Vampire Vignette #12
When Juro Met Lucia
(and fell in love)
Shortly after the events of UNFORGIVEN, Book 7.5
Los Angeles, CA
LUCI SPUN AT the sound of running footsteps in the hallway outside her office, turning just in time to see one of her younger charges skid to a stop in her doorway.
“Ms. Luci! There’s a huge dude—”
His words cut off with a squeak as a shadow fell over his skinny form, a moment before the huge dude made his appearance.
“Juro,” she scolded. “Stop scaring the children.”
The teenager, who’d been staring up at Juro, way up, immediately redirected his attention at Luci. “I ain’t scared!” he insisted.
“My apologies, Dante,” Luci told him, fighting a grin. “But you can go back to the front room now. Mr. Juro is a friend.”
Juro made room, barely, for the kid to squeeze out of Luci’s doorway and escape back down the hall. He watched Dante’s departing form until she heard the front screen door slam. If it had been any other kid, she might have worried that he was off to the streets to get in trouble. But not Dante, or whatever his real name was. A lot of the kids gave her false names. It made it harder to get them government help, but most of them had been screwed by the system too many times to trust easily.
Hard on the heels of the slamming door, Juro grunted softly, then stepped into her office, making the small space seem even smaller. He was such a big man, and so very beautiful. In the finely tailored suits he wore for Raphael, he was handsome and formidable. One could guess at his strength, at the muscles and bulk that had to make up the body beneath the elegant fabric. But dressed as he was now—in a black T-shirt, the sleeves stretched to circle huge biceps, fabric clinging to broad shoulders and a thickly-muscled chest before being tucked into a pair of black Levi’s that hung low on narrow hips—he was absolutely drool-worthy. The T-shirt hung slightly looser over his flat belly, hinting at the ripped abdomen that she had never glimpsed, but knew had to be there.
She tried not to stare, or at least not to let him catch her, as he studied the few mismatched seating options in her office. He was probably worried they wouldn’t hold his weight, and with good reason. Frowning, he finally settled on the battered love seat pushed up against the back wall beneath a fringe of hanging plants. Luci winced in sympathy when he sat down. The short couch wasn’t comfortable for her, and she was a third of Juro’s weight.
His scowl deepened as he eyed the badly sprung seat beneath him, then extended his regard to the torn and stained upholstery. “You need a new couch,” he told her.
“I need five more beds much worse than I need a new couch,” she said mildly.
“I can get—”
“It’s not just the beds, Juro,” she explained. “It’s the room to put them in.”
He frowned. Juro was a problem-solver.
“It’s not your problem,” she said gently. “I’m working on a couple of deals.”
“What sort of deals?”
“The kind that will get my kids a bigger facility.”
“Good. I don’t like you being here by yourself. It’s not safe.”
“I’m rarely by myself,” she said, intentionally ignoring the second half of his statement. It was either that or going with her gut and telling him where he could shove his dictates about what was and wasn’t safe for her. It wasn’t his job to keep her safe.
“You know what I mean, Lucia.”
“I do. And I also know that it’s not your job to keep me safe.” Okay, so she’d gone ahead and told him anyway.
But at least she’d been polite.
Juro raised his dark eyes, meeting her gaze evenly. “You told the boy I was a friend.”
Luci blushed, not knowing what to say. They were friends. More than friends actually. And they’d be way more than friends if she got her way, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that.
“You didn’t call earlier,” she said instead. “I thought maybe you had other plans.”
He met her eyes steadily. Juro’s face gave away so little of what he was thinking. Then a tiny smile softened his expression. “Would you go out with me on Friday, Lucia?”
Luci’s heart literally missed a beat. At least that’s what it felt like. She and Juro had . . . was dated too strong a word? They’d spent several evenings together, but they’d always met somewhere. The first time had been by happy chance, when they’d run into each other on a Tuesday evening. Luci had been enjoying a quiet and solitary glass of wine after spending two hours and an early dinner schmoozing a potential donor. Juro had walked in with a couple of other guys that she didn’t know, but assumed were also vampires. He’d been heading for the bar when he spotted her and strolled over. Although, really, “strolled” didn’t come close to describing the big vampire’s predatory grace. He hadn’t asked if he could join her. He’d simply pulled out a chair and sat down. And the rest, as they say, was history.
