanted you’d be long gone by now.” She threw the words at him like darts, and for some crazy reason, that amused him. His mouth twitched with the need to grin at her. “This is funny to you?” She threw up her arms in frustration, and he grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips.

“I missed you today,” he offered.

“What?” The disbelief in that one word said it all.

Caleb leaned forward and kissed her. With a little effort, he coaxed her mouth open and thrust his tongue inside. The clash of lips and tongues dueling gave him the incentive to continue. Her warmth penetrated the cold he’d endured all day. He smoothed his hands along her body and locked onto her ass. This close his erection pressed into her soft belly, showing her just how desperate she made him.

She tried to pull away and he locked her tighter to his frame. The slight moan from her mouth to his brought the memories of their night racing to the forefront. Luscious naked skin, pretty pink flesh, tight clenching muscles—

Sharp pain exploded across his lip as the coppery taste of his own blood crossed his tongue. Caleb jerked his head up. Damn. She’d bit him.

“You are such a temptress.” Caleb smiled and licked the blood from his lip.

“And you’re a jerk.”

He smiled down at her, charmed by her outburst. How could he not be? No woman he’d ever met had cared enough to be pissed the next day.

“It was nearly dawn when I left, Abby. I didn't want to wake you. I was rough with you. You needed rest.” Her mouth softened as she started to speak. Putting his fingers to her lips, he halted her. “It wasn't my intention to abandon you or hurt you. If you’d been awake I’d have gladly taken you over and over again. And then where would we be? Unfortunately duty called and I had to arrive home before dawn.”

She stood stock still, scrutinizing him. He hated lying to her but from his experience with females he knew the truth of what he was would be far more damaging than a little hurt feelings from not staying overnight.

“Give me a chance to make it up to you, darlin’. Meet me after your shift is over.” His fingers strayed down the curve of her neck, following the flow of her life’s blood. Her pulse increased as he traced a path, igniting her desire. “We can even work through your anger with me.” He smiled.

“You're being incorrigible.” Her head angled to the side, exposing more of beautiful neck and shoulders to him. His mouth watered in anticipation. She had no idea how appealing she appeared. With every ounce of control he could muster, Caleb turned his focus away from her beating pulse and slid his hands down until his fingers hit the butter soft leather of her bustier, dipping perilously close to the exposed curve of her breast.

“Quite an outfit you have on tonight. Driving every man in the club wild.” His touch dipped underneath the garment, stroking the soft flesh. A small sigh escaped her as her body swayed toward him.

“I’m not that easy, Caleb.”

“Not easy, Abby, just irresistible.” He dipped his head closer until they were a breath away from each other. “Meet me later tonight. I have some work to do first, but I want to see you tonight. And I think you want to see me as well.”

His warm breath stroked her skin like the caress of the lover he was. She found it impossible to hold on to her anger when her body pulsed with every word he spoke. “I'm still not happy with you.”

“No worries, darlin’, we can discuss it later tonight,” he said with a smile that devastated her resistance.

“I have to get back on stage.”

“It's okay, I need to get going as well. How about I meet you at your place later?” His lips pressed gently against hers, teasing and nibbling along her mouth. She parted her lips to accept him, and his tongue stabbed inside, changing the gentle kiss to a demanding taking of her mouth. His hand threaded through her hair, grasping the strands at the base of her neck, tugging enough for the subtle pain sensation to mingle with the decadent contact of his heated body against her own.

Her fingers touched her kiss-swollen lips as she watched him turn to leave. She didn't understand what was happening between them and far more quickly than it should. There was a connection developing between them that went way beyond the incredible sex she couldn't wait to repeat.

Why wasn’t she running scared? Wasn’t that what always happened in the books she read and the movies she watched. The hero and the heroine always tried to avoid any developing emotions or long-term connections. A giggle bubbled up and Abby covered her mouth to smother it. Dear God, what the hell was wrong with her? She didn’t giggle and she wasn’t twelve years old mooning over her first boyfriend either.

What exactly did she know about the man she’d taken to bed so quickly? Taken. Yeah right. If anyone did any taking it would be him. The man had a dominance streak a mile wide. To her surprise, a ball of heat formed low in her belly, igniting a new need for more of what Caleb offered.

Tonight she’d ask him more about his life. It’s not as if she expected perfection. Everyone had flaws, including her. She had no memory beyond six months ago. That was pretty messed up if anything was. Some of the old frustration at her predicament built inside her. Abby tamped down the resentment guaranteed to push her into a funk. She had to remember what her therapist had offered. If there’d been someone important in her old life, they would have come looking by now. It was up to her to see this as an opportunity for a fresh start, instead of a constant stumbling block holding her back.

She walked up the stairs that led to the stage.

* * * * *

Hours later, Abby stepped into her oversized glass shower in between the opposite showerheads. Double streams of pounding water created an incredible massaging effect. This shower had been the sole deciding factor for her when she’d rented the cottage. Well, that and it had been the only prospect keeping her from being homeless at the time.

