He’d also tried watching porn in the hopes of learning what to do and not to do. It didn’t take him long to realize Aida probably wasn’t going to need her pipes cleaned or her photocopier repaired, so he stopped watching it.
But the romance novels had helped him understand women and their bodies better, or so he hoped. He may not be a billionaire, but he was a vampire, so that was a plus for him. He kissed her again before caressing her breasts and stroking her side down to her hip.
He was doing something right as her legs eased their death grip on him. When she lifted her hips to him again, he slowly pulled back before slipping into her again. He shuddered when he buried himself deep inside her once more.
Her fingers dug into his back as his mouth teased hers. With every caress of his hands and mouth, the discomfort ebbed further. A delicious shiver ran down her spine as she nipped his lip.
When her head fell back, he bent to suck one of her nipples between his lips. He sucked on it before releasing it to turn his attention to her other breast before rising to kneel between her thighs. He grasped her ass and lifted it. He never could have imagined anything this amazing, and now that he was experiencing it, he would tear this world apart before he ever let her go again.
Aida couldn’t get enough of Julian’s magnificent body as it moved over hers. Her hands slid over the supple skin drawn taut over muscles so firm they could have been carved from stone. He was magnificent, and he was hers. She was the only one who’d ever seen him like this, the only who knew what it was like to have this powerful man inside her, and she reveled in the knowledge.
When her gaze fell to where their bodies met, excitement built in her. He was a part of her; they were joined, and it was an irrevocable joining. The building tension inside her coiled tighter as she neared the edge she experienced every time she pleasured herself, but this time, it was different. This time it was stronger and more unrelenting as he pushed her closer to the precipice.
And this time, when she went over, nothing would ever be the same.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out when she fell over the edge. Her toes curled, and her body arched as she was bombarded by the waves of ecstasy shaking her.
When her body bowed beneath his and the tight muscles of her sheath clenched around his dick, Julian gave one final thrust and came harder than he ever had by himself. When his release finally came to an end, he held himself back from collapsing on top of her as he gathered her into his arms and rolled to the side.
CHAPTER 28
Julian ran his hands down her arms as he examined every inch of her delectable body. When he turned her wrists over, he spotted the scars from the vampires who fed on her while she was captive. The marks were so faint most humans wouldn’t notice them, and if they did, they wouldn’t know what to make of them
When he first met her, the marks were bright red and raw. The first time he saw them, she’d ducked her head in shame and tugged the sleeves of her shirt back over them. After a while, between the heat of the summer, their time swimming, and her growing trust in him, she gave up trying to keep them hidden.
However, he’d sometimes catch her staring at them with a broken look that pricked his killer instincts. For vampires to leave marks on a person meant they hadn’t bothered to close the wounds after feeding on her. Instead, they left them bloodied and raw to increase her suffering and to remind her she was a thing at their mercy.
He kept his lips clamped against his elongated fangs as rage pulsed through his veins. Now that she was naked before him, he could see the other marks marring her ivory skin. Resting his hand on her thigh, he pulled her legs apart to reveal dozens of more scars on her inner thighs. She’d endured so much and suffered unbelievable degradation, but she remained one of the kindest and most loving souls he’d ever encountered.
He would make sure she never endured such suffering again.
Aida rested her palm against Julian’s cheek when his eyes turned red, but his attention remained focused on her scars.
“Julian.” When he finally looked at her, she saw the fury building inside him. “It’s the past.”
“I’d like to kill all of them for what they did to you.”
“Thankfully, they’re already dead.”
His fingers caressed her throat. If it looked as bad is it felt, then the bruises there were bad. “He’s dead too,” she reminded him.
When his lips twisted into a sneer, she caught the glint of a fang, but it didn’t scare her. Maybe it was foolish given what he was, but she was secure in the knowledge he would never harm her. Would he kill anyone who did? Definitely, but his brutality would never turn on her.
Julian touched the blood on her leg before meeting her eyes again. “I hurt you.”
She smiled as she pushed herself onto her elbows to kiss him. “It was worth it.”
As he started to deepen the kiss, her phone rang. Aida groaned and fell back on the bed; she draped her arm over her eyes and stared at the ceiling as her alarm continued to sound. The idea of plastering on a smile and going to the gallery was about as appealing as running through fire. She’d much prefer to stay in bed with him, but she also enjoyed having a roof over her head.
She pushed herself up and leaned over Julian to turn it off. “I have to go to work.”
“Call out.”
“I wish, but unfortunately, it’s not exactly cheap to live here.”
“No, it’s not,” he agreed.
She kissed his cheek and rolled away from him when he tried to ensnare her in an embrace. Julian grinned as she shimmied to the end of the bed and opened the closet before stepping between the doors. Propping himself up against the wall, Julian admired her body as she pulled out a pair of black slacks and a high-collared, black turtleneck.
“Is there a washer and dryer in this building?” he asked.
