by Tessa Bailey
“You make me wish desperately for the use of my hands,” he rasped.
“What would you do with them?”
“Hold your ass still before it causes too much trouble.”
Oh my. He definitely didn’t sound like a prince anymore—and she minded it far less than she could have imagined. “What trouble is it causing?”
“I crave my mate in more ways than one, love,” Jonas said, elevating his hips along with Ginny, who could only grasp his shoulders and whimper. “And I’ve craved constantly for days, though I’d swear it was decades.”
Their mouths surged together in a kiss that was at once rough and reverent. Being positioned on Jonas’s lap put their mouths level and they couldn’t get close enough. He transferred low growls into her mouth, licking them away with his tongue, his lips demanding and seductive and intuitive. By the time he broke away and ordered Ginny to breathe, she was dizzy and aroused. So aroused. Her hands stroked up and down his chest in worship, the word please falling from her swollen lips over and over and over.
Though she begged for Jonas to give her what they both needed, she still gasped in shock when he fisted her hair tightly, his expression nothing short of predatory. Nothing short of electric and thrilling.
He leaned down and licked the side of her neck, long and slow. “Mine,” he breathed, planting a hot, open-mouthed kiss over her pulse. “Inevitably, undeniably mine. May God help us all.”
Ginny braced herself for pain—and she got it. The shocking sting made her body jolt and twist, but a flood of numbing warmth ensued so quickly afterward, she stilled. As if on command. Stilled and felt the sharp fangs sinking into her. Heard Jonas’s muffled exclamation against her skin, followed by an exultant groan.
She’d been caught.
Possessed.
She belonged right there, in his lap, locked to his body and accepting his bite, incapable of moving. Even if she could have, she wouldn’t. That truth sang in her blood as Jonas took it into his mouth greedily, the flesh between his legs rising further to meet her. Needing her.
Ginny’s thighs started to tremble around his hips and she longed to rub herself shamelessly on his erection. Need to move. Need to move. Heat inundated her, making her skin feel flushed, her femininity restless. If she could just twist a little, she could rub her nipples against his chest and maybe get some relief, because it seemed to be so near.
So near.
Her thoughts started to jumble and her view of the wall winked in and out. Too much? Was Jonas taking too much blood? Her power of speech was absent, so she couldn’t warn him. On some level, she even loathed to stop him. He was insatiable for the taste of her, still groaning with as much satisfaction as he had in the first few seconds, his mouth suctioned to her neck like it might disappear. And now it had been…how long had they been…doing this…?
Jonas tore himself away from Ginny with obvious difficulty, running his glittering, jewel tone gaze over her face, looking like a man who’d sold his soul to the devil and wouldn’t take it back for anything in the world. His fangs were still out and he licked them now, a shuddering wracking him. “My God is your sustenance sweet.” He laid kisses on her hairline, her cheeks, ending with a hard pull of her mouth. “Tell me you’re okay, love. Tell me I didn’t go too far. Ginny.”
“I’m fine.” She tunneled her fingers into his hair. “I’m fine.”
He pressed their foreheads together. “If you knew…if you only knew what your taste does to me. You’re a feast after a famine.” He shook his head slowly and whispered, “Thank you.”
His adoring tone did nothing to dispel the hunger he’d coaxed. Not at all. She was finally able to move and her body sprang into action, trying to make up for the time she’d been immobile. Her fingertips rode up his hard body, nails digging into his shoulders, her hips starting a slow buck she didn’t seem in control of. This wasn’t mere desire, there was something about the bite that made every sensation fuller, made her limbs languid and light.
“Good,” he said thickly in her ear. “Take what you need from me now. If my hands weren’t chained, I’d lay you down and give it to you so fucking good.”
Since when did epithets turn her on? Maybe since they were delivered in a throaty growl and every tweak of her hips seemed to make him…swell. Harden. Was she really doing this? Seeking relief from Jonas came naturally, even though she’d never been there in her life. Not with him or anyone else. And yet, her body knew exactly where she needed to go and urged her to ride, get there, grind, get there.
“You came in here so beautiful and brave,” he gritted, leaning back to watch the point where their lower bodies were creating the most frantic friction, cotton panties moving on top of strained denim. “Hiked up your little skirt for me and offered me your gorgeous neck, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she sobbed.
“My bite made you wet,” he enunciated. “Didn’t it?”
She nodded jerkily and quickened her pace, sensing the end of her frustration looming. Finally. Finally.
In response to her silent confession, Jonas’s head fell back on a moan. “Might be time to get some mirrors. I’d give anything to watch your tight backside pumping all over my lap right now.”
A volcano of bliss erupted inside of her, trapping a gasp in her throat. His words stabbed at her composure like little daggers and she bore down, prolonging the rush of relief by grinding up and back on his thickness. “Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord,” she whimpered, raking her nails down his back. “It feels so good.”
“Remember that feeling,” he said, pressing his bared teeth to her cheek. “You only get it from your mate. Ever.”
