Take It Like a Vamp (2 page)

Nick choked, and she patted him on the back.

“You, okay?” She thumped him a little harder and it hurt her hand. Damn, he was solid. She had the crazy urge to stop patting and rub her hand over the steely muscles, slip her fingers under his shirt, and glide across the velvety softness of his smooth skin—

He coughed again and brought her back to reality. She shoved her hands deep in her pockets, mentally chastising herself for feeling him up in the first place.

“I told you last night, you’ll find the right guy soon.” He sipped his wine.

“You keep saying that, because you’re sweet. But girls like me—I mean. You’re so wanted all the time, you can’t understand what it’s like to be the crunchy Milk Dud in the pack.”

He laughed. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You know,” she said. “Every pack has that one piece of candy that, when you bite down, it feels like it’s made out of stone.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever had one of those,” he said casually as he placed a bit of Brie on a cracker and bit down. His teeth were so white, she’d always wanted to ask him what he used to keep them that way.

He was rich. They were most likely capped.

“Are you kidding? It kills me how deprived you are. We need to have a candy fest. The best is when you melt them and pour the gooey mess over popcorn.”

He screwed up his face as if that were the worst idea he’d ever heard.

“Don’t be a food snob. It’s soooooo good.” She closed her eyes and imagined the sugary goodness. “A bit of salty and sweet.” She ran her tongue across her lips.

Nick coughed again, but the sound came from far away. She really hoped he wasn’t coming down with a cold.

Her eyes popped open to find an empty space where he’d been standing. How had he moved so fast? Had she been so caught up in food porn that she hadn’t heard him move?

“I’ll be back in a bit.” As he opened the door, he had a strange look on his face. “I forgot I had a call coming in, and I left my phone upstairs.” His voice sounded weird as if he were struggling to speak, and those damned eyes of his…she’d swear they were black as night.

She glanced up at the light fixture and frowned. Had a bulb gone out?

The door shut before she could reply.

Way to go embarrassing him with all the talk about vibrators and Milk Duds right after you flashed him.
The way her mad skills with the opposite sex were working, she would probably soon be eating more Milk Duds than
the pouch
could handle and getting to know her vibrator much more intimately.

“Maybe I should name it.” She popped a piece of Camembert in her mouth. Once the idea flashed in her mind, there was no way another name would work.

The giant purple, vibrating dildo had a new name.

“Mr. Nick, it is.”

Chapter Two

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Nick berated himself as he slammed his keycard into the slot in the elevator for the penthouse floor. He tilted his head down so the security cameras couldn’t see him.

After a moment his breath evened and his fangs retracted.

Never in his life had he reacted to a woman this way. From the first time Teddie had introduced him to her niece, he’d been caught in Casey’s web. The woman had no idea how beautiful she was. Her curves reminded him of the women on the Greek island where he grew up. Round, luscious curves…much more to his liking than these Americans, who thought beauty was emaciated forms and faux body parts. Some of them were so thin he wanted to force feed them olives and cheese.

Since meeting Casey, he’d tried to stay as far away as he could. She was sweet and kind, untainted. But one night after Teddie had gone off on one of her trips, he’d overheard Casey crying. Her broken sobs ripped at his soul. He’d gone to her then, standing outside her door with a bottle of wine and two glasses, making an excuse that he’d gotten off on the wrong floor and heard her crying.

She’d been so overwrought, she didn’t question him. They’d talked all night. By the time the sun rose, he had her life story. One he envied in its simplicity. Lovely and intelligent. Her over-protective parents had given her a life for which she was humbly grateful.

“I can’t believe they’re gone.” She sniffed and put her head on his shoulder, hair smelling of vanilla and lavender. Her scent drove him mad. “I keep thinking it isn’t fair, but maybe we only get to be happy for a little bit. I’ve had twenty-four years of a mostly perfect life, if you don’t count high school.” She’d lifted her head and given him a watery smile.

“What happened in high school?” he’d asked.

“The usual. Humiliation. Mortification. And my favorite, these.” She’d pointed to her breasts then, which were firmly ensconced in one of the ratty Harvard sweatshirts she liked to wear.

To cover his shock, he’d laughed and coughed like he had earlier. His fangs betraying the surge of heat in his groin at the mention of her breasts.

