Marked: a Vampire Romance (9 page)

Sickness burbled in Gold’s stomach as her SUV rolled down the back country road to the address that Adam had given her. The address that she wished Adam
hadn’t
given her. Didn’t he realize what she was? Or did he just not care? The thought that he’d told her out of a misguided sense of trust haunted her. She didn’t deserve his trust.

She was going to kill him.

It had been a persistent ache in her chest for the three days since her mom told her the consequences of the mark. They’d spent that time researching what her ancestresses had done in these situations. None of the stories ended happily. But at least some of them ended with the huntress alive.

Gold hadn’t been careful, or maybe she wanted to be found out. It had slipped out that Adam owned the bookstore, and then again that she’d seen him more than once. That she’d talked to him. She’d held the secret of their kisses buried deep in her heart. And that she’d let him take her blood? She’d die before she admitted it.

Not out of shame—that had passed. In its own way it had been beautiful, an expression of…
something
… that she wanted to grow between them.

Now there would only be death.

In a fit of melancholy while staring at the mark—the growth of which seemed to lessen now that she’d found her resolve—she’d asked if there were any accounts where both marked parties had survived. Her mom had gone pale with fury and fear and told her to not even think of it. Adam Luther had to die for her to live. That was that.

She pulled up to the quaint ranch home just after 3:00 AM. The brick would be a fizzy orange in the daylight, inviting and friendly. Hardly the domain of a creature of the night. Gold parked the SUV, but she didn’t get out of her seat.

She considered starting the car back up and just driving away, leaving Jasperton, leaving Illinois, and just finding some place where she’d be left alone. The mark would eventually kill her, but who knew how long it would take. And at least then Adam could live his life.

No
. She had a duty. She had a family to protect. Driving away was giving up. If she couldn’t do this, she didn’t deserve to be a Jones. She had to go down fighting.

Absently, she wiped away the tear that had fallen down one cheek. She could cry later, once it was done. She’d be a murderer. She’d be unclean, undeserving of love ever again, but she would still be a huntress. Hard of heart and dedicated to what she was.

Gold pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. The walk up the short flight of stairs and around the concrete porch felt like a marathon, but she raised her hand and knocked three times. It was time.

The sound of her fist on the wood echoed through her ears and out into the night, as loud as a gong. A minute later, she heard the door being unlocked. It swung open and Adam stood there. He wore faded jeans and a black t-shirt, more casual clothing than she’d ever seen him in. A glance down at his feet showed her that he wasn’t wearing shoes.

He looked comfortable, at home. And when he saw her standing there, he beamed. It was a knife through Gold’s heart.

“You came,” he said, pulling her inside with a gentle tug of her arm.

“I'm sorry it's l-late.” She was ashamed of the small stutter. She needed to be in complete control for when this went bad. As soon as she made this violent, he’d defend himself. He’d have to.

“Not for me.” His voice was so soft. He had no idea why she’d come.

They were standing too close. His hand still rested on her forearm, and she felt the weight of his palm through her shirt. She stepped back and began to look around, trying to seem natural, at ease. “This isn't what I expected,” she said. The house could have belonged to any human family. The front door opened right into a living room where he had a comfortable looking dark couch set up across from a large television. A cherrywood bookshelf full of weighty tomes was flush against the wall next to a window.

Adam looked around and shrugged. “I was going to go with a skulls theme, but the craft store was out of supplies.”

She didn’t mean to smile, but she couldn’t help it. Even when she was about to betray him, Adam put her at ease. “Yeah, but this place looks like my uncle's house. It's so…”

He waved his hand around and explained. “This is just… window dressing. Come downstairs and see the real home.” He reached out for her hand.

She pulled away before he could touch her. Every second she wasted felt one second closer to surrender. She needed to do the deed and be done with it “We don't have a lot of time.”

“It's hours yet until sunrise.” He leaned in close, his head bowed over hers, but Gold ducked away. “What's wrong?”

“I'll…” She wanted to grab him and kiss him until tomorrow. Maybe that would break this curse they’d both been unwittingly caught up in. But this wasn’t a fairy tale. “I'd like to see your home.” She didn’t want to, not now, not when it was certain to star in her nightmares until she gasped out her dying breath. The walls were closing in around her and her holster felt like a boulder hanging down from her shoulder. With every step she moved through molasses, slow and hot, burning away her resolve.

Adam took her hand and she squeezed it tight, following his lead down a steep flight of stairs behind a small but modern kitchen. He didn’t turn on the light, and it was too dark for her to see. But Gold trusted him to lead her safely.

