"Vasile!" she begged. Her nails dug into his neck, and the scent of his blood cracked his restraint.

"Now." As he thrust into her, he swooped down upon her, puncturing her skin with his fangs. She gasped and arched, pushing his fangs in deeper, clenching his shaft with her p.u.s.s.y. Her taste burst in his mouth, and he exploded inside her, his shoulders shuddering with the force of his o.r.g.a.s.m, while she writhed against the wall, a high-pitched sound coming from her lips, her body convulsing.

"Yes." Carly stilled, her limbs hanging limp and lifeless, her lips curled dreamily upward. "Take what you need from me." She petted the back of his head, her tender touch comforting.

Vasile fed greedily upon her, taking her lifeblood into him, her warmth heating his stomach. He'd lived for centuries and had never tasted a flavor like hers. It was addictive, exquisite, without equal.

He yearned to drain her dry, fill her with his blood, and turn her, making her eternally his. He couldn't. Not yet. Not without her consent. He forced himself to withdraw, and he licked her wound closed, leaving no marks on her perfect neck.

Unlike that b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the club, the vampire sent by his sick-a.s.s enemy, Kerrick. Vasile growled softly. He'd been lenient, as the fledging hadn't known Carly was his, but she was now marked, and her thoughts blocked from others. The next vampire daring to harm her would die.

She was his. He held Carly, reluctant to release her, his c.o.c.k remaining in her p.u.s.s.y, his hands cupping her spectacular a.s.s.

Carly wiggled, tormenting his already over-stimulated body. "You're still hard."

He pushed deeper inside her and grinned. "I am a vampire. Feeding prolongs my performance."

"Vampire, huh?" Her smile held disbelief, and he stared at her, his humor dissipating. He had fed from her, taken her blood, and she continued to doubt him? "We'll see about that."

She reached out with one hand and smacked the b.u.t.ton to raise the shutters. Vasile's brain froze. She hadn't. She wouldn't. A beam of light streaked across the room, burning the palm of his hand.

"f.u.c.k!" He dropped his wide-eyed beloved and jumped into the closet, slamming the door behind him. "Are you trying to kill me, woman?" he roared. Sweet Mary. He clasped his wrist, waving his hand in the air. That hurt like a son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h.

"It burned you," her voice lilted with wonder. "The sunlight burned you. Why would it --"

"Because I'm a G.o.dd.a.m.n vampire!" he bellowed. "Close the f.u.c.kin' shutters before I burst into flames."

He heard a slap of flesh on the wall and a humming. "Okay, they're closed. There's no need to be snappy with me. How was I to know you were a real vampire?"

"Because I told you multiple times, and I fed from you. Didn't you feel me feeding from you? Didn't you tell me to take what I needed?" Vasile rested his head against the closet door, too angry to face her. She hadn't believed him because she didn't believe anything he said. She didn't trust him, and she certainly didn't care about him.

f.u.c.k. He closed his eyes. Eternity was a long, long time.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice thin and watery. "I'll leave now."

Like h.e.l.l she would! "You are not going anywhere." He burst out of the closet. She straightened, her red dress in her hands, her brown eyes shimmering with tears. "Kerrick's men will know who you are." He yanked at the garment. "And..." He winced as pain shot through his palm. "f.u.c.k."

"Let me see your hand." She grabbed his arm. "Oh, man. Oh, man." She covered her mouth as she stared at his palm. His flesh bubbled with angry red blisters, looking as bad as it felt. "We have to go to the hospital."

"I'll heal." The burn was slowly fading, the blisters flattening, the pain easing.

"You are healing quickly... because you're a vampire." She caressed the pink edges of his wound. "I almost killed you. I didn't mean to. I just..." She didn't look at him, her blonde head bent.

"...didn't believe me," he finished. That hurt even more than his burn. What did he have to do to earn her trust?

"It's habit, I'm afraid." Carly gave him a sad smile that made Vasile want to kill someone. "And it isn't anything personal. I've been disappointed too many times by too many people... friends, lovers." She waved her hand as though to dismiss the past. "I don't believe anyone anymore."

"But you believed once," Vasile pressed. She needed to talk about this.

"I believed once," she agreed. "When I was young."

"When you were a child." He rubbed his undamaged hand along her arm, wishing he could carry her pain for her. "Tell me about it."

She looked over his shoulder, her gaze fixed on the stairs. "Read my thoughts."

He had. "I want you to tell me."

Carly didn't say anything. She didn't look at him. She didn't touch him. Vasile waited. She inhaled deeply, held her breath, counted to ten, and exhaled.

"My parents divorced when I was young," she shared, her voice soft. "I was supposed to spend weekends with my dad, and every Thursday, he'd call me, telling me he'd pick me up on Friday after work. He'd have the most wonderful plans." Her face lit up.

"Fanciful activities like a day in the park, ice cream, and pony rides. I'd get so excited." Her body vibrated with happiness. "I'd pack my nicest clothes into a little suitcase. I'd wear my prettiest princess dress. I wouldn't even take my favorite dolly because I wanted all of my dad's attention to myself. Then I'd sit on the stairs." She glanced at the stairs behind him, her smile fading.

