True Mate

by Patricia Logan

  “You smell it on me, huh? The crime scene?”

  My eyes widened, and I squatted in front of him, reaching for his shoulders first and then his cheeks. “What crime scene, Romeo? Tell me what happened.”

  “What do your senses pick up?”

  He tested me like this a lot. At first it had been because he had a fascination with the supernatural. But later on, I’d realized he was still honing his own senses and trying to work out if there were any shortcuts to figuring out his life as a paranormal creature. His unicorn ancestry had been buried for centuries, and he was still getting accustomed to being a shifter even though he was probably the most powerful supernatural being in the world.

  “I smell death, though, not recent, and there is a hint of werewolf on your clothes. It’s not recent either.” I wrinkled my nose. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have the overwhelming urge to burn everything you’re wearing right now.”

  Romeo smirked as he kicked out of his second shoe and stood. I straightened also. “Great. I should manufacture a new cologne for men,” he said. “I can see the ad campaign now.” He held up both hands as though he was displaying a bottle.

  “Try our new scent…WTF. Werewolf with just a touch of fatality…for men who want to make their partner scream,” he said in an announcer voice.

  I laughed, relieved that Romeo had the ability to sweep into a room and brighten my mood like no other. “Come on and eat, idiot. I can hear your stomach growling, and I want to hear all about your day.”

  Romeo chuckled but he followed me to the table I’d laid out for him. There was a basket of crispy garlic bread, and a large pan of lasagna sitting on a trivet in the middle of the table. When we sat down, and I uncovered the cheesy treat, I watched his eyes widen in delight. I could almost hear him begin to salivate. He looked up at me and reached for my hand, pulling me toward him, and kissing me softly before leaning back still holding my hand.

  “Thank you, baby. I know that it must have been hard for you to do this for me.”

  “It was an act of love, Romeo,” I said quietly. “Those are never hard.”

  He stared into my eyes and after a little bit, I pulled out of his grasp, feeling the weight of his stare as I began dishing up his food. I watched as he ate, sipping at the wine I’d uncorked, unable to stomach human food at the moment. A different kind of hunger raged just under the surface, and I realized it had been over two weeks since I’d tasted any blood.

  Romeo and I had discussed having me drink from him many times since that first time when I’d been so ravished, I’d been unable to hide my fangs from him. I’d assured him over and over that I could easily feed on animals which is why I’d chosen to live in a wooded area. Tonight, was different. I had no desire to wait and as I listened to him moan over the food I’d made for him, my fangs dropped. Romeo looked up and caught me at just the wrong second. He grinned widely.

  “Hungry, Vincent?”

  I tried to retract my fangs but by the way he was looking at me, I realized resisting what he offered was futile. I just wasn’t that strong.

  “I want you so bad, Romeo…and I need to feed tonight, if only just a little.”

  Romeo’s fork clattered to his empty plate. He smiled broadly and pushed back his chair. “Come on, baby. Let’s take this to the bedroom. I’ll give you everything you need.”

  I scrambled out of my chair and took the hand he offered, following him back to the master and then into the elevator which took us down to my basement level light tight bedroom. As soon as we were closed inside, he swept me into his arms and lifted his chin, presenting his corded neck. My gaze was instantly drawn to the juicy artery pulsing just under the surface. His blood swished loudly through his veins. Most of the time I could ignore the sound, putting it to the back of my mind, but not tonight. Still…I wanted the smell of werewolves and death off him. I didn’t want to force him to shower before taking him to bed but I really wanted no other scent but mine on him.

  I began unbuckling his belt as he went to work on the buttons of his uniform shirt. Within a minute, he’d bared himself to my hot gaze, and I’d shed my clothes at vampire speed.

  He drew me into the bathroom with him and flipped on the rainfall shower feature. We both climbed in and let the hot water pour over our bodies. He reached for the body wash and squeezed some into the palm of his hand, instantly soaping my hairy chest and abdomen before working his way down to my straining erection. The sight of the throbbing vein in his neck, was too much for me to take as he wrapped one hand around my cock and cupped my balls with the other. When he squeezed my balls harder than usual, I slammed his body back against the shower wall, hissed loudly, and struck.

