Xavier: Vampires in Europe (Vampires in America Book 14)

by D. B. Reynolds

  It was too late. She’d lost any chance she’d ever had of walking away when she hadn’t caught a plane and gotten the hell out of Barcelona after that first night. She tipped her head forward and licked the salt from his chest, detecting the very slight tang of iron that flavored his sweat. Did it mix with his tears, too? she wondered. She’d never seen Xavier cry, so she didn’t know.

  Opening her mouth, she pressed her lips to his skin, swirling her tongue in sensuous circles as she kissed her way to a nipple, closing her teeth over the tight male nub until she heard him hiss in pain, then moved to the other nipple and did the same. When she reached for his belt and began unbuckling, his big hands cupped her ass and once more ground the hard bulge of his erection right into the triangle between her thighs.

  She gasped at the rush of wet heat that responded, cheeks blossoming when Xavier made an appreciative sound as the scent of her arousal rolled between them so strongly that even she could detect it.

  Finally managing to undo his belt, she slipped the metal button open, dropped the zipper, and with her own groan of pleasure matching his, slid her hand into the opening and curled her fingers around his thick cock. Freeing his full length at last, she began working her fist up and down as she dropped to her knees on the deep carpet.

  Xavier gripped her head, stopping her. “I’m very hungry, cariño. I won’t last long if you do that.”

  She stroked her tongue along the vein on the underside of his erection, then slicked her tongue around the tip, while looking up with challenge in her gaze. The pewter shine of his eyes was no longer a reflection. They shone a deep gray silver when he stared down at her. She smiled, then brushed her wet mouth around his tip. “Then I’ll just have to get you hard all over again.”

  “Fuck. Me,” Xavier groaned when she sucked his full length into a slow slide between her lips and down her throat, then lifted her head and did it all over again. His fingers tore at her hair, twisting and tugging as she moved back and forth. It hurt. But the pain only magnified the utter wantonness of sucking his cock, of bathing it in warmth as she salivated with her own frantic hunger. And all the while Xavier groaned above her, the muscles of his abdomen and thighs turning to steel under her hands, against her cheeks.

  A sudden snarl razored into the air like the cry of a wild beast when he came, his climax shooting down her throat as she swallowed over and over, his powerful hands pressing her against his groin while she gasped for breath. As if suddenly realizing what he was doing, he released his hold on her head and dropped to his knees next to her.

  “Layla,” he murmured, running his hands over her shoulders, her back as she drew long draughts of air. “Cariño.” He sounded worried now, head bent as he stroked her hair away and tried to see her face.

  She coughed, then lifted her head and gave him a crooked smile. “You’re even bigger than I thought.”

  “Fuck,” he breathed and hauled her into his arms, stood effortlessly, and carried her to the bed.

  Layla dug fingers into his shoulders, worried that he would drop her. She guessed that he had to be accustomed to having much daintier women in his bedroom, in his fucking huge bed. Still, she was proud of her body—she was strong and fit. But she was tall, and her strength came with muscles that weighed a lot.

  But he didn’t falter in the least. He strolled to the bed as if she was no heavier than a fresh blanket and laid her against the pillows with care, like a piece of fine porcelain. For some reason, more than anything he’d said or done, that bit of tenderness, of concern, hit her hard. Her heart literally ached with love, with longing. And when she glanced up and met his gaze, she found him watching her with the same emotion in his eyes.

  “Xavier, I . . . ” she whispered. She didn’t know what she might have said next because he turned away, breaking eye contact when he reached for a decanter on the bedside table.

  “You need to drink something,” he said, as he poured some red liquid into a glass and offered it to her.

  She did want something to soothe her throat, if nothing else, but when she took the glass, she eyed the red stuff suspiciously, and sniffed. “What is it?”

  He laughed. “Wine. Nothing else. Do you think I’m trying to seduce you into vampirism with a taste of blood?” He took the glass from her, drank, then leaned over to kiss her.

