Charleston Past Midnight

by Christine Edwards

  Control? If it means anything along the lines of the sublime wall-banging fuck he gave me in the bathroom, then I’m totally on board with those plans.

  I whisper, “I know you like things to always be your way, Severin.”

  “Especially with sex, Calla.”

  Damn. With that one sentence I just became drenched for him.

  In foreign territory I struggle to say in a hushed breath, “Take me. I want you to take me hard, just like before.”

  He shakes his head back and forth. “Never demand. Ask me. Ask me politely, sweet Calla.”

  Oh, fuck.

  “Please, Severin, I want it again so badly. Please take me however you need ….” Heat floods my cheeks and I can’t resist looking off to my right. His stare is just too … extreme.

  A low groan emerges from his throat before he instructs me, “Lie on your back and spread your legs as wide as you can.”

  My eyes widen at his dominant statement that is both unexpected and undeniably smoking hot. I quickly comply and lift my head to watch him cross the wood floor toward a tall black dresser. The planes of his olive-hued body are astounding. His taut ass is firm with a slight hollow on each side. He’s nearly hairless, with the exception of the area around his sex and the black trail leading down from his belly button. He slides open the second drawer and rummages around. I hear the metal clink before I see it. Handcuffs. Shiny steel handcuffs. Oh, shit … yes!

  With a wicked gleam in those enthralling eyes, he crosses toward me, murmuring seductively, “Tell me, have you ever been bound, cuffed for a lover’s pleasure, ma belle fleur?”

  Panting in wet little gasps I struggle to respond in anything other than a groan, “N-no, I haven’t.”

  The corners of those full lips turn up. “Well, you’re about to be, and I do so enjoy being your first, my little beauty.”

  Please let this be real …. Don’t let this only be a fantasy.

  “Present your wrists to me.”

  I raise them high, my trust in him at this point implicit. He would never hurt me intentionally. He is a protector to his very core. I can feel the connection that’s running between us like an indestructible tether.

  I am busy drinking in his stunning body. For someone of his imposing height his proportions are perfect. Broad, well-honed shoulders, a tight row of delicious abs that ripple and flex as he kneels beside me on the plush bed.

  The corners of his lips turn up ever so slightly. “I can see that the idea of being restrained excites you.”

  Oh, you have no concept ….

  He encloses first my left wrist then my right in the cool steel cuffs. I revel in the sinfulness of the act and await his next move. Who knew the feeling of restrained helplessness could be such a huge turn on?

  “Oh!” I cry out as his strong fist closes around the metal links right before he yanks me swiftly to my knees. Those steely eyes gleam down at me while his right hand dips to play between my legs. The pad of his index finger lazily swipes back and forth between my slick folds. Each time, lingering just a bit longer on my pulsing clit.

  “Mmm … I see that you enjoy a touch of dominance during play, and know this, Calla, if you comply I’ll make you feel things you’ve never fathomed.”

  “M-more … do it.” The pleading is unavoidable as his finger loops back and forth through my dripping sex. My knees spread wider, eager for more contact.

  His fingers stop and press firmly against my pussy, not harshly, but not producing the same height of bliss. His left fist is still gripping the chain tightly.

  He yanks me forward and bends slowly to whisper against my ear. “I’m surprised that I have to repeat myself, Calla. You will make no demands. I give or deny you pleasure based on your behavior and my wishes. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”

  Oh, God …. My heart is going to explode out of my chest from the flood of need that he’s forced to erupt simultaneously within my body and brain.

  I look up into his face. No hint of emotion. Cool, composed control.

  He’s waiting with infinite patience for me to acknowledge him.

  Can I do this? Can I give up my beloved power in exchange for something darker, something unforgettable? Part of my overloaded brain whispers a warning that I’m playing a dangerous game, one that I’m incapable of winning. I shove it aside. The decision is made.

  “Yes, you do, Severin. I’ll try harder to behave.”

  He pulls his palm away from my pussy and threads his fingers through the back of my hair before tightening his hold. The quick, possessive movement makes me gasp. It just teeters on the edge of light pain. I watch his lips descend on my mouth.

