Chapter Four
Alec’s muscles had as little give as the glass tiles that surrounded him. He turned on the second showerhead and stepped in beside Rook, who already had his face planted under a stream of water. He ached. That was new—usually his body performed at one hundred percent. Alec craned his neck and let the jets pummel his body.
The virus in Melanie’s blood had already started to go to work, preparing his body for the change back to human—but it would be the second dose of her blood taken within forty-eight hours to make the change permanent. That wasn’t a lot of time to convince her that she belonged with them. If they didn’t complete the transition soon, the unique strain of the virus she carried would cease to work for them and they would remain vampires.
Sure, maybe they’d come across another match in a decade or two and begin the process all over again but she wouldn’t be Melanie. Alec dug his fingers into the top of his shoulder and rubbed. Walking away wasn’t an option. Neither of them was prepared to lose her now that they’d found her.
The wooden floors creaked in his bedroom. Excited heat shot through him, tightening those muscles the warm water had loosened. Alec wiped the water from his face and the heavy thoughts from his mind.
“Did you hear that?” Rook looked over his shoulder, his hair thick with shampoo.
He raised his eyebrows in silent acknowledgment. His body hummed with vibrant anticipation. It took all the control he had to turn around slowly.
His open shower took up the far wall of the bathroom. Alec caught a glimpse of Melanie as she peered around the doorjamb. She was hanging onto the sheet like her life depended on it. Her gaze quickly flitted away but not before he’d caught her lusty look.
“See anything you like?” He angled himself in such a way that she got a clear view of the undeniable effect she had on him. Tonight he’d reveal his heart and convince her that what they had was so much more than a business arrangement.
“Was that question aimed at me?” Rook spun around, looked him up and down. “Because now that you ask I’ve always admired your eyes.”
“I think he was talking to me.” Melanie stepped into the bathroom, her shoulders hunched up to her neck. She made a show of looking around at everything except them. “I was just checking to see if my clothes were in here. Where did you put them last night?”
Her hair was tousled, what little makeup she’d had on worn off and Alec could stare at her for hours. He had most of last night while Rook spooned her from the other side of the bed.
“I’m not sure I remember,” Alec teased. “Maybe if you join us it’ll jog my memory.”
Melanie’s eyes lit up and she stomped forward. Her step stuttered then abruptly stopped.
Smart girl. If she got any closer he’d have dragged her into the shower, sheet and all.
“That’s bribery.”
“I call it negotiating.”
How could he take her indignant tone seriously with those dimples of hers threatening to break through? Melanie wanted her soapy flesh slipping between theirs as much as they did. Alec didn’t doubt that. She just hadn’t worked up enough nerve to listen to what her body begged her to do.
“Take off the sheet and bring that sweet body of yours over here. I promise Rook will behave himself.”
“Screw that.” Rook rinsed the last of the shampoo from his hair. “Why do I have to behave myself?”
Melanie arched her brow. “Maybe Rook’s not the one I’m worried about.”
“For you to say that shows how little we know each other,” Rook practically purred. “Come in here so we can rectify that.”
Alec grabbed a bar of soap, rubbed it between his hands and breathed in its oatmeal-almond scent. “Mmm, this reminds me of that pastry I enjoyed watching you eat. Do you have any idea how transfixing your lovely lips can be? All I could imagine was that perfect, lush mouth feasting on me.”
He rubbed the suds across his chest, getting off on the way her eyes followed the path of his hands. “If I smell as good as that danish, do you think that will tempt you to get in this shower? I’ll let you nibble on me whereever you want.”
She settled in her stance, digging in. Her tone was less confident. “I—” She nervously licked her lips. “I just want my clothes, okay?”
“Have I ever mentioned stubborn women turn me on?”
Melanie’s stare traveled over Alec’s body and stalled below his waist. She cleared her throat. “So I see.”
