by Kate Wendley
She ran her hands under his shirt and he sucked in another breath. His eyes were hooded but his body was tense. When she started to inch her way up his bare, rock hard stomach, he grabbed her wrists and looked her straight in the eyes. “Jade, are you ok?”
She purred, “I’m fine. I’m great actually.”
He gave her a suspicious look, though his eyes were golden. He was excited. “You’re sure? You don’t seem like yourself.”
She weakly tried to pull free from his grip, but he only held her more tightly, which oddly turned her on to feel like she was trapped by him. Usually it scared her. She smiled into his eyes, then calmed some as she leaned into him and nipped at his jawline.
“I want more, Sebastian. I want to touch you all over, kiss you all over. I want to taste you. Don’t you want that?”
He trembled and started to release his grip on her, then squeezed more tightly again. He didn’t push her away, though. Instead he sighed as he arched his neck to urge on her kisses.
He said with more than a little distraction in his voice, “Yes, Jade. I want that. But only if this is what you really want.”
She went to her tip toes and whispered in his ear, “I drank more powerful blood.”
He jerked back from her. “What? When? Who?”
Her body felt totally alive as she practically writhed in his grasp. “Last night after you left. Zach brought me to someone’s place.”
His tension eased, but he still looked uncertain. “Why?”
He let her edge closer until she could lay her head on his shoulder. “For you.”
“For me?” He was immediately tense again.
“And for me. I want to be stronger. I’m tired of not being able to shift without pain. I don’t want to be so delicate anymore.”
He studied her face for a frantic moment before he abruptly released her hands and kissed her. The feeling of his dominance came on with a vengeance, and she had a brief moment where she wondered if she was in over her head. His hands found their way all over her body and quickly wiped that thought from her mind.
He trembled and sounded desperate when he breathed out, “I want to mark you as mine.”
Her heart did a flip flop, but her body tensed. He wanted to bite her hard enough to leave a mark, hard enough to draw blood. That was something animals liked to do, but her heart loved that he even wanted to make his claim. Or maybe it was her cat that liked that…
She snuck her hands under his shirt again and he quickly flung it off. He stood bare chested in front of her now, looking like he was ready to throw her down and have his way with her.
Her eyes went wide at how ungodly gorgeous he was. She far off heard herself say, “Ok,” as she took in every muscle, every contour of his chiseled body, on down to the dark blonde hairs that led to the low waist of his jeans.
He took her by the arms and walked her backwards, then pinned against her pantry door. His hard body pressed against hers as he passionately kissed her and hungrily nibbled his way to her neck. She whimpered at his demanding intensity while he so effortlessly kept her trapped. She wasn’t sure if the realization that she really was just a toy to him made her scared… or excited. He wanted her bad. His frantic whimpers and rock hard erection pulsed against her and made her completely crazy for him. This was the incredible passion she desperately wanted more of. She wanted to finally feel alive.
She tried to shut her brain off and just give herself up to the moment, and soon found her hands pulling him closer, her own body writhing against his. He groaned out loud when she nipped at him, his mouth instantly on her neck again. She realized he was going to mark her right here and now and spent exactly one second worrying about how much it would hurt. He broke the skin with his bite and she cried out, then immediately bit down hard on his neck, too, but not hard enough to draw blood.
He whimpered and became even more frantic while he suckled the bite, and after the initial shock, it mostly felt like he was just passionately nibbling on her. She writhed in need while he rocked urgently against her, his erection pressed firmly in just the right spot. He whimpered and trembled in growing desperation until his body tensed. His gasps sounded strong and satisfied as he came, and his raw masculinity made her feel even more frantic for him.
He panted as he slowly pulled back and braced his hands on the cupboard on either side of her head. His blazingly bright eyes pierced her and his alpha energy was still intense all around her.
After only a few short moments, his hands dropped to her shoulders before he quickly began taking her outer shirt off. “I’m not done with you.”
She whimpered at his commanding tone, feeling like she was drunk. She tucked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans and said, “Ok. Should we go in the bedroom?”
The intensity in his gaze nearly froze her in place when he firmly said, “Anywhere you want.”
She trembled in anticipation, then bravely led him to the one room he hadn’t been in yet. Thoughts crossed her mind of him taking things too far if she relaxed and let her guard down, but his hands were on her before she had time to think too hard about it.
He wrapped himself around her and huskily said, “I know there’s no sex. Anything else? What are my boundaries, Jade? Can I touch you? Can I undress you?”
Her heart unclenched. He was so much better than her fantasies of him ever were. His hands roamed her body but he stayed put, standing at the foot of her bed being more of a gentleman than anyone she’d ever dated. He was a contradiction in so many ways.
She nudged him to lie down, his dominant energy and intense gaze making her feel like she was a mouse directing a hungry cat to do as it was told. But he did do as he was told, and the fact that she knew he was playing with her turned her on even more.
She undressed as he watched, and he looked ready to pounce at any second. She slunk up the bed, over his incredibly chiseled body, and decided she wanted him naked, too. She reached for the button of his pants and his trembling hands urged her on.
