by Paige Tyler
“I’m close,” he said hoarsely. “And I want to be inside you when I come.”
Savanna’s pussy spasmed at his words. She’d really wanted to make him come with her mouth, but at the urgency in his voice, she decided that particular pleasure would have to wait. If he wanted to come inside her pussy, she was definitely okay with that. Giving his cock one more swipe with her tongue, she got to her feet and straddled his lap, one knee on either side of his well-muscled thighs.
Kaige put his hands on her hips, guiding her into position as she lowered herself down onto his hard cock. She let out a soft moan of pleasure as he filled her pussy completely.
“Ride me, baby,” Kaige said softly.
Savanna obeyed his command, holding onto his shoulders as she moved up and down on his shaft ever so slowly. Lowering her head, she pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. She could feel his pulse beating strong and steady beneath her lips and she let out another moan. The urge to sink her fangs into Kaige’s neck was so powerful it almost made her dizzy.
With a groan, she pulled away to look down at him. “I want to bite you so badly,” she whispered raggedly, still moving on his cock.
His eyes glinted in the light. “Then do it. I trust you.”
When she made no reply, Kaige tilted his head to the side as if offering himself to her. Savanna stared at the pulse beating at his throat, her own going wild. She ran her tongue over her fangs.
What if she did it wrong? What if she liked it so much that she couldn’t stop?
But the desire to taste his blood outweighed any nervousness she had and she found herself lowering her head. Gripping his shoulders, she gently sank her fangs into his neck.
Kaige groaned, but Savanna was barely aware of the sound as his sweet blood flowed into her mouth. She moved her hips faster. She’d never experienced anything so amazing. She could actually feel his orgasm building within him and knew that he was going to explode at any second.
Kaige tightened his grip on her hips, thrusting more fiercely. She felt the orgasm as it burst through him and even though she hadn’t thought she was close to coming, her climax exploded inside of her the moment she felt him come.
Her orgasm felt wonderful, earthshattering even, but it was nothing compared to the ecstasy of experiencing his and knowing that she was responsible for giving him that much pleasure.
She didn’t let go of his neck until they were both completely spent. Only then did she very carefully slide her fangs from his skin. She licked the small puncture wounds just like Kaige had done to her and noticed they immediately stopped bleeding.
Savanna snuggled close to his chest, loving the feel of his cock deep inside of her.
“You’re perfect,” Kaige breathed, tilting her chin up to kiss her gently on the mouth. “I can’t ever imagine being with anyone else.”
At his words, Savanna felt something take hold of her heart and squeeze. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew that she liked it.
He brushed her hair back from her face. “So, do you want to go back out to the pool again?”
Her lips curved into a smile as she looked at the tiny bite marks on his neck. “I think I’d rather go up to the bedroom.” She lifted her eyes to his. “This whole biting-thing has given me an idea. I’ve decided there’s one other place I’d like to bite you.”
Kaige lifted a brow. “Just one?”
Savanna gave him a flirtatious smile. “Okay, maybe more than one. If that’s all right with you.”
He chuckled. “Lead the way.”
They didn’t bother to do more than hastily wrap the towels around themselves before they raced for the stairs at a run.
Chapter Ten
It wasn’t until she and Kaige were cuddling in bed after making love for a second time that Savanna finally put a name to the emotion she felt down in the sauna. For the first time in her life, she was in love. With the gorgeous, sensitive, mysterious, damsel-in-distress-saving, I-only-like-to-come-out-after-dark kind of guy she’d always wanted.
Savanna could hardly believe it. They’d only known each other for a week, but she couldn’t deny what she was feeling. Somewhere in between waking up in his bed that first time and making love in the sauna that afternoon, her heart had decided that Kaige was absolutely perfect for her. And she didn’t see any reason to go against what her heart was telling her.
She idly ran her finger up and down his bare chest, wondering if she should tell Kaige how she felt. According to Cosmo, it would be way too early in their relationship to declare her love. But she and Kaige didn’t exactly have an ordinary relationship. Besides, she couldn’t think of a more romantic time to tell him than after making love.
She took a deep breath, all set to say it, when a knock sounded on the door. Startled, she lifted her head from Kaige’s shoulder to give him a curious look.
“It’s probably just the butler,” he said.
Pushing back the blanket, he got out of bed and pulled on his jeans, then walked over to the door, running his hand through his dark hair as he did.
Blanket clutched to her breasts with one hand, Savanna pushed herself into a sitting position as Kaige opened the door. While she couldn’t see the butler with Kaige’s broad shoulders blocking the way, she could hear the man’s cultured voice saying he wanted to let them know the Counsel members had arrived.
“That was fast,” she said to Kaige when he closed the door.
He lifted a brow. “You heard?”
She nodded and pushed back the blanket with a sigh. She’d been all psyched to tell him how she felt, but she supposed her declaration of love would have to wait until later. “I guess we should go down and introduce ourselves then.”
Kaige agreed, but the look on his face as he swept her naked body with that heated gaze of his told her that he’d much rather stay in bed. So would she. Maybe they could say their “hellos,” and then slip back up to their room without anyone noticing.
