by L. Rosario
She let go of the knob and turned to face him. “Fine, Mr. Stubborn, I'll tell you exactly why I'm here tonight."
Valentino resisted the urge to hold his breath.
"I made the mistake of telling my friend that I've never had an orgasm during sex."
He admired her ability to say all of that with a straight face and dead-on eye contact. “You've had one on your own though?"
"Excuse me?"
"You said, during sex. It implies you've had one without sex."
She shook her head, and the razor cut ends of her hair slapped against her jawline. “I've never had one, all right?"
"Of course it's all right, and not the least bit abnormal."
She rolled her eyes and tossed her hands in the air. “Oh my God, don't play Dr. Ruth with me. You don't look the part."
Valentino grinned and held out his hand. “I'm not trying to play Dr. Ruth. Come here."
"No,” she snapped.
He dropped his hand. “I'll give you an orgasm, Sera, but it would be easier if you let me touch you."
Her mouth opened and closed, and her eyes narrowed. “Does that mean you can give me one without touching me?"
"Sure.” He did his best to keep his tone casual. No telling how she would react if she realized how eager he was to touch her. “But I'd prefer the traditional way, and you would too, trust me."
Chapter Three
The traditional way?
Sera was more confused than she'd ever been in her life. Even waking up with a sudden craving to drink blood hadn't confused her this much. What the heck did he mean, the traditional way? And how could he give her an orgasm without touching her?
Damn him for making her want to know the answers to those questions.
She stared at him, and he stared back. Surrounded by all the blood red layers of the room, he was almost too glorious to look at. She hated the fact that she wanted to see him naked on the bed. She wanted to see his golden skin against the crimson comforter and his dark hair spread out over the red pillows. She wanted to lick drops of blood from his skin...
Sera forced the dangerous thoughts away. What had gotten into her tonight? If she wasn't careful, she'd attack someone on the way home. Becca and Jennifer were high on the list. It would be just payment for having them drag her into the current situation, after all. How dare they?
"Sera?"
The sound of her name yanked her back into focus.
"Tell me what you want me to do for you?"
Good God, he sounded like something out of a dream. She backed against the door, feeling a little better with the solid wood pressed to her spine. She could pull it open and leave at any time. Valentino didn't seem inclined to force her to do anything against her will, so surely he'd let her leave.
"What do you want, Sera?"
If he didn't stop talking to her in that buttery voice, she'd lose her mind. “I don't know what I want, but I refuse to have sex with you."
"Fine. No sex.” He stepped toward her, and suddenly the solid door at her back was a trap.
"Wait!” She held up her hand to stop him before he could press his chest to hers. He stopped, and she curled her fingers into her palm to resist touching the skin that was oh so close. On the dance floor he had laid her hand against him, making her want to pet him from head to toe. “What are you going to do to me?"
"You make it sound like I'm about to eat you."
Muscles that had always failed to stir, stirred now with a vengeance. Her body grew moist, and her jeans chafed against her crotch. She shifted her stance, but it didn't ease the sensation.
"Unless you'd like me to eat you,” Valentino drawled.
Sera jammed her fangs into her tongue. The pain did nothing to lesson the awareness of what his voice did to her nether region. She struggled to breathe, hating the way he reduced her to behaving like a normal mortal. She was stronger than this, damnit!
"Is that what you want, Sera?” He moved a step closer, the heat from his body pressing in on her, but still not touching her. “Do you want my mouth on you?"
"Oh my god...” She didn't mean to say the words out loud, but there they were. He smiled, and her body clenched deep down inside. This could not be happening. It was going to take more than a seductive voice to end her three hundred year old drought. Wasn't it?
Valentino licked his lips slowly and lifted his arms to brace his hands on either side of her head. He still didn't move close enough to touch her, but her awareness of him drove her crazy. His scent wrapped around her, his heart pounded in her ears, and she could smell his blood.
"Does that sound good?” he asked.
