by Grey, T. A.
Thane winced. Yeah, he’d said that before but damn she’d made him mad. Guilt ate at him even more as he remembered he’d said that after she’d interrupted him with the princess in the gym. Even then he’d felt guilt and shame, something she’d always made him feel with a single look.
“You’ll find someone, Jackie. You’re strong and beautiful. Any man would be happy to have you.”
She laughed the sound hollow. “Apparently not, Thane-o. Listen why don’t you go now. I told you my stupid problem. Just leave me in peace.” She sounded so sad it broke his heart.
“No way. It’s time to get you back to the pack and into bed.” He stood and started pulling her out of the booth. She came but it was like pulling a limp noodle out of a bowl of water. He held her up to him so she wouldn’t fall.
“Whatever, anything to get me away from you.” Thane ignored her biting tone and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and waist. As he tugged her through the crowded club he couldn’t help but notice how soft her body felt against his, how small she was in comparison to him. Yet underneath that, she felt sturdy and strong. The contrasts spiked his senses and he realized he liked it.
They came through the front door and her steps became heavier and heavier. With a sigh, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. She slapped her fists against his shoulders.
“Put me down dammit, I can walk.”
“No you can’t,” he said easily. He had to park a good block and a half down the street so he made his steps fast. After a minute, she finally gave up her fight and relaxed, letting her head rest against his shoulder.
“I’m too heavy,” she whined. This side of her was brand new to him, if only it wasn’t alcohol that made her show her true colors.
He laughed at her. “Not even close. You weigh nothing, sweetheart.” She scoffed at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His mind told himself it was just so she could hold on, but his body didn’t take it that way. It flared up, heated with sexual anticipation. Even his cock hardened.
God was she playing with his hair? She’s drunk, his logical mind screamed at him; it didn’t mean anything. Didn’t mean it didn’t feel good as hell though.
“Where are you taking me?” she said wistfully. Thane swallowed before he could answer. His hands curled over her thigh and back and he could feel the heat of her and the soft pliancy of her lithe muscles. He closed his eyes for a moment and reminded himself that he preferred curvy women that wore makeup and perfume. Not natural women like Jackie.
“To the jeep, it’s not too far.” Damn, even his voice was aware of the woman in his arms, having gone deep like he was about to take her back to his place and not put her drunken ass in bed where she belonged.
He raced to his jeep when he spotted it. He set her down, gently lounged her against it while he opened the passenger door. As soon as he let go of her she started sliding off to the side.
“Whoa there.” He caught her and she fell against him, her hands catching his thick sweater at the shoulders. Then she looked up at him and he lost himself in her eyes. Baby blues, bright and red rimmed from alcohol and still she took his breath away.
And scared the shit out of him.
She looked at him with innocent eyes, not the seductive ones like the women he usually went with. She wasn’t coy or playful but damn if it didn’t arouse him more than all those other women combined. What kind of animal was he to be turned on by a drunken innocent woman? Hell, his partner.
Her eyes fell to his mouth and Thane watched her expression change. He would have bet her to be an actress but he knew she wasn’t playing any games, not Jackie. She was straightforward to a punch. So when her eyes traced his lips and grew soft and low-lidded, Thane knew he was a goner. Was he an ass for taking advantage while she was drunk—yes. Did he care the least bit—hell no.
No longer capable of being gentle, he grabbed her hips and pushed her against the jeep. Her soft gasp brought even hotter thoughts flying through his mind. How would she sound when his head was between her legs? Would she wrap her legs around his shoulders or fall open and soft for him?
Cupping her head in his hand, he tilted her to the side, and slowly brought his lips to hers. A second before their lips met, her hands tightened in his shirt, eyes wide and panicked.
“What are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely.
Thane paused for a moment, struggling to think over the need roaring through him. His mind blanked for a moment and all he could do was answer honestly.
“Kissing you.”
And then he pressed his lips against hers and lost himself in a way he never thought possible.
* * *
Draven stopped outside their door. God what was with him and doing this? He’d been blaming Chloe for this whole disaster but really, that was a lie. Not that he’d alleviate her guilt and tell her that. No, it was his fault. He never should have asked Lucinda to be his frimar. Fuck.
If he were using his old ways, he’d already have blood coursing through his veins and be on his way to bed. But what the fuck was he doing? Pacing outside his frimar’s bedroom, their shared bedroom. As if it wasn’t bad enough having to babysit one of the Bellum sisters, at least that was a temporary situation. But Lucinda? Temporary?
Vampires signed on with frimars for a long-term arrangement. If he were to release her now, she’d be forced to find another. Draven’s hand curled into white-knuckled fists. God dammit. Every time he so much as thought about another man’s mouth on her neck, her wrists, her thighs, he shook with rage.
What the hell was that? He never felt that before, not even with his previous frimar. Draven smacked his head against the wall and slid down it. He was just asking for trouble...again. They both had so much in common. From their manners and dress to the way they spoke.
