by J C Gordon
“I’m a vampire, Annie.”
Four little words. That was all it took to stop Rhianna’s heart for a fraction of a second. The anguish in his golden brown eyes, the tense way he held himself before her, she knew without a single doubt what he said to her was true. It didn’t even cross her mind to laugh at him, to deny the existence of such a mythical creature. Caleb announced he was a vampire and she believed him instantly.
She tried to suck in a deep breath but her lungs wouldn’t obey her request for air. Her lungs or her brain, one of the two organs, was ignoring her but she wasn’t really sure which one. Only a fraction of a second had passed since Caleb had spoken, but it felt like an eternity had gone by.
Work brain, work heart, work lungs. The words tumbled around in her head and suddenly she felt her heart thud loudly in her chest, and her lungs allowed her to suck in some much needed air. She wasn’t going to die today after all, not here on Caleb’s leather sofa in his library? Yes, she was in his library. That’s what you called a room with large bookcases and loads and loads of books.
Rhianna felt hysterical laughter starting to bubble up inside her. Her boyfriend had just told her he was a vampire and she was admiring his bookshelves? It was now official. She was clinically insane.
“Say something, Annie,” Caleb pleaded, frightened by her silence and the increasingly wild look in her lavender eyes. He didn’t know how he’d expected her to react to his admission but this silence was terrifying.
Rhianna turned her gaze back to him and she wondered what there was to say. Her brain was still slow in catching up with the rest of her body and she said the first thing that came to mind. “You ate a burger!”
Caleb blinked slowly at her, a look of deep concern crossing his face. “Yes, I ate a burger.” He grimaced. “It was…challenging but I did it for you, so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable eating alone.”
“You did it for me?” She repeated his words, dropping her eyes from his and staring down at the coffee table before the sofa. She was at a loss at how to react to his announcement. She could see his concern and knew she was acting strange at the moment, but then this wasn’t exactly a normal situation.
“I don’t know how to react to this, Caleb,” she said in a small voice. “It’s not the normal run of the mill confession a boyfriend suddenly dumps on his girl. This is….this is…it’s just so off the wall.”
Caleb approached her slowly, sitting down beside her, but giving her enough room so she didn’t feel crowded. “You believe me.” He had mentally prepared himself for her laughing at him at first. This quiet acceptance quite literally threw him.
She laughed suddenly and there was a slight note of hysteria to it. “I should be jumping up and telling you you’re insane but instead I find myself believing you. I don’t know why but I just do. I don’t think you would ever lie to me, Caleb.”
The simple trust she placed in him with that sentence tore at his heart. He would never lie directly to her, she was right about that, but he would lie by omission. Was it the same thing? Was keeping Rafe’s secret from her for a little longer the same as lying to her? “Annie,” he breathed quietly, his hand reaching tentatively for hers. She let him take her hand and he felt a little hope at this simple act.
“I know this is a shock to you. It’s a lot to take in. I know you’ll probably need some time to come to terms with it. I’m willing to wait for you, Annie. Take as much time as you need. Just promise me you won’t make any snap decisions. Think about what you truly want before you decide one way or another whether you still want to be with me.”
Rhianna closed her eyes and let herself succumb to the feeling of his thumb caressing the back of her hand as he spoke so passionately beside her. Her mind was finally getting into sync with the rest of her as she heard the fear in his voice as well as the incredible longing.
Caleb was a vampire. Her boyfriend was a vampire and he was terrified she wasn’t going to accept him. She could hear it in every word that came from his lips. She could hear the slight catch in his voice towards the end of his little speech. She breathed in deeply and slowly opened her eyes, turning to look at him. “I don’t need time to think about it, Caleb,” she said and his expression turned fearful and his fingers pressed against her mouth lightly.
“Please Annie,” he whispered, his voice rough. “Please don’t do anything rash without really thinking it through.”
