“I hope so,” she said around a yawn and fell asleep.
Saxon held her as she lay against him. She was so small and mortal, but she was also one of the strongest people he ever encountered. Few others could have withstood what she endured.
His fangs and cock ached to sink inside her, take her, feed on her, change her, and claim her as his mate. But having her nestled securely in his arms helped pacify the demon within him. It wouldn’t last much longer; the strain of not claiming her would get to him soon, and then he could only hope she would be ready for him.
When she twitched, he stroked her hair. He’d seen her get restless in her sleep before and suspected she had nightmares, but this time, his touch didn’t comfort her. She twitched as she muttered, “Dad.”
She jerked awake and pulled from his arms as she bolted up in bed. Her gaze flew around the room as he sat up beside her. “It’s okay,” he assured her as he pulled her back onto the small mattress. “You’re safe, and I’m going to find your dad.”
Elyse shuddered as the nightmare lingered in her mind. Except it hadn’t been a nightmare; it was a memory. She’d relived the moment they cut off her father’s finger and Joseph waved it in her face.
And now Saxon was going to find her dad, but she’d received so many more pieces since then that she didn’t know if there would be anything left for Saxon to find.
Closing her eyes against the possibility, she tried to relax against him, but she couldn’t shake the nightmare or her apprehension for her father and Saxon. What if she lost them both? She didn’t know how she would survive it.
Saxon rubbed her back as he tried to calm her enough for her to sleep again. It took some time, but eventually, she relaxed against him, and exhaustion pulled her under again. He lay awake for a while, making sure she was asleep, before dozing off himself.
He woke sometime later to a throbbing erection as Elyse leisurely stroked him. Cracking his eyes open, he found her watching him as she gave his shaft a gentle squeeze before sliding her palm down him again.
“You’re exhausted,” he murmured.
The sexy smile she gave him caused his cock to jump in her grasp. “I was.”
She didn’t care how tired she was; she had to feel him inside her, moving over her, and know he was here with her when he wouldn’t be for much longer. Releasing him, she clasped his hand and drew it between her legs. She kept hold of his hand as she guided his finger into her and gasped.
He lifted his head to nibble at her bottom lip while he moved his hand within her, and she reclaimed his dick. Her hips followed the movement of his hand as her breath came faster, and he felt her building toward climax. When he slid his hand away, she moaned and thrust her hips demandingly at him.
“Not yet, beautiful,” he murmured as he took her hand from him and lifted it to kiss her knuckles.
He longed to bury himself inside her, but he intended to memorize every detail of her first. Her eyes darkened when he released her hand to skim his fingers down her side and over her rib cage before sliding his palm over the delicate curve of her hip. Unable to resist her lush mouth, he bent his head and ran his tongue over her lips while he kissed her.
Elyse threaded her fingers through his hair to draw him closer. His unrelenting chest pressed against her as he draped his leg over hers and locked her against him. The bristly hairs on his calf tickled her flesh as his contoured muscles remained steel hard. The stark contrasts between their bodies fascinated her, yet they fit together so well.
Something more than desire built within her as he deepened the kiss and explored her with tender care. His hand ran back up to her breast, and he cupped it before breaking the kiss to lower his mouth to her nipple.
She arched beneath him when the heat of his mouth seared into her flesh and drew him closer as unexpected tears clogged her throat. Never in her life had she desired a man more, but she didn’t want this to end. So many things were trying to tear them apart and destroy them both, but right now, it was only the two of them, and nothing could come between them.
Saxon nudged her back onto the bed and unhooked his leg from around hers. Pulling the covers away from her, he leaned back to survey her. She was so lovely with her pert breasts, puckered nipples, and supple body. The bruises marring her ivory flesh couldn’t deter from her beauty as her chocolate-colored hair spilled around her, and those eyes….
Her stunning eyes were heavy-lidded as she gave him a sultry smile and stretched like a cat. His gaze latched on to her breasts when they rose close to him.
“Do you like what you see?” she asked.
“You know I do.”
When she rested her hand on his cheek, he pressed it against his face before lifting it and drawing her finger into his mouth. His fangs grazed her finger when he sucked on it before releasing her hand and pushing her back onto the bed.
She’d been with him numerous times, yet her heart raced like this were their first time together when he parted her thighs and slid between her legs. Grasping her wrists, he was careful with her cast as he lifted her hands over her head and pinned them to the pillow. The head of his cock teased her entrance, yet he didn’t bury himself inside her.
When he remained unmoving above her, she searched his eyes and saw the need there. But there was something more, something she’d never seen before; an emotion she couldn’t quite place. And then he bent his head to kiss her again. His tongue teased her mouth before slipping inside to kiss her in unhurried strokes that left her breathless.
An ache spread throughout her, and she lifted her hips to him; she was desperate for him to end this torment, but he continued to kiss her until she was panting for air and squirming beneath him. He was an artist in the art of passion, and she was his tortured, helpless student, but she couldn’t deny she enjoyed the torture.
