Val’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to see any more, but she held her tongue. If he’d had to endure it, she had to see it.
“Cade! Stop!” Abigail cried in the vision, materializing directly in his path, hands raised as if to ward him off. “Please, stop! Please!”
He broke step, frowning. For a moment Val thought he’d actually heard her until a feminine whimper of pain sounded. It had been that sound that brought his head up.
Cade turned as if trying to determine the origin of that tiny, hopeless noise. A deep male voice growled something menacing from behind the door to his left. He turned, eyes narrowing, broad shoulders tensing.
Oh, God, Val thought. It’s a woman, and he’s going to try to go to the rescue. And Ridgemont’s on the other side of that door.
Another muffled sound, unmistakably a scream, cut off in the middle by a hard slap.
Cade drew his gun and rammed his booted foot into the door. It flew open with a thunderous bang. He strode into the room, gun at the ready. “Hands up!”
Ridgemont looked up as he leaned over his victim. He was fully dressed, while she was naked as she lay on her back, wrists and ankles bound. Her bare breasts were smeared with blood from a pair of long cuts just above one nipple. More cuts striped her belly, her thighs. Her desperate gaze met Cade’s over her gag, wide with terror, silently begging for help.
Cade flicked a shocked glance at her brutalized body, then turned to level his gun at Ridgemont with a snarl. “What the hell is going on here?”
The vampire wiped a smear of red from the corner of his mouth. “Get out.”
Cade brought the gun up to point it right between those thick blond brows. “I don’t think the lady’s willing. Step away or take a bullet.”
“Ridgemont tried to compel him,” Abigail said, her mental voice tight with control. “But he was Kith, and that was before their link. So it didn’t work. And that’s when the evil bastard realized what Cade was.”
Surprised interest flickered in chilly blue eyes. “Well, well. And who would you be?”
“I’m a Texas Ranger, mister, that’s all you need to know. And I’m not in the habit of giving an order twice. Step away from the lady.”
“As you wish.” Ridgemont moved back, still grinning. Cade started toward him, sliding his free hand into his back pocket as if reaching for something to use in restraining the other man.
Before he even completed the step, the vampire lunged, massive fist slammed into his jaw with such blinding speed he had no time to react. Val gasped in horror as Cade crashed into the wall behind him, then slid down to collapse on the floor in a boneless heap.
Ridgemont rocked back on his heels, studying his victim. A slow smile curved his lips.
The ghost’s past version moaned, “Oh, no. Oh, Cade…”
SHIFT.
Cade sat slumped unconscious in a straight-backed chair, his wrists bound behind its back, his ankles tied to its legs. He lifted his head with a groan of pain, lids slitting open before promptly squeezing shut again.
“It’s been three hundred years since I’ve found anyone like you,” Ridgemont said.
Cade’s eyes snapped open.
The vampire sat on the bed with his back propped against the headboard, his long legs crossed at the ankle in black wool breeches, a black vest stretching across his massive chest. “Who the hell are you?”
“My last spawn died a century ago,” he said. “A leader is nothing without followers, and I have been a leader all my life. I’ve missed it.”
“A century?” Cade’s eyes flickered. “Spawn? What the hell are you talking about? Where’s the girl?”
“Oh, I let her go. I have someone more interesting to play with.”
Fear flashed across Cade’s face, vanishing a heartbeat later as if suppressed.
He thinks he’s dealing with a madman, Val thought. And he’s not wrong.
Ridgemont grinned, reading his reaction. “Oh, you really are perfect. I prefer my men to have a certain… steel. You’ll do nicely. All in all, I’m pleased.”
“I wouldn’t be, if I were you.” Cade jerked his bound hands with all his strength. The ropes didn’t even creak. “Because when I get loose, I’m going to beat you bloody.”
Ridgemont laughed. “I’m almost tempted to untie you and let you try. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t be much of a challenge in your current state. Cheer up, though. That’s going to change.” He swung his legs off the bed and stood. “And so are you.”
Cade stared at the vampire with rage blazing in his eyes. “You’d better kill me now, you son of a bitch. Because if you don’t, I’m going to gut you.”
