B00XXAC6U6 EBOK Read online

  He knew she had her doubts as well, which kept his conscience clear.

  When he topped the final rise, he flew down into a large green meadow. The cabin was perched between a meadow and a small river. Behind the cabin was the typical Dauphaire mixed forest.

  A hot spring bubbled from the top of the meadow at the western end, flowing in a shallow stream to the river. He often used the spring to ease sore muscles after a hard night of battling, then bathed in the river at the point the spring emptied its superheated contents into the cold water of the river.

  He slowed his flight as he headed to the front porch.

  “Ian, you have a paradise here.”

  He smiled. “I do. And in case you’re concerned, only my caretaker, whom I trust with my life, knows about this property. He’s stocked the fridge for us and I think he said he’s provided a dish of his wife’s homemade lasagna.”

  “Sounds like heaven.”

  As he dropped to the wide, wood walkway that overlooked the river, she stepped off his foot and turned to view the broad rush of water. “I’d be here all the time. I mean, I enjoy the location of my fae retreat, but we don’t have anything like this nearby.” She leaned on the handrail, peering over the side.

  He drew up next to her. His gaze lifted to the rising moon, and he was reminded again what Regan’s blood had done for him. “I’m still amazed I don’t need the sunglasses anymore. This amount of light would have given me a serious headache.” He twisted his thumb ring. “I’m grateful, Regan. I want you to know that.”

  She glanced at him as he settled his forearms on the thick wood, then rubbed his shoulder. “I’m grateful as well. It was always hard for me knowing how you suffered, but I could never do a thing about it.”

  He nodded, holding her gaze. “You have a good heart.”

  Her lips curved in a soft smile then she shifted her attention back to the river.

  He did the same, taking a moment to enjoy the sound of the river, the small white-caps as the current hit immoveable stones, the glimmer of moonlight reflected in the water.

  As often happened when he came here, he found he could breathe. Of course it helped that Stone was in Camberlaune and would take care of anything the Invictus might throw at his realm through the rest of the night.

  After several minutes of shared appreciation, he turned to her. “Hungry?” he asked.

  She nodded, smiling. “Starved, especially since you mentioned lasagna.”

  A few minutes later, he had two plates loaded with the warmed up, layered Italian casserole, a pair of forks, and two glasses of wine settled on the table by the deck window.

  Regan had never stopped looking outside. She held a glass of wine to her lips and even now her gaze slid to the forest on the opposite side of the river, then the starlit sky above. “This place speaks to me.”

  An image flew through his head of keeping Regan secluded in his cabin for weeks or months on end. His hips arched in response. He grabbed for his wine and gulped, then settled in to chow down on the lasagna. He needed this meal.

  “You should eat,” he said.

  “Yes, you’re right.” She smiled in such a way that he knew she’d caught how much he wanted her right now.

  He didn’t try to pretend otherwise. He was ready to take her to bed. Only what would it be like, after all these centuries, to be buried between her legs once more?

  CHAPTER SIX

  What surprised Regan wasn’t that Ian was anxious to move things along, but just how clearly she could feel his blood hunger rising. It was like a soft crawl across her skin moving toward her heart. Her own supply had increased and felt like a weight on her chest. Ian needed to feed and she needed a strong bite.

  But she also needed nourishment, so she kept her fork busy. “I noticed your cabin has a second smaller story. Is your bedroom up there?”

  “No, it’s a loft space with a couch and a couple of ottomans as well as a full 360 view.”

  “Mmmm. Sounds perfect.”

  He lifted his gaze to her and sipped his wine. Setting the goblet back on the table, he asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I already love the view from the deck. To see every possible direction would be heaven.”

  “Then we should go up there.”

  “Okay.”

  When she was done, she offered to clean up and didn’t wait for Ian to suggest otherwise. She rose from the table, gathered everything and set to work. She used a soapy sponge to wipe each plate and glass down, as well as the forks. She made quick work of it.

