by Kim Loraine
“I’m sorry. I got so caught up in you. I’m clean. I swear it. I’d never do anything to hurt you.” What the hell is falling from my lips? I sound like a pussy-whipped fool. But fuck, it’s all true. The idea of hurting her makes my stomach twist.
She sighs and nods. “I’m clean too. I’ve always used protection, and I just got checked last month when I renewed my birth control.”
Something inside me breaks when she mentions being with another man. I knew she wasn’t a virgin, but hearing it and knowing it feel very different. I don’t want anyone else to fucking touch her—ever. I pull her tighter to me and run my nose along her neck, breathing in her soft, sweet scent.
“Then we’re good? We’re both healthy, and you’re on birth control. Nothing to worry about.”
“Sure.” Her voice sounds distant, as though something else is on her mind. I shouldn’t care. I’ve sated my lust and my hunger tonight. I should be done with her, but all I want is to hold her and hear what has made her heart heavy. Goddammit.
Shifting, I put some space between us as I roll to my back and thread my fingers together behind my head. I need to stop touching her so I can clear my mind and move on. Getting attached won’t do me any good. I’ve got an expiration date. But then she rolls over and rests her head on my chest as she slides her arm across my waist. Unable to resist, I free one hand and run it through her dark red tresses, sending the juniper scent of her shampoo into the air.
“I should go,” she whispers.
Stilling my fingers, I tense. I don’t want her to leave, not now. “Stay.” What the fuck am I doing? No. She can’t stay here. I’ll be dead to the world in little more than three hours. Where am I going to spend the day, in my fucking closet?
She shakes her head and moves to get off the bed. “No, I … I don’t do sleepovers, Devin.”
“Who said we’d be sleeping?”
Her long hair cascades down her naked back, painting a beautiful picture that I commit to memory.
Glancing at me over her shoulder, she smirks. “We’d sleep eventually.”
“At least let me give you something to remember me by?”
Rising to my knees, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her back against my front. I’m hard and ready to bury myself in her heat again. She shivers and lets out a soft sigh as my hands cup her breasts.
“Just once more, Willow. Let me make you scream before you leave me.” It’s a little too close to pleading than I’d like, but I can’t let her leave without making love—fucking—one more time.
Standing, she turns to me, and her gaze falls to my throbbing erection. One eyebrow rises before her eyes flick to mine. “Wow, that was fast.”
I grab her hand and draw it toward my cock, needing some kind of contact. “It’s what you do to me. I need you to fix it.” It’s the truth. I need her.
Smiling, she pushes me down on the bed and crawls over me. Her mouth finds mine as she straddles my hips. A slow, sensual kiss makes my heart do unfamiliar things as her core grazes my shaft. Tingling begins in my mouth, signaling the oncoming descent of my fangs. No. I can’t let them come out, not now. Squeezing my eyes shut, I will them to stay concealed as I push her lips away from mine.
“I want to watch you ride me, Angel. I can’t do that if you’re distracting me with that beautiful mouth.” Oh yeah. I’m real smooth. A regular fucking Casanova.
In answer, she grasps my cock and lowers herself down inch by inch, moaning softly until I’m fully seated inside her.
“Condom, Willow.” I bite the words out, the sensation making my toes curl.
“It’s okay. I’ve got an IUD. It would take a miracle for me to get pregnant.”
As she rides me, the selfish part of me wants nothing more than to let her keep going. But the closer I get to spilling my seed, the stronger my sense of foreboding. Fuck. I can’t come inside her again. If Sariel feeds from her again so soon, it will hurt her. I promised I’d never hurt her.
“Oh, fuck, Devin. I’m close.” Her breathy groans and the tightening of her pussy around me have my balls tightening and my own orgasm building.
“Willow. You have to stop. I can’t—”
“Stop. Talking.”