"And I'd wait and wait and wait. It'd get dark, and my mom would make me dinner, but I refused to eat because I knew..." She took another deep breath, her chest rising and falling. "I knew this time he'd come for me as he had promised."

Vasile pulled her into his arms. "And he never did." He wanted to kill her a.s.shole of a father also. He held her as she trembled, raw, vivid emotion shaking her body. "He was human, Carly. All of the others were human also. I'm not."

She looked up, meeting his gaze. "You're a vampire." She touched his mouth and he parted his lips, revealing his fangs.

"Vampires don't break promises?" She tilted her head, her blonde hair flowing down her back.

He didn't. "Not to our beloveds." Vasile tapped the tip of her nose, and she blinked. "Once we're bonded, you'll be able to read my thoughts as I now read yours." He'd keep his thoughts open to Carly, rea.s.suring her.

"And I'd kick your a.s.s for lying." She grinned. "Is that what I am?" Her smile wavered. "Your beloved?"

"Yes." He nodded gravely. Never thinking he'd find his beloved, he'd told himself he was happy with his playboy lifestyle. He'd lied, and Carly had shown him that truth. "You're the only woman I'll love for all eternity." Doubt flickered in her brown eyes. "There's no divorce for vampires. We're not human," he emphasized.

"You're not human. You're a vampire. You have different rules," she repeated like a mantra to herself. "You won't ever break a promise to me."

"I won't." He vowed he never would, no matter what the price.

Chapter Three.

He was a vampire. She sat on the stairs, clad in her stained red dress, and hugged her knees to her chest. They'd f.u.c.ked and slept and f.u.c.ked some more, spending the day in his locked-down home.

Because he was a vampire.

"You'll stay inside. You won't answer the door." Vasile paced back and forth in front of her, issuing orders. "I'll return before sunrise."

Before sunrise... because he was a vampire. Vampires didn't break promises. They didn't lie to their beloveds, and she was Vasile's beloved.

"Or I could go with you." She felt powerless without her phone, her purse misplaced at the club, and she didn't want to leave his side. "Your vampire buddy, Kerrick, won't attack me in your own club." A dark foreboding dread swirled low in her stomach.

Vasile paused his pacing and glared down at her. "One of his men bit you in my club. You'll remain here." He pointed at the floor.

"Okie dokie. I'll sit on the stairs and wait for you." She leaned back, supporting her torso with her elbows. "Lord knows I have years of experience in that." She frowned, her mood childishly sullen.

His hard face softened. "I'll be back."

She wanted to believe him. "Because you're a vampire, and the sun will fry your a.s.s."

"Because I say I will." Vasile knelt before her, his dark, serious eyes level with hers. "And because I'll miss you." He slid his hands underneath her dress, along her bare thighs, and she caught her breath. Pa.s.sion unfurled inside her, smothering her sense of impending doom.

"I'll miss your touch." He stroked into her wetness with his long, slender fingers, caressing her tender folds, and she spread her legs wider, giving him access to all of her.

"I'll miss your taste." Vasile extended his long, wicked tongue and lowered upon her slowly, slowly, every inch escalating her antic.i.p.ation, her heart beating faster and faster. He flicked her c.l.i.t with his tongue, and her hips jerked, the contact electric.

"You taste like me." He licked along her p.u.s.s.y lips, tasting, tormenting, flattening his tongue against her flesh, and she trembled, lost in his touch. No other man made her feel like this, only her vampire, her beloved.

He nibbled on her, his lips firm and determined, and he spread his fingers over her skin possessively. "Yes." She clutched him to her, mussing his black hair. "Vasile." He pushed his tongue into her p.u.s.s.y, stroking her inner walls and teasing her c.l.i.t with his nose.

He pressed farther into her, lapping up her juices, and the boisterous sounds of his feeding thrilled her. The rough rub of his tongue against her sensitive flesh coiled the bonds of desire around her tighter and tighter until she writhed and shook, trying to break free. He wouldn't allow her escape, holding her securely, his bruising grip adding an arousing pain to her pleasure.

"Vasile, please," she pleaded, tugging at his hair, driven mad with desire. All she knew was him, his mouth, his hands, his body pinning her hips against the hard staircase. "I can't."

He looked up at her, his eyes knowing. "Can't you?" His head dipped once more, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d showing her no mercy. He covered her c.l.i.t with his mouth and sucked.

Her world exploded, and she screamed, flinging herself upward. A pain jabbed through her right inner thigh. His fangs pushed inside her. Vasile rubbed her c.l.i.t with his thumb, prolonging her seemingly never-ending o.r.g.a.s.m, as he fed, feasted on her blood.

The room spun around her, her body pulsing in time with his gentle tugs, and she held onto Vasile, depending on him to keep her safe, to uphold his promise, to not break her heart.

"You'll be back before sunrise," she murmured, rea.s.suring herself.

