Eclipsed by Midnight

by Kristina Canady

  Gabriel owned a house right behind this one, and Emile and Kataya were just a few blocks away. Inessa and Vlad, along with her nieces, were being hosted by Emile. Hakeem was staying with Gabriel. Plenty of back up in just a moment’s notice. Tristan and Antoine had their own residence, goddess knows where. Erik knew and that’s all that matters.

  Despite the current crowding, I am not running a goddamn hotel. I know they wish to be boarding with higher-up eren and to be brought closer into the fold, yet they have a long way to go before that happens. They continue to be hasty at times, and Tristan has to learn to temper his… urges. He thinks clearly only until a nice pair of tits walks by.

  Shoving myself from the desk, the night finally having taken its toll, I flash through the house and check all the locks before setting the security system in place and retiring to the basement. The heat in the room causes beads of perspiration to linger on my tanned skin as I dispose of my sweats at the door before making my way to our mated bed. Sasha lays spread eagle, unapologetically naked, taking up the oversized custom bed that is larger than a king. Her light snuffles and deep contentment tell me she is deep asleep. Wrangling her hips toward the middle, I reposition her on her side so that we can sleep in our preferred position. Her soft, radiating skin glides along mine as our bodies meet, sending slight jolts of electricity across my body surface, shooting straight to my dick. We still haven’t found out why that little trick of hers happens occasionally, but I do know with our particular connection it’s quite amazing and reminds me just what I am willing to live and die for.

  The sound of her heartbeat drumming on in its melodic rhythm lures me to the brink of sleep, but it is soon joined by another. My eyes fly open and my hand instinctively moves protectively to her belly. As I caress the soft swell, a warmth moves through her and into my hand, traveling up and into me—seating itself deep into the fiber of my being. Together, we have created life.

  In this moment, I am able to really revel in the moment and factor my own emotions in this private sanctuary. The wind blows outside, scraping leaves and branches along the brick and stone of the house as it brings in the winter’s night chill across the land. One that doesn’t touch us as the heat stemming from my mate is enough to furnace the whole damn house. The very essence of power and life flow through her, and I’ve never seen her more at peace. It is as if she has been made whole by that damn relic. The night of our union brought the same ease to her being—the universe happy with her progress in the intended direction. Pulses of energy push through her womb and into my guarding hand as if the tiny life is now aware of my presence and is attempting to connect. Impossible!

  Closing my eyes, I focus on the exchange, pushing the initial shock to the back of my brain. I reach out with my own gifts and attempt to understand. There are no particular thoughts or emotions as this life is too new, but one profound thing illuminates back through the connection. Love. An overwhelming and all-encompassing flow of love, from it to me. The exchange slams into my cold exterior, forcing me to feel deeper than I prefer, and to pay attention to my own shutout emotions. Dampness finds my eyes as the emotion that long ago became a stranger courses through me.

  What the hell? That is a bit complex for a culmination of lumped cells at this point. Vampire pregnancies are a little over two years long, so this type of communication this early on should not be. And why the hell am I reacting this way? I still don’t know if I even want this. A stifled moan from Sasha breaks my concentration as her hips buck backward and into my erection while in the throes of sleep. Swiftly, her defense barrier swallows up the distant, sweet hummingbird sound from her womb. I can’t hear it any longer but the sensation of our fleshed connection lingers. That explains exactly how I’ve not been privy to this information sooner. I’ve sensed something a bit different with her, knowing this female inside and out, but couldn’t place a finger on it because her barrier had it hidden.

  Why would she keep this from me? Anger and hurt nip away as the breakdown in communication between us becomes obvious. We lay here, bodies entwined, my hand firmly attached to the magic within her. The room chills in response, and Sasha shivers against the sudden drop, dimming the endless flow of love from my little hummingbird. As the vortex attempts to suck me in, Koray’s voice echoes in the back of my mind, one of his favorite lessons he used to pound into my eager and dark soul in those early, gruesome days.

