Resting her hand against his cheek, she rubbed the scruff of his beard. She marveled over the effect she had on him when the red eased from his eyes. “No one else. You’re it for me, Julian Byrne.”
CHAPTER 31
His teeth unclenched, but the demon refused to be leashed again. He couldn’t get his fangs to retract, and when she bent to kiss him again, he turned his head away.
“What is it?” she asked.
He shook his head but didn’t pull away when she turned his chin toward her. The outline of his fangs showed against his lips. A prickle of unease ran through her, but she refused to back away. He’d been willing to sacrifice himself for her; she could ease the need pulsating from him.
When she leaned forward to kiss him, Julian recoiled a little, but she didn’t back down as she pressed her lips to his. “It’s okay.”
Running her tongue across his lips, she prodded them until he relented and opened his mouth to her. Goose bumps broke out on her flesh as screams from those distant days echoed in her head. Her body instinctively braced for the agony it suffered all those years ago.
Julian didn’t dare move while Aida kissed him. She didn’t back down, but she started to shake when her tongue caressed his fang again. Breaking the kiss, he wrapped his arms around her and cradled her against him.
“Stop,” he murmured.
Her lashes fell to shadow her cheeks before sweeping upward again; he found himself gazing into her beautiful, golden eyes. She was everything he’d ever wanted and more. The bastards on the island traumatized her and stole her innocence, but her strength allowed her to forge onward as she sought to escape what they’d done to her while living her own life.
However, he may never be able to possess her completely. She loved him, he didn’t doubt it, but would she be able to get over what they did to her and join him? And what would happen to them if she couldn’t?
That was something to worry about later; for now, it was just the two of them as he kissed her forehead and nose. By the time his mouth reclaimed hers, he’d managed to retract his fangs again, and her unease was ebbing.
Julian unhooked her bra and slid it from her shoulders before tossing it aside. Leaning back, he savored the beauty of her curvaceous figure. He’d learned every inch of her these past couple of days, but he would never get used to how lovely she was.
He lifted his hands to run them over the faint bite marks marring the top of her breasts. If it weren’t for his enhanced vision, he wouldn’t see them, but to him, they were as starkly visible as blood against her porcelain skin. They hadn’t raped her, but what they did to her was a violation of her body and mind.
When Aida sensed his rising anger, she rested her palms against his cheeks and leaned forward until he lifted his gaze to hers. She no longer saw the marks on her breasts, but she would never forget their location, and that’s where he was focused.
“It’s the past,” she said.
His rage vibrated like a tuning fork against her skin. “I’d kill them all again for you.”
“Thankfully, you don’t have to.”
Clasping his hand, she lifted it and kissed his knuckles before drawing his index finger into her mouth. She ran her tongue along it and smiled when his attention focused on her mouth as she’d hoped it would. She sucked on his finger again before releasing it and bringing his hand to her breast.
She pressed his hand to her before releasing it to clasp his erection through his jeans then reaching for the button and zipper. When she succeeded in freeing him, his cock sprang free, and she was delighted to discover he’d left his boxers off tonight. Knowing how excited it would make him, she also didn’t wear any underwear beneath her skirt.
Shifting so she could push him back onto the blanket, she nudged his shoulders until he lay beneath her. She pulled off his sneakers and tossed them aside before removing his socks and tugging his jeans the rest of the way down.
When she finished, she leaned back on her heels to study him while she ran her hands up his inner thighs. Leaning over him, she relished the sharp intake of his breath when her breasts brushed against his shaft.
She was trying to learn the things he liked and how to please him, and she thrilled when she discovered something new that aroused him. When she grazed her nails along his inner thigh before bending to nip the flesh she scratched, he groaned low in his throat and propped his hands behind his head to watch her.
Aida bent to kiss his inner thigh, and Julian tensed when her hair fell to tickle his cock. He held his breath as he waited to see if she would put her mouth on him, but then, she sat back and rose gracefully.
She undid the button on her skirt and shimmied it down her hips to bare her body to him. Unable to stop it from happening, his fangs slid free again as he feasted in the sight of her. She smiled at him while she skimmed her fingers down the valley between her breasts. Her hand dipped down to the edge of the neatly trimmed, small patch of black hair shielding her sex from him.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “No underwear?”
The sexy smile she gave him caused him to become impossibly harder.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
“Oh, I do.”
“Good,” she said as she knelt between his legs again. “From now on, you’ll be the only one in the room who knows I might not be wearing any underwear, and it’s just for you. But sometimes”—she skimmed her fingers down his chest and toward his dick—“I’ll be wearing them, and you’ll never know which it will be until you unwrap me.”
“The best gift ever.”
She rested her hands on his thighs and glided her nails down the outer edge of them before bending to kiss his inner thigh again. Her hair tickled his skin, but he was more focused on her mouth as she inched her way toward his aching cock.
Unable to breathe, Julian raptly watched everything she did until her hand encircled his shaft. She gave him a wicked smile before running her tongue over the head of his dick. Julian gripped the blanket as small thrills of pleasure raced up and down his spine.