Planting her hands on my chest, she moves over my cock with abandon as she closes in on her pleasure. Her eyes are on me, an expression of wonder in them as she begins to give in to the sensation. I see it the moment her climax reaches her. Eyes widening before taking on an almost pained look, she cries out my name in a harsh whisper. I can’t take it. I have to finish. Rolling us over, I brace my arms on either side of her and thrust deep into her body while she rides out the last waves of pleasure. I pound into her until I feel my release racing through me, and at the last moment, I pull out of her and stroke my length.
“Oh my God, Devin.” Her gaze is locked on my glistening cock as I begin to pulse in my hand and my orgasm spills onto her belly.
I groan and shudder, not able to look away from her as she watches me come.
As much as I loved finishing inside her, witnessing her as she stares down at the evidence of what she does to me might be the single most satisfying thing I’ve ever experienced.
In this moment, I realize I don’t want to let her go.
Ever.
I feel like a creep as I sneak out of Devin’s room and search for the door I know will lead me back the way we came in. He’d fallen asleep with his arm draped across my hip, and as much as I want to stay, trace the lines of his face, and memorize the shape of his mouth, that’s not what this is supposed to be. So, as quietly as I could, I slipped out from under him and readied myself for the walk of shame.
The sun has just begun to rise, turning the sky from a deep, dark blue, to a blanket of soft violet and gray hues. A shiver runs through me in the predawn chill, and I wish I’d planned better and brought a jacket. I shake my head against the complaint, knowing the car I’d ordered would be here soon enough. I will myself not to think about Devin’s body, strong and steady as he moved over me, into me—or how he shuddered and his eyes changed to that silvery blue as he came, a wonderful tenderness taking the place of his usually cocky smirk. Damn, now I’m horny and wishing I hadn’t left him.
My Uber pulls up, and with one longing glance back at the house, I get in. I’ve got too much on my plate for a distraction like the beautiful man inside. Even if he’s got a magical cock and a body I want to cover in chocolate and lick like an ice-cream cone. Stop it, Willow! I shake my head to clear my mind of him and focus on the day ahead.
I’m surprised when the driver pulls up in front of my building after only a few minutes. I’d assumed we lived farther apart, but I could have just walked home and been here in less than half an hour. My body is sore in all the right ways, and as I unlock my door, I debate taking a shower or a nap.
I stop. Do I really want to wash Devin off me? I can almost smell his skin on me. No, I need to rip the bandage off and move forward. There will be no pining, no aching need to be with him, no heartbreak. Pulling at my clothes, I drop them in the laundry basket, realizing I’ve left my stupid angel wings at his house. I suppose they’ll be my parting gift. Something for him to remember me by.
As I stand under the spray of water, running my hands through my tangled hair, I wonder what he’s doing. Maybe he’s still asleep, or he might be looking for me. I wouldn’t have minded a round of sleepy morning sex before we called it good on our one night. Ugh, my nipples are hard and my breasts ache for his hands—and his mouth. I lather the shampoo in my hair and rinse, applying a thick coat of conditioner in hopes of taming the frizz. While I wait for it to soak in, I add some soap to my hands and begin scrubbing my body. He’d come on my belly. That thought sends a jolt of need straight to my clit. The visual of that moment is burned in my memory, the sounds he made as he pumped his cock and emptied himself onto me. I shiver, and this time, it has nothing to do with being cold.
My fingers drift over my abdomen and up to my brea
sts, lingering, caressing, and wishing Devin were here. A deep pain blossoms as I touch my hardened nipple, shocking me out of my haze of arousal.
“What the fuck?” As I stare down my body, my stomach turns as I see two pinprick-sized puncture wounds, almost healed and so small I wouldn’t have noticed them if it hadn’t been for the pain.
“Motherfucker.”
But how? I’d slept with him. He was a fucking vampire. Vampires can’t have sex. But somehow I’d let him inside my body. And he’d fed on me.
I’m going to kill the asshole.
“This is ridiculous, Galen. Sariel’s turned me into a fucking girl!”
Galen, the damned bastard that he is, just stands in the kitchen and laughs. I mean, really laughs. He’s got tears in his eyes and his stupid face is turning red. I hate him.
