In Blood and Worth Loving 2: Lost Without You (25 page)

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure I love you madly and that I consider myself beyond lucky to have you.”

“I need you to understand that there’s no turning back after this, Cayenne. If we go forward, I won’t tolerate your sexual interest in any other man—ever.”

“You’re the only man I want or need, Jay. Dare I hope that you feel the same way about me?”

“Yes. You’re my blood, which means you are the one person who I can’t live without. I hunger for you as I’ve never hungered for anyone else and never will—as long as you live. My days of needing other women are over.

Okay?”

“Oh, Jay! That’s more than okay.” She slid her hands up to his waist to tug at his hips. “Now please stop talking and fuck me.”

He shook his head. “No. For our first time together as a committed couple, I want to make love to you. Not fuck you.”

“I don’t care what you call it. Just put your big, hot cock inside my pussy and set it and me on fire—as only you can, my handsome, hunk…my love.”

As he eased into her and settled his weight on top of her, she closed her eyes. “I love you, Jay.” He brushed his lips against hers, whispering softly to her.

“Is that Tsalagi, Jay?”

“Yes.”

“Will you teach me how to speak it?”

“Of course I will.”

She smiled. He sounded surprised and pleased.

“Start now,” she said. “Say something sexy as you slide this big cock into me.” He whispered softly to her.

She didn’t understand a word. But who cared what he said when she knew he loved her—even if he called it something else? “Take your pussy.”

He obeyed, sliding slowly into her.

She clutched him close when his entire shaft filled her pussy.

He slipped his arms under her ass.

“Oh, I love how your hands feel on my ass,” she told him moments before he settled his mouth over hers.

Kissing and holding each other, she lost herself inside; enjoying every second of the long, delicious ride he treated her to.

She came twice before he shot his seed inside her and brushed his cool lips against her neck.

She cupped her hands over his head, trembling with eager anticipation. “Go ahead,” she whispered. “My blood, like every other part of me now belongs to you. Take it, Jay. Take your blood.”

“No. It’s too soon to take more,” he said. “There’s no rush. We have a very long lifetime ahead of us to build up your tolerance for me ingesting more. Until then, let’s just get to know each other. I want you to fall deeper in love with me each day we spend together.”

She had no doubt he’d get his wish. “And you, Jay?”

He lifted his head to look down at her. “I’m already so deeply in blood with you that if I fall in any deeper, I’ll drown in it.”

She lifted a hand to stroke her fingers through his hair. “I like the sound of that. Let’s do it.” He laughed and eased out of her. “You are my reason for living, sweet.” He laughed and eased out of her. “You are my reason for living, sweet.”

“And you’re mine, Jay. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “And now that I have you, I’ll never feel lost or loveless again. You’re everything I’ve ever needed or wanted in a woman.”

With the sweet words ringing in her ears, she clung to him.

Cayenne knew loving him wasn’t going to be easy, but she couldn’t envision wanting or loving anyone else.

She was about to embark on a life like none she had ever imagined. The thought held definite appeal. As her mother had once told her about love, it didn’t always come easy. But having a man who had adored her from the night they met and had never wavered in his devotion, she looked eagerly forward to all the joys and challenges living and loving with him brought.

Maybe one day if she were lucky, he’d want to marry her. But there was time enough for that. And for trying to explain to her old-fashioned parents why she was living with a man who hadn’t at least proposed.

He woke her later and put a tray across her lap. “Eat up, sweet and then I want to take you home.”

“To the mansion?”

He nodded. “That’s where we all live.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Good, but before we go, will you do something for me?”

“Of course I will, Jay. Just name it.”

“Don’t you want to ask what it is before you say yes?”

“No,” she told him. “What can I do for you, Jay?”

“Make up with Rayna. I know she wasn’t strictly upfront with either one of us when she maneuvered us into our first meeting.”

“You can say that again. Imagine my surprise when I realized that instead of helping me reclaim him, you wanted me for yourself.”

“Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw the woman of my fantasies flirting with me. But getting back to Rayna, if she’d been more forthright with us, we would never have met.” She shuddered. “And that would have been criminal.”

