This is crazy, I told myself as I stood outside the glossy black door with the polished brass knocker shaped like a bat. Somebody had a sense of humor, at least. Jude lived in a large, elegant Tudor-style house that just missed being a mansion by a few square feet. It was set in the middle of an immaculately manicured lawn and surrounded by high hedges, maybe to block the sunlight during the day? Either that or his gardener had an overdeveloped sense of privacy.
Jude’s expensive gated neighborhood in West Chase was about as far from my run-down apartment building in Ybor City as you could get and it had taken me a while to find it. In fact, I was more than thirty minutes late. I wondered if Jude had given up on me. Maybe I should give up on me—what was I doing here?
I’d had a whole week to talk myself out of this but somehow I hadn’t because I couldn’t help thinking of what he’d said—that his blood could help me. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to drink a gallon of it to get the good effects. Being a non-shifter I’d never acquired the taste for blood and raw meat that most weres have. Speaking of other weres, what would my family think of me now? Fraternizing with the enemy.
Like they’d care, I told myself scornfully. It wasn’t like my mom and dad had disowned me but we’d drifted apart after the awful night it became clear I was never going to come into my own. And there were other things that had happened, which had put distance between us. Things I preferred not to think about and it was easier to keep them at bay when I wasn’t in touch with my parents.
About the only family member I kept up with now was my little brother, Diego. We were really close and talked often. Like me, he had broken out of the mold and left our family pack. Now he was running with a tough bunch of Latino wolves called, fittingly enough, Los Lobos. Not very imaginative but weres tend to be more practical than creative.
I lifted my hand for maybe the fifth time to knock and put it down again. Was I doing the right thing? Would I regret my decision once I was on the other side of that glossy black door?
Before I could change my mind again, the door in question swung open and Jude looked out at me. “Luz, I’m so glad to see you. I was afraid you might have decided against coming to see me.” He made it sound like a social visit—like I was just dropping in for a drink. Well, I was, in a way. At least, I was dropping in to let him drink from me. I felt my skin pebble up into goose bumps and tried to push the thought away. It was easier to pretend I was just here for a business deal and leave the idea of those sharp white fangs I could see peeking out from under his sensuous upper lip out of the equation.
“I got a little lost coming here,” I said stiffly. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You’re here now—that’s all that matters.” Jude stepped to the side and made a sweeping gesture of welcome with one arm. “Please, come in.”
I stepped past him into the dim interior of the house, my heart racing about a hundred miles a minute. Now I knew how human women felt when they went on blind dates. Vulnerable.
“Please be at ease,” Jude murmured. Tonight he was wearing a thin black crew neck T-shirt that hugged the muscular planes of his chest and tight, faded jeans. I liked the more casual look on him and hoped I hadn’t overdressed myself. I had on a short, flirty black skirt with red flowers on it and a silky bright red blouse to match. I knew the red would bring color to my cheeks and make my eyes look brighter.
There was really no excuse to dress up for a vampire but I’d bought the outfit ages ago to wear on dates and then it had just languished in my closet. Even though I knew that tonight was about a business deal, I couldn’t help putting it on. Feeling pretty made me more confident and at that moment I needed all the confidence I could get just to walk into Jude’s house.
He shut the door so gently I didn’t even hear it close. I was too busy looking around, anyway. The large house was decorated in turn of the century antiques, at least the parts that I could see. Polished parquet floors gleamed in the dim light from the miniature chandelier overhead.
“You have a lovely home,” I said, feeling stilted and awkward.
“Nothing is as lovely as you are tonight. I am so glad you wore your hair down—I had hoped you would.” Jude brushed a few stray curls away from my neck and I shivered at the touch of his large hand against my sensitive skin.
“Thank you.” I felt suddenly shy which made me uncomfortable enough to get irritated. “So where are we doing this?” I asked, lifting my chin.
Jude raised an eyebrow. “All business, are you?”
“Why not?” I gave him a challenging look. “This is a business deal, right?”