At the bottom of the stairs, Adam flipped a switch and illuminated the basement in a flood of yellow light. It wasn’t quite sun bright, but for a man who couldn’t journey into daylight, it was as close as he could hope to come.

Adam ducked into the small bar area near the stairs. “I don't have much in the way of refreshments,” he said with a small sorry smile. “Would you like water? I think I've got some wine down here.” He crouched down out of view and she heard glasses clinking together as he searched.

The lump in her throat was big enough to choke on and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from gasping out a harsh cry. She thought of Lily, who was about to finish her sophomore year of high school and had barely begun to learn how to be a huntress. Her mom’s form rose up in her mind. Caroline Jones wouldn’t hesitate for a second, not if it meant protecting her kids.

But right now this was Gold's task: purify the world of a vampire and protect her family.

She reached into her jacket and silently pulled her gun out of its holster. She clicked off the safety and almost flinched. Hyperfocused on her own actions, it sounded like an explosion.

Adam heard it too, but by the time he stood, her weapon was already pointed at the center of his chest.

He held a dark green bottle of wine and set it down on the counter before slowly raising his hands. “Gold?” he asked, confused.

His face resolved into shock after a second and his eyes darted between the dark barrel of the gun and her own face. He swallowed hard and his fingers shook where they were held up by his head. He should have been charging her, trying to rip her throat out. He should have been trying to defend his own life, not standing there like some innocent victim.

But mostly, he shouldn’t have looked hurt.

She tried to harden herself, tried to keep herself firm, but it was like holding a door against the torrent of a tsunami. “How many people have you killed?” She spat it out, emotions be damned.

Adam took a step around the bar and moved toward her slowly.

“No!” she yelled. “Stay right there!” Her gun wavered.

Adam froze. When he spoke, his words were ice, not like the man she’d come to know. “It’s more than enough to deserve every bullet you've got. Twice over.”

There was her reason, right there. Another one to add to the pile of good reasons.

It didn’t make it easier, nor did it harden her resolve. The trigger felt like a knife under her finger. “One of us has to die. That's what the mark means. I thought it was only showing me my path. But there's a cost. There's always a cost.” She needed him to understand why she was doing this.

But did she have the right to kill him, just so that she could live? If she did it, didn’t that make her just as bad as the vampires who killed their prey?

His shoulders sagged. “Then shoot me.”

Gold shattered, the tsunami rushing over her, flooding her with a torrent of emotion she couldn't ignore. With shaking hands, she flipped the safety back on and slid the gun back into her holster, securing it blindly.

“I can't.” Her voice cracked and a hiccupping sob racked her. She closed her eyes to shut out the tears, but it was no use. When Adam’s arms came around her, she buried her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in the now all too familiar scent. Lemon and moss and something almost spicy. Completely unique to him. No one would ever reproduce it.

She babbled, not really explaining, but just letting the words pour out. “I can't even pretend that I can do it! Not you, i-i-it's all in here.” She thumped her fist against her chest so hard that she almost coughed. “Like it's exploding and cracking and reforming and you're right there at the center of it.” She clung to him, unable to get close enough. If she was going to die, let it be with him.

“Ah, love.” Adam kissed the top of her head and pulled back just enough so that he could look at her. His face was blurry through her tears, but he wiped the wet tracks away with a broad brush of his thumb. “It's taken me 343 years. Don't you think I recognize the real thing when it's right in front of me?”

She dug her hands into the back of his shirt, stretching it beyond repair and reaching up, capturing his lips with hers, tearing into him with ferocious passion. There was nothing gentle here, it was feral, all of her frustration and longing, her fear and her desire channeled through her lips, a current running straight from her body and into his.

Adam’s hands found the lapels of her jacket, pushing it off until it bunched and caught at her elbows. She flung her arms back, twisting, trying to get it off. That small action gave her a second, let her breathe. She placed her hand on his chest and pulled back, giving herself a little space.

She moved to stand, but Adam’s hand landed on her wrist, not forcing her to stay still, but stopping her all the same. “You’re thinking,” he warned.

He was truly a beautiful man, with a mouth made for sin and kind eyes. Some would call them hard, but she’d seen into his soul. She knew who he was now. A man who was worth everything.

He tugged on her arm, a request. Gold could have pulled back, but she sunk back down next to him. Adam kissed each of her eyebrows and then her nose before leaning his forehead against hers. “Let me do the thinking for just a little while.”

