by brett hicks
How the hell does she do this to me?!
My smile was weak and my voice seemed to come out deeper and less like me.
“Hello Seri, I’d say that went better than I was daring to hope for all things considered.”
Her smile widened at my voice as if I had somehow lightened her dark mood. I was certain I was probably the only one to notice just how grim her true feelings were tonight. She bobbed her head in a kindly gesture of greeting.
“Thea, how are you? I heard you were infected with hell-fire magic. Are you recovering well?”
Her worry seemed to strip away some of my defenses. I licked my lips again and I rolled my still very tender shoulder and winced slightly at the burning pain.
“I’m told it will heal by tomorrow morning, but I might have a bit of a scar since it was hell-fire.”
Seri’s relief was palpable and she seemed to sag just a little, which was only noticeable to someone who spent little, which was only noticeable to someone who spent way too much time watching her minute body language.
“Good, I was worried for you. Please remember to take care of yourself more Thea, you are very important.”
The unspoken words “to me” hung heavily between us. Seri bit her lip and looked slightly shy and bashful for a centuries-old vampire.
“I was hoping I might be able to convince you to go to dinner with me. I was craving Chinese and you came to mind.”
My chest tightened.
Is she asking me out on a date?!
I had every intention of begging off, but my traitorous head nodded a “yes” before I could speak.
Damn my body!
“I should be doing my paperwork for my after-action report, but the Inspector gave me the rest of the night off, due to my damn shoulder.”
My annoyance at this decision was obvious in my tone. Seri just smiled in light amusement.
“Well let’s go find us a very delicious Asian restaurant to pillage.”
“Pillaging went out with the death of the pirate era Seri.”
I chided her lightly and she looked at me with genuine amusement in her eyes.
“Did it now?”
Her dancing irises told the story, she knew something I didn’t—many something’s most likely. We shared an awkward moment of silence just staring at each other like a couple of hormonal teens. Immortality does nothing to control the very juvenile feeling of longing and desire.
“Well, I heard of a wonderful place in Midtown. How about we throw up some glamour and just hang up our hats for the night?”
I shrugged and I felt the butterfly campaign gaining more ground in my stomach.
“Fine, not like I have anything else to do, right?”
Ok, you might want to dial back on the bitchiness a little there Thea!
I chided myself and I followed Seri deeper into the darkness of the next room, an empty conference room. We each grabbed at the shadows and spun our magic into the darkness. Vampire glamour works its best after dark. We give substance to the very dark places we choose to skulk in.
These were not meant to alter our core being, just to change some of our distinctive features, making us anonymous. Seri took my hand and my heart thumped in my chest. She led us out toward the back exit.
***
The Panda Kingdom was not the type of place one would ever expect to find the two Earth Princess’, even if the food was heaven! The family-owned and run restaurant was simple and understated in its design. They had a huge stuffed panda on either end of the main entrance, other than that a simple black and white themed light decoration was the only other hint of a slight theme.
The food, oh the food was amazing! All of their focus was on culinary authenticity. Some Americana favorites were still on the menu, but there was also traditional Mandarin and even some Japanese cuisine.
We sat in the back booth and I had managed to enjoy our time together without a single thought about the peoples we were responsible for. Seri seemed to be more relaxed and less intense now, more like a twentyish girl in college, less like an ageless ruler of inhumans.
Lingering gazes and light touches punctuated our conversations. I hadn’t remembered to be nervous since we sat down to and started looking over the menu. Watching her twirl stray red curls around her finger was adorable. She is generally so aware of her every action that I never realized Seri played with her hair when she was nervous or excited.
We were so different, she was so girlish and I am so much of a tomboy.
“This is so good we are totally coming back here!”
I bit my lip, realizing belatedly what I had just implied. Seri seemed to be trying not to eye me too closely, as if she was worried that if she did, then we would wake up and realize this was just a dream. She smiled and she looked like her birthday had come early.
Crap…
“Seri, when is your birthday?”
Her eyes widened in surprise at the random jump in topics.
“Sometime in mid-July as best I remember.”
My brows furrowed at the vague answer and she shrugged.
“Time and date back then were not always closely notated by all. Immortals were especially guilty of this. My father cared little for marking such triviality as a birthday.”
I bit my lip and I tried not to look too annoyed. Every time she spoke of her father I just wanted to track the bastard down and punch him until he stopped breathing!
“Well, we should celebrate this year. It might be a trivial thing, but it’s an important trivial thing!”
She smiled sweetly as if this was the first time someone had ever cared. That couldn’t be true, right? She’s the princess!
“Um, but what date would it be?”
I shrugged and waved my hands in a wide gesture.
“It’s your birthday, so pick a date and I’ll be sure that we have a boatload of cake and all the wine you can drink.”
Seri narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’m not sure those two things go together Thea.”
I waved her off and sniffed.
“Of course they do! Wine goes with everything and cake is cake!”
She giggled girlishly and shook her head slowly.
“Sometimes I really wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours.”
