“I knew she wasn’t, but I loved her. I didn’t think she hated me. She was Goethe’s daughter. Her father tortured and raped my sister, and she knew. She never told me.”
“Oh, Alex.”
“I can’t hurt like that again.”
“Am I your mate?” she asked.
“Yes. You’re my other half. I can feel your soul in my body. When I bonded you, I got half. I recognize it. It made me whole.”
“Then why are you worried? If I’m really your mate, I can’t cheat on you.”
“It’s not about the cheating. I don’t want to die alone.”
There.
He said it.
“I mated with her because I was so alone in life. I’d lost everyone I loved. I believed Jolie was dead and my parents were murdered by hunters. I didn’t want to wander life by myself. I never believed you were out here. Had I, then I wouldn’t have taken her as mine.”
She touched his cheek.
“You took her, but fate put you back on that path. Maybe you needed to be with her so you could find me. What if this was the plan, Alex? What if you had to hurt so you could love?”
He stared into her eyes.
“I love you. I can already say that and mean it. I know you’re the one, Kiera. You’re my one and only.”
She pushed away from his body, and from her neck, she removed a necklace. On it was an intricately carved symbol. Gently, she dropped it over his head so it fell to his chest.
“This is my gift to you. In my family, it was handed down from family member to family member. When the coven is recalled, they’ll complete a talisman. For now, I want you to wear it as a reminder of my devotion to you. I love you too, Alex. I knew the second I heard your voice.”
He stroked it with his fingers. The metal heated at his touch.
“It was meant to be around your neck. The coven my family belongs to spoke of the witch finding her mate. Only then can they come together and do their duty.”
He didn’t understand that part, but he did know what this meant.
“I’m yours.”
“Yes, you are.”
His mouth found hers.
The second he wrapped his arms around her, she went fluid against his body. She was like slipping into that warm pool of water. It surrounded him, making everything seem all right in the world.
Her hands found his hair, and as Alexzandre’s mouth made love to hers, she held him to her body. The longer they touched, the hotter the temperature became in the room.
She was ready to combust. Never in all her life did she ever feel this way about anyone.
He was her mate.
He’d always be hers.
As they continued to stroke, touch, and kiss, Alexzandre knew that he would die if he didn’t have her. He could only be so patient.
Here, in his lap, was the woman who was meant to be his.
His fingers found the buttons on her shirt, and slowly, he undid them. When he found soft, petal smooth flesh, his heart quickened pace.
“You feel amazing,” he admitted, breaking their kiss.
She was breathing heavily.
Kiera knew what she wanted.
Slowly, as if knowing what he craved too, she tipped her head to the side, bearing her throat.
“I want to feel your mouth on me.”
The grow began low in his gut. He knew that if they shared blood, during mating, they’d be tied together forever.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in all of my life.”
That was all he needed to hear.
He allowed his fangs to ascend into his mouth. All the while, she watched him. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with peace.
She wasn’t afraid.
When he smiled, letting her see them, she didn’t flinch. Instead, she touched the tip of one.
It cut her finger.
He took it in his hand and kissed the bead of blood away.
“I will never hurt you. I won’t leave, and I will make sure I’m always here for you.”
She knew he was making a vow.
It was his eternal promise to her.
“I won’t ever leave you either. My heart will be yours. You’ll always be mine.”
She kissed him softly, and then tipped her head.
He wasn’t able to say no. Alexzandre could smell her blood, and it called to him.
That one taste on her finger made him ravenous. Still, he knew he needed to make this a night she’d never forget.
And one for him too.
He’d craved this for a very long time—over eight hundred years. He’d finally found a woman to be his.
Her hands moved across his chest until she found the hem of his shirt. When she tugged it up, they were forced to stare into each other’s eyes.
“I want to feel your mouth on my neck,” she admitted. “It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. I trust you.”
It was the ultimate trust.
Blood was life.
She was willing to share herself with him, and he’d do the same.
First, he needed to feel the same thing.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a blade Jacques had given him. She stared at it in his hand. He held it out to her.
“If you want this, you’ll have to do it. I know how much I want you. I need you to take the next step.”
Her fingers shook as she took it from him.
Alexzandre wanted her to cut him.
She flicked out the blade and took his wrist in her hand. He was watching her with absolute trust.
She wouldn’t go back.
With very little pressure, she slid the silver across his wrist.
The blood began dripping across her fingers. She brought his wrist to her mouth.
And she drank him in.
He watched as she licked across the wound with her tongue. It sent heat racing through his body. She was drinking from him, and in his head, he could hear her chanting in Gaelic.
He knew it was her own ritual for mating.
She was binding them together.
His body ached to have her.
He throbbed with each suck on his wrist. Alexzandre wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
It was maddening.
When she pulled away, there was blood on her lips and chin. He licked it away.
