Blood Hunt (Codex Blair Book 2)

by Izzy Shows

  I felt my face flame. “Shut up,” I grumbled, ducking my head down so that he couldn’t see.

  “Oh no, I am more than happy to be the person to teach you to dance. There’s no shame here, Blair.”

  “Says you.”

  “Yes, says me, the person you’re dancing with.”

  The music picked up, the beat almost tribal in its insistence that we move faster. I looked back up at him, a question in my eyes. I didn’t know how to respond to the music.

  “Trust me,” he said, winking at me.

  He span me around, his hand at my stomach pressing me back so that his chest was pressed against me. I fought back the gasp that was almost torn from my throat, dragging in air instead. It was as if the universe had narrowed down to the two of us, I couldn’t hear the rest of the room over the music and the pounding in my ears. Again, his hips guided me, pressing against me in a suggestive pattern, heat pooling inside of me to answer his call.

  I felt his lips brush against my hair, his thumb moved to stroke my stomach, and I tilted my head back, eyes closing as I soaked up the feelings he elicited. It was dangerous, but I didn’t want to stop him, didn’t want to pull away and put the space between us that I knew was necessary. Because he was changing the energy inside of me, turning its attention away from a fight and to something else that was possibly even more dangerous to me.

  “Blair,” he murmured against my hair. Just that, just my name, and the air rushed out of me. I dragged in a ragged breath, desperate for oxygen, yet it did nothing to cool the burning in my skin. “Why did you invite me here?” His other hand came up to stroke against the skin of my arm. “You and I both know you aren’t looking for anyone right now. Or if you are than I’m not doing my job.” He pressed a kiss against my hair, and I was acutely aware of how close he was to my ear, his words whispered to me and me alone.

  “I…” I started to respond to him but I couldn’t find any words. What was I going to say? I couldn’t remember now, and I couldn’t figure out why it was so important that I answer him. Not when he was burning a path up my arm, stoking a fire in my gut. There were no words that could possibly be an appropriate response. “Shawn, I can’t,” I finally gasped out, finding the words that the logical side of my brain was screaming at me.

  Why couldn’t it be quiet for just a minute?

  His hands abandoned me and he straightened just a bit, leaving only his hips to guide me in the dance, and I knew that he would have stepped away from me if only there had been enough space. I felt cold in the places where his hands had been, I wanted to scream for him to come back, and before I knew it I had reached behind me to grab his hand. “No,” I said, aware that my voice was rasping. “Don’t stop.”

  “I’m starting to think you’re giving me mixed signals,” he laughed as he grasped me again. His lips pressed against my shoulder, teased their way towards my throat, and I rolled my head to the side to give him more access. He was right, but it was his own fault for trying to make me answer him. “Blair, if you want me to stop, I need you to tell me, and mean it.” His voice was firm, brooked no argument, and I knew that he was asking me in earnest now. The answer I would give him would determine his behaviour for the rest of the night, and I didn’t want to make that decision just yet. Because I knew what my answer had to be, I knew that I had to pull away from him, and the idea of doing that right now was absolute hell.

  The beat of the music slowed and so did his hips, and it was so obvious that this was the moment to pull away from him. This was the universe giving me an out, telling me to walk away.

  The universe could shove it.

  “Touch me,” I whispered, twisting slightly so that he had better access to me. I could fall down this hole and enjoy it for the moment.

  He obliged, pressing hot kisses against my neck as he eased his way up. I thought I’d been pressed against him before, but now he pulled me closer, and I gasped in surprise as I felt the evidence of his arousal pressed against my hip. His teeth claimed my earlobe and I was vaguely aware that he was weaving us through the crowd to the other side of the room, a dark corner that was suddenly so inviting. “You have but to command me, my lady, and I will obey,” he whispered against my ear, sucking at the lobe. I moaned, arching my back against him. We reached the corner and he spun me around, pressing my back against the cold wall. It offered no relief to the fire burning inside of me.