Aida held his gaze while she slowly lowered her mouth down his dick. Running her tongue along him, she watched his reactions while she learned what excited him the most and what didn’t. When she stroked him, he growled; she repeated the action and smiled when it elicited the same response.
Unable to take any more of her exquisite torture, Julian clasped her arms and gently tugged her away. She released him and slid up his body. The friction of her skin against his had him thinking about baseball again. How many plates were there?
He couldn’t remember if there were plates involved in the game when she settled over him with a mischievous smile.
“Did you like that?” she asked.
“You know I did,” Julian said as he gripped the back of her head and dragged her down for a kiss.
As their tongues entwined, Aida flicked hers over his retracted fangs and poked at the point of them. Julian tore his mouth away from hers when they lengthened in response.
“It’s okay,” Aida whispered.
She dipped her hand between their bodies and grasped him to guide him into her. For a second, she couldn’t speak as the sensation of him stretching and filling her robbed her of all reason. She’d never felt anything as astonishing as being possessed by Julian.
She found his lips and kissed him again. He didn’t open his mouth to her, and she could feel his fangs against his lips, but instead of being frightened, she focused on the sensation of him sliding in and out of her. She lost herself to the way his skin slid against hers as sweat slickened their bodies.
In his strong arms was where she would always belong. This was the here and now; there was no room for the past or the future. There was only her, Julian, and the ecstasy they gave each other.
“Feed on me,” she said as she nipped his bottom lip.
Julian froze; he was sure he heard her wrong.
“I know it will feel good if I’m willing,” she continued. “You need
blood, and I want to be the one who gives it to you.”
At first, he didn’t know how to respond as his overwhelming love for her attained impossible levels. He wanted to taste her so badly it was a physical ache inside him, but she had to know what she was getting into.
“Having sex with you has already increased my need to complete the bond,” he said. “If I feed on you, it will only make it worse.”
“I know,” she said. “Mollie doesn’t keep much from me.”
“Do you want to be a vampire?”
“No,” she said honestly. “But I want to be with you.”
“Aida—”
“I know it has to happen; I’d just like some time to get used to the idea of becoming a vampire before it happens. I understand you don’t have a lot of time to give me, but give me what you can.”
Julian’s pulse leapt; she was going to join him! Those were some of the sweetest words he’d ever heard. He didn’t care what he had to do; he would give her that time. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.
“I’ll give you as much time as you need,” he promised.
She bent to kiss him and lifted her hips before sliding onto him again. “Until then, you can feed on me.”
When she brushed her hair away from her neck, Julian’s eyes fastened on the pulse pounding there. Saliva filled his mouth as every cell in his body screamed to taste her. Wrapping his hand around the back of her head, he drew her toward him, but instead of placing his lips against her throat, he kissed her.
As their tongues entwined and their bodies moved against each other, Aida forgot all about her trepidation over what was to come. Breaking the kiss, she gasped in a breath. She was so close she could taste the ecstasy of release.
Julian waited until she was on the verge of orgasm before clasping the back of her head and pulling her toward him. He kissed her lips before leaving a trail of them from her chin to her throat. He grazed his fangs against the rapid pulse of her vein, and when she didn’t recoil, he sank them into her throat.
Aida almost screamed as the sensation of him drawing her blood shattered something inside her. Being fed on by a vampire had equaled agony before, but Julian feeding on her caused something wild to spring free.
Exquisite pleasure hammered her until she was drowning in its waves. There was no reason anymore; there was only sensation, and it was amazing. She cried out when the orgasm rocking her body left her boneless. Julian shuddered and tensed as he came. As she collapsed against him, her fingers entangled in his hair as she drew him closer, but it wasn’t close enough.
Julian had never tasted anything as exquisite as her blood before. As it spread through his veins, it strengthened him while filling his cells. He knew mates strengthened each other, but he hadn’t expected this. With the power flooding him, he felt as if he could tear this building apart with his bare hands.
Though he craved more, he retracted his fangs and lowered his head to the hollow of her throat as he inhaled the mingled aromas of their bodies. He felt stronger than ever before, but his thirst was already growing again. He’d promised to give her time, but he didn’t know how much time he had left.
CHAPTER 32
They spent the next two days exploring the city, and when they weren’t catching a game at Fenway, wandering through the Museum of Fine Arts, strolling the Common, or bar hopping, they were exploring each other.
When it came time for her to return to work, she reluctantly pushed herself out of Julian’s arms. He tried to grab her back, but she grinned as she playfully slapped his hands away. Julian grumbled a complaint as he dropped his head onto the pillow and draped his arm over his eyes.
She couldn’t help smiling at his messy hair and boyish appearance. Yesterday, she’d sat on the sink with her legs around his waist and watched while he shaved his beard to expose a jaw that could cut glass.
The decision to shave came after she asked him what he looked like without the beard. Clean-shaven, he was as handsome, but he lacked the air of mystery the beard lent him. She liked the new look, but she missed the scrape of his stubble on her skin.
