by Raine Miller
Sasa slid her hands over his shoulders and pulled him to her, pressing her breasts against his body as she devoured his mouth. Her tightened nipples rubbed against him, exciting him. Instinctively, he slid his hand under her thin t-shirt and plucked at one hardened pearl through her lacy bra, squeezing it gently between his thumb and forefinger as he cupped the fullness surrounding it.
Again, she moaned, making that sound that hit him directly between his legs. Already rock hard, his cock strained against the front of his pants. Whatever his mind may have thought about sleeping with her, his body had different plans.
And then her tongue flicked over the tip of one fang and sensations raced from his balls, up his cock, and through his body.
“Fuck,” he groaned as she seductively slid her tongue over his fang again. She had to know what she was doing to him. She had been a vampire’s girlfriend.
The idea that he was about to fuck the girlfriend of his dead vampire momentarily made Vasilije pull back from her, but the touch of her hands on his stomach made him forget every guilty feeling he had. Looking down, he watched her fumble with the shirt buttons.
“Sasa.”
At the sound of her name, she looked up and even in the darkness he saw the look of desire on her face. In one swift movement, he pinned her hands above her head. Pushing her up against the wall, he leaned into her and pressed his thigh between her legs, feeling the heat coming from her. Slowly, a low growl slid from his throat.
Sasa pushed against his hands, but he wouldn’t release her. Grinding against his thigh, she arched her body toward his.
His free hand lifted her shirt over her head and in seconds she stood before him in only her bra. A quick flick with his fingers and it was sailing to the floor to join her shirt.
Vasilije cupped one supple breast in his hand and tenderly stroked her silky soft flesh with his fingertips. Eager to feel her on his tongue, he bent his head and captured a nipple, quickly sucking it to an excited peak. A moan drew his attention from her tightened pink nipple, and he looked up to see Sasa’s face. Brown eyes clouded over with need stared into his.
“Please let me touch you. I want to feel you.”
Silently, he released her hands and returned to what his mouth craved. She felt so good in his mouth. Each pull made her grind her pussy against his thigh. Her hands raked through his hair, stroking and tugging as he sensually nibbled on her.
Vasilije couldn’t remember when he’d been with a woman who was so responsive. Every spot his mouth and hands visited aroused her, and she seemed to worship his body as she moved her hands from his hair to caress his neck and shoulders through his shirt.
Softly, he grazed her nipple with his fangs and from above he heard her cry out. He stood up and smiled with satisfaction, his sharp fangs aching to sink into her. He was surprised to find not fear in her face but desire—pure desire. Her cry hadn’t been of pain but pleasure.
Was she just drunk or did she realize what he planned to do?
As he studied her in the darkness, she pulled him to her and kissed him with a need that sent a jolt to his cock. His hands made their way to her jeans, and he made quick work of the button and zipper. Only cotton panties stood between him and his goal.
Vasilije slid two fingers under those panties and down through her bare slickness. Sasa wriggled against his hand as her mouth fed on his, her tongue darting in and around the inside passionately.
Bending down to pull her pants off, he whispered in her ear, “Careful, love. Teagan may have been able to control himself when you toyed with his fangs, but I won’t.”
Sasa stood in front of him naked and looking up at him as she licked her lips. Lifting herself onto her toes, she whispered next to his mouth, “You mean like this?” and then slowly ran her tongue over the point of his left fang.
His head thrown back, one thought controlled him now.
***
Sasa wasn’t sure what he meant about his fangs, but she was sure she’d never felt anything like the emotions coming off him. Powerful. Sensual.
She loved the idea that she might be the reason for how he felt. She’d been with other men who’d said she did it for them, but their emotions had always told a different story. Even with Jason, who she knew had truly loved her, she’d never felt anything like what Vasilije was feeling.
In a flash, her back was against the wall and she was lifted off the ground. His strong hands held her tightly as he pushed close to her.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he growled close to her ear.
In the blink of an eye, his clothes vanished and his naked body, hard and powerful, pressed against her body. She knew she should be frightened. He was a vampire and the words he’d just said were tinged with more than a hint of a threat. She’d felt how sharp his fangs were—fangs that could plunge into her as he proceeded to drink every last drop of her blood and kill her.
She didn’t care.
Desperate to have him inside her, she pulled his mouth to hers and flicked her tongue again over the tip of one fang. In the dark, she was blind to his reaction but every other sense screamed to her that she wouldn’t have to wait a second longer for him to give her what she craved.
With no warning, he thrust into her, filling the empty space completely and taking her breath away. He poured every emotion he had into her—all the rage and sadness at losing Teagan, all the desire and need to have her. With each thrust, it all came pouring out of him.
Sasa held onto his neck, her fingers passionately tugging on his hair, just as soft as she’d imagined. Her legs held him tight around his waist, pulling him closer each time he reared back to plunge into her.
Lost in the sensual rhythm of his fucking, she slowly realized the deep growl he made as he moved his mouth to her neck. From somewhere deep inside him, he groaned her name.
“Sasa.”
His voice sounded full of every emotion she was experiencing. But at its core wasn’t rage or lust but sadness. She wanted to make that sadness disappear. For just a few moments, make him forget his loss like he made her forget the loneliness that had been part of every fiber of her being for so long.
