Wicked Fantasy by Nina Bangs

horrified squeak.
    Conall paused for effect. “And it doesn’t grow back.” Then he softened it with an encouraging smile. “It’s not all bad, though. The spores have little pink flowers. Pretty. The castle takes complete responsibility, of course.”
    The vamp slapped a protective hand over the area in question.
    Conall hoped to God the guy didn’t have a spray to make cocks grow back. He put on his really concerned expression. “You just checked in tonight, so unless you ran around naked, you’re probably okay. I’ll move you to another room so we can kill any spores still in there.”
    Conall leaned against the doorjamb as the vamp rushed back into his room and started throwing clothes into his suitcase. Within minutes he was out in the hallway again.
    Conall didn’t have to bother settling the guy into a new room, though, because once in the hallway, the vamp kept on going. He raced up the stairs, and before Conall could even remind him to check out, he was gone. Oh well. Maybe he wouldn’t mention this to Holgarth. Conall transferred what he needed from his old space. Then he tried to relax with his football game.
    A short time later he gave up on the game. He couldn’t keep his thoughts from the damn Kavanagh next door—without her jeans, without her top, with only that luscious bare body pressing against his . . . He let his head fall back against the couch and closed his eyes. Hell.
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    How do I hunger? Let me count the ways. What do you know, her poetry class in college hadn’t been wasted. Gerry spent two hours just sitting on her bed trying to come to terms with Conall O’Rourke. What would she do with him?
    Fine, so she knew what she’d like to do with him. She wanted that muscular chest bared so she could skim her fingers across his nipples, slide her palm over smooth warm male flesh, and slip her hand beneath the edge of his pants to discover . . . Uh-uh, couldn’t and wouldn’t go there.
    Better to concentrate on the other hunger. She’d perfected the sip-and-run technique. She’d sidle up to her pick on the menu—always a great-looking guy; if you were going to dine, dine well—lean into his neck, and bite.
    Gerry didn’t recall too much about the vampire who’d made her, but thank heavens she’d evidently inherited his ability to wipe away a human’s memory of any neck nips just by the act of biting. It must be a chemical in her saliva or something. A big, fat yuck, but it came in handy. Besides, it was sort of cool to have a forget-me power.
    And because she still had the whole human conscience thing going on, she only fed a little from each person. Ergo, she had to hit an appetizer, entrée, and dessert before she was satisfied. At least she didn’t have to feed every night anymore. Twice a week kept her happy. Maybe as she grew older, she could stretch it to once a week. A vampire could hope.
    Sighing, she gave in to her need and headed for the door. Too bad she had to stay near Jinx. That meant she’d have to feed from several someones in Live the Fantasy. She was lucky the park stayed open all night. There would still be people around.
    Once in the hallway, she hurried toward the stairs and light. Sure, with her enhanced senses she could see a lot better than when she’d been human, but dark was still dark. As a child, she’d pulled the covers over her head to escape the ghosts, goblins, and ghouls who came out to play at night. She’d chosen to believe the monsters couldn’t yank off the blankets to get to her. Now, even as a bona fide night-scary herself, she feared the darkness. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
    Gerry was so intent on reaching the stairs she almost didn’t hear the footsteps behind her. She whirled just in time to see Conall grab Jinx by his shirt and lift him into the air, where he dangled helplessly. Jinx still gripped the lamp base he’d hoped to