“There’s no way I’m putting you in that kind of danger. You’ll stay here where it’s safe.”
“If you’re going, I’m going!”
“I’m not going to argue about this with you. This is something you won’t change my mind about.”
Her voice became silky soft, obviously working another angle. “You can’t leave, Ascher.”
He’d never seen her persuasive nature. Even though he liked it, the purr in her voice wouldn’t change his mind.
“Tristan’s not well enough to travel, and you’re still too weak to fight.”
“Tris is healthy as a horse. You saw him tonight.”
Her expression hardened. “I’ll worry too much and drive myself crazy. Please Ascher, take me with you,” she begged. “You know you’ll worry about me, too. The darklings could come back for me. Could you live with that, when you can prevent it by taking me with you?”
His face tightened. He was trying hard to hide the side capable of dismembering another being while red rage glowed in his eyes. Fighting to stay in control, he shoved down the fury swirling inside him as he thought of how Tristan barely hung on to his existence. The thought of Gabe’s complicity in Clive’s dark plan angered him more. A low growl escaped his lips as the rage grew.
Her expression conveyed fear, but still teemed with love for him. “You wouldn’t have to worry so much if you’d just change me.”
“No, I won’t do that to you. I love you too much.”
“That is the very reason that you should do it. If you love me, you should want me forever.”
“I won’t curse you!” He looked into her eyes and couldn’t believe what he saw; channeling her to confirm it made him dizzy. There was no doubt at all. Her mind’s voice was screaming how much she loved him. It blared how much she wanted to be with him. He seized her wrists, registering her throbbing and unsteady pulse.
“I want you forever but there are so many unknowns. I can’t talk to you about any of that until Katy’s back safe and sound.”
A tear fell from her eye. “If you can’t stay with me, then leave a piece of yourself here. I want you to give me something I can remember for the rest of my life. Make love to me, Ascher. We might be running out of time, and I’m tired of waiting. I want you to make love to me tonight.”
He gave her an intense stare but said nothing.
“There is a chance that you might die, right?”
He nodded.
“Before you go, I want you to give me a small piece of you to hold on to.”
“Are you sure, Shauna?”
Grabbing his face with both hands, she whispered, “We were so close yesterday. I still want you to be my first.”
“Shauna, I—”
She placed a finger over his mouth. “I don’t want to hear it. All I ever hear are reasons why we shouldn’t and I’m so over that. We’ve already wasted too much precious time.” She kissed him hard and kept her lips close to his. “All I ever do is wonder what it might be like or what it would feel like. It’s time for me to know. It’s time for you to show me what your love feels like, Ascher.”
Ascher stared into her eyes, peering into her mind again. It repeated the same phrase. Make love to me, Ascher. I want you to make love to me.
She straddled him and wound her arms around his neck.
The ache was back in his mouth and the burn returned to his throat. His fangs broke the gums. He pushed her off him and retreated to the other side of the couch, hoping to thwart the throbbing in his mouth.
“What’s wrong, Ash?”
“I don’t know if I can control myself. I’ve tasted your blood and struggled to stop. I might hurt you.”
“The craving for blood is in your nature. Loving me is also in that nature and I know you would never put me in danger. You stopped before and you'll stop again. There’s no reason we shouldn’t. You want me.” She glanced down at the bulge in his pants. “I want you.”
Ascher's doubt faded as desire took over. He morphed next to her, clutching her body and devouring her lips with ravenous kisses. The more he kissed her, the more his control slipped away. Shauna made him vulnerable. He shivered from the intensity of his feelings for her and the throbbing of his emerging fangs.
She seized his face with her hands forcing him to stare into her eyes. “I trust you.”
“This is so dangerous. If I—”
“No more words, Ascher.”
He closed his eyes to hide the red glaze of desire looming heavy in his gaze.
Shauna smoothed a shaky hand across his face. “Open your eyes, Ascher. I want to see them.”
“No! You can’t see me this way.”
