"Get a f.u.c.king hold of yourself!" Terrell snapped. "You nearly f.u.c.ked it all up."*

53.

I bit my tongue, sending a wealth of my blood seeping down my throat. I tried to blink away the burn in my eyes, but it wasn't working. My body shook with intensity, the hunger boiling through my stomach.

I stepped towards Terrell. He pocketed a small pistol then threw me a pouch of donor blood. "Here."

I caught it mid-air and bit straight into the plastic. Cool blood filtered through the package and down my throat. The pain began to ease. The flare in my eyes died.

"Come on, let's get him to the car," Terrell said.

The car?

The low hum of the limo snapped me out of my trance. Pablo came into view as he approached the scene. "Senores, todo bien?"

"Yes, Pablo. Everything's okay," Terrell answered as he swung the unconscious Marco over his shoulder.

He ducked his head and slid into the car with the body. I followed behind him, feeling both refreshed and angry at myself for f.u.c.king up. Terrell laid Marco on the seat opposite us and sat back with his palms to his face.

"That's some crazy amount of energy you require," he whispered through his fingers.

"Energy?" I choked on the remaining taste of donor blood.

He s.n.a.t.c.hed the empty package from my lips. "Are you dense? You're a psychic. You need the energy. When you f.u.c.k, you feed on blood. And likewise, when you feed on blood, you f.u.c.k." Terrell stuffed the plastic pouch in a small bin on the door. "Some think it's an ability, I think it's bulls.h.i.t." He sighed. "But I'll need to inform Aurora of tonight's mishap.

Who knows what she'll do with you if you can't bring in such an easy catch."

"Well excuse me for not knowing what I was up against," I snapped. "My abilities haven't come in yet."

"Clearly they have, Malachi. You just can't see them for yourself. Take your extreme need. Can you control yourself once it starts?"

I lowered my head. No, I couldn't control myself. I had always wondered why I got hard as a f.u.c.king rock every time I fed, now I knew. The only time I'd been able to ever control it was around Dante. h.e.l.l, even Raphael had been hard to refuse.

54.

I plopped back on the bed and stared up at the worn ceiling tiles. A psi vampire, huh?

For days I'd been told to release my energy flow. I'd walked around for eight years thinking that feeding turned me on. And maybe it did. But there had to be something more to it that I didn't understand.

Shadows danced on the ceiling as the candle's flame flickered. A cool breeze drifted around me, but I couldn't tell where from. I welcomed it, wherever it came from. I took a deep breath and focused closely on the dark silhouettes above.

They shimmied with the breeze, like a tango above my head. I drank in the natural movement and welcomed the moment to relax.

A knock brought me back, but I refused to answer.

"Malachi?" Dante's familiar voice broke the silence as he opened the door.

"What is it?"

"Thought I would check in on you. I heard your first try was a tough one." His heavy boots echoed on the tiled floor. "Do you agree that it is h.e.l.l?"

"Yes..." I couldn't get my lips to move, but I knew he'd got my answer.

"And now you know what your l.u.s.t entails?"

"Not really. I'm still quite confused by it."

Dante carefully sat on the corner of the bed away from me. "As you told me when we first met, you always hunted to feed, but you ended up f.u.c.king your victims."

"So?"

"So...that is what you require. Your body not only requires blood, it requires energy in other forms." A rustle came from his direction, then he trailed his fingers up my thigh. I stilled immediately. "Other vampires have this curse. They can feed off emotion, action or s.e.x."

"It's a curse, then?"

Dante shook his head. "A nuisance. If you learn control, it can be a blessing in disguise." He drifted closer and continued to curl his hand up to my stomach. "I can teach you."

I propped myself up on my elbows and gave him a cold, hard stare. "What happened to your boyfriend?"*

55.

He pulled away and shrugged with a grin. "Boyfriend? We have no use for each other in such manner. Why? Were you jealous?"

"No!"

But the memory of him in that vampire's arms made me crumble all over again.

Ashamed of myself for my actions before, I lay back on the bed with a sigh. Why had I refused him like that?

"Your body says no but your thoughts disagree." He'd read my mind.

Dante reached out again and fanned his fingers against the mesh of my shirt. A beautiful flicker lit under my skin. I tried to stifle my thoughts, but I began to tremble as the heat built.

"How do you know so much?" I whispered.

Dante let out a sigh. "Raphael. Through my years of servitude, I discovered he required an enormous amount of energy too." He lowered his lips closer to mine. "But your spirit is enough to make me cower."

My eyes widened. "Raphael is a psi?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes. You both share the same powerful ability."

He darted his tongue out and lapped across my lower lip. I felt my fangs start to ache in the same way they had at the club. My face was on fire, eyes burning, and my heart began to pound. Excruciating pain seared through my limbs.

