Page 56 of No One’s Daughter

I stood there letting it run over me, washing away dirt, blood, smoke. My muscles ached in a way they hadn’t in decades.

But even now, my thoughts kept returning to her.

She’d somehow bewitched me. That had to be it.

The taste of her blood still swam through my system. Most of it seemingly having moved to my cock.

I couldn’t get the sound of her breathy little moans out of my fucking mind. Before I could stop myself, my hand took a hold of my rock hard dick. I imagined it was her holding me. I wondered about what might have happened if I hadn't thrown her off of me. I’d rutted against her like some lovesick fool, and worse, lost control completely by cumming—without my dick even having been touched. Maybe I just needed to come again, then I could be done with this madness. There was no way I’d be able to share a bed with her in my current state.

I moved my hand up and down lazily.

This wouldn’t take long, I already knew that. The pad of my thumb rolled over the piecing at the head of my cock, the sensation sending a jolt of pleasure down my spine.

I thought of that smart mouth of hers. Those lips, that tongue.

I bit my tongue to hold back any sound. The last thing I needed was her hearing this.

My hand was moving faster now.

Before I knew it, ropes of cum spilled from me with more force than I had anticipated. I painted the tiled walls as relief crashed through me.

I had really needed that.

And now I could be done with this stupid infatuation.

I dragged a hand through my hair after I’d washed away the evidence, exhaling slowly as I forced myself to focus, to stay present, even as my body threatened to shut down where I stood and I reached for the tap, cutting the water.

I dried off quickly, not bothering with anything beyond what was necessary, and pulled on clean clothes.

When I quietly stepped back into the main room, the only sound that greeted me was the sound of her soft breathing. She was on her side, facing the wall with her back to me, and I breathed out a sigh of relief to see her calm, safe and relatively relaxed. I hated that part of me cared, but she’d been through a tremendous amount in the past few days and she was holding up much better than I would have expected.

I crossed the small space and sat on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath my weight with a faint creak. For a moment, I just sat there, breathing, then I lay back. Every part of me protested and gave in at the same time, the exhaustion finally catching up in full force.

“So there isn’t any truth in vampires sleeping in coffins?” she asked out of nowhere. I’d thought she’d been asleep already, and I couldn’t help but smile at the question.

“I mean,” I started. “Technically there is some truth to it.”

“No,” she said, moving onto her side so she was now facing me. “You’re joking, right?”

I chuckled this time. It was dangerous how easily she unarmed me. “I mean, it’s not common now. But think about it, vampires need security and darkness to sleep. That’s actually harder to find than you’d think. Especially back in the day. It’s not like you could just waltz into someone’s home to use their basement or cellar.”

“How old are you exactly?”

I huffed something close to a laugh through my nose and shifted on the mattress, trying to get comfortable. “Yeah, I’m not telling you that, but old enough.”

A quiet laugh left her, soft and rough around the edges from exhaustion. “So old old.”

I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response, and instead my eyes remained fixed on the stained ceiling above us while I listened to the rustle of sheets beside me as she tried to settle onto her side. I could practically feel the warmth radiating from her body, she was so close.

Not close enough.

The thought slipped in unwanted, and I swallowed hard.

Silence settled over us once more, and after a short time, I was sure she was actually asleep. My eyes finally closed after that and the last thing I registered was the soft gentle sound of her breathing.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Ailsa