“Come? Who?” There was only one person in whose coming I was interested at that moment:
me!
I had to sit there and watch my chances of coming fly out the window as Alex withdrew his hand from my pussy and used it to push at my shoulder so he could look into my eyes. “Call Constantine,” he said slowly, pinching one nipple over my dress, “and tell him not to come here. We don’t need more vampires with invitations to this place.”
His voice was as close to enthralling as any human’s could be, but I didn’t appreciate the fact that he was trying to use my sexual attraction to him, our sexual
connection
, like a mind-altering tool.
I got off him as awkwardly as I’d straddled him, which was embarrassing for a vampire, really, and was out of the car straightening my dress in a heartbeat. “Constantine is
not
a threat,” I said. “But I get it if you don’t want him inside your mother’s place, so I will meet him out here. Is that okay?” Not waiting for his response, I turned toward the house.
“I don’t want you meeting him at all. It could be a trap.” He came out after me.
“It’s
not
a trap.” I let out an exasperated sigh and sat on the hood of his car, elbows on my knees and feet perched on his bumper. “It’s Constantine. I’ve known him for years, and he’s not going to double-cross me.”
Alex stood right in front of me. Every muscle of his body was tense, and his lips, usually wide and generous, were drawn into a thin line. Even though nothing could make him unattractive, I didn’t like the look of distrust on him. “You said yourself you hadn’t seen him in years.” The distrust in his voice wasn’t any less annoying. “His maker is in the council. For fuck’s sake, Cherry, think!”
There was no doubt he made some valid points. It made perfect sense that Constantine would be in on all the badness. He had the ins with the council and had sort of kept in touch with me via the phone, even after our breakup, so he knew where I lived. If we were to go further back, it had been really convenient that I’d gotten such a studly mentor, whom I couldn’t resist and with whom I had developed a romantic relationship. Assuming he’d been involved with Ádísa the entire time and that she and Willoughby were on the same team, it
could
all have been a plan. A plan to keep me under his thumb or to keep tabs on me.
Except I knew in my heart that it hadn’t been one.
Constantine had his share of flaws—hell, he had several people’s shares of flaws—but he was nobody’s pawn. I could see him going above and beyond if the whole scheme had been his idea, but not because someone else had put him up to it. And I could definitely
not
see the whole “let
’
s turn someone people would recognize so we can overthrow the council and install a new one” being his idea, since it hadn’t resulted in his being part of the new council.
Unless he was the brains of the operation, and Ádísa was his pawn, a front… Hmmm. That might be worth looking into.
No
! I knew Constantine. He was the man who’d helped me mend a bird’s broken wing so that I’d stop crying. I refused to let myself be pulled into conspiracy theories other than the one we were currently trying to tackle. There were definitely bad guys among the ones ruling our kind, and they were out to get me and Alex—who was still rambling, by the way—but my former lover wasn’t one of them. Despite everything, for the brief time we’d been together, Constantine had loved me, in his own way.
Alex’s grip on my arm brought me back to the here and now. “He could be how they’re keeping track of you, how Willoughby knew where you lived and where to find Dotty.”
Okay, I hadn’t reacted when he’d implied I wasn’t thinking, but bringing Dotty into this was a low blow, especially when he’d tried to convince me her kidnapping wasn’t my fault.
I poked his chest with my forefinger, only not really hard ’cause that would have either sent him flying toward the house or broken his rib cage. “I trust Constantine.” I emphasized each syllable with one more poke. “He’s lousy when it comes to fidelity, but I trust him not to hand us to Willoughby or the council. If that was what he had in mind, he could have done so when I’d told him I suspected there was a rogue among us. He could have killed me before I ever left his place.” Kicking at his car would be childish, so I refrained. Barely. “I’m meeting him whether you like it or not.”
Alex grabbed my wrist and loomed over me. “I
don’t
like it. Still, if you’re meeting him anyway, he’s coming inside. He may wanna grab you and fly you to the council, for all I know.”
Brilliant
. Typical male. He’d managed to take a predetermined thing, twist it around in his brain a couple hundred times, return it to its initial shape, and serve it up like it had been his idea to begin with.
