“Athan! I—yes! Yes!”
With my feet flat against the footboard, I shoved inside her so deep there was no way to know where she ended and I began. Selene broke apart, her screams shattering off the walls, and I roared her name as I followed her into the orgasmic abyss. My head dropped to the crook of her neck, and though I avoided the marks for now, I sank my fangs into her artery and felt her hurtle over the edge once more. With every draw of her blood into my body, my cock seemed to fill with more come because I released jets of hot, creamy seed with every pulse, and it seemed as though there was an endless supply.
After what seemed like an eternity, the sensations began to ebb, and we started drifting back down to earth. I waited for my sanity to return, but instead, my need continued to build, and my cock—which hadn’t really gone down—swelled and hardened all over again.
Selene shifted and whimpered when my erection moved inside her. “Did you mean what you said?” I wanted to clarify again, giving her one more chance to back out and wait until I had enough control to make love to her.
Her head lifted, and she took my earlobe between her teeth for a second before she whispered, “More. Fuck me, Athan.”
I nearly fucking came when those dirty words fell from her perfect mouth. But I had other plans first.
I pulled out and rose to my knees before flipping her over and yanking her hips up. “First, I’m going to redden this pretty little ass for moving your hands,” I growled.
After I turned both cheeks pink and took her from behind, I held her close, staying inside her as we fell onto the mattress. I rolled to my side, and she snuggled deeper into my embrace.
Selene broke the silence after a spell. “If that’s a punishment, I’d very much like to experience a reward.”
I burst out laughing before turning her head and kissing her with all the pent-up emotion inside me. “Perfect,” I mumbled against her lips a few minutes later. “You’re perfect for me.”
5
Selene
When I woke the next morning, my body bore the brunt of everything Athan and I had done together. I ached in places I hadn’t known were possible, but the twinges were a small price to pay for all the pleasure he had given me. I’d lost count of how many orgasms I’d experienced at some point during the night and had barely been coherent when he’d carried me into the shower to get me cleaned up. If I’d been more alert, I probably would’ve insisted on wearing something to bed, but then I would’ve missed out on waking up naked in his arms, which would have been a shame.
I rolled over and stilled, staring at Athan’s handsome face. He looked peaceful in his sleep, and my heart squeezed at seeing this other side of him. Gone was the compelling man who’d commanded my full attention from the moment I’d laid eyes on him. He was no less irresistible this way, though. My fingers itched to comb through his light brown hair and stroke down his cheekbone to trace his lips. I wanted to cup his angular jaw and press my mouth to his. To wake him up with a deep kiss that would probably lead to other things my body wasn’t quite ready for this morning. But first, I wanted to gawk at his gorgeous body. He hadn’t given me much of a chance to explore the smooth, pale skin that covered his lean muscles last night.
Each time I’d gotten my hands on him, Athan had forced my arms above my head. He’d explained that I wreaked havoc on his self-control and he’d never be able to make love to me slowly if I caressed his body for too long. Not that keeping my hands off him had done any good—none of our bouts of lovemaking had ended gently. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I felt an immense amount of satisfaction knowing his desire for me was too much for his willpower. We were explosive together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Just thinking about how quickly he was able to bring me close to the edge of release had me rubbing my thighs together. The movement must’ve woken Athan because his eyes popped open and his hand snapped out to cup the back of my head. His bright blue orbs held no hint of confusion. He’d gone from sound asleep to fully alert in a millisecond. “Good morning, love.”
“Morning,” I echoed softly, my cheeks filling with heat over being caught staring at him while he slept. After he’d touched and tasted every inch of my body—and even spanked my butt until my cheeks were rosy—it seemed a little silly for me to be embarrassed.
Athan pulled me closer, and I was expecting a kiss when he jerked back and hissed, “What the fuck?”
I didn’t understand what had angered him and only grew more confused when he rolled off me before disappearing into thin air. I sat up, frantically scanning the room before he stormed out of the closet wearing a black T-shirt and pajama bottoms. He tossed a white, button-down shirt and pair of navy sweatpants at me. “Get dressed, love. My brother is here.”
“How in the world did you know?” I muttered as I scrambled off the mattress to put on the clothes he’d gotten for me.
“We can speak telepathically with each other.” He said it so matter-of-factly that I didn’t react until he added, “Once we’re fully bonded, you and I will be able to do it, too.”
“Holy crap,” I breathed, my eyes going wide. “How cool.”
I was wondering what else would change for me—and what all fully bonding with Athan entailed if last night hadn’t done it—when he flung the bedroom door open. When Athan said his brother was here, I’d thought he was downstairs. But nope, Kieran was standing right on the other side of the door.
He handed Athan my purse, which I hadn’t thought about since I’d left it on the bed in the guest room one of his staff had shown me to when I’d arrived for the party. “Her blasted cell phone has been going off virtually nonstop since late last night. I held off on coming over as long as I could so you’d have time together, but I couldn’t handle it anymore.”
