Destined Blood

by Tessa Cole

  “But he keeps getting hurt and needing more blood than normal.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze raked over my body again and his eyes narrowed.

  I bit back a moan. I will not beg. I will not beg. He was determined to keep his distance, and I had to respect that, no matter how stupid it was. And I didn’t think how well I’d handled myself in the ferals’ nest would convince him I could be in his world. It probably had just made him more terrified for me.

  “Tell me the truth, Essie. Did you finish?”

  My desire twisted so tight I wanted to scream with frustration. “I think he got enough.”

  “But did you?” He raked his hand through his hair, mussing his dark curly locks, making me yearn to touch them, and looking uncomfortable. “Did you climax?”

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

  “I can smell the sex on you,” he said. “Stop trying to hide it. It goes hand in fist with the claim and bite — that’s just a given. But you look as jacked up as a zip addict.”

  I probably felt as desperate as one, too. Which was my own God damn business, and I would not beg him to help me. “Victoria summoned him.”

  “Shit,” he said, taking my omission as a negative to his question. He stepped closer to me, and I lurched back, hitting the hall wall, making him stop, his empty hand raised, palm out, as if he was trying to keep me calm. “He mustn’t know just how much the claim has changed the power of his bite for you. He wouldn’t leave you hanging if he did. That’s just not his style.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a side effect of a strong claim,” he said. “Most consider it a bonus. The magic of his bite keeps building until released by a climax.”

  I trembled, throbbing at the word climax, desperate for release.

  Then horror flooded me. I’d tried for an orgasm myself and it hadn’t worked. “I have to wait for him to come back? If Victoria’s pissed, she could hold him for days.” She’d threatened to do that before.

  Marcus shifted closer to me, and I gritted my teeth, fighting the need to throw myself at him.

  “It doesn’t have to be him, just someone to unlock your hold on it. It’ll be okay.”

  “Okay?” I said, my voice rising with panic. “It’s not okay. And how the hell are you okay with this? Why aren’t you furious and pushing me away?” And making me cry with heartache. Wolves were notorious for their possessiveness.

  Except the temperature around me was still hot, so he had to be feeling something. I just couldn’t understand the powerful emotion combined with his calm understanding.

  “Oh, my wolf fucking hates this, and I don’t like it, either, but nothing Amiah is going to do for Jacob is going to help him. You had to let him bite you or he was going to die.”

  “So you’ve just changed your mind?” Now his calm was making me furious. And God damn, I needed a fucking orgasm. “What about a normal life and normal babies and normal fucking everything?”

  “I was wrong, okay” he said, the ferocity of his wolf suddenly darkening his eyes. “You’re neck deep in the supernatural world whether I like it or not. You won’t listen to reason and you won’t leave. There’s no getting out for you now, and my wolf gave me a whole lot of shit while we were running off that mess with the ferals’ nest. He doesn’t give a shit that you belong to Gideon—”

  “I don’t belong to anyone.”

  “You keep telling yourself that.”

  “You God damn listen to it.”

  “My wolf doesn’t care. He wants you— I want you. However I can get you. I can’t let you go again, Essie. If you leave, I’ll follow. If I have to share you with Gideon— and shit, I guess Jacob too now, so be it.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute.” Except my straining-to-explode need thought that was a fantastic idea. All of them. Now.

  I shuddered and hugged myself tighter. All that testosterone in one bed was a terrible idea, and I didn’t think that was what Marcus meant.

  “Life with supers is always a mess, whether we like it or not, and Essie—” He captured me with his gaze, and a surge of emotion, true, honest to goodness actual emotion, not wild temperature fluctuations, swept through me: sincerity, awe, determination, fear, and love. “You weren’t a weak link in that fight in the ferals’ nest. Hell, you almost killed that vampire, and I can’t argue with my wolf any more that you can’t hold your own in this world.”

  Marcus’s fear deepened, and my soul cried that ferocious, powerful Marcus felt it so deeply.

  “I need you, Essie. I’m done pushing if you’re done running.”

