Draven's Crossing: Tempestuous Crossings (16 page)

“You have me. I won’t let you come to harm, on my life and blood, I swear it.” That last part was an oath vampires swore by, it was unbreakable, and to go back on his word after such a promise would make him inferior and no better than those who used vampirism as a way to get laid.

“Wow, pretty heavy promise there. You could have just told me you’d let me run while you fended them off, but I’ll take it.”

He burst out laughing. Her levity had lightened the mood. “Thank you. I needed that.” Silence fell between them as he lead her deeper into the woods. The scent of earth increased, joined by the light perfume of night flowers. The crunch of their shoes on grass sounded. Not even the animals or insects stirred. It felt as if the Earth held its breath for what was to come. A howl came from the distance. The mournful sound slithered down his back and raised goose bumps. Somewhere out there, Torger was running free in his wolf form.

They arrived at a small meadow. High grasses and wild flowers swayed in the gentle breeze.

“We’re downwind of the usual trails that the wolves use during the run.” He released her hand, took out the blanket from the picnic basket, shook it out and placed it on the ground. After smoothing out the material, he started to set up the food. Rose moved around him.

“This is beautiful. I never knew I could come here.” She sank down on the blanket, her gaze wandering around their surroundings.

“Yeah, most of the places like this are sectioned off as shifter only spaces. These trails are for the wolves. To the north are for the feline shifters, and to the west are for the reptiles. The south is for the lesser groups of shifters, like bears or ferrets, raccoons, rabbits, deer, those kinds of things.” His mouth twitched as he held back a smile. “The birds are free to roam wherever they want, if they can fly.”

“Wow. Will we see all of them out and about tonight? Or will we only see the wolves?” She settled down on the blanket, stretching out her legs in front of her and leaning back on her hands. The mood around them settled into a relaxed vibe.

“Maybe the bats or birds, but only the wolves. If we see another species out and about they probably got lost.” He poured the wine, handed her a glass and settled down across from her.

“Thank you for sharing this with me.” She gave him a smile that warmed his heart. “How are you feeling? Better?”

Taking a mental inventory of his emotional and physical state, he felt centered. “I’m good, much calmer now. Thank you for asking.”

She shrugged a shoulder and took a sip a wine. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask me anything you want. I’m an open book to you.” Draven watched her face for any signs of hesitation.

Rose rocked a bit before opening her mouth. “Why don’t you like your connection to Dracula mentioned?”

He licked his lips and drew in a deep breath. “To the outside world, Dracula is a rock star, the first vampire. To us in the community, he was a glory whore who allowed himself to be exposed. The details were exaggerated, but it put us all in danger. If someone had thought it was real… It didn’t help that he wasn’t the least apologetic about it.”

“So, it’s not just a sore subject for you, but everyone. It’s understandable.” She nodded. “I guess if everyone asked questions about your connection to Dracula then you wouldn’t get anything done, huh?”

“Yeah. I try to keep my distance from him. He’s tried to email me a few times, but I don’t respond. Mother and father don’t even mention him.” A sense of loss and confusion rose up.

“Do you want to know him? Get to know him?” she asked in a soft, soothing tone, as if trying not to set off a powder keg. He wasn’t sure why she was acting like this.

“Yes and no. The stories may be exaggerations, but he’s done some terrible things. Awful things. I don’t know. What’s wrong?” Studying her face, he watched her chew on her bottom lip.

Without looking at him, she answered. “Before I came here, I had a client. He was a nice person, always sending me gifts and stuff. Anyway, after the whole fallout with my mentor, he stopped by the office and saw me packing, asked what happened. I told the whole, sordid tale. I don’t know why I did that. I mean he was a stranger and all. He may have been nice, but it was weird how I found myself telling him the intimate details of my humiliation. After I was done, he handed me a brochure for Draven’s Crossing, and after that, I got an offer from the agency, all expenses paid, including the move and my rent paid for the first six months. I was floored. I almost didn’t take the offer; it seemed so out of place. I think maybe…his name was Vlad, the client.”

She twisted the hem of her sweater, still not looking at him. “Today, I got an email from him saying he’d be in town to see his great-grandson, and he wanted to catch up with me. I just, something about how you described him. Whenever he walked into a room, all eyes would go to him. He seemed to revel in the attention. Always made a show of his appreciation with lavish gifts, although you couldn’t get him off his Blackberry to save his life.”

Draven felt as if he sat on pins and needles. “What makes you think that it’s him and not someone else? Vlad was a popular name among the vampire community for a bit, well, for the newbies. They didn’t understand why we came to hate that name.”

“I don’t know, I…at the end of the email he told me to tell you hi.” She moved away.

Anger welled inside of him. He growled. “This is bullshit. He used you to get to me, the asshole.”

He rolled onto his hands and knees and crawled over to her. Trying to calm the maelstrom at the outrageous behavior of his ancestor, he reached out and caressed Rose’s check. “It’s okay, honey. You’re not in trouble. I just don’t like him using you. It’s okay. I don’t care how you got here. What matters is you’re here now.” He settled down next to her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

“I didn’t really think about it until I asked about him, and then it clicked. I thought maybe he was a campaign donor or something. Your description of him struck a chord in me and made me remember.” Rose buried her head into the crook of his neck. Her hot, humid breath pressed against his skin, pushing away his anger and reminding him that there was much she didn’t know about the paranormal world.

