I didn’t know what would happen if he were waiting.
Chapter Eight
I took the longest shower possible. I scrubbed, shaved and lathered my body twice. I wanted to give Mathias plenty of time to wrap his head around this whole idea. I knew he was afraid he would kill me. The guy hadn’t slept or fed in months. Obviously there was a risk that he would lose control. I was perfectly aware of this, but I also believed deep in my heart that would never happen.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
Finally, I shut off the water and stepped out. After rubbing moisturizer all over myself, I threw on my black yoga pants and red tank top. I was almost to the door when I paused for a moment to take a deep breath and say a quick prayer to whoever may be listening.
I walked into my room to find it empty.
My heart plummeted to my knees. I started almost to hyperventilate. I couldn’t believe that he would just walk away from me after our conversation. Didn’t he realize how dangerous he was right now? Whether he wanted to admit it or not he needed me.
I flung myself across my bed and stared up at the ceiling. When I heard the pitter pat of canine feet coming down the stairs, I was almost angry. I didn’t want my dog’s companionship right now. I wanted Mathias.
“I like the red shirt.” Mathias said. “The blood dripping from your neck when I tear into it won’t show up so much on it as a white shirt.”
My heart stopped, and I slowly sat up. Mathias was lounging in the doorway to my room. His arms crossed and his smirk almost sinister.
“That’s the look I was going for.” I answered. “I wanted a shirt to hide the bloodstains.”
He stood there silently. I realized I was going to have to make the first move. I tried to walk as calmly as possible but, of course, that fantasy was shot to hell when Cupcake decided to jump on me. I fell straight to the floor while my hundred and sixty pound dog licked my cheek.
“It’s just impossible for me to even be graceful with you around furball.” I patted his head and got up off the floor. Mathias’s grin had turned into a small smile. He still hadn’t moved one inch though.
“You know a real gentlemen vampire would have rushed in and saved me from my fall.”
“True,” he agreed. “But it wouldn’t have been quite so amusing.”
“Did you have to bring the dogs down?” I asked. “I don’t want to traumatize them.”
“They are here to protect you,” he said. “I’ve already spoken to them.”
“You’ll have to teach me that language.” I smiled as I leaned in closer. “Is it available on that Rosetta stone thing?”
I almost had him relaxed enough but when his eyes glanced at my throat, he started walking away.
“I can’t.” he said. “I can’t do it Willa.”
I had already planned for this while I was in the shower. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
As soon as I chanted the spell to unmask my scent his head whipped around. Mathias’s nostrils flared, and his eyes were blazing like bright red rubies. I didn’t even have time to be afraid of him because it took him about a split second to dash over to where I was standing.
He grabbed me into his arms and lifted me up against the wall. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist just as he plunged his teeth into my neck. The last time he fed on me it had been slow and seductive. This time was primal and painful. Before I had felt a slow fire build up inside of me. There was no slow burn from his bite right now; this was instantaneous. I wanted him even though I knew that this wasn’t Mathias right now. For some reason that made it all the more thrilling.
For four months, I had daydreamed about this moment. In the darkness of my room, I had run thousands of scenarios in my head. Dark and forbidden fantasies of him drinking from my neck had kept me lying awake many nights. I was lost in my emotions as I clutched my arms around his neck.
The more he drank, the more I found myself swirling in a world of desire. I moaned loudly as he thrust his manhood near my sex. I had to force myself to slow my breathing. I was on the verge of passing out. All these sensations were too much. It was then I started hearing a buzzing in my ears. I tried to ignore it and focus on the bulge that was protruding from below Mathias’s waist but when my head started to feel tight, I realized I couldn’t let this go on any longer.
He was literally sucking the life from me.
“Mathias.” I whispered. “Mathias, you have to stop.”
The only reply I got was a growl that reverberated from deep inside of him. The animal had taken over.
“Mathias, please.” I begged. “Please stop.”
Again the only answer was a growl and a hand shoving painfully into my hair. I almost thought he was going to snap my neck in two when he pulled it even further to the side.
“Mathias.” I whimpered. “You’re killing me.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt him let up slightly, but that was short-lived as he went back to work tearing into my throat with even more ferociousness than before. My body started to tingle, and I knew that the end was near if I didn’t put a stop to this soon.
Summoning the elements took longer than usual because I was so weak but when I finally felt them gather around me I quickly took action. My freaky flames appeared in my hand, but I hesitated. How could I ever think that I could hurt him? I would rather die.
I let them go with a sigh. I had to get through to him. There has to be a way. A way I could do this without causing him irrevocable damage.
It was then I heard growling, and I realized it wasn’t from Mathias. The growling was from Cupcake and Oscar. They were both staring attentively at us. I caught their eye and saw to my disbelief that they had seen this as some signal. They both came at Mathias together. The sounds of their howling and snarling gave me goose bumps. Each dog had taken a leg and was pulling on Mathias’s pants.
I was more worried about the dogs. Mathias wasn’t some weak human. He was a very strong vampire, and two dogs weren’t going to faze him.