  His lips were wet with what she thought was a very nice Cabernet, although she was no wine expert. She did note that she’d never tasted a more delicious wine, coming as it did from Xavier’s lips to hers. She slid her arms over his shoulders to circle his neck, to hold him close and prolong the kiss. He could have broken the hold if he’d wanted, but he just kept seducing her with slow, languorous kisses that told her they had all the time in the world to explore each other’s bodies, to kiss and lick, to suck and bite every inch.

  The wine glass hit the side table with a solid thump when the kiss grew more passionate, less patient. He slid onto the bed and stretched out on top of her, caging her between powerful arms, bracing his elbows on either side of her head while he slung a heavy leg between hers, his knee bent to rub right up against her pussy. Heat flooded her cheeks again when his knee encountered the wetness between her thighs, the slick juices drenching her pussy and soaking right through her pants.

  “You’re so wet,” he whispered hoarsely. “So damn hot and wet.”

  “I can—”

  He pressed his weight on her when she would have rolled over to do . . . something. Take off her pants? Visit the bathroom? Clean up the evidence of just how much she wanted him?

  “You’re going nowhere,” he growled, his expression fierce as he glared down at her.

  She should have been terrified. His eyes were like twin spotlights, lighting not just his face, but her and half the bedroom. His fangs . . . well, hell, his fangs were just there, gleaming white and deadly sharp where they pressed into his lower lip. And he looked like he wanted to devour her.

  He stripped off her pants and panties with brisk efficiency. Nothing sexy or sensuous, her clothes were an obstacle to be gotten rid of and tossed aside. He studied her for a long moment, as if deciding which tasty morsel to sample next, then dipped his head to her neck, his breath hot and wet against her skin when he inhaled deep and slow. She waited for his bite. He’d bitten her before. She knew now what to expect and braced for the sharp pain . . . that didn’t come. Instead, he kissed her throat gently and glided his tongue in a slow, carnal path from her neck to her shoulders, her breasts. He paused there to suck one nipple—long pulls of his lips that had the soft tip becoming a hard, aching pearl, her back bowing with need when he sucked even more of the tender flesh into his mouth.

  The bite was a shock. His fangs pierced the soft mound around her nipple, going deep enough to cause another spike of pain before something in his saliva sent a rush of heat into her veins, and pleasure stormed through every inch of her body, spreading downward to tighten her groin and stab between her thighs. Lust unfolded in its wake, and a ferocious craving filled her body when he took her other nipple, her other breast into his mouth, between his teeth, and bit.

  She cried out, and her hips lifted off the bed searching for something to soothe the desperate need, the terrible emptiness between her thighs, something to release her from the scorching heat in his bite that left her hanging on the edge of climax. She didn’t know if she wanted the pleasure to go on forever, or if she wanted him inside her, filling the emptiness, soothing this fierce longing that felt so good, but wasn’t . . . him. She needed his cock.

  “Xavier,” she cried. “Now, damn it.”

  He lifted his head from her breasts and glared at her, his fangs bared and gleaming while a terrifying growl rumbled from his throat and nearly stopped her heart. She stared, unable to look away, frozen in something very close to fear. He snapped his teeth at her in a show of dominance, and then with his eyes st
ill locked on hers, still holding her in thrall, slammed his cock balls deep inside her.

  She groaned helplessly as the first orgasm tore through her body, stoking the flame of her already scorched nerves, shocking every muscle with an ecstasy that she’d never known before. She clutched his arms, her short nails digging into his flesh when he pounded right through the first convulsive clench of her inner muscles, when he shoved his hands under her ass and fucked her. No mercy, no caution. But then, she didn’t want any. She was tired of men who treated her as some fragile little thing. She wanted him to be wild and out of control. To drive into her body with all the strength and passion of the powerful creature he was. Vampire lord. Xavier. Hers.

