First Blade (Awakening Book 1)

by Jane Hinchey

  "You are so good with that mouth."

  Zak fused his lips with hers, taking her taste inside him, pouring his need for her into her mouth. She arched beneath him, wrapping her legs around his waist so he was cradled intimately against the very core of her. It blew his mind.

  "You are fucking unbelievable," he muttered into her mouth, rocking his hips against her so his erection rubbed against her most sensitive spot.

  "Ditto," she gulped. His hands went to her jeans but she quickly stopped him. He raised his head, frowning. "Please don't ruin all my clothes! There's no need to tear them off me every single time is there?" she pleaded teasingly. He relaxed, moving his weight off her to shed their clothes the more traditional way.

  Finally naked, he pinned her to the bed once more, hands seemingly everywhere at once, brushing over her skin and heating her blood with every caress. He breathed hot words into her ear, telling her exactly what he was going to do to her, how he'd fuck her until she screamed. His mouth moved to her breasts, pulling her pert nipples into his mouth and laving them with his tongue while his hand ventured lower, not teasing this time but going straight to the heart of her.

  She was so wet for him, so hot and tight. He pushed a finger inside her and she groaned. Slowly he moved that finger in and out, matching the rhythm with his tongue on her nipple; she moaned and squirmed, pushing herself against his hand for more. He obliged, pushing another finger inside and twirling before pulling out to lightly brush against her clit. Her body jerked with the contact but chased his hand when he moved away. He chuckled, moving his mouth back up to hers and plundering her mouth as he pushed his fingers back inside her, feeling the tension build and climb within her, but not allowing her release, not yet.

  She pulled her mouth away in frustration and panted, her body taut with need and the release that he could give her.

  "Please," she begged, not too proud to beg for the pleasure he could give her that was tantalizingly out of reach.

  Zak removed his fingers and slowly and deliberately pushed his cock inside her, wanting her to feel every inch of him sink deeper and deeper. She felt amazing, so hot, wet and tight around him; he'd never felt anything like it. "Mine. You're mine," he said against her lips. Very, very slowly he withdrew, and then he slammed into her. He'd planned to go slow, but need blinded him and he was pounding into her with deep thrusts. He abruptly pinched one nipple, pulling a gasp of pleasure mixed with pain from her. He cupped her breast with his hand and lowered his mouth to her nipple, sucking it hard and scraping the sensitive flesh with his teeth. Her muscles contracted around him, squeezing and milking his cock and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. God, how this woman brought him to his knees.

  His mouth moved back up to her neck, his fangs sinking into her sweet soft flesh and she constricted around him as she came, gasping and shuddering. With an answering groan, he exploded within her, ramming into her with rough thrusts, filling her with everything he had.

  Georgia threw her head back and cried out, her body bucking against his as her mind opened to him and he felt his own pleasure echoed back at him. She held on tight, her arms and legs wrapped around him as they rode the pleasure together.

  They sagged against each other, breathing heavily, when Zak whispered, "I've never felt as close to anyone as I did just now, with you."

  She shuddered beneath him, eyes drifting open and blinking at him. "I think I felt you" she whispered, "your mind," she clarified when she felt his cock twitch inside her.

  "You read my mind?"

  "No. I couldn't see what you were thinking...but I felt you. I felt your emotions I guess. I dunno, it was kinda weird. I think I felt your pleasure...and mine?" Zak cut off her words with a hot kiss, holding her tightly against him in wonder. They'd merged! His mind had never merged with another's in five hundred years of existence. He was elated - she truly was his; this stubborn, determined, sexy as hell woman was his. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

  "We've merged," he whispered against her lips, dropping feather-light kisses across her face, in total awe and wonder.

  "We've what?"

  "Merged. Our minds reached out and connected - tell me, was that the most mind-blowing orgasm you've ever had?"

  She blushed, giving him his answer.

  "You're mine," he claimed again, "this proves it. For you to connect with me like that? It's never happened before, Georgia. Ever. With anyone."

