Caleb

by McCarty, Sarah

  “Then you’ll do it?”

  His cock was so hard, so heated with his need to mark her, it could have been all over for him right there. His conscience insisted he put one truth out in the open. “You’re asking to make love with a vampire.”

  “Your vampire powers are what make you the man for the job.”

  That and the fact that she clung to the hope that maybe he was a figment of her imagination. Son of a bitch, he’d never thought to be in such a position. Her hips tilted up, sliding her moist flesh against him in a blatant invitation.

  “When are you going to get a better offer? Guilt-free, no-strings sex with full permission to go wild?”

  Never. Because there’d never be another woman for him, and when this was over, when she couldn’t fool herself anymore that reality was a dream, when he couldn’t hold the illusion for her, there’d be hell to pay. But for right now, she was asking him for the one thing he knew he could give her. The one thing that would be all pleasure. He didn’t have it in him to say no. “It’d be my pleasure.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his thighs as if she, too, felt the nebulous uncertainty of the moment. “Then, please, hurry.”

  6

  TWO minutes later Caleb had a damn good idea why Allie hadn’t had the pleasure she’d sought in earlier relationships. “Hurry” seemed to be her defining word when it came to lovemaking. She chased every sensation like it was the last one coming, blocking any effort to increase it by her single-minded effort to capture it. The fourth time she tugged his mouth away from her nipple, he’d had enough. He grabbed her hands and placed them over her breasts. “Take over here for me for a minute.”

  Her hands sat where he’d placed them as if she couldn’t divine his meaning.

  “Squeeze those pretty nipples for me.”

  She gave a tentative twitch. He reached for the edge of the sheet, pulling it toward him until he could get a grip. “Did that make you feel good?”

  “You can see me?”

  “All vampires can see in the dark.”

  Shock, dismay, and then outrage chased across her face. “That’s so unfair.”

  “And here I was thinking how nicely it was working out.” He tore a strip off the sheet, the loud rip punctuating his statement.

  Allie jumped, her head turning toward the sudden sound. “What was that?”

  “The sheet tore.”

  “All by itself?”

  “They don’t make them like they used to.” He pressed his finger to her nipple, creating the smallest of indents in the plump center. Her eyes drifted half closed. The tiny nub puckered. “Didn’t I give you a job to do?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why aren’t you doing it?”

  “Sheer perversity.”

  As if his chuckle freed her inhibitions, her fingers tightened on the small peaks. Too hard, too fast, bringing nothing but discomfort. He sighed. For such an adventurous woman, she hadn’t taken much time learning what pleased her. He took first one hand then the other in his, flicking her nipples with his fingertip in apology. He kissed her palms. “Put your hands above your head.”

  She did it too easily, as if she didn’t connect his tearing up the sheet with anything happening now. He kissed her again for that innocence, and quickly tied the sheet around her wrists and then to the center post of the arched headboard.

  Passion turned to alarm two heartbeats too late to do her any good.

  He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips when she tentatively tugged at her bonds as if unable to fathom how they’d gotten there. “Allie girl, for a modern woman you are amazingly trusting.”

  She twisted on the bed, neck arching in a vain effort to see how he’d tied her.

  “I’m not into this, Caleb.”

  “You don’t know what you’re into.” Of that he was absolutely positive.

  “I am not into pain.”

  That pulled him up short. He paused, braced over her supine body, a good foot from the prize he sought. “What makes you think I’m going to hurt you?”

  She tugged at her wrists. “This whole BDSM thing.”

  He checked the sheet to make sure there was enough play in the material for what he intended. There was. “I’m just aiming to slow you down so that orgasm you want has a chance to catch up.”

  That explanation just made her look put out. “I don’t need to slow down.”

  “On that we differ, and since I can’t control your pain and your hands, we’re going this route.”

  Her head snapped around. “You said you weren’t going to hurt me.”

  “I’m not. I’m talking about the pain of conversion.”

