“What the hell do you think you are doing?” her brother demanded to know.
Matt’s hand clamped down hard on Ky’s bleeding wrist at the exact same time Lyn’s hand took hold of his forearm. The hands of the siblings met over his skin, Matt’s warm, hers ice-cold from shock.
Ky’s eyes met the hard stare of Daelyn’s brother over her body. He would kill the male if he had to in order to help his mate. Lyn needed to drink his blood, it would help her heal and her dumbass brother was too ignorant to realize that every moment he held Ky’s arm away from her lips, he kept his sister from getting better.
Ky gathered his power to him, ready to release it into the crowd if that is what it took to allow him to aid his love.
“Let go.” The warrior’s voice carried an air of menace. “Now!”
Perhaps it was the tone of his voice or maybe the look in his eyes. But something made Matt release his arm—the first wise thing the male demon had done all night.
Lyn pulled his wrist to her mouth. Her tongue darted out between her lips to take a tentative taste of his essence. It flicked across his skin, gingerly licking at the wound. The feel of her tongue against his flesh sent a jolt of electricity through Ky’s body.
The sharing of blood was considered a sensual act between mates. Only the fact that she lay severely injured, kept his body from reacting sexually to the sensation of her lips wrapped around his skin.
Lyn’s body began to mend before their eyes and a hushed awe spread through the crowd of spectators. With each swallow, her body healed. First, her blackened skin fell away to reveal red, angry skin beneath. Next, the red flesh faded to the lightest shade of pink, similar to a mild sunburn, before finally returning to her usual bronze coloring.
Only her cheeks remained flushed as she took his offering into her body. Ky pushed into her mind to glean her thoughts. She found his blood enticing. It made her feel strong, alive. With her body healed, she was now free of the pain. Free to experience the pleasure that his blood could bring.
When Ky tried to remove his arm, Lyn’s fingers closed tighter around his forearm, locking him to her mouth. She moaned against his skin, the sound sent a wave of hunger rolling through him.
“That’s enough, Lyn. Stop now,” Ky commanded, his voice low as he pried his wrist out of her hand with gentle fingers. He licked the wound closed, tasting her on his skin. He watched his mate closely, waited for her to say something, anything that would assure him she was all right.
Instead it was her brother who spoke next. “How do you feel, Daelyn?”
Her eyes never left Ky’s when at last she spoke. “Wonderful. Thanks to my mate.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Bret confessed, settling next to Lyn’s head. “What are you, Ky?”
Did he dare confess what he was to this group of demons? He’d spent centuries trying to hide his existence from others. Could he trust these people with the knowledge that his kind existed?
Lyn decided for him.
“He’s a vampire,” she announced with pride in her voice and a heart-melting smile on her beautiful face.
Lyn pushed herself into a seated position with Bret and Ky’s helping hands. “And I love him with all my heart.”
The wet warrior took the blanket from his back and wrapped it around Lyn to cover her perfectly healed, nude form.
“What the hell, Lyn? I swear to the Sun God you are the only demon I know who would be dumb enough get mixed up with a vampire.”
The careless comment from Matthias made Ky’s blood boil. His fangs lengthened behind his lips, and pressed sharp against his tongue as a hiss left his mouth. Someone needed to teach that male some manners, and Ky decided he was just the vampire to do it. The feel of his mate’s hand resting on his cheek kept him from starting the lesson.
“You’re doing it again, Ky.”
“Doing what?”
“Being vampirey.”
Their eyes met. “It kind of goes with being a vampire, honey.”
“I guess it does.” Lyn gave him a sardonic smile.
Ky glanced around the circle of demons, realizing for the first time that several of them had moved back, apparently wise enough to give the newly discovered vampire some space. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Matt. If anything, he had inched a little closer.
“Vampire.” Matt spit in the sand as if saying the word left a bad taste in his mouth. “Disgusting.”
“Matthias Torres, how dare you insult your sister’s mate like that?!” The demonic Priestess gave Matt’s ear a good boxing. “You are being rude to our special guest.”
She stepped forward, casting a look of derision upon Matthias where he knelt in the sand as she approached Ky.
