Page 18 of Little Wing
Her voice was soft as she asked me the very thing I had been mulling over since we left the bar. Ever since she finally spoke up and responded to the things that had been driving me crazy. I admit the encounter ended up being a lot more anticlimactic than I expected it to be, but the energy that built up in each round of us going back and forth with each other—that pressure was still seeking release.
I stood still, yet so incredibly dumbfounded while she looked up at me. Those fucking contacts were hiding what I wanted to see the most. I wanted to see what was beneath all the layers of her makeup she hid behind. I wanted to see her bare.
The very thought made my cock twitch. Bare. Naked. Fuck—I needed to get a hold of myself, but with the way she was gazing up at me, I couldn’t look away.
What was I going to do back there? It was a reasonable question. Probably what I had thought about each morning when I would lay down to rest. And every night in the shower. If she hadn’t stopped me, would I have the guts to run my tongue over the soft skin between her ear and jaw? Would she let me caress her skin with my fangs until she broke down and admitted she had no crimson blood to offer me?
“Silas,” she said again, her voice breaking softly.
I swallowed hard and stepped in front of her, pausing for a moment to see if she would move. Not a flinch, but the pressure I felt back on that patio returned in full intensity. Good. The questions I still wanted to ask swirled in my brain and soon circled the drain. I had nothing to ask, nothing to question, only what her lips would taste like if she would let me kiss her. Testing my boundaries, I leaned forward just as I did not long ago and reached with my hand to touch her cheek. This time she didn’t move, but I did feel her stiffen as I rubbed my thumb over her chilled skin. I could feel her beneath all the makeup she was wearing. I could almost see what she was beneath it, and I wanted to bring that forward.
Before either of us could step away and say anything else, I captured her lips with mine. Sweet, plump—fuck, this was better than I imagined. My body erupted in goosebumps at the sizzle of energy between us, the kind that I knew even Lotus couldn’t deny. Her lips parted slowly, and my hand moved to fist a handful of her hair, angling her head to kiss her deeper and beg permission to explore her mouth with my seeking tongue. Every second touching her was just, heat, heat, heat, erupting inside me. Heat I hadn’t felt even with humans. Who was this woman, and why was kissing her like hearing music for the first time?
Lotus responded to my touch eagerly, opening her mouth to tangle her tongue with mine while her own hands reached to cling to my sides.
The quiet sounds she made when I ran my free hand along her waist could have easily snapped what thin thread of control I still had. I had no intention of fucking her in the street, but one word and I would have her over my shoulder and up to whatever floor her apartment was on. I wanted her all to myself. I’d devour every inch of her, and I wouldfinally see what Lotus refused to share with the rest of the world. The thought transferred directly to my dick, already straining against my zipper. As I broke for a quick breath, I moved my lips swiftly back to hers, planting full kisses along her jaw and down to her neck. Before I could do anything else, I felt her pull away from me. Her breath was as ragged as mine.
When my vision cleared enough to focus and realize we were still just outside her building, I noticed Lotus lightly touching her lips, swollen from the intensity of our kiss. The makeup that coated her lips and chin was completely smudged. Beneath, I could see milky skin. How I wanted to wash it all away. I wanted to be her hand, touching her just as delicately. I inhaled sharply when I felt her slender fingers glide over my skin.
I let her touch me, allowing her to run her fingers along my bottom lip and over to the corners of my mouth. She touched me as if I was just as delicate as she looked. I couldn’t help pressing soft kisses to the pads of her fingers as they glossed over my skin.
“I apologize,” she finally spoke. “Some of my makeup got on you.”
I could have let her continue to gently wipe the powder and lipstick off my face, but as much as I hated that shit on her face, I had no problem wearing it on mine because it served as a reminder of what just happened. That was real. I kissed Lotus and in doing so, a petal guarding her true self fell.
“It’s just makeup,” I admitted as I shrugged, but she stepped away and pushed the gate behind her open. She was slipping away from me. While I considered going after her, I didn’t want to push my luck. I was sure neither of us planned on the events of the evening unfolding as they did, and I was almost too afraid to ask if she was feeling the same pull to me as I was to her.
“I must go now, but,” she paused and gave me a small nod. “I hope my answers were sufficient enough, so you don’t need to interrogate me anymore.”
“What?” I gaped at her. “No, Lotus! You’re just—” I groaned and set my hands on the gate that was already shut behind her. Not even five minutes ago, we were grasping onto each other and making sounds that would be replaying in my head for days, and now her shield went right back up. What moment of vulnerability I managed to get a peek at was sealed away again.
Lotus stood on the other side of the gate as she watched me stare at her with what I knew was a pathetic expression. A man who had gotten a taste and was not above begging for more.
“I may not flaunt my physical features as you and others do, Silas, but rest assured, I know very well what I am. How I choose to spend my time and present myself is truly none of your concern.” Without letting me reply, she turned and walked into her building. Before I could even contemplate hopping the fence, she was already halfway up the stairs.
Fuck.
Maybe my brain was still adjusting to the fact that minutes ago I had my hands roaming all over her body and now I was left standing in front of her building with a chill where her body should have been. As the absence of her settled, I could acknowledge three things:
Lotus wasn’t pretending to be human.
Whoever Lotus was, was kept hidden beneath more than just layers of makeup.
I had just one taste of her, and I already knew I was doomed unless I could have more.
When I left my house that afternoon, I never expected that my day would end with Silas kissing me in front of my apartment building. Kissing me with a hunger that I reciprocated eagerly. I didn’t know what came over me. Maybe it was curiosity, or just the adrenaline that had no doubt built up between us when he was spitting question after question at me.