Lucinda wasn’t anything like Charlotte in many ways. She wasn’t an evil lying whore. Draven pulled out one of his invisible daggers he kept at his waist. The blade was lightweight but had enough mass to feel satisfying. The cold metal warmed in his hand easily. Draven relaxed muscle by muscle as he focused on something else. But soon the thoughts crept back up.
Lucinda would never take a knife to him. She was too sweet, didn’t have a mean bone in her body. You thought that about Charlotte, too.
“Fuck!”
Draven stood and clenched the blade. He heard footsteps coming towards the door. God dammit, quickly he palmed his blade, watching as it went invisible with his magic. Most days he forgot he was part demon, but thinking of Charlotte always managed to remind him of the uglier side of life.
The door swung open and Draven turned to Lucinda with a smile. “Good evening.” It was more like one o’clock in the morning and she really should be in bed already.
She smiled back at him but concern worried her eyes. “Master Draven what are you doing out here? Please, come in. This is your room too.”
Yeah, don’t remind me. He nodded once then marched around her. He was careful not to brush against her.
“Did you learn anything?” Draven grabbed a clean pair of clothes from the dresser.
“I lost the scent halfway through the city. I don’t know what happened but the demon was definitely here; it took her.”
Lucinda sat in a chair, her shoulders slumped forward, and her dress puffed out from her legs like a princess gown. Damn if she didn’t wear low-neck gowns; he cursed.
“That is so horrible. I hope you can find her.” Draven probably shouldn’t be surprised, but at the sound of her soft plea, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. He’d heard pleas like that before, words wrapped in sweet malice by an even more beautiful face. God what was with him tonight? She is not Charlotte.
How can you be sure?
She looked up at him with beseeching eyes. “Master Draven I’m afraid we must speak about something.” Draven’s chest eased from the tightness imprisoning it for a moment.
“What is it?” Panic and hope warred inside him.
“You have not
fed in many days,” she said softly. “If you do not then you will weaken.” She spoke so quietly even his exceptional hearing registered it as a whisper. Draven lifted his gaze to see her watching the floor, her back straight, soft shoulders back.
Watching her like this with a dim lamp from the corner lighting her in a soft haze, Draven was slammed with lust. His body grew tight with anticipation, his cock hardening like cooling metal. She had no idea what kind of danger she was in around him. Of the thoughts he had about her.
“I understand if you wish to use another and not me.”
Draven jerked as he realized what she said. God dammit. He didn’t know what was worse—that she wanted him to take from her or that he wanted to with a need that bordered on violent. He wouldn’t go back to the past though. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He’d barely gotten through it the first time.
Did she have any idea how hard it was to control himself? How hard he had to concentrate not to take her body and her blood, because he wanted to with a desperation that scared him. Hence why he stayed out late every night, hoping to avoid her as much as possible. He even left her during the day; did she have anything to do? Did she leave the room? He had no idea.
Her shoulders slammed back, straightening her body in a move that must hurt, then she stood and looked at him, one brow arching delicately, her mouth soft, hands folded at her waist.
“I release you as my host.”
Draven did a double take. “What?”
“You heard me, Draven. I release you from this binding.”
“You can’t do that.” God this was just what he wanted but then why were anger, refusal, swiftly boiling in his blood?
“I just did,” she said with a stiff finality that had his mouth dropping. He watched as she moved about the room, grabbing her suitcases and filling them with her gowns and slippers.
“You can’t do that.” His mind was reeling. She couldn’t go; he wanted her so badly. He couldn’t keep her here and risk losing himself—he’d learned that lesson already. What the hell did he do then?
Draven shut off his mind. It didn’t know what the hell it wanted anyways. Then he stalked after her.
Either she didn’t hear him or she refused to turn around because he stood behind her, a scowl on his face as she loaded her gowns into the oversized luggage.
“Lucinda.”
No response. Draven worked his jaw side to side.
“Lucinda, I do not release you as my frimar.”
Draven was not prepared for what happened next. Lucinda let out a fierce, angry growl then spun around on him. Draven took a step back as he registered her anger. He’d never seen her like this. Her chest rose and fell quickly, teeth bared, eyes wide and hot with anger.
She took a step forward and Draven backed up. “You...you,” she said shaking a slender finger at him, “have been nothing but...a nuisance in my bottom from the moment this all started.”
Draven cocked his head to the side and didn’t know whether to laugh or...
“You ask me to be your frimar but then you never let me do my duties. I come here with you then I am left all day long in this miserable guest room with nothing to do. Have you seen the floors?”
Draven looked down at the wood floors and had never felt more stupid than he did in this moment. He had no clue what she was talking about.
“Of course not. I scrubbed them with my bare hands. Every single inch because I was bored!” She was panting hard, her cheeks flushed with a rosy color.
“I’m sorry.”
Maybe it was the wrong thing to say because her eyes narrowed on him and even though she was at least a head shorter than he was, she gave the appearance that she was looking down at him.
“It doesn’t even matter. I don’t even care about that! I know about your past, Draven. I know about your previous frimar. I’m sorry about that, truly sorry. But I am not her in any way, shape, or form.”