  Romeo

  I gasped as Vincent’s fangs sank into the side of my neck. I could feel them rip through muscle and tissue, but my agonized scream ended only a moment after it began as his fangs were suddenly withdrawn, and my lover began to suck. My cock, already hard and throbbing, became a solid steel pipe as my vampire circled it and began slowly stroking. Every vein in my body seemed to throb as Vincent sucked. I could feel my life’s blood flowing from my body and into his with each tug of his lips.

  Hot water poured down our bodies. I loved fucking in the shower, but I never thought I could like the rest of the package that came with Vincent Lasco…that is until every time we did this. Electricity lit every cell in my body, and it was all I could do to hold back my orgasm. I gasped out his name but could manage nothing more.

  When he finally lifted his head and stared into my eyes, I felt a trickle of blood sliding down my neck and then down my chest and lower. I looked down to find my blood circling the shower drain.

  When I lifted my face again, he caught my lips in a passionate kiss. No one had ever kissed me like this. It was magical and utterly all consuming. I grabbed his ass, squeezing both globes in my hands as he practically shoved his tongue down my throat. He licked and sucked my tongue and inside my mouth. I returned the kiss with equal fervor until he finally let go of my cock, only to replace the friction his hand had provided with equal pressure from his own groin. When he ultimately lifted his head, I was gasping, panting against his lips.

  “Fuck me, Vincent. Fuck me before I come against you,” I begged. “I want you inside me when I come.”

  Vincent smiled against my lips. “You want me to fill you, Romeo?”

  I groaned in frustration. I needed to come, and he was torturing me. “How many times do I need to tell you, to call me Rome?” I gasped.

  He chuckled and finally stepped back, reaching for the shelf in the shower. He grabbed a tube of lube and returned to me a moment later, shoving it at me.

  “Get yourself ready. I want to watch, Romeo.”

  Before I could open my mouth to argue, he’d spun me around. I caught myself with my free hand against the marble tile, chuckling. Vincent was much stronger than I was and when he was as single minded as he became during sex and feeding, he was even more so. I freed up both hands by leaning my forehead against the shower wall and squeezed a large dollop of lube onto my fingers, promptly dropping the tube back on its shelf.

  I widened my stance and reached around, sliding slick fingers between my own ass cheeks and pressing the tip of one against my hole. Vincent and I had been fucking every night and every morning when we were able to spend the night in his light tight basement bedroom. We generally switched off who topped but after two weeks I knew it wasn’t going to take much stretching to get myself ready for him. I couldn’t wait. The man really knew how to fuck me. Then again, it wasn’t every day one ran across a guy with over seven hundred years of experience in the sack.

  “That’s it, baby, open that gorgeous hole,” he whispered at my ear. The barely disguised graveled need in his voice threatened to shatter me.

  I shivered as I felt his tongue lapping at the holes on the side of my neck, and I held my breath almost wishing he’d bite me again. I was never ready for the agony when he did it but damn, when he struck, it wa
s hard holding back my orgasm. I slid one slick finger inside my tight entrance, groaning at how good it felt. He lifted his mouth and then his heat left my back as he leaned away.

  I concentrated on the shower of water that poured down on us, trying to distract myself until I couldn’t, when I felt him slide both thumbs between my cheeks pulling them apart so he could get a better view of what I was doing. It was so sexy just knowing he was watching the show I was putting on for him. I doubled down on my efforts to drive him crazy, sliding a second finger inside and twisting them both as I plunged in deeply.

  I groaned at the way my fingers filled my hole, moving in and out easily with the liberal amount of lube I’d used, marveling at how easily I’d given up my previous thoughts of being a true top. I loved being dominated by a stronger, more deadly lover. I shut my eyes and let myself feel the third finger as I pushed it inside, scissoring all three now, twisting them and reaching for my own prostate.

