Authors: Doris O'Connor
"Can we go yet? There's no one
here. Where are these supposed guards?"
He shook his head in answer and she stamped her foot. She looked cute
enough to eat right now and if he didn't sense
Jacomo's
presence he would have given in to the temptation to kiss that pout away.
Instead he pulled her closer and indulged himself for a second, letting the
warmth of her skin soak into his, her natural scent chasing away the faint
stench of demon.
"They wouldn't be very good
guards if you could see them. Look over there." He pointed across the
street and
Coralie
gasped.
The shape of a wolf was visible for just a
second, before he melted back into the shadows of the alleyway running parallel
to Jerry's flat.
"Okay, so if they're doing
their job, why can't we go in?" She crossed her arms. The action pushed
her breasts up and Lucas' fangs ran out.
Merde
.
As if the sounds he could hear from Jerry's
flat
weren't
bad enough.
"Your friend is a bit busy at
the moment."
"Well I'm sure she won't mind,
she can't be that busy." There was that adorable pout again, and Lucas
shifted in his tight jeans.
"Trust me, she would
mind." Amusement bubbled up inside him, as her eyes narrowed and she
looked him up and down. A slight flush crept in her cheeks when her eyes
strayed to his crotch, where his cock strained against his fly.
"Jeez, Lucas, don't you ever
think of anything else? This is hardly the time and place to – oh." Her
mouth formed a silent O and she looked up to Jerry's lit bedroom.
"She isn't…?"
He raised an eyebrow in answer and
flashed his toothy smile. That endearing flush turned bright scarlet and her
eyes darted back up to the window.
"Good God, trust Jerry."
She punched him on the arm and he suppressed a laugh at her discomfort.
"Stop listening in, for pity's sake. It's rude!"
"It would be ruder to interrupt
them,
Chere
,
and besides it's hard not to. She's rather loud."
"
Lucas!"
He did laugh then, at
Coralie’s
feigned outrage, and he silenced her protests by
sliding his mouth over hers. Her scent engulfed him and he took the kiss
deeper. She molded herself against his length and when they broke apart moments
later they were both breathing heavily. Thankfully the noises had stopped, and
the scent of demon in the air was now a faint memory.
The fact he'd been there confirmed
his suspicion that Jerry was the one
Jacomo
sought.
His gut churned uncomfortably.
Coralie
would not take
this well. Even now, her lips swollen from his kisses and her breath coming in
short gasps, the scent of her own arousal hanging between them, she backed
away.
"Is it safe to go and knock on
the door now?" She shook her head, looking back up to her friend's place.
"I can't believe she's hooked up with someone else, after last time. You'd
think she'd be a bit worried about my sudden disappearance."
Lucas pulled her back into his side.
The bewilderment and slight hurt in her voice sliced through him, reaching deep
inside his soul.
Or at
least, where his soul would be, if he hadn't lost it centuries ago.
"Who's to say she isn't
worried,
Chere
.
Sex is life-affirming
and the man she's with is no ordinary man. "
Coralie’s
eyes grew huge as she looked up at him, and Lucas’s protective instincts kicked
in anew. When she looked at him like that, he wanted to rip the world apart to
keep her safe. And to keep the people she loved safe.
"What do you mean, he's no
ordinary man?"
"Relax.
She's not in any
danger. It seems when Ion said he'd keep an eye on her, he took it
literally."
"Jerry is having sex with Ion?
How is that keeping her safe?
Marnie
will kill her.
Damn it, I'll do it myself. This is not funny, Lucas…"
She glared at him, her whole body
shaking with indignation and he sobered.
"Damn it, what is with you
men?
Does commitment mean so little to
you, that Ion can just throw his marriage vows to the dogs? Even Jerry will be
mortified when she finds out."
"
Coralie
,
Ion would never betray
Marnie
. Don't judge all men by
whomever the bastard is who hurt you in the past." He cupped her face in
his hands and brushed a kiss on her nose. "Ion sent his beta, Jenkins.
Jerry couldn't be in safer hands, even if Ion himself was there."
"Oh, right, sorry." She
mumbled the apology into his chest. "I have a silly habit of assuming the
wrong thing. I can't seem to help it."
"You're not the only one."
Lucas took her hand in his, not
liking the tightness in his chest one bit. This little human got to him in ways
he could not explain. The last time he felt even remotely like this had been
centuries ago, when he was still human. Emotions had no place in any of this.
He had a job to do. He could not afford to have his action dictated by the need
to keep
Coralie
safe or to live up to the hope he
glimpsed in her eyes. And as much as he would like to drain the bastard who
hurt her so badly in the past, he didn't think she'd think too highly of him,
if he gave into the rage burning a hole in his gut.
Chapter
Thirteen
Coralie
kept her finger on the buzzer this time, all too aware of Lucas's amused
presence behind her. He'd said they were finished, for pity's sake, so what was
taking Jerry so long? It took seconds to shimmy into underwear and a
top––unless, of course, shifters gave you the same kind of mind-blowing,
limb-weakening orgasms that vampires seemed to. She shifted away from Lucas's
cool presence at her back and cursed her traitorous hormones, which had heat
climbing into her cheeks and moisture seeping into her knickers. Lucas chuckled
behind her and she turned around to glare at him, but her smart retort died on
her tongue.
The genuine smile on his face took
her breath away. He was devastating enough when he was broody, but that open
smile and the twinkle of amusement in his green eyes made her wish he would
smile more. Her heart gave a suspicious little lurch and she dug her hands into
the pockets of her jeans to stop herself from tracing the laughter lines around
his eyes. Now was not the time to get emotional over him.