  His full bottom lip brushes against mine once before he says ever so softly, “I can hear your heart pounding, Calla, and I know how excited you are. You’re practically trembling from it, but you will only be rewarded if and when you learn to place your trust fully in me. The next time you balk at my requests or attempt to dictate to me your needs, there will be consequences that will be unpleasant for you. Now, shall we continue? Are you certain that you are ready to behave?”

  How can he read me so clearly?

  “Yes, yes, Severin.”

  “Say it.”

  Embarrassed beyond words I manage to eke out, “I’m ready to behave and listen to you.” To earn his delicious rewards? Anything ….

  “Very nice.”

  His lips silence me as they press skillfully into mine. He shifts, releases his hold on my hair and caresses my cheek with his long fingers just as the kiss swiftly turns more forceful.

  Before I can wrap my thoughts around what’s happening, I’m lowered back down amid the silky sheets. His lips leave mine and a whine of protest nearly escapes before I catch myself. He follows me down and his eyes shimmer with unchecked lust as he reaches for the chain, pulling it up and over my head.

  “These stay put, above your head, and pressed into the mattress. No exceptions.”

  I nod twice and watch him move lower, shifting on his knees until he stops to stare down at my spread sex.

  “I wish you had some concept of how desperate I am to taste you, Calla. How much I crave your lush sweetness in my mouth. I’ve wanted it since I had you pinned beneath me in the forest that first night when I scented you. I can’t wait any longer. Know this … I won’t hold back, I can’t be gentle, but I promise that you’ll love every minute of it.”

  Please, please, yes!

  He wastes no time lowering his broad shoulders down between the cradle of my thighs. I hear him groan low and deep just before the first searing pass of his tongue sweeps up from my opening to tease my clit.

  I begin to shake. The sensation is that consuming and potent. He makes another slow swipe and I let out a desperate, instinctive cry. It’s going to take a monumental effort on my part not to plead for release. I crank my neck back and drag in air, trying hard to find a sliver of control. I’m not even sure if cumming without his permission is against his ‘rules’ but I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s definitely a ‘no-no.’

  “Severin!”

  I groan wildly as his lips close around my clit at the same time two thick fingers pump into me, forcing me to accept them. The feeling is beyond exquisite and if he doesn’t stop soon my primal need will take over. Lifting my head, I stare down at his glossy black hair that is teasing against my pussy and thighs. I’ve never seen anything sexier in my entire life. My body jerks from his hungry mouth that is relentless. I’m about to lose it when he pulls back and flips me over. Before I know what’s happened, my hips are gripped roughly, and I feel the forceful thrust of his hips as his cock plunges in deep, impaling me with its heat.

  “Oh! Oh, Severin!” I scream out at his savage entry. The fullness is all-consuming as I breathe desperately, struggling to adjust to him.

  He’s making low animalistic sounds as he ruthlessly bucks into me. My sweaty, outstretched palms strain against the cuffs and I grasp the sheets like a lifeline as he fucks me with vi
cious control. Suddenly he sweeps my hair to the side and the idea that he might bite me flicks thorough my mind; instead his large hand clamps down on my neck, shoving me against the mattress as he moves himself up for an impossibly deeper angle.

  My choppy cries are bouncing off the walls as his hips slap against my ass with each vigorous, pounding thrust.

  Suddenly his booming voice cuts through my cries, “Come for me! Give it to me … now, Calla!”

  He picks up the already fierce tempo and his sinful command causes me to shatter like an explosive beneath his weight. My mind is overridden by pleasure so intense, so devastating that I struggle to hold onto it, never wanting to be without it as wave after luscious wave rolls over me, each clenching spasm swiftly replacing the one before it.

  “That’s right, take it!”

  His movements become harsher. I struggle to stay in place because each forceful swing of his hips is moving me across the slick sheets. Suddenly they halt altogether. His grip tightens on my neck, and he plunges back in once again, this time impossibly deep, shouting so loudly that my arm hairs stand on end from the near edge of brutality in his deep voice. He is pressing down into my back as I feel him release inside of me.