She said, “No sex yet, ok?”
He nodded with anxious eyes. “Ok.”
She unbuttoned him, in awe that he was already hard again. He helped her finish taking his clothes off before they went wild for each other. He was just as anxious as she was, but restrained himself like he always did with her. She loved the feel of his warm, masculine body pressed up against her naked skin, and her heart felt good that he was also being careful with his incredibly hard erection.
It wasn’t long before he flipped her over and began touching her everywhere. His attention was intense on every part of her body as he ran his hands over her, and God he looked sexy naked.
He leaned over and trailed kisses down her neck as his hand trailed up her thigh, up her stomach, then up to cup her breast. His hips rocked against her the whole time.
His voice was husky when he said, “What level blood did you have?”
She writhed at the feel of his erection pressing against her. Her entire body felt electric as she dazedly said, “I don’t know.”
“Who did you feed from?”
“Liam.”
He moaned as his kisses trailed down to her breast and he began running his tongue around her nipple. He finally gasped out, “Three. I think he’s level three.”
“Mmm hmm. Is that good?”
“Yeah, God yeah. Tell me what it was like.” His hand massaged her breast as he lightly suckled her nipple. She couldn’t help a needy cry as her own hips rocked in time with his.
She somehow managed to tell him, “It was hot and coppery tasting. It came out fast from his wrist. I drank a lot of it.”
He gasped in frenzied desperation, his hips rocking harder at her words. She felt wetness on her stomach before he moved further down her body. He nudged her legs apart and she cried out when he anxiously tasted her. He was purposeful in his movements, but gentle with his touch. He teased her with his finger, then looked up at her, a question in his eyes.
She whimpered i
n desire as she nodded. He slowly slid his finger inside her while he held her gaze. “Tell me if you want me to stop, beautiful.”
She anxiously rocked her hips while he went back to tasting her with his warm, so warm tongue. His finger slid easily in and out of her body in time with his licks, and then she felt two fingers. She lost her breath at first, then moaned at the feel of it. He slid them in and out, slowly, so slowly, even as she became frantic for him. Her hips rocked more desperately, but he wouldn’t speed up.
“Faster, Sebastian. Please.”
He kept his eyes locked on hers as he maddeningly kept up his slow pace. She wanted to scream, beg, cry, anything to make him give her more. Instead she frantically whimpered, the pressure inside her becoming too much… she needed more… faster… please…
She gasped out loud as she had the most intense orgasm of her life. She clenched her thighs around Sebastian’s rock hard body as tremors swept through her, over and over again, with Sebastian’s eyes locked on hers the entire time.
Once she finally started calming down, she realized Sebastian’s eyes were still glowing. Her body trembled from what he’d just done to her, but she wanted to make him feel as good as he’d made her feel. “Come here.”
He dutifully did as he was told, his intense alpha energy still permeating the air around them. She traded spots with him and slid down his incredibly gorgeous body. When her eyes trailed back up to his face, the need she saw in him made feelings of possessiveness rip through her. He was hers.
She kissed and touched him all over before finally wrapping her mouth around the silky smoothness of his erection. He trembled and gasped as she took him in and out, slowly becoming more and more frantic for him as his rocking hips picked up speed.
He fisted his hands in her hair and it didn’t take him long before he huskily grunted, “I’m going to come. Now.” He nudged her back but she’d already decided what she wanted, so when his body tensed and bucked beneath her, she swallowed him down.
She felt pretty satisfied with herself when he finally came down from his high and was trembling just like she was. He finally looked spent, so she crawled back up his body and snuggled in his arms.
But when her cat curled up and when to sleep inside her, she started feeling self-conscious. What they’d just done, well, that wasn’t like her to be so frantic. Did Liam’s more powerful blood do that to her? Was it taking over her personality and making her into someone she wasn’t?
She felt guilty thinking those things because Sebastian seemed so happy. He was calm and relaxed, a rarity for him. She liked him like that, even though she felt like she’d done something wrong. Luckily it was getting late so she had an excuse to ask him to leave since she had work tomorrow. She needed time to think about things without him here.
Once he left, she got more and more frantic about what just happened. He marked her. He marked her. Why had she let him mark her? She’d have a gaping wound for everyone to see now. What would people think of her for letting someone bite her? For letting Sebastian bite her? Humans didn’t bite each other, only animals did that. Did she really want people to know she had a brute, violent animal for a boyfriend?
Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she wondered what she’d let herself become. She was so far gone from what she used to be it wasn’t even funny. She used to be a woman who sometimes had a rough night shifting into a stupid cat, and then everything was fine again. Now… now she was becoming something she’d always hated, and she was letting other people push her into it.
Chapter 22
Sebastian left Jade’s in a daze. She’d finally let down her guard and trusted him, and it felt really good. Now if only Anthony wasn’t still pissed…
He checked in with Oskar, and things were still under control in the restaurant, so they went over some inventory numbers and staff scheduling as they sat together at the bar.
