And it was damn hard.
Instinctively, she held out her hands as she shuffled her feet. “Am I close?”
No answer. Of course he wouldn’t give himself away. She kept going, taking small steps, not “sensing” him. By now she knew what his vibes felt like; they were delicious, electric, and comforting at the same time, but she didn’t even have the buzz in the back of her head telling her she was anywhere near him.
Bam!
Her shin met one of the side tables. “Ow!” She rubbed her leg then straightened. “Fitz!”
A masculine sigh. “Lift your blindfold.”
She did. He was behind her, near the bathroom door. Not even close. She let out a frustrated sound. “I suck at this.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Just takes practice. You have to learn this or else you’ll depend on blood and food, and you need all three, Gaelen. For balance, to be at your best. Everything in this room gives off some kind of energy, and they’ll all interfere if you don’t concentrate. You can’t take the energy from the dining room table, so dismiss it, nor the rug, so dismiss that. Make room for me and me alone. Okay? Now, cover your eyes.”
“I don’t understand how being blind is going to help, when I’ll almost always be seeing the person I’m taking the energy from.”
“Once you can do it without depending on your sight, with sight will be cake.”
With reluctance, she replaced the blindfold.
“Again.”
The swoosh of air that passed her said he’d blurred somewhere else.
Okay…ignore the little things…focus on his vibes...
Fitz had taken her out in the city every other night, and it was like seeing it with brand new eyes, the street lights, the subway train sounds, the exotic smells of the market, the chimney smoke, were ten times the volume of before. New York was overwhelming as a human, but as a vampire, infectious and enthralling. Sometimes it felt as though she was visiting for the first time, even though she’d lived there almost five years. Walking the streets as a vampire was an entirely new state of mind.
The energies of so many people would hit her and rejecting them mandated a lot of inner strength and refutation. In time, it would become as effortless as walking, Fitz told her. And night after night, she did improve. Especially with Fitz by her side, who encouraged her to stop and really see and smell the flowers at the florist’s stand, pointed out the intricacies of the people’s movements and speech, their facial expressions.
Fitz’s confidence awed her, his swagger aroused her. When she expressed this, he reminded her how much older he was, and that his self-possession came from years of perfecting it, and even more years of living it. Her insecurity, he assured her, would eventually be a thing of the past.
Gaelen couldn’t wait for that day.
Just then, she ran into the tips of the plant in the corner. She groaned and stepped back, taking off the blindfold. “Fail.”
Fitz came out from behind the kitchen island with a rueful expression. At least she’d been in the general vicinity. Still, no applause for finding the artificial plant.
“Well, do I get a sympathy prize?”
A corner of his mouth lifted as he came around the large island, incredibly sexy in his unbuttoned shirt and drawstring pants. “Yes, you get me. Come here.” He sat down on the overstuffed chair and patted his lap.
God, he just had to look at her like that and she was aching for sex. Seeing him hard beneath his pants, she smiled, walked toward him, then stripped down her panties and left them on the floor before climbing in his lap.
Looking up at her with those erotic green eyes, he pushed her nightgown to her hips and shifted her sex on his hardness, sliding his palms up and down her thighs. “There is another way, and I have no doubt you’ll master it immediately.”
“Oh?”
“Mm-hm.” He pulled down his waistband and freed his cock, then guided her along the shaft, wetting it with her slickness, making her moan and yearn to put him inside her.
“Fitz,” she pleaded shamelessly.
He closed his eyes briefly. “I know. Can you feel my sensa now?”
Yes, and she was intoxicated by it. “Of course I can.”
“But it’s not feeding you, is it? You still thirst, don’t you?”
Her teeth grew at his words. He was right. As stoned as she was on his energy, it was just a high, not the sustenance she needed. “Yes,” she admitted.
“You see…ah, fuck,” he groaned as she roved her hips. “Once I’m inside you, do the same thing you were doing earlier. Center your mind, not just on the pleasure, but the power of our connection, the lust, the love, and take it in. Breathe it, absorb it, let it inside you. Fulfill you.” He lifted her, kissed her stomach, and set her down slowly on his cock.
