“More!” she moaned.
“Uh uh,” Zane admonished. “I give the orders. Touch your clit while I slid my tongue inside of you until you come around my tongue.”
Lexi hesitated for a moment before sliding her fingers down to her clit and stroking the sensitive bud while Zane’s tongue fucked her. She was unable to tear her eyes from what was happening. The sight of her fingers playing with herself while Zane’s tongue moved in and out of her body made her whimper with need.
The low rumbling growl coming from Zane’s throat vibrated against her sensitive flesh, as her fingers moved even faster against her clit until she exploded, screaming and bucking against Zane’s face while she spasmed around his tongue.
With his tongue still buried inside of her, Zane watched Lexi as the last of her spasms rocked her body.
“You taste so fucking incredible when you come,” Zane rasped out, and her pussy clenched with need again. “Get on my cock,” Zane commanded, and she immediately obeyed, sliding down onto his dick.
The sensation of being filled by Zane was enough to set off another wave of spasms as he began to lift his hips to meet her movements. She was unable to think about anything other than finding her next release as she rocked instinctively against him. If his groans were any indication, he felt the same.
“Touch your nipples.” His voice came out sounding almost like a growl.
It took her a moment for his words to register in her brain.
“Touch them,” he repeated.
Lexi arched her back slightly to push her breasts forward, rolling her nipples gently.
“Pinch them,” Zane told her as he lifted his hips to roll them against her.
Pinching her nipples while he watched her and fucked her felt deliciously dirty, and her own moans increased.
“Harder,” he said urgently as his hips moved faster. “Pinch them harder, angel.”
Lexi immediately obeyed, loving how the pain quickly turned to intense pleasure.
“Fuck, Lexi,” he hissed. “You’re so incredible. Move up and down my dick. Let me feel your pussy tighten around my cock.” His order came out sounding more like a plea this time.
Lexi moaned loudly as she slid up and down his cock until Zane’s dick began to swell even more inside of her, hitting a spot that felt so good it was almost painful. Lexi’s scream rang through the room as she clamped down around him, sending both of them spiraling over the edge.
When her spasms finally subsided, Lexi collapsed on top of Zane’s chest in a boneless mass. “I may never move again.”
Zane chuckled. “How about if you at least untie me?”
“Hmmmm,” she murmured. “Only if I can tie you up again later.”
“Liked that, did you?” he asked.
“It was incredible,” she mused before moving to untie him. As it turned out, he pretty much slipped out of the bonds, proving he probably could have gotten out at any time.
“I still owe you an orgasm,” Zane said sleepily.
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“I promised you three before I fucked you,” he pointed out. “You’d better rest up, because I plan on making that missed orgasm so good, you’ll feel it for days.”
Lexi groaned. “Are you trying to make me too turned on to sleep?”
“Just giving you something to dream about,” he told her.
Chapter Thirty-One
“What do you suppose this meeting is about?” the vampire walking in front of them asked, sounding annoyed.
“Who cares,” his companion replied. “I got out of tourist-time to be here. That’s all that matters to me.”
Another laughed. “I feel the same, but I’m sure those who didn’t have to be up at the crack of dawn aren’t so happy about the meeting.”
All around them, Talon heard vampires trying to figure out why they were being called to a mandatory meeting just after sunrise; even the rarely-seen advisors would be there. Not all vampires were required to attend, and if a vampire wasn’t on the council, they weren’t even allowed in the door to this meeting.
Talon was doing his best to hide his excitement, and he was annoyed with Carmen for her smug smile. Taking seats near the back of the room, they waited for the others to file in. There were already murmurs about the eleven high-ranking council members at the front of the room, and the one empty seat.
“I am sure you are all wondering why we have called this meeting,” Richard began, which came as a surprise. Normally, Eleanor or Damon started the meetings, but both seemed somewhat shaken. “There has been a murder.”
The announcement and the empty chair were enough to bring several gasps. They’d figured out that a high-ranking council member had been murdered—something that should be impossible with the guards constantly assigned to them. Those guards had made it difficult, and forced Talon to enlist the help of some of his Fae minions to carry out the brutal murder.
“Who would do something like this?” Carmen demanded.
“How could the murderer have gotten past Leland’s guards?” a lower council member who was part of their plot asked.
“We have no idea who the murderer is,” Eleanor began. “Nor do we have any idea how they slipped past Leland’s guards.”
“At this point, we have detained the guards in case they are accomplices,” Richard stated. “They will be thoroughly interrogated and dealt with appropriately for their failure to perform their duty.”
“As much as it pains us to do this, we are now forced to select a new council member to take Leland’s place,” Eleanor said. “We will take suggestions, and then the council will vote.”
For the next twenty minutes, various advisors and upper-council members made suggestions for the new council member.
