Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  His voice was as close to enthralling as any human’s could be, but I didn’t appreciate that he used our sexual connection like a mind-altering tool.

  I got off him as awkwardly as I’d straddled him, which was embarrassing for a vampire, and was out of the car straightening my dress in a heartbeat. “Constantine is not a threat,” I said. “But I get it if you don’t want him inside your mother’s place, so I will meet him out here. Is that okay?” Not waiting for his response, I turned toward the house.

  “I don’t want you meeting him at all. It could be a trap.” He came out after me.

  “It’s not.” I let out an exasperated sigh and sat on the hood of his car, elbows on my knees and feet perched on his bumper. “It’s Constantine. I’ve known him for years, and he’s not going to double-cross me.”

  Alex stood in front of me. Every muscle of his body was tense, his wide and generous lips drawn into a thin line. Though nothing could make him unattractive, I didn’t like the look of distrust on him. “You said yourself you hadn’t seen him in years.” The distrust in his voice was no less annoying. “His maker is in the council. For fuck’s sake, Cherry, think.”

  He made some valid points. It made sense that Constantine would be in on all the badness. He had the ins with the council and had sort of kept in touch with me via the phone after our breakup, so he knew where I lived. If we went further back, it had been really convenient that I’d gotten such a stud of a mentor, with whom I’d developed a romantic relationship. Assuming he’d been involved with Ádísa the entire time and that she and Willoughby were on the same team, it could all have been a plan to keep me under his thumb or to keep tabs on me.

  Except I knew in my heart that it wasn’t.

  Constantine had his share of flaws—hell, he had several people’s shares of flaws—but he was nobody’s pawn. I could see him going above and beyond if the whole scheme had been his idea, but not because someone else put him up to it. And I could definitely not see the whole let’ s turn someone people would recognize so we can overthrow the council and install a new one being his idea, since it didn’t make him part of the new council.

  Unless he was the brains of the operation, and Ádísa was his pawn ... Hmmm. That might be worth looking into.

  No. I knew Constantine. He’d helped me fix a bird’s broken wing so I’d stop crying. I refused to be pulled into conspiracy theories other than the one we were currently tackling. There were bad guys among the ones ruling our kind, and they were out to get me and Alex—who was still rambling, by the way—but my former lover wasn’t one of them. Despite everything, for the time we were together, Constantine had loved me in his own way.

  Alex’s grip on my arm brought me back to the here and now. “He could be how they’re keeping track of you. How Willoughby knew where you lived and where to find Dotty.”

  Okay, I hadn’t reacted when he implied I wasn’t thinking, but bringing Dotty into this was a low blow, especially when he’d insisted her kidnapping wasn’t my fault.

  I poked his chest with my forefinger, only not hard ’cause that would have either sent him flying toward the house or broken his rib cage. “I trust Constantine.” I emphasized each syllable with one more poke. “He’s lousy when it comes to fidelity, but I trust him not to hand us to Willoughby or the council. If that was what he had in mind, he could have done so when I told him I suspected there was a rogue among us. He could have killed me before I ever left his place. I’m meeting him whether you like it or not.” Kicking Alex’s car would be childish, so I refrained. Barely.

  Alex grabbed my wrist and loomed over me. “I don’t like it, but if you’re meeting him anyway, he’s coming inside. He may wanna grab you and fly you to the council, for all I know.” Brilliant. Typical male. He took a predetermined thing, twisted it around in his brain a couple hundred times, returned it to its initial shape, and served it up like it had been his idea to begin with.

  I filled my lungs with air I didn’t need and let it whoosh out. “Sure. If you insist.” No sense pointing out to him that had been the plan in the first place.

  “I want to keep an eye on him,” he said, as though I still needed convincing.

  I shrugged. Whatever. If Constantine was up for a fight, Alex would be useless, but whatever. I was too tired to get into another argument. Mentioning Constantine’s vampiric powers would make Alex think I was putting down his humanity. Male ego, when faced with any perceived threat, can lash out in all directions, and the first collateral damage is usually rational thinking.

