Lucas Read online

  “Kathryn, a cuisle, you forgot to mention when you left my bed yesterday that you were departing immediately for Minneapolis. Isn’t that odd?”

  Kathryn narrowed her eyes at him. No, it wasn’t fucking odd, and he knew it. “Something came up,” she said tightly.

  “Really? What?” he replied, his anger rising to match hers.

  “Why do you care?” she demanded.

  “Why don’t you?”

  Kathryn caught her breath. The question struck her to the heart, and she could tell by the satisfied expression on his face that he knew it. She looked away from his accusing gaze and focused on the expensive art instead.

  “A big fan of cubism, are you?” Lucas murmured in her ear.

  He was standing far too close, but Kathryn refused to move and let him know it bothered her. “What do you know about it?” she muttered.

  He laughed softly. “Probably more than you do. I’d wager your brother’s the only artist in your family.”

  “Why do you say that?” she demanded, vaguely insulted, even though he was right.

  “Because you are far too buttoned up to be an artist.”

  “I am not buttoned up,” she snapped, still staring fixedly at the poor distorted women in the painting.

  “Please. You’re the very poster girl for buttoned up.”

  “You have no idea—”

  “Oh, I think I do. I also happen to know that you unbutton very nicely when motivated.”

  She shot a sideways glare in his direction. “It’s hardly appropriate to discuss that—”

  “Really? But it’s okay for you to discard me like a used condom and leave town without even saying good-bye?”

  Kathryn’s mouth dropped open in a gasp, and she turned to stare at him. “I can’t believe you said that!” she hissed furiously, her gaze darting around to see if anyone was listening.

  Lucas faced her, his eyes snapping gold sparks. “And I can’t believe you left me.”

  They were standing toe-to-toe, so close that all Kathryn would have to do was raise up on the balls of her feet, and their mouths would meet. She knew what he would taste like, knew the feel of his hard chest against her breasts, the span of his hands as they circled her hips while he drove himself between her thighs.

  She drew back, shocked at her own thoughts. Thoughts she could see mirrored in Lucas’s fierce gaze.

  “Where’s your truck?” he growled.

  She swallowed on a dry throat. “I took a cab.”

  “Fine. We’ll take mine.”

  “Lucas—” she started, then stopped when he turned to stare at her as if daring her to protest.

  When she didn’t say anything, his expression softened. “We’ll talk.”

  Kathryn nodded and didn’t object when he took her hand and headed for the front door. Her fingers slipped into his as naturally as if they’d been holding hands for years instead of a single day.

  She was doomed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  They barely spoke on the ride to Lucas’s penthouse. Kathryn was painfully aware of Nicholas and Mason sitting in the front seat, and she didn’t know what to say anyway. Lucas was still holding her hand, pressing it against his thigh, which struck her as terribly intimate. But then, what was more intimate than what they’d done last night?

  They crossed a bridge. She didn’t know which one. There were so many in the Twin Cities; it seemed almost every street had a bridge. She saw a sign saying they were crossing the Mississippi River, which meant they were probably now in St. Paul. A few more blocks, and all three SUVs made the turn toward a tall glass and steel building that sat nearly on the riverfront. Parking was underground, with the entrance protected by a human guard, as well as a solid steel barrier. Someone in the front SUV clicked the remote, the barrier rose, and the garage swallowed them whole.

  Lucas apparently had some pull with the owners’ association, because they pulled into the three parking spaces closest to the elevator. As soon as they stopped, the other two SUVs emptied out, with vampires deploying throughout the garage. One of them punched the call button for the elevator, then stepped inside and checked it out before holding the door open and giving a nodding okay.

  Lucas opened his door and stepped out into the garage without ever letting go of Kathryn’s hand. She frowned, especially when she had to balance herself to get out of the SUV, but he didn’t look at her, just shifted his grip and waited.

  Kathryn sighed. He was going to be difficult about this. She just knew it.

  He didn’t say a word until they were in his penthouse. It was on the top floor, of course, with dynamite views of the river on one side and what she assumed was the Capitol building on the other.