Richard waited until last to speak. “I believe Carmen should be considered.”
“Carmen?” Yasmine asked, not sounding at all pleased.
“Richard has a right to make a suggestion and to be heard,” Eleanor admonished Yasmine, but Talon got the impression she wasn’t any happier with the idea.
“Thank you, Eleanor,” Richard said with a tight smile. “As I was saying, Carmen has been loyal for decades, and she has shown a great interest in our council recently. I believe we can count on her to uphold the interests of all vampires. Unlike many, she is most concerned with our safety.” The way his eyes raked over Eleanor when he spoke left no doubt that he felt Eleanor was not concerned with vampire safety.
“Carmen cares nothing about our safety,” Yasmine argued. “That self-absorbed twit only cares about her own needs.”
Talon loved the way Carmen’s face turned red when Yasmine spoke, and he had to fight back the urge to laugh. Unfortunately for Carmen, he was pretty sure she was never going to get her wish to move up the ranks—not that he really gave a fuck. This could actually work to his advantage, since she’d be less likely to continue their campaign against Kyleigh’s friends if she got her way now.
Thirty minutes later, Talon was sure Carmen was going to explode when she stormed past him. Now was the time to convince her that they needed to double up on their efforts to destroy Kyleigh's friends, giving him the opportunity to get closer to Alexa. Yes, he needed to convince Carmen while her emotions would prevent her from questioning his wisdom, and then they needed to get Richard on board.
“Carmen,” Richard’s commanding voice stopped her in her tracks, and Talon watched as she worked to compose herself.
“Yes, Richard,” she responded in a strained voice.
“I’d like a word with both of you,” he said and began walking without waiting for either of them to agree. Talon was tempted to ignore the command before he remembered the importance of pretending to be Alistair.
Once they were safely in Richard’s quarters, he began barking orders at three other vampires. “Pack up enough supplies for a short trip. We’ll be gone no more than eight hours.”
“Where are you going?” Carmen demanded.
�
��We are all going to visit two settlements I believe will give us trouble,” Richard answered in a distracted tone. “You’ll pack what you need after we speak.”
Talon raised an eyebrow and waited.
“There will be no more childish outbursts, such as storming out of meetings when you don’t get your way,” Richard told Carmen in a calm voice that still held enough threat to make her shiver.
“I was just upset,” Carmen whined.
Talon shot her a sharp look when she seemed ready to continue arguing.
“Are you sure it’s wise to leave with so much suspicion?” Talon asked.
Richard studied him for a moment before finally answering. “It might be risky, but we have no choice. There are two settlements close to here that could create problems. We need to make sure they know you have friends in high places. That’s why I’ll visit them with you. After that, we will do our best to avoid being seen together.”
“What about you supporting me for the council seat?” Carmen whined.
“Until another council member dies, there’s no seat to fill,” Richard replied with a shrug. “Now, go get ready. We’ll leave in fifteen minutes. I want to be in Dalton’s territory before noon.”
Talon caught Carmen’s arm when she was about to argue, pulling her from the room.
“That arrogant prick,” Carmen muttered as they walked down the hall.
Talon let out a sigh of frustration. Useful or not, the bitch was really annoying.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Having to avoid settlements they suspected to be unfriendly was making the trip much longer than it should be, and Claire felt bad for Cam. True to his word, he was seducing her every chance he got, while sticking with his decision to withhold actually having sex with her, much to her annoyance. Even knowing Cam was right about his self-control, and knowing she wasn’t ready for him to take things to the next level, Claire really wanted him inside of her. It was crazy because she didn’t think she’d ever be ready to let Cam mark her. A voice in her head laughed and called her a liar. That stupid voice had been doing that a lot lately—even before Cam had started his campaign to drive her out of her mind with lust.
Ian had driven through most of the night after a short stop at one of the settlements he didn’t trust quite as much. She’d stayed awake while Ian had gotten some sleep, even though Ian had insisted it wasn’t necessary. Mostly, she’d stayed awake to avoid getting anywhere near a bed with Cam. Of course, while she was on her self-imposed guard duty, Cam had managed to give her two mind-blowing orgasms.
Now that they were finally at their destination, there was so much tension in their group that it was a miracle no one had snapped. Ian would never admit it, but Claire knew he was nervous about meeting his sister, which was probably why he was spending so much time changing the battery on the jeep and placing the depleted batteries into the charging station. He’d refused any help from her or Cam. Actually, refused might not be the best word to describe his reaction to their offer; Ian had practically threatened to kill them if they came anywhere near him.
“Are you going to mess with that jeep all day, or stop acting like a little bitch and come over here?” asked a male vampire who could probably give Simon competition in the looks department. With tousled brown hair, vivid green eyes, sun-kissed skin, and perfectly chiseled features, he was nothing short of gorgeous.
