Authors: Tina Folsom
“How can it?” she wailed. “How can anything ever be alright again when awful creatures like that exist? Vampires! Bloodsuckers! Out to kill us all.”
The words stabbed into his heart like blades. It wouldn’t be easy to convince her that not all vampires were bad. That in fact the majority of vampires he knew were good and decent people. People who’d vowed to protect humankind.
Blake pressed a kiss into Lilo’s hair. “Let’s look at the evidence first. We don’t really know what they’ve done.” Though he was certain they were behind Hannah’s disappearance. “Why don’t we talk?”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso. “I don’t want to talk. I want to forget. I want to not think about what I saw. I wish I’d never seen it. How will I ever sleep again? How will I ever be able to feel safe again?”
“Some things aren’t always like they appear at first,” he tried to pacify her.
“We’re not safe, Blake. We’ll never be safe again.” She looked up at him, her eyes round and brimming with tears.
To see fear etched so deeply in her features hurt him to the core. “You’ll always be safe with me.”
She lifted one hand and reached for his face, stroking her fingers over his cheek. “When I’m with you, I can almost believe it.” She brought her face closer. “When you hold me, the nightmare seems to be less real.”
He felt his blood heat at her nearness, his vampire side registering the change in her demeanor. Where fear had reigned only moments earlier, hope was blossoming, and arousal was growing.
“Maybe if you hold me closer, we can make this horror disappear. Maybe then I’ll wake up from this nightmare.”
Her lips beckoned, looking more enticing than ever. He already knew what they tasted like, and that fact made resisting even harder.
“Lilo, it’s not going to make this go away. I have to tell you—”
“Please, Blake, I know you don’t find me unattractive…” She sniffled. “I felt it when you kissed me.”
He sighed. “That’s not the point, Lilo, but you’re vulnerable right now. It wouldn’t be fair if I took advantage—”
“You’re not taking advantage.” She lifted herself on her toes, bringing her head level to his, her lips even closer now. “I’m taking advantage of your goodness. Please make love to me. I need this now. I need to forget.”
Blake’s heart thundered out of control. “Lilo, please, you don’t know me. You might regret this.”
“Regret going to bed with a man who’s done everything in his power to help a friend? No, I won’t regret that.” She brushed her lips over his.
“Lilo,” he murmured, still trying to hold onto his control.
“Unless you don’t want me…”
“Of course I want you!” he ground out. “But I’m not who you think I am.” But he was a man, one who couldn’t deny that the sexual attraction between them was burning like a wildfire now. One he wouldn’t be able to douse.
“Then make love to me. Because tomorrow we could all be dead. Killed by those evil things.”
Despite his better judgment, he yanked her to him. “We shouldn’t do this,” he said before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.
No, they wouldn’t be dead tomorrow, but by tomorrow Lilo would know that he was a vampire, and then she’d never allow him to touch her again. And the thought that he might never find out what it felt like to lose himself in Lilo’s body and find ecstasy with her, was something he couldn’t bear. And though he knew it was wrong, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom, not for a single second letting go of her hungry lips.
He knew he would pay for this sin in short order, but right now he didn’t care.
Right now he was all man, all vampire, hungry for a woman who tempted him like no other.
20
Blake kicked the bedroom door shut with his heel and carried her to his bed. He knew he was beyond stopping now. Soon, Lilo would hate him for what he was about to do. The least he could do at this point was give her more pleasure than she’d ever experienced. Then maybe, just maybe, once she found out the truth, she would remember how gentle his touch had been. Not like a vampire, but like a man worshipping her.
He laid her on the sheets and released her mouth. A disappointed mewl came over her lips, and she pulled him back with a hand on his nape.
“Don’t stop,” she murmured.
He brushed a blond lock from her forehead and gazed into her heated face. “I won’t stop until you and I are both completely satisfied, trust me on that.” Nothing less would do. But he also wanted to establish one thing first. “But I’m not going to rush this.”
He pulled back a little farther, shifting on the bed so he wasn’t crushing her with his weight, and let his gaze travel down her torso. She wore a long-sleeved tightly-fitting jersey top with buttons down the front. Beneath the soft fabric, the outline of her bra showed. When he lifted his eyes back to her face, he noticed that she was pulling her lower lip between her teeth, sucking in a breath.
