Page 23 of First Bite
He rested his head against my chest, hands tenderly caressing my sides. “I’ve been a dick while making that clear to you. I apologize for that.”
I ran my hands through his thick hair, feeling the softness of it for the first time. I studied his back, his muscles flexed tightly and tensed. His delicious scent filled my senses. I had to be careful not to scare Cole off, but my body was doing exactly what it was supposed to do…taking care of my vampire and encouraging him to feed on me. I wanted him now more than ever before—it was the blood, the bond, working its way to the surface.
“Well, you did make it clear you despise the control I have over you,” I said softly. “That made me feel like shit.”
I felt him collapse into me more. “I say and think that I will never hurt you, but I already have. Trust me when I say it was for your protection from me.”
“Braden didn’t hurt me when he drank from me. He thought he would, but he didn’t. I think it’s going to be the same with you too.”
He glanced up, and his eyes and expression took my breath away. “I’m not Braden,” he answered. “I don’t know how to deal with any of this, or how to care for you properly. I’m not like my cousins who can simply fuck you and drink from you. I can’t do that.”
I hesitantly framed his face with my hands, feeling the softness of his chiseled features. “Then what do we do?” I asked, seriously wanting to know the answer to that question. “What do you want to do?”
He stood up, and my hands dropped to my sides. Cole’s eyes roamed over my face. “Out of all four us, I hate being this immortal piece of shit the most.” He sighed as he traced my fingers with his thumb, “Now, all I want is to do what my instincts tell me to do, to follow Braden’s lead and open myself up to you.”
“But you’re afraid you’ll hurt me?”
He smiled, “I’ve had my emotions shut off to you all day. Purposefully. I’m not letting that side of me open up to you for your protection.”
“Same thing I keep hearing from all of you.” I studied his somber eyes. “I just can’t figure out why you turned into a dick overnight. If it was because I left with Val, I get it, but for you to still be so angry with me…I don’t know how to fix it.”
“It wasn’t because you left with Val; although, I certainly wasn’t pleased about that. It was because I started falling for you, everything about you. The way you opened up to us and trusted us, that fucking scared me. I’ve never experienced emotions like the ones that hit me.”
“Why don’t you try going with your instincts like I am? It works out in the end.”
“Is this your advice?”
“Well, I’m not the expert, but it’s worked with the others so far. Why wouldn’t it work with you?”
“Damn it,” he said in a strained voice. “I want you so fucking bad, but—fuck!”
“Just try. I’m not afraid of you,” I whispered, watching him stare down at my legs. “I’m not the one who bites,” I said with a soft laugh.
Cole’s hushed laugh in response told me we might get somewhere tonight.
He slid his hand under my shirt and ran his knuckles over my abdomen. My heart jumped, and I felt my breathing pick up.
“That feels good.”
“You aren’t repulsed by this—by me—after how I treated you?”
“No,” I whispered, my eyes fixated on his lips. “The opposite, actually. It must be our bond that is begging to be completed.”
“I won’t take your blood,” he repeated.
I laid back on the table seductively, praying he would keep moving forward.
“Elle,” he parted my legs as he stepped toward where I lay on the table, gazing up at the ceiling. “What are you feeling right now?”
“I want you to try to drink my blood and fuck me here and now on this table.”
He climbed up on the table, sliding me back and opening my legs more as he situated himself in between them. I moaned, feeling how hard he was.
“I’ll never forgive myself if I hurt you.”
“Braden said that too,” I bit my bottom lip, hoping I didn’t piss him off with that.
“I told you, I’m not Braden,” he responded seriously. “If this is what you want, then I have to warn you I’ve wanted it for so long and fought it off so strongly that I know I won’t be gentle. We should probably wait,” he whispered in my ear.
