Charlie’s head fell back when he slid a finger into her. She was vulnerable and exposed to this man in a way she’d never been before, but instead of being embarrassed or scared, she gave herself over to him and welcomed the sense of freedom he gave her. She’d never felt sexy before, but she did now.
And then his hand was slipping away, and she felt the heat of his mouth against her core. Her fingers curled into the rocks as pleasure speared her. His tongue plunging into her made her cry out as his hands gripping her ass kept her on her feet. The pressure within her built as every thrust of his tongue pushed her closer to the brink of release.
Jack savored the honeyed taste of her against his tongue, her erotic whimpers, and the way her body responded to him. He would never forget any detail of her as she branded herself onto him. His hands gripped her ass as she pushed demandingly against him, and he gave her what she wanted.
When she came, she did so with a muffled cry as she turned her mouth into her arm and bit down to keep from being overheard by any Savages nearby. She hadn’t realized her fangs were extended until they pierced her flesh and blood welled forth.
Already nearly out of control with his need for her, the scent of her blood on the air pushed Jack over the edge. Rising to stand behind her, he nudged her legs further apart with his thigh and, grabbing his dick, he guided it into her. The lingering contractions from her orgasm pulled him deeper into her.
Buried inside her, something inside Jack shifted and changed. This was where he belonged; where he would always belong. Charlie was his. Something niggled at the back of his mind as this realization took firm root in him, but he was too far gone in her to think about anything else.
He turned his head into her neck and rested his lips over her pulse; his fangs throbbed to pierce her delicate flesh. The scent of her blood enticed him as his racing heart fell into rhythm with hers, but he didn’t bite her. He had no idea how she would react to it, and he wanted Charlie to trust him.
Claiming her hands, he lifted them until they were against the wall with her fingers entwined in his. He pulled out of her before thrusting deep again. He groaned when the muscles of her sheath gripped him more firmly.
She’s mine. The words reverberated through his head until they were all he could think. Restraint unraveling, he released her hands to grip her waist while he drove faster and harder in and out of her. As he neared release, he realized something was missing… he had to see her.
Releasing her hands, he gripped her waist and pulled out of her. Charlie didn’t have a chance to voice her disapproval before he turned her around. She found her eyes locked onto his red ones as he lowered her to the sandy ground and plunged into her.
Jack froze to stare at her flushed, pretty face. Her red eyes were heavy lidded as she gazed at him. Her chest heaved with her rapid inhalations; his fangs ached to sink into her throat, to taste her and mark her as his.
Then, he moved within her again.
Jack’s eyes, so intense and predatory, should have frightened her. Instead, she met the demanding pace this predator set as every nerve ending in her body sang with ecstasy. Her gaze fell on his throat, and hunger seared her. She’d never experienced such an extreme desire to feed on someone before and, unsure of how he would react, she resisted sinking her teeth into his throat and feasting on his blood.
Where had that impulse come from? She didn’t know, but she didn’t think feeding on each other was something vampires did. She wasn’t exactly versed in vampire etiquette, but she’d never bit another vamp, and she’d never been bitten by one. By the time Mal found her, she’d lost so much blood, he only needed to give her some of his to complete the transition.
Charlie’s fingers dug into Jack’s back as she lifted her hips to him and bit her lip to restrain herself from sinking her fangs into his throat.
Something savage within Jack broke free as Charlie’s reddened eyes met his. Whatever was happening between them, it had her as out of control as him. Trying to drown out the sound of the blood pumping through her veins, he bent his head to kiss her again.
Charlie clung to him as all control spiraled away. He was the only solid thing in this world; the only thing keeping her grounded. Then her body was coming apart, and she cried out as pleasure consumed her.
Jack plunged into her once more and gave himself over to the rush of his release. But it wasn’t enough. Still inside her, still feeling her heart beating against his chest and the sweat slickening both their bodies, he couldn’t rid himself of the certainty something was missing.
When his eyes fell to her neck and the image of striking and sinking his fangs into her throat burst into his head, he understood what was missing. He also knew what she was to him.
Unexpected joy burst through him. He’d never really considered the possibility of finding his mate. It was something that could happen, but not something he saw happening to him. Who would want a cranky ass such as himself for a mate? But he wasn’t so cranky around Charlie.
No, for the first time since he was changed, he felt hope for the future. Brushing the strands of hair off her face as her eyes opened, he discovered the striking blue and green of her eyes had returned to replace the red. A small smile curved her lips, and he bent to kiss her.
He didn’t know how Charlie would react to being his mate, but that was a concern for later. Now, he was going to experience her again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Charlie lay nestled in the crook of Jack’s arm as she watched the sun touch the sea. She felt sated and pleasantly sore in a way she never had before. The scent of him lingered on her skin, and Charlie clearly recalled the feel of him between her legs. It seemed he’d etched himself onto every part of her, and she liked it.
