The Vampire Bracelet: Erotic Paranormal Romance ( # 2: Blood Genies series) (3 page)

Of course she was a heck of a lot prettier. He made a deliberate show of checking her out: long dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, and pinup girl curves. He’d always been a sucker for shapely brunettes. In his day, Jane Russell had been his ideal.

“Stop doing that,” she said.

“Doing what? Looking at you as if you’re my next meal? Relax, we’ll get there.”

“The waiting is making me phobic. I have a right to be impatient.”

“What about trying to rush your boyfriend into marriage? Do you have a right to be impatient about that, too?”

“Rush him? We’ve been together for five years.”

“Then he’s a wuss.”

“Excuse me?”

“A wuss. It’s slang for—”

“I know what it means. But you shouldn’t be calling him that.”

“It’s not my fault if that’s what he is.” Curious to see the rest of her house, he wandered down the hallway, peering into rooms.

She followed him. “Were you ever married when you were mortal?”

“No. But I didn’t string anyone along for five years, either. Besides, I’m willing to get married now.”

“Only so you can become mortal again. Your sudden interest in love is unethical.”

“If you were spending most of your time inside of a bracelet, you’d be anxious, too.”

“Darrin would release you if he could.”

“I know. But he can’t.” Jewelry owners didn’t have that kind of power. “If I don’t find love, I’ll never get out of that damned thing.”

She glanced at the bracelet, but she didn’t say anything.

He continued down the hall and entered her bedroom. She’d combined woodsy furniture with feminine accents: mosquito netting draped around the bed and a delicate array of perfume bottles displayed on the dresser.

With further interest, he opened her walk-in closet and went inside. Mostly what he saw were jeans, but she had some pretty dresses, too. And cowboy boots galore, lined up on a shelf.

“Do you ride?” he asked. “Or are these just a fashion statement?”

“I have a horse that I keep in boarding.”

“I ride, too. English and western.”

“Have you ridden recently? Or are you talking about when you were mortal?”

“Fairly recently. Whenever I’m on a wish assignment and am free from the bracelet, I try to use my time wisely and get my hobbies in.” Curious to touch her belongings, he picked up a boot and pretended to sniff the leather. “Lucky for you I don’t have a foot fetish.”

She shooed him out of her closet. “Knock it off.”

“Spoilsport.” Keeping the momentum going, he strode over to her bed. Then he took the liberty of sliding the netting out of the way and turning down the quilt.

Her voice leaped out of her throat. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing what type of sheets you have. Oh, yeah, these are nice.” He smoothed his hand across the fabric. “Silk.”

“They’re satin.”

“Whatever. Let’s feed here.”

“In bed?” She gave him an incredulous look.

“When I drink your blood, you’re going to feel as if you’re stoned or drunk or both.”

“I know what to expect.”

“Then wouldn’t you rather be stretched out in bed when that happens?”

“I guess.” She clutched her blouse, as if the buttons were threatening to pop, even though they were tightly fastened. “But you better behave.”

“I’m not going to try to seduce you.” In spite of how deeply she aroused him, he added, “I’m not interested in a woman who has her heart set on another man.”

“Darrin said that you wouldn’t waste your time on me.”

“And Darrin was right.” He lowered the top sheet. “Go on. Get comfy.”

She climbed in bed and lay there as stiff as a scared-shitless board. If he wasn’t so attracted to her, he would have laughed. But at the moment, he was all out of jokes. Heaven help him, but he wanted to seduce her. He imagined fucking her lovely little brains out.

As hard as he could.

Chapter Three

As Nicholas positioned himself above Marie, she dug her nails into the bed. This was way too intimate, his body way too close to hers. She had a notion to push him away, to tell him
not
to feed. But if she stopped him, she would lose her wish.

“I want Keith to propose,” she said, reinforcing it to herself.

“I know what you want.”

“I just needed to repeat it.”

“To be sure this is worth it?”

“Yes.”

“Your wish will come true. A gen-vamp-generated wish always comes true.”

“I know. “

“Should I proceed then?”

“Yes,” she replied again.

Just then, his hazel eyes turned a vivid shade of green, mirroring the center stone in the bracelet and giving him an unearthly appearance. Mesmerized by the shimmering effect, she struggled to breathe.

His fangs popped out, heightening the tension. His body was big and muscular, his skin cool to the touch. Not that she was touching him, not purposely, anyway.

“Move your hair out of the way,” he said.

Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, she did what he asked, giving him a clear path to her neck.

“Thank you. That was very accommodating.”

Was he mocking her? “Don’t tease me, not now.”

When he pierced her flesh, she yipped. His bite stung, just as she’d assumed it would. He didn’t apologize, but she didn’t expect him to.

The drugged/drunk sensation pulsed through her veins quickly. The more he drank, the more stoned she got. She even got a crazy urge to tug him closer. She fought it, though. She knew better than to encourage him.

Still…

“Oh, my,” she said, her voice sloppier than she would have liked. “Is it supposed to feel
this
good?”

He stopped to respond. “That depends on what
this
means.” He licked the wound, up and down and all around. “It isn’t supposed to be a sexual high.”

“I didn’t say it was sexual.”

“So it isn’t affecting your libido?”

Yes? No? Maybe? “Quit doing that.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m doing?”

Wrong? Everything. She envisioned him tasting a woman between her legs in the same sensual manner. “You’re trying to turn me on.”