“If I truly love you, then I have to love everything about you and this is a part of you. I want you, every part, even that part. Open them, Ascher.”
Ascher opened his eyes, the red markings of his desire veiling his vision.
Shauna pulled him closer while her eyes never wavered, showing him that she wasn’t afraid. Her stare was intense, unending.
He kissed her carefully, shielding her lips from his sharp fangs. Her tongue flicked across his lips, causing a raging ripple of heat to course through his veins.
Tilting her neck exposed all that smooth skin and pulsing carotid.
Wetness surged in his mouth as he watched the large artery throb. Waves of hunger crashed over him and he gulped two deep breaths, attempting to rid his body of her sweet smell. It didn’t help. Each inhalation brought more of her sweet scent into his nostrils, filling him with her torturous aroma and fueling the thirst in his quivering body. He clenched his teeth in restraint. His hands caressed her, gently raking over her velvety skin. Impatience caused him to rip the shirt from her body, exposing her breasts. His mouth trailed over them, closing over one of the stiff nubs.
She squirmed, her hand twisting into his hair.
His tongue shifted to the soft skin of her neck. Each time he swept her neck, he knew it could be too much. Any minute her blood might stir him into a hungry frenzy. Her pajama shorts disappeared, leaving her naked, wearing only his ruby love-offering necklace. Ascher devoured every delicious curve of her naked body with his eyes, before capturing her face with his hand for another passionate kiss.
Excitement flushed the surface of her skin, creating red blots on her heated body. Her hands moved along his well-sculpted masculine form, pulling the shirt up his chest.
He assisted her, anxious to feel her bare skin against his. Clutching his shirt in his hands, he lobbed it across the room.
Securing her tightly to him, he stood, lifting her into his powerful arms. Her legs twisted around him as he fixed her body closer. He bounced her around a couple of times, before giving her neck more soft kisses. She leaned into him, spilling her hair in a fluid curtain between their faces. Sifting his hands through her tresses, Ascher pulled the hair away from her face, teasingly grazing her lips with his.
Walking them over to his bed, he guided her to the center. Being this close was easier now that he’d tasted her blood. The wine seemed to help take the edge off the trinity scent. His hand slid between her thighs. She was tight but he was able to work most of his finger into her. He took care to be gentle, his fingers manipulating, stretching and readying her for what was to come.
She was getting there, but she wasn’t quite ready for him.
He kissed a slow and careful path down along her stomach. Her breath stopped, making her gasp in an attempt to catch it. Even though this was his first attempt at oral sex, instinct told him what to do. He’d take his cues from her reactions.
Ascher truly desired to please her. He took his first good look at her and she was beautiful—a delicate, pink flower with a glistening bud nestled inside. The first taste hooked him and he wanted more. She was warm, sweet and quivering with anticipation of the unknown. Slow, meticulous kisses became wider, circular sweeps of his tongue.
Soft moans became sighs of intense pleasure, as her body writhed and shuddered b
eneath his fingertips. Her hands knotted in his hair, gently holding his head in place. His twisting finger inched into her—loosening her, making her well with wetness.
His shaft pained, the stiffness brushing his leather pants. He’d never felt this type of flushed anxiety with Ursula—not even the first time. Shauna’s breathless, hurried sighs signaled her impending orgasm. He lapped at her, snaking his tongue in tighter and faster circles, growing more anxious with each satisfied moan from her lips.
She growled with a crazed frenzy that unhinged him, as her pulse raced out of control. Tightening around his finger and quivering in rhythmic and uncontrollable spasms, Shauna’s core clenched with wave after wave of a pulsing orgasm until her body relaxed.
Smug satisfaction flooded him, because Ascher knew that no matter what happened, she’d always remember the pleasure he’d given her. Just as he knew that no matter what the future held, he’d always love her.
They turned and twisted in the bed with tangled legs and heaving chests. Neither of them wanted to give up control, but both of them wanted the other too much to care about anything else.
