The Blood Bride (Blood Secrets)

by Nix, Imogene

  “Come on, time you went to bed, sleepyhead.” He chuckled, and started moving again towards the specially reinforced door. Javed walked ahead of him, entered the code, then stepped out of the way for Xavier and Hope as the door swung open. They stepped over the threshold and down into the dark recesses. However, unlike last night, tonight, small lighting strips glowed at the edge of each step.

  “This wasn’t here last night.” Hope wanted to bite back the inane comment, yet Xavier didn’t act like he thought it was silly.

  “No, I had them installed, so that you could see as you walked down the stairs.” His thoughtfulness made her warm and gooey inside, and she sighed before impulsively shifting sideways to thank him. Her lips met his as the sense of electric surprise shot through her veins at the quick contact. He tensed, then pushed in firmly. Quick, but not hard or brutal. The feel of him left her disoriented briefly. He flicked his tongue against hers, and heat coiled in her belly. He pulled back.

  “That was quite a thank you. I will have to do things like this regularly for you, I can see.” There was a grin in his voice, but beneath it lay an emotion that gave his words an edge.

  Then he started moving again, while the memory of the kiss played over and over in her mind. Her dazed emotions were turbulent.

  * * * *

  Hope’s eyes opened once more to the shaded light of the bedside lamp. She was still clothed from the night before, in the jeans and a white blouse, but she felt crumpled and sticky. She rose slowly and made her way towards the bathroom, head aching and eyes gritty. Her body felt heavy with need. Hope stripped off her clothes, sighing as air slipped over naked curves, while she climbed into the shower stall. A quick flick of the wrists had warm water jets spraying over her body, while she tingled in every nerve.

  She closed her eyes and wished he was there.

  Xavier.

  Then he was. Her back arched, and pushing her stomach forward the hot, corded muscles of his body at her back, resting her head against his shoulder. She felt strong hands lightly resting on the sides of her hips, kneading her flesh. Her body heated and his breath moved the hair at the back of her neck, while she arched farther, silently asking for more.

  A rumbling flutter began low in her belly and she moaned. The excitement ran through her body, her breasts aching for his touch. He slid his fingers sensually towards her belly and the other angled upward towards her bare breasts and peaked nipples. She moaned low in her throat, hearing him whisper, “Hope.”

  His touch was like wildfire, everywhere it went. Her body burst into flame, while she writhed against him.

  He claimed her breast, lightly plucking the erect nipple between finger and thumb, playing her like a guitar. Her breath hitched in her throat.

  Her knees started to buckle, but he caught her with a muscled arm, while he used his tongue to lave the side of her neck, and he closed his lips over her flesh. His elongated teeth grazed the sensitised skin he had nuzzled, then he lowered her to the cool tiles at her feet. She felt the brush against her skin, exciting her further, and she knew he could smell the scent of her arousal, musky in the steamy area.

  Oh God! He had barely even touched her and she was going to explode! The tremors began…

  She woke. She closed her eyes only to open them in an instant. Her heart was beating like a train, threatening to burst from her chest. She heard a rumble and the door crashed open wide. He stood there, his face chiselled like granite, eyes glinting in the low light.

  “What is it? Was something in here?” His voice was as hard as his face, and she could see his hands balled by his sides, and the way he shuddered.

  “No, I… I had a dream. That’s all…” What could she say? I had a hot, sexy dream with you making love to me? She discarded that immediately, but he sniffed. She could swear he actually sniffed the air. His eyes darkened further, and those beautiful green endless pools called to her. He jerked back slightly, then moved forward towards her on the bed. It was the movement of a hunter seeking prey, slow and determined. Her mouth dried, and she licked her lips.

  “Were you asleep?” Now the pitch changed, became huskier. A half-smile lit his face, and now that need grew deep inside her.

  “I just woke up.” Evade the question. Don’t let him know. But as quickly as the thought had come, it fled when he sat beside her on the bed, the slight dip rolling her towards him. Hope wasn’t fast enough to catch herself and she tumbled against his chest. He leant forward and her body touched his.

