Change is sweeping through the world, as humanity fights for autonomy, discord tears apart the foundations of the vampire order, and dhampirs return to the world after centuries of war between two powerful peoples. Dhampirs, creatures known to heral...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Ohhell. The man who'd caught her would make the sexiest man alive list burn up in smoke. With sleek hair running to his shoulders in a sheen of washed obsidian and tan skin she wanted to lick to see if it wasn't coffee flavored chocolate, it was hard for her to form rational thought. Worse, he seemed to notice her state of befuddlement and just the hint of a smile lifted his lips. The way it didn't dimple his face made him that much more attractive as it pulled his mocha skin into a mere ripple.
"Y-you must be Jesse," Tara said, unable to keep her composure as his hand warmed against her own. It slowly ignited as her face heated from him standing so close, touching her still even though she was standing fine on her own now.
"Yes," Jesse responded in a low growl, like it was normal for him to sound like a tiger preparing to eat people. It had such a pleasant roll to it, like he was imagining undressing her, and she couldn't help but notice his nostrils flare near her.
"I'm Tara, the human in charge of this fiasco, at least in this room." Tara tried to calm herself and hold normal conversation, and Jesse flitted his eyes down to her neck for just a moment before he stepped out of her space.
Tara made her way over to the desk, slid the surveys into the shelf under it, and took her time about setting up the clipboard and pens. There was only so much she could do before she was out of things to distract her from the frostbite of Jesse's gaze searing into her back. It didn't take eyes in the back of her head to know he was watching her.
"Fiasco?" Jesse asked questioningly after she'd settled.
Tara nodded, internally stuffing the words back into a box of things she shouldn't have spoken. What would the man think of her if she didn't respect what they were doing? Tara turned to him, but he didn't look upset, more like legitimately confused with what was going on. Had no one given him a packet? Unable to find words immediately, she slid her eyes down an ivory shirt that tightened around his pecs before winding over his abdomen and covering the waistband of his black pants.
A small sound escaped him, sort of like a gasp, and Tara snapped her gaze back up to his nose doing that thing again, breathing in heavily as he eyed her throat. It was instinct, but she brought a hand up to cover her neck, and his focus moved on.
"Pardon me," Jesse said with a bow of his head. "I will not bite you, so please do not fret on that account. You just... smell pleasant." Jesse rubbed his neck, and her face colored darker. "You have a very gentle perfume, something like jasmine and sandalwood. I'm from a heavily forested area, and I've been missing it of late, is all. You reminded me of home."
Yep, no. Brain was gone. Of all the things a chocolate sex god could utter, most of which could easily be lewd or at least flirty, this man had gone with something sentimental. Like, what level of compliment was it to have a man tell a girl that they smelled like home. That was the best pick up line she'd heard yet and bordered grievously on something one would utter when proposing. It was intimate in a way that wasn't at all physical.