Sera caught herself as she began to nod. “No."
"Ah, the magic word.” Valentino lowered his arms and stepped away.
Sera reached for him without thinking and dug her fingers in the muscles of his upper arms. “No,” she said again. “I won't do sex, but ... I want...” God, she had never been good at voicing this sort of stuff.
Valentino eased close again and placed his hands back against the door. The position forced her to release his arms, and she rested her palms against his chest. His heart beat sure and steady beneath her right hand. She tried not to follow the rhythm, but doing so became too difficult. She dropped her hands. It made things easier if she didn't touch him. “You have to tell me what you want, Sera, or I have to let you walk out this door."
"I can't.” She shook her head and lowered her gaze. “I can't talk about stuff like this.” Becca told her it was one of the reasons she couldn't fully enjoy sex. Yeah, maybe, but knowing it was a hang-up didn't make the words suddenly spill off her tongue.
"Then I'll ask the questions and you can say, yes or no."
She looked into his eyes, wondering if he was this wonderful with all the women. Not a good thought to have at the moment. “Okay.” She could manage a yes or no.
"Do you want to take your clothes off?"
"Oh my god."
He smiled and flicked his hair back from his eyes. “Yes or no?"
"Not yet."
"All right. Not yet.” He nodded, and the hair slid forward again. “Can I kiss you?” His gaze moved to her mouth as he asked the question.
"Um..."
"I need a definite yes or no here, baby, or I'll get into a shit load of trouble."
Sera stared at Valentino's mouth. His lips were sinfully full. Maybe too full for a guy, but at the moment it didn't matter. “Yes."
Very slowly he closed the space between their mouths. Was he giving her a chance to change her mind? When his lips hovered a breath away from hers, his eyes flicked up. “Tell me now if you don't want my tongue in your mouth."
Sera's knees buckled, and Valentino quickly clasped her shoulders. “Do you need permission to do everything?” Her voice shook.
"No,” the devil smiled, “I don't, but I love the way your face reacts to my words. I think I could talk you straight into your first orgasm."
She thought maybe he was right, but he didn't give her a chance to say so out loud. He licked his lips then kissed her. Aside from his hands on her shoulders, his mouth was the only part of his body touching her, which meant there was nothing to detract from the sensation of his lips moving over hers. They were full and soft, but at the same time, they possessed a firm masculinity that made her melt. His tongue snaked out, and she parted her lips to allow him to slip deep inside. He licked the roof of her mouth and danced around her tongue, then slid back out to suck on her bottom lip.
Sera gasped when she felt the harmless prick of Valentino's teeth sink into her swollen flesh. The sound caused the kiss to end, and he eased back to look her in the eye. “Too much?"
What would he say if she admitted it wasn't nearly enough?
She swallowed and shook her head. “No, it's fine. Ask me another question."
He took his hands from her shoulders and put them back against the door. “All right. Do you want to take off your clothes now?"
Sera ch
uckled. She couldn't help it. “Not yet, lover boy."
"Then let me unbutton your blouse."
"That's not a question,” she pointed out.
"No, it's not."
Valentino's eyes darkened until they were nearly black, holding Sera mesmerized. “You may,” she whispered. Who knew what had gotten into her, but it would be interesting to see how long this bold little attitude of hers lasted. Long enough? Lord, she hoped so.
He didn't unbutton the blouse. He ripped it open. Holding the sides wide apart, he stared down at her black bra and swept his tongue over his lips. “Let me touch you."
"How?” she croaked. The look on his face was killing her. Such hunger did not normally grace the face of a mortal, and it had awakened her own. She braced her hands against his chest, once more concentrating on the beat of his heart.
He lifted his gaze. “It doesn't matter how. If you want my hands on you, say so. If you'd rather have my mouth...” He broke off with a shrug.
