Good (26 page)

“Cadence, wine is meant to be sipped, not guzzled,” Mark said, chuckling.

“Huh?” I looked at my glass. It was empty! When did that happen? I looked at Mark and ran my tongue over my top teeth. No fangs. And I
really
wanted to be a vampire. “May I have another?”

Mark eyed me curiously. “Yes, Cadence. But will you promise me you’ll sip this time?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

I drank this glass much slower, but that was mostly because I was told I couldn’t have a third. I felt languid, like a warm rain puddle, and crawled into Mark’s lap with the intention of soaking him. I wanted to see the water run over his arms and bare chest. I asked him to take off his shirt, and he obliged me with a chuckle.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“You like?” he asked, tossing his shirt on the couch.

“I like. Very much,” I said, and leaned over to kiss his well-defined pecs. His was definitely no boy’s body. He was very grown up. He had grown-up muscles and smooth, blemish-free grown-up skin. I looked down at the soft patch of grown-up hair trailing below his navel, disappearing under his pants.

“Your hair tickles,” he said, gently lifting my blond locks away from his chest and stomach. “It’s so soft.” He ran his fingers through it.

I sat up and looked him square in the face.

“I have to tell you something,” I said. “But I don’t wanna scare you.”

“Okay.”

“I’m a vampire,” I leaned over, burying my face in Mark’s neck, and bit him. Hard.

He grunted and pulled on my hair, forcing me to look at him.

“Do that again, you little vixen,” he said.

“I’m not a vixen. I’m a vampire,” I corrected, and leaned over once more to bite his neck.

I heard a now familiar rumble in his throat as he trapped me in his arms and laid me down on the couch. He kissed me tenderly, and I could taste the sweetness of the wine on his mouth, his tongue, as he traced a line over my bottom lip.

“Did I do that right?” he asked.

I nodded and pulled him down on me once more. He hovered over me. I was pinned, with no chance of escape. I didn’t want to escape, though. I wanted him to force himself inside of me, and I wouldn’t say no. I thought I might struggle for show, but I knew I’d never deny him.

“I’m ready, Mark,” I breathed, feeling his mouth on my neck.

“I’m not letting you have another glass, Cadence,” he replied.

“I’m not talking about wine. I’m talking about love. I’m ready for you to—” I paused for effect. “—make love to me.”

Mark drew back and smiled wearily. “You’ve had too much to drink. So no.”

“But listen,” I said, pushing him off me and climbing into his lap once more. I grabbed his hands. “I know it’ll hurt. But maybe it won’t hurt as much now since I’m feeling pretty loosey-goosey. Know what I mean?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“I know what you mean,” Mark replied.

“I’m ready to touch it,” I said.

“Touch what?”

“Mark! Don’t make me say ‘dick’ out loud!” I shook my head. “Oh, drats. I said it.”

Mark burst out laughing. “‘Drats’? Who says ‘drats’? Ever?”

“Stop making fun of me, and do me,” I replied, laughing. I placed my hands on either side of his face. “You are the sexiest man alive. In the entire universe. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? I want you to make love to me all night long, you sexy sexy big muscley man.” I leaned forward and kissed him sloppily. I wasn’t trying for a sloppy kiss. It just happened.

“My little Cadence,” Mark said when I pulled away from him. He brushed the hair from my face with his fingertips. “Tell me about your morning routine.”

“Okay,” I squealed. “Well, my hair is naturally wavy, but I’m really into straightening it right now. So I have to get up earlier for school to flat-iron it.”

“You iron your hair?” he asked.

“Uh huh,” I replied. “You’ve never seen a flat iron?”

Mark shook his head.

“Well, I packed it. I’ll show you in the morning.”

He nodded, amused.

“It takes a long time ‘cause I’ve got a lot of hair,” I said, grabbing a chunk and lifting it to the side.

“I see,” Mark said. “It’s very beautiful.”

I grinned. “And I’ve been experimenting with new make-up trends. Specifically eye shadow techniques. So I’ve been allotting myself an extra fifteen minutes in the morning to work on my eyes.”

“Beautiful eyes,” Mark said.

“And thank God Mom and Dad finally finished the addition to the house. Now I have my own bathroom and don’t have to share with Ollie.”

I yawned and rested my head on Mark’s shoulder. I’ve no idea when I dozed off, but I vaguely remember being carried somewhere, laid out on something soft and warm that smelled masculine. I liked it and inhaled deeply, feeling lips press against my temple before sinking into heavy sleep.

My eyelids fluttered before opening all the way. The picture awaiting both excited and alarmed me. For a second I forgot where I was, even as I realized that Mark was lying next to me, fully awake, smiling sweetly.

“Good morning,” he said.

I opened my mouth to reply then promptly closed it. My breath reeked. And then I remembered I still had on make-up. I could feel the mascara crusted around my eyes.

“You are the prettiest thing when you sleep,” Mark said.

I shook my head in the pillow, then slid out of bed.

“Hey? Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom. To brush my teeth and wash my face,” I said, squatting on the floor and digging through my overnight bag.

“If you’re worried about morning breath, I’ve got it too,” Mark said.

“Then maybe you should brush your teeth,” I suggested, He laughed.

“All right then,” he said, and hopped out of bed. He walked over to me and squatted beside me, watching me rummage through the bag. Where was my toothbrush?

“Cadence?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think we’ll always kiss and touch only when we have nice clean breath?”

“Yes.”

He chuckled. “You know that’s not realistic, right?”

I hid my face. “I don’t want you to see me like this. I know I look like a raccoon and my breath is atrocious and—”

“Stop,” he said. “And look at me.”

“No.”

“I’ll make you.”

I froze. Mark pushed me on the floor and climbed on top of me.

