Oh, no, they couldn’t go there. At least not right this minute. “Love, I need to discuss something that’s been on my mind. Two things, actually.”
He brushed a long finger lightly on the underside of her breast and the nipple tingled and hardened. “You’re in love with someone else?”
“No, Dom, I’m serious.”
“You want to join the circus?”
“Tempting, but no.”
“You want a cat even though you know I’m allergic to them?”
She laughed. “No.”
He sat up and nuzzled her neck. “You’re embarrassed to bring it up, but you want to try a few kinkier sexual positions?”
Oh, for God’s sake. “You should know me better by now. I’m not embarrassed about anything we do sexually.”
“Then what, love?”
She looked into his warm blue eyes and brushed a stray hair from his face, but instead of letting go, she wound it around her finger first. “First, I want you to take my blood the next time we make love.”
“But—”
“No arguing. Just say yes.”
He twirled a finger around her nipple. “Next.”
“Next, I want to go through the conversion process. I want you to change me. Before you can protest, I’ve gotten all the details from Shirl. I know it requires approval by the Council.”
“Yes, and it’s excruciatingly painful.” His brows knitted together and he turned away.
“Dom, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. If I stay as I am, we’ll always worry about Darkbloods and you’ll outlive me by at least a hundred years.”
“I love you, too. So much that it feels as if my heart will break when we’re apart. But change you? I just don’t know, Kenz.”
Shirl had also told her that only when a couple had been married for a year would the Council consider it. A gnawing ache formed at the base of her neck. Could that be the problem? Maybe Dom didn’t want to get married.
EXCEPT FOR A couple of grapes and a half-piece of bacon, Mackenzie had eaten everything he had prepared for her. His chest swelled with warm satisfaction as he popped a grape into his mouth and folded his hands behind his head. He was glad to see she was feeling like her old sassy self as he wanted to discuss some serious matters with her, too, but now was not the time. Out of habit, he rubbed his forefingers over his thumbs, but there were no rings to twist. He smiled. Now that she was feeling better, he needed to make one last trip to the jewelry store.
He heard a splash of water and a soft moan as she slid into the tub. Not surprisingly, he became aroused as he thought about her naked in the warm water. She chuckled from the other room as he reached beneath his pajama bottoms and straightened his erection out on his belly.
“Come on in, love,” she called to him. “I know you want to. I can feel it.” He heard the water ripple as he walked into the master bathroom. “I’m surprised you lasted this long.” Green eyes peered at him through dampened lashes as she stretched out in the large soaking tub before him.
Sweet Jesus. She was so stunningly beautiful.
“Why don’t you have the blinds open? I know how much you love the view.” He reached for the button, but she sat up and grabbed his wrist.
“No, don’t. I kept them closed because I want you in here with me, silly.”
“I’m okay in the UV light since I’ve got you inside me.” That still sounded so strange to say.
“Maybe so, but your strength wanes much faster and I want you strong right now.” She gripped the fabric of his pajama bottoms, slipping them down over his hips.
Before he could even fantasize about what he wanted her to do, she slipped her hands behind his buttocks, pulled his hips forward and took him into her mouth in one motion.
“Oh God, Kenz.” Hardly able to get the words out, he fisted his fingers in her hair as her lips moved up and down his shaft. Somehow she magically balanced rough and gentle and an epic surge coursed from his fingers and toes, ramming into him like a tidal wave. He was about ready to crash a monster orgasm.
Grasping at the thinnest thread of his self-control, he pulled free and stepped into the water. He pushed her knees wide with his thighs and positioned himself between her legs. The green of her eyes darkened with desire and rivulets of water trickled between her breasts. He dipped forward and took a nipple into his mouth and she sucked in a breath between her teeth.
With a low growl, he slid inside her in one powerful thrust. Water sloshed over the side of the tub as he flexed his hips and her tight channel gripped him like a vise. Her inner muscles began to clench; he pushed further but couldn’t gain any traction in the slippery tub.
Damn. The water kept them too buoyant. Maybe this was fine for slow and easy, but he wanted to drive in deep. He wanted to take her hard. He could feel the passion mounting inside her as her heart blasted in his head like a jackhammer. She gripped his forearms with desperate abandon. She wanted it that way, as well.
Without breaking their connection, he stood from the tub. With her legs around his waist, she clung to him as he grabbed a towel and marched to the bed.
Her nails dug deep into the skin of his buttocks, keeping him seated deep inside her as he laid her down on the duvet and covered her delicate body with his own. But he needed to be careful; she was still recovering.
“I’m not breakable, Dom,” she said, reading his mind. Her voice was low and sultry in his ear as he began to thrust. “I want you and I want it hard.”
“Dios mio, Kenz.” He pushed in until the base of his erection ground against her engorged flesh. Open for me, my love. Harder and faster he coaxed until he felt the pleasure tighten her muscles around him.
