However, there was one thing she had to do first: she needed to call her parents to tell them she was all right and that she would be home soon. One short phone call, only for a few seconds, that's all she needed. Short enough that n.o.body could trace it back to Oliver's house.

But since Oliver had removed the phone from her room, she had to find another one. Maybe he kept a spare one somewhere. If not, she would have to venture downstairs once he was asleep and try the library or the kitchen. Didn't everybody have a phone in the kitchen?

Ursula reached for the remote and switched on the TV, turning up the volume so the sound masked her own actions. She was fully aware that vampires had excellent hearing, sharper than that of any human. Let him think she was watching TV.

While a dull infomercial about the latest weight loss drug droned from the monitor, she explored the bedroom.

Thoroughly, she went about her search, not leaving a single corner untouched. However, her hopes were quickly dashed: no computer with internet access, no old cell phone, no spare phone she could plug into the wall jack. What he had in abundance were music CDs and a large collection of movies on DVD.

If she didn't know any better, she would have imagined this room belonged to a perfectly normal man, a human man, not a vampire. Everything looked so decidedly . . . normal.

Not that she had ever been in a vampire's bedroom before. Even though she knew that most of the vampire guards lived in the same building that she'd been imprisoned in, she had never been to the lower floors where their quarters were located.

Disappointed that she had found nothing useful, she plopped onto the bed, propping the two pillows behind her back, and started flicking through the channels. When she turned her head, she inhaled a heady scent: masculine, strong, appealing. She recognized that smell: it was the same way Oliver had smelled when she'd kissed him. It did something to her. It made her want to touch herself to find release. d.a.m.n it, but she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't touch herself, because she was turned on by the scent of a vampire!

Shame coursed through her at the mere thought of it. No, she would not sink that low, no matter how long she'd not felt any s.e.xual satisfaction. Even though she wasn't shackled any longer, she would not give into her desires now. Soon she would be truly free. Then she could begin to live again.

Ursula closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to think of other things. Of going back to college to finish her education, of finally seeing her parents again. Of going out to movies with friends, of family gatherings, of trips to the beach. Things any normal young woman wanted. Things that had been stolen from her.

With a sigh, she relaxed into the pillows and pulled one corner of the blanket over her lower body to ward off the chill she suddenly felt. Tiredness crept up her legs and settled in her belly. Maybe she would just nap for a few minutes. Only to gain her strength back.

Ursula jerked up to a sitting position. For a second she didn't know where she was, but then it all came back to her. It hadn't been a dream.

"Good morning," a male voice said, making her heart stop and her head spin in the direction it came from.

Relief took two more seconds to set in when she realized that a news caster on TV had spoken the words, greeting his viewers as he started one of the local morning shows.

Jumping up from bed, she ran to the window, pushing the heavy drapes aside. When she looked outside, she realized that even though it was already daylight, not much of it penetrated the window pane. She focused her eyes on the gla.s.s and noticed that a thin colored film was over it, which appeared to limit the amount of sunlight entering the room. She wondered whether this film worked like a sun block, even though it wasn't dark enough to block out all rays like a black cover would have done. Was it maybe reflective on the other side, thus diverting sunlight like a mirror?

Well, it didn't matter to her. It was time to get ready. She had to stalk downstairs and find a phone.

Nervousness made her mouth feel parched. To find relief, she marched into the bathroom and gulped down a mouth full of water from the faucet, then stared at herself in the mirror. The puffiness around her eyes had waned and n.o.body would ever know that she'd cried. Why that made her feel better, she didn't know. It wasn't like she cared about a vampire's opinion of her.

Leaving the TV on to provide cover for any noise she made, she carefully turned the door k.n.o.b and eased the door to the hallway open. The light was dim. Only one small wall sconce provided light at the opposite end. The floor below seemed to be dark.

Having a.s.sured herself that n.o.body guarded her door, she snuck outside and silently shut the bedroom door behind her. Taking caution to tread lightly, she walked toward the staircase. The plush rug underneath her shoes provided sufficient cushioning to absorb the sound of her footsteps.

When she reached the head of the stairs, she gripped the railing then eased one foot lower, then the next, careful not to trip. As she descended, leaving the third floor behind her, it got darker. As she had guessed, no lights were turned on on this floor. She could only see a faint shimmer of light coming up from the first floor, most likely from the light in the entrance hall.

When she set her foot on the last step, reaching the second floor, she continued to use the handrail for guidance. Halfway there, she encouraged herself.

The house was quiet. Oliver was probably sleeping. And Blake, even if he was awake, didn't have the kind of hearing a vampire possessed. If she remained quiet and breathed only shallow breaths, he would never hear her.

A few more steps and she would reach the top of the last flight of stairs.

"Leaving us so soon?"

Her breath hitched, and her heart skipped a couple of beats. Then Oliver's hands were on her, forcing her away from the stairs. Within a fraction of a second, she found herself pressed against the wall, his body and arms forming a cage around her she couldn't escape from.

Seconds pa.s.sed with n.o.body speaking.

"Speechless?" he mocked.

