Sanguine Rave - A Vampire Romance (Paranormal Romance, Vampire) Page 2

  Hanging up after agreeing to meet him at a nearby diner for coffee she took a little extra care with her hair and makeup, even putting in a pair of diamond solitaire earrings. Elle wasn't sure why she bothered, other than she wanted Detective Harding to want her. She could have forced the issue, there were things about being a vampire that were pretty much spot on to what Hollywood led people to expect and one of those was her ability to do a sort of mind trick to get people to do what she wanted. But there was something about him that made her want him to want her without any tricks like that, and she couldn't put her finger quite on why that was. She paused as she picked up her purse, something was niggling at the edges of her mind but when it wouldn't come clear after a few moments of intense thought she shrugged and took one last look at herself in the mirror, pleased with what she saw. Elle ran her tongue over her teeth, thinking about what a little taste of Harding might be like, a sweet little ache starting in her gums signaling the willingness of her cute little fangs to drop and expose themselves, an ache that she was surprised to find was echoed between her legs. Goodness. It had been a very long time since something like that had happened with someone she hadn't even had sex with him yet!

  She couldn't wait to see him, and after they had their talk she was hoping maybe she could find out when he got off shift and get his mind on things besides his police work. Humming under her breath she headed out of her little apartment and locked up behind herself, ponytail swaying in a counterpoint to her hips. If she was really lucky maybe she could get him to take her home, and do some really naughty things with him before she had to leave for the day. It didn't take long for her to get to the diner, it was packed but she saw that Harding had already arrived and gotten a table for them. A small carafe of coffee sat waiting along with cream and sugar and she allowed him to pour her a cup as she sat down with a smile. Elle lifted her cup and inhaled the fragrant steam of the fresh coffee, taking a small sip before adding cream and a spoon of sugar, stirring it before he spoke, her expressive eyes watching him. “I'm sorry about your business, Ms. Bathory.” She sighed, and then set the spoon down neatly on the napkin. “It's a shame, we were starting to bring that neighborhood to life again. I'm not sure my partners are going to want to rebuild, but I'm going to push for it. We were making a profit.”

  She watched as he withdrew his notebook and a pen, taking neat little notes. “Which I guess is good, because the insurance company won't think it was us trying to recoup losses. I'm just...frustrated, I guess. I have no idea if it was set, or faulty electrical wiring even though I know we were up to code.” Elle smiled softly and extended a finger to rest lightly on the back of his hand a moment, her smile slightly crooked and very charming. “I hope if it was set, you'll catch whoever did it as fast as you did that mugger. I'm just glad no one was there, you know? That bothers me, thinking what would have happened if it had been during...well, I just don't even like thinking about that.” He clicked the pen and put it back in his jacket pocket with the notepad. He was watching her very intently as she took another brief sip of her coffee, and she liked the sort of interest she was seeing there. “I hope we do, if that's the case. You still have my card, so if you think of anything that might help please call me right away.” Elle liked how he didn't make that a question, like he knew she really had kept his card so she gave him her most alluring smile. “I sure will. I guess I shouldn't hope you wouldn't mind if I called you anyway?” A little lilt added hope to the question and she watched his skin flush a little around his collar, his pulse speeding up and his heart rate going up. “It's against procedure, Ms. Bathory...” She took a deeper breath, making her breasts rise and she saw his gaze cut down. “Elle. Please, call me Elle.” He looked up, and she adored his confidence in not caring that she knew he'd looked at her breasts. “Elle, then. Listen, you really should just call me if you have something for the case.” She read between the lines though, could almost smell his arousal and she smiled. “Of course.”