His satisfaction purred in her ear, but she could still feel that hard part of Jonas prodding her panties—and it was pure instinct that made Ginny crawl backward and kneel between his outstretched legs, though her own were still shaking. She reached for the zipper of his jeans and paused, not only at his sharp curse, but because she was overcome by the sight of him.
Jonas Cantrell sprawled out in nothing but jeans and permanently flexed muscles, arms suspended in the air in chains, his midnight hair in a mess from her fingers? He might have been God’s gift to women if he wasn’t looking at Ginny with total and utter worship. The kind that let her know on purpose that it would only ever be her. And she was dead certain she looked back at him in the same manner. Their pure idolization went both ways.
His worshipful attention gave Ginny confidence, made her feel sexy. Maybe for the first time in her entire life. Jonas might have made her feel wanted like hell before, but this was different. She’d just worked out an orgasm on his lap after he’d drunk her blood.
Boundaries? What boundaries?
Before the heady freedom could slide away, Ginny reached down and caught the hem of her tank top, drawing it over her head, leaving herself clad in nothing but a hiked up skirt, thong and a lacy bra.
“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered. “You’re an angel.”
Her fingers skated up his denim clad thighs and lowered the zipper of his jeans. The words she wanted to say bounced around in her throat until she overcome her final vestige of shyness. “I’m your angel.”
Possession whipped in his eyes. “Oh yes, you are. Even when you’re thinking of doing something quite the opposite of angelic.”
She leaned down and kissed the trail of dark hair on his belly. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked, exploring the outline of him with her fingertips.
In response, a sconce on the wall zapped and went dead.
“I need to be a gentleman,” he grated.
Her lips curled against his skin. “With that mouth?”
“Does it…offend you?”
“No.” She fisted his length in her hand, awed by the texture, smooth over hard. So hard. And long. “I like it,” she whispered.
“Are we talking about my mouth or my—” He cut himself off with a groan when Ginny gave him a test stroke, loving the way his hips lifted as if propelled, hi
s abdomen flexing almost violently. “Christ. It’s going to kill me to stop you.”
“Why do you want to stop me?”
“Want to? No.” He yanked on his chains once, then visibly calmed himself. His eyes remained closed for several seconds. “I’ve never…released, Ginny. Not since I was Silenced.”
Her brow knit. “You told me you’d been with—”
“Pleasure is one thing, but without my mate…without you, there’s nothing to show for it.” His expression was a mixture of humor and hunger. “So to speak.”
“Oh.”
“I’m going to be inside you when it happens for the first time. And before we ever get there, I’m going to need full use of my hands and mouth.”
Wicked images danced in her mind. “Oh.”
His lips twitched, as if he could read her thoughts. “I’m already worried about tempering my strength with you, Ginny.” Those eyes dropped and raked up her thighs. “I won’t have you anything less than ready on top of it.”
Her nipples tingled. “Oh,” she whispered again, like a simpleton. “When we…will you… get me pregnant?”
“No.” Regret shone on his face. “No, I can’t. If I did have that ability, you know I would—”
She stopped him with a kiss. His answer didn’t inspire a sense of loss or make her question the decision she’d made upon walking into the apartment. She would never have children. It was a fact to be absorbed and not a blow to the system. Her life could still be full, just the same, without this part of life she’d never strongly considered to begin with.
“Okay,” she said quietly, rubbing their foreheads together. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he breathed.
“Yes.”
His throat worked. “One more thing, Ginny?”
“Yes?”
“I derive more pleasure from holding your hand than I’ve had in my entire goddamn life combined. Just so we’re clear.”
A pressure she hadn’t been aware of living in her chest evaporated like it never existed, leaving warmth and yearning behind. “Can I please unlock you now?”
His nostrils flared. “Yes, I think so.”
Ginny pinched Jonas’s zipper between her fingers and drew it back up slowly, watching the play of muscles shifting on his stomach. Even while so still, the energy Jonas threw off was electric. Urgent. Focused on her. She almost stumbled when she reached her feet and turned to retrieve the keys. Jonas’s growl and rattling of the chains reminded her the skirt was still hiked up around his hips—and that she wasn’t wearing a top.
Muttering apologies, she yanked down the skirt and pulled the tank top over her head. Beginning to lose her patience over having him in captivity like some animal, she hastily grabbed the keys. She remained standing while freeing his right hand from the first shackle, her breath catching when he immediately slung an arm around her hips and drew her close, open-mouth kissing her stomach, drawing on it greedily as if it were her mouth.
“Sh-should I keep going?”
He pulled his mouth away, rolling his forehead side to side against her stomach, before withdrawing completely. “Yes.” Those eyes found her and held. “I’m in as much control as I’ll ever be around you.”
With a click, she opened the second shackle and immediately found herself across the small room, trapped between her vampire and the door. “As soon as I get a handle on myself where you’re concerned, Ginny,” he groaned into her neck. “I am going to fuck you endlessly.”
Everything south of her belly button clenched. “There’s that mouth again.”
His grin was so promissory, it almost made her cry. Stepping back slightly, he lifted Ginny in his arms and opened the door without laying a finger on the handle. One look at Roksana where she stood at the end of the hallway and Ginny knew she’d heard quite a bit of what took place in the room.
