Sid panted, disoriented by the abrupt shift, blinking in disbelief. Her climax, which had been building so sweetly, so surely, eased back and flowed away, and she wanted to scream. She looked down between her thighs and found Aden watching her, a knowing smile playing around his sensuous mouth as he licked his lips slowly, lasciviously, tasting her wetness on his mouth, savoring it as he had her blood only moments before.
She did scream then, a wordless shout of anger and frustration.
And Aden laughed. He laughed! And then he dipped his head and nipped gently at her inner thigh before covering her body with his, sliding up inch by inch, letting her feel the firm glide of every muscle, his fingers dancing over her skin, kneading her breasts and rolling her nipples, until his mouth was on hers, and she was tasting herself on his lips.
Sid moaned into his kiss, pleading, desperate for the release he’d stolen from her, but overwhelmed by the sheer sensuality of his kiss.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please let me—”
He didn’t let her finish, shushing her before covering her mouth with his, swallowing her words as his warm hands swept down her body, his fingers dipping between her thighs, skimming over her clit without ever touching it, disregarding her eager thrusting against his hand as she tried to force him to give her what she needed. He ignored that as he had everything else, intent on his own diabolical torment as he slid first one finger, and then two, into the slick opening of her sex, pumping in and out, fucking her with his fingers, adding a third when her pussy proved so wet, so ready for him, that she was almost embarrassed at this proof of her wantonness.
But Aden didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t care. Maybe that was what he’d wanted all along, to prove to her that she was shameless in her desire for him. Without warning, his thumb grazed her engorged clit, and she cried out eagerly, her back bowed until she was lifted nearly off the bed. She panted his name, a breathless litany of prayer, hoping he meant it this time, that he was finished with his teasing, that her release was near. His fingers continued to pump in and out, his thumb circling the swollen bud of nerves without ever touching it.
He lowered his mouth to her neck. She felt the hard press of his fangs and sucked in a rasping breath. His hips maneuvered between her thighs, spreading them wide until she could feel the rigid length of his cock sliding back and forth between the swollen lips of her sex, bathing in her wetness. Sid wrapped her legs around his back, trapping him there, wanting to feel his thick erection plunging inside her at last, his fangs slicing into her vein.
He kissed her neck, and his tongue scraped over her jugular . . . but he didn’t bite her, and he still didn’t fuck her.
Hot tears filled her eyes. “Aden,” she whispered.
“What do you want, habibi?” he crooned, the length of his cock still sliding up and down between the slick folds of her sex.
“I want,” she gasped, “I need you inside me. I need to come.”
“Are you mine then?” he whispered, dropping tasting kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, closing his teeth over her lower lip with a playful bite that was just short of pain.
Sid nodded. “Yes. Yours,” she said, though she would have agreed to anything at that point, and Aden seemed to know it.
One half of his mouth curved into a slight smile as he reached up and tugged away the silk scarf that bound her wrists. Sid had time to frown, worried that he was going to release her without ever bringing her to orgasm . . . but then he was turning her over, pulling her hips up until her knees were braced on the bed, and her ass was in the air.
Grabbing her long hair, he pulled it to one side, baring her back as his strong fingers dug in, massaging her neck, stroking up along the delicate slope of her spine, until he reached her ass where it was pressed against his groin. He lifted his hand and brought it down in a sharp smack against her butt cheek. Sidonie cried out, but once again, it was more pleasure than pain as the sting of his hand sent a jolt of carnal delight directly to her over-sensitized clit, stabbing into her womb until her entire abdomen clenched with desire. She rocked back against his hips, feeling the velvet heat of his erection against her ass.
“Do you want this, habibi?” he growled, grasping her hips and grinding against her.
“Yes,” she said, more of a demand than an answer.
Aden bent over her back and reached beneath her to caress her breasts, sliding his hands along her torso to her belly and burying his fingers in her pussy. Sid moaned her bliss, twisting her hips from side to side and rubbing her ass against him. He slapped her other butt cheek, then leaned forward and murmured, “I like a matched pair.”
