Catherine (Echoes of Ossiria #1)

by Vivian Lane

He crossed the few feet between them and scrutinized the lacing. The bow had been double-knotted so it would stay tied. His nimble fingers gently worked the bow loose and slackened the ribbon through the eyes. She sighed and slouched slightly now that the dress was loose enough to take a full deep breath.

  “Better?” he softly asked.

  “Much. Thank you.”

  She held the dress up with her hand, turned her head to smile at him, then walked into the bathroom to retrieve a complimentary robe.

  A couple minutes later, she came out in a white fluffy robe, the dress draped over her arm, went over to the closet and carefully hung it up, caressing the beautiful beading a final time before shutting the door. Her hair was still pinned up and she hadn’t removed her shoes, yet.

  He coughed. “Hungry?”

  “Oh…yes,” she said, relieved for a safe topic. “I hope there’s something normal on the menu.”

  He shook his head. “Bloody Yanks,” he teased.

  “Yeah, yeah, we’re all cretins… I’d kill for a burger or pizza, just sayin’.”

  “I think we can let the diet slip, just this once.”

  He started playing with the entertainment center remote while she perused the menu, then called room service.

  “You want anything?” she asked. He shook his head. “Hi, I’d like to place an order…the sirloin burger…cooked medium, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, no pickle…fries, definitely…a diet Coke, and…a piece of the triple chocolate cake. Uh-huh…twenty minutes? Thank you!” She checked the clock. “I’m gonna really enjoy this.”

  He turned off the TV. “Why don’t you take your hair down?”

  She nodded. “Alright.” She didn’t know how many pins the hairdresser had used, so she was kind of feeling blindly, and placed them on the nightstand as she pulled them out.

  “Here.” He came over to help. He batted her hands away and took over, loosening the curls as they tumbled down.

  How did he make everything a sensual experience? Having his hands in her hair sent tingles down her spine and butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He removed the last pin and combed his hands through her locks to make them flow freely down her back. She bit back a moan of pleasure.

  “There. Much better.” He stroked the silky strands from crown to ends. “So pretty. Cat…”

  “Hmm?” She half turned.

  He slid his hand under her hair to cup her neck and leaned in to kiss her. She sighed into his mouth, her arms slowly sliding up to wrap around his shoulders. He had the most perfect lips for kissing, not that she had a lot of experience. They had just the right fullness, his bottom lip slightly more plump, and were surprisingly soft for a man’s. She could tell he was holding back from completely devouring her, and a part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind, but room service would be there soon.

  Maybe after she ate.

  All too soon, the doorbell rang. They parted, panting.

  “I’ll get it,” they both said. He chuckled, while she blushed.

  “I’ll get it,” she repeated. She walked out only to find the attendant was already gone, leaving a cart with covered plates on it. She wheeled it into the bedroom, stopping in her tracks when she looked up.

  He’d shed his shirt and was casually reclining on the bed.

  Yummy, she thought, before dropping her attention to the cart. She lifted the cover off the bigger plate, her mouth watering the second the aroma of the large burger hit her senses. She picked up the sandwich with both hands and took a big bite, humming with pleasure at the first taste. “Oh, this is good!”

  He laughed. “And they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  “Oh, shut up,” she mumbled, her mouth partially full. She wolfed down the burger like she hadn’t eaten in days. He stood and leaned over to snag a couple of fries. She slapped his hand. “Hands off my food, buster! Get your own.” She pulled the cart behind her and tried to look stern, though the effect was somewhat dimmed by the fact that she was still chewing.

  He grinned and backed away to the bed. “You are so bloody adorable.” He propped a pillow behind his back and crossed one foot over the other, getting comfortable. “You can have a seat, pet.”

  “No more stealing my food,” she said, eyeing him warily, before taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

  “Mm-hm. Give me your foot.”

  “What for?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You’ve been complainin’ about those shoes, and I have hands. Gimme a foot.”

  “Okay, okay…” She shifted to put the footboard at her back so she could place her feet in his lap. The heels of her shoes came close to landing on sensitive property. She blinked innocently when he winced.

  He unbuckled the sandals and dropped them on the floor, then took one of her feet in both hands and started kneading it.

  “Ow! Ow. Ohhhh…” She melted as the tension suddenly disappeared. “How did you do that?”

  “Told you—I have many talents. Relax and finish your grub.” His skilled hands worked over every inch of her foot. He switched feet. She was leaning back on her elbows, eyelids heavy, watching his hands. “Puttin’ you t’ sleep, love?”

  “Hmm? Um, no…just very relaxed. I’ve never had a foot massage before. My ankle once, after I twisted it, but not my feet.”

  “No generous boyfriends in high school?”

  She shook her head. “I had boy friends, but not boyfriends. Everybody’s best friend.”

  “A date for the dance, at least?”

  “I went, but it was always a group outing. You saw me when I arrived. I wasn’t one of the popular kids. But I had several friends and we stuck together, made sure no one was alone. Could’ve been a lot worse. Were you ever picked on as a kid?”

  “Couple o’ times, maybe…hard to remember that far back.”

  Yeah. Right… “I suppose. Kids are cruel in any time period, though, right? Popularity contests seem to be human nature.”

