Chapter 4

4

HARKER

“ P enelope?” Just saying her name sends a shiver down my spine. It’s a name I’ve known for so long, yet every time I utter it, I feel like a naughty boy taking the Lord’s name in vain for the first time.

I’m standing in her doorway. It’s open, but no response comes from her.

“Are you in there?” I peek my head through the door.

Empty.

I’ve been a terrible host. I ran during a moment of potential intimacy out of fear. I’m not ready to expose myself to her, and she deserves time to get comfortable in this new situation. Even so, I never saw a glimmer of fear in her eyes as I spoke my truth. As I professed my intrigue and interest in her. My wants and desires. Subtle, perhaps, but every word was sincere.

She smiled her white-toothed smile and her cheeks grew rosy, but never once was there any consternation.

At least, I hope not.

“I fear I’ve been a terrible host,” I speak to the emptiness. In my hasty escape, I never gave her a tour of my home. Perhaps that’s where she’s off to now, finding her way to the kitchen for a drink of water or a snack from the pantry.

A sound from the bathroom catches my attention. An angelic noise that tickles my eardrums. She’s humming a tune, and like a siren’s song, I’m lured closer to it. To the door that’s left ajar.

Closer to her.

As I near, I hear the sound of rushing water, and it makes blood roar in my ears.

Turn away, Harker. She’s busy , the logical voice inside my head demands.

But I’ve been making it a habit of throwing logic out the window with every action I’ve undertaken since I received the invitation to her birthday. What’s a few more bad decisions before the end of the night?

The sound of pouring water stops just before I make it to the crack in the door.

“Okay,” I hear her melodic and sing-song voice. It’s followed by a splash as she enters the bath.

Don’t do this. It’s not too late to turn away now.

But it is.

Reasoning with myself has never been a struggle before. My mind is a strongbox that understands the good from bad in every situation. But it’s not me fighting this time. It’s my heart, my cock, and my mind dueling in a standoff, and the thickness forming in my pants seems to be the winner.

I press my face into the crack in the door and see Penelope there in all her splendor. She hums in satisfaction as she slides lower into the water. She’s fucking stunning. Wide hips round and curve into a perfect peach-shaped ass. The trimmed and shaped light tuft of golden hair on her pubic region.

Then…

A thin waist expands upward to the perfect handful-sized breasts, with two sharp, pink nipples sticking just out of the water’s line. Long, pale legs that stretch out in the clawfoot bathtub. I can see everything, apart from the slit between her legs.

My cock throbs against my pants, and it makes my bones ache. Every ounce of blood has pumped through my heart and straight to it. I’m lightheaded and dizzy, yet so fucking eager to kick down this door and claim what’s mine.

It’s an illogical thought, but I have to wonder if she left everything open on purpose in case I’d stumble by. With two large oak doors as barriers, she had more than enough ways to keep me out if she so chose. So why leave her door open? Or a crack in the bathroom just wide enough for a voyeur to come stand vigil over her?

Once more, the angelic hum returns. It’s soft, soothing, and warms the cockles of my heart. It reminds me of a simpler time, long before I got involved with the Carlisle brothers. Hell, long before I became a man. It’s a new tune, yet so familiar to my ear I could swear I heard my mother resonate the same sounds years ago.

Christ, old boy. You’re really thinking of your mother while you have a stunning goddess literally dripping in front of you? You’re all sorts of fucked up.

True but maybe she is too.

While lost in thought, I don’t notice her eyes open, and they instantly lock with mine. Two blue saucers stare back at me from the tub, yet she doesn’t make a move to cover herself up. She looks stunned. Stuck in place.

Oh fuck.

“Harker?” she calls. “Is that you?”

I should’ve run when I had the chance.

“I called and didn’t get an answer.” I turn away out of respect. “I realized I was a poor host and didn’t show you around. I wanted to make sure you were settling in alright.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you while I was running the bath,” she giggles. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to. I should be the one apologizing.”

“For what?” Her voice shifts from sweet and innocent to sultry and alluring. Once more, I feel the siren beckoning me to the crack in the door. “The door was open. You just wanted to have a look.”

A choked cough forces its way out of my throat.