Sid threw her head back, feeling the same zing of sensation from his slap, overwhelmed by all of the things she was feeling—his fingers in her pussy, his hard length in the crease of her butt, the unexplainable shock of sexual pleasure that touched every nerve in her body when he spanked her. His thumb skimmed over her clit, and she sucked in a breath, waiting for him to steal her orgasm once again, to wait until she was pleading for release, and then cruelly abandon her. But then he stroked her clit again, and she couldn’t help the cry that escaped her lips as she rocked against him, her heart pounding, her breath rasping in and out of her lungs.
“Tell me what you want, Sidonie,” he growled.
“You,” she nearly sobbed. “I want you.”
She felt a smooth drizzle of liquid, felt its cool touch as it rolled down between her butt cheeks to caress her overheated sex. She had a heartbeat to realize what he was going to do, to think that she’d never done that before . . . and then he was pinching her clit, and she was coming harder than she’d ever come in her entire life, and his cock was pushing into her ass, filling her in a way she’d never known, filling her so completely . . . He pulled her onto her knees, her back to his chest, his fingers still fucking her pussy, his cock buried in her ass. He gripped her chin with his other hand, turning her mouth to his kiss before he bared her neck and lowered his head, his lips just brushing the skin below her ear before his fangs sliced into her vein with a sting of sensation, his mouth hot as he sucked her blood, the euphoric in his bite lighting up every nerve in her body with exquisite, unimaginable pleasure.
And it was too much. Sidonie screamed as every part of her body crashed instantly into orgasm, muscles clenching, nerves firing with an ecstasy she’d never known before. She thrashed in his grip, his strong fingers holding her steady as he took her blood, his hips thrusting his cock into her ass, his fingers easing their caress of her clit, as if he knew that the engorged nub could take only so much before intense pleasure crossed into pain. His own climax struck as he held her, his fangs still buried in her neck, his groan rolling through her body as she felt the hot rush of his release filling her, pumping deep inside her until she was limp, and the only thing holding her up was Aden.
ADEN PULLED OUT of Sidonie’s sweet ass. She’d been so tight, as he’d known she would be, like a warm velvet glove around his cock. Holding her closely, he eased them both down onto the bed, cradling her limp body in the curve of his much greater strength. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed half-asleep as she smiled and snuggled closer to him. Aden stared down at her, a foreign sensation squeezing his heart. He cared for this woman. She was strong and passionate, innocent in a way that was at complete odds with her fearless persistence in pursuing the slavers who’d murdered her friend.
And for some reason, she seemed to trust him.
He let her sleep, drifting into a half doze that let his thoughts go their own way. Vampires didn’t sleep, not the way humans did. Their daytime sleep was far deeper and more restful than human sleep and inescapable because of their vampire blood. But he sometimes found this sort of half sleep to be useful, letting his mind drift over problems and solutions.
Such as who was left to challenge him, and when would they strike? Silas was the most obvious contender, his only real competition in the field. But there were others whom he couldn’t disregard. His oppone
nt’s chance luck could be as fatal as superior strength. He’d have to meet with Bastien and the others first thing tomorrow night. Maybe the time had come to attack, rather than sit back and wait.
“What are you thinking?” Sidonie’s voice was the lazy drawl of a satisfied woman, and he couldn’t help his own smug smile.
“I don’t trust that smile,” she murmured, snuggling closer.
He kissed her forehead. “I’m not allowed to smile?”
She made a dismissive noise, then kissed the side of his neck, a liberty he allowed no one, but that he somehow allowed her.
“So what were you thinking about so fiercely?” she asked, drawing his thoughts away from his own confusing emotions.
He shrugged. “The challenge. What happened tonight needed to be done, but it doesn’t change anything. The challenge continues.”
Sidonie stroked a hand over his bicep, her fingers pausing to rub the line of his slave band.
