More Than Blood

by Amanda Vyne

  His entire body tensed against her, the hard throb of his cock pushing against her hip, searing her with the heat of him through the thin fabric of his pants. Lifting her head she looked down at the single shimmering drop of blood on his lip beading up from the tiny cut caused by the razor-sharp edge of her fangs. Mesmerized, she watched the crimson bead swell, the scent filling her with a need to taste him, to consume him.

  Leaning into him, she caught the drop on the tip of her tongue, letting the sensation of heat rush through her body with a teasing glimpse of the pleasure she could find in his taste. Air rushed from her lungs with one surprised gasp as her core quivered and dampened.

  His nostrils flared with the scent of her arousal, his eyes capturing hers, sharing his awareness as he rose and turned with her in his arms. Pressing one knee into the rumpled sheets on her bed he laid her down, his large body hovering over hers, his hands bracing his arms on either side of her head. The roped muscles of his shoulders and arms jerked and slid beneath the smooth flesh, his scent cascading over her in hot swells, communicating his need.

  Kel absorbed him until she felt so unbelievably overwhelmed with her desire that her skin felt tight on her body. Her nipples pebbled and tingled. A small smile lifted the corner of his lips as his eyes roved hungrily over the blatant reaction of her body to him, obvious beneath the thin material of her tank. His hair fell forward around the stark planes of his face as he leaned slowly down to touch the tip of his tongue to her protruding nipple. It was now starkly outlined beneath the damp material separating it from the wet heat of his mouth. There was a flash of white teeth and a surprising current of electricity that shot through her nearly resembling pain, and she realized his teeth had neatly clamped down on her distended nipple.

  Kel gasped at the incredible pleasure that speared from her breast down into her pussy, making her quiver with rising need.

  “You like that? It’s making you wet. I can smell that sweet little pussy.” He breathed against the damp material over her throbbing nipple before slowly moving to the other.

  Her body jerked again as he visited the same treatment with frustrating leisure on her other breast. She wanted to rake her claws down his back and the effort it took to keep them sheathed was nearly her undoing. His eyes glittered knowingly when he lifted his head to fix his gaze on her.

  “Do you taste as sweet as you smell?” Slowly the intensity of his eyes burned a path over her body until they paused on the thin wet cotton covering her sex, flickering to meet her eyes again as his body lowered.

  Kel almost groaned as his eyes blatantly projected his next target. Without further warning, his hot wet mouth opened over her, his tongue drawing a heated path over the damp crevasse of her labia through her panties.

  The groan broke through her parted lips this time as her body jerked under the sensation. It felt like her skin was being burned from her body from the inside out. His hands closed over her hips to hold them in place when they began to buck against his mouth. Pressing just a little harder, he ran the hard tip of his tongue back down, wetting her even more. The muscles of her sex spasmed hungrily around the emptiness that seemed to be growing with each pass of his tongue over her.

  All she could do was arch her neck up and pant, her fangs pressing against her dry lips, her hands fisted in his hair. Licking her lips she could still taste the lingering essence of him from that one tiny drop of his blood and she nearly growled with the driving hunger she felt to fill her mouth with him.

  “I need –” Kel gasped as he drew his tongue lazily up and down her slit.

  “Not yet,” He murmured against the wet material of her panties. The contact too much and yet not enough.

  “Now.” Kel growled.

  “No,” he said firmly, hooking two fingers in the top of her panties and yanking them down. “Maybe this will take your mind off of it for now.” He speared his tongue through her swollen folds, touching the center of her, making her jerk violently against him with the intensity of the sensation.

  His groan vibrated against her flesh. “So good.”

  Kel’s entire body tightened around the scream that built in her, refusing to let it escape. A tight ball of heat began to grow deep in her just beneath the stabbing of his moist, hot tongue, growing larger as he continued to devour her. His tongue slowly ringed the ultrasensitive opening of her pussy, and Kel made a soft mewling sound. Unable to stop, she sank her claws into the mattress to anchor herself as the heat began to swell and expand in her. It was an unbelievable sensation, and she pushed against the restraining hold of his hands as her body strained toward it, feeling it build until she couldn’t contain it any longer.