  My dick was leaking pre-come, throbbing hard as it remained untouched, bobbing in front of me as it pointed at the wall of the shower. Water continued to beat down on us, flattening my hair against my scalp. When Vincent resumed his former lean back against me, trapping my hand between us, I stopped moving, slowly pulling my fingers free. His arms slid around my middle, his hands flattening over my muscled belly.

  “I want you,” Vincent growled. His raspy voice sent shivers down my spine. He sounded more animal than human.

  “Fuck me, Vincent. I can’t wait anymore,” I gasped as he slowly scraped his fangs along the vein in the side of my neck. I wanted his bite more than I could have ever imagined. Since that first day when he’d fed from me and then given me vitamins to keep up my strength, I’d taken them religiously, though, until tonight he hadn’t drained more blood. His teeth moved from my ear down the side of my neck to the thick muscle in my shoulder. I felt his fangs prick the skin, dragging over the muscle this time.

  “Oh, yes,” I groaned. “Bite me.” Sharing this incredible intimacy with my lover was almost better than the consummation of sex itself. Before he’d bitten deeply, he suddenly retracted his fangs, and then I felt his cock at my hole. I blew out a long slow breath as he nudged against the stretched entrance, slowly pushing the enormous head of his cock inside as his mouth returned to the thick muscle between neck and shoulder.

  He struck almost as quickly as he had before, sinking his fangs deeply and then withdrawing them before sucking hard at a vein I wasn’t even aware I possessed. I really needed to do some Internet research to scope out the locations of veins he might find juicy, though, he probably already knew the best places to strike. My wandering thoughts vanished as I was suddenly impaled on Vincent’s cock. My entire body shuddered and without a hand to myself, I climaxed, screaming out loud.

  Vincent continued drinking my blood, all the while holding me tightly against him and pumping over and over and over inside me. My knees went weak just as Vincent blessedly lifted his mouth and licked over the holes in my shoulder. I felt him shudder as he kissed the shell of my ear. I realized he was holding me upright.

  “You’re so tight, Romeo, and you taste so damned good. I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered, continuing a pounding rhythm of thrusts. I was speechless, helpless to reply as he fucked me. My torture went on a few minutes more, and then finally he came hard inside me, flooding my channel with hot spunk. I’d never felt so loved or adored or needed in my entire life. Once more, as it had been before, I felt as though I’d performed a vital service to this incredible vampire whom I was coming to love more than life itself. He was beautiful and kind, as well as being the strongest creature I’d ever met.

  I sagged in his arms as he finally loosened his grip and rested his forehead between my shoulder blades. As he slowly pulled out of me, and then turned me in his arms, I leaned in to kiss his mouth, once again tasting the strange copper tang of what I knew must be my blood in his mouth. It was so odd but at the same time, more normal than I could ever imagine.

  Vincent

  I was utterly spent when we finished up in the shower. I’d once again exhausted Romeo from feeding from him, not once but twice. I’d deliberately chosen his trapezius muscle to feed from the second time, having satisfied my hunger from his jugular earlier. The muscle itself had only tiny capillaries running throughout, offering only a trickle of blood, not unlike a fine dessert after an indulgent meal. Romeo was the most delicious man I’d ever fed from and I never tired of his taste.

  I dragged him out of the shower and stooped to dry him from the feet up, leaning in to nuzzle my cheek against his balls and spent cock that now hung flaccid from his body. Even soft, the man was well-built, and I marveled once again at how lucky I was to have found such an enticing lover.

  His lids were drooping by the time we made it to the bed. I pulled the covers over him after making sure he swallowed a handful of vitamins and a full glass of water, before sliding in behind him and pressing against his back like a big spoon. We fell asleep like that.

  Hours later, I woke and looked at the clock. It was only two a.m. which was my favorite time of the night. I checked on Romeo, watching him sleep peacefully, and then slid out of bed, pulling on a pair of boxers before taking the elevator upstairs. I was more anxious than I knew I should be as I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of ketchup, downing its entirety and chucking the empty in the trash. I walked to a large picture window and looked outside before going over to the front door and unlocking it. When I stepped onto the porch, I breathed deeply before settling into one of a pair of Adirondack chairs to listen to the woods.

