He’d protect her, he’d promised as much. But, she’d seen the strength of the monsters who walk the streets at night. Monsters who preyed on the weak and defenseless. This Christoff towered above the others, and if eyes truly were the window to the soul, he was a killer, through and through. Even the thought of him turned her blood as cold as his glacial stare. How often would she be forced to share an office with him? What would happen if she found herself alone with him? This wasn’t going to work.
As she flung open the door, Terry jumped back, narrowly avoiding an injury.
“I can’t stay a moment longer.”
Chapter Nine
Susie opened the door and almost dropped her bag of groceries. God bless her. She stepped inside, ushered Terry in, and dead-bolted the door behind them before taking a better look at her new home.
“Nice digs.”
As she placed the groceries onto the marble kitchen benchtop, she had to agree with Terry’s observation. Although the furniture was her own, they looked almost lost in the large room. There was something comforting in seeing her own stuff after spending months living with the Corels. My books, my couch, my cabinets. She took the milk from the gray plastic shopping bag and turned to the fridge. Her fridge. Her fully stocked fridge. She shook her head. How did I get so lucky to have a friend like Anna?
After organizing the food and sundries, she took Terry on a tour of the house. Anna had arranged the furniture exactly as it had been in Susie’s old apartment, making everything both familiar and comfortable. But, despite the homey feel of the place, her body trembled as shadows cast strange reflections across the floor. Nighttime. A shiver shook her body and she hugged her arms as the realization hit her. My first night alone. After the kidnapping, she had spent the first few weeks at the hospital before Anna and Derrick took her to live with them. Although they were rarely awake at the same time, she always knew that while she slept, they watched over her. Maybe moving out so soon was a mistake?
She checked her watch. Seven PM. Her mind raced. Would Anna be offended if I changed my mind? She thought of all the things Anna had done for her already when she should have been spending the time with her new husband. They were newlyweds. Meaghan and David would probably appreciate a little more privacy too. David! Her hand shot to her mouth and she cringed, shutting her eyes tight to squeeze out the memory. No use. She could still see the startled expression on David’s face. Hear that horrible man telling him how she and Terry “fornicated” on the desk. Fornicated! Ah! What was she going to do? I can’t go back to work and face David. I can’t go back to the mansion. By now, they would all know what had happened. They would be understanding and thoughtful. Probably even pretend it didn’t happen. But it did happen, and God help her, her body still tingled from his touch.
As if on que, he squeezed her shoulders.
“You hardly said a word during dinner.”
“I’m sorry, Terry. My mind was elsewhere.”
“I feel like such an asshole.” He dropped his hands, scratching his head as his face wrinkled in concern. “It was too soon. I shouldn’t have forced myself on you like that.”
“I don’t remember anyone forcing me to do anything,” she responded with a shrug of her shoulders, suddenly conscious that she was still wearing the same clothes he had removed earlier. A shiver shook her body. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the heaviness in her breasts. The moist heat between her thighs.
“I really fucked up!” he bellowed, dragging his fingers through his wavy, blond hair. “Shit, sorry, I shouldn’t have said fuck … I mean—”
“It’s okay.” She giggled. “It isn’t like I haven’t used those words myself.” She turned on the living room light and motioned to the couch. “Can I get you a drink?”
“I could really use a stiff one.” His mouth gaped open. “Oh, fuck! I didn’t mean … oh shit. I’ve done it again.”
Susie laughed so hard, tears streamed down her cheeks and the breath caught in her throat. When she regained her composure, she offered, “Scotch?”
“Please.” He slumped onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. “As you may have guessed, I didn’t have a refined upbringing like Corel. No one to teach me the polite way to speak to a lady.”
Pausing before entering the dark kitchen, she flipped the light switch, glanced around the empty room, and headed for the pantry where she had earlier spotted a bottle of scotch. Thank you, Anna. She poured the drinks, handed him a glass, and sat beside him on the couch. “What sort of upbringing did you have?”
He took a big swig, half-emptying the glass before answering.
“My parents died in a fire when I was only two. I spent most of my life in an orphanage. The people there were pretty cool, but it’s not like they went out of their way to make the place like a happy home. If it wasn’t for Meaghan, I probably would have turned out worse than I am.”
“Meaghan is an orphan?”
“Yeah.” He took another sip from his glass. “She was a baby when she arrived. I’ve looked out for her from that day until … until Corel staked his claim.”
“You’ve loved her all this time.” Of course he has, you idiot. She’s beautiful.
His head bobbed slightly. “But, as it turns out, she never felt the same.”
“Bummer.” Susie finished her drink in one gulp, rose from her seat and walked back to the kitchen, returning with the bottle of scotch. She refilled both glasses and gazed at him thoughtfully. “May I ask you a question?”
“Fire away.”
“If it’s painful being around her, now that she’s with David. Why are you working for them? Isn’t that awkward?” She handed him his glass and sat with her knees almost touching his.
“There was no use staying away. I can’t get David out of my head.”
