The Blood Covenant: Book One of The Medici Warrior Series

by Emily Bex

  “You want to be fucked? Are you begging your master for such? Then your master shall give his bel her due.”

  Standing up, he grabs the flogger in his hand and slowly walks behind her, letting it trail along her spine, instructing and demanding as he goes.

  “I own your orgasms, bel. They belong to me! You will have to earn them.”

  He slides the leather tips of the flogger back and forth over her ass cheeks, as she moves and wiggles, her breathing is so labored, and he hears the most delicious moan.

  “You will not cum until you are commanded.”

  Lifting the flogger, he uses a sharp snap of his wrist to let it whip across her ass, leaving beautiful red welts on her lily-white skin.

  ***

  She looks into his face as instructed, and she is fighting back tears as she fears he will deny her, but no, he is saying yes. Is he saying yes? He stands and starts to walk behind her again, dragging the flogger along her spine. He is saying he owns her orgasms. She has to earn them. What does that mean? He is sliding the flogger across her ass, and it is driving her wild with wanting. She wants to touch herself, but she dares not move from this position. She wants him. She wants him inside her. And then she feels the sharp, sweet sting of the flogger across her ass. The pain of it is so delicious she cries out.

  “Lover! Master! Oh Please.”

  ***

  “Si, my bel! You learn well. ”

  Letting the flogger loose on her cheeks again, the mere sound of it hitting her skin makes him growl loud and his fangs elongate, and his beast rears hard and fast and Shade grips the flogger hard, fighting to control the beast. As she begs once again, it is like music to his ears, her wanting him, her needing him, her pleasing his soul. Dropping to his knees, he licks the welts with his tongue, dragging his fangs across them.

  “My bel, my sweet bel. You are so beautiful to your master, you make me crave you, showing me how much you need and want me. I shall reward you.”

  Grabbing the flogger, he dangles the leather strips across her sex, teasing her clit, and he can feel her straining to control her orgasm. He slides the rigid handle inside her and strokes her several times as he places his hand on the small of her back. With each slow, measured stroke of the rigid handle inside her, he knows any moment she will cum and he pushes her limits of restraint. She begins to moan in animal lust and he throws back his head and growls, “Mine!” Flipping her over quickly, she now lies on her back, her legs spread, her sex ready, wet, and swollen, and he continues to push her to the edge.

  He withdraws the flogger and holds it up to her mouth. “Lick it clean, my bel, taste how sweet your nectar is, taste how much you want me.” As her tongue snakes out, he damn near cums himself, watching the erotic motion of her mouth around the rigid shaft of the flogger. He lifts her thigh and pulls her booted foot to his mouth and sucks the heel of those beautiful red boots, kissing the boots all the way up, past her knee and onto the bare white skin of her inner thigh, and he knows both of them are on the edge.

  ***

  She feels the flogger hit her skin again, and she can only moan. Tears stream down her cheeks, not tears of pain, tears of wanting. She feels the heat of his tongue across the welts, and his fangs, oh God, his fangs. He is speaking to her. She can hear the love and passion in his voice, but she no longer hears his words, she is lost. She feels him insert himself. No, not him, it is not him. He is inserting the handle of the flogger, and it is not the flogger she wants, but she is past the point of controlling her body's response and she moves her hips against the handle. She can feel the orgasm build in her, she moans with pleasure. No... stop, stop, this is not him, I want him! ‘Mine!’ she hears him growl. Then fucking make me yours!

  Before the thought is complete, he has flipped her onto her back. He is at her feet, and she is ready to receive him. He leans into her, and she reaches for him. But he brings the handle of the flogger to her mouth and asks her to lick it clean. Him! I want him! But she does as he asks, takes the handle into her mouth, as if it was his own sweet cock, and she sucks away her own juices.

  He has lifted her booted foot to his mouth and is sucking on the boot heel. She watches him as he moves his lips slowly up the boot, and onto the skin of her inner thigh. His mouth is finally on her skin and the heat from his lips burns her. She feels his tongue caress her skin and the fire between her legs is unbearable. She is past rules. She can't think about rules. She reaches for him, hands tangled in his hair. Tears continue to stream down her face and in a strangled voice, she pleads with him.