  We’re both gasping for air after the hedonistic session when he drops a warm kiss down onto my right shoulder and asks in a concerned voice, “Was I too rough?”

  I blink several times and try to realign my thoughts, which are still happily drifting in a sublime state of euphoria. Suddenly his weight is gone and I’m turned over onto my back. He straddles my waist and brushes my hair away from my flushed face.

  Staring up at him and noticing the way his hair hangs forward to perfectly frame that heartbreakingly beautiful face, I smile and say softly, “I’m fine, Severin.”

  His brows still drawn together with concern, he asks, “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. Why? What’s wrong?”

  He moves off me into a seated position with his back against the quilted leather footboard. I struggle to right myself with the cuffs still locked onto my wrists. Suddenly he pulls me across the bed to straddle his lap. He runs his elegant fingers through my hair, down my bare shoulders to finally rest against my forearms.

  He says in a solemn voice, “Calla, when I’m with you, sometimes I nearly lose control, and I’m frightened that I could really harm you. You need to tell me immediately if anything I do causes pain and I’ll stop. I’m exponentially stronger than a human male and because of that I have to make a conscious effort to keep my power in check.”

  I grin like a vixen and lean in to tease the seam of his full lips before saying, “But I love it when you give me all that sexy power of yours.”

  “Mmm … Calla.”

  “And I’ll be honest. The only time you ever hurt me was that first night in the woods, when your fangs entered me. But even then it was only for a brief moment before the pleasure replaced it.”

  “Ah, forgive me for that, Calla. That first scent of your unique blood drove me mad. I was too eager to take from you that I was careless and didn’t prepare you like I did in the bathroom tonight. You see, if I glamour you—place you in a daze before my bite—then you will feel nothing but extreme pleasure. Forgive me for any unnecessary pain I caused you that first evening. You have my word as a gentleman that it will never happen again.”

  I nuzzle his cheek and whisper, “Now that would be very disappointing, vampire.”

  His palms clamp down onto my shoulders, and I’m pulled back a few inches. His eyes bore into mine, full of question as he asks, “Disappointing, how?”

  “Because I find your bite—your everything—to be unimaginably sexy, Severin. Wait, your eyes …. Why didn’t your irises turn black this time?”

  “You noticed.”

  “Of course I did. It’s downright disconcerting when it happens, but it also really turns me on.”

  I try to look away but he catches my chin in one quick flash of movement and gently turns my face back to his as he rumbles, “I really like hearing about you being aroused for me, ma belle fleur. And to answer your question, they turn when I’m about to either feed or fight, and although sex and drinking blood are both intense actions they are quite different in the reactions they cause. My eyes stayed blue because I had recently fed. Speaking of which, we need to feed you now. Here, let’s get these cuffs off you and get you dressed. I’ll make you something to eat. You must be famished.”

  “Oh, I am … and around you that seems to be a constant feeling.”

  His eyes watch me closely for a long moment before his arms wrap me tight and his forehead presses against mine.

  His accented voice cuts softly through the space as he says, “Calla, my angel.”

  I languish in the safety of his comforting hold. For in this flawless moment in time all the exterior worries of outside threats and stress seem both trivial and meaningless. Here, together, we are powerful and untouchable.

  For now, that’s enough. It has to be.

  Chapter Eleven

  April 4th 1756, Pre-Dawn

  The Woods near Beauvais Plantation

  “Katerina, we must move him, right now. The sun will be coming up any moment and the humans are moving this way. If that’s not enough, I just detected Valdon’s presence. It’s not safe. I’ll carry him if I must, but we are leaving.”

  “Give him just another minute, Ambrose. He has lost a lot of blood from the gash to his leg. Let him drink. I don’t want to lose him. You know that he’s special.”

  I listen to the large man and the intriguing woman above me disagree, but their voices seem distant, nearly dreamlike, as I languish in the delicious fluid that is taking all my earlier pain away.