He was actually shaking beside her, his fingers trembling against her lips. It was just so wrong that this beautiful, confident man could be so easily brought to his knees. Rhianna was astounded she had this level of power over him. She pulled his hand from her mouth and looked deep into his panicked eyes. “I don’t care if you’re a vampire, Caleb,” she said firmly and wasn’t surprised to find she really meant it.
“What you are doesn’t define you; it’s who you are that does. I’m assuming being a vampire isn’t a new condition and you were one when we first met. I liked you then and I haven’t changed my mind just because you’ve told me what you are. I don’t need to think about it, Caleb. I know what I want and it’s you.”
She took a deep breath and searched his face intently. Hell, if they were going down the whole ‘tell the truth’ road she may as well do so too. “I have a confession to make too. I’m in love with you, Caleb. I have been from probably the first night we met but I didn’t have time to explore my feelings for you because of Rafe.”
Caleb blinked slowly, trying to take a deep breath and wondering why his heart was pounding so loudly in his chest. Her lavender eyes were locked to his, waiting for his reaction and he was quite literally speechless for a moment. “This isn’t quite how I expected this to go,” he finally said with a bemused smile on his lips.
“Let me guess you thought I’d run screaming out of the room?” Rhianna asked dryly.
Caleb laughed lightly. “Something like that,” he admitted ruefully. “I didn’t expect you to so readily accept what I am and then just turn around and say it doesn’t matter, and I most definitely didn’t expect you to say you are in love in me.”
She frowned. “Does that bother you, Caleb? Me being in love with you? Is it just sex you’re looking for from me?”
“God, no, Annie,” he groaned, pulling her into his arms. “I’m just so stunned you love me. You are so sweet and pure and I’m….well, I’m the proverbial monster humans are so terrified of. I find it so utterly unbelievable you can see something in me worth loving.” He buried his head in the crook of her neck and clutched her tightly to him, afraid she would change her mind and opt to run screaming from the room after all.
“What’s not to love, Caleb?” Rhianna’s voice was husky, her arms snaking around his waist. “You’re beautiful both inside and out. Everything about you calls to me. I miss you so much when we’re apart and when I’m with you I feel safe and protected and happy again.”
“I don’t deserve to have someone as wonderful as you loving me,” he whispered into the side of her neck. “I’ve not always been the man you see before you today, Annie. I’ve done so many terrible things in my life. I’ve been empty and shallow and only interested in my own needs for such a long time. Even now, I’m still struggling with all the new emotions you make me feel. Sometimes I do the wrong things for the right reasons and I don’t know how to stop doing them.”
Rhianna could hear the struggle in his voice, hear the longing to be someone better than he had been and it made her heart melt. “Oh Caleb, don’t you think the rest of us do that too?” she asked with a little laugh. She raised his head up so she could look into his beautiful face. “We all make mistakes, Caleb, even me. The only thing you can do is try and learn from your mistakes so you don’t make the same ones twice.”
His expression turned fierce and his eyes glittered as he cupped her face gently. “You’re perfect. I can’t ever imagine you doing anything to deliberately hurt anyone.” He felt a wave of guilt wash through him about Rafe and he dropped his eyes fr
om hers. She would be very angry with him when she learned about the pain he had caused her brother.
“What is it?” she asked softly and he shook his head at her.
“I can’t say,” he admitted. “It’s not my secret to tell. I have to speak to someone else before I can tell you.”
Her lavender eyes were intent on his face and then she slowly nodded. “Okay, Caleb. I can understand that. Whatever it is, don’t beat yourself up about it too much. You may as well wait until it comes out in the wash before you give yourself such a hard time about it.”
Her words made him feel even worse. She was such a generous soul. She was half forgiving him even though she didn’t know what it was she was forgiving him for. He truly didn’t deserve this beauty before him but he was going to take her and make her his anyway. He couldn’t let her go.
His heart thundered as he looked down at her, a riot of emotions coursing through him. “Is this love I’m feeling, Annie?” His question came out sounding timid and so at odds to what he was usually like. His uncertainty was clear in his voice, his expression confused.
“Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“My heart is racing in my chest and my hands are shaking. I want you so badly and yet I want to wait until you’re ready to come to me. I ache to hear your laughter and I ache to see your beautiful smile, which causes me to suck my breath in every time I see it. I want to kiss you, hold you and make love to you until you are so exhausted you fall asleep in my arms. I want to give you all of your heart’s desires and I want to keep you safe from anything or anyone who would hurt you.”
The words just tumbled from his mouth until he was almost breathless from talking. He wasn’t used to being so open and honest with anyone. It was refreshing and scary as hell, but he felt strangely liberated telling her every feeling deep inside him.
She smiled her beautiful smile at him and leaned up to brush her lips against his. “Sounds pretty much like love to me,” she sighed against his mouth and he groaned and gathered her body into his lap so he could feast on her mouth the way he ached to. He parted her lips and teased his tongue inside her warm heat, licking leisurely, drinking in her soft moan of pleasure and feeling his heart expand to almost bursting point. “I love you, Annie,” he whispered against her lips, a radiant joy filling his soul as he uttered the words. “I’ll love you forever, my beautiful woman.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her tongue into his mouth, drowning in his declaration, astounded this wonderful man, this vampire, could feel such depths of emotions for her. She twisted in his arms until she was sitting astride him and he had to tilt his head back slightly to look up at her. She ran her fingers through his luscious locks, letting the silky strands run through her hands slowly.
“You are so gorgeous, Caleb,” she breathed softly. She traced her fingers lightly across his brow and down his strong nose, across his cheekbones and down to his hard jaw. Her lavender eyes shone with appreciation as she stroked his face so gently, her touch was like a feather brushing against his skin.
“Make love to me,” she whispered. “I want to feel your hands and mouth on my body, caressing my skin so arrogantly the way you did the night we met. I want you to take me and make me yours, Caleb.”
Caleb’s nostrils flared and his body hardened as his hands tightened on her waist for a fraction of a second before he stood up swiftly, forcing her to hold onto his neck and wrap her legs around his waist. They both groaned when her heat pressed against his hardness.
He couldn’t deny her. He could deny himself but he could never deny his Annie. He carried her from the library and upstairs, striding into his private rooms. He kept his gaze on hers looking for any sign she might change her mind but all he saw was acceptance and a hot need in her eyes. He slowly lowered her down his aching body and he smiled wickedly at her when she moaned as he stepped away from her. They were in his bedroom standing beside his enormous four-poster bed.
“So, you found my touch arrogant, did you?” he laughed, his golden brown eyes twinkling with excitement. “Did you like it, Annie? Did my arrogance make you hot?” He walked around behind her and slid his hands into the heavy weight of her long curls, lifting them away from her slender neck. He leaned down and ran his tongue slowly from her collarbone all the way up to her throbbing pulse point in the side of her neck.
She moaned softly and he licked at her pulse again. She tasted so good, so much better than he remembered. The heavy pulse of her essence flowing through her veins teased him mercilessly and he had to fight to control his blood lust. The urge to sink his fangs into the side of her neck was pretty high and he didn’t want to frighten her.
“You haven’t answered my question, Annie,” he whispered against the shell of ear and she moaned again and leaned back against his chest.
“Yes,” she moaned softly. “Your arrogance made me very hot, Caleb.” She heard him chuckle and the sound sent a shiver right down her spine. A bolt of pure pleasure began in her stomach and flowed quickly down between her thighs. She heard Caleb inhale deeply and let out a little sigh.
“The scent of your arousal is a true aphrodisiac,” he whispered against her neck. “My sense of smell is so much more enhanced than yours. I can smell everything on your skin. I can smell lavender and jasmine. The sweet tang of coconut, the honey in your shampoo. I can smell that little bead of sweat that is slowly trickling down between your breasts right this very moment and I can smell the heady musky aroma of the juices pooling between your thighs. The combination of sweet scents is making my mouth water and my body rock hard with anticipation.”