  “Kiss me,” I said, locking eyes with him so that he could see how much I wanted this, see how much I wanted him.

  “Yes, Miss.” He grinned, lifting a hand to caress my cheek, his lips claiming mine. I felt the savage victory coursing through him, and opened my mouth to him to meet his hunger. His tongue thrust inside, my own answering his. It only stoked the fire inside of me, and I knew that I needed more. Wanted more, would never be satisfied without more of him.

  He tore his mouth away from me, panting as if he had just run a marathon. “Blair.”

  Who knew the sound of my name on his lips could be so sexy?

  “Shawn,” I said, grinning at him.

  “You feel like getting out of here?”

  My eyes widened at the invitation, now offered to me to make another decision, and I jerked my head up and down in an unsteady nod.

  “Yes.” I needed him, and I couldn’t see the point in denying that tonight.

  24

  The car ride to his flat was silent and tension filled. It did nothing to abate the need within me, if anything sitting beside him without being able to touch him only made it worse. It felt like it took an eternity to get there, but it was a fast trip—Shawn was as eager to get there as I was. We jumped out of the car at the same time, our eyes briefly meeting over the hood of the car, and I was thrilled to see the hunger in his eyes.

  “Last chance,” he said, grinning at me—he knew I wasn’t going to change my mind.

  I shook my head.

  I followed him to his door, aware that my heart was beating too fast, the energy coursing through me was heady and addictive. He paused at the door to unlock it and I leapt at the opportunity to touch him, wrapping my arms around him from the back, flattening my breasts there and nipping at the exposed skin of his throat. I grinned triumphantly at the small groan that escaped him and the sound of him fumbling with his keys.

  “What’s the matter? Distracted?” I asked innocently, scraping my teeth against his skin again.

  “You’re playing a dangerous game, Blair. If you don’t let me get us inside this house, I can’t promise to behave like a gentleman out here.” He was panting with the effort it took to speak, and I thrilled at the effect I had on him. If he could torture me, I could torture him.

  “Maybe I don’t want a gentleman,” I said, my voice little more than a husky whisper, though I took a step back so that he could open the lock without any interference.

  He inhaled sharply, throwing open the door. He whipped around to grab me by the waist, hauling me inside and slamming it shut behind him. I found myself with my back pressed against yet another wall.

  He had paused for a moment, just looking at me, and I drank in the sight of him. His eyes were hooded, darkened, and I could see the lust there. He approached slowly, and I was reminded of a predator then, stalking his prey; I felt my heart kick into hyper drive, my mouth went dry, and I knew my hands trembled with apprehension. I wanted to taste him again, wanted to feel his body pressing against me.

  Neither of us spoke a word, but it was as if he could read my mind. He was there a moment later, strong, muscled thighs caging my own, grasping my face with his hands so that he could control the kiss that came right when I needed it. I gasped in pleasure and his tongue invaded me as soon as it was given access, sweeping inside my mouth and taking over. I gripped his shoulders, clinging there because the world was spinning around me and he was the only stable presence. Like a rock in a turbulent storm, he kept me grounded in this moment, and I desperately needed him.

  One of his hands dropped away fr
om my face to my shoulder, fingers lightly brushing a path from shoulder to hand and back again, igniting that fire under the skin again. I moaned at the touch of him, arching my back to press my breasts against his chest, delighting at the friction provided there.

  “Slow down,” he said, murmuring hot breath against my lips. “I want to enjoy this.”

  “I need you,” I said, unashamed to admit it.

  “You’re testing my control,” he groaned, wrapping his arm around my waist and crushing me against his body. I felt his erection press against me and I ground my hips against him, earning another moan from him. I wanted to jump up and down in victory, but remained there instead, not willing to tear myself away from him.

  “I don’t. Want you. To have control,” I said, panting, kissing him between the words.

