Craving Her (The Bloodlust Duet Book 1)

by Kay Maree

  “My name is Draven,

  “You are vampires,” she cuts me off, turning her head and her eyes connect with mine.

  I freeze as a rush of different emotions race off her. I try to pinpoint just one but they swamp each other. Her eyes glow violet again and I can’t seem to pull words out as they capture every single inch of me, so I just nod as my arms reflexively tighten a little more around her waist worried she will try to run again.

  “I’m not scared,” she breathes out and the aroma of her breath is heady and intoxicating. “I was especially when Lorna whispered to me before that she only brought me here as a sacrifice and because she thought she had your attention, I wasn’t needed anymore, but having you so close, touching me, scenting me, it all feels right like this is where I am supposed to be. Losing that feeling is what is scary.”

  “Never,” I grit out making her smile, a smile that could bring a man or beast like me to his knees and surrender his purpose in life and death. “You are all I have ever wanted and I will never let you get away now, and no other will ever touch you. They knew the minute you walked in here that you belonged to me,” I vow, voice hard at the thought of anyone touching her.

  “Good,” she murmurs as she leans into me, her head tucking under my chin like she has done it a thousand times before. We stay like that for what feels like hours but is only a few minutes. Lifting her head, she turns in my lap so she is straddling me, placing her hands against my chest, her fingers flex. Having her this close and not taking her has my teeth aching, my cock hard as granite, and my head racing from her scent.

  “Your skin reminds me of the color of the full moon, your eyes are like a storm churning ready to fall, but your scent has my head fuzzy with all kinds of thoughts I have never in my life thought before. I ache with a need to have you do things to me but my mouth won’t allow me to say.” A puzzled look crosses her face as she chews on that bottom lip. Running my thumb across that lip, I pull on it, releasing her grip causing a soft gasp to escape.

  “I can not believe I just said all that stuff just now,” she whispers as her eyes stay locked on mine.

  “Soon, you won't have to say a word, my Queen. A look, a simple thought, will be mine as well.”

  “What?”

  “When we are fully mated. Your thoughts, emotions, heart, and soul will be mine. Everything that is you will be mine, to cherish, to crave, to love.” I run the tips of my fingers down the curve of her neck, feeling her shiver as her neck arches more for me, my mouth waters. “Just like everything about me will become yours,” I breathe out against her ear.

  “It's not my heart I'm worried about. That’s already in shreds. It’s my soul I want to protect.” Her words come out breathy and low but coated in raw, gut-wrenching sadness. It’s crippling and tears through me like a hot blade.

  Gripping the nape of her neck, I lift her face so her eyes lock on mine again, and they flash violet as a single tear trickles down her cheek. Leaning forward, I run the tip of my tongue over the soft curve, catching the drop before it has time to fall. My body shakes as her taste explodes across my tongue and I feel my teeth begin to push through my gums . . . and I’m so lost in her I can’t stop it.

  “Your bright soul and my dark one will entwine together, creating a power unlike anything this world has ever seen and nothing could ever tear through that, my Queen,” I murmur against her cheek as her eyelashes flutter shut.

  “HmmMmm,” she hums lost in sensation.

  “Are you hungry, my Queen?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Shaya

  “Are you hungry, my Queen?” he murmurs

  “Famished,” I whisper letting my eyes open and capture his stormy pools. Nodding slowly, I’m not sure what I’m hungry for but weird sensations curl in the pit of my stomach wanting anything he has to give me. The feeling only gets worse as his wide palm slides up my arm, so slowly, it’s torture. He makes it to my shoulder, sliding my hair behind my back before continuing the slow torture.

  A smirk curls his lips and I should be pissed he’s torturing me but I hold my breath as his hand finally curls around the nape of my neck. The softness is gone now as his grip tightens, sending tingles racing through me, needing more of his touch, more of his scent, just more. A low humming sound vibrates up my throat and slips off my tongue as his eyes catch with mine seeming to swirl, caging me even more.

