Oliver's Hunger (Scanguards Vampires #7) (26 page)

Praying that this was the case with this window, he gripped the frame and pushed upwards. It moved. As fast as he could, he lifted it and squeezed inside, knowing that Ursula would have already heard the noise. He couldn’t allow her to scream.

Frantically he parted the curtains. The light in the room was muted. Only a small bedside lamp was lit, the TV was running. Ursula had jumped up from the bed, the remote control lifted over her head as if she wanted to strike him with it.

“Ursula, it’s me. Oliver,” he announced himself.

She gasped and opened her mouth wider as if she wanted to scream. Out of instinct, he leapt and grabbed her, bringing them both down onto the bed, while he simultaneously pressed his hand over her mouth.

She struggled against him, beating her small fists against his chest.

“Shh! Ursula, stop, I’m not here to hurt you.”

She glared at him, fury blazing in her eyes. A second later, her teeth dug into his palm. She was biting him!

“Ouch! What are you doing that for?” He didn’t release her mouth though. “Are you promising not to scream if I take my hand off your mouth?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, then her leg suddenly wedged itself between his thighs and kicked up. But he was faster, shifting his weight and imprisoning her legs so she couldn’t try again to kick him in the balls.

“What was that for?” He let go of her mouth.

“You jerk! You betrayed me! You told them about my blood!” she spat.

“It wasn’t me! I never told them a syllable of what you confided in me.”

“Bullshit!” She hit him with a defiant glare. “Now get off me or I’ll scream for Vera.”

“You try to scream, I’ll kiss you! And trust me, I’m faster than you.” He was, and he wasn’t bluffing.

Ursula stilled under him. Slowly he shifted his weight onto his knees and elbows, making sure he wasn’t crushing her. But he had no intention of releasing her until he could be certain that she wouldn’t scream or escape him.

Ursula seemed to realize that he meant what he said and pressed her lips into a thin line. It appeared that he would be subjected to the silent treatment.

“Listen, baby, I was called to Samson’s—”

“I’m not your baby!” she griped.

“You were when you slept in my arms.”

She turned her face away to avoid him. But with his fingers on her chin he made her look at him. “I can see that you’re angry with me.”

“No shit, Sherlock!”

He had to smile despite himself. “You’re a wild cat, Ursula. Maybe we’ll take advantage of that later when we make love. I wouldn’t mind those sharp claws of yours digging into me when I’m inside you.”

She sucked in an outraged breath. “If you think I’m going to sleep with you after all you’ve done, you’re wrong!”

“Am I?” he murmured and lowered his head, allowing his lips to hover over hers. “I bet if I kissed you now, you would kiss me back.” Then he pulled his head back again. “But I won’t kiss you, because you need to know what really happened.”

He sat back on his haunches, allowing her more freedom of movement. Instantly, she shuffled backwards, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

“I was called to Samson’s house—it was a ruse to get me out of the house and away from you. Do you remember when Zane and the others were called away the night we checked out the building in Hunter’s Point?”

She nodded reluctantly, her eyes watching his every move.

“They were called to a nightclub. Apparently some vampires were causing trouble. Turns out that they were two of your clients. Leeches.”

Her eyes widened with interest.

“They were both feeding off Chinese girls. My colleagues had to do a lot of damage control, wipe memories, clean up. One of the leeches killed a girl. Cain staked him.”

A gasp escaped from Ursula’s throat. “Oh God no!”

Oliver gave her a sad look. “I’m afraid my colleagues couldn’t save her. She was already dead when they got there. But they saved the other girl. And they captured that crazy vampire. They took him back to HQ and questioned him. He told them everything: that he wanted special blood, blood that drugged, that the blood brothel in Hunter’s Point he’d been going to was gone. He was an addict, Ursula. He was suffering from withdrawal—that’s why he was so crazy. When Zane and the others realized what was going on, they knew instantly that you had to have special blood too.”

He looked into her eyes and saw realization there. She knew he was telling the truth. “That’s why Zane came for me.”

Oliver nodded. “After seeing what the blood does to vampires, they wanted to make sure I wasn’t anywhere near you. That’s why they took you. They were afraid that I would bite you and end up like those crazy drugged-out vampires.”

