Taking another bite of my cupcake I looked at Aldrich. I didn’t know much about him but he really seemed sweet and sincere. Using a word like princess, he had to be a bit of a romantic in there somewhere, even if he didn’t admit it. I was still holding out on him though, because I wasn’t sure how much truth was in what he said. That man could fill out a suit for sure, and I would gladly show him how to get down to business. I choked a little on my cupcake and Adrien handed me my water, amusement dancing in his eyes. What the hell was wrong with me tonight?
Just because I was at a table with three hot men didn’t mean I needed to think like one. Good grief, keep it together Lena. I glanced at Damien as he picked up his cupcake and started to gingerly peel off the paper. He was a much harder one to pinpoint. He protected himself on the outside, but I bet there was something so sweet on the inside. Just like that cupcake. I watched him for a minute. What the hell was he doing with that cupcake?
He was still slowly peeling the cupcake wrapper off, like it was going to break if he wasn’t super careful. “Hey, Damien?”
“Yeah?”
Deliberately I leaned toward him, not taking my eyes off his until I was on the edge of my seat, my lips a breath away from his. I could feel everyone watching us, it was now or never.
I yanked the cupcake from his hand and pressed it into his face, icing and chocolate cake covering him from his eyebrows to the top of his lips. Jumping up I ran for it, dashing through the tables in their little groups. Laughter and whooping erupted behind me. Damien caught me and scooped me up around my waist, swinging me around in a circle. “You little shit. You don’t play fair.”
“Caught that did you?” I laughed as he spun me around to face him. I reached up and rubbed the chocolate down his face again, smearing it farther than it had been before. Laughing as he released me, I ran off again. I darted over a couch in the back corner and ducked, hoping to hide from Damien.
After a few minutes the laughter had died down and I thought it might be safe to come out again. Crouching low, I decided to peer over the back of the sofa to see if he was coming. Not seeing anyone, I bravely came out and peeked around one of the columns, and suddenly Damien was at my side, catching me by my waist and spinning me to face him.
He pressed my back against the column capturing my mouth with his own, not giving me a second to protest. He gripped my hip hard, pulling me close to him, and I could feel how much he wanted this. Running his other hand up the side of my neck and into my hair, he fisted it there, making me moan softly with the slight pull. My tongue flicked out across his lips, still tasting the rich chocolate from the cupcake, making me want more. He pressed his mouth harder to mine and delved in, his rough beard scratching against my face, the coarseness driving me to push harder. I arched my back and pressed my hips against him. I wanted to feel as much of him against me as I could while he assaulted my mouth.
Suddenly, he backed away and dropped my hair while he just stared at me. I didn’t understand what had happened or why he had stopped. He slowly walked over to me and whispered in my ear, his deep voice causing heat to pool between my thighs. “Next time, my little spitfire, I will make you pay for that cupcake.” He turned and left without saying another word.
I sagged against the column, confused about what the hell had just happened. Okay, I probably shouldn’t have goaded him like that. But who the hell eats a cupcake like they are at tea with the Queen of England? He had been asking for it. I wasn’t expecting him to get up and chase me, or kiss me within an inch of drowning against this fucking column.
Stepping back around the edge of the sofa I sat. I just needed to think for a minute before I joined everyone again and found those answers I had come for.
I turned when I heard someone coming up behind the couch, thinking it was Damien returning to finish what he had started. I felt bad when I was slightly disappointed at seeing Aldrich walking toward me. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about him with everything that had happened with Sam, but I was willing to give him a chance. The other two seemed to trust him and that went a long way in my book, considering they lengths they have gone through to protect me.
“Hey there Cupcake. It will still be a bit longer before the person you’re here to meet is available if you just want to wait over here. I brought you a towel if you wanted to clean yourself off.” He grinned, handing me the towel.
“Yeah, thanks.” Taking the towel I started wiping the frosting and cake from my fingers, and Aldrich sat next to me.
