A Kiss Beneath the Veil Read online

  “I didn’t tell the Inquiry anything. Jocomus of Briarspear spoke for the vampires. And he lied,” Isaac replied.

  Daphne didn’t have an intelligent rejoinder. The sound of his voice near her ear, the way each word rolled and purred off his tongue, made her knees weak. Something began to ache in her chest. The memory of loving him and the fear of what he was, what his being a vampire meant to that love. If she were honest, she would admit that she’d spent her whole life avoiding men and distrusting their motives. Two weeks knowing Isaac and those walls she’d built had begun to crumble. Until he revealed eyes snapped open and she that he was in love with her, and fear drove her away.

  Not her best moment. She’d even realized that she acted rashly, but too late. Once she’d started running, she couldn’t very well stop, could she? And face Isaac after she betrayed his trust? Better just to avoid the whole mess, right? Of course right...

  Anger and embarrassment warred within her. Anger won.

  “So you beamed me to your lair? Nice to know that you guys can do that. I’m so telling,” she said, reining in her awe of the place and trying not to wince at how childish she sounded. When she was nervous her brain usually wound up frozen and buffering. Then it started spitting out movie quotes in place of conversation. It was just a matter of time before she told him that his brain had the shell on it.

  “My lair?” he asked, laughing softly against her temple and raising goosebumps along her arms. “Would you really tattle on me, Daphne? I doubt it. You kept my secret all these years. You knew about the vampires weeks before the rest of the world, yet you told no one. I think you can be trusted with the whereabouts of my bat cave,” Isaac said with a wink as he stepped back, trailing his fingertips across her shoulders and down to her hands.

  She tried not to smile at his joke - he really did have the best sense of humor - and focused on the rest of his statement.

  “How would you know who I told? Oh, yeah! Because you’ve been stalking me for five years,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and glaring up into Isaac’s sultry face.

  “True,” he replied simply, finally drifting away from her. Her eyes dropped involuntarily to his tailored slacks and the perfect rump they highlighted.

  Isaac laughed again and threw her a wicked smile over his shoulder.

  “What?!” she demanded, trying to look innocent. Did he have eyes in the back of his head to go along with his fangs? Or, worse, could he read her mind? Daphne seriously hoped not, considering how often she thought of him when her Hitachi was buzzing away at night.

  “I missed you too, chéri,” he said, his smile dimming to a soft smolder.

  “You barely know me,” Daphne argued. She had to remain focused and stop getting sidetracked. She’d just been kidnapped, for crying out loud! This wasn’t a class reunion!

  Isaac shook his head and leaned his inarguably perfect ass against a low couch. “I know all that I need to know. I’m in love with you Daphne. You are my one true mate. There will be no more running, no more doors standing between us. You made your choice and came to me in the night.”

  “I did not! It was an accident! I was late getting home because of this poor mom and her daughter. I did not stay out for you,” Daphne said quickly, stomping her foot for emphasis.

  The rushing click of claws on stone came from a dark archway to her right.

  “Oh no, you’ve woken them! Hurry, chéri!” Isaac cried, holding out his arms to her.

  Daphne leapt across the room with a shriek, landing against his chest and trying to scramble onto his shoulders as three dogs bounded into the room.

  Daphne gasped in outrage and glared down at Isaac as he laughed and squeezed her tighter, out of reach of the happily bouncing animals.

  “Seriously, dude! Dogs?! You scared the crap out of me,” she said, squirming until he finally let her down. She’d had visions of scrabulating creatures of doom zooming in to eat her face off. Her heart was still pounding so hard it almost drowned out his laughter. Almost.

  “I was trying to protect you from the slobber monsters,” he said, grinning so playfully that she had to turn away quickly or risk smiling back. Even the words “slobber monsters” sounded beautiful when he said them.

  “Whatever,” she muttered, sitting on the floor to pet the mutts who’d dashed out to greet them.