It took all his restraint not to run his hand down his waist, cup his balls and give her a show. Relieve the ache that began as he’d listened to Rook and Melanie having sex earlier. He and Rook would always want time alone with her but this morning all he’d wanted to do was join them in bed.
“Obviously she doesn’t think she can control herself around us, Alec,” Rook goaded her further.
“Can’t control myself?” Melanie raised her voice. “I once sat next to Ryan Gosling on a plane for three hours and only accidently touched him three, four, maybe five times tops. That’s control.”
He didn’t know who the hell Ryan Gosling was but the guy was an idiot if he hadn’t had trouble keeping his hands off her too. Get him on a plane with Melanie and forget the mile-high club. She’d have her first orgasm before takeoff.
“That guy from The Notebook?” Rook chuckled. “Total lightweight. I’ve been giving women orgasms longer than he’s been alive.”
Melanie flung the sheet away from her body and barreled between them. “Fine, I’ll give you two a good lathering and then we’ll see who can’t control themselves.” She yanked the soap from Alec’s hand, stuck her tongue out and furiously ran the soap over Rook’s abs like they were an old-fashioned washboard. “Are you going to behave as was promised?”
Rook sent him a hard look that softened as soon as he turned his attention back to Melanie. “I didn’t make that promise.”
She stopped cleaning Rook within an inch of his life. “But you’ll keep it, won’t you?” Melanie’s boldness began to break down, her vulnerability exposed in the pitch of her voice.
Alec wanted to wrap his arms around her and pledge any vow she needed.
She glimpsed back over her shoulder at him and he tore his gaze up from her beautiful hourglass figure. “You need to behave too. Girls like me, we don’t do this. I don’t know how this works.”
Alec flexed his fingers. She knew exactly how this worked and that’s why his sweet Melanie, traditional when it came to sex, was hesitant. Behaving around her took all his strength. His mind ran rampant with all the experiences of the flesh he and Rook could introduce her to, a threesome being just the start.
Easing forward, Alec nestled his body behind hers. Crowding her between them would only increase her anxiety but he couldn’t help himself. She needed to learn not to resist the passion that bound her to each of them.
“We’ll let you set the pace and only take this somewhere you’re comfortable with.” Rook raised Melanie’s chin to look her in the eyes. “If that means just taking a shower we’re fine with that. No pressure.”
He clenched his jaw so tight he didn’t know if it would ever unhinge again. All he felt was pressure building to claim her as their one and only. Alec wrapped his arms around her waist, his moist skin sticking to hers.
“You’re in charge, Melanie.” Alec left a whisper of a kiss on that soft spot behind her ear. “From this point on you have all the power.”
She’d always had it. The power to end their future before it even began, just as she had the ability to breathe new life into their frozen-in-time bodies.
“I guess since I’m the client here that old adage, ‘the customer is always right’, applies,” Melanie said, with a jittery laugh.
“Forget the contract.” Alec’s words came out harsher than he meant them to. The only business either one of them had in mind when it came to Melanie was the business of making her fall in love with them.
“Tell us what you want.” Alec softene
d his tone. “It’s not in our vocabulary to ever say no to you.”
For him it was the simplest of decisions. He wanted Melanie for whatever years as a man he was blessed to have.
“I don’t know,” she said on an exhale, her shoulders relaxing a bit.
“Yes you do.” Rook stroked the side of her face. “That telling blush of yours gives everything away. You’re just too shy to ask. You don’t ever have to be timid with us.”
Rook grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the shelf, popped open the cap and squeezed a dollop into the palm of his hand. “If you’re relaxed, it’ll be easier to tell us what you want, easier to share your body. Let us show you how good we can be together.”
“Lean back.” Alec slid his hands along her waist—stealing every chance he had to feel her supple skin—and guided Melanie under the water.
She dipped her head and Alec smoothed his hands through her hair, making sure every luxurious strand got wet. Then Rook worked the fresh-scented shampoo in with all the care of a masseur.
The moans she tried to keep under control soon broke free.
