Dying to Love Her (5 page)

“Consider this a tip for services rendered so far,” Melanie
said shamelessly as she leaned forward and sucked the head of Rook’s cock into
her mouth.

Lucky bastard.
He watched enviously, his body
tensing. Alec threw his head back against the tile, oblivious to the sting of
the impact. Waiting for her mouth, listening to Rook moan, took his erection to
a whole new level of hard. One touch and he’d probably lose all control.

“That’s it, Melanie. Take what you can, work your tongue
around the tip,” Rook instructed. “So good baby.That is exactly what I like.”

Alec had to look at her when she slipped her hand around his
dick. She worked him up and down while she sucked Rook so hard her cheeks
hollowed. Listening to her hum around Rook’s cock was torture. He couldn’t take
it anymore.

“Fuck, Melanie. You’re killing me over here,” he hissed.
“Don’t make me wait any longer.”

Melanie left Rook with one last swirl of her tongue and went
straight to sucking Alec down. Tight friction made him grind his teeth and the
relief of her wet mouth didn’t last long. He wanted more—all she could give.

He rested his hand on top of her head, the other under her
chin and held her steady. Alec pushed forward. “I’m going to fuck your mouth
slow and deep and you’re going to keep those beautiful eyes open for me so you
can see what you do to me.”

Her eyes widened and she whimpered around his thick width
but Melanie took him down just like he asked, revealing her insatiable appetite
for more.

Alec stared into her eyes, willing her to see the love he
felt as he drew back and slowly filled her mouth over and over again. He’d
never get enough of her.

“So fucking incredible, Rook.” The wet slide of her tongue
massaging him had him hissing through his teeth. “So perfect. What the hell did
we do to deserve her?”

“Hell if I know.” Rook pumped his hips in time with
Melanie’s hand. “I’m not so sure we do.”

Melanie pulled back, catching her breath, and Alec gently
fisted his hands in her hair. “No, not yet. I’m not ready to let you go.” He
peered into her eyes and only saw obedient lust. “Rook won’t mind. He likes to
watch.”

“Don’t give away all my secrets,” Rook groaned. “I’d like
for Melanie to discover some of them on her own.”

Melanie’s mouth closed around him and she continued with the
blowjob, more eager than ever. He didn’t know if the voraciousness was for
Rook’s benefit or his. He didn’t care as long as he reaped the benefits.

“I’m close.” Alec swiveled his hips and tightened his ass,
reveling in the burn growing at the base of his spine. “Deeper. That’s it. Suck
me hard.”

And then she took him throat-deep. He clenched his teeth and
fantasized that he was able to fill her mouth with his cum.

That did it. His pleasure peaked and hung on the edge—any
minute now it would push him over. Alec rose on his toes, his body strung so
tight no muscle remained at rest. “Your mouth. Fuck—it makes me lose all
control.” He plunged deep one last time and shots of exhilaration ripped
through him as he pushed and pulled against her, trying to hold onto his orgasm
as long as possible.

“Tighter, Melanie,” Rook commanded desperately. “Stroke
harder.”

Alec sagged against the tile as Melanie pulled away with a
gasp and focused all her attention on Rook. She sucked hungrily on the tip of
Rook’s erection and stroked him off with both of her hands.

“Yes, fuck yes.” Rook made those single syllables last so
long they sounded like sentences. “Here I come, baby.”

Riding high from his own release, Alec easily tuned out
Rook. The uncustomary rush of blood humming in his ears numbed him to
everything but Melanie’s effect on him.

Ingesting her blood had brought about the beginnings of the
physical change. Spending time with her, looking into her eyes and recognizing
the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, that was all emotion.

He focused on those powerful feelings she brought out in
him, honing their pitch until it rang so clear he hoped when he shared them
with her she’d resonate with the same joy he felt.

Melanie looked up at the sexy heap of men that towered above
her. Had she done that? Reduced them to slumped-over, worn-out versions of
their former vigorous selves? Until now, she’d have sworn that vampires were
like pink drum-wielding bunnies that just kept going and going. She sighed,
pleased with her efforts, and gave herself an imaginary high-five.

