Anthony touched her hand. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“Why?”
“You just seem a little edgy.”
“No, I’m fine.” She pushed from her mind the thought of Eamon sitting three tables away. A hand settled on Lauryl’s shoulder. Eamon was now standing beside her. He smiled down at her and her heart raced.
“Hello, Lauryl. It’s nice to see you.”
“Hey,” she said without making eye contact with him.
“Anthony Wilson.” He stood and extended his hand to Eamon.
“Oh yes, the doctor.” Eamon gave Lauryl’s shoulder a subtle squeeze and then shook Anthony’s hand.
Anthony sat back down. “I thought I’d check on Lauryl in person.”
“That’s nice. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my guests. It was a pleasure to meet you, doctor. Good night, Lauryl.”
Anthony watched Eamon return to his table. “Nice guy.”
“The nicest.” Why did she have to see him out tonight? She wanted a dance company-free evening. Eamon and his spooky sister were the last people she wanted to see.
The waiter brought their food and Lauryl tore into hers like a wild animal. She shoveled down the heaping plate of pasta as quickly as she could.
“As a doctor, I’d have to advise against inhaling your food like that.”
“I know. I could get indigestion,” she said, her mouth half-filled with pasta.
“Or worse.”
Lauryl kept her eyes on Eamon’s table. She didn’t know why. They were all involved in conversation but every so often, Eamon would glance over at Lauryl. She tried to keep herself from acknowledging him and was succeeding. Suddenly the blood drained from her face and she stopped eating. Jennifer Conrad walked in and over to the Eamon’s table and sat down. At Eamon’s table Eamon leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and then went back to his conversation.
Lauryl’s jaw dropped. Of all the people in town he could date, he had to choose Jennifer. She watcher her take Eamon’s hand in hers and lean over closer to him. He glanced over at Lauryl again and a thin smile appeared on his face. His gaze lingered a moment and returned to Jennifer. Lauryl bit her lip until she tasted blood and turned back to Anthony, who was finishing his dinner. She gulped down the ice water in front of her, wishing it was vodka.
“I think I want dessert.” Twinkie toes be damned, she thought.
“Really?”
“Cheesecake. A big ass piece of it.” Since she couldn’t have cocaine or any other illicit substance, forbidden food was going to have to take its place to blot out what was sitting three tables over.
“Cool.” His phone rang and he fumbled to mute it. A frown appeared on his face. “I’ll be right back.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
While Lauryl waited for Anthony, she danced her feet under the table. She was determined not to look over at Eamon. She stopped her feet and thought about why she was so upset. Did it matter that he was out with Jennifer? No, she was out with here with Anthony and she wasn’t going to let Jennifer ruin that. She took a slow deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Anthony had returned.
“Indigestion?”
“No, I’m good now.”
“I’m glad. Still up for dessert or do you want to leave?”
“Hell, no. I’m eating.”
On the drive back to her apartment, Lauryl was silent. Eamon dominated her thoughts. From the time he came in the restaurant until they left, he stayed on her mind. When Jennifer came in and took a seat next to him though, she almost threw up. She knew Jennifer would end up fucking him but she didn’t need it confirmed. Well, she thought, that just shows what Eamon really likes. He’s a rich tomcat and Jennifer was banging him for the money. That was what she was going to tell herself.
“Here you are, ma’am,” Anthony turned the car into the parking lot of her apartment building.
“Aren’t you coming up? I can make some coffee or something.”
“Could you find coffee in all of that?”
“Ha. I know where everything is.”
He shook his head. “I have to get back. I’m on call. I have to be within fifteen minutes of the hospital. As it stands, I’m about an hour away. And I cheated even more to finish dinner with you.” He poked her shoulder. “Rain check?”
She nodded and tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “I guess you’re leaving.”
“Yep, time to make like a tree.”
“You tell some dumb jokes.” She fingered the door handle absently, not wanting the date to end.
