Phantom Desires Read online

  “That’s a lovely thing to say.” She fumbled, realizing he was waiting for some response from her.

  “It’s no more than the truth.”

  His eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light of the office. She kept the lights down when she worked late so as to minimize the glare from the computer screens, but now it was serving a double purpose. The low light made the atmosphere more intimate between them, causing her to shift in her seat. Her stomach fluttered, as did regions farther down.

  The computer beeped, requiring a few keystrokes from her, which she put in almost by rote. She noted his gaze following her fingers as they flew over the keyboard. Usually when people watched her work they made her nervous, but this man had an entirely unexpected effect on her. This man fired her long-dormant libido. He made her want things she had never wanted this badly before. He made her want to throw caution to the wind.

  She finished entering the last string of commands and turned back to him. He was such a disturbingly masculine presence at her side she needed to make him leave so she could think.

  “I’ll be at this a few more hours. It should probably finish the loading sequence somewhere around three in the morning.”

  “So late?” His voice warmed with concern. “I don’t like the idea of you walking around campus alone at such an hour.”

  She shrugged, trying not to show how much his concern warmed her inside. She had been alone so long. Nobody had ever really worried about her keeping odd hours. No one since her foster parents, and they were long gone.

  “It can’t be helped. But I’ll be careful. I can call campus security to escort me to my car if I feel the need.”

  “That will not do.” He made a slight tsking sound as he shook his head gravely from side to side. “I’ll tell you what. I need to mark a huge stack of essays. I can do that while you work here and when you’re done, I’ll walk you out myself.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”

  “No trouble at all.” He stood with some finality, his body language making her realize he would not take no for an answer. And what a body. He was muscular and hard in all the right places.

  “I insist,” he continued. “Perhaps you will join me for a cup of coffee at the all-night diner in town? I suffer from insomnia and find it difficult to sleep at night.”

  His self-effacing little shrug touched her heart. For such a strong man to admit to any sort of weakness was somehow very endearing. How could she turn down such a simple request, especially when her more adventurous side was yelling at her to take him up on his offer. She took a steadying breath and nodded, liking the immediate light that came into his eyes.

  “That would be nice. I could probably use a bit of time to unwind after this is done. It’s always the most boring, but nerve-wracking part of the job.” She chuckled and he followed suit, the slight upturn of his lips lighting up his whole face. She thought just maybe a full out smile from him might very well kill her. He was that potent.

  Dmitri surprised her by taking her hand. Bowing slightly, he kissed the back of it in an old-world gesture that would have seemed silly coming from any other man, but Dmitri Belakov had the right kind of dashing charm to carry it off. She nearly swooned when his lips parted, and his tongue brushed ever so lightly against her knuckles, dipping into the crease between her ring and middle fingers for a sensuous lick.

  Her breath caught, and her eyes shot up to his. The amusement in his gaze lit a fire in her blood, daring her to laugh back and she did, surprising herself. The man was magic. He had to be. She had never responded to any man this intensely or this fast. Ever.

  “Call me if you finish before three. Otherwise, I’ll come check on you at that time.”

  She found she had no breath to answer him, merely nodding as he offered her a slight smile and left the room. She had been right, she realized. His smile was completely devastating.

  At three in the morning, Dmitri returned to check on the small woman who was busily typing away. She was so intent on her work she didn’t sense him at first, though that was hardly surprising. Most mortals would be unable to sense his presence at the best of times but he had come to realize this woman was much more sensitive than most mortals. She had sensed him in her dreams, pulled him into her phantom desires and was aware of him on a level most mortals would never plumb.

  He liked that. Perhaps a bit too much.

  She would, in all likelihood, die at his hands, but he would give her a fair hearing at least, before deciding her fate.

  “Carly.”

  She gasped and jumped in her seat. Her gaze turned to him in the darkened room. “You frightened me.”

  “I apologize. I came to see if you were almost ready for that coffee.”

  She bit her lip, turning back to the glowing screen. He found himself staring at her perfect, white teeth as they worried the plump, pink lower lip. How he wanted to be the one biting her.

  “Uh, I should be done here in about ten more minutes. The last module is being a bit stubborn.” She turned back to her work, dismissing him from her mind as the computer problem took his place in her thoughts. He did not like being so summarily dismissed. The thought jarred him.

  Usually, he was more than happy to leave his human prey with no recollection of his presence. In fact, it was important that he be able to exert control over their weaker minds in order to contain the secret of his existence. It was imperative to his survival and one of the most important rules he had set when he had taken over this territory some three hundred years before. He was Master of this region now, as he would be well into the future, barring some unfortunate circumstance. Only his death would cause him to relinquish leadership of the vampires in this region. He loved this wide-open country too much.

