I walked to the door slowly, acutely aware of every shift and tremble within me. The silk rasped my

b.r.e.a.s.t.s until I almost forgot the clamps' pain.

Ethan took his time getting us outside. I wanted to scream at him to hurry so we could get away from the

knowing eyes that never looked at us directly. I also wanted to go more slowly so I would have a better chance of regaining my poise after every pulse that the two shafts sent through me.

I didn't think about the effect the motorcycle would have on me until we stood in front of it. When I

realized that, I cursed its ancestry in terms that would have gotten me thrown out of any football or baseball game.

Ethan lifted me onto the motorcycle and handed me the helmet. He didn't speak although his eyes were bright with amus.e.m.e.nt and hunger. Awareness seeped through me as I considered the future. Then I smiled back at him, confident of his need for me. I knew he would feed from me.

We rode out on the Harley at a brisk pace, faster than I would have taken that narrow road. But I trusted Ethan's vampire reflexes and gave myself up to enjoyment. The d.i.l.d.o and b.u.t.t plugs throbbed inside me, like the pleasure to come. My nipples ached in a constant reminder of his attentions.

I tightened my arms around Ethan and rubbed myself deliberately against his back. His hard strength made my b.r.e.a.s.t.s hurt more, reminding me of previous encounters when he had suckled them until they bled. We jolted across a b.u.mp and the first climax rocked me.

Ethan glanced back over his shoulder at me but I couldn't see his expression through the helmet's visor.

I rubbed myself against him again. His hand squeezed my knee and I closed my eyes at the caress.

We paused once at a railroad crossing. I dropped my hands down into his lap and played with him.

Unfortunately, the train was gone before I could unzip his jeans.

I was lost in my own world of wind and l.u.s.t when the motorcycle stopped, my body soft and sated. I smiled at Ethan when he took my helmet off.

"You reek of bourbon and s.e.x, woman."

"Yes, sir," I agreed. It was obviously wise to agree with Ethan, especially when he spoke the truth.

"A night in the drunk tank is definitely called for."

"What?"

My brain clicked back into action with a rush and I looked around quickly. We were parked behind San

Tomas' police station with no other vehicles around. It was a small station, suitable for a rural town that only needed one cop on night duty.

I stared up at Ethan, trying to understand.

"You ever fantasized about being a prisoner? Ever wanted to be locked up and used until your body faded from pleasure?"

I nodded slowly.

"Then stand up, prisoner, so we can carry out your sentence."

I dismounted to stand on legs shaky from past pleasures and fear of the immediate future.

Ethan quickly cuffed my hands, linking them to a belt, before he shackled my feet. I shuffled

experimentally, recognizing the chains as those used for transporting prisoners. A little voice inside me shouted in antic.i.p.ation, as I understood my helplessness. It felt so d.a.m.n good to be purely feminine and not have to worry about being in control.

Ethan led me into the police station. I hesitated when I saw the camera above the door.

"Relax, Stephanie. It's not working tonight. I don't want a record of this either."

I nodded and shuffled after him down the hallway, finding no other cameras around.

"Face the wall, prisoner."

I obeyed quickly. Ethan kicked my feet apart expertly, then ran his hands over me harshly and efficiently.

I trembled at the touch, so familiar from my own past actions but so different when done by my lover.

He unb.u.t.toned the jacket and slid it down my shoulders. Then he stroked my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, plumping them in his hands and running his fingers out towards the tips. I leaned back against him in a haze of sensation.

He turned me to face him and smoothly plucked the clamps off one at a time. I groaned as pain rushed

into my nipples. Ethan licked and sucked my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, combining pleasure with agony until I ached.

"Please," I whispered, unsure of what I wanted.

Ethan guided me into the jail cell, an old-fashioned one with a barred door. I dropped to my knees at his

rough command and leaned over the cot. Shamelessly, eagerly, I circled my hips in invitation. The only

thing that mattered to me now was getting him inside me. I felt his heat when he knelt behind me. He rubbed himself against me and I moaned at the feel of the smooth leather that separated me from him. The belt fell away and his hand ran down my belly, finding and jostling the d.i.l.d.o in my c.u.n.t.

I couldn't think, couldn't breathe. My need for him was a deeper agony than what crowned my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Now comes the splash, Stephanie, when my cream spills out of your backside."

