Be Mine Tonight (19 page)

“Pru…”

She pressed her fingers against his mouth. “I want you to.”

She took her fingers away and pressed closer to him, wrapping her arms about him once more as she tilted her head back.

The hands on her back stroked gently, one coming up to cup her shoulder. His breath was warm against her throat, the brush of his lips as soft as a butterfly’s wing.

“Ah!” A brief sting as his fangs penetrated her,
and then a rush of pleasure as she felt him draw her into himself. Liquid heat flowed through her veins, flooding her with the most intense of sensations. His mouth worked at her throat as his hips pushed against her, his rhythm increasing.

Pru clung to him, her body writhing into his embrace, pliant and so terribly aware in his arms. The tension between her legs grew, bringing her closer and closer to a second climax.

Gripping him with her thighs, she arched upward, pushing her pelvis against the sweet pressure of his hand and the delicious thrust of his body. The suction at her throat deepened and she knew he was as close to release as she.

Suddenly she was no longer simply close. Suddenly she was lost in the maelstrom of ecstasy his mouth and body wrought. She clutched at his head, holding him tight against her throat as orgasm tore through her, convulsing with mind-numbing pleasure.

Dimly, she was aware of Chapel stiffening as his own climax struck. She felt him groan against her throat, felt the hot swipe of his tongue against her punctured flesh, and then a tingling, and she knew that come morning there would be no evidence of his bite.

He held her for some time, his face buried in the crook of her shoulder.

“Look at me,” she said finally when it became apparent that he had no intention of doing so.

“I don’t want you to see my demon face.”

Demon face? She was so sated and so giddy with satisfaction from his lovemaking that the
notion made her want to laugh. “Chapel, you could never frighten me. Look at me.”

Slowly, he lifted his head. When she looked at his face, all she saw was her beautiful vampire. His eyes were bright, but not as much as they had been earlier, not quite glowing in the darkness. His mouth looked a little darker, and when she kissed him, she could taste herself—body and blood—on his lips. But there was nothing that frightened her.

She smiled at him, smoothing back his hair from his tormented face. “Thank you.”

He frowned. “For?”

“For giving me this experience.”

“Is that why you think I made love to you, out of pity?”

He would have left her had she not held on. No, that wasn’t true. He could leave her and she couldn’t stop him, she knew that. He didn’t leave because she didn’t want him to, not because her strength was great enough to restrain him.

“That’s not what I meant.” She stroked his arm. “I just wanted you to know how much this means to me. How much you mean to me.”

He stared at her for the longest time, until she began to worry that she had said too much. Then he raised the back of his knuckles to her cheek and stroked the skin there.

“I think I am the one who should be thankful,” he murmured. “You are the first woman to accept what I am, and for that I will always be grateful. I will never forget you, Pru Ryland.”

She let him take her into his arms and hold her.
Tears came to her eyes, but she fought them away. Now was not the time for tears. Now she simply wanted to savor this moment.

No, he might not forget her, but someday—whether it be two years from now or two hundred—he would find someone to take her place, someone who would live longer and share more of his life with him. He would find someone truly special. And then she would be nothing more than a pleasant memory.

At least she wouldn’t be around to witness it.

Chapel knew that of all the things he had done, he should regret making love to Pru the most, for it was undoubtedly the worst of all his sins, taking her innocence and her blood at the same time. He knew that it was wrong of him, but he could not bring himself to be sorry for having done it.

In fact, he could remember little else in the course of his existence that had felt as right as being with Pru.

Molyneux and Marcus left, and with them seemed to go Chapel’s inhibitions. Without Molyneux there was no ever-present reminder of what he was, of his duty or his curse. With Pru he could be himself, just a man, and sometimes he forgot that he wasn’t simply that. Little else mattered but the time they had together. Even Temple’s disappearance was but a shadow in his mind. That in itself should have been enough to fill him with guilt. When he thought of it, it did.

