Darkest Risings

by S. K. Yule

  “Don’t ever do that again.”

  She stiffened and turned to look at him. Fury burned in his eyes, but she wasn’t afraid of him. He’d never hurt her.

  “Do what?”

  “You put your life at risk for me. Don’t ever do it again.”

  She slid around to face him. “Let me ask you something.” She waited until he nodded before continuing. “What would you do if someone was hurting me?”

  “I’d kill them.” His nostrils flared.

  She peered up at him, and in that instant, she didn’t doubt those words. There was something feral about Aldin, something animalistic she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Well, he is a vampire after all. When he arched a brow at her, she found herself wondering once again if he could somehow read her thoughts. Then she remembered something that had been put on the backburner of her brain after her eavesdropping trip to the kitchen.

  She scowled and brought her hand up to rub the mark she’d found on her neck. The mark that had eerily resembled a bite. His eyes followed her movement and rested on her fingers as they caressed the spot. Her breath caught when his pupils grew until the black nearly overtook the turquoise. What if he really was a vampire? What if the conversation she’d overheard downstairs had not been some sort of game?

  Would it really be all that bad to be bitten by Aldin anyway? Would you listen to yourself, Wilhemina. There is no such thing as vampires.

  “Don’t be so quick to judge the validity of things you’ve never seen.”

  She startled when she distinctly heard Aldin’s voice in her head but was sure his lips had not moved. She quickly shrugged it off. She had just gone through a serious brain rattling and she wasn’t fully recovered. That would explain what she thought she heard. Besides, right now, with his hot gaze on her, did she really want to contemplate the existence of mythical creatures? No.

  “Kiss me, Aldin.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” He reached out and brushed his knuckles over her bruised face.

  “You won’t hurt me.”

  “I’m not a gentle man, Wilhemina. Not when it comes to sex.”

  “You won’t hurt me. Besides, I like it when you’re demanding and dominant.” She swallowed hard.

  “You deserve more,” he murmured.

  “How about if I deserve what I want, and right now that is you?”

  “Be careful what you wish for. Once I make love to you, there will be no going back. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Why would I want to go back when I can have you?”

  He took a deep breath. “There are things you need to know first. Things that may make you change your mind. Things that—”

  She placed her fingers over his mouth to silence him. “I don’t care about anything, Aldin. I care about you. Whatever things you may be referring to make no difference. And when I say I care about you? I mean I think I’m falling in love with you.” She frowned then looked up at him and smiled. “No. I’m sure that I already have.”

  He shook his head and kissed her fingers before pulling them from his mouth. “You don’t understand. These things I am referring to have the ability to change your feelings for me.”

  “No. Nothing has that ability.”

  She leaned up and kissed him before he could argue further, and he groaned when her tongue slid past his lips and into his mouth. She understood the reaction perfectly. The taste of him on her tongue fired her nerve endings to instant life.

  “Make love to me, Aldin.”

  She watched as he straightened and pulled his shirt over his head. Damn. She’d never get tired of looking at him. He kicked off his boots and bent to pull off his socks, and when he went for the button and zip on his jeans, her heart thudded hard in anticipation. She couldn’t help but focus on his most impressive cock for longer than she should have before traveling the length of his sculpted body.

  He stepped into the tub behind her, sat down, and pulled her back until her bottom fit snuggly into the vee of his thighs. His erection pressed temptingly against her lower back. He kissed the side of her neck then reached for a folded washcloth on the edge of the tub. After wetting it and pouring a small amount of liquid soap on it, he pushed her hair over her shoulder and began washing her back.

  After a few moments, she turned around and straddled him. His hard muscles felt like heaven under her thighs, and she wiggled to get closer. He stiffened, groaned, and encircled her biceps to hold her still.

  “You’re killing me, and I’m trying to do this right,” he said through gritted teeth.

  She smiled, loving that he was trying to quell the dominant nature he’d warned her about to try to be gentle, to try to be what he thought she wanted. But she simply wanted him however she could get him.

  “There is no right or wrong. I want you to be yourself.”

  He shook his head. “Show me how to be gentle, Wilhemina.”

  His words shook her to her very core. He was sheer power and yet, he was placing himself under her control. She wasn’t experienced in sex, but she could show him the gentleness he badly seemed to crave.

  She pulled his hands from her arms and placed them along either side of the tub.

  “Don’t move your arms unless I tell you to.”

  He nodded, and she nearly chickened out when the blackness crept over the turquoise of his eyes once again. She’d seen dilated pupils before, but nothing as extreme as this. She thought it fitting of him.

  She leaned forward and traced her fingers along the tops of his shoulders, around to his chest then down to his abdomen. His erection lay against his stomach, the thick head nearly touching his belly button. She was glad the water level was low enough to allow her this unobstructed view of his body. When she tentatively touched him, he sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Did I hurt you?” she said after jerking her hand back.

  His eyes were unsettling and sexy at the same time, never leaving her for a moment, watching her every move. “No.”

  She reached for him again, and this time, was bolder in her touch. She encircled him with her fingers and explored his length. He was like steel covered in silk. He probably wouldn’t like being compared to silk, but she’d keep that bit to herself. He groaned again when she stroked him harder. Her hand disappeared under the water, and she cupped his sac before encircling him again and stroking back up to the tip.

