The Vampire Executioner (A necromancer romance novel)

Chapter 16: Fooling around

Esmeralda

When we stepped back out into the cold night air, I relaxed a little and was happy that he still seemed to like me, I just hoped he wasn’t faking it for Dana’s sake.

The crisp wind brushed against my cheeks and stirred loose strands of hair around my face, carrying the scent of rain-soaked pavement and distant traffic.

When we reached the car he opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in, enjoying the sweet gesture.

He drove me home and the drive was silent, not uncomfortable quiet. Soft quiet.

I kept sneaking glances at him.

At the way one hand rested loosely against the steering wheel. At the way his jaw shifted occasionally. At the little crease that formed between his eyebrows when he was thinking.

I looked away quickly every time I caught myself staring.

When he finally pulled up outside my house and switched off the engine, silence settled around us.

The ticking sound of the cooling engine filled the car.

Neither of us moved.

Then Lucan looked over at me. “I enjoyed tonight.”

I smiled shyly and looked down at my hands. “Me too, I just wished the kiss had been longer.” I looked down at my feet instantly and covered my face with my hands.

I had only been thinking that last bit and hadn’t meant for it to slip out of my mouth. Heat flushed my cheeks so violently I thought I might actually burst into flames. I almost wished he would put me out of my misery and stake me right here and now.

He laughed a soft and boyish laugh and answered, “well, you’re free to come over here and kiss me if you like.”

I peeked up at him through my fingers, surprised and then barely whispered, “I don’t know how to kiss.”

Some of that spark he’d learned from Dana entered his eyes when he said, “I’m happy to let you practice on me.”

It was crazy how wet those words made me and I could barely make eye contact when I stuttered, “I’m not, uh, really a make the first move kind of girl.”

He leaned closer towards me and pulled me in to meet him until our lips touched. “Just try and kiss me,” he murmured against my lips.

Outside, rain had started lightly tapping against the windshield.

I gently kissed him and moved away.

“Pfft, come on, my mother would kiss me like that.”

I laughed nervously and leaned back in and pressed my lips against his delicately and kept them there a few seconds longer before slowly pulling away, breaking the kiss so slowly made a sort of noise that really turned me on for reasons I couldn’t explain.

I had barely pulled an inch away from his lips when he leaned in and pressed our lips back together.

He took the lead and moved his lips against mine. I tried to copy him, our mouths opening and closing against one another, it was sweet and gentle and when he slowly pushed his tongue into my mouth I pulled away and whispered into the darkness of the car, “I don’t know how to do the tongue thing.”

He pulled me close to him again. “Just copy what I do,” he whispered against my lips.

He pushed his tongue into my mouth again and slowly danced it around mine, and instinctively, I moved my tongue with his.

He was an absolutely amazing kisser and I never wanted it to end, in fact, it made me feel things that had me wanting him to do much more than just kiss me, but finally, he pulled away.

He laughed at my expression. “Don’t worry, darling, we have all the time to kiss.”

Him calling me darling had my loins on fire, and I needed to get out of the car right now before I embarrassed myself any further.

I climbed out, and he got out too and came around to walk me up my steps.

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight,” I smiled shyly.

He leaned in and kissed my cheek and walked back to his car when I had opened my front door.

When morning came, I jumped out of bed and got dressed and raced to work. I couldn’t wait to see him.

Th entire train ride I sat with a big smile on my face, replaying little moments from the night before over and over in my head.

The way he’d looked at me.

The way he’d smiled.

The way he’d called me ‘my lady.’

My fingers lifted unconsciously and brushed over my lips. And that kiss. Wow.

When I jumped off the train I slowed myself down, for all I knew he might have zero interest in going on a second date with me again or kissing me ever again.

My excitement slowly tangled itself with anxiety.

I walked into the building and Dana wasn’t there yet which was a usual habit of hers.

Lucan was.”

He looked up the moment I came inside.

“Good morning, my lady.” He smiled at me then tried to correct himself. “I’m sorry, I really need to stop saying that.”

“Please don’t,” I blushed.

He came over to me and lifting my hand, pressed his lips delicately against the back of it before letting it go again. “Ok,” he smiled.

I don’t know where the courage came from, maybe it was because I was seeing this sweeter, gentler version of him, but I reached up and kissed him on the lips.

If he was surprised, he didn’t show it, he kissed me back. I draped my arms lazily around his neck, clasping my wrist in one hand. We deepened the kiss to tongues again, but the sound of keys had Lucan pulling away from me fast enough that I stumbled.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I know it’s extremely impolite of me, but if it’s ok, I’d really like to keep this between just me and you for now, I don’t want Dana knowing.”

My smile faded slightly.

