Chapter Ten #2
He caught her wrist and kissed her hand, rubbing his cheek in the warmth, enjoying the thudding of her pulse and the heat of her body wrapped around him, the heat of her blood in his veins. “It’s permanent, Penny.”
IT WAS DARK WHEN THEY went out. Naturally dark, the darkness of a Christmas morning at six, when the sun is still hidden by the cold gray skies that linger in the mountains.
“I didn’t bring them anything,” Brax tugged his coat tighter around his body—his warm, strong body. He felt like he could run straight up the side of Everest without stopping, and he’d carry Penny all the way.
Penny patted a silver snowflake into place on the collar of her pink turtleneck. “Mom gave me this pin last year. She’ll be thrilled I’m finally wearing it—and what do you mean you didn’t bring anything? You’re bringing me, and you saved their house, their lives, their daughter...”
“They’re not going to know that! Are you sure we should be there this early?” Brax hesitated before climbing into his car.
“It’s tradition. We’re not allowed to open the stockings until 6:05 on Christmas morning,” Penny giggled. “The rule was that we couldn’t wake our parents up until six, and it took five minutes of pulling and pleading to get them both out of bed and downstairs, so—”
“So the 6:05 present party was born.”
“They didn’t get you anything, either,” Penny pointed out, snuggling into the passenger seat and huddling into her coat.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to just drop you off and stay in the car? Or I can come back.”
Penny looked at him with one eyebrow raised in warning. “I still have a stake in my purse. Do I need to get it out and use it?”
Brax was suddenly assaulted with very naughty images of Penny using the stake in very creative ways—wrapped in latex and worn down to a perfect smooth dome instead of a point, rubbing it against his cock, inserting it in her pretty pussy while he was in her backside, his fangs buried in her neck.
“I wanna go back to the apartment,” he demanded suddenly.
“Brax! Sit down. I would never really hurt you, you know that.” Penny bit her lip. “I... I love you, remember?”
“I remember. That’s why I wanna go back inside. I’m a good vamp, but I’m a very depraved man. Later on, can I show you a few little ways to use that stake on a vampire—in a non-deadly way?”
Penny’s eyes widened, and her cheeks flamed. “O-on you?”
“If you have other toys that are safer, yet stake-shaped, I’d be happy to share, so we can both be nice and full while I’m fucking you through the mattress, darling.”
Penny swallowed hard. “We can get some?”
Brax nodded, fingers flexing on the wheel.
“Okay. I’m tryin’ to be good. Tryin’ not to think about how badly I’ll be wanting to sneak you into the bathroom, or your old bedroom, or the linen closet, and bend you over and put my cock inside of you—or just bend you over and lick your sweet little slit until you feed me your juices again. ”
Penny’s knees jumped and knocked together. Her breath was fogging up the cold interior of his car. “Stop it,” she whispered, but her scent was screaming that she’d much prefer he keep going.
“Oh, but honey,” he purred, “you own me. I’m your very own vampire. If you have me out of the house all day and I can’t bite you, you’ll have to give me my other favorite food. Penny Pussy.”
Penny suddenly jerked her head towards him. “You are so bad. Very, very bad.”
Brax smirked and cranked up the heat. “I’ve got a thousand ways you can punish me later, lover.”
“I’M TOO FULL TO DO anything fun,” Penny moaned and toppled onto the couch, allowing herself to be buried under an ocean of tissue paper and gift bags.
“I’m not,” Brax said, sitting on the edge of the couch, licking his lips. “I only got one main course and one dessert.”
Penny closed her eyes and shivered, remembering how Brax had made her rethink her definition of monster in the space of a day.
At the moment, monster meant the vampire who had put his hand over her mouth, moaned when she bit down on it to muffle her screams, and fucked her hard and fast in her old bedroom. Main course, he’d said.
Monster was the beast who asked her to show him into the bathroom upstairs, and then made her sit on the sink and watch with shaking legs while he licked and fingered her until she came riding his fangs.
