Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  He smiled without opening his eyes. Just a quirk of the lips. He was still asleep; I could tell by his breathing.

  “Want to come to bed?” I whispered in his ear. My tongue trailing along it was just an accident, honestly.

  The response I got was an adorable furrowing of his brow and an even more adorable scrunching of his nose.

  “Alex?” I caressed his stomach, first over his shirt and then under it, loving the feel of his heat and smoothness. “Come to bed with me?”

  He fluttered his lids and stirred a bit. Snaking an arm around my waist, he pulled me to him. “No,” he mumbled, burying his face at the crook of my neck.

  Being held bent over wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, even for an immortal, so I draped a leg across his hips and crawled on top of him. “I’ll carry you if you don’t get up.”

  Idle threat—I could pick him up and carry him but had no intention to—yet it worked. Alex blinked at me drowsily. “You’d better be joking.” He found my waistband, bunched his fingers around the loop at the back, and gave it a playful yank.

  I giggled. “Only one way to find out.” I started to get off him, but his hold on me didn’t budge.

  He caressed my cheek tenderly with his free hand. “You okay?” His eyes were serious and completely awake when I looked up at him.

  I nodded, nuzzling his palm.

  “Will they help?” He pulled the hair band from my ponytail and ran his fingers through my hair again and again.

  “Uh-huh.” Too tired to elaborate on the meeting’s result, I let my head drop on his chest and melted into his touch. I’d fill in the blanks in the morning, since he didn’t have to go in. Whoever kept tabs on us should take that to mean Alex was off the case, and Dotty would be safe until we got her back.

  “Good.” He trailed his thumb under my chin, so he could lift my face to him. When his finger feathered over my mouth, I wrapped my lips around it and sucked it in, like I had the previous night.

  This time there was no omelet going cold, and I’d let no doubts hold me back. One more night wasn’t forever, but it was one more night. For all I knew, it was all we had.

  My jeans weren’t accommodating for impromptu romps on the couch, especially with Alex obviously unwilling to move and me unwilling to lose touch with him long enough to stand and get rid of them. I had to work around them.

  I squirmed in his lap, feeling him hard and thick between my legs. He drove his slim hips against mine, making me wish it was his cock I was sucking instead of his thumb. His gaze was fixed on my lips, his tongue all but lolling out of his mouth. The desperate moan he let out, a sound I’d heard men make before but which didn’t touch me so deeply in the past, made up my mind for me. Without a word, Alex had conveyed such urgency that I decided to let his need come before mine.

  I let go of his thumb and placed a kiss on the inside of his palm. Then I took hold of his other wrist and raised both his hands over his head. “Hold on and don’t let go,” I said with a wink, closing his fingers around the armrest. “It will be a bumpy ride.”

  He bucked beneath me. “This bumpy?”

  “You don’t know the half of it.” I caressed his cheek. His stubble pricked at my fingertips. I used both hands to trace the sides of his face and continue down his neck to his smooth chest. I wanted to bury my face in the crook of his neck and inhale his deep, masculine scent until I got light-headed. Instead I bunched his T-shirt in both hands. “How attached are you to this?”

  He barely had time to say, “Not very,” before I pulled. The fabric shredded with a ripping sound and exposed his toned abs. He sucked in a breath, the muscles of his stomach clenching and becoming even more lickable. He strained not to move, his biceps bulging inside the short sleeves, and looked at me under hooded eyelids—all male, and all mine.

  Maybe I could take my jeans off really, really fast?

  Nah. I leaned forward and trailed my tongue down his throat. His skin was salty. A clean taste that made me want to savor more of him. He shivered and craned his neck to the side, spurring me to close my teeth over his jugular and nip lightly.

  Alex groaned and rocked his hips. Finding and pinching his nipple, I pressed down on him, the seam of my jeans at just the right spot to make the friction pleasurable. We both hissed—okay, maybe I was louder than he was—and I moved back a little so I could lick his stomach without spraining my neck.

