Uncertainty hovered in her blue eyes. At least I have her full attention. How many other women would have called him crazy and walked away? Many. Only those with no scruples would have accepted him purely on the invitation extended. Valdemar did not want one of those women. I want my true love. I want Aureliann. “I don’t play games with women and I am using ‘art’ as you call it for my own means.”
“Huh?”
“The book was written to find my true love.” Valdemar knew this buxom beauty was it. The rapid rise and fall of her full breasts in the simple blue t-shirt and the shape of her lush thighs in those jeans made his cock harden in excitement. He was not the sort of man who liked to rush a woman. Normally he liked to seduce and tease. However Valdemar knew his control was perilously close to being lost after so long a search for this woman. I must bond with her. I must make her mine. Every fiber of his being longed for such completion.
Aureliann tapped the book to her head as realization dawned in her eyes. “Oh I get it. Zoe sent you, didn’t she?”
“I do not know a Zoe.” Valdemar took the book from her, placing it on the seat beside her. He wanted to hold both her hands. He could feel the shiver that ran through her body. She was as excited as he was.
“Damn you’re good. I actually want to believe you are Prince Valdemar.”
“I am.” Valdemar pulled her to her feet. “Come with me.” He wanted to be with her somewhere quiet and romantic. He wanted to concentrate totally on making love to this woman. The first experience was always the most memorable.
“Oh whoa.” Aureliann tried to pull her hands away. “While it’s been great to meet you, ‘Prince’, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Then it must be here.” There was no other choice. They had to bond immediately or everything he knew and loved would perish, including Aureliann because she was a part of him, as he was her, whether she accepted it or not. This is not where I wanted to meet or how I wanted our first time to be. But I must make do. Valdemar smiled to himself. My true love had to be an independent, cynical woman. But I would want no less. He looked around the dingy surroundings. There were too many people watching and he would never shame his woman by taking her in front of others. He waved his free hand and all but the two of them disappeared.
Aureliann’s eyes goggled at the suddenly empty room. She stood up and spun around. There was no one but them in the laundromat. It was empty. The washing machines and dryers still chugged, the only evidence that there had been anyone there at all.
“What the fuck?” She closed her eyes and opened them again quickly. “Where is everyone? What the hell is going on here?” One minute she was sitting there regretting not separating her colors from the whites before putting them in the wash and the next the man of her dreams had walked into her life and made everyone vanish. Have I inhaled too much soap powder?
“They are not important, lovely one, only we are.”
Lovely one? “We”?
Valdemar pulled her against his body. “Oh!” She gasped as the heat from his body seeped into hers. Delicious. Aureliann inhaled the spicy smell of him and wondered if he would taste the same. Huh? What the hell am I doing? I don’t know this man.
“Let go.” The words sounded weak to her but who could think when this man was all hot and hard and his hands had slid down to cup her ass. She felt like she was dissolving against him as her body naturally molded itself against his. Was he really Prince Valdemar? How could that be? The whole making-people-disappear thing was pretty impressive though. That was not something you saw every day. And what if he was a storybook hero come to life? Should she be carrying on this way with a man, even a fantasy one, she didn’t know? Or did reading a book seven times make a relationship? Crap, what that hell am I thinking? Dreams did not come true.
“Um, who are you?”
The sweet smile of understanding he gave Aureliann made her body sag against his.
“I am your prince. I am the man you called to each night. I heard you speak the words from your own sweet lips.”
Aureliann pushed her hands against his chest. That would be right. He was a peeping tom cum cover model. Typical I’d get one of them. He probably thought she was desperate, and maybe she was a little, but she wasn’t easy.
“You’ve been standing outside my window?” She knew she talked in her sleep and wondered what else she had blurted out.
Valdemar shook his head in bemusement. “No, I have been in my castle, lovely.”