  A clear liquid appeared from the small slit on the head of his cock and she rubbed her thumb over the slickness. Her body clenched at his response, and pressure began to build inside her.

  “You’re going to kill me, Wilhemina.” He grunted as she stroked him again.

  She leaned forward and kissed him in the center of the chest then ran her tongue up to his throat. By the time she made it to his mouth, his muscles were tense and subtle tremors shivered through his body.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered against his lips.

  And oh did he. The man was an expert at using his tongue and lips. His mouth alone could take her higher than any sugar rush or any aphrodisiac possibly could. She’d never had an addictive personality, but when it came to him, she was sure he could be her first and only addiction.

  She tunneled her fingers through his hair and rubbed her breasts against his chest as he ravished her mouth. The pointy peaks of her nipples scraped against his skin, the friction sending tiny jolts of electricity to her core.

  He broke the kiss. “Give them to me.”

  He stared down at her breasts, and she knew exactly what he wanted. She quickly tamped down any embarrassment she might have and scooted up until his mouth was level with her nipples. She gasped when the movement dragged the length of his cock over her clit.

  “Since I’m not supposed to move my hands, feed them to me.”

  His molten voice flowed through her like lava.

  “What?”

  “Cup you’re beautiful breasts in your hands and guide those pretty pink nipples into my mouth so I can tongue them. I w
ant to taste you, Wilhemina.”

  The heat of his gaze and words were more than enough to encourage her to do what he demanded. She cupped her breasts and guided them to him as he’d instructed. When he groaned, she stopped. He liked it when she touched herself. She circled one nipple with her index finger, then pinched it between it and her thumb. He groaned again and her inner muscles clenched in response.

  “Do it one more time, and I guarantee you my hands are coming off the sides of this tub. A man can only take so much.”

  As much as she wanted to do it again, to make him lose control, at that moment she wanted to prove to him that he was capable of gentle more. She leaned in and when his lips closed over one pebbled peak, she cried out at the hard clench of muscle between her thighs. Every pull of his mouth sent tremors of pleasure straight to her clit, and the pressure built with each lick, suck, and nip. She could come just from what he was doing to her now.

  But she didn’t want to. This time, she wanted him inside her. This time, there would be no stopping and no interruptions. At least she hoped not. No, there would be none because if someone knocked on his door now, she’d shoot them.

  She pulled back far enough where her breasts were now out of reach of his mouth and panted. “I want you inside me.” She gasped when he responded with a subtle upward nudge of his hips.

  “You can have me anywhere you want,” he said.

  She spread her knees wider over him then sat up on them before gripping his cock and guiding him to her entrance. His size was sheer intimidation, but nothing would stop her from being with him this time. When the tip of him slid inside, she groaned at how far he stretched her.

  “Slow, Wilhemina. Let your body adjust to mine.”

  If she didn’t see the blackness of his eyes, the way his mouth was pulled taut in determination, she’d swear he was unaffected by the situation. And the sudden shiver that hit his body proved she was not wrong. He was on the edge of losing control, and she was the one anchoring him to it. To have such power over a man like Aldin could go to another woman’s head, but she was not another woman, and she would never try to manipulate him with sex. She’d never take advantage of him that way.

  She gritted her teeth and slid down on him another inch. Fear slithered through her once again at the sheer size of him. She refused to allow her inexperience to ruin this moment. She looked into his eyes as he watched her. His knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the sides of the tub.

  “That’s it.” He panted as he slid in another inch.

  He was stretching her to the precipice of pain, but as she took him inside her a little at a time, the discomfort eased as her body adjusted to his invasion. When she looked down and realized that he was barely halfway inside her, all her fears rushed her from all sides. She started to scramble off him when his hands clamped over her hips and his fingers dug into her skin, trapping her where she was.

  “This just isn’t possible, Aldin” she cried in frustration.

  “Hey?” He waited until she looked at him. “Trust me?”

  She did trust him. He’d never hurt her. Yeah, he’d gotten a little rough with her, but she hadn’t minded in the least. Far from it. She’d liked it. She nodded, and he leaned forward to take her mouth in another mind-blowing kiss. Soon, the pleasure his lips gave her chased away the fear.

  His tongue danced with hers, and he explored her mouth as if he was a man dying of thirst and she was wine. She’d never get enough of his kisses, never get enough of him. She rested her hands on his chest and enjoyed the play of muscle under her fingertips. Time seemed to slip away. The world seemed to slip away. It was as if they were the only two in existence.

  He pulled back a scant inch from her lips.

  “Sorry.”

  But before she could ask what he had to be sorry for, his mouth crashed over hers once again and his hips surged up as his fingers anchored her over him. She gasped at the way her inner muscles protested, and he gripped her hips tighter when she tried to escape.

  She panted, and he pressed his forehead against hers.

  “Relax, Wilhemina.”

  “I’m trying,” she gasped.

  “My God, you are so tight.”

  The tremors in his body were stronger now, and he clenched his teeth when she shifted her weight to try to ease some of the pressure inside her.