The vampire eyed Cade with clinical interest as he prowled around behind his chair. “I wonder how long it will take me to make you scream.” He bent suddenly until his lips were level with his captive’s ear. “My name,” he said, “is Sir Edward Ridgemont.”
“Tell it to the undertaker, you --” Cade’s defiance turned to shocked disbelief as he turned his head to see the fangs gleaming between Ridgemont’s parted lips. “What the hell?”
The vampire smiled slowly. “I’m afraid this is one time you really shouldn’t have ridden to the rescue, my gallant friend.” He wrapped a big fist in his captive’s hair and dragged his head to one side.
The cords in Cade’s neck strained as he fought Ridgemont’s strength. “Fuck you!”
“If you were a woman, I’d do just that.” He licked his lips and lowered his head. “But I can’t have everything.” Taking his time, he buried his teeth in Cade’s muscled neck, biting so deep and brutally his victim hissed in pain.
Softly, Abigail’s past self began to sob. Val felt her own eyes sting as her fists clenched in helpless rage.
The image shifted again, melting rapidly from scene to scene as Ridgemont bit Cade again and again.
“It took the ancient two days to drain and infect him.”
SHIFT. Ridgemont dragged a knife across his own thick wrist, then forced the wound against his captive’s lips until Cade had to drink the blood or drown.
SHIFT. Cade sat barely conscious in the chair, his eyes slitted open as the vampire raped a sobbing woman on the bed.
“Two days of horror and helplessness,” the ghost said.
“Why didn’t someone come? Didn’t they hear all this?”
“Of course they came. Ridgemont sent them away.”
SHIFT. Held in his seat only by his bonds, Cade slumped, head lolling, eyes closed. Ridgemont leaned close, his expression fierce, his eyes almost glowing.
“I think he fought to die then,” Abigail said as Val watched in sick horror. “I prayed he would, because we both knew what would happen to him if he lived. But Ridgemont was too strong, and he kept dragging him back.”
SHIFT. Cade’s face twisted in revulsion as he spat two teeth on the floor, revealing the fangs that had replaced them.
SHIFT. A woman struggled in Ridgemont’s arms as he forcibly bent her across Cade’s lap, one fist clenched in her hair to hold her head back. “No,” Cade snarled, even as shame and loathing and desperate hunger warred on his face. “I’m not doing it. You’re not making me into a fucking monster.”
“I already have, gunslinger.” Ridgemont’s eyes narrowed as he grabbed the back of Cade’s head with his free hand and shoved his face into the girl’s throat. “Now feed!” Val felt the vicious force of the ancient’s mind crushing down on Cade’s like a train slamming into a pickup truck. Cade fought, but Ridgemont’s will tore into his consciousness, driving hunger into his brain like a spear.
Until his fangs sank into the thin flesh. Blood welled. Unable to fight both Ridgemont and his own infected body, Cade began to drink, shuddering in shame and guilt.
“But simply Turning him wasn’t enough,” Abigail said bitterly. “Ridgemont just had to prove that he owned Cade, and he wanted to do it in a way that would drive the lesson home. So he kidnaped Caroline.”
“Oh God,” Val breathed, her heart aching. “That bastard…”
SHIFT. The elder vampire strolled into the room leading the widow, one big hand wrapped around Caroline’s elbow. She wore an ankle length night rail, her long hair tumbling around her narrow shoulders, as if he’d kidnapped her from her bed. Her expression was blank as a sleepwalker’s. She was firmly in Ridgemont’s power.
Cade, lying asleep on the bed, jolted awake. Seeing her, his eyes widened with hopeless horror as his face went pale.
Ridgemont gave him a malicious grin. “She won’t say no this time, gunslinger.”
Cade rolled off the bed and backed away. Shirtless, his Levi’s riding low on his hips, he looked big and impressive, four inches taller than the elder vampire. Yet his eyes revealed the helplessness he felt. “Send her home, Ridgemont. Her kids need her.”
The ancient grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “Oh, she’ll go home -- when we’re done.” He turned to Caroline. “Show him that pretty body, my dear. He’s wanted to see it for months.”
