Naughty Temptations

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

In a cold sweat, Serena bolted out of her chair and raced for the door. He was there before her, barring her way with a snarl in less time than it took for her scream to echo off the walls of the empty dining room.

She fell against his solid chest. His arms closed around her tightly, steadying her. He molded her softer form against his hard one, pressing her lower body against his so she could feel the hard, unyielding length of his full, raging erection that pressed remorselessly into her lower belly.

She struggled in his grasp. All vestiges of the teasing, appealing dinner date from earlier were gone. In his place stood a hungry, lethal being with sharp fangs. She barely recognized him. He was looking at her like she was his last meal before a long famine.

Her terror must have registered on her face. He recoiled from her frightened look, a ragged sound escaping his throat.

“No! Don’t be frightened of me, Serena,” he gritted, releasing her with clear reluctance. “I could never hurt you.”

She once again felt reassurance flowing from him into her. It was muzzy, to be sure, but it was real. He seemed to be using extreme self-control not to grab and physically restrain her. Or worse.

“Whatever you do, don’t run from me right now,” he growled thickly as she backed away from him. “It makes you seem like prey. When a vampire is in a state of bloodlust our instincts take over.”

She froze, rooted to the spot.

“Caden, listen to me. You have to let me go.” But instead of sounding calm and authoritative, her voice quavered.

He shook his head, as if dazed and trying to clear thoughts that were suddenly fuzzy. “What about your cousin? You need my help. You need me.”

She whispered, “I’ll find another way. Now let me pass. Please.”

“Can’t,” he answered a little unsteadily. “She’s vampire business now. Same as you. Can’t let you go…some other vamp will try to take you. And you’re mine. To protect. And now you’ll probably run like hell from me. How’s that for a stake to the heart?” He laughed mirthlessly.

Prowling unsteadily toward her, he stumbled. Something was very wrong. She opened up more with her feelings, letting him in willingly. She caught a blast of his inner struggle and realized at once he needed her help. The fear inside her drained away, only to be replaced by rushing concern for Caden. She took a step toward him before she could stop herself.

“You’re perspiring.” How could that be? His body temperature was always several degrees below hers. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I feel great,” he slurred. “Strong. Never better.”

He staggered a step in her direction as if in a daze, then crashed to his knees before her with a hiss, fangs out.

“Caden!” She could have used that moment to escape, but the thought never seriously entered her mind. Whatever was happening to make him behave this way, the snarling monster was not the real Caden Chase she’d come to know over the past months.

She sank down to the carpet lifting his head onto the cushion of her lap and stared down into his pained face. He gave her a trusting look and raised his hand to stroke her face.

“Oh, my God. Caden. You’re burning up with fever,” she exclaimed when she felt his burning palm on her cheek. “I don’t think vampires are supposed to have fevers!”

“So pretty. Want you. Mine…” Then his eyes rolled up in his head.

She struggled to remove his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt collar to cool him down. He shivered violently in her arms and then went abruptly still.

“Caden! No! Wake up. Wake up!”

She shook him but he didn’t move. She couldn’t tell if he was dead, or undead, or whatever the proper term was. He had no pulse, but then again he never had a pulse to begin with. What was she supposed to do?

The sound of a cell phone chirping nearby made her jump. The ringtone was coming from one of Caden’s jacket pockets. She fumbled through them and pulled out his cell just as the call went to voicemail.

It was Henrick according to the caller ID.

“Damn it!” She stabbed at the voicemail button and listened to the message.

“Hey, boss.” Henrick’s voice sounded tense. “We got Serena’s cousin out. She’s fine after we broke Garoul’s mind thrall on her. Asking a ton of questions. We’re on the way to the safe location, which means Garoul’s going to have a pretty lonely, rotten honeymoon. We’ll stay there until you call us. But heads up. Garoul figured out you’re behind the rescue. He’s pissed, and he’s got his crew with him. At least twelve vampires headed your way. Something tells me they might even be able to tear apart that high tech fortress you live in. Suggest you evacuate ASAP and join us until this blows over, sir. Over and out.”