But that history didn’t include anything beyond pleasurable evenings together, at the end of which they always went back to their separate cars and separate lives. Granted, there was always a kiss goodnight, even at the end of that first, accidental meet. And sure, the kisses had gotten hotter and hotter, with a lot more body contact, but never more than that. And Luci was definitely ready to get a lot more of Juro than the acceptable bounds of a PDA.
“Out?” she repeated now, daring to hope.
“This Friday,” he told her. “I’ll pick you up at your house. There’s a club I think you’ll enjoy. Excellent music, and I’m told the food is good.”
Dinner. He was picking her up and taking her out to dinner. Yippee!
“I’d love to,” she said, not having to fake her enthusiasm.
Juro’s smile broadened into a rare grin, sending hot spears of lust stabbing between her thighs and making her fervently hope that he couldn’t smell her arousal.
The distant slam of the front screen followed by a heavy tread down the hall drew her attention a moment before another of Luci’s teenage charges stormed to a halt in front of her office door. Juro was on his feet faster than her eyes could follow, placing himself between her and the oversized teenage boy standing in her doorway.
“Everything okay here, Ms. Luci?” the teen asked, his voice already the deep rumble of a man, despite the slight tremble in reaction to Juro, who was glaring down at him.
Luci stood and placed a gentling hand on Juro’s rock-hard forearm.
“It’s okay,” she told Juro. “This is Sollie. He helps me out here.” Turning to the young man, she said. “Dante called you?”
“Yeah, he said some big guy showed up out of nowhere.”
Luci felt, more than heard, Juro’s growl. She patted his arm again. “Juro is a friend, Sollie. I told Dante that.”
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked suspiciously.
She had to give the kid credit. Even if he was big for his age and well on his way to becoming a very big man, he’d never match Juro’s height, and he’d sure as hell never achieve the vampire’s strength and speed. But Sollie had a natural protective streak. She didn’t know where he got it, but he watched over the smaller kids and her, too, it would seem.
“I’m perfectly safe, Sollie,” she reassured him. She started to step closer, but Juro shifted just enough that she couldn’t get by. Apparently, Sollie wasn’t the only one who worried about her safety.
“Okay. I’ll be right here in the living room, if you need me.”
“Thank you.”
Juro didn’t move until Sollie’s footsteps faded, to be replaced by greetings from the other kids in the house. Then he twisted to look down at her, noting her hand on his arm before lifting his eyes to meet hers.
“You shouldn’t be here alone. A boy that size is a real threat.”
“Sollie would never hurt me,” she said dismissively.
“Not him, maybe. But one of the others.”
“I’m not usually here alone, especially at night. But Alex was delayed. He’ll be here any minute.”
“Alex?”
Luci blinked at the blatant hostility surrounding that single word when Juro said it. It gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, even as the little voice of her inner therapist told her that his possessiveness was excessive. She told the little voice to shut up and smiled up at Juro, instead.
“I’d love to have dinner with you on Friday. Do you know where I live?” He gave her a patient look. Of course he knew where she lived. He probably knew more about her than she did.
His eyes warmed. “Is nine o’clock all right?”
She nodded. “Perfect.”
“Why don’t you walk me out? We can talk outside until this Alex arrives.”
“Really, Juro. I’m perfectly—”
“Safe, yes. So you said. Walk out with me.”
“Okay, fine,” she said, surrendering to the inevitable. It was pointless to try to win a battle of wills with a vampire. Cyn had warned her about that, even before she’d started spending time with Juro.
He placed a big, warm hand on her lower back. “Good choice.”
Luci swallowed the giddy words that were trying to bubble their way up her throat. He likes me, he really likes me!
FRIDAY NIGHT ROLLED around both faster and slower than Luci would have liked. On the one hand, she was super excited . . . in more ways than one. On the other, she was nervous as hell. Maybe she was making too much of this. Maybe it was just a date. He’d take her dinner or whatever, they’d have a lovely evening, and he’d drop her back home with another scorching kiss.
