Читать книгу Vampire Lover - Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, Linda Thomas-Sundstrom - Страница 5

He had tasted the woman before introducing himself, teased by the drop of crimson on her lip.

The mistake shot past Hayden’s awareness. He was a vampire. Finding blood was what he was designed to do. But not here. Not like this.

Her bead of blood spread, slick as silk, as he pressed his mouth to hers. The heady scent of that single drop roared through him, tickling his veins, tightening his muscles.

Other body parts sprang to life, heating up from the inside out, as if he had just clamped on to a flame. Deep in the back of his mind, though, the talons of mystery coiled around his spontaneous action. He had meant to get away from her, to avoid this very thing. How, then, had he ended up in an unwarranted embrace?

Now that he had, though, sensations zoomed in, one after the other. The blonde tasted unusual. Hotter than most. Wetter than most. Her blood held a hint of aluminum, normal fare in humans, as was the anticipated sugary sweetness. But another, hidden component, drenched in a musky casing, also played on her soft lips. More hints of that storm brewing, plus a heady aftertaste of secrets.

Hayden’s fangs began to ache. His pulse quickened as he held himself back from a full-out assault on the woman’s taut body. She remained motionless. Although she had a mouth like liquid desire, it didn’t respond to his. She didn’t pull away, but neither did she bend or cave to this sudden hedonistic act of seduction. Shock ran through her body in ripples. She didn’t breathe.

Hayden touched her teeth with the tip of his tongue as her blood curled into him, spreading throughout his body with the poignancy of a fire alarm. The moment was exotic, dangerous. Her blood was an instant aphrodisiac, an addiction to one who hadn’t tasted the blood of a human since his awakening.

One slight flex of his jaws now, and he could bite right through the flawless skin. If he did, though, he would become something he’d vowed he would never be.

Darkness enclosed him as his urges raged. He knew that a multitude of people were close by, mere steps away. Still, he wanted other things from the woman who tasted of fire and sweetness, more than just her blood. He wanted it all, in that moment. All of her. Silver-clad neck to her black polished toes, and every moist, luscious space in between. Right here. Stretched out against this wall.

If her mouth was this hot, he could only imagine what the rest of her had to offer. Unimaginable bliss. An inferno to slide himself into. Heat like hers was a turn-on, an inescapable draw for a creature unable to bask in the sunlight.

Below his belt, he began to throb with need. His jaws tensed, desperate for more than a taste despite the warnings his brain was sending to stop such thoughts. He didn’t do this. He didn’t bite, hunt, maim or kill. Those actions belonged to others of his kind who were less civilized. To the undead.

But as this woman’s presence pulled at his baser instincts, spears of confusion struck him. Need versus want. Want versus sanity and the protection of his kind. The only way vampires could exist was in complete anonymity. He could do nothing here, and was behaving badly.

A sound reached him, bubbling up from the woman he had pinned to the wall. Hayden opened his eyes, dazed to find his fangs grazing her throat. A throat encircled by the stinging burn of silver.

Seconds of silence followed, in which neither of them dared to react. Then the woman’s hands were on his chest, pushing.

Hayden leaned back, separating himself from what should have been sheer bliss with a viable partner, if he were merely a man. The finding of a lover on a warm, lovely night, who had very nearly succeeded in compromising his vow of blood celibacy.

Who is she?

The question repeated as he inched away, seeing something with this slight distance that he had missed before. This woman’s aura was outlined in red, as if traced by a crayon. Her agitation swirled in the air between them like a live entity. Her eyes flashed green fire.

These changes had been mercurial, and a warning that she might be much more than she seemed. The blonde looked normal, but wasn’t. Not completely. His uninvited advance had unlocked a clue about her true nature, setting part of her inner chaos free. That chaos had a name as black as her toenail polish.

“Slayer,” Hayden whispered with distaste, just before she slapped him hard with her open hand.

The monster had her by the neck, unaffected by her slap, moving with a frightening speed. His eyes bored into hers.

She was up against the brick wall, held there by the brute strength of his arm. The situation had gotten real messy, real fast; a worst case scenario coming true.

Her glass fell to the ground and shattered.

Moonlight melted over this stranger’s features, highlighting his cheekbones, casting shadows. If he’d been a werewolf, he would have been toast by now. But then she had already realized what he wasn’t, leaving just one other category to describe the speed, strength, looks and attraction to her blood.

Vampire.

Her heart gave one giant thump. Keeping both hands raised to ward him off, hoping that vampires possessed a thread of common sense, contrary to the legends, Kelsie said breathlessly, “Back off! There are a hundred people here, all of them witnesses.”

She should have been scared out of her mind. She should have shouted for help, but his hand on her throat was a caution against it. Staring back at this creature, Kelsie felt the kindling of her anger, in spite of the threat. There wasn’t any way to make this work, jobwise. She hadn’t wanted him,