by Kim Loraine
A jolt runs through me at the determination hiding in her expression. Leaning into me, she runs a tentative hand up my chest before pressing her body against mine. I know she’ll feel me, hard and ready, but I don’t give a damn. All I want at this moment is to keep feeling her. The heat of her skin and the soft scent of vanilla in her hair mix with the headier scent of her arousal, overwhelming me. Before I can react, her lips are on mine, and a fire overtakes me.
My hands tangle in her long, dark hair, taking her kiss from gentle to frantic in the space between breaths. Now that she’s crossed the threshold, I can’t keep hold of my control. I press my hips into her, making sure she feels what she’s doing to me, needing the friction to relieve some of the pressure against my fly. She parts her lips on a little moan, giving me the delicious opportunity to slide my tongue in her mouth. Fuck, she tastes like wine and honey. It’s intoxicating, and I want more. My head spins as her breasts rub against my chest and her fingers fumble with the buttons on my shirt.
“You’re cold,” she murmurs against my lips.
“Aye.” I hear myself speak but barely recognize the rough tone. My Irish is showing, but I couldn’t care less. “Aren’t you?”
As if she’d forgotten we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, she blinks hard and quickly steps away. The absence of her heat is like a little death. I need her like a drowning man needs air. The town car is mere feet away from us, but I never want to stop kissing her. Pulling her to me again, I cover her mouth with mine and cup her luscious ass, lifting her with little effort. When she wraps her legs around my hips, a surge of victory runs through me. Long, drugging kisses keep me walking slowly toward the car. I hold her up one-handed while I open the door with the other. Never breaking contact with her lips, I maneuver us into the backseat, laying her out across the leather. It’s more cramped than I’d like, but for what I have in mind, it’ll do.
“Wait.” That one word, just a breath from her lips, hits my veins like ice water.
Her small hand pushes at my chest, and, although it physically hurts me, I move away. “Don’t stop this. Not now.” I’m still kneeling on the floor, hovering over her.
I can hear the erratic beating of her heart, the blood pulsing through her body, but all I want is to be with her, inside her. Sitting up and scooting to the other side of the car, she straightens her skirt and turns away from me. Panic sets in, gripping my chest.
“Let me out,” she says.
“Reese …” I don’t know how to stop her. I could just take her, here and now, but I’ve never raped a woman, and I’m not going to start now.
Her whole body is trembling as she reaches for the door. “This was a mistake. I…I can’t do this.”
Somehow, I manage to keep myself from following her out of the car, even though every nerve in my body is screaming at me to take her and sate my lust. Why am I reacting this way? I try to convince myself that her leaving is a good thing. Something must be wrong with me. Who knows what might have happened if I’d had my way with her? My cock throbs, straining against my pants, a painful reminder of Reese.
Ten minutes later, as my driver pulls the car into my underground garage, I shift uncomfortably, trying to rid myself of the erection tenting my pants. I need a release—that much is obvious. Aching with need, I rush through the door and into my home, pulling at my trousers as I make my way to the shower.
“Is that a banana in your pocket or are you happy to see me, Galen?” Devin’s amused timbre carries through the darkened living room, stopping me in my tracks. Being caught by my friend and mentor with a raging erection is mortifying to say the least. Although he’s not responsible for changing me, he has been my sole source of guidance over the last ninety-odd years, and he doesn’t ever let me forget that fact.
“What the fuck are you doing here, you wanker?”
He raises an eyebrow as he switches on the lamp. “Looks to me like you’re about to be the wanker.”
Embarrassment floods me. I’m like a horny teenager who just discovered his dick. “I don’t know what’s going on. I was hunting, I saw her, and then…this.” I gesture to my crotch.
Devin shakes his head and mutters, “Lucky bastard.”
“Not lucky enough.” I let out a sigh and rake my hands through my hair. “I let her go.”
My friend stares at me, his face a mask of indifference. “Well, I need to hunt. I haven’t fed in almost a week, but being the considerate friend I am, I stopped by to see if you wanted to come with me. Do you need to take care of your…problem? Or can we go?”
The desire for Reese still burns in the back of my mind, but as I think about feeding, I can feel the bloodlust building inside. “Let’s go.”
Reese
It’s official. I’m the worst at one-night stands. There I was, beautiful man ready to fuck me senseless, and I chickened out. Why is this so hard for me? I’m twenty-three. No one is still a virgin at twenty-three anymore, right? Except for me.
Lying stretched out in my bathtub, I listen to the latest smutty romance novel I downloaded on audiobook. The heroine is just about to give it up to the biker bad boy, and all I can think about is Galen. He was mesmerizing. The things I wanted to do to him played over and over in my mind. Things I’d only ever read about.
A sharp knock on the bathroom door has me pulling the curtain around the tub and sinking lower to hide beneath the bubbles.
“Reese? Can I come in?” Trisha calls through the door.
“Only if you bring more wine.”
She laughs as she steps inside the steam-filled room. “On it, boss.”
Through the sliver of space between the curtain and the wall, I see her grab my empty wineglass from the little table next to the tub and silently bless her.
“So? It didn’t go as you planned?” Her tone is casual but curious as she returns and places a full glass within my reach.
“I think I’m broken.”
“Maybe he just wasn’t what you were looking for?”
“Did you see him? He’s what every straight woman is looking for. He even had an accent.”
She sighs and takes a seat on the closed toilet before turning off my audiobook. “God, for a virgin, you really like the sexy books.”
“Research,” I say before taking a gulp of my wine.
“I think what you need is some hands-on research at this point. What happened? Things looked pretty intense between you when you left.”
Remembering the heat in his gaze sent a shiver through me. “I don’t know. I got in his car, I swear, he was going to seal the deal right there, but then I panicked. It seemed like it was going so fast.”
“Sweet Reese, guarding her flower.”
I fight off the frustration that wells up inside me. “That’s not it, and you know it. I’m not saving myself, I just haven’t taken that step.”
“Yet.”
I nod. “Yet.”
It’s not that I don’t want to have sex. I’m more than ready. There just hasn’t been that … spark with anyone. I want passion and fireworks when I finally give it up. But, maybe that’s not how it really is. Then again, what happened between Galen and me had been the epitome of passion. I had thought my knees were going to give out on more than one occasion during our makeout session on the sidewalk. Just thinking about his hands in my hair, the press of his thickness against my core, the way he murmured my name …
“Reese? Hello?” Trisha is still here. Shit. She’s talking to me, and I’m fantasizing. What is wrong with me?
“Sorry, I must’ve dozed off,” I lie, thankful the shower curtain is covering me.
“Don’t fall asleep in the bath. You’ll drown yourself, and then where will I be?” She yawns and lets out a sigh. “Anyway, I’m heading to bed. I’ve got rehearsal in the morning and a date tomorrow night.”
I pull the drain plug from the tub and tell her good night, all while trying to rid my mind of thoughts of Galen’s expert tongue in my mouth.
&n
bsp; Waking the Watcher (Download for FREE)