  I blew air over the wet trail my mouth had left. The change in his breathing and heart rate would have made snapping my neck worth it. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and I realized I instinctively matched his intakes of air. By the time I undid his buttons and kissed below his navel, he was trembling. I looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed with concentration, and veins popped in his arms.

  I’d had men want me before. As a human, I’d been in those circles where getting ahead meant giving head, and as a vampire, I’d had my share of conquests. Men had tried to charm, con, blackmail, or buy their way into my panties, but none of them had wanted me as badly as I could feel Alex did at that very moment. Not even Constantine, who’d been an experienced and considerate lover, and who I knew had loved me.

  I shooed my former lover’s memory out of my head. It was easy to do, with Alex’s long and hard cock so close to my mouth. I wanted to wrap my lips around him and feel his silkiness on my tongue, feel his pulse throbbing in my mouth. I wanted to taste him when he lost control.

  But I wanted him to beg first.

  Alex had been the one doing the exploring during the few days we’d been together, and I thoroughly loved seeing how he responded to my touches now that it was my turn to play. I crawled between his legs and pulled his jeans as far down as they could go. It wasn’t enough to expose all of him. I nibbled at the soft, smooth spot above his hip bone, and he mumbled something that sounded like fuck. I liked that, so I treated his other hip bone the same way, taking the opportunity to inhale his distinctive Alex scent under that of his shower gel.

  He swayed his hips, and his cock nudged my cheek. Ignoring him, I placed an openmouthed kiss right next to his shaft, where it lay partially constricted on his lower abdomen. I trailed my fingernails over his length, and he tried to push against my palm, but I was faster, withdrawing it.

  “Cherry, come on.” He panted, his voice raspy. He raised his legs, bending them at the knees, and pressed his feet to the cushion.

  “What?” I flicked his erection once with the tip of my tongue.

  “You know what.” His lower body jerked up from the couch when I did it again, and he said, “Evil.”

  Stroking his inner thigh over the denim, I nodded. “I so am.”

  His muscles were tense, stretching the fabric and making me want to rip his pants off too. He amazed me by not releasing his grip on the couch when I licked along his cock. Though he did threaten me with revenge, unless I sucked him off immediately.

  “I didn’t hear the magic word.” I sat back on my haunches, a silly giddiness overtaking me. “Without the magic word, you don’t get a thing.” I smirked, pleased with myself, and tickled his stomach with my nails. “Say the magic word.”

  “Now?” He growled, trying to move his legs.

  I held on to them. “That’s not the magic word.” Since I was being childish anyway, I tickled his side when he stopped thrashing.

  His eyes were the darkest gray I’d seen them so far, but he seemed as amused as I was. “Then what is?”

  “Please,” I said smugly. That was my mistake.

  “Well, since you’re asking for it nicely.” His hand flew to my hair and fisted in it. He used his grip to press my face to his cock.

  I laughed. I’d never laughed during sex before I met Alex. I was usually too busy being the sultry seductress or the eager student. The latter was with Constantine, who’d always been teaching me, both in and out of bed. With Alex, it was different. He felt lighter, for lack of a better word.

  He laughed too, stopping only when I closed my lip
s around the head of his dick and licked a single, salty drop of precum from its tip.

  Not needing to breathe is a major asset when it comes to going down on a man. Nevertheless I couldn’t do much with his jeans in the way. I made a valiant effort to take all of his cock in my mouth, but the angle was wrong.

  As I was getting frustrated, Alex whispered, “Not attached to the jeans, either.” I tugged on them sharply, and they were out of the way, framing his thighs with their front torn.

  I took his cock down my throat and sucked. His balls were heavy. I cupped and rolled them in my palm. Both his hands were in my hair now, fingers tangled and tugging. I loved the illusion that I couldn’t break free from his grasp.