“Oh, no.” I slapped my forehead and groaned. “I’m so sorry. I should have known my parents would blow up my phone when I didn’t check in with them last night. When I spoke with them earlier in the evening, I had promised to call after the party but then completely forgot.”
“It’s fine.” Kieran waved off my concern and smiled. “A little irritation is a small price to pay for Athan finally finding his destined consort. Plus, my Thana is thrilled to know she’ll have her childhood friend close.”
With Kieran saying their names so close together, the coincidence finally hit me. “Oh, my gosh! Athan and Thana’s names are an anagram.”
Both men looked poleaxed, their bright blue eyes widening before they burst into deep laughter. “Damn, it’s been a year since I found Thana. I can’t believe I didn’t notice that in all this time.”
Athan laughed harder as he moved to my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “What can I say? My consort is as smart as she is beautiful.”
His compliment had me feeling all gooey inside, but those emotions quickly turned to irritation when my phone started going off again inside my purse. “And on that note, I’ll leave you two to take care of Selene’s parents.” His gaze slid to his brother. “Good luck with them. You’ll need it,” he warned before going poof.
I cringed, knowing how right Kieran was. My parents could be more than a handful when it came to me. Which was proven correct when I pulled my phone out of my purse and found more than fifty missed calls and text messages since last night. “You have to be freaking kidding me.”
Athan tugged my phone out of my clenched grip and cursed when he saw the long list of notifications. Then he scrolled to the bottom and uttered another profanity before running his fingers through his hair. “Your parents chartered a plane at the ass crack of dawn this morning when they couldn’t reach you. They’ll be here in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Here?” I pointed at the floor. “As in your house?”
“Our house,” he corrected automatically.
“Here?”
“Yup, they included my address in their last message and said you’d better still be here when they arrived,” he confirmed with a te
rse nod.
I looked down at the clothes I had just thrown on and started to freak out even more. “How do they even know where I’m at?”
“That’s an excellent question.” He tapped at my phone’s screen and sighed. “Your location is shared with them, so they can track you wherever you go.”
“What?” I screeched, yanking the phone out of his hand to stare at it. “I did not set that up. They must have tweaked the settings before giving it to me. It was a freaking gift...that they could use to check in on me wherever I went.”
Athan pulled me close and stroked his hands down my back in a soothing gesture. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and murmured, “We don’t have time to worry about how your location got shared with them. Right now, we need to focus on finding you something more appropriate to wear and getting downstairs before they arrive.”
“Crap, you’re right,” I groaned, giving him a tight squeeze before stepping away. “All my stuff is in my room at the hotel where I spent last night.”
Athan flashed me a cocky grin. “Lucky for us, I can teleport there and back in the blink of an eye.”
“Your abilities are definitely going to come in handy.” I heaved a sigh of relief before giving him the details for my hotel. As soon as he disappeared, I raced into the bathroom to freshen up. By the time my parents arrived less than fifteen minutes later, we were dressed and drinking coffee in the formal living room. I’d recommended we wait for them there since my parents would appreciate the grandeur of the antique furnishings. It wasn’t really my style, but Athan had assured me that I could change anything I didn’t like in the house since it was mine too.
We were seated next to each other on a Victorian sofa when a maid showed them into the room. Nervous butterflies swarmed in my belly. I had never had a boyfriend to introduce to my parents, so this was all new to me. The situation was bound to be awkward under normal circumstances, which these were definitely not. Not when my parents had chartered a plane to hunt me down because they hadn’t heard from me in a measly twelve hours, and the man I was going to introduce to them was a freaking vampire.
“There you are,” my mom sighed, shaking her head. “I was beginning to think that we’d never find you.”
I stood and stepped closer to give her a hug. “I’m sorry. I meant to call you last night, but time got away from me.”
“I was frantic when we couldn’t reach you,” she cried, her arms tightening around me before I pulled away.
Athan moved silently, but I was still acutely aware of him as he came up behind me. His presence gave me comfort as I geared myself up for my parents' reaction to the news that I’d found someone and wasn’t planning to go back home with them.
“Why didn’t you answer any of our calls?” My dad’s gaze bounced back and forth between us. “Did something happen?”
“I didn’t know you’d been trying to reach me.” Lifting my phone, I wiggled it. “I forgot this at Thana’s home last night.”
My mom gasped and stared at my hand. “Where did you get that ring?”
“I gave it to her,” Athan answered, tugging me back to pull my body into his side.
“Impossible,” my mom hissed, shaking her head. “That amethyst is unmistakable. It belongs to our family and was stolen from us several generations ago.”
6
Athan
I barely had time to process what Selene’s mother had said before she reached out and snatched her daughter’s hand and attempted to pull her away from me. No way in hell was that happening.
“Do not touch my consort,” I said in a low, menacing tone. Selene’s mother flinched and dropped Selene’s hand. I slipped my arm around her waist and dragged her back against me. Then I curled both arms around her in a protective and possessive gesture.
Her mother’s eyes widened as her gaze bounced back and forth between my mate and me. “Consort?” she whispered. Her tone was unmistakably horrified.
