A Vampire's Saving Embrace (10 page)

“Well, that was one hell of a warning.” She replied, her brows furrowing. “Couldn’t it have just been a smell or something? I mean, those things
stink
!” she said in disgust, her nose wrinkling with distaste in an way that had Desmond’s body tightening with awareness. “Holy Hell.”

Desmond chuckled in relief as he tightened his arms around her, hugging her fiercely – needing more than anything to know that she was safe and secure in his embrace - and there was a very large part of him that never wanted to let her go. He would be content to stay here as they were now – for eternity.

“You amaze me, little one,” he laughed, as he placed a lingering kiss against her temple.

Abby thought about that night in the bar with a shiver as she realized that the reason for her instant, blinding migraine had been the demon being in the bar and touching her - and she wondered if this pain would only get progressively worse as time went on. That thought was not comforting in the least.

“So this will stop once that stuff is out of me?” She asked, looking up into his face, her eyes reflecting the fear she was feeling.

“I believe so,” he replied honestly, silently praying that he was right.

Abby let out a sigh, her lips turning down in a slight frown. “Let’s hope so. This really sucks. I thought the migraine was bad.”

“What migraine?” Desmond questioned instantly, his face tightening with worry and Abby shrugged.

“That night in the bar,” she explained softly. “When that asshole touched my arm, I just got this horrible headache, like… instantly -but it seemed to ease once I was away from him.”

“He touched you?” Desmond ground out - his blue eyes flashing a luminescent silver with his anger. Just the thought of one of those vile bastards touching her made his body shake with rage.

Abby nodded. “Only my arm, and it was only for a second before I pulled it away - and that was when the migraine hit me.”

Desmond seemed to consider this a moment - his expression troubled. “That was before he cut you,” he mused quietly – almost as if he were merely speaking aloud and Abby watched his face closely – but he was unreadable other than the fact that he didn’t look happy with the news.

“Desmond?” she questioned softly, her heart rate picking up with the look of worry on his face. “It won’t go away - will it?”

He gently kissed her temple again, his breath against her ear as he spoke. “I believe that it will - but you might feel pain if one of those bastards touch you.”

Which was something that he was going to make damned sure
never
happened again, he thought angrily. “Abby, I swear to you – I won’t let that happen. I won’t let anyone near you,” he promised, and her heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly the bedroom door burst open and Marcus stood there. “Is everyone all right?” He bit out - concern clouding his features . “I heard Abby scream. What in God’s name happened?”

“She’s all right,” Desmond answered, pulling her as close to his body as he could while his hands gently stroked her back. Christ, he thought with a shake – he couldn’t get close enough to her. “How many?” he finally asked, his eyes locking with his brother’s over the top of Abby’s head.

A huge grin came to Marcus’s face that Abby couldn’t help but notice made him look like a two hundred pound five year old. “Six.” He proclaimed happily. “The wolves are still chasing the few that are left off of the grounds. But I got two of them,” he boasted proudly, “turned those sons of bitches into ash!”

“Well done, Marcus,” Desmond said softly, his lips skimming across Abby’s hair as he spoke and she closed her eyes, sighing happily as a delightful shiver ran up her spine. She was feeling utterly spent, and the warmth of being in his arms was like a soothing balm to her body. She fought off a yawn as she felt her eyelids growing heavy. She didn’t want to think about Demons and poison and pain anymore – she just wanted to enjoy the feeling of being held in Desmond’s arms. To drift off knowing that she was safe and sound in his arms.

“They’ll think twice about attacking again.”

“Never underestimate the stupidity of a demon, brother,” Desmond replied softly.

“You do have a point there,” she heard Marcus say, laughing. “Those assholes are about as sharp as marbles. Damn, but that was fun! I can see why you…”

“Marcus, why don’t you go downstairs and make sure everything is secure. Abby really needs to rest.”

“Oh, yes… of course,” he agreed, smiling at the sight of his brother holding this tiny woman in his arms so tenderly.

It was a side of Desmond that he had never seen before – and it was a pleasant surprise. One that he didn’t want to intrude on, so he turned and quickly left the room.

Desmond shifted his weight and laid Abby back against the pillows of the bed. Standing, he gently pulled off her boots and socks. His hands went to the button of her jeans and hesitated. When he looked up, her eyes were closed and she seemed to be asleep, so he ever so slowly pulled them off - desperately trying not to dwell on the silky smoothness of her skin - even though a certain part of his anatomy had jumped instantly to life. She was flawless and he had to fight the overwhelming urge to trace his fingers along her exposed thigh to what lay beneath the silk panties that she wore.

He silently cursed himself for his weakness and covered her with the sheet – trying unsuccessfully to swallow the desire raging within him. She was just too damned perfect and every nerve ending in his body was painfully aware of that fact.

“Desmond?” she whispered, her eyes now half open and searching his. He met her gaze and the air around them seemed to crackle and snap with electricity.

“Yes, my pet?”

“Will you….will you stay?” She asked - her voice, barely audible was like a warm breeze against his skin.

“Of course, Abby,” he replied, turning and walking toward the chair beside the fireplace, but her softly spoken plea a moment later, stopped him cold.

“No… Desmond. What I mean is…will you – will you stay
here
with me?” Her voice was low and tentative and he felt a tingling run up his spine and an even more uncomfortable tightening in his pants. Christ, he was already as hard as granite.

