Marked: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance

by Gwen Knight

  “I’d like to say the same, but…” I leaned forward and caught his earlobe between my teeth. “You’ll need to get naked, first.” I made quick work of his shirt, eager to divest him of his clothing. It slid away from him, revealing his broad chest and tapered waist. I popped open his pants, then paused.

  “Something wrong?” he murmured.

  “Not in the least.”

  I’d never undressed a man before. The first time, my partner had practically ripped off his own clothes in his hurry to sow his seed. This time, I wanted to take my time and enjoy the entire experience.

  I slid his pants down before dipping my fingers beneath the band of his briefs, brushing against the rounded tip of his length. He sucked in a sharp breath, his pupils contracting to a near slit. It ignited within me a sense of female pride, to have him react so strongly to my touch. I wanted more. I wanted to explore, to enjoy the feel of his body.

  Feeling brave, I grinned up at him as I freed him from the constraining material, then knelt before him.

  “Amelia, I—”

  I ignored his cautionary words and slid him into my mouth.

  Ethen groaned, his fingers cradling the side of my head as I moved against him. The taste of him in my mouth was intoxicating. To hear his every catch of breath, to feel his hard length gliding in and out of my lips, to swirl my tongue around his shaft… I cupped him in my hand and sank a little deeper until I could go no further.

  “Jesus,” he hissed.

  I blinked open my eyes and gazed up at him, stunned by the blue fire burning in the depths of his eyes. Another vampiric power, perhaps? The unnatural glow?

  “Amelia.” My name came out as a moan.

  His hands curled around my arms, and he lifted me onto the bed. He nudged my thighs apart and settled between them before trailing a single finger down my body. “For tonight, you’re mine. Mine to do with as I wish. Mine to taste, to tease, to pleasure… Mine to tame.”

  My mouth went dry with his words, and heat bloomed in my stomach. He caught my wrists between his hands and pinned them above my head. Lost in his eyes, I barely noticed when something soft tightened around them. But when the knot cinched, I gasped and tipped my head back to find my hands restrained by silk ropes.

  Holy crickets.

  “All right?” he murmured.

  A hint of panic fluttered within me, but it was nothing compared to the fire in my blood. Who knew a little slip of material could turn me on? I eagerly nodded, then brushed my knee against the outside of his thigh.

  “At any time, you can tug on the end, and the ties will open,” he informed me, his fingers grazing up my inner thigh.

  My breath caught when he found my center. I was desperate for his touch, to recreate our results from last night. My stomach quivered with anticipation, my heart thundering in my chest, all from the promise of pleasure.

  He leaned over and caught one of my nipples between his teeth. I gasped at the pressure, but it was a delicious sort of pain. It wasn’t until I felt his tongue dragging across my breast that I realized he’d bitten me. I glanced down to find beaded drops of blood clinging to my nipple and his lips. The sight ramped up my pulse. I’d never envisioned it this way—never imagined it could be so erotic.

  “Mine to taste,” he repeated before dragging his mouth down over my stomach.

  His fingers slid within me, and I gasped, my hips arching toward him.

  “Mine to tease.” He moved lower, his head between my legs. “To pleasure.” His fingers parted me a second before his tongue found its mark.

  I cried out and pulled on my restraints. I writhed beneath him, my hands clutching at the bonds that kept me fettered to the bed. His tongue delved within me in a long, slow lick that left me shaken. His next had me panting for air as I squirmed against him, my head digging into the pillows beneath me.

  “To tame…” he finally said before unleashing his full talents on me.

  “Ethen,” I gasped.

  A now familiar heat spread through my stomach. I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a sharp breath, in an attempt to stave off the coming orgasm. I wanted this to last, to enjoy him as long as possible before this inevitably came to an end.

  My breath turned jagged as every stroke of his tongue pushed me that much closer to the edge. But I wasn’t ready to leap. Not yet.

  Ethen, however, had other plans. His mouth settled in just the right spot, and I shattered. A surprised cry spilled past my lips, and my hips bucked upward. I felt the moment his fangs sank into my thigh. My orgasm lengthened, the blissful fever dotting my skin in a light sheen of sweat.

