Cherry Stem Page 2

  We never reached my home. We started making out in the car—I remember giggling too much, probably because of the champagne—and things had gotten heated rather fast. My sequined dress, extremely short to begin with, had bunched around my waist, and he had his hand inside my panties when I felt a sharp pain at my neck. I never really liked hickeys and I’d been supposed to begin shooting Knotting Cherry Stem the following day so I’d tried to push him away, but to no avail.

  The shooting of Knotting Cherry Stem had been canceled, of course. I hadn’t been sued for breach of contract because nobody had been able to locate me. Willoughby had dumped my lifeless body in an alley.

  Alex didn’t seem like the kind of man to dump someone in an alley. Maybe that was why I felt a pang at the thought of using him. A pang, mind you, not guilt. We, creatures of the night and all, don’t feel such puny emotions. Just a pang when he opened the passenger’s door for me, another when he didn’t try to cop a feel while grasping the gearshift, another when he asked where I was from, how old I was…

  Turning sideways in my seat, I took in Alex’s profile. He reminded me of a Greek god: nose a bit too large, adding a masculine tone to his face that would otherwise be too pretty with the long-lashed eyes and pouty lips, and hair just long enough to curl over the collar of his shirt. The streetlights gave the black curls a shine that tempted me to run my fingers through them.

  He pulled into a driveway, and I focused on the scenery outside for the first time since we’d gotten into his car. A nice street in Monterey Hills with single and two-story houses only. Not the kind of neighborhood I’d associate with a cop.

  Then again, the house that the driveway led to didn’t look at all like what I’d expected a cop’s house to be.

  He seemed apologetic while telling me there had been a gas leak in his apartment in the city. “My mom’s away for a few weeks and said I could crash here until it’s fixed.”

  His mom’s? He’d brought me to his mom’s? Okay, so she was away and his place wasn’t habitable at the moment, but hadn’t he heard of hotels? And how would I even enter the place? “She won’t mind you having company over?” I asked, trying to decide whether to stick with him and see if I could enter the house, compel him to take me somewhere else, or cut my losses and find someone else to get me through the night.

  “Nah. I grew up here. It’s as much my home as it is hers.” From where I stood at the threshold, I saw a wistful smile grace his lips. “Plus it’s always tidy and with a full fridge.”

  It was the smile that sold me; this place was special to him, and something deep inside made me want to see it. And even if he turned out to be a momma’s boy after all, I wouldn’t stick around for it to matter. That was one problem solved.

  He gave a half shrug and held the door open for me. “Come in.”

  Phew!

  Gesturing to his right, he indicated the living room. “Make yourself at home. I’ll get us something to drink.”

  I really couldn’t make myself at home with all the frilliness and floral patterns surrounding me, but I tried. I sank into the huge sofa, crossed my legs demurely at the ankles, and waited for him.

  An “uh-huh” came from the kitchen, followed by “I knew she had liquor here.” Alex’s head poked out of the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room. “What’ll it be?”

  My turn to shrug. “Do you have beer?” I didn’t feel like making him prepare me a cocktail.

  “Beer?” He mock scowled. “What kind of drink is that for a lady?”

  I made a show of looking around. “Lady? Where?” If that wasn’t an invitation, I don’t know what would be, but Alex laughed. It was a nice laugh—deep, like his voice, rich and hearty.

  “All women are ladies until proven otherwise,” he said with a wink before disappearing from sight.

  I wanted to prove myself otherwise. And fast. Other than having the serious munchies, I was more attracted to him than I’d been to anyone since I’d broken up with my ex-boyfriend years earlier.

  He brought me my drink and sat in the armchair to my right. That wouldn’t do.

  “Why so far away?” I asked. “And aren’t you drinking?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve had enough for one night.”

  He didn’t explain his seating choice, and I was confused. He wouldn’t have brought me there unless he was attracted to me, so I didn’t get why he wasn’t doing anything about it. “So…are you seeing someone special?” I didn’t know why, but I really wanted to know the answer. And I wanted it to be no.

