She tilted her head up to him and rose on her toes to brush her lips lightly over his in a chaste kiss that nearly undid him. Of their own accord his arms enclosed her in a tight embrace, pulling her to his body as he bent his head and claimed her lips. A groan tore out of his throat at the feel of her hot core rubbing up against his throbbing cock through her towel. He ate at her mouth like a man starved, her taste slid over his tongue like ambrosia. He needed more, needed all of her.
Marcus pulled away only long enough to tear her towel away from her body and lift her into his arms. She felt perfect against him, her hard nipples scraping along his chest, her body soft and curved. He knew he should stop and leave but for the life of him he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
He laid her down on her bed, her pale body luminescent against her chocolate colored sheets. Her full breasts rose proudly. Her nipples, tight, rosy buds, begged for his mouth. Her waist was tiny, curving enticingly over hips. Long, toned legs parted slightly, giving him a glimpse of her pink core hidden in blonde curly hair. Her pale hair spread out over the pillows like spun gold and her heavy lidded blue eyes watched him hungrily. Lips, red and swollen from his kisses, beckoned to him with a siren’s smile. All thoughts but one fled his mind as he took in the temptation before him. He had to have her, couldn’t bear another moment without hearing his name on her lips.
“You’re beautiful, Tambra.” His voice was hushed, filled with reverence as he moved over her prone form, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. “I may be damned for all eternity but I will have given you this one night of pleasure,” he whispered against her mouth before moving to her jaw, then down her neck to one rose colored nipple. He swirled his tongue over it before taking the hardened peak into his mouth, sucking hard.
Tambra whimpered with need as she arched into him. He turned his attention to the other nipple while a hand traveled over her body to her mound of crisp curls that covered her sex. He plunged one finger inside her, marveling at how tight and wet she was, then another, stretching her. His fingers moved in and out of her, setting a slow pace that had her hips bucking into his hand. God, she was so responsive! He could hear her heart pick up speed. The blood rushing through her veins was a sweet melody to his ears. She was close, he could tell as her muscles clamped down tightly on his fingers. He stroked his thumb in a circular motion against her clitoris, driving her closer still.
He pulled his fingers out of her moist sheath, amid her frustrated protests, and gave into the overwhelming urge to taste her, trailing light kisses down her body until he was at the apex of her thighs. He spread her legs further apart to expose the wet swollen lips of her opening.
“Watch me, Tambra. I want you to know who has brought you to peak.” His voice was rough with desire as he lowered his mouth to her. He groaned as her taste exploded on his tongue, sweet as nectar. He licked and nibbled like a man starved. She was addicting, and he couldn’t get enough.
“Yes, Marcus. Yes!” Tambra screamed as his teeth scrapped against the tight bundle of nerves. She was magnificent, Marcus thought as he watched her break apart. His name on her lips sent a primal urge to claim her through him. His fangs cut through his gums, the urge to mark her as overwhelming as her scent, like roses and arousal, filling his lungs. He couldn’t help but wonder if her blood would be just as addicting.
His gaze fell on the erratic beat of her pulse, thrumming through the slim column of her throat. His stomach clenched and his cock ached with an almost overwhelming need. He had lost too much blood, his control was shaky at best. If he took her blood, he would be pounding inside of her until he lost himself in release.
And if she is your Consort? What will you do then? the whisper in his mind taunted him. He had spent the last two thousand years both dreading and yearning for that very thing. If what he suspected was true, and she was his Consort, how could he ever give her to another man? The answer to that was simple- he wouldn’t. And that would cause a break in the tenuous peace between the Las Vegas Enforcers and the Lycan community.
He pulled away from the warmth of Tambra, reminding himself that if she did survive the Rising she would belong to Temple Fox by law. He had no business fucking that up for his own needs.
Without a word he stood and walked out the bedroom door, closing it behind him.
Chapter Nine
Tambra lay in bed, wondering what the hell had just happened. Her body felt wrung out from the most intense orgasm of her life. When Marcus had removed his fingers she had never felt such an overwhelming sense of loss, but when he replaced them with his mouth she thought she would die from the pleasure. He left her feeling unbalanced, like being on a rollercoaster without breaks.
Then he had just closed up. Her mind whirled with shock. What had she done? Did she come on too strong? God knew when she had emerged from the shower she had never expected to find him standing there, his magnificent body bare and his arousal blatant. At that moment she had known if she didn’t touch him she would go crazy with lust. She had never experienced such strong desire for any man. There was something about Marcus that pulled her to him, an almost magnetic urge. Marcus haunted her.
And he had walked away from her!
Anger burned away the sexual afterglow she had been feeling, pushing her to her feet. She grabbed a clean pair of sweats and a tee shirt and stomped into the living room. All the anger left her as she saw him sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, an air of defeat surrounding him. He had put his blood stained jeans and boots back on, chest still bare since his tee shirt was a pile of bloody rags in the trash.
Tambra kneeled down before him and took his hands in hers. His head snapped up, his jaw tight, body rigid with the depth of his longing and frustration as his eyes clashed with hers.