Draven didn’t correct her on how wrong she was, because she’d pushed herself against his chest in her lecture. Flattening her chest against him in the most provocative way. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes glittering and sparkling until they looked like the green stem of a rose. Draven did the only thing he knew to. The only thing he wanted to. The one thing he’d been craving for so long, he couldn’t even remember.
He pulled her against him, then slammed his mouth down on hers.
For a moment he was taken aback at how soft and pliable her lips were. She seemed just as stunned as he was, but then she made a soft gasping sound and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Draven never had a chance to kiss her, because she took it over. She pressed her lips against his again and again. Draven’s blood boiled, his cock throbbing with intense arousal. She was soft and light in his arms, and her mouth...untrained. Had she never kissed a man before? She never opened her mouth when she kissed him, only pressed soft, sexy kisses across his lips. Draven almost lost it. Breathing hard, he pulled back and cupped her face in his hands.
“Open your mouth for me. I need to taste you.” Her eyes widened with shock, then darkened with heat. Draven kissed her again then parted her lips with his tongue. She made another soft noise that drove him wild. His tongue met hers, and hers retreated before slowly coming back to meet his.
Draven groaned as she started playing with him, thrusting slowly against him then tracing his teeth and fangs. Release boiled, his cock throbbing. Draven lost all thoughts.
Grabbing her hips, he worked his tongue back and forth in her mouth as he pushed her around. Her back hit the door and another one of those damned soft noises came out. God he loved that sound, soft and needy just for him. They ate at each other, heads cocked, lips and tongue fighting.
Draven bunched the bottom of her gown until he touched bare, soft leg. God she was soft and smooth. He continued his way over her soft, delicate knee to her thigh. Her chest rose faster against his and Draven tore his mouth away to find her neck. The scent of rose petals drifted over him. He licked her pulse as he learned the roundness of her thigh.
“Draven,” she whispered raggedly. It was like lighting a rockets fuse.
Draven pulled back and yanked the front of her dress down. Material ripped and he didn’t care because her breasts spilled free like a beautiful gift for him. He only took a moment to memorize her; she was round and big with pink nipples that ached for him. Draven wanted to ease them so he took one into his mouth.
She gasped as her hands threaded through his hair. Her back arched into him and he opened his mouth wider to take in as much of her as he could. He pulled on her nipple, sucked on until her hips were writhing against him. God, he couldn’t wait much longer.
“Draven, please.” Her voice was thick with need, something he was all too familiar with.
“Yes,” he said and switched breasts. With his free hand, he released his cock. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so hard for a woman, been so desperate to fill her.
He bunched her gown to her waist as he tongued her nipple, sucked on her breast like a babe. He wrapped his hands around her thighs and lifted her, pressing her back against the door. Her hands curled tighter into his hair and Draven nearly took her, took her without asking, but somewhere in the back of his mind something made him pull back.
Nuzzling her breasts he said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Her husky shout pleased his ears as much as it did his cock. He didn’t wait any longer. His lips found her neck and licked her, preparing her for his bite as his cock rubbed against her slit.
Draven jerked his hips back as his release boiled close. “Damn...so wet.”
She didn’t respond, only wrapped her arms around his shoulders, keeping him close as her hips did a sexy rocking rhythm against him.
“Take me, Draven.”
Draven groaned as the last vestiges of his control slipped away like it was on ice. He bared his fangs and struck as his cock found her slit and slammed inside.
She stif
fened against him, hands clenching. With mortification Draven pulled back to stare at her. The tightness around him was too tight. The soft barrier he pushed through shouldn’t be there.
“Virgin?”
She nodded, a pained expression on her face, but slowly ecstasy transformed her face. Her eyes rolled back then closed as a sexy smile crossed her face. She rocked her hips against him.
And then she started shaking. Fuck.
Her sweet sex squeezed him as she started coming. Draven couldn’t hide his shock, nor could he hold back any longer.
With a harsh curse, he squeezed her hips and started thrusting. She was wet before but now her fresh honey coated him, making it even easier for him to glide through her tight, tight muscles.
Draven struck her neck again as he pushed into her. She cried out and wrapped her legs around him. Her blood went down his throat, fueling him, feeding him as her sweet channel gripped him tightly. Draven couldn’t stop himself. He’d never come so quickly in all his life. He thrust into her three more times before he hit deep on a groan. She held him close as he shot himself inside her, giving her every drop he had.
Reality slowly came crashing in. He started to pull himself away from her, but she held him close, her lips lazily kissing the side of his mouth, then full on the lips.
His cock softened inside her but her muscles twitched and squeezed him, making him full and hard again.
“Lucinda,” he warned.
She opened her eyes and smiled at him, the smile of a woman. Then she kissed him and he lost himself in her.
Chapter 18
More than a dozen pack members congregated around Willow and Lyonis as they made plans for the Winter Festival. Everything had been going smoothly until Amy showed up. Willow might think the woman had some nerve barging to the front of the pack and standing a little too close to Lyonis, but then she’d have to care about something like that. Which she didn’t. Much.
“I think the big question is should we even have the festival with Stephanie missin’?” Willow recognized the voice as the nice old bartender from The Wolf’s Den.