“I am not.”

“Liar.”

“All I’m doing is feeding.”

“You’re playing. You’re having fun at my expense.” She struggled to keep her hips still, to not thrust against his.

“I can’t help it if you’re attracted to me.”

“So you’re handsome. So what? I’m going to get engaged to Keith.”

“Because of me and my magic.”

“Shut up, Nicholas. Shut up and drink.”

He took one last long naughty lick. Then he sucked as much blood from her neck as he was allowed to take. Or so she assumed. She had no idea what he was actually doing. If he drained her dry, she wouldn’t know the difference. She was stoned off her ass.

“You can’t kill me,” she said, reassuring herself that she was going to survive this and not really caring if she did.

He didn’t reply. He just kept drinking.

The euphoria continued. Every time his fangs went deeper, it hit her like a shot of tequila, with an injection of a narcotic on the side. “When my appendix burst, they gave me morphine after the surgery.”

He remained silent. Still drinking.

“I’m getting way too high,” she said. Yet she wanted him to keep going, the sensation wild and exciting.

Finally, Nicholas ceased his zealous feeding. But that didn’t help her cause. She could barely move. Her muscles had gone ridiculously lax. He sat up and retracted his fangs. His eyes returned to their natural color.

Marie tried to sit forward, but wasn’t able to manage it. Then again, she never could hold her liquor. Medication always knocked her for a loop, too. Not just morphine, but even things as mild as over-the-counter cough syrup. Was it any wonder that she couldn’t handle a gen-vamp’s bite?

“So,” he said. “Your appendix burst?”

Sluggish, she nodded.

“When?”

“About three years ago.” Or was it four? No, it was three.

“Do you have a scar from the surgery?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

Without thinking, she lifted the hem of her blouse.

“You healed nicely.” He ran a finger along the pale line.

His touch incited a series of tingling little tremors. Even in her stupor, she knew that he was taking advantage of her intoxication. “
Don’t
.”

“Don’t what?”

“Touch me like that.”

“It’s just a scar.”

“It’s my skin.”

“I just drank your blood. What’s a little skin between friends?”

She considered the way he’d licked her neck. He wasn’t her friend. “Go away and leave me alone. I need to feel better.”

“Do you have any orange juice in the fridge? That will help.”

“Yes. But I don’t think I’d make it to the kitchen without stumbling.”

“I’ll get it for you.”

“Now you’re playing nursemaid?”

“It’s the least I can do.”

He left the room, and she cursed the predicament she’d gotten herself into. But in the end, it would be worth it. She would be engaged to Keith, and then she could start planning the wedding. She was certain that Keith would agree to have the ceremony in a ranch-type setting. He loved the country as much as she did.

Nicholas returned with a glass of orange juice. He set it on the nightstand and helped her to an upright position. She had little choice but to thank him. He was being surprisingly gentle. He handed her the juice, and she sipped slowly. It took a while to recover, but eventually she felt normal again.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much.”

“I’ve never seen anyone get as tipsy as you did from a feeding. Good thing you were in bed, huh?”

She nodded. She was still in bed. So was he, seated next to her, and making a cozy pest of himself. Particularly when he said, “Should we discuss our sex lives now?”

Goodness, gracious. She adamantly replied, “No.”

He didn’t listen. Instead he announced, “Simone isn’t just my lover, she was Anthony’s lover, too, before he became mortal.”

Her jaw went slack. “You shared her?”

“Not at the same time. We were too territorial for that. But it was still a little strange, having the same lover as my brother. Simone made us into vampires because she’d lost her previous companions and we reminded her of them.”

“Were they killed by a genie?” Marie knew there were two types of genie rulers, the type that killed vampires to gain power and the type, like Mathieu, who saved them from being killed and turned them into hybrids, also to gain power.

“Yeah, they were staked. She’d been with them for centuries. Anthony and I were poor substitutes, considering how we all became gen-vamps so soon after Simone turned us. We’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to keep seeing each other, though. I would’ve missed by brother, and I would’ve missed Simone, too. Of course she can be difficult, especially when she’s obsessing about Mathieu and how much she hates him.”

“When I was little, I pictured Mathieu looking like a gnarled old warlock. Is that how he looks?” Even after all these years, she’d never asked Darrin to describe him and he’d never offered.

“Are you kidding? That prick is fucking handsome: tall, dark, and strapping. He’s not young, by any means. He’s thousands of years old, but he appears youthful.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No shit.” Nicholas made a tight face.

“I suppose he has a magnificent castle, too?”

“I’ve only seen the jewelry room. That’s where he brought us after he turned us into gen-vamps and before he auctioned us to our first owner. But that room was pretty damned spectacular, so I can only imagine what the rest of his castle is like. And from what I’ve heard, he has a harem full of beautiful slave girls, too. Lucky bastard.”

Marie raised her eyebrows.

“What?” he asked.

“That kind of talk isn’t going to win you a woman.”

“It will if it’s a woman who enjoys a bit of bondage”

She could do little more than blink. “You’re into that depraved stuff?” She should have known he was kinky. He was too damned sinful not to be.

“Simone got me into it. And it isn’t depraved. It’s sexy and fun.” He paused, smiled. “You’d be a kick to restrain.

A kick? She considered giving him a swift one, right in the-you-know-where. “I’d fight you tooth and nail.”

“Really? Well, guess what? That would turn me on. You scratching and clawing.”