  “This is Percy, Audrey, and Bo,” he said, scratching each one in turn and receiving drooling grins of adoration in response. They were each clean and well groomed, obviously mixed breed street dogs, and obviously loved. Daphne finally cracked a helpless smile as she watched Isaac kneel amidst the dancing canines and promptly get dog-piled, literally, as they tackled him for attention. The moment she felt the smile lift her cheeks, his pale blue eyes snapped to her. It was as though he could feel it. He smiled back at her, and for a moment she simply enjoyed their familiar camaraderie. Then she remembered she’d been taken against her will. Kidnapped! Kidnapped! Kidnapped!

  “You kidnapped me. You need to take me home now,” she said sternly, crossing her arms again, but quickly dropping them to pet one of the dogs who took the opportunity of her lowered guard to lick her face.

  “I have taken you home, chéri,” he replied.

  “Nuh uh, not your home, my home,” she said, struggling to her feet and brushing her hands off.

  Isaac sighed, saying something quietly to the dogs who promptly sauntered away obediently.

  “Have I not been patient? Have I not respected your little wards? I could have taken you at any time, Daphne, but my love for you prevented it. I needed you to come willingly to me. And now that you have, I could not force myself to let you go,” Isaac spoke gently, almost hypnotically to her. She actually had to shake her head to keep herself from nodding at the logic of his statement.

  “I told you, I didn’t come willingly. It. Was. An. Accident.” she enunciated.

  “You accidentally chose to make a twenty minute walk in less than fifteen and not stop at a Sanctuary? I think you wanted me to catch you. Perhaps not consciously, but...” he argued, smiling and watching her from hooded eyes.

  Was he right? Had she secretly wanted Isaac to catch her? She could have told Mrs. Berkley no, or to come back the next day. She could have stopped at a Sanctuary. Why had she risked it? The image of a man popped into her mind, surprising her with the secret thoughts that came along with them. It wasn’t Isaac.

  She’d suddenly thought of Mark, a guy who’d been trying to get her to go out with him for almost a year now. He was exactly the type of guy that she thought she was looking for, but for some reason, she had yet to agree to a date. Maybe, deep down, it was because he couldn’t compare to Isaac.

  “Please stop fighting me, Daphne. I love you more than anything on this Earth. And I’d give anything to have you willingly. Anything,” he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

  When he talked like that she couldn’t think. She’d known the moment he touched her that she was still achingly attracted to him. And now, with his cool skin sliding against hers, her thoughts scattered even more.

  “Help me find the murderer,” she said as his head began to dip toward hers. When he paused, she had to struggle to remember what she’d just asked. Find the murderer, the one killing the children. Yes, that’s what she needed, and maybe, secretly, that’s why she’d let the night creep over her. To find Isaac and get him to help her.

  “As you wish,” he whispered. Then his arms were around her again and the room shifted. Suddenly they were standing in a bedroom lit by candlelight. A giant canopied bed fit perfectly in the expansive space. Daphne barely noticed all the rich details as Isaac bent to kiss her.

  “Isaac! I’m not just falling into bed with you after you kidnapped me! And I can’t be your forever love!” she said, almost incoherent. She was being seduced, with the beautiful rooms and the dogs and the promises of vengeance. Things were moving too fast, making her feel out of control and confused, and at the core of it all was her fear of trusting, and being trusted, with someone else’s heart forever.

  Isaac sighed gustily, redirecting his kiss to her forehead.

  “Alright, Daphne, how about we try it this way; let’s pretend that this is the night I told you I was a vampire,” he began. Daphne frowned suspiciously. She was definitely still in lust with Isaac, and he’d never done anything to make her distrust him, other than the stalking thing, which, to be honest, was kind of flattering. She might be open to pretending things were different for the moment. She relaxed a bit as he smiled crookedly down at her. “You were falling for me, and I was falling for you. Every date we had before that night ended in a kiss.” A steamy, deep, mind-bendingly erotic kiss if you asked Daphne. She felt an involuntary pulse between her legs at the memory and raised her eyes to his lips. “The night you left we would have done much more than kiss. There would not have been talk of a future no one can really predict. Just two people falling in love, and ready to show it.”