She didn’t want to release him, and that terrified her. This was only supposed to be a casual, one-time thing. She could not afford to have her heart broken while on this island, and she had a feeling Jack could crush her if she let him get any closer.
She also had to protect Dylan from Jack. Her son liked him, that much was obvious, and she’d be damned if Dylan got hurt because she let Jack into their lives only to have him walk away later.
Jack ran his fingers over her arm and watched as her eyes partially closed and her lower lip quivered. Her nipples puckered when he traced his hand around her breast. He loved watching her reactions to his touch and feeling her pliant body against his.
My mate. She irritated him more than any other, but she also excited him in ways he’d never dreamed possible. The pulse of her blood called to him like a siren calling to the ships.
Bending, he nuzzled her neck and nipped at her flesh. He grinned when she shivered. Running his fingers over the curve of her hip, he dipped his hand lower to slide it between her legs.
She should shove him away, get up, and get dressed, but the sun was still out, and despite being so recently satisfied, twice, she found her legs parting for him as anticipation thundered through her veins. When he rolled her over and slid into her from behind, her heart soared at the exquisite sensation and how unbelievably right he felt within her.
This is the last time, she told herself. But as his fingers stroked her clit and she came apart again, she already craved more.
* * *
Charlie refused to meet Jack’s gaze as she gathered her clothes. She tugged her pants on and buttoned them. She discarded her underwear shortly after arriving on the island. Trying to keep them clean was time-consuming and pointless, but she held on to her bra for over a year before finally admitting defeat and tossing it into the fire. By that point, it was so ripped it was almost impossible to tell it was a bra.
Jack watched Charlie pull on her shirt before she turned away and stalked to the end of the cave. Streaks of color lit the sky as the sun touched the horizon.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he pulled on his sneakers.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’m not on any birth control.”
As much as it h
ad all gone wrong, she would never change anything that happened with Chad, for it had given her Dylan. However, she wasn’t a clueless sixteen-year-old girl anymore; she knew vampires could reproduce, and she should have learned her lesson. This was not a discussion to be having after sex. She’d changed so much, yet she was still an idiot. If she could have kicked herself in the ass, she would have, multiple times.
Jack didn’t feel any panic over this revelation. Instead, the idea of Charlie carrying his child almost made him smile, and he would have if he didn’t think she might choke him. “It will be okay,” he said.
“I’ve heard that before,” she muttered.
“We’ll be more careful next time.”
“Who said there was going to be a next time?” she demanded. Before he could reply, she said, “We have to go.”
Jack suspected her urgency to flee this cave was because of what transpired between them. He hadn’t expected her to marry him afterward, but he had hoped she wouldn’t try to run away from him.
Her need to flee aggravated him, but he would have to let her come to things in her own way and own time. She was his mate; she may want to run from him, but what transpired between them would affect her too. If she did run, she wouldn’t get far. He hoped she didn’t end up hating him when she discovered the truth, but then he hadn’t known the truth until he took her.
He finished dressing and strolled over to join her at the edge of the cave. Leaning against the wall, he studied her profile while she watched the waves crashing against the shore and rolling closer to them.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.
She barely glanced at him. “I know.”
Jack suspected this I know wasn’t because she trusted him not to hurt her but because she was determined not to let him get close enough to do so. “Charlie—”
“Look, Jack,” she said as she turned toward him, “let’s not pretend this was anything more than what it was.”
“And what was it?”
“A one-time thing, a way to pass the time. It was good”—it was freaking fantastic, but she wouldn’t let him know that—“but nothing more.”
Jack’s teeth ground together as he resisted the urge to shake the infuriating woman. “And what if I said that, to me, it was more than just a way to pass time?”
Charlie buried the surge of hope his words brought with them. Words were easy to say; she’d learned that from Chad. “What more could it possibly be?”
“I don’t know, but I’d like to find out,” Jack replied.
He didn’t think telling her about being mates would go over well right now. Charlie was not the type of woman who would become excited about vampire soul mates. She was more likely to laugh in his face.
Charlie debated how to respond to him. Part of her was curious to explore what this was between them too. If it were just her, she’d take the risk, but she also had to worry about Dylan’s heart, and it was far more fragile than hers. Before he was born, his father and grandparents turned their back on him; she’d never let a stranger toss him aside too.
“I have a son, Jack. I don’t have time to play ‘let’s explore things’ with anyone,” she said. “He comes first, and I won’t risk him getting hurt.”
“I’d never hurt Dylan or any child.” There had been a few times when he contemplated choking a Byrne kid or two, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate hearing that, even if they were immortal and he couldn’t kill them. “I like kids.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t hurt him on purpose, but I won’t have anyone flitting in and out of his life because I need a good fucking. He’s been through too much already.”
“And are you often in need of a good fucking?” he bit out. He knew he had to take it easy with Charlie, but her words sent his blood pressure through the roof.
“What business is that of yours?”
“Charlie,” he growled, unable to stop himself.
