Page 51 of Vampires of Eden: Oliver
“We are,” he says, examining me in his familiar way. His hands lazily trace the length of my spine, then down further, flirting with the dip between my cheeks before sliding back up again. “You are astonishing to me. Too good and beyond my comprehension. Perpetually, I find myself overthinking.”
“I can tell,” I say honestly, shifting upward as I meet his gaze head on. “But I won’t hurt you, Aries. I promise.”
“I know that you would never mean to, but this is heretical. It goes against everything that I have stood for. You are purebred. You hold all of the cards in this situation. All of the power. You’re also engaged, and these things are significantred flags. Even still… you’re endearing and sincere. Traumatized and introverted. I don’t know how to read this situation, Oliver. It perplexes me.”
It feels as if we keep having the same conversation. Aries can’t move past our obstacles, but I want to ignore them completely and focus on the here and now. This fleeting moment.
“I don’t think I hold any cards or have any power,” I tell him quietly. “I feel like I’m always at your mercy. Always waiting and hoping that you’ll say yes to me.”
“You have power. You just don’t wield it in the typical way that purebreds do—which is excellent, in my opinion. It’s partially why I’m drawn to you. These bewildering, complex layers of humility and empathy.”
I place a soft kiss against his mouth. “You say such kind things. After the ceremony, I’ll be relegated to arm candy. An empty, mindless shell.”
“You could never be an empty shell. It’s impossible.” Aries moves one hand up, bending his arm and holding his head against the pillow while the other casually rests at my lower back. “Have you ever sincerely tried talking to Alexander? In the same way that you talk to me, I mean.”
I frown. Alexander is the absolute last vampire that I want to talk about. “No. If I ever told him how I really feel, he’d use it as ammunition to mock me later.”
“You could try.” Aries lifts his head, touching our lips together in another kiss. “You’ve taken a chance with me. Why not him?”
“Because you’re completely different. You’re compassionate. You listen and… Before I even saw you, my nature was speaking to me in ways it never has for Alexander. Just the smell of you set me off.”
“Hm…” Aries grins. “Love at first sniff? A rare phenomenon.”
We both chuckle, but I shift, stretching my body and lying back down against the warmth of him. “Something like that,” I say.
I think… this could be love? I don’t know, because I haven’t ever fallen in love before. When I imagine it, though, I think it’d be similar to this moment. Exciting and new. Soft, quiet and a little bit frightening. Exhilarating.
Falling is scary, but depending on where you land, it could be a magnificent ride. The landing might make every moment of the descent worth the fall.
Feeling bold, I swallow as I press my body against him. His hand slides up, caressing my spine once more. “Can I… do what you just did to me?” I ask. “I’ve never done it before, but I’d like to try.” I’m embarrassed by this confession and my general lack of experience in life, but I’ve come this far. What would be the point of holding back now?
Aries smiles. “Thank you, but no, darling. You don’t need to do that to me.”
I pause, caught off guard by his quick refusal. “But I… would like to try—”
“No, Oliver.” He shakes his head against the pillow. “I’m fine. I’d like for us to make it through this evening without me completely violating you.”
“It’s not violating if I want it. This sounds like you overthinking again—like I’m the delicate young master and you don’t want to sully me.”
“Sully. That’s the perfect word, actually.”
“Aries—”
“Oliver.” His eyes widen as he snickers. “You don’t need todoanything. We’re just enjoying each other. Relaxing, yes?”
Slipping from his grasp, I shift to the edge of the bed, then walk toward the en-suite bathroom. Who can relax when there’s a delicious and naked long-legged vampire man with gorgeous bronzed skin in their bed? Is he serious?
It’s true that I don’t have much sexual experience, but I’m not useless. I don’t want him to think that he needs to pamper me.
In the bathroom, I walk to the lower cabinets, crouch down and open them wide. I think it’s still in here… I spot my objective, grab the small jar and head back into my bedroom. Aries is sitting upright in the bed with his back resting against the headboard. His arms are folded. “I sense much discontent from my young master.”
“Shut up.” I grin, climbing back onto the bed and straddling his thighs. As I rest down, he lowers his gaze, examining the small jar in my hands.
“Why in heaven’s name do you have coconut oil?”
“It’s my sister’s,” I answer, unscrewing the top. “She’s obsessive about her skin and trying new beauty regimens.”
“Is her skin very dry? Does she not feed regularly?”
