Page 115 of Vampires of Eden: Oliver
My chest heaves from the rush of emotion—from the intensity of my words and my nature clamoring inside, wanting him to understand. Still holding my hand, Aries shifts and sits straighter with his feet planted on the floor. His jaw works and his expression is bewildered. Almost… nervous.
Suddenly, I understand.
“But if you’re not ready to depend on me,” I say quietly, “then this is a different conversation altogether.”
We sit and the silence shrouds us once more, but he doesn’t let go of my hand. He stares, intensely focused on the large glass vase of pink peonies set in front of us.
“Are you still afraid of being addicted to me?” I ask. “To my blood. You’re already affected by me, so you’re afraid of being pushed over the edge?”
“Not afraid… cautious. Once I feed from a purebred, there’s no turning back. I’ll be forever conditioned to you, and I won’t be able to feed satisfyingly from another ranked vampire again. Right now, I can feed from almost anyone. But once I have you…”
I nod, listening. He explained this to me before, when we were in Eden. “I understand. If you aren’t comfortable, it’s okay. But… do you know that I wouldn’t leave you or change my mind after you fed from me? I wouldn’t betray you. You can trust me.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I trust you.”
“Do you even want to feed—”
“Yes, Oliver. Of course I do.” Aries pulls my hand so that I fall over and into him. He catches me, then brushes his lips against my temple. Slowly, he caresses down past my ear and toward my neck.
“Some nights, I lie awake, hot and restless—aching, because the thought of feeding from you consumes me.” He opens his mouth and flattens his tongue against my flesh, licking the sensitive curve just beneath my jawbone. Dear God. Him doing this sends a violent shiver all through me.
I close my eyes, breathing and controlling my nature. I’ve made my desire for Aries clear. Now, I have to give him the space to choose how far he wants to go with me. I won’t push my will on him, because it’s his body and nature that will be forever altered. Not mine.
“You don’t need to make the decision now,” I say with my eyes still closed, concentrating on stifling my nature. “But if I give you consent to feed, will you ask me to rescind it, like you did back in Eden?”
Aries breathes in a laugh—a warm puff against my neck where he’s licked. “This is like dangling a mouse in front of a snake.”
“I want you to know that you can have me when you want me. When you’re ready. You have consent.” Hesitating, nervous, I smile as I glance down at him. “Squeak squeak.”
“Sweet Mother of God.” He pulls away while pressing his palms against his face as he sinks, slouching into the couch and laughing. Taking advantage of his position, I lift and throw my leg over him to straddle his hips.
As I settle on my knees, I grab his wrists with both hands. “You never rescinded the consent that you gave me when we were in Eden together. Are you comfortable with me biting you?” I can sense that the invisible, rigid and omnipresent barrier that typically exists between two vampires is absent from Aries. Like a glass wall that’s been lifted—both ways, now, since I’ve formally given him my consent.
I pull his palms down so that I can view his handsomely chiseled jawline. His perfectly full lips and dimples.
“Yes,” he says, opening his eyes. “You can feed. You still have consent.”
“May I have something else? I know I’m asking for a lot, but…” I shift my hips into him. He bites his lip and groans as he exhales. Something in that small gesture is extremely satisfying. “We have time tonight, right? We’re not in a rush.”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
I lean, kissing him softly on the lips before meeting his sultry gaze. “Will you make love to me? And not just with your finger this time, but all of you? I want to know how it feels when you come with your cock inside of me—how much you come and how wet it feels.”
Aries leans his head back and closes his eyes. Already, he’s aroused and hard underneath me. “When did you start talking like this?”
“Today. But sometimes, like you, I lie awake at night, just thinking about you being inside of me. Is that okay? Does it make you uncomfortable?”
Sliding his hands up the sides of my thighs to my hips, he wraps his palms around my ass, then playfully lifts me into him. “It’s more than okay. Let’s get you out of this suit, shall we? You’re getting it wrinkled.”
ChapterThirty-One
The way Aries undresses me—removing the stylish materials he’s handcrafted specifically for me, his muse—is like a labor of love. Piece by piece he takes the beautifully lined jacket, shirt, tie and trousers and sets them aside.
When I’m completely naked in his loft bedroom, his behavior shifts. His movements are less like a careful, prideful task, and more like intentional acts of worship. Relishing and savoring. The way he touches and teases—his lips softly tracing the curves of my calves and thighs, then up to my stomach, chest and collarbone. His fingertips dimple the flesh of my hips and his palms caress around to hold and squeeze my ass.
For most of my life, I’ve been disregarded. My existence has been that of a political tool. I’ve been called useless, selfish and ungrateful, as if my very being and presence in this world mean nothing.
Aries corrects this narrative. He communicates with me and listens. His kindness, his patience and the intensity with which he touches and kisses me… He reassures me that I am indeed something. Not just “something,” butsomeonevaluable and worthy of being treasured.