Mechanically, the widow lifted her hands and began unbuttoning the tiny pearl buttons at the nightgown’s bodice. Ridgemont barely spared her a glance, far more interested in the panic in Cade’s eyes. “There’s more to feeding than blood, gunslinger. And there’s nothing like sex to get the victim going -- especially if you mix in a little fear.”
As Caroline dragged the gown over her head, her eyes suddenly flooded with horrified awareness. But it didn’t stop her from dropping the garment on the floor.
“Taste that, McKinnon,” Ridgemont said softly. “Fear. It’s sweet, isn’t it?”
Then she froze, naked, her body petite, yet delicately rounded. Her eyes widened as she stared at Cade in fear and confusion. Her lips soundlessly shaped his name.
Cade lowered his head and bared his teeth. The cords of his neck stood out rigidly against the rise of need. “No.”
“Yes.” Ridgemont stepped up behind Caro and slid a possessive hand around to cup one breast. Her mouth opened as her eyes rolled helplessly. She began to shake. “Strip, gunslinger. We’ll do her together.”
The horror in Cade’s eyes deepened as his hands went to the buttons of his Levi’s. His face contorted with effort as he fought the compulsion, but his fingers obeyed anyway. “Goddamn you.”
The ancient laughed and caressed her breasts with both hands. “You may as well stop fighting it, McKinnon. You just don’t have the power to keep my mind from overriding yours.” Lazily he tugged her nipples. “She’s got pretty tits, doesn’t she? So full and white.” Ridgemont lowered his head and said into her ear, “Think of it, Caroline. Two cocks, two sets of fangs. It’s going to hurt -- and I’m going to make you like it.”
The widow’s gaze flew to Cade’s and silently begged. His expression hardened with determination even as he pulled his jeans down his long, muscled legs. “Did you like it, Ridgemont?”
“Like what?” the ancient asked as he slid a hand between Caro’s thighs.
Cade’s voice was low and deadly. “Did you like it when your sire fucked you that first time?”
Ridgemont’s big hands stilled, his mouth going slack with shock.
“While you were so busy invading my mind during the Change, I got a look at yours.” Naked, Cade stepped up to him with a taunting smile. “It’s been seven hundred years, but no matter how many women you rape, you can’t forget what it was like being on the other end of the cock. Over and over and over again.”
The ancient shoved Caroline aside with a roar of raw fury. She fell, then scrambled to her feet and lunged for her gown, not even glancing around as Ridgemont strode across the room and drove his fist into Cade’s face. She didn’t look back as she snatched the gown over her head and darted out the door.
“She left him like that?” Val demanded. “Bitch.”
“Ridgemont was so furious he lost his hold on her mind, just as Cade had intended. She knew she wouldn’t get another chance -- and Caroline’s first priority was always Caroline. Besides, she thought Cade had become just as big a monster.”
As Cade went reeling from another pile-driver punch, Ridgemont drew up short, visibly working to bring himself back under control.
Licking the blood from his split lip, Cade stood, though he had to brace his back against the wall to do it. He grinned viciously, a demonic light in his dark eyes. “Oh, come on, Eddie -- be honest with yourself. You liked it all those centuries ago. In fact, you don’t really want me to fuck Caroline -- you want me to fuck you.”
With a below of berserker rage, the elder vampire whirled and grabbed a sheathed longsword lying on a pile of luggage. He drew the weapon with a hiss of steel. And spun, the sword gripped in both hands as he slashed viciously at his tormentor. Cade didn’t even flinch.
The blade stopped a fraction of an inch from his neck. Breathing hard, Ridgemont glared at him. “No. You’re not going to escape me that easily, McKinnon. You’re going to live, you bastard, and curse every day you breathe.”
He threw the weapon aside with a clatter. “But first you’re going to learn your place if I have to beat it into you.” He buried his fist in Cade’s belly so hard he lifted the bigger man’s feet off the ground.
WRENCH.
Val collapsed on the bed, shaking and sick, seared by the image of Cade watching that blade swing at his face.
“God. Oh, God. I can’t let Ridgemont do that to him again.” She stopped as the realization hit her. “Oh, sweet Jesus.”
