She leaned in and kissed him, surprised when he jerked back. Amber eyes roamed her face and his brows rose at her words. “Gillian, what kind of monster do you take me for? I would never force you. Rape? Caressima, do not ever joke about such a thing.
“It is unbelievably difficult for me to stop right now. I want to strip our clothes off, roll you under me and drive into you hard and deep.” His voice was shaking with his effort to remain rational. “I will not deny that I want to sink my teeth into you and taste your blood. I also want to dip my tongue into you, sweetheart, to spread you open and taste every part of you. I want to bring you pleasure that you will never forget. But Gillian, you have only to say stop and I will stop. You have nothing to fear from me, now or ever.” He held her face gently and made her look at him.
Gillian blushed under the intensity of his gaze and from his explicit description of what he wanted to do to her. She stayed quiet and patiently waited for him to finish, very aware of how wet he’d gotten her and that he realized it too.
When it seemed he was through speaking, she tried her own voice. Taking a deep breath, she answered him. “I apologize for my choice of words then, Tanis. I want you too but I want it understood that I do not intend to be a snack. Even if this is just to alleviate the tension of the moment, I’d like to think that despite our initial hatred of each other, there is a solid attraction too.”
She searched his face as he did hers. “Do you hear me, Tanis? I need to know that you’re still in there and that you understand what I’m telling you, or I get off and this stops here.”
To her surprise, he laughed softly. “Piccola, I have not paid a lot of attention to the needs of Human females. I will not take your blood, nor ask you to take mine. I will not use my teeth in any way on you until you give me leave to do so.”
His eyes were still full of passion, but his voice was serious and she could feel the honesty.
“I will give you my protection freely and keep you absolutely safe while you are here; both Aleksei and I will. The thought of you being harmed sends me into a blind rage, cara, you need to know that. If I am arrogant, overprotective or chauvinistic, it is not because I do not respect you. It is because I know no other way to be.”
“Then you need to remember that I have been taking care of myself on the battlefield, in snipers’ nests and with your Paramortal friends for a long time. I do not need a keeper,” she reminded him, a delicate eyebrow lifting.
“No, piccola guerriera, I suppose you do not,” Tanis agreed grudgingly. “But do not forget, you are squarely in my world now. Mine and Aleksei’s. You may have Vampires and the lot for patients, but I assure you, here, in our world, you can be killed before you draw a full breath. I ask you to remember that before you fight us over your safety.”
Gillian thought about that for a moment. He was right about one thing. All her training, combat experience and psychology weren’t going to help her here. She would have to rely on the Rachlav brothers to keep her from being slaughtered. Dammit.
“All right, Tanis. I won’t fight you. But you keep a lid on your caveman bullshit.”
Tanis laughed at that and pulled her back into his embrace. Gillian kissed him again. Tanis melted into her arms, pulling her tighter and pushing up against the V in her legs. He felt constricted in his clothing, and feeling the dampness of her through her pants was not helping. They had to either stop or make love very soon, or he’d explode.
Gillian reached between them and deftly unfastened her pants. Taking Tanis’s hand off her butt, she brought it around to the front and placed his fingers on the band of her panties. His kiss deepened as he gently slid his fingers lower, gliding through the soft down and over the small button to find her wide open and wet.
Moaning audibly, he slid two fingers into her as she rose on her knees, straddling him. Her hands were already busy with his belt and fastenings, letting him spring free of the clothing, huge, hot and hard.
Grasping his thick shaft, she began to move her hand up and down, in time with Tanis’s in and out motion.
“Dio, piccola, this is not helping,” Tanis managed between his teeth.
In response, she moved her hand faster, nipping at his neck and flexing on his hand. His breath was harsh and ragged. When she started moaning and pressing down harder on his hand, gripping his fingers tighter, Tanis thought he’d lose it.
She was watching his eyes glow even more with desire as she rode his fingers and pressed into his palm. Tanis’s growl was all she needed to increase her pace on his member, now pulsing and growing even harder in her hand.
