SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (228 page)

“But I only have five days.”

“The world can change in five days.”

True. But in his experience, scenarios like that usually involved total annihilation. Complete destruction. No one survived intact. Everything exploded and you couldn’t exactly fit the pieces of your world back together again.

But this was Kayla. And
that
changed all the rules.

Cole was strong for a man. Hell, he had more discipline than most vampires, which was saying something. But even that cast-iron consistency about him wavered in the face of Kayla’s focused assault on his senses. She was sexy as hell and offering him, even if it was for a limited time, everything he’d ever wanted. What kind of a fool said no to a second chance like that? Another opportunity to get back the girl that got away.

It was only five days. He'd survived harder tests.

Surely his world and Vector Force wouldn’t implode in that short a time span. Screw it. If his world ended and he got to be with Kayla again, then he’d die, or disintegrate, or whatever the hell vampires did when they stopped being vampires, with a smile on his face. As long as she wasn't hurt in the process, he was game.

* * *

She stood pressed up against his very impressive physique from chest to hip, or a close as she could get considering he was a good bit taller.

“You always get what you want?” The rumble of his voice deep in his broad chest reverberated straight through her. Her breasts tightened and throbbed in response, aching for him to touch them.

She wished.

So far life hadn’t exactly been a box of chocolates. Well, not unless you considered it one of those really cheap boxes of chocolates where about half of them were so nasty you wanted to spit them out the moment you tasted the icky filling. But considering Cole was here, close enough for her to lean up on tip-toe and kiss him, she wasn’t about to argue with the universe about its choice of timing.

“Only on nights like this,” she said, her voice warm with invitation.

Desire flared hot and intense in his eyes, a jet of blue flame that threatened to devour any modesty she had left. She knew she was throwing herself at him, but why not? It had been too long since Kayla had felt desired, needed. Memories of Cole’s arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, their shared breath puffs of mist in the cold air after the high school football game just before their first kiss flashed through her mind, making her skin tingle in anticipation.

He pulled her tightly against him, his strong arms wrapping around her waist, his broad hands caressing her back and Kayla reveled in the sensation.

Cole spread his hands over her hips, tucking her against him. Hard a perfect counterpoint to soft.

“If we’re going to date for five days, we’ve got to have some rules.”

“Seriously? I thought we were both adults. Can’t we just make up the rules as we go along?”

Cole shook his head. “I mean it, Kayla. We lay out the rules or we can just say goodbye tonight.”

His sudden change of demeanor confused her. From the hard state of his erection cradled against her belly, and the way he kissed her, she could tell he was still physically attracted to her. But something, likely a whole lot of somethings, he’d had yet to deal with in his own mind, held him back.

One big one—Jack, and Cole’s loyalty to his friend—immediately leapt to the forefront. So she decided to indulge him. What was the big deal anyway? If laying down the law at the outset of their adventure made him feel more secure, she could go with it.

She looked him in the eye. “Okay, rules it is. What kind do you have in mind?”

“Rule one: we don’t make love.”

“But-” He silenced her protest with a quick, solid kiss that made her instantly lose her train of thought.

“Rule two:,” he said much more softly, “we don’t make any promises.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Then I’ve got one of my own to add to the list.”

“Go.”

“Rule three: No third wheels. When we’re on a date it’s just the two of us.”

He nodded, then gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “So what would you like to try first? For a date,” he quickly amended.

Damn. She could think of all kinds of things she’d like to do
with
him. But Cole had drawn a strong deep line in the sand relatively equivalent to the Grand Canyon. And despite how well the man kissed, he had no intentions of going to bed with her. He’d made that abundantly clear.

“You mean a re-do of our first date?”

“Sure.”

“Let me think about it.”

He nodded then pulled back from her, his hands sliding down the length of her arms to hold her hands in his. “Tomorrow afternoon suit you?”

She smiled and squeezed his hands, wishing she could pull him back in rather than let him go. “I’m glad you’re back, Cole.”

