Bonds of Fire: The Bellum Sisters 2 (paranormal erotic romance)

by Grey, T. A.

  Draven’s fists curled. “By who?”

  “Fella named Hank.”

  Draven uncurled his fists. She was with another man! His muscles coiled, ready to strike. To strike this Hank. What a human name.

  “Where is he?”

  “Lives on First Street, third house on the left.” Draven turned to leave.

  “Wait a second now. You touch that man and you’ll feel the pack’s wrath, vampire.”

  Draven turned back with a flippant smile. “Half-vampire,” he corrected, then raced out the door.

  Chapter 29

  Willow paced nervously in the bedroom. Six steps to the door, six back to the bed. And repeat.

  How did a woman dress for a mating ritual anyways? Lingerie? A freaking wedding gown?

  And what was she supposed to wear with her belly showing?

  The thought still set forth a barrage of panic inside her. She didn’t know anything about being a mother. Let alone a mother to a half succubus/shapeshifter baby. What was that going to be like half meat-eater/half slut? She still hadn’t talked to him about it. They formed a silent pact around discussing the baby and she was fine with that.

  She rubbed at the throbbing in her temples. She caught her reflection in the mirror and rounded on it. It was like looking at someone else. Gone was the ponytail and comfortable hiking clothes and in its place was a white silk nightgown that fell to mid-thigh.

  Turning to the side, she pressed her hand to her belly and looked at the small bump there. Her heart constricted in her throat, tears blurred her eyelashes. She blinked fast, her heart racing erratically.

  When she looked back up at the mirror, she was smiling softly. Something inside her spoke to her. She’d never really thought about having a baby before. Since she’d never pictured herself really mating with anyone, the thought never even crept up in her psyche. But now...now things were very different. She was pregnant with Lyonis’ baby and there was no undoing it.

  Willow didn’t know what surprised her more, that the thought didn’t send her into another panic, or that she actually softened.

  She stood straighter and this time saw things different in her reflection. Gone was the lost young woman and in her place was...herself.

  “I’m Willow Bellum. I can do anything,” she said.

  It was the truth.

  She started laughing as she realized how upset she’d been. Over what? A baby? Women had been doing this for a long time, she could handle this. Looking at her belly, her eyes going soft, she thought to her future baby: I’ll be the best mom to you.

  She thought about Lyonis. It wasn’t hard to picture him as a father. She’d already seen his generous, kind nature. His protectiveness which might need a little loosening up. But maybe this wasn’t all so bad. Maybe with a father like him then they could both make strong kids, a daughter who wouldn’t lower herself to someone like David. Like she did.

  Sometimes you have to take the hand you’re dealt and just play with it.

  She heard the front door open downstairs and her heart started racing. He was here!

  Running back into the bathroom, she checked her reflection one last time. Her shift was simple but sexy; her hair was down around her shoulders and shining. He still hadn’t told her exactly how the mating ritual would go, but her stomach fluttered at the unknown.

  His footsteps sounded on the stairs. Willow stood in the room, panicked. She glanced at the bed, then the door. Did she lay on it and pose or open the door for him and smile all sexily?

  As she debated, the door swung open. Lyonis smiled at her, the same smile she’d seen the first day they met. A small lifting at the corner of his right cheek, cocky, and a lot sexy. A handful of bright, yellow sunflowers were in his hand. Willow hesitated, unsure what to do. He came into the room and without any ado, pulled her in for a long, searing kiss.

  When he finally released her, she rocked on her feet.

  She had to clear her throat before her voice would work. “Erm, flowers?”

  His smile turned wicked. “They remind me of you.” He put the vase of sunflowers into her hand. “Strong, tall and proud. Bright with happiness, feminine.”

  Willow flushed with pleasure at the compliment. Unnerved by the praise she found herself staring pointedly at the lovely flowers in her hand, unsure what to say or how to say it.

  With his lips at her ear he whispered, “And filled with a center I want to eat.”

