“What do you think I did to get in there, hug people?” he spat.
Simone didn’t back away from his fury. He wouldn’t hurt her; he may kill anyone else, but he wouldn’t harm her. He’d given up and risked too much to rescue her only to hurt her now. Besides, if he wanted her dead or a monster, he could have killed her or left her with Joseph.
Nausea twisted in her belly as a new thought occurred to her. “Those people you killed are dead because of me.”
“No,” Killean said. He loathed the idea of her carrying any guilt for his actions. “They are dead because of me. I chose to murder them, and I did it for me. Don’t feel sorry for them; they were all pieces of shit and some of the worst of the human race. Each of them was either a rapist or child molester. Their deaths mean someone else won’t suffer at their hands.”
“I don’t understand why you did it though,” she whispered around the lump in her throat. “Why give up what you knew and everything you were, for me?”
Killean turned off the water and grabbed the hand towel from the rack. He patted the blisters on his hands before shoving past her and into the bedroom.
“Killean?” she inquired.
“Because I couldn’t let you stay there,” he said as he lifted the phone from the nightstand beside the bed. He dialed the front desk.
“Why not?” Simone demanded.
“Hello,” a voice on the other end of the line said.
“We need towels in room twelve, send someone,” Killean commanded.
“Right away,” the voice replied and disconnected.
“What are you doing?” Simone asked.
“If I can’t go out for breakfast, then I’ll order in,” Killean replied as he hung up the phone.
Simone looked from him to the phone and back again. “You plan to feed on whoever comes here?”
“Vamps require blood to survive, dolly.”
Simone fisted her hands as he called her that again. He’d also called her a dolly on the beach; she hadn’t liked it then, but she hated it now! After everything she’d endured, she was as far from a dolly, or the Simone who’d stood on that beach, as she could get. Then, before she lost her temper with him, she realized he was baiting her into an argument so she wouldn’t pursue her line of questioning.
“Why did you come for me?” she asked.
Killean lifted his head to stare at her. “Because I did.”
For the first time in her life, Simone stomped her foot as her temper frayed. “That’s not an answer!”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
Before she could decide if she wanted to shout at him or kick him in the shin, a knock sounded on the door.
“Housekeeping!” a voice called from the other side.
Killean strode around the bed and opened the door. “I have your towels,” the woman said and lifted a stack of them.
“Come in,” Killean said and stepped back to let her enter.
The middle-aged woman gazed warily at the fading burns on his face and his scar before edging inside the door. Her shoulders relaxed when she spotted Simone. “Hello,” she greeted. “I’ll put these in the bathroom.”
Before she could walk away, Killean took possession of her mind and bent his head to feed on her.
Simone blinked at the speed with which he’d done it, but then jealousy tore through her with an intensity that left her shaken. She’d never experienced such an overwhelming surge of the emotion before, and she hadn’t expected it, but his dark head bent over the woman’s pale throat made her want to scream.
It was the most irrational feeling she’d ever experienced; she had no claim over him and no reason to feel jealous because he was doing what he must to survive, but she couldn’t rid herself of it. She focused on the wall and tried not to think about what he was doing with another woman.
What is wrong with me? She didn’t know the answer, but she couldn’t deny that she yearned for it to stop as she resisted clapping her hands over her ears to block out the sounds of his feeding.
Killean resisted tearing the woman’s throat out and draining the last of her blood as he retracted his fangs from her. He used the healing agent in his saliva to close the punctures before clasping the woman’s chin. His vision blurred as he struggled to keep himself controlled while the demon within him screamed for death.
Simone. Her name became the only source of light in the darkness trying to drag him into its alluring depths.
Lifting his head, he focused on Simone. The muscles in her neck stood out as she scowled at the wall across from her. He’d never expected it from her, but she practically vibrated with fury.
“Simone?” he inquired, uncertain as to why she looked so livid.
“Are you done?” she demanded.
“Yes. Would you like to feed on her?”
“No.” In the mood she was in, Simone might do something she regretted if she went anywhere near him or the woman.
Unable to deal with whatever was bothering Simone right now, Killean focused on the woman again. “You will do some shopping for us.” He proceeded to give her a rundown on the clothes they required before speaking to Simone. “What size are you?”
Simone forced herself to look at him again, but when her eyes fell on his hand clutching the woman’s chin, she glanced away. “Size?” she asked.
“Yes, what size clothes do you wear?”
“I don’t know,” she muttered.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I’ve made my clothes since I was old enough to use a sewing machine. I have no idea about sizes. I know my measurements.”
“That’s not going to help us,” he murmured as his gaze ran appraisingly over her, but he had no idea about women’s sizes either. “What size would you guess she is?” he asked the woman.
Simone was certain they could hear her teeth grinding together as the woman’s gaze ran over her.
“I’d guess a six or eight jeans; medium or large shirt,” the woman replied in a flat voice.