  “Kiss me,” slips out on a breathy whisper as my teeth sink into my bottom lip till the metallic taste of blood smears across my tongue. His eyes flash again, swirling and smoldering, taking me away in a hypnotic power play that has my body going weak. His lips touch mine but it’s not hard to remind me I’m his, no, this is soft, teasing, mesmerizing, making me crave him more and more with each swipe of his tongue and the slight nip of his teeth.

  “Fuck.” He pulls back, hunger as pure as day covers his hard features and it should scare me but it doesn’t.

  “I need you bare and laid out for me,” he breathes out and before I can utter another word, I’m up in his arms and being carried through the club toward a set of glossy black doors that slide open as we approach. Stepping inside, I look around, realizing we’re in an elevator. The mixture of the heat coming off my body and the coolness of his touch has my need spiraling out of control.

  “What is happening to me,” I murmur, flexing my hands around his neck, trying to pull my body closer to his but there is no room left— I’m as close as I can be. I blow out a frustrated breath needing my whole body covered in his weight.

  “Your body knows I am yours,” he replies in a strained voice as his eyes take in my every move. The ding of the elevator goes off and before I can blink, we are rushing through an apartment that becomes a blur before my back hits a soft bed.

  “Wow, I’m going to have to get used to how fast you can move,” I mumble as my eyes take him in, standing at the end of the bed, his eyes devouring every inch of me. “Touch me,” I breath out losing all control of my mouth with his intense gaze locked on mine.

  “You're the drug I need to survive.” The slow sensual melody of his voice seems to reach deep and entwine itself around my very soul like he said would happen earlier. A slice of fear ricochets through me but then it dissipates just as fast with his next words.

  “You were made for me.” The truth in those words rocks the very foundation of my being but then that whirlpool motion from earlier resurfaces and sends everything I thought I knew about my future out the window and all that’s left is Draven and the promise of eternity.

  I watch his eyes as they flash brighter, his incisors have already lengthened into sharp fangs. I run my tongue across my bottom lip wanting to feel them with my tongue. I want to feel the sting of his teeth, I crave it. I want to taste my blood on his lips.

  He’s thirsty for me, I am hungry for him.

  “I saw you before you even knew I existed. Everything I have ever done has been for you.”

  He said that downstairs earlier and it had me curious about what he meant but before I can ask, he keeps speaking.

  “I named my club after you, my Queen. Midnight Veil because of your hair, the drink you had earlier was the Midnight Shadow because you were always there, I just couldn’t see you, you were hidden in the shadows but I knew one day, the sun would light my life once again and bring you to me.” He murmurs the last words into my mouth as he makes his way up the bed while he speaks.

  “You deserve a motherfucking crown, my Queen, but for now, you will have to settle for this.” My eyes go wide as he pulls a huge red heart-shaped ruby on a gold necklace from his pants pocket.

  “Oh God,” I breathe out. Never in my life have I seen anything so beautiful. Pushing up the bed a little, I sit up. Gripping my hair in my hand, I pull it over one shoulder so he has room to place it around my neck and do it up.

  “Draven, it’s too much but oh so beautiful.”

  “It’s not enough.” He leans forward and plants
a soft kiss to my forehead, the chill from his lips is welcome against the heat flushing through me.

  “I have nothing to offer you in return.”

  “I love the way you lie, my Queen.” His voice is gruff and dark as it slides down my neck pulsating in my veins.

  “I’m not—”

  “I can sense your lie, my Queen,” he chuckles probably at my shocked expression. “You may think you have nothing but in reality, you have already given it to me.”

  “What?”

  “You,” he says simply, shocking me all over again.

  “Me?”

  “You, my Queen, are all I need, all I’ll ever need. I have been searching for you for centuries and now, I finally have you. No jewel will ever be enough for what you have given me.”

  “Holy shit,” I gasp. Did he say centuries? “Lucky I love old things.” I giggle when he growls, pinning me to the soft bed.