  “You dreamed of me?” Her breathing changed, became shallower, she saw awareness on his face. The question delivered, and delicious heat spiralled once more. She was aware of her own arousal, that her breasts were swollen and ready for his attention, nipples tightened and jutting against her clothing. Moisture pooled between her legs.

  He leaned his head towards hers and placed his lips to hers. She opened her mouth and welcomed him in.

  He moved closer to her and she melted against him. His beautiful lips moved across hers, while he invaded her mouth with his tongue and the unbearable ache grew inside her at his wonderfully spicy taste. She shifted closer, wanting to explore the heat that rose between them—needing to feel his body hard next to hers.

  He kept his hands on the bed, he pushed harder and she moved backward and down to the bed covers. He reached into her hair, and the scratch of his whiskers rasped her skin. The kiss deepened, grew faster, harder and hotter than anything she had ever experienced before. She grasped his shoulder, pulling him closer. He nudged his leg between her thighs before settling. She opened for him, uncaring now that he was the Master. All that pushed her on was the need for fulfilment.

  A gasp and shudder escaped, and were joined by the motion of her head moving backwards and to the side. He slid his lips over her jaw and down her neck she offered to him. He touched her thigh, then continued to glide to the spot between her legs while she let loose a cry. He cupped her through the light layers of fabric.

  Xavier pulled his mouth from hers, and, at her whimper, his teeth touched the side of her neck, grazing the soft skin beneath her ear. She mewled with pleasure.

  Hope bucked beneath him, needing him to caress the hidden, tender flesh. She floated in the sensual world of passion. Eyes closed, and body straining for more of his touch, she wanted so much more. Then she registered he had stopped rigid against her, his hand still covering her core, while she panted and writhed.

  Xavier stood before moving away, and the need lanced through her again. A sound intruded—an insistent buzzing. Dear God! The phone was ringing. The noise was both insistent and ardour cooling.

  Xavier looked back with eyes shining. “This isn’t finished.” With those gravelly words, he was gone. She could hear the sound of his voice, dim in the background, as she lay, still panting, on the bed. Her body felt tight and wired, her arousal uncomfortable. Her clothing dishevelled and her hair…

  She got out of bed with jerky movements. This shouldn’t happen. It couldn’t happen. Perhaps I should contact Cressida… No… She had been most emphatic, and she couldn’t ask to be moved. Just the thought made her lightheaded, and she swayed for a minute as vertigo hit. This was her mess to sort out. But right now, she was still unbearably aroused, needing him and his embrace to set her free of the torture.

  She headed to the bathroom, stripping her clothes off once the door was shut, hoping that a bath would help her to cope, to maybe relax, to settle the chemicals coursing through her brain.

  Her body still throbbed and the movement of her bra against her peaked nipples sent another shudder through her, and she caught her breath. Stripping off damp panties gently abraded the flesh that lay below, and she had to bite back a moan. She touched her breasts, grazing them accidentally as lightning flashed through her system once more.

  A bath. Bubbles and warm water may help. She poured the mix in, breathing heavily. The scent of lillies filled the air, and the water flowed while Hope watched. She slipped into the water which lapped a
t her senses. The sensual feel once more roused her. She let her head sink back onto the bath cushion she had grabbed. She needed release. She needed it now. Maybe if she helped herself, and with the thought, she let her hand sink below the water and move down her body.

  She cupped a breast and gently squeezed. Her body tensed in reaction, and a moan escaped. Her eyes fluttered closed as she arched backwards.

  She slid a finger between the soft folds at her centre, while the lapping of the water on her other breast pushed her farther along the path of fulfilment. She circled her areola, barely touching the skin of the distended nipple, and she slipped one, then another finger within her tight wet sheath.

  Seeking the release she knew she needed.

  She clenched, knowing that it was a poor imitation of what she really wanted, but she urged herself on.

