Then she looked at his face and realized something else.
His expression was completely feral. He was scanning her body, as though taking in the aftereffects of their encounter and when he looked up at her, his gaze was like a wild animal stalking prey…or lusting after its mate. His indigo eyes were narrowed to predatory slits and his mouth was open revealing two sets of double fangs so long and sharp they made Charlotte shiver. God, even with her secret vampire fetish, those things looked scary.
But scarier still was what might happen if she didn’t wash the aftermath of their little session off right now. Already she could feel the slippery cum trickling down into her pussy, almost as if it was looking for a way in.
“I…I better get washed up,” she whispered.
“Yes.” It was a wonder he could talk with his fangs that long. “Please do. Go. I fear…fear it is not safe for you here right now.”
“Not safe for me?” Charlie began backing away from him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
His eyes flashed. “Just go. I will…explain later if I can.”
She started to scramble off the bed but he raised a hand to stop her.
“Charlotte…”
“What?” She looked at him fearfully.
“Go slowly. Don’t run, don’t rush. It…arouses my instincts.”
“I…” She wasn’t sure what to make of that but she did as he said. Slowly she backed off the bed as Stavros watched her. She got the feeling the big Kindred was holding himself back in some way. He was laying there, rigid in the bed, his focus completely trained on her but he didn’t move a muscle.
Finally she reached the bathroom and shut herself in with a sigh of relief.
Oh my God, what did I do? And what almost just happened out there?
She didn’t have any answers but she knew what was going to happen in nine months or however long it took to have a Kindred baby if she didn’t get all his seed washed out of her.
Locking the door, she turned on the shower, praying that the hot water was back. She needed a long, hot shower before she could face Stavros again. And she’d need more than that before she could look in the mirror and face herself again.
Chapter Nineteen
Gods, what have I done? And what was I about to do?
Stavros sank back on the bed, trying to control the feral urges that rose in him. Part of him was shouting that he had to go after Charlotte—that he needed to bite her and bond her to him here and now. But he knew he couldn’t.
It’s just a natural result of letting her bite me, he told himself fiercely. My body is reacting to hers, that’s all. She’s my partner in this mission, not my bride. I don’t have the right to bite her. Seven Hells, I didn’t have the right to rub against her until we both came either. What’s wrong with me? I usually have more self control than this!
But it didn’t matter how much he lectured himself, the wild part inside him that craved a mate still growled that he had to go after her.
Stavros closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths. It was like trying to hold back a tidal wave but little by little he began to get control. He willed himself to be calm, to take control of his body and urges. Slowly the fierce need to claim and breed her—to make her his—began to die down.
I cannot take a mate, I am one of the Cursed, he reminded himself. Besides, Charlotte doesn’t even like me—or any Kindred for that matter. She’s only here to help save her planet. She doesn’t belong to me—we don’t belong together.
Then why did you feel her pleasure? whispered a little voice in his head. Why for the first time in your life did you feel a positive, pleasurable physical sensation instead of only negative, painful ones?
Stav opened his eyes. It was true and he couldn’t deny it. He’d never felt anything but pain before from anyone. But just now when they were rubbing against each other, he’d felt the razor’s edge of sensation growing inside her, the build of need and desire, the sparks along her skin—everything that had pushed her over the edge—and it had pushed him over too. He had never intended to do what he did, to move against her and drive them both to orgasm. But once that loop began—her pleasure feeding his and driving him to move harder and faster to give her more and more of what she craved—he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
Why can I feel her? Is it just because I’ve never let a female drink from me before?
He didn’t know. He only knew that Charlotte Sayers was different and special somehow. And judging from the horrified look she’d given him as she backed into the fresher, she was also scared to death right now. And even if she wasn’t, she was still completely off limits and out of his reach.
That didn’t stop him from wanting her.
With a low groan, he threw an arm across his eyes. What have I done? Oh Gods, what have I done and how can I ever undo it?
* * * * *
By the time she came out of the bathroom—after a hot shower and a long soak in the tub,(the hot water was back on, thank goodness)—it seemed that Stavros was asleep. At any rate, he had his back turned to her and he was taking long, slow, regular breaths that sounded like sleep.
The room was still freezing but luckily Charlie felt toasty warm. The big Kindred hadn’t been lying—his blood did have warming properties. Yeah, but there has to be a better way to keep from freezing to death than humping your partner, whispered a sarcastic little voice in her head. Charlie pushed it away. She’d had enough guilt for one night, thank you very much.
She was still nude and wished she could look in the magic cabinet and get something else to wear to bed but two things stopped her. One, she was afraid the soft glow might wake Stavros. Two, she thought it was probable she’d just end up with another one of those furry gowns. And after the first one had attempted to squeeze her to death, she wasn’t inclined to put another one on, even to avoid sleeping naked next to her partner.
As quietly as she could, she slid into bed beside him and snuggled under the blankets, being careful not to touch his broad, bare back. But just as she was getting comfortable with her head positioned on one of the weird sausage shaped bolsters they had for pillows here, he spoke.
