Crimson Dichotomy (Dichotomy Saga) (8 page)

“If he’s smart, and he is, Taerok learned two things tonight.” Max held up his index finger. “One, his focus on pureblood Dichotomies is misplaced.” His second finger joined the first. “Two, you’re not worth his time.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“I mean no disrespect.” Amusement revealed flashes of blue within the depths of Max’s dark eyes. “This is one situation where your lack of paranormal abilities will work to your advantage. As soon as Taerok scanned you, he realized you don’t possess two distinct natures. The similarity between a Dichotomy’s transition and a vampire’s solar trance are at the heart of his obsession.”

“He needs a halfling who can shift between their personalities at will.” Mara crossed her arms over her chest. There were only a handful of people who met that criteria.

“It won’t take Taerok long to put the pieces together,” Max went on. “The trick is adequately protecting these people without drawing his attention to them.”

“Decoys?” Lukas suggested.

“Perhaps. Or disguising their protection as something else entirely.” He shook his head, his expression tense and aggressive. “Let’s head back. We’ll have to set things in motion tomorrow during his solar trance.”

“May I stay with Mara, sir?” Steffen clasped his hands behind his back, his features utterly expressionless. “Despite her apparent worthlessness, I don’t think we should leave her unprotected.”

Max chuckled. “That wasn’t what I meant and you know it.” He looked at Mara and inclined his head. “Would you feel more comfortable if Steffen tags along?”

“Yes, sir.” Beneath his gruff exterior he was almost likeable.

“Then we’ll find a way to muddle through without him.” He turned his sharp gaze on Steffen and squelched his smile. “You’re still on call.”

“Of course, sir.”

Max winked at Mara and flashed out of sight.

* * *

“You just gave her to them?” It wasn’t that Raze gave a damn about Valerie, but Taerok’s indifference shined a glaring light on the precariousness of his own existence.

“She’d outlived her usefulness.” Taerok paced his favorite chamber, deep in the bowels of a crumbling ruin. “I suspect I’ve been searching in the right vicinity, yet my focus is slightly off course.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I was born a vampire, so there is no humanity in me.”

Raze fought back a bitter laugh. That statement was true both literally and figuratively. “So how do you correct your course?”

“I transform someone who is both Dichotomy and human, someone who has
complete
control over both their day-dwelling and nocturnal natures.”

“Some of the halflings are able to transform at will?”

“The ability is rare, but I’m certain this is the key.”

He’d been certain Valery was the key, but Raze knew better than pointing that out. “Then you’ll begin your search again?”

Taerok’s smile revealed his cruelty. “Thanks to Max, I know just where to start.”

Mara stared out the window of the limo with unseeing eyes. She’d survived the gala and the Serenity Foundation had funding for the next fiscal quarter, so why did she feel disappointed?

Steffen lightly touched her knee, drawing her attention to his handsome face. “If you don’t stop brooding, I’m going to have to take drastic measures.”

“I’m not brooding, exactly. I just can’t help feeling like we’ve only shifted the focus of Taerok’s ambition to another victim.”

“All of us would have liked nothing better than to punish Taerok for what we suspect he will do, but even Max is bound by rules.” Steffen rested his arm on the back of the seat and angled his body toward her. “Until we can prove Taerok has taken blood from an unwilling donor—”

“Vampires only feed from those who offer their blood willingly? You expect me to believe that? You showed me just how easy it is for a vampire to
make
someone willing.”

“Vampires are predators. It’s against their nature to compromise on any level. The alliance creates a delicate balance. We are allowed to hunt those who break the terms of the alliance so long as the ones abiding by the terms are left alone.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending them.”

“Have you forgotten I’m part vampire? The darkest part of my nature understands their cravings all too well.”

She’d sensed it in Steffen from the start, a wildness, a barely contained aggression. It was part of what attracted her to him. “You’re right. I’m judging people I know little about.”

“I’m not Taerok and neither is Max, but if we abandon the rules, we are no better than the ones we hunt.”

“I understand, or at least I’m starting to.”

He hooked his pinkie through the thin strap of her dress and dragged it off her shoulder. “I believe we have a date tonight.”

“A date?”

His warm lips pressed against her shoulder before he explained, “I told you I would demonstrate my need for control in intimate detail once the gala was over and you were safe.”

“I’m pretty sure I already experienced that demonstration in my office. Besides, we’re not that far from home.”

“Well, until I release him, the driver will continue up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, wondering why he can’t find your turn off. Of course he’ll be far too embarrassed to admit his confusion, so it might take hours for us to reach the estate unless you cooperate.”

The passionate gleam in his eyes assured her he meant every word. He’d held himself back, offering her glimpses of his true nature. Now he had no reason to temper his aggression.

She licked her lips and savored the heat pooling between her thighs. “What do you want me to do?”

He looked around the spacious interior of the limo and grinned. “There are so many possibilities. Shall I lower the privacy glass, so the driver can watch you suck my cock?”

She called his bluff with a beaming smile. “Whatever pleases you. I’m not ashamed of our desire.”

A low groan escaped his throat. “You little hellion.”

“I’m
your
little hellion,” she reminded him.

He stripped off his jacket and tossed it to the adjacent seat. “Slip off that dress and get over here.”

Pausing to kick off her shoes, she then pulled her dress over her head. She wore a strapless bra and matching thong. The lace-topped stockings didn’t require a garter belt, so she didn’t bother taking them off.

She knelt on the floor between his legs and went to work on his pants. Her fingers pressed against the distinct ridge of his erection far more often than was necessary to open his fly. He fisted his hands on the seat but didn’t rush her.

