by Ariel Marie
“It took me a minute to find you—” her words were cut off by his body slamming into hers. His body was on autopilot, needing to be touched by her.
Her gasp was drowned out as he covered her mouth with his, unable stay away from her. He let loose a growl as he dipped his tongue into her mouth and tasted her. He followed his instincts and backed her against the wall as the need to be closer to her grew. The need to feel her bare skin against his grew.
He didn’t know how she found him, but in the back of his mind, he was glad. She had consumed his thoughts since he saw her at her brother’s funeral. It took everything he had to not get out the car to find out who the mystery man was.
But now she was here in the flesh.
Her hands slowly burned a trail up his muscular chest and found their way to the nape of his neck. Nicu couldn’t keep his hands off her. Her soft curves were a direct contrast to everything on him that was hard, and he loved it. He reached down and lifted her against the wall, drawing up her dress. He growled deeply as his hands came into contact with her bare thighs.
She helped him peel out of his suit jacket without breaking their kiss. His cock was painfully pushing against his pants, begging to be set free. He shredded her panties, needing access her sweet center that he knew would be ready for him. They both fumbled with his pants, and finally freed his hardened length.
“Oh God,” she gasped, chanting his name over and over as he lined his cock up with her drenched core.
He thrust hard and covered her mouth with his to drown out her screams. He paused as her inner walls enveloped him. Sweat beaded his forehead as his fangs threatened to descend, but he was able to keep them in. He fought the urge to pound into her, but lost that battle.
“Hold on tight,” he demanded, tearing his mouth from hers. Her eyes locked on his as she followed instructions and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her legs tightened around him as he pulled back and thrust deep again, unable to control the animalistic need to take her.
She belonged to him.
He gripped her ass tight as he pounded his hardened length into her, unable to stop. The wetness of her deep channel coated his cock, allowing him to slide easily inside of her.
They were perfect for each other.
She buried her head into the side of his neck, and her moans created a vibration against his skin. He slid a hand in-between them, holding her up with the other. A familiar tingling sensation built up at the base of his balls, needing to release. His hand found her hidden nub, slick with the proof of her desire. He applied just enough pressure, causing her muscles to grow tight. Her walls tightened around him as she bit down on his shoulder and moaned her release. He roared his own release as well, unable to contain himself any longer.
They were both out of breath as they leaned on one another. Nicu grabbed her neck and pulled her head back, needing to see her face. Her eyes were closed as she leaned back against the wall. He placed his forehead against hers, unable to form a conscious thought.
Chapter Twenty
Samara
What had she done? Samara squeezed her eyes tight as Nicu’s forehead pressed against hers. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She groaned internally, but secretly loved the sensation of feeling full by his now softening cock. She shook her head and opened her eyes, unable to see clearly through the pool of tears. This was not how she imagined it going with him.
“Did I hurt you?” his voice was gruff as he withdrew from her and slowly lowered her to the floor. She shook her head, unable to look him in the eyes.
He was just in a room full of vampire women, all hoping to become his future wife. He left them and second later, he had her pinned up against a bathroom wall, having his way with her.
And oh, did he!
Nicu moved away from her and grabbed a hand towel from the wall. He came back to her and gently wiped her clean, removing all evidence of their lovemaking. She remained quiet and still as he pulled her dress down in place. He quickly fixed his clothes before placing his arms on both sides of her against the wall.
She was trapped.
He didn’t move as he stared down at her. Her heart pounded against her chest at the intensity in his eyes.
She was ashamed of herself.
“You’re thinking too much.” She jumped as his words broke the silence. Her eyes flickered to his and watched, mesmerized, as his eyes transitioned from crimson back to ice blue. “Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head and looked away from him. Her body shook as she took in the size of him. She had forgotten how massive he was. She had made the mistake of opening her senses to him in the midst of their passion.
Again.
His energy flowed into her, causing her orgasm to crash into her, making her shatter into a million pieces. She now tried to close off her senses to him, but as before, his strength was too much.
“How did you find me?” he asked. His fingers hooked her chin and pulled her face up to his.
“It was hard,” she whispered, trying to control the tremors in her voice. She cleared her throat, trying to get herself under control.
“Why, after all of this time are you here? Is something wrong?”
“I was thinking of moving to Dallas,” she blurted out.
His eyes darkened with the admission. They narrowed on her and she took a deep breath, unsure of why she would blurt that out. Here she was, coming to tell him her secret, and found herself unable to tell him.
Should she?
How would he or his family take a baby born to a mother who was not a vampire? She knew from experience from friends, born to mixed races, that they had a hard time finding their identity or being accepted by society. How would it be for her child, being half-vampire, half-human?
“I should go,” she whispered, her heart breaking with the thought of what she must do. She tried to move to the side, but his muscular arms refused to budge.