  His fingers slipped within me, rapidly spiraling me into a second orgasm.

  Ethen retracted his fangs from my thigh and slid up my body, his knees nudging my legs open once again. Without a word, he leaned over and claimed my mouth in a drugging kiss seconds before sheathing himself within me in one swift movement.

  I tore my mouth from his with a gasp. Yearning to touch him, I yanked on the tie and silently rejoiced when I gained my freedom. I grasped his head and brought his mouth back to mine. He started to move within me, too slowly for my liking. With a little growl of my own, I hooked my legs around his waist and rolled us until he was staring up at me with wide eyes from the flat of his back.

  This time, I was the one moving. I gripped the headboard for balance and rocked against him, my head thrown back. It wasn’t enough, though. I still wanted more. So, I dropped over him and offered my breasts. I shuddered when his hot mouth sealed around my nipple, then cried out when I felt his fangs pierce my flesh once again.

  His arms closed around my waist, and he rolled us once more, seating himself within me from above.

  “This is what I want,” he said. “I’ve wanted this since we first met.”

  I nodded, content to let him have his way, and watched as he relinquished control. Eyes alight with blue flame, he ground into me, his breath as quick as mine. This was how sex should always be. Ethen cared about my pleasure. A pleasure I was lost to as he brought me to the brink again and again. And each time, he took another taste, his face smoothing in rapture.

  It was the last bite that seemed to do him in. In a frenzy, he drove into me and brought me to a final climax before he shuddered in ecstasy. I clung to him, dazed and breathless, listening as my heartbeat started to slow.

  Ethen shifted his weight and stretched out next to me.

  A chuckle slipped out of me. His head lolled against the pillow, and he regarded me with an arched brow.

  “Sorry,” I murmured. “I just realized I had no feeling in my legs.”

  For the first time since we’d met, Ethen burst out into genuine laughter. The sound renewed the flush to my skin. He reached out and wrapped his arms around me. I felt the lightest brush of lips against my throat before his fingers twirled around my nipple.

  Ah. Round two. Ding, ding.

  ***

  The witching hour found me raiding Ethen’s fridge, wearing nothing but my panties and his button down shirt. His scent clung to the fabric, teasing my nose as I sniffed out the deep dish pizza from my first night here. The question was whether or not Ms. Doyle had disposed of it. My stomach yearned for something greasy and delicious, so I hoped not.

  A triumphant noise rose from my throat the moment my fingers latched onto the chilled plate. Nothing like cold pizza in the middle of the night after an exhausting romp between the sheets—or three.

  Holding up my meal like a prize, I toed over to the counter and lowered my plate.

  “I can hear you humming all the way out here,” Ethen commented.

  I glanced over my shoulder and grinned. He was quite the sight, clad in nothing more than silk bottoms. My mouth instantly watered, a Pavlovian reaction courtesy of the half-naked man padding toward me. Nibbling my lip, I contemplated forgoing the pizza for another slice of him. Until my stomach yowled.

  Sighing, I plopped down onto the nearest chair and lifted the pizza.

 
; “Do you not intend to warm that up, first?”

  I eyed him from over my crust. “You serious?”

  He blinked at me, a dark brow rising into his mussed hair. “Perhaps?”

  “This is deep dish!” I turned the pizza and showed him the crust. “Chicago’s best. Nuking it would destroy every delicious bite of it.”

  “You ate it warm a couple nights ago.”

  I waggled a finger at him. “That was fresh. Big difference. Come on now, how long have you lived in Chicago?”

  “Since the mid-eighteen hundreds, give or take a few decades.”

  I froze, the pizza hovering near my mouth. Wow. I mean, I knew Ethen was old. Centuries old. But hearing him confirm it boggled my mind. Mid-eighteen hundreds. “So, that would make you…” My face scrunched as I attempted to do the math. Unfortunately, that’d been my worst subject in school.

  “It would make me one hundred and sixty, give or take, if I’d been turned into a vampire here.”