His castle. The man knew the book. She had to give him that. It was smart to cater to a woman’s fantasies. Aureliann almost wanted to believe him. The making-people-disappear thing was hard to dismiss. Time for a test. If he was playing a part, despite the whole vanishing people thing, she was going to catch him out. No one knew The Vampire’s Kiss better than she did. No one. She had lived that book.
“That would be your castle in—”
“In Serawych,” Valdemar responded as he started moving her backward.
Aureliann’s back hit the long communal bench that was used for folding clean clothes. “With?”
He smiled. “With Thomas, my mentor.”
Even though that was an easy question, a cold shiver ran down her spine. This, whatever it was with this man, felt so right it was freaky.
“And your cousin?”
“Victor.”
Aureliann saw the sudden pain in his eyes. That was not fake. It was genuine and heartfelt. “Can’t you talk to him and somehow—” Oh crap, what am I saying? She wanted to reunite cousins who did not exist. Yet she was falling for this and him and for the life of her she didn’t want to stop the fall.
He sighed. “My cousin is beyond talk.” Valdemar lifted one hand and caressed her face. “I need you, Aureliann.”
She gasped in surprise. “How do you know my name?” The rest he could have gotten from the pages of the book but her name?
“I know you as I know my own heart.”
“Damn you’re good.” He was saying every single thing she had wanted the storybook Prince Valdemar to say to her. She was feeling everything she longed to feel. Freaky stranger or fantasy becoming real? “I want to believe you.” I want you to be real.
“I am Prince Valdemar. I do not lie.” His eyes locked with hers, his words strong and resolute.
Aureliann needed more proof. It was not every day that a stranger walked into your life and told you he was the hero from your favorite book.
“Where is the royal tattoo?” Only a real The Vampire’s Kiss fanatic or Prince Valdemar would know that. It was a stylized gothic ankh symbol that meant eternal life. It was on his body in a certain place that she had often fantasized seeing.
Valdemar smiled. “On my ass. Do you wanna see?” His hands left hers and dropped to unbuckle his belt.
Yes please.
“No.” It could have been a lucky guess and yet in her heart she suspected it wasn’t. There was something that rang too true about this man. She licked her lips at the hot man with his buckle undone. It would take so little to pull those trousers off his lean hips and…whoa! Snap out of it, woman. And yet it was hard to because this man was exactly as she imagined Prince Valdemar to be. “Fangs. Where are they?” She was well aware of the answer to that. Was he? “And it’s daylight. Everyone knows vampires can’t handle the sun.”
He laughed. “You and I both know that my fangs only appear when I want them to and daylight does not affect me. Nice try to catch me out, lovely.” Valdemar reached out and pulled her back against him. “Don’t fight what is meant to be.” His hands caressed her hips.
Her loins rubbed slowly against his. This was everything she wanted but it had to be too good to be true. “Who are you?” I want to believe in you.
“I am your vampire prince.”
Before Aureliann had time to say anything further he kissed her and whatever she was thinking of saying disappeared from her mind with that first taste of his mouth on hers. It was everything she craved.
Soft, firm yet passionate. She could not help but wrap her arms around his body and pull herself closer for more. Aureliann had the overriding need to feel every part of his body against hers. Hmm, lovely indeed. The vampire’s kiss was just as she imagined.
Valdemar’s mouth left her lips. “I would have preferred somewhere more romantic than here.”
“Huh?” Aureliann murmured incoherently. She no longer had any idea where she was other than she was with him and that was all that mattered. “For what?”
“To make love to you, lovely.” Valdemar grinned at the look on her face. “I like how your mouth drops open in surprise like that.” He took advantage of that and kissed her again.
Aureliann had been kissed before and it had been nice. This was way beyond nice. This was a hot, sexy duel of mouth and tongues with desire and need racing through bodies that were destined to unite.
“This is crazy,” she panted as she broke off the kiss. Her whole body was trembling.