"I . . . " She hated that he was right. No words came from her throat as her brain still dealt with the shock of being caught. Or maybe it was the shock of feeling his body so close to hers.

"Ursula, Ursula . . . " He shook his head as his hand moved to her face to brush a strand of her black hair out of her face. "What an unusual name for a Chinese girl. Is it even your name?"

Defiantly she thrust her chin up. "My father was a big fan of Ursula Andress. And there's no law saying I have to have a Chinese name because I'm Chinese." Even though she did, of course. Her middle name was Chinese, and all her relatives called her by her Chinese, not her western name.

"I see your father has great taste in women."

"I'm surprised you know who she is."

"She was a Bond girl."

Ursula had seen the many DVDs Oliver owned, but she hadn't bothered looking through them to find out what he was interested in. Apparently he liked 007.

"Now let me go." She pushed against him, but he didn't give an inch.

"No."

Angry at his refusal, she pressed her lips together.

He laughed softly. "You really thought you could sneak out of the house without me noticing?"

She decided not to correct him. There was no need for him to find out she was trying to call her parents.

"I thought you'd lived with vampires for the last few years. Didn't that teach you anything about us? Our skills?"

His head came closer. "Our desires?"

She swallowed hard at his insinuation, but at the same time she was unable to break eye contact. His blue eyes looked at her with such intensity that she felt paralyzed.

"Yes," he said even more softly, "especially our desires."

His gaze dropped to her lips, and just by doing so, he made them tremble.

"Do you remember our kiss?" He didn't wait for an answer, not that she had the strength to give one. "When I close my eyes, I can still feel your lips on mine."

She sucked in a breath, and the subsequent expansion of her chest caused her nipples to brush against his hard chest. His eyes instantly widened before he responded by pressing his body harder against hers.

"And I remember what you offered me."

Finally she found her voice again. "I'll never sleep with a vampire!"

He lowered his lids so quickly, she couldn't see his reaction to her words. "I figured that much. But tell me, if I were human, would you have slept with me?"

She gasped at his bold question. "That's not aa""

"Just answer the question," he interrupted. "If we had met under other circ.u.mstances, and if I were still human, would you have done more than just kiss me? Would you have gone to bed with me?"

She turned her head away to escape his penetrating eyes, but his hand on her chin forced her head back to look at him.

Would she have slept with him? Ursula studied his handsome features, his stubborn chin, his large nose, and strong eyebrows. She tried not to look at his lips, but they were hard to avoid. Yes, had they met on a university campus or been introduced at a party, she would have dated him, taken him back to her dorm room and stripped him naked. But this was not how it had happened.

She shook her head. "No!"

"Liar," he whispered without malice. "My pretty little liar. How much I wish right now to still be human."

Frozen in place, she watched his lips approach. When they touched hers, it seemed without haste, almost as if he was giving her time to pull back. Yet she couldn't escape the growing need inside her, even though she didn't want to admit it to herself. She wanted to feel his lips again.

When his mouth pressed more firmly against hers, she tilted her head and parted her lips. A low groan came from Oliver's throat and bounced against her. Then his tongue stroked over her lips before dipping inside her.

She'd never felt anything so soft and . . . gentle, almost as if he was afraid of scaring or hurting her. But the only thing that scared her more than his kiss was her reaction to it. If he asked her now whether she would have slept with him, her answer would be a resounding yes. Luckily, he was too busy kissing her to ask any more questions.

14.

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, he was kissing Ursula. But this time, he enjoyed it even more than the first time. Taking his time, Oliver coaxed her into the kiss with gentle, teasing strokes. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off. It would be challenging enough to get her to trust him and look past the fact that he was the very creature she hated. Therefore, he would play against type: be gentle instead of demanding, tender instead of aggressive, and soft instead hard.

Well, maybe not the latter: it was physically impossible as he could already feel. Because he was hard, rock hard. The moment he'd seen her contemplate his question whether she would sleep with him if he were human, blood had shot into his c.o.c.k and made it swell.

Despite his resolution not to come across as demanding and aggressive, Oliver ground his hips against her belly, pressing her harder against the wall. Everything male in him wanted to make her aware of his need. When she acknowledged the fact that she felt his erection with a low moan, he wanted to howl. But instead of intensifying his kiss, he held onto his control with every fiber of his being.

Easy, he cautioned himself.

His hand combed through her silken hair, the texture of it soft yet strong and perfectly straight. As he continued to delve into the warm cavern of her mouth and dance seductively with her, his thumb stroked along the plump vein on her neck. It pulsed under his caress, calling to him. He ignored that particular need, knowing that he couldn't go there: if he bit her, she would never sleep with him, and right now, his need to feel his body joined with hers was stronger than his craving for blood. Much stronger.

In fact, his desire to have s.e.x with her nearly completely drowned out his need for blood. Nothing had ever managed to do that. Ever since he'd become a vampire two months earlier, he hadn't even felt the need for s.e.x, because his craving for blood had overshadowed everything. His few trips to Vera's brothel hada"common to contrary beliefa"not been for the purpose of s.e.x. Rather he'd gone there for the company.

