Lauren stared up at him as his fingers went to his shirt and he started to unbutton it. She couldn’t wait to see him. He’d seen her basically naked, but so far he’d managed to remain fully dressed. Not anymore.
One by one, in a tantalising strip tease, he undid the buttons, revealing a smooth chest, defined pecs, and then down lower to where his eight-pack abs rippled, interrupted only by the dip of his navel. Though his chest was smooth, a faint line of blond hair ran from his bellybutton, down lower, vanishing beneath the waistband of his trousers.
Her heart tripped, the air in her lungs growing tight with anticipation. Was this really happening to her? Was she really about to be taken by a vampire? Would he try to bite her? She didn’t know how she felt about that. A part of her experienced a thrill at the thought. The idea of both his cock and teeth penetrating her, of him coming inside her, while he sucked her blood into his mouth and swallowed, felt right on some level. It would be as though they were creating a circle between them, a loop where he gave a part of himself to her, and she gave a part of herself to him. Was that how this was supposed to work?
Her lips grew slack with desire as his hands went to the button of his trousers and he popped it open. Using his feet, he toed off his shoes, and then the trousers slid from his narrow hips. He wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Lauren’s eyes widened at the sight of him. Big and perfect, the skin paler than men she’d experienced before, just as the rest of his pallor was. His cock head was a beautiful dome tipping the girth of his length, leading down to a thatch of blond hair. Now naked, he stood before her. With his cock in hand, he gazed down at her. His hand moved up and down his shaft, masturbating slowly and with no shyness or awkwardness at all. The man was all sex, and he seemed to know it.
“Take off that shirt,” he said, jerking his chin towards her.
She didn’t dare do anything but obey. Her fingers trembled in anticipation as she quickly undid the buttons and let the shirt drop from her shoulders onto the bed beneath her. He’d already rid her of her bra on the balcony, so now all she wore were the underwear the wolves had given her.
Nikolai nodded to the slip of black lace. “Those, too.”
Light-headed with excitement, she rolled the underwear down her thighs and kicked them to the floor. She was naked now, and so was he. Her nipples crinkled into buds, and she sucked in her stomach, wanting him to think she was sexy. Wanting him to desire her. Though from the dark look in his eyes, and the size of his erection, there was no problem there.
“Spread your legs,” he growled.
Lauren hesitated. She’d never been with someone like him before—and not just that he was a vampire. Most men were a quick fumble and a mindless fuck, but not with Nikolai. She felt as though he was trying to make every moment of this last, as though it was not only their first time together, but also their last, and he wanted to experience every erotic moment to its fullest.
“I want to see you touch yourself.”
He was doing it, and yeah, it was sexy as fuck watching his big hand smooth up and down his dick. If he could do that for her, then she could do this for him.
Lauren spread her legs, exposing herself to him. Then she reached between her thighs and slid her finger down between her folds. The effect was instant, pleasure flooding her body, and she squirmed on the bed, her eyes slipping shut. But then she remembered she wanted to see him, wanted to watch him watching her, so she snapped her eyes open again. His gaze was glued between her thighs, his lower lip slack. His hand continued to work his cock, his erection growing even longer and thicker. Her core pulsed with desire at the thought of him pushing into her, impaling herself on that big, thick dick. Would he feel cool inside her? His coolness against her heat?
The thought, combined with her fingers working her pussy, made her moan, and the sound caused Nikolai to take a small inhale of breath. That tiny reaction was all she needed to let her know that what she was doing was working.
Lauren spread her thighs even further, wanting him to be able to see right into her. With her other hand, she reached down and parted her pussy lips, making her clit pop forward. Then she slid her other hand down further and pushed her finger inside herself, first one, and then adding another. She was still swollen from where he’d fingered her on the balcony, still sensitive, and she knew it wouldn’t take much for her to come.
“Ah, fuck, baby,” Nikolai growled and suddenly dropped to his knees beside the bed. He caught hold of her thighs, dragging her towards him. Then his mouth was on the inside of her thigh, kissing and nibbling his way up. His fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her hand away, her fingers slipping out of her sopping slit. He brought those same fingers to his mouth and licked off her cream, before sucking her digits fully into his mouth. His tongue worked over his fingers, licking every drop of her from him.
He released her, and, with his vampire’s speed, darted forward. His mouth closed over her pussy, his tongue pushing inside her. Lauren gasped, her back arching from the bed.
“Oh, God, that feels incredible.”
He licked her fast, faster than a human man ever could. Her head spun, her body under control of this vampire and his wicked mouth. Her hands grabbed his shoulders, her hips lifting off the bed as his mouth worked her pussy.
Dear God, this is insane.
Her orgasm built, higher and higher, until she was sure she’d lose control.
Suddenly, the same energy she’d felt before began to crawl across her skin. It was like tiny pinpricks, all the hairs on her arms standing on end, the tips of her fingers feeling like they were fizzing. But she couldn’t do anything to stop it, and she wasn’t going to tell Nikolai to stop either.
She’d gone too far down the rabbit’s hole already.
