FRIDAY NIGHT ROLLED around both faster and slower than Luci would have liked. On the one hand, she was super excited . . . in more ways than one. On the other, she was nervous as hell. Maybe she was making too much of this. Maybe it was just a date. He’d take her dinner or whatever, they’d have a lovely evening, and he’d drop her back home with another scorching kiss.
“Gah!” She stared at herself in the mirror, looking for flaws. Not in her appearance. She didn’t need to look for those. Like every other woman in the world, she could identify every physical flaw blindfolded. But . . . she also knew her good points. Her skin was probably her best feature. It was smooth and unblemished, a nice golden brown that she’d inherited from both sides of her genetic pool. Her hair was long, black, and shining, with, so far, no gray outliers. She’d been told she was beautiful, but wasn’t sure she’d go that far. Her figure was good, slender with full breasts and a flat belly. That, too, was mostly good genes, although she worked out religiously in her home gym and had a trainer in, three times a week.
But none of that was her focus tonight. Juro hadn’t told her where they were going, so she’d dressed to impress. Or at least to get a reaction from him. Her dress was strapless—a raw silk sheath that fit like a glove, its rich crimson color bringing out the warmth of her natural skin tones. Her heels were five-inch stilettos from Christian Leboutin, black leather with gold satin cut-outs. At five foot six, Luci was average in height, but she was comfortable in heels and needed the extra boost since Juro was probably closer to seven feet than six. She wore no stockings. Her legs were freshly waxed and gleaming, as was every other inch of skin that mattered. Most importantly, her underwear was new and gorgeous. She was ready, whatever the evening brought.
She heard the muted slam of a car door and peeked out the window. Juro was coming up the walkway, looking elegant and gorgeous in matching dark gray slacks and jacket over a black shirt with no tie. Luci sighed with pleasure at the sight, then sucked in a breath when his gaze lifted unerringly to the window where she stood. Vampire hearing? Cyn had told her stories of vampires’ freakishly good senses, but still . . .
He disappeared from sight a moment before her doorbell rang, and she hurried down the stairs to open the door.
“Hi,” she greeted him, stepping back and remembering to say, “Come on in.”
Juro paused for a moment, his gaze scanning her from head to toe, lingering on her bare legs and nose-bleed heels before traveling back up to settle on her face. And the heat in his eyes told her everything she needed to know about how she looked.
“Lucia,” he rumbled in his deep voice. He stepped into the house and looked around briefly before returning his attention to her. “Are you ready?”
Luci nodded. “I didn’t know where—”
“Dinner in Malibu,” he said. “And then a surprise.”
She gave him a puzzled smile. Unlike some people, she loved surprises, but couldn’t imagine what Juro had in mind.
“You’ll see,” he said enigmatically.
Had she ever met a man who could do enigmatic better than Juro? Did such a person exist? She didn’t think so. So she simply nodded and said, “I love surprises.”
“THIS IS YOURS?” Luci spun around in a circle, seeing nothing but moonlight and ocean. They were standing in the main room of an empty house in Malibu. Sitting right on the sand, the ocean-facing wall was all glass from the hardwood floor to the open-beam ceiling a good fifteen feet over their heads.
“It is now,” Juro said, standing beside her with a small smile on his face.
“I didn’t even know you were looking for a house. Don’t you have to live on the estate? I mean, you’re Raphael’s security chief.”
Juro shrugged his massive shoulders. “Raphael’s place is about a hundred yards down the beach. Do you know how long it takes me to run a hundred yards?”
“But you’ve lived there for . . . I don’t know how long. Why move now?”
Juro closed the distance between them, stroking the back of his fingers along her jaw with a gentleness no one would expect from a man so big.
But Luci knew what he was capable of, knew how careful he was with her, how tender he could be. Sometimes, she wished he’d forget about their differences, forget that he outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds, that he could break her bones without even thinking about it. She wanted him to think of her as a woman, not a porcelain doll.
