His rough touch and grinding through her jeans almost pushed her over the edge. What does he do with those hands to make them so rough? she wondered in a fleeting thought. Ask him later. Yes, later. “Don’t stop...please, don’t stop,” she moaned with a breath.
His pace quickened. She couldn’t believe it, but she was so close, almost there… Something about this man drove her insane. He was a walking aphrodisiac.
“Yes!” she gasped, nails digging in deep through the fabric of his sweater into his shoulders. Pulses of ecstasy ripped through her body.
Niccolo’s solid frame suddenly froze, his whole body taut and straining against hers, still pinning her to the wall. He groaned loudly, clearly lost to the thunderous release crashing through him.
Absurdly, Helena felt proud. She had been able push this experienced, sexy vampire over the edge. They weren’t even naked.
Brow glistening with sweat, he made a soft chuckle in her ear and peppered her cheek with light kisses, “Not once in my entire thirteen hundred years has a woman turned me into a raving, hormonal lunatic such as you’ve done to me.” He slowly released her, and she lazily slid down the length of his solid frame. He bent his forehead to hers, cupping the back of her head. “What you do to me, woman. Santo, you’re addictive.”
Ditto. “How did you find me?” she whispered.
“I will always find you, Helena. You are mine now. Not just by vampire law. We are connected by the same bonds that forged the universe. Do you not feel it?”
She sucked in a breath. Yes, yes she did. What did it really mean? “Please, tell me what’s going on. What just happened?”
He pulled his head back. Hardness struck his eyes. “I will tell you everything I know after your transformation, I promise. Please, come back with me now. We’ll still have the wedding ceremony in six days.”
Helena felt like she’d been slapped by reality’s cold, unwelcome hand. She was such an idiot! He had no intention of telling her anything. Nothing had changed.
Helena let out a quick huff and bent down to grab a t-shirt from the rainbow colored pile. She slipped a pink tee over hear head, grabbed the clothes, and slipped her feet into her Uggs. She pulled the latch to one side and stepped out of the dressing room.
“Helena,” he scolded in a whispered voice, “where are you going?”
Someplace where you can’t hurt me again. She turned on her heel. “I told you. I don’t want to be with you, so don’t even think of following me again. It’s over.”
She suddenly found herself caged between two arms, the same ones she’d just been helplessly clutching in ecstasy moments earlier.
Niccolo was staring down at her with pure frustration. “You do not mean that, my sweet. I know you are lying.”
Yes. Maybe. Crap! I don’t…“No. You’re the one hiding behind wall after wall of rules and vows, and I don’t know what other crap-excuses.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Helena. Never. I simply cannot tell you what you want to know, but that doesn’t mean I do not care for you. What do I have to do to prove myself? Why don’t you trust me?”
“Trust you?” She wanted to scream. “Trust you?” Oh, wasn’t that nice. He wanted her to trust him, yet… Helena paused for one short moment, then, “If I’m so goddamned important…break one of your stupid rules!”
“But I cannot, there would be—”
“Consequences? Shocking answer.” Helena rolled her eyes then snapped her arms away. “Goodbye, Niccolo. It’s over. You and I aren’t even the same species, and we’re definitely not meant for each other. The universe made a mistake.”
Niccolo snarled, “The universe does not make mistakes.”
“Oh yeah?” Helena retorted. “Tell that to the…to the…” Oh, heck. Why can’t I think of anything? “The dinosaurs!”
Niccolo frowned. “You compare our relationship to—”
“Ma’am? Were you calling me?” the store clerk called out, approaching quickly.
Niccolo squeezed his hands on Helena’s shoulders, but his look of anger turned to confusion.
Had he just tried to sift her away?
“Ma’am?” the young woman came around the corner just as Niccolo disappeared.
Helena placed her palm on her flushed cheek. “Um—no. I’m good. If you don’t mind, I’m going to…” She paused, realizing how strange her words were about to sound, but she hadn’t had time to put her own garments back on. “Wear the t-shirt and bra now. They’re really comfy.” She handed the rest of the new clothes to the clerk and tried to pull herself together.
