by J. S. Scott
Daric shrugged. “I wouldn’t be getting involved if I didn’t care about the outcome. I don’t want him to fuck this up. No vampire healer has gotten this opportunity in the last thousand years.”
“You’re not mated?”
“No.”
Regan sensed that there was more that Daric could add, but she didn’t push. “So, tell me what I need to know.”
“It’s getting close to sunrise, so I will go over it with you quickly. I will take you to him at sunset. Until then, I will make sure you are guarded from the mage,” he informed her, his expression and tone telling her not to argue. “This won’t be an easy task for you, little one. Liam can be stubborn when it comes to doing the right thing, even if it brings harm or death to him.”
Regan didn’t need easy, she just needed Liam. “Tell me something I don’t know. Believe me, I’ve dealt with his stubborn butt many times and I can be just as cranky as he can. I’m ready.”
Daric cocked his head and he gave her a mysterious smile as he answered, “Yes, I believe you are.”
By the time the sun began to rise over the mountains, Daric was gone and Regan was armed and ready with information.
She crawled into her bed and breathed in the residual scent of Liam with a small, happy smile before she fell into an uninterrupted slumber.
Chapter 6
Liam’s eyes popped open the minute the sun descended behind the surrounding mountains, surprised to find himself in his own bed.
Trapped. Can’t get out. Can’t kill the mage who tried to harm my mate.
Recognition dawned and Liam remembered the entire incident clearly, remembered his mate throwing herself over the mage to protect.
Daric had confined him to his own bedroom, in his own house. Liam sat back against the headboard. He was still seeing red…literally.
“Good. You’re awake,” Liam’s angry eyes looked up at Daric as he strolled into the room, wanting to kill him for confining him.
“Lift the confinement,” Liam demanded, fists clenched and body tense.
“After the mating, my friend.”
“There will be no mating. Regan will never accept me now and she’s been through more than she should have to bear. I practically raped her. She went through hell just because she wears my mark and wanted to protect me. She threw herself on top of the mage to protect him from me while I was in a mating rage. I’m nothing more than an animal to her.” Liam’s voice shook with anger and resentment.
Liam had no more finished his statement when a large crack rang through the air and his head jerked sideways from a powerful blow. What the hell? He rubbed his hand over the side of his face, wincing as he poked at his jaw.
Eyes wide, Liam jerked his head up to his prince, stating with fascinated surprise, “You just bitch slapped me.” Daric had always been a stern but wise teacher, but he had never resorted to violence.
“Boy, I’ll bitch slap you into next week if you don’t change your attitude. Now!” Daric thundered as he towered over Liam with a scowl. “Regan jumped on that slimy mage to keep you from killing him, but not for his benefit. She didn’t want you to suffer the backlash.”
“No, Liam. He’s not worth it.”
Liam heard her cry clearly, as if she were standing right next to him. Was it possible that she had been protecting him? He shook his head in denial as he replied flatly, “There’s no way she could forgive me. I hurt her. She told me. Hell…I can’t even forgive myself. And the torture she went through at the hands of the mage because she wore my mark-”
“She wants to be your mate,” Daric interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest. “You will mate.”
“No.” Liam crossed his arms and glared at Daric. “She hates me. It would make her miserable. It would be better if I were removed from her life permanently.”
“Then refuse her.”
“I can’t.” Oh, hell no. Liam loved and wanted Regan so much that he could never force the words from his mouth that would release her. It wasn’t physically possible. He could only refuse her if he truly didn’t want her.
“You’ll die.”
“I don’t care. That way her problem would be solved.”
“Gah…I give up. Stubborn idiot vampire healer,” Daric threw his hands in the air and stalked out of the room, easily able to breach the invisible barrier that held Liam prisoner. Of course…Daric had created it - no surprise that he could walk right through his own magic.
Liam flopped back against the pillows, waiting for the inevitable. There was no way he was going to tie Regan to him and he couldn’t refuse her. His fate was sealed. Now all he had to do was wait.
