I crawled up next to her on the bed and peeked at what she was looking at, and couldn’t have agreed more. She’d look amazing in it, and even better out of it.
“Anyway,” she said and turned the page. “What do you do all day or night?”
“Seriously, Duckie, get your head out of the bloody books,” I teased, softly knocking into her, and she knocked back. “I sleep at night, this bed is not a prop, and no we do not sleep in coffins, no we are not incapable of sleep, and no we do not stalk the night looking for young virgins to suck dry.”
I hissed at her for her amusement and she rolled her eyes.
“Ha ha,” she snorted, flipping through the magazine, but the delicious flushing along her cheekbones was back. “So you just sulk in your room from the time you get home until you wake for school?” she surmised.
I hadn’t noticed that was exactly what I did.
“Sadly, yes. That is until I met you. Sometimes, to pass the time, I play video games with Steffen, and I am always fighting with Georgiana, and when I am not in the mood for anyone, I go swimming.”
She looked at me; something I said had intrigued her. “Swimming, where?” she asked.
“The indoor pool in the outbuilding, why?”
“Whoa,” Jay Dee said and tossed the magazine on the floor. “An indoor pool. Sure, why not?” she huffed and rolled to her back and glared at the ceiling. “This isn’t going to work.”
“ I think I missed something,” I said as I silently prayed that she wasn’t telling me to sod off already.
“Tanis, why am I here?” she asked, ignoring my question.
“Because I asked you over?” I asked unsure, not understanding in the least where her questioning was going.
“No shit, Sherlock, but why?” she asked, adamant. “We aren’t the same species, and you’re way out of my league, and a lot older than me. Surely you must find me childish and ridiculous, especially after this morning and my little bitch-fest. If you’re just trying to get laid, I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not that kind of girl. I’ve been easily compared to an ice queen, so you can take me home at any time now if that’s what you’re after. I promise, I won’t tell anyone so it doesn’t cause problems with the pack.”
I was not entirely sure what to say about that.
All of her reasons were very sound ones, but none which applied. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where this beautiful young woman’s sense, or lack thereof, of self-worth was coming from. Was the pack’s treatment of her so severe that is had permanently damaged how she saw herself?
It was getting harder and harder to keep from fantasying about taking her away from the hideous beasts which had polluted her mind so. Jay Dee was beautiful, special, intelligent, kind and caring, and yet she apparently didn’t see any of that when she looked in the mirror—it drove mad with anger.
I twirled a lock of her ridiculously soft hair around my fingers and looked down at her. “Duckie, you make inarguable points, if this were the seventeenth century.”
She rolled her eyes but a small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
“See, that was not so hard,” I said, tracing her pouting bottom lip with my finger. “If anything, my many centuries of life have taught me that brass cannot buy happiness. Sure it helps, however, no materialistic possession could make me feel as happy as you have made me these past two days. This is very unsettling for me to say aloud, but I fancy you very much; blonde hair, feminine emotional breakdowns, stripping in public to fight a werewolf, humble, modest, caring, funny, irritating as all bloody hell, and smart arse moments included.”
We looked at each other for a long moment in silence.
Buggers, she obviously did not fancy my company in the same way.
I was continuing to trace her velvety soft lips when she bit me, and sucked my finger into her mouth, her tongue wrapping around it.
“Ow...” I started to complain that she was being childish; the action was completely unexpected, but pleasantly intoxicating, yet it was, quite possibly, the most arousing thing I had ever experienced in my very long life.
“You taste delicious,” she mumbled, holding my finger between her teeth.
I fought against my eyes that were so desperately trying to roll back in my head, my breathing got ridiculously labored, and I struggled to find a coherent thought.
Nothing should feel this bloody amazing.
“Thanks?” I finally murmured.
“Think nothing of it,” she said before relinquishing my finger. “What would you like to do now?” she asked with a mischievous giggle as she caressed my ear with her finger.
