Out of the Box 9 Page 3

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, and tried to get away from his embrace. “I shouldn’t have—”

  “Don’t.”

  I’m not sure if he meant don’t apologize or don’t pull away from him. He held me closer, kissed the back of my head then my shoulders, as I had done to him earlier. His lips found the bite scars he had left at the crook of my neck and he kissed them, even scraped his teeth against them, sending sparks running through my body. My arms rested over his and I clutched at his wrists.

  “Go ahead,” I murmured. “If you want—”

  I didn’t need to finish. His mouth rested over the scars again. Almost delicately, his fangs pressed against my skin until they pierced it. The familiar flash of pain was followed by warmth as he drew my blood with slow but strong suction. His chest vibrated with a low rumbling of pleasure and I could feel his cock harden against my ass.

  All too soon, it was over. He lapped at the scars a few times with long swipes of his tongue. Each time, sensations of pain and pleasure sparked through me. Trembling, I turned in his unyielding embrace and pressed my body to his, burying my face into the crook of his neck.

  His shaky hand rested over my hair and brushed lightly through the strands as he murmured, “Sweet Virginia” in the same tone of voice he had used every time he had told me goodbye.

  I only clang to him a little tighter. “Make love to me,” I asked, almost begged. “If it’s over, if it’s really goodbye, then make love to me one last time.”

  He placed a finger beneath my chin and raised my face to his. In the wavering light of the candles, he looked at me for a long moment, and I looked back, unflinching, wondering what he thought, what he saw in my face when he looked at me so intently. Then, very slowly, his lips descended upon mine for a soft kiss. His tongue traced my parting lips before slipping past them. I brushed my tongue against his, recognizing after a second the taste lingering there as that of my blood. It didn’t bother me; I had known what Anando was from the moment I had met him. If anything, it still sent a thrill through me to know that he could want me or need me on such primal level. It would be yet another thing I missed when we parted ways; I knew already that I’d never let another vampire feed from me.

  The kiss ended as sweetly as it had started. Letting his arms drop from my waist, Anando took my hand and guided me out of the room. He led me to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. The dark wood of the furniture and blue linens and walls reminded me at once of his bedroom in Haventown and it felt as though we were back there, back home, on a night like any other night we had spent together.

  He dropped down to one knee to pull my boots off. I rested a hand on his shoulder for balance, and left it there, clutching lightly, as he peeled the leather pants off me, his fingers touching each inch of skin he uncovered. I was trembling when he stood again, my entire body anxious to feel more of him. With a single finger, he traced the lacy edge of my bra, following the cup down into my cleavage and back up on the other side. Unable to wait any longer, I unsnapped my bra. It slipped down my arms when I unbuttoned his jeans. I reached inside them and gently guided his cock out before pushing the pants down his legs. He stepped out of them and took both my hands in his.

  “No games, this time,” he said.

  I struggled to give him a small smile. “Just us.”

  Letting go of my left hand, he grabbed the corner of the neatly set comforter and pulled it and the sheet down, opening the bed. I slipped between the cotton sheets. They felt cool and smooth against me. Anando joined me, and his skin was even smoother as our bodies pressed together. As always, it warmed slowly under my touch. We kissed and caressed, our hands playing over each other’s bodies, fingertips and nails, open palms just brushing and fingers clutching. Without needing to talk about it, we were both taking things slow, drawing them out, with an edge of desperation to each kiss, each caress. They were the last ones we would exchange. We both knew it.

  His cock was pushing against my hip, leaving a wet trail there and making me even wetter. I refrained from touching it as long as I could, but the hard flesh enticed me, called to me, and eventually I had to wrap my hand around it. Anando moaned softly when I did, and his hips arched toward me. I raised my leg, settling it over his and opening myself to him. He moved forward and I guided him to my folds, holding him poised at the entrance to my body a few more seconds before I let him inside me.