“You couldn’t have known.” He ran his hands through her hair and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “He’s a master politician, which is why he wasn’t exiled. It’s also been said he has the gift of foresight, short visions into the future. So he was probably positioning you where he wanted you. This, here and now is us, our decision. I would understand if you wanted to take time to figure things out, though.” As much as he didn’t want to utter those words, he could feel her tension. “This is as new for me, but I can see that we’re moving too fast for you.”

The sounds of the nights and distant howling cut through the silence that had fallen between them. Her body stiffened against his. He waited for her to say something, confirm what he’d thought.

“I am scared about the way things have progressed,” she started off.

“We have gone from zero to three hundred in under thirty seconds,” he admitted. “What do you want to do?” Draven buried his head in her hair and inhaled the soft, sweet scent.

“I want to see how I feel if you give me two days or more. Let me work on this campaign and see what happens. No dating. Just work.”

He wished he could see her face. The tone of her voice was gave him nothing.

“What do you want to do tonight?” He didn’t want to agree to giving her space yet, but knew if she was going to willingly be with him and agree to keep seeing him, he had to do this. A tightness in his chest began to form. It became hard to breathe. He tried to hide the panic that began to rise. Her hand pressed against his stomach. She moved it up until it came to rest over his heart. The organ skipped a beat. Heat rose in tendrils through his body. Yearning thrummed through his veins as his blood thickened.

“I want to spend tonight with you, but I also want to take the next week concentrating solely on the Ball and how to improve the town’s image. I need to figure out how I feel about you without you in it. I knew what it was like to live in this town before you, but now? Not sure of that now.” She pressed a kiss over his pulse point. “I like being with you, but I need to figure out how to deal with this new relationship. I’ve never jumped into anything so quickly without knowing first.”

Slivers of heat trailed down his arms. His fingertips itched to feel her skin. He stayed where he was, not daring to move for fear she would retreat. Her lips ghosted down his neck.

“We have tonight, and I want to be with you.” She nipped the crook of his neck, sending a shudder of sensation. Pain and pleasure racked his body as his cock grew thicker, his balls harder. Tension built inside of him as he fought with himself to stay still, let her have the control. Rose shifted her body to face him. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, the mixture of arousal with cinnamon and vanilla was the headiest aphrodisiac that he’d ever encountered. When she took hold of the hem of his shirt and pulled up, Draven didn’t protest.

He helped her remove his top, put it to the side and lay back without her having to ask. Her hands pressed against his pecs. He sucked in a breath as an electric charge burst through his body, touching every corner of him. Draven felt the warmth of that simple contact drowning out the fears that had assailed him earlier. Giving himself up to her exploration, he closed his eyes and relaxed.

A tight pinch followed the soft flick of her tongue on his nipple. He groaned. Tingles of fire lapped at the base of his back. She squeezed his cock through his jeans, drawing out a moan. He pushed his hips upward, asking for more. Rose rocked her palm against his erection as she nipped and lapped at one hardened nipple. After transferring her attention to the other turgid bud, with one hand she worked his belt until it came free. The harsh ripping sound of the fly being pulled down caused his cock to twitch. Hard fingernails dragged down the length of him. Clenching his jaw, he held back a plea for more than
a teasing touch. Again and again she touched him with the tips of her fingernails. Her hard caress wasn’t enough. He wanted more. No,
needed
more contact.

“Please,” he groaned. “Touch me.”

Rose’s mouth moved down the center of his body. When her tongue dipped and swirled into the shallow well of his navel, he sucked in air and blew it out in one jagged breath. The waistband of his jeans was yanked down. Cool air ghosted over his overheated flesh. Digging his heels into the blanket, he tried to thrust his hips higher into the air.

A whimper floated up when she wrapped a soft hand around his shaft. He bit down on his bottom lip. A sharp pinch caused him to cry out as his fangs pierced the sensitive skin. “Rose,” he rasped.

“What?” Her lips now traced over the thin line of pubic hair that disappeared into a thick patch of curls. His body shaking, sweat formed and slipped down his forehead. He tried to calm down. When he felt her lap a ring around the base of his shaft, he nearly lost it. Shudders of pleasure racked his body from that single touch.

“Mmm, so hot, soft, yet hard.” With the flat of her tongue, Rose traced a path up the underside of his cock. He nearly wept as desire flared hotter inside of him. Draven’s hands dug into the blanket. His legs shook as she lapped at the slit on the top of his cockhead. One flick. Two flicks. Three flicks. He was ready to grab her hair and push her head down to take more of his cock into her mouth. His shaft throbbed in rapid time with his out of control heartbeat.

He groaned again, when she cupped his balls and rolled them. Her moist, breath brushed against his crest, causing his cock to jerk in response. When he felt the soft brush of her lips close around his sensitive cockhead, he almost wept in relief.
I have to see this.
Draven opened his eyes and lifted his head. He watched Rose take more of his cock into her mouth. The soft, seductive slide of her lips down his shaft drove him crazy. She rolled her eyes up to meet his gaze. Heat simmered in the nearly black gaze.

Lifting her head, she released his dick and grabbed his hips. “Relax and don’t move until I tell you to.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut, deciding to allow her this moment of control. Lowering his body to the blanket, he forced himself to stay still. Rose gripped his hips and settled between his thighs. She lapped at his crown like it was an ice cream cone, catching drops of semen with her tongue before swirling it around the wide mushroom head. She scrapped the rim with her teeth, which set off a cascade of fire up and down his spine. He’d had blow jobs before, but none like this. Rose acted as if they had all the time in the world, as if nothing else mattered.