by Lia Davis
"Damn." He smiled and pulled on my hand. "Come on."
Leading me toward a sofa in the corner, he pulled me close again and danced, his lips on my neck.
Letting my head fall back, I sighed and enjoyed the feel of him moving across my skin as we swayed, the music soaking into me as my desire built.
My nipples tightened against his chest, a telltale sign for him that I liked what he was doing with his mouth.
He pulled back, holding me at arm's reach, then lifted his arm and spun me slowly to the music, his eyes raking up and down my body.
I wished we'd thought to get naked before this dance. Why were clothes always in the way at the most inopportune moments?
Sliding my hand out of his, I pulled my shirt up, trying my darnedest to stay with the fluidity of the music. I was no dancer, not by a long-shot, but I didn't want to ruin the sultry mood by yanking off my clothes.
Kevin, as romantic as he'd been so far, didn't seem to mind ruining the moment. He stripped completely naked while the shirt covered my face, which was a few seconds. I was attempting to pull it off slow enough that it was sexy and alluring. In the meantime, he'd used his vampire speed.
When I opened my eyes, ready to toss the shirt at him and saw his dick pointing at me and his facial expression dark and lustful, I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing. His body was one-hundred percent as gorgeous as I'd expected it to be, chisled and lean. He embodied the stereotypical human vampire look, and he did it with style.
His poor face fell. "What's funny?" he asked, covering himself up.
"Not that," I said, running over to him in my pants and bra. "No, not that." Oh, fuck. I'd done that all wrong. And he'd been so damn sweet.
"I was going for a bit of a strip tease and when I opened my eyes you'd stripped down. It was funny."
He needed more reassurance. Poor fella. I couldn't have laughed at a worse time.
Striding forward, I grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his dick, dropping to my knees. Looking up at him, I stroked his shaft then took him into my mouth with my eyes still upward.
Horrible angle. It didn't last long. I had to give him my full attention and stop trying to let him see my face, which I knew drove most guys wild.
Using my hand and mouth, I stroked and sucked him, but it wasn't long before his hand touched my cheek. "Stand up."
He took my hands and, in a sweet gesture, helped me up. "There will be all the time in the world for blow jobs. But this is for us, not me."
We went back to dancing, hugged close this time, his arms around me. He traced his fingers up and down my back, but my bra was in the way.
"Take it off," I whispered, my cheek on his chest.
He unclasped the bit of lace easily, and I leaned back to let it fall down my arms and to the floor between us. Kevin kicked it behind him as he looked down at my breasts. "Beautiful," he murmured, then pulled his hands around to cup them, lifting their weight and running his thumbs across my nipples. "You're beautiful."
I bit my lip, choking back a rejection of the compliment. I knew I was attractive, but the reverence in his voice gave me pause. No better way to ruin a mood than rejecting a compliment, though.
He pulled me toward the backless sofa. I paused to kick off my shoes and pants, then lowered onto the settee wearing only my thong. He tapped my knees, following me down, so that I would spread my legs and let him settle between them.
I rested my head on the fancy pillow at one end of the sofa and moaned as his mouth covered one of my tight nipples. "I'm going to get this sofa soaking wet," I lamented. It was a beautiful piece, probably antique.
"Really?" His head popped up and an awestruck expression crossed his face. "You get that wet?"
"Yeah, like a freaking faucet turned on."
He looked around the room for an alternative. "You can move water, right?"
I nodded.
"If it's soaked into fabric?"
"Well, yeah, I can. That'll work."
He lowered his face and looked at my body. "You're perfect."
"I'm glad you're pleased. You're pretty amazing yourself."
"Protection?" He had one hand on his dick, and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to be patient through much more foreplay. I wasn't either, for that matter. I focused and put the protection spell on to avoid pregnancy.
"Fuck me, mate," I said huskily.
He shook his head. "I told you, this won't be that. I'm claiming you today, and it won't be a cheap fuck."