He knew he liked something about that woman.
“I am Karina. I welcome you to our gathering.” The Priestess stuck out her hand in greeting. Ky politely stood. Taking her hand in his, he leaned over to place a gallant kiss on the back of it.
“It is nice to meet you. I am Kyron Robinson.”
Matt rose to his full height, towering over the small woman. “He is a vampire.”
“So what,” Karina’s reply drew a collective inhale from the demonic group. A low, excited murmur quickly followed.
“How can you be so blasé, Priestess Karina?” Bret asked, rising to stand in tandem with Lyn.
“How can you be so discriminatory?” the matriarchal demon flung back. “Did you really think demons owned the rights on being the only preternatural beings in the world?”
“So you knew vampires exist?” Lyn asked. Her hands clutched the material of the blanket, holding it closed around her.
“I suspected as much, based on some passages in our sacred tomes. However, I never had proof until tonight.”
“What will you do with this proof?” Ky asked, his voice thick with emotion.
It had been one helluva night. Between Lyn’s injury and being exposed as a vampire to a group of demons, he didn’t think he could take much more. If this old woman thought to expose his kind to the world, she had another thing coming.
“I will swear us all to secrecy.”
“That is absurd,” Matt replied.
“You challenge my decree, Matthias?” Karina turned on the male demon, the ire plain to see in the fire in her eyes.
“No, Priestess.” Lyn’s brother lowered his head, his gaze on the ground. At least he had the good sense to look properly chastised.
Karina appeared satisfied with the gesture because she turned her attention back to Ky. “You have expressed your intention to take one of us for your mate. That makes you one of us. We will not bring you, or your kind, any harm. We will vow before the Sun God and his Goddess tonight that we will never reveal what you are to anyone outside of our circle, for if we do the Gods will strike us with a curse.”
“But he has not completed the ritual,” Matt pointed out. “He has not truly committed to Lyn. They only made one leap, not three, over the flames.”
A pensive expression settled over Karina’s face, her attention returned to Ky. “Will you do so now?”
Jump two more times over the accursed fire. She must be kidding. Ky couldn’t believe she dared ask such a thing of him. The first jump had been difficult enough and that was before his mate had gone up in flames.
“Ky, please.” The soft, pleading tone of Lyn’s voice pulled at his heart. “We must jump two more times to complete the ritual. It is our equivalent of ‘till death do us part.’ Matt is right.”
Ky turned, taking her delicate shoulders in his hands. “You want to risk your life again, just to prove our love to these people?”
“These people are my friends and family. The ritual is not complete until you make the third jump.”
“That is ridiculous.” Ky took her chin between his finger and thumb of his right hand, tipping her head back so she could see the sincerity in his blue eyes. “I cannot bear to have you injured again.”
“I just
didn’t jump high enough last time. This time I will put more effort behind the jump.”
When he saw her eyes brim with tears, Ky’s heart seemed to drop to his toes. He’d obviously underestimated how important it was to her for them to complete the ritual. Nothing made a man feel impotent like watching the woman he loved cry. It tore at him to know he caused the waterworks.
“Don’t you see, Ky? If we complete the Bonding Ritual, it won’t matter that you are a vampire. If you jump the fire with me in the eyes of all here, we are forever truly bonded and no one, not even Matt, will try to come between us.”
“He’s probably too scared to do it,” muttered Matt.
Ky spared her meddlesome brother a glance. It would be worth jumping the fire alone to shut that demon up.
“If we must do this thing, this time I will jump for both of us.” Ky bent at the knees. Placing one arm behind her legs and the other behind her back, he scooped her off her feet.
Karina gathered the blanket where it hung down near Lyn’s feet and placed the excess in his hand to hold. “Here, you wouldn’t want that swinging into the flame.”
Truer words were never spoken.
“You ready?”
The warm smile she graced him with wrapped around his heart. “Yes.”
Kyron’s muscles bunched as he prepared to leap. He held nothing back, letting his preternatural strength propel them over the flames. This time he made sure they went high enough to keep them both safe from the fiery blaze.
