Page 8 of Big Enough to Bite (Harmony Glen #3)

Chapter Eight

Sam

I spend all of Monday and Tuesday building the tower at the corner of Mari’s backyard. As I lay the stone, I also have to place the bricks for the stairs that run around the outside. It was my idea to have the steps, and I’m regretting it now, as it has made the construction more complicated.

As the sun gets low, I place the last stone. It needs to dry, and I have a few things I want to do tomorrow to make it look nice for her, but I’m proud of the way it turned out.

I sit on the back step of her porch and admire my work.

Mari has been working to put together a teaching plan for the Manning twins.

I’ve barely seen her during the day, but at night she’s been in my house, in my bed.

I’ve never been this happy. She’s everything and more.

Once I convince her that life here in Harmony Glen can be good and permanent, she’ll be satisfied too.

That’s all I want in my life now, to make Mari happy, content, and safe.

A car pulls up out front. The girls are laughing and talking excitedly.

Lori says, “Behave like young ladies, or you won’t be allowed to come back.”

“Yes, Mommy,” one of them says.

They ring the doorbell, and a moment later, Mari’s voice greets them.

Noticing a small clump of mortar, I head over to tidy up. I have a lot of cleanup to do. There’s a truck coming in the morning with sod so that I can fix up her yard where the stone and supplies have destroyed the ground.

Maybe she knows I want to be some small part of her first music lesson in town. Maybe it’s stuffy in the house. Either way, I’m happy when she opens the French door and calls me over.

I close the distance in a few giant steps. “Do you need something?”

Smiling, she shakes her head and hands me a pitcher of water. “You should rest. You’ve worked hard today.”

“Hi, Mr. Sam,” Dotty says, waving from the piano bench.

I smile and wave back.

“We’re going to learn to play and sing. Will you stay and listen?” Dotty brims with excitement.

“Just until I finish my water, if that’s alright with Livi.” I peek at the shyer twin standing close to her mother.

“I don’t mind, Mr. Sam.” Livi looks nervous as she shifts from foot to foot.

I grin at Lori and take my water to the porch steps. Sitting, I gaze out into the cemetery.

“Alright,” Mari says. “Have either of you ever played piano before?”

There’s a pause.

“That’s fine. How about singing? Do you sing at home?” Mari’s voice is light and sweet.

“We sing all the time at home. Mommy sings too,” Dotty says.

“Only for fun with the girls,” Lori says.

“What do you sing?”

Livi’s voice is soft, but clear. “We sing at Christmas, and we sing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider.’ I like Taylor Swift songs too.”

“Can you sing ‘Frosty the Snowman’ for me?”

The girls break into a nice rendition of Frosty. It’s childlike but not unpleasant. After a moment, Mari accompanies them on the piano and sings softly and in perfect harmony with them.

At the end, the girls and Lori applaud.

Livi says in a tone near begging, “I want to sing like that, Miss Mari.”

“You already have a very pretty voice, and it will get better as you grow up. Both of you are talented.”

When I’ve finished my water and enjoyed the relationship building between the twins and Mari, I place the glass pitcher on the table and quietly leave the yard. I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life.

There are some things I want to pick up to finish the meditation portion of the project, so I head out while the lesson continues.

It’s after eight when Mari steps into my house. Her color is high, and her eyes are bright with excitement as she steps into my arms. “They are darling girls and not without talent.”

“You enjoyed yourself.” I breathe her in.

“I did. It’s surprising to me that they’re not terrified of me, but I’m grateful. I sent them home with an old keyboard of mine so they can practice scales.”

“When will you teach them again?” I lead her to the kitchen, where I open a bottle of wine and pour us each a glass of appropriate size.

“They’ll be back next Tuesday, and we’ll see if they do the lessons I sent home with them. They seemed very keen, but they’re only ten and might get distracted by some other notion.” She shrugs.

“Or they may find a love for music that matches your own.” I sip the wine, ignoring the beeping of an incoming text message.

“Shouldn’t you see who that is?” She sips and closes her eyes. Her youthful expression of delight feeds my soul. “This is good wine.”

“I’m glad you like it. The only person I’m waiting on word from is already here.” Leaning over the counter, I take her hand and kiss her fingers.

The phone beeps with another text.

She giggles, and this new joy in her is all I could ever ask for. She kisses my hand in return. “You shouldn’t neglect others in your life.”

“I’m not. Well, maybe I am, but good friends will understand my distraction. It’s a nice night. Would you like to sit out on the back deck?” I pick up my glass and the bottle.

With a nod, she opens the back slider and steps outside. It’s as dark as the moon is on a crescent night, but the cool breeze feels amazing.

I set the wine on the table and admire the smooth way Mari lies back on my lounger. She looks tiny on the furniture built for me, but she also fits in here.

Checking the text, it’s from Gabe at the hardware store.

Gabe:

A young woman came in asking about masonry work today. I hope it’s okay that I gave her your number.

Sam:

Did she say what the job is?

Gabe:

Something about the front of a house. She was vague.

Sam:

No problem. Who was it?

Gabe:

Never saw her before. Tall, blonde, and elegant. Must be new in town.

Sam:

Okay. Thanks for recommending me.

Gabe:

No problem.

Turning the phone off for the night, I head back to the patio and slide onto the lounger behind Mari.

She settles against me with her bottom perfectly tucked between my legs, enticing my cock to full attention. With a sigh, she relaxes back and sips her wine as if she can’t feel the effect she has on me. “You have a lovely backyard, but you need a wall to delineate where your home begins.”

