by R. Sullins
“Miss Moore! I need you to be still for a moment!” The growl in his voice had me stilling like a rabbit hiding for danger.
I looked down at him, surprised to see his glowing silver eyes glued to my smooshed sports bra cleavage… that was right in front of his mouth. That’s when I noticed the rest. I was straddling his hips and he was hard against the crotch of my training pants. With so little fabric between us, I could practically feel every ridge of his considerably large, um, package. The press of it against my center had me popping out in more sweat than the last few hours of training had combined.
His grip on my hips tightened painfully and pressed me down harder while raising his hips. The contact against my clit had me dropping my head and closing my eyes in sweet pleasure. But his words had my eyes flying open.
“You’re pushing me past my endurance.” He briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and staring deeply into mine. “When I fuck your sweet pussy, my little Hunter, you need to be sure you are ready for it because once we get started I won’t let you out of my bed for at least 24 hours.”
I gasped as the words flowed through me as I stared into his silver eyes. The words were a promise and a threat. I also didn’t miss the phrasing. When - not If. The surety in his eyes and the pure lust radiating from him had more moisture than I had ever believed possible flooding that place he was pressed against so intimately. He had never intimated that he was interested in me but his words punch straight through me. He sounded as if he’d been thinking about it for quite a while. Just the thought that this man desired me enough to want to have sex with me was a thrill. I knew I had desired him since we met but he hadn’t let on he had been feeling the same.
I was tempted, so tempted. This was the first time I had ever felt this way in my entire adult life. The first man to make my blood burn, to make me want to forget my responsibilities and give in to the temptation of sex. What woman wouldn’t want what he was offering? This male was the very definition of manly perfection, from his looks to his body, to the size of his hard shaft pressing against my core. But I couldn’t give in. Not to a temptation that would likely burn me alive. I was too much of a little girl for this man. I had no idea what I’d be getting into with him. I had zero experience and he had centuries. The thought had me immediately melancholy. And then I remembered about the woman he already had warming his bed.
With a sigh I closed my eyes and shook my head. I started to sit up to climb off his large body until he startled me by grabbing my hair once again, holding my head still and making me look him in the eyes.
“You’re not ready.” He stated while his eyes skimmed over every inch of my face, taking in each detail before settling on my lips. I parted them, breathing shallowly at the hunger I saw in his expression. He looked back up at my eyes. “You are not ready, my Hunter, but one day, soon, you will be. When you are, I will be waiting for you.”
My eyes closed at the tone of his voice. It was one that brooked no argument. When I was ready for a sexual experience he was the one I was to go to. I think I could accept that. After all, hadn’t I just thought about how any woman would want him? If he was willing to wait for me then I could never ask for better. As long as he was no longer with that woman, that was. I had to make that clear to him. I sighed and nodded my head in agreement. I started to lift my hips up to climb off when his grip tightened down, again, holding me tight to him. It took all my self-control to not grind down onto his thickness again.
“One more thing, Miss Moore,” I looked back into his eyes right before he lifted his head to close the space between us, pressing my head down to meet him halfway. He took my mouth in an unexpectedly powerful and passionate kiss. I wouldn’t have expected him to devour me the way he was, it was no simple kiss. He consumed me, stealing my breath and giving it back to me mingled with his own. Lips, tongue, teeth, nothing I had ever experienced before. Something in me knew that, were I to turn away from this man, I would never experience the same type of passion again in my life. I was completely breathless when he broke off the kiss and spoke against my lips, a touch of awe in his voice as if he were as amazed at the power behind the passion we shared as I was. “You are mine, Hunter.”
He helped me to my feet, my knees shaky. With all the dignity I possessed, I managed to lock my knees together and make my way to my water bottle and towel. I took several deep breaths and pretended to study the wall sconce in front of me while I took the time to put myself back together from our devastatingly amazing, eye-opening time on the floor. I was determined to ignore my response and the reactions of the group of people that were watching nearby. I didn’t know how I managed to forget about them while we were on the floor. Being with him completely consumed me.
“I think we can call it a night at this point, Miss Moore. Rhys will take you home. Expect to be picked up at the same time tomorrow night. Plan on eating a light meal with me before we start on more training.” His voice was dismissive, but I could feel his eyes boring into my back, probably wondering what was going through my mind. I was a mixed-up jumble of thoughts, not able to focus fully on one except for maybe, I need to get out of here so I can process. As if he knew what I was thinking he called for Rhys and told him to take me home. As I was walking through the door he called me one more time. I dropped my head, sighed, and then turned to face him, one hand holding onto the door frame.
“You did good, Hunter. No one has been able to get my back to the mat before.” He turned away, dismissing me. It was a shame because he would have seen, and been entranced by, the huge, bright smile on my face.
Chapter 10
*****
Crispin watched the sleek black car roll down the private driveway from his bedroom window on the third floor. When he could no longer see the taillights through the dense trees he turned around and faced his large bed. He contemplated what had happened downstairs.
He had been fighting the attraction he felt for her for weeks. He didn’t think it was wise to become involved in a Hunter. But now he knew there was no going back. He seemed to know instinctively that this female was meant to be his even from the beginning.