  I started to stand, but Alex planted one fist on either side of my thighs. “I wanna keep an eye on you with him.”

  “I told you, there’s nothing going on between him and me.”

  “You did. But there’s also nothing going on between me and you, is there?” Really? After being patient for this long, he wanted us to have the talk now? Out in the open?

  I feathered my fingers over his cheek. “We said we’d figure this out later.”

  Instead of replying, he snaked one hand between my thighs and ran his fingers along my flimsy thong. “Do you want me?” he asked. I barely had time to raise an eyebrow in question before he pushed two fingers inside me. “Do you want me, Cherry?”

  I swallowed. “You know I do, but—” We were outside his mom’s house, on top of his car. Even I knew that wasn’t right.

  “Because I want you. All the time.” He withdrew his fingers and made a show of licking them clean.

  Hell, it wasn’t my neighborhood. “Show me,” I whispered, pushing my hips upward. I wanted more of him. I reached for him, but he held me down.

  “Sit back.”

  I did and waited for his next move.

  It didn’t disappoint.

  He grabbed my thighs and pulled me to the edge of the hood. The hem of my dress slid up and bunched around my hips, exposing more of me. I leaned back, propped on my elbows.

  “I want you wanting only me,” he said. “Thinking only of me.” He traced his fingers along my collarbone and slipped down one strap of my dress. “I want you always trembling under my touch.” The second strap caressed my shoulder on its way down, raising goose bumps. He cupped one of my breasts, his palm warm against my skin. I pressed against him, and he pinched my nipple until it was hard and aching. “Like you are now.”

  Alex leaned over me and took my other nipple in his mouth, in turn flicking his tongue over it and grazing it with his teeth. Alternating between warm, wet softness and sharpness kept me on the edge. I pushed against his mouth and whimpered when he stopped caressing my other breast to trail his hand lower, over my stomach, down my belly, and between my thighs, setting each spot he touched on fire.

  He raised his head to look into my eyes. “And I want to be the only one touching you here.” He stroked my pussy over the tiny triangle of fabric.

  My arms quivered, and I tensed in anticipation of more.

  “Watching you squirm.” He pushed the thong aside and used two fingers to circle my clit again and again.

  The pressure was right, but his fingers moved too slowly. An ache in my core screamed for more. I was wet and lightheaded, and I had to have his fingers or his cock inside my pussy before I combusted with need.

  He pinched my clit, spicing my pleasure with enough pain to make me moan. I lay back, my arms no longer able to hold my weight.

  “I want to be the only one tasting you.” He knelt in front of me and pushed my legs up and farther apart before spreading me open with his thumbs. His tongue entered me, and I bucked my hips. He used his warm mouth to map every inch of my pussy, sucking on my clitoris, fucking me with his tongue, grazing his teeth over my inner thigh and labia. My senses were in overdrive. I could smell the night air, see the stars even when I let my eyelids drift shut, feel the tiny speckles of dust beneath my fingertips. Above everything else, though, I feel the heat in my pussy, each touch of Alex’s tongue and teeth adding to the pressure inside me.

  I brought my legs up a
nd draped them over his shoulders. When he pressed the tip of a finger coated in my juices against my second entrance, I’m pretty sure I dug a stiletto heel into his upper back. I was kind of protective of my ass, but with Alex eating me out the way he was, I didn’t resist the intrusion. A second finger found its way past the outer circle of muscle, adding to the burning sensation consuming my lower body. Just when I thought it was too much, he replaced his tongue with his free hand.

  I gathered every ounce of strength I could and lifted my head to look down the length of my body. Alex was fucking me with both hands and watching my splayed body with reverence, the likes of which I’d never seen before.

  “I want you.” My lips and throat felt dry. “Only you. Make love to me.” I no longer cared we could be giving the neighbors an after-hour show.