I imagine a wall here, and that makes me imagine Mari here all the time. I want her here. If her house were bigger, I’d move there, but I don’t fit through the doors or into the bed. Resting my hand on her abdomen, I hold her tighter. “You should design one, and when I have time, I’ll build it.”

Finishing her wine, she asks, “What were you just thinking? Your heart rate increased.”

Placing both glasses on the table, I wonder if she’ll run or like my vision. Her long dress covers her legs, and I caress her thigh through the soft material. “I saw you here.”

“I am here.” She puts her hand over mine and traces a circle with her fingers.

While her neatly trimmed nails tickle me, I close my eyes and let the vision return. “I meant that I can see this as your home.”

Her hand stills. “And what would become of my house in your vision?”

“A studio, a meditation retreat, or a rental; my vision didn’t extend that far.” I drag the black material up her leg and caress her skin. “I only know that this feels right.”

Lithe and athletic, she twists and turns until she’s out of my arms, but remains between my legs, only facing me. “You want me to move in here, to share your house?” Her dark eyes are wide and full of doubt.

“Don’t look so shocked. I haven’t hidden my feelings. Everything about you calls to me as if I’ve waited all my life to find you. I’m in love with you, Mari. I knew it from the moment I first saw you.” I hadn’t meant to tell her so soon.

Her gaze softens, and she cocks her head. “You love me?”

Brushing her wild curls out of her face, I let my fingers thread through them at the back of her head. “Of course, I love you. We were made for each other.”

Reaching forward, she tugs the button and zipper of my pants, releasing my cock.

I gasp as the pressure of it straining against my fly is released. “What are you doing?”

Her ruby lips curl up in a wicked smile, and her fangs elongate. Lowering her head, she sucks the head of my cock into her soft cool mouth and teases the tip with her tongue. With strong hands, she grips my shaft and works the flesh up and down in time with her sucking.

My balls tighten, and a low moan escapes. “Mari. Good god, Mari, that feels exquisite.”

Her hair falls around her face in a cascade of curls that tease and tickle my skin and make me wish I were naked.

Gripping tighter, she sits up and flips her hair back.

Wild-eyed, she stares at me like a nymph starved of sex.

Moving with vampire speed, she gathers her dress, exposing her slick pussy.

Mounting me, she impales herself on my cock in one slow, smooth motion that forces a low cry from both of us.

I clutch her and keep her still. “Give me a second to catch my breath, my love, or this will be over far too soon.

She giggles and rests her head on my chest while unbuttoning my shirt. Trailing a finger around my nipple, she sends a bolt of pleasure through me, and my spine tingles. She licks a line along my chest where a dark vein pumps my blood across my heart. “I’m addicted to you,” she whispers.

Steeling myself for the pleasure of her bite, I say, “Take what you need, Mari. I’m all yours.”

Her eyes fill with emotion, and she stares into my eyes as she sinks her fangs into my chest.

Venom pumps through my blood, shooting pleasure to every cell of my body.

I fill her with my seed and am still hard as she shifts her hips back and forth.

No noise falls from my open mouth as I come for longer than should be possible.

Her body draws every drop of my essence, tugging for more while she drinks her fill and rides me like a Valkyrie.

My pleasure should be sated, but her venom keeps me hard and wanting as she seals the bite with her saliva and licks a drop of my blood from her lip.

Her cheeks are pink and her eyes sparkle with pleasure.

I’d give every drop to see this look from her for the rest of my life.

“I need to hear you scream.” Still intimately connected, I stand with her ass in my hands and carry her inside, down the hall, and to the bedroom.

With her straddling me, I lie back on the mattress and grip her hips.

My big hands wrap around her, and I tease her clit with my thumb while my fingers trace a path down the crease of her ass.

She calls my name and bounces up and down on my cock. Her juices flowing over my flesh, and the sweet sound of suction plays counterpoint to my moans and her screams. Leaning forward, she presses her palms to my abdomen and rocks her hips forward and back.

The new position has her ass caressing my balls and pulls me over the edge. Longing to take her with me, I increase the pressure on her clit and tease her tight asshole.

She comes, crying my name and screaming her pleasure. Her sheath tightens, drawing the last of my orgasm out before she collapses on top of me. A shiver rushes through her as her pussy clenches again, then softens. “You are so big and perfect.”

I laugh, which makes us both moan since I’m still inside her.

Digging her nails into my chest, she says, “Don’t move. Not yet. I need to catch my breath.”

It’s ungentlemanly to be as pleased with myself as I am. “So, I’ve made a vampire lose her breath? My blood is that good that you can lose your head for a taste?”

Pressing up, she has to use her entire arm to move her mass of hair out of her face. “You cannot even imagine how good you taste to me. Every drop of blood you offer is a precious gift. Your cock is a bonus.” She laughs, which makes us both moan again.

I start to thicken again inside her. I’ll never get enough of my vampire.

Stronger than she looks, she pulls me until she’s on her back, and I’m on my forearms to keep my weight off of her.

Taking her lips in a long kiss, I make love to her slowly this time, filling her, then pulling all the way out before filling her again and pressing kisses to her cheek and teasing her throat with my tongue.

I trace a path along the shell of her ear.

She lifts her hips to meet each thrust and scrapes her nails along the flesh of my arms.

My body is on fire when she comes, drawing blood with her nails and pulling me over the edge with her.

Licking up the tiny droplets seals the scratches. Even sated in every way, she makes a delicious sound as she tastes me.

Rolling to my side, I slide out of her welcoming body and kiss her head.

“I love you, too, Sam.”

My heart soars.