Demon of Mine (15 page)

His explanation presented too many
questions. They buzzed through her mind like a swarm of angry bees.
She opened her mouth, not knowing which one would tumble out.
“Unlawful? Vampires have their own laws?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then you have a…vampire
parliament?” She felt the color drain from her cheeks as she
considered, for the first time, the existence of vampires besides
Damon and his family. What strange, unseen world had she been
living in parallel to for all these years, completely ignorant of
its existence?

He chuckled, though there was
tenseness in his short-lived laughter. “Something like
that.”

A heavy silence stretched between
them. Elsie forced herself to take deep, even breaths and
discreetly pinched her thigh through her skirts. Her mouth
tightened and watered in response to the sharp pain. This was not a
dream. God help her, it was real.

“
What is your answer?”
Damon asked, his voice low and strained. “Will you accept my
offer?”

Elsie wanted to throw herself into his
lap, wrap her arms around his neck and say ‘yes’ a thousand times
before he could regain his senses and end this living dream. The
desire was so strong, she almost succumbed. But there was still
something that wasn’t right, something that threatened the bliss
she wanted so badly to embrace. “What about your
fiancé?”

Damon was silent for a moment.
Stunned, no doubt – perhaps even ashamed. Now that she’d reminded
him of his commitment to a doubtlessly more suitable woman, he’d
end this passionate charade.

“
I have no
fiancé.”

Elsie hardly dared to breathe a sigh
of relief as his words washed over her, soaking into her being like
balm. Was that confusion she’d heard in his voice? Real, genuine
surprise?

“
What made you think that I
did?”

Color rapidly flooded Elsie’s cheeks,
forming what must have been a fantastic blush as she dropped her
gaze into her lap. “An idle servants’ rumor, no doubt. I’m
sorry.”

His touch against her cheek was
unexpected and surprisingly gentle. He tucked his fingers under her
chin, guiding her gaze back to his face. “Have you an answer for me
now?”

As she met his eyes, her heart beat so
loudly that he must have heard it. Heat swept through her, starting
where he touched her in the small hollow where her jaw and neck
met. “I’ve just one more question.”

“
Yes?”

“
When you carried me from
the burning house, why didn’t you save my parents too?”

“
I wanted to. But it was
too late.”

She let out the breath she’d been
holding, unsure of whether she should feel relieved or not. Of
course he would’ve saved her parents if it had been possible. He
was not a demon.

“
I’m sorry,” he added.
“I’ve thought of it too, how your heart must have been broken
because I didn’t arrive soon enough.” A hint of bitterness entered
his voice. “Because I failed.”

“
No.” She spoke
automatically, reaching for one of his hands and closing her own
around it. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m grateful for what you
did.”

He didn’t answer. The silence that
followed reminded Elsie of his offer, that he was waiting, and the
almost suffocating sense of dream-like incredulity washed over her
again. “Damon, I would be more than happy to marry you. But I’m
just a housemaid. Your family, what would they—”

He crushed his lips against hers,
pulling her into a tight embrace. His tongue slipped into her
mouth, entwining with hers. The force of his kiss was overwhelming,
irresistible. She melted against him, pressing her breasts against
his chest as his tongue stroked hers. Her nipples were hard,
straining against her clothing and his. Her entire body ached for
him, and she couldn’t help wrapping her arms around his waist and
moaning into his mouth.

When he ended the kiss, her inflamed
lips stung and tingled pleasantly. “Don’t think about that,” he
said. “No more questions. Not now.” He unwrapped his arms from
around her and settled his hands above her elbows, his fingers
denting her flesh as he held her there, looking directly into her
eyes. “Just say ‘yes’, so I know you want what I’m about to do to
you.”

She couldn’t have stopped her answer
from coming to her lips any more than she could have stopped the
moon from glowing in the sky. “Yes.”

