The Vampire Pendant (3 page)

Preparing to mate.

Tessa’s wish had taken on a life of its own. Not only was she about to lose her virginity, it was going to happen in a highly dangerous way. Talk about a cherry-popping experience. Her emotions went haywire.

He kissed her, long and slow, running his hands up and down her spine. She couldn’t taste her blood on his lips but she knew it was there, and the thought gave her a nervously sensual chill.

“Let’s go back to the mirror,” he said.

“Can’t we do it in bed?” The sheets looked warm and inviting, and she needed a sense of romance, even in the midst of Anthony’s wildness.

“Not yet. I want to feast on you first.”

“You already did.”

“I was referring to eating you, Tessa. Down there.”

He wanted her to watch while he gave her oral sex? Her knees nearly buckled.

He removed his jacket and loosened his tie. “I haven’t been intimate with a human since I was human.”

Suddenly he seemed even more dangerous, like an animal on the prowl. She backpedaled. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

She studied him. His eyes were no longer red. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“I’m trying to.”

“If I didn’t hurt you while I was feeding, why would I hurt you during foreplay?”

“I guess you wouldn’t.” But there was no way to know for certain what he would do. “Why haven’t you been with a human since you were human?”

“Because during the months that I was a vampire, Simone was my only lover. Then after we became hybrids, she was still my only lover.”

“Are you rough with Simone?”

“She likes it that way. But those are her instincts. Her vampire roots run strong. She despises being a genie. She grants wishes, but deep down, she begrudges them.”

“I’m glad I didn’t pick the ring.”

“So am I.” He took her hand and led her to the mirror. “I’m glad you chose me.” He removed her dress, sliding it down her body. Since she wasn’t wearing undergarments, she was naked instantly.

“Losing your virginity might be painful,” he said.

“It can’t be nearly as painful as being ugly and alone.”

“You’re not ugly.”

She gazed at her reflection. “Not now. But I will be again.”

He stood beside her. “Beauty is only skin deep.”

“People say that, but that they don’t mean it.”

“I mean it.”

She didn’t believe him. He was classically handsome and would be that way forever. “You don’t know what it’s like to be maimed by fire, to have half of your face melted off. I wanted to be dead when it first happened. Sometimes I still have those feelings.”

“Life is a gift, Tessa.” He put his arms around her. “You’re a gift.”

Her fear of him lessened. Not only had he made her scars temporarily disappear, but he was being kind and tender, just what she needed in a first-time lover. “You’re making all of my wishes come true.”

“I like exchanging blood for wishes. I like being a hybrid.”

Curious, she asked, “What kind of work did you do when you were mortal?”

“You want to talk about this now?”

“I just want to know who you were.”

“We can discuss it later.” He got on his knees and looked up at her. “Okay?”

She met his gaze. No one had ever done this to her before. “I’m a virgin in this way, too.”

“Lovely Tessa.” He opened her with his fingers, spreading her pearly pink folds. “I drank your blood, and now I’m going to taste your come.”

Her heart struck her chest. She’d wanted to come for him from the moment she’d first seen him, and now she wanted to taste his come, too. God forbid, but she imagined being in a sixty-nine position, only while she was sucking his cock, he was sucking on a vein in her thigh.

Was that possible? Could he feed from her while she was pleasuring him? Or would the combined activity cause him to lose control and drink too much?

Tessa couldn’t believe she was even thinking along those lines. One minute she craved tenderness and the next she was envisioning risky things.

He put his tongue against her clit, and she moaned. Desperate to touch him, she played with his hair. She liked the way he styled it, the sleek retro look that enhanced his Old Hollywood charm.

Aroused by their reflections, she watched. They were a sight to behold: she, who’d been changed by the wish, and him, a man of magic and mystery.

He circled her clit. So skilled. So sexy.

He licked and licked, creating sparks of heat and swirls of wetness. She rocked her hips, moving back and forth. Planting his hands firmly on her ass, he magnified the motion.

