Possession (13 page)

She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking
her ankles together. The move seated him deeper again.

“
Really
.”

Her previous orgasm had left her soft and
pliant.

He grinned and set a casual pace. “Knew I
liked you for some reason.”

Their rhythm didn’t stay slow for long. He
couldn’t keep from touching her, letting one hand, then the other,
go in his quest to tease and feel her. She wrapped her arms around
his shoulders, his neck, threading her fingers through his hair as
he nipped at her breasts, her throat…

***

Sex with her was different to any other
encounter he’d had in all his days. Celia always wanted excitement
and pain. Other hook-ups had just been about getting off and
getting out when celibacy got too hard to maintain. Not that there
had been
many
one night stands. Meaningless sex wasn’t his
style, even as he avoided making connections all these years
alone.

But this innocent girl made him feel. Made
him smile, laugh, want…he should be mocking her goodness. Draining
her life, make her cry. If he’d still been the vampire he was
before, the demon Lorcan trained him to be. She made him feel human
for the first time in over one-hundred years.

It was an easy deception--her heart pounded
against his chest, her heat made him warm, and she looked at him
like he was just a man. Any old bloke she’d chosen to favor.

Catherine was his now, whatever came after
this. Her first, the one she would compare any other to for the
rest of her life.

A clever swirl of his hips made her moan
again.

“
Julian…
”

“I’ve got you.”

Never said to be an inconsiderate lover, he
slipped a hand between them and flicked her clit. Her muscles
clenched around him again in response.

Normally, he could prolong an encounter for
hours, but with how she fit around him, the heat, the look in her
eyes of being right
here
…well, just because he came, didn’t
mean the night was
over
.

Catherine clung to him as she arched off the
bed, caught in the throes of orgasm and triggering his. Julian
vamped out, but didn’t bite her.

It was the first time she’d seen his demon
mask. She lifted a hand to glide her fingertips over the forehead
ridges, his eyes closing as they trailed over his eyebrow scar to
his cheek. He could still feel the warmth from her touch after it
moved on. He shook off the fangy look and softly kissed her.

“You alright?”

“Better than.” She stretched beneath him.
“Are you…?”

A shallow thrust confirmed her discovery.
“Part of the vampire package.” He rolled them, putting her on top.
“Not done with you, yet.”

***

“
Oh!
”

Sitting on his lap with him inside her put a
whole new angle on things. Her head tingled when she sat up
straight, making her feel drunk. His strong hands stayed on her
waist until the dizziness passed.

“Don’t do that when I’m still woozy.”

He grinned, a thoroughly naughty expression.
“Blood flowing elsewhere than your brain, pet?”

She tried to scowl, though it came out
looking more like a pout. “’S your fault. What am I…?” She gestured
to the new position.

“Anything you like, baby, that’s the
point…you’re in control.”

She blushed. “Oh.”

Logically knowing what you read in a book,
and
applying
it, were two different things. Luckily, she had
a patient teacher.

He gripped her hips and lifted her a fraction
off his erection, then let her slide down again. Her eyes widened
as he stroked her internally at this new angle. Up, down; up, down;
and every time was hitting this new place…

“
Oh, god
…”

She caught on and moved on her own.

***

His hands coasted up her sides to mold around
her breasts now that she didn’t need his help. He couldn’t resist
leaning up to taste them again.

Perfect…

But the girl was fast racing to ride him at a
gallop, so he slowed the pace, sitting up to wrap his arms around
her and rock them to a slow boil.

She opened her eyes, coming back to where she
was, and her brow furrowed with the unspoken question. He just
tilted his head and captured her lips, kissing all thought
away.

***

She came to on her side, just in time to feel
Julian enter her from behind.

“OH, my
god
…
Julian
…”

He placed a tender kiss on her neck. “Love
how you say my name like that,” he said with a measure of pride.
“You like this.”

Catherine whimpered as he pushed in again.
“How’d…we get…?”

