“Okay, we’ll talk…but I have a condition.” At her questioning – and pretty suspicious – look, I explained. “Here’s the thing, Ava: you’re right here, in my bedroom, so close I can practically taste you. There is no fucking way I can get through this ‘talk’ without touching you.” I backed up until I reached the bed, and then perched myself on the edge. “Get your hot little ass over here and straddle me. Then we’ll talk.”
She narrowed her speckled brown eyes. “If I do that, you’ll try to distract me and we’ll never see this conversation through to the end.”
“We will, I swear.” Because I wanted it over with as quickly as possible. “Come here.” After a few moments, she came to stand between my legs. I lifted her by her tiny waist and positioned her to straddle me; making her dress ride up her thighs. “That’s better. Now…what do you want to know?”
Hands resting on my shoulders, she asked, “How did you and Gina meet?”
“Through Will. She’s one of his vampires.”
“And?”
“And we were together for a while.”
Impatience flashed across her face. “Typical of you to be so vague,” she grumbled. “How long were you together?”
I traced her collarbone with one finger. “A year, maybe. I don’t know.”
She blinked. “A year? Then it must have been serious.”
“It was the opposite of serious, which was why we were together for that long.” Ava waved her hand, encouraging me to elaborate. “We were both very work-focused, and neither of us wanted ‘serious’. I guess you could say we were together out of convenience.”
“Why did you break up?”
“Because I came here.”
“And she was fine with that?”
Recalling the tantrum Gina had thrown, I snorted. “No. She has a very high opinion of herself. For me to even think about leaving her was not only a shock, but the ultimate insult.”
“So the relationship ended badly?”
I nodded, combing my fingers through hair that looked like liquid chocolate. “She was pissed that I planned to go to the try-outs. She went running to Will and Blythe, who were just as pissed at me. Will said that if I walked out, he’d no longer consider me part of his nest.”
“Harsh.”
“I don’t think he really expected me to pass the try-outs. I don’t think any of them did.”
“What’s her gift?”
“She’s able to release sexual pheromones; it’s known as ‘the sex call’.”
Ava froze. “In other words, she can make people want her? Desire her?”
I cupped her face, pinning her gaze with mine. “It won’t work on me, Ava. Physically, it might have an effect – that’s not something I can control. But she can’t get into my head, she can’t control me mentally. It’s a case of mind over matter.”
I could see that she was doubtful, but she nodded. “Did you love her?” The question was quiet, hesitant; hinted of insecurity. She had absolutely no idea of the hold she had on me. I’d have to work on changing that.
Slowly, I slid my hands up Ava’s thighs, snaking under her dress; loving the velvety feel of her ivory skin. “No.”
Her breathing stuttered as my thumbs traced the edges of her silk panties. “You’re sure?”
“Positive. Now enough about her. She’s not important. Is she?” I wanted Ava to say it, to believe it.
“No.”
I bit her earlobe. “No, what?”
Ava shuddered. “No, she’s not important.”
Rewardingly, I cupped her hard, wrenching a soft moan from her. “Who is important to me? Who?”
Her eyelids fluttered shut as I slipped my thumb under her panties and flicked her clit. “Me.”
“That’s right. You don’t have any reason at all to be insecure. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. Say it.” Snapping off the scrap of silk, I slid my finger through her folds, finding her slick. I groaned. “Say it, Ava.” It was a clear warning: if she didn’t repeat it, I’d torment every inch of her.
Pupils dilated, face flushed, she licked her bottom lip. “You want me more than you’ve wanted anyone.”
“Good. Now don’t forget it.” I plunged my finger inside her. So fucking tight. “Ride it, Ava. That’s it. Get yourself ready for me.” Wanting more of her skin, I whipped off her dress. No bra. Just a perfect set of perky breasts that made my mouth water. She moaned and bucked as I palmed and squeezed one breast, thumbing the nipple. Fuck, I wanted a taste.
