by Anthology
My face was burning.
“I said I wish to buy the house,” he repeated.
Hadn’t he said earlier that he wanted to see the house with his own eyes before he purchased? “But you haven’t even seen the basement or the walk-in safe—”
“Nigel has given me the details and I have a good … feeling about this house. I’ve seen enough to know this is the one.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He finally turned from the bed, and I almost wished he hadn’t. There was a stark intensity I found in his gaze that left me feeling exposed, stripped bare. “I have been alive for over four hundred years, Amanda. I’ve long since discovered what I like and what I don’t.”
“Four hundred years?” I gulped. “Goodness.”
His answering chuckle was deep and sexy. “To some of my kind that would be considered fairly young.”
I couldn’t even fathom what it was like to be alive that long and it hurt my brain to even begin to try, but I was curious. I couldn’t help myself. “Four hundred years old and no family?”
“Just a brother.”
Interesting. “Alive this long and you haven’t met someone?” I asked, unable to help myself.
He didn’t answer for a long moment and then he said, “Perhaps that is changing.”
~~~
“I just need you to sign these documents and I’ll put your offer in tonight.” I slid the stack of paper over to where Darian stood in what would hopefully be his new kitchen and offered him a pen.
His fingers brushed mine as he took it, lingered for what felt like a second too long, and then got down to signing his name. “When do you think we’ll hear something?”
I pressed the fingers he touched to my lower stomach, fiddling with the vase of flowers on the island with my other hand. “I think we’ll hear something tomorrow morning, afternoon by the latest. I’m confident they will accept our offer.”
“Perfect.” He finished signing the papers and then looked up at me through a shock of wavy black hair. “We should celebrate.”
I blinked once, and then twice. “Excuse me?”
“Celebrate. Over drinks. A thing that two or more people do when they have something good—”
“I know what celebrate means,” I cut in, eyes narrowing.
“Perfect,” he said again, straightening. His gaze dipped from my lips to my throat and then lower, to the ruffles of my shirt. “Then let’s have a drink.”
Frazzled by the suggestion, it took me a moment to answer. “There’s nothing to celebrate yet.”
“You just said you believe they will accept our offer.” He came around the island, approaching me, his movements full of inherent, lithe grace. “I would love to have a drink with you.”
“You would?” I stepped back, bumping into the marble counter behind me.
“You sound surprised.”
My heart slammed in my chest. “Well …”
“Well, what?” He caged me in, placing his hands on either side of the counter, beside my hips.
Normally I’d hate to have any male, no matter their species, get into my personal space like this, but this time I didn’t mind. Hell, my body was reacting the exact opposite way. It excited me. I struggled to answer. “I’m human and—”
“I like humans.” His head tilted. “I like you.”
My brows snapped together. “You don’t know me.”
“We’ve spoken for six months.”
“We’ve exchanged emails for six months,” I reminded him as I tried to not inhale his scent. “That were about one sentence—the same sentence. Over and over.”
“But it was an important sentence.”
I stared at him.
One shoulder lifted. “Then we can get to know each better over drinks.” His hand left the island and he touched the first ruffle on my blouse. “I know you want to say yes.”
“How do you know that?” The air between us became charged with tension. Tiny bumps rose all over my arms.
“I’m a vampire, Amanda.” He dipped his head again, and this time, I felt his breath near my throat. Instinct sparked. This was dangerous territory. I needed to tell him to back off. Establish boundaries. But I didn’t. Not even when his nose grazed the sensitive skin just below my ear. I shivered, feeling my body respond to his closeness, to the very real threat of his fangs being dangerously close to a very important artery. It should terrify me, but it didn’t. “I have a heightened sense of smell.”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with that.
And then I did.
“I scented your arousal from the moment you opened the door,” he continued, much to my horror. “It cloaked your skin. I could practically taste it.”
I jerked back against the counter, shock slamming into me. His gaze found mine.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s biology,” he said, his voice a low purr. “And if you were like me, you would’ve sensed the same thing I did when I saw you.”
“What would I have sensed?” I heard a voice ask—a voice that was mine but also wasn’t.
There was that sexy, deep chuckle again. “You would be blushing more than you are now. Those ruffles.” He drew his finger down the center of my blouse. “I really like them.”
“It’s just a blouse.”
“And that skirt?” He drew back just enough so I could see his eyes. “I never been happier than I am now that women’s fashion has evolved over the years. If it hadn’t, I would never know the enjoyment of how perfectly that skirt hugs your ass.”
Oh.
Oh, dear.
“Have drinks with me, Ms. Patterson,” he said again. “And let’s just see where the night takes us.”
The first thought I had when I saw him resurfaced. I’ll never be the same. It was still crazy and cheesy and even more crazy. But as I stared into Darian’s wolf eyes, I found myself not wanting to do what I would normally do which would be to turn him down because I knew what having drinks often led to. I should go home and change into my sweats like I planned instead of facing the possibility of something more. Something I was rarely ever interested in.