  “Beautiful,” she commented.

  Lucas still didn’t say anything, although he did release her hand to head for the wet bar on the far wall. They were completely alone. Some of the vampires in his security contingent had stayed on the ground floor. Others had peeled off on the floor just below this one. Only Nicholas rode all the way to the top with them. He’d checked out the entire condo, then gotten back into the elevator and presumably joined the others somewhere. Kathryn had studied his face covertly, looking for evidence of the ghastly wound he’d been sporting only two days ago. There was nothing. He was completely healed, just as Lucas had told her he would be.

  Lucas poured himself a drink at the bar and strolled back to where she was standing in front of the window overlooking the river.

  “What happened, Kathryn?” he asked quietly.

  She gave him a quick glance. “I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

  “Let me refresh your memory, then. You fucked my brains out night before last—”

  “I told you I had things to do. I drove all day yesterday to get here—”

  “—and apparently you couldn’t wait to get out of town. I talked to the motel manager. You must have gone directly there from my bed, then packed up and left with the sun barely above the horizon.”

  “And what do you mean I fucked your brains out?” she snapped, seizing on the one thing she could dispute, since everything else he’d said was pretty damn accurate. “I wasn’t the only one in that bed, Lucas. Brains were fucked, and fun was had by all.”

  Unexpectedly, he grinned. “You missed me, didn’t you? Oh sure, the first couple of hours you were just focused on getting away, but then you started thinking, doubting . . . and you missed me. Did you dream about me?”

  Kathryn’s jaw clenched. “Arrogant,” she muttered.

  He laughed. “Yeah, but I’m right.”

  She rounded on him. “Why are you here? Why Carmichael’s gallery?”

  Lucas took a leisurely sip of his whiskey, eyeing her over the top of the crystal tumbler. When he lowered it, he said, “I would think that’s obvious.”

  “You’re . . . conspiring with him,” she accused. “With Carmichael.”

  “No, a cuisle, I’ve been hunting.” He turned and set down his drink on the marble inlay of a nearby table.

  “What does acushla mean, damn it! What are you calling me?” She frowned as the rest of his words caught up to her. “Wait, what do you mean hunting. Hunting what?”

  Lucas wrapped his long fingers around her hip and tugged her up against his body. “It’s not a what, it’s a who. A certain FBI agent.” He lowered his mouth to hers.

  Kathryn intended to resist him. She wasn’t going to kiss him, and she certainly wasn’t going to grab him like a starving female and rub up against him wantonly. But that’s what happened. One second she was determined to walk away, and the next they were inhaling each other’s oxygen, kissing hungrily, biting and licking, her arms around his neck, his fingers twisted into her unbound hair, wrapping it around his fist and tilting her head back to plunder her mouth. And his other hand . . . her breath stalled in her lungs as his other hand crushed her hips against his so she could feel every inch of his erection, long and thick and as hard as stone against her belly.
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  * * * *

  Lucas felt a curl of satisfaction as Kathryn moaned a protest against his lips. “I don’t want—” she began, even as she sucked his tongue into her mouth.

  “I know,” he muttered back. “Neither do I.” But he couldn’t stop. There was something about her, something that drove him mad, like a hot poker stuck straight into his fucking brain. He had to have her, desperately needed her beneath him, her hot pussy soaking wet as it sheathed his cock over and over again.

  “Damn it,” he swore softly and tugged her tight black dress up over her hips.

  “Wait!” Kathryn protested weakly. “The window.”

  “It’s one-way,” Lucas ground out and stripped the dress off over her head. He hissed when he saw what she was wearing underneath. Gone was the sensible white cotton bra, and in its place, pale silk and lace, barely cupping her full breasts, with a tiny matching lace triangle between her thighs.

  “You’ve been shopping,” he said, rubbing one hand over her firm and practically naked ass, while he caressed her breast with the other, thumbing her pink nipple until it poked out against its silky enclosure.