  Willow jerked at his words. Heat flooded through her veins.

  “You look...wonderful,” he said, his eyes traveling over her body.

  Willow shivered and let him take the flowers from her and set them on the dresser. He came back to her and she launched herself in his arms. If she was going to do this, then she was doing it her way. Laughing, he caught her, swinging her in his arms. He kissed her long and deep before pulling away with a smile that curled her toes.

  “I’ve never been happier, Willow.”

  She smiled at that and could have done a fist pump. She did that. She made him happy and admittedly, he made her wild...and happy. If she wasn’t careful, she could love this man.

  Even as the wild, out of nowhere thought careened into her mind, he carried her to the bed and laid her on it. He followed her down, his hand trailing lazily up and down her arm.

  “I’ve waited to find you for a long time, mate.”

  Willow’s heart did a wild flip in her chest at the yearning in his voice, at the way his eyes tracked over her body.

  “Couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

  His lips covered her breast, wetting the silk and sucking her nipple into his mouth. Gasping, Willow grabbed onto his short dusty hair.

  Her nipple budded in his mouth and he nibbled on that peak. Hot shards lanced through her body, shooting straight for her clitoris. Her legs scissored anxiously.

  A hand trailed up her leg, pushing the white silk with it until he cupped her bare hip. He pulled back sharply from her nipple to look at the bare skin he’d revealed. His eyes darkened with arousal—his animal side close to the surface.

  “I told you you’d never need to wear panties around me. Glad to see you’re obeying me. You’re perfect just like this.”

  He stood at the edge of the bed and finished lifting her dress to her waist, baring her naked sex to him. His breathing deepened at the sight and Willow couldn’t help herself, she bent her knees and spread her legs open.

  A harsh groan left him like all the air had been knocked out of him. His hands stroked up and down her inner thighs getting closer and closer to her wet, hot center. His eyes never left her core.

  “Take off your shirt,” she said.

  She had to see him. Wanted to see all that tanned, hard muscle she’d soon be licking and touching. He seemed hesitant to look away from her but eventually he reached behind his neck to pull it off.

  He leaned down to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss at the inside of her knee. Willow’s breath caught as he did the same to her other knee. Then he worked his way up, taking his time to press hot, wet kisses to each inch of her inner thighs, slowly, lazily, getting higher and higher.

  “Lyonis,” she murmured.

  Her body flowed hot like lava, her skin tight and excited. His hands followed the path of his lips, slowly pushing up and gripping her thighs. His touch was strong but reverent as if he was learning her body to etch into his mind. It made her heart gallop wildly and again that word, love, came back into her mind.

  “This,” he said holding her very inner thighs in his hands, “is the sexiest thing. I want to hold you open like this and watch my cock slide in and out of your sweet little pussy.”

  Willow looked him straight in the eye and said, “Do it.”

  Surprise fluttered over his features, then he closed his eyes as if in pain and buried his head between her legs.

  Willow squirmed and panted trying to get closer. She was wet, swollen, and burning up with heat. She needed his touch more than she needed to breathe.
And if he didn’t give it to her...

  He simply kissed her. First her inner thighs, then her outer lips. His hands pinned her thighs in place leaving only enough room to thrust her hips at him.

  “Lyonis,” she groaned. “Please.”

  One little touch and she’d explode, she knew it. He must have known it too because he chose to go as insanely slow as possible. He kissed each side of her. Kissed her aching bud with the lightest of touches. Again and again, he repeated his torture while his hands pinned her, holding her with sexual dominance.

  Sweat matted her hair to her temples before he finally, finally, darted his tongue out to taste her. Mutual groans escaped as he licked her center. He thrust his tongue inside her and Willow arched against the covers.

  She moaned his name, caught in the waves of pleasure he bestowed upon her. The hands upon her thighs tightened and he settled in on her most neediest part in earnest, circling her bud repeatedly.

