by R. E. Butler
He took out his cell and pressed the screen, and strains of soft, slow music came from speakers in the ceiling. She could still hear the thump of the dance music below them, but she focused on the music he’d chosen.
He rose to his feet and offered her his hand. “Come on, love. Let’s dance.”
She joined him, and they embraced in the center of the room, swaying to the music. Her head was on his chest over his heart, which even though it didn’t beat she felt fully connected to.
“I can’t believe that something so wonderful came out of such a terrible act of violence,” she said. She tilted her face to look at him. While the room was dark, the strobe lights and lasers from the club were visible, swirling and dotting the walls and furniture.
He slowed his swaying and stared down at her, and she could practically feel his emotions, because they matched hers.
Love. She loved him. And he loved her.
“I wish you hadn’t suffered, but I’ll never be sorry you’re in my arms, Avery.”
She rose onto her toes and kissed him, and this time instead of pulling away to keep the kissing to a minimum, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He slid his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened them on a sigh and a moan combined, loving the way he tasted, like wine and dark chocolate, sweet and decadent. She could have stood there in that glass room and just kissed him and been happy, but then he left her lips and kissed across her jaw. He nipped a path of fire down her throat that made her nerve endings go haywire.
And then he moved them again, dancing to the music with their bodies pressed close together.
She wanted to keep dancing. But she also wanted to retreat to their chamber and see where the rest of the night took them.
She felt very certain that tonight they’d become mates in truth, and she hoped he felt the same way.
Chapter Twelve
After an hour of dancing, they called it a night in the family room. Traz enjoyed the time with her immensely and had found it hard not to do more than kiss her. She was so tempting. He escorted Avery down the stairs. There was no mistaking the scent of her arousal, all sweet heat and woman. He wanted to toss her over his shoulder and sprint to their chamber, but he pushed back his own arousal to focus on what they needed to discuss.
Namely, that he was certain she was his beloved, a bond stronger than a truemate. He wanted her to know what it would mean to both of them, and what would happen when they bit each other and shared blood while they made love. It was difficult to push off his desire for her, but he’d spent the past week treating her like a queen, and he didn’t want to behave like a brute at the last minute.
“What will happen tomorrow after sunset?” she asked as he unlocked the chamber door.
“You’ll feed from a human once more, and then you won’t need to feed again for a week, using SyBl everyday instead. I wanted us to enjoy a night out on the town, so I have a few things in store, as long as you’re up for it.”
Avery didn’t say anything, but she made a humming sound.
He frowned as he shut and locked the chamber door and watched her stroll around the chamber. She was definitely up to something, but he didn’t know what.
“Shall we?” he asked, moving to the couch. He patted the cushion next to him. “We’ve got a lot to discuss.”
She faced him slowly, her eyes an alluring bright blue. The air turned electric as she walked to him, hips swaying seductively. Instead of taking the seat next to him, she straddled his lap and cupped his face.
Her sweet scent surrounded him, his fangs instantly throbbing in his gums. He connected to her on a cellular level because he was her sire. He’d been waiting for what felt like an eternity to have her in his arms, but the need to ensure she knew exactly what it meant for them to be mates—beloveds—roared at him.
Before he could say a word, she kissed him.
There was only her. Him. Their bodies pressed together, the apex of her thighs against his erection. Her soft moans.
He tangled his fingers in her hair, the soft locks slipping through his fingers. He pulled her closer, groaning as she tilted her hips. Their lips parted, their tongues touching and tasting, gliding in a heated dance that made his nerve endings sing. She was intoxicating on a hundred different levels, a curious combination of sultry vixen and innocent sweetheart.
But at the core, he felt as if she was just his. Made for him, as he felt he’d been made for her. He’d waited hundreds of years for her, and now that he had her, waiting seemed like a terrible idea.
She nipped at his bottom lip and then kissed across his jaw. His head fell to the side as she made her way down his neck, her hand curling into the collar of his shirt and pulling the material aside. She planted a kiss on his shoulder, then slowly worked her way up his neck. His whole body was on fire, his skin tingling with anticipation.
He felt the press of her fangs in his neck, and everything within him went profoundly quiet. She lifted her fangs from him, scraping them lightly up his throat, and then she struck. He hadn’t had fangs in his neck since Mishka turned him.
This wasn’t even remotely the same feeling.
She didn’t feed from him, just snarled softly, the sound making her fangs tingle in his flesh. He pulled her closer, giving her hips a squeeze as he arched up under her with a groan.
“You’re going to make me come,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion, his whole being tuned to her.
She chuckled lightly and pulled her fangs from his neck, swiping her tongue lightly up the wound. “Only inside me.”
He picked her up and moved her to the bed, moving as swiftly as he could, practically flying from one piece of furniture to the other. Need, hot and heavy, rose within him. Unfastening her jeans, he stripped her swiftly, freeing her lower body from her clothing while she wiggled from her shirt and bra. She sat up and grabbed his shirt, shoving it upward. He ripped it over his head, the seams tearing in his haste.
He freed his erection, and she sucked in a harsh breath and reached for him.