Elias and Tucker appeared on either side of her, their shoulders relaxing when they deduced that all was well. “Looking good, prince,” Tucker called, good-naturedly. “You get a haircut or something?”
“Funny,” Jonas drawled.
Staring up at him with her cheek against his shoulder, Ginny had to admit he did look incredible. Even better than the first time she’d met him, which was saying something, considering the man was eight steps above handsome. His eyes were clear now, his skin glowing with health. Sure, his hair was still disheveled from the last twenty-four hours, but it was visibly richer in color. Had she really been responsible for the transformation? Such a thing seemed impossible.
What didn’t seem impossible anymore?
Jonas carried her into his room, leaving the door open behind them. He laid her down in his bed and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “Sleep.”
Drowsiness caught up with her with the utterance of that single word and her lids turned heavy. “Jonas?” she asked, noting the wounds on his wrists inflicted by the silver already looked less painful. “What happens now that we’re breaking two of the rules?”
Silence ticked past. “My sanity, my soul, my existence, depend on you being mine.” He ground a fist to his chest, right above his heart. “This cannot be governed by rules. I was a fool to think it ever could.” With a final lingering kiss of her lips, he stood and left the room.
The door closed, leaving no sound behind, save Ginny’s racing pulse.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ginny woke up to the sound of arguing.
In the absence of windows, she had no way to gauge the time of day. Until she started searching for her cell, she didn’t realize it was still at Enders. Along with her purse. With a groan, she climbed out of bed, the events from the previous night coming back to her in a river of color and sensation.
She was Jonas’s mate now. For life.
A hot shiver danced across the nape of her neck.
Her new reality felt like anything but reality, especially since her old responsibilities remained. She still needed to call Larissa and check to see if they’d received any new client inquiries. Then there was the matter of tonight’s dress expo and the finishing touches she still needed to put on her collection. Normal things—she was actually grateful for them, though she wondered if performing her usual routines would ever feel remotely the same again when this aching need for Jonas was now a part of her.
How could she miss him to the point of pain when he was in the next room?
Pressing a hand to her stuttering heart, Ginny stepped out into the hallway.
The arguing ceased abruptly.
She turned the corner into the kitchen, finding three vampires and one slayer in a state of suspended animation.
Her gaze sought out Jonas immediately. He stood with his palms flat on the kitchen table facing Roksana, agitation lingering on his face. It faded when he saw Ginny. “Good morning,” he rasped, scanning her head to toe, his fingers curling on the table.
“Morning,” she breathed, tingles breaking out along her limbs. There are other people around. Mentally shaking herself, she tucked some hair behind her ear, positive she looked like she’d slept in a bush during a windstorm. “Do you have a mirror, Roksana?”
“I do not,” she said, holding out her phone to Ginny. “Flip my camera.”
“I’ll save you time,” Jonas said in a gruff tone. “You look amazing.”
“Goddamn. Could you two bring it down a notch?” Elias asked, his face buried in the refrigerator. “It’s uncomfortable.”
“Not for me,” Tucker said, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll watch any time. Sign me up.”
Jonas slid him a sideways glance. “Not in your wildest dreams.”
Tucker shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
Ginny held up the reverse camera and winced at her tornado victim appearance, quickly lowering the phone. “What was everyone arguing about before?”
Everyone looked at Jonas.
He pushed away from the table. Started to answer and stopped. “We’ve been discussing how best to proceed safely. Now that you and I are�
��” He shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Now that we’re together.” Intense eyes ticked to hers. “Indefinitely.”
Her abdomen squeezed. “You mean, how to proceed safely so we aren’t discovered?”
“Take your seat on the Order and change the laws.” Elias smacked the refrigerator shut, but kept his back turned. “You refuse a position many covet.”
“Clarence will never change the laws,” Jonas intoned. “By trying to convince him to do so for my own gain, I’d only be putting her in jeopardy.”
“I don’t care what you bloodsuckers decide to do,” Roksana sighed. “I’m only here to protect the human.”
Jonas shook his head. “Yes, you did a fine job of that by bringing my mate to a slayer bar. Didn’t you realize how valuable she’d be to them? To draw me out?”
“It’s not something a human could sense,” Roksana seethed. “She was safe.”
“Everyone stop,” Ginny said, going to Jonas and laying a hand on his arm. “There’s no point in fighting about it now. I’m fine.”
Jonas shuddered at her touch. “Ginny…”
“You were chained in a room planning to off yourself,” she said unevenly. “And you have the nerve to shout about me going out for one beer?”
“Ahhh.” Tucker laughed and slapped the table. “Human women don’t lose arguments, man. They have a filing system of shit you did wrong. You better recognize.”
“Is that true?” Jonas asked, amusement softening his expression.
“I don’t know.” Her nose wrinkled. “I’ve never won an argument, because I’ve never been in a relationship.”
“Thank God for that,” he murmured, leaning in to look at her mouth.
She quickly reared back. “I don’t have a toothbrush here,” she blurted, covering her mouth. “That wasn’t me asking for one, either. I know it’s only my second time staying over.”
