I burst out laughing. “I somehow doubt meeting my mother is something you’re really looking forward to, but congratulations on sounding so sincere.”
“You doubt me, Madame? I am insulted.” He reached up to caress my healed cheek. “Indeed, while I cannot say I am particularly looking forward to your mother’s potential disapproval, I can sympathize with her concerns. Were I human, these would most certainly be plausible reasons for her to be mistrusting of me, and given she does not know my status as uno dei non morti, one of the undead, I will not begrudge her any trepidation.”
He smiled. “Given whom her daughter is and what little you have told me of her, I do not doubt she is a highly intelligent lady. I can imagine we would get along quite amicably, provided she does not loathe me entirely for my association with her only child.”
“She won’t hate you,” I chortled. “She won’t love you, but she won’t hate you.”
I was completely and utterly flabbergasted when I made it through Thanksgiving without any trouble from Madison and or texts from Cole, whom I assumed had given up pursuing me. I’d briefly considered introducing my mother to my lover before the holiday, but decided that with her frantic need for everything to be perfect for gathering family, it might be better to wait.
I also chose not to do anything remotely resembling a classic dinner with the Treviso clan, as it made no sense to have a feast when I was the only one who could really eat and not just nibble. And as Grace pointed out, we were the only two American-born people in the mansion and therefore the only ones who would have grown up with the tradition. So instead of a big turkey with dressing and having conversation around a formal dinner table, we all decided to watch Die Hard while I munched on a couple of hot pockets and Grace had a large tumbler of what I was informed was bagged blood.
It was undeniably the most interesting part of my Thanksgiving.
Once college started back, on the days my mother went into work early, Simon would show up in the Audi and drive me to the university. He or Brianna would drive me home, depending on whether or not my mother had an early day.
When I opened my eyes and found two lilac ones staring right back, mischief dancing in their depths, I remembered this was one of those days when Mom had an early start. Having been told where the spare key was, it seemed my mate had no issues letting himself in and waking me up.
"What’re the chances I’ll make it to the bathroom to brush my teeth before you stop me?" I groused.
"Entirely nonexistent."
"You realize you don't play fair, right?"
I crossed my arms stubbornly and gave him a glare when he taunted “life's not fair”. When I growled at him, I received a growl back that had my toes curling and my fingers plucking at the bed sheets. I felt the powerful spread of heat as my body responded, growing wet with desire, and I knew he could smell my scent when his eyes closed. I watched him inhale deeply and heard the rumble lower in pitch, and I felt my breath catch when he opened his eyes and they were a deep shade of plum.
He moved the covers and shifted us on the bed so I was lying directly beneath him, then leaned down to claim my lips in a searing kiss. It was loving, but possessive. The firm pressure of his mouth plundering mine was undeniable; without words he was reminding me that I was his mate, that I belonged to him and him alone. "La mia," he whispered in my ear as he braced himself on one hand, the other trailing over one breast, down my side and under the damp cotton covering my sex.
When he slid a finger inside, I whimpered and clutched at his shoulders, my body twisting in pleasure and frustration when he began to delve in and out of me with excruciating slowness. I heard him whisper “la mia” and the lust I felt skyrocketed. "Simon.” I moaned his name like a prayer. "More… please, Simon… I need more."
He obliged, adding a second long digit and thrusting into my pussy faster and harder while his thumb drew small figure eights around my clit, and lowered his face to my throat, where his mouth latched onto the sensitive patch of skin right above the curve of my shoulder. He licked and sucked firmly before ever so lightly grazing my flesh with his teeth, never making even the slightest cut. “La mia, il mio sangue.”
"Cazzo!" I hissed, and my eyes rolled back into my head when he staked his claim on my blood. I thought I would die of sheer bliss when a loud growl burst from him and his lips reclaimed my pulse as he slipped a third finger into my pussy, stroking in and out of me feverishly. "Oh fuck! Simon… Oh god… Simon, close… Please, so close.”