His eyes hardened. “Indeed it is. Very well then, please follow me and I’ll show you where I’d planned for us to be tonight.” He turned and walked away noiselessly and I had no choice but to follow him deeper into the huge house.
We passed by lots of rooms until he gestured me courteously into one at the end of a long hallway. I went in rather reluctantly and saw that it was decorated as a study. Bookshelves lined the walls and there was a desk at one end of the room with a closed laptop on it. Hmm, a vamp who kept up with modern technology—interesting. Many of them didn’t, preferring to live in the past. Apparently Jude liked to look ahead—a point in his favor as far as I was concerned. Not that I would ever be interested in a vampire, but still.
At the other end of the dimly lit room was a long, low brown leather couch in front of a stone fireplace. Somewhat to my surprise, I saw there was a small fire flickering there—it was the source of most of the light in the room. My first thought was that it was way too hot this time of year for a fire, even a small one. But then I realized that it really wasn’t. Jude must have turned the AC way down because the room was a very comfortable temperature inside.
“Please.” He gestured to the couch and waited until I sat down before he settled himself beside me. I could feel the heat of the fire against my knees and bare lower legs and had a moment to wish that I’d worn pants instead of a skirt. But then I would have had to take them off completely when he bit me whereas with the skirt, I could just push it up.
Just thinking about having him down between my thighs with my skirt pushed up to my waist made me nervous. I took a few deep breaths, trying to relax. It’s business. This is just business, I reminded myself sternly. He just wants to taste your blood. There’s nothing even remotely erotic about it.
Yeah, right. That line of thought went flying right out the window when I looked up and met Jude’s eyes in the firelight. They were half lidded with lust and he was gazing at me with an intensity that made me blush and look away.
I cleared my throat nervously. “Um…now what?” I said, trying not to sound as flustered as I felt. Yeah, I’m one tough cookie but I had very little experience when it came to this kind of thing. And none of the experience I’d had was good.
“Now, this,” Jude murmured. Leaning down he cupped my face in his hands and pressed a gentle, barely there kiss to my lips. It felt so good and I was so hungry for physical contact that I might have let him go on. Except this was supposed to be a business deal—not a make-out session. Or so I tried to tell myself.
“Wait a minute.” I pulled back from him before he had a chance to kiss me again. “What…why are you kissing me?”
He caught my gaze with his. “Firstly because I want to. And secondly, because I’m trying to get you warmed up, so to speak. Taking blood is a great deal like sex. You wouldn’t want to make love without a little foreplay first, would you?”
“I wouldn’t know, remember?” I crossed my arms over my breasts protectively. “Look, I thought you said this didn’t have to be sexual.”
Jude’s eyes flashed. “We can treat it in a clinical manner if you like but I’m afraid there will still be some elements that may remind you of sex.”
“What elements? You’re just going to bite me—end of story.” I lifted my chin and frowned at him.
“But that’s not the end of the story. Think about it, Luz.” His voice was soft and deep. “You will be spreading your legs for me—opening yourself. And I…I will be penetrating you.” His eyes flickered down to where I had my hands clenched together in my lap and I knew he was thinking about my thighs. My inner thighs. I had another mental image of his mouth on me there, licking, sucking…biting.
God, I was getting hot and wet all over again, thinking these forbidden thoughts and listening to his deep, soft voice describing what we were going to do. What was wrong with me? I can’t give in to this feeling, I told myself firmly. I can’t. I took a deep breath.
“Look, let’s just get down to it, shall we?” I said as briskly as I could. “You wanted to drink my blood—okay, so drink some. I don’t have all night.”
Jude shook his head. “A pity. I could spend all night, every night admiring and exploring your lovely body. Very well.” He slid off the couch and suddenly he was on his knees in front of me. “Spread your legs for me, Luz.”
Those words spoken in his deep, sensual voice made me shiver as I did what he said. Goose bumps jumped out all over my skin, despite the heat of the fire. But this was what I had come here for and I was determined to go through with it.
