She moaned against his mouth as an orgasm flashed through her. She shuddered and shook, digging her nails into his back. He thrust a last time and yelled as he poured himself deep into her body.
He slumped over her as Aislinn tried to catch her breath and find her sight. Blind, she’d gone blind. But it was so worth it, she thought. And as soon as she could feel her arms, she would wrap them around him to thank him. Because when someone made a person see the universe, they should be thanked. Yep, just as soon as everything came back online, she’d get right on it.
Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Aislinn opened her eyes as Charon kissed her. She hummed low and looped her arms around his neck to hold him in place. Her body was sore in places she hadn’t even known existed, but still, she wanted him. Wanted to feel him pushing into her, taking her, making them a part of each other.
“I have to go, Irish,” he said as he nipped her chin.
“No, stay,” she said, running her hands through his hair.
“I wish, but we got a call, and Reaper and I are taking it.”
She opened her eyes to stare at him. “Be careful. You have to come back. I need you.”
He smiled, flashing just a hint of fang. “I’m not even close to done with you yet, so of course I’ll be back.”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant you’re not done training me yet. So, until then, you have to stay safe. Or I’ll just have to find someone else.”
He growled. “You won’t be finding someone else to do anything with. If you do, I’ll kill him.”
She laughed and kissed him on the nose. “So, hurry back, okay?”
He kissed her again, long and deep. Then he was gone. Just gone. One minute there, and the next minute, poof. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Nope, still gone. Obviously, an Ancient had more power than Charon thought to mention. She’d ask Joelle about it. Until he got back, Aislinn wasn’t going to moon around in the room waiting for him. She could use the time more wisely than that.
She rolled out of bed and headed toward the bathroom to get her day started.
Charon appeared beside Reaper outside their favorite bar. He had so wanted to just say fuck it and stay in bed with Aislinn. She was hot and eager and his. He loved the way she wrapped around him and moaned his name. It took everything he had not to sink his fangs into her, but he’d promised, and he intended to keep it.
Reaper looked over at him and sniffed. “Fucker, first, Talon, and now, you.”
“Don’t go there,” Charon warned. “We’re not talking about Aislinn.”
The other man only nodded. “Whatever. We got a call we have to check out. It’s not far from here. I’ll fill you in when we get there.”
Reaper told him where they were headed, and the two of them disappeared. When they reappeared, they were standing on a quiet neighborhood street. Charon knew where they were. A number of bear shifters chose to call this street home since it backed up to woods. He liked dealing with the bears since they were incredibly low-key and liked to keep to themselves. They didn’t call unless it was truly important, choosing to handle most things on their own.
He and Reaper approached a large ranch set back from the road. Reaper knocked and turned to Charon. “Apparently, they’re being bothered by a vampire. The call said a vamp was trying to lure the cub away.”
Charon nodded. “Blood cult?”
“Don’t know until we talk to them.”
The door opened and a huge male greeted them. He motioned them to come in, and a frisson of awareness raced up Charon’s spine. Something wasn’t right. But he didn’t have time to think about it when the male shifted and attacked. Charon tried to jump out of the way of the paw full of claws, but didn’t quite make it. They scored him deep in the shoulder, knocking him to the floor, which only flipped his switch. He thrust up off the floor and leaped at the huge shifter. The thing screamed as Charon drove his fangs into its shoulder, but it didn’t slow it down. Like Charon, it only pissed it off.
The bear shook him off, and Charon slid across the floor. He heard Reaper curse as a second bear shifter charged into the room. Fuck, this was supposed to be a routine call.
Charon pulled both his katar and faced the angry bull. The thing was huge and pissed off. It was unusual for bear shifters to fall to blood lust, but it wasn’t unheard of. He just didn’t understand how and why it had happened now. The bigger issue was the fact there were two of them. Just like the wolf shifters the month before, these two were more enthused with killing the Hunters than one another.
