Embraced by Blood

by Laurie London

  He wanted her.

  A burning, needful heat moistened her core as her body responded to what she was seeing.

  She needed him. Oh God, how she needed him.

  She dipped her head to take him into her mouth, but he stopped her.

  “No, we make love tonight.”

  “That was my intention, but I wanted to do this first.”

  “If you do, I’ll come before you’ve got your mouth fully over me. No, I haven’t waited this long for you to do that to me. But I have waited for this.”

  He pulled her onto the bed and before she knew what was happening, he’d spread her knees with his hands and dipped his head between her legs. She had planned to be the aggressor, to show him that in spite of what he’d told her, what he was ashamed of and afraid of her knowing, she still wanted him as much as or more than she ever had before. It took a real man to admit his mistakes as Alfonso had, to devote his life to correcting them, and she loved him because of it. Words meant nothing—she wanted to show him with her actions.

  But he obviously had other ideas.

  His hair tickled the sensitive skin on her lower abdomen and inner thighs.

  She held her breath, gripped handfuls of the sheets in her fists.

  With his lips parted, he stared at the juncture between her legs as he slid his hands under her hips to tilt them up. She complied.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said huskily.

  And when his lips touched her sex and his tongue flicked her sensitive folds, she let out a little shriek of pleasure and forgot all about being the dominant one this time.

  Over and over, he pressed his tongue to her core, shrinking her entire world into this sliver of time and space. At some point, she’d slipped her hands into his hair and now she held his head in place. And when he slipped a finger—no, two—inside her, waves of glittering pleasure exploded outward. Her inner muscles tightened around him and tiny pinpoints of light danced behind her eyelids.

  She felt him chuckle before the sound reached her ears.

  “What?” she managed to ask as he drew his body up over hers. The air felt cool against her now that he’d moved his mouth away.

  “That was easy,” he said. “You came for me before I had a chance to do much.”

  “Since when has that been difficult?” she asked, and then she kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue.

  “Ah, yes. So true.”

  Wait. Was he confusing her with another lover? Was that it? The heat of jealousy snaked along her spine and she gritted her teeth. Although it was impossible, Alfonso was hers. No one else’s. No matter how many lovers came after her, she would make sure he’d never forget this.

  She pushed his shoulders back and moved to straddle him as she’d done in the hospital, but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

  Dark determination blazed in his eyes. “I will take you this way first.”

  With a pat on her hip, he urged her to roll to her stomach.

  And she did.

  Heat from his body covered her back as he came down over her from behind. She pushed up onto all fours.

  “Because of my injury, I didn’t think I would ever be able to make love like this again. On my knees.”

  A thrill tickled every nerve ending. He’d be able to penetrate even deeper this way. Dispersing the weight evenly on her elbows and knees, she waited to feel him push himself in.

  Instead, she felt the brush of his hair against her inner thigh, and before she knew what he was doing, his tongue had found her center again.

  She gave a little gasping moan. Her legs went boneless, and she thought she might collapse on top of him, but he held her up and continued his movements.

  “Please,” she begged. “I need to feel you in me.”

  “Like this?” He plunged a finger inside as well, shooting waves of pleasure down to her toes and up to her scalp, until every nerve ending burst into light.

  “Oh God, yes. I mean no.” He moved his finger in and out while she continued to writhe against his tongue. It was sheer bliss, but she wanted to share it with him. This was too much pleasure for just one person. “I want to feel your body filling mine from the inside.”

  The bed squeaked as he shifted. He pushed her knees wider and the head of his erection probed the inside of her thigh, seeking out then easily finding its destination. He didn’t need to go slow—her body was ready for him now. But he didn’t push all the way in. She started to rock back on him, but he held her still. Controlling her.

  As he leaned forward, his body warmed her spine, his lips nuzzled the base of her neck. Oh God, would he take her blood again? Her gums ached, the tips of her fangs sharp against her tongue as she thought about taking his.