  Detective Harding knew it was unprofessional, and after reading a part of her presumed diary she might well be unbalance. But he couldn't deny his attraction to her, and before he knew it he reached over and squeezed her hand. “Rest assured, we'll find out what happened and you can put this behind you.” He laid a few bills on the table and finished his cup of coffee. Elle smiled again, her voice soft. “I have no idea what I'm going to do the rest of the night, I'm so used to putting my time in at Sanguine Rave and now...” She trailed off as he stood up and she gathered her purse, looking up at him. “Let me walk you to your car.” Elle shook her head as she slid out of the booth. “I walked.” “Ah. Then let me take you home.” Such an innocent statement, but she felt her own pulse spike with excitement as she nodded. Following him closely out the door she caught other eyes checking him out and why not, he was good looking and obviously employed. He'd parked around the back, his unmarked squad car sitting in a dark corner shaded by a big extended cab pick up and Elle felt her pulse starting to race. Could she convince him to let her get a taste of what was to come?

  He didn't know what it was about her, but he was drawn to Elle. The scent of her perfume wafted up to him as she walked close to him, and when he opened the passenger door she trailed a hand down his jacket sleeve, making him turn to look at her. She was sexy, and he felt his cock stir in his pants at the look she gave him. He knew better, it was the tail end of his shift but he was still on duty. He should go and fill out his reports and then go home and try to take his mind off her. But she surprised him, hanging on to his arm and then gently pushing him to sit in the seat and before he knew it she was straddling his lap and closing the door behind them. He tried to protest but she took his hands and put them on her breasts, then slipped her hands down to undo the zipper of his slacks, his already hardening cock easy for her to get free of his boxers. Her hands were strong on him but gentle, and when she slid herself on him it felt like a slap of pleasure. Elle moaned, rolling her hips to settle him deeper and then began to move up and down on his thick length. She cradled his face with her hands and kissed him, and he moved his hands to slide her blouse open, her breasts creamy and white in the low light that spilled into the car. His thumbs hooked the lace front and slipped her breasts free, the cups still holding them up and then he teased her nipples until they were rock hard.

  Elle moaned again, a tickle of breath into their hot kiss and she rode him harder, his hands squeezing her breasts in time with each of her moves. It was wild, hot and fast but he kept his mind together enough to slip a hand under her skirt and find her clit, rubbing it hard to make her climax and loving how strong she gripped him as she cried out. “David.” He growled, pressing that sweet flesh and now lifting his hips hard to drive his cock up hard into her as he came himself. “Say my name.” She cried out again as he spilled his cum into her, and the way she screamed his name was the sweetest thing he thought he'd ever heard. She buried her face in his neck, her inner muscles still fluttering on his cock, and he kept thrusting, still hard even after spending himself. That had never happened to him, and he was enjoying it as she bucked and writhed so much that he barely felt her teeth pinch the skin of his throat, her lips providing a gentle suction. He remembered her diary then, that she thought she was a vampire, but the wave of pleasure that overcame him then was enough to not only make him feel like he was climaxing all over again but to make him nearly black out. He came back to himself with her cuddling against his chest, a contented purr of his name making him smile with a pure masculine sort of enjoyment. She moved and kissed him again, her mouth soft and there was a hint of an almost copper penny taste that hadn't been there before. Did she actually bite me? At that moment, he didn't care, she could have told him she was a reincarnation of Cleopatra and he'd believe it if he could just get her to screw him again.

  He was just as delicious as Elle had known he would be, and she was purring like a happy kitten as he shifted them in the seat after racking it back all the way, turning her so she was fa
cing the seat and his hard cock was shoving into her again as soon as she got settled. “I can't believe I'm ready to go again, Elle... you're so hot. Your pussy must be magic.” They both laughed, but a few more hard strokes had them both moaning again as he drove them towards another hard and hot climax. If they got caught he'd get fired or worse but right now all he cared about was burying his cock balls deep inside the hottest piece he'd ever had. When they were done and recovered, he adjusted himself and opened the door, reluctantly moving away from her to walk around the car feeling like a stallion, and he smiled at her as he opened the driver's door and slid into the seat. “I take it back Elle. You call me whenever you want.” Elle smiled at him with genuine pleasure, feeling totally sated both in hunger and sex in a complete way. She gave him her address, which she hadn't intended to do and let him drive her home. He even walked her to the door, giving her a hot kiss and a swat on her behind with a wink before he walked away. She almost tried to get him to stay, but this had gone so well that she was content to let him feel in control.