Selene stiffened and muttered, “Oh, crap.” I buried my face in her hair to hide my smile and held in my chuckle. She was so fucking adorable.
“You have to come with us, Selene,” her mother demanded shakily.
Selene’s father beckoned her with a gesture and a demand. “Come with us, Selene. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“He-he’s a—”
“I know what he is.” My girl straightened her posture, and her head tilted as she lifted her stubborn chin. “I’m not going anywhere.” Seeing her stand up to her parents and exhibit such strength was sexy as fuck. She would definitely be getting extra orgasms later.
“Selene!” her father hissed. “You can’t believe anything he says. He’s just trying to lure you in so he can kill you.”
I scoffed and shot him a withering glance as I responded in a voice that was pure steel. “I would never hurt my Selene.”
“He must be a thief,” her mother added, though her argumentative stance had faded, making room for fear and hesitation. “How else would he have your great-great-grandmother’s heirloom? Her husband had that made for her and picked an amethyst that was the same shade of purple as her eyes.”
I was about to explain when Selene spoke first. “Look around you, Mother,” she said with a sweeping gesture. “Do you really think Athan has any reason to steal? Besides, you said it was stolen generations ago. It’s bound to have changed hands since then.”
Her mother shook her head, and I rolled my eyes. I was already bored with these two and wanted them out of my house. “I found the ring in a little shop a century ago. Something about it intrigued me. Now, I know it was because it belongs on the finger of my consort, with eyes that match it perfectly. Just like the original owner.”
I kissed the top of Selene’s head, and she melted back into me.
Her parents sputtered for a minute; then something must have occurred to Selene because she cocked her head to the side. “How do you know what a consort is, Mom? And that Athan is a vampire?”
Her mother’s lips twisted as an expression of disgust harshened her features. “Your aunt was supposedly a ‘consort,’” she said, using air quotations as she spit out the word. “Her mate”—she glared at me with hatred in her eyes—“killed her. They’re monsters. Murderers. And if you choose to stay here, I have no doubt you’ll meet the same fate.”
This was an interesting development. “Are you sure it was her mate who killed her?” I asked softly.
Selene’s head fell back, and she twisted her neck to look up at me. “Didn’t you say something about nightwalkers hunting consorts?”
I nodded and brushed her hair behind her shoulder so I could run a finger over the mark on her neck. As though to make sure it was still there. But it was also a reminder that Selene was still in danger as long as she was unturned.
“See?” her mother shrieked. “They hunt down their supposed mates and drink all their blood until they’re dead.”
Selene looked at her parents once more. “Nightwalkers.”
“Exactly,” her father piped up. “Besides, who would want to live a life condemned to darkness?”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Selene interjected.
“I’m so glad you understand now,” her mother sighed. “Let’s go.”
I was about to threaten them when Selene patted my arm and minutely shook her head. She was silently asking me to let her handle this. I would never deny my consort anything in my power, except when it came to her safety. I could have pushed the protection angle in the current situation, but I knew she would be much more tactful and patient with her parents than I would. If she wanted to continue to have a relationship with them—such as it was, considering she’d barely seen them since they’d sent her to boarding school in Switzerland—it was far more likely to happen if I wasn’t threatening their lives and throwing them out of our home.
“No,” she said gently. “The mistake is yours, Mom. I’m gathering that you aren’t aware of the differen
t breeds of vampires?”
Her father snorted with derision. “They all drink blood, don’t they?”
“You drink scotch, which I find disgusting, yet I don’t judge you for it,” Selene snapped. Once again, I hid my amusement with my face in her silky tresses.
Her well-played rebuttal had him pausing long enough for her to forge ahead before he could try to argue her point. “Athan isn’t like the vampires in books. Or the one that killed Aunt Lola. I do not doubt that a nightwalker hunted her. But Athan is different. His kind are called daywalkers. He was born, not bitten.” She went on to explain the differences between the types of vampires, and it impressed me that she’d retained everything I’d told her in the last twelve or so hours. And it had been a lot to take in.
When she finished, her parents remained stubbornly silent, and Selene sighed. “I know you two aren’t big on relationships”—she’d attempted to keep her tone neutral, but I picked up the thread of resentment in her voice—“but I’d like to try to maintain one with you. However, Athan is my mate. I’m choosing him, and if you can’t accept him, or what I’ll become once he’s claimed me...well, you found your way in, so you can find your way out.”
Fucking hell. I was harder than a damn baseball bat and on the verge of throwing Selene over my shoulder and marching off to find a private place to fuck her. Her delectable little ass wiggled against my hard-on, and I growled in her ear. “Watch it, love.”
Her breathing picked up a fraction, and I almost forgot her parents were there until her dad grumbled, “I can see that you aren’t going to be reasonable about this. But we love you, and we’ll do our best to accept you.”
“And Athan,” Selene demanded.
Her mother sniffed and glared at me. “As long as you’re still alive...or whatever you’ll be.” Then she spun around and marched out of the room. Her father’s parting glance was a little less frosty, but certainly not the loving response one should receive from their father.
The Love Bitten Series: Volume 1 Page 10