“No, it’s not.” Valdemar ran his finger along her swollen lips. “I need you as you need me. We must be together. You feel that as I do.” His mouth descended once more on hers with a hungry burst of kisses. “I am the only man who will ever love you.”
As lines went, it was ten out of ten and exactly what she longed to hear. He looked like Prince Valdemar. He spoke the words as Valdemar did in the book. But am I losing my mind?
“You need me, Aureliann.”
And he was right. That was the only thing she could think of. I have to be with this man. There was no way it could be otherwise. Was he Prince Valdemar stepping from the pages of The Vampire’s Kiss? Her heart and mind were one. Yes. Was she insane? Most probably.
“I don’t just—well, you know—with anyone.” In fact there had only ever been that once. It had been her first time and so awful that she had never wanted to try it again or even talk about it until now. “I’ve only ever once and—” Aureliann clapped her hand to her mouth when she realized what she had said.
“I know and this time will be much better because of love.” Valdemar’s hands moved to the bottom edge of her t-shirt.
He thought this was about love? The look in his eyes made her want to believe him. But then am I so caught up in fantasy that I’ll believe anything? “What did you do with those people?”
He smiled at her concern as his hands pulled the fabric up. “They are resting.”
“Um. Stop.” Aureliann grabbed his hands. She looked down at them. They were real man’s hands—large, long fingered and scarred by life. She wondered momentarily how they would feel on her bare skin.
“What?” He seemed to sense her hesitation.
How did she say naked didn’t work for her, that it made her feel anything but sexy? “Are you sure you want me? This is not some mistaken identity thing?”
“You are the only one I will ever want, lovely.” Valdemar waited for her consent.
“Easy to say when you’re in heat.” And he was. She could feel his cock pushing hard against the fabric of his trousers as his hips grazed hers.
Valdemar raised one hand to cup her chin. “This is about you and me, nothing else. Do not judge me as you do other men, Aureliann. I need you for who you are. Any flaws you believe you have are in your mind.”
Wow. This man knew exactly what to say to her. Realistically she knew there was no way this could be Prince Valdemar for he was a paperback hero. He did not exist. He was the stuff of dreams. But then dreams sometimes came true and she felt more alive now than she had felt in a long time. Her body tingled and her pulse raced. Aureliann took his hand and placed it back on the edge of her shirt.
“Thank you,” he breathed out, almost as if in relief. Valdemar peeled the cloth from her torso. “Oh dear lord…”
Aureliann instantly understand what that meant. “It’s okay, really.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. The bra she had on was hardly sexy. It was industrial-strength boring cotton and designed to hold up her large breasts. She could see how her overflowing curves could be a turn-off to a man in an age where slim and toned was prized.
Valdemar pulled her arms away. “No.”
“But—”
“I don’t think you understand how gorgeous you are. For the first time in my life I am scared of rushing and losing control.”
“Huh?” Me? Gorgeous? Aureliann’s head dropped back as his hands caressed her bra-covered breasts. No man had ever touched her with such tenderness.
“May I?” When she nodded, Valdemar reached around and unhooked her bra. “I wanted to go slowly the first time.”
First time? The thought that this was not a one-off had her inner thighs sweating. When his mouth descended to suck on her nipple Aureliann thought she would faint. She grabbed at his shoulders and hung on, pulling him closer for more. She could vaguely remember the sex she’d had once before. It had been more a case of slotting A into B. This was different. This was hot and earthy and all about need. Aureliann knew in her heart this was what sex was supposed to be.
Valdemar’s hands circled her waist and he picked her up and sat her on the table behind them. His mouth switched to the other breast as his hands pulled at the snap of her jeans.
Aureliann pulled his head from her breast and held her hands up for him to stop. “Wait.” Her whole body throbbed with need. Was this a good thing? Should she make love to a stranger just because she could? Was desperation to believe in a fantasy vampire prince driving her on?
“Yes, lovely?” There was patience and barely controlled lust in his eyes.
