Unafraid Read online

  The possessive creature that brought him to the edge of madness laughed in his mind. He had absolutely no fears he would leave the lady wanting. Griffin lowered his much larger body over the petite frame of his delicate human. He wanted to think about her comfort but the raging lust burning in his gut only knew one thing; he needed to be inside of her.

  Griffin took her mouth again and she responded instantly, twining her finger through his hair. He pressed himself against her hot little body and reveled in the sensation of skin against skin. Her full breasts against his chest were divine, but the damp heat at the apex of her thighs was a sweet promise of what was to come. He rubbed his length against her tender flesh in small circles until she begged him to come inside, but he just kissed her more deeply and continued the steady slide until she cried out with her first climax.

  Having assured her readiness, Griffin pushed deep inside of her lush heat before she’d had a chance to descend from the heights of her orgasm. The intense pleasure and shocking sense of rightness he felt while she pulsed around him, nearly ended their first bout of lovemaking with shocking speed, but he gritted his teeth and held himself embedded deeply inside of her heat.

  His rational mind scolded the hungry beast for thinking of this encounter as lovemaking. Griffin had never made love in his life. He used the available females to slake his lust, but he had never loved any one. Nor would he ever love this little human. His life had been planned out for him. He had no choices. He would never love.

  The hunger ignored him and began to thrust into the beautiful, luscious woman clinging to his body. He pulled nearly out of her on every stroke and slammed back in until he felt her muscles begin to ripple around him. She was on the edge of another climax, but he slowed his pace and denied her. She whimpered and pleaded prettily but he had no mercy for the female that was taunting him with irrational thoughts and raising beasts in his mind. She attempted to raise her hips to take her pleasure but he wouldn’t allow it.

  “You may only have what I give you. No more,” he grunted and pinned her hips to the bed, forcing her to accept his pace. He demanded that she accept his steady, maddening lead. She wanted it harder, faster, more. She begged, but he continued the slow grind into her wanting body until the edge of a climax and his own need to feed sped his pace.

  Gathering her slight frame into his arms, Griffin thrust into her and sank his fangs into the tender flesh along the slender column of her neck simultaneously. The resulting explosion should have rocked the rundown building to the ground. He experienced the most intense orgasm of his life while he greedily swallowed the earthy, hot blood that flowed from her vein and into his body. Her flavor was like none other. She tasted like everything that was pure and good in this world. She was sweet and clean with a hint of spice that he had never had before but wanted to have over and over again.

  Faintly he heard her screaming in ecstasy but he was too wrapped up in his own bliss. Griffin continued to ride her until he climaxed yet again and her along with him. The little female lay limply in his arms when he licked the bite to close the wound. For a moment he feared that he had gone too far in his mindless need to conquer her body. Panic flooded his veins and he shook her, praying she would awaken. Tousled and drowsy, she cracked open her eyes and smiled weakly while she fingered the spot where he had bitten her.

  “It didn’t hurt too badly,” she whispered. “The initial sting surprised me but then it was so damn good.” She shifted and Griffin moved to hold her closely against his chest.

  That’s when it hit him. He hadn’t enthralled her at all. He hadn’t masked her mind from the bite. Now there was no way to separate the sex from the bite in her mind. When the Council came to scrub her memory of any knowledge she had of vampires, they would take her memory of him with it. For the first time in his life Griffin had completely lost himself to a female and all of his careful training and the precaution that protected vampires from exposure to the world were lost in that moment as well. The mistake would come with a price his rational mind didn’t want to explore. He shouldn’t care that the human would have no memory of the experience. For God’s sake he didn’t even know her name! He had just committed a sin that made him no better than the vampire that taught her about their kind and he didn’t even know her name.

  * * *

  How could she be terrified and more turned on than she’d ever been in her life at the same time? Tessa’s dream man dropped her on the bed and she bounced slightly, the sagging springs gave under her weight. He had been scaring the shit out of her ever since they entered her apartment.

  When they arrived, he had looked around her home with barely concealed disgust before proceeding to glare at her for long, agonizing minutes. She was embarrassed but she refused to let him see it. She had never allowed Sebastian to come to her place. She always met him at the restaurant. This man, this vampire, was the first person she ever allowed to enter her private space. This was the best she could do on what she made and judging by the quality and cut of his clothing and the arrogant air of authority he wore like a second skin, he was used to far better.

  He was going to be very disappointed when she informed him that she was his mate. It would then be his decision to take her or leave her. He was beautifully made and way out of her league. She wasn’t sure why he had followed her home but was sure she was going to find out when he stood, staring a hole through her head as he waited for an explanation. What the hell was she supposed to say? She didn’t know what to do with him now that she had him alone. He was a big man that took up so much room in her home that it seemed even smaller.

  When his coat came off she knew he planned to stay for a while and that was good. In spite of how much he frightened her, Tessa wanted to be near him. She wanted him to stay there, in her crappy hole in the wall, until they figured out what fate had in store for them. Not only that, she had the crazy urge to rip off his clothes and lick every inch of that long, muscled body before she had her way with him. The attraction was obviously one-sided because he continued to look at her with seeming aversion.