“You came here for a reason, and it wasn’t to tell me you were contemplating moving to another state.” His words were clipped and caused her to stiffen. As if sensing the difference in her body posture, his facial features softened.
Slightly.
His hardened jawline softened to what she was sure he thought was a non-threatening look, but right now, Samara was terrified.
“No, that was it,” she lied again.
“I’m going to ask you one last time, and I want you to look me in the eye and tell me the truth.” His voice was low. He trailed a finger down the side of her face, softly, causing a shiver to roll down her spine. “What brought you to me?”
“I’m pregnant.”
~Nicu~
Nicu blinked, unable to comprehend what Samara had said. He processed the words, but he must have heard her wrong.
Pregnant?
He closed his eyes briefly, before opening them to find a terrified look etched on Samara’s face. He blew out a deep breath as memories of that night came to the surface, and he knew they hadn’t used protection.
He could kick his own ass right now.
But then, his mind began to think it through. If Samara was truly pregnant, this would solve one, if not both his problems. He could take her as his mate, instead of letting the council choose for him, and she carried his heir.
Problem solved.
“Are you sure?”
She gave a slow nod. “A pregnancy test at my doctor’s office proved it.”
This would not be the first time that a vampire babe was born to a human female. A vampire’s pregnancy and growth was different than that of a human. Vampire babes did not need nine months to prepare for a welcoming into the world. If Nicu remembered right, it was along the lines of seven months. She would have to be seen by the Olaru family physician.
He glanced down at Samara’s abdomen, and for the first time noticed the small pudge in her waist. He didn’t care, thinking that he liked for his woman to have extra cushion. He never did like bone thin women. He
found his hand reaching for her belly and paused in midair.
“May I?” he asked.
She nodded as she stared down at his hand. He slowly palmed the swell of her belly and was in awe. Never before had Nicu felt amazement. He had helped create a life. Living life as a Dark Shadow commander and warrior, he had taken life plenty of times. But this time, he had a hand in creating life with a woman who was pure of heart, and possibly his mate.
“Mate with me.” The words spilled from his lips before he could even comprehend what he was saying.
“What?” she gasped, as he took his hand back.
“Mate with me. It’s the human version of marrying. I can provide for you—”
“I know what it means to mate. Your mother was explaining it to me before she brought me to you.”
“Good. We can be mated by the end of the week,” he said.
“You don’t even know me.”
“That matters not. We can get to know each other over time.”
This would solve his problems, then he and the Dark Shadows could continue the war with the necromancers and not have to worry about the council. Nicu knew that his mother would be extremely pleased to know that not only was she about to get another daughter-in-law, but finally she would get the grandchild she had been pining for.
“No.”
That one small word had Nicu’s thoughts crashing to an abrupt halt.
What did she just say?
“What do you mean, no?” he growled. How could she say no? He leaned away from her. He was the heir to the throne, the leader of the Dark Shadows.
“Just because I’m pregnant, doesn’t mean we have to get married or mate. Plenty of women have babies now and are not married.”
“My child will be raised—”
“We can co-parent.” Her voice was firm as she crossed her arms across her chest. “Rashad, a friend of mine, said that I could move to Dallas with him.”
A red haze clouded Nicu’s vision as the image of the African-American male he had witnessed helping Samara at her brother’s funeral flooded his mind. His gums began to burn as a growl released from his chest. He slammed his fist into the wall in the midst of his fury. No other male would come near Samara. She was his. The baby was his. He would kill anyone that took her from him.
She was his mate.
Nicu felt a piercing in his heart and now knew, without a doubt, that she was his. It was like a lock had snapped shut around his heart.
The bond.
The sound of Samara’s scream didn’t register until he glanced down and found her cowering on the floor in the corner. Her eyes were closed and her breaths were coming fast and hard.
“Samara.” He crouched down and noticed how her body trembled. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“No, it’s your power,” she gasped, before she passed out.
Chapter Twenty-One
Samara
Samara had never been so embarrassed in her life. Never had she passed out before. She could usually control her gift, but this time, that was not the case. She woke to Nicu carrying her through the halls of his family’s mansion, shouting for the royal physician.
She swore that she was fine, but he wouldn’t listen. She knew that her senses had gone into overload. Once she passed out, the connection between her and Nicu broke.
His burst of anger when she mentioned Rashad’s name caused an eruption of power that she couldn’t tolerate. The power that rolled off Nicu during his explosion that led to him punching the wall, caused a force to hit her and throw her to the floor.
She knew deep down that he would never hurt her. Before his explosion, she could sense his acceptance of their child and a possessive nature rearing itself from within him.
Yes, they had created a child together, but she would stand firm in her decision. She would not marry or mate with Nicu just because she was pregnant.