He said nothing, but returned the squeeze, then released her hands, turned on his heel and headed for the door. “See you tomorrow,” he said as he opened her front door and stepped outside.

For a second she stood rooted to the wooden floor, unable to move, but then she rushed to the front door and looked out. Cole was nowhere to been seen, as if he’s simply disappeared into the night.

Slowly she closed the door, then turned and let her back sag against it for support. Across the room, the metallic glint of Jack’s dog tags and wedding ring stood out in stark contrast to the dark cherry color of the coffee table. Her fingers automatically strayed to her pocket and letter that rested there.

She’d put it off long enough.

Kayla sighed and righted herself, moving with heavy steps to sit back on the couch. She reached in her pocket. Her fingers brushed against the piece of paper, warm and smooth. And just that quickly, the sadness came stealing back, bringing with it the cold, familiar ache that seemed to be her constant companion for so many months. Jack’s last words to her were on that paper.

With stiff fingers she pulled the envelope out and glanced at it. Cole had folded the long, plain white envelope into thirds, probably so it would fit in his pocket. It was still sealed. She was surprised Cole hadn’t read it. Kayla sighed. Putting off opening the letter wouldn’t make the pain go away. She slipped her finger beneath the small gap at the corner and tore open the seal.

Unfolding the single sheet, her heart hurt to see Jack's familiar scrawl. Jack had always thought texting and writing out emails made what he had to say about personal matters to available to the public and preferred writing it down. She’d thought it paranoid. He thought it practical. Paper didn’t require electricity to function. Paper didn’t care if there was a sandstorm or if the NSA read through all your emails.

Now, as she held his final words in her hands, she was glad for the paper. Glad that Jack had been exactly who he was and that she’d been part of his life—even if it were too damn short.

Jack started off the way he always did.

Hey Sweetheart.

It’s hot here. When is it not? Missing how green things are back home. Missing you.

I don’t have a lot of time to write today. We’re going out on a sweep soon, ahead of the platoon. All I can say is I’m glad I’ve got Cole here by my side. He’d do anything for me. It’s good to know I’ve got someone who’d take a bullet for me to keep me alive out here.

Thanks for holding down the fort. I can’t wait to come home and kiss you. Maybe we can go on an actual honeymoon when I get back. I’m always thinking about things we’ll get to do when I’m not tied down here.

But then something in the tone of his words changed, like he’d known that day something wasn’t right.

I don’t even know why I’m saying this, but if something happens to me out here, and I don’t make it back, I’m hoping Cole does. I know he’d watch out for you just like I would. You can trust him to care for you. He always has. And I can’t think of a single man I’d rather see you with than him. Other than me, of course!

Well, trucks are loading. I gotta go.

I love you,

Jack

Welcome Home, Vampire: Chapter Three

Cole was at her door by two minutes after noon, his special issue sunglasses in place to ward off the migraines caused by intense daylight. With a dazzling smile Kayla opened the screen door wide then shocked the hell out of him when she wrapped her arms around his waist to give him a killer hug. With her arms wrapped tightly around him, she looked up, her eyes sparkling. “I wasn’t sure you were coming back.”

The black cotton shorts accented the tan on her toned legs, and the short-sleeved white button-down shirt fit her perfectly. The warmth of her, and the rapid beat of her heart called out to him on a primal level. He hadn’t fed since he’d left base two days ago. The commander had said his cravings might intensify, but his new vampire biology combined with his pure attraction to Kayla, made her the most delicious thing he’d ever smelled. His need for her was overwhelming. God he wanted to drink her in. He resisted the pressure building behind his gums, forcing himself to focus as he pulled out of temptation’s touch. They stood just outside her door on the porch where the entire base could see them. Cole made sure he was more than an arm’s length away so he wasn’t tempted to reach out and pull her back against him once more.

“Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?”

Stepping back into her home with seeming reluctance, Kayla shook her head. “No. Never.”

