by Missy Maxim
Julian’s hands reflected their owner’s personality--they were rarely still. He stroked her hair, her shoulders, breasts, waist, and hips…peppered her face and throat with kisses. All while his erection strained against his pants.
Catherine’s own fingers got sneaky, slipping between them to pull the zipper down and give him some relief. He gasped when she caressed the soft skin with her thumb.
“Oh!” she yelped. It took all of a minute of touching him before he rolled and switched their positions.
“Drivin’ me crazy, love.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
He grinned and kissed her again, then pulled the other bow loose and stuffed her panties in his back pocket. He thrust a finger inside her hot channel, then another. Her back arched and she moaned in surprise. He curled his fingers upward and stroked the soft, fleshy wall.
“Oh, god…” she whimpered.
“You want me, don’t you, pretty kitty?” he murmured next to her ear. “Want me to fill you up?”
She nodded, her eyelids fluttering closed as his fingers made her eyes roll back. They popped open when his touch abandoned her, to find him naked and poised above her.
Julian grabbed her wrists and brought her arms above her head, pressing them into the pillow, then surged into her in one stroke. Her inner muscles clenched around the invasion, more in surprise than pain.
“Sweetheart, you should have told me…”
Why wasn’t he moving?
“Huh? Oh…” Catherine shrugged. “Figured you knew.”
“Not for certain…in this day…are you alright?”
She was touched he seemed genuinely worried. “Be a lot better if you started moving,” she replied with a smile.
“You’re not in pain?”
“No pain.” She squeezed him with her inner muscles. He groaned. “Move already!”
Julian gently pulled out a little. “Bossy chit. I can leave you wanting if you’re not a little nicer.”
She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles together. The move seated him deeper again.
“Really.”
Her previous orgasm had left her soft and pliant.
He grinned and set a casual pace. “Knew I liked you for some reason.”
Their rhythm didn’t stay slow for long. He couldn’t keep from touching her, letting one hand, then the other, go in his quest to tease and feel her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his neck, threading her fingers through his hair as he nipped at her breasts, her throat…
***
Sex with her was different to any other encounter he’d had in all his days. Celia always wanted excitement and pain. Other hook-ups had just been about getting off and getting out when celibacy got too hard to maintain. Not that there had been many one night stands. Meaningless sex wasn’t his style, even as he avoided making connections all these years alone.
But this innocent girl made him feel. Made him smile, laugh, want…he should be mocking her goodness. Draining her life, make her cry. If he’d still been the vampire he was before, the demon Lorcan trained him to be. She made him feel human for the first time in over one-hundred years.
It was an easy deception--her heart pounded against his chest, her heat made him warm, and she looked at him like he was just a man. Any old bloke she’d chosen to favor.
Catherine was his now, whatever came after this. Her first, the one she would compare any other to for the rest of her life.
A clever swirl of his hips made her moan again.
“Julian…”
“I’ve got you.”
Never said to be an inconsiderate lover, he slipped a hand between them and flicked her clit. Her muscles clenched around him again in response.
Normally, he could prolong an encounter for hours, but with how she fit around him, the heat, the look in her eyes of being right here…well, just because he came, didn’t mean the night was over.
Catherine clung to him as she arched off the bed, caught in the throes of orgasm and triggering his. Julian vamped out, but didn’t bite her.
It was the first time she’d seen his demon mask. She lifted a hand to glide her fingertips over the forehead ridges, his eyes closing as they trailed over his eyebrow scar to his cheek. He could still feel the warmth from her touch after it moved on. He shook off the fangy look and softly kissed her.
“You alright?”
“Better than.” She stretched beneath him. “Are you…?”
A shallow thrust confirmed her discovery. “Part of the vampire package.” He rolled them, putting her on top. “Not done with you, yet.”
***
“Oh!”
Sitting on his lap with him inside her put a whole new angle on things. Her head tingled when she sat up straight, making her feel drunk. His strong hands stayed on her waist until the dizziness passed.
“Don’t do that when I’m still woozy.”
He grinned, a thoroughly naughty expression. “Blood flowing elsewhere than your brain, pet?”
She tried to scowl, though it came out looking more like a pout. “’S your fault. What am I…?” She gestured to the new position.
“Anything you like, baby, that’s the point…you’re in control.”
She blushed. “Oh.”
Logically knowing what you read in a book, and applying it, were two different things. Luckily, she had a patient teacher.
He gripped her hips and lifted her a fraction off his erection, then let her slide down again. Her eyes widened as he stroked her internally at this new angle. Up, down; up, down; and every time was hitting this new place…
“Oh, god…”
She caught on and moved on her own.
***
His hands coasted up her sides to mold around her breasts now that she didn’t need his help. He couldn’t resist leaning up to taste them again.
Perfect…
But the girl was fast racing to ride him at a gallop, so he slowed the pace, sitting up to wrap his arms around her and rock them to a slow boil.
