“So pretty,” he said, stroking the trimmed hair as if she were a kitten. Then he parted her folds and let his tongue explore. She writhed and moaned, especially when he came close to her sweet spot and dodged it at the last minute.
“Don’t tease, Anthony. I need you.”
He wouldn’t make her wait, just as he’d promised. He laved her clit and then licked it with the speed of a hummingbird’s wings.
Claudia arched and stiffened, then emitted moans and cries that rose to a crescendo. She grasped the sheets in two white-knuckled hands, as if trying not to fly off the bed. When she shook and screamed out his name, he was elated.
“You’re so responsive,” he said.
She simply dragged in huge lungs full of air and panted. When at last she could speak, she said. “I’m boneless.”
“I have enough bone for both of us.” Anthony glanced down at his steely rod and hoped she had the energy to finish.
She grinned. “Let’s do something about that.” Rolling up onto her elbow, she grasped his cock, and the warm squeeze of her hand hardened him even more. She began to bend as if to take him in her mouth, but he stopped her.
“I won’t be able to hold back if you do that.”
“But I want to give you the joy you just gave me.”
“You do, my love. Believe me, you do.” He gently pushed her onto her back and said, “I want to make love to you.” He almost said “forever” but caught himself just in time. She’d seemed upset when immortality was mentioned before. If anyone should be upset, it should be the one who had to carry on long after losing his true love.
He couldn’t think about that. Claudia was here with him now. He’d make love to her as if tomorrow would never be.
She spread her legs wide and welcomed him into her embrace. He positioned himself at her opening and entered slowly.
“Are you all right?” he asked, concerned for her because of his size.
“I’m fantastic,” she said.
He chuckled and pushed on until he was fully seated. “Yes, you are.”
He began his rhythm, and the glorious push and pull created strong physical sensations. Perhaps because his emotions were involved, he experienced a greater depth of feeling with Claudia than he had with any woman. You’d think in almost four hundred years he’d have found something close, but no. Nothing came close to his love for Claudia. His elation while joining with her was beyond compare.
He sped up and she matched him thrust for thrust. Tingles at the base of his spine signaled he was close. In only a few more seconds his climax seized him. He knew what it was like to fly, and this release was like flying without leaving the room. He rode it to the very last aftershock. Finally, completely sated, he rolled onto his side and stared into her eyes. There was no danger of mesmerizing her. She had already mesmerized him.
Making sure no one saw him, Kurt waited for Ruxandra a few doors down from her lair. Now that things were going so well between them, he didn’t want to jeopardize what they had. A little niggling doubt needed to be taken care of, but he knew how to do it—if she’d cooperate. If not, that would tell him what he wanted to know too.
She emerged looking fabulous as always. She relinquished her trademark red clothing in favor of night-blending black. Smart girl. Er…woman. What do you call someone who turned vampire over two hundred years ago at age nineteen?
She smiled when she saw him and they ran to each other, embracing when they met. All they needed was a meadow of wildflowers and a slow-motion camera.
His lips captured hers in a long, romantic kiss. She used tongue, but that was no surprise. She’s French, after all.
“Are you ready for the raid?” he asked.
“You bet. I haven’t participated in a good raid since the Civil War.”
Kurt couldn’t help the little shock wave of surprise that rippled through him. “I keep forgetting you were around during that time. Which side did you fight for?”
“No side. I just had fun running into a good skirmish, knowing I was immortal.”
“But you’re a female. Didn’t the soldiers stop you?”
“Not when I was beating the crap out of the enemy.” She chuckled.
Kurt suddenly realized she was teasing. “You’re funny. Who knew?”
“I did. I guess I haven’t had a chance to express it for a while. Anthony certainly didn’t appreciate my jokes.”
“Well, I do.” He kissed her again, and then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and began walking toward the subway.
She was smiling.
This is as good a time as any to ask her if she’ll let me do a truth spell. He was nervous about her reaction, but if she flipped out and refused to help him in the raid, he still had Sly and Morgaine to mesmerize the lab geeks.
“Honey, can I ask you something personal?”
“Of course. You may not get a pretty answer, but my history is my history and I can’t change it.”
He admired her attitude, even though he’d already decided not to judge her for things she’d done in the past. What mattered was what she was doing now and what she hoped to do in the future.
“I wasn’t going to ask about your history. I’m more interested in the here and now.”
“Oh. Well, that’s okay too. What do you want to know?”
“Are your feelings for me real? I don’t mean to insult you, but it seems that you’ve been stuck on Anthony for so long, and this sudden willingness to be with me might be a ploy to make him jealous.”
She stopped walking and her eyes shadowed for a second. Then she sighed. “I can see why you might think that. I’ve done it before, but not this time. I really like you, Kurt. And you seem to like me.”
“I do like you. More and more as I get to know you better.”
She smiled.
“You’re so pretty when you smile.”
She grinned and said, “Oh, pish posh.”
He chuckled. “No, really. When it comes from the inside, you can tell. You seem happy.”
“I am. No one has said anything nice to me in a long time.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, no one I didn’t compel to do it. Sometimes I was so desperate for a compliment that I’d make a thrall say something like that. But as you said, when it comes from the heart, you can tell.”
He took a deep breath. Okay, this is it. “You might be better at recognizing the truth when you hear it than I am. Here’s the thing. I really, really want to believe we’re both in this equally. Could you…I mean… Would you be willing to let me put a truth spell on you? On us?
She stiffened and her mouth opened as if to fire off an angry retort, but the words never came. After a few quiet moments, her posture and expression relaxed. “I guess I can understand where you’re coming from. I haven’t been exactly trustworthy in the past.”
“I won’t ask you to do anything I’m not willing to do myself.”
She smiled and cupped his cheek. “That’s why you’re still standing here. If you’d insinuated I was the only one capable of deceit, you’d be fifty feet down the sidewalk, spread eagle, wherever you landed.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry. Threats are sort of a reflex, but I’ll work on it.”
“Good. And you’ll let me try the truth spell?”
“I’ll consider it.”
“If that’s the case, I think we might work as a couple.”
Anthony woke up with a start. Where am I? This isn’t my lair. He glanced over at the empty spot beside him.