by Emily Bex
“No, let’s not let this spoil our night. We have so little time together. I'm always ready for a dance.”
Picking her up in his arms, straight off her feet, he kissed her and spun her around in the middle of the mall. He heard gasps as the onlookers walked past them and he truly couldn’t care less. “Just never stop loving me, mi amore. Never.”
“That would be impossible, lover, totally, completely impossible.”
Luca walked back toward Shannon and watched as Shade led Kate away, and he felt even more confused. As he took Shannon's hand, she looked at his face with concern.
She asked, "Is everything okay?"
He nodded. “Yeah, sure. Let's walk.”
He led her down the mall. He watched Shade with Kate, walking ahead and saw him stop to listen to her speak. The next thing he knew, Shade had lifted her up and was spinning her around in circles, her red hair flying out behind her. Her laughter could be heard above the noise of the crowd. Luca smiled to himself. Whatever bug he had up his ass, Luca could count on Kate to get through to him.
They had stopped in front of another shop window and it didn’t take long before he and Shannon had caught up with them. It was a small art gallery. As they stepped up next to them, Kate turned to Luca and grabbed his arm and said, "Come on, we're going in!" She said it like they were getting ready to storm the beaches of Normandy, and he had to laugh out loud. The four of them made a noisy entrance into the quiet and subdued atmosphere of the gallery. Kate and Shannon were both trying to stifle their giggles. Here was what Luca was observing about mortals, they laughed, a lot. They didn’t seem to take life so seriously. They lived more in the moment, maybe because they didn’t have an eternity. Whatever it was, it was contagious, and it felt good.
Kate was running from canvas to canvas. “Wow! What a cool gallery. Look at this painting. Luca, look at this. Oh my god, come look at this one...”
Luca watched as Kate ran from one painting to another, pointing things out, barely stopping before she rushed off to another one. He looked at Shannon. “Was she always like this?”
“Oh my god, are you kidding? Always! Get her in a big art museum sometime. Let her drag you through the Metropolitan in New York, or the Louvre in Paris.”
Shannon watched as that big hunk of man she was engaged to, just smiled at Kate and shook his head. Shannon moved a little closer to Shade and caught his attention as he turned those piercing blue eyes on her. “I'm really glad she has found someone who finally 'gets her', someone who really appreciates who she is. She waited a long time for you, mister. I always thought Kate was too trusting. She was quick to give her heart, and she paid a big price for that. Men took advantage of her. She had a vision of you, you know? I don't mean like an actual vision floating before her eyes, but she had this idea. This ideal man, I told her didn't exist and she needed to get over it. She didn't listen to me, thankfully, because well, here you are. Exactly what she wanted and waited for. I really can't remember when I have ever seen her this happy.”
He held her gaze for a few seconds and then responded in a deep, quiet voice, “Grazie, dolce amica, for telling me that.”
But the next sound they all heard was Kate screaming out, “Luca! Come look at this one,” at the top of her lungs and they all burst out laughing.
Kate heard them laughing, as the three of them found her in an alcove in the gallery and stopped to admire the painting she had singled out. “You know, Luca, this stuff is good, but they don't compare to the stuff you create. You really need to display your art here. Seriously! I mean it.”
Shade nodded his head, “Si, you should listen to her. You have great talent.”
Luca shook his head. “No. I just paint for myself. It’s personal to me. It only means something to me, or for the person I paint it for. It feels too private to share.”
Kate mocked him, shoved into him with her shoulder. “Wow! Spoken like a true tortured artist. But I'm going to keep bugging you about it.”
Shannon spoke up, “I hope you’ll share it with me? Is it too personal to share it with me?”
He gave her a smoldering look. “For you, mia bellezza? No, it’s not too personal for you. I’ll be happy to show you my art.”
Kate teased him, “Oh god, seriously? That was the classic 'Let me show you my etchings line’, you've got to do better than that, Luca.”
