“It didn’t matter if anything was my fault or not. I was my father’s scapegoat, born for the sole purpose of being Cian Sylvestri DeMarco’s pleasure. Sy, as his friends called him, always made sure to tell me every day. He’d always say he was doing it for my own good. That I needed to learn the ways of the world.”
I mustered the courage to look at Vanessa. She sat stiffly, her hand covering her mouth, and I didn’t want to go on. But then she lowered her hand and, somehow, her eyes gave me strength. However, she didn’t need all the details. No one needed to hear that.
“What he did to me ranged from lashings with his leather riding whip to help me learn respect—the whippings usually took place after someone had the audacity to cheat my father or take advantage of him in business or if he just had a bloody fucked up day and needed to take it out on someone, the someone always me—to things sexual in nature, things…unfit for your ears. Unfit for anyone’s,” I mumbled that last part, shaking my head at the disgusting memories of my father. I involuntarily wiped away the moisture on my face that I hadn’t realized dripped from my eyes.
Vanessa stood in front of me. Her palms reached out and caressed my cheeks, her thumb catching some of the wetness I’d missed before it could reach my lips. Her eyes studied mine. “He wasn’t a father. He was a monster,” she said. I had to agree. “What about Cian, your mother? Didn’t they try to stop him?”
“My mother was afraid of him and never mentioned it to me; though I’m sure she knew. Cian knew, but I begged him not to say anything. I feared our father, and so did Cian, and I didn’t want him to become another one of dear old Dad’s victims. Even though we both knew Cian was the favorite, the fear was still there.” I swallowed the self-pitying sob in my throat. “I’m sorry. I wept enough the first hundred years of my dead life. I don’t need to weep anymore. I just need to make the visions go away like I did so many years ago, except reciting it all out loud for the first time…” I shook my head. “I didn’t know it would hurt so fucking much.”
“I’m sorry I made you tell me,” she said and brushed her soft lips against mine. A light kiss. A tender kiss. A kiss I didn’t deserve.
I stepped away from her. “I’m glad you did. I wanted you to know. Because…I do desire you. I just come with so much fucking baggage it’s difficult for me to be nice sometimes.” I glanced to the window at the sound of the blinds rising. I hadn’t realized we’d been talking for so long. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Vanessa
Lane smiled and held out his hand.
“Okay.” I took it, and he pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. Not in a romantic way, just holding on tightly.
“What are you doing?” I asked, confused as to why he was holding me so close to him.
“I need you to wrap your arms around my neck and hold on.”
“You’re going to teleport me somewhere?”
“Yes. Is that okay?”
“I’ve never teleported before.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a piece of cake. Just close your eyes and keep them closed and you’ll be fine.”
I closed my eyes, and a rush of cool air shot through my bones, touching every cell I possessed. I could feel us moving—very, very fast. Speed of light fast. It tickled the inside of my mouth, the back of my throat, and my fingers tingled. I wanted to open my eyes to see what things looked like as we rushed by them, but thought best not to since he’d told me to close them. It all happened so fast, and when all the motion stopped, I opened my eyes. I held my hand against my stomach, feeling a bit jittery, and was grateful that I’d skipped lunch to work so I could sign out a little earlier.
“Are you okay?” Lane asked as I took in our surroundings.
The lights around the city sparkled with the beautiful ambiance of the evening. The twilit sky glowed pink and purple as the last remnants of the sun disappeared. I looked down from the top of the bridge tower to see headlights and brake lights of cars as they whizzed by, and I swayed with dizziness as Lane steadied me with his strong arms.
Once I regained my balance, I peered out across the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean then back to the cliff sides of the north bay and to the lights of Sausalito. Then I turned to see all the twinkling lights in the city of San Francisco. Street lights, stoplights, headlights, home lights glowing from windows with the promise of life from within. “Oh, my. Lane. This is amazing.”
“I’m surprised Maggie hasn’t brought you up here yet.”