“In the basement, why?”
“I’m running out of clothes.”
She gawked at him over her shoulder. “You’re going to spend your evening doing laundry?”
“I’d rather spend it doing you, but you already have plans.”
His mischievous grin made her laugh, and for the first time since he arrived here, she saw the more carefree and easygoing boy he’d once been. Becoming a mature vampire hadn’t changed him completely.
Maybe she could be late… No, Nicolette would be pissed.
“Are you working tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes, but I’m off on Monday.”
“Do you have plans?”
“No.”
“Good. I’m claiming you for that day.”
“And if I don’t want to be claimed?” she teased.
“It’s too late for that.”
Aida gulped as his words caused goose bumps to break out on her arms. Yes, it was too late for that. He’d claimed her heart and soul years ago, and now he owned her body.
Removing her robe from the closet, she pulled it on and tied the belt around her waist. She climbed onto the bed to shut the closet and glanced at the door to her room as she listened for any sign of her roommates. Usually, not much fazed her, but if Kyle and Cassidy were still in the apartment, they knew what transpired between them. They were vampires; they could hear a pin drop.
The idea of facing Julian’s siblings after deflowering their brother was not something she could shrug off, but she also couldn’t stay hidden in her room for the rest of her life. Not only would she get fired, but she’d die of dehydration.
Throwing back her shoulders and assuming an air of confidence she didn’t feel, Aida started toward the door, but Julian swung out and caught her wrist. A startled cry escaped when he tugged her forward and drew her onto his lap. He clasped her face and stared at her before bending his head to kiss her again.
Aida melted into him as she rested her hand on his chest before sliding her arm around his neck to draw him closer. When her body started to react to him, she broke the kiss to rest her forehead against his.
; “If you leave again, I’ll hunt you down and kill you,” she said.
Julian chuckled as he kissed her again. “Death is the only thing that will take me from you again.”
She recalled thinking this was something more between them earlier, and now she suspected what it might be. Resting her palms against his chest, she leaned back to look at him. “Do you think I’m your mate?”
She held her breath as she waited for his answer. She didn’t know if it was because she wanted him to say no, he wouldn’t turn her into a vampire, or because she was petrified he would say no. If he said no, then he would leave her again, but this time it would be for another woman.
“You look so terrified I don’t want to answer the question,” he said.
“Julian,” she groaned.
“What would you like me to say?”
“The truth.”
“I don’t think you’re my mate.”
It was like he plunged a knife into her heart. She couldn’t breathe as something inside her shriveled and died like a worm on a sidewalk in July. The idea of being a vampire made her stomach churn, but the idea of him with someone else made her feel murderous. A scream rose in her throat, and she closed her eyes as tears filled them.
“I know you’re my mate,” Julian said.
Aida’s eyes flew open as she gaped at him; then, she slapped his arm when she realized he was tormenting her. “You’re an ass!”
“With the look on your face, I wasn’t sure what you wanted to hear,” he said as he crushed her against him. “I couldn’t ruin this.”
Aida turned her head into his and rubbed her cheek against the scruff of his beard as she kissed him. She really did not want to be a vampire, but she could tolerate that better than losing him to someone else.
“It took me about a week, but I’ve known for years that you were it for me,” he said.
Aida pulled away from him. “You’ve known for that long?”
“Yes. The second I saw you, I felt an irresistible draw toward you, but it wasn’t until everything with the island was finished and we were back in Maine that I knew for sure. There was one moment where it hit me like a ton of bricks that you were my everything.”
A small thrill ran through her at his words. “And what moment was that?”
He smiled as he brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and ran his thumb along her cheek. “You had left the house after a nightmare again,” he said. “I don’t know how I always knew when you were troubled, but I experienced it again the other night in the bar, which is why I went to find you.”
“Of course,” she breathed.
When he came after her in the bar, she’d never associated it with all those times he also found her after a nightmare. They were two completely different sets of circumstances, but in both, she was terrified.
“The night I realized you were my mate, I woke from sleep and went to my window to discover you sneaking out of the house and running toward the stairs leading to the ocean. Your hair billowed behind you like a black banner, and you were wearing cutoff shorts and a T-shirt. You hadn’t bothered with shoes.
“I dressed quickly and followed to find you walking the beach. When you turned and saw me, you started to cry. I opened my arms to you, and you didn’t say a word as you came into them, wrapped your arms around my waist, and rested your head on my chest.
“Holding you, I vowed I’d kill anyone who tried to take you from me. We didn’t speak as we settled on the sand and watched the tide until you fell asleep. When you woke, you lifted your head to smile at me, and I knew I’d never be the same again.”
A lump formed in her throat as she recalled that night. They spent a lot of nights together, but that was the only night where she couldn’t speak to him at all. She remembered feeling so safe nestled in his arms that, when she finally slept again, she dreamed of him.
“But if I’m your mate, then how could you leave?” she asked. “I thought mates couldn’t be apart from each other.”
