Dying to Love Her (3 page)

“I promise that your wits are safe with me.”

Her body? Well that was in deep trouble. Alec’s gaze dipped
to her lush breasts peeking out from underneath the plunging v-neck sweater
that hugged her body perfectly. Decades came and went but his preference for
full, soft breasts always stayed the same. He planned on getting to know them
intimately soon.

“Good, because I want to be clear.” Melanie shifted on her
feet and the moonlight glinted off her eyes. “You two don’t have to play the
whole romance thing up with me. Or give me lusty looks. I get it. This is a
business transaction. I’ve hired you to help me lose weight. I don’t need
handholding or flirty words. I think it best if we look at the whole scenario
as a very progressive way of exercising.”

Exercise would be a very good word to describe the long
hours of lovemaking he planned to encourage her to do. Alec swept her into his
arms and Melanie went wide-eyed. She was a wonderful, solid weight cradled
against his chest.

“Put me down. I’m too—”

“The romance isn’t part of the program and I couldn’t do a
damn thing about the lusty looks if I tried. And the whole weight thing—we’ll
argue about that tomorrow.” Alec closed his mouth on hers, silencing any
further protests.

She was tense at first and then her lips softened and he
caressed the seam with his tongue, coaxing her to open. He channeled every bit
of heat she stirred within him into the kiss, pushing his tongue deeper and
gorging on her taste.

She melted with a whimper, her body recognizing what her
business-minded rationale fought to deny. Attraction so bone-deep it was part
of who they were.

Alec groaned low and gritty, fighting his urge to nip and
suck because she tasted as good as she smelled—like returning home after a long
journey, like comfort. Fuck it. Rook had been right. She smelled like forever
and that was what he wanted with her.

With fevered steps he carried her into the warmth of his
house, slamming the front door with a kick. He dropped her feet to the floor,
spun Melanie around and corralled her against the etched glass of the door.

Maybe he’d take her here standing up and leave the imprints
of her delectable ass on the glass. Wouldn’t that make a nice welcome for Rook
later?

“Your heart’s all a-flutter again.” He buried his mouth
against the sensitive skin of her neck, torturing himself with temptation.
Little bumps of pleasure exploded across her skin. Slowly he licked her pulse,
making his own jump. “But something tells me it’s not because you’re scared.”

“I’m terrified. I shouldn’t be doing this but don’t stop.
Losing weight never felt this good,” Melanie gasped, wrapping her arms around
him and digging her fingers into his back. “You promise this won’t make me a
vampire? I don’t want to be stuck with this butt forever.”

Women were all the same. They hated those things men loved
most about them. Alec slid his hands down her sides, cupped handfuls of plump
ass and squeezed. “I can’t turn you into a vampire, I promise. But I can turn
you over my knee and show you just how much my hands and I like this ass of
yours. Would you like that?”

Her tremble and whimper said it all. Alec swooped in for
another kiss, sucking on her bottom lip. His body hummed with life, charged by
desire. Every time he touched her skin, sizzling heat awakened his body.
Frantically he ripped his shirt up over his head.

“I want you naked now. I want to touch every inch of your
addicting skin.” He didn’t wait for permission. With a tug he pulled her
sweater off, urgently running his hands across her lace-covered breasts and
soft, trembling stomach.

He knelt and whisked down her skirt, his hands skimming the
supple brown leather of her sexy high-heeled boots. “But these,” Alec squeezed
her calves before running his palms up the back of her legs. “These are
staying.”

Without clothes, her curves were even more pronounced and
Alec looked up at her, eager to map her with his mouth. He didn’t know which
way to go first, every direction beckoned him.

Alec kissed her thighs and hips. He slipped his tongue along
the seam of her panties already wet and fragrant with her excitement. The pink
lace barrier had to go and he hooked his fingers under the waistband, slowly
guiding them down her shapely legs.

She tried to hide from him. Melanie pressed her thighs
together and slipped her hand over the neat patch of hair just a shade darker
than that on her head.

Her modesty was such a turn-on but that didn’t mean he
wouldn’t love bringing out the naughty girl in her. Someday he’d have her
wearing short skirts with nothing underneath and unabashedly bending over for
him. And then he’d have to spank her for misbehaving just like he wanted her
to.

“Since you’re so keen on getting in my way, the least you
can do is help me out while you’re down here.” He gazed up from her hand into
her downcast eyes. “Spread your pretty pink lips for me, Melanie.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said on a shaky breath,
turning her head and tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Yes I do. You don’t know how delicious your scent is.” Alec
kissed her unyielding hand and skimmed his hands up to the curve in her waist.
“I want you to open for me.” He dipped the tip of his tongue between her
fingers. “Let me have a taste.”

