chapter 19
Gerard leaned back against the sofa, tapping his foot while Amber paced. They were waiting for Megan and Vincent’s arrival from the airport before deciding what to do next. Sheridan was asleep. After being up all day, he’d crashed in the upstairs guestroom around three a.m.—about a half hour ago.
Wimp.
“Try calling to Nicolas. He knows Surratt. He might know Surratt’s next move.” Was his next move to destroy the vampire hunter? Amber had yet to embrace her “true” nature, but she was starting to use her abilities. Would Surratt see the use of those gifts as a threat? Would he come after her again?
His heart clinched.
Amber stopped pacing long enough to say, “We don’t need him.”
Stubborn woman.
“I’m not pressuring you,” he said, turning to watch as she resumed her pacing, marching back and forth from the sofa to the computer desk. “I just think—”
“Yes you are.” She whipped her head around and glared. “You said he should be here. You said he could have vital information. You said he could protect us if Matheson’s intent was to destroy all vampires and not just rogue ones. You said—”
“I know what I said.”
“Don’t interrupt!” She snapped. “I’m on a roll.”
“Then roll on over here.” He patted the sofa. “You’re working yourself into a frenzy.”
She combed her fingers through her hair. She was wearing it down for a change. The wavy locks touched her shoulders, brushing her soft skin the way he longed to do. His body reacted, instantly hardening at the memory of her naked flesh pressed against his.
He shifted his hips. “Come here.”
“But we need to find the right hospital,” she said almost to herself as she glanced back at the computer screen. “We need to find Weldon.”
He rose to his feet. “We’ll find Weldon and G-2 later. Right now, you need to relax.”
Amber stared. “G-2?”
He shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “Yeah, well, we got to call him something and I’m not real comfortable calling him Clone.”
Smiling, she stepped forward and into his arms. They folded around her, absorbing her mortal energy. Her softness. Her—he wouldn’t call it love, no matter what he felt from her. Until she said the words, he wouldn’t call it anything.
“Yeah. G-2. Gerard Two.” She kissed his cheek. “Definitely not as good as the original.”
She nuzzled his neck. Heat shot strait to his groin. He swelled, aching to be inside her, needing to be inside her.
Pressing his hips against her middle, he said, “Definitely not.”
Her lips grazed his throat. His blood sizzled. She sniffed delicately. “And you smell nicer too.”
Giggling like a schoolgirl, she danced out of his arms and toward her bedroom. Then she cast a quick glance toward the stairs in the foyer before striking an erotic pose in the hall. She crooked a finger and lowered her voice like a teenager sneaking her boyfriend in the house after her parents have gone to bed. “Speaking of rolls, how about a roll in the hay, big boy.”
With a hard-on the size of Texas, he walked toward her as she disappeared inside the bedroom.
Making love to Amber put her in danger. Just knowing him put her in danger. He was a vampire. Trying to live as anything other than what he was put every mortal he knew at risk. But he couldn’t embrace the darkness the way Sonia did. He wanted to be mortal again—or as close to mortal as the antivirus allowed. And he wanted Amber—with every fiber of his immortal being.
Ignoring the voice in his head that warned him to stay away from her for both their sakes, he followed his heart—and another more prominent part of his anatomy—into her bedroom and shut the door. Decorated in browns and turquoise, it was feminine without being frilly—like Amber.
“What took you so long?” The sexy smile pasted on her lips didn’t hide the anxiety in her eyes as she stood next to a high brass bed wearing nothing but that sexy pink underwear. Her belt, pants, and silky shirt lay heaped at her feet.
He stepped toward her without hesitation, letting her know without words he’d never turn her down. His need was more than just sexual. He needed Amber’s light to chase away the darkness in his soul.
At his approach, a smile touched her lips. She raised her hands to her neck and unclasped the silver necklace she often wore. Twisting slightly at the waist, she dropped it on the bedside table next to the lamp. “I probably shouldn’t wear this when I’m with you. Huh?”
“I’d appreciate that quite a bit as a matter of fact.”
Her eyes smoldered with undeniable desire. “Done. Now, how about you tuck me in?”
A horde of vampire slayers couldn’t have stopped him from crossing the room and taking her into his arms.
****
Amber melted against him.
All her womanly parts tingled. Her pulse quickened. Curving her fingers around the back of his neck, she tugged him closer. His immortality no longer mattered. She wanted him—if only for one more night, she would have him.
Desire, need, and sorrow shone in the depths of his blue gaze as he lowered his head and took her mouth in a brutal kiss that sealed her fate. She was in love with a vampire.
A bittersweet yearning tempered her lust as he kissed her until her lips felt swollen. Then he touched her breasts through the lacy cups of her bra, bringing her nipples to aching hard points. Her muscles contracted. Heat flushed her skin.
Burning with desire, she worked to free his cotton shirt from the waistband of his jeans. He broke free of the kiss long enough to pull the garment over his head and toss it to the floor.