That was until Jude pushed up my skirt and asked me to remove my underwear.
They were black lacy boy shorts that covered me completely and I had thought myself very smart for wearing them. There was no way he would be able to catch even a glimpse of my pussy with those in the way, which was a very good thing since I didn’t want him to know how aroused he was making me. Right now I was so hot and wet and nervous that I could barely concentrate on what he was saying. So I had to ask him to repeat himself twice before I understood his request.
“I’m sorry?” I said, looking at him blankly.
“I said I need these to come off.” Jude tugged at the stretchy lace material of the shorts. “They’re in the way.”
“How?” I demanded, looking down at my legs in the firelight. I mean—you have plenty of thigh to work with there. How are my…my underwear in the way?”
“I prefer to bite at the inguinal crease—the place where your thigh meets your body. It’s easier to find a blood vessel there.”
I looked at him suspiciously. “You sure you’re not just making that up so you can get me out of my underwear?”
“I promise you, Luz, that I will treat this as a business deal and not take advantage of you,” he said dryly. “Unless, of course, you wish me to do more than bite you?” He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.
“No, no,” I said hastily, feeling my cheeks heat. “I just…it’s embarrassing, that’s all. I don’t…I’m not used to having a man down there.”
“Of course not.” He ran one large hand over my thigh slowly. “But I have promised not to take what isn’t offered, remember?”
“How can I trust you?” I demanded.
He shrugged. “Have I betrayed your trust so far? Don’t you think I could simply take what I wanted instead of arguing with you if I was so inclined?”
Fear sent an icy finger down my spine. “I suppose.”
“But I won’t.” Jude’s voice was suddenly softer. “I may be many things, Luz, but I am no rapist.”
“All right.” I don’t know why but for some reason I believed him. He might be a vampire but he had behaved like a gentleman so far.
“Just keep telling yourself this is only a business deal. The sooner we exchange blood, the sooner you can go.” Jude’s voice was almost bored but his eyes were strangely intent.
Since it was either trust him or lose my chance at controlling my panic through his blood, I decided to do what he asked. Despite my pounding heart I nodded. “Fine, I’ll take them off.”
Standing from my half-reclined position, I reached under my skirt. Hooking my thumbs in the sides of the stretchy black lace, I pushed the boy shorts down to my ankles. There was a little problem getting them over the black strappy heels I’d worn with my outfit but Jude assisted me without a word and soon I was completely bare under my flirty skirt.
“Good.” He looked up at me intently. “Now I can reach you.”
“Yeah, just great,” I mumbled. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, I sat back on the couch and slid back into position on the slippery leather. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this, couldn’t believe I was going to spread my legs and let him… I couldn’t think about it anymore. I closed my eyes tightly. “All right, I’m ready.”
“Relax.” He lifted my skirt and then his large, warm hands stroked over my knees, parting them gently. I clenched my hands into fists as I felt him move between my legs, his broad shoulders spreading my thighs much wider than I would have liked. I wondered if he could see how aroused I was, how wet I’d become and I winced in shame. He was a vampire—as a self-respecting were there was no way I should have allowed myself to get turned-on by him. And yet, the feel of his hands on my body, his soft, deep voice as he murmured to me to relax and let myself be open to him, the warm, spicy scent of his skin with its faint trace of expensive cologne—it was all adding up to be the most sensuous experience of my life.
How sad is that? Letting a vamp bite you is the best sex you’ve ever had, I taunted myself uneasily. I could feel my pussy opening as he pressed forward, seeking to find the inner crease of my thigh. Could he see how slippery and wet I was by the dim light of the fire? Could he scent my arousal? Scent is a big deal to weres. You can’t fake it, either, so it’s obvious if you’re into sex or not if your partner is a were. I wasn’t sure if it was the same with vampires or not. If it was, at least Jude was gentlemanly enough not to mention it. I was glad for his old-world courtliness. It was embarrassing enough to be so turned-on without him saying anything about it.
