“There are no curtains in the bedroom either,” he said, chuckling as he burst her bubble.
“Oh. I see.” She ruffled her fingers through his hair and then slid them down the side of his neck. He really had an excellent neck. It was long and strong, muscles and tendons flexing tightly, leading into the strength of his shoulders which bunched up as they supported her weight.
“Fuck it,” she relented in a rush of heat, then began to rapidly undo the buttons on her blouse as she caught up his mouth. He groaned, his excitement growing exponentially as she released herself into the moment. Now, without any other sign of demureness, she stripped open her shirt and unclasped her bra. She took his hand in hers and brought it to her breast. She squeezed her hand around his, massaging her breast with his hand. With her free hand she began to deftly unbutton his shirt.
This time he pulled away slightly. “Easy,” he breathed. “We have all night.”
“I don’t want to take it easy,” she countered. “Not right now. We can save easy for later. Right now I want you hot and hard. I want to know you can’t keep your hands off me. I want to know you can’t breathe unless I breathe for you.”
Rafe groaned and attacked her mouth with renewed vigor. He launched them away from the wall of glass and staggered over to the nearest piece of furniture, a plush couch. They fell onto it, Renee beneath him as he got his knees under him and loomed up over her. He stripped back her blouse and bra and took a long moment to look down on her as his hands slid all over her skin. She was pale and freckled and he was dark, the contrast significant in their skin tones as they both watched him touch her. His fingers came up and clasped her breast, kneading her intensely. His fingers caught at her nipple and it became a hard, excited point. Then he moved his hand aside and framed her breast as he leaned forward and put his mouth on her. He tongued her nipple in a flat sweep, taking her onto his taste buds, savoring the sweet salt of her skin. Then he caught her with his teeth, making her gasp and her back arch. He felt how she was breathing so desperately hard and it excited him to feel her so out of control for him. His free hand went to work on the button and zipper of her jeans even as both of hers finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it from his broad shoulders. He lifted away from her only long enough to unbutton his cuffs and strip himself free of the fabric completely.
She held him away from her for a moment, devouring him with famished eyes. He truly was a beautiful man, she thought. All of that hot skin and tight musculature. She ran her hands over him, touching him everywhere while he waited patiently for her to get her fill. That would be impossible, she decided. She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him. She finally relaxed her arms and let him come down to her. She arched her back and pressed her front all along his, her sensitive nipples rubbing through the coarse hair of his chest. She drew his mouth to her neck and he obediently kissed her there.
She realized he had successfully undone her jeans when his hand slipped into the fabric and cupped her mound beneath her underwear. His fingertips teased her, toyed with her, slid through the ready wetness he had inspired in her. She moaned as his other hand embraced her breast once more and he tugged on her nipple in time to his fingers finding her clit and circling it slowly. Her legs were on either side of his hips, so she was spread open for him, and he was taking full advantage. She was breathless within minutes, her whole world spinning off its axis. Then he worked a finger inside of her and she exploded into a hair-trigger orgasm.
Never had she come so fast in her life. She’d had a pretty decent sex life in her history, but never had she been so hot or so sensitive.
“Oh yes,” he growled into her ear, “that’s what I like to hear.”
She realized then that she had shouted out his name. She was dizzy in the aftermath, so she was limp and compliant as he pulled free of her long enough to strip her clothes the remainder of the way off her body. As soon as he was back above her, her fingers went to work on his belt and the front closures of his pants.
Suddenly she went still and her eyes flew up to meet his. Two flags of color appeared on her cheeks.
“Do vampires get…sick?”
“Not in the same way humans do. Why do you ask?”
“I know it’s a little too late to ask but…do you get things like AIDS? We had unprotected sex earlier and I…I don’t usually do that. In fact, I don’t ever do that. I don’t even know where my head was at.”
“Hey. We were both a little desperate,” he said soothingly. “We don’t get AIDS or any other venereal diseases. What we should be worried about is pregnancy.”
“I’m on the pill,” she said. “I take it to manage my cramps. They are pretty aggressive.”
He chuckled. “Well, then, we should be good. But if it will make you feel better, I can wear a condom. I have some inside.”
“No. I’m fine. We’re fine.” She slid her hand into his pants and fondled him assertively. He caught his breath and the way he looked at her was positively scorching. “Take off your pants. I didn’t get to see you earlier. I want to see you.”
He pulled away from her and obediently kicked off his shoes and stripped out of the remainder of his clothes. He came back to her slowly, letting her look her fill even as he did the same to her.
“My god, you’re beautiful.”
They said it in unison and they both laughed.
“I didn’t think men were supposed to be beautiful,” he said with amusement.
“You don’t subscribe to that,” she said with confidence.
“No. I find men and women to be quite beautiful. I have lived a long time, experienced many pleasures. I’ve seen beauty some can only dream of and some appreciate to this day. This is a varied world we live in and it should be enjoyed on every level.”
“Have you traveled a lot?” she asked as her hands roamed his skin and then sank below his waist once more.
“I’ve been almost everywhere on this planet that’s worth going to…and some places that are not.” His voice caught as she circled her fingers around him and stroked him slowly. “Are we really talking about this now?”
