Demon of Mine (19 page)

“
Of course I’ll take these
things off,” he breathed. “I intended to in the beginning, but you
proved quite the distraction.” He rose to his knees and pulled his
shirt over his head, tossing it aside.

A shiver of appreciation raced through
Elsie as she took in the firm lines of his lean muscles, defined
beneath his creamy skin. His torso narrowed from broad shoulders to
a flat, tight stomach that begged to be touched. Rising to her own
knees and reaching out, she touched a hand to his collarbone,
tracing its length before letting her fingers drift to the small
bud of a nipple below. She used her palms to explore his slick
abdominal planes, reveling in the feel of his muscles shifting
subtly beneath her touch as he breathed. After a few moments, she
lowered her hands to his hips, tracing the sloping lines of muscle
that narrowed to the thick base of his cock. Closing one hand
around it, she shut her eyes and remembered the way he’d looked
with his own fist wrapped around his shaft.

He groaned, calling her back to the
present. Opening her eyes, she took in the sight of his body again,
appreciating every line and angle just as much as she had a moment
ago, as well as when she’d admired his half-naked form from behind
the dressing screen. Relinquishing her hold on his erection, she
slipped her fingers into his snug pantaloons, reaching for what she
hadn’t seen yet. In her mind’s eye, she could imagine the lean
lengths of his legs and the tight curve of his backside. Indeed,
she’d admired it many a time as she’d watched him stroll down a
hallway, oblivious to her stare. But this was different. She could
touch him. He was hers. Her heart skipped a beat as he began to
peel off the form-fitting garment.

His legs were as long and lean as
they’d looked beneath his clothing, and his bottom just as perfect.
She pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around his
waist, smoothing her hands over his backside. His erection dug into
her belly, caught between their bodies. He cradled her face in his
hands and tilted it upward, pressing a kiss hard against her lips.
She opened her mouth for him, tasting his sweetness again as his
tongue slid over hers.

His cock was so firm against her belly
that she quivered, aware of the dampness that crept from her body
as she imagined it plunging into her. His tongue tangled and
twisted with hers, bringing to mind images of their joined,
writhing bodies. She could still feel the rose garden’s cool grass
tickling the small of her back, could still smell the perfume of
crushed petals. Her core clenched at the memories, and when he
leaned his weight against her she fell back eagerly against the
mattress, opening her thighs to allow him to settle between
them.

He slid inside her with a low moan,
causing her to sigh and shudder as he stretched her to her limit.
Their mouths were still pressed together, their tongues still
entwined. He rocked his hips, plunging into her again. Her core
tightened around his pressing cock, sending flames of heat up to
lick at her belly. She grasped the firm planes of his backside and
pulled him deeper in, satisfied only when he made a sound that was
half-moan and half-growl and drove himself into her again with a
hard thrust. Her gasp broke the seal of their kiss.

“
Am I pleasing you?” he
asked, as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

She panted and nodded as he strained
his hips against hers, relishing a wave of heat that rolled through
her womb as he pressed the tip of his cock against it.

“
I’ve done this a thousand
times in my dreams,” he said, pulling back for another thrust. She
sighed at the sudden emptiness and gasped when he filled her again,
holding her gaze with his even as her suddenly heavy lids
threatened to fall shut, plunging her into a blind world of pure
sensation. “I’d try to imagine the silky, heated feel of your
body.” He thrust again, slowly this time. “And the sounds you’d
make when I’d drive my cock into you, as deep as it would go.” He
flexed his hips, pressing hard into her in demonstration. “But it’s
all so much better than I imagined.” He pressed a hand to one of
her breasts and cupped it, teasing the nipple with his thumb until
it shrank to a tiny bud. “The best part is that you love me. I
never dared to imagine that.”

“
Why?” she panted, digging
her nails into his backside and bracing herself for the next
mind-melting stroke. God knew he could have any woman he wanted,
and if he’d wanted her, then why hadn’t he dared to imagine that
she’d return his affection?

