Moving over to the pool, she sat on the edge and lowered her legs into the water. It felt good, and the steam was just as warm as she’d thought it would be. In the middle of the pool, she could make out Christian’s blurry form as he continued his damned laps. For all the attention he was paying her, she might as well strip naked and dance under the stars. Laughing at herself, she braced her arms behind her and leaned back, but the sky was far too saturated with city lights to reveal any stars for her to dance under. She closed her eyes instead, and enjoyed the silky feeling of warm water against her legs, the faint heat of the steam on her face, feeling completely relaxed for the first time in days.
Which was why she screamed when two big hands slid up her calves a moment before Christian emerged on a warm wave that splashed half of her body and left her sitting in a puddle of cooling water.
She was still gasping, her heart racing, when he braced his forearms on either side of her thighs and grinned up at her.
“Aren’t you coming in?” he asked, his legs treading slowly, keeping himself above the water with effortless ease.
Natalie stared. He was just as beautiful as she’d known he would be. Water sheeted off powerful shoulders and slid down the planes of his chest. His arms, next to her thighs, were corded with muscle, his hands a hair’s breadth away from her bare skin.
“Natalie?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as they reflected the underwater lights.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted, fingering the wide strap of her bra nervously. “I’ve never . . .”
His eyebrows shot up. “Never been skinny dipping? Come on, chére, let’s expand your horizons.”
“Isn’t it cold?”
He moved closer, his fingers grazing her thighs for a moment before resting against her skin in a blaze of heat. “I won’t let you get cold,” he said quietly
Natalie’s gaze shot up to meet his eyes. There was no glint of humor anymore. There was nothing but naked desire. “Take it off,” he said, his dark voice a caress of sound in the steamy air.
Nerveless fingers struggled with the tight hooks on the front closure of her sports bra. He didn’t try to help her, didn’t move at all, except for his eyes, which followed her fumbling fingers with an intensity that made her hands shake even worse.
She felt a warm brush of something hot and wet, and looked down to see Christian kissing his way up her thigh, those strong fingers sliding to the inside of her knees to spread her legs. He lifted his eyes to hers again, as he insinuated himself between her thighs, powerful arms levering his body out the water as he kissed her fumbling fingers, first one hand, then the next, before sliding back into the water, and draping her legs over his shoulders.
Natalie blushed when he kissed the inside of her thigh, his mouth only inches away from her sex. She wondered if he could smell the arousal throbbing between her legs, the desire slicking her pussy.
“Natalie,” he growled, giving her fingers a meaningful glance where they’d frozen over the hooks of her bra clasp. His hands slid around to cup the curve of her ass, and a helpless noise escaped her throat when his fingers slipped beneath her underwear to dig into her bare cheeks, tugging her closer to the edge of the pool, bringing her eager pussy closer to his mouth. She closed her eyes against the sight of him. He was the very image of temptation whispering against her thighs, and she was abruptly driven by a desperate need to free herself from the confining bra. Her breasts felt suddenly too big, her nipples aching pearls of exquisite sensation that scraped against the tight cotton fabric with every breath.
Christian’s fingers gripped the back of her underwear and tugged, his eyes meeting hers, almost daring her to say “no.”
Natalie’s body had become a single, throbbing, pulse of desire, every beat of her heart sending scorching need pulsing through her arteries. She ripped the last hook away, and her chest expanded with a deep breath of relief as the confining bra fell away from her breasts, her nipples so hard and swollen that the fabric hung up briefly before she dragged it down.
A rumble of sound came from deep in Christian’s chest as he eyed her bare breasts. He yanked her underwear over her hips, under her ass, and down her legs in a single, smooth motion, and tossed them to one side.
“Do you want this, Natalie?” he asked, his expression deadly serious as he stared up at her.
She swallowed, her voice scratchy on a dry throat. “Yes,” she said, and knew it was true. She wanted Christian with a yearning that wouldn’t ease, but this was more than that, more than simple sexual desire. She wanted Christian, not just the beautiful vampire, but the man. “I want you,” she told him.
His smile was the one mothers warned their daughters about, what fathers guarded their daughters against. He was sin and temptation, and the promise of a sexual ecstasy that few ever experienced.
Natalie closed her eyes against the overwhelming ache of longing that flooded her soul with that smile. But her eyes flashed open at the feel of Christian’s hot breath on the tender skin of her inner thigh. She looked down to see him kissing his way closer to her core, pushing her legs wide until she was completely bare to him, her pussy only inches from his mouth. She flushed with embarrassment and would have closed her legs, but his shoulders held her knees wide, his fingers sliding up her thighs, stroking ahead of his lips until his thumbs grazed the lips of her pussy, already slick with her juices and puffy with arousal.
“Christian,” she gasped as she felt the edge of his teeth on the tender skin of her thigh.
He kissed the spot he’d just bitten, even though she’d barely felt it. It wasn’t his fangs, but his human teeth that he’d bitten her with. Her eyes opened blearily, and she watched as he licked and sucked her inner thigh, her breath catching when she realized his mouth was lingering just above the big femoral vein.