Sera's nipples hardened behind the lace, and she swallowed a moan. She recalled the feel of his teeth pricking her lip, and she knew what she wanted. Now she just had to find the courage to say the words out loud. She closed her eyes, and rested her head back against the door. “I want you to kiss me through my bra."
She barely had the words out before Valentino's hot mouth closed over her left breast. He sucked the hard tip and swirled his tongue back and forth until she arched against him with a strangled gasp. His teeth tugged at her and ripped through the delicate lace, but it felt too good to worry about the damage to her clothing.
Sera lowered her hands from Valentino's chest and flattened them to the door. Doing so gave him total access, and he took advantage. Once he had rendered her left breast numb with intense pleasure, he moved over to torment the other one. The first scrape of his teeth made her whimper, and he pulled back.
"No,” Sera moaned. “Please, it feels good, I swear it."
He lowered his head and sucked her back into his mouth.
Sera clawed at the door with her nails. She tried so hard to be normal everyday and suppress the vampire in her so that others would have nothing to question. She was very good at hiding the monster, but the feel of Valentino's teeth scraping her nipple made her want to take hold of his hair, rip his head back, and sink her teeth deep into his neck. She shivered as the need for blood—fresh blood—nearly forced her to her knees.
Valentino lifted his head and leaned his body against hers. The smooth skin of his chest teased her sensitized nipples, making her shiver again. She forced her head away from the door to look at him. “What now?” she croaked.
"That's up to you, but you haven't done what you came here to do yet."
Sera shook her head. No, she hadn't had an orgasm yet. “I might have if you hadn't stopped what you were doing."
That made him flash that deadly smile of his, the one showcased so beautifully on the website, the one that probably got a million hits a day from lonely, frustrated women—like her.
"Where do you want me to kiss next?"
Sera groaned. It was a long, drawn out sound that would make someone giggle if they heard it through a wall, but she didn't care. She jumped when Valentino brushed his finger over her lips.
"Here?” he asked. He trailed his finger down to tease the underside of her chin. “Or maybe here?” He continued on, stroking the line of her throat and making her swallow again and again. “Do you want to feel my lips here?"
Yes...
He pressed his finger to the hollow of her throat. “So calm,” he said. “I would expect your pulse to be racing, Sera. Am I doing something wrong?"
"No.” Lord, what could she say? I'm sorry, Valentino, but my pulse can't race. It hasn't been able to race for over three centuries, but if it could...
His fingers moved down into her cleavage, then hooked around the fastener of her bra. “May I?"
Sera did not enjoy being naked in front of men, or anyone, for that matter. She knew there was nothing wrong with her body, but that didn't mean she needed to display it. She shook her head and Valentino slid his finger away.
A frown pulled at his lips, but he didn't give into it. “Okay, but you aren't making this very easy, you know?"
"You said you could do this without even touching me, so I can't imagine clothes are an impediment."
"They aren't, but I want to see you naked. Not because you need me to do something for you, but because you're a gorgeous woman.” The look in his eyes matched the sincerity of his tone.
Sera swallowed the urge to grant him what he wanted. “Thank you, but I'd prefer to stay dressed."
Valentino nodded once then braced his hands on the door. He leaned closer, and she felt the hard line of his flesh trapped against his shorts. Instinct screamed at her to rub against him like a cat in heat, but she resisted. Resistance was something she was really good at. Another reason she never enjoyed sex? Yeah, probably.
"One orgasm coming up, with minimal bodily contact."
Sera frowned. “Do you have to make it sound like I'm going through the drive-thru?"
"You're the one keeping things impersonal, baby, not me,” Valentino fired back. He pressed closer, and she gasped as his penis throbbed against her belly. “I would be more than willing to make this all about pleasure instead of business."
Sera gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. “Just do it, okay?"
"You have to relax,” he said directly into her ear.
Sera did her best to relax.
"Keep your eyes closed,” his honey voice instructed. “I want you to focus all of your energy on listening. Can you do that?"
Sera nodded, and Valentino's lips brushed over her ear. The contact made her shiver.