“I knew you were a jerk,” she groaned, but she didn’t really mean it.
Brax immediately fell to his knees and came to the side of the couch where her head lolled. “I’m still learning to play nice. I’m open to lessons.”
“You’re also a very good teacher. I never.
.. I never knew anything could feel so good as you,” Penny had to admit.
“It was the best Christmas I’ve had since I was a kid.
I didn’t care that my brothers were making fun of me or that my parents still don’t believe me, or that they think I made up stories for attention.
I had proof with me—and I think that growling noise you made shut both boys up for a long time. Another amazing gift.”
“Ahhh, I can do better, I think,” Brax whispered.
Penny’s legs twitched. “Again?”
I’ve been good for two whole hours.” Brax pointedly glared.
“You’ve been good all day,” Penny was forced to admit.
“Do I get kisses?”
“You get all the kisses.”
He leaned over her, and she moaned happily. “You’re still nice and warm. I like it.”
“You’re still hot, and I love it,” he countered, massaging one breast and then running his hand down the length of her torso. “This has been one hell of a day, Christmas or no.”
“No contest.”
He hesitated, “ Did you mean all the stuff you said?”
Penny blushed. “Yeah.” Oh crap. Here it comes.
The teasing. The comments about what a dirty girl I am.
All meant with affection, though, so I don’t know how I feel about that.
Or, maybe he’ll just want to do some things again.
She had a quick replay of all the supposedly “dirty” acts she’d done, and none of them felt “bad” with him.
“Right. Well. If I remember rightly, after we saved the town, we were going to go take a vacation. Tropics. Warm breezes. If you have a little time off for Christmas break, maybe we could pack our bags and—”
“Are you actually asking if we can go on vacation together?”
Brax winced. “Ah. Didn’t mean that part?”
“What? No! I mean it, just... You really want to?”
“Yes! With you. And me. Alone. Somewhere warm. Or cold, if you’d rather, but not supernaturally cold.”
Penny nodded.
“Good! I’m not exactly flush, but I happen to know a few places where—” Brax never got to finish his sentence. She was kissing him, then pushing him back until he sprawled on the floor, and then kissing her way down to his chest, eyes dancing back up to his. “What are you doing?”
“Can I borrow this again?” Her hand slid his zipper down, wrapping around his erection seconds before her lips did.
Brax moaned as warm suction engulfed him. He informed her in a strangled purr, “Borrow it, Pen? You can keep it.”
Her eyes teased him as her tongue swirled over his tip. “I can? Can I... Pack it in my suitcase? Take it on our vacation?”
“Don’t need to put me in your carry-on, darling. I’ll sit beside you, wherever we go. So, yes, you can take it and all the accessories on vacation.”
Penny laughed and stroked her hand up under his shirt.
Accessories, indeed. Marble abs. Strong arms. Beautiful face.
That hair... Yes, the villains were handsome, but a reformed villain who was still a monster in bed?
Now that was the definition of hot. “Very hot. So hot,” Penny murmured between lingering licks.
“You’re hot again? Take your turtleneck off, Pen,” Brax instructed, a note of mild worry in his voice.
“No, you’re the hot one... But it is getting a little hot in here,” Penny agreed, sitting up and rolling her shirt over her head, revealing a white lacy bra.
“I don’t know.” Brax joined her, rolling up his own shirt and tossing it on the floor. “I’m feeling a little chilly, suddenly.”
“Funny, huh? You’re getting cold. I’m getting hot. You could cool me off?”
“If you’ll warm me up?”
Penny swallowed and nodded.“I’d love to. For a very long time. Anytime you need me.”
“Kiss on it?” He leaned toward her lips.
“I’ll put it in writing.” She pulled him back on top of her while one hand danced clumsily on her coffee table, feeling for a pen.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS little glimpse of Pine Ridge and would like to read more cozy, steamy monster romance standalones, check out a sneak peek of Mirror Man!