“Gah!” She stared at herself in the mirror, looking for flaws. Not in her appearance. She didn’t need to look for those. Like every other woman in the world, she could identify every physical flaw blindfolded. But . . . she also knew her good points. Her skin was probably her best feature. It was smooth and unblemished, a nice golden brown that she’d inherited from both sides of her genetic pool. Her hair was long, black, and shining, with, so far, no gray outliers. She’d been told she was beautiful, but wasn’t sure she’d go that far. Her figure was good, slender with full breasts and a flat belly. That, too, was mostly good genes, although she worked out religiously in her home gym and had a trainer in, three times a week.
But none of that was her focus tonight. Juro hadn’t told her where they were going, so she’d dressed to impress. Or at least to get a reaction from him. Her dress was strapless—a raw silk sheath that fit like a glove, its rich crimson color bringing out the warmth of her natural skin tones. Her heels were five-inch stilettos from Christian Leboutin, black leather with gold satin cut-outs. At five foot six, Luci was average in height, but she was comfortable in heels and needed the extra boost since Juro was probably closer to seven feet than six. She wore no stockings. Her legs were freshly waxed and gleaming, as was every other inch of skin that mattered. Most importantly, her underwear was new and gorgeous. She was ready, whatever the evening brought.
She heard the muted slam of a car door and peeked out the window. Juro was coming up the walkway, looking elegant and gorgeous in matching dark gray slacks and jacket over a black shirt with no tie. Luci sighed with pleasure at the sight, then sucked in a breath when his gaze lifted unerringly to the window where she stood. Vampire hearing? Cyn had told her stories of vampires’ freakishly good senses, but still . . .
He disappeared from sight a moment before her doorbell rang, and she hurried down the stairs to open the door.
“Hi,” she greeted him, stepping back and remembering to say, “Come on in.”
Juro paused for a moment, his gaze scanning her from head to toe, lingering on her bare legs and nose-bleed heels before traveling back up to settle on her face. And the heat in his eyes told her everything she needed to know about how she looked.
“Lucia,” he rumbled in his deep voice. He stepped into the house and looked around briefly before returning his attention to her. “Are you ready?”
Luci nodded. “I didn’t know where—”
“Dinner in Malibu,” he said. “And then a surprise.”
She gave him a puzzled smile. Unlike some people, she loved surprises, but couldn’t imagine what Juro had in mind.
“You’ll see,” he said enigmatically.
Had she ever met a man who could do enigmatic better than Juro? Did such a person exist? She didn’t think so. So she simply nodded and said, “I love surprises.”
“THIS IS YOURS?” Luci spun around in a circle, seeing nothing but moonlight and ocean. They were standing in the main room of an empty house in Malibu. Sitting right on the sand, the ocean-facing wall was all glass from the hardwood floor to the open-beam ceiling a good fifteen feet over their heads.
“It is now,” Juro said, standing beside her with a small smile on his face.
“I didn’t even know you were looking for a house. Don’t you have to live on the estate? I mean, you’re Raphael’s security chief.”
Juro shrugged his massive shoulders. “Raphael’s place is about a hundred yards down the beach. Do you know how long it takes me to run a hundred yards?”
“But you’ve lived there for . . . I don’t know how long. Why move now?”
Juro closed the distance between them, stroking the back of his fingers along her jaw with a gentleness no one would expect from a man so big.
But Luci knew what he was capable of, knew how careful he was with her, how tender he could be. Sometimes, she wished he’d forget about their differences, forget that he outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds, that he could break her bones without even thinking about it. She wanted him to think of her as a woman, not a porcelain doll.
His next words gave her hope that her wish might come true.
“I never had a reason before now,” he told her.
“What reason?” she whispered, mesmerized by the intensity of his dark gaze as his hand moved down to her shoulder and then her back. His fingers spread wide and he pulled her close until barely an inch separated them, close enough that she could feel the heat of his big body.
“I wanted someplace I could bring the woman I . . . care about. A place we could be alone.”
Luci swallowed hard, hoping she was reading his intentions correctly. If not, she was about to look like a fool. She eliminated that last inch of separation, going up on her toes, pressing her breasts into his thick chest, wrapping her fingers in the fine silk of his shirt as she raised her face to his and kissed him. Not a lovely the-evening-is-over-I-had-a-great-time-and-by-the-way-you’re-fucking-hot kind of a kiss. No, this was a no-holds-barred, kiss-me-you-fool-I-want-to-get-naked-with-you kind of a kiss.
