"Adara, a lovely name," he said in a deep voice. His eyes blazed with need before he banked the emotion behind a polite facade. John mentioned what Sue and Adara had been doing at the club but Blackthorne' s eyes never left Adara's face.

"Interesting," Blackthorne said and spared a warm smile for Sue and John. "I hope you're enjoying yourself?" he asked Sue.

"Perfectly," Sue said and latched onto John's hand. John grinned down at her and Adara saw the amorous glance the two shared. Apparently Sue had decided to try out the bad girl fantasy right away, Adara thought wryly.

Blackthorne must have sensed the same for he smiled and said, "John, why don't you entertain Sue here for a while? Give her the VIP treatment. Everything's on the house," he said. Sue grinned and left Adara without a backwards glance, surprising her friend.

Adara watched her and John go with a bit of unease, aware of being completely alone with a strange man that made her insides burn at his touch. She turned to see that Blackthorne had moved to a small bar against the wall.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked courteously, his manner perfectly civil.

Adara nodded. "Yes, thank you. Do you have any wine?"

He poured her a subtle blush that seemed to wink at her through the crystal gla.s.s he handed her. As he handed her the gla.s.s, their fingers touched and Adara couldn't help the gasp that slipped through her.

"Adara?" Blackthorne murmured as he stared at her with an intensity that made her shiver. "Drink your wine," he said in a throaty voice. He poured himself something to drink but his eyes stayed on hers as he swallowed.

Adara felt nervous and uncomfortable under his gaze and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I think Sue really likes John," she said quickly.

Blackthorne smiled, his dark eyes gleaming like burnished onyx as he stared at her face, his eyes tracing her features as if making a memory.

"And John likes her. Right now they're moving along the back hallway towards a nice, quiet room," he said, his voice seductive in its soothing cadence. "Look," he said and lightly grasped her arm to draw her closer to a monitor showing her friend's movements.

Adara watched as John paused with Sue outside of a door and lowered his head to kiss her with abandonment. Adara blushed as she felt Blackthorne's eyes on her.

"Well, I guess they're both adults," she remarked inanely, wondering why she felt so prudish andembarra.s.sed suddenly. She turned her head but Blackthorne's hand cupped her cheek and turned herback to face the screen. Adara's loins quickened at the contact and she had to work to calm herbreathing.

"Now do you see what he's doing?" Blackthorne asked softly as he moved directly behind her, staring over her head at the monitor.

Adara nodded breathlessly as she watched John peel Sue's dress apart to reveal her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Then he lowered his mouth to taste her bared skin. Adara watched in amazement as Sue let a complete stranger strip her to her waist in the hallway, a place where anyone could see them. But at the same time, Adara felt a strange flutter in her stomach, a hint of excitement at having the enigmatic man at her back as she watched the sensual scene before her.

She watched with him in silence as John opened the door behind Sue and enclosed them in the room, leaving the rest of their encounter to the imagination.

"Now do you want to know what they're doing?" Blackthorne asked. His breath whispered in her ear, warm and stirring. His hands moved up to caress her hair, releasing the clasp that had held it bound. He sighed as her hair fell over his fingers. "So silky," he said and buried his nose in it. "And so pure."

"How, how do you know what they're doing now?" Adara asked, her body trembling slightly as l.u.s.t enveloped her. She could feel her heart beating faster, could feel her nipples hard and pressing against the thin fabric of her dress as Blackthorne crowded her.

"My name is Trey," he said as he licked at her ear. Adara gasped and moaned lightly as he ran a large hand over her arm. She looked down at her arm and studied the hand lying there. Long fingered with nails surprisingly well rounded, a smooth palm warm against her skin, his hand looked like a marble work of art. "Say my name," he said and licked at her ear.

"Trey," Adara breathed.

"And though I can't see through a camera what they're doing, I know. Shall I show you?" he asked.

Adara found herself nodding, curious as to how he could know what they did. But she misunderstood his words for he suddenly unsnapped the back collar of her dress.

She whirled to face him, shocked that she had let her unfounded arousal take her this far.

"Shy?" he asked with a small grin. "Don't be," he said and his smile left him. "You have the most beautiful light," he murmured and lowered his mouth to her lips.

Like a dark magician, he brought her body to life with a simple touch. His lips moved over hers sensuously, tasting and yet questioning. She groaned at his heat and his tongue slid over her lips, capturing her mouth. He tasted like wine and something faintly musty, she thought, sighing as his hands moved over her back and down her body.

He stroked her softly with his hands as his mouth stole her breath, her very will. His large hands cupped her smooth bottom, bringing her closer to the large erection pressing into her. Adara could only imagine

him to be huge, feeling his body hard and throbbing against her.

"John's a fast worker," he murmured into her ear, his hands moving away from her back to circle around to her front. His hands moved over her stomach and up to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "By now he's got your friend naked and is completely inside of her," he said softly. "But I like to take things slowly," he whispered.