“I have rent to pay,” she reminded him.
“It’s your birthday. Let me convince your landlord you’ve paid for the year,” he said.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Buzzkill.” He grinned as he lifted his arm to peek at her.
“Damn right.” She ran her fingers over the stubble already shadowing his jaw as she bent to kiss him. “Are you going to shave again?”
“Do you want me to?”
“No,” she said. “I like it when your beard scratches my skin. It’s like you’re leaving another mark on me.”
Hunger bloomed in his eyes as they fell to her throat. He’d closed the marks he left on her neck and they’d already healed, but the ones on her breasts and thighs were still visible. They excited her every time she saw them, and thinking about them aroused her. She pulled away before his offer to mind bend her landlord became too good to turn down.
“I have to shower,” she said.
“Is that an invite?”
“Absolutely not. You’ll make me dirtier.”
He gave her a devilish grin. “You know it.”
Aida shook her head before rising to gather her clothes. The bruises on her throat were mostly faded, and concealer hid the rest, but she still took a turtleneck with her. She showered and dressed before returning to her room, where she discovered Julian clothed and sitting on the end of her bed.
“I’ll walk you to work,” he said as he rose.
She didn’t bother to tell him he didn’t have to do that; he would insist, and she liked the idea of spending a few more minutes with him. Aida retrieved her purse from the top of her bureau. She checked to make sure she had her knife and pepper spray before slinging it over her shoulder and leaving the room. Julian followed her into the living room where Kyle was watching a cartoon while Cassidy sat cross-legged on the couch beside him with her laptop on her knees.
“Hello, lovebirds,” Kyle said without taking his eyes off the TV.
“Happy birthday!” Cassidy exclaimed. She set her computer on the floor and rushed over to envelop Aida in a big hug.
Aida hugged her back while Kyle tore his attention away from the TV and rose to come over and hug her too. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” Aida said.
“You’re going to come in tonight, right?” Cassidy asked her as Kyle stepped away and returned to the couch.
Cassidy had a thing where she sang “Happy Birthday” to the unsuspecting birthday souls when someone requested it. Some of them got a husky, Marilyn Monroe version; others got a more upbeat almost pop version, and some a jazz number. Aida suspected Cassidy had come up with something original for her tonight.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Aida said.
“Good.” Cassidy hugged her again before turning to Julian. “Mom called earlier; she wants to know when you’re going to visit.”
“Soon,” Julian said.
Cassidy rolled her eyes before retreating to the couch. “She’s going to want a more exact timeframe, or she’s going to show up here.”
“Don’t let that happen,” Kyle said. “I love her but the last time she was here, she spent a whole day cleaning the place; it wasn’t dirty.”
“She didn’t know what else to do with herself,” Cassidy said. “We’re her youngest, and she wasn’t ready for us to fly the nest.”
“Eh,” Kyle grunted. “Just call her and let her know when you’ll be there, so she doesn’t come here. It doesn’t make you a hit with the ladies when your clothes smell like lavender and your mom is hanging out at the bar telling everyone how you used to call your penis Mr. Winky.”
Aida almost choked on her laughter. “Did you really do that?”
“It only has one eye,” Kyle replied defensively and scowled at the three of them when they roared with laughter. “Go ahead and laugh, but I have a ton of dirt on the t
wo of you too.”
Julian and Cassidy tried to choke back their laughter, but Aida didn’t bother. “Oh, please… do… share,” she got out between her chuckles.
“Maybe some other time,” Julian said as he looped his arm through hers and pulled her toward the door.
“What about Mom?” Kyle called after them.
“I’ll call her in a little bit,” Julian promised.
“Good and, Aida?”
“Yeah?” she asked him over her shoulder.
“Julian once tried to catch a football in gym when he got tackled from behind. He and the other kid skidded into the bleachers where Julian faceplanted into the lap of the girl’s gym teacher. She yelled at him for five minutes while he turned as red as a tomato and fumbled out apologies. The whole school called him Crotch Face for the rest of the year.”
“You’re an asshole,” Julian said over Aida’s laughter. He opened the door and steered her into the hall before his brother could reveal any more. “I’ll be back soon.”
He closed the door and walked with her down the stairs and out the front door. When they stepped onto the busy sidewalk, Aida tilted her head back to take in the warmth of the sun. It was a glorious day to be alive.
“So, Crotch Face, huh?” she asked as she looped her arm through Julian’s and leaned against his side.
“They were an imaginative group of students.”
Aida laughed as she rested her head against his arm. As they walked, she felt like they were all alone in the world, even as people flowed around them. They arrived at the gallery far too soon; she pulled her keys from her purse as her phone started ringing. Digging into her purse, she found her phone and pulled it out to reveal her sister’s name on the screen.
“It’s Mollie,” she said to Julian. “I have to take this.”
He kissed her. “Have a good day.”
“You too. I love you.”
Forsaken (Vampire Awakenings, Book 10) Page 18