  He took some time to reply, and the look in his eyes made me antsy. It was too serious. Maybe he was seeing someone. Maybe he was married, despite the lack of a wedding band on his finger, or lived with his girlfriend, and that was why he’d taken me to his mother’s house. It would explain why he was reluctant to make a move.

  It felt like forever until he spoke again. “No.” He sighed. “I couldn’t be more single. You?”

  “I don’t do relationships anymore.” Not since I’d found Constantine in bed with his maker. Constantine, who’d promised to love me forever and had then broken my heart.

  Silence again. I hate silence sometimes. This was one of those times.

  He opened his mouth, then closed it again and rubbed his temples. “I may be about to say the stupidest thing,” he said, “but…I’d never pay for sex.”

  I looked at him, mouth agape. My first instinct was to go over our interactions trying to find what I’d done wrong to give him that impression, but I held back. It wasn’t my fault he’d jumped to conclusions. He was an asshole, pure and simple, and the only thing that saved him from a full-on angry vampire attack was that said angry vampire was too shocked to react.

  “It’s not about my job.” Sighing dramatically, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I’m not going to arrest you or lecture you, even though going after someone you know is a cop is stupid. I just thought we could talk.” After a pause, he added, “I’m not paying for that either.”

  I wanted to slap him, but that might end with his head flying into the wall and I’d hate to ruin the beige tapestry with bloodstains. “I don’t charge,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Come on, Cherry.” He placed his hand on my knee in a brotherly fashion. “The clothes, the attitude…”

  I hated the tears that sprang unbidden to my eyes as I jumped up and turned toward the door. “I’m leaving,” I said. “You’re an asshole.” My taste in men seemed consistent, if nothing else.

  He was fast for a human. And strong. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me to face him. “You’re telling the truth.” He sounded incredulous, which gave my anger a fresh boost.

  “A woman can’t go out at night by herself to have a drink? She can’t see a man she likes, and—and want him, without being a prostitute?” If I’d fed, I’d have been beet red by then.

  “Cherry, I’m sorry. I—all the leather and the way you came on to me… I thought—”

  “What you should have thought was that you were about to get incredibly lucky.” I shook his hand off. “Not anymore, though.”

  I kept glaring, even after he grabbed me again and brought his lips to mine—glared for all of a second before melting into the kiss. His lips were soft and moist and apparently magical, because while they were attached to mine, I forgot all about how he’d insulted me.

  When I remembered, I pushed him back hard enough to send him flying into the chair he’d recently vacated. “Oh, now that you know it’s for free, you want it?” I leaned over him and grabbed the arms of the chair, trapping him. “Well, you can’t have it!” I said the words slowly, keeping my tone even. I can now say with certainty that vampires can’t kill with our eyes, since Alex survived the daggers thrown by mine.

  “I wanted it from the start!” He got in my face. “Just not…not the way I thought it was offered.” His voice gradually lost oomph, until the last few words were whispered, his face a study in misery. “I am an asshol
e. You looked so pretty and so out of place, and I couldn’t believe that you just—” He ran his palm over his face. “I’m an asshole.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek. “And I’m so very sorry. Both for insulting you and for screwing this up. I’ll drive you to your place, and then you never have to see me again.”

  There was no doubt in my mind he felt bad about what he’d thought and said, but he’d really insulted me. I should just accept his apology and walk away. But maybe I shouldn’t be hasty. I mean, he’d said he was sorry and he’d called me pretty. Too pretty for him to believe I’d genuinely been into him—that had to count for something, right? Most importantly, though, I shouldn’t care what he thought of me. I should feed, have fun, and get out of there.

  This time I kissed him.

  I wasn’t in the mood for softness and hadn’t been for a while. I pressed my lips against his violently and invaded his mouth with my tongue. After his shock wore off, though, he took over, his languid pace lulling my sense of urgency. He cupped my face with his palms and withdrew enough that his breath merely caressed my lips. I tried to kiss him again, and he chuckled.