It drove him wild.
When he rolled, she was beneath him. He could look down at the swell of her breasts, and he knew she was so very special.
“My witch.”
She smiled up at him. With her Irish tinged voice, she gave him what he needed.
“My vampyre.”
He didn’t hesitate.
Alexzandre dove in.
His mouth took hers in a frenzy of fangs and tongue. He didn’t hold anything back. If she was going to stay, she needed to see what he was really like.
He pinned her beneath him and with eager fingers his hands wandered.
When Alex found the top of her jeans, he flicked them open. He never broke the kiss as he slipped his fingers between her legs.
She was wet.
The second he touched her, she moaned.
His heart thundered.
This was something he craved for a very long time.
Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her. They were both breathing heavily.
“If you want me to stop…”
“Please never stop.”
That was his last barrier. She’d given him permission, and she was going to be his.
Standing, he dropped his dress pants. They fell at his ankles, revealing his body.
Kiera studied him.
He was pale, sleek, and perfect.
Then he knelt beside her and pulled her jeans off. As she lay there in her bra and panties, he ran his fingers across her torso.
“You’re lovely. I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman, and you’re mine.”
His words sent a flush ac
ross her pale ivory skin.
“Hurry, Alex,” she begged. “I need you.”
Oh, he needed her too.
He tugged down her panties, setting her free. She was bare to him, and he was going to feast. He couldn’t wait to dine on his mate.
Spreading her legs, he teased her with gentle fingertips.
She moaned at his touch.
“Please,” she begged, her body on fire with need. There was only one way to quench it, and he was it.
Alexzandre found the most sensitive part of her body with the tip of his tongue.
She moaned the second he made contact.
Alex had never tasted anything sweeter. She was like that fine wine he’d consumed, only better. She was priceless and his.
He dove in.
With tongue and lips, he drove her up, making her shout his name as she crested over and fell.
When he kept going, offering her everything he had, she didn’t deny him. When he’d been with Arian, this was never a possibility.
She hated sex.
But not his precious little witch.
She came alive beneath his mouth.
When she shook beneath his tongue, he knew she was going to fall again. This time, he wanted to feel her shatter apart. He craved that wetness coating his erection as he buried himself in her body.
As he pushed her toward the edge, he knew she was about to come apart. When he felt the tremors, he moved fast, sliding up her body and burying himself between her legs.
She came.
And she came hard.
Kiera shouted his name as he drove himself into her body as she had one hell of an orgasm.
She couldn’t breathe.
The colors swirled around her as she struggled to resurface through the amazing pleasure.
When she finally could open her eyes, she saw him watching her.
“I love you,” she vowed. “I’ll always love you, mate.”
He needed to hear that.
Slowly, he began moving in and out of her delicious heat. The only sound in the grotto was the gasp-y breaths of air, the sound of water falling, and her begging him to make her come again and again.
If that’s what she craved…
Alex struggled to hold onto his control. It wasn’t easy. He’d found his mate, and this mating was the most important. It would be the one time they remembered forever.
As he drove into her body, she wrapped her legs around his hips. Her eyes were open, and they were focused on him.
“I love you, Kiera,” he vowed. “Until fate takes me and turns me to dust. Even then, you’ll have my heart. It’s yours until the end of time.”
She touched his face with her fingers, and then pulled him down to her mouth. They kissed.
For a human, and a witch, she wasn’t once cut by his fangs. That took skill.
As they both moved closer and closer to the edge, Alexzandre knew he wasn’t going to last long.
He wanted her far too much.
When she broke the kiss, and once more tipped her head, he knew it was now or never. He was about to cum, and he couldn’t handle not having her sweet blood flood into his mouth.
He lowered his face to sniff the delicious scent of her skin. As his tongue lapped at her pulse, she reached for his mind.
‘Please make me yours.’
His heart stuttered in his chest.
He would do just that.
As he slid out, he got ready.
When he drove himself home, he bit down into her flesh. Her blood filled his mouth, and Alex couldn’t hold on any more.
Kiera exploded apart, taking him over the edge with her. He filled her body, and she filled his.
This was perfection.
As he slowly sipped, she slowly ran her hand up and down his back.
‘This is perfect.’
‘It is,’ she admitted.
‘I can never go back to not having you.’
Her laughter filled his mind. ‘You never have to, Alex. I’m yours forever. I swear.’
There was peace.
And for the first time, in a very long time, he didn’t have to worry.
He’d found his way home.
To her.
To his little witch.
∞ Chapter Forty ∞
They needed to work out the plan. At first, they were going to ask Mordechai to help. Then Jolie had an idea, and she was pretty sure it would work. If Jacques called his mother, she would answer the phone.
Why?
Because she’d need to keep the rouse going.
