"Sophia," she heard his voice, soft and persuading, "calm down."
"You're a fucking vampire," she said, refusing to look at him, refusing to come to terms with it. She just needed to get out and it'd be all okay again.
"You're going to faint if you keep this up." He caught her elbow and staggered her walk. "You need to calm down."
Her gaze flashed across his face. "You're not Archer, are you?"
"No," he sighed. "I took their son's place when he died—"
"—Oh my God!" Sophia's eyes widened, about to step back but he caught her arm and stilled her.
"I didn't kill him," he said in a raised voice. "Someone took him in order to demand ransom from his parents when he was in college. Things didn't work out as planned and James, James Archer, saw his kidnappers. They shot him. At least, that's what I gathered from the crime scene."
"You were there?" she blinked, trying to sort this out.
"It happened in a building close to my old apartment in Chicago. I heard the shots."
"And you took his place," Sophia said, at which he nodded. "How?"
"I appeared like him," he said and shrugged, "fooled his friends and his family. Vampires can be very," he paused, "persuasive. I learnt of James's life, I learnt of their company, and I learnt how to handle it. There was no doubt, and in return they didn't have to face the tragedy of losing their only child."
"This is insane."
He smiled at her. "It's a lot to take in."
"No reaction to your avoidance to sunlight?"
"I developed an allergy."
Sophia placed a hand on her forehead. "And now you're New York's most successful man." She found support against the wall once dizziness shook her. He stood before her and cupped her face. His thumb stroked her cheek, and Sophia found herself wanting to lean into his touch. She gasped and slid away from him.
"You think I will hurt you?" he asked, pinning her with a steely gaze.
As her eyes closed, she was brought back to Nova again, where James had blindfolded her and handed her over to a group of people to please her. Until they attacked. Her eyes opened abruptly.
"They messed up," James said, reading her, anger tinting his words. "They've never attacked before. All I wanted was to get you out of there."
And he did.
"You looked too sweet, smelled too sweet, tasted too sweet." He cupped her chin. "It drove them near insane and I saw the danger a second too late."
He ran his nose down her neck, and an illustrious, pleasurable ripple went through her. She shook her head. "Let me go," she said, trying to remember what he was. He could attack her as well.
"Try again." He moved to her lips, his hand grasping her hair. Sweeping his tongue against hers, he sought control. Mortified, she found her frame bending toward him, as if pulled by an invisible string. "Your heart's singing for me and it's not out of fright." He steered her backward toward the stairs.
"You're a vampire."
"I think we've established that," he replied with a smirk, and two pointed fangs slid down from his gums. Sophia's breath caught. Despite his warning, she reached up to his mouth and touched the pad of her index finger to one canine. She gasped and withdrew at the vicious sting it left. A drop of blood surfaced and James looked at it instantly. He grasped her hand before she had the chance to hide it, and brought it back up to his lips.
"Please, don’t," she said, watching his lips part, feeling queasy. Her struggle didn't deter him at all as he brought the tip closer to his lips. He sucked her finger into his mouth, his warm tongue lashing across the damage. She met his gaze, and a dark, sinful tremble shook her. Her heart sang louder.
Stop it.
"You're delicious. I understand the vampires' insatiable need for more," he said after dragging her tip from his lips. He kissed the now unmarred skin. So he'd be good to have around for paper cuts.
"No." She shook her head, snapping out of her silly thoughts. "No, no, no. Blood isn't delicious."
"Yours certainly is."
Sophia shivered, definitely not coming to terms with it. James's lips peeled into a fanged grin and then he followed her when she turned and moved for the door. Sophia's hand shot out for the doorknob and pulled, but before it had opened a couple of inches, he shoved the door shut. His hard chest touched her back while his arms confined her, overcoming her attempts of escape. His breath skimmed her neck, and her entire body flushed warm in an instant, something only he could do. "I won't let you leave. You're on edge, my sweet, delicious mortal, and I get that, but you're also very, very hot for me."
"Excuse me?" Her voice came out sounding thick. Fighting him was like fighting quicksand and she was sinking too deep too fast. She ached, her body demanding his attention.
He shifted and slid a hand down her stomach before continuing to the front of her thigh where he squeezed her. "Fuck, Sophia," he murmured hotly by her ear before breathing in her scent. "I need you. You're so wet for me, and I need to see. I need to feel. I need to taste you."
Sophia's knees buckled and his arm was there in an instant to support her weight, crushing her against that rock-hard body of his. He chuckled, the sound like rich chocolate and wine, awakening something primal in her as she fell under his spell. She should be running, but a larger part of her wanted to delve into the madness.
He turned her, and pushed her against the door before his lips pressed against hers. He parted her lips and then completely dominated her mouth. Sophia shivered against him, meeting him with mirrored fervor. His fingertips grazed the back of her trembling thighs and squeezed her ass, and then her feet came off the floor. She hooked her legs around his hips and gripped his shoulders. Her breathing grew heavier feeling his erection against her heat, his touch sending her mind and her body into a state she couldn't return from. She writhed on the hard ridge of his erection, her hips moving as if they had their own damn mind. She could feel his lips quirk into a smile against her neck and she whimpered at her own weakness, at her body's obvious need for him to soothe the flames soaring inside her. Her legs clung to his hips, her fingers digging into the hard muscles of his shoulders. Leaving the door behind, he moved up the stairs as if she was feather light. He jumped and the bed caught her weight. James's arms caged her while she tried to feed air to her lungs. Her dress had hitched up to her hip from the abruptness of everything and she brushed it down — perhaps out of old-time shyness catching up with her — but it was futile. His gaze brushed over her frame as if she lay nude before him — something to pounce, something to devour. Her nipples strained against her dress and she felt her core clench in anticipation. He moved his hands to the top button of his slacks, proceeding to remove his pants along with his boxers, and his erection was freed, curving upward toward a firm stomach. He gripped his manhood, and Sophia watched entranced while he moved his fist up and down. Her mouth went dry, remembering when she first tasted him. How he knit his fingers into her locks, how he calmed her by stroking her cheek, how he enticed her with hot words, and how she nearly came herself while taking him into her mouth. Sophia shifted, feeling herself grow damp. James's eyes bled dark. Danger and sexiness oozed from him, leaving Sophia to feel nothing but excitement surge through her entire body from head to toe. James snuck his hands beneath the hem of her pretty lace dress and followed every curve up her body until he freed her.
