The Red Veil Diaries (Volumes 1-4)

by Marianne Morea

  Annika moaned, running her hands along his bare chest. Derick fisted the back of her T-shirt and pulled it up, breaking their kiss only long enough to yank it over her head.

  She shivered, not from the cool air but from the feel of her nipples against his skin.

  “Is the rest of you commando, too?” His fingers dipped low, sliding beneath the seamed waistband of her leggings. His hand gripped her bare ass, cupping the full flesh and pressing her against his hard length.

  “What about you?” she asked, sliding her hands forward along his lower belly.

  One by one, she unbuttoned his fly. Dark fuzz tickled the tops of her fingers and she grinned, reaching all the way in to grip his swollen member.

  Derick sucked in a soft breath as she freed his sex, shoving his jeans over his hips.

  “What was that you said about my pink lips?”

  With a groan, he pushed Annika to her knees and fisted the back of her hair. “Say ahhh.”

  She wrapped her mouth around Derick’s cock and sucked halfway, using her hand to grip his shaft. Her fingers worked him, moving in time with the pressure from her tongue.

  Derick let his head drop back, and Annika curled her tongue around his head, skimming the rigid flesh and the underside of his bulging tip.

  “I’m going to cum all over your face if you don’t stop soon.”

  She flicked her tongue, lapping at a pearl of precum before sitting back on her heels. She cupped her breasts and lifted them, working her nipples between her thumb and forefinger.

  “If that’s what you want you can cum in my mouth or on my face or right here.” She squeezed her tits, leaning forward to rub his hard length between the soft mounds. “Your choice.”

  He slid two fingers under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “I haven’t waited this long to fuck you only to settle for jerking myself off.”

  He helped her up onto the boulder she sat on earlier and gently rolled down her leggings, helping her slid them off.

  She leaned back on the wide flat rock and Derick spread her legs. He knelt between her pale thighs and kissed her belly, running his tongue in circles upward, cupping her breasts.

  She had offered them, teasing him as she worked her own body, but now he sucked and nipped, drawing her hardened peaks between his teeth. He rolled her nipples between his fingers, and she gasped.

  Annika grabbed his hair and yanked his face up, taking his mouth. She kissed him hard and fast and then pushed his head and shoulders back, lifting her hips for him to take her with his mouth.

  Her lower body shook with need, soaked and dripping. Derick licked her pussy, spreading her legs wide.

  “Is this what you want?” He bit her clit, dragging the hard nub along his teeth before sucking it deep. “Or is this what you want?” His tongue delved deep into her wet folds.

  Annika could barely breathe. “I want you.”

  “Me? Hmmm. But which part? My mouth?” He kissed her inner thigh. “What about my tongue? I know you like that.” He dipped his head lower and swiped his tongue along her swollen sex.

  “Or my fingers?” Derick trailed his hand down her leg to palm her pussy before sliding two fingers deep into her wet cleft. “What, Annika? Tell me what you want.”

  “Stop teasing me! Fuck me, Derick. I want your dick deep and hard. I need it. I want it.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but when he stood over her and waited, she snarled, her eyes shifting to panther green.

  “Derick! Now!”

  The scent of her hunger and her feral eyes forced a low roar from the back of his throat.

  The feral feel coursed through his body jerking his cock. He held her ankles wide and drove hard into her pussy, lifting her back off the flat rock.

  His body reeled. She was so hot and tight, he groaned as her walls stretched to take all of him.

  Annika’s body rocked with spasms, her walls gripping his shaft as he rode her, her clit throbbing for more.

  Flushed and pink, her pussy gleamed swollen and wet in the moonlight and Derick’s mouth watered to taste her again.

  “I want to cum deep and hard inside you, Annika. But I want you on all fours, spread wide and feral.”

  Her eyes found his and she pushed him back, scrambling to her feet. She bent over lifting her hips, and reached behind to spread her ass.