After repeating the ritual one more time, he lowered Lyn to the ground. She readjusted the blanket, and wrapped it around her body like a bath towel, tucking one corner of the material in while her friends and family rushed to surround them, giving Ky congratulatory pats on his back and Lyn tight hugs. The many blessings they received from the throng assured Ky their union would be supported. Although, why it took him jumping over the fire three times to make that happen, he’d never understand.
“You are forever bonded in the eyes of our people, and now we make our promise to you,” Karina announced holding her arms to the heavens, her long, velvet sleeves dangling in the breeze. “Hear me now children of the Goddess. Each of us pledges here, tonight, to keep Kyron’s secret safe and protected. Tonight he has joined our family by uniting with Daelyn in the Bonding Ritual. He has proven himself honorable and worthy by saving our sister not only from the fire, but from centuries of lonesomeness and solitude. As Lyn has accepted Kyron, so too shall we. We vow before the heavens and our Gods to not reveal the existence of vampires, lest the Gods curse us and all those we love. So each of you will vow now by saying, I so vow.”
“I so vow,” the chorus of voices sang out to the heavens.
Daelyn threw her arms around his neck, and Ky barely grabbed her in time to keep the blanket from falling away to expose her beautiful body.
“I love you, Ky.”
“I love you too, Daelyn.” He cradled her face in his hand. His thumb skimmed her cheekbone, caressed her lips.
Lyn opened her mouth, taking the tip of his finger inside the velvet heat of her mouth. Ky closed his eyes and drew a sharp inhalation of breath as she suckled his thumb, her tongue swirling around the tip.
He pulled his digit from the moist heat. Needing the taste of her sweet lips on his. The warrior bent his head to hers, his arms dropping to her waist.
Ky pressed her against his body and lowered his mouth for a kiss. He poured his emotions into the caress, letting them flow over her until her knees grew weak and her body sagged against his.
“Ahem. That’s enough of that, you two.” The all too familiar voice broke their passionate moment by repeating his earlier words.
Ky really wanted to teach that demon brother of hers a few lessons in proper manners.
“I’ll never get enough of that,” Lyn confessed through her kiss-swollen lips.
Ky smiled, male satisfaction expanding his chest. “Good thing because I plan on doing that a lot over the next few centuries.”
Matt gave him a hard smack on the back, stinging his flesh with his large hand. “Just a little advice, bro. You treat my baby sister right or I’ll make you regret the day you jumped over that fire. Feel me?”
“I would never allow any harm come to your sister.” He looked deep into Lyn’s eyes, hoping she saw the truth behind his statement before he pinned her brother with a harsh stare. “I will protect her from anyone who would hurt her, including you. Feel me?”
A wry grin lifted one corner of the demon’s mouth. “Yeah, I feel ya.”
Lyn turned in Ky’s arms to face her brother. “Isn’t there something you want to say to me, Matt?”
The demon almost looked embarrassed when he gave her a brotherly peck on each cheek. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’ve never been so happy.”
Ky sensed the sincerity of her statement in her mind.
Surrounded by her loved ones, standing next to the man she loved, she felt cared for and protected. She couldn’t wait to get back to the island and celebrate their commitment privately.
And Ky planned on celebrating the love he’d found with his demon, over and over again before the sun rose to paint the sky, but that could wait.
After all, they had plenty of time—the rest of their long lives. Together, they would face whatever trials might come their way. Between his job and her family, he knew there would be many.
But for tonight, all was well. And the warrior, content to live in the moment, put thoughts of what might come out of his mind to celebrate their bonding with those who loved his mate almost as much as he did.
A word about the author...
Born in Virginia, Brenda Sparks now resides in the Sunshine State with her incredibly supportive husband and their beloved son. Balancing her professional commitment to the local school district with her writing is challenging at times, but writing suspenseful paranormal romances is a passion that won't be denied.
Her idea of a perfect day is one spent in front of a computer with a hot cup of coffee, her fingers flying over the keys to send her characters off on their latest adventure.
Brenda loves to connect with readers. Please visit her at www.brenda-sparks.com
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