There were many things that I wanted to do, most of them involved her being naked with me on top of her, but she wasn’t that type of girl, and honestly, I wouldn’t fancy her if she were.
Think of something non-sexual that will help get rid of the problem in our trousers.
“Swimming?” I blurted out.
Oh yes, that was bloody brilliant and will not, in any way, help with the raging problem I am currently facing.
Jay Dee laughed. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
Thank god, one crisis adverted.
“But I can swim in my underwear,” she whispered, causing my eyes to snap to hers.
Bloody hell, she is going to be the death of me and meself-restraint.
“Okay,” I said before swallowing loudly.
When we walked into the pool house, Jay Dee’s mouth fell open as her eyes widened as she started wandering around the large area.
I watched her a she scrutinized the area; I longed for her approval.
There were no windows in the pool area since mum can’t handle the sun, thus the recessed lighting along the domed ceiling created the effect of a starry night, changing to early dawn with purples and oranges, blending to bright noon with blue sky and white clouds which faded to violet and pink sunsets before starting the cycle over. The slate pool deck was very earthy in color, a contrast against the large swirling mosaic pool tiles that ranged from dark blue to light green, the purple and gold flecked tiles contrasted against the sky blue with silver ones, creating a romantic, Roman spa effect. Small waterfalls along the ends of the pool acted as the filtration systems and filled the air with the ambient sound of flowing water.
Jay Dee groaned for some reason and her face dropped.
“This is the pool,” I blurted out as I struggled to understand her silent words and expressions.
“No shit?” she dryly agreed.
Bloody hell, could I look any more daft if I tried?
My face dropped; this wasn’t going according to plan.
Jay Dee turned and looked at me, her face brightening with amusement and mischief. “You amuse me, vampire boy,” she said and stepped out of her shoes. “For someone who is centuries old, experienced and seasoned to perfection, you are exceptionally nervous around me.” Her socks came off next, followed by her pants.
My eyes worked up and down her long, toned legs, the curvature of her hips had my hands shaking with longing to caress their contours, and the roundness of her firm arse was accentuated by her boy cut knickers that presented her arse beautifully.
“Why is that? Is it because of what I am?” she asked, and my eyes snapped from her arse to her large, onyx eyes.
“Huh?”
“Grrr,” she growled before snapping her teeth at me.
I chuckled; I needed that.
“Duckie, you are rather intimidating,” I admitted, slipping out of my shoes and socks. “Someone who is so unbelievably beautiful, brilliant, funny, and an overall good person, is hard to find. Usually you get minger birds with great personalities, however, they need poor lighting and a paper bag over their head when you take them out in public. And usually, when you find someone breathtakingly beautiful, they know it, thus they are full of themselves, and think they walk on water, and treat everyone around them as dirt under their nails. And then there is you. You are anything but f
ull of yourself . You are beautiful, however you do not know it, which is strange to me, but everyone around you knows it. You have all of the amazingly endearing qualities of a fat minger bird with one leg and leprosy, all wrapped up in a beautiful centerfold package.”
Jay Dee looked at me as if I were insane.
After a long moment of awkward silence between us, she pulled her shirt over her head and set it on one of the deck chairs.
“A leper with one leg?” she asked, wanting to clarify that she heard me correctly.
I reluctantly nodded.
“You have some serious issues,” she informed me, as if I didn’t know. “Are you swimming in those pants or what?”
It was a good question. I was stalling, and of course the way she asked made it sound like the most perverse and erotic thing ever asked.
She wasn’t helping the situation any.
“Give me a minute?” I asked.