  The musical sound of the stream that ran behind the house was peaceful and the scent of night blooming jasmine trailing over the railings on the porch was incredibly beautiful. My home was tranquil, and I couldn’t help but wish for a life other than what I’d always had. I’d lived in many places, faced many dangers, but truthfully, hadn’t had many joys. There was the occasional man who held my interest for a time but in the back of my mind, I always knew not to get attached.

  My life in one place could never last long…a few decades at the very most…before people began to look at me suspiciously. I never grew any older and unless I starved myself or threw caution to the wind and got myself killed, I never would. Perhaps it was my training as a knight of the realm, but I had a ferocious survival instinct. Since becoming a vampire, I’d been forced to move often and therefore never allowed myself the hope of keeping anyone long term.

  Perhaps my life will be different with Romeo.

  My mate was a unicorn. I had no idea how long unicorns lived… I’d always thought them creatures of myth or at least nearly extinct if they’d ever lived at all. That was…until meeting Romeo. Other shifters lived longer lives than humans, several decades over a century, but in my experience, they were not immortal like I was. I sighed. There was nothing I could do about how long he’d live or how many centuries we’d have together. I only knew I needed as much time as I could possibly have with him. I’d referred to him as my true mate and I honestly believed if there were such a thing, he was. He was certainly much more than a lover.

  I stayed on the porch for hours, listening to the sounds of animals in the woods, always aware that predator shifters might be hunting close by. I watched the moon sink as the sky began to brighten with the coming dawn as Romeo slept on in my basement room. When the first rays of sunlight pierced the trees, I got up and went back into the house and did last night’s dishes and set the coffee to brew before taking the elevator back downstairs.

  Romeo greeted me as I stepped into the bedroom. To my surprise, he was already awake and dressed. He smiled widely and turned from where he’d been making my bed, walking over, and taking my hand.

  “I didn’t know if you were going back to bed for the day, but I have a thing about a clean house,” he said, sounding a little embarrassed as he looked back at the made bed. He turned back to look at me. “I even feel guilty for not doing the dishes
right after dinner last night. It’s kind of a military thing.”

  I smiled and slid my hands around his body, pulling him close. “And I think it’s very sweet that you worry about such things. I was up early so I did them. Not to worry, love.” I kissed him softly, holding onto the safe world we were in for as long as I could. I knew what I needed to tell him was going to most likely worry and anger him, but I’d put it off long enough. He needed to know the danger Sergio, Justine, and Harvey posed not only to the town but also why he was now in danger…as if werewolves weren’t enough of a problem. I let his lips go and stepped out of his arms, letting mine slide slowly down his muscled arms to his hands.

  “Is that coffee I smell?” he asked, lifting his nose to the air.

  I nodded, knowing that he shouldn’t have been able to smell the coffee I’d put on all the way down here. A thought occurred to me as I stared at him, a slow smile spreading across my face.

  “Your sense of smell is improving, Romeo. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to scent animals from a mile off and know exactly what kind they are and whether they are shifters or not.” I let go of his hands and reached into a set of drawers to pull out my favorite freshly washed loose fitting jeans. I stepped into them.

  “Do you think my sense of smell is improving? That’s something that happens?” Romeo asked, sounding utterly surprised. “I thought maybe I wouldn’t have the same ability to scent a vampire or shifter as you or other prey animals would by virtue of my unicorn breeding.”

  I shook my head, pulling a T-shirt over my head. “In my experience, all shifters have enhanced olfactory glands,” I said, “and, though, I can’t be sure, I think it takes training to improve your supernatural sense of smell just like it does to be able to control your light. Maybe it comes down to narrowing your focus like it did when you were shrinking the size of the light orb in the field the other night.” He was listening to me closely, judging by the way he’d cocked his head to the side.