The message ended, leaving her alone in the silent mansion with her dead or undead vampire date and an angry fang-gang practically on the doorstep.

She stared down at her vampire’s face, her fingers smoothing and caressing the hard planes of his cheeks, the clean lines of his square jaw. Her primary concern now that Zoe was safe was for Caden’s well-being. She lightly traced his sculpted lips and closed eyelids fringed with dark lashes. What would she do if he never awoke? The thought was bleak and empty, and chilled her to her marrow.

“Caden? Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “You were right, okay? I do need you. And want you. I have ever since the day I walked into your office because I know in my bones that, vampire or not, you’re a good man.”

She leaned over and brushed her lips against his. His skin was cool again, not fevered. She suddenly felt his lips move against hers, firm and strong.

Abruptly lifting her head, she saw his eyes, green as new spring grass, peering up at her in wonder. His expression was no longer pained or clouded.

“Finally. It took you long enough to admit it, woman.” The male grooves bracketing either side of his mouth deepened as he smiled.

“You’re back!” She almost laughed with relief.

“I’ll make a point of passing out more often if I can wake up to find you kissing me like that.” He levered himself up on his elbow and gripped her chin for another kiss. This one he made to linger longer, exploring her mouth with his tongue. His cool breath tasted like peppermint and freshly fallen snow.

“You taste like sunshine,” he whispered huskily into her mouth. He slid the Vampire Bloom still tangled in his fingers into her hand and kissed her knuckles. His hand trailed deliberately up her torso. He cupped her breast, growling in pleasure, shaping the soft mound and plucking at her hardening n****e with insistent fingers. She squirmed closer against him, tempted to let their embrace go on and on, but she pulled back reluctantly.

“Drake Garoul — “

“I know. I heard Henrick’s message.” He rose to his feet, easily pulling her up to stand next to him. He flexed his body, seemingly absorbed in checking and testing his muscles.

“Interesting,” he murmured to himself. “The very first taste of a Blood Mate can make my kind go off the rails a bit. Sorry, honey.

“We have to get out of here,” she warned.

“I doubt there’s time for that. Vampires are pretty fast. They’ll be here any second.” Far from seeming worried, he looked completely at ease with the notion that a dozen vampires were about to descend on them.

“What are we going to do?” she demanded.

He tenderly tucked a thick strand of her hair behind her ear, staring at her like she was some kind of miracle on two legs. “I guess I’ll have to fight them off and keep you safe.” He ran his finger over her bottom lip as if fascinated.

She grabbed his arm. “Just you against a dozen vampires? You were flat on your back a moment ago. You’ll be destroyed.”

“I don’t think so. Whatever is in your blood knocked me for a loop. But now that the initial reaction is over, I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt before. Times a thousand.”

His tone turned speculative and analytical, like he was working through some puzzle back at the lab. “Of course, I don’t know how long the effects will last, so let’s hope they get here before the benefits of your blood dissipate too much. But at least I’ll have the home court advantage.”

“Would you stop being a scientist vampire for just a minute and tell me the plan?” she yelled.

He grinned. “Simple. I’m going to kick Garoul’s ass into the next century, and then I’m coming back in here and make love to you. If you don’t mind,” he added solicitously, running his hands over her shoulders and arms as if committing her form to his sense memory.

“As much as I like the sound of that last bit, you can’t go out there alone,” she insisted stubbornly.

He set her away from him and headed to the foyer. She chased after him in time to see him open the security panel by the front door and punch in several codes.

“Trust me. You don’t get to be my age without making a few enemies like Garoul. He gives vampires and assholes a bad name. That’s why I built this place to be vampire durable. Smile for the birdie, sweetheart.” He pulled her in front of the control panel. A green strobe light shot out and scanned her facial features before she could blink.