  She yanked at her wrists some more, frowned, and then added body movement into the effort to get free. “Stop harping on that!”

  “Because you don’t believe or don’t want to be distracted?”

  “Both.” The mattress bounced with her efforts. “Untie me.”

  “Why?” He straddled her hips, catching himself as the mattress dipped. “I like you like this.”

  And he did. With her arms anchored above her head, her breasts were pressed up and out in a pink-tipped invitation that was enhanced by her twisting and turning that had them shimmying in a provocative display no red-blooded male could resist.

  Her head cocked to the side and that irrepressible curiosity shone in her eyes. “Seriously?”

  “Never been more serious about anything in my life.” He balanced the edge of her cheekbone along the length of his finger. His thumb came to rest against her softly parted lips. “You’re damn tempting stretched out for my pleasure.”

  “What about my pleasure?”

  “That’s not going to stop until you beg me.” Caleb traced the delicate bone down to her temple, drawing her lower lip away from her teeth, testing the resiliency on the moist inner flesh with a gentle press. “And maybe not even then.”

  Allie sucked in a deep breath. He could feel her brain working on that possibility. Her next breath wasn’t so deep, and when he leaned in, walking his hands up the mattress so he was propped over her, it fragmented to a gasp. Her lids lowered and speculation replaced protest. She curled her fingers over the strips of material and lifted her body in invitation as he braced his hands on either side of her head. “Talk is cheap, mister.”

  It was a little too obvious a ploy, a little too soon. “Don’t worry, baby, I know what I’m doing.”

  “The proof is in the pudding.”

  The curve of her shoulder drew his lips. “If I answer that, are you going to throw out another cliché?”

  “Maybe. I’ve got a million of them.”

  There was that sass he so admired. “Guess that means I’ll have to work on a distraction.”

  “Better make it a good one.”

  Caleb brought his chest down over hers, enjoying the sinuous coil of her body against his, the prodding caress of her hard-tipped nipples as he delicately scraped his teeth along the line of feminine muscle, the tantalizing graze of her damp pubic hair across his groin. It only took a slight downward movement of his hips to bring his cock into play, letting her rub it all around in the moisture welling from her body, not giving her what she thought she needed, teasing her with light pressure. “How about I make you a deal?”

  Her “What kind of deal?” was game. Very, very game. “How about you let me play for a bit like this and then if you want to be untied, I’ll untie you.”

  “How long?”

  “Ten minutes ought to do it.”

  “Ten minutes and you’ll untie me? Just like that?”

  He nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see him before adding, “Just like that.”

  “And then I can touch you all I want?”

  His body tightened at the anticipation loaded into that question. “If you want.”

  She ran her tongue slowly over her lips, and her eyes took on a dreamy cast. “Oh, I’ll want.”

  “Not if I do this righ
t. If I do this right you’re just going to want to lie there and let me have at it.”

  She arched her back, pressing her soft breasts firmly into his hard chest. “If you knew how long I’ve thought about getting my hands on your body, you wouldn’t say that with such confidence.”

  He slid down, tucking his head to the side so he could whisper in her ear. “If you knew how long I’ve waited to have you in my mouth, you wouldn’t be wasting time with words.”

  Her “I wouldn’t?” was a breathy gasp.

  He bit down on her lobe, just hard enough to pluck a squeak from her reservoir of pleasure. “No. Do we have a deal?”

  She turned her cheek farther into the bed, silently demanding another nip. “Yes.”

  “Good.” He ignored the demand, choosing instead to stretch the syllable down the cord of her neck in a brush of his lips, controlling her body’s instinctive shift away from the shivery sensation with a hand on her hip. “Shh, baby. Let it feel good.”

  She shook her head as he drew his hand up her stomach, over the ladder of her ribs to the fullness of her breast. He plumped it into the palm of his hand, wrapped his fingers around the base.

  “I can’t.”

