Knight in Transition Read online

  “No.”

  “Does this produce any sensation at all?” She touched his hand with it.

  Air hissed between his teeth at the first touch of her hand. He was on fire. His hand curled beneath hers, curving into a fist.

  Her eyebrows lifted, and she quickly scribbled something else on his survey. “Do you believe in Satan?”

  “Yeah, if he’s the evil that lurks in a man’s heart,” he said, wanting to roll his eyes because he was growing more impatient by the moment. The questions were ridiculous.

  “Do you worship Satan?”

  “Uh, no.”

  She reached into her purse again and pulled out a tiny bottle of water and a sharpened stick.

  Joe stared at the items she stacked neatly in a row in front of him, and his blood began to boil. Silver crosses, holy water, and a fucking stake. Shit! The woman had studied Buffy 101. She was a fraud. She didn’t know the first thing about vampires—hell, she didn’t believe they existed. “I don’t suppose, Professor, that in all your research you’ve ever actually met a vampire?”

  She blinked and pushed her glasses up her nose. “I’m the one asking the questions here.”

  “And I’m finished answering,” Joe said, his eyes narrowing. “Have you ever met a real vampire?”

  The little professor sniffed and raised her chin. “If you’re asking whether I’ve ever met the supernatural kind, then no, I haven’t.”

  Joe slumped in the booth. His last hope dashed.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

  “Just pissed and hungry.” He let his gaze fall to her neck. “Want to know what it feels like?”

  “What it feels like?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “To be sucked by a vampire.”

  The professor’s cheeks turned a fiery red. “Certainly not.” But her words lacked true outrage.

  Joe’s mouth stretched into a smile. The lady had a dirty mind. Although, now that she had him thinking about it, the idea took root. She might not be able to give him the information he needed, but she could certainly share a little blood in exchange for the sweet release he’d give her.

  “Can I come home with you?” He hadn’t meant to blurt it out quite like that, but she was too delectable to pass up—and she owed him. He’d come halfway across the country just to speak to her.

  Now, she looked truly alarmed. “I-I think that’s all the questions I have. Thank you for coming.”

  Joe smiled and settled his back against the seat, stretching his arms across the top of the bench. He knew the action pulled his T-shirt taut across his chest—a well-developed chest, or so he’d been told.

  Her next nervous sweep indicated she’d noticed.

  “Don’t you want to complete your research? Don’t you want to know what it’s like to feel a vampire’s kiss?”

  Her chin came up. “I think if there was truly any merit to the legends, I’d have discovered that by now,” she said primly, her hands clenched on the table. “Stop playing with me.”

  He dropped his voice to a purr. “Don’t you want it to be true?”

  She stared at him, her face growing solemn and her gaze haunted. “I’ve wanted that more than you could ever know.”

  Joe tired of baiting her. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

  She tugged it back, but he turned her hand and brought her wrist to his nose. He inhaled deeply. That dark scent was there. “Not perfume. You.” He licked her delicate wrist, his breath deepening when he felt her heart rate increase.

  “What are you doing? Unhand me!”

  “I’m going to give you a kiss,” he said, never letting his gaze leave hers. “Here.” He slid his lips on her wrist. “I’ll show you what a vampire can do without ever being inside you.”

  Her mouth fell open, and her cheeks paled. Again, she tried to draw back her hand.

  “Just a taste,” he whispered, not letting go.

  “You’re going to bite me?” she asked, her tone incredulous. “What about shots? Blood tests? There’s a pamphlet on the table that describes safe bloodletting techniques—biting isn’t one of them! Christ, think of the bacteria!”

  Joe’s eyes narrowed, and he sank his teeth into a vein that trembled just under her skin.

  “Ow!” she gasped, her eyes rounding.

  Then he sucked, and she gasped again, only this time her body fell back against the upholstered seat. Her eyes closed for a moment, and her lips formed around an astonished O. “That’s…incredible!” she moaned, her back arching.

  He mouthed her skin while he continued to feed, drawing her rich blood across his tongue, down his throat, pulling her scent into his nostrils—as overcome with sensation and rising passion as his shocked little host-ess.

