Enraptured, p.27
Enraptured, page 27
part #4 of Vampire Awakenings Series
Withdrawing her fangs from him, her head fell back and another cry escaped as he released his hold on her throat. He licked over her flesh, tasting the salt of her sweat and inhaling the scent of him within her. He’d meant to make it last, had intended to savor her, but his control was rapidly coming to an end. Then, with another throaty moan, she came again. The clutch and pull of her muscles around his dick shattered all of his control. A shout escaped him as he drove into her once more and found his release in pulsating waves that left him shaken and barely able to stand.
Her head fell into the hollow of his throat; her breath came in rapid pants against his flesh. He continued to cling to her, keeping himself buried within her as he struggled to come back to reality. “That’s because I do belong. You’re mine, Paige.”
Her mouth curved into a contented smile against his neck. “I’m yours,” she agreed. “And you’re mine.”
“Forever,” he vowed.
Ian wrapped his arms around her. Lifting her up, he carried her over to the still steaming tub. He placed her gently into it before sliding in behind her and pulling her against his chest. “I love you,” she whispered.
He couldn’t help but smile. “I love you too.”
CHAPTER 23
Paige rubbed at her temples as she stared around the crowded casino floor. Between the rapid beats of the hearts surrounding her, the stale stench of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and the musky scent of lust, she felt as overwhelmed as a kid on their first day of kindergarten. She didn’t know if she should run away, curl into a ball, or sink her teeth into the closest person to her. Ok, maybe not the ones closest to her, a few of them had stringy hair, sweat stained clothes, and smelled like they’d run a marathon. She was amazed they got up to use the bathroom. They definitely weren’t getting up to shower.
On the opposite end of the spectrum were people dressed in suits and beautiful dresses with their hair neatly styled. Some of them looked a little hectic, but most of them were laughing and cheering on their friends. Then there was the middle of the crowd, people simply content to sit and play games, socialize with people and laugh and talk in their jeans and t-shirts. She’d never seen such a vast assortment of people before, and she knew this was only the tip of the iceberg.
Ian stayed close by her side; his hand in the hollow of her back as he led her down the narrow pathways carved through the people and stools lining the slot machines. His reassuring presence at her side and in her mind helped her to keep control; she didn’t know if that would last. She took shallow breaths through her mouth in an attempt to mitigate the aromas pummeling her.
Ian bent over and whispered in her ear, “Concentrate on my smell and my heartbeat.”
She leaned into his side and inhaled the pleasant aroma of soap and male radiating from him. Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt; they slid over the chiseled ridges of his abs as she sought to comfort herself further.
Ian kept Paige tucked against his side as they navigated the casino floor. He could feel how overwhelmed she was, how much this upset her, but no matter how much distress she emitted, she continued stalwartly forward with her chin thrust forward and her eyes rapidly searching the crowd.
Ronan led the way through the room, parting the crowd with ease. People were clueless about the supernatural beings amongst them most of the time, but they knew power when it was within their midst. Brian, close by Ronan’s side, searched the room constantly. Ian did the same as he stared over the sea of heads crowding the room.
He scented the air, but the numerous potent smells filling the building would cover the garbage scent of the murderers that existed amongst their kind. Her father and his groupies could be nearly on them before he detected them. The thought had his fangs on the edge of descending and his murderous impulses at the forefront.
Brian turned back to them and jerked his head to the side. Paige’s hand curled into his shirt as he led her toward the massive doors leading out to the strip. Her head bowed closer against him, she didn’t lift it up when they changed direction. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“Outside.”
Her relief brushed against his mind. It took all he had not to lift her up and carry her back up to their room so she didn’t have to go through this. He glanced at Ethan and Emma; he hadn’t expected for Ethan to let Emma be here for this, but his brother probably felt better with her with him than away from him. No matter what he wanted, he knew Paige wouldn’t agree to return, and he was unwilling to leave her alone and unprotected. Fighting over it wasn’t going to do any of them any good.
The doors slid open with a whoosh; the hot air of the desert drifted over him as he stepped outside. Neon lights illuminated the street enough so that it almost appeared to be daytime along the crowded sidewalks. People hurried about; they strode across the road and mingled near the doors of the casinos. Catcalls, laughter, and shouts filled the night, beneath it all he detected more than a few people in tears. The heat caused sweat to bead across his brow, but Paige’s discomfort eased. She finally lifted her head to take in the sights and sounds of the city.
“Do you know where he is?” she asked Brian.
“There’s too many souls here to tune in on just one and pinpoint it,” he replied. Ian didn’t know what that meant, but he couldn’t shake the image of a radio dial being turned to a spectral station from his mind. “You might be able to locate him.”
“Me? How?” she squeaked.
“He’s your father; you have a connection to him.”
Anger flitted across her face before she thrust back her shoulders. “I’ve barely had any contact with him over the years, and it’s never been good.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Brian replied. “He’s still your blood.”