“I’m sorry. Oh, bloody hell, who am I kidding? I’m not fucking sorry at all. After all the shit you gave me about Reese, I’m more than happy to watch you languish.”
“I don’t know what to do. It’s been a week since I’ve had her, and I can’t stop thinking about her. Jesus, just the smell of your damn wife’s hand lotion makes me think of Willow.”
Galen’s eyes narrow. “What about my wife?”
“Her fucking lotion smells like juniper.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“Willow smells like juniper. I get hard every time I smell the damn scent.”
That makes him stop laughing. “Reese?” he calls. She breezes in, that scent carrying with her, and I can’t help my reaction. My cock lengthens as my thoughts land on Willow’s firm tits in my mouth and hands.
“What’s going on?” She’s got the baby strapped to her chest in some kind of flower-patterned carrier.
“Throw away your lotion.”
“Why? I like it.”
He kisses the top of her head and wraps an arm around her. “We’ll get you something new. You know how much I love it when you smell of vanilla, a ghra.”
“I thought you didn’t like it when I smelled like a cookie. You said you didn’t want to spend all day wishing you could eat me.”
He nuzzles her neck, whispering in her ear. Trying to tune them out, I focus on twirling the cigarette I just pulled from my pocket. Reese’s cheeks turn pink as she giggles and swats his hand away. And now I want to puke. Shoving away from the island, I start toward the door. “Okay, show’s over. Thanks for the chat.”
I’m out of the house and breathing in the fresh air faster than I need to. Technically, I probably don’t need to breathe more than every few minutes, but it’s an important behavior and something people notice. If I sat across from someone who was even remotely observant, they could tell if I wasn’t breathing. Once, on a subway, I’d leaned back, closed my eyes, lost in thought, and forgotten to fake it. A helpful paramedic had started administering CPR before I could stop him. Not the most comfortable way to meet someone.
I opt for a walk rather than taking my bike tonight, needing to slow everything down so my head and heart can start working together instead of fighting. As I roam aimlessly through the city, I find myself standing outside a karate dojo, a wide bank of windows spanning the second floor. She’s there, heading up a class filled with adults. Well, that explains her ability to knock me on my ass.
She moves with the practiced grace that can only come from strength and focus. My heart gives a pained thud as I observe her, the serious expression on her face making me wish I could be giving her reason to smile. Then her eyes are on mine from across the street. The fury behind her gaze doesn’t match the way I’m feeling. Surely she can’t be looking at me. I turn to glance behind me, but no one else is on the sidewalk at this time of night in the middle of the week. Everyone is at home, eating their dinner, bathing their children. When I look back, she’s gone from the window and the class is breaking up, people gathering their bags and shoes, chatting amongst themselves.
I’ll just wait here. She’s bound to come out, and then I can kiss the frown off her face and replace her anger with desire. But minutes pass, and she’s nowhere to be found. The lights go off in the dojo, and a man leaves, locking the door behind him. Where the fuck is she? The woman is like a damn cat; she needs to wear a bell.
A flash of deep red hair catches my eye as she jogs away. She’s clearly dressed for a run. Tight jogging pants hug every curve of her toned legs, and I can make out an armband holding her phone. I don’t want to scare her, but she’s running fast, like she’s trying to escape something. I pick up my pace as I follow her, needing to hold her in my arms. Her scent fills my head, and without being able to touch her, my need escalates, causing my cock to strain painfully against my fly.
“Willow,” I call, hoping she’ll turn and smile when she realizes I’m here. Instead, she stiffens. Oh, she heard me all right, but with a quick glance over her shoulder, her face pales and she breaks out into a full-on sprint. Fuck.
The vampire bastard is following me. Just what I need. A stalker with a big dick and fangs. Why did I have to love his body so much? I know he could catch me easily if he wanted to, but I run as fast and hard as I can in hopes that I’ll be able to get away instead of having to fight him now. I’m tired. My body aches from a full day of classes and sleepless nights spent dreaming of him. He must’ve used some sort of hypnosis on me, because I’m not afraid, just fucking pissed off. I’ve got a stake tucked under my shirt, though, and I’ll use it if I have to.