He smiled. “So?”

“How can I be angry with the woman responsible for my meeting you?”

“So you’ll forgive her?”

“Of course. She did me the best favor anyone ever has when she tricked me into going to the club that night to meet you.”

“I feel the same way. Thanks, sweet.”

“You’re welcome, handsome.” She smiled, her nose twitching. “Something smells delicious. What’s under the tray?”

“There’s one sure way to find out,” he told her.

She lifted the lid from the plate and felt tears fill her eyes. An open black velvet box sat on the plate. Inside was a huge, beautiful diamond solitaire engagement ring. Pressing a hand against her lips, she stared at him.

He picked the ring up and slipped it on her ring finger. “Will you marry me?” She nodded and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes! Oh, Jay, yes.” He held her close until she stopped sobbing. Then they showered together and dressed.

“Damn,” he said, staring at her. “You’re beautiful.” He extended his hand. “Let’s go home and tell my family.

Then we’ll discuss when we can tell yours.”

She nodded happily and slipped her hand into his. “That’s going to be interesting.”

“Afraid?”

She shook her head. “No. As long as we’re together, I can’t imagine being afraid of anything.”

“That’s my woman.”

“Yes. I am your woman and you’re my man,” she said, her voice filled with conviction and a quiet satisfaction.

“Damn right, I am.”

Look out world. Cayenne Pepper was about to take it by storm—in the company of a handsome, blue-eyed vampire who she loved and who considered her his perfect mate. What sane woman would ever ask for more?

Naughty Girls, Inc.

No Commitment Required

By

Marilyn Lee

Copyright 2010 Marilyn Lee

All rights reserved

I think the first thing I noticed about Josh was how handsome he was. That really surprised me. I’m not sure why, unless it’s just that I’d become used to men who looked like him having beautiful, slender, blond trophy wives or girlfriends on their arms. If it was one thing I was not, it was a beautiful blonde capable of being anyone’s trophy.

Not that I’m selling myself short. My hair is long and dark. Although I wasn’t full-figured, I wasn’t model thin either.

And my skin, which I’d always taken pride in, was what the love of my life had called a rich, warm, make-you-melt-in-your-shoes, golden brown.

Mark had always called me gorgeous, but being a realist, I knew I was just a little above cute. With skillful make-up, I could look what I called low-key glamorous. Not that my looks would matter much in my present situation. Nothing mattered except getting the job. If I managed that, I would also get the time and solitude I’d need to finish the second book in a three-book deal I’d landed a year ago.

After years of struggling to maintain a full-time job as an interior decorator while writing romances part-time, I’d saved enough to quit my job. I’d given myself a two-year deadline to make my writing pay. If I didn’t manage to sell a novel in that time, I’d go back to working full-time and writing part time.

Four months into my retirement, I landed the three-book deal. I’d already delivered the first book and had it accepted. I’d been on cloud nine, until both my parents’ insurance ran out. As I was gearing myself up to going back to work full-time, my friend Janice approached me about a business she’d secretly started three years earlier called Naughty Girls/Boys, Inc.

I’d been amazed to hear she was running what I considered a high-class call girl/boy operation. Then she told me how much money was available and suggested I might want to look into it.

At first I was shocked and insulted that she’d think I was interested in having sex for money. But long after I’d refused, the thought lingered in my mind. She approached me again a month later when I needed to earn enough money to keep my parents in the expensive senior care center where they were both thriving.

My parents had given me a childhood filled with kisses, laughter, love, and happiness. Unfortunately, neither was very practical or as financially responsible as they could have been. Still, since I was determined to ensure they were able to stay in the center, I rethought my position on Janice’s offer.

To keep them there I was willing to do whatever it took—even if it meant temporarily turning myself into a well-paid kept woman. When I’d initially decided to try my hand at being a live-in lover, I’d worried that I’d have to wear pounds of make-up, torture my hair, and strut around in heels so high I’d get a nosebleed.