“Have you ever been bitten by a vampire?” Christian murmured, his words a cool brush against her wet skin.
Natalie shook her head, then realized he was facing her thigh, and couldn’t see her. “No,” she rasped.
He looked up at that, his smile one of amused disbelief. “No? All of those beautiful vampires walking the halls, and you’ve never indulged?”
She shook her head again.
He lowered his mouth to her thigh and hummed wordlessly, sending a shiver of lust straight between her legs. “I like that,” he murmured. “I like being the one to pop your cherry.”
“Christian!” she breathed, shocked and turned on at the same time.
He chuckled softly, before licking his way to the very edge of her pussy, then pulling back again, to blow on her wet flesh.
Natalie’s hips thrust upward, almost unwillingly, eager for the touch of his mouth. He smiled against her skin, then suddenly slipped his tongue between her folds and licked, his tongue rough against sensitive flesh, as he tasted her from the swollen opening of her pussy to her throbbing clit. She moaned and pushed against his mouth, but he only circled that engorged nub, making her keen with need.
“Tell me again,” he demanded, then moved his mouth back to suck gently at the skin of her thigh.
“I want you,” she gasped, barely able to get the words out for the pounding of her heart.
His soft growl vibrated against her thigh a moment before she caught the flash of his fangs, and then the sharp pain of his bite stabbed into her thigh, and a shocking wave of carnal greed rolled through her, shivering over her clit and prickling her skin, making her womb ache beneath the clenched muscles of her abdomen, and tightening her nipples into hard peaks above the swollen flesh of her breasts. Natalie cried out, as the sensation crashed over her, thinking this was what everyone had told her about, this incredible feeling of erotic pleasure.
But that was only the beginning. Unfettered lust suddenly raced through her veins like fire, lighting up every nerve, every muscle.
Her back bowed from the force of it, her legs spreading wide as if she could somehow free herself from the pressure of this consuming need. Her head fell back, her desperate cries impossible to contain. She didn’t think about anyone hearing her scream, didn’t consider the neighbors, or even Marc in the house behind her. Her only thought was to let it go before it destroyed her. Christian snarled as he lifted his mouth from her thigh, his fangs sliding out and his tongue lapping up the remaining blood, soothing the wound that didn’t hurt, but ached as though she could never have enough of it.
Natalie sobbed in relief, thinking it was over, that her body would be hers once again. But her sobs turned to renewed cries as Christian’s sinful mouth moved up her thigh, his kisses wet on her overheated skin, his thumbs spreading her wide a moment before his mouth closed over her clit and sucked.
She choked on a sharp intake of air, and would have fallen back to the concrete, but Christian’s arms shot out, wrapping around her back, sliding her down his body as he pulled her into the water. His hands were everywhere, stroking her back, her legs, pressing her trembling body against his hard length, anchoring her. She clung to his shoulders, feeling as if she’d fly into pieces and disappear if she let go. Her legs tangled with his as he kissed her, his mouth moving over her neck, her shoulders. He lifted her effortlessly to get to her breasts, closing his teeth over her nipple, taking her right to the edge of pain, before caressing the swollen tip with his tongue as he made soothing noises.
Natalie didn’t know what was happening to her, didn’t know what to do with this raging need, this hunger that was tearing her apart. She wanted to scrape her nails down his back, to dig furrows into his powerful shoulders, to see red blood mingle with the turquoise water. She was shocked at the strength of her own desires, at the sheer lust driving her. She wasn’t like this. She was quiet, conventional, and always in control.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Christian dug his fingers into her ass, grinding her against the marble-hard length of his erection. Her breath caught as his fingers caressed the crease between her butt cheeks, and then released in a keening moan when one thick finger slid into the tight little hole. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then he wrapped her leg around his hip and slammed his cock deep into her body, claiming her more completely than any man had ever done, more, she suspected, than anyone else would ever do again. She despaired even as she exalted, dreamily wondering how she could go on knowing that she might never again experience the piercing joy of making love to Christian Duvall.
He pulled his cock out in a long, slow stroke of sensuousness, only to slam back into her with a snarled oath. “Stay with me,” he demanded, and began fucking her hard and fast. His cock was big, and she was tight, but so wet. So very wet and slick and ready for him.
Her cries rippled over the water as he fucked her with fingers and cock, his mouth swallowing her pleas for release, or maybe she was begging for more. She didn’t know anymore, couldn’t distinguish where she ended and he began. She could only hold on to the unrelenting strength of him, crying out helplessly when a fresh orgasm tore her apart and put her back together in one glorious explosion of ecstasy. She laughed crazily when Christian kept driving into her, wondering how much more pleasure her body could take. But then without warning, he shuddered hard. His mouth slammed down on hers in a passionate kiss, his cock bucked inside her, and she felt the warm rush of his release.
CHRISTIAN HUGGED Natalie close, holding her upright and murmuring meaningless words against her ear as she hung limply against him. He needed to get her out of the water before she became chilled. The water was warm, but it would soon drain what little reserves she had left after her multiple orgasms. He couldn’t stop his satisfied grin at the thought, any more than he could stifle the smug confidence that he was feeling as she trembled in his arms. His Natalie wasn’t a virgin, but she wasn’t experienced either. She’d never been bitten, and her shock when he’d slid his finger into her tight little hole hadn’t been feigned. His drained cock twitched at the thought of dipping more than his finger into that sweet ass.
