by Sarah Bailey
“I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
He gripped her legs, pushing them up as he gave her more. She groaned as he thrust harder. He was going to send her hurtling right over the edge. Angled in such a way that he was brushing up against her core, sending little jolts running up her spine. She was right at the precipice, desperately trying to hold back. Wanting it to last, but knowing she had no hope stemming the tide.
She let out a series of garbled cries. She shook and trembled, fists clenched in the sheets. Everything about being with him was magic in her eyes. She’d never experienced pleasure or satisfaction quite like it. Even when they fought with each other, giving into their baser instincts. It resulted in an explosive and passionate climax.
She would never get enough of him. And she loved him. With every ounce of her being.
Both spent, they lay there, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Her fingertips trailed down the hard muscle of his back.
“I’ve been meaning to ask… Where are we?”
She turned her head so she could look up at him. He looked a little conflicted.
“My daytime resting place.”
She would’ve sat up in surprise if she wasn’t locked in his embrace. He’d taken her to the one place vampires never revealed. Her breath caught in her throat.
“It is the only place I can watch over you during the day.”
“You trust me,” she blurted out when the shock had worn off a little.
“Yes.”
His tone was so matter of fact. She hadn’t realised quite how much she’d dug her way into his life, into his heart. She smiled, grinning from ear to ear.
“Will you let me stay here with you when you sleep?”
“Why would you want that?”
His expression was inquisitive.
“Because I hate it when I wake up in the morning and you’re not there. I promise I won’t wake you up or anything. I just… like knowing you’re there.”
He was expressionless for a long moment before he smiled.
“Why, Daisy, anyone would think you like being with me.”
“Shut up.” She pushed against his solid chest a little. “Do I have to tell you again how I feel?”
“Mmm, yes. I think you do.”
She glared at him.
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m not saying it.”
He smiled at her again, chuckling a little.
“Oh, I can think of many ways to get you to admit it.”
“Like what?”
His fingers trailed down her back. Her skin felt like it was on fire where he touched her.
“Hey! That’s not fair.”
“I thought we talked about fair. Nothing about you and I is fair.”
She didn’t stop him touching her, but she glared again.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
He gave her an indulgent smile.
“Yes. You can stay with me, but you are not to reveal this place to anyone.”
“Oh, well, there goes my plan to check in on Facebook.”
He let out a frustrated sigh.
“I didn’t even tell Val about the whole blood link thing under torture. Why would I reveal this? Didn’t you just admit that you trust me?”
“I did.”
“Then you’re not really worried I’d tell anyone, are you?”
“I suppose not. I’ll have to show you how to get in here by yourself. I don’t usually use the door.”
“Yeah because you’re magic and can appear anywhere at any time.”
He rolled his eyes and frowned.
“I don’t possess magic. If you want magic, you can go live with the witches.”
“There are witches?”
Her eyebrows shot up. Was he serious?
“Yes, but they don’t like vampires. Apparently, we are unnatural.”
“I suppose the whole needing blood to survive and super-enhanced senses could be construed as unnatural.”
“They’d say you were unnatural for carrying on with me.”
She decided she didn’t like the sound of witches. If they were going to make out like there was something wrong with her because she loved a vampire. They could all get stuffed.
“They don’t know me and quite frankly, I don’t care what a bunch of stuck up bitches say about me.”
“They’re not all women.”
“If you’re a man and you go around calling yourself a witch, then you deserve to be called a stuck up bitch.”
She could see him trying not to smile.
“You think I’m funny.”
“I think you’re crazy.”
“That’s okay, I’m sure most people do.”
He grinned. She found herself smiling back. This was quite possibly the most normal conversation the two of them had ever engaged in. If talking about witches could be called normal. He stroked her face before he rolled over and grabbed something off the bedside table.
“Here.” He put her phone in her hand. “I kept it charged for you.”
“Well, aren’t you sweet?”
“If you tell—”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’ll punish me, but you forget, I like it when you do that.”
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. He gave her a searing kiss in response. She very nearly forgot all about her phone.
“As much as I want you to screw me senseless. I think there’s someone who needs to hear from me first.”
He grinned at her comment. Clearly, he wanted to pin her down and pleasure her, but she couldn’t let him distract her. She pushed him on his back and lay her head on his chest. She held her phone to her ear.
“If this is you playing a trick on me, I’m going to fucking murder you, Gavin,” Ella said, her voice stony.
“No trick, love.”
There was silence for a long moment before a sob rang out.
“Daisy, you’re alive?”
“Yes, alive and awake.”
She kissed Gavin’s chest. She felt his rumble of approval vibrating on her skin. His fingers traced a line down her bare arm.
“I was so worried. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’m okay and still very much human thanks to a certain somebody who you apparently want to murder.”
“Your vampire wouldn’t let me see you. Not even when I begged.”