  He slipped his hands down her forearms, laying his fingers over the tops of hers, then covered her body with his.

  Staking his claim on her.

  Owning her.

  Possessing her.

  She felt his hips buck and his body filled hers completely.

  ALFONSO EASED LILY onto her back, wanting to see her face as he pushed himself into her again. Her urgent need was obvious in the way her tiny white fangs creased her kiss-swollen lips. Just the thought of her taking his blood made him even harder. He moved in and out, pushing deeper each time, her luxurious silk covering every inch of him.

  Everything about her was strategically placed to coincide precisely with what turned him on. Her breasts overflowed his broad hands, their perky nipples awaiting his touch. The soft curve of her buttocks fit his cupped palms. The front of her hip bones had that slight indentation for his thumbs to rest on.

  And the chain in her belly button—

  The diamond-encrusted arrow he’d bought for her several years ago was still attached to it. Although it had started as a joke, the thing served as a visual, if not tacky, reminder that her body was for him and him alone. He honestly couldn’t believe she still wore it.

  Then it dawned on him. How many other sets of male eyes had gazed on it since they’d been apart? Seen this arrow and thought it was meant for them? Had she worn it then, too? After he left tonight, how many others would see it?

  She’d once told him he was the only man whose blood she’d ever taken. Suddenly, he needed to further distinguish himself from the rest. The lovers she’d had before him and the lovers she’d have in the future after he left.

  He tried to ignore the gnawing feeling that tore at his heart.

  Cradling the back of her head, he pressed her lips against his neck. “Drink from me, love. I can tell that you want to.”

  “You’re…okay if I do?” Her words were muffled through her razor-sharp fangs, her breath hot against his skin.

  With the assassin still in Europe, Lily wasn’t in immediate danger. Its effects should be worn off by the time Alfonso was gone. But he didn’t want to dwell on the fact that he’d be leaving soon. All he wanted to think about was this moment in time.

  “Yes, I want it almost as much as you do.” And before he finished speaking, he felt the sting beneath her soft lips and the pull of her mouth on his vein.

  Exhilarated by her intense desire for his lifeblood, he wanted to shout to the world how much he loved this woman. How amazing and beautiful and strong she was and how lucky he was to have her desire him like this.

  Using tiny thrusting motions so as not to disrupt her drinking from him, he moved in the same rhythm as her swallowing. Her inner muscles tightened like a vice around him, her nails digging into his backside.

  She lifted her head from his neck. She had taken what she needed from him.

  Instantly, the pressure in his loins increased. With one powerful thrust, he seated himself more deeply inside her and sank his teeth into her vein. Her sweet, coppery smell filled his senses and flowed across his taste buds. A tiny moan of pleasure escaped her lips and he held her tighter. With every swallow of her lifeblood, shards of electricity shot through his veins and he felt the tiny, dark corners inside him instantly ex
panding. Her blood was transforming and made him feel more powerful than he had been only moments ago.

  He could hold back no longer. In a blinding surge of pleasure, so intense he could’ve sworn his heart stopped for an instant, he released himself into her body.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “THE SEATTLE PERIMETER’S been breached.”

  Dom’s words via the speakerphone hung in the air—a hollow, tin-can echo, blocking out all other sound in the War Room.

  It took a moment before Lily could find her voice as people crowded in, taking seats at the mahogany table and standing in the doorway.

  “When? How is that possible?” she asked Dom. Mentally, she raced through all the checkpoints in the field office but couldn’t imagine any of them failing.

  Before he could answer, Santiago swept through the doors, his presence taking up the unused space in the room as others scrambled to get out of his way.

  “Everybody’s here,” he barked into the speaker. Poor Dom probably got his ear blasted on the other end. “So what the fuck happened? Have you been able to figure that out yet? What’s Jackson’s assessment? Talk to me.”

  The boardroom at Region Headquarters—called the War Room because of its cache of weapons stored behind lighted glass panels, which seemed more for show than anything else—was standing room only. The nickname hadn’t seemed appropriate until now.

