There was no denying the desire he saw there. The green had been completely engulfed by the gold starburst. Her eyes were so bright they were nearly glowing. His body’s response was immediate. He couldn’t breathe. Holy hell, he had to get out of there. He started to turn and walk out, but the siren that was Jess began to slowly rise out of the tub, captivating him, anchoring him in place.
Shane stood motionless. Inch by inch Jess’s luscious body lifted. Full, beautiful breasts broke the surface of the water, dripping bubbles off the pearl–tipped, tiny pink nipples, begging to be licked and suckled. Her toned stomach accented by a small diamond bellybutton ring that sparkled at him. His eyes followed the bubbles down as her body continued to rise up. Her narrow waist gave way to the flare of her hips. Shane swallowed hard. The water released its veiling of the sweet, hairless juncture between her thighs.
Behind his jeans he was throbbing, painfully, from just the sight of her. Her oleander scent, driven by her desire, was a powerfully intoxicating aphrodisiac. He couldn’t halt his dentes sliding into his mouth in anticipation of her taste. Every breath he took inflamed his lust. His control rapidly unraveled in a way it never had before.
His eyes traveled back up the wonder of her. She was still staring him straight in the eyes. Standing her full height left everything below mid thigh hidden beneath the water line. He was fully aware that his erection, straining for freedom against his jeans, was perfectly level with her full lips. Her eyes were nearly pure gold in her passion. It became clear to him that she was an innocent or very nearly so as she stood before him biting her bottom lip. After her brazen show, she seemed unsure of how to proceed. Her hesitation was both the saving grace of his control and a curse. Shane had never wanted a female more than he did Jess. If he was right about why they felt drawn to each other, she would be the only female he’d ever want for the rest of his immortal life. They both stood stock-still, starring into each other’s eyes, each silently daring the other to take the next step and neither doing it. The standoff seemed to last for eternity.
****
Jess knew her dreams were just dreams, so Shane’s freak-out confused her. She had not left the bath. She must have been sleeping pretty soundly to have not heard him enter the room. When he had stomped in, crossing his arms and demanding answers, her first thought had been to rip him a new asshole for being so arrogant and stupid.
That is until she perused his jean-clad thighs, fully appreciating the man standing before her. She had allowed her eyes to continue up, hesitating for a moment to note the not insignificant bulge in the front of his worn denim jeans. His hips were narrow. She could see just the hint of his tight abs pressed up against his T-shirt. His arms folded across his chest emphasized their definition and pulled his shirt tight against his chest, accentuating his broad shoulders. He had a stubborn set to his jaw. If the desired effect he was seeking was intimidation, he was sorely falling short. His lips were almost too sensual to be masculine below an aristocratic nose. Her gaze reached his eyes, and her breath exploded from her lungs. He was magnificent. Her body ached, for what she didn’t know, but even in the tub she felt her own juices flood her sex.
Allowing free rein to the unfamiliar wanton feelings he stirred in her, she stood before him naked. Hoping for what? She wasn’t sure, certainly not the tick in his clenched jaw. His lack of response was … mortifying.
Jess dropped her gaze first, suddenly self-conscious, embarrassed, and exposed. She had never felt want before, but she had felt rejection. This stung just as it should, she supposed. She had offered herself to him and he hadn’t even said anything, offered anything. He hadn’t shown any emotion at all. She could feel the blush rising up her cheeks. Why was he just standing there like that?
“Do you mind?” she asked. Thankfully, her voice still worked despite her suddenly dry mouth. She nodded at the towels still sitting on the shelf behind him. He didn’t move, just continued to stare down at her. She finally looked up at his face again. There was an emotion, fleeting. It looked like regret, but perhaps it was disgust or, worse, pity. She quickly dropped her eyes back down.
He forced her to reach past him for a towel, which brought her breast into contact with his thigh just above the knee. He sucked in a swift breath, jumping away from the contact as if she’d burned him. He finally stepped away from the bath and out of the room. Tears sprang into Jess’s eyes, and she was grateful that he had shut the door behind him when he left.
She couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her face at her shame and humiliation. Had she completely misread everything? It wasn’t as if she had a lot of experience, or any experience. Maybe what she thought was attraction to her was simply his curiosity about her. He had been a perfect gentleman. He must have really brought her here to talk. She had no doubt that meant he wanted to question her about the anomalies he had seen from her at the academy. He had never done anything to indicate that he would welcome her throwing herself at him like it was prom night. He was probably horrified at her forwardness.
Jess took a few moments to steel her resolve. She availed herself of one of the plush robes that hung on the door hooks. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she gathered her battered pride, lifted her chin, and squared her shoulders. Then she opened the door and walked into the living area.
Chapter Five
There was nothing in the world Shane wanted more than to sink into Jess’s warm, silken flesh. Her innocent siren song in the bath had called to him as no other had ever called to him. The unexplained dentes punching into his mouth had tied his hands as well as his tongue. That moment represented the closest Shane had ever come to losing control. She was breathtaking. Perfect.
All it would have taken for her to break his tenuous control in that moment would have been a word or a touch. He wouldn’t have been able to restrain the beast he’d barely held at bay. He knew that if he had not stepped out of that room when he did, if he had lost control and taken her then and there, he would have terrified her. That was the best outcome he could have hoped for. Seeing her pain at his assumed rejection had torn him apart inside. He had been unable to even offer her a word of comfort with his dentes fully erupted.
Using his last ounce of common sense he’d, stiffly left the room, shutting the door behind him. Full of self-recrimination, he sat down on the couch with his head in his hands, using every ounce of his significant will to refrain from returning to her and carrying her into the bedroom, instead he was slowly dying inside at the sound of her quietly crying behind the door.
It was there he still sat with his head in his hands as she strode out of the bathroom wearing one of his robes. Jess snatched up the remote from the chess table as she plopped into his recliner and turned on the TV, which she quickly muted. Nonchalantly flipping through the stations, her actions reflected carefree defiance. The red-rimmed eyes in her beautiful face showed the truth; he had hurt her.
“Jess, this is not what you think,” Shane began, still holding his face in his hands. His dentes had retracted while he’d been waiting, but now that she was in the room they were on the cusp of erupting again. “There is much we don’t know about each other.”
Jess rolled her eyes at him. “Save the ‘we don’t know each other well enough’ speech. I’m sorry about what happened in there. You interrupted a great dream I was having about Matthew McConaughey. I must have thought I was still dreaming for a minute.”
WTF? “Who is Matthew McConaughey?” His eyes clashed with hers. She was lying, he knew it, but that didn’t stop him from feeling the sharp stab of jealously. How could she pull the thought of another man into her mind after what had just nearly happened between them?
Jess waved the remote at him like he was dense. “I know you watch TV.”
Ah. He got it. She wanted him to think he had interrupted some fantasy with an actor. His relief was palatable. He would not have to kill this Matthew McConaughey after all. Her nonchalance was her way of pleading with him to let her keep her pride
. Making a great effort to keep a serious expression and not show her his amusement, he conceded. “I will try to be more careful and make sure you are awake from now on.” He was unable to contain his chuckle when Jess rolled her eyes at him again.
“What where you really dreaming about?” It had occurred to Shane while he was waiting for her to come out of the bath that she may not realize that she was traveling through space; porting might not be something she was doing consciously. Like her probing him for his intent earlier in the Jeep, she was oblivious to what her mind was doing, what it was capable of.
Jess let out a long sigh, turned off the TV, and tossed the remote onto the chair across from him. She came over to sit on the love seat next to him, tucking her legs underneath her, and he was awarded a quick view of her knees, calves, and feet before they disappeared beneath her. It was the only part of her that he had been unable to see below the water line of her bubble bath. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep that glimpse from returning him to the uncontrollable beast he had almost become moments earlier. His dentes were throbbing, but thankfully he was able to keep them from erupting into his mouth this time.