Shannon and Kate started laughing, and Shade and Luca just looked at each other. Shade shrugged his shoulders and gave Luca a look that said, 'don't look at me, brother’. They finished walking through the gallery and headed back outside on the mall where the band was still playing, and the crowd was getting larger. Kate felt Shade step in close behind her and slide his arms around her as they rocked and swayed to the beat of the music.
Luca slid his hand into Shannon’s, as they exited the gallery and walked out into the crowd, pushing their way through the people, getting separated from Shade and Kate. The music filled the night. It was early spring and there was still a chill in the air. He slid his leather jacket off and put it on Shannon, she was clearly getting cold. It was too big for her, but he loved how she looked in it. He stood close behind her, his arms around her, and he felt her lean back, resting her head on his chest. The band started to sing the song from Boys II Men, I’ll Make Love to You, and Shannon turned in his arms until she was facing him, her arms around his neck, her eyes boring into his, as they moved to the music.
Shannon kissed him lightly and pulled back again to look at him, as they both listened to the lyrics. They came together in a kiss that left no doubt what was on their minds. His mouth was open to hers, his tongue slowly probed as they swayed to the music.
He tasted like sex, he smelled like sex, and she could feel his cock pressing hard against her, as their hips moved in the slow sway of the beat. The heat from him was burning through her skin. She slid her hand into his hair and gripped him tightly, pulling his head harder into her lips. She felt his hands on her back as they slipped under the jacket and he pulled her tight against his chest. She felt her knees buckle and she moaned into his mouth. He broke away from the kiss and dropped his head back, eyes closed, and taking deep breaths. Shannon watched him fight for control. And she got it, she so got it. Her head was spinning, and she felt out of her mind with her desire for him. She was no stranger to men, but Holy Mother of God, this man! He dropped his hands from her back and stepped back from her. She looked at him confused. “Did I do something wrong?”
Luca had been pulled into the kiss, unlike any kiss he had ever felt in his lifetime. He realized the difference with the feeders. They perform, but there was no emotion. There was desire, but not passion. What he was feeling was passion and it overwhelmed him. It took every fiber of his being to control his beast. He had to break the kiss and back away, when backing away was the last thing he wanted to do. Shade was right, the beast was in control. He had never had to fight him back like this. She looked at him in confusion and asked her question. “Nothing, mia bellezza, you did nothing wrong, I just need... a minute.”
She watched him trying to compose himself, still breathless, and listened to his answer. She had been with enough men to know the look of lust in their eyes, and she smiled at him. “Yeah, I think we could both use a minute, or we'll get arrested soon.”
Luca bent over slightly, his hands resting on his knees and took some deep breaths, clearing his head, letting the beast retreat. He looked back up at her. “Sorry... I... you...”
“Oh baby, no apology necessary. Trust me, I felt it and if you hadn't been holding me up, I would have dropped to my knees.”
Shade had said mortal women were dangerous, and it never made sense to him, until now. It seemed danger came in a very attractive package, and Luca was so going there.
47
As the music started to slow down, Shade took bel into his arms. He let his one hand tangle in her hair, while his other caressed her hip. She laid her head on his chest and his hand wandered to the curve
of her ass, and he squeezed it firmly. “Having a good time, mi amore?”
“Lover, you have no idea how much I have missed this. Missed us.”
Shade slid his hand up her back, and gripped her hair with both hands with ease as he pulled her head back from his chest. He leaned down to her, just a breath away from her mouth. “I have missed you, my minx.”
Kissing her deeply, he ground his hips into her and swayed back and forth. The area set aside for dancing was crowded with many couples, so there wasn’t much room to move, but he liked this slow, close dance. “I do believe Luca is having a good time as well, si?”
“What could be better than slow dancing under the stars? I like being crushed in the crowd. It forces you to hold me tight. And Luca? I think Luca and Shannon are both over the moon right now. So, what are your thoughts? I know you have concerns.”
With a wicked grin, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her to his face as her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms went around his neck. He cradled her ass in his hands and kept dancing. “Ah, much better, si? I can see you and hear you now.”