  There were not many of his kind here, but enough that he had to exert his power and authority now and again. He led them with equanimity and fairness. None had ever complained about his leadership, though he ruled with absolute control and his word was law. Luckily for his people, he was a fair-minded man with more inclination to let them live as they would with only a few simple guidelines and laws they could not break. Breaking one of his laws, they all knew, would be cause for immediate and deadly punishment. Adhering to his few, well-reasoned mandates, however, allowed them all to live harmoniously in the shadow of the mountains where so many werecreatures resided. There was an uneasy truce maintained between his kind and the weretribes and he wanted it kept that way.

  Chief among his laws was secrecy. If it could be helped, no mortal should ever be left with a memory of their kind. Vampires needed to feed from mortals, but he taught even the youngest of his people to cover their tracks. No memories remained with the mortals of their encounters with his kind, unless they were memories of exquisite sexual pleasure with an unknown, faceless partner.

  He would love to give Carly those kinds of memories, in truth. He would fuck her over and over while he feasted on her blood, but manipulating her memories might prove more difficult than with the average woman. Her mind was enticingly complex for a mortal, with hints of something…other…he could not identify. It was there and then it was gone when he had invaded her dreams. It intrigued him, as did the woman.

  She was bright⎯brilliant in fact⎯and had a confidence in her intellect that was very attractive. At the same time, she seemed wholly unsure of her attractiveness as a female. She had a voluptuous body, though her manner indicated she was still untried in many ways, her eyes going shy whenever he looked at her breasts with interest. That intrigued him as well.

  More than that, she had a purity about her, a kindness that manifested itself in the small ways she interacted with those around her. He’d watched her closely over the past weeks. She was thoughtful, respectful of her elders and those for whom she worked, and honest in her dealings. Those were rare traits, he knew, among mortals of this generation. She was unique and uniquely arousing.

  She turned him on as no woman had done for cen
turies. All he had to do was look at her for his body to go hard and wanting. All he had to do was think about her for his fangs to drop, seeking her essence. Before he realized the passage of time, she was turning back to him, a brilliant smile on her face. She seemed genuinely happy about the victory she had just won over a stubborn computer program.

  “All done.”

  He found himself smiling back and noted the hitch in her breathing. His eyes strayed to her pounding pulse then down to the swell of her breasts. She was so aware of him, he knew it would be easy to take her now, but he needed more information. He needed to know if she was a threat to him, and if so, he needed to decide her fate. Live or die? He did not want to rush to judgment on this one.

  “Shall we see about that coffee?”

  She nodded, collecting herself and stood. With a few economical moves, she shut down the computer system, then grabbed her coat. He took it from her before she could put it on and held it open. He wanted to get his arms around her, the sooner the better, but he was cautioning himself to slowness. He had to get her used to his touch first. Gentleness wasn’t something he was used to giving, but he instinctively knew it was what this particular female needed.

  She turned her back to him and allowed him to help her into the coat. When he didn’t let go, she started nervously, like a frightened doe, but he held her close, her back to his front, his arms wrapped around her over the bulky shearling coat.

  “You are a beautiful woman, Carly.”

  He nuzzled her soft hair, seeking the scent of her skin where her shoulder joined her neck. He felt her shiver and smelled her rapidly rising arousal. Good, he thought, she is as responsive in the flesh as she was in her dreams.

  “Um, thank you.” She seemed frozen in place, curious but frightened. He liked that she did not run from him. If she had run, he knew his predatory instincts would have come to the fore and he would have chased her down. This was so much better in the long run. He needed her to come to him willingly. Keeping that goal foremost in his mind, he let her go and stepped back, breaking the spell.

  The all-night diner was surprisingly busy, but they were able to snag a corner booth that was relatively quiet. Dmitri was the perfect gentleman, encouraging her to order whatever she liked though he stuck with plain black coffee. She noticed he didn’t drink much of his coffee, just a few sips. When she questioned him on it, he said he didn’t want the caffeine keeping him awake. She wondered why he hadn’t just ordered decaf, but let the question slide as he neatly changed the subject and started asking questions about the new software system she was installing.

  Before she knew it, three in the morning was only a memory and it was getting closer to dawn. Dmitri drew her attention to the slight pinkening of the sky and she gasped. They had talked for more than two hours though it seemed like only minutes. She was that comfortable with him.

  With a few parting words and a somewhat awkward—at least on her part—peck on the cheek, he let her go. She climbed into her car and set out for her little farm, about twenty minutes away by car. As she crested a hill, the sun greeted her and the beauty of the dawn stole her breath. It was a beautiful day to be alive.

  Chapter Three

  Dmitri made it home from their rendezvous with only moments to spare. He could fly quite fast when there was need, but he had cut this just a little too close for comfort. Still, he reasoned, any time spent with the enchanting Carly was time well spent. She had thoroughly captivated him as they had sat in the diner, talking about anything and everything.

  His mental abilities allowed him to probe a little beneath her complex surface, learning more about the thought processes that went into her answers to the many, many different questions he had posed to her. Though she hadn’t realized it, she was being carefully studied, analyzed and judged. He had decided rather quickly to let her live at least a bit longer while he probed deeper into the amazing effect this surprising mortal woman was having on his mind and body.