He pressed his mouth to hers again,
sliding his tongue past her lips and teeth. She returned his
embrace as he wrapped his arms around her, and almost before she
realized what was happening, they were on the ground.

He lay on top of her, kissing her and
running one hand through her hair. Her scalp prickled where he
touched her, causing her flesh to pebble and her nipples to
tighten. As if he knew what she was feeling, he removed his hand
from her tresses and cupped one of her breasts instead. Heat surged
through her as he kneaded it gently, and she arched her back
against the ground, filling his cupped palm and grinding her hips
against his. Her body seemed to be coming alive, unable to resist
his touch. The longing she’d been enduring since she’d heard him
call her name in his bedroom flooded through her, so strong she
thought she might burst. Only the fact that she knew it was finally
about to be fulfilled made it bearable. Her anticipation was so
heated she almost expected it to singe her clothing from her body,
reducing them to ashes. She’d never felt quite this way before, not
even with Lord Wilkes.

Even through their clothing, she could
feel the hard rod of flesh that strained the front of his
pantaloons. He flexed his hips, pressing it against her belly as he
slipped his fingers beneath the neckline of her dress and pulled it
down, exposing a creamy expanse of cleavage. He stroked the curve
of one mound and tucked a thumb inside, trailing it over the stiff
peak of her nipple. She moaned, and the sound of tearing fabric
rent the air as he gripped the modest neckline and tore it neatly,
baring her breasts.

A shiver of delight ran down her spine
as she peered down at him, where he was bowing his head over the
twin peaks as he caressed them with one hand, massaging her
tingling flesh with just a hint of roughness. Her core tightened as
he slowly lowered his head, closing his mouth around one
nipple.

She gasped and buried a hand in his
hair, closing it in a fist around a handful of dark locks. She held
him there, arching her back against the ground again. A hint of a
groan rose up from his chest as he bit her nipple lightly and then
teased it with his tongue, finally pulling it into his mouth again
and sucking so that she felt the tips of his fangs press against
her skin, denting but not piercing her flesh. As if he’d just
realized how close his teeth were to penetrating her, he raised his
head. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“
No,” she moaned,
tightening her grip on his hair and pulling him back to her chest.
“Don’t stop.”

He seemed more than willing to comply,
lowering his mouth to her breasts again with a sigh that made Elsie
burn with renewed longing. He favored the other one this time,
giving its stiff peak the same rough-and-gentle treatment, sucking
it until Elsie thought the dampness creeping from between her
thighs would soak through her skirts to the ground below. Aching
for more, she reached below and pressed a hand between their hips,
touching his erection.

He groaned as she gripped his cock,
shifting his hips reflexively, grinding it against the palm of her
hand. He lifted his head from her chest, his breath coming in deep
gasps, streaming over her damp nipples. Taking this as
encouragement, she began to undo the buttons of his front-fall,
anxious to feel his stiffness skin-to-skin.

When the last button finally came
free, he slid into her hand, a considerable length of perfect
smoothness. She traced the rounded head of his cock, sweeping her
fingers over it to grip the shaft, sliding down until hair tickled
the side of her palm.

“
Elsie…” He cupped her
breast and squeezed, sighing her name as he sought her mouth with
his.

She met his kiss readily, her mind
swimming with the memories he’d conjured when he’d said her name.
She saw him in vivid detail, sprawled on his bed with his cock in
his hand, stroking it hard as he’d called for her, not knowing that
she’d been in the very same room, watching. Now she moved her hand
in imitation of how he’d pleasured himself them, gripping him
harder than she would have otherwise dared and shoving her hand
from tip to root in one strong stroke.

His groan was almost a growl, and his
entire body tensed against hers. She was reminded of when he’d came
in his bed, of how his seed had gleamed in the firelight as it had
spilled from the thick tip of his cock. Her channel tightened, her
need suddenly so strong it almost hurt. Still gripping him tightly,
she brought her fist back up the length of his erection and forced
it back down again.