Or so I thought.
Mathias tore his mouth from neck and looked down at Oscar. The dog was staring at him with such intensity. That look from Oscar almost took my last few breaths away. Cupcake had immediately positioned himself in front of me and was foaming at the mouth.
I knew the second Mathias went back to normal. He nodded to Oscar and turned to me. His eyes were wide as he took in the pallor of my skin and shallow breathing. He leaned down and spoke softly to Cupcake before gathering me into his arms and laying me on the bed gently.
“Willa?” he asked. “Please tell me you’re all right?”
“I don’t feel good.” I replied weakly
“Shit,” he cursed. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
“Don’t worry.” I replied weakly
He sprinted from the room, but I could barely see his retreating form. Everything was spinning, and I felt like I was going to throw up. There was a small part of me that was shouting to stay awake, but I wanted to ignore it so bad. I wanted to shut my eyes and give into the welcoming darkness.
I have no idea how long it took him. It might have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes. When he did sit down next to me, I smiled at him weakly.
“Willa, stay with me,” he ordered. “Drink this.”
“Eat me, drink me.” I giggled, “Down the rabbit hole like Alice.”
“Willa, drink,” he ordered
He sat me up, and I parted my lips. When the first taste of the liquid hit my tongue, my body reacted with pleasure. I had no idea what this magnificent cocktail was, but it was the most incredible thing I had ever consumed in my life.
Slowly my body began to return to normal. The dizziness and weakness that had almost overtaken me stopped. My stomach returned to normal, and I honestly had never felt better than I did at this moment.
“What the heck is this stuff?” I asked in wonderment
“Fairy nectar,” he replied as he se
t the glass down on my bedside table. “The nectar of the God’s or so they say.”
“Wow.” I replied. “We need to sell that. We could retire in about a month from the profits.”
“Unfortunately only people with magic in their blood can drink it,” he said
I sat back against the headboard and enjoyed the nectar that was running through my veins. Words couldn’t even describe the after effects of this stuff.
“Why didn’t you use your fire?” he asked. “You promised me.”
“I tried.” I admitted. “I really did. But I couldn’t. The thought of hurting you was…”
“You would rather die?” he asked. “That’s stupid and foolish.”
“Perhaps it was. I’m sorry Mathias; I couldn’t do it.” I answered
He sighed before leaning over to pet Oscar and Cupcake, who had jumped right up beside me. I heard him say, ‘Good boy’ and ‘Fantastic job’ to them before returning his attention to me.
“I’m going to go upstairs and get you some food,” he stated
“All right,” I answered. When he left my cell phone rang. I glanced at the number and saw that it was Polly. We chatted for a few minutes. She had met up with Julia in town, and they were going to do dinner and a movie. She invited me, but I refused politely which, of course, aroused her suspicions. After promising her a full report in the morning, I hung up right when Mathias came back with a tray of food.
“I never know whether to be offended or deliriously happy at the amount of food you are always trying to shove at me.”
“You need to drink some orange juice and have some vegetables. I also brought a few different kinds of cookies I found on the counter.”
“My recent experiments,” I answered. “Key lime shortbread and my own homemade version of Fig Newtons.”
“What the hell are Fig Newtons?”
“Seriously?” I asked. “You’ve never had a delicious fig cookie?”
Mathias went silent. I could almost hear his thoughts before he spoke them. “Unmasking your scent was extremely dangerous.”
“I know but it was the only thing I could think of to do so I could get a reaction. I knew you weren’t going to feed on me unless I provoked you in some way.”
We both sat lost in our thoughts for a few minutes. Mathias stared off into a corner, and I ate while watching him. It was almost like old times.
“I’m tired Willa,” he announced after he took my tray upstairs. I looked up in surprise. For Mathias to admit having, a weakness was almost scary.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I tried the night I got back,” he said wryly. “When we were outside the hospital? You wanted no part of having any conversation with me.”
“All you had to do was say; ‘I haven’t slept in six months or fed in four, can you help a brother out’? And I would’ve dropped everything right then and there.”
“I don’t want to argue,” he said wearily
“Are you feeling all right?” I asked, touching my hand to his forehead. When he took it and looked into my eyes every part of my body began to tingle again. One touch from him was all it took to make my head spin.
“Bed?” he asked in a low husky voice
I just nodded in agreement. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and when I came out my mouth went dry. Mathias was completely naked under the sheets. I knew this because I could see that his clothes thrown over a chair by the bed. I tried to be as nonchalant about this as possible. After all, we were just going to sleep. The poor guy had been awake for six months.
Holy fuck there was no way I was going to be able to do this.
“Are you coming to bed?” he asked amused
“Yes.” I answered flippantly. I drew back the covers on my side and lay as stiff as a stone. When I heard his low chuckle, I threw out my arm and hit his shoulder.
“Shut up.” I said, smiling despite my sudden embarrassment. I turned on my side to face him. His eyes were dancing with laughter. After a few minutes though, I felt my eyes grow heavy, and the last thing I remember seeing was Mathias looking at me almost tenderly.