Her glassy eyes stared into his with a scattered bewilderment, as her fingertips traced his spine, deepening his desire. The flush burning under his pale skin was secondary to the stiffness concentrating itself in his shaft. He gave in to the sensual sensations flooding his body, letting the warmth completely engulf him while resuming loosening her with his fingers.
Shauna’s body moved in a rhythm that closely matched the shallow thrusting of his finger inside of her, her virgin’s barrier pulsating against his fingers. “I want you inside me—please don’t make me wait anymore.”
Nervous waves flooded him, and the ache was back in his mouth. The throbbing of his heart rang loudly inside his head, wiping away his ability to channel her. With a quick adjusting of his hips, he readied himself to enter her. When he came to her barrier, he stopped. “Are you sure? I need you to be completely sure about this. We can stop if you want to.”
“No. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. I want this, and I want you.”
Ascher gently twinned their hands, clasping their fingers together while burying his head in the pillow to escape the desire to bite her. With each thrust, she groaned and dug her nails into his palms. His body hyperaware of her every breath and heartbeat, he stroked her softly, gently, his hips moving in a slow circular motion. After several gentle thrusts, he finally broke through her virgin’s barrier. The urge to bite her resurfaced, as the need to be closer overwhelmed him.
He couldn’t get close enough.
Pleasurable waves sped up his spine, resulting in pleasurable grunts. After the desire to bite her passed, he lifted his head from the pillow. The love in her dark eyes flashed a blinding light back at him. He never would have imagined that he could love someone so much. Nor could he imagine that she would so easily adapt to his reddened glare. She stared into his eyes with the same blind love that she always had.
An internal struggle began.
The gratifying sensations filling his body felt too good, and a swift urge to bite her gripped him as he remembered the deliciousness of her blood. Rivulets of sweat saturated his forehead as the fangs burst through his gums, demanding a blood sacrifice for their efforts. Be gentle. Be gentle. Don’t hurt her. He threw his head back into the pillow to hide from the hypnotic pulse of her carotid. A low growl escaped his clenched teeth. He wouldn’t hurt her, and he didn’t care how much it pained him to abstain.
Shauna squeezed then gripped his hands tighter. “Ascher.” He was hurting her.
He paused. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “Do you want me to stop?”
“I knew there would be pain, but I don’t want you to stop.”
“Pain is not the same as pleasure.”
She gave his back a reassuring stroke. “I’m okay. I promise.”
Resuming the soft stroking, he whispered, “You feel so amazing.” It did. Nothing could have prepared him for the rush of sensations and emotions he felt. Fire burned at his spine while tingles pricked along his body.
Their bodies moved together as each thrust buried them deeper into one another. She tore at him, scratching his back with a wild frenzy that wound him even tighter. The powerful sensations he felt and the rough scratching on his back awakened primal urges in him. Ascher fought for the control to hold back his wilder, less inhibited side. Fragile mortality made her too delicate. He could crush her without even trying.
Her eyes rolled, as her head pressed into the pillow, her neck craning back. “Oh my...oh yes...oh God.” Grabbing at his hips, she pulled him closer to deepen the penetration.
Burying his face in her neck, he bestowed the soft skin with gentle kisses. The warm prickling in his body became pulsing fireworks, flooding him with electricity. She gripped him tighter as an orgasm rocked her, the vibrating spasms heightening the fireworks inside him, sending electrically charged ice water rushing through his oversensitive body.
A gratified growl escaped his clenched teeth, as climax drowned him in a violent pool of warm desire and exquisite release. The near blinding lust left his vision and he pierced her with his stare, holding her sweat-damp body until it ceased its shuddering.
Shauna gazed up at him, her face breaking into a brilliant smile. “Your eyes are normal again.”
“Sorry about that. It wasn’t too scary for you, was it?”
She shook her head.