Remember your promise? Her voice caressed his soul like velvet.
He brushed the locks of brown hair from her neck and stroked a finger over the skin there, locating her pulse. Yes, it waited for him. His gums throbbed as his fangs elongated and he opened his mouth to accommodate them. His beautiful angel looked up into his face and smiled.
My glorious savior. I am yours.
As he arched his head back, he caught a glimpse of the painting over the headboard. He had never noticed the depiction of a slight smile on Mackenzie’s face or the flush on her cheeks until now. It was as if she were basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.
An animalistic sound spilled from his lips as heat rushed through him. Dipping his head to her neck, he ran his tongue over the delicate skin covering her artery. With her orgasm, she opened fully for him and he pushed himself inside that little piece of heaven just as his teeth plunged into her flesh. Over and over he pumped into her as he swallowed her sweet essence and she held his head tightly to her throat.
I love you, my darling. Her voice whispered to his soul and she clamped herself impossibly tighter around him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
One year later.
DETERMINED TO PRY more than just the obligatory smile from her friend, at least for a moment, Mackenzie wrapped her arms around Lily and kissed her on the cheek.
“Careful,” Lily said, pushing her away. “You’re going to eff up your makeup and I don’t want to redo it again. No more hugs and kisses until it’s time for you to kiss Dom. Then you can smear it all to hell. What was that for, anyway?”
“In case the night gets away from me and I forget to thank you later.”
Lily straightened the peach-colored satin bow on Mackenzie’s velvet wedding jacket and adjusted the lapel. Although her eyes looked a little hollow and drawn, she scrutinized Mackenzie from head to toe, picking off little bits of lint and stray threads. “This dress is abso-fucking-lutely amazing. Shit—shoot—sorry. You look fabulous and smell even better. Are you back one hundred percent yet?”
“Try two hundred percent. Lil, how can I ever thank you enough for everything? You’re like the sister I never had.”
“Well, with my blood helping in your conversion, we are sisters. Blood sisters. We’re practically r
elated now.” Lily laughed, but it still didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Mackenzie took her friend’s hand in hers, noticed Lily’s signature red French manicure had a few uncharacteristic chips. “He just needs some time, Lil. He’s lived a century masquerading as someone he wasn’t, trying to make amends for some poor decisions he made as a young man. Dom said Darkbloods used to lace Sweet with opiates. It’s no wonder Alfonso got so addicted and didn’t realize what was going on back then. It’s bound to take a while for him to find out who he really is. It can take a long time to forgive yourself for something like that.”
“I know, but it still doesn’t make it any easier.”
“Would you be interested in going up there to visit him at his new place? Alfonso commissioned me to do some paintings of their childhood estate in Madrid and I should have them finished pretty soon. It’d give you a chance to see him again. Maybe the two of you could talk.”
“He hasn’t returned any of my calls or emails. You should probably just take Dom.”
“Well, I’m not sure he’s ready for a social call with his brother, either, although I’m hopeful that day will come. Stubbornness seems to be a Serrano family trait. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, you need to love your family while you have them.”
Lily walked around Mackenzie again, straightening the tiered lace layers of her wedding gown. “Speaking of families, your mother cracks me up. She was convinced Jackson was trying to look up her skirt earlier.”
They looked at each other and laughed. “He probably was.”
Corey burst through the doors, his skater shoes a stark contrast to his slightly wrinkled tuxedo. “Kenzie, Shirl wanted me to tell you that it’s almost midnight. Everyone’s waiting. It’s time to— Wow, you look fantastic.”
“She cleans up well, eh?” Lily said. “Okay, let’s get a move on.”
WITH HIS CHIN held high, knowing all eyes were on him, Dom waited at one end of the red velvet carpet that stretched down the center of the expansive lawn. The other end covered the stairs of the lodge’s veranda, disappearing into the ornate doorway, and a small gathering of people lined up along the side near the center. They watched him now, but he knew that at any moment their heads would crane around to see her. The steady but slightly elevated sound of her heartbeat caressed his mind, reassuring him she was very near. For probably the millionth time, he reached up to smooth down his ponytail. He wasn’t accustomed to wearing the stiff-collared cloak of his ancestors.
“Would you stand still?” Chuck laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s almost time.”
As if on cue, the sound of a single chime broke the silence, and Dom felt his heart pound even harder against his ribs. When he rubbed his forefingers along his thumbs, he had to force himself to stop. For the past year his father’s ring had sat on his own wedding ring finger and the other, his mother’s, after some adjustments, had sat on Mackenzie’s. Tonight, in the tradition of his people, would be the ceremony that celebrated their now-eternal bond. Squaring his shoulders as the chiming continued its midnight countdown, Dom peeled his gaze from the doors and glanced over at Chuck, standing to his right.
“You’ve made a wise choice, son. Your father would be very proud of you.”
