Chapter 10
10
F or the second time in as many nights, Vanessa was in Cole’s arms, with him pleasuring her, and she felt a little twinge of guilt. She knew that Cole would feel aroused because—without his knowledge—she’d given him her blood to drink. Vampire blood was a strong aphrodisiac for any human, and for a man like Cole, who was clearly already attracted to her, the effect was even stronger. She should have never let it get this far.
She should have wiped his memory of the vampire and everything that he’d seen including that she’d saved his life, but she couldn’t do it. All she’d managed to do was to take some of the horror of the attack from his mind. And even that she hadn’t done for his benefit but for hers. So he wouldn’t grill her any longer on the details of what had happened and why she knew about vampires. All this because, again, she was going into heat, and she knew instinctively that Cole was the only man who could satisfy her inner satyr’s desires.
Damn, she was turning into a selfish woman, manipulating him by calming his fears. Fears that could have stopped his arousal from rising to a level where he really had no choice but to sleep with her. He didn’t have any free will at this point—he was driven by an overwhelming desire for sex.
“Cole, please, you don’t have to…”
A strong flicking motion of his tongue against her clit made her gasp.
He lifted his head. “You don’t like it?” There was a smirk on his face, confirming that he was aware of the effect he had on her.
“I love it, but I don’t deserve this. You’re not getting anything out of this.”
A chuckle rolled off his lips, and he winked at her. “Trust me when I tell you that I get a whole lot out of this.”
“You’re crazy.”
Without another word, Cole dipped his head to her pussy again and licked her. Unable to resist his tender ministrations, she relaxed back into the cushions, and allowed her body to simply react.
Cole didn’t act like other humans. Any other man would be fucking her right now, pounding his cock into her in the search for satisfaction. Yet Cole still restrained himself by pleasuring her instead. The more she got to know him, the more mysterious he became.
“Who are you?” she murmured to herself.
He mumbled something against her tender flesh without stopping what he was doing. With his fingers, he laid bare her center of pleasure, and with his tongue he beat her clit into submission. She felt like a woman in need, a woman who would do anything to get that need satisfied. Her body was heating from the inside, and she welcomed the sheen of perspiration covering her skin like a protective layer.
Soft moans and sighs bounced off the walls of Cole’s condo, but they didn’t all originate from her. Cole moaned softly too, and she could feel his body move against the sofa, as if he was rubbing his groin against the cushion for relief.
Vanessa shoved her hands into his hair, touching his scalp, caressing his nape, making him shudder.
“Please fuck me,” she begged. “Please, Cole. I want you inside me.”
Instead of rising to undress, Cole remained where he was, and penetrated her with his finger. She welcomed the invasion, and her muscles clamped around his digit, trying to imprison him there. But he withdrew his finger, only to thrust back into her with two.
She gasped in surprise, her muscles tensing. “Cole! So close.”
As if he knew exactly what she needed, he flicked his tongue over her clit in quick succession while increasing the pressure. In the same rhythm, he thrust his fingers into her over and over again. Everything inside her lit up like a wildfire, and she climaxed so hard she felt delirious. She barely realized that Cole had stopped his movements and finally scooted up to her. He drew her into his arms, pulling her up so she was draped over his naked chest. She could hear his heart thunder as if he was the one who’d climaxed, not she. With one arm he held her to him, with his other hand, he tipped her chin up to make her look at him.
“It’s wonderful to see you like this,” he said, his eyes dark as if a storm was raging in them.
She let her hand glide down to his pants and felt his erection through the fabric. “Let me do the same to you.”
Before she could squeeze him, he snatched her wrist and pulled her hand back up to place it on his chest. “Later. I just want to enjoy holding you in my arms for a little while.”
She propped her head up on his chest. “If you’re trying to be mysterious, you’re doing a good job.”
“You think I’m mysterious?”
“Yes. You said last night that you don’t have a girlfriend or a wife. Why is that?”
He pursed his lips. “Relationships are complicated. You never really know a person. It inevitably leads to disappointment.”
“That’s not true for all romantic relationships.” In fact, she knew dozens of happy couples in her extended Scanguards family.
“Let’s just say it’s hard for me to open up to women.”
“It sounds a little like you’re opening up to me right now,” she teased him.
He tapped her nose with his index finger. “That’s because I’m paying you to listen.”
She dropped her lids, avoiding his gaze. Was he saying that he could be honest and open with her, because she wasn’t girlfriend or wife material? Would he treat her differently if he knew that she wasn’t a sex worker?
“Did I say something wrong?”
She quickly shook her head and looked at him. “No, it just made me think.”
“About what?”
“Why you feel you can’t open up to other women, I mean women you date.”
“I don’t date.”
“You know what I mean,” she pressed.
Cole let out a breath. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I am the way I am, and I can’t change that. And the few women I’ve been with didn’t like what they saw. They judged me. And I don’t like being judged for something that I can’t change.”
She heard the pain in his words and instantly regretted having asked the question. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry and dig up old wounds.”
He put his fingers under her chin and tipped it up, drawing her closer. “That’s why I like being with you. You understand me. You know what it’s like to be judged.” He gave her a featherlight kiss on the lips.
She nudged closer to intensify the kiss, and Cole wrapped his arms around her and responded to her just as passionately as he’d pleasured her. Vanessa shifted on top of him, and found herself with her legs to either side of his hips, and the apex of her thighs aligned with his groin. Cole slid one hand down to her ass, pressing her to him while he moved his hips to rub himself against her center.
Excitement flooded her. He would finally fuck her. She moved to the side a little so she could get to the closure of his pants, but before she could, he stopped her and severed the kiss.
He breathed as if he’d been running a sprint, and she felt his heart thunder just as fast.
“You’re a very seductive woman.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face.
It looked like he wanted to say something else, but then a cell phone rang, and he looked in the direction of the sound.
“It’s not mine.”
Vanessa recognized the ringtone and sat up. “It’s mine.” She jumped off him and reached for her purse to pull out her cell. The name on the display confirmed who she’d guessed was calling. She turned to Cole. “I’m sorry, work.”
She answered the call. “Lydia?”
“Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Did you run into any trouble?” Lydia’s words came as if shot out of a pistol.
She cast a sideways glance at Cole, who’d sat up and was watching her.
“I’m all right. But there was an attack. I had to help out. Can you take Quinn instead? I’m gonna have to go by the office first.”
“Yeah, I can do that. What happened?”
“I’ll fill you in later. Thanks, Lydia.”
Vanessa disconnected the call, and cast Cole a regretful look. “I’m sorry. I have to go to work.” She reached for her clothes, when Cole rose and pulled her to him. “Stay here. I’ll pay you for the whole night.”
“I—”
As much as she wanted to stay, she couldn’t. She had to get the dead vampire’s belongings to HQ so they could identify him. And right now, she didn’t have the time to explain to Cole that she wasn’t a sex worker, because it wasn’t a one-sentence explanation. They would have to have that conversation later when she wasn’t pressed for time. She’d already spent too much time here.
“Can we talk later?” she asked. “I just have to do this one thing.”
He looked dejected. “Fine. We’ll talk some other time.”
Even though she heard in his tone that he was rebuilding the shield around him that he’d started to lower earlier, she couldn’t say anything that would change the current situation.
She had responsibilities. And if she didn’t act according to them, people could die. It wasn’t something she wanted to have on her conscience.