“What is this?” she asked. “And the other arm, too. It’s like you covered the original tattoos with something different.”
“Because I did.”
“What did they used to be?”
“Are you always this chatty after a hard orgasm?”
He felt the heat of her blush before she answered. “I don’t know,” she said softly, not looking at him. “I’ve never climaxed that hard before.”
Aden felt a rush of concentrated pleasure at her words. It was almost like the sensation he got after defeating an enemy, the exhilarating high of victory. But it was a new experience in this context. He knew he was a skilled lover; he’d had hundreds of years to improve on what he’d learned about a woman’s body during his time in Zaahira’s brothel. But he’d always taken the satisfaction of his lovers for granted. He always got them off, but it didn’t matter. It was simply a by-product of his need for sex and blood.
But not with Sidonie. For some reason, she mattered. She was his. He didn’t know how long this new sensation would last, but he knew that he’d kill anyone who came near her. He blinked in surprise at the intensity of that thought. Huh.
“They’re slave bands,” he told her abruptly, not wanting to pursue his previous line of thought any further, and certainly not with her.
Her brow wrinkled. “Slave bands,” she repeated, clearly troubled by the concept.
“Yes,” he said, before she could ask the question. “I was a slave a very long time ago.”
Sidonie pushed herself up so she could meet his eyes. “Were you born that way?” she asked, her eyes full of a compassion he didn’t want.
“No,” he said simply, watching her reaction. “I was sold when I was five.”
“Sold. How can . . . by whom?”
He stared at her, trying to decide if he’d answer truthfully or not. “My father,” he said simply.
“Oh, Aden,” she breathed and hugged him tightly, her soft breasts crushed against his chest.
“It was a long time ago, habibi,” he said, stroking his hand down her back, feeling the need to comfort her, despite the fact that it was his story.
“But still . . . What about your mother? Where was she?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
“And you’re avoiding the answer,” she said, but then caught her breath. “Never mind. I’m sorry. I’m prying. It’s a bad habit. It comes with the territory . . . investigative reporter and all. I’ll be quiet now.”
Aden continued to rub his hand idly up and down the elegant curve of her spine. What would she think if he told her about his mother? That she’d given him up, because she preferred playing the whore for his father over caring for her own child. Would Sidonie hate his mother for him? Did he want her to?
Seeming to sense his reluctance, or maybe his indecision, she crawled up onto his chest and propped her chin on her hands, so she could smile into his eyes. “What about the tattoo on your back?” she asked, changing the subject for him.
He slid his hand down to cup her delicious ass, smiling when he saw her wince in anticipation of another spanking, catching the relief on her face when he only rubbed her firm little butt cheek fondly.
“The back tattoo is mine. It’s a phoenix and all it represents.”
“Why do it on your back? Is that significant?”
“I offended a wealthy man once, when I was still a slave. That particular man liked to inflict pain on those who couldn’t fight back. His preferred victims were very young women. I objected . . . forcefully to his torture of someone. He demanded satisfaction, and my mistress gave me to him in recompense. He had no interest in fucking me, he couldn’t even get an erection, a fact that I’m certain disappointed him. But there are other ways to humiliate a man, and there was always the whip.
“He had free use of me for three days and nights. I received no medical assistance and only enough water and bread to keep me alive and able to feel pain. My mistress wouldn’t let him blemish my face or genitals, but my back was so damaged it took weeks to recover. And even then, the scars were so numerous and so thick that I was in constant pain even after I healed.”
Tears shone in her eyes, but she swallowed hard and said, “But . . . there aren’t any scars now.” She touched her fingers to the back of his shoulder where he knew the tip of one wing could be seen.
“When I became Vampire, the scars began to heal. It took time, but eventually they vanished completely. Sometime later, I got the tattoo to make a point. My body is mine, and no one else’s.”
“What a bitch,” she muttered, presumably about Zaahira. “I hope she died old and ugly.”