“Oh. I wouldn’t have come up here with her.”
“No?”
I shook my head and smiled. Wind blew my hair around my face and I swiped it back, but it was no use as the ocean breeze swirled around us. “I’m not ready to trust my molecules with a vampire as new as Mags.”
Lane grinned. “Yes. I agree. Look over there at the cliff side at the top of the hill.” He pointed toward the north side of the bay where I knew an old military fort stood. “There are some gorgeous old oak trees on that hill, and some night, I’m going to pleasure you beneath one of them before I take you from behind as you hug a trunk, screaming my name into the night as you climax.”
My inner thighs twitched at the thought.
I turned to him, and he held me tightly, whispering in my ear. “I would not only take you there but here, at the top of this bridge. In fact, I would make love to you everywhere around the world.”
I looked up at him. “I look forward to that.”
His lips twitched, only inches from mine. His tongue slipped out to lick and moisten them, my own tongue mimicking his. When his mouth covered mine, tenderly, then with heat, I moaned and pulled him tightly against my body, wanting to be as close as I could possibly get. He didn’t touch me anywhere except around my waist where his hand was splayed against the small of my back. He hadn’t lied about his ability to perform as I felt his arousal pressing hard against my hip, and I was thankful for that. But I worried that those demons would surface in his head at any moment, and he would stop kissing me. I’d been aching for this touch, to feel his lips on mine again ever since my first night at the mansion when he’d attempted to seduce me in the wine cellar.
He didn’t shove me away this time, but he did stop. His silver-blue eyes locked with mine, so apologetic yet so sexy, and I wanted more. So much more.
“I’m sorry, V,” he said.
I sighed and bit my lower lip. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. But I can’t do much about it right now.”
A soft breeze flowed in from the sea, and I shivered. I rubbed my hands over my arms. My sleeveless tank top was no match for the chilly San Francisco air.
“Hold on, and I’ll take you home.”
We materialized inside his bedroom in the dark. He flipped a switch on the wall, and the lights came on. I hadn’t been in his room before, and I glanced around, admiring the décor. Lane DeMarco was becoming quite a surprise. His bed was huge and sat high off the floor.
“Oh my gods, your room is bitchin’.” His bed sat facing an alcove just like the one downstairs in the living room. “Your bed…is amazing.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it? I love it!” The king-size bed sat on a platform covered with blue carpeting, raising the bed about twelve inches off the floor, which was done in an off-white marble covered with white, blue, and brown throw rugs. A brown and white fluffy blanket covered his bed, and pillows with blue, brown, and white patterns graced the top.
“You have fish,” I smiled at the thought of Lane keeping and caring for pets. I stepped up close to the bed to take a closer look at the tank inset into the headboard and gazed into the lighted aquarium that spanned the width of the bed and rose about a foot high with a ledge in front where a book and an empty glass had been left atop it. Several tiny fish swam around, all glowing in different iridescent colors. A large, white canvas portraying two naked lovers hung above the fish tank, co
mplimenting the blues and browns of the room.
I turned to my right and gasped at the see-through wall exposing a large bathroom on the other side, decorated all in off-white marble to match the bedroom floor. Unable to resist, I walked in. The tub was enormous and required two steps to enter. A small, involuntary squeal escaped my throat at the prospect of sitting in it someday. The shower stall was open with no doors and had several fancy showerheads and knobs that I couldn’t even guess at how to work or what they did.
I walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of Lane. My poor broken and damaged Lane, who’d had a monster for a father. The thought of it made me so angry. I needed to do something to help him. He’d helped me realize that I had a great voice, and yes, I believed him. Did I have the courage to do what he wanted? I had to find out.
“If you let me help you, I’ll sing with you tomorrow night.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lane
I stood before Vanessa. Her offer buzzed around in my mind as if I really had to think twice about it. I wanted her to sing with me, no doubt about that. And I wanted to make mad passionate love to her even more. Was I stupid enough to think that she could help me overcome my visions? At that moment, I wanted to be stupid. My cock pulsated in my shorts, tenting the thin jersey material.