"Then make love to me, mate, but do it soon," I said, tone bossy but teasing.
He smiled and lowered himself again, taking his mouth back to my breast. He popped his mouth off my nipple with a wet, smacking sound. "It was easy to accept."
"What was?" My voice came out all breathy and soft. Not me at all. I cleared my throat and repeated my question.
"Being your mate. You're a goddess, Tala, so I figured if you turned out to be a complete harridan, at least you'd be fun to look at."
I snorted and went limp, laughter shaking my body. "You're full of shit," I said through my giggles.
"Maybe, but so far you're not a harridan at all, so I've won the lottery, haven't I?"
His sweet words stifled my giggles. I moved my hands to his face, running my knuckles against the bit of stubble on his jaw. "You're nicer than I deserve," I whispered. "You'll see how abrasive I can be."
He grunted, narrowing his eyes at me. "You'll be less abrasive after I do this." Lowering his head to my breast again, he licked up the middle, then closed his mouth on my skin under my collarbone, sucking slightly.
It lit a fire in my nerve endings. I moved my hands to his shoulders and gripped. He licked again, tracing around my collarbone up to my neck.
At a snail's pace, he kissed my neck, sucking and nibbling, but not quite biting. The more he toyed with me, the more I wanted him to sink his teeth in and bite me properly.
"Please," I whispered, in another moment out of character. I was usually a command and get my way sort of gal.
He grunted again, and without any more hesitation, sunk his teeth into my neck.
I'd never been bitten during sex. Hell, I'd never had sex with a vampire before.
The orgasm swept over me. Orgasms varied, and I always equated them to different types of water. I was a water elemental, after all. Sometimes they were a babbling brook, soft and comforting pleasure. Sometimes they were the ocean during a storm.
This, though. Hell's kitchen table, it was a tidal wave. The pleasure hit me like a wall of water, washing everything in its path away. I felt Kevin brush my thin thong to the side and he entered me, pushing deep and hard for the first stroke.
The tidal wave shifted to a hurricane, the physical stimulation spurring on the magical. I cried out and growled at the same time, the sound guttural and desperate.
I'd never ridden an orgasm so intense. Kevin continued moving inside me, one hand on my bent knee, pushing my body into an angle that made his head massage my g-spot with every thrust.
When he removed his fangs from my neck, the orgasm continued, but the intensity lessened to something I could handle.
"Shit," I groaned. "That was..."
He grinned and propped himself up, keeping one hand on my knee, but bracing himself with the other so he could speed up his thrusts.
It didn't take him long after that, nor me. We came together, my orgasm cresting and finishing with a gush of fluid, washing over him, me, the couch, and floor. His own seed probably was washed away in the intensity of mine, but I was still glad I'd done the protection spell. Better safe than baby.
He rocked back, sitting on the other end of the sofa with a squishing sound. "Wow," he said, looking over at me. "That was amazing."
"I've heard that it would be. I've never had an orgasm from a bite before. It's as great as they say."
"I've only done it to others, using it to cover up feeds." He leaned to the floor, grabbing his pants, then pulled out a pack
of cigarettes from the pocket.
Oh, nope. I lifted my finger and flicked a tiny bit of water at the tip of the cigarette after he lit it. It sputtered out.
Kevin looked at it in shock, then at me.
"I'll thank you not to talk about former lovers, and you'll feed exclusively from me from now on," I said as I rose. Bending over, my ass all in his face, I picked up my clothes. "And, you're a vampire. You can't become addicted to things like cigarettes. So that's the last one you'll ever light."
Pulling on my panties, I turned to face him.
His gaze went to my breasts. "They are magnificent."
"Flattery gets you nowhere," I said.
He picked up his own underwear and pulled them on as he stood. We faced each other in nothing but our skivvies. "Woman, if I want to smoke a cigarette, I will." Reaching to his pants pocket on the sofa behind him, he pulled out the pack, then put another cigarette in his mouth.