Her pause was agonizing but finally Melanie spread her
fingers, pulling back her folds and exposing her moist, swollen flesh. Alec
couldn’t control his animalistic groan of appreciation. Hunger consumed him,
clawed at him from the inside out. He licked her sweet pussy deep and long,
spiraling his tongue around the sensitive swell of her clit.

She shuddered and shook with each pass of his tongue as he
grasped her tighter. Her fingers locked in his hair in a useless attempt to
hold him back. He sank deeper between her quivering thighs, reveling in her
delicate flavor and the feel of her flesh slipping under his tongue. The
thought of tasting her release, drinking it down, caused an uncustomary tremble
to rack his muscles.

His dick throbbed with selfish need. Tonight, when he made
her come for the first time, he’d be buried deep within her body. Alec tore his
mouth away, shot up and slowly worked one finger inside her slick cunt.

“Oh…oh, yes. That’s what I wanted, what I needed.” Her hips
bucked against his hand with each thrust as she gyrated in a shameless display
of arousal. “Just. Like. That.”

Fuck
. He liked a woman who knew how to let go. Her
cries of pleasure sent a rush of lust to his groin.

“That’s not all you want is it?” He kissed her chin and
licked the line of her jaw, added a second finger to stretch her wider. “Not
just my fingers? Don’t you want something else to fill this lovely tight pussy
of yours?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed against his mouth. Melanie ran her
nails down his chest and kept moving south until she reached the swell of his
erection bursting to break free from his jeans. She rubbed him mercilessly.

His body seized. Alec fucked her with his fingers one last
time, relishing the sharp intake of her breath and then he ripped every last
piece of clothes from their bodies. He fell upon her breasts, kneading them,
sucking on them and flicking his tongue across one erect nipple then the other.

“Harder, Alec. Suck harder!”

He obliged. Her pleas made his gums burn and he wanted to
pierce the pale pink puckered skin of her areolas.

Lightning shot through his body and tightened his balls when
Melanie’s hand wrapped around his erection. Their eyes locked and lightning
struck again. Her skin burned red and the thought of her blood rushing to the
surface was an enticement hard to ignore.

Alec had been told that when he found the right match it
would be like this but now that she was here in his arms, he realized nothing
could have prepared him for how strong the connection would be.

The bedroom was too far away, his need too urgent. He
grabbed her around the waist and mashed his mouth against hers. Alec navigated
through furniture until he reached the warmth of the fireplace. Ripping a plush
blanket off a nearby chair, he threw it on the floor and then eased her down.
She was trapped beneath him. His cock rubbed against her skin and he nearly
convulsed.

Heat pooled low in his body and burned hotter when Melanie
spread her legs willingly. Alec settled his hips between her yielding thighs
and pushed up her knees.

“What about protection?” she asked, barely able to hold onto
a breath. “I’m on birth control, but you must have been with a lot—”

“Trust me. I would never put you at risk and I can’t get you
pregnant.” If she agreed to be his lifemate and he became human again, that
would change.

The doubt shadowing her face slipped away. So did his
self-control.

Alec thrust into her tight body. “Fuck.” He milked the word
for all it was worth, drawing it out. With long, slow strides he took his time
working in and out, letting her stretch, getting control of his urge to pound
her into the floor. There’d be time for that soon enough.

“This is—oh, my God.” Melanie dug her hands deep into his
skin, pinching muscles. Her thighs hugged the sides of his body and her boots
rubbed against him. “This is—”

“Amazing.” The word didn’t even begin to describe the
pleasure he felt. Alec rested the length of his body over hers and concentrated
on her high heels biting into his ass so he wouldn’t come. He pumped harder,
desperate to get closer as the moist sound of their bodies slapping together
fueled his demanding pace.

“I want all of you inside me.” She nipped at his ear and it
made him wild, made him want to sink his teeth into her too. “Bite me, please
bite me,” she begged. “I need you too. Take my blood.”

Alec’s fangs punched through his gums. He groaned out his
frustration. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. A second bite would
send her to sleep for hours. The evening he and Rook had planned for her would
be lost.

But who was he to deny his lifemate anything? The way she
pleaded wore down his resolve and played at his weakness for her. She might not
know why she craved his bite but her body instinctively recognized that he was
her match.

He pulled away from her soft warmth and let his aggressive
side take over. Alec wedged his arm underneath her, flipped her onto her
stomach and smacked her ass hard enough to leave it red. “Put that ass up,
Melanie.” He grabbed her hips and tugged. “And I’ll give you what you want.”
What
I want.

