Claiming the Vampire (13 page)

But her body wasn’t rebelling against the weight of Hawk on top of her. There was a rightness to it, like the visceral satisfaction of fitting two puzzle pieces together.

At first she was simply still, absorbing the feel and scent and weight of him. But gradually she became aware of a strange alchemy inside her.

All the stiffness and rigidity began to leach out of her body, softening her muscles and making her…pliant. She wanted to soften more. She wanted to open, even though she wasn’t sure what that meant. She wanted to arch her head back and expose her throat.

And then she felt something else. As that strange yearning whispered through her, Hawk’s body began to harden.

Waves of sensation rolled through her. The long, thick ridge of his erection felt like a secret, like a lodestone. Her stomach muscles began to tighten and release in a rhythmic surge.

She realized she was trying to open her legs. And as she pushed urgently against him Hawk shifted, releasing her lower body.

The relief was as intense as pleasure. She spread her legs wider than she needed to as Hawk settled between her thighs, and she almost moaned out loud as his erection pressed directly against the place that ached for him.

But she didn’t moan. She didn’t make a sound. She was afraid to do anything that might break the spell, because then they’d have to stop. And she didn’t want to stop.

Maybe Hawk felt the same way, because he didn’t make a sound either. But he began to move, subtly, pulling back ever so slightly and then pressing against her, over and over.

She’d never felt like this before. Never needed something so much. Her whole being seemed to be centered where their bodies were joined, the pressure and friction making her wet at the juncture of her thighs.

The wetness made her feel vulnerable, as though a veneer of civilization were being stripped away, leaving her raw and wild and aching.

Her body wanted to move in new ways, with new intentions. A kind of sinuousness was blossoming in her bones and she found herself arching her back, pressing her breasts against the wall of Hawk’s chest. And as she arched she pressed her feet against the ground so she could lift her hips, rubbing against the hardness that tantalized her.

The silence was finally broken as Hawk groaned. She froze for a second, afraid it was all over as he pulled back, supporting his weight on his arms as he looked down at her.

He searched her eyes for a long minute. “You’re afraid,” he said finally, his voice gruff. He started to pull away even further.

“No!” she cried out, wrapping her legs around his hips and clutching at his shoulders.

He went still. Jessica heard her own breath coming in short, quick pants, and felt the throbbing of her pulse at the vulnerable places of her body. Hawk’s eyes were black as night as he stared down at her, but she saw the glitter of fire in their depths.

“Jess,” he whispered. And then he brought his mouth down on hers.

His kiss wrapped her in dark velvet, thick and sweet and decadently rich. His tongue slid into her mouth and she opened to him eagerly. He explored her with rough hunger, tasting her thoroughly before pulling back so he could kiss her throat.

Once his lips touched her there she never wanted him to stop. He dragged his mouth across her throat again and again, every sweep of his lips making her quiver. His tongue found the beat of her pulse, and her body twisted in sudden excitement.

The bristles on his jaw abraded her skin, and she hoped it left a mark. She wanted him to leave her raw.

And then he stopped, suddenly, and she felt a shudder go through his body. She opened her eyes and saw that his were closed.

His lips peeled back and she saw his fangs. The sight did something to her, something so primal she almost howled out loud. But Hawk’s expression was tortured, and she knew he was trying desperately to control himself.

The only sound was the thundering of her heart and the rough cadence of her breath. She reached out a trembling hand and touched the tip of a finger to one of his fangs, and his eyes flew open.

She looped an arm around his neck and tried to pull him down towards her. When he stayed rigid, unmoving, she used the leverage to pull herself up. Then she touched her tongue to his teeth, sensing with a thrill of excitement that his incisors were sharper and more deadly than any arrow she’d ever made.

And still Hawk didn’t move. She let her tongue trail over his fangs, tasting him delicately, carefully, knowing instinctively that if she drew her own blood it would unleash something they weren’t ready for. And then she pulled herself closer, and fitted her mouth to his.

