I mean, I’ll try not to.
“Why not get it resized and wear it on your hand?”
A shiver washes through me, a memory of Mom answering that same question for me once, not long after Dad’s death. “Can’t ruin the magick,” I softly reply.
“I’m sorry?”
I blink, pulling myself back to the present. “Mom never would. That’s what she said, but I think she meant that metaphorically. She always wore it on the chain. Labradorite shouldn’t be immersed in water for long. I think she was worried about damaging or losing it. Having it on a chain was safer.”
“Ah.”
We continue eating. “I have to say, other than Lucius and Selene, you aren’t like any other vampire I’ve ever met.”
“Thank…you?” He smiles, and it makes my nipples tighten and my lady bits flutter. “I think?”
“Yeah, that is a compliment.” I study him and try not to focus on how gorgeous not-Ianto is. “What’s your endgame, here?”
“Regarding…?”
“Me.”
He dabs at his handsome lips with the linen napkin and takes another sip of water. “I have no expectations except, hopefully, friendship.” He’s looking me in the eyes as he says it.
“That’s it?” That’s sweet, but it’s almost a…let-down.
His right eyebrow slowly arches. “That’s not to say I don’t have…hopes.”
“Hopes?”
He shrugs, but his gaze burns into mine. “I don’t wish to overwhelm you.”
My breath catches at the intensity in his voice. “Try me,” I say. “I want to hear it. Give me your worst.”
He leans forward and his voice drops to a sexier, deeper rumble that soaks my panties. “Not my worst, but you’d be wearing my cuffs and collar and tied to my spanking bench. I’d spend hours teasing you with my hands and my mouth. I’d flog you, introduce you to my canes, spank that gorgeous ass of yours until you’re begging to come.”
Fuuuuck me.I fight the urge to squirm in my chair, but he’s not done.
“Then I’d bury my cock inside you and fuck you until you screamed my name.” He smiles. “After that, we could really have some fun.”
Part of me wants to beg him to do that right now because my clit’s throbbing.
The other part of me is a buzzkill realist. It’s a good thing he can’t force me, because it wouldn’t take much for me to drop my panties for him, anyway. “Guess you don’t have trouble getting people to agree with that, since you’re a vamp.”
His smile fades. “I never use my thrall to force people to sleep with me. I’m not a predator. Not a sexual one, anyway.”
“Honestly?” He certainly sounds genuine.
“Honestly. I have no desire to force anyone like that. I certainly wouldn’t want to attempt to force you, even if you weren’t immune to my powers.”
“Sounds like there’s a story behind that decision.”
He slowly nods. “There is.” His quiet tone hints at centuries or more of deep pain.
“If you feel like talking about it, I promise to keep your secrets. And no, Lucius doesn’t have the place bugged. One of the reasons I have the trust of so many is that they know I will keep their secrets.”
Something deep inside me almost painfully twists when the dark cloud fills his expression. He continues eating. “Lucius and my sire shared the same sire.” He takes another bite, chewing thoughtfully, his gaze unfocused for a moment. “I don’t know how much of his history Lucius has shared with you, so I will avoid telling as much of that as possible.”
I nod, and he continues. “My sire was older than Lucius. Apparently, he wanted to create a nest of his own, a powerful army. But turning humans and siring vampires is not a simple process, contrary to Hollywood stories. Especially back then, when finding a safe daytime hiding place was far more difficult. I wasn’t the first he sired, and I wasn’t the last, unfortunately for him. Had he stopped with me, he might still be…alive.”