When he felt Ursula shove one hand into his hair and caress his nape with the other, a shiver raced down his spine. He ripped his lips from hers, taking a much needed breath of air.

"Oh G.o.d, baby!"

Then he sank his lips onto her neck and planted open-mouthed kisses onto her hot skin.

"So beautiful," he murmured, and slid one hand down her torso.

When he encountered her braless breast and cupped it, Ursula let out a sigh. Then a breathless word came from her lips. "Yes."

Both man and vampire in him howled triumphantly. He nibbled his way to her earlobe, while continuing to tease her breast, his fingers capturing her hardened nipple through the fabric. With every moment, her breathing became more erratic, her heartbeat faster. Her scent changed: the sweet smell of arousal now teased his nostrils, awakening the vampire inside him. But he couldn't allow the beast to come to the surface. Too much depended on how she perceived him, and unleashing his untamed side would only destroy what progress he'd made so far.

After all, Ursula was responding to him, clearly forgetting that she was kissing a vampire and allowing him to touch her intimately. Allowing him to arouse her. Just like she aroused him. He didn't want to destroy this feeling by reminding her of what he was: a predator.

Her body felt pliable in his arms, precious even. Maybe knowing what she'd been through in her short life was the reason why he felt protective toward her. There could be no other reason for it. As for the l.u.s.t she roused in him, the reason for it was undeniable: Ursula was the most enticing woman he'd ever met. Beautiful and exotic, strong and determined, and so pa.s.sionate. Her s.e.xual energy was impossible to overlook. It seemed to radiate from every pore of her tantalizing body. How a man could ever look at her and not be instantly tempted to haul her off to his bed was unfathomable to him.

At the thought, he felt a sharp stab in his chest, as if somebody were poking him with a blade. Reminded of how Blake had looked at her earlier, how he'd tried to use hisa"admittedly considerablea"charm on her, drove Oliver to press his lips back onto hers to sear them with a kiss that he hoped would make her forget that his half-brother even existed.

Yes, he had to make sure Ursula only looked at him, only offered her sinful body to him. Tangling with her tongue, he captured more of her sweet taste, inhaled more of her scent. Like a coc.o.o.n, it wrapped around him, just like her arms embraced him, holding him close to her.

Releasing her lips, he issued his demand, "Touch me."

Without missing a beat, her eyes still closed, her hands slid down to his a.s.s.

"My c.o.c.k, touch my c.o.c.k."

He pulled one of her hands from his backside and drew back just enough for her to slide her hand between them. When her warm palm cupped his straining hard-on a second later, he groaned loudly and sank his lips back on her neck, kissing her heated flesh.

"Yes, baby!" he encouraged her.

A bolt of electricity shot through him when she squeezed him. Instinctively, he pressed himself harder into her hand, asking her for more, demanding she repeat her action.

She did.

The pleasure she gave him with her touch was building with every stroke and every caress of her hand. Like an experienced temptress, Ursula traced the length of his erection with her fingernails, chasing every sane thought from his mind.

"Like that?" she whispered, her voice as breathless as his own.

"Just like that," he mumbled against her skin, not wanting to remove his lips from her neck. He licked and nibbled, kissed and caressed purposely playful so as to keep himself from losing control. But he knew it was in vain. If she continued touching him like she did, he would have her naked underneath him in a short while. But was she ready for this? For him?

Or would she curse him when she came to her senses? Because he wasn't any better than the vampires who'd taken her blood and . . . Oh G.o.d, he couldn't even finish the thought of how else they had used her body. How could he, Oliver, dare to do the same?

Before he could answer the question for himself, he felt hands on his shoulders, ripping him away from Ursula. He stumbled backwards, crashing against the banister before he caught himself.

"What thea"?"

His last word was shoved back into his throat by Blake's fist landing in his face.

"f.u.c.king a.s.shole! You're biting her? Jerk!" Blake cursed and swung again.

But Oliver had already recovered and caught the fist flying toward him once more. With a practiced blow, he catapulted his interfering half-brother against the wall, then pinned him there.

"I didn't bite her, you idiot!" He tossed a sideways glance at Ursula, whose eyes had widened.

She shrunk back from him now, her hands nervously smoothing over her T-shirt. Her lips were swollen, her neck red from where he'd kissed her. Only now Oliver noticed that the overhead light in the corridor was on. Blake must have switched it on, and in his addled state, Oliver hadn't even noticed. His vampire senses had deserted him while kissing Ursula.

Blake followed his look, his eyes traveling over Ursula's body. "Then what . . . " He stopped himself. "Oh! Jesus, Oliver! You're still a jerk! After all she's been through?"

Sobering, Oliver let go of him. Blake was right, but he would never admit it to him. He sought eye contact with Ursula, but she avoided his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Ursula. I don't know what got into me." It was a lie. Yes, he was sorry, but he knew what had gotten into him: Ursula. She'd gotten under his skin. She'd awakened desires in him that he hadn't paid much attention to in his short life as a vampire. Was that why they were overwhelming him now, because he'd not stilled those desires in a while?