Jay Dee nodded and sat on the edge of the pool and kicked her feet in the water. “I love swimming and the water...which is funny considering I washed up on shore. Either way,” she said, shaking her head. “There are some amazing cliffs to jump off of along the coast. But they are only safe to dive from in June to early August. It’s too late in the month to jump from them anymore; the undercurrents are hellish. We’ve lost a lot of good people on them, usually drunk wolves and boys trying to show off, not that it’s important I suppose, but my mom freaked out when she heard that I had jumped off of them for the first time when I was ten. She wanted to kill me! I was grounded for the rest of the summer, which sucked. I think if I had a pool, I wouldn’t be tempted to jump off of cliffs. Then again, I really enjoy the sensation of flying.” She looked over her shoulder at me and smirked. “Are you composed now?” she asked.
No…wait.
I looked down then up, causing her to laugh.
“Yes. Thank you,” I said, her distraction worked.
I sat next to her on the edge of the pool in my underwear. I had swim trunks, and I wasn’t sure why I didn’t put them on, but she didn’t seem to mind. In my opinion, I looked rather good in my black long cut athletic briefs.
“What kind of guys do you typically date?” I asked before I could stop myself, but Jay Dee didn’t appear surprised by my question.
She shrugged. “I’ve never dated before. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of off limits. That’s mainly because my brother threatened to kill anyone who touched me...and my parents being who they are played a part in it as well I guess, and I’m kind of a freak. I’m a leper, as you pointed out, without the disfiguring disease. I guess it’s better that way, because I haven’t a clue what I like.” She looked over at me and smirked. “I may not know what I like, but you are very hot. Like super duper über sexy, but that’s a vampire thing,” she amusingly added the latter.
She thinks I’m sexy? Hell yeah!
“Vampire thing?” I scoffed, trying to hide how much I liked her admission. “Hardly. Movies and books lie greatly. Those that are minger as sin and get turned for whatever reason, would still be minger as an immortal. The dark gift is not a magic wand which suddenly makes you pretty like Extreme Makeover Busted Bitch Edition…according to Steffen. The dark gift does not change who you are, it only magnifies what is already there. The ones that came to Lummi are rather attractive people in general, so I can see where you were confused. Case in point, Wyetta, whom is with the others in Wales, was a very unattractive man and an even more unattractive woman.”
Her eyes widened.
“And yes, I looked this good as a human,” I smugly informed her and she laughed. “Some things change, it is give and take, like all of your senses are heightened.”
“Like a predator,” she added.
“Yes,” I mumbled and rolled my eyes—smart arse. “Since the senses are heightened, everything feels, smells, tastes, and sounds differently. That was a bit strange initially. I believe that is why I am addicted to food; it is so much better now that I am dead.”
Jay Dee laughed but I wasn’t sure why. “You’re not dead, Mr. Ashton. You are very much alive.” She placed her hand on my chest over my heart. “You’re warm, blood flushes your cheeks, your chest rises and falls with air, and your heart beats. It races from my touch alone,” she whispered then licked her lips. “You are the furthest thing from dead, Mr. Ashton.”
I swallowed loudly. “I know, I was joshing,” I explained in a choked whisper
She was a bloody demon and she knew it!
“If joshing mean joking, then yes, I knew you were,” she assured me before pulling me in the pool.
When I resurfaced, I looked up at her and glared.
She was smiling and batting her long, black lashes at me innocently, however she was anything but.
“Turnabouts fair play,” I warned and reached up and pulled her into the pool.
We wrestled around in the warm water, her soft body wrapped around mine, and every place she touched caused the most intoxicating warmth to radiate under my skin. Eventually, I found her in my arms with her legs wrapped around my waist as she absently ran her fingers through my hair while her eyes moved over my face many times.
Even to this day, I don’t how she does it; she gets me talking and rambling, and apparently, I could never seem to shut up. Half of the time she couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but she apparently didn’t care. It’s as if she’s getting some type of perverse need fulfilled by simply listening to me ramble. And during one of the rare moments where I was able to shut up while I walked us around the pool, we simply looked at each other in silence.
Tenderly I caressed her head while her fingers played in my hair, and it felt as if the moment was perfect.
“May I be so bold to ask if I may kiss you?” I whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear for her.
