by Amira Rain
“Obviously, plans changed, and you lost your powers in the car accident, which I found out from your government file at the prison. Even knowing this, though, I assumed that you’d probably still try to kill me if I brought you here. Clearly, that didn’t stop me. I wanted you because you possess the were-gene, but now, I just want you. I just want to be with you indefinitely…if you’re falling in love with me, too.”
Although still miles beyond shocked and confused, I found myself nodding. “I am…and I’m sorry that I planned to hurt you. I just still can’t believe that James hurt me how he did, though, by killing my coven family.”
It just didn't make sense. While I’d been dating him, nothing about James had struck me as killer-like, and in fact, quite the opposite. During our years together, he’d actually made me feel safe.
However, I now contemplated whether James had been a sociopath and had just been “acting” around me, like how I’d thought Nick had been doing. I knew sociopaths could be charming, lulling their victims into a false sense of security. For all I knew, he could have been lying through his teeth to me every single time he’d spoken to me. Maybe, like Nick said, James had been the real villain, plotting to manipulate me the entire time we were together.
My head was spinning. I didn't feel in my gut that Nick was deceiving me about anything he’d said. I felt actually the opposite in my gut. I had a sense that I could trust him completely. I told him this, prompting him to brush a tender kiss against my lips, and we fell into comfortable silence. A few minutes later, he whispered near my ear, making me jump.
“In the coming weeks, I hope you don’t forget what you just said about trusting me completely, Tiffany.”
I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I'd forgotten I was actually still in Nick’s arms. I'd honestly forgotten he even existed.
Leaning back against the polished oak headboard, he pulled me even a bit closer to him and whispered again. "You’re going to have to continue to trust me about the Dormios, because John is intent on destroying all of us here in Everglen. He’s now working with the government to accomplish that goal. I also wouldn’t put it past him to try to contact you somehow and enlist you in some sort of a revenge plan again, and you’ve got to be on guard for that.
“He’ll try to make you think again that I’m the one who was responsible for killing your coven members, which just isn’t true. John is the ultimate deceiver, Tiffany...the ultimate manipulator. And when and if he’d able to attack us here in Everglen, you’ve got to be strong enough to resist him.”
Suddenly tired, suddenly bone-weary, actually, I looked up at Nick’s face with a sigh. "He was my friend, though. He-"
"That is exactly why you’ve got to keep trusting me…because right now, you're having a little trouble accepting that John is who I'm saying he is and that he'll do what I'm saying he'll do. You've got to understand, though, that this is part of the danger…you not trusting me enough to stay on your guard about the Dormios. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say your life depends on it, Tiffany. They probably will attack us at some point."
"But when-"
"Soon. I’m almost certain about it. Their spies are now constantly giving us problems, and I expect we'll be sweeping the outskirts of town tomorrow for their spies all day. Hopefully, if we can capture some of these spies, we’ll get advance notice of an attack. We might not, though. Just keep your cellular phone on your person at all times so I can get ahold of you if I need to warn you. In the meantime, tonight, just try not to worry about anything, knowing that I’ll keep you safe, no matter what ultimately happens with the Dormios. Okay? Please?"
Stifling a yawn, I nodded. "Okay. I will. I'm tired and confused, and about the Dormios, I'm vaguely scared-"
"You shouldn't be 'vaguely scared.' You should be outright terrified about the Dormios attacking. Don't forget that. It will help you remain on guard."
"Oh, well, thanks for making me feel so much better right before going to sleep."
"I didn't mean to, and I'm sorry about that, but you need to take all this very seriously. At the same time, I promise I'll always protect you to the very best of my abilities. You need to stay on your toes, though, until all this is resolved. You just need to continue trusting me."
"I will, Nick.”
Right then, looking up into his smoky coal-colored eyes, I couldn't imagine not trusting him. There was some look of unmistakable sincerity in his eyes that I just couldn't deny. It was a look that made me feel in the core of my being that he was telling me the truth about everything and that I was right to trust him.