Muscles flexed. His broad shoulders bulged.
Amber’s breath caught in her throat. Swallowing an appreciative groan, she stared at his smooth, marble-sculpted chest and washboard abs. Coarse brown hair swirled around his navel before thinning to an arrow of darker hair that trailed beneath the waistband of his jeans. A path to paradise.
Hoo-ah!
She hooked her fingers into his front belt loops and pulled his hips flush against her middle. His body tensed. His flat male nipples hardened into tight brown pebbles.
Sucking air between his teeth, he lowered his hands to her waist, cupped her hips and pulled her more firmly against his erection. Moisture pooled between her thighs. Her muscles quivered and contracted.
“Je te veux ,” he said in a thick, husky voice she barely recognized.
“I don’t know what you just said, but it sounded sexy as hell.”
“I want you,” he growled.
Pulse racing, she reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. Gerard stayed her hand. “Allow me.”
A smile touched her lips as she skimmed her palms over his muscled forearms while he reached behind her. He wasted no time pulling off her bra and tossing it to the floor. Then he cupped her breasts, pressing his palms flat against her heated flesh.
“Je veux te toucher .” His words were barely above a whisper. The husky timber touched off a firestorm in Amber’s blood.
“English. Please.” Breathless, eager, she let her head fall back, pushing her breasts more firmly against his palms.
“I want to touch you—all of you.” With a passionate groan, his lips descended on hers.
His hot tongue swept inside her mouth, an erotic caress that left her throbbing. Aching. She gripped his hair and nudged him lower, need driving her like a general driving his troops to conquer the enemy.
Gerard understood without words exactly what she needed.
Taking one aching nipple into his mouth, he sucked and licked, his caresses hot. Urgent. Then gentle and teasing, dragging responses from her that left her gasping and weak.
Need twisted her into white-hot knots. Breathless, mindless, she reached for his pants, fumbling with the metal button and zipper. He reached for her panties, his hands skillfully sliding them down her trembling legs.
Her muscles jumped and quivered.
Within minutes, they were both naked, his hard body pressing her into the mattress, her hands sliding down his back to pull him closer. His firm buttocks felt like iron globes beneath her questing palms.
To hell with foreplay. She wanted him. Now. But Gerard was a patient lover. He kissed and caressed, his hands stroking and teasing until she thought she would burst into flames. She very nearly did when his lips pressed against her curls, his tongue darting between her hot folds.
Her body jolted in response, her womb contracting in anticipation of his entrance.
Fighting for control, she wriggled out from under him. He slid up her body and kissed her neck. She smelled herself on his breath.
“I’m going to take you slowly this time. When I slide inside you, I’m going to brand you as mine forever and always,” he whispered, touching more than just her body with those sweet words. He touched her soul.
Unable to speak, she kissed him with a joy and passion she couldn’t put into words—a joy dampened by fear—fear of losing him. Gerard was immortal. He wasn’t invincible. And Carl Matheson knew all the ways to destroy him.
Gasping for breath, she ended the kiss, raising her head to meet his intense gaze. His expressive blue eyes sparkled with desire—and something more.
Her heart clenched.
Fear fueled by a desperate need to prevent him from voicing the emotion she saw in his eyes, she pushed him off her chest. Gerard looked as if she’d slapped him.
Ignoring the heartache shining in his eyes, she rolled onto her stomach and reached over the side of the bed for her pants. She unsnapped her handcuffs from her belt and turned to face Gerard. His eyes widened.
She gave him a provocative smile—a smile designed to hide the fear in her heart—fear of the intense feelings he stirred inside her soul.
Reaching for his right arm she said, “I know you could easily escape these, but let’s pretend for a moment you can’t.”
Fire danced in his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbled.
Without protest, he raised his arms above his head and stuck his hands between the brass bars so Amber could cuff his wrists on either side.
“I’m all yours,” he said, his voice raw.
Need speared her. Hot with wanting, she leveled herself up to straddle his hips. Her body yawned above him, pulsing with a soul-deep desire to have him inside her. She lowered her hips, barely brushing the tip of his erection before rising again.
Gerard thrust upward. Amber’s thighs quivered as she held herself out of reach, sliding over the length of him without granting him entrance.
With a frustrated growl, he sank back to the mattress and relinquished control. Amber felt his restraint—felt him fighting the desire to break free.
“Patience,” she whispered from a throat so tight she could barely get the word out.
He could snap the cuffs as easily as she could snap a pencil, but he allowed her the illusion of being in control. Taking charge, she bent forward and kissed him deeply.
As she slowly lowered her hips, his hot, throbbing erection filled her. Moaning her pleasure, she took in every inch of him until her thighs rested against his pelvis. He jerked upward with a grunt, his hot breath filling her mouth.
Her muscles contracted, contorting her body. He sank deeper, touching her core. A whimper escaped.