  “My son, an ocean storm may be powerfully destructive, but it is when the storm calms that the ocean is the most dominant and able to implement great change. Look at how the consistent and widely spread effort can turn stones into sand, shards of glass into smooth rocks, and eat away vast caverns that hide a whole new world?”

  Translation, calm the fuck down, Etienne. Patience and fortitude will bear greater fruit. Pulling the blankets up over us, I attempt to get myself under control and slowly allow the warmth to return. As the temperature rises and the fluttering magic returns with my efforts, a strange new satisfaction and sense of fulfillment comes.

  My mind drifts and images of holding a tiny creature swathed in soft blankets with brilliant green eyes as magnetic as its mother’s flood me. A yearning like no other takes root and my mind races toward ideals of possible fatherhood before I can get a handle on it. The barrage did not come calmly and collected as I prefer. Another life in my care, another responsibility that will age me beyond my years, another being whose potential death could break me beyond repair. Loving Sasha was hard enough when the desire to ever love anyone had been snuffed out by my fear of losing them long ago. My hermit lifestyle and iron fist in the field had always hinged on that motto. Death is an everyday occurrence in this world, and I had danced with my demons long enough to know how to outsmart them—how to keep them at bay. Part of that tactic was detachment. Sasha had been the most painful, yet necessary transition. She continually broke me down to nothing, made me question every facet of life, myself included.

  But in loving her, I found myself once more. There had been pieces of my heart missing since the death of my sister, but Sasha managed to find them and slide them back into place with ease. Cracks manage to continually exist, but her light shines bright, illuminating those. Somehow, in her presence, the blood on my hands doesn’t seem so red, stained, or permanent. My soul doesn’t feel damned beyond hope anymore, in spite of the atrocities these hands have been a part of. Most of it was justified, the rest, perhaps not. Would she still love me and think me suited to stand by her side if she knew the extent of the damage I have manifested? The possibility of her leaving post discovery of such events makes my chest ache and my entire body shudder in agony. That can never happen. This young in her womb deserves much more than the legacy of carnage I have led.

  Perhaps that is the primary in this complicated equation of conflicted emotions. My underlying fears of unworthiness attempting to bait me out of my duties… and desires. In truth, I do desire this on some level.

  As I settle deeper into the embrace of our bed, my fears subside as my mate’s strong heartbeat lulls me to sleep. For now.

  ∞

  “Lil, you going to sleep all day?” Sasha’s smiling, heart-shaped face comes into my hazy view with the look of total adoration in her eyes as she lightly kisses the tip of my nose. Looks like her spirit is finally settling back in. How on Nannau’s green earth did I ever get so lucky?

  “We just fell asleep,” A disgruntled reply rumbles in my chest as I pull her back down under the covers.

  “Lil!” she delightfully squeals as my hands take on a mind of their own and roam her deadly curves. Thank the sweet heavens through all of her training she’s maintained her perfectly strong, toned yet curvy physique. A male needs something soft to hold onto. “Babe, it’s midnight already.” She purrs and leans deeper into the planes of my chest, her body instantly livening with my touch.

  “Perfect, I’ve got some midnight cravings…” My hips press forward as my fangs descend and lightly scrape down her soft flesh. A sw
eet moan fills my ears, encouraging me on. Flipping her onto her back, I rush to make a place between her legs. It’s been almost two days since I’ve seated here, and that’s too damn long. She gasps and runs her fingers through my hair as my mouth hungrily finds her heavy breasts.

  “Shouldn’t we check on the boys?” she half-heartedly attempts, sagging with a sated sigh under my ministrations. Her eyes close as she slips partially in and out of whatever wavelength her mind has been stuck in since last night.

  “All is well, mon amour.” Without another word, I devour her nipple, suckling her deep as one hand snakes around to palm her ass. The head of my dick presses at her soft, heavenly entrance, begging permission, but I keep it at bay. I need to savor every inch of her first.

  “Please, Lil, I need you,” Sasha begs and falls into the coital bliss, her mind refusing to fully reattach to the present. She has no idea just how desperate I am to comply, her state doing not a damn thing to deter me.

