Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
JOANNA
After falling back asleep for the fourth or fifth time, Aidan and I finally wake around seven A.M. Tuesday morning.
I’m not worried about how my breath smells or if I was too clingy throughout the night—I just want to be as close to him as I can.
I savor as much of this as my courage allows.
For the first time in my life, I’ve stopped hiding and let myself feel something.
It’s messy and it’s intense, but I did it.
And now I’m here with the man who made it possible.
I don’t want to move from this spot on the couch, but it’s starting to get a little cramped, and I might have a spasm in my neck. And Aidan really does need that shower.
He strokes my hair lightly and kisses the bridge of my nose, then my mouth. His skin has regained most of its color by now, and I can see his spirits are higher.
“Are you feeling better?” I ask as I try to sit up. I was right: the muscle in my neck is fucked, but it was totally worth it.
Aidan shifts to a sitting position as I get to my feet and stretch. “Much,” he says. He shakes his head in disbelief. “It really was your blood that I needed.”
I look away from his thoughtful gaze and shrug. “I’m just glad I could help.”
“Hey.” He reaches for my hand and pulls me back to him. He sighs deeply and looks up at me with a thoughtful expression. “I’m sorry, Jo.”
I blink at him rapidly. “What for?”
“You didn’t ask for this. I know I pushed you, and I just need to make sure you really know what you’re doing.”
I drop to my knees, clutching his hands in mine. “Fuck whatever higher power supposedly put us together. I didn’t come here because of some vampire mate bond. I came because I wanted to. I came for you.”
He shakes his head and smiles knowingly. “No, you didn’t.” I’m about to disagree but he stops me. “You came for yourself.” He pauses and runs his thumb against the open cut on my hand. “I’m proud.”
My shoulders slump, but I give him an appreciative smile. “Yeah, yeah.”
We linger around the house for several hours, enjoying the slowness of the morning. We shower together, only taking the time to wash one another and share a different type of intimacy, and after, Aidan makes a small breakfast, though I offered many times.
As he buttons the last few buttons of his tailored long sleeve shirt, he looks like his old self again.
“I want to show you something,” he says once he’s finished.
“Alright.” I’m wearing the same pants from last night, but I’ve changed into one of Aidan’s cotton pullovers. The collar hugs my throat, bringing the smell of him closer. “Is it another movie theater?”
He chuckles, and I follow his lead out the front door.
He doesn’t take either car, instead choosing to show me to wherever we’re going on foot.
We walk down the main strip in comfortable silence, hands entwined.
He stops in front of Bones, but the windows have been covered, and there’s a new sign hanging above the door. Same name, same font, just updated.
“What’s this?” I ask, pointing to the bar awkwardly. “Did I break something when I was drunk?”
Aidan chuckles but shakes his head. “No. Remember me telling you I bought the bar?”
I’d forgotten, given how much has been on my mind lately.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to show you what I’ve done with the place.”
I’m speechless. He’s never shared anything about his philanthropy projects before. Given how much shit I gave him for it, I can understand why.
“Why would you want to do that?” I ask hesitantly.
“Because,” he says, “I was hoping to prove you wrong.” He winks and unlocks the door.
I relax at the feeling of falling back into our old ways, and as Aidan walks me through each step of the renovations, I realize just how much he cares about it.
Maybe I was wrong about his charitable purchases being selfish.
Afterall, this is a place I’ve come to with friends.
I’ve seen every resident of Shadow Hills congregate here, paranormal and human alike.
It’s a place of common ground, and I can see now why Aidan was driven to want to save it.
“I didn’t realize Maurice was struggling,” I say as I run my fingers over the new bartop. It’s a sleek dark-polished wood with gold trim.
“I never would have known if I hadn’t seen the lack of customers with my own eyes,” Aidan says.
I remember the new employees from my night of solo drinking. “So it was your doing then, hiring the pretty young women to draw in new customers?”
Aidan’s eyes narrow dismissively. “I knew I wouldn’t be the right fit for the role, so I hired the appropriate people.”
I bark a laugh, and he rolls his eyes. The exchanges between us feel just like they used to, before sex and feelings got involved, and I’m grateful for the lack of awkward tension.
“Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s working. This place was packed that night I was here.”
“Oh, I remember,” Aidan remarks curtly.
The silence between us stretches infinitely, until finally, I’m able to put my thoughts into words. “You weren’t in the office that night, were you? You were at home.”
He looks at me earnestly and nods.
My eyes drop to the floor. “You came.”
He comes to stand in front of me. I don’t look up as he presses his cheek against mine. He whispers hopelessly into my ear, “You called.”
There’s little I can do to stop Aidan as he lifts me up onto the bar, but why would I fight it? I’m exactly where I want to be.
His hand splays across the front of my throat possessively—the same way I’ve come to know and love—and he yanks the collar of my shirt down to kiss my collarbone.
I curl into him. There’s been so much said between us over the last few hours but not enough touching.
Not enough physical affection. This is what I’m good at.
I can show him how I feel much better by the way I kiss him, by the way I bring him pleasure.
I lift my arms above my head so he can remove my sweatshirt.
His thumb presses against my bottom lip and forces my mouth open. I suck on it teasingly, and he drags his wet finger down my chin. “You’re fucking intoxicating.”