Paige swallowed heavily; her pulse picked up as sweat tickled her neck and slid down her spine. She didn’t want to be connected to her father in any way. Everything within her rebelled against such a notion. Ian’s hand slid over her back and rested on her hip. “Will he find me here?” she inquired.
“It’s a possibility,” Brian replied with a shrug.
Paige shuddered as her gaze ran up and down the crowded thoroughfare. Ian shot Brian a ferocious look, but the man simply cocked an eyebrow before turning away from them. He bent his head to Paige’s and kissed her temple. “He’s never going to hurt you again,” he vowed.
Her eyes slid over the people gathered around them. “I know, but what if I can’t find him?”
“Then we’ll figure something else out tomorrow.”
“No. He may not know we’re here yet, but the longer we’re here, the more likely he might sense me too. This has to be taken care of tonight.”
Ian ran his hands over her shoulders. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”
“You don’t know; you can’t understand what it’s like to live with him in your shadow all of the time,” she whispered.
No, he couldn’t understand what she’d gone through, but he couldn’t stand the look on her face, or that she was beating herself up right now. “Relax and go with your instincts,” Brian instructed. “Even if it seems silly to you, follow them and see where they take you. Like I said, this isn’t a true bond, it’s more of an impulse.”
Paige continued to search the walkway. The talking and laughing crowd parted around them as they remained standing outside the casino doors. “This way,” she said and turned to her left.
She had no idea where she was going, no idea if there really was anything drawing her onward, but walking was better than standing there blocking the way. The others stayed close by her as she led the way through four casinos with no luck. After the fifth casino, and with a lot more to go, she began to realize the only thing drawing her onward was her feet. Stepping outside of the last casino, she shuddered as the heat enveloped her once more.
Ian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Maybe we should call it quits for tonight,” he suggested. “If you relax…”
“No, he could find us,” she protested.
“Paige…”
“One more,” she insisted. “It’s still early, well for Vegas standards at least.”
Ian gave a brief nod. “Ok, one more, but then we’re going back to the hotel.”
“Where do you want to go?” Brian inquired.
His ice colored eyes burned into hers when she met them. She could feel him urging her on, but he didn’t say a word as he leaned against the building and waited for her to decide. Paige took a deep breath to steady herself. She stood, searching the night and hoping for something out there to start calling to her, to draw her onward toward the man she sought.
“Just relax,” Ian said as he massaged her shoulders.
There was no way for her to relax, not tonight. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that if they didn’t find him tonight, he would find them. She much preferred to have the element of surprise on their side, and not to have her father be the one to jump out and yell, ‘boo!’
Her gaze ran up and down the swarming streets past the people laughing and talking. She looked beyond the jugglers and artists and the blazing lights of the neon signs. Everything was extremely loud, and it was all so much, but there was a vibe about the city, an energy that made it feel like the only place on earth. She could almost believe everything beyond the strip had vanished.
She really understood the whole, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, thing now. This place was its own little world. A world her father lurked within.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the sidewalk and into the bustle of the busy streets. Ian stayed close by her side as she wandered past a few other casinos before arriving at another one. Stepping inside, a smile quirked her mouth when she spotted the man dressed as a pharaoh standing by the door. She knew Brian hoped she could tap into some strange vampire power, but it had probably been curiosity that had caused her to choose this place next.
Everywhere she looked, people crowded around. There were more of them in here than she’d seen in any of the other casinos they’d been into. She couldn’t tell if it was the slot machines or her ears ringing so badly, but it became difficult to concentrate on anything with all of the sounds, smells and humans in the room.
Ian held Paige against his side as they moved through the casino, protecting her from the people pressing against them. He pushed back a drunken young man who stumbled into her. “Hey baby,” the drunk slurred in her face, causing Paige to recoil from the rancid, overwhelming scent of him.
“If you ever want to fuck another woman, you’ll back off!” Ian snarled at him.
Sobriety briefly flickered through the man’s eyes as he wheeled backward and nearly took out a passing waiter. The man turned away; he glanced over his shoulder before vanishing into the crowd. Ian had the urge to start stiff-arming everyone who came close to her as more people pressed against them.
He understood why vampires like Paige’s father came here; it was an easy place to pick unsuspecting victims up and drain them. Easy to kill them and dispose of their bodies before their friends and loved ones realized they were missing. The noise would bury any screams they issued; the alcohol would lower inhibitions and common sense.
He’d give anything to get Paige out of here, but she wasn’t backing down. She stood on her tiptoes to survey the crowd before dropping down again. “I have a pretty good view,” he told her with a forced smile. “Do you think he’s here?”
Paige frowned as she contemplated his question. “I don’t know. I don’t understand what Brian thinks I might be able to do.”
“No one does.” The words were joking, but he could sense her growing disquiet and strain. The incessant chatter and ringing of the machines felt like a hundred people were scratching their nails down a chalkboard to him. He could only imagine what it was doing to Paige’s newly heightened senses.
