Good, the Bad, and the Vampire (14 page)

“Oh, cool.” Trixie nodded. “I hope I get to meet him too.”

An awkward silence fell over the group, between the stares and smiles. Trixie gently elbowed Dakota in the ribs.
I'm super uncomfortable… Addie looks like she wants to take me to her hairdresser's, and Hector is eyeing me like I'm gonna drink him dry. Can we go to the cottage now, please?

“We're gonna get settled over at the cottage,” Dakota said, finally breaking the quiet. His voice echoed through the huge room, which only made it more awkward. “We'll see y'all after sundown tomorrow. Trix and I are lookin' forward to a little R and R. If I have my way, I'm gonna get her on a horse and ridin' like a pro in no time.”

“Ride a horse?” Trixie gaped at him. “You never said anything about that.”

“You know me, darlin'.” Dakota winked. “I'm full of surprises. Good night, y'all.”

Dakota took her by the hand and walked her to the door, but Hector's voice stopped them before they could make a clean getaway.

“I'm surprised you two would want to take a vacation here.” Hector pulled some chewing tobacco from a tin in his pocket and deposited it in his cheek. “I thought your kind liked the big cities. Not much to do around these parts. No real nightlife.”

They don't know about the gargoyles or the gold or any other supernatural stuff. Just vamps
. Dakota tightened his grip on her hand.
Sorry, I shoulda mentioned that.

“And it ain't like you're comin' here for the sun.” Hector snorted with laughter, obviously feeling proud of himself for the clever joke. “Y'all give ‘sunburnt' a whole new meanin'!”

The mortified expression on Dakota's face was priceless. Apparently, being a vampire didn't rule out the experience of being embarrassed by family.

“Oh, hush.” Addie slapped Hector playfully on the arm and gave Trixie a sympathetic smile. “Don't pay him any mind, sweetheart. You two lovebirds go on ahead. The place is all ready for you.”

Hand in hand, they trotted down the steps from the wide porch and made their way toward the cottage. The clean country air smelled of hay and horses, and mingled in with it, rising above everything else, was Dakota's leather and sandalwood.

But something was missing. Cinnamon. Those damn lollipops that he'd always been eating, ever since she'd met him two years ago, were noticeably absent. Her brow furrowed. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember seeing him with one for a few days.

“After we check out Gatlin's address tomorrow night, I wanna see if we can jog your memory about exactly where you were when you found that gold. The rest of it has got to be nearby.”

“It was somewhere in the state park.” Trixie growled with frustration and kicked a rock out of their path. “We were camping and I found it when I was out poking around by myself.”

“Well, that park is over a thousand acres. It would help if you could remember somethin' specific about the area.”

“Sorry.” Trixie shrugged. “My human memories are kinda foggy, especially from when I was a kid. I only remember seeing the gold glinting between two rocks. I'm a city girl.” She waved one hand in a broad stroke. “This all looks the same to me.”

“Now that is somethin' I'm gonna have to remedy at some point.” Dakota squeezed her hand. “But I know you're not
that
much of a city girl. From what I saw, you spent most of your childhood in the Southwest. Seems to me you didn't have the right kind of experiences out here. You have got to learn to appreciate nature.”

“Right.” Trixie snorted with laughter. “Central Park is about as natural as I like to get.”

“There it is.” Dakota lifted their joined hands and pointed at the tiny log cabin in the distance. “Home, sweet home. No windows and totally safe.”

The deep inky blackness of night was beginning to give way to a dark purple as the sun began to announce its impending arrival. They walked in silence until they reached the front door of the cottage. Without warning, Dakota scooped her up in his arms, and Trixie shrieked in surprise.

“What are you doing?” She laughed loudly and linked her arms around his neck. “I am perfectly capable of walking, dude.”

“I know that.” Dakota nodded to the door. “It would seem that I have my hands full. Would you mind openin' the door, ma'am?”

“Sure.” Trixie giggled before leaning over and turning the knob. “There you go. But why are you carrying me?”