But after learning how much another friend, Kimmie, enjoyed the experience before she ended up marrying her last live-in lover, I decided it couldn’t hurt to try. I posed for a couple of glamour shots in what my mom would consider scandalous outfits, submitted them to Naughty Girls, Inc. and now I stood in a home office facing a handsome forty-something man with dark hair, graying at the temples. Although the dark glasses he wore concealed them, I’d been told his eyes were green.

I allowed my gaze to drop to the desk, where his hands rested. They were big and powerful looking. Imagining them stroking my naked body, as we lay in bed together, my cheeks burned.

Sometimes when I thought of what Mark and I had shared, my eyes filled with tears and I remembered that old Ronnie Milsap song about having only one love in life. After two lonely years struggling to recover from Mark’s death, I feared I’d never love like that again. In the first weeks after his death, I’d sit for hours in the dark. As I cried and listened to the country music Mark had introduced me to, I clenched my hand around the bronze medallion hanging around my neck. It had been a present from Mark. I cherished what was left of it.

When he’d first shown it to me, it had appeared to be a lovely trinket in the form of an embracing couple about three inches high. The tiny figures had appeared to be fused together, so I was surprised when he’d unlocked them and asked me to wear the male half, while he continued to wear the female half. Each half was lovely and sensual.

Holding the tiny male in my hand, with Mark’s arm around me, I knew he was the love of my life. Although I’ve Holding the tiny male in my hand, with Mark’s arm around me, I knew he was the love of my life. Although I’ve never been particularly superstitious, I felt an undeniable aura from my portion of the medallion.

I’d looked up at him. “It’s so beautiful. Are you sure you want to part with half of it?” He’d smiled and nodded. “It’s always brought good luck. My father was wearing it when he met my mother and I was wearing it when I met you. If we each wear one half, we’ll always love each other as much as we do now.”

Mark was sweet and romantic like that.

“Did your father have it made for your mother?” I’d asked him.

He’d shaken his head. “No. My father bought it from an antique store.”

“So it’s unique?”

“Actually, it’s not. He said there were a number of them in the shop in various colors…bronze, gold, and silver.”

Once I put my half on, I only took it off to clean it. Often, as we made love, our individual halves would entangle and fuse. When that happened, the couple could only be separated after Mark removed his cock from my body. Mark said that had never happened with any other woman he’d ever made love to, so he knew, as his father had known with his mother, that I was the one love of his life.

After Mark’s death, his half had disappeared. I guess it was lost during the accident which took his life. It would have been such a comfort to have his half, but I’d slowly learned to deal with his death and the loss of the other half of the love medallion. My heart would always belong to Mark, but it was time I gave my body to another man.

Gave? Sold was more like it. That is, if I got the job. Job? I shook my head. If my parents knew the lengths I was prepared to go to keep them in Green Acres, they’d insist on immediately moving to a cheaper place. So I had no intentions of telling them.

“Are you still there?”

The sound of my prospective boss/lover’s voice roused me from my reverie.

I blinked away a mist of tears, along with the memories. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” He sat forward. “Is there a man in your life who would object to our arrangement?” I shook my head before I remembered he couldn’t see. “No. My…my fiancé died in a car crash two years ago…two months before we were going to get mar…” I stopped abruptly and shook my head, struggling to keep tears at bay.

I swallowed hard several times and took a deep breath. Josh had troubles enough of his own without having to sit and listen to my sob story.

To my surprise, he spoke in a soft, sympathetic voice. “I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult for you.”

“It was, but I know he wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow in misery.”

“So there’s no one to object?”

“No. There’s no one.”

He inclined his head. “And you won’t have a problem giving me what I want with no strings attached?” Oh, there’d be strings all right—in the form of the money I’d earn. “No.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want romance or false promises or hopes. And I don’t want a good girl. I want a sexy, naughty woman who understands the facts of our arrangement. I just want sex…” He paused and I watched his lips tighten. When he spoke again, his voice had deepened. “Let’s start off as we mean to go on. I want pussy and ass whenever I want it without having to tell you I love or care about you to get it.” My nostrils flared. Wasn’t he just the charming, romantic one? No wonder he had to pay for sex.