  Derick slipped two fingers into her slick wetness and spread her juice. “Nice and wet.” He fisted her hair and pulled her head back, bringing his fingers to her lips. “Suck.”

  Annika opened her mouth and took his fingers in one by one, licking them clean. He let go of her hair and she put her arms down, moving her legs apart, waiting.

  He smacked her bottom and shoved her cheeks apart, sliding his thumb from her wet folds to her tight little ring. “I want all of you Annika. This too…” He rubbed the tip of his cock in small circles, nudging the snug opening. Nika moaned pushing back against his cock. “But I want your pussy first, cher.”

  He pulled back, swiping his hand down to her slit again, grazing her swollen bud. Derick slid his hands back and grabbed her hips, driving his cock deep, again. He rode her hard, his fingertips digging into her flesh.

  Annika threw her head back and snarled and he reached around to cup her sex, shoving her body up with each thrust. She met him pound for pound, his balls slapping against her ass.

  His thumb ringed her nub, pressing and rubbing in time with his hips. Annika cried out as she came, her muscles clenching as spasms took her again.

  Balls tight, his head swelled to bursting and he threw his head back and roared, the primal sound wild and echoing off the trees as he emptied himself inside her.

  Panting, they both slumped forward, Derick’s arms shooting forward not to smack into the rock.

  “You okay?”

  Annika exhaled a soft sigh. “Absolutely. What about you?”

  With his cock still inside, he tightened his arm around her waist and he pulled her against his chest. He held her close as the aftershocks of their climax ebbed.

  He kissed her neck and her cheek at the base of her ear, nestling his face in her hair. “I’m good, cher. Real good.”

  She laughed softly, settling back into his arms. “That’s an understatement.”

  Derick nuzzled her neck and slid his hands up to caress her breasts. He pinched a sensitive nipple and she drew in a quick breath.

  “You really like to tease me, don’t you,” she sighed.

  “Only if it gets me round two.”

  Annika turned her face and pulled his lips to hers, smiling as she felt him harden inside her. “Showtime.”

  8

  “Vampirul este cu ochii pe noi!”

  Bette threw up one hand. “Why do they always do that?”

  “Do what?” Nika asked, amused.

  The vampire exhaled hard. “Refer to me with that mumbo jumbo and then scurry like scared rabbits.”

  Annika shrugged. “You’re the boss. Plus, they know it’s not coffee you’re keeping warm in that travel mug.”

  “Funny,” Bette snorted.

  Nika shrugged, peeling back the tab on her coffee regular. “Taboos may be lifting, but the idea of blood for breakfast still gives most Weres the willies.”

  A rude sound left Bette’s lips. “I still don’t get why they have to refer to me as the vampire? And always in Romanian. Like I’m supposed to understand simply because I’m undead.” She glared at the remaining crew. “I’m American, people. An American vampire in New York,” she shouted in general.

  Nika chuckled, taking a sip. “Sounds like a movie title.”

  “Ha! It should be.”

  “Maybe they’re afraid of you, Bette.”

  She threw a hand up. “Why? I’m not some creepy Nosferatu. I’m cute and perky, with a soft spot for humans. Hell, if I sparkled people would orgasm as I walk by.”

  Annika choked, nearly spewing her coffee. “Not to mention modest. You sure you’re not buying your own hype?”

  “Ha,
ha.” The vampire’s pink lips slid into a smirk. “But seriously, when Abigail insisted we bring in a work crew from Transylvania, I thought she had slipped a cog. ‘A taste of the old world, Bette. Just what the club needs.’” She mimicked her boss, wrinkling her nose.

  “The old world?” Nika asked. “I thought Abigail was turned on the Mayflower?”

  Bette snorted. “Not quite, but close.”

  “Then why the fascination with Eastern Europe?” she questioned.

  Bette shook her head. “Who knows? Maybe it makes her feel connected. The vampiric version of ancestry.com.”

  Derick’s voice carried from somewhere backstage and Annika turned. Bette followed with a smug expression.