The odd numbers confused Simone.
“Good,” Killean said. “Bring us back those sizes and a few different bra and underwear sizes that you think will fit her.”
Simone’s face colored at the idea of Killean ordering bras and underwear for this woman to pick out for her. She didn’t know how to respond, so instead she said the only other thing she could think of. “I don’t wear jeans.”
“Bring back some dresses too,” Killean said and released the woman.
“How is she going to pay for all that?” Simone asked.
“Do you have a credit card?” Killean asked the woman.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Good. Use that to pay.”
He’d planned to use his mind control to get clothes for them when they went out, but he had to use this woman to do it for them now. He doubted any of the stores would still be open by the time he could leave this room, and he wanted to hit the road as soon as night fell. Besides, it would be better if only a few people saw him and Simone while they were in town. He hadn’t planned this, but it worked better for them.
“And if anyone asks why you’re buying these things, say it’s for charity,” he instructed.
He suspected many of the locals knew each other and would find it weird she was buying clothes that wouldn’t fit her as she was more voluptuous than Simone. And if she didn’t have a boyfriend, buying men’s clothes could raise suspicions.
“Go now,” he commanded, and the woman left the room.
Killean stepped into the doorway she’d left open and watched as she strode across the parking lot and climbed behind the wheel of a new sedan. She sat stiffly in the seat as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
When Killean closed the door and slid the chain into place, he noticed the back of his hand was almost healed, and his face no longer felt like someone had taken a blowtorch to it. He turned to Simone, and when her white-blue eyes met his, they cal
led to the most primitive part of him as he recalled how uninhibited she’d been while she fed on him.
The shift in Killean’s stance drew Simone’s gaze to the outline of his arousal in his jeans. She bit her lip as her body involuntarily responded to him by taking a step closer.
He should go in the bathroom and take another cold shower, but Killean found his feet frozen to the floor. If he couldn’t kill, he could at least enjoy having his mate feed from him again. She’d already drank from him once, feeding from him again wouldn’t progress their bond any further. Until they parted ways, when she required nourishment, he would give it to her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to feed, Simone?” he inquired. “From me?”
Chapter Twenty-One
The idea of feeding on the woman hadn’t been at all appealing, but the idea of his blood sliding down her throat had her on the verge of launching herself onto him. As if he were the magnet she couldn’t resist, Simone found herself taking three more steps forward before coming to her senses and stopping.
Killean’s heart thundered in his chest when she halted in the center of the room and licked her lips. When she seemed unable to take another step forward, he strode away from the door and stopped in front of her.
Simone’s head tipped back as he stood over her. The harshness of his face and his scar made him appear far more intimidating than he was. She didn’t recall giving her hand the command to move, but her fingers suddenly rested against his chest. She should refuse to drink from him again until she knew what was going on with him and why he’d come for her, but she could no more turn away from him than the sun could refuse to rise.
Killean flattened her hand against his chest as he enveloped her neck with his other hand and drew her forward. Having fed from him last night, she shouldn’t have to feed again so soon, but she’d been starved, and her hunger was palpable on the air. When her delicate pink tongue flicked out to wet her full lips, Killean groaned and pulled her against him.
Rising onto her toes, the rush of his blood pumping through his veins teased her nostrils more than the pancakes and sausages her mother cooked on Sunday mornings. When Killean guided her to his throat, she didn’t resist. Needing to taste him, Simone ran her tongue over his salty flesh before sinking her fangs into his neck.
The warmth and sweetness of his blood filling her mouth overwhelmed her, and she mewled as her fingers gripped his shoulders. Of its own volition, her body pressed against his until a piece of paper couldn’t fit between them. When his hand gripped her ass, she didn’t try to pull away.
Her dress hiked up around her knees when he lifted her off the ground and she slid her legs around his waist. Then she felt his arousal between her legs, but this time, instead of being mindlessly unaware of what she was doing, she was very aware of it as she started to rock against him.
Simone bit harder as something instinctive rose inside her. In Killean’s arms she felt as if she were flying free of the cage that housed her for far too long.
“Shit,” Killean hissed when Simone rose and fell against him with increasing urgency. She hadn’t been this abandoned when she’d been starved and mindless in the woods. Though he’d meant to keep his distance from her and maintain control, he staggered back until his knees caught the edge of the bed and he sat on it.
He settled his hand in the small of her back as her fingers clawed at his shirt until the material gave way. Beneath the prim and proper exterior she exhibited was a hellion seeking to break free, and Killean so badly wanted to free her.
When Simone’s hands fell on Killean’s bare flesh, her palms heated until she was certain she’d branded her prints onto him. And with a shock, she realized she yearned to brand him and mark him as hers. She didn’t know where the urge came from, but it wedged deeper and deeper until she was filled with the impulse to etch herself onto every one of his cells.