Don’t think about it, I told myself. You’re fine. It’s going to be fine. Just a quick bite on the thigh and then it’ll all be over. I guess I should have been concerned over whether those razor-sharp fangs I’d seen in his mouth would hurt when they pierced my skin. But somehow I didn’t care about that. All I could think about was how incredibly embarrassed, hot and nervous I felt.
Then I felt his breath against my inner thigh.
Suddenly, I froze. Up until that point I had believed I could go through with this. That I could let him touch me, drink from me, even in such an intimate place, with no problem. But now that it was about to happen I felt blind panic setting in.
My desire turned to ashes—burnt away by the force of my fear. My throat seemed to close and I couldn’t breathe—couldn’t get a deep enough breath even though I felt my lungs pumping like bellows, pulling in the air in ragged gasps. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead and my heart felt like a sledgehammer, trying to pound itself out of my chest.
Oh God, I can’t. I can’t! I thought incoherently. My mind raced back to that night—to the drunken human so heavy and unyielding on top of me. To the rank stench of his sweat and his whiskey breath against my cheek as he fumbled between us, trying to get himself inside me. And then it raced even further, to another night. A time when I had been too young, too weak to defend myself… No! Can’t think about that. I can’t. I can’t!
Though I tried to hold still, I began trembling uncontrollably. It was happening again and there was no way to stop it. I couldn’t breathe…couldn’t breathe.
“Luz, stop.”
I opened my eyes to see that Jude was sitting beside me on the couch again. My legs were together and my skirt was smoothed primly around my knees. I stared at him uncertainly. “What…?” I asked, unable to form a more coherent question when my heart was still beating about a hundred miles a minute.
“Luz…” He cupped my cheek, his eyes dark with concern. “I think perhaps it would be better if you drink from me before I drink from you.”
He raised his wrist to his mouth and bit. Then, before I could say anything, he pressed his bleeding wrist to my mouth.
I opened my mouth to protest and his blood flowed in, rich and warm and surprisingly sweet. It didn’t taste like blood at all—at least no blood I’d ever tasted. In fact, the closest thing I could equate it with was dulce de leche—the warm, creamy caramel sauce I’d grown up eating on various Latin desserts.
I know it sounds weird but honestly, it was pretty damn delicious.
Forgetting my half-formed protests, I latched on to his wrist and sucked for all I was worth. The taste reminded me of home. Of the safety and security of childhood until that one horrible night I never allowed myself to think of. Of the love I’d felt from my parents before it became clear I would never be able to change under the full moon and claim my birthright.
I felt calm washing over me. Peace and contentment. I could breathe again and little by little my heart stopped its panicked pounding. Safe…I was safe.
Feeling sated, I stopped sucking and released his wrist. Without a word, Jude pulled me into his arms and held me close. My arms went around his waist and the top of my head fit under his chin perfectly. I snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of being held in strong, masculine arms. There was no more discomfort or nervousness at all—it was as though I’d known him for a hundred years.
“How did you do that to me?” I asked, nuzzling my cheek against his broad chest. “Why did your blood calm me down?” Somewhere in the back of my head was the thought that I was a little too calm but I was feeling entirely too comfortable for it to bother me just then.
“You feel what I feel when you drink from me,” Jude murmured. “I was trying to project calm and relaxation. Did it work?”
“It’s…amazing,” I said. “That was the same way I always feel when I’m in the middle of a really important or scary situation but you…you stopped the panic in its tracks.” I looked up at him. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“It was the blood.” He stroked my cheek with one long finger, his gaze holding mine. “It will remain in your system for a while. All you need do to access its power is remember how you’re feeling now.”
“So I might be able to pass the Bar exam,” I said, half to myself. “Finally.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “If you’re scheduled to take it relatively soon. The effects of my blood will wear off eventually.”
“Next week.” I stretched and sat up, smiling at him. “I’m scheduled to sit for it again next week.”
