Vampires of Noctra(9)

enjoy you. I know I would." He swept his hand down Skye's arm, and then over his hip, stopping at the prominent erection between his legs.

"Ahh, you're not so unmoved as you'd like me to believe, are you?"

"I don't know what you mean. I don't want to suck anyone's blood."

"No one's asking you to. None of my men are vampires. I'm the only one who feeds on board this ship. You would simply be another to provide

sustenance--if you wish."

"So you do mean to kill me."

"Does any of my crew look dead to you? In fact, I would say they're probably healthier than many a crew you may have encountered."

"I'm not like them."

Donté smiled and leaned closer. "Not yet. Are you a virgin, Mr. Templeton? I do enjoy a virgin now and then."

"No, Captain, I'm not." At least that was a truthful statement.

"Well, maybe that's just as well." Finally, he released Skye and returned to the table. He picked up the small pewter cup and sniffed at the contents.

He looked at Skye, narrowing his unsettling gaze.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there? Did you think you could fool me? I wonder why? What are you afraid I'm going to find out?"

He tossed the thimble across the room.

The vampire was shrewd--maybe more so than Sky had anticipated. He had come up against many vampires working with the general. But none

quite like Donté. Skye knew he was out of his depth. And it was going to take all his skill and cunning to beat Donté Lucienne.





Chapter 3




Donté studied the young man standing before him. He liked his games of cat and mouse as well as any vampire did. And Skye Templeton was ripe

for the game. He was definitely hiding something, but it wasn't the substituted thimble of blood that told him that. It was the smell of the young

man, and the swift rush of the blood pumping through his veins.

"Hmmm. What are you trying to hide from me, Mr. Templeton? I wonder." Unlike the others whose minds were easily read, this young man had a

brick wall slammed down on his thoughts. That was a learned skill not always successful. But Skye Templeton was not of the usual ilk. His block

was one Donté seemed unable to break through. He was indeed very strong-minded. Donté liked the challenge.

"What makes you think I'm trying to hide anything?"

"Why don't you want me to sample your blood? I'm not asking to lay open your vein. Just a drop to determine your honesty. Is that so much to

ask?" He watched Skye closely. It had been a long time since he'd had a young man like Skye on board his ship. At least fifty years or so.

But there were other ways to test his honesty. If Skye thought blood alone would allow Donté to measure his worth, he was about to discover how

mistaken he was. Carrib vampires were not made as continent vampires were. Their powers extended farther into the world of the occult. He

narrowed his focus, reached into Skye's aura. It was something he could do without the exchange of blood. A man of unique gifts had taught him

how to tune into the essence of a man without making the normal connection of vampire and supplicant.

The colors were intriguing as he watched the sexual red shimmer grow. It surprised Donté because he still also sensed the fight for his control, the

fear that he was going to lose it. Which, of course, eventually he would. Donté knew very well the stretch of his powers over humans. Especially

intelligent young men such as Skye Templeton. They presented such a lovely challenge. They fought so earnestly. And fell so hard.

"You knew about me before you came aboard my ship."

Skye looked him straight in the eyes. "There have always been tales of the vampirates. But like sea monsters, no one really knows what's true and

what's not."

He was a brave young man, but Donté heard the rush of blood through his veins, the very loud pounding of his heartbeat. He dropped a hand

onto Skye's shoulder, glided down his arm and then lifted Skye's bandaged hand toward his lips.

"How did this happen?" Slowly, he unwound the bandage to reveal the newly sealed cut slicing the pad of his thumb. "Nasty thing. I can't have

you getting sick, now can I?"

Skye's breathing slowed, almost stopping, his breaths shallow, his wide blue eyes on Donté's hands as the bandage pulled away. The white cloth

drifted to the floor and Donté again raised Skye's hand to his lips. He watched the aura around Skye brighten, vibrant red intermingled with murky

gray as the young man fought his attraction to the dangerous vampirate captain.

"What are you going to do?"

Donté licked across the two-inch long wound, tasting the metallic texture of newly-formed scar tissue that sealed the knife wound. His tongue