  I'm lonely, and I really don't like admitting that. I'm used to being wanted, and that's fine but I can't say that I've felt the sort of connection I think I'm just made to want. I miss Isaac but I'm starting to think he's never going to come find me even if he did get whatever made him send me away taken care of. I wish I knew the truth. Did he get bored of me? I know he said he loved being with me, but thinking back as hard as I can, even with this fog of memory I have? I can't remember a single time that he said he loved me. I never thought of that before, it just didn't occur to me to wonder because he did take care of me. Maybe he just found someone that he wanted to be with more, or someone he knew from the past. I know I was a 'happy accident', but still that's not the same as making a mutual choice to be with each other.

  Which of course makes me feel pretty cruddy and even more lonely. Is that pathetic or what? I'm a vampire, everyone thinks it must be totally awesome but of course it's just like being alive except well, I guess we're not, not really. I know if I got shot before I was made what I am, I'd have a gaping hole in me and would likely die without emergency surgery. Now I could get shot and laugh, though it would hurt like the dickens. But somehow being lonely sucks worse now than it did before. Maybe because I feel things more deeply, more immediately. Memory tricks again, and I wish it wasn't like that. At least I have something to look forward to now, that building is going to make an awesome club. I even know what I'm going to call it. Sanguine Rave. That's going to look amazing on shirts and I bet eventually we could even sell those to regular club goers. I just feel really, really positive about it and I like having this in my future. Because I bet dollars to donuts if we're as busy as I think we'll be I just won't have time to mope around and wish I wasn't alone anymore. Elle's Diary, pages 35 – 37

  ***Three Days After the Fire***

  Elle sat at the little corner office she'd set up in the living room of her little house and went over the reams of paperwork dealing with the fire that had gutted her club and sighed. Thankfully her lawyer and her partners had already done most of it, she just had to read it all and initial where she was supposed to. The Fire Marshall's report sat in a separate pile and she flipped through it with one hand while initialing with the other. His report was sort of ambiguous and she didn't like that; it didn't sit well with her that he had concluded that the fire was accidental but noted that with all the liquor on site that it wouldn't be too hard to conceal a fire set with that as an accelerant. It was good enough for the insurance adjuster, who was remarkably willing to work with them which Elle supposed was something in their favor. They'd be getting the payout sooner than expected too, and now came the back and forth on whether to rebuild at the same location or maybe move to a new location. Elle felt an unexpected pang in her heart at that thought, she knew in the end that she wanted to fix what had been taken away from them and maybe part of that was an 'I'll show you, universe!' - or if not to the universe to whoever had done it if that suspicion she felt from the Fire Marshall's report was actually correct.

  The question of course that was dogging all of them, would be who would want them closed down? They had brought in jobs, kept a lawful business and didn't have illicit activities happening on the premises. Elle even offered a bonus to any person manning the door that caught someone with a fake ID, not that they'd dealt with too many of those. Finally she got all the paperwork done and put into a ready FedEx envelope, finding something comforting about the familiar colors as she sealed it. She stood up and stretched, feeling a phantom pain in her back – she couldn't get cramped up or sore of course, but her body remembered what a long session of sitting at a desk could bring from her days as a high school student and she felt it anyway. She slipped on a light sweater to keep up appearances, that was a lesson Isaac had taught her early, to blend. Nothing stood out more than someone inappropriately dressed, a witness would remember a girl dressed in cut offs and a t-shirt in the middle of winter right away but put that girl in jeans and a puffy parka coat? Not so much. Grabbing her purse and keys she headed out, just down the block from her was a drop box and she wanted to make sure she got this on its way, just in case.

