Things That Go Bump In The Night Read online

  She looked again, and this time her eyes met the woman’s. It was Nancy! Even as she smiled in surprised delight and uttered a small, "wow," at the new Nancy, she was aware that the stranger still stared at her from across the room.

  Only he was no longer across the room. She felt a sudden tingling sensation down her neck and in her cunt and turned quickly to find him at her side. She looked up into his eyes. It must be the flickering flame from the jack-o-lanterns that caused his eyes to glow and pulse with tiny, smothering embers.

  "Hello."

  His voice was low and deep and danced along her nerve endings like a sweet, irresistible caress.

  "Oh. Hello." Her voice came out in a breathless whisper that embarrassed her.

  He smiled, revealing even white teeth, and extended his hand. "Mikhel Dumont."

  "Erica Kalai." She placed her hand in his.

  "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Erica."

  A feeling of utter delight permeated her as he locked his gaze with hers, then lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Although his lips were gentle, she saw rampant lust blazing in his dark gaze. Of course she could be mistaken. She cast a quick look down at his leg.

  She was not mistaken. The evidence of his arousal was still clearly visible.

  She glanced up again, blushing as she met his gaze. What would he think of a woman who couldn’t keep her eyes off his cock? She might be a closet wanton, but she wasn’t terribly bold in real life.

  Feeling flustered, she tugged her hand away from his. Instead of releasing it, he captured the other one and gently urged her toward him.

  "Dance with me, Erica."

  She hesitated. She didn’t want to accept, but he wore an aura of power and authority as elegantly and as effortlessly as he did his costume. How, she thought on a mental sigh, could a woman resist that?

  Not only did she readily allow him to draw her into his arms, but she shamelessly pressed her lower body forward until she could feel the beguiling outline of his cock. A ball of heat and desire tightened in her stomach and sent a shock of yearning careening straight down to her toes.

  God she had to have him.

  They moved slowly around the room, not in time to the rhythm of the music, but rather in time to a primitive tattoo that seemed to envelop and isolate them in a world all their own. A small part of her mind was still aware that many other people surrounded them. But her heart, her desire, her physical need was aware of him only.

  He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. She reluctantly opened her eyes and looked up into his fiery gaze. "I want you to leave with me."

  "What? I can’t." Even as she spoke, she knew she as going to go with him. "I-I can’t."

  "Why not?"

  "Why not?" There was something about him that made it difficult for her to do anything but want him. She blinked and gave her head a little shake. This was ridiculous—he’d barely spoken two sentences to her. "I…don’t even know you."

  He caressed her cheek with a long finger. His eyes burned with intensity. "That’s all the more reason to leave with me…to get to know me," he murmured.

  "You’re too young,” she hedged, glancing away. “You look about twenty-five."

  He pressed his finger against her lips and a tingle ran through her. "Would it make you feel better if I were thirty?"

  "That’s still about ten years too young. Mikhel, I’m forty. Tonight."

  "Tonight?" He smiled and suddenly twirled her around before spinning her back into his arms. "Happy birthday, Erica."

  Laughing and feeling breathless despite herself, she looked up into his eyes. "Thank you, but that’s about ten years too old to leave with you."

  His eyes memorized her face. "And what if I tell you that I like older women, Erica?"

  Oh, boy, but she liked the way he spoke her name, letting it roll slowly off his tongue like the last drop of vintage wine he was both eager to consume while at the same time loathed to finish.

  She bit her lip. "You…you do?"

  His smile was slow, full. "Yes. I do. Come with me and I’ll show you how much I like older women," he said in low tones.

  He bent so close to her that she felt his breath brush against her lips in a gesture that was as erotic as a kiss. She pressed closer, totally unable to resist him and the powerful sexual magnetism emanating from him. She felt—compelled.

  "Come with me, Erica," he murmured.

  She blinked, finding herself again, then took a deep breath. "I…I can’t. I have friends here I haven’t seen in weeks. I can’t just leave with you."