Natalie moaned softly, as if she’d sensed the reaction of his cock. But he didn’t know if the moan meant she was too exhausted for more, or if she was anticipating even greater pleasures. Whichever it was didn’t matter, because she was practically unconscious, and he wanted her fully able to enjoy everything they did together.
Swinging her up into his arms, he walked to the stairs and climbed out of the pool. Natalie moaned again, but her shivers made the meaning obvious this time. The night air had hit her after the warm water, and she was cold. Putting on a burst of vampire speed, he dashed into the house with her in his arms, snagging his sweater from the kitchen barstool as he strode through the house and down the hall to the guest room where she’d slept last night. She clung to him tightly when he went to put her down, so he pulled back the covers with one hand and slid into bed with her until she was breathing evenly. He would have liked to sleep next to her, and had a flash of how delightful it would be to roll over at sunset and pull Natalie into his arms. He’d tug her beneath him and sink his fangs into her neck, before spreading her legs and fucking her awake. He could still feel the pulsing of her sheath around his cock from when she’d come earlier, the way her tight pussy had squeezed him nearly dry.
And if he didn’t stop thinking about that, he was going to fuck her again right now.
Releasing her gently, he snagged his sweater and slid it over her head, kissing her thigh as he rolled it over her hips and under her ass. Then he climbed out of bed, pulled the covers up, and left her with a final kiss on her warm lips.
She didn’t stir when he slipped out into the hallway and closed the bedroom door. He was at the basement stairs when it occurred to him that she would very probably wake during the day tomorrow, and wonder where he was, or when she’d see him. After all, he was her first vampire lover, and while she had to know the basics of a vampire’s sleep cycle, her first morning-after in a near empty house might be confusing. So he left her a note near the espresso machine, and went downstairs to find Marc still hard at work.
“Any luck?” he asked, passing through the computer room on his way to their personal quarters.
Marc glanced over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised at Christian’s lack of clothing. “No,” he said dryly. “Unlike you, apparently.”
Christian grinned, but didn’t say anything as he ducked into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweats. He and Marc had shared lovers in the past, and had certainly compared stories, but he didn’t want to talk about Natalie. He wasn’t sure what he felt for her, but he knew it was something different, something unique.
He reappeared in the doorway, rubbing a towel over his wet hair. “So you think Anthony’s running a closed network on the estate?”
“Sure looks that way. Even if I couldn’t break the security on his network, I should at least have been able to find it if he was connected to the Internet.”
Christian frowned. “I wonder if Jaclyn could help.”
“I wonder if she will. Wouldn’t that be the same as Raphael taking sides in the challenge?”
Christian shrugged dismissively. “It’s done all the time. The lords aren’t supposed to, but everyone plays favorites. Besides, Jaclyn is her own person, not just Raphael’s mouthpiece. And after what Anthony did earlier, I think she’d welcome the chance to fuck him over.”
“I think there’s probably a long line for the privilege.”
Christian laughed. “His children seem loyal enough.” But then he recalled Scoville’s easy acceptance of his argument about Noriega. Maybe Anthony didn’t have the loyal following he thought he did.
“Give it up for tonight,” he told Marc. It’s nearly sunrise. You need blood?”
Marc pushed away from the computer, spinning his chair around as he stood. “Nah, I’m good. But you mus
t be drained.” He snickered, and Christian reached out and slapped the back of his head as he went by.
He walked over and pulled the interior vault door closed, sealing off the bedrooms from the rest of the basement. His thumbprint and a second code threw the bolts on the heavy door, just as the first rays of the sun burst over the horizon, igniting a warning fire in his brain. And by the time the yellow ball of flame crested the horizon, he was sound asleep in his big bed, with the rich taste of Natalie’s blood lingering on his tongue.
Chapter Eight
NATALIE WOKE WITH a start. The room was dark and empty, and, for a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was. And then the night came crashing back, and she remembered everything. She covered her eyes with a groan. Had she really been that wanton, needy creature? For sure, that had never happened before. This was all Christian’s doing, some vampire magic he’d worked on her. Her sex pulsed in remembered heat, flooding her pussy with wet need, and her breasts felt swollen and sensitive beneath the soft fabric of . . . Christian’s sweater. He must have put it on her after carrying her to bed. His scent surrounded her, and she couldn’t stop the soft moan that trembled from her throat. God, she wanted him. He was like a drug. Every inch of her was on fire, replaying the touch of his mouth, the sharp sting of his fangs, the hard thrust of his shaft.
Her hand slid beneath the sweater, her fingers finding the slick moisture between her thighs. Her clit throbbed to her touch, her sex wide open and aching as she slipped two fingers inside herself. She added a third, but it didn’t come close to the thickness of Christian’s cock, the way he’d stretched her wide, her inner muscles clenching around him as he’d fucked her slowly, deliberately. His fingers gripping her ass as he—
Christian (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 10) Page 18