Until now.
Because the idea of going home caused the feeling of discontent to grow.
I couldn’t help it. My gaze drifted down, over what I imagined was a hard chest and even harder stomach. My pulse picked up in various parts of my body.
His nostrils flared again and the hue of his eyes deepened. “Ms. Patterson?”
I could say no.
I should say no.
But I’d never felt this way before. I never thought I’d ever feel this way for a vampire.
So, I didn’t do what was expected.
I said, “Okay.”
~~~
Drinks turned into more.
It started at a restaurant in the city and somehow ended with Darian following me to my apartment that was about five blocks from the restaurant. I couldn’t even blame the wine. I’d only had two glasses, so when he asked if he could come home with me, I knew exactly what I was saying when I said yes.
During the drinks, I did get to know Darian. He was from a small town in Italy. He emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s. He was a builder, an obviously successful one since he had no budget for his house and was making a cash offer. He hailed from a family of born vampires, and his brother still lived in Italy. During the drinks, Darian got to know me, and when it started to get late, I was reluctant to say goodbye.
And that was about when he asked if I wanted him to come home with me. And that was about when I decided to see where drinks led and said yes. And that was about when I had a mini panic attack as I opened the door and led him into my apartment.
What was I doing?
Was I really going through with this?
Did I wear nice panties tonight?
Hand trembling, I turned on the light as we stepped into the foyer. “Would you like something to drink?’ I asked as I stripped off my jacket.
>
“That’s not what I would like.”
I turn to him, my arm outstretched to open the closet door to hang up my jacket and purse. Air leaked out of my lungs as my gaze met his. “No?” I whispered.
“No.” He stepped into me, taking my jacket and purse. He dropped them on the floor. I opened my mouth to protest, but then his mouth was on mine, and there was no protesting.
This was so happening.
Darian dipped his head, brushing his lips over mine. It was a soft kiss. A questioning one, and I had an answer without even thinking about it. I opened my mouth, inviting him in. The minty taste of him was something I’d never forget.
With that, his kiss turned urgent, deepening. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the raw intensity of this kiss. My senses overloaded as his tongue slipped over mine. When he finally did lift his head, I was thrilled to see that he was just as affected.
He smiled, and then with one impressive surge, he had me backed against the entryway wall. “I’m going to ruin this blouse.”
“Okay,” I breathed, realizing in that very moment I was not the Amanda who could live without sex. In that moment, I felt like I’d die if I didn’t get his hands, his mouth, his cock—everything in me.
And then he did, ripping it right open, and the image he’d painted in the bedroom of the house he was going to buy, the one I’d found for him, came to life in a way. My bra became unhooked and my skirt ended up at my waist. I didn’t even know what had happened to my panties.
A stuttered heartbeat later, he was on his knees, and his mouth—oh, God—his mouth was on me, licking and sucking my clit. My entire body clenched as hot, tight shudders racked through me.
Whoa, he’d had a lot of years to perfect what he was doing, and he really, really did it well.
My hands went to his shoulders first and then my fingers tangled in the soft strands of his hair. A keening, unfamiliar sound erupted from me. “Oh, God …”
He captured my flesh with his mouth, parting my lips with firm, determined strokes of his tongue. I cried out as he sucked me like I was the sweetest nectar, his very life force. And then I felt the sharp point of his fang, and raw sensations swept through me as the orgasm hit me hard and fast.
Never in my life had I had an orgasm that quick, that hard that didn’t involve a two-hundred-dollar sex toy.
Darian wasn’t done. “Perfect.”
Oh my.
Gripping my hips, he rose in front of me. Hunger burned in those pale blue eyes—hunger for release and something darker. My breath caught. Was he—
He lifted me like I weighed nothing. Instinct took over, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Bedroom,” he all but growled.
I clasped his shoulders, panting like I had done more than just stand there and let him give me a mind-blowing orgasm. “At the end of the hall, last door.”
Darian looked to the left and then started walking, his mouth on mine, his taste mingling with my own. The man was pure magic because he had my bedroom door open and me on the bed in record time. Our clothing came off in a heady rush.
It had never been like this before.
There was no hesitation. No worrying about what I’d look like or if he’d find me attractive. I didn’t overthink a single thing. This was all about feeling.
It was raw.
It was freeing.
And then he was naked in front of me, and goodness, I didn’t know if it was because he was a vampire, but he was large and thick and … just wow.
He reached down, palming himself as he put one knee on the bed, lining up his mouth with mine. He circled his hand loosely around the base of my throat. “Do you want this?”
I felt my cheeks blast with heat. My ex never talked like that, but my lips were moving and I was speaking. “Yes,” I breathed against his mouth. Hot, sweet darts of fire sped through my blood. My lashes lowered as his hand slipped further, gently cupping me between the thighs.