He’d always liked this position. There wasn’t
a part of her he couldn’t touch.

“You passed out for a minute. Personal best
for me.”

“Smug bastard.”

Julian laughed and pinched her nipple. “My
parents were married, thank you.”

“You keep this up; I’m not going to be able
to walk.”

“Not seeing the problem, love.”

***

Catherine had always guessed that sex with
Julian would be…well, more reflective of his vampiric status.

Instead, the longer they were joined, the
more tender and affectionate he was. If there’d been any real
feelings between them, she would have called it making love. Four
hours after she’d last looked at the clock, they were finally sated
and exhausted.

She was curled up against his side, her head
pillowed on his shoulder and her leg tossed over his thigh, the bed
covers pulled up and tucked under her arm. With dawn approaching,
he was drifting off to sleep, his unnecessary breaths becoming
fewer and farther in between.

She allowed herself a couple hours to
nap.

***

Sandman’s Dust was listed in a book on
Cures and Treatments for Common Ailments
. The day Catherine
went shopping with Alana, she’d had the great fortune to slip into
a magic shop unnoticed while Alana harassed some clerk for
Ferragamo shoes. The vial was in plain sight on the shelf, and the
storeowner had no other customers at the time.

“Trouble sleeping, dear?”

“Uh, no, it’s actually…does this work on
anyone? Really?”

“I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer.”

“What about someone who isn’t…exactly…human?”
Catherine asked.

“Ahhh…Well, you might have to up the dosage,
but as long as the subject sleeps in the first place, Sandman’s
Dust never fails. Guaranteed deep sleep for several hours.”

She paid for the vial and stuck it in her
purse, quickly hurrying back to the half-demon. The powder could be
applied to the tongue directly, or diluted in any liquid, where it
would be undetectable. She wasn’t sure what compelled her to choose
that particular item, but it seemed to be an easy option of
escape.

Now, with the sun up outside and Julian sound
asleep, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the closet for her
bag. She found the small vial in one of the outer pockets and
tiptoed back to the sleeping vampire. With his mouth dropping
slightly open and his face fully relaxed, her goal was even easier
to accomplish. She just had to do this
carefully.

Mixed with water in a glass from the bar, she
trickled the medicine in his mouth and whispered the activation
word: “Dormio.”

Julian sighed a puff of white smoke,
signaling the spell was in place.

Free to do what she wished, she took a hot
shower, ate the leftover cake, and dressed in clothes she’d packed.
She found the jewelry box in his coat pocket and put the pearls
away. Whatever she was now, she wasn’t a thief. Wincing as she
hoisted the bag on her shoulder, she paused to look at him.

She wished she still had her camera, but
Lorcan’s crew stole anything of value when they cleaned her stuff
out of the dorm.

The blond vampire really was quite beautiful.
The sheet rest low on his hips, giving her a full view of his
chiseled torso. She set the satchel on a chair and stepped nearer,
unable to resist touching him one last time. His handsome face
looked younger in slumber, a slight smile gracing his lips. She
caressed the wild curls on his head and leaned down to press a kiss
to his forehead.

She left a note on the pillow next to him and
left.

As the cab she rode in stopped in front of
the American Embassy, she hoped he wouldn’t be too angry when he
awoke and discovered her gone.

Chapter 13

Nov. 1
^st
…

“May I help the next person?”

Catherine stepped up to the counter. “Hi, I
need to get a new copy of my passport. Mine was stolen.”

“Identification, please?”

She pushed a few items under the glass
separating them. “I had my old passport in my suitcase, from when I
was a kid? And here’s my driver’s license and Social Security
card.”

The woman looked at the pictures, then held
them up next to the brunette’s face. “Fill out these forms, then go
to that desk over there.”

Catherine took her personal items back and
found a chair she could use. With any luck, she’d be on a plane
back to the States by the end of the day.