“So they really don’t want my blood. Your colleagues, they’re not keeping me because of that,” she said as if talking to herself.

“No. They wanted to protect me. Even though they were royally pissed when they found out that I already knew about your blood and didn’t tell them. Anyway, now that they think they’ve kept me from you, they’re busy combing the city for any evidence of where the blood brothel moved to. They want to destroy those vampires. I promise you.”

“And the girls and I? What will they do with us?” There was a trace of fear in her voice.

Oliver had worked for Scanguards long enough to know what they were planning, even though nobody had talked about the ultimate plan. “Once we’ve found them, we’ll make sure they go back to their families, and if need be, we’ll set up new identifies for them so nobody will ever find out about them and what makes them special.”

“They will do that? For us? For humans?”

Oliver stroked his knuckles over her cheek. “Yes. They’re there to protect you. Just like I am.”

She inched closer. “How did you even find me?”

“One of the girls here overhead when you said something about me, and she called me.”

Her eyes widened and she jerked back from him. “You’re a client here?”

Oliver leaned closer. “No, I’m not. I just come here for . . . uh company.”

“Company?!” She looked at him, clearly not believing him.

“I’m friends with Vera, and her girls like me. But I’ve never come here for sex.” He grinned. “At least not until tonight.”

30

Oliver wanted to sleep with her. Ursula felt a wave of heat shoot from her belly all the way into her head and spread in her cheeks. If she looked anything like she felt right now, she’d say she was blushing like a ripe tomato. Her anger at Oliver had vanished when he’d recounted what had happened at the nightclub and afterwards. Oliver hadn’t betrayed her secret. He’d kept his word. Even though by doing so he’d drawn the wrath of his colleagues upon him.

When Oliver leaned in even closer, she dropped her lids. “I’m sorry I cursed you behind your back.”

His lips approached her mouth, his breath ghosting over her skin. “I can live with that if you’re willing to make it up to me.”

She opened her eyes fully, meeting his sensual gaze. The blue of his eyes was almost blinding. “How?”

“A kiss would be a good start.”

“What else?” she asked, meeting him halfway.

“You, naked.” He glanced behind her, a wicked smile forming on his face. “Preferably tied to this wrought iron headboard.”

Her breath caught in her chest. Instinctively, she pulled back a fraction. “Why?”

“To teach you to trust me. To teach you that even if you’re tied up and vulnerable, I would never do anything to hurt you. That even when you’re at my mercy, you still have your free will, you’re still the one in charge of your body and your mind.”

She stared at him, scared, because she’d spent three years of her life with her hands tied to her bed, being robbed of her free will. She shivered. “It won’t work. I can’t let you tie me up. They did that to me. They—”

He put his finger over her lips. “I know what they did to you. That’s why you and I will do this together now. To wipe away the bad memories. When we’re done here, you’ll associate being tied up with pleasure, not with fear, frustration, and pain. Because I’ll make sure that all you’ll feel is pleasure. Nothing else.”

She didn’t doubt that he wanted to shower her with pleasure, but she couldn’t imagine ever being able to forget those days when she’d been chained to her bed. “What makes you think it will work? Psych 101?”

He smiled. “I never went to college. But I’ve always been able to read women. And when we made love in my van, you couldn’t let go of the chains they bound you with. They’re still there.” He softly knocked at her temple. “Still in there. And as long as you can’t shake them, you’ll never be able to share your body freely. Call me selfish, but when I make love to you, I want to feel all of you. I don’t want you to hold back because you’re afraid. I want you to be free.”

Free
, the word sounded so good. But could she ever truly feel free? Even now she was still incarcerated, even though it was for her own protection. “And that’s why you want to tie me up?”

Oliver’s eyes darkened. “That and . . . because the idea of you at my mercy makes me so hard that I’m ready to burst.”

He took her hand and led it to the front of his jeans. When he pressed it onto the bulge that had formed there, she felt heat underneath her palm where his erection pulsed.

