Awakening (11 page)

“Most
amazing,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear and she knew that he was not talking about the view. Standing behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight. “Have you ever made love on the Eiffel Tower before?”

She smiled, “No
, of course not.”

“Would you like to?” he asked, nibbling at her ear lobe, licking the ridge of her ear and sending chills down her spine.

“More than anything,” she whispered, leaning her head back as his mouth roamed over her throat and his hands began unbuttoning her blouse. It didn’t matter where they were, that one of the guards might witness their indulgence; she hadn’t had sex with him all day and she was leaving in less than twelve hours. She just wanted all of the memories he offered, knowing that tomorrow, everything was going to return to normal and she was going to become boring Celeste once more. His tongue was doing miraculous things to her body and she wasn’t going to think beyond this moment.

Letting the blouse fall open, he unclasped the front of her bra, brushing the backs of his knuckles over her sensitive nipples
. He gently pulled the silky top and lacy bra from her body. As the cool wind swept across her heated skin, her nipples tightened even more as the butterflies fluttered madly in her gut. She moaned as he ran his thumbs over the swollen buds, as his hands drifted lower abandoning her breasts.

With one hand on her stomach, he brought his other hand around to the back to unfasten the black skirt, letting it fall to the ground. Smiling against her skin, he untied the sides of the silky underwear, letting
the fragile silk drift down to join her discarded skirt. She stood before him in glorious nudity and smiled, “I feel so decadent.”

Pressing his hands against her stomach, he whispered against her ear, “Let me worship you.”

“You already have,” she murmured, feeling very much like a goddess as the gentle breeze fanned over her burning skin. The incredible view from the top of the tower was abandoned as her eyes closed and elevated carnal awareness of Adam rushed through her.

Smiling, he turned her around so they stood chest to chest, her soft breasts crushed against his sculpted abs as he held her at her waist.
Where did his clothes go? It hardly mattered when her body felt so hot and languid and he smelled so delicious.

With
black eyes that were smoldering, he raked his gaze over her, and she felt it in her soul. Bending, he began kissing her neck, licking the rapid pulse, the hollow of her throat. Slowly, sensuously, he ran his tongue, his teeth, over her body, capturing a nipple in his hot mouth and suckling it until she whimpered, her fingers twisting in his hair. He ran his tongue along the undersides of her lush breasts, tracing the center of her body down to her belly button. Looking up at her, he breathed, “Let me pleasure you.”

Celeste’s head fell back and if not for
Adam’s hands at her waist, she would have tumbled right over the edge and crashed to the ground so far below. Her body was too hot and her hormones were zinging through the air, bouncing off the metal and hitting her as they returned, driving her wild with lust and desire as his tongue circled her belly button, dipping in and out in an imitation of sex. Then he was on his knees before her, his tongue pushing past the damp curls and touching the core of her being, her soul. “Oh, my.”

He grinned as her legs fell open allowing him access. He continued to hold her up as her legs trembled, unable t
o support her weight any longer as his tongue slid into her moist heat. Taking the nub into his mouth, he sucked and licked until she was gasping for breath. Sensation flooding her, Celeste grabbed onto the rail, her knuckles turning white as her body burned and exploded into a million stars.

He drank of her
and as soon as the last wave of her orgasm washed over her, he stood, pushing into her as he came up. Still holding onto the railing, Celeste wrapped her legs around his waist as he pounded into her, reigniting the fading waves of release. The world around them disappeared and only they remained, feeding and feasting in an endless blaze of passion. And as their bodies melted together, Celeste felt him in her heart, her soul.

Crying out in unison, their voices drift
ed in the wind, feeding the fire of desire throughout the streets of Paris; their bodies flew apart. An eternity later, they dissolved back into their skin. Breathing hard and rapidly, Celeste wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him to her body, very aware of the heat of his naked skin pressed against hers. “How can two days change a person so completely?”

“I don’t know,” he r
asped, holding her against him. “Celeste, stay with me.”

“Oh, how you tempt me,” she murmured, pressing her lips against his throat, his racing pulse.
He was so incredible; how was she going to leave him? How could she even think about staying? “But you know I can’t. I have to go home.”

Stay with me
, she heard his voice whisper in her head and she wondered if she was imagining things.

“Stay
,” he rasped.

Dragging her lips against his skin, she found his parted lips, drawing his tongue into her mouth. The kiss signaled h
er acquiescence, at least for the moment. But then she had to leave so she stopped, resting her forehead against his, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I cannot.”

Shock, disbelief,
darkened his features as he stared down at her, at a loss as to what to say. Tenderly, she cupped his cheek, “As much as I hate the thought of leaving you, you know that I have to return home.”

“But….”
I ordered you to stay
.

“My dad will,” she began then paused, reconsidering her words. “Well, my dad might not notice, but Kim and her parents would freak out. And as amazing as these last two days have been, I
have a life back home; I have obligations.”

“But….” He began to protest once more, unable to find the words.

She smiled at him, running her finger over his lips, wanting the tactile memory of his face, “Besides, you have too many secrets, Mr. Vespari.”

He started,
and his expression abruptly closed up. “We all have secrets.”

“I don’t,” she shrugged, before smiling brazenly at him, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, “Well, maybe I have one.”

Her innocently seductive grin brought a smile to his face, “And what’s that?”