“What?” Abigail demanded, worried at her tone of stunned realization.
“I’ve got to get him to Change me.” She’d offered before, but she’d been secretly relieved when he turned her down. Now she knew had to persuade him no matter what. Even if it meant giving up her humanity.
The ghost’s brows lifted. “I approve, but how are you going to get him to cooperate? He’s already refused once.”
Only one way came to mind. Val straightened her shoulders. “Abigail, go Beyond.”
“What?” the ghost demanded, startled. “But --”
“We don’t need an audience. Go Beyond, and don’t come back by until we call you.”
Abigail’s bewilderment gave way to a knowing gleam. “Oh. You’re going to seduce him.”
“Not with a thirteen-year-old audience. Get lost.”
“I’m actually a hundred and sixty-nine, but I won’t quibble.” Giving a satisfied nod, the ghost vanished into the ceiling.
“And no peeking!” Val called after her.
“Don’t be insulting.”
Val took a deep breath. There wasn’t much time. Cade would be back soon, and she had to be ready for him.
Moving to one of the suitcases lying on the bed, she flipped it open and began a survey, searching for lingerie. She knew the only chance she had of pulling this off was to get Cade so hot his impressive cock started doing the thinking for him.
But as she dug through the bag, she realized she hadn’t packed a damn thing that was suitably slinky. She’d thought she was going on a business trip, after all; seducing vampires had never been part of the itinerary. Damn.
On the other hand, if the idea was to hit his hormones so hard and fast his brain didn’t have time to engage, maybe she’d be better off in nothing but a smile. He might be an immortal creature of the night, but he was also most definitely a man.
Nothing was guaranteed to switch off the male brain like finding a naked woman in his bed.
A shower. What she needed was a shower. And this time she was leaving out the cold water.
* * *
Half an hour later Val climbed into bed clean and naked, her hair artfully tumbled, her face made up just enough not to look made up at all. Her belly turned slow, nervous flips as she settled back against the pillows she’d piled against the headboard. What the hell am I doing? she wondered wildly. If he Changes me, I can never go back. I’ll be giving up children and long morning walks on the beach and my journalism career. What will Beth think? I’ll never eat another piece of chocolate. I’ll have to drink blood. This is nuts!
Then she remembered the hot wonder on Cade’s face as he entered her, the raw pleasure in his eyes as he climaxed.
Oh, hell. Chocolate makes me break out anyway.
She had to put aside her doubts. Cade always knew when she was aroused, which meant he’d also know when she wasn’t. She’d better be genuinely hot when he walked through the bedroom door. And there was only one way to make sure of that.
But what if he caught her?
On the other hand, that would probably help.
Heart pounding, Val pushed the covers down, thought better of it, and got up to arrange them neatly out of the way. She fluffed and re-stacked the pillows into an artistic mound, then crawled back onto the bed to settle against them.
Biting her lip, she slid one hesitant hand between her thighs and pinched a nipple with the other. Hot. Think hot. Think Cade screwing my brains out on the trunk of the car. She pushed away all thoughts of embarrassment, Ridgemont, vampirism -- even Beth -- and concentrated fiercely on remembering the muscled contours of Cade McKinnon’s big body.
The image was so potent it didn’t take long for her sex to grow slick under her stroking fingers.
When the door swung open, she was just hitting her second climax.
Val jerked her hands away and snapped upright as Cade stopped dead in the doorway, his eyes widening. Her face went so hot, she knew she was blushing cherry red. Dammit, I’m supposed to be seducing him, not jumping like a virgin, she thought, thoroughly annoyed with herself even in her embarrassment. Shake it off, Val!
Cade blinked and swallowed, raising the breakfast tray he held in both hands. “I, uh… thought you might be hungry.”
“Uh, yeah.” She considered jumping up to wash her hands, then thought better of it. Seduction, seduction… “A little something before bed would be good.”
Val thought she heard him murmur, “Just what I was thinking.”
Cade walked over to the night table and put down the tray. His gaze was definitely beginning to heat. She rose to her knees to examine the tray, less because she was hungry than out of an acute awareness of her own nudity. She’d never done anything like this in her life. I’ve only known him two days! babbled a little voice in the back of her head. She told it to shut up.