  I moan into her flesh and bring my fingers around to her pussy. Sinking two in deep, I damn near come on the spot at the sensation. She’s so fucking wet. My thumb finds her pearly clit and begins to slowly make her climb as I take my fill of her large breast. Within moments, she’s a writhing, begging mess underneath me.

  “Please, Etienne! Please let me come!” she cries out. Sweet tears of frustration threaten her eyes and being the bastard that I am, I yearn for them.

  “Not yet, Anu. My sweet, succulent pussy is going to have to wait. I’m feeling greedy.” Moving to her other breast, I attack once more, stimulating her in a variety of ways that have her racing toward climax once more.

  “Oh, god. Oh, god!” she screams as she nears, but I stop and pinch her clit, using a bit of nail, the pain just enough to hold her back yet keep her on the precipice. “No!” she hollers in frustration, those tears finally breaking free in a frustrated sob.

  Her submission is a thing of beauty. It has been a slow and difficult learning process, but one that has taken our relationship to another level. Sasha is just as controlling as I, yet she has found she rather enjoys the power exchange. And as powerful as she is, the level of faith and trust she has in me to be able to submit damn near knocks me off my feet. It is unbelievable. And for that, I can never let her down. My beautiful, strong, and glorious female deserves nothing but what she wants and more. Leaving her breast, I lift to kiss away the tears from her cheek, rejoicing in their salty presence. My dick gets even harder as I savor them, ready to combust on the spot as my blood pulses. Unable to help it a moment longer, I lean back onto my knees, yanking her wiggling hips with me and sheathing myself in one powerful stroke.

  “Etienne!” She screams my name in pure pleasure, swelling my chest and deepening my next thrust. My dirty wife likes it rough, and I am more than happy to oblige her.

  From my upright position, I get to bask in her pleasure as she writhes and moans. Her breasts bounce around nicely as she fists the sheets, ready to tear them from the bed. Her growing control over her powers has saved me quite a bit in furniture and bedding replacement lately. The sound of my thousand-thread count, butter-soft sheets ripping as she screams my name once more brings me back around, eliciting a growl of approval from me.

  “Fuck, yes!” gasps from my lips as I slam into her again, engorged flesh forcefully invading and stretching more taut flesh. I never said I was opposed to the destruction in the name of passion—destruction I inspire as I manipulate her pleasure. It is beyond poetic and quite the definition of perfection. The heat radiating from her aching, voluptuous body is almost unbearable. Feeling myself close, I reach down between her legs with one hand as the other remains glued to her hip. The wetness greets me in a soft caress like a long-lost lover as my finger glides to her most sensitive spot. As my cock hammers her, my finger brings her back around and she tremors as her fingernails slice through the remaining demolished bedding. Her satin pussy clamps down and damn near strangles my dick, making me quake and fire licks my aching balls.

  “Very good, Anu. Come for me,” I demand, lightly rolling her clit between the pads of my fingers, sending her over the edge.

  “Fuck me, Etienne!” she screams, the syllables of my name lingering in her raw throat as she comes undone. Her cheeks flush deep as her nipples draw up tight. Her face beautifully contorts as her body violently shakes. With a few more strokes, my own hot release pours into her and my fingers dig into her hips, holding on for dear life, leaving bruises in their wake.

  Electricity erupts between us as our rolling climaxes mingle, and I don’t mean metaphorically. The surge rips through the room, shorting out all the sockets and shattering all the lightbulbs in a loud, screeching storm of massacre. Throwing myself over her, I shield her from the power surging through, shattering all glass in its wake and threatening to start a fire as it teases the power outlets in a sizzle of smoke and hisses. Sasha seems to finally catch on, lost in her daze of orgasmic bliss. With a small wave of her hand, the room falls silent. That is, until a hurried fist comes banging on the door.

  “My Lord! Are you two all right?” Erik’s panicked voice rings out as his hand begins to turn the door handle but stops, thinking twice.