  “Lover...master... I am begging you...please...fuck me now.”

  ***

  He sees her tears, not of pain, but of passion, wanting release. And his beast rears his head in acknowledgement. Shade is on his knees between her legs. He grabs her ankles and pulls her legs over his shoulders, as he pushes into her hard and holds steady, not moving, throwing back his head. He growls, rattling the windows, looking down into her beautiful face. Leaning down over her, he licks her tears and lets her know she is his everything.

  “My beautiful sweet rosso, you have pleased your master beyond his imagination this night. He is pleasured and happy and he loves you, my sweet bel rosso.” Pulling back, he thrust into her one more time and holds again and whispers against her lips.

  “Are you asking permission to cum, bel? It would please your master to make you cum. Cum hard for me.”

  He begins to ride her hard and fast, and he feels his balls tighten as he pulls her close into his body and kisses her like the moon kisses the stars and they cum together like volcanoes erupting, never ending waves of fire rolling over them. She is crying, her body shaking and spent, as she convulses over and over with the pleasure he brings to her. He holds her tightly to him as he cradles her softly and rocks her in his arms.

  “My sweet, sweet bel, you have done so well. I am your master, and I love you with all my heart. I will always take care of you, protect you and love you till the end of eternity. Ti amo per sempre.”

  ***

  He leans forward and licks away her tears, calling her his sweet bel rosso, the name she loves to hear roll off his lips. He is pleased. She has pleased him, and her heart is bursting with love for him. She laid shaking and crying in his arms, he is holding her, rocking her. My master is pleased. He is pleased and wasn't that what she really wanted. I love him, I love him, and I want to be all things to him.

  “I love you, master. I am yours. Forever yours.”

  ***

  Shade picks her up in his arms and carries her to their bed. He lies with her in his arms, holding her tight. He is her master, and beyond anything else that happens, she must always know he is always her lover, her mate, still her Shade. Feeling her body settle down, there are no words between them, for there are none to be said. In his heart and soul, he wants her to know she is his love for all eternity.

  Letting his hands gently slide through her hair, he touches her tenderly, rubbing her back, and holding her against his chest. He will not let go.

  “My sweet bel, you have brought me so much happiness this night, so much pleasure... as you always do. I hope I have taught you well, that in being your master, I will always dominate you, but that in no way diminishes you. You are my mate, my partner in all things. Your voice will be heard, and I will honor your opinion, but in all things, I will rule. Contradict me only in private, and I will show you honor and respect in all things. You only make my love grow for you. Every minute, I love you more. You are my weakness when I am strong and my strength when I am weak. I never want to leave you. I cannot for I am so in love with you.”

  ***

  Does he know she would crawl on her hands and knees over broken glass to get to him? Does he know she would walk across burning coals to get to him? Master is pleased, and that brings her the greatest pleasure of all.

  “Hold me, lover...don't let go. You lead, and I will follow.”

  “I will never let go, mi amore. Never! Now you ne
ed to rest, this has been an emotional night filled with things you have never experienced. Rest easy knowing I will not leave you for any reason. My arms will protect you. I love you, bel. And I love that you are mine for all eternity. Ti amo per sempre. Come to me in your dreams. Let me dance with you there, in the beautiful moonlight, as the stars shine upon us. Our union will never be broken.”

  ***

  Kissing the top of her head, he already feels her asleep on his chest, where she belongs, where he needs her, as he enters her dreams.

  38

  Shade walks the cold rainy night, his heart is full, but his soul aches for her, to just touch her. He patrols G-town and the neighborhood around Alec’s house, making his rounds, as he does every night he is on duty in the Dead House. He hates leaving bel after last night, but this is who he is, what he is. He will grant her much leeway. He understands his vampire culture is a patriarchal one, and females have always been secondary to males, and submissive to their mates. But times have changed, and their culture must change with it. Kate needs to learn he is her master, and he protects her, and he hopes she will never be exposed to the baser elements of their culture. She needs to feel him, and respond to his commands, just as a warrior would do, as it is for her own safety. And what better way to teach her than last night?

