by L Ann
“Don’t –“ Her protest ended when his mouth landed on hers, tongue sliding between her already parted lips and, to her own dismay, her response was immediate.
Their kiss was a continuation of their argument; teeth biting, tugging at each other’s lips, fighting for domination and control until Taz’s hands came up to cup her face between his palms and hold her still. He lifted his head and gazed down at her, eyes unreadable, then stepped backwards, sucking in a deep unsteady breath.
“No,” he said. “Not like this.” He touched her cheek, waiting until she raised her eyes before continuing. “The anger… the aggression… with you, there’s nothing like it. I love it,” his voice was low, barely more than a whisper. “But we can’t carry on like this. It’s affecting us too much, and it’s going to get one or both of us killed.” He took another breath and carried on in a more normal tone. “You have to make a decision. You, not me. My decision is made. I want you – it’s that simple. You need to decide what the terms are going to be.” He leaned forward and stole another quick kiss. “I’m going to bed. Let me know what you decide.”
“Terms?” Morgan asked his retreating back.
“I want you, Anna. And I know you want me too.” His voice came back to her, soft but sure. “But only you can choose how much of yourself you’ll willingly give to me.” And he closed the door behind him.
~*~
The sun had risen long before Morgan came to a decision. She’d spent hours pacing in the sitting room, the guest bedroom and back again – her eyes drifting to the closed door which led to the master bedroom where Taz slept. True to his word, he had gone to bed, and no sound had come from the room since he’d closed the door.
She knew what he wanted. He was asking her to decide whether she would complete the bond or not. And, if she was honest, the thought of linking herself to someone so completely terrified her like nothing had before. She paused in her pacing and found she’d stopped outside the bedroom door.
Could she do it? She asked herself. Could it even work between the two of them? More importantly, could she walk away without finding out?
She opened the door and stepped into the darkened room before she could change her mind. She waited for Taz to speak, but after a few minutes had passed and it stayed silent, she moved toward the bed. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she could see him lying on the far side of the mattress.
Taking in a breath, she sat on the side of the bed then lifted her legs up and slipped under the covers. She knew Taz was awake, yet when he made no move toward her, she relaxed against the pillows and closed her eyes with a sigh.
“My first clear memory was when I was five,” she spoke into the silence. “I was clinging to my mother’s leg and begging her not to send me away. My father was waiting in the Great Hall at Chimera to take me to a training camp.” She felt him shift beside her and paused. When he still said nothing, she spoke again. “I spent the next twenty years or so in one-on-one training in all weapons and martial arts. Occasionally, the Master would bring in someone new for a few months here and there, but mostly it was just me and him from dawn until midnight. All I did was train.” He moved again, and she turned her head to see he’d rolled onto his side to face her. “What I’m saying is that I don’t know how to do this… I don’t know how to be with someone.”
He reached out with one hand, brushing a dark tendril of hair away from her forehead and let it slide away, caressing her cheek.
“Hey. There’s no trick to –“ the words trailed off. No trick to being with someone? Is that what you were going to say? Taz winced at the thought. If it were so damned simple, then why are you still alone? How many women had there been in his life, really been in his life since he came of age? The exact count, he couldn’t recall. Hundreds? Thousands? And none, but a small rare handful, longer than five days. Scores of one-night stands. One, two-hour whims.
Oh, there was Kayla, of course. A human he’d basically used to kill time. But he couldn’t use that as an excuse. If the truth be known, there had always been a part of him – during those times he’d watched his parents or Hamish and Hannah with one another – that envied what they had; that wondered if he had it within himself to care that much and share that much of himself with someone.
Until now.
“Want to hear something funny?” He moved closer still, nuzzling her cheek. “Neither do I.”
“Then how can this possibly work?”
“We’ll work through it.” He ran a finger down the column of her throat and along the neckline of her top.
“We’re both too set in our ways,” she argued.
“We’ll take it slow,” Taz promised, his mouth trailing down after his finger.
“But—“
“Anna.” Taz raised his head, waited for her to meet his gaze, then smiled. “Stop talking.”
~*~
Taz woke with a start, the tail-end of his cell phone’s ringtone bringing him out of a deep sleep. When it didn’t start up again, he considered attempting to go back to sleep. Morgan was burrowed against him, her arms wrapped around his waist, one leg thrown over his and her head nestled into the hollow of his shoulder and Taz felt sated, content and so relaxed he had no real desire to move. He turned his head to rub his cheek against the top of Morgan’s head, surprised to find himself thinking how good it felt having her pressed up against him.
His thoughts drifted back to their lovemaking of earlier. He had worried that without anger driving them, sex between them might have lost some of the passion but, if anything, it had been even more intense. It was while he contemplated waking her up for another round that his cell rang again. Sighing, he untangled himself and eased from the bed.
“Taz?” Morgan’s voice was sleepy, not fully awake.
“Phone. Go back to sleep,” he murmured, bending to drop a kiss onto her lips. A mistake, he reflected ruefully an hour or so later, but a good one. Her hand had come up to lock around his neck, drawing him back down to her and he’d let her, all thoughts of answering the call scattering.