  Her orgasm was so unexpected, so stunning in its ferocity that she could only scream as her body writhed beneath his, while euphoria shot like a knife blade from her clit to her clenching womb, to her breasts, and finally to her brain. The last thing she remembered before her thoughts became a snowstorm of static was Xavier’s deep voice against her ear rasping, “I love you.”

  She woke with his cock sliding lazily along the swollen lips of her pussy while she shivered in desire, as desperate for him as if he hadn’t just knocked her into an orgasmic bliss a few . . . Well, hell, she didn’t know how long ago it had been, and right now, she didn’t care. She could barely feel her legs where they stretched around his hips, but she didn’t care about that either. She could feel the hard pebbles of her nipples grinding against his chest. Could feel his very hard erection teasing her as it glided through the creamy warmth of her climax, tantalizingly close to her pussy. But what she needed was him inside her.

  They kissed, their mouths as voracious as if it had been days or weeks, not however long it had been. His fangs were still out. She could tell by the blood flavoring the kiss, the slight sting of her lip where he’d cut her. His snarl rumbled down her throat this time, before he lifted his head enough to lick the blood from her lip, then stare down at her with those mesmerizing eyes.

  “I need you,” he murmured.

  “You have me,” she breathed, not quite sure what he meant. They were as close as two human beings could get.

  “I need more.” His gaze penetrated hers, as if willing her to understand what he was saying. “Say yes, Layla.”

  Realization struck. “Yes,” she said fervently. “My God, Xavier. Yes, always!”

  His eyes shut briefly as if in relief, and when they opened again there was nothing of the man looking down at her. This was Lord Xavier, the eminent vampire who had lived centuries and ruled thousands.

  “Yes,” she whispered again. “I want you, too.”

  He didn’t rush, didn’t shove his mouth under her chin, his fangs into her vein. He seduced her all over again with soft, lingering kisses against her throat and down to her breasts. With fingers that pinched tender nipples just enough to spark new thrills of desire skating over her body, before he kissed his way back up to her neck.

  He tasted her first, with long sweeps of his tongue that had her blood pumping so hard, she could hear it pulsing in her ear. She speared fingers through his thick, dark hair—so soft and silky for such a fierce and deadly vampire.

  He chose that moment to strike, giving no warning as his fangs sliced through her skin and pierced her vein. She whimpered as the first tendrils of heat licked into her blood, bringing that same exquisite pleasure that spread like flames through her body. Her breasts seemed to swell under the onslaught, sore nipples throbbing as they stiffened into firm peaks of lust, while a fervent need filled her womb and tightened her clit into a hard bundle of nerves that begged for his touch.

  Xavier’s mouth stretched her neck where the skin had been sliced, every sucking pull on her vein like a tug on her breasts, a stroke through her pussy, pleasure coursing through her in great swirls of longing. His hand caressed the length of her body, starting at her shoulders, lingering over her breasts, playing down her belly before flattening over her groin as one thick finger slipped between the lips of her pussy and with no warning, crushed the taut, throbbing nub of her clit.

  Her torso came off the bed despite his fangs in her neck and his full weight pressing her down. She wrapped her legs around his hips and thrust upward, rubbing herself against his stone hard penis, while she drowned in waves of climax. She wanted him inside her, needed the relief of being filled by his cock, by the searing heat of his orgasm.

  Xavier lifted his head with an unrestrained howl, his fangs dragging from her vein as he flexed his hips and drove into her with all the ferocity she’d longed for. He slammed into her once, twice, and then they were coming together in a fury of frenzied hunger, and a wild and passionate love.

  Chapter Seventeen

  LAYLA WAS SPRAWLED over Xavier’s body when she woke. The room was pitch black around them, but she knew it was still nighttime because Xavier’s eyes opened as soon as she sat up. Every part of her body ached when she leaned down to kiss him, and the sharp pain between her thighs reminded her that the (cough, cough) delicate parts of her anatomy had gotten more exercise than they’d had in years. Ow.

  “I have to shower and get over to the barracks. I have to review the data and brief my team before we head out. And I’ll want to talk to the helo pilot, too.”

