Obviously Jay Dee didn’t fancy me. Most woman, when I throw my shirt at them and parade around topless in front of—not an everyday occurrence, to say the least—threw themselves at me.
However, Jay Dee was keeping her damn distance as if I had the bloody plague.
I wish Romeo wasn’t still narked about her picking me over him so I could ask him what to do. I would ask Steffen, but he has been out of the game for centuries and it was love at first sight with him and Abby, no effort was needed by either of them.
Bloody hell.
Jay Dee was stretched out on my bed as she absently thumbed through a magazine she had found on the nightstand….
Oh shite.
“What are you reading?” I reluctantly asked.
She held it up and shrugged. “Maxim. I have to say, that’s a hot underwear set.”
I crawled up next to her on the bed and peeked at what she was looking at, and couldn’t have agreed more. She’d look amazing in it, and even better out of it.
“Anyway,” she said and turned the page. “What do you do all day or night?”
“Seriously, Duckie, get your head out of the bloody books,” I teased, softly knocking into her, and she knocked back. “I sleep at night, this bed is not a prop, and no we do not sleep in coffins, no we are not incapable of sleep, and no we do not stalk the night looking for young virgins to suck dry.”
I hissed at her for her amusement and she rolled her eyes.
“Ha ha,” she snorted, flipping through the magazine, but the delicious flushing along her cheekbones was back. “So you just sulk in your room from the time you get home until you wake for school?” she surmised.
I hadn’t noticed that was exactly what I did.
“Sadly, yes. That is until I met you. Sometimes, to pass the time, I play video games with Steffen, and I am always fighting with Georgiana, and when I am not in the mood for anyone, I go swimming.”
She looked at me; something I said had intrigued her. “Swimming, where?” she asked.
“The indoor pool in the outbuilding, why?”
“Whoa,” Jay Dee said and tossed the magazine on the floor. “An indoor pool. Sure, why not?” she huffed and rolled to her back and glared at the ceiling. “This isn’t going to work.”
“ I think I missed something,” I said as I silently prayed that she wasn’t telling me to sod off already.
“Tanis, why am I here?” she asked, ignoring my question.
“Because I asked you over?” I asked unsure, not understanding in the least where her questioning was going.
“No shit, Sherlock, but why?” she asked, adamant. “We aren’t the same species, and you’re way out of my league, and a lot older than me. Surely you must find me childish and ridiculous, especially after this morning and my little bitch-fest. If you’re just trying to get laid, I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not that kind of girl. I’ve been easily compared to an ice queen, so you can take me home at any time now if that’s what you’re after. I promise, I won’t tell anyone so it doesn’t cause problems with the pack.”
I was not entirely sure what to say about that.
All of her reasons were very sound ones, but none which applied. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where this beautiful young woman’s sense, or lack thereof, of self-worth was coming from. Was the pack’s treatment of her so severe that is had permanently damaged how she saw herself?
It was getting harder and harder to keep from fantasying about taking her away from the hideous beasts which had polluted her mind so. Jay Dee was beautiful, special, intelligent, kind and caring, and yet she apparently didn’t see any of that when she looked in the mirror—it drove mad with anger.
I twirled a lock of her ridiculously soft hair around my fingers and looked down at her. “Duckie, you make inarguable points, if this were the seventeenth century.”
She rolled her eyes but a small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
“See, that was not so hard,” I said, tracing her pouting bottom lip with my finger. “If anything, my many centuries of life have taught me that brass cannot buy happiness. Sure it helps, however, no materialistic possession could make me feel as happy as you have made me these past two days. This is very unsettling for me to say aloud, but I fancy you very much; blonde hair, feminine emotional breakdowns, stripping in public to fight a werewolf, humble, modest, caring, funny, irritating as all bloody hell, and smart arse moments included.”
We looked at each other for a long moment in silence.
Buggers, she obviously did not fancy my company in the same way.
I was continuing to trace her velvety soft lips when she bit me, and sucked my finger into her mouth, her tongue wrapping around it.
“Ow...” I started to complain that she was being childish; the action was completely unexpected, but pleasantly intoxicating, yet it was, quite possibly, the most arousing thing I had ever experienced in my very long life.
“You taste delicious,” she mumbled, holding my finger between her teeth.
I fought against my eyes that were so desperately trying to roll back in my head, my breathing got ridiculously labored, and I struggled to find a coherent thought.
Nothing should feel this bloody amazing.
“Thanks?” I finally murmured.
“Think nothing of it,” she said before relinquishing my finger. “What would you like to do now?” she asked with a mischievous giggle as she caressed my ear with her finger.
There were many things that I wanted to do, most of them involved her being naked with me on top of her, but she wasn’t that type of girl, and honestly, I wouldn’t fancy her if she were.