In response to what I'd said about trusting him, he planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Good. Now, no more talking about all this tonight. You need your rest. I might beg you for just one more kiss before you go to sleep, though.”
Studying the way Nick’s dark lashes were casting shadows on his handsome, strong-jawed face in the dim light, I gave him a little smile. "I think I can handle that request. I can handle giving you a little kiss right now. But why don't you kiss me, actually. Just tip me back in your arms and really plant one on me."
"I can definitely handle that."
CHAPTER 12
With a low growl rumbling deep within his chiseled chest, Nick pulled me closer and tipped me back in his arms, then brought his mouth to mine. Soon, reveling in the feel of his soft lips gently savoring my own, I was lost in pleasure, breathing in his woodsy, masculine scent through my nose. It wasn’t long before we soon agreed that going to sleep could wait just a little bit longer.
Maybe an hour or so later, I rested in the strength and safety of Nick’s strong arms. "Now, I think I'm finally ready to go to sleep. But how about you?"
I'd learned that most Everglen Coven vampires only slept a half-hour or an hour a night. Members of the Dormio Coven needed even less sleep than that, with most of them only requiring twenty minutes or so. I'd often found it unnerving for some reason, always surprised to hear James getting up and out of bed again after just a brief rest, usually just as soon as I was beginning to fall asleep myself.
Nick smiled at me, with his perfect white teeth glinting in the soft lamplight. "I might catch a few minutes of shut-eye, but I might also be staying up just to watch you sleep for a bit. Maybe that sounds creepy, but see, extreme creepiness is a vampire specialty."
I laughed, genuinely amused, and once I'd managed to rein in my giggles, I smiled at him. "No. Sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be staying up just to watch me sleep. In all seriousness, there's just no way I could stand for that. You see, that’s not just garden-variety creepy; that’s extremely creepy. So, why don't you get your half-hour of shut-eye, or however long of a length of time you need, and then you can exit my bed and just leave me alone to sleep longer. Okay?"
Tracing the side of my face with a finger, Nick smiled. "How about this? How about I sleep next to you for the next little while, then when I wake up, I go to meet with my council members like I planned. Then in the morning, I’ll rejoin you for a little more dozing before I head out on patrol. Just because after a long night of debating and discussing things with the council, something just tells me I'm going to want to see your beautiful face again before heading back out. So, how does that sound? A brief sleep beside you, an exit overnight, and then a hello in the morning."
I smiled. "Sounds good. I'd add one more thing to that, though."
"And what's that?"
"A promise from you that you won’t stare at me while I sleep."
Nick chuckled, flicking off the lamp on the nightstand beside him. "There. Now it's pitch-dark in here. Now I can’t stare at you."
I snorted. "Right, maybe if you were a normal man. But I just happen to know that vampires have sharper sight than regular humans, and this allows you to see at least the outlines of things even in pitch-darkness."
Nick scoffed. "A complete lie. Who told you that?"
"Dana did."
Not to mention that I knew it from dating James. Memb
ers of the Dormio Coven, too, had special "night vision." It didn't allow them to see perfectly in the dark, by any means, but definitely with more clarity than an average human.
Nick scoffed again. "Well, maybe there's some truth to what Dana said. But I'll tell you what. I'm closing my eyes right now, and I promise not to watch you while you sleep. No longer than a minute, anyway. How's that?"
I sighed. "Fine. Just because I think you're going to do it anyway."
Nick pulled me into his arms and spoke in a low voice near my ear. "Smart girl. Goodnight and sweet dreams."
"Goodnight, Nick."
Amazed that I was becoming so close to a man who I’d once planned to kill, I closed my eyes. With my eyes still closed, and without changing my position in Nick's arms, I slowly reached my right hand back behind my hips, hoping that it would connect with his free hand, and it did. Clasping his fingers, I caressed the side of his hand with my pinkie while he continued stroking my hair. Soon, I fell fast asleep, tightly held by the man that I now trusted almost as much as I did my own self.
