Riley found her mouth was dry. She swallowed. “This…Israfel. He was the one who made you?”
“He was my maker and my first vampire partner, yes.” Nicholas began to smooth out the bedcover again, almost compulsively swiping at the embroidered satin. He watched his fingers. “The tournament had been called to celebrate my betrothal to the King’s cousin, Mary. The feast was to take place that night.”
Riley said cautiously, “You loved her? Mary?”
“I was to meet her that night.” Nick’s eyes lifted to lock onto Riley’s. “I welcomed the marriage, Riley. I wanted it. I wanted the children.” His face spasmed in pain. Abruptly, he got to his feet and moved to the window. He leaned his fist against it. After a moment, he rested his forehead against it, too, as if the cool glass was soothing.
Riley slipped from the bed and threw on his robe and belted it. She came up beside him and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t speak.
After a moment, Nick pulled her around him and put his arm around her. “You wanted to see the human in me, Riley. That’s all that’s left of him—a pathetic scrap bundled up in pity.”
“Damian knew this, didn’t he?” she asked gently. “That’s why you both became involved in the raising of my mother.”
Nick sighed. “Except you’ve missed the one obvious connection.”
She looked up at him.
“Damian did have children before he was turned,” Nick said softly. “You and your family are indirect descendants of his.”
She could feel her eyes widening again. “You two are so closed-mouthed…” She sighed. “Were,” she amended.
“It’s a defense mechanism, honed from centuries of practice,” Nick said. “We rarely let anyone in.” He straightened up from the window, and pulled her against him even tighter. “I may still slip from time to time. I’m out of practice. Damian knew everything there was to know. I didn’t have to explain anymore.” He shuddered. “God, I miss him.”
Her eyes filled with hot tears. “Me, too.”
Chapter Eleven
The katana skidded away from her numbed hand. Riley tucked herself into a ball and rolled after it. She reached out for the hilt, but before she could curl her fingers around it, Nick’s hand snapped down over her wrist and yanked it away from the katana. She was rolled away.
Riley pulled her knees up to her chest and when she was flipped onto her back as she expected to be, she found Nick looming over her, his broadsword lifted up high, exposing his chest in order to give him the room he needed to stab.
She planted her feet on his chest and shoved. Hard.
He staggered backward, his sword arm flinging out sideways to give him balance. It was the opening she sought. She surged to her feet, and grabbed the katana with her left hand as she came up. Nick wouldn’t be expecting the sword in her left hand. He would be watching her right hand.
She pushed his flailing left hand aside with her empty right hand, stepped inside his guard, and brought the katana blade up under his chin. His head jerked up as he felt the touch of the blade. She warded off his sword arm with her left elbow. It was too late, anyway. Her blade was already against his throat.
He grew still, his eyes locked with hers. “You swapped hands.”
“I knew you would be watching my right.” She smiled. “Not going to pull my hair today, Nick?” she asked sweetly.
They were training in the same cleared-out area as before, with the sofas pulled back, and the training mat laid down on the floorboards, making a twenty-foot informal dojo.
Riley wore a Lycra camisole and yoga pants, both black, and Nick wore thin black sweat pants that sat low on his hips…and nothing else. The sight of his chest and shoulder muscles working as he wielded the heavy broadsword had at first been a distraction to her. She had learned the hard way not to let her gaze get caught by his rounding and flexing muscles and sinews. A smack on the ass or legs with the flat of his sword hurt. Nick meant business when he stepped onto the mat.
Now he considered her question about pulling her hair with the same sort of seriousness. It was almost impossible to tease him when he was in his teacher role. “You beat me fairly…and Damian didn’t see it this time.” He looked around the mat, as if visualizing her last sequence. “You’re ready.”
She nodded. “We tackle Lirgon tonight, then?”
He took a deep breath. “Tonight,” he repeated. “As long as you agree not to get yourself killed. Damian would never forgive me, wherever he is.”