“I find you fascinating. The idea of someone being alive for centuries, it’s astounding.”
“Then we are equals,” he said. “Because I find you fascinating and astounding.”
“Me? What could I have that you haven’t seen a hundred times already? A thousand times.”
“You are as unique as a fingerprint. There has never been anyone like you and there will never be anyone like you. Each individual is precious and extraordinary. There are no two people alike. There are no two things alike. Even things that look the same have minute imperfections or differences that make them unique.”
“But those are small imperfections…hardly discernible to the naked eye.”
“Your differences are far more evident, it is true. For instance, I have never seen eyes like yours. The way they hover between blue and hazel. It’s extraordinary.”
“You sure know how to turn a girl’s head,” she said with a smile.
“Shall I tell you what part of me you’re turning?” he asked wickedly as he bent forward and took her mouth with his. She chuckled against his lips.
“It’s comforting to know there are some universal things between the males of the species.”
“We are not so different,” he said, raining small kisses on and around her lips between each word. “We all appreciate women in our special way.”
“Not all men appreciate women,” she corrected with a little frown. “I have seen that. Some men despise women and then take it out on them.”
He pulled back and met her troubled eyes.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to be glib. That was an erroneous statement. Clearly.”
“No. I appreciate what you were trying to say. Forgive me. My job creeps in at the damnedest times.”
He stroked a finger down the side of her face as he met her eyes. “It’s a part of you. Just another piece of you to appreciate. Don’
t regret it.”
“I don’t. It’s just…sometimes I wish I could have the luxury of being naive.”
“No. You are too practical for that. You want to be aware of the world around you.”
“And how do you know this?”
“By the way you question me so thoroughly about my species. Now that you know about us you want to know everything. Knowledge is power and you know it.”
“True. But you are right. We shouldn’t talk about this now. I simply want to touch you. To drink you in. To feast on you.”
He chuckled. “I was going to say the very same thing. Funny how alike we think.”
“I rather like it,” she said.
After that they fell silent, communicating with looks, mouths and hands on skin. His mouth broke from hers to trail down her throat, his tongue dipping into the hollow at the base of it. Then that tongue traced her collarbone and he kissed her shoulder. He came back to her breast and took her nipple between his gentle teeth. He moved on quickly, trailing down her breastbone to her belly. She had a flat belly for all she claimed to be out of shape, and he followed the tautness of it to her belly button. He could smell the erotic scent of her growing stronger the closer he got to her core. She smelled of sweetness and musk and dampness. He trailed a tongue straight down through her curls and into the honeyed valley below. Taking the taste of her on his tongue was delicious. She was like sweet syrup, warm and viscous, wet from top to bottom. She was heady and bright. Dark and sultry. A contradiction all her own.
He found her clit with his tongue and danced attendance on it. All the while his hands roamed every inch of her skin, from shoulders to breasts to belly to thighs. She felt surrounded by his touch and her whole body squirmed with pleasure. His mouth on her was pure ecstasy and all she could do was let herself fall into the pleasure he was creating. All of her worries melted away. All of their differences disappeared. In that moment they weren’t vampire and human, they were purely man and woman. Renee burst into orgasm with a shout. He kept his mouth on her from the beginning of the crest to the end, until she was so raw with sensation that she threaded her hands in his hair and pulled him back away from her body.
“Please,” she panted hoarsely. “I need you inside me.”
She didn’t have to ask him twice, although part of him thought it might be enjoyable to make her do so. There was something about the way she begged him that excited him. Gave him extraordinary pleasure. Then again, everything she did gave him extraordinary pleasure. And he was determined to reciprocate.
Rafe crawled up her body, his eyes stalking her as he moved over her with the fluidity and intent of a panther. His hips worked their way between her thighs, keeping her spread open for him. She was panting for breath and he could feel the energy of her arousal rolling off her. It made him crave her in all new ways. Made him long to feed from her, this time with her complete awareness and memory of the situation. But he couldn’t do that. It was far too soon. She would hardly have the energy to move the next day. Unless…
He pushed the thought that whispered through him aside. No. That was a contemplation for another time.
Instead he focused on what he knew to be true, on what was right before him. She was positively glowing and so damn beautiful it hurt to look at her. So instead he closed his eyes and burrowed his nose against her fragrant neck and began to enter her body. But she was having none of that. She pulled his head back and said breathlessly, “Look at me. I want you to look into my eyes.”
He could only obey her. He wanted to obey her. In many ways and in many things. He surged into her just as he opened his eyes and stared down hard into the blue-hazel of hers. He felt her surround him like a tight glove and it made parts of him ache with pleasure. He had one arm bracing his weight above her, leaving his left hand free to enjoy her any way he wanted to. He traced his thumb over her bottom lip when she gasped at his invasion into her body, his fingers skied down her throat as she released a throaty moan of pleasure. His palm caressed her down her breastbone and then cupped her trembling breast. All the while he split his focus between watching himself touching her and holding her gaze so he could meet her pleasure head-on.
