“You don’t want me?”
Gods, he sounded like a whiny youth. He couldn’t help it. It was what he felt.
A blush crawled up her cheeks. She dropped her gaze to his chin. “I want crazy things from you, Rune. Things I never even fantasized about until you walked into my life.”
He tipped her chin up. “Tell me.”
“I want you to…to…” She closed her eyes. “I want you to lick my clit, eat me out and…” She peeked at him from under her lashes. “Bite me. Down there.”
His breaths quickened. The fangs he’d fought to keep retracted punched out. He stroked his thumb over her swollen mouth. “I want that too. What else?”
She shook her head.
“Tell me.”
“I want both inside me.” She turned away. The color of her cheeks darkened. “Your cock and your fangs. I want you to pound into me, fill me up and feed from me.” She glanced at him. “I want you to own me.”
In truth, she would own him. If he didn’t feed her his blood, her body would return to its mortal state. She would live out her life then die. For him, on the other hand, he would be lucky if he lasted a week before death claimed him.
“We are equals, Cat. The only control I will hold over you is what you give me.”
She offered him a smile that smacked him in the chest. “You’re determined to win my heart, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He stood and stepped behind her. If he didn’t move, he’d kiss her again. Enjoyable though it was, he had a purpose to fulfill.
He worked the comb through her hair, easing the tangles until smooth strands hung past her shoulders. The ends of one side teased her nipples. The other, the top swell of her breast. He grabbed the scissors and evened the mass of her hair so both sides would caress her plump flesh when she moved.
He released the lock he held. It settled against her back. “There. Perfect.”
She laughed and glanced over her shoulder. “Careful, Rune. Keep praising me and you’ll inflate my ego.”
He shrugged. “I’m only stating the truth.”
“As you see it.”
“Perhaps, but my opinion is the only one that matters.”
He gripped the hem of her shirt and tugged it up. He’d reached the limit of his control. The worship he gave her was all he could afford at the moment. The lust only she stirred demanded payment. He craved her warm sheath, her cries of completion in his ear and her inner muscles bringing him to release.
He tossed the fabric aside and let his gaze roam over her chest. The sight of her pale flesh tore a groan from his throat. No bra restricted his view of her plump flesh. Her nipples stood erect, tempting him to bend closer and suckle on her. Unable to resist, he dipped his head and laved the hard point.
“Rune.”
Her whisper demanded more. He gave it to her, flicking the tip with his tongue. She held his head and pushed more of her breast into his mouth. He took her offering and sucked.
She cried out.
Her pleasured sound triggered his instincts. Deep pulls of his mouth tore more moans from her throat. Each one satisfied, yet increased his craving. He wanted to hear her pleasured cries while he fucked her.
He released her breast and pulled her into his arms. Her hands linked around his neck, she dragged herself up and nibbled along the column of his throat. The woman would be the death of him. She tempted him beyond anything he’d ever experienced.
He laid her on the center of the bed and covered her small frame with his.
“Rune, wait.” She pressed her palm to his chest, stopping him from claiming her mouth.
He looked into her eyes. No apprehension shown in them, only lust. “Why?”
“I want control.” She caught her lip on a groan. “I mean you said we were equal. Well, you worshiped me. Now it’s my turn.”
Fuck. How could he turn down that offer?
“All right, angel.” He sat on bent legs between her thighs and spread his arms wide. “Then worship me.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cat let her gaze roam over her lover. The man defined perfection. The hell with what he’d said about her body. Rune was a living work of art. His chiseled abs, a wide chest and narrow waist matched what she’d always thought a guy should look like. Few did though. It took a lot of work to maintain the muscle mass Rune sported. Though in honesty, he didn’t have to hit the gym every day. His physique had been frozen at maturity.
And so will mine. He wants me to be his mate.
The words bounced around her mind. Was she actually considering it?
She needed to make a list and consider her choices along with the implications of each one. The step from no-strings-attached sex to dating required careful consideration, let alone the one he wanted her to make. Both opened her up to obligations she didn’t know she’d want to meet.
Men needed attention. They had physical needs and emotional ones, though few guys would admit to it. Rune was no different. He wanted reassurance from her, that she wanted his touch, believed his tales and trusted him. All those things were easy to give…when she was in his arms.
Otherwise, well, she wasn’t so sure. She knew for certain she was safe with him. Beyond that… She mentally shrugged. She hadn’t had enough time to think of everything that had happened.
The encounter with the eldjötnar bothered her too. Draven hadn’t tried to hurt her, but he left her with doubt, something far worse. Yes, she needed time. The only thing she could guarantee Rune at the moment was her passion. The rest would just have to work itself out. He’d promised they could take it slow.
She shoved the thoughts aside and focused on what she wanted from Rune—a distraction. Besides the virus and tales of mythology, her thoughts kept drifting to her grandmother and what she might have done. Quite frankly, it scared the shit out of her.
Catherine Downs-Sanders died days before Cat had been born. Her grandmother’s body had been cremated the day her mom went into labor.
Cat couldn’t help wondering what would happen to the gods’ abilities if her grandmother really had absorbed them. Would they be lost?
