“Hey, do you think vampires can get humans pregnant?” she asked.
His voice was tight, strained, hips lifting as he sought friction. “Like…I don’t think? I dunno. Nik said it…shit…wasn’t likely.”
She froze. “Youaskedhim?”
“Well, yeah!” Even in the shadows, she could see that his jaw was clenched, his gaze desperate.
She had to bite back a sudden giggle.
“You’re mean,” he protested.
“I know.” She guided him to her entrance and sank down slow.
She rode him, hands braced on his shoulders, denim of his opened jeans rough on the insides of her thighs. His hands skimmed, restless, across her ass, and hips; down her thighs, and then up under her shirt, over her waist. Small, almost-pained sounds built in his throat, little growls and grunts, and he lifted his hips, chasing her when she pulled off, back bowing when she slid back down.
It wasn’t the rough, frantic fucking she’d expected when he first touched her in the shifting shadows, but something more real and imperfect. And because of that, it wasbetter.
For a little while, for a few minutes, they didn’t have to be cops, or crusaders, or humans or vampires. They could just be themselves; friends and lovers. A stolen moment.
When he reeled her in for a kiss, and called herbaby, she resolved to steal a whole lot more. All that she could.
~*~
The others were still at the picnic table when they walked back, smoking. Nikita sent them an unreadable glance, and Jamie blushed a little, but no one commented on what they’d so obviously been doing.
Trina blinked when she realized a pale-haired figure in velvet waited at the end of their table. “Val.”
“Having a public tryst? How classy,” he said, dry and faintly amused.
“How long’s he been here?” she asked Nikita.
Val made an affronted noise. “I’m right here, you could ask me yourself.”
“A few minutes,” Nikita said, shrugging. “He says it’s important.”
“Itis,” Val huffed. “It’s a trap.”
“What’s a trap?” Trina asked.
“It–” He flickered. Jumped and skipped like a TV with rabbit ears, and his voice cut out. His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. And then he froze. And then was gone.
The warm, gooey, post-sex flush drained out of her in a heartbeat. “Val?”
Jamie got up and swiped a hand through the space where his projection had stood. Nothing.
“Val?”
But he was gone.
