"Are you cheating?" I whispered in her ear. Her breasts were smashed against my bare chest and the evidence of my arousal was impossible to miss.
"Possibly," she whispered back with a soft giggle. "Is it working?"
Pressing my erection against her stomach and nipping at her earlobe was my answer. Her groan almost set me on fire. Next move was hers. My fangs had descended from my gums and I knew my eyes blazed green. I studied her lovely face and was delighted to see that her eyes and fangs matched mine. We were both in need.
Leaning into her, I traced her full lips with my tongue. She tasted like Heaven and sin and woman. She opened her lips and invited me in. My head spun and I lost sight of the fact we were in a public place. Actually, I didn't give a damn.
Her eyes fluttered shut and it took everything I had to explore gently. Every instinct I had was to make her mine for eternity, but she needed to be with me on that one. I would wait until she wanted the same thing. I knew in my gut she wanted it—had known for hundreds of years she wanted it, but something stopped her. This time I would find out.
I wanted her body, her heart and her soul. I was going to win. I always won my battles. I'd just never fought one this long.
The burning desire to be buried deep inside of her was all-consuming, but sex was a bad idea. God damn it, wait… Why was it a bad idea? Her body writhing beneath mine had my brain spinning out of control. Yet I knew I had to stop. I would win the skirmish but lose the war if I banged her on the gym floor. Fuck.
"Can't play hide the salami today," I muttered as I disengaged myself. "Can't do it."
"What did you just say?" she asked. Her cheeks were flushed and she was grinning. "Did you just refer to your equipment as a salami?"
"Of course not," I mumbled. Then I groaned as I rolled off her and ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "All right, I did, but it's entirely Astrid's fault. We're not supposed to bump uglies or do the horizontal hula anymore."
"Ummm… okay," she said as she tried not to laugh. "Can I ask why?"
"No."
We both stared at the ceiling for a while. What was my next move here?
"Are we done fighting?" she asked.
There were several ways to answer that one. "Literally or figuratively?"
"That's kind of loaded, don't you think?" she replied.
I glanced over at her on the floor beside me. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were pink and her eyes sparkled. She had never been more beautiful and I'd never been more at a loss as to what to do.
"Astrid bet me that we couldn't be friends," I lied. Fuck, where did that come from?
"What did you bet?" She sat up as her eyes grew wide with excitement.
Lying was never the best policy, but knowing Raquel was a sucker for a bet or a dare spurred me on. "My fleet of cars," I answered, compounding the lie tremendously. I figured I should just phone Satan and reserve a suite, but she giggled and I couldn't stop myself. "My entire fleet of cars," I added as I hoped God and Astrid would forgive me.
"Holy shit," she muttered. She knew my car collection. "What do you get from her if you win?"
"She has to pole dance with Mother Nature at the next formal gathering," I said as I imagined my cousin ripping me from limb to limb. Astrid was going to kill me dead.
"Piece of cake," she said as she laughed. "You will win and Astrid will dance."
"Really?" Could it be this easy? Did lying work? "You'll be my friend?"
"What exactly does being your friend entail?"
"Well, we would talk and be civil instead of trying to kill each other," I said slowly, wondering how much I could get away with. I was headed to Hell anyway, might as well make it worth it.
"I could probably make that work," she said as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her slim thighs.
"We would hang out and get to know each other better," I added and waited for her to belt me.
"How much?" she asked suspiciously.
"Probably a lot in the beginning. How long are you here?"
"Not sure yet," she said as she rested her chin on her knees. "So no sex?"
"No, no sex," I croaked as we both stared at my raging erection. "Well, maybe if we talked the entire time and got to know each other while we fucked."
"You mean like in between each thrust, you ask me my favorite color or favorite board game?" she inquired with a raised brow and a smirk.
"That sounds somewhat complicated," I said.
"And mood killing," she added.
"How about after each orgasm we ask three questions?" I bargained.
"I get two and you get one?"
"No, we each get three." I shook my head and grinned.
"Two," she negotiated.
I pretended to consider her counter, but I would have said yes to one question after every tenth orgasm. The deal was pretty damn good.
"I can work with that."
"My suite or yours, friend?" she asked as she stood and offered me her hand.
"Mine. I hate filthy bathrooms."
She rolled her eyes and laughed like a carefree girl. "You got yourself a deal."
Her laugh was music to my ears. We raced each other to the exit of the training room. I knew I'd get busted for lying at some point. I just prayed it would be after we had mated.
***
"Blue," she said as she tore off her shirt and went for my pants.
"My balls?" I asked as I helped her. Then I picked her up and threw her on the bed.
"No, idiot, my favorite color. Yours?" Her laugh went all through me and I grinned.