  “Please,” she said, her voice quavering. “Please, stop.”

  Though it damn near killed him, Joe withdrew his teeth. His body was wound tight as a spring. Then he looked at her. Her eyes were wary and wide, like a doe’s caught in the crosshairs. Wild color flooded her cheeks.

  The poor professor had enjoyed her lesson a little too much.

  Satisfied he’d planted a seed of sensual curiosity, he dropped his gaze to her wrist and the blood dotting her pale skin. He licked her until the small wounds closed, and then he laid her hand on the table. “Do you see now?” he asked softly, feeling not the least ashamed he’d used his persuasive powers to excite her.

  She drew a long shaky breath. “I see that my research needs to be expanded. I should make a point to appeal to the Sanguinarians for input. Of course,” she said, looking at her wrist under the lamplight and frowning, “I should probably make sure my tetanus is up to date, first.”

  Joe stared at her, wondering what it was going to take to prove he was a vampire. Morphing wasn’t an option—it tended to kill his victim’s sexual interest. “Jesus, you still don’t get it.”

  Surprise at his outburst caused her face to pale. “What’s to get, other than you think you’re a vampire?”

  Joe stood, and then leaned over the table, crowding the professor into the corner of the booth. “Lady, you wouldn’t know a vampire if he bit you on the ass.”

  “I beg your pardon,” she said, a frown drawing her eyebrows together.

  “You don’t know a damn thing about vampires. Hell, you can’t even tell when one’s fed off you!”

  “Now look here, I’ve studied all the texts, from every country with vampire traditions—China to Transylvania.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I’ve also read quite a bit about blood-drinking behavioral disorders and blood fetishists.”

  “Tell me you didn’t feel it, too.” His gaze fell to her tweed-covered chest. “Did your studies tell you that a vampire’s bloodlust is linked to sexual lust?”

  “Th-there is an erotic allure to vampirism,” she said, reaching to tuck a stray strand of hair into her bun. “After all, blood is the source of life and passion—which is what I’m assuming you’re experiencing now. The clinical term is haematodipsia—a sexual thirst for blood.”

  “You’re babbling,” Joe said, leaning close enough now that he could look into the cleavage at the top of her beige blouse and draw in her heated scent. “Tell me why your pulse is elevated and you’re perspiring.”

  Her hand fluttered on her chest, and she closed the collar of her shirt. “There’s no doubt a term. I just can’t think—”

  “Well, I’m not talking about sexual disorders. I’m talking about lust that grows in proportion to the amount of blood shared by a host.”

  She blinked. “That happens?”

  “You don’t know a lot of things, do you?” He drew back and glowered. “You don’t know how fast a vampire can drain a human dry. And do you have any clue how dangerous this is?” He raised the survey and crushed it into a ball, unaccountably angry with her. “You could have drawn a bloodthirsty bastard with a nasty sense of humor. Someone who wouldn’t have a qualm about taking your head off to get at y
our blood.”

  Her small pointed chin lifted. “I took precautions against being accosted by unhinged characters,” she said, glaring pointedly at him. “I’m in a public place with people around me.”

  “Do you know a vampire’s strength and speed is many times that of a man? You wouldn’t stand a chance against one.”

  “I’ll concede that—if—you were a vampire,” she said her voice rising, “I might indeed be in trouble.”

  He leaned closer, his hands clutching the table and the top of the bench seat. “Don’t you want to know for sure, Professor?”

  “Short of you taking a bite out of my neck—yes! But biting me with capped teeth won’t prove a thing. Hell, I have a mirror here somewhere…” She dug into her purse again. “We’ll just check your reflection.”

  Joe shook his head. The woman watched way too many movies. “If I’m telling you the truth, will you take me home? Feed me?”

  Her breath hitched, and she licked her lips. “If you’re telling the truth, shouldn’t I be afraid of you?”

  “Lady, you haven’t a thing to fear from me. I need you.”

  “To feed from?”

  “No. To make me human.”