  Kathryn was working determinedly on his belt buckle, ripping open the button to his pants and sliding the zipper down. He stiffened, in more ways than one, when she took him in her hand, her graceful and strong fingers gripping him tightly as she began to stroke up and down.

  “That’s your fault,” she complained. “You made me feel ugly with my white bra.”

  “You could never be ugly, a cuisle. I rather liked it, actually, though I do like this better. Now tell me,” he tugged her long hair, forcing her to look up at him. “Who did you think was going to see this beautiful and sexy new underwear?”

  She smiled innocently, but the gleam in her eyes gave her away. “Jealous?”

  Lucas acknowledged the feeling. It wasn’t something he felt very often, but she was right. He was jealous. He didn’t know how long this obsession between them was going to last, but as long as it did, no one was touching her but him.

  “Never,” he lied. “But I’m a possessive son of a bitch, Kathryn. As long as we’re doing whatever this is, no one but me gets to see your underwear.” He lowered his mouth to her neck and bit softly.

  “Oh, ah,” she said, her breath coming in pants. “What if I—”

  Whatever she was going to say was lost in her gasp of surprise as he slipped two fingers between the wet folds of her sex. Jesus, she was hot. Slick and silky and so ready for him.

  “That’s it,” he growled. He pushed her against the wall next to the window and ripped away her new lace panties, tossing them aside. Shoving his pants down and freeing his cock, he lifted her up and slid between her legs. She responded just as eagerly, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms over his shoulders as their mouths met once again, kissing hungrily. Lucas sank his cock into her creamy center, feeling the warmth of her body surround him, her channel so tight, her trembling inner muscles caressing him as he thrust as deeply as he could. He paused for the space of a breath, holding perfectly still, feeling the pulsing of her pussy all around him, her heart pounding against his chest, her breath warm and moist along his cheek. They hung there for a long moment. And then he started moving, slowly at first, easing himself in and out, relishing the satin glide of her juices along his shaft. With a long, slow thrust, he plunged as deeply as he could go, feeling the touch of her cervix against the head of his cock. Kathryn made a noise deep in her throat and did a little ripple of her shoulder muscles from side to side, like a cat that’s had a taste of catnip. One side of his mouth lifted in a grin. He liked that—the idea that he was her catnip. Kathryn’s eyes flashed open to meet his, and it was kindling to the flame. Suddenly, he had to have her, had to hear her screaming his name. He growled and began slamming in and out of her body, not going for finesse but for completion. He needed to spill inside her, to mark her in a way that no one else could.

  Kathryn was making little noises with every thrust of his cock, gripping his shoulders and digging in with her fingers until he knew he’d have bruises by the end of the night. It made him happy. He wanted to carry her mark, too. He lowered his mouth to her jugular, feeling the plump vein beneath his tongue, the rush of her blood, faster now as her heart began to dance in anticipation.

  “Lucas, Lucas . . .” she was moaning now, a lover’s plea as he fucked her hard and deep.

  “Kathryn,” he whispered, and sank his fangs into her vein, pushing past the slight resistance of her soft skin, the thin wall of her pliant vein, and then her blood was rushing down his throat like dark honey, heated and smooth.

  Kathryn’s legs scissored around his hips, her nails scraping his back. Her pussy clenched around him as the orgasm rolled through her body, her blunt teeth sinking into his shoulder as she screamed, her hips bucking against his until he felt his own climax building in his balls, roaring down his shaft and filling her completely.

  Lucas retracted his fangs and licked up the last few delicious drops of her blood. He kissed the small puncture wounds, knowing they’d be sealed in seconds and completely healed in hours. Kathryn hung onto him, her arms limp around his neck, her legs trembling in reaction to their explosive lovemaking.

  He glanced down at himself and chuckled. He was still more than half dressed. His pants were around his ankles, and at some point his shirt had been ripped open, but he still wore his jacket, and his tie was still in place. Kathryn lifted her head at the sound of his laughter. She followed his gaze and started laughing, too. Until he saw a tear drip from her eye.

  “Kathryn?”

  “What is it between us, Lucas? It’s like . . .”