“Strawberries,” Val said, surveying the deft arrangement of food. In the middle of the dewy red pile was a bowl of something dark brown. “And… chocolate?” She grinned up at him, realizing he’d planned a seduction of his own. “You read my mind.” She scooped up one of the berries and dunked it in the melted sweet.
Cade watched as she slowly sank her white teeth into the fruit’s firm, red flesh. When he swallowed, he could taste her arousal in the air. His cock lengthened behind his zipper.
She picked up another strawberry and swirled it in the chocolate. Meeting his intent gaze, she grinned wickedly and touched the dripping fruit to one hard nipple. Cade inhaled sharply as chocolate rolled onto the delicate pink tip.
Eyes heavy-lidded, Val stroked the berry over her flesh, painting it in sweet, dark rivulets. “I was wondering,” she purred. “Do vampires like chocolate on their… food?”
“Let’s find out.” He tipped her backwards onto the mound of pillows and swooped down to lick the hard, chocolate-covered peak. It tasted deliciously of candy and Val. With a greedy moan, he suckled it until she whimpered.
When the little point was clean and pink and desperately hard, Cade met her eyes. “Yep. Vampires definitely have a sweet tooth.”
As she groaned at the pun, he reached over to the tray, picked up a strawberry and plunged it into bowl. Presenting the chocolate-coated berry to the pouting lips of her sex, he spread the wet flesh with his free hand.
“Hey!” Val straightened, but before she could scoot away, he slid the fruit into her tight channel. He groaned at the feeling of her around his fingers. She was incredibly wet and tight.
“That’s cold!” she protested, grabbing his wrist as if to fend him off.
“Actually, I was thinking it’s hot.” He slipped the berry a little deeper. “And very, very tempting.” He buried his face against her sex and began to nibble at the fruit.
Val grabbed his head with both hands and arched into the pillow, squirming as he took tiny, delicate bites of the berry, pausing frequently to tease her wet flesh. “I didn’t think --” she stopped to gasp -- “vampires could eat.”
“Oh, we can eat.” He pulled the last bite of the fruit from her cunt. “We can also lick, suck, and bite.”
She moaned. “Oh, yeah. And you’re really, really good at it… Cade! Ohhhhhhhh, God!”
With a low growl, he buried his face against her sex and sucked the hard nubbin of her clit into his mouth. In seconds, he brought her to a voluptuous, shuddering climax. As she collapsed into the pillows, limp, he rose to his feet and began unbuttoning his shirt with quick, impatient hands.
He wanted in her. The Hunger was howling now, brought to full intensity by the sight and smell of Val’s arousal. This time he’d give in to it and take her. The thought of penetrating her with his fangs and cock made him as hard as an I-beam inside his jeans. Cade peeled off the shirt and threw it across the room, then reached for his fly.
Val opened her eyes to watch him strip in dazed anticipation. Yeah, I’d give up tanning beds for this. As he shoved the jeans down his thighs, she said, “Turn me, Cade.”
He froze in the act of kicking out of his pants. There was a wicked temptation in that thought. To have her, keep her. Forever.
But it wouldn’t be fair to Val. She was hot now, entranced by sex and need, not thinking about everything she’d be giving up. And she could end up getting killed in the fight between him and Ridgemont. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“But we’d be together,” she protested. “And I hate the idea of you being helpless against him again.”
The minute the words were out of her mouth, Val winced -- and winced again when Cade stiffened. Damn it, Val.
Cade’s gaze narrowed and sharpened on her face. “My sister has been showing her psychic home movies again, I gather,” he said in a low, hard voice.
Oh yeah, you’ve stepped in it now, she thought. Dumbass.
“What nasty little incident did she unfold before your wondering eyes?” His dark gaze was distinctly hostile now. She swallowed. Cade swore viciously. “Caroline.”
“He almost killed you,” Val said miserably. “And she just left you there.”
“He almost killed me a lot of times.” That sensuous mouth twisted into a chilling smile. “So is this pity sex?”
“No! I just think we should… do it. Change me.”
