She wanted to touch him, feel his muscle and power beneath her palms, taste his skin on her tongue.
The longer he stared at her, the more she wanted him. The more she wanted to demand he make love to her, but she bit her tongue and lifted her chin.
Just when she didn’t think she could take another second, he began to remove his clothing, a slow, painstaking act that left her mouth watering as he revealed his chest, his lean hips with that long line of muscle she desperately needed to run her tongue over. His thighs, thick with sinew and lightly sprinkled with hair, flexed as he yanked his jeans off.
And then he was totally naked, too. His shaft hard and long, just thick enough to fill her up, steal her capacity to think. Liam was the entire package, every luscious inch of him made her weak with sharp desire, tremble with agonizing anticipation.
Liam crossed the small space between them, as graceful and stealthy as a panther, and held out his hand, pulling her into him.
Enveloping her in his arms, he whispered against the top of her head, “You’re so damn beautiful, Freya. Everything. You’re everything.”
Freya melted against him, pressing her cheek to his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. She had no tears left as a vampire, but if she did, she knew his words would have touched her deeply enough to make her cry.
“So are you,” she murmured back, pressing small kisses to his broad chest, working her way up along the wide expanse to stand on tiptoe and find his mouth. His luscious, delicious mouth, letting hers rest against it, feeling the tight tension in his body reacting to the brush of his hard cock against her thigh.
Liam reached down, grabbing handfuls of her ass with a hiss that was thick and heavy in her ear, hauling her so close, she didn’t know where he left off and she began.
Yet, he hesitated, maddening her. Tightening her arms under his, she pressed into him, fighting not to throw him on the floor and impale herself on him. She needed his tongue. His lips. Needed. “I need you now, Liam. Now.”
Her fingers dug into his back when he caught her lips and drove his tongue into her mouth, sweeping over her teeth, dueling with her, inhaling her sigh of utter bliss.
She’d never get close enough, she thought. Never be able to absorb all that was Liam, his scent, his taste. He was more dangerous to her libido than Seventh Heaven ever could have been. When he walked her backward to the bed and pushed her down onto it, rolling her to her stomach, she gripped the crisp sheets in her fists, lifting her ass high, almost begging him to drive into her.
But Liam spread her legs wide, lifting her hips as he trailed wet, hot kisses over her lower back, along her ass, on the backs of her legs until she squirmed, desperate for his touch.
His hair wisped over her skin when he brought her to her knees and wedged himself underneath her. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when he let his finger graze her flesh, making her jolt with the instant heat he evoked.
That sweet burn of anticipation grew when he let his tongue snake out, licking at her throbbing clit, groaning his pleasure.
“So good. You’re pussy’s so sweet, I never want to stop licking it,” he muttered before he drove two fingers into her, forcing her lower body down against his mouth with the surprise of his entry.
Freya fought a scream of unmeasured pleasure, a cry of completeness. Her hands wound the sheets tighter around her wrists as he began to take long strokes, sucking her clit into his mouth, swirling his tongue over it until she would have wept with the sweet torture.
Liam was relentless, thrust after thrust of his fingers making her wetter and wetter, lick after lick setting her veins on fire. Heat pooled low in her belly, tendrils of pleasure assaulting her as her nipples scraped against the fabric of the sheets and she fought to control this wild desire.
But there was no fighting the talents of Liam, the white-hot ache he created in her took over and her hips became an entity of their own, driving against the wetness of his mouth, moving in time to the sound of his tongue making love to her most intimate place.
She came with no warning and a roar of release, gripping the edge of the bed and clenching her teeth so hard, her jaw ached.
And then Liam was behind her, pulling her hips to his torso, and driving into her, hard and hot.
He let out a howl upon entry, hoarse and harsh as his hands gripped her hips and he fell forward on her spine, kissing the back of her neck.
Freya had no time to recuperate from her last orgasm before she was swept up in another tidal wave, a deeper pool of lust she almost lost control over until Liam slowed his hips, splayed his hand over her abdomen and ground up tight against her.