I believe him, and it makes me feel more confident. More beautiful.
He pulls me off the bar in a rush to remove the rest of my clothes. We’re both naked by the time he turns me around and bends me over the nearest table. I stretch my arms wide as he spreads my ass, my entrance on full display and the cool air kissing the wetness as I shiver.
Aidan’s thumb glides over my pussy and I moan. “You’re wet, ma douce, but not enough.” Then he leans over me, chest pressed into my back as his hair falls over his forehead and his mouth hovers above my ear. “I’m going to bite you.”
Though it’s said like a proclamation, I know he’s looking for my consent, so I nod my head wildly as my cheek sticks to the surface of the table.
Aidan straightens and fists the cheek of my ass. “Right here. Is that alright?” I nod again. “Good. Now that you know what it feels like, you’ll let me sink my teeth wherever I want, won’t you?”
Just the sound of his voice, the words coming out of his mouth, are enough to make me gush between my thighs.
I feel him drop to his knees behind me, then without warning, his canines pierce my plump skin.
I feel blood dripping down the slope of my ass.
It’s hot and sticky, and when it reaches my pussy, I gasp.
He bites deeper, causing a fresh gush to flow over my skin, and between my slick arousal and my own blood, I’m completely drenched.
Aidan detaches himself and I hear him gasp for breath.
Leaning over me again, he slides his hand beneath my chin and lifts my head.
“Look there,” he says, referring to a mirror I hadn’t noticed before.
It’s skinny and stretches the length of the wall, reflecting the bar’s gold trim back at us.
Aidan’s mouth and chin are covered in my blood.
He looks like an angelic monster from my wildest dreams.
My monster.
“Watch while I take you this time,” he commands.
I can’t look away.
His cock thrusts into me gradually, allowing me to make room for every inch. His tempered torture makes me extremely sensitive and swollen to the point that I’m a quivering mess.
In and out.
In and out.
Finally, he hits the deepest part of me, and I cry out his name. I hope the windows and doors are soundproof, because my voice goes hoarse from the effort. He drives into me, hands sizzling against my skin wherever he touches me, and I ignite, grasping for purchase in the mess he’s made of me.
He draws it out for so long I start to feel dizzy, but just when I think I’m incapable of taking any more pleasure, he coaxes me through a mind altering orgasm that rocks my entire nervous system.
Aidan lets out a deep groan of pleasure as he comes, cupping my ass firmly. “Fuuuck, Jo.”
Before either of us have recovered, he lifts my limp body so I’m flush with his chest. He cups my throat and guides my jaw with his index and middle finger so that I’m looking straight into the mirror again. My cheek is smeared with blood, and I gaze at it proudly like a brand.
“Look at the wreck you’ve made of me,” he says, voice low enough it sends a shiver down my spine. My eyes roll back involuntarily, but he spins me around to face him. He licks the blood from my face and releases a deep throated moan of satisfaction.
He’s wrecked me just as perfectly, so much that I’ll never be satisfied with anyone else. I want to mark him the way he’s left his marks on me.
I hold his stare, his gray eyes devouring me as I ask, “Can I bite you?”
Aidan isn’t surprised by my bizarre request—at least, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he grins wickedly, his canines on full display, and helps me sit on the table that’s now smeared with blood.
“Where?” he asks as he shows me the long plains of his body. His broad chest and his lean torso.
I try to think of the best place—somewhere only I’ll be able to see. Twirling my finger, I motion for him to turn around, and he does so confidently, arms spread wide as he shows off his birthday suit. Then I tap his cute little ass with one finger. “There.”
When he turns back to face me, he’s grinning from ear to ear. “It’s only fitting,” he agrees. Taking me by the waist, he pulls me to my feet. “Are you alright? Can you stand?”
I nod. Though I’m a bit wobbly, I’m gaining back the strength in my legs.
He switches places with me and cups my face in his hands. “Go ahead, bite me, Joanna. Mess me up. It’s your blood that fills me. I am yours, do you understand that? Your blood will never stop singing for me, because you are what gives me life.”
He kisses me deeply, his tongue sweeping and exploring my mouth hungrily, then turns and now he’s the one bent over the table. So many naughty ideas come to mind looking at him in this position, but I stick to the task at hand.
I crouch behind him and latch onto his muscular thighs, repeating the same promise he made to me over in my head as I press my mouth to his perfect, pale skin, and bite. Without the jaw strength or sharp canines of a vampire, I’m only just able to break the skin, but it’s enough.
Aidan stands up to admire my subtle bite mark in the mirror, but something else catches my eye. Those few gray hairs I originally spotted have spread throughout his scalp, giving him the natural peppered dusting of a middle-aged man.
“Will it stop?” I ask, running my hands through his locks.
He studies himself for just a few seconds, then moves to stand face to face with me.
“Your blood restarted the clock for me,” he says confidently.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to gain a hundred years.
Your blood finally pushed me over forty, and now, because you’re my one true mate, I’ll age at a normal human rate. ”
I’m awestruck by how all of this is possible, but I don’t dwell on trying to understand it. Right now, the only thing I need to know is right here in front of me—my mate. “So, does that mean—?”
He pulls me against him. “It means we’re going to grow old together, and I can’t wait to start my new life with you.”