Chapter 9
Now that Ihave begun telling him the truth, there is no stopping. He might not hate me yet, but I am not done with what I must say.
“I have never enjoyed spending time with anyone as much as I have with you this past week.” I murmur into his shirt. I’m not sure he can even understand me.
I step out of his embrace and call on years of practice to regain control of my emotions. I hate how it feels like one of the hardest things I have ever done. I don’t deserve comfort, and he has the right to know everything.
For the next hour, I tell him each step of our scheme—leaving no detail out. When I tell him of the wounds on each victim and the connection each one has to him. As I go on, Thomas looks like he might be sick.
He paces back and forth in front of me. “It’s my fault they’re dead.”
“It’s not,” I insist.
Thomas stops and grips my shoulders. “It is—though I swear to you I am not behind these murders.” His anguish turns to fierce determination. “I will put an end to them.”
Though I’ve lost someone I care for before I even realized it and broken my own heart, at least Sangate will soon be safe again.
I smile at him as if that’s the only thing in this world I want and step back, letting his hands fall away. My skin feels chilled in the wake of the warmth of his touch.
“Thank you, for listening to me… and for what you will do to help.” I move to the door and stop without looking back. “I will leave at first light.”
Then I turn and make my way back to the guest room. I pick my discarded skirt off the floor and drape it over a chair, then lie down on the bed to get what sleep I can before dawn.
A gentle knock wakes me. It’s still the middle of the night because it’s still too dark to make out more than vague shapes.
“Yes?” I call, voice hoarse.
The vestiges of sleep cling to me. When the door opens and shuts, I realize I’ve closed my eyes again.
“Zadie?” Thomas’s rich voice is the softest whisper, but it’s enough to wake me fully.
I bolt upright. “I-I… is there… did I?” I mutter nonsensically.
“I didn’t realize you would already be asleep. I will leave?—”
“No,” I practically shout at him. “How long was I asleep?”
“About ten minutes, give or take.” I can hear the smirk in his answer.
“Oh, was there something…?” I trail off. Only now does it occur to me that I might not be welcome to stay until morning.
His footsteps are soft as he moves further into the room. “You left before I could have my say. However, if you’re too tired, it can wait.”
“I’m awake enough.”
I curl my legs under me, so he can sit. I’ve never had a man sit on the edge of my bed before. It should feel scandalous, but if he’s going to tell me what a dishonest person I am, I’d prefer he do so on my level.
The mattress compresses with his weight.
“I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I wanted you to leave. Telling me all of that could not have been easy.”
Each time I expect something from him, he surprises me by doing the opposite.
Thomas reaches out to rest a hand atop mine. I feel him shift closer, and I can finally make out more than just the shape of his silhouette. “By the time I realized something important, you were already gone.”
“And that is?” I prompt.
“You care for me.”
When I try to slide my hand out from under his, he holds firm. Even if I wanted to, there’s no way I could take those words back.
He leans closer. “But I never responded.”
Still trying to free my hand, I murmur, “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” His other hand comes up to cup my jaw. Time seems to freeze. “I hope you don’t plan on leaving in the morning and avoiding me for the rest of your life.”
“How could you want anything to do with me after what I did?”
“You wanted to protect this city—I cannot fault you for doing that. You also told me the truth even when you knew I might hate you for it.”
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
“Of course. Besides, I am a vampire, and we are a selfish lot. I care for you too, Zadie. Our friendship means a great deal to me, regardless of how it began, and I have no desire to see it end.”
The touch of possessiveness sends a delicious shiver down my back. “Thank you.”
“If you are content with our friendship, then you have it, unconditionally. However, let me be clear about one thing; I want far more than a friendship with you, but only if it is mutual.”
Words fail me, so I don’t bother with them. Instead, I bring my hands up to find the sides of his face, lean forward, then press my mouth to his.
There’s no hesitation as he kisses me back. Our lips move, slow and gentle. Every moment with him has somehow always been familiar and new all at once. As if I have spent years learning him. Now is no exception.
His tongue slides past my lips and moves against mine as desperation builds. Then we are kneeling, bodies pressed together. A hand tangled in my hair. An arm banded across my waist, holding me tight. I wrap my arms around his neck.
He breaks the kiss. We’re both breathless.
“I did not come to your room with the intention of seducing you.” He presses a kiss to my lips, then trails a series of them along my jaw. Teeth gently nip my earlobe before his mouth tails down my neck. Then lower, stopping above my heart. “Otherworld take me, I don’t have the willpower to stop unless you tell me to.”
His hands travel over my body, up my stomach to cup my breast as his mouth inches lower. And I revel in each caress.
“Zadie…” My name is a desperate plea on his lips.
Everything about him… about this, is new and thrilling and comfortable and safe and it’s like breathing for the first time—like the only place our paths could lead since they crossed and… I have never wanted anything for myself as badly as I want him now.
His mouth finds my nipple through my shirt. I arch into him as threads of pleasure course through my body, pooling low. A moan escapes me, and he makes a sound both pleased and tortured.
“Zadie…” he says again.
“Please,” I gasp. “Don’t… don’t let me go. I—I want more. I want you.”
There’s a tension in his muscles under my hands that vanishes. Then his mouth is on mine again. This time our kisses are full of need as we tug at each other’s clothes.
Frustrated, I pull back and lift his shirt over his head. But Thomas takes his time, undoing one button then another, all the way down with careful movements until my top half is entirely bare.
