Blake's Pursuit Read online

  Could he really punish Lilo for having seen something she shouldn’t have seen? Punish her by taking away her memories? Was such treatment warranted?

  Blake gripped the steering wheel tighter. Maybe it wouldn’t have to come to that. Maybe she was reasonable and would take it all in stride. And eventually accept the facts: that not only were Ronny and her assailant vampires, but that he, the man she’d kissed the night before, was one, too.

  Maybe it was that kiss that now helped him come to a decision.

  He pulled to a stop in the parking lot and immediately texted Donnelly, while the sun set behind him. By the time he was finally able to get out of the car, Lilo was already exiting through the double door of the police station. He rushed toward her, meeting her halfway up the stairs.

  “Blake!” She practically threw herself into his arms.

  “Lilo. I came as soon as Wes told me.” He wrapped her in a tight embrace, feeling how her body was trembling. Instinctively he pressed a kiss on the top of her head and rocked her in his arms. “It’s gonna be alright.”

  She lifted her head, looking up at him, her eyes full of doubt and fear. “Did he tell you what’s on that video?”

  He nodded. “Do me a favor, Lilo, wait in the car for me, while I quickly talk to the police officer.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “Yes, see it for yourself. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it myself.” She eased herself from his embrace.

  Blake motioned to the car. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  He watched her walk to his car and get in, then hurried into the building. Donnelly was already waiting for him, and ushered him into his office in the back. When the door closed behind him, Blake let out a breath.

  “Fuck!”

  Donnelly nodded. “That was close. You guys were lucky that I wasn’t far away and managed to get to the station before she could show that video to one of my colleagues.”

  “I know. I owe you.” Then he pointed to the computer. “Show it to me.”

  They both walked around to look at the screen, and Donnelly replayed the video. It was as Wes had described: two men arguing and then turning into vampires. Aggressive vampires. Shit! This wasn’t the kind of introduction to vampires he’d want any human to face. Let alone Lilo. First impressions were hard to forget. This would make it even harder to gain her acceptance once he revealed the truth about himself.

  “At least we now know what Lilo’s attacker looks like. I can have IT run it through facial recognition.”

  “I already sent a copy over to Thomas for you. I figured you’d want to find out who this guy is,” Donnelly said.

  “You’re the best.”

  “I know,” Donnelly replied dryly and pulled the USB stick from his laptop. “You’d better take this. It’s not safe at the station.”

  Blake took the memory stick from him, shoved it into his pants pocket and turned to leave.

  “What’re you gonna do now?”

  Blake hesitated at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Try to make Lilo understand that we’re not all bad.”

  “You’re gonna tell her the truth about Scanguards and about yourself?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  Donnelly sighed. “We always have a choice. The question is what’s less painful? Coming clean or erasing what she’s seen?”

  “Painful for whom?” Blake murmured to himself and left the office.

  19

  They’d barely spoken in the car. He’d told Lilo that they would talk once they were home. After all, the car wasn’t the right place to confess to her that vampires truly existed, and that he was one of them. What if she panicked and jumped out of the car, trying to run away? No, he had to get her home first, calm her down, and then gently tell her the truth. He could only hope that she would understand.

  Blake opened the door leading from the garage to the hallway and ushered Lilo inside ahead of him. The voices of the boys were coming from the living room.

  “Ryder?” he called out.

  The twenty-year-old hybrid appeared almost immediately. He was mature for his age, one of the more serious and responsible of his hybrid charges. Ryder was less wild than Amaury’s twins, and less stubborn than Grayson, Samson’s eldest son. “You’re back.”

  Blake pointed to him, while looking at Lilo. “Lilo, this is Ryder, one of our bodyguards-in-training.”

  Lilo nodded, her “Nice to meet you” sounding automatic and distracted.

  Ryder smiled. “Same.” He came closer. “I checked with the vet like you told me. Turns out Hannah did indeed keep her appointment for the dog. Wanna know what she had done?”

  Blake raised a curious eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “She had a GPS chip implanted in her dog. You know, one of those you can trace in case the animal gets lost.”

  “Good work,” he praised the young hybrid. “Let’s see if we can find the dog. Maybe he’s with her.”

  Next to him, he noticed Lilo draw closer, hope lighting up her features.

  “I’ve already put a request in to get the info for the chip. We should have it soon, and then IT will trace it,” Ryder reported.

  “Thanks, Ryder, I really appreciate it.” Then he motioned to the living room. “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Take the boys out for pizza. I need to talk to Lilo alone.”

  Ryder cast a quick look at Lilo, then nodded. “Not a problem.” Then he called out, “Nicholas, Adam, Sebastian, we’re going for pizza.”

  While the boys came running, Blake asked, “Sebastian is here, too?”

  “His mother dropped him off earlier,” Lilo said.

  Sebastian was already coming toward them. Blake pulled him into a quick hug. “Hey, buddy. Good to see you.”

  The boy beamed back at him. “Hey, Uncle Blake.”

  “We’ll hang out later, okay? I’ve just gotta do a few things first, while you guys go for pizza, alright?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Okay, guys, let’s go,” Ryder commanded. “I’ll take the van?”