His next words gave her hope that her wish might come true.
“I never had a reason before now,” he told her.
“What reason?” she whispered, mesmerized by the intensity of his dark gaze as his hand moved down to her shoulder and then her back. His fingers spread wide and he pulled her close until barely an inch separated them, close enough that she could feel the heat of his big body.
“I wanted someplace I could bring the woman I . . . care about. A place we could be alone.”
Luci swallowed hard, hoping she was reading his intentions correctly. If not, she was about to look like a fool. She eliminated that last inch of separation, going up on her toes, pressing her breasts into his thick chest, wrapping her fingers in the fine silk of his shirt as she raised her face to his and kissed him. Not a lovely the-evening-is-over-I-had-a-great-time-and-by-the-way-you’re-fucking-hot kind of a kiss. No, this was a no-holds-barred, kiss-me-you-fool-I-want-to-get-naked-with-you kind of a kiss.
And Juro responded with a low, hungry groan, clamping her tightly in his arms as he took over, fisting his thick fingers in her long hair, tugging her head back as he claimed her mouth. And the man, the vampire, could damn well kiss. His lips were soft, his hands commanding as he lifted her off her feet, holding her effortlessly against his huge chest, positioning her mouth just where he wanted her as his tongue swept in, tasting and caressing.
Luci moaned softly, her arms tightening around his neck, her fingers tugging at the tight queue of his long hair until the tie loosened and his hair spilled into her hands like silken threads. Juro groaned again, the sound vibrating against her lips a moment before he broke the kiss with a teasing bite. Luci felt a sting, felt the blood warming her lips.
Juro’s groan became a hungry growl. Loosening his hold, he slid her down the length of his body until her feet hit the floor. He held her a moment longer, as if wanting to be sure she could stand, then he grabbed her hand and spun away from the windows, pulling her back through the house without a word, her high heels tapping sharply on the wood floor as he led her down the hall to a curving stairwell. His arm went around her waist as they climbed the stairs, carrying her as he took them three at a time, until they emerged on the top floor of the three-story house.
Juro didn’t even pause when they reached the top, simply pushed through a pair of half-open doors and into a gorgeous bedroom that took up the front half of the third level. Moonlight flowed like silver over the waves outside, lighting the room more brightly than any artificial light could have done.
Luci’s heart was thumping so hard in her chest, she thought he must be able to hear it. This was it. This was what she’d been waiting for.
Juro took four long strides into the bedroom, tugging her behind him, and then he stopped dead, holding both of her hands in his, and gazing down at her with a look of gentle affection.
Nooooo! Luci almost screamed the word out loud. She didn’t want gentle. She wanted the passionate man who’d dragged her up the stairs.
Juro’s smile turned knowing, as if reading her thoughts. “Be very sure, Lucia,” he said in his deep, bass voice. “I’ve wanted you a long time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop once I start.”
She couldn’t breathe. My God, had anyone ever said anything more romantic than that?
Luci was unable to form words, but she managed a jerky nod. Then, just to be sure he understood, she pulled her hands away, stepped bac
k, slid down the side zipper of her strapless dress and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in nothing but the matching set of lace and silk undies that she’d selected with only one thing in mind—that tonight would be the night she got Juro naked.
Juro’s gaze followed the red fabric of her dress as it fell past her hips and down to pool around her feet, his eyes lingering over her breasts, her hips, the juncture between her thighs. As his gaze travelled back up again, he made a noise, halfway between a hum and a growl, and it was so full of hunger that Luci shivered. Then he reached for her.
Luci stepped eagerly into his embrace, thankful for the stilettos she still wore as she stretched up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their mouths met in a ravenous kiss as Juro’s arms yanked her up against his chest, one big hand dropping down to cup her nearly naked butt, the other twisting in her hair, bending her back as he changed the angle of the kiss and delved even more deeply into her mouth.
She squeezed her hands between them, scraping at the jacket he still wore, shoving it off his shoulders, tearing it down each arm in turn as he understood what she was doing and shifted to help.
