How could he have possibly known she’d started her period? He couldn’t have, and yet there wasn’t a moment of surprise in his eyes, and his actions from the moment he led her to the bathroom were to reassure her. He’d gone looking and found what he expected to find, but it wasn’t possible. Was it?
Chapter 10
Their week passed largely together, and by the time their next class came, they’d hardly been separated but for a few random shifts Ember had to work. He was happy. He was content after so long being parted from her, always yanked from her after so little time together. He had always wanted to be a part of her life to some extent or another, and he’d always been forced to lurk in the wings of her existence. It had never been enough. And now she was his, and he would never give her up.
He’d not made love to her since the completely impossible pregnancy scare, but he could sense the time was near. He knew her flux was ending, and by the time class was over that night, he would happily be able to have her again—if he could keep his hands off her for that long. Making love to her was all he could think about when she wouldn’t let him. She had a shift at the café right before class, and as he kissed her good-bye as she left her apartment, and he settled in to enjoy her space without her, his jaw pounded—oh yeah, she would definitely be ready by tonight.
He was hungry. He’d skipped his usual trips to Boston and New York in exchange for spending time with her, and it had wore on him. Vampires were certainly not required to eat constantly, but it was far more comfortable to stay satiated enough not to crave it. His body felt weaker than usual, and though he could still destroy a human easily with his strength and power, it was not his normal state. It also made Ember’s womanhood, especially now, all the more enticing, and he much preferred to desire and be obsessed with Ember’s body than hungry for it. But he wasn’t ready to leave her yet. He was enjoying her entirely too much, and while he’d eventually have to find time to hunt in New York or Boston, it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. So long as he had energy to make love to her, that’s where he would be.
When he entered the classroom, she was waiting in her usual seat. He couldn’t help but recall their first night of class when she’d tried to put herself in the hospital, and as he took his seat behind the desk and caught the subtle smile on her face, he fought the chuckle. She looked radiant. She was wearing nothing more than a faded old pair of jeans that she’d rolled a wide cuff in and which fit her perfectly, a white button-up sleeveless peasant top, and a pair of flat sandals. Her hair was knotted in a bun, and she wore no makeup. She looked fresh and clean, and as he inhaled her scent, it was completely devoid of blood. She would have no reason to deny him tonight, and given her already accelerated heart rate, there would be no argument.
He sat on the edge of the desk as he quizzed the students. Ember spoke far less than she was capable of in his presence, and it bothered him. He liked her curiosity, her insatiable want for more information, and her loose tongue, but she hid it from him so effectively in her self-consciousness. Ironically, there was nothing at all that should concern her. He knew exactly who she was and how she operated, and he was left knowing she was hiding this part of herself from him.
As he spoke, students chimed in—mostly female. Occasionally, Ember would answer a question, and when she did, it left a small smirk on his lips as she spoke. Every time he heard her voice, he started imagining her. Her body, the touch of her hand on his body, the feel of her lips against his skin, and the damn sweet way she moaned when he made love to her. By the end of the evening, he was sitting more for the need to hide his erection than for any other reason, and as the students filed out of the room, she lingered.
When the door finally closed after the last student, he spoke quietly. “Would you like to come over?” If she said no, he’d fall apart, but her expression said yes, and as she slowly nodded her confirmation, he smiled. He pulled her into his arms as they moved to leave, and when his lips touched hers and then moved to her ear, he whispered. “I’ve missed your body so much. You can’t believe how starved I am of you.” His arousal was quite obvious in the rigid length of his cock that was hard against her stomach, but the sudden soft scent of her need was the reassurance he wanted.
They walked together from the building, careful not to touch one another or behave in any way indecent. There were only three weeks left of the term, and it could hardly be considered a crime for a young teacher to date an adult student during her last semester of school, but there was no reason to announce it to anyone.
When they arrived at his home, he poured her a glass of wine and pulled her down to the living room couch. He had an agenda, and he was anxious—even more so than his cock. “Come to Boston with me after your last class? I have some business I have to attend to. Consider it a well-earned vacation. We can sightsee, relax, get you some more bread pudding.” His words sounded calm and cool, but he wasn’t at all. He wanted her with him, desperately, and while he knew she wanted to be with him, he wasn’t sure how far she was willing to go to make it happen. He had an ulterior motive for sure. He wanted her to fall in love with him, stay with him, make Boston her home, and while he wouldn’t go so far as to ask her to move in with him yet, he hoped this time there would make it easier for her to say yes when he did ask.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me after your summer here. Or…”
“Why wouldn’t I want to see you?” He sounded as incredulous as he was. He knew he made her nervous, hell he knew she was downright terrified with him at times in her self-consciousness, but he never imagined she might think he could be done with her just because the term ended.
“I just thought… I don’t know what I thought.”
Turning her face to his, he clutched her cheeks, and he could feel his worry furrowing his brow. “Ember … I…” He dropped his gaze from her as he realized just how much power she held in her hands at the moment. She could destroy him emotionally just as easily as he could destroy her physically, and he prayed she was just as incapable of breaking his heart as he was of breaking her body. He needed her, and his life belonged to her. How could she not understand that yet?
She nodded before he had a chance to speak, and his heart trilled in relief. “When will we leave?”
“Right after class. It’s a couple of hours away, and I’ll be releasing class early. I have to have grades done before the last class, so we won’t be there long.”
With their plans set, he pulled her upstairs to his bedroom and set about reassuring her body that coming with him would most definitely work out in her favor. He made love to her gently, far more so than he thought might be possible after five days without her body, and as he ran a bath after and helped her in, he took his place behind her. The warmth of the water quickly warmed his own skin to the same temperature as hers, and she snuggled up to him. She was quiet. She was in the position to inflict any of a million heartbreaks upon him, and it made her the most powerful being in his life, but she was silent, her power completely unrecognized.