Thirst [All-American Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (14 page)

He moved his fingers faster, teasing his tongue against her clit. Then he suddenly sucked hard on that sensitive nub, and she exploded, arching up so high she almost threw him off the bed and screaming out his name. He continued working her, dragging out the climax until she felt like a drained shell. Finally he eased back and sat up, grinning down at her exhausted form. His face was wet and slick from her juices, and when he bent down to kiss her, she could taste her own climax on his mouth.

She had thought she was done for, but as his tongue slid against hers, she could feel her need begin to grow again. His hands brushed over her sides and pulled her tight against him. When he ended the kiss, she stared up at him, his hair forming a dark cave that just contained the two of them.

“Are your hands okay? Tell me if they’re bothering you.”

“No, they’re not hurting, but I want to touch you.”

He nodded and reached up to unfasten the tie, drawing her hands down when it loosened. He massaged the reddened flesh, dropping kisses across each wrist. She lay there, her heart gradually slowing down, and peeked up at his face.

“I…I’ve never felt anything like that before in my life. I mean, except for that last time with you. And even then it wasn’t as…” she softly confessed with a blush.

“I know what you mean. I’m glad that I was the one who gave you your first real climaxes. It was beautiful. You are beautiful.”

She looked away. “No I’m not. Not really. I know you keep saying it, but I know I’m too skinny and plain. You could have any woman you want, so I’m not really sure what you’re doing with me, but you make me feel almost beautiful the way you look at me and touch me.”

“Look at me, Claire.” He forced her chin up so that their eyes met. “I never say anything I don’t mean. You are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Dainty and sweet and so sexy I can hardly see straight. And before we’re done here, you’ll believe that what I’m telling you is the absolute truth.”

* * * *

Hawk gazed down at Claire. He felt a connection to her that he had felt to no one since the family that he lost. She seemed so fragile, but he knew that she had a backbone of steel. He kissed her again, letting his mouth take hers in a thorough tasting. He explored each hidden nook and valley, his tongue gliding around hers, dueling with it. He let his hand move down her side, reveling in the slight inward dip at her waist and the sweetly rounded curve of her buttocks. She’d called herself too thin, but he would have said slender and elegant. Her breasts, which he traced with his fingers, were small but perfectly formed. And the golden curls which shielded her pussy only emphasized her gentle womanliness. He hadn’t been lying or exaggerating when he’d called her beautiful. It wasn’t an in-your-face kind of beauty that one might see on the cover of a high-fashion magazine or the flamboyant lushness of a nude centerfold. Rather it was a more subtle beauty that needed the right man to appreciate it. Hawk was that man.

“I like seeing you like this, Claire. All soft and warm and smelling of your own pleasure. But I need more.”

With those words, he covered her. Hesitating, he looked down at her, needing her acceptance of him as he’d never needed it from the nameless lovers who had filled a need in him but never touched his soul. Claire was so much more.

“Yes,” she whispered, her arms moving to encircle his neck and tug his face down for a passionate kiss.

He parted her legs and slid smoothly into her tight cunt. Her body resisted his invasion at first, despite the fact that she was very wet and prepared for him. It was obvious that it had been a while for her, and he felt sure that she’d had no lover since she’d escaped from her captors almost a year before. The tight clasp of her body around him was incredible, and he almost came on the spot. He held himself still for several long moments, determined to make this last as long as he could.

He met her eager gaze as he finally began to thrust. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he forced himself to hold to a slow and steady rhythm rather than the wild pounding frenzy that he wanted to give in to. He felt her hands squeeze his shoulders, and he paused, pulling her hands from him and holding them down on either side of her head. “If you touch me, I’ll go off like a firecracker, baby. Keep them here.”

He saw her nod and released her hands, moving his own to slide beneath her hips, tilting her to a better angle so he could enter her even deeper.

“That feels so good, Hawk,” she murmured to him, and he could feel her body clasping him even tighter. Determined to make it good for her, he reached down to grab one leg, hooking it over his arm and spreading her more for him. He was in her now as deep as he could go, thrusting and grinding into her, hitting her G-spot with every stroke. He heard her moan and felt her body squirming beneath him as another climax approached. She jerked against him as she came, her cream covering his cock with its sticky warmth.