  “From the look of anticipation on your face, my guess is you blew a little more than just steam last night in the park,” she laughed, and Nika’s answering blush left the pert vampire with a grin.

  “Good for you.” Bette swirled what was left in her cup. “As much as I’d love to stay for the juicy details, the sun has set and this isn’t going to cut it.” She lifted the empty travel mug.

  Annika wrinkled her nose. “Do what you gotta do, just don’t tell me.”

  With construction chaos behind her, she watched her friend walked toward the residences. “Hey, vamp girl—” she called after her.

  Bette stopped, turning halfway around.

  “Come by my room around nine and help me get ready for the show. It’s a bitch lacing a corset alone.”

  Undead eyes brightened and Bette squealed like she did that first day. “Deal!”

  She winked, giving Annika a quick salute before heading down the stage steps.

  “So what do you think so far?” a deep voice asked from behind.

  A soft smile tickled Annika’s mouth, but she didn’t turn. “That depends.”

  “On what?” The question fanned across the back of her neck like velvet fingers.

  “They say you’re only as good as your last performance—” she murmured.

  Derick whirled her around and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Is that so?” he replied.

  “Yup.” She licked her bottom lip, grazing it with her teeth.

  “What do they say about teasing your lover with a luscious mouth?” he asked, sliding his hand behind her head.

  “Practice required.”

  He kissed her softly. “Something to keep in mind, then.” Lingering with his lips on hers, Derick stroked the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck before stepping back.

  “So, what do you think about the set so far?” he asked getting back to business.

  Annika gave the area a proper look. Dark brocade drapes marked both stage left and stage right, while gray-white sheers hung mortuary style in a sweeping drape on either side of a huge, backlit, floor-to-ceiling screen.

  “What’s the screen for?”

  He moved toward center stage and stood on the circle spot marked for her grand piano. “I’ve done a design of eerie trees and mist for a backdrop and put it on an LED loop. Sort of a dark thicket surrounding the stage. I think it will add a taste of magic and mastery to the show since you said no to the pyrotechnics.”

  “A wooded thicket?”

  Derick’s eyes found hers and held. “Apropos, considering.”

  Her heart squeezed at the romance behind the idea. Either their night in the Ramble meant as much to him as it did to her or he was very good at setting the stage for repeat performances. “I love it, Derick. Truly.”

  “I’m glad.”

  She broke eye contact and glanced at the stage plot marked along the floor. “The configuration for the instruments looks good. I’m glad you listened.”

  “I always listen, even when you think I’m not,” he replied softly.

  Nika met his eyes with a smirk. “Now that’s a scary thought.”

  He walked to a circular mark at center stage. “Your piano will be the focal point of the performance and I designed the lighting based on that. I want all eyes on you.” He looked at her from the mark. “I know mine will be.”

  Heat flushed across her throat and up her neck. “What about mics?”

  “You’ll have the boom above the piano, but there are also standalone mics. Their placement is marked on the stage floor with single dots. They can be moved around at will.”

  She curved her finger over her lip. “When does the crew break for dinner?”

  He looked at her. “The instruments have yet to be set up, and there’s your final sound check. Why?”

  Annika walked toward one of amplifiers still to be positioned and turned it on its side. She straddled the base, sitting on the hard, molded edge.

  “Because—” she replied, dropping her chin, locking her eyes on his. With a slow smile she hiked her skirt inch by inch above her knees to mid-thigh.

  “Do you like my boots? They’re new,” she asked, letting her fingers caress the pale, smooth skin above the thigh-high leather.

  Derick’s mouth parted and a sly grin spread across his lips. He grabbed the closest working mic and tapped its steel mesh grille. “Everyone out! Dinner is on me tonight. One hour.”

  At the crew’s startled looks he nodded, shooing them out. “NOW! Get out. One hour.”

  He dropped the mic.

  Annika had one leg up on the base of another speaker, stroking the thin lacey strip of her thong riding between her ass and her pussy.