Sophia let her hand skim atop his chest to his stomach, feeling the rippling muscles against her palm. He always left her breathless. She shifted a little and wrapped her hand around his cock, all the while keeping her gaze on his. He groaned and his erection throbbed in her hand, encouraging her to move her hand up and down his length. He gave a small thrust with his hips, leaning his forehead against hers.
"I've felt like this since I took you to Nova tonight," he whispered hoarsely, demanding her lips for a short moment. "They didn't hate Eric for having you in his lap like he told you; they hated me, knowing I'd fuck you senseless afterward until you forgot all about them."
Sophia gasped and shifted her eyes to his.
He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then paused on her lips before continuing their path to her neck.
She watched him through half-lidded eyes while he dipped lower to the peaks of her breasts before taking one into his mouth. She shuddered, feeling the tips of his fangs rasp against sensitive skin. The twinge of pain blurred when his tongue lapped her skin.
"Vampire?"
He craned his neck to look up at her, the quirk of his mouth showing his fangs. "I'll show you more, but right now I need you to be a good girl."
"Are you — are you going to bite me?"
"Only when you beg me to."
He sounded pretty damn sure of himself. Sophia swallowed, shifting her gaze from the sharp fangs protruding from his lips. He eased her legs apart enough to cradle his hips, his mouth moving to give her other breast some attention.
"James," Sophia moaned, knitting her fingers into his hair, feeling him reach down between her legs to play with her.
"You are mine, Sophia," he said, slipping two fingers into her, plunging them in sync with her rising hips. She felt something thick brush her wet slit and in one long, hard stroke, he buried himself to the hilt. He sat up, bringing her with him in a fluent movement, their bodies still connected.
"Ride me," he spoke against her lips, one of his hands grasping one of her butt cheeks. She jolted in response, his cock sliding out of her. He groaned into her ear, repositioning himself by her entrance.
"Slow, princess," he murmured, "but I loved that squeal."
Sophia slid down inch by inch, feeling him fill her completely. She repeated, moving on top his lap in a slow pace, her hands on his shoulders. She kissed him, wanting him closer still. He lifted her by her hips and plunged her back down onto his cock again harder, and Sophia's breath came in short, shallow little bursts. Her position brought him even closer, deeper.
"Are you ready?" he asked, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. A fang sliced the sensitive skin and made her yelp, but he corrected the damage by sucking on it. He tipped her chin to the side, baring her slender neck for him. She shivered, feeling the tips of razor sharp fangs rasp against her, threatening to break skin. He soothed her with his tongue and lips, exploring her neck. His kisses fell closer, making Sophia's grip on his hair tighten, knowing he was pausing on her drumming pulse, her body shaking by the idea of those predator's teeth about to feast.
She held her breath, unable to move, unable to think.
"Whenever you had your hair up I almost lost it," he whispered and placed another kiss on her rapid drumming pulse. "I wanted to drink from you so badly," he said, a hint of darkness capturing his words. Sophia let out a small whimper.
"Are you ready?" he repeated, his grip on her behind tightening. He rotated his hips.
"Yes, god yes," she moaned, her muscles fluttering around his cock buried inside of her. She wanted all of him. He laid her down again. Her entire body tensed when his fangs sliced into her skin, the pain making her dig her nails into his back. Just like the bites at Nova, the initial pain melted away. Sophia's eyes burst open, feeling heat stretch through her, starting where his fangs bit into her soft skin and making her heart pump faster.
James withdrew his cock from her and thrust inside her again, making her cry out. She trembled, clawed at his back, and moaned his name when he made her come. He sucked her skin, lapped at her blood seeping through her wound, and the pleasure sent another orgasm crashing over her. She screamed, quivered, and arched while she dissolved in bliss, all the while he pounded into her faster to reach his own release. He withdrew completely, teased her clit with the head of his cock, and then eased himself all the way in. She didn't know it was possible, but a third orgasm tugged her into oblivion, keeping her for a longer moment spun in pleasure.
When her sight threatened to darken, her eyelids about to close, James pace slowed down after his own high. He licked her marks, healing them and removing the traces of blood. She sighed, small pleasurable bursts taking her by surprise when he tasted the markings. Her breath fell short.
"No more," he said, stopping his ministrations and kissed her skin once. "You'll pass out."
She nodded, fighting to keep her eyes open. He smiled, his thumb stroking the markings on her neck from his bite. Small tremors passed through her, reacting to his touch. Her head fell to the side to look at him. She lifted her hand and touched the tips of her fingers to his lips. She nodded. "I'm yours."
He reached for the lamp on the nightstand and let the room sink into darkness.
Thank you
Thank you so much for reading! If you're interested in a deleted chapter with a hot, steaming bath scene, notify me on my email with a link to your review at
[email protected] and I will send you the chapter as thanks! You can also message me on Facebook if you prefer: Victoria Sterling.
I hope to hear from you!
~ Victoria
Innocent in New York Page 16