He pulled out of her and turned her over, pulling her hips up and urging her head down against the bed. He ran his hand down the curve of her spine, marveling at the softness of her skin beneath his fingers. His need for her intensified as she thrust back against him, obviously eager for him. Holding her hip with one hand, he positioned the head of his cock at her pussy and rubbed it against her, teasing her with his nearness. When his shaft was coated with her slickness, he sheathed himself deep inside her in one quick jab. They both moaned at the exquisite feeling of completeness.

He began to move again, in and out, deeper and deeper, pulling out almost all the way before driving back into her heated pussy. Gradually he increased his pace, taking her harder and faster, his balls slapping out the rhythm of his thrusts against her ass. Claire kept pace with him, pounding back even as he plunged deep, tossing her head and panting with her exertions.

He could feel his balls tighten and knew he would not last much longer. He pulled her up so that her back was nestled against his and cupped one hand over a breast, squeezing and kneading that tender skin. He slid his other hand between her thighs, finding her clit and pinching it between two fingers. With a keening cry, she came again, this time pulling him with her over the edge. He pounded into her for one final thrust before his climax roared out of him.

“Fuck, fuck,” he gasped out as he felt the spurts of cum coating her womb. He sank his teeth into her neck, sending them both once more into another orgasm as he sucked strongly, pulling her blood into his mouth and eagerly swallowing each drop. Licking a healing stroke over his bite marks, he collapsed onto the bed, rolling so that he did not crush her beneath him. Then he pulled her closer, spooning her against him and dropping a final kiss onto the top of her head.

They both lay there panting for several minutes, until Hawk’s softening cock slid from her body. He rose to get a damp cloth from the bathroom to clean her body and his own. When he was done, he tossed the cloth onto the bedside table. She lay there watching him as he straightened the bed as best he could from the scrambled mess they’d made of it before crawling in beside her and covering them both with the single sheet.

He enfolded her against him once again, so that her head rested on his chest. When they had both calmed down and their breathing had leveled out, Hawk kissed her hand and laid it on his chest, loving the feel of her fingers on his skin. She stroked the firm muscles there, and Hawk felt connected to her in a way that went far beyond the physical desire of moments before.

“What are we doing, Hawk?” she whispered breathlessly.

“We’re…” He paused, considering. “We’re exploring.”

She thought about that for a minute. “Okay. Exploring. I guess I just—I think it would be easy to fall for you, and I don’t know if that would be a smart idea.”

“Don’t worry about it. For right now, let’s just enjoy the moment. There’ll be plenty of time later for…other things.” He placed his hand over hers where she continued to caress him. Her hand slipped up to touch the copper bracelet he wore, and he knew the question that was about to come next.

“This is lovely. Where did you get it? It looks authentic Native American.”

He hesitated for a moment, not sure if now was the time to get into such a serious subject, but decided there was no reason not to tell her. “My daughter made it for me.”

Her hand froze, and she pushed herself up so that she looked down at him. “Your daughter?”

He nodded. “Yes. Her name was Inola. She died when she was five years old of smallpox. Basically nonexistent today thanks to vaccinations, but it practically wiped out my entire village, including my wife and child. This was before I was turned. I was one of the ‘lucky’ ones who survived.”

“Oh, Hawk. I’m so sorry.”

He linked his fingers with hers. “Thank you, but it was a long time ago. They will always hold a special place in my heart, but I try not to dwell on the past too much. Though there are some nights when it gets difficult. Even now. When you have lived as long as I have, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the passing of time and all the things that you lose along the way. That’s something they don’t often mention in modern vampire novels. The fact that the world moves on but you don’t. Not really.”

“I guess that’s something I’ll have to learn.”

“Yes.” He seized on the opportunity to turn the conversation away from his past. “You’re still just a baby vampire, aren’t you? You’re barely turned and apparently having a difficult time taking blood from a donor.”