  “Definitely lucky, my Shaya.” His low voice in my ear again sends a tremor racing through me, my name on his lips is smooth like silk coated in a deep carnal desire.

  “Touch me, kiss me, taste me,” I murmur as my lips brush against his cheek, savoring the coolness.

  “I can feel your energy pulsating off you in waves, pulling me in, trapping me in a carnal battle that I will win. I want to devour every inch of you, my Queen.”

  “Do it, my heart is screaming for you to take me,” As the words leave my lips, my dress disappears followed by my underwear.

  “Beautiful,” he murmurs. Slow, cool, rough hands skate over my skin. I shiver as I reach back and grip the headboard, making my body arch.

  Leaning back, he slowly undoes his black button-up shirt, revealing smooth white porcelain skin. Letting the headboard go, I reach out running my nails down the smooth flesh and making him hiss. Slowing dragging my hands down his chest till I reach his belt buckle, I snap it open, releasing the button and sliding the zipper down.

  Leaning down, he sucks my bottom lip between his teeth. “I need a taste,” he whispers in my mouth and all I can do is nod my head in answer. Gripping my neck in the palm of his hand, kissing an invisible line from the corner of my mouth, over my cheek, down my neck and stopping to suck on my pulse point, he moans as his teeth graze me, shivering as his tongue laps up the side of my neck.

  “So sweet,” he rumbles licking me again. My body relaxes, my fingers flex on his hips as my nails bite into his skin, but he is hard all over and I doubt he feels it.

  “Bite me” slips free before I can stop it.

  “Breathe for both of us while I take you the first time, my Queen. I have longed to hear your heartbeat as your hot, intoxicating breath washes over me.”

  In a blur, he moves, kicking his clothes to the side and spreading my legs to make room for him.

  “I need to take it slow as not to hurt you,” he rushes out, more to himself than me. “Your scent is driving me crazy, I need to be inside you. I bet you will taste sweeter when you orgasm.”

  Heat creeps through me with his words but I don’t take my eyes away from his. One finger grazes over my neck, creating a small stinging cut. I shiver, feeling my warm blood slowly slide down the curve of my neck. Pulling his eyes from mine, he watches what his finger is doing, caught in a trance as his finger starts running down the center of my chest, spreading the small amount of blood.

  “This feeling won’t go away until our souls are entwined and bound together for eternity.” His hard cock brushes against my clit and my body automatically arches wanting more.

  “I need you.” No sooner the words are slipping out of my throat and he’s pushing inside me in a hard thrust, sending every nerve crackling through me.

  Gripping my wrists, he pins them to each side of my head, thrusting in and out, my body bows to mold against his, my legs wrap tight around his waist as his tongue licks up the path of blood till he reaches the side of my neck on a groan. A powerful force surrounds us, sparks fly, loud cracking sounds echo around us.

  My mind blanks as feathers fly, raining down over our bodies. Sweat slicks my skin, a raw feeling breaks inside of me as my skin burns from his touch but I welcome the feeling. My eyes flutter shut, colors burst behind my closed lids. He pushes in deeper, our moans blend together in a hypnotic tune circling us is a cocoon of our own making, daring anyone wanting to breakthrough.

  The grip he has on me sends an electric chill racing through my blood, the hard thrusts build up till I’m panting, begging for more. I welcome the stretch as my body hums, a shimmering feeling races through me, forcing me to open my eyes. His eyes are shining brighter like liquid silver but that’s not what gives me pause— my eyes are stinging but it’s not painful, it’s comforting.

  “What’s happening,” I breathe out on a loud moan as my body locks and bows, an orgasm so fierce racing through me— but it’s holding off, simmering through me, waiting for something but I don’t know what that something is— but in the distance, I hear the echo of his words.

  “You're coming home, my Queen.” His words bounce through my euphoric head, my blood on his lips seems to shine like glitter. Reaching out, I curl a hand behind his head and bring his lips to mine, licking from one corner of his mouth to the other, the taste of my blood reminding me of pure sugar.