  “Spontaneous combustion,” he supplied. “Fire and gun powder. I get near you, and I have to touch you. I touch you, and I have to be inside you. Not later, but right now.”

  “Exactly,” she agreed. “Sort of. I mean, in my head, I’m saying no thanks and walking away, and the next thing I know I’m all over you.”

  “So, it’s all your fault, then.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Vampires are predators, Kathryn. When you run, my instinct is to run after you, and I can run a hell of a lot faster. So if you’d just throw yourself at me first thing—”

  “In your dreams, asshole,” she snapped, rapping her knuckles on the back of his head.

  “Ow,” Lucas said, laughing. “You’ve got some muscles, woman. And speaking of muscles . . .” He palmed her butt with both hands, lifting her higher. Kathryn’s eyes widened as if just realizing they were standing the way they’d ended, with him buried between her lovely, long legs which were still wrapped around him.

  Her face heated. “Oh, my God. This is what you do. Look at me! I’m up against a wall! Naked! And in full view of whoever happens by—”

  “I told you. The glass is one-way.”

  “Whatever. Put me down, you big oaf.”

  “Oaf she says now. That’s not what you called me when you were creaming all over me a moment ago.”

  “Lucas!”

  “What?”

  “You can’t just say things like . . . I thought we agreed this attraction between us was unhealthy. You know, the whole fire and gunpowder thing?”

  “I never agreed to any such thing. It is definitely explosive, however. A fast-burning flame. And the best way to deal with that is to let it burn out naturally. We need to spend several days having wild sex in every way imaginable. You know, to get rid of this unhealthy impulse.”

  “You would think that. Besides, we tried that the other night as I recall. It obviously didn’t work.”

  “Pfft. That was nothing, my sweet. A flame this hot needs more than a single night.”

  “You’re just trying to get me back into your bed.”

  “I don’t need you in my bed; I already have you up against my wall.”

  She blushed again. He loved making her blush.

  “I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”
/>   “Like what? Are you not up against my wall?”

  “Lucas,” she began sternly, then gasped as he began moving inside her, taking advantage of the moisture from her recent orgasm which had left her pussy warm and creamy and perfectly lubricated.

  “Shall we set fire to the wall, a cuisle, or would you rather use the bed? It’s a very nice bed.”

  Kathryn didn’t answer right away. Her eyes were closed, her expression dreamy as he glided slowly in and out of her sexy body. She licked her lips slowly, and it was Lucas’s turn to groan.

  “You’re killing me here, Kathryn. If you want to move to the bed, tell me now, or it’s going to be too late.”

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Bed,” she managed.

  Cursing the undignified position he found himself in—only Kathryn could have driven him so insanely hungry so quickly that he left his shoes on, his pants around his ankles—he nonetheless cowboyed up and delivered. Unwilling to pull away from Kathryn’s welcoming heat, he cupped her ass with his hands, holding her in place as he toed off his shoes, then stepped out of his slacks, leaving them in a pile on the floor. Kathryn’s legs tightened around him as he carried her to the bedroom, their mouths feeding on each other as if they hadn’t just brought each other to mutually screaming orgasms moments earlier. She was right about one thing. This attraction between them was hotter than any he’d experienced in his long life. And he could see it ending only one of two ways—either they’d stick for a while, maybe a very long while, although he wasn’t willing to go too far down that path, even in his thoughts. Or they’d burn out quickly and end up hating each other.

  Either way, he thought, as he laid her on the bed and proceeded to strip off his jacket, shirt and tie while still managing to keep his cock buried inside her, he intended to have her in his bed every night as long as it lasted.

  * * * *

  Kathryn scraped her fingers through the fine, black hair on Lucas’s chest. Lucas’s hard, muscular, gorgeous chest. Why couldn’t he have been a troll instead of a god? She’d have been in and out of South Dakota, no looking back, eyes straight ahead and looking for her brother, and then back to Quantico. Instead, she was all twisted up in vampires and secrets and one gorgeous lover. And, sure, she was making some headway in finding Daniel, but she was losing her heart in the process. She sighed.