A relaxation, a release.
It tasted ofsafety, and that was the final straw. She shuddered as she drank, her scraped, reddened left hand clamped against his, holding the flow to her lips. Drank until she could take no more, her fangs retreating reluctantly and a thick hazy relaxation enfolding her, unable to quell the shaking butletting her not care, and she waited for whatever he would do next.
Please. She pressed her lips together hard, unable to speak. Faint rainbow traceries played over each edge glimpsed through her slowly closing, still-dry eyes; maybe it was a residue of whatever drugs had been running around Huske’s system.Please just don’t leave. Don’t leave me here.
He held her until dawn, stroking her hair, and it was far more comforting than it should have been.
Near-instantaneous, leaping into consciousness and throwing herself across the room, knowing nothing but sheer animal terror and the need to run, escape, getaway. By the time Simone realized she was awake, she was trapped sideways against hard cold mirror-tiles, an invisible shimmer turned hard and glassy against her shoulder. Somehow John was there, naked skin sliding against hers, a hot, hard, familiar jab against her hip as he leaned in, effectively trapping her.
At least he wasn’t on her back. Simone swallowed a yelp and forced herself to freeze.Shit. Oh shit.
Still, she felt a lot better. Her arm didn’t hurt, and though her eyes were a bit grainy the immense, sharp vitality of vamp biology had returned.
It was a goddamn relief. She should’ve known she’d wake up without her clothes, though.
“Arambash.” His breath teased at her ear. “Peace, sweet Simone. No need for fear, I have you.”
She sagged, full of that deep, unforgivable relief. It had to be some kind of crime, being so comforted at the presence of a vampire. “God.” Her voice cracked; the thirst was gone, herthroat only near-humanly dry, as if on the downhill slope of recovering from the flu. “Why... where the hell are my clothes?”
“There are machines for washing. And drying. Quite the innovation.” He sounded very pleased with himself, leaning in a little harder. “And I must admit I like you better thus. Bed, or floor? Or wall? There is also a bathtub, which I find appealing, though I do not know your thoughts upon the matter yet.”
Her knees weresonot up to this. “Is that all you can think about?” Going from dead sleep to terror was disorienting, and now she had to deal with a nymphomaniac vamp who didn’t even know his original nameorhow old he was.
Still, he’d shown up when she… well, needed him? Was that the right way to view the situation? Thinking about the sounds as he tore through flesh, bone, and everything else wasn’t helpful at all, especially as his hands began to roam while the rest of him pinned her to the wall. One palm weighed her left breast, the other stroked down her back, fingertips caressing her ribs.
“I have been so very restrained, after all.” He nearly crooned the words, sending a cascade of different shivers down her spine. The thought of what else he could do, the strength held so carefully in check, filled her belly with traitorous heat.
Fuck eventryingto be a good girl. Never got me anywhere, really. “What, you want some kind of reward? I was doing just fine before you showed up.”
“I don’t think so, darlin’.” A rough purr, edged with that rumbling growl. “Choose. Then I will feed you.”
Oh, what the hell. “Bed,” she whispered, both horrified and excited at her own daring. “But this time,I’mon top.” Not that she had a chance at enforcing the decision, she thought, but it was still nice to pretend.
Surprisingly, he obeyed. Which meant Simone found herself rocking atop a vampire on a knotted-pine bedstead, his grip on her hips shifting as she moved, and for a short while she wasblessedly unaware of anything other than her own pleasure, the vibration of his growl against her feverish skin, her back arching as release climbed from the center of her body to fill her skull.
For a few moments she was in control of the world, and it felt so good she almost didn’t mind the echo of smoke clinging to both of them. After a shipwreck, a tornado, a disastrous collapse, any animal wanted to prove itself still alive.
So she did.
CHAPTER 30
Aspen,they called the town, and it appeared pleasant enough during the short hour or so spent acquiring transport in the dead of night. His leman consented to select a small blue sedan for their most immediate travel needs, and her apprehension at the thought of his steering the vehicle meant he acceded to her driving once more.
Much more responsive than a lumbering stagecoach, swifter than a steam train, Jonathan found he quite liked this new invention. They were also much easier to take than even a single horse from a locked livery, and he was more than ready to continue his education in this fascinating modern era.
She was still nervous, holding the steering wheel very tightly. Well-fed though ragged, she also watched him carefully, mostly sidelong as she steered their conveyance, her attention especially marked when she could reasonably guess him distracted.
The road rose, fell, swooped upon curves like a hawk enjoying summer updrafts.I always wanted to go west, she said, and he agreed. Perhaps he might even find something of hisown memories there, as small bits of his wanderings before the fire had begun to return with each deep breath of her fragrance.
Soon the closed interior was dyed with her presence, and he relaxed gratefully into that wonderful flood.
“John?” A small, tentative word.
“Hm?” He turned his attention from the cone of white headlight before them.Woody Creek,the signs announced at intervals,Snowmass, Basalt, with mile-numbers attached. The most immediate problem was selecting another mortal town before dawn, and securing a safe resting place for her therein. Then a busy span of sunlight hours, acquiring various items and solidifying his grasp upon the principles of modernity while she slumbered.
For now, though, he could luxuriate in the closeness of his leman. She seemed almost resigned to his presence once more, and he intended upon using the gift to the hilt.
“You didn’t have to, you know.” This was a new Simone, biting her lower lip as she coaxed the vehicle into a tight curve. Acceleration pushed and pulled, an invisible dance; he liked the sense of being drawn along with her. “The… Huske, the guy who caught me? He thought he was going to get a transfusion and live forever.”