Her Vampire Mate (8 page)

“So that’s how he makes his living?”

“For the most part. I’ve seen some evidence that he also does some detective work but he’s not licensed or anything, so it’s likely it’s related to criminal activities. So you two have talked? Are you getting along better?”

“I guess. But it’s not like he’s agreed to accept me.”

“We’re not going to let you go mad. We’ll find a way.”

“That’s what Darius said.”

“It’ll be okay, Jennalynn. One way or another.” Killion broke off, then said, “Here’s Darius now. Ready to give an update?”

The waitress approached Jennalynn’s table. “Just let me order my food first.”

Jennalynn ordered, then told Darius and Killion about the progress she and Antonio had made. She’d finished by the time her food arrived, so they hung up.

An assassin, eh? She supposed she should be horrified but Antonio was right. Killing for money, for survival, wasn’t so different from killing for rank. And hadn’t he said something about scruples? She’d have to ask him about that.

In the meantime, she really needed to figure out what she wanted from him. No doubt as soon as she got back to the hotel he’d want to take her to bed. If she couldn’t handle that, the best thing to do would be to stay away. What did she want?

Chapter 8

When it became clear that Jennalynn wasn’t coming back anytime soon, Antonio stripped down to his boxer briefs and tried to get some sleep. But everything made him think of her. He could still smell the scent of her in the air. Her sweet taste lingered in his mouth. Even the damned rough cotton of the sheets made him think of how soft her skin was in comparison. He lay on the bed, cock hard as a rock, and listened for the slightest sound that she might be returning.

He must have finally drifted off because the next thing he knew, he heard the electrical ping of the door’s lock then the faint screech as the door swung open. He rolled onto his side and looked at her.

Standing in the doorway, Jennalynn immediately met his eyes. Then her gaze drifted lower, taking in his bare shoulders and arms and lingering on the hand that lay against his blanket-covered thigh. She swallowed hard.

“You’re allowed to touch,” he said softly. “Join me.”

“I still haven’t decided if I should or not.” She stepped inside and let the door swing shut.

“Tell me the pros and cons and I’ll help you decide.”

She laughed, a choked, dry-edged laugh. “I can guess which side you’ll push for.”

“I have a bias. Sue me. Now tell me what it is that’s in your head.”

She remained standing. “Part of me wants to ravish you.” As her gaze traced over his body, he nearly shivered. “I want to touch every inch of your body, kiss you and lick you and mark you so every other woman in the world knows you’re mine.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “And part of me is scared to death that letting you get any closer will make it that much worse when you walk away.”

“I might not walk away.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If you’re my soulmate, there’s no way I’m leaving you.”

She licked her lips and he had to hold himself back from leaping across the room to kiss her. “You mentioned something about soulmates before. I thought you were just talking.”

“Come closer.”

“Closer is dangerous.”

He made a noise low in his throat.

Jennalynn grabbed a chair and hauled it almost within reach then sat down. “I hope that wasn’t supposed to be a growl.”

“Humans can growl.”

She leaned forward. “You want to hear a growl, I’ll give you a growl. But first, answer my question.”

God, he adored her. And he could spar with her all day. But she was right; she needed an answer. “Vampires have soulmates. It’s a little like your mates except we don’t get quite as clear a message about who they are. Some vampires know as soon as they see their soulmate. Many more know for sure once they’ve had sex.” He paused. “Others don’t know until they’ve shared blood.”

She shivered. “Putting the blood part aside, you’re saying that you didn’t recognize me as yours when you first saw me but if we sleep together, you might.”

“That’s right. Can you think of any better reason for you to crawl under the covers with me?”

She licked her lips again. “What are you wearing under there?”

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?”

“Yeah, I would.” She took a breath. “But we’re not done talking. You’re also saying we might sleep together and you still wouldn’t be sure because you wouldn’t have had my blood.”

Ah, his smart woman. Too smart, maybe. “Would fate be that cruel to us?”

“If fate were being kind, you’d have known me from the start.”

“I’ve felt very drawn to you. But not certain. Not yet.” He held his hand out. “You want this as much as I do. Why hold back?” When she didn’t take his hand, he said, “Bellissima, I’m not going to let you die. If you’re not my soulmate, we can still be friends.”

She let out a sound somewhere between a cry and a ‘humph’ and stood. “Friends. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You must be near your mate in order to live, right? If we’re friends, that would take care of the problem.” He didn’t mention that he had every intention of having benefits with their friendship, if that’s what it came to. “Why do you keep holding back?”

She paced over to the mirror and stood, staring at herself, her fingers threaded in her hair. “I told you.”

Enough. He climbed out of bed and moved to stand behind her.

She let out a little scream. “How do you move so fast?”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s a vampire thing.”

They looked good together in the mirror. He was darker than she was—darker hair, darker skin, darker soul. Yet together they fit.

He rubbed down her arms to take both her hands in his. “Sex with me will not be bad, amore.”

She leaned back against him, her eyes meeting his in the mirror. “I have no doubt. Sex between mates is supposed to be the most amazing, explosive, deliriously mind-blowing sex there is.”

He kissed her neck, his lips brushing against the artery beating lightly under her skin. “Then why hesitate? You know already that sleeping with me will be the best you ever had. Are you afraid I’ll spoil you for someone else?”

“There is no one else.” Her voice sounded so soft it was almost a whisper. “Once a wolf finds her mate, there’s no one else ever again.”

This time when he looked at her in the mirror, he knew what he was seeing. His woman. Whether she was his soulmate or not, she was his.

Still holding her hands in his, he curled his arms around her waist. “Trust me. I won’t hurt you. Tonight or ever.”