  Blake nodded. “Keys are inside.”

  Moments later, the house was quiet. He looked at Lilo. She was shivering now, and there was a watery sheen to her eyes.

  “Come, let’s talk.”

  She sniffled, drawing up her shoulders. “They’re ugly, evil monsters.” She raised her face to look at him. “They’ve hurt her. I know they have.”

  “Lilo, please, you need to calm down.”

  “Calm down? I can’t. Don’t you see what’s happening? Our very existence is being threatened by these… these vile creatures. They’re abominations! They shouldn’t even exist. Blake, why is this happening?”

  Tears dislodged from her eyes, and he couldn’t bear seeing her like this. Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her. “Oh, baby, everything will be alright. I promise you.”

  “How can it?” she wailed. “How can anything ever be alright again when awful creatures like that exist? Vampires! Bloodsuckers! Out to kill us all.”

  The words stabbed into his heart like blades. It wouldn’t be easy to convince her that not all vampires were bad. That in fact the majority of vampires he knew were good and decent people. People who’d vowed to protect humankind.

  Blake pressed a kiss into Lilo’s hair. “Let’s look at the evidence first. We don’t really know what they’ve done.” Though he was certain they were behind Hannah’s disappearance. “Why don’t we talk?”

  She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso. “I don’t want to talk. I want to forget. I want to not think about what I saw. I wish I’d never seen it. How will I ever sleep again? How will I ever be able to feel safe again?”

  “Some things aren’t always like they appear at first,” he tried to pacify her.

  “We’re not safe, Blake. We’ll never be safe again.” She looked up at him, her eyes round and brimming with tears.

&
nbsp; To see fear etched so deeply in her features hurt him to the core. “You’ll always be safe with me.”

  She lifted one hand and reached for his face, stroking her fingers over his cheek. “When I’m with you, I can almost believe it.” She brought her face closer. “When you hold me, the nightmare seems to be less real.”

  He felt his blood heat at her nearness, his vampire side registering the change in her demeanor. Where fear had reigned only moments earlier, hope was blossoming, and arousal was growing.

  “Maybe if you hold me closer, we can make this horror disappear. Maybe then I’ll wake up from this nightmare.”

  Her lips beckoned, looking more enticing than ever. He already knew what they tasted like, and that fact made resisting even harder.

  “Lilo, it’s not going to make this go away. I have to tell you—”

  “Please, Blake, I know you don’t find me unattractive…” She sniffled. “I felt it when you kissed me.”

  He sighed. “That’s not the point, Lilo, but you’re vulnerable right now. It wouldn’t be fair if I took advantage—”

  “You’re not taking advantage.” She lifted herself on her toes, bringing her head level to his, her lips even closer now. “I’m taking advantage of your goodness. Please make love to me. I need this now. I need to forget.”

  Blake’s heart thundered out of control. “Lilo, please, you don’t know me. You might regret this.”

  “Regret going to bed with a man who’s done everything in his power to help a friend? No, I won’t regret that.” She brushed her lips over his.

  “Lilo,” he murmured, still trying to hold onto his control.

  “Unless you don’t want me…”

  “Of course I want you!” he ground out. “But I’m not who you think I am.” But he was a man, one who couldn’t deny that the sexual attraction between them was burning like a wildfire now. One he wouldn’t be able to douse.

  “Then make love to me. Because tomorrow we could all be dead. Killed by those evil things.”

  Despite his better judgment, he yanked her to him. “We shouldn’t do this,” he said before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

  No, they wouldn’t be dead tomorrow, but by tomorrow Lilo would know that he was a vampire, and then she’d never allow him to touch her again. And the thought that he might never find out what it felt like to lose himself in Lilo’s body and find ecstasy with her, was something he couldn’t bear. And though he knew it was wrong, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom, not for a single second letting go of her hungry lips.

  He knew he would pay for this sin in short order, but right now he didn’t care.

  Right now he was all man, all vampire, hungry for a woman who tempted him like no other.

  20

  Blake kicked the bedroom door shut with his heel and carried her to his bed. He knew he was beyond stopping now. Soon, Lilo would hate him for what he was about to do. The least he could do at this point was give her more pleasure than she’d ever experienced. Then maybe, just maybe, once she found out the truth, she would remember how gentle his touch had been. Not like a vampire, but like a man worshipping her.

  He laid her on the sheets and released her mouth. A disappointed mewl came over her lips, and she pulled him back with a hand on his nape.

  “Don’t stop,” she murmured.

  He brushed a blond lock from her forehead and gazed into her heated face. “I won’t stop until you and I are both completely satisfied, trust me on that.” Nothing less would do. But he also wanted to establish one thing first. “But I’m not going to rush this.”

  He pulled back a little farther, shifting on the bed so he wasn’t crushing her with his weight, and let his gaze travel down her torso. She wore a long-sleeved tightly-fitting jersey top with buttons down the front. Beneath the soft fabric, the outline of her bra showed. When he lifted his eyes back to her face, he noticed that she was pulling her lower lip between her teeth, sucking in a breath.

  Not breaking eye contact, he moved his hand lower, letting his fingers slowly trail down her front until he reached the peak of her left breast. There he stopped and began to circle her nipple. A sharp intake of breath confirmed that his touch had the desired reaction.

