The Vampire's Bunny

*2*

Veronica was stunned and could only stare unblinking at the man who was holding her. He didn't look old enough to be a vampire, and he wasn't pale and bony either. Not that she knew what a vampire was supposed to look like since she'd never met one.

The dog woofed again, sounding as if it were right under her. It startled Veronica's bunny so badly that it caused her to shift. Now she was naked and vulnerable in the arms of an unknown vampire man.

"Oops," she whispered as her eyes met his. As they slowly moved downward, so did hers. Her pale skin flushed a bright red as she remembered he could see everything. With a whimper, one hand moved to her crotch, covering it while the other hand moved to wrap around his neck. Then she smooshed her boobs against his chest to hide them. "Hi."

The man took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as his eyes turned to stare into the distance. "A shifter. How did I not realize that was what you were?"

"If you had known, would you have left me?"

"Perhaps," he murmured, "but we will never know now."

The return of his delicious scent caused Veronica's nose to twitch. She needed more of it, but why? Her bunny rolled in her head, her back feet thumping in an eager dance. Veronica drew a swift breath. The vampire is my mate. How can that be?

"So, where did you come from, little bunny?"

Veronica twisted slightly, no longer self-conscious of her nudity because this was her mate, and he was meant to see her. Raising her eyes, she gazed at his jawline. She wanted to reach up and run her hands along it but wasn't sure if she should or not.

As if feeling her gaze, his head tilted, and his gaze slowly moved over her face.

Veronica's breathing picked up as those dark eyes took her in, his natural pheromones bringing her body to life in a way she'd never felt before. She whimpered and licked her lips as she squished her thighs together against the need now pulsing there.

I feel so wanton like I should rub all over him.

Her mother had warned her that all shifter males tended to be horndogs. However, rabbits were in a class of their own, male, and female.

Yeah, do you know that old adage about going at it like rabbits? I so want to be doing that with him right now and I don't even know his name. However, I know nothing about vampires, whether they're horny dogs or if they barely get it on. What a mess.

Veronica was feeling both horny and nervous about the unknown. Maybe that was why she began to talk fast, running her words altogether, and barely breathing as she said, "I'm moving away from home and have been on the road for three days, but I badly needed to pee, so I pulled over and found a bush, only I smelled something really good, and I mean really, really good and by the time I lost the scent I had moved to far away from my vehicle and had lost it too, so I was just hiding under the bush because it was almost dark and I was scared, and..."

"Whoa, slow down and breath," he murmured softly as his hand gently moved over her back. "You're a rabbit, you shouldn't get lost. Did you try following your own scent trail back to the vehicle?"

Veronica slowly blinked. She hadn't thought of doing that, mostly because at home there was always someone looking for her if she was gone too long. She was seriously beginning to think she wasn't ready to leave her home for the big world.

Licking her lips, she whispered, "No. Honestly, I'm not a very good rabbit. I'm the only girl in a litter of six and my brothers have always kept an eye on me. Truthfully, I was never truly alone except at night when I was in bed."

"Hm, well, as one who has no siblings, I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like," the vampire man said.

"What is your name?" she asked. "Mine is Veronica."

"Pierre Allard."

"Pierre," she whispered, the name rolling off her tongue. She smiled. "It's nice to meet you and, um, I'm curious about something."

"Oh, what might that be?"

"Do vampires have mates?"

Pierre chuckled. "No, little bunny, we do not, although, I understand most shifters do. Do you have one hiding out here in the bushes with you, or were you headed to where he is before you became lost?"

"Um, well, no," Veronica whispered, before biting down on her lip. Then, unable to help herself, his scent was just too much, she buried her nose in his neck. Pierre stiffened but said nothing. So, after a moment, she admitted, "I think fate set me up because I would never have dreamed a vampire would be my mate."

Pierre scoffed. "Are you trying to say I am your mate?"

"I am," Veronica verified. Then, even though it hurt her heart to ask it, she inquired, "Is that a terrible thing? I mean, do you have a wife at home you need to get back to?"

"No, no wife for me," Pierre told her. "I have been alone for a long time now because I want to be. However, many years ago I was in a committed relationship with a vampire woman."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to her?"

"It was a long time ago and no longer pains me," he informed her as he began to walk. "I had been a vampire for almost fifty years by that time. She was a much older vampire at three hundred and five. Anyway, we were lonely and since we hadn't found anyone to settle down with, we decided to become companions of a sort. It worked for us for an exceptionally long time and then one day she was gone, and I haven't seen her since. That was... oh, sixty, almost seventy years ago now."

Veronica stared at him, feeling shocked by his words. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you now?"

Pierre nodded. "I am two-hundred, forty-seven, and here is your car."

Veronica glanced over and sure enough, even in the dark Pierre had managed to locate her car. Returning her gaze to him as he put her feet on the ground, she asked, "So, do you not want a mate?"

Pierre sighed and leaned against her car as she began to dress. "I do get lonely, and I'll admit there is something about you that calls out to my inner beast."

"Then, you won't reject me? You will be with me? I know I'm the needy type and my brothers say I'll require a lot of work from my mate," Veronica admitted shyly. "My oldest littermate, Ryder says he pities the man who gets stuck with me because he'll always be running to my rescue. Of course, Michael always chimes in and says I need another daddy, not a lover."

Pierre straightened. "I think some of that might be the fault of your, littermates. Isn't that what you called them?"

"Yes. All six of us were born to my mother while she was in her rabbit form. We didn't shift into our skin side until we were six weeks old."

"When did you shift back into your rabbit form after that?"

"When we were twelve," Veronica said. Then, once more feeling the pull of the mate-bond, she leaned into him and rubbed herself against him.

"You are a touchy person, aren't you?"

"Hm, I suppose," she murmured. "I feel the pull to mate with you very strongly."

Pierre chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Strangely, I'm feeling the same and I've never felt that way about any woman, not even Martha brought this response out in me. So, how about I take you home, my dog has had his walk and should be ready to settle in for the evening."

"Will you drive?"

Pierre nodded and after getting her situated in the passenger side, he took a seat behind the steering wheel and started the SUV to drive her to his home.