As the hot water sluiced over her body, Abby considered the last forty-eight hours. Her incredibly sexy cowboy had invaded her life like a sudden summer thunderstorm, fast and furious. She'd willingly allowed him access to her body, and now everything about her had begun to change. It only took a thought of Caleb for her nipples to tighten and her sex to soften as if preparing for him. She pushed her face into the water. Even her voice had changed. Singing had always been the one thing that centered her. She relied on her stage time to free her from the frustrations she couldn’t let go of. It had become her coping mechanism.

Tonight her voice had been so much more. With these raw emotions swirling inside her, and the words to her new song, she’d sung her heart out.

Abby rolled her eyes. No, that was ridiculous. Sleeping with a man one time did not change her.

She grabbed the bottle of body wash and flicked open the lid. Immediately the scent of raspberries, her favorite, filled the steamy room. She poured a dollop of soap into her hands and began lathering her arms and legs. Smoothing the silky suds all over her skin, she discovered a few tender spots from the previous night. Instead of the slight ache in her limbs bothering her, they made her remember how they got that way. Caleb had inflicted one exquisite sensation after another until she’d collapsed into a mindless puddle of satisfied woman. He’d literally worn her out.

When her slick fingers reached the rounded curves of her breasts, the areolas tightened to stiff points. She rolled the hardened tips between her fingers, reliving Caleb’s touch from the night before. Her sex quickened with every pull and pinch, to the point she could no longer deny the urge for more. Abby closed her eyes as the steam of the shower rose around her. All of her worries dissipated as she focused on the pulsing of her body. The entire area between her thighs throbbed and quivered with need. Abandoning her right breast, she shifted her hand downward, seeking the heat and moisture pooling between her legs. She slid a fingertip through her cleft, spreading the heated moisture across sensitive tissues until finally plunging two fingers inside her opening.

She imagined Caleb's cock stretching her on every thrust in and out of her pussy as she mimicked the movements with her hand. Her muscles clenched around her fingers as the tension inside her rose to a sizzling level. Knowing her orgasm was imminent, Abby rubbed at her clit with her thumb as she increased the tempo with her fingers. The intermittent pressure on the small bundle of nerves along with the finger fucking pushed her to the edge where she quickly succumbed to the pleasure and thoughts of Caleb touching her.

Her body shuddered violently as she came, her mouth dropped opened and she screamed, “Caleb! Oh yes!”

Barely able to hold herself up, she slumped against the tiled wall of the shower as she rode her fingers and orgasm to the delicious end. Mindless, she frantically pumped, drawing out every ounce of pleasure. Finally weak kneed and sated, she contemplated her next move. Finish showering or collapse on the nearby bench until she recovered.

“Finish your shower, Abby.” Caleb's command pierced her thoughts, cramping her chest with momentary fear. She spun around and came face-to-face with the man of her dreams standing at the shower entrance, casually leaning to the side with his shoulder propped against the wall. Looking more mouth watering than any man had the right to.

“What—how—when—” she stuttered around her thoughts, unable to put together a coherent sentence. Her body still thrummed from her release and the shock he'd given her with his unexpected appearance. “You watched me.” A simple statement that caused a heated blush to flush along her skin as she imagined what he’d thought of while watching her masturbate in the shower.

“Of course I watched you. And what a sight it was. So beautiful to watch your fingers sliding in and out of your wet pussy. And a hell of a turn on.” His voice was low and rough as he spoke. “You've given me all sorts of new ideas.” A sly smile formed that somehow made him impossibly more attractive.

“I don't know what to say.” Her heart rate sped up.

“Say nothing, Abby. Finish your shower.” His eyes burned into her with his command, that subtle strength she adored emanating from within him. It only took her seconds to decide. She turned back, tearing her gaze from his, and ducked under the hot shower spray. She refilled her hands with the luxurious soap and once again lathered her body from head to toe, doing her best to remain calm while the luscious man standing behind her watched every move she made.

Caleb shifted position, seeking relief from the increasing pressure of his stiff dick scraping against his zipper. Catching Abby getting herself off in the shower had nearly been his undoing. The sweet scent of her arousal filled the steamy room as she'd plunged multiple fingers into her cunt, her limbs shaking as her release washed over her.

Damn. He had to fuck her.

Despite the hunt he’d just returned from, his fangs ached with the need to feed again. It was her taste he craved. Caleb cursed. Abby’s presence threatened his control at every turn, and it drove him crazy. His plan to take things slow and avoid the urges one savory sample had created, were quickly going up in smoke. Watching her finish her shower, he noticed her movements became jerky and fast, a dead giveaway she was uncomfortable with his watching. He smiled. It was good for her to be nervous around him. It would keep them both on their toes.

Abby turned off the water, and the silence that followed pulled him from his dark thoughts. She stood in front of him naked and wet, her hands and arms nervously fidgeting. “I need a towel.” She held his gaze with a look of trepidation in her eyes as she waited for him to move.

“Stand right there and be still.”

She started to open her mouth to say something, and then she stopped, watching him intently. Pleased with her compliance, he turned and grabbed a bath sheet from the oak wall cabinet outside the stall. He contemplated his options for a split second before stepping into the shower. Up close and personal, the heat from her lush body radiated against his clothes. “Turn around and face the wall.” With little hesitation, she did as told. “Closer.” Again, she followed his direction, taking another step.

“Put your hands above your head, darlin’ and keep them there.”

She slid her hands up the smooth, wet tile, stopping them a few inches above her.