  “They do, at that.” He pulled her closer by her ankles.

  “Hey…”

  Started massaging her calves. “Done with the feet.”

  She smiled, shaking her head, looking at the canopy above. Standard male tactic: look as innocent as possible while getting their hands on more skin. Extra points if the girl doesn’t notice. Not that she minded, honestly. She knew how this night had to end.

  Four more hours to sunrise.

  He was at knee-level now. Any higher, and he had to slip under the hem of her robe or push it higher on her legs. His hands moved under her knees so he could work on the back of her legs.

  “Why don’t you roll over?”

  “Why?”

  “Catherine…”

  “Okay, okay…” She flipped over.

  He kneaded her thighs, skipped over her ass, and started on her lower back through the robe. The thick terry kept sliding under my fingers, getting in the way. “This would work better on skin,” he said.

  She wriggled to pull her arms out of the robe and pushed it down to waist level. He put his hands on her back. They’d absorbed enough of her body heat by now to feel warm. She sighed as his thumbs dug into the muscle group at her waist.

  “Nice?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She placed her forehead on her hands for a pillow.

  He slowly and carefully kneaded every inch, all the way to the nape of her neck. Then brushed her hair up out of the way and pushed his fingers over the curve of the base of her skull and along her scalp. She sighed. He continued massaging her scalp in gentle circles.

  She fell asleep.

  ****

  There are moments in life that contain instant knowledge.

  The first time expectant parents hear their baby’s heartbeat and realize the world isn’t only about them anymore.

  The moment when a runner can see the finish line and knows they’re going to win.

  The instant death is inevitable when your parachute doesn’t open.

  And the moment
when you look into another person’s eyes and know that tonight, or for a few hours, you’re the only two people in the world.

  Catherine’s eyes popped open, her body sensing she was being watched.

  He was right there, his blue eyes dark in the dim light. Their eyes met. Their lips touched. She cupped his cheek with her hand as his arm slid under her back.

  No more hedging or evading. She was ready to dance.

  She rolled onto her side to face him, pressing her body closer. His touch heated her blood, feelings arcing from nerve endings long after his hand had already moved elsewhere. She ended up on top of him, grinding her pelvis against his hardness and cradling his face in both hands. His hands were on her butt, encouraging her movements.

  Needing oxygen, she broke the kiss to sit up. He looked bewildered and slightly panicked until he realized she wasn’t moving away. She kept eye contact and reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, tossing it to the side and on the floor.

  His gaze immediately dropped to her bare breasts, his hands coming up to feel them. Her head fell back as he gently squeezed and kneaded with talented fingers. He sat up to wrap his lips around one nipple while tweaking the other between two digits, his other hand on her back to hold her in place.

  She moaned. Her hips rocked back and forth over the erection beneath her. Logically, she’d known the boob stuff was going to feel good, but not this good. It felt like all the blood in her body was pooling right above her clit, and if she could get just the right…

  “William…”

  He lifted his head and grinned. “Need more, baby?”

  She nodded eagerly, whimpering and wriggling in his arms.

  The hand that’d been on her breast dropped to the tie of her panties and pulled the bow loose, then slipped underneath to stroke her center while he sucked hard on the other peak. She squeaked and grabbed his face to bring his lips to hers; kissing him with all the intensity she felt coursing through her body. The closer she got to orgasm, the harder she held on, digging her nails into the back of his neck.

  She panted post-climax, watching him suck her juices off my fingers. He winked. “Delicious.”

  Blushing, she brushed her fingertips over the grooves in his skin from her nails. “Sorry about that.”

  He tipped her chin up. “Hey, don’t apologize. Don’t ever apologize for expressing your passion, sweetheart. Besides…” He Eskimo-kissed her nose. “I like it.”

  She blushed again. “Oh.”

  Their faces were still millimeters apart. Their lips met again, slower this time. She could taste herself on his tongue. It wasn’t repulsive like she expected.

  His hands reflected their owner’s personality—they were rarely still. He stroked her hair, her shoulders, breasts, waist, and hips…peppered her face and throat with kisses. All while his erection strained against his pants.

  Her own fingers got sneaky, slipping between them to pull the zipper down and give him some relief. He gasped when she caressed the soft skin with her thumb.

  “Oh!” she yelped. It took all of a second of touching him before he rolled and switched their positions.

  “Drivin’ me crazy, love.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  He grinned and kissed her again, then pulled the other bow loose and stuffed her panties in his back pocket, then thrust a finger inside her, then another. Her back arched and she moaned in surprise. He curled his fingers upward and stroked the soft, fleshy wall.

  “Oh, god…” she whimpered.

  “You want me, don’t you, pretty kitty?” he murmured next to her ear. “Want me to fill you up?”

  She nodded, her eyelids fluttering closed as his fingers made her eyes roll back. They popped open when his touch abandoned her, to find him naked and poised above her.

  He grabbed her wrists and brought her arms above her head, pressing them into the pillow, then surged into her in one stroke. Her inner muscles clenched around the invasion, more in surprise than pain.