And Juro responded with a low, hungry groan, clamping her tightly in his arms as he took over, fisting his thick fingers in her long hair, tugging her head back as he claimed her mouth. And the man, the vampire, could damn well kiss. His lips were soft, his hands commanding as he lifted her off her feet, holding her effortlessly against his huge chest, positioning her mouth just where he wanted her as his tongue swept in, tasting and caressing.
Luci moaned softly, her arms tightening around his neck, her fingers tugging at the tight queue of his long hair until the tie loosened and his hair spilled into her hands like silken threads. Juro groaned again, the sound vibrating against her lips a moment before he broke the kiss with a teasing bite. Luci felt a sting, felt the blood warming her lips.
Juro’s groan became a hungry growl. Loosening his hold, he slid her down the length of his body until her feet hit the floor. He held her a moment longer, as if wanting to be sure she could stand, then he grabbed her hand and spun away from the windows, pulling her back through the house without a word, her high heels tapping sharply on the wood floor as he led her down the hall to a curving stairwell. His arm went around her waist as they climbed the stairs, carrying her as he took them three at a time, until they emerged on the top floor of the three-story house.
Juro didn’t even pause when they reached the top, simply pushed through a pair of half-open doors and into a gorgeous bedroom that took up the front half of the third level. Moonlight flowed like silver over the waves outside, lighting the room more brightly than any artificial light could have done.
Luci’s heart was thumping so hard in her chest, she thought he must be able to hear it. This was it. This was what she’d been waiting for.
Juro took four long strides into the bedroom, tugging her behind him, and then he stopped dead, holding both of her hands in his, and gazing down at her with a look of gentle affection.
Nooooo! Luci almost screamed the word out loud. She didn’t want gentle. She wanted the passionate man who’d dragged her up the stairs.
Juro’s smile turned knowing, as if reading her thoughts. “Be very sure, Lucia,” he said in his deep, bass voice. “I’ve wanted you a long time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop once I start.”
She couldn’t breathe. My God, had anyone ever said anything more romantic than that?
Luci was unable to form words, but she managed a jerky nod. Then, just to be sure he understood, she pulled her hands away, stepped back, slid down the side zipper of her strapless dress and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in nothing but the matching set of lace and silk undies that she’d selected with only one thing in mind—that tonight would be the night she got Juro naked.
Juro’s gaze followed the red fabric of her dress as it fell past her hips and down to pool around her feet, his eyes lingering over her breasts, her hips, the juncture between her thighs. As his gaze travelled back up again, he made a noise, halfway between a hum and a growl, and it was so full of hunger that Luci shivered. Then he reached for her.
Luci stepped eagerly into his embrace, thankful for the stilettos she still wore as she stretched up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their mouths met in a ravenous kiss as Juro’s arms yanked her up against his chest, one big hand dropping down to cup her nearly naked butt, the other twisting in her hair, bending her back as he changed the angle of the kiss and delved even more deeply into her mouth.
She squeezed her hands between them, scraping at the jacket he still wore, shoving it off his shoulders, tearing it down each arm in turn as he understood what she was doing and shifted to help.
“We need to slow down,” he growled against her mouth, releasing her butt in order to toss the jacket to the floor. “You deserve better than this.”
“Fuck that,” she gasped, biting his lip, sinking her teeth in lest he try to pull away. “We’ll go slow next time,” she added, then grabbed the front of his silk shirt and ripped, baring the broad and muscled perfection of his chest which was every bit as gorgeous as she’d known it would be.
Juro rumbled wordlessly as he put both hands around her hips and yanked her against his body. He spread the fingers of both hands, slipping them under the narrow band on both sides of her sexy lace thong and ripping them apart.
Luci laughed wildly as the tiny lace triangle whispered between her thighs and fell to the floor. This was the passion she’d longed for, the wild man she knew lurked beneath Juro’s cool exterior. He swallowed her laugh, crushing her mouth against his, tongues tangling. Luci hummed with pleasure, her fingers making quick work of his belt, then the button on his slacks, and finally his zipper. Wasting no time, she slid her hand into his pants, shoved past the waistband of his boxer briefs, and wrapped her fingers around his cock.