Renee held his gaze whenever she could. He was moving inside of her now and she just wanted to close her eyes and revel in the sensations he inspired. But at the same time she wanted to be connected with him on a soulful level as well as a physical one. It was so different than the wild heat of the elevator, and yet somehow twice as impactful. When he dropped his head to suck her nipple into his mouth she wrapped her legs around his waist and clutched him tightly to herself every time he surged forward into her. She consciously tightened around him, grasping at him with her body and her roaming hands.
He let her nipple go with a small pop of sound then surged up and caught her mouth with his. As he kissed her she began to orgasm around him, her body so tight he could barely move. But he did move, quickening his pace. He thrust deeper and harder and listened to her cry out his name as a second orgasm followed the first. Damn but she was responsive. He couldn’t begin to describe how that made him feel. The pleasure it gave him. He was drawing hard for breath, trying to control his release, wanting to sustain it for as long as he could. But it was no use. He came in a blinding rush of sensation, his head spinning and his body awash in spasms of ecstasy. He thrust into her until every drop was spilled and he could no longer maintain his position above her. He collapsed on top of her, his weight falling heavily onto her as he gasped for breath and some semblance of control. But he didn’t want to be in control just then. He wanted to stay this way. Abandoned into her. Giving everything he was to her. Listening to her as she gasped hard for every breath.
Renee wasn’t crushed by his weight in the least. In fact, if she had the strength and wherewithal to do so, she would have held him on herself even tighter. As it was her whole body was limp, her arms completely lax, a perfect lassitude washing over her from head to toe.
They lay that way for long minutes, each catching their breath, each looking into the other’s eyes. She eventually found the strength to reach up and caress the wing of one of his brows. Once she did that it was easy to begin tracing the contours of his face. His well-defined cheekbones, his long aristocratic nose, and his finely sculpted lips. His eyes that were the most beautiful stormy gray.
After a while, he sat up, pulling her with him. Leaving all of their clothes scattered to and fro, he carried her into the bedroom. He settled her down into his bed beneath the covers and kissed her lightly on each of her cheeks.
“Stay. Rest. I’ll make us something to eat.”
“Excellent,” she said with a contented sigh. “I’m positively famished.”
“And I’m a very good cook. I’ll have something for us in no time. Relax. You’ve had quite a day.”
“You can say that again. Go on. Make me something,” she said, shooing him away with her hands. “I’m hungry.”
As he stood up in all his naked glory, she realized she still had an appetite for him. He reached for a robe draped over the foot of the bed and slid into it, hiding himself away from her.
“Not going to cook naked?” she teased.
“Even vampires are vulnerable to accidents at the stove. I’d rather protect my parts, thank you very much.”
“You do that. I like your parts just the way they are.”
“I know the feeling,” he said, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe in a way that built renewed warmth beneath her skin. “I’ll be right back.”
Rafe left her behind and went into the kitchen.
Chapter 18
They made love twice more after dinner before finally falling into a very deep sleep. Renee was awakened by the sound of music playing over and over again.
She sat up, disoriented for a moment, pushing the wild curls of her hair out of her face. Sunlight was streaming into the bedroom, cascading over a gorgeous sleeping man whose chest she had just abandoned. She slipped out of the c
overs and grabbed his robe, hurrying into it as she padded barefoot toward the familiar music.
It was her phone playing the theme from Sherlock. Emily had programmed it in one night after a few glasses of wine. It was the least offensive choice, the other being “Baby Got Back.” Renee had put her foot down saying it wasn’t professional. Could she imagine that song playing as she was informing a family their loved one was dead? Absolutely not.
She scrambled around her discarded clothing until she found her jeans and pulled the phone from her pocket.
“Hello?”
“Hey. We’ve got another one,” Jimmy said.
“Another what?” she asked.
“Another body. What else? And the deets sound very familiar. You coming?”
She hesitated. She didn’t have to go. It was her day off. In fact she had the entire weekend off. So did Jimmy. But Jimmy was like her. He never shut off the job completely. He always showed up to work even when he wasn’t called in.
“I’m coming,” she said at last. “But I have a very busy weekend planned. We’ll have to hand this off to someone else until Monday.”
“I just figured you’d want to be there while the scene is fresh.”
“I do. I want to be there. What’s the address?”
“Ready for it?” Jimmy relayed the address and Renee typed it into her phone.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” she told him, trying to calculate how long it would take her to shower, dress, and travel the few blocks to Fifth Avenue. She would have to work fast and even then she was pretty sure her time frame was unachievable. But she would do her best.
She hung up with Jimmy and fetched her overnight bag from where she had dropped it the night before. She snuck past a still-sleeping vampire and hustled into and out of the shower. She dressed in clean jeans and a sweater.
She then hunted for a piece of paper and a pen. He was sleeping so soundly she didn’t want to wake him just to say goodbye. The only thing she found was a whiteboard on the refrigerator, so she quickly jotted a message. Then she texted him just to be sure he got the message. She stuffed her phone and her wallet into her purse and clipped her gun and badge to her belt. She had gone to bed without securing her weapon last night, very much unlike her. She made a mental note to not be so careless in the future. She didn’t even remember taking her weapon off. It had just been discarded as frantically as the rest of her clothes.
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