“Then drink, love.”
I wrapped my mouth around the wound. The blood slid down my throat. It tasted like new pennies and cotton candy mixed together. I took swallow after swallow until Keaton groaned and asked me to stop. I couldn’t. I wanted more. He finally had to wrench me away from him.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. It felt wonderful, but if you drink any more you’ll really start to turn. Not that I don’t want that, but you might still wish to remain human.”
“I’m okay with that. I just don’t want the other to come after me. Can you protect me from the one who wanted me dead?”
“I’d give my life to protect you. He won’t hurt you again. Ivan has already delivered a message to his house.”
“You know where he lives?”
“I know where the head of his line lives. Being on the council has privileges. It will not go unnoticed. You’ve been marked as my mate. He’ll pay for using you as a pawn in his retaliation against me.”
“Who is it? Why would they want revenge against you?”
“It isn’t anything that you need to worry about.”
“But it
is
because we’re in this together.”
Keaton drew me into his arms and held me close. He sighed and began to stroke my hair. “My race has a council that keeps the laws. None of them are to hurt our mates. We made a decree not to kill humans. Many of our kind hate that ruling. Trenton and I used to be friends, but after the declaration, we split. Now we are enemies. He kills people violently and anyone I find in his house, his bloodline that is guilty, we kill.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I assume that when you first saved me you didn’t know that I was going to be your mate.”
“No. Trenton’s underling must’ve gotten your scent and then followed it. Or watched us and saw that I was interested in you. He must’ve followed and told Trenton something. It doesn’t matter now. Trenton will recognize you as my mate. And then cease his actions. I sent Ivan to present an offer to him.”
I gripped his hand, not liking what he had planned. “What was the offer? Leave me alone or you’ll find your head disconnected from your body?”
“Nothing so extreme. I want to meet with him. No council involved. I’ll forgive his transgressions and see if the council will bring him back on if he leaves you alone. The city is big enough for the both of us.”
“So the council isn’t in the city?”
Keaton hugged me closer. “No. The members are all over the world. It’s made up of the oldest of our race. Those on the council who live within a city claim it for a hunting ground. Any new vampire that comes into the city is supposed to introduce themselves to me so I can tell them the rules no matter if the master has already told him.”
“How would they know to come to you?”
“It’s tricky to explain. All vampires have an energy about them. The older you are, the stronger the energy. Think of the moths being drawn to a flame.”
“And you’re the dark flame?”
“Yes.”
I placed my hands on his chest. I couldn’t feel anything. He began to move me off him when I pulled his shirt from his pants. Keaton tried to push it down, but I gave him a smile.
“Should we be doing this now?” he asked.
“Trust me.” I kissed the side of his cheek. I yanked the shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. I flicked my tongue down his neck, over his collarbone, and then rested my mouth over his heart. I closed my eyes and listened. Something throbbed underneath his chest. It wasn’t his heart because that was dead, but there was a pulse. The energy that came from him was hot and cold. It was bright and dark all at the same time. My lips worked over the spot while my fingers ran along his back, feeling the supple skin. Keaton tasted of soap and his own unique flavor. I drank in more of his essence. The longer my mouth remained over his heart, Keaton moaned, and his back bowed. His muscles strained from the tension. He slid his fingers through my hair and lifted my head.
“What are you doing?”
I licked my lips, which tingled. “I can feel it. I can taste it.”
“Impossible. You shouldn’t be able to draw in my essence.”
I swept my lips over the muscles of his chest until I came to his nipple. I took the pert bud between my teeth and nibbled on it. I tasted his energy then. I ran my tongue over the edges of it, but didn’t pull it in. Instead I let my tongue sweep over the hardened pea and pinched the other. Keaton quivered when I stopped.
“I don’t know how I can, but I do. Maybe it’s because I’m supposed to be your mate. But I don’t want to think about that right now.” I slid my hand along his inner thigh and then over his erection that pressed against his jeans. The large bulge was something I had been yearning to get my hands on for a long time. Keaton clutched my breasts. His hunger for me burned in his eyes.
“I like your line of thinking.” He slowly pulled my shirt over my head and added it to his. He placed his lips over my chest and began to kiss it until he sucked on my hardening nipple beneath the triangle of lace. I started rubbing his cock through the fabric of his jeans. His fingers slid along my sides and then he slipped his thumbs underneath the straps of my bra. Keaton pushed them down, gliding his fingers along my shoulders. Then he grabbed the middle of my bra and ripped it. It tore open, leaving my breasts exposed. He sucked on them hungrily, taking as much as he could of one into his mouth. His tongue twirled over my nipple while his teeth grazed the sensitive tip.
I dug into his jeans finding the button that held them closed and then pulled down the zipper. His cock sprung out, ready to be abused. My vampire lifted his head from my breast and captured my lips. Keaton thrust his tongue between my lips so they could meet and taste our passion. I bit down and caught his tongue. His eyes widened. I smiled, but then had a surprise of my own. His teeth shifted and grew longer. I released his tongue and swept mine over the points. I caressed them, feeling the slight curve. He remained still and let me explore. But I pulled away and kissed his cheek. I pushed him back down onto the bed. He gave me a questioning look, but I delved lower. I pulled his pants further down. I replaced my hand with my mouth around his cock. I drew him in slowly letting my tongue explore his shaft. Before I could get too far, Keaton lifted his hips and thrust into me.