  Ian rinsed and dried the dishes, then took her hand. “Come on.”

  It was definitely time.

  He led her to the staircase. She moved quickly up the steps, smiling as she entered the round space. Dark paneling covered the few areas not framed by windows.

  The view, just as she’d expected, was magnificent. She took a moment to look out each curved aspect.

  Ian waited patiently, though she could feel his tension from across the room. When she reached the last of the windows, completing a full circuit, he drew close, sliding his arms around her from behind.

  She leaned her head back and allowed herself to savor this time with him. She couldn’t imagine any other circumstance that would have brought them together like this.

  She turned in his arms, and he kissed her. She’d always loved the feel of his full lips, which he used to tease her mouth open.

  When she parted for him, he slipped his tongue inside and everything shifted. Gone was every concern. In this moment, she felt only Ian and the soft, seductive rhythm as he pulsed within her mouth.

  She leaned into him, gripping his arms through his long-sleeved t-shirt, wanting the shirt off, needing to feel her skin against his.

  When she drew back, she took the hem and tugged it part way up his chest.

  He responded with a smile, and obliged her by pulling the shirt the rest of the way.

  She stepped away, eyes wide.

  “What?”

  “You’re magnificent.” Her gaze settled on his thick pecs and the hawk tattoo spanning his chest. She took her time exploring each feather etched in black ink and the muscles that lay beneath.

  He brought his arms in front of his abdomen, crossing his wrists and flexed each of his muscles for her.

  She planted her hands on him, feeling him up, enjoying his hard nipples. “More,” she whispered.

  He flexed slowly, building up the girth of the muscles, then released.

  She dipped and took a nipple in her mouth and as much surrounding flesh as she could reach.

  Do it again, she pathed.

  She groaned as he flexed. She sucked him, while covering his other nipple with her hand and playing with him.

  She drew back, looking at him. She could feel how swollen her lips had become.

  “You always enjoyed my body,” he said, his gray eyes dark with desire.

  She dipped a hand and caressed his arousal. “Yes. Always.” She searched his eyes. “You need to feed, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “But I can wait. It’s not like before, like I was always close to falling into a coma.”

  She caressed his arm, sliding her hand along the line of his shoulder, all the way to his fingers, touching the blood tattoos at the same time. She knew now that the long stripes had become permanent.

  She took his hand and pressed it between her breasts. “Can you feel my heart? It’s heavy with volume. I’d heard about this, how much extra sustenance a blood rose could create for her man, but now I’m acutely aware. I need to feed you. There’s just one thing.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “What?”

  She took the same hand and ran it down her body to the top of her thigh. “I want you drinking from me here. Remember how you used to do it?”

  He leaned close to her, the intake of his breath a cool draw against her skin. “Goddess, yes. I loved doing that to you. Hot as hell.”

  She kissed his forehead, his temple, and dow
n the line of his cheek. “Do it now.”

  He slid his arms around her then picked her up. Carrying her to the couch, he knocked his knee against the ottoman, pushing it up to meld with the sofa cushions. Laying her on top of the joined pieces of furniture, he knelt in front of her legs, then worked the button above her zipper.

  He took his time, leaning down to push her sweater up then kissing her stomach.

  Her body rolled beneath the feel of his lips and his fingers now unzipping her pants. He removed her ankle boots first, afterward sliding the pants off one leg at a time. Somewhere in the mix, her thong disappeared.

  He spread her legs so that she was fully exposed to him, then stood up and got rid of his own jeans and shoes, his gaze fixed to her bare sex. She took the moment to slide her sweater over her head though she kept her bra on. The underwire pushed her breasts up, and she wanted him looking there as well.

  She leaned up on her elbows, watching his gaze move over her body from her thighs, her sex, her navel and finally her breasts. He groaned as he dropped once more between her legs. Only this time, he put both his hands on her breasts, taking his time to enjoy her the way she’d savored him.