He wasn’t going to allow Ella into his daytime resting place.
“Um, well, I’m certain there’s a good reason for that. I’ll come to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Yes. Just tell me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“How fucking long have you been in love with him and why didn’t you tell me?”
“That’s two things.”
“Daisy!”
She smiled.
“Since the day we had that huge bust-up at yours. I didn’t tell you because I’m not sure you’d have understood.”
Ella was silent for several moments. Daisy felt a hand under her chin, turning her face upwards. He was giving her a questioning look. She’d just admitted how long she’d been in love with him. She looked a little sheepish.
“I… guess that’s fair. I’ve been the worst friend. I should’ve just been happy for you.”
“It’s okay, Ella. I understand why you felt the way you did.”
“I don’t anymore. He saved you. Wait… Daisy, he told me to ask you when you woke up.”
“Ask me what?”
She frowned. Gavin gave her a wink. She was instantly suspicious.
“I asked him if he loved you.”
“You did?”
“You should’ve seen him when you were fading away. It was heartbreaking.”
She raised her eyebrows at Gavin. He could definitely hear every word of their conversation. Ella didn’t know he was here. She didn’t know if she could answer the question.
“Tell her,” he whispered.
“Yes, Ella. He does.�
�
“He told you?”
“Yes… Well, it wasn’t exactly romantic or anything. We were fighting.”
He frowned at her. She bit her lip.
“What on earth were you fighting about? You’ve only just woken up.”
“Um, you don’t want to know.”
She wasn’t about to tell Ella that he’d been refusing to have sex with her.
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand the two of you.”
“What can I say? Fighting leads to making up. In the best way possible.”
She felt the rumble of laughter from his chest.
“Is he there?”
She put her hand over his mouth.
“What? No.”
“I don’t believe you. I know you can hear me, Gavin.”
She released his mouth, laying the phone on his chest and putting Ella on speakerphone.
“Hello, Ella,” he said.
“Thank you for keeping her alive. Even if she’s a huge pain in my backside.”
Daisy huffed.
“Oi, bitch, you couldn’t live without me. Who else would drag you out for fun and games?” Daisy said.
Ella chuckled. Daisy shifted before she placed a kiss on his cheek. He turned his face and caught her mouth. It wasn’t gentle. It was hot and heavy. His hand caught her head when she tried to pull away. She uttered a mewl of protest.
“Hey, you two need to hang up if you’re going to start messing around.”
Her cheeks burned. She was going to make him pay for that.
“Text me about tomorrow,” she said.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She hung up and dropped her phone on the bed behind her. He caught her up in his arms. He was looking at her with a pensive expression on his face.
“Why didn’t you tell me how you felt that day?”
“You stole me away from Ella’s and punished me. Did you expect me to be willing to share my feelings after that?”
“I’m sorry I punished you.”
She could only stare at him as her mouth dropped open. Is he apologising to me?
“I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations out on you. I… that was the same day I realised how I felt.”
“Wait? What? Is that why you did that?”
“Yes.”
He hadn’t wanted to love her. She could see it written on his face.
“Do you regret falling in love with me?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“I could never regret you. I only regret how I reacted. I promise. You are the only person who has given me happiness in my long existence.”
She didn’t feel like talking anymore. She pressed her mouth to his, her hand curled around his neck. The other rested on his chest.
“I love you,” he whispered.
She let him take her under again to ride the wave of pleasure he brought every time they joined.
Chapter Twenty Three
Daisy shifted nervously outside the bar. Why he’d told her to meet him at Fright Night was beyond her. Teetering on heels that were far too high, she descended the steps, holding her coat around her. The vampire manning the coat check raised an eyebrow when Daisy exchanged her coat for a ticket. When she went through the door into the bar, several heads turned, appraising her with interest. She straightened her spine and walked over to the bar.
“Look at you,” Neave said with a smile. “Must be some occasion.”
“Hello again, Neave.”
“Boss didn’t say you’d be stopping by. Can I get you a drink?”
Gavin hadn’t told her what they were doing. It was her night off. She wanted to stay in and sleep. There were too many late nights involved with having a vampire for a boyfriend. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. It had been a few weeks since she’d been tortured by Val. Gavin wanted to treat her, apparently.
“Um, sure.”
“Let me guess, you’re a cocktail kind of gal.”
“Surprise me.”
“I like you already.”
Neave gave her a little wink and set about fixing her a mystery drink.
Daisy looked around the bar. It was busier than she expected, but it was the weekend. She couldn’t always tell who was supernatural and who was human, but there seemed to be a mix in here tonight. Over in the corner was a woman with piercing grey eyes. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She hastily looked away.
“Don’t worry about her, Dalia likes to intimidate everyone,” Neave said, causing Daisy to jump.
“Dalia as in the werewolf Alpha?”
“You’ve heard of her then.”