“And if I asked you to untie me, would you do it immediately?” she asked, her voice trembling, because she was considering something she should never contemplate. But whenever Oliver looked at her with desire and lust in his eyes, a different side of her took over and made decisions for her.

He shook his head, bringing her heart to a complete stop. “No. You’ll be able to untie yourself. I’ll only use silk scarves to tie your hands to the headboard. But the knots will be so loose that you’ll be able to slip from them whenever you feel the need.”

Relief made her release the breath she’d held. She looked at him and remembered the things he’d done for her to achieve an orgasm in the back of his van, how selfless he’d been, how giving. So if this game of bondage was something he wanted, she could try it. He hadn’t hurt her so far. There was no reason he would do so now. Slowly she nodded, praying that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life. “Yes.”

Oliver pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. “Oh baby, thank you. You won’t regret it!”

Then his mouth was on hers, searing her lips with a passionate kiss. He was different from the time in his van: more passionate, wilder, and more untamed. Had she made the right decision? But she had no occasion to contemplate it any further, because Oliver’s kiss robbed her of the ability to think. Instead, all sensory receptors in her body seemed to switch on as if he’d flicked a switch.

His hot breath seared her, his tongue delved deep into her, leaving no corner unexplored, and his hands roamed her body, commanded by a man who knew he would encounter no resistance. With confidence and determination, he pulled her T-shirt over her head, exposing her naked skin beneath. Skin that tingled pleasantly. When the zipper of his jacket rubbed against her breast, she cried out, making him release her instantly.

“Your jacket,” she said. “Take it off. Take all of it off.”

Oliver jumped from the bed and rid himself of his clothes. She’d never seen anybody undress himself with such speed and grace. When he stood in front of her with only his boxer briefs, she licked her lips, and her eyes moved to the impressive outline of his cock. The bulbous head of his erection peeked out from the waistband of his underwear, too large to be contained by the fabric that stretched too tightly to truly conceal anything.

“I love the way you look at me,” he claimed.

“How do I look at you?”

He growled softly. “Hungry.”

Before she could reply to him, he stripped her of her jeans, leaving her with only her bikini panties. But instead of joining her on the bed again, he turned to the chest of drawers behind him and opened the top drawer. He rummaged around in it.

“What are you doing?”

He turned, and she saw him holding up a virtually see-through negligee. He tossed it at her. “Put this on. I think you’ll look good in red.”

She took the gauzy fabric that hid nothing and slipped it over her head. It was surprisingly soft. But as soon as she wore it, she also realized that the area where it should cover her breasts was devoid of fabric. She felt scandalous in the outfit and was about to take it off again when she noticed Oliver staring at her, unbridled desire burning in his eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, and the admiring sheen in his eyes made her heart beat faster. At the same time her nipples tightened into hard little buds, and she felt moisture collect at her core.

Slowly, she lowered herself back onto the mattress, aware that she was presenting herself as if on a silver platter, her breasts sticking out through the holes in the negligee. Suddenly she felt powerful. She felt like she was the one in charge, the one who pulled the strings. Ursula licked her lips.

“Fuck, baby!” Oliver cursed and jerked open the second drawer, pulling out a couple of silk scarves, before he walked to the bed and joined her.

He straddled her midsection, then leaned over her, the erection behind his boxer briefs brushing against her stomach. “Stretch your arms over your head.”

“In a moment.” She would comply with his wish, but there was something she wanted first.

Without embarrassment she tugged on the waistband of his boxer briefs, pulling them down as far as his position allowed. Then she closed her palm around his hard cock and squeezed the firm flesh.

Oliver moaned loudly, his eyes closing, his head falling back. His breathing accelerated as she stroked him, running her hand up and down his length.

“You’ve gotta stop,” he begged, “or I’ll spill all over you.” His eyes opened and met hers.

“And would that be so terrible?”

He gripped her hand and gently pried it off him. “Yes. Because I want to come inside you when you’re climaxing.”

Then he took both her hands and pinned them over her head. With swift and surprisingly practiced moves, he tied both her hands to the bed frame. She pulled on them slightly and noticed that they were loose, just like he’d promised. If she curled her hands, she could slip from the bonds.