Charon punched one of the large triangular-shaped blades into the bear’s leg while he thrust the second into the chest. Blood splashed, but the thing didn’t go down. He ducked the claws more successfully this time and kicked the thing in the chest, driving it back. The male crashed into a dining room table, and Charon lunged, driving both blades into the chest. This time, he hit the heart, since the thing gave one scream, and blood pumped out.
He pulled the blades free and ran into the living room. Reaper was in the process of cutting the sow’s hamstring with his blade. She went down, claws reaching from him, but the Hunter stayed out of the way. As soon as she was on the floor, Reaper was on her, thrusting his blade into her chest. She shivered and cried out then was silent.
The two men looked at one another. What the fuck was written all over their faces. Charon started to speak, but as the adrenaline leached away, he staggered to fall against the wall. His shoulder was on fire. He looked over to assess the damage and knew Aislinn was going to be pissed. He was losing a lot of blood. He tried to force himself to stay conscious as he heard Reaper call for help. He hoped someone came soon then he passed out.
Reaper pulled his shirt off and pressed it against Charon’s shoulder. Fuck, the guy was bleeding like a stuck pig. He was going to need blood when they got back; he was losing too much of it.
“Joelle,” he spoke into his COM, “get a PIA donor set up. Charon is going to need blood. I don’t know how much, but he’s bleeding badly. We’re also going to need someone to stitch him up.”
“Got it,” Joelle said in his ear. “Talon and Styx are on their way.”
“Don’t bother; we killed the bears. Don’t know what the fuck happened but they’re dead.”
“I’m sending Grimm, too,” Joelle said, obviously ignoring him. “And I contacted Kenshin.”
“Fuck, might as well put a note up in the employee lounge. Oh, and put up a Facebook page and tell them, too. Hell, get a sky writer.”
“Look, asshole, bears don’t act like this. Something had to have happened. Since we’re dealing with a blood cult and another Ancient, this might be part of it. Get the stick out of your butt and deal with it.”
Reaper felt like making a face at her, but didn’t bother. She couldn’t see him, and she wouldn’t care anyway. That was Joelle. Instead, he looked around at the carnage. Two dead shifters, a wrecked house and blood. Too much blood. Once again, he wondered what the fuck was going on. At least with the wolves, they’d been ready, but this was totally out of the blue. Maybe Joelle was right, and it was a part of the bigger picture. If the Ancient had somehow set this up, he wanted to take out as many Hunters as he could. But why not just face them?
Reaper thought perhaps the Ancient had never been around his own kind. Perhaps he didn’t understand the full scope of their powers so he thought that sending them up against shifters would kill them? If so, he was sadly mistaken. They may be hurt, but wouldn’t die. At least he hoped they wouldn’t. Reaper watched Charon closely and wondered when he’d started to care.
Charon slowly came to with a fire in his shoulder and his fangs extended. Someone was telling him to drink, just drink. Flesh touched his mouth, a wrist, and he did what Ancients did best. He fed. But, at the first swallow, he knew something was wrong. Very wrong. The blood tasted bad, dangerous. He tried to struggle, to pull away, but hands held him down. A voice kept telling him to
drink. But he didn’t want to. The blood wasn’t right.
His fangs retracted, which was something that had never happened before. Then the pain started low in his gut. His shoulder was forgotten as he screamed and immediately started convulsing.
“Mother fucker,” Styx yelled as Charon went into a violent seizure. His body bucked and twisted as he started throwing up the blood he’d just consumed.
Talon and Grimm tried to pin Charon down, but he was too strong. He threw them off and backed himself into a corner. Blood covered his face and clothing as his body purged itself. He tried to stagger up, get away, but his legs wouldn’t hold him. He roared to keep the people around him at bay as his fangs lengthened further and his nails became claws.
“Get away from him,” Talon ordered. “Get back.”
“What the hell is happening?” Reaper yelled.