I awoke sometime shortly before dawn, alone. An inch-wide crack in the curtains revealed the sky just beginning to turn from a pale gray to a gray-lavender with the faintest hint of peach.
I got up, used the bathroom, and brushed my teeth, intending to get up for the day. However, the sight of my bed called to me more than any thought of breakfast. I got back in, covering up with a thick cream-colored blanket that did a wonderful job of keeping the pre-dawn chill at bay. Even though it was spring, mornings were still plenty cold. Not that my apartment wasn't climate-controlled to about seventy degrees at all times, but nonetheless, I always seemed to feel the pre-dawn chill.
Probably not even a minute after getting back in bed, I was dozing again, having some vague dream about Nick and me. However, the dream was so vague I couldn't really even tell what it was about. I could just almost feel Nick near. And then soon, I felt him touching me, or at least I thought I did. A strong hand was caressing my thighs as I remained on my back, sleeping but aware at the same time. Although not quite so aware that I was a hundred percent sure if I was really dreaming. But at the same time, my eyelids were so heavy that opening them seemed like an impossible task.
Moments after the strong hand began caressing my thighs, it was joined by another hand. Then, I felt two hands slide beneath my silky camisole to cup my breasts. Now, I was sure I wasn't dreaming. What was happening felt too good, too real, to ever be any kind of a dream.
A soft whimper escaped my mouth, and my voice came out in a whisper.
"Don't stop. Please."
Immediately, I heard Nick’s voice near my ear, low and husky. "I won't. But keep your eyes closed."
"Okay."
I really had no desire to open them. The experience of being touched while not having any sight of the man touching me was unexpectedly exciting, to the point that I could already feel myself becoming slick. At that moment, I didn't care about anything else in the world than what was currently happening in my bed.
Soon, after the blanket had been slowly pulled off me, I again heard Nick’s voice near my ear.
"I thought I heard you up and around, and I had the idea to give you a new kind of sensual experience...one that you're only going to be able to feel, and not see. You also won't be able to use your hands during this new sensual experience because they'll be tied to the bedposts with silk scarves. Sightless and powerless, you'll then be all mine, to tease and pleasure, and maybe even torture a little in whatever way I see fit. Does this sound like something you want?"
Stifling a gasp as one of the two hands on my body gently squeezed one of my nipples, I nodded. "Yes. Yes, I want that."
With a current of something electric racing through it, my whole body seemed to be saying that's what I wanted. My whole body seemed to be practically screaming it, loudly and repeatedly.
Again, Nick spoke near my ear. "Good. Now just keep your eyes shut until I’m finished with the scarves. You just relax and enjoy."
Not a moment after he'd finished speaking, I felt one of the hands on my thighs move up a little higher, just high enough to caress my feminine mound through my sheer, lacy underwear. I sighed, hardly even noticing that something silky had been draped across my eyes. Then, after the silky fabric was tied behind my head, a hand slid down the front of my underwear and began toying with my slick lips, making me moan and arch my back.
"Yes. Touch me there. But even...even a little more toward the center."
I knew my command wasn’t extremely specific. All I knew was that "more toward the center," there was a certain spot of my anatomy that was now aching and throbbing with need, begging to be touched. I felt warm breath near my ear, and then heard Nick's voice again, barely loud enough to even be considered a whisper.
"Not...quite...yet."
I whimpered, partially out of frustration but partially out of pleasure because Nick was stroking my slick lips with the perfect amount of pressure.
The next thing I knew, I felt the heavy blanket being pulled back, and me being pulled up to sit. My arms were lifted and my camisole was pulled off before I was lowered back down to the bed. Then, to my increasing excitement, I felt my underwear being pulled down and off, even as a set of hands I couldn’t see began fastening my wrists to the bedposts with the same feather-light, silky fabric that was covering my eyes.
Nick spoke near my ear again, in a voice that made me think he was wearing at least the hint of a grin. "Now your new sensual experience really starts."
