by Becca Van
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Hmm.” It was all she could manage as a reply since it felt like even her tongue as well as her mind was still in meltdown.
“Are you sure, Callie?”
The sound of his voice in her head brought her to more awareness, and in that moment she realized she could feel Vlad everywhere. In her heart, mind, body, and soul, and the love she felt filling her heart was his love for her.
Tears filled her eyes, and although she knew she couldn’t have walked away from Dex and Vlad if someone had offered her a million dollars to do so, she had never expected to feel so much. She hadn’t even realized how empty her life was, that there were spaces in her heart that needed to be filled, until now.
How could she feel so much after such a short time? Not that she really cared. What she cared about was feeling the same way with Dex, too.
And although she wanted to make love with Dex as well, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to move a finger let alone her whole body, but she would give it a damn good try. Being with Dexter the same way she had with Vlad became paramount and she just hoped that she could be what he needed her to be.
Chapter Ten
Dexter was so damned horny he was shaking with it. His beast was riding him to snatch Callie from Vlad’s arms, turn her onto her back, and bury himself deep inside her, but he wouldn’t do that. She deserved so much more than a hard and fast fuck. She was his mate and she deserved to be treated with love and respect, but after watching Vlad make love with her and exchange blood with her three times he didn’t know if he could be gentle with her.
Plus there was the fact she looked like she could barely move, and he hoped she wasn’t sore after Vlad had made love to her.
Vlad stirred and removed his arms from around her. “You need to get control, Dex. Your eyes have turned red.”
“I know. I’m a little afraid to touch her right now.”
“Why don’t you take her into the bathroom and take a shower? Maybe something mundane will help you regain the upper hand from your beast.”
Dex groaned and pushed his fingers through his hair, the image of her wet and naked nearly more than he could stand, and then he froze when he heard Callie’s voice in his head.
“I want you, too, Dex.”
Dex met Vlad’s gaze and then Callie’s again. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to block her from his mind. Now that she was mated with Vlad and they had shared blood many times, the connection was so much stronger. “Fuck, Callie, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
“Are you tender, sweet one?”
“No. I feel a little weak, but the ache is starting to build again. I need you, Dex. Please?” Callie reached out and took his hand in hers.
Dex clasped her hand and brought it to his lips. “If we do this, honey, you have to do everything I say. I’m not sure I can keep the beast leashed if you touch me right now.”
“That’s not true, Dex. I’m touching you already and you haven’t jumped my bones.”
“I’m so on edge, Callie. I could…”
“No. I know you would never hurt me.” She squeezed his hand. “I trust you, Dex.”
The breath left his lungs in a rush as his heart flipped in his chest. The way she accepted him, inner beast and all, was so humbling. She was still human, and he was so powerful compared to her but her trust got to him more than any other person ever had. Without even realizing what she was doing she made him feel more than he ever had in his life. He’d always had an affection for Vlad, his blood brother of centuries, but now he felt love for his friend. The love a sibling would have for a brother and the love he felt for her was nearly all consuming. His heart was so full he could barely contain the joy inside and wondered if it would burst apart.
Nothing had prepared him for the way he would feel right at the moment, and to his surprise he felt tears of emotion burning the back of his eyes. She accepted him and Vlad for who and what they were without any question. No one but Vlad had ever done that before, not even the others of his own kind. Dex and Vlad were feared by some of their counterparts because of their immense knowledge and power, and to know that she was willing to give herself to them without any remorse, reservation, or fear was poignant and awe-inspiring to someone who had lived for such a long time.
Callie was the one to move to him. She got up onto her hands and knees, and even though she swayed a little she didn’t stop until she had crawled into his lap. Dex was glad that he had thought his clothes away and relished feeling her soft, silky-smooth warm skin sliding against and connecting with his. He inhaled her wonderful musky, feminine aroma, and the hunger which had depleted to a controllable level came roaring back to life.
He didn’t even remember doing it, but one moment she was sitting on his lap, her beautiful ass pressing against his hard throbbing cock, and the next he was hovering over her as she lay flat on her back. Then he was kissing her with a voraciousness he knew would only grow even more. Dex tried to be gentle, but he nipped at her lower lip, drawing a bead of blood, and lapped at it with his tongue. The small taste of her life’s essence was so intoxicating he wanted to sink his fangs into her and draw her blood into his body until he was satiated. But when she cried out he worried he was hurting her and took hold of the hunger roaring through his body, broke the kiss, rested his forehead against hers, and tried to slow his breathing.
Finally, when he could talk without gasping, he apologized. “I’m sorry, sweet one. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Callie reached up and cupped his face between her hands. “You didn’t hurt me. The both of you turn me on with whatever you do.”
Relief surged through him and some of the tension in his muscles seeped away.
“I need you, too, Dex. Please make love to me?”
Dex reached up and placed his hands over hers, leaned forward, and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I want that, too, honey.” He released his hold over her hands, grasped her upper arms, and eased her back onto the pillows. She never once took her eyes from his as he kept their gazes connected.