She felt his growl as much as she heard it, and then he was easing her back down to the ground, his hands framing her face with desperate gentleness, his thumbs stroking her cheeks as their tongues tangled together. And his fangs retracted.

After a minute his hands moved from her face to her neck, and he searched out the tender places behind her ears and at her pulse points and below her collar bones. His hands slid down her torso, his thumbs brushing the sides of her breasts.

One of his hands went lower, to her hip, and then slid beneath her to cup her bottom.

She gasped. He was using his powerful hand to lift her against him, to press their bodies even closer together. Her lower body was suspended an inch or two above the ground as he ground his erection against her, and the feeling of helplessness was more arousing than anything she’d ever felt. Her thighs felt hollow as she writhed against him, and he growled against her mouth before he broke their kiss and released her body, letting her down to the ground again.

She didn’t have time to miss the closeness. Because as he shifted his weight to settle beside her, his hand went to the fly of her jeans.

She stopped breathing. Her heart beat frantically against her ribs. But then he stopped, and met her eyes.

“Has anyone ever touched you here?”

She didn’t think she could speak, so she just shook her head. Heat bloomed through her body as she shivered with anticipation.

“Jess, I…don’t want to hurt you. Or scare you.”

He wouldn’t. But she couldn’t say the words, couldn’t tell him how much she wanted this. She just stared at him helplessly, willing him to understand what she was feeling.

He leaned closer, his eyes on hers. “Jess, if this is okay…just nod. Can you do that for me?”

Yes. Yes.

She nodded so vigorously that he gave a low, shaky laugh. “God, Jess.” The muscles of his throat jumped as he swallowed. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

Then he leaned down to give her a quick, hard kiss. And she felt his fingers open the top button of her jeans.

Her stomach muscles tensed with excitement, and Hawk broke the kiss to look down at her again. “Still okay?” he asked roughly.

Another nod reassured him, and then he wasn’t looking at her face anymore. Both of them were watching his hand as he lowered her zipper and slid his hand inside, over the thin cotton of her panties.

A small whimper escaped her at the press of his cool fingers against her hot skin, even with the layer of material between them. He stroked her softly, shaping the cotton to the folds of her body. His fingers continued to caress as his thumb settled higher, at the place she’d touched herself a few times when she was younger, trying to bring herself to that mysterious thing called orgasm. She’d given up after a few failed attempts, deciding that sexuality was overrated.

How could he know her body so much better than she did? How could he touch her with so much intimate knowledge? He circled the nub of sensation until she moaned, and then zeroed in quick and hard until she was writhing against his hand.

Something was building inside her, a coiling tension that made her shameless.

“Please,” she heard herself gasp as a flood of moisture soaked her panties.

He felt it, too. “Christ, Jess…I have to…” And then his fingers were sliding under her panties, right against her bare skin, and she was so slick and wet that the friction was like silk on silk.

“
Fuck
,” he whispered, trailing the tip of his middle finger along the seam of her body until she felt her flesh part in helpless surrender, felt a breath of coolness on her most vulnerable places as Hawk traced her there, over and over, his touch drawing more and more honey from her until it felt like she was liquefying into luxurious sensation.

But it wasn’t enough. She
needed
. She needed so powerfully that her body surged against Hawk’s hand until with a rough growl he plunged one finger deep inside her.

Yes
.

It felt so right to have him inside her, even though this wasn’t the invasion she really craved. But her muscles clenched around his finger as he stroked in and out, his thumb working magic on her clitoris with every thrust.

There was a roaring in her ears. Her body coiled tighter and tighter until she thought she might shatter, or die.

“Hawk!”

She cried out his name as she broke apart, her body going boneless as she shuddered against him, the pleasure so intense it seemed to remake her flesh, unraveling and knitting her together again, layering sensation upon sensation until every cell reverberated with it.

“
Jess
.”

Hawk’s voice was ragged and harsh, like he’d been running. When her eyes fluttered open she found him looking down at her.