  Chapter Two

  ‡

  “Y-you want to be human?” Lily stammered. Again. Something about this obnoxious man made her witless. Something besides all the muscles and the dark, brooding looks—oh, and the delusional behavior.

  “Yes,” he said, the word clipped.

  “Well, I’m not sure I can help you there.” She had a hard time concentrating when he loomed so closely. Her unfortunate condition made it impossible not to notice how masculine he was. How large his chest and thighs were. Or how well he filled out the front of his jeans…

  Her pussy pulsed. Damn! Not again. “I’ve only ever seen it depicted on television—Dark Shadows re-runs, I think.” Inwardly, she cringed at the nonsense spouting out of her mouth. But his testosterone-packed “package” was making it hard for her to concentrate. “Of course, Spike and Angel regained their souls, but no, I’ve never read anything about vampires transforming into humans. I think once you’re ‘awakened’, you’re st—”

  “Doomed.” His mouth thinned into a straight line.

  Her gaze followed the unhappy curve of his lips, and she caught herself just before she leaned forward to drag his masculine scent into her nostrils.

  Enough of his hovering. He made her so sexually aware she’d sunk to blathering. She scooted toward the end of her seat, forcing him to step back to let her stand. Unfortunately, that didn’t diminish his dangerous appeal. His size intimidated while at the same time sending her heart skipping. Even in her heels, the top of her head only reached his collarbone. His endless chest clothed in a tight, black T-shirt was lip-level. If she took one deep breath, her boobs would graze those rock-hard abs. She cringed at the thought. Her nipples were so damn sensitive these days.

  And caveman that he was, he didn’t seem inclined to budge another inch. She heard him sniff. His nose was next to her hair.

  Oh, yeah! Now, I don’t feel so intimidated. She had to get rid of him. “Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help…with your problem, that is. If you’ll excuse me…” He didn’t take the hint. Lily looked past his broad shoulder to Cissy and tilted her head toward Tall, Dark, and Toothsome.

  Cissy’s warm brown eyes widened, and she hurried over.

  With reinforcements coming, Lily gave him a challenging stare.

  The man took a deep breath and stepped aside, looking as though the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders. Poor man. He was just confused—damaged by the woman who had scorned him.

  Lily felt a moment’s compassion for him—until she realized he was staring at her neck again. And worse, this close proximity with the dark angel was playing havoc with her hormones. She moved away from the table then turned to face him. “Sir, you’ll need to move along. I have work to do here.”

  A muscle in his jaw clenched, and his intense, black stare pinned her to the spot. “Take me home with you.”

  Her body throbbed beneath his gaze. She shook her head, afraid to say anything. The only word in her one-word dictionary at the moment was yes!

  “Professor, do you want help packin’ up the materials?” Cissy’s voice broke in.

  Relief made her knees weak. Someone else stood between her and her wavering willpower. “Yes! I’m finished here tonight. Good evening, sir.” Then she turned her back on him and walked away.

  With Cissy’s help, she quickly gathered the pamphlets remaining on the table and stacked them in a cardboard box to take home, carefully keeping her back to the man.

  “He’s still here!” Cissy hissed from the opposite side of the table, her gaze trained on a spot behind Lily’s shoulder.

  “You’d better call me a cab,” Lily whispered.

  “I’ll make sure one of the guys walks you out. He seems kinda intense.”

  Lily shivered. That kind of intensity could be devastating when turned full force on a woman. Too bad he was deranged. “I’m sure he’s harmless, but why take a chance? Go call me that cab.”

  *

  It had taken Joe half an hour and a quarter pint of blood to find her apartment in the long, white two-story stucco building in the center of the French Quarter. The super led him straight to the door, then walked off, his eyes glazed under the influence of Joe’s suggestion he give his wife a tumble.

  It took another half an hour to feed from the man who lived in the apartment next to the professor’s until he slept, just so Joe could climb out on his ironwork balcony and make the leap to hers.

