That stung him. She saw anger flare in his eyes mixed with a wince of recognition, and her battered spirit celebrated that small victory.
Cade opened his mouth, then closed it again and visibly reined back on his anger. “All right, I deserved that. I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you, and then I turned around and did just that, mentally if not physically. But whatever you believe, I don’t make a habit of acting like a blackguard.”
“The modern term,” she told him with a weary sneer, “is ‘asshole.’”
Instead of being offended, he laughed in relief. “I knew you’d get around to scorching my ears sooner or later.” Tapping his elegant nose, Cade lowered his head. “Okay, go for it. Hit me. Right here.”
She lifted her brows. “Hit you?”
He grinned. It was a devastating grin, handsome and boyish and wry, and she’d bet money he knew exactly how much punch it packed. Fangs weren’t his most devastating weapon by any means. “You’ve wanted to slug me since I snapped on the cuffs. Here’s your chance. I won’t stop you. See if you can break it.” He shut his eyes and braced himself as if she could actually do some damage.
Val stared up at him, amused despite herself. His thick eyelashes fanned against his high cheekbones, and his tempting mouth was quirked in a half-smile. The moonlight silvered his broad shoulders and silken hair with cool white light. She considered the pleasant fantasy of knocking him on his tightly muscled ass.
Instead, she did what she’d been aching to do for hours. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she went up on her toes and took his mouth.
Cade’s eyes snapped open as soft breasts pressed against his chest and even softer lips sealed over his. His body instantly burst into flame at the silken intensity of her kiss.
When he moaned, her tongue swept into his mouth, agile and slick and impossibly tempting. He drew back just far enough to murmur, “I thought you wanted to break my nose.”
“It’d only heal,” she growled against his mouth. “Right now, there’s something I want a lot more.”
“And what would that be?” Cade purred.
She slid a hand between their bodies and cupped him boldly. He sucked in a breath as long fingers stroked and squeezed flesh that leaped at her touch. “Actually, vampire, I’d like to drain you.” Those fingers measured him as heat poured into his balls. “Though from the feel of things, that could be a lengthy project.”
“And getting lengthier all the time.” He lifted her chin to search her eyes. He could feel the points of his fangs against his lips as he spoke. “Are you sure about this, Val?”
“Yes,” she said softly, huskily. “I want you, Cade. I’ve wanted you for years. Make love to me.”
Breathing in, he could scent her arousal, thick and tempting, confirming just how much she meant that. “Yes.” With a soft growl of need, he swept her into his arms and turned to retrace his steps in long strides.
She giggled and clutched his shoulders. Her eyes shone in the moonlight like something precious. “Where are we going?”
“The car. I don’t want to make love to you with rocks digging into my butt.”
Val toyed with a lock of his hair. “That does sound distracting.”
“And I don’t want to be distracted.” He reached the car and walked around behind it, still carrying her. Gently, he put her down on the trunk and leaned her back against the rear windshield.
Cade straightened to pulled his shirt off, then balled it up and tucked it behind her head as a pillow. Heat and a reluctant trust filled her gray eyes. Catching the hem of her own T-shirt, she pulled it over her head to reveal full breasts cupped in lace. The sweet, high mounds seemed to beg for his hands, his mouth. A pulse beat hard in her long throat.
The sight of her offering herself made the Hunger leap. He throttled back on his searing need, determined not to betray her. He’d give her what she wanted -- and only what she wanted -- if it killed him.
Chapter Ten
What am I doing? one last sane voice screamed in the back of Val’s brain as Cade reached for the fly of her jeans. Watching his long fingers unzip her pants, she ignored it.
All that mattered was this moment -- and making love to Cade.
The Hunger made his eyes burn with a wolfish light that would have frightened her if she hadn’t also sensed his iron restraint. “If I start to take more than you want to give,” he said, in a low, determined rasp, “tell me. I swear to you I’ll stop.” The points of his fangs showed as he spoke, yet she believed him.