I grinned widely and rolled my eyes at her.
We began to talk about random things. Mostly, we were commenting on the choice of music playing lightly through the speakers around the restaurant. Eighties power-ballads were playing which caused us both to crack up in laughter at several random moments.
Seri inquired more about my new job but was very careful not to appear intrusive of my instinctual privacy. She seemed to understand that kin or not, she did not get a free pass from my moods when she became too vampiric about knowing everything.
We were interrupted by the waitress coming back to give us the bill. I grabbed the check and dared Seri to challenge me for the bill. Wisely she didn’t, but she did have a barely veiled look of amusement on her face.
***
We hailed a cab and intentionally gave him the address of an apartment building a few blocks down from ours. Everyone in New York knew which building the inhumans resided in, well some of us that is. There were literally thousands of inhumans in our two Manhattan kingdoms.
Seri slowly ran her fingers down my left arm, before she risked lacing her fingers through mine. Her eyes were filled with her worry that I wouldn’t accept her. I felt my heart clench again and I let her lock her fingers with mine. Her body was so warm for a vampire and she had a soft but firm touch.
Her smile could light up my whole life and drive back all the darkness that resided in my heart. She was radiant and she was perfect, even when she was vulnerable and insecure. I felt something shifting inside my body and inside my heart.
She seemed to watch me, watching her, so I shouldn’t have been so surprised when we walked right into a large blue mailbox.
I swore and I loo
ked to her and she just laughed.
“I’ve lived over three-hundred years and never once have I been distracted enough to lose awareness of my surroundings!”
I narrowed my eyes and I chuckled at the same time.
“It’s funny, but why the hell do you think that’s a good thing?”
She pulled me tightly to her ripe warm chest and she locked her arms firmly around me, claiming my body for her. She leaned down and her lips hovered over mine. She spoke in hushed whispers.
“Because you unmake me and you complete me. Because I have never met a woman who makes me enjoy this life, Thea. You are my own personal siren and you are clearly part angel too because I’ve never met a more beautiful creature in my long years.”
I felt my body leaning into hers and our lips brushed lightly at first. Feathery kisses became much more demanding and starving. Her lips were plump and gentle, but they were so commanding and her arms felt like tight vices wrapped around my waist, so firm it was almost painful, but not.
She asserted her need for me with every motion and every flick of her tongue. I tasted her sweet lips and I explored her mouth. My fingers laced through her brilliant red hair and I pulled her tightly against me. She moaned into my mouth and she nipped at my lip playfully. She was perfect in every way!
Eighteen:
I don’t remember exactly how we fumbled our way to the elevator of our building. Seri and I were now locked in each other’s arms and our lips had barely disconnected for more than a breath.
I lifted her slight formed and her legs wrapped tightly around my waist and back. I could feel her firm muscular lower body so completely now. We staggered out into the hall of her penthouse and we never made it through the door.
We were secure from prying eyes or security cameras, for now, that seemed to be more than enough!
Seri ground herself against me and she pushed me down to the dark crimson-carpeted floor. I popped down on my ass and I snorted into her lips a muffled laugh. She peeled back my shirt and I raised my arms for her.
She hitched her breath as she drank in the sight of my tank skin and my brown nipples.
“No bra?”
She asked huskily into my lips.
“Mhmm, blood, remember?”
That was the last thing that past for coherent thought between us. I was starved for her, had waited so very long for this! She was my kin and I have tortured us both for the past year. Seri has been an angel and waited patiently.
I unfastened the strap of her designer dress and I tugged it down low enough to fully display her lily-skinned body and her red lacey bra. I snapped the strap and I felt her light skin pinked slightly under the intensity of my gaze. Her light pink nipples were firm and her bust was even more perfect to her slim frame than I could ever have imagined.
I leaned into her and I buried my face into her chest, capturing her right nipple hostage. I sucked on it and I nipped with my teeth. Seri moaned and she raked her fingers down my back.
“Yes…”
Her sweet voice made my heart clench and my body becomes even more liquid with my heated desire for her, all of her. I took my time enjoying the sweet taste of her flesh. Seri arched her back to allow me better access and I lifted her and I crashed to the floor pinning her beneath my body.
My eyes danced with mischief and I watched her through my hooded gaze. She was panting and she wiggled free of her dress and I helped, then I focused on liberating my own jeans.
Seri laid beneath me now in nothing but red lacey panties with her bedroom eyes announcing her needs. I leaned down and I kissed a trail down her stomach and I tugged her panties down and she kicked them off with one quick move.
I kissed her waist and I worked down and I took a moment to appreciate her well-groomed body. I flicked my tongue over her sensitive flesh and I tasted the nectar of heaven that had been waiting for just me.
Seri wrapped her legs tightly around me and I probed deeper inside her small opening. She was already so wet for me that I began to work my finger into her as I liked at the soft tissue above her entrance.
She whimpered as I slid my second digit into her and I buried myself to the bottom of her small space. She writhed against my head and my hand as I tasted her and I began to slowly find a rhythm, coaxing out even deeper pleasure inside her.