  “Yes!” she let out.

  Male pride blooming, he captured her breast in his hand and squeezed the responsive flesh, feeling her hard nipple brush against his palm. If she responded with such enthusiasm to this tame touch, she’d be screaming in ecstasy as soon as he laid her bare and was caressing her in earnest.

  Now he was even gladder that he’d sent Ryder away with the hybrids. What was about to happen in this room wasn’t suitable for the ears of impressionable teenage boys. Their sensitive hybrid hearing—as sensitive as that of a vampire—would pick up every sound. And he didn’t want or need anybody witnessing him making love to Lilo. This was just for the two of them. Private and intimate.

  “I’m going to undress you now.” He wanted her to know what he was doing at every turn. There would be no misunderstandings between them, not when it came to making love. “Are you sure you want this?”

  God help him if she said no. Because even if she did, he wouldn’t be able to release her now. Already, his cock was pumped full with blood, aching for release. If they weren’t both still dressed, he would already be inside her, thrusting toward his first orgasm. But he had to think of Lilo, her needs, her desires. And she didn’t need fast and hard. She needed gentle and loving. She needed a dream, one that would make reality easier to bear. He read it in her eyes. In her tears.

  “Blake…” She lifted her leg and curled it around his upper thigh, pulling him closer. “I want you.”

  “Oh, you’ve got me, Lilo.”

  What that meant she couldn’t possibly begin to imagine. Nor could he explain it to her, because he barely understood it himself. But he knew that if he took her now, there would be no going back. He wouldn’t be the old Blake anymore. He would change irrevocably because of the woman in his arms. He’d never before believed in fate or that things happened for a reason. But he knew now that even his car accident four years ago had happened so that he could meet Lilo.

  “You have all of me, baby,” he repeated and sank his mouth onto her parted lips, soaking in her intoxicating scent as if Lilo were the only nourishment he needed. And perhaps one day she would be…

  Slowly he began to open the buttons of her top. With each button that popped open, more of her skin was revealed, until he could finally peel the top away from her torso, then pull it off her completely. He swept his eyes over her then, drinking in the beauty of her glistening skin, her firm stomach muscles and her lush breasts. Her hard nipples pushed through the black lace bra, inviting him to come closer.

  He dipped his head to lick over the protrusion under the fabric, wringing a stifled moan from Lilo’s lips.

  “You’ve seen nothing yet,” he promised, and got to work on the front clasp of her bra.

  When it snapped open, he peeled back the cups and let her breasts spill into his waiting hands. “Oh, baby.”

  He buried his face in her bosom, reveling in the softness of her warm skin. He inhaled deeply and felt his fangs itch in response. Oh God, this was worse than he’d thought. He would have to use every ounce of his strength to fight against his transformation. He had to keep the beast in check and make sure it didn’t slip past his defenses. The vampire in him would find no satisfaction tonight, because the man in him needed Lilo to trust him.

  Blake lifted his face and slid his lips around one hard nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth. The temptation to sink his fangs into her soft flesh and taste her blood was strong, but he pushed it back. Instead he licked the hard bud with his tongue, swiping over it again and again, enjoying how Lilo writhed beneath him in obvious delight.

  Her hand on his nape clawed into him, and he welcomed her fingernails digging into him, sending shivers down his spine and into his tailbone. A corresponding bolt of adr
enaline shot into his balls and his cock, making him grind out a curse. Fuck, he should have more control than this! Why was his body reacting as if he’d never been touched by a woman?

  “Oh, Blake, that’s good,” Lilo murmured, her other hand sliding to his butt to grip him there.

  Instinctively he thrust his pelvis, rubbing his iron-hard erection against her center.

  Lilo gasped, the sound so thrilling that he couldn’t help himself and thrust once more, while sucking harder on her nipple.

  He lifted his head and met her gaze. “You want that inside you?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was a mere echo, but it sent a tantalizing shudder through his body.

  “Soon…”

  Carefully, he now peeled her out of her bra, tossing the garment to the foot of the bed. Then he continued caressing her breasts, exploring every inch of her torso, the deep ridge between her breasts, the high peaks crowned with rosy, hard nipples, and everything in between: the valley of her navel and the curves where her waist tapered before flaring out to her hips again.

  Such perfection. Such beauty. He couldn’t get enough of touching her, of listening to her heartbeat as it began to gallop toward the inevitable climax, of smelling her blood as it raced through her veins like a torrent following the carved-out path of a stony river.

  All the while, his own blood was thundering in his body, taking sides in the silent war that raged inside him: the battle between man and vampire. For now, the man was winning.

  Blake caressed Lilo’s breasts, kissed and sucked and licked every exposed inch of her delectable skin, but it wasn’t enough. He slid one hand down her body, heading for the waistband of her pants.

  “I’m going to touch your pussy,” he warned and opened the button.

  He felt her hold her breath, her pelvis tilting toward his hand. The invitation unmistakable, he lowered the zipper and slid his fingers underneath her bikini panties. He was greeted by a light dusting of hair and a heat so blistering it nearly scorched him.