“I’ll try to avoid it.”
“Then could you drop the blade from my throat, hmmm?”
She smiled. “I kinda like having you at my mercy.” She nudged the blade a little higher, forcing his head back. “It’s not often I get to have you dancing to my tune.”
“You just think you have me at your mercy,” he growled. His right arm moved, and she knew he was going to try to pull her down like he did once before, but she blocked the move by throwing out her elbow and pushing the blade in deeper. A fine line of blood showed on his throat and he hissed.
“I do have you under my control,” she told him.
“Yes,” he admitted. His fangs had descended, and his voice was hoarse.
He liked her having control.
For a man like Nick, who must keep control at all times, handing over that control in certain circumstances would be a thrilling thing. She realized with a start that she had caught a glimpse of the power structure of Nick’s relationship with Damian and how it might work with her.
Her body was pulsing with this unusual excitement. She kept the sword in place, reached up to grab a handful of Nick’s hair and kissed him, hard and rough. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, flicking it over his fangs.
He groaned. She felt his body shudder.
Riley hooked her foot behind his heel and yanked with all her strength. Nick went down hard, landing on his back on the matting. The impact pushed the air out of him with a gusty grunt and the floorboards shook.
She followed him down, dropping the sword and straddling his hips and squeezing with her thighs to keep him still. She pushed the broadsword out of his reach and pinned his wrists above his head, using her bodyweight to hold them down. “You just lost your advantage,” he told her.
“That’s what you think. Try to throw me off.”
He looked amused. “You and I both know I can lift a car with one hand. If I were a man, you might have the advantage of me, but even then, I’d outweigh you—”
She kissed him. In the two days since they had first made love, they had done nothing but fuck and train, and when Riley could not stay awake any longer, she slept while Nick held her. She would wake from erotic dreams, already aroused, to find him easing his cock into her, his hands running over her body and his voice in her ear as he told her the things he had planned to do to her while she slept.
Eating had become a sensual exercise, with Nick feeding her morsels between caresses and even in the shower they clung together. The only reason they wore clothing now was because for Riley it soaked up sweat, and it gave them both minor protection against scrapes and nicks from the swords if they grew careless. But Nick would not allow her to wear protective shielding. He did not want her to grow psychologically dependent upon it.
So she had kissed Nick a lot in the last two days, in all sorts of ways, and she loved all of them. She knew that running her tongue over his fangs drove him crazy with need and it had a side benefit: it provoked drops of the aphrodisiac that vampires produced when they bit humans. Nick had been almost embarrassed by this discovery, but Riley’s response to the aphrodisiac had left them both drained and replete, with the knowledge in each other’s eyes that they would do this again, and soon.
Riley had learned how to kiss Nick for maximum effect and she kissed him now with complete attention on giving pleasure. She ran the tip of her tongue over his lips and flirted with his own tongue, thrusting gently.
As she kissed him, she rubbed her breasts
against his chest. Her nipples caught fire and pebbled into hard nubs. Slowly, she spread her thighs and sank down onto his hips, until her pussy was making hard contact with his pelvis. She rocked gently, the soft tissues between her legs already hot and moist and throbbing. As she rocked, the thin, tight yoga pants she wore let her feel almost every sensation.
Nick’s cock was hardening, thickening beneath her.
“Now throw me off,” she told him, her lips brushing his. Her voice was heavy with arousal.
“You really want me at your mercy, hmmm?” His eyes were half-closed, the blue mere slits as he watched her.
“You like it,” she accused him.
“Only when it’s true.” He lifted himself up, bringing her with him, despite her weight on his wrists. He sat up, and Riley found herself in his lap, her hands behind her back, locked in his grip. He tapped her nose. “You’re far more dangerous with a katana in your hand. Remember that.”
“Bastard.”
