A Vampire's Honor Read online

  “You came for me,” I whispered in a voice I barely recognized as my own.

  There was a rumble in Gabriel’s chest. One that quickly changed to a sexually charged roar as he pulled me to him. He was hard, and I could feel the wave of lust that enveloped me as he answered in the best way he knew how. The only way he knew how. He kissed me.

  I grabbed a handful of thick, white hair as his mouth covered mine. I had never been kissed like this before. Not by Gabriel, not by anyone. It was a kiss that had me drowning in a sea of possession. It said he was claiming me as his own, branding me as belonging to him, and he didn’t give a damn who knew it. It was pure alpha male, and I had no doubt that if he could have found a way to tattoo his name on my tongue with his, he would have done so.

  Also by Carla Susan Smith

  A Vampire’s Promise

  A Vampire’s Soul

  A Vampire’s Honor

  Carla Susan Smith

  LYRICAL PRESS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Also by Carla Susan Smith

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  A VAMPIRE’S HUNGER

  TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  LYRICAL PRESS BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2016 by Carla Susan Smith

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Lyrical Press and Lyrical Press logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  First Electronic Edition: September 2016

  ISBN: 978-1-6018-3958-9

  eISBN-10: 1-60183-958-8

  ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-959-6

  ISBN-10: 1-60183-959-6

  Acknowledgments

  No book is ever truly the result of a single effort. While the original concept may have been mine, getting the story to the finish line would not have been possible without the help from some very special people:

  To my husband Jack whose belief in me has never wavered.

  To Joe and Cayden for just being who you are.

  To Ruth Guillot who is my first reader, and who came up with the title A Vampire’s Honor—much better than my Book Number Three.

  To Lynne Harter for having the patience to correct all my mistakes and share the most amazing nuggets of information along the way (loved learning about blended and single malt scotch!).

  To Liz O’Connor, my friend and fellow author, for allowing me to vent when necessary and for offering encouragement when needed. Only another author truly understands.

  And last but not least, to Alicia Condon and all the wonderful people at Kensington who continue to keep me on this crazy roller-coaster ride.

  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

  Chapter 1

  The real estate woman was flirting with Gabriel . . . and really starting to piss me off. Even though I knew women were going to come on to him, it wasn’t always easy to accept. Or watch. I’ve often wondered if they’d be just as enthusiastic if they knew he was a vampire. Honestly? I don’t think it would make the slightest difference. I’ve seen little old ladies throw out the most amazing innuendoes when he’s helped them to a seat, and little girls play peek-a-boo from behind their mother’s skirts because he smiled at them. I have no problem with old ladies and little girls. It’s the ages in between.

  I realize that much sex appeal is going to arouse any healthy libido, so I do my best to ignore the suggestive glances, fluttering lashes, and breathy voices. Especially as I know the interest is never going to be reciprocated. I can even turn a blind eye to the occasional oops-I-didn’t-really-mean-to-press-my-boobs-against-you contact, because when that happens—and it has—Gabriel uses the moment to demonstrate that he’s with me. Usually with his tongue in my mouth. But every now and then there’s a woman who views his affection for me as some sort of unspoken challenge. And Claudia Benton—Exclusive Properties was such a woman.

  I stood at one of the apartment’s large picture windows, pretending to be mesmerized by the view of nighttime Greenley Heights. The city’s neon splendor sparkled like a Christmas tree, but I was too busy surreptitiously observing my would-be antagonist to give it more than passing notice. Busy pointing out the features of the kitchen’s built-in wine cooler, Claudia Benton was hanging on Gabriel’s every word. He said something I didn’t quite catch, but it made Ms. Benton laugh, and I watched as she put her hand on his muscular forearm, keeping it there far longer than a real estate agent should. Even if she did want to make her commission.

  “Oh please, you must call me Claudia,” she said, looking up at him. “I feel like we’re such good friends already.”

  She pronounced her name Cloud-ia, which struck me as somewhat pretentious, but she could call herself Ophelia, Queen of the Outhouse, for all I cared. I knew the first-name invitation didn’t include me.

  Narrowing my eyes, I took her in from head to toe. If I had to guess, I’d put her in her early thirties. Her dark suit was tailored and looked expensive, as did her high heels. The blond hair may or may not have come from a bottle. Unless I could see roots, I couldn’t tell for sure. And she wore no wedding ring.

  Having exhausted the finer points of the wine cooler, Cloud-ia was extolling the virtues of the kitchen’s other appliances when she suddenly stumbled, managing to save herself from kissing the hardwood floor only by grabbing the arm she’d just been caressing. Apparently flustered by her clumsiness, she apologized and thanked Gabriel for his gallantry.