  She could feel his rings, which added another layer of sensation. And his scent was rich in her nose, the earthy, forest-fern redolence causing her to clench.

  He leaned down and kissed the mounds of her breasts, then dipped a tongue between her skin and her bra, pushing until he found a nipple. He flicked the tight bud over and over. Using his hand, he squeezed her other breast. The dual sensation had her moaning.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hips arching as she tried to make contact. She needed the pressure, the sweet feel of his body against her sex.

  Using his finger, he slid the fabric of her bra beneath each breast, exposing her. He sucked her nipples, taking turns flicking and laving until her hips rocked. “Ian, you’re killing me.”

  Good, he pathed, sucking harder.

  She didn’t think she could take much more, when suddenly, he added a vibration to his lips and she cried out. “I could come like this.”

  Then come. As he sucked her breast, he pressed his abdomen against her sex, pulsing. She tightened her legs and ecstasy began to flow, a soft series of explosions deep inside her well. She cried out long and loud.

  The whole time, he ground against her, sustaining the intense pleasure.

  When the wave passed and her body began to settle, he released her breast, placing tender kisses on each beaded nipple.

  “You have the most beautiful breasts.”

  She pushed his damp hair behind his ear. “Thank you. And you’ve always known how to bring me.”

  He rose up a little. “Now arch your back because I want your bra off.”

  She did as he commanded and while kissing her, he reached behind her to unclasp her bra. He dragged it away from her breasts and tossed it on top of the rest of their clothes.

  As he began to kiss his way down her abdomen, her heart started to pound because she knew what was coming. He opened his mouth and rubbed back and forth, letting her feel the sides of his fangs.

  The vampire needed to feed.

  “Ian. Yes.”

  He tongued her navel, swirling and pressing. She clenched again and desire once more flowed through her, sending shivers over her stomach and deep between her legs.

  When he reached her sex, he slid his arms beneath her legs and began to lick, long swipes of his tongue starting at her opening then moving over the sensitive folds. He repeated the process slowly, at times dipping into her well before continuing up.

  Her hips rocked, pushing her sex into his face. His hands gripped her firmly, the feel of his rings once more adding to her pleasure. She was breathing hard all over again. “Ian, what you’re doing to me—”

  I know your body, Regan. I remember everything, and I want you to come again. How about this? When a new vibration left his tongue, she groaned heavily as pleasure raced up her well. The same sensation then traveled across her sex as he pressed his tongue against her and kept adding to the frequency. Faster the vibration went.

  Her hips were jumping off the ottoman and once more, ecstasy exploded through her body, his vibrating tongue working magic that no other lover had been able to achieve.

  The strange image went through her head of bringing Ian into her fae retreat, then chaining him to her bed for a decade or two. Maybe a century.

  He sustained the vibration until again her body grew lax.

  I’m so hungry for you, he pathed. The vibration had disappeared from his tongue as he moved to her upper thigh.

  He began licking above her vein in heavy strokes. Taking blood from the groin wasn’t for amateurs. But she was confident in Ian; he knew what he was doing. He’d supped from her this way all those centuries ago.

  Knowing how pleasurable it would be to feel his fangs, she couldn’t keep her hips still. With a need to prevent her from getting injured, Ian overlaid her abdomen with his arm, pinning her in place.

  She could feel her vein rising, coming to the surface, obedient to the vampire. She arched her neck, her eyes closed as she focused on the sensation of having him bite her as he prepared to drink from her.

  Once more, her heart pounded, ready to serve.

  Shall I pierce your vein?

  Yes, please, yes. I need this, Ian. Now.

  She panted, anticipating.

  The next moment he struck and she cried out as her well clenched. A small explosion darted through her, a sort of mini-orgasm giving her skin a new flush of pleasure.

  Ian began to drink and the sound of his suckling mouth had her panting in light wisps of air.

  Using his free hand, he found her well and slid two fingers inside. Is this what you need? I’ve never heard you sound so desperate.

