Runaway Vampire (Argeneau, #23)

“Dear God!” Mary gasped and turned away in horror.

Hearing Dante approaching from behind her, she turned, mouth opening to warn him to stay away. She never got the words out; the moment she turned to warn him, he slapped a bag of blood at her mouth. Mary blinked in surprise, automatically reaching for the bag, but he dumped the other two bags he’d brought with him onto the table and caught her hand with his now free one as he held the bag in place with the other.

“Relax,” he instructed. “Your fangs will do all the work.”

Mary tried to relax, but it was the oddest sensation. She could feel the cold liquid moving up her fangs. She couldn’t feel it after that, but she could feel it in her fangs and she wasn’t sure she liked it. In fact, she was quite sure she didn’t. It was blood after all. She was consuming blood. She was a vampire. One of those horrid creatures that fed on mortals like a leech, filling its belly on blood from people like her friends, her children and grandchildren.

Mary’s eyes widened with horror as it occurred to her to wonder how this would affect her life in more ways than just her looks. How was she to explain this to her children and grandchildren? How was she—?

“Mary,” Dante moved closer.

She glanced to him and saw the concern on his face. It seemed pretty obvious that he could see her mounting distress. Sliding one arm around her, he pulled her close, and then tugged the blood bag from her teeth. She waited to be splashed with the red liquid, but wasn’t. The bag was already empty, she saw with surprise as he tossed it to the table. Dante then caught her chin in his hand, turned her face back to his, and kissed her.

Mary hesitated, but quickly gave in and kissed him back. She didn’t want to think about what she was now and everything it meant. She didn’t want to consider the complications, and his kisses seemed a good escape from her thoughts.

The moment she opened her mouth to him, Dante caught her by the bottom and lifted her to sit on the table, pushing the dishes back with her behind as he did. Mary didn’t protest, she merely wrapped her arms around him and then her legs and kissed him hungrily. She didn’t realize her fangs were still out until she tasted blood in her mouth and realized she’d nicked him.

Moaning, Mary immediately found herself sucking on his tongue, drawing the warm, coppery liquid from the small wound and swallowing it eagerly. Some part of her mind immediately stepped back from her when she did that, horrified that she could enjoy the crimson liquid, and she feared Dante was doing the same when he suddenly broke their kiss, but then she found another bag popped to her fangs. She blinked at him over the bag, worried and grateful all at once, and Dante kissed her on the forehead. It was a sweet gentle kiss and made her feel better at once.

When she relaxed against him, Dante took her hand and placed it to the bottom of the bag. Mary automatically grasped it, and the moment she did, Dante grabbed the third bag and placed it in her free hand, then scooped her up off the table and carried her to the bed. Once there, he dropped to his knees, lowering her to sit on the end of the bed as he did. He then sat back on his heels in front of her.

Eyes wide, Mary tipped her head down and watched wide-eyed over the bag of blood as he took one of her feet in hand and lifted her leg so that it was extended. He paused, seeming to examine it, then ran his fingers lightly up the leg he held and murmured, “You have the loveliest most shapely legs. I noticed that when you came out of the bedroom in shorts the morning we breakfasted at the Round Up.”

Mary’s eyes widened even further. He’d liked her legs even then? When she’d looked her age? The thought startled her, but not as much as Dante did when he suddenly bowed his head and began to nibble his way up the inside of her calf.

Grunting in surprise, Mary dropped the third bag of blood she’d been holding and reached out to try to catch him by the hair and stop him, but he merely caught her hand in his and then continued to kiss his way up to her knee. He then set her foot back on the floor and it wasn’t until he moved forward to kneel between her legs that she realized he’d set her foot down so that her legs were spread.