The Return of Nicholas Collins

"Thanks to you, I didn't get to find out if Eric was good or not, but I can tell you this since you're comparing Eric to food. The men from my past have all been the most decadent desserts that you can imagine," she returned his smirk, "and I got to taste them all."

He stalked over from the bar like a panther after its prey. For one second she thought to be scared, then laughed sadly to herself. What the hell did she have to be scared of? If he killed her at least she would be out of her misery.

Casually she sipped her wine, ignoring him as he stood in front of her, his stare a teasing flame on her skin. Gentle as a whisper she sat her glass aside then looked up into the glowing eyes of her maker as he asked, "Do you really think you could handle me like you do those little boys you play with, Rachel?"

God he was scrumptious. Even during their most passionate arguments in the past she thought he was absolutely the sexiest man she ever saw. "A long time ago, Nick, I would have given anything to find out," she said regretfully.

Her nipples pebbled beneath her shirt at the sight of his tongue sliding across his luscious mouth. She trembled as she pictured him licking her nipples, her pussy. "What's keeping you from wanting to find out now?" He asked, a slight lisp to his words as his canines grew.

She had nothing to lose by telling him the truth. Either way she would wind up hurt, possibly even destroyed, but she wasn't backing down this time. Looking him up and down she made a meal out of him with her eyes. Then to equal the odds of power between them, she rose from the sofa to stand before him.

The air around them felt super heated. The tiny space that separated their bodies seemed to crackle with electricity. She stared into the deep violet wells of his eyes, "The same thing as it was the last time, Nick."

He leaned in and his massive chest brushed her nipples. She clenched her teeth and barely caught the moan that slid into her throat as a bolt of pleasure shot straight to her clit. Gazing at his mouth she watched the way the light flickered off his teeth when he dipped his head, teasing her with an almost kiss. Like a touch his breath swept across her cheek, "I'm waiting for the rest of your answer, Rachel"

She craved his scent. It swirled around her and seeped into her pores. For the longest time after they had parted ways she use to wear the one shirt of his she had stolen just so she could breathe him in. He dived in close again, this time toward her neck and her womb tightened, aching, empty and hungry for him.

Her teeth dropped quickly, her control near the breaking point. Shaking, hands fisted at her side, she growled, "You, Nicholas." He jerked back at the viscous sound of her voice, "You kept us apart last time. I wanted you. I ached for you. Night after night I fought my need until I couldn't deny it anymore. Then I finally came to you, only for you to reject me."
She threw her arms wide open. Her eyes bright with tears of need and past hurt. "Here I am once again, hungry for your touch, craving more than the small, accidental caresses, or the to short, friendly kisses that you graced upon me in the past." Streams of red dripped down her face as she dropped her arms to her sides. "I need all of you. I need to feel everything that is inside you, if only for one night." Her weakness for him made her angry with herself, but not enough to stop her quivering plea. "Please don't toy with me this time, Nicholas."

She heard his racing heart pound inside her head. Each second felt like a lifetime as it passed, bringing her closer to either joy or pain. Finally she came to the end of her patience and yelled, "Stop being cruel to me and decide. Yes, you want me or no you..."

He growled deep and seized her. He buried his large, masculine hands into her auburn hair and captured her mouth with his. The kiss was brutal and devastating. Deeper his tongue plunged as she tugged his dress shirt free from his slacks, groaning when she finally touched the bare skin of his back.

She cried out suddenly as he took her swiftly to the floor, the plush carpet cushioning her fall. Desire, raw and naked, stared back at her from his face. The beast inside him became dominant over his human side, sparking an answering call from her own. Their claw like nails ripped at each other's clothing, easily shredding the thin material that kept their naked bodies apart.

She knew that their coming together would be fast and rough, and she was grateful. There was no way she could have made it through a slow and tender loving with this man. It would have shattered her like glass.

Hands on her knees he opened her legs wider, exposing her bare wet pussy to his ravenous gaze. Eyes burning like blue flames, he licked her slit, staring up into her aroused face as her hips bucked to meet his eager tongue. Up and down he tasted her cream covered lips, parting them to tease her swollen clit.