“Excellent. You should have no problems. If you start to feel panicked, just close your eyes, relax, and remember this moment with me and the taste of my blood on your tongue.”
“It tastes like dulce de leche. Like caramel—is that normal?” I asked, frowning a little. “I mean, I know that sounds strange…”
“Not at all. My blood is whatever flavor you want it to be. Or rather, whatever flavor your brain assigns to it. Which is usually something you associate with safety and calm.”
I thought of my good associations with dulce de leche and how the flavor always brought back my childhood. “I do like that taste,” I admitted. “I, uh, know you wanted to taste my blood because of its flavor but I don’t see how mine can taste any better to you than yours did to me.”
“Trust me—it can.” Jude smiled, the sharp points of his fangs gleaming in the firelight. “Although the tasting your blood isn’t the only thing that would bring me pleasure.”
“What else?” My heart was speeding up again but in a pleasurable way. I liked the way he was looking at me, with his eyes half lidded and filled with desire.
“Looking at you—seeing how wet and hot you are. And your scent.”
“Really?” I could feel my cheeks getting warm but I wasn’t upset—not really. So scent was as important to vamps as it was to weres. Interesting.
“Yes.” Jude nodded and gave me a lazy smile. “The scent of an aroused woman is a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as her taste.”
“You don’t just mean the taste of my—of her—blood, do you?” I was getting hot and wet again between my thighs and I was glad we weren’t touching anymore.
He shook his head. “Blood is a great pleasure. But the feel of a beautiful woman opening herself and trembling with bliss as I taste her is even greater.”
I looked down at my hands. “We shouldn’t be talking about this.” But somehow I didn’t want to stop. “I-I’ve never had a guy…do that to me,” I admitted.
“That is a great pity. It can be very pleasurable for both parties if the chemistry is right.”
“And do…do you think the chemistry is right between us?” I couldn’t believe I was asking him this but the words seemed to come out on their own and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
Jude stroked a strand of hair away from the side of my face, his fingertips brushing my skin. “Can you deny it?”
“I…” I looked down at my hands, which were clasped in my lap again. “I don’t know. You’re a vamp and I’m—”
“A beautiful woman whose needs have gone unsatisfied for far too long,” Jude finished for me. “I’ll tell you what, Luz—let me drink from you, as was our original agreement. Then, if you’ll allow me, I would love to taste you in another way.”
“You really want to—”
“Go down on you?” Jude’s eyes were luminous in the firelight and his hair shone like dark gold. “Spread open your sweet, wet pussy and kiss and lick and taste until you come for me?” He gave me a slow, hot smile that seemed to melt things inside me. “Yes, Luz, I would like that very much.”
I shivered, feeling hot and cold at the same time. “I…maybe we should just stick to the plan.”
“Very well.” He nodded. “But if you change your mind please let me know.”
“All right,” I managed to say. And then he was on his knees in front of me again, pushing up my skirt slowly to reveal my thighs.
“Your skin is so soft,” he murmured, pulling me closer to the edge of the couch. “Will you open yourself for me, Luz?”
I found myself doing as he asked with no resistance. This time as my thighs parted I didn’t clench my hands into fists or squeeze my eyes shut. I was still a little embarrassed at the idea of him seeing my naked pussy but it was a tingling, almost enjoyable feeling—I didn’t feel panicky in the least.
I could feel the lips of my sex spreading as he opened my legs but I didn’t hyperventilate or have a panic attack. Instead I watched, wondering what Jude would think of how aroused he’d made me. I was glad I’d just had a Brazilian wax a few days before. I like to keep things neat down there, even if the area never sees any action.
He took a moment to admire me in the firelight, his large hands warm on the insides of my thighs, his eyes drinking me in greedily. “So wet,” he murmured at last. “So beautiful and open.”
“I can’t help it,” I said. “You…when you talk to me that way I get…” I trailed off, embarrassed. But Jude finished for me.
“Aroused.”
