“I hope you like chocolate,” Carly stated, carrying two parfait cups, “because this is the most sinful chocolate mousse I’ve ever made. Pure heaven.”
She handed him the dishes and slipped out the room and into bed next to him. Her breasts bounced as she situated herself. He handed her one of the cups and watched as she scooped up a spoonful and wrapped her lips around it.
Carly closed her eyes and moaned. “Oh yeah. So good. Try it.”
“From the sounds of it, you’re enjoying that entirely too much.” He wagged his spoon at her, grinning when a bit of chocolate landed on the curve of her breast.
She moved to wipe it away and Jace caught her hand. Bending forward, he licked it off and sucked gently on the patch of skin. “Hmmm,” he straightened, “you’re right. So good.”
“Silly,” she murmured.
“You go back to work Monday?” he asked between bites.
“Yeah, but tomorrow is all mine. Do you need to go in? Work on that project?” She kept her gaze on her dessert.
“No, I’m free. You have something in mind?”
“Nothing specific,” she protested. “But…if you want to…hang out, I’d like that.”
“I’d love to ‘hang out’ with you, Carly. Do I get to sleep over?” he teased.
“Do you want to?” she asked so quietly he barely heard her.
He tipped her chin up. “Oh yeah.”
Her face reddened. “Okay. Good. Um…”
He sighed. He knew they couldn’t avoid it any longer. They had to talk. Figure out what exactly they had between them.
“Is this just an experiment for you, Carly?” he questioned.
“What?” She frowned.
“This.” He gestured between them. “Are you just wanting to find out about bondage and all that, and I’m just the guy who’s lucky enough to teach you?”
“Well, I… No.” She shook her head. “Why would you ask that?”
“I need to know what your expectations are. Am I just a friend and the occasional fuck buddy? Or is there more to this?”
“Fuck buddy?” Her voice rose and her eyes widened. “Is that what you want? Expect?”
“Nuh uh. We’re talking about you and your expectations.”
“Fine! I don’t have any expectations, Jace. We’re friends, of course. But I’m not going to go all possessive and stalker like on you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she assured. “I hope we can continue to…be together, but I would never force a relationship on you because you slept with me.”
“Okay, enough about expectations. What do you want?”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “I think we went over this already. When we argued at the party,” she clarified when he looked at her questioningly. “I want you. I have for a long time. And I don’t want you to hold back.”
“You want me,” he repeated with a nod. “Physically?”
“Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes. “That much is obvious.”
Taking a deep breath, he decided to just say it. Lay it all out. Talking in circles bullshit seriously did nothing for him.
“Okay, well, I think you should know my expectations and wants.”
Carly nodded, curious about the seriousness in Jace’s expression and tone. “Of course. I want to know. It’s not all about me, I realise that.”
“Okay. I expect exclusivity. No one else touches you or fucks you. You are mine,” he stated bluntly.
“Ooookay.” Carly nodded slowly “Not a problem. I don’t sleep around, Jace. You know that. But, okay, exclusivity. Got it.”
“I expect honesty. I expect you to tell me if you don’t like something I do, in the bedroom or out. If the rougher stuff loses its appeal, fine. We won’t do it. I’m not someone immersed twenty-four seven in the lifestyle. I enjoy what we’ve done. I get off on it, I’ll admit, but it isn’t the begin all and end all for me.”
Carly nodded again, unsure if she should respond.
“As for wants, I want you to be possessive,” he said in a low voice.
“Huh?” She shook her head. “You want me to be possessive?”
“Fuck yeah. I want the mere thought of another woman with me to drive you insane.” He shrugged. “Turnabout’s fair play, I figure, and trust me on this, Carly, if another man gets near you or even looks at you in a way I don’t like, I will not be happy.”
Carly’s stomach flipped. “Jace, I—“
“I’m not finished,” he interrupted. “I want you. Physically? Well, that’s a no-brainer. Even now, my dick is hard as stone and aching to be inside you.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her clit beat a frantic tattoo at his declaration and her pussy, still sore from their last round, clenched.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” he ordered. “I need to finish this.”
She complied and met his gaze.
“I want you. In every way. The two weeks we didn’t talk were hell. I missed talking to you, laughing with you, and just being with you. The thought of you’re not being there kills me.”
Hope flared up inside her and she fought it back, unwilling to set herself up for disappointment.
“I guess what I’m saying, sweet Carly,” he cupped her face, “is I want it all. The whole fucking thing. Not ‘just friends’, not just the sex. I want the whole package. You, me, together.”
“Oh shit…oh shit…”
She couldn’t breathe. She closed her eyes and concentrated on drawing in a breath, and then another, and another. She lifted her lids and looked into Jace’s clear green eyes.
“Why?” Her mind was so muddled she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Jace laughed as he smoothed her hair from her face. “I love you. It took almost losing you to make me realise that.”
“You love me?” Tears blurred her vision and her hands shook as she gripped his forearms.