"Red," I said as I dove on top of her naked body. "I thought the questions were after each orgasm."
My hands found her breasts and her nipples pebbled beneath my fingertips. She was fucking perfect.
"I know," she said as she ran her hands up my chest and tangled her fingers in my hair, "but I realized there are some things I want to know. Can't you multitask?"
She ground her hips against my erection and I saw stars. I was not going to blow my wad like a high school human—at least I hoped not.
This felt different than all the times we'd fucked over the years. Normally we insulted the Hell out of each other and then screwed until we were almost for real dead. This was far better, but there was no way I was going to articulate that. She'd run.
"Do you have any pets?" I asked as I ran my tongue along the underside of her breast.
"Cats. Two," she said as she shuddered and arched her back, silently begging for more.
I happily obliged and scraped my fangs over her firm round breasts.
"You?" she whispered.
"No, but I like pussies."
"Oh my God," she burst out. "You suck at this."
"Nope, but I can," I murmured as I took her distended nipple in my mouth and did just that.
Her hiss went straight to my balls and the need to be inside her was almost debilitating, but I held back. Don't hide the fucking salami until I know more about her than just how to make her body sing.
"Favorite singer?" I asked in a muffled voice due to her breast being in my mouth.
"Johnny Cash," she squeaked as I nipped and then stopped.
"You're kidding."
"No," she snapped. "What's wrong with Johnny Cash?"
"Nothing. It's just surprising," I said as I trapped her arms over her head and got nose to nose with her. "Favorite TV show?"
"True Blood." She narrowed her eyes and waited for me to jump on that one.
"I'm hotter than those fuckers," I said with a smirk.
"Possibly." She grinned back. "Favorite place in the world?"
"Right here. Right now," I said and waited for her to make her escape.
She looked away and the color in her cheeks heightened. "Too personal," she whispered. "Too fast. Hardest thing to kill?"
I would play it her way because she was correct. My plan was to make her fall for me permanently, not run away again. "Trolls," I said firm
ly. "Or possibly Gnomes."
"I haven't had the pleasure of fighting either one of those," she said as she rotated her hips beneath mine.
My eyes rolled back in my head and I bit down on my lip to keep from coming. "It's not a pleasure. Trust me on that one." My lips found the spot on her neck that made her whimper.
"Truth or dare?" she asked hoarsely as I made my way down her body toward the auburn curls between her legs.
"Dare," I said as I flicked my tongue over her most sensitive parts.
Her hips jerked and I held her firmly in my hands so I could have my fill and make her beg. The beginnings of her orgasm made me slow down. I was going to make her work for it. Prolonged anticipation—prolonged pleasure.
"I dare you to stare into my eyes when we fuck," she said recklessly as she writhed under my lips.
"That's kind of personal, Red," I said gruffly, loving the thought.
"You're right. I take it back," she recanted quickly.
"Nope, a dare is a dare and I accept," I said as I moved with Vampyre speed back up her body, licking and nipping every place that I wanted. "Truth or dare, Princess?"
"Dare," she gasped out as I positioned myself at her entrance and teased her with the swollen head of my cock. She was so wet and ready I almost forgot to play the game.
"I dare you to make love with me. No fucking," I challenged.
Her body stiffened and she tried to turn away. I was having none of it.
Taking her chin in my hand I forced her to see me. "I want you to know it's me inside of your body. I want you to watch what you do to me—what you have done to me for two hundred goddamned years and I want to watch you come apart in my arms. I want my name on your lips when you come and I want… "
"You want too much," she ground out as she began to struggle. "You can't have everything—no one can. Let my body be enough for you."
"I can’t. I want all of you," I hissed as I pushed the head of my cock into her. She tightened around me like a vise and it took every ounce of control not to bury myself to the hilt in her body. "I want what's inside and what's outside. I need everything."
"I don't have it to give," she cried out as she rocked and took more of me into her.
"Tell me that you want me," I demanded as I held my body still with gargantuan effort. "Tell me that you recognize me as your mate. Let me in."
She tilted her head and tears filled her eyes. I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her with such tenderness that I felt a sting in my own eyes. My hands splayed her rib cage and I cradled her curves reverently.
The deep-seated ache in my balls was painful, but I wanted her to see me. I needed her to see us. Whether she admitted it or not, it had always been this way when we came together. Our bodies and souls recognized each other as one.
"Why, Raquel? Tell me why."
She closed her eyes and put her hands over them. "I recognize you, Heathcliff," she whispered brokenly. "I have always recognized you."
My chest tightened. The light at the end of the tunnel was dim, but at least it was there. "You're mine," I said as I took her hands off her face and trapped them over her head. "Say it. Stop destroying both of us."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?" I demanded angrily. How in the fuck could she deny what was meant to be?