I filled my lungs with air I didn’t need and let it whoosh out. “Sure. If you insist.” No sense pointing out to him
that
had been the plan in the first place.
“I want to be able to keep an eye on him,” he said, as though I still needed convincing.
I just shrugged.
Whatever
. If Constantine moved fast enough, Alex wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on him, but
whatever
! I was too tired to get into something that would lead to another argument. Mentioning Constantine’s vampiric powers would no doubt make Alex think I was putting his humanity down. Male ego, when faced with any perceived threat, can lash out in all directions, and the first collateral damage is usually rational thinking.
I started to stand, but Alex planted one fist on either side of my thighs. “I wanna keep an eye on you with him.”
“I told you, there’s nothing going on between him and me.”
“You told me. But there’s also nothing going on between me and you, is there?” Really? After having been patient for this long, he wanted us to have the talk now? Out in the open?
“Alex,” I said, feathering my fingers over his cheek, “we said we’d figure this out later.”
Instead of replying, he snaked one hand between my thighs and ran his fingers along my flimsy thong. “Do you want me?” he asked. I barely had time to raise an eyebrow in question before he pushed two fingers inside me. “Do you want me, Cherry?”
I swallowed. “You know I do, but—” We were outside his mom’s house, on top of his car. Even I knew that wasn’t right.
“Because I want you. All the time.” He withdrew his fingers slowly and made a show of licking them clean.
Hell, it wasn’t
my
neighborhood. “Show me,” I whispered, pushing my hips upward. I wanted more of him. I tried to sit up, reached for him, but he held me down.
“Sit back.”
I did, and waited for his next move.
It didn’t disappoint.
He grabbed my thighs and pulled me to the edge of the hood. The hem of my dress slid up and bunched around my hips, making me feel more exposed than ever. I leaned back, propped on my elbows.
“I want you wanting only me,” he said. “Thinking only of me.” He traced his fingers along my collarbone and slipped down one strap of my dress. “I want you always trembling under my touch.” The second strap caressed my shoulder on its way down, raising goose bumps. He cupped one of my breasts, his palm warm against my skin. I pressed against him, and he pinched my nipple until it was hard and aching. “Like you are now.”
I
was
trembling, I realized.
Alex leaned over me and took my other nipple in his mouth, in turn flicking his tongue over it and grazing it with his teeth. Alternating between warm, wet softness and sharpness kept me on the edge. I pushed against his mouth and whimpered when his hand stopped caressing my other breast to trail lower, over my stomach, down my belly, and finally between my thighs, setting each spot he touched on fire.
He raised his head to look into my eyes. “And I want to be the only one touching you here.” He stroked my pussy over the tiny triangle of fabric. My arms quivered, and I tensed in anticipation of more. “Watching you squirm.” He pushed the thong aside and used two fingers to circle my clit again and again.
The pressure was just right, but his fingers moved too slowly. An ache in my core screamed for more. I was wet and light-headed, and I had to have his fingers or his cock inside my pussy before I combusted with need.
He pinched my clit, spicing my pleasure with just enough pain to make me moan. I lay back, my arms no longer able to support my weight.
“I want to be the only one tasting you.” He knelt in front of me and pushed my legs up and farther apart before using his thumbs to spread me open. The moment his tongue entered me, I bucked my hips. His mouth was warm, and he used it to map every inch of my pussy, sucking on my clitoris, fucking me with his tongue, grazing his teeth over my inner thigh and labia. All my senses were in overdrive. I could smell the night air, see the stars even when I let my eyelids drift shut, feel the tiny speckles of dust beneath my fingertips. Most of all, though, I could feel the heat in my pussy, each touch of Alex’s tongue and teeth adding to the pressure inside me.
I brought my legs up and draped them over his shoulders. When he pressed the tip of a finger coated in my juices against my second entrance, I’m pretty sure I dug a stiletto heel into his upper back. I’d always been kind of protective of my ass, but at that moment, with Alex eating me out the way he was, I didn’t resist the intrusion. A second finger found its way past the outer circle of muscle, adding to the burning sensation consuming my lower body. Just when I thought it was all too much, he replaced his tongue with his free hand.
