Page 44 of Fangs and Family
‘I’m not playing games. I just wanted to be with you tonight. Fuck, I’m sorry, this was a stupid idea, we haven’t even talked about it.’ I said, pushing at Adam’s shoulders to escape.
‘No, sweetheart, it’s alright. It’s the perfect idea, but not tonight.’ He said, pulling me to his chest.
‘Why not? No, don’t answer that. Adam, it’s fine. If you don’t want me, just let me go. I’m embarrassed enough. I’m sorry I woke you up with my clumsy advances. I thought you wanted me, and Sara said… I just… You know what, forget it.’ I kept talking, wishing the earth would open up and swallow me whole.
How could I ever think slipping into a man’s bed after barely even kissing him the other day was a good idea, and why was Adam behaving like a reasonable adult? It had taken all of my courage and copious amounts of moonshine to come to him, and his refusal stung more than I cared to admit.
‘Oh, baby. I want you so much that it hurts. I want to touch you, taste you, make you cry my name when I make love to you,’ he groaned out before his lips found mine, and I yielded, melting in his arms as his hips ground against mine. Adam’s pupils widened, the crimson hue visible even in the dim light before he whispered.
‘There are so many things I want to do with you. All the sweet, perverted things I’ve dreamed of for the last two years. I will do them all. I will own your delicious body and make you beg for more, but not tonight.’
He was panting. The passion that roughened his voice both calmed and excited me. Everything will be all right, and gods, I wanted him, just like this, raw, true, and so devoted to me. I was wet and ready to mount him when his arms tightened around me and his pressed forehead to mine.
Adam was fighting his desire for me, and it felt so good that I wanted to push him over the edge.
‘Can’t we… do some now, the nonperverted things?’ I asked, scraping my nails over his chest.
‘Fuck, Princess, you will make me a martyr, but no, we cannot. You are drunk, sweetheart, and you might end up calling me an arsehole, but I won’t do anything you might regret later. We’ve come so far. I won’t destroy it in a moment of passion, not even if you ask me to. Tonight, we sleep, and tomorrow, if you still want me, just say the word, and I will do all those dark and dirty deeds with you. I promise,’ he murmured, pulling a blanket over us.
‘You are showing an inhuman amount of restraint for a man-whore,’ I snapped, annoyed that Adam kept resisting, and he chuckled.
‘I stopped being a man-whore the day I met you. Since then, I’ve only ever belonged to you,’ he said tenderly, kissing my forehead. ‘Sleep, Nina. You need it.’ Wrapping his arm around me, the frustrating vampire started slowly stroking my back.
My drunk brain objected. I came here for a lust-filled night, to do the deed I finally felt ready for, not for cuddles, but the way Adam touched me made me forget I’d snuck into his room and molested him like a horny teenager. Adam was mine, and I knew it. My body knew it, as I felt safe with this dangerous killer. His slow, gentle stroking, the fingertips pressing in just the right places, made me so relaxed that I yawned and snuggled closer to his chest.
Not having slept with anyone in a very long time, I was surprised by how perfect it felt to lay my head on Adam’s chest. I’d made a fool of myself, but it was so worth it that I decided I might as well enjoy this cosy, warm sensation Adam awakened in me for as long as it lasted. Still, there was a lingering part of me that struggled to understand why he rejected my advances.
‘Why did you have to be so fucking noble?’ I muttered, angry and relieved at the same time because Adam’s erection was still pressing against my hip. Yet he’d proved to be a much better person than I’d given him credit for.
I assumed the frustrating male hadn’t heard me as I lay there falling asleep, but as my breathing relaxed and my heart slowed, I felt the feather-like touch of his lips on my forehead, followed by a single sentence.
‘Because I love you.’
Nothing else was said by either of us, and I wondered if he knew I wasn’t asleep.Does it matter?I thought as the meaning of his words wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
When did this happen? When did we fall in love?
I knew I wasn’t in love with him two years ago, there’d been something between us, attraction, maybe? But it never blossomed. The last few weeks had been a rollercoaster. I felt I’d discovered the real Adam. He was the same, but so much different from the man I’d hosted under my roof. He was honest. Adam had dropped the mask. I couldn’t trust the polished façade of a cyber-tech mobster, but I could trust this monster who did nothing but care for and protect me, who let me decide what I wanted to do.
I came to him tonight because I was tired of playing the tough. His quiet admission was his last move in our game of chess. Now, it was my turn.
Unless I allowed him to turn me, eventually, my heart would be broken, but at least I knew that by trusting him, I was choosing the risk of being hurt instead of letting fear destroy my spirit. Whatever years we would have, I could live them happily, knowing that loving Adam was my choice. I promised myself, placing my hand over his heart.
The path in front of me never felt so simple. I could let fear dictate my choices, living my life, missing out on joy and warmth that Adam awoke inside me, envious of my friends’ affection. Or I could grasp it with both hands, even if I burned to ashes.
Adam shifted slightly, his arms wrapping tighter around me as if sensing my dilemma, his lips pressed to the top of my head as he inhaled deeply. I snuggled closer to my noble bloodsucker, unbothered by the lack of a heartbeat. He could have had it all tonight: sex, my blood, possibly even my submission. I was ready to surrender, but instead, Adam chose us, proving to me how wrong I was about him.
Now, I only had to show him I loved him, too.
Chapter 15
‘Wake up, wake up. You must see the Master before he leaves. Wake up.’ The bed shook violently under me while I tried to remember where I was and what the hell was going on.
‘Lorelai, please stop it,’ I moaned, and the cheerful female voice changed into the hoarse and commanding tone of an old crone.
‘Wake up,’
‘Fine, just… give me a moment. Fuck, I would kill for a glass of water,’ I complained, and almost instantly, a healthy measure splashed into my face. ‘I got the message, Lorelai. Gods, why couldn’t I have died peacefully in my sleep?’