  I was fully prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes a stumble is just that, and she did seem embarrassed by her clumsiness. But then she glanced over at me, and the smile on her face told a different story. It was a sly, malicious smile. One that said if she tried a little harder, she could make Gabriel look her way, and once she had him looking, who knows what else he might want to do?

  It was absolute crap, of course. She stood no chance of persuading him to sample what she was offering, but she didn’t know that. Vampires, once they make a commitment, don’t cheat. At least not while the object of their affection is still able to draw breath. And as one of the most possessive creatures ever, a vampire’s focus becomes a problem only if those feelings aren’t reciprocated. Gabriel and I had no worries in that regard. The proof of our devotion to each other had sent a tremor through the Dark Realm that blew the lid off the Richter scale.

  But even if all of this was kno
wn to my wannabe rival, I suspect it would have simply made her more determined. Some women think they’re irresistible. My inner bitch, who hadn’t had much to harangue me about recently, now tapped my mental shoulder. You gonna let her get away with that?

  No fucking way.

  “Ms. Benton.” I’d stab myself in the eye with a pencil before I called her by her first name, no matter how she pronounced it. “Would you mind showing me the bathroom?” I asked.

  “But you’ve already seen it, dear,” she replied in a condescending tone.

  “Yes, I know, but if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to see it again. There’s something I need to check out.”

  “Oh?” The lift of her brow was as condescending as her smile. “And what might that be?”

  “Counter height.” If my smile was any sweeter, I’d give myself a cavity, but as I passed Gabriel, I made sure my fingers brushed the back of his hand, causing a spark to flash in his neon-blue eyes.

  There was a pleasing warmth about the bathroom, even if the décor reflected the taste of a strong male presence. Tile that looked like bricks covered the walls and floor in a color palette ranging from beach sand to a dark, coppery red. An old-fashioned claw-foot tub with curved sides took up a good amount of space, but there was enough left over for a spacious, modern shower with a glass door. The toilet was hidden behind a discreet half wall, and a double-sink vanity completed the necessary appointments. I stared at the space between the two sinks. It certainly looked like it would be adequate.

  “I never thought of the shower as being small . . . until now,” Ms. Benton murmured, her eyes glazing over as she gave Gabriel’s wide shoulders a lingering look. I could just imagine what was going on inside her head and decided I’d had enough. Standing next to the open bathroom door, I put one hand on my hip and gripped the doorknob with the other. “Ms. Benton, would you give us a moment, please?” I really wish I could have seen her expression when she heard the lock engage.

  I turned and reached for Gabriel, my fingers slipping inside the waistband of his jeans as I pulled him to me. I saw a glimpse of white as his mouth covered mine. He’d dropped his fangs, and a tremor of anticipated pleasure ran down my spine as my tongue slid between them.

  When Gabriel makes love to me, that’s exactly what he does. He takes my body on a long, sexy thrill ride, stopping at every erogenous zone to ignite a fire that burns white hot inside me. Radiating a sensuality that threatens to steal the breath from my body, he electrifies every nerve ending I possess until my need to feel him moving inside me eclipses everything else. It is without a doubt the most glorious carnal experience I could ever hope to have.

  But then there are other times when a girl just wants to be fucked . . . and this was one of those times.

  I quickly unbuckled his belt, slipping free the button on his jeans, and had the metal tab of the zipper between my finger and thumb when his hand grasped my wrist lightly.

  “Careful,” he murmured, his lips next to my ear.

  He was fully erect, and I could feel the hard length of him pushing back against my hand through the heavy denim, but his warning was not without merit. It would be too awful if, in my eagerness, metal teeth caught something they shouldn’t. Especially as there was nothing between skin and zipper.

  I opened his fly, and his cock practically leaped into my hand. My fingers wrapped around him, my palm sliding up and down his thick shaft, pausing only so my thumb could graze across the dimple in the head. Gabriel shuddered, his muscular thighs responding to my touch. To be able to produce this reaction in him was an aphrodisiac all by itself.

  As I continued to stroke him, I yanked his shirt free of his jeans, and slid my hand up his back, my nails scraping across his skin. The growl that emanated from deep in his chest vibrated off the tiled walls. He tilted my head back and ran his tongue across my collar bone and up my neck. Reaching my mouth, he kissed me. It was a long, lingering kiss that guaranteed I would leave the bathroom looking like I’d been schooled by someone who definitely knew how to use his tongue to do more than talk.

  Gabriel tugged at my skirt, sliding it up past my hips. His hand went between my legs, and the growl in his throat became deeper as his fingers stroked the inside of my thigh. I trembled and let go of his cock, my hand clutching his upper arms and pulling him closer. He looked down at me and smiled knowingly, and I felt his clever fingers push aside the silky fabric of my panties and slip inside me.