Her mouth moved wordlessly and I tried to enter her mind, but she blocked me. I read her lips, but I wanted to make her say it. I needed to hear it even if it devastated me.
"Say it," I ground out.
"Both," she yelled. "I can't and I won't," she said harshly as tears poured from her eyes. "It's not you. It's me."
"Jesus Christ," I muttered as I rolled off of her onto my back and stared sightlessly at the ceiling of my bedroom. "We're not in high school. This isn't a crush. You're my mate—the other half of my soul. You are slowly killing me—killing us."
"I'm broken," she whispered. "I won't break you too."
"Is that really your decision to make?" I asked without looking at her. It was too difficult.
"It has to be," she said woodenly as she rose from the bed and gathered her clothes.
"No," I countered harshly. "It doesn't have to be this way. You know I'm your mate and I know you're mine. It's not complicated. You. Are. Mine."
She stared at me sadly and shook her head. "Even if I explain, you won't understand. You’ll never see things the way I do."
"God damn it, just give me the chance. You owe me that."
"No," she whispered as part of me broke for good.
She turned away and began to dress. I longed to run my hands over her smooth skin. I wanted to squeeze this elusive secret out of her, but I knew it wouldn't work. She'd kept it close to her chest for over two hundred years. One would think I'd learned my lesson by now. It was time to force myself to swallow it and move on. I was dying inside and I was letting it happen because I wouldn't let her go. Fate was a bitch and I hated her.
"I can't do this anymore, Raquel. I can't be with only part of you—it's not enough. I'm slowly going insane."
"I know. I am too," she said so quietly I almost missed it. "I'll leave here and not come back again. There are other tutors for Samuel. It was selfish and wrong for me to be here. I'm sorry."
I wanted crawl out of my skin. I wanted to shake her and make her understand or at least make her hurt as much as I did. The agony I felt was unbearable. Her future and her happiness were right in front of her and she was too scared or proud to see it.
"You're an icy woman, Raquel, and fate has destined me to Hell by making me your mate."
My tone held no expression. I had nothing left to give. The hopelessness made me a hollow shell. I loved her as much as I hated her.
I felt her stare but refused to look.
"You're right, Heathcliff. I'm cold and unfeeling. I'm sorry about what fate has destined, but sometimes fate makes mistakes."
"Apparently," I said coolly. "You have pretty words and a pretty facade. I suppose I should be grateful that you only showed me your outside and hid your insides because they are as black as the heart you don't have."
Her sob caught in her throat and I felt ill. I rolled off the bed and sat on the edge with my back to her. Seeing her would make me beg and I'd already done that. I would not do it again—ever again. Her quiet crying shredded me. The cruel words had left my lips willingly and now I would give my undead life to take them back.
"Raquel, I… "
"No, Heathcliff. What you said is true. Believe it always —at least you'll be alive to do so." With that she left.
I picked up the first thing my hands touched and smashed it against the wall. Her words held such irony. I wasn't alive and neither was she. We were undead. We were fucking Vampyres and we would live for eternity… alone.
Because she was too much of a coward to be mine.
I pulled on some pants and went looking for a fight. Getting beaten and bloody was the only thing that was going to work for me and I knew just where to find it.
Chapter 7
"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Ethan roared.
It was somewhat difficult to see and hear him as my ears were still ringing and my eyes were swollen nearly all the way shut. Somehow I'd found my way to his office… or maybe I’d been dragged here. It was all slightly jumbled at the moment and I really didn't give a shit.
"Nothing is wrong with me," I growled.
"Let me recap," he snapped. "You took on thirty Vampyres barehanded and let them have weapons. You decimated the training room with magic and you left twenty of those Vampyres without limbs. I would have to argue that there is something very wrong with you."
"I needed to blow off some steam," I shot back unsteadily as I tried to stand and thought better of it. "And most of the bastards are old. The limbs will grow back immediately."
"Irrelevant," Ethan hissed. "And just so you know, I'm not your biggest problem at the moment. Astrid is on her way up here."
"Bring it," I said. Nothing cou
ld faze me now—not even the wrath of my cousin. Maybe she would kill me for real dead. It would be a blessing. There were so few who could do it, but she was one who possessed the power to kill almost anything.
"Heathcliff, you're a fucking mess. You're a Master Vampyre with a death wish—a bad fucking combination."
Ethan was disgusted and I didn't blame him. I was his second in command and I'd just wiped out most of the Vamps who were staying in the States to guard him, Astrid and Samuel. The group of injured would have to regenerate here and others would have to forego the summit with the Angels in Europe.
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