He turned and saw that she had lifted the edge of the sheet and a groan formed deep in his chest. There was nothing he wanted more than to lay beside her - to feel her warm skin against his. He knew that he was treading in extremely dangerous waters - but at the moment he couldn’t have cared in the least, the sight of her lying there was just too damned tempting and every part of him demanded to be near her - and it was an order he was either unable or unwilling to disobey. And at the moment, he couldn’t have cared in the least which one it actually was. All rational thought had left him! He walked back over to the bed and kicked off his boots as he removed his shirt. His hand went to the button of his pants, but he stopped - knowing full well that she was looking for comfort -not to be frightened by his raging desire -so instead he left the pants on and stretched out beside her. Covering them both with the sheet he pulled her into the circle of his arms and sighed with contentment as she burrowed herself closer – thinking to himself that this must be what Heaven would be like.

“Thank you,” she whispered - her warm breath blowing softly against the cool flesh at the base of his throat and he swallowed back the moan that wanted to burst from him.

“Believe me, sweetness, it is my pleasure,” he replied thickly. And extreme torture, he silently added with a soft chuckle – not knowing how he was ever going to make it through the night with this goddess in his arms and not have her body beneath his as he drove her to the brink of ecstasy. Christ! This was beyond any torture he could ever endure – and yet it was the sweetest of tortures. Her soft, warm curves fit perfectly against the hard plains of his body – as if she had been molded for this sole purpose and he swallowed again with difficulty, trying desperately to curb his wayward thoughts – but it was proving to be more difficult than he had even imagined.

Abby chewed at her bottom lip as she lay there quietly in Desmond’s arms – every nerve ending in her body tingling at the sweet contact of lying against him. She knew that it was insane to be this close to the vampire, but she found that she just didn’t care.

Whether he felt an obligation to protect her or not - she wanted this man as she had never wanted anyone or anything before. It was a need that gnawed deep within her and refused to be ignored. She knew that he could never care for her the way that she was beginning to care for him - but Holy Hell! She just didn’t give a damn!

She had spent her entire life not wanting to get too close to anyone, yet this man had changed all that in an instant. Even Eric had just been a moment’s lapse of judgment and by the time she had realized that she had had no feelings for him - he had become abusive and frightened her so badly that it took her a long time to get up enough nerve to finally end it. But Desmond was so different from anyone she had ever known. He was kind and considerate – not to mention earth shatteringly sexy. And she found that she wanted to be near him – if for only one night.

She craved his closeness -his touch, as if it were as necessary to her as air, and consequences be damned – she
needed
him! Needed to feel him touch her, kiss her…fill her. With a will of their own - the fingers that rested against his strong, chiseled chest lightly began tracing the steely contours beneath them – tentatively at first but with a growing boldness as Abby lost herself in the incredible feel of him. He was steel covered in velvet and the sensation was indescribable. She drew slow, lazy designs as she ever so lightly began teasing his flat nipple. She felt him shudder slightly as her fingers explored his cool, muscled flesh. My God, she thought in wonder – the man is perfection.

“Abby?” he groaned - his words coming out low and tortured.

She looked up into his face, and was greeted by those sea blue eyes swimming with desire . “Yes?” She whispered – her own voice - low and breathy. The raw need she saw in his expression gave her the courage to go on and her hand continued to stroke his chest, her nails lightly scraping against him – causing another shudder to run up his body.

“For the love of all that is holy - what are you doing?” The question came out in a soft and husky rush that caused her skin to tingle with awareness. Cripes, even his smoky voice was a turn-on.

She smiled shyly as she lifted herself up so that her lips hovered above his and arched her back slightly, pressing her breasts firmly against his chest, her nipples hardening immediately from the sweet contact.

“Actually, I think I might be trying to seduce you.” She stated bluntly, a faint hint of a blush reddening her cheeks. Oh, please she silently prayed, don’t let him see it. She bit back the embarrassment she felt and smiled at him, her eyes glassy with want. Had she
ever
needed anyone so badly?

She thought about it only a moment before she realized that she hadn’t. This was a desperate, primal need that she never would have even thought possible before meeting Desmond. Good God, it was like a force of nature and she was helpless to stop it.

Desmond groaned from the very core of his being. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before in his entire existence, and now, here she was -offering herself to him in her open, innocent way, and he found that the desire that had been building inside of him since the moment he first set eyes on her exploded in a burst of unbridled longing and he knew in that moment that he didn’t have the strength to fight it any longer – no matter what he tried to tell himself. This woman broke every bit of resistance and willpower that he possessed as no one ever had before. She was pure and beautiful – and God help him, he needed her.

As he had rested, he had promised himself to distance himself from her, to concentrate on protecting her and only that- but from the moment he had walked into the room, he had had the undeniable urge to go to her - to touch her. He had needed to be close to her much too badly – to inhale her scent, to feel her exquisite silken skin beneath his fingers.

And when she had screamed in pain, it was as if his very soul were being ripped apart, and he realized that she was already much too important to him. Whatever this pull was between them, he couldn’t deny it. Not for a moment longer - it was just too damned strong.

In a flash that was all vampire - he flipped her over onto her back, his body resting above hers as he stared into her eyes. “Abby, are you certain?” He asked, knowing full well that he was beyond the point of no return. His body was throbbing with the need to take her and a part of him worried that he wouldn’t be able to hold back once he slid inside her warmth and a shiver of raw desire ran through him.

She gently cupped his face in her hands and smiled, wriggling her body to press against his steely length-her eyes holding his, and he felt her heat – her arousal.

“Holy Hell,” he ground out, right before his lips took hers with a desperate urgent need to possess.

Abby felt a charge of something that felt a whole hell of a lot like electricity race through her body as Desmond’s skilled tongue ravaged her mouth - and it was the most amazing sensation she had ever experienced. He kissed her with a hunger that matched her own -his tongue exploring and teasing with a desperation that caused her to moan her need as her tongue followed his hungrily – teasing and tasting his with total abandon.