“I think it’s safe to say that you like this.” Rook continued to work over her scalp as Melanie swayed under his touch. “Alec, why don’t we see what else she likes?”
With pleasure. Alec reached around and pulled the bar of soap from her. Quickly he built up lather and returned the soap to the shelf. “How about you let me give you a massage?” He ran his hands across her shoulders then down her arms. “I’ll maintain strict professional standards.”
How long he could manage that he didn’t know. Every second he touched her his body coiled tighter, ready to pounce.
“How can I say no?” she sighed. “This feels wonderful. Don’t be surprised when I melt into a puddle on the shower floor.”
He memorized her body from head to toe, avoiding the most tempting swells. For his self-control he was rewarded with the discovery of secret spots that made her quiver, like the backs of her knees. Alec traveled up her thighs, going further then he knew he should—but damn, she made him weak. He couldn’t hold himself back.
Alec went for that part of her body that had been teasing his cock with every slight touch. Her ass. He began at the top of her beautifully flared hips and reached down and around until he squeezed her ample cheeks.
His mouth moved before his brain as his fingers dug into her flesh. “I told you last night how much I like your ass. It’s a masterpiece, Melanie. So full and round, shaped for pleasure.” He pressed his erection against her. “Has it ever been fucked?”
Instantly she clenched her muscles but the ragged sigh she let loose kept him pushing further. He slipped his hand lower and sought her warm, soft center.
“You professional standards are questionable, by the way.” Rook glared at him.
Alec’s fingers slipped along her folds.
Melanie hissed and spun around. She faced Alec and wiped droplets of water from her face. “I don’t know what I was thinking, getting into this shower.” She couldn’t even look him in the eyes. “I can’t—I don’t think I can do what you want.”
Those few bites of food he’d sampled this morning lurched in his stomach. “I’m an ass. I pushed too fast too soon.” Alec took her hand in his. “You’re not ready for—”
“It’s not that. It’s just, I’m—” Melanie’s face flushed with shy embarrassment. “I’m sore. A girl can only take so much. I need time, that’s all.”
In her eyes, the lashes wet with drops of water, he saw trust—and he didn’t want to give her a reason to believe it wasn’t right to bestow it upon them. “You have it. All the time you need.”
Rook hugged her from behind. “I hurt you earlier, didn’t I? Fuck, if you’d told me I’d have stopped.”
By most standards, Alec considered himself well-endowed. Melanie’s admiring looks had proven that. But Rook had the kind of kickstand that could prove challenging for a woman. It wasn’t something his friend boasted about. Moments like this were why.
As if remembering a fond dream, she closed her eyes and relaxed against Rook. Water poured over her body, washing away the soapy trails they’d left. The rapid rise and fall of her perfect breasts gave away her excitement. “You’re not easy—but trust me, any discomfort I felt I thoroughly enjoyed.”
Melanie’s eyes flickered open. The heat in her stare had Alec worried he might melt to the shower floor too. She licked her lips. “Of course, I’m sure we can find some way to pass the time. Not all of me is sore.” She stepped away from a panting Rook and turned off both streams of water.
She stood before them naked, brazen, not trying to hide any part of her body. Why she wanted to change anything about her feminine form he didn’t know.
“You said I could call the shots.” She challenged them with a hard look. “So both of you stand back against the tile and close your eyes.”
His erection twitched with excitement. Not that he liked being told what to do but a little confidence suited her. If she wanted to play the mistress for a while he was man enough to let her. Of course that only meant later she’d better let him be her master.
In unison they stepped back against the cool, damp tile. Alec closed his eyes. Seconds passed like minutes and he listened to the soft fall of feet against the floor, the smooth whip of a towel dragged from its metal rack.
Rook joked, obviously hearing the same thing as him. “Oh so it’s okay for you to get warm with a towel while you leave us over here to shiver alone, wet and cold. Come back and keep us warm.”
Something soft rested on his toes and Alec didn’t think getting warm would be a problem much longer when her hand cupped his balls. He let out a body-shaking groan and opened his eyes.