  His words had driven all thought of kidnapping, commitment-phobia, and murderers from her mind. She glared at the words “falling in love”, ready to argue, but got sidetracked when his full lips finally dropped to hers. Her traitorous body was apparently ready to continue what they’d started five years ago.

  His lips were smooth and firm, molding to her own, parting and molding again. He pulled her more fully against him, his broad chest pressing against her breasts, their hips grinding smoothly together, his muscled thigh pressing subtly between hers. She finally opened her hands and stroked them over his shoulders, then down his trim waist, down further to cup the backside she’d been ogling earlier. Yep, just as firm and luscious as she remembered. He grinned briefly against her mouth then kissed her again, his tongue lapping gently against the sensitiv
e seam in her lips, parting them and sliding deeper when she moaned in pleasure.

  His large hands roamed her sides, lifting her shirt and finally touching the skin of her back. This time her moan was louder. God! The feel of his cool hands against her overheated flesh brought a rush of desire straight between her thighs.

  “Chéri, I’ve needed you for so long! I’ve ached to have you beneath me...” Isaac groaned, tearing his own shirt off before lifting hers carefully over her head.

  “Yes! I dreamed of you every night.” She admitted softly. “Please, please, I need you,” she said, realizing then how much she’d missed him. How much she’d regretted leaving him, and how glad she was that the choice to return to him had been taken out of her stubborn hands. And this was all just pretend, right? She hadn’t actually committed to anything, had she? The sight of Isaac’s chest and chiseled abs seared her thoughts down to the need to see the rest of him as they moved in a slow dance toward the bed, shedding the rest of their clothes.

  Isaac pulled her to him when they were both naked, his enormous erection, the warmest part of his cool body, was pressed hard against her belly and made her gasp. She’d thought he’d be above average considering his height, but this... His fingertips dug into her skin and the slight prick of claws made her breath suck between her teeth as he drew them slowly down her back.

  “I will try to be gentle, but I have waited so long...” he said thickly as she met his eyes. His pupils had elongated like a cat’s and his accent had grown deeper as he spoke through long fangs, now glinting behind his lips.

  Vampires were incredibly erotic beings, at once predatory and sensual. And this gorgeous creature was wound tight with arousal and ready to pounce.

  “Don’t be gentle, I just need you to fuck me,” she whispered. Shocked by her own words, she nearly apologized, but Isaac didn’t give her a chance. His smile of pleasure revealed the full length of his sharp canines as his hands curved around her ass, lifting her up to straddle his waist.

  “It would be my pleasure,” he growled. His mouth dropped to hers again, his tongue tangling and sucking her own. The last five years melted away beneath his expert touch. All the anticipation and lust she’d felt five years ago rang as clearly in that moment as it had on those long ago days. She needed him so badly that she began to writhe against the hard plane of his stomach, trying to relieve the ache he’d stoked between her legs. Then the world spun as he laid her on the bed.

  Isaac’s teeth scraped her throat as he kissed the column of her neck. She arched her back in response as his mouth trailed lower. His lips and tongue laved the slope of her breasts, and the fine claws that emerged from his fingertips scratched lightly in their wake.

  By the time his mouth reached the core of her, she’d become mindless with desire, her hands gripping his silky hair as she pressed him lower.

  “Please...” she begged, watching his wicked smile finally dip between her thighs.

  The sensation of his slick tongue gliding across her clit made her moan in boneless pleasure. His hands grasped her thighs below the knee, lifting and spreading her open to him. His grow eyes snapped open and she l of approval was so low and animalistic that she felt its rumble in her chest. Her breath caught as the growl turned into a purr against the petals of her sex as his tongue plunged into her and his lips pressed and suckled in turn. His fangs slid suggestively against her skin making Daphne’s thighs tremble with the conflicting urge to pull away and drag him closer.

