Passion Follows Pain (Passion Series Book 3) (7 page)

His hand still cupped my cheek, his skin surprisingly cool to the touch as I stood frozen, unsure what to do. I knew I had to pull away, this was wrong, a man was kissing me. His lips were moving over mine, so gently, so carefully which was surprising. I’d never experienced anything like it before.

Father had never kissed me like this. He’d been rough, his lips hard on mine, his tongue, god, I shuddered just thinking about it, his tongue forced roughly into my mouth.

This was different with Lucian, so different. He began to nibble his way along my bottom lip as he increased the pressure, subtly, gently. I wasn’t even aware of it at first, but something about his touch, his scent that rose around me, and those lips, made mine part in response. I felt his tongue enter my mouth and I gasped against his lips. This was so different. This wasn’t awful or frightening. It wasn’t revolting.  

A shiver coursed through me, starting at my feet and working its way up to my lips at the sensations I was experiencing. Why was this so different to Father’s kiss? Why did this not repulse me? Why was I still standing here, letting him do this to me?

Suddenly Lucian groaned, a soft sound that vibrated through him and into me and I tensed for a moment. Nothing happened though, he just continued to kiss me, his tongue moving licking slowly over mine and I felt something start up in my belly, low down, a feeling of heat which began to spread, moving up towards my chest and down between my legs. Oh my god, what was happening to me?

I felt Lucian shift, step closer, his body against mine. He was so tall, firm, muscular, his stomach flat, nothing like father’s which had been large and soft, hanging over the belt of his pants. Lucian smelled absolutely divine, beautiful, intoxicating and my nostrils flared, breathing in more of that wonderful scent that was all him. Again, he was so different to father who always smelled of sweat and alcohol.

It was only when he suddenly slipped an arm around me, dragging my body close to his that I tensed. When I felt the hard ridge in his jeans and knew that he was excited, that he wanted me, finally panic clawed its way through the pleasant fog that surrounded me. I ripped my lips from his, tearing myself from his arms, and cried. “NO!” Backing hastily away from him, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts as I eyed him nervously.

He stood there, not breathing hard at all compared to my near panting and he looked calm, surprisingly calm until my troubled gaze met his and I could see the lust burning in his eyes which he was obviously struggling to contain.   

“I have to go.” I mumbled and turned away from him, desperate suddenly to get as far from him as I could. If I wasn’t sure before that Lucian was dangerous, I was now. I let him kiss me, how could I have done that? Father would tell me there was a name for girls like me. To make it worse, I’d felt something, feelings inside me unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I had to go, now. I had to get away from this man.

“Arissa, don’t go.” He called to me as I started hurrying away.

“I have to. Good bye Lucian.” I didn’t bother slowing down as I answered him.

“Don’t forget. One week, you have one week to get back to me. Please don’t disappoint me.” He said, his voice soft and cajoling which made me pause briefly.  The warmth of his tone flowed over me, tugging at me, making me want to go back to him, but I ignored the feeling and hurried back towards Daisy’s home, dragging poor Milo after me.

Lucian

When she was gone from sight Lucian cursed under his breath. His whole body ached desperately. Fuck he wanted her and now that he’d kissed her without mind control and felt her slim, delicate body against his, he wanted her even more.

“Fuck it, fuck women.” He swore, adjusting his cock that strained up so hard in his jeans he worried he might do himself an injury. He needed something, he needed sex, blood but fuck it, he needed her, he wanted Arissa.

With a glance around to be sure he was alone, he hit the shadows and rushed home; making sure he wouldn’t be seen since he was moving at a speed which would make it obvious he wasn’t human.

He let himself in the house and rushed down the corridor past the living room, barely acknowledging his sire and Sirene before heading for his bedroom. Adrian was just coming out of his room but Lucian gave him nothing more than a nod of his head before brushing past him and into his room, shutting the door behind him.

