Addicted. Lydia Parks

he muttered against her lips. “I want to be inside you when you come.”

      “Yes,” she whispered back.

      “But there’s more,” he said, reaching between her legs, finding her pussy dripping for him.

      “What?” she said, then gasped as he stroked her clit.

      “I need more than your gorgeous cunt, sweet thing.”

      She pulled his rock-hard cock forward, raising herself until she gripped it between her thighs. “What do you need, Jake?”

      He groaned and eased forward and back, letting her stroke him and coat him with her juices. “I need to taste you, Athena. I need—”

      The world crashed to a halt as white-hot fire exploded through his chest. Jake yelled and straightened, then spun around.

      The man from the Tunnel—what the hell was his name? Chris?—stood with his hands in front of him, his feet spread, and his eyes wide.

      Behind Jake, Athena screamed and slid along the wall.

      The pain continued, burning through him like molten lava.

      Jake looked down to find a bloody point protruding from his chest. His knees gave out and he dropped to the floor.

      “Are you okay?” his attacker asked.

      Jake followed Chris’s gaze and found Athena shivering in a corner, her arms wrapped protectively across her chest. For a moment, he regretted that he couldn’t come to her rescue, until he saw her nod.

      Jake steeled himself against the pain. “Why?” he managed to get out.

      “We search out creatures like you,” the man said, sneering. “We must protect the mortal world, even if they don’t believe.”

      Hunters. They were both goddamn hunters.

      So much for a fair fight.

      Jake reached back and yanked the stake from his back, crying out at the unbelievable pain as he did. Resting on all fours, he worked to steady himself as blood dripped to the floor beneath him. He looked up at his assailant, smelling the young man’s fear.

      “You shouldn’t…have done that,” he said. Then he struggled to his feet.

      Faster than the mortals could see, Jake charged across the room, grabbed Chris’s shoulder and his hair, and pushed his head to the side. Showing no mercy, he bit into the boy’s neck and drank, letting the healing liquid fill him with strength and warmth and pleasure.

      Athena screamed and charged forward, pounding against Jake’s back with her fists.

      He held her off as he took another long draw from Chris, then he released the young man, who crumpled to the floor in a heap.

      Jake drew Athena close and stared into her beautiful green eyes. “I had no intention of hurting you, sweet thing.”

      She pulled away and collapsed against the wall when he released her arm.

      He hurried out the front door, straightening his clothes and buttoning his pants as he staggered to the car. The hole in his back bled profusely, draining his strength almost as fast as he’d drained his attacker.

      Driving like a maniac, Jake managed to get to an abandoned field, where he drove his car across the dirt and parked under an elm tree. He stumbled out, unlocked the trunk, rolled in, and pulled it shut. Just as he heard the lock click, he passed out.

      Athena huddled in the corner, shaking uncontrollably, trying to get her mind around what had just happened. One moment she’d been in the arms of the most attractive man she’d ever met, and the next she’d been standing in front of a monster with glowing gold eyes and fangs, blood smeared across his mouth and dripping from his chin.

      The memory played over and over, coalescing into three words.

      Vampires are real.

      How could this possibly be?

      She remembered the first night Chris had told her about his mission.

      “People are in denial. It’s easier to pretend they don’t exist than it is to face the truth.”

      She studied his face, his youthful skin lined with worry and determination, his blue eyes glistening.

      “What truth?”

      He glanced around as if he expected to find people crouching behind him, then leaned across the table and whispered one word. “Vampires.”

      Athena bit back a laugh, immediately understanding how important this absurd idea was to him. “Vampires?”

      He nodded, watching her face for a reaction.

      She swallowed hard, trying not to compare her would-be boyfriend to her alcoholic father swearing his bed was filled with spiders and scorpions. They’d been every bit as real to him as the whiskey he craved.

      “Chris—”

      “They’re real. I’ve seen them.”

      The red-checkered table, mugs of coffee, crowds of fellow diners, and sound of Metallica grinding from oversized speakers faded.

      Soft moans drew Athena from the memory. She pushed herself up on shaky arms and crawled across the floor. “Chris?”

      Blood pooled around his head and shoulders, oozing from the gash on the side of his neck. But for all the blood, the wound wasn’t bleeding as much as she would have expected, as if it were closing on its own. Or maybe he didn’t have much blood left.

      “Chris?”

      He groaned in response and reached toward her with one bloodstained hand.

      She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

      His breath came in shallow gasps.

      With her heart pounding in her ears, Athena brushed matted blond hair from his face. “Hang on. I’ll call an ambulance.”

      Four days and three nights passed in a painful blur as Jake worked his way west. He lost the car somewhere, and vaguely remembered cornering a coyote in order to feed. Finally, he found himself crawling up the red rock trail that led to Skidmore’s castle. Unfortunately, weak and helpless, he collapsed before he reached the doorway. Giving up, he turned onto his back to face the morning sun.

      The morning sun, however, did not rise onto his lifeless body to finish him off. Instead, he woke in a small, dark room that it took him a while to recognize.

      Careful not to move, he tried to clear his thoughts, but the fog seemed to thicken. He turned his head to look. Beneath a half dozen paintings, the wall appeared to be smoothed red rock. It must be one of the numerous rooms Skidmore had carved out to create his elaborate underground mansion. Relieved, Jake closed his eyes again.

      “Dear boy, are you still with us?”

      Thomas Skidmore’s voice.

      Jake nodded.

      “Well, I’m delighted. I have a drink for you. Not exactly herbal tea, but I do believe it will help what ails you.”

      The scent of red blood cells snapped Jake’s eyes open. He sat up, grabbed the glass from Skidmore, and gulped down the nourishment.

      Almost instantly, warmth spread through his limbs and torso, and the healing power fired him from the inside out. Unlike the drink at the Tunnel, this was fresh, warm, and full of vibrant emotions.

      “What…who…” He stared at the glass.

      Skidmore took the glass from his hand and smiled. “Oh, we have quite a few donors at the moment. When you feel more like your old self, I’ll show you around.” He rose and stood beside the bed. “Take your time. I’ve left clothes for you in the bath. Make yourself at home.”

      And