Bitten By Magic (17 page)

“We will speak again.” Reginald, with Allison on his arm, stopped beside him. Wilhelm released her enough to shake hands with the other man. Both women looked at each other in confused surprise.

“I’ll have a meal sent up to your rooms. Jaxson will get you settled in and we will see you both this evening.” Wilhelm watched as Alexa detached herself long enough to hug her cousin. Amber and blue eyes looked at him with a silent warning as deadly as the Witch who was staring at him over his wife’s shoulder.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Alexa waited for them to leave before she turned toward her husband with a frown. “What are you up to, Wilhelm?” She crossed her arms over her chest as she patiently waited for his answer. She didn’t expect his hand to cup her face as he bent to brush his warm lips against hers. Her head spun as his hands gently slid into her hair.

Alexa’s blood heated as he deepened the kiss. A sigh escaped her as she welcomed the dominant thrust of his silky tongue. Her hands reached up to clasp his biceps as she felt her knees weaken. Sharp fangs grazed her lower lip with a stinging sensation that made her gasp. His lips clamped down on her lower lip as he sipped at the small drops of blood.

“How I love the taste of you. I want more. I want to lay you open and sip from you, but not right now.” His jaw clenched as he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. “Right now, I need to get you to our room. You need food and rest.”

“I need you.” The words slipped out, unchecked. She shyly licked her lower lip, forcing a groan from him as he dropped his eyes to her mouth.

“Oh, you’ll have me. Soon.” He bent to hook a muscular arm under her knees as he easily swung her up against his chest and moved for the door. Warren was waiting for them in the hallway along with several staff members. Theresa came forward quickly with her hands clasped worriedly in front of her.

“Master, should I have the meal brought to your rooms?” Theresa’s eyes flew to Alexa, who gave the older woman a grateful smile.

“That would be welcome, Theresa. Give us a half hour to get cleaned up.” Wilhelm moved as he spoke. Alexa could only cling to his solid shoulders as she bounced against him.

“I haven’t asked you about Rosalyn. Is she all right?” She felt him shrug as he took to the stairs. Her body ached, but also heated as she cuddled into his chest. The Elder was too strong for a male with an unending life span. She could definitely see herself being carted around by him for the rest of her existence.

“She’s awake and Grant’s to deal with. Right now, I’m more concerned with your condition.”

“No, I need to know she is all right. I didn’t hurt her, Wilhelm.” The way her chin rose told him she wouldn’t be put off.

Chapter Twelve

Wilhelm looked down at the stubborn woman in his arms. She was painfully pale and weak, yet she was determined he talk about the well-being of a woman who would love to see her dead. He would never mention Rosalyn’s wake-up call to his chambers. She’d been so aggressive and enraged that he’d finally ordered her to leave.

“Flip down my headset.” He waited until the mic was next to his mouth. “Grant, status on Rosalyn.” His order was quick and commanding. Alexa heard a rumble and leaned her ear next to his.

“—So she’s stable. The tea was high in a synthetic compound. Will, I’ve never seen anything like it. I still haven’t nailed down the specific ingredients. It is colorless, tasteless, and fully dissolves in a solution that is heated. Perfect for—”

“All right, Grant. Keep me posted on her condition.” Wilhelm shouldered open the door to his rooms.

“It was in my tea?” He kicked the door shut behind him and looked into her translucent green eyes. She looked stricken and confused. Her vulnerability was at direct odds with the strong, bloodthirsty Witch who had almost separated his head from his body. Wilhelm’s jaw clenched as he took her directly into the bathroom without answering her. He set her down on the side of the big tub before he turned on the water and set the jets.

“How much did you hear, Alexa?” He sat down next to her. Her eyes dropped to her lap, where her fingers were twirling the lacy material of her black skirt.

“Enough to know that someone was trying to poison me. No wonder I’ve been popping Tums like Chiclets. Do you know who might want me dead here?” She flinched as he reached over and pushed a lock of hair back from her cheek. He looked at his hand against her pale cheek and swallowed. Where the hell did all of these emotions come from? He stared into her moss green eyes and wondered at the depth of concern he felt for her safety.