I waited until the lighter flame danced in front of his face, then flicked another bit of water, this time extinguishing the flame before he lit the tip.
Narrowing his eyes on me, he reached into his pants again and pulled out another lighter.
Laughing, I pointed at him. "I can do this all day," I said.
"Well, so can I. You won't tell me what to do."
Nobody ever talked to me like that. Except Randell. If I said do something, even Meda usually listened.
I tried not to be totally outraged, but it was hard given his insistence on smoking for no damn good reason. He flicked the lighter, and lifted the flame to the cigarette. I gathered enough water in my hand from the liquid all over the floor to soak his entire face and ruin the whole pack.
As the flame met the tobacco, I threw the water, but it felt weird. Like I'd been about to throw a softball but dropped it instead. All the liquid splashed at my feet while I watched it fall, eyes wide and mouth open.
Kevin was so shocked the cigarette fell out of his mouth. "What was that?" he asked.
I achieved my goal, at least. The burning end hit the water in the floor first and went out. "I have no idea," I said.
Holding my hand toward the huge puddle on the floor, I gathered the water, something I'd done thousands of times. I didn't even have to think about it anymore. Gathering water was second nature, like breathing or blinking. I could do it asleep or drunk.
The water didn't move.
Focusing, I held both hands out and concentrated on moving the water into a ball.
Without warning, it lifted from the ground and sofa and slammed into me, absorbing into my body like I was a dried-up sponge.
I choked as it hit my throat, and as fast as it started, it was over and I felt normal. Fine.
"What the fuck?" I exclaimed. "I think we should go back to my dorm. This isn't right."
Kevin agreed. "Yeah, we can fight about smoking another time." Dressing hastily, we hightailed it for his car, then he drove me directly to our dorms.
Chapter Twelve
Meda grimaced. "Try something now."
I'd texted my mates, Meda, and Ami on the way back home, and they and their mates met us at the dorm. I made a water ball in my hand and threw it at Kevin.
It hit him square in the face, exactly where I'd aimed it.
What. The. Fuck.
"I tried to do that earlier and it really didn't work. I swear."
Kevin wiped water from his eyes, shooting me a murderous look. "I can vouch. She tried and it fell on the floor at her feet."
Focusing on the water that had spread all over the room, I pulled it toward me, and it came without hesitation, like it always had, like it had never gone wrong at the hotel.
"I don't know what to say," I said.
"Are you tired?" Ami asked. "After the night we had, maybe you're exhausted."
"I guess," I muttered. "I'll try to take a nap."
Kevin stared at me. "Want company?"
"No, thank you."
Leaving everyone behind, I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. My sensitive hearing caught them all leaving, but someone stayed. I couldn't tell who. They didn't say much as they left, besides saying goodbye to each other.
After a few minutes, I rolled over on my back and sighed. Sleep wasn't coming.
A tap at my door was a welcome distraction from a nap gone wrong. "Come in."
Randell stuck his head in. "You never nap."
"I know."
"Not even if you're up all night."
I smiled. "I know."
"So why try now?"
"Because my water never acts like this. It never does weird things or disobeys my will. It's unnerving."
He nodded. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." I scooted over in the bed. "Lay down."
After kicking off his shoes, Randell slid into the bed. "Why is your water flipping out?"
I shrugged and snuggled into him.
"Uh, you smell like sex."
"Sorry," I said with a grimace. "That's going to be something that is going to happen. I can't always hop in the shower the second I finish with one of my other mates."
"Yeah, I know. I've got to find a way to make peace with it."
"Our lives have taken quite a turn," I said. "Just a few weeks ago, would you have ever imagined this?"
"Fuck no," he said with a laugh. "Come on, let's go do something active."
The idea of beating someone to a pulp sounded promising. "Can we spar?"
"Hell, yes. You know I'm always up for a good spar."
I jumped out of bed and yanked off my shirt, throwing it in the pile of laundry that I sorely needed to take care of. Rifling through my drawers, I found exercise clothes and a sports bra. After a quick half shower to wash off some of the smell--no need to make Randell suffer while I kicked his ass--I was ready to go.