"Let's go back to me asking questions, and you saying, yes or no, okay?"
Sera nodded again.
"Do you enjoy receiving oral sex?"
Under different circumstances the question would have offended the hell out of her, but having it purred in her ear wasn't so bad. “Um ... sometimes?"
"Sometimes is all right, but I could make you crave it."
Oh, she didn't doubt that.
His lips brushed her ear and he eased his body away so that only his mouth touched her. “Can you picture me on my knees for you?"
Thanks to the photo online of him kneeling on a bed, yeah, she could. It was nice, to say the least. She nodded.
He licked the upper curve of her ear, making her gasp. “I'd have to hold you still, so should I put my hands on your hips, or your ass?"
Oh ... “Hips,” she said quickly.
He flicked his tongue against her again. “I'd rather hold your ass,” he murmured.
Sera's muscles tightened. “All right.” It was all pretend anyway, so what was the harm?
"You feel good. Real good,” he said into her ear. “You taste even better."
"Um..."
"Hush."
Sera snapped her mouth shut.
"I don't think kissing and sucking at you will be enough, Sera. I want to take your little clit in my mouth and sink my teeth into it. Would you like that?"
Something happened in that moment, making Sera arch away from the door with a tortured moan. She reached for Valentino and gripped his shoulders. He lifted his head to look at her, and she blinked rapidly to bring him into focus. Down below, her muscles were going crazy, and the air around them filled with the sharp scent of female arousal. Hers.
"Tell me what's going through your mind, baby."
She couldn't begin to put it into words. She shook her head and dug her nails deeper into his shoulders while rocking her hips forward. She brushed over his erection, liked it, then did it again.
"Everything I just said, I can do, Sera. Just say the word, and I'll get on my knees and suck you so hard into my mouth—"
Her groan drowned out his words.
He pressed his body hard into hers and put his lips back to her ear. “The thought of getting a little roug
h turns you on, doesn't it? Did you know that about yourself?"
She shook her head against his mouth. She'd never admit it. She was a librarian for God's sake; rough sex was not something librarians did.
"What turns you on more? The thought of being spanked, or the threat of my teeth tearing into you?"
"Teeth,” she rasped. “God, I want you to bite me.” Lord, had she said that out loud?
He dragged his mouth down her ear and nuzzled the crook of her neck. “You want me to bite you, huh? Where?” He opened his lips over her skin and licked her. “On the neck? Do you want to play vampire, baby?” His teeth pinched at her, and when she moaned, he bit harder. He tugged at her skin, and she bucked her hips forward. He took the hint and began to grind his erection against her.
It was too much to bear. “Harder ... please."
He increased the pressure of his bite and his movements. Even with her jeans and his shorts separating them, she could feel each pulse of his erection. He pressed hard against the apex of her thighs until she was saturated with her own lust. Her muscles tightened and relaxed in a rhythm she wished would never end. Oh, this was nice. Real nice.
Valentino bit harder and shook his head, as if trying to rip the flesh from her bones. He growled and palmed her breast. His hips continued their circular torment, and his heart pounded against her chest. Sera shuddered and ripped at his shoulders until she smelled blood. The fragrance shoved her head first over the edge, and she screamed as her first orgasm ripped through her.
Chapter Four
Valentino flicked his tongue over Sera's neck as she convulsed in his arms. He wanted to fuck her. He wanted to rip off her clothes, wrap her legs around his waist, and impale her against the door. His dick throbbed painfully as she continued to rub against him, and he was afraid he'd break the cardinal rule of Captive Fantasy and lose control.
That couldn't happen. His livelihood depended on it.
Eventually, Sera calmed and she shifted her hips back against the door. He missed the feel of her the way a fish would miss water, and he wanted to take hold of her hips and yank her forward again. Instead, he kissed the side of her neck and pulled his mouth away. Without a doubt, his bite was going to bruise. Already the skin was red and angry looking.