Gaelen gasped as he filled her, the straps of her nightgown fell off her shoulders. Starting to ride him, she wanted to go fast right away, chase her climax, and make Fitz come. But he captained the pace, making her slow down. She had to follow his instructions and get something right. She grasped his shoulders, closed her eyes, and let her head drop back.
Whispers and tickles of energy crawled up her spine and breasts. She inhaled deeply, eyes hooded, willing it inside her nose, her mouth. Fitz’s hands squeezed her waist, and she slowed down, trying again. She arched her back and grinded harder, seeking his lust, knowing she’d recognize it the second she found it.
A short cry escaped at her frustration.
“Just let go,” Fitz advised, voice hoarse. “Let go.”
Concentrate, yet let go? How was this easier?
Let go. Let go…
Repeating this, she effectively cut off her thoughts, forced them to go blank, and pushed away doubt and frustration and even pleasure, simply breathing and moving.
The buzz started the back of her mind and crawled behind her eyes, transforming the elation. A wave of pure lust filled her nose and lungs like fresh air through a toxic smoke. A cry of joy escaped her. The power grew robust, headier.
She opened her eyes and looked down at Fitz, grasping his head and kissing him, moving her hips faster. “I feel you,” she breathed. Another inhale. Her teeth throbbed, anticipating blood, but she ignored it, focusing on the love Fitz exuded, the purity of it, the absolute thrill of it surrounding her. She drew it in deep, her mouth dropping open as it clutched her senses.
“Yes, yes that’s it,” her lover encouraged.
Faster she rode, panting, her blood pounding in her ears. She drew in more, exhaled, and inhaled.
Holy shit…
She opened her eyes, full and satisfied, but then Fitz’s fingers dug in her hips and guided her to stroke his cock faster, his head hung, his groaning turning into a growl. His strength far exceeded hers. She didn’t have to move at all, he was too feverish and vigorous to stop. The orgasm caught up to her as she moved up and down on his hard cock, resting her elbows on his shoulders and leaning her forehead on his crown. Lost in compounding passion, she let out her cries of rapture, and clutched Fitz while he stiffened. Moments later, he tipped his head back and released inside her with a relieved, guttural moan.
“Oh,” she said after a few moments. “I get it now.”
Her thirst and hunger were satiated, the equivalent of having eaten a four-course meal with a bottle of rich, red wine.
He let out a breathy laugh, and lightly tapped her butt. “How you do feel?” he asked, standing up and carrying her to the bathroom.
“Like I could nap for a solid three hours.”
He laughed and set her down in front of the shower. “No napping. We have to get ready. I’m taking you out tonight.”
She stripped off her nightgown and turned on the water. “Where are we going?”
“To Spencer’s. The place I took you to the night we met. He’s having a get-together. I thought it’d be a good opportunity to introduce to you more of our kind. Are you up for it?”
Dou
sing her hair, she suddenly had a pang of anxiety, imagining an entire room full of vampires, and her, a newborn in their midst. “I’m up for it,” she said, forcing more enthusiasm in her voice than was actually there.
He stepped in to rinse, and for a moment she just watched him, marveling how the water sluiced over his hard shoulders and wide chest, down that rock hard stomach. How long would it take for it really sink that he belonged with her? She reached for the loofah and soap and granted herself the delicious occupation of washing him. “What do you guys do for these get-togethers?”
She felt rather than saw him smile as he said, “What people usually do. Drink, talk, snack.”
“Oh.” Starting at his massive shoulders, she worked her way down. “That’ll be fun.”
“What? You think we sacrifice virgins and bathe in blood?”
“Very funny. How do I know what vampires do when they have a party?”
He bent down and kissed the side of her neck. “I know. Consuming blood and avoiding sunlight is only how we survive, Gaelen. A vampire’s life can be as ordinary as we choose. We have families, we socialize, we worship our gods, we celebrate our holidays. Just like humans. And we are not in as much of a hurry as they are. We have time to take our time through life, so to speak.”