“So you want Dana to think the date went badly?” I asked confused.

“No,” he frowned. “Not badly, just that it didn’t work out. There are just some things in my life I want to be private, even from her. At least just for now until we figure out what this is and what we want from it.”

I nodded my head, but couldn’t ignore the aching feeling of hurt and disappointment. Perhaps he didn’t want anything from this after all, maybe he only wanted a bit of causal dating and nothing else.

Or maybe he really did want something and wanted the time to figure it out himself without his best friend trying to push him in a certain direction, I had no clue, he was a mystery to me, and it was beyond frustrating.

Dana came in carrying a coffee in one hand and her bag hanging off her shoulder. Straight away she pestered us for details. “So come on then, how did it go?”

“It was fine, but we decided we get on better as friends.” Lucan shrugged casually, but Dana was having none of it. Before he could walk off, she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him to face her.

“What, are you serious? I really thought you’d like her because she’s into all your old-fashioned ways and s.hit.”

“I do like her, just not romantically.”

“So we can go back to f.ucking then?” She tested him.

“Could do, but you were right, we should stop and keep it strictly as friends. We both need to date properly before we get old and die alone,” he joked.

She wasn’t satisfied, but he reminded her that she had told him she would leave him alone regardless of the outcome if he just gave it a chance, and then a client walked in, so she couldn’t ask any more questions.

Nothing much happened over the next week, he didn’t ask me out again. Dana was unusually quiet about it which was surprising as I thought if she was unable to question him she would want to ask me instead. I wondered if he had warned her to stay away from the subject with me.

I hadn’t dared contact the queen or any of the other vampires, not that I did anyway, but I was praying they didn’t call me for a meeting again, I knew by now that the Mother of the Night would be here in the city.

I remembered Lucan’s reaction when I had told him, which only confirmed what the queen had told us, that they had battled long ago before the Mother of the Night had managed to escape barely alive. He had been absolutely furious when I’d mentioned her still being alive.

It was Friday by now, and I was packing up with Dana and Lucan getting ready to close up for the night.

Outside the windows, evening had settled over the city, dark clouds covering most of the sky and painting everything grey.

“So,” Dana said casually. “I have a date tonight.”

I looked up.

Lucan looked up.

We looked at each other, then back at Dana.

“What?” Lucan said.

“You?” I blurted.

Dana looked offended.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I blushed. “No, I just mean, well…” I trailed off.

“You don’t date,” Lucan finished bluntly.

She folded her arms. “I do.”

“Name one date you’ve been on.”

Dana opened her mouth and then paused.

“It doesn’t matter.” She grabbed her bag and dramatically said, “I’m leaving.” Then she pointed at Lucan and said, “if my date turns out to be a serial killer, I’m haunting you.”

Lucan frowned. “Why me?”

“Because it will be your fault.”

He rolled his eyes.

Then she pointed at me. “You too.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“I don’t yet,” she said in a mock suspicious voice, “but probably something.” Then she walked out leaving us staring after her. I laughed when she was gone while Lucan shook his head.

A few minutes later I finished gathering my things and started making my way towards the train station.

Cold evening air brushed against my skin as I walked, carrying the smell of rain and distant food from nearby restaurants.

“Hey, Esmeralda!” I turned around and saw Lucan running to catch up to me.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

“I was wondering if you have any plans tonight?”

I grew excited and felt butterflies in my tummy, wondering if he wanted to ask me out for a second date. “No, I don’t have any plans.”

“Did you want to do some sparring with me?”

Oh, he just wanted to train with someone tonight. I hid my disappointment and nodded yes. At least I would still get to spend time with him. Just me and him.

He taught me some new moves, and then he had me spar with him for a bit. I kicked and punched while he blocked, and then we swapped so that I blocked while he did his kicks and punches and jabs.

I wasn’t expecting it when he grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arm around my throat and locked me in tight against his body, so that I couldn’t move. I shoved down the natural fear the vampire in me had towards this necromancer, knowing we were only training, but still very aware he could easily snap my neck right now.

“Try to escape with the moves I taught you,” he said.

I was terrible at learning anything new to the point it had become a joke between them about me.

I had already forgotten the move he had shown me ten minutes before, and I stood there stupidly for a moment. I tried to pull his arm away, but it was like trying to prise steel away, it just wasn’t happening.

I tried to pull my head out of his grip, which again didn’t work. I pushed back against him, making him stumble, but he did not lose his grip on me, he pushed back until I was pushed up against the wall, my face pressed against it and said, “come on, think, if this were real life you’d be dead already.”

I was even more immobilized with him pushed up against me from behind and his arm still around my neck.

I didn’t know what else to do, so I pushed my bottom half back against his as hard as I could and felt happy with the decision when it moved our lower halves away from the wall.