  “Sure you can. Just focus on my hands, what I’m doing to you. Don’t rush it, don’t fight it, just lie there and let me make you feel good.”

  She raised her head off the mattress, a frown on her face. “Men don’t like women to just lie there.”

  No way was he letting her think her way through this. “I’m old-fashioned, and I’d be thrilled if you did that very thing.”

  She blew her bangs off her forehead and dropped back onto the bed. “You’ve got nine minutes left.”

  It wasn’t exactly the most encouraging statement he’d received while playing between the sheets, but it made him smile anyway. The woman just had fight in her bones.

  “Thank you.”

  In a purely conversational tone, she suggested, “You might want to add some mental touching to turn up the heat.”

  Like hell. This was going to be all her and all him with no mental tricks involved. “Was that a moan of pleasure?”

  She pressed her lips together but didn’t offer any more input as he brought his hand back down the slope of her breast, separating his fingers as he went until he once again circled the base. After several slow caresses he detected a peak of interest, a catch in her breathing as he grazed her nipple. On the next pass, he increased the pressure slightly. The stillness in her body told him she detected the change. He nudged her chin with his, exposing her neck for his mouth. Her scent was stronger here, very feminine. Enticing. Addictive. He kissed the hollow of her throat, ignoring her stiffening, just keeping up his rhythm at her breast while he lapped at the tender nook, tasting her, savoring her. This was his woman. His mate. He sucked the soft flesh into his mouth. His.

  She shifted beneath him, her request clear. He gave it to her, increasing the pressure and length of his stroke, squeezing the nipple just tightly enough to pull it away from her body. Just long enough to halt her breath in her lungs and center her attention, and then he was moving his hand back down the less sensitive sides, pausing longer at the bottom this time, letting her wait. Letting them both anticipate. Her legs shifted on the bed. She swallowed. Hard. Her throat worked against his lips, her pulse pounded in an enticing lure. He rubbed his mouth over the temptation and flexed his fingers before whispering, “This one’s going to feel so good.”

  She didn’t argue, just sucked in a deep breath and held it as his hand climbed the familiar path, her eyes closed, every thought, every fiber of her being centered exactly where he wanted it. On the sensation he was giving her. When he reached the nipple, he stopped and held her there, plumped and compressed for his touch, his mouth; whatever he wanted. “Watch, Allie.”

  Her lids lifted as if weighted; slowly, languorously. He tapped her nipple with his chin. “Watch me take your breast this first time.”

  “I can’t see.”

  “Imagine it.”

  She strained upward as he curled his tongue around the needy nub. She was crying out before he made contact, her body arching in anticipation of the moist heat, struggling with the restraints and her need. He kept her pinned with his arm across her torso, kept her presented for his pleasure with his hand on her breasts, letting her helplessness feed her permission to do nothing but feel. Her pleasure flowed as he lapped and nudged the hard tip with his tongue. When she began to twist in frustration, the light touch no longer enough, he took her into his mouth and sucked.

  She came off the bed, momentum propelling her breast into his mouth, against the point of his teeth. She moaned and sank back onto the head of his cock, granting him the sweetest, most intimate of kisses. Torturing them both with the hot friction, the promise of what was to come. He went with her as she collapsed onto the mattress, giving her more of the devastating passion that flowed to her from him, and then back again—harder, stronger, honed in feminine intensity, charged with her pleasure.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God.” The breathless chant echoed in his ears, catching in the edge of his desire, dragging it to the limit of his control. His fangs extended farther, reaching for her. Her nipple pulsed between the sharp points. His jaw muscles tightened. He wanted, needed to drink from her.

  Too soon.

  Though barely recognizable, the warning from his rational side filtered through his lust. He pulled his mouth away, moaning under the whip of unsatisfied desire. Sliding his hand up until he could capture the tight flesh of her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he substituted a pinch for a bite, increasing the pressure until her voice broke on a guttural moan, holding it there for several seconds as she shook and gasped, her energy no longer spreading outward, but focusing inward, toward the building orgasm.