By now, Tessa was pulling his hair, tugging with each draw of his lips, with every lustful stroke of his tongue. Her juices flowed warm and sticky. He made a hungry sound and rubbed his face in it.

Steeped in his power, she closed her eyes. His ravenous sounds intensified. She didn’t want to think about his erotic relationship with Simone, but it crossed her mind anyway.

“Open your eyes,” he said.

She obeyed his order and looked down at him.

“Watch in the mirror. Watch while I make you come, the way you watched when you made yourself come.”

Once again, she obeyed him. She kept her gaze plastered to the glass, and he made her pussy creamier.

“We’re perfect together,” he said.

Better than him and Simone? Yes, she thought. Because Simone slept with his brother, too, and Tessa belonged only to Anthony.

With that thought spinning around in her head, she came like a geyser, all over her lover’s hot and greedy mouth.

Anthony wiped his mouth, stood up, and led Tessa to bed.

“Aren’t you going to get undressed?” she asked.

“Not yet.” He didn’t think she was ready for him yet. He thought she needed to rest, to recover from her orgasm before he deflowered her for real. He ditched his shoes and got under the covers with her.

“This feels like a fairy tale,” she said. “I could almost peg you for a magic prince.”

“Almost?”

“You know what I mean.”

“The genie who saved Simone, Nicholas, and me from being killed is the ruler of a magical kingdom. He lives in a castle in another realm.”

“Wow. Who knew such things existed?”

“I didn’t. Not until I became a vampire.”

“What’s the genie’s name?”

“Mathieu.”

“Have you ever been to his castle?”

“Yes, but only in the room where he keeps the jewelry he uses to contain new hybrids. After he saved us, he brought us there with the wave of his hand, taught us about being gen-vamps and told us what was expected of us. Then he placed us inside of our respective jewelry pieces and arranged for us to be auctioned to our first owner. We were offered as a set and have remained that way ever since.”

“Why did Mathieu save you to begin with?”

“Because there are two types of genie rulers: the type who gains power from killing vampires and the type who gains power from saving them and turning them into hybrids. Mathieu is the second type.”

She snuggled up to him. “I’m glad he saved you.”

He smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “So am I.”

She put her hand against his cheek. “I still want to know what you did when you were mortal.”

“I was an architect. I worked for a company that designed homes for wealthy clients.”

“Were any of them movie stars?”

“Yes.”

“Like who?”

He named a few of them.

Her voice jumped. “That’s impressive, Anthony.”

He shrugged. He didn’t see why it mattered. They were all dead now. In spite of his heartbeat, technically, so was he.

She traced the line of his jaw. “I think you look like a movie star.”

“Both of my parents were actors.”

“Then that explains it, doesn’t it? You have Old Hollywood genes.”

“I suppose I do. But my parents weren’t famous. They never starred in any of the pictures they were in.”

“But you still grew up in that world.”

“It was pretty much all I knew.” He glanced around her room. “I spent a lot of time at this hotel, even when I was a kid.”

“Was it a celebrity hot spot then?”

“Yes, but I think it was the most glamorous in the 1940s. That’s when the Crescent Wing was added and the hotel was painted pink.” He smiled. “The Pink Palace. It was the place to be.”

She angled her head. “What year did you become a vampire?”

“1950.” Before she had a chance to do the math, he said, “I was thirty-eight. A successful bachelor, indulging in everything this town had to offer: a home in the hills, beautiful lovers, rich and powerful friends.”

“How did you meet Simone?”

“She crashed a party at my house, passing herself off as a French heiress. Later, after everyone else was gone, I discovered that she was a vampire.”

“Did she turn you that night?”

He nodded. “A few days later, she went after Nicholas. She wanted him, too. We reminded her of her previous companions. She’d been with them for centuries.”

“What happened to them?”

“They were killed by a vamp-staking genie. Simone would have been targeted, too, but she’d gone off to feed alone that night. When she discovered their fate, she was crushed.”

“How did you and Nicholas feel about being her new companions?”