“Mark!” I squealed in his face before remembering my breath tasted like a dead animal.

He trapped my face with his hands.

“You are sexy and gorgeous and perfect to me even with raccoon eyes and terrible, and I mean
terrible
breath,” he said, and leaned over to kiss my lips.

I fought him, but he was much too strong. And soon I was laughing hysterically, not caring how I looked or what I smelled like. Mark rained light kisses all over my face and neck and chest. I wish I could have felt them on my chest, but I was still wearing my sweater and bra from the previous night.

Mark climbed off me and helped me up.

“Go do whatever you’ve gotta do,” he said, popping my butt. “I’ll make us coffee.”

I nodded and walked to the guest bathroom. I locked myself in and took a deep breath before looking at myself in the mirror.

Gross. I looked like I’d been punched in both eyes. My hair was matted and knotted. I felt clammy from having slept in a heavy sweater all night. I turned on the shower. I went back to Mark’s room to get my bag.

I brushed my teeth while the water warmed, then jumped into the shower. It felt delicious, and the first thing I did was wash all the make-up off my face. My skin no longer felt tight, and my eyes no longer felt crusty. I scrubbed my hair then lathered up my body, creating such thick foam with my travel loofah that I could actually paint a soap bikini on my skin, hiding my private parts completely from view. It was one of the best showers I’d ever taken, and I was reluctant to turn off the faucet.

I tensed immediately as I watched a towel fly over the shower rod to land on my head. I wrapped myself quickly and pulled back the curtain. Mark stood shirtless near the door staring at me. I stepped out of the tub and wiped my feet on the bathmat. I’d never been naked with a man. My heart pounded painfully in my chest as I watched him walk towards me, standing inches from my face.

“I’m hungry, Cadence.”

I nodded, and he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around him and crushed my chest to his as I felt the towel loosen. I gripped him hard to keep it from falling away, but there was nothing I could do about the nakedness between my legs. It was pressed against his lower abdomen, his bare skin.

“You’re so warm,” he said into my ear. “Like a little firecracker.”

He walked me into his bedroom and laid me on the bed. The towel fell open, and I instinctively grabbed it to cover my nether regions. He gave me my modesty, climbing in beside me and kissing me long and slow. His hand went to my breast, cupping it gently while he rolled his thumb over my nipple.

“I love how your breast fits so perfectly in my hand,” he said. He leaned over and took my nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue until I moaned. “There we go,” he said. “I was waiting for that,” and he continued licking and sucking on my breast before moving to the other.

I twisted my fingers in his hair, squirming like a worm on a hook because the pleasure was almost too intense. My entire body tingled like electric water, the concentrated shock aching between my legs. I bucked when Mark’s hand slid down my belly to touch me between my thighs. He withdrew his hand immediately.

“Cadence?” he asked, hovering over me.

“Hmm?”

“What’s going on down there?”

I giggled and looked away. “I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“Did you get this idea from one of your little magazines?” he asked.

“No.” There was no way I was telling him Avery forced me to go. I didn’t want her name in bed with us. “Do you like it?”

“Do you?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Then so do I,” he said. He watched my face as he slid his hand down my stomach once more, touching me tentatively between my legs.

“Oh!” I cried, feeling his fingers probe me cautiously.

I’d touched myself lots of times, but this was different. It felt different when another person did it, and it especially felt different with no hair. It’s like my nerve endings multiplied by a trillion. I could feel every single slight movement of his fingertips, and there was no way to alleviate the intensity of his touch. Plus, I didn’t want to.

I spread my legs a little more to accommodate his hand. He teased my tender flesh and rubbed me rhythmically, watching me squirm and arch my back and shake my head from side to side like I was telling him to stop. But I wasn’t telling him to stop. I’d swear at him if he did.

“May I kiss you, Cadence?” he asked.

I nodded, closing my eyes, waiting for the first touch of his lips on mine. But I kept waiting, feeling the bed shift, thinking he was teasing me, asking me silently to beg for it.

“Please kiss me,” I said, eyes locked shut, immersed in sweet darkness.

I felt something warm and wet between my legs, and my eyes flew open.

“Oh my God!” I cried, and looked down at Mark’s face between my legs.

He raised his head. “You said I could kiss you.”

“On my lips!”

“I am,” he replied, grinning like a fiend.

“Oh. My. God.”

“Relax, Cadence. You can lie back down,” he said. “Unless you’d like to watch.” He ran his tongue over me while his eyes stayed glued to my face.

I fell back onto the pillow, unable to watch because it was too intimate. I should have watched. It was happening to me, after all, but I covered my face with my hands instead, moaning into my palms, pushing my hips up, instinctively inviting him to continue. I had no control over my body. It did things apart from my will. It encouraged him to lick and nibble and kiss. And when all of those things stopped abruptly, I screamed. I had no control over that either.

“Don’t stop, damnit!”

“Can’t I just look at you for a moment? Greedy thing,” he mumbled, then drew in his breath sharply. “You have the sweetest little pussy, Cadence. You could drive a man insane with it.” He slid his finger inside me carefully. I felt myself stretch around him, my breathing coming in rapid pants. And then he forced another finger inside.

“No!” and I pumped and twisted my hips, trying to get his fingers out. They hurt.

“Shit. I’m sorry,” he said, and withdrew his hand. “I’m really sorry, Cadence.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged myself protectively.

Mark sighed. “I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry, Cadence.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not mad or anything. I just didn’t realize it’d hurt like that.”

I suddenly wondered if Mark would have the willpower to stop if I decided right as he was entering me that I didn’t want to have sex. I thought he would, but I also thought that stopping might kill him, and I realized in that moment the kind of power I wielded over him.