“Great.” He kissed me and then pulled back as he pushed one finger inside me and then another. “Oh yeah, you want this.”
I did. I really did.
His tongue slid over my lips, then inside, matching the slow, languid thrust with his fingers. Tremors started in my stomach. My muscles quivered.
He tormented me until I moved my hips against his hand, but any time I tried to get more, to take control, he nipped my lip and then my throat with his wickedly sharp teeth.
A small whimper escaped me as another release came out of nowhere, startling me. Darian pulled me to him, holding me close as my body shuddered. Sweat coated his skin, his muscles taut and rigid from holding back. And then he turned me around, easing me onto my side. He used his thigh to separate mine. I arched back, grinding my rear against the length of his erection.
“I think you want this badly.”
“I do,” I admitted.
His warm breath danced over my cheek. He cupped my breast, running his thumb over the hard nipple. “Then you’re going to get it.”
And I did.
Darian slowly slid into me, inch by inch, moving so deep that I felt like I’d come apart in a shower of sparks. The steady friction sent my body blazing. Slow and steady strokes soon became not enough. More—I wanted more. I moved my hips, and his low growl had my blood pressure skyrocketing.
“Harder,” I said, whispering something I had never whispered during sex before. “Please.”
The things he whispered in my ear as he thrust into me, each stroke harder and faster than the one before it, could probably be classified as depraved, but they excited me. Every thrust mounted my pleasure and deepened my cries.
Then I felt his ragged breath on my throat, right over my vein. “Are you …?”
“What, Amanda?”
I started to spasm around his cock. “Bite me?”
He kissed the side of my neck. “Not yet.”
Yet?
Darian caught my chin then and forced my head back, claiming my mouth with his as he spent himself.
Aftershocks still rocked through me as he rolled me onto my back, still hard between my legs. My eyes widened. “Is that a vampire thing?”
“It’s an Amanda thing,” he answered, and then his hips plunged into me, and I cried out.
I lost track of time and how many times he brought me to the edge of release and then toppled me over it. And when his mouth wasn’t on mine, he wandered out into the kitchen, found some cheese and crackers, and brought them back. We ate in bed, naked while we chatted, and then he took me from behind again, my hands on the headboard and him behind me, pumping furiously.
Never once did he bite me.
Sometime later, when my muscles felt like mush and I could barely keep my eyes open, he pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“I have to leave,” he said, dragging my chin to meet his gaze.
The sun would be rising in an hour or so. “I know.”
His thumb drifted over the curve of my chin. “I don’t want to.”
Surprise flickered through me. My initial urge was to dismiss it or play his response off, but I pushed through that and I really opened up. Spoke the truth. “I don’t want you to either.”
A warm smile played over his lips. “Then we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. If wanting to sleep after having the most amazing, mind-blowing sex was being on the same page, then we most definitely were on the same page.
Darian kissed me softly and then lifted up, shifting so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. “I like your apartment,” he said as he stood up.
I rolled onto my side, treated with a nice view of his behind. “It’s a matchbox compared to the house you just put an offer in on.”
He cast a grin over his shoulder. “But it’s you.”
That was another statement that surprised me. I glanced around my dark bedroom, unsure of what he saw that made it me. Then again, he seemed to know me better than I knew myself.
He found his jeans and pulled them on.
“I want to see you again.”
“You will if you come to the closing.” I sat up, holding the sheet to my breasts.
His back tensed and then he turned to me. “That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s not?”
Darian stared at me a moment and then he was suddenly right beside me, one hand planted on the bed beside my hip. “I know this isn’t something you usually do—the having sex thing, the fact I’m a vampire thing, so I’m going to say this again. Give you another chance to respond differently. I want to see you again. Do you want to see me again?”
My heart thudded off my ribs. I’d be lying to myself and him if I said no. “Yes.”
“Perfect.”
I shivered. The last time he said perfect was when he had tasted me.
He growled low in his throat. “You’re making it really hard for me to leave.”
“Sorry?”
Darian chuckled as he tilted his head and kissed the corner of my mouth. “Let’s do dinner tomorrow.”
Somehow, I managed to not repeat his request like I’d never heard of the concept of having dinner before. It’s not that I wasn’t surprised for various obvious reasons, and again, my natural response was to withdraw, shut down. Dinner was even more intimate than drinks, and intimacy was … God, it was something that I wanted with him.
“Ms. Patterson?” His tone was light, teasing.
I drew in a shallow breath. “Dinner feels like it’s a … start of something.”
“It is.”
There was a delicious twisting motion in my stomach. A start of something. I didn’t know what this was a start of, but I was willing to take a chance, a risk. And wasn’t that what life was all about, for humans and vampires? “That’s … perfect.”
He folded his hand around the nape of my neck. “Yeah, it is.”
I felt myself smile before I realized what I was doing and I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his as I placed my hands on his chest. “Does that mean I’ll be on the menu?”
“You’re going to be the main course.”
The End.
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