Page 31 of A Clash of Moonlight
This was what she needed—frantic, forceful sex to make her forget reality. She would use him and relish him, then she would walk away quenched. The release and the small rebellion would help her through the next Gathering, then she’d find a way to make it through the next and the next.
Her back hit something hard—the door to the furniture store. Jared set her down to break the lock again, then they were a blur of hands and mouths and teeth as they stumbled inside.
Hours later, after being quenched more than once, she rested on the bed beside the exquisitely naked vampire. His body was near perfect: strong, trim, defined. Her tongue had traced the ridges of his abs, kissed the sweet V of his hip flexors, and tasted where it led below. She’d explored all of him and he all of her, and it had been as memorable as their previous encounters.
But this one was over. Dawn was only a short time away, and Jared would need to leave for whatever hole he hid in. And she’d need to leave and prepare the offer for DefenSec.
She sat up, and her gaze went to the camera in the store’s corner. It had definitely picked up everything they had done in the mock bedroom.
Heat ricocheted through her stomach at the memory. There was something to be said for the experience of Aged vampires. Werewolves were voracious, but she had never been with someone as skilled as Jared. Too bad he had an ulterior motive. She wasn’t sure what it was yet, only that the timing was suspicious given the job her father had asked her to do.
“It will be taken care of.” Jared nodded toward the camera. Nora was familiar with the security services in this area. Most were installed by a company called Ace Security. She was almost certain it was owned by Arcuro or one of his vampires. The cameras weren’t live feeds. They were recordings that could be downloaded or deleted.
She wanted to download the recording and then delete it. The playback of this night might just help her through the next few weeks.
She found her clothes and began to dress.
“I will be here tomorrow,” Jared said.
Anticipation pulsed through her. She shut it down. She couldn’t let this become a habit.
“Good for you,” she said.
He pushed the blanket off his lower half and stood. Her gaze dipped. They might have time for one more romp.
“Tell me you will return tomorrow.”
She sauntered up to him. “I’m not making any promises.”
He grabbed her arm, holding her away. “Then I do not want this.”
A rock dropped through her throat and hit the pit of her stomach. Men did not reject her. “You don’t want this.”
“No.”
She was wrong. It wasn’t a rock; it was a burning coal. “What the hell do you think this is?”
“I do not have a name for it.” He said the words so damn calmly.
“I do.” She shoved him. “I have several. A fling. An affair. A nice little diversion. Or maybe you’d like the more obvious definition which is a colossal mistake.”
“It is only a mistake the first time it is committed. After that, it is deliberate. I accept it. Return to me, and I will be your rebellion.”
The coal burned a little hotter and with a different hue. Ridiculous, the way he could piss her off one second and turn her on the next, all while standing there calm and dignified.
And naked. She couldn’t forget that. He stood there very gloriously naked.
“Pretty words, vampire. Use them on someone else.” She grabbed her boots and walked barefooted toward the exit.
Jared cut her off. “Tomorrow, Nora.”
She lifted her chin. “Get out of my way.”
It might have been a dare the way he stood there unmoving. To shove him aside, she would have to touch him. Even though he had more arrogance than an alpha, if she touched him, they would end up back in that bed.
The silence between them stretched long enough to become a standoff. She couldn’t back down, but she couldn’t give him the commitment he wanted either. It was his move.
More seconds ticked by. Finally he said, “I promised you the kitchen counter.”