  "Really?" she cocked an eyebrow, shocked and kinda thrilled that maybe she had that little bit something extra his other women didn't. So what if she didn't have supermodel looks and a killer body; she could tap this guy's mind like he was tapping her ass! Cool.

  "Oh yeah." He grinned, knowing what she was thinking without having to read her. She grinned back at him, caressing his face with her fingers before running them up into his hair to tug his mouth back to hers.

  14

  "Come on! You have to give me some details," Skye whined, glaring at her sister across the burnt-out ruin of their shop. The stench of smoke was overpowering and they'd propped the front doors open to try and clear the air. The floor squelched underfoot, a combination of water and ashes - what an unholy mess.

  "Let me just say, the guy has moooooves." Georgia grinned, remembering how many times Zak had made love with her last night, orgasm after mind-blowing orgasm. She'd never experienced anything like it in her life; the man was insatiable. But since their merging, she'd had to admit to herself, no matter how reluctantly, that it was more than sex. They hadn't spent the night fucking. They'd spent the night making love, and that was the rub. She really did have feelings for him, could feel his feelings for her bouncing back at her and while it was exhilarating and surreal it was also slightly terrifying.

  She didn't know why their minds had merged; perhaps it was her psychic abilities, mixed with his mind reading abilities, that meant they'd recognized something of themselves in each other. It was also frustrating that in that state he could truly read her mind, yet she couldn't read his. But she did know he was telling her the truth about Veronica, of that she had no doubt.

  "I figured that from all the squeals and groans coming from your room last night!" Skye sulked.

  "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that." Georgia shrugged, unrepentant. With a sigh, she surveyed her surroundings. "You know, I don't think anything is salvageable, Skye," she admitted. Skye looked around as well; not a single piece was left, just scorched chunks of wood with a hinge or door handle remained. The ceiling was black, but thankfully they had a high ceiling and it hadn't burnt. The walls would need some minor repairs, and of course, everything needed a good scrub and fresh coat of paint.

  "Agreed." The insurance assessor had been through that morning and given them the go-ahead to start cleaning. Georgia was extremely grateful that Skye had the business savvy to get them a really good insurance policy - the insurance was going to cover not only the repairs and refurbishment but the cleaning as well. And not just the shop, but also Skye's apartment.

  Skye pulled out her mobile and began making calls, arranging for a clean-up crew and then lining up quotes for painting and refitting. While they waited for the cleaning crew to arrive, they climbed the outside staircase at the back of the building to Skye's apartment to grab some clothes. Everything in the apartment reeked of smoke as well. The carpets and curtains would need to be cleaned, and the walls scrubbed if not repainted. They carted armfuls of clothes back down the stairs and dumped them in Georgia's truck - they all needed to be washed, so they might as well take them back to the farm.

  By the time they'd dealt with the cleaning crew, who'd originally sent two people until they'd seen the scope of the job and had then quickly called in another three, it was getting late. They agreed they'd focus on getting the shop cleaned first so that repairs could begin, then the cleaners could move on to the apartment, therefore not holding up progress on the shop. Still, it was going to take a fair amount of time before they'd be open for business again.
Not only did they have the refurbishment, but they were also out of stock. Skye was going to start scouring auctions and garage sales to find some pieces, and Georgia was going to be kept busy getting them ready for sale.

  "We need to talk."

  Georgia was in the kitchen making coffee when Zak spoke from behind her, making her jump. Cursing, she glared at him over her shoulder.

  "Geez, Zak. Don't friggin' do that. I nearly had a heart attack," she complained, turning back to the coffee, annoyed.

  "We still need to talk." He stepped forward and placed a quick kiss on the nape of her neck before coming to lean against the counter next to her.

  "About?"

  "Erik. Your deadline. Your possible betrayal of me."

  "What?" she spun, staring at him in surprise, "I'm not going to betray you, Zak," she assured him, frowning that he would believe that of her.

