Jeaniene Frost - Halfway to the Grave

It occurred to me with mounting anxiety that he wasn’t kidding. “You’re Crispin? You? But your name-”

“Told you,” he interrupted. “Most vampires change their name when they change from human. Crispin was my human name, just as I said. Don’t go by it much anymore, because that bloke is dead. When Ian turned me, he laid me in the natives’ burial grounds until I rose. For hundreds of years they’d buried their dead in the same place, and not too deeply, either. When my eyes opened for the first time as a vampire, all I saw about me were bones. I knew it was what I was then, for from bones I rose and Bones I became, all in that night.”

The imagery was haunting, but still I persisted. “Then what kind of game are you up to? You want me to try and kill you, is that it?”

He laughed indulgently. “Blimey, no. In fact, this is all your doing.”

“My doing? How could I have anything to do with…” looking all around, adequate words failed me. “This?”

“You said last night when you were moaning about your life that you’d never been to a club just to have fun and go dancing. Well, pet, this is it. Tonight you and I will drink and dance and absolutely murder no one. Consider it your night off. You will be Cat and I will be Crispin, and you’ll send me home with a dry mouth and aching balls just like you would if we’d never met before.”

“Was this all some trick to get me to go on a date with you?” With a scowl I drank my gin, courtesy of the two human boys who had run for the hills after one dirty look.

His eyes glowed with dark lights and that sly curl returned to his lips.

“Let you keep your knickers on, though, didn’t I? Can’t even appreciate the little things, you can’t. Come on, luv, finish your drink and let’s dance. Promise I’ll be the perfect gentleman. Unless you request otherwise.”

I set my glass on the counter.

“Sorry, Crispin, but I don’t dance. Never learned how. You know, whole lack of a social life and all that.”

His eyebrows nearly swept his hairline. “You’ve never been dancing? That deflowerer of yours never even took you out for a twirl? Bloody sod.”

The memory of Danny continued to smart. “Nope. I don’t dance.”

He shot me a measured look. “Now you do.”

He practically hauled me to my feet, ignoring my protests and vain attempts to pull free. When we were well inside the hoard of human and inhuman gyrators, he spun me around until my back was to him. He had one arm wrapped around my waist while the other still gripped my hand. His body was pressed along the length of mine, hips intimately touching front to rear.

“I swear if you try anything…” My threat was drowned out in the music pumping and noise around us.

“Relax, I’m not going to bite.” Laughing at his own joke, he began to sway in time to the beat, hips and shoulders rubbing against mine.

“Come on, it’s easy. Move the way I do, we’ll start you out slow.”

Out of lack of other options except to stand there stupidly, I followed the line of his body, mimicking his movements. The pulsating beat seemed to jerk my nerve endings like invisible puppet strings, and soon I undulated against him of my own accord. He was right, it was easy. And sexy as hell. Now I knew how a snake felt when the charmer played his flute, slavishly twisting along to the music. Bones whirled me around to face him, still gripping my hand as if fearing I would bolt.

He needn’t have worried. I was curiously enjoying myself. The lights and sounds seemed to blur together. All of the bodies brushing by us made me feel drunk from their collective energy. It was a heady feeling, to let my body move any way it wanted, directed by the rhythm and nothing else. I raised my arms and let my head fall back, surrendering to the sensation. Bones slid his hands to my waist, lightly holding me, and a mischievous impulse surged through me. He had blackmailed me, beaten me, and forced me to endure unbelievable rigors of training. Time for a little well-deserved payback.

I splayed my hands across his chest, seeing his eyes widen, and brought him closer until our bodies touched and my breasts rubbed against him. Then I gave a slow twist of my hips against his as I’d seen another dancer do.

His arms tightened around me, yanking me to him until we were molded together. One hand crept up to tug my head back, and I smiled smugly at him.

“You were right, it’s easy. And I’m a fast learner.”

My body was still curled around his, taunting him. This was so unlike me, but something felt as though it had taken over. My earlier concerns were a faint memory not even worth dwelling on. The lights caused deep hollows to form under his cheekbones, making them look even more pronounced. The heat in his eyes should have made me break free and run, but all it did was entice me.

“Playing with fire, Kitten?”

His mouth grazed my cheek as he spoke directly in my ear to be heard above the noise. His lips were cool against my skin, but not cold. My head spun, my senses reeled, and in reply my tongue crept out and licked his neck with a long wet stroke.

The shudder went all through him. Bones pressed me so close that his body ground into mine, jerking my head back with a thick handful of hair until our eyes locked. What had started out as a game was now an open challenge, as well as a direct threat. Any further action would bear results, it was clear from the way his gaze smoldered into mine. All of this should have frightened me, but it was as if my mind were incapable of rational thought. He was a vampire, a hit man, and had almost killed me…and nothing mattered more than the feel of him. I licked my lips and didn’t pull away, and it was all the invitation he needed.

His mouth came down onto mine, slanting across without difficulty, since I moaned at the first touch. It had been so long, so long since I’d kissed someone and not been faking it. The last time had been with Danny, and the scant desire I’d felt then was nothing compared to the searing flash of heat in me now. His tongue caressed my lips briefly before twining around mine and seeking my depths with ruthless sensuality. My heart pounded so fiercely I knew he could feel its pulse in my mouth as I responded, pulling him closer and digging my nails into his back. Bones deepened the kiss further until he sucked on my tongue. Everything inside me began to throb with need. I returned the gesture with more strength, drawing on his tongue with erotic hunger. There was a distinct hardness to him as he rubbed his hips against mine in a wave of friction that caused a near-excruciating clench in my loins.

He only pulled away to snap at someone when we were rudely jostled for no longer dancing, leaving me to gulp in breaths of air. My legs felt almost rubbery and lights danced in my head. Bones propelled me toward the far wall until we were clear of the dance floor, tumbling my hair in my face from the speed of his action. He brushed it back to kiss me again, and this kiss was better than the one before. His whole body seemed to be poured into his searching mouth. He finally pulled away, but didn’t go far.

“Kitten, you need to make a decision. Either we stay here and behave or we leave now and I promise you”-his voice dipped lower and the words fell against my lips-“if we leave, I won’t behave.”

His mouth closed over mine once more, lips and tongue expertly evoking a response. My self-control was still somewhere away on vacation and my arms went around his neck because I simply wanted more. His back was to the wall and one hand was in my hair while the other was low, dangerously low on my back. Fingers kneaded my flesh through the thin material of the dress, holding me so close, every movement he made stroked me. After another few dizzying minutes, he broke the kiss to whisper almost raggedly in my ear.