  She knew it wouldn’t take her long, and she was right. A choked scream caught in her throat as her body tightened to a near painful point then exploded. The shaking in her limbs still hadn’t slowed before he rose up, dropped his pants, then mounted her.

  “My Willow,” he groaned.

  His chest flattened against her needy breasts and then his cock nudged her wet entrance and slid deep in one powerful thrust. His harsh breathing met with her shallow pants as he began thrusting into her again and again.

  “Can’t wait,” he said.

  His lips found her throat, tasting her, wetting her as his thrusts hammered into her. She felt the pressure of his teeth, stronger than before and tensed, her hands curling around his shoulders for support.

  The pressure became nearly unbearable, shards of pain had her struggling to pull away from his bite, but then something broke through. The pain evaporated and his mouth fully latched over her neck.

  He was drinking her.

  Her belly pulled hard with pleasure. Her nails scraped against his back, hips thrusting back against him over and again. The shaking started in her stomach then flowed down to her thighs, locked tight around his hips.

  With each pull her body coiled tighter, hotter, wetter. She was making high-pitched noises she’d never made in her life. Her vision blurred until finally she gave up on trying to see and simply closed her eyes and welcomed his pleasuring touch.

  He pulled back from her throat and she moaned at the loss, tried to pull him back to her but he shook his head roughly at her.

  Willow’s eyes fluttered open to watch him. She opened her mouth to tell him she was finished. It was too much for her; she was about to fall over an endless cliff, and she wanted him to catch her. But no words left her throat.

  He reared back at her throat, his hips now pumping so hard, so fast, he was pushing her up and into the mattress.

  Then his teeth bit down on her again. The mark of the Alpha. He let out a purring growl that brought hard shivers over her body, curling her toes.

  She gasped his name one last time as her body pulsed with unimaginable pleasure. She bucked against him, his name a scream torn from her throat. She couldn’t move as the hard waves milked through her sex, squeezing him tight. He kept her pinned by the throat, hands holding her hips in an unbreakable hold.

  She was still coming down from the fall when she heard him whispering her name over and over again, his cock sliding in and out of her faster, harder. He finally pushed deep, and with a bellow that shook the ceiling, he came inside her.

  Neither of them moved for God knows how long.

  His body rested on top of hers, though he lifted enough off her not to suffocate her...or the baby.

  Threading her fingers through his sweat-slicked hair, Willow said, “I know I’m pregnant, Lyonis.” She didn’t know if that was the end of the mating ritual but she was his now. That made talking about this baby business much, much easier.

  He lifted his face from her neck with great effort and gave her a soft, satisfied smile. His eyes turned serious though.

  “You’ve made me happier than I’ve been in my whole life since you’ve come here, Willow.”

  He leaned on his side and pressed a hand to her softly rounded stomach. His hand was so much larger than hers was. It almost engulfed her belly, protecting their baby.

  “I now have my Queen, my mate, and a baby on the way. And are you pleased, my sica tawicue?”

  Willow eyebrows shot up. That thought had never really crossed her mind. Was she happy? Her heart tugged tight at the soft look in his eyes and she felt as though she was melting into the mattress.

  “Yes, I believe I am.”

  His smile widened, a mischievous gleam shining in his eyes. “I believe I told you this would happen. I always get what I want.”

  He sounded so cocky Willow couldn’t help but laugh. He laughed with her then tugged her up on the bed so she could rest her head on the pillows.

  “So what does this ‘mate’ thing mean for me?”

  He nuzzled her breast, a hand trailed idly over her knee and up. Willow heard the catch in her breath.

  “It means, my wife, that you are now Queen of this pack. You’ll run it with me, counsel the women, help with pack arguments. You are a litigator of sorts.” His lips pressed kisses around her breasts, her collarbone, and the valley in between.

  “Anything else I need to be aware of?”

  His hand curled around her hip in a possessive touch. “You’ll never touch another man.”

  She laughed at the threat in his voice. He lifted his head to glare at her and she laughed harder.