His hands teased her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, pinching at her nipples with exquisite care, making her writhe against him, her body seeking release.

"Yes," he whispered, his eyes dark and unfathomable as he stared down at her. "I like to savor things."

He returned to her mouth, licking at every inch of her. She returned the motion, touching his mouth tentatively with her tongue. He moaned softly and she ran her tongue over his teeth, curious when she felt pinp.r.i.c.ks of sharpness graze her.

He held her tighter, sucking on her tongue and pressing deeper into her. Then he released her mouth, breathing deeply.

"You make me hunger," he said roughly and stared down at her. He licked at his red lips and lifted her in his arms. Then he sat her on the edge of his desk and moved between her thighs, urging her dress up her knees. "You're soft," he said as he stroked her nylon clad legs, all the while watching her eyes. His fingers inched upwards slowly and he smiled when he touched the lace border of the thigh-high elastic.

Then he bent down on his knees and Adara looked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing?" she asked huskily.

"What you want me to do," he said softly and moved his hands up her legs to her thighs. He pushed her dress up further until he could see her black panties. "Very nice," he said and stroked her through the cloth. He could feel her wetness and smiled hungrily. "Very nice," he repeated and ripped her underwear from her body.

Adara gasped as suddenly her underwear vanished. But before she could think, he put his mouth where his hand had been and all thoughts fled her mind. He spread her thighs further and parted her soft folds, his mouth settling firmly over her full c.l.i.toris. He sucked, groaning softly as he slipped a long finger into her wet and needy body.

Adara's head fell back on her neck and she groaned his name, amazed at what she was doing. "Trey, what are you doing to me?"

But he continued to pleasure her, his hands gripping her thighs hard enough to leave marks, but she felt nothing but his mouth on her. His tongue flickered over her and she gasped with pleasure, her desire building with his every touch.

"So good," she moaned and rocked into him, needing him inside of her right now, right this very minute. Adara Vansant, a woman who'd never done a questionable thing in her life, had suddenly surrendered her body to a complete stranger. But she could not feel anything but the rapture coursing through her as his lips caressed her, as his tongue brought her to completion.

He moved his mouth over her, sucking her more deeply and Adara was helpless to stop her rushing o.r.g.a.s.m. She groaned as waves of ecstasy crashed over her again and again, barely aware that she held his head between her legs, her hands clutched in his hair as his tongue continued to lick her.

When at last her body calmed enough that she could focus on Trey, she blinked dreamily at him and watched as he stood and moved his hand to the snap of his dark trousers.

Chapter Four.

Trey paused above the snap, staring down at her with an unworldly hunger in his gaze.

"I don't think I can do this," he said softly as he stared at her. Trey had never before experienced anything like what he'd just done, not in his entire life. The familiar hunger had been on him the moment he'd seen her aura, but what an aura to behold.

Unlike the dark blackness of the women whose lives he lived to take, Adara's light shone fiercely, colored as brightly as the woman's pa.s.sion. A glimmering rainbow of colors pulsed around her, the energy beckoning him to absorb just a touch.

He hadn't realized how she would affect him. He had tasted her mouth, touched her pliant body and been unable to stop himself from licking her essence, the honeyed sweetness flowing between her thighs. And now his body throbbed and pulsed, begging him for release. Yet, he stared down at Adara, entranced by her shimmering beauty.

He couldn't bear to reave her soul from her body. He had never taken a woman without drinking her blood. Then again, he had never felt this raw emotion before. He hungered, yes, but the pounding of his heart, the quiet pulling of his soul, confounded him.

Adara stared at him hungrily, enthralled and still hazily drugged on her own pa.s.sion.

"You need," she said and nodded, as if aware of the burning hole in his heart. He needed far more than he thought she could give him. But in that he was wrong. As if commanded by something outside of himself, he unsnapped his trousers and freed his engorged p.e.n.i.s, offering himself to her.

She watched with fascination as he stroked himself, his fingers gliding along his long shaft and rubbing the moisture beading at the tip. She licked her lips and he groaned, his hand moving over his shaft again and again, imagining her mouth over him.

And then she placed her hand over his, stopping his actions. He stared down at her, his breath coming in heaving gasps.

"What do you want?" she asked him in a husky voice, sounding strangely like himself when he exercised the last moments of life on the women whose lives he was forced to take. Giving himself to her hands, to his fate if indeed his time had come, he closed his eyes and prayed for the strength to endure.

"I want you to kiss me."

She removed her hand and knelt before him, supplicant and worshiping as she kissed the head of his p.e.n.i.s with lingering lips.

"I want you to lick me," he rasped and watched as her bright pink tongue ran over his organ, making him shudder with the need to plunge into her violently. He felt his teeth grow and pierce his mouth as he bit down.

