Scarlet Heat Read online

  “It’s okay, baby,” he murmured hoarsely. “You can move. Or I can, if you want me to.”

  “Please,” I whispered, wiggling shamelessly against him, feeling his fingers thrust into me in response. “Please, Victor, yes. I need…I need to come. Please, I’m so close.”

  “That’s right, baby,” he growled as he began to pump slowly in and out of me, his thick fingers sliding gently into my open pussy. “That’s right, let it go. Let it go and come for me.” At the same time his fingers were penetrating me to the hilt, I felt the broad pad of his thumb sliding gently but insistently over the aching bud of my clit. Pleasure built inside me, a tight knot of heat in my belly, a glowing coal that threatened to burst into flames and burn me to ashes. And that was exactly what I wanted.

  His touch, I thought deliriously. His hands on me. His essence in me. Marking me, making me his. Oh yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes…

  And then suddenly, I was sliding over the edge, losing myself in the sweet, deep joy of giving myself freely to a man who wanted nothing but my pleasure.

  “Victor!” I gasped, my hips working shamelessly against his hand. My inner muscles clenched around his fingers, the orgasm rushing through me like wildfire. Then it changed somehow, went from heated to cooling in a single instant. I felt it rippling over my skin like deep waves in a pond, quenching the fire that burned me—at least for now. “Victor, oh God, please…”

  “So fucking beautiful…” he growled, his eyes flashing wolf gold. “Baby, you’re so fucking gorgeous when you come.”

  “Oh!” I bit my lip, trying to hold back, but it didn’t help. I couldn’t seem to stop moaning, couldn’t seem to help the way my hips were bucking as I rode his fingers, the way I was working against him, my hands clenched on his broad shoulders as I finally let myself go and came.

  Chapter Twelve—Victor

  I had never seen anything or anyone so beautiful in my entire life as Taylor when she finally let loose with me and let herself go. She had a wild look in her eyes, a heat I had never seen there before and didn’t know if I would ever see again. It wasn’t a wolf’s heat—not entirely. It had some of her in it too—some human, some vampire. It was as though she’d become a mixture—the best parts of all three.

  What’s happening to her? I wondered. What is being with me doing to her?

  And then she gasped my name again, crying out her pleasure as her hot, sweet pussy squeezed my fingers and I forgot anything but how beautiful she was. How much I wanted her.

  When she finally finished and went limp against me, panting, my cock was rock hard and aching for her. I wanted to pull her closer and enter her—and not with my fingers this time. I felt the wolf moving in the back of my brain, panting and eager, demanding that we claim our mate, that we mark her and make her ours beyond the shadow of a doubt.

  With some difficulty, I pushed the desire back. This was about Taylor, about helping her handle the weird heat that had come on her because she was bonded to me. Not about any need of mine. The brand burning on my lower back begged to differ but I pushed it away, tried to ignore it. Not now, I thought savagely. Not…now.

  “Oh…” Taylor moaned softly, shifting against me so that I could feel the points of her nipples pressing against my bare chest. “Oh, Victor…that was…that was amazing.”

  “You feel better now, baby?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from sinking down to the wolf’s growl and not entirely succeeding.

  “So much better.” She sat back a little and gave me a dreamy, satisfied smile.

  “Good.” I suddenly realized my fingers were still deep inside her, filling her soft little cunt—God, she was tight. “Um…” I looked down uncertainly.

  “Oh.” Taylor looked down as well and blushed. I had to admit it was a hot sight, her spread out mostly naked on my lap with her pussy open and penetrated like that.

  “Well, now that you’re finished…” I said and withdrew as smoothly as I could.

  Taylor gave a little cry and I looked at her worriedly.

  “Did I hurt you, baby?”

  “No,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I just…I guess I feel so empty now.” Then she blushed, her cheeks going scarlet as though realizing what she’d said. “I mean…”

  “It’s okay,” I told her. “You don’t have to explain.” I slipped my fingers into my mouth and sucked her honey off one last time. It was warm and sweet and delicious. God, I wanted her.

