“I know what you need.” He nipped on my back, but it wasn’t to suck my blood.
Tanner really seemed to know. Second after second, he brought me close to completion before he yanked it back, stopping me from getting what I needed. It was the sweetest torture. I squirmed against him, even trying to grind against his hand, but Tanner remained in charge. I had no chance to take what I wanted, so he was going to have to give it to me.
That thought made me finally stop fighting.Tanner will see to it that I get what I need.
The realization changed the energy in the room, because Tanner pressed inside of me. Due to the angle, I couldn’t see his long, hard cock, but boy could I feel it. He was so deep inside of me, I wasn’t sure where he started and I ended.
“Fuck. This is… wow. We should have done this when we were humans. I’ll never get enough of this.”
I never would’ve survived the loss if we had, but I didn’t need to say the words. I didn’t want the pain right then. Not even a little bit. I wanted Tanner to keep doing what he was doing. Each thrust pushed all my thoughts away. There was only the bed as it creaked, the noises we made together, and the way that he made me cry out. The way my body pulsed around his until all that pent up frustration made me explode around his cock.
Seconds later, he found his release with a long groan, his head falling down to rest against my shoulder as I dug my hands deeper into the headboard. I hadn’t let go. I smiled.Yes, I’ve been very good.I’d completely taken his directions.
He pulled me back and I had no choice but to release my obedient grip to turn in his arms, holding onto him instead.
“Got you.” His voice was low.
Tanner really did have me.
At least until the sun comes up. I closed my eyes. Thoughts were back; they always returned. He was a vampire. I couldn’t let my heart do what it wanted, and I couldn’t fall into the arrangement with them as though it was something that was good for me. Sex was sex. Griffin had hurt me with his silence after sex. If I wasn’t foolish, I didn’t have to make the same sort of mistake.
Tanner laid us both flat on the bed. “Stop thinking so hard. What does it take to turn off that mind of yours?”
I laughed, snuggling against him. I’d take the minutes before he disappeared to the daylight. “If I ever figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
* * *
I slept for a few hours before it was time for me to go work. It was weird to lock the door and leave them all there. Each day, it got a little bit harder. Somehow, the same men who were violent and brutal when they had to be proved themselves to be the most vulnerable creatures on the planet during the daytime.Until they’re much older, at least. I leaned against the front door and slowed my breathing.
I was being ridiculous. Vampires survived for thousands of years; they didn’t need me babysitting them while they slept.
And I need this job.
I steeled my spine and got to it.
Luckily, I had worked for long enough to catch on quickly, because I knew how to stock shelves, take inventory, and keep my head down. They didn’t know my mother, so maybe they’d put me up front eventually, but I was starting in the back, which was fine by me.Plenty of time to learn the store.
“So, what did you do to get stuck back here?” a voice asked, and I looked up at the woman asking me the question. She chewed gum, made a bubble, and then smiled at me. Like me, she wore a blue employee vest. Her short, blue hair stuck out in dandelion tufts of sky, and she wore a ring in her left eyebrow. I decided she had to be my best friend.
I rose from my squat in front of some toilet paper and grinned at her. “Well… I applied. I imagine you did, too.” I offered my hand. “I’m Maci.”
She shook my hand. “Stella.”
We were roughly the same age, but if her footwear was any indication, she was funkier than me. Her feet were covered in black boots that couldn’t be comfortable to stand in but made her look tough. My sneakers didn’t compare.
“I thought I knew everyone in town around our age. You must be new.” She nodded at me. “Two pieces of advice. One, don’t eat the hot dogs they sell in the truck out back. They’re practically poison. Also, Stan is a nightmare. Don’t let him get you alone. ‘Me too’ didn’t happen here. Just don’t find yourself alone.”
I swallowed.Stan? Our boss?I hadn’t been alone with him yet. He’d hired me, but he had someone with him the whole time. Then someone named Kristi had trained me first thing in the morning. Maybe Stella’s steel tipped boots made more sense now.
“How bad is it?”
She shrugged. “It is what it is, right? Anyway, we’ll get a drink and talk about it. I’ve got your back.”
Did she? Did strangers just do that? The last time I’d had a decent experience with a stranger I’d ended up getting fed on by vampires and in constant fear of withdrawal. Of course, it had been the greatest week of my life.
I smiled at her. “Thanks. I don’t drink, but I’ll have soda.”
She nodded. “Sounds cool. See you later.”