  “Less than thirty minutes ago,” Dom said, “security noticed an unusual outage on the grid. Turns out the outer perimeter went off-line. Twice.”

  Lily absently bit at a chocolate remnant stuck underneath her thumbnail. She and Alfonso had shared the last of Xian’s brownies when everyone was summoned here.

  Someone leaned on the back of her chair. Alfonso touched her shoulder and left his hand there. All seven of the Agents not on duty were present, including a few staffers and medical personal who’d heard something had happened.

  With bloodshot eyes, Kip stood quietly in the corner. He still looked like shit, but he was much better than the last time she’d seen him. He was walking and the hand tremors were gone, which was encouraging.

  “Were the inner systems compromised?” someone asked.

  “Do you know what they were after?” asked someone else.

  “Is anyone at the field office now?”

  “Does this mean the Region offices are vulnerable?”

  “Why did—”

  Santiago pounded a fist on the table. “Shut the hell up. Everyone.”

  Except for the squeak of a chair and a muffled cough, the room went silent.

  Someone pressed a button, and with a low hum two panels in the wall parted, revealing a large screen. It flashed twice and suddenly, there was Dom, live from Australia.

  The first thing she noticed was his tanned face. There was something about Mackenzie’s blood, even after her transformation into a changeling, that made him less susceptible to the energy drain from the sun. Clearly, he’d been taking advantage of it down there. He looked good, even though his face was etched with worry and his hair looked as if he’d run his hands through it a few hundred times.

  The special blood bond he shared with Mackenzie also triggered in him the ancient vampire ability to vapor, transforming one’s corporeal body into a thick, blue smoke in order to slip through the smallest of spaces.

  Even as a youthling before the Change, Lily had hoped those stories were true—that special abilities like that still existed among vampires, only to be awakened by the blood of one’s true soul mate. But just like that wide-eyed girl who wished for a unicorn, somehow she’d never really believed the stories to be real. Her grandparents’ bond was amazing enough. These were just legends and fantasies designed to enthrall children.

  That was until Dom had shared, in confidence, that it had happened to him.

  “Fortunately, it appears to have only affected the outer perimeter,” Dom was saying, yanking her back to the problem at hand. “Preliminary reports from the security cameras and other checkpoints indicate the rest of the safeguards remained untouched.”

  “And Mackenzie?” Alfonso asked. “Where is she?”

  Dom visibly stiffened at the sound of his brother’s voice. Lily wondered when the last time was that they’d actually spoken a civil word to each other. Years ago? Decades ago? Maybe even a century ago?

  “Santiago,” Dom said, “I need a word with you privately.”

  “Bullshit. Now is not the time—”

  “If not privately, then I’ll come right out and say it. Did it cross your mind that this could be an inside job?” The words hissed from behind Dom’s clenched teeth.

  Although she had the utmost respect for Dom, this was too much. “An inside job? For godsake, you of all people know what he’s done for the Agency. And until you pull your head out of your ass and stop thinking of only yourself, you’ll never understand what he’s truly sacrificed.”

  Alfonso’s hand tightened on her shoulder, probably intending to calm her down, but it served to infuse her with even more conviction and determination to set things right. She reached up and covered his hand with her own, ready to give Dom a piece of her mind, but Santiago shut her down.

  “Silence,” he boomed out. “Everyone who is not a Guardian, get back to your duties. Out, all of you. Now. Kip, Tambra, Jonah, Caleb, take a seat. The rest of you, shut up. Alfonso,” he added, pointing to the chair next to Lily, “sit your ass down.”

  When the room cleared out and only Guardians remained, Santiago slammed the door shut and spun back to Dom. His eyes blazed, the tattoos on his neck that ended somewhere within his hairline seemed suddenly more pronounced and menacing.

