Finding the Blood Assassin [Lords of the Expanse 3] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Honor James

  Capturing her hand to his cheek, he nodded. “I will always need you, Jamison,” he said, leaning into her. Kissing her softly, he bit her lower lip gently before sucking at the fullness of her lip. “I love you, only you, forever you,” he whispered against her mouth.

  “That’s a good thing, Ra, because I love you and only you for all of time.” She leaned in and completed the connection, her lips to his in a kiss that was filled with need, promise, and desire. She gave him all that she was, needed him for all he gave, and refused to back down from the joy of the kiss, the joy and pleasure of being with him.

  Cupping the nape of her neck, he held her to him as he began to drown in the feelings the kiss gave him. Growling softly at her taste, he shifted and took the kiss deeper, his fingers massaging her skin as he took and gave back to her for long, long minutes.

  When she finally pulled back she licked her lips, eyes glazed with need, and blinked a couple of times. “We need to eat,” she finally said, her voice sounding a little breathy. “Food, blood for you, and then, then we will go up and finish what we started, Raven. That is a promise.”

  Kissing her gently once more, he smiled faintly. “I’ll hold you to that, my Lady,” he whispered before letting her go. Sitting back in his chair, he shifted slightly, adjusting his pants so they didn’t pull over his aching cock. Letting out a breath, he picked up a dish and tried for normal as he offered her food before taking any for himself.

  Taking the food as was her due, she passed it back to him and grinned as she watched him. “Even though you try to act as if you are a barbarian and have no manners or training, you and I both know the truth.” The way that he held himself, the way that he ensured that she was taken care of first was clear indication that he was not a barbarian, but a knight.

  “If I hear that vicious rumor being spread,” he said as he set the last dish aside. “I will know just who started it and there will be vile repercussions, my lady,” he warned. Throwing her a look, he picked up his utensil and began to eat, slowly, though, pain flashing in his eyes before he glanced away.

  “If I promise to spread that truth, will you spank me?” Batting her lashes, she added, “Please?” She reached out and touched his hand. “Tell me what you need to heal, Raven. You hurt, you try to hide it, but I’m your soul tie. You know that what you feel I know. Tell me how I can help?”

  Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed her knuckles gently. “Just be you, Jami, always,” he said softly. “If you want a spanking all you have to do is ask,” he said, lifting his lashes to give her a hot look. Nipping at her fingers lightly, he let her fingers go. “Eat now. We shall talk later, Jami, preferably when I have you naked in our bed.”

  “All right.” She nodded and began to eat slowly, carefully. She watched each movement that he made as she ate with him and, before she knew it, she’d eaten everything that was on her plate. Eyes wide, she leaned back. “I think that I ate too much, Raven.”

  Looking to her, he seemed to be sizing her up and wasn’t apparently buying it. “Not possible, Jamison,” he said, confirming her thought with a hint of humor. “You need the food, you and our daughter,” he pointed out as he went back and finished his meal. Pushing his plate aside, he finished his glass of liquor before he settled in the chair and looked to her once again. “Perhaps a short walk to help with the digestion before we head upstairs?” he suggested.

  She smiled and slipped her hand into his. “You aren’t going to get over the fact that you are having a daughter, are you?” Squeezing his hand lightly, she nodded. “If you think you are up for a walk, however, I would love to take one with you.”

  Getting to his feet, he helped her up from her chair. “A bit of exercise will help work out the excess kinks. And no—” He shook his head with a small smile. “I doubt I will ever get past the idea I am having a daughter as my firstborn. I was hoping for a few sons to help me keep any daughter under watch. Now I will just have to enlist the help of all the guards,” he said with a sigh, shaking his head again as he guided her out of the room.

  “Sweetheart, I’m positive that she will have you wrapped around her little fingers and she will be every bit as much a tomboy as what you are, love.” She shrugged. “I was the only child my father had, Raven. Believe me I was raised as a boy until I hit puberty.”

