by Kresley Cole
Together in bed. In the Morior. In war.
FIFTY-THREE
I loved this on you," Rune murmured against Jo's choker.
She was sitting in his lap as he nuzzled her neck. Beneath her ass, he was rock-hard.
"Loved seeing you wear my baneblood." His warm breaths made her shiver. When he claimed her as his mate tonight, he would bite her neck. "Your own blood is black now. I saw when that swordsman nicked you."
Get out! "Can I kill with my bite or my claws?" More powers!
"Your blood might be deadly. But I doubt anything else would be."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed." He pressed his forehead to hers. "For all my life, I've hated my poison."
"Until you met me." She leaned in for a kiss.
His lips were firm when he grazed them over hers. Just that light contact made her heart race. She parted her lips, welcoming his clever tongue.
He leaned her back against his arm so he could take her more thoroughly. For a male who hadn't kissed often--or at least not for extended amounts of time--he was an amazing kisser.
She threaded her fingers into his thick hair, loosening it from his queue, pressing herself against his body. She was already wet for him. He'd made a big deal out of readying her for sex--she was raring.
When she wriggled over his dick--hint, hint--he groaned into the kiss, adjusting her on his lap. As their tongues twined, she tugged on his neck, arching into his grip. Why wasn't he feeling her up? Why did they still have clothes on? She wanted his dick warming her palm. She wanted his mouth on her tits, his tongue playing with a piercing.
Against Jo's lips, he muttered, "Damn it." He drew his head back.
Catching her breath, she said, "What's wrong?"
"Maybe we should get back."
"To Tortua? I wanted it to be here at this epic location."
"Perhaps we should wait for another night or so." Her dark fey was getting cold feet.
Jo had outlined her parameters for sex. Yet he'd still been about to do it. To commit. The bond with him was so close she could taste it.
His Adam's apple bobbed; he was nervous. Because it meant that much! She'd known he was falling for her. Hadn't he called her love earlier?
"And if I said we're staying?"
He set her away, then traced to his feet. "We've only known each other for so little time."
"We're role-playing, right? You're playing me, giving excuses why we should wait. I'll play Rune. 'But, baby,' " she crooned, " 'we only live once, and we have a battle tomorrow.' "
He cocked a brow. "Smartass."
"Seriously, what's up with the one-eighty?"
He shrugged. "Changed my mind."
Awww. He was skittish about such a drastic change. After countless centuries of sameness . . .
It was up to her to drag him to the finish line. She replayed his reaction in her motel room, when she'd goaded him and flashed her fangs at him. For her "defiance," he'd shoved her against the wall, kissing her like his life depended on it.
"Changed your mind?" She nodded with understanding. "Problems with little Rune, old man? Do you know the Viagra symbol?"
Eyes narrowing, he gestured at his bulging shaft. "Obviously that is not my problem."
It's working. "I bet Desh doesn't need Viagra. Hey, on the way back, can you drop me at Lafitte's?"
Rune's muscles tensed, his fangs becoming more prominent. "You're wearing my godsdamned blood on your skin, and you're talking about fucking another demon?"
"You want me to be all dressed up and nowhere to go?" She pinched the hem of her dress, sliding it up her legs.
"Stop what you're doing." His sexy ears twitched at the sound of satin skimming her hose.
"Look at these." She exposed her black garters, adjusting them. "I won't wear them for just anyone. But you don't appreciate them?"
His fists clenched. "I told you to stop this." As if he had no control of his body, he dropped to his knees in front of her, just to pet a hose-clad leg. "You're defying me once more?"
She collected her dress hem again, drawing it even higher. "I was so busy choosing my hose and garters, I forgot panties."
"You wouldn't defy me if I'd marked you. You'd come to heel."
Intense male! She brought one knee up. "Don't you want to see where you should be?"
He inhaled deeply, his pupils blown. "You're playing with forces you don't understand. The demon in me . . . needs . . . to make you surrender."
She spread herself to him. "How's this for defiance?" She'd never felt more exposed. But dark urges gripped her. She wanted to be vulnerable, to put herself in his control.