“We need to slow down,” he growled against her mouth, releasing her butt in order to toss the jacket to the floor. “You deserve better than this.”
“Fuck that,” she gasped, biting his lip, sinking her teeth in lest he try to pull away. “We’ll go slow next time,” she added, then grabbed the front of his silk shirt and ripped, baring the broad and muscled perfection of his chest which was every bit as gorgeous as she’d known it would be.
Juro rumbled wordlessly as he put both hands around her hips and yanked her against his body. He spread the fingers of both hands, slipping them under the narrow band on both sides of her sexy lace thong and ripping them apart.
Luci laughed wildly as the tiny lace triangle whispered between her thighs and fell to the floor. This was the passion she’d longed for, the wild man she knew lurked beneath Juro’s cool exterior. He swallowed her laugh, crushing her mouth against his, tongues tangling. Luci hummed with pleasure, her fingers making quick work of his belt, then the button on his slacks, and finally his zipper. Wasting no time, she slid her hand into his pants, shoved past the waistband of his boxer briefs, and wrapped her fingers around his cock.
Juro groaned, his hands closing almost painfully around her hips, until one broad finger slipped through the slick moisture of her folds and deep into her body. Luci moaned against his lips as he pumped her once, twice, bucking against his hand in wordless demand.
Determined to take him with her, she closed her hand over his cock and stroked him, reveling the sensation of velvety soft skin over such a hard, thick shaft, squeezing and releasing until Juro wrapped her hair around his fist with a hissed curse, then yanked her head back as his mouth slammed down on hers.
Their movements became even more frantic after that as Juro backed her toward the bed. She shoved his slacks and underwear down his legs, never breaking their kiss, lips smashed against each other, tongues curling and teeth clashing. Luci’s nails scraped over his ass as his fingers dug into hers and he lifted her off her feet, her heels clattering to the floor noisily as he toed off his own shoes.
Tossing her bodily onto the bed, he followed her down, her legs spreading wide to accommodate his size, clasping immediately around his hips when he pressed between her thighs.
And then he was inside her, gradually at first, muscles straining beneath her fingertips as he forced himself to slow down, mindful even in the grip of their passion, that he was a very big man.
Luci gasped at the first intrusion of his cock, then immediately tightened her hold on him when he would have pulled back. She loved the sheer weight of his body on top of her, delighted in the discovery that he was big everywhere—thick and long and so very hard.
“Don’t,” she whispered when he tried yet again to pull away. “You’re perfect. Just . . . it’s been a while. Just give me a moment.”
Juro growled, his eyes going gold at the revelation that she’d been in a long dry spell sexually. And she knew that the vampire liked that, liked knowing she was only his. Luci smiled up at him, then flexed her hips, causing his cock to sink another few inches.
“Lucia,” he hissed, muscles still taut with effort.
“Go for it, big boy,” she murmured. And he did. As if he’d been held back with ropes that had suddenly snapped, he sank all the way into her body in a single powerful thrust, then pulled back and did it again, surrounding himself with her wetness one more time, before he pulled almost all the way out . . . and then started fucking her. Hips driving, ass flexing, his big cock slamming in and out of her pussy as his mouth came down on hers once more.
Luci held on, feeling every single thrust in every inch of her body as he added a grinding twist on every downward plunge, scraping against her clit. Sliding her arms around his back and over his shoulders, she pulled his full weight down on herself until her nipples were rubbing against his chest, so hard and sensitive that it was almost too much to bear. Almost. Juro slipped his arms beneath her, both hands going to cup her ass, lifting her higher, his cock going impossibly deeper.
Luci bit down on his mouth as the first orgasm struck, as her muscles clenched and her pussy clamped around his thick shaft, as the unbelievable jolt of pleasure started in her clit and rolled upward, swelling her breasts where they were crushed against his massive chest, pebbling her nipples in exquisite pain.