He snatched two bottles of water out of the fridge and we headed downstairs. Instead of going outside, we turned the corner and opened the stairwell to the basement. We'd made sure to have a nice gym down there. Two-thirds of the creatures on campus were physical beings, either vampires or lycans. We needed a place to spar and fight, especially at times being in the woods wasn't the best option and going to the huge gym in the classroom building was inconvenient.
Like now. None of us had any business being far from each other. "Do you know where my sisters are?" I asked as I jumped around the sparring mat, warming up.
"In their rooms, I think."
So, they were employing other methods of exercise.
I laughed to myself as I darted forward and cuffed Randell in the side of the head. He dodged, but wasn't quite fast enough to get away from me.
I didn't train enough to actually beat him. If I wanted to do that I'd have to employ my alpha powers. But I was fast enough to get a few surprises in.
Meda could kick his ass in a heartbeat. But, she trained nearly every day. It was her passion, and she felt like as the heir she had a responsibility to be the best, and not only because she could call upon the power of the ancestors to bend people to her will. There was a certain nobility to her attitude, but I didn't have the same compulsions. I didn't have to be the best. Being very, very good was enough for me.
We went round and round, punching, kicking, and ducking. As soon as the blows hit, they healed. My blood pumped, my heart raced, and I felt better than I had in days. As my energy skyrocketed, I realized I'd been rather lethargic and sleepy, much less active than normal.
Randell whipped around, and I managed to duck and miss his kick, but his powerful punch hit me squarely in the back. I fell forward with a yell. The pain of the punch was much stronger, and for a moment, I felt stunned and didn't try to get up off of my stomach.
Falling to his knees beside me, Randell yelled my name. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," I said. Rolling my shoulders, I slowly moved the muscles in my back, figuring out if I was injured or if it was a freak thing.
The pain faded. Nothing hurt now. "I'm okay," I said, rising
to my knees. "But that took the wind out of me. I think let's stop for today."
What in the sweet hell on a holiday was going on with me? I was lethargic, easily hurt, and my water was on some sort of bender.
"I'm going to go up," I said, walking toward the door on stiff legs.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "I can walk you up, but I'm supposed to meet Voss to start training a couple of newbies."
"No." I waved him off. "I'm fine. I'll call Fenton to come keep me company, or maybe actually enjoy some time alone."
He chuckled. "Okay. I'll talk to you in a bit."
Alone time sounded pretty dang good. I headed straight for my bedroom, sliding between the sheets with a sigh and dropping immediately off to sleep.
"Tala," Fenton's voice trickled through into my sleepy mind. "Hey. Your sisters say you've been asleep for a while."
I opened my eyes and blinked at him, trying to get my brain to jumpstart. "Hey," I whispered. "What time is it?"
"Seven. You've been asleep since around three." He looked around my bedroom. "This is the first time I've been in here."
My stomach growled, which was unusual for me. Even if I got hungry, it generally was more of a twinge, not the yawning emptiness I felt now.
"Geez, I'm starving."
Fenton grinned. "Good. Let me take you to dinner."
"Give me ten minutes." I sat up, groggy, and grimaced as my shirt stuck to my back. I hadn't showered after getting all sweaty with Randell. A quick shower would do it.
"Sure." He jumped up and went out into the common area, leaving me to hurry through a fast shower and contemplate the sheer amount of time I ended up having to take a shower. I needed to devise a way to cleanse myself with my water to save time.
"Is Ami here?" I asked as I came out of my room.
"Right here," she replied from the couch.
"Oh, yeah." I didn't even see her at first. "Hey, can you dry my hair real quick?"
"Sure." She pointed her finger at me, and my hair lifted in a hot breeze.
"Oh, is Meda here?" I asked.
"No, I pulled on her heat. Figured it was good practice. We need to do that, by the way."
