Chapter 19
I don’t remember getting into bed. I don’t even remember leaving the kitchen.
The next thing I did remember was the sunlight as it streamed through the window.
James’s lips across my jaw coaxed me awake.
Wanting more of the feeling, I tucked myself into his chest. He propped himself up on an elbow next to me, pulling the blanket tighter around us, our legs twisting together.
This was why I loved the morning after. I was comfortable. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d slept so soundly or felt so satisfied—even counting my numerous conquests in Vegas.
James’s arm came to rest over my waist, and he rubbed soothing circles across my back. He kissed the top of my head, flattening my hair into my face. The strands tickled.
“Morning, sunshine,” he mumbled.
“Mm. Five more minutes?” I pleaded. I promptly ignored my own request, tipping my head back in search of his lips. The kiss was soft, sweet. No tongues prodded for entry, but his arm tightened around my midriff, and I pulled back with a grunt.
James looked at me with concern. “You okay?”
I glanced at the bathroom door behind me. “I need a minute.”
“You humans and your pesky bladders,” he said fondly. When I hesitated, he nudged me toward the edge of the bed. “Go on. I’m not going anywhere.”
James was true to his word, still lying in bed after I’d used the bathroom and brushed my teeth. He wore his chain again, and the sunlight reflected off the metal.
“Does the light bother you?” I asked, indicating the window next to the bed.
“No.” He patted the empty space on the bed in front of him. “Come here.”
It wasn’t a request. Like I wanted to do anything else anyway.
I took my place again, entwining my legs with his and turning my attention to his neck.
My hand toyed with the chain that dangled between us as I sucked on the skin, feeling more powerful with each sound that came from him.
Once I’d left a mark to my satisfaction, I lost myself in the way the sun bounced off each link in his chain.
James spoke, breaking me out of my trance. “I have to leave soon.”
I pressed a kiss to the hickey on his neck, feeling him shudder against me. “Do you really?”
He squirmed, a low growl emanating from his chest. I shifted my leg closer, the evidence of his arousal pressing into my thigh. “Oh believe me, love—I don’t want to. I need to eat.”
His chain still wrapped around my index finger, I pulled back to meet his eyes, falling into the faint hint of red still lingering there. It hadn’t faded completely since last night at the bar.
I worried my bottom lip as I considered my next words. “What if—”
“No,” he interrupted. “I won’t ask that of you.”
“You’re not asking; I’m offering.” I dropped the chain, flattening my palm against his hard chest and guiding him onto his back. I straddled his lap, my finger trailing down his sternum. “I’m asking. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.”
He didn’t respond, which told me he was considering it. His large hands glided up my thighs, coming to rest on the cotton covering my hips.
“What’s it like?” I pressed.
He smiled and thumbed the scar on my earlobe, where I’d let a long-ago piercing heal over. “Do you remember how that felt?”
“I did it myself with an ice cube and a sewing needle,” I said dryly. “So, yeah, I remember.”
“Teenagers,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, it feels like that, though likely less painful than a home job. It’s quick, less than a second.
Then you’ll start to feel high. Some say it’s the greatest buzz you’ll ever experience.
” James’s gaze darted down to the hickey he’d left on my neck.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to taste you. ”
I leaned down, earning a hiss from him as our cocks met through the thin layers of fabric. I lowered my mouth to his collarbone, lapping at the skin before drawing it between my teeth. “I understand if you don’t want to,” I whispered, “but I’m giving you permission.”
He squeezed my hips, and I began to fumble at the clasp on that silver chain. Before I could work it loose, his hand snapped up to stop me. “No. I need that to stay on if I’m going to bite you.”
“Why?”
“If it comes off, I can’t control my venom. Not only would an unprotected bite turn you, but it’d also bind us together—for life.” He grinned to lighten up the conversation. “Something tells me we’re not ready for that step.”
I swallowed, taking a second to bring my heart rate down from the level it skyrocketed to as he talked. I tried not to let my fear peek through. Sure, having a strong, fit, immortal vampire in bed was fun, but I had no desire to become a vampire. The whole lifelong bond bombshell… I shivered.
“Thank you,” I finally managed.
“Lie down. You might get a little woozy your first time.”
“But I like being on top of you,” I protested. Still, I wasted no time in complying.
“I know, love,” he said, rolling on top of me. “One day, you can stay there as long as you want. But right now, I need you to listen to me.”
His lips fluttered over my cheek, and I closed my eyes. I felt his thumb stroke the birthmark on my waist at the same time that his mouth settled into the crook of my neck. He latched onto his mark again, and his fangs took shape just as my hips started to wiggle.
“Is it normally this erotic?” I gasped.
“I think our feelings for each other make this situation a little different.”
I arched into him, exposing more of my neck. “Do it, ” I moaned.
“Tell me again,” he whispered, voice feathering across my sensitive skin. He brushed my hair away from my neck. Damn, that felt good—there was no way in hell I was cutting it.
“I’m sure.”
James made another pass over the skin with his tongue, then it happened.
My eyes snapped open. I drew in a sharp breath.
Like a piercing, his cold, sharp fangs broke through the skin.
