by Ines Johnson
I need more of him than just his tongue or his hands. I want that big cock inside of me. His hard length tickles my belly button. The tip is giving me a wet kiss of its own.
I lift my hips, angling to get the long rod between my thighs. I have to rise all the way up on my knees to accomplish the feat. Once his cock is inside me and he has his tongue down my throat, I wonder if the two would meet?
I position his head between my intimate curls. I’m so wet with excitement that the thick head slips easily inside me. The launch was the easy part. The landing is not so much bumpy as it is long. I won’t get to see if his tongue and dick are long enough to meet inside me because he breaks the kiss.
“Merde,” Gaius hisses.
His hands halt my descent. His fingers dig into my hips as he breathes hard.
I’m breathing hard, too, but it’s because I want more. I want all of him. I wriggle my hips for my access but he curses again.
“I just forgot what this feels like,” he says. “I haven’t been inside a woman in centuries.”
“What?”
His words make no sense. He doesn’t bother explaining them. Instead, he claims my mouth again and I forget what he said.
I let out a long sigh when he is fully seated in me. I can feel him everywhere. In the curl of my toes. In the scrape of my nipples against his chest. Underneath my fingernails, which make half-moons in his back.
I could stay like this all night; Gaius filling me up to my eyelids. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve known contentment. But the throbbing length inside me wants movement, which brings me back to my initial conundrum.
I have no idea what I’m doing when I straddle Gaius’s hips.
The control he’d lent me was short-lived. It ran out the moment I put the tip in. His hands lift my hips. I moan in protest as his hardness recedes. I scream in surrender as he thrusts into me.
One hand is a piston on my ass, pumping me up and down his shaft. With the other, he rubs my clit in light, leisurely circles that are at odds with his hard thrusts. The polar sensations pull me apart, and I’m coming before my mind understands what’s happening.
The orgasms Gaius had given me before this were with his fingers, with his tongue, with the bristles of a paintbrush. This time, his firm mass is inside of me. My muscles clench around solid steel, and my entire being rings like I am a bell.
Still pumping in and out of me, Gaius shoves one, then two fingers inside me. There should be no room, but he makes it so. His cock thrusts, then his fingers. Into the impossibly full space, he forces a third digit. It hooks up, hitting a bundle of nerves at the front of my sex.
I’m trembling, shaking, unintelligible when I come next.
My upper body collapses down atop him. He lies back with me in his arms, but he doesn’t miss a single thrust. His fingers leave my quaking pussy and circle round to my ass. Gaius’s seeking fingers rub at the puckered hole there.
He can’t be thinking… and then he does. He presses a finger into my asshole.
His cock fills my channel. His tongue thrusts into my mouth. His finger pumps into my ass. I am invaded, and again, I surrender.
This time when I come, Gaius halts his thrusts. I am sitting on his cock, on his finger, filled to the brim as I moan into his mouth and he swallows down my cries.
But he is not done. When my shivers ease, Gaius lifts me off his cock. Like my hips are nothing more than a serving dish, he sets my pussy up to his face. Parting the swollen lips between my thighs, he sets my clit on his tongue as though it were an amuse-bouche. His eyes never leaving me, he laves at me until I come again.
Before I come down, he’s shifted me back to his cock.
“Touch yourself,” he commands.
I do as I’m told. My fingers glide over my sex, feeling the softness of my flesh and the hard ridges of his.
His hands are cupping my ass, making me thrust against him, harder. Harder. My hips buck out of control. I am mindless, my body moving out of instinct.
Gaius yanks my hands away. Without my palm against this chest for balance, I fall into him. This is what he wanted.
He crushes me to his chest. He wraps my arms behind my back, holding them there in a vice. Then he bucks into me, even harder.
His free hand goes to my hair. He grabs fistfuls and tugs my head back, exposing my neck as he bucks into me. The slapping of his hips, of his dick into my welcoming wetness, is music in my ears. That, and my cries of mindless pleasure.
