by Tami Lund
Until I sent her home.
But until that moment, she was mine, all mine, and mine alone.
“Excellent idea,” I said after closing and locking the door. I reached out and snagged the hem of her shirt—my T-shirt—and tugged it over her head, leaving her standing there in her jeans and a pair of boots we’d pilfered from Macy’s before finally leaving that place. As I watched, her nipples puckered and hardened. Unable to resist, I reached out, cupped each one, skimmed my thumbs across the rose-colored tips. She grasped my forearms and arched into my touch.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
Dropping my hands to her jeans, I said, “Ravenous.”
She giggled while I freed the button and pulled down the zipper before pealing the denim material down her legs. “For blood?”
“For you.”
She stepped out of the jeans and was left wearing only a pair of pale pink satin panties. I hadn’t even noticed the color when I’d pleasured her and then fed from her earlier in the evening. “So beautiful.” I shoved them down her legs.
“You seem awfully overdressed. And we still need that shower. I’m covered with some dead vampire’s blood.”
She turned toward the stairs, and I grabbed her arm and guided her down the hall. “My bedroom.”
As I walked behind her, I began loosening the buttons of my shirt. She glanced over her shoulder every two seconds. With a sly grin, I flipped the shirt over my shoulders and let it drop to the floor, pleased with the way her eyes rounded. I laughed when she tripped over her own feet. Catching her around the waist, I lifted her into my arms and made quick work of carrying her to the bottom of the stairs and into my bedroom, using strategically placed nightlights to guide the way.
Placing her on her feet, I reached for the snap on my jeans, but she beat me to it. “I got this.” She was far slower about it than I would have been, but then again, her every touch set my nerve endings on fire, so I didn’t mind in the least.
“I’m going to have you in the shower,” I said while she stroked my appreciative cock. “You’re going to wrap those beautiful legs around my waist, and I’m going to fuck you up against the wall.”
“Oh God, hurry.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bathroom, and then she came to an abrupt halt and stared at the room, lit only by the glow of the nightlight plugged in next to one of the sinks.
The shower was a glass-enclosed space with floor-to-ceiling tiles designed in the shape of a giant sun overlooking an ancient oak tree and a green meadow. Brass showerheads were affixed to opposite walls; one was a handheld. I had plans for that particular piece of equipment. Plans I was certain she would appreciate.
“Wow. It’s… wow.” She pulled open the shower door. “This is beautiful.” She stroked her fingers along the smooth tiles of the sun.
I moved behind her, close enough to rub my cock against her ass. “Gorgeous.” I wasn’t looking at the mural.
She laughed and stepped around me. “I need to brush my teeth. Please tell me vampires own toothbrushes.”
“We do.”
I headed over to the counter containing two sinks and tugged open a drawer. I handed her one wrapped in plastic, and then snagged my own from the holder affixed to the wall. While we both brushed our teeth, I watched her in the mirror. This moment was so damn domestic, it almost hurt with how comfortable it was. And it was likely the only such moment we’d ever experience together.
She had to go home, to her family, her life. She did not belong here with me. She was not a courtesan, and frankly, I didn’t want her to decide to become one. That wasn’t the life she was meant to live. She needed to live out her human life, and I needed to return to focusing on my position as the head of the Chicago covens.
We both knew this couldn’t last, although I appreciated that she was pretending not to think about it at the moment. For now, I wanted to simply enjoy the next few hours. I wanted to pretend we were not from two totally different worlds that only occasionally collided, and never for the long term.
When we both had clean teeth, she cast me a surprisingly shy look and then headed back to the shower. I followed like a puppy seeking a treat.
“I don’t have a lot of experience.” She fingered the handheld showerhead.
I reached over her, turned the nozzle so it would spray the wall, and then twisted the lever to turn on the water. “I’m happy to teach you anything you want to know.”