  He looked to her with a clear question on his face. “If you say so, love,” he murmured with uncertainty in his voice. “I just want her to grow up happy and to know that she was loved. I don’t care what she chooses to do as long as she is happy in her life.”

  “We will love her for who she is. Give her all she needs to grow and flourish, and from there all else will just be a part of the process.” She closed her eyes and gave a contented sigh. “I love you, sweetheart.”

  Wrapping his arm around her, Raven guided her down the hallways toward the side entrance into the gardens. Moving at a slow but steady pace, he walked her out into the rose maze and toward the grand hedge maze. “What do we do now, love?” he asked her as they walked through the clear night air. “For you and the baby I mean,” he clarified when she looked to him.

  “Honestly, Raven, I have no idea.” She smiled softly and gave a small shrug. “I’ve never been a mother before.” She touched one of the rose blooms and grinned. “And believe me when I tell you that my mother was more about herself than ever raising me.” As they turned the next bend, she added, “Although I would think we would want to get a room ready for her. I would like it to be the mistress’s room beside the master’s room, Raven.” The room made for the wife just off of their room would be the perfect spot for a nursery. “That way she is close to us. I don’t want to use nannies, if that’s all right with you?”

  “That’s fine with me,” he agreed easily enough. “You’ve met my parental influence,” he murmured, “so I likely have even less of an idea as to what a good parent would be than you, love. But I figure if we do not end up like either one of our mothers, we’re already a hundred times better at parenting than they could dream of being.”

  “This is true. My father was a wonderful influence, though,” she admitted. “He’s a marvelous man and I really do want him to be a part of our lives, if you don’t mind?” She was stroking his arm. She didn’t realize it and he wasn’t going to tell her.

  Shaking his head, Raven gave her a slight smile. “Of course I don’t mind, love. I only wish my father had lived long enough to meet you, Jamison.” He hugged her closer. “He would have loved you, my lady wife.” Just as Raven did.

  “I’m sure that his essence is around still, Ra. He was taken from this life far too soon.” She paused and looked up. “How did your father die? You never said. Was he in battle or something?”

  His jaw clenched tightly and, shaking his head, he fought through the rising rage. “No, that would have been preferable,” he said in a low, tense tone. “Lady Kato killed him slowly. By the time the doctors realized what was happening it was too late and he was in the slow, painful decline of the poison she’d been feeding him.”

  “Oh, Raven.” She breathed and touched his chest. “Honey, I’m so very sorry. And the woman was still alive? She still lived on her husband’s lands and held his abilities and power? Have you been able to prove anything? Bring her to justice?” Each question came out like a shot, quick and nearly stumbling on the trail of the last one.

  “I’ve finally found enough proof as well as the doctor she tried to silence, but, thankfully, failed at,” he told her. He leaned into her touch slightly. It helped to steady him. “The Alliance has sworn out a warrant for her arrest and execution, but she has apparently run, so a constable is on her trail right now to track her down.”

  “Then it is as it should be, Raven,” Jami said as she leaned into him. “Let’s hope that he finds her soon and ends the torment that she has placed upon you, upon your line.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about, Jamison,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m more concerned
about you. If she ever touched you again, especially now.” He’d tear the woman’s still beating heart from her chest and laugh as she died at his feet.

  “Good thing that she won’t ever get her hands on me, huh?” She knew that she never had to worry now, that Raven would always ensure she was safe now. There was no reason for her to ever be anywhere that would possibly cause harm, no reason to be anywhere but there with him in the here and now.

  “A very good thing,” he agreed firmly, even as a look of panic swept over her face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and a calm seemed to come over him again. Snapping open his eyes, he stared down at her, snaring her in his gaze. “Come, love, let’s keep walking. I don’t want you to get a chill.”

  “All right.” She smiled, wrapping her arm around his middle as they moved as one. “It’s nice to simply have this time together, don’t you think?”