Rook held his hand out. Happy for help, she took it and
stood, ignoring her achy knees. He drew her against his damp body and wrapped
his arms around her so fiercely, she stopped breathing.

Cuddled up against him with Alec’s hand resting on her
shoulder, there wasn’t any place she’d rather be. His skin was warm, his hold
secure. More than the sex, this was what she’d missed, the tenderness of an
intimate relationship. It wasn’t very business-minded of her but she was going
to allow herself to indulge in their methods while she was their client. Maybe
she’d even make some requests.

As soon as Melanie got home, she promised herself she’d put
pen to paper on that bucket list of sexual experiences she’d never even
bothered to make.

“I love you, Melanie,” Rook said on an exhale.

Her heart turned over in her chest and she held her breath,
willing it to slow. God, she wished he really did. The sex-crazed chemicals in her
body had her wanting to say those three little words back. What girl didn’t
want the fairytale? It’d been years since a man had said that to her and here
was Rook, practically a stranger, saying them and sounding sincere.

Melanie squeezed him back. She had great friends, and not
that she needed a man to make her happy, but she wanted a deeper kind of love
in her life. With her parents and sister gone she was alone. She wanted a
husband, two-point-five kids and everything else that came with a family.

Alec and Rook weren’t those kinds of men. She couldn’t
forget that. Hell, they weren’t even men—they were vampires. Vampires she was
paying to have sex with her so she could lose weight. It didn’t strike her as a
great foundation for starting a relationship.

Even though she ached to burrow in closer, run her hands all
along Rook’s skin and pretend that he spoke from his heart, she gave him a
dismissive pat on the back and discounted his response as something automatic
like saying “bless you” to someone who sneezed.

“I think all men feel that way after oral sex,” she
countered. “Especially after really good oral sex, if I do say so myself.” She
turned her head toward Alec, his gaze a hypnotic clash of pale gray eyes
against dark brows and lashes. Her breath caught in her chest as his smile
widened.

Love.
That’s what she felt whenever she looked at
either of them. Her body tensed against the emotion. If she were falling it
would be up to her to pick herself up when this was all said and done.

“Next Alec will be proposing marriage, I’m sure,” Melanie
joked, trying to lighten her thoughts, as she forcibly had to pull away from
Rook.

Alec arched his brow and made a great display of laying his
hands all over his naked body like he was searching for something. “I seemed to
have misplaced the ring.” He stepped out of the shower, retrieved a towel and
much to her dismay fastened one around his hips.

“Will a towel suffice for now?” He handed her one and threw
another towel to Rook.

“Only if it’s some fancy high-thread-count Egyptian cotton.”
Melanie squeezed the water from her hair and wrapped the thick oversized towel
around her chest. “Otherwise I’m going to have to wait for a better offer.”

If a man like Alec proposed she’d have accepted a burlap
sack.

Alec’s eyes lost their humorous light, his smile disappeared
and his gaze held hers as firmly as Rook’s arms had a moment ago. “What if I
made a real offer? What would you do then?”

“Is this one of those what-if games? Because I’m really bad
at making decisions, even hypothetical ones.”

“It’s not a game.” Alec’s unwavering gaze made her squirm.

“So let’s stop playing them,” Rook said seriously. “It’s
time. We need to tell Melanie the truth.”

Melanie’s heart skipped a beat with his abrupt admission.
The truth? Her mouth went dry. “What’s going on?” She held the towel tighter,
looking back and forth between them.

Alec didn’t answer. He walked into his room and returned
carrying the envelope she’d handed over to Rook yesterday at her consultation.

“You’re no longer a client of Empriva Fitness.” He tossed
the paperwork into a small trash can by one of the sinks. “Really you never
were.”

Melanie grabbed her new thinner stomach to make sure it was
there because it felt like it had plunged to the floor. If they didn’t have
business between them what did they have?

