The Thorndykes 1: Dispossessed (26 page)

Nathan groaned, and Trixie gave him an amused stare. She swept her gaze down his body, then up again, pausing at his crotch. “You fucked us both?” Nathan covered his face with his hands. “How delightfully medieval of you.” Her expression when she turned it to Lucille held interest and a little worry.

“What’s wrong, Mom? Overexposure?”

Oh yes. That hit home. Lucille saw it in the flicker of Trixie’s heavily made-up eyes before she flicked her glance away. “How about a little mother-daughter action?” The thought sickened her. “Then they can choose.” Competition for her mother?

Nathan took his hands away from his face. Absolute horror reigned there. “Don’t do it, Lucy. It’s a nasty way to make a living. Big bucks for the right people, but you don’t need it. Besides, it’s not a good idea for Talents to open themselves up in that way.”

Trixie sniggered. “Tell that to my bank account, darling.”

Lucille registered an edge of pain. Something had happened to switch Trixie from the careless though loving parent she remembered into the harpy she was today. Perhaps her mother was fickle. She had no notion. Trixie had only known her daughter as a child, and a child’s perspective was very different to the adult’s. Nathan, on the other hand, was struggling to control his emotions. “It’s not as if Jay would care.”

Lucille had him. She watched him speculatively. “You can help. All I want to do is go back home and visit. Maybe I can say I was spending time with a relative to get over the horror. Kind of right. Keep my identity going here, and then I’ll have something to come back to if I need it.”

“If you leave this, you leave it for good. We’ll move you on, and you won’t have Drew anymore.”

“He could come home too, and if you have to close this, then do it.”

“Or stay at de Paul.” Nathan sighed. “I should just keep my big mouth shut.”

“Maybe.” She turned a beaming smile on her mother. “How about you get on your phone and send me a text? I’ll tell you what to say.”

HAD HE REALLY held these parties for fun? Jay found no pleasure in looking back to his reprehensible past. No point. An increasing feeling of blankness filled his days. It probably came with age. Now he wandered around his party rooms. He observed people twist their bodies into increasing efforts to enjoy themselves, or show everyone else that they were having the best time.

He wore one of his Regency getups again, this time from the styles of 1812 when fashionable men wore the Oriental neckcloth. He’d set a fad for vine-embroidered waistcoats in defiance to Beau Brummel’s diktat for tedious gray or white. The man was a stuffed shirt. These days he’d have been sent to a shrink to help with his obsessive behavior. Then he’d ruled society and accelerated the move toward men being boring.

Regulation, rules. He’d kicked against them for most of his life, but then ended up in the military, where rules meant everything, sometimes the difference between living and dying. His life was full of contradictions like that.

He stopped for a few minutes to watch a threesome, the two women performing particularly athletic oral feats on their partner. One had his cock in her mouth, the other his balls. One was upside down, her legs splayed over the man’s shoulders where he sprawled on the blue velvet sofa. All Jay could think of was to remind housekeeping to dry-clean it thoroughly.

As usual, his guests had come from outside Taken. Even more now his ties to the community seemed to have increased, and he’d felt a weird sense of guilt when he’d arranged this party. Maybe that was it. He was getting prematurely senile. Settling for the rocking chair and reminiscing.

Fuck, no. Anything was better than that.

A flash of red hair caught his attention, but this was a deeper color, tending toward mahogany. Not the bright, blazing red he craved to see on his pillow every morning. Sometimes he’d keep his eyes closed for a while and imagine the scent of their lovemaking, the touch of her skin against his.

Getting fucking sentimental too. Wasn’t that a sign of old age?

This woman was wearing sapphire-colored velvet, not like the lilac his Lucille had worn that first night. No, not his. By now she had probably gone to someone else. All he knew was Nathan hadn’t claimed her, something that gave him a smidgen of relief every day.

The woman was laughing, her back to him. She’d piled her hair loosely on top of her head and threaded a ribbon through it, the same vivid color as her dress. Her slender arms lifted, and she waved as she explained something to the man she was talking to. He recognized the guy—that soap star, whatshisname. Too handsome, too sculpted. But women knew they’d have a good time with him.