Aden smiled in fond remembrance of Zaahira’s death. But that was a story for another time. “I do believe Zaahira—she was my whore mistress—eventually regretted the whipping. Not because she cared about me, you understand, but because I was unable to fuck her other clients while I recovered, and even then . . . it was never the same. Any pleasure I’d taken in the seduction of rich women was gone. I never again forgot that I was nothing but a slave, no matter whom I fucked.”
She frowned in concentration. “Wait. You said you were unable to fuck clients, that means—”
“It means I was a sex slave,” he said harshly, watching for her reaction. “A whore, just like my mother.” He pushed the words out, trying to conceal the anger they hid, daring her to judge him for his past. But, of course, she didn’t. Sidonie didn’t judge people on the actions of others. She rescued them instead.
“That’s why you hunted the slavers tonight, why it was important enough that you took time out from the challenge to see it done.”
He nodded slightly.
She ran a soft finger down over his shoulder, to his arm, and along the black line of his slave band. “I didn’t know vampires could be tattooed. I thought your bodies repaired everything.”
“It works as long as we mix our own blood with the ink. It takes considerable skill and patience. Kage is my tattoo artist.”
“Kage is the one with the buzz cut, right? With all the piercings?”
She indicated her left eyebrow where Kage wore a titanium bar. He also had a tongue stud, although Sid had no way of knowing that.
Aden nodded in response to her question. “Kage is the youngest of my vampires, though not young by human standards. He’s been the go-to guy for some time for all the vamps in Lucas’s territory who wanted tats, but he’s mine, so he goes where I go. Lucas will just have to find his own artist now.”
“I always wanted a tattoo, but I never got up the nerve.”
“I like your skin the way it is. Leave it.”
“Says the guy who covered his back to prove it was his.”
“Says the guy who will spank this sweet ass if you go against me on this,” he growled, cupping her butt cheek.
She shivered, but that wasn’t fear in her eyes, it was remembered pleasure, and he smiled.
“It’s not like I was planning on doing it,” she grumbled.
Aden laughed and rolled her beneat
h him. “How’s that slick pussy of yours, Sidonie?” he murmured, rubbing his hardening cock against her belly.
Her eyes went wide in surprise, but then she wrapped her legs around his hips, tightening her hold possessively. “Are you going to tease me again?” she asked with mock severity.
“No,” he said thoughtfully. “I’m just going to fuck you until you scream.”
SIDONIE LAY BONELESSLY across Aden’s chest, exhausted, drained, completely washed-out. Aden had been true to his word . . . several times. She found it interesting that the Vampire virus, or whatever it was, left a male capable of getting an erection over and over again, and yet incapable of actually producing offspring. It was an interesting evolutionary twist, but one her mind was too exhausted to ponder overmuch right at that moment. For now, she’d simply count her blessings that she not only had a vampire lover, but one who had apparently learned the art of lovemaking from the best… even if the bitch had enslaved him to do it. She frowned, not liking that part.
“Why are you scowling?” Aden’s chest rumbled beneath her ear, making her smile.
“I love your chest,” she said, cracking a huge yawn. “It’s very resonant.”
“Resonant,” he repeated drily.
“It’s big and deep and so very strong, oh wonderful one.”
He squeezed her butt cheek in warning.
“You’re entirely too obsessed with my ass.”
“I love your ass,” he said, smacking it lightly. “It’s very resonant.”
Sid laughed, sitting up to stare down at him in surprise. “You made a joke.”
“Call the press. Oh, wait. You are the press.”
“It’ll be front page news,” she said, yawning again as she stretched her arms over her head and cracked her neck from side to side. “What time is it?” she asked, glancing around for a clock.
“Nearly dawn.”
“What time is . . . Oh. Do I need to get out of here?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “The suite will lock down, so will the elevator entrance. No one comes or goes until sunset. And I won’t exactly be a sterling conversationalist in the meantime.”
Aden (Vampires in America) Page 14