Not breaking eye contact, he moved his hand lower, letting his fingers slowly trail down her front until he reached the peak of her left breast. There he stopped and began to circle her nipple. A sharp intake of breath confirmed that his touch had the desired reaction.
“Yes!” she let out.
Male pride blooming, he captured her breast in his hand and squeezed the responsive flesh, feeling her hard nipple brush against his palm. If she responded with such enthusiasm to this tame touch, she’d be screaming in ecstasy as soon as he laid her bare and was caressing her in earnest.
Now he was even gladder that he’d sent Ryder away with the hybrids. What was about to happen in this room wasn’t suitable for the ears of impressionable teenage boys. Their sensitive hybrid hearing—as sensitive as that of a vampire—would pick up every sound. And he didn’t want or need anybody witnessing him making love to Lilo. This was just for the two of them. Private and intimate.
“I’m going to undress you now.” He wanted her to know what he was doing at every turn. There would be no misunderstandings between them, not when it came to making love. “Are you sure you want this?”
God help him if she said no. Because even if she did, he wouldn’t be able to release her now. Already, his cock was pumped full with blood, aching for release. If they weren’t both still dressed, he would already be inside her, thrusting toward his first orgasm. But he had to think of Lilo, her needs, her desires. And she didn’t need fast and hard. She needed gentle and loving. She needed a dream, one that would make reality easier to bear. He read it in her eyes. In her tears.
“Blake…” She lifted her leg and curled it around his upper thigh, pulling him closer. “I want you.”
“Oh, you’ve got me, Lilo.”
What that meant she couldn’t possibly begin to imagine. Nor could he explain it to her, because he barely understood it himself. But he knew that if he took her now, there would be no going back. He wouldn’t be the old Blake anymore. He would change irrevocably because of the woman in his arms. He’d never before believed in fate or that things happened for a reason. But he knew now that even his car accident four years ago had happened so that he could meet Lilo.
“You have all of me, baby,” he repeated and sank his mouth onto her parted lips, soaking in her intoxicating scent as if Lilo were the only nourishment he needed. And perhaps one day she would be…
Slowly he began to open the buttons of her top. With each button that popped open, more of her skin was revealed, until he could finally peel the top away from her torso, then pull it off her completely. He swept his eyes over her then, drinking in the beauty of her glistening skin, her firm stomach muscles and her lush breasts. Her hard nipples pushed through the black lace bra, inviting him to come closer.
He dipped his head to lick over the protrusion under the fabric, wringing a stifled moan from Lilo’s lips.
“You’ve seen nothing yet,” he promised, and got to work on the front clasp of her bra.
When it snapped open, he peeled back the cups and let her breasts spill into his waiting hands. “Oh, baby.”
He buried his face in her bosom, reveling in the softness of her warm skin. He inhaled deeply and felt his fangs itch in response. Oh God, this was worse than he’d thought. He would have to use every ounce of his strength to fight against his transformation. He had to keep the beast in check and make sure it didn’t slip past his defenses. The vampire in him would find no satisfaction tonight, because the man in him needed Lilo to trust him.
Blake lifted his face and slid his lips around one hard nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth. The temptation to sink his fangs into her soft flesh and taste her blood was strong, but he pushed it back. Instead he licked the hard bud with his tongue, swiping over it again and again, enjoying how Lilo writhed beneath him in obvious delight.
Her hand on his nape clawed into him, and he welcomed her fingernails digging into him, sending shivers down his spine and into his tailbone. A corresponding bolt of adrenaline shot into his balls and his cock, making him grind out a curse. Fuck, he should have more control than this! Why was his body reacting as if he’d never been touched by a woman?
“Oh, Blake, that’s good,” Lilo murmured, her other hand sliding to his butt to grip him there.
Instinctively he thrust his pelvis, rubbing his iron-hard erection against her center.
Lilo gasped, the sound so thrilling that he couldn’t help himself and thrust once more, while sucking harder on her nipple.
He lifted his head and met her gaze. “You want that inside you?”
