"That's debatable," a male voice said.
With a squeak, she spun around. "Ian?"
"Toni?" His eyes widened as he took in her costume, or lack of costume.
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She whipped the edges of the cape together to conceal her nude body. "I thought you were dead. Again." His mouth twitched. "I wouldna miss this for anything." Her face heated up. "Like a virgin," Madonna taunted her.
She snatched the phone from her pants pocket. "Hello?" "Menina, what happened to you?" Carlos asked. "You went upstairs to check on Ian and never came back."
"I--I'm fine. Ian's fine." She glanced at the bed. Ian was grinning at her. "Did you fall asleep?" Carlos asked. "I know you were tired this morning." "I...slept a little. Sorry." "It's okay. Nothing's happening. I just thought you might be hungry. Howard's making some
paninis in the kitchen. You want one?"
"I--uh..." She watched Ian stroll past her into the office. The view from the back was great. He removed a bottle of blood from the small fridge at the wet bar and popped it into the microwave. "Toni, what's going on?" Carlos demanded. "Do you need some help up there?" "No! I--I'm fine, really." "He's awake, isn't he?" Carlos demanded. "Either that, or you have developed some tastes that are
way too kinky." "Okay, he's awake," she confessed. "Howard told me about the Stay-Awake drug," Carlos said. "I guess you two are putting it to good
use?" "Oh yeah." Carlos chuckled. "Ciao, menina." He hung up. "They know what we're doing?" Ian removed his bottle from the microwave and poured the blood
into a glass. "Yes." She dropped her phone and wandered into the office. "Are we going to be in big trouble?" "No one has a way to contact Connor right now, so I wouldna worry about it." Ian sipped from his
glass as he watched her approach. "That cape looks better on you than it does me."
"I don't think it's the cape you're looking at." She swept the cape open for a second to flash her body. Ian smiled and took another sip. "Something amazing happened." "Oh yeah, the sex was great." She perched on a bar stool.
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He chuckled. "That, too. But Toni, I actually fell asleep." He leaned toward her, resting his elbows on the bar. "It was so strange. I havena slept in centuries."
"Wow." He drank more blood. "I'd forgotten what it was like. Death-sleep is so...blank. It's nothing but death and total oblivion. But this was sweet and..."
"Restful?" His eyes glimmered with moisture. "I had a dream. I dreamed of you." "Oh...my." She noticed the tears in his eyes were reddish in color. He touched her face. "I would have never thought it possible." She took his hand. "What did you dream?" His mouth quirked. "Ye did a striptease dance for me in a vampire cape." "Really?" When he laughed, she made a face at him. "Very funny. What was the dream?" His eyes softened. "I'll tell you someday." "Hmm." She scooted off the bar stool. She walked away from him, then flipped one side of the
cape back to reveal a rounded hip. "I have ways of making you talk."
She gasped when he zoomed up to her at vampire speed. "I have ways of making you scream." He untied the strings at her neck and pushed the cape off her shoulders. The satin material pooled on the floor, the red side up. Ian lifted her in his arms, then laid her
down on the scarlet satin. "Well, why not?" She gave him a wry look. "We've stained everything else in this place." With a laugh, he zoomed back to the bar and grabbed his glass. An inch of blood still remained in
the bottom. "Ye've given me an idea." "You're going to stain the carpet?" "Nay." He knelt beside her and drizzled the blood over her br**sts and down her torso. "Eeuw. I hope you plan to clean that up." She forgot to be indignant when his tongue lapped the
blood off her br**sts. He followed the trail of blood down her torso, then licked the last remaining
drops from her belly button. She squirmed on the red satin, enjoying the decadent feel of it against her backside. Ian returned to her br**sts to suckle. She felt his teeth nibbling ever so gently and recalled the look of his fangs when he'd gone into full Dracula mode. His eyes had glowed blue, intense with Vamp power, then they'd turned red as he'd looked hungrily at her. The old bite marks on her br**sts and torso itched, but not with fear or repulsion.
She felt desire. And need. "Ian." He glanced up at her, and the red glow in his eyes tugged deep within her. Her bite marks burned. She raked her hands into his long black hair and gripped his head tight. "Bite me."
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He blinked. "Nay. Doona say that. I willna use you for food. I'm no' hungry." "I am. I have a deep...hunger inside me." "Toni, ye're reacting to my Vamp power. I'll try to tone it down." "No, let it loose." He studied her curiously. "Do ye know what ye're asking? Ye were attacked. Ye have terrible
memories." "I want to turn that terror into something beautiful. Can you do that?" "I can keep it from hurting. But it is all an illusion. Mind control. And I know how ye feel about
that." "I'm not afraid of your mind. I love you." He hesitated, frowning. "Do it. Do it all. I want to experience everything with you." He closed his eyes. "Ye're so verra tempting. I can smell yer blood, hot and delicious. I can hear it
rushing through you, calling to me." "Take me." His eyes opened, and she gasped at the startling blue. A wave of icy cold air struck her forehead,
then swept down her body, prickling her skin with gooseflesh. I am with you. His voice reverberated in her mind, and her entire body tingled as if he were
blowing his breath over her. He nuzzled her neck. We will share mind, body, and blood. He licked her neck, and she gasped as the same sensation happened between her legs. It had to be an illusion. But one hell of an illusion. All the tingling on her neck was echoed below.
Her need grew more desperate, and the tingles grew into throbbing pulses, demanding satisfaction. She wrapped her legs around him. "Take me now." His fangs extended with a small hissing sound that made her ache for him. She shuddered as his
erection pressed against her and his teeth softly scraped her neck. Soon, soon it would happen. He plunged into her core with so much force, she barely noticed the prick on her neck. And then
he was loving her, taking her body and blood. I am inside you in every way. Ye are mine, and I am yers. With each suck at her neck, a shudder of pleasure skittered through her. Then he pulled away from
her neck. I doona want to take too much. He licked the bite wounds, and the shudders continued, intensified with each bodily thrust into her core.
His pace picked up. I can feel ye coming. We're coming together. And they did. Toni cried out just as she heard his roar of pleasure thunder through her mind. She'd never felt anything like it. Their bodies shuddered together like a choreographed dance. Their minds pulsated in shared pleasure. Amazing, she thought, or did he think that? She could no longer tell who was who. They were one.
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"Ian," she whispered as their breathing returned to normal. Even their breaths were in sync. Do ye feel how much I love you? His voice filled her mind. A warmth flooded her and brought tears to her eyes. Then a chill swept through her, and he was
gone. Gone from her mind, but lying next to her with love in his eyes.
And she knew, then and there, that nothing would stop her from spending her life with Ian. No friendships or villains could stop her from loving him. Even death couldn't come between them.
Chapter Twenty-five
That evening, just after sundown, Toni was sitting in the parlor with Ian, Carlos, Howard, and all the Vamp guys, watching the Digital Vampire Network. Stone Cauffyn of the Nightly News droned on and on. Phineas and Jack made everyone laugh with their impersonations of the boring newscaster.
Stone turned his head. "What is the meaning of this?" The camera swerved, and Toni gasped. Jedrek Janow was approaching the newscaster's desk with
a pistol in his hand. "Take him," he ordered, and a Russian Malcontent rushed past him to loop silver rope around Stone Cauffyn. "What are you doing?" Stone asked. "This is highly irregular." "On me!" Jedrek demanded, and the camera shifted to him. "You, cameraman, will do as I say if