“Yeah, I love you. Fuck, I have for a long time. I just didn’t know it.”
Carly burst out laughing. His statement was so like Selene’s ‘You knew it, you just didn’t know it’, that she couldn’t hold it in. She moved her hands from his arms and caressed his face.
“I love you. I was so scared when I realised… I didn’t know how I was going to give you up.”
He pulled her into his lap and kissed her, long and hard. Carly savoured the heady flavour of chocolate with a hint of Jace underneath it all. He was quickly becoming her favourite treat.
“You’re not giving me up and I’m sure as hell not giving you up.”
Carly grinned. “I think I want to change my expectations and wants.”
He quirked a brow. “Really?”
“Yes. I expect and want it all. I expect and want a life with you, because I love you.” Her voice broke. To be able to say it, admit it—to him and herself—was such a relief.
“Got it.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“And while I appreciate and know that you will stop whenever I ask you to, I’ve loved everything we’ve done together, Jace. I never thought I would respond so strongly, and I don’t think I would if it wasn’t you.” Carly lowered her voice, even though they were alone in the house. “I want you to dominate me, to tie me up, to punish me.” She drew in a shuddered breath. “I want that to continue.”
He shifted her until she straddled his lap. His cock pressed against the sensitive folds of her sex. “Good, but promise me you tell me if that changes.”
“I promise, but for now,” she flicked her tongue over his bottom lip, “will you show me what else you have hidden in that little bag, please…sir?”
About the Author
Jessica Jarman has been weaving stories for many years, starting in her childhood when she’d entertain her younger sister every night. The stories, though simple, involved love and a happily-ever-after ending. It is no surprise she has come full circle and is now penning romances.
Jessica currently lives in Minnesota with her wonderfully supportive husband
and their four children. While family keeps her busy and on her toes, she manages to squeeze out time to put the characters and plots that live in her head onto paper.
Email: [email protected]
Jessica loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.
Also by Jessica Jarman
Bite Me!: Lust Me, Trust Me
Fate’s Song
WHISPERS
Kim Dare
Dedication
To everyone who’s brave enough to take a chance and risk not being perfect.
Chapter One
Zachariah Radcliff ran his fingertips over Charlotte’s throat, slowly tracing the line of her jugular. It took every ounce of his self control to keep his touch gentle. He’d waited far too long since his last feeding, but now…
He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself not to assume too soon. Everything still hung on Charlotte’s answer.
“Are you sure, my pet?” Zachariah asked softly.
“Yes, master.”
He brushed her hair away from her neck. The dark curls fell back over her shoulder. Charlotte shivered—a shudder so tiny, it required his heightened senses to perceive.
The room was warm. His armchair stood close to the fire. Although she was naked, her place kneeling at his feet put Charlotte directly in front of the blaze. There was only one reason for his pet to shiver, and it had nothing to do with the temperature.
She appeared perfectly serene, but he sensed her blood pounding, hard and fast through her veins. He knew it was impossible for him to truly understand how Charlotte felt about the imminent feeding, but he looked down at his pet and did his best.
Was the shiver a sign of fear? Desire? He couldn’t read her well enough to be certain. He’d never known a human who was quite so infuriatingly in control of her reactions as Charlotte.
Zachariah forced a deep breath into his lungs and held back a sigh. She’d known who he was, what he was, when she’d come under his protection. She’d been given time to become accustomed to the idea. If she said she was sure, he no longer had any choice but to trust her judgement. He couldn’t wait any longer.
“If you are truly ready for this, come to your master.”
Charlotte stood. Even with the desire for her blood scorching through his veins, he couldn’t fail to appreciate her curves the same way a human man might. Zachariah ran a hand down his pet’s back and caressed the soft swell of her hip as she sat on his lap.
He arranged Charlotte so her back rested against his chest. Her neck hovered temptingly close to his lips. He stroked his hands over her limbs, encouraging her to rest against him. Charlotte moulded herself to fit perfectly against the lines of his body, but she didn’t relax. Charlotte maintained the same tense reserve she always displayed in his presence.
“Bare your neck for me, pet.”
She took her hair and twisted the thick mass of curls together, bringing the rope of hair over her left shoulder to expose the right side of her neck. Her hands showed no sign of an anxious tremble.
Zachariah wished he could trust that to mean she really wasn’t nervous.
He tilted her head back and kissed her neck. Tracing the vein with the tip of his tongue, he pushed back the urge to bite, the way he had so many times over the last few weeks.
Charlotte turned her head to the side, giving her master better access to the vein. It was more than enough encouragement. Coming from a woman who never let her wants and desires show, it was a full orchestral symphony of invitation, with an extra encore thrown in for good measure.
The forms still needed to be properly observed. Zachariah forced the syllables past his lips. His mouth trembled with the effort of forming words when every instinct demanded he forget words existed and just bite. “Give me your answer, pet,” he whispered. “I will not take what is not freely given.”
“Yes, master.”