One second he was on his knees staring; the next he'd traced atop her, pinning her down on the blanket. . . .
Like flipping a switch.
Rune had barely withstood the mouthwatering scent of her sex. But to see it, to see the little shadow of her opening? His cock throbbed to claim it. His demon half was in a lather for it.
Her defiance maddened him. Provoked every primal need in him. She'll respect the male who masters her.
He felt demonic. Savage. Out of control.
Claim. . . . Her dress was an obstacle. He wanted her naked but for those garters. He fisted her bodice, ripping it away. She gasped as he tore the dress from her body.
He couldn't kiss her bared tits fast enough. He wrapped his lips around a nipple, suckling hard. His teeth clicked against her piercing. Perfection.
Never releasing his suck, he tore off his own clothes, his tongue flicking when his rigid cock met cool air.
He dimly remembered the need to prepare her. His hand shot between her thighs, cupping her possessively. Mine. He slipped a finger in, groaning against her breast.
Her pussy was hot, giving. He thrust his finger, fucking her with it.
"More!" She rocked her hips.
Another finger. He spread them wide inside her, opening her up for him.
"I'm ready, Rune!"
"Ready when I say you are." He lightly bit her nipple.
She cried out, her claws raking his heated skin, spurs to a beast.
Her honey drenched his fingers, wetting his palm. Still he worked her pussy. He wedged a third finger inside.
She bucked to his hand. "About to come!"
He stilled his fingers. "No."
"No? Then fuck me!"
Can't wait any longer! He slid his fingers free. He sucked them with a snarl as she watched with those sultry eyes.
"Need you, Rune! Now." She raised her arms and spread her thighs to welcome him.
He'd waited seven thousand years for this! On his knees, he leaned over her, aiming his cock. He tilted his hips, and her lush wetness kissed the tip. Claim!
He yelled and thrust. The crown slipped along the plump folds of her pussy. "AHH!" He nearly came. "Get so wet!" He didn't recognize the sight of his own member. Never so engorged.
He sweated, his muscles straining. His aching balls tightened. It took everything in him not to fall upon her in a frenzy. He gnashed his teeth as he fought his instincts. Have to get control!
The head rubbed her swollen clit, and she cried, "Rune, do it!" Her little fangs sharpened.
For my flesh. The demon in him roared with satisfaction. She drinks me alone. After tonight, she fucks me alone.
His own fangs readied for her neck. About to know my mark.
For the first time in his existence, he could perceive semen climbing up his shaft. It's for her. It's all hers. Give it to her . . . put it where it belongs.
Her head thrashed, her hair coming loose, silken strands haloing her head. He went awash in her scent.
The crown tucked against her entrance. No turning back.
Her thighs fell wide in surrender, her heart racing. Its beat spurred him as much as her claws.
Her eyes were as frantic as he felt. "Put it in." She needed; he provided.
Emotions? He was raw. Scalded. With a bellow, he shoved home.
Pleas
ure seared him. Her body gloved him. "Ah, gods, YES!" A demon covering his mate.
Her back bowed, her pierced tits slipping across his sweating chest. She screamed, "Rune!" Her core clenched his rod, her wet flesh quivering around it.
He snatched her nape, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You're mine now! Belong to me. . . ." A groan replaced his words. Unbearable pressure kept building in his shaft.
It was agony! Want more.
He needed to rut like a demon. He needed to fuck.
To bite. His fangs throbbed as badly as his cock. Mark her forever.
He withdrew to thrust, sensation climbing his spine. Too much sensation.
He froze halfway. Coming in two thrusts . . . ? "Josie, I'm spending! Can't stop!"
As if she'd been trained for him, her head turned to the side, baring her neck for him to mark.
Another war bellow to the night, to this entire godsdamned world. Then, one word: "MINE!" He sank his fangs into her skin and plunged his cock as deep as he could reach.
"Rune, I'm . . . Oh, God! You're making me COME!" She screamed, helplessly rocking on his length. He perceived her orgasming--her sheath milked him with greedy tugs.