She moaned his name, the sound coming from her gut. Her long sharp nails dug into the carpet as her body arched into his exquisite tongue. Latching his mouth onto her pussy, he swirled his tongue around slick folds then sucked her between his lips, biting her engorged clit gently.

Rachel grabbed his head and screamed, pulling him tighter between her legs, feeling the powerful suction of his greedy mouth all the way to her womb. Her body trembled, her muscles strained toward release until she exploded.

Her shoulders came up off the floor and her fingers twined in his hair, holding him in place as she ground herself into his hungry mouth. His rough growl vibrated against her pussy, intensifying the spasms as he forced his tongue deep and slurped the flowing juices from inside her.

Arms falling limp at her sides, she struggled for breath. Her belly quivered beneath his mouth and tongue. Brushing her fingers through his hair she arched her back as his mouth took her nipple inside and bit. She hissed between her teeth as he suckled and then licked the wounds.

Needing his kiss, she pulled his mouth to hers and tasted the mixture of her juices and blood on his lips. His eyes were the color of an angry, storm tossed ocean as he stroked his cock along her slit. Rachel ran her hands down his muscular chest, his flat stomach, and took hold of his shaft.

Nicholas pumped into her grip, trembling as she fisted him faster. She nibbled a path along his jaw and down his neck, pulled at his vein with hungry lips, and teased them both with a pleasure that they both craved.

He jerked away from her mouth suddenly, his control barely leashed. "I need inside you," he gasped, swelling even larger in her hand. He closed his eyes tossing back his head baring his long ivory fangs, growling his demand, "Put me inside you, Rachel. Now!"

She slipped him to her opening and cried out as he surged forward. He filled her completely. Stretched her body to the limit. The tremor that went through him matched her own as her muscles squeezed him tight and made his groan vibrate against her breasts, hardening her nipples even more.

With trembling hands she caressed his face as he held still above her, and part of her was unable to believe that this was happening. Living on dreams and fantasies since she first felt the need for this man, she was unprepared for the reality of actually having him. Nothing she had thought of or imagined, compared to the feel of her body beneath his, the feel of him inside her, or the feel of a long hidden and buried love coming back to life.

When he opened his eyes the feral look in them rocked her to the very depths of her heart. She quickly shut her eyes to him and shielded her mind so that he couldn't see, so that he would never know just how much she really loved him.

He began to move and she clung to him. She hated the feeling of emptiness inside her as he pulled nearly all the way out, but rejoiced as he returned, the pleasure sharp as he pressed against her womb.

His mouth blazed a fiery trail along her throat seeking her lips. Her claw like nails scraped the length of his back as his cock and tongue plunged within her. His rhythm increased. The scent of sweat and sex perfumed the very air around them. The wet, raw sounds of two bodies coming together filled the room, amplifying the sensations and drove her to the very edge.

She tore his mouth away from hers as the hungry beast inside her roared its need. Her kissed swollen lips skimmed his jaw, sought the thick vein of his neck and sucked at his skin.

He slammed his hips into hers faster, grinding against her clit as he rode her hard. Cupping the back of her head, he pressed her mouth to his neck tighter, groaning his desire, "Bite me, Rachel."

The need in his voice went straight to her gut and triggered her reaction. Instincts took over and the beast forced her jaws to clamp, and made her teeth plunge into his jugular. This was the first time she had tasted his blood since he had turned her centuries ago. God, it was wild. The taste was magnificent. The sensations racked her body with so much pleasure that it bordered on pain and sent her orgasm tearing through her.

Her feral growl vibrated against his neck. The harsh, deep suckles of her mouth seemed to go directly to his cock, causing him to swell within the walls of her milking cunt.

He dug his nails into her scalp an instant before he pulled her roughly from his neck. She licked his blood from her lips then she opened her eyes. Every muscle tightened in preparation at the ravenous look she saw in his.

With the swiftness of a viper, he struck. His fangs savagely broke the soft skin on her neck and sounded as loud as a champagne cork leaving the bottle as they popped into her vein.

