Edge of Night (22 page)

“I don’t think—”

“Good. Don’t think.” He crossed his arms. “Just do what I said or your underwear is getting drenched by more than just your own arousal.”

That made her cheeks flame with embarrassment and her eyes flash with anger. “You want them off? Do it yourself. They’re already wet, as you pointed out.”

Ah, he loved a challenge. He was on her in a second, his arm around her waist to swing her into the shower. She sputtered as the water hit her face, but he stepped in to block the spray with his back. It flowed over his shoulders, rinsing away what was left of the dried blood.

Her fingertips touched the spot where her knife had struck, but no mark remained. He watched her throat work as she swallowed, something dark and pained moving behind her gaze. She glanced away and her hand dropped. “Luca, I—”

“Shh.” He brushed his lips over hers, pulling her against him. They both moaned at the contact, the press and glide of slick flesh. He coasted his palms down her supple back, then cupped her buttocks. Jerking against him, she whimpered, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

When he squeezed her spanked backside, the kiss went wild, all lips and teeth and tongues. His heart galloped, the feel of water sliding down his skin just adding to the eroticism of the moment. She twisted her torso, rubbing the tips of her breasts over his chest. After backing her up against the wall, he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. With her panties still on, he’d have a barrier between him and the temptation to fuck her.

Her arms twined around his neck, her tongue delving into his mouth. The taste of her was sweet, mixed with the lingering flavor of some kind of fruity alcoholic cocktail. Her legs tightened, her hips undulating as she tried to grind her pussy down on his dick. He rolled himself against her, knowing the motion would stimulate her clit, but not enough to let her come. But teasing her meant teasing himself, and his cock was full to bursting. Gods, he wasn’t sure how long he could last.

She broke the kiss with a moan of frustration, throwing her head back. He knew exactly how she felt.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered, the words almost lost as she panted for breath.

“Then tell me who you thought was at your front door tonight.” He bit the side of her neck lightly, keeping his fangs retracted. No orgasm-inducing bites for her…yet.

She shuddered. “Luca, I don’t want to talk about it. Stop asking.”

“Nope.” He nipped her earlobe, continuing to rock his hips against her sex. “When I get stabbed, I get to ask questions. I deserve answers.” His voice dropped to a low, seductive promise. “Give me what I want and I’ll give you want you want.”

He slid his tongue up the side of her neck, his fangs grazing her flesh this time, exciting her, driving her wild. Her hips bucked frantically as she struggled to go over that edge. “Luca.”

“Yes,
tesorina mia?”
He all but purred the words against her flesh, holding onto his control by the thinnest thread.

“I want…”

“I know, sweetheart. We both want things, don’t we?”

Her fingers fisted in his hair, rapid sounds of pleasure pouring from her lips. “I’m so
close.”

And she wouldn’t get any closer. He leaned his weight into her, stilling her movements. A sob of protest erupted from her. She jerked his hair in retribution, and he smacked the flesh of her upper thigh. The water sealed their bodies together, and his cock throbbed so painfully he had to clench his jaw.

“I think we’re clean enough, don’t you?” He grinned at the various curse words that question elicited from her. He reached over to turn off the faucet, then stepped back enough to allow her to stand. She tried to push past him, but he caught her arm and flipped her neatly over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

“Put me down, damn it.” She slapped his ass. “I’m not into making sex about mind games and punishment. I don’t want this!”

“No?” He dumped her over onto the mattress. “You were begging me for it a few minutes ago.”

Propping herself up on her elbows, she glared at him. “You’re not going to let me have an orgasm, so I’m not interested.”

“Is that so?” He popped the elastic that held her panties together, ripping them away to toss over his shoulder. He pushed two fingers inside her tight, slick channel. “This tells me otherwise.”

A choked sound of need issued from her, but she squirmed away from him, flipping over to crawl across the bed on her hands and knees. Kneeling on the bed, he grabbed her hips and hauled her backward. Her arms went out from under her, putting her in the exact position he wanted. He wrapped his fingers around her upper biceps and held her down, her cheek pressed to the mattress.

Then he slid inside her, going hilt-deep in one thrust.

“Luca!”

He rotated his hips in a way that he knew would grind against her sensitive little clit. After a year of sex, he knew exactly what would make her squirm, make her beg, make her do
anything
to come. He wanted her that desperate. He wanted her to give him everything.

“Have anything you want to tell me,
bellisima?”

“No,” she whimpered, jerking against his hold on her as if she could loosen a vampire’s grip.

“That’s a shame.”

He fucked her fast and hard, plunging until her cries became frantic, her muscles quivered around his cock. Sensing exactly how close she was to orgasm, he stopped, withdrew his dick before he gave into his own needs and left her crying out in frustration.

“You trust me with your body and nothing else?” It stung more than he liked to even have to ask the question, to give voice to what rubbed like salt on a wound.

She tried to kick him, but the awkward angle meant she didn’t connect with anything but air. “That’s how it was
supposed
to be between us. That’s what we agreed to.”

“Ah, but that was many months ago. Things have changed since then.” In so many ways neither of them wanted to acknowledge. Maybe even in ways neither of them understood yet, but that was a problem for another time. He had his hands full now.

“I know they have, and that’s why I don’t want to tell you anything.” The confession was ripped from between her clenched teeth. “Is it so hard to believe I want to protect you from the bad things in my life?”

He blinked down at her. When was the last time a woman had tried to protect
him
from anything? He wasn’t sure if he should be touched that she wanted to, or insulted that she didn’t think he could handle something. Tenderness squeezed his chest, tangling with other emotions he wasn’t ready to name. “I’d rather you didn’t have anything in your life bad enough that someone might need protection from it.”