When he reached for her waistband to pull off her jeans, his big hands shook. As he stripped them down, she remembered her dream of the woman he’d taken. His hands had been rock steady then. Did the faint tremble in them now mean this was more than a causal screw to him? Or was she fooling herself?
He straightened with her jeans dangling from one hand, staring at her with dark, ravenous eyes. She swallowed, abruptly conscious she wore nothing but a bra and a tiny pair of panties. The metal of the Lexus’ trunk felt cold against her naked thighs.
He looked so damn tall standing there, the muscled contours of his chest silvered in moonlight. Hunger turned his handsome face feral as he dropped her jeans and reached for her. She went into his arms with a moan he muffled with his mouth. His tongue slipped between her lips in a slow, seductive stroke as one strong hand caught the front of her bra and tugged it up, baring her nipples. Long fingers cupped her flesh, hot and tender. She closed her eyes and whimpered against his lips. His tongue circled hers.
Building heat drove her to wrap her legs around Cade’s waist and hook her heels against his muscled ass. She dragged her mouth from his as he took possession of one pink nipple, squeezing gently, rhythmically.
“You feel so…” Val stopped to moan as his fingers slid up her thigh in a gliding caress. “… Good.”
“You feel like silk,” he whispered back. The cool glass of the windshield against her back was a stark contrast to the wet heat of his suckling mouth closing over one nipple. Each pull sent pleasure blooming delicately along her nerves. A velvet tongue-stroke over a tight rose point made her arch against him. She gasped and felt her bra dig into the tops of her breasts.
Cade feasted on her beautifully sensitive nipples as her slim body twisted against his, smooth and warm. Her scent flooded his head with the rich, salty smell of aroused woman, sending the Hunger spiraling. The energy of her building pleasure gathered around them like a narcotic cloud.
Seduced, he reached for her panties, determined to bring her to that first, delicious climax. When he felt the thin, silken fabric under his fingers, he barely resisted the urge to rip it away. As he pushed it down her thighs, his thumb brushed the crotch. It was wet. Goaded, he growled against her breast and pulled back just long enough to jerk the panties completely off.
She blinked up at him, sprawled deliciously across the Lexus’ black metal skin, light against dark, warmth against chill. Her nipples were hard and pink and wet from his mouth, her long legs bent and spread. His eyes locked on the fluffy auburn triangle between her thighs. His mouth flooded with saliva. Moving between her thighs, he buried his face against her.
The first stab of Cade’s tongue almost shot Val off the car. Instinctively she grabbed for his biceps and dug in her nails as he licked and sucked with ruthless skill. The sheer hot pleasure made her writhe. He reached up her body to knead her breasts, stroking and squeezing while he feasted. She curled a knee over his shoulder and dug her heel hard against his back. Cade flicked his tongue back and forth across her clit until she writhed. The slick glass of the window felt deliciously cool against her hot, sweaty back.
Still thumbing her nipple with one hand, he reached between her thighs with the other. A single big finger slid into the wet, thick cream that filled her sex just as his tongue gave her clit the perfect stroke.
Light exploded behind her eyes. Her spine arched like a bow. “God, Cade!”
He lifted his eyes to watch her come and slid another f
inger into her. Head thrown back, pink-tipped breasts rising as she gasped, she looked like a ravished angel. The energy of her climax poured over him, and he shuddered at the power flooding his mind. His fangs ached and his cock throbbed with the need to bury themselves in her. He fought down the hunger and gave her another long, delicious lick.
Dazed, Val looked down her body to see those black eyes watching her over the curls of her sex. She was surprised they didn’t glow. Then his hands moved, one twisting her nipple, the other driving three fingers into her tight flesh as his tongue danced over her clit. Her fading climax jack-hammered back to full force.
When he finally released her, she sprawled on the car, dazed and weak from the rippling multiple orgasms he’d wrung from her. She barely stirred when his hands caught one hip to gently turn her over, draping her belly down across the trunk. “Cade?”