  Nodding, he rested his cheek to her hair lightly. “It is nice not to have crazed people after us. Just us and the night, the stars, and the moon.” He sighed softly. “And the only woman I think was created in the whole of the galaxy that could tolerate me for more than two minutes at a time.”

  “Well I’m glad that I have such a high tolerance for you, my lord, because you are truly a unique man. One that I can spend hours with and never once be bored.” Looking up, she added, “And we have a whole lifetime together. We are lucky people, don’t you think?”

  Nodding once more, he kissed her upturned lips swiftly. “I think I am extremely lucky,” he murmured. She, on the other hand, got a bum deal and he knew it, but he was trying to make it so she wouldn’t regret accepting him. “I have the loveliest woman in the whole world, and she is all mine.” He smiled slightly.

  “All yours from now until forever,” she promised as she danced around him. “We have all of time together, and our child will be raised in love. She will know that her father adores her just as her mother does, and she will see the love that her parents share so that one day she can look for that for herself.”

  “Gods help the man that is hers if he doesn’t treat her with care,” Raven murmured before he could think better of it. But once the words were out he knew them for the truth. If his baby’s soul tie didn’t treat her with love, respect, and absolute care he’d tear the man’s heart out.

  She smiled and nodded in that indulgent manner women seemed to have with the men in their lives. “You don’t have to tell me. I think that I would likely pull his intestines out through his belly button and make him beg for more. Where our daughter is concerned I would never in a million years allow anyone to hurt her, never allow anyone to harm our daughter.”

  Smiling faintly at her words, Raven hugged her closer but remained silent. Walking once more he just enjoyed being with her. She made everything so much more bearable and, for that, he’d always be indebted to her. Slowly, they made their way through the gardens, the moonlight giving everything a silver glow.

  “It’s truly beautiful out here, Raven,” she said as they stopped in the center of a circular hedge row. “Make love to me? Here under the light of the moon? Remind me again just how wonderful we are together?”

  Looking down at her, he wanted to protest but couldn’t find it within himself to do so. He wanted her as much if not more than she wanted and needed him. Cupping her face, he kissed her softly even as he backed her up little more. Still kissing her, he slid his hands down her arms to catch her hands in his and, lacing their fingers together, took her down to the soft grass.

  Her eyes never closed, and she watched him as he began to undress her while doing the same to him. Slowly and savoring each movement they made together, he undressed her and felt the heaven in her arms. She began to press kisses along his body as she bared it to the night air. When he jerked and hissed out a sound of pleasure, she just shot him a look of triumph.

  Finally stripped bare, she lay back, opened her arms, and arched her back, pushing her breasts higher. “Come to me, Raven?” she whispered with a look of need on her face.

  She looked like a pagan offering from the gods lying in the moonlight before him. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her stomach and slowly teased her flesh. Resting his weight on his hands, he moved his mouth up her flesh, taking his time to taste all of her. Nuzzling at her breasts, he flicked each peak with the tip of his tongue but did not stay to soothe them, continuing up to find her mouth and kiss her.

  Jami arched her back gently as he loved on her body. She sighed in pleasure as his hands and fingers moved over her with gently. “Raven.” She breathed out his name slowly, more a moan than a word.

  “Shh, love,” he whispered softly stroking her body, gentling her as he kissed the corner of her mouth. “We have all the time in the world, Jamison. All the time in the world,” he repeated with a hint of a smile as he peered down at her.

  “We do, don’t we?” she asked as she looked up at him with a smile on her face. “I love you so very much, Raven. You are my life, my heart, and my soul.” She moved her hands up and down his side, lightly stroking him gently even as her leg moved up his thigh.

  “As you are mine, my lady,” he said softly to her, easing down between her legs. Slipping his hands under her shoulders, he lifted her, arching her back and pushing her breasts up higher. Lowering his head, he nuzzled at each before he began to slowly, very slowly, taste each.

