She straddled him without breaking away from the surrender of his lips and pressed her forehead to his. He would never mark her. He admitted as much. But he boasted her mark all the same. And whether he wanted her or not, she would ensure that he would never forget her.
Graeme’s eyes darted open in wonder as she explored his body with much more than curiosity – but determination. Every caress seemed calculated, executed with the intent on delivering much pleasure. He combed his fingers through her mass of hair, body burning with the effect of her kiss. The expression on her face was a mixture of stiff resolve and agony. Somewhat confused, he pushed aside the heat that laced his belly and gripped her arms to haul her to his chest once again. Her eyes darted open. He noted the moisture of her lashes, clumped and dark. He searched her eyes for a long time, somewhat undone by the passion that swirled there. Something else haunted her orbs, something he could not quite place. She lowered her gaze to hide the emotion and slid her seeking hand along his stomach to disappear beneath the furs.
It slipped his mind to probe her with questions. The tender ministrations of her hand and the heat of her lips that blazed a moist trail from his lips to his chest and further south extinguished all forms of doubt from his mind. The scent of his seed mixed with her oils still stained her skin and the furs he was near buried in. His nostrils flared. In the nights gone by, he had allowed himself every imaginable pleasure at her hands. Every position had been explored, and the more he taught her, the more eager she was to learn.
This morning was a pleasant surprise. She looked at him with much more than longing. If Graeme was a man who believed in love, he might have used that word to accredit the depth of emotion that swirled in her eyes. But he was not fool enough to think that this sweet, beautiful vampire should love him. They were natural enemies. Why the fates had mated them was beyond any reason he could think of. Why each day he grew more possessive of her was something he did not want to contemplate.
Her heated mouth covered his throbbing member, the suction created there firm and slow. Graeme near bolted off the bed. Bliss. This was what she brought to him. Her breasts were crushed to his thighs. Deeper still she lowered her mouth. His eyes rolled back. The almost reverent way she caressed him might have been disconcerting, but at that moment, he did not care. The growls that reverberated at the back of his throat were meant to encourage her. His fingers sank into her silken locks. He bobbed her head, creating a rhythm that forced a husky moan from his lips. He felt himself build, felt fire threaten to consume him and pushed her away swiftly. The cry on her lips died beneath his kiss.
“Please,” she said thickly. He did not pause, not as he pushed her back to gain her footing, not as he continued to taste her tongue. Naked, they stood on the cold stone. Graeme pulled away long enough to move the strands of hair from her face. He looked at her. What he saw was suddenly more than just a vampire. He saw her. When had she denied him herself? When had she started looking at him as if the sun rose and set in his eyes? When had her kisses started to taste so sweet?
Confused, he frowned. What the hell was wrong with him? She was no different. It had to be the magic of the moon. The full moon was tonight. Mature Weres had a hell of a time controlling their baser instinct on nights like this. He would have to do her a kindness and stay away. If he hurt her, or killed her, they would have an all out war on their hands.
Her feathery touch jerked him out of his musings. Her lips were swollen and parted – and she panted. He inhaled the thick air between them. The scent of her full arousal momentarily scrambled his senses. He pulled her against his desire and lifted her slowly.
“Wrap your legs around me…”
She obeyed. Graeme slid into her tight entrance and watched in interest the flush of her cheeks and the emotions that fluttered across her face. His steps were purposeful when he made his way across the room, moving her light weight up and down all the while. The mewling noises she made stroked something very primal within him. Her back to the wall, he adjusted her again. This time when he moved, it was with slow, tantalizing motions. Blood heated, he captured her lips. Each time he slipped within her, she expanded, gripping onto his erection like a vise. Hot and sleek, her body worked like a vise. It occurred to him then that if he moved just so, she gasped. Again, he experimented. Her whimper was a welcomed one. Their bodies joined, he introduced his fingers to her swollen nub just above his entry point. Shudders raked her body violently, so much so that the instant her eyes opened, they blazed quicksilver. Her hips bucked uncontrollably. The swift contractions around his own need prompted his kiss and the acceleration of his hips, and before long, he stiffened, releasing his seed into her belly, and leaving with her another piece of himself in the process.
She clung to him, trembling like a leaf. Soft and pliable, he did not release her. Still impaled upon his shaft, he felt the first teardrop upon his shoulder. Fingers of steel gripped onto her thighs and took her to a large chair to one side. He sat, and did not allow her to move. She contracted around him again. His lips found hers. The tears she wept were very salty and very warm. They streamed down her face and mingled in their kisses. For a long time he held her like that, unwilling to release her just yet. She did not make a protest. When at last he pulled away and leaned back, it was to simply look at her.
“Feed,” he said tenderly. She nibbled her plump, cherry lips and cast her gaze aside. “Are you not hungry?”
“No.”
She lied. He knew it to be so. A heated cloak descended upon his orbs and he leaned forward to nibble the lobe of her ear. Lower still he went. His teeth pinched at her exposed neck. Her nipples went rock hard. He grinned wickedly. When he spoke, his voice was laced with temptation. “Bite me, vampire. You know you want to…” His lips danced upon her flesh. She shuddered in delight. And moved away. The scowl on his face matched his confusion well.
