Chapter 18
Chapter eighteen
Cora
“Five more minutes,” Cora muttered when Jinx prodded her in the back.
She nestled deeper into the covers that were wrapped tightly around her, cocooning her in a soft warmth.
The gentle poke hit her lower back again, and she groaned.
Didn’t Jinx know how rarely she slept? What reason could she possibly have for waking her up?
Cora cracked one eye open, and the second immediately followed suit as her brain registered that she was not, in fact, in her own bedroom.
Everything came rushing back in, and she groaned again. She didn’t know how he did it, but the sonofabitch had gotten her to fall asleep. It couldn’t have been drugs; she didn’t eat or drink anything yesterday beyond a power bar from her own purse. What magical voodoo did he do to knock her out?
Despite her best attempts, she really couldn’t maintain her anger with him, though. Judging by the bright light streaming in through the faded hotel curtains, she’d slept through the night. She hadn’t done that in well over a year.
She debated closing her eyes in an attempt to slide back into sleep—because if her body was willing then why fight it?
—when she felt the subtle poke again. It was at that moment she realized she was not alone in the bed.
And more specifically, her bedmate was snuggled up tight against her back with his strong arms wrapped around her midsection.
Cora shifted ever so slightly to confirm her fear then leapt out of the bed screaming. Scrambling away at nearly vampiric speeds, she crashed into the desk chair.
“Fucking hell,” she cursed as the chair flew backward, taking her with it. She was mere inches from slamming into the floor when she was scooped up into Saiden’s arms and deposited softly back on the bed.
Where she stayed for about two seconds before leaping to her feet and glaring at him.
“What the hell was that?” she barked, pointing at the bed as if there was any doubt what she was referring to.
He didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. He ran a hand through his hair, the long strands on the left side looking adorably messy from sleep, and gave her a lopsided grin so at odds with the harsh lines of his face.
“What the hell was what?” he asked with an innocence that had to be feigned. Not even an ancient vampire could be that na?ve.
“You, on the bed with me, and… you know,” she sputtered as her brain went on vacation and took her ability to form coherent thoughts with it.
“I’m afraid I’m still confused. I asked you to sleep, and you did.
I told you I wouldn’t bite you, and you aren’t missing one single drop of blood in your perfect veins.
I even kept my clothes on.” He glanced down at his boxers.
“Mostly. But you couldn’t expect me to sleep in jeans.
That’s just cruel. I did keep my shirt on which seemed to be your biggest concern last night. ”
She gaped at him, her jaw hanging wide open. “Your shirt? That’s what you think I’m concerned about? Your fucking shirt?”
He cocked his head, analyzing her like a strange new specimen. “What else would you be upset about?”
“That!” she screeched, pointing at his rather impressive morning erection that was barely contained by his underwear. Hell, if he moved the wrong way, the tip would pop out, and she’d never be able to look him in the eyes again.
He glanced down at himself, then let out an exaggerated sigh, but she couldn’t tell if it was real or not.
He picked his jeans up off the floor and gave her a wry smile.
“I know, I know, it seems rather underwhelming, but you don’t need to tease me about it.
I haven’t fed in a couple days, so I’m a bit lacking on blood for it to reach its normal size. ”
She didn’t think her mouth could hang open any wider and yet… He considered that underwhelming? Less than usual? What the hell was normal for him, a freaking anaconda in his damn pants?
Focus, Cora, she chided herself. The more she thought about his manhood, the more she was able to visualize it and…
Shit. She wasn’t focusing at all. In fact, she was considering once more the benefits of throwing all her self-imposed rules out the window and giving in to what would most likely be a life-altering experience.
She had limited time to be wild, so why not be crazy and indulge just once?
Surely her no sex rule didn’t apply when the guy looked like a Greek god.
She was half a heartbeat away from succumbing when she remembered that she was the one in charge, not the demanding little kitty in her panties that practically purred as it begged to be stroked by Saiden.
Shaking her head, she fixed her fiercest glare on him, which in comparison to his standard expression was about as intimidating as a mouse glaring down a tiger.
“I don’t care about the size of your… your… you know.”
His brows knit together, and he glanced down at the prominent bulge in his pants.
Was he honestly upset that she didn’t care about his size? Freaking fragile male egos. Vampire or human really made no difference.
“I only care about the fact that it’s awake and was clearly trying to get to know me!” Cora finished, her voice reaching a level of screechy that hurt even her own ears.
Saiden threw up his hands in protest and leaned back against the desk. “I wasn’t attempting to take advantage while you were sleeping, Cora. I would never do that. I’m guessing you haven’t woken up next to very many guys, though, because this is just biology. It always rises before I do.”
She didn’t know if she should be more upset that he basically called her inexperienced at sex—which was somewhat true but completely irrelevant—or the fact that he was so cavalier about what happened.
“And why did it wake up next to me? And by it, I mean you. Why weren’t you on your side of the bed?”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “I don’t recall that being part of the negotiations.”
She racked her brain for memories of the night before. Okay, technically he only promised that he would leave her alone if she was still awake, and technically she had fallen asleep, but still…
“You said no seduction, so I figured no touching was implied.”
His grin widened. “Then it’s probably a good thing that you’re a director and not a lawyer.”
That did it. All the embarrassment, frustration, and indignation coalesced into a ball of pure rage that exploded inside her.
Stalking over to him, she hauled back her arm and punched him right in his devilishly handsome face.
“Fucking hell, that hurt!”
Wait, that should have been his line. So why was she the one rubbing her aching fist while he stood there clearly fighting the urge to laugh.
“Vampire,” he remarked plainly, pointing at his chest. “Do I get props for letting you hit me though? I debated whether I should catch your fist, but it seemed like you needed to vent some of that pent up aggression.”
Do not punch him again, she commanded herself while trying to ignore the throbbing in her hand. It will only make things worse.
Since any kind of physical retribution was out of the question, she resorted to what was basically her only option—shouting. “You freaking asshat! You are an ass with another ass as a hat. That is what you are.”
Wow, that was embarrassing. Her brain really needed to return from the tropics because she couldn’t even insult him properly.
Since she was still filled with righteous indignation, she got up in his face and continued her litany of grade school put-downs.
“You are the rudest, most arrogant, most disgusting, pig-headed—”
And before she could finish her insult that was undoubtedly headed nowhere eloquent, he grabbed her by the arms, hauled her tight against his chest, and kissed her.