  A mewling sound came from my throat. That snapped me out of my lustful haze long enough to push his hand away and crawl onto his lap. I wasn’t the prey, I was the predator, and it was about time Alex knew that. Knees framing his thighs, I undid his belt and pulled hard enough that it came out, ripping a couple of loops in the process.

  He unzipped his pants one-handed, the fingers of his other hand bunching around my thong and pulling it aside. Stretching awkwardly to reach his back pocket, he fished out a condom. Since I couldn’t explain why there was no need for it, I took it from him, ripped the packaging with my teeth, and slowly rolled it down his cock. I took my time touching and stroking his long, hard shaft, enjoying his gasps. He was hard for me, gasped for me, and that only made me want him more; I had the sort of power over him that had nothing to do with physical strength. I relished it.

  He grasped my wrist, stopping my movements. Time held still for a second as our gazes locked. I could get lost in those eyes, and that was dangerous. I squeezed my eyelids shut, shifted my grip, and guided him inside my pussy. I didn’t want to look at his face; that might make it more than sex.

  His hands closed on my hips, lowering me onto him slowly. Inch by agonizing inch, he entered me, and I wanted nothing but to take all of him in. I couldn’t be patient. There was a void inside me that ached to be filled.

  Alex wouldn’t be rushed. “God you’re beautiful…so beautiful.” He caressed my hip bones with his thumbs, and I got goose bumps all over. “I want you so much. Feels so good being inside you.”

  His words wouldn’t let me focus on the feeling of his cock. I kissed him to shut him up. I didn’t want to hear all the pretty words when I knew he wouldn’t remember saying them later. I just wanted to ride him until I saw stars.

  Suddenly he thrust upward. I sucked in a breath. He was big, stretching my pussy just this side of pain. I liked it, but it wasn’t enough.

  “More.”

  He fisted his hand in my hair and pulled my head to the side to graze my neck with his teeth. “I didn’t prepare you,” he whispered.

  I hadn’t believed he needed to; I’d been wet since his fingers had made contact with the skin of my lower back at the club. I tried to swivel my hips to show him just that, but he held me still.

  “There’s no rush. Let me make it good for you.” He pulled me backward and lowered his lips to my collarbone, his free hand fiddling with the laces of my top.

  I couldn’t imagine how he’d make it any better. Every nerve ending in my body felt exposed. His breath caressing me set my skin ablaze. “Fuck me.” I slid a hand inside his shirt and dug my nails into his shoulder.

  His hips bucked, and he hissed but wouldn’t move other than that.

  “Let me make it good for you,” he said again, finally uncovering my breasts.

  My keys fell with a happy jingling from where I’d stashed them in my cleavage; I’d left the house thinking there would be no undressing. Handbags, clutches, and the sort aren’t very easy to handle during an emergency takeoff, and I always thought dancing while holding a handbag looked stupid.

  Alex, unaware of my self-ass-kicking, fastened his lips around one nipple and rolled his hips. I could do nothing but moan as he began pumping inside me slowly, his shallow thrusts synchronized with the pulls of his mouth. His tongue flicking my nipple sent a tingle down my spine, but it was his cock driving in and out of me that sent jolt after jolt of pleasure to my core.

  His thrusts became deeper, harder, adding to the fire he’d lit inside me. He turned his attention to my other breast, his warm mouth making me shiver. I arched my back in abandon, offering more of me to his wandering mouth, his hold on my hip the only thing keeping me from falling backward.

  I clawed the air, seeking purchase against his shirt and failing. The silky material evaded my fingers, but I stopped trying. I couldn’t focus on anything but the pressure building between my legs.

  Alex pulled me up by the shoulders and gathered me to him. The angle changed, and he started rocking his hips faster, every stroke sending me higher on a seemingly endless spiral of pleasure.

  His chest was sweaty against my breasts. My nipples, already tender, throbbed as they rubbed against his glistening skin. I nuzzled his neck, nibbling on the smooth skin over his pulse point. I wanted to penetrate him like he was penetrating me. I wanted to taste his blood. I wanted more of him inside me than I already had. I ran my tongue down the column of his neck and loved the goose bumps that rose when I blew my breath on it.