Letting the smile leave his face, he took a long sigh. “I know I have to make a decision about Luca and Shannon. I have concerns, mi amore. But, in all reality, I have to have faith that all the things I’ve taught Luca will be remembered and put to use. I have to trust him in the mortal world. I’ve held onto him for my own selfish reasons, not letting him live among mortals, and I have to let go and let him experience first-hand the lessons I’ve taught him. She is beautiful, mi amore, aggressive, humorous and very intelligent. I see her as a good match for him. They complete each other. I am his master, not the ruler of his life and I need to learn to step back. I give my approval.”
She looked into his eyes as he spoke. She knew this was a hard decision that had been heavy on his mind, but she was happy with the conclusion he’d come to. “Lover, I know there’s still much I struggle to understand about your world, but I feel in my heart, this is the right path.”
She kissed him, a deep kiss that drew the stares of the people dancing around them and she heard someone shout out 'get a room' and she chuckled into his mouth before she could break the kiss.
Shade looked over to see Luca and Shannon in an embrace as well and he could feel Luca’s beast beating on his door, but it was time to trust him to be able to control the beast among mortals.
“Look to the left, mi amore. Luca's beast is rattling him hard, and I know he won’t hurt her, but leaving them alone together without her knowledge of what or who he is, is dangerous. I want you to invite her to stay at the house tonight when we return, but you need to speak with her about our world. If she chooses to leave, then it will be better for Luca now than later. He is falling fast. I don’t want her to be scared of him if she sees anything. He is hanging by a thread.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t want Shannon driving back that distance this late at night anyway, and I’ll talk to her, somehow. I know Rissa told me, and I didn't believe her. But this is different. I’ll make her understand.”
Pulling her head to his shoulder, Shade kept his hand on the back of her head, wrapped in that crimson silk and leaned his head on top of hers.
“She needs to understand, mi amore, I can’t bear to have him hurt. I know he needs to learn that, but he doesn’t deserve to be deceived. He is like family. I have been responsible for him for so long, and I’m not ready to expose him to the pain of being rejected. Make sure her intentions are pure as well.”
“I’ll tell Shannon everything. I’ll make her understand. And you might have noticed, she’s not as easily intimidated as I was.” Kate laughed. “Shannon was always the bold one. She won't be scared off easily.”
The music stopped, and the announcement was made that the band was done for the night, and Shade looked up at the moon. It was almost midnight and he sighed. Damn, he thought, this night was way too short.
“Then let’s hope she is game, mi amore, because we will have one sore assed vampire warrior on our hands, if she heads for the hills and never returns. We need to head on home ourselves, so let’s make our way to them and get back home, si?”
Kissing her nose, he smiled and set her feet down on the bricks.
She slid her arms around his waist as they pushed through the crowd toward Luca and Shannon.
Coming up on Shannon and Luca, they found them smiling at each other and his hands remained on her hips, almost in defiance of Shade’s warning and he just shook his head and grinned. “I think we should get these two beauties back home safe and sound, si, brother?”
“Of course, mas... uh, Shade. We're ready when you are. Lead the way.”
Kate tugged at his hand. “There’s one more thing before we go.” She dragged him over to the First Amendment wall on the mall, a freestanding double-sided chalkboard in the center of the mall space. She found a piece of chalk and wrote ‘Shade loves Bel Rosso.’ Shade looked at her entry among the many chalk drawings and inscriptions on the wall. “Si, indeed he does, bel.”
As she was finishing her entry, Luca picked up another piece of chalk and wrote, ‘Luca loves Shannon.’ He put the chalk down, brushing his hands together to remove the chalk dust, as he turned and looked at Shannon. He caught her eye and held her gaze, waiting for her response when he was rewarded with a smile as she extended her hand to him.
Grabbing Kate by the hand, Shade swung it back and forth, high in the air as they walked back toward the parking lot. “You ready to roll, momma?”