She stiffened slightly, and he knew he’d touched on a sore point. He could let it go, but he wasn’t going to. He knew that some newly turned vampires could not bring themselves to take live blood, and many of them endangered their health. Some even died because of their repulsion at the idea. He was determined that was not going to happen to Claire.

“It’s a personal issue, Hawk. I don’t really like to talk about it.”

“Maybe that’s your mistake, Claire. You haven’t talked about it so you haven’t really considered all of the ramifications.” He thought about it for a moment. “What is it about drinking that bothers you so much?”

She pulled back from him and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. At first he thought she wasn’t going to answer him, but finally she said, “It just feels too much like we’re thieves, taking something from someone without their even knowing it. It’s not right.”

“But Eloise offered, and still you were reluctant.”

He could tell she didn’t want to answer him, so he prodded. “Why, Claire?”

She burst out, “It makes me feel like a monster, that’s why. Like a freaking blood-sucking creature of the night out of some horrid nightmare. I’m scared to death that I will take too much. That I might kill someone by mistake. There. Are you satisfied now?” She turned her back on him and reached down to draw the covers up to her shoulders. A smart man would probably leave well enough alone. And Hawk was usually a smart man.

“Claire, if you’re afraid of taking too much blood when you drink, all the more reason to practice and gain control so that accidents like that do not happen. That’s like saying you won’t drive a car because you’re afraid you’ll hit someone. You have to learn to do it safely.”

She shrugged. “I was taught to feed by those thugs who kidnapped me. I don’t think they were the best of teachers or that they knew anything about control or safety. It made me feel incompetent and scared every time I had to feed.”

He should have realized. He reached out to touch her shoulder, offering comfort. “That’s understandable, sweetheart. Tell you what, I’ll help you practice so that you can become more comfortable and confident in your own control. Okay?”

“It still makes me feel like a monster.” She huffed into her pillow.

He considered what he could say that would make her feel less guilt ridden. “If you think about it, our taking blood is actually a lot less ‘monsterish’ than what normal humans do. They must kill in order to eat, right? How many cattle and pigs and chickens are sacrificed each year to feed the masses of humanity? But taking blood? Something that humans are easily able to regenerate? What’s the harm in that? As long as we’re careful, they suffer little to no ill effects.”

He could see her thinking about what he had said, the wheels in her brain slowly turning over his words as if seeking to find a flaw in his logic.

Finally she said, “But…it’s still stealing if you don’t have their permission. And sometimes we don’t ask. We just take and then blur their memories.”

“Preservation of the species, Claire. We can’t risk humans finding out about our existence on a large scale or there will be a witch hunt worse than anything ever seen in Salem. Is the crime really so horrible? We’re not taking anything from them that they will ever miss, and they will replace it within a week. Do you consider a mosquito a thief? And we don’t even leave them with an itch. In fact, we make them feel very, very good. It’s a win-win situation, if you ask me.”

More silence. She rolled back over to face him, on her face an expression of dawning acceptance. “I guess I never thought of it like that before, Hawk.”

“Does that mean you’ll reconsider your attitude toward feeding?”

She nodded. “I will. You’ve made some really good points. I’m not sure that I’ll ever really enjoy feeding from humans. I’ll probably always prefer bottled blood.”

“But you won’t let that keep you from feeding when you need to. It’s a matter of staying healthy, Claire. You have a long life ahead of you. I’d hate to see it cut short just because you couldn’t bring yourself to do what is needed for your survival. Promise me that you’ll take care of yourself.”

“I promise, Hawk.”

“Good. Now I think it’s time we got some sleep. I can feel dawn rising, and we have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Okay, Hawk. Sleep well.”

She slowly drifted off, and Hawk lay there absorbing the feelings of peace and contentment from having her in his arms, feelings he hadn’t known in so long.

She was amazing. Her selfless determination to help her sister no matter what both awed and frightened him. He knew that she would risk her own safety if she thought it would help her save Cassidy. Even more worrying was Claire’s hatred of what she had become. She had to take care of herself, no matter how much she didn’t want to. Hawk vowed to himself that he would protect Claire—even from herself if necessary.