by Kim Faulks
I inhaled hard, then shook my head. “I didn’t think about that. Why didn’t I think about that?”
He shoved off the wall and closed the distance, wrapping me in his arms. I pressed my head against his chest and the steady throb of his heart swelled against my ear. “You can’t worry about that now. She’s here. She safe. That’s all that matters.”
“I’m so tired.” I muttered against his chest. “I’m so tired of everything.”
“Then let me take it all away, even for a little while.”
The heavy thud of his heart sped. I caught the tense of his body, waiting for me to pull away. I wasn’t going to pull away, not this time. I lifted my head, capturing his gaze. His lips parted as he lowered his head. One soft brush of his lips and his arms tightened around me.
Stay. His body pleaded. I slid my hands along the thick muscles of his arms. The kiss turned hungry, starved for flesh. His teeth grazed my lips, then fell away as he crouched. I gripped his arms tight and followed his mouth as his arms closed around me, sweeping my feet from the floor.
My hair floated, then stuck against his arm as he turned. “Say the word and I’ll stand guard while you sleep.”
The sway of his steps rocked me. My eyes drifted close. I pressed my head against his chest and inhaled. Sleep was shoved further from my mind. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to his gaze as he climbed the steps. “No, I don’t want to sleep.”
His eyes widened. The corner of his lips twitched. But the thunder of his heart told me everything I needed to know. He wanted me. His steps were a blur as my heart raced to catch up. I slid my hand along his arm, tracking the hardening of his muscles. I remembered the feel of him in my mouth, his heavy hand against my head and the desperate need to love me in his gaze.
The fist around my heart clenched tight. Run. Fight, my wolf screamed. Marcus lowered his head as he climbed the last stair. Those dark eyes caught the overhead light as he passed. Fear glinted on one side of a double-edged sword, lust waited on the other.
I gripped his arm, and trailed my fingers across the smudge of dirt on his shirt to the neckline. My nails dug into the fabric as I yanked the t-shirt lower. Buttons popped, fabric tore. I lowered my head and brushed my lips across smooth skin.
His steps slowed. A hiss slipped free as I trailed my fingers around the edge of his nipple. The soft flesh puckered under the slow sweep. His hands shifted underneath me. One hand balanced, digging his fingers into the soft flesh of my ass.
I grazed my teeth across tender flesh of his neck as the door rattled, then flew open. A moan rumbled through his chest, tingling my lips. The door slammed, shattering the silence with the boom. His hold on me slipped. I clutched his shoulder and gripped tight as his hands found my waist.
His red t-shirt rode high as he lowered me to the floor. Red marks marred his flesh and glistened from my tongue. Desire flared, shoving sleep further away.
I trailed my fingers along his chest and slipped inside the open neckline. The faint silver scar glinted under the lights in one neat line from his chest, then across his ribs. His grubby shirt came away with one small tug and dropped to the floor. I stepped closer, running my hand over the line. “What made that?”
“The demon’s blade.”
I yanked my head up, catching hold of his gaze. “Does it hurt?”
“No.” His eyes widened, lips parted. His throat muscles hardened, riding the wave as he swallowed hard.
“Liar.” I whispered.
“Am I?” One brow climbed as the corner of his mouth twitched.
His hand skirted the swell of my breast, falling to the button of my jeans. I tried to follow the truth in his gaze. His fingers rode the edge of my waistline, then dipped inside.
I stumbled forward as he yanked, popping open the button. My wolf sat up and sniffed the air. Cool air licked my navel as my zipper slid open. The hackles on my wolf rose. A growl slipped into the air.
His smile widened as his hand swept along the outside of my body to tangle in my hair. “I’ve waited for almost three thousand years to find you.”
He shuffled closer, lowering his head to brush my lips with his. His whisper lulled me, soft, seductive. “I want everything. The woman. The wolf. Your mind, and your body. Hell, I’ll even take your damn pack, if I have to. But, don’t run from me again, Abrial. I’ll burn cities to the ground to find you and I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way.”
My hair pulled taut as he swept the strands around my ear. The hard glint of truth shone in those big black eyes. His words lit a fire so deep, a shudder rocked my soul.