Her scoff sounded almost like a sob. “Me, too.”

Being apart from her now was unbearable, so he slipped his cock inside of her. He held her close, pulling her up so they were both on their knees, her back to his front. He rocked into her, slowly, gently, the clasp of her slick sheath on his dick almost more than he could handle. Her energy flowed over him, an added layer to the need they shared. He slid his hand down to the damp curls between her legs; his fingers parted the lips of her pussy, letting cool air brush their overheated skin. She gasped, shuddering.

“Don’t friends confide in each other, help each other?” He pinched her clit, scraped it with his talons. “Don’t they, Erin?”

Her movements faltered, her chin jerking to the side so he couldn’t see her face. “Yes.”

His heart clenched at that broken whisper. “I know something’s frightening you, sweetheart. Have you talked to anyone about it?”

“No.” She swallowed.

“Not even Holly?” He smoothed his palms down her sides and up her torso until he cupped her breasts.

She shook her head in answer.

“It sounds even more frightening to be so alone with your fears.” He nuzzled his lips against her shoulder.

Her inner muscles clenched around him, and their groans echoed in her bedroom. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to think of the most boring topics imaginable. Astronomy, quadratic equations, abstract artwork. Anything but the fact that he needed to come.

“It might be totally unfounded fear.” The words were so soft that even with his vampiric hearing, he almost missed them.

Burying his face in the curve of her neck, he breathed in the scent of her skin, her hair. “Maybe. But you don’t have to be alone with it. That’s your choice.”

He twisted her nipples with slow precision, felt her quiver, her hips pushing back against him. He kept his rhythm measured, undemanding. Beads of sweat gathered at his temples, sliding down his face. He forced down the need to increase his speed, focusing on her.

“Tell me, sweetheart.” He flicked his tongue against the side of her neck, let his fangs dig in, still rocking into her gently.

Her head tilted to the side, giving him more access. “I think someone…”

“Mmm?” Circling his talons against her beaded nipples, he waited. His senses were so acutely tuned to her, he knew she would tell him now—the prolonged sexual stimulation, her fearful isolation, and his unrelenting pressure had worn down her will to fight. Just as he had planned. “Someone is…”

She reached back to clamp her hands on the sides of his legs. “I think someone’s stalking me.”

“Ah.” He rolled a fingertip over her clit to give her a quick release, but he didn’t let up on her, building her up again so quickly the relief wouldn’t be much. “Do you know who?”

The rhythmic pulses of her inner muscles clenching around his dick damn near sent him straight over the edge.
Not yet
. He jerked his hips back, sliding free of her lush body.

Her head fell back against his shoulder, her whimper both pleased and despaired. “I-I think so.”

“Who?”

“If you get involved in this, you could get hurt. The kind of hurt you can’t heal so easily.” She rolled her head on his shoulder to look at him. “I can’t be responsible for that. I just
can’t
, Luca.”

A quick sweep of his arm under her legs and she sprawled across the mattress, her cheeks flushed with desire, her nipples tight, her thighs wet with her own juices. So beautiful, and all his. He smiled at that far-too-possessive thought and shook his head at himself. Taking her nipple into his mouth, he suckled the beaded crest until her back bowed and her fingers knotted in his hair. The sharp tugging was just this side of painful, and that made the experience all the more layered in intensity. He released her breast to nip and bite and suck his way down her body, pausing to lavish attention on every dip and curve in her form. He swirled his tongue around her navel, then settled his shoulders between her thighs to force them wide.

“Yes, please.” Her heels pressed into his back, urging him on.

“Who’s stalking you?” he whispered, rubbing his chin against her lower belly.

She shook her head, her fists balled in the sheets, her eyes tightly closed.

“I was rather hoping you’d do this the hard way, sweetheart. You have to know a man like me enjoys the challenge.” He batted at her clit, took it between his teeth and sucked.

With a squeal, she tried to scoot back and close her legs, but he held her down. He buried his tongue in her pussy, drinking her sweet cream and making her writhe on the bed. His talons drifted down her thighs, scoring the skin just enough to sting. She moaned, pushing her hips into his face.

“Tell me
.
”
He sent the thought to her, and he could say he’d never appreciated the ability to do so quite as much as he did at this moment.
“Tell me who scares you
.
”

The choked sounds coming from her only made him push her further. He retracted his claws, and plunged his fingers into her pussy while his mouth settled on her clit.
“Tell me, Erin, and I’ll make you come so many times you’ll beg me to stop.”

That promise earned him a whimper. “Someone I used to date, before I met you.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he hummed against her clitoris, and she sobbed out another release, her pussy fisting around his thrusting finger. A wave of her energy crashed over him and he shuddered, almost coming onto the sheets.
“His name, sweetheart. Give me his name.”

“Asher,” she moaned, then screamed when he pressed his thumb into her ass. “Oh my God. Oh my God,
Luca!
” He pulled out of her anus, then thrust back in. She squealed. “His name is Asher Kondan, and please don’t stop what you’re doing. Oh. My. God.”

He turned his head and sank his fangs into her inner thigh, drinking deeply. Her taste was sweet, intoxicating, addictive. Orgasm thrummed through her body again, and she shrieked, high and thin.

This time he couldn’t hold back. He had a name, and that was enough for him to go on if it was all he got from her. Rolling her to her side, he slid in behind her and pushed her thigh forward with his. Then he entered her, quivered as her sweet heat closed over his cock. The position made her passage flex tight around him, and he groaned. He bit the back of her shoulder, let her blood trickle down his throat as he powered into her. She came with his first thrust, and every time he penetrated her pussy, she climaxed again. The rush of her energy over his senses, the taste of her on his tongue, the feel of her clamping down on his dick was as close to perfection as he’d ever been.