There was barely room to move in her bedroom. But I only needed the bed. I dropped her onto it and her towel fell open in the process, treating me to a glimpse of the body that had occupied my every waking thought since the moment we met. A primal instinct rose, seeping out in a low growl.
Thea’s eyes widened, and she tugged the towel back around her to cover up.
“Don’t,” I said as I reached to unbutton my shirt. “I want to see you, pet.”
Her hands continued to clutch the towel, but she nibbled on her lower lip. “I haven’t forgiven you yet, remember?”
“Then let me apologize.” I shrugged out of my shirt and let it fall to the floor. Her gaze swept down me appreciatively, causing another surge of feral desire to swell within me, barreling straight down to my dick. Thea’s eyes paused on the fly of my trousers, staring. The longer she looked at my erection, the harder I got. Which was precisely why my pants had to stay on.
She seemed to know what I was thinking. “Why am I the only one expected to get naked?”
“Because,” I said, sinking to my knees at the edge of her bed, “I’m here to apologize to you.”
“You don’t need me naked for that.” She wasn’t going to make this easy.
I placed a hand on each of her knees, feeling the warmth of her skin through my calfskin driving gloves. “I’m sorry,” I said in a low voice, earning a shiver from her. “I never intended to make you feel unwanted.”
Thea remained quiet for a moment before she nodded. Her eyes were bright, shining with unshed tears, and I knew just how spectacularly I’d fucked up before. We needed to talk. I needed to reestablish some important boundaries, even if it meant revealing vampire secrets I was sworn never to discuss. I wouldn’t hurt her again–not to protect old laws.
“I’m sorry I asked you to bite me,” she whispered.
My eyes flashed, and I sat back on my heels to put some physical distance between us.
“You warned me not to offer a vampire my blood,” she continued.
“And you did anyway.” I barely contained a smile. I shouldn’t like her defiance, not if it put her in danger. But there was something about it that grabbed ahold of me. Maybe it was because she was so fragile, but I would never have expected to find such fire in this tiny human female.
“I just…” She took a deep breath. “I suppose I thought it might be different if we were already…intimate.”
“Let me be clear on something. Refusing to drink your blood is because I respect you, but it is also to protect you,” I admitted. “A vampire in the throes of blood-lust can’t always stop. You have a precious talent. I won’t take that from the world.”
Her mouth formed a tiny O, but her eyes were unreadable. Finally, she managed a grin. “I’ll try to help you keep your fangs off me.”
I was relieved to hear her make a joke, but I needed to be clear on how dangerous her request had been. “It is difficult enough for me to resist you. Tempting me is forbidden. Are we clear?”
“What if I forget when…you know…?” Her whole body flushed, and the air around me filled with the inviting scent of violets mixed with sugar and almonds. And there was a new aroma, as well: honey drizzled on juicy, sun-ripened melons. I’d learned from experience that I might not have drank her blood, but I couldn’t get enough of her taste.
“If you forget, I will remind you,” I said meaningfully.
“How?” She sounded suspicious. Good, that meant she was paying attention.
“What happens to disobedient pets?” I pressed a kiss to her soft thigh, and she shuddered.
“I don’t understand,” she said, sounding slightly strained. “You don’t mean…”
“I will teach you a lesson,” I continued.
“I thought you already had.” Her words sounded thick and crowded on her tongue. More notes of ripe melon filled the air. I was losing her attention to her growing desire–and running out of room in my pants.
“That was a lesson in pleasure, meant as a reward,” I explained. I pushed onto my knees to see her whole face as I delivered the critical bit of this lecture. “If you test the boundaries I’ve placed for your protection, I’ll be forced to give you a lesson–a punishment.”
Her eyes, which had been half-closed in greedy anticipation, flew open. “You wouldn’t!”
“I promise you I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety,” I said firmly. “Don’t look alarmed. I suspect you will enjoy our lesson just as much as the others I’ve given you.”
“What does that mean? That you’ll ground me?”
“No, Thea.” Now I understood her reaction. She was envisioning some modern form of punishment dreamed up by enlightened mortals. “It means I’ll spank you.”
Her breath hitched, and the honeyed-melon scent overpowered the violets entirely. Thea squirmed under my gaze. She licked her lower lip. “I’m not sure how to feel about that.”
Her body told another story. I wasn’t entirely sure punishment would make my limits stick. “Is that because the thought of punishment arouses you?”
“I…what…no…” Her response was as flustered as her need was growing. “Why would you think that?”
“I smelled it,” I explained to her. “Your scent changed when I mentioned spanking. Would you like that, pet? Would you like me to bend you over my knee and turn your ass the same lovely shade as your cheeks are now?”
She struggled for a moment before she finally murmured, “I don’t know.”
But I knew. It made sense. Thea had been as drawn to me as I was to her. She craved the darkness inside me. That’s why she had asked me to drink her blood. I’d shown her pleasure the night before. I’d opened her eyes to a new world filled with both beauty and shadow. Now she wanted to taste both.
I rose to my feet and took a seat at the edge of her bed. Then I pointed at my lap.
She sat up and looked at me for a moment, obviously nervous, but her arousal continued to fill the room. It hung so heavily that I was finding it hard to keep my blood-lust in check.
“I came to apologize, pet, but it seems you require more lessons from me. I will stop if you ask,” I promised her, “and I will do nothing that leaves a mark.”