Pushing her back to the bed, he shook his head. “You first, love.”
She bit her bottom lip and whispered his name.
When he’d made fast work of the rest of his clothes, he climbed onto the bed between her parted thighs, shoving them wide to make room for his shoulders. His mind raced, his desire for her nearly overwhelming in its intensity. Spreading her open with his fingers, he stroked his tongue slowly up her folds, her sweet taste intoxicating. She moaned and stretched out on the bed, her toes curling against his back. He looked up the length of her body and reached for her breasts, playing with her nipples as he licked slow circles around her clit. She pressed her hands over his, writhing in his hold as he feasted on her, tilting his head and burying his face in her heat to tongue her core. She canted her hips and gave him better access, moaning his name.
He licked upward and closed his lips around her tight bud, flicking his tongue rapidly over it. He could feel her stomach quivering and slipped a hand underneath her to slide a finger into her heat. He played with her, driving her to the edge of pleasure and then backing away, loving how she squirmed under his attentions.
“Please, Traz,” she said, burying her hands in his hair and fisting the strands.
He grinned against her, smiling as he licked and sucked her to climax, loving how she thrashed on the bed, her fangs flashing in the overhead light as she cried out. He was over her a heartbeat later, sliding into the cradle of her hips, burying himself deeply. She was oh-so tight and hot, her body clenching him as waves of pleasure flowed over her. He straightened his arms and looked down at her, loving the way her eyes were glazed over with passion. Sliding from her heat, he thrust back in, her head kicking back as she moaned.
She raised one leg up his side and he caught her knee with his arm, holding her open as he moved in and out of her, driving them both to another height of pleasure. It took every ounce of his control to not come after the first thrust, b
ut he wanted their first time together to be as amazing as she was. She lifted onto one elbow and put her arm around his neck, kissing him as they moved together, her hips rising to meet his, her pussy clenching him with each thrust. He’d never felt such pleasure.
He’d never really been in love.
But he loved Avery. All the way to the center of his being. Forever.
He pulled from the kiss and buried his face in her neck, grazing her throat the way she’d done to him. She angled her head with a groan, her nails digging into his skin and her knees gripping his body.
“Come for me, love,” he whispered.
He pulled her knee up a little higher and pounded into her with abandon, feeling how close she was to hitting another climax.
Her nails gouged his shoulders as she wailed under him, her passion-filled cry sending him over the edge, the two of them falling into a tidal wave of bliss. He struck, sinking his fangs into her throat, and drinking deeply from her. She brought his wrist to her lips and bit into him, sucking hard on the wound. He freed his fangs from her flesh, feeling the connection as beloveds snap into place. He caught some of his own blood from his wrist on his tongue and swiped it over the wound on her neck, then did the same to his wrist, feeling their beloved bond sealing as their wounds healed.
His vision blurred, and he slumped down next to her, pulling her close.
“I’m so,” she said, her voice slurring at the end.
“Sleep, love,” he murmured, unable to avoid the call of sleep that the beloved bond brought.
His last thought was that he’d only waited three hundred and seventeen years to be this happy.
Avery was one hundred percent worth the wait.
Chapter Thirteen
Avery slowly woke, marveling at what happened after she and Traz made love and bit each other. His entire life had flashed before her eyes, his memories now hers, as if they’d lived their lives at the same time. That she was the one over three hundred years old. She saw everything, from his human life before he met Mishka, to his turning, to coming to the States to establish the coven with Mishka. She hadn’t really enjoyed seeing all his lovers, but seeing how much he’d cared for her from the moment he laid eyes on her when she took the coat check job told her she had no reason to be jealous.
He wanted her and only her.
Which was exactly how she felt about him.
He cleared his throat and she wiggled to her side to face him. “Hey,” she said.
“Hello, beloved.”
Drawing on his memories, she knew what being a beloved meant. It was like a truemating on steroids—they weren’t just mates, they were born for each other. Which considering that a few centuries had separated them was awesome.
She kissed him. “Did you know we’d fall asleep like that?”
“Yes. If you’d let me explain things to you before you seduced me, then you would have known that too.”
“Well, I know it now.” She grinned. “We should have just become beloveds immediately. Know why?” She rose onto her elbow and looked down at him.
“Why?”
“Because I feel entirely different. Like your memories have made my control over my vampire nature even stronger. I don’t feel like I have to worry about being around humans or shifters, or any other paranormal creatures.”
He smiled. “That’s wonderful, sweetheart. I hoped becoming beloveds would help you.”
“Well, I wasn’t too crazy about seeing you have sex with other women.”
“It’s tempting for me to hunt down the males who knew you intimately before me.”
“I get why you wanted to wait though,” she said. “Seeing your memories of my turning and how wild my emotions were—you didn’t want me to make decisions when my feelings were so all over the place.”
“Exactly. It certainly didn’t mean that I wasn’t crazy about you from day one.”
“Well, my emotions aren’t feeling so out of whack anymore.” She peeked around him to the digital alarm clock. “It’s almost sunset. Oh! I’m free of our chamber! Woo hoo!”