“I know what you are,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling with laughter. As his eyes widened, she laughed out loud.

“Then tell me,” he said casually. “What am I?”

“Well, if you really must know,” she began, her fingers stroking his neck, scraping against his scalp. “When I first saw you, you
were so… divinely gorgeous, I thought, I had
hoped
, that you were an
Apocritum
, but when I didn’t change I thought perhaps you were a
Calix
but that doesn’t really make sense does it?”

He simply stared at her so she smiled a bit sheepishly, “I’ve realized that you must be a vampire, even though you’re not cold at all.”

“How do you know anything about that?” he asked, searching her face.

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked out over the city and wrapped her arms around her naked body, suddenly aware of her nudity. “Kim’s parents work at one of the Research Centers; they told us a little bit about what’s out there to keep us safe.” Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled slightly, drinking in the beauty that was
Adamanteros. “They failed to mention how incredibly seductive vampires can be.”

“Then how do you know I’m
not a
Calix
or an
Apocritum
?” he asked quietly.

Her lips spread into a wide smile, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“What?”

“I’m not a
Thraell
,” she shrugged her shoulders. “And I’m also not
Calix
, but I’m not surprised by that; I never drank your blood after you bit me.”

“I see
,” he said slowly, obviously having difficulty figuring out what to say. His tongue darted out and moistened his lips as he hedged, “But I’m not a vampire.”

Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Then what are you?”

“What if I told you that I was an
Apocritum
?”

It took a moment for his words to sink in and when they did she laughed; she couldn’t help herself. “Please don’t tease me; I’d have an easier time believing you were a
Calix
….

“Although,” she frowned, her fingers moving from his hair and caressing the back of his neck, distracting him from their conversation. Her eye lashes lowered as color stained her cheeks and she avoided his gaze. “I thought that
Calices
were… you know.”

“What?” he asked with a grin as her cheeks reddened further.

“Um, impotent,” she muttered, since he was the exact opposite of impotent. “That they could only have sex with an
Apocritum
while he fed off of them. So, if you’re not a vampire, what are you?”

Instead of answering her question, h
e laughed. Leaning his head forward, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, squeezing her in a hug. “It’s not important.”

It was kind of important but she only had a few hours left and she didn’t want to ruin it by discovering her generous and sexy lover was a demon or something
even worse. Returning his hug, she caught his ear lobe in her mouth, lightly biting down on it. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I know,” he
sighed. “I hope you’ll reconsider?”

“I can’t,” she murmured, running her tongue along the ridge of his ear, tasting him. “I have a new job, and, well….”

He sighed heavily, “Then let me hold you in my arms tonight and pretend we have forever.”

“Yes,” she whispered, not wanting the night to end.
Ever. As a tear slid down her cheek, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him with everything that was in her. She was going to have no regrets. And if her heart was breaking a little it was worth it. Time with Adam was a priceless gift, too soon over but never to be forgotten.

*****

Celeste woke up with a blissful smile curving her lips, unable to remember a single moment when she had felt so safe, so loved. Adam's strong arms were wrapped around her, his hard body was pressed against the length of her back, and his erection was pulsing against her naked butt; she wanted nothing more than to return to the oblivion of sleep and wake with him in the morning. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, not caring that he was a vampire or a demon. Not caring that he would drain her dry and there would be nothing left of her.

Wriggling
her bottom, she smiled as Adam's arm tightened around her middle, pulling her further into the heat of his hard body. She couldn't believe how much she had experienced in just two days, how much she had changed, and it had everything to do with Adamanteros. She couldn't imagine behaving the way she had with anyone else, including Adam's equally gorgeous twin brother. It was as if she had waited her entire life for this one perfect moment.

T
ry as she might, she couldn't go back to sleep, no matter how desperately she wanted to return to dreamland. There was something pressing at the back of her consciousness, not allowing her to fade away. Groggily, she disentangled her body from Adam's strong embrace, instantly missing his warmth as she sat up in the bed and pushed the strangled mass of hair from her eyes. Blinking blearily, she looked around the lavish apartment, unable to distinguish the furnishings in the low light, only knowing that they had been just as extravagant and beautiful as his home in the country.

"Celeste!" a voice called out in her head, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kim.

Startled by the sound, she jumped, falling off the bed into a naked heap of flesh and bones on the floor. Sitting up, she scrubbed her hands over her face, coming abruptly back to reality and to the fact that she couldn't stay with Adam. She had a million responsibilities and as much as she enjoyed the sex and the biting and Adamanteros she didn't truly want to lose herself in that way. Or any way, really. Unfortunately, if she didn't get out of there while he slept she knew that she would never go and she would be lost.

Quietly, she made her way around the dark room, gathering up most of her clothes and putting them on, not caring whether or not they were inside out or
with the tag in front. Her eyes kept drifting to the bed where Adam slept the sleep of the completely sated and her heart ached with the knowledge that she was never going to see him again. She sat down in a chair, sliding her shoes onto her feet, keeping her gaze on Adam, praying he would wake up and stop her, grateful that he remained asleep.

Swallowing against the tears that tried to choke her, she stood up and hesitated; should she kiss him goodbye or was that too much of a temptation?
If she stayed she would lose herself in him completely and she wouldn't care; her friends would go home without her and someone else could have her job and she would be a slave to the pleasure of Adamanteros's embrace.