by I. T. Lucas
"Cheers." He waited for her to lift hers and clink glasses with him.
"Not bad." She licked her lips, which sent a zing straight to his groin.
They ate in silence, with Amanda hungrily devouring everything on her plate and then going for seconds, and him mostly watching.
"Pour me another one, would you?" She raised her empty goblet.
"My pleasure." He filled it to the brim.
The woman had a healthy appetite and an impressive capacity for alcohol, drinking one-for-one with him. By the time the meal was over, they had emptied two bottles of wine.
"I'm stuffed." Amanda leaned back in her chair and rubbed her flat belly.
Oh man… in this position her breasts were clearly outlined, pushing against the fabric of her shirt, and as she let her head loll back, the pale expanse of her neck had his venom glands swell and his fangs drop down to his mouth.
Dalhu swallowed hard, his chest constricting from lack of oxygen as he forced his breathing to sound normal, otherwise it would've come out harsh and loud like a locomotive. "Time for a movie?" He got up and began to clear the table.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Amanda lift her arms over her head, which had her shirt stretch further across her breasts and ride up to reveal the soft expanse of her middle.
She pushed away from the table and picked up their empty plates. "Let me help."
Stifling a groan, he took the things out of her hands. "No need, sweetheart. You go and sit on the couch. Pick a movie you'd like to watch while I'll finish here."
"Well, if you insist…" she slurred lazily, apparently having no problem following instructions when it suited her.
A few moments later he joined her on the couch. "So, what will it be?” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. When she didn't protest, he was pleasantly surprised.
Maybe she didn't notice…
"I'm deliberating between The Princess Bride and The Avengers. Have you seen either of them?" She lifted the two movies for him to examine the covers.
"I've seen The Avengers, great movie, but not the other one. I picked it thinking a princess like you would like it…"
"I do like it. The guy only said 'as you wish' to the girl. What's not to like?"
"Princess Bride it is, unless you'd rather watch The Avengers. I don't mind watching it again."
"No, I think you should watch the princess one. You could learn a thing or two." She smirked.
Dalhu freed the disk from the elaborate wrapping and popped it into his laptop's disk drive.
"I'm surprised you got to watch movies. I thought all corrupt Western media was forbidden."
"We were advised to watch with caution, and only action flicks. After all, how do you think I got to sound like I was born and raised in the US when, in fact, it's my first time here? Learning to speak like a native was the perfect excuse to watch shitloads of movies."
"Really? This is your first time here?" Amanda regarded him with what he hoped was newfound appreciation. "I must admit this is really impressive. I would've never guessed."
"Thank you." Dalhu felt like he'd just grown another inch or two.
"So tell me, did you learn to speak English so well just from watching movies? Or does the Brotherhood provide language courses?"
"No, not really." He chuckled. "The only education they provide are basic reading and writing skills, and even this is a recent development. They started it less than a hundred years ago, and only for the commanders. It took another twenty years until they realized that literacy was an essential skill in modern times, even for the rank and file. For foreign languages, they supply us with stuff like the Rosetta Stone courses, and we teach ourselves."
"Well, it's probably good enough. Our kind is uniquely talented in that department. Absorbing a new language is so easy for me, it takes me a couple of weeks at most of hanging with the locals in a new country to speak like a native, but I usually don't bother with the reading and writing. Not unless I have a good reason to." She smiled apologetically as if she was embarrassed to admit it.
Dalhu dipped his head to hide his grimace. What would Amanda think of him if she knew how limited his education was? That he had been illiterate for most of his life?
He wasn't going to tell her, and if she asked, he wouldn't flat-out lie, but he wouldn't give her a straight answer either. She already had a pretty low opinion of him, and the last thing he needed was to dump this boulder on the negative side of the scale.
Luckily, she dropped the subject.
Things got even better as the movie started, and Amanda got comfortable, leaning back into his arm and completely stunning him by resting her head on his shoulder.
It was heaven to hold her close, her body soft and relaxed in his embrace. But it was hell to fight the urge to take this thing further.
There was no way she didn't know what she was doing to him. And not just because she was an immortal like him, who most likely could scent his lust, but because he couldn't control his breathing anymore, not without choking, and his breaths were coming in and going out, chuffing like a fucking locomotive. The cause would've been obvious to anyone.
Yeah, she was definitely aware.
She didn't remain unaffected, though. It seemed that as his breathing got heavier, hers was getting shallower, and he could've sworn her breasts were swelling, or maybe it was just the effect of her nipples getting harder and protruding further.
He wasn't paying attention to the movie, and although Amanda had her eyes on the small laptop screen, pretending to watch, he suspected she paid it as much attention as he did.
The Princess Bride had just become his favorite movie of all times…
With gentle fingers, Dalhu took hold of Amanda's chin and tilted her head—so she was staring up at his eyes as he dipped down and kissed her lips, slowly.
Amanda didn't pull away.
She moaned, her chest heaving with pent-up desire as she parted her lips and invited him to deepen the kiss.
He brought them closer, kissing her harder, and still she didn't resist. Getting bolder, he reached under her T-shirt and rested his palm on the soft skin of her belly.