His breath tickled my cheek as he lowered his head. “If there were terrifying stories of the Bloodletter when I was young and stupid. Just imagine what those stories would be like if someone ever hurt you… or tried to take you away from me.”
His fingers brushed my neck as his lips collided with mine. The sound of tearing cloth disappeared under the urgency. I clawed his waist, dragging his body harder against mine. The blood-thirsty demon bloomed in my mind. Imagined screams shattered my resolve. Marcus wouldn’t beg. He wouldn’t give up—not for me—never for me.
I followed his mouth as he dipped, shoving my jeans and panties from my hips. I thought of him taken from me. Gone. Just like that. My knees trembled as I wrenched my knee upwards, shedding the jeans as I shed the lies.
I wanted him and I loved him.
He stumbled away, chest heaving, drawing in huge gulps of air. I caught the tremble in his gaze, before the fall. My body hardened, nerves danced under the sweep of his focus. He took a step, and then another circling me like a hunter.
I ran my tongue over the swollen lips and felt the indent of my teeth. I craved his lips, his hands. My body shivered like an addict, and my drug was an inch away.
“Are you tired now, little wolf?”
His lips brushed the side of my neck. The throb of his breath sent a lick of heat against my skin. My feet felt nailed to the floor, caught between the tingle of his lips against my neck and the brush of his fingers as they climbed under my singlet. His touch skirted the swell of my breast, so light, so tender, dragging my shirt along with his hand until he grasped the clothing and tugged it over my head.
“God you’re beautiful.” He whispered against my ear. Skin-to-skin, the warmth of his chest melted into my shoulders. One tiny snap and my bra sprang free. I slapped my palms over my breasts, hiding my nipples against the crook of my wrists.
He raised his hand and brushed my cheek, then swept his thumb down my jaw and along the valley of my vein. “Your pulse is racing.”
My wolf cowered. Underneath the compassion and quiet words, a hurricane raged. I couldn’t hear the wind. I couldn’t see the devastation. But I felt the power rise.
“Thundering.”
Marcus stepped in front of me. Blood-red motes danced in those black eyes. Something ancient echoed from those bottomless pits, an edge that made my hackles rise and turned my belly weak. Fire, fury rose from the darkness. The monster reared his head inside, surging to the surface and called my wolf along with him.
A whimper tore free. The pathetic sound, swallowed by one last fight for dominance as my chest rumbled and a growl slipped from my lips.
Betrayed by my own beast, I fought for control. I swallowed the snarl, and prayed for strength. Danger hovered on a razor’s edge. I’d seen what he could do, even weak and damaged. The image would haunt me.
My lips trembled as I whispered. “I’m… fine.”
“No you’re not. You’re scared.”
His knuckles grazed my chest and swept along the curve of my breast, sending a shiver down my spine. One more twist and a wire inside me sang. The stench of death and horror clung to him. This man fought a demon… for me.
A nerve twitched near my eye as he raised his hand. His fingers hovered so close. His lips further away. “You can call my wolf.”
His eyes widened, lips parted. I could see his mind racing, trying to find the truth. “How?
”
“When you left me I went a little crazy. The shaman took me between worlds where my Creator existed. She connected us somehow. I can sense your wolf so clearly. I can see her in your eyes. I can scent the air through her nose. I can feel the tightening of her muscles, the rise of her lip. Everything is so clear to me, I her fear, her anger. And under that I can feel her desire. But it’s not a one-way connection, Abrial. Don’t you feel him rising inside you too?”
Him?
My chest quaked with the beat of my heart.
No…. I closed my eyes as his power rose up from that inky blackness to swallow me. I stumbled under the surge as red lightning sliced through my mind and filled me with fury.
The room grew warm… too warm, shimmering like a heat haze on a blood-filled summers day. Bloodletter—I whispered his name—Bloodletter and the red beast answered.
Marcus jerked. His hand fell as red wings tore free from his body and filled the room. A cry echoed from my lips. I stumbled, slipped, and threw my hands out to catch my fall as the room turned red.
