Harkers journey, p.1
Harker's Journey, page 1
Cover
Harker’s Journey
From the first moment Johanna Harker read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, her life changed forever. The book unleashed an obsession with vampires that was all the more compelling for the intensely erotic dreams that filled her nights. It wasn’t long before she was consumed with thoughts of the dark creature who returned to ravish her in her dreams again and again.
Abandoning any hope of finding a flesh-and-blood man who can fulfill her, Johanna resigns herself to pouring all her energies into her demanding job by day and her enthralling fantasies by night. But when her job takes her to the fabled Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania to meet her company’s largest client, she’s suddenly overcome by the thrilling sensual promise of the secretive and demanding Cristofor Dalakis, the very man who’s been haunting her dreams.
But Cristofor, the enigmatic and formidable patriarch of the Dalakis family, is harboring a dark family secret and makes it clear he will use his every skill to seduce and possess Johanna. And as Johanna realizes that her every fantasy may come true, she also makes the haunting discovery that it may come at a terrible price.
Title Page
Copyright
Beyond the Page Books
are published by
Beyond the Page Publishing
www.beyondthepagepub.com
Copyright © 2005 by N. J. Walters.
Cover design and illustration by Dar Albert, Wicked Smart Designs.
ISBN: 978-1-946069-20-7
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of both the copyright holder and the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Books by N. J. Walters
About the Author
Prologue
Johanna Harker’s life changed the moment her college roommate gave her a copy of the classic novel by Bram Stoker. It was the day before her nineteenth birthday.
“Maybe you’re a bloodsucking vampire,” her friend joked after giving her the early birthday present. “I mean, didn’t one of the main characters have the last name Harker like you? Maybe you’re a relative?”
Johanna ignored her friend’s teasing and immediately started reading the book, captivated by the story of the powerful and alluring Count Dracula. She read between classes the next day, devouring a page here and there, before finally settling in that night to finish the tale. It was late when she set the book down on her desk and climbed into bed.
Her roommate was spending the night with her boyfriend, leaving Johanna alone. Her college dorm room was shrouded in darkness, lit only by the ambient glow of the streetlamp that poured through the open window.
She thought about vampires. They weren’t real, but it was fascinating and downright scary to imagine what the world would be like if they truly did exist. Would they be evil? Would they be reclusive? Or would they just be misunderstood?
She absently rubbed at an ache in her chest before she closed her eyes and imagined the perfect vampire, one more in keeping with her romantic heart. He wouldn’t be evil or deceptive, but brave and heroic. He’d be tall and handsome, and like some dark avenging angel, he’d swoop into her life and change it completely.
The open blinds fluttered in the slight breeze. Johanna laughed at her flight of fancy, rolled over in bed and gazed out at the night. She knew the moon was full, but it wasn’t visible from her small dorm window.
One second she was alone, and the next, he was there, standing in the shadows at the end of the bed, just as she’d imagined him. A sense of wonder filled her, obliterating all thoughts of fear. Even though she knew she’d never set eyes on him before, it felt as though she’d been waiting for him her entire life.
He advanced toward her, his movements fluid and graceful. Striking and dangerous were the two words that popped into her head. He was dressed entirely in black, and his great height and massive shoulders almost immediately blocked out the light seeping in through the window. As if sensing her need to see him better, he turned slightly so she could make out his features.
Long dark hair swept back from his face and fell in a curtain of silk around his shoulders. His forehead was prominent, and his cheekbones were high. Quirked in a half smile, his lips were thin, yet surprisingly sensual. For a moment, his eyes seemed to glow an eerie red before fading to dark once again. As much as she strained, she could not make out their color.
“Green.” His deep, slightly accented voice answered her unasked question.
She felt his voice, for it seemed to vibrate deep inside her, causing her to yearn for something she’d never had before. What that craving was, she wasn’t sure, but she longed to hear him speak again.
“Sit, please.” Johanna scooted over to the center of her small bed and patted the duvet next to her.
A satisfied smile crossed his face as he sat on the edge of the mattress. He said nothing and remained still. Predator. The word flashed in her head, and a deep primal fear rose within her as her heart began to pound in her chest.
The stranger’s dark laughter filled the air, and one of his large hands covered her fluttering heart. The heat from his palm seared her chest. She wanted to move but was paralyzed by fear. His green-eyed gaze captured hers and she could not tear herself away from their terrible beauty. For a moment, she thought she was dead, and lamented the fact that there were so many things left in life that she wanted to do.
As the thought flashed through her mind, his face took on such a look of pain and sorrow that she would have done anything he’d asked of her at that moment, if it would alleviate his torment. She’d never seen such a look of anguish, and for a brief moment she knew she’d experienced the deep suffering of his very soul.