He followed her inside. Kayla’s house smelled just like she did, reminding him of lemon cookies, sweet, yet fragrant with a tart twist of citrus. It took his full concentration to hold his fangs in check, but they throbbed behind his gums. “Have you decided where you’d like to go for our date?”

She grasped his hand, sliding her delicate one into his. An electric jolt zapped through his system at the skin on skin connection with her, no matter how innocent. “You know how people never go see the sites in their own backyard?”

“Yeah, I guess. Can you be a bit more specific?” He had a lot of super vampire powers, but reading minds wasn’t one of them, and her insistence touching him made rational thought all but impossible. He could hear the steady thrum of her blood rushing through her veins, and the slightly elevated thud of her heartbeat. The smell of her was intoxicating.

Her blonde hair was caught up in a messy bun, leaving tendrils to curl along the smooth column of her neck. Just below the delicate curve of her ear, the skin moved with her pulse, luring him in. “I want to go see the Seattle Underground.”

He swallowed hard against the burning urge to taste her, and instead focused on her warm brown-sugar eyes. “You know that’s in the dark, with spiders and rusty junk, right?”

“Have you ever gone?”

“No.”

“Then let’s try it!” Her bubbly excitement was infectious. Cole couldn’t help himself. He loved that sparkle in her eyes and he’d be willing to do just about anything to keep it there.

“You’re sure, even with the spiders?”

She hugged close to his arm, pressing her lush breasts against his bicep, unconsciously, or was it consciously to drive him mad? “That’s why I have you with me to squish any spiders that get too close. You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

With his life, after-life, half-life—whatever it was that vampires had. Every bit of him was there for her. “You know I’m your guy. Spiders beware.”

She laughed and the happy sound was a warm balm to his fractured spirit. Inside and out he’d changed so much that he was afraid there wasn’t anything left of the human man he’d been. But Kayla’s laugh, just the way it resonated in the air around him, made him feel like his old self again.

Kayla snatched the keys from the bowl on the small table near the door and jingled them. “I’ll drive.”

Cole didn’t care. She’d always been the one deciding where their relationship went and it just felt natural as he closed the front door behind them, and followed her to the red Volkswagon Beetle in the driveway. With her behind the wheel he had the opportunity to watch her as she concentrated on the road ahead. Kayla’s profile was a study in perfection. Her lips were soft and full, just perfect for long, slow kisses, and her nose turned up just a touch at the tip.

Cole struggled to find things he could talk to her about. He couldn’t talk to her about his work—that was highly classified. He couldn’t really talk about his friends—outside the military he didn’t have any besides Jack. And he definitely couldn’t talk about the way he felt toward her when he knew it was a dead-end road with no future beyond his five-day furlough. An awkward silence started to fill the void between them in the car.

Kayla squirmed in her seat and readjusted her hold on the steering wheel as they merged onto the freeway into Seattle. “I read Jack’s letter last night.”

He peered at her for a moment, as if gazing at her stunning profile might give him some insights. She wasn’t crying and her eyes weren’t red or puffy from crying the night before. That was a good start. “I’m glad whatever it said didn’t upset you too much.”

She lightly licked her lips, and the movement, and slick sheen on them sent a jolt of pure lust to his groin. “The usual. Nothing profound. Telling me about his day as he normally did, trying to give me a way for us to feel connected somehow.”

“Kind of hard to believe it’s his last letter.”

Kayla nodded, as if she were agreeing with him, but he could smell the change in her emotions and the heighted level of musty-scented sorrow to the air. “There was this one thing.”

Cole looked at her, really looked at her. The sheen to her eyes was a bit too bright. He absolutely did not want to make her cry. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“But we do.” She pinned him with an intense glare. “Look, unless we talk this out, Jack is always going to be coming up between us.”

Cole swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. He hadn’t asked for this. Had tried, God only knew, in every way he knew to avoid it. He didn’t want to be here, talking to the girl he’d loved most of his life, when the cost had been Jack’s life. But he’d lived. Jack had died.