  GABE COULD FEEL her orgasm building, her body tensing and arching against him, and he craved the taste of her. He needed more, wanted to give her more. Letting his canines fill his mouth, he swirled his tongue around the hard nub of her clit once, twice, and then gently scored it with the razor edge of one fang. She came hard, and he immediately began to gently suckle, knowing her body would quickly heal the tiny nick and wanting to feel the sharp taste of her blood ping through his body spiked with her pleasure.

  Laving the swollen flesh of her clit as the tiny wound healed, he brushed one edge of his fang over the plump rise of her labia, sucking the soft flesh into his mouth to taste the drop of crimson that beaded on her pale skin. Her hands clenched in his hair when he pressed a damp kiss to her mound and slid from the bed to quickly strip out of his light pants. Her body lay before him, flushed, her beautiful breasts heaving with her labored breaths. Slowly lowering his body over hers with a low sound of pleasure, he reached up to brush her hair back from her face. The frantic pulse of her blood through her heart was a mesmerizing tempo. Cupping her cheek, he brushed his thumb over her lips, caressed the sharp length of one fang.

  Kel moaned and arched at the touch.

  When she opened her eyes the dark centers left only a thin ring of warm brown. Her long dark lashes fluttered drunkenly as her eyes focused on him, darting to the pulse in his neck. The thirst would be nearly unbearable by now. Recognizing him as her mate, her body would be driven to complete the bond.

  “You want to taste me.”

  “Yes,” she hissed, her breath whistling past her lips as her eyes jumped from his neck to his eyes and back again. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

  Her thighs cradled his hips, his erection pressed heavily against her lower stomach. He wanted to be buried inside her so badly he hurt. With a flex of his hips he slowly slid the hard length of him over her swollen sex, teasing them both with the caress.

  Her heart still beating too fast, she arched her hips up into his, seeking the contact. He wanted her hunger for him to transcend any rational thought, until the possibility of any coherent words passing those lovely lips was nonexistent. He wanted her wild beneath him, her body convulsing uncontrollably around his cock, and then he’d allow her to bleed him. This time had to be more than their first time. He craved her loss of control as much as he did her sweet blood. He needed to hold her in his arms, spent and vulnerable.

  He slid the swollen head of his cock through her folds again, grazing her clit, and she panted, her hips surging up, seeking the press of him inside her. Pulling her tank up to gather the material beneath her arms he lowered his head and pulled the tip of her breast deep into his mouth, his hips surging against her again, increasing the incredible friction.

  She released a little breathy moan, her hands beginning to pull at his hair. Did he feel the brushing press of a claw over his shoulder? His body began to match the trembling of hers as he held a tight leash on his desire, wanting to push her just a little further.

  Shifting to take the tip of her other breast into his mouth, he reached down to hold her hips pinned to the mattress with one hand as he slid himself through her damp folds once again. She was making little mewling growls deep in her throat, and his smile was feral with satisfaction. Yes, this was what he needed.

  He rel
eased her hip to wrap his fingers tightly around the girth of his throbbing cock with one hand and guided the tip to her entrance. She was so hot, she almost burned him. And wet. He wanted to just bury himself deep in her with one thrust. Sweat beaded across his chest and shoulders. Gritting his teeth he watched as the purple head of his cock slid past the damp, swollen flesh of her labia. It was the sweetest sight, making the searing heat of her body burn so much hotter. Feeling the throb of his fangs press against his lip, he shifted his hips and watched as he sank another inch. A low groan rumbled deep in his chest as he paused, releasing his cock to touch the soft flesh of her pussy where she stretched so tautly around him. Her clit, the throbbing pink bundle of flesh, peeked out where her lips parted around the stalk of his penis. Her sheath rippled around him as he slid his finger over the exposed flesh, and his hips jerked. His own breath was starting to hiss through his teeth as he began to pant with the effort it was taking to control his penetration.