  She watched me do it, her eyes wide.

  “You…you really do like that? Um, the way I…?”

  “The way you taste?” I finished for her, my voice dropping to a growl again. “Hell yes, baby. You taste amazing. Sweet and salty and hot…I could taste you all night.” I didn’t mean off my fingers either and I could tell Taylor knew it.

  Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. “Is that a were thing too? Wanting to…you know.”

  “Lick pussy?” I said directly. She blushed but didn’t seem too upset.

  “Yes, I guess.”

  “It is a were thing,” I acknowledged, licking the last little bit of her juices from my fingers. “We like to taste our mates—it helps keep the connection strong.”

  “Oh.” She let the t-shirt drop and got off my lap. “I’m, uh, sorry I can’t…couldn’t…”

  “Don’t be sorry,” I said quickly. “This—what we just did—I fucking loved it. But the main thing is, did it help? Do you feel like we backed the heat off?”

  “I think so.” But she didn’t sound entirely certain. “I mean, I don’t feel like I’m burning up with need anymore. But…”

  “But?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  Taylor nibbled her lush lower lip, making me want to kiss her again.

  “Nothing,” she said at last. “It’s nothing. I’m sure.”

  I frowned. “Well, all right. But if you need help again…”

  She sighed and looked down at her hands. “It’s the same as when I need blood, isn’t it? I have to come to you. Have to beg for help.”

  “Taylor…” I brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. “Baby, please don’t feel like that,” I said hoarsely. “I love feeding you, love helping you. I promise you, I don’t mind.”

  “Maybe I mind,” she whispered. “Mind being so dependant…so needy.”

  “So beautiful,” I corrected. “So sweet. So hot.” I took her hand in mine and pressed her soft little palm to my scratchy cheek. “I…don’t…mind,” I emphasized again, looking into her eyes. “The only thing I’d be upset about is if you didn’t come to me when you needed me. Okay?”

  She looked at me uncertainly but at last my words seemed to penetrate. Slowly, she nodded.

  “All right. Thank you, Victor. I know I’ve been nothing but a pain to you ever since I came here.”

  “Not true,” I said, kissing her palm. “You’ve helped me and healed me. Fed me more bacon than any one man—or wolf—ought to eat in one sitting…”

  “Victor…” She laughed at that and I was glad to see the smile on her face. “Come on, it was only three packs.”

  “But now I got nothing to make BLTs with,” I complained.

  “So that’s what the lettuce and tomato in the fridge are for,” she said. “I thought maybe they were for salad.”

  “Salad? No fucking way.” I grinned at her. “I’m a wolf, baby—I can’t live on bunny food.”

  “How about a steak then?” She looked at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s almost dinnertime and I thought I saw one in there. Let me make you something to eat.”

  “The only thing I want to eat right now…” I started and saw her creamy cheeks flush red.

  “Victor…”

  “Is a big juicy medium rare steak,” I finished.

  Taylor slapped me on the chest. “Now stop that—you’re making me embarrassed.”

  “What?” I spread my hands innocently. “I was just saying how hungry I am. So yes, I’d love a steak. Uh, do you know ho
w to cook though?”

  “I’ve only been a vampire for six years,” she reminded me. “I’m an excellent cook.”

  “Go to it, then, woman.” I pointed at the door. “Go make me a steak.”

  “Yes, sir!” She gave me a little salute and giggled, a soft sound that made me want to take her down to the bed and kiss her and tickle her until she made that sound again—as well as a lot of others.

  I pushed the impulse away and tried to ignore the burning that was growing at the small of my back. If she didn’t leave soon…

  But she was already off the bed and going back to the kitchen to dig the steak out of the fridge and get started.

  I heaved a sigh of relief when she left. Then I popped my jeans open and stroked, long and hard and slow, thinking of how she’d looked when she came apart in my arms. Replaying her soft little cries as she let herself go, savoring the last lingering traces of her delicious honey on the tip of my tongue.