On her knees, she arched her back invitingly and he aligned
himself with her moist folds. She had the kind of ass a vampire wanted to sink
his teeth into. He pinched her flesh hard enough to make her squirm.

“I’m gonna take you hard and fast. Bury my cock and fangs so
deep you won’t know where I end and you begin.” He ran his hand up along the
seductive slope of her spine, wound his hand in her hair and pulled. “Do you
want that?”

“More than anything,” she gasped.

Alec rammed into her slick pussy, feeling the same urgency
Melanie voiced. Damn she was tight in this position. So perfect, made for him.
He buried his head in her neck and bit down with his next body-jerking thrust,
promising himself not to take too much.

She shook and screamed his name like a jolt of electricity
had ripped through her body. Blood seeped into his mouth, blood sweeter and
more addicting than anything he’d tasted before. It coated his tongue and
throat while her orgasms drenched his cock.

Pumping over and over, it wasn’t enough. He found her
breasts, tweaked her nipples, squeezing them like her inner muscles choked his
erection. He could have fed on her richness for hours, but he pulled away,
licked the bite.

She sagged underneath him and Alec held tight. He’d never
let her go. With one last deep push, he let his dry orgasm overtake him. Again
and again his body shuddered with pained relief but she’d find no evidence of his
release between her thighs later.

As sexually active as vampires were, nature had seen fit to
step in and provide them with built-in birth control.

He eased Melanie down onto the blanket, rolled onto his side
and drew her against his chest. Alec paced his breathing to hers, trying to
prepare his body for the labors of being fully human again. The process had
already begun with the first taste of her blood.

Melanie stretched her pleasantly sore muscles, rolled onto
her side and shimmied backward against a mound of warmth. The bed rocked and
she went from the lazy haze of sleepiness to heart-pounding awake in seconds.
She opened her eyes and peered over her shoulder.

“You’re awake.” Rook’s spirited eyes glinted back at her in
the dim light. He rested his hand against her stomach and pulled her close.

Quickly, she sucked in her tummy.
And we’re naked.
The realization trapped the air in her lungs, especially when his rock-hard
erection cozied up against her backside.

There was so much she didn’t remember from last night but
ending up in bed with Rook…she’d have to have amnesia to forget that.

“Where’s Alec?” The memory of his whisker-rough chin buried
between her thighs had her squeezing her legs together. No man had ever taken
her with such urgent, raw need. Just thinking about it had her body responding
like he was still touching her.

“I’m offended.” Rook furrowed his brow and feigned
irritation. “Here I am, nude, very aroused and in no uncertain terms ready to
make this a very good morning for the both of us and you’re asking me about
another man.” He shifted his hand higher and caressed her breast underneath the
luxurious cream sheets. “I know how you can make it up to me though.”

She ignored the zings of pleasure awakening in her body. “I
just want to be sure you didn’t move me in my sleep again like you did last
night.” She looked over his shoulder at the long line of heavy curtains taking
up one entire wall. A sliver of light slipped through two of the panels. At
least she knew it was daytime. “Is this Alec’s bedroom or yours?”

“Clutter drives me crazy, it’s Ale—”

“Is it true vampires burst into flames when exposed to the
sun?” Melanie interrupted as she inspected that bit of light again. She had a
million questions about vampires. Before her libido muddled up her brain again
she was determined to ask a few.

Rook sat up and looked down at her. “Why do you want to
know? Are you planning your escape?”

The only thing she needed to run from was this
way-too-comfortable feeling. It felt like they’d been in bed together countless
times. Melanie gripped the sheet tighter and sat up, trembling when his hand
seductively tickled her exposed back.

“I can leave whenever I want, right?” She scooted back
against the headboard of the four-poster bed, nowhere near ready to leave. “I
don’t remember the contract stating anything about me being kept against my
will? I do have a living to make, you know. You guys aren’t cheap.”

“There was a kidnapping clause in itty-bitty letters at the
bottom of page four.” He winked. “I can’t believe you missed it.”

Her shoulders slumped and she abandoned sucking in her
belly. “I haven’t had my morning dosage of caffeine yet. Could you please give
me a straight answer? I need at least two cups of coffee before I can be expected
to banter.”

Rook treated her to his dazzling, fang-free smile as he
leaned in and with a breathy laugh gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

Who needed caffeine when you had a man who could kiss like
this? His lips had only touched hers for seconds and she’d be feeling the heat
for hours. Not to mention the way it tugged on her emotions.
Do not fall for
him. Do not fall for him.