“Not even close,” he assured her and kissed her. His free hand roamed over her body. He gripped the top of her camisole and ripped it apart, leaving her naked from the waist up. “Better,” he muttered. He fondled her breasts, tugging at her nipples. She gave a gasping cry, arching back, and he smiled. “I love making you squirm.”
“I do…not…squirm,” she gasped, as she wriggled on his lap.
He laughed. “You squirm like hooked bait, my lover. Let me demonstrate.”
Riley froze. “What did you call me?”
Nicholas shifted, releasing her hands, and she felt his bent knees press up behind her, giving her support. He studied her face, looking for clues. She could feel his wariness. Riley put her hand over his heart, trying to reassure him. “You called me ‘my lover’. Damian used to call me that.”
Nicholas took a breath. She could see both relief and the shadow of grief touch him that always did when Damian’s name was mentioned. He gave a crooked smile. “That’s where I got it from,” he confessed. “I can hear his voice in the words.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “So can I.” She cupped his face. “He called you that, too, didn’t he?”
Nick caught at her hand with his and kissed her palm. “Yes,” he breathed into her hand.
She slid her hand under his chin and tried to lift it, to make him look at her. Nick lifted his gaze up to meet her eyes. She attempted a smile. “Why did he make you take him to the roof, Nick? Why somewhere so exposed? Why not leave him somewhere more protected?”
Nick’s hand bent around hers, almost crushing it, as he stared at her. “The wind. He wanted the wind to scatter…him… Fuck.” He hung his head.
“Nick?” she asked softly.
“Do you know what I would give to be able to shed a tear, right now?” His voice was muffled. “I can’t even do that for him.” He lifted his head again. His eyes seemed very blue. “Humans get the benefit of funerals. Ceremony.” He grimaced. “I envy them, right now.”
“But the funeral is for everyone except the person who died,” Riley said. “You can do something for Damian that no human can do for the dead.”
“What?” Nick seemed genuine puzzled.
“You can remember him forever.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “I can remember you, too, Riley.” He seemed to be about to say more, but hesitated and shook his head. “You are a rare one, indeed.” He brushed her hair from her temple. “My lover.”
She smiled. “You’d better prove it when you use that name.”
His big hands settled on her waist, and his thumbs circled restlessly, just below her naked breasts. Her nipples hardened and her belly muscles quivered at his touch. Riley found herself trying to arch, but her back was blocked by Nick’s legs.
“I have you now,” Nick murmured, his eyes hooded and his voice thick with a sudden excitement. His hands tightened around her waist. “Wriggle all you want.”
“I told you, I don’t squirm.” She pushed at his hands and realized the movement was making her breasts jiggle right in front of his eyes. He was so strong, his hands might as well have been iron bands around her waist. She wasn’t going to move them as long as he wanted them there. She was a bug in pincers.
Nick smiled. “Caught, aren’t you?”
She pushed at his chest. “Not for a minute,” she denied hotly.
But her movements were making her pussy rub against his lap, and she could feel his cock lying against his hip, thick and erect. He was fully aroused, turned on by her helpless struggles in his hands.
A hot blanket of arousal washed over her. Liquid languor. Her pussy pulsed, squeezing out honeyed moisture. She lifted her hands to her breasts, cupped them, and stared into Nick’s eyes. “Fuck me, Nicholas. Take me now.”
His fangs descended, just a little. “You know I can’t resist a direct plea.”
She smiled. “I know.”
He lifted her, showing a hint of his incredible strength, and got to his knees. But instead of putting her on her feet as she expected, he flipped her and put her on her hands and knees. He stripped the yoga pants from her in one long sweeping motion, which left her naked on the floor.
His feet pushed her knees apart. He was standing over her. Riley began to tremble.
“You are so fragile,” he murmured. His fingers trailed along her spine, making her arch. “But so strong in ways that always surprise me.” His hand pushed between her ass cheeks, sliding the length of her cleft. “Hot,” he whispered as she gasped at the small invasion.
