When she finally looked at him, the golden topaz of her eyes gleamed with satisfaction, a soft smile curving her lips. “I like hearing you scream my name,” he whispered, rubbing his thumb across her lower lip.
She flushed, the elegant arch of her cheekbones darkening just a little. He pulled out slowly, until just the head of his cock was inside her, and then he shoved back inside, hard and fast. Slow retreat, followed by a demanding, hungry thrust. Leandra whimpered low in her throat, that satisfied gleam slowly fading as a hungry, desperate light made her eyes begin to glow like jewels lit from within.
Her nipples stabbed into his chest, and Mike shifted until he could take one in his mouth. Laving it with his tongue, he rocked inside her. Cupping his hand around the plump flesh of one breast, he stared down at her, at his hand on her body. “You’re so damned beautiful,” he murmured as he flicked his thumb against the deep, deep brown of her nipple. It was tight, and as he traced it with his tongue, she arched up, her hands dipping into his hair and pulling him closer.
Her whimpers slowly became pleas, soft, demanding cries that Mike knew would haunt him. He’d go to his grave hearing the broken sound of her voice begging him to take her, to fuck her, to make her come again.
He squeezed the taut curve of her ass, slowly spreading her cheeks and pressing the tip of his finger against her. She arched against him with a sharp scream and came.
This time, Mike went with her, groaning hoarsely as he came deep inside her, his cock jerking and throbbing as the muscles of her pussy squeezed and caressed him through his climax. Each small contraction drew it out, and by the time she’d emptied him, his entire body was shaking.
Collapsing against her, he rested his head between her breasts and whispered, “When I can move, we’re going to do that again.”
AND THEY DID. THE BED BRACED HER UPPER BODY AS Leandra knelt on the floor beside it. Mike crouched behind her, pushing into her, his cock so damned hard, she felt bruised.
And each touch only made her hotter. Every time he sank inside her, she needed more and more. Her hands tore at the sheets until she’d torn them free from the bed and they were bunched around her fists.
Just as her climax started to tease her, he slowed his pace, spreading his hands wide over the flared curve of her hips. “Not so fast,” he murmured. “Not this time.”
From time to time, he’d touch her ass, tracing one finger along the crevice and pressing against the tightly clenched muscles. That felt unbelievably good, those light, teasing caresses making her belly clench with need.
Shoving back against him, she demanded weakly, “Harder—”
He laughed. “Slower,” he insisted as he continued with slow, leisurely strokes. One hand kept her hips tilted up, holding her at an angle that had him brushing against her G-spot in the sweetest way. But he kept slowing down each time he felt her climax approach.
“Bastard,” she hissed as he used his hold on her hip to keep her from rocking back to meet him.
Mike just laughed, sliding his free hand around her and circling his teasing fingers around her clit, then a little lower, stroking lightly where she was stretched tight around him. “Hmmm. Yeah, I guess so. After all, I’m being damned greedy here. I don’t want you to come again, not yet. If you do, I will . . . and I don’t want to stop fucking you.” He pressed against her ass again, and this time, his fingers were wet.
From her, Leandra realized with a jolt. He smeared the cream from her pussy against her and then he pushed just a little inside. Leandra arched back with a hoarse moan. Her skin felt too tight. Too hot. Her heart was beating too fast, so hard she thought it would explode inside her chest.
“You like that,” he murmured. There was an odd note in his voice, anticipation, satisfaction. Something she couldn’t quite define as he pushed deeper and deeper until he had embedded the length of his finger inside her ass.
“Perfect . . .” Mike stared down at her, the deep brown of her skin so dark against his. The plump, round curves of her ass pressed against his hips and her pussy gripped his cock in a tight, silken caress.
And her ass—the muscles inside her sheath there were so tight, Mike couldn’t move his finger without fear of hurting her. He would fuck her there, and she’d love it. She hadn’t been taken in the ass before—he had known it the instant he had stroked her there. Her entire body had gone stiff with shock, and for a moment, he knew she had been caught between embarrassment and want.