Turning to face me, she lifted on tiptoes and twined her fingers in my hair before brushing her lips across mine so gently it was almost painful. I leaned forward, chasing her lips as she pulled away.
“I met a vampire named Spade tonight,” she said. “He introduced himself while you were making arrangements for the vampires who wanted to return to LA. Told me what really happened to my aunt.”
I stroked her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“I figured out Spade knew your aunt last night, but there hasn’t exactly been a good time to tell you.”
“Life has been a bit of a whirlwind since we met, hasn’t it?”
“It has. I’m ready for it to slow down for a bit.”
“I’m ready to turn it all off and be with you right now. Just us.”
With one hand, I adjusted the temperature of the water while pulling her close with the other. Temperature fluctuations did not affect vampires the same way they affected humans, but I wanted her to be comfortable. Finally, I twisted the showerhead so that the spray was directed at us.
Anya lifted her face and closed her eyes, and I watched the water stream down her face, washing away the grime and the stress of tonight’s activities. She was so beautiful like that I wanted to capture this moment forever, mentally snap a picture that I could pull up time and time again, long after she’d left me, well after she’d grown old and left this earth, leaving me to live out my eternal life … alone.
“No melancholy,” she whispered while reaching for the soap. “Not tonight.”
She twisted the soap ’round and ’round in her hands until they were slick and coated, and then she rubbed them over my chest, curling her fingers so that her nails raked my skin. I hissed through my teeth, and my hips bucked of their own accord.
Turning me around, she lathered more soap on my back, massaging my shoulders and down my spine to my hips. Something rubbed my ass—the short, coarse hair covering her pussy—and then her breasts pressed against my back, such a soft and utterly erotic sensation. Her arms came around my sides and I watched as she used soap-coated hands to ensure my cock was sparkling clean. Rubbing her hands up and down, up and down, one dropped to gently stroke my balls, which grew heavy and tightened against my body. Pressing one hand against the cool tile, I reached behind me with the other and cupped her ass, holding her tightly against me while she continued to work me, to draw me closer and closer to orgasm. I wasn’t hungry, yet I turned my head and nuzzled at her ear, letting one of my fangs graze the sensitive skin there.
She pumped faster, squeezing my cock, clearly intent upon milking an orgasm from me. “Anya,” I whispered, and then I came, my hips bucking convulsively until she emptied me of every last drop.
I let her stroke me for a few more moments while I caught my breath and my head returned from where it had been floating in the clouds, and then I turned around to face her. “My turn.”
I shampooed her hair, facing her, mesmerized by the tiny smile on her lips while she closed her eyes as I massaged her scalp. Snagging the soap, I smoothed my hands over her breasts, focusing for long moments, until I moved lower to make sure the area between her thighs received the appropriate amount of attention. Once I had her wriggling and writhing, I paused to reach over and turn on the second showerhead. When hot water sprayed down onto us from that side of the shower, I dropped to my knees before her.
She stared down at me. I caught her gaze and held it, not to glamour her
—I had no need nor the desire to do so—but because I wanted to watch the rapture on her face as I brought her to orgasm.
Lifting one leg, I draped it over my shoulder and grasped her ass cheeks to hold her steady, and then I bent forward and gave her a quick lick. She arched and moaned and grasped at my hair with one hand while pressing the other against the wall. And then I buried my face between her legs.
She was a goddamn ice cream cone, and I wanted to lick up every last drop of that sweet-tasting cream. Letting my fang graze her clit, I felt the shudder indicating she was about to orgasm, and I thrust my tongue into her pussy, fucking her while she twisted her hands in my hair and ground my face against her.
When she relaxed her grip and leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily, I shifted my focus, trailing kisses along her inner thigh, and then with one fang, I punctured the skin. I just wanted a nip, only because she tasted so damn delicious. Another shudder wracked her body while I licked the tiny wound, sealing it.