“But you like them. Don’t worry you’ll see me again.” He reached for her as she opened the door. “Lauryl.”
She turned back to him and he kissed her gently. As his lips touched hers, goose bumps rose along her arms and she felt something she hadn’t felt in years, the excitement of a new romance. With the kiss, Eamon vanished from her thoughts.
“Don’t let him bother you,” he said as he stroked her cheek. “I think that’s just the way he is.”
She blushed and wished Anthony would kiss her again. When she saw he wasn’t, she covered her disappointment with a shy glance away. “Thanks, Anthony.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Nothing Like Make-up Sex and Blood
I’m not home, Lauryl thought when she heard a knock on her door.
Social wasn’t a word that described Lauryl these days. Ever since she saw Eamon out with Jennifer Conrad a week ago, Lauryl’s mood had been sullen at best. Contact with Jennifer every day, all day, didn’t make it any better. Before class, she would recount in a very loud voice where Eamon had taken her the night before. Lauryl ignored her and stayed close to Todd. That way they could talk about Jennifer whenever they wanted.
In addition, they could make fun of her when she became tired or confused combinations in rehearsal. The best part had been when Antonina blasted her for spending too much time on her back and knees and suggested that those activities, not her “slight anemia, were the cause of her exhaustion.
Anthony hadn’t called either. She was beginning to think he was merely checking up on her as her former doctor and not a possible new boyfriend. That disappointed her the most but maybe she had been reading too much into the situation. The events of the past days left her with a non-stop headache.
The knocking continued and synched with the pounding in her head. It became apparent that whoever was at the door wasn’t leaving. She reluctantly opened the door when she saw who was there, her eyes narrowed.
“Hello, Lauryl.” Eamon leaned against the doorframe.
“Hey.” She closed the door some.
“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by unannounced.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
“I came by to talk to you. May I come in?”
She pulled the door open a bit wider and stepped aside. “Yep.”
Eamon took a seat on the sofa and noticed the plate on the coffee table. On it was half a pack of saltine crackers, a green apple core, and a red apple with a few bites out of it. While he studied it, she reached down, snatched it up from the table and took it to the kitchen.
“I wanted to talk to you about the other night.”
She tossed the food in the trash and the plate in the sink. “What was it you needed to talk about?” she asked as she filled her glass with water.
“I just wanted to clear a few things up.”
She came back in the living room. “Jennifer made sure it was oh so clear to everyone from the corps on up.”
“She sees things with a view that’s different than mine.”
Lauryl shrugged. “It’s none of my business. No big deal.”
“It is a big deal.”
“How?”
“I invited Jennifer out as a courtesy. I thought it would be nice since she’d been ill.”
That was a week ago, Lauryl thought. She crossed her arms across her chest. Her irritation percolated along with her hu
rt feelings over Anthony and the budding jealousy she felt for Jennifer. Apart from an easy lay, what did Eamon see in Jennifer? Lauryl tried to convince herself that none of this mattered but wasn’t able to quite accomplish the task. She sat down across from him but didn’t face him.
“However, when I saw you there, I regretted my decision.” He reached over and touched her knee. “I would have preferred to be with you. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
She looked down at his hand on her knee. His thumb rubbed the inside of her knee with a light, teasing pressure. “My feelings weren’t hurt. I told you it was no big deal,” she said. The longer his warm hand stayed on her knee, the more the mix of tumultuous emotions faded. She found herself enjoying his slow caress.
Eamon took his hand away. “If they were, I’m sorry.”
“I said it wasn’t a big deal.”
She drained her almost full glass and got up to refill it. Eamon glanced back down at the coffee table and noticed the photo album sitting in the center of it. Across the front of it, her full name, Lauryl Sarah Fitzgerald, was embossed in gold leaf. He slid his finger between the cover and the first page but hesitated before opening it. He looked up at her, as if to ask for her permission.
