Gianna walked by with a tray of drinks right as Cassie was pulling away, and raised a curious eyebrow. I shot a withering glare at Cassie, but she just smiled and sat down in the chair between me and Devin, as if kissing another man in front of her boyfriend was par for the course. A smirk played around Devin’s mouth and his eyes held the first glimmer of the glow I’d come to associate with sexual arousal.
Did my eyes do that?
Next time I was at home jerking off, I’d look in the mirror and see.
A pulse of need throbbed through my dick and I squirmed in my seat to ease some of the pressure.
The glow in Devin’s eyes deepened. “You’re projecting.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” I said.
“Hunh.” Devin slumped down in his chair, propped his elbows on the arms, and sprawled his legs out under the table. “I got a picture of you jerking off in front of the mirror. Sexy.”
Heat climbed my cheeks. Jesus. He’d seen that? “Sorry, man. Don’t know how to stop it.”
“Put up a wall,” he said. “I’ll help you figure it out later.”
Cassie scooted her chair closer to Devin and put her hand on his leg, caressing him through the thin shorts he wore.
I tried hard, really I did, but couldn’t pull my eyes away from her slender hand, pale against the charcoal gray of his shorts, and Devin’s erection, clearly outlined by the thin material. Why had I chosen to work at a metal table with holes in it?
Oh, right. Because now that I’d met Gianna, I couldn’t go a whole day without seeing her. Duh.
“Is that what you were doing when we were, ah, up north?”
His husky laugh vibrated through every nerve I had, lighting me from the inside. “What do you think?”
Cassie’s hand moved to rest on his erection, teasing it, squeezing gently. My dick throbbed as if she’d touched me and I slumped in my seat to hide the raging hard-on I sported. Devin casually unbuttoned his shorts and in Cassie’s hand went while I goggled.
“Jesus, Dev. There are people out here,” I said.
“Relax, Eric. Nobody’s paying attention.”
I dragged my gaze away from them to look around. Not a soul was watching what was going on under the table, in plain view of God and everybody. A couple of people gave us curious looks, like they knew something was happening that shouldn’t; all of them had that inner light I’d noticed in Gianna, the beacon Elizabet had warned me about.
Devin tucked a stray wisp of Cassie’s hair behind her ear. She turned her head to nuzzle the palm of his hand. I’d seen them do that before, more than once, which probably meant she’d been giving him hand jobs under the table on a regular basis since Devin had reentered my life.
I leaned forward and hissed, “That really makes me uncomfortable.”
Devin snorted and Cassie laughed, her doe eyes dancing with amusement.
“Jealous, Eric?” she said. “I can do you, too, if you want.”
I groaned and covered my eyes with one hand. Maybe if I didn’t look at them… Nope. I still had a clear picture in my mind of Cassie’s hand encircling Devin’s erection, stroking it slowly, her thumb rubbing over the head where pre-cum had gathered. Much more of that and I’d have to go to the bathroom and take care of my own erection before I embarrassed myself by coming all over my shorts.
A hand fell onto my shoulder, startling me into opening my eyes. Gianna stood beside me, her even features decorated with a friendly smile. She removed her hand immediately after it landed, more’s the pity. I could still feel its imprint on my shoulder, warming my skin and feeding the heat gathering in my groin.
Our running date had gone so well, she’d agreed to go out with me again. Tonight, in fact. I risked a glance at my watch and did a quick mental calculation. How many times would I need to jerk off before going out with her so I didn’t come across like a big horn dog and scare her off? The answer? Too many.
I’d always hated word problems.
“Hey, Gianna,” I said. “This is Cassie and Devin, some friends of mine.”
Gianna did what I secretly thought of as the girl wave at Cassie, a flick of her hand with bent wrist, the gesture long enough to be polite, but not so long that it signaled interest.
Devin sat up enough to shake Gianna’s hand, murmuring politely.
Meanwhile, Cassie had pulled Devin’s dick completely out of his shorts and was stroking it hard and fast. Gianna’s gaze dipped to Devin’s lap, but that was it; not one word about what was going on underneath the table, and she was only a few feet away.
How could she possibly miss that? Was Devin doing some kind of mind trick on her?
“Nice to meet you.” Gianna tucked her tray against the side of her body and turned to me. “I just came by to let you know I might be a little late tonight.”
Devin’s amber eyes went bright. He was close to coming. I could practically feel the heat radiating off of him, the need to move his hips against Cassie’s hand, or better, to lay her out on the table and bury himself in her. I stood and moved away, taking Gianna with me so there was no chance of her overhearing Devin coming under the table.
When we were a safe distance away, I said, “We can go out another night, if tonight’s bad.”
“No, I want to do something. It’s just, you know, errands.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and slid a glance to Devin and Cassie. A sweet fragrance rose from her, tickling my nose and ratcheting the need so tight it took all my control to keep from pulling her into a private area, any private area, and taking her mouth.
We hadn’t even held hands yet, let alone kissed. I wanted our first one to be more special than a quick grope in a closet.
“I know it’s our first official date, but if you want, we can stay in, watch a movie. I’ll cook for you.” Anything to be with her. “That way, if you’re really late, it won’t matter.”