Air buffeted my body, scattering my hair into my eyes until something swept me from my feet. I slapped my palm against the long thin bones and felt leathered skin.
These weren’t the torn blackened bones I saw before. These were terrifying and mesmerizing. I brushed my fingers against the webbing and felt him shudder at my touch.
My feet brushed the floor, then air. His wings cradled my body, the bottom edge of his wing cupped me. Smaller thin bones between the webbing fell into the crease of my ass as he lifted me. Power rippled through him and into me, filling the dark well inside. His dragon, my wolf, prey, predator, all tangled into one, and out of the terror came fire.
“Have you ever had someone love you and protect you? Have you ever known softness? Have you ever known pleasure?”
I shook my head as a flame licked low in my belly. The top of his wing cradled my upper body, lifting me upright. My legs fell either side of that long, thin bone that branched to the bottom of his wing. The slow rock rubbed the bone between my thighs as he moved. I swallowed hard riding the friction as he rocked me back, then forth. He reached out, clasping my hands as tiny shocks ripped through my body.
His chest heaved with the effort as did the front of his jeans. I followed the ripple to his waistline and the thin trail of dark hair that fell short of his navel. His hard stomach was thicker, his chest flexed. I caught my breath at the height of the rise, caught on that wicked smile. His eyes glinted with something other than blood-lust as I leaned into the sway and shuddered.
One hand dropped to the button of his jeans as he lowered me back down. I tested my weight as my toes hit the floor, then took a step grasping the waistline of his jeans. “You’re stronger, bigger.”
His lips twitched as a smirk spread. “Yes.”
“This is because of our… connection?”
The grin grew wider as his hand captured mine, shoving my palm against his zipper. “Talking’s for later, little wolf. I have other things I plan to do with my mouth.”
The button worked free, the zipper opened. Yet in my mind he spread more than metal teeth. I burrowed my fingers and touched warm flesh. The florid skin jumped like an exposed nerve as I closed my grip around his cock and felt him pulse. His jeans made a thud as they hit the floor, and his boxers followed.
His wings closed around me like a crimson shroud, gripping me around my chest. My fingers slipped, sliding along the shaft to the silken skin at the head as he lowered his head to my neck, then lower.
My body tightened waiting for him to take me, but like any good predator—the thrill was in the hunt. His tongue circled my nipple finding the ridge of my sensitive flesh. Heat hit my skin from his nostrils, warming the silken trail he left with his tongue. I followed each brush of his lips as he dipped to my ribs, then to my stomach.
“I can feel your pulse racing.”
Whispered words licked something deep inside. I slid my hand along the line of his wing, to the hard spikes as he dropped to his knees. His fingers trailed along the outside of my thighs. I slid my hand around the thick talon as he coaxed one leg from the ground.
“Breathe, Abrial.”
Heat blasted against the most sensitive part of me with one slow lick along my crease. He drew my leg higher, spreading me as his grip tightened.
His lips brushed the edge of my clit, whispering the word against my body. “Breathe.”
I tightened my grip as his tongue circled, cresting the edge, then speared deeper. My other hand fluttered in the air as I arched my back, landing on the top of his head. I threaded my fingers through his hair as he opened his mouth wide, taking all of me.
A growl sent a shiver along my lips, growing under the graze of his teeth against tender flesh. I dug my fingers into the back of his head, pressing harder the moment he drew away. I licked my lips and croaked. “More.”
The night sky captured me as he lifted his head and seized my gaze. His lips glistened under the overhead lights as he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re mine now, little wolf. Mine to love. Mine to protect. This here’s forever if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
Forever. I saw the truth in his eyes. In this moment everything made sense. The connection, the desire, the need. Our bond was more than flesh and blood. The wolf and the dragon circled each other. But it wasn’t for blood—it was for love. My hands ached to mark his skin.
My lips eager to taste his sin.
I wanted all of him.
Others feared the Bloodletter. They feared the fire—and they should. I’d seen what he could do. But I welcomed the heat. I wanted the danger. I dropped my head back—instead of running from the flames, I became them.