  Letting her head fall back, she allowed him full access to her body. Her hands fell to the sides, grasping for anything and everything and giving him free access to all of her in the process. “I love this, Raven, everything,” she moaned softly, shifting under him restlessly.

  Scraping his teeth lightly up the inner curve of her breast, Raven followed the small wound with his tongue. Watching her face, he continued to tease her flesh with his teeth and tongue, careful to keep from causing her any actual pain. All he wanted her to feel was pleasure, pure and sublime.

  Jami hissed out her pleasure and arched again. “Again, Raven, I love the feel of that. Please, do it again.”

  Doing as she asked Raven teased the soft flesh of her breasts and enjoyed every moment of it before he slowly moved lower on her body. Nuzzling at her stomach, Raven closed his eyes and breathed her in as he trailed his hands down her skin as he continued to move until he had his shoulder between her legs.

  Adjusting herself slightly, the move allowed him to move her legs over his shoulders. At the first touch of his tongue on her pussy, she jolted, a keening sound escaping her throat.

  Massaging her bottom, he slid his tongue slowly up her wet folds before teasing between them to find her swollen clitoris. Capturing it carefully between his teeth, he tugged very gently before suckling at it strongly.

  Jami arched up and hissed out her pleasure. “Again.” She begged softly. “I love the way that your tongue moves. It feels—” She groaned and shifted her hips.

  Smiling faintly he did as she demanded. He loved when she gave him orders, knowing he would give her anything she wanted. He’d have to remember not to tell her that part. The gods only knew what she’d ask for. Pressing her pussy open with two fingers, he held her open so he could slide his tongue in even deeper to tease her.

  “Raven!” she screamed, her hips lifting up closer to his mouth. “Oh Gods,” she hissed out. Her head tossed back and forth as he teased her, her hips moving restlessly closer and then away.

  Scraping his teeth gently up her pussy, he shifted suddenly and moved up over her body. Lifting her hips to meet him, he drove deep into her slick pussy. Hard and fast, he lifted her up into his arms, his teeth scraping over the swells of her breasts. Balancing her in his lap, he pumped his cock into her pussy, hard and fast. “Jamison,” he breathed out, trailing his lips over her flesh slowly.

  Her legs wrapped around him and held on tight. She smiled when he breathed her name in the same reverent tone that she used for him often. “I know, Ra, I know, baby.” Her fingers clenched on his shoulders even as she tugged him in and closer. “Love yo
u, Raven, so much.”

  Moving his mouth up her throat, he teased her throat with his teeth before lifting his head to find her lips with his. “I love you, Jami,” he murmured to her. Kissing her deeply, he helped move her body up and down on his cock.

  She felt all he gave and gave back all she had and all she was. She poured all of her love for him in their movements, their loving, and couldn’t have held anything back had she even tried. She moved with him in a perfect harmony that was their mating.

  Pulling his lips from hers, he nipped at her gently. “Feed, my lady love,” he whispered to her before he bared his throat. Pushing her head toward his neck, he cupped her bottom in a firm grip. “Please, Jami, feed. For me, for you, and for our daughter.”

  She wasn’t going to refuse, not when they both needed it. She needed it for more than just the necessary feeding for their daughter, she needed it for them. Her lips moved over his neck lightly, and her tongue peeked out and tasted his neck before giving him a firm lick when he thrust his cock into her hard. She moaned and began the downward spiral of her orgasm as she bit deeply into the side of his neck and fed from her lover, her husband, her soul.

  Holding her to him as he continued to drive his cock into her pussy with desperate need, Raven’s head fell fully back. It was a show of his ultimate trust in her. By giving her full access to his throat, he was giving her a way to kill him, something a Vampire Lord would never do with one he viewed as an enemy or didn’t trust. Jami knew he was showing her how much he trusted her and how much he loved her with such a simple and yet telling move.

  She sealed the twin pricks on his throat and trailed kisses along his throat before whispering against his opposite ear. “I love you, Raven, please. I need to come. I can’t without you.”