She sat close enough that he could feel the heat coming off her freshly bathed body. He was forced to stand and adjust himself behind his jeans again, and a blush colored her cheeks before she looked away. Shane smiled internally at Jess’s reaction. He sat back down, uncomfortably hard, but he was no longer being pinched. Did she still think he had rejected her? No matter. She wouldn’t be able to believe that for much longer—there was no way in hell he would be able to deny her a second time. His only hope was that she didn’t try to seduce him again until after he’d had a chance to explain a few things to her. Once she knew his true form, he prayed to the fates she would still want him. Right now he needed to know where she had gone.
****
Jess saw what Shane did with his obvious erection. Her friend Aymee had once told her that men could get hard when the wind blew on them; it didn’t mean anything. Her pride kicked in, forcing her to turn away before doing anything else stupid. Like she didn’t already know she had thrown herself at him, a total stranger. He wasn’t even attracted to her, even if he did have an erection.
“I have an aunt,” she began. “She lives in my dreams. That sounds crazy, I know.” Jess was watching her hands as her fingers fumbled with the material of the robe in her lap. “When my mother was killed, I had a dream that she took me to my aunt. It’s my last memory of her. Since that day, I see my dream aunt almost every time I sleep.” Jess waited for him to laugh at her, tell her she was crazy. When he remained silent, she met his eyes.
Shane was watching her intently. “Jess, you are more than dreaming of your aunt. You’re using psychic energy to transport your body to wherever she is. She is real. When you are with her, it is no different than you and I in this room. Have you ever touched her or hugged her?”
Jess nodded, expecting him to shout “April Fools!” at any moment. Shane closely watched her for a reaction. The urge to reject whatever he was about to tell her battled against her need to know the truth. Something inside her had always sensed there was more to the world than the accepted norm. Her anomalies were proof of that. She had abnormal strength and speed, added to the psychic abilities she spent so much time trying to deny and downplay even to herself. She wanted the answers, but she was also afraid, instinctively aware that her life would be forever changed by what she would learn.
Her fear was justified. Every time her life had taken sudden turns in the past, it had always been infused with pain and terror. Jess realized she was biting her bottom lip. Shane grinned, patiently waiting for her to take the next step in the conversation. It was time to find out the truth behind all of the strange inclinations she had. Her sensitivities had always indicated there was something just outside of her grasp. So many times she’d felt urgency for something she couldn’t identify. This was her chance to find out why. Somehow she had stumbled onto the path of her destiny, she could feel it.
Letting loose a fortifying breath; she braced herself to face her fear of the unknown. “Why did you reject me, Shane?”
He stared at her a moment longer before letting out a deep sigh of his own. “I am not a male that fits to the form of what you know, Jess. It would be wrong of me to … accept the gift of you without you knowing my true form. I did not reject you. I would never reject you. I desire you more than I have ever desired anyone. The only thing that held me back was my fear of scaring you. You are sheltered and innocent, oblivious to my kind.” His desire for her was shining in his darkened eyes, lending her courage and confidence.
He used words like male, true form, my kind. What did that mean?
“What kind of male are you?” she quietly asked. The conversation had reached the point of no return, the point when you know that what you are about to hear will change you for all time. The play of his shoulder muscles when he leaned over, unlaced, and pulled off the military boots he wore pushed any remaining reservations she had out the window.
“It would be easier if I showed you.” He rose from his seat and began to undress.
Her timing might be off, but she needed to share with him an idea of just how and why she was innocent, a fact he might be unaware of after her tub demonstration. “I should warn you, I killed the last man I saw naked.” Though it was true, she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject or why she wanted—no, needed—to tell him what she normally kept close to the vest.