“Let’s split up,” Ian suggested to the others. “We’ll cover a lot more ground that way.”
They broke off into little groups to make their way through the casino, searching for the man in Paige’s drawing. After a half an hour, he pulled her into a secluded alcove when her stress began to beat against him as forcefully as John Bonham on the drums. Her eyes were blood shot; her lips compressing into a thin line were nearly white. When he lifted her hands and clasped them before him, they trembled in his grasp.
“We’re leaving.”
“No!” she gasped. “Not yet!”
“The others can continue to look for him, but I’m not letting you do this to yourself anymore.”
Behind her dark glasses her eyes sparked with fire as she met his gaze. That sign of her unraveling control caused him to step closer in an attempt to shelter her further. “You’re not letting me do anything, this is my decision,” she grated through her teeth.
“And if you accidentally hurt someone or give away what you are?” he demanded. “Your eyes are red now.”
Her jaw clenched, a muscle twitched in her cheek. Her fingers flew up to the corners of her eyes before falling limply back to her side. “If he remains free again tonight, he could kill someone else. The longer he roams free, the more of a risk he is to innocent people and us.”
He rested his hand against her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin. “You are not responsible for your father’s actions. You never were.”
“You don’t understand,” she whispered.
“You’re blaming yourself, but when do you think you could have stopped him? When you were a child? When you were only a teenager? When you were being used as hunter bait? When exactly were you supposed to have killed him?”
A single tear slid down her face; she rested her hand over his. “He created me in more ways than one. He made me the person I am today; he brought me to you.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her forehead before pulling her against his chest and cradling her there. “I know, but you’re nothing like him. You never could be anything like him.”
“You saw him that night in the alley; you saw my drawing of him. I look so much like him.”
“So? That’s DNA. You’re soul,” he pressed his hand against her chest. “has nothing to do with him, and you are good. You’re the strongest, most loving and beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and he had nothing to do with that. You can’t beat yourself up because you were born. You may look like him, but it sounds to me like you inherited your mother’s spirit.”
Another tear slipped free; she wiped it hastily away. “Thank you.”
“It’s simply the truth. Don’t ever doubt it.” She smiled at him before her gaze traveled past him to the milling crowd. “It’s time for us to go.”
“Yes, ok,” she finally relented.
His shoulders slumped, he kissed her clasped hands and held them against his lips. “We will find him,” he vowed.
“I know.”
He took a step out of the alcove, but she pulled him abruptly back. She’d made it this far on determination, but she found she couldn’t walk out there right now. Inside she was beginning to feel like she’d just drunk ten cups of espresso in an hour. “I need a minute first.”
Ian stepped closer against her in the hopes of blocking out the overwhelming sensations of the casino with his body. Pushing her further back, he maneuvered her behind a large potted plant. Anybody walking by probably wouldn’t notice him, and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to see her.
Heaving breaths caused her body to shake; she pressed her hands into his chest and her forehead fell against him. Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the crowd for any looming threat, but he caught no whiff of danger, and the only vampires he saw were Brian, Aiden and Ronan winding their way through the Craps tables.
Turning back to her, he lifted her hands and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. “You must feed.”
Her eyes flashed red when they flickered up to him. “No, there’s too many people,” she protested. “I’ll be fine, I’m not hungry.”
“And none of them will see us,” he assured her. “You’re hungrier than you realize and my blood will calm you a lot more.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but his stubbornness thrummed against her mind. He’d do anything in the world for her, but he wasn’t going to back down from this. His lips brushed across her forehead, his breath warmed her when he drew her closer, nestling her mouth against the hollow of his throat. He moved her so her back was flat against the wall. She couldn’t see anything beyond him.
She hadn’t realized she was hungry until she felt the beat of his pulse beneath her mouth. Without meaning to, her fangs sprang free of their own volition and pressed against his supple skin. She grabbed hold of his arms in an attempt to steady and calm herself. With the next beat of his heart, she sank her fangs into his throat. The surge of his warm, sweet blood filling her calmed her almost instantly. A breath of relief escaped her as she melted against him. His arms enveloped her, pulling her flush against his body.
“Paige,” he murmured.
She could feel the bliss radiating from him as she fed from him, feel his growing arousal, but he pushed aside his own baser urges as he sought to comfort her. The way he felt for her could never be denied, he was completely enraptured with her; she was everything to him. The edginess, anxiety, and lack of control she’d been feeling before stepping into this alcove vanished as his blood, body and mind soothed her.
Her teeth retracted from his neck, her eyes behind her glasses were back to their normal color when she lifted her head to look at him. “Feel better?” he inquired.
She flashed him a sensual smile that caused his dick to jump eagerly. “Much.” She ran her tongue across her lips to lick away the remnants of his blood. “And more than ready to get back to our room.”