She opened her eyes, coming back to where she was, and her brow furrowed with the unspoken question. He just tilted his head and captured her lips, kissing all thought away.
***
She came to on her side, just in time to feel Julian enter her from behind.
“OH, my god…Julian…”
He placed a tender kiss on her neck. “Love how you say my name like that,” he said with a measure of pride. “You like this.”
Catherine whimpered as he pushed in again. “How’d…we get…?”
He’d always liked this position. There wasn’t a part of her he couldn’t touch.
“You passed out for a minute. Personal best for me.”
“Smug bastard.”
Julian laughed and pinched her nipple. “My parents were married, thank you.”
“You keep this up; I’m not going to be able to walk.”
“Not seeing the problem, love.”
***
Catherine had always guessed that sex with Julian would be…well, more reflective of his vampiric status.
Instead, the longer they were joined, the more tender and affectionate he was. If there’d been any real feelings between them, she would have called it making love. Four hours after she’d last looked at the clock, they were finally sated and exhausted.
She was curled up against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder and her leg tossed over his thigh, the bed covers pulled up and tucked under her arm. With dawn approaching, he was drifting off to sleep, his unnecessary breaths becoming fewer and farther in between.
She allowed herself a couple hours to nap.
***
Sandman’s Dust was listed in a book on Cures and Treatments for Common Ailments. The day Catherine went shopping with Alana, she’d had the great fortune to slip into a magic shop unnoticed while Alana harassed some clerk for Ferragamo shoes. The vial was in plain sight on the shelf, and the storeowner had no other c
ustomers at the time.
“Trouble sleeping, dear?”
“Uh, no, it’s actually…does this work on anyone? Really?”
“I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer.”
“What about someone who isn’t…exactly…human?” Catherine asked.
“Ahhh…Well, you might have to up the dosage, but as long as the subject sleeps in the first place, Sandman’s Dust never fails. Guaranteed deep sleep for several hours.”
She paid for the vial and stuck it in her purse, quickly hurrying back to the half-demon. The powder could be applied to the tongue directly, or diluted in any liquid, where it would be undetectable. She wasn’t sure what compelled her to choose that particular item, but it seemed to be an easy option of escape.
Now, with the sun up outside and Julian sound asleep, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the closet for her bag. She found the small vial in one of the outer pockets and tiptoed back to the sleeping vampire. With his mouth dropping slightly open and his face fully relaxed, her goal was even easier to accomplish. She just had to do this carefully.
Mixed with water in a glass from the bar, she trickled the medicine in his mouth and whispered the activation word: “Dormio.”
Julian sighed a puff of white smoke, signaling the spell was in place.
Free to do what she wished, she took a hot shower, ate the leftover cake, and dressed in clothes she’d packed. She found the jewelry box in his coat pocket and put the pearls away. Whatever she was now, she wasn’t a thief. Wincing as she hoisted the bag on her shoulder, she paused to look at him.
She wished she still had her camera, but Lorcan’s crew stole anything of value when they cleaned her stuff out of the dorm.
The blond vampire really was quite beautiful. The sheet rest low on his hips, giving her a full view of his chiseled torso. She set the satchel on a chair and stepped nearer, unable to resist touching him one last time. His handsome face looked younger in slumber, a slight smile gracing his lips. She caressed the wild curls on his head and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.
She left a note on the pillow next to him and left.
As the cab she rode in stopped in front of the American Embassy, she hoped he wouldn’t be too angry when he awoke and discovered her gone.
Chapter 13
Nov. 1st…
“May I help the next person?”
Catherine stepped up to the counter. “Hi, I need to get a new copy of my passport. Mine was stolen.”
“Identification, please?”
She pushed a few items under the glass separating them. “I had my old passport in my suitcase, from when I was a kid? And here’s my driver’s license and Social Security card.”
The woman looked at the pictures, then held them up next to the brunette’s face. “Fill out these forms, then go to that desk over there.”
Catherine took her personal items back and found a chair she could use. With any luck, she’d be on a plane back to the States by the end of the day.
***
Julian awakened slowly, his consciousness pushing through the groggy haze of sleep. He rubbed his eyes, then looked at the clock.
7:00?
Extending his senses, he could feel that it was night again. Had he really slept all day? His stomach growled with hunger.
“Catherine?”
No answer to his call. The suite was silent.
He spotted the folded piece of paper next to him.
Julian,
Thanks for making an ordinary girl feel like a princess for a night. I won’t forget it.
Catherine
“Bloody hell…”
Twelve hours. She could be anywhere by now.
Getting complacent in your old age, mate, when a slip of a girl outwits you.
She’d used the best weapon a woman had in her arsenal and he’d trusted her completely, the furthest thought in his mind when he fell asleep that she would run off post-coital.