“You can flip through that if you want.” You were going to anyway, she thought.
“You’re certain you won’t mind.”
She sat down next to him and he opened the photo album. The first pages were of her as a young girl in dance classes.
“I was three in those.” She nodded at the page. Those were some of the only pictures when her dancing didn’t cause problems at her house.
He flipped a few more pages, going through her years as a young girl. The last photos were of Lauryl at JKO in New York. Her audition number was tucked in the album next to a picture of her and her grandmother. He closed the album and smiled at her.
“I feel as if I’ve known you since you were young.”
“Yeah, a picture’s worth a thousand words.” She pushed the album away and sighed.
The penetrating gaze he leveled on her caused her to turn away. The stare wasn’t unnerving, though. It was simply intense. She could feel him watching her but she couldn’t look back at him, at least not yet. Then, as if he had asked her to turn to him, she turned her gaze to him.
Eamon looked into her green eyes. “You are by far one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. The muscles in her shoulders and neck relaxed and the earlier irritation melted away. She even minimized his involvement with Jennifer. It didn’t disappear completely but it lessened enough for her to enjoy being close to him. The attraction surprised her. It was unexpected and as she sat next to him, it built rapidly. She licked her lips.
Lauryl shook her head, wishing that he would kiss her or at least touch her. As soon as she thought that, she wished she hadn’t. He was the owner of the company and a tomcat. She had no desire to be another local conquest. But for some reason, she found the attraction too intense to fight. In fact, fighting it seemed ridiculous.
“I’ve been all around the world. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”
She smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
He touched her cheek and traced his fingers along the freckles to her lips. Eamon leaned into her, his mouth just above hers. “In fact, I think you are stunning,” he said and then kissed her.
Lauryl placed her hand on his shoulder and grasped at his jacket. Adolescent excitement swept through her body and goose bumps marched up her arms. Her eyes opened slightly to see if his were closed, a throw-back to her teen years, and to her surprise they were. She closed hers again and allowed his lips and tongue to deepen the kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled back and exhaled softly.
“You’re a good kisser.”
“That’s not all I’m good at,” Eamon said.
“That I don’t doubt.” She leaned into him again. For the moment she was content letting his mouth control her. His kisses were like whispers that teased of his other sensual talents. Lauryl’s mind spun in overload. His hand settled on her knee and then travelled up her thigh until his fingers grazed under the legs of her shorts.
She stood up and held her hand out to him. Eamon looked at it and then her face. “Yes?”
“I want to show you something,” she said as she pulled him up. “It’s in my room.”
As she walked, she removed her clothing. By the time she was at her bed, she was completely naked. Lauryl smiled, offering her body to him. Eamon put his hands on her hips and lifted her onto the bed. He stripped off his shirt as his eyes travelled over her body. He extended her leg, kissing his way down from her ankle to her thigh. When he reached far enough, Lauryl sank her hands in his hair. She tugged it excitedly as his tongue licked past her clitoris. A moan passed over her lips and her back arched in excitement.
His smile smacked of arrogance and self-importance. Before she could clear her mind enough to be irritated by it, the teasing sensation of his hand as it traced down her leg clouded her mind again. It spurred her ardor to a new intensity before two of his fingers disappeared inside of her. Eamon leaned over her as he teased her, watching her as she let go of herself for him. Lauryl’s hand dropped to his and pushed his fingers deeper. Her eyes fixed on his, and she let him take control of her. With each charge his fingers made, she twisted her neck back and forth. When his thumb found her swollen clitoris again and rubbed tormenting circles on it, she bit her lip, trying not to cry out. Another finger slid inside of her and the intensity of his thrusting increased. Her counter-pressure against him made his fingers slip in and out faster and harder.