When he broke the kiss, he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled on it. She felt his fangs against her and held her breath as she waited for them to pierce her flesh, but he restrained himself from taking what he craved.
But then, she’d never offered it to him before.
“Saxon,” she murmured.
His lips caressed her chin before dipping to her throat. The scrape of his fangs against her flesh caused her to shiver. She would never forget the agony of her last bite, but she found herself anticipating this one. It wouldn’t be the same; she knew that as well as she knew the sun would rise.
“Saxon, you can take my blood.”
He was so lost in the taste and feel of her that it took a couple of seconds for her words to penetrate. When they did, he froze before lifting his head to look at her.
“Elyse?”
“You can take my blood. I want you to have it and to experience it with you.”
His fangs throbbed to pierce her flesh.
“It will make you stronger, won’t it?” she asked.
It took him a couple of seconds to answer. “Yes.”
“And you want it, don’t you?”
“More than you could ever know.”
“Then take it.”
“If I do this, it will increase my need to complete the mate bond.”
Elyse gulped. “When this is over, I’ll take your blood and join you, but not before then. I can’t. I won’t risk you in such a way.”
He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, red flickered in their beautiful depths. Bending his head, he kissed her again. Elyse didn’t know if he would drink from her or not, but when his tongue found hers, she stopped caring. He released her wrists, and she threaded the fingers of her good arm through his hair while he deepened the kiss.
Locking her legs around his waist, she drew him closer as she rested her cast on his back and dug her fingers into his flesh. His muscles bunched beneath her as he slid slowly into her, stretching her, and filling her completely, before stopping.
She didn’t move either as she savored the feel of him within her. She had to cherish every minute of this time together before
he left her. When he pulled back before thrusting into her again, Elyse closed her eyes and nipped at his bottom lip.
Every beat of her heart thundered in Saxon’s ears. She’d given him permission to taste her, but if he bit her now, it would be over. Once he drank her blood, he would lose all control. He kissed her before trailing his tongue over her neck and nipping at her ear. Her hips rose and fell faster in response, and he sensed she was close to coming.
Giving her one last kiss, he leaned back until he knelt between her legs. Grasping her hips, he drove more forcefully into her and watched as every thrust pushed her closer and closer to release. When her good arm lowered and her hand found her breast, he growled as she fondled herself, and he moved faster within her.
He caught her cry of ecstasy with his mouth as she came apart beneath him. The muscles of her sheath clenched around him, but he managed to restrain himself from spilling inside her.
He held himself still while she came down from her high. Then he moved within her again as tingles continued to race throughout her body. His mouth moved to her neck, and his fangs grazed her flesh before piercing her skin.
She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain, but as soon as the pinprick came, it faded away, and bliss seeped through her. He could kill her so easily, yet she felt no fear as his body moved more demandingly against hers, and she eagerly responded to him.
Her blood infused his body with strength as it seeped into his cells and branded them with her essence. She was a part of him, he would carry her with him always, and when this was over, he would make her his for eternity.
Clasping her good hand, he pinned it to the bed as his control started to fray. He had to take it easy; she was a mortal, but he was lost to her. When she bent her head and bit his shoulder while she came again, the last of his control unraveled. Instead of holding back, he gave himself over to his release.
Withdrawing his fangs from her, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled to the side to hold her against his chest. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath as he stared at the bottom of the bed overhead.
“Did I hurt you?” he inquired, his voice gruff as self-hatred swelled within him. She was his mate; he was supposed to care for and protect her, not use her so roughly.
“Not at all,” she murmured as she nestled closer. “That was amazing.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
He settled his chin on her head as he ran his fingers up and down her arm while a sense of contentment settled over him. He’d never seen himself as a stay-at-home kind of guy, but holding her, there was nowhere else he’d rather be.
“I love you, Elyse.”
She stiffened against him, and her head rose so she could meet his gaze. His eyes were their beautiful hazel color again, and as he studied her, she suddenly had a name for the strange emotion she’d experienced earlier: love. She caressed his stubble-roughened cheek and jaw as she kissed him.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
Saxon hugged her close as he kissed her again, but he pulled away before it turned into something more; she needed to rest. He kissed the tip of her nose before she settled her head into the hollow of his shoulder and went to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
A knock on the door roused him sometime later. Uncertain of what time it was, he gazed around the room as Elyse remained nestled in his embrace. He untangled himself from her, pulled on his jeans, and padded toward the door as another knock sounded. He opened it to reveal Declan on the other side.
“Ronan wants to discuss our options,” Declan said.
“I’ll be right there.”
He closed the door, got dressed, and checked to make sure Elyse was still asleep before slipping out to join the others. He wasn’t surprised to discover it was still night; if they were going to make a move against the Savages, they would have to utilize every bit of daylight they could get.
The others were gathered around the counter dividing the kitchen from the main living area. A map was laid out before them, and he recognized it as the one Elyse used to mark the location of the Savages.