“Yes.” Her voice was a mere echo, but it sent a tantalizing shudder through his body.
“Soon…”
Carefully, he now peeled her out of her bra, tossing the garment to the foot of the bed. Then he continued caressing her breasts, exploring every inch of her torso, the deep ridge between her breasts, the high peaks crowned with rosy, hard nipples, and everything in between: the valley of her navel and the curves where her waist tapered before flaring out to her hips again.
Such perfection. Such beauty. He couldn’t get enough of touching her, of listening to her heartbeat as it began to gallop toward the inevitable climax, of smelling her blood as it raced through her veins like a torrent following the carved-out path of a stony river.
All the while, his own blood was thundering in his body, taking sides in the silent war that raged inside him: the battle between man and vampire. For now, the man was winning.
Blake caressed Lilo’s breasts, kissed and sucked and licked every exposed inch of her delectable skin, but it wasn’t enough. He slid one hand down her body, heading for the waistband of her pants.
“I’m going to touch your pussy,” he warned and opened the button.
He felt her hold her breath, her pelvis tilting toward his hand. The invitation unmistakable, he lowered the zipper and slid his fingers underneath her bikini panties. He was greeted by a light dusting of hair and a heat so blistering it nearly scorched him.
Lilo bucked toward him, moaning.
Gently he moved lower, his fingers finding the spot where warm moisture dripped from her. Greedily, he bathed his finger in her arousal, closing his eyes to let himself fall deeper into the enchantment that Lilo was weaving around him. A man could lose himself forever in the web she wove so easily.
“You feel so good,” he murmured against her breast, planting kisses on her flesh as he worked his way higher. He kissed alongside her neck, sensing the drum of her pulse underneath his lips. Like a beacon it was calling to him, tempting him to extend his fangs so he could still the hunger that ravaged his body. But he couldn’t give in. Gaining Lilo’s trust by showing her that he was a selfless lover, that her pleasure came before his, was more important.
Carefully he began to caress her wet folds, stroking along her slit, teasing moan after moan and sigh after sigh from her red lips. At her ear, he whispered, “Imagine it’s my cock.”
She gasped and lifted her pelvis up, her hands suddenly coming to aid to push her pants and panties lower to give him better access. He allowed her to move the garments to mid-thigh, then stopped her. It was better that she couldn’t open her legs too wide for a while, or this would be over far too quickly.
“Not yet, baby.” He pressed a kiss below her earlobe. “Just take this for now.” He slid his middle finger deep into her tight channel, until it could go no farther.
“Ohhhh!” She arched off the bed, and her muscles clamped around his digit.
“Easy, baby, relax,” he coaxed.
Lilo eased back into the sheets, then pulled his head down to her. Her lips were hungry when they slid over his. God, how he loved a woman who took charge and wasn’t afraid to show a man what she expected from him.
Slowly he pulled his finger back, then moved higher to her center of pleasure. When he rubbed over the swollen bundle of nerves for the first time, Lilo moaned into his mouth. He swallowed the intoxicating sound and did it again, gently drawing small circles around the precious organ. He sensed her need to move with him, to rock against his hand, but he swung his thigh over her legs to restrain her. When she wanted to protest, he ripped his lips from hers.
“We’ve got to go slow, baby, or this is not going to last.”
Without giving her time to answer, he took her mouth again and continued his passionate kiss, while farther below he caressed her with more tenderness, easing off her clit whenever he felt her pulse become erratic and her breath come in pants, denying her the release she craved only to prepare her for a more massive one.
Every time he drew back, Lilo moaned in frustration, but the moment he continued his heated caresses, she purred like a kitten. There was no sight more beautiful than a woman in ecstasy.
Blake released her lips and kissed his way along her jaw, then to her neck. She was ready now to experience her first taste of what he could give her.
“You wanna come, Lilo, don’t you?”
“Yes!” she cried out.
He planted open-mouthed kisses along the slender column of her neck and continued his ministrations. But this time he didn’t stop when he felt her body tense. Didn’t withdraw his hand, didn’t deprive her of what she needed. This time he increased his tempo, caressed her with more pressure, listening to her body to know when it was time.