Fire erupted inside him. He snarled against her skin when his demon seal burned away, and semen shot from his slit for the first time.
Ecstasy. Pinpoints of light flashed behind his lids as he ejaculated. His mind turned over, instinct ruling. Put your seed where it belongs.
His shaft pulsated to empty his cum, jet after mind-numbing jet. So hot, so hot.
Still buried deep, he fucked to ease a pressure that had been building for ages. . . .
FIFTY-FOUR
Jo was boneless by the time Rune was spent.
He released his bite with a shudder and collapsed over her. Heart thundering against Jo's chest, he continued to lazily thrust, as if he couldn't get enough of her.
Her eyes slid closed, but she was smiling to herself. Sex should always be like that! She got her man, and he did the job right.
The rune on his arm, however, hadn't. She'd felt him coming inside her--hot, hard spurts. But she wasn't worried.
"Wait." His voice was hoarse. He leaned up on straightened arms, a look of confusion on his face. "I thought I was dreaming it . . ." With a hiss, he pulled out. "Dear gods, the rune didn't work! I came inside you."
"Yeah." She patted his ass. "I felt that in real time, sport."
His gaze fell on his arm.
Ohhh. She'd clawed his skin, disrupting the rune. "Oops?"
"How can you be so calm about this?"
" 'Cause Jo just got laid properly? Okay, okay. I'm calm because I feel amazing. I knew I was your mate. I got marked"--she traced the bite on her neck--"and apparently drenched with seed." She wriggled her hips with a thoughtful expression.
He flinched. "I need to get you somewhere, get you clean!"
She stretched her arms over her head. "Forget that. I'm basking." She replayed the moment when he'd looked into her eyes and told her she was his. Nothing had ever made her feel more connected, not even drinking from him.
Fate considered them bound. Destiny said they were joined. No union was stronger than that. She couldn't stop smiling. Yes, everything was looking so bright.
"You don't feel pain? You don't feel any effects from this?" He tenderly brushed his fingertips over her marked neck. "Please, tell me. I don't want you to hurt. Josie, you can't . . . I can't hurt you."
She was going to be sore tomorrow--no matter how much he'd readied her--and she regretted nothing. "You wanna know what hurts me? Not yelling, 'I told you so!' at the top of my lungs."
Some of his panic seemed to lessen.
"Now you can't argue with me anymore," she informed him. "First step of our matehood? Accepting I'll always be right. Also, I need to know when we can do this again. It's very important we do this again as soon as possible."
"Matehood." He sat back on his haunches, stunned. Must be sinking in that he'd just reached a life milestone--after a gazillion eons.
"Oh, yeah." With a teasing grin, she said, "And just think, if I had been eating, you might've knocked me up."
Breath left his lungs. "I never allowed myself to imagine. . . ." His face fell. "My offspring would be poisonous."
"Maybe, maybe not. Worst case scenario for our offspring: having to score a wicked awesome mate like you did."
"You would want"--he cleared his throat to gruffly ask--"you'd have young with me?"
Even more people in her life! She pictured a baby with magenta eyes and a crooked grin who reminded her of Thad. The baby she'd never thought to have two weeks ago. "Hell yeah, why not?"
Black forked out over his eyes, and his dick surged.
Her gaze widened. "You like that idea?"
"The idea of impregnating my mate? My gods, it makes me hard for you. Once the Accession passes, you could eat." He swallowed. "We could see."
"Sounds like a plan."
He returned to the cradle of her thighs, those dark fey eyes blazing with emotion. He was looking at her--really looking--and his expression promised things she'd only dreamed of.
His eyes held hers as he rolled his hips, feeding his length back inside her.
Connection. "This is even better than I fantasized." She sighed, undulating to receive him. "A girl can't feel more anchored than this."
He eased down, giving each of her nipples a ruthless suck, making her moan. Then he pulled out to the tip and slammed his big cock home. "Ah! So tight." Another shove. He watched her tits bounce with obvious delight. Another thrust. "I just came, and already . . ." He went to his knees, pulling her up to straddle his lap. His powerful arms coiled around her, squeezing her body against his. Against her ear, he said, "How did I live so long without this?"