“It was baffling at first, especially since we were expected to share her. Plus we were mourning our human selves. But she put an end to that. She made sure that we couldn’t associate with anyone from our mortal lives.”

“How?”

“By faking our deaths.” He went over the details. “She dug up two fresh corpses from the cemetery. Then she burned the bodies in a fire that she set at my house. After that, she took us to France with her.”

Tessa shivered, and he realized how horribly his tale had affected her. The burning of bodies. The melting of flesh.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have expounded on that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” He knew better than to make her pain worse. “I’m supposed to be fulfilling your wish, not reminding you of the devastation from your past.”

“I’m reminded of it every day, Anthony. I can’t look at myself without seeing the damage.” Her expression softened. “Except for these next two weeks.”

He leaned over and kissed her, and she slipped her arms around him. He was happy to provide her wish. Regardless, he had no intention of admitting that he knew what she looked like behind the veil of magic.

He did, however, admit how special her chastity was to him. He said, “You’re going to be my first virgin.”

She gazed at him from beneath her lashes. “I am?”

“The women I bedded were wild.”

“I’ll probably seem boring compared to them.” She frowned. “Not to mention Simone. The vampire heiress.”

“Boring? Not a chance. And for the record, Simone was never an heiress. She was a lady of the evening in her day.”

“A fancy prostitute? That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It should.”

“Why?”

“Because I always wanted an innocent girl.”

“Then why didn’t you date that type?”

“Because in my time, you were supposed marry the innocent ones, and I wasn’t the marrying kind.”

“You still aren’t.”

“Through no fault of my own.” He flashed his most dashing smile. “I live in a pendant.”

She touched the necklace. “It’s mine for now.”

“It is, indeed.” He kissed her again. He thrived on kissing her, on touching her, on being the guy she’d offered her innocence to.

Tessa couldn’t help herself. She wanted to keep Anthony for as long as she could. “Will you stay with me for the next two weeks?” she asked, when they separated from their kiss. “Here in my room?”

He shook his head. “I’ll stay tonight, but tomorrow I’m getting a bungalow.”

She hid her disappointment. “Oh, that’s right. You planned on renting one.”

“The bungalows are bigger and have direct access to the garden.” He paused. “You should stay with me instead, Tessa.”

She looked at him, feeling thunderstruck and heart struck and everything in between. “Really?”

“There’s no point in us having two accommodations and if you let yours go, it will save you money. A man should provide for a woman when he’s with her, not the other way around.”

She smiled. He was definitely an old-world guy. “So, tell me about your routine. Do you sleep during the day and stay up all night?”

“Hybrids don’t sleep.”

“Ever?”

“We rest when we’re inside of our jewelry, but we don’t fall into full repose. Unlike regular vampires, we can go in the sun. I’m able to enjoy daylight activities, which is nice, but I still feel a kinship with the dark.”

She preferred the cover of night. It didn’t matter now that she looked normal, but once her scars came back, she would return to her reclusive lifestyle.

“Shall I get undressed now?” he asked.

“Yes. Please,” she added. She wanted to see him, to know him in the most intimate of ways. “Before the fire, I had a touchy-feely experience with a boy in high school, but I never got past rubbing him through his jeans.”

He removed his clothes and tossed them aside. “Then here’s your chance to make up for that.”

She took a moment to study him, the width of his shoulders, the length of limbs, his half-erect penis. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Yes, you do.”

Not quite brave enough to grab his cock, she skimmed his stomach and made his muscles jump.

“Tease,” he said.

She smiled and worked her way down to his penis, and he sucked in his breath. Clearly, she was arousing him. His erection was getting bigger.

Finally she wrapped her hand around him and rolled her thumb over the head. She stroked him, a bit tentatively, but he didn’t seem to mind. No doubt, he was enjoying her inexperienced touch. She played, getting a little bolder, sliding the silken skin up and down.

“Damn,” he said.

She played some more, going from shaft to tip. He arched his hips, and she watched every move he made.

“I could do this all night,” she said.

“No, you couldn’t. I wouldn’t last.”