At my wanton begging, he whispered in my ear, "How I wish I could sink my teeth into that beautiful throat of yours." I clamped around his fingers at his words. "I would drink so deeply from you while you came for me." My muscles were tightening, straining painfully as my orgasm quickly approached. "Soon, mia diletta. Soon, I will have your blood. Vieni per me, tesoro mio. Come for me, cara," he purred, his tongue lapping the flesh where my blood had risen below the surface of my heated skin. "Come, bella mia."
I rocked furiously against his hand, the combination of his fingers and thumb driving all thoughts from my mind. I keened as pure ecstasy had me spasming beneath him, my toes curling as an undeniable and overwhelming sense of pleasure consumed me fully. I thought this must be how it felt for an addict to experience a high.
I wasn’t quite sure how long I’d lain with my knees bent and a dorky grin on my face, but when the world came back into focus, I found him watching me with triumph in his eyes and lips curled into the most self-satisfied smirk I’d ever seen in my life. A part of me wanted to say something to wipe the grin right off his face, but he looked so pleased with himself that I knew I couldn’t deny him that—hell, he had every damn right to be smug.
I stretched and smiled up at him, reaching to trail my fingertips down the buttons of his shirt and plucking at the fabric where it met his trousers. "Do I have to go to lectures today? I think I could learn a lot more here." A quick glance at the straining zip made me eager for his agreement, but when I followed his line of vision to the numbers on the clock, I huffed a small sigh of regret.
He brought my fingers to his lips. "Mi spiace, forgive me, bella mia. There will be time for me, later." He gave me a gentle nudge toward the edge of the bed and chuckled when I scowled at him. "I am afraid we must both attend our classes. However, if you would permit me to do so, I would make up our separation to you with lunch."
"Deal,” I agreed. “And I can’t believe you kept me from going to the bathroom with an Earth-shattering orgasm, but now that your male pride has something to gloat about, you're trying to get rid me." I leaned in to press a teasing kiss to his cheek. "You do realize that type of behavior is incredibly rude, right?"
I stuck my tongue out at him, and his laughter filled the room as I bounced off the bed and strutted into the bathroom to begin my morning routine. I took more time than I probably should have enjoying the hot water of the shower and straightening my mass of curls, but I was too happy to care. I noticed he was gone when I was finished and assumed he was downstairs, so I dressed quickly in jeans and a black sweater, making sure to wrap a matching scarf securely around my neck to cover the mark he’d left. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of having the bruise, but I really didn’t want my blissful high to be ruined by the questions I knew would be coming from Madison.
I traipsed downstairs to find a plate of French toast and strawberries, and I giggled happily when he yanked me into his arms and buried his face in my blow-dried hair, purring for me.
He shook his head in bemusement when he pulled away and directed me to the table. "You really do enjoy that sound, do you not?"
I ate quickly, knowing we’d spent way too much time upstairs, and let him wash the dishes as I grabbed my bag and phone. Soon after, I was sitting in the soft seat of his car, thumbing absentmindedly over the cool leather. I was a bit confused when he did not immediately speed away from the house, but instead reached into the back seat. I felt a blush spread across my cheeks when I saw what he had in his
fingers, and before he’d even raised his hand to unwind the black material from my neck, I knew exactly what his plans were.
My lips parted with a soft sigh at the important gesture. I doubted anyone from the university would know it, since he rarely wore one, but I understood the significance to him of my wearing it.
Never taking his eyes from mine, he dropped my scarf into the back of the coupe and gently wrapped his own cashmere one over the bruised flesh of my throat. He gazed at me for a moment more before he pulled me close and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. "La mia."
When he released me, I nodded, unable to find my voice for a moment, but as I finally regained control of my senses, I returned his kiss with my own. "Yours."
He took my hand in his, then turned his gaze ahead of him and revved the car to life, driving away at a speed that I approved of—I had the distinct feeling he probably preferred to speed, but after having revealed how my father had died he was more considerate in how he drove while I was with him.