"It feels different?"
He pulled back, his eyes heavy-lidded with lust, but gleaming with excitement. "So different . . . can't decide if I'm going to come until my testicles scream--or lose my mind. I can feel semen climbing." He frowned. "It's too good. I've as little control as when I was new to this."
"Maybe we're both new to this." She'd certainly never made love before.
He nodded slowly. Lips inches from hers, he said, "I've had a taste of this, and there's no going back. You're mine." Just uttering those words heightened his aggression: "I want to hear you say it. Now." He wrapped her hair around his fist, tugging to show he wasn't fucking around. "Tell me what you are." His demon intensity made her crazed.
She dug her claws into his shoulders. "Yours." She wanted to bite him.
He thrust upward, growling, "You're going to bear my young."
"Yes."
"Your blood's black. It's like mine. I'll always be inside you."
At the thought, Jo rocked on him and arched her back, feeling the cool air on her nipples.
He hissed in a breath between clenched teeth. "Don't move."
"What's wrong?"
His big hands clamped her waist, holding her still. "Too good. I look at those pierced nipples of yours, and I'm about to come." He drew back his cock with a shudder. "I look at your lips--the same. Your sexy ears. Dear gods, your eyes. Your fangs . . . when they sharpen I know I'm about to feel them somewhere on my body." He pulled her hair to force her to his neck. "I've fantasized about giving you seed--while you take my blood."
The idea turned her on so much, she grew wetter in a rush, clenching his dick inside her.
He felt her, repeating her question, "You like that idea?" His pulse point was beating furiously, calling her. Like a devil in her ear, he murmured, "Take what's yours, Josie."
With a cry, her head shot forward, and she pierced him. When his firm flesh closed around her aching fangs, she almost came.
A deep groan rumbled. "Ah! That's it, baby. Take from me. I'm going to last till you're fed."
She scented more blood. It spilled down her back--because he was sinking his claws into his palms. Pain tempering pleasure. Anything to hold out for her.
/> "My mate," he rasped. "My beautiful female."
As she consumed him, their heartbeats . . . changed. The wild drumming in her ears matched beats, synchronizing.
As if they shared a heart.
"Do you hear that?" he murmured in bewilderment. "Feel that?"
She whimpered against his skin. Joined. Connected. Nothing had ever aroused her so much--her body, her mind, her heart. The tightening in her core escalated past the point of no return, gathering to explode.
He bucked upward. "Come with me," he commanded.
She hovered . . . right on the verge . . .
"You're never going to be alone again, because I will never let you go. Understand me, Josie--this is forever."
At that, she went over the brink. Her climax ripped through her. Fiery and relentless. She released her bite to scream, "Rune!"
She clung to him as he pounded upward inside her, unmercifully. She clung to him as their sweating bodies writhed together.
Demonish words left his lips, a sign of his mindlessness. With a brutal groan, he wrenched her hips down as his surged up. A yell burst from his chest, and his seed shot into her, filling her with heat.
As she trembled against him, her dark fey mate threw his head back and roared her name to the night.
FIFTY-FIVE
For the first time in his unending life, Rune the Insatiable had been sated. He'd come with his stunning mate so many times, his tender balls had pled for a reprieve.
Lying in their bed in Tortua, he stroked her hair as she slept. He was getting to like this after-play business.
Toward the end of the night, he'd been able to hold his seed longer, but he'd still had as little control as when he'd been a lad. Yet then, everything had seemed new to him. Dalli was right--he did feel as if he were starting over with his mate.
He pressed a kiss into Josephine's hair, inhaling her scent. Mine.
She'd seen his past and accepted it. She'd accepted him. Before she'd drifted off, she'd told him, "Something in me changed when our heartbeats synchronized. I don't know what, but I know I'm different."
He understood. He felt as if he'd discovered the answer to a mystery he'd been teased with his entire life. A secret like no other.
Though his body was sated, his mind wasn't. Would she wish to wed? Probably, if she'd been raised human. He would do it for her--if she could compromise as well.