Chapter 20 #3
My gaze locks with Taylor’s again, thumb tracing circles against the inside of her thigh as my knuckle rubs deliberately along the nylon seam, right over her clit.
“Have I mentioned how ravishing you look tonight?” I murmur, her breath going shallow as she struggles to maintain her composure. She bites down hard on her bottom lip as I lean in, mouth close to her ear. “Good enough to eat.”
A little whine slips from her throat, unbidden. Her eyes widen on mine, then dart toward Bex, mortified.
Bex just laughs, draining her glass and sliding it onto the table. “I’ve gotta get going, I’m due at the tattoo shop in an hour,” she says casually, pointing a finger at Taylor. “But you owe me another shopping trip next week as proof of life.”
Taylor rolls her eyes and waves her off, but the exchange is all snarky affection.
Bex slides out of the booth, gathering her shopping bags before cutting me a glare. “If you murder her, I’ll stake your ass,” she warns.
The corner of my mouth ticks up. “I’d love to see you try.”
Bex heads for the door, and silence folds around us. Taylor’s leg stays pressed to mine, my hand still moving lazily between her thighs under the table. I don’t pull away, and she doesn’t ask me to.
After a beat, she turns, searching my face. “Are you mad at me?” she asks softly.
I cock a brow. “Should I be?”
“I left without telling you. The staff seemed to think you should’ve been informed.”
I cup her mound firmly, feeling the heat of her through the nylon. “I should’ve. But I like that you tested the boundary. Keeps things interesting.”
Color rises high on her cheeks. “Are you really not hungry?” she whispers.
I meet her eyes, letting the truth shine through. “Starving.”
She reaches down, covering my hand with hers. “You can… if you want. Probably not here, but…”
“I want,” I growl. “But I’d rather get you alone first, mea dulcis.”
She nods, relief flooding her features. I lean in, brushing her hair off her cheek, lips at her ear.
“Finish your drink,” I murmur. “Then I’ll take you home.”
She obeys. I bring my hands up to rest on the table and sit back, content, watching her drain the glass.
Outside, the car waits at the curb with the engine idling, headlights bleeding yellow into the damp night.
Cold mist drizzles down– too light to be snow, too heavy to ignore.
Taylor walks beside me, her gait unsteady, hands buried deep in her coat pockets.
I usher her in first, then slide into the back seat beside her, the door closing with a satisfying thud.
The moment the driver eases away from the curb, I hit the button to seal the privacy partition. The world outside blurs into abstraction, a smear of neon lights and rain-streaked glass, leaving us sealed in our own capsule of darkness.
Taylor glances at me, lips parted, breath slow and shallow. Her pulse is a metronome in my ears, every beat of it calling to me, promising a pleasure so sharp I have to grit my teeth to resist claiming what’s mine.
She’s still tense, shoulders drawn like she’s bracing for impact. I reach over, slipping her hand from her pocket and curling my fingers around her wrist. Her skin is warm, her pulse a steady thunder just beneath the surface.
“Relax,” I murmur, dragging her closer until our thighs touch.
She doesn’t resist. If anything, she softens, tension melting away the moment I take charge.
Though she fights it sometimes, she enjoys submission. And I enjoy watching her surrender far too much.
My palm slides up her inner thigh, slow and deliberate, savoring the way her breath stutters and her legs part in unconscious invitation. My fingers trace the seam of her tights once more, the fabric now damp, her panties soaked through.
“You make it difficult to control myself,” I say, voice rough with hunger.
“Who said I want you to?” she whispers back, eyes locked on mine.
The words send a jolt straight to my cock, a groan rumbling from my throat before I can stop it. I love how she tempts me, how she dares the monster closer instead of running from it.
I pull her over to straddle my lap, the thin barrier of her tights doing nothing to dull the heat between us. My hands grip her ass, pulling her tight against me as I grind my hips upward, letting her feel every inch of my arousal.
She gasps, clutching at my shoulders, then leans in to press her lips to mine.
I’ve never been much for kissing– but for her, I indulge.
It’s urgent, hungry, her tongue darting into my mouth with surprising ferocity. I bite her lower lip– not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to make her whimper.
“Take your clothes off,” I command.
She obeys, fumbling to shrug off her coat and pull her sweater dress over her head. The bra beneath it is flimsy, barely even covering her tits, and I’m far past patience. I rip it open with one sharp tug. She shivers as the cold air hits her bare skin, nipples hardening to stiff peaks.