Standing, I moved behind her and plucked the handheld showerhead from its holder on the wall. “This,” I said, holding it before her, “is about to become your new best friend.” She eyed the contraption while I aimed the spray at her breasts, shifting it until she gave a jerk to let me know I’d hit a sweet spot.
“Lift your leg,” I commanded, “and place it on this ledge.” She did as I said. I smoothed my hand over her ass, loving the feel of her body. So soft, so perfectly fitted to my own. Pity it couldn’t be like this forever, but if all I had were the few hours remaining of this night, I intended to use every last minute to bring her pleasure she would never forget. And if she thought of me every time she lay with another man in the future, well, I selfishly wanted it that way.
Bending my knees slightly, I grasped my cock and pressed the head against her pussy, teasing her, rubbing it in circles, coating myself with her wetness. She wiggled that sweet ass, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I plunged into her, pressing so deep I swear I was touching her soul. She cried out, a sound of pleasure, her hands scrabbling for purchase, reaching for me, trying to pull me closer.
While I slowly pumped in and out of her from behind, I aimed the handheld showerhead at her thighs, and I felt the moment the spray hit her clit because her inner muscles clenched around me so tightly I was afraid I would lose it right then and there.
Fighting off my own orgasm, I gently rotated the spray, letting her body move while I remained passive behind her, until a scream tore from her lips and another climax ripped through her body. Dropping the showerhead, I grasped her hips and pistoned into her, mindless with pleasure and need. Bending over her body, I nipped at her neck, at the corded muscle there, not looking to feed but just to connect in as many ways as possible. She was mine, for this moment in time at least. I wanted more, so much more, but I knew I couldn’t have it.
So I settled for turning off the water, toweling us both off, and carrying her to the bed to pleasure her again and again, until her lids drooped over her eyes and she drifted into a sated sleep, a small smile still on her lips.
Dropping a gentle kiss on her shoulder, I whispered, “Good night, my sweet Anya. I love you.”
And then I rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone from where it had dropped on the floor, and I set about making plans for the morning.
Chapter 12
I woke to the sound of a phone vibrating against the bedside table. My pleasure-soaked mind couldn’t recall putting my phone there, but when I lifted the device to look at the screen, I discovered it was indeed mine. And then I shot into a seated position.
“Abby?” I said as I pressed the phone to my ear and slid out from under the covers.
“Anya! Answer the door!”
“Huh?”
“I’m standing on Camden’s doorstep. You’re here, aren’t you? You haven’t left yet?”
Glancing around in the dim light created by the nightlight from the attached bathroom, I grabbed a sweatshirt draped on the footboard and pulled it over my head. As it was Cam’s and he was a good eight or ten inches taller than me, it fell to mid-thigh, long enough to cover the essential parts so I could head upstairs to see if my sister really was standing on his doorstep. Before I left the room, I stole a glance over my shoulder and sighed at the sheer beauty of the man soundly and peacefully sleeping alone in the bed. I longed to return and cuddle into his side—but my sister was here!
“I’m coming up right now,” I said into the phone. “Are you really here?”
That laugh couldn’t belong to anyone but Abigail. “Come find out for yourself.”
Despite the dangers I’d faced only last night, I didn’t bother to check before flinging open the door. I was too damn excited to see my sister for the first time in nearly a year. “Abby!”
“Anya!” She launched herself into my arms, and we stumbled into the house, collapsing into a pile of giggling sisters on the smooth wooden floor. I probably inadvertently flashed her, but the woman who had been standing next to her—a human, I assumed, since it was the middle of the morning and the sun was bright in a cloudless sky—watched us with dispassionate interest.
“Where have you been?” I asked. “Are you okay? You look okay. You look better than okay. Actually, you look like a movie star.”
We untangled our limbs but remained sitting on the floor. Abby flipped her shining mane of hair over her shoulder and gave me a full-wattage smile.
“I’ve had the most amazing adventure. And yes, I’m okay. Perfectly fine. I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.”