  She rubbed in and out, and used her thumb to find that most sensitive nub, her legs as open as the tub would allow. Rubbing harder and faster, as her body undulated in the water, the lapping movement of the water splashed onto the floor, and her breathing came faster than before.

  Hope pinched her nipple, then reached across herself to find the other giving it the same attention. Her breath caught and her eyes closed while she spiralled higher.

  Water sloshed and lips opened over hers. In that moment of passion she returned the touch of mouth and tongue that surprised her, uncaring of the consequences.

  She felt the hand that covered hers, gently removing her fingers from her hot core to be replaced with larger, harder ones. The strokes now turned urgent, as she tried vainly to open her legs farther, tilting her hips upward, towards the man by the bath, thrashing wildly. The knowing movement of fingers urging her on, while she knew instinctively to give herself over to the passion that now burned within her—towards Xavier.

  He thrust his tongue within her mouth, in time to the finger moves, and he grasped her breast, kneading it softly, then rolled her nipple between finger and thumb. She moaned and shook as he thumbed the small nub between her legs and teased it.

  She quivered with sensation, chest heaving, as finally, with one last move of his fingers, he pushed her over the edge.

  She felt the climax as his mouth left hers, and she dragged in deep breaths, eyes opening sightlessly. The rhythmic movement of the muscles between her legs clenched his fingers as the orgasm streaked through her body. Finally they stilled and she gripped her legs around him—claiming him intimately as hers.

  “I told you we weren’t finished.” His voice was dark and full of promise, and she looked back to see him reaching for his belt. His shirt was already gone, lying in a heap, where it soaked up the water that had spilled over the sides of the tub.

  The rasp of his zipper filled the air. He slid black pants and underwear to the wet floor. His erection stood large and proud in front of her, and she gulped.

  Before, when he had found her in the bedroom it had been the sudden thudding and rapid beat of her heart had driven him to enter without permission. Crashing through had been instinctual. The roiling emotions, primal and animalistic in intensity, had moved him towards her without thought. Once inside there had been no way he could turn back. He smelt her arousal when he walked back in the door. That musky scent had told him she was hot, and once he’d kissed her, his senses had narrowed to her. All he could think about was her.

  Her arousal scented the air. His need to be with her took over. He needed to be with her, in every possible way. The need and passion had him so turned on, it had taken every inch of his willpower not to strip her naked and thrust within her body straight away.

  Then the phone had rung, and he had cursed it, as much as thanked some long-forgotten deity for the interruption. This number was one that very few people had, so he couldn’t ignore its urgent summons.

  The buzzing had cleared the sensual fog he had been lost in for a few minutes. When he returned to the bedroom where he had left her, she was gone. But he heard the moans, the splashing water and his senses heightened further, knowing she had been as aroused as he was. Heaven knew, he shouldn’t have entered, but his body had refused to listen.

  Walking into the bathroom, he’d found her lost in passion, and he couldn’t ignore the need that obviously rode her like a demon. Come whatever, he had to taste her, touch her. Be one with her.

  And by God, she had responded like he had never seen before. Feeling her orgasm on his fingers had finally pushed him into making a decision. But he had to be sure.

  So now, here he stood, watching her, and waiting for her answer to the unspoken question. His erection jutting proudly from the hairs at his groin, the seeping of his magic—imbued in him when he had become a Master, left him tingling. He couldn’t control the way it seeped from his pores.

  Her eyes shone like violet fire as she reached out with her soft, small hand, barely glancing his flesh, slipping her hand over his tip, capturing the moisture that escaped. He watched, as she looked at it on her finger then brought it to her lips, flicking at it with her pink tongue. Then she smiled at him.

  She rose in the bath, bubbles cascading over her curves as she stood. Her nipples stood erect, and one hand snaked back to her breast, lifting it to him as if in offering, while the other fastened around his proud length. Softly she pumped him, leaning against the wall and lifting one foot to place on the edge of the bathtub, turning towards him so he could see her glistening, moist pink flesh.