With a desperate movement, she put her feet on his shoulders and tilted herself forward, the slight angle now making each of his teasing movements even more deliciously agonizing. The desperate need for him that rained over her was foreign. She grabbed the back of her legs, panted, and moaned. He kissed between the pale skin over her breasts. Each kiss produced a gasp from her as his tongue trailed down her stomach. He licked at her hipbones, his other hand found one of her nipples and pulled on it. His tongue licked back to her stomach and continued to the nipple. He sucked on it, teasing it with his tongue, and then caught it between his teeth.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. Her hand reached out for his neck and her fingers tightened on the nape. Her fingernails dug into his skin and seemed to encourage him. Her slim hips were dancing harder and harder, faster and faster. Lauryl couldn’t believe how her body responded to him. She had never felt so alive or connected. Her hand shot around to his chest and her nails dragged down his skin as her body melted against his. She grabbed him, her nails cutting his skin again. He wiped the little half-moons of blood away, grabbed her hand, and pinned it over her head. A second passed and then she let out a low moan that turned into a purr as her body let go. Each well-toned muscle spasmed and relaxed into a series of subtle shivers.
Eamon removed his fingers and licked them. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Am I forgiven?”
Lauryl blinked her eyes a few times before closing them in the shower of the endorphins flooding her body. “Oh God, yes, you are.”
“I’m glad,” he said and smiled. He kissed her neck, nuzzling it before gently sucking the tender, warm skin. A contented sigh came from her and the sucking stopped. “Nice isn’t it?”
“Very,” she breathed, the tone of his voice melting her even more. She loved the rich timbre of it. It caressed her the way his hands did.
“You’ll like this even more,” he whispered the second before he bit into her flushed neck.
Her eyes popped open but closed as another orgasm shot though her. His mouth stayed sealed against her neck, drawing her blood into his mouth. Her lower body shuddered and then became still. Eamon pulled away from her and studied her face, now frozen in serenity. He stood up and wiped his lips.
“Sleep now,” he ordered and she drifted off.
* * *
Delicious, he thought as he surveyed her sleeping form. Sleep well, Lauryl.
Eamon sat on the bed next to her and focused on her sleeping mind. I want you to remember what happened before I took your blood. Nothing more, he said into her mind.
It took a bit of glamouring and mental manipulation but she gave into him just as he thought she would. She was stubborn but let go. He picked up his shirt, shook it out and put it on. As he buttoned it up, he paused a moment to enjoy the sensation of her blood as it buzzed through him, strengthening him. Nothing like make up sex and blood, he thought.
CHAPTER EIGHT
There Aren’t Vampires in Real Life
“Crap,” Lauryl mumbled as she felt her way into her dark apartment. Once again, she had forgotten to leave a light on before she had left for rehearsal and class this morning. Now, at quarter after nine, her apartment was dark. She tripped into the kitchen and stubbed her already-battered toes on the miscellaneous clutter on the floor. The clock on the microwave gave off enough turquoise light for her to find the light switch and turn it on. She piled her coat and bag on the counter, and checked her cell phone again.
Only a message from Anthony. Eamon had not called.
It had been a week since she’d heard from Eamon or seen him around the studio. Maybe he was out of town. She kicked off her shoes and tossed the cellphone and the mail onto the sofa. I shouldn’t have slept with him, she thought as she flopped down. She tried to read the mail but her concentration was short lived. A horrible but short-lived wave of guilt washed over her about Anthony. It was replaced by anger at Eamon. No matter where he was, he could have called. She was sure he found the time to call Jennifer. She brushed the mail off her lap onto floor and stood up.
Screw this.
The day’s rehearsal and classes drained her. Her shoulders drooped. All week long, she was drowsy and sluggish, and the smallest activity left her sweaty and winded. Although, she would get a peculiar second wind in the evenings, sometimes rehearsing alone until ten or eleven. Lauryl rolled her neck and massaged the knotted and tense muscles. It was the kind of tension that a hot shower and Icy Hot couldn’t relieve.
Life in Moonlight: The Primigenio Tales: Book 1 Page 5