  The man hisses in agitation, “His eyes are changing. He’s beginning to turn. We go now. No more lingering.”

  The woman sighs and brushes my cheek before pulling her ivory wrist from my eager lips.

  “You’ll have more in a while, warrior. Just hold on and be strong.”

  I’m still alive?

  I struggle to push up onto my elbows, feeling strange and foreign in my own skin. My heart is pounding so loudly in my ears but it sounds different, booming. In fact, everything around me is too much … too loud.

  I clasp my head to stop the spinning motion that rivals the time I drank a half a cask of spiced rum from Barbados with two of my mates.

  “Ambrose, he’s too disoriented. You’ll have to trace him. We don’t have a choice. We’re cutting it close. The sun is about to filter down through the trees. Let me help you get him over your shoulder.”

  My world tilts on end as I’m slung over the shoulder of a man my size. I struggle to focus on him but see only what’s right next to me; blond hair pulled into a leather tie at his thick neck.

  I’m struggling to stay conscious when I hear him say, “I hope that he proves to be worth the risk, Katerina.”

  “I’ve watched him for years now, Ambrose. He is well worth it. I could never let such a magnificent individual perish.”

  “So be it. Are we tracing to Seville?”

  “Yes, there he’ll be safe and have a chance to recover. Keep a tight hold on him. Go now, and I’ll follow directly behind you.”

  * * *

  I open my eyes to see an intricately patterned crimson-red carpet that I’m … staring down at?

  That familiar chiming voice calls out, “Let’s see if he can stand. Place him onto his feet but keep a hold of him.”

  My feet touch the ground, and though my body is pulsing strangely, I forget everything else as I stare into the face of the most stunning women I’ve ever seen in my life.

  She touches the back of my hand and asks, “Severin, can you hear me?”

  I nod once, not even certain if I can find my voice, much less my balance. I pitch forward and grasp at one of the posts of a massive canopy bed.

  “Ambrose, let’s get him seated in the chair close to the fire.”

  My arm is slung over the s
houlders of the tall man and I’m half walked, half dragged to the black leather chair. I gratefully collapse into it and notice the dark stain of a blood-soaked, once white shirt that is tied around my upper thigh. The blond man is shirtless … did he save me? If so, he did it without operating on me. How so?

  I begin to panic, wondering why I can’t feel any pain in the area. Maybe I’m not alive. Am I dreaming?

  Thoughts begin to flood my brain as I stare up at the two complete strangers before me.

  The red-haired woman sits in a chair opposite me and asks, “How are you feeling?”

  I strain to answer her. “Strange.” My throat is raw and my voice raspy.

  “You’re faring better than most, considering your circumstances.”

  I ask slowly, cautiously, “Which are?”

  The large man moves closer to her, as if sensing my confusion and agitation. Does he think I mean her harm? Not likely. I can barely move.

  “Severin, there is something you need to know, but before I tell you, please understand that you are amongst friends who will never harm you. One day you may even come to know us as family.”

  Is this woman delusional? She is dressed strangely, as if from a foreign time and from long ago. She wears no corset and her lush chest is on display, barely concealed beneath the snow-white velvet of her seductive gown. A headband of twisted gold leaves adorns her waist length hair. I must be unconscious and dreaming because if this mysterious woman wasn’t strange enough, I find myself sitting in a vast room that appears to be of Moorish design. But that’s impossible. There’s nothing like this outside of Northern Africa and Spain.

  Quickly I demand, “Where am I?”

  Instantly she replies, “Spain.”

  “Spain?” The word falls from my lips before I even know I uttered it.

  “Yes, Severin. You are in our home in Seville, Spain. Here … I brought your beloved rapier so that you would have something from your past life.”

  I press my hand to my forehead in disbelief as I repeat, “Past life?”

  She opens my trembling hand, presses the hilt of my sword into my palm, and curls my fingers closed around it. Leaning in to look at me with those gleaming eyes, she says gently, “The life you knew before is over, Severin. Your wound from the swordfight was fatal. I turned you just before your heart stopped.”