I’m so close to my building, only a few feet away from the stairwell. I can make it, although nothing will stop him if he really wants to get to me. The sound of his footsteps as he gains on me sends a thrill and a tremor through me at the same time. Am I excited that he might want me, or worried about having to fend him off because he’s decided to kill me?
“Jesus, Willow. What the fuck’s going on?” His hand grips my shoulder, and the asshole is actually pretending to be winded. I want to punch him.
Pulling the stake out from under my shirt, I round on him, shoving him into the darkened corridor. He stares, wide-eyed, as I press the sharpened wood against his chest, directly over his heart.
“What are you doing? Willow … what the hell?”
“Oh, don’t play innocent. You’re a fucking vampire. I saw your fangs, and you fed on me while we were fucking.”
He’s infuriatingly confused as I continue holding him in place. I know he could snap my neck right now, but he’s not even trying. Why isn’t he trying? Doubt creeps in, and I take a steadying breath. Stepping away, I release him. He lets out a sigh of relief until I pull out a small pocketknife. As he watches, I run the blade across my forearm, dark red blood welling immediately. It hurts like a son of a bitch, but I know it’s the proof I need. His eyes dilate and fix on the wound. He’s shaking with the effort of holding back.
“Open your mouth, Devin.”
“Why are you doing this? Can’t you see things with us are different?” His voice is rough, but his gaze never leaves my arm. “Willow, I’d never hurt you.”
Anger blooms in my chest. “What about all the other people you kill? Show me your fucking teeth!”
Closing his eyes, he does as I ask, and my stomach sinks when I see the long, sharp incisors.
I was right.
Without warning, he grabs my hand and presses the stake to his chest. “Go ahead. I’ve only got a few more months left anyway. Just end it now.”
What the hell? He’s suicidal? That’s a new one. Something feels off about this whole situation. Every vampire I’ve ever encountered killed with abandon, didn’t care about anyone other than himself, and lusted only for blood. But Devin? He’s tender, he fed from me without hurting me or draining my blood, and it’s clear his body functions very differently from the others.
With a grimace, he groans and clutches his head. As soon as he opens his eyes, I realize something is very wrong. The beautiful ice-blue irises I’ve dreamt of over the last few weeks are gone. In their place are eyes so silver, the
y almost glow. His posture is different as well. Devin holds himself with a rakish swagger, but this creature standing before me is almost regal.
“What are you?” I ask.
Smirking, he lifts his chin with a haughty air. “Put your stupid little stick down, Willow.” His voice is different. Rather than the relaxed baritone with just a hint of a Southern drawl, all traces of a sexy accent are gone. This man’s diction is crisp and clean, almost textbook.
I square my shoulders and press forward, the point of the stake sinking a little deeper.
He laughs. The asshole laughs. “You’re not going to kill him. He’s precious to you, I can tell. Now put the damn stake down before I have to hurt you. Devin said he wouldn’t harm you, I never promised anything.”
His silver eyes flash as he walks forward and grips my throat with one hand. The stake clatters to the ground as I give in. He smiles and releases me.
“Thank you, Willow. Let’s take this somewhere less … obvious. We need to talk.”
I should just kill her right now. I could easily push her down the stairs after snapping her neck. Devin hasn’t yet realized the reason for his desire for this fierce little woman, but I know. I can feel the pull of his heart, the connection between them. I’ve felt it before, between Galen and Reese. She is meant for him.
I can’t let him have her. That wasn’t part of the deal. Five years to sow his oats, to fuck everything he could until he’d fade into oblivion and I was free to use his body for my own purposes. And my Selah is here, alive and so close. I can’t let him spend the rest of Willow’s existence in control. If I do, Selah will be long gone and I’ll have missed my chance. I’ll have lost the woman I’ve been searching for over the last two millennia.
I won’t let that happen.