There was no way she’d know that Mordechai had found them. In fact, Flynn was making sure that Jacques’s father couldn’t contact her.
He was blocked.
So, she handed Jacques the phone. “You have to do this.”
He was aware.
Only he didn’t have to like it. A part of him still hoped that his gut was wrong.
“Damn it,” muttered Jacques, as he took the phone. “Okay, I’ll call her.”
He started dialing his father’s private line in the house, trying to play along.
He was going to pretend he didn’t know where his father was.
On the fourth ring, she answered.
He knew then she was involved. If she’d been taken, Morganna wouldn’t be home.
She was waiting.
He kept his voice even.
“Mother, how are you?” he asked, feeling sick. Both of his mates were watching him.
“I’m well, my love. How’s everything where you are?” she asked. “Where are you, anyway?”
Crap!
She was going in for the kill.
“We’re laying low. Have you heard from Father? I’m trying to reach him, but he’s not answering his cell. It’s about a place to hide. He was searching for one for me.”
There was a pause.
He knew she was making something up.
“Oh, are you traveling again soon? Are you still in Ireland?” she asked her son.
Jacques could feel his heart being crushed in his chest. Instead of making up his own lie, he went with the one his father had used.
“No, Mother, we’re actually in Germany for the time being. You know how it is. We’re sightseeing. Flynn has never been here before.”
“Oh, yes, the human that you and Jolie married.”
He could hear the disapproval in her voice. It was the first time he’d ever noticed it when they discussed Flynn.
“Yes, all three of us. Father asked me to call.”
“He’s out on business. You know how he is. France isn’t far from Germany, Jacques. I could meet you and the family. We can spend the day together. I’d love to take Jolie shopping. You know, to welcome those two little bundles of joy into the world.”
He’d never allow her near their children, let alone his mates.
“I wish I could. Maybe when Father gets home, you can join him and meet us. I really need to see him.”
Hopefully, that worked. His mother would now start to see that she needed to find Mordechai in order to get access to them. The seeds of deception were sown.
At first, he was worried when she didn’t reply.
“I’ll talk to your father.”
Perfect.
Once she did, they’d have her. He still couldn’t believe his mother was the one who betrayed them. It was unfathomable.
“I’ll wait for your father to call, and we’ll discuss meeting you. Keep your phone on. I’ll call you back.”
Yeah, he bet.
“Certainly, Mother. I have to go. We’re about to go into the village to do some shopping. I love you, Mother.”
“Oh, I love you too. Kiss Jolie for me.”
He heard it in her voice.
There was animosity there for her too.
Only he didn’t know why.
“Sure thing.”
“Oh, email me your address. I was out shopping, and I’ll send my grandbabies some pretty things,” she state
d nonchalantly.
He would die first.
In fact, Jacques wanted to punch a hole in something.
“Au revoir, mother.”
Jolie took his hand in hers. There was a big storm brewing behind the green eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, stroking his cheek.
“I am too,” Flynn offered, dropping his arm around his mate’s shoulders.
He was aware, and when this was over, he’d need them to heal. This was going to put a huge hole in his heart. Granted, he didn’t see his parents often, but this betrayal?
It sucked.
“What’s next?” he asked.
“We have to talk to your father.”
“I’ll do it,” he said. “I need to do it alone. I know him. This isn’t going to go well.”
They didn’t doubt it.
“Be safe, Jacques,” she said.
He would.
After all, this was his father. What could possibly go wrong?
Jacques paced the dining room and didn’t know how he was going to tell Mordechai any of this.
Hell!
He didn’t know how he was going to make him believe it. All of this seemed so far-fetched. He could hardly believe it himself.
It felt so very wrong.
By confronting his father, there was a damn good chance that he’d get angry. In fact, that was what was likely going to happen.
Let’s face it.
Mordechai didn’t do disappointment well. When Jacques dropped this bomb, he was going to lose it.
Hopefully, no one got hurt.
That’s why he wanted to do this alone. Flynn would kill him. If Mordechai crossed a line, Rinnon would come out and put his father down like a rabid dog.
It was time.
He heard his father coming and knew it was his job to tell him what they had found out. He would let the cards fall where they may when it came to it. What more could he do?
When Mordechai walked into the room, carrying a bottle of red wine and a glass, he came to a stop.
Apparently, he knew something bad was coming.
“What happened?”
He could feel the tension coming from his son. Even though Jacques wasn’t his biological child, years of living with him had passed some of his own traits to the man. He could see the anger and temper simmering.
“Jacques, you look… disturbed.”
“Father, we need to talk,” he said, motioning to the couch. “What I have to tell you is going to be hard. All I’m asking is for you to listen to what I have to say. Once it’s out, we’ll rationally discuss it.”
Dangerous Sacrifice (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 6) Page 48