Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please keep the reviews um... coming. ;-) - Laurelin
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Josef pressed himself to Beth's back, his arm around her waist, and covered them both with the satin comforter
Josef pressed himself to Beth's back, his arm around her waist, and covered them both with the satin comforter. The chill in the room wouldn't bother him, but he did enjoy the feel of her warm, sleeping body pressed up against his, even through the thin silk of his sleeping pants. Her breathing was deep and regular, her heart beat strong and steady, reassuring Josef that they hadn't taken too much blood from her. It was a shame she was human in a way, because they wouldn't be able to repeat their evening's activities every night without risking her health. As he closed his eyes and inhaled her sweet scent, Josef hoped that someday Mick would have the sense to turn Beth. They both knew she would ask for it at some point, though in Josef's opinion, Mick was in denial about just how soon that might be.
Although Josef knew she needed some rest, he also knew she'd been asleep for two hours and hadn't had anything to drink. He wanted her well hydrated, and soon, because it would mean he could take blood from her again, as well as enjoy the other pleasures of her body. In spite of the fact that he'd had considerably more fresh sustenance today than normal, he still hungered for another taste of her. Propping himself up on one elbow, he studied her as she lay sleeping, trying to memorize every detail of her face and her still naked body.
Ten minutes must have passed as he just lay there and enjoyed being so close to this woman who belonged to his best friend, his only real friend. Josef had honestly hoped that after this he'd be able to call Beth a friend as well, but somehow he didn't think he'd be able to ever look at her and not have the memories of this night at the forefront of his mind. The sound of her crying out in pleasure as he buried himself inside of her was not going to be something he easily forgot.
Josef's fingertips brushed lightly along Beth's arm and he leaned forward to kiss the small puncture marks on the side of her neck, the ones he'd left when she'd asked him to taste her blood that first time. The bites only made her more beautiful, he decided, but they would heal soon enough and be replaced only by Mick's marks. He was happy for Mick, really, but it was hard being here, naked and alone with Beth, and not wonder about what it would be like to be the sole object of her affections.
Stirring under his gentle touch, Beth snuggled up against him. As his hand strayed from the side of her arm to brush up against her breast, she smiled even though her eyes were still closed.
"Mick?" Beth said sleepily. Josef hand stopped its quiet exploration.
"I sent him to the freezer for a little while, but he'll be back in a few hours." Josef tried to pull himself together and retreat into his usual carefree façade, but he was grateful she couldn't see his face at that moment.
Beth sounded a little disappointed when she said, "oh, okay."
"He was here with you until just a little while ago, but I thought it might be better if he got some rest and another meal before joining you back in bed." Josef clenched his teeth and started to pull himself back from Beth, physically and emotionally. He sat up and stretched all the way over to the nightstand to get a cold bottle of water, opening it for her. When he turned back to make his attempts at getting her to drink, Josef found that she'd followed him the extra foot or two across the bed and was beginning to make herself comfortable cuddled up against his chest. He couldn't put his arm down without touching her, and there was a moment where he could do nothing but close his eyes and try to control himself. His vampire was no danger to Beth; he was well fed and practiced. It was his heart that he was worried about.
Beth felt him tense under her touch, which was completely unlike the Josef she knew from just a few hours ago. Where were the seductive comments, the expert touch of his hands that so recently had made her body burn for him?
"What's wrong?" she asked him then slowly pulled away. "Did I do something… or… not do something?" Beth knew somewhere she'd break some unwritten vampire bedroom rule. It's not like there was a handbook or anything.
The open bottle of water was pressed into her hand and her fingers closed around it. "Of course not, Beth, you were perfect," he said as he kissed the back of her other hand lightly. There was a vulnerability in Josef's eyes that she'd never seen before, even though the rest of his face was solidly the overconfident vampire she was used to. "But now you need to drink some water. You'll be dehydrated from the blood loss. And no, we didn't take too much. Mick was quite able to control himself, and I have to admit that I may have underestimated him a little."
The water tasted so good it made Beth realize that she must have been a lot thirstier than she'd thought. Josef watched her finish the bottle then got up and started to walk towards the door.
"You aren't staying with me until Mick gets back?"
Josef wasn't sure what to say. Yes? He wanted to stay more than anything at that moment, stay and make love to her again, but he doubted Mick would be happy about not being included, even if he did need the time on ice. Josef seriously doubted his ability to just stay in bed with her and not make love to her.
"I'm thinking that it may be nobler to avoid temptation than try to resist it in this case."
Beth looked confused. "I don't understand."
He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and handed her another bottle of water. Josef opened the lowest drawer of the nightstand and poured himself a scotch, but said nothing for a minute as he studied his drink.
"It means that I don't think I'll be able to just stay here with you and make small talk or let you sleep. If I stay here I'll want you again, and I don't think Mick will be very happy about me seducing the woman he's in love with. So maybe it would just be better if I waited downstairs until Mick wakes up."
After downing the scotch in two large gulps, Josef was upset to find he didn't feel any better. He set the glass down and smiled at Beth, marveling at how fast she could make him hard as she was stretched out in his bed against the soft satin sheets, naked. When he went to get up again, Beth's hand was on his, pulling him gently back towards her.
"Stay, Josef. It's okay. I kind of got the impression that the usual rules didn't apply today, and that whatever happens between us happens."
"And where did you get that impression, hmmm?" Josef teased.
"From Mick, as he carried me up the stairs. He told me… let me see if I can get this right… 'Don't worry about me being jealous of Josef. I know you're attracted to him and it's okay to do what feels good to you tonight.'"