His zipper whispered. Instantly, her sated senses snapped alert. Twisting her head around, she watched him free his thick cock from his boxers. His eyes burned, narrow and hot as he stepped up to her wet, spread sex. Reading the question in her gaze, he said, “If I took you missionary, I don’t trust myself not to drink from you.”
She remembered how his fangs had felt sinking into her in the dream. Though some traumatized part of her recoiled in terror, the rest felt the rise of a dark excitement. “You can…” She gasped as the thick, rounded crown of his cock brushed her folds. “You can have me that way if you want.”
His eyes met hers and flared with hunger. “Oh, I want.” Her slick flesh flowered open as he pushed inside. He felt so thick and hard, she wondered for a wild moment if she could take him. “But I think I’ll save it for next time.” She gasped as he came on and on. The possessive heat in his gaze as he watched her face made her shudder. “When I’m hungrier.”
Val moaned. “I’m not sure I’d survive if you get any hungrier than this.”
He smiled slightly, feral and male. “You have done a pretty good job of” -- his cock slid in the last inch -- “whetting my appetite.”
“Oh, God!”
He stopped, buried in her up to the balls, such a massive, invading presence that her pleasure balanced on the edge of pain. “You’re so tight,” he breathed in her ear as he bent over her.
“It’s been…” She sucked in a breath as he pulled out a millimeter at a time. “It’s been a long time since I made love.” She smiled slightly. “Anywhere but in a dream, that is.”
“Was it worth the wait?” More of that satin organ slid out, only to press slowly deep again.
“God, yes.” The trunk was just high enough that her feet didn’t quite touch the ground. She clung to the slick surface. The car rocked under Cade’s weight as he braced one knee on the bumper and rolled his hips. She whimpered at the feel of his shaft stuffing her so thoroughly.
He loomed over her, his shoulders blocking the stars, his gaze intent on her face as he ground into her slick cunt. She rolled her hips up for him, meeting his thrusts. The pleasure built, twisting along her spine until she writhed.
He lowered his head as his lips parted, showing fangs that gleamed in his open mouth. Val quivered and bit her lip. His breath blew warm against her throat. She twisted her head back in invitation. Cade started to bite, then jerked his head back. “Not this time.” He swallowed. “Later.”
He rammed his cock so deep she screamed at the ruthless pleasure. The sedan rocked on its tires as his powerful body surged and ground against her ass. Each thrust of that thick shaft drove another jolt of pleasure up her spine. “Cade!” She gripped the edges of the trunk with both hands, holding on helplessly as the rising orgasm battered her senses in time to his goring strokes. At last, her climax crashed over her in a molten wave. She screamed.
The energy of her orgasm burst like fireworks in Cade’s mind, driving the Hunger into a sustained shriek. He could almost taste the blood thundering in the pulse beating so hard in her slim throat. He fought the need, determined that this time, the first time, he’d take her as a man rather than a vampire.
Her slick, clasping flesh pulsed hard around his cock. Fiery pleasure rolled up from his balls and down his shaft. He drove himself into her as far as he could reach and threw back his head. And drowned in fire and need.
* * *
Her senses battered, Val lay still under Cade’s steamy masculine weight. God, she thought, I just had sex with a vampire. And it was incredible.
Almost purring, she closed her eyes as she listened to his breathing deepen and settle. She supposed she should do an angst-propelled tailspin into guilt right about now, but she felt too damn good. Weightless and floating, she lay still and let her muscles twitch.
Cade draped over her body, a blanket of sated masculinity. When he finally started to seem heavy, she tried to move, only to wince as her skin stuck sweatily to the car’s metal surface.
Feeling something move deep within her body, she paused. His cock was still inside her. Soft now, yes, but the connection between them remained. “God, Cade,” she said, and swallowed to clear the rasp. Her throat was sore. She suspected it was from screaming. “That was…” She couldn’t think of a word that did it justice.
“Yeah.” He sounded a little rusty too. “You okay?”
She chuckled. “‘Okay’ doesn’t even come close.”
“Are you sure?” He drew away, his cock slipping from her. She felt a twinge of regret. “I was a little rough at the end. And you were pretty… vocal.”