  “Yes, all is well,” I manage as I prop myself up on elbows, attempting not to suffocate my mate with my weight.

  “What the fuck was that?” Erik demands, fear still clinging to him.

  “Seems like we have some new powers to work with,” I call out, turning back to my love, her green eyes boring into mine with new vigor, many unanswered questions as well as grief flooding her face as she realizes she is very much alive, awake, and in the present suddenly.

  Her dream-like stupor has finally fully rescinded. As I rest my forehead on hers, my lips gently take hers. “Welcome back. I was wondering when you’d rejoin me.”

  “Oh, goddess!” She forgets her barrier as her mind filters through all the details of the previous night and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. Every felt and unfelt emotion rips through her as if it were happening again for the first time, and subsequently because of her blockade slip up, me.

  It is all too much, too much to be held within one person. Falling to the side, I pull her into me as her body and mind is wracked by vividly reliving it all. I try to pull some of the emotional burden from her to ease the encumbrance, but as soon as I do, it is quickly replaced with more. The power now coursing through her brings with it a whole new level of affliction, responsibility as well as danger. And with all of that, thoughts and emotions that are elevated beyond what most are capable of conceiving of. But, as her partner who is a blooded prince of the five families and the next heir in line, I can conceptualize it.

  I, too, have gone through my own processes surrounding the burden and possibilities. All I can do is ride the waves with her and attempt to soothe her through it. The house bustles with life above us as we lay in the belly of it in our own world. Time becomes inconsequential as it lapses and we lay there in each other’s embrace. This is the first time since she’s turned that she’s permitted me into her mind this long and allowed me to feel all that she is going through right along with her. The bond we share has always been paramount, but now, it has moved even deeper as this experience takes our intimacy beyond what either of us has ever experienced. Physical pleasure can never bond a pair on this magnitude, only deep-seated intimacy through shared profound experiences can.

  Chapter 9

  “Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth; the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence.” ~Democritus

  Etienne

  As I stare at the screen in front of me, my brow furrows and my iron jaw ticks.

  “My Lord?” The distant voice bounces back across the connection.

  “Damien, move over, darling, and let me join the conversation.” Koray comes into view on the video conference and gives me one of his classic expressions, or lack thereof, that tells me I better let it rest.

  “You bet—” I begin, but I am
quickly cut off.

  “No one betrayed you. We didn’t even have to tell you the truth, but Damien has been a wreck about it all. It goes without being said that any information or advice delivered to your mate was well thought through before being vocalized,” Koray warns.

  “She could have been killed!” I seethe, spit flying from my lips.

  “Is this child’s play without risk in which we are engaging?” Koray warns.

  “No.”

  “Very well then. Our most important weapon had to be drawn in order to keep the balance tipped in our favor. It was not a mission you could have joined her on. If you had been present, she would not have gained access. Intent was the key.”

  “How does that make sense? If intent was the key, then no dark energy should have been able to gain access, which makes the mission a moot point.”

  “Pure driven intent, good or bad, can gain access. Her sense of urgency under duress is the only way to trigger her pure intent. She’s always thought clearest under pressure.”

  It was true. When there was no pressure, she wavered too much, constantly weighing all the options, over and over and over. But under pressure, she was precise and quick almost to a disturbing degree. It was the only time she allowed instinct to drive.

  “Also, if her corresponding half had been present, you two would have been swept up into her hibernating state while she balanced herself. Then who would have protected her resting form? The guardians at work would have only been able to hold off the dark energy for so long.”

  Fuck, Koray has only ever been the one who could appeal to my reason and logic under these types of circumstances. “You knew what would happen the moment she absorbed the cup’s power?” I thought no one knew that much. It hadn’t been done before.

  “We had our suspicions on all the what-if’s surrounding the entire mess. There were multiple scenarios at play. We hedged our bets on the one that made most sense and that would set everyone up in the right spots should a variety of circumstances unfold. You know Nannau and the gods can be quite unpredictable.”