“Retinal scan inputted into system,” the computer generated voice affirmed. “Require voice sample.”

“Say your name, please. Into the camera.”

“Uh, Serena Bliss.”

He finished punching in codes on the touchscreen keypad and then turned to take her in his arms.

“We don’t have much time now. The High Vampire Council has a secret treaty with the human government so we can take Blood Mates from among willing humans, if we don’t use mind thrall, and then only by giving them and any resulting offspring the full protections of all the laws of man and vampire with weddings and blood sealing ceremonies.

“Garoul nearly broke that treaty by trying to force your cousin to marry him. If that fact became known to the human government, it could trigger another long war between our two peoples.”

He touched his lips as though they tingled. “After tasting your blood it’s clear why any vampire would want to secure a Blood Mate of his own by any means necessary, whether or not he wished offspring. My father mentioned to me something like this happened with my mother, but I’ve just learned firsthand that even the taste of a potential Blood Mate can make a vampire invincible, temporarily at least.”

“Garoul was going to marry Zoe. But under false pretenses, to have access to her blood?”

“Had he succeeded in mating with your cousin in bad faith, Garoul could have become one of, if not the most, powerful vampire in the California territory. He would have destroyed the uneasy alliance we’ve managed to build with the humans while at the same time making himself too strong for any of us to stop easily.”

His gaze sharpened upon her. “Now that we’ve deprived him of Zoe, he knows you’re also a potential Blood Mate. We don’t want Garoul to snatch you the way he did your cousin.”

“Please tell me what I can do to help,” she pleaded.

“I’ve just frozen all the entry protocols so that, once I’m outside, only you can allow access into the house. No matter what you hear out there, don’t open that door.”

“No. Caden, this is too dangerous for you!”

He palmed the back of her head and pressed a hard kiss on her mouth. “Just stay inside, darling. When it’s all over I’ll knock like this.” He lightly wrapped his knuckles on the wall in a distinctive rhythm. “Whatever happens, don’t open the door to anything but that knock. Not even if you hear me telling you to do it. Vampires can mimic voices. If I can’t defeat them all, I’ll at least hold them off until dawn when the sun will finish off whatever I can’t.”

“But the daylight will finish you off you, too.” Tears welled up at the thought. “At least take some more of my blood. If it makes you stronger.” She swept her hair behind her shoulders and bared the curve of her neck, offering it to him.

He bent his head. The frosty coolness of his breath fanned her heated skin soothingly. Her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the prick of dagger sharp fangs to penetrate the vulnerable flesh of her throat. He planted a soft kiss on the hollow of her throat and that was all.

Her eyes flashed open in surprise.

“You’re so very brave, sweetheart. You blackmail vampires and deal with backstreet wiccans like you are an Immortal. But you’re not. You’re very potent. If I taste you again now, I can’t predict whether or not I’ll be able to stop. And I won’t make you my Blood Mate until you want me to, because once it’s done it cannot be undone. In the meantime, I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

Several thudding objects crashed into the roof and the sides of the house.

“Chase!” An enraged male voice bellowed from outside. “I’m going to tear you apart.”

“Damn it, Caden! You can’t go out there.”

He put his fingers to her lips. “You need to let me handle this, Serena. I’ll be honest. I built this place to be able to withstand a vampire attack, but not necessarily one of this magnitude. I can’t stay in here with you to wait and see if this pile of bricks stays up. I’ve got to go out there and handle the problem before it gets inside to you. Let’s hope that the drop of blood you already provided will suffice for now.”

He stroked her hair one last time. “Remember what I said. I’ll see you by dawn’s light.”

Whimpering her protest, she felt a butterfly kiss steal across her lips.

The heavy front door opened and closed again faster than the naked eye could witness. She heard the heavy auto-locks bolting her inside.

She was alone. She drew in a ragged gasp of pure fear, both for herself and for Caden.