“Piccola, I have to be inside you.” Tanis’s voice hit her low and deep, so she raised up and slid her cargo pants down her thighs. Gillian turned and leaned back against his chest, letting him brace her bottom as she lowered herself onto his shaft, guiding him into her.
As she slid over him, a deep guttural sound came from his throat. “Gillian, Dio, piccola…” He started thrusting up immediately, hands on her hips, holding her tight to him.
Gillian pressed back, lifting up a little, then sliding down in time with his movement. Tanis was trembling. He’d never been with a woman as uninhibited as she was. The ridges of her canal were gripping him and creating a delicious friction. The angle of his cock was pressing right on her g-spot.
Tanis didn’t think about the anatomical name, but he felt it, the smoothness beyond the ridges. He kept pressing it as he buried himself deeper in her. He could feel her breathing quicken and felt her getting wetter with each stroke. He moved his hand between her legs and gently rubbed her small bud, bringing a gasp and more wetness to cover him.
“Oh yeah, Tanis, that’s it…” Gillian wasn’t shy about letting him know he was doing a good thing. Goddess, he was big enough to be stretching her, making her wetter than she’d ever been, moaning in her hair.
“Cara mia, I can’t hold on. I need a release, and so do you.”
He didn’t need Vampiric senses to know she was climbing a high precipice with him and they needed to go over. Alpha instincts took him then as he pressed deep. Holding her tightly against him, a powerful arm around her pelvis, he rolled them both to their knees, facing her downhill. She complied and went on all fours following his lead, relishing the sensation of him locked deep inside her.
Tanis took her hips and slammed home, stroking deeper and harder as she cried out with pleasure. His body moved without thought, seeking only one thing, her release to bring him relief from the tightness in his groin. She pushed back against him, her channel hot and silken, closing tightly on him as she started to climax.
“Relax, caressima, relax and come for me. Let go, mio amore. I am here to catch you.”
Tanis couldn’t breathe for a moment as electricity ran through him when her powerful contractions started. She clenched around him and her one word—“Tanis!”—took him over.
The orgasm pulled him from the base of his spine outward. Jets of his seed erupted, pouring into her as her body pulled him in deeper. Both of them cried out, pushing against each other. When they could breathe again, he stroked his hand down her back, making her shiver.
“Piccola, I can’t tell you how good it felt to be joined with you like this.” His voice was husky and low.
“You aren’t so bad yourself, Tanis.” Her voice was soft and still ragged.
Reluctantly, he pulled out of her, helped her up and fastened her clothing for her. He would have preferred to prolong the moment but cuddling in the dark of night on a mountainside wasn’t practical. She assisted in tucking him all away and, looking up into his fathomless gold eyes, she saw him smile. Tanis gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.
“Tanis! I need to breathe here!”
He loosened his grip but leaned down to kiss her. “Piccola, I will take tonight to my grave.”
Gently, he kissed her hair, her face and her lips. She would have normally made a smart-ass remark about Vampires and graves, but the look on his face and his a
bsolute tenderness stopped her.
“Tanis, I don’t know what just happened between us or why, and I’m a very intelligent woman. I can’t believe we were just fighting a while ago. But you are special and I do like you. We would not have just had sex if I didn’t.”
“You may have had sex, piccola, but for me, it was making love.” His eyes were tender on her face, his voice low and gentle and she had to touch his cheek.
“All right, making love, then. It was great, but remember, I’m only here for a short time.”
That brought a dark look to his eyes. “Yes, piccola, I remember.” His voice held a wealth of hurt.
Gillian looked at him and turned his face to hers. “Tanis, I’m not staying.”
“I know, Gillian. It has been a long time since I have been really attracted to a woman. Believe me, I did not go in search of a lover tonight, nor have I for a long time.” He sounded sad.
“What’s wrong then? It’s not like you haven’t had girlfriends before. Whatever happens, Tanis, you’re gorgeous and very good in the lovemaking department. You won’t lack for partners, I assure you.” Gillian forced her smile to be overly bright.