He moved back from her and walked back around her. Her beautiful face was flushed with passion, her lavender eyes darkening to almost violet, her lips parting as her breath rasped out deeply. His eyes slipped down her little summer top and he watched her breasts rise and fall with each deep breath she took. His palms itched to hold her soft flesh but he maintained his distance, slowly raking his eyes over her heated flesh.
“Take your clothes off, Annie,” he ordered softly. “Show me the sweet delights you have to offer to me.” He heard her breath hitch in her throat as her eyes met his. He smiled was almost wolfish, his eyes shining brightly with barely concealed need.
Rhianna saw his wicked smile and she smiled back at him. This was the man she remembered, the cocky one so sure of himself and his own sexuality. So sure of the pleasure he was about to give her. She pulled her top off and quickly removed her jeans and panties, leaving them in a pile on the floor as Caleb’s heated gaze raked over her naked body.
She heard him groan and his hands clenched into fists at his side. He took a step closer and she swayed wanting to feel his arms around her. His hands moved to her hips and held her steady, keeping a slight distance between them. His grip was tight and she knew she’d probably bruise from his touch but she didn’t care.
He lifted her by her hips and laid her sideways across the bed, her legs hanging down to the floor. He dropped to his knees and lightly slid his hands up the back of her calves until he reached her knees. His touch firmed and he pushed her legs up and wide open, baring her throbbing sex to his greedy gaze. He inhaled deeply at her core and then blew softly against her heated flesh.
She moaned and spread her legs wider, offering herself up to him as tiny goosebumps shivered across her body. She waited breathlessly for him to touch her but he stayed still and simply breathed in deeply again. “Caleb,” she moaned trying to press her body up to his mouth but his grip on the back of her thighs held her immobile.
“In a minute,” he laughed softly. “I’m not finished smelling you yet. Scent is very important to a vampire. It transmits so many different messages to one of my kind. Right now, your scent is telling me just how turned on you are. I can see your flesh practically pulsing with desire. Your lips are swelling so beautifully as your blood rushes to your very core in anticipation of the pleasure which awaits you.”
He inhaled once more an
d watched the tiny beads of moisture begin to seep from her body, as the scent of her arousal grew stronger. He finally lowered his head and teased her with some light kisses along both inner thighs. His lips moved closer and closer to her core but never quite got there causing her to moan her disappointment even as her stomach tensed and relaxed with anticipation. He laughed again and nipped playfully up her thighs until she was tossing her head on the bed.
His own desire took over and he ended his teasing when his need to taste her became too overwhelming. He licked boldly against her flesh and she cried out hoarsely at his touch. He licked again, long bold strokes teasing her as he nibbled against the tiny bundle of nerves that drove her wild.
Her sweet honey was delectable and he coated his tongue with her sweetness again, choosing to dive into her tight canal this time to sample more of her delights. Her wetness drenched his mouth and he rumbled his pleasure.
She couldn’t move against him and it was driving her insane. She wanted to grind her body onto his wicked mouth and tongue but he held her so still it was impossible to do so. “Caleb,” she moaned hoarsely. “I need to move.”
He chuckled lightly and looked up from his feast. “No, you need to be quiet and stop interrupting my feast,” he laughed. “I’ll let you move soon enough but for now, be quiet and let me finish tasting you.”
His arrogance sent a bolt of pure pleasure straight between her legs and she moaned loudly as he licked and lapped, nipped and nibbled every single inch of her most intimate place and then started working his way slowly from the bottom to the top again.
Her first orgasm hit her out of the blue. There was no slow build up to it. His teeth rasped unexpectedly on her clit and she came with a loud scream, her entire body shaking with the sheer intensity of the pleasure exploding inside her.
Caleb growled continuing to pleasure her as she shattered against his mouth. God, she tasted of the sweetest nectar. Her total abandon stirred his blood as no other had ever done. His touch gentled as he coaxed her down from her release and he smiled his pleasure as he took in the flush of colour creeping over her breasts.