“Up. I want you on your knees.” That put my mouth level with her breasts. I latched on to one taut bud just as I drove another finger inside her. I groaned at the feel of her – so wet and hot and mine. She tried to ride my fingers, but I held her still, scissoring them inside her, preparing her for what was soon to come.
She squirmed. “Don’t tease.”
I fucked her hard with my fingers. Every moan and gasp she made seemed to stroke my cock; it was thick and aching, ready to take her. When I knew she was about to come, I withdrew my fingers. In a blur of movement, I had her spread out on the bed with my head between her thighs. Parting her wet folds, I blew out a long breath, making her shudder. Then I finally took a long lick. Christ, she tasted good. Over and over, I lapped at her, occasionally pausing to torment her clit.
She writhed and jerked, moaning. “Salem, don’t stop this time.”
I couldn’t stop. Not when I finally had her where I wanted her. She couldn’t imagine the amount of times I’d thought about feasting on her like this; stabbing my tongue inside her, swirling it around, and then moving to suckle on her clit. Soon enough, she exploded.
As I gave her a minute to recover, I stripped off my clothes. Looking down at her delicate body as I fisted my cock, I knew there was no way I could avoid hurting her. I was thick and long and painfully hard, and she was so small. Not that she seemed concerned at all – she eyed my cock with greed and curiosity.
When she reached out to touch me, I pinned her hands to the bed. “No.”
She pouted. “I want to play.”
If that happened, I’d come there and then. “Next time.” I stood at the end of the bed and gripped her thighs, dragging her toward me until her ass was hanging off the edge. Tilting her hips, I positioned her to take me. “Look at me, Ava.” As her gaze locked with mine, I began to slowly sink inside her. So tight. When a hint of pain flickered in her eyes, I paused.
“I’m okay,” she panted.
Taking her at her word, I fed her another few inches.
Her eyes flashed impatiently when I stopped again. “I’m not going to break.”
“No, but you are going to get so ruthlessly fucked that there’s a good chance you won’t remember your name. I want to be sure that every moan that comes out of your mouth is of pleasure, not pain. So we’re going to take it easy for a minute.” Still slow, I smoothly sank inside her to the hilt. Her back arched and a gasp flew out of her as her inner muscles clamped around my cock. “Ava?”
“I’m okay, really. It’s just that no one’s been this deep before.”
“You’ll get used to me.” Curling over her, I sucked a nipple into my mouth and plucked at it with my teeth. When she started squirming and ordering me to move, I released the nipple with a pop. Slipping my arms around her thighs so they rested in the crook of my elbows, I slowly withdrew before sliding back in, wanting her to feel every inch. I couldn’t move my eyes from the sight of her body taking my entire length again and again.
“I don’t want gentle, Salem.”
“And I don’t want you in pain.”
“Yes, you do. Because then even once it’s over, I’ll still be able to feel you every time I move.” A mischievous smile curved her lips. “And you like that idea.”
My nostrils flared. Yep, that appealed to the possessive streak in me more than I cared to admit. She was playing a dangerous game here. I nipped at her mouth punishingly. “You shouldn’t push me, Ava.”
??
?Aw, you’re so sweet to warn me.” And, yes, she patted my chest.
I growled. “Careful.”
Clenching around my cock, she whispered against my mouth, “Make me feel you.”
And then I was hammering into her; it was rough, fierce, and wild. She arched into every thrust, her nails digging into my back. I’d needed this since laying eyes on her three months ago. Needed to feel her around my cock, needed to hear her moaning my name, needed to wipe away every memory of any other guy from her mind.
Right now, I needed to make her come so hard, I’d be burned into her skin.
I adjusted my angle slightly, so that I was hitting her g-spot with every thrust. Her eyes widened and her legs tightened around me. “I hope you like the feel of me inside you, baby, because there’ll be no one else after me. You’ll never take another person inside you. You’ll never feed from anyone but me. And no one will ever drink from you but me. Only me.”