  “That’s it baby. Feel it.” He wanted this orgasm for her, screams and all.

  He stretched her nipple away from her breast, nice and easy, watching carefully to see how the new sensation struck her. She frowned. He shook his hand in rapid movements using the weight of her breast to deliver the unique sensation. Her eyes flew wide. Her mouth opened. Before she could voice her opinion, he pinched sharply. She flinched away with a startled gasp, but then just as quickly, returned, thrusting the taut peak back into his hand in a silent plea. He gave it to her slowly this time, increasing the pressure bit by bit, watching as her lip slipped between her teeth and she bit down, driving the blood from the soft flesh, leaving it white in the aftermath. A soft cry broke from her throat as he pinched the tiniest bit more.

  “Right there, Allie girl? Is that where you like it?”

  “Yes. No.” Her head thrashed from side to side. “I don’t know.”

  “Lets find out then.” Caleb shifted to his knees. His cock left its warm nest with a protest of its own, catching on the side of her hip and bouncing up before bowing to gravity, the heavy head coming to rest on her pubic bone. He spread his left hand under her right breast. Using the same motion as before, he milked the flow of her desire. His reward was the immediate tightening of the small nipple. “Very good.”

  He didn’t decrease the pressure as he reached the peak. Instead, he caught the puckered tip to leverage her breast up and out, stretching it away from her body, watching her expression as she battled conflicting impulses to twist into the stretch or to stay with the pinch. The scent of her arousal surrounded them now. A heady enticement to create more. More pleasure. More scent. More. Always more.

  “Caleb!”

  “Right here.” Barely.

  He lowered his left hand and shifted his grip until it matched his right. Caleb wanted more time, but the change wasn’t willing to wait. It was growing stronger, taking more of his effort to subdue the symptoms so she could enjoy their play. If he dragged this out much longer, he would lose her and the feelings to the hell that was coming. He’d taken everything from her and she’d only asked for one thing in return. And she was right. Considering how knowing
him had completely messed up her life, the least he owed her was a mind-blowing orgasm.

  Releasing her nipples, he smoothed his fingers down the outsides of her delicate curves. Her whimper of disappointment echoed his own. She had the sweetest breasts.

  “Soon, baby.”

  He followed the line of muscle down her stomach, fighting for control, shifting backward, almost losing it when his cock slipped between her legs and her gasp whispered past his ear as his groan tore past his control. Cupping her hips in his hands, he pressed his mouth to her stomach, breathing in her scent. Damn, he had to slow down. Get her ready. He’d shoot himself if he hurt her. He needed to prepare her.

  He sucked in a deep breath, feeling almost drugged by the richness of her scent, the steady flow and rhythm of her desire. He worked his way down until he could drape her legs over his shoulders. He knew the protest was coming from the tensing of her thighs as he settled between them.

  “Caleb? I don’t think—”

  “You’re not supposed to be thinking.” Was that guttural rasp his voice?

  Her hips jerked in his hands as she pulled on the restraints.

  “Why are you fighting? I like you like this, Allie. Open and available for whatever I want.”

  “Oh.”

  He hitched her back some. “Grab hold of the bedpost.”

  He liked that she immediately did so with white-knuckled intensity. It soothed something in his wild, primitive vampire core. “You just grab on to the good feelings I’m about to give you with the same gusto, and you’ll have that screaming orgasm faster than you can say Jack Shit.”

  “Jack Sh—”

  One swipe of his tongue wiped out the second part, but not his amusement. She was a sassy one. Very different from the women of his time. Different from the weres he’d slept with since turning, and damn, he found those differences to be a big part of her appeal. The rest of his thoughts died under the wave of lust that surged over him as that first intimate sampling spread through his being like wildfire fanned by a hard wind. His back arched and his fangs cut into his lip as the primitive roar of satisfaction bellowed from his soul.