  "You wouldn't be the first." He looked bored, which confused her. Where was this coming from?

  "Don't give me that shit," she growled, "You've read my mind, you fucking know I wasn't going to steal your precious ring. Okay, I admit I did give it some thought at the start, but honestly, it's not like you wouldn't notice a ring suddenly disappearing from your finger." She scoffed. And they say women are difficult to understand.

  "You still think you can handle this on your own? You still think you can take on Erik and his vamps and live to walk away?"

  "Actually, no...I don't," Georgia conceded, stalking away from him, careful not to spill her coffee but giving him her stiff back at the same time.

  Her admission seemed to have taken the wind out of his sails because he looked at her with his mouth open for a moment. Good, she thought smugly.

  "You're still pissed that I didn't confide in you. That you found out the sneaky way."

  "We have a connection, Georgia!"

  "Whatever." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "If you can't be reasonable about this, I'm not talking to you about it." He went to argue with her but she held her hand up to stop him. "No." Irritation bristled over her skin, followed by frustration and lust. God he was so infuriating. And she didn't know why he was acting like such a dickhead.

  Silence followed. Georgia refused to look at him, keeping her eyes on the cup of coffee cradled in her hands. He sat next to her and pried a hand away from the cup, holding it in his and gently stroking her palm.

  "You're right," he admitted, "I'm pissed you didn't come to me of your own free will."

  "But now you know. Can we move on?"

  He nodded, releasing her hand.

  "So Frank has been doing some intel on your friend Erik."

  "He's not my friend."

  "And it looks like he and his little band of merry followers have traced me here from Elen Hills, with the sole intention of getting their hands on the ring. Their first attempt in Elen Hills failed."

  "First attempt?"

  "You know my home was destroyed in Elen Hills, yes?" At her nod, he continued, "It was a demon attack. A very co-ordinated demon attack, which in itself is unusual 'cos they're not the organized type. It looks like the demons teamed up with vampires, which again is unusual because they're sworn enemies."

  "All because of this ring." She pointed to the ring in question. Zak spun it on his finger as they both looked at it.

  "Demons believe the ring has the power to destroy all vampires. Then they'd have free reign at controlling the Earth."

  "And would it? Would the ring really do that?"

  "Possibly. There would have to be more to it; the ring on its own is of no use to anyone but with the right magic or spell, then yes, it has the power."

  "And the vampires want it to wipe out the demons?" Georgia guessed, surprised when Zak shook his head.

  "No. We think the vampires want the ring to awaken a Master Vampire who's been asleep for millennia. They believe he is the original vampire, a god. We still don't know how either side even heard of the ring; all we know is both sides want it. Although, the demons have backed off after the massacre in Elen Hills."

  "Massacre?"

  "We killed over 100 of them. That's a lot of demons to have in one area - they usually only travel and work together in groups of two or three. So to get a hundred of them to cooperate with each other? Interesting, to say the least. Which is why we believe the vampires were working with them, to build a demon army. Only we destroyed it."

  "Oh. Right. So when you say 'we', you were involved too? You were fighting, killing?"

  "Yes. I'm no saint, Georgia. I may be half angel but that doesn't necessarily make me some sort of golden angel that does no wrong. I fight, I kill, and I enjoy the battle. I'm five hundred years old - I've seen many battles throughout my time, I've taken lives and enjoyed the thrill of the fight."

  "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.

  "Because this is boiling down into a fight - and you need to know it will probably get violent and bloody. You need to know I'm a warrior, and I will fight to protect what is mine...including you. I will not see you harmed in this, and I will not show mercy to my enemies."

  "If this is all so monumental, why on earth did Erik pick me to get the ring? I'm weak in comparison to vampires and demons."

  "Because you activated the ring when you found the first blade."

  "First blade?"

  "The knife. The dagger. The one you have so sneakily hidden in your workshop." He winked at her.

