Jude let out a cross between a growl and a howl as he came with her, his body convulsing behind hers.
Yes, indeed. It was a damn good thing the walls were soundproof.
Chapter Three
Words escaped her. Coherent thought eluded her. Even her breath had fled her following that outrageously earth-shattering orgasm.
Ten minutes must have passed before she realized she needed air. She gulped in a mouthful and tried to climb out of the passion-induced fog clouding her mind. Her body hummed with electrifying energy and her heart seemed to have swelled and taken on more life than was normal or necessary for a vampire to exist. It felt full and ripe and healthy. And it pounded erratically. Like a human’s, following intense physical and emotional exertion.
From the spot where she was curled up on the r
avaged sofa, she watched as Jude crossed to the private bathroom, thinking his backside was as dreamy as his front. When he returned, she thought no man or wolf could be so disarming. But then her gaze slid to Cray, sitting patiently on the chaise where she’d left him, and amended her thought. Clearly there were two men who could be equally disarming.
Jude sat on the end of the sofa she hadn’t destroyed and she got on all fours again and crawled over to him. She did more than that, really. She climbed onto him as he sprawled in the corner, their limbs twining as he pulled her to him. She loved the warmth of his skin and the familiarity of his touch. There was nothing tentative between them.
His head rested on a large pillow. He lifted his chin and made the same silent offer to her that Cray had.
Jane had been prompted to taste Cray’s blood in the heat of passion, but with Jude, it was a more rational decision. Not that she regretted biting Cray. She wanted to be bound to him. To Jude as well.
The tip of her tongue made little circles against his neck, teasing the skin before she sank her fangs into him. His hands gripped her biceps, but she was sure it was from pleasure, not because he was worried she wouldn’t be able to stop. She was perfectly in control of her thirst, surprising as that was to her. She drank just enough to coat her tongue and let it ooze down her throat, as she’d done with Cray.
Euphoria seeped through her veins and she dropped her forehead to his broad shoulder. Her fingers grazed the silky hair on his chest as she licked her lips.
Jude sighed lustily as his arms wrapped around her. “You understand everything has changed. We can’t leave Manhattan without you.”
She snuggled more deeply in his engulfing embrace. “I’m not tied to New York.”
“What about Drake?” Cray asked as he crossed the room, moving closer to them. He sat in the middle of the sofa, one arm draped along the back, one hand on Jane’s hip.
“He has a wife. I’d told him earlier that I wanted to run Body Scenes while he travels with Shana, but he’ll understand my change of heart. And he’ll either stay here or close the club. It’s only open once a month anyway. He’ll manage.”
“Will it be difficult for you to be separated from him?” Jude asked.
She gave this the consideration it was due. Having been Drake’s assistant and occasional lover for nearly five decades had naturally resulted in a certain attachment between them, yes. But…
“I’ve kind of gotten used to him being gone lately. Besides,” she said as she lifted her head and gazed at Jude, “it would be infinitely more difficult to be separated from the two of you.” Which begged a critical question. “Where will we go? Niagara Falls?”
Jude’s muscles instantly bunched and tension filled the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Cray and found his causal disposition had turned strained.
“What is it?” she asked, an uneasy feeling swirling low in her belly.
“We’ll take you to Montana,” Jude said in his alpha voice. “I have a place in Helena, but we’ll move you into Cray’s ranch house in the country. The pack has homes close by. It’ll be safe there.”
Working her way out of his embrace, she sat up, though she was still in Jude’s lap. “Safe?” she asked. “From who?”
Jude winced. “It’s not so much a ‘who’ anymore, but a what. Rogue wolf. He rarely takes human form these days.”
“And who is he?” she demanded, a chilling sensation pushing out some of the heat her imprinters brought to her. “Why would I be in danger from—oh.”
She felt that jagged-edge pain of Jude’s again. Not to the extent she previously had, because she’d helped to alleviate some of it. But it still existed.
“Celine.”
That one word she whispered amped up the tension significantly.
“His name is Vincent,” Cray told her. “He was one of our pack members, until he broke the rules and killed another wolf. One from an allied pack that is part of Jude’s family. He was disavowed, per our laws. Unfortunately, he retaliated by mauling Celine within an inch of her human life and leaving her in the woods, unable to shift or self-heal.”
Something dark and ominous slithered down Jane’s spine. She stood, albeit on shaky legs. She reached for her dress and slipped it on. Cray joined her and zipped it for her.