  He used his feet to propel his thrusts in and out of my mouth. He didn’t hold back, but then, he didn’t need to. I welcomed his frenzy. The sounds he made while his dick, slick with my saliva, slid forcefully between my lips filled me with a sense of power that had nothing to do with physical strength. This strong, assertive man was reduced to meaningless cries of ecstasy because of what I was doing to him. Holding him still, I sucked harder, withdrawing enough to circle his cockhead with my tongue.

  His grasp on my hair intensified, and I thought he meant to push back in, but he didn’t. Instead he pulled me up and gave me a fierce kiss. “Turn around,” he said.

  I was so lost in enjoying his pleasure that I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

  “On your knees. Face the other way.”

  Ah. I turned and braced myself on the opposite arm of the couch with one hand, undoing my fly with the other.

  He yanked my waistband halfway down my thighs, and in a single thrust buried his cock inside me. He didn’t pause when I cried out at the suddenness of his intrusion—not that I wanted him to. He fucked me with almost punishing force, my position making the friction between us more intense, despite how wet my pussy was. He gripped the back of my neck and pressed my face down against the cushion.

  The change in angle of penetration added to the pressure building in my lower belly. The couch’s fabric scratched against my skin, but only heightened my pleasure, as did Alex’s roughness. I reached down to stroke my clit. Each move of his hips, each touch of his fingertips, each thrust of his cock made a claim over my body. I was his to take, his to fuck, his to please, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  I loved this dominating side of Alex as much as I loved his easygoing one. And I wouldn’t linger on the love part.

  “Who’s fucking you, Cherry? Who are you going to come for?”

  “You, only y—oh God.” A crushing wave of pleasure bowed my back and made my head light. The tension inside me finally broke. It felt like a vial of adrenaline was poured in my veins. Without warning, my senses became more acute, my hold on them gone. Alex’s scent filled my nostrils, and the drumming of his heart thundered in my ears. I could make out the slightest change in pressure, where he dug his fingers into the back of my neck. The hairs on his legs tickled the oversensitized skin of my thighs. My pussy pulsated. My stomach tightened.

  The force of my orgasm made my body shake. I tried to look at Alex over my shoulder, but all strength had been sapped out of me. My vision blurred. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit the cushion, trying to stay grounded. It didn’t work. I expanded and expanded until I was nothing but light and color. I flew and I fell, my limbs light as feathers and made of lead.

  Alex slammed his hips against me once, twice, three times, and then spilled himself in me, hot cum dripping down my inner thighs.

  We slumped down and stayed there, until I could feel my legs again. He wrapped an arm around my waist, gathered me to him, and lay back, peppering kisses on my shoulder. I wanted to roll over and face him, but his hold wouldn’t budge even after his cock slipped out of me. He hadn’t been at his chattiest after sex so far, but there was now a tension in him I didn’t like.

  He spoke before I could ask if something was wrong. “That last part... I don’t know where it came from.” He interlaced my fingers with his, brought them to his mouth, and brushed his lips over the knuckles.

  “It’s okay. I liked it.” I let the l roll on my tongue for emphasis.

  “I’m lying.” He sighed, stroking my stomach.

  I sucked it in—not my sexiest body part. “What about?” Post-coital Cherry brain doesn’t work at full capacity.

  “I do know where that came from.” The words, though whispered, were crystal clear. “You and your ex. You saw him, then came here all frisky. I guess I was jealous.” Before I could respond, he went on. “And don’t tell me I have no right to be. I want you, damn it, and I can be patient, but I won’t be left here again while you’re out there with him.”

  I should have been offended by how little faith in me that statement indicated. I knew how it felt to have been betrayed, however. It made people more guarded. It took something from them.

  Dropping the pretense that I couldn’t break free, I used my vampire agility to flip on my stomach. What I said right then and there could make or break what we had. “Alex”—I waited until he looked at me—“I was frisky for you. I’m not going to screw around.” It wasn’t possible for us to be in a relationship, but whatever we had was for two players only. He opened his mouth, and I silenced him with my index finger on his lips. “I know what we have is... Well, it’s a wait-and-see thing, but I’m only waiting to see things out with you.”