“Yes,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat with a blush. “I know I shouldn’t but—”
“Why shouldn’t you?” He smiled at me, that lazy smile that made me feel like a thousand butterflies were taking flight in my stomach. “From the moment I saw you I wanted you, Luz, and I don’t mean only your blood. I’m glad my emotions are not entirely one sided.”
“You said it was only a business deal,” I accused breathlessly.
His eyes flashed. “I lied.”
Then he bent his head and nuzzled his face against my inner thigh. This time when I felt his hot breath on me, I spread my legs wider, opening myself for him completely. Offering myself in a way I never had to any other man.
I don’t know what I expected but his bite wasn’t painful at all. There were two sharp, tiny pricks right where my thigh met my torso and then my body was flooded with pleasure as he sucked.
I gasped at the sudden sensation. My nipples were tight and hard as bullets and my pussy suddenly went from damp to drenched. I could feel my juices sliding down my inner thighs and my clit throbbed like a second heartbeat. I can’t explain it very well but it felt like Jude was stroking me from inside, like he’d somehow gotten one of his big, warm hands under my skin and was giving me pleasure in the most direct way.
But though I writhed under him and bit my lips to keep from moaning as the pleasure built and built, I never came. After a while it seemed impossible that I shouldn’t. The sensations I experienced as he drank from me were so strong I felt like I was going to explode and yet the explosion never came. Soon the need to come became an almost physical pain but there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing but lie there beneath his mouth with his broad shoulders spreading my legs and try to endure it.
At last Jude lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were as red as the burning coals of the fire. I felt as if I could fall into those eyes and lose myself completely—it was a scary thought but a compelling one too.
“Please…” I whispered, looking at him.
“Tell me what you need.” He wasn’t asking, he was ordering. And yet I couldn’t help obeying.
“I need…” I couldn’t believe I was saying this. “I-I need to come,” I admitted at last. “But I still don’t know about letting you…”
“About letting me taste you.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to the mound of my pussy, his eyes never leaving mine. “Perhaps you would allow me the trial of a single kiss. If you don’t like it, we can stop.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat. “Just…just one kiss?”
“Just the one,” he assured me, stroking my bare thighs as he spoke. His hands felt warm and soothing.
“And if I don’t like it you’ll stop?”
He laid a hand over his heart. “You have my word as a gentleman.”
I felt lost. “All right,” I whispered.
Jude nodded and leaned toward me again. I watched, helpless to look away, as he spread the outer lips of my sex with his thumbs and pressed his mouth to my inner pussy.
It was a hot, sweet, open-mouthed kiss and he took his time tasting me, letting me know he really wanted this. I jerked and moaned as I felt the barest flicker of his tongue over my swollen clit, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through me. It seemed to go on and on but finally Jude looked up at me, his mouth wet with my juices.
Deliberately, he licked his lips, his eyes never leaving mine. “Delicious.”
I opened my mouth, not sure what was going to come out, and spoke only one word. “More,” I breathed.
Jude didn’t need a second invitation. He pressed back between my legs, splitting my thighs wide with his broad shoulders, and began tasting me again.
I expected him to be more forceful this time but he took his time with long, slow, lazy licks from top to bottom as though I was his favorite flavor of ice cream. Sometimes he would simply press his tongue flat against me and hold it there for endless seconds so that I felt him everywhere. In those moments it was as though my entire pussy was enveloped by the heat of his mouth, as though I could feel every part of him touching every part of me and the connection was almost more than I could bear. But I had to bear it because Jude was obviously in no hurry to finish—in fact, he seemed to draw out the experience as much as possible for his own pleasure as well as for mine.
I began to feel a sense of urgency, to wish that he would pay more direct attention to the throbbing button of my clit. As though sensing my need, he began to flicker the end of his tongue around it, dancing and darting but never quite making contact where I needed him the most. I felt my inner muscles tighten as I raised my hips in a vain effort to get his tongue where I needed it so badly.
“Jude…Jude, please!” I gasped, aware that I was begging but not caring anymore.