Without warning, I bit down hard on her neck, feeling her blood – so potent and rich – flood my mouth. She tasted so fucking good, it made my head spin. She screamed as her body clenched and pulsed around my cock, milking me. My come literally exploded out of me.
A small set of teeth suddenly sank into my shoulder. Fuck. I’d heard that Sventé saliva was powerful enough to throw someone into an orgasm, but I hadn’t imagined it would be like this: heat and need slammed into me, seemed to fill my cock until I thought it would burst. And then it did, and I emptied myself inside her again as I growled her name into her throat.
As I waited for the aftershocks to ease, a deep sense of satisfaction settled in my gut. I’d finally claimed her. We’d exchanged blood; she was in me now, and I was in her.
It wasn’t until I’d settled us both into my bed that her eyelids flipped open. “Sleep, baby.” Holding her close, I watched as her dreamy post-climax high began to wear off and discomfort filled her. She was used to keeping things casual, didn’t know quite what to do now. It was almost funny. Her mouth bobbed open, as if she needed to say something to dispel the awkwardness but wasn’t sure what.
Eventually, she spoke. “Hey, I heard that after sex, some female spiders –”
“You don’t need to feel awkward, Ava,” I told her softly, amused in spite of myself. “You don’t need to say anything. All you need to do is sleep. Okay? Sleep.”
It took a few minutes for her body to finally relax, and it was at least another five minutes before she dozed off. I brushed her hair away from her face, deeply content to have her exactly where she belonged. She looked even more innocent while she slept.
To me, it was no little thing that she had allowed herself to fall asleep beside me. It was a sign of trust. People were vulnerable in such a state, but Ava was not only trusting me not to take advantage of that, but to keep her safe. And I would.
CHAPTER SIX
(Ava)
“Sex with Salem is like being at a concert,” I told Fletcher as we browsed through the clothes in one of the stores; he hadn’t stopped questioning me since we met outside our apartment building. “There’s the buzz of anticipation, the thrill of knowing you’re about to experience something amazing, the agonising wait for the show to begin, and then suddenly everything goes wild and you never know when it will end.”
Fletcher sighed dreamily. “I had a feeling all that intensity of his would make him a rock star in bed.” He added another skimpy dress to the pile hanging over my arm. He was truly a fabulous shopping partner – or ‘wardrobe assistant’, as he preferred.
As I’d made the decision to remain permanently at The Hollow, I now needed to stock up on clothing. Everyone knew that if you wanted help shopping, you went to Fletcher. It was like he hunted the clothes, sniffing out the right styles and sizes. He was also brutally honest without being insensitive, and he could help you look racy without appearing slutty.
“I’m glad you two finally had a tumble,” said Fletcher. “All that longing and sexual frustration that rolled off both of you like fumes was giving me migraines.”
I rolled my eyes at the drama queen who, like Sam, was a Brit.
“Is it something you intend to repeat, or was it just a nice jump to keep you going for a while?”
“It wasn’t a one-night stand.”
“Really?” he drawled. “So are we talking a fling or something serious?”
“Serious.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why is doubt and anxiety fairly wafting from you? Are you having second thoughts? Because I really don’t think he’ll back off.”
“No, it’s just…I worry that we’ll clash a lot. I’m very independent, and he’s seriously overprotective to the point of being interfering.”
“True. And that won’t stop or ease off,” he warned.
“Why do you say that?”
“Salem’s the type of person who expresses himself with actions. So if he cares about someone, it’s only natural that it will manifest itself into protectiveness. For him to let go of that would be like cutting off his avenue of expressing his feelings. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. I never thought of it that way. What else do you sense around him?”
Fletcher went back to browsing. “Not much. In fact, most of the time, I can’t pick up anything from him – which gets on my bloody nerves, because I don’t like being thwarted. But sometimes there’s a crack in his walls. Like when he’s around you.”
I halted, surprised. “Really?”
Fletcher pursed his lips. “I suppose you could say he softens around you.”
“There seems to be so much sadness in him.”