Think of something non-sexual that will help get rid of the problem in our trousers.
“Swimming?” I blurted out.
Oh yes, that was bloody brilliant and will not, in any way, help with the raging problem I am currently facing.
Jay Dee laughed. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
Thank god, one crisis adverted.
“But I can swim in my underwear,” she whispered, causing my eyes to snap to hers.
Bloody hell, she is going to be the death of me and meself-restraint.
“Okay,” I said before swallowing loudly.
When we walked into the pool house, Jay Dee’s mouth fell open as her eyes widened as she started wandering around the large area.
I watched her a she scrutinized the area; I longed for her approval.
There were no windows in the pool area since mum can’t handle the sun, thus the recessed lighting along the domed ceiling created the effect of a starry night, changing to early dawn with purples and oranges, blending to bright noon with blue sky and white clouds which faded to violet and pink sunsets before starting the cycle over. The slate pool deck was very earthy in color, a contrast against the large swirling mosaic pool tiles that ranged from dark blue to light green, the purple and gold flecked tiles contrasted against the sky blue with silver ones, creating a romantic, Roman spa effect. Small waterfalls along the ends of the pool acted as the filtration systems and filled the air with the ambient sound of flowing water.
Jay Dee groaned for some reason and her face dropped.
“This is the pool,” I blurted out as I struggled to understand her silent words and expressions.
“No shit?” she dryly agreed.
Bloody hell, could I look any more daft if I tried?
My face dropped; this wasn’t going according to plan.
Jay Dee turned and looked at me, her face brightening with amusement and mischief. “You amuse me, vampire boy,” she said and stepped out of her shoes. “For someone who is centuries old, experienced and seasoned to perfection, you are exceptionally nervous around me.” Her socks came off next, followed by her pants.
My eyes worked up and down her long, toned legs, the curvature of her hips had my hands shaking with longing to caress their contours, and the roundness of her firm arse was accentuated by her boy cut knickers that presented her arse beautifully.
“Why is that? Is it because of what I am?” she asked, and my eyes snapped from her arse to her large, onyx eyes.
“Huh?”
“Grrr,” she growled before snapping her teeth at me.
I chuckled; I needed that.
“Duckie, you are rather intimidating,” I admitted, slipping out of my shoes and socks. “Someone who is so unbelievably beautiful, brilliant, funny, and an overall good person, is hard to find. Usually you get minger birds with great personalities, however, they need poor lighting and a paper bag over their head when you take them out in public. And usually, when you find someone breathtakingly beautiful, they know it, thus they are full of themselves, and think they walk on water, and treat everyone around them as dirt under their nails. And then there is you. You are anything but full of yourself . You are beautiful, however you do not know it, which is strange to me, but everyone around you knows it. You have all of the amazingly endearing qualities of a fat minger bird with one leg and leprosy, all wrapped up in a beautiful centerfold package.”
Jay Dee looked at me as if I were insane.
After a long moment of awkward silence between us, she pulled her shirt over her head and set it on one of the deck chairs.
“A leper with one leg?” she asked, wanting to clarify that she heard me correctly.
I reluctantly nodded.
“You have some serious issues,” she informed me, as if I didn’t know. “Are you swimming in those pants or what?”
It was a good question. I was stalling, and of course the way she asked made it sound like the most perverse and erotic thing ever asked.
She wasn’t helping the situation any.
“Give me a minute?” I asked.
Jay Dee nodded and sat on the edge of the pool and kicked her feet in the water. “I love swimming and the water...which is funny considering I washed up on shore. Either way,” she said, shaking her head. “There are some amazing cliffs to jump off of along the coast. But they are only safe to dive from in June to early August. It’s too late in the month to jump from them anymore; the undercurrents are hellish. We’ve lost a lot of good people on them, usually drunk wolves and boys trying to show off, not that it’s important I suppose, but my mom freaked out when she heard that I had jumped off of them for the first time when I was ten. She wanted to kill me! I was grounded for the rest of the summer, which sucked. I think if I had a pool, I wouldn’t be tempted to jump off of cliffs. Then again, I really enjoy the sensation of flying.” She looked over her shoulder at me and smirked. “Are you composed now?” she asked.
No…wait.
I looked down then up, causing her to laugh.
“Yes. Thank you,” I said, her distraction worked.
I sat next to her on the edge of the pool in my underwear. I had swim trunks, and I wasn’t sure why I didn’t put them on, but she didn’t seem to mind. In my opinion, I looked rather good in my black long cut athletic briefs.
“What kind of guys do you typically date?” I asked before I could stop myself, but Jay Dee didn’t appear surprised by my question.