I have nothing to hold on to. He has me trapped on top of him. Here I thought I would take control of the situation, but this man has taken control of me entirely. If there was more of myself that I could give to him, I’d hand it over with a merci beaucoup.
And still, he’s thrusting into me. His pumping hasn’t let up. Not once. Not even now as I come again.
My entire body seizes around him. I come so hard that I wonder if I’ve died. The trembling never stops, not even when I fall limp onto the bed.
My back goes against the cushion of the bed. Gaius climbs on top of me. I want to reach out to him, to hold him to me. But I can’t move a muscle.
He parts my thighs, bringing his hips between mine. I feel him enter me. The broadness of his cock is not one that could ever be ignored, no matter how spent I am.
He slides in and out of me. Slower now. Controlled. But deeper. It’s as though he’s trying to get to my heart through my pussy. I wish I could open wider for him. I wish I could clear the path of every organ and blood vessel that was in the way.
I can only open my eyes and gaze up at him. He looks like a man lost. Not lost in a place. It’s clear he knows where he is. He just seems lost as to how to get where he’s going.
I find the strength to lift my hand to his cheek. I caress his strong jaw. Gaius closes his eyes. The most exquisite look of pleasure and pain crosses his features as he shouts a guttural cry. His body bucks into mine. I realize then, it’s the first time he’s come all night. He collapses down onto me, and allows me to hold him in my arms.
26
Gaius
“I can’t feel my toes.”
Marechal might not be able to feel her toes, but I can. Her warm flesh rubs up and down the inside of my calf. Instead of pulling away from the intimate touch, I roll into her, needing to feel more of her against me.
“You’re still speaking,” I say. “Which means I haven’t done my job properly.”
“Oh, no.” Her eyes go wide with shock but also desire. “I can not have another orgasm. My body can’t take it.”
I rise up on one elbow, gazing down at her. She is bare and bruised. Her lips are red from my kisses, her cunt swollen from my thrusts. “Are you telling me no, minou?”
She gulps. “Gaius…”
My dick stirs again. I’ve fucked her for hours until she went limp, and then I right alongside her. Yet, here I am again, getting hard for her. “I think I’m going to fuck you until you pass out.”
I reach for her. For a woman who has been thoroughly fucked, she moves a little too fast for my liking. I could easily catch her, but where would the fun be in that? She giggles when I do catch her. The sound is a delight to my black soul.
“Is that your kink?” she says from within the cage of my arms. The amusement in her eyes shifts and shines brighter. “You liked it when I was so blissed out that I couldn’t move. That’s when you came.”
I let out a slow sigh. Already, I’ve bared more than I am comfortable to this woman. She still claws for more. Her hand comes to rest on my cheek. I flinch at her touch, but only slightly. Of course, she catches the movement. But being Marechal, she comes at it from a different angle.
“Cari said you take care of your brothers. Who takes care of you?”
“The same person who takes care of all your needs in the small cracks of time you give to yourself.”
The light in her eyes dims as it turns inward. I want to take it back. I want to be the one who causes her to be light. I want to
put her on my care list—possibly even above the care of my brothers.
No, not possibly. Definitely above the care of my brothers. I want to take every care from this woman and make it my own so that she doesn’t have a single burden. I want her to know that my back is strong enough to bear everything she can give me, and then some.
“Do you think, maybe, we could take care of each other?” Marechal’s fingers glide down my chin.
I hadn’t thought of that. I hadn’t considered that maybe she would offer to carry some of my load. No one has ever done that for me.
If ever anyone could handle all that I am, it would be Marechal Durand. But to make that happen, I would have to take her life and give her a new one. Am I ready for that?
The sun will be up in a few hours. The thought of being parted from her is an anathema in my chest. I want her with me when it’s light, to keep her safe from the brightness.
My brothers think I’m falling in love with this woman. I don’t know about that. I’ve seen the expression in art, heard about it in songs, read about it in poetry. In real life? I don’t know what it means.