~*~
Making love to Morgan could become an addiction, Taz mused as, once again, she curled around him and slept. She met his passion with her own and wasn’t afraid to tell him what she wanted. He groaned audibly, feeling his body stir in reaction to his thoughts. He really had to think about something else.
This time when he left the bed, Morgan didn’t stir, and he moved into the main sitting room and poured himself a drink before crossing the room to stand in front of the bay window. The sun had set, but only recently, the streets outside the window still light. Without looking at the time, he’d put it around five or six in the evening which meant the club would open soon. He sipped from his glass, then swung his gaze around when his cell phone burst into life.
Scooping it up, he hit answer and put it to his ear. “I’Ane.”
“You realise that the vampire myths are mostly wrong, don’t you boy, and you don’t actually have to sleep like the dead?” The familiar voice growling at him down the line was a surprise.
“Hamish? You’re okay?”
“Obviously,” came the dry reply. “Where is my daughter?”
“She’s… uh… sleeping, sir,” Taz cast a guilty look toward the bedroom door.
“I didn’t ask what she was doing, son,” Hamish snapped. “I asked where she is.”
“She’s still in bed.”
“Whose bed?”
Taz felt himself cringe at the question.
“Well?” Hamish prompted when Taz didn’t answer straight away.
“Mine.” He sat on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “But you already know that.”
“And you have completed the bond? Hannah was telling me Morganna has not yet taken your blood.”
“No, not yet. We’re –“ he drained his glass of scotch and then continued. “We’re taking it slow.”
“You’re…taking…it…slow…” Hamish repeated, his tone
condescending. “As a father, I’d find that very commendable. If we were talking about my daughter’s betrothal – which we’re not. The bond is not exactly, nor entirely an affair of the heart or a promise of connubial bliss, young nephew.”
All set for a quick retort, Taz faltered. ‘Young Nephew’ was an address of affection Hamish had bestowed on him when Taz was very young. And almost always used when the elder Necuno was in one of his ultra-serious no-nonsense moods. Akin to having his full name used by his mother when Taz was in deep deep shit.
“If last night’s incident wasn’t hard confirmation enough,” Hamish continued, “let me see if I can’t make things sufficiently stonier for you. Time is not a luxury the two of you are allowed. Your adversary grows stronger and, as you have witnessed, bolder with each passing day. His cadre of child beasts grow larger with each night and will soon reach the proportions of an army. And, with each one of his audacious savage attacks on the mortal populace of this city, the risk of exposure of the existence of vampires becomes a dangerous certainty. He has to be stopped and quickly.”
“And completing the blood bond will help that how?” Taz questioned, an edge of sarcasm in his tone.
“He is stronger than you, very much so. As individuals – separately or together – he will outwit you at every turn and eventually kill you; or more likely tear you apart. You and Morganna need to work, to think, to move, to react as a single unified entity. A team of one, so to speak. Finish the bond, Taz. And do it quickly.”
“I –“ Taz started, but the connection had been severed on Hamish’s end before he could finish.
~*~
A little more sleep – not that he was tired, but with the combination of being put through his paces by Morgan and what he’d heard from Hamish, Taz was feeling… unrested? If that was the appropriate term. A couple more hours should do it, he decided, and did his best to re-enter the bedroom quietly. He took his time easing back into bed, lifting the covers as though they were made of smoke and settled in on his back.
The subtle sigh of accomplishment caught in his throat as Morgan rolled against him, trapping him beneath one long, smooth leg and a sleek well-toned arm.
“Who was it?” she asked sleepily.
“Who? Oh! You mean the call… the phone call.” Taz’s response was a babbled combination of dread and guilt. He could feel her eyes on him and fought to avoid meeting them. “It –“ he cleared his throat. “It was your father… Hamish.”
Her head came up. “He’s okay?”
Sighing, Taz rolled sideways to look at her and face the inevitable. “If, by ‘okay’ you mean he tore me a new one because we haven’t completed the bond yet, told me to get on with it and hung up on me, then yeah, he’s just dandy.” And there it was, he noted, as he felt her body tense. “I promised you we’d take this slow.” He pre-empted her refusal.
“Did you tell him that?”
Taz heaved another sigh. “Yeah, that’s what set him off.” He filled Morgan in on what Hamish had said to him.
“He truly believes the bond will work that way?” she asked, after a few minutes of charged silence while she contemplated the news.
“Seems to,” Taz shrugged.
“What do you think?”
“Honestly?” He propped himself up on one elbow. “I think there’s more to this whole thing than my father or yours is telling us. Doesn’t it seem too coincidental? Me being grounded, you being called back and a psychotic elder popping up after years of silence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Morgan replied.
“Yeah, me either.” Taz let out a soft breath. “The Old Man said something on the disk.” Taz continued after a moment’s thought. “The best we can hope for is to disrupt this cabal Master’s plans – which, when you think about it, is bullshit. For one, it’s obvious – at least to me – that no way was this a spur of the moment thing. He’s been planning this for a long time. And that means he’s not gonna fold up his tent and disappear if we scrag his little operation. Two, I got a feeling his army of baby vampires and the killings are just one part of a larger plan, otherwise why would he worry about interference from Hamish and Zuron and try to take them out. Whatever it is they aren’t telling us is something that worries the fuck out of them – something that has to do with you and me. And that comes down to one certain thing. We’re gonna have to take him out. Either he goes down or we do.”