  “Don’t move. I’m hanging on by a thread as it is.” He breathed deeply. “Did I hurt you too badly?”

  “No. It simply feels as if I might rip apart at any moment from being filled so fully.”

  “You won’t rip apart. Relax and kiss me.”

  She leaned forward and when he took her lips, his mouth once again had the ability to coax her mind away from the uncomfortable pressure she was unable to forget on her own. She didn’t notice when he moved one hand from her hip until his thumb came down gently on her clit. She gasped and leaned back. Her body had adjusted to his size, and she had the uncontrollable urge to move.

  He lifted his other hand to her breast where he kneaded her gently then rolled her nipple between his fingers, plucking at it until the pleasure teetered on pain. She rested her hands behind her on his thighs and gripped them as she raised her hips. He slipped a few inches from her, and she cried out from the sheer bliss that shot through her. A second later, a wave of intense euphoria hit her and she came.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wilhemina’s inner muscles quivered around him in pulses that made her gasp, that stole the breath from her lungs. While the after effects of her orgasm rippled through her in currents, he picked her up and carried her to his bed. He laid her on her back and bent her knees up until her thighs were wide and her most intimate place was bared to him. Embarrassment barely had time to take root before he settled his hips between her legs and thrust inside her once again.

  He supported most of his weight on his forearms while he framed her face with his hands. He stared down at her. “Okay?” he grunted.

  “Yes.”

  She was better than okay. This time, the way he stretched and filled her brought her nothing but pleasure. She groaned when he retreated and thrust quickly back inside her. With each stroke, his cock dragged against every nerve ending along her passage. The pressure began to build again, and it wouldn’t be long until she tumbled headlong into ecstasy.

  “You’re so wet,” he said as he thrust into her harder. “Feel so damned good.” He grunted and slid home again.

  She couldn’t speak because the waves of her climax were rushing to shore, ready to pull her into the deep waters of bliss. His heated words hurried the inevitable along.

  “The way your muscles grip my cock makes me crazy.” He gritted his teeth and slammed harder into her.

  She met each thrust by raising her hips, encouraging him to take her how he needed. The dull throb of the beginning of her orgasm was starting, and she screamed out when he bent and sucked her nipple into his mouth as he surged into her at a now relentless pace. She couldn’t take much more. The pleasure was too much. She thrashed her head back and forth on the bed as she dug her fingers into his back.

  “Come for me, sweet Wilhemina.” He gave an extra twist to his hips with the next thrust. “Come for me now.”

  She had no choice but to do as he commanded. As the waves crashed over her, she cried out with each clench of muscle. She screamed out each time her body clamped around him in a desperate attempt to hold him deep within her. And as her orgasm hit the summit, he threw back his head and yelled out his own release.

  She stared up at the thick cords in his neck and concentrated on each pulse of his release, trying hard to maintain consciousness after the onslaught of pleasure she’d just experienced. Her skin was slick with a light sheen of sweat, and when Aldin dropped to the mattress and sprawled on his back beside her, she curled against his side and laid her head on his chest. When he stiffened, she looked up at him. She might have found the confused look upon his face comical under different circumstan
ces.

  * * * *

  He’d failed her. He’d tried to be the gentle lover she needed, felt that he had started out doing a damn fine job. Toward the end, his control had slipped a notch, and he’d unleashed the demon. What he didn’t understand was how he’d held back as long as he had. He thought that he’d have to struggle to keep his usual darker tendencies at bay, but with Wilhemina? Once he started touching her, a side of him had surfaced that he thought had died long ago.

  When he touched Wilhemina, he didn’t feel the same as he had with the other women he’d been with. He didn’t want to dominate her or to make her submit to his every need. With Wilhemina, he wanted to savor her and protect her. When she’d taken charge in the bathtub, climbed onto his lap and ultimately ridden him, he’d reveled in the power she had over him. The power that she could so easily destroy his heart with. He’d never let another woman ride him. He’d always been the one in control, but he hadn’t minded giving up that control to Wilhemina.

  The problem with Wilhemina was he wanted her too badly. When his cock was deep inside her sweet, wet, tight pussy, the whole world melted away. But even then, with her, the feelings she brought out in him were raw, new, and overwhelming. He’d wanted to possess her, to leave a lasting mark upon her that she’d never be able to forget. He’d wanted to somehow prove to her that no other man could…love her like he could.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. She drew small circles on his chest with her finger. The light touch was magical on his skin.

  “I’m sorry.” He tried hard to keep the regret he felt from his voice.

  “For what?” She propped herself up on his chest and looked down at him.

  “I tried to be gentle with you, but I didn’t succeed.” He couldn’t stand to look into those beautiful gray eyes knowing what he’d done. He tossed his arm over his face to block her out as guilt rode him hard.

  “Aldin?” She tugged at his arm insistently until he relented and uncovered his face. His gut clenched at the sight of her. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen with her hair mussed from their love-making and her lips swollen from his kisses. He looked down at her neck. At least he hadn’t totally lost it and bitten her this time. The memory of the way she tasted sent a new wave of need rushing through his veins.