CHAPTER 13
Naked, sightless, and bound to the bedposts by my wrists, I struggled against my restraints, but even though the fabric they were made from was nearly weightless, they held fast. "If one of your hands doesn't touch me again right this second, Nick, I'll kill you."
After the last time he had spoken near my ear, I'd felt his hands withdraw from my body, maddeningly. And now, they'd remained gone for at least three seconds, plenty long enough to frustrate me into making my threat. Obviously, Nick had decided to start the "torture" part of my "new sensual experience.” However, in response to my threat, instead of touching me again, the only thing I felt was his warm breath as he chuckled quietly near my ear and then spoke just as quietly.
"How, exactly, would a mere human woman kill a vampire?"
I supposed she couldn't and wouldn't, since she didn't have her supernatural witch powers back yet. However, I certainly wasn't about to say this. Frankly, I could barely even remember this. I was involved in what was currently happening to the point that I barely remembered what Nick had told me the night before, barely remembered my own name even.
However, even as “far gone” as I was, I had the thought to want to assure Nick that I never again would earnestly try to kill him by simply play off my threat like a joke. "How, exactly, would a 'mere human woman' kill a vampire? Well, just keep your hands off me for another few seconds, Nick, and you'll find out. I think I'll start first by tying you up. Then, I’ll move on to a few dropkicks to your midsection. I don't think you realize just how powerful a 'mere human woman' can be when she's incredibly sexually frustrated."
Nick chuckled. "Well, now I'm really frightened. Maybe I should move on before I frustrate you any further."
"Yes, maybe you should. And you can start by moving one of your hands where it was before."
"Oh, you mean when I had my hand right here?"
I suddenly felt long, strong fingers brushing across my slick feminine lips, and I sighed, arching my back. "Yes. Right there. That’s perfect. But...like I said before...maybe move your fingers a little more toward the center. I have a certain spot that's getting a little desperate for some very direct attention."
Nick, who I sensed was on his side beside me, chuckled again and moved his fingers a little higher up, almost to my lower stomach. "Oh, you mean right here?"
"Oh, don't be clueless."
He glided his fingers over to the side of my hip and began slowly st
roking my bare skin. "My mistake. But now I think I've found that certain spot of yours. It’s right here…on your hip. Right?"
Gritting my teeth, I just remained silent for a long moment. "You know...I do find you funny sometimes, but right now, I'm finding you the least funny person of...oh!"
He had suddenly “found” my "spot," and not only that, but he'd also simultaneously slid what felt like two fingers inside of me. If I'd had to guess, I would have guessed that a thumb was on my throbbing spot, and this thumb was connected to the same hand that the fingers were. Within a second or two, after my gasp had turned into a moan of pleasure, I heard Nick's voice near my ear.
"How about now? Is that the right spot?"
He began slowly pulling his fingers out of me and then sliding them back in again, each time bumping and stroking my most sensitive spot with his thumb.
I responded with a series of moans, grinding my head back into the pillows. "That's perfect. Please don't stop."
He didn't, and soon he added an additional little twist on the move he was doing. Seeming to curl his fingers, he began tickling some specific spot inside of me each time he pulled his fingers out, and tickling was the only way I could think of to describe it. The sensation was new to me because the spot being tickled was a spot I'd never even known I had. I guessed it was what I'd heard called the G-spot, though I'd certainly never had it touched in any way before.
I definitely would have remembered the experience because the sensation was like nothing I'd ever felt before in my life. Intensely pleasurable, though not in the exact same way as having my other spot stroked, it was a sensation that rendered me completely speechless, only able to communicate in gasps and sighs.
When I soon felt Nick’s warm mouth on one of my nipples, my gasps and sighs became cries of increasing pleasure. If things continued the way they were going, I knew I was going to tumble over the brink within a minute. However, as I usually did, I wanted to do that while feeling something other than fingers inside of me. I wanted to feel Nick thrusting his rock-hard cock into my depths. When I spoke, though, my request wasn't quite as articulate.
