Zane couldn't stop his hips from pumping in the wild, escalating urge to lose himself inside her. His shaft swelled with the rise of his orgasm and he knew he was just a few desperate seconds from exploding.
He grunted, going deep as the coil wound tighter. His voice was a raw scrape in his throat. "Ah, shit-Nicky!"
He couldn't hold it back. With a hard surge, he drove his hips into hers and came like a breaking storm. He shouted with the force of his release, thrusting as wave after searing wave shuddered through him. And it wasn't enough. He was still erect, still hungry for her.
Still pumping into the velvety glove of Nicky's exquisite body.
He stared down into her vivid blue eyes as he filled her-needing to see her as he gave her some of the same pleasure she'd given him. She was so much more than a warm body or an open vein to feed from. She'd become his life, a reason to smile and look forward to each and every day. The thought of centuries spent waking with her beside him drove him over another precipice and he fell, taking Nicky with him.
Chapter Ten.
Standing naked in front of the mirror in Zane's bedroom, Nicky blew out a breath of frustration. She was clean, but her hair looked like she'd stuck her finger in a light socket. Not a good look for her.
"Think about the specifics. Create a picture in your mind of what you want and as you wave your hand, you wish it so." Zane's strangled explanation amused her. He was trying so hard not to laugh.
She certainly hadn't imagined her hair looking like this. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. She pictured her hair braided, light makeup. The soft, black broomstick skirt from her closet and her blue cashmere sweater set. She was going down to her house to meet Dracula and his wife-she wanted to look nice.
Waving her hand, she felt clothes settling over her body. Peeking out from under her lashes, she squealed with delight. "I did it!" Doing a little jig-she suddenly stilled. Face flushing, she groaned.
"What? What's wrong, sweetheart?" Zane's concern was evident in his face as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I, um...forgot panties and a bra."
The look in his eyes turned from concern to heated appraisal. Nicky turned, put her hands on his chest and shoved. "No. Absolutely not. It's been a week, Zane. A week of mind-blowing vampire sex, but still...I need a break."
Rather reluctantly, he nodded. "Okay. Fine. I get the message. Just...well...take care of it before we leave the house. I'll never hear a word of what Vlad has to tell us if I'm imagining you with no underwear."
After she made the adjustment to her wardrobe, he guided her out of his house toward her place. Nicky sighed. She really was going to miss living in the cottage. She liked Zane's house-loved it in fact-but she'd written the best pages of her life in that kitchen.
"Don't worry, love. We'll figure something out. And it might be close enough to the indoor arena that when I'm working with the horses, you can be at the house. We'll just have to test the boundaries."
Zane had explained a little about what their new life would be like. She didn't think the physical space thing would be as hard to deal with as having him roaming around in her mind anytime he pleased. And she certainly wouldn't get any writing done if every time she started working on a sex scene, he wanted a sample of the fantasy. He was trying to teach her how to build some sort of brick wall in her mind to keep him out. So far the only result she'd had was a mild headache.
"What about the cool vampire powers I'm supposed to have? How will I figure out what they are?"
Zane stopped beside several pink-blossomed rhododendrons and turned to her. "I'm not sure how to explain it. There's just this place in your mind, a kind of dark spot. If you focus on opening that area, the powers will come."
Nicky closed her eyes. She felt the warm press of spring sunshine on her face, heard the soft rustle of...
"Nicky. Honey...open your eyes."
Obeying the soft command, she gasped. Squealed, "What in the hell!"
There were bugs-thousands of bugs-crawling and buzzing around her.
Filled with suppressed laughter, an unfamiliar voice called out to her, "Use your mind. Direct them to that dying tree on your left."
Nicky shifted her horrified gaze from the bug-teeming ground to find a stocky, black-haired man on her front porch. He smiled at her, dark eyes daring her to follow his lead.
She turned toward the tree and pointed. "Go!" she ordered, thinking hard. The swarm covered the dozen feet toward the tree like a live, black, crawling ocean wave. She shuddered.
"Now direct them to demolish the tree," the man insisted.
Nicky frowned. Demolish the tree?
Evidently her mental question was enough. The rustle of sound grew in intensity and within seconds there was nothing left of the diseased pine but a pile of sawdust. "Oh my God!"
"Now let them go, sweetheart. Just wave them away." Zane came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders.
Nicky waved at the bugs. And they were gone. She slumped back into Zane's arms and sighed. "That is not quite the sexy vampire power I had in mind. What? I get to turn trees into sawdust? What a useless gift. I hate bugs."
The man on the porch moved to wrap his arm around a beautiful blonde woman, drawing her attention to the couple. Vlad and Veronica.
Vlad's heavily accented voice was deadly serious. "In time, you will be able to control just one or a mass of thousands. Imagine being able to call the smallest of creatures, a poisonous spider perhaps-or a swarm of hornets-and have the ability to direct these small killers toward your enemy."
Nicky didn't have to think about it. She would have sicced an entire army of nasty bugs on Mikey in a heartbeat. "Okay. Maybe it's not useless," she admitted.
Ronnie laughed. "Don't worry. You'll likely have a few gifts. Maybe one of the other ones you're blessed with will be more to your liking."
Brightening considerably, she let Zane lead her to the porch. They decided to sit outside and enjoy the sun.