She turned her almond-shaped eyes on me and smiled, and that irresistible sweet smell grew stronger. It took me a minute to put it all together, and when I did, I could’ve hit myself for being so blind. I could smell her pheromones. She was getting aroused by what Devin and Cassie were doing, even without knowing exactly what they were up to.
And she wanted to be alone with me.
Being a pet had some excellent perks.
“Sounds good,” she said. “I’ll text you if I’m gonna be more than an hour late.”
“Ok. What movie do you want to watch?”
Her smile turned coy. “You pick.”
Great. The number one failure of guys everywhere: Picking a good movie for a first date. “Sure,” I said. “See you then?”
“Yeah.” She bounced on the balls of her feet and tapped her tray against her arm. “I’ll try not to be too long.”
“Take your time, do what you gotta do.” I took a chance and cupped her shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’ll wait for you.”
Behind us, Devin exploded without making a sound. The wave of it hit my mind with the force of a mild hurricane, making me sway on my feet. I caught myself before it could look like anything other than reluctance to part with Gianna, which was true enough. Her eyes widened and a light sweat broke out along her skin, and I nearly came from the combination of being so close to her when she was aroused and the weight of Devin’s release.
He’d done that deliberately, the bastard.
I dropped my hand from Gianna’s shoulder and watched her hurry back to work, her lithe body moving quickly and efficiently. When I returned to the table, Devin and Cassie were lost in each other. I wanted to chew him out for pulling that stunt in front of Gianna before I had a chance to explain him to her and vice versa, but envy stayed my words. I wanted what Devin and Cassie had. Not the whole sex in a public place thing. Vampire blood induced sex drive or not, my tolerance for PDA was pretty low. No, what I wanted was the obvious closeness, the need they had for one another. I couldn’t even explain it to myself, but I was pretty sure I wanted that with Gianna, and soon.<
br />
Tonight’s date would be a huge step in that direction.
I hoped.
Chapter Two
That evening, I made a quasi-Tex-Mex casserole using a recipe I’d pulled off the Internet. The “Pet Nutrition Guide” (I snickered every time I read the title; what was I, a dog?) had lists of recommended foods and their relative nutritional values, all geared around the “Mistress-pet bonding cycle.” Yet another term I had no idea what meant, but since none of the recommendations seemed too far outside the norm, I’d started using them to plan meals. Some of the guidelines made a lot of sense, like the request to not eat garlic or other strong spices in the week leading up to Elizabet’s feeding.
Duh. She was a vampire.
Would garlic hurt her or did it just put her off? Have to ask Devin that one.
Some of the recommendations were more obscure, like cutting out bread and other grain products, or at least minimizing them, if I was reading the guide correctly. I loved bread. What good Southern man doesn’t? Pancakes, buttermilk biscuits, my granny’s coconut cake.
I groaned and pushed the cake out of my mind. Wasn’t supposed to have many sweets either, which was just un-American.
I’d splurged tonight, though, in honor of my and Gianna’s official first date and bought two hefty slices of chocolate cheesecake from a local dessert shop. I had plans for that cheesecake. Didn’t know if Gianna would let me carry them out, but I was sure gonna try.
She texted me ten minutes after I put the casserole in to let me know she’d be another half hour, which was fine. The casserole would hold in a warm oven for a while. I did a run through of the apartment to make sure I had everything in order. Table set with what passed for good silverware and napkins in an undergrad’s apartment. No flowers, but I had put out candles and used a tablecloth Mom had insisted on giving me when I’d moved out of the dorm.
Now I knew why.
Three rented movies were piled on the coffee table. Getting one had seemed like date suicide, so I’d commandeered the video rental’s clerk and had her help me pick out two chick flicks, and then I’d gotten something with a little more action in it.
I winced and smacked a hand to my forehead. Action meaning guns and cars blowing up, not sex. Now that there was a slim chance of a woman being in my life, I really needed to watch what I thought in case it came out of my mouth the same way.
The bathroom was clean from two separate scrubbings and my bed was made with fresh sheets. No chance of having sex, but from past experience I knew she’d look in there. Women always did. The quickest way to get one to leave was to have an unmade bed with dirty sheets.
I sat down on my clean sofa and picked up a textbook from my clean coffee table to read while I waited. I’d never been obsessed with cleanliness before, but with Gianna around, now didn’t seem like such a great time to be a slob. I’d made a real effort to do more than just keep my stuff picked up over the past week, and it had paid off when she’d told me she might be late.
Original plans cancelled because Gianna’s day ran over? No problem! Here’s your clean apartment, ready and waiting to be used.
It could’ve been an advertisement for Lysol or something.
Twenty minutes later, I cut the oven down to warm, checked the salad to make sure I’d actually finished putting it together. Debated sitting out the cheesecake, then left it in the fridge. The wine was chilled and ready to be opened. The cool air spilled across my legs, sending goose bumps along my bare skin. I was still wearing shorts. Maybe jeans would be better, but if I changed, I’d have to put on another shirt, and that might be too formal for a casual evening at home.