  His smile shone on his face for a moment, and then he was kissing me again.

  We barely made it to the basement before sunrise.

  Chapter Eight

  I NEEDED TO SLEEP. My brain was fuzzy, and my body felt too exhausted to keep my head up while Alex talked. I found the perfect solution in confiscating his pillow and placing it on top of mine to hold my head propped up as I lay on my side. My mind didn’t benefit from the more upright position. It still wanted to shut down.

  Alex nudged my shin with his foot. “Hey. I didn’t sleep while you were telling me about your meeting.”

  “Mmm.”

  He’d been a good little trouper and paid attention while I’d described how my night had gone, and he’d had all the right reactions, including a disgusted face when I’d mentioned Ádísa’s behavior after explaining who she was. It was by all means my turn to listen. And I tried to. Honestly.

  “Tell me.” I turned my face to the pillow to hide my yawn.

  “Like I said, I got a call. Your friend’s case has another thing different than the rest.”

  I blinked drowsily. “What’s that?” He’d better tell me soon.

  “She left her cell phone behind. Not on purpose, most probably. It was found under the couch at the club where she was last seen. They’re working on locating her boyfriend and checked her calls. No outgoing calls after noon, but her last incoming one was from a private number. They’re working on tracing that. Meantime she had a missed call that night. Apparently from a modeling agency.”

  That woke me up. He was sitting up, and I had to crane my neck to look at him. “A modeling agency? I didn’t know Dotty modeled.” I was ashamed that I didn’t think she could model. Like Alex had said, she wasn’t ugly, not by a long shot, but she wasn’t extraordinary looks-wise, either. My shame deepened when I realized my train of thought assumed I’d been something special during my modeling days.

  “Weird that she didn’t mention it. You said she’s your friend. Anyway, I’ll be checking that out first thing in the morning.” He touched his lips to my cheek and slid under the covers, facing me.

  “This is the morning,” I mumbled.

  Chuckling, he glanced at his watch. “Yeah, but I doubt Sheena’s Models is open at six thirty.”

  “Sheena’s Models?” It came out squeaky.

  Alex arched both eyebrows. “That’s the agency. Why?”

  “Sheena was my agent.”

  I’ve never believed in coincidences.

  ALEX PROMISED NOT TO go see Sheena by himself before sunset, and I slept
like the—wouldn’t you know it?—dead.

  What interrupted my slumber was a curse coming from the floor above. I sprang upright and instinctively reached for Alex. After the first few seconds of disorientation, I realized he wasn’t in bed. As a matter of fact, he was the one who’d done the cursing. I could hear nobody else upstairs. Maybe he’d jabbed a toe or something, while making me breakfast. The thought of him cooking for me made me smile.

  “It’s the only way,” Alex said.

  So he was talking to someone. I tried not to listen in, but his next words piqued my curiosity.

  “If you don’t suspend me, I’m leaving the force.”

  Resisting my natural instincts was futile. I settled my head back on the downy pillow and eavesdropped.

  “You know you owe me,” Alex said. “I was in a bad place, and it worked out well for you. This is my case. Let me work it the way I know how.”

  I couldn’t make out the other side of the conversation.

  “Just do it, okay? I’ll deal.” Pause. “Thanks.” The last word was whispered.

  The next sound was of footsteps approaching.

  I kept my eyes closed when Alex sneaked back into bed. I didn’t know how extensive his detective training had been, but even if he was trained to recognize when a human faked being asleep, I had no breathing he could listen to, in order to call my bluff.

  He snuggled behind me and buried his face in my hair. I couldn’t tell if the sigh he let out was of contentment or frustration.

  I pushed my body against his with a mmm sound, and he pulled me closer. I mmmed again when he kissed my shoulder. He cupped my breast, and I shifted so he could catch a glimpse of my face. Scrunching my nose, I asked, “What time is it?” My voice came out thee right amount of groggy.

  “Eleven thirty. You can sleep some more.” His hand roaming my body indicated he wouldn’t mind if I didn’t.