“So you decided to seduce me into it, is that right?” His voice sounded low and silken, but something about it made her eyes widen in alarm. “Oh, I get it. That’s why you had those fingers buried in your tight little body when I walked in. You figured you’d overwhelm my hapless male mind with the smell of wet pussy.”
“No, I…”
Suddenly strong hands clamped around her waist. She yelped in shock as he jerked her off the bed like a man snatching up an errant toddler. He straightened, holding her easily in the air with her feet dangling. Wide-eyed, she scanned his hard, angry face, acutely aware of the sheer muscled width of his chest.
“So you think you’re going to save helpless little me from Ridgemont by nobly sacrificing yourself. Well, maybe you’d better rethink that, sweetheart. Because from where I’m standing, the only one who’s helpless here is you.”
She swallowed. “You’re being a jerk, Cade.”
“And what are you going to do about it?” He tilted her against his chest and shifted his grip to her thighs. Despite her instinctive resistance, he spread her legs easily and dragged her body against his. The firm, velvet crown of his cock brushed her sex. He smiled slowly into her eyes, taunting and nasty. “Like I said, you’re helpless.”
She gritted her teeth. “You’ve made your point. Ridgemont can eat your face with my blessings. Put me down!”
Cade smirked, reaching to support her bottom as he cupped her breast. “But I don’t want to.” Delicately, he stroked his thumb over her nipple. Despite her outrage, she felt a curl of heat. He lifted her easily until he could nuzzle under her chin, licking the soft, thin flesh just above her pulse. “I’m… hungry.” He lowered her slightly until the head of his massive length pressed against her folds. She squirmed in reluctant arousal. “And you’d make a delicious feast.”
Val bit her lip. “Cade…”
“Maybe I will Turn you after all,” he growled, releasing her breast to reach under her body. She felt his cock dig harder against her as he aimed it, seeking the tight opening of her sex. “What man wouldn’t want his own personal love slave? Want to be at my mercy, Valerie?”
He found her channel and gave a shallow half-thrust, just barely entering. Saliva flooded her mouth at the wicked pleasure of the sensation. She closed her eyes. “You’re getting deep into jerk territory, Cade.”
“I’m about to get deep into your territory, Val.” He lowered her, slowly impaling her on the big shaft. He groaned in pleasure as she shivered, her slick, gloving flesh yielding to his width. “There’s a lot to be said for being your sire,” he said hoarsely. “I could make you do anything I want, any time I want it.”
“You wouldn’t --” Val caught her breath as he penetrated another inch. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Hell, no,” he said roughly, abandoning the pretense of threatening seducer. “That’s the last thing on my mind.” Groaning, he shifted her in his arms. “I’ve got to get a better angle. Hold on, sweetheart.”
Val curled both legs around his waist, keeping him seated as he lowered her back onto the bed. Immediately, he began thrusting in long, heavy lunges that tore a strangled scream from her throat. She squeezed her eyes closed as the massive shaft advanced and retreated, each plunge setting off a burst of light behind her eyes. “God, Cade, doesn’t that thing get in the way when you walk?”
He chuckled in her ear. “No, darlin’, I can honestly say that has never been a problem.”
As he gazed down at her, head spinning from the brutal glory of her creamy heat, she threw back her head and arched her spine. The movement threw the stems of her hard nipples and the sweet curve of her throat into relief. “I’m… Oh, God… I’m…!”
The Hunger drowned him in fire. “Let me drink from you.”
She bit down on her lower lip, the delicate lines of her face so sensual in her pleasure he wanted to weep, wanted to roar, wanted to come. “Yes… Yes… Do it…!”
With a moan, Cade lowered his head and sank his fangs deep into the delicate satin skin of her throat. She cried out in pleasure as her blood poured into his mouth, tasting of life and distilled sex. Her orgasm exploded in his skull as her Kith mental shields dropped. He groaned as he drank, savoring each intoxicating mouthful. And came in long, fiery jerks of his cock. Still drinking.
Despite all the women he’d had over a century and more as a vampire, it had never been so utterly hot. He knew without doubt it was because he loved her.
He only wished he knew what the hell to do now.