Melanie hoped her heart would take heed because she could
see herself falling face-first into love with Rook and Alec. But this was a
business agreement, nothing more. She’d lose the weight and these guys wouldn’t
be sticking around afterward. It made her want to cheat whenever she could to
keep the extra pounds on.

“You’re perfect, even though you’re a little grumpy in the
morning.”

She huffed, ready to show him what grumpy
really
looked like.

“Okay, okay. I take it the flaring nostrils mean you’re
serious.” Rook smiled and gave in to a slight yawn. “Alec’s downstairs making
breakfast. I’m guessing from the burnt smell that it’s not going well.”

Melanie sniffed but didn’t catch a whiff of anything except
a hint of Rook’s soothing scent.

“By all means, you can leave whenever you feel the need but
please,” Rook traced his finger along the edge of the sheet where it met her
chest. “Give Alec and me a chance to persuade you to stay.” He kissed her
shoulder and she leaned her head to the side, giving him a path to take before
she realized what she’d done.

“And no, the sun won’t incinerate us.” He eased away from
her. “It’ll give us one hell of a sunburn if we’re exposed to it too long but
I’d let you kiss it and make all better.”

“Vampires eat food? I thought you only needed blood.” She
tried to maintain eye contact but she never realized that a man’s chest had
that many muscles. It made her want to run her hands all over him and try to
keep count.

“Don’t put much stock in any of those myths you’ve learned
about us. Most of them are wrong. For one, if I could turn into an animal it
wouldn’t be a bat.”

She tried to imagine anything as big as him morphing into
anything that small. It would be like trying to stuff her thighs into size-two
jeans.

“And remember the mirror yesterday?”

His smoldering gaze brought back the steamy memory and
before she knew it she was caressing her neck where he’d bitten her. The
shockwave of orgasms had been awe-inspiring but not nearly as memorable as the
way Rook’s embrace and tender touch had made her feel so wanted.

He sounded very pleased with himself when he laughed. “Well,
that memory gave your heartbeat a little kick-start, didn’t it?”

She didn’t try to deny it. What was the use? “So you have a
reflection. What else?”

“Our hearts beat sometimes and our lungs need air now and
then too. We don’t drain anybody of their blood because come on, do you know
how much blood there is in the human body? I can’t fit all that in me. And yes,
we still eat food when we first become vampires but over the years our systems
become so finely tuned blood is enough to sustain us. There’s a time however
when the desire to eat returns.”

On cue, at the mention of eating, Melanie’s stomach gurgled.
She grasped at her tummy and this time she noticed something. There was less of
it there. “It’s gone.” That little top pooch that had started to cause her so
much frustration had vanished. Melanie poked around to be sure.

She looked at Rook, trying to keep her smile from reaching
ear to ear. “I need a scale.”

“No you don’t.” Rook tugged at her sheet. “Let me have a
look. I have an eye for these things. I’ll tell you how much weight you lost.”

“No way can you tell my exact weight just by looking at me.”
Holy crap, she hoped he couldn’t. Melanie cleared her throat. “Besides, you
only saw me with my clothes on so I don’t possibly know how you’re going to see
a difference in my tummy.”

Rook’s wily smile had her gulping down hard.

“I might have had a peek but it wasn’t my fault.” He looked
just like a kid who’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar and knew he
could get away with it.

His innocent, playful pout had her beating back her own smile.
She pursed her lips and gave him her best not-buying-it look.

“Last night you looked very uncomfortable all tangled up in
that sheet. I loosened it for you and when those scrumptious breasts of yours
came into view, I couldn’t help but see if the rest of you looked as
appetizing.”

He pulled his portion of the sheet off his body, revealing
sculpted, masculine flesh worthy of an exercise equipment infomercial. “Would
you feel better if you saw me naked too?”

Melanie gripped the sheet tighter. Hopefully they had a
crowbar around here because she’d need one to loosen her fingers. She wouldn’t
necessarily say she felt better. Intimidated might be a more appropriate word.
Just like Alec last night, how could she not cringe at herself when she was
naked next to a body like that?

Not to mention his erection. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch
and she wondered if she’d need all ten fingers to count off the inches. Really,
whoever said size didn’t matter obviously hadn’t seen Rook. Anything that big
mattered.

“You’re terrible,” she managed, even though her mouth had
gone dry from being slack-jawed by the sight of him. Melanie hoped lightning
wouldn’t strike her for the blatant lie.

“And hungry for you.” Rook pounced on her, ripping the sheet
from her hands in one swift jerk. He wrapped his arms around her and hauled her
onto his lap. “I’ve been in this bed all night thinking of nothing other than
making love to you.”