“Well, Cat? What are you waiting for?” Rune dropped his arms. “I could be fucking you right now.”
“I’m considering my options.” Which was true.
He stroked a finger between her breasts. “And they are?”
“What I want to do to you, of course.” Not completely a lie. She caught her lip. A twinge of guilt squeezed her heart. The idea of not being completely honest with him disturbed her on a basic level. She ignored the implications of the revelation for the moment and flashed him a smile. “But I’ve decided. I want you naked.”
He chuckled. “Then naked is what you’ll get.”
He climbed off her and made quick work of removing his jeans. She did the same. Her outfit got tossed to the side. She faced him. He stood on the side of the bed, deliciously naked. His cock pointed straight at her, ready to impale her. The head glistened. More pre-cum welled before her eyes. She licked her lips and crawled toward him.
Hands on his thighs, she bent her head and caught the drop with the tip of her tongue. The salty taste of him drugged her. She moaned and dug her nails into his firm muscles to stop her sway. The man would be her new addiction. She knew it as well as she knew her own name. The thought came and went. She opened her mouth and sucked him deep. No hesitation, no teasing. She swallowed him. Her throat closed around his head.
“Ah, fuck.” He fisted handfuls of her hair. “That’s good.”
If it weren’t for the huge cock in her mouth, she would’ve smiled at the praise. She eased back and curled her tongue around him. His erection slid from her lips. Before she lost her prize completely, she clamped her teeth around his length, right at the ridge around the head. He froze, exactly the response she wanted.
She peered into his face. Glowing eyes locked to hers. Full fangs filled his mouth. He no longer hid them.
“Cat.”
Her name. One word. Simple,
yet the emotion laced into it was anything but.
His legs under her palms trembled. He released the firm grip he had on her hair and rubbed his thumb over her cheek to the edge of her mouth.
Dammit, the man really did want her heart.
She leaned into his touch. He cupped her face in his hands and pushed his cock into her mouth. She opened wide and welcomed him. He thrust slowly, shallowly and possessed her. Did she really expect anything different? Or want something different?
No, I want him exactly like this—strong, powerful, primal.
He fucked her mouth. Each drive of his hips gave her more of his rigid length. Each stroke came quicker than the last. And each of his groans fed her craving for more. She moved her hands from his thighs to his ass. The muscles under her palms flexed. She squeezed them. He rewarded her with a grunt and more of his pre-cum. She relished both.
It wasn’t enough.
She tugged him close, swallowing his length, and sucked.
“Fuck.”
Rune’s fingertips bit into her jaw. His cock jerked. More of his essence teased her taste buds. She relaxed her throat and wanted for his release. He pulled his erection free, gripped her shoulders and tossed her onto the bed. He landed on top of her a moment later. Her breath rushed out with his dead weight on hers. He pushed up in the next heartbeat and drove his shaft into her.
She squeaked, the only response she could muster. He didn’t give her the chance to do more. He moved. Deep, rough strokes of his cock caressed her inner muscles, loosening them until he slipped in and out with ease. Her sheath molded to him, fit his length perfectly and quivered under his pounding drives.
Unlike the last two times they’d come together, Rune didn’t slowly build their passion. He took it, made her accept him and drove her to the edge of an orgasm. Heaviness settled low in her pelvis. He pounded into her and each smack of their bodies built the weight centered in her womb. Tingles spread from her core outward. Her limbs trembled. Her heart raced. She rode the edge of ecstasy. Each thrust pushed it just out of reach. She raced for the climax, reached for heaven, but it slipped through her fingers.
Rune buried his face against her neck. He licked over her pounding vein once, twice. A mumbled curse fell from his mouth. She couldn’t make out the words. He clamped his mouth over her throat. Sharp fangs dented her skin. She froze. He kept fucking her. His dangerous kiss never wavered. His canines still pushed into her flesh. She waited, unsure if she wanted him to bite her or not.
He groaned and added a rolling press of his hips. The screwing drive stimulated every inch of her sheath. She focused on the move. He shifted so his groin rubbed her clit and the head of his cock nudged the mouth of her womb. The deep, intimate kiss built the sensations settling over her. She trembled. Every last inch of her body quivered.
She dug her nails into his shoulders. “Rune, please.”
She didn’t know what she begged for, release or his bite. At the moment, she’d welcome either. He withheld both.
He pulled his erection free, flipped her and impaled her. Her shocked cry turned into a moan. He ground his hips into her. Her eyes rolled back into her head. Some sound fell from her lips, not one she’d ever made. She couldn’t have stopped it. Colors dimmed. The world spun. Another hard press and she slammed back into her body.
“You like?”
She nodded. She couldn’t have formed words to save her life.
He repeated the thrust she was pretty sure had touched her soul. Poetic and not a description she’d normally use. It fit though. He massaged her hips and stroked her core. Her pants came quicker. Each inhale brought her less air. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move. He held her body in place and worked her to the point where tears streamed from her eyes. Pleasure, pain, they were one and the same. Her body was strung tight, ready to combust.