She shrugged. “I’ve never dated before. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of off limits. That’s mainly because my brother threatened to kill anyone who touched me...and my parents being who they are played a part in it as well I guess, and I’m kind of a freak. I’m a leper, as you pointed out, without the disfiguring disease. I guess it’s better that way, because I haven’t a clue what I like.” She looked over at me and smirked. “I may not know what I like, but you are very hot. Like super duper über sexy, but that’s a vampire thing,” she amusingly added the latter.
She thinks I’m sexy? Hell yeah!
“Vampire thing?” I scoffed, trying to hide how much I liked her admission. “Hardly. Movies and books lie greatly. Those that are minger as sin and get turned for whatever reason, would still be minger as an immortal. The dark gift is not a magic wand which suddenly makes you pretty like Extreme Makeover Busted Bitch Edition…according to Steffen. The dark gift does not change who you are, it only magnifies what is already there. The ones that came to Lummi are rather attractive people in general, so I can see where you were confused. Case in point, Wyetta, whom is with the others in Wales, was a very unattractive man and an even more unattractive woman.”
Her eyes widened.
“And yes, I looked this good as a human,” I smugly informed her and she laughed. “Some things change, it is give and take, like all of your senses are heightened.”
“Like a predator,” she added.
“Yes,” I mumbled and rolled my eyes—smart arse. “Since the senses are heightened, everything feels, smells, tastes, and sounds differently. That was a bit strange initially. I believe that is why I am addicted to food; it is so much better now that I am dead.”
Jay Dee laughed but I wasn’t sure why. “You’re not dead, Mr. Ashton. You are very much alive.” She placed her hand on my chest over my heart. “You’re warm, blood flushes your cheeks, your chest rises and falls with air, and your heart beats. It races from my touch alone,” she whispered then licked her lips. “You are the furthest thing from dead, Mr. Ashton.”
I swallowed loudly. “I know, I was joshing,” I explained in a choked whisper
She was a bloody demon and she knew it!
“If joshing mean joking, then yes, I knew you were,” she assured me before pulling me in the pool.
When I resurfaced, I looked up at her and glared.
She was smiling and batting her long, black lashes at me innocently, however she was anything but.
“Turnabouts fair play,” I warned and reached up and pulled her into the pool.
We wrestled around in the warm water, her soft body wrapped around mine, and every place she touched caused the most intoxicating warmth to radiate under my skin. Eventually, I found her in my arms with her legs wrapped around my waist as she absently ran her fingers through my hair while her eyes moved over my face many times.
Even to this day, I don’t how she does it; she gets me talking and rambling, and apparently, I could never seem to shut up. Half of the time she couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but she apparently didn’t care. It’s as if she’s getting some type of perverse need fulfilled by simply listening to me ramble. And during one of the rare moments where I was able to shut up while I walked us around the pool, we simply looked at each other in silence.
Tenderly I caressed her head while her fingers played in my hair, and it felt as if the moment was perfect.
“May I be so bold to ask if I may kiss you?” I whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear for her.
“Can you keep your fangs to yourself?” she teased, though it was more than obvious that she was as nervous as I was.
I smiled reassuringly. “I think I can manage.”
“If you are simply trying to preoccupy yourself with the strange wolf girl out of boredom, and tell everyone about this to cause drama, simply so you have something to do, I’ll rip your throat out,” she warned.
Bloody hell, she is completely ridiculous.
“As romantic as that sounds, warning acknowledged, though I would like to point out that none of the above applies as to why I long to snog you. I have not been able to stop thinking about snogging you since making your acquaintance, if you must know.”
Her eyes narrowed, her mind scrambling, before they widened with understanding.
“Oh,” was all she said and even I strained to hear it.
Nervous, Jay Dee bit her bottom lip, moistening it in the process.
Bloody hell that is sexy.
I had never been nervous about kissing someone before, but Jay Dee was unlike any other woman I had ever met, and the fact that she gave me permission to indulge in what I had been thinking about since the first moment I saw her, made me exceptionally nervous.
“I’m getting old here, Cousin. Would you just kiss her already?” Romeo amusingly called out from one of the lounge chairs on the other side of the pool.
Bollocks.
Jay Dee laughed; it was crossed between nervousness, embarrassment, relief, irritation, and disappointment all rolled into one.
“How was school, Romeo?” she asked, looking over my shoulder at him.
“Slow,” he said, studying his nails. “It dragged ass as I watched the hands on the clock mockingly move backward. Not to mention, the mystery of what my lovely cousin had been doing all day with the missing six-foot blonde. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find you enjoying one of the many amenities that our lovely estate has to offer.”
I flipped him off, getting a smirk in return.
Jay Dee unwrapped herself from around me and I whimpered in disappointment. She swam across the pool toward where Romeo was sitting, and pulled herself out of the water. His eyes worked over her body many, many times as a perverse smirk found its way on his face.
If you lay one finger on her I will kill you.
