by J. K Harper
I had to be inside her right this second. With my silent promise filling the long, large room, I reached down and yanked on the side of her panties until they came away in shreds in my hand. She held her breath from the shock of it, then opened her legs in invitation. I had to close my eyes for a second, to relish and commit to memory the sight of her sprawled out for me. So lush, so ripe. So wet.
I trembled, not just from the simple instinct to pierce her neck with my teeth, but from the need to penetrate her warm center with my tongue, and later on, with my throbbing hardness. I could only dream of what she would taste like. Keeping myself on the task of satisfying us both, I bent forward, slid a hand between her back and the tabletop and lifted her chest to my lips. Sonya arched upward with a breathless cry. Her hands flew to the back of my head as if to permanently connect me to the spot. I traced my teeth across her perky nipples, teasing the tender flesh as she writhed beneath me. Tiny, sultry howls escaped her mouth, begging me without words to continue. I licked small circles and blew cool air across each nipple.
Her moans spurred me on further until I slid up her body again and captured her lips with mine. Leaving a hand between us, my fingers idly played with one of her nipples while I positioned myself to ease into her tight heat. Her hands made it to my ass, gripping onto me so tightly that without another thought, I breached her folds and buried myself deep inside her with a single thrust of my hips. My mouth pulled away from her for an instant, and my jaw went slack, eyes dark and almost blinded by her heat. Her inner walls clamped tightly around me, unbearable and mind-blowing at the same time. Her nails dug into my ass cheeks, drawing me in closer as her hips fell into my rhythm. She urged me forward with breathy moans and pleasure-filled whimpers.
My hands cupped her round, firm ass to join us together in a new angle. Filled with hunger, and conceding to her demands for me to take her harder, I thrust forward in a punishing rhythm. It left her gasping for breath. She dragged her nails down my back, furrowing deep, burning trails that healed as quickly as she could make them. I allowed my mind to check out, lost to the delicious friction and thunderous energy that shuddered through our flesh. She returned as much as I gave, matching intensity with ferocity, which was no surprise to me. This was not my first time with a wolf shifter.
Our eyes locked, and as we writhed in time to some unseen, silent rhythm in both our heads. When I looked into her eyes again, they widened and then snapped shut. Her contented smile tipped up the corners of her lips and then pressed into a thin line. She was so close I could feel her grip tightening and pulsing along my shaft. She groaned out a stifled yowl that grew to the unmistakable howl of her climax. All that pleasure tumbled off her sexy lips, driving me closer. She whimpered, still pulsing and quivering against my cock. To extend her enjoyment, I lifted her legs over my shoulders, creating an angle that was deliciously satisfying even with the slick heat now drenching us both. The new position affected me quickly, taking me close the edge as she choked out an otherworldly hiss. I pounded into her so hard that the table had moved several feet backward. Unable to hold back any longer, I surrendered to the fire between us. My hips surged forward with a will that raised goosebumps all along my flesh as I came. Sonya locked her arms tight around me, cleaving me to her hot-blooded torso as I released into her, warming my cold skin, drawing us together.
With piercing clarity, I knew I needed more of her.
This would not be a one-time indulgence.
Sonya
His soft breaths barely penetrated the haze of pleasure swirling inside my head. After a while, a smile twitched on my lips with the sensation of my sweaty back plastered to the wood grain of the wet bar table. I tried to get my brain back into working order. It didn’t seem like that feat would happen anytime soon.
One thing I knew was that now was not the time for words. Words would wake me up and shake my core and slap the sanity back into my body. What I’d just done was so wrong that I did not want the benefit of a clear head messing with what was the most insane orgasm that I’d had in ages.
His refreshingly cool arm looped around my shoulder, drawing my heat tighter into his chest. My wolf’s blood naturally ran hotter, so snuggling into him left me with an oddly welcome thrill.
God, that was so good. Dirty and rough and rushed. I’d scratched a deviously kinky itch that was sure to defy all natural and unnatural laws alike.
I just had sex with a vampire.
I didn’t rip his head off.
He didn’t feed on my blood.
And here we were, resting on his table, still wrapped up in each other’s arms. What should have been awkward and downright violent turned out to be just what I needed.
Then there was the startling fact that the slow, quiet heartbeat against my chest belonged to an undead.
Vampire.
The word bounced around in my head like a ping-pong ball. It flared up, and I couldn’t quite catch my breath. Talk about sleeping with the enemy. Vincent must have sensed me tense up underneath him. His hand went from my shoulder to the sides of my waist in a gentle squeeze that I found both maddening and comforting all at the same time. Damn it, why did he have to be so good with his hands? And his mouth. And several other parts.
He was the first man I’d slept with in forever. Okay, I’d only had a three-week dry spell, but still, that was a really long time for me. He’d been a firestorm in bed, and the truth was I already wanted more. The dangerous notion thumped through me until I pressed my hands hard against his chest. He jolted up, and I leapt from my comfortable cuddle spot because the absurdity of the situation hit home.
“I need to go,” I told him, dragging on my tank top, and then stepping into my sweat pants because my panties were now a tattered mess.