***
Helena chucked her overflowing shopping bags in the backseat and then slammed the door shut.
Andrus turned the engine and gave her a suspicious look. “You smell like...” He shifted into drive.
“What?”
“Nothing, but—did something happen inside?”
Could he really smell…that?
He crinkled his nose. “Your face is red and your scent is…”
Oh, God. He can! Kill me now! Giant bomb, falling tree, spontaneous combustion…anything!
Even worse than her embarrassment was the fact that she herself couldn’t understand what happened. Her soon to be ex-accidental-vampire-husband just appeared in the fitting room. They went nuts, dry-humped like a couple of wild, horny bunnies, he tried to sift her away, and then she told him to pound sand.
Yes, a proud, proud moment in my life. If only that could go on my Facebook timeline!
She had to find a way to undo this, this…thing between them before his emotional grip tightened further. With Niccolo she was exposed, vulnerable. She’d fallen for him hard and taken an enormous leap of faith. But like everything in her life, it hadn’t turned out. No father, no husband…no true love.
Going back to the pity party again, are you? You should be grateful. Life gave her some very wonderful people—her mother, her friends—and a great education with a bright future.
But that man…he just gave you a taste of something more. Are you forgetting the connection you felt? Could she really live her life without experiencing it just one more time? She craved it. She craved him.
She brought her fingertips to her lips and savored the memory of his delicious.
He doesn’t love you. He’ll hurt you, she reminded herself. He’s controlling, arrogant, and too closed off. Not what you want from a man.
“Niccolo tried to take me,” she finally confessed after a few seconds of stewing.
Andrus slammed on the breaks and reached for something below the seat. Helena threw out her arms to avoid slamming into the dash.
“He was here? Now?” Andrus screamed.
Helena grumbled and slid back into her seat. “Yes! But he’s gone. Okay? And did you have to do that? I’m mortal, remember?” She pulled the seat belt strap across her chest and buckled in.
“What did he say?” He released his hand from whatever was under his seat.
“Nothing. He wants me back. I said ‘no.’ It’s over.” But it wasn’t. She knew it. He was not the sort of creature to give up. Bonds forged by the universe…
She sighed loudly. Andrus needed to drive a whole hell of a lot faster to that archive if she was going to find a way to undo this bond.
“And he tried to sift me, but it didn’t work for some reason.”
Andrus’ cold demeanor returned, and he went back to driving. Several moments passed before he finally said, “The ring. I gave it an upgrade.”
Helena looked at her grandmother’s gold, filigree ring on her hand. “Sorry?”
“I’ve…” he seemed to be searching for the correct word, “treated the ring. You cannot be sifted while you wear it.”
“How?”
“Trade secret,” he replied curtly.
“Thought you were going to share your secrets.”
“I said I would teach you how to evade him and how to not be sifted. Lesson number one: wear the ring.”
He was going to be
that way, was he? Great. Just what I wanted; out of the secretive-man frying pan...
“And the evading part?” she asked.
He scratched his stubble covered chin. “I’m working on it.”
“Care to elaborate?” Helena asked.
“Bonded vampires, or vampires and their makers, can sense each other’s presence. It’s like a compass and there only a few ways to ‘go dark’ so to speak. Being asleep or unconscious, for example. They probably evolved that way since a sleeping vampire who can be found is vulnerable. But you’re human so I don’t think that applies to you.”
“Great. So, he’s got Helena-GPS, even when I sleep. What am I going to do?”
“We could still give it a try. I can knock you out.”
Helena huffed. “Don’t even think about it. And if you try anything, I promise Niccolo will find out. I doubt that was the last time I’ll see him.”
The corner of Andrus’ mouth curled for a quick moment. “So then, we keep moving. Get off the main roads and make it harder to be followed.”