“You are the one.” His voice was laced with surprise and what sounded very much like hope. He sat back and pulled his hand away, holding it fisted in his lap. Johanna felt the loss keenly. It was almost as if he had taken her heart with him.
“The one what?” she whispered.
“You are my heart and my soul, the beautiful spirit that I have sought through the dark days of my existence. I will protect you with my entire being for as long as you shall live and beyond, if you someday choose to join me.” Spoken like a vow, the words brought tears to her eyes. The deep emotion in his voice left her shaken and unsure.
Slowly, as if he could sense her fear, he trailed a finger down her cheek, tenderly wiping away a tear. “I did not mean to frighten you, little one. You will forgive me, yes?”
She loved the way he spoke, sounding both old-fashioned and foreign. It gave him an air of charm and sophistication. Johanna raised one of her hands and covered his, trapping it against her face. Guiding it to her lips, she kissed the palm of his hand. “Yes, I will forgive you.”
He hissed when her mouth made contact, but did not pull away. “You are playing with fire, my love. But who am I to discourage you?” He gently tugged his hand away from hers, and then placed both his palms on the pillow on either side of her face. Slowly, he lowered himself over her until his lips were almost touching hers. “One last chance.”
Instead of answering him, Johanna raised her lips to his and kissed him. It was a slow, unhurried caress as she nibbled at his mouth, reveling in its softness and texture. She outlined the shape of his lips with her tongue, enjoying the exotic, spicy taste of them.
She knew this had to be a dream, and it made her bold where she was normally shy and quiet, preferring books and studying to the dating scene. But this was different. He was different.
Her entire body tingled, filled with a restless energy that was centered between her thighs. She was so enthralled with the new sensations coursing through her that it took her a moment to realize he wasn’t responding.
Feeling embarrassed, she lowered her head back to the pillow and turned away from him, unwilling to see the look of pity—or worse, scorn—in his eyes. It seemed that even in her dreams, she couldn’t attract the man she wanted.
“Look at me.” The dark command vibrated throughout the room. Johanna immediately complied, unable to defy him. “If I take you now, you will always be mine.” The tone and the words he spoke seemed to reach inside her and touch her very soul.
Swallowing hard, she searched her heart and mind and came up with one answer. Yes. The thought was barely finished when he tore the covers back fr
He traced the delicate lace trim at the neckline with his index finger, making her shiver with a combination of excitement and fear. There was so much restrained power in that simple touch. Then he gripped the fabric with both hands and, yanking hard, tore it straight down the middle. The ripping sound echoed in the small space.
He pushed back the edges of the torn cloth and exposed her entire body. She felt slightly self-conscious at the smallness of her breasts and her long, skinny legs, but his eyes burned hotly as they studied her.
“Mine,” he uttered. For the first time in her life, Johanna felt truly beautiful.
Taking his time, he traced a slow path down her neck with his index finger. The pulse at the base fluttered wildly, and he bent forward and licked it. His tongue was hot and his teeth were sharp as he nipped. She felt branded by his touch.
He stood and tore off his own clothes, leaving them scattered by the bed in his hurry to get back to her. She’d thought him magnificent fully clothed, but naked he looked like a barbarian king. His black hair swept across his impossibly wide shoulders and back. Massive arms hung beside a heavily muscled chest that tapered down to his waist.
But it was his groin that caught her attention. His cock was thick, long and fully aroused. As she watched, it seemed to grow even larger. His burning gaze held her captive as he climbed onto the bed and lowered himself next to her.
Johanna floated in a sensual haze that blocked all sense of reality as his heated gaze swept her body from head to toe, leaving no part of her untouched. He framed her face with his hands and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks before lowering his head and tracing her lips with his tongue.
Yearning for a deeper contact, she opened her mouth and stroked his tongue with hers. He laughed at her playfulness and then plunged his tongue between her lips. There was no part of her mouth left unexplored as he claimed the territory as his own.
Johanna was lightheaded, hardly able to breathe. He kissed her with abandon, and she clutched at his shoulders for support, afraid she was going to pass out. Her nails dug into his skin, leaving small crescent shapes on his back, as she struggled against his overpowering embrace.
He pulled away from her mouth and left a trail of hot kisses along her jaw before his tongue swirled around the outside of her ear. He muttered words in a language that she didn’t understand, but the tone was universal—seduction.
She gasped for breath, her chest heaving with exertion as he continued to arouse her. His tongue plunged into her ear and flicked along the inside whorls before he nipped playfully at her earlobe. Sharp teeth tugged at the small gold stud in her ear, and she moaned as a restless heat filled her body.
