Kissing Phoenix (4 page)

“You have fangs. It’s why you’ve never kissed me with an open mouth.” She stood so her body pressed against his. He wanted her more than he was saying. She slid her hand over his jeans to stroke the hard length of his erection.

He swallowed a groan and the bow hit the floor.

“If I start…There would be no going back. You can’t offer and then change your mind. Well, you could, but it would—”

She silenced him with a kiss. This time he didn’t try to hide. His hand cupped her head and their tongues met, gliding safely between his fangs. But she didn’t want safe. She needed to feel the edge. Her tongue flicked against a pointed tooth. Heat traveled through her blood and lodged between her thighs as if he’d struck a new erogenous zone. One that pulsed through every inch of her body and demanded to be sated. She pulled back with the taste of metal in her mouth.

“They’re sharper than I thought.” Like little razors. It was amazing he didn’t injure himself with them.

Aidan licked his lip where a drop of her scarlet blood had fallen. “They have to be.” He touched her neck and let his fingertips glide down her throat as he traced her artery.

Beneath his touch her skin burned, her breathing becoming shallow as she willed him to show her how he used those wickedly pointed teeth. She wasn’t afraid. She wanted to live every second she had and being with Aidan made her feel more alive than she’d ever been before. Maybe on some level she’d always known he was different.

Lilith held his gaze, daring him to make a move, then she realized it wasn’t his pupils that had swollen and taken the color from his eyes. The color in his irises had faded.

“Your eyes have changed.” Her words were a whisper.

He closed them and looked away, his hand dropping to his side. “It happens. The color fades to white when we want blood.”

Lilith brought his hand back to her neck. “I won’t stop you.”

For a moment that was a lifetime compressed into a heartbeat, he didn’t move. It was as if he was having a silent battle with himself. When he lifted his head, his eyes were their usual golden-hazel.

“I know.” He laid the cello down, but didn’t waste time packing it away. As he stood back up, his hands tracked up her thighs and caressed her butt, then settled on her hips. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Lilith nodded. She’d never been surer.

“Then let’s do this properly.” He picked her up as if she weighed no more than the cat.

“Properly?” Her eyes widened.

But he was already walking. “In bed.”

Aidan laid her down on the bed. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks pink from being out in the cold. Everything he’d ever dreamed of finding was now entwined with his greatest pain. Lil had accepted him, wanted him, but she was dying. He couldn’t breathe. He shouldn’t be biting her no matter what she wanted. Then she started unbuttoning her shirt, her eyes on him, her heart like the hammering of a thousand trapped butterflies in his ears.

Her pulse the sweetest echo of his desire.

She wanted this and in exchange she’d see the specialist.

It wasn’t too late for Lil. But it was too late for him. He needed her—all of her. He pulled his shirt off and shucked his jeans and underwear, toeing his boots off as he went. Lil’s eyes tracked down his body as if she were seeing him for the first time. His cock twitched under her scrutiny. In a way she was.

Lil lifted her gaze. “Is the myth about the bite of a Vampire true?”

“Which one?” There were so many, from becoming Vampire through to being enslaved. Many were false; some depended on who was doing the biting and with whom. He’d seen William entrance with just a glance. Aidan tugged off his socks.

“The erotic one.” She let her shirt fall on the floor. “Does it make everything more…intense?”

“Depends on how it’s done.” Aidan undid her shoes, then took them off and tossed them into the corner. He knew he was revealing his fangs with his smile, but he didn’t care. For the first time in decades he didn’t have to pretend. He could just be. He placed a kiss on her ankle.

“When you cut your tongue, that was technically your first bite as I tasted your blood.” That wasn’t how he’d planned for her to experience her first bite, but he’d make amends this time.

Her tongue glided over her lip as if she were remembering. “What do I taste like?”

“Like honey.” Sweet, untainted and full of life. He undid her pants and drew them down her legs.

“You can’t taste the…?”

His hands paused on her inner thighs. He couldn’t taste it as such, but he could feel it in the etheric of her blood. If he’d told her what he was months ago, he would’ve found the tumor before the human doctors. Calling in the favor was a last ditch attempt to steal back her life. There would be casualties. No battle was fought without them. But he was willing to pay the cost—would she be when she found out? He pushed aside the thought.

“No.” He hooked his fingers into her hot pink panties and pulled them off. They went sailing over his shoulder.

His smile widened into a grin as his gaze roamed over her almost naked body and ended on the darks curls of her mound. He wanted to taste more than her blood. Tonight she was his. All his. As long as he was careful to take no more than a few drops, enough to wet his fangs, she wouldn’t be weakened. She needed to be strong.

He lifted her leg and kissed her behind her knee, his tongue tracing the crease and tasting her skin the way he had many times before while dreaming of this moment. Lil shivered as if anticipating what was to come. He didn’t rush, instead he let her feel the pressure of his teeth against her flesh and nothing else. She wasn’t ready yet. Her breathing was tight and her pulse still had the heavy steps of fear in it. Even though she said this was what she wanted, she was still unsure. He kissed and licked his way along her leg to her pussy. The scent of her arousal was like a drug. It raced through his body, straight to his cock. He ran his tongue over her labia and nudged her legs wider to revel in her satiny-slick skin. She propped herself up on her elbows.

Aidan glanced up. “Relax, Lil.”

“I want to watch.” Spoken like a scientist studying something different.

He knew she didn’t want to watch him go down, she’d done that before. She wanted to watch him bite down.

“I’m not going to do it yet.” And he wasn’t sure he wanted her to watch, not the first time. Better to experience the thrill without seeing the teeth embedded in her skin and the white eyes of her lover.