  I wanted nothing more than to feel him fill me, complete me fully, but he teased me just as I had teased him. His thrust was shallow and all too short before he pulled back, leaving nothing but the very tip of him inside me. I tried to use the leverage of my leg over his thigh to push him deeper, but he stopped me by rolling me onto my back. He lay over me, propped onto his forearms. Nestled between my thighs, he could easily have entered me. Instead, he remained as he was, teasing me with the promise of what was to come, remaining in control of his body even as mine shook in need.

  “What do you want, Virginia?” he murmured, and his words were a caress against my lips.

  No games, he had said, but I guess he just couldn’t stop himself from playing one last time.

  I wrapped my legs around him and clutched at his shoulders. “You know what I want.”

  My attempt to bear down on him was deflected when he shifted back the tiniest bit so that his cock felt like it was about to slip out of me. I stilled, and so did he.

  “I want to hear it. Tell me—”

  “I want you. I always wanted you. From the moment I saw you in the club, you—”

  His cock pushed inside me without warning. Not all the way in, not yet, but deeper than before.

  “It was always about you,” I continued, breathing hard, my nails digging into his skin. “I thought… I thought it was about how good I felt—”

  He pulled away, but thrust back in before I could protest.

  “—but it was always about you. Even those times when we did nothing but talk—”

  I let out a small cry. He was a little deeper still, but not all the way in yet. My body was shaking, and fire was consuming me inside and out. Surely, I would die if he did not fill me soon—or at least, that was what it felt like.

  “Even talking was enough,” I finished, breathless.

  He stilled halfway through his motion of pulling back. In the faint ambient light, I could see a grin twist his lips.

  “If what you want to do is talk…” he said, leaving the rest up in the air.

  “You’re making me regret those chains. Are you going to fuck me now or should I—”

  I didn’t need to finish that threat. He started moving inside me, still too slow to my liking, but without pauses now, his cock continually sliding in and out of me, stretching me to accommodate him and firing up threads of pleasure to course through my body.

  In the near darkness, his face was serious even as it contorted in pleasure. At times, that edge of sadness I had first discovered back in Haventown crept up to the surface. I couldn’t bear seeing it. I never wanted to see Anando unhappy. My hand traveled to the back of his head and I gently drew him down for a kiss. I flicked my tongue at his lips before pushing in past them. Our tongues slid against each other at the same slow rhythm of his cock pushing inside me and withdrawing again.

  I’d like to believe we made love like this all night, prolonging this last dance as long as we could, but the truth is, we both wanted and needed too much for it to last. Our kiss became a little more frantic, a little less controlled, and so did Anando’s thrusting. I didn’t want it to end, but pleasure was thrumming through me louder and louder, with sharp notes of raw need that made me arch my hips and moan into Anando’s mouth.

  He ended the kiss and drew back to look at me as he intensified his tempo, keeping up with my ragged breathing.

  “Always so beautiful,” he murmured. “Always letting me see your pleasure… Will you come for me, Virginia? Will you—”

  All it took was a few words, my name on his lips, his cock piercing m
e, his pelvis grinding against my clit. All it took was him, and I was coming apart, my body shattering for him, at his hands, one last time.

  All it took, for him, was my own pleasure.

  Arms wrapped around him, I held him to me, not letting go even when he rolled off me so that we ended side by side again, his face just inches from mine, our eyes locked. He cupped my face with his hand and stroked my cheek with his thumb. I pinched my lips tightly together so words wouldn’t escape. I wanted to tell him at last that I loved him, but at the same time I couldn’t. These words would have been no more than another kind of chains on him, demanding that he return them—and I knew, deep down, that he would. I wanted him free. I kept quiet.

  We remained like this, looking at each other in silence, as close as two lovers can be, for a little while longer. All of a sudden, a loud clamor rose from the street, cheering and chanting, car horns joining in. Anando smiled.

  “Happy New Year, dearest Virginia. May it bring you all the happiness you wish for.”