  He crawled up my body and undid his belt and jeans. I tried to help, needing him inside me as soon as possible, but my hands felt lax. He entered me slowly, ignoring me when I clutched his buttocks urging him on.

  I didn’t want it slow, but not because I couldn’t deal with the feelings I associated with it. I was just so close, I’d burst if he didn’t make me come. “Please.”

  He wouldn’t be rushed in taking his pleasure or giving me mine. His cock slid in and out of my pussy languidly. My body tingled. I mewled and panted and begged, and he still didn’t change his rhythm.

  The tension inside me reached a plateau. I needed something to let it all out. I rocked my hips faster and tried to wedge one hand between our bodies, to rub my clit. Alex stopped me, pinning my wrist to the hood of the car.

  I groaned.

  “I want you to bite me.” He draped one of my legs over his arm so he could spread me even wider.

  His cock sank deeper than before, rubbing the bundle of nerves inside me with every down stroke, and I no longer cared about right and wrong. I tangled my fingers in his hair and buried my fangs in his throat, coming the instant his blood touched my tongue. The flavors erupting on my taste buds combined with Alex’s thrusts to flood my pleasure centers with pure bliss. I was rolling on a cloud of endless euphoric sensations. My body pulsed with life. I wanted Alex to keep fucking me forever while I drank him in.

  I forced myself to let go after a few sips, afraid I’d rip his flesh, the way I bucked and quivered. He thrust faster and harder, until he suddenly pulled out, and I felt warm, thick liquid coat my lower belly and inner thighs.

  “I want you to smell like me.” He kissed me, effectively silencing any protests.

  What he did was petty and childish after what we’d shared, but I didn’t mind. Because I loved him, and that meant loving his pettiness and childishness too.

  Yes, I loved him. Silly, given how little I knew him, but love can flash like lightning, striking you down in a split second. Tonight managed to wipe out my noble intentions of sacrificing my happiness for Alex’s normalcy. If all we had left together was one day, it was still worth an eternity of memories. Up to now, I tried to convince myself leaving him was the safest bet, but my heart would be broken without him one way or another. Perhaps I should take what he gave me and be with him for as long as we could make it work, or as long as he lived.

  And perhaps now was time for him to know how I felt.

  I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with useless air that felt invigorating nonetheless. “I—”

  “It’s getting chilly out here. Want to move this inside?”

  His question drowned the words I meant to say. They were too huge to be said as an afterthought and too small to be allowed to get in the way of our investigation.

  Sometimes there’s only one specific moment. One opening. If you lose it, you may lose everything. I knew it, still I chose not to tell Alex I loved him.

  “Yeah. I’m sleepy.” I yawned. “Dawn is approaching.”

  He rose and held one hand out to me. I took it and smiled to myself when he wrapped his long fingers around mine. My palm looked small and pale, fragile inside his darker, larger one, and for the first time, I sensed it wasn’t just an illusion. Alex’s power wasn’t physical, but it was there, and he held a ton of it over me.

  MY EYELIDS HAD JUST drifted shut, when an earsplitting ringing assailed my eardrums. It tore me from the blissfully hazy space between wakefulness and slumber. My relaxed state had loosened my control over my senses—Alex’s cell ringing an entire floor above us, sounded like it was inside my head and trying to get out.

  I tuned it out and half rolled off his prone form, to shake his shoulder gently. “Your phone.”

  I was sick and tired of getting woken up by phones, by the way. Next time we turned in, I’d personally make sure all telephones in the house had the ringers switched off.

  Alex’s reply was a mumbled grumble.

  “I can’t bring it to you. It’s upstairs. Sunshine-filled upstairs. Get up.” My nudging, not very gentle this second time, had the desired effect of at least getting him to open his eyes. The caller was persistent; the ringing continued while Alex took his time getting to his feet and climbing the stairs.

  I could pretend to have learned my lesson and say I chose the high road, but I the reason I didn’t listen in on his conversation wasn’t about ethics. I was simply too sleepy to pay attention. I made myself as comfortable as possible and dozed off again.