Dakota tapped the door open with his foot but didn't go inside. He stood there with Trixie in his arms, those silvery-blue eyes studying her intently. She suddenly became acutely aware of every place his body touched hers. His fingertips dug into her flesh gently but insistently, and her hip pressed into his firm torso as he held her tighter. The swarm of butterflies in her stomach fluttered to life, those firm lips of his curving at the corners.

“Well, bein' bloodmates is about as close to bein' married as vampires can get,” he said with a smile. “I figured, what the hell? I'm carryin' my woman over the threshold.”

With his forehead pressed to hers and the sweet old-fashioned sentiment lingering, Trixie did the only thing she could. She cradled his cheeks with both hands, the rough unshaven flesh rasping deliciously beneath her palms, and closed her eyes. She pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss was slow at first, soft and almost tentative as he opened, then tangled his tongue with hers. Trixie reached out cautiously and touched his mind.
Make love to me, Dakota
. Her voice trembled, the same way her body did when he tightened his grip, clutching her like he would never let her go.

Trixie had chosen those words carefully. She had always referred to sex as “fucking” or “getting laid” before. “Making love” sounded goofy. It seemed so over-the-top that anytime she heard it in a movie, she'd roll her eyes. Who could really believe in that silly phrase?

But cradled in Dakota's protective embrace, their minds and hearts mingled, she knew how wrong she had been. She did love him. Even if she wasn't ready to say it out loud, she would damn well show him.

For now, that would have to be enough.

Trixie suckled his bottom lip and broke the kiss. She pulled back and captured his fierce, hungry stare with her own. Their bodies were wound tight with desire and only the sounds of nature filled the air. Had she said the wrong thing? But before she could talk herself off the ledge, the gaping precipice of uncertainty, he was on her.

Dakota's mouth covered hers and a growl rumbled in his throat. Kissing her deeply, he carried her over the threshold into the cottage. He kicked the door closed as Trixie threaded her fingers through his hair. She licked and nibbled at him all the while, knowing she'd never get enough.

Even without the candy he tasted like cinnamon. Hot and sweet.

She squirmed and hopped out of his embrace, her boot-clad feet hitting the wooden floor with a loud thunk. Breaking the kiss briefly, Dakota and Trixie tore off their bags and threw them to the floor with little care to where they landed. Dakota grabbed her around the waist and tugged her toward him but Trixie grinned wickedly. She wiggled out of his grasp, wagging a finger at him.

“Where do you think you're goin'?” he rasped, stripping off his leather sentry coat and throwing it to the floor. The weapons hidden inside landed with a muffled thud. “There's only one big room, aside from the bathroom. What do you have in mind, darlin'?”

Trixie hooked her fingers beneath the edge of her shirt as she walked slowly backwards. Dakota leaned against the door and devoured her with his hungry gaze as she removed the shirt and tossed it aside. She shivered under the heat of his stare, but continued to kick off her boots, peel her jeans from her body, and step out of them completely. Everything was too tight and she'd never wanted to be naked so much in her life.

No one had ever looked at her this way.

It wasn't merely lust carved into his features, making that handsome face look even more feral and dangerous than ever before. It was the glint in his eyes. There was hunger there, desire and need, but there was also something else, something she'd never seen from a man.

Love.

Underneath the flesh and bone, behind the carnal whisper of lust, she could feel his soul calling out to hers.

She stood before him shivering, but it wasn't from cold. It was the nearness of him and the knowledge that at any moment, his hands would be on her—touching, stroking, and bringing her to life.

Standing in only her bra and a thong, Trixie ran her fingers lightly over her belly, up along the curve of her breasts and then her neck. Dakota watched, unmoving, the entire time. Trixie smoothed her hair back with both hands, then spread her arms out to the sides and took one more step back. She stopped when her legs hit the end of the bed.

Nowhere else to go.

“I want you to touch me, Dakota.” Trixie reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, allowing it fall to the floor. She cupped her breasts and tweaked her nipples, all while holding his hooded gaze. “Please, put your hands on me.”

“Take off your panties,” he rasped. “I like watchin' you. I'll be touchin' you soon enough but right now…I'm enjoyin' the show.”