“What’s wrong, Marcus?” she whispered, afraid to know what he would say.
“This was a mistake, Tambra. I should never have come here, never touched you.” His voice rasped harshly against her, igniting her anger all over again.
She stood abruptly, taking a step back and fisting her hands on her hips before storming into her kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
Humiliation washed over her. She had thrown herself at him and he had rejected her. Tambra stiffened as Marcus spoke right behind her.
“You need to understand the world you’re coming into.”
“You can just get over yourself. What just happened in there won’t happen again.” She refused to look deeper. He was right, the whole thing was a mistake. What could she possibly offer a vampire except her blood, if he could even take it? According to Temple, she didn’t have long before she changed into a monster anyway.
“It’s a world that I can’t be a part of, regardless of how I feel about you.”
She spun to face him with an icy glare. “Now you sound like Temple Fox. Don’t I have any say in my own life?”
His face darkened with fury. “How do you know about Temple Fox?” he ground out.
“He came by for a little chat earlier. Acted like I should fall at his feet and be thankful that he wanted to take me away from all of this.” She waved a hand indicating her sparse apartment. “He said I was close to Rising, whatever that is.”
Marcus ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Rising is what happens when a Pure Blood turns a human. If the human survives the first three days after being altered, they then have to survive the Rising itself. To come out the other side you must shift from your human form to the humanoid form you encountered in the alley, then to the last form, the true animal form, and back to human.”
“Okay, good to know.” Tambra blew out a shaky breath. “This happens a lot, I take it?”
“The last successful Rising was one hundred-fifty years ago.”
“So, there’s a good chance I won’t make it?” She was relieved to hear her voice come out cool and steady even though fear was clamoring inside of her.
Marcus’s somber look spoke volumes.
Something must have
shown on her face, because Marcus was suddenly right in front of her, so close she could feel his presence surround her, making her feel safe, cared for. This was the first time in her life she didn’t feel alone. She had found the one person in the world she felt safe with, and she may not live through it.
“You are a strong woman, Tambra. Many don’t even make it this far. You will get through it, don’t think that you won’t.”
“And what happens when I do?” This time her voice did break.
“Then you are to be mated to Temple Fox. They will need you to survive, Tambra. There has been no Pure Blood Lycan born to any pack in a long time. Their women have stopped reproducing.”
“So I’m supposed to be the egg donor to a race I just found out existed, chained to a man I don’t even like? Don’t I have a choice in all of this?”
“They are not barbarians, just desperate. With so many of their Weres turning feral, you may be their last hope to maintain any kind of balance in their society. You don’t have to choose anything right now. Once you’re through the Rising you may feel differently.”
“Was it the Weres that attacked you tonight?” Tambra changed the subject, now wanting to think of what she still had to go through and the choices she would need to make.
Marcus nodded. “There was something about the attack that was off. It was too well planned.”
Whatever Tambra would have said died on her lips as the front door burst open, slamming back against the wall. Marcus was in front of her so quickly she never saw him move, his big body tense, ready for battle.
Cody stood at the door way, his service revolver aimed at Marcus. He moved into the room, catching sight of Tambra as she peeked over Marcus’s shoulder. Tambra had never seen Cody look as cold as he did sizing Marcus up.
“Come toward me, Tam. I have him covered,” Cody said evenly.
“Wait, Cody, he’s not here to hurt me.” Tambra moved away from Marcus slowly, sweeping her arm in front of Marcus’s body.
“There’s blood all over your door step, what am I supposed to think?” Cody barked.
“Not mine, its Marcus’s, put the damn gun down, now.”
Cody frowned, eyes narrowing in on Marcus. “You’re the vampire,” he stated, more an acknowledgement than a question.
Marcus arched an eyebrow. “You’re the partner?”
“Oh, for crying out loud, lose the alpha shit already!” Tambra huffed, glaring at both of them.
Cody slowly lowered the gun. “Would someone care to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Shut my door, it’s almost daylight,” Tambra said, glaring at Cody and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Will the vampire go up like a roman candle if the sunlight touches him?”
“The vampire has a name. It’s Marcus Valerian,” Marcus cut in.
“Cody is still coming to grips with the Breeds’ existence,” Tambra interjected, trying to diffuse the testosterone in the room. “Just out of curiosity, what the hell are you doing here? I told you I would call you.”
“Yeah, well, you were pretty upset with me last night and I couldn’t let it go. I did try to call you but you weren’t picking up my messages. I got worried so decided to come by to check if you were alright. I don’t believe in any of this shit, but you’re still my friend.” Cody glanced sheepishly at Tambra. “I’m really sorry about last night. I’m trying like hell to wrap my brain around all this. I keep thinking the next thing you’ll be telling me is that Leprechauns really do exist.”
“You will have to ask Adrian about that,” Marcus laughed.
“Not even going to go there,” Cody muttered, shaking his head. “The lock’s busted, Tam. I’ll replace it and your door will be good as new. Who’s going to tell me what happened?”