  "Why not?" His arm tightened around her waist, drawing her closer. The feel of his cock against her belly drove the last vestige of rational thought from her mind. Why not indeed? Nancy and Janna would understand. "Okay," she heard herself whisper.

  "You won’t be sorry," he promised in a soft, deep voice.

  She believed him. She knew she was in for a long, deliciously wicked night. Later, when she was back in Boston, she would probably be ashamed of herself, horrified that it had been this easy for a man to hop into bed with her for a one-night stand.

  She looked up into the dark, mesmerizing eyes of the man holding her so closely. Forget that nonsense. No way she was going to regret a moment of her time spent with this man. She nodded. "I know."

  He smiled, and an absolutely delicious warmth infused her. "I’ll make this a very special night for you, Erica. For us both."

  She tore her gaze away from him. Across the length of the warehouse, she spotted Janna. Her friend looked bored. She couldn’t see Nancy among all the people now in the loft. Feeling guilty, she waved at Janna and allowed herself to be led from the party.

  Chapter Two

  Keeping his gaze on the road ahead of him, Mikhel was nevertheless very aware of the woman seated beside him in the dark interior of the car, more aware than he’d ever been of any other woman. The soft scent of her perfume tickled his nose enticingly. His nostrils flared slightly—the faint, but unmistaken aroma of her arousal inflamed his senses. His cock throbbed and swelled with need. The blood pounded through his veins. The hunger for her body and her blood threatened to overwhelm him.

  Eager to get her alone and into bed, he'd even begrudged the time it took to stop at her hotel for a change of clothing for the following day. Now, he guided the car into the parking lot of the waterfront restaurant where he’d decided to take her for dinner. He turned to look at her, his thirst for her blood increasing. Everything about this woman excited him—her tall voluptuous body, her big breasts, her blond hair, the soft sound of her voice, the unashamed way she looked at his cock…

  Even her name fascinated him, feeding his hunger for her. He had to have her in his bed, feel her pussy accepting his cock, taste her blood on his tongue and in his mouth. His hunger increasing with every passing second, he longed to skip dinner, take her straight to bed, and as he made love to her, sink his teeth into her long, delicate neck. He would not hurt her. He couldn’t hurt her. He frowned. Nor would he let anyone else hurt her.

  He had spent the last twenty years searching for the one woman whose body and blood would create an insatiable need in him. The effect she had on him could only mean one thing: she was the one, his bloodlust partner. He knew of at least two full-blood females who wouldn’t be happy, but this was his life and he would live it how he liked, with the bloodlust partner of his choice—Erica Kalai. His Erica Kalai.

  He would have her. But he wanted her to come to him of her own accord, not because he’d subjugated her will with his.

  Two hours later, sitting at a table overlooking the water, he fastened his gaze on her. He found her, and everything about her, intoxicating. Looking at her, talking to her—he loved it all…but he wanted more.

  After several moments of silence, she put down her coffee cup and arched a brow at him. "Mikhel, you’re staring—again—still."

  He didn’t apologize. "You’re beautiful both in body and spirit. Of course I’m
staring," he murmured.

  Her cheeks reddened. "Okay, I can accept and appreciate that you think I’m pretty in form, but in spirit also? How can you possibly know that after one dance and one dinner?"

  Watching her, an unexpected tenderness welled inside him, something he’d never felt for any woman other than his mother and sister. He smiled. "I can see the beauty of your spirit and soul in your eyes."

  "It’s not my eyes you’ve been staring at or into, it’s my neck."

  "That’s lovely too. Long and slender, tender."

  "Tender?" She laughed. "I think you're letting that costume get to you. You make me sound like a piece of meat you plan to eat for dinner!"

  "Oh, make no mistake, Erica, I do plan to eat you for dinner or at least for dessert.” His dark gaze flicked over her, his intentions obvious. “Your lips, your neck, your breasts, your pussy. I intend to eat and taste them all." And when he had, he intended to drink her warm blood.

  He watched as a fresh surge of color stained her cheeks. She gulped. "Oh, God,” she muttered unthinkingly under her breath, “you are making me so hot and horny."