I tried to slide myself out, but that made my bottom half slide against his crotch, so all it did was have me mostly wriggling against him and I instantly realized I was doing what I had done the previous times when I’d practically been grinding on him.

I didn’t want to make him mad, so I stopped moving. He pushed us back up against the wall and rubbed his groin against my a**s.

“You’re turning me on again,” he murmured into my ear.

“Sorry,” I breathed, too turned on to say much else.

He spun me around to face him and pressed his lips softly against mine and kissed me long and slow.

I moaned involuntarily against his lips making him chuckle in return. He rubbed his groin against mine, instantly making me wet. I grew more wet when I felt his e.rection grow through his sweatpants.

He rubbed himself against me while we kissed, and somehow being still fully clothed added to the turn on of it all, it was very teasing.

He slid his hands down to my hips and turning me around, he started walking me backwards, never breaking the kiss even when he pushed me to the floor and climbed on top of me.

“You should really try to break free for your own safety,” he teased and kissed his way down my neck. I moaned and feeling shy about it, I tried to be quiet.

He stopped kissing my neck to look down at me. “Don’t stop moaning, that’s exactly what I want to hear.” Then he kissed my neck again and started to rub himself against me through our clothes.

Now I’d made it noticeable that I was the only one making noises, I found myself purposely trying to be quiet even though he had just told me he wanted me to be moaning for him.

I think he sensed it because he whispered against my ear, “do you want me to make noises? Trust me, I’m enjoying myself, I’ve just learnt that some women including Dana, like it when I’m quieter,” he softly laughed and it tickled my ear.

“I’d rather you be noisy,” I giggled.

“God, that f.ucking giggle is cute,” he groaned.

He was grinding himself against me and made a low and masculine moan that turned me on to the point I worried I might actually o.rgasm before we had barely begun. The feel of his hardness through our clothes rubbing against my now very wet lady parts had me moaning.

He whispered, “rub yourself against my d.ick, darling.” I began working with him, but had barely begun to move my hips before I grew hot and faint and my body betrayed me and I came hard. I moaned and cried out while he rubbed himself harder and faster against me until I was finished.

“I’m so sorry, that’s so embarrassing,” I cringed.

He laughed and answered, “don’t be sorry, it’s your first time ever being intimate with someone, it’s hot, and good to know I turn you on so much,” he winked at me and climbed to his feet.

I knew he hadn’t finished because before our first date, Dana had told me I’d know if he came because if we still had clothes on I would feel the wet and damp sort of stickiness through our trousers.

I’d made the mistake of asking how she knew that, and she’d casually told me like some s**x education teacher that sometimes they would rub and grind on one another, tease one another before full on s**x, mentioning that people could come multiple times.

It was eerie how she’d predicted this moment might happen, or perhaps it was something she knew Lucan liked as a form of foreplay.

If we could come multiple times, then I was kind of sad that he didn’t seem to want to do anything else because he held his hand out to me and pulled me to my feet.

“What’s with the face?” He asked.

I just shook my head, not trusting myself to answer without crying like an overly emotional i.diot, the downside of feeding on people’s emotions is that it made me a strong empath, leaving me overly sensitive.

He stopped walking with me towards the door, and gently gripping my chin in his hand, he tilted my head up to meet his eyes. “Did I cross your boundaries, should I not have done that? If so, then I deeply apologise.”

“No, I enjoyed it. I promise.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s stupid.”

I tried to carry on walking, but he pulled me into his arms and held me softly. It was the first time he had hugged me, and it felt divine. I snuggled my face against his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Talk to me,” he murmured.

I wondered if he had held me on purpose because without him staring at me and with me being able to hide into his chest I found it easier to talk.

“I didn’t make you, um, finish, and I don’t want to leave you frustrated. Dana mentioned we can o.rgasm multiple times, so if you wanted to carry on or do something more we can.”

With his chin on top of my head, I felt him smile, and he gently answered, “you’re not worried that I’m frustrated, you’re worried that I am so frustrated that I will go to Dana and ask her for s**x. I won’t do that, I promise. While we are getting to know one another and dating, I swear to you, I will not go to Dana for anything sexual.” When I didn’t answer, he looked down at me, “ok?”

I nodded, and he carried on, “and as for doing other things, I would rather wait and respect you. I don’t want to rush you into doing anything s****l, and I certainly do not wish to rush you into losing your virginity.”

There was that old way of talking again, and I smiled warmly at his accent, it was adorable and hot all at the same time.

I think he noticed he had slipped back to that way of talking because he pulled away from the hug and said, “let’s get the f***k out of here.” He held his hand out to me and I took it shyly.