  He needed this. He wanted her begging. Needing him with the same intensity he needed her.

  He slid a little deeper.

  KEL WANTED TO scream, the pleasure endless. He was taunting her with the frantic pulse in his neck and the press of him inside her, stretching but not filling her. Her hands wrapped around the hard curve of his shoulders above her. She thought maybe her claws slid into his flesh before she could control them. His body was damp and trembling above her.

  Opening her eyes, she forced herself to push beyond the swirling fog of desire to focus on his face. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead and he gazed intently down at where their bodies were slowly merging.

  He was killing her.

  She brought her knees up and braced her feet against the mattress in an attempt to push up against him. His body quivered and his shoulders curved in, and she could feel the tip of his dick pressing just inside her, the burning stretch of her flesh taunting her with a promise.

  Purposely letting her claws sink into his shoulder she lifted her face until they shared the same heated panting breath. “Now.” Her voice was nearly unrecognizable to her own ears. It was low and rough, earthy. She’d been reduced to the animal in her nature, needing his body in her with a ferocity that went beyond human rationale. His eyes bore into hers, searching. She bared her teeth at him, and his slow smile was fierce.

  A crimson rivulet slid seductively over one shoulder from where a claw had punctured his taut skin. Her eyes watched its descent hungrily. Arching toward him she caught the drop on her tongue, followed its path over his heated flesh. When her fangs brushed his shoulder he jerked back with a feral smile, sliding just a bare inch deeper.

  Kel cried out in frustration.

  “I want you wild. Hungry.”

  He braced his weight on his elbows on either side of her head and reached up to wrap his hands around her wrists where her claws pressed into his flesh. With a grunt, he pulled her hands away from his shoulders and held them to the mattress.

  “I want you to think only me. Feel only this.” He shifted his hips enough to press just the barest inch deeper before retreating again. His lips brushed her mouth, inhaling her breath as she panted. “Be only mine.”

  “Gabe.” Kel tossed her head back and forth with a low sound of frustration.

  “Mine, Kel.”

  With an impotent jerk of her hips, Kel cried out. “Yes. Yours. Just fuck me.”

  “Mine.” He growled again, then flicked his tongue over her top lip, tracing the edge of her fangs.

  Kel would have screamed but her breath hissed out of her in a rush as he thrust so deeply into her that she could feel him pressed against her womb. His mouth took hers as he withdrew and slammed into her again. As though his inhuman control had snapped, his hips began to piston, his thrusts pressing her into the mattress. She clawed at his back, her heels pressing down, lifting her hips up, trying to scoot back to seek relief from the driving force of his hips. He followed her across the bed; his hands cupped the top of her head to hold her in place.

  It was terrifying and incredible and impossibly intense. Pressing her lips to his neck she ran her tongue over the raging pulse there, teasing the skin with her fangs. His hand fisted in her hair and pulled her head back away from him.

  “Not yet.” His growl fanned hotly against her cheek as he continued to drive into her; her headboard scraped and slammed into the wall with the combined force of their movements. The pressure deep inside intensified, built until her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably and her hips bucked up, meeting his thrusts, their bodies slamming into each other with a lusty slap.

  He groaned, arching his neck, the tendons standing out with the strain and he pressed her face against the frenzied pulse. “Now.” He growled, his voice guttural. “Taste me.”

  His flesh tasted of salt and heat, so male. The scent of his blood rushing so close to the surface called to her, lifting the pleasure of her body higher. Without thought, driven by hunger and need, she sank her fangs into his artery. The heat of his blood flooded her mouth with a pressurized rush and her body arched beneath him with the sharp slash of pleasure that bordered on pain. Lightning streaking through her, heat flashing into her every crevasse as her pussy clamped down so hard around him that he tensed, froze.