Sasa cradled his head in her arms, feeling the scrape of those razor sharp teeth on her neck. Could she let him do that like she’d let Tatiana do to her mother? Fear bubbled up inside her. Would he take everything from her and leave her empty and for dead?
Almost on their own, the words left her mouth. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Vasilije stopped and lifted his head from her neck. How much she wished she could see his face! With each second that ticked by, she wondered if she’d die there because of what she’d said, in some strange man’s house, a just ending for what had happened there only hours earlier.
He remained silent in front of her, his lips close enough that she felt his warm breath brush her cheek. She had no idea how long they stayed like that, him still inside her, holding her to him, before he carried her to the couch and gently lifted her off him.
Alone on the couch, Sasa felt cold lying there without him, but then he lowered his body down to meet hers and whispered against her lips, “I won’t take what you won’t willingly give.”
A sigh of relief escaped her mouth just as he pressed his lips to hers, softly and almost reverently. The fear that had just been racing through her vanished, replaced by the need to willingly offer him the one thing she desperately yearned to give. Herself.
Again, he slid into her joining them as one, but he was different now. Sasa felt a gentleness from him as what had begun as something raw eased into something sweeter shared between the two of them.
Her hands stroked the soft skin of his back, up and down from the tightened muscles just above his waist to the space between his broad shoulders. His body felt like a silken piece of art under her fingertips. With every thrust into her welcoming body, she worshipped him with her hands.
He seemed driven by one desire—the need to please her. All she felt from him
now was sweetness, like a form of love felt when one finds acceptance in another. Sasa knew it wasn’t the type of love found in tender love songs. She wasn’t a fool. He barely knew her and this was the result of too much alcohol and his need for the closeness of someone, anyone, to take away the pain of losing his friend.
In some ways, though, it was so much more than the melodramatic love of songs. For so long, she’d devoted herself to taking care of her mother that her happiness had all but been forgotten. Loneliness had become who she was. She sensed that whatever his life had been before coming here that it had had its fair share of loneliness too. For this night, at least, each of them had someone to share themselves with to chase away the solitude of their lives.
Slowly, her body began to surrender to the physical pleasure he gave. Somewhere deep inside, she became alive again.
“Yes...right there...don’t stop,” she begged as she held him tightly to her.
Vasilije’s deep voice was in her ear willing her body to do what he wished and it desperately yearned for. “Come for me, Sasa.”
As he spoke her name, she tumbled over the edge that marked her surrender. Over and over, her body milked his cock through her orgasm as the most delicious sensations raced through every inch of her. Without thinking, she raked her nails over his smooth back, sinking into the corded muscles as she rode out each wonderful spasm.
She felt his climax as his stomach tightened against hers and moaned his name as a plea to join her in her ecstasy. A moment later, he stilled as he spent himself inside her, his panting the only sound in her ears.
They lay silently entwined in one another’s arms for a long time, as Sasa listened to his soft breathing near her ear and felt his heartbeat next to her chest gradually slow. Vasilije made no movement toward leaving her body, not that she wanted him to, but as the minutes passed, she wished he’d say something. His emotions told her he was happy, but his silence confused her.
Finally, she whispered his name and hoped he hadn’t fallen asleep.
“Sasa,” he answered in a contented voice.
His answer was as confusing as his silence. She wanted more than ever before not to break the spell of incredible sex, but now she suddenly felt self-conscious about sleeping with him.
“I should go,” she abruptly announced, awkwardly breaking the silence.
“Don’t.”
Of all the words that could have come out of his mouth, that was possibly the one that thrilled her the most. Relieved that his silence hadn’t been a signal of his regret, she relaxed and playfully asked, “Then can we change positions so you can be on the bottom?”
Kissing her, he stood up and took her hand in his to pull her upright on the couch. “Better?”
“Much. Thank you.”
Sasa began to say something else, but instead of taking a seat next to her, she heard him walk away in the pitch darkness, never running into anything as he made his way to the kitchen. Then he was next to her on the couch, lighting a candle on the table in front of them.
“You don’t say much, do you?”
Vasilije turned his head to look at her and smiled. In the flicker of the candlelight, she saw for the first time how blue his eyes were, how they sparkled now when he looked at her.
Leaning back, he pulled her to him, resting her head on his chest. As his heart gently beat in her ear, she asked, “What kind of name is Vasilije?”
Teasing, he answered, “What kind of name is Sasa?”
“I asked first.”
“Romanian.”
“So you’re Romanian? Is that your accent?”
He remained quiet for a long moment and finally in a tone far more serious said, “I am vampire. Nothing more.”
CHAPTER 6
By the time Vasilije awoke, Sasa was gone. As the sleep left his eyes, he turned and looked next to him. The pillow still held the indentation where she’d placed her head when she’d finally rolled off him just before they’d fallen asleep together.
Looking around the room, he saw signs of Teagan everywhere. His books resting on the shelf. His clothes hanging in the closet. More of those goddamned Turkish cigarettes that always stunk so much. The sadness he’d felt yesterday came rushing back and slowly morphed into a sharpened rage by the time he set out to begin the search for his killer almost an hour later.