  “I already tried to tell you I was done running in the armory, you jerk.”

  He gave me a rueful smile. “You did and I freaked out.” His expression turned fierce, hungry, and he offered me his hand. “Let me help you release Jacob’s magic.”

  I stared at his hand, aching, burning to take it. “I don’t belong to you.”

  “No, I belong to you,” he growled.

  Jacob’s magic swelled, teasing me, God, driving me insane. I gasped, and my knees grew weak.

  Marcus dropped his gear and grabbed me by the hips, steadying me against the wall. My breath stalled, and the attraction that had been between us the moment we’d first locked eyes across the squad room in the precinct seared through me. “Fuck, Marcus.”

  “That’s the offer.”

  I dropped my duffle bag and crashed my mouth against his, unable to resist any longer. I’d dreamed of having sex with Marcus for so long. I was sure he was going to change his mind about sharing and me being part of his world and everything, and I was terrified for that moment. But right now, he was offering me a release and there wasn’t anyone else I’d rather be with.

  He met my kiss with a hunger of his own, one hand tangling in my hair capturing my head, the other wrapping around my back and pulling me close to his body. His tongue swept into my mouth, plundering me.

  I couldn’t get enough of him. His desire, back to being felt as a change in temperature, seared me inside and out, and I clung to him, pressing against him.

  His lips left my mouth and trailed down my neck — the opposite side of Jacob’s bite — his stubble scraping my hypersensitive skin and sending a shudder through me, twisting my need to release tighter.

  “Your room is closest,” he growled into my neck, and he kissed his way down my body, setting every nerve within me on fire even though his lips were on my clothing and not my skin.

  “I was leaving.” My breath heaved, quick gasps making my head spin and ratcheting up my need. “Left my key in the room.”

  “Of course you did,” he growled, grabbing his gear and my duffle bag in one hand. “You never make anything easy.”

  “Don’t blame this on me.” I captured his face and tipped his gaze back up to mine, groaning at the ferocity in his eyes, the need to have me, and the sight of his erection tenting his gym shorts. “You didn’t want me here.”

  He rose, exuding lithe, dangerous power, and pinned me against the wall with his body. “And I was a fucking idiot.”

  I wrapped a leg around him and rubbed myself against him.

  He groaned. “A real idiot. Come on, I’m not taking you in the hall.”

  “Don’t want the others to watch?” I teased. I wasn’t into voyeurism, and I was sure Marcus wasn’t, either… of course he had said he was willing to share…

  He brushed his lips against my ear, his breath teasing me with rushing pleasure. “First time is just for me.”

  I stared at him. “You are a voyeur?”

  He grabbed my butt with his hand and nudged me. “Up you go.”

  I hopped up, wrapping both my legs around him, still amazed he could easily support my weight with one hand and walk, even though I knew werewolves were stronger than the average guy.

  “Marcus?” I asked, clinging close to him and brushing my lips against his jaw, just below his ear. “Are you into having people watch?”

  He groaned
and picked up his pace. “No. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

  “And?” I flicked my tongue against that tender spot again.

  “If I could think straight, I’d have thoughts about it.” He unlocked his door with his thumb, and dropped his gear and my bag the moment we were inside.

  His room was set up the same as Jacob’s, living area with kitchenette and bedroom with en suite bathroom. His color palette was more toward greens and browns and his furniture different with a different set up, but that was all the impression I took in before my desire jerked me back to Marcus and his body and how he made me feel.

  He shoved a pile of papers off his desk and set me on the edge. I kicked off my shoes, and he grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt and yanked it off over my head. His mouth captured mine again, one hand on the back of my head to control me, the other sliding inside my bra and teasing my nipple into a taut, painful bud.

  I needed a release so much I was certain I’d explode if it didn’t come soon. My nerves, my soul, every cell in my body was wound tight, pulsing with desperate, hungry need.

  He pushed the cups of my bra down and sucked my breast while kneading the other one. I arched my back, moaning. I needed more. God, please. I had to have more. Now.

