Free Dark Passion Rising by Shannan Albright Page B

in.” 
     She ignored the sudden acceleration of her pulse and opened her
door, coming face to face with the vampire.  She couldn’t help the surprise
from showing on her face as she took in his torn chest and the deep gashes in
his upper thigh.  Judging by the amount of blood pooling at his feet, he was
bleeding out quickly.  Tambra wasn’t sure if blood loss could kill a vampire,
but it sure as hell looked like a possibility.  She stumbled under his weight
as she wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, pulled him into her living
room, and eased him onto the sofa.  She locked the door, dropped her knife on
the kitchen table, then ran and got towels to stem the blood flow.  He hissed
in pain, lines of tension bracketing his mouth as she used the towels to apply
pressure to the wounds on his chest and thigh.  His dark eyes tracked her
movements as she made strips from one towel and tied it tightly around his
thigh.
     “Sorry about your sofa, I’m afraid it’s ruined,” he slurred as
he struggled to remain conscious.
     “You can buy me a new one.  I thought you guys were
indestructible, what happened?”
    A small smile played over his lips.  Tambra fought the sudden
desire to feel those lips on her own.  What was it about him that made her
react like this?
     “I walked into a trap.  Several ferals were waiting for me.”
     “How did they know where you would be?” Tambra frowned.
     “That’s what I would like to know,” he sighed, leaning his head
back against the cushions.  “I just…just need a few moments,” he murmured,
slipping into unconsciousness.
     Tambra cut off his shirt and jeans, unable to get to his wounds
in any other way while he was unconscious.  She couldn’t stop herself from
running her hand along the thick slabs of muscle on his chest.  The white scars
were smooth under her fingers.  Her eyes strayed down past the ridges of his
abs to the thin dark trail of hair that ran from his belly button to his groin.
Her eyes widened at the size of his flaccid cock resting against his thigh.  Her
fingers ached to touch him there.  She forced herself to rise and retrieve a
blanket from the closet to cover him up. With the tension gone from his face he
looked younger, vulnerable.  An urge to protect the man lying helpless on her
sofa welled up inside of her.  He was, after all, a fellow cop, in a way.  It
was her duty to help one of her own. 
    She retreated to the bathroom.  She needed another shower and
time to get a better perspective on what was happening to her and on her
feelings for the darkly handsome, and dangerous, vampire.
     
    ****
     
     Marcus slowly became aware of his surroundings.  Soft cushions
supported his back, his legs stuck out over the armrest of the sofa he lay
upon.  He moved slowly at first, testing his abused body.  When no pain
followed, he moved into a sitting position.  The blanket that covered him
pooled in his lap.  He noted he was naked except for white bandages that were
taped to his chest and thigh.  Thinking of Tambra’s hands removing his
clothing, touching his skin as she tended his wounds, made his blood travel
south to his hardening cock.
     He took in his surroundings, noting that the room held a minimum
of furniture.  No knickknacks of any kind could be found on the coffee table or
bookshelves, as if the owner cared little for material objects.  The only
picture in the room was in an inexpensive wooden frame and sat on the nicked
coffee table.  In it, a burly, elderly man was grinning, his arm around Tambra
in her uniform.  By the beaming look of pride on the older man’s face Marcus
assumed he was Tambra’s father.  
    The sound of water running in the other room brought him to his
feet.  The blanket dropped to the floor next to his blood stained jeans.  He
moved into Tambra’s bedroom as the water shut off.  Like the rest of the
apartment, it felt empty.  Only a large bed and night stand with a clock on