Turning, he flipped off the water as he tried to get some much-needed control over himself. There was hunger—he could always feel the need to taste her rich blood. It was delicate and sweet, laced with a magic so vital that he wondered at the spell she’d wrapped around him. The demon within wanted to devour her while the part of him that stubbornly remained human wanted only to love her with all he had. What was wrong with him? Three millennia and he had never allowed himself to feel anything for anyone. Yet this little woman was making him not only feel things for her, but he was changing his schedule, his rules, and his appetites. She was one hell of a spellcaster.

Alexa was staring at him, her gaze pleading with him for answers. She looked away and took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t deserve explanations from you. I tried to kill you.” She wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach.

“No different than what I wanted to do to you a few days ago.” He smiled at her, watching as her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll forgive you, if you forgive me,
felesage
.” He saw her small nod and gently took her wrist. She stood as he pulled her up on her bare feet in front of him. Taking both her wrists in his hands, he lifted her arms above her head. Their eyes met and held as he let go of her wrists to reach down and grab the hem of her dress with slow intent.

“We don’t have a lot of time before the food comes.” His fingers bunched the satin against her thighs as he slowly drew it up her legs. He wanted to drown himself in the warmth of her sparkling green eyes as a slow smile lit her face with a sensual invitation.

“Then perhaps we should share a bath.” She took her lower lip between even white teeth as his hands cupped her hips a moment before he groaned and pulled the material up and over her head. She was deliciously naked beneath the dress. He heard her heart hammer against her chest as he dropped his eyes to the pert breasts rising with her uneven breaths. He wanted to skip the bath and take her right to the bed, but she had other needs he was more aware of. The angry red stripes, barely healed by his saliva, reminded him that she needed to be cared for. The marks left on her body by the High Priest had him gritting his teeth in rage. She looked down at her chest. He could see she was embarrassed by the marks as he watched her attempt to cover her breasts with her hands. He captured her wrist to pull her hand away.

“You are beautiful, Keeper.” His low voice brushed against her mouth as he leaned forward. He had to take just one little taste of her, but he kept his hands at her hips. Her dress was still bunched in his hand as he gently brushed her soft mouth with his. It was only supposed to be a taste, but he hadn’t counted on her moving.

Alexa wrapped her arms around his neck, her bare breasts pressing into the wall of his chest until he felt her tightened nipples rubbing against him. Her luscious mouth opened, her tongue twining temptingly with his as her fingers burrowed into his hair, gently massaging his scalp. He tossed the dress away as his hands cupped the soft curves of her bottom. A groan escaped him as her body moved against his. He broke the kiss to stare down at her. Their harsh breathing and pounding hearts echoed in the room as he attempted to still the burning impulse to lift her up against the wall and sink into her hot, wet body.

“Into the bath, Keeper.” He easily lifted her off her feet, depositing her in the foamy water. The heat and bubbles hid the temptation of her body from his sight, but they couldn’t camouflage the delicate scent of her blood calling out to the hunger within.

***

Alexa watched him with her breath held. His muscles rippled as he crossed his arms and yanked the black T-shirt over his head. He looked at her with nearly black eyes filled with a hunger that made her shiver in reaction. Her gaze dropped shyly to his broad shoulders and the fluid movements of his biceps as he reached for the snap of his jeans. She took a shaky breath and rubbed her arms as she watched his strong fingers clasp his zipper and lower it with a slow motion.

Her eyes widened and a small whimper escaped her as she sat in hot water full of bubbles and stared at the thick proof of his manhood as he pushed his jeans down his legs. Alexa’s eyes flew up to his, finding a grin on his face that sent a shiver of excitement down her spine.

“I don’t mind you looking.” His soft voice offered her so much more than simple looking. She shook her head as she dropped her chin to her chest. This was never in any of her glimpses of the future. The thought struck her as odd. “What is it?” He sank into the tub facing her. His wet fingers gripped her chin to force her to look up at him.

“I just...I realized I haven’t had any visions...” She bit her lip as she searched his eyes. “Since I married you, I haven’t seen the future. You...” She tilted her head. “You’re blocking them somehow.”

“Is that a bad thing?” His thumb pulled her lower lip down, releasing it from her teeth.