  “Marcus. Please,” I gasped. “Don’t play with me.”

  I grabbed for the waistband of his shorts, but he pushed my hand away.

  “Not yet.”

  “Not yet? Do you have any idea how Jacob’s bite is making me feel?”

  He smiled against my breast. “I have a good guess.”

  “Then please…”

  He undid the button on my jeans and grabbed the waistband. I raised my hips and he yanked the fabric, underwear included, down my legs. The material sliding against my skin made me buck, heat flooding my core, but still no climax. I needed him now. Had to have him filling me. God, I never thought this was what our first time together would be like. I thought we’d take our time, enjoy each other’s bodies, not rush into it filled with desperate need.

  He grabbed my knees and shoved my legs apart, spreading me wide for him, and the feralness in his gaze, the one that was all wolf, darkened his eyes. Then his attention jumped to Jacob’s bite on my thigh and he growled.

  My pulse stuttered. “You said you didn’t care.” This was a bad idea. Marcus ran hot and cold toward me at the best of times. Knowing I’d had Jacob between my legs—

  “I don’t.” He leaned in and licked the bite. “I’m pissed he had the opportunity to give you what you needed, what you deserved, and didn’t.”

  I shuddered, remembering the feel of Jacob’s bite and his fingers pumping into me, then the image shifted to Marcus, sliding inside me, driving me to climax.

  “Victoria didn’t give him a chance,” I said. “Literally forced him away half dressed.”

  “Serves him right,” he said, his voice low, dangerous.

  My breath hitched, and I fought to think past the pain and lust and need. I dug my hands into his scalp, grabbing his hair, and pulled his head up to look at me.

  His piercing green gaze stole my breath. So too did his hunger.

  “I want you in me. Now.”

  “I don’t want you riding Jacob’s magic when you come for me,” he snarled, and he jerked my butt right to the edge of the desk and raked his tongue over my clit.

  I gasped, my breath completely gone, the promise of a climax sparking within me, close, so God damn close, but not there.

  He pushed my legs open as wide as they would go, opening me completely to him, and growled against my folds, the sound pure masculine desire.

  I tightened my grip in his hair, writhing against him. “Yes, please, yes.”

  His tongue tormented me, his stubble rasping against my sensitive skin as his fingers dug into my thighs. My need was so tight I couldn’t breathe, then he sucked hard on my clit and fireworks exploded behind my eyelids. Pleasure roared through me, making every muscle contract, and Jacob’s magic flooded every cell in my body.

  Marcus groaned, his nails biting into my flesh, his mouth grinding against my clit, his breath fast and hot against my skin.

  Tremors raced through me, bolts of electricity that kept zapping me, making me twitch and gasp. I fell back on the desk, unable to keep my body up, unable to catch my breath or think straight.

  “Holy fuck.” Marcus sagged to his knees, his expression stunned. “I didn’t think it felt like that.”

  I managed to rise up on my elbow to meet his gaze. “Regretting not coming with me?” I flashed him a wicked smile, teasing him, but the moment the words came out, I realized I wasn’t done. Jacob’s magic was gone, but I still wanted Marcus. Again and again if he’d have me.

  His pupils dilated, seeing my desire for him. “I have protection in the bedroom.”

  He stood, wrapped an arm around my back, and pulled me close to lift me, but his erection, still tenting his shorts, brushing against me, drawing a gasp and a sudden, desperate need.

  I scratched my nails down his chest, making him moan.

  “I trust you’re clean, and I’m on birth control.” I didn’t want to wait. Jacob’s magic might be gone, but I still burned for Marcus. There was a different kind of magic between us that was just as powerful as Jacob’s, and I’d been aching for Marcus for years.

  He growled at that, leaned into me, and slid his hands up my thighs, the movement tender and so fucking sensual. His wolf darkened his eyes and his body trembled. I could tell he was trying to hold it back, keep it controlled. But I didn’t want control. I wanted all the ferocious passion the sexual tension between us had been promising since the mess with the archnephilim had brought him back into my life.