They didn’t even know each other, she thought to herself. This was the twenty-first century. There was nothing wrong with a successful African-American woman like herself, co-parenting a child with its father. People do it all the time.
She opened her eyes as she laid on the cot in the infirmary, and stared at the drawn privacy curtain. Her hand slowly rubbed the swell of her belly as she thought of the baby. The physician, Dr. Holinsky, had just left from examining her. He seemed to be a nice man, and she was too embarrassed to ask him if he too was a vampire. He had been very professional in his exam and informed her that he was sure she and the baby were fine. He promised to return in a few minutes with an ultrasound machine so that he could ease her mind.
Her heart rate increased, knowing she would soon see her baby for the first time. She had an upcoming appointment with her gynecologist and was anxiously awaiting it, but this would be like opening a present the night before Christmas.
“Samara?” an unfamiliar voice called out from behind the curtain.
“Yes?” she answered. She sat up higher in the bed as the curtain was pulled back slightly to reveal a beautiful young woman, with dark auburn hair, and identical ice blue eyes as Nicu. The female’s face broke out into a wide smile as she pulled the curtain shut.
“I’m Nadira,” the female said. “I’m Nicu’s sister.”
~Nicu~
* * *
“Nadira will be able to convince her that the best thing would be for us to complete the mating,” Nicu said, exasperated as he paced the floor outside the infirmary. He was certain that his sister would be able to convince Samara the method of his reasoning.
Watching Samara slump to the floor, unconscious, did something to Nicu. He was unfamiliar with the feeling that took hold in his chest at seeing her still form.
Was that fear?
He frowned at that thought. He was the Dark Shadow commander, a warrior. He didn’t feel fear. It was he who caused his enemies to quake in their boots. Never before had he experienced the sensation and he didn’t like it.
Not one bit.
“Nicu, it doesn’t work that easily with humans,” Anika responded as she leaned against the wall.
“Why not? I can provide for her and the babe. She will be protected. She will be the future queen,” he snapped.
“What about love?”
“What about it?” he growled, pausing to stare at Anika.
She was a beautiful African-American woman, who had been friends with Nadira for years, and like a second sister to him. It almost seemed natural that she would mate with one of his brothers, and the fact that it was Toma threw everyone for a loop.
But still, she was human.
She mated with Toma without a fight. Why couldn’t Samara just do the same thing? He hated to think that this was his pride whispering in the back of his mind.
Why wouldn’t she want to mate with him? Females of all races would throw themselves at him. He wasn’t vain, but he knew he was pleasing to the eyes. He was a strong vampire and was in line to be the king of the vampire nation.
“You’re growling doesn’t intimidate me. I’m mated to Toma, and I’m used to hearing him growl all the time.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. “But she will not be. She hasn’t been around the supernatural world for long, and doesn’t know a thing about the culture. You will have to teach her and be patient because you cannot force her.”
“Teach her? But that is what Nadira is for.”
“Well, if you want her to trust you, then it will have to be you who teaches her. She is pregnant with a vampire’s child. You’re a stranger. You two sort of skipped the meat of a relationship. You know the saying, ‘jumping from the frying pan and into the fire?’ She’s probably downright terrified, and from what you have told me of her, she has no one to help her.”
He paused and thought of what Anika had said. He knew that she was right. Samara had only just learned of the vampire race…shit, the whole damn supernatural world. He would have to dig down deep somewhere and find that thing called patience. Nicu was used to gettin
g his way the minute he snapped his finger.
“I’ll try—”
“No, not try. If you want her for your mate and that child in your life, you’re going to have to do it. When human females make up their minds, they will stick to it.”
“She’s right, Nicu.” He turned to find his mother, the queen, walking down the hallway toward them.
“Mother,” he acknowledged with a nod.
“Her first instinct will be to run. You cannot let her and the baby go. Our family’s future lies in the hands of that scared woman in there.” She pointed to the infirmary.
He thought of Samara’s mention of potentially moving to Dallas with her male friend. He would be damned if another male would help rear his child who was not a relative. He would do whatever he had to do to keep his mate with him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Samara
Samara watched, frozen, as the physician prepared the machine that would show her the first glimpse of the baby. She bit her lip as she unconsciously rubbed her belly. The talk she’d had with Nicu’s younger sister, Nadira, was comforting, but didn’t erase all her fears and doubts.
Nadira shed much light on the vampire mating, but Samara couldn’t just mate with someone she didn’t know. How was she to know that the feelings she was experiencing was fate, telling her that Nicu was meant to be hers forever?
Sure, she was attracted to him. The passion between them should be illegal. The connection that was created between them was the strongest that she had ever seen before. It was dangerous for them to share that much energy and power, but she didn’t know how to pull away from him when her senses opened.