Christian (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 10) (36 page)

NATALIE DROVE QUICKLY, but without the flash she associated with Marc’s driving. He had vampire reflexes on his side; she was just human. But she didn’t regret that for one minute. Because it was her humanity that Christian wanted, her human blood that he needed. She’d seen the lust burning beneath the exhaustion in his eyes, and it made her hunger for him in a way that would have had her own eyes burning if that had been possible. Who would have believed that her father’s good little girl would be sitting here right now, squeezing her thighs together in anticipation of getting home and into bed with a vampire?

There was so little traffic that the trip was short, despite her sensible driving, and it wasn’t long before she was turning down Christian’s street. The house was completely shuttered up. She pulled into the driveway, and Christian pushed a button on the overhead console to open the garage door. She found herself worrying about the security risk posed by the ordinary garage door, until she saw that the door to the house was shuttered as tightly as all of the other doors and windows.

Christian held her hand while he flipped up the cover on an alarm panel, and entered a release code that was a lot more than six digits. This was clearly a custom system, and, moreover, obviously designed for vampires. Apart from the shutters, which weren’t exactly standard in the upscale Houston neighborhood, the multiple codes for different functions were something she’d never seen before. Anthony had been proud of his vault down in the basement, but he didn’t have anything like this. She shuddered suddenly, remembering her recent imprisonment, and Anthony’s plans for her.

“Don’t think about it,” Christian murmured, pulling her closer to his side.

Natalie glanced at him. How the hell did he know what she was thinking? She’d have to ask him sometime when they weren’t all dragging their feet with exhaustion. The heavy shutter rolled up with a muted hum, and Marc pushed through and into the house. Christian and Natalie were right behind him.

The house was quiet, mostly dark, except for a light on in the kitchen. Why was it always the kitchen light that people left on?
Even vampires left it on, and the kitchen was hardly a gathering place for them.

The basement door opened, and Cibor emerged, looking more worn than she’d ever seen him. She looked up, meeting his tired gaze. “Jaclyn?” she asked.

“She’s sleeping it off. Between her own recuperative ability and Christian’s blood, the damage is almost healed. What she needs now is sleep.”

“She needs
you
,” Natalie corrected him softly.

He gave her a crooked smile. “She’s
got
me.” He shifted his attention to Christian and asked, “Anthony?”

“Dust in the wind,” Christian informed him.

Cibor smiled, and gave a little bow. “Lord Christian.”

“Call me that tomorrow night. I might have the energy to believe it.”

The big vampire laughed, then turned and started back down the stairs. Marc moved to follow, and Natalie tensed. Would Christian walk her to the guest bedroom and leave her there again? Had she earned enough of his trust that he would let her sleep next to him, wake next to him in his own bed?

He waited until Cibor and Marc had both disappeared down the stairs, before turning to pull her close, his arms around her waist, his fingers resting at her lower back, just above her butt. She put her hands on his chest and looked up at him in question, her stomach doing backflips, as she waited for the inevitable rejection.

“Do you love me, Natalie?” he asked, surprising the hell out of her.

Natalie stared up at him, her heart pounding so hard, she thought his vampire ears must be able to hear it. Did she love him? Of course she did. The pain she’d felt when she thought he was dead had forced her to acknowledge that. But could she admit it to him? Could she lay herself open and risk being torn apart? If she didn’t, if she told Christian she wasn’t sure or some other bullshit, she’d never see him again. And she would regret that forever.

“I love you,” she said, and the mixture of terror and relief those three words conjured up had her body so confused, that it didn’t know whether to run or stay.

Christian gave her his beautiful smile, and tightened his arms around her. “
Mon cœur est tien, Natalie.”

My heart is yours.
She knew enough Cajun French to understand that, and her heart squeezed so much that it hurt.

“Christian,” she breathed. And he kissed her, his lips touching hers gently at first, then harder as the kiss was filled with all the passion and terror of the previous hours. She clung to his broad chest, her fingers clenched in the thick cotton of his shirt, kissing him back until her lungs were begging for air. She rocked on her feet when he finally lifted his mouth, and she rested her forehead against him as she sucked in air.