That moment, that very second, fueled by a desire that had her almost crawling out of her own skin, was the moment Freya understood what Claire meant when she said there would never be anyone like Irish. There would never be anyone who filled her soul to the brim the way Irish did.
Freya had chalked it up to the honeymoon phase of her best friend’s new relationship, but now she understood. To the very core of her being, she understood.
Liam filled her up, brought her emotional chaos to order, forced her to want things she’d never wanted before, and despite the circumstances surrounding their mate, she found she never wanted him to leave.
All of that was forgotten when Liam growled his approval in her ear as he reached under them and tweaked her nipples. “You’re like a glove. You fit me like a glove.”
Spurred by his words of desire, Freya lifted her ass higher, silently begging him to go deeper, harder until the pull of orgasm stung her between her legs again.
Liam drew back finally, thrusting upward, touching a part of her she’d been unaware of until now, making her shiver and cry out.
Her orgasm set her on the edge of a cliff, Liam pushing her with each glide of his cock, until she tipped over and let the white-hot release consume her, rising up on her elbows, letting him fill her until flashes of light shone behind her eyelids.
She came with a tremor that racked her entire being, gripping her, holding her tight then letting her freefall
Liam’s body tensed, too, his powerful muscles rippling and quivering against her softer frame. His hands gripped her so tightly it only heightened her climax, knowing he was as affected as she.
When he finally let go, when he finally gave in, he roared his approval, tightening his hold on her, wrapping his free arm around her waist and driving into her a final time.
They fell onto the bed, his body on top of hers, pressing her into the mattress, making her smile in completion.
Freya burrowed beneath him, sighing as he stroked his hands over the sides of her thighs and whispered kisses along the back of her neck. She rolled them to their sides by pushing him up and off her then snuggled against him, reaching upward to wrap an arm around his neck.
Her stomach growled a hungry, almost angry pang, but she tried to ignore it. Lying here with Liam was all she wanted after tonight. She needed to be reminded there was still good in this crazy world of theirs.
And Liam was good. She hadn’t realized how good until tonight.
“You need to feed, Freya. You haven’t fed since this afternoon just before I left. It’s important for you to remember to do it.”
She twisted around in his arms and flattened herself against him and hummed her approval. He was hard again, hard and ready. Slipping her arms around his neck, she tingled when her nipples scraped against his chest and Liam responded by rolling one between his fingers. “I am starving,” she admitted. Starving and clearly insatiable.
He flung her leg over his hip and brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Don’t let yourself get to that point anymore. That’s when things start to happen that you won’t be able to control as a fledgling.”
Closing her eyes, she nodded before positioning herself at his throat and willing her fangs to appear. She hissed as they protruded from her gums, an act that was almost sensual, and placed them at Liam’s strong neck.
Without thinking, Freya sank her teeth into his skin, relishing the taste of his flesh before the coppery splash of blood hit her tongue.
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when Liam slid his hand between her legs and let his fangs elongate, sinking them into her neck slowly. The first jolt of lust hit her square in the gut when he stroked her; the taste of his blood on her tongue and his fingers slipping into her wetness were nirvana. The very reason to exist.
She reached between them, running her hand over his chest, skimming his nipples, finding her way down his belly to the patch of hair at the apex of his thighs. His cock jutted against her hand, responding to her touch. Encircling it, she stroked him, let the satiny feel of his shaft be the center of her focus.
The swell of orgasm was different this time, less frantic, but no less satisfying in its intensity. As she drank her fill, she let nothing but their hands and their hunger whisk her away.
Rocking together, they came almost in unison with soft moans and a long sigh from her. Everything was clearer now, brighter, so vivid she had to blink when she withdrew from Liam’s neck.
He pushed the hair from her eyes and cupped her jaw. “Full?”
She stretched and yawned. “Definitely. Full and exhausted. That was amazing.”
Liam chuckled, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Feeding can be a very sensual act when done with the right person.”