As for Pru, he thought of her all the time when they weren’t together, and it wasn’t very often that
they weren’t. From the moment he woke till the moment he could no longer fight sleep, they were together. Sometimes members of her family would stay up and they would indulge in normal pastimes. They welcomed him despite what he was, and it seemed as though most of the family was starting to accept him. Matilda was still a little fearful, but even she showed improvement.

He did not want to leave this little corner of heaven, though he knew one day he would have to. And as much as he loathed leaving Pru, he did not want to be there when she died.

He tried very hard not to think about her death, preferring instead to concentrate on making the most of the time they had left, living in the present.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” Chapel looked down at Pru as he asked the question.

She lifted her gaze to his. Her eyes were black in the darkness, pupils so wide they almost obliterated the irises. “I’m certain. I’m just terrified.”

He laughed. They were on the balcony outside her room, both of them dressed in evening clothes. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Pru nodded, adjusting the scarf secured around her hair. “I know. I just wonder who is going to keep anything from happening to you.”

That she trusted him to keep any harm from befalling her warmed him in places he’d thought long frozen to the point of desolation.

“Nothing is going to happen to anyone. Now put your arms around me.”

She grinned at him as she did as he bade. “I should have known this was just a pretext. You can’t truly fly, can you?”

Securing his arms around her as well, Chapel’s only answer was to propel both of them into the sky like a pistol shot. Pru’s squeal was lost in the night as they flew up toward the clouds.

Laughing at the expression on her face and the way she clung to him, Chapel turned onto his side so that while they were face to face, they both had a good view of the earth below and the sky above. Pru, however, couldn’t seem to pry her gaze from his face.

“We’re flying!” she cried.

Wind whipped through his hair and threatened to pull Pru’s carefully tied scarf from her head. Where they were going no one would care how her hair looked, but she wanted to look nice anyway. It would take a stronger man than he to deny Pru something she wanted.

Tonight’s destination was a burlesque show at a London establishment discreetly known for such things. It had been a long time since Chapel had witnessed such a raunchy display, but it was one of the things Pru said she wanted to experience and he was not about to deny her. Of course she was curious. This modern world was just as obsessed with pretending sex didn’t happen as they were with perfecting every kind of vice they could associate with it.

They were given masks as they entered the house, in case they wanted to protect their identity.
Chapel wasn’t going to take one but then changed his mind. There was a slim chance that someone who knew Pru might be there—and might see them together in more socially acceptable surroundings later. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had taken Pru to this show. Her reputation would be sullied forever.

She held his hand during the entire show—and asked a thousand questions that never failed to amuse or arouse him. That she enjoyed the show was apparent by the way she stroked her thumb against his hand the entire time.

Chapel enjoyed the show as well—it was difficult not to. After all, that was the point of these displays—to titilate and persuade those watching to start their own endeavors.

It wasn’t long before Pru’s attention was pulled from the stage and began wandering around them. Just a few feet away, a masked lady knelt before a gentleman, his member in her mouth. Another couple engaged in intercourse on a sofa while others stroked and encouraged them. And farther along, two women kissed and fondled each other as a group of leering men cheered them on.

“It’s time to go,” Chapel told her, taking her by the elbow.

“Why?” She allowed him to steer her away, but her gaze was fixed over her shoulder.

“Because an orgy is about to erupt in there and I’ve never been one for groups.”

She tossed a glance in his direction. “Have you ever been part of such a group?”

“Yes,” he answered truthfully as he pulled off his mask and tossed it on a table. “I don’t remember much about it. I was fairly drunk at the time.”

And then there were the prostitutes the night Pru had been poisoned, but that wasn’t the same. He hadn’t had sex with them. He had only fed—and one at a time. Anything else and he would have felt as though he were being unfaithful. Anything else and he would have been using another woman to replace Pru, and neither of those things was something he wanted to do.

Pru removed her mask as well as he pulled her along. Taking the flimsy paper-and-feather confection from her, he tossed it on a chair before flinging open the front door.