“You don’t let me do this nearly enough.” She closed her fingers around his shaft and stroked him from base to tip. “Your cock is amazing and you’re always so busy torturing me that I hardly ever get to play with it.”

“I’ll try and remedy that from now on.” He sounded breathless and hoarse.

Circling the flared head with her tongue, she enjoyed the earthy taste of his arousal. He felt hot and alive beneath her lips. Even taking him as deeply as she dared, she couldn’t get his entire length inside her mouth.

“I’ll teach you how,” he whispered, effortlessly reading her thoughts, “but not tonight.” His hands touched her face and she looked into his eyes. “Suck me, slow and hard.”

She drew on him over and over, swirling her tongue across his tip. Her fingers cupped his balls and squeezed his shaft, needing to experience all of him. He rested his head against the back of the seat and surrendered to her ministrations. Feminine power surged through her in a heated rush. She wanted to watch his features contort with ecstasy and feel him come deep in her throat.

“No more!” He grasped her under the arms and lifted her effortlessly.

“I want to take you all the way,” she protested.

“Not tonight. Remember, this is about
me
controlling
you.
”

She chuckled. “If you say so.”

He scooted off the seat and knelt behind her. She remained as she was, waiting for his next move. With a flick of his fingers, he unfastened her bra and tossed it aside. Then he dragged her panties to her knees and urged her forward. She braced her forearms against the seat and looked back at him.

“You are so damned beautiful,” he whispered. “I will never get tired of looking at you.”

“I hope you intend to do more than look.”

“Always.” He cupped her breast with one hand and eased the other between her thighs, pushing into her pussy from behind. His long fingers slid in and out of her core, stirring the heat and building the intensity. The gentle sway of the limo only added to the wonder as her senses began to burn.

“Unbend your legs. I want to fuck you with my tongue.”

A violent shiver postponed her compliance and then she shifted position. Pushing to her feet while she bent from the waist, she extended her legs and folded her arms on the seat. She wiggled out of her panties so he could spread her legs wide. He grasped her thighs and pressed his lips against her feminine slit. His mouth moved against her as his tongue delved, teasing and seeking, driving her wild. He found her clit and she gasped. Tingling sensations pulsed through her core and danced up her spine. His tongue stroked over and curled around her swollen nub.

She turned her head and caught a glimpse of their reflection on the tinted windows. His face was flush with her sex, his hands firmly clasping her thighs. Her body bent from the waist, abandoned to the pleasure of his kisses.

As if sensing her distraction, he thrust his tongue into her pussy. His face rocked against her, his tongue pushing as deeply as he could reach.

He licked his way up to her other opening and continued his bold exploration. She had accepted his fascination with anal pleasures and she was rapidly becoming a fan. He circled the puckered flesh and tingles crawled across her skin.

“Do you enjoy watching me do obscene things to your helpless body?”

The dark hunger in his voice was unmistakable and undeniably exciting. “You know I do.”

He rocked back on his heels and their gazes locked in the window. “Watch.” He pushed two fingers into her pussy then turned his wrist and breached her ass with his thumb. The blazing hunger in his gaze ignited sensations deep inside of her. She came hard and fast, rippling around his fingers and thumb.

While her body was still pulsing, he guided her back to her knees and pulled his hand out from between her thighs. He positioned his cock and filled her core with one hard thrust. The momentum rocked her forward and jostled her breasts. She gasped and locked her elbows.

Overwhelmed with dizzying sensations, she turned her face away from the window and concentrated on the tight, fast slide of his body inside hers. He held her hips, anchoring her lower body as he commanded her response.

She surrendered the last barrier between them, accepting the full force of his being inside her mind. In a surreal blending of real and empathic sensations, she felt his cock filling her aching core, yet she felt the hot grasp of her pussy around his shaft just as clearly. His pleasure fueled hers and her excitement drove him harder.

They strained together, body slapping against body, grinding, clenching, and climbing. Reality paused. They floated in velvet tranquility. Then the fire rushed up to meet them in an incendiary burst of pleasure.

He released his seed in scalding pulses, while her inner muscles hungrily gripped his length. His middle finger found her clit, prolonging each blissful spasm. They shuddered and groaned until she collapsed against the seat, breathless and muddled.

His hands moved up and down her back, skimming along the outer swell of her breasts. “I guess the rest can wait until we get home.”

“The rest?” She laughed and looked back at him. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Your death is the furthest thing from my mind.” With obvious reluctance, he separated their bodies and righted his pants. “You can put the dress back on, but no underwear.”

“Whatever you say, sir.” She added the title with a playful smile.

She smoothed the dress back into place and set the rest in a neat bundle next to the door so she wouldn’t forget it when they got out of the limo.

Steffen pulled her onto his lap as she tried to climb over him and sit down. “Now we’re going to see how many more times I can make you come while the driver tries to figure out how he got halfway to Santa Barbara.”

“How will we ever top our ‘first date’?” She framed his face with her hands and smiled into his eyes.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something.” He laid her back across the seat and claimed her mouth in a lingering kiss.

Aubrey Ross

Sentinel Lukas Mandalay has never encountered anyone as utterly tempting as Rebecca McNeil. Despite being half-human, Rebecca is the youngest member of the Dichotomy elder council. She’s independent, self-sufficient—and shaped like a centerfold! Sensing the passion smoldering beneath her professional façade, he guides her through a journey of sexual discovery.

Rebecca is forced to admit she needs protection when an obsessive vampire nearly kidnaps her. Still, the handsome Sentinel who prevents her abduction seems nearly as dangerous as the vampire. Each time Lukas touches her, their bodies erupt with carnal longing and neither can remember why they should resist their growing attraction.