He shrugged. “I suppose I thought my
true nature would repulse you.” He stretched her with a slow,
deliberate stroke. “Will you say it again?”

“
Say what?”

“
That you love
me.”

“
I love you, Damon.” She
gasped as his muscles shifted beneath her palms, pressing her hips
into the mattress and pushing her to the verge of climax. Saying it
had felt good to her too – it was like confessing a secret she’d
thought she’d never be able to admit to anyone, including herself.
She’d watched him for years, yearning to speak to him, to know him.
As a girl she’d hopelessly, secretly worshiped the handsome boy
who’d saved her from a dead-end life, seemingly off-handedly. His
image had always been in the back of her mind and the forefront of
her heart as she’d grown into a woman – one who would always look
to him as the perfect model of a man. “I…” she breathed, losing the
rest of what she’d intended to say as her core tightened around his
cock, sending waves of ecstasy through her body.

He responded wordlessly, driving
himself into her deeply and quickly, sending her climax to a higher
peak than she’d expected. Moaning, she fought the urge to writhe
beneath him, wrapping her arms around his neck and arching her body
against his as she lifted her hips instead. He thrust into her,
delving her channel with the hard length of his erection. Her core
tightened around his shaft in response, trying to push him to the
same heights he’d taken her to. He grunted, giving her every inch
of his cock. She gasped with each stroke, clinging to him as her
body tensed and tightened beneath him, every last bit of it burning
with an ecstasy that threatened to choke the breath out of her as
it compelled her to cry out.

He rode out her climax, punctuating
her pleasure with deep, generous strokes until she wilted beneath
him, letting her arms tumble from around his neck to lay limp at
her sides. “Better than anything I ever dreamed of,” he growled,
lowering his head so that his lips brushed her ear. “Feeling your
body trying to milk my pleasure out of me like that…” He flexed his
hips again with a grunt. The sudden thrust elicited a last wave of
toe-curling sensation, causing her core to tighten around his cock
again as she gasped. “I could die happy, if I wasn’t
immortal.”

He pumped himself into her with
mounting tension, cradling her between his arms. Muscles strained
in his forearms as he gripped her shoulders and pressed his lips
against hers in a wild, tongue-seeking kiss. She let him ravage her
mouth, stroking his tongue with hers when she had the chance.
Below, her body sparked with sensation, left even more sensitive
than before in the wake of her orgasm. His cock felt harder than
ever, unyielding against her softer flesh. She braced herself when
he gasped and ended their kiss, pounding his hips against hers. She
willed her core to tighten, embracing his cock and inviting him to
spill himself inside her. Heat filled her channel as he moaned,
finishing in a burst of passion.

Minutes slipped by before he withdrew
from between her thighs, punctuated by the steady ticking of the
clock on the mantle above the fireplace. Relaxing on the mattress
beside her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her
against his chest. “Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s dark and
show you exactly what being a vampire means.”

Chapter 11

A light breeze swept over the fields,
whistling through the grass. It sent the ends of Elsie’s loose hair
fluttering around her waist as the wind combed through the roots
and over her skull like a pair of cool hands. The dull ache of sun
exposure from that morning was gone, banished by the dark in a way
the tea hadn’t quite been able to replicate. She took a deep
breath, marveling at the amazingly clear scents of the countryside,
including the juicy aroma of a distant apple orchard. The stars
sprinkled throughout the inky sky were all the illumination she
needed to see clearly. Though the moon was waning, only the sky was
black. The world looked as if it had been draped in purple tulle,
tinting everything the color of twilight. It was such a contrast to
the human vision she’d always known that she blinked, as if the
lavender landscape was a fluke and might suddenly fade to
black.