“Can you keep your fangs to yourself?” she teased, though it was more than obvious that she was as nervous as I was.
I smiled reassuringly. “I think I can manage.”
“If you are simply trying to preoccupy yourself with the strange wolf girl out of boredom, and tell everyone about this to cause drama, simply so you have something to do, I’ll rip your throat out,” she warned.
Bloody hell, she is completely ridiculous.
“As romantic as that sounds, warning acknowledged, though I would like to point out that none of the above applies as to why I long to snog you. I have not been able to stop thinking about snogging you since making your acquaintance, if you must know.”
Her eyes narrowed, her mind scrambling, before they widened with understanding.
“Oh,” was all she said and even I strained to hear it.
Nervous, Jay Dee bit her bottom lip, moistening it in the process.
Bloody hell that is sexy.
I had never been nervous about kissing someone before, but Jay Dee was unlike any other woman I had ever met, and the fact that she gave me permission to indulge in what I had been thinking about since the first moment I saw her, made me exceptionally nervous.
“I’m getting old here, Cousin. Would you just kiss her already?” Romeo amusingly called out from one of the lounge chairs on the other side of the pool.
Bollocks.
Jay Dee laughed; it was crossed between nervousness, embarrassment, relief, irritation, and disappointment all rolled into one.
“How was school, Romeo?” she asked, looking over my shoulder at him.
“Slow,” he said, studying his nails. “It dragged ass as I watched the hands on the clock mockingly move backward. Not to mention, the mystery of what my lovely cousin had been doing all day with the missing six-foot blonde. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find you enjoying one of the many amenities that our lovely estate has to offer.”
I flipped him off, getting a smirk in return.
Jay Dee unwrapped herself from around me and I whimpered in disappointment. She swam across the pool toward where Romeo was sitting, and pulled herself out of the water. His eyes w
orked over her body many, many times as a perverse smirk found its way on his face.
If you lay one finger on her I will kill you.
She strolled towards him with exaggerated sultry in her hips, her chest pushed out even more, and she beckoned him forward with her finger, which he complied without question. Softly she caressed his head, her eyes working over his face many times.
You are dead!
“Tell me something, Romeo,” she purred in a deep, sexy voice, “what irritates you more? The fact that I’m here with Tanis and not you, or the fact that you never had a chance in hell with me to begin with?”
Surprisingly fast, she cupped the back of his neck and sent him flying headlong into the pool.
I laughed hysterically, and it pulled me from the dark thoughts which were suddenly consuming my mind, and I pulled myself out of the water.
That’s me Duckie.
Jay Dee stood with her hands on her hips, an eyebrow cocked in irritation, and glared at the fuming vampire treading water. “Next time, knock,” she growled and flipped him off.
In the same manner, she strolled around the pool, her hips swaying with overly exaggerated sultry, as she combed her fingers through her long hair; that was, by far, the sexiest thing I had ever seen.
“Very nice, Duckie,” I said. “However, I think you have made an enemy for life.”
She looked over her shoulder at the glaring vampire. “He’ll get over it, they always do. Besides, if he stops trying to get in my pants, I’ll show him which pants he can get into.”
I looked to Romeo and he was smiling like a lad in the girls’ locker room.
We ran into Abigail and Steffen back at the house after we got dressed.
“Hey kids,” Steffen greeted with a smile. “How was your day? Productive?”
“Yes and no,” I admitted, trying to keep the irritation of Romeo’s intrusion from showing. “She threw Romeo in the pool after giving him blueballs.”
Steffen roared with laughter. “That is awesome!” he beamed and hugged Jay Dee, picking her up off of her feet and her eyes widened in surprise.
Get your disgusting, claimed, hands off of me Duckie.
“We totally have to keep you around for a while,” he said, setting her down. “Not many get the upper hand on Romeo like that.”
Forbidden Alliance: A Werewolf's Tale (Forbidden Alliance Trilogy) Page 12