Page 38 of Top Secret Vampire

I moaned, my fingers digging into his back, my heels into his hips, urging him to go faster. “Don't stop, Wolf,” I gasped. “Please, don't stop.”

He thrust harder, pushing me higher and higher. I could feel it coming, the fire within me about to explode. He reached between us, his fingers finding my clit, his touch sending me over the other side.

I cried out, groaning as my orgasm ripped through me. He groaned, tensing as he found his own release, his hips pummeling mine as he gave way to his own pleasure and spilled himself inside me.

Finally, his pace slowed, and he came to a stop. He pressed his forehead against mine, meeting my gaze with his own. “You're everything, tiny one. Everything to me.”

We lay with our bodies entwined. He kissed me, his lips soft and gentle, his eyes filled with a warmth that made my heart flutter.

“That was . . .” I kept flashing a silly grin.

“Exquisite,” he said, his smile making heat coil within me all over again.

I nodded, stroking his face. “So, when can we do it again?”

Chapter 18

Wolfram

Imade love to her again and it was even more wonderful than the first time. I’d fallen for this woman and there would never be another who could fill that emptiness within my soul.

Finally, we fell asleep in each other’s arms, and I held her as she spooned against my chest, my chin resting on the top of her head.

I woke sometime before morning to a light sound I couldn’t define. Sliding from the bed, I left Reese’s room and paused in the hall.

The soft creak of the old Victorian house whispered secrets to me I couldn’t quite understand. My vampiric senses remained on high alert because every shadow could be a threat. Minutes stretched on as I listened for the sound that had pulled me from Reese's warm embrace. Had it been a figment of my imagination? A settling of the old timbers that made up this grand home?

Deciding it was nothing, I turned back toward the bedroom, my heart aching to slide into the warm space beside Reese. But a faint rustle, like the softest whisper of fabric against skin, drifted up from the first floor.

My instincts screamed, and my heart released a heavy thud of warning. Therewasan intruder in the house.

I had to move carefully. Mistifying within the confines of the home could be risky. I needed to remain solid, to rely on the stealth and speed that had kept me alive for centuries.

With preternatural quietness, I descended the staircase, my bare feet making no sound on the carpeted steps. Silvery moonlight filtered through the windows, illuminating the path to the ground floor.

The kitchen was my first destination. The scent of Reese's herbs and spices was strong here, but beneath that, I detected the faintest trace of something else—an unfamiliar cologne, perhaps, or the tang of fear-laced sweat. I scanned the room, my eyes catching the subtle glint of the full knife block on the counter. Everything appeared undisturbed.

Next, I moved to the dining room, the heavy mahogany table a silent sentinel, the chairs neatly pushed in. The chandelier above created shadows on the wooden floor, but there was no movement, no sign of an intruder here.

The living room was much the same, the plush sofas and overstuffed armchairs frozen in time, waiting for the dawn. The fireplace remained cold and empty; its hearth clean other than the torn scraps of Wilber’s brochure.

I crept down the hallway, past framed photos and artwork, my senses tuned to the slightest anomaly. The air hung thickly, swallowing all sound. I paused outside Reese's office, finding the door slightly ajar. The room beyond remained shrouded in darkness, the only sound the soft ticking of a clock on the living room mantel.

With a deep breath, I nudged the door open, scanning the room for signs someone had been here. The moonlight here was weaker, the blinds drawn tight, but my night vision was more than sufficient to make out the contours of the room.

Reese's desk appeared as she'd left it, her laptop closed, stacks of papers neatly arranged on either side. Bookshelves lined the wall beyond, filled with volumes that spoke of her love for the written word. Nothing appeared out of place.

Yet the sense of an intruder's presence lingered, a phantom whisper gliding across my skin. My heart galloped in my chest, not for my own safety, but for Reese's. Whoever dared to invade her sanctuary would face me, and I would show them no mercy.

I moved through the room, my senses straining for any hint of the unwelcome guest. I was a predator in the night, silent and deadly. My fangs ached to descend, my hands to form claws that would rend flesh and bone.

But there didn't seem to be anyone here. The office was empty, the house quiet once more. Had the intruder fled, or did they hide in the shadows, watching, waiting?

As I turned to leave the office, a whisper of movement caught my eye. A shadowy figure emerged from the long, dark draperies, their form cloaked in darkness, the details of their face obscured by a hood. I couldn’t tell if they were male or female, human or paranormal.

I bolted toward them, my vampiric speed fueled by a surge of fury. But as I closed the distance, my foot struck something lying on the floor. I stumbled, barely catching myself. I barely glanced at the shadowy object that had nearly felled me, an unrecognizable thing in the dim light.

It felt wrong, out of place.

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