He couldn’t ignore the calm certainty in her voice. His teeth grazed her skin. Blood immediately seeped to the surface. Zachariah ran his tongue over the wound. He closed his eyes, savouring the first taste of hot, salty liquid on his lips.
He liked to think he would have been able to stop if Charlotte panicked, but the blood on his tongue called to him so strongly, nothing less than a display of real fear would stop him.
She gave no sign of distress.
Zachariah bit.
His teeth sank past her skin and caught the vein, piercing it with practised ease.
Charlotte gasped. Her hands clamped around the arms of the chair. She pressed back against her master’s body. For the first time, an unguarded reaction made it past her self control. Zachariah felt her tension build, layer upon layer, as she fought against her body’s instinctive reactions.
Her body shook as she battled against thousands of years of survival instinct. By sheer force of will, she somehow managed to push every human reaction aside. In moments, Charlotte rested peacefully in his arms, as if the bite hadn’t affected her.
Zachariah closed his eyes. She leaned back in his embrace, calm and accepting, while he fed deeply. Strength flooded into his body. It buzzed through his muscles, swirling and crashing through his veins. His ears rang, his vision blurred. The real world faded away, until all his senses were useless. He closed his eyes and tried above everything else to remain conscious.
Scared.
The word cut through the humming in his ears as if the tinnitus didn’t exist. It came through so clearly, he knew the word couldn’t have been spoken out loud.
Gradually, the flow of blood onto his tongue began to slow. Having drunk his fill from his pet, he broke the bite. Even as he stared at the blurry puncture marks, his vision cleared and the bite began to heal rapidly. He smiled at the fading sight and stroked Charlotte’s hair away from her face.
“Hush,” he soothed. His voice was rough after the feeding, but it didn’t completely kill the gentleness in his words.
A tiny shiver ran through her.
“There is no need to be scared, pet. Your master has you close and safe.” He turned her in his arms so she could cuddle into his body. She didn’t seem to understand the comfort he offered her. Although her body quickly assumed the right shape, she didn’t seem to know how to seek reassurance in her master’s protective presence.
Zachariah kissed her temple and rocked her very gently. For a long time, he let silence fill the room. Only the crackle of the logs in the fireplace broke the stillness. “The bite did not hurt?” he asked, when he judged her ready to discuss it.
“No, master,” she said, perfectly calmly. Felt good. Liked it.
He closed his eyes for brief moment, relishing his success. It really happened. He smiled over the top of his pet’s head and savoured the moment. He hadn’t imagined her voice whispering into his mind. The blood bond existed. Charlotte was his. He held her closer.
She glanced up at him for the briefest second before she looked down in well practised submission.
Pleased?
Zachariah stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Yes,” he said softly. “Yes, little pet, your master fed very well. He is very pleased with you.”
She made no comment, but pleasure at the gentle praise flowed across the bond. “How often does my master-”
Shouldn’t ask.
A mental flinch came across the bond with a huge swoop of negative emotions. Zachariah blinked at the force of the thought as it rammed into his mind. “It is natural you would wish to know such things, little pet.”
Charlotte glanced up at him through her lashes, trying to gauge his true reaction to the question. As if he’d somehow given her the impression he would lie.
“I do not need to feed very often, but it is something I enjoy a great deal. Would you like me to feed from you regularly?”
Yes!
“I wish my master to take whatever he wishes from his pet.”
“You are a good p
et,” he told her, smiling at the gentle submission in her voice and the naked want in her thoughts.
Sex?
Zachariah looked down at his pet. She was curled up naked in his arms, her soft curves pressed against his body. If she was up to it after the feeding he certainly wasn’t going to say no. The extra blood in his veins rushed straight to his crotch.
He caught her expression and pushed aside his disappointment. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, realising she wasn’t talking about them having sex right then.
“Are you wondering if I have lost interest in your body, now that you’ve offered me your blood?” He couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice. Like anything could make him lose interest in any part of Charlotte.
He ran his hands over her body, cherishing the softness of her skin under his palms. She accepted his caress in stillness and silence, the way she always accepted her master’s touch. She didn’t reject or request. She just accepted.
More!
Well, she didn’t request out loud at least…
Zachariah made his touches more gentle, more teasing in response to the silent demand, wondering how she would react. He longed for her to protest, to tell him she wanted something, anything between them. Convenient as her consistent acceptance of his advances was—it wasn’t as erotic as the prospect first sounded. He wanted Charlotte to want him the way he wanted her.
She held her breath while he trailed his fingers over her skin in feather light touches. At least it was something like a reaction. He’d learned to watch for such subtle clues.
Touch.
The mental whisper came through loud and clear—an impatient demand echoing through his thoughts. Her legs parted a fraction—offering him just the tiniest bit of physical encouragement as the eager invitation seeped into his mind. He trailed his hand up to cup her breast. Charlotte arched her back the tiniest fraction of an inch.
Night of the Senses Page 30