“We’ll have to be on the lookout for cameras and guards, but hopefully we’ll be able to get close enough to survey what’s going on,” Ronan said as Saxon stepped between Killean and Lucien. “I don’t trust anyone else to do this, so it will only be us going in for now.”
“How long will it take us to get there?” Nathan asked.
Ronan inspected the map. “Half an hour.”
“What about Logan?” Asher asked.
“He’ll be out for today and probably part of tomorrow,” Ronan said. “He’ll be fine with Kadence and Simone here to look out for him.” Then he lifted his head to meet Saxon’s gaze. “Elyse is coming with us.”
The words were like a punch to the gut, but Saxon kept his face impassive as everything inside him screamed against it. He had to stay calm if he was going to put a stop to this. “She’s not a threat to Kadence and Simone if she remains here.”
When Killean grunted, Saxon contemplated punching him in the face.
“They’re hunters turned vampires; I have no concerns that a human with a broken arm could be a threat to them,” Ronan said.
“She won’t lead Savages here,” Saxon said. “Or get in contact with them. She wants nothing to do with them.”
The amount of understanding in Ronan’s eyes astonished him almost as much as Ronan intending to bring Elyse into Savage territory.
“I know that,” Ronan said. “I believe what she says, and I trust your faith in her”—Killean grunted again as Ronan pointed to the X on the map—“but this is a vast expanse of land. We could spend weeks in these woods and only accomplish attracting attention to ourselves. She has to guide us.”
Saxon understood his reasons for bringing Elyse with them, but he wouldn’t let it happen. “You want to take my mate, a mortal, into what could be the heart of the Savages?”
Ronan’s gaze didn’t waver as it held his. “Yes.”
“No,” Saxon said. “She just escaped those bastards. She told you what they did to her, but you didn’t see those jars with the pieces of her father floating in them. You didn’t see her standing there with battered feet because they didn’t give her socks or shoes. You didn’t see those cans stacked perfectly in the cabinets or feel her terror when I opened more than one of them for her to eat. You didn’t watch them break her fucking arm, and you don’t hold her through her nightmares. They forgot to feed her, they beat her, and they tortured her; she’s out of this.”
No one spoke as they gazed between him and Ronan. Saxon had disagreed with Ronan before, but he couldn’t recall a time when he’d flat out gone against him, but he wouldn’t let this happen.
Ronan rested his hand on the map as he leaned forward. “Without her, more will die. We go into these woods and start wandering blindly around, we will reveal ourselves. The Savages aren’t playing by the rules anymore; they’ve brought the humans into this, and if we don’t stop them, there is no telling what they’ll do.”
“I won’t have her used like this or put in danger.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Saxon labored to keep his anger under control while he stared at the man he considered his friend and king.
“I understand how you feel. Do you think I planned to bring Kadence here?” Ronan demanded; his eyes became more red than brown while he held Saxon’s gaze. “I don’t want her anywhere near a possible nest of Savages, but she’s here because she insisted on it, and because her ability could be useful if she has a vision.”
“She’s here, but you’re not taking her into those woods.”
A vein throbbed to life in Ronan’s forehead. Saxon knew he was pushing him toward a breaking point, but he’d fight the entire world to keep Elyse safe.
“She’s going into those woods, and she is going to help us locate those Savages,” Ronan stated.
“I promised her w
e wouldn’t use her like the Savages did.”
“You’re not using me,” a soft voice murmured, “if I agree to go.”
He turned to find Elyse standing in the doorway of their room; she’d dressed and had the blanket draped around her shoulders. She looked so small and frail it tore at his heart. Sleep had done nothing to ease the shadows under her eyes, and the slope of her shoulders screamed exhaustion.
Elyse studied the men gathered around the map and sensed the friction in the room. Saxon and Ronan looked ready to start fighting. She loved Saxon even more for trying to protect her, but she wouldn’t be the cause of problems between him and his friends. And if she could do something to help keep them safe, then she was going to do it.
“You’re not going,” he said.
She lifted her chin as she stared at him before strolling across the room to them. Declan edged away to make room for her, and she stopped to gaze at the map. “I can’t sense the female Savage anymore; too much time has passed, but my dad is still there.”
“Can you bring us to him?” Ronan asked.
“Yes,” she said at the same time Saxon said, “No.”
Elyse continued as if she hadn’t heard Saxon. “The closer I get to my dad, the stronger the connection will be. I feel him more strongly here than I did in New York.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Saxon said.
She rested her good hand on the map before looking at him. “Yes, I do. Some of those vampires are there because of me. I put them there, and I owe them… something.”
None of them looked at Killean when he grunted.
“When do we go?” she asked Ronan.
“You’re mortal,” Saxon growled.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, but she didn’t look at him.
“If this is going to happen, then you have to make the change and heal your arm.”
When she finally met his gaze, he saw the determination and distress in her eyes. “I’m not having this argument again. If they catch me again, I won’t let them use you against me, and if something does happen to me, you’ll be better off if the bond isn’t completed.”
Bound by Passion: The Alliance Series, Book 4 Page 21
