Eternal Damnation Read online

  Perhaps Nikolai played cat and mouse? Maybe he still desired Zanna and waited to make his bid for her.

  Too many unanswered questions teased him. He preferred to know his enemies as well as his friends. By now he should know Nikolai well, but the man was an enigma, rarely logical.

  Enemies and friends… Just which category did Zanna fall into?

  Judging by her hostility last time they were together, there was no friendship.

  Not that they had ever been just friends. Nor was friendship his heart’s desire. But it would serve his clan’s purpose--for now.

  He slipped stealthily into the recesses of her dream, needing to be sure they were alone. Nor did he wish to alarm her. He had to see which way her dream was heading so he could infiltrate logically. Then he could manipulate it.

  He was shocked to find a shadowy version of himself making sweet, passionate love to her. Obviously she didn’t consider him a total monster--or vile enemy.

  Quivering lust pushed his shock aside as his shadowy double licked and nibbled his way down her trembling body. Bathed in starlight, her delectable form shimmered, whetting his carnal desires.

  His cock flexed as heat surged through him. He tried to hold onto the thought that he wasn’t here to pleasure himself or even to romance her, except when it served the greater good of his mission.

  But he was first and foremost a man. Then a vampire. And finally captain of his vessel and king of his people. Carnal lust was winning out.

  Zanna was a forever fever in his blood that raged out of control. The only way to satiate it momentarily was to let it rage out of control until only smoldering embers remained.

  He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t wage war until he satisfied his base desires. Plus, he reasoned, that he would be softening her heart toward himself and his clan if he made her fall in love with him again, or at least fulfilled her every womanly need.

  He’d just have to make the grand sacrifice and give himself to her.

  Jumping into the shadowy image, he replaced it, reveling in Zanna’s sweet embrace. He swept his tongue down the sinewy column of her throat, savoring her heavenly flavors. "Don’t tell me you don’t remember us, Tanya," he murmured against the luscious globe of her pert breasts.

  He slanted a glance upward to meet her burning gaze as he traveled to her beaded, beckoning nipple. His thumb caressed the twin nipple that arched to his touch.

  "I’m Zanna," the strong-willed wench said, tensing. But she relaxed so quickly, he had to have imagined the tension.

  "Zanna," he murmured around her nipple. Tanya, Zanna, or whatever she called herself in this dispensation, didn’t change her essence. She was still the same soul, his lifemate, and he intended to reclaim her. They shared a timeless love that couldn’t be denied. Soon enough, she’d realize that and cleave unto him.

  But the sooner the better….

  Not just for their sakes, but for the good of the world. Only if she trusted him could he and his family help her people.

  Altruism fled when she quivered intoxicatingly against him and slid her warm fingers around his cock squeezing gently. His need pressed heavily eliciting a growl from deep within. "You’re playing with fire."

  "And you aren’t?" Her heavily lidded gaze laughed down at him. She thrust her breast deeper into his mouth as she wrapped her fingers more securely around his girth. Not breaking her sultry gaze, she licked her lips slowly, seductively. "Fire fascinates me."

  As well he remembered. The old flirty, sensual Tanya was emerging, thrilling him. She had been a wildcat in bed and the lion in him was ready to roar. He was ready to spontaneously combust.

  He responded by sucking her breast deep into his mouth and swirling his tongue around her burgeoning nipple. Groaning against her, he gathered her more securely into his arms, against his heart where she belonged for eternity.

  If only he could ensure her place there….

  There was a way….

  But she might never forgive him if he turned her vampire without her blessing. He’d merely cement her assertion of their danger to mankind and her compatriots would never trust them.

  The luscious blood pounding through her veins tormented him, making him ravenous. His gums tingled where his fangs longed to push through, but he held them back with every ounce of his will. If only she’d let him drink of her blood again, their lovemaking could be that much sweeter and so very much deeper. But the last thing he wanted to do was to frighten her and drive her away.