The ride was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. I’d realized early on that, much like myself, Simon was appreciative of companionable silences. So in place of words, there were tiny brushes of thumbs against each other, gentle squeezes of fingers, and within thirty minutes, we were sliding into one of the far parking lots.
"I will see you for lunch?"
“Certo. Of course.”
After walking through two parking lots, I made it to the double doors of the main atrium and found Brie waiting for me. “I’m not entirely sure what the hell you’ve done to piss her off, but Mads’ back in top form today.” Brie’s eyes darted beyond the glass, and I followed her gaze, catching sight of her pacing alone. “I think she’s been waiting for you. She looks mad as hell.”
"Good," I said blithely. "She can go there for all I care!"
I refused to make eye contact with my rival, since doing so would only encourage her to speak to me. I walked with Brie until she had to split off into the social sciences hall, then made the solo trek confidently to the first medical corridor. Mercifully, she didn’t bother speaking to me, and the class began without confrontation.
I struggled through the lecture about the digestive system, and in a rare occurrence for me, retrieved my cell and sent a text to my mate to not bother with joining me in the cafeteria. I had the disturbed feeling Mads would be attempting to stay as close to me as possible all morning.
Sure enough, for the first time since the semester began, Brie and I found ourselves standing in awkward silence with our former high school classmate right behind us. It was obvious she was hoping to hear something, anything, though I could only guess as to what. I supposed she wanted to hear something about Cole, but that wasn’t going to happen. Sadly, it also meant I couldn’t talk to my friend about the scarf, who gave it to me or the reason it was around my neck.
I was tense all through breakfast, and I could almost feel my entire being vibrating with barely suppressed rage. I made a mental note to ask Simon what he felt like when extremely angry, because no matter how furious I’d ever become with Madison, or anyone for that matter, I never remembered feeling so physically.
Despite the few texts between Simon and myself, including one that said he would be waiting for me in the parking lot at lunch, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable, not only with being physically separated from my mate, but from the horridly vengeful looks Madison kept giving me and my near-tangible, internal responses. Something felt incredibly wrong, but I couldn’t form any theories as to what the blonde might possibly have up her sleeve.
As we left the second lecture, I mumbled under my breath, knowing the incubus would probably hear me no matter where on the campus he was. “It might take me a few minutes. Mads is being… Mads.”
I withdrew my cell from my pocket and hit the third speed dial number—Brie’s number—without looking, and smiled when she picked up. “I need your help.”
Brianna was so good, I never had to explain what it was I wanted.
“Head this way,” she responded. “It’s pretty crowded today, because we had a guest speaker and everyone wants to talk to her. I won’t even look for you. Just dodge and weave, and I’ll catch her while you slip out the back exit. It’s a long trek around, but it’s better than dealing with her, I guess.”
“Thanks.”
“What’re friends for?” There was a touch of smugness and amusement in her voice. “Just know you owe me some juicy details about whatever dirty thing it was you did last.”
“Um, no,” I laughed. “I’ll make you a deal though, and you can join us for Italian next time we have lunch.”
“Real Italian or psuedo-Italian?”
“It’ll be real this time. God, you’re almost as bad as Mom.” By then, I’d made it to the front of her hall and could just make out the distinct red spikes among the crush of bodies. “I don’t know if you see us, but she should be about twenty feet behind me.” I paused, taking in all the people before I plunged in. “And good god you weren’t kidding! Thanks again for this.”
“Not a problem, but I’m hanging up now.”
I bumped into a few people on purpose, knowing it tended to cause a stall on both ends. However, being prepared for them, I recovered more quickly, disappearing deeper into the throng while they took a few more seconds to regain their original bearings.
Just as I approached Brie, I dropped my head, dancing around her as she spun, effectively looking as if she were catching me to talk. However, instead of actually stopping me, she stayed put for a few seconds. Knowing her, she’d turn after a few moments and place herself right next to someone to form some unsuspecting human barricade while she waited to snag Madison in her grasp.
