Chronicles Of A Fallen Angel-Chapter 55: A Kiss

The kiss started hesitant.

Selene's lips were cool against mine – vampire physiology making her skin several degrees below human temperature. But there was warmth underneath, heat that came from something deeper than body temperature.

She didn't pull away immediately. Didn't push me back or snap my neck.

Instead, she kissed me back.

Tentatively at first. Like someone remembering a language they hadn't spoken in centuries. Her hand remained on my chest, feeling my heartbeat, and I felt her power probe at mine – testing, questioning, trying to understand what I was.

I deepened the kiss, my hand sliding up to cup her face. Her skin was impossibly smooth, ageless, perfect in the way only centuries of vampiric preservation could achieve.

The hesitation melted away.

Selene's other hand came up to grip my shirt, and suddenly the kiss turned fierce. Passionate. Five hundred years of loneliness and isolation pouring into that connection.

She kissed like someone starving. Like someone who'd forgotten what genuine want felt like.

I matched her intensity, my other hand sliding to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Our bodies pressed together, and I felt the supernatural power crackling between us – divine and vampiric, oil and water trying to mix.

It should have been repellent. Instead, it was intoxicating.

Her fingers tangled in my hair. My hand slid lower, tracing the curve of her hip through the midnight blue fabric.

The kiss went on. And on.

Until suddenly, Selene caught herself.

She pulled back, her hand against my chest creating distance. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and a faint flush colored her pale cheeks.

"That's – " she started, her voice not quite steady. "That's enough. You got your request."

She stepped back fully, putting several feet between us. Her hand touched her lips, as if surprised they'd just been doing what they'd been doing.

For the first time since I'd met her, Selene Blackwater looked uncertain. Almost shy.

"Thank you," I said, keeping my voice level despite my racing heart. "That was – "

"Don't," she cut me off, smoothing her dress with hands that trembled slightly. "Don't analyze it. Don't make it into something it wasn't. You asked for a kiss, you got a kiss, and now we're done."

"Of course. I apologize if I overstepped – "

I shifted my weight, trying to adjust discreetly, but it was impossible to hide the very obvious problem that had developed during our kiss.

My dick was rock hard, straining against my pants, creating a bulge that was impossible to miss.

Selene's eyes flicked down. Stopped. Widened slightly.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then color flooded her pale cheeks – a deep pink that spread down her neck. I hadn't thought vampires could blush like that, but apparently five hundred years old or not, some reactions were universal.

"Is that..." she started, then seemed to lose her words. "Are you..."

I tried to turn slightly, to hide it, to salvage some dignity from this situation. "I apologize. That's – it's not intentional, I just – "

"Is that because of me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I could have lied. Should have lied. Made it about something else, anything else.

But I'd already gambled everything on honesty.

"Yes," I said simply.

Her blush deepened. "From just a kiss?"

"From you," I corrected, meeting her eyes. "From looking at you in that dress. From feeling your body against mine. From knowing what you are – all that power, all that danger, wrapped in a form that's absolutely perfect."

"Alexander – "

"I'm not trying to manipulate you or play games. You asked, and I'm telling you the truth." I gestured to myself, to the obvious evidence. "This is what just being near you does to me. What watching you move does to me. What that kiss did to me."

Selene stared, and I watched her process. Saw the wheels turning behind those ancient eyes.

"I should have you leave," she said finally. "This is inappropriate. Unprofessional."

"Probably."

"You came here to retrieve the ring and claim your reward from the collection room. Not... this."

"I came here for the ring, yes. But I also came here for you." I took a step closer. "And I know you felt it too. That kiss. The connection. You wouldn't have kissed me like that if you didn't."

She wrapped her arms around herself – a defensive gesture that seemed out of place on someone so powerful. "I don't do this. I don't get involved with people I do business with. I don't let myself want things I can't control."

"Maybe that's the problem. Five hundred years of control, of being the vampire queen, of never letting yourself just... let go and feel things." I risked another step. "When was the last time you let yourself want something just because you wanted it? Not because it was strategic or useful or good for business?"

"That's not – "

"When, Selene?"

She was quiet for a long moment. Then, so quietly I almost didn't hear it: "I don't remember."

The admission hung in the air between us.

"The ring means a lot to me," she said finally, changing the subject. "You brought it back when I thought I'd never see it again. That deserves... reciprocation."

"You already gave me the collection room access and a favor. We're even."

"Are we?" Her eyes dropped to the bulge in my pants again, and her blush returned. "That doesn't look even. That looks... uncomfortable."

"I'll handle it later. It's fine."

"I could help."

The words came out rushed, like she'd said them before she could think better of it.

I stared at her. "What?"

"I said I could help." She cleared her throat, trying to regain some composure. "The ring means a great deal to me. And you're clearly... affected. It would be ungracious of me to ignore that after what you've done."

"Selene, you don't have to – "

"I know I don't have to. But perhaps I want to." She moved closer, and I saw determination replacing the shyness. "Besides, if I let you leave in this state, you'll be uncomfortable all night. And I prefer to settle my debts completely."