“What do you mean I’m not a client? I gave you money and
signed all the contracts. The weight is already coming off. Did I do something
wrong?”

Rook slipped his arm around her shoulder and she shrugged
him away. His touch, like Alec’s, had a way of making it hard to focus.

“Melanie, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Rook took her hand
and held firm even as she tried to pull away. “You’re everything right.”

“I am so confused right now.” She yanked free and stared
them down, her blood pressure rising. “Tell me right now what you’re keeping
from me.”

“Rook and I don’t want to be your consultants.” Alec blurted
out the ugly truth without flinching.

Melanie felt sick. Her throat burned as her stomach churned
and her shower-damp skin moistened with an uncomfortable sweat. “Don’t you
think you could have told me that before you both had sex with me?”

Before you made me feel like the sexiest woman alive.
Before you made me feel like what was happening between us might actually
transcend business.
Melanie fought back the tears pooling in the corners of
her eyes. Stupid. How could she have been so stupid?

“We want you to be our lifemate.” Alec took a step forward
and his penetrating stare paralyzed her. “I promise as many luxury towels as you
want.”

“Your lifemate?” She spit the words at him. “What the hell
is that? A joke?”

“It isn’t a joke. We want you to be our wife,” Rook said
softly.

“Do you think this is funny? Is this what gets you vampires
off, playing with women’s emotions?” If it wasn’t a joke Melanie didn’t know
what it was but whatever it turned out to be she thought she’d deal with it
better dressed. “I need my clothes right now.” She turned to the man who’d
stripped her last night. “Where are they?”

Alec planted his hands on his hips and hung his head. “In my
dresser. Top drawer.”

Her feet slapped against the heated floor. Melanie narrowed
her eyes at Rook and gave Alec a wide berth on her way into his bedroom. “I’d
appreciate a few moments of privacy.”

Neither one of them made a move to stop her.

She shut the door and drew open the dark navy curtains.
Bright sunshine flooded into the room, becoming an impromptu insurance policy
that they might leave her alone.

The view from Alec’s bedroom stunned her. It’d been dark
when she arrived and she hadn’t seen the vast property. Too bad she wasn’t in
the frame of mind to appreciate it.

What they said—could it be true? Her body tightened as she
gripped the curtains. And exactly who wanted her to be their wife—not both
surely? Rook and Alec could have any woman they wanted. Why her, why now? They
hadn’t known her for more than a few hours.

Granted they’d be stupid not to want her but most men were
stupid. After so many years of trying to find the right man she’d resigned
herself to that fact. Vampires had dicks. Why would they be any different?

For her part Melanie convinced herself that any emotion from
her was lust. Plain and simple. To admit her feelings ran deeper would leave
her too vulnerable. She wasn’t sure if she could trust either one of them
anymore.

Melanie didn’t know what their game was but she was
determined to find out. She made a beeline for the antique dresser. She pulled
open the drawer and there were her clothes, nicely folded next to Alec’s
shirts. The care that had been taken with her things and their placement felt
intimate. The gesture made her feel at home.

Melanie shut down the much-too-comfortable feeling and
dressed. Three deep chest-heaving breaths later, she steadied her nerves and
reopened the bathroom door.

Alec hadn’t moved. Rook was nowhere to be found.

And then she heard him from behind a closed door on the
opposite side of the sprawling bathroom. It sounded like he was getting an up
close and personal look at the toilet. She remembered her hurt feelings when the
impulse to hurry into the room to take care of him almost overtook her.

“I told him not to eat too much.” Alec crossed his arms and
it accented the cut of his chest. “He’ll be fine once he gets it out of his
system.”

“Why would he eat like that if he knew he’d get sick?” She’d
had enough of male stupidity today, not to mention dishonesty.

“Rook doesn’t do much half-assed—you’ll learn that about
him. And this is new for us, Melanie. We don’t usually crave food, but you’ve
changed everything.”

She held back a growl and crossed her arms defensively, much
like Alec. “So this is somehow all my fault?”