“I can’t wait to hear. I’m so glad to see you again. I can’t believe you went so long without talking to me—wait. Did you say on the way home?”
She nodded. “Did you bring anything with you? Do you have anything to pack?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Her smile drooped and her eyes misted as she nodded. “Yes, you are. You’re coming with me. We’re going home. Where we belong.”
“What in the world are you talking about?”
She climbed to her feet and offered her hand to help me into a standing position. “This world, as glamorous and fabulous as it is, it’s not where we belong. This is a short-term fantasy, and all fantasies eventually come to an end.”
“I take it your vampire ended the contract?”
She blinked rapidly, but a tear managed to escape anyway. Impatiently swiping it away, she said, “I asked him to turn me and he refused. So I told him I was leaving.” She waved at the woman still standing in the doorway. “I had hoped that would force him to change his mind, but instead, he insisted I have an escort to see me home safely.”
The woman was more burly than some of the men I knew, and had a look about her that made me glad she was on our side.
“While I was packing, he came into the room and told me that Camden had been trying to get ahold of him. We’d been at his villa in Italy, and to be honest, we’d deliberately cut ourselves off from the world. I suspect you can understand.”
Oh, could I. I wasn’t yet ready to return to that other world she spoke of.
“He called Camden back and learned that you’d come to the city to find me. I’m so sorry I caused you to worry. I was so caught up in what I had with Parnell…” Her voice went soft, and she blinked and swiped away more tears. “Anyway, he told Camden I was leaving to go home, and Camden asked if he’d send me here to collect you to go with me.”
“Why?” That made no sense after the evening we’d shared. He said I meant more than a dinner and a good fuck. And I could have sworn I heard him say he loved me as I was drifting off to sleep.
Lifting her arm, Abby cupped my cheek and gave me a watery smile. “We don’t belong here, sweetie. Now that I’ve experienced both worlds, I can tell you that the humans who hang out with vampires, they have to give up a piece of their humanity to do it. In truth, they don’t really fit into either world. And the only way they can remain as courtesans is if they turn off their emotions. You
and I, we can’t do that. We care too much. We love too much.”
This was true, and I was okay with it. “I think he feels the same way about me, though.”
“I’m sure he does. How can he not? But it’s an impossible relationship. He’s immortal, and you aren’t.”
“I could… He could turn me.” Had I really uttered those words? I’d loathed everything about vampires for ten years—now I wanted to become one?
“He won’t. If he’s anything like Parnell, he’s too damn altruistic.” She made a face. “They think turning someone into a vampire is actually a bad thing.”
“How do they figure?”
She shrugged and examined her fingernails. “Because once you’re turned, you can never go home. Never see Mom and Dad again. Or anyone else in your family. Two different worlds, remember? Especially in our case. I doubt our father would forgive either of us for turning into a vampire, given what happened to his sister.”
“Vampires didn’t kill Aunt Samantha,” I blurted. “Humans did.”
Her eyes widened, and I nodded. The conversation with Spade swam to the surface of my mind. I’d avoided thinking about it since Cam had collected me and brought me back to his house earlier this morning, partially because I wanted to focus entirely on him and partially because it had been so much to process, I hadn’t been able to absorb it all at the time. It had been easier to turn it off, ignore it for a while.
“She and Uncle Dirk didn’t exactly have a happy marriage. He… He wasn’t very nice to her.”
Spade’s vivid recollection had altered my own. But mine had been through the eyes of a six year old, and his had been, well, I had no earthly idea how old he was, but it was a hell of a lot older—and wiser—than I’d been when Aunt Samantha died.
But I wanted to spare my sister the details. She hadn’t known Uncle Dirk or Aunt Samantha. All she had were the memories my dad sometimes shared, and he talked of a vivacious girl who smiled a lot and loved everyone and couldn’t even bear to capture lightning bugs because she was afraid to injure them. To tarnish that memory with what Spade told me … I couldn’t do it.