She glanced down at my erection.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” I admitted with a lopsided grin.
She smiled, then with the wave of her hand, the lights went out as the room became dark with nothing but the moon, the city lights from outside, and the fish tank to illuminate it. Handy thing, magic. She looked to the candle I kept on the dresser and flicked her finger toward it as the small flame ignited, giving us just the right amount of ambiance.
Vanessa took both of my hands and led me to the side of the bed. “Can you keep your eyes on me and not close them?” she asked.
“Yes.” That would be the easy part as I drank in her beautiful green eyes.
Her lips curved downward as something pensive came over her face and her eyes narrowed, averting toward the floor. Hesitation. Fuck. She was having second thoughts. I couldn’t blame her. It was probably for the best. I didn’t want to have to turn her away a third time.
“Lane, I’m not an expert on sex, and what I’m about to do, I’ve never done before.”
I smiled and placed my finger under her chin, tugging gently up so her eyes were on mine. “Hey, no one is judging here. And I don’t want you to do something you’re uncomfortable with.” Besides, after a few minutes, I’d probably be begging her to stop.
“I’m not uncomfortable with you. I know I should be, but I’m not. I’m just inexperienced.”
“Vanessa, there is no wrong way to giving someone pleasure.”
She tugged my shorts down and my cock sprang up. Her eyes widened with what I imagined was fear. But then, she smiled. “Lane, just wow!”
I’d always known the size of my cock was impressive, even at the tender age of nine my father had told me I was large for my age and that was even before puberty. Fuck. Why did I have to remember that right now? As Vanessa’s tongue slid over the head of my dick and dipped into the slit, licking off the pre-cum that had accumulated there, I pulled back as the vision of my father’s large hand came into my mind. “Vanessa, wait.”
She stopped and looked up at me. “It’s just me, Lane.” She stood, wrapping her hand around my still-firm erection, and looked into my eyes. “Keep your eyes glued to mine.” She stared at my face and stroked me. Slowly. I kept my gaze on hers, watching myself in her pools of emerald.
“Squeeze it,” I said. “Squeeze it and stroke it harder.” My hand covered hers, helping, showing her what I needed. “Yes, that’s it, baby.”
Then her eyes were gone from my sight as she bent down to take me into her mouth and I had nothing to focus on except her head. I wanted to close my eyes and bask in the pleasure she was giving me, but I knew if I did, I wouldn’t like what I might see. I’d hardly ever had sex in my room. Most times, it was while feeding out in the streets. Then Chelle had happened, and I stopped having sex completely shortly after that.
Setting my focus on V’s head I leaned back a bit and propped my arms on the edge of the bed, giving me a better view of her face.
From this angle, I could see everything she was doing in explicit, glorious detail. I watched her tongue swirl around and lick the length of me, and then she’d take me in and almost swallow the full length. That was such a fucking turn on, and my cock grew even larger, harder, and she moaned while I was deep inside her mouth, causing the sweetest vibration.
She had me to a point where all I wanted to do was come down her throat. I didn’t know if she was up for that, but this was the first time I’d been able to get this close to a climax in months, and all I could do was hope she wouldn’t stop. I bucked my hips as she took me in deeper, and I closed my eyes involuntarily, immediately seeing Jewel’s face before her face morphed into my father’s. I opened my eyes and blinked several times then remembered exactly who was creating this sensation I was experiencing. I looked down at the blonde hair I’d been tangling my fingers in. Vanessa looked up at me with her gorgeous green eyes so full of lust as her tongue slid up and down the length of my hard cock. It was her mouth I slid into. I continued to concentrate on her eyes, her tongue as she licked me, her lips as they pressed around me, and sure enough, the faces of the monsters who’d tormented me slowly dissipated. Over the past several months, whenever I’d tried to pleasure myself, I’d stop when the onslaught of visions hit me, never wanting to continue. But having V suck me off and watching her as I ran my fingers through her long strands of gold and pink…I didn’t want this to ever stop, not until I came. I wanted to come.