He’d barely stepped inside when there was a knock at the door and Fabian entered. Typical of his sire, he didn’t wait to be invited, he just let himself in.

“Sire.” He said, running a hand impatiently through his hair. He just wanted him gone so he could shower and do something to relieve the ache that Arissa had left him with.

“What is wrong my son. I may seem distracted with Sirene and what has happened to Adrian, helping him to adjust to life as an adult and vampire, but I am not so busy that I haven’t been aware that something is troubling you. I can smell a woman on you and I see that you are in urgent need of some sexual relief.” His eyes dropped to Lucian’s groin. “Who is this woman that is quite obviously causing you great frustration?”

Lucian sighed, massaging the back of his neck as he paced restlessly in front of Fabian. “It’s the woman from across the road.” He finally said.

“Woman? That old lady, Mrs Appleby isn’t it?”

“The old woman’s broken her leg and hired a young girl to take care of her, housework, meals, whatever the old lady needs. Arissa’s the woman helping Mrs Appleby. She’s extremely desirable sire but something isn’t right with her. She’s very shy, timid; she’s terrified of me most of the time. It’s taken me weeks to get her to the point where she’s not running away from me.” He sighed again. “Well, she wasn’t until I kissed her tonight, which panicked her and she ran home. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I want her so badly, I need her, I have to have her sire. She’s driving me crazy.”

“Why have you not mind controlled her son and then you could take her and take her as often as you want. She won’t even know.” He narrowed his eyes at Lucian. “Oh, I see now. You care for this woman don’t you?  She is getting inside you isn’t she?” Fabian straightened. “You always were the more sensitive one. You might be vampire but you have a heart, like Dominick. You have a capacity to love. Not all vampires do. Look how long it took me to love. You are young; you were only 25 years old when I turned you. You had led a sheltered life in the country. Despite the years you’ve spent as vampire and the number of women you have fucked your way through, largely with your brother Damien leading you with him, you have retained a sense of decency about you. You have a heart and this is why you are allowing this woman to do this to you and not just take what you want. Have you not mind controlled her at all?”

“The night I met her, I did, just briefly. I had to get close to her, to kiss her. She’s so beautiful sire. You should see her but I don’t know how to get past her walls. She’s damaged and I suspect it’s something to do with her father. It sounds like he was controlling and kept her sheltered, locked away. I suspect she is an innocent. I don’t know what to do. I’ve asked her to come out with me next Saturday, and to give me the week to consider it, and not just dismiss my request without thinking it over first. She will most likely say no but I have to try. I...I want to buy her something to wear. She has very few clothes and nothing pretty or feminine. Her father wouldn’t allow nice clothes she told me. He was determined to keep her his little girl and not allow her to grow I suspect.” He shrugged.

“Hmmm, I am most curious to meet this girl now Lucian. I would like to see what is going on with her. I suspect there is more to her than even you realise. I would like to walk with you and her one evening, perhaps bring Sirene to make her feel more at ease. It is quite a woman that can do to you, what she is doing. You are very frustrated aren’t you?” A hint of a smile curved Fabian’s lips. “Now I will leave you alone to do whatever it was that you were intending to do.” His eyes dropped to Lucian’s erection. “Be sure to feed son and don’t let this girl distract you from that. You might be able to use alternative methods to relieve your sexual desire, but you can’t find a substitute for blood so be sure to feed.” He warned before walking from the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Once Fabian was gone, Lucian stripped out of his clothes, hissing through his teeth when his painfully erect cock slapped him in the stomach. He walked through to the bathroom and turned on the taps to his shower, waiting as the water reached temperature and just as he was about to step under the spray from his duel shower heads, he felt hands close around him, one curling around his hard shaft.

He tensed before pulling away from the hands and turned to face the woman he knew it would be, Francesca. “What do you want? I was about to have a shower, you can leave me alone.” He snapped, tired of the constant interruptions now.