I lean in to drag my tongue over one, then the other, savoring the sweet taste of her skin. She squirms in my lap, grinding down on the solid ridge of my cock with increasing urgency. I can feel her heartbeat through the soft skin of her chest, rabbit-fast and frantic.
Extending my fangs, I graze the tip of one against the curve of her breast, right over the thin artery there. She sucks in a sharp breath, eyes gone wide and wild.
“Do it,” she gasps, almost pleading.
I bite down. The pressure is precise, just enough to pierce, to let her blood well up and coat my tongue. The taste of her explodes in my mouth– salt and honey, fire and velvet. It’s better than any drug, any high, and I drink in slow, greedy pulls, letting the rhythm of her pulse dictate the pace.
Her fingers sink into my hair, pulling my face tighter against her chest. Her hips grind frantically, our bodies fusing into a singular circuit of hunger and relief.
I drink just enough to curb my hunger before licking the wound closed. Then I lift my head and crush my lips to hers, letting her taste her own blood on my tongue. She moans into my mouth as she desperately shoves at the waistband of her tights, pushing up on her knees.
I’m quick to assist, peeling them off with her panties and tossing them away. Then I reposition her over my lap, sliding two fingers into her slick heat while my thumb teases her clit in tight circles.
She cries out, back arching, nails digging into my neck as I pump my fingers in and out. She’s so wet it’s obscene, juices dripping down my hand and soaking into my slacks.
“James,” she gasps.
“Yes, little mortal?” I taunt, pulling my fingers free and sucking them clean, savoring the tang of her arousal.
She watches, transfixed. “I need… I need…” she pants, struggling to form words.
My lips curve into a smug grin. “So needy, aren’t you darling?” I tilt my head, eyes raking over her nude figure. “Another lesson in vampire ways: if you want something, take it.”
She stares back at me for a long moment, lips parted, pupils blown wide. Then her hands dip to my belt, fingers trembling as she fumbles with the buckle.
I let her flounder for a minute, enjoying the view. Then I take over, popping the button and shoving my slacks down just enough to free my cock. I’m so hard it hurts, the head flushed and leaking as she pushes up to her knees and notches the tip at her entrance.
If I was a better man, I’d remember she’s likely still sore. I’d let her go slow.
I’m not, and I don’t.
My hands bracket her hips, shoving her down in one smooth motion, impaling her to the hilt. She cries out as I groan in satisfaction, pleasure rippling through every inch of my body. Her inner walls clench and spasm around my girth, her delicate body fighting to adjust to the intrusion.
“You can take it,” I growl, rolling my hips.
Her head lolls back, hands gripping onto my shoulders. “Fuck,” she whimpers. “You’re so big.”
“And you love it, don’t you?” I grit out, pushing in even deeper. “You love taking every inch of my cock.”
“Yes,” she breathes as she starts riding me– tentative at first, then with growing confidence. She rolls her hips, grinding her clit against my pubic bone, chasing friction. I hold tight to her waist and guide her movements, forcing her down over me again and again.
Her hair comes loose, falling around her face in wild tangles. Sweat beads on her chest, streaking down between her tits. I can’t get enough– I want to drink from her, fuck her into oblivion, devour her whole.
Dragging her forward, I sink my fangs into her neck, her body seizing and then going slack as the venom takes hold.
I pump her full of my cock as I feed, drinking her blood in greedy, indulgent pulls.
She bucks and writhes in my lap, so close to the edge I can feel it in the way she tightens around me.
I retract my fangs just enough to get words out, growling a command against her skin.
“Come for me, mea dulcis.”
Her body responds instantly. She shatters, crying out as her tight cunt milks my cock in rhythmic, desperate pulses. The scent of her release is dizzying, pushing me past my own threshold. I explode inside her, hips jerking as I fill her up.
We stay locked together as we slowly come down from the high.
Taylor’s body trembles in my arms, my mouth pressed to her neck, the taste of her still hot on my tongue as I seal the wound.
Then she slumps against my chest, head coming to rest on my shoulder.
I stroke her hair down her back, breathing in the scent of sweat and blood and sex.
“That was…” she begins, but words fail her.
I smile, sated and smug. “Yes, it was.”
The car continues to glide through the city, windows fogged, the world outside distant and irrelevant. Taylor rests against me, content and trusting. Completely unaware of the storm she’s awakened.
Her blood sings in my veins, a melody even more hypnotic than Nocturne– and beneath the sweetness, something ancient stirs.
Something that knows her name.