Getting involved with her patient’s brother wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done, but she didn’t know if she was going to survive the next few weeks. Having Tanis to take the edge off looked like it might be a good thing.
Gold eyes roamed over her face. “Gillian, I have not made love to a woman in over a century. Just let this be special to me, can you?”
“What?! You can’t be serious! You’re telling me that you haven’t had sex in over a hundred years?” Gillian was incredulous.
She knew Tanis and Aleksei were four hundred years old. She was also a healthy woman with healthy needs and tended to measure sex by her own yardstick.
“That is simply impossible.”
Tanis laughed softly, stroking her cheek. “We are not Human, cherie. We are not subject to Human passions and need for sex. There has to be something else that is intriguing or else it is just about the blood. I find your spirit, your bravery, even your nasty temper, extraordinarily attractive.”
He kissed her forehead, a completely different person from the arrogant bastard who had walked into Aleksei’s home several hours before. “I hope you do not regret this moment, Gillian.”
“I’ll deal with it. Ye gods, Tanis, it’s not like this relationship was permanent.” She regretted that instantly when she saw insecurity in his eyes for the first time. His feelings shifted. He was unsure, vulnerable. The inborn empathy flared and she wanted to comfort him.
Her voice was gentle, almost musical. “If I’d known it had been so long for you, Tanis, I would have tried to make it more special for you.”
Amazed by her sudden turn to gentleness, he pulled her closer to him. “Piccola, it will always be special, because it was with you.”
The deep howl of a hunting wolf shattered the night air. Gillian stiffened in his arms. Tanis pulled back instantly, scanning the area for any threat. He looked down at her to find her smiling and looking around into the depths of the black forest in excitement.
“That is so cool! I haven’t heard a real wolf howl for a long time. Come on, let’s track him.”
Tanis took her hand, and with difficulty began to follow her into the forest. Emotions were roiling in him and he didn’t think he could stand a protracted run in the woods with her at that moment. He pulled up short and she turned with questions in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Smiling wryly, he said, “I need to take you to the cabin right now, Gillian, and bid you addio—farewell. After what we just did, I cannot be with you any longer tonight. I did not fully feed earlier this evening and I find my desire for you has not fully been sated. To remain close to you, a woman I am very attracted to sexually…it simply would not be safe for you.”
“Tanis, I’m not afraid of you.” She snorted derisively, dismissing his concern.
Fangs exploded in his mouth and fire blazed in his eyes as his temper flared with his protective instincts. Dammit, she was going to take him seriously. This was her life she was potentially risking.
He jerked her to him and opened his mouth wide enough for her to see what she was dealing with. “You should be,” came the deep rumble from his chest.
Vampire. Fear flickered for an instant in her eyes, then cold resolve replaced it, turning her eyes into icy chips of frozen emerald. Bastard. He made her flinch.
“I see. Then please take me back to the estate, it’ll be light in an hour or two and I’d like to be asleep by dawn.” She didn’t fight him, but stood passively in his hard embrace, realizing that to struggle or fight would trigger something Tanis might not be able to control. He was trying to warn her, to protect her. Gillian choked on the thought, but realized she had to accept his judgment.
The Vampire’s emotions had been long suppressed. He was very attracted to her. Her easy antagonism earlier and his reaction to her should have been a warning to himself that he was dangerous. After their passionate lovemaking, he was taut as a piano wire, his control tenuous. It was all he could do not to crush her to him for another round of wild sex and more than one type of penetration.
He wanted to taste her blood, to take her inside himself as she had accepted him within her body. Just being near her was a strain at the moment. Above everything he wanted her to remember that he was a predator. Her passivity did nothing to inflame him further and he was able to hold his inner beast in check.
