by Suz deMello
That was startling, and she drew back, still weighing the heaviness of his tool in her hand.
“Sorry, darling, I forgot myself. But you’re so wonderful…”
“Am I?” She was pleased. She kissed him again.
“Yes.” The word came out a bit strangled, as though we were swallowing his tongue. She looked up at him, with his cock still in her mouth, and he looked down.
He smiled. Reassured anew, she continued to fondle and play.
“Forever,” he said.
“Umm?” She looked up at him. What was he blathering on about now?
He caressed her head. “I’ll love you forever. As good as this. Better.”
She leaned her cheek against his hand and sighed.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said before he took the back of her head in his hands and, controlling her, thrust his cock between her lips again. He swelled, and she gave him a little bite and a suck.
He made a startled noise before a liquid thicker than blood released into her mouth. She swallowed, finding the bitter fluid mixed with his blood to be a strangely heady brew. What was it?
Panting, he caressed the back of her head. After a few moments, he dropped to his knees and kissed her, taking some of his spume, sharing the oddly thick liquid combined with his blood.
She was glad. She wanted to share everything with him. As they kissed, she sensed their souls melding into one.
“Ah, Edgar,” she murmured. “How could ye think I’d ever want another? But what about ye?”
“You’re mine.” Standing, he buttoned his breeches.
“Is that all, yer desire to keep a possession? I’m not Ranger, ye bluidy fool.”
He smiled. “I’m yours as much as you’re mine. I’m scared, but—”
“Scared of what?”
He shrugged. “You could be a vampire,” he said bluntly. “If you should turn fae one day, I’m a dead man. Worse, you could kill one of our people or our children.”
She stood. “That would never happen!”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Look at me da. He’s got more of the vamp blood than I. He’s never lost control.”
A grim smile crossed Edgar’s face. “He killed my father.”
She stared at him, mute.
“You didn’t know? That happened long before you were born. But I remember. My father…” He stopped, clearly embarrassed. “My father attacked your mother. He planned to kidnap her and hold her for ransom. Kieran tore off my father’s head and drank his blood.”
She gasped then recovered. “Well…well, he deserved it! Wouldna you defend me?”
“Aye, but not the same way!”
“Are ye jilting me?”
He took her in his arms, holding her close. He felt so warm compared to her coolness, and she understood his hesitation.
He lifted his head and regarded her with a hard stare. She died ten thousand deaths before he said, “Rach air muin, I love you, come what may. Regardless of the risk, I’m yours and you’re mine. Do you agree?”
“Ye dinna need my agreement, Laird Edgar, and we both ken it.”
“But I’m asking nevertheless. I’ll not have an unwilling wife.”
She laughed a little jerkily. “Do I seem unwilling to ye?”
“Nay, but I wish to hear the words. Damn, Isobel, I need to hear the words.”
A knock sounded on the door. Edgar jerked himself away and, as the door creaked open, flung himself under the bed. Wiping a hand across her mouth—were her lips swollen?—she arranged her skirts as best she could and, as her mother came in, calmed her breath.
“Have you seen Edgar?” Mamma asked.
Isobel stretched her back straight, mindful of her posture. “Isn’t he downstairs in the ballroom?”
“No. No one’s seen him since the two of you traipsed off.” Mamma’s glance wandered the room. Isobel had dropped the semi-repaired shirt and waistcoat near her dresser, out of the line of Mamma’s sight. But if she came inside…
Isobel strode forward. “P’raps he went to a withdrawing room.”
“‘Tis been a while, though.”
“Mayhap he fell in.” She giggled.
She sounded false to her ears, but Mamma smiled. “‘Tis droll you are.” She touched Isobel’s cheek. “I’ll miss you, child.”
Isobel blinked back tears. “I’m not gone yet, and in any event, I’ll not be far.”
“True. Our horses will wear an even broader path between MacReiver and Kilburn. Are you coming back down?”
“Yes, directly.” Isobel showed her mother out of the room before breathing a sigh of relief.
Edgar crawled out from beneath the bed. Smuts adorned his disheveled hair and darkened the golden skin of his torso. His breeches were a wreck. He knelt at her feet. “Behold the most wretched of men.”
