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”.
Chapter Three
I spent the next week cramming for the Bar—or trying to anyway. Every time I tried to concentrate on torts and precedents, I kept seeing Jude’s face or hearing his deep voice in my ear. The look in his eyes when he’d looked up after giving me that first, soft kiss and the way he’d murmured, “Delicious.”
It was silly, really, and I told myself so over and over again. A were couldn’t love a vamp any more than a dog could love a cat. What I was feeling was a mild infatuation because I wasn’t used to dating and having any kind of intimate contact with men. So there was no way I was in love with him after such a short acquaintance. If anything I might be a little bit in lust but that was all—absolutely all, I told myself.
I’d forgotten all about the money aspect of our deal but apparently Jude hadn’t. The next time I went to check my bank balance online my jaw dropped at the sizable chunk he’d deposited in my account. I was tempted to be offended but it was the exact amount he’d mentioned when we’d first talked so I decided to let it go. After all, if anybody was paying for sexual favors, even in a roundabout way, I ought to be paying him. In the meantime, I was grateful that the money kept me from worrying about finding a new job, at least for a while, and I concentrated on studying.
I took the Bar about a week after my first encounter with Jude and couldn’t believe how easy it was. Not that the test itself was easy—the material was very difficult but I knew it all cold. And without the panic buzzing in my brain and jangling my nerves, I was able to concentrate.
At first I was worried. As soon as the test began, I felt the familiar tightness in my chest. My palms started to sweat and my breath began to catch in my throat. Before things could get too far, though, I closed my eyes and thought of Jude. Thought of his pale green eyes that turned to burning red when he wanted me, the feel of his hands and mouth on me, and most of all, the delicious dulce de leche taste of his blood. A warm feeling of safety and comfort enveloped me and the panic floated away, like a rain cloud going to find someone else to bother.
It was wonderful.
After the test ended I felt elated. Of course, I didn’t know for sure that I’d passed—I wouldn’t know for certain until the test results came in—but I was ninety-nine percent certain that I had. I wanted to celebrate, wanted to spread the good news that I was finally moving forward with my career. Crappy economy or not, there were plenty of law offices that would like to have a genuine were attorney on staff. Soon I’d be able to move out of my apartment in the dangerous part of Ybor City and find myself a neat little condo in Hyde Park or anyplace, really, where you didn’t have to worry about your car getting stolen and your house broken into every night. That would be nice.