He nudged her legs wider apart and shifted closer until his cock brushed against her mound. A whimper escaped her mouth, and he smiled at her. Her eyes widened slightly when they saw his fangs, so he tuned his sense of smell and hearing to her heartbeat and was glad that although it was speeding up he didn’t smell fear on her. Excitement, yes, but not fear. Thank God.
Dex caressed her silky, soft, and wet folds and then dipped a finger into her well, pleased beyond measure to find her hot and dripping. “Are you ready for me, honey?”
“God yes,” Callie sighed, and then her hands landed on his chest. He closed his eyes and savored the feel of her skin touching his. Nothing had ever felt so right or so good, and he knew nothing would ever compare to having his mate touching him. Not that he wanted to find out now that he had her in his life. She was it for him and Vlad, and he never wanted to be with anyone else.
He couldn’t wait anymore. Dex had been shaking with an acute hunger since he’d watched his blood brother make love to and exchange blood with Callie. Now that it was his turn he was worried about getting carried away and hurting her, but there was no way he was backing off. He needed her like he needed blood to survive, and nothing was going to stop him from claiming his mate.
Dex took a deep breath and released it slowly as he eased his hard aching cock into her hot wet cunt. His eyes closed as her heat enveloped him, and then he opened them again as he slowly forged deeper. He had to keep a watch on her in case he became too rough.
Callie moaned as he advanced, and her wet walls clenched tight around him. He didn’t stop until he was buried inside her as far as he could go, and he held still to give her time to get used to having his cock inside of her.
“You okay, sweet one?”
“Yes,” Callie groaned her reply. Her hands were still stroking over his chest and belly, sending goose bumps over his skin and fire thro
ugh his veins. He was amazed that a simple touch from her could reduce him into a shaking primal animal, but he loved every minute of it.
He grasped her hips and withdrew to the head and then surged forward fast and hard. He paused when she whimpered, worried he’d been too aggressive.
“More. Do it again,” she ordered and tried to arch her hips up.
Dex tightened his hold on her, and then he started loving her in earnest. He withdrew and then slammed back in, moaning as her velvet walls slid along his cock.
“You feel amazing, Callie.” He made a low, growly sound in his throat, one he’d never heard from himself before and shoved back into her. “I.” He retreated and pushed back in. “Can’t. Get.” Again he thrust. “Enough.” His flesh slapped against hers. “Of.” He moaned as his cock forged his way through her swollen, hot folds. “You.”
When he stroked into her again, he swiveled his hips and made sure to contact with her clit. She sobbed and dug her nails into his pecs. He growled, loving the sting of her nails digging into his flesh and powered in and out of her. The sounds she made, whimpering and moaning, as well as their bodies slapping together only seemed to heighten his sexual hunger even more until there was a roaring sound in his ears. His fangs lengthened even more, and the tingling which started at the base of his spine swept up through his entire body until it even reached his teeth.
He bent over her but kept his hips pumping, sliding his cock in and out of her hot sheath, and he licked along the length of her neck. He inhaled her wonderful feminine scent and the tantalizing aroma of her blood rushing beneath the surface of her skin. He licked her again and moaned as her cunt grew tauter around his gliding cock, and he relished the sensation of her hot cream pouring over him. And then he struck.
He sank his fangs into her flesh and moaned as the flavor of her spicy blood flooded his mouth and coated his tongue. Nothing had ever tasted so good. He drew her life’s essence into his very being and felt her spirit merging with his. He opened his mind to her as she was to him as he drank and drank from her body.
His cock grew even larger, something he hadn’t thought possible, and his balls drew up close to his body, the seed inside his testes roiling and boiling with the need to release. He was vaguely aware of her screaming out her pleasure, but there was a red haze of need over his eyes and roaring through his bloodstream. Her cunt rippled and clamped over and around him, sucking on his aching dick. And then he, too, was yelling as his seed shot up from his balls, up the length of his shaft, and out the tip of his cock and spurted deep into her body.
He withdrew his fangs from her throat, shoved into her mind as he slashed a cut across his chest with a lengthened nail, and compelled her to drink from him. Having her mouth sucking at his blood and moving on his skin was so erotic and pleasurable he kept right on coming. He held her mind to his and let her drink enough for a blood exchange, and then he sank his teeth deep into her carotid artery once more. He repeated the process until they had exchanged their life essence three times, and the whole time they both continued to come. He was amazed by how connected he was to her and cherished every touch, every sigh, and every contraction of her pussy on his cock. But he didn’t just feel her physically. Dex was inside her so far he felt what she felt as his cock slid in and out of her. The sensation of feeling both of them climaxing heightened the euphoria until he began to wonder if he was dying.
Finally, with a last lick of her neck, healing the wound on her skin, he commanded her to stop drinking and eased her back onto the pillows. He licked his finger and wiped his healing saliva across the slash on his chest and stared down at his mate with wonder.
Her eyes were closed, and even though she was still breathing heavily she looked like she was fast asleep. With care, he eased his cock from her body and watched with manly satisfaction as their mingled juices dripped out onto her thighs. He glanced at Vlad and saw that his blood brother was watching her with heat and love in his eyes.