Vasile pulled away, his lips covered with her blood and juices. "I'll be back." He licked her wound closed and tugged the hem of her dress back down. "You'll wait for me."

It wasn't a question, it was a command, but she answered anyway. "Yes."

He reached into his jacket pocket. "Here's my phone." Vasile placed the sleek black model in her palms. "Call the club if you need anything."

Carly stared at him with wonder. "You're giving me your phone?" She clicked it open and caressed the b.u.t.tons. Phones held address books, old texts, and secrets. He was entrusting her with his secrets.

He frowned. "What type of secrets did you keep in your lost phone?"

She frowned back, her good mood vanishing. "Secrets?" She played dumb, knowing all her personal information was in that phone, and she'd carelessly lost it.

He curled his fingers into fists. "Don't lie to me, Carly."

She couldn't lie to him and that irked her. "How many times do I have to tell you?" She covered her guilt with anger. "Stop reading my mind! It is an invasion of privacy."

He glared at her, his eyes glowing with burning red embers. "And how many times do I have to tell you? I'm a G.o.dd.a.m.n vampire. Get used to your privacy being invaded."

Having delivered that arrogant statement, he grabbed his keys off the hallway table and blasted out the door, the heavy-duty locks clicking into place behind him.

Carly raised the phone, preparing to throw it at the door. She hesitated. A broken phone would leave her with hours to kill and nothing to do. She lowered her hand. Plus if he could read her mind, she could d.a.m.n well read his past texts. Fair's fair.

She scrolled through the sent texts, intent on finding information to embarra.s.s Mr. High and Mighty with. The bar needed more whiskey. Boring. Some person named Mele needed to change shifts. Boring. Frey wanted him to call. Boring.

She rolled her eyes. Vasile was a vampire. Where was all the supernatural stuff? The blood and gore and wild s.e.x orgies? Her texts had more action than his did.

As she searched his address book, Carly wandered around Vasile's big, empty, antique-filled house. His place, complete with an impressive, pool table-dominated man cave, was crammed with collections of manly-man stuff from the past two centuries. His contact list consisted of half a dozen staffers from the club.

Others depended on Vasile. They trusted him to do what he said he would do. He didn't have any deep, dark secrets, other than being a blood-sucking creature of the night. Her handsome vampire was boring and reliable. A warmth spread up Carly's body. He might, just might, keep his promises.

And if he did that, she took a deep breath, she might, just might, allow herself to love him.

Cheered by that prospect, Carly trekked upstairs and crawled into Vasile's huge, pimp daddy bed, surrounding herself with sheets smelling of him, her beloved. She texted her friend, Perla, nonsense until her brain quieted, and she fell asleep, dreaming of a future with a grim, handsome vampire.

Carly woke to the rapping of knuckles against wood. She wandered downstairs, following the noise, and she peeked out the peephole. A red-rimmed eye filled her view. Holy s.h.i.t. The knocking continued, and she looked again, recognizing him. It was the vampire from the club, the one who had bitten her.

Kerrick's man. Why would one of Kerrick's men be at Vasile's door? The two factions hated each other.

The knocking grew louder, more insistent. Don't answer the door. Carly stepped back. That was one of Vasile's many rules.

The vampire wasn't giving up. Flesh slammed against wood, and the door shuddered. s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t. He was trying to break in. She was alone, and he was a vampire. Carly shivered, her stomach twisting with fear. Oh, G.o.d. She was going to die.

No. Stay calm. Vasile said he'd be back before sunrise. She checked her watch. It was almost sunrise. The door was solid. It should hold.

Carly looked around her, and her gaze landed on the windows -- windows made of thin, fragile gla.s.s. She smacked the b.u.t.ton for the shutters, wincing at the loud hum as they closed.

"The windows!" the vampire yelled.

Who was he yelling at? Oh, G.o.d. There must be more of them.

Palms slapped on the shutters, the a.s.sault coming from all around her. Carly pivoted on her bare feet, horrified. There were so many of them. Wood splintered. The shutters shook. Gla.s.s broke. s.h.i.t. Bloodthirsty vampires surrounded the house.

She phoned the club and got voice mail. The club was closed. Vasile would be returning home.

But even if Vasile arrived in time, he couldn't fight them alone. He'd need her help. She rushed down the hallway. Think, Carly. What kills vampires? She had no control over where the sun shone. Vasile, being a vampire himself, wouldn't have holy water, garlic or crosses in his home.

Stakes, she'd use wooden stakes.

Carly rushed to the back of the house to Vasile's man cave. The pool table was antique, and the cues were works of art. It was a shame, what she had to do. "I'm sorry, Vasile," she murmured, swinging a cue with both hands, snapping the stick over the side of the table and shattering it in two. She collected the pieces and tapped her thumbs on the jagged ends, testing their sharpness. "Perfect."

She split the remaining cues and tucked the makeshift stakes under her arm. Loaded down with weapons, Carly returned to where Vasile had instructed her to wait, prepared to do battle with the undead.

Chapter Four.