“I have never seen Damien so happy and pissed at the same time. It was the best thing ever!” Aldrich laughed again. “Like seriously, the look on his face was priceless. Smoosh!” He imitated squishing the cupcake on Damien’s face and broke out in another fit of laughter. I giggled with him. When he put it like that, it really was funny.
I had also never seen Aldrich anything other than stoic. It was good to see this other side of him. It made me consider him in a different light. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought.
After our laughter subsided, we sat for a minute in silence.
I glanced over as Aldrich reached behind him and picked something up from the table. I shook my head when I saw that it was a cupcake. “Really, what the heck is it with you guys and cupcakes?”
“I heard that cupcakes were the way to your…stomach,” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
“Oh, did you? And exactly where did you hear that from?”
“Where doesn’t matter,” he countered, pulling the wrapper off slowly, watching me as he set it aside. “All that matters is if it’s true or not.”
“How exactly do you intend to find out?” I asked, my voice betraying me and squeaking at the end. Fuck Lena, way to play it smooth and sound like a kid going through puberty. Want to sprout a few pimples to go with that next?
Aldrich grinned and slowly ran his finger through the center of the cupcake horizontally to split it in half, frosting covering his fingers while he did so.
“Why the hell are you mutilating that innocent cupcake?” I gasped in horror.
“Making a cupcake sandwich,” he said simply, as he turned the icing side over onto the bottom half and turned it into a sandwich. He ran his already icing covered finger across the middle, now oozing icing out of the side. As he collected more of the chocolate frosting on his thumb, I involuntarily licked my lips, and silently cursed myself.
“Let’s test it, shall we?” he suggested huskily, making me swallow hard. Aldrich reached over and ran his thumb over my bottom lip spreading the icing there. It made my lips tingle where it brushed against sensitive skin, the rich chocolate assaulting my nose as it filled the air around me.
Slowly, he slipped his thumb between my lips, and my treacherous tongue wrapped around it to draw every bit of frosting from him as possible. I held his wrist as I watched his eyes heat and slowly sucked it off. He narrowed his eyes at me while I drew his thumb out of my mouth, and licked it slowly one last time.
“Hmm. I guess icing, at least, is the way to my stomach,” I murmured thickly, licking my bottom lip again.
“Just for that I’m not letting you try my sandwich, brat,” Aldrich teased, biting into his ridiculous version of a cupcake sandwich.
Making a weird face at me, he stood and left me sitting on the couch by myself again.
What the hell had that been all about? These men kept me all riled up and they sure had no problem flirting with me. Even though I knew they had to realize that their friends were all interested in me.
The couch moved next to me, startling me from my thoughts as Adrien dropped onto the cushions.
“So whatcha doing over here?” he asked.
“Just taking a minute to gather my thoughts before, you know.” I shrugged.
“I get that. We still have a while until she will be ready. Do you want someone to wait with you?” Adrien inquired.
“That would be nice, I probably won’t worry so much that way.”
�
�That’s probably true,” Adrien agreed as he gave me a weird look and shifted closer on the couch. He lifted his hand to my face.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
“You still have icing on your mouth.” He brushed his finger across my lip. “There.”
“Oh, thanks,” I choked out. I had no business wanting him, especially not after what I just did with his friend. It was a big club but it wasn’t that big. Adrien had to have seen what had happened between Damien and me.
“Wait, there’s a little more right,” leaning forward, his weight pressed me deeper into the couch, and he gently kissed the corner of my lips, “there.” I shuddered out a breath. Holy fuck this man was a tease. He started to move toward me again and I put my hand on his chest to stop him.
“I’m sorry, I can’t Adrien.” I leaned my head against my hand.
“Why Lena?”
“I’ve just finished kissing Damien. It’s not right to you, or to him.”
“I saw, and it was hot as fuck. I don’t care about that. Damien won’t care either.” He moved forward again slowly, giving me a chance to say no. He said he didn’t care that I had kissed Damien, and Damien had been the one to walk away, not me. So fuck it, I was going to enjoy myself just this once for a little while. We had some time before I had to face the music with whomever I had to talk to, so why not make the most of it?