  He dropped both hands to clutch my butt, picking me up and spinning away from the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist immediately, not needing to be told what to do, and threw my head back, my eyes closed, as a moan escaped me—the angle he held me at was perfect, his erection pressed against my most feminine spot, and it was all I could do to remember how to breathe.

  “God, you’re beautiful.” I heard him whisper, but he sounded so far away from me, the blood pounding in my ears.

  “Don’t tell me. Show me,” I said, opening my eyes to look at him.

  “With pleasure,” he said, carrying me through the house. I assumed we were moving in the direction of his bedroom, so I was confused when instead of seeing a bed or a dresser or some other indicator of a bedroom, I saw a dining table and chairs. It only took us a moment to reach it, and I realised with a giggle that this was the nearest surface he could reach—I was testing his control, as he’d said, and I loved it.

  He sat me on the edge of the table so that my legs hung over the edge, kissing me again without missing a beat. I felt his hands at the bottom of my shirt, pulling it up to expose my breasts to the cold air, and I inhaled at the feeling of the sudden exposure, the air teasing my sensitive skin. He pulled away for a second to pull my shirt over my head and threw it away to the floor beside us. I greedily grasped the edge of his shirt, yanking it up, though he had to finish taking it off—sitting on the table had put me at a height disadvantage I was not used to.

  He bent his head and I expected another kiss, but instead he fisted his hand in my hair and pulled my head back, exposing my throat to his lips. I moaned as his teeth scraped at the skin there once, twice, before he bit me. Pleasure erupted as he sucked on my skin, his tongue sweeping over where his teeth had just been to soothe the small pain. It was a delicious combination, and I knew that I needed more.

  His lips trailed liquid fire underneath my skin down my throat, along my collar bone, down to the swell of my breasts. I gasped in anticipation, chest rising and falling rapidly. I wanted him to hurry, wanted him inside of me then and there, but he was intent on torturing me slowly, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

  He paused briefly to grin wickedly up at me, blowing hot air against my breast before he claimed it with his mouth. Pleasure spiralled higher within me, my womb clenched, and I reached out to grasp his hair with both hands, holding him tight there as I moaned. “Shawn,” I gasped his name, closing my eyes against the bright stars exploding there. He was right to want control, but I didn’t have any of that to hold onto.

  The energy was thrumming inside of me, stoked by his actions, and it needed release.

  “Breathe for me, baby.” As he murmured against my skin, the scrape of his stubble provided delicious friction, and I felt one of his hands balancing him on my thigh. I opened for him so that he could settle there between my legs, his face cradled against my chest.

  “I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t breathe when you’re doing that.”

  “You have to. I’m nowhere near ready to be done.” He chuckled, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.

  I knew I was behaving like a teenager, I knew the control that I should have to keep me in place, I knew how to pace myself. Normally, I could do those things, but not with the energy inside of me, not when I needed him like this.

  “Who said. Anything. About done? We have. All. Night.” I managed each word between hard breaths, watched as his face darkened with desire. I tugged his head back from my breast—oh Gods, but I didn’t want to do that, the pleasure he could elicit there was beautiful and I needed it so—bending my own to meet his lips again. Our tongues met and danced, and I caught his lower lip with my teeth, worrying and sucking at it until he was moaning against my mouth. “I want you, Shawn. Now.” It was an order when it came out of my mouth, and our eyes opened at the same time, and I could see how urgent his need was, maybe half as much as mine if I was generous.

  He knelt then, between my legs, glowering up at me as if I had insulted him somehow. His hands went to my jeans, and I thrilled, certain now that I had won the battle and my hunger would be sated any moment. I braced myself against the table with both hands so that I could lift my hips, allowing him to ease my jeans and panties off so that they pooled just above my boots. He darted a mischievous look up at me before ripping my boots off, the clothing following shortly thereafter.

  I hadn’t won at all, I realised a moment later when his mouth met my sex and pleasure erupted. I hadn’t been expecting that, not at all, and I moaned with ecstasy. His tongue probed inside of me, playing with me and torturing me all at once. I trembled, arms shaking so much that I thought I might fall. I let myself down, lying flat against the table, widening the spread of my legs.