***

Julian awakened slowly, his consciousness
pushing through the groggy haze of sleep. He rubbed his eyes, then
looked at the clock.

7:00?

Extending his senses, he could feel that it
was night again. Had he really slept all day? His stomach growled
with hunger.

“Catherine?”

No answer to his call. The suite was
silent.

He spotted the folded piece of paper next to
him.

Julian,

Thanks for making an ordinary girl feel like
a princess for a night. I won’t forget it.

“Bloody hell…”

Twelve hours. She could be anywhere by
now.

Getting complacent in your old age, mate,
when a slip of a girl outwits you.

She’d used the best weapon a woman had in her
arsenal and he’d trusted her completely, the furthest thought in
his mind when he fell asleep that she would run off
post-coital.

It’d been amazing sex. He was tempted not to
bathe before leaving, just to keep the scent of her fresh in
memory. Not that he’d forget one second of her taste or the way she
moved. The sounds, the sight…the feel of how she touched him.
They’d made exquisite poetry. Just picturing it had him rock hard
all over again.

Shaking off his poetic thoughts, he stood and
headed for the shower.

***

Catherine got herself a flight to New York
from Heathrow and sat down in an airport restaurant to have an
early dinner. The soreness from their activities was catching up
with her, and she had no doubt she’d sleep on the plane. She’d be
in the air by sunset.

She would have to watch her back for a while,
as Lorcan was bound to find out soon about her escape, but
hopefully…eventually…he’d get bored, and she could live in peace.
The past month felt like years had gone by. It seemed another
lifetime ago that she’d been a mousy college freshman going about
her classes and little life.

She wasn’t innocent anymore, or at least, no
longer naïve. Knowledge and experience aged you, even when it came
quickly.

From NYC, she had options. There was
California, and the university. She had cousins in Pennsylvania. A
great-uncle in Oklahoma.

America was a very large haystack to hide
in.

***

Coming out of the bathroom, Julian noticed
the girl had cleaned up while he was asleep, hanging up the clothes
he’d tossed the night before. His tie was missing, though.

Just had to have a souvenir, huh, love?

Well, he had his own in the form of the
panties still stuffed in his pants pocket. He left the collar of
his shirt unbuttoned and slipped into his leather duster.

Her dress and cloak were hanging in the
closet. He thought about leaving them there, but Alana would
probably flay him alive…or undead. Whatever.

The situation was a bit of a pisser, in that
he’d have to deal with Lorcan sooner or later, but he couldn’t find
it in him to be mad at Catherine. He admired how she managed to
pull off the getaway. They had no attachments to each other, and
she
had
made him promise not to turn her over to his
grandsire. Anything he might suffer now was his own fault.

At least there were memories…

***

Catherine went straight to the nearest hotel
from the airport. Her body thought it was late still, so she was
going to sleep. Figuring out where to go next could come in the
morning.

***

Alana met Julian at the door, grinning
triumphantly. “Hi, boss.”

He rolled his eyes and continued upstairs
towards his room. She followed like an eager puppy.

“Where’s Catherine?” she asked.

“No clue.”

“You
lost
her?”

“I didn’t
lose
her, like something
that fell out of my pocket. She left.”

“She left. Just like that?”

He nodded. “Scampered off while I was
asleep.”

“Aren’t you going to look for her?” she
pressed.

“Nope.”

“Why the hell not?”

Julian stopped on the riser and turned to
face her. “Because I promised I wouldn’t give her to Lorcan,
alright?”

He continued trudging up the stairs.

“Oh my god, you did it. You really did it.
You fell for a
human!
”

“Shhh! Keep your bloody voice down! I didn’t
‘fall’ for anyone.”

“Then why’d you let her go, hmm?”

“Goodnight, Alana.” He slammed the door to
his bedroom in her face.

***

Julian waited a week before telling Lorcan
the girl disappeared. He hung up on him in mid-rant about
retribution, blah, blah, blah, and started packing a bag.