She strolled towards him with exaggerated sultry in her hips, her chest pushed out even more, and she beckoned him forward with her finger, which he complied without question. Softly she caressed his head, her eyes working over his face many times.
You are dead!
“Tell me something, Romeo,” she purred in a deep, sexy voice, “what irritates you more? The fact that I’m here with Tanis and not you, or the fact that you never had a chance in hell with me to begin with?”
Surprisingly fast, she cupped the back of his neck and sent him flying headlong into the pool.
I laughed hysterically, and it pulled me from the dark thoughts which were suddenly consuming my mind, and I pulled myself out of the water.
That’s me Duckie.
Jay Dee stood with her hands on her hips, an eyebrow cocked in irritation, and glared at the fuming vampire treading water. “Next time, knock,” she growled and flipped him off.
In the same manner, she strolled around the pool, her hips swaying with overly exaggerated sultry, as she combed her fingers through her long hair; that was, by far, the sexiest thing I had ever seen.
“Very nice, Duckie,” I said. “However, I think you have made an enemy for life.”
She looked over her shoulder at the glaring vampire. “He’ll get over it, they always do. Besides, if he stops trying to get in my pants, I’ll show him which pants he can get into.”
I looked to Romeo and he was smiling like a lad in the girls’ locker room.
We ran into Abigail and Steffen back at the house after we got dressed.
“Hey kids,” Steffen greeted with a smile. “How was your day? Productive?”
“Yes and no,” I admitted, trying to keep the irritation of Romeo’s intrusion from showing. “She threw Romeo in the pool after giving him blueballs.”
Steffen roared with laughter. “That is awesome!” he beamed and hugged Jay Dee, picking her up off of her feet and her eyes widened in surprise.
Get your disgusting, claimed, hands off of me Duckie.
“We totally have to keep you around for a while,” he said, setting her down. “Not many get the upper hand on Romeo like that.”
“I will see what I can do,” I dryly commented, pulling Jay Dee away from him.
She is mine! I mentally snarled before shaking my head, trying to clear the suddenly possessive thoughts from my mind.
“How was school?” I asked, trying to think of anything but the unfamiliar thoughts that were, once again, consuming my mind. I honestly didn’t care about school or anything else, I was more concerned with the sudden possessiveness that I found myself feeling towards the beautiful young woman I couldn’t stop thinking about, however small talk kept humans at ease, and my anything but normal behavior was making it unbelievably comfortable for her.
We made ourselves comfortable in the parlor, and I softly growled under my breath when Steffen went to sit next to Jay Dee. He cocked an eyebrow, confused by my actions, but Abigail seemingly understood when I did not, and pushed him back on the chaise across from us and crawled up on his lap.
“School?” Steffen asked unsure, still looking at me curiously, his eyes going between Jay Dee and I many times.
“Yes, school,” I repeated, my top lip snarling.
Jay Dee weaved her fingers through mine and held my hand.
Instantly I was at ease and I turned to regard her and smiled when our eyes met.
“It was strange,” Steffen said—I didn’t miss his underlying statement. “After the first hour, nearly a quarter of the students disappeared and didn’t return. Something about someone was missing, but I can’t be sure. It was very hush-hush.”
Jay Dee groaned and buried her face in our hands since I would let go of hers. “This is so stupid!” she said.
Bloody hell, I will let go of your hand. You do not have to get narked about it!
She looked at me with pleading eyes.
Huh? Oh shite.
Realization washed over me before I said or did something even more daft than I already had that day.
“Jay Dee’s adoptive parents are the alphas of the pack,” I explained. “They were looking for her. Duckie, do you need to phone your parents before an all out war begins?” I asked.
She groaned and nodded.
“It is all right, Duckie. They will not attack,” I assured her.
Honestly, it was a lie. I hadn’t a clue if they would attack or not, and since Toran was away on business, there was no one to speak on the vampires behalf with standing in the werewolf community.
Before I could get my mobile, Mum and an unfamiliar man walked into the parlor.
“Jay Dee, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” the man, correction, werewolf, demanded.
“Hey Daddy,” she greeted with a raised eyebrow. “I skipped school and work, and went swimming.”
He started yelling at her in an unfamiliar language and she yelled back much the same.
It was as if we were watching Lummi Tribe soap operas without subtitles. I hadn’t a clue what they were talking about, however I had an idea; her werewolf father was narked that she had spent the day with a vampire boy.
“Stop,” she yelled loudly. “You are being rude. We are in their home, thus you will show respect by using your inside voice.”
He glared at her and his nostrils flared.
Jay Dee ignored him. “Daddy, this is Mr. Tanis Ashton, and these are his cousins: Steffen and his wife, Abigail. Tanis, this is my father, Chief Reign Lightfoot.”