  The tension in the room could no longer be contained and he snapped. With blackened eyes and long, razor sharp fangs, he descended on her, believing she had a traitorous vampire lover and he needed information to apprehend him. That was why he had followed her. Somehow after all of her dreams of this man, she had allowed the silly notion that he might actually want her to bloom in her chest. He gripped her face roughly and a tear for the loss of her fantasy escaped to trickle down her cheek. How could a man like him want someone like her? He wouldn’t.

  Now he looked down at her nude body sprawled on the bed after demanding that she give him her body. He obviously had no idea that she would give him anything. She’d hesitated for a time because she didn’t know if his idea of giving him her body meant giving up her life. Her dreamed hadn’t prepared her for his reality. His erect manhood and hungry eyes said he wanted her but Tessa couldn’t be sure if he truly wanted her or if he was simply trying to seek out the information he needed using his magnificent body. She didn’t care anymore. Even if she could hold him only for a short time, she wanted him.

  The exquisite torture went on and on throughout the night when he finally took her body and her blood. Tessa experienced climax after climax that seemed to grow stronger until finally her body couldn’t take any more. It seemed that he was trying to prove something to her with his demands that she take only what he gave her, but eventually he relented and gave into her needs for a bit of rougher play. Though hesitant at first, he seemed to enjoy it when she asked him to redden her ass with his palm while he drove her into the mattress. It likely played into the control of her body he was so obviously trying to establish.

  By the first morning light he had made good on his promise to make her forget everything but him. Tessa admired his gorgeous, sleeping form and was glad the thing about vampires burning up in sunlight was a myth, because she didn’t have curtains. That had her wondering how muc
h of humanity’s idea of vampires was colored by misunderstanding and fear.

  Tessa didn’t fear anymore. She’d fallen for him in her dreams and had become addicted to his body in her reality. She still had no idea if this was just about an easy screw and the need for nonexistent information for him, but for her it meant the world. Even if he rejected her now, she would never regret their night together. He had been rough and demanding, but generous, just the way she liked it. In the aftermath he held her close and drowsed on her flimsy sofa bed. When he left, Tessa knew he would take all that she was with him and possibly never return. He would take her hopes and dreams and she didn’t even know his name.

  THREE

  Tessa dozed off wrapped in his arms, feeling warm and drowsy after a long night of rough loving. When she woke some time later it was to find him leaning on an elbow while he looked down at her. With a bemused expression on his beautiful face, he traced the lines of her lips with a feather soft touch. She lay languid and sleepy while he continued to explore the curves of her body from her chin, down her neck and across her collar bone to her shoulder where he placed a tiny kiss and inhaled deeply, breathing her in.

  His fingers traveled over the swell of her breasts and traced a line down the valley between before proceeding to the dip of her belly button. The look of wonder on his unguarded face made her wish she could read his mind. When his blue eyes finally met hers, the gasp of surprise and sudden warming of his cheeks told Tessa he had been so engrossed in his task that he hadn’t realized she was awake and watching him.

  They stared into each other’s eyes, both seeming to be searching for answers where there were none to be found. She was forced to accept that her life had changed forever. Her dream was indeed a premonition of the future. The stunningly handsome man in her bed would change her life and her view of the world forever. Whether those changes were good or bad, she couldn’t say.

  She was now forced to accept that vampires were real beings, not just creatures born of the human imagination. Tessa had been terrified and oddly turned on by the sight of her dream man’s once sapphire blue eyes turning black as coal and the fangs dropping slowly from his gums. She’d seen and felt the truth of his vampirism when his passion and hunger drove him to sink his sharp fangs into her flesh while he rode her body hard. The bite of his fangs stung for a heartbeat before the most intense orgasm of her life slammed her into a mindless storm of ecstasy she feared she would never know again. Finally he spoke.

  “Tell me your name, little one. I need to know. Then we will talk about your boyfriend.” He said that last part like it tasted foul on his tongue.

  * * *

  Her name was Tessa. The name suited her. It was simple, unique, and lovely, just like the woman. Griffin showered in the tiny tile stall he could barely turn around in. There surely wouldn’t be any slippery shower sex happening in there. Through the curtain that was attached to the ceiling to give the illusion of privacy in the bathroom that had no walls, Griffin could hear her moving around the kitchen area. She was making breakfast.

  It was Monday morning and he would have to leave the shelter of Tessa’s humble abode in another hour or so. He had been with her in a suspended state of unreality since their meeting on Friday night. They had argued and she attempted to throw him out on Saturday when he repeatedly demanded that she confess the name of her lover. She was enraged that he didn’t believe her but she gave him no choice because she didn’t want to explain her knowledge of his people.

  Finally, she confessed that she believed herself to be clairvoyant. She feared telling him because people always thought she was crazy or evil after she shared her ability with them. This was also very hard for him to swallow. He knew that very rarely vampires were gifted with foresight, his own sister had been widely known for her dream vision before her death, but he wasn’t aware that humans also carried the trait. After listening to her explain the story of her life and her mother’s family history of the talent being passed down through the women, he began to believe.

