Evil Red (8 page)

More than fine. He looked smoking hot.

Valerie took another sip of wine, loving the warmth
it spread across every crevice of her body.

“That was delicious,” Valerie said after Fane paid
the bill.

“I’m happy you approve,” Fane answered.

Valerie giggled. Alcohol did that to her.

Fane leaned across the table. “Are you okay to
drive?”

Valerie shook her head.

Fane got up and came around to her chair. “Why don’t
you ride with me to the movies? A couple hours of popcorn, candy,
and a big gulp should sober you up in no time.”

“
I don
’t
want to go to the movies,” she said after standing. “You got any
clubs in this town?”

Fane twisted his lips before answering. “The underage
clubs are pretty dire. The twenty-one and over bars are a far cry
from the L.A. scene, but tolerable.”

“Good thing I have a fake ID,”
Valerie said.

“Good thing I do, too,” Fane answered, matching her
smile. He offered Valerie his arm. “Allow me to escort you to
Chilkoot Charlies. You haven’t experienced Anchorage until you’ve
survived a night at Koots.”

“I can’t wait,”
Valerie said.

CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE—NIGHT

The warm fuzzy feeling from the wine softened
Valerie’s dismay when she saw Fane’
s car
—an old gray Pontiac Catalina rusting at the
edges. If Fane had invested so wisely, why was he driving this junk
heap?

Valerie didn’t have long to linger on that thought
before they passed a windmill in front of a one-story building
emitting music and life, glorious life full of beautiful young
people out to have a good time. A line formed at a door and snaked
all the way around the building.

It was the sweetest sight Valerie had seen in
months.

Fane guided the car into a spot in back, then came
around and opened the door for her. He offered his arm, which she
took, and led her to the front of the club. It gave Valerie a
thrill when Fane bypassed the line and walked straight up to the
front door. The people waiting near the front of the line looked
over as Fane pulled his wallet out and showed one of the bouncers a
copper ticket. The bouncer asked to see Valerie’s ID then waved
them in once he’d verified her date of birth.

They squeezed together through the narrow door. The
volume increased with every step. Valerie’s heartbeat quickened in
response. She felt like a fish who’d gone without water for much
too long. Once more, she was swimming free, floating on
ecstasy.

“How did you get us in ahead of everyone else?”
Valerie yelled.

Fane grinned before answering, “I’ve got the golden
pass.”

“Fabulous.”

Melcher might have mentioned that Fane was connected.
Valerie wouldn’t have raised such a stink if she knew Fane held
special privileges all over Anchorage. True, he hadn’t been
charming in the beginning, but that made her like him even more.
Fane didn’t go around trying to attract women. They had to work for
it.

Valerie enjoyed the chase as much as the next guy.
This was the first opportunity she’d had to go after a guy, and she
had to admit she liked it. Well, more so now that she’d succeeded
in gaining Fane’s attention.

He took her hand and led her through a cramped room
filled with narrow tables and log stools. They passed a long bar
filled with TV screens and pushed past a steady stream of people
moving in opposite directions.

Fane led Valerie into a bigger room with another bar.
A live band played on the far stage, their instruments and vocals
crashing over the jam-packed bodies through jumbo speakers
positioned like satellites over the entire room.

“What do you want to drink?” Fane yelled.

“White Russian,” Valerie yelled back.

Fane pushed his way to the bar. Valerie watched the
band while they waited for their drinks. Once Fane had them, he led
Valerie to an empty table on a platform at the opposite end of the
room. Valerie would have liked to sit closer to the band, but the
place was packed, and it was a wonder Fane had found them a table
at all.

She sat carefully on one of the log stools. Fane set
her drink down on the table, fingers wrapped around a bottle of
Heineken, which he tilted back.

Valerie tried a sip of the White Russian. Aw, tasty.
Much better than red wine. Didn’t even taste like alcohol. She
sucked down half the glass, eyes bouncing around the room from the
band to the bar to the clubbers drinking and dancing.

Fane chuckled.

“What?” Valerie demanded.

“You look really awake.”