I stood. “Sir,” I said with a nod and offered him my hand but he growled at me, and Jay Dee growled back at him.
“We are leaving,” he growled through clenched teeth.
“Now that we look like white trash trailer park rejects who just performed a live taping of Jerry Springer in their living room, you think?” she said, rolling her eyes and I laughed, most of the vampires in the room did. She turned to me. “Tanis, thanks for listening to me bitch for hours today, when no one else would.” She glared at her father when she said the latter. “I had fun, and I hope to see you around sometime.”
“Of course, would you care for a ride to school?” I offered with smile.
She smiled just as wide back. “I will see you bright and early in the morning.”
Reign grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the door.
Steffen and Abigail grabbed a hold of me when I went after him, to address his roughness with someone so delicate and beautiful, but they kept me from following them out the front door. Once it slammed behind them, and the loud growl of Reign’s truck was far in the distance, they let go of me.
“Thank you,” I mumbled under my breath.
They both nodded and looked at me curiously.
“That was not the ending to the day I was hoping for,” I admitted. “However, the day went better than I could have ever imagined,” I said, turning to them with a smile and they both laughed.
Next time no one will stop me.
Dad continued yelling at me the entire drive home, through the house, and up to my room, where I slammed the door, locking it behind me.
“Was it not you who said to play nice with the vampires? Was it not you who told me to go out and have some fun and try new things? What in the hell? Why is it that when I finally do, you freak out?” I yelled for what felt like the hundredth time. “It isn’t like I was off killing people, swapping fluids with a damn vampire or anything! Tanis’ mom was even there, so we were totally supervised...for the most part,” I mumbled the latter and threw myself back on the bed.
“You are grounded!” Mom yelled before laughing halfway through the idle threat.
That translated to Mom wasn’t nearly as pissed as Dad, and that tomorrow morning, after a mother-daughter talk, all would be forgiven.
I was startled by the soft knock at my window.
“Jay, let me in.”
I hurried to the window to let Yahto in.
“Hey, what are you doing out there?” I asked.
It had been at least three years since Yahto crawled in my bedroom window like a misplaced asexual Dawson Leary. I used to tease him by putting on that shitty Dawson’s Creek song when he’d climb in my window. He didn’t find it nearly as funny as I did.
“Fishing,” he said, making a face and rolled his eyes. “What in the hell do you think I’m doing out here? I came to see you.” He hugged me tight and threw us back on the bed, and we stretched out like we used to do as kids. “Please tell me that you didn’t skip school to suck face with a vampire,” he groaned.
I smacked him in the chest. “His name is Tanis, not vampire, and yes...no...not really...something in between. He picked me up for school and I kind of lost it. Not because he picked me up, but because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and last night I realized a lot of stuff and I didn’t like it.”
“Wait, you were together last night?” he whispered, the unmistakable sound of disgust in his tone made me smack him again.
“Yeah, you were supposed to pick me up from work and flaked as usual.”
Yahto smashed the butt of his palm against his forehead. “Shit, I totally forgot. I am so sorry. Please, oh please, tell me that I didn’t steer you to the arms of a vampire.”
I snorted. “No. You give yourself way too much credit. Anyway, Tanis was waiting for me when I got off of work in case I needed a ride. We waited until six-thirty-one for you, and then he took me to Bellingham for dinner. We ate at that Italian place, D’Anna’s on State Street.”
“No shit? How was it? I’ve always wondered.”
“It was delicious. I wanted to kill him when I did the math. Tanis didn’t think twice about dropping over a grand on dinner!”
“Shut up,” he gasped. “Seriously? That suckhead spent a thousand dollars on dinner? And you didn’t even have to put out?!”
“Shut up!” I smacked him again. “His name is Tanis, not suckhead or vampire or Count Suckula. And no, I didn’t have to put out and we didn’t kiss. We almost kissed today, while we were swimming, but his cousin interrupted us.”
“Wait, where were you swimming and you seriously want to kiss him, even though he has fangs and is nothing more than an animated corpse?”
Oh my god! Why am I talking to him about this?
“I have fangs, you have fangs, everyone has fans, even humans,” I reminded him. “And, just so you know, that animated corpse is the only person who has ever treated me like a person,” I snapped at him. “Sorry, that was rude. You and your family are part of the few exceptions, but I’m tired of being different. Now that there are others around who are different as well, I don’t feel alone anymore.”
Yahto kissed the side of my head and wrapped his arms around me even more, pulling me into him. “Sweetie, you’ve never been alone. You know that.”
“I know, but this is different. I like the way I feel when I’m around him. I like the way he makes me feel. Is that so bad? For a brief moment...when I’m around with, I feel normal.”
He shook his head but didn’t say anything else.
We lay there for a few hours, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling, just holding each other like we used to do when we were younger, until he broke the silence.