“I – I cannot.”
Graeme considered her in silence as she pulled the tapestry away from the window. Sunlight bathed her form. Peeked, dusky nipples shone a reddish mahogany. Her skin was still very much blushed with the afterglow of his touch. “What do you mean you cannot?”
She blinked away the last of her tears and met his eyes. There was a new determination there now, and Graeme did not like the way she jutted out her chin and stood there so defiantly. His eyes narrowed. One week she had given of her unselfishly. One week he had come to her night after endless night to find her ready and waiting and as eager as he. Now, she would fight him again. The thought was a maddening one.
“I do not wish to feed from you again.”
Her words washed over him like a dash of cold water. Stunned, he stood his full height. On his body he boasted several of her bites – on his chest, on his inner leg, on his back. There was not found a place on him she had not marked. The pleasure he received from the sensation it evoked brought him to the peak of sexual fulfillment every time. And now, she did not wish to feed from him again?
“What nonsense are you talking about, leech?” he snapped impatiently. “You are a vampire. You drink blood. It is by your own tongue you have admitted the need to feed each day. Now come here.”
She stepped back. Tension whipped at his core.
“I – I want to, but…”
“But what?”
She turned her back pointedly, whether in defiance of him or to hide the hurt he glimpsed in her eyes, he did not know. “If I am to be ransomed soon, it is in my best interest to stop strengthening the bond.”
His glower deepened. “What bond?”
“You are my mate. Each time I feed from you, the more of myself I want to give to you…”
He snorted. “I do not feel such a bond.”
Her shoulders slumped forward. Her whimper was laced with agony. “It is because you have not marked me. You have said it yourself – you are my mate, but I shall never be yours.”
I shall never be yours. Hearing her say the words forced his chest to constrict agonizingly.
But you belong to me. The fates have decided! He hesitated. His plan was already set in motion. He had to ransom her. His duty to the horde was more important that this vampire – more important than how he fancied he felt in her arms. He stiffened his resolve and observed her from the distance.
A bond. He sniffed. Marked or no, if there was indeed such a bond he would have felt something by now, wouldn’t he? So what if at times he had considered keeping her? It had nothing to do with this so-called bond. Was she playing some kind of a game then? Did she mean to starve herself? Graeme had seen the desperate measure she had taken to ease her hunger. It made no sense.
He eyed her intensely. That was the truth of it then - she was being bonded each time she fed. The thought that she would never want another more than she wanted him made his chest inflate considerably. He near burned to touch her again. Nostrils flaring, he approached. “You need to feed.”
“I will not take from you.”
He cocked a brow. “Will you not?”
“No.”
“Exactly how long do you think this resolution will last?” His mouth found her ear. She made to scramble away from his touch. He caught her around the middle and tumbled her upon the bed.
“Let go of me,” she demanded softly. Graeme parted her thighs and captured her lips. She kissed back just as fervently.
“Never.” Fingers linked through hers, he nibbled the outskirts of her mouth and grunted impatiently when she pulled away. “If you do not feed now, I will wait. I have done it before.”
She gasped. “I am not asking to be starved – only that another comes in your stead.”
He froze instantly. Amber burned in his gaze. His body was whipcord above hers. “If you want to assign yourself to a swift death, mention it again.”
She swallowed hard. “But -”
“No!” He made to capture her lips once more. She turned away. He shifted, irritated. “You are not allowed to take directly from another. It is considered sacred. Or have you forgotten your laws?”
“You are not vampire, and I am to be released in a fortnight. You are not bound to me. Our laws say nothing about being mated to a Were.”
He sat up on his haunches, furious. “I do not care what your law states, leech. My decision is final. You will not feed from another.” He pushed away the jealousy that squeezed at the pulse in his chest. Her bite was intimate, not only to her, but to him as well. Her mouth, her tongue on another man would send him into a rage of bloodlust. A vein rose across this forehead at just the thought.
“Then I shall wait until I am ransomed.”
“You cannot wait that long.”
“Your blood is strong – not like human blood. I have fed much in the past few days. My body is stronger. I can wait.”
The need to claim her again was fueled by the throbs of jealousy within him. He forced her thighs apart and slipped down the length of her body. There was slight panic in her eyes. His satanic smile complimented the snarl on his lips perfectly. “We shall see about that.”
“Wha-aaa…” A heated tongue sent her voice pitching high. Nerves raw, she gasped helplessly as he near devoured her core, grunting in contentment and pleasure. The obscenities he spoke against her heated flesh brought her over the edge time and time again. She begged mercy. None was given.