A moan escaped her lips at the commanding tone in his voice, the deep rumble filled with wicked promise. Trixie did as he asked and slipped the lace thong over her hips. The fabric slid down her legs to the floor, creating a delicious friction over her sensitized skin. She was burning with desire and anticipation. One move in the wrong direction might make her shatter into a million tiny pieces.

Broken. That's what she'd been for as long as she could remember. Trixie was a woman desperately trying to hide the scars and imperfections, the creases and lines left from her lifetime of bad choices. Until Dakota came into her world, it never occurred to her that perhaps, if she allowed someone else to see those blemishes, he wouldn't judge her.

All Dakota had ever done was attempt to help her soothe those wounds.

She smiled softly as Dakota strode toward her, slowly closing the distance between them. Even if she did come apart, he'd be there to help put her back together.

Could someone do that? Hold her so closely and love her so deeply that all of those broken pieces could be mended? As Dakota moved in, his body achingly near to hers, she knew the answer.

He stopped, his clothed body mere inches from her naked one, but he still didn't touch her. She was about to ask him what he was waiting for, when Dakota trailed one fingertip up her arm, over her shoulder, and along her collarbone. The long slow stroke was a whisper-like caress over her needy flesh, and the gentleness of it almost broke her heart.

Trixie's eyes fluttered closed and the movement sent one fat teardrop down her cheek. His hand cradled her face and she leaned into it, wanting and needing more of his touch—but at the same time, she didn't want to rush it. Trixie's body was on fire, and once they got started, she wasn't going to last long.

She was greedy for him.

Her fangs unsheathed on a sigh when his other hand cupped her breast. He dipped his head and took her nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. She tangled her fingers in his hair and let out a cry of pleasure. He suckled and nipped at the sensitive bud until she sagged against him, her head falling back. The heat in her belly swirled as he continued his merciless assault on first one breast and then the other.

“You are wearing way too many clothes,” Trixie murmured.

Tearing her hands from his hair, she grabbed the edge of his shirt and tugged upward. They laughed between kisses as he helped her pull off the tight shirt, but the smile faded from her eyes when she caught sight of his bare torso. The muscles in his chest were dusted with dark blond hair and as well sculpted and beautifully defined as she'd expected. But there was something else she was definitely not prepared for.

Letting out a small cry of distress, Trixie brought her fingers up to the series of red angry-looking scars that streaked over Dakota's chest and stomach. The four rough, raised lines went from just below his left nipple all the way across to his right hip. She traced the ropy scars gently as he stood still beneath her inspection, his hands at his sides. Her tears flowed freely as she thought about the pain and suffering he must have endured that night.

“You got these the night you were turned, didn't you?” she whispered, her voice small. As Trixie glanced quickly at him, his silvery blue eyes, which glittered in the dark, narrowed in response and his body tensed beneath her touch. “A gargoyle did this? It practically gutted you.”

“Yeah, it did,” he said in a gravelly whisper. Dakota linked his hands gently around her wrists before tangling his fingers with hers. “We all have our scars, Trix. Mine just happen to be where you can see 'em.”

“You're beautiful,” she murmured. “I never thought I'd say that to a man, but it's true.”

Trixie pulled her hands from his, popped up on her toes, and nipped his lips lightly, careful not to cut him with her fangs. She undid his belt while he slipped his hands around and cupped her bottom. She slid his zipper down, releasing him from the confines of his leather pants. Trixie swore against his lips when she was met only with hot, hard flesh—he had nothing on underneath. She shoved the pants down his hips and he quickly stepped out of them and his boots, kicking all of it aside.

Now there was nothing between them. They stood in each other's arms. Exposed. Vulnerable. Two people holding each other's broken pieces together.

Dakota kissed her deeply and she moaned into his mouth, taking the full, heavy weight of his cock in her hand. She linked one arm around his neck while massaging him, taking note of the way her breasts crushed against his chest. The combination of rough and smooth as his chest hair tickled her nipples added to her pleasure, fueling the fire in her gut.

Dakota tightened his hands in her hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss, which intensified with every stroke of Trixie's hand up and down his shaft. She ran her thumb over the wetness on the swollen head, and the slickness of it made her sex tighten with anticipation. Her tongue tangled with his before she finally broke the kiss and slid down his body, dropping to her knees and trailing hot kisses over his chest along the way.