“Are you a saint, Jack? I’m assuming you weren’t a virgin until today. Do you plan to tell me you’ve never gone out and hooked up with some random person to scratch an itch?”
“I’m no saint, and you’re not some random person, not to me.”
Charlie’s breath caught as a vein appeared in his forehead. She hadn’t been trying to upset him, but clearly, she had.
“I’ve been with plenty of women whose names I didn’t know and others whose names I forgot as soon as I left them behind,” Jack said.
“I’m sure they appreciated that.”
“They knew what it was,” he bit out. “But that’s not what I want with you.”
“And what do you want with me?” she demanded.
Eternity. But he didn’t say it. He would drive her out of this cave if he did. “A chance for something more.”
Unexpected tears burned Charlie’s eyes; unwilling to let Jack see them, she focused on the ocean again.
“I won’t treat you like the other men you’ve been with, and I’m going to prove it to you.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Man,” she murmured.
“What?”
She turned to look at him. “Man. I’ve only ever been with Dylan’s father. Being a teen mom, who’s working while going to school, doesn’t exactly leave a whole lot of time for dating.” She’d been content with her core group of Miss Dodd and Dylan. “Besides, I didn’t want any more people in my life.”
Her eyes were defiant as they held his, but he sensed the sadness behind her words. She acted tough, but she’d been through a lot, and beneath her remorseless exterior, she was still a vulnerable, frightened girl, and that fear was creating a wedge between them. He couldn’t let it happen.
Jack stepped away from the wall and stalked toward her. Charlie glanced frantically around, but she had nowhere to go unless she plunged into the dwindling daylight and took the risk of exposing their hiding place.
When Jack placed his hands on the wall next to her head, she lifted her chin as she prepared to knee him in the crotch. It didn’t matter that she’d spent a couple of hours receiving a lot of pleasure from his cock, she’d ram it into his intestines if he did anything she didn’t like.
“I’m not going to be flitting in and out of your life,” he said.
“That’s easy to say, but we barely know each other, and people grow tired of children who aren’t their own.”
“I helped raise a brood of children who aren’t my own. There were plenty of times they drove me nuts, and they still do, but I love them all. I’d kill for them, and I’d die for them.”
“You helped raise those children from the time they were babies. Coming into a child’s life when they’re older is a totally different thing.”
She was the most stubborn, infuriating woman he’d ever met, but he refused to argue with her further. Fighting wouldn’t change her mind; it would only cause her to dig her heels in deeper. Her past had damaged her, and her walls weren’t the type that could be hammered down with logic and anger. No, her walls needed to be picked apart, brick by brick, so she didn’t realize they weren’t standing anymore.
“Believe what you will,” he said and lowered his arms to step away from her.
Charlie hated the disappointment washing through her. He’d given up so quickly.
“But I’ll prove to you I mean what I say,” he said.
And she hated the hope his words gave her even more. Hope would only lead to another broken heart. “And how will you do that?”
He shrugged. “I’ll find a way.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlie followed Jack over the jetty before pressing close against the cliff face as she paused to take in the vast expanse of wide-open beach before them. They should have made their move during the daytime. Yes, it would have been easier to spot them, but they weren’t invisible here, and judging by the howls and screams filling the night, the hunt was in full swing.
She tried not to let her terror show, but when a howl echoed down the rocks until it
reverberated all around them, she couldn’t stop herself from shivering. Jack’s eyes were tinted red when they met hers before he gazed at the top of the cliff. The screams sounded as if they were directly above them, but with the way they echoed, they could be coming from ten feet down the beach.
Jack leaned back on his heels as he surveyed the cliffs and then the beach. The echo made it sound as if a hundred Savages were closing in on them. He knew they weren’t close by, but the two of them shouldn’t be out here. His gaze fell on Charlie as she huddled closer to the rocks. The gun strapped to her back wouldn’t do them much good if they came up against a hoard of Savages.
He would get her out of this. He would not lose her to these bastards, but he didn’t know what to do. Staring at the beach and then the cliffs against his left shoulder, he knew there was only one choice—they had to swim for it.
He was a strong swimmer, but he didn’t like the idea of being caught between the ocean and the cliffs, especially with the tide in. They would stay close to the cliffs as they swam around them to one of the side tunnels. They wouldn’t be as noticeable in the ocean, not with the waves crashing over them. And if they couldn’t get into one of the side tunnels…
Jack shut down the possibility. They had no choice. They would eventually be spotted on the beach, and they would get caught if they scaled the cliff to the top.
“We have to go back,” Jack said.
“There’s nowhere to go back to.”
“We’ll swim around the cliffs to get to the side tunnels.”
“There’s no guarantee any of the side tunnels are open.”
“No, there’s not,” he said. “But we’re guaranteed to be spotted or killed if we keep going this way. The cliffs and waves will make swimming difficult, but we’re immortal, so it’s not like we’re going to drown.”
Unforeseen: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 9 Page 13