God, he felt like shit! The thought of Teagan being staked was bad enough, but the possibility that his death was payback for his siring Alex was almost torture. His hands balled into tight fists as he made his way toward the French Quarter.
What he needed now was a drink, but even more he needed to feed. As much as he’d wanted to taste Sasa, his promise to not take her against her will was one he intended to keep.
Something about her gnawed at him still. He hadn’t planned on sleeping with her. That it happened was just something between two people lonely after a loss. At least that’s what he’d told himself when he’d begun to kiss her. And then when he’d nearly lost his mind when she’d played with his fangs, almost sending him over the edge. And again when he was inside her feeling more at home and happy with a woman than he had been in a long time.
As he crossed Canal Street into the Quarter, he shook his head trying to get her out of his mind. He had other things he had to deal with, and a woman wasn’t really one he had the time for.
Vasilije stepped into the mob of people heading toward Bourbon Street and let the feeling of the crowd wash over him. As he passed a restaurant, the fragrant smell of Cajun spices hit his nose and mingled with the earthy aroma of the humans surrounding him, producing a distinct scent he’d never smelled anywhere else in the world. The need for blood rose up in him, and his body began to ache.
Eyeing the row of bars, he stood amazed at the sight in front of him. Neon greens, yellows, and oranges danced in front of his eyes as beacons calling him to visit. It was as if the universe had sensed his craving and laid out a banquet just for him. People danced on balconies above him, shouting their excitement down to the street below. Never before, even in London, had he sensed a city so alive. Inhaling deeply, he drank in the feel of the Quarter, letting it seep into him and exciting him.
***
“Mama, look at me. I did this for you,” Sasa pleaded. Reaching out, her mother’s hand slipped out of her grip.
Sandra Lambert stood with her back to her daughter, shutting her out. But Sasa was thankful to see she was strong enough to stand on her own two feet and stubbornly refuse to do anything.
“Please, Mama. I couldn’t bear to see you suffer anymore. Look at how much you’ve improved. I’d rather deal with you fighting with me any day over watching you waste away in agony in that bed.”
Slowly her mother turned to face her, and Sasa saw for the first time how much she’d truly changed. Her tired face she’d seen for so long looked firm and rejuvenated. The wrinkles had disappeared. And her body, which she’d seen lying in a bed for years, looked healthy and strong, her clothes no longer hanging off a skeletal frame.
“What have you done to me, Sasa?”
“You look wonderful—like the woman you were before Papa left. You won’t have to suffer anymore. I promise. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
Her mother lifted her hand in front of her face and stared at it. “Look.”
Sasa couldn’t deny her mother looked much paler than she had before Tatiana had sired her. It was a small price to pay for the end of her suffering, though. Taking her hand in hers, Sasa brought it to her mouth and pressed her lips in a kiss against the cool skin. She looked up into the alert brown eyes that stared down at her full of emotion.
“Mama, you’re out of that terrible bed and strong enough to argue with me. I never thought I’d see you like this again. I know you may be angry with me now, but you’ll see. Things will be better for us from now on.”
Her mother tore her hand from Sasa’s grip. “How can you say that? I’m a monster!”
The horror on her mother’s fa
ce nearly broke Sasa’s heart. “Don’t say that, Mama! You’re the same person you’ve always been. Just better.”
Sasa watched in sadness as her mother sunk into the loveseat next to her. “I’m a monster who drinks blood, baby,” she said quietly into her hands covering her face as she began to sob.
Dropping to her knees beside her, Sasa wanted to cry too. Like she used to when she was a child, she laid her head against her mother’s leg and closed her eyes.
“Mama, you’re not a monster. Vampires aren’t monsters. They eat and drink just like us—well, except for the blood. But that can be controlled. I know this for a fact. All you have to do is drink the blood I left for you and everything will be okay.”
Her mother began to tenderly stroke her hair, and Sasa breathed a sigh of relief. Just as when she was a young girl, her mother could make her feel better just with the touch of her hand.
“Oh, baby, I know you meant well, but...” Sandra Lambert’s speech broke off as she began to cry.
Sasa looked up and watched her mother’s sad expression. “Please don’t cry. I promise it’ll be okay. Just don’t worry. Let’s just be happy you’re better.”
Nodding, her mother stroked her cheek. “Sasa, what if I...want to...”
“No, it doesn’t work like that, Mama. I was with one last night and nothing like that happened with him.”
Sasa saw the look of shock on her mother’s face and sheepishly said, “You said I should go out and make some new friends.”
Her mother’s expression turned deathly serious. “Sasa, what have you gotten into? Vampires aren’t to be trifled with. The one you had do this to me looked like a barracuda. You’re looking to get hurt, baby.”
Sasa rose to her feet and leaned down to kiss her mother’s forehead. “Trust me, Mama. I know what I’m doing.”
Quietly, her mother said, “I hope so baby.”
Sasa hoped so too. Her time with Vasilije had shown her an entirely different side of vampires from the one she’d seen from Tatiana, but she had to remember they could be killers as easily as lovers.