He shook his head violently as he sunk his teeth deeper, sending a wave of heat so strong through her body that her clit felt on fire. It swelled and throbbed with each deep draw Nicholas took of the very liquid she needed to exist, but she was beyond caring if she made it passed this moment or not.

The more blood he took from her the harder he seemed to fuck her. Like a jackhammer his hips slammed into her, driving faster and deeper till he jerked his mouth from her neck and yelled, his orgasm ripping through him and filling her with his seed.

Wrapping her arms around him, she held him close as he collapsed, trembling like a leaf in the wind on top of her. Stroking his sweat soaked back, she combed her finger through his slick black hair and left a string of kisses along his shoulder.

No man had ever made her feel like this. She felt as weak as a newborn kitten. Her body ached like never before and she loved the feel of his weight pressing down on her.

He raised his head and looked at her, most of the fierceness gone from his face now that the blood and sexual need had been sated. He brushed the hair from her cheek then kissed her softly. Gently he rolled them onto their sides, caressed her swollen lips with his thumb and traced the bite on her neck. "I'm sorry if I hurt..."

She placed her fingers against his mouth and stopped his apology. "You didn't hurt me, Nicholas." She kissed him deeply, moaning as his tongue tangled with hers. Reluctantly she pulled away and smiled. "I got exactly what I wanted."

"Come with me," she said several minutes later, tugging on his hand as she got up. "It's not much longer till sunrise and I know a much softer place for us to lay then the floor."
After they gathered their ruined clothes she led him through the house and down to the basement. At the rear concrete wall she ran her hands over the blocks in what appeared to be a random pattern. Then the locks clicked and she stepped back watching the wall recede and then swung open like a door. "Welcome to my lair," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

His chuckle thrilled her. Nicholas had rarely been one to laugh or joke around in the time she'd known him. She closed the heavy door and double check the locks. Turning she found him exploring the common area of her underground living quarters. She followed every move of his naked form. Watched the play of muscles in his ass and legs as he strolled around the room examining the sparse decorations. Her fingers itched to slide through the hair at his nape and her mouth went dry at the thought of kissing her way down his spine. The need for him started to build again in her gut and that is when she knew that she had made a major mistake in making love with him.

"I want my guests to be comfortable down here, so what you see is the living room, kitchen combo area. Over on the right I have two bedrooms and then on the left is the master bedroom, which I use." She started toward her room and said over her shoulder, "Each room has a bath of its own incase you feel like cleaning up before you sleep. So make yourself at home, I'm off to take a shower."

She tossed her torn clothes in the trash on the way to the bathroom. Found her thick terry robe then hung it near the shower as she stepped in. The water poured down over her sore muscles and she moaned, leaning her head against the tiled wall.

One time with Nicholas and already she wanted more. Her body craved him even now. Just thinking of how he felt inside her made her pussy clench with need. She ran her hand between her legs and moaned at the tender ache her touch caused. If she had been human Nicholas would have tore her apart, she thought, rubbing the entrance to her body.

The sun drew closer to the horizon and Rachel quickly dried her body and threw on her robe. She had every intention of telling Nicholas good night and then going to sleep, but instead, she found him freshly showered and waiting for her in her own bed.

Her heart beat like a drum as he pulled back the covers and patted the mattress. His violet eyes were so bright as he stared at her, and it took everything she had not to cry as he held out his hand and said, "Come to bed, Rachel."

She tugged on the belt and the robe slid from her shoulders to the floor. This scared her more than having sex with him did and she knew in the end, she would regret doing this, but she couldn't say no. She climbed into bed and he pulled her close. With her head on his chest she heard the slow beat of his heart and closed her eyes, locking the memory away. For when the time came, and it would, that he had to leave, at least she would have this beautiful night to see her into the long, lonesome future ahead.

*

Chapter 4

Rachel woke, stretching her body beneath the soft down comforter. The memory of falling to sleep in Nicholas' arms putting a smile on her lips. She reached out beside her to touch him only to find the bed empty and her smile disappeared.