  I was ready for him, and the pressure of his fingers made my muscles clench. I was at a loss to describe the sound that escaped me as I arched my back and ground myself against the heel of his hand, but the smile on Gabriel’s face was one of pure satisfaction. Withdrawing his fingers, he pulled down my panties. I kicked off my shoes so I wouldn’t catch my heel on the flimsy fabric. A scrap of scarlet silk lay on the floor as Gabriel gently muscled me back to the section of countertop separating the two sinks. His hands on my waist, he boosted me up and set me down on the marble. It felt deliciously cool against my bare ass.

  I gasped and clutched the front of Gabriel’s shirt as he pushed himself inside me. No matter how prepared I think I am, my body always seems shocked to feel him filling me. Now he cupped a foot in each hand, drawing my knees up, and began to move his hips slowly back. I dropped my gaze and watched as he slowly withdrew. His cock was engorged and glistening, the thick length coated with my silk. He stopped when he was almost completely out, and I raised my eyes back to his. Watching my reaction is always a big turn-on for him. I licked my lips and scraped my teeth over my lower lip and saw the pulse at the base of his throat quicken. I could feel the accelerated beat of his heart beneath the hand I held against his chest. He drew in a ragged breath and dropped his fangs. Heat raced through me as the neon blue of his eyes began to bleed into the surrounding sclera.

  I let go of the countertop and moved my hand to the back of Gabriel’s neck, curling my fingers and pricking him with my nails. He smiled and thrust himself back inside me. With each rhythmic drive I clenched my muscles, taking him in deeper, pushing him closer to his orgasm until a jolting spasm at the base of his spine told me to let go and blur my climax with his. He emptied himself inside me with a violent tremor that shook both of us.

  “That,” Gabriel said, his voice a husky whisper as he tried to catch his breath, “was . . . very . . . intense.” He smiled down at me and smoothed a wayward curl from my cheek. “You should get jealous a little more often.”

  “You think I was jealous?” I asked, pretending indifference.

  “I know you were. I could feel it.” He brushed his lips against mine. “And I want you to know how much I approve of your method of dealing with it.”

  Reaching above my head, he took a washcloth from the towel rack and quickly cleaned both of us before gently pulling my skirt back down and setting me on my feet.

  “Um, where are my panties?” I asked, checking out the floor.

  Gabriel opened his hand, revealing red silk. I reached for it, but he quickly pushed the fabric in the front pocket of his jeans. “I think I’ll keep them for the time being,” he said, his mouth curling into a sly grin. “Just in case you decide not to get jealous again.”

  “Is that really how I look to you?” Being bare-assed inside my skirt was making me feel deliciously shameless.

  “No,” Gabriel admitted. “You look like a woman who just got exactly what she wanted.”

  Chapter 2

  By the time I walked out of the bathroom, Gabriel was gently ushering a mildly protesting Claudia Benton through the front door. I caught a glimpse of her face, and the expression she wore was not going to get her nominated for Realtor of the Year. It occurred to me that perhaps she was worried about losing her commission. Oh well, the bitch should’ve thought about that before trying to put the moves on my man.

  “She had another appointment,” Gabriel told me, seeing the questioning look on my face. “I told her we’d lock up.” Another appointment this close to mi
dnight? Yeah, right, of course she did. Still, I knew better than to say anything. “I think I saw a decent bottle of wine in the cooler,” Gabriel said. “Would you like some?”

  “That would be nice,” I said with a smile. “I seem to have worked up quite a thirst.”

  I know next to nothing about wine, and Gabriel’s efforts to educate me on the subject have not been a stellar success. He took me to a nighttime tasting event at some posh winery, only by the time I realized the operative word was tasting and not swallowing, it was too late. A half-dozen glasses, all on an empty stomach, and I was the life of the party. Who knew fermented grape juice could be so intoxicating? Or so sneaky. I was in the middle of a perfectly wonderful conversation with a very nice gray-haired man who was a professor of something at a college somewhere, when the next mouthful of Cabernet du Plonk had me slurring my words and sliding off the bar stool. According to the general consensus, I was the most delightful drunk they’d had at this particular winery in years. Something my lover made certain he shared with me once my head stopped spinning. But now I knew better. Accepting the glass of wine, I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the oversized couch, tucking one leg under me.

  “So what do you think?” Gabriel asked, taking up his own sizable amount of space at the other end of the couch.

  “About what?”

  “The apartment.” He made an expansive sweep with the hand that wasn’t holding his wineglass. “Do you like it?”

  To be honest, I hadn’t really paid that much attention to it. I’d been too busy letting myself get annoyed by Ms. I-really-wanna-get-in-your-pants realtor, but as she was no longer an issue, I viewed my surroundings with a new perspective. Something about the way Gabriel was looking at me set a red flag waving in my head.