As the twelfth gong sounded, the double doors at the far end of the red carpet opened and there, in the doorway, she stood. With her dark curls fanned out over her shoulders, she wore a flowing ivory dress and matching hip-length coat with velvet collar and cuffs and sheer sleeves. She had told him it was covered in gold French embroidery, but he hadn’t seen it until now.
His breath caught in his throat as a hush descended over the guests. Her form was almost ethereal, shimmering in the light of hundreds of candles. Although he would never have thought it possible, she was even more beautiful to him after going through the change seven nights ago. That she went through the agonizing blood ritual for him, to become like him, when he was perfectly happy with her as a human, still amazed him. This woman had sacrificed everything for him, and he vowed to cherish her every day for the rest of his life. At the top of the stairs, she paused and his soul reached out for hers.
When the humming of the soloist began, he lifted his arm in a loving command and Mackenzie descended the steps toward him. After piano notes joined the hauntingly beautiful singing, he started walking toward her and they met in the middle.
As he looked down upon her upturned face and felt the heady warmth rolling off her body, he was struck with the desire to bow at her feet. She’d called him her savior, but it was he who should be worshipping her. She was the one who’d saved him and brought him out of the darkness.
Eres la luz que ilumina la oscuridad de mi vida. Thank you, Lord. He lifted his eyes to the heavens.
Mackenzie untied the silk ribbon of her coat and slipped it off her shoulders. A sweet fragrance wafted up from her skin and hair, somewhat familiar and yet different. It was gloriously musky and he closed his eyes for a moment as it invaded his nostrils. Was it from the ritual oils anointing her body or the smell of her since her change? They had not lain together yet so he couldn’t be sure.
When she bent on one knee, her pale peach toenails peeked out from the hem of her dress. Dropping her coat at his feet, she looked up into his eyes and began to speak.
“All that I was, all that I am, all that I will be, I surrender myself to you.” Her voice, though soft, rang out through the still night air for all to hear.
He grasped both of her hands and pulled her back to her feet. With a shrug, he slipped off his cloak, revealing his bare chest, and wrapped it around her shoulders as a sign of his protection. From his pocket, he pulled out a princess-cut diamond solitaire, flanked with tiny emeralds. She gasped as he slipped it on her finger, where it nestled against her filigreed wedding ring.
Oh my God, Dom, it’s absolutely beautiful.
She twisted it around and watched as it sparkled in the candlelight, shooting tiny prisms onto her gown. Moisture tinged her dark lashes as she looked up at him and his heart soared. Exactly the reaction he had hoped for when he had it designed. He’d purposely not told her about this little detail of the ceremony.
Then, after turning to take the ornately carved sword from its scabbard, which Chuck held in outstretched hands, Dom bent on one knee at her feet. He repeated the same vow to her and offered her the weapon.
“I give to you my strength and power. Your enemies are my enemies and I will give my life to protect you and our family.”
He stood and with his hand over hers, pulled the blade across the palm of his hand. Then he did the same to hers, careful to barely knick her skin. Chuck took the weapon from him and sheathed it without wiping off the blood.
His hand still joined with hers, Dom was bending his head to kiss his wife, his mate, his forever, when he heard her sharp intake of breath.
She was looking at her coat, still crumpled at his feet.
What is it, love? he started to say until his thoughts to her stopped. Several drops of their mingled blood had dripped onto the coat, marring the delicate ivory fabric. His knees almost collapsed at the sight.
Dios mio.
How was this—? His heart swelled impossibly larger in his chest and his hands, clasped over hers, began to shake. When she lifted her chin to him, he felt her concern but couldn’t see it etched on her face. Everything was a blur through his warm tears.
What’s wrong? I’m not upset about the coat, just surprised.
He lifted his eyes to the night sky. Lord, how is this even possible?
Dom, what?
He blinked a few times and saw confusion reflected in her fiery green eyes. Of course, she had no idea. Running a finger down the side of her face, he freed a wisp of her hair that, as usual, had tangled in her earring. He wanted to laugh, to twirl her around.
A child, my love. Oh my God, a child. The blood on your marriage coat signifies you will bless me with a child.
That’s not possible. You know the doct
ors have told me my womb is unable to carry a baby.
Going through the conversion repairs many physical imperfections. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to raise your hopes. But my darling, you were meant to carry my child.
Without waiting for the official, Dom pulled her into his arms. When her lips parted for him and he tasted her intoxicating sweetness, the world around him seemed to dissolve until it was just the two of them in the cool night air. Oh God, that beautiful scent was hers. This angel in his arms was his. What could he possibly have done to deserve—
Shouts of encouragement from the onlookers brought him out of his mesmerizing reverie. As waves lapped gently against the rocky shore, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bridal suite to get started on their future.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8436-8
BONDED BY BLOOD
Copyright © 2011 by Laurie Thompson
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