She eyed him. “Ye do seem a mite discomposed. That doesna happen often.”
“Not at all, if I can help it.”
She knelt beside him. “Why? Why do ye believe ye canna lose control, ever?”
“My father was always drunk.” His fair skin reddened.
Her man was embarrassed and ashamed, and she was sorry she’d asked. But Pandora’s box had been opened, so she put her arm around him and quietly waited.
“One night when he was in his cups, my uncle Seamas and his laddies conceived the mad plan of kidnapping your mother and holding her for ransom. Seamas convinced my father to lead the war party.”
“Oh. And when the plan failed—as he kenned it must—Seamas became acting laird. And yer guardian.”
“Aye.” He looked into her eyes. His were haunted, the blue shadowed with gray specters, the ghosts of the past. “If your great-grandfather, Sir Gareth, hadn’t attacked my clan and killed Seamas, I believe I would have been murdered. So never think, lass, that I’m ungrateful for your vampire heritage.”
She sat back on her heels and considered, keeping her hand on his bare shoulder. The muscles were tense beneath her fingers.
“So I ask you once again. Will you marry me? Wed me freely, of your own heart, regardless of obligation of family and clan?”
She tightened her grasp. “I love you. I have always loved you. And yes, I’ll marry you.”
“Ahhh…” The tension in him eased and loosened. Holding her close, he buried his face in her hair. After a few moments, he raised his head. “When?”
* * * * *
A word from the author…
Thank you for reading my story. Please let me know what you thought of it by posting a review, tweeting or visiting my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/sueswift. And if you like what you read, check out more at https://www.amazon.com/author/suzdemello, my Amazon author page.
Read more about the Kilburn Vampires!
Temptation in Tartan (set in 1747)
She had to marry a monster…
Rumors had followed the chieftains of Clan Kilborn for centuries. Said to be descended from the Viking Berserkers, they were ferocious in battle, known for tearing off the heads of their enemies and drinking their blood.
But English noblewoman Lydia Swann Williston would marry Kieran, Laird Kilborn, to bring peace to the Kilborn lands after the horror of Culloden and the brutal pacification. A widow, she also brought needed wealth to Clan Kilborn. For her part, eighteen-year-old Lydia wanted children. With her husband killed at Culloden, she would make a new life in the Highlands.
The old chieftain of Clan Kilborn also died in battle, and she hoped that the new young Laird would lack his ancestors' ferocity.
She was wrong.
* * * * *
Published by Ellora’s Cave in June 2012, Temptation in Tartan reached #1 on the All Romance Ebooks bestseller list for historical (other) romance and spent a full week in the top five.
Find it here: http://tinyurl.com/TemptationInTartan
* * * * *
Highland Vampire (contemporary)
Natasha Desmond is a woman on the run.
But the castle in which she seeks refuge may harbor a greater menace. She hopes she's found a new love, but does Garrett Kilburn serve the castle's ancient terror?
* * * * *
Highland Vampire was published by Spice Briefs in October 2010
Find it here: http://tinyurl.com/HighlandVampire
* * * * *
Desire in Tartan (set in 1759--forthcoming)
Two Rakes in Tartan (Regency—forthcoming)
Vampire and Ripper (steampunk—forthcoming)
Author bio: Suz deMello
Best-selling, award-winning author Sue Swift, a.k.a Suz deMello, has written over fifteen novels, plus several short stories and non-fiction articles. She writes in numerous genres including romance, mystery, paranormal, historical, contemporary comedy and erotica. She’s a freelance editor who’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Ai Press, Liquid Silver Books and Etopia Press. She also takes on private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in PW, Kirkus and Booklist, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, she resides in northern California. Her passion is world travel, and she’s left the US over a dozen times, including stints working overseas for many months. Right now, she's working on her next manuscript and planning her next trip.
Her blog is at http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com. Find her reading picks @ReadThis4fun on Twitter, and befriend her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SueSwift ). Her sites are at http://www.sue-swift.com and http://www.suzdemello.com.