She rocked against me and I pushed deeper and harder into her building my pace of pleasure steadily. She moaned laughers and I felt her magic uncoil around us. Mine answered and I felt our powers twinning around each other. My power accompanied my next thrust and she screamed out and her small body clenched tightly on my slender fingers. She mindlessly ran her fingers through my disheveled raven locks.
I wasn’t done, I used her momentary distraction to pull her legs open wide and I leveraged my weight into the thrusts of my fingers inside her and she whimpered and mumbled nonsensical sounds of pleasure against my ear as I rocked myself deep into her.
I leaned my head into her plump chest and sucked on her left nipple and flicked my tongue over her delicious flesh. She held my head against her chest and she whimpered again as I felt her body tightened on my hand again and I felt her heat flooding at her release.
Seri barely gave me a moment to exit her before she turned the tables and flipped me over on the floor and she tore through my black panties with her vampire strength. She leaned down and she captured my lips in a frantic need I could taste on her. She ran her fingers over my bare skin and she seemed to touch and test every curve and contour of my body. She mapped me out with her skillful touch.
Her bright eyes shined with something I had never seen inside a woman before—love. She was mine, something I had not truly allowed myself to believe before now. I knew what kin was supposed to mean to each other, but I had been so scared to dare trust such a powerful vampire. My life has been deadly and painful. I lived with the shame and the stains of my street-rat life. How could this princess of vampires love a creature like me?!
Right now I lacked the power of thought to care about resisting her. I wanted her and I was aching for her with a pain so sharp I was whining against her lips and rubbing myself against her. Seri’s gaze was dark and thick with her desire now. She was not gentle, she thrust into me so suddenly and so powerfully the pleasure almost bordered on pain.
She was a vigorous woman and she thrust into me with a practiced display of her magical and physical prowess. I felt my back arching all on its own allowing her deeper entry into me. She trailed her tongue down my chest and I felt her sharp fangs nipping at me. She licked at the tingling pots her fangs touched me. I could smell fresh blood in the air—my blood. She finally sank her fangs deep into my right upper breast and she pushed deep into me at the same moment. I felt heat surge through my body and I screamed out her name and I left a trail of bloody scratches running down her back as she began to thrust harder and faster.
I felt my explode in rapture and with that my insecurities seemed to fly free form my mind and body. Seri licked at the fresh wound on my breast sealing it with her saliva.
“You are so amazing…”
She murmured into my lips and I tasted her peppery breath. She bent her neck to the side and gave me perfect access as I sat up wrapping my arms around her small waist and I sunk my fangs deep into her neck and I drank deeply of her heady life-blood, the blood that spared me from an early death.
Seri moaned and she combed her fingers through my hair and her other hand braced herself against my back.
We soon collapsed into a heap of spent and well-satisfied females.
***
I didn’t remember when we finally fell asleep, or when Seri had woken up and carried me into her bed and tucked herself against my chest. But I did wake up with her halo of red hair still covering my chest and her slow contented breaths and matching heart-tempo spoke of a woman who couldn’t have been more contented in all her life.
All I knew now was, this was happening and I knew I loved this beautiful and sometimes cra
zy girl!
Nineteen:
My phone beeped at me angrily and I grumbled several choice curses as I struggled to the source of the sound. I followed the sound out of the large warm bed with the twisted sheers and through the light, but eloquently decorated halls and living room. I found the door ajar with my phone sitting half out of my jeans and my ruined black panties were glaring up at me in accusation.
I fished my phone out of my pants and I looked up at the alarm. I sighed and I swore to myself. I had about an hour to get ready for work and I looked back to the room I had just vacated. Seri was still sleeping soundly next to where I had been. She looked even more like a heavenly creature as the first rays of dawn made her skin seem luminescent.
I sighed and my mind seemed to replay the night before.
It wasn’t just a dream…
I thought to myself as if I was unsure if I had just made another lucid dream involving my beautiful kin. Her taste was still fresh on my lips and her scent clung to me like the best musky perfume a girl could ever ask for.
I didn’t want to wake her when I knew she rode herself much too hard as it was. I looked around until I found some loose paper and I scribbled down a hasty note. My witty word, “I had to go to work babe, I swear I wasn’t running!”
It was so lame I nearly went back in to retrieve the note from the pillow, but then I opted to sneak back to my apartment suits before someone caught me streaking through the hall indecisively.
I took a long hot shower and I scrubbed the fresh scent of sex form my skin. Part of me was sad to do so, but a girl couldn’t walk into her job looking like she was doing a college walk-of-shame. What’s most interesting of all, I didn’t regret anything. Seri loved me and I knew that I was in love with her too. I might take my sweet time to trust, but I was probably the most loyal girl on the planet. I don’t do anything in halves.
I was worried about the ramifications for our kingdoms, but I would have to figure everything out as we saw where this new relationship led us.
***
Bix was grinning up at me as I exited the elevator. I swore and I kept walking.