Val smiled at the concern she could hear in his voice. “Don’t worry, those were screams of pleasure.” She lifted her head and groaned, abused muscles protesting. “Ouch. So much for the fabled Lexus luxury ride.”
“I think they only promise that if you’re inside the car.” His strong hands helped her turn over, and she winced as her sweaty skin pulled away from the trunk.
Val opened her mouth for another quip, then forgot what she was about to say as his eyes met hers. Despite the stunning passion they’d just shared, she felt her heartbeat speed again at the tenderness in his.
Cade leaned in for a slow, thorough kiss, his mouth moving gently as his big hands cupped her face. Pleasure curled through her, sweet and lazy now rather than hard and driving. When he drew back, he rested his forehead on hers for a moment. “Thank you for trusting me.”
She licked her lips, tasting him. Tasting them both. Something in her heart turned over as she looked into dark eyes as warm as melted chocolate. How could I do anything else? She bit the words back, suddenly afraid of what they meant.
He straightened, clearing his throat. “What did I do with your clothes?”
As they dressed, Val felt the warm romantic glow dissipate, sanity taking hold. What the hell had she been thinking? If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up with a whole new set of dental work.
Frowning, she tugged on her T-shirt. Her stomach rumbled loudly. Cade looked over at her and grinned. “I see I’m not the only one who’s hungry. There’s a Waffle House up the frontage road. Want to go for it?”
“I could do with a big stack of pancakes.” Which sounded like a much safer topic than dwelling on the taste of his mouth and the feel of his body surging against hers.
And the warmth that bloomed in her whenever she met his eyes.
* * *
Cade sat in the restaurant booth and watched Valerie demolish a plate of pancakes. As late as it was, there was nobody in the 24/7 diner except a weary cook and a drunk dozing over his coffee.
“I still don’t understand this Kith thing,” Val said softly, one eye on their server to make sure she couldn’t overhear. “Why are psychic abilities so important to the Change?”
“A vampire without telepathy is a dead vampire.” Cade took a sip of coffee. His metabolism could handle food, as long as it was in small enough quantities. “If we couldn’t alter human memories, they’d have exterminated us by now.”
“But how do mental abilities help you survive the transition?”
&nbs
p; “During the Change, a sire forges a deep link with his fledgling’s mind. But it has to be a two-way street. If your power isn’t strong enough to reach back, you slip into a coma and die. Thing is, the meld persists even after the Change is over. Which is how Ridgemont was able to force me to do things I found repellent -- like trying to kill you. He could also lock my muscles and paralyze me whenever he wanted.”
She blinked. “Which would make it impossible to fight back.”
“Pretty much. Until My psychic abilities strengthened enough to block him out five years ago.”
Her brows lifted. “So you were a slave for…”
“One hundred and thirty-five years.”
She frowned. “But you only just left? Why did you stay with him?”
Cade shrugged. “You and Abigail make very good hostages.”
“Why? I mean, I understand what he could do to me, but Abigail’s already dead.”
“She’s also pure psychic energy.” He took another sip to wash the taste out of his mouth. “And we feed on more than blood.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “You mean… he could eat her?”
“Given his power, yeah. Wouldn’t be possible for a younger vampire, which is why she’s safe from Gerhard. Even for Ridgemont, it wouldn’t be easy -- she’d fight, probably give him a serious psychic burn. But he could do it. And he’s held that threat over my head for all these decades.”
“Bastard.”
“That’s about the size of it.”
Val felt the rise of a deep, welling anger. “How did you survive?”
“Ridgemont didn’t give me much choice,” he said, shrugging. “And I found ways to distract myself. He travels a lot, and wherever we were, there was usually something that needed doing. We were in France for a while during World War II, so I fought in the Resistance.” His gestured with his coffee cup. “We’ve been in New York for the past ten years, so I’ve been entertaining myself making life miserable for drug dealers, white collar crooks, and assorted other lowlifes…”
Forever Kisses Volume 1 Page 14