“Well, I did get kidnapped up by some of her weres.”
Neave grinned as she slid over a drink to Daisy. It was blood red with a little strawberry hooked over the top of the glass. She picked it up and took a sip.
“This is good.”
“Thanks. It’s my own creation. Vampire’s Kiss.”
She rolled her eyes. Neave chuckled, but her face fell and her ears grew pink. Daisy frowned, wondering at the sudden change. When she turned her head, she saw who made the vampire nervous. Dalia was standing next to her, her grey eyes pinning Daisy in place.
“Neave, who is this?”
Neave spluttered, unable to say a word. Daisy put her hand out to the werewolf.
“I’m Daisy, it’s nice to meet you.”
Dalia looked down at Daisy’s hand like it was a grave insult that she’d stuck it out to her. She retracted her hand and looked at Neave. The vampire was still pink and tongue-tied. She had a sneaking suspicion that Neave might have a bit of a crush on the imposing woman in front of her.
“Dalia, are you being rude to my human?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice and almost tripped over her heels. Gavin put a hand around her waist, steadying her.
“You look delectable,” he whispered in her ear.
She blushed furiously. Delectable? She wasn’t sure if he was complimenting her outfit or telling her she looked good enough to eat. Knowing Gavin, it was likely both.
“This is the girl?” Dalia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, she is mine. Though I suppose you’d be more comfortable if I refer to her as my girlfriend.”
Daisy would be infinitely more comfortable too. He knew she hated the vampire concept of ownership. Neave’s mouth was hanging open. She tried not to laugh at the gormless expression on the bartender’s face.
“Wait, wait, wait! After all your ‘Neave, don’t get any ideas’ and denials and now, she’s your girlfriend. I knew it. I fucking knew it.”
Daisy had no idea what was going on. She didn’t feel particularly comfortable being in the middle of this weird conversation about the status of her relationship with the Gavin. She turned to him with questioning eyes.
“Neave, don’t make me regret promoting you,” he said smoothly.
Neave grinned.
“No, boss, course not.”
“Promotion?” Dalia asked.
“Neave is my second.”
Dalia turned to the bartender with an expression that was a mix of respect and disgust.
“Well, now, here I thought you’d give it to Jack. He is your brother after all.”
Daisy’s eyebrows shot up. Brother? Vampires didn’t have siblings, did they? There was so much she had to learn still.
“What Dalia means is Jack and I shared the same maker,” he said as if sensing her confusion.
“Shared?” she asked.
“She’s dead.”
She wasn’t quite sure what to say about that.
“I’ll tell you about Yvonne another time.”
She was going to hold him to that. She wanted to know more about his life. It seemed he was more willing to share things now.
“Anyway, you two are very dressed up. Got something special planned?” Neave asked.
Daisy looked Gavin up and down. He was wearing a tux. Sh
e hadn’t noticed before. She couldn’t get over how sexy he looked, and he had his glasses on. She grinned. She was looking forward to taking that tux off him later. From the twinkle in his eye, she knew he was thinking the same thing.
“Yes. Very special. Now, if you don’t mind. I’m going to whisk my lady friend here away,” he said, taking her hand.
Neave gave the two of them a little wave. Dalia watched them expressionlessly.
“Don’t let him keep you up too late,” Neave called as they left.
Daisy turned her head and gave the bartender a wink. He helped her into her coat and led her outside to a waiting car. She put her head on his shoulder when they were settled inside.
“I like her,” she said.
“Who? Neave?”
“Yes. She’s funny, but I have no idea what she sees in Dalia. She’s intense.”
He chuckled.
“Neave has a thing for shifters. The last one… let’s just say it was very messy.”
“Messy how? She didn’t kill them, did she?”
“No. Neave is no match for someone who shifts into a dragon.”
“What? Wait, what? A dragon? You’re kidding me, right?”
He gave her an indulgent smile.
“It’s rare. He left town in a hurry after that disaster.”
“He?”
“Neave has no gender preference.”
She was silent. She’d learnt some very interesting things about the bartender tonight.
She turned her face up to Gavin, giving him sad puppy dog eyes. He hadn’t kissed her yet. She missed the feel of his mouth on hers.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” she asked innocently.
“That.” He pointed at her face. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Kiss me, then.”
“Is that all you want?”
“Yes.”
He rolled his eyes, but he moved, pressing his lips to hers. She felt a thrill of pleasure rush through her. Her hand curled into his hair, feeling the silky strands beneath her fingertips.
“Mmm, you taste so good,” she murmured.
“I thought that was my line.”
“I stole it.”
“You steal a lot of things.”
He kissed her again, his fingers dipping beneath her coat. He cupped her breast, thumb rubbing circles around her nipple over her dress. She moaned. He took the opportunity to deepen their kiss. His tongue devoured her mouth. She was hot and bothered immediately.