When I woke up the next morning, I felt something caressing my hip. For a second, I thought Cupcake had pushed himself against me, and he was having one of his chasing the squirrel dreams. I almost drifted back to sleep until I realized those caresses were way too light to be coming from my hundred and sixty pound pup. When I felt a hand make their way from my hip to across my buttocks my breath caught in my throat.
“I know you’re awake.” Mathias said softly in my ear
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned over. The first and only time we had slept together I had woken him up, and he tried to kill me. Was this the predator or Mathias?
I slowly rolled over and was relieved to see his beautiful eyes staring back at me without a hint of red.
“I woke up first and I didn’t want to kill you,” he said
“Thank God for small miracles.” I answered breathlessly
His only reply was to lean down and place a tender kiss on my lips. I was taken aback. Our first and only kiss had occurred months ago in Vermont just before we stepped through the portal to the Isle. That kiss had been almost punishing and passionate, nothing like the tenderness he was showing now. Slowly he explored my mouth with his lips, gentle at first, then a little more firmly. When he slipped his tongue into my mouth almost hesitantly my first thought was ‘Oh crap, please do not let me have morning breath’. All those insecurities flew out the window when he started swirling his tongue with mine.
For a few minutes, I was lost in his sweet exploration. Over and over, he plunged into my mouth until I was weak with pleasure. I let out a little protest when he tore his lips from mine for a second only to cry out a moan when he shifted his body onto mine. He tore the sheets off the bed, and I could see his magnificent naked body covering mine.
I traced the contours of his shoulders all the way down to his back with my hands. I reveled in the fact that I could touch him like this. When he took my hands and threw them over my head, I looked into his eyes and was rewarded with a searing glance of intensity. He grasped the ends of my shirt and quickly disposed of it across the room.
When he first started to knead my breasts, I let out a moan of appreciation. He had fondled them gently before he bent his head to take my nipple into his mouth. I felt the graze of his teeth and almost had an orgasm right there and then. I raised my hips against his hardness that was protruding into my thin pants.
But he kept teasing me for several minutes until finally he gradually pulled my pants down inch by inch until there were no barriers between us anymore. His hand came back up my leg and stopped near the junction of my thighs. He stroked my hips and my inner thighs until finally his fingers grazed the entrance to my sex.
He parted the folds and slipped his finger teasingly into me. I let out a quiet sigh. I felt like I had waited for him my whole life. I impatiently ground my hips up off the bed. I wanted more, and I needed more. When he finally thrust his finger up inside me, I came instantly. I cried out in satisfaction as I clutched his shoulders.
The orgasmic daze finally cleared around me, and I looked up to see his face that was set in a satisfied grin. I smashed my lips to his, and we were once again locked into a passionate kiss. I felt his fangs come down inside his mouth and thrust my fingers in his hair. Turning my head to the side, I forced him to my neck to drink.
He hesitated at first but when my hand travelled down to his manhood and stroked him he quickly changed his mind. I stroked, and he sucked. I felt his penis grow larger and larger in my hand. Finally, he lifted his head, and I licked the small smear of my blood on his lips. I continued to lick and kiss my way from his lips to his neck.
He let out a small sound of approval but when I bit his neck he growled. I didn’t even think. I just started sucking at the small wound I made in his neck. He folded my legs around him, and I tore my lips from his neck back to his mo
uth. I was wet and eager with anticipation. I wanted him inside me more than anything in this entire world. I wanted him finally to make me his.
I wanted him to claim me as his mate.
At first I didn’t even register the fact the phone was ringing. I honestly thought my ears were buzzing from the lack of air that I couldn’t seem to suck into my lungs fast enough.
When the phone started buzzing a second time we both stiffened and cursed again. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly. “Don’t even think about it Guardian Worthing.”
Mathias sighed and dropped his head against my neck. “I have too. Fuck me.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.” I replied
He chuckled and untangled himself from my body. “That’s not a very ladylike thing to say.”
“Do you see a lady here?” I asked smartly
Mathias smiled and grabbed his phone. “This had better be good,” he snarled
I shimmied my way over to him and lightly kissed him across his back and shoulders. He was listening so closely to whoever was on the line that I decided something else was in order. I slinked to the floor and before he could protest I took his length into my mouth and started swirling my tongue before continuing to suck vigorously.
His breath came out in a hiss. He grabbed my hair and yanked me back. When he shook his head, I pouted while I waited for him to finish his call.
“Willa…” he started to say
“I don’t care. I don’t care if the Rau are invading right now, ok?” I interrupted
“Milton found the paintings,” he announced
If there was anything that Mathias could have said at that moment to bring me out of my lustful state, it was that.
“Where are they?” I asked as I jumped up and clutched the sheet to my naked body.
“He uncovered a clue in the diary I found.” Mathias said as he walked away from me into the bathroom
I stood there stupefied. I must not have heard him correctly. If there was a diary concerning any clues as to the paintings surely, I would have known about its existence.
The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* Page 44