Shit, if they wanted to get it on, who was Jay to cavil? But he did. Something struck him as wrong.

Then the woman turned her head, revealing her profile, and the world stopped turning. He wouldn’t have been surprised had the globe flung him off.

Electrified, a man possessed, he strode to her, seized her shoulders, and spun her around into his body. Her warmth, so familiar, so achingly needed, slammed against his, and in the same movement he brought his mouth down on hers.

The taste of her soothed an ache deep within him, a yearning he’d done his best to avoid like a wound too sore to probe. Her lips moved against his, and she threw one arm around his neck, imprisoning him. Never was there a more willing prisoner. He broke away only to murmur her name and kiss her again, avid for her taste. He’d never get enough.

He pulled away with a gasp, set her aside with an effort that nearly killed him. “You shouldn’t be here.”

With a sultry smile, she drew him close. “I’m where I belong.” Tugging his waistcoat, she towed him with her to the nearest chair. The soap star watched in amusement. Others were gathering, but after one anxious glance, he returned to her, his lodestone.

She shoved him down so he landed with a bounce and then came on top of him, hitching up her skirts so she could sit astride.

Underneath, she was naked. Her pussy winked at him, that adorable tuft of blazing hair proclaiming her a true redhead. She seemed heedless of who she showed, how she showed it, and his cock, hard at the first touch of her, hardened even more. She clawed at his pants, looking for the fly.

Numb from the encounter, he belatedly remembered to unblock his mind to her. She surged in as if she’d never left, occupying her rightful place. He grabbed her skirts, but she put her hand over his, stopping him.

“You’re not masked,” he reminded her.

“I don’t care. This is an orgy, and I’ve never had one of those.”

He cupped her face, smiling up at her. “This can be yours. But you have to leave afterward.” And probably change her identity again. He’d take this, use the memories to sustain his existence.

“I’m going nowhere.”

He couldn’t send her away yet. Easier to plunge his hand into his chest and tear his heart out. Always careful of her welfare, he mentally scanned the attendees at the party and located anyone from the local area. He discouraged them from coming into this room. Nobody who might know her would see this.

Shit, this was hot.

She was fumbling at his pants still, so he let her discover the fact that they had no fastening, that they pulled down. No fly, no fall. Hard to get used to, but skintight as was the fashion in his time. People could probably see that he wasn’t circumcised.

She knew how to release the chain that bound his dick to his leg, and once free, it bounced up.

Now they could see it for real. His cock reared close to his belly, red and glistening with his need for her, the piercing decorated with a ring. She swiped a finger across the tip, and he sucked in a breath, let her see how much that affected him.

More spectators arrived. He didn’t indulge in public fucking very often these days, and they were probably eager to watch. He didn’t care. She was the only important person present. If she wanted this, he’d do it for her. Anything she wanted, he’d make sure she got it.

This seemed to be what she needed right now. Her eyes shone, her mind beat at him, inviting him inside her. He scooped her delectable ass in his hands, watching her smile as she realized what he was doing. He lifted her, his arms keeping the yards of cloth out of the way, and together, they positioned her opening so it hovered above his cock. She used her knees to hold herself steady and grabbed his biceps, letting him take the lead.

Oh fuck, she was so ready, dripping her essence all over him as he eased his cock into her.

“God, I’ve missed this!” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, but she had a right to know the truth.

He thrust up, she pressed down, and they became one.

Jay closed his eyes with the sheer bliss of it. She felt like nobody else, made for him. She leaned forward and kissed him, and together, they began to move. Up and down, melding in mind and body. He unfurled the next layer, everything except the final one.

“It’s right,” she whispered, her lips close to his. “We should do it.”

He opened his eyes, shock bringing him back. “Not here, not now.” Bonding was an intensely personal matter. Nobody witnessed the bonding of two vampires. Neither should they. Deep down, he understood it was right. Somehow their souls had become separated.

Madness to even think about it.

“As long as we do think about it,” she said, and kissed him.

This he could do. Holding her in place, he kissed and fucked until the first stirring of her orgasm shivered through him, exquisite flutters against his cock.