“You will take from me,” he announced huskily, lifting his mouth from her neither-lips and slipping the length of a finger within her. She shook her head in response. His smile lowered until the harsh length of his tongue stroked her core once more. Bucking, her fingers sank into the furs. Her legs quivered, the first tell-tale sign that she was about to be driven to the edge. Desire set him on fire. He lifted himself quickly and plunged deeply within her, his movements controlled. Each stroke was done with great care. Her eyes met his, misty and swamped with lust. Graeme held her close to his taunt form and watched in fascination as her pupils dilated and flashed as he took her skyward. On the verge of shattering, he sank his teeth into his wrist. At the scent of his heated blood her nostrils flared. Almost violently she covered her mouth over the wound. Shattering, Graeme felt her quake beneath him. Every muscle within her contracted upon his stiff member still pumping into her. When at last the bright light of rapture blinded him, he collapsed in a heavy heap upon her chest. Her heart thundered. It echoed in the deepest part of his mind.
She attempted to push him away. Graeme met her wide, moist eyes and scowled. “If I bite you again, I will not be satisfied until you are drained. I will see you dead before this bond strengthen.”
He paused and considered her well indeed. “I am your mate. You cannot help but want me.”
That he could say the words aloud forced her to recoil. Her eyes glinted in fury, and hurt. “I do not want you, but what I want from you is something else entirely.”
He thundered laughter. He should have expected her to use his own words like a sharpened sword. “Liar.” Her gasp was buried beneath a series of violent kisses. She did not want to feed, did she? She did not want to strengthen the bond?
He would see about that.
Chapter Seven
Day turned to night, then day again. Each morning Graeme would open his eyes to find her snuggled onto of his chest. He would take in the scent of her, of their mating in the stagnant air of the room, and relish how perfectly her body felt molded upon his. Now that she was in full health, her form proved almost voluptuous. Heavy breasts were crushed against his chest, and he absently ran his hand down the length of her arm to skim the swell of her hip. She was all woman - soft and full of curves. And she was his.
He scowled fiercely and gently pushed her onto the mattress. In the faint streams of sunlight, her body flushed a delightful shade of pink. For a long time he did nothing but look at her. It had been two weeks. Two weeks of making tender love to her; two weeks of holding her until she fell asleep in his embrace…two weeks of trying to convince himself that she meant nothing to him. Graeme cursed himself for a fool. This was not what he had expected when he put his plan into action almost a month ago. He was supposed to return her used and ashamed. The vampires were supposed to have her with them as a living reminder that the females they so protected served no better use than that of whores.
He stood and dressed in agitation. This was a complication he had not anticipated. Feeling any tenderness toward her did not mean that this so-called bond she had spoken about existed. To believe so was to believe that his jealousy stemmed from the possibility that maybe, he had fallen in love with her.
He snickered. To love a vampire – now there was a thought! There was nothing lovable about her. Her tongue was as sharp as his blade, she defied him whenever feminine fancies took to her head, and she made it perfectly clear time and time again that having him for a mate was like copulating with one’s food. He smiled as he recalled the amused look in her eyes when she had teasingly announced such. It had been everything but hilarious then. A sense of humor she had. And a tender respect he had not initially observed. She argued with him non-stop about the ransom he demanded, and he had indulged her with patience simply because he enjoyed her.
Hesitating, he paused at the door and took another glance back. She called him her mate so very often now, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She spoke about her brother and their outings to the river, where she was more times than not disobedient when she was warned about getting hurt while wading through the deep waters. He knew more about her than he wanted to, and although the Were within him wanted to reject her for simply being vampire, the man had already claimed her.
Making a hasty exit, he all but stomped his way down the narrow hall. The new moon was a daunting two days away. He had already issued orders to the scouts to keep an eye out for trespassers. Since the perimeter of the stronghold had been cleared a month earlier, the vampires had kept their distance. Graeme was not fool enough to believe that their decision not to embark onto his territory meant that they were in any way subservient
. He anticipated a reckoning. With a hundred heads less, he was confident that the horde could do some serious damage.
He took himself to the private hut the men used for washing and bathed thoroughly. It would not do for the men to scent her oils that stained his skin. He took his time about the matter. Three quarters of an hour later he made his way into the pantry. One of the wenches brought him a large breakfast and several mugs of warm, spiced milk. If anyone had noticed the large servings of food he wolfed each day, they said nothing. He needed to eat. It was the only way she would be properly fed.
The hours passed in drone monotony. Graeme held a short meeting with a few of his most trusted men, in which he carefully explained what would take place in the next couple days. They nodded and did not ask unnecessary questions. By the time evening faded to dusk, he was more than a little impatient to return to the chamber he had left that self same morning.
Dinner was still hot in his stomach when he made his way up the staircase. He sniffed and frowned just before he broke the landing. Rhys appeared to be leaving his chamber, and slid the bolt home. He faced Graeme in what could only be anger. Hackles raised, he tensed and cautiously made his way to the far wall. Several questions darted through his mind, all of which he intended to find the answers to.
“What are you doing here Rhys?”
The man’s eyes glinted dangerously. Graeme sensed that he withheld the change with much effort. “How long have you been dallying in her bed?”
“She is a prisoner. I will do with her as I damn well please.”
The man advanced slowly, his breaths deep, nostrils flaring. Graeme forced his hands to remain at his sides. Rhys was many things, but hot headed was not one of them. He would not risk doing something that would cost him his life.
The Sanction Page 6