“And that brings us back to the blood bond,” Morgan added.
“Yep. We’re missing a piece; a couple of pieces of the puzzle. Our fathers have one piece, and they aren’t about to give it up until after we complete the bonding, if at all.”
Morgan rolled over onto her stomach and rested her chin on her hands. “That’s what bothers me the most. More so than this Cabal Master. What is it they will gain by bonding me to you instead of some other Necuno to you? Any Necuno can give you the blood you need to heighten your abilities and we could still work together.”
“A very good question. It hints at this whole thing, and not what’s happening here and now – something much bigger. Something that might not end after this is all over. Maybe even something that started long before you and I came along. Something with Zuron and Hamish.”
“I don’t like being led around by the nose,” Morgan looked troubled. “I’m sure if we knew the whole story we could find another way to deal with this without us having to bond.”
Taz reached across the space between them and ran his fingers down her spine, pausing when they met the sheet.
“Separate, we’re dangerous. We’re both the best at what we do.” He closed the gap between them, his hand smoothing around her hip then up over her stomach to cup her breast while he moved to lean above her. “Bonded, we’ll be almost untouchable.” He dipped his head and nibbled her shoulder. “Maybe that’s what they want and, if I’m honest, I quite like the idea myself.” When she didn’t push him away, Taz let his fangs graze against her skin. “And I’m the only Nikaran who could bond with you and still let you keep the freedom you love so much.”
Morgan turned her head, her back arching when he tugged gently on her nipple, making it harden. Deftly, he flipped her onto her back, parted her thighs with his knee and took possession of her in one thrust. Her moan was swallowed by his mouth as he slid in and out.
“I love that I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”
She raked her nails down his back, dragging him closer. “You’re a player.”
“Yes,” he conceded. “But the game we’re playing has changed.” He lowered his head to kiss her again, hard and demanding. “Have you decided?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Taz gave her a smile and stilled. “There’s always a choice. You can say no if that’s what you want.”
His words of earlier whispered through her head – If we stay away from each other – over time… eventually… the bond will break. Her fingers dug into his thighs, urging him back into movement.
“You know I can’t say no,” she replied. “We’re out of options.”
Taz nodded and bent his head to her throat, his lips parted and his fangs slid out. He felt her shudder beneath him when he bit into her throat and her fingers clutched at his hips. Rolling so she was atop him, straddling his hips, he cupped the back of her head as he lapped at her throat, the taste of her blood mingled with her arousal making him groan. Pulling away, he wrapped a hand in her hair and tugged her back away from his mouth while he pulled open the drawer in his bedside cabinet with his other hand and took out a small knife. Palming it, he held it out to her.
“Cut me,” his voice came out as a low growl. “Complete the bond.”
Morgan rocked her hips and took the knife “Are you sure you want this?”
His teeth flashed in a grin and he yanked his hair-tangled hand downward, sprawling her across his chest. “I’ve never wanted anything more,” he murmured. Circling his hand around her wrist, he brought the blade up t
o his throat. “Do it.”
“Taz…” Morgan ran her tongue along his jaw, swirling it around the outer edges of his ear, making him hiss, nipped the lobe and brought the blade down to cut deep enough to draw blood.
The intensity of sensation when her lips closed over the wound brought Taz up off the bed.
“Fuck!” His exclamation was followed by an orgasm so intense both of them shook from the aftershock for minutes afterwards.
When her body stopped quivering, Morgan let out a long shuddering sigh and moved from where she was still sprawled above him, easing down to lie beside Taz’s still shaking body.
“That was incredible,” he murmured when he could finally speak.
Chapter 11
Morgan was curled up on a corner of the couch, her fingers curved around a hot mug of coffee while Taz showered when the suite’s main door was thrown open and Zuron and Hamish burst into the room with a small security team, guns in hands, behind them. Both older men, looking a little wild around the eyes, stopped dead when they spotted Morgan.
Morgan quirked an eyebrow at the dishevelled state of both men, who looked like they’d been dragged from their beds and thrown straight out of the door with no time to dress or neaten themselves up.
“Father… Zuron,” she greeted them, rising to her feet and setting her coffee down onto the table. “What’s going on?”
“Morganna! Are you alright?” Her father demanded, running across the room and almost sending the cup flying from the table as he threw out his hands to run them down her arms, as if looking for wounds.
“I’m fine,” she replied slowly.
“Taz? Where’s my son?” Zuron sounded more concerned than Morgan had ever heard him.
“Here.” The man in question entered the room, wearing only a pair of pants and dragging a hand through his still-damp hair. “Where’s the fire?”
“We felt… we thought… “Zuron’s gaze hopped back and forth between the room’s two younger occupants, eyes almost aflame with a look Taz had only seen on one other occasion a long time ago. Fright. His father was scared shitless. A sight, and a fact, that was a little unnerving.