He's a vampire, remember.
But her silly little heart wasn't
listening. She just stood grinning at him like some girl on her first teenage
crush, and his smile deepened.
"Keep
looking at me like that,
Chere
,
and we won't make it in to see your friend."
"Promises,
promises," she grumbled under her breath, and Lucas chuckled again whilst
pulling her back into him. He nuzzled into her neck and
Coralie
sunk into his embrace.
"That's
better,
Chere
.
Relax. After all, we want Jerry to believe that you fell head over heels in
love with me and that's the reason you haven't been around."
"Oh,
she'll never believe that. I don't do men and I certainly don't fall that
easily."
The words tumbled out far
too breathlessly and Lucas's hold on her tightened. He nipped her earlobe
playfully and
Coralie
didn't quite manage to suppress
a shiver in response.
"So you
say,
mon
coeur
,
but your body tells me otherwise." His
tongue traced the shell of her ear and his hand wandered underneath her
t-shirt, skimming the underside of her breast. Her nipples tightened in
response and she could feel his smile in the butterfly kisses delivered along
her neck and collarbone. Her head fell back and Lucas caught her moan in his
mouth. He moved her sideways to deepen the kiss, whilst his other hand delved
underneath the waistband of her jeans. She instinctively spread her legs to
give him better access and he broke the kiss, his now dark green eyes twinkling
in approval.
"That's
it, let me in,
Chere
.
"
The growled
words settled low in her core. His fingers delved underneath the elastic and
she moaned her words of denial, "Lucas, we…we can't," even as her
body went up in flames, feeling his fingers sinking deep into her wet core. His
harsh breath skimmed across her neck and her hands grabbed his hair and pulled
him closer, as his thumb settled on her clit and she moaned her need into his
shoulder.
"Do…don't
stop, please."
Lucas moved
her into the shadow of the stairwell, where the harsh fluorescent lighting
didn't reach, with a strained, "I've no intention of stopping."
He increased
his pressure on her clit and inched her against the wall, until he surrounded
her. Arousal overtook all reason and
Coralie
rubbed
her aching breasts against his chest. He groaned his approval, his fangs
glistening white in the dim light.
Coralie
shuddered
in sensual overload when he pulled her shirt up and bit her nipple through the
lace of her bra. He soothed the sting with his
tongue,
his strong sucks shooting down to her clit. She almost screamed in
disappointment when he pulled his fingers away. He smiled at her and shook his
head at her fevered moans of denial.
"
Shh
…I got you,
Chere
.
"
He pulled
both their jeans down with movements too fast for her to catch. The cool air
hit her heated flesh when he raised one of her knees. Pushing her underwear
away, his cock slid into her, the cool stretching sensation alone almost
sending her over the edge.
She clung
onto his shoulders as he thrust into her, his tongue mirroring the actions of
his dick buried in her so deep, every movement hit her womb and stroked along
her G-spot. She screamed her release into his mouth and his hands on her hips
tightened as he groaned his own climax.
Lost in the
aftershocks zinging through her body,
Coralie
missed
Jerry's door opening. In the blink of an eye Lucas had them dressed, and
Coralie
found herself staring into the confused eyes of her
best friend.
Heaven only
knew what she must look like.
Probably
quite similar to Jerry, who looked her up and down with an incredulous
expression on her flushed face. Wearing nothing but a man's shirt, the long
legs
Coralie
envied bare, Jerry looked as though she
had just fallen out of bed.
Coralie's
blush deepened,
recalling Lucas's earlier words. Clearly Jerry
had
just fallen out of
bed with the half-naked hunk standing behind her. Jenkins's amber eyes held a
hint of his wolf as he ran his gaze over
Coralie's
body. His nostrils flared and he smirked, before Lucas's growl wiped his face
free of any expression.
Jerry's eyes
widened at that growl and
Coralie
wished the floor
would swallow her up. Good God, in all the time they’d known each other, she'd
walked in on Jerry more times than she could count, but never the other way
around. Talk about embarrassing.
Before
Coralie
could force any words past her lips, still swollen
from Lucas's kisses, Jerry laughed and drew her in for a hug.
"Don't
just stand there, you ninny. I reckon you've given the neighbors enough to talk
about for one evening. Come in and bring Mr. Delicious in with you."
Jerry glanced up at Lucas with a coy smile
whilst pulling
Coralie
into the flat. "You must
be something to get Coral here all hot and flustered."
"Jerry,
please, this is embarrassing enough."
Coralie
rolled her eyes at her friend.
Jerry
responded with another gale of laughter.
"Really,
Coral, the hallway?
And there I was thinking you were
a lights
-out, under the sheets only,
kinda
girl." She shut the door and beamed at Lucas. "Well, whoever you are,
I like you already for helping Coral relax a bit. It's been far too long since
she's let her hair down…or should that be her knickers out?"
Lucas pulled
Coralie
back into his arms and chuckled into her
shoulder. Great, they all found this highly amusing and she just wanted to die
on the spot. Was it possible to die of embarrassment?
"Lucas
de Tourneau." Lucas extended his hand towards Jerry, his free arm keeping
a possessive hold around
Coralie's
waist. "And
the reason
Coralie
here has been missing in action
for a while.
We were in the neighborhood
and she wanted to stop by. Hope we didn't interrupt your evening."