She knelt before him and settled her hands on his narrow hips. The steely length of his cock seared along her throat as she took her time and lavished gentle kisses over the scarred lines on his belly. He cupped the back of her head, and when she peered up at him and their eyes met, Trixie knew what he wanted. And she wanted nothing more than to give it to him.

“Put me in your mouth.” His voice, gruff and filled with need, rumbled around her in the dark. “I want to see you wrap those sweet lips around me. Please, baby.”

“You mean, like this?” Trixie asked innocently.

She curled her hand around the base of his shaft and brought the swollen purple head to her mouth before slowly, achingly brushing the slick flesh over her lower lip. He stilled and let out a low deep groan. She swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock in long slow strokes, but refrained from taking him in. Holding his heated stare, she ran her tongue up his shaft in one long lazy pass before lapping at the head and blowing softly on it.

“You know I love it when you tease me, darlin'.” Dakota shuddered and tightened his grip on her hair. “But remember, payback's a bitch.”

“I'm counting on it,” Trixie whispered.

She'd made him suffer enough. Trixie wrapped her lips around the head. She massaged his balls and squeezed the base of his cock while taking him in and out with wickedly languid passes. His hips pumped with her, slowly at first, but it wasn't long before the pace picked up and she knew he was getting close to the edge. She would have kept going and let him reach his peak just like this, but apparently Dakota had other plans.

Stop
. He linked his hands around her biceps and pulled her to her feet. Pleasure ran warm under her skin as his mind touched hers. He kissed her deeply.
I want to come with you…not alone.

With their lips mingling and bodies pressed together, Trixie lifted one leg and hooked it over his hip. She cried out when his fingers dipped between her thighs and slipped into her slick folds. She clung to his shoulders and tossed her head back as he massaged her clit with swift, deft strokes. His other arm was clamped around her waist, the only thing keeping her upright because her legs had turned to jelly.

When Dakota pushed two fingers deep into her channel, Trixie shouted his name and pumped her hips. But it wasn't enough. She needed more. More of him. More of his touch.

She linked her arms around his neck and hopped up, wrapping both legs around his waist. He kissed her deeply once more, his hands palming her ass. Her slick wetness slid over his cock, which was pinned between their bodies.
Take me. Right now
. Her voice touched his mind.
I want you inside me
.

With the speed of a vampire, he whisked over to the wall and pinned her there. Trixie let out a gasp of pleasure mingled with surprise as he slipped his hands from her ass to her thighs. He held her against the cool wood as he stood between her legs, holding them apart, opening her for him in every way. Trixie grabbed fistfuls of his hair and held his silvery stare as he tilted his hips and drove himself deep inside with a powerful thrust.

Trixie shouted his name as he filled her time and again. He moved slowly, pumping his hips and rolling with each pass, hitting her clit in exactly the right spot so that her pleasure would match his own. Her orgasm coiled tightly as he thrust faster and each stroke became more furious and burgeoned with need. The sounds of flesh slapping against flesh and their groans of pleasure mingled in the air.

As Dakota's orgasm crested in unison with Trixie's, he dipped his head and whispered into her mind.
I want all of you and I give you all of me. I love you, Trixie.

Trixie cried out as his fangs pierced her throat. She came hard and fast as he drank from her, clinging to him as their bodies shook and thundered with their shared climax.

In spite of it all, fear glimmered in the back of her mind. Trixie was terrified of becoming any more addicted to him than she already was. If she had to walk away for whatever reason, she could still do it. But once she drank his blood and tasted his true essence…she might never be free again.

Her own fangs hummed with unfulfilled need as Dakota licked the wound on her neck until it healed. Tears stung her eyes but she willed them away. Even after all he had revealed and the raw truths that he already knew about her, Trixie still couldn't bring herself to complete the bond.

Dakota pressed a sweet kiss to her throat, as Trixie quickly wiped away her tears. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever be able to do it. Even now, as a vampire, the fear of addiction ruled her world.