  Laughing, he reached out and cradled one of her hands in his. Her blush turned impossibly deeper, realizing as she now did that he had heard her thoughtlessly uttered words. "That’s the plan, my Erica, to make you so hot and horny, you're as hungry for me as I am for you."

  She fanned herself with a hand. "Mission accomplished, buddy."

  "In that case…" He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across the fingers. His gaze never strayed from her face. "Tell me more about yourself."

  She shook her head. "I’ve told you everything there is to know really. I’m basically very dull. There’s not much to tell beyond the fact that I’m divorced and a teacher, which you already know. I’d rather talk about you."

  His standard reply to such a line was to say he was single, headed a security firm in Boston and then take the woman in question to bed. He smiled at her. "I talk much better in bed. Join me in my hotel room and I’ll tell you everything you want to know."

  Just for a moment he thought she would refuse, forcing him to decide between letting her exercise her free will or compelling her to accompany him. Suddenly, she averted her gaze and nodded. "All right."

  He paid the check and they left the restaurant, holding hands. In the hotel elevator, he swept her into the circle of his arms and buried his face against her neck. The feel of the blood pulsing through her veins made his cock so hard it ached. He licked and kissed her neck, repeatedly fighting the impulse to bare his incisors and sink them into her lovely, warm skin.

  She trembled in his arms and he felt her heart thudding against him. The thought that she might be just a little afraid of him helped cool his need to immediately taste her blood. He wanted her to freely bare her neck for him, inviting him to drink her blood.

  Shuddering with a combination of pussy lust and blood lust, he pulled his mouth from her neck, tipped up her chin, and looked down into her eyes. "Do you know what I am, my Erica? Do you understand what I need from you tonight besides your beautiful body?"

  Her forehead crinkled in confusion. "What do you mean do I know what you are? You're a security consultant."

  He stroked her cheek. "This isn't just a costume, my Erica, as you'll soon see.

  "It's not just a…" She stared up at him, her eyes widening with unmistakable fear. "Oh, God, no! Mikhel! This is a joke! It’s Halloween. You’re pulling my leg."

  He bared his teeth, allowing her to see his sharpened incisors. "It’s not a joke. I’m just what you think I am, my Erica."

  She stumbled back against the elevator wall. "Oh, God! You’re frightening me. There are no much things as…as…"

  "Vampires?" He closed the distance between them and touched her cheek. She gasped and recoiled, but there was nowhere for her to go, her back was already at the wall. "There are such things, my Erica, but you have no need to fear me. I will never hurt you. Never, my Erica."

  She gulped in several deep breaths. "Okay. This is getting way too weird. Please. Let me go, Mikhel."

  The elevator door opened behind them and he spun around. A man and a woman stood there, both dressed as vampires. He bared his incisors and growled low in his throat, "Take the next one!"

  The couple gasped and stumbled back from the elevator and he pushed the button to close the door. When he turned back to face Erica, her face had lost nearly all its color, her eyes were wide and unblinking. He could hear her heart thumping in fear.

  He sighed, retracted his incisors, and stretched out a hand. Although she cringed, she allowed him to take her hand in his. "Don’t be afraid, my Erica. Please." He drew her trembling body in his arms and held her tightly, rocking her. "I will never hurt you. Never." He cupped her face in his hands and stared down into her eyes. "I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want me to do. I promise. Trust me, my Erica."

  Trust a man she'd never met before who was telling her he was a vampire? "Oh, Mikhel!" She buried her face against his shoulder. "Part of me wants you, but another part of me is afraid."

  "Trust the part that wants me, my Erica and never, never fear me. I won’t hurt you or let anyone else hurt you. Will you willingly come with me? If you really want, I’ll take you back to the party, but I really need you to stay with me tonight. Will you?"

  She lifted her face and looked up at him.

  He forced himself not to coerce her in any way.

  His heart thumped in his chest and he experienced an incredible sense of joy when she nodded.