“You don’t have to leave, but I understand,” Vincent answered at my back as my full-scale freak-out went into effect. I buried my hands into my pocket, wondering what the hell happened to my room key card. Oh. There it was. On the floor near the front door.
“Yes. I have to.”
Ignoring the naked, lounging vampire leaning on the table, I darted my eyes around the room and made out my slip-on sneakers a few feet away—because that spot was the original position of the table before we rocked it over here with our hot and heavy vamp-shifter sex moves. When I finally gave him a sideways glance, one of his perfect eyebrows raised, but he said nothing before easing himself to his feet to gather his clothes. I was halfway to the door when he held up my ripped panties, dangling them between thumb and forefinger.
“These are useless now, but they’re yours.” The sound rumbled low in his throat with a bow that made my stomach clench tightly.
I pressed my thighs closer together and took it from his hand. “Thanks.”
A stubborn flush rode high on my cheeks. Frowning, I made a beeline for the trash can beside the fridge, shoving the flimsy fabric to the bottom of the empty container. Vincent was suddenly there, standing in front of me. His fingers tucked some of my hair behind my ear. I don’t know why I let him touch me again.
“Rest well,” he told me, smiling.
“This can’t happen again.”
“But it will … because we both want it.”
I backed up to the door. Vincent’s hand had long left my face, but his touch still stung against my skin. I gulped, reluctantly nodded, ready to get the hell out of his suite. Now, if I could just avoid him for the weekend, I had a shot of hauling ass to Rock Springs, leaving tall, dark and deadly in the dust.
The sexy bloodsucker and I were not meant to be.
I stepped into the hallway to get a head start on wiping my memory clean of what just happened. Too bad I walked right into Angel.
Sonya
Angel’s gaze slowly traveled down the length of my body and all the way back up to my hair. “I see you and Vincent have gotten…” she paused to clear her throat and grinned from ear to ear. “Acquainted.”
“Shhh!” I slammed his door shut behind me, drag
ged her down the hall and pulled her into my suite. “He was standing right there.”
“Girl, you work fast.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, although I knew exactly what she meant.
“The hair, the stretched tank top, your flushed skin, for starters. That ‘I’ve just done the nasty’ glow is all over your face. Admit it. You slept with Vincent.”
Angel was my best friend. I couldn’t lie to her, no matter how bad it sounded to admit I’d just finished getting laid, after meeting the man—the immortal—less than two hours ago.
“It was an accident,” I confessed, sinking down into the nearest sofa.
“Accident, huh?” She raised her eyebrows. “So what, you tripped and fell on his dick?”
“Something like that.” I absent-mindedly ran a hand through my hair as reality sunk in. “Holy shit. What the hell did I just do? I can’t believe it.”
“I can,” she teased. “So … how was it?”
“We are not going there.”
“Why not? You’ve given me the blow by blow countless times before.”
“Sure, but I didn’t have to face you and the guy at the same time for a whole weekend after the fact.”
She scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue. “All right, keep your scandalous story to yourself.”
“I plan on it.”
“It’s not that big of a deal. You’re both single, so why not?”
“One reason. Repercussions.”
“Like?”
“If my pack finds out, I’m as good as cut off … or dead.”
“You’re exaggerating, Sonya. I’ve met your peeps.”
“Sorry to say this, love, but if you think that meeting my wolf pack gave you the inside scoop on our ways, you’re a teeny tiny bit mistaken.”
“I just can’t imagine anyone from your clan going to such an extreme to stop you from dating outside of the gene pool.”
“Says you, the human who only learned my secret less than a year ago.”
“Hello. New flash! That one is all on you. You kept it from me since before high school, and then you held on to your furry little secret all the way through college—”
“Because we don’t make a habit of telling humans, hun. It’s too risky and you know it. The world isn’t ready to believe that shifters, vampires, and witches are real.”
“I get that, hun, but I’m your best friend in the world.”
“I know … I just couldn’t tell anyone.”
“I would have told you if the tables were turned and I was the wolf shifter.”
“Yeah. Right.”
“I still haven’t gotten over the fact that you kept me in the dark. You didn’t admit it to me until after I told you about Axe. Wait, would you have kept it a secret if Axe and I hadn’t hooked up?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably.”
“Sonya!” she whined, play-punching my arm.
“At least I’m not lying.”
“It still hurts. Anyway, we’re in Vegas, and it’s Halloween—”
“And the full moon is tomorrow,” I blurted out.
“I was just about to add that part. But you know what? Anything goes.”
“Anything except allowing myself to shift tomorrow. That would put a monkey wrench in your wedding, having a wolf at your side as maid of honor.”
“I’m sure stranger things have happened at the Happy Hearts Wedding Chapel.”
“True. Angel, you really should have told me about Vincent before, you know.”
“And ruin the surprise? I wish I could have seen your face when you realized what he was.” She saw the scowl on my face and leaned into my shoulders. “Cheer up. I still love ya.”
“Whatever.”
“By the way, are the rumors true? I hear that vamp sex is out of this world.”