I should be staked for making love with him, she thought as she stared up at the ceiling. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sat quietly on its edge, running her fingers through her hair. Eyes closed, she opened her senses and felt his presence, becoming angry with herself at the way her heart jumped at the knowledge that he was still near.

The terry of her robe grated against her skin as she yanked it on. Her fury at being left alone in bed, cheating her out of the pleasure of waking in his arms, had her stomping to the door ready to blast him, but she stopped herself short of opening it.

Body shaking, she fought for control of her emotions. She knew she was acting like an idiot but couldn't help it. Being with him in the dark hours of the morning had thrown her heart and mind into a tizzy. To unsettled to face him, she backed away from the door, deciding that meeting him in her bathrobe would leave her feeling to vulnerable.

Dressed in black jeans and a green t-shirt she walked into the living room and found him on his cell phone. The light reflected off his damp hair and drew attention to the fact that he had showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

On the breakfast bar she saw two glasses of dark red liquid sitting there. The blood chilled her tongue as she slowly sipped and stared at Nicholas pacing the floor, wondering what had him so agitated.

She gripped the edge of the granite countertop as her body reacted to the sight of him. She had never seen him dressed so comfortably before. During those final days they were together over a century ago, the clothing styles didn't allow a person to relax unlike today's choices. Looking at him now, she was damn glad they had.

The way his blue jeans cradled his ass and cupped his crotch made her mouth water. The black polo shirt he wore stretched tight across the expansion of his broad shoulders and made his light eyes brighter, more compelling.

She turned away to refill her glass and almost dropped it when he shouted, "Son-of-a-bitch!" She whipped around in time to see him throw his phone across the room against the wall, then watched as it broke into several pieces and fell to the floor.

He raked his hands through his black hair and stared down at the floor, his ragged breath echoing off the low ceiling. She started toward him but froze at the look on his face when he turned around.

The strength of his anger assaulted her senses. It was etched in every line of his vampiric face and the lava colored glow in his eyes. There had been only a few times she'd ever seen him like this and no one could stop him until he either calmed down or destroyed what had upset him.

He stalked to the breakfast bar and snatched up the glass of blood that was sitting there with his hand. In two gulps he had it chugged. Growling, he slammed the delicate glass down, cursing when it broke into jagged pieces and dug into his skin.

She reached for a towel and tried to wrap it around his hand, but he jerked away. "Leave it be, Rachel," he said roughly, blood seeping from his clenched fist.

In a flash she rounded the bar grabbing his wrist and shoving the towel into his bleeding hand, making him grunt as the shards dug in deeper. "You're dripping blood all over my carpet, Nicholas, so right now it's my turn to say I don't care what you want to happen, we're doing this my way."

Pulling him into the kitchen she held his hand over the sink. Gently she ran water over his cuts and picked the pieces of glass from his flesh. Even as the air-dried his wounds they had begun to heal. "Go sit down and I'll bring you another glass in a few minutes."

The look in his eyes when he glanced at her made her hurt for him. Now that his anger had had a chance to cool down several degrees she saw his pain and grief. She wanted to comfort him and reached up to caress his face, but he walked away from her, leaving her standing there with her hand suspended in midair.

After cleaning up the broken glass and blood she poured them both another drink. He didn't say a word as she brought him the new glass and sat down beside him. Silence was heavy in the air as he drank. His gaze red as he stared into the blank television screen across the room. She waited, knowing that if she pushed him to tell her what was wrong that he would only lash out at her.

His words were clipped, emotionless when he finally spoke, "They found another one of my employees dead."

Fear swept over her and turned her heart cold. The ridged set of his shoulders made her dig her nails into the cushion beside her to keep from touching him. "Was it another guard?" She asked softly.

"No, this time it was my cleaning lady." He rubbed his hand over his face. "Apparently she had been dead for a few days before anyone found her."

He jumped to his feet, pacing once more. "Everyone close to me is being killed and I don't have any clues as to who would do a thing like this to innocent people."

"What about your enemies? Who was the last person or beast that became your enemy?" She asked as she slid her fingers over the condensation on her glass, trying to stay calm.