Chapter 11
Nikolai looked up from his position between Lauren’s glorious thighs, watching her back arch as she cried out, and bucked and squirmed on the bed as she came. But watching her come wasn’t the only thing capturing his attention. Her arms and hands had taken on the same luminescence as he’d seen before.
His cock throbbed between his thighs, his balls hot and heavy. He needed to bury himself in her sweet pussy and release all his desire inside her. The light looked beautiful on her, making her into some kind of ethereal creature. She didn’t seem to be in pain, or frightened, and he had to admit, he wondered what was going to happen when she came with him buried balls-deep inside her.
He lifted his face from her pussy and wiped his forearm across his mouth. Her eyes were shut, and she was breathing hard, her tits lifting and falling with every breath. Though he wanted nothing more than to be inside her, he leaned over her beautiful body and wrapped his tongue around one nipple, laving it into a peak, and then moved on to the next. Her heartbeat began to slow, and the strange light died from her fingers.
She was wet, so wet, both from his saliva and her own cream. Nikolai crawled over her body and settled himself between her thighs. Her eyes opened, and he found himself staring into their dark depths. She looked a little spaced out, as though she didn’t quite understand what had happened, and so he kissed her, gently at first, but then more forcefully, building her up for him again.
Lauren didn’t push him away. Instead, her legs wrapped around his hips, her heels digging into his ass, as she lifted her hips up to meet him.
Nikolai let out a groan as he pushed his cock inside her, sliding deep with the first stroke. She felt burning hot against his cool skin, the contrast only serving to overwhelm his mind with sensation. He pulled out again and thrust, his movements slow but forceful, loving how her pussy held him tight as he slid in and out of her folds.
One hand tangled in her hair, the other on her hip. He kissed her deeply, and then moved his kisses from her mouth, across her jaw, and down her throat. Beneath her skin, he felt the pulse of her blood, a fast, trippy beat that called to him. So badly, he wanted to taste her, wanted to sink his fangs into her throat as he pounded into her. Ju
st the thought caused his fangs to descend, but, with more self-control than he’d ever exerted in his entire existence, he held himself back. The time would come for that, but he needed to take things slowly if he didn’t want to scare her off. Fucking and feeding from her within hours of them first meeting would be too much.
Their movements became faster, building into a frenzy. His hips pistoned, and she matched his every stroke. Ragged breaths and moans of pleasure filled the room. The heady scent of sweat and sex. Her skin was like heaven beneath his tongue, her pussy the epitome of pleasure. Never before had he experienced what it was like to truly connect with someone, to share a pleasure that meant more than just the physical.
As he felt her orgasm rising higher, he knotted his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back, so her chin lifted and they were face to face. Their eyes met, and he saw the same wonder in hers as he felt himself.
Nikolai came hard, hot jets streaming inside her. It didn’t matter—it wasn’t as though he could carry or catch anything, and a vampire couldn’t get a human woman pregnant. She screamed his name, and he silenced her with his mouth over hers.
They slowly came down, their chests heaving as they collapsed together on the bed.
She looked down and lifted her hands to her face. A golden light danced between her fingers, like tiny lightning bolts shooting from finger to finger. Her eyes widened at the sight.
“What is this, Nikolai?”
He gazed at the spectacle in wonder. “I have no idea. I wish I knew.”
Nikolai lifted his hand and reached out to her. When he touched his fingers to hers, the light arced over to the tips, and then vanished.
“Does it hurt to touch it?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “No, does it hurt you?”
She frowned slightly, her teeth digging into her lower lip, which still looked swollen from their kissing. “No, not hurt, but I can feel it. It’s like pins and needles in the tips of my fingers.”
The longer they waited, the more the light began to fade away again.
“You think this has something to do with me being part fae, like the werewolves said?”
He nodded. “Yes, I think so. As long as it doesn’t hurt you, I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about.”
There was something they did need to worry about, however. He could feel the approaching dawn creeping in on them. He could watch over her during the night, could protect her, but in the day, he needed to sleep. If only he were an ancient vampire who could walk during the light, but he wasn’t. He was still relatively young, and he had no choice but to sleep during the day.
He twisted to look into her face.
“Listen to me, Lauren. The people from The Directive who are coming to help us won’t be here until tonight. But I have to sleep in the day. I have no choice in that matter.”
Lauren nodded. “That’s okay. I’m exhausted, too. I could sleep like the dead.” She gave a wry smile. “Or the undead.”
“What I’m trying to say is I won’t be awake until nightfall. I don’t want to try to tell you what to do, but there’s a vampire, and most likely a bunch of werewolves who are out there, dying to get their hands on you, and if I’m asleep, I won’t be able to protect you.”
She regarded him. “You’re telling me not to leave this place.”
“Yes. Even if someone rings the buzzer and gives you an excuse to let them up, you mustn’t allow it. The wolves have the ability to walk in daylight, which I don’t, and they could easily snatch you again.”
“What about this?” she asked, lifting up her arm and wiggling her fingers so that tendrils of light danced between them. “What am I supposed to do about this?”
It had faded since her orgasm, but there was no denying it was there.