Shane merely raised an eyebrow at her confession, continuing to remove his clothes. Her breath caught in her throat. He stood before her completely, gloriously naked with an odd, vulnerable expression on his handsome face. Could he be afraid of rejection from her? She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile, biting her bottom lip as her eyes began to travel down the length of his body.
He was everything she had expected him to be from seeing him in cloths. More perfect than any man she had ever seen on TV or in magazines. Like her, he was completely without body or pubic hair, which was a surprise. The sight of his erection held her attention. The bulge in his jeans had not done justice to the size of him. It was intimidating, caused butterflies in her belly, and for the second time moisture rushed to her sex. She could feel herself start to pant, drawing in the taste of the musky scent of his desire, like spicy cider. It made her mouth water.
Returning her gaze to his face, she saw that his eyes had gone darker, lustful, his body tensed. Why? “You don’t have body hair.” She shrugged. “Neither do I. The doctors told me that some people don’t. It’s perfectly normal. What is different that I should be noticing?” She had not seen many naked men, never studied one like this, granted. Any she had inadvertently seen Shane certainly put to shame. He put the ones she imagined in her wildest fantasies to shame. Was he uncomfortable being hairless? Was it an insecure hang-up? She just wanted to run her hand over his smooth skin, use her fingers to trace the defined muscles beneath.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said telepathically. “I will never hurt you, Jess. You know I won’t.” She nodded in acknowledgment and Shane smiled at her. When the fangs his canines had turned into came into view, she swallowed hard.
Okay. That was more than an insecure hang up. “Are you a vampire? Are they real? Is that your kind?” She asked, hearing a slight tremor to her voice and hoping he wouldn’t be offended by it.
“Not vampire. To my knowledge they do not exist. We believe that we are the source of their myth, in addition to many others.” She noted that he was watching her pulse as he spoke in her mind.
“Do you want my blood?” A surprising shiver of desire ran through her at the thought.
“Oh, yes.” He continued speaking telepathically while groaning out loud. His erection jerked slightly, drawing her attention to it again. “You have the sweetest smell. The scent of your desire is intoxicating. You can trust that I will never take anything from you that you are unwilling to give freely
. To do that would violate the code of my people and turn me into one of those that I have vowed to protect against.” She felt some disappointment at the idea that he wouldn’t bite her with those fangs.
She nodded at that, her eyes taking another leisurely stroll up and down his physique, subconsciously licking her lips. “Is this all you need to show me? Are the fangs and the want of blood the only difference?” Her voice sounded husky even to herself. If anything the fangs were making her hotter. Shane shook his head, turning his back to her, raising his arms straight out from his body, hands palm up, the muscles of his shoulders flexed.
At first she just saw a hard, defined, perfectly yummy back. Jess tried to focus; he wanted her to notice something out of the norm, not fixate on the things that made her womb clench and her nipples harden. Reminding herself to be objective, she looked closer. The muscles on either side of his spine appeared larger and more defined. There was a thin flap in the shape of a T, the horizontal line following the shape of the bottom of his shoulder blade. The vertical line went downward, following the edge of the heavy spinal muscles, reaching what would be the waistband of a pair of jeans, had he been wearing any. She began to get distracted again.
The flaps began to lift, and from beneath them emerged two long, thin arms. Each appendage had a small thumb and two fingers, fisting open and closed. Four elbow-like joints unbent as they released from the muscles and skin flaps where they had been hidden and protected. They extended from his body at least a foot further than his arms. Once fully extended, the two appendages separated from each other, revealing a thin delicate, shimmering membrane stretching between them and finishing when there were two fully formed wings coming from his back. Then he turned around once again to face her, wings flapping slowly to demonstrate flight motions.
His ears began moving independently of each other in a controlled way. Shane pivoted them backward at a forty-five degree angle. The outer shell of his ear lifted from his head, similar to what she had seen from horses when they heard something behind them, or a cat twisting one ear back while the other remained forward.
Immortal Becoming Page 4