He placed a hand on either side of my head, and taking my bottom lip, slowly sucked it between his. Kissing him back I pulled him against me, urging him to give me more. I ran my hands up his chest and reached behind his neck as he tumbled down on me, both of us landing on the couch.
“Timber!” I giggled. Shit, I couldn’t even keep my stupid commentary to myself when I was about to have probably the most amazing make out session of my life.
Adrien pulled back a little and then just kissed me again, harder this time. “Only you Cupcake.” Thank God he didn’t jump and run. His hard muscles rippled beneath my hands, making me ache to touch more. His own hands found their way under my shirt and brushed against my skin, teasing me in a way that he was very skilled at.
“Do you know how much I fucking want you right now?” he asked, trailing kisses down my neck, stopping only to pull my shirt over my head when he had reached the collar. Grasping behind me, he undid the clasp on my bra and freed my breasts, before leaning back. “You’re fucking perfect, Lena.”
He kept working his way down across my chest, making me shudder out a breath as one hand gently pinched a nipple, sending waves of pleasure shooting to my core. His mouth found my other breast and he sucked it in, nipping it softly with his teeth.
“Shit,” I moaned. “Adrien.”
Pulling off his shirt, my hands explored the hard planes of his back. I worked my way to his hair, fisting my hands there so I could try to drag him back up to kiss me. He pressed me against the couch again, insisting I stay while he worked his way across my chest. He flicked his tongue across my nipple, making heat pool in my center and my stomach clench. My fists tightened in his hair as I struggled to not demand more.
Painfully slow, he trailed kisses down my stomach to my jeans, kissing across the top of my waistline and onto my thighs. He reached up, flipping the button open on my pants, and started pulling them down over my hips. He lifted my hips and helped them come off the rest way, discarding them to the side with my panties, before leisurely starting to work kisses up my leg. Fire spread through me everywhere he touched, and my heart raced to have him hurry.
My thighs seemed to spread apart of their own will as he traced those scorching kisses down the inside, teasing the soft skin I hadn’t realize could be so sensitive. I sucked in a sharp breath when his mouth closed over my center, sending waves of pleasure shooting through me. Somehow it was fire and ice all at the same time. His mouth was cool against my skin, but I was burning from what he was doing to me.
He continued his torment, his tongue flicking against my clit, and I knew that I was going to come undone right there. Slipping a finger inside of me, he felt exactly how close I was to the edge. “That’s right Lena, I want you dripping wet,” he whispered, driving his fingers inside me.
His words made me grip the edge of the sofa, trying not to cry out. I was painfully aware that we were barely hidden from anyone else that might happen through the club, I just didn’t care. I wanted him to continue. Leaning his head back down, he slowly ran his tongue up the length of me, making me arch off the couch toward him.
I had enough of this fucking teasing shit. Reaching down I pulled Adrien back up to me, clearly surprising him. Before I could hesitate, my hands rushed down, undoing his jeans and pulling them over his hips. Now it was my turn to be surprised—holy hell, it was a lot bigger up close. The whole length of him came springing out of his jeans as I shifted them lower, finding him uninhibited by any underwear. I laughed inwardly, he was definitely a commando kind of guy.
Adrien seemed to get the point and dropped his jeans next to the couch. He joined me again and returned to kissing my neck fervently. I wasn’t looking for just kisses, I wanted everything. I wiggled out from underneath him, and he sat up, looking at me in question. I pushed him back against the couch and climbed back on top of him, sliding my hips over his and straddling him. “Well aren’t you a demanding little thing?” Adrien grinned at me.
“I’m about to show you how demanding.” I felt his hard length rub against my core. Shifting my hips a bit, I teased him this time, letting his cock rub against me. I wanted him to feel that although I was already wet and ready, I was making him wait. As impatient as I was, Adrien grabbed my hips and tried to guide me down. I rocked mine upward and denied him entry, teasing him a bit further.