  It had been a leap of faith in her own ability and intuition that led her to the alley Friday night. Though she was reluctant to share any details of her dreams, Tessa admitted that she knew he would be hunting and find her in the alley. She explained that night after night she saw him come for her until finally her fear of the unknown had turned into curiosity. She blushed furiously when she told him he had kissed her over and over in her dreams until finally she could convince herself that he meant her no harm.

  Griffin had to concede that he didn’t know all about the human race and it was very possible that they had precognitive abilities just like vampires. It was known that vampires had evolved from humans by the amount of shared DNA they carried. So logically, the trait could have originated with the humans. Put in that scientific light, Griffin could accept her explanation. It also made him feel more comfortable with the ease with which she had taken him to her bed. Yes, he had bullied her to gain her agreement, but a woman with a boyfriend wouldn’t have given in unless she was the unfaithful sort. Not that Griffin was one to judge. He had never been in an exclusive relationship.

  It had taken him some time to get her to allow him to once again ravish her delectable little body after their argument, but she eventually gave in to his bullying once again and stopped trying to kick him out. The rest of the weekend had been spent in a lazy dreamland where long bouts of sex, conversation that was mostly about her, sleep and the occasional sandwich, were the natural order of things. Griffin had neatly avoided answering any direct questions she asked, but the annoyed gleam in her eyes said he hadn’t fooled her. She knew he was holding back.

  Griffin marveled at how simple and uncomplicated Tessa’s life seemed to be. She worked as a waitress to pay her bills, she did a lot of reading in her spare time and she enjoyed photography when she could afford the film. Not being able to afford things was a completely foreign concept for Griffin. He bought whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it and never thought twice about the cost.

  His weekend spent in the company of a woman that didn’t want him for his money or position had been refreshing. They hadn’t once set foot outside of her door. He had ignored the buzzing of his phone in his coat across the room until the battery finally died. He wasn’t trying to fool himself into believing he would like to move into a hole in the wall and rough it rather than face his responsibilities, but he had to admit that the life of the lower class was not as horrible as he had always believed.

  Now his little hiatus was coming to end. Griffin had to get to work today. For all he knew his family had the entire warrior class out scouring the streets looking for him, but he was reluctant to leave his little human beauty. She had a fire in her that was infuriating and exhilarating at once. She argued with him in a way that no one ever dared in his world. His word was law outside of her door but on this side of the door he was just a man like any other. After his initial rush to claim her body and feed was satisfied, Griffin knew he should have gone home. The impulse to be near her should have quickly faded but it hadn’t.

  Again and again when he thought of leaving her, the beast would raise its demented head and demand to possess her. Tessa was a prize for any man and he knew others would covet her beauty. They would want her as he did and it made him crazy. Again and again over the course of his short time with her he had tried to show her with his body that he was the only male worthy of her charms. He had tried to make her concede to his dominance and admit that she was his, but she would qualify her responses with a firmly spoken ‘for now’ every time she admitted that her body and blood belonged to him.

  She had a sexual appetite to match his and she liked it a little rough. At first he had hesitated with some of her requests, but once he was assured that he could control his considerable strength and not harm her beautifully delicate body, it had become a turn on. The sight of her rounded ass bearing his hand prints while she writhed and climaxed around his length was highly satisfying. Then, she
would turn the tables and tie him to the flimsy bed rails while she tortured him with her hands, mouth, and body. Of course he could have broken free at any moment but he allowed her the fantasy of power over him for a short time.

  Tessa was perfect in every way, except for one, she was human and that would never do. The fact that he was considering anything beyond a few nights in her bed had him shaking his head. It had been fun but the time to end his little vacation had nearly come. Once he returned to the real world, no doubt he would quickly forget her. The primitively possessive lunatic pacing in the back of his mind completely disagreed. He was working out ways to keep his little human prize.

  Drying himself with a scratchy towel, Griffin took the six steps that took him from the bathroom to her bed and stretched out to watch her cook. Good Lord, he had to get away from her. She stood at the tiny stove in a thong and a cut-off t-shirt that did nothing to cover the rounded underside of her full breast. Her long hair hung in a wave down her back. It was still damp from her shower. Griffin hardened again and groaned when she bent to retrieve a dropped fork from the floor. The motion presented him with an exquisite view of her ass and the nearly bare treasure of her womanhood. He wanted to lick and nibble and fill her to overflowing all over again. The urge to replace the scent of sex and satisfaction she had removed in the shower was overwhelming.

  His heavy breathing must have gotten her attention. She looked at him over her should with a coy smile and asked, “How do you like your eggs, Griffin?”

  * * *

  “Griffin, where the hell have you been?” A familiar and usually very welcomed voice snapped at him from the doorway of his office. He dreaded this confrontation. Delphina had finally grown tired of him avoiding her calls and came to hunt him down. He’d stood her up on Saturday. Her repeated calls were part of the reason his phone had died over the weekend. She would want answers he didn’t care to give.