  My stomach snarled again, so I took a bite and chewed as I contemplated his age. Once I swallowed, I studied him with a curious gaze. “Where were you changed then?”

  “Boston,” he replied without hesitation.

  “Can I ask…which year?”

  His mouth quirked. “I believe you just did. If my memory is correct, the year was 1775.”

  I racked my brain. History had been my second worst class, and I’d never felt any inclination to suffer through it in college. Still, every American knew about the Revolutionary War.

  “1775,” I whispered in awe. I wanted to delve further, wanted to know how he’d been changed, but I had no idea if that was considered inappropriate. One must die to become a vampire. Was it a touchy subject?

  Ethen leaned back in his chair and watched me. “Your nose twitches when you’re curious.”

  I laughed. “I can’t help it. It’s mind boggling!”

  “Indeed.”

  “Was it the war? Was that how you…”

  “Died?”

  I winced.

  He waved a dismissive hand. “It was so long ago, I barely think about it anymore. I’m sure you noticed this?” He tapped a finger against the scar that ran down the center of his chest, adjacent to his heart.

  I nodded.

  “Eat, and I’ll tell you about it,” he said.

  I dug in with gusto.

  “Technically, I was killed in battle. As was common in those days, winter always came with a cost.”

  If I hadn’t just swallowed, I might have choked on my last bite. The parallels of his statement were not lost on me.

  “With winter came food and weapon shortages. Eventually, we were armed with spears in case of an attack.”

  I gasped. “That scar is from a spear? Did one of your own men kill you?”

  He shook his head. “An enemy soldier picked one up that had been discarded. I was little more than the unlucky sap he came across.”

  A spear…to the chest. I couldn’t imagine that, nor did I want to. A shiver rippled down my spine. Stabbed to death. Ugh.

  “I remember falling to the ground and trying to call for a medic. But it wasn’t another soldier who appeared.”

  “It was a vampire.”

  He nodded, his eyes clouding over with what I assumed were his memories. “I wasn’t given a choice. Not that I could have made one. When I woke, I was this.” He gestured toward himself.

  “And the vamp who changed you?”

  Ethen lifted a shoulder. “I never had the pleasure of making his acquaintance. He wasn’t there when I woke, and he never made himself known to me.”

  “Wait, what? Someone went through the trouble of changing you, and they didn’t bother to introduce themselves afterward?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Ethen straightened and shook his head, clearly pushing his woeful tale aside. “I’m here now.”

  “So you’ve been a vampire for over two hundred years. Have you ever turned anyone?”

  “No, and I never intend to.”

  I nodded. “Has anyone ever asked you to?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Once. I refused.”

  “You did?”

  Darkness lingered in his eyes. “There was someone I loved once. She begged me to change her, but I loved her as she was. When I refused to do as she bade, she sought out another vampire. All she cared about was the blood.”

  Holy crickets. “And there’s never been anyone else?”

  “It isn’t so hard, once you grow accustomed to it.”

  I finished my pizza, contemplating his words. Alone for over two centuries. “What about other vampires?”

  “Beyond my business, I have no desire to reach out to anyone.”

  “You can’t mean to say that you’ve sworn off people because of one person?” I whispered.

  “I find it’s those dearest to you who always end up hurting you.”

  He prizes honesty and loyalty above all else.

  I forced myself to swallow. “Ethen—”

  “Are you done?”

  I stared down at my empty plate, my heart heavy in my chest. My appetite was gone now that I’d heard his story. Nodding, I grabbed my plate and carried it to the dishwasher.

  Now more than ever, I was determined to keep my secrets. I refused to be the second woman to hurt him. Shaking off my own disturbing thoughts, I rounded the counter and forced a smile to my lips. I wouldn’t let the night end like this. Not when we had so very few left.

  I slid my arms around his neck and straddled his lap. His body was so warm and firm beneath mine, but his eyes held a sadness that hadn’t been there when he’d first entered the kitchen.

  Dipping my head, I brushed my lips across his, then nibbled my way across his jaw and down his neck. Part of me wondered how it must feel for vampires, to feel their lover’s pulsing throat beneath their lips. I pressed my mouth against his flesh, then parted my lips and lightly bit his throat.