  But this was a dream and thus far, she didn’t seem as lucid as the last time he’d infiltrated this astral realm. Perhaps he could seduce her into permitting him the lusty pleasure, into intensifying her delight a thousand-fold. The symbiotic relationship would not only benefit him, but she would end up being the benefactress by far.

  Sliding upward against her silken, naked flesh, her pounding pulse called to him. Her body molded to his perfectly, and his cock nestled between her legs, against her heady nest.

  He was about to explode at both ends, but chose to prolong their pleasure, to draw out the excruciating torment until neither one of them could hold back any longer. Extending his tongue, he lapped at her pounding pulse, her scent invigorating him. Rich iron corpuscles lay just beneath the surface of her translucent flesh, driving him to the brink of insanity. If he didn’t taste of her again very soon, he would surely go mad.

  "You taste so sweet, dearest one." Her fingertips danced along the delicate vein that teased and tempted so unmercifully as he gazed at it ravenously.

  Surprising him, she turned her face into his and swept her tongue along his cheek to the corner of his ear and bathed it. "As do you," she whispered huskily against his sensitive lobe. Her body quivered beneath his, and she spread her legs just wide enough so that his cock dipped between them invitingly.

  The siren tempted him sorely, driving coherent thought from his mind until he was one quivering mass of need. No man could resist such a sweet, hot pussy. No vampire could resist such feverish, pounding blood a mere bite away. She was a tasty morsel, and he had an uncontrollable sweet tooth.

  This time, he didn’t deny either need, but let his fangs burst through his gums. He coated his chosen place with his saliva and slid his fangs reverently into the delicate flesh of her throat as he spread her legs wider and sheathed his cock with her wet cavern.

  Zanna groaned and writhed deliciously, but didn’t struggle. "I won’t become a vampire, will I?"

  "Not from a dream." Not in real life either, unless she drank of another’s blood. The act of becoming a vampire had to be the individual’s choice--at least the way Dmitri’s clan worked. If the humans truly understood that, they’d have nothing to fear--from them.

  The Carpathians were a far different matter.

  "So I only have to fear you in real life?" She arched against him, her lids fluttering.

  Primitive growls arose in his throat. "You have nothing to fear from me--or my family--ever, awake or asleep. Only you can decide to become a vampire. You’d have to take the step of your own free will."

  She pulled back a tad, her heavily-lidded gaze steady on him. "Why would anyone choose to be a vampire? I don’t understand."

  With a sigh, he pulled back and leaned on his elbow, facing her, missing her warmth. "Many are lured by eternal life…."

  "Eternal death, you mean."

  He ignored her jibe and continued, "Some are thrilled by the dark powers. And others," he traced a beguiling finger from the tip of one breast to the other, "long to be united with their lifemate, forever."

  She gulped and her eyes widened fractionally before she veiled her gaze.

  "Why did you become a vampire? What lured you?"

  He looked back in time, cursing his foolish youth. "I was wild, a danger-seeker. It seemed thrilling."

  "Not a lady love?" Her lush lashes veiled her eyes from his probing gaze.

  With a sigh, he scooted higher and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand and forced h
er to meet his gaze. He drew a finger below her firm but delicate cheek. "As I told you, you are my lifemate. My only lifemate."

  The tip of her pink tongue swept over her tempting lips, mesmerizing him.

  "How many lifemates can vampires have? Aren’t you a polygamous species?"

  He raised a brow. Species? As in animal?

  Quelling the flicker of irritation that threatened to flame to life, he traced those luscious lips with his. Although his species was polygamous, he only desired one woman. The one who lay so beautifully in his arms. "You’re my only lifemate. There’s no one else for me."

  Her eyes widened for an instant. "How utterly charming."

  He wasn’t sure if sarcasm laced her words. This Tanya--no Zanna--was a tough warrior. ‘Charming’ was probably an insult. But he chose to ignore it.

  He gathered her close. "Special. Precious. Timeless." He punctuated each word with a kiss.