Susie leaned back against the back of the couch. “Oh.”
Terry’s eyes widened. “No, no, no. I meant it literally. We have a mental connection.”
“Telepathy? I seem to remember Anna telling me.”
He sighed. “Since he saved my life. He gave me some of his blood and now we’re tied by a sire bond.”
“Anna offered me the same thing after, you know. I couldn’t do it.”
“I didn’t have much choice.” He took another sip of his drink. “They told me that I was at death’s door. I wasn’t ready to bite the bullet.”
She leaned forward and placed her hand on his knee. She’d been there, done that. “I’m surprised that he didn’t offer to turn you, make you immortal.”
“Even if he had, I wouldn’t have accepted.”
“The drinking-blood thing?” Her tongue poked out as she shuddered.
“No. That doesn’t bother me too much.” He paused for a moment. “This is going to sound lame but … I want to have kids someday. I want a family of my own and, as far as I know, vampires can’t reproduce, not in the conventional way.”
I didn’t see that coming. “I’d never considered that aspect of immortality.” She removed her hand from his leg and dropped it in her lap. “I don’t mean to offend you, Terry, but I’d never have pegged you as a family man.”
He smiled. If she could call it a smile. More like a twisted smirk.
“I’ve never admitted that before, not even to Megs.”
“Why?”
“Probably because I expected the reaction you just had.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I know I come across as a badass sometimes, but the truth is, I’ve dreamed of being part of a family since I can remember.”
“That’s a pretty nice dream.” She took a sip of her drink. “I’d love to have kids one day. Two, maybe three.”
He nodded. “Three. Two girls and a boy. Do you have any siblings?”
“Nope. Only me.” She took the empty glass from his hand and refilled it, ignoring the shiver that traveled the length of her spine. Three? What had he meant by that? Was he giving her permission or…? You’re reading too much into this.
“
My parents always joked that they had enough trouble keeping up with me. Another kid would have been exhausting.”
He relaxed back into the couch, resting his arm across the headrest, looking very much like he belonged in the room. In the house. In her life. She quickly looked away.
“You and your parents sound close. I envy you.”
“We were.” She swallowed a gulp of her drink, and along with it, the pain rising in her throat. God, how she missed them.
He sat forward. His green eyes filled with compassion and something else. She’d seen that look earlier in the day. Right before they had crazy monkey sex on the desk. Heat flushed her cheeks, the warmth spreading over her body. When he reached forward and grasped her hands in his, her toes curled in her shoes.
“I’m assuming it was an accident?”
She nodded. The pain of the passing was as fresh today as it was seven years ago.
“They were sideswiped by a semi-trailer.”
The pressure around her hands increased. “I’m sorry, Susie. I wish I could say something philosophical, but I find most of that stuff bullshit. ‘Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ What crap! Having your heart torn and being told that at least that shows you have a heart is rubbish. I’m lucky. I’ve never felt loved so I’ve been spared the pain of losing someone. You’re such a sweet kid. It doesn’t seem fair for life to throw you all these curve balls.”
“And you, Terry Palmer, are a smooth talker.” She lowered her head but couldn’t stop the smile curling one side of her mouth. “Which is one of the reasons I can’t work with you.”
“You don’t like me?” He feigned a pout.
She resisted the urge to bite his bottom lip. “We both know that isn’t true,” she reminded him, dragging her hands away from his grip. “I would never throw myself at someone I didn’t like.”
“So, you do like me.” His eyes twinkled with mischief and she knew they would be her undoing.
“That’s beside the point.” She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the puppy dog expression. The bulge at the crotch of his jeans proved harder to ignore. When her tongue darted out and moistened her lips, he squirmed in his seat and gulped.
“What if I promise to behave at the office, keep everything professional? Will you stay?”
She rose from her seat and paced the room, wringing her hands as she glanced out the window behind his head. Getting darker. Tiny hairs prickled the back of her neck. Where they being watched?
“Susie?”
She turned. “What?”
“You’ve gone pale. Are you all right?”
“I … yes, I’m fine.”
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
He let out an audible sigh and rose from his seat to stop directly in her path. “Will you come back to work if I promise to ‘keep it in my pants?’”
“What about that horrible man, that vampire?”
Gently grasping her shoulders, he looked directly into her eyes and promised, “He won’t bother you at work again. Corel gave me his word. And he also promised that no one, including Meaghan, will know what happened today.”
When her right index finger disappeared into her mouth, he took her hand and kissed her fingers.
“The way you constantly chew on these gorgeous digits, they must be delicious.” He drew her hand into his mouth and, in turn, tasted each finger.
“Mmm,” he hummed, after tasting the last one and moving on to the inside of her wrist.
Her womb clenched as he kissed a path from her wrist, down the inside of her elbow, and up to her shoulder and neck. He cupped her head in his hands, maneuvering her face to access her lips, exploring the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Unravelling her resolve to resign.