  I tried to smile back, but I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I was afraid that, if I said anything, even a simple ‘thank you’, I would cry. Tears would have been another way to attach him to me. I refused them. Closing my eyes, I moved closer to him and tucked my head beneath his chin. It wasn’t the first time I had gone to sleep in his arms, but I was acutely aware that it would be the last. It made the comfort of his embrace bittersweet, but I wouldn’t have given it up for anything in the world.

  When I woke up, faint lines of light framed the drapes, letting me know it was morning. I carefully pulled away from his arms and slipped out of bed without awakening him.

  My eyes became used to the lack of light and I watched him for a little while. His lips were barely parted, and he looked at peace. I wanted nothing more than to lean down and press a kiss to his mouth, but I didn’t dare. It would be easier if I just left without him waking up.

  I picked up my clothes in the dark and tiptoed out of the room. The first door I opened was a bathroom. My carry-on suitcase was there, next to the shower stall. I tried not to wonder who had brought it in. I cleaned up quickly, then got dressed. As I put my clothes from the day before in the suitcase, a bit of ribbon peeking out of my pants pocket caught my eye. I pulled it out and closed my hand over the silver key. I kept it inside my tight fist as I walked out and explored the apartment a little more. The next door I opened, mirroring Mary’s sitting room, was an office. I went to the desk, pulled a sheet of paper from the printer and found a pen in the drawer. I knew I was taking the coward’s way out by writing my goodbyes rather than saying them to him, but I couldn’t bear to talk to him now.

  “Dear Anando,

  It’s my turn to slip away without a proper goodbye. I hope you’ll forgive me as I forgive you. As much as I hurt right now, I’m glad I met you, and I’m glad you were in my life for those too few months. And if it had to come to an end, I’m glad I could see you one last time.

  There is more I want to say to you, words that would break the rules one last time, but they’re words that should be spoken, not left to die on a piece of paper.

  Think of me, sometimes. I will think of you.

  Virginia”

  I left the key with the letter. He had asked for his freedom, and that’s what I was giving him. The freedom to move on, to be happy. I also left the cell phone I had brought with me, so I wouldn’t be tempted to call again. I was freeing myself, too.

  Pulling my carry on after me, I went to the elevator and pressed the call button. The plane ticket was in my jacket, which I had left in Mary’s apartment. The last thing I wanted was to see her, and I hoped the old woman would be there again to give me my jacket back. However, when the metal door opened, they revealed Mary standing inside the elevator, my jacket in her hands. I hesitated before climbing in, but finally did when she stepped to the side, leaving more space for me. The doors closed behind me and she pressed the button for the parking before handing me the jacket. I took it with a nod of thanks but without meeting her eyes.

  Neither of us said a word while the elevator glided smoothly to the basement. I kept staring at the doors so I wouldn’t have to see her. I expected her to say something when the doors opened, but she just remained there while I stepped out toward the limousine that was waiting for me. The same driver took my carry on, and only then did I look back at Mary. She was holding the doors open as she watched me go. I managed to force out a word of thanks, and she replied with a nod. Somehow, she looked disappointed. I wasn’t too sure why. I had done what she wanted and set her Childe free. Whatever she may think, I don’t believe he wanted anything else from me.

  I took the plane home, surrounded by revelers still red-eyed and grinning from greeting the New Year with too much enthusiasm. Despite everything, I felt all right. I fell asleep during the flight, awakening only when we reached Haventown and feeling calmer, more at peace than I had since he had left.

  I have no regrets, my Lady. I didn’t actually say the words to him, but I put them in every touch, every kiss, and I’m sure he heard them. I’m sure he knows I love him. I’m also pretty sure he loves me too.

  I just don’t know if he loves me enough to come back.

  The End

  About the Author:

  Kallysten’s most exciting accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been writing for fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with science fiction, short stories and poetry, she is now trying her hand, heart and words at paranormal romance novels.

  To see her other stories, including free short stories and sample chapters, visit http://original.kallysten.net

  Also available from Kallysten:

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