“I’m scared.” Terrified, as a matter of fact. Every thought piled onto the ones before it, a traffic jam in her brain. She had no idea where to go from here, no thought for what to do come morning. The only sure, stubborn thing in her was her need for Adam. The rest of the world could have ended, and he would still be her north star.

He reached for her braid and untangled the tie at the end, letting the strands come undone. “I’m scarier than any of your demons,” he promised. “Just let me be yours.”

“Yes.”

He kissed her and it was like coming home out of the cold on a dark winter’s night. She breathed him in, body pressed tight against him, unwilling to let even an inch of space come between them. She tried to move, but her arms got caught up in her jacket. Gold jerked her shoulders, letting it fall off while trying to keep in contact with him.

She felt Adam smile against her and his hands reached around to help ease off the jacket. Her holster bumped against her chest, an unwelcome reminder of why she’d come.

Gold reached down to undo the clasp on her chest and tore the holster off. She flung the leather straps far away, not wanting to think about violence anymore. Adam was with her, here and now, safe and all hers. His muscles were taut against her body and the masculine scent of him enveloped her. She wanted to roll around in it until she’d never be able to forget it.

His hands caught her sides, holding her upright. Gold could feel that contact all the way to her toes. Adam kissed along her jaw and down the side of her neck. His teeth scratched at the thick vein there and she arched up, moaning.

But he didn’t bite her. Any disappointment was washed away when his hands bunched beneath her shirt and started to inch it up.

And then he stopped and pulled back. “No, this is wrong.”

It was a wave of ice water on Gold’s lust. “What?” She was desperate with want, already wet. One touch and she was sure she’d explode.

But Adam’s dark eyes met hers and she saw it wasn’t a rejection. No man could look at a woman with that naked hunger on his face and push her away. “I want you in my bed.”

“Oh. Yes.” It came out half breath, half moan. The animalistic urge to rut on the floor like beasts beat at her, but Gold wanted Adam
everywhere
. Especially in his bed.

Adam scooped her up off the floor and carried her down the hallway. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stealing kisses every few paces. If he asked, she’d never admit it, but she felt a little like a bride on her wedding night.

She’d never thought of marriage before, never thought she’d meet a guy who could handle all the weird crap in her life. Huntresses had families, but they rarely had husbands.

Yet here she was, in the arms of a vampire—her vampire—being carried over the threshold into his bedroom. She knew she was in too deep. She wanted to go deeper.

He laid her on his bed and Gold took a moment to look around while she kicked off her shoes. On one wall there was a brilliant fresco of a sunrise, the colors bold and verging on tacky. Gold’s heart clenched as she looked at it. Light caught on little gems embedded in the wall, sparkling like stars. For a man who couldn’t see the sun, he’d created his own slice of daylight in his home.

But the sun on the wall paled in comparison to the man before her. His eyes roved over her hotly. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“So are you.” They were evenly matched in t-shirts and jeans. The tension hung in the air between them for a moment, and then they were both ripping their shirts off and throwing them aside. Adam crawled onto the bed, stalking over her, his knees on either side of her hips.

He cupped her face and captured her mouth, conquering her with a swipe of his lips. Gold tasted him. He was everywhere, his scent in her nose, his skin against hers, his taste in her mouth.

Adam reached around, undoing the clasp of her bra until it hung on just by her shoulders. She pulled it off quickly. Adam pulled back, leaving Gold resting on her elbows.

“Let me look at you.” His voice was a rough growl that curled deep within her core and reverberated outward.

She felt the fiery heat of possession and he drank her in with his eyes. If looks could claim, she’d be marked.

Well, she already was. But right now, it was only the two of them, bodies connected, hearts entwined as they explored one another.

He loomed over her again, taking up all of the space until the room around them disappeared. His hand found her breast, squeezing it lightly. Adam played her like an instrument, adept hands stroking her to a fine point of pleasure.

And then there was his mouth.

She was more than a little in love with that mouth.

He pulled one of her taut nipples between his lips, tongue taking control of her as she wept out little gasps and moans. Her hands were clutched against his shoulders, keeping him in place as she arched up against him.

“Tell me you like this,” he said, head buried in her chest, voice raw with emotion and want.

“God, yes.” She didn’t know if it was a prayer or agreement. All she knew was that she needed “More.”

His hand reached down and flicked open the button of her jeans. Her hips jerked when his finger swirled around her wet lips. She arched her hips more, desperate for friction, for his touch.

“Tell me you need me.”

“I do.” The declaration was desperate and primal. “Right now.” She wanted him inside her, with her, completing her. And she wanted this past tomorrow and past next week. Adam had taken a place in her heart, filling a hole she didn’t know was there. If something happened to him… she’d take on the world to stop it.