Ascher gave her a suspicious stare and what he knew was a mischievous grin. “So, you scream at cheesy zombie make-up in low budget horror films, but you aren’t the least bit frightened of my beastly red eyes? I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“I’m not afraid of you. You’re beautiful to me no matter what your eyes look like.” She placed her hand over his heart. “The real you lives in here. Isn’t that what you told me?”
Just then, he remembered why he loved her so much. “I’ll love you for eternity.” Holding her sleeping body in his arms, he struggled to remember if he’d ever felt more human, and Ascher realized that he never had. With this experience no longer a mystery, a few things became abundantly clear.
The first revelation, he was undeniably in love with her. The simple fact that he’d made love to her without ripping her to shreds, proved that.
The second, Ursula would never stop coming for her. He was sure that she blamed Shauna for their failed sealing. The attack at Laurel Pointe was only the beginning.
The third, he’d fight for her life even if it meant the loss of his own.
As he drifted off to sleep, he forgot about Romania, the darklings and the possibility that he might not come back alive. Tomorrow was another day, and he was content to live in this moment as long as he could.
The woman sleeping in his arms was all that mattered. Her heartbeat was now his, and his heart would belong to her forever.
Eighteen ~ Goodbyes
Shauna shielded her disoriented face from the bright sun. Her sore joints felt like soft set gelatin, but her ecstatic heart overflowed with the joy and jubilation of knowing that he was the first.
Ascher stroked the bend in her exposed back, encouraging her to rouse and greet the day. “Good morning, lover,” he murmured with a bright smile. “I can call you that now. I hope you slept well. How do you feel?”
She wiggled her fingers and toes. They felt fine. She moved her hips and felt a twinge of pain. Ouch! “I’m a little sore—other than that, I’m good.”
“Last night was difficult for me, and I got a little carried away. I’m so sorry.” Glancing down at her naked body, he smirked then said, “I’m also sorry about your pajamas. I’ll take you shopping and buy you a new pair.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pointed towards a torn shirt and a pile of pink threads strewn across the floor.
“Damn, Ash, was it really necessary to rip my clothes off me?” She sat up to stretch her arms. Pain radiated from her left shoulde
r to her side. Noticing the red claw marks along her left arm, she grimaced. Shaking her head, she mock teased him. “You’ve got to learn to control yourself better.”
“I wouldn’t talk just yet, because you marked me up pretty good, too.” Ascher turned over, showing her a faint set of nail scrapes across his back. “They were much worse last night...even bled a little. They’ll be gone in a couple of hours. I’m more concerned about your scars. I’ll take you down to the infirmary and patch you up.” He bit his lower lip and grinned. “You seemed more immortal than human last night.”
“What time are you leaving tonight? I want to spend as much time as I can with you.” Her eyes glossed over with tears. “Before you leave.”
“We have loads of time to spend together, an eternity.”
She looked up at him with a doubtful glance as her eyes welled with more tears. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. Things are going to be okay. I’m sure of it, and I don’t want you worrying about Romania or anything else. Let us Rousseaus worry about all of that.”
Though she was still doubtful, Shauna took him at his word.
* * * *
Glancing at herself in the mirror, Shauna evaluated the scratches and bruising claw marks along her left arm and rib cage. Making two twirls in the mirror, she checked the rest of her body and it looked fine. She was surprised and grateful that he was able to control himself so well. As the night’s events replayed in her head, her body filled with the same desire and burning that she’d felt before. She stroked her skin, fantasizing it was his hands, remembering how his touch felt.
Busted! She remembered he could channel her. Think of something else. It was too late. Her brain insisted on thinking about how sexy his body was and how every ripple of tight muscle led to another. She wanted to remember exactly how he’d felt inside of her.
She stepped into the shower, and the warm water loosened her sore hips and thighs. Soaping her tired muscles, Shauna rubbed at them, feeling twinges of pain that reminded her of why she was hurting. She thought of how she’d felt when he pushed inside her that first time—the agonizing pain mixing with unbelievable pleasure.
The Progeny (The Progeny Series) Page 20