Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love) (12 page)

     “Is she drinking his blood?” she asked incredulously.

     “Vampire blood is very much like a drug to humans.  It is also a very powerful aphrodisiac.  Many humans who allow a vampire to drink from them only ask the same in exchange.”

      “But will it turn her into, ya know, one of y’all?” her southern accent growing thicker.

     “No,” Antonio laughed again.  “It will not.  Would you like to try it?  It is quite nice for the vampire as well,” he offered.

     “I don’t think Angel would like that very much,” Brea said.

     “You are right.  If you want to try it, I suggest you ask him.  I rather like my head, and I think I shall keep it a while longer if you don’t mind.”

     A slow song came over the speakers, and Brea was getting ready to head back to her table when Angel stepped in front of her.  He held out his hand to her in invitation.  She took it.  A wide grin spread over his face, his teeth glinting in the lights.  He took both of her hands and secured them behind his neck, then he placed both of his hands on her waist.  “Did Antonio answer all your questions?”

      “Huh?” Brea asked, having been too lost in the beauty of his face to really hear the question.

     “I overheard some of your conversation.  Did he tell you what you wanted to know?”

     “About the blood, I mean, sharing it? Yeah, I think so.”

     “Is it something you would like to try?” he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.  Feeling her body shiver, Angel moved his hand to the small of her back and pressed her closer.

     “Um, I don’t know,” she said, honestly.  “These other women, they seem to enjoy it.”

     “Keelie seems to like it,” he said, inclining his head to the side.  Brea followed the motion and saw her friend necking with Gage. 

     “Is that what she is doing?”

     “Uh huh,” Angel answered with a smile.  “Do not worry, he will do her no harm.  She is in good hands.”

     “I kind of got the feeling that Ricco liked her,” Brea said.

     “He does,” Angel answered, turning them around in a circle.  Brea was surprised at how easy it was to dance with him.  He moved so gracefully and managed to keep his feet from being stepped on.  “I think I would very much like to kiss you again,” Angel told her, locking his emerald eyes on hers.

     Brea smiled and tip toed up to his mouth.  His lips brushed over hers so lightly she couldn’t be sure they actually made contact.  Then he brought his mouth down on hers harder.   He tightened his grip around her waist and pressed his hard body against hers.   His tongue darted into her mouth and she opened to accept him.
  His kiss was gentle but possessive.  There was no doubt that it was meant to let everyone watching know that she belonged to Angel.  He was so powerful, yet he treated Brea with such tenderness, as if she were precious.  Brea felt an unfamiliar emotion welling in her chest.  She wanted to do so much with him right then, but she knew her conscious mind would never let her.  When he broke the kiss, Brea was gasping for breath and felt a little light headed.

     “What’s it like?” she panted against his neck.

     “It is different for everyone.  I suppose the effect is most like a shot of very stout whiskey.  It gives the human a slight buzz and loosens inhibitions.”

     “Yes,” she whispered.

     “Yes?” he mimicked, raising his brow.

     “If you want me to, then I would like to try,” she said, unable to meet his eyes.  She didn’t know why she felt so
self-conscious, perhaps because she had lived her life on the straight and narrow, and what she was asking for was considered taboo.  But how long could one person live in a sheltered house with no doors? 
Sooner or later, you have to get out and experience life
, she told herself.  Besides, she trusted Angel, and trust was the most important factor to her.

     Without saying anything, Angel raised his hand to his neck and drew his nail over the skin of his throat.  A small line of crimson beaded up where he scratched himself.
  Brea swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at Angel.  Her stomach was in a bunch and she felt her heart take off at an impressive speed.  Her palms were suddenly slick and her face heated.  She didn’t know if she could go through with it.

     Sensing her hesitation, Angel cocked his head to the side and smiled.  “You do not have to do it
.”  Damn him and his understanding!  Why couldn’t he be like every other man in the world and just insist on what he wanted?  Brea could plainly see it in his eyes that he wanted her to taste him, but he was being all soft and compassionate.  The others in the house would eventually hear of this, and if she backed out, she would be the innocent little girl that she fought so hard not to be.  Then she realized, it was because he was so unlike every other man in the world that she was so attracted to him in the first place. 

     Angel saw it the moment Brea made her decision.  At first, she was hesitant. 
Then afraid.  Then her eyes softened and a look of sheer determination came over her features.  She grabbed the back of his neck, snaring the hair at the nape of his neck in her fist and jerked him down to her level. 

     Angel was prepared for the sensation brought about by a woman drinking from him.  He had allowed more than one the gift in his time, and it was always a sensual experience.  He thought he knew exactly what to expect.  He was wrong.

     The second her mouth sealed on his flesh, bright white lights exploded behind his eyes.  Fire raced in his veins as his normally still heart pounded out of control in his chest.  The rest of the night club melted away as he was burned from the inside out, and he couldn’t get enough of it.  He held her head securely to his throat as her hot little tongue swept over his burning flesh.  A deep rumbling growl escaped as he threw his head back to allow her better access.  His body harden and he felt his own thirst for her raging to be released.  He never wanted to taste anyone as badly as he did her at that moment.  He had to get closer to her, had to be inside her.  He fought his own urges as she sucked harder on his throat.  When he could stand it no more, he lifted her chin and took her mouth in a soul wrenching kiss.

     He broke away and looked into her eyes.  Slowly, the other patrons of the club came back, as did the music, which was no longer slow.  When had the song ended? 
Brea was smiling up at him with a very sheepish expression.  Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide.  “Wow,” she mouthed.   Angel laughed and kissed her again.   He couldn’t care less who was watching, and people were, nor did he care what they thought.