  And then he claimed the bead of pleasure there and sucked and it was all I could do not to scream. “Fuck, Shawn. Fuck. Gods,” I moaned, gasping for air as I saw stars, my hips bucking against his mouth as the climax claimed me, spiralling me out into the universe. I swore I saw a star born and die, the explosion behind my eyes so powerful. When I came back to myself, I saw that Shawn was sitting back on his haunches, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, grinning like the devil he was.

  “First course, my dear,” he said as he stood.

  I felt the tension coiling inside of me again. This time it had nothing to do with the energy that had screamed inside of me—it wasn’t gone, not yet, but it had been tamed somewhat. It was all him this time, his eyes on my body, sliding over me in a possessive fashion, and it was as if I could feel his hands on me. My back arched entirely of its own accord, and he inhaled sharply at the rise of my chest.

  Good. He wasn’t immune. I was starting to worry I’d made a fool of myself.

  He stood, his hands going to the button of his jeans and he started to undo them. “Turn over,” he said, his voice a seductive murmur, and I felt my womb clench again in response. I flipped myself around without needing to be told twice, looking over my shoulder at him.

  Could he see it in my eyes, how much I needed to feel him inside of me? Did he know what he was doing to me? I could barely breathe over here, but he looked like he’d run a race himself, and I knew it was the control he was forcing himself to exercise that was doing him in. He closed the distance between us, bending briefly and sinking his teeth into the sensitive flesh of my behind, bringing another moan from my lips.

  “Please, Shawn, please,” I begged unashamedly.

  “As my lady commands,” he murmured, his hands found my hips and dragged me backwards just a bit, so that it was my stomach pressed against the edge of the table. His hips moved and I felt him at my entrance. He moved once, then again, and I thought I might weep the need inside of me was so great all over again. And then he was inside of me, stretching me and filling me in the most delicious way possible. He went slow at first, letting me adjust to his size, until I pressed back against him in a silent demand for more. And then he was moving in earnest, hips surging against my backside, our bodies finding the perfect rhythm of give and take.

  I felt myself spiralling again as he pressed against the sensitive spot inside me that would take me over the
edge and into oblivion, and I cried out in ecstasy. His voice answered mine, and I knew that he was close, and I wanted to take him with me. I clenched my muscles around him as he thrust inside of me, gasping and moaning as I fought to stay in the here and now, with him.

  He wouldn’t let me. He pushed me over the edge, into the climax that waited for me, and I saw stars again. I screamed his name, the only word that could come to mind in that blissful moment. I came back to myself, panting on the table, with him on top of me, just barely holding his weight off me by bracing his forearms on the table. I turned my head to the side so that I could look at him, grinning.

  “That was just the beginning. Better catch your breath,” I said.

  25

  I was bloody exhausted the next morning when I went for my run. I hadn’t reached home until four a.m., Shawn had quite the appetite. I had opted not to spend the night, and he hadn’t put up a fight when he’d realised my intent. We hadn’t wasted any breath talking about it, and I was aware that it was possible I might regret that at some point down the line. But I wasn’t looking to have a relationship, not right now, it just didn’t fit in with the lifestyle I was currently leading. Shawn had said before that he wasn’t asking me for anything I wasn’t ready to give, and I should have asked him to expand on it at the time, but then I had been thinking of keeping him at arm’s length.

  Now I needed to have that conversation with him. I needed to make sure that things weren’t about to become awkward between us, because that was the last thing I needed right now. Gods, I depended on him, he was the man who put my pieces back together after every major fight. He had pulled my broken and shredded body into one piece after Tyburn Tree, I wouldn’t have made it out of that without him, and there was a real chance that there would be more situations like that in the future where I would need him. If I had screwed that up with one stupid night, a night where I’d let go of my control for a split second.