The want had won out—and he knew he’d have her there.
Not tonight, but soon. For now, he satisfied himself with slow, gentle motions of his finger as he fucked her sweet pussy. She arched, pushing greedily back against him when he tried to withdraw his fingers, and he grinned as she whimpered brokenly, “Please—feels so good.”
“No more,” he whispered regretfully. “Not tonight.”
“Please!”
He swore shakily at the strident demand. Harshly, he said, “No. Not yet. When I fuck your ass, you’ll be ready for it. And any pain you might feel will be because I want you to feel it.”
“Damn it, Mike. I need more.” She emphasized the more by pushing her hips back against him desperately.
Mike closed his eyes, gritted his teeth. Then he withdrew his hand, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her torso upright. He shifted back, keeping her pressed against his body as he turned and took her to the floor, pressing her into the unrelenting wood. “Then take more,” he panted as he started to shaft her deep and hard. “But not there. Not yet.”
She tried to push back up onto her hands, but Mike caught her by the wrists, pinning her down. He growled warningly against her neck, scraping his teeth against her sweaty flesh. “You’ll take what I give you tonight.” He pulled out and drove back inside her, hard and rough.
She screamed, the sound harsh, startled. Cream flowed from her like a river, bathing his cock, coating his balls. Mike did it again, again, until she closed around him like a vise, coming long and hard.
He sank his teeth into the firm pad of muscle atop one sleek shoulder as he started to come. As the ripe, hot taste of her blood flooded his mouth, he groaned.
Long moments passed before he could move. Finally, he lifted off of her, his cock still semierect and making a sucking sound as he withdrew. She moaned, a weak, exhausted little sound. Gently, he picked her up and lowered her onto the bed, grabbing a sheet and hauling it over them as he spooned up behind her.
He fell into an exhausted sleep, keeping one arm locked tight around her.
CHAPTER TWO
The nightmare came again.
It lit into her like a beast, tearing at her with claws of fear, doubt, self-disgust, self-hatred. The pain of it all was welcome, a fitting yoke of burden that she would have worn without complaint.
Until the dream changed on her.
It didn’t end with Mike lying helpless as she pumped wolfs-bane and silver into his body. He died in front of her, screaming in agony, and she turned away from him only to level the gun at another Hunter.
Lori.
Then Jonathan.
Malachi—
Agnes . . . the frail old woman with her faded blue eyes and gentle, sad smile. “It will be all right, love. You must do what you were born to do . . .”
She kept saying that as Leandra killed her.
Hard, strong hands touched her, and Leandra struggled away, screaming and sobbing. She hit somebody hard, heard her name—
And woke up, huddling on the floor, her knees drawn to her chest, tears choking her. Mike reached for her, and she cringed, jerking away. He didn’t back off, just ignored her futile attempts as he lifted her gently to his lap. “It’s just a dream, Lee. Just a dream.”
“It’s not just a dream. It happened, nearly all of it. It is me, it is what I am. I can’t fight it,” she babbled, fighting to get away from him. She didn’t deserve his warmth, his kindness, his decency.
Killer—you’re a killer.
“Stop it.”
His voice was hard and firm, but she continued to struggle against his arms.
“Let me go. I don’t deserve this. I shouldn’t be here.”
“This is where you belong,” Mike said flatly. “This is where you’ve always belonged. Don’t let a dream control you.”
A harsh, broken sob escaped her, and the fight drained out of her. “But it’s not just a dream, Mike. I did those things. I am a killer.”
His heart split wide open as he cuddled her against his chest, stroking one hand down the thick wealth of braids. “You’re not a killer. Whatever you once were, you’re not the same woman any longer. And you weren’t ever the evil woman you’ve made yourself out to be.”
“I am.” Her voice was stark, and her eyes stared sightlessly at the wall. “I am.”
“You are not.”