“Are you feeling the need, Luz?” He looked up and locked eyes with me, his thumbs spreading me wide, opening me totally for him.
“Yes…yes, please.”
“Very well.” Jude’s eyes burned red with desire as he licked his lips again. Then he lowered his head and went back to tasting me.
This time he was much more aggressive. I moaned as I felt him circle my clit with light, teasing licks and then press lower, entering me as deeply as he could with his tongue. I had never had anyone do anything so intimate to me and I felt opened in a way I never had been before. Jude was passionate, kissing and sucking and licking my cunt as though there was nothing else in the universe as important as pleasuring me. His burning intensity and the sight of him kneeling between my legs, lapping my sensitive pussy, worked to push me higher and faster toward the edge of orgasm than I would have believed possible.
Before I knew it I was coming—coming harder than I ever had before. I had a number of sex toys and knew how to use them but none of them remotely compared with Jude’s passionate kisses.
As the orgasm washed over me, he pressed two long, strong fingers deep inside my cunt and fucked me with them. I moaned and bucked against him shamelessly, pushed into a second, even deeper orgasm by his actions.
“That’s right, Luz.” His deep voice was hoarse with desire. “Let yourself go. Let yourself come for me.”
I did. I was helpless not to. As wave after wave of pleasure washed over me, I wondered if this was why vamps and weres hated each other so much and feared getting together. Vampires and shifters can only procreate with their own kind and a relationship between the two species, which is so rare it’s almost unheard of, almost never results in any children. So it stood to reason that if our people didn’t think of each other as being sexually off-limits, both our races could die out just from pleasure. Or maybe Jude was just really, really good at this. I had no experience but I certainly know what I like and this was a ride I couldn’t wait to get on again. That is, if Jude wanted to.
By the way he was cleaning me industriously with his tongue, licking and sucking the honey from my pussy and inner thighs, he wouldn’t mind too much. He looked up at me, his eyes blazing, when the last tremor had gone through my body.
“That was…extraordinary. Thank you for allowing me to taste you.” He rose and sat beside me in one, smooth motion that was pure grace and power. It took my breath away and for a moment all I could do was smile.
Did I mention that smile? I felt like it was plastered on my face, like I was high on something and couldn’t stop grinning about it. But the truth was, I just didn’t care. For a few minutes all my worries and cares, my lost job, my crappy life, just melted away and all I could feel was good.
Damn, a girl could get addicted to this feeling!
It was that thought that snapped me out of my happy place and back to reality. I felt my smile slip as Jude took my hand once more. He looked at me with obvious concern in his eyes.
“Is there something wrong, Luz?”
“No, nothing.” I fumbled to pull my skirt down, smoothing it neatly around my thighs. “I…I’m fine. But I’m sure you’re not.”
He frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re still…” I motioned to the hard ridge that was prominent in his jeans. “I mean, if you want I can…I can…” I couldn’t finish the sentence so I took matters into my own hands, so to speak, and reached over to cup his hard length through his jeans.
For a moment I felt his heat throbbing against the palm of my hand and I had a split second of curiosity that cut through my fear. What would it be like to touch him…to explore him up close? I’d seen male genitalia before—growing up in a houseful of brothers who liked to have peeing contests it was pretty much a given. But never up close and intimate the way he’d seen me. So for just a second I wondered…what would it feel like? What would it taste like?
And then Jude’s hand covered my own. “Is this what you want? What you truly want, Luz?” His eyes searched mine and I felt my fear returning.
“I…” I couldn’t quite lie to him. “I should want it,” I said at last, unable to look away. “After the way you touched me…tasted me…”
He moved my hand to his thigh. “That was for my own pleasure as much as for yours. You don’t need to do anything in return.”
“I…but, I…”
“You’re not ready. And neither am I.” He lifted my chin. “I want to savor this process, to enjoy every moment I have with you.”