Tanis stroked a hand over her hair, regaining control with relief. To take her unwilling was completely against the nature of the man he had been and the Vampire he now was. He wasn’t a rapist. To force his fangs into her would be the same as rape, reducing her to merely an object to meet his needs. He didn’t want that. He wanted her. If they could be together, he wanted her to come to him with open arms. Tanis could only wait, be patient and not scare Gillian to death while they were sorting through all this.
“Allow me to escort you, my lady.” He bowed formally at the waist, tucking her hand into his arm. Gillian had to laugh. She was walking casually with a Romanian nobleman who looked like he’d fallen out of a storybook. A nobleman she’d had a fight with and who’d busted her ass; a man she’d had sex with only moments ago. It was too ridiculous. Letting Tanis lead, she walked beside him back to the compound, listening to his glorious voice as he told her of the coming attractions.
All too soon, the lights of the compound glared ahead. Arm in arm, they walked to the house to find Aleksei leaning against one of the pillars on the porch. His metallic gray eyes raked over her, checking her for any injuries or rumpled clothing. She could feel his surging emotions from where she stood with Tanis: irritation, worry, jealousy? What? He was her patient. There could be no jealousy about this.
She needed to sleep. She’d had enough of Vampire emotionality for the night. Still, Aleksei was blameless in all that had happened and she needed to retain a good relationship with him. Wanting to reassure him in her characteristic manner, she released Tanis’s arm and went toward him.
Tanis watched her carefully as she approached the house and Aleksei. Even to his expectant eye, Aleksei made no sign, no move. There was no mental push or command. Gillian stopped in front of his brother, turned to him briefly and waved.
“Thank you, Tanis. It has been most enlightening.”
Turning to Aleksei, she spoke to him. “Thank you, Aleksei. I gratefully accept yours and Tanis’s protection. I have a full day tomorrow so I think I’ll be off to bed.”
“Are you all right, Gillian?” The other Vampire’s voice washed over her. She knew what he meant. He could smell Tanis’s scent on her. Nosy, are we?
“Yes, Aleksei. I am just absolutely terrific. Thanks for asking.” There. That was honest.
She swept into the house and locked the door so they both heard it. It wouldn’t have stopped either of them had they wanted inside—they both had been invited. All she had to count
on was their honor. At the moment, it was the only safety she had.
Aleksei had checked out the area surrounding the house before the two returned, making sure that none of Dracula’s Vampires were about. He also checked the house. Dracula had more under his command than just Vampires—Ghouls, Werewolves, Revenants and the occasional Human slave were not bound by the “no entry until invited” rule and Aleksei didn’t want any unpleasant surprises.
He and Tanis took the time to set wards around the perimeter. Nothing would get in that wouldn’t alert them. Now, they needed to find a Daywalking fait accompli. Someone who would watch over her during the day. They had no idea of her plans for tomorrow.
“You are not going to rob me of my therapist, are you, Tanis?” Aleksei’s voice was warm with the stirrings of irritation. It was a distinct warning.
“Of course not, brother. You cannot expect her to see you as anything but a patient at this time. To do so, for her would be unethical.”
At Aleksei’s raised brow, Tanis continued. “I did not expect to find her attractive nor for her to find me worth her interest. I do find her worth my most diligent attention, Aleksei, but I have pledged to keep her safe.”
“See that you do, Tanis.” Aleksei’s voice held a note of command and he left Tanis staring at him as he went to find prey.
CHAPTER
7
T HE next day, Gillian went off in search of the castle that held her other client, leaving Aleksei and Tanis a note as to where she’d gone since she didn’t know how long this would take. The history on the case said that an Italian mercenary swordsman named Dante Montefiore had met his end due to ambush in the castle.
The Ghost was very melancholy and vengeful, but also shy. Frightening the castle occupants and visitors alike with images of his murdered form, Dante was able to transubstantiate his blood and his physical body for brief periods. He’d been a bane of the existence of the Boganskaya family for six hundred years. No one had been able to exorcise him, so he remained a landlocked spirit, bound to the castle, its grounds and his hallway of death, deep in his world of weary sadness and boredom.
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