  “God, Kel. That’s right, baby.” His hand fisted in her hair as he pressed her closer. His groan reverberated through her as his hips jerked twice more and she felt the hot wash of him deep inside her as he came. Her body clamped violently around him in hard jerks, milking the seed from his cock and still she pulled the blood into her mouth, swallowing him, taking him into her. It was as though her body was desperate for him and silent tears tracked from the corners of her eyes as her fingers clawed frantically at his back. His body was hard in her arms, stiff as his hips jerked against her. Finally, his fist clenched in her hair, and he pulled her away.

  “Enough.” He whispered breathlessly. The hot blow of his breath fanned against her flushed face. Distantly she could hear his murmured words of praise as she drifted. She was sated in a way she could never have imagined, her body without substance, her mind disconnected. Distantly she was aware of him slipping from her body and gently lifting her limply in his arms to lie back with her on the bed.

  Her last thought as the world went dark was that this blood bond stuff rocked.

  WHEN SHE CAME to she was still reeling from the intensity of the experience, her face cradled in the hollow of his shoulder, his fingers idly stroking the curve of her hip.

  And she felt content.

  His body felt so solid beneath her, his strength surrounding and protecting her. She felt…safe. It was an odd sensation, somehow implying she hadn’t been safe before. She was strong and capable. Independent. It had always been enough. Yet this feeling of contentment belied that it had ever been enough.

  Kel nestled against his chest with a frown, absorbing his warmth and comforting herself with the steady beat of his heart. His arms tightened reflexively around her.

  It was important that she be able to believe that she was content despite what happened to her, that the nightmares were nothing more than an inconsequential reminder of what she’d overcome. She didn’t want to be damaged from what the Ferrar doyen had done to her years ago and she most certainly did not want to attribute her sudden sense of completion to her complicated relationship with the Ferrar House marshal. What did that leave her? The victim? The rescued damsel?

  Kel shivered and panic welled up, a cold dark presence in her sated body.

  She could live with the knowledge of her past because she knew she’d triumphed, that they hadn’t been able to steal even one piece of her. She was a fortress; no one could make her that vulnerable again. She was fearless and impenetrable because she had molded herself into a woman without weaknesses. Now there was Gabe.

  Squeezing her eyes shut she fought the chill that coursed through her, barely recognizing the emotion. It had been years since this feeling had been able to get any kind of
a grip on her.

  Kel was afraid.

  “YOU’RE SHIVERING,” GABE whispered into her hair, his frown hidden. Sweeping his hands soothingly over her damp back he pulled her closer. She felt fractured to him. Carefully he let himself merge gently into the surface of her emotions.

  Now that their bond was complete he could feel her, every emotion that flickered through her. She was unbelievably satisfied, part of her struggling toward acceptance. Yet she was terrified, the other part of her scrambling to put some distance between them even as her body seemed to cling desperately to his. Although he could feel what she felt he couldn’t read her thoughts. That was a conniving mind trick of the Drachon. Sanguen mates shared emotions and emotional energy.

  Right now Kel’s emotional energy was caught in a civil war, and she was taking a beating for the inner conflict. His drive to protect her was a part of the bond. She belonged to him, a responsibility he took seriously. He wouldn’t let her be hurt, even by herself.

  “Talk to me,” Gabe said softly.

  “I think our bodies said all there is to say,” Kel retorted, her hand stroking down the hard plane of his stomach. Even though he recognized her caress for what it was – an attempt at distraction – his body took the bait. It tightened.

  “Don’t.” Gabe raised his head to gaze at her across his chest. Her half smile was firmly in place but there were shadows swirling in her liquid eyes. “This won’t go away. We’re forever.”

  Those shadows spun and writhed as she held his eyes, that turmoil surging. “I’m afraid.”

  Her voice sounded raw, hesitant and unused. He stroked a wide hand down her back to her hip and back up to her nape, infusing her with himself – his strength, his support. She cleared her throat. He could feel her uncertainty. She wanted to retreat back behind the safety of her sarcasm and satire but was forcing herself forward. He admired that in her. She would stand and fight. Always. Even when a tactical retreat would save her the bruises. Did she even comprehend how fearless that made her?