  His entire body pulsed with need. Never had his skin pricked with this kind of want. Annika was a drug and he was hopelessly addicted after one taste.

  Neither one cared if the crew had left or not. No one else mattered. She was all he could see. All he wanted.

  Sticky and slick, he peeled her panties from her legs, over her boots and spread her knees wide. Her sex glistened wet and ready and he cupped her pussy, his fingers curling in teasing her G-spot as his thumb worked her hard bud. He pulled her blouse down from her shoulder, ripping the stitching to get to her breasts.

  The garment hung in shreds, dangling over her exposed flesh. He molded one breast with his free hand, teasing and twisting its nipple while he lapped at the other, drawing the hardening peak in with a sharp, violent suck.

  Annika gasped and dropped her head back between her shoulders, her arms braced, shuddering on either side of the amplifier as she edged toward climax.

  He pulled his hand back and stood, freeing his cock from his jeans. Positioned between her knees he pressed his engorged tip to her willing lips and she licked the rigid flesh, running her tongue the length of his corded girth and then back again.

  She circled, curling around the bulging end, wetting him completely before sucking him in, taking him fully into her mouth.

  Derick growled, forcing himself to ignore the urge for release. He eased himself back from her and lifted her legs.

  With his eyes locked on hers he plunged his cock deep, letting her tight folds engulf him. He plunged again, thrust after thrust, tremors building until Annika cried out, her flesh squeezing his cock as her inner muscles convulsed.

  Derick’s body shuddered, every muscle tense as hot jets spilled into her.

  He slumped forward, gathering her into his arms, her legs tangled around his hips. He lifted her back, cradling her against his chest, her dark hair a silken curtain around them.

  “Maybe we should get up and move somewhere more private,” she mumbled against his neck.

  “I think were past that, babe. Do you want your panties?”

  She smiled against his skin. “I’d better or else I’ll be a drippy mess in the elevator.”

  He pulled back and grinned at her. “I’m game if you are?”

  “Repeat performance?”

  He nodded. “Love in an elevator.”

  “Hey, isn’t that a song somewhere?”

  Disentangling himself, he tossed her panties onto her lap. “Cute.”

  “Look at me, doing the walk of shame with my torn shirt and my panties in a wet wad,” she tea
sed scrunching the limp lace into ball.

  “When I’m done with you, cher, you’ll be lucky if you can walk at all.”

  

  Annika stood off stage right watching the club floor. It appeared as though tonight would be standing room only. Which was a surprise considering no one knew she was to perform, and as far as she knew, nobody had leaked a word to the press.

  Outside, it was business as usual, with the crowd lined along the alley for admission.

  Until Dracone Noir, she never understood the philosophy behind the velvet holding ropes. Now she got it. It was elegant crowd control. Did certain clubs play fast and loose with elitism? Sure, but there were assholes everywhere.

  At least tonight everyone would have a chance to see her perform. The Red Veil usually charged for live shows, advertising the upcoming event with posters and flyers and in the local paper, but this was special. They truly showed solidarity with her as a fellow supernatural and kept the entire gig under the radar.

  With the stage prepped and in clear view, there was already a speculative buzz humming through the club. Now all Nika could do was hope her solo gig was a well-received surprise.

  The instruments were in place and she and the studio musicians had warmed up, and Derick was satisfied with the sound check.

  She smiled to herself. He was satisfied in more ways than that. And so was she.

  An eerie calm settled over her, though she knew in a matter of minutes her bubble of anonymous peace and freedom would burst.

  The minute she took the stage, camera phones and Instagram posts would light up the Internet.

  So be it.

  She’d never felt stronger or more alive. For the longest time, Jesse dictated so much in her life, including how she defined herself and her self-worth.

  Derick had given her the chance to let go, to feel what it was like to be truly wanted. No strings attached. Whatever their path, alone or together, she would never forget that, and a small part of her heart would always belong to him.

  Pride swelled as she looked at the stage. It was dark, but the keys on the grand piano made her fingers itch to play. The first song in her set was for Ki.