“She’s amazing,” Dex whispered as he shifted to her side and hugged her against his body. Everything felt right when she was in his arms. The void he didn’t know he had in his heart was full and he wanted to shout with joy, but of course he didn’t.
“Amazing is too weak a word.” Vlad reached out and brushed the hair back from her face.
“She’s as sexy as hell.”
“Stunning,” Vlad said.
“Gorgeous.” Dex sighed.
“Magnificent.” Vlad stroked a finger down her face.
When she frowned in her sleep and whimpered, Dex placed his hand on her torso just below her ribs and felt heat emanating from her. “We need to put her into a deep sleep. She’s going through the conversion.”
Vlad nodded.
Dex pushed into her mind and ordered her into the sleep of their kind. He watched as the breath left her lungs and her heart rate slowed to an almost nonexistent beat. When their kind went to sleep they lay as if dead. There was no need to breathe, and their heart only beat a couple of times an hour.
“I’ll go and fill the tub.” Vlad rolled from the bed and started toward the bathroom. “We want her to feel comfortable when she awakens.”
“How long do you think she’ll need to sleep for?” Dex asked.
“A couple of days at most I would think. Her body is going through the change and I don’t want to wake her too soon. There is no way in hell I want her to feel any sort of pain.”
Dex lifted Callie into his arms and followed Vlad into the bathroom and stepped into the filling tub. He sank down into the water and adjusted Callie on his lap so that her head was supported by his shoulder with her body resting against his.
“The hunger’s gone,” Dex said, meeting Vlad’s eyes as he, too, stepped into the tub.
“Yes.” Vlad picked up a cloth, poured some bodywash onto it, and began to wash Callie. “The taste of her blood is…”
“Addicting?”
Vlad nodded. “Quenching. After just one sip I could feel the hunger dissipating.”
“Yeah. She’s spectacular.”
“That she is.”
“We have to keep her safe,” Dex said.
“That’s paramount,” Vlad replied. “Now that she’s the same as us and we’re mated, we’ll be able to connect with her much easier.”
“Thank the Lord for that.” Dex kissed the top of her head. “Were you able to plant a tracking spell on that bastard?”
“I tried.” Vlad sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. “Although I was able to reveal him to my eyes, I think he had a protection spell around him, too. The tracking spell didn’t seem to take.”
“Do you know who he was?” Dex asked.
“No. He had no ID and I couldn’t get into his mind. It was like trying to get through a brick wall.”
“Damn. I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I.” Vlad sighed. “Every time we think we’re getting closer to Pike something else crops up.”
“You think he’s working with someone else?” Dex asked.
“I don’t know.”
“He’s a powerful wizard,” Dex said.
“That may be so, but something’s not right. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“Our first priority is keeping our mate safe.”
“Yes it is.” Vlad nodded. “But I have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.”
“I feel it, too. Thank God Callie agreed to mate with us. We’ll keep her safe.”
“Count on it.”
Chapter Eleven
Callie had no idea where she was. It was so dark and cold, and the mist swirling around her was so thick she could barely see her hand in front of her face. When she tried to remember where’d she’d been and what she’d been doing, she couldn’t.
There was something important niggling in the back of her mind, but no matter how hard she tried to grasp a hold of it she couldn’t. She turned in a circle, trying to peer through the thick mist, but s
he couldn’t see anything. She wasn’t sure if she should try to move or stay where she was. The last thing she wanted to do was end up hurting herself by tripping over something she couldn’t see.
She had this nagging feeling that she was here—wherever here was—with someone but for the life of her she couldn’t remember who.
Trepidation sent her heart fluttering in her chest and fluttering in her belly. She was so damn cold she was shivering but she was also sweating. Her armpits were wet and moisture was trickling down in between her breasts and shoulder blades. Plus she was having trouble breathing. Her throat felt constricted, as if someone had wrapped a hand around it and was squeezing.
She tried to lift her arms up to relieve the constriction around her neck, but they were so heavy and wouldn’t obey her command. When she tried to move her feet to take a step back they wouldn’t move either.
What the hell is going on? Where am I? Am I dreaming?
The mist close to her swirled and danced, and then it parted. Walking toward her with menace in every step was a tall, thin man. She couldn’t see who he was, but she knew she’d never seen him before.
How do I know that when I can’t see him properly?
Callie watched everything as if in slow motion. He stopped mere feet in front of her but still she couldn’t make out his features. Everything seemed so surreal to her, as if she was in a dream, but she wasn’t absolutely certain of that either.
He raised his arm and beckoned with his hand. Callie drew in a deep breath and released it in a shudder. More goose bumps rose up over her skin and she was too scared to move, but she found herself reaching out to him, and although she tried to stop the action she couldn’t. It felt like she was being controlled, like a puppet on a string to do its master’s bidding.
“Come to me,” he whispered.
Callie shuddered with fear. Even though his voice was smooth and cultured, it grated on her nerves. His voice sounded wrong and malevolent. She stopped her arm from moving when it was level, and with great concentration she managed to get her palm to move so that it was facing him to ward him off instead of reaching to clasp his. And then knowledge permeated her to her soul. This man was evil and he was controlling her.