  When Alex returned to the basement, I awoke long enough to hold up my arms to him, thinking I’d have to get up too. Instead he joined me in bed once more. “Roebuck warned me to stay away from his investigation,” he said. “Either that or cover my tracks better. If he hears about me looking into it again, he’ll sic Internal Affairs on me.”

  Sleep weighed heavily on me, making it hard to remain alert. The possibility of Alex being investigated by Internal Affairs, however, was too important for me to give in to my drowsiness. “Can he do that? What will he say?”

  He gave me what looked like the facial-expression equivalent of a shrug. “That I’m acting outside the law. Pursuing my own interests. He doesn’t need to make it stick, just have them up my ass.”

  I felt my brow furrow and consciously relaxed it. Vampires don’t get wrinkles, but we do get tension headaches. “Doesn’t he owe you?”

  “Says it’s for my own good. That I’m in over my head, working this alone.” He turned me so my back was to him and enfolded me in his arms. The hairs on his forearm tickled my chin.

  I found that oddly comforting. “Maybe you should lie low for a while, to get him off your back,” I said. “I can take it from here.” Not that I knew what there was for me to take. We were more or less running in circles and chasing our tails so far. Sure, we’d made some progress, but until we found out more about which council members were involved, there was nothing we could do.

  “We’ve covered that,” he said. “The answer is no. Now sleep. I want to catch some shuteye.” He kissed the back of my head and tightened the sheets around us.

  I pushed one of my feet between his shins. “Yes, sir.”

  I’d screwed up his sleeping pattern—turned his night into day, and vice versa. It’d be bad when the case was over and we didn’t absolutely have to spend day and night together.

  That last thought was depressing enough to keep me up the rest of the day.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I DOUBT ALEX WOULD take as long to prepare for a date as he did to receive Constantine.

  He didn’t shower, and his scowl when I mentioned I’d like to freshen up deterred me from doing so either, but he took his time applying gel to his hair, only to muss it up to what he considered perfection. His hair looked adorable—and exactly the same as before he painstakingly separated and positioned the curls to show he just got out of bed—but I was too busy biting back my comments about what a girl he was being to say anything about it.

  The best part was when time came for him to put a shirt on, and he realized he’d have to do his hair all over again, because the neckline of the tight white T-shirt he chosen—with comfort, not muscl
e definition in mind, I’m sure—dared touch the top of his head.

  That was when I decided the sight was too much for me. I put on a pair of skintight jeans and a sleeveless top that wasn’t revealing enough for Alex to think I put extra effort into looking enticing for my ex’s sake. I did put on some lipstick, though, and I used one of the makeup-removing pads I never left home without, to erase the smudges of eyeliner and eye shadow from the previous night that had formed around my eyes. Not trying too hard didn’t mean I had to look like a clown.

  Alex’s deodorant suffused my nostrils. If he didn’t shower so Constantine could smell me on him, the deo dulled that effect significantly, since vampires don’t have intense body scent to begin with. Still, Constantine would smell Alex on me. I hoped that wasn’t a bad thing.

  The doorbell rang right on time. My former lover was a gentleman—when he wasn’t banging a two-bit ancient whore.

  I looked at Alex. I could be at the door before the spray can in his hand touched the shelf above the sink, but the Alpha dog in him would no doubt find that insulting.

  He placed his palm at the small of my back. “Let’s not keep our guest waiting.” His smirk was scary.

  I spun to face him. “Promise you won’t do anything stupid.”

  His gray eyes looked almost black. He stared at me for a split second, before the hardness melted from the corners of his mouth and his lips parted in a boyish grin. “I promise not to do anything stupid first.”

  It would have to do.

  I stepped aside for him to lead the way, and my gaze fell to the back pocket of his jeans.

  There was something there I thought I’d left in the car.

  The stake I made for Willoughby.

  I MISSED ALEX’S REACTION when he opened the door, because I was too busy doing a double take at the vampire on the doorstep.