  He groaned and moved towards her mouth. She opened wide to his tongue as it sought entry. He pushed her hand away, and he cupped her breasts, flicking at the nipples. She moaned, and he kissed her with every inch of passion within him.

  She was so turned on. She didn’t care about the rules that should keep them apart. Never before had she experienced pleasure so deep as when he had joined her, and she burnt. The feel of her fingers within her hadn’t been enough, and she knew he was aroused. Felt it in the stiffness of his shaft hard against her belly, and the seeping fluid that escaped his body, salty to the taste. She too was hot, needing for him to fill her. She wanted to enjoy the intimate act with him, and wanted him to feel the same soul-deep connection.

  She writhed against the cold, tiled wall as she pumped him. Once his hand brushed hers away, she let it slip down her own body, letting it move wetly between her legs while she continued to explore his velvet covered hardness.

  The feel of his hands on her breasts left her breathless, each breath harder to capture than the last, and she panted. Each flick of his fingers on her erect nipples seemed to pull at something within her, making it tighter and hotter.

  He removed his hands from her breasts, captured her waist and lifted her. Shock interrupted her pleasure momentarily, but he pulled her towards him, then she smiled. She let go and he dragged her up against him. His sleek and hairless chest touched her nipples, and the reaction was electric, frissons of pleasure exploding over and through her system.

  She swung her legs around his waist while he staggered through the doorway. Hope felt the tip of his penis at her core. Unable to wait any longer, she pushed herself down onto him and groaned as she took all of him within her body. He moaned, stopped still, and when she looked at his eyes, they were so smoky, she could feel his fire burning within her own veins.

  Hope flexed her heels against rock-hard buttocks and tipped herself forward, letting him settle deeper within her core.

  “Oh, God!” She moved again, as she subtly flexed her muscles, and this time she felt the pressure of his hands as they pulled at her, pushing closer, as scorching mouths met and tongues tangled. Then they undulated together.

  Firmer.

  Harder.

  Faster.

  The sound of moans and cries filled the air as they continued to surge towards each other, the slapping of skin and the scent of arousal growing stronger with each touch.

  Hope arched her back, feeling the climax building in her body once more. She cried out, feeling the flexing of her muscles, and felt him stiffe
n on one last hard thrust, and he joined her, locked together in their private ecstasy. Her heart thudded, crashing wildly as she felt the twin movement in his.

  Slowly she slumped towards him, winding her limp arms around his neck, collapsing against a shoulder, feeling boneless and replete.

  She kept her legs around him, and nestled in.

  He carried her towards the bed and angled himself. They dropped towards the covers side on, so that they both lay entwined upon the covers. Her eyes remained shut while she let her breathing settle, noting the soft movement of his touch gliding up and down her back.

  “I’ve never done that before. Well, you know… Not like that.” She whispered the words to him and slowly opened her eyes.

  His gazed at her with haunting green eyes. “Then I am pleased you were with me.” He leant forward and kissed her softly on the lips, pulling the covers over both of them. She lay silent, listening to the beat of his heart beneath her ear, and drifted off to sleep.

  He stayed still. The feel of her surrounding his flesh had been something he had never experienced before, and he was confused. Previously, sex had been fun and even sometimes an almost athletic exercise. Being an immortal had meant many partners and experiences, but he could honestly say it had never been like this before.

  Never had he experienced this burning need to be with just one person, with it driving everything else from his mind.

  He thought over the phone call that had interrupted them, before flinging an arm over his eyes.

  James had rung through, angry and upset at the decisions he and Cressida had made. He had refused to acknowledge sending the nestlings from the house, even for a short term, was the safest and best option. Xavier made a mental note to discuss the ongoing issues he experienced with James with Javed. The Yeux Secondes was supposed to accept the decisions of the Master, ensuring the house and its affairs ran smoothly, but somehow along the way James had forgotten it wasn’t his nest and he wasn’t the Master. That concerned him—greatly.