People around them murmured to each other, some making wordless sounds of arousal, and he guessed it would become an orgy in truth before too long. Sounds of kissing, the atmosphere growing softer, spikes of excitement like small lightning strikes touching his skin, but nothing beat the storm going on around Jay and his love.

The velvet of her gown felt soft against his palms when he shoved it aside to get to her clit. Nothing was as soft, as silky to the touch as that small knot of flesh. He stroked it, teased it, felt her response.

She came, her passage convulsing around his hard, straining flesh, the rhythmic waves forcing his own orgasm. Deep and hard and completely. He gave himself up to her. Everything.

He clutched her and laughed shakily. She gazed at him and snuggled against him. With his one hand around her, he eased his cock out of her and smoothed the fabric of her gown back over her thighs. She pulled at his pants, totally ruined now, but she managed to cover him. All he cared was that he didn’t trip up as he got to his feet, taking her with him. Smiling, she hooked her legs around his waist, and he supported her, gave her a smacking kiss, and looked around at the now applauding company. “Thank you. You will excuse my lady and myself?”

It was over. She had him.

HALF-DAZED WITH what she had done, Lucille let Jay carry her to the private part of the ranch house. There he took her to his room, stripped the gorgeous dress off her, and gently set her down in his shower. He got naked and joined her in double-quick time, barely taking his avid gaze away from her while he was tearing off his clothes.

“I like you in those,” she said and licked her dry lips. He turned on the shower. She flinched when the initial shot of cold hit her, but it warmed up in the next second. He slid his arms around her, and she reveled in their closeness.

“I love you,” she said.

He sighed. “I love you too. But this isn’t about that.”

“Yes, it is.” He was reaching past her for something on the shelf, but she turned his face toward her, her hand grazing his smooth-shaven cheek. “That’s exactly what it’s about. I don’t want this new life. I want my old one back.”

He met her gaze, and they stood for an untold amount of time under the stinging spray. “You’ve moved on.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“I don’t care.”

He sighed again and concentrated on washing them.

She knew he was mustering his arguments, so she let him wash and rinse her, his hands gentle, almost worshipful. She washed him at the same time, relearning him. The warmth under her hands was all she wanted, but she saved her arguments too. She’d thought long and hard about this, and she knew what she wanted. If he didn’t want her, really didn’t want her, she’d go. The moment he’d opened to her, the tension inside her relaxed. He couldn’t deny what they had. Or if he did, he was a masochist, and although the idea interested her, she’d seen no evidence of that tendency in him. Just a huge sense of lack of self-worth.

They dried themselves and each other and climbed into bed as if they did it every night, as they would if she had her way. “I love you,” she said again.

He stroked a finger down her cheek. “You shouldn’t keep saying that.”

“It’s my strongest argument.”

“That it is. Darling, this isn’t possible. We can get away with this as a onetime visit. The Thorndykes might have to move you again.”

“Back home. I talked to Nathan about it. Nobody’s come after us in the six months we’ve been away. I’m as safe here as anywhere. I’ve thought it all out. Drew can be my brother again, but he likes Chicago, so he can stay there if he wants to. He likes studying too. Nathan can keep an eye on him. He said he would.” She spoke quickly, afraid he’d interrupt her. “I can move back here. I’ll say I went to stay with a relative for a while. Now I’m back.”

He touched her mouth, and she gave his finger a playful lick. He shuddered, and she gloried to see how much that small gesture affected him. “You don’t want me, love. You just think you do. You haven’t begun to live.”

She put her hand over his heart. “Do you want me with other men? I mean with them doing more than watching?”

“Fuck, no!”

The vehemence of his reply gave her heart. “Then take me. I’m yours. It’s not as if I didn’t have experience before. I know what I like.” She wriggled against his cock, making the ring through his piercing rub against his skin. He groaned.

She snuggled closer, and he drew the comforter over her. “Better?”

“Yes. Much better.” With his body close to hers, she couldn’t imagine anything improving this. Well, maybe one thing. “I came back for you, Jay. I don’t want to leave without you. The only thing that will send me away is if you can convince me that you really don’t want me, that I was just a fling.”