  I’m almost out of my mind. I can’t get enough. He drove his fingers in and out. She felt her well relax then tighten. All the sensations together, his rings hitting her sex, the sound and feel of his suckling as he took her blood down his throat, and the plunging of his hand, took her straight up to the pinnacle yet again.

  She came screaming, her body on fire with pleasure.

  ~ ~ ~

  Ian didn’t know which was making him harder, Regan’s screams as he drove his fingers in and out of her or the powerful nature of her blood.

  I need to fuck you, Regan.

  She groaned at his words. Ian, I need your cock, too. I need you deep, hard, and fast.

  I’m not done drinking.

  Seal me up, then take the vein at my throat. Please, Ian. I want you inside me.

  He didn’t need to be begged twice. Using his tongue, he swiped over the punctures at her groin, stopping the flow of blood.

  He rose, and taking his cock in hand, placed the tip at her well and began to push. She was so wet and he was hard as hell.

  Lying with her bottom on the ottoman and her back on the middle of the couch, she wrapped her legs once more around his hips. She rolled her head to the side and pushed her hair away from her throat. Very ready.

  Once he was seated inside her, he licked her neck. He thought he might have to wait for the vein to rise, but it was already there. His fangs dripped with saliva as he angled, preparing to bite. His chin trembled as he struck and her blood once more began to flow.

  When he formed a seal and began to suck, he set up a steady rhythm with his hips, driving deep.

  Yes, Ian. Another heavy moan followed.

  He’d never been so turned on in his life. Or powered up. Your blood, Regan, is like a fire in me. Feel my arms.

  Though her head was turned to the side, she reached up and grabbed his arm with her right hand, her fingers pressing into his muscles. Ian, you’re bigger, which I didn’t think was possible. What’s happening?

  You’re doing this, because you’re a blood rose.

  When he moved faster, she writhed beneath him, moaning. He focused on his cock and added a serious vibration. He barely r
ecognized the heavy sound that came from her throat, half grunt, half moan and he loved it.

  He also knew she was once more close to orgasm and the feel of her tight pulsing well caused his balls to draw up, getting ready.

  He drew back from her vein, swiping the wounds once more. She shifted her head back so she could look at him. For a split-second, all he saw was her and how much he’d always desired her and craved her. His chest swelled with so much feeling that for a moment he felt lost.

  “Ian,” she said, her jasmine-lime scent now perfuming the space between them.

  He came back to himself, his body ready for release. He moved his hips faster, wanting to watch her writhe with another orgasm as he drove to the finish. “Can you come again? Come with me?”

  She nodded, her lips parted, her breathing erratic. Tears filled her eyes and he felt her clench low. His cock was hard, so hard, then he began to release. He got lost in the intensity of the pleasure, the fiery sensations pulsing the length of his cock over and over.

  He could feel Regan bucking against him and he heard her screaming so he knew they were sharing the moment. Her face was flushed, her neck arched, her lips parted.

  As his orgasm subsided, he felt very strange as though he wasn’t finished. He knew then he was gearing up for a second round. “Holy fucking shit. Regan, look at me.”

  She opened her eyes. She was gasping for breath. “What?”

  He pumped his hips a few times to let her feel.

  Her doe eyes widened. “Oh, sweet Goddess, you’re still hard.”

  “I am and I’m going to give it to you again.”

  Her voice hit a deeper register as she gripped his arms, her hips rolling to meet his. “Yes. Give it to me. Fast.”

  He sped up, driving into her as fast as he could, pistoning in and out of her.

  Her body grew flushed again as once more throaty cries left her lips. His balls released, shooting more pulses of intense sensation through his cock. He roared his pleasure, over and over until he’d spent his seed.

  She clung to him as his body settled down. She was panting and laughing. “That was amazing.”

  “It was.” He breathed hard, stunned by the double release. “I’ve never done that before.” He smiled down at her. “You have, though. You’re just as I remember you, very sensual for such a spiritual being.”