He laved her neck with his tongue, lingering over the small bite mark he’d placed there, before continuing downward to her aching breasts. She arched her back toward him in a wordless offering. Taking it as his due, he cupped both breasts in his hands and rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. His head was bent in concentration, and the ends of his hair trailed across her sensitive skin, making her shiver with desire.
Johanna was on fire. She could feel the wetness and a throbbing emptiness between her thighs. Her legs moved restlessly against the sheets as he lowered his head and lapped at her breasts. The rough texture of his tongue made her cry out with pleasure. He plumped her breasts in his hands and tugged a taut nipple into his mouth. He sucked hard on the nub before gliding to her other breast and pleasuring it in the same manner. The fever inside her grew with each stroke of his tongue.
Johanna touched him wherever she could reach. His neck and back were thick with muscle that flexed beneath her fingertips. His skin was warm and inviting. She desperately ran her hands over his wide chest with its small, flat nipples and dusting of dark hair that started in the middle of his chest and ran all the way to his groin, where it was thicker.
He kissed a hot trail down her stomach. Her breasts were damp, her nipples puckered. The warm night air caressed them, making them ache for more of his touch. He paused to nibble at her waist and hipbones as he continued his exploration. She was finding it difficult to breathe. All the sensations he was drawing from her were new and exciting.
He used his wide shoulders to wedge her legs apart, making a place for himself between them. Then he draped one of her legs over his shoulder so that she was totally exposed to him. She couldn’t close her legs even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Instead, she opened herself wider to him, holding nothing back.
He bent forward and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of her arousal. Her hips rose toward him as she finally found her voice. “Please,” she whispered. She wanted him to taste her, to take her. She wanted it more than anything she’d ever wanted in her life. Her blood pumped thickly through her veins as a great need, unlike anything she’d ever experienced, rose within her.
He traced the moist folds of her sex with his fingers before bringing them back to his mouth and tasting her essence. “This is mine. From this moment forward, you shall have no other.” His eyes pierced the darkness and she could feel the barely contained anger swirling around him.
“Only you,” she promised, hoping to calm the violence she sensed churning within him.
“It is my nature to take.” He moved closer to her waiting heat. “What is mine, I hold.” His warm breath feathered over her sensitive flesh, making her burn with desire.
Promise or threat, dream or reality, she didn’t know and didn’t care. Not when he was touching her in such an exciting and wicked way.
He licked at her damp folds even as he inserted one long finger inside her waiting body. His teeth closed gently over her clitoris and held it captive as he flicked his tongue back and forth over the sensitive bundle of nerves. She threw her head back against the pillow as waves of heat washed over her.
Instead of satisfying her, the taste of pleasure only served to make her hotter, make her want even more. An unfamiliar wildness grew within her as he continued to touch her, taste her. Power and desire surged through her blood. Like a living, breathing entity, passion consumed her until nothing else existed but her need to satisfy it.
Johanna lifted her foot, placed it on his chest and pushed until he was forced to release her. As she scrambled away from him, he growled at her, like some beast deprived of its intended prey. In reply, she hissed and then launched herself at him.
It was like hitting a brick wall. But she wasn’t deterred. If anything, his strength excited her. She cupped his face with both hands and thrust her tongue into his mouth. She moved it in and out in a parody of the sex act.
To help relieve the ache in her breasts she rubbed them up and down the hard planes of his chest, moaning when the dark, crisp hair rasped her puckered nipples. She reached for his throbbing erection. He groaned when she wrapped her fingers around his shaft and pumped up and down.
It should have bothered her that she seemed to have no control over her body and thoughts, but she was too far gone to care. She couldn’t get enough of him.
In a frenzy of heat and desire, he answered her.
He cupped the back of her head with one of his large palms and held her captive as he plundered her mouth. Almost savagely, he pushed her legs apart and shoved several fingers deep within her molten core and began to work them in and out. Johanna pumped her hips in time to his thrusts even as her hands continued to do the same to his cock.
With barely restrained violence, he pushed her hands away from his body and tore away the remains of her damaged nightgown. “On your hands and knees, so I can take you from behind.” His dark command filled her with a combination of fear and longing, but not for a single moment did she consider disobeying him.
The need to have him inside her was too great to deny. She rolled to her hands and knees and thrust her bottom toward him.
“Spread your legs wider.”
She immediately obeyed him, pushing her legs apart until they could go no farther. He knelt behind her with his knees spread inside her open thighs, making sure she couldn’t close her legs. His chest covered her back as his hands came to rest on the mattress beside hers. His body caged hers completely.
