Page 115 of You’re So Vein

I watch his hair fall over his face as he pushes his tongue deeper inside me, and then he rakes the tip of his fang over my clit, sending me arching off the bench. I tangle my fingers in his hair, and the deep rumble in his throat suggests he likes that very much. He rubs himself against the ground, grinding that sizable cock into the dirt, and it’s so filthy and so unlike him, and I want it.

I want more.

He takes care of me with the same tenacious precision he brings to council meetings, which is absolutely not a hot thing to think about a man going down on you in a magical grove, but…

… but oh my…

I come, with the sky behind my eyelids and his name on my lips.

As I float back to earth, the grove comes into view. Hundreds of new flowers have opened, their petals unfurling, releasing a sweet scent I taste on my tongue.

I reach for Augustin, awed by the magic he commands, and he’s already here, wrapping me in his arms, pulling me against him on the bench. I reach down between us, going for the gift I know is between his legs, but he wraps his fingers around my wrist, stopping me.

“Don’t you want—”

“I want very much.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “But we shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“For three reasons. One, I did not anticipate the effect you’d have on me.” He glances at the crotch of his pants, which has a wet, dark patch.

He came in the dirt just from tasting me. That’s hot as fuck.

Augustin sees me looking and flashes me a sheepish smile. “Even as a vampire, I need some time to recover. For another, I should get back to Hannah before she comes looking for us and sees something that sullies her magical garden forever. But thirdly, and most importantly, I have made many careful, considered plans for the two of us together. I have no intention of fulfilling them in a single night.”

He talks about me as if I’m a planning permit that must be filled in triplicate, but behind it is something more, something that stills my quaking heart. To him, I’m something to be savoured. And even though I want him inside me now, I like being worth the wait.

I cup this ridiculous vampire’s cheeks and kiss him deeply, trying to pull him against me, to get him to relent. He kisses back, but his body remains firm, unyielding. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

“Kiss me like that again and you just might.” Augustin pulls me to my feet, fussing with my skirt, smoothing it flat, while tiny shoots burst from the earth beneath our feet. “We should get back. But know this, one day soon, I will not be able to resist, and you won’t be able to flutter those dark eyelashes and receive mercy. You have enchanted me, and it is cruel and wonderful, and for that, I intend to make you pay.”

“You’re terrible at threats, Durant.” I hook my arm in his. “I’ll enjoy teasing you mercilessly until you relent.”

“Why, I’m terrified.” He chuckles. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

“That’s part of my cunning plan. I lure you in with cuteness and just when you fall madly in love with me, BAM, pure unhinged chaos.”

“No, no more chaos. I don’t think I can take it.” His fingers lace in mine. “Forgive my foolish heart, but I think we should hold hands under the moonlight.”

Even as my body cries out for more of him, a warm peace settles around my heart. With him, the darkness is a friend. “For once, Durant, I couldn’t agree more.”

43Augustin

KOMAL AND I KISS AND touch as we wander back through the garden to the main walking path. Here, I linger over our final kiss, only pulling away when she’s breathless, tugging on my collar, whimpering for more. “You’re really making me leave,” she moans.

“Hannah is watching us from her window.”

She half-heartedly tugs away from me and glances up. Her lips curl into a smile, but it’s tinged with melancholy. “Kids,” she says, the word like an incantation. That sadness I see sometimes passes over her eyes, but it’s gone again before I can mention it.

“I should walk you home,” I say as she leans in and kisses me again.

“If we walk home like this, it will be dawn before we make it to my house,” she murmurs against my lips. “And I may break your resolve and force you into all sorts of compromising positions on our beautiful village green, then Colonel Whitby will hurl us out of the village in his trebuchet.”

“I’m sure our constituents will agree that death by medieval siege weapon is fitting for the crime of lewd behaviour on the village green.” I pull away, touching my lips, which still taste of plum. “As a matter of fact, I shall make it one of my campaign promises.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Komal says.

“That’s dangerous.” I pretend to cower. “Should I put on a breastplate?”