  Finally, he stood hidden in the shadows while he watched her through lacy curtains. Her French doors were opened to the sultry night air. With only light from the streetlamp outside to chase away the darkness, Joe could discern every detail of her bedroom. She lay not five feet from him atop pale pink sheets. Naked. Her knees bent; her creamy thighs splayed. So close he could smell her ripening scent.

  She was pleasuring herself.

  Joe’s cock stirred and unfurled, lengthening by the second as he watched her.

  A fan pulsed from the ceiling above her, lifting the gold-brown hair curving over her breasts to tangle with the fingers tugging at her nipples. When her hands moved down her rounded belly, his gaze clung hungrily to the turgid points surrounded by their pale rose circles. His mouth watered, imagining the velvet-soft flesh surrendering to his kisses. Succulent morsels yielding the sweetest gift—her blood from the heart of her femininity.

  She truly sealed her fate when one hand glided past the fur at her mons to cup her sex. Joe’s cock pressed insistently against his jeans, tightening when her fingers stroked between her outer labia to caress the thin folds within. Moisture glistened as she rubbed it over her lips, long sliding strokes that dipped inside and swirled outward.

  Then her other hand entered the play, and her fingers parted the swollen labia, pulling them back to expose her engorged clitoris. She touched the shiny nub once and shivered as though the spot were too sensitive, and then her fingers glided away.

  She circled the mouth of her vagina, dipping her fingertips into the well and spreading her moisture. Liquid seeped to coat her hand, and she brought her fingers to her mouth and licked the tips clean. Soft appreciative groans broke from her throat.

  Joe sweated. He’d never seen a woman enjoy her own essence like this one. His body was gripped with the need to shove his cock deep inside her juice-filled channel.

  Instead, he braced an arm against the window casing and his other hand went to the hard bulge at the front of his jeans. Desperate to take the edge off his need, he flicked open the button on his waistband and eased the zipper down, shoving his briefs beneath his balls, enjoying the way the elastic constricted. His hot flesh escaped its prison, filling his hand. He encircled his shaft and stroked it, letting urgency fill his loins as he watched her.

  Her hand slid beneath her pillow and pul
led out a long, flesh-tone object that she caressed like a man’s cock. She sucked the head of the dildo, wetting it with her spit while she closed her eyes. Did she imagine a man shafting into her mouth?

  Joe did. His cock pulsed and a pearl of pre-come beaded at the tiny opening atop the crown of his sex. He rubbed the moisture around the tip with his thumb.

  She fingered the base of her symmetrical shaft and it hummed, just like his body, triggered by her sexy moan at the first touch of her vibrator to the tips of her breasts. Her mouth opened around a gasp.

  Joe’s breath drew in sharply, imagining her taking his cock into her mouth. He squeezed himself, gliding the skin stretched tight as a rubber band over his cock, back and forth, faster.

  She circled the dildo on one tit while her free hand massaged the other, the nipple winking between her fingertips. Then she placed it between her generous breasts and squeezed them around the dildo as her body writhed on the bed, her hips lifting, pulsing in the air.

  Joe’s hips answered, pushing his cock through his clenched fist, faster now, building heat and friction. He dropped spit onto his shaft and worked it with his fist, gliding easily, imagining the woman’s undulating body convulsing along his cock.

  Abruptly, the woman rolled onto her stomach and came to her knees, planting them wide apart on the bed, letting her chest fall to the mattress. Reaching between her legs, she spread her lips and coaxed the vibrator into her pussy, working it inside her, inch by inch, twisting it in her cream to lubricate its length and push deeper.

  Joe’s grip nearly strangled his cock. The sight of her pale cheeks quivering in the air, the dildo clutched in her fist pumping in and out, pushed him over the edge. He felt the pressure build in his balls.

  Her chest rubbed on the sheets and her hips circled on her hand-held cock, until she cried out and shoved the dildo deep, cramming it inside as far as it could reach with the flat of her palm. She moaned and bucked; her soft whimpers carried on the air. When the pulsing of her hips stopped, she sobbed and fell to the blanket, turning to her back, her legs askew, her hair a tangled cloud on her pillow.