“I need to tell you something,” he whispered.
“You can tell me anything, you know that,” I assured him. “You’re my best and only friend, most of the time.”
“Ugh,” Yahto groaned and sat up, so I did likewise.
What has him so upset?
He fished something out of his pocket and held it tightly in his hand. “When my brother and I found you, you were completely naked, except for his.” Hastily, he shoved his hand at me and dropped the wad of metal in my lap. “We didn’t know what was going to happen to you, and we didn’t want the white man to get it in case it was worth something...y’know how that goes. I totally forgot about it until I found it while moving some shit from my brother’s room. I thought he had given it to your parents, but you know how flighty he is, he’d forget his ass if it wasn’t attached. Either way, happy early birthday,” he said with a shrug.
I untangled the knotted pile of silver and studied it. The snake chain had a single dangling pendant hanging from it. The pendant was an X on its side with a circle in the middle which was filled with some kind of beautiful blue glass with smaller X’s in the corners.
I punched Yahto in the arm before fastening the necklace around my neck.
“What in the hell, you forgot?” I demanded in a harsh whisper.
“Dude, you might be blonde but I’m really the blond here, you know that! Hell, I forgot my own birthday this year, remember? I’m sorry, babe. You know I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I love you, you know that. Please forgive me?”
Why do men have to be so girlie and emotional?
“Don’t I always?” I rhetorically asked before I kissed his forehead and he crushed me in a hug.
After that, I didn’t want company anymore. I kissed him goodbye and he exited the way he had come in, leaving me to contemplate life and the only piece of my past which I now had.
The mystery of the unusual necklace, mixed with the rain sheeting against the window, kept me up, to say the least.
Sadly, that was what I was telling myself.
I should have been sleeping, or trying to figure out the meaning of the necklace, but all I could think about was Tanis. His face was all I saw when I closed my eyes; his light tan skin, wide jaw and narrow chin, large, almond eyes which are in the most beautiful, haunting shade of blue with silver streaked through them. His lips, oh god his lips, were so beautiful and soft, not to mention, inviting. I still couldn’t believe we were so close to kissing!
Mental note to self; kick Romeo’s ass for that one.
A soft rapping came at my window.
I rolled over and looked at the clock: one-thirty. Yahto should have been asleep by then.
The sound came again, and I suddenly felt as if I was in some bad horror movie.
I looked down at my outfit and groaned; I guess I was dressed the part: white ribbed cotton tank top and white cotton panties—just what every axe wielding serial killer was looking for!
Scared but curious, I headed over to the window and peeked out of the curtains. I jumped back, grasping at my chest with one hand, covering my mouth with the other.
Staring back at me through the rain and glass were two large blue, silver-streaked eyes.
Tanis smiled, that crooked smirk of a smile that seeming clouded my mind in a thick, possessive fog of incoherency to the likes of nothing I’ve ever know, and caused my heart to race embarrassingly loud. Not that I needed help with that, my heart was racing from him scaring the hell out of me!
I opened the window. “What are you doing out here?” I whispered.
His eyes moved over my face many times before they worked down my body and up again.
Tanis licked his lips, and his eyes sparkled in the dim light. “Forgive my intrusion this hour and the unconventional means, however, I simply could not wait to see you again. That is two times now that I have not gotten to kiss you goodnight, and that is not acceptable to me.”
Tanis risked crossing the boundaries, starting a fight between our species, just so he could kiss me goodnight?
It truly was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.
“Okay,” I whispered and stepped back, waving him inside.
He hesitated and bit his bottom lip.
“This is a vampire thing, huh?” I surmised and he reluctantly nodded. “Y’know, you laughed at me for all of those dumb books I read, but some of them had some rather useful information in them,” I scolded.
He made a face, the face that I got from him often, which translated to Duckie-you-just-earned-yourself-a-spanking, so I batted my lashes at him.
Tanis softly snarled under his breath before shaking his head at my absurdity when I growled back and snapped my teeth at him.
“If you promise not to bite or hurt anyone in my house, you may enter, Tanis Ashton.”
In a blur of movement, he was standing in front of me.
I gazed into his eyes; it wasn’t until that moment that the height difference between us registered with me, and I had to look up to maintain eye contact with him. His usually styled hair was weighted down with rain, and it fell into his eyes, appearing more brown than blonde.
“Hey,” he whispered, his warm breath washing over my face, once again enveloping my mind in a euphoric fog of possessive desire, and I swayed on my feet as I struggled to remember how to breathe.
‘Hey back’, I mouthed.
Nervous, I licked my lips; I wasn’t entirely sure what I was supposed to do, or why I was suddenly undressing him with my eyes, fighting the urge to sink my fangs into his flesh to mark him as mine.