Damon took her hand, folding it inside
his as he stood beside her, peering out over the otherworldly
country scene that stretched behind the house. His fingers felt
like silk gliding over her skin, bringing a heat that quickly
spread throughout her body, igniting her sense of touch. The energy
she’d felt zinging through her veins just moments before suddenly
seemed paltry in comparison to the fire that swept through them
now. Something was wrong. Or rather, it had been until now. Until
just a few minutes ago, when Damon had woken her from sleep, she’d
never lived. “So, this is what it feels like to be
alive.”

Damon laughed, squeezing her hand.
“No. This is what it feels like to be undead.”

“
Is it always like
this?”

“
At night. It’s different
during the day. Until the sun sets, we’re much like humans. Our
bodies are not especially strong, and we’re wracked with pain if we
step into the light. But at night…” He sighed and lifted a hand in
a sweeping gesture. “It’s like this. Our senses are stronger. Our
bodies are stronger. Our teeth are long and we are
thirsty.”

Elsie nodded in acknowledgement of his
words and the dry burn in her throat. Raising a hand to her neck,
she swallowed, trying to imagine taking a mouthful of blood from a
warm body. Her dry throat responded with mouth-watering alacrity,
tightening almost painfully while her mind rejected the horrifying
notion. But she couldn’t go without drinking forever. She could
feel that fact in her bones, in the very fibers of her being. She
craved blood like dry ground craved rain, and the wanting seemed to
flood her body with the strength she’d need to obtain it. There
would be no more china, no more teacups. It was time to face the
fate she’d chosen – whatever that was, exactly.

“
I know it’s overwhelming,”
Damon said. “When I first stepped outside after being changed, I
thought I was dreaming. But you’ll get used to it. I’ll help you.”
He moved forward, his footsteps rustling through the grass. Elsie
followed in his wake, forcing herself to admire the purpled
landscape and the brilliant stars that illuminated it. They were
beautiful, but she longed to study Damon; to take in the midnight
sheen of his hair and the dark gleam of his black eyes. And then
there was the sensual Cupid’s bow curve of his mouth, and the
slopes of his broad shoulders beneath his shirt – he wore no coat.
But she couldn’t let herself admire him. She wanted him too badly,
wanted him to the point that it hurt not to have him. Not wanting
to seem greedy or ungrateful that he was willing to take her by the
hand and guide her through her new life, she continued to study
nature. Looking at him would have simply been too much of a
temptation.

“
You must be burning with
thirst,” Damon remarked as he pulled her along, taking her away
from the house and toward the untamed fields and forest that
stretched beyond. “I’ll teach you how to hunt.”

She put on a false veneer of bravado
as she followed him, trying to seem excited over the prospect. He
seemed eager to show her, and she wasn’t about to put a damper on
his enthusiasm – she’d asked for this, after all, and he had a
terrible habit of blaming himself for anything and everything. The
last thing she wanted was for him to think that she thought the way
he lived was disgusting.

“
There,” he said, pointing
out across a field to their left.

She turned and squinted in the
direction he was pointing. After a few moments, she realized she
didn’t need to squint to clearly see what he was trying to show
her. “A deer,” she breathed, hoping he’d mistake the relief in her
voice for bloodlust as she told herself she was an idiot for
half-expecting to see a person standing there. “What
now?”

“
We run,” Damon said,
flashing her a grin.

“
Do you really think we can
chase it down?” She eyed the oblivious creature critically, noting
its lack of broken legs. “It looks to be a healthy
specimen.”

“
Of course we can. Follow
me.” He took off in a sprint that left Elsie’s skirts swishing
around her ankles as she stood watching, dumbfounded. He was fast –
faster than any man had a right to be. But of course, he wasn’t a
man – at least, not in a strict sense. He turned his head, shooting
a beckoning glance over his shoulder. “What are you waiting
for?”

Clutching fistfuls of her skirts, she
raised them and began to run. Her speed was disappointingly
ordinary. Damon glanced over his shoulder and laughed. Maybe there
was something wrong with her, or perhaps only male vampires could
move so quickly. She felt like a fool, until he called out
something encouraging to her. “You can run faster if you want to.
You’re holding back.”