  “I want to taste you on my lips,” I breathe out after pulling my lips from his.

  Bringing a finger to his teeth, he grazes it, splitting the skin. With the tip of his finger, he runs it across my bottom lip and the mix of him and I sends me into orbit. Leaning down, he takes my lips in a deep kiss, groaning out as he seats himself to the hilt and lets his own orgasm flow through me.

  The heat from his release is in such contrast to the chill of his skin. Our combined tastes are like ambrosia for the soul and that part deep inside me begging to be connected to this man cracks wide open, sealing us together. My world dips and vanishes in a split second before righting itself all over again. That feeling I was waiting to send me over the edge was his taste, one single taste changes my destiny and for the first time in my life, I’m whole.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Draven

  An uneasy feeling washes through me. Looking down at my mate sleeping peacefully in my arms, I pull her tighter to me knowing it’s not coming from her. Something is pushing at me but I can’t pinpoint it. Kissing the top of her head, I soak in her scent for a few moments. A small sigh leaves her parted lips as she wiggles further into me.

  Not wanting to break the moment with her, but I know I need to go downstairs and find out what’s causing these feelings to rush through me. Sometimes, being the eldest and in control of a coven is overwhelming. I never really thought about it much before it was my duty, an honor, but now, having her here in my arms, it seems harder to pull away and go take care of whatever is happening downstairs. A small whimper in protest leaves my woman’s mouth as I shift her out of my arms. Leaning over, I kiss her forehead again. “Back soon,” I whisper in her ear as she snags my pillow and wraps her arms around it, pulling it into her chest and making me chuckle at how adorable she looks.

  Chucking my clothes back on, I race toward the elevator. The quicker I get down there and sort this out, the quicker I will be back in bed with my Queen. Heading down the elevator, I need to talk to Crowna and see what the hell is happening.

  The doors slide open on the bottom floor and the music beats around me as I look toward my corner and notice Crowna standing at attention looking out across the crowd. In the blink of an eye, I’m by his side.

  “What is it,” I murmur looking out at the crowd but nothing is different. Everything still seems the same but that odd sensation runs through me again.

  “I don’t know,” Crowna finally answers after another sweep of his eyes.

  “Something is going on,” I growl. “I felt it all the way upstairs.”

  “An awareness like nothing before hit me and has everything inside me standing at attention, brother, and I don
’t even know if these words are doing the feeling justice,” he gets out between gritted teeth.

  Looking toward the bar, Marco jerks his chin up as his eyes cast a glance over the club as well, setting my back teeth on edge. A vibration deep and strong rocks through the building. That eerie feeling getting thicker in the air and like a blanket, it seems to engulf us. Loud hisses ring out, the music shuts off, bodies still and look around, screams ring out as glass begins to shatter. Before I have time to react, a green haze begins to float through the room.

  “Everyone out,” I shout. Racing toward the double doors and pushing them open, everyone scrambles for the exit and races up toward the street. But when I swing around, Crowna is standing stock still at the top of the steps on our platform.

  “Crowna move it,” I shout, needing him to help get everyone out of here. Adrenaline spikes through me knowing I need to get to my mate. “I need you on this, Crowna, while I get my mate.” I rush out heading toward the elevator. Fear races through me, fast and hard, as a scream pierces through my head. The fear is so real and alive that it forces me to my knees. Dread coats the air around me, a weakness unlike anything I have ever felt swarms me and I struggle to get to my feet.

  “Shit, Draven.” Crowna is by my side lifting me up, my legs as weak as jello.

  “Shaya,” I grunt out. “I need to get to her. Something is wrong.” I close my eyes as pain radiates through me, fast and hard.

  “I got you, boss,” is all I hear over the panic in my head.

  I feel us moving and the closer I get to her, the pain intensifies. Every inch of power that swims through me I push it out trying to comfort her. After a beat, the edge of pain subsides slightly but it’s enough to help me push through the fog that’s overtaking me. My mate needs me and I will not lose her.