“Suck on me, baby.”
I grabbed the base of his dick and held him in place. Cupping his balls, I took him all the way into my mouth until he hit the back of my throat. I dragged my teeth over his smooth skin. He jumped and moaned. I withdrew, keeping my lips tight on him until I came to his spongy head where I tasted the salty cum. It was almost better than his blood. Keaton ran his fingers over my shoulders and then touched my neck. His hips rose off the bed as I increased my intake of his cock. I sucked on him more and clutched the fleshy mounds of his toned ass. He thrust into my mouth one last time and then he released. I swallowed all of him down. Keaton groaned and then fell back onto the bed.
“Oh, God.” I slid up his body and rested on his chest. I placed kisses along his collarbone. “If you can do that, then I want to know what else you can do.”
A sultry laugh left my throat. I kissed him lightly on the lips and wiggled. He closed his eyes and lifted his hips again. Keaton was growing firm once more. I gripped his semi-erection and began to stroke him, hoping this time I could have him inside of me. “You seem eager to go again.”
“Only because you’re so goddamn sexy. It’s been hell having to not take you every time you’ve touched me. That first night when I spirited you away and you were in heat, I longed to tear your clothes off and fuck you all night. In every room.”
I flicked my tongue along his nipple. “Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I didn’t want to take advantage. How could I win your heart when you weren’t completely in your right mind?”
I squeezed his balls and watched his mouth form an O. His eyes fluttered shut. His back rose off the mattress and then slammed down again. “I appreciate that. Although, I’m in my right mind now. I want you to fuck me. Ravish me until I beg you to stop.”
A devilish smile appeared on his face. “Are you positive you know what you’re asking? By the end of this, you might have wished otherwise.”
“I trust you, Keaton. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. But you do have a limit because Stephania and I are going shopping on Sunday.”
He rolled his eyes. “I can work with that.”
I squeezed his balls once more for good measure. I loved seeing the look of pain and pleasure sweep across his face. Keaton opened his eyes and kissed me on the forehead. I basked in our togetherness. It calmed my heart and made me whole for the first time in a long time.
Chapter Eight
Keaton trailed his fingers down my back. He pressed against each little notch in my spine until I could feel the subtle pressure of his caresses zinging through me. He stopped at my ass and clutched the mounds. He began to kiss my throat. His tongue swept over the wounds he had inflicted. I moaned again. It ignited the hunger in me. I wanted to drink more of him. I nipped along his collarbone, biting here and there, waiting to see if he would tell me to stop. Before I could break the skin, the world had shifted, and I was now underneath Keaton. I giggled when he had me trapped between his knees. He had me pinned quite well so I couldn’t move. I ran my fingers over his perfectly formed chest. His nipples stiffened when I flicked my fingers over them. He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from him.
“Don’t you want me to touch you?” I asked.
“Oh, I enjoy it, but you were the one who said I had to ravage you.”
“Then ravage me, baby.”
Keaton claimed my lips once more. He pushed my hands down above my head. I felt a pressure weigh them down. When I tried to move them, I wasn’t able to. A momentary bolt of panic sped through me. Once he began kissing down my stomach, I calmed. Keaton sucked in the skin between his teeth. When he came to my pants, he undid them and gently lifted me off the bed and slid my pants off. He pulled his pants off the rest of the way and stood before me completely naked. His cock caressed his thigh and had a mind of its own. I smiled when it moved to the right.
“You sure you’re in control of that bad boy? It seems to want to go in a different direction.”
His lips spread into a wide smile. “We both want to discover that succulent pussy of yours.” He got onto the bed and lifted my foot to his mouth. His lips touched my ankle and trailed along the inside of my calf. Keaton worked slowly until he came to the inside of my knees. I jumped when he trailed his tongue there. I began to writhe. He stopped and peered at me.
“Ticklish?”
I nodded.
“That’s good to know.”
“No. It’s not. I hate to be tickled.”
He ran his finger along the underside of my other knee. Tears came to my eyes the longer he tickled me. I bit my lips. Without being able to stop, I reacted and kicked his shoulder.
“What was that for?”
“Sorry. I can’t help it. I don’t like to be tickled.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Okay. No tickling. At least not under your knees. I can think of other things that you might like to be tickled with.” He moved higher along my thigh until he was close to my moist slit. He knelt between my legs and hooked the one he was pleasuring around his neck. I tried to slide closer to him, but my hands were still restrained. His lips worked over my thigh. Keaton’s teeth scraped over the flesh, and then a sharp pain hit when he began to drink. It vanished instantly and was replaced by a passion so deep that it swept me into another world. I squeezed my eyes shut. My hips left the bed as he continued to suck. The more he drank in my blood, the longer I was skyrocketed into an orgasm. Light burst behind my eyes.