  "I don't get why we're talking about all this if you already know!" she sulked.

  "Because you need to know as well, and I want no more secrets between us. I saw how you found the blade, that your blood activated it. The connection between the blade and the ring was activated, which is how I found you. And they simply followed me."

  Zak looked at her, "The ring cannot be forcibly removed from my finger. I either have to remove it willingly, or it can be removed if I'm dead." She didn't understand the look he was giving her.

  "They know you're psychic and there would be a chance I wouldn't be able to read you. Once they knew for sure, you were approached. I think they were hoping you'd be able to seduce the ring from me."

  "Oh, that never occurred to me...I was vaguely thinking I'd try to steal it," she confessed. "You know, on the assumption you took it off while showering or sleeping or something."

  "I know."

  "But..." she frowned, "how did they know you couldn't read me? I mean, how did they know for sure, how was it confirmed?"

  "Someone has to be on the inside. Someone from within has betrayed me...I think Veronica may be involved somehow. Since I can't read all of her mind anymore, I know she's putting a lot of effort into hiding something extremely important - something big."

  "Fuck..." Georgia murmured. "But then, why try and scare me away from you? Surely they wanted me to get closer?"

  "I'm sure that was the plan, but they hadn't counted on Veronica's jealousy."

  "Right." Georgia nodded absently while taking a sip of her coffee before her senses suddenly went haywire. Shoving her chair back she quickly rose to her feet, alarmed.

  "Vampires!" she hissed, sensing the breach around her house.

  Zak disappeared outside and returned seconds later.

  "It's Frank and the boys. They're doing a security check, and Cole and Kyan will be staying to keep an eye on the place."

  "Guarding me?"

  "Helping to protect you. And Skye," he added when he saw her start to rile up at the thought of someone constantly watching her every move. "They were keeping an eye on things before, but we needed them when we briefly returned to Elen Hills. That's when Erik saw his opportunity to trash this place - otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten near it."

  The constant buzz of vampires so close was starting to give Georgia a headache, but she knew she'd rather have them around than not - even though their presence messed up her sensory field so she wouldn't know if Erik arrived, she'd much rather have the vamps outside head him off before he could get to he
r. Or Skye.

  Rubbing her temples she breathed through the heavy tension in her mind - she'd eventually adjusted to being in a houseful of vampires at Zak's house; she could manage it here as well.

  "Okay?" Zak watched her with concern; she'd lost color and he didn't like it.

  She nodded, "Headache." He replaced the fingers at her temples with his own, sending soothing tingles through her skin where he healed her pain.

  "It is so amazing you can do that," she murmured in relief.

  Frank knocked at the door and Zak rose to let him in.

  "Georgia," he nodded in greeting and she nodded in return.

  "Cole and Kyan are taking the night shift, Dainton and Heath will take the day - although they'll need to come inside if that's alright with you?" Frank looked at her. While vampires could get around during daylight hours, they couldn't withstand the sun for long.

  "That's fine."

  The two men continued to speak in hushed tones that she couldn't hear. They finished up, Frank leaving and Zak returning to sit beside her.

  "I need to go and take care of a couple of things," he told her, stroking his thumb across the back of her hand.

  "Ok."

  "I need you to stay here. Inside." He saw her start to stiffen, "Please Georgia, stay put." Seeing his frustration she nodded her head. She could use an early night anyway, and she was sure she'd sleep better knowing Kyan and Cole were keeping Erik and his cronies away.

  15

  Heath, Aston, and Dainton were in the conference room waiting for him. Zak teleported with Frank directly into the room, knowing that's where the team would be.

  Aston was tapping at his laptop, pulling up a map.

  "And we are live!" he grinned. Zak moved behind him to see the screen. Two red dots were blinking on the map. They'd put GPS trackers in Georgia and Skye's mobile phones.

  "Good work," Zak patted his shoulder, "just do not tell the ladies we are tracking them. I could do without the grief."