*****
“Liam?”
The soft, gentle voice of his mate surprised Liam enough for him to quickly glance toward the entrance of his bedroom…a move that he instantly regretted. Vampire healer matings did not require witnesses and he understood why as soon he looked at Regan. He would kill any male that looked at his mate in the silvery silk gown that she was wearing. It hugged her body, hiding nothing as she walked slowly toward the bed. Slithering over her body like a second skin, the light silk outlined every incredible inch of her feminine form.
Take. Possess. Mine.
Fuck! Liam jerked his head away. He should demand that she leave, but he deserved the torture after the way he had treated Regan and the pain that she had gone through on his behalf. He would give her a chance to berate him if she needed it. He’d always give her anything she needed.
“Look at me, Liam. Please,” her request was compelling, but he wasn’t sure that he could look at her and not jump her like a rampant wild animal. It was difficult enough to just be in the same room, hearing her voice.
“I can’t, Regan. I’ll want to touch you.” Yeah, like he didn’t want that already?
He felt the bed dip slightly as she replied, “I think it will be difficult to mate if you don’t touch me, Liam.”
“No mating.” Liam clenched his jaw and tightened his fists. “I would think your first experience would have been enough to convince you that you don’t want me for a mate.”
“My only regret is that I couldn’t touch you that time. I want to do that now. Can I touch you, Liam?” Her wistful voice socked Liam in the gut. His mouth as dry as a desert, he couldn’t have answered, even if he knew what to say.
Regan was already in the bed and moving slowly toward him. Her tiny hand slid to his bicep and stroked lightly, caressing up and down his tense muscles before moving hesitantly toward his chest.
Oh, Fuck. Just shoot me now and get it over with!
As Regan’s hand got bolder and her nails lightly trailed through the dusting of hair on his chest, Liam decided right then and there that he would rather deal with the backlash of killing a dozen fallen than with the light caresses and incredible scent of this one tiny woman.
He probably wouldn’t have to wait to die of the unresolved mating conflict wearing on his body slowly until he expired…because Regan, ah Regan…Liam swore she was slowly edging him toward death by heart attack, and if she didn’t take that hot little hand from his body soon, he’d be dead in the next few minutes.
*****
“You’re so hard everywhere,” Regan whispered as her hand slowly trailed over the broad planes of Liam’s chest. Every place she touched was firm, solidly muscled. His body fascinated her and she delighted in the feel of warm skin over tight muscle. She was a healer and had seen male bodies with little or no clothing, but she had never seen a male like Liam.
“Yeah. Hard. Everywhere,” Liam strangled a reply, sounding like he was in severe pain.
Regan had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. She knew she was tweaking the tail of the beast. She was no siren or seductress, but she must be doing something right. There was a large tent underneath the sheet and comforter. Extremely large. Pulling the covers back with her other hand, she continued her exploration down his ripped abdomen, following the path of dark hair past his navel.
> “Oh, God…no wonder it hurt,” Regan blurted out before she could stop herself. His cock had been unveiled and was standing at full attention. Swollen and erect, the phallus looked like a lethal weapon and she couldn’t stop herself from curling her hand around the shaft and noticing that her fingers didn’t even meet.
Velvet over steel. Her fingers moved over the bulging veins and reverently stroked the soft skin of the rock-hard member.
Liam’s hips surged upward as she touched the leaking mushroom-shaped head, spreading the moisture over the tip. Regan licked her dry lips, longing to find out how he tasted.
Images flitted through her mind, pictures of her taking him between her lips and sucking, stroking him with her tongue. Regan was startled when she realized that they weren’t her thoughts, her ideas. Liam’s thoughts, that he had previously been blocking, were bursting into her brain while he was struggling to maintain control.
She mimicked the mental visions and lowered her head, licking the salty, masculine-tasting tip before taking him between her lips.