It’d been amazing sex. He was tempted not to bathe before leaving, just to keep the scent of her fresh in memory. Not that he’d forget one second of her taste or the way she moved. The sounds, the sight…the feel of how she touched him. They’d made exquisite poetry. Just picturing it had him rock hard all over again.
Shaking off his poetic thoughts, he stood and headed for the shower.
***
Catherine got herself a flight to New York from Heathrow and sat down in an airport restaurant to have an early dinner. The soreness from their activities was catching up with her, and she had no doubt she’d sleep on the plane. She’d be in the air by sunset.
She would have to watch her back for a while, as Lorcan was bound to find out soon about her escape, but hopefully…eventually…he’d get bored, and she could live in peace. The past month felt like years had gone by. It seemed another lifetime ago that she’d been a mousy college freshman going about her classes and little life.
She wasn’t innocent anymore, or at least, no longer naïve. Knowledge and experience aged you, even when it came quickly.
From NYC, she had options. There was California, and the university. She had cousins in Pennsylvania. A great-uncle in Oklahoma.
America was a very large haystack to hide in.
***
Coming out of the bathroom, Julian noticed the girl had cleaned up while he was asleep, hanging up the clothes he’d tossed the night before. His tie was missing, though.
Just had to have a souvenir, huh, love?
Well, he had his own in the form of the panties still stuffed in his pants pocket. He left the collar of his shirt unbuttoned and slipped into his leather duster.
Her dress and cloak were hanging in the closet. He thought about leaving them there, but Alana would probably flay him alive…or undead. Whatever.
The situation was a bit of a pisser, in that he’d have to deal with Lorcan sooner or later, but he couldn’t find it in him to be mad at Catherine. He admired how she managed to pull off the getaway. They had no attachments to each other, and she had made him promise not to turn her over to his grandsire. Anything he might suffer now was his own fault.
At least there were memories…
***
Catherine went straight to the nearest hotel from the airport. Her body thought it was late still, so she was going to sleep. Figuring out where to go next could come in the morning.
***
Alana met Julian at the door, grinning triumphantly. “Hi, boss.”
He rolled his eyes and continued upstairs towards his room. She followed like an eager puppy.
“Where’s Catherine?” she asked.
“No clue.”
“You lost her?”
“I didn’t lose her, like something that fell out of my pocket. She left.”
“She left. Just like that?”
He nodded. “Scampered off while I was asleep.”
“Aren’t you going to look for her?” she pressed.
“Nope.”
“Why the hell not?”
Julian stopped on the riser and turned to face her. “Because I promised I wouldn’t give her to Lorcan, alright?”
He continued trudging up the stairs.
“Oh my god, you did it. You really did it. You fell for a human!”
“Shhh! Keep your bloody voice down! I didn’t ‘fall’ for anyone.”
“Then why’d you let her go, hmm?”
“Goodnight, Alana.” He slammed the door to his bedroom in her face.
Bloody hell…
***
Julian waited a week before telling Lorcan the girl disappeared. He hung up on him in mid-rant about retribution, blah, blah, blah, and started packing a bag.
He reasoned he was just going to find the girl to warn her and make sure she was alright.
The friendly thing to do.
Six months later…
Demons kept a low profile nowadays, since some idiot had done a spell and flooded the world with demon hunters that could sense
them. Anything wanting to keep its head kept an ear to the ground and hightailed it out of town the second another bunch of the hyper demon killers stepped foot within city limits.
Julian was better off than most, having the funds to move around quickly and easily, as well as pay for information.
He’d been following Catherine’s crumbs for months while keeping track of Lorcan at the same time, never staying more than a few days in any one place. Alana was happy to take over the reins of the business. She’d already been handling most of the daily operations, anyway.
Moving about like this again, Julian realized he was lonely. Before, his concentration had been focused on Celia for one reason or another, and he’d only been alone when they had a fight and she ran off. Those bouts never lasted more than a few weeks, though, before she was using their bond to call for him, needing him to care for her and cater to her whims. Celia had fascinated and enchanted him, but she’d never been a great conversationalist.
Now, truly alone, Julian realized he liked company and intelligent company even more so.
He missed Catherine.
***
November, one year later…
Catherine walked through the parking lot of the university at night. She’d made it to her second year and was looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Humming the latest pop hit, she neared her car, seemingly unaware of the man following her with silent footsteps.
Lorcan darted from car to car behind his prey, his diabolical mind coming up with all kinds of tortures he could subject her to as punishment for running off. It’d taken paying too much for a highly recommended seer to find the girl, but seeing her like this, blissfully ignorant of his presence, he had to smile. It was all worth it.
He crept up on her until he was about to throw his arms around her and grab her, only to have her spin around in front of him.
Catherine plunged a stake through his heart, the stunned look on Lorcan’s face a pleasure in its own right.
“Please. Did you really think I didn’t know you were there?”
He disintegrated into a little pile of dust at her feet. She took a plastic bottle and spoon out of her backpack and scooped the ashes into the container.