God bless my brilliant, if not sometimes underhanded, friend!
When I approached the car, I didn’t see any sign of my lover and assumed he was already in the driver’s seat, keeping his time in the sun to a minimum.
Before the Treviso clan, I’d always believed the stories that vampires slept during the day, but I’d quickly learned that like almost every other aspect of vampirism, the differences in sleep patterns varied between breeds and individual immortals.
Apparently, the gargoyle-esque vetalas, which required the most rest, preferred sleeping during the day and spent a good deal of their nights “haunting” cemeteries. Eidolons, the epitome of psychic vampire, didn’t have to worry about the sun at all, as they simply took possession of the recently deceased for a few days before moving onto a new host. Breeds like those of the incubi and succubi needed only a couple of hours every day or two, so they tended to rest at night so they could be up and active with the rest of humanity during daylight hours.
I asked Simon once about how long he could stay in direct sunlight, and he explained his species could remain outside about five minutes before the effects became ‘painfully obvious’ and about ten to fifteen before there was extensive damage. Within half an hour, there was no hope for them, having been “cooked” to the state of ash.
He then went on to explain why even in the summer, he wore a suit jacket outside and typically remained an hour or two longer than his colleagues—it was to ensure any student who needed to speak with him could without him being trapped outside for a lengthy discussion. I was also aware of the fact that his office had no windows to the outside, nor did his classroom, and that he carefully managed to avoid the glass doors and windows throughout the college. It made me wonder why he bothered teaching day classes at all.
Even as I thought about how careful he had to be while passing from building to vehicle and back, he slipped out of the car and made his way around to the passenger side to open the door for me.
Normally, I responded to this action with a smile, but the tense look on his face kept me from doing so today. I suddenly felt nauseated, worry coiling itself deep in my gut. “What’s wrong?”
To my horror, he said the four worst words ever uttered in history. “We need to talk.”
&nbs
p; TWELVE
My heart sank to my feet.
We need to talk.
No matter what the situation, those four words were never good. Whether it was about love and relationships, a friend or loved one being in the hospital, it didn’t matter. “We need to talk” was the sibling of “There’s something I need to tell you” and the parent of “It’s not you, it’s me.” It was the worst of the worst, an omen of doom, and in my personal experience, “we need to talk” meant one of two things: death and breakups. I had heard the former and said the latter, so I considered myself well versed in that particular phrase.
He waited until we were both settled in the car before speaking. “Stop panicking.” Just as I opened my mouth to deny his words, he cut me off. “Your heart rate has increased, from the sound of it, from its normal seventy-two per minute to… ninety-two if I quadruple it from the last fifteen seconds. Your breathing has doubled, and if that were not enough, I can smell the fear pouring off of you.”
He shifted in his seat to look me directly in the eyes. “I am not ending our relationship, and even if I wanted to, which I most certainly do not, I could not sever our bond. I am in no way suggesting a parting of ways, so please put that out of your mind.”
My eyebrows went up. “I didn’t know you read minds.”
“I do not, but I know you, and I know how strong the bond has grown.” His voice lost its stiff tone and gained a soothing note. “Sofia, cara mia, I should have chosen my words more carefully as to not cause panic, because terminating our partnership is not my intention. There is, however, something of great importance we need to discuss.”
The lengthy pause did nothing to calm my nerves, but I’d learned to be patient when it came to information Simon was convinced would upset me.
Finally, he spoke. “We are going to have to go before the university’s administration and tell them of our relationship.”
“What? Why?”
“I know precisely why Miss Kinley is behaving the way she has been today,” he said heavily. “Even though she was not sitting with you, I could hear her conversation as well. As I told you before, vampires are capable of hearing every sound for a couple of miles, all of it, at once, and I could hear her phone conversation with another young lady. It seems that Mister Malver has been in contact with her these past few days, and last night, he let the nature of our relationship slip—well, a human’s perspective of it anyway.”
Feral: Part One Page 14