Do I tell him goodnight and kiss him? Maybe offer him a seat in my microscopic bedroom before I rip his clothes off and sink my teeth into him, leaving a permanent reminder to the world that this bitch has claimed him, and that if any other bitch touches him, I’ll rip their throats out.
Get it together, Jay Dee!
Tanis’ eyes worked over my face many times before his fingers caressed along the ridge of my cheekbone, leaving a trailing wake of pulsating heat as he went, before brushing away a piece of loose hair off of my cheek and tucked it behind my ear.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I started to say but was cut off when his lips pressed against mine.
The kiss was soft and tentative, at first. As light as a feather, his lips caressed mine. Tanis’ lips were even softer than I had dreamt them to be, and the contact caused my head spin and knees to shake. After a moment, he made a strange sound of frustration and wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him, holding me tight against his wet body. I gasped in surprise, and when I did, he took advantage and deepened the kiss. My lips yielded to his without much resistance as he slid one hand down my back and over my ass, the other painfully gripping onto the back of my neck as if he needed it there for control.
I wasn’t complaining in the least; he obviously took my warning about strong, werewolf women seriously.
I shivered when his tongue traced along the inside of my lips, coaxing them apart even more. Teasingly, he curled his tongue along the underside of mine, as if he was trying to get me to play with him, and when I wrapped my tongue around his, it literally took my breath away.
A perverse purr of pleasure rolled from his throat; he obviously knew what he was doing, and was enjoying torturing me.
I hated it, but I loved it at the same time.
The confliction that damn vampire caused in me was beyond anything I ever thought possible.
When Tanis traced over my small fangs with the tip of his tongue, his body vibrated slightly—it was more than obvious he was laughing at my tiny fangs—so I wrapped my tongue around his and sucked it into my mouth and dug my nails into his shoulders.
What I thought would have taught him a lesson, a silent reminder to not laugh at my tiny werefangs—as Jarvis called them—backfired because it was more than obvious that he liked it rough.
Liked it a lot.
Oh God, that feels...this can’t legal!
I thought he tasted amazing when I licked his face at the restaurant, and it only got better when I sucked on his finger, but neither could remotely compared to the taste of Tanis’ mouth. Strangely cool yet pleasantly warm at the same time, the heat and intensity seemingly flowing from him to me consumed all of my senses and the possessive thoughts started to crawl out from the back of my mind, and screamed at me that he was mine and only mine.
Once the short battle over his tongue was over, I kissed him as tenderly as he was kissing me, but there was something else happening between...we weren’t simply kissing. That was the only way I could describe it. It felt as if I could feel and hear each of his feelings and emotions. Never had I felt so in sync and connected to someone as I did then, and after the horrible emotional day I had, it was exactly what I needed...
Tanis was what I needed.
I held his face between my hands as my tongue explored his mouth just as he had done mine. The sweet taste of his mouth left me longing for more, and the sensation created when his tongue wrapped around mine sent a screaming line of desire, something only the frustrating vampire kissing me could cause, ripping through my body, seemingly swarming to my lower abdomen where it gathered in a ball of electrified nerves.
When I traced my tongue over his fangs, a chill of perverse pleasure mixed with danger raced down my spine and I growled. It was a primal growl mixed with a soft purr of pure sexual desire that rolled from the base of my throat, and it was answered by a soft growl of his own before Tanis started kissing me more aggressively.
It could have been only a few seconds or a few centuries, I honestly couldn’t tell and didn’t care, but eventually Tanis pulled away from me. Thankfully his were eyes closed, because I was practically chasing his mouth with mine, and his firm grip on the back of my neck held me in place so I couldn’t attack his mouth with mine again. His breathing was labored and his tongued licked over his lips more than once before he shivered, a soft moan of a snarl escaped from the base of his throat.
Goddamn that’s sexy.
My breathing was just as labored as his, but I couldn’t stop looking at him; Tanis was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I had never wanted anyone more than I wanted him.
Are these feelings purely hormone fueled? Is...what he’s doing now normal? Why isn’t he saying anything? Was I such a bad kisser that he’s speechless?
Damn it.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “For what?” he asked softly as he slowly opened his eyes, a strange look of complete contentment washed across his face before he looked at me curiously.
Nervous, I bit my lip, tasting him all over again.
“Lots of things I suppose,” I mumbled.
But mainly disappointing you.
“Me Duckie,” he softly purred and loosened his hold on my neck. “You have nothing to apologize for. I should be saying goodnight, now that I have had my kiss,” he said with a mischievous smirked.
Instantly my face fell.
I didn’t like the way that sounded, and the possessiveness was back; I wasn’t ready for him to leave! And if he thought I could sleep after that, he was seriously mistaken.
“Do I get to give you a kiss goodbye?” I asked as I looked at his inviting mouth.