He hugged her, chuckling softly. “Can you breathe?”

Natalie looked up at him with a smile. “I can now, but it was worth it.”

“That’s good to know. Shall we go to bed? The sun is very nearly up, and I have plans.”

She grabbed his hand and turned toward her bedroom. “Let’s go,” she said, but he pulled her back.

“Not there,
ma
chére.”

Her eyes widened hopefully. “Are you sure?”

“Are you? Once that door closes, it doesn’t open until sunset, and I’m not exactly a lot of fun in the meantime.”

“Oh,” she said suddenly remembering. “Let me get my laptop!” She hurried down the hall to the bedroom that had been hers, grabbed her laptop, her toothbrush, and a nightgown, then ran back to where a bemused Christian was waiting for her. “I’m ready.”

He took the laptop from her, grabbed her hand, and led her down the stairs.

A zing of excitement shimmered along Natalie’s nerves, and she had to admit it wasn’t just the thought of getting Christian naked. She was going to see the secret room! It was like taking a tour of the bat cave, and she was endlessly curious.

Christian led her past a huge vault-like door at the foot of the stairs. He set her laptop on a nearby counter, then turned to shove the heavy door shut. While he punched in yet another code to lock the door, Natalie examined the room they’d just entered. Computers were lined up on a table against the far wall, and screens filled the space above them, with the largest one being a huge, wide-screen TV monitor. She noticed a couple of different game consoles, and tried to imagine Christian and Marc down here playing Tomb Raider or Witcher. Actually, after seeing them in action, she could totally picture those two getting into Call of Duty. The thought made her want to laugh, but she swallowed it. She didn’t think laughter was the reaction Christian expected from her first sight of the bat cave.

He picked up the laptop, and took her hand to pull her through the computer room and down a hallway. There were two doors on each side of the corridor, and a door at the far end. The first two doors to either side, and the door at the end, were closed, but Marc stepped out of the open door on the far left. He smiled at her, then said to Christian, “Cibor and Jaclyn are there.” He indicated the closed door next to the one he’d stepped out of, then pointed at the door opposite. “Scoville’s in that one, and Alon’s still in yours.”

“Alon?” she said eagerly. “Can I see him?”

“Tomorrow,” Christian told her. “He’s sound asleep right now.”

“But he’s okay?”

He nodded. “He’s fine. But, Natalie,” he said, giving her a serious look. “He’ll be different. He’s a vampire now.”

“I know,” she said, although she was beginning to suspect that she really didn’t. “But he’ll still be Alon. I’m just happy he’s alive.”

Christian gave her a skeptical look, but didn’t push her on it. Either because he figured she had to see it to believe it, or maybe because he didn’t want to spend the little bit of time they had before sunrise talking about Alon’s new life as a vampire.

“Did Marc say Scoville was here? I thought he was with Anthony?”

“Anthony hung him out to dry, so he’s had a change of heart. He’s with me now.”

She had questions about that, but decided she was too tired to pursue them tonight, as Christian wrapped his hand around her hip and urged her into the room opposite Marc’s. “See you at sunset,” he called to Marc. He pushed her all the way inside and closed the door behind them.

Natalie found herself in a room that wasn’t all that different from the guest room upstairs, except that the bed was bigger, and the décor much more masculine. Lamps on either side of the bed gave off a slight golden glow through pleated tan shades, and the lamp bases were porcelain with an elaborate gold and maroon design. The bed itself was a simple black leather headboard, with bed linens in two shades of gray, and lots of pillows. An en suite bathroom opened off to one side, and there was a good-sized closet behind a sliding, mirrored door.

Christian set her laptop on a low, six-drawer dresser, then walked toward the bathroom, pulling off his T-shirt as he went. “I need a shower,” he said from inside the shirt as he yanked it over his head. When he emerged, his hair was tousled and he gave her his sexy grin. “Join me.”