Retracting her fangs from his neck, she leaned back to gaze at his magnificent body. Beneath her palms his flesh was supple and his muscles as unbending as steel; the wiry brown hairs spreading across his upper torso tickled her fingers. She couldn’t get enough of exploring him and learning all the differences between their bodies.
Wrapping his hand around the back of her head, he pulled her down to him and claimed her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless. His lips burned into hers as his tongue stroked her mouth before slipping inside. Simone’s fingers curled into his shoulders as his tongue explored her mouth before entangling with hers.
His kiss on the beach had been an awakening experience for her; this one was soul shattering.
Gripping her ass, Killean lifted and flipped her until she was pinned beneath him on the bed. He broke the kiss to gaze down at the feral color of her eyes as she gazed breathlessly up at him.
Tugging at her dress, he pulled it up until it was a tangled mess around her hips. The auburn curls between her thighs glistened with her desire for him, and he found himself unable to resist stroking his fingers over her.
“If you tell me to stop, I will,” he said when she went to close her legs. They couldn’t have sex, it would only make the mating bond tougher to resist, but he could do so much more to her. “At any point in time, tell me no, Simone, and I will stop whatever I’m doing, but I’m asking you to let me pleasure you.”
Let me pleasure you. Those words caused Simone’s heart to skip a beat. There was so much promise in them and so much uncertainty; she wanted to know what he meant so badly she could taste it. She relaxed and shivered when he spread her legs wider and his gaze locked between her thighs. He looked like a starving man being escorted into a feast, and it only heightened her desire for him.
Killean relished the silken feel of her. Grasping the top of her dress, he pulled it down until her lush breasts spilled free to bounce over the neckline. Her nipples stood out from her strawberry areolas, and he bent his head to tug one into his mouth while he spread her wetness over her clit before fingering her entrance.
Simone whimpered and squirmed beneath him when he released her nipple and sat back to relish the sight of her. Her glossy auburn hair was a stark contrast to the white sheets, and for a second, she reminded him of an angel sitting on a bank of clouds.
And he was something worse than the devil, something that shouldn’t be allowed to touch someone as wondrous as her, yet he couldn’t stop himself from slipping his finger inside her. When the muscles of her sheath clenched around it, his dick jumped in anticipation of the decadence to come, but it would have to get used to disappointment.
With his thumb, he rubbed her clit again and enjoyed the small sounds of delight she emitted. So tight, so wet, and so enticing, he couldn’t resist edging back on the bed and bending his head to lick her clit.
She instinctively tried to close her legs as her eyes flew open to discover his head between her thighs. She clutched his hair to pull him away, but when he licked her and drove his finger into her at the same time, she pulled him closer. Men should not do this to women, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him when it felt so good.
This is it, she realized.
This was what she’d been missing on those nights when she woke after her strange, barely remembered dreams. Killean was the answer to solving the ever-elusive mystery of what her body sought on those nights. When his next stroke caused her eyes to roll back, she gave herself over to him.
Killean removed his finger from inside her and climbed off the bed to kneel before her. When she moaned in disappointment, he grasped her ass to pull her closer to the edge of the bed. Placing his hands on her thighs, he pushed them further apart as he bent his head to her sweet recesses once more.
Satisfaction filled him when her hips began to rise and fall in rhythm with his thrusting tongue. She may have been uncertain about what he intended, but he’d melted her reservations, and now she eagerly met his pace.
It had been years since he tasted a woman, and over those years he couldn’t recall what they tasted
like, but he would always remember the honeyed flavor of Simone.
His cock swelled further as her movements became more demanding and he sensed her impending release. Unable to take the pressure anymore, he reached down with one hand, undid his jeans, and grasped his shaft. His hand was a poor substitute for being inside her, but he stroked himself while feasting on her and fingering her clit with his free hand.
Simone didn’t understand the tension building in her body, but she felt like she was on the cusp of something. Then Killean’s finger did something while his tongue moved within her and waves of ecstasy swept from the center of her body, down to her toes, and up to her scalp.
Her back arched off the bed, and her fingers dug into the sheets as cries she’d never heard before issued from her. Never had she imagined anything could feel as wonderful as this, and she never wanted it to end.
Simone collapsed onto the bed as Killean licked the last of her release away. The taste of her orgasm heightened his pleasure, and he gave himself one more stroke before clutching his dick against his stomach and coming with a low groan.
Reluctantly, he withdrew from the exquisite heat of her and bent his head to rest it on the bed. It took him a second to fully comprehend what the semen on his stomach meant; for the first time in nearly a century, he’d successfully jerked off.
He lifted his head to gaze down the length of Simone’s enticing, lithe body. Her full breasts, still free of their confines, swayed with every one of her inhalations as she struggled to catch her breath. Her thighs remained open; her modesty forgotten.
When her eyes met his, they were still that enticing white-blue color, and a sultry smile curved her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bound by Darkness: The Alliance Series, Book 3 Page 13