Liam released a feral groan before sinking his hands into her hair and guiding her head so that her mouth moved up and down on his shaft. He pumped his hips up and moved her head down as she swallowed more and more of his cock as his movements became more furious. She lightly fingered his balls as she pressed her tongue tightly against his thrusting cock.
“I can’t last. Have to come.” Liam cried desperately as his hands tried to guide her head away from his pulsating shaft.
His thoughts didn’t show her moving. She saw herself swallowing every drop. She wanted every drop. Just as he started to release, Regan took as much of his massive cock as she could and let the hot fluid flow into her throat, keeping him trapped in the moist, hot cavern of her mouth.
“Oh, fuck!” Liam bucked up and grasped her head holding her mouth to him as he thrashed in the grips of a powerful orgasm.
Regan’s heart hammered and her womb clenched as she tasted every drop, licking the warm fluid from his twitching member. He tasted so good, so very good, and her body was tingling with sensual delight as his body relaxed.
Regan’s body was burning with the need for Liam to possess her as she shimmied up beside him. “Mate with me, Liam.”
“You need to leave, Regan. Now!” Liam’s voice was ragged and hoarse, as though he were fighting for control.
She turned on her back, ready to wait as long as she needed for him to change his mind. “I’m not leaving this room until we’re mated or you reject me. Maybe I’m not exactly the woman you wanted, but I would like to think that being with me is a better alternative than death,” she huffed, trying not to be hurt by Liam’s reluctant attitude.
Actually, she had very little time to think about anything at all. Liam was on her, over her, before she could really process her emotions. He threw one strong thigh over her legs and his torso and chest came down roughly over hers, leaving her only enough space to breath. With an elbow and arm on each side of her head, he effectively pinned her to the bed, his face only inches from hers.
His eyes were wild, his lips frowning and Regan swore she could feel his thundering heartbeat over her breasts, his breathing erratic, as though he were hungry for oxygen. “Do you want to experience the same thing you had last night, Regan? Do you want to be taken by a man who can’t control his obsession for you, because I guarantee it won’t be much different today than it was yesterday.”
She blinked up at him in wide-eyed fascination, her pussy flooding as she watched his struggle, his desperation for her. It was the hottest thing she had ever seen in her life and being the object of his desire was intoxicating. “Yes, please,” she squeaked.
His animalistic gaze met hers and Regan could see the muscles in his jaw twitching as he growled, “This is not a joke. I basically raped you yesterday, took your virginity without any care. I want you with the same intensity today as I did yesterday. Or maybe even worse. I want to dominate and fuck you until you are so sated and weak that you can’t move from this bed. And then I’ll want to do it all over again.”
Regan struggled to maneuver her arm inside of his prison so that she could lay her hand on his rough cheek. His whole body was seething and trembling, a cauldron of testosterone gone wild. “First of all, you didn’t rape me, Liam. I wanted what happened. If I didn’t, I could have easily put out a call for Sasha just like I did when Tom acted like an ass. It wasn’t as if I was helpless.”
His smoldering stare met hers and Regan saw a flicker of rational thought as he rasped, “Why didn’t you?”
“I just told you, I wanted it. You going all caveman on me was like my most fantastic wet dream or fantasy,” she told him honestly. “Just because you haven’t felt sexual desire for me until now doesn’t mean I haven’t felt it for you. I have.”
His expression was startled as he questioned softly, “You have?”
“Oh yeah, vampire. I touch myself thinking about you having your way with me,” she told him bluntly as she traced the outline of his lips with her index finger. “I’ve never really wanted a man so desperately until I met you. I love you, Liam. I probably have for some time, even when I thought it was hopeless.”
Liam broke her gaze and rested his forehead against her shoulder, his big body shaking as he answered, “This is a lifetime decision, Regan, and it will probably be eternal since you will be bonded to me. Are you sure you really want me for a mate? Don’t do this if you don’t. I couldn’t bear it if you ended up resenting me or hating me.”