Time. A priceless commodity she suddenly had an abundance of. For years, she thought she was going to die, and now she would live forever. It still blew her mind. Part of her wasn’t entirely convinced, worried it was a fluke, and that death would still come for her in a few short months. She’d had nightmares about it, but she kept this fear to herself, hoping it would pass along with her insecurity.
“You’re trying to convince me being a vampire can be ordinary, but I don’t see how.”
“You will.”
She gently cupped his heavy cock in her palm and washed him. “What if I don’t want an ordinary life? What if I want adventure and excitement at every turn?” He instantly became hard in her hand, and when he started pressing kisses on her cheek, going to her earlobe, she dropped the loofah and linked her arms around his neck.
“You’ll have it all. There will be times you’ll embrace day-to-day living over adventure, because too much of anything can spoil your soul and turn you jaded quickly. Trust me. I’ve had a lot of adventures and had become melancholy to the point of madness. I felt I had seen and done it all, because I mostly had. I was lost.” His body pressed hers against the tile wall. “And then I met you. Now I’ll get to live all over again with you.” His wet mouth trailed up to hers, his tongue sliding in with the water as he kissed her slow.
Closing her eyes, drugged on passion, her worries faded to black.
How could life ever be anything but extraordinary with Fitz?
An hour later, they were at the door of Spencer’s penthouse.
Gaelen heard laughter and voices coming from the inside. To say she was nervous was an understatement. Despite that, she looked forward to mingling with more vampires and getting to know the nuances of underworld socializing.
“Remember,” Fitz said, giving her hand a squeeze. “Don’t feel as though you need to tell anyone how long you’ve been a vampire or talk about your previous life. It’s none of their business. I told Spencer you’re my fated, and he insisted I bring you here. He’s doing this just for you, but no one knows that except the three of us.”
“How nice of him.” The pressure mounted. Her first party as a creature of the night. She glanced down at her blouse, suddenly self-conscious about its low-cut design. There was no need for a bra anymore now that her breasts were lifted and perky.
He kissed her cheek and knocked twice on the door. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you.” She looked at him. “Um. Does he know what we did in his courtyard?”
A side glance. “What did we do except fall in love?”
Her heart melted. She wanted to throw him against the door and ravish him just for saying that.
Seconds later, the door was pulled wide open. A handsome man with a beard and kind brown eyes answered with a grin. “I’ll be damned. Fitzgerald McEvoy and his lovely fated. There is hope for the rest of us.”
Fitz smiled. “Spencer was an actor in the theater for twenty years in the early eighteenth century, and he’s never let his flair for drama go since.”
“You wound me!” Spencer laughed and shook Fitz’s hand. “Great to see you, old friend. And you must be Gaelen.” He kissed her hand.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“If Fitz hadn’t brought you tonight, I would’ve invited myself to the loft just to meet you.”
Spencer’s penthouse was dressed with a dark palette of hunter green, burgundy, and mahogany wood furnishings. There were antiques and artwork throughout, though it wasn’t cluttered. Definitely more of what she pictured a bachelor vampire would reside in than Fitz’s loft. A group of seven people were gathered in the living room. The double doors were left wide open, the lights in the courtyard on.
She smiled, remembering those amazing hours of playing chess, dancing, and making love in the rain. Fitz squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and smiled.
Spencer shut the door. “What’s your poison? Rum? Champagne? I make a mean gin martini.”
“Perfect. I like my drinks mean,” she said, eager for a drink to help soothe her nerves.
“Coming right up.”
A woman did a double take as they approached, cutting them off before they could greet the group as a whole. “McEvoy!”
The first thing Gaelen noticed was the woman’s striking beauty—pixie-cut dark hair, light blue eyes, and a slender figure—and the second thing Gaelen noticed was the flash of disappointment in her gaze when she saw Fitz’s hand in hers.