Pru was silent until they were outside and a bit of distance from the house. For a moment he thought she might be upset that he had taken part in an orgy in the past. He should have known that she was simply regrouping.

“Have you ever made love in a place where you risked being caught?”

He stared at her, unable to hide his surprise. “Yes, but again it was a long time ago.” At least a century, if not more.

Her lips curved. “Were you sober?”

He couldn’t fight a grin. “Yes.”

“Would you like to make love in public with me?”

His grin turned to a stunned expression. “Sweet God, woman, you never cease to amaze me.”

She laughed, the sweet sound music to his ears. She turned to him, pressing her delicious self
against him, making him hard and willing with ease.

“Take me.” Her voice was a low, seductive taunt. “Take me now.”

That was all the prompting Chapel needed. Grasping her by the arm, he steered her toward the darkened alley behind the theater. He wasn’t going to make love to her in a dirty alley, but he’d take her someplace that would fulfill her fantasy, all right.

She came willingly into his arms, her body pliant and ready. He held her tight as he took to the sky, pressing his hips into hers so she could feel how hard he was for her.

She kissed him, her soft, ripe mouth hungry against his. She was still kissing him when they touched earth a few moments later.

Pru glanced around at their surroundings. Chapel waited for her to realize exactly where they were. They were in a lit courtyard, but on the fringe in the shadows. Guards were stationed beyond them, not close enough to readily detect them, but close enough to be a danger.

The moment their location became apparent to Pru would be forever branded in Chapel’s memory. Her eyes were huge as she looked up at him.

“Buckingham Palace!” It came out as a squeak.

He chuckled. “Is this dangerous enough for you?”

“Chapel…”

But he was already edging her up against one of the palace walls, into a dark corner. When he had her exactly where he wanted her, his hands
went to her skirts, pulling them up around her waist. Bending slightly, he wrapped his other arm around her bottom and lifted her until she was able to wrap her legs around his waist. She did so without hesitation and he grinned. So much for her protests.

He slid his fingers between her thighs, finding the slit in the delicate fabric of her drawers. The fine lawn was damp, the flesh inside even more so.

“You’re ready for me,” he murmured against her lips as he slid a finger into that tight, hot passage. His other hand busied itself with freeing his erection from the confines of his trousers. His cock sprang free, rigid and eager.

She smiled around a sigh as she moved against his hand. “I’ve been ready for you for a long time.”

Reaching down between their bodies, she wrapped her fingers around his cock, stroking the hard length with firm, determined strokes. The pad of her thumb rubbed over the head, distributing the lubrication there as she moved her hand downward. Chapel shivered. God, she was going to make him come just like that.

He withdrew his finger, allowing her to guide him to the entrance of her body. She was slick and wet against him and so incredibly hot. He wanted to take his time with her, but that was impossible.

With one quick thrust, he was buried to the hilt inside her and both of them gasped at the sensation. Chapel glanced over his shoulder to see if a guard had noticed. One of them looked in their direction, but promptly looked away again.

“Are you all right?” he asked, turning his
attention back to the beautiful woman wrapped around him, holding him in the silken vise of her sex.

“I’m fine.” Her hips moved against his. “Stop talking. They’ll hear.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her it wasn’t their talking they needed to worry about, it was the sounds she made when he thrust into her, shoving her farther into the darkened corner, against the smooth stone. Finally he crushed her mouth with his, swallowing her little cries and moans.

His hands cupped her buttocks, his fingers biting into the soft flesh as she undulated against him. Her thighs tightened around him as she lifted herself up and down on him, drenching him with her juices.

He allowed her to control their movements, content to let her ride him until they both exploded in pleasure.

God, she was an amazing woman! He had lived centuries and had never known anyone so fearless yet vulnerable, so strong yet feminine. She accepted him and yet seemed to delight in the things that made him more than human. She was almost always with him and yet he didn’t feel like she was making demands of him. She didn’t want to change him.