He pulled his mouth from hers, still
groaning. She matched his moan as he reached below and lifted her
skirts, sliding them smoothly up over her legs. Her thighs trembled
when his fingers brushed them, baring her from the hips down. A
flush heated her face as his gaze traveled below, studying the
tender flesh that awaited him, slick with her arousal.

Pleasure shot up through her belly
when he lowered a hand between her thighs, his fingers drifting
across her damp folds to find the swollen nub above. She shuddered
as he pressed his thumb against it and began a circular massage,
stroking the curls above with his fingertips. Her fingers were
still wrapped around his cock, though she’d stopped stroking him.
She didn’t have the presence of mind to move her hand, not when her
brain and body were quickly turning to jelly, giving themselves
over to pure erotic sensation.

His voice drifted to her through the
haze of pleasure, low and rough. “Tell me if I hurt
you.”

She shook her head, letting the cool
grass touch her cheek for an instant. His touch felt so good – far
better than anything she’d ever known. It was impossible to imagine
that it could bring her pain.

“
I don’t want that to
happen,” he continued. “I want this to feel so good for you that
the transformation won’t hurt at all.”

She bit her lip as a telltale spasm
tightened her core and wracked her womb, a precursor to the climax
that would come any second now. She’d almost forgotten about the
transformation altogether, lost as she was in the ecstasy his mouth
and hands brought. Now that she recalled the true purpose of their
joining, she couldn’t bring herself to be afraid. She could endure
anything, if he just continued to touch her.

“
Do you like this?” He
applied more pressure against her turgid nub, settling into a deep,
almost biting massage – as if she needed reminding of what he was
referring to.

She groaned and arched her hips in
response, shutting her eyes against the blurry night as waves of
pleasure rolled through her, causing her core to clench
arrhythmically, wringing every last bit of sensation out of her. He
moved his fingertips faster, extending her ecstasy until she
panted, begging him to stop.

When her mind cleared she realized
that he was moaning too, and had closed his hand around hers,
guiding her. She complied, stroking him hard and taking extra
enjoyment in doing so because he joined her, gripping her hand with
surprising strength that conveyed his need. “Now,” she said,
stopping with her hand wrapped around the bottom of his shaft.
“Now, please.”

He settled between her thighs,
shuddering slightly as she removed her hand. He kept his there,
ready to guide his cock inside her. Seeing it sent a thrill through
Elsie, and she knew that the sight of his fingers wrapped around
his thick shaft always would. After all, she’d seen him so the
first time she’d heard him groan her name; the first time she’d
realized that he might harbor more for her than a faint awareness
of her existence. The image was burned into her mind, irrepressibly
erotic and dangerously tempting. “Take me,” she breathed. “I can’t
bear waiting any longer.”

He guided his cock to her cleft,
pressing its rounded tip to her folds. A jolt of anticipatory
pleasure shot through her, tightening her core just as he entered,
sheathing himself with one strong stroke.

She gasped while he did the same,
pausing with his cock buried to the root inside her. “Elsie…” He
groaned, pulling back and sliding inside her again, filling her
completely. She moaned as her body stretched to accommodate him,
not used to his considerable presence. Wrapping her arms around his
neck, she pulled him close and pressed her mouth against his,
desperate to show him how he made her feel.

Their tongues entwined in a rough
imitation of lovemaking, grinding and sliding together, tasting as
much of the other as they possibly could. She felt her lips begin
to swell against his, becoming as inflamed as the rest of her. A
particularly deep stroke jarred their mouths apart as they both
gasped and she tightened her hold around his neck. Her core was
clenching again, and his cock was there this time, a long-awaited
firmness against her tightening flesh. She would peak again soon.
Gasping for breath, she met Damon’s eyes. He was close enough that
she could see them in a close semblance of clarity. His pupils were
enormous, their blackness swallowing the dark irises beneath his
hooded lids. “Damon…”