  He tunes his senses to her, and he can hear her singing to herself as she works in their home. He can picture her there arranging furniture, hanging art, and opening boxes that contain all the things she has purchased for their home. Every morning when he gets home, he sees the transformation and the results of all her efforts to make that house their home. He walks into an alley between a long row of townhouses, leans against the wall and lights up a smoke, closing his eyes to listen. Her voice in his head only makes him ache more for her, but the sooner he gets done with this watch, the sooner he is back in her arms.

  The rogue vampire activity remains sporadic and unpredictable, and although he knows these warriors could probably handle it, he still needs to be out here on the streets, training them and setting an example. He stomps out the cigarette with the toe of his boot and takes flight across the rooftops of G-town. He sends her a message from his heart. “Ti amo, mi amore, per sempre.”

  Moving through the night, the rain starts coming down hard and he hates standing watch. But he assigned Alec’s neighborhood to himself, so he pulls up his collar as he ducks his head, the rain running down his neck. Suddenly, Tomas is screaming in his head that he has two runners. Sensing his location, Shade is there within seconds, dropping down out of nowhere on the two rogues. He takes on one and they stalk each other, waiting to see who makes the first move. The rogue comes at him fast, but Shade flips over his head, his beast already out as his fangs are bared and he is ready for attack.

  Dropping down behind the rogue, Shade feels the other vamp land on his back. Shade shrugs the vamp free from his shoulders and in one quick stroke, he swings his blade and the first rogue’s head rolls across the wet pavement. The rogue’s body drops lifeless to the ground, his head leaving his body so quickly Shade notices the surprised look that is frozen on the severed head. One down, one to go. He swings around quickly, looking for the vamp that had clung to his shoulders and catches a quick glimpse of Tomas, taking on two rogues at a time. Shade moves to join him, when he is suddenly aware of a burning sensation in his thigh, and he realizes he has been struck. Whipping around, it is the rogue who had tried to attack him earlier. The rogue had thrown a shuriken that sliced through his thigh, and now was approaching him with his sword drawn. They circle each other slowly, each looking for an opening, when Tomas shouts out something unintelligible, and the rogue looks in Tomas’s direction. Shade takes advantage of the rogue’s momentary distraction, and swings his sword, removing the rogue’s arm in a single slice. Arm and sword fall to the ground, as the rogue’s blood mingles with the rain. The rogue is scrambling to pull shurikens from his leathers with his remaining hand when Shade strikes, and again a rogue’s head rolls. Without hesitating, he turns back to help Tomas, only to find him standing over two bodies, smiling back at him.

  Tomas shouts at him, “Come down off the killer high brother, we are good.”

  Sitting down on the pavement, Shade is blood-splattered and on an adrenaline high. Tomas walks up and crouches beside him, advising him to get that nasty ass wound tended to, he is losing blood fast. Looking down, Shade’s jeans run red and the gash is deep and long. Cazzo, bastard cut me good! It is not the first time he has taken a deep cut, and he knows it will not be the last, but this time is different. He has somewhere to go, and someone to heal him.

  ***

  Tomas helps Shade up and makes sure he can make it back to the Dead House before losing too much blood. Once they are safely inside, Tomas continues to argue that he needs to stay and feed from one of the other warriors, but that isn’t going down with Shade.

  ***

  He needs bel rosso, her blood will heal him. Taking flight, he teleports home and stands outside in the dark, and wonders how in the hell he is going to explain his condition to her. Walking inside, his vision becomes fuzzy around the edges and he prays he doesn’t drop before he can clean up.

  Making his way into the house from the patio door, he knows there is now furniture and rugs in some of the rooms, and he tries to maneuver around them. He develops tunnel vision, seeing only a small pinpoint of light as he watches everything else fade away. He can feel the blood still oozing from the large gash and he can feel his own energy and strength draining away with it. He needs her.