I press my palms against his skin, feeling the hard plains of his muscles. He has a strong and regal build. But then he guides me down to my back. His body covers mine though he doesn’t put all his weight on me. I writhe beneath him as he leisurely explores me. Lower and lower.
His hands pause at my waist as if waiting for me to change my mind. But I won’t. I whimper, and then my breath hitches as he undoes the tie, then slides them down my legs, slowly baring me to him.
I reach for him. Then he’s a blur. He settles over me, and there is nothing but skin against skin. I’m driven half mad as he picks up where he left off. Only to gasp as he presses his mouth to the apex of my thighs. His lips and tongue exploring me in ways more pleasurable than anything I could have dreamed up.
My hips move on their own, and I clutch the sheets when he adds his fingers. My body is his to command, coaxing moans from me at will. Every part of me hums with an ever-increasing need until I break against his mouth.
When I come to my senses, he is atop me again, his hips nestled between my legs.
He is a vampire which means I should worry he might feed on me, but I know he won’t. Not because of what’s happening in the city—we have not talked about that—because it would distract me endlessly until the first mark wore off. If we risked it and weren’t careful, I could end up fully marked before either of us realized.
My breathing picks up as I feel his hard length pressed against me. I can’t stop from shifting against him. The movement allows the tip to push in.
Our gazes lock as we move in tandem. With each roll of our hips, he retreats, then rocks further in. He keeps our pace slow, allowing me to get used to him until we are fully joined.
Dawn gradually creeps up until there’s enough light where I can see. The sight of him moving above me heightens every sensation he makes me feel.
Each slide of him inside me is exquisite. I cling to him; my legs wrapped around his middle. Pleasure coils where we are joined, tighter and tighter. We’re driven by a need to move faster and harder. I’m overcome by ecstasy. I cry out, and he follows shortly after. I shudder against him, every shift causing an echo of pleasure.
Later, wrapped in his arms with my head resting on his chest, I listen to the steady beat of his heart. “As grateful as I am… don’t you think you forgave me a little too easily?”
“Did I spoil your plans to grovel at my feet for weeks upon end?”
“No… but I did try to kill you.”
He shrugs. “Well, what did you expect from someone bound to a demon?”
I bend my neck to look into his dark eyes, glittering with mirth. “I had no idea you were so fond of assassination attempts.”
The two points of his fangs snag on his bottom lip, creating the tiniest of indents. “You may try any time you like… but when I catch you, you can’t blame me for having no other choice but to ravish you. So, be careful when and where you try—or you might scandalize whoever happens to be near.”
My cheeks warm at his implication. Surely, he wouldn’t… then again, looking at that smirk, it would be best not to test it.
Even when our conversation changes from teasing to more serious topics, we remain as we are, a tangle of limbs. We compare details and any inconsistencies.
For the most part, what we know is the same. It isn’t until he mentions bruising around the lips and fingertips. He trails off when he sees my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
Thomas nods slowly.
Panic seizes me for several seconds. Benjamin said he studied the papers, and none of the victims had shown signs of struggle. If that weren’t true, then the authorities intentionally withheld it. That would mean?—
Thomas’s calm voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts before they can go any further. “I did not kill them, Zadie.”
I cringe. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t need to,” he says flatly, so at odds with the gentle touch of his fingers making lazy strokes up and down my arm. “I may not be a duke, but I do have useful connections.”
“Demon shit,” I cover my face with my hands. What in the Otherworld is wrong with me? “I don’t know why I keep?—”
“It’s all right, Zadie.” Thomas drags me on top of him and kisses me fiercely. “I much prefer your suspicions over blind trust. I can rest easy knowing it takes more than a few caresses to distract you.”
As he kisses me again, I can’t help thinking, I’m not so sure about that.
Before things go much further, I nip at his bottom lip. It surprises him enough that I’m able to roll off him. “As tempting as you are, I cannot stay in bed with you all day. Benjamin might drag Father here to fetch me, and I don’t think I’m quite ready for that discussion.”
I ignore the pout he gives me.
“Fine. I suppose it would be best to let them discover you in my bed on another day,” he concedes. “But before you leave, I must ask you something very important—considering everything that took place last night.”
“Thomas, you don’t—” I try to dismiss whatever obligation he seems to have because of the intimacy we shared.
“Ah, but I do.” He leans over me, caging me in with his arms. “Zadie Hall… will you do me the honor of?—”
“Oh, really!” I try to interrupt him when it seems he’ll go to further extremes than I thought, but it’s useless.
“—Catching a murderer with me?”
I blink once. Twice. Three times as I try to process the last few words. “W-well, I—what?”
Thomas places a quick kiss on my nose. “What did you think I was going to ask?”
I glare, then shove him off me. He flops dramatically onto the mattress, grinning up at me, knowing exactly what I’d thought.
“Oh, shut up,” I bite out, though I’m unable to keep the mix of humor and slight embarrassment from my tone. Then hastily, I change the subject. “What, exactly, do you need my help with? I should think you were powerful enough on your own.”
“Can’t I just want to enjoy the company of a beautiful woman I just happen to adore?”
“No,” I say slowly, crossing my arms.
“Well, then I suppose I would like your help in subduing the murderer in such a way that their guilt is obvious to the whole city.”
I raise a single brow, saying nothing.
“How do you feel about being bait?”