  She softened, curling closer against him, practically purring. A radiant smile dawned over her face. "If this is just a dream, why would you want to feast on me? My blood?"

  Was there a difference?

  "What is a dream but an enchanted fantasy? It’s a safe place to live out our most treasured desires, to be our most wanton."

  She slid a sly glance at him and then tilted her head. "But you’re a vampire. You can live out your desires any time you wish…."

  Such false conceptions! "If you think that, you must live in a fantasy." She should deal with vampire politics for a day, dealing with the insatiable bloodlust, jealousies, and power struggles. The president of the Confederated Planet certainly had far fewer worries.

  She shifted sensually beneath him and his tensions were drowned by tidal waves of lust.

  "You surprise me again, vampire. A poetic soul dwells in you."

  He gazed deeply into her exquisitely expressive, passionate eyes and snatched at the opening. "Poet, maybe. Soul, definitely."

  She held his gaze unblinkingly and traced her swollen lips with the tip of her tongue. "I didn’t mean that exactly…."

  "I did." His heart pounding furiously, he sucked her teasing tongue deeply into his mouth, much preferring to tango with it than words. He could handle her combative nature in this reincarnation but he chose to do so physically. Very physically.

  Her blood pounding furiously in his ears, her scent super fragrant in his nostrils, coherent thought eluded him. Chaotic emotions battered him from every angle, more deadly exhilarating than enemy fire. Growls rising up from the deepest essence of his being, he devoured her ravenously.

  Synchronizing his thrusts, he sank his fangs deep into her luscious throat as he buried his throbbing cock into her raging inferno. As her sweet blood poured into his mouth, nourishing him, she arched her neck, quivering wantonly against him.

  Gloving his cock firmly, she provided the perfect sheath, well worth the agonizing centuries of waiting he’d endured. No other woman compared. No other could enflame his desire or satisfy his incredible needs.

  Her breathing heavy, she gasped as he drank deeper of her. "This is beyond sex, the heavens, the…."

  Unable to resist planting the seed in her mind as he wished to plant the seed of his child deep within her womb, he pulled his fangs from her throat. Alarmed when her life’s blood continued to spurt, he licked the wound reverently, sealing it with his saliva. He’d drank his fill for the night and would be guilty of gluttony if he continued feasting, scrumptious as she was. He didn’t want to risk hurting her by his actions. "Love, darlin’."

  He gathered her closer, heart to heart, so that she could feel the erratic beat for which she alone was responsible. "See what you do to me?"

  Heavily-lidded, her gaze was seductive. She nodded and burrowed closer still, milking his cock greedily.

  "You still feel emotion after death?" she asked huskily, raking her fingernails down his back with exquisite torture, drawing blood.

  Licking and nipping his way up her intoxicating body, he murmured against her tasty flesh caressing her beautifully pert breasts. "One-hundred fold. Death is a relative term. I’m obviously not dead, but rather reborn."

  He expected another rebuke from his feisty lover, but was pleased when she dragged his head to hers and captured his lips in a long, searing kiss as she pounded her hips against his frantically. Not one to disappoint his lady, he parried her thrusts, penetrating impossibly deep, leaving no doubt they were one. When she broke the kiss, he murmured against her lips, "Our love’s eternal, and I’ll do everything in my power to prove it to you."

  A small sad smile played upon her lips and she cupped his cheeks against her palms. "If only reality was as perfect as dreams. But dreams don’t last. I can’t stay asleep forever much as I’d give anything to stay in your arms like this."

  Love coursed through him for the emerging Tanya he’d cherished so very long. With every spare ounce of self-control left, he reigned in his release so that he could carry her to the heights of bliss with him. He could take no pleasure without her by his side in everything.

  Sliding, his hand between their sweat-slick bodies, he stroked her clit until she quivered uncontrollably, screaming for mercy.

  Flinging back his head, he roared victoriously, their voices mingling. His seed blazed forth, filling her, seeking its sacred way to her womb.