  I came with her name on my lips and a growl in my throat, the brand burning like…well, like a brand on my skin. God, I couldn’t keep up like this—it was dangerous. And yet, I couldn’t very well stop. I had a feeling Taylor would be needing me to help her again—probably in the very near future. Nobody ever really managed to stand down a heat completely. The most a female could hope for was to put it off until her bonding day and even then, a female in heat often wasn’t successful. She needed her male inside her, fucking her—breeding her—filling her with his seed, his essence—quenching the fire of need that rose in both of them when she came into heat.

  That’s not going to happen, though, I lectured myself sternly. Taylor can’t handle it. No matter how hot she gets, we’re not going any further than we just went.

  Only I hoped we’d backed her heat down enough to keep it manageable. Because if it got worse…more intense…

  It’ll be okay, I told myself uneasily, as I cleaned up the mess I’d made. For Taylor’s sake, it has to be.

  Chapter Thirteen—Taylor

  “Can you believe it’s almost been a whole month you’ve been over there?” Addison’s voice on the phone sounded positively chirpy—no doubt the result of her new relationship with Corbin. I was pretty sure she’d gotten more sex in the past month than she had in the past three years—it tended to make her a little hyper, but in a sweet way.

  “It’s more like three and a half weeks,” I said, smiling a little. “But who’s counting?”

  “You are, apparently,” Addison said and I could hear her smiling too. “So it’s not as bad as you thought?”

  “We had a bumpy start,” I said cautiously. “But now…well, now it’s pretty great.”

  Actually, it was more than great. Aside from the brief week and a half I had lived at Corbin’s club, the past six years of my life had been one long misery. Compared to that, life at Victor’s house was wonderful. No one beat or abused me. No one constantly told me what a failure I was, and as a result, I had blossomed—well, as much as an undead creature like myself could blossom, that was. I had just about mastered the art of healing and hardly ever left a mark on Victor when I bit him. We had done a few more glam-sessions too—all strictly G-rated but still, I liked being in his mind—and having him in mine as well since it seemed to go both ways with us when I glammed him.

  By unspoken agreement, we were taking it easy and slow. There had been no repeat of the intensely passionate scene we’d shared when he helped me back off the heat that had threatened to overcome me. Victor never mentioned it but I thought of it often and I was sure he did too. Sometimes I saw him watching me with a hungry look in his eyes. When that happened, I turned away and blushed or quickly changed the subject. I just needed a little more time, I told myself. Luckily, Victor seemed more than willing to give it to me.

  Sometimes he stayed up late with me. We watched old movie marathons and ate popcorn—well, Victor ate it, anyway while I sat next to him on the couch, just enjoying the smell. Sometimes I cooked for him—I really enjoyed the look of delight on his face when he came home from work to find dinner ready on the table or a fresh plate of my homemade chocolate chip cookies still warm from the oven.

  We talked cautiously about ourselves, getting to know each other. Victor told me about the expansion he hoped for in his construction company. I told him about how I wanted to go back to school and finish my degree as a veterinarian.

  “But cats don’t like me now,” I told him sadly. “Dogs don’t seem to mind but cats hiss and run away the minute I get anywhere near.”

  “So open an animal practice that’s for dogs only,” he said reasonably. “They have ‘em just for cats—I see that Cat Doctors place every time I do a job in South Tampa. Why not one just for dogs?”

  “I never thought of that. I guess it could work,” I said cautiously.

  “Absolutely—who needs cats?” he scoffed. “Dogs and wolves—that’s where it’s at.”

  I smiled at him. “I don’t know many people who keep wolves as pets, do you?”

  He grinned. “No, but they should. Wolves are great. Loyal and sweet and protective.” He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. “Once a wolf decides to trust you, he’ll stick with you forever, you know?”

  I felt the heat rising in my cheeks and had to look away. I knew what he was saying, in a roundabout way but I didn’t know how to answer him.

  “I…I like wolves,” I said softly. “A lot more than I ever thought I would, actually.”