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Liam.” Regan’s tone was melancholy as she fondled his hair thoughtfully. “I just hope you never regret it.”
Liam’s head came up and he speared her with a look so intense, so dark, that Regan’s jaw dropped.
“I would never regret having you,” his angry voice rumbled. “I love you with every beat of my heart, every breath. Do you think I could ever consider myself anything other than a lucky bastard if I had you for a mate, if you could forgive me for what happened to you and the things I said last night?”
He loves me. He loves me.
Regan’s racing heart nearly jumped from her chest at his declaration. Liam’s mouth crashed down to hers, sweeping her into a kiss of pure possession and raw need. She moaned into the embrace as his tongue devoured and conquered, demanding that she submit to him. Regan toppled and became pliant under him, relishing his power and desire.
Liam broke off the scorching embrace with a grunt and sat her up to lift off her silky gown, and toss it away. “Mine,” he insisted with carnal ownership.
Regan shivered at her fierce, primitive response to his possessiveness. The response of a mate to her partner’s dominance. “Yes,” she agreed softly, her whole body quivering for him to take her. Laying back against the pillow, Regan sent him a come-take-me look as his eyes met hers and his hands wandered over her body, his fingers zeroing in on his mark.
“My mark,” he said, his tone touched with awe as he stroked the colorful pattern of the dragon.
“Daric fixed it. Isn’t he awesome?” she breathed softly.
“No. He is not awesome. Not to you. He is a good prince. I am the only man who you think is awesome,” he replied, his voice demanding and guttural.
Caveman. Liam had definitely gone caveman. Regan bit her lip as desire fired through her body and shot straight to her pussy. “I need you, Liam,” she panted as his hand moved up her inner thigh, stroking the soft, sensitive skin.
“I need to taste you first. The scent of your arousal is driving me mad,” he told her urgently as he spread her legs wide, leaving her pussy exposed and vulnerable to him.
Regan squirmed, her body burning with need. Dear God, she needed the feel of him between her thighs before she incinerated.
His fingers trailed over her hips as his head lowered, his hot breath streaming over the tiny blonde curls of her mound. Regan clenched her fists at her side, willing him to stroke her core, to ease the driving
ache that was tearing her apart.
She whimpered at the first touch of his tongue against her slippery slit. He lapped gently, laving her from bottom to top, sipping her juices like nectar.
Not enough. Not enough.
Out of her mind with the need to climax, Regan finally gasped his head and pulled it tight against her pussy, grinding her hips against his mouth.
Liam retaliated immediately, throwing her hands above her head and locking them in place with fur-lined shackles that bound her magically to the headboard of the massive bed. She yanked and groaned in protest as he murmured, “I want to enjoy my feast. I will satisfy you, mate.”
Now. Now. I need it now.
Regan panted as Liam thoroughly explored her, running his tongue over every inch of her quivering, pink flesh. He circled her swollen bud until Regan was ready to scream in frustration. Her hips rose, undulating, begging for relief.
“Mine,” Liam muttered, vibrating her clit as his mouth closed over her and his teeth nipped lightly.
“Oh, God. Liam, please.” Regan’s head thrashed and she jerked at her wrist restraints.
His hands slid effortlessly beneath her and gripped her ass, bringing her begging core against his face as he flicked his tongue along her exposed clit. Harder and harder. Faster and faster.
Regan cried out, the pleasure almost unbearable. She gripped the restraints and dug her nails into the chain, needing something to ground her, to keep her from flying apart.
Her belly clenched as the spasms struck her hard and fast. Her channel contracted and released as fresh juices flowed with her stunning climax. Liam’s mouth closed over her, licking leisurely as she spiraled down from her ecstasy.
“I’m not completely sure I know the precise mating procedure,” Liam whispered, his voice hoarse, as he spread open-mouthed kisses along her thighs.
“Just join our marks and speak the mating pledge. Daric said you would know instinctively,” Regan replied breathlessly, her legs trembling from both his touch and the aftermath of her orgasm.