“Wait! I know this really great invention that can get us to San Francisco quickly. It’s called an airplane.”
Andrus shot her a warning with his eyes. “No airplanes.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “But I don’t get it. I’ll still answer all your questions. You’ll get everything you want from me.”
“Everything?” Andrus flashed a smile her way then turned his focus back to the road.
Had he just flirted with her again?
Helena was up to here with wicked men; she chose to ignore the comment. “That man is downright determined.”
“So am I,” Andrus stated coldly.
Helena rolled her eyes. “Do you really think we’ll make it all the way to the coast before he finds a way to nab me?”
“Yes,” he said starkly. “I never fail.”
“Nice to see you’re confident, but it’s my life you’re gambling with.”
He blinked multiple times in rapid succession, which struck her oddly. “No airplanes,” he said again.
Helena suddenly felt exhausted. Being around stubborn men was like rolling a giant boulder up a never-ending hill, or in this case, rolling a giant domineering man up a hill.
Wait. She didn’t have to stay with this guy. He hadn’t guaranteed she’d find the answers in his archives. She was smart, independent; she could figure this out on her own. “Pull over. I’ve changed my mind about our little deal.”
Andrus laughed. “Not going to happen.”
“Oh, I get it. I’m your pet now. I don’t know who or what you really are, but you’re worse than a vampire! At least they keep their word. They believe in honor. You—you’re—”
Andrus growled then pulled to the side of the road. “Watch your tongue, human. And, anytime you want to leave, be my guest. I give you one hour until they snatch you up.”
“Fine!” Helena reached for the door handle, but inexplicably found herself whiplashed into Andrus’ lap.
Helena found herself nose to nose with the snarling man. He smelled surprisingly sweet. She suddenly became all too aware of the powerful arms encasing her and the part of his body positioned just below her bottom. God, he smells incredible!
Dammit! What’s wrong with me?
“Who the hell are you?” She was not about to capitulate and cower to another…whatever he was. “You stalk me, tell me you’re going to help free me in exchange for answering a few questions, and now I’m your hostage. You vowed not to treat me like a pet, but here I am…whoof!”
Andrus stared into her eyes, giving her a look somewhere between hunger and frustration. His eyes shifted down to Helena’s lips and froze for the length of several slow breaths. As if catching himself doing something wrong, he pushed Helena back into her seat.
He gripped the steering wheel, his chest rising rapidly. “You win. We’ll take a plane.”
Chapter 10
Following hot on Helena’s heels, Andrus slammed the hotel room door behind him, grumbling something about whiny women.
“Hey, don’t blame me!” Helena barked. “Not my fault there aren’t any flights until morning. What’s the big damn hairy deal, anyway? I’m the one who should be complaining; I have to share a room with Mr. Unknown-Species who might feed on my soul while I sleep.”
Andrus glared at Helena and threw his black duffel bag on the bed. He was about to retaliate with a cruel rebuttal—that much she knew—but instead pinched his lips together for a moment before saying, “I’m going to take a shower. I suggest you take the opportunity to think about curbing your snotty comments.”
“Or what?” Helena perched her hand on her hip.
Andrus pulled his black t-shirt over his head and snapped it off his wrist onto the bed. Helena’s mouth fell open. His pecks where chiseled, rounded curves, headlining the ripples of perfection that cascaded down his stomach to form the only other ten-pack abs she’d ever seen in her life beside Niccolo’s. They were hard, deep, and tanned. Was he showing his powerful body to scare her? Wasn’t working.
Her eyes lingered over every splendid inch until they snagged on the trail of dark hair that ran under the waistband of his black leather pants. There, her eyes involuntarily stuck. She recalled how Niccolo wore a similar pair of pants two weeks ago.
She’d had to bite her tongue, almost drawing blood, to keep from licking her lips when she saw the distinct outline of Niccolo’s large bulge thrusting against the zipper. Andrus wasn’t aroused, but suddenly, she was.