“Take me home, daddy!”
Kate was laughing out loud as he called her momma, like she was some biker chick. She could hear Luca and Shannon laughing and running behind them.
Shade strapped on her helmet, kissed her quick and lifted her like a feather over the back of the bike onto the seat and turned to Shannon and winked. “That’s how you put your woman on a bike!”
Shannon watched the interplay between Shade and Kate, catching the sly wink. Luca was already seated on their bike. Shannon straddled the seat, slid up as close to Luca as she could, slowly letting her hands glide around his waist and down his thighs before shouting back, “And this is how a woman rides with her man.”
Shade raised his eyebrows at her and laughed like hell. He knew he had made the right decision. “Well then, you better hang on, dolce amica, that boy has a lot of power between those thighs!” Winking at Luca, he straddled the bike, and revved the engine. “Luca!” Luca looked up in quick response to Shade’s call, and Shade saw Shannon snap her head to him as well. “The answer is yes!”
Luca heard his master’s response. Yes. Good thing, master. Not sure I would be able to turn back at this point.
Patting bel’s thigh, Shade yelled over the bikes’ motor, “Let’s roll!”
Kicking the bike in gear, they rolled out slow and easy, as Shade felt her hands gripping his waist, balancing the bike with one hand, he reached down and entwined his leather gloved hand in hers.
Kate loved being on the bike with him, feeling the wind blowing through her hair, her arms wrapped around him, her legs straddling him. She turned her head to the side and laid it against his back. He picked up speed as they left the town and got back on the highway, and the air felt cold as it whipped past them. She squeezed her arms tight around his waist then dropped them to his thighs. ”I'll show you how a woman rides with her man, lover.” She slid her hands up his thighs and into his crotch, cupping his balls in her hands before she slid them up his cock.
”Cazzo, you trying to kill us, mi amore? Don’t stop!” Revving the bike, he kicked it up another gear and hit about eighty on the open road, and moaned as she kept stroking.
She felt his cock harden beneath her hands, and unzipped his jeans, sliding her hand inside the stiff denim, freeing his cock, as she stroked the full length of him.
Her actions caught him off guard. His sweet bel was breaking out his bad ass beast, while they were rocking it hard down the highway. He revved it harder and th
ey were now hitting a hundred, he was concentrating on keeping the bike steady and in one fucking lane. ”Woman! Killing me here.” He slid forward on the seat, leaning back just enough to give his cock the room she needed.
Kate leaned into his back, feeling the tension in his muscles as she stroked his member, and he increased the speed of the bike. She used both hands, gripping his dick, and sliding her fingers up his engorged shaft, rolling the palm of her hand over the head of his cock, and wishing she had him in her mouth. She slid one hand under the crotch of his jeans, and lightly squeezed his balls, and let the vibrations of the engine tease them both. “I want to straddle you like this bike, lover. Can I make you cum?”
Moaning, he could barely concentrate on keeping this bike on the road, let alone trying to get home. He wanted to stop and bend her over this bike and fuck her right here, make them both cum so hard they’d start a fire, but he couldn’t. Luca and Shannon weren’t that far behind them. He slowed down to a controllable speed, feeling her stroke faster and harder and he thought he was going to lose his damn mind. ”Yes, mi amore, cazzo!”
He held the bike steady and climaxed in her hand, his moan was loud and the roar unmistakably his. She was in for it when they got home. He was going to ravish her ass hard and sweet. Feeling his body relax after that awesome orgasm, he still couldn’t believe she had done that while he was ripping it down the highway. ”You are going to be punished later tonight, my minx, don’t even think you are getting away with this. Now, get my fucking cock back in my jeans, we are less than a damn mile from the house.”
She slid his cock back inside his jeans and watched as he squirmed to adjust himself. She laughed and licked her fingers, making sure he knew what she was doing. She heard his ‘threat’ of punishment and kissed him on the neck, running her tongue along that sweet vein. ”Punishment... my favorite... I can't wait.”