Fitz let go of her hand to give the woman an embrace. “How are you, Zo?”
“Oh, you know, kicking ass and taking no prisoners.”
“I thought you quit the UCC to open your own business.”
“I did. Grand opening is next week. But I still have my connections and consult once in a while.”
“Consult. Yeah, right. Was that your Porsche I saw parked next to Spencer’s Jag in the garage?”
She laughed. Still hugging him. “Saw my little birthday present, did you? Well, I can be paid. I just can’t be bought.”
Fitz laughed and Gaelen got the awkward third-wheel feeling. What was the UCC? She had no clue. Yet another topic she’d have to ask Fitz about.
Fitz pulled out of the woman’s arms and turned to her. “Gaelen, this is Zo.”
Zo’s smile didn’t falter, though it did look like she was struggling to keep it genuine. “Hi.”
She held out her hand, but Zo ignored it, cupped her hands, and gave her an air kiss on one of her cheeks. Awkwardly, Gaelen tried to do the same, but Zo pulled back before she could accomplish it. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you.”
“Mm-hm. New to town?”
“No, I…I’ve lived in New York a while now.”
“How come we’ve never met? I know every vampiress in Manhattan worth knowing.”
Fitz came in before she had to struggle with a reply. “Maybe you like to think you know every vampiress.”
She sent him a look. “I do. Anyway, what’s your vocation, Gae?”
Struck even more nervous, Gaelen scrambled to answer. “Oh, um, I’m—between vocations.”
Zo emitted a look like she found that pathetic. “So you don’t have anything of your own going on? You just…wait at home, for Fitz?”
“Zo…” Fitz warned.
“What? Can’t I get to know your fated for a second? It’s a simple question. I mean, I know she doesn’t have to work, but she has to have some kind of hobby.”
Damn it. She wasn’t prepared for this. It was naïve of her to think she could just show up with Fitz and he’d be all the shield she’d need. “I…um. I like to cook,” she said lamely.
Predictably, Zo was not impressed. “Oh. A cook. Good for you.” Miffed, she brush
ed by her, lightly hitting her shoulder, muttering, “Like I said. The ones worth knowing…”
Gaelen turned to watch Zo go talk to Spencer. Probably about how lame she was.
“Don’t take it personally,” Fitz remarked. “She just doesn’t know you and that bothers her. Her old job made her a little too self-important. Once she warms up, she can actually be pretty fun.”
Heart thudding, Gaelen wished she could turn back time and have more of a backbone when confronted with Zo. “By the way, what’s the UCC?”
“The Underworld Crown Council. They oversee our politics with the human, enforce the Entyre Law, punish the wicked. A Supreme Court and FBI of sorts. Zo used to work for them. Her networking is extensive in the city. She has the inside track to anything nefarious that goes on in Manhattan’s underworld. I suspect that’s how she got the funds for the location of her new club. The rent has to be ridiculous for that neighborhood. She’s been talking about it for years.”
“Well, like Vivian said in Pretty Woman, you can freeze ice on your friend’s ass.”
Fitz chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders. “Come. I want to introduce you to the others.”
One by one, she met some of Fitz’s other friends. Paul, the street violinist. Heather, the writer. Jasmine, the import/export business owner. Darren, a butler to a royal. Unlike Zo, they were a lot friendlier.
Though she had a sense they were thinking she wasn’t quite good enough for a vampire like Fitzgerald McEvoy…
As much as Fitz wanted to hover around Gaelen, he had to allow her some space, and let her get to know everyone on her own. She seemed to be doing fine, despite Zo’s interruptions, boasting about her new club, and vying to be the center of attention.
She was one of Spencer’s closest friends, a shadow who he found barely alive in an alley during the 1920s and owed Spencer her life. More than once she tried to entice Fitz into bed, but he’d sidestepped her efforts, attractive as she was. She assumed it was because she was a shadow, but it was more out of respect for his friend, and that fact she gave off a clingy vibe. If she ever found out Gaelen wasn’t a fateblood…
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