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“You talk to me with condescension and disrespect all the time,” I retorted.
“It’s different when I do it. You know I don’t really mean it.”
“No, actually, I don’t know that!” I exclaimed. “You’re all over the place. You sneer at me, but you kiss me. You have no attachment to me, and then you’re concerned about my well-being. It’s very confusing!”
Cal tilted his head, shifting me so that his hands cupped my cotton-covered ass. He gave me a jiggle, his tone teasing. “Oh, come now, are you really that upset? Gigi said your relationship was over a long time ago.”
“I do not like being used for your amusement,” I spat. “And don’t pretend you were doing it out of some urge to stick up for me or protect yourself. What happened to keeping a low profile? Not letting anyone know you’re here?”
“Does your Lilliputian ex-paramour have any contacts in the vampire world?” he asked.
I threw up my hands, which caused the support I held against his shoulders to disappear. He adjusted, pushing me against the door. I could feel the warmth pooling between my thighs as I slid down his length. My breath caught, and I braced my hands against his arms. I cleared my throat, searching for a steady voice. “Again with the short jokes.”
“Does he?”
I sighed. “No, Paul doesn’t have anything to do with vampires. He didn’t like that I worked with vampires. He was always worried that I would get hurt. By the way, slumping your shoulders and adopting a hick accent does not amount to a ‘human impersonation.’”
“It’s worked before.”
“It’s insulting.”
Cal pursed his lip, his eyes twinkling. “Are you sure you’re not upset because I made Paul think you’re unavailable?”
I jabbed my finger into his bare chest. “You know, I was completely happy before you showed up. My life wasn’t much, but it was mine. And when I’m no longer useful to you, you’re going to leave. And you’ll forget that I even existed.”
This would have been a really good time to walk away. But it’s really difficult to storm off when you’re straddling someone.
I tried to wriggle my way to my feet, but Cal held me fast against the door. He leaned closer, and I shied away. His mouth closed over mine, taking the air from my lungs. He pinned me to the door with his hips, and his hands slid up to my face. His rough, cool palms cradled my cheeks.
He tilted his forehead against mine. “That’s what you think?”
Before I could answer, his tongue glided easily over my lips, teasing them open. His mouth was cool and surprisingly fresh, although there was a subtle undertone of copper in his kiss. My knees sagged at the soft, insistent pressure that pulled my tongue past his lips. His hands slipped into my hair, pulling my face higher and closer to his as he pressed me back against the wall. Biting gently on my bottom lip, he nipped and nuzzled down the line of my chin to my ear.
I’d never kissed a vampire before. The lips were firmer and cooler, and the absence of breath against my skin was odd. I worried that I was too human, too weak, too plain. But soon even that thought evaporated into the ether, and every cell in my body fired for the sake of keeping me upright and attached to Cal’s mouth.
The slide of cool flesh against mine and the rasp of teeth against my lip were soft and affectionate. He was coaxing a response from me, teasing me into relaxing against him. He pressed a kiss to my chin. His hand slid under my shirt and over my ribs, up to cup the weight of my breast in his palm.
I was trying to figure out how to reach for his zipper in this position when I heard an exaggerated throat clearing behind me, from the kitchen door.
“So, are we still claiming that we’re just business acquaintances?”
8
Vampires are wily, seductive creatures. Even if you think you are resistant to their charms, you are most likely thirty seconds from losing valuable undergarments.
—The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires
Cal turned, with me still attached to him like a human barnacle, to find my sister leaning against the frame of the kitchen door, struggling to hide the look of smug triumph on her face.
“At least this time the hair is deserved,” Gigi said, gesturing at the tumbled mess on top of my head.
Cal snapped out of his lustful haze and set me on my feet. He carefully adjusted his jeans and fastened the top button. Vampires were incapable of blushing, but if Cal had had the blood flow necessary to tint his pale cheeks, he would have been roughly the color of a fire hydrant. He kept his back to Gigi and seemed unsure of how to stand. Taking pity on him, I stepped around him and stood as a sort of human shield against upsetting man-nipple exposure.
“Aren’t you early?” I asked.
“Well, where’s the fun in showing up when you’re supposed to?” she asked. “You don’t see nearly as much. By the way, was that Paul’s truck I saw pulling out of the driveway?”
“Gladiola.”