For several heartbeats, she held perfectly still, her forehead resting against his—concentrating on that part of her that so intimately connected to him. Her breathing hitched. Her body pulsed.
Fighting a budding urgency, she forced herself to move slowly—forced herself to prolong the pleasure. Palms pressed to his chest, she raised and lowered her hips, gently rocking against him until the pressure became unbearable. Her body quivered on a sigh. Her muscles tightened around him.
“Bon sang!” He jolted—his body shaking as he fought to control his physical release.
She felt his pleasure as keenly as she felt her own.
Throwing her head back as she slammed against his hips, she cried, “Yes.” Panting breaths escaped. Her body coiled tighter. She moved faster. “God, yes!”
Gerard surged upward. A growl rumbled through his chest. Amber increased the pace, riding him hard. Racing toward glory.
He bucked beneath her. Her body thrummed—the pressure building until she found her release and shattered above him.
Exhausted and replete, her body slick with sweat, she dropped to his chest with a shuddering sigh. Before she settled back to Earth, Gerard snapped the cuffs and clasped her to his chest.
Surging upward one last time, he emptied himself inside her with a primal groan.
For several moments, she lay across his chest, her legs draped over his as her breathing slowly returned to normal. Gerard held her, his hands running over her back, his touch so gentle it made her ache.
Raising her head, she met his tender gaze. Emotions she didn’t want to feel choked her. Her heart pounded like a steel drum. Her throat constricted.
Forcing a light tone to her words, she said, “I’m going to have a tough time explaining those broken cuffs to the captain.”
He smiled. “Afraid he’ll find out his best detective has a kinky side.”
If she was such a damn good detective, she wouldn’t have needed vampire magic to find Weldon. Her gut twisted.
Nothing in her life was what it seemed. Her father wasn’t her father and she wasn’t a good soldier or a good cop. She was a hybrid freak of nature.
Ignoring the dark cloak of despair settling in her chest, she forced a smile. “I’m not his best detective. But I bet I’m the best sex you ever had.”
Even in her befuzzled state she knew what they’d just shared was more than sex—a hell of lot more. She felt as if she’d given up part of her soul to this man.
Afraid to admit she wanted a future with an immortal, she slid off his body, giving him her back. Before she could scramble off the bed, he pulled her against his chest. His arms banded around her waist. His lips brushed the back of her neck.
“Don’t you want more?” he whispered.
She stiffened. “Don’t get carried away, Frenchie. It was just sex.”
Just saying those cold, hard words brought a lump to her throat. She didn’t know what she wanted from Gerard, or what was even possible, but she knew she wanted more from him than just a mind-blowing screw. She wanted…
Happily ever after?
Yeah. Right. Forever for Gerard was literal. And she was destined to live and die in the normal human fashion.
“Do you think I betrayed you?” he asked softly, his lips brushing her shoulders.
Her breath hitched in her lungs. “What?”
“This wasn’t the result of glamour. I want you to know that,” he said in a solemn voice that sounded like a pledge. “Whatever made you want me was real. I didn’t instigate it. It’s important to me for you know that.”
Her heart melted. Warning bells rang like sirens in her head, cautioning her to tread lightly. She was in grave danger of pledging her undying love to man who could live forever.
The very idea was ludicrous. And so incredibly sad. Turning her head to the side, she rested her cheek against his shoulder. In the stillness of the room, she let her heart feel the love he offered for only a second. Then she slipped from his arms and reached for her clothes.
“Being carefree was fun while it lasted, but we have a lot to do before Vincent and Megan get here. And I need to take a shower.”
Gerard stood. Sorrow shadowed his expression. His smile appeared forced. “Go take your shower and slip into some clean clothes. You’ve had on those same pink undies since yesterday.”
Relieved by his light tone, she relaxed her tense shoulders. “Well, you shouldn’t have dragged me to New York without letting me pack a bag. I had a shower at Vincent’s, but I wasn’t about to borrow Megan’s underwear.”
“You wouldn’t have liked her undies,” he said with an honest to God twinkle in his eyes. “She wears plain cotton panties.”
Amber folded her arms under her breasts, hugging her dirty clothes to her chest. An unexpected stab of jealousy pierced her heart. “How would you know what kind of panties Megan wears?”
He winked. “I’m a vampire. I have my secrets.”
That damn wink did it for her. It eased her mind and her cares.
Why was she stressing about her relationship with Gerard. It’s not like he’d proposed. She didn’t need a commitment to enjoy his company or to sleep with him. They could be friends with benefits. No pressure. No illusions about happily ever after. She didn’t even have to risk her heart by telling him she loved him. What could be better?
She could enjoy his company while it lasted—until she started to get old and wrinkled or he grew bored with his mortal “play thing.”
So, why didn’t that make her feel better?
Not liking her easy solution any more than confessing her love to a man who’d eventually leave her, she drifted into the bathroom and closed the door.