Was this love? With lust riding her hard, all she knew was Adam, all she wanted was Adam.

He slid down her body, his deft hands removing her jeans and panties until she was naked under him. She felt like the sacrifice to some pagan god.

Her eyes were glued to Adam, transfixed as if he were the snake charmer and she the cobra. His lips were hot against her thigh, teeth nipping just a little. It pinched and she realized that he’d taken a sip, the feeding intimate.

She was on fire.

And then his mouth was on her sex and she was no more. She gasped, crying out Adam’s name as her fingers curled into the cool sheets of his bed. Everything was heightened and she could feel the blood rushing through her own veins, pooling low where he worshiped her.

She gasped as his fingers joined his tongue, stroking and teasing her to the edge of pleasure, her sex tightening so close to the brink, her vision going hazy around the edges. He didn’t let up until she was thrashing, calling out his name and begging him for more, promising him things she could never give. The Earth, the Sun, anything so long as he kept going.

Pleasure tore through her, sending her shuddering around Adam, hips bucking and jerking as she came. Her heart thudded in her chest, slowing only slightly as she sucked in deep breaths.

Slowly, Adam kissed his way up, pulling her tight against him, his knee wedging between her legs. “You taste better than blood,” he said in awe.

Some last thread of tension within her snapped and Gold laughed, pressing a hand against his chest. “That should not sound romantic.” And yet an entirely different kind of pleasure curled in her heart.

She let her fingers trail down until they met with the waistband of his jeans. “Pants off,” she commanded. She needed him inside her.

Adam shucked them off in a flash, his eagerness endearing. Gold reached forward and touched his hard length.

He sucked in a breath. He was hot and hard and all Adam.

There was only one problem. “I don’t have a condom.” She’d not come here with the intention to bed him and she didn’t carry condoms in her wallet.

Adam just smiled and kissed her. “I’m a vampire, love,” he said.

Of course. Vampires didn’t get diseases, and she’d never heard of one getting a woman pregnant.

Then his grin turned almost sheepish, “Though…”

“What?”

“I’m a vampire,” he repeated. “And I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, but this,” he pressed against her and she felt the thick length of his erection between them, “It might not… vampires don’t have sex.”

She reached down and took him in hand. “I think we’ve already proved that wrong.” Because if what he’d already done to her wasn’t sex, she didn’t know what to call it. “And I'm willing to risk the disappointment.” She kissed him, rolling with him so that she was on her back with his form over her. She loved the feeling of being covered with his body, loved that he could take up all that space and not make her feel threatened or like she had to protect his back.

She guided him to her entrance, feeling the tip of him brush against her. He pushed in slowly, just an inch, hissing in a breath as she closed around him.

“Jesus,” he gasped, “You feel so damn amazing.” He bit it out as he sank deeper into her.

She moaned as he filled her, the pressure pleasant, reassuring. This was the most vital connection that two people could make, bodies bound together, flesh to flesh.

And then he was in her completely, buried to the hilt. He held himself very still, forehead resting against hers, his teeth gritted as he brought himself under control.

But she didn’t want him in control. Not right now. She flexed her inner muscles, rolling her hips up and down, feeling him slide within her.

Adam cursed, the blasphemy a prayer to her ears.

“Don’t be gentle,” Gold told him, rolling her hips again, smiling when he moved with her. “I can take it.”

Something feral took him over and he moved, tilting her hips up and plunging in and out of her, hard and fast, the furious tempo almost enough to put her over the edge.

His fingers toyed between them, thumb rubbing against her clitoris until she was shuddering against him, teeth chattering with pleasure. But that didn’t stop him. He thrust his hips deep until his cock brushed up against something deep within her.

“Yes!” she gasped, incapable of giving anything besides encouragement. She clung to him, her body moving with his in an ancient rhythm. Orgasm overtook her, stealing her breath. Gold bit down on Adam’s shoulder, trying to contain her cries.

That pushed Adam over. With a groan, he pulled her close, sinking his teeth into her neck and exploding within her. Her eyes crossed and everything went white, echoes of pleasure setting her off once more.

It took some time to settle, to let go of the embrace they’d held themselves in. Adam had barely taken a sip of her blood, but his lips still lazily lapped at her neck.

She trailed a hand up his back, unwilling to put even an inch between them. “You were saying vampires don’t fuck?”

Adam’s chest rose and fell with a little laugh. “You know I’m not done with you.”