“I am really awake. Let’
s dance.
”

Most guys would have insisted on finishing their
drink first, but Fane set the beer bottle down without a second
thought and stood. He walked with an air of importance that caused
people to move out of his way. They ought to move aside. Fane was
important. He was a vampire. Her vampire.

He led Valerie right up to the edge of the stage. She
moved her shoulders to the music. Fane placed his hands on her
thighs. They moved in synch as though they’d choreographed the
whole thing earlier. Their movements and the thundering music
worked Valerie into a fever pitch. Soon it wasn’t enough to have
his hands gripping her thighs. The song ended. A new one started.
As though on cue, the band began playing “Closer” by Nine Inch
Nails.

Valerie ground her body against Fane’s. She straddled
his leg, relishing the rub of his jeans against her lace panties,
delighting even more in the soft groan erupting through Fane’s
lungs.

His expression changed. He finally showed signs of
being a hot-blooded male, gazing at Valerie with a hooded look she
recognized as surely as a long lost friend. Hello, lust.

Good.
He
’
d better want
her.

Sure, he was a vampire. He’d screwed lord knows how
many women over the centuries. But Valerie was willing to bet not
one of them was anything like her. She’d take Fane places he’d
never been.

They spent the remainder of the song rubbing and
grinding against each other. Valerie ran her fingers over Fane’s
abs while he gripped and guided her ass against his body. When the
song ended, she took his hand and led him away from the stage.
Valerie was good at making people move, too.

She followed the flow into yet another room, this one
with pool tables. That room led to another bar, a sign overhead
saying they were entering the Swing Bar. Blue rope lights glowed
beneath the swing bar’s countertop.

The crowd was thinner and less rowdy in this area,
and only four couples made use of the small dance floor in the
corner. Several empty booths skirted the dance area. Valerie pulled
Fane’s hand over to a booth in a dark corner.

The moment they squeezed in, they began making out.
Valerie’s hand dipped below the tabletop and cupped Fane’s
ginormous erection. That had to hurt in pants as snug as his. In
retaliation, Fane teased the tips of Valerie’s nipples with his
thumbs, making them poke through the fabric.

Valerie lost all track of time until the music
suddenly stopped and people began clearing out.

“What time is it?” she asked breathlessly.

Had they spent the entire night groping and tongue
fucking?

“Three a.m.,” Fane answered, sounding rather
breathless himself.

“Your clubs close at three?” Valerie asked.

“Yep.”

“Lame.”

Fane slid out of the booth. “All good things must
come to an end.”

Valerie followed him out. Once they were standing,
eye to eye, she said, “
I
don
’t want this night to end yet.”

Fane looked from her lips to her eyes, smiling
slowly. “We could park at Point Worenzoff.”

Parking sounded promising.

“Where’s that?”

“On the bluff, overlooking Cook Inlet Ocean,” Fane
said. “It’s another iconic spot in Anchorage.”

“Wow, one night with you, and I’ll have seen them
all,” Valerie teased.

“
I don
’t
know how much you’ll see at this time of night, but I’m sure we’ll
think of other things to do.”

Oh, naughty. Fane Donado could do whatever he wanted
to her.

CUT TO:

EXT. POINT WORENZOFF—EARLY MORNING

It didn’t take long to get where they were going—an
empty parking lot on a bluff just outside the fenced parameter of
the airport. A jet passed overhead as they were driving, giving
Valerie a quick thrill.

Fane pulled into a spot looking out over a black
void. The headlights disappeared into the night sky until Fane
turned them off.

“I can leave the car running,” he said.

“Or you can warm me up.”

Fane turned the ignition off. He scooted across the
bench, and they picked up where they’d left off at the club without
the music to cover their kisses and low moans. The windows fogged
around them, making the glass look like translucent curtains.

Fane kissed Valerie with almost practiced delicacy.
She crushed her lips against his in return. Valerie had never been
the patient type.

She pulled back suddenly, demanding. “Why don’t you
bite me?”

And why did she have to be the one to ask again? They
were alone. Her neck was his for the sucking.

Fane’s eyebrows slanted. “Pardon?”