He flicked his tongue over her clit until she began to melt and he tasted her cream. The sweetness went straight to his cock and he hardened further. He was sure he’d never been this hard. The promise of blood shimmered through him hotter than fire, an ancient desire that longed to be fed. But it was more than just blood. Lil was giving him part of herself. She was trusting him totally with her life. He took a breath designed to bring calm and failed. He’d wanted this moment with Lil for so long.

“Ohh.” She eased back. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I want to enjoy you without my jaw aching from holding back fangs.” He slid his fingers along her slit, slowing down even as he wanted to fuck her.

He knew what she liked, how to make her come. The teasing, and stroking, drawing her closer then pausing just long enough to make her wait, her heartbeat giving away her reaction before she even realized what it was she needed. Today he added something different. He pressed his fangs against the flesh of her pussy and sucked on her clit until she squirmed. Her fingers twisted in the sheets as her hips lifted, but he held back, listening to her pulse. She had to love more than just the touch of his teeth; she needed to long for the bite and the release it promised.

“I can feel them,” she said between pants.

So could he. There’d been nights when he’d been less than careful, when he’d let them drop just for the relief of not holding back. Now he used them to tease her, and himself, as he waited for the right moment to bite. He pushed two fingers into her slick core. She was wet and ready. His cock ached to take their place, but not yet. He kissed her thigh over the vein, his fangs scraping lightly over her skin. Not hard enough to draw blood—he was testing to see if she’d recoil and change her mind.

She gasped, but didn’t pull away. “Did you?”

“No.” He dragged his teeth over her thigh again, the hunger to taste and fuck pushing him closer. She trembled and her pussy tightened around his cream-coated fingers. His cock throbbed. The tight self-control he’d had over the past few months unraveled faster than he’d expected. Around Lil, he’d never had much. They’d fallen into bed fast.

“It’s kinda sexy.”

“Glad you like them.” Because forcing his fangs back and acting human now would’ve really dampened the mood. He glanced up at her half closed eyes and parted mouth. A picture of lust, repeated in the music of her pulse. If she were going to freak out, she would’ve already.

His thumb circled, moving over her slick clit as his fingers pumped in her core, drawing her closer to the edge. His tongue traced over the place he wanted to bite. Inner thigh, intimate without being dangerous or visible. He’s always liked Lil’s long legs. His teeth pressed into her soft skin. Her heartbeat rose, while her breathing almost stopped. He paused for a second.

Then bit. His fangs cut through her skin.

She came hard. A moan on her lips and a drop of blood in his mouth. The etheric of her body became part of him before he had time to truly taste her. There wasn’t enough blood to satisfy, just enough to tempt him with her coppery-honey. He resisted the urge to take more, even though he knew could safely, and licked the puncture closed, lingering over their first bite. It had been a long time since he’d had a lover he could truly share with.

Lil slapped him on the shoulder. “You did it.”

“Hmmm.” Aidan kissed her stomach, working his way higher to her breasts. He raked his teeth over the satin-covered peak of her tight nipple as his hands slid under her back to undo her last piece of clothing.

She lifted her arms so he could remove the bra. Then her hand went searching for the bite on her leg. He guided her hand to his shaft instead. Her grip tightened as she worked along his length, stroking across the head and smoothing the pre-come over his hot skin.

He groaned, his hips moving. “I’ll do it again.” He pushed his teeth against the soft pale skin of her breast in mock threat.

Her back arched in encouragement, but he didn’t bite. He wanted to be thrusting inside her tight pussy the next time. He lowered his hips until she was forced to release his cock. The wet heat of her sheath encased him as he entered slowly, drawing out the moment, hoping he could stay lost in it forever and forget about the future.

Lil had other ideas. She looped her legs over his, her hips bucking so he was forced to match her rhythm. Beneath him her heart raced. He heard each part of the beat as the chambers contracted. He could time the bite for between beats so the heart seemed to stop and time hung suspended around a climax that tore at the soul.

Her fingers threaded into his hair, drawing him to her throat, her head tipped to the side in open invitation. If she were healthy he would’ve answered unspoken request, but she didn’t know what she offering, not fully. Would she want this every time, like he would? Did it matter when they only had now?

His mouth closed over the place he would love to bite. Her blood called to him, the taste of her still on his lips. Instead he sucked on the skin with his fangs pressed hard against her. Her blood was so close to the surface. The craving to have her life on his tongue almost drowned every other sense. His balls tightened, but he held back, wanting Lil to come with him. Her nails tracked down his back to dig into his ass, imprinting on his skin, urging him on. Her breathing was little more than wispy pants.

A growl lodged in the back of his throat. The scent of her skin sweetened with each stroke. Lust and blood were a heady mix. The intoxication spiraled through him. He nipped without breaking the skin, even though every instinct wanted to drive his fangs into the artery, but he couldn’t be that reckless with Lil. Unable to resist any longer, his teeth scraped twin red lines on her throat.

Lil gasped, the muscles of her core clenching around him, milking his cock. Her blood coated his tongue as he came. He rolled his hips, dragging out the sensation for another few thrusts, enjoying the connection that came with sharing.

Sex created the perfect balance, the swapping of etheric that would have extended her life to match his if not for the cancer. Vampires may not get sick, but their human lovers still did. Immortality wasn’t one hundred percent transferable.

Slick with sweat, they remained pressed together, unable to move. He didn’t want this moment to be over. Maybe he’d gone for too long without a lover who understood him and now it was too late. While Lil knew him for what he was, what they shared would be over too soon. Aidan shifted his weight, but remained inside her with her fingers digging into his skin.

He kissed her, his fangs gone. They only appeared when lust was simmering in his blood and for the moment it was well sated. “I love you.”

Lil gazed up at him, her eyes a little unfocussed. “I love you too.”

“I’m guessing you don’t want to get up for dinner,” he murmured against her lips.