  I slid my hands over his and up his arms. “Marcus, let go.”

  The muscles in his jaw clenched.

  “Marcus—” Screw words. Actions were better. I slipped my hands down the front of his shorts and shoved them off his hips, freeing his thick, straining erection.

  My pulse tripped at the sight of it, and I wrapped my hand around the base. His eyes rolled back, and he moaned my name.

  “Let go, Marcus.” I drew my hand along his length then pumped back down. “Please.”

  He shifted closer, aligning with my core, and I slid his tip through my wet folds, proving how ready I was for him, how much I wanted him inside me.

  With a groan, he pushed his hips forward, sliding himself inch by agonizingly sensual inch into me. My heart pounded, my yearning ratcheted back up, as intense and aching as it had been with Jacob’s magic.

  His breath came fast, and his body shook. His control was astounding and driving me insane.

  “You feel so good,” he said, the muscles in his jaw and neck straining. He slowly drew out. I shuddered, my head dropping back, and closed my eyes, every nerve focused on the sensations.

  He pushed back again. So. God. Damn. Slowly.

  “Marcus, let go.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled, his wolf right at the surface.

  “You won’t hurt me.”

  “Not me—”

  I moaned and met his gaze. “He won’t, either.”

  The struggle in his eyes deepened.

  “I trust you. All of you. Please, Marcus.” I was back again to feeling like I was going to burn up with desire. He was driving me mad. “Fuck me,” I snarled.

  His wolf snarled back, and he plunged into me with a fierce push. I gasped, and his eyes blazed with hunger. He shifted a nail into a claw long enough to slice through the front of my bra, exposing my breasts, and shoved me back against the desk. I clung to the edges as he drew out and plunged back in, each stroke adding more fuel to the already blazing fire within me.

  He squeezed my breasts, and drew back out. Growled, then plunged back in, each stroke faster and more forceful than the last. His breath turned into quick needy gasps. So did mine. The pleasure was consuming. There was only him and his body driving into me and it was perfect.

  His
hand left my breast and he clutched my hips, his thumb finding my clit.

  I cried out, pleasure zinging through me, twisting my need higher. He pounded faster and harder, grinding his thumb against my clit until my climax once again seized every muscle, this one more powerful than the last. I screamed his name as a wave of pleasure crashed into me. I rode it, clinging to it, as I ground against him, straining to hold on until he came. And then his body jerked hard against me, all his muscles contracting as his orgasm seized him. Mine surged, my hold on it shattering, and the sensation consumed me, lightning crackling through every cell with glorious, mind-blowing bliss.

  “God, Essie, you’re amazing.” He collapsed forward, resting his head on my belly, his breath ragged.

  I slid my hand through his hair. My breath was just as ragged, my muscle still twitching with aftershocks. My heart pounded, filled with joy, every cell in my body reveling in the rightness of being with Marcus.

  This was where I was supposed to be. I knew it in my soul.

  To hell with what fate said about Gideon and me. Marcus was who I belonged with.

  “Marcus, I—”

  Blazing white agony erupted in my head. All the muscles in my body jerked so tight I couldn’t scream, couldn’t draw breath, and could barely think.

  Chapter 17

  The agony ripped every other sensation away until there was only it, screaming through my head, threatening to consume my vision in darkness and suffocate me with pressure. It was coming. He was coming. With his massive power and devouring darkness.

  Marcus jerked off me, captured my cheeks, and locked gazes with me. Worry filled his eyes and cold swept over my skin. “Talk to me, Essie.”

  But I couldn’t draw enough breath to speak. I wasn’t sure I could get my jaw to unlock to say anything even if I could.

  The sense of black malevolence, pure evil, flooded me. The walls of his prison were weakening, and now he could slip a thread of magic beyond its confines. The seal holding it altogether, bouncing for eternity among all the realms of existence, was going to manifest in the weakest magical realm, the realm of mortals, and once again he had a chance to empower the spell he’d set over a millennia ago to free himself.