With a groan, Amanda covered his hand with her palm. But instead of pushing it away as he'd expected her to, she pushed it up to her breast—a shudder running through her upon contact.
Holy Mortdh, he didn't need a written invitation to get that he was just given the green light.
Gently, he lowered her down to the couch and pushed her T-shirt up and over her beautiful breasts, then pulled back to stare at the magnificent beauty he'd just unveiled.
He wanted to dive in and suckle her, to take turns with each puckered nipple until he got his fill…
Which could take a while…
Except, to pleasure her properly, he needed to take it slow and learn to play Amanda's body like one would learn to play a fine instrument, paying close attention to what she liked and what she did not. And that required two things he was in short supply of.
Patience and restraint.
Reaching to cup her breasts, he had a feeling that his hands shook a little, though if they did, it was barely perceptible. He groaned with pleasure. Perfect; the hard tips tickling the inside of his palms, and just the right size to fill his cupped hands but not overflow them.
Fighting the urge to descend on her with his lips and his tongue, he started slowly circling her turgid peaks with his thumbs, making contact only with the areola, teasing her, expecting her to urge him to do more. But besides arching her spine to push her breasts into his hands, she did nothing to protest his little teasing.
For some reason, Amanda was holding back.
Which troubled him.
By now he had a pretty good idea of the kind of woman she was, and meek wasn't it.
Dalhu had no problem with taking the lead, or with dominating the hell out of her, but only if this was what turned her on, and not because she was frightened.
Letting his senses probe
deeper, he detected a hint of trepidation. But that was to be expected, it was no more than the thrill of a new partner, and nothing that would explain her timid response.
"We don't have to do this…" he murmured, even though it would kill him to stop.
"It's my first time… with an immortal…" She smiled a lopsided smile.
Aha… so that's her game…
No problem, he could play along…
"It's my first time as well… with one untried, that is… but you have nothing to fear, my sweet. I'll go slow and gentle and make sure it's good for you." He moved his thumbs back and forth across her hard tips before dipping his head and pulling one between his lips.
She bucked under him, but not to throw him off…
"Do you like this?" he breathed over her wet nipple.
"Oh, fates, yeeees…" she mewled.
He suckled her other nipple, swirling his tongue around the tip and tugging gently with his fingers on its twin.
Dalhu took his time, alternating between using his fingers and his mouth, savoring each one of Amanda's throaty moans. When he sensed she had enough, he cupped her wet breasts and took her mouth in a hard kiss. She opened for him, drawing his tongue into her mouth.
When he came up for air, she grasped the hem of her T-shirt, yanked it over her head, and tossed it behind her.
Timid no more, she shifted up and reached for the buttons of his shirt, kissing him while she was at it, slipping her tongue between his lips and sweeping it against his.
Dalhu leaned back and Amanda moved to straddle him, her core hot over his rock-hard shaft even through the barrier of fabrics between them. Getting busy with the buttons, she rocked against him, kissing every little bit of skin she was exposing. He kept stroking her back and her waist and the sides of her bare breasts, running his ragged palms all over that soft, smooth skin.
When she parted the two halves, he helped her peel the shirt off his shoulders. And as she tugged on it, he leaned forward so she could pull it free. Giving the shirt a little spin over her head, Amanda sent the thing flying in the same direction her T-shirt went.
Admiring his bare chest, she looked like a triumphant goddess, as if he belonged to her—was hers to do with as she pleased.
Yes he was, and he had absolutely no problem with this.
After a moment, she hissed and latched on to his neck, licking, kissing, nibbling. And as she kept rocking and undulating her hips over his groin, her wet nipples rubbed against his chest.
The good news was that Amanda seemed to have forgotten that she wanted to play the shy virgin. The bad news was that with what she was doing, he wasn't going to last. With his fangs already down in his mouth, and pre-cum wetting his jeans, he was either going to rip her pants off and plunge right in or explode in his pants.
Neither was acceptable.
Wrapping an arm tightly around her upper body and clamping a palm over her butt, he stilled her gyrations. "You have to stop… Unless you're ready to get straight down to business," he part hissed, part slurred through his fangs.
Amanda pulled back a little, gasping at the sight of him. "Can I touch them?" She kept her eyes on his fangs as she brought her pointer to hover a fraction of an inch away from the sharp tip.
"Yeah…" he breathed, his abdominals contracting in excited anticipation of her touch.
Very gently, she ran her finger all the way from his swollen gum down to the tip and pressed lightly, just enough for it to pierce her skin and draw a tiny drop of blood.
They both moaned when he swirled his tongue around her injured digit, the taste of her blood exploding over his senses as he healed the small nick.
"Fuck, Amanda…" His hips surged involuntarily, pressing his hard length up to her center. "This isn't helping…"
"I'm sorry," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. With her slim palm holding on to his nape, she buried her nose in the crook of his neck. "I wanted to take it slow and savor this experience…" she mumbled against his skin. "Fates, I'm such a slut…" She sighed.
"Please don't…" Dalhu smoothed his palm over her bare back.