Forever. I clenched my fist in his hair and pressed his face against my body. His tongue found the rhythm. I jerked as his fingers joined the foray. To belong to someone kind, powerful. Someone who sacrificed his life to save me. Someone who put aside his own flesh and blood—for me. His tongue probed, flames seemed to lick me from the inside. His wings held me, comforted me. I relaxed against his hold and rode his mouth until the flame ignited. Sparks shot high inside me. I jerked, gripping the talon on his wing as my knees buckled.
He gripped my waist as his wings slid under the crook of my arm, catching my fall. My legs folded, molding to the outside of his powerful thighs. I whimpered as his lips nuzzled my breast, echoing his words. “Forever.”
“Yes, forever.” He mumbled into my neck.
His salty lips were warm and eager. I splayed my hips wide and dropped my hand from the talon on his wing to palm his chest. He slid open his thighs, forcing me to rise and spread wide.
I crested his chest and slid my fingers down his hard stomach to slide the tip of his cock against my palm. Eyes locked, I rose up, then slid my hand along his shaft. The muscle pulsed with need. The vein on the underside throbbed, as did I.
His upper lip curled, revealing his teeth. I lowered my head, capturing that savage sound in my mouth as I eased down until the tip found the edge of my pussy.
I swallowed the dangerous warning and splayed my legs wider. The tip crested, riding my flesh. One twitch and he’d be inside me. His hands gripped my waist, his fingers bruised my hips, still he waited—letting me take everything.
The growl slipped to a whimper. The mighty Bloodletter was mine. I’d never felt so powerful. My body was the only thing I had left, and in this moment I wielded it like a weapon.
His body jerked as I eased down. I pinned his lip inside my mouth as the dragon and the wolf joined as one. I hissed with the pain as he tightened his hold on my hips and drove upwards, burying himself to the hilt.
His lip slipped from between my teeth and I lost my power. Dominance turned into need as he withdrew, leaving me empty and aching. A sadistic glint sparkled in his gaze. I throbbed, clenching as he cleaved my body, slamming home once more. Long brutal thrusts replaced the ache, growing faster. A bead of sweat dripped down the middle of
my shoulders, tickling as it fell.
I trembled with a fever and jerked with every brunt, still it wasn’t enough. He slid his hand around my belly up to my chest, splaying his fingers as he lifted. His wings curled flat against his body as he dragged one leg backwards, turning me to the floor.
One jerk and the comforter slid from the bed to the hard tiles. I climbed onto the soft pile as his palm crested my ass. Air buffeted my body as his wing unfurled. Thick talons the size of my arm scraped along the floor on either side as his lips brushed the small of my back.
I splayed my legs wide under the soft kisses along my spine. His thumb followed, dipping in, then curving upwards as his cock rubbed the crease of my ass. I rocked as his hand crested my shoulder. Talons squealed along the tiles as his fingers wound around my throat and gripped tight. Fear pierced the bubble. I inhaled hard and wrenched my hand from the floor to claw his hold as he drove his cock in deep.
My breath left me. Thought floated away. I swallowed hard, teetering on the edge of his hold on my neck and the brutal brunt between my thighs.
“Forever.” He growled above me.
I drove my nails into the back of his hand as the fire ignited. The flame blazed as a snarl slipped from my lips. Tiny sparks spread from somewhere deep inside. The air grew thorns to ravage my throat as his thrusts sped.
Nails gave way to my fingers as I mirrored his grip, riding his body. My legs shuddered, if not for his hand around me I’d fall. The fire swallowed me and somewhere inside my wolf howled as I gripped his hand tight and shuddered.
A whimper echoed as he buried in deep and lingered. My body tightened, milking every drop of his seed. His grip around my throat eased. I dropped my hand, reaching behind me. “Don’t leave, not yet.”
The gentle pressure under my jaw eased my head backwards. My hair tickled my shoulders as the walls around me darkened. Marcus brushed my forehead before collapsing to the floor.
I fell with him, curling against his body and felt the loss as his cock slipped free. Tender kisses found my neck as he nuzzled. “Sleep now, little wolf. We’ve got the rest of eternity to do that again.”