Josef wondered how he had missed that conversation. Then he remembered feeling a little pre-occupied just before they went upstairs.
"If I'd only known sooner… I wouldn't have let you sleep as long." Mick's words were a gift from Heaven, assuming there was such a place for him outside of this bedroom. Though, honestly, he didn't believe that Mick meant it was okay for him to enjoy the carnal pleasures of his girlfriend while he was napping. Then again, Josef had always subscribed to the belief that it was easier to apologize than to ask permission.
The glass slipped out of his hand and was forgotten on the floor as he moved quickly on top of Beth, her wrists in his hands, pressing her down into the soft bed. His touch was firm but not painful, and she relaxed easily into it, waiting for his next move. The wait was short. His mouth was on hers, demanding and insistent, letting Beth know just how much he wanted her at that moment.
The scent of her arousal permeated the room, threatening to overwhelm him, driving his need. Right or wrong, Josef was going to have her, consequences be damned. He kissed down the side of her neck and lower to her breasts, teasing each sensitive nipple until she cried out, keeping her just at the border between pleasure and pain. Finally, he released her hands as he moved lower, pleased but not surprised to find her slick with wetness already. Immediately, she moved to touch his face with her hands, trying to bring his mouth down onto her. Two of his fingers slid easily inside and curled upward, finding that most sensitive area within her, making her gasp and arch up into his hand. He explored her folds with his lips and tongue, finally settling on the area she was most desperate for. After just a few minutes of his expert touch, Josef knew she was close, and he backed off slightly.
"Please don't stop. Please." She was breathless and so needy, just the way he wanted her. He smiled up at her, his expression one of confidence in his ability and her reaction to it, and slowly added a third finger though he kept his hand still otherwise.
"But if I keep going, you'll come too soon. You're going to have to work a little for this one." As if to emphasize his point his fingers curled up and hit her G-spot once again, drawing a cry of pleasure from her as she tried in vain to convince him with her hips to let her come.
Fully expecting to hear her beg again, which is what he wanted to hear, Josef was surprised when she sat up and pulled his head up and kissed him passionately. Although it would have been a simple thing for him to resist her when she tried to push him back onto the bed, he really had no desire to. He wanted her, all of her, and whatever she wanted to do to him at that moment he knew he would enjoy. So he lay back with his head propped up on one of the satin-encased pillows and waited. The predatory look in her eye was everything he'd come to expect from a vampire partner, not a human, and it made him that much harder to see it in Beth's eyes.
"Challenge accepted," she said simply before leaning down to kiss the sides of his neck, taking some of the skin between her teeth and biting down, though not hard enough to break the skin. Now it was his turn to cry out for her. It was enough to raise Josef's vampire, and Beth looked up in time to see his eyes change. He started to sit up but she put a hand on his chest and pushed down, her body language saying that she fully expected him to comply, and that she wasn't afraid of him.
Forcing his visage back to human, knowing that it wasn't yet time to take blood from her, Josef waited and tried to be content with touching her face and her sweet-smelling hair. But she would have none of it, and took his wrists, holding them down on either side of his head, mirroring his quite successful attempt at pinning her down a short time ago.
"I know you're strong enough to do whatever you want to me," she whispered in his ear, "but for right now, please keep your hands to yourself."
Not waiting for his reply, Beth teased him with her lips, teeth, and tongue over his ears, neck, nipples, and then followed the trail of his hair lower to find him hard and eager for her, straining up against the silk pants. Keeping still was getting more and more difficult for Josef. Everything about her made him want to flip her over and bury himself inside of her until they both screamed out their pleasure.
Beth pulled the silk off of his hips easily and wrapped her hand around him, slowly stroking him up and down, all the while watching his face, gauging his reaction, finding what made him close his eyes and push up into her hand. There was no Heaven other than this room, Josef knew as soon as the hot wetness of her mouth engulfed him. He gripped the headboard with both hands and tried desperately to comply with her request, but she felt so good that it was getting increasingly difficult not to touch her. Just as he was close to his release, she backed off for a moment, only stroking him lightly with her hand until he settled, then again letting him enjoy the feel of her mouth on him.
"You… win…" Josef said finally. "I give up." He couldn't think of anyone he'd rather give in to.
Her smile as she crawled up his body tightened something in his chest. She was so beautiful in her desire at that moment it was almost painful for him to look at her. Since they'd reached a truce, Josef's arms were quickly back around her, pulling her to him for a deep and needy kiss, his thumbs on each of her nipples in turn, his touch like fire on her skin.
Letting him feel the wetness at the entrance to her body, rubbing herself against his length until he moaned out of desire and frustration, Beth teased him for another moment before finally sinking down onto his shaft. Her face held a look of pure pleasure as she began to slowly move over him, and he reached down between them to add pressure to her sensitive clitoris. He held off as long as he could, until he brought her screaming his name over and over before pulling her down to pierce the skin of her neck. The hot, sweet blood that poured into his mouth triggered his own intense release. The two of them were suspended there in completely surrender to their need for what seemed like an impossibly long time. Josef hadn't come so hard in so long he couldn't remember.
With the last drops of blood cleaned from her neck, Josef lay back and just held her against his chest, inhaling the scent of her and burning it into his memory. No words were needed as they lay in each others arms, enjoying the pleasant exhaustion that their lovemaking had induced.
Josef held her there for over an hour after she'd fallen into a contented sleep, all the while knowing that his time with her was running out.
He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and covered her with the comforter before silently exiting the room. Josef knew that Hell was the price for this night, but it had been worth it.