After a few moments of "hello, nice to meet you, I'm Dracula", Vlad got right to the point. "Veronica and I have sifted through every scrap of paper and scanned most of the computer files that we retrieved from Nicole's temporary prison. What we found chills my soul. There is an organized church..." He spat the word out, leaving no question as to how he felt.
Nicky looked at Zane and he didn't seem too worried about Vlad's tone. She noticed Ronnie was. Taking the man's hand into hers, Ronnie seemed to calm him down enough to continue.
"One Racers, as they've labeled themselves. The man who started this church was John Jackson. His intent is to create a radical Humans First movement. He preaches that only humans have a right to exist on this earth, that anything else is an abomination. He plans to use his followers to eradicate the discovered pestilence-that would be us-to remove all threats to the human race."
Veronica leaned forward. "I found a rather disturbing diary of sorts. One where John Jackson detailed a specific plan to show off a vampire in a cage. He'd planned to starve the man first, thereby guaranteeing he'd have a crazed beast to show for maximum effect. He had actually captured one, Zane..."
Nicky felt Zane stiffen beside her as if to take a blow. She reached out, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. She had the same affect on him as Ronnie had on Vlad. He visibly relaxed.
Ronnie's voice was sympathetic as she continued softly, "It was Thomas. Jackson's vitriolic diatribe in his diary denounced Mike Maloney for killing the poor man before Jackson could present him to some Senate committee."
"Fuck!" If only he had the chance, he'd like to face Mikey again. Make him pay for what he could imagine the bastard had done to his sire. "Where's Jackson? Did you find any trace of him?"
Vlad shook his head in disgust. "He's a ghost at this point. Mr. Jackson seems to have disappeared into the wind." He looked at Zane, his gaze sharpening. "It will be up to the Sentinels in each region to track this man."
Zane sighed. Hell. As always, Vlad would get what he wanted. "I'll talk to Nicole tonight, explain what the job will require of us."
Vlad leaned back and put his arm around his mate, satisfied by Zane's capitulation.
"Why did they focus on me? Did you find anything that would explain how they knew what I was? Did Thomas-"
Ronnie quickly jumped in. "No. No, Zane, Thomas didn't tell them about you. Jackson's writings explained that one of your contractors had seen you feed. When the woman swooned, the carpenter thought you'd killed her. Evidently there's an entire Web community dedicated to One Racers and their rather slanted view of the world. This man posted what he'd seen on one of the bulletin boards and Mike and Jackson moved to Eugene to investigate. They easily captured Thomas, it seems, and quickly discovered what he was...but he told them nothing of you."
Shit. All this was his fault. He'd been careless and everyone had to pay the price.
"Don't blame yourself, Zane." Nicky turned to look at him. "If this hadn't happened to us, we wouldn't know that these lunatics are out there. How many others of our kind have these fanatics killed without anyone realizing why they disappeared?"
"Your mate is right. Better to have discovered this enemy now, than to think our secret is still uncovered. From what Veronica and I have exposed, these people pose a real threat to the Others. I do not think we will be rid of them anytime soon," Vlad said.
"Oh. Before I forget, there's something else I found that you're not going to like." Ronnie jumped out of her chair and went into the house for a moment. Coming back out, she placed an intricately carved box on Zane's lap.
Lifting up the lid, he glanced inside. It was empty. "What's this?" He looked at Ronnie.
But it was Vlad who answered. "The box held Jackson's diary. But that is not the purpose it was created for. This box is lined with lead. It is the holding place for Catherine the Great's priceless ruby."
"Somehow they got hold of Gustof, as well." Zane clamped his jaw shut. These people seriously pissed him off.
"Yes. But I don't think they knew what the box held. I can't find any reference to the stone in the diary or any of the information we sorted through." Ronnie shrugged. "We'll keep looking, but I don't think something like that would go unreported."
The two couples sat quietly for a moment. Each lost in private thoughts.
Ronnie's giggle disturbed the peace.
"Okay, Ronnie. You can't just do that and not share what you're laughing at," Nicky insisted.
"Your books. While you've been otherwise engaged, I've been reading all your books. I love your stories, Nicole. You have a fantastic imagination."
Vlad groaned and Nicky narrowed her eyes at him. "What? You don't like my books."
Ronnie snorted. "Oh. He likes them. He specifically liked your inventive use of the pole running across the ceiling in the downstairs room."
Nicky blushed. When she saw the look on Zane's face, she laughed. "Don't look at me like that-you're the one who reaps the benefits of my rather warped imagination."
Zane's gaze turned heated and he smiled, showing just the tips of his very sharp, very sexy fangs. "Yes, my love. And now we have a lifetime to enjoy those benefits."
About the Author.
Ravyn Wilde was born in Oregon and has spent several years in New Guinea and Singapore. She is married, has three children and is currently living in Utah. Ravyn is happiest when she has a book in one hand and a drink in the other-preferably sprawled on a beach!
Ravyn welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at [email protected].
Also by Ravyn Wilde
By the Book Ellora's Cavemen: Dreams of the Oasis IV anthology Let Them Eat Cake Luke & Jezebel Men To Die For anthology Uncontrolled Magic Unholy Magic Undying Magic Zylar's Moons 1: Zylan Captive Zylar's Moons 2: Selven Refuge Zylar's Moons 3: Zylan Rebellion
Discover for yourself why readers can't get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora's Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com