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...
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Jesse wanted to pound the table in the backroom and not with his fist. Hell, the pen cup was looking good about now as he spiraled his gaze into the wall and let out the groan he'd been holding in since he'd seen this woman. The pressure in his pants was uncomfortable and he was glad Tara had stayed at the desk. If she came back here, he was going to leave the worst first impression on humans. Was it poor diplomatic relations if he pulled her in and caressed the crease of her dress pants to stoke the wetness she'd been nursing for the past fifteen minutes?
Using him as an emissary between vampires and humans had been a poor idea. As a stray vampire–one unclaimed by a house–Jesse was at the mercy of whomever allowed him to stay. That had been Neil and the Arcs for a while, in order to protect Silvia Copse during her pregnancy, but that had changed after the twins had been born. The female of the children had liked the sound of Jesse's voice, and the girl had reached for him once. That had been enough reason for Neil to kick him out and leave him with Lorenzo de Fleur's hospitality.
When Lorenzo had asked him to show up at the mage complex this morning, he'd had no choice but to agree. If he didn't make himself useful, he'd be out on the street, and many had cause to want his head as a Zehir general. Being with Lorenzo's house meant living an interacting with society though, and it was not the same as his previous home.
In the battlegrounds, a woman would never react the way Tara had to him. The Zehirs were feared and had no use for humans but for blood slaves. Humans in society were new to knowledge of their very existence, and innocent to much of their kind if Tara's mind had meandered in such a way.
By all accounts, his focus on her should have been threatening though he'd intended her no harm. All it had taken was half a whiff for him to smell the perfume on her neck, and he'd been unable to tear his gaze from where it originated–the right side of her throat. Sweet wood, peppered with the mixed fragrances of flowers and dripping with a hint of lemon had whispered to him from the barest of appliances. How slight it was drew him in to make sure he wasn't imagining the aroma around her.
It wasn't over exaggerating to say that he wanted to slide over and lick it off, suck just that spot until he found a vein, and sink his fangs in. To taste her as he inhaled the scents of home had him as riled as the fact that she was aroused by his presence.
That wasn't his fault. Sure, he might have been enjoying her presence and stared a bit, but he'd kept his distance physically and said nothing inappropriate. What in the world was that woman wondering about? What could he have possibly done to be attractive in that matter? The girl had been nervous to see him initially, like any human exposed to his kind, but it had all melted away the longer she'd interacted with him.
It wasn't like he'd ever been a hit with the ladies, but he'd also not been trying under Tanya's thumb. Now that his master was gone, there was no threat to a woman growing close to him, except that he couldn't protect them, not without a house to call his own. Vampires without a master weren't protected under vampire law. All Jesse could give the woman was a target on her back if he even fantasized about wanting her.