* * * *
When they walked into the living room ten minutes later, they found it filled with vampires. Though it was impossible to tell how old any of them were, they seemed to vary between their late twenties and early fifties—outwardly at least. They regarded her and Kaige appraisingly.
Jensen immediately came over to greet them, a tall, slender female vampire at his side whom he introduced as his wife. Pretty with long, blond hair, Lila had an easy way about her that made Savanna immediately like the other female. As Jensen made the rest of the introductions, Savanna tried to keep all the names straight, but it was no use. In addition to the two female and three male Counsel members, there were half a dozen administrative assistants, as well as security operatives.
After the introductions, the security specialist in charge, a guy named Zane Bradford, came over to talk to her and Kaige. Tall and muscular, he had dark hair and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.
“Jensen briefed us on what happened at your place. I just wanted to say that I’m impressed with how you two handled yourselves.”
Savanna gave him a rueful smile. “Kaige did all the real fighting. All I was doing was trying to stay alive.”
Zane shook his head. “Staying alive is the most important thing. It sounds like you did what you had to do. I know a lot of vampires who couldn’t have done half of what you two did.”
Realizing she and Kaige wouldn’t be able to slip back up to their room unnoticed, Savanna resigned herself to spending the evening with the Counsel. Though they’d all been cordial when Jensen had made the introductions, Savanna wasn’t sure how they felt about having a newly turned vampire sit in on their meeting. But since she and Kaige had been the target of the rogue vampires’ attack, the Counsel members were eager to get their take on things. She and Kaige told them everything over dinner, starting with the attack outside the Goth club and finishing with the break-in at the condo.
“Are you sure the vampire who tried to drag you away said you’d been
claimed?” asked a dark-haired vampire named Brent.
Savanna nodded. “Do you know what it means?”
Brent shared a look with the other Counsel members. “Possibly. It’s a very old word, one that hasn’t been used in a long time. It means that the vampire who has been siring these rogues follows an ancient code of tradition and has invoked a special privilege reserved for what we used to call clan leaders. In the early days of our kind, the clan leader would designate one particular female as his special chosen property, so all other vampires would stay away from her.”
Beside her, Savanna felt Kaige stiffen. “His property. Like hell I am.”
Gabriella, the pretty redhead across the table from Savanna smiled. “My sentiments exactly.”
“Wait a minute,” Kaige said. “How the hell did this bastard even figure out who Savanna is?”
It was Gabriella who answered. “The vampire who attacked Savanna could have seen you turn her and reported it to his sire. Something about her must have piqued his interest.”
Kaige swore. “Well, he’s not getting anywhere near her.”
“He won’t,” Brent said firmly. “Once we figure out who he is, he’ll be dealt with. Harshly.”
Two hours later, however, the Counsel still hadn’t come up with an idea on how to track down the rogue vampires. While it was horrible to consider, Savanna was beginning to think that the only way the Counsel was ever going to get a good lead on these rogue vampires was if they attacked again.
The Counsel members were still throwing around ideas when the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire house into darkness. Savanna jumped, and she felt Kaige’s arm around her waist tighten protectively. In the dark, she saw Jensen move across the room to look out the window.
“The power is out in the cottage, too,” he said. “Actually, it looks like the power is out in the whole area.”
Alton, the tall vampire standing by the fireplace pulled out his cell phone. After a moment he frowned. “Zane’s not answering his cell, but I have lousy reception, so it could just be that.”
Gabriella muttered something Savanna didn’t catch, but from the tone of her voice, the female vampire was clearly worried.
“I’ll go and check it out,” Kaige volunteered.
“I’ll go with you,” Jensen said.
Savanna caught Kaige’s arm. “Are you sure you should go out there? What if it’s some kind of trap?”
“They don’t even know about this place,” he assured her. “Besides, we have plenty of security patrolling the grounds. I’ll be fine.”
He was probably right, but she still didn’t like the idea of him going out there. “Be careful.”
Kaige’s mouth curved. “Always,” he said, pressing his mouth gently to hers.
Savanna chewed on her lower lip as she watched him walk out of the room with Jensen. The moment they disappeared from sight, she walked over to the window, watching nervously as Kaige and Jensen made their way across the lawn to the guest cottage.
“They’ll be fine,” Lila said from beside her.
Savanna glanced at Jensen’s wife. Despite the female vampire’s reassuring words, Lila looked just as anxious as she did. Savanna looked out the window again to check on Kaige, but he and Jensen were nowhere in sight. Savanna turned to ask Lila if she could see anything, but before she could, gunfire echoed in the entryway.
Heart pounding, Savanna whirled around as half a dozen male vampires burst into the room, automatic weapons in their hands.
Savanna’s stomach clenched. Oh, God. What about Kaige?
“No one moves, and no one gets hurt,” one of the vampires said.
Savanna glanced nervously at the Counsel members and was surprised to see that they looked remarkably calm.
“Where is your sire?” Alton asked.
The vampire who’d spoken before smirked. “He’ll be here.” He lifted his hand and spoke into a microphone clipped to his sleeve. “Objective secure, Master.” He paused, listening to something on his earpiece. “Yes, she’s here, Master.”