Softly Tanis laughed. “I think I have made meself quite clear, Duckie. You can have anything you want from me…I am yours.”
And that was what I had been waiting my entire life to hear.
“Okay,” I said with a smile and pulled myself to his mouth. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing, for the most part, but I followed what he did and softly caressed his lips with mine, and they eagerly parted, effortlessly deepening the kiss.
As if my body had a mind of its own, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up, and wrapped my legs around his waist.
Tanis didn’t wait to be told twice, his hand immediately found my ass and he grabbed it, holding me tight against him and his obvious arousal.
“Bed?” I panted against his lips.
Tanis looked at me cautiously, but something in my expression made him humor me so he walked the half-dozen steps across my room and lowered us down on the bed. He stretched out on top of me, and his wet clothes sent a freezing chill across my skin but it didn’t slow our battling lips. I slid my hands under his shirt and he pulled away from my mouth just long enough that I could pull the shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. My fingers danced across his shoulders and caressed down his back, committing to memory each muscle and the way it contracted under my touch.
He worked his mouth down the length of my neck and across my shoulder in a combination of feathery kissed, teasing swipes of his tongue, and playful nibbles with his front teeth before he slid the strap to my tank top off of my shoulder. A soft moan of contentment rolled from the base of his throat and it, in turn, vibrated my body slightly, turning me on even more.
“Simply beautiful,” he murmured before tenderly kissing the newly exposed flesh.
I could feel his fangs as they brushed across my shoulder and collar bone as he went, and it caused my eyes to roll back in my head and my back arched off of the bed from the desire coursing through me. It was a struggle to find an outlet, to somehow get the vampire controlling my body in ways that it had never been controlled before… it never wanted to be controlled before but it did now, but only in the ways that Tanis could control it.
I had never felt or experienced anything like it before; it made my head swim and my heart race, and more than once I have to fight the urge to roll him over and rip his pants off, to sink my teeth into his warm flesh, to leave my mark upon his beautiful body so the world would know that he was mine and only mine.
Denying the primal longing was the hardest thing I had ever done.
When Tanis’ velvety hands ventured under my shirt, softly caressing up my stomach, his nimble fingers tracing each small muscle group, my eyes snapped open and my body automatically tensed. I laid there without moving, reluctantly waiting for him to continue up my ribs to my breasts, but he didn’t. Instead, he slid down my body and turned his attention to stomach and teased me with his mouth. The tip of his tongue circled my bellybutton, and each completed circuit drove me completely insane with desire, before he turned his attention to each muscle indentation and placed feathery kisses along each.
One of my hands pushed against the headboard while the other knotted in his hair, aggressively directing him along my body without meaning to, and when he softly bit the front of my hip, I inadvertently moaned...rather loudly.
Tanis chuckled and unknotted my hand from his hair and I pouted. “Duckie, are you trying to get me killed?” he teased.
“Nu huh,” I pouted and quickly shook my head.
He crawled up on top of me and stretched his body along mine before softly kissing my lips. “Whatever am I going to do with you, me Duckie?” he whispered as his eyes moved over my face many times.
“You could keep doing what you were doing because it was awesome,” I strongly suggested, and he buried his face against the side of my neck and shook with contained laughter.
Or not.
“Oh shut up,” I mumbled and slapped his ass. “It isn’t funny. That was amazing.”
“No, you are amazing,” he whispered and caressed down the length of my neck with the tip of his nose, he then trailed soft kisses across my shoulder. “Duckie, I have never met someone who makes me forget what I am, and remember who I was, as you do. I have never felt more alive or human than I have in these past few days...and that is solely because of you. I..I cannot even put into words... Duckie, I love it,” he whispered before brushing his lips against mine again, causing me to squirm under him—anything to get closer to him, but he didn’t seem to get it.
When I didn’t say anything, he nodded his understanding.
“The hour is late,” he murmured, his eyes moving over my face once more.
“And you’re half naked and all wet,” I countered, well aware at what he was hinting at, and I wrapped myself around him in a feeble attempt to hold him hostage.
He shook his head in amused disappointment. “That I am,” he agreed.
I cocked an eyebrow.
“What are you subtly trying to tell me, Duckie?” he asked so softly that it caused my eyes to flood with tears.
He was a vampiric demon and didn’t even know it.
“Stay,” I pleaded, caressing the wet hair off of his forehead, “with me...please.”
His beautiful eyes worked over my face many times. “I am sorry, Duckie, however, that is not very honorable.”
As much as I loved his old world charm, it was annoying as hell when I was trying to get laid.
“This is the twenty-first century,” I pointed out.
Tanis cocked an eyebrow. “You do not say,” he mused.
“I do, and I’m not about to let you out of there without a fight,” I confidently informed him.
A smile filled his face. “Well, when you put it like that, how can I possibly deny such an invitation?”