“I understand you live here alone. And have for a long time.” Her tone doesn’t shift. Every note hits my ear and shoots straight to my throbbing cock. “No coming and going. No entertainment. No women to keep you company,” she coos, and I hear the swishing of water as she adjusts herself in the bath. “It must be lonely. And I can’t blame you for wanting to look. I saw the way you were salivating when you stared at me earlier at the party.”

I can’t tell if I’m having a heart attack or if I’m going to come in my trousers.

“And the subtle hint. Queen of the Dead. It took me longer than it should have to understand.” She chuckles again. It’s long and drawn out, but before it comes to a natural end, a little moan escapes her lips. “And you saved me tonight. You took me away from a place I wasn’t wanted and brought me somewhere I’d be worshiped. So, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least let you have a look.”

Another soft, muddled groan follows her words.

“So, why not come have a look, Harker? You know you want to.”

My heartbeat is in my ears, and I try to center myself with a deep breath. Penelope hasn’t even done anything and I’m a mess. What’s going to happen when I open the door to see what’s making her squeak and moan?

Here we go. This is everything I’ve dreamt about since I first saw her earlier. She isn’t playing coy. She’s practically begging for me to burst through the door and take her. Claim her. Fuck her silly and leave her in a puddle.

And I’ll be damned if I don’t follow my goddess’ order.

I press a palm flat against the door and push it open. What I see makes my jaw drop through the fucking hardwood floor I’m standing on.

Penelope is still lying back, but she has her legs kicked over each side of the tub. Beneath the water, her delicate hand strokes her pink nub in slow, gentle circles. Her eyes are locked on me. She’s inspecting my body from top to bottom, and they linger on the tent in my pants.

She sinks her teeth into her lower lip at the sight of it, and her fingers start to move quicker.

Naughty, naughty.

“Do you like what you see?” Penelope asks, but her attention never wavers from my cock.

“Like? I fucking love it.” My breathing is shaky, and it makes my words come out awkwardly. “You’re fucking perfect.”

“Good.” A devilish grin stretches on her face. “But it isn’t fair, is it?”

“What’s that?” I ask, finding it impossible to break eye contact with her cunt. I just want to drop to my knees and shove my face between her thighs, drowning in the mixture of bathwater and her pussy juice.

What a way to die.

“I’m sitting here naked and bare, and you’re still fully clothed.” Her body jerks as she hits a pleasurable point, and her tits bounce from the motion. “Take your cock out.”

I do as Penelope orders. I undo my belt and unzip my pants. With one hard tug, my pants pool at my ankles, and Penelope’s big blue eyes follow my cock as it bounces free from its confines.

Sweet relief.

“It’s so big,” she gulps, but her very next touch makes her moan loudly.

“Does it please you?” I ask. I wrap a hand around my shaft and start working slow motions up and down it. I need to move steadily because each stroke is an overwhelming blast of pleasure that threatens to throw me over the edge.

She nods while her eyes roll to the back of her head. Her fingers start to move fast now, and her free hand travels up the length of her body to squeeze a breast. The quiet noises she made before transform into heavier groaning.

“If that’s what the thought of it can do, imagine how it would feel balls deep in your guts.” No point in holding my tongue or pretending to be civil.

“You’d tear me in half.” Penelope’s breathing becomes more erratic. “Fill me to the brim and leave me a mess.”

Every word she says is followed by another moan. The hand on her breast pinches a nipple while the other circles faster and faster. She’s close, I can tell. Now’s my time to get in there.

“You’d destroy my virgin pussy—” What did she just say? “And you’d leave me desperate and begging for more.”

“You’re a virgin?” My fist squeezes harder, and my stroking intensifies.

It’s both the greatest news I’ve ever heard and the sharpest dagger I’ve ever felt in my heart. I can’t take her and break her here in the bath on her first night in my house. She deserves something far more special than watching me beat off to her.

“I am.” She erupts into a cacophony of pleased sounds. “And I want you to make me your slut.”

Her words send me over the edge. I can’t fight it as much as I want to. With one last hard thrust, I explode and ropes of my seed shoot across the bathroom floor. Penelope opens her eyes just in time to watch, and she licks her lips in delight.

With a wicked grin, she stands up from the water. She grabs a towel from the rack and wraps it around her body.

“Next time that happens,” —she winks at me— “it better be inside me.”