His gaze slid to Savanna as he said the words and she took a nervous step back. This Master he was talking to had to be the one who’d “claimed” her.
The lights came back on as abruptly as they went off, and Savanna squinted her eyes against the sudden brightness. They were still adjusting when a tall, thin vampire with black hair and pale, almost translucent skin stride into the room. While he wasn’t nearly as big as most of the other vampires in his entourage, there was something much more menacing about him.
Two other male vampires followed behind him. One of them was Overcoat Vamp. Though the scratches on his face had healed, the scars they’d left were still raw and ugly. The glare in his eyes told Savanna that he hadn’t forgotten what she’d done.
“You must be the one who sired this clan of thugs,” Alton said.
The vampires the Master bared their fangs at the insult, but he merely smiled.
“I am Darac, yes.” He paused, as if waiting for Alton or one of the other Counsel members to say something. When they didn’t, he continued. “That you do not recognize my name only confirms your ignorance. I sired generations of our kind before you and your Counsel were ever even a thought, but you have no idea who I am.”
“We would if you’d registered with the Counsel,” Brent told him.
Darac snorted. “Register with the Counsel.”
He walked slowly around the room, going from one Counsel member to the next.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Darac said. “You have turned your back on your vampire heritage with your foolish Counsel rules and regulations. It’s disgusting. Vampires are far superior to any human on this planet, but you have them hiding their true nature like common criminals.”
He stopped in front of Gabriella, his lip curling. “You even allow females to rule. It is a violation of the old ways.”
Gabriella flushed and opened her mouth to reply, but Darac had already moved on to stand in front of Alton. “I allow my vampires freedom to be the hunters and predators they were meant to be, while you have our kind feeding from bagged blood instead of hunting their food like they should. It is reprehensible.” He regarded Alton with disgust. “But with me in charge, all of that is going to change. We are going back to the old ways.”
“You think the vampire world is simply going to follow you because you order it?” Alton asked.
“Not at first perhaps,” Darac conceded. “But with their precious Counsel out of the way, they will have no choice but to fall into line. When there isn’t any more bagged blood for them to drink, they will do what comes naturally. Sooner or later.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Take them down to the wine cellar. I will deal with them later.”
At the command, the armed vampires quickly moved forward to obey. When one of them grabbed her arm, Darac motioned with his hand. “Not her. She stays here.”
Alton and the rest of the Counsel tried to fight back, but it wasn’t much of a fight since the bad guys had guns. Savanna was so focused on watching them drag Lila and the others from the room that she didn’t even realize Overcoat Vamp was heading her way until he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the center of the room to stand in front of Darac. Up close, his skin appeared paper-thin, the veins nearly visible underneath.
The old vampire reached up to run a bony finger down her cheek. “You are even more beautiful than your photo.”
Savanna jerked away from his touch to glare at him. “Don’t touch me.”
Darac smirked. “And you have fire. I like that.” He reached out to grip her chin, holding her in place when she would have pulled away. “You have stirred desires in me that I thought had been long gone, things I haven’t felt in hundreds of years.”
Her lip curled. “All I feel for you is revulsion.”
“Maybe,” he said, releasing her. “But that will change once you become my queen.”
�
��Your queen?” she scoffed. “Sorry, but I’m already in a relationship.”
“Oh yes, your sire.” Darac laughed. “My vampires already killed your sire, as well as everyone on the Counsel’s pathetic security team. So, my dear, you can stop worrying about your relationship with him. He is quite dead.”
Savanna’s heart seemed to stop in her chest. That wasn’t true. Kaige couldn’t be dead. She would know if he were. The thought of this bloodsucking bastard’s minions hurting Kaige infuriated her, and her fangs slid out. With a cry of rage, she jerked free of her captor’s hold and hurled herself at Darac, teeth bared.
Darac grabbed her easily and shoved her at Overcoat Vamp, who caught her in a tight grip. Savanna struggled against his hold, but it did no good. He had her arms pinned behind her back and all she could do was stand there helplessly while Darac approached her.
He ran his finger down her cheek again. “I’d prefer to have you willingly at my side, but willing or not, I will have you.”
“Go to hell!”
Darac’s jaw tightened. “I think it’s time to teach you a little respect.”
Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of Savanna’s hair and yanked her head back. She tried to fight him, but he was too strong. Her neck was completely exposed and there was nothing she could do. The bastard was going to bite her. She struggled even more, but between Overcoat Vamp holding her and Darac’s grip in her hair, it was impossible to get free. His breath was hot and foul on her neck, and she closed her eyes, helpless to do anything but wait for him to sink his fangs into her.
* * * * *
Kaige and Jensen had barely left the main house when they saw a group of armed men moving through the darkness. At first, Kaige thought they were the normal guards checking on the power outage, but by the time he and Jensen got to the cottage, he realized how mistaken he was. They arrived just in time to see the Counsel’s security team being held at gunpoint by at least a dozen rogue vampires. Even as he and Jensen watched from outside the window, Zane and his team were herded toward the back of the cottage where they’d set up shop.
