30. A LOVER’S PURR

A LOVER'S PURR

I regretted saying his name in the dark immediately. My body went rigid as if I could play dead and pretend it didn't happen. Maybe he hadn't heard me? Hopefully, he'd already fallen asleep. Because what if he wasn't interested? I couldn't imagine that any of this was easy for him. But what if he wanted a distraction, too? Too complicated. Everything felt too complex.

So many conflicting needs and concerns raced through my mind. I should leave him alone. He probably needs his rest for strength. After all, he planned to kill Callum, whenever he showed up. I was simply having a moment of weakness, beckoning to him in the dark like a jackass, toying with the idea of doing something idiotic. Although, we were on the brink of death. Maybe if there was ever a time to make ridiculous decisions, it was now; we might not survive this. I would fight and claw until the bitter end to get back to my children, so I could be there for them. So they didn't have to mourn me. But I was human, and even if Andras promised to keep me in one piece, Calum was far older and sounded far more vicious.

"Yes?" Andras asked, and I startled, even though his voice was seductive, a lover's purr–like smoke, and midnight, and gin.

He sounded wide awake. Did he even need to sleep? In movies and books, some of them slept all day in coffins, optionally watched over by some sort of ghoul. Others didn't sleep at all, spending their days going to high school and nights finding a food source, or maybe creepily watching others sleep.

"Do you need to sleep?" I blurted out.

"I do. But not that much. We typically need a few hours at night and maybe a few hours during the day. It's more like we need a couple of naps for each earthly rotation, instead of a full night's rest. However, we can sleep more if we like, and there have been many periods in my life when I was so godsdamn bored that I slept quite a bit. I barely remember the nineteen-fifties."

I laughed softly.

"Your life is incredible. I still can't believe you're a…that you're–"

"I know. I still don't believe it, and it's been six hundred years." He hummed a laugh.

I turned towards him. I could just make out the shadowy silhouette of his face, the straight nose, and full lips. His chest rose and fell. Jess and I grew up obsessed with faeries and vampires and other fantastical things from books, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be sharing a bed with one. Gods, he was so beautiful, and I could smell him, his scent, mixed with whatever that deep, woodsy scent.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk for a bit, then?"

"That would be nice. If you're not too tired, of course."

"I'm not tired at all."

He shifted in the bed again, and the mattress tremored. He raised himself up on his elbow, head resting on his hand. Was he looking at me? I crossed my eyes at him, and he laughed softly.

"Testing my vision?" He asked so quietly I could barely hear him.

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess," he sighed. I could hear the smile in his words. "And yes," he continued, "I saw that. I can see everything as clearly as the day. I can see your yellow-green eyes and those long lashes. Your pretty olive skin, your high cheekbones and wild, beautiful hair fanned across the pillow. Now I'm picturing your lovely, full breasts, the beautiful soft scar on your lower belly, and the curve of your hips. I haven't stopped thinking about any of it, actually, since that night."

I tried to swallow, but my mouth had gone dry.

"Me either," I admitted quietly.

I wanted to reach out and touch him. I slowly pulled my hand out from underneath the sheets and slid it across the comforter towards him until the bed shifted and a large hand rested gently over it. His long soft fingers roamed the back of my hand and the top of my wrist, lightly tickling the skin. I inhaled sharply. My entire body went motionless before melting into the sheets.

"Andras?"

"Yes?"

"Will you kiss me?"

The bed shifted as he closed the distance between us. A hand gently brushed my cheek, warm breath tickled my forehead before soft lips pressed there. Fingers caressed my neck, then found their way across my chest, down my side, where they stayed, tracing long lines from my ribs to my hips. He placed a kiss on my temple, and then on each of my cheeks, where his lips lingered for some time. I could hardly breathe as my body came to life for him; electricity built in my chest, a tingling shot down my spine, collected in my lower belly, then flowed like warm honey toward the center of me. I could feel him hover above my mouth, his breath jagged and quick. Slowly, his full lips pressed into mine with painful gentleness, as if the self-restraint was part of the act for him. I wrapped one arm around his back, the other around his neck, and let my fingers drift upward to rake through his dark hair, pulling him down to me, and his lips pressed harder, then his mouth parted. His tongue flicked and teased mine, which sailed across his as I explored his mouth, his full lips, and something sharp…

A canine. I pulled back to study his face, still concealed by the shadows. I could just make out his features. He grinned wickedly, both fangs fully extended, then shrugged.

"Sorry," he whispered, not sorry at all.

My breathing hitched. He sat back onto his knees and reached, slowly, for the hem of my shirt.

"Is this okay?" he asked, his fingers hovering just above the fabric.

Yes," I rasped.

Then my shirt was off, and then my shorts and underwear, all at once. Then his. Our naked bodies tangled under the comforter as he placed himself between my legs. My fingers wandered across the pits and valleys between the hard muscles of his chest and stomach, formed from centuries of training as a soldier. I wanted him. I needed him. I moaned, and my hand wandered lower until I reached the hardest part of him.

Taking him into my palm, I stroked lightly up and down the shaft, exploring the impressive size. A low growl rumbled from within him, and I swore for a second that his blue eyes flashed gold. His tongue flicked across my neck, then down my chest, lingering on each breast, where he teased the sensitive peaks of my hard nipples. His fingers found the slickness between my legs, and my clit, where he made gentle, artful circles with the kind of expertise that could only come be the result of hundreds of years of fucking. My back arched, and my legs widened for him as he moved lower until his mouth lingered just above my entrance, where he let his breath tickle and taunt me until I felt like I might die. Then he licked up my entire center. I cried out and grabbed his hair. His tongue moved up and down, fast, quickly bringing me almost to the edge, and then he slowed until my body cooled just a little, before quickening the pace. He pressed his tongue into me, pushing in and out, pinning my hips down with his arm as my body writhed against him. He moved up to my clit again, sucking gently, pushing two fingers into me, and moving them slowly back and forth until I teetered on the edge again.

Then he stilled.

"No, please," I whimpered.

He chuckled darkly, climbing over me, licking and nipping, until he lay next to me, and I panicked, thinking he was going to leave me there feeling empty and unfulfilled. I'd beg. He slid his arm under my back, gripped my hip with his fingers, and flipped me onto my side. I ground my ass against his hard cock as he positioned himself behind me. I instinctively spread my legs, and he licked up my neck as he positioned the head of his cock against my entrance.

"May I?" he whispered into my ear.

"Oh Gods, please," I moaned.

"Yes?"

"YES!"

He pushed his cock into me, and in, deeper and deeper. I gasped and reached my arm around his back to pull him closer until it was impossible to tell where my body began, and his ended. The fingers of his right hand found my sex again, impossibly slick and ready, and began caressing in gentle circles as he pulled out halfway, then plunged in again. My lower belly tingled and burned with pleasure. He took me to the edge and then held me there.

"Is this okay," he whispered into my ear, and I felt sharp canines graze my neck. My head fell back, my mind wild with need, my body full of him, of him, of him… "Yes!" I moaned. Then there was pressure on my neck, a burning pain, followed by absolute, mind-bending euphoria. I gasped as if I were releasing decades of tension and pain. He could bleed me dry and I'd thank him for it. I went over the edge, screaming his name as I trembled and spasmed around him. He sped up, pounding harder, deeper, until a low growl escaped him as he sucked gently at my neck while his cock pulsed inside of me. Then he released my neck and licked the wound. He slid out of me a few moments later, and we lay there, side by side, panting.