  Ethen’s reaction was instantaneous. He sucked in a breath, his arms latching around me. Next thing I knew, he had me pressed against the nearest wall, and my panties pushed aside.

  At this rate, I was going to need more pizza.

  Chapter 12

  A familiar chirping invaded my dreams. Grunting, I dragged myself out from under the covers and blinked back the final dregs of sleep only to find my legs entangled with another’s. My lips curled into a contented smile, and I glanced over to find a messy head of hair poking out from the other side of the pillow. In repose, Ethen looked utterly peaceful. All the worry smoothed out his brow, his mouth and eyes relaxed.

  Another aggravating chirp dragged my attention away from the vampire whose bed I was in to the ringing phone coming from my clutch across the room. Who the hell was calling me?

  I snuck a glance toward the window to find the shades completely slatted, blocking out the late afternoon sun. I crawled out of Ethen’s bed and stumbled toward my phone, only to wince when the screen lit up with the caller’s information.

  I ducked out of the room and entered the hallway before answering.

  “Tessa,” I sighed. “I was sleeping, so this had better be—”

  “Winter!”

  The stark panic in her tone lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s after me,” she cried out. The sound of her feet slapping against the pavement shoved all drowsiness aside.

  “Someone? Or a vamp?”

  A sharp cry echoed through the line seconds before I heard her grunt.

  My heart leapt into my throat. “Tessa!”

  “Vamp,” she wheezed. “Definitely a vamp.”

  How? The sun was still up! “What’s happening?” I stood in the middle of the hallway, my heart pounding. No answer. “Tessa?”

  Another sharp squeal. My heart jumped again. I glanced back into Ethen’s room, only to find him as dead to the world as he’d been moments ago. So Tessa was being hunted by a day walker. Lovely.

  I rushed th
rough the house to my room, grabbed my jeans, and yanked them up over my hips. “Tessa, tell me where you are.” I fished out my dagger from beneath the mattress, then tucked the sheathed weapon into the waistband of my pants. A shirt was next, my fingers brushing against the weapon’s hilt as I pulled the hem down over it.

  “Near the library on Dearborn Street.”

  I froze, the phone pressed between my cheek and shoulder. “What are you doing on the Gold Coast?” I demanded, my voice cold. She had no reason to be here. Sadly, I knew the answer. Of course, I did. But that didn’t stop the fury from welling within. “Don’t tell me you’re meeting with another vampire…”

  “Winter, please!”

  Now wasn’t the time. I knew that, but I couldn’t help my reaction. After everything I’d done, everything I was doing, two nights and she was seeking out another vampire in Alexei’s stead. I dragged a clammy hand down my face and took a deep breath in search of patience. Addiction wasn’t conquered in a day, but, damn. I’d hoped she could have gone longer than two nights before tapping another source.

  “Get inside the library, now. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I growled. The Gold Coast wasn’t somewhere I frequented often, but if I remembered my geography, the building was only a few blocks away. I could make it if I ran.

  “Where are you?” Tessa asked.

  “Nearby.” I didn’t want her to know anything personal about Ethen. She’d already proven herself untrustworthy when it came to the toothy kind. “Give me a few seconds to get out.”

  I grabbed a pair of shoes with one hand while the other held the phone, then tiptoed through the hallway. Much like last night, the house was silent. It seemed safe to assume Ms. Doyle and Mr. Bishop took time to themselves before Ethen awoke for the evening, which had to be soon if there was a vampire hunting Tessa down in the middle of the streets.

  It also meant I needed to make my escape, and fast, before he found me with a holy-water infused dagger tucked against the small of my back. The front entryway was in sight, and I sucked in a deep breath, praying for a little luck. I stuffed my feet into my shoes, then grabbed the doorknob. I bit my lip, eased it open, and snuck outside. Worst case scenario, I’d lie and tell them I wanted a peek at the garden—a garden I streaked past in my panic to reach Tessa before the vamp found her.