  He bit me.

  Blunt, perfectly human teeth dug into my shoulder at the same time he raised my hips and slammed me down on him again. His balls slapped against my ass, and I couldn’t hold back under the sensations assaulting me. My entire body tightened, and the tension in my belly uncoiled in every direction, wiping all logic and turning me into a creature made of pure need. A scream of delight burst through my open lips before I fastened my mouth on Alex’s neck and pierced his skin with my fangs.

  I tried to be gentle—if done right, a vampire bite can be painless—but his fierce thrashing under me and plunging inside me made me lose my mind. I drank and drank, drawing more of Alex inside me with every sip. Each pull on his blood made my pussy spasm and drew out my orgasm, his moans music to my ears.

  For a few moments there, it was like I was floating. My lips felt dry. I opened my eyes and had to blink a couple of times before my vision cleared. What had just happened was…wow. My brain was too fuzzy to search for the right word.

  I licked the wound on Alex’s neck tenderly, closing it. Then I cleaned my lips with my tongue and raised my gaze to his, getting ready for the moment that canceled the whole night: the moment to erase me from his mind.

  He smiled at me and held me tighter, apparently oblivious to what I’d done. His chest heaved with panted breaths; his heartbeat pounded in my ears.

  I hated that I liked it.

  I started to stand on leaden legs, letting his softening cock slip out of me, but his grip felt made of steel despite the blood I’d taken from him.

  “Stay,” he said. Though worded as an order, it sounded like a plea.

  “I can’t.” I really couldn’t. If I did, there might be no turning back.

  He kissed me leisurely, intimately. It was too much. I gave in. “Only for a little while.”

  He shifted me sideways in his lap and gathered me to him, tucking my feet snugly between his thigh and the armchair. “I wish there was a blanket down here,” he said. “Or do you…want to go upstairs?”

  Upstairs. Where the bedrooms probably were. Where he’d probably want me to stay longer. I should just have gone. Right then.

  I shook my head. “I like it here.”

  Laying his cheek on my head, he whispered against my hair, “I like it too.”

  I stayed there, cuddling with him, for longer than I shou
ld have. Unwilling to let go of his warmth, I listened to his heart rate slow down to normal and his breath even out. Once he was asleep, I thought it’d be a shame to wake him and wipe his memory. Instead I watched him until the angles of his face, the curve of his lips, and the smoothness of his brow were imprinted on my mind. My gaze fell to his neck. Despite everything, my bite mark was nothing more than a couple of dots, like pinpricks. I kissed my mark and inhaled Alex’s scent to complete my mental picture of him.

  I never allowed myself to fall asleep anywhere but in my basement apartment, and I made sure I was back there before sunrise. The sun coming up doesn’t make us narcoleptic, but it can make us nice and crispy, so I always made a point of checking the sunrise time online before going out—better safe than sorry, as they say.

  Well…almost always.

  I fell asleep.

  Chapter Two

  I awoke with a jolt. Sharp pain sliced through my right side. My arm hurt like it had been carved to the bone. I tried to bring it up, see what the damage was, and had to bite back a scream. The pain became sharper, deeper, as if the flesh was being peeled off. The curtain, flimsy as it was, had blocked some of the sunlight, but not enough to keep it from burning the skin of my right shoulder and as much of that side of my back as hadn’t been covered by the armchair and Alex’s arm. It stretched and felt about to tear open with every move I made.

  I shrieked—an honest-to-God shriek that I’d thought could only be accomplished by teenage drama queens—and jumped off Alex’s lap to crouch between the armchair and sofa.

  Alex’s eyes snapped open. “What—”

  “Room without a window?”

  Why was he looking at me and not replying?

  “Alex!” His eyes cleared and became more focused after I’d barked out his name. “Where is a room without a window?” I hated to think of what would happen if there wasn’t one in the entire house. The sun was low enough now, but soon it’d be streaming in through all the glass panes. Even if I managed to find a spot where it didn’t directly hit me, I’d feel like I was in a furnace.