Juro groaned, his hands closing almost painfully around her hips, until one broad finger slipped through the slick moisture of her folds and deep into her body. Luci moaned against his lips as he pumped her once, twice, bucking against his hand in wordless demand.
Determined to take him with her, she closed her hand over his cock and stroked him, reveling the sensation of velvety soft skin over such a hard, thick shaft, squeezing and releasing until Juro wrapped her hair around his fist with a hissed curse, then yanked her head back as his mouth slammed down on hers.
Their movements became even more frantic after that as Juro backed her toward the bed. She shoved his slacks and underwear down his legs, never breaking their kiss, lips smashed against each other, tongues curling and teeth clashing. Luci’s nails scraped over his ass as his fingers dug into hers and he lifted her off her feet, her heels clattering to the floor noisily as he toed off his own shoes.
Tossing her bodily onto the bed, he followed her down, her legs spreading wide to accommodate his size, clasping immediately around his hips when he pressed between her thighs.
And then he was inside her, gradually at first, muscles straining beneath her fingertips as he forced himself to slow down, mindful even in the grip of their passion, that he was a very big man.
Luci gasped at the first intrusion of his cock, then immediately tightened her hold on him when he would have pulled back. She loved the sheer weight of his body on top of her, delighted in the discovery that he was big everywhere—thick and long and so very hard.
“Don’t,” she whispered when he tried yet again to pull away. “You’re perfect. Just . . . it’s been a while. Just give me a moment.”
Juro growled, his eyes going gold at the revelation that she’d been in a long dry spell sexually. And she knew that the vampire liked that, liked knowing she was only his. Luci smiled up at him, then flexed her hips, causing his cock to sink another few inches.
“Lucia,” he hissed, muscles still taut with effort.
“Go for it, big boy,” she murmured. And he did. As if he’d been held back with ropes that had suddenly snapped, he sank all the way into her body in a single powerful thrust, then pulled back and did it again, surrounding himself with her wetness one more time, before he pulled almost all the way out . . . and then started fucking her. Hips driving, ass flexing, his big cock slamming in and out of her pussy as his mouth came down on hers once more.
Luci held on, feeling every single thrust in every inch of her body as he added a grinding twist on every downward plunge, scraping against her clit. Sliding her arms around his back and over his shoulders, she pulled his full weight down on herself until her nipples were rubbing against his chest, so hard and sensitive that it was almost too much to bear. Almost. Juro slipped his arms beneath her, both hands going to cup her ass, lifting her higher, his cock going impossibly deeper.
Luci bit down on his mouth as the first orgasm struck, as her muscles clenched and her pussy clamped around his thick shaft, as the unbelievable jolt of pleasure started in her clit and rolled upward, swelling her breasts where they were crushed against his massive chest, pebbling her nipples in exquisite pain.
A groan rumbled deep in Juro’s chest as her sex squeezed down on him and she felt every inch of him as he slid in and out, shoving deep inside through the tight grasp of her sheath, then withdrawing as it rippled along his length. He cursed suddenly, head thrown back, eyes closed, neck muscles straining and fangs gleaming in the moonlight as his hips bucked against her and he came in a rush of heat.
JURO COLLAPSED, wrapping both arms around Lucia and rolling until she was on top of him. And there they lay for several minutes, breathing shallowly as their hearts slowed and nerves stimulated just short of exquisite pain calmed into something approaching normal.
He kept one hand in the warm silk of her long hair, fingers gently cupped at the back of her head, the other resting proprietarily over the firm curve of her ass. It had been a long time, she’d told him. But he hadn’t needed her words to know it was true. Her body had welcomed him, her pussy growing hot and slick, but she’d been tight. So tight, he’d worried about hurting her, but she’d surprised him. His delicate porcelain doll was a tiger in bed. He felt himself growing hard again at the thought, and then Luci chuckled, her breath warm and moist against his neck.
She lifted her head, her eyes slumberous with desire as they met his, and she said, “I’ve heard things about vampires.” The muscles of his abdomen contracted as her slender fingers slid down to wrap around his growing erection. “Is it all true?”
Juro gave her a slow, smug grin and said, “Oh, yes, Lucia. Our night has only begun.”
The End
(or the beginning)