“So is shifter sex, but I’m sure I don’t have to confirm that for you, Miss Angel Kessler, soon to be Angel ‘Misses-Bear-Shifter-Wife’ Voltaire.” I pulled her in for a hug. “Forget about my vampire shenanigans for a minute. You’re getting married! I’m so happy for you, love. And I’m thrilled that we get to spend some time together for the next couple of days.”
“Awww, thanks honey. Hey, come over to my suite so you can see the dress!”
“It’s here?”
“Of course. The bellhop helped me get everything to my room before I saw you coming out of Vincent’s place.”
“Sweet. Let’s go.” I got to my feet and pulled her to stand up. “Wait. Before we get too carried away. Do you mind if I skip out on dinner tonight? I’m so beat, and the jetlag is really wreaking havoc on my … on everything, solid judgment included.”
She studied me carefully. “This is about Vincent, isn’t it?”
“Not really—”
“You can’t avoid him all weekend.”
“I know. I promise I won’t. Just tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll be all chipper and friendly.”
“Oh all right.”
I grinned, finally looking forward to some girl-time with my bestie. “I’ll make it up to you. Tonight, I plan to make you so shit-faced drunk, you’ll wake up tomorrow thinking you had male stripper ass all night.”
“That’s what I call a Vegas bachelorette party, baby! Let’s make it memorable.”
We went to her suite, which was the door opposite to mine.
Great.
I was off the hook tonight.
The less interaction with Mr. Lovervamp, the better.
Vincent
I wasn’t sure what to expect at breakfast on Saturday morning. As requested, my staff opened up the hospitality suite on the floor, and a generous selection of hot and cold breakfast options were already available. Coffee was all I needed this morning, but with all the guests I met at dinner last night, nothing would go to waste. I’d met about forty people. Roughly half were bear shifters from Axe’s motorcycle club, and the rest were humans from Angel’s family. It appeared that I was the only vampire in the bridal party, and Sonya was the only wolf shifter. Everyone was at dinner except for Sonya, who was clearly avoiding me.
Not that I could blame her. We had both crossed a line into a forbidden zone. Still, it didn’t matter if sleeping with her was just a one-time thing—which I already doubted. What mattered was that she viewed our interaction as taboo.
Because it was.
Heads rolled whenever our species came together. I’d seen that reality firsthand over the centuries. Not that I was afraid of bucking trends, but I had to think of Sonya too. I knew nothing about her, or of her dynamics with her pack, and to be honest, this type of off-the-rails thinking was way too premature. I needed to let things be.
Axe was the first to show up as I sat to have coffee.
“Morning, Fangs,” Axe greeted me with the nickname he had been calling me since we became friends fifteen years ago to the day.
“Good morning, Fluffy.” I was the only person who got away with calling him by that nickname.
“How was your room?”
“Fucking sweet. I slept like a baby bear,” he joked.
“Good to hear, Goldilocks.”
“Don’t be surprised if my bed’s missing when I check out of the suite, Moneybags.”
“You like it that much?”
“I had the best night’s sleep in a long time.”
“The secret is those individual pocket coils. That’s what my procurement director keeps telling me, anyway. How about I have one just like it shipped to the clubhouse? Think of it as a wedding gift.”
“I don’t know, man… You’ve already splurged on us enough this weekend.”
“I’m the best man. It comes with the territory. Plus, I’ve never heard you rave about much of anything since I’ve known you, except for Angel … and now this bed. Come on. I insist.”
“Well … sure, okay.” He grinned. “Only because you’re loaded. Thanks, Fangs.”
“My pleasure.”
“All that sleep
made me hungry. Let me at some of this food.” He stepped over to the hot food table, and began to fill his plate with a mountain of pancakes and sausage.
“You must be excited about later.”
“More like nervous as hell, but don’t mention that to Angel.”
“Ahhh, the jitters,” I remarked, thinking fondly of the last time I’d indulged in a wedding. “Take it from me. It’ll pass.”
“Oh, I’m not nervous about the wedding.”
“No?”
“Maybe a little, but it’s this Halloween wedding in Vegas thing that has my bear on edge. Don’t get me wrong. I’d do anything for Angel, but fuck, some of the stuff I saw when we were out on the Strip last night made our clubhouse shindigs look like Sunday school.”
“No doubt.” I checked my watch. “Just be sure not to let yourself shift for sixteen hours, five minutes and … twenty seconds roughly.”
He chuckled, putting his plate on the kitchen island to slap me on the back. “That’s why you’re the best man, Vincent. You’re perfect for keeping track of shit like that.”
“At your service, old friend. I’ve even got a cage ready in the hotel storage, just in case.”
“Seriously?”
“No man. I’m kidding. What do I look like, a zookeeper?”
He reared back with laughter.
“We should have a plan for what to do if you or your buddies change to your bears.”
“We’re covered, I think.”
I finished my coffee and got to my feet. “Good. You worry about that part, and I’ll handle the wedding details. Don’t stress out about it at all. Everything’s set for today. The bridal events manager of the hotel assured me the ballroom is decorated to Angel’s exact requirements. Our tuxedos from the tailor are in my suite, and…” I tapped the breast pocket of my suit. “I’ve got the rings right here.”
“Awesome. The ladies will be busy this morning.”
