Growing Pains Keeping Me Up At Night - Chapter 2 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Kira

Kira warmed her hands around her steaming mug. She had created a concoction of coffee and cocoa that she was rather proud of, even if it did smell a little strange. Clan members couldn’t take unnecessary trips outside of their territory, so she couldn’t order a mocha at a coffee shop like a normal young woman. Even though she was still a human herself, she got the same lectures Aiden did about the dangers of humans discovering the family secret or even just becoming too nosey about the family business.

She blew at the vapours rolling out of the porcelain and took a tentative sip. It was still scalding. She popped it back on the table and pulled her oversized orange sweater around her a tad tighter. The rooms in the Bonnet Mansion were always too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. One of the many disadvantages of such an old building, it might as well be a heritage site at this point. Kira had leggings on underneath her jumper, but they were too thin to protect her from the chilly kitchen air. She was contemplating dashing up to her room to change into a fluffy PJ set when Aiden breezed in with an unfortunately cheerful expression.

He was the image of his father. If Uncle Elijah could catch a tan he would be mistaken for Aiden’s older brother by anyone with functioning vision. Sea-green eyes and black curly hair were the everlasting familial traits and Aiden’s had been shaved close up to his ears, accentuating his sharp jawline. He was irritatingly handsome and fuck, did he know it.

“Morning,” Kira mumbled as she dragged her mug to her lips again for another careful taste. She avoided eye contact, staring into the frothy brown contents of her cup instead. As if she hadn’t just given him a full body sweep when he entered.

“Morning,” he replied, far too chipper. “What on Earth is that?”

“It’s coffee.”

“It smells weird.”

“I put cocoa, sugar and some cinnamon in,” she admitted.

“Trying to fatten up for the winter?” His hands grabbed her hips with a speed that almost had her knocking her coffee all over the table. He squeezed at her flesh over her leggings, but under her jumper, and the grip felt sensual.

“Trying to enjoy a nice quiet morning with a little bit of warmth,” she hinted through gritted teeth. If he knew she was signalling him to back off, he did a great job at pretending he didn’t.

“I can get you nice and warm.” His voice resembled a sultry groan in her ear and she felt a clench of the muscles around her groin.

“The coffee is working just fine,” she said grumpily, shifting her butt forward on the seat in an attempt to dislodge his hands. He followed her forward and pressed his chest against her back. She had to admit, his body was warming her up. Not because of his own temperature (which, as a vampire, held steady regardless of outside factors) but because her own body was reacting to his with a flush of heat that made her skin tingle.

She took another sip to distract herself.

“How does it taste?”

“Sweet.”

“I bet you do, too,” he whispered huskily.

“I what?” she asked before she could think through the words.

“Taste sweet.” He grazed his bottom teeth along her neck and she whimpered pitifully beneath him.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

“But you don’t want me to stop.”

Her stomach tightened and her breath stuttered out of her.

“I do, it… it makes me feel sick when you touch me like that.”

“Liar,” he growled in her ear. His hands shot up under her sweater and onto her bare stomach. As though he could sense exactly which part of her was trembling with tension in response to him.

It wasn’t her fault, his large hands felt so good on her skin. She gasped, loudly. He chuckled in her ear and pulled her harder back against him. Her hands shook so bad she spilled a few droplets of coffee before she managed to get the cup to the table.

“We’re technically second-”

“You’re adopted.” He nibbled the shell of her ear and she let her eyelids drop shut.

“I’m-”

One hand was at her throat, dragging his fingertips from her collarbone to her jaw. “A stranger by blood that I know better in soul than anyone else,” he murmured.

“What do you m-”

And his lips were on hers. The hand at her jaw had tilted her head back, and the hand under her jumper had dropped between her legs. It stroked her over the thin leggings and her knees jerked together reflexively against the spark of his touch.

His tongue pressed into the crease of her tightly closed lips, and with just two swipes he had gained entrance. He groaned into her mouth and she responded with what sounded like a sob. She clawed at the table to keep from losing herself completely and grabbing at him. Their tongues tangled. It was a battle, except she wasn’t even defending against him, let alone fighting back. He was pillaging her mouth, drinking from her like she owed him her breath.

The fingertips trailing over the crotch of her leggings kept their light, teasing touch and it took all of the ounce of restraint Kira had to keep from grinding against them. With the grip of his other hand around her throat, she had to admit, deep in her soul, that he had won the battle and the war. She was his, and she couldn’t resist him for a moment. Unfortunately, his dominant hold of her body told her he was already well aware.

The kiss broke. He pulled away first. They both knew she didn’t have the willpower to.

“Sweet,” he said with a sly grin.

Long after he had left, Kira’s hands continued to clutch the table in front of her. When she was finally able to release her fingers, the coffee had gone cold.