Before he left, he’d glanced down into those watery blue eyes of hers. There were no marks on her skin—beautiful polished porcelain. Washed only with soap and water, which he knew because he could smell her fresh scent.

Back in the present, his fangs extended again. Nick stared up at the ceiling.
How much longer can I do this?
Christ, she’d been standing not ten feet away from him, glistening from her recent shower, her towel opened in the most opportune way. The site had caused his beast to rise to the occasion, right along with other parts of his body.

No. There was a line he refused to cross when it came to her. He tried to take a big brother approach, helping her through the death of her parents, something he understood better than most. His parents had been the victims of a murderous bitch more than eight hundred years ago, but he still missed them.

He’d taken a two-week business trip to Hong Kong, with the idea of getting Casey out of his system. He’d gone clubbing with his business partners and picked up two women, but he hadn’t taken them back to his hotel. His mind had drifted to Casey. None of them had her scent or that sweet giggle when she found something funny. Thinking about her as he took care of himself in the shower every night—sometimes two or three times—had become a habit.

The torture of being so close without being able to touch her drove him mad.
If she knew what I am…

When the elevator door finally opened, a familiar man stepped in, blocking Nick’s path as he made his way out of the elevator.

“Let me guess, Casey?” Mason surprised him. His assistant was the only human, except for Casey, Nick trusted. The difference was Mason knew the truth about him.

Nick slid his hands into his jean pockets. Was he that obvious? “Fuck off. And I thought you were taking the evening off?”

“Hong Kong called as I was leaving.” Mason held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I took care of it. And every time you go see her, you come back in a mood. Why don’t you just ask her out?”

Nick grunted. “You know exactly why. I won’t taint her goodness with my—And she deserves more than lust, which is all I can offer.”

Mason shrugged. “It’s obvious she cares about you. I think you should at least give her the opportunity to call you a monster and kick you out.”

The idea of never seeing Casey again was abhorrent. What if he scared her, and she ran? No. Every moment with her was worth any suffering. Nick didn’t have many friends, and he wasn’t about to lose one of his best ones because he couldn’t control his libido.

“Don’t forget you have to make an appearance at the Heringmon’s charity event tonight.”

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He’d forgotten. He’d planned to spend the night watching the horrible television shows Casey loved. It was all he could do not to snicker during her favorite program,
Night Angels
. Those vampires were fallen angels who solved crimes to get their wings back.

Yeah, right. Vampires were definitely not angels, something he knew better than anyone.

“By the way, Alvinia called.”

Nick’s jaw tightened. He hated that name. “And?” he bit out.

“Saturday is the choosing. She has a gift she wants to present to you in front of the Council. She promised you wouldn’t be disappointed.”

The last gift the bitch gave him very nearly caused his execution. He still hadn’t forgiven her. And those poor children whose memories he’d had to erase. He’d set up college tuition funds for the nightmare Alvinia had put them through. Who the hell boxed up children in a crate and sent them as a blood gift?

Alvinia.

“Tell her to fuck off.” Remembering the last time he’d pissed her off, he thought better of it. “No, politely decline. And send her a couple of boxes of the wine you gave me. Oh, and buy the winery. Casey loved it, so you know it will sell well.” The sexy woman had the Midas touch and she had absolutely no idea. Nick would show her products from his various corporations, and it never failed, if she liked something, it sold. If she didn’t like it, the product became a write-off. After the first seven times it happened, he only bought the ones she liked. It had worked out well. He’d put more than half of his profit in a trust for her, but of course she didn’t know that.

His life was in constant danger, and if something happened, he wanted to make sure that Casey could live however she wanted. She had Teddie, but Nick thought giving her independence was the greatest gift for someone like her. She had a decent job as a graphic artist, but she didn’t have the freedom to work on her “non-advertising” side, as she liked to call it. He refused to admit to himself why he didn’t want her to have the freedom to move away just now. He told himself it was for her own good that she needed to be around family for now. He’d tell her later, when she was ready to move on. But at least he knew she’d be fine if anything ever happened to him.

The danger was one of the many reasons he hadn’t tried to date or sleep with her. A relationship with Nick could easily turn into an eternity of looking over one’s shoulder and watching your every step. It wasn’t a life he’d choose for Casey.