"So this pain...these headaches are from-"

"Your taking energy without knowing. And it's getting worse with time," he warned.

"If you do not figure out how to control yourself soon, it might render you useless."

"Help me," I begged, defeated.

"It takes time to learn." He tugged at the mesh, easing it over my head. "And a whole lot of self-control. Are you ready?"

Oh, h.e.l.l yes, I'm so f.u.c.king ready!

My hard shaft thumped against the tight confines of the leather. I gasped in relief as Dante loosened my pants. He grasped my length in his fist and immediately began to stroke.

I pressed my lips to his with need. Waves of l.u.s.t rippled over my skin as I drank down his pa.s.sionate ministrations.

A fiendish hunger churned in my stomach. I'd never wanted his blood so badly. I could taste it-smell it-under his skin.*

56.

He moved his kisses down my cheek. I dug my fingers into his sides, and he stiffened as I braced my fingertips again his flesh. The veins in his neck went taut. I sc.r.a.ped the side of his collar with my fangs and warm, refreshing blood filtered between my lips.

I pressed my lips on the wound. Dante let out a groan as I suckled his skin. f.u.c.k, he tasted so d.a.m.ned good-he always had. I knew then he was all I'd ever want. In a frenzy, I sucked at his blood, not caring when it trickled down my neck.

He loosened his grasp from around my hard c.o.c.k. "That's enough."

The words didn't mean anything right then. I continued to drink, clawing at his skin to pull him closer to my body.

He jerked away and covered the wound on his neck. "You're amazing, you know that?

But it's time to stop."

I struggled to my knees. My face flushed. I cupped his chin and brought him close.

"And your taste...so exquisite." The dark, l.u.s.ty tone rumbled from inside me.

Dante's eyes lit immediately. He enfolded me in his arms and pressed his lips against mine. Our moans echoed through the room, mixed with the sound of him wrenching at his jeans. The old bed squeaked underneath us. A spring popped.

He grazed his fingers against my rigid length. I shuddered as he thumbed my slit and I thrust into his hand.

I needed this so f.u.c.king bad. I needed to release all this pent-up energy.

He pulled away and I missed his heat until I felt the tip of his beautiful uncut c.o.c.k touch mine. He stroked himself relentlessly, pulling his foreskin along underneath his fingers. I wrapped my hand around myself. His foreskin moved, hugging the tip of my c.o.c.k.

"Jesus," I breathed.

"Shh." He cupped the back of my neck.

He lapped at my lips with his tongue. My knees weakened. He worked his hand feverishly, jerking us both under the warmth of his smooth skin.

d.a.m.n, I couldn't have stopped my climax even if I'd wanted to. With the tightness of his skin wrapped around the head of my c.o.c.k, his warm blood circulating within my veins and our excited pa.s.sion, I came with a grunt of sheer pleasure.

Dante pulled away. My heartbeat settled almost immediately and the fire in my skin cooled. But he was still hard as a rock.

"Turn around," he ordered fervidly.*

57.

I scooted around on my knees to face the opposite wall. His hand was on my back, pushing me down into the mattress. I gripped the sheets between my fingers.

"I'll be a little less rough this time, love," he whispered as he leaned over me, his warm breath raising goose b.u.mps on my arms.

He pulled my pants down from my a.s.s and they bunched around my knees. He brushed a moist finger against my tightness. I buried my head into the sheets, moaning.

The pressure from the head of his c.o.c.k entering my tightness sent a dull ache through my stomach. This time, it was much less painful. I wiggled my a.s.s, welcoming him.

Dante thrust slowly, opening me to him and I gasped in lurid pleasure at the sensations rolling through my thighs.

s.h.i.t, he felt so d.a.m.n good buried deep inside. I looked up at the shadows dancing on the walls in front of me. Our shadows-my a.s.s high in the air and his dark silhouette moving slowly behind me.

The musky scent of c.u.m and l.u.s.t drowned out the sweet smell of his cologne.

Dante leaned over my back, tickling my skin with his long hair. He kissed my left shoulder and I tipped my head. Dark hair swept down into my face. His fangs sc.r.a.ped along my flesh and a moan escaped his lips.

I felt the trickle of blood ooze up my naked collar as I pressed my forehead into the mattress. He lapped at the blood before his lips curved around the wound he'd created.

My energies spiked as he suckled on my shoulder. Pain shot through my neck and we both stilled.

"Dante." His name rolled off my tongue in pleasurable release. I couldn't tell if I wanted him to stop or to keep going.

He groaned, disappointed. "I'm sorry. You're too delectable."

He straightened his spine and thrust into me. I felt his c.o.c.k pulse, and I closed my eyes at the feeling of his warm climax shooting deep within.