He had never contemplated taking a mate. His life had taught him that women were devious and untrustworthy. But his Hunter had shown that women could also be fiercely loyal and have a strength of character he had rarely seen, even on the battlefield.
He turned away, toward his bathroom, and started stripping as he went. A cold shower was on the menu tonight, he couldn’t even stomach the thought of feeding right then.
*****
I thanked Rhys and waved before stepping into the dark little house. I could hear sounds coming from Iris’ room so thought it would be a good idea to check in with her. Normally she would be asleep by this time of night. It wasn’t really late, only about 11 pm but she tended to sleep a lot.
I stepped into her room and took a good look at my twin sister. The look of her hit me in the gut. Her sallow skin and lank hair showed how little time she actually spent outside getting sunshine and out of this one bed. I knew she spent a lot of time on chat boards, creating an entire life for herself in a world that didn’t exist. It broke my heart that she was only giving herself this. I wanted her to have more, a life outside these walls, people other than myself and Sandy to talk to. But this was all she wanted.
“Dear, sweet sister. Where have you been? Always out late and coming home with a man.” She laughed sarcastically. “What would mommy and daddy think if they were to see their favorite little twin now?” She reached over to her nightstand to pick up her refillable water bottle. “Be a dear and get your invalid sister a little water, would you? I would get it myself, but as you can see, I can’t even wipe my own ass let alone have sex every single fucking night.” She threw the bottle at me but her weak muscles didn’t allow the bottle to go more than a few feet from her bed. She immediately started screaming and crying, yanking at her limp brown hair.
“You fucking
whore! You know I am stuck here and you are out there every night getting laid! Are you getting enough for the both of us?” Her hysterical laugh followed me out the door as I silently backed up and closed the door behind me.
I slowly made my way into the shower, stripping off my clothes. While washing myself, running the washcloth over my skin, I thought of my time with Crispin tonight. For a short time, I wanted more than what Iris and I had here. I thought, for just a moment, that we could be happy. I could have a relationship with the local vampire king and my sister could learn to get out of her bed. She could have a life, maybe even have someone for herself, someone that could love her and help her become who she was meant to be. I wish I could make her happy but now I see that was an impossible dream.
My sister would never let me be happy. I would continue to train to be the best Hunter I can be but how could I have a relationship with Crispin? It would crush my sister. I got angry at the thought and pounded a fist into the wall of the shower. Didn’t I deserve love?
It was finally sinking in that I was not responsible for my sister’s happiness. She was miserable due to her own making. If I went forward with a relationship it could destroy the rest of her will to live.
What did she want from me? I wanted to shout it at her. I had done nothing but support her, working since I was 18 to keep her out of a state-run nursing home. I sacrificed so much for her and yet she would still begrudge me any small bit of happiness. I would never stop loving my sister and trying my hardest to do right by her. But she would never want me to have Crispin. My mind kept spinning in all directions. I was damned if I do, damned if I don’t. There were no good answers here.
I climbed into my small bed and rolled over to face the wall, a tear slipping down into my hairline and soaking into my pillow. And fell asleep.
*
I woke to my alarm going off at 6 am. I groaned and rolled over to switch it off. My body had slight aches but nothing like someone would expect from the type of training sessions Crispin and I had together. For my body to still hurt at all the next day said a lot about the roughness of the workouts. But as I got out of bed I could feel the strength coiled in my muscles. I knew I was nowhere near ready to take on a pack of revenants, but I also knew I had improved enough that I could have probably taken on the ones that attacked me that night a few weeks ago.
I took my time getting dressed and pulling my hair back into its usual ponytail. I never put on any sort of makeup, just some lip gloss that I normally kept in my pocket, so my routine was always very quickly done.
After a quick trip to the coffee pot and making a bowl of cereal I sat down to relax before heading off to the diner. I had a 12-hour day, so it was going to be long and exhausting. I wouldn’t have time to run home and get ready for tonight, so I was going to have to take a bag with a change of clothes with me to work. I tried to ignore the fact that I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to see Iris again until tomorrow.
Sandy came in and sat down while I was finishing the last of my coffee. “Iris is in a horrible mood today and I found her water bottle on the floor by her bed.” She leaned closer into me and ask, “Is it true, Ivy? She said that you’ve been getting picked up every night for weeks and not coming home for a few hours.” She leaned back in her chair while staring me down. “I’m not judging, in fact, you know how I feel about that. You need a life outside of work and here. Lord knows you need a man.”
I couldn’t help the flush crawling up my neck at the reminder of Crispin and me grinding on the mats last night. She, of course, caught it and pointed. “You little brat! You ARE seeing someone, aren’t you?” I shushed her immediately, the last thing I needed was Iris hearing her and getting worked up again. I batted her finger down from my face and tried not to laugh at her excitement.
“It’s not at all what you think.” I carefully told her about taking self-defense lessons without giving away any paranormal information. “He saved me from a creepy guy one night while I was out running and wanted to make sure I could protect myself. He is gorgeous, but it isn’t like that, he’s just really nice.”