Andrus’ angry glare morphed to something more mischievous. He cocked one brow. “See something you like?”
Busted! Helena frowned and turned away to search for a pretend missing object in her shopping bag. “Not even.”
She held up the charade until the bathroom door closed and then smacked her forehead with the heel of her palm. Dork!
***
Niccolo’s boots thumped across the hardwood floor as he paced the spacious penthouse bedroom—Helena’s abandoned penthouse, he chastised himself—bathing in her luscious, fading scent while he considered and reconsidered what to do. He quickly realized that reshuffling the deck of options didn’t change “squat” since they all “sucked ass,” as Viktor would say.
Sì, maybe I should consult Viktor.
Niccolo pulled his phone from his pocket. His fingers jabbed at the miniature text pad with frustration: H asked me 2 break 1 of my rules, then I should sleep w/ her. Yes? Niccolo hit send.
Viktor responded immediately: U mean sexting. right?
Niccolo: Sexting?
Viktor: Sex+texting.
Niccolo: Idiot. real sex.
Viktor: Dumbass! Then u lose chance 4 freedom.
Niccolo: Have lost it already. I think.
Viktor: K, then tell her who U R instead, ass.
Niccolo frowned. Why did Viktor, and modern humans for that matter, always speak of beasts of burden? Ass this and ass that. Hungry as a horse…
Niccolo punched in his response: Am killr. Queen’s murdering slave. H will reject me, loath me.
Also, breaking the Pact, which he’d upheld for over a thousand years, wouldn’t do at all. Telling her all about vampires and the laws that governed their world would make him a “lame ass.”
Viktor: Tell her WHOLE truth. She’ll b pist as balls but whtver. she’s UR mate. Honesty is best.
Niccolo shook his head. She’d think he’d just been using her to gain his freedom, that he didn’t care for her. Well, maybe he didn’t. It was impossible to say what was real. Did he want her, need her because of their bond? Or, was there more between them? He wished he knew, but more than that, he wished for the luxury of time to find out.
Niccolo ran his fingers through his hair. If he were going to do something to cause Cimil’s prophecy to go unfulfilled—breaking the Pact, biting or bedding Helena before turning her in six days—well bloody hell, he didn’t want Helena to end up hurt or hating him. It was also very likely, accord
ing to Cimil, that he’d die or end up in the queen’s dungeon. At least sleeping with Helena would give him one fantastic, perhaps final, memory to cling to.
Dammit. He couldn’t give up. Failure wasn’t in his nature.
He picked up a hardback from the nightstand and was about to hurl it across the room when he noticed the title. “Bram Stoker’s Dracula?” He grunted. It was Helena’s book. She based her opinion of him on this?
Niccolo’s phone buzzed.
Viktor: U still have 6 days. Too early to throw in towel.
He was right; however, there was no way to win her back without sacrificing something that would also mean sacrificing his chance for freedom, according to Cimil’s prophecy.
Niccolo: This is a fucking karmageddon. The universe’s payback for my sins.
Viktor: Calm urself, vampire. She’s human, use your charm.
Niccolo released a slow breath. “Buon. And if that doesn’t work, then I will still seduce her. At least I will see some satisfaction come from all this before my demise.”
***
Helena sat tightly wound on the edge of the queen size bed, staring at the dark carpet while listening to water hum through the pipes as Andrus showered. Now alone, that pang—stupid, goddamned pang!—was too noticeable to ignore.
It was silly to feel a sense of loss for something she never had, but she couldn’t ignore it. Absurdly, she thought about how perfect her life would be if she could combine Niccolo’s strength and looks with someone more open and caring. Maybe, once upon a time, he’d been that man. He had a mother, right? He probably loved her with tenderness and compassion before he’d been turned. Maybe Helena could help him remember those lost pieces of his humanity.
“Hopeless.” She sighed. “I’m totally hopeless! He wants to turn me into a vampire, and I want to turn him back into a human.”