“Come on. I know what you are.”

Fane’s jaw relaxed when he smirked. “I’m afraid
you’re going to have to be more specific.”

Valerie crossed her arms beneath her breasts.
“Vampire. That specific enough for you?”

“You think that I’m a… wow.” Fane’s eyelids fluttered
in mock dismay.

“Cut the crap, vampire. If you want to play coy, you
ought to rethink your nickname.”

Fane
chuckled.
“Is that what gave me away?” His expression
sobered. “Who told you?”

“Heard a rumor is all.” Valerie shrugged, maintaining
eye contact lest he grow suspicious.

Fane
didn
’t look too pleased. “You heard a rumor that I was a
vampire and you believed it? Why would you believe such a
thing?”

“Because you’re not my first,”
Valerie said, feeling defensive.

“So, it’s the biting you like? You’re a suck junkie.
Is that what you’re after?”

Valerie sat up straight. “I’m not after anything.
You’re the vampire.”

“Right, I’m the vampire.” Fane scooted away.

“What did I say?” Valerie asked, lips forming a
pout.

Fane shook his head. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.
I should get you home.”

“No.”

“No?” Fane raised a brow.

Valerie pulled her knees in and faced Fane. “Maybe
the vampire thing is what first interested me in you, but I don’t
care about that anymore. You’ve shown me one of the best nights of
my life. Stop smiling. I’m serious.”

“Now I know you’re lying. A hot chick like you from
L.A. having the time of her life at Koots in Anchorage, Alaska.”
Fane chuckled. At least his shoulders relaxed.

“Yeah, go figure,”
Valerie said.
“Here’s the deal. I know about
vampires, but I’ve never been bit. I was curious.” Roger taking a
chunk out of her wrist didn’t count. It was like comparing a blow
job with intercourse.

“How could you have known vampires before me and not
have been bitten?”

“I didn’t want to be bit,” Valerie said honestly.
“Not until now.”

“Why now?” Fane asked, leaning closer.

Valerie lifted her shoulders up and down.
“
I don
’t know why.
There’s something about you. I don’t know how to explain it.”

She’d never been good with words. Valerie was a woman
of action, but her feelings were sincere. She was no longer acting.
She’d never been acting with Fane, she realized. The man made her
feel like a treasure, not a tramp. Dating a vampire as high class
as Fane Donado was a role she’d happily play, assignment or
not.

Fane ran his fingers through Valerie’s hair. The
gesture made her shudder and her scalp tingle in an oddly arousing
way.

“All right, I’ll bite you,” Fane said. “But it’s
nothing like you think and I want you to be prepared for
disappointment.”

“Maybe I’ll like it,” Valerie countered.

“We’ll see,” Fane said.

He brushed Valerie’s hair behind her shoulder and
leaned forward. Thrilling tingles traveled down Valerie’s spine
when she felt Fane’s teeth on her neck. She wanted him to bite her.
Hard.

And he did.

It took biting her own tongue not to scream. Fane
opened his mouth wider and she felt two sharp points pierce through
her skin. Once he’d broken through, he pulled away.

“There, I bit you.”

Valerie looked into Fane’s mouth. She hadn’t noticed
the two teeth sharpened to points on either side of Fane’s back
molars. At least there were only two of them and they were hidden,
unlike Roger’s.

“What’s with these?” Valerie asked pointing from one
side of his mouth to the other.

Fane smiled, giving her a better view. “They help
break through the skin. Makes things easier on everyone.”

“Okay,” Valerie said slowly. “You bit me, but aren’t
you going to suck my blood?”

Fane
smirked.
“You didn’t mention sucking.”

“I did just now.”

“Come here,” he said, motioning with his finger.

Valerie leaned into Fane. He pressed his lips to the
wound on her neck and gently sucked on her skin. His warm breath
set off pinpricks of electricity inside her head. Valerie moaned
softly.

Fane sucked harder then stopped and pulled back,
giving Valerie another one of his strange looks.

“What?”

“
I don
’t
usually date other vampires.”

“I’m not a vampire,”
Valerie said.