Marcus leaned his muscular body against the wall, hands plunged deep in his back pockets. Tambra had to stop herself from groaning out loud as a wave of lust uncoiled low in her belly. All she could think about was tracing the wide expanse of his chest with her tongue. She turned away, stalking over to the closet to get some cleaner and rags. She went out to scrub the vampire blood off her front porch, keeping the door open so she could listen as Marcus explained the events that lead to him showing up at her front door step.
She was just putting away her cleaning supplies when Marcus’s cell went off, the ring shrill in the small confines of her apartment. She turned away as he dug into his front pocket, causing his jeans to dip dangerously low over his hips. His voice sent tingles down her spine. He was as decadent as dark chocolate, and just as addicting.
Dimly, Tambra wondered what was wrong with her. Her skin felt itchy and tight, her body burning up with fever. Need swamped her, nearly doubling her over with its intensity. A low whimper pushed past her tight throat and her world spun. She caught the edge of her table to steady herself as she tried to breathe past the sensations raging inside her.
Cool hands stroked her arms, the smell of dark spices and male assailed her senses. Marcus. His presence surrounded her, calming her. He murmured something in her ear, but she could not make any sense out of what he was saying. It didn’t matter what he said only that he touched her, giving her an anchor in the tide of sensations threatening to take her down. She closed her eyes and drank deeply of his smell. His strong arms locked around her, drawing her back against his chest.
She had thought that vampires would be cold, and without a beating heart, but she found this to be another misconception. Marcus was warm, and the beat of his heart vibrating against her back soothed her further, bringing her back to herself. She took a shuddering breath and stepped away, pounding down the urge to go back into the circle of warmth and peace she found in Marcus’s arms.
Darting a quick glance at Cody, who was sitting on the couch with his long legs stretched out in front of him, she smiled encouragingly at the concern she saw in his eyes.
“I’m okay now,” she assured him.
“What the hell was that all about?” Cody demanded, the edge of fear sharpening his voice.
“The Rising is coming. I need to get her to my house where it can happen in safety. Pack what you need, Tambra. I have a car coming for us. It should be here in a few minutes.”
“Now wait one goddamned minute! No one is taking Tambra anywhere.” Cody sprang from his seat, his anger radiating from him like a heat wave.
Marcus let his fangs drop as he hissed at Cody.
“Back off!”
Cody blinked in shock, taking a large step back as he registered the large set of fangs.
“No fucking way!”
“Cody, it’s okay, really,” Tambra assured him. “I think it would be safest for everyone if I went with Marcus.”
“Not without me you’re not.” Cody ground out.
“Please, Marcus. He’ll only follow us anyway,” she asked, placing her hand on his arm.
Marcus sighed tiredly. “Alright, he comes, but I’ll be watching him very carefully,” he warned the younger man, giving him a pointed look that held promise of quick and painful retribution if he placed so much as a toe out of line. Tambra looked from one to the other, unsure if she could leave them alone.
“You two behave, I’ll be just a moment,” she warned them, heading into her bedroom. She wondered just what she would need for the occasion. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone changed into an animal or died trying.
****
“You fool, what were you thinking? Attacking Marcus now?” Temple’s voice was deceptively smooth and calm as he admonished the man on the other end of his cell phone.
“I saw a chance to uncomplicate things and I took it,” Temple’s informant defended. “There is nothing to tie us to the incident. No harm, no foul. Besides, my plan would have worked if it weren’t for those imbalanced ferals of yours. She would have been yours before the Rising. As it stands now, my window of opportunity may be closed.”
“Save your pitiful excuses. I will not tolerate failure of any kind
. Do I make myself clear?” Temple snarled.
“Like crystal”
“Good. The next time we talk, you will be able to report that you have the woman.”
Temple ended the call before his control unraveled. He was seriously considering removing the Were just for the frustration he caused. Replacing him would not be that difficult. The only thing that made him hesitate was the tie he had to Tambra. Miguel Suarez had proved useful until this blunder. When Temple had first met Miguel, twenty years ago, Miguel had just been turned. Temple had been impressed with the control the new Were had shown during his first shift. Managing the blood lust was no easy task, yet Miguel had done just that when he refused to kill a homeless man in the alley that night.
No, Temple would keep Miguel right where he was. He had no doubts to his loyalty. Miguel was ready to deliver Tambra to him on the proverbial silver platter. He would have to trust him to carry out his end. There was far too much in play for his attention to be diverted.
The fall of the Tribunal was at hand, and with it, the destruction of their precious Enforcers. A new world order would rise from the ashes of the corrupt and stagnant leadership of the Tribunal. No more hiding from humans. The Breeds would be free to walk amongst them, taking their rightful place as the rulers in the world. Temple was on the cusp of a new day, exhilarated at the possibilities that spread out before him.
The destruction of Marcus Valerian was an extra bonus. Temple was going to enjoy dealing the death blow to the proud vampire. He could almost hear the sweet sound of Marcus pleading for an end to his misery.
Dark Passion Rising Page 7