He tensed when Anthony breezed by with Kaia down the vampire hall. He didn’t so much as give Sebastian a passing glance as he walked by, and it brought his mood down again. He wished he knew how to fix things with him.
About half an hour later, Anthony came back up by himself. Sebastian’s stomach dropped when he realized he was headed straight for him. He stood up and braced for the worst.
Anthony locked eyes on him, then stopped and held out his hand. What the hell?
“I love her, Sebastian.”
He guiltily said, “I know.”
“You scared me.”
He floundered his words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know.”
Anthony held his gaze. “I believe you. Water under the bridge?”
He practically lunged at Anthony’s hand and gave it a hard shake. “Yeah, yeah. Water under the bridge.” He had no idea why he’d changed his mind, and didn’t care. He just wanted this torture over with.
Anthony clapped him on the shoulder and Sebastian finally relaxed, at least a little.
“All right. I need to get some work done. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Of course.”
Anthony briefly looked around the club. “If you see Echo, will you tell her I need to speak with her tonight? Can you get someone to put a note on her door?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll get ahold of her somehow.”
“Thank you.”
**
Sebastian pulled up the vampire apartment list and figured out which room was Echo’s. She didn’t seem to be home, so he left a note, but watched the time, too. If she didn’t appear by two in the morning he’d try to track down her phone number. In the meantime, he kept his eye on Zach as he flirted with a wolf in the club. Once the woman left for the night, Sebastian joined him.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Zach put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, looking like the cat that ate the canary.
Sebastian bluntly said, “Why didn’t you tell me you brought Jade to drink Liam’s blood?”
Zach stilled, the cheesy smile quickly fading. “She wanted to tell you herself. She asked that I keep it private.”
Sebastian nodded, but was still a little ticked that he kept this from him. “Liam’s a mid level three. Jade was a low level one.”
Zach’s jaw moved while he watched him. “She wanted to be stronger… and she’s your girlfriend. She needs to be a lot stronger. Besides, I’ve been nagging her forever to be in the exchange. She gets hurt too often during her shift. Having her come to me was a win win for everyone.”
“But you tricked her.”
Zach shrugged nonchalantly, though he kept his eyes firmly on Sebastian. “Not really. She didn’t say how strong she wanted to be, she just said stronger. I used my judgment.”
Sebastian punched him lightly in the shoulder and tried to stifle a smile. “Well thanks. It’s, uh, good. Real good.”
Zach’s eyes lit up and his tension eased. “You’re welcome.”
“So anything up with, you know, what Torin said?”
They both looked around, but there wasn’t anyone close by that could overhear them. “Nope. Just George here that one night. What’s up with you and Torin, anyway?”
He grumbled, “I don’t know. He says he wants a truce, but it’s not that easy to just forgive and forget, you know? Besides, he could just be fucking with me.”
Zach nodded. “He could be. He could also be finally manning up.”
Sebastian muttered, “Yeah, maybe.” He looked around at nothing, then asked, “What do you think? Do you trust him?”
Zach took his time answering. “I think he’s never been devious. When he didn’t like you, he made it obvious. When he’s horny and wants Suzanne to give him some, it’s obvious. When he wants to party with his buddies, he’s obvious. He’s pretty straightforward, even when he’s being a dick.”
Sebastian curled his lip at that. It was all true, but it only made things even more confusing in his head. He’d always wanted Torin to accept him, and now that he did, he didn’t
trust him enough to enjoy it.
Zach quietly said, “Give it some time, man.”
“How’s he been towards you? Any different?”
Zach casually shrugged. “I haven’t had anything to do with him since you two had it out.”
Sebastian nodded and they sat in silence until Zach’s phone chirped, his attention now riveted to the glowing screen.
**
There was a knock on his office door just after three in the morning. Anthony welcomed the break from work. “You may enter.”
The door opened slowly, and Echo didn’t move from the entrance. She was a beautiful vampire with long, dark blondish hair and innocent looking features. She had an eternally youthful face with a dusting of freckles that made her seem all the more naïve. She was also a very meek vampire. Not exactly skittish, but extremely modest.
“Good evening Echo, or rather, good morning. Thank you for coming. I hope I didn’t interrupt your night.” He gestured for her to come in, and she gestured to the door.
“Please close it.”
“Yes Master.”
He motioned for her to sit, then waited while she got comfortable. She was a vampire like many here that always seemed formal and reserved, so getting comfortable for her usually only meant that she wasn’t nervous.
She seemed calm tonight. That was good. Her unique power worked best when she felt safe and at peace, but that wasn’t why he’d asked her here. They were friends once upon a time, forever ago it seemed, and he still felt comfortable asking her questions that he wasn’t comfortable asking anyone else.
“I may only need a few minutes of your time this morning. Thank you for coming.”
She gave him a warm smile. “I’m always available when you need me, Master. It’s no trouble.” She blinked at him, frowning for a moment, her expression going neutral soon after.
“Do you know why I’ve asked you here?”
Echo was something of a psychic, but her power sometimes worked in strange ways and didn’t always give him the answers he sought, or at least not in a way he could understand.
She frowned. “All I see is blood, Master.”