Sexual Appetites of Vampires (Sexual Appetites of Unearthly Creatures #1)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

L ara sat staring at the empty doorway, her cheeks burning bright red. “Idiot, idiot, idiot, he can read your mind.” She placed her wine glass on the table and rested her face in her cupped hands. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening,” she mumbled. “I’m trapped in a nightmare, and I need to wake up. Wake up now, Lara, do you hear me? Wake up now!”

She raised her head, and her shoulders slumped as she looked around. “Of course it couldn’t be that easy. All right, since this is real, you need to protect yourself. How is the question?”

She sprung off the sofa. “His library.” There hadn’t been much money when she was growing up, and she had loved to read as had her dad. He always told her that if she wanted to know anything about anything, the library was where you would find your answers. Of course, once they had gotten the Internet, it had become her chief source of research. But right now, that wasn’t available to her and from what Desmond had told her Michael had a substantial collection of vampire books.

With quick steps, she hurried out of the living room to the library. She entered without worry that Michael would be there. Taking care of matters wouldn’t have taken him to the library, though she did wonder where he had gone off to and why. She paused a moment to warm her chilled hands in front of the fire. The fireplace was early Victorian, ornate and ostentatious, but that would be expected in a home built in the early 1800s. She had read, this morning while having breakfast at Molly’s Place, the book about the founding of Mull. It mentioned that the Valaine house had been built in the early 1800s.

A sudden thought had her turning with a huge smile. If the library was that old, she could only imagine the literary treasures it held. But first things first, she silently admonished herself. She was here to look for books on vampires.

To her surprise and delight, she discovered that brass plates marked the topic for each shelf. She got busy reading each one, keeping in mind that she didn’t think she would come across one marked vampires.

After the lower shelves revealed nothing, she climbed the sturdy library ladder that ran along a brass rod. It was when she moved slowly along to the middle of the wall of shelves that a brass plate caught her eye... Unearthly Creatures .

She couldn’t help but smile and think that it was no little coincidence it should bear the title of the book she was connected with. She reached out and ran a finger along the spine of each book while perusing the titles. One immediately jumped out at her... The Life of a Vampire .

The embossed cover had faded with time and the edges were worn. She searched for the date of publication and her eyes widened when she found it...1875. There was no author’s name, only edited by Samuel Bidford and it had been published by Bidford it grows stronger by the minute, and your scent is so robust, so irresistible...your skin hot, your nipples hard and I want to?—”

“Stop it,” she shouted, fearing she would lose control any minute and demand he make love to her. “I will not be caught up in your spell and bent to your will.”

“Isn’t that exactly what human males do, persuade and seduce women? And to be fair, women do the same to men. And isn’t it our sexual appetites that drive us to seduce whether male or vampire?”

“Then what you’re saying is that vampires really aren’t all that different than those of human males. Both are ravenous.”

“Not entirely true, since with a human male it would depend on his age and health whether he was ravenous for sex or not. Not so with a vampire, due to his longevity and vitality, his sexual appetite rarely wanes. However, I think the biggest difference is that not all sexual encounters of humans are satisfying.”

“Are you saying that every sexual encounter you have is satisfying? There hasn’t been one that has displeased or disappointed?” she asked as if she hadn’t quite understood him.

“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying.”

“And your partner?”

“I would never leave a woman I have sex with feeling anything but fully satiated.” His brow knitted and he stared at her.

Lara turned away not wanting him to read her thoughts again and discover how disappointing sex had been for her through the years.

He leaned forward in his chair. “Lara, look at me.”

“I don’t want you listening in on my thoughts. They are private. Mine alone.”

“Your thoughts are easily heard when you speak them so clearly.”

“You mean clear enough for a vampire,” she said, keeping her head turned away.

“Granted, my senses go deeper than the common male, but?—”

She whipped her head back around. “No buts, stay out of my thoughts.”

“Then stop sending them to me,” he said with a bit of annoyance as he leaned back in his chair.

Was she sending him them? How was that even possible? And how did she stop it?

“Why did you agree to participate in this book?” he asked. “You present fact, not fiction on your blog and this editor who hired you is obviously looking for sensationalism.”

His question had mirrored her own when she had taken on the assignment. “My intentions were to find out what I could, piece it together, discard the ridiculous and write what possibly could be, though make it clear that it was nothing but fantasy.”

“And now?”

“That’s a good question. What now? Why did you admit to me that you’re a vampire? It wasn’t necessary. And now that I know...” Her stomach churned waiting for an answer.

“You wonder if I will let you tell the world?”

“It has crossed my mind.”

“It would be a hard sell.”

Lara had to laugh. “You’re right it would be, but it doesn’t answer my question—why did you tell me?”

“That answer is best left for a later time.”

“I would prefer to know now.”

“Not just yet,” Michael said and from the firm tone of his voice, Lara knew even persistence would get her nowhere. “Your lips constantly tempt me to kiss you.”

“Kiss not bite?” she asked, trying to make light of his remark that stirred her in places she didn’t want to think about.

“I would love to bite you.”

He said it with such seriousness that it startled her, and she quickly said, “But you won’t.”

“There will come a time you will want me to.”

“You’re so sure?”

“Very,” he said with such confidence that it made her shiver.

Lara silently questioned the sanity of any further discussion about sex with him. Somehow it always seemed to come back to them eventually making love. And it troubled her that she could easily, though foolishly, surrender to this man. But he wasn’t only a man, he was a vampire. Something she continued to have difficulty believing even though she was seeing proof with her own eyes. And that’s what would stop her...surrendering to a vampire. It wasn’t what she had planned for her life. But then life never quite turned out as you planned it.

However, never in her wildest dreams would she have believed she would not only meet a vampire but give thought to having sex with one.

Needing to get away from the topic of sex completely, she said, “I could use a bite to eat.” She cringed at her choice of words.

Michael laughed. “So could I.”

That made her eyes pop wide open.

“One of the misconceptions of vampires is that we exist solely on blood.”

“You don’t?” she asked surprised.

“It is our main source of nutrition, but through the years we have evolved, and we can now enjoy certain foods and drink.” He stood and leaned over her to slip her wine glass out of her hand and took a sip. “To my pleasure, wine is one of them.” He sat the glass aside and offered his hand to her. “Come, we’ll get something to eat.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

He stood and leaned down over her, bringing his face much too close to hers. “Or we can remain here and continue to discuss my sexual appetite.”

His lips started to pull back in a smile or was that a snarl? She didn’t wait to find out. She slipped out of the chair and squeezed past him, relieved that he didn’t stop her.

When there was a safe distance between them—though was there any safe distance from a vampire—she said, “I’m starving.” This time she rolled her eyes at her words.

“Never worry, Lara, I’ll see that all your hungers are more than satisfied.”

Lara froze, not sure if shivers were running through her or if cool fingers were stroking her flesh. When she thought she caught a hint of red in his eyes, she quickly fled the room.