Her lower lip moved upward in the middle, just for a second, and he knew she didn’t believe him. Nevertheless, her hands gripped his. After a moment, he hugged her tighter and pressed his lips against her shoulder.

“Okay,” she said softly. “Okay.”

He could barely contain the excitement—hell, it was joy—that welled up in him. He’d never felt like this at just the thought of sleeping with a woman. She was special. He could picture himself being friends with benefits with her for a good long time.

Antonio turned Jennalynn to face him and cupped her cheeks. He rubbed his thumbs along her cheekbones. “You’re beautiful.”

“I’m a tomboy.”

“You’re my kind of beautiful. Down to earth and incredibly sexy.” Her eyes drifted closed as he kissed her forehead, then each of her eyelids, then her cheekbones and finally her lips. He started with soft kisses against her mouth, pulling back each time she tried to deepen it. Then he lengthened each kiss, some of them harder, some of them with just the smallest swipe of tongue against hers.

Jennalynn growled. “You’re teasing me.”

“That’s on purpose.” His words vibrated against her lips. “Now, hush.” He kissed her only a few moments more before giving in to what they both wanted. He slid his tongue into her mouth and stroked, coaxing her to open to him, which she did without hesitation.

Jennalynn ran her hands up his back then down again. He shivered at the feel of her skin against his bare flesh.

Antonio swept her into his arms and strode toward the bed, still kissing her. He knew if he let up for one second, she’d have second thoughts. So he wouldn’t let her. She’d made her decision and he was holding her to it.

He laid her on her back and pressed into her, their bodies matching like jigsaw puzzles fitting together. Lips to lips, hands to hands, groin to groin. He pulled her hands over her head, their fingers twined together, while he continued to kiss her.

Jennalynn rolled her hips upward against his and wrapped her legs around his waist, her ankles resting against his butt. Then she squeezed, pulling his cock even tighter against her. He squeezed her hands and nipped lightly at her full lower lip.

As much as he didn’t want to move one single inch, he also wanted her damned clothes off. He wanted her skin.

He pulled his hands from hers, dragging his down her arms toward her torso. When he reached her waist, he pushed her shirt upward and felt her soft stomach with his fingertips.

With a groan, he pushed himself to his knees between her legs. “Time for your clothes to come off.”

She rose to her elbows as he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. When he tugged on the waistband, she lifted her butt so he could pull her pants and panties down to her thighs. Then she raised her legs in the air and he yanked her jeans off the rest of the way and tossed them across the room.

While she sat up the rest of the way to pull off her jacket, shirt and bra, he crawled backward just a little to kneel at her feet. “Take your hair out of the braid. I want to see it.”

As she did, he peeled off her socks. Then his hands rubbed her ankles and moved steadily upward as he took a good look at her.

“What legs,” he murmured. “What breasts. You’re more beautiful than the Venus de Milo.”

She finger-brushed her hair and let it spill over one shoulder, then leaned back on her elbows. “You still have some clothing on.”

“Was that a complaint?”

“It was.” Her small, pert breasts sat eagerly on her chest, their tips light pink and hard.

His hands stroked her calves, feeling the muscle under the soft skin. “Perhaps it’s for your safety.” He saw more muscle throughout her body—in her shoulders, her arms, her softly rounded stomach, her powerful thighs.

“My safety. How so?” Her gaze moved up and down his body, almost palpably.

“If I took them off, I might jump on you and ravish you, instead of taking my time as I wish to.”

What interested him most about his sensual Venus was the sweet pink flesh peeking at him from the apex of her legs. He moved his hands upward, rubbing the insides of her thighs and pushing them just a little farther apart on each stroke.

She moved one foot against his calf. “It’s not fair you get to look and I’ve only got half a view.”

“It’s perfectly fair. Women are the ones who are beautiful, who are to be worshipped. My body is merely a means to do that worshipping. Whereas yours…yours is stunning.”

Her head fell back. “Is this what it will be like to be mated to a Renaissance Man?”

He chuckled as he inched forward so he could reach her upper thighs. “Cute.”

He pushed her legs apart, revealing her pretty pussy, the neatly trimmed hairs damp with her arousal. He opened his mouth to remark about how amazing it felt to receive oral sex quickly followed by a bite to the femoral artery then remembered her fears about blood. He’d have to save that comment for another time.

Instead, he leaned closer, sucking in the scent of her as though breathing in sustenance. The things this woman did to him.

Jennalynn lay back and rolled her hips, giving him better access. He hadn’t even licked her yet but already her breathing sounded ragged.

“Stop torturing me, vampire.”

He moved closer to her. “There is enjoyment in anticipation.”

She groaned. “Right now I want the enjoyment of
action
.”

And that was Jennalynn. He put his mouth on her pussy, letting his tongue slide languidly across her folds while he applied just the slightest bit of suction.

Her legs shook as she let out a long moan. Her juices flowed and he sucked them into his mouth, imagining it was her blood, her sweet fluids, all his.

Antonio gripped her hips and pulled himself closer to her, if that were possible. Then he devoured her as he stroked the area just above her pussy with his fingers, gently rubbing against the very topmost part of her clit.

The sounds coming from his woman were glorious. Breathy gasps, moans, tiny little cries. The sounds alone had him hard as granite and he hadn’t even given her her first orgasm yet.

Her hands fisted in the sheets, her hips pushing upwards against him as her body coiled tight and prepared to let loose. He increased everything—the suction, the pressure of his fingers, the speed of his tongue. Her breath became ragged and then broke just as her body erupted in shudders that he felt all through her lower body.