  She felt the burn of climax starting to rise in her and squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on Isaac’s mouth and the ecstasy it was bringing her. Then she tipped over the edge.

  Her eyes snapped open and she met Isaac’s gaze as the waves poured over her.

  “Oh, yes!” she shouted, breathing hard and trying to drag him closer.

  “Dieu, oui!” Isaac whispered against her skin before rising above her. He palmed his thick cock before lowering himself to kiss her once more. She ran her nails down his smooth back and gripped his taught buttocks the second before he plunged into her. The sensation of being filled made her gasp and nearly draw away, but Isaac caught her hair, palming the back of her head and guiding her back to his seeking lips as he began to rock inside her.

  “M’emmener,” he whispered brokenly against her mouth as he hooked one of her legs with his arm and spread her wider for his thrust. “Take me.”

  He was dominating her, fucking her just as she’d asked. Daphne had never felt this good before. Never felt such pleasure as Isaac worked her body like a finely tuned machine. She threw her head back against the pillow as another climax built in her.

  “Yes! Take me, please!” she cried. God, how she’d wanted him! And to finally have every part of him, to know his body so intimately, was more amazing than she could ever have dreamed.

  Isaac’s mouth was on her throat again, she was peaking faster, just about to cum when the sharp slide of his fangs in her skin drove her that last step. It was the best orgasm she’d ever had, consuming her with euphoria. The sensation engulfed her entire body, from his cock pulsing deep inside her with his own orgasm, to the drawing slide of his fangs in her vein. It was all pleasure. No wonder there were hoards of girls who pursued vampires so zealously. If this was how good they all were in bed, she’d be hard pressed not to become addicted too.

  She was fluttering back down to Earth, landing back on the velvet covered bed with Isaac as he gently licked her neck and sealed the wound he’d made. She was truly boneless, with barely enough strength to breathe in the scent of Isaac’s hair, which was super yummy. Everything felt right with the world. She hadn’t been this at peace in...years. Her fluttering descent back to reality ended in a thump. Shouldn’t she still be annoyed at him? True, she was the one who sort of wrecked their relationship in the first place, but she’d chosen to wreck it and, damn it, she should have to live with the consequences. Shouldn’t she? Or was she really just relieved from her subconscious on out that Isaac had forgiven her and taken her back...

  She didn’t know.

  When Isaac finally lifted his head from her neck, she watched him carefully, waiting for her usual need to avoid emotional commitments to surface. But she really didn’t feel like running. She felt like....sleeping. Or maybe snuggling. She frowned suspiciously, wondering if he’d put some kind of vampire whammy on her to make her his slave. But the annoyance was easy enough to muster. She didn’t feel like a Stepford wife.

  At her frown Isaac raised his brows at her. “I did ask first. Sort of...are you angry because I bit you, chéri?” Isaac asked with concern, shifting his hips in a slow role, letting her feel the still hard length of him inside her.

  She felt her eyes cross a little before snapping back to his wicked grin as he propped himself on his elbows above her.

  “Not really, as long as it’s not going to turn me into your Renfield, or something,” she replied, squeezing him back and watching his eyes lose focus for a moment. Now it was her turn to grin. She and Isaac had always had an easy relationship. It really did feel like time had just started back up from where they’d left off. As long as he left the “L” word out of it, she might actually consider dating him again.

  “Renfield? This is reality, not the movies, you know,” he said. He was slowly rocking side to side, brushing her nipples with his chest. Daphne shrugged, bouncing the round globes of her breasts and making him drop his gaze in fascination.

  “How should I know what your kind is capable of? You can teleport, after all,” she said, starting to really enjoy their little game.

  “Indeed. Well I wouldn’t want you to continue with any mistaken beliefs about us. Perhaps it’s time that I show you what we’re truly capable of...” he murmured. His eyes flashed in the dim room before his head dipped back to her mouth with a groan.