I shut the fridge and banged my head against it. Obsessing wouldn’t get her there quicker and worrying about all the details was driving me nuts.
I did take a few minutes to change into jeans and a nicer t-shirt, but left my feet bare to underscore the casual message. I wanted her to feel at home, to be at ease and relax. Hopefully, bare feet would help.
A soft knock fell against the door. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before I padded over and opened it. Gianna stood on the other side wearing a loose, flowy, deep purple top over black leggings tucked into calf-high boots. She’d left her hair down in a halo around her face, and had her purse draped over one shoulder and a jacket in her hands.
“Hey.” I dropped a chaste kiss on her cheek and breathed in the light scent of her perfume, something vaguely spicy that ignited the need I’d finally managed to tamp down before I’d started cooking. “You look great.”
Her brow furrowed as she took in my outfit. “I’m overdressed,” she said. “I knew I should’ve worn jeans.”
I shut the door behind her and hung her jacket and purse on the pegs behind the door. “If you had, then I wouldn’t be able to spend the evening ogling your legs when I think you’re not looking.”
Her almond eyes went wide. “You won’t really.”
“If that’s what you want to believe,” I said, and she laughed. “Supper’s ready, if you’re hungry.”
She put a hand to her stomach and gave me a pinched look. “I’m starved. Had to skip lunch so I’d have time to do everything today.”
“I guess you don’t need a lecture on taking care of yourself,” I said mildly, “But don’t skip meals just to spend time with me.”
“I didn’t. Well, not really. Some stuff came up.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Class project. No biggie, but I had to put some time into it kind of unexpectedly.”
I led her into the kitchen so I could pull the casserole and salad out. “Next time, tell me and we’ll do something else.”
“If by something else you mean skip our date, then no way. Going out with you is what got me through this week.”
Not much I could say to that except, me, too. I turned my back on her to pull the casserole out of the oven and place it on the stove, afraid she’d see the raw need, recognize it for what it was, and run.
“That was too much, wasn’t it?” she said in a quiet voice.
I whirled around and was astonished to see her biting her lip, her expression uncertain. “No,” I said. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Relief crossed her face, and to keep the uncertainty from coming back, I handed her a plate to fill while I assembled the rest of our meal. She looked askance at the wine.
“What?” I asked as I took down two glasses.
The furrow was back between her eyebrows. “I’m only nineteen.”
“I know. It’s not like we’re out in public.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
I grinned, couldn’t help it. That hadn’t occurred to me, which told me exactly how far gone on her I was. “Do you want me to?”
She huffed out a breath, though amusement gleamed in her eyes. “I still have to drive home. Maybe half a glass?”
“Sure. I’ve got other stuff, too, if you’d rather.” I’d prodded her as subtly as I could over the past week, just so I could have things like that here for her. I was such a sap. “I honestly didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Still not legal,” she said primly, and laughed when I rolled my eyes.
We filled our plates and took them with our wine to the table. I lit the candles and cut the living room’s lights off so we could pretend we were at a cozy restaurant instead of in my tiny apartment. It was awkward at first. I guess first dates always are. But after a while, we both relaxed and talked while we ate and before I knew it, our plates were empty.
Neither of us wanted seconds, so I put our dishes into the sink to soak and pulled out dessert.
Gianna groaned when she recognized the box. “I bet I’ll gain five pounds tonight.”
“Yeah?” I raked an interested gaze over her from head to toe and felt my dick stir behind the fly of my jeans. “Where do you think they’ll go?”
She made a sour face at me. “Right where I don’t want them to.”
“
Hmm.” I wasn’t stupid enough to get drawn into the whole weight issue with a woman. If I admitted that I liked her curves and wouldn’t mind getting my hands on them, she’d probably smack me, especially if I hinted that five more pounds would fill her out exactly where I wanted to touch. I cut that thought out before it had time to take root and go straight where it didn’t need to go. “You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met.”
“Uh huh.”
“You’re entirely too cynical to be nineteen.” I plated the cheesecake and grabbed two spoons. “Come on. Since this is our first date, calories don’t count.”
“Nice save.”
“I thought so.”
We sat down at the table again. I pushed my plate aside and dipped a spoon into her slice before offering it to her.
She hesitated so long I thought she was going to turn me down. “I can feed myself, you know.”
“I know. This is…” I bit back the word foreplay and scrambled for something more polite. “I want to watch you.”
She blinked. “That’s kinda weird, Eric.”
A stab of disappointment hit me, but I put the spoon down and inched the plate toward her. “It’s ok. We don’t have to do that.”
“No, it’s just…” She bit her lip again and eyed the cheesecake with an odd expression on her face. “Nobody’s fed me since I was a kid.”
“One bite,” I coaxed.
She nodded slowly, leaned her forearms against the table, and then pulled them off again. “I don’t know what to do with my hands.”
I could fix that, and I did by rearranging the seating so that we were both on the same side of the table facing each other, our chairs pulled close enough that I could bracket her legs with mine. I scooted forward in the seat so I could feed her, and when she draped her hands lightly on my thighs, I barely restrained a shudder from the touch.
The Vampire's Pet (The Vampyr Book 1) Page 6