Jax sat Layne gently on a musty old couch as he searched the house impatiently for supplies. He found the linen closet, changed the sheets on an old bed, checking to make sure it wasn't too moldy, and beckoned her to lay with him. They sank into the bed together, exhausted, and fell asleep before their eyes were fully closed.
***
When they awoke, it was still dark, though it was more obviously morning. They weren't well-rested per se, but they were both used to sleeping in short bursts. Survival was easier that way. She'd heard the term wolf-napping used before by one of the pseudo scientists in her tribe, and thought it applied well to their situation. The sudden thought of wolves caused her to sit bolt upright in her bed and pat her shoulder. Her bag was gone. She lost her seeds as the wolves were chasing her. All hope was lost. There was no way she could settle anywhere now.
She closed her eyes and began to grieve in earnest, her sobs stirring Jax from his slumber. He had thought about being a gentleman the night before and sleeping on the couch, but after the close call they'd had, he couldn't bring himself to leave her sight. He sat up, troubled by her disturbance, and touched her shoulder gently.
“It's all right,” he said softly, his voice tired and hoarse. He hadn't had any water for a while.
“No,” she sobbed. “My seeds. My bag is gone. Everything was in there. That was everything...”
He held her tightly but she pushed him away.
“We need to go back,” she demanded.
“We don't need to go back,” he said, still groggy but sitting up.
“What's wrong with you? Of course we need to go back!” She was sitting up, staring at him wildly.
“No, no. I mean of course we would if we needed to but we don't.”
She was about to smack him in earnest when he got up from the bed and trudged to the sofa in the cabin's living room. He came back and plopped her bag down in front of her, then went outside to urinate and stretch. He came in and sipped his water, surprised. Layne was crying again.
“I thought they were gone forever, my hopes...”
“Hey, it's fine. I'll take care of you.”
Jax lowered himself beside her and she threw her arms around him.
“You saved my life last night. You saved my seeds. You're just so...”
He raised his dark eyebrows and pursed his lips as if hoping she wouldn't continue. She laughed, and then her lips were against his, their warmth gripping him hard, taking him by surprise. It awoke something fierce within him, a pent up energy that he'd been ignoring for all these years, utilizing solely for the purpose of survival. She gasped in surprise as he lifted her with all his strength, settling her on his lap where she could feel the manifestation of his desire burning through their clothes. It excited and aroused her, and she pressed herself experimentally against it, flushing slightly when he responded with a kiss on the neck.
He let his hands roam her perfect body, finally allowing himself to take a moment to appreciate it all. It had been right there in front of him all this time, but he had never felt like it was okay to look; like if he did, it would be a blinding siren's call to certain death. Not that she was a siren, it was more like he didn't trust his own mental discipline. But now it was different. They were somewhere safe. It wasn't even light out yet, they had nowhere to be in particular. And everything felt right.
Layne shuddered, the alien feeling of another person's fingertips on her flesh making goosebumps stand out on her arms. The threadlike tendrils of pleasure he wove through her caught her in a web, and even if she tried she wouldn't be able to avoid succumbing to the guilty pleasure of his body. He was a strong man, both in spirit and body, and once upon a time she would have stared at him like he was a piece of meat, imagining what might be going on in his head and assuming there wasn't much else to him than that. But here he was, showering her with gentle kisses, his eyes sharp and senses calculating, doing just so to elicit just such a response, treating her with the curiosity and wonder of a virgin making love to his first girlfriend.
She almost thought him timid, but no, he tore her shirt off after toying with the buttons; licked her clavicle and nibbled her ears as he pushed off his boxers, revealing his swollen member, engorged and more exciting all on its own than any one of her sexual memories. His touch was intoxicating, as if he had waited all his life just to unleash his prowess on one woman, and now that she was there, and they were together, she would receive nothing less than royal treatment.
He was lifting her again, she was floating weightless, helpless, struggling to submit but ultimately losing the battle and happier for it. He kissed her, their tongues dancing in one another's mouths, stoking the fires inside of them until suddenly it was done – he was in her and she was moaning with a pleasure deeper than anything she had ever known. She held tightly to his bronzed shoulders as they kissed and made love, and he uttered appreciative and reverent groans as he thrust slowly and deliberately inside of her, amplifying any pleasure she might feel to incite his own.
He stayed in control so long that she almost thought he was robotic, and then she sucked his neck, licked his earlobes, scratched gently down his back and saw his control waver. His inhibitions rippled away and he was hammering, thrusting harder, deeper, until she buckled against him, screamed in rapture, shuddered and climaxed again and again, until her contractions squeezed him inside of her, eliciting the rupture of his orgasm, filling her with an explosive flood of power. It seized her and would have brought her to her knees if she were standing up, and they collapsed, breathless, onto the bed, curled around each other like pleased kittens, nibbling each other's lips in bliss until they fell back asleep.