  Bel, I need you, Kate, my sweet Kate. He stumbles to his knees and crawls, dragging his injured leg. There is no longer light, just darkness. He feels no pain in his thigh, just the agony of needing her nourishing blood to sustain him and heal him. He is breathing heavily and knows she is in the house, but where? He tries to call for her, but it is useless, he is losing energy too fast. He crawls slowly up the staircase and into their bedroom where he tries to stand, but he is too weak and crashes against the wall and slides down, leaving a bloody streak against it. His breathing is raspy, he is bleeding out and she is not here. As he tries one last time, on the edge of this black abyss, to yell for her, his voice barely comes out a whisper as the darkness surrounds his very soul.

  “Kate.”

  ***

  Kate is working in the kitchen, cleaning and putting things away after the construction has been completed. She has to laugh to herself. She never cooked much for herself, and he eats no human food. This beautiful kitchen will not see much action. She thinks she hears a thud from upstairs, and she pauses. She feels a momentary panic because she knows she is alone here. She stands still and listens again and then she hears him faintly call her name. She drops the cookware to the floor where it lands with a loud clatter and she runs barefoot, as fast as she can, through the house and up the stairs, following a trail of blood. She runs to their bedroom where she finds him, slumped against the wall, and covered in blood.

  She drops to her knees beside him. “Shade, tell me what to do.”

  She gets no response from him as he lies close to unconsciousness. She applies pressure to the gaping wound in his leg. She does not understand. She has watched his wounds heal before her eyes. He has lost too much blood, and she knows he must feed from her, but he is not alert enough, not awake enough to take from her. Panic flows through her as she fights to gain control. She is losing him!

  She bites hard into her own wrist, ripping at the skin, not the sharp, clean puncture wounds his teeth make. As her own blood begins to flow, she holds it to his lips.

  “Shade, please!”

  ***

  Shade can sense her in front of him, smells her blood and he sinks his fangs into her wrist. He feels her other hand glide over him, soft and searching for any other injuries. Slowly, he feels her energy slide into his veins. He grabs her wrist and holds it tight against his mouth, gulping down mouthfuls of her essence.

  ***

&nbs
p; He is gripping her wrist with so much intensity. She can feel him drawing the blood from her. She sees his strength and energy return, his wound healing as she watches, the pallor leaving his skin and she is covering him in kisses. She is so relieved to see him come back to her, and yet, so angry that he is injured and wonders what risks he takes when he is on the streets.

  “Take all you need... I'm here.”

  His feeding slows as he feels his body mending. His licks her wrist, and watches as it heals. His breathing still ragged, he lays his head back against the wall and tells her he was injured in a fight, that Tomas wanted him to stay at the Dead House, to give the wound time to heal, or to feed from one of the other warriors, but he refused. He needed her, needing only to get to her.

  ***

  As his body heals, she helps him stand and strips from him the bloody clothes. Together, they take a shower. As she washes him, she runs her hands over him, reassuring herself that he is whole and safe. After he is cleaned up, she leads him to their bed, and climbs in beside him just as she hears the whir of the electronic blinds close out the light of day. He slides into his death slumber, his body healing itself, and she spends the hours sleeping intermittently, waking often to check on him.

  ***

  As the sun rises, and his body is healed, her blood courses through his veins and brings him peace inside. He knows he slept in her embrace, but he wakes in their bed and finds she is gone. He feels her pain, for he had unintentionally thrown at her feet the true meaning of a warrior. He now has to face her and deal with the emotions he felt pouring from her the previous night. A combination of fear and anger. As she walks into the room, he looks at her, and knows that last night made her think differently of him and their eternity together.

  “We need to talk, Kate. I know you have things to say. It will help you cope if we talk. Will you grant me this time to try to explain to you how and why you saw me in such a condition?”

  She sits on the bed beside him, “Please, I was angry because I felt like you took an un-necessary risk. Not in the fighting. I understand and accept that part of who you are. But when you tried to ignore the extent of your injury, was that just pride?”