Natalie smiled slowly. It wasn’t a question, but she didn’t mind. She was too riveted by the thick muscles padding his shoulders and arms, the flat planes of his chest tapering down to a perfect set of abs and a flat belly. She sighed with pleasure at the sight of him, and he laughed. It was the sound of unabashed male pride, but she couldn’t blame him. Not with the way she’d been ogling his body. Her smile widened. “I’m ready for that shower.”

Two minutes later, they were both naked under the pounding rush of some really hot water. Natalie stood under the spray, washing away the slimy feel of Anthony’s touch. Not to mention the traces of the vampire who’d dusted all over her when Christian killed him. Yuck. She’d just slathered shampoo over her hair, when Christian’s strong fingers took over the job, massaging her scalp as he rubbed it into her hair. Natalie leaned back against him, stretching her arms behind her to wrap around his hips, and caress the strong curves of his firm butt. The position also had the side benefit of pressing his equally fine erection against
her
butt, which she didn’t mind at all.

“I could get used to this,” she murmured, mostly to herself.

“Rinse,” he said, reaching over her head to unhook the removable shower attachment. Natalie turned around and tipped her head backward, enjoying the combined pleasure of the hot water and his strong fingers as they threaded through her hair.

Once he was finished rinsing, she patted his chest. “What’s next?”

He got a wicked grin on his face, and said, “I thought I’d fuck you up against that wall until you screamed.”

Natalie felt a rush of heat low in her belly that quickly sank even lower. Her cheeks flushed, and she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t mind that scenario at all. But that’s not what she’d meant when she’d asked him. She stomped a foot impatiently, laughing when he instinctively twisted to protect his balls from her knee. She reached between them, and cupped his balls in her hand, giving them a fond caress that ended with a firm stroke of his cock. “You don’t have to worry about protecting these guys,” she told him. “I like them way too much.”

Christian snorted. “That’s good to know, but I’ve seen you in action,
chére.
A man can never be too careful.”

Natalie patted his chest again. “What I meant to ask was, what happens next with your vampire stuff? Will you move to the estate now?”

“Hell, no. We’ll stay here in the short term, but I have to start building a security force, and that will mean a much bigger house. The estate is the right size, but I hate that place. I’m thinking of moving to Santa Fe. I like it there.”

Natalie made a noncommittal noise. She wanted to know what came next with them, too, but she wasn’t going to ask about
that
.

“Hey,” he said, lifting her chin with one finger. “You want to help me pick out a new house?”

“You mean like, as a financial expert? That’s not really—”

“No, Natalie. Like . . . as my mate. I love you. I want you to stay with me.”

Natalie’s heart leapt so hard, it felt like it was lodged in her throat. Tears filled her eyes, and Christian’s eyebrows rose at the sight. She forced herself to swallow, in order to croak, “Happy tears.”

“Ah. Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

She nodded, glad that she’d already showered her mascara off, because the tears were now streaming down her face. She gathered herself enough to say, “My father will want a real wedding.”

Christian threw his head back and laughed. “A wedding he’ll have then.”

“You mean it?”

“Of course. All I care about is having you by my side and in my bed every night.”

Natalie rolled her forehead against his wet chest. She was so happy she could hardly contain it. “I love you,” she whispered, then looked up at him and said it again. “I love you.”

“Je t’aimerai á jamais, ma
Natalie
.” I will love you always.

Christian bent his head to kiss her, then said against her lips, “Now, about fucking you up against that wall . . .” He reached down and grabbed her butt, lifting her as he backed her against the tiled wall of the shower.

Natalie sucked in a surprised breath, but responded quickly, wrapping her legs around his hips and squeezing, pulling him against her. Christian growled his approval, hitched her a little higher, then gripped his cock and slipped it into her slick and ready pussy, going deep with a single, gliding thrust.

“So nice and wet for me,” he murmured, his deep voice a hum of sound over her wet skin.

She shivered and tightened her hold on him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and locking her ankles over his butt, pulling him even further into her body. Her nipples scraped the soft hair on his chest, and she lowered her mouth to his shoulder, kissing the thick skin over solid muscle, licking her way up to his neck.