  “Listen. I don’t care what your relationship is with your brother, we need to mobilize every capable fighter. If you don’t want to spend Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Chinese New Year and National Secretary’s Day with him, that’s your goddamn business. We’ve gone over this before, and frankly, I’m tired of it. You know exactly how the Council and I feel, so I’m not going to have it out with you yet again. Since you and Mitchell are gone, we need all the help we can get. Alfonso has agreed to step in as a field agent—temporarily, that is, until you get back.”

  He paused for effect. “Dom? Do you understand me?”

  “Perfectly,” Dom said, cold fury flashing in his eyes.

  “Jesus, I feel like a playground teacher telling two youthlings to play nicely.”

  Lily doubted the rift between the brothers could ever be repaired, but maybe they could learn to be civil. “Is Mackenzie all right?” she asked, trying to get the conversation back on track, yet concerned about her friend at the same time.

  “Yes, Lily, thank you for asking,” Dom said, making it perfectly clear to everyone present that he was answering her question, not Alfonso’s. “She’s fine. The office and the residential quarters went into lockdown. Sadie took Xian and Mackenzie over to the safe house on the island. They’re on the ferry now.”

  “Chuck and Shirl’s place?”

  “Yes. They’ll be safe there until we can get things sorted out. My flight leaves in thirty minutes, so I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

  Relieved, Lily sat back in her chair.

  Despite the fact that one of the Agency’s most capable Guardians was with Mackenzie and they were on the way to the retired Region Commander’s residence, she could see in his face that he was still freaking out. Although Mackenzie was a changeling now, her bloodscent no longer enticing to vampires, she’d been a target of Darkbloods in the past. And with the baby on the way, Lily didn’t blame him for being extra worried.

  Stress apparently brought on Dom’s ability to vapor, as he’d only been able to gather the energy to transform himself when Mackenzie was in danger. Kind of an adrenaline thing, he’d told her once. But given that he was so far away, she imagined he was feeling pretty damn helpless.

  Maybe that was why he had such a short fuse with Alfonso. She knew that deep down, Dom cared about his younger brothe
r. He had to—he was always asking about him.

  “Jackson’s already mobilized the teams,” Dom continued. “I’m expecting a report from him any minute.”

  “If they only got through the first barrier, what was their reason for breaking in?” Tambra asked. “Did they get spooked and abort their original plans to get into the field office, or did they have something else in mind?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to determine,” Dom said.

  “Where was security?” Caleb asked. “Didn’t the intrusion trip the alarms and alert the field office?”

  “For some reason, none of the alarms sounded. We’re assuming the system was disabled somehow, but we’ll need to run some tests to figure out what happened.” Dom ran a hand over his face, and when he looked into the camera, his hard, angry expression had softened considerably from his earlier tirade, making him appear almost apologetic.

  Was he feeling remorseful all of a sudden, having questioned Alfonso’s loyalties in front of the whole Region staff? Maybe Santiago’s rant got through to him after all. He did have a tendency to behave rashly and blurt out things he regretted later.

  “Hey, Lil?” His eyes didn’t focus on any one spot; rather, he looked beyond the webcam, giving the impression that he was searching for something behind her.

  “Yeah, I’m here.” She knew he didn’t have a video feed, only audio.

  He drew a deep breath, as if he was gathering the courage to say something, then he stared straight into the camera. And in that brief moment before he spoke, she knew that it was going to be bad news.

  “The security officer at the north entrance was killed.”

  It felt as though someone punched her in the gut. Her hands turned to ice. “What? Francesca? She’s…she’s dead?”

  “I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Lil. It appears that’s where they entered the complex—through the residential section on that side. Jackson was the one who found her ashes.”

  The knot in the back of her throat made it difficult to swallow, let alone speak.

  Lily recalled the last conversation she and Francesca had and the plan to get together after she returned. Francesca had moved up here several months ago, hoping to make it onto a capture team. She’d been working out hard, getting into the best shape of her life, attending a few of Lily’s martial arts classes, and was thrilled when she passed the grueling physical. All that was left was the written exam.