The choosing, why did it have to be so soon? Tonight he’d have daughters of all the Council members foisted upon him. Finding a mate was a necessity, not really a choice, which made the title ironic. If he had his druthers, his mate would be Casey. No other woman would ever come close to the way she made him feel. And from the way her blood rushed through her heart when he was around, she wasn’t exactly adverse to him either.

If you really cared about her, you’d pick a wife and move back to Greece.

Mason had a point. If he presented his problem to Casey and told her what he was, she could make the choice for him and he’d bet his last dollar she’d run for the hills. He rubbed his temple.

The vibration in his pocket pulled him from his reverie as he fished out the cell phone. He glanced up to discover Mason had made himself scarce. The man was uncanny.

Casey’s picture came up on his phone. He’d taken it one night when she’d fallen asleep on the couch.

“Casey?”

“Hey.” He loved that he could hear her smile when she spoke. “Should I put the bottle back in the fridge? Did something come up?”

Yes, his libido was way, way up.

Just say ’yes,’ and tell her you forgot about the event.

“Put the bottle back in the fridge,” he forced himself to reply.

She sighed, and the sound tore at him. Each time he left suddenly, he knew it hurt her feelings. She didn’t see how incredible she was. If he dumped her again tonight, she’d think it was because she wasn’t interesting or beautiful. Even though they weren’t dating, his behavior was beginning to border on rude.

If she only knew why…

Enough.
Mason’s words haunted him and propelled him to do something before he lost the nerve. “Casey, I need a favor. A big one.”

“Okay,” her voice was hesitant. “You know I’m here for you. Do you need something from the store?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “No, it’s a little bigger than that. I need a date for tonight.”

Her silence actually made him start to sweat. Probably the first vampire in the history of the species to perspire. Fuck. He swiped at his brow. “Umm I forgot about an important event. I’m in the middle of a deal with the man whose wife is throwing the charity gala. I have to go. If I show up without a date, I’ll have to deal with half of Dallas society throwing their daughters at me. It’s last minute, but I
really
need you.”

Well, at least that last part was true.

And if he had a date, the mother’s of the eligible daughters wouldn’t be so pushy. At least one could hope.

“Uh. Nick. I would do anything to help you, but I—uh. Well, I’m me. Don’t you have a black book, or five, full of names? I’m sure you can find someone more to your…tastes in there.” She laughed, but it sounded hollow.

He should tell her she was right and hang up, but he couldn’t. Once and for all, he wanted to show her that she had so much more to offer than she believed. Every time she went out with one of those losers, he wanted to beat the shit out of someone.

The least he could do was help bolster Casey’s confidence. Maybe if she felt better about herself, she would open up to men who deserved her. As much as it pained him, there was a good chance he wouldn’t see her again after the weekend. He planned to fight the choosing with everything he could, but if he were forced to select a suitable mate, his life would change whether he wanted it to or not. He wanted his sweet little friend to be happy.

“I want you with me,” he said honestly. “I promise, I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t really important.”

“Yeah, well.” She stuttered. “I don’t have clothes for that sort of thing. I mean, I have a black cocktail dress, but it’s the dress I wore to my parents’ funeral. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be appropriate for a benefit.”

That had to be the saddest thing he’d ever heard. “Don’t worry about any of that. I’ll take care of everything. The car will be here in ten minutes. I’ll come and get you in eight.”

“But—but—uh” he heard her say as he closed his phone and dashed down the hall to the back of the condo. An idea had occurred to him, and there wasn’t time to waste for his plan to work. “Mason,” he yelled.

“Henry has your tux ready, but he needs to know if you want to wear the Prada or the Xavier shoes they sent from the new collection,” Mason said as Nick entered the master suite. The man really could read minds. So helpful, since Nick didn’t have a great deal of patience and seldom explained himself.

Tonight he wanted to show Casey that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It said so much that her only acceptable dress was one from a funeral. Which reminded him…“I need you to—”

“I’ve already called Lincoln and David. They’re expecting you in twenty minutes at the salon. Lincoln said he and his girls would bring over several gowns in Casey’s size.”

Excellent.

He preferred Casey with no makeup and in her jeans that she filled out quite nicely, but tonight he’d show the little caterpillar that she was a beautiful butterfly.

Now if he could only keep his hands off of her and his fangs under control.