“The glimpses I get of his emotional state are very fleeting,” began Fletcher, his voice serious, “but I can tell you that there’s a lot of guilt there. Guilt, grief, and a need to atone.”
Naturally my curiosity spiralled. “This guilt isn’t something to do with me, though, right?”
“No, it’s a deep-seated guilt. It’s been festering within him for a long time. But it’s all background noise for him when you’re there; his surface emotions are different then. Around you, he always feels fascinated. Inflamed. Desperate to own. I have to say, he’s not going to be an easy person to be with.”
“Why do you say that?” Not that I disagreed.
“That possessiveness he feels – it’s dark, Ava,” he cautioned. “Not destructive or something that would hurt you. But it’s a ‘he’ll-do-absolutely-anything-even-kill-to-keep-you’ possessiveness. It’s not something that will fade. There’s this…need inside him to be sure nothing bad happens to you, that you’re safe and happy. Any person who dares to harm you by word or deed is at serious risk of being annihilated.”
I blew out a breath. “I don’t get it. Don’t get why he’d care so much. I mean, he hasn’t known me long.”
“That’s not why you’re confused that he cares, I can sense it.” Fletcher shook his head. “I have no idea who has made you feel that you’re not good enough – although I’m guessing the seed of that idea was planted in your childhood, and idiots have only made it worse. But that’s just dumb. You have no need to feel so insecure or to doubt your own appeal.”
I shrugged, mumbling, “I’m annoying.”
He slipped an arm around my shoulders. “Not one person on this island has had a bad word to say about you. Yes, it can be tiring to be around people who are constantly wired. But you’re just too adorable to be annoying.”
I snorted at that, which earned me a slap on the shoulder. “Ow.”
“A very special thing about you, Ava, is that you accept people as they are – you don’t judge, you don’t expect things from others, and your friendship doesn’t come with conditions. That’s rare. There are so many judgmental sods in this world. But you always look for some grain of good within the bad. I have to warn you, it’s doubtful that you’ll find any good in Gina.”
I swallowed hard. “The idea of her living here, of seeing her everyday…”
“It hurts you to be arou
nd her, knowing her history with Salem,” Fletcher guessed. “That’s understandable.”
“What’s her game? What am I dealing with?”
“Being around people like her makes me feel ill.” He shuddered. “She’s a bloody vortex of need. There’s a hole inside her that will never be filled; that stops her from being satisfied. So much vanity, greed, arrogance, and selfishness. She doesn’t have any feelings for Salem – I doubt she cares for anyone but herself. She sees him as a possession.”
That made me bristle. “Yeah? Well she can fuck off.”
“She doesn’t seem to feel threatened by you,” he informed me with amusement. “She was enraged at the beach party, but there was no unease. I’m guessing she feels very confident that she has some claim to Salem.”
“I think one of the reasons she doesn’t feel threatened is that her gift gives her some control over men. She releases sexual pheromones.”
Fletcher’s face fell. “The sex call? Oh bugger. She’s going to try to seduce him with it.”
“Salem says he can resist it; that it’s possible his body will respond whether he likes it or not, but that it’s a simple case of mind over matter.” I snorted. “There’s nothing simple about the sex call. If she can get him under her thrall, she can make him vulnerable to suggestions – we both know what she’ll suggest he do.” Hop straight into her bed.
“And he’d hate himself for it later.” Fletcher was silent for a moment. “But maybe it could be a case of mind over matter. I mean, he felt absolutely no yearning for her at the party. And he was truly livid when he saw her there, infuriated that she’d upset you. Maybe those negative emotions will be enough to help him fight the sex call. And don’t forget that Salem’s very strong-minded. If anyone can stand firm against her gift, it’s him.”
“Yeah, but she’ll be aware of that. Which means she’ll wait before she strikes, wait for the right moment – one in which he’ll be vulnerable on some level. If it works, he’ll be pretty much under her total control. Just the idea of that makes me sick.”
“Same here.” He sighed, rubbing my arm comfortingly. “We’ll just have to put our complete faith in Salem. “Look on the bright side –”