A groan rumbled deep in Juro’s chest as her sex squeezed down on him and she felt every inch of him as he slid in and out, shoving deep inside through the tight grasp of her sheath, then withdrawing as it rippled along his length. He cursed suddenly, head thrown back, eyes closed, neck muscles straining and fangs gleaming in the moonlight as his hips bucked against her and he came in a rush of heat.
JURO COLLAPSED, wrapping both arms around Lucia and rolling until she was on top of him. And there they lay for several minutes, breathing shallowly as their hearts slowed and nerves stimulated just short of exquisite pain calmed into something approaching normal.
He kept one hand in the warm silk of her long hair, fingers gently cupped at the back of her head, the other resting proprietarily over the firm curve of her ass. It had been a long time, she’d told him. But he hadn’t needed her words to know it was true. Her body had welcomed him, her pussy growing hot and slick, but she’d been tight. So tight, he’d worried about hurting her, but she’d surprised him. His delicate porcelain doll was a tiger in bed. He felt himself growing hard again at the thought, and then Luci chuckled, her breath warm and moist against his neck.
She lifted her head, her eyes slumberous with desire as they met his, and she said, “I’ve heard things about vampires.” The muscles of his abdomen contracted as her slender fingers slid down to wrap around his growing erection. “Is it all true?”
Juro gave her a slow, smug grin and said, “Oh, yes, Lucia. Our night has only begun.”
The End
(or the beginning)
Vampire Vignette #13
The Christmas Present
Just After ADEN, Book Seven
Los Angeles, CA
CYNTHIA LEIGHTON pulled to a stop at the curb. She’d been here only once before, and that had been years ago, but the house looked the same. It was an older home, and small, but like most of the houses in this solidly middle-class neighborhood, it had been renovated at some time in the last decade to keep up with soaring real estate values. A winter wreath with a big red bow hung on the door, adding color to the winter-bare yard.
All those years ago, she’d come to this house as part of a job. The woman who lived here was the great-granddaughter of a vampire who’d been one of Cyn’s earliest assignments as a PI. The vamp had hired her to locate his descendants, a line birthed, obviously, before he’d been made vampire. She’d done her job, had tracked do
wn and contacted one Mrs. Gloria Bautista. After checking to be sure the woman wanted to acknowledge her vampire ancestor, Cyn had e-mailed Bautista’s name and personal information to her vampire client. And that had been the end of it, or so she’d thought.
She still wasn’t sure why she was here today, except that Mrs. Bautista had sent an e-mail last week, asking to see Cyn. They’d exchanged info and agreed on a time and date, and here she was. She stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. The door had a glass panel, one of those with an etched design that prevented casual observation, but she could still see someone approaching from inside a moment before the door opened to reveal a tiny black woman who looked every one of her ninety-three years. Cyn fought to control her reaction. The last time she’d been here, the only other time she’d seen Mrs. Bautista, the woman had looked decades younger than her age. Apparently age or disease had caught up with her in the interim.
“Mrs. Bautista,” Cyn said politely.
The old woman laughed. “Don’t bother, child. I know how I look. You’ll look this way too one day . . .” She paused, peering up at Cyn. “Or maybe not, considering you got that handsome vampire in your bed.”
Cyn blushed, which was ridiculous. She didn’t blush easily, and certainly not because someone brought up the subject of Raphael and sex.
“Don’t mind me,” Mrs. Bautista said with a dismissive wave. “I’m an old woman who’s got nothing better to do than tease young girls like yourself. I’m just jealous, is all. It’s been a while since I had a handsome man in my bed. My Emelio, he was a beautiful one, did I tell you?”
“You did, Mrs. Bautista. You showed me your wedding picture. You were both beautiful.”
The old woman smiled to herself, as if remembering, then stepped back out of the open doorway. “But where are my manners? I invite you here, then stand in the doorway dreaming like an old woman.” She cackled at her own joke, but waved Cyn inside.
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