A high, wild laugh escaped her, and she asked, “How do you know what I am? One night of fucking makes you an expert?” She started to struggle once more, harder this time, and with a more focused effort.
Mike flipped her to her back and grabbed her wrists. She tried to twist away, so Mike wedged his lower body against hers, his cock pressed against her belly. She continued to struggle against him, but with her hands pinned and his greater bulk pressed against her, she couldn’t do much.
Eventually, she stilled and stared at him mutinously. Lowering his head, he pressed his brow to hers and whispered, “I know—I look in your eyes, and I know. You think if you were evil, you’d feel the guilt you feel now? That you’d be so afraid? Evil doesn’t feel fear, doesn’t feel guilt. And damn it, you’re a Hunter. That alone ought to tell you something.”
She glared up at him, her eyes so full of misery and anger. “Let me go,” she said raggedly.
Instead, he shifted his weight again, holding her gaze as he brushed his cock against the warm, slick mound of her sex. “Never. Not for anything.” He pushed inside her, watching her. Her eyes widened, a soft moan slipping from her lips as she arched her hips against his.
“This doesn’t solve anything,” she whimpered. But she brought her knees up, squeezing at his hips with them.
“Maybe not . . . but it means something,” he murmured back, letting go of her wrists so he could guide them around to his shoulders. “Hold onto me. Just stop thinking for awhile and hold onto me.”
He covered her mouth with his, pushing past the barrier of her lips with his tongue. She heated around him, her cooler body warming from his, and her hands tightened around his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin. Her mouth was sweet and ripe, her fangs sliding down from their sheaths. He pulled back a little, nipping at her lower lip before he lifted his head to stare down at her.
She tightened one hand at his shoulder, the other moving to cup the back of his head and drag his mouth back to hers. One fang grazed his lip, and the taste of blood flooded their mouths. Leandra made a small, hungry sound in her throat, and she began to shudder under him. The slick, wet tissues of her pussy tightened around him even more, and she began to spasm, those sweet little milking sensations caressing his cock.
Her body arched her against his, taut, sleekly strong, her hands demanding, her mouth ravenous. Mike wanted to eat her alive. He could stay like this, locked in her body forever. He felt her mouth suckle hungrily on his lip, licking away each drop of blood until the tiny wound began to stop bleeding. She bucked under him, and he felt the delicate tissues of her sheath clenching, her body tightening as climax approached.
His head was roaring; he could feel his own climax building, but he lashed it down, beating the need into submission. Rearing up onto his elbows, he flicked sweaty hair out of his eyes and stared down at her. He slowed the pace of his thrusts as he said her name. “Look at me.”
Her lashes lifted slowly and she stared at him with wide, unfocused eyes.
“Tell me I’m right,” he whispered, sliding one hand down her body and cupping her hip, slowing her frantic movements. “Tell me you know it means something.”
“Mike . . .” She sobbed out his name.
“Say it.” Mike pushed deep inside of her and held there, unmoving. His cock jerked and throbbed, and the rhythmic pulsations of her pussy had him scrambling for control. But he wanted to hear her say it.
Hunger erupted from her, a punch so damn powerful he could feel it caressing his body. It flooded the room, tightening the air all around them. The hunger was no longer just inside of them; it pulsed all around them, hot and potent. Coming from her—the vampire’s call. A heady, sensual magick all vampires had, one that increased with age and power.
It made his skin grow tighter, like it was two sizes too small. It began to whisper in his blood, Take take take . . .
But he had to hear it from her first. “Say it,” he growled, gripping his hand in her hair, forcing her to look at him.
Raggedly, she said, “It means something.”
Crushing his mouth to hers, he gave into the driving, raging need, exploding inside her as she climaxed under him.
LEANDRA AWOKE A COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE DAWN. For the past four years, she’d had an internal clock telling her when the sun would rise, when it would set. She was safest inside, away from the sun. There would come a time, if she lived long enough, when she wouldn’t have to fear the sun, whether she used magick to shield herself or not.