All I know is I want to protect this woman. I want to ease her burdens. I want to give her pleasure. I want her to turn to me in her time of need. And… it would be nice if perhaps I could turn to her if ever I needed to, as well.
It’s too much to think about. It’s too heavy to deal with. Right now, I just want to make her moan. I just want to lose myself in her in the time I have left before sunrise. I just want to sink my fangs into her and sate my thirst.
It’s been days since I’ve eaten. Bagged blood held no appeal. Another woman wasn’t even on the table. I just want her.
So, I take her.
I duck my head out of her gentle caress. With rough hands, I flip Marechal onto her back. After a gasp of surprise, she lets out a delighted scream.
I part her thighs. I can smell the blood pumping in her femoral artery. I’ll give her another orgasm and then take a quick drink. I know hers will be the sweetest blood I’ve ever drunk. Holding my aching fangs at bay, I’ve dipped my head to begin my attack when the bedroom door bangs open.
I don’t think. I react. I fly from the bed and have the intruder in my clutches in a blink. My fangs are bared. My claws are in his neck.
“Gaius, no.”
Marechal’s voice is a faint plea in my ears. But the rage flowing through me is too loud. Tiny points of blood trickle down my victim's neck from the indents of my nails. My nostrils flare as I note that his blood smells similar to Marechal’s. His wide eyes are the same dark plum color as her own.
Arneis Durand gasps as he tears at my hand around his throat. A slight fog from his eyes is clearing even as I choke the life out of him. The fog is one I put there myself, just a few days ago, when I wiped his mind of the memory of the car crash he’d been in with Cari. And then of Domitia drinking his blood. And also of Hadrian feeding Arneis his vampiric blood to save the man’s life.
As Arneis stares at me, terror in his eyes, all those sealed memories are coming unlocked. I could put him in thrall again, willing him to forget the last five seconds. But memory wiping is a delicate business. And there’s the matter of his sister scrambling behind us.
“Gaius, let him go.”
I let him down. Arneis wobbles as his feet touch the ground. His eyes blink rapidly, trying to focus. And then his entire body slumps to the ground.
Marechal rushes past me. She is wrapped in bedsheets as she bends over her brother. “Arnei? Are you okay?”
Arneis closes his eyes and gulps down lungfuls of air. When he opens them again he continues to blink rapidly, trying to pull his thoughts into focus.
“What did you do to him?” Marechal’s gaze turns to me. Her tone is accusatory.
“I thought he was an attacker,” I say. “He burst in.”
“This is his home,” she says, running her hands over her brother’s face just as she had done mine moments ago. “Mon ami, look at me. Can you breathe?”
He’s breathing fine. He’ll be fine. It’s his memories I worry about.
Arneis’s gaze locks on his sister, then shifts and focuses on me. “You monster,” he whispers.
And there it is. Arneis’s memories are unlocked. I’m about to be shoved out of the supernatural closet before I’m ready.
I’ll have to fess up to Marechal, which has consequences I’m not sure I’m ready for. Or I’ll have to wipe both their minds, which I know I’m not prepared to do.
I don’t want Marechal to forget a single second of what we shared. Those memories are too precious, and I don’t want to hold them alone. I want her to carry them with me. On into the morning, and into tomorrow night. Maybe forever.
“Arneis, you can’t just barge into my room like this.”
The sound of bossy Marechal makes my dick hard again. I want to dare her to speak to me like that. Just so I can dole out the consequences on that perfect ass.
“I thought he was hurting you,” Arneis says. “Like he hurt Cari.”
“Cari’s fine,” I say. “And Marechal was enjoying what I was doing to her before you interrupted.”
“Don’t help.” Marechal holds a finger up at me, and my fangs throb.
Arneis shakes his head. Perhaps trying to clear it? Perhaps trying to shake more memories into view? “They took her from us. I was driving her away from them, and then she dropped out of the sky and took her from us.”