Suddenly, his hips rocked upwards and the length of him slid deep inside, one smooth motion that made my body flood with warmth and pleasure. I cried out against his neck as his hips thrust upwards again and again, driving me closer to a climax I never could have imagined before. I held onto the back of the couch so I could take him deeper and harder, I rode him fast, building with intensity every time he thrust into me.
Over his shoulder I had a clear view of the rest of the club, which thankfully was empty at the moment. I went to drop my head back down to Adrien’s shoulder to stifle a moan as a movement from the bar caught my eye. I let out a moan anyway, low and guttural, right before I reached Adrien’s shoulder. At the same time I spotted Damien as he stepped forward and leaned against the bar, watching me, watching us. His eyes were dark with need and there was no questioning what he wanted.
I should have stopped, but I couldn’t. I wanted him to watch, and I wanted to see him as I climaxed. I moved my hands to Adrien’s shoulders and he held my hips tight, driving me deeper and harder on his shaft. Not breaking eye contact, I watched Damien as the orgasm built inside me, threatening to break me to pieces. Leaning forward, Adrien captured one of my nipples in his mouth and sucked on it hard, making me cry out.
With Adrien’s own tension building I rocked my hips, and tightening my thighs, I dared us both to burst free. Finally, with my eyes locked on Damien’s own passionate blue orbs, my thighs tight and dripping around Adrien, I came undone as he did, with wave upon wave of blissful pleasure washing over us. I leaned my head against Adrien’s for a moment to catch my breath, and looked back up to meet Damien’s stare from across the room.
Damien lifted a glass to me, drank deep. and put it on the bar before he walked away. What the actual fuck right now? I can’t believe I had just dared, fucking dared him to stand there and watch us. Holy fuck that was hot. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Lena?” Adrien asked. feeling me tense against him. “You don’t regret that, do you?”
“Oh hell no.” Leaning down I kissed him deeply, and I could still taste myself on his lips. Fuck, I really wanted him to take me again. “The only thing I regret is that we don’t have time to do that again.” Standing, I scooped up my clothes and put them on real
quick. “I’m going to go clean up in the bathroom, I’ll be right back.”
Adrien reached out and smacked my ass as I walked away, making me laugh. He was always so playful, it didn’t matter when. Damn, he certainly got serious when it came down to it though. Holy fuck, I don’t think I had ever been so thoroughly pleased before.
And what the hell was I thinking with Damien? I had never been into anything like that before, I should have been focused on Adrien, not on daring Damien to watch. I got just as much pleasure out of the two of them though. What did that say about me?
I cleaned up in the bathroom and walked back to the sofa, finding Adrien and Aldrich standing near it talking. Thankfully Adrien also thought it was a good idea to get dressed again, I don’t know how we would explain that to Aldrich.
“She’s ready to meet you, Lena.” Adrien held out his hand to grab mine.
“Well then, no time like the present, huh?” Taking his hand, I let him lead me to whatever answers awaited.
Chapter Twelve
Valentina
I sat in a chair and waited for my daughter to arrive. I know I had to start referring to her by her given name, it had just been so long since I had allowed myself to do so. When I left her at the orphanage I had left her with a piece of paper, only her name written upon on it, my hope being that it would remain the same. I never let myself think of her with her given name so that when this day finally arrived, it would be easier to call her something else if needed.
Tears came to my eyes as I remembered the day I had given birth to her. My mother had joined me in my room while I labored for hours to bring a baby into the world that neither of us even knew would survive. I labored on though, with hope that she would make it, not understanding that with her life would come death. My mother tried to prepare me, but I just never understood what she had meant. I always thought I would have more time.
Wiping sweat from my face, my mother sat with me as tears ran down her beautiful features. The babe came into the world crying and healthy, her fangs already extending as a vampire of power would. At least that was my assumption, since a turned vampire’s teeth extended quickly if they were to come into great power. The current queen held her, a great blessing as the only true born vampire child cried in her arms, the amulet glowing softly, blessing the queens as they gathered together.
Tattoos and Cupcakes (Amulet of Queens Book 1) Page 10
