Desire the Night(9)

“An illusion only works on the outside. My blood not only keeps her looking young, it gives her the inner strength and vitality of youth.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. And what she doesn’t use, she sells to others, claiming it has magical healing properties.”

“Does it?”

“I don’t know if works for others. It certainly works for her.”

Kay frowned as her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in days. “I don’t suppose she’s going to feed me?”

“Probably not. She’s never bothered to feed any of the others.”

“The others … how long … ?” She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. “How long did they last?”

“A few days, perhaps a week, depending on how often the witch steals my blood, and how much she takes.”

Feeling suddenly cold all over, Kay rubbed her hands up and down her arms. A few more days, perhaps a week.

“I’m sorry,” Gideon said quietly.

“It’s not your fault.”

He frowned at her.

She made a vague gesture with her hand. “You’re a vampire. You’re only doing what comes naturally.”

He stared at her a moment, and then he grinned. “You are a most unusual woman, Kiya Marie Alissano.”

“How do you know my name?”

“I’m a vampire,” he answered, as if that explained everything.

“Most people call me Kay.”

“Do they? I think I prefer Kiya.”

She shrugged. What difference did it make what he called her? “Do you have a name?”

“Gideon Marquet.”

“Have you been a vampire very long?”

“A few hundred years. How did you wind up here?” She wasn’t like any of the other women the witch had brought him. The others had all been helpless, poor, down on their luck. Mostly women who would not be missed. Judging from this girl’s appearance—well-kept hair and nails, designer clothes—she came from a different class of people. Someone, somewhere, would be looking for her, though they would never find her, living or dead.

“I went to a nightclub with a friend of mine. I think someone must have drugged me.” She shuddered with the memory. “When I woke up, I was here.” She was shivering now. She wrapped her arms around her bent knees and drew them up to her chest. “Are you going to feed on me tonight?”

“It depends.”

“On what?”

“On you.” His gaze moved over her, lingering on her lips, the swell of her breasts beneath the white silk shirt. “I’ll leave you alone tonight in exchange for one kiss, freely given.”

“A kiss?” Was he kidding? How could he think about kissing at a time like this?

Gideon nodded. It had been a long time since he’d had a woman. He could have compelled those the witch brought him. He could have taken them by force. Neither option appealed to him. Nor had any of the women. But this one … there was something about her that intrigued him like no other. “So, what do you say?”

She eyed him warily. “How do I know you’ll stop with a kiss?”

He shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Trust a hungry vampire? Yeah, right.”

“Is that a no?”

“Hmm.” He was a good-looking guy. Cleaned up and well fed, he was probably devastating. “One kiss,” she said, and scooted closer to him. “No tongue.”

He grinned, his shackles rattling as he reached for her. She could feel the power in his arms as he embraced her. For stretched seconds, he simply held her, his gaze locked on hers. She felt a tingle of awareness bloom inside her as his hand moved up and down her spine, then slid over her shoulder to stroke the edge of her breast.

She started to push him away when he claimed her lips with his, and all thought of protest—indeed, all thought, period—vanished as his mouth closed over hers. She hadn’t expected to enjoy his kiss. He was a vampire, after all, but his kiss was like nothing she had ever known. Her fingers tangled in the hair at his nape as she drew him closer, suddenly inexplicably hungry for the press of his body against hers.

She moaned softly when he took his mouth from hers, sighed as he rained kisses along the length of her neck. Lost in a maelstrom of sensual pleasure, she was scarcely aware that he had bitten her until, with a choked cry, he pushed her away, then retreated to the other side of the cell.

Kay blinked at him, confused and suddenly light-headed. And then, seeing the red in his eyes, the single drop of crimson at the corner of his lower lip, she realized what he had done. “You said you wouldn’t feed on me.”