With the reminder of her sordid past, his arousal cooled as if a bucket of ice was dropped on the thing. At the same time, however, he hated that she felt this way. He wanted their first time to be all about her, her pleasure. Any guilt or shame, or whatever other negative feelings she might have, were unwelcome between them.
"No, it's true. With mortals, I take whatever I want, how I want it. I'm running the show… I use them." She chuckled, her exhale tickling his skin. "My boy-toys…" she kept talking into his neck, holding on tight as if afraid he would push her away. "I wanted… heck… I'm not sure what I wanted… I wanted it to be different with you."
Something wet and warm slid down his neck—a tear.
"Oh, hell, Amanda, that's nothing to cry about. I know exactly what it's like, and all of those that came before, for you as well as for me, don't count. They were an upgraded version of a toy to masturbate with—a semi-decent substitute, but a substitute nonetheless. Did you ever have feelings for any of them? Or use them more than once or twice?"
She shook her head, rubbing her wet nose on his skin in the process. Not that he gave a fuck if she got some snot on him…
"You see? I'm right." Dalhu cupped her cheek and gently pushed her face up from her hiding place so she had to look into his eyes. "For real? This is like the first time for both of us, with the added advantage of actually knowing what the fuck we're doing. Right?"
"I guess… we sure do know how to fuck…" Amanda smiled her teasing smile, the spark of mischief once again glinting in her big, blue eyes.
Thank fuck.
CHAPTER 18: SYSSI
As the blinking lights of the helicopter vanished in the distance, Syssi closed her eyes and let the tears flow freely. It had been such a struggle to keep the waterworks at bay for Kian and Andrew's sake. Not that she'd done such an admirable job of it. But now, standing alone on the roof of Kian's high-rise, in the middle of the night, there was no more need for pretense.
No one could see her.
Except, the tears weren't enough, she still felt like choking.
It was all too much, and the stress had finally gotten the better of her.
Or was it the transition?
According to Dr. Bridget, everything in Syssi's body was supposedly in flux, and that probably included her hormones. But whether she was being hormonal or not, she knew of only one way to get some small measure of relief, and it was to let it all go, break down completely and sob her heart out.
She did, noisily, hiccups and runny nose and all, using the bottom of her T-shirt to wipe her nose and the fountains of tears from her eyes. It was soaked.
Ugh, gross.
Ah, what the heck, the thing is beyond salvage anyway. She blew her nose on one side of the shirt and gave her face a good wipe down with the other. She then took a deep, shaky breath, and another.
Snap out of it, everything is going to be fine. Her brother and the two friends he'd brought on the mission were professionals—experts in hostage retrieval, and Kian's bodyguards, Brundar and Anandur, were obviously well-trained.
But what about Kian?
She wasn't sure about his fighting skills, but he'd surely carried that wicked looking sword like it was an extension of his body, like it was nothing new to him. And he certainly was old enough to have lived at a time when men had waged war with swords.
She wondered if he'd fought in actual battles or just knew how to wield a sword for self-defense, or maybe for sport—fencing. But even as she thought it, deep down she knew the truth.
Don't be naive. Of course, he'd fought… he had to…
Kian had the bearing of a general, and it wasn't because he was Regent over the American part of his clan. Politicians, even presidents of countries, didn't have this particular aura around them—not unless they came from a military background.
But it was a good thing, right? As an experien
ced fighter, Kian was less likely to get injured.
Oh, God, what if…
Stop it. No one is going to get hurt. Well, except for that Doomer. Syssi shivered as she imagined what Kian would do to that guy.
As much as she loved him, there was still a lot she didn't know about Kian, and she suspected that there was a whole other side to him she had only caught glimpses of.
His beast, as he called it. As if there was some creature or separate entity living inside of him that was wild and untamable. Right. A convenient way to excuse lack of control. She had no doubt, though, that Kian was capable of killing. And she had the uneasy feeling that he wasn't beyond cruelty either.
Would it affect the way she felt about him if she knew that for a fact? Would she be wary of him?
Probably not.
Did she want to know?
No, not really.
Coward.
Yes, she was. War and its ugliness were unfortunately an integral part of life, and the strong had to do what needed to be done to defend the defenseless. While Kian had no choice but to fight against enemies that threatened his clan, killing and maybe even torturing for information, she had the luxury of hiding her head in the sand as one of the defenseless.
Still, even though she fully accepted Kian, darker side and all, she felt sorry for him. The man had selflessly sacrificed a part of his soul so others could live. Not that she would ever let him know that she did.
Kian was such a guy, so proud.
She smiled, remembering his smug expression when she'd called him Superman. Indeed.
I'm so lucky. I snagged such an incredible man… immortal…
Once he returned, victorious of course, and had a chance to catch on his sleep, she was going to put his superhuman endurance to test with her own new and improved body.
That's right, now that she was an immortal, Kian could really let go of his beast and ravage her to his heart's content. She was indestructible.
In a much better mood, Syssi got back inside the rooftop vestibule and pressed the button for the elevator. It was good that the penthouse level had one that was dedicated. She would've been mortified to encounter anyone and get caught looking like she did, with puffy red eyes, red wet nose, and a shirt covered in snot. Lucky for her, both of the penthouse occupants weren't there.