“I could help you enjoy it more,” I said stubbornly, wondering why I was arguing with him like this. He’d just given me two mind-blowing orgasms and didn’t want anything in return—I ought to be feeling like the cat that got the cream. Instead I was wondering if there was something wrong with me, some reason he didn’t want me.
“You think because none of your own kind want you, no one else could either,” Jude said, answering my thoughts rather than my words. Was he reading me again? Or just making a lucky guess? I couldn’t tell.
“The guys aren’t exactly knocking down the door,” I admitted. “But what does that have to do with me…reciprocating for what you did for me?” It was the most roundabout way to ask why he wouldn’t let me go down on him that I could think of. See? Law school does have its good points—it taught me to talk my way around corners if nothing else.
“You’re afraid I don’t want you because you have been slighted and overlooked by your own kind. Nothing could be farther from the truth.” Jude leaned forward, his lips barely brushing my ear, his breath hot against the side of my neck. “I ache for you, Luz,” he breathed. “I want to taste you again and let you taste me. I want to feel you against me. To fill you with myself and come deep inside you. I want to know your body as I know my own.”
I felt the breath catch in my throat at the sincerity in his voice and the heat of his words. “You-you do?” I managed to squeak, wishing I could still the pounding of my heart.
Jude pulled back and looked me in the eyes. “I do. But none of those things will happen tonight. There will be time enough later.”
“You act like it’s inevitable that we’ll be together. I barely know you,” I pointed out. But the words sounded wrong to me. I did know him, in some deep part of me that I couldn’t access with my conscious mind. I knew him and wanted to know him more.
“We can fix that.” Jude smiled, showing just a hint of fang. “But it will take time.”
I thought of saying that we only had two more “business meetings” before our agreement was over but somehow the words wouldn’t come out. What was wrong with me? I was usually tough as nails. Apparently one or two incredible orgasms were all it took to soften me up. Not that I minded too terribly much at the moment.
“All right,” I said, feeling my smile return. “I guess…that’s all right.”
“Good. I’m glad we can agree.” Jude nodded. “So tell me, Luz—those of my kind know so little about yours. What is it like being were? Do you feel the call of the moon all the time or only on nights it is full?”
Somehow I didn’t feel defensive about his question although if anyone else had asked me the same thing I would have assumed they were alluding to my non-shifter status. I answered and then asked something about vampires—remember I said we really don’t know much in the way of details about each other—and before I knew it, we had almost talked the night away.
“I need to go,” I said in surprise, glancing down at my watch and seeing it was four a.m. already. “I don’t know how it got so late.”
“I do.” Jude traced my cheekbone with one long finger. “Good company always speeds the clock along.”
By now I was getting used to his somewhat antiquated way of speaking and was actually getting to like it so I smiled. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t need to be getting my days and nights mixed up when I’m going to be cramming for the Bar all this week.”
“You already have the knowledge.” Jude tapped my forehead lightly. “And now you have the composure to apply it to paper.”
“Actually, we take most of the test on computer now. But I know what you mean and I hope you’re right.”
“I’m right.” He nodded at me with complete confidence. “Simply remember the taste of my blood and how you felt when you drank from me. All else will follow naturally.”
I nodded back. “Well…I should go.” I was strangely reluctant but it wasn’t like I could just stay there with him. Even I knew he would need to rest once dawn broke and in summer when the days were long, it came early.
Jude walked me to the door. “Would you like to meet after you take your exam?”
I felt a surge of gratitude that he understood how I needed every spare minute to study. At the same time, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret that we wouldn’t see each other sooner. It was strange, considering how hostile I’d been when I first showed up at his door—even stranger when you considered our overwhelming differences. But that was how I felt—like I would miss him. Like I couldn’t wait to see him again.
“Yeah. That would be great.” I smiled up at him and he leaned down to brush my lips with his—a goodbye.
“Until then, Luz.”
“Um, see you later.” It seemed terribly prosaic after his lovely parting but I couldn’t say what I really wanted to—which was that I would be counting the minutes until our next “business meeting”.