Chapter 11
It was late afternoon before they woke up again, bathroom breaks notwithstanding. The sun had finally risen, and they stretched comfortably in the cabin. They'd gotten used to the smell sometime during the night, and without it, and with the touch of the sun, it was actually really cozy. Layne laid in bed, looking at the pictures on the walls, a framed leaf plated with gold on a cream mounting board; a motivational phrase embroidered onto a scroll, encouraging everyone to live in the moment and believe the best is possible. She recognized the quote from somewhere but couldn't quite place it anymore. It had been too long since she dared to wander into a library. Most of them had water damaged books, and the smell of mold was too much for her allergies. She might as well have rolled around on a rug made of cat fur.
Finally, she gazed at the perfect sleeping body of Jax. She let her eyes roam in full golden glory what she hadn't been able to see in the dark. It had been the best sex of her life, nothing could possibly compare. His hand was resting on his bare chest, and she touched it, unable to believe that somebody so mysteriously powerful had come into her life. But there he was.
He gripped her hand tightly as he opened his eyes. He looked well-rested for the first time since they met. She realized that he never seemed able to fully relax – he was always on the alert, looking out for danger, watching out at all times so she wouldn't have to. It was nice to see him have a break for a change. It was something that she would like to get used to. He deserved some peace of mind once in a while.
“Good morning,” he said with a smile.
“Morning,” she replied.
She was worried that her breath smelled bad. She had cardamom seeds in her bag. She hoped that once they were planted they could chew on them to improve their oral hygiene. She had a toothbrush but without toothpaste it wasn't exactly breath-refreshing. Most people didn't bother anymore, but she did her best. It was something she and Jax had in common. The people in the tribes were too miserable to care much about their hygiene.
Jax sat up, kissing her on the cheek, and cracked the window by the bed open. They were hit with a smell that Layne found intoxicating, and she had a sudden urge to run outside and play like she would have when she was just a young girl. The fresh air and the trees awakened her.
“Let's go explore!” she exclaimed
. “I want to see what it's like here.”
“All right,” he said, laying lazily on the bed, everything tantalizingly exposed but his groin. Each knew what the other was thinking, and he tackled her back onto the bed.
When they were done, they pulled their clothes back on and headed outside with their backpacks.
“I really like it here,” Layne decided. It had a good feeling about it. Good energy, as if it had been inhabited by kind people. After a while of wandering, you got a sense like that about a place. She tried to avoid old homes because the bad feelings were the worst, especially when you were alone.
Jax nodded.
“Look, it gets better!”
They had suddenly come upon a gravel pathway. They glanced at each other excitedly. Each side of the path was littered with edible berry bushes.
“This is quaint,” Jax said, plucking a berry from its stem and popping it into his mouth. Layne laughed. Jax was the kind of person who would say “quaint and mean it.” She followed his lead, picking a handful of berries, and they began walking down the path, unsure of what they would find.
“Why do I feel like this is Hansel and Gretel?” Layne asked as they moved forward cautiously.
“Maybe we all feel like characters in a book when things are too good to be true, because we believe the catch will come at any minute.”
“What if I choose not to believe in a catch this time?” The day had been too perfect.
“We'll find out when we reach the end of the path,” Jax said with a shrug.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, picking berries and eating until finally, they reached a clearing. They stared at the sight in disbelief, clinging to each other's hands tightly.
They were standing in front of a giant solar panel, surrounded by a garden – boxes of raised beds with old, shriveled, plants wilting in them.
“This is unreal,” Jax said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. If he had glasses he would put them on right now.
“Pinch me,” Layne whispered. Jax pinched her butt and she laughed, pushing him away. “Ass.”
He grinned, turning to her, giddy with pleasure.
“This means running water. They would need a well out here. Layne, you can have this. We can keep it. You can have a home again!”
The threat of the wild dogs seemed like a distant memory. Here was the remains of somebody's dreamland. A place that was already growing its own compost. The animals got into all of the food of course, they would have to be careful, but it was a start. They embraced tightly, and Layne wept tears of joy. Jax held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. She would be safe her, and they would stick together, creating a home, somewhere stable where he could bring his brother to safety.
THE END
The story continues in Book 2, available now from Amazon
A Mate for the Vampire
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2016 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work
Chapter One
Love at first sight was as unrealistic as unicorns and vampires, at least according to Ginny Night. That was until she saw him. It all happened by chance really. Ginny had been walking down the street, rather late for her first day of her new job as a journalist. She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was walking, more concentrated on not tripping over herself to notice the man coming straight for her. They had collided in a pretty intense way.
Of course Ginny had given countless apologies but her voice went soft when she first laid eyes on the man. Tall, dark and handsome would be the perfect way to describe him. He was easily over six feet with thick jet black hair perfectly coiffed. With matching dark eyes and a rather pale complexion he was a sight to behold. Upon seeing his broad shoulders and muscular arms and chest Ginny nearly drooled on the spot. But after bumping into him, she gathered herself up well enough and apologized one more time before walking off.