“Who is he? Where does he take you every night? And what does he do for a living?”
“Just a rich guy that owns a house in the mountains not too far from here. I don’t know, exactly, what he does but I think he oversees some businesses.” I smiled at her and had to laugh at her enthusiasm for information. “Look, I don’t know him that well, but he has been a perfect gentleman, is nice, and just wants to help me. That’s all he’s done.” I was seriously stretching the truth with those statements, but I couldn’t tell Sandy anything about the truth of the world around her.
She got up and hugged me before snagging my empty cereal bowl and carrying it to the sink. “Well, hopefully, this nice, rich guy does a little more than shows you self defense and starts showing you different kinds of wrestling moves.” She winked at me and then snapped a dishtowel at me. “You better get moving. I’ll make sure everything is locked up and leave by 6 tonight. Iris will be fine so don’t worry about rushing home after your lessons tonight.” She wagged her eyebrows up and down while grinning at me. I just rolled my eyes at her antics and rubbed the spot on my arm that stung from the towel. I wasn’t going to convince her nothing was going on and, honestly, didn’t want to break her heart that way anyway. And besides, after the events of last night on the mat, there actually might be something. If, and only if, the girlfriend was out of the picture.
I kissed her cheek before grabbing my sweater and bag with a change of clothes and shoes in it. “I’ll keep that in mind, love you, Sandy!” And was out the door for another day of work.
I was surprised to step outside and see a car idling at the curb that looked suspiciously like the car Rhys drove me in every night. But Rhys was a vampire, so it couldn’t be him waiting for me out here. I started to get nervous until a guy in a sharp black suit stepped out. He had to be a human, but he was absolutely huge. His dark skin and close-cropped hair looked good on his large body. He barely fit in his suit, the sleeves were stretched at the biceps and it was obvious the guy never missed a leg day. “Miss Moore, my name is Jared. Mr. Decius has assigned me as your driver and guard during the day.”
He opened the back door of the car and stood there stoically, waiting for me to climb in while I stood there with my jaw unhinged. I didn’t know if I should laugh or scream. In the end, I gathered all my dignity and climbed into the back seat of the car. I didn’t miss the curtain move and Sandy with her grin and thumbs up. I would never convince her that I didn’t have a relationship with Crispin now. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was a sweet gesture, really. I guess he was worried about me. He did say I was his last night. I wondered if he was right and I just wasn’t ready, but one day soon would be? It was all so confusing considering Kate’s words to me nearly every day at the diner while I worked.
*
Jared was a quiet guard, but he was quick to smile. Though, there was something about him that made me think that he was hurting inside, the same as I was. He was spending most of his time sipping coffee and staring down all the male customers. I noticed my tips were nowhere the amount they normally were and was starting to get irritated. I needed those tips to pay for groceries. I huffed in irritation and went back to the kitchen to pick up my next order. I was busy getting a salad together when I felt a big body brush up against my back and warm, moist breath against the back of my neck.
“Why do you have a new bodyguard Ivy?” Tommy Beechum, the accountant that had been asking me out for months while I brushed him off was cornering me in the kitchen of the diner. My mind was spinning. I couldn’t understand what in the world would make him think it was ok to get in my space the way he was right now. I was sure I hadn’t led him to believe that I wanted his attention. Granted, I thought about it once or twice just because I was tired of being a 21-year-old lonely woman, but I never told him I wanted him.
He had me pinned in a way that I could
n’t get away without being physically rough with him, which I had no problem doing if it became necessary. Right now, I was getting mad. Why men thought it was okay to push unwanted attention on women was a mystery. “Tommy, I need you to step back right now. I don’t want to get into a fight while here at work, but I will protect myself if you don’t back off.” I was trying very hard to keep my voice down and not get worked up. He chuckled lightly and the pressure of him against my back lessened enough that I could turn around and face him. I supposed the glower on my face was enough to send him backpedaling on this crazy idea he had of cornering me because he backed up further with his hands in the air.
“It’s okay, princess, I promise I’m not up to no good. I was just curious.” He finished with a grin that I suppose he thought was charming, but really, it’s never charming to push yourself on someone that doesn’t encourage such behavior. I may have very little experience with men and dating but even I know that it is inappropriate. He dropped his hands and took a small step closer. “You know I’ve been wanting you for a long time now, I was hoping I could finally talk you into giving me a chance. Maybe I could take you out tonight for dinner?”
I sighed, long and loud.
“Tommy, in the 3 years that you’ve known me have I ever shown interest in being pursued by you or any other man?”
He looked a bit sheepish as he backed off again. “No, princess, but I’m sure if you just gave me a chance…”
“Stop. Just stop. I’m not now nor will I ever be your princess.” The nickname had me shuddering. “Tommy, I would have accepted your offer a long time ago if I had the time or inclination to go out with you, but I don’t.”
“Wait a minute. If you would just wait a damn minute so we could talk about this.” He grabbed my arm as I passed by him and that was the last straw. I took his wrist and twisted it behind his back and shoved him up against the wall, face first.