“I wasn’t fully matured then, and we’re not full mates yet; the bond isn’t complete between us. No matter what they say about the bond driving a vampire mad if it isn’t completed, you have to know that your happiness is the most important thing to me. If I didn’t believe I was doing the best thing for you by walking away, I never could have left. Walking away from you was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done.”
“I understand.” And she did understand. For years, she’d been angry and hurt, but he also suffered while they were apart. “I still had nightmares after you left; did you sense those?”
“No, but I think it might be a distance thing. The further I am from you, the less I sense things. It would be different if we were mated, but though there’s a bond between us, it’s not as strong.”
“You still should have told me instead of leaving,” she said.
“I was not going to put that kind of pressure on you or take your dreams away from you.”
She kissed the tip of his nose. “You’re a stubborn, foolish man, and I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“From now on, we decide our futures together. We can’t change the past, but we are going to decide our future together, or we won’t have one. That means no more thinking because you’re the big, bad vamp you don’t have to consult me on things. I love you, but I won’t stay with you if you make decisions concerning me without me again. Understood?”
“Understood,” he said and gave her a goofy grin.
“What’s so funny?”
“You think I’m a big, bad vamp.”
“Ugh,” she said and threw her hands in the air.
She went to climb off the bed, but he enveloped her in his arms and pulled her back. Aida squealed with laughter when he tickled her.
CHAPTER 29
Aida tried not to look at her watch as she strolled the gallery, but she swore the damn thing moved backward. She was ready for this night to be over so she could go home and nestle into Julian’s arms again.
Stay focused on your job.
Normally, that wasn’t a difficult thing to do as she loved what she did, but thoughts of Julian kept intruding. She had to get it together. Nicolette was already annoyed because she’d been right on time tonight.
Usually, she was at least ten minutes early, but she arrived just as Nicolette did. She gave her boss a breathless hello while Nicolette scowled at her before eyeing Julian, who stood behind her shoulder. He’d insisted on walking her to work.
When the door opened, Aida’s eyes flew to it, but her excitement vanished when an unfamiliar man entered. She’d told Julian to stay away tonight; he might have appeased Nicolette when he bought a painting yesterday, but she wouldn’t appreciate it if he came back tonight.
Still, like a dog waiting for its master to come home, she perked up every time the door opened. She berated herself for acting like an idiot as she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door before approaching the mirror.
She inspected her reflection and turned her head back and forth to make sure the marks on her neck were still covered. The turtleneck hid most of them, but the shadow of a fingerprint marked the skin near her ear.
Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the concealer she’d stashed there. Dabbing some onto her finger, she rubbed it over her skin until nothing of the bruise remained. She turned on the water and washed her hands before leaving.
She stopped by the champagne glasses in the center of the room. Unlike the first night, the caterers weren’t offering food, but the alcohol still flowed freely. Nicolette was a big believer in pumping potential buyers full of alcohol. She said it made things look prettier while loosening the purse strings.
Aida had worked here long enough to realize Nicolette had a point. She’d seen some pretty unattractive works become intriguing to people after a bottle of champagne. Turning away from the glasses, she spotted Nicolette and Owen standing by one of his few remaining paintings.
They we
re speaking with a woman Aida recognized from a small art magazine and blog. The woman was busting her ass to expand her business, and its reach was growing, as she’d gained a reputation for her knowledge and amazing eye. It wouldn’t be long before she was making or breaking the careers of future artists.
“Beautiful,” a voice said from beside her.
Aida jumped at the sudden intrusion into her thoughts, but she covered her reaction with a smile when she spotted the handsome man standing beside her. She hadn’t realized she’d stopped in front of a painting of a park. Somehow, while only using shades of blue, Owen managed to bring the park to vibrant life.
“Yes, it’s a very intriguing and lovely piece,” she agreed.
The man’s brown eyes flicked toward the painting before focusing on her again. “The painting is nice too.”
She was embarrassed to admit it took her longer than it should have to realize he’d been calling her beautiful. It was time to get her mind out of the gutter; she was turning into an idiot. She smiled at him as she pondered how to handle this. Usually, she was a flirt, but it felt wrong to flirt with him after everything that happened between her and Julian.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Do you know much about the painting?” he asked.
Feeling like they were climbing onto more stable ground, Aida smiled as she walked closer to the painting. “The artist created it while he was in college and experimenting with different techniques. He created other paintings doing the same thing, but this was the only one he felt was good enough to display.”
“Interesting,” the man murmured as he clasped his hands behind his back.
When he tilted his head to the side to examine the painting more closely, his perfectly styled, dark brown hair didn’t move. The sports coat he wore fit his lean frame perfectly and his designer jeans hugged his tapered hips. His clothing was understated, but he exuded the confidence that came with wealth.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” the man said, and she realized he was staring at her.
Forsaken (Vampire Awakenings, Book 10) Page 16