Melanie knelt on a folded towel, perfectly poised between their ready cocks. It felt like his heart was being squeezed tight. How could one woman appear so wanton and chaste at the same time? The combination of her innocent eyes and seductive smile would be his undoing.
“Consider this a tip for services rendered so far,” Melanie said shamelessly as she leaned forward and sucked the head of Rook’s cock into her mouth.
Lucky bastard. He watched enviously, his body tensing. Alec threw his head back against the tile, oblivious to the sting of the impact. Waiting for her mouth, listening to Rook moan, took his erection to a whole new level of hard. One touch and he’d probably lose all control.
“That’s it, Melanie. Take what you can, work your tongue around the tip,” Rook instructed. “So good baby.That is exactly what I like.”
Alec had to look at her when she slipped her hand around his dick. She worked him up and down while she sucked Rook so hard her cheeks hollowed. Listening to her hum around Rook’s cock was torture. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“Fuck, Melanie. You’re killing me over here,” he hissed. “Don’t make me wait any longer.”
Melanie left Rook with one last swirl of her tongue and went straight to sucking Alec down. Tight friction made him grind his teeth and the relief of her wet mouth didn’t last long. He wanted more—all she could give.
He rested his hand on top of her head, the other under her chin and held her steady. Alec pushed forward. “I’m going to fuck your mouth slow and deep and you’re going to keep those beautiful eyes open for me so you can see what you do to me.”
Her eyes widened and she whimpered around his thick width but Melanie took him down just like he asked, revealing her insatiable appetite for more.
Alec stared into her eyes, willing her to see the love he felt as he drew back and slowly filled her mouth over and over again. He’d never get enough of her.
“So fucking incredible, Rook.” The wet slide of her tongue massaging him had him hissing through his teeth. “So perfect. What the hell did we do to deserve her?”
“Hell if I know.” Rook pumped his hips in time with Melanie’s hand. “I’m not so sure we do.”
Melanie pulled back, catching her breath, and Alec gently fisted his han
ds in her hair. “No, not yet. I’m not ready to let you go.” He peered into her eyes and only saw obedient lust. “Rook won’t mind. He likes to watch.”
“Don’t give away all my secrets,” Rook groaned. “I’d like for Melanie to discover some of them on her own.”
Melanie’s mouth closed around him and she continued with the blowjob, more eager than ever. He didn’t know if the voraciousness was for Rook’s benefit or his. He didn’t care as long as he reaped the benefits.
“I’m close.” Alec swiveled his hips and tightened his ass, reveling in the burn growing at the base of his spine. “Deeper. That’s it. Suck me hard.”
And then she took him throat-deep. He clenched his teeth and fantasized that he was able to fill her mouth with his cum.
That did it. His pleasure peaked and hung on the edge—any minute now it would push him over. Alec rose on his toes, his body strung so tight no muscle remained at rest. “Your mouth. Fuck—it makes me lose all control.” He plunged deep one last time and shots of exhilaration ripped through him as he pushed and pulled against her, trying to hold onto his orgasm as long as possible.
“Tighter, Melanie,” Rook commanded desperately. “Stroke harder.”
Alec sagged against the tile as Melanie pulled away with a gasp and focused all her attention on Rook. She sucked hungrily on the tip of Rook’s erection and stroked him off with both of her hands.
“Yes, fuck yes.” Rook made those single syllables last so long they sounded like sentences. “Here I come, baby.”
Riding high from his own release, Alec easily tuned out Rook. The uncustomary rush of blood humming in his ears numbed him to everything but Melanie’s effect on him.
Ingesting her blood had brought about the beginnings of the physical change. Spending time with her, looking into her eyes and recognizing the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, that was all emotion.
He focused on those powerful feelings she brought out in him, honing their pitch until it rang so clear he hoped when he shared them with her she’d resonate with the same joy he felt.
Dying to Love Her Page 5