  All she had to do was smile, and he was ready to fuck her. Hard.

  He knew he could make her want it. He had read her attraction to him in the subtle shifts of her body, the alluring scent of her arousal. It was heady stuff. He hadn’t wanted sex with a mortal in a very long time, but this one woman was making him want sex with her, and her blood, in the worst way.

  And he would have her. Both her luscious body and her sweet, life-giving blood. She would feed all his desires, his hungers and his needs. Then he would decide her fate. For now, he would invade her dreams once more and begin the process of seduction. While she slept in the farmhouse two stories above his own dwelling, he would seduce her senses and bring them both an echo of the pleasure they would find together.

  He spread her out before him in their shared dream, her whimpering cries of pleasure music to his ears as he licked through her folds and delved his tongue within, mimicking the motion he wanted to make with his cock. She writhed beneath him, her legs churning as pleasure threatened to overtake her.

  “Come for me, little one.” He whispered against her wet, silken flesh as his fangs came down, his excitement growing. With a growl he nipped at her little clit, fighting against his baser nature to treat her gently, his teeth teasing, not hurting. He never wanted to hurt this small woman, giving herself so freely to him in the realm of dreams. He vowed silently that she would give herself just as freely in the flesh.

  He couldn’t wait much longer to claim her in truth. The short time he had already spent studying her only made him want more.

  She spasmed against his mouth, crying out her release as he rode her through the storm, licking softly. This time, the climax didn’t startle her out of the dream. He knew she was greedy for him now and the pleasure he could give. She stayed in the dream, wanting more. Wanting him. It made him feel like a king.

  At length she quieted, and he knew it was only a matter of moments before she was once again writhing in his arms. He worked toward that goal, stretching out over her, suddenly naked in the way of dreams. He rubbed up and down, his body against hers, his hardness against her softness, his hunger against her welcoming warmth and wetness. She was almost there.

  Lowering his head, he brushed his closed lips against hers, pulling back, making sure he held her eyes as he smiled, letting her see his fangs. The moment of truth. Or close to it, at least. If she thought about it at all, she would put his appearance up to her imagination in the harsh light of day. Dmitri wanted her to think about what she had seen in the dream. There was no question in his mind. She would be remembering this dream when she woke up. He willed it so.

  He’d done his best to mask his identity in their past shared dreams but no more. He wanted her to think of him and wonder until he could see her again the next night.

  Then he would challenge her. He would confront her perceptions of reality and dreams. He would claim her for his own. At least for one night. Maybe two. Maybe a decade. Time meant little to him, a Master of his kind.

  She gasped as she saw him fully on the dreamplane, her hand coming up between them. He thought she meant to push him away, but she would find him impossible to move. Instead, she surprised him, her soft eyes turning curious as she traced delicately with one finger over the sharp point of one deadly fang.

  The motion cut her and a drop of her precious blood welled up onto her skin. She drew back, but he grasped her hand and brought her bloody finger to his mouth, licking to taste her.

  Her eyes darkened with desire, shaking him to his core as he sucked her finger in deep. He laved the little digit, coaxing more of her essence into his suddenly starved senses.

  Too bad this was only a dream. He longed to know what she tasted like for real. Soon, he counseled himself. Soon.

  He pulled back, allowing her to pull her finger free with a slight suctioning pop. He parted his lips, letting her see what was coming as he lowered his mouth to her soft throat. She fired his blood as she made no move to stop him, uttered no words of fear. She wanted this. If o
nly in her dreams.

  As he moved down to her beautiful throat, he moved his cock to the hot, wet opening that was so ready for him. As his fangs plunged into her jugular, his cock thrust home inside her. A hot, wet glide of possession that fired his senses as her blood bathed his tongue in the most delicious flavor imaginable.

  Too bad it was only imaginary. He would have her in the flesh. Soon. This phantom taste of her only whetted his appetite for more.

  Her blood pulsed into his mouth on the dreamplane as his cock pumped into her hot pussy. In and out, harder and stronger, his desire flamed higher than before.

  “Please,” she begged in a gasping whisper as she strained beneath him.

  He could read the desire, the need in her voice. She was desperate to come. He felt her beginning to contract around him, her cries speaking nothing of fear, only of ecstasy.

  “Harder, Dmitri! Harder!” She gasped next to his ear, sending him higher into the throes of his own desperate desire.

  He pushed her to her limits and then beyond, his mind intimately twined with hers in the realm of the dream. Her heart pulsed in time with his thrusts, hot and hard, fast and strong. He knew she was seconds away from exploding, as was he.

  With a groan, he sucked deep on her delicate throat. In a surge of ecstasy, he exploded hot within her tight depths, feeling her release squeeze him with velvet gloves while he came and came, longer and stronger than anything he’d ever known. Even in dreams.

  Their coming together was magical and sublime. He found himself already thinking of when they could do this again. He wanted more of her body, more of her blood. More of her.