He pressed his lips together. “Nothing, for the moment. I’m hoping whoever they send from The Directive will know what it is, but I assume it has something to do with your fae blood.”
“It’s never happened before,” she said. “Not even when I’ve ...” She trailed off as though she didn’t want to say the words, as though admitting she’d had sex before them meeting was tantamount to cheating. He had to admit, the thought of her with someone else was like a fist wringing out his heart, but he had a past as well. There was no point trying to act as though neither of them existed before they met.
“It must be something to do with us meeting,” he said. “Perhaps it’s awakened something inside you that you’ve always kept buried before.”
She frowned slightly, but nodded. “You mean how I can sometimes hear your thoughts, too.”
“Yes. It must all be connected. We’ll find out more when The Directive arrives. They’ve been around far longer than me.”
She traced a finger down his chest. “How old are you, Nikolai?”
“Me?” He gave a chuckle. “I’m still a baby in vampire years. I was twenty-eight when I was turned, and I’ve been a vampire for a little over fifty years now.”
She pulled a face. “So I’m sleeping with an eighty-year-old?”
He laughed. “But a very fit eighty-year-old.”
Lauren returned his laugh. “Okay, I’ll give you that much.”
They snuggled down into his bed together, her with her face pressed against his naked chest. It felt so good to finally have her in his arms, to hold her. His soul felt more at ease than ever, not only since The Thirst had struck, but since he’d turned.
“What were you like as a man?” she asked. “What did you do for a living? The same as you do now?”
He shook his head. “No, not at all. It isn’t a very good story, I’m afraid.”
She lifted her head, her dark eyes alive with interest. “No? I want to hear it anyway.”
“My family was into organised crime. I’m afraid I come from a long line of criminals. I was killed by a rival family. They thought I was becoming ... how do you say it?” He sought his memory for the expression. “Too big for my boots.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “So they tried to kill you?”
“They succeeded, too. If it hadn’t been for Ivan coming across me as I lay dying, I wouldn’t be here today.”
“Wow.” She looked at him curiously. “Do you think you’d ever go back to Russia?”
He shook his head. “No. There’s nothing there for me now. I wouldn’t want what remains of my family to have to deal with me reappearing as a vampire. It’s better that they don’t know.”
“I think they’d rather know you were a vampire than think you’re dead.”
He shrugged. “Things were different back then, especially in Russia. Humans were less accepting of what we were. I would never have wanted to cause them any trouble.”
“But what happened to the man who tried to kill you? Isn’t he still out there? Weren’t you worried he might try to harm the rest of your family if you were out of the way?”
“Before I left Russia, I took care of him. No one there was going to hurt my family.” His arm twisted around her waist, pulling her flush against him. “And you’re my family now, Lauren, and no one is ever going to hurt you.”
Chapter 12
After not having had any sleep the previous two nights, Lauren slept the whole of the day away.
She woke just before the sun set, still entangled in Nikolai’s arms.
She glanced over at Nikolai’s sleeping face. Watching a sleeping vampire was different to a human. Where a human’s face would be slack and relaxed, his looked exactly as though he were awake, but with his eyes closed. His breathing was so shallow that for a moment she couldn’t detect it, and her pulse started to gallop. He was all right, wasn’t he? Nothing had happened to him in his sleep?
Lauren knew there was no point in trying to wake him—not until the sun had set, anyway. It was strange, though, seeing him like this—like a statue of him had been carved and left in his place in the bed.
Not liking where her thoughts were going, Lauren slipped out of bed and
went to use the bathroom. She needed a hot shower, but before that, she needed food. And coffee or a nice cup of tea. She’d also have to make do with cold takeaway food for breakfast—or was it dinner now? She’d lost track of what meals she was supposed to have and when. She was going to need to get some proper food shopping done if she was going to be staying here. That seemed like a crazy, domesticated thing to be thinking when she had werewolves and other vampires after her, and a weird light that kept emanating from her hands, but she couldn’t stay here without a decent cup of tea. That was practically inhumane.
She checked her hands. There was no sign of the light now.
What did Nikolai have planned? He obviously wanted them to be together, and she wanted that, too, but would she just move in here? It wasn’t as though she’d be bringing him back to the hostel any time soon. But still it felt strange. Would she be like a lodger? The luxury of the penthouse wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before, and she struggled to imagine this place feeling like her own. Or maybe she’d read this whole thing wrong, and Nikolai would expect to take her home as soon as the threat from the vampire who’d bought her was over.
Problem was, she couldn’t imagine going back to her old life now. And what would she do about the whole glowing hands thing? Just ignore it and try to pretend she was normal?
Suddenly, arms wrapped around her waist, and she gave a shriek.
His accented voice came from behind her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
She twisted around in Nikolai’s arms and thumped him on the chest. It was like hitting a slab of marble. She noted how he was dressed again, in a shirt and pair of smart trousers similar to the ones he’d been wearing the previous night. She wondered if he ever slummed it out in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. “Well, you did. I’d say that’s kind of to be expected, considering what’s been going on the last few days.”
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