“I don’t know.” He nodded as he moved her so she was sitting between his spread legs, her back to his front. Alexa opened her mouth to protest when he began to rub her sore back with a puff. She smelled the body wash she’d picked from the harem closet. Her eyes closed as he moved the puff over the sore marks of her back.

“You have time to worry about it later, Keeper. Right now, you need to concentrate on healing. These marks will be gone soon, I promise.”

“No, they scar. Don’t you see the older ones on my back?” She hugged her knees to her chest, feeling wretched as his hand pulled her hair over her shoulder to look. They were so deep, there was no way they wouldn’t add to the crisscrossed scars she already carried with her.

“There are only light pink marks from today.” His words had her head flying up as she turned in the tub to check her flesh for the darker scars she was used to seeing.

“They’re gone.” Her eyes met his over her shoulder. “What did you do to me, Elder?” A slow smile from the man who was once her enemy made her smile back as he leaned forward and kissed her softly. His wet hands slid down her sides, his thumbs barely brushing the sides of her breasts, but it was enough to make her shiver with pure sensation. He ended the kiss with a slow slide of teeth along her lower lip.

“You are wasting precious time, Keeper.” His tone was serious, but the red flashing in his eyes told her he was fighting himself to keep from jumping her. She smiled with a nod as she turned back around.

Alexa barely made it through his clever hands rubbing the soapy puff all over her body. She kept her lip between her teeth to keep herself from crying out with the pleasure of his ministrations. When his hand sank beneath the water, her head dropped forward and a moan vibrated through her chest. She felt his mouth on the nape of her neck, sharp fangs gently grazing her skin just as his hand slid between her legs. She clamped her thighs together reflexively trying to keep him from touching her woman’s core.

“Relax,
felesage
.” His hot breath brought a shiver down her spine as his lips brushed her earlobe. “Open to me.” His voice was a lethal weapon of sensual temptation. Her thighs eased apart just enough to allow his fingers to slide over her most sensitive skin. Devilish fingers searched for and found her clit. She cried out and wiggled, her hands grabbing his wrist, whether to stop his intimate touch, or to keep him there, she wasn’t sure. “Let me take care of you.” His whisper drifted over her ear as his lips placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

His arm came around her waist, his hand reaching up to capture a sensitive breast as he slid a finger inside her. Her body shook as his thumb tormented her clit and that finger moved within her. It was agony; it was pleasure like she’d never experienced. She covered his hand on her breast, her head tossing back against his broad shoulder as his mouth came down on his mark of possession. Sharp fangs rubbed back and forth against the sensitive mark as she moaned.

Alexa wanted more. Her body yearned to turn to him. She needed that intense pleasure he gave her as he pushed into her body. She wanted to cry out as a second finger eased into her. His fingers, scissoring within the depths of her, created a symphony of feeling.

“Easy, love. You’re almost there.” His throaty words pushed her closer to insanity as her hips moved on their own, forcing his fingers deeper inside her.

“Please...” His name threatened to break from her lips as she fought for air. “I need you, Will.”

“What do you need? This?” His fangs sank easily into her neck. Her head arched to the side as she cried out in intense pleasure. She had to have more of him, didn’t he know that? His thumb ground against her clit as his fingers mimicked the way he’d taken her before with the hard flesh rubbing into her lower back.

***

“By the Gods, you’ll be the death of me!” Wilhelm swore as he pulled his hand out from between her legs. He gripped her waist, easily turning and positioning her over his legs. She was on her knees, straddling him with a smile on her swollen lips. Her hands clutched his broad shoulders, tiny nails digging into his flesh with a bite of pain that had the demon within fighting to be freed. He pushed the darker part of himself down, forcing his hands to be gentle as he pushed her damp black hair behind her ears. He wanted to see her expression as she took all of him.

“I almost was.” Deep regret burned in her eyes as she watched him carefully.

“Don’t you know? You can’t kill the undead. You can only end my tormented existence. Now, you can let me live a little. Through you.” He swallowed tightly as his hands spanned her narrow waist. Lifting her slightly, he positioned her over his aching cock. The green in her eyes deepened as she slowly sank down over him. Her rosebud mouth parted on a breathy gasp as her nails dug into him. She was so tight, her flesh stretching to take him inside one torturous inch at a time.