Page 40

CELINE

A ll color has leeched from my skin and my wide eyes reflect back at me in the mirror.

I have to compose myself before going back out there.

Even though part of the reason for coming was to observe the club for any weirdness, I don’t want to bring Ava any further into this.

She’s not na?ve to the situation, but she’s also not a cop and I won’t risk my best friend getting hurt.

Come on Celine. Compartmentalize. You’re great at that.

Trying to center yourself in a hectic bathroom with a constant flow of drunk women isn’t the easiest thing to do but I tune them out.

Adjusting my ponytail and reapplying my lip gloss, I give myself another once over.

Much better. Someone nearby sprays an excessive amount of floral perfume, and I duck out of the door before it can suffocate me.

I make sure to slow my steps once I’m back in view of our table and tell myself to act normal when I sit back down.

Ava gives me a once over and I force a smile back. She seems to buy it, thank God.

“I’m grabbing one more drink. You in?” Ava asks us as she scooches out.

“Rum and coke for me, please,” I manage to squeak out hoping it sounds normal.

Zav says the same for him, so I pull a twenty out of my pocket and hand it to her. She grabs it and shimmies while tucking it in her bra before wandering off to grab our drinks.

Glancing at Zavier, I find his eyes zeroed in on me and I look away. He’s oddly serious and it’s freaking me out since I’m so used to his usual comical manner. His burning stare drills into the side of my head and I shift on the seat.

Fuck, he’s too good at reading me.

In an effort to distract him, I smooth a hand down his thigh.

He jolts as soon as soon as I make contact, and a mischievous thought crosses my mind.

We’re sitting in the back corner of the booth where shadows cover any debauchery.

My hand brushes dangerously close to his crotch and I know I’m playing with fire when he grabs my wrist in a tight grip.

He doesn’t pull it away though, instead he holds it prisoner resting against his hardening cock.

A streak of boldness has me squeezing him and I balk at the girth I feel against my hand.

He’s huge. His hold doesn’t allow me much room, but I stroke him as much as I can within his confines.

A whimper so low I almost miss it comes out of his throat.

That’s hot.

Up until this point I’ve avoided eye contact, partially because I’m worried if I do, I’ll lose my nerve. This has become less about distracting him and more about me simply wanting to touch him.

It’s like a magnet drawing my eyes to his face and I’m rewarded with the sexiest expression I’ve ever seen—head thrown back against the booth with his tumbling red waves falling over his forehead, mouth slightly parted, with his eyes closed.

“What are you going to do with me?” he growls, voice low and husky.

Zavier looks like he's experiencing exquisite torture and it’s at my hand. I give another squeeze, and he blows out a breath that morphs into a growl.

“Celine.” Teeth clenched, I can see his fangboner, as he’s dubbed it. “Harder,” he begs.

Ignoring his plea, I cross my legs and stare out into the crowd with a bored expression trying to look normal and not like I’m giving my booth buddy a hand job. There’s plenty of other depravity happening in the club so it’s not like we’re the worst offenders.

But I’d rather not have Ava call me out for this, and she’s glancing over from the bar. I nod and she looks back at the bartender who’s working on the rum and cokes.

“What do you think?” I purr. “Can I push you over the edge before she gets back?”

He whimpers again. “You are in so much trouble.” He sounds breathless but doesn’t make a move to stop me. Instead, he uses my hand and rubs up and down in conjunction with his at a rapid pace. By the pants coming out of him and the tensing of his abs I can tell he’s getting close to release.

Teasing him, I stop. He lifts his hand off mine in question with a tortured moan at being left high and dry, but it's about to get even better for him because I unzip his fly to reach in and pull his dick free.

I can’t see him but by the feel and girth he’s larger than I’ve ever handled before.

Here I am holding his cock in my hand, in public, and I haven’t done anything except kiss the man a few times. Power radiates through me as I edge him near his release.

I could get used to this feeling—knowing that my touch alone brings this vampire to his knees.

My core clenches at the velvety hardness of him in my hand. It’s a pleasant sensation against my skin and I rub my thumb gently around the head. Zavier squirms under my ministrations and grips my hand, encouraging me to rub his cock harder.

The little sounds he makes has me biting my lip.

If someone took notice to us, they’d know exactly what we’re doing. The motion of our arms can’t be mistaken for anything else. With a quick glance back at Ava, I see her grabbing the last drink from the bartender and know our time is almost up.

“Ava is about to come back to the table,” I whisper, starting to get a little frantic.

“If you think getting caught by Ava is a motivator for me to hurry up, you’re sorely mistaken.

” He turns his head to the side to burrow his nose in my hair and hide his pained expression.

“But I know it makes you panic, so I’ll be a good boy and come,” he whispers against my ear, and I squeeze my thighs for more friction.

My clit is throbbing with need at this point.

Both our hands work him, squeezing and rubbing up and down, twisting when we near the head. It’s like the rapid beat of my heart is timed up to the ticking clock of Ava’s footsteps as she grows closer.

With one last twist, Zavier lets out a long breathy moan and hot cum spurts out onto both of our hands. He tucks himself away and I look into his eyes, nervous that maybe it wasn’t good enough for him.

He leans over and presses a kiss to the side of my forehead.

“I know what you’re thinking and that was ridiculously sexy.

” He takes our drink napkins off and wipes my hand off underneath the table.

“Don’t think what you were just thinking.

Anything you want to do to me is always welcome.

” I think he’s done when he leans back over.

“You are in for it later, though. Just because you’ve won the battle, doesn’t mean you’ve won the war.

I never lose.” Flashing fangs at me he excuses himself to go to the bathroom just as Ava sets down our three glasses.

“Where’s he going? I just brought the drinks.” She watches his retreating form.

“Diarrhea,” I blurt out, immediately regretting my answer. “Dinner didn’t sit right with him.”

My throat works overtime when I take a huge gulp of my drink. The burn makes me wince but not more than the lousy excuse I gave. I don’t typically crack under pressure, yet when it comes to this I fold like a deck of cards.

“Huh.” Ava slides in across from me and I grip my fresh napkin tightly. I need to run back to the bathroom myself to properly wash my hands, but I know Ava will clock that something is up if I go back to the bathroom so soon.

Ava pulls something out of her purse and slides it across the table with a cough. She looks off into the distance and sips her own drink. My cheeks heat when I see what it is.

Hand sanitizer.