In Blood and Worth Loving (13 page)

The memory of turning to find her standing in the kitchen doorway wearing nothing but his shirt and then sharing one of the most emotionally and physically satisfying fucks he’d ever experienced made walking away difficult. Yet that’s what he needed to do.
It’ll be a cold day in hell before you let a human woman jerk your chain anymore. So get your ass in gear, Redwolfe.

Back in the bedroom, Brandi pulled off
Adrian
’s shirt. She tossed it on the bedroom floor and stormed into the bathroom. When she got back to Philly she was going to call Doug and accept his proposal. To hell with Adrian Redwolfe. She allowed herself the luxury of a brief cry before she got out of the shower to dress.

She returned to the living room to find
Adrian
seated on the loveseat, fully dressed.

He looked up at her entrance but didn’t speak.

She placed her weekend bag on the carpet near her feet. “Will you take me home?”

He made no effort to rise. “Yes—on Monday.”

She shook her head. “I want to go home now.”

“Why?”

“Why? Are you serious? I’ve had my fill of your company.”

“Oh?”

“Yes and I don’t want you touching me again.”

“Really?”

“Really. Please take me home.”

He gave her a cold stare. “Meeting you reminds me why I think so little of fickle human women.”

Damn him. “And after sleeping with you, it will take an entire weekend of douching before I’ll even begin to feel clean again!”

He bared his incisors and shot to his feet. He looked angry.

She tensed. Why did he have to be so volatile? Why did he think he had carte blanche to insult her as if she had no feelings?

He stalked across the room to stare down at her.

She instinctively pushed against his chest. “I don’t want you touching me and I need to go home.”

“That’s too damn bad because you are going to stay here until I’m ready to let you go and I am very definitely going to do more than touch you during that time.”

She stepped back. “You can’t mean to force yourself on me, Adrian.”

He stepped closer to her. “Call it what you like, but you’d better reconcile yourself to the fact that I am going to fuck you again and again and again.”

Her stomach muscles clenched. She couldn’t believe that he’d really force her. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, yes, I would. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how pleasant or unpleasant that fucking is going to be for you. You can participate and enjoy it or you can suffer through it. Either way, I am going to fuck you as much and as often as I like.”

She stared at him. Somehow she’d allowed the roses, the breakfast, and the unexpected sweet talk and bursts of tenderness to lure her into forgetting she was with a ruthless vampire used to getting his way. “Last night you promised you wouldn’t hurt me.”

His jaw clenched. “And I kept that promise last night.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, yes I am.”

“Are you telling me that your promise was only good for one night?”

“Apparently so since I have no intentions of keeping it today.”

Cool, arrogant bastard! She stepped around him.

He gripped her arm and turned her back to face him. “Don’t walk away from me, Brandi.”

She swallowed a lump of fear as she found herself staring up into his glowing eyes. “Adrian—”

He shook his head. “And do not make the mistake of forgetting who the hell you’re dealing with. I always get what I want, Brandi. Always.”

His continued threats angered her. “Why? Because your lovers want to give it to you or because you’re not above resorting to rape?”

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life of which I’m sure you wouldn’t approve.”

“Does that include rape?”

He narrowed his gaze. “You’re about to find out. Aren’t you?”

“Fine. If you want to behave like a common rapist, I can’t stop you.”

For a moment he looked so furious she half-expected him to shake her. “That’s right, Brandi. You can’t stop me. But go ahead and try if you like.”

It was difficult to reconcile this angry, threatening vampire with the male who had whispered so seductively to her at breakfast. She jerked away from him and tore off her clothes. “Go ahead,
Adrian
! Use force!” she invited when she stood nude in front of him. “I’ll just bet you have a lot of practice.”

He bared his incisors. “Don’t push me!”

Despite her fear, pain fueled her anger. She wanted to hurt him as he was hurting her. “I’m sure this won’t be your first or last rape.”

“Bitch!” He hurled the word at her like an emotional missile.

In the time it took her to blink several times, he’d undressed and stood before her nude and fully erect.

The reality of her situation hit her. He really was capable of rape. She moistened her lip. “Adrian—”

“Who the hell am I to argue with you or refuse your invitation to use force with you? After all, you did say you wanted me to ravish you.” He swept her off her feet.

She pushed against his chest. “Put me down.”

He ignored her and strolled across the room.

To her surprise, he leaned down to place rather than toss her onto the sofa. Then he held her there with the weight of his body.

She shoved against his shoulders.

“Looks like your gamble backfired. Doesn’t it, Brandi?”

“Get off of me!”

“Not until I get what I want, you conniving tease!” He used his knee to push her legs apart.

“
Adrian
!”

“You’re about to learn the hard way that I’m not above taking what I want.”

She swallowed hard. “Then do it.”

“I plan to. What’s more, I’m going to make you enjoy it.”

She balled her hands into fists and turned her head away. “Just do whatever you’re going to do and then leave me alone. I don’t want to hear your taunting, hateful voice ever again. You’re as foul as—”

“Shut up, Brandi, before you really make me angry!” He bent his head and sank incisors roughly into the side of her neck.

“
Adrian
…” she whimpered his name.

Shut the fuck up!
He reached between their bodies to position his cock against her entrance.

“
Adrian
…please…”

He pushed the head of his cock into her.

She sobbed, trying to draw her body away from his. “
Adrian
…you promised me you wouldn’t hurt me. If you do this…I trusted you.” She balled her hands into fists and pushed against his shoulders. “Don’t do this,
Adrian
…please…” She uncurled her fists and stroked her fingers through his hair. “You don’t need to do this…please don’t…”

He stiffened, halting the slide of his cock into her.

She turned her head, pressing her lips against his hair. “Stop,
Adrian
…please…stop and let me up. You don’t need to do this. If you do this you’ll kill my trust in you forever.”

I don’t give a fuck about your trust!

“Don’t say that. I don’t believe it. Last night and this morning you were so gentle…you calmed my fears and fulfilled my fantasy…I trusted you to keep your word.”

He withdrew his incisors from her neck and lifted his head.

She opened her eyes and stared up at him through a flood of tears. “If you don’t stop, you’ll completely ruin my fantasy. Is that what you want?”

He didn’t move or respond.

She could sense a struggle in him. His most primal nature wanted to force her, but she suspected the gentler, kinder Adrian who had brought her roses, cooked her breakfast, and flirted with her wanted to stop.

She just had to reach that part of him and make it easier for him to stop while she could still forgive him. “Using force is beneath you, Adrian. No male with your looks and charm has to use force.”

He stiffened.

She went on. “I know you think I’m just an easy lay. And I know that’s how I behaved with you. But I’m not easy. You’re my fantasy man and I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to have more time with you. But just because I dared to want something more than sex with you is no reason to do this. Nor is the fact that I wanted something real with you. Does seeing something good and decent and worth loving in you make me deserve to be forced into sex?”

He lay unmoving on her.

“You don’t need to do this and I think part of you, the good, decent part which is worth loving doesn’t want to do this. Let me up,
Adrian
.”

He shook his head, his incisors bared.

“Don’t destroy my trust in you, Adrian. Let me up and I promise I’ll never dare to think you’re worth loving again. Just please let me up.”

He abruptly rolled off her onto the floor. Rising quickly, he flashed from the room.

Brandi sat up and rose. Her knees shook so badly she sank back onto the sofa. She wrapped her arms around herself as the tears spilled down her cheeks.