  This woman, their progeny, was predestined and in fact, long over-due. This time, she and their child would live even if it meant the sacrifice of his own life.

  When her spasms finally subsided, she clenched his cock playfully. With a wickedly intriguing grin, she ran her fingertips over her neck wound. "It’s a good thing this is only a dream."

  He shielded his gaze lest she read the truth in his eyes that their mating was so much more real than a mere dream. He didn’t want to scare her away just as she was opening up to him again.

  "Why is it a good thing?" He played along expecting a reference to his feasting on her blood jeopardizing her immortal soul. His blood heating up again, fascinated by her elongated nipples, he rubbed one between his fingers. He covered her hand at the base of her throat with his other hand, preparing to assure her she would not become vampire until and unless she desired it—-at least not by his hands.

  Of course that was his dearest self-serving wish, more dearly beheld than even that of returning permanently home to Earth.

  Her grin turned more impish, fascinating for a soul who professed to be so very angelic. "You’ve already set my mind at ease about that--for the dreams anyway. I meant because we’re not using any birth control."

  Relief flooded him, but not in the way he knew she suspected. In a few hundred years he wouldn’t have been surprised if human females were on permanent birth control which had to be deactivated willingly to permit impregnation.

  But it suited his purposes to keep his counsel for now so he merely smiled and nodded. She could assume what she wished.

  Then he kicked himself. He’d lose his head in the whirlwind of passion, unable to resist her call. Didn’t he plan to use her as bait to catch Nikolai off-guard?

  Stupid! Incredibly, unutterably stupid!

  Now he not only wagered her life but most probably that of their unborn child. There had to be another way to save their peoples against the Carpathian threat.

  Suddenly, he understood what heart breaking choices the God of all gods had made, sacrificing his son. That’s why He was the Supreme Being on high and why he himself was not even so much as mortal any longer.

  The similarities and disparities boggled his mind, the obscurities far too deep for a mere vampire to fathom.

  Overwhelmed, furious at himself, he pulled away from Zanna, immediately missing her softness curled around him.

  A frown marred her glistening forehead where damp tendrils of her silky hair still clung. Reaching out a hesitant hand to him, she asked, "What just happened? What’s wrong?"

  What could he say A deadly miscalculation? A serious lapse in judgment? Sheer idiocy? That
he held back a serious omission?

  Maybe he was the ogre she’d accused him of being.

  Disappointed in himself, no new solution on the horizon, he blinked away.

  Chapter Five

  Beautiful monuments exploded in brilliant flashes of light, almost blinding Zanna. Fireballs shot high into the atmosphere, igniting the historical section of New York City, a treasure that could never be restored. At least few civilians inhabited this area, but the loss remained insurmountable.

  A chunk of flying debris decimated one of Earth’s Class-A starships directly in front of her small fighter ship, and she had to bank hard to avoid a similar fate. Kicking up the speed, she high-tailed it out of the dangerous zone, and punched the com button and shouted into it, "Retreat! Repeat, retreat. Meet at the rendezvous place."

  As she piloted toward their home base, she reported into the Admirable. "Status report. The vampires just destroyed the museum section. There are casualties, although we don’t have an estimated count yet. Have the marauders demanded terms?"

  Her mother’s voice warbled dispiritedly through the com link as Zanna approached command headquarters. "They demand total surrender. We join their legions, accept them as our rulers, and bow to them."

  Preposterous!

  Zanna sucked in a deep breath, her lungs ready to burst. She dreaded those two words tripping off her mother’s lips but fully expected to hear them. "And if we don’t surrender?"

  "They’ll destroy our planet and preserve any survivors in their cryogenics chamber for future…."

  She didn’t have to finish her sentence for Zanna to grow queasy. She balled her hand into a fist and struck the console. "Swine. What kind of choice is that? Either way they plan to feed on us. I hope you told them where to shove their demands."

  "We turned down their offer, if that’s what you mean."