Then I remembered to breathe, and my head started to feel light.
I relaxed into the pillow, the weightless feeling spreading over my entire body—except for one part.
My eyes shut and my hips rolled, seeking out friction.
He sucked, and warmth washed through my veins.
I held him in place by a hand on his neck.
Another pull from his mouth, and I was hard as a rail.
I thrust my hips into the air, torn between him not wanting to stop and wanting him to suck somewhere else.
With one last draw, James let out a low rumble of satisfaction before I felt his tongue soothing the angry skin left behind by his bite.
He pulled back, crimson coursing through his eyes.
I was floating. Though it felt like moving through water, I brought my hand up to catch a drop of blood on his lip.
His mouth descended, licking my finger clean.
My cock was throbbing. With bleary eyes and a feeble sort of strength, I pushed at his shoulders, begging him to go down.
“Fuck you taste good,” he exclaimed, still eyeing the spot on my neck where he’d pierced the skin.
We’d have time for pleasantries later, I decided. “James…”
He chuckled. “It’s okay, love. You’ve done so good for me.”
He stamped a kiss to my stomach, then worked his way to my boxers, pulling the fabric down with his teeth before removing them completely. No longer confined, I spread my legs to give him more room to work. I was panting, desperate to have James’s mouth on me.
He gave me what I wanted.
My eyes rolled back into my head as my cock entered his mouth.
James chased the path of his hand, taking me straight to the back of his throat.
As the high from the bite faded, my pulse shot up.
I could hear it in my ears. He hummed around me, lips vibrating against my skin.
I moaned, sinking into the warmth surrounding us.
I peered down my body at the sight of him between my legs.
Big mistake. “Oh, fuck,” I groaned. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. James’s cheeks hollowed out, and he took me down again. He looked up, eyes meeting mine, and I caught the mischievous sparkle in them—he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
Before I completely lost it, I shut my eyes and threw my head back on the pillow. I let my body take control: my hips moved on their own, and though I desperately wanted to watch my dick disappear between his beautiful lips, another glance would send me right over the edge.
To my dismay, James released me from his mouth with a pop. His hand quickly got to work, but I protested anyway. I was so close. “I wish you could see yourself,” he said. “You look so good right now…” His voice trailed off, mimicking the act of being breathless. “So gorgeous. So perfect.”
I gritted my teeth as my imminent orgasm raced through my body.
“Oh my God, shut up!” I strained, forcing his mouth over my cock again just in time to come all over his tongue—I didn’t make it far enough to spill down his throat.
I gasped with each pulse, the relief washing over me almost too much to bear.
I relaxed into the mattress, releasing my grip on James and swallowing against a dry mouth.
James grabbed a glass of water on the nightstand and offered it to me.
“When did that get there?” I asked gratefully.
“When you were sleeping. Sit up.” I obeyed, pushing up enough to take a drink without spilling it all over myself. James rested his chin on my hip, thumb tracing my birthmark again. “Who’d have thought?” he muttered. “Ryder Clark has a praise kink.”
I inhaled the mouthful of water, coughing and sputtering. James laughed as I composed myself.
“I do not have a praise kink,” I said, ignoring the fluttering in my belly that returned at the memory of his words. When he didn’t respond, I looked down to find mischievous eyes looking back at me. “What?”
“So that’s not why you exploded before you could make it into my mouth?’
I rolled my eyes, deciding to dodge the question. I toyed with the rim of my glass as I asked, “What’s it taste like?” James cocked a brow and glanced down at my lap. “My blood! You infuriating man.”
“Well, everyone tastes different,” he said. His chin rested on his palm, his free hand tracing paths over my stomach. “You taste sweet, like dessert. Like strawberries and cream.”
I laughed. “You’re making that up.”
“Perhaps you’ll find out for yourself someday.” James stood. “But for today,” he said, before gently kissing my lips, “I need to go. Erin’s about to knock on your door.”
I blinked. “What?”
A knock sounded from downstairs. I glanced in the direction of the hallway, then back to where James had already dressed himself next to me.
He knelt on the bed and delivered another kiss.
It was a strange feeling, needing to be…
coddled. I’d never really been a clingy kind of person.
What was I supposed to do here? Did the normal dating rules apply to a vampire?
Vampire.
“What about the sunlight?” I asked. “Won’t it hurt you?”
James cupped my neck. “Sunlight can’t hurt me, love. It’s fire that makes us vulnerable—that’s where the myth comes from.”
“Isn’t everyone weak to fire?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say it was a good myth. Besides, we’re exceptionally susceptible to flames: They don’t need to even touch us. Just being around flames can be lethal.”
“Note to self: don’t invite you over for a barbecue.”
“I’m not that fragile—a barbecue would be fine.”
I flashed him a grin. “Trust me, you don’t want to let me near a grill.”
His dimple popped out again. “I’m assuming you’ll still be in for your shift tonight.”
I nodded as the knock at the door sounded a second time. I raised a brow as James moved for the window. “You know there’s a back door if you don’t want her to see you.”
He shrugged and gave me a childlike smile. “This is more fun. See you tonight, Ryder.”
I blinked, and he was gone.