Walking her fingers up his chest, she giggled and asked, “Are you saying I’m the right person?”
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I think you know what I’m saying, Ms. Ashe. Now, you need to sleep and I need to walk Clarence.”
“I can do it,” she protested, basking in the warmth of Liam’s words.
“Uh, no. You’re not going outside, even with all the eyes we have as lookouts for that prick Angus.”
“Eyes?”
Liam sat up and pulled the blankets from the edge of the bed, tucking her under them. “Yeah. Stone and a couple of the other guys from the club said they’d watch the cabin after I texted them about Angus just before I left Ahab’s.”
Her eyes flew open wide and she gripped his arm. “Do they know about me?”
He nodded, the dark curtain of his hair falling over his jaw. “They just know you’re here. Though, I wouldn’t doubt they’ve smelled you by now. It’s pretty windy tonight.”
Damn. She hadn’t thought much past what Courtland would think about her new vampirism. What if they all felt the same way Liam once had? “I’m in for some real hate from them, aren’t I?”
Liam looked down at her and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Look, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you they’re going to love it, honey. They have the same fears I do. And if everyone keeps turning into damn vampires in this town, don’t be surprised if the council launches an investigation. But it is what it is, and I’ll defend you to the damn death. If they don’t like it, they’ll learn to like it or I’ll kick every last one of their asses. This wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t really mine either.”
She made a frowny face and stuck out her lower lip in jest. “I hate being the new kid at camp.”
“That’s why they invented golden boys like me—to keep the new kids at camp safe from all the meanie-butt bullies.”
Freya barked a laugh, her limbs growing limper by the second. “Well, listen up, Golden Boy, I can defend myself. I was as much to blame for all of this. If I hadn’t gotten drunk—”
“Then we wouldn’t have had this,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her lips, leaving her feeling secure and warm. “Now rest, Fledgling. I’ll walk Clarence and make sure he’s safely tucked in for the night right here next to our bed.”
Our bed. Never had two words meant quite so much. “You’re the best golden boy ever,” she muttered as her eyes closed and that thing called vampire sleep dragged her under its warm blanket.
* * * *
“Fuck, Liam!” Irish all but shouted, making Clarence growl.
Liam stopped dead in the middle of the woods, reaching down to soothe Clarence with a stroke to the top of his head.
Irish was pissed, and with good reason. He’d lost Angus tonight because he hadn’t called in some backup. But he was too afraid to risk spooking Angus with Irish and the crew.
Liam held up a hand, stopping in the center of a thicket of pines. “Look, brother, this wasn’t intentional—”
“Are you gonna start that shit with me again? Is this tit for goddamn tat, turning the women we love so we can officially be together?”
Whoa, whoa. Love? He shook his head. “I didn’t say a fucking thing about love, and no. I’m not calling one-upmanship. I’m just saying I didn’t intentionally turn Freya. I told you what happened. Deal with it. Just like I dealt with you and Claire. And that last statement is tit for tat.”
Irish clenched his fists at his sides. “Courtland will kill her. He’ll damn well flay her alive if he finds out what’s gone down between you two. He’s already all over town with that pie hole of his open to anyone who’ll listen. You can’t hide Freya here forever, Liam. You know that, right? So what happens when he finds out? What happens when he finds out you’re not his good buddy, but a damn rival for his mate? If you think he wanted to hang her high before, wait until he gets a load of this information. He’ll damn well kill you, too. Or try.”
Liam gazed into his brother’s eyes. “Of course I know I can’t keep her here forever, and I don’t know what the hell to do about Courtland. I’m no longer his rival either. She’s my mate, whether he likes it or not. But one thing you need to be damn well clear on, Irish, where she goes, I go. And no matter what you say, that’s not going to change.”
Irish scoffed, pulling his gloves on. “And you say there’s been no mention of love? Your words are chock full of contradictions.”