Right now, she could tolerate a few minutes of early or late sun unprotected, or she could go outside using her magick to shield her if the sun was burning high in the sky. It was instinct that made her wary, not a true fear.
Still, she rested better during the day now, and it was less stress on her nerves to avoid daylight when she could.
So she did.
Dawn wouldn’t force her to leave just yet.
But her tightly strung nerves would.
As she lay on her side, she could feel the warmth and weight of Mike’s body pressed against her back. His chest rose and fell with slow, steady breaths, and he had one arm locked tight around her waist. Like he had no intention of letting go, even while he slept.
What in the hell had happened to her?
She had absolutely no answer.
She’d lost her mind, there was no question of that. Not just because of the sex, either. It was the nightmare, damn it. She was used to them; she should have been able to keep from breaking down in front of him.
Her cheeks flushed as she recalled just how completely she’d broken down—crying, hysterical. But he just held her through her tears. And when that didn’t help . . . a soft rush of breath escaped her.
She’d lost her mind. Plain and simple. Of course, she hadn’t been completely responsible for her mental breakdown. If he hadn’t touched her . . .
“You think too hard.”
She jolted in his arms, her face flaming as she realized he had woken without her realizing it. Puckering her brow, she rolled over to face him, pushing up on her elbow. “I think too hard?”
He smiled at her, his gray eyes warm on her face. Golden blond hair framed a face so handsome, it made her want to sigh. When he smiled up at her, his teeth flashed white against the mellow gold of his skin. “Yeah. You always think too hard, kitten.”
Instead of trying to dissect that comment, she focused on the last word, scowling at him. “Kitten?” she muttered.
His thumb rubbed her lower lip. Just that light touch, and she was already aching inside for him. After last night, she shouldn’t need him like this, not just yet. But she did. His voice was a low, husky rumble as he said, “Kitten—you’ve always reminded me of a cat, sleek, sexy . . . and you purr when I stroke you.”
As though to prove his point, he skimmed his hand down her back, and Leandra arched into his touch with a sigh. One that, to her displeasure, actually sounded a little like a purr. She shrugged his hand away and sat up, embarrassed. Kitten . . . it sounded too sweet, too gentle. Too not her.
“I have to go,” she said, her voice stilted and tight. He’d gotten what he wanted. Now she had to run befor
e he realized she needed so much more. It was bad enough that he had seen her at her weakest. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she didn’t know if she’d be able to walk away from him.
“Why?” he murmured, pressing his lips against her spine.
Glancing toward the window, she took the convenient escape. “Sunrise.”
Mike chuckled. “Still a few hours before that—and you only need seconds to go from here to the house.” She arched as he kissed her again, his tongue sliding out in a quick caress before he moved to kiss another spot on her back. “Besides, early sunrise doesn’t present a problem for you.”
Pursing her lips, she tossed her braids out of the way and glared at him over her shoulder as he sat up and met her eyes. “And what do you know?”
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap. Her lids drooped at the feel of his cock cuddled against her ass. Those hot little touches last night had almost driven her insane. And he hadn’t given her the more she’d begged him for.
Begged . . . Leandra’s cheeks flushed painfully red as she remembered the harsh, demanding sounds of her begging him to fuck her there. Normally, sex was little more than an itch to scratch when it became too annoying, and she usually just handled the needs on her own. Other than Mike, she’d had sex with two other men her entire life. And she’d never begged them for anything, much less what she’d begged Mike for.
His voice interrupted her thoughts as he said, “About you?” He laughed softly, rubbing his chin against her shoulder. “A lot more than you think. But nowhere near as much as I want to know. I want to know everything . . .”
As he eased away, Leandra lowered her eyes. She should go—get out of here before this could go any farther. But she hesitated too long. He stood in front of her, stroking her hair back from her face, staring down at her with impossibly gentle eyes.
She looked down, away from that soul-searching gaze, but that was a mistake, too. Instead of his eyes, she was now staring at the scar on his side.
Heart and Soul Page 4