He twisted the plug, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it into my backside. I gripped it with deep unfamiliar muscles, welcoming

the connection with him. He growled when my seeking hips rubbed against his hand. My need surged and shouted at his response. He yanked the plug free and I gasped at the sudden emptiness. Then I felt the blunt tip of his c.o.c.k press against my a.s.s. I pushed back to welcome it and felt it slip in. I froze in panic at its size, fatter than anything I had accepted before. Then I remembered the satisfaction he had given me earlier. My muscles remembered how he had trained them to spread at his touch. He kept still until my body softened and opened for him. Then he slid into me on a slow, steady wave. I burned but the pain of stretching quickly became a delicious agony of fullness. I braced my hands on the cot underneath me. Then he began to move. He rode me with an intensity that demanded everything of me. I enjoyed it like nothing I had ever felt before. I was his woman to use as he chose. His raw hunger spurred me into an answering frenzy. Our grunts and snarls sounded primitive and entirely suitable for that harsh room.

I tried hard not to come before he did. I wanted to feel every slightest pulse of him deep inside me.

Ethan didn't permit that, of course. He leaned over my back like a wolf and nuzzled my neck. He licked and sucked at the pulse there until I twisted under him, forgetting everything else. He bit down hard and fast so that blood erupted between us, catapulting me into an o.r.g.a.s.m that took over my entire body.

I felt his hot cream burst inside me.

I woke up the next morning back in my shabby motel room. I don't know when he brought me back but I do remember that he had me more than once in that little cell.

My wrists and ankles were only slightly sore from the cuffs and shackles. The bite marks on my neck took longer to heal than usual but they're gone now.

I trust him more than I did before, which is an odd thing to say about a vampire. We have an understanding of sorts that feels almost like a need for each other. We never discussed any changes in our relationship and I don't plan to ask him. There'll be time enough to see what happens when we meet again.

In the meantime, I'm going to try drinking bourbon.

TRAFFIC STOP.

A Tale Of Ethan Templeton Steve came back into the bedroom quietly and stood still for a moment, watching Ethan sleep. He was asleep, not dead, no matter what he looked like or how cold his body felt. She'd seen him wake up more than once at sunset, coming fully conscious as the last daylight faded beyond the horizon.

Her lover. Her partner too, at least while that murderer was still out there.

She took off her gun and set it on the nightstand. Ethan would protect her better than it ever could. Strange thing for a Texas Ranger to say about a vampire.

Steve sat down on the chair and began to take off her boots, wondering how she'd come to trust him so much. Her subconscious promptly unrolled the memory for her. She'd remembered it so often, especially on the long waits that defined a cop's life. Now it unrolled before her like a storyteller's tale.

I met the s.e.xiest guy while I was working out in the Hill Country. It was a little town but they had big ideas about their cops. Wanted us to be a real spit-shined bunch, no matter what we were doing. A good place to start out, especially if you'd always wanted to be a cop.

I got off late that night. I didn't have a date so I headed home on the scenic route. Not many guys want to date a girl with a third-degree black belt in karate, rated expert in pistol and rifle, who can bench press over 150 pounds.

It was clear that night with a full moon so I could see a long ways ahead as I drove. Coming down one hill, I saw a late-model black pickup speeding in front of me. He was going at least 90 so I did my duty. It took almost five miles of flashing lights before I got him to stop. I was pretty steamed by that long of a chase but I calmed down some while I ran his plates. They came back clear and I headed out to talk to him.

He had rolled down the window and looked at me when I came up. My heart stopped beating. Anglo, six feet, one hundred eighty pounds of what looked like pure muscle, sandy hair and hazel eyes. Just a gorgeous hunk of bad boy. Yum...

As soon as I saw him, all I wanted to do was haul him out of the cab and jump his bones. His eyes had a look in them that said "s.e.x!" and I wanted lots with him. I tried to cool down and talk to him about speed limits though.

He just sat there and nodded, gave me his license when I asked for it, and looked at me. I kept getting hotter and hotter thinking about all the things I could be doing with a man who watched me the way he did.

I took his license back to my cruiser and ran it through the system, trying to cool down. The license came back clean and I got out, only to find him standing next to the door watching me.