He wasn’t quite ready to deal with the tidal wave of emotions Freya evoked. There was too much other crap going on. But in the deepest reaches of his gut, he knew that’s where this was headed. “I’m saying, there are a lot of things up in the air right now. One of which is, I know she didn’t kill Ethan. I don’t know what the hell she was doing in the woods or why she had blood all over her, but she didn’t kill him.”
Irish lifted one skeptical eyebrow. “Okay, undying devotion is a clear sign you’re in love. That aside, what about this Petra? Have you taken some time to research her? Dig up some shit on why she might have a motive to get in with Courtland?”
Liam ran a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “That’s next on my list of things to do. But do me a favor, ask Stone to dig, too. He’s a damn genius when it comes to the Internet.”
Irish nodded his consent. “Done. And the meet with Angus?”
His grip tightened on Clarence’s leash—balling into a fist of rage. “Yeah, everything’s up in the air with that douche Angus. He would have killed Freya if I hadn’t shown up, but he took off before I could do a damn thing to stop it. She fought like hell though. Now I suspect he won’t much want to meet with me. I did threaten to smoke his ass.”
“Perfect,” Irish muttered. “Look, I get that this thing with Freya was an accident, but I also get that she’s a new vamp, and she wouldn’t be the first to kill someone, especially high on that Seventh Heaven. But we need that meet with Angus, Liam. We’re getting desperate. I’ve had feelers out globally, and I can’t come up with a supplier anywhere. You know if we buy that inferior shit the government gives us, we’ll not only be weak as damn newborn kittens, but we’ll be fucking poor.”
Hadley. Liam needed to find Angus for Hadley, or eventually, she’d die. His gut wrenched hard. Irish was right.
Fuck.
“The only thing we’ve got is vamplings, Irish. Angus wants them, and we’ve got plenty of ’em in Rock Cove, which is how Gannon hooked up with that asshole to begin with. Every goddamn time I have to promise that fuck something, with Courtland salivating over my shoulder, thinking about all the money he’
s going to make off our kind, I want to ram my hand into his smug face. But it’s the only carrot we have to dangle.”
Irish’s nostrils flared. “I know this hasn’t been easy. I know seeing that shit Angus deals in up close and personal is ugly, but I appreciate what you’ve done so far. Now if we could just appease him, slow his roll and dangle another carrot again…”
Liam’s phone pinged, making him cock his head. Who the hell would text him this late? Everyone from the club who still talked to him was somewhere in the woods, standing guard on Freya, and Courtland was either sound asleep or off in the Zone, paying someone to blow him.
He dragged it out of his back pocket, running his finger over the small envelope to open the message.
And then he blinked, fighting a rage so swift, so sure, he had to hand Clarence over to Irish so he wouldn’t be in the line of fire when he lost his shit all over these damn woods.
“That fucking piece of shit,” he growled low into the night, willing himself to stay calm.
“What the hell, brother?” Irish inquired, looking at the phone.
Liam held it up, his hand trembling with fury, letting his brother take it from him. “Read.”
Irish’s lips moved as he read the text and then his jaw tightened to granite. “Aw, fuck.”
And there’s your carrot. Let me make myself perfectly clear here, I’ll kill the asshole, Irish. I’ll hunt him down, I’ll gut his weak ass and wring his neck until his eyes fall out of his goddamn head!
Irish slapped him on the back. “Focus, Liam. I need you right now, more than ever. Stay focused and we’ll figure it out.”
He went over the text in his head again.
I found myself quite taken with your lip-smacking-good girlfriend. She’s so saucy! So here’s the deal. I want her. I want her bad. I want to do bad things to her. Hand her over and I’ll give you your scientist, lock, stock and a whole laboratory of synthetic blood!
He grabbed the phone from Irish’s grip and threw it against a tree, knocking it clear through. “How the fuck do I stay focused when Sweeten is offering up the guy who makes the formula, the formula that could save Hadley and a hundred other vamplings in Rock Cove, as long as I hand over my damn mate?!”
Outlaw Alpha Page 14