He gripped her hips, drove deep and let go. His grunt filled the room. Her cry followed. Their orgasm seized her. The jerking of his cock and the hot rush of his seed whipped sensations to her core. It mixed with the intense waves rolling through her body. Her heart stopped, breath got caught in her throat and muscles seized. She fell into a world of white. Mist, the same kind she’d seen snake around Rune’s ankles, wrapped her in a comforting blanket. It buoyed her in the sea of icy foam, protecting her from the dangerous element. It seeped into her. In her mind’s eye, she watched it rush into her open mouth, her nose, her pores.
It became one with her exactly as Rune was joined with her. In this moment, she possessed both.
They were hers. Man and mist.
Her release eased. So did Rune’s.
He collapsed over her and quickly pulled her into his arms. His cock slipped free. The loss of him left a void in her heart. She ignored it and dragged his arms tighter around her.
“My Cat.” He breathed the whisper into her hair.
She closed her eyes and savored the affection in his voice. She couldn’t help but wonder if it would last once he found out the details of her family’s legacy. They were a mystery to her still, but she could make an educated guess. Catherine Sanders had been a scientist first, a woman next and a humanitarian last. She’d faced her share of scandals involving animal and human research.
The lure of knowledge a perfectly preserved body offered would’ve overridden any twinge of morality or respect of the dead she had. In the end, it would’ve come down to the acquisition of knowledge. The woman might’ve died before Cat had been born, but she’d been told so many stories about her that she felt as if she’d known her.
Am I that different? She cringed at the thought. No. I have never hurt another living thing. Cells and tissue samples don’t count.
She was different. She cared. But would Rune see things differently? She didn’t have an answer to that question. For once, she didn’t care to figure it out. She snuggled closer to him and let everything go.
Chapter Fourteen
Cat’s eyes popped open. Something had woken her. She listened a moment but didn’t hear anything beyond her own breathing. No evidence of Rune’s presence reached her ears. She sat up. Only rumpled sheets marked where he’d slept on the other side of the bed. She touched them. Cold. A scan of the room didn’t reveal him.
He’d left her.
Where would he go? After his adamant insistence she stay with him it seemed odd. She nibbled her lip and considered the possible reasons but could only come up with one plausible one. He’d gone to feed since he couldn’t take her blood.
She threw her legs over the side of the bed. Everything that had happened to her over the past few days came rushing back. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. Confusion settled over her. UP-33, the eldjötnar, the missing Norse gods, they all tied into each other…if she believed everything Rune had told her. She did, to a point. It made sense in a twisted way.
What bothered her was more personal. Something was happening to her. The sensation of the mist seeping into her body when she’d orgasmed with Rune had been too real.
Draven had hinted at knowing what it was or what she was, to be specific.
She knew better than to trust him. Still, he dangled information in front of her. She wanted it. She’d always had a drive for knowledge. It had fueled her choices in life. When other kids played, she’d buried her nose in a book. She’d given up so much to learn. Every fact she’d uncovered pushed her to seek more. Janice had grounded her, however. Without her big sister, she would’ve gotten lost in her world where science ruled.
Actually, without Janice, she might’ve fallen into the same shady footsteps her grandmother had taken in terms of experimentation. Animal research had played a major role in the Sanders-Downs institute until a series of reports had slipped out detailing horrid conditions and treatment of test subjects. It hadn’t gone away. They still had mice and rabbits on facility grounds, but they were used in noninvasive testing. How they reacted to certain environmental triggers, for instance.
Several
times over the years, Cat had been tempted to do more. Lots of research centers used animals, she’d reasoned. Janice had been aghast when Cat had mentioned it. Janice had challenged her to find other means to get her data. Cat had.
Her voice of reason had died though. Janice had succumbed to UP-33. In light of everything, Cat couldn’t help wondering if her death had been an accident. Janice had worked at the center too, in the library. She would’ve known about the recovery of the bodies from Iceland and Draven had said the eldjötnar knew where the gods were hidden. It didn’t take much to assume they got their knowledge of the gods’ location from her.
Cat groaned and dropped her head into her hands. The conclusion she drew saddened her.
Janice had been murdered.
Eyelids squeezed shut, Cat went over the events leading up to Janice’s death. It shamed Cat to admit, but she’d been so busy with research on UP-33, she hadn’t paid much attention to anything else, including her only sister. She recalled several calls she’d let go to voicemail and emails she hadn’t opened. The days since, she’d grieved and traveled here.
She walked to the desk where her laptop sat charging. A swipe across the screen woke it. She scrolled through her email and pulled up three from Janice. All unopened. She clicked on the oldest and read. Nothing important, just a reminder to make sure Cat was eating and sleeping. She clicked on the next, scanned the text and cursed.
Janice had gone on a date with a man who’d come into the library doing research on their grandmother. No details, no name. Shit, shit, shit.
Cat clicked on the last, her heart in her throat.
Hey Cat,
Have the wine and chocolate ready. I’m going to need some therapy. I had a one-night-stand. Well, worse than that. He pulled an orgasm from me then left before we even had sex.
Call me, okay?
She never had. She hadn’t even left her lab until their secretary told her Janice had called begging her to come out. She’d felt sick. Cat had went, but it was too late. Janice had died.
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