“That feels so fucking fantastic,” I growled the words from deep down in my gut.
My fangs dropped, and I ran my tongue over their sharp points. I sucked in my bottom lip and tasted blood. I wanted to come, and I wanted to suck Vanessa’s vein so fucking bad. One thing at a time, I told myself. One thing at a time.
But, fuck me.
“Vanessa, I’m going to come.” She didn’t stop like I thought she would, she kept sucking and sliding me through her lips until I couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Baby...” She swallowed, gagging a little, then swallowed again. I didn’t think she’d be able to handle as much semen as I had stored up, so I yanked my cock out of her mouth and pumped with my hand, ejaculating the rest of my cum against her chest as her beautiful eyes smiled up at me.
When I finished, she sighed and rubbed her breasts against my cock. What a fucking turn on to see her loving what she’d done the way she did. I helped her up to stand, and she gave me a kiss; I could taste myself on her tongue and it just turned me on more. I shoved her down on the bed and fell gently on top of her. My tongue slipping into her mouth was met with eagerness from hers. She’d done it. Vanessa. She’d made me climax. She’d helped me find the release I’d been longing for but too fucking scared to achieve for fear that my father’s ghost would haunt me forever. Because of her, I’d crushed the revenant and turned off the vision of Jewel’s tormenting face.
Vanessa.
I repeated her name in my mind over and over. Then I was kissing her neck, saying it out loud in between each kiss.
“Vanessa, I kissed her neck.
“Vanessa.” I kissed her again.
“Vanessa”—kiss—“Vanessa”—lick—“Vanessa”—nip—“Sweet Vanessa.”
She giggled and kissed my neck in return, sliding her tongue down the length of my throat over my Adam’s apple. “Woman, you amaze me. Where were you six months ago?”
“I was right here, Lane.”
“All those months wasted berating each other.”
“You deserved it, though.” She laughed.
I stopped kissing her lovely neck and stared at her, frowning, but I knew she was right. I’d started it. Not wanting to admit I had a problem; it was easier to d
ismiss the attraction I had toward her, masking it with ridicule. Denying the magnetism we each exuded and blaming it all on the fact that she was a witch. Who the fuck cared?
“You’re right. Except for the spell.”
“That more than anything.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. But don’t ever cast a spell on me again.”
The tenderness in her eyes floated like a physical caress over my face as she skimmed her fingers down the side, over the roughness of my trimmed beard, and then brought those mesmerizing emerald pools back up to meet mine. The playfulness gone. She whispered, “I won’t. I promise.”
Then I realized I had a bigger problem. The tone of honesty in her voice told me she wanted something more from me. Something I didn’t think I would ever be able to give her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Vanessa
Lane had a magnificent cock.
Sucking it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I’d never given a man pleasure like that. I’d never wanted to. Until today.
It was beautiful. Never in my life had I imagined I would think anything like that. Because of my past, I’d always considered the male organ unappealing. Even with Tanner, I’d been reluctant to touch it. I’d always thought it gave a man an advantage over a female as it entered her, assaulting and holding her captive. Until I’d set eyes on Lane.
I wanted Lane to take me.
Taking him in my mouth, licking and sucking him, had been easy. No violation to me. I was doing the act. It was me taking him, doing to him. Dominating him. Watching him become practically helpless as I pleasured him made me feel powerful.
He’d beaten the devils from his mind. Conquered them like a warrior. Now it was time to defeat mine.
Something in the atmosphere changed all of a sudden. Lane’s eyes went from their usual vibrant silver-blue to dark, and his mood went from loving to pensive in a matter of seconds. Was it the subject of the spells? Had his demons returned?
Rocked by a Vampire: Billionaire, Rock Stars, Vampires (Immortal Hearts of San Francisco Book 3) Page 11