She hopped from the bed and did a little happy dance.
He laughed as she twirled in a circle. He reached for his phone. “I will text Mishka and see if he wants to meet with us. I’ll give you the codes for our door and the elevator. What do you want to do about time off?”
“What do you mean?” She sat on the bed.
“Usually after a mating, Mishka gives the couple a week off, like a honeymoon.”
“Would we go anywhere?”
“We can. Normally, the new couples spend most of the time in their chamber, enjoying their mating.”
She flopped onto the bed with an exaggerated sigh. “No offense, but I just spent a week on chamber arrest. I’m super stoked that we’re beloveds, and I’m a hundred percent crazy about you.”
He moved over her, caging her with his arms and smiling down at her. “But?”
“I don’t want to spend a week in the chamber. Again.”
“I understand.” He kissed her with a chuckle. “What if we enjoy the weekend but tell Mishka we’ll reserve the week off for when we actually have a honeymoon.”
“I love that idea.”
“I made a reservation at the coven’s restaurant, and then I have an idea for something special afterward.”
He rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. “What’s the point of going out to dinner if we don’t eat anymore?”
“They serve SyBl in all kinds of ways, it’s pretty amazing. Plus, it’ll be our first real date. Trust me, it’ll be special.”
“I trust you.” She put her arms around him and gazed into his jade eyes. “I love you.”
His eyes darkened slightly, a smile curving his lips. “I love you too.”
* * *
An hour later, Avery was wearing a fluffy pink robe and slippers and sitting in Cella’s office, waiting for Gretel, the coven’s clothing designer, to arrive. Avery had wanted to wear something special for their first real date and had called Cella to ask to borrow an outfit. Instead, she’d brought in the designer.
Cella’s phone buzzed and she looked at the screen. “She’s here. I told Angie to send her back.”
The sound of squeaking wheels drew close, and Cella opened the office door and let in two young women pulling clothing racks, and an older woman who was slightly hunched over. Her light brown gaze met Avery’s and she smiled.
Cella introduced her. Gretel shook her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet the newest beloved mate. I understand you’re going to Bistro Rouge for dinner.”
Avery nodded.
Gretel spoke to the two females with her, who then pulled the cover from one of the clothing racks that was filled with dresses of every color.
“Tell me whether you prefer long dresses or short?” Gretel asked as she ran her hand over the hangers and peered at the dresses.
“Maybe nothing too long.”
Gretel nodded, lifting a red dress with a fitted waist and cap sleeves. Avery stepped behind a makeshift screen that the attendants had set up. When she put the dress on, she stepped out from behind the screen and looked at the long mirror one attendant held.
“Red’s not really my color,” Avery said.
Gretel hummed. She pulled out a navy-blue dress and handed it to Avery. She liked it but didn’t think it was quite right for the evening. She wanted something elegant and sensuous. After four more dresses, including a bright yellow one with feathers on the hem, she was beginning to think she wouldn’t find a dress for their first date.
Then Gretel handed her one, and there was a gleam in her light brown eyes. Avery put on the black halter dress, which fell to the middle of her knees. It hugged her curves perfectly, and the low back made it daring and sexy.
“Yes?” Gretel asked with a broad smile.
“This is the one,” Avery said.
“Oh wow, so sexy!” Cella said.
Gretel handed her a pair of black lace pumps, then
outfitted her with onyx earrings and a matching necklace and bracelet.
Avery looked at herself in the mirror, smiling and showing her fangs. “I love everything, thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure. I took the liberty of bringing some more work clothes. Pick a few things, and I’ll create a new wardrobe for you.”
Avery moved to the other clothing rack as the attendants lifted the cover from it. She knew that Cella dressed in a way that was a mixture of sexy and comfortable, with a little bit of elegance for good measure. Avery wasn’t into business clothes, but she wanted to look professional, so with Cella’s help she picked out a few skirts and tops that were seductive without being too revealing.
“Could I wear ripped jeans, do you think? Not in the office, but for me?” Avery asked, watching as Gretel’s attendants boxed up the skirts and tops.
Gretel’s brows winged up. “You can wear what you like, Mishka has declared it.”
“I think you don’t like ripped jeans,” Avery said. “It’s all over your face.”
“Why ruin fabric?” She shrugged. “Your generation likes what you like, however. I can send some for you.”
“That would be awesome, thank you.” Avery hugged Gretel and thanked the attendants, then turned to face Cella.
“I’ve got twenty minutes. Can you do my makeup?”
“You bet. Have a seat,” Cella said.
By the time Traz knocked on the door to Cella’s office, Avery felt like a million bucks. Cella opened the door and Avery smiled at him, awed by how handsome he looked in a dark suit with a blue tie. He held a bouquet of roses.
Cella stepped aside and Avery walked to him and took the roses he offered. “You look amazing, love.”
She tilted her face up for a kiss. “Thank you. So do you.” She inhaled the scent of the roses. “These are so pretty.”
“Ready to go?” he asked.
She handed the roses to Cella, who promised to put them in a vase and leave them by their chamber door, and then she took his offered arm and walked with him down the hall.