I gathered up every ounce of strength I could and lifted my head to look down the length of my body. Alex was fucking me with both hands and looking at my splayed body with reverence, the likes of which I’d never seen before.
“I want you.” My lips and throat felt dry. “
Only
you. Make love to me.” I no longer cared we could be giving the neighbors a show, even though it was the middle of the night.
He crawled up my body without my having to ask twice. I tried to help him undo his jeans, needing him inside me as soon as possible, but my hands felt lax. He was faster; he popped his buttons and freed his cock.
He entered me slowly, ignoring my clutching his buttocks and urging him on. I didn’t want it slow, but not because I couldn’t deal with the feelings I associated with it. I was just so close I thought I’d burst if he didn’t make me come. “Please.”
He wouldn’t be rushed in taking his pleasure or giving me mine. His cock slid in and out of my pussy languidly. My whole body tingled. I mewled and panted and begged, and he still didn’t change his rhythm.
The tension inside me had reached a plateau. I needed
something
to let it all out. I rocked my hips faster and tried to wedge one hand between our bodies to rub my clit. Alex stopped me, pinning my wrist to the hood of the car. I groaned in frustration.
“I want you to bite me,” he said, draping one of my legs over his arm so he could spread me even wider.
His cock sank deeper than before, rubbing the bundle of nerves inside me with every downstroke, and I no longer cared about right and wrong. I tangled my fingers in his hair and buried my fangs in his throat, coming the instant his blood touched my tongue. The flavors erupting on my taste buds combined with Alex’s cock thrusting in my pussy to flood my pleasure centers with pure bliss. It felt like I was rolling on a cloud of euphoric sensations that never ceased. And I didn’t want them to cease. My body pulsed with more life than I’d felt since before my turning. I wanted Alex to keep fucking me forever while I drank him in.
I had to force myself to let go after a few sips, afraid I’d rip Alex’s flesh, the way I was bucking and quivering. He still kept thrusting, faster and harder, until he suddenly pulled out, and I felt warm, thick liquid coat my lower belly and inner thighs.
I didn’t know why he’d done that until he said, “I want you to smell like me.” He kissed me, probably to silence any protests.
It was petty and childish after what we’d shared, but I didn’t mind. Because I loved him, and that meant loving his pettiness and childishness too.
Yes, I loved him. It might seem silly, given the few days I had known him, but love can flash like lightning, striking you down in a split second. All of tonight had managed to wipe out my noble intentions of sacrificing my happiness for his normalcy. If all we had left together was one day, it was still worth an eternity of memories. Up to then, I’d been trying to convince myself that leaving him was the safest bet, but my heart would be broken without him one way or another. Perhaps I should take what he gave me and be with him for as long as we could make it work, or as long as he lived. And perhaps now was time for him to know how I felt.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air that I knew was useless but felt invigorating nonetheless. “I—”
“It’s getting chilly out here. Want to move this inside?”
His question drowned the words I’d meant to say. I could still say them, of course, yet somehow they were too huge to be said as an afterthought and too small to be allowed to get in the way of our investigation.
Sometimes there’s only one specific moment, one opening. If you lose it, you may lose everything. I knew that; still I chose not to tell Alex I loved him.
“Yeah, I’m sleepy.” I yawned. “Dawn is approaching.”
He rose and held one hand out to me. I took it and smiled to myself when he wrapped his long fingers around mine. My palm looked small and pale, fragile, inside his darker, larger one, and for the first time since the night we’d met, I sensed that wasn’t just an illusion. Alex’s power wasn’t physical, but it was there, and he held a ton of it over me.
* * * *
It felt as if my eyelids had just drifted shut when an earsplitting ringing assailed my eardrums. It tore me violently from the blissfully hazy space between wakefulness and slumber. The wonderfully relaxed state I was in had lulled me into loosening my control over my senses, and Alex’s cell phone receiving a call an entire floor above us sounded like it was inside my head and trying to get out.