Her head fell down, and I lifted it with my index finger. Her cheeks were now so red I could hear blood throbbing under the delicate skin.
“Why are you embarrassed?” I asked her gently. “There is no shame in taking what gives one pleasure.”
“You said I had to stay on my best behavior,” she admitted shyly, “and I wanted to see how far I could push you until you punished me.”
“Why is that?” I already knew the answer, but I wanted her to understand. Understanding was key to acceptance, and I needed Thea to know nothing was wrong with her.
“Because I want you to spank me.” She swallowed and I remembered her mouth on my cock. “I don’t even know why. I’ve never…”
“There are many things you’ve never tried,” I reminded her. “And it’s hardly unusual to desire a little pain mixed with pleasure.”
“Will it hurt?” she asked.
“If you want it to.”
She squirmed a little on the bed. “And you’ll stop if…”
“Yes. Always.”
“I’m not sure you understand punishments,” she said, narrowing her eyes a bit.
I burst out laughing. “The punishment was about teaching you boundaries, pet.” I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. She was about to feel silly. “What better way to teach you to appreciate mine than to show respect for yours?”
Her mouth fell open as she realized what I meant.
“There are lines we cannot cross,” I told her quietly. “Lines I will not cross. You are only beginning to find your own limits.”
“And you’re going to help me with that?” she asked in a wry tone.
“Someone has to,” I said, sighing heavily before smirking at her.
She stuck her tongue out at me.
“Careful, pet,” I warned her. “Being disrespectful will find you over my knee.”
She gulped before raising her chin and simpering, “Promise?”
I pointed to my lap. There was a moment of hesitation, but then Thea crawled over and laid her belly across my knees.
“You are so lovely when you come,” I told her. “So alive.” I placed a gloved hand on her butt and rubbed small circles over her bare flesh. Thea moaned. The sound sent a jolt to my dick. This was why she pushed my buttons. “I can only imagine how perfect your backside will be with my handprints on it.”
“Julian,” she said cautiously, “will you take off your gloves?”
The request wrapped itself around my chest and squeezed. Perhaps, one day, I would feel safe fulfilling it, but today wasn’t that day. “I can’t, pet.”
I widened the rotating motion of my palm, continuing to warm her skin.
“Fine,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed.
“You seem to be having difficulty respecting my limits,” I murmured as I used my free hand to brush her hair behind her ear. She turned her face to the side, resting it against the mattress, to search my eyes.
“Sounds like I need to be taught a lesson.” She wiggled her lower half as though I might be more inclined to deliver said lesson if she were better on display.
“We can always stop,” I said, looking into her eyes. She gave me a small nod.
I lifted my hand and delivered one light but firm smack. Thea gasped, and I paused my hand mid-air to give her time to stop me. But her breathing morphed to hungry panting instead. I brought my hand down again and waited before delivering one more
“Do you like being spanked?” I asked as her ass took on a rosy glow.
Her eyes closed briefly, her face racked with desire. “Yes,” she whispered, and my cock twitched along with my palm. “A few more times.”
I spanked her until the rosy hue deepened into a deep, throbbing red. Then I flipped her onto her back. Thea blinked at me, barely moving as I reached between her legs and urged them open.
“Did you enjoy your lesson, pet?” I asked as I knelt between her spread thighs.
She nodded, biting her lip. “But now…”
I lifted an eyebrow and waited for her to finish. That was proving as hard as I was because I could think of nothing more than showing her how different pleasure felt on the edge of pain.
“I feel like I’m going to explode,” she admitted softly. “I need you.”
“Shhh,” I soothed her. “I’m right here.” Dipping down, I placed my mouth over her swollen mound and savored the wet heat I found there. Pulling back for a moment, I stared up at her, darkness coloring my vision. “I will never need your blood as long as you give me this.”
Thea grabbed hold of my hair, her hips bucking up as they tried to relocate my now absent mouth. “Show me.”
She didn’t have to ask me again. But that didn’t stop me from devouring her until she came twice: the apology I’d meant to deliver and another just because I wanted more of her. She collapsed against the mattress, and I gathered her in my arms. Despite her languid limbs, she reached for the buckle of my belt.
“No, pet.” I stopped her. “I was apologizing, remember?”
“I thought you were teaching,” she teased. “What if I want to return to the lesson?”
“Later,” I said meaningfully. “Rest. I kept you up half the night last night–”
“I’m not complaining,” she interjected.
I ignored her. “And I plan to keep you up longer tonight. If that is permissible?”
“It is permissible.” She burrowed against me, sighing happily.
I smiled, recalling the insatiable appetite I now had. Some things didn’t change, no matter how many centuries passed. After a minute, Thea began to softly snore, and I reached into my pocket for my phone. There were a few missed calls from my family and a text from Celia. My family could wait. I had no plans to do anything but enjoy the exquisite creature next to me this evening. But as soon as I read Celia’s message, I regretted letting the outside world intrude. My plans would have to wait. I let Thea sleep a little while longer before I kissed her forehead and coaxed her to open her eyes.
“Pet, I’m afraid we have somewhere to be, and there are things we’ll both need to attend to before we leave,” I told her gently, unsure how she would take this news. Not that I had any choice but to deliver it.
“What? Where?” she mumbled sleepily, trying to bury her face in my chest.
I suspected my answer would wake her up. “Paris.”