“You said…”
“I said at work,” he murmured as his fingers threaded through her hair, lightly tugging as he drew her hair back to expose her throat, “this isn’t work.”
She wanted to argue, really, she did, but the words refused to leave her mouth the moment his lips reached her collarbone. His fingers moved fast, unbuttoning her blouse, unhooking her bra, tracing the flesh of her breasts. A whimper slipped from her lips as his tongue flicked the areola before playfully biting her nipple. His large hands cupped her bottom, drawing her hips up to meet his arousal. His very impressive arousal.
“Bedroom?” he asked as he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his hips.
With effort, she raised her arm and pointed down the hall before curling it around his neck. Holding him. Enveloping him. Taking pleasure from him as his mouth worshipped her breasts.
As he strode down the corridor, the fingers on his right hand crept inside her thigh, teasing her, testing her, finding her ready and more than willing. Another pair of panties obliterated.
“Hurry!” she groaned as he slipped, first one digit, then two inside her, using her own arousal to lubricate her sensitive clit and push her to the edge. “I’m—”
“Not yet,” he told her as he placed her on the bed. “This time we’re going to do it right.”
“Right?” she asked as he unbuttoned his shirt and fumbled with the buckle of his pants. Despite the battle scars, his tanned body epitomized masculinity. She’d seen plenty of great bods in the gym, but this? This body rocked. Her hands itched to trace his skin, from his broad shoulders to his washboard abs and tight butt.
“Last time we rushed,” he told her when he finished undressing. “I need to see you. Every last inch of you.”
His erection bobbed inches away from her face, tempting her, but she knew she was past the point of no return. She needed him inside her. Now. She almost tore her skirt in her rush to unzip it, but, thankfully, it survived. Her panties didn’t make it. He tore the thin fabric in his effort to assist her and discarded them with an excuse.
“I like you better without them,” he told her as he placed his hands on the inside of her thighs, spreading her legs as his face moved agonizingly slowly toward her. He licked his lips. His hooded eyes and cheeky smile telegraphed his intentions.
“I bet every part of you tastes delicious.”
She closed her eyes, shuddering as his tongue did wicked things to her body. Pleasuring her, tormenting her. Satisfying her, over and over again.
“You should teach classes in this.” She gasped as she caught her breath.
“That’s just foreplay.” He smiled as he crept along her damp body, lapping the excess perspiration that puddled between her breasts. “I want to hear you scream my name at least another half dozen times tonight.”
Without missing a beat, he thrust inside her. Filling her body, her senses. She moved with him, against him, for him. And yes, she screamed his name that night. At least half a dozen times before daylight crept through the curtains and found them sleeping peacefully in each other’s arms.
Chapter Ten
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee woke Susie from the deepest sleep she’d experienced since her abduction. Yawning, she stretched, lifting her arms above her head as she sniffed the air. Bacon? Opening her eyes, she took in another deep breath as Terry stepped into the room, looking every bit as delicious as the food he carried. Damn that man is hot.
“I picked us up some breakfast from your local café,” he informed her as he handed her one of the large polystyrene containers and placed the takeaway cups on the table beside the bed.
“I hope you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I got a selection.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food,” she told him as she checked out the contents of the container. Croissant, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown, and fried tomatoes. Is he trying to kill me with kindness? My arteries may not survive the morning. “It looks wonderful, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish this much. I usually only eat cereal.”
“You were sleeping so soundly. I didn’t want to disturb you to ask what you preferred,” he mumbled with his mouth full of the
egg and bacon-filled croissant. “I’ll remember cereal next time.”
“Next time?”
He continued eating, pausing only briefly between bites to hurry her along.
“You’d better hurry and eat up if you want time to have a shower before we leave for work. I hope you don’t mind, but I used your shampoo earlier. We should pick up some more before we come home.”
Susie raised herself onto her elbows and sat up in bed. Her bare breasts jiggled with the momentum, reminding her of the nocturnal workout.
“Next time? Home? What are you suggesting, Mr. Palmer?”
He choked on a half-chewed sausage, coughing as he replied. “Mr. Palmer? I thought we were past formalities. I seem to recall you calling out ‘Terry’ over the course of the night. Many times, if I remember correctly.”
She averted her eyes, lowering her chin, noticing the blush of pink coloring her breasts. Judging by the heat in her cheeks, she could imagine the color they were turning. Scarlet if temperature was an indication.
“So, you think that just because we had sensational sex, you can move in. Don’t you think we’re moving too fast?”
“No, I don’t. Wait! Do you?”
“Yes.” She reconsidered her answer. “No.” With a shake of her head, she sighed. “I don’t know, Terry. Last night was wonderful. You, were wonderful. And this…” She motioned to the uneaten breakfast. “No man has ever taken my needs into consideration. But—”
“But we’ll go slower. As slow as you like.” He sat beside her on the bed and took her hand. “All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove I’m a good guy. You can trust me.”
Take Back the Night (Blood Brothers Book 3) Page 9