He’d pulled his finger from her body but his hand was still on her, his cool palm covering her quivering flesh. There was something so possessive in the way he touched her and looked at her that her breath caught in her throat.

“Hawk, I want…”

“What?” he asked softly, his eyes glittering.

“To make you feel the way you made me feel. I want to touch you.”

He clenched his teeth so hard a muscle at the corner of his jaw jumped, and she knew he was trying to keep his demon in check.

“Anything you want,” he said huskily, pulling his hand from her panties. She glanced around them to be sure no one was near, but the park was deserted and they were concealed in a grove of trees and bushes far from the main path. Reassured, she rolled on her side to face him, letting her eyes rove down his hard, powerful body.

She reached out hesitantly and slid a hand under the hem of his black tee shirt, feeling a thrum of pleasure when she stroked over his hard abdomen and up to the smooth muscles of his chest. She pushed his shirt out of the way impatiently, wanting to feel more of him.

He tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

When he came back to her she pushed gently on his shoulder until he lay flat on his back, and then she rose up on her knees so she could feel him with both hands.

She ran her palms over his cool skin, loving the way his muscles twitched at her touch. She could tell he was controlling himself with difficulty, and seeing this powerful vampire holding back for her was unbearably arousing.

She couldn’t get enough of his body. His chest…his shoulders…every muscle on his body was strong as steel.

Then she let her hands drift lower, down to the waistband of his jeans.

Once she was looking down there, it was impossible to take her eyes off the bulge she’d felt before. She undid his top button as he’d undone hers, and when she saw he was naked under his jeans she lowered his zipper very carefully, afraid to catch the tines against his skin.

His burgeoning erection spilled out into her hands, and he groaned.

She held him in one hand and touched him with the other. He was thick and heavy and impossibly hard, but the skin was so smooth…she let her fingertips trail over the length of him, feeling a rush of pleasure at the guttural sound he made.

The skin on his shaft was softer than silk and the color of honey. The head was a little darker, the skin there a little rougher, and when she ran the pad of her thumb over it a drop of pearly liquid appeared at the tip.

She realized suddenly that she wanted to taste him. She leaned over slowly, to give him time to stop her if this was something he didn’t want, and she paused for a moment when she felt his thighs and stomach muscles tense. But he didn’t say or do anything else, and so she gripped the base of him in her hand and took his swollen head into her mouth.

The flavor went to her head like absinthe. She swirled her tongue down and around and felt him shudder. He slid a hand into her hair. She took him a little deeper and she heard him growl as his hand fisted involuntarily, and something about that sharp tug sent a thrill of excitement through her.

She wished she knew what she was doing. Her knowledge of male sexuality came mostly from the Cosmo magazines her mother’s ladies-in-waiting read, and from snatches of ribald conversation she’d heard over the years. Should she keep going until he—

“Jess. Sweetheart. You have to stop.”

She pulled back immediately. “Did I do something wrong?”

He reached for her shoulders and pulled her towards him, tugging until she was lying across his chest, her hair spilling over him. “Christ, no. But I don’t want to come like that. Not the first time. Not with you. I want—” He stopped abruptly.

“What?” she asked after a moment. Her heart was pounding, and she knew he could feel it.

His eyes were tinged with yellow, but he was keeping his fangs at bay. “I want to be inside you. I want to fuck you.”

He said it deliberately, as if he wanted to paint his hunger as crudely as possible, to leave no doubt as to what he wanted from her.

A flood of arousal made her dizzy. When she spoke, her voice was shaking. “How do I…what do I…”

His hands gripped her harder. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. Yes. But I don’t know what to—”

“On your back.”

He didn’t give her time to comply on her own. He flipped her over and landed on top of her, supporting his weight on his arms.

“I want to see all of you,” he growled, his eyes on her breasts.

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, and when she tossed it aside only her cotton bra hid her from Hawk’s view. She was reaching behind her to undo the clasp when Hawk asked, “What’s this?” and reached a hand towards her.