“Not intentionally but yes.”

Not the answer she wanted to hear and she felt the tension
take hold in the form of wrinkles on her forehead. The furrows deepened, listening
to poor Rook begin another round of retching.
Not poor Rook, bad Rook.
Remember
he’s kept something from you.

“I think he needs some time to himself,” Alec said as he
passed by her. “Let’s talk in my room.” He boldly stood in front of the window and
light bathed his body.

Lust filled hers. That agitated her even more. Had she lost
total control of her libido?

“Did you hope I might spontaneously combust?”

“No. Rook told me the light only gives you a sunburn.” She
stepped closer. “But your skin looks fine. Yet another lie, obviously.”

Alec ran his hand along his arm, testing his exposed skin.
“The windows are coated with a film that protects me but if I walked outside I
suspect it would take longer for my skin to burn. That’s your fault too.”

“How?”

“Your blood, it’s special.” He tossed aside his towel,
swiped his pants off the floor and pulled them on before collapsing onto the
leather chair beside the fireplace. He sighed and it sounded like it was the
beginning of the explanation she’d been demanding.

“We are born human just like you but a genetic mutation
keeps us from staying that way. In our early twenties, the change begins slowly
and by the time we near thirty, we’re vampires. ”

Melanie sank onto the edge of the bed in a daze. The easy
smile that slipped across his face chipped away at her defenses.

“And you’re thirty-five, right?” he asked. “So if you think
about it, technically you’re a cougar.”

She bristled and shook her head. “As if. More like you two
are lecherous old men. How old are you and Rook anyway?”

“I’m one hundred and thirty-four. Rook’s one-hundred and
fifty-two, give or take a few years. He’s not big on birthdays, so I’m not
sure.”

And she thought her last birthday had put her in a bad mood.
Melanie slipped a strand of wet hair behind her ear, smoothing it down. Alec
was almost exactly a hundred years older than her. Still they seemed young. “I
expected you both to be older, being immortal.”

Alec leaned forward, braced his elbows against his knees and
clasped his hands together. “I didn’t say we were immortal. Long-lived is a
better term. We don’t remain vampires forever. We return to being human and
live out the rest of our lives getting old and wrinkled like everyone else.”

“Oh.”

Alec’s dark hair was highlighted with distinguished strands
of gray and his vibrant eyes softened with crinkles at the corners. Melanie
could imagine herself being as attracted to him twenty years from now as she
was today.

“So what age is it when you switch back to human?” She
scooted along the bed until she realized her movement brought her closer to
Alec.

“Age doesn’t matter. It’s when we’re ready to make the
change and we meet the right woman whose blood is so special she can give us
new life again.”

Rook stepped out of the bathroom, looking sexy as ever with
his towel draped precariously low on his hips. She’d never have known he’d been
sick.

“You’re that woman. Your blood initiates the change for both
Alec and me.”

“What?” Her head swam and she gripped the comforter before
she fell off the bed. “Are you serious? My blood?”

She hung her head. Now she understood why they had wanted to
be her consultants. It would have been better if they’d just asked for her
blood instead of romancing her to get it. They’d made her feel like she meant
something to them. Now she realized that they only wanted her to be a blood
donor.

Alec and Rook came and sat beside her. Rook so close she
could smell his mouthwash-freshened breath. His towel parted, giving Melanie a
distracting view of his thigh. She wanted to rub her hand against his taut
flesh and seek his warmth, even as she hurt.

Pitiful.
She breathed in deeply, ashamed of herself.
Maybe the weight she’d lost overnight hadn’t come from her waist but her
backbone?

Rook took her hand and she couldn’t bring herself to pull
away. “You are the reason we want to be human. We’re ready to give up countless
lifetimes for one lifetime—”

“With you, Melanie.” The words rushed from Alec. ”We want to
spend that one precious lifetime with you.”

Their words were epic, life-changing and hard to believe.
Her heart hammered so loud she could barely think. Melanie raised her head and
took turns trying to read their faces. Were they being serious?