He moved away. She traced the sound of his feet on the mat. Small sounds. Nicholas could move silently when he wanted to, so she knew he was deliberately letting her hear him. Baiting her with small noises. He wanted her to try to look to see what he was doing.
She kept still. But her trembling increased. Anticipation worsened it.
She heard him return. “You’re a contrary woman, aren’t you?” There was laughter in his voice. He knew she had deliberately not looked.
“Surprise me,” she told him. Her voice was husky.
His fingers traced her mouth. “Open,” he said.
She opened her lips and they slipped inside. Unlike human fingers she could taste no salt. Nick didn’t sweat. He stroked her tongue and moistened his fingers. They withdrew, and closed around her right nipple, wetting it, elongating it with their pulling and stretching.
She drew in her breath, her clitoris throbbing in reaction to the teasing. In the airy apartment, the play of the air across her wet nipple made it harden and become even more sensitive. Nick pushed his fingers into her mouth again, sliding them across her tongue, dampening them. He toyed with her left nipple, rolling it around with his wet fingertips, soaking it.
She hissed, her breath ragged. Nick had barely touched her and already she could feel the beat and pull of a climax, low in her belly, starting to build.
The touch of the cold metal of the clamp made her moan and her hips thrust forward.
“Mmm, yes, squirm for me,” Nick coaxed as he tightened the clamp around her nipple. The chain swung as her hips jerked, sending a little jolt of pleasure-pain from her nipple to her clit and her pussy. She moaned again.
She didn’t care if she was squirming.
Nick fitted the other clamp to her hard, erect nipple. Now the chain between them was swinging in a free pendulum, creating constant little tugs on her nipples.
Riley groaned, her eyes closing. Her world narrowed down to the sensations caused by the nipple clamps and the swinging chain hanging from them. The silvery spears of delight that were transmitted back to her pussy and her swollen nub.
When the dildo touched her cleft, she almost screamed. She swallowed back her surprise. The thick tool brushed between her lips, gathering moisture and she pushed back against it. A moan escaped her. Nick was going to impale her with it and the idea made her giddy. Which one was it? The big, thick one? The slender one that would sit right inside her and drive her crazy? Where was he going to slide it in?
She could feel her pussy weeping with anticipation, even as her heart began a staccato rattle against her chest.
“Such a beautiful sight,” Nick said, pushing the dildo an inch or so into her pussy. His voice was distorted with lust.
Riley sucked in her breath, her fingers clawing at the mat. “More,” she croaked. It was the big dildo. She could feel her pussy lips clench around it, working to draw it in. She pressed backward, encouraging him to push it into her. She wanted it inside.
Nick pushed it an inch farther in, making her cry out in both elation and frustration. “More!” she demanded, working her hips, trying to drive it deeper.
He nudged it a little farther in.
She moaned in frustration, her head rolling backward. “I beg you, Nicholas…” She was panting, and it took two breaths to say the words.
“Music,” he said. The dildo slid smoothly into her, deep and hard and she arched, crying again as it came to rest against her womb, filling her completely. Nick’s hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back even farther, and his lips captured hers. “Your expression…I could come just watching your face, my lover, as I play with you.”
“Play more,” she pleaded hoarsely.
His eyes sparkled with delight. “Very well.”
He ran his hand down her back again, making her twitch, making the nipple chain dance. Her clit throbbed in reaction and her pussy clamped around the fat invader.
Cool liquid touched her nether lips. Lubricant. Fiery excitement washed over Riley. She knew what Nicholas intended. Her pussy gushed around the dildo and almost squeezed the tool out, so great was her delight.
“Hush,” Nick murmured, perhaps sensing her leap in pleasure. His fingers spread the gel, bumping into the base of the dildo, then up to her anus. They worked the lubricant into her ass, pushing it inside, spearing her.
Riley clawed at the mat with her fingernails, riding at the outer limits of her control. She was jittering apart with anticipation and excitement. Her breath was ragged and barely serving her.
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