  “I’m glad,” Victor said simply and then he changed the subject to something else entirely, to my mingled relief and disappointment…

  “Great, huh?” Addison’s voice cut into my happy musings. “Wow, that’s a rousing endorsement. Just great?”

  “No, it’s…I can’t explain it.” I sighed. “Victor is so…so surprising. So completely different from what I thought he was going to be. In a good way, I mean.”

  “A really good way apparently,” Addison teased. “Corbin was right about you two. He said you’d be well matched.”

  “According to you, Corbin is always right. Tell him to give up Under the Fang and set up a supernatural dating site instead,” I said, laughing.

  “Supe-Match.com,” she suggested. “Or how about OK Werewolf instead of OK Cupid?”

  “Plenty of Vamps instead of Plenty of Fish,” I added and we both giggled like little girls.

  Addison sighed happily. “It’s so good to hear you laugh again, Taylor. I mean really laugh like you mean it,” she said. “I was really skeptical about this guy at first but I have to admit, it seems like he’s treating you right.”

  “He is.” I thought of how sweet and patient Victor had been with me. “He really is.”

  “I know it sounds crazy but it almost makes me wish you could stay with him,” she said. “You know—permanently.”

  I shook my head regretfully, my hair whispering against the phone.

  “When this is all over, we’ll break the bond and go our separate ways—we have to, Addison. Everyone knows a vampire and a were can’t really make a go of it.”

  “I’ll have to worry about you again, though,” Addison said, sounding anxious already. “Corbin says the bond between you and Victor is all that’s keeping you safe. It puts you under his protection—makes it so no other supernatural creature can mess with you.”

  “I can take care of myself,” I said, my pride stung. “I mean, I know I didn’t used to be able to. I wouldn’t have survived all those years with Celeste if it hadn’t been for you feeding me. But, well, I’m getting better—as a vampire, I mean. I can heal wounds now—like Corbin. And I can do glam-sessions, too.”

  “Glam-sessions? Really?” Addison sounded shocked. “How in the world did you figure that out?”

  I could feel myself blushing and was glad she couldn’t see me. “Victor’s been letting me practice on him. Nothing, you know, sexual but I’m learning to get into his mind and make pictures and scenes. It’s…intense.”

  “I bet. I kno
w it is when Corbin and I, uh, do it.”

  “You’re letting him glam you?” I couldn’t believe it. “Seriously? I thought you never wanted to let any vamp into your mind.”

  “It’s nothing mind altering.” She sounded slightly defensive. “He shows me the place he grew up, takes me to different countries around the world he’s visited. It’s nice. Like having a sexy travel agent in my brain.” She cleared her throat. “Besides, I thought we were talking about you. Speaking of which, how is it you’re up in the middle of the day?”

  I glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was just barely one and I had woken up at noon.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I honestly don’t. Maybe it’s something to do with Victor’s blood, but ever since I came to stay with him, I’ve been waking up earlier and earlier.”

  “That’s some special blood,” Addison remarked. “Keep drinking it—seems to be doing you good.”

  “It is,” I said and then couldn’t help thinking of what else drinking Victor’s blood was doing to me. The feelings I had—the heat that was slowly growing in me again…getting more and more difficult to ignore.

  I knew I ought to say something about it to Victor—to ask for his help—but I was shy and embarrassed. It had been so long since I had even possessed a sex drive that it seemed completely foreign to have to satisfy it. After being born to darkness, I had just assumed that it was gone forever—lose your sex drive, gain a set of fangs—those are the breaks. Apparently, though, I was just repressing mine because of all the horrible things Celeste did to me. The heat had brought it out in full force and though I hadn’t yet reached the level of discomfort I’d had before Victor had touched me and made me come, I had a feeling I would be getting there soon.

  A shiver of desire ran through me. The idea of being in his arms again, feeling his big hands on my body, letting him make me come…just imagining it made my nipples tight and my pussy wet. But I had to work myself up to it—after what I had been through with Celeste, it wasn’t easy for me to ask. And there was also the fact that I didn’t feel like I could offer him anything in return—that made things difficult.