Rook held her chest against his and kissed anywhere his
mouth would reach. She couldn’t do a damn thing about the zings of pleasure
now. They were exploding all over her body.

This felt so right but his words left her feeling empty. She
didn’t want to be patronized. Love wasn’t involved here even if her silly
feminine sensibilities had her wishing it was.

This was attraction she was feeling, nothing more. And
Rook—she was paying him, so could she really put much stock in what he said? He
was just doing his job and doing it very well.

Melanie pulled away. She adjusted on her knees and let
herself settle onto his body, aware that if she moved just right she could make
this a very sexually gratifying morning for both of them. And who knew, maybe
with another round of sucking and fucking she’d lose those saddlebags she
detested.

Being ready wouldn’t be a problem. These men had a way of
keeping her in a permanent state of arousal. “I told Alec last night the sweet
words aren’t necessary. We both know why we’re here. Let’s just do what has to
be done.”

The words left her mouth and she wanted to kick herself. She
sounded like an idiot. Trips to the gynecologist and taxes were things that had
to get done. Sex with men like Rook and Alec was meant to be savored and
gossiped about with girlfriends.

“Melanie, they’re not just words. Trust what I say, what
you’re feeling.”

These guys don’t give up the act, do they?
Not that
the romance didn’t make it easier for her. She’d never had sex with a man she
didn’t love or at least thought that she could. Rook and Alec—there were
feelings there all right. She’d just have to get over them when her time at
Empriva Fitness came to an end.

Whatever poetic waxing they spouted, a part of her believed
there was real kindness behind them. They weren’t using her. This was their job
and they both excelled at it. No reason everybody couldn’t enjoy the business
partnership for as long as it lasted.

“Let me make love to you.” He gazed at her, his eyes dark
with honest need and there wasn’t anything she didn’t want to do for him.

She knew this wasn’t a real relationship but Melanie let herself
get carried away with the fantasy of it all. With his solid hands to guide her,
she rose up on her knees, angled her hips and slowly descended upon his
erection.

There was so much of him her body tightened when she should
have relaxed. There wasn’t even room to breathe he filled her so completely and
he was barely in. This might not go off without a hitch.

Melanie let out a nervous wisp of a laugh and winced.
“You’ve done this before, right? You promise it’ll work?”

“Just take it slow.” His patient smile eased her
awkwardness. He added pressure to her hips and forced her down another
sensitive inch. “Your body is made for mine, trust me. We’re still getting
acquainted, that’s all.”

She hesitated to move, fighting the burn, but when Rook
caressed her it became easier to tune out the discomfort.

“Acquainted? My body begs to differ.” Melanie filled her
lungs as she rose up on her knees, releasing her breath when she came back
down, her body shaking. “At this point I’d say were at least friends.”

“The best of.” He smiled even as the strain of his holding
back showed on the taut muscles of his face.

Melanie took her time. The burning stretch was everything
for those first few trips but eventually it felt so damn good.

With a wet hiss, Rook sucked in air through his clenched
teeth. “Baby, you feel so much better than I imagined.” He grasped her hips,
keeping her pace steady. “That’s it, nice and slow. You’re so tight, so wet for
me. It feels so good. I want this to last.”

She agreed even though she knew she’d be sore later.
Anything that felt this good was worth a little pain. His fingers digging into
her skin, the way he looked at her like she was everything, made it difficult
to hold back. Melanie moaned appreciatively as she rode him with more abandon.

“Keep making sexy noises and I’ll never last,” Rook groaned,
thrusting upward.

That rich voice of his felt like a caress and Melanie ran
her hands through her hair and across her body, following its path. Everywhere
she touched his eyes followed voraciously and for once she didn’t feel like
there was any part of her body that she needed to hide.

“Touch me, Rook. I want to feel your hands all over me.”

Rook let go of her hips and skimmed his fingertips over her
skin. Her breasts he left warm with a fluttered stroke. He worshipped her
nipples, swirling his thumbs around them until she felt dizzy.

Gentler than Alec, his touch was equally as electrifying.

“If I was blind I’d still know you from the feel of your
silky skin, from the way you shiver with my touch.” He pulled her down and
rolled her onto her back without leaving her body. Rook thrust, taking his
time, while he nuzzled his mouth on her breasts and neck, peppering her with
what felt like a thousand kisses.

When his hair brushed the side of her face she jumped, ready
for his bite. He whispered in her ear instead. “I’m not hurting you am I? Is it
too much?”

“No, it’s perfect. You’re perfect.” This slow-building fire
he kindled in her felt wonderful and as much as she yearned for him to bite her
again she didn’t want their lovemaking to end so quickly.