  When he didn’t say anything, she studied him a minute, needing to know the answer to a very specific question, but not sure she wanted it.

  “What is it? What’s troubling you?”

  She bit the inside of her lip, then went for it. “Does Sakal have the power to kill you? Could he have killed you if he’d caught you unaware in that ambush?”

  Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her forehead, and murmured her name. “Layla, cariño. No. I am immune to magic, and Sakal knows it. That is why his trap was designed to hold me there until the sun rose. Had I not escaped, had you not assisted with that escape, the sun would have destroyed me. But I will not make that same mistake again. In any event, the sun will not be a factor in the battle tomorrow night. And I remain immune to magic.”

  A new thought occurred to her. “Does Sakal know you didn’t die?”

  “I have to assume he does. He has plenty of human acolytes or other minions who would have reported to him.”

  “Which means he’ll be expecting you to attack.”

  “Unless he’s a total fool, yes. He may expect the French vampire lord to present some resistance, but I don’t believe he’ll trust a vampire, not even his own territorial lord, to protect him. I fully anticipate a vigorous defense on his part. Which is why I’m sending you and your team in to reconnoiter before we launch. That said, you are officially under orders to return to me unscathed.”

  Layla tipped her head from side to side. “I’ll do my best, believe me. But that goes both ways, dude. If you’re wrong about him, and he kills you, I’m going to be pissed as hell.”

  He chuckled. “When I die, it will not be at the hands of that fool. He’s been begging to die by my hand since he murdered my Sire. But if I do die, I will at least go to my death knowing that my warrior mate will avenge me.”

  Her chest tightened with grief at the mere possibility of his death. How much worse would it be if that happened? “That’s not funny,” she insisted, her throat clogged with tears she wouldn’t let him see.

  He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against his chest. “I didn’t think it was. Having you by my side is a gift that I will defend with every shred of power I possess. I want lifetimes with you, and no sorcerer is going to take that away.”

  His words released the tears she’d been holding back. Not wanting him to see, she hid her face against his shoulder and fought for control. Her face was wet when she leaned back to look up at him, but she spoke lightly, needing to break through the weight of emotion surrounding them like a shroud. “Then I’ll just have to make sure you don�
��t die.” She forced a smile.

  “No, cariño. You make sure you don’t die. I can take care of myself.”

  LAYLA THOUGHT of those words several hours later while sitting in the luxurious helo that had been sent to transport her team over the border into France. She wondered if Xavier knew how impossible it was for her to obey his command, even if she’d been inclined to do so. He’d gotten under her skin so deeply that she suspected he’d always been there, just waiting for her to grow up and return to claim him. Sneaky bastard. She sighed. He was that for sure, but he was her sneaky bastard and no one would be permitted to touch him if she could help it.

  “Not our usual transport,” Brian said, sliding the various maps and images of Sakal’s estate back into the pack at his feet. They’d spent most of the trip checking and re-checking the plans they’d worked up for the coming recon operation. “Traveling with the boss’s girlfriend has its perks.”

  “Ha ha. The pilot said Xavier only has two helos, and the other one is a Sikorsky transport. The vamps will be using that one later. It’s too big for just the four us.”

  “Hey, I’m not complaining.”

  She wasn’t going to complain either. Her team, together or separately, had ridden in a lot of helicopters over the years, but she could guarantee that none of those helos had been like this one. Apart from the seats, this thing was so soundproofed that they didn’t even need headphones to talk to each other. She’d bet there had never before been weapons and well-used backpacks stacked next to the dusty boots using up all that nice leg room, either.

  When the helo swept over the retail hub of Andorra la Vella, she glanced out the window for the first time. There’d been some pretty spectacular views during the flight through the Pyrenees, but this was mostly curiosity that a major shopping hub would be located in the mountains between the two countries. This was the only city, in fact, in the Principality of Andorra, which was under the joint sovereignty of Spain and France. Not easy to reach, but apparently profitable.