  “Sweetheart, you should have told me…”

  Why wasn’t he moving? “Huh? Oh…” She shrugged. “Figured you knew.”

  “Not for certain…in this day…are you alright?”

  She was touched he seemed genuinely worried. “Be a lot better if you started moving,” she said with a smile.

  “You’re not in pain?”

  “No pain.” She squeezed him with her inner muscles. He groaned. “Move already!”

  He gently pulled out a little. “Bossy bint. I can leave you wanting if you’re not a little nicer.”

  She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles together. The move seated him deeper again. “Really.” Her previous orgasm had left her soft and pliant.

  He grinned and set a casual pace. “Knew I liked you for some reason.”

  Their rhythm didn’t stay slow for long. He couldn’t keep from touching her, letting one hand, then the other, go in his quest to tease and feel her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his neck, threading her fingers through his hair as he nipped at her breasts, her throat…

  A clever swirl of his hips made her moan again. “William…”

  “I’ve got you.” He slipped a hand between them and flicked her clit. Her muscles clenched around him again in response.

  She clung to him as she arched off the bed, caught in the throes of orgasm and triggering mine. He vamped out, but didn’t bite her.

  It was the first time she saw his demon mask. His eyes were gold, as in the color of his irises had changed. She lifted a hand to glide her fingertips over his forehead, his eyes closing as they trailed over his cheek.

  He shook off the fangy look and softly kissed her. “You alright?”

  “Better than.” She stretched beneath him. “Are you…?”

  A shallow thrust confirmed her discovery. “Part of the vampire package.” He rolled them, putting her on top. “Not done with you, yet.”

  “Oh!”

  Sitting on his lap with him inside her put a whole new angle on things. Her head tingled when she sat up straight, making her feel drunk. His strong hands stayed on her waist until the dizziness passed. “Don’t do that when I’m still woozy.”

  He grinned, a thoroughly naughty expression. “Blood flowing elsewhere than your brain, love?”

  She tried to scowl, though it came out looking more like a pout. “’S your fault. What am I…?” She gestured to the new position.

  “Anything you like, baby, that’s the point…you’re in control.”

  She blushed. “Oh.”

  Logically knowing what you read in a book, and applying it, were two different things. Luckily, she had a patient teacher.

  He gripped her hips and lifted her a fraction off his erection, then let her slide down again. Her eyes widened as he stroked her internally at this new angle. Up, down; up, down; and every time was hitting this new place…

  “Oh, god…”

  She caught on and moved on her own. His hands coasted up her sides to mold around her breasts now that she didn’t need his help. He leaned up to kiss them again. She was riding him fast, then he slowed the pace, sitting up to wrap his arms around her. She opened her eyes, coming back to where she was, and her brow furrowed with the unspoken question. He just tilted his head and captured her lips, kissing all thought away…

  She came to on her side in time to feel him enter her from behind.

  “OH, my god…William…”

  He placed a tender kiss on her neck. “Love how you say my name like that,” he said with a measure of pride. “You like this.”

  She whimpered as he pushed in again. “How’d…we get…?”

  “You passed out for a minute. Personal best for me.”

  “Smug bastard.”

  He laughed and pinched her nipple. “My parents were married, thank you.”

  “You keep this up; I’m not going to be able to walk.”

  “Not seeing the problem, love.”

  Chapter
Seven

  Catherine had always guessed sex with William would be…well, more reflective of his vampiric status.

  Instead, the longer they were joined, the more tender and affectionate he was. If there’d been any real feelings between them, she would have called it making love. Four hours after she’d last looked at the clock, they were finally sated and exhausted.

  She was curled up against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder and her leg tossed over his thigh, the bed covers pulled up and tucked under her arm. With dawn approaching, he was drifting off to sleep, his unnecessary breaths becoming fewer and farther in between.

  She allowed herself a couple hours to nap.

  Sandman’s Dust was listed in a book on Cures and Treatments for Common Ailments. The day she went shopping with Alicia, she’d had the great fortune to slip into a magic shop unnoticed while Alicia harassed some clerk for Ferragamo shoes. The vial was in plain sight on the shelf, and the storeowner had no other customers at the time.

  “Trouble sleeping, dear?”

  “Uh, no, it’s actually…does this work on anyone? Really?”

  “I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer.”

  “What about someone who isn’t…exactly…human?” she asked.

  “Ahhh…Well, you might have to up the dosage, but as long as the subject sleeps in the first place, Sandman’s Dust never fails. Guaranteed deep sleep for several hours.”

  She paid for the vial and stuck it in her purse, quickly hurrying back to Alicia. The powder could be applied to the tongue directly, or diluted in any liquid where it would be undetectable. She wasn’t sure what compelled her to choose that particular item, but it seemed to be an easy option of escape.

  Now, with the sun up outside and William sound asleep, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the closet for her bag. She found the small vial in one of the outer pockets and tiptoed back to the sleeping vampire. With his mouth dropping slightly open and his face fully relaxed, her goal was even easier to accomplish. She just had to do this carefully.

  Mixed with water in a glass from the bar, she trickled the medicine in his mouth and whispered the activation word: “Dormio.”

  He sighed a puff of white smoke, signaling the spell was in place.