Well, I did what any self-respecting female cop would do: I told him we needed to talk and I needed to search him. Then I told him to put his hands on the hood. He gave me one steady look that saw every detail of my uniform. He even checked to see how much chest I have under my Kevlar vest. Then he turned around and put his hands down flat. His beautiful b.u.t.t was pushed out towards me, just begging for appreciation. I could see the muscles under that thin white Western shirt, hard muscles echoed in the strong legs below.

I ran my flashlight down his back, following that smooth flow of muscle. He pushed his hips back some, letting me know that he liked the touch. I teased his waistband with the flashlight but couldn't get inside. So I told him to take off the belt. He dropped the belt next to him and went back to standing there, watching me over his shoulder with a half-smile in the moonlight. Mostly he kept his mouth closed when he smiled but I thought I saw some pretty sharp teeth there for a moment.

My hand slowly slid down inside his jeans over that beautiful b.u.t.t. I did a full cavity search of that man. All I found was the best set of masculine jewels that you're ever going to find. And I searched carefully and thoroughly...

When I was done, he was standing there with his jeans on the road next to his feet. Somehow his boots had gotten tossed off to one side. One of them didn't look quite right; maybe he had a knife in it. But I didn't care about that. I was much more interested in that big thick d.i.c.k rearing up to greet me, looking more than ready for a long night's ride.

The radio blared something. I answered it with some garbage, anything to keep that old biddy Louise in Dispatch from bothering me for the rest of the night.

He hadn't moved when I came back to him, just kept on looking like s.e.x on the hoof leaning against my cruiser. I turned off my flashlight after another good long perusal. I fumbled putting it back onto my belt and my hands touched the cuffs hanging there.

A moment later, I had him facing the cruiser again, hands cuffed behind his back, and was feeling a bit more in control. His head twisted around to see me but he stayed calm. His eyes did get a little greener in the moonlight and his smile a little wider with those silver bracelets around his wrists though.

I put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around while I thought about what to do next. You'd think that I'd just jump him but I didn't. I told him to take my clothes off. His eyes really gleamed at that order and he bowed to me just a bit. Looked rather like a tiger when his animal trainer had just cracked the whip.

Well, he took my entire uniform off, one piece at a time. First my belt yielded to his mouth's persuasion, then my trousers, then my...

He had the strongest teeth and tongue too; didn't have any real problem getting even that Kevlar vest off me. He just kept working at the uniform and items kept sliding off me. Of course, he got in lots of little licks and bites at the same time. A mouth like that didn't need the help of hands to get a girl worked up and undressed. I was hot and shaking, almost moaning by the time he finished.

Then I sat down on the hood and spread my legs wide. He didn't need any more invitation than that. Just went straight down on his knees and applied his mouth to where it would do the most good. I threw my head back and rode his face, my legs gripping his head like it was the finest bronc in Texas. I jumped when he nipped me and felt the blood running down my leg. But mostly it just felt so d.a.m.n good that I kept ordering him to give me more.

He started working his way up my body and I started grabbing at him to bring him closer. His mouth fastened on mine and I opened up to him like a 9mm Beretta welcoming a magazine of ammunition. My arms and legs wrapped around him and we fell back on the hood together, one sweaty, heaving ma.s.s of flesh. He thrust home, I threw my head back and he bit me on the neck.

I was really glad then for the sergeant's insistence on having a good looking cruiser. All those wax jobs that I'd cursed at sure came in handy when a bad boy is pumping your body across the hood...

I woke up the next morning, naked as a jay bird in the back seat of my cruiser. I had bruises all over me, plus scratches and bites. It looked like I'd gone five rounds with the champion and the ache between my legs confirmed his prowess. I pulled my uniform on and headed home for a quick shower and change before going on duty again.

The worst bite, on my neck over my jugular, healed within two days so no one at the station ever noticed anything.

The hardest part to explain was why my handcuffs had to be replaced. I'd found them in pieces next to the cruiser and well, I couldn't tell the sergeant what had been going on before that bad boy snapped them, could I?

And I thanked my guardian angel that I never had to discuss this night with my sergeant. He'd have fired me for sure if he knew just what went on that night...

Steve sat still, watching Ethan sleep. Her neck itched and she rubbed it reflexively.

Her finger came away with a drop of blood.

Ethan's chest slowly rose. And fell.

She smiled, the contented smirk of a tabby cat eyeing a fresh saucer of milk as the sky darkened outside.

APEX PREDATOR.