“Fabian sent me. He thought I could help you out. He seems to be convinced you will lock yourself in here, like a sulking child because you can’t have what you want, probably jerk off and not go out to feed.” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “He’s right too isn’t he?”

“I don’t need your help and Fabian had no right interfering. I’m fine, I can handle this myself.”

Fran snickered. “I have no doubt you can handle this yourself.” She squeezed his cock and he flinched. “Stop acting all indignant and let me help you.”         

“I don’t want to fuck you. Are you going to make me fuck you because if you do, I’m telling you now, I’m going to imagine you’re someone else.” He said, not caring if he hurt her feelings. He just wanted his blood sister to leave him alone.

She stripped out of her clothes until she stood naked before him and Lucian couldn’t deny that she was beautiful with her slim body and gentle curves, but she wasn’t Arissa.

“Come on brother dearest.” She hauled him into the shower and curled her hand around him again, working him in and out of her firm grip.    

He groaned, desperate for release and with a growl of both frustration and resignation, he turned Fran until she was against the tiles and with his hands around her waist, biting into her soft skin, he lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, her hands tunnelling into his hair and with his eyes shut so he couldn’t see her face, he thrust up into her.

Lucian didn’t bother trying to make fucking Fran good for her, he didn’t care. He was using her pure and simple. She knew that of course, he’d told her before he started to fuck her. He began to drive into her hard and fast, his head filled with the memory of kissing Arissa, the smell of her, the softness of her skin, her lips and the feel of her slender body against his.

“Oh god, fuck, fuck.” He cried out as he exploded, pumping his release into Francesca. With a snarl his fangs descended and he buried them in her neck, feeding from her, swallowing her blood hungrily until she cried out and he felt her orgasm, her body coming apart around him.

When the last tremors left his body and his cock had stopped twitching and jerking inside her, Lucian pulled out of her and slowly opened his eyes. “Please leave Fran. Thank you, I think, but leave please.” He said his tone almost weary. He was tired, angry, frustrated that he’d given in so easily to her, finding release in her when it wasn’t even her he wanted.

Fortunately she did as he asked, something that didn’t happen very often with her, and she left him, drying herself off before dressing again and leaving him.

With a sigh he turned back under the warm spray and washed her from his body cursing his weakness for giving in and fucking her. He hadn’t wanted her, he’d used her for some sexual relief but it left him feeling restless, unsettled.

He wanted Arissa. It should have been her sweet cunt he’d just come inside of, her body he’d held under the spray, it should have been her arms and legs around him instead of Francesca’s. Angry with himself and his lack of control he leaned his head against the tiles of the shower and closed his eyes, his body bowed in defeat.

Chapter Five

Arissa

I never said anything to Daisy about that night, two evenings ago when Lucian had kissed me. I felt too ashamed of my behaviour. I was free of my father’s physical presence but the control he’d had over me then still controlled me now. Everything he’d ever said to me came back to haunt me and left me feeling confused and shaken.  

I sensed that Daisy knew something was going on with me. I’d catch her watching me when she thought I wasn’t looking, but I knew she was. Each day my mind was full of Lucian’s question and what my answer would be. I knew what it would be of course. It had to be no. I couldn’t go out with him, it would be a mistake. No matter how beautiful he seemed to me, I couldn’t let him get close.

The truth finally came out when on the third day into the week there was a knock at the door and when I hurried to answer it, a courier stood with a large flat box in his arms. I called Daisy but the courier said the package was for me and I signed, staring at it suspiciously.

“Well don’t just stand there child, open the box? Were you expecting anything?”

“No. No one knows I’m here so I can’t imagine what would be sent to me and who would send it.” I continued to stare at it almost like I was waiting for it to blow up in my face or something.

“Come on, don’t keep an old lady waiting, open the box. Goodness me, I think I’m more excited to see what’s inside than you are.” She said and I looked up into Daisy’s enthusiastic face.