He is not a stranger. How Aureliann knew that she wasn’t sure. I just do. “Do you have a condom?” It was crazy and wanton of her. But I need him.
“I will always protect you.” Valdemar reached into his pocket and pulled one out and placed it on the bench beside her. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” To have said anything else would have been a lie. She lifted herself up to allow him to pull her jeans off. Aureliann wished she had worn better knickers but then she had not known the man of her dreams would want to be taking them off her. She looked at him in wonder as she heard Valdemar’s growl of satisfaction when she was totally naked before him.
“Beautiful,” he murmured as he spread her legs apart and moved in between them.
Even though she was sitting on a hard wooden bench and she was bound to get a splinter in her ass that she would not be able to explain to anyone, Aureliann did not care. When his fingers trailed down her body and slid into the curls of her pussy she jerked forward. His intake of breath made her look at him.
“Damn, woman, you are so wet I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
This was like the ultimate fantasy. The hero wanted her with such desperation that she had the power to grant or refuse him anything.
“So don’t wait.” To deny him would be to deny herself. And I need to feel him inside me. I need to feel whole. Aureliann stiffened at the idea that this man was that important to her. The intense passion and love she saw in his eyes could not be feigned, surely? And why do I crave him like no other?
Valdemar fiddled with the wrapping of the condom. In his haste he was getting nowhere. “Damn, I feel like I am a teenager again.”
Aureliann grinned. This was so good for her ego. She took the condom from his fingers and unwrapped it. “You are all man to me.”
Valdemar leaned forward and kissed her until she was breathless. “You make me feel so good.”
She watched as he unzipped his trousers and his cock rushed out. She swallowed hard. All that for me? “Need a hand?” Aureliann was quite fascinated that so much flesh could go into something so small.
“Touch me there and I will explode, lovely.” When the condom was in place, he kissed her once more as his hands went down to her hips to move her forward to meet him. “Are you sure?”
“Do you think you could stop now?” Aureliann was more certain of this than she had ever been of anything in my life.
The muscle in
Valdemar’s jaw jumped. The man was on edge. “I would if you asked.”
“Make love to me, Valdemar.”
“Thank you, lovely,” he breathed against her mouth. Their eyes locked as he entered her body for the first time.
The shock of it made her gasp. Hot, hard flesh pushed inside without stopping. It was like the need to connect fully was the only thing that mattered, that it was more than just sex. Aureliann held onto his shoulders and saw the pleasure in his eyes as he finally filled her. They stayed still for a moment, savoring the intensity of their joining. Aureliann now understood the whole concept of two becoming one.
“Please move,” she murmured against his mouth, her tongue darting out to trace his bottom lip. Valdemar sucked her tongue into his mouth and kissed her hungrily as he began to thrust within. The push-pull motion of his shaft inside made her feel dizzy with pleasure as his pubic bone rubbed against her clit. Aureliann wound her legs around his waist and held onto Valdemar. He was in control and she was happy to go along for the ride.
No words had to be said between them. They were both caught up in the desire of the moment. Valdemar’s hips started to piston against hers, setting off a chain reaction of sensation through her body. Aureliann panted as she tried to keep pace with his thrusts.
“Oh, oh, oh!” Her last “oh” was swallowed by Valdemar’s mouth as the orgasm hit. Her whole body stiffened and she closed her eyes, giving in to the sensation. She felt hot and weak and yet at the same time strong, as if he had given her power she had never had before.
Valdemar was so overcome with the moment and his intense love for this woman that he never wanted to leave the confines of her body. Aureliann was so tight inside that the minute he entered he had wanted to come. But Valdemar wanted to give her pleasure so he made himself keep control. Only when Aureliann had closed her eyes and he had seen the rapture on her face did he allow himself to totally become lost within her arms. That this beautiful woman gave herself to him was a gift he would never forget. Valdemar clasped her to him as he shuddered and jerked against her body in release.
Prince Vampire Page 2