The man had been imprinted in her mind from then on. And as she had quickly figured out the insanely attractive man walked the same path every day. Ginny had started to make a habit of watching him down the street and every once in a while she would ‘accidentally’ run into him. By now she was sure he knew her intentions but she just couldn’t help it.
And now here she was, walking down the street with an armful of papers, ready to run into him again. Perhaps this time she would be brave enough to ask him for his name. Suddenly he came into view. Now it was time to act. Ginny averted her gaze and made a beeline for him. Just as she was sure she was about to collide with him there was a firm hand on her arm.
“We really should stop meeting like this.” The man chuckled lightly. Ginny was sure her face was beet red from embarrassment. Surely he had figured her out!
“Haha, yeah, I suppose I should pay better attention to my surroundings. It’s just so early I haven’t had my coffee yet so my brain is still waking up.” Ginny tried to laugh and lie her way out of the situation, suddenly very aware of how close he was to her body.
“Well perhaps we should change that. If you aren’t too busy would you like to get some coffee?” Ginny thought she was going to explode from the excitement bottled up inside of her. She tried to play it off as coolly as she could.
“That would be great. If you aren’t in a rush either.” Ginny mentally berated herself for how lame that sounded but kept steamrolling ahead, hoping to cover up her awkwardness with more words. “I’m Ginny by the way. All this time I keep bumping into you I never told you my name.” Ginny extended her hand and the man happily took it, shaking with gusto.
“My name is Liam.” They shared a small moment of just smiling at each other while shaking hands. It was a small moment, but it was a moment nonetheless. Ginny would take what she could get.
“Shall we? There is a wonderful little café just around the corner.” Liam pointed to a corner not even a half block away. Ginny nodded her head enthusiastically, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
“That sounds great.”
They walked side by side to the coffee shop and when they got to the counter Liam insisted that she order first. Ginny got a vanilla latte, her secret guilty pleasure of a coffee drink while Liam got an Americano. Ginny went to pay for her latte but Liam refused to let her, saying that it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Just another reason Ginny could tell she was already falling in love with him. Though, Ginny would still never admit that she believed in love at first sight.
“So Liam, what do you do?” Ginny inquired as she sipped her latte. Liam added a single sugar packet to his Americano as he contemplated how to answer her question.
“I guess the best way to answer that would be to say that I am a businessman of sorts.” Ginny gave him a puzzled look.
“And what do you mean by that?” Liam was hesitant to expand on it any further, yet there was something about Ginny that made him feel at ease. The usually closed off and private man saw something in Ginny, something that he hadn’t seen in a very long time. It was a comforting feeling, almost familiar in nature. Perhaps that was why Liam didn’t stop the words from pouring out of his mouth. There was a connection between him and this girl, a connection he wanted to explore in more detail.
“My family owns the Langley Corporation.” Ginny thought she was going to spray her drink everywhere. The Langley Corporation was a family with money in the billions, and if this guy in front of her was for real he was likely the second son, William Langley, of the current CEO, Edward Langley. The whole ‘Liam’ nickname was likely a way to help keep his identity secret. The family had gained its wealth starting all the way back with the railroads, and through constant diversification with new ventures they had built a reputation of being the
closest thing to royalty in the United States. Ginny almost couldn’t believe she was sitting across from such a ‘prince.’
“Are you really William Langley?” Ginny had to set her latte down for fear of another crazy revelation. Liam seemed rather perturbed by the question but answered it nonetheless.
“Yes, though I would prefer if you didn’t share that with anyone. I enjoy my privacy.” Ginny shook her head in understanding.
“No, I get it. It’s just a bit of a shock. It’s not every day that you meet a billionaire.” Even saying the word billionaire was blowing Ginny’s mind. Here she was, a nobody journalist, having coffee with the heir to the corporate throne. To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement.
“I appreciate your understanding. I just want to enjoy my coffee with my beautiful date.” Ginny felt her face turn red again from embarrassment; he was almost too much.
“You aren’t too bad looking yourself.” Ginny wanted to slap herself silly. Had she really just said that to the William Langley?! Shoot me now, Ginny thought to herself.
Liam chuckled a bit at her slightly awkward statement, but didn’t tease her about it, which Ginny was forever thankful for. Instead Ginny decided to shift the conversation back onto Liam and away from herself.
“So if you are from such a well-known family why do you walk around here every day? Wouldn’t it be better to just take a car or limo or whatever it is you drive around in?” Ginny questioned as she re-gathered her latte in her hands. Liam leaned back in his chair and smiled.
“I like to walk the streets and breathe in the … well, I guess ‘fresh’ isn’t the right word, but I like to breathe in the air of the city. I don’t like to be so isolated from the people around me. Besides, no one really knows what I look like so I can get away with walking around town unnoticed. Though, I will say I wasn’t planning to have near constant run-ins with a certain red headed woman.” Liam smirked and Ginny thought she was going to die again from embarrassment. Ginny sputtered for words, but there was really no defense for her blatant actions. “Don’t worry, I always enjoyed our little run-ins,” Liam half-smiled. Oh God, Ginny thought to herself.
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