Free A Tale of Two Vampires by Katie MacAlister Page A

light-headed as when I had fallen through the strange smoky object, but this time when I pitched forward, I fell right onto a warm, hard, very solid shape.
    One who smelled faintly of lemon, leather, and something slightly earthy that had me turning my head into his neck in an attempt to capture more of it. A sudden urge flared to life in me, one that swept through my blood, making it impossible to resist. Before I could even weigh the consequences of my action, I opened my mouth and gently bit the tendon in Nikola’s neck.
    It was as if I’d lit a match to a bonfire. He froze for a moment, and I knew I’d shocked him, knew I was guilty of a far greater form of harassment than merely ogling my breasts, but before I could do so much as to pull away from him, I was on my back on the bed, Nikola covering my front, his eyes darkening even as I stared in complete astonishment. He didn’t say anything, just dipped his head down until his lips burned a brand on my neck.
    I was so shocked by what I’d done, I didn’t think to push him off me so I could apologize. On the contrary, I slid my hands up his arms, my legs moving restlessly as his weight made me sink into the soft mattress of the bed. All sorts of wickedly naughty erotic images danced in my head as his teeth scraped on my neck. I knew he was going to give me a love bite in return, knew I should stop it by apologizing for biting him, knew I should get far, far away from him, but apparently my brain had ceased to function, because the second his teeth bit my flesh, I arched back against him, writhing in ecstasy.
    “Oh my god, do you know how to do this,” I moaned, clutching his hair and squirming at the sensation of his mouth on my neck. My entire body seemed to be made of fire. “But really, I suppose…oh, lord, yes… I suppose we should stop because this really is way over the line, not that I’m blameless since I bit you first, and dear god, you’re not going to stop, are you?”
    He pulled back from me, his eyes now a pure sapphire blue, his lips suddenly holding an unholy fascination for me. They were red, as if he’d been kissing me, all gently curved lines, and so enticing I almost pulled him back down onto me.
    A morsel of common sense remained to me, however, and I’m proud to say that even in the full onset of a massive lust, I managed to keep from kissing the breath out of him.
    “I must stop, or you would die,” he said in answer to my question, giving me an odd look before sliding off me.
    For a few seconds I lay in a boneless, quivering mass of want and need and too many other emotions to untangle. “Well, that was probably the best hickey I’ve ever had, but I don’t think it would have killed me.”
    He frowned as I sat up, rebuttoning the top button of my dress, which had popped open yet again. “I do not know this word ‘hickey,’ either.”
    “It means a love bite. Kind of a passionate one. Look, I’m sorry I bit you. I don’t know what possessed me. I’m not at all a bitey sort of woman, and especially not with strangers. I’m mortified that I was just yelling at you about ogling me and then I went and bit you—”
    “I enjoyed it. No one has ever bitten me before, not even my wife. She was always afraid to. She was afraid she would become like me.”
    A blush unlike any other washed up from my chest, burning my face with shame. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know you were married. There’s no excuse for my behavior—”
    “I am widowed. My wife died several years ago.” He eyed me as I put my hands on my blazing cheeks. “If you are not a whore, as you claim you are not, then who are you?”
    “I’m just me,” I said with a little frustrated gesture. “I’m a former secretary. I like photography and traveling, although I haven’t done much of either. I’m spending the summer in St. Andras with my cousin Gretl. And I don’t normally bite men, especially strange men, and really especially not men who are as handsome