“I am sorry if I frightened you,” he said in a low voice. “I did not mean to. My…instincts were aroused when you bit me.”
“Are they still aroused?” Charlie asked apprehensively. “And instincts to do what exactly?”
“To take you.”
“To take me?”
“To bite you and inject you with my essence.” He turned over and she saw the gleam of his eyes in the darkness. “To breed you and bond you to me at the same time.”
“Bond me to you—you mean permanently?” Charlie felt a cold chill go down her spine. That had been what Missy was afraid of—that permanent bond which could never be severed. It was like trap you could never get out of. “I…I could never…I mean…”
The horror she felt must have been clear in her voice—or maybe he had better night vision than her and could see it on her face. At any rate, his voice was extremely cold when he answered.
“You don’t need to fear that now. I have told you I can never take a bride. And I certainly wouldn’t take one against her will—the momentary instinct I felt was simply a result of you biting me.”
“But you told me to bite you,” Charlie protested. “Why did you tell me to do that if you knew it was going to make you go all feral and bitey yourself?”
He sighed. “I didn’t know. I have never…shared blood with a female before.”
“So…were you saving yourself or something?” Charlie asked, interested despite herself.
He shook his head, his long hair rustling against the pillow.
“No—as I said, it is part of calling a bride, which, as a Cursed One, I cannot do. And also because…”
“Yes?” she prompted when he paused a long time.
“Because no female of Tranq Prime would do such a thing—bite me here, where my mark is.” One large hand cam
e up to brush against his neck where she had bitten him. “My blood is considered unclean because of it.”
“It didn’t taste unclean. It tasted…amazing,” Charlie admitted. “Completely different from what I’d expected. It was so strong and wild and sweet—it almost made me feel drunk. I think…I’m pretty sure that’s why I acted the way I did. Which was…” She cleared her throat. “Very unprofessional of me.”
“It was my fault for offering you my blood in the first place,” he said in a low voice. “I should have guessed that it would arouse my instincts to breed and bond.”
“Well, we’ll just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Charlie said briskly. “We’ll forget about it and just go on with the mission.”
“Agreed,” he rumbled. “And now we should probably get some sleep. I think tomorrow if we have any time unsupervised, we should try to get to the inner circle.”
“The Circle of Oneness by the Heart? Good idea—the sooner the better.”
He nodded. “But for now we should try to get some sleep—it’s been a long night.”
“A very long night,” Charlie agreed.
He cleared his throat. “And…are you warm enough?”
“Still toasty. Your blood really did work miracles,” she said. “I guess I should be okay the rest of the time we’re here.”
“Well…” He cleared his throat. “The effects wear off, unfortunately. If you get cold in the night…”
“I’m not biting you again,” Charlie said flatly. “I think we agreed that’s a bad idea.”
“No, I was going to say if you need to draw warmth from me, you don’t need to fear. I will not…touch you inappropriately. I swear it.”
Since they had already been almost as inappropriate and unprofessional as it was possible to be that night, Charlie had to stop herself from laughing.
“Uh, yeah, thanks. I’ll keep it in mind,” she said dryly.
“Do that,” he said seriously. “Good night, Charlotte.”
Then he turned on his side, so that his broad back was facing her, and settled down to sleep.
Charlie tried to do the same but despite the physically and emotionally exhausting night she had already been through, it took a long time for sleep to claim her. When she finally drifted off, she had strange dreams. Not of the two headed monster that had haunted her dreams as a child—but of a pair of glowing red eyes, low to the ground, watching her from the corner.
Watching and waiting for something…only she didn’t know what.
Chapter Twenty
“Ahh, so now you sleep.” The unnaturally deep voice was muted as it came from the thin, liver-colored lips. Ur did not wish to wake his host—the host whose body had become a prison cell. Two was proving to be much stronger and more stubborn than he had hoped when he first invaded the Dark Kindred’s flesh. But even an opponent as formidable as Two had to sleep sometimes—or recharge, as the Enhanced Ones called it.
Two was currently in his docking station—a large upright metal shell that somewhat resembled a steel coffin stood on its end. It had plug-in ports to keep all of his many enhancements charged and functional, though he didn’t wear the exoskeleton armor most of the other Dark Kindred did.
It also gave access to all the information feeds Two was currently monitoring which was how Ur was able to view the scene through the eyes of the little spy-bot Two had somehow planted on the Kindred shuttle.
Unfortunately, he still wasn’t sure what the Sin Eater Kindred and the human female were up to. Near the end they had made some mention of “The Circle of Onenness” and “the Heart” whatever that was but no other explanation was forthcoming.
Ur had thought of alerting the authorities at the resort that they had imposters in their midst. From what he had learned as he gleaned information about J’lorgon’s Mind, the leaders there—the Joined Ones—would be extremely upset to learn that their sacred rituals were being thus profaned. The punishments for such acts were said to be severe.
But two things held him back. First, he still didn’t know what the Kindred and his female were up to—he wanted more concrete information on their plan before giving up their secret. And two, he did not wish to tip his hand too soon and let his host know what he was up to until he was ready. Right now, Two still thought that Ur was a completely helpless prisoner, unable to move or have any effect on anything outside the prison of Two’s mind.
