Chapter 25 #2
I kissed Jade like I intended to steal the breath from her lungs, and perhaps the sense from her knees.
When we finally parted, time had slipped the way it always did when I touched her.
We clung together, and I savored the press of each of her delicate curves.
Carrying her through the sitting room to the bedroom, I carefully spread her on the large bed waiting for us there.
“Darling Jade, I think I am going to enjoy testing out this bed with you…” I drawled as I admired the flush crawling up her cheeks. She smiled, might have quipped something sassy I would have loved, but I did not give her the chance. Coming down over her, I kissed her again, and again.
Her skin called to me, as did the pulse at her throat, and when she gasped for air, I nibbled my way down.
I peeled open each tiny ivory button on her blouse and revealed one of my latest gifts cupping the pretty globes of her breasts: red silk and lace, with a pretty pearl decoration at the center.
“You’re wearing it,” I groaned, heat surging through my veins.
Pretty lingerie on my woman, it was quickly becoming my greatest weakness.
She gave me a seductive smile, her brown eyes twinkling—but that smile turned into a moan when I slid down her body and kissed her belly.
Then, lower, I skimmed her pants down her hips until she was bare save for the red lace.
My fangs pressed against my lips, eager, as arousal—hot and fierce—coursed through me.
I’d already done this a dozen times, but I was never going to get enough of tasting her again and again.
I licked her folds through the fragile fabric, tempted to tear it with a fang so I could touch her skin to skin.
The lace was simply too pretty on her to do that, but her sounds, sweet and soft, made me want more.
The lace slipped from her thighs with a whisper, and then I could delve deep.
Her honeyed taste on my tongue drove me beyond reason, and her moans, as they crescendoed, snapped my control.
Rising above her, I freed myself roughly from my pants and took myself in hand.
Her eyes met mine, still hot and pleasure-filled after her orgasm.
There was an invitation in that look, and she did not need to offer it twice.
Lining us up, I curled her leg around my hip and surged inside.
Her hot, tight clasp surrounded me, and her pleasure danced through the air.
I knew when she looked at me through the dance, the give and take of body and flesh.
I knew that she had accepted the bond between us, that she no longer thought about leaving.
Love for her swelled in my chest, but I was not making the same mistake twice.
I’d wait, patiently, with all the experience a seven-hundred-year-old vampire could muster.
Then the pleasure between us became too much, and as she shattered, so did I.
Later, while she was still flushed and smiling as she came out of the bathroom after washing up, I presented the outfit I had arranged for our meeting in a short while.
After hearing how that bastard had forced her out of town and destroyed all her credibility, I wanted to make certain she felt her best. That she knew she was making a fantastic first impression, because we both knew those mattered sometimes.
Her eyes widened when she saw it, just the kind of expression I was going for. “Luther…”
“Don’t say no. This is sleek and professional.
It’s weaponized competence,” I said proudly.
“With heels that won’t betray you.” An added bonus I was always very aware of: clothing should look good, but it should also make you feel good.
My Italian leather was well cared for but worn in, making their fit feel divine, and I wanted that for her too.
Especially in case she needed to make a run for it.
Not that I expected that would be necessary, but it paid to be prepared.
She dressed while I watched, and I took great pleasure in seeing her slide silk and vicuna over her skin.
She was marveling at the precise fit and the soft fabric, and when she opened her mouth to protest the expense, I swept in.
“No, none of that, this is business, pure and simple.” It really wasn’t, and her answering grin told me she knew.
I reached to the silver silk and unbuttoned the top of her blouse before stepping back. “Perfect.”
She hesitated, glanced at herself in the gold-framed mirror, and nodded.
“I suppose this does look very...confident? That’s the word you used, right?
” Her expression shuttered when I nodded, and her next question told me why: “What are the odds we run into David?” She was nervous about that, very nervous, and I couldn’t blame her.
The man had tried his level best to destroy her life when he couldn’t take her rejection.
Soon, he was going to find out what it meant to cross a vampire.
I shrugged in answer to her question, searching for a way to reassure her and keep that confident, happy look on her face.
“Low. This is a book on magical creatures. Would he even know such a thing existed?” Taking her wrist in hand, I stroked my thumb along the edge of the gold and jade protection charm she wore.
She seemed reassured by my words, but I was not.
This book business, it was a fairly restricted world as far as expertise went, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d heard his name come up once or twice, even if I’d never personally dealt with him.
I said nothing about that as I took Jade’s arm and led her from the hotel.
The seller’s residence sat behind wrought iron gates and layered security, mundane and magical interwoven with care.
As our hired car rolled closer, I cataloged every camera, every ward visible to my vampire eyes, and every line of sight.
Not only did I want to know what we were up against, but I also wanted to make sure I had scouted the best exit.
Jade, beside me, was in awe of the architecture.
“I didn’t realize the seller would live in a place like this.
Does he know the book is about...supernatural things?
” She was looking at the tasteful Greek marble statue that formed the centerpiece of the front lawn’s fountain.
To her eyes, nothing here looked out of the ordinary, but she was neither trained to pick out nor familiar with the signs.
“Oh, he knows,” I assured her. “Mr. Nanook very much has both feet in my world. We’re very lucky he’s willing to sell this piece. All you need to do is verify its age and whether you think it might actually cover the topic we’re looking for.” Her wry smile said, Oh, that’s all?
Thankfully, my familiar chose that moment to begin talking, providing a neat distraction for her tense nerves. Riding on my shoulder, he muttered about the angle of the sunlight and the insultingly mediocre weather with such sharpness that it made Jade laugh.
We were welcomed by a servant and led through polished corridors into a grand office lined with art and shelves of rare books.
It all screamed expensive taste, but I saw what others might not.
Some of these objects were expensive now, but Nanook had likely owned them for so long, he’d bought them when they weren’t anything special yet.
When you lived a long life, you learned to have an eye for such things, and make good money off it, eventually. I knew I had.
Behind the large mahogany desk sat the seller, calm and watchful, the book resting on his desk like a challenge.
I’d met Mr. Nanook a few times before and always respected his eye for detail.
I’d done him a few favors, and in return, he occasionally did some for me.
When I saw the firm angle of his jaw, I knew he intended to squeeze every penny from me on this deal—he thought he could.
Like a shark, he’d scented blood. As much as I had tried to hide it, the urgency for speed in my request had tipped him off.
I needed the information he had; he knew he had all the leverage.
His expert stood beside him, a tall, slender man in a suit made of expensive fabric but badly tailored, as if he’d skimped on paying the expert craftsman and thought the expensive wool would make up for it.
I had never dealt with this expert before, and the charming, slick smile on his face instantly made me dislike him.
At my side, Jade froze, halting at the edge of the Persian rug; a sinking feeling hit me immediately.
Introductions were made—calm, polite—and Jade went through the motions by rote.
It was a good thing she was dressed to kill and coolly elegant when she was distracted.
Then the expert in the bad suit smiled, charming, familiar, wrong.
He shook my hand with fake enthusiasm and said his name.