“Fuck, I should have known it,” Talon replied. “He’s had too much of the other one’s blood. She’s his Liaison, and he can’t drink from anyone else. The blood he just consumed has poisoned him; it’s driving him mad.”
Aislinn paced around the room. She couldn’t settle, hadn’t been able to settle since Charon had left. Something wasn’t right. She didn’t know what, but the more time passed the more unease crept over her skin and into her bones. She turned as Joelle burst through the door. The other woman looked disheveled and frantic. Aislinn knew, in her gut, something had happened to Charon.
“What?” she demanded. “Where is he?”
“He was hurt, bad. They tried to give him blood, but his body rejected it. It’s killing him.”
“Tell me what to do. I can’t lose him.” She refused to even consider the idea that Charon wouldn’t be okay. He meant more to her than her family ever had. And, as each day passed, he meant more still. He wasn’t going to die. She wouldn’t allow it.
Joelle grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. “We don’t have much time, but you’re his Liaison. It’s the same kind of bond Talon and I have. Talon can only drink my blood. If he drinks from anyone else, he’ll die. That’s what’s going on with you and Charon. If you care about him, you have to let him drink. I know you don’t want to. I know you’re scared. But it’s either that or he dies.”
Aislinn raced down the hallway, a billion thoughts flying through her mind. Drink? He needed to drink from her? She wasn’t scared of his fangs, but did she want them in her neck? She’d seen her roommate die; could she put herself in that position? But this was Charon. The man she…loved? Really? Could she love him? She’d never loved anyone before. No one had ever loved her. How did she even know what she was feeling was the real thing?
Could she live without him? Did she want to? She almost tripped on the thought. She couldn’t imagine going through her days without him. Not seeing him or talking to him, not kissing him or touching him. Not waking up next to him and watching him as he slept. If he wasn’t with her, she’d die or want to die.
Joelle threw open a door, and Aislinn raced in behind her. Charon was crouched against a wall, covered in blood. His fangs were fully extended, and he looked like every monster from her nightmares. But he wasn’t. She knew he wasn’t. He was warm and funny and caring. He protected her when she needed him to and taught her to protect herself.
Slowly, she pushed through the other men until she stood in front of Charon. His eyes tracked her. He saw her.
“Charon,” she said, “please let me help you. I need to help you. You promised me you’d stay safe. You promised me you’d come back to me.”
As she spoke, she eased down and scooted toward him. Someone said her name, tried to pull her back, but Charon growled and pulled her to him. She used her shirt to wipe the blood from his face, and though his eyes tracked her, she wasn’t sure he knew it was even her. It was as if the man she knew was missing, but he had to be there. He had to.
“Charon, I don’t know what to do, but you need to drink.” Terrified, she put her wrist up to his mouth.
He grasped her arm, and she couldn’t help but jump. He put his face close and breathed her in. Her scent caused another growl, but it wasn’t wild and angry. Instead, it was low and rumbling, the kind he gave when she touched him. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and punched his fangs into her wrist.
Aislinn’s whole body erupted in fire, and an orgasm rushed through her system. She bucked against him, grinding her hips into his leg. Needing him, wanting him. She clawed at her clothing, trying to get it off because it hurt where it touched.
Joelle watched the couple and knew what was happening. She instantly turned to force the other Hunters out, but Talon was steps ahead of her. He made all the Hunters leave the room and closed the door behind them.
“What is going on?” Kenshin demanded as he ran up.
“Aislinn is Charon’s liaison,” Joelle said. “They’re working that out between them.”
“Is that what we’re calling that?” Grimm asked.
“Men are pigs,” she declared. “Yes, that is what’s going on, and that’s all we’re saying about it. Now go away and leave them alone.”
“If you even attempt to go in,” Talon added, “he’ll kill you.”
“Or she will,” Joelle said.
As the others walked away, Joelle put her arms around Talon. She hoped things went easier for Charon and Aislinn than it did for her and Talon. At least, they had someone to ask questions of and guide them. She and Talon had been on their own as they stumbled their way through the process. In fact, she had almost died before Quenton and Reaper came up with a possible solution, and even then, they hadn’t known it would work.