Wouldn’t he be surprised to learn differently?
Slowly, Two’s left arm—long and ropey with muscle—lifted clear of the docking station. The left leg flexed at the knee. Then the left side of that thin, liver-colored mouth turned up in a sneering grin.
“Soon,” Ur whispered to himself. “Soon you will see, my host. Oh yes, soon you will see…”
Chapter Twenty-one
“What the hell are these things?” Charlie stared at her plate as she and Stavros sat down at their table beside Hsssthnk and Ssstha. She had thought the multicolored cha-cha balls for dinner were bad, but breakfast at the alien couples resort was even worse.
In order to get the food, they had gone through a line holding trays in a way that reminded her weirdly of a high school cafeteria. A pair of cheerful, translucent-skinned Hossans who seemed to be literally joined at the hip, had served them scoops of two different foods. One scoop consisted of long thin tubes that looked a little like penne pasta except they were purple and about twice as long. The other scoop was little orange balls the size of peas or a bit smaller.
“This is a traditional Hossan breakfast food,” Ssstha said. “Peenees and wees. We have them almost every morning here.”
“Peenees and wees? Seriously? How do you eat them?” Charlie looked down at the utensils she had been given—two pairs of long, thing tweezers that reminded her of forceps you saw surgeons using on medical dramas.
“The wees go up inside the peenees. In this manner.” Hsssthnk demonstrated, grasping a long thin purple tube with one pair of forceps and then using the other pair to delicately insert the bright orange wees into the opening at the end.
“That looks like it’s going to take forever,” Charlie objected. “But let me guess—you have to do it just exactly that way or it’ll taste like crap.”
“I do not know what ‘crap’ is,” Ssstha said. “But it will not be a pleasurable eating experience unless you prepare the peenees and wees for your partner exactly as you are supposed to.”
“Oh, so I’m making Stav’s breakfast and he’s making mine?” Charlie couldn’t say she was exactly surprised after their experience at dinner the night before.
“I’ve already made one for you. Here.” Stavros used one of his forceps to grasp the bulging purple tube he’d been working on and set it delicately down on her tray.
“Thanks. Here, let me just…” She worked at pushing the tiny orange pill things into the purple tubes. The result of her efforts wasn’t nearly as uniform and neat has his, but she picked it up and put it on his tray anyway. “There. Bon appetite.”
“Thank you.” Using his forceps, he lifted it and popped it into his mouth. Charlie did the same with the peenee-wee tube he had made for her.
She was hoping for the various different flavor combinations they’d had with the cha-cha balls but with her first bite, she was severely disappointed. The texture of the peenee was bland and chewy—like overcooked pasta. It was also cloyingly sweet with a flavor that reminded her a bit of a glazed donut. The wees, on the other hand, were juicy and crisp. They popped in her mouth when she bit into them, releasing a thin liquid that tasted like dill pickle juice.
“Ugh!” With some difficulty, Charlie finished chewing and swallowed. “Glazed donuts and dill pickles—not my favorite breakfast combination. Did a pregnant woman make this menu?”
Across from her, Stavros was chewing too. He swallowed with a look of distaste.
“I must agree. These flavors do not seem to go together at all.”
“You get used to them,” Ssstha said
philosophically.
“But they’re really strange,” Charlie protested. “Don’t they have anything else? I mean, it’s not like I expect a full Southern breakfast with biscuits and sausage gravy but I wouldn’t say no to some scrambled eggs right about now. Or oatmeal. Or anything else, really.”
Hsssthnk shook his head. “The Hossans consider this fare to be health food. They claim the peenees and wees promote good digestion, mental health, and emotional truthfulness.”
“All that from a donut-tasting pasta tube filled with dill pickle peas, huh?” Charlie muttered. “Huh. Guess I’ll wait and see what lunch is like.” She pushed her tray aside.
“No, no—you have to eat it all.” Ssstha looked alarmed. “If one of the Joined Ones sees that you have not finished your morning fare there could be…trouble.”
Charlie shivered at the thought of the Joined Ones. Though she knew damn well it was irrational to fear them, she couldn’t help thinking of her childhood nightmare every time she saw one.
“Come, Charlotte, let us just make the best of it,” Stavros rumbled. He had already made her another one of the stuffed tubes and laid it gently on her tray.
“Oh…all right,” Charlie grumped, pulling her tray towards her and beginning to stuff a long purple tube with the bright orange spheres. “But I didn’t know I had to be a member of the clean plate club to stay here.”
“It helps to talk of something else to distract your mind from the odd flavor combinations,” Ssstha said, smiling at her. “So tell me—did you sleep well last night? And did you wake with grace and light?”
“Umm…” Charlie nearly choked on the peenee-wee tube she’d just shoved in her mouth. The way she had actually woken up was plastered against Stavros’s side, naked as a jay bird. Apparently during the night the effects of his blood had worn off and she had gravitated to him as a source of heat.