Arneis points an accusatory finger at me. But the finger is shaky. The fear in his eyes tells me it’s not my face he’s seeing. It’s Domitia’s. I’m a centuries-old supernatural being, and just the thought of her stops my dead heart.
“Gaius, why don’t you go?”
Me? Go? As in leave Marechal? That is the last thing I’m going to do.
“My brother is still having trouble from the accident. He hit his head, and… concussions are hard.”
Arneis holds his head in his hand. It’s not a concussion that’s causing the confusion.
“I’ll stay,” I say.
Marechal shakes her head as she stands. She places her hand on my chest. Had she been another woman, I would’ve caught her wrist and then turned her over my knee for daring to take such a liberty. But my heart leaps at her touch and I step closer to her.
“This is a family matter.”
She gives my chest a gentle shove. I nearly fall down as the impact hits me. No blood is drawn because her nails don’t scratch my skin. Her palm is flat, not balled into a fist as the brunt of her flesh hits me soft in the chest. Her words are a slap in the face, harsher than any blow Domitia ever doled out.
I have let this woman touch the darkest parts of me. I have let her reach inside of me. I have lain down all of my defenses at her feet. And she is turning her back on me and reaching out for another.
Marechal goes back down on her knees. She hovers over her brother, giving him all of her care. Brushing Arneis’s hair from his forehead, she coos soothing words to him.
Me, she’s forgotten. Put aside, because I am not her family. I am not first on her list.
My jaw won’t work to form words, so I turn. I grab my pants on the way out, not bothering with shoes or a shirt. I need a drink, a sweet drink from a willing victim. I need to tie someone down and flog her until she is dripping, begging. Needing me. Wanting only me. Knowing that only I can provide the release she needs.
And when I’m done with her, I’ll leave her to someone else for aftercare. I’ll crawl under my bed and sleep alone. Shut myself inside my crypt where I am safe, and no one can touch me.
I step out into the night. If I want to get to Club Toxic, I’ll need to move fast. The sun is only a few hours away, which doesn’t leave much time to play.
I turn to do just that but don’t get far. The air leaves my lungs. Something has come down hard on my head. I lose my footing and go down to my knees. Then I feel a second strike, and all goes black.
27
Marechal
The quiet snick of the door reverberates in my ears. Every part of me wants to chase after Gaius. To grab hold of his hands, which had balled into two tight fists. To brush my lips against his mouth, which had compressed into a thin line. To wrap my arms around his body, which had stiffened and closed off.
All the walls we'd torn down between us moments ago were just bricked over in the blink of an eye. My dismissal hurt him. But Gaius’s hurt feelings can wait until the morning. Right now, my brother is in crisis.
“There’s something wrong about all of this,” Arneis says.
His knees are pulled into his chest. His arms are wrapped tightly around them. He rocks his torso in the way he only ever did as a child, soon after our mother passed.
“I’m missing something, Mare.”
Like me, Arneis has always been a rock. He looks at a problem, ingests the facts, and spits out a logical solution. With his analytical, straightforward thinking, he’s never been perceptive enough to see the curveballs coming his way.
“We have to find Cari,” he adds.
I pull the cover tighter around me as I sit next to my brother. “Cari is fine, Arnei. I talked to her earlier today. She’s with Hadrian.”
Arneis shakes his head, violently, as though there are bees buzzing around in his head. My hand was on his shoulder. I snatch it out of the way as his body trembles.
“She’s not safe. He’s going to bite her.”
“Arneis, you’re not making sense.”
“I’m trying,” he shouts. “I’m trying to remember.”
My brother’s eyes are haunted as he looks up at me. His hands go to his head. He rubs at his temples as though trying to loosen the knot that has a hold on him.
“They’re after me.” His voice is a whisper. His eyes are wide, irises darting back and forth between the corners of his eyes. “I think they have her.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Lucius Frangelico.”
That’s the name of the man who was trying to buy the vineyard before the Serranos stepped in. I don’t know much about Frangelico, except that he is probably richer than god and owns an exclusive club downtown.