     A tingling in the back of his mind drew Angel’s attention from his mate.  Someone was there.  Someone he didn’t know.  “Shit,” he spat
,  “Come on,” he urged her back to the table.  At the table, Sebastian had a woman in his lap, and Gage was whispering something to Keelie.  Whatever he said, it made her giggle like a school girl.  Ricco was the only one sitting alone, looking a little bit more than amused.

     Sitting Brea down beside Keelie, Angel grabbed Gage and Sebastian by the arm.  “We gotta go,” he told them
,  “I think he’s here.”

     Both men stood, leaving their women with Ricco, none too happy about it.  “How do you know it’s him?” Gage asked.

     “I don’t, but it’s someone I don’t know.  Sebastian will go with me.  Gage, find the others and let’s search the vicinity.  You find anything, give a mental shout, got it?”

    
“Got it.”

     The men split up and searched.  They checked every table inside the bar, every room in the back.  They walked in on a few unhappy couples, but most never even noticed the intrusion.  To Angel’s dismay, whoever it had been, was either gone or was doing a very good job at blocking his presence.

     Frustrated and empty handed, the men returned to their table.  Angel gasped and froze in his step.

     Ricco was sitting between the woman Sebastian had been with and Keelie.  Brea was sitting on the other side of Keelie. 
Angel stood there open mouthed for what seemed like forever, unable to move.  No problem, normally.  Except that the two women making a Ricco sandwich had their hands all over him, kissing his neck and face and lips.  Brea was reaching around Keelie to cup one of her breasts, and Keelie turned her attention to Brea.  The two met in an open mouthed kiss, making no effort to hide their intertwining tongues.  Ricco was soaking up the attention with a shit eating grin plastered to his face.

     Angel was aware of his family’s reaction.  They were hooting and encouraging the foursome on.  But Angel saw red.  Not at Brea, not at Ricco, but at himself.  He had known better than to let Brea drink from him and then leave her.  She was only doing what comes naturally.  And as much as he hated to admit it, the sight of her so
blatantly tonguing another woman made him as hard as steel.  But Brea would be upset in the morning.  He had to stop this now, he told himself.

     “Ok, time to go,” he told Brea, pulling her arm.

     “I don’t want to go,” she snapped, jerking her arm away.

     “We really need to go now, Brea.  Come on,” he urged.

     “No.”

     Well, that just wasn’t going to work.  A part of Angel wanted to let her do whatever she wanted, but the more reasonable part of
himself didn’t want her to regret anything she had done.  “Brea, let’s go!” he yelled, pulling her to a standing position.  Her reaction was volatile.  She snarled at him and slapped him across the face. 

     “You do not tell me what to do!”  That was Angel’s breaking point.  He lowered himself and shoved his shoulder into her abdomen, then
raised up, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  She was bent over his shoulder, ass in the air and eye level with his hips.  She was kicking and swinging her fists wildly, genuinely protesting what she deemed to be crude treatment.  He turned for the door when a searing pain shot through his buttocks and down his leg, causing him to stumble.  The little minx bit him!  She bit him on the ass!  “Put me down you Neanderthal!” she was screaming.  Angel was very aware of the laughter surrounding them.  It probably was a funny site, he admitted to himself.  “Red heads are always feisty,” he heard someone say. 

     He dropped her to her feet and gently lifted her chin.  “Why did you bite me?” he demanded
, no really angry, but more than a little irritated.

     “I thought you liked to be bitten,” she smirked.

     “Not on my ass!”

     “I rather liked it myself,” she smiled, still smug.  She had gotten what she wanted, he put her down.  “
You have such a nice ass,” she continued.

     Without warning, she leapt up into Angel’s arms, securing her legs around his hips.
  She cover his lips with her own, and Angel supported her weight in his hands.  Powerless against her sudden assault, he moved for the door again.  “Sebastian,” he called out when she moved her lips to his neck, “Drive us home, please.”

     Angel carried Brea out of the club, occasionally stopping against a wall to return her affections.  Once outside, the crisp night air helped to clear his head.  It did nothing to stop Brea from her blatant lustful agenda.  Stumbling and swaying, Angel managed to get her in the car.

     He watched from his perch on the neighboring rooftop.  He had been careless, and the Clan Leader had nearly caught him.  There would be no more mistakes, he told himself.  The job was far more important than revenge.  But wasn’t there a way to exact his revenge on the leader and still do his job?
  Years earlier, Angel had refused his help.  All he ever wanted was to be respected, and when he asked for a place on Angel’s council, the leader refused him.  For the embarrassment Angel caused him, the Clan Leader would pay.  Who would have guessed that he would be given an opportunity to help his employer and make that bastard pay?  All he needed was a weakness in the Leader’s armor. 

     A black SUV flew around the corner and a vampire got out.  He had been one of the ones looking for the rogue, he noticed.  The vamp opened the back door of the truck as two people staggered out of the club.  One was the Clan Leader, Angel.  The other was a woman.  She was wrapped around him like plastic wrap, like another skin.  She was licking and kissing him like she couldn’t get enough of him.  Her fiery red hair blew in the night breeze, exposing her creamy skin of her neck.

     He watched as Angel got into the truck with the woman still attached to his body.  His groin tightened painfully as he imagined pulling those red locks back to sink his teeth into her throat.  Perhaps there was a way, after all.

     The ride home was interesting, to say the least.  Sebastian slid behind the wheel and took off, steering the black SUV around as many backstreets as possible.  He was used to taking the scenic route home, it helped lose any paparazzi that may be trailing them.  Given the situation in the backseat, it was much better if no pictures were released into the tabloids.

     Angel sat with his back pressed against the leather seat, Brea with her knees on either side of his hips, straddling him.   She was still showering him with kisses on his face and neck.  He jerked when she nipped his neck.  “More,” she demanded.