"I want you to suck me," he said thickly, his body so poised for completion that he feared he wouldn't last but a minute if she actually followed through.

And then her mouth closed over him and he was lost. She swallowed him, taking him to the back of her throat as her mouth worked him, her tongue stroking him as her lips curled around him, sucking him delicately. Then her mouth tightened around his shaft and her fingers grazed his soft, velvet sack tightening unbearably under her touch.

He panted loudly now, his long fingers gripping his desk hard enough to leave dents. He dared not touch her but couldn't help but thrust his body deeper into her mouth as she suckled him, her warm mouth feeding his l.u.s.t until he could see naught but the shadow of her rainbow around him.

"Oh yes," he groaned as he thrust. "Yes, yes, Adara, more," he gasped.

And then she sucked harder and his climax burst forth in a myriad of colors. He groaned helplessly as he shuddered into her mouth, his body throbbing and pouring his milky white essence. She swallowed him and continued to caress him with her mouth until he had nothing more to give her. Then she eased off of him and licked him, taking the last drop of his o.r.g.a.s.m into her mouth.

She stood and he leaned back against the desk, shaky and confused and utterly sated.

"My G.o.d," he said hoa.r.s.ely as he stared at her. "Who are you?"

Adara smiled and leaned up to kiss him. He shuddered at the taste of himself on her lips, awash in feelings that compounded the throbbing in his heart.

"I guess now I'm a bad girl," she said with a wink and walked out the door.

Trey chuckled lightly and straightened himself in his clothing. He didn't understand why or how it had happened, but he felt as if his humanity had been handed back to him, if only in a little piece.

He marveled that he hadn't needed to feed on her blood to reach fulfillment, but had been thoroughly sated by her honeyed body. He blinked in shock as he tried to absorb what had just occurred in his office.

Never before had he been so thoroughly loved or cared for. And he would wager his soul that Adara had found her o.r.g.a.s.m more fulfilling than she'd ever a.s.sumed possible, he thought with satisfaction.

But he had to know more about her, he thought in a panic. Then he looked down and saw that she'd left her business card. He breathed deeply, relaxed, and left his office door open to air the room. It smelled like s.e.x, he thought, and wondered when he could next arrange a meeting with the woman who'd started to restore his soul.

After some time spent regaining his control, he moved down the stairs and entered the back rooms, approaching the door where he'd seen John take Sue. He listened and heard groaning. But used to such noises, he opened the door and waited by the entrance for John to finish. John had Sue on her hands and knees on the bed, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s swaying as he took her from behind. She moaned and heaved as he thrust into her a final time, his mouth moving sensuously over her neck, a small trickle of crimson sliding down her back.

"Careful John," Trey said softly.

Immediately John eased his hold on her neck and slid out of her body slowly, his eyes closed in pleasure as he felt her body slowly release him.

Trey watched, his eyes darkening as he imagined Adara in such a state. He waited until John had dressed and redressed Sue. Then he reminded John with a small nod to close the wound at Sue's neck. John flushed, apparently still caught up in the aftershocks of feeding, and did so quickly. Then he walked Sue to the door and kissed her good-bye.

"I haven't had such a blast in years," John sighed and flopped back on the bed tiredly. "I'm telling you, Trey, I had her seven ways from Sunday and I still want her."

Trey shook his head. "Keep yourself focused or you'll fall prey to bloodl.u.s.t. And trust me, John, you don 't want to kill her."

John paled and sat up, his mood sobering as he listened to his mentor. "Right." He cleared his throat. "So how did you and Adara get along?"

"Fine." Trey shrugged and could read the disappointment on John's face. He knew the young vampire worried for him, but no one on this earth knew what Trey had been tasked with for the last few years. Trey himself didn't know how much longer he could survive the black void invading his soul. Until Adara, he hadn't seen a flicker of light in anything save the pa.s.sing of souls into the world beyond.

"Well, I'm sorry things didn't work out." John stood and stretched. "But you can be sure I'll be seeing that little spitfire again. She remembers a bit of what we did, but not all." John grinned, his teeth bright and sharp.

"Well, I think you've had enough play, hmm? Time to get back to work," Trey said with a sigh and waited for John to precede him.

Three days later Adara read the paper with a startled gasp. The woman who had robbed James had apparently vanished. She recognized Meg Cabot's picture in the paper from her brief vision of James's robbery.

She frowned as yet another woman went missing. So again some vigilante captured and did G.o.d-knew-what with an evil woman bent on thievery and murder. Adara thought James had been lucky that the woman hadn't killed him, as she read the paper describing several of the woman's other victims.

She turned back to her computer and typed the first part of her seven part series. She flushed as she recalled her wanton behavior with Trey Blackthorne. She fumbled over the keyboard and hastily erased the gibberish that appeared on the screen.