  Elle walked with her head down, thoughts drifting to her encounter a few days ago with Detective...no, David Harding. She was already craving him again, not just his blood and his cock but actually being around him. Listening to him talk, the way his sharp eyes took in every little detail around him, and how he just seemed to understand what she was saying between the lines perfectly, it was a heady combination. Even though it wasn't just the sex and blood that drew her, she couldn't deny he was delicious and he sure knew how to work what he had, and he had a good lot of it to work. Elle had learned over the years that a lot of men with a big cock figured that's all they'd need to satisfy a woman in bed, or worse would expect the woman to do all the work. How sad would it be, she wondered, to have that big a package and have no clue how to use it? But that was definitely not a problem that David had, no sir. He had a playful side too, he'd sent her a little vase of flowers that sat on her kitchen table and brightened up the whole room, and it had come with a little note where he'd called her his little sunshine. That had made her laugh, that someone would link a vampire and sunshine, though of course he had no way to know that. Right?

  It was still enough to make her smile, and she'd left him a voicemail inviting him to a late dinner for tomorrow night. Elle liked that, liked having that idea that she got to go on a date, something that was just normal. It certainly didn't hurt that even thinking about him got her hot and bothered; all in all he made a pleasant and welcome distraction to everything else she had to deal with. Dropping the envelope into the box she finally looked up, and a shiver went over her. Someone was watching her, or rather something. She wasn't sure what, but she didn't like the feeling of malevolence that was projecting her way. Elle quickened her steps on the way back to her house, even though she knew she was pretty much a match for anything that might have the nerve or balls to attack her. But this just didn't feel right, whatever it might be it was definitely no run of the mill threat.

  For some reason, it made her think of a moment in her past where she'd felt uneasy and over her head. The night she'd run into Isaac had started off fairly innocently, she'd gone into the city with a group of friends to shop at the mall and catch a movie. She'd been tired from work but had agreed anyway, thinking that she wouldn't have too many more outings with her school friends before they went off to college and she wanted to enjoy it while she could. Elle could remember falling asleep during the movie, and upon waking up at the ending credits her friends had wanted to go to a dance club. That, Elle had begged off of and offered to take a bus home so one of them wouldn't have to drive her back and miss out. She always hated to put people out, and she figured what harm could come from it? But walking the dark street by herself, and waiting alone at the bus stop she'd gotten that same feeling of being watched by something or someone that wanted to hu
rt her. She couldn't clearly remember what had spooked her. Was it a group of rough looking gang guys? Maybe, that felt right. But she did remember running, being scared, knowing she was being chased and if she got caught bad things would happen to her.

  Out of breath, near sobbing she'd run from the false safety of the bus stop and smack into a man coming out of an alleyway wiping his lips. He'd grunted in surprise, finding himself with an armful of crying woman and he'd looked at her sharply before his eyes had softened and he'd gently urged her into a nearby doorway, telling her to wait there and oddly? Not to look. Elle had been so shaken that she did what he told her to do, and even so she could almost hear the screams and the bad noises as if it was happening right now. He'd come back to her after, giving her an almost tender look before with a soft declaration told her that he was thirsty and wasn't it just fortuitous for him that she was right there? Elle had no idea what he'd meant, and he moved so fast that she never even realized what he was doing until his teeth pierced the skin of her throat. She was frozen, felt like screaming but then the pleasure rolled over her like nothing she'd felt before. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, but as he drained her she felt it starting to slow. She learned later that he'd had to expend more of his 'power' than usual, because vampires had no need to take so much for a normal feeding. But he'd stopped, and with an almost caring and tender smile he'd asked her name. Her voice had been tiny, soft, almost inaudible as she'd whispered that her name was Ellizebet Bathory but to please call her Elle. Then he smiled at her, and said.. “Elle, what a sweet name. I'm Isaac, and tonight is your lucky night.”