  “As if I could want anyone else.” She was laughing as she said it but the stark truth of her words had her laughter dying quickly. She stared at him...in amazement.

  “You’re surprised, wife, but I’m not. I knew it from the moment I saw you desperately trying to escape me in Spain. The bond between us in irresistible. Think of us as two magnets, forever stuck together.”

  “Magnets,” she said dumbly. He chuckled and resumed nuzzling her breasts.

  “Worry not, sica tawicue. I will love you for the both of us until you realize it.”

  Her mind had still been processing “magnets” when what he said broke through the haze in her mind.

  “What!”

  He laughed against her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth. Wet and hot he flicked his tongue across her mercilessly.

  “What...what do you mean?” she panted.

  He gave her one last, lingering lick then crawled up her body, his lips mere inches from hers.

  “It means, my Willow that I love you and I’ll wait for you to realize it too. But not for long.”

  He curled his hand under her backside, cupping her cheek and lifting her. In a smooth move, he spread her legs with his, then thrust inside. She was still wet from her orgasm, from his seed, and from the fresh cream he created while suckling her. He slid in deep and stayed there. It was hard for her not to order him to move, but she was still so focused on what he said to her.

  “You love me?” she repeated softly.

  He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’ll wait for you, Willow. But don’t take too long to realize what you feel. I’m a jealous, possessive man and I want to hear it now, want to see it glowing in your eyes.”

  Willow didn’t say anything else as he made love to her. And that’s exactly what he did. With slow, powerful thrusts he swept her up, made her chant his name, then followed her over until they were shuddering together.

  As they lie curled together, sleep making her eyes heavy, she listened to his heavy breathing mix with her own. Before sleep caught her she looked down at the arm wrapped protectively around her stomach and thought: I already do.

  Chapter 30

  Willow sat at the kitchen table watching Lyonis make his breakfast. He got a call earlier that morning that the teenage boy Danny had been reported missing from his family. They hadn’t seen him since the festival.

  Willow didn’t voice her opinion on
the missing boy aloud; she still hadn’t come to terms with her incident with Stephanie in the bathroom. Maybe the boy had gone into town with his friends and is passed out in some dinky hotel from partying. Or maybe the demon after her caught him too. The thought sickened her until her stomach lurched.

  The happiness from the mating last night was already gone, as if it never happened. Lyonis radiated tension as he cooked his eggs. A frown marred his mouth and his brows were drawn into a deep vee.

  She wanted to say something to ease the worry but she couldn’t think of a single thing. You could tell him you love him. Willow’s eyes flew to his back as if he might have heard her thought and figured out her feelings for him. Luckily his tense back was still to her and he didn’t say a word as he banged a plate around.

  He put his plate to the table and ate with gruff, big bites. Willow watched him with a frown of her own. She wanted to ease the stress for him so badly. She didn’t like feeling helpless.

  He finished his plate then pushed it aside. His eyes never left the table as he said, “You’re not to leave the house today.”

  “What?” Shock had her thinking she didn’t hear him right.

  He stood, knocking the chair back until it teetered on its back legs before roughly dropping back on all fours. He grabbed his plate and tossed it in the sink. It crashed so loudly Willow was amazed it didn’t shatter.

  “You heard me. You’re pregnant and my mate and I don’t want you leaving the cabin until everything is taken care of.”

  Willow stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. He didn’t hug her back. But she wasn’t going to let his foul mood sway her.

  “Taken care of what?”

  “The demon,” he said and pushed away from her. “Until the demon is destroyed and the baby is born I don’t want you leaving. It’s too dangerous.”

  Willow’s laughter brought his head snapping around to her. She ignored his glare and shrugged. “Really Lyonis, you expect me to stay here and do nothing for the next eight months? The pack is safe.” She didn’t say the last as strongly because she remembered Stephanie’s visit in the bathroom. Was she really safe here at all? She would be lying if she said she really thought the pack was safe.