Humans did not drink vampire blood. Ever. The end. It killed them. But not when a human and Ancient were bonded. Then, and only then, the human had to drink from the Ancient.
“Are you thinking about what happened to us?” Talon asked as he nuzzled her neck.
“Yes.” She tilted her head to give him better access. As his fangs scraped against her skin, she grew wet. She wanted him; she always wanted him. The need for him wasn’t the craziness of the initial bonding, but it was still there, banked and waiting.
He pulled her up into his arms. “Let’s go back to our room. I want to drink from you and have you drink from me.”
She wrapped her arms and legs around him. “Go fast; I can’t wait.”
Charon came back to himself with the taste of Aislinn’s blood in his mouth. It was rich and sweet and filled him like no other. Immediately, he retracted his fangs from her wrist. He’d promised her he would never, ever drink from her, and yet, he had. She struggled in his arms, and, at first, he thought she was trying to get away. Instead, she was yanking and ripping at her clothes as the scent of her need washed over him.
“Take me,” she begged him. “Hurry.” She kicked her pants off. He leaned over and sealed his mouth to her hot female flesh. She screamed and thrust frantically against him, pulling and tugging at his hair. The scent of her was like a drug to his system. It was more lush and heady, just like her blood.
“In me,” she ordered, “I need you in me.”
He didn’t know what was happening; he didn’t care. He just knew she was frantic for him, and he was the same way for her. He ripped the rest of his clothes off and fell on her. With his knee, he thrust her legs apart, and without a second thought, he plunged inside of her.
The walls of her vagina clutched at him like a wet hot vise, and he shuddered at the sensation. If he were to die now, he would die happy. Only in Aislinn was he fulfilled, only in her was he whole. He began to pump slowly, shuttling his cock in and out of her body. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she had other ideas. She thrust her hips up to meet him, slamming against him as she dug her nails into his back.
“Hard, harder. Do it harder. Charon, please.”
What little control he had shattered at the pleading in her voice. He wrapped his arms around her legs, pulling them wide apart as he began to plow into her. With each downward thrust, he fel
t his cock bottom out, going as deep as he could into her body. She wailed and thrashed, but he knew it wasn’t pain but pleasure, so much pleasure washing through her body. He could feel it, feel her in his mind. Her needs, her wants.
She pulled his head down to her throat. “Take me, bite me.”
He thrust again and again into her body, but still it wasn’t enough. The orgasm rose and rose, but never crested. Aislinn was afraid she would die from the wanting of it. His cock was like a heated bar of iron forcing its way in and out of her body. But still it wasn’t enough. She needed him. Needed him to take her, bite her, own her.
She tilted her head to the side and begged him to bite her. When he did, and the fangs slid into her neck, pleasure burst through her body. She cried and clawed at him, riding wave after wave. Without thought, she bit him on the shoulder, and something rich and spicy filled her mouth. She swallowed and swallowed again until the darkness claimed her.
Charon eased away from Aislinn’s limp body. The two of them lay in a heap of ripped clothes and blood. On shaky legs, he rose and picked her up. She turned into his body, but didn’t wake. Forcing himself to take one step then the next, he left the trashed room. He had to get them back to his room. He had to get them into a shower and cleaned up before she woke up. He didn’t want her to realize they were smeared head to toe in blood. It would be difficult enough to try to explain why he bit her.
The thought of Aislinn’s blood made him stumble. She tasted like nothing he’d ever had before, rich and lush and his. His. She was his. He’d never had anything that belonged to him before. Not a pet or a home or a family. But Aislinn was his, of this he was certain.
He opened the door of his rooms and was never so happy. All they had to do was shower and go to bed. He moved into the bathroom and turned on the taps. When water gushed out of the heads, he stepped in and let the water wash over the two of them.
A Hunters Promise Page 10