  "Yes. I’ll stay," whispered.

  * * * * *

  Standing with Mikhel in the moonlight in front of the big floor to ceiling windows in his hotel room, Erica had never been more afraid in her life. And yet, she’d never felt more alive, more sensual, more lustful.

  Looking up into his dark, glowing eyes, she knew that he was in fact a vampire, that he intended to drink her blood. Nevertheless, the tenderness of his mouth as he kissed her lips and the gentleness of his hands as he carefully removed her shoes, her short, tight dress, her panty hose, and finally her lace underwear lessened her fears.

  Maybe she was foolish to believe herself safe with him, but she couldn’t quite believe he meant to hurt her. When she was naked, she stood with her heart beating wildly, her mouth dry as he slowly moved around her, frankly assessing her body.

  She bit her lip. Although she’d managed to keep her weight under control, her body wasn’t as firm or as supple as it used to be. Okay, so her breasts were still firm and her legs long. Surely he must have seen women with more buff bodies. With his looks and those eyes and that cock, he could have any of them that he wanted. Yet, he clearly wanted her--at least for the night.

  When he stepped in front of her, only moments after circling her body, she gasped. "Mikhel! How…how did you get your clothes off so fast?"

  For he was naked and fully, gloriously aroused. He had an absolutely beautiful body, but once she looked at his cock, she couldn’t look away. It was large and thick, and extended from a dark mass of curls in front of his big, sculptured body as he held his arms out to her.

  Sucking in her breath, she stumbled forward. He took her in his arms. His hard, hot cock pressed against her stomach. A rush of moisture trickled from her cunt and down her leg.

  He tipped up her chin and looked down into her eyes. "My lovely Erica, I can smell your need for my cock." He bent his head and sensuously licked her neck. He pressed closer, gripping her hips in his hands. He rotated his groin against her, letting her feel the heat and weight of his thick cock. "Feel my need for your pussy and your blood, my Erica."

  She shuddered, her legs trembling. She had to have that big, magnificent cock inside her cunt. Even if he killed her later, she would die happy. "You can have them both, Mikhel. Just make love to me."

  Slipping an arm around her waist, he reached between their bodies and began rubbing the big head of his cock along the length of her cunt,
testing her readiness for him. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and held on to his broad shoulders, her whole body hit by countless waves of pleasure. Forgetting the condoms in her discarded shoulder bag, she thrust her hips forward, hungry for the first feel of his rock hard shaft.

  He lifted her left leg across his hip, buried his lips against her neck, and propelled his hips forward, sending the head of his dick between the lips of her sex and into her already drenched channel.

  Having her cunt invaded by the biggest cock she’d ever had made her leg buckle. She would have fallen, if not for the strong arm around her waist. Still kissing and licking her neck, he draped her other leg across his hip and slowly impaled her on the full length of his shaft. A jolt of heat and fire burned in her belly, quickly spreading to her stuffed pussy.

  Oh, God, she’d never felt anything half as good. Gasping, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and began sliding up and down the length of his dick. She clenched her fingers in his hair, tore his mouth away from her neck, and greedily kissed his sweet lips. His tongue touched hers and in just a matter of moments, she shuddered to a blistering orgasm, soaking his still plunging cock.

  "That’s it, my love. Come for me, my Erica." As he whispered against her neck, he gripped her hips and began thrusting into her with rapid, powerful strokes that triggered another incredible climax. "That’s it, my love. Cover my cock with your hot pussy juices. Come for me again."

  "Oh, God, Mikhel…it’s so good…your cock is so good…oooh."

  Her cunt gushed until she felt weak. Moaning, she collapsed against him, burying her face against his shoulder, shaking with the aftermath of the absolutely blissful fucking she’d just received. Still on his feet, he held her in his arms, lightly kissing her hair. Although his cock was still buried to the hilt inside her, he no longer thrust into her.

  Several moments passed before she lifted her head and looked up at him. "You didn’t fall."

  "What?"

  "I’ve never had a man able to make love standing up without falling or leaning against something."