“Stop staring,” Cam grumbled.
“Are you kidding?” Kyleigh demanded, and the vampire smirked at her.
“Introduce me to the pretty ladies, Ian,” he practically purred.
Claire was right there with Kyleigh on this one. How the hell were they supposed to look away from a man that beautiful?
Ian glared at the newcomer. “Not on my list of priorities at the moment, asshole.”
Rather than taking offense, the vampire’s grin broadened. “Fine, then I’ll introduce myself. I’m Dalton, and this is my territory. Ian was like an annoying little brother to me growing up, always pestering me to take care of him. If it weren’t for me, he never would have survived those early years.”
Ian snorted. “That how you remember it, fucker?”
Dalton snickered. “Nah, what I remember is you saving my ass more than once. You see, I wasn’t the toughest kid back then. Certainly, no one would have guessed I’d be a leader one day. Anyway, I’ve always had a soft spot for Ian, even if he is acting like a pussy right now.”
“I’m Kyleigh.” Kyleigh stepped forward to introduce herself.
“She’s mine,” Ian added.
Dalton’s eyebrows rose in shock. “Really?”
“Yeah, really,” Ian grumbled. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“I guess I just haven’t been keeping up with what’s going on in your territory. It’s safer to avoid being involved with Connor while he’s not getting along with the council. Last I heard, you were back from the dead but still unable to move on after losing your family. I’m glad to see you finally did.”
“Thanks,” Ian said, sounding somewhat less irritable. “These two are Cam and Claire. I’ll need extra blood for Claire and meat for Cam, unless you don’t mind him hunting in lynx form while we’re here. This has been a rough trip, and he could really use a good run.”
“So, the shapeshifter rumors are true?” Dalton asked, studying Cam.
Cam simply nodded, and Claire could tell he didn’t like Dalton, although she suspected that was just because he was annoyed at her for staring at him.
“How is she?” Ian asked, and he didn’t need to tell anyone who he was talking about.
Dalton thought for a moment, obviously choosing his words carefully. “I guess confused is the best word to describe her. The entire group she was with knows very little about what’s going on in the world. Apparently, they had a couple of vampires who went to the mainland from the island for supplies occasionally, but they never shared what they saw over here except to say it was a dangerous and violent place.”
Ian sighed. “So, she knows nothing about our world?”
“She knows more now.” Dalton’s voice held a hint of suppressed anger. “Unfortunately, they’ve seen enough to know that our world really is violent and dangerous. They’re all very committed to their religion, which is making it hard for them to settle in here, since most of us aren’t all that religious. I was tempted to send them up to Marie Therese.”
Claire could not for the life of her understand why Marie Therese would be a good choice for someone who was religious. That woman was tough and more than a little crude. “Why would you send them there?”
“Marie Therese was a novice nun when she contracted the Moon virus,” Ian explained.
“A nun?” Cam practically gasped. “As in Catholic church nun?”
Claire knew what a nun was, even if she’d never met one, and she was also having trouble picturing Marie Therese as a nun.
Ian actually laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, but you have to remember that everything we went through changed us—some more than others. I would give you more details, but Marie Therese would feed my balls to me if I told her story.”
Dalton laughed. “Yes, she would. That woman can be scary on a good day. So, are you ready to meet your sister?” he asked Ian.
“Tell me more about her before I meet her,” Ian coaxed. “Does she have a mate? Children?”
“She’s beautiful and full of hope and love,” Dalton began in a somewhat wistful voice. “She looks more like your mom than she does you, which is a good thing since you’re an ugly bastard. Her hair sparkles in the sun, and her blue eyes light up every time she smiles. She’s a tiny thing, barely comes up to my chest.”
Claire suspected things were about to get ugly.
“She’s also pregnant,” Dalton admitted and coughed nervously. “Not too far along.”
It all happened so fast; no one had time to stop Ian from slamming his fist into Dalton’s jaw. As Dalton hit the ground, Kyleigh rushed forward and caugh
t Ian’s arm to keep him from doing anything else.
“Knock it off, Ian!” Kyleigh shouted.
“The son of a bitch just told me my sister is confused and vulnerable, yet he still got her pregnant,” Ian practically growled. “I should kill the mother fucker.”
“I love her,” came Dalton’s desperate words.
“Ah, fuck,” Ian muttered as he reached out a hand to help Dalton to his feet.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ian hated the nervous tension running through his body as he went to meet his sister for the first time. Although punching Dalton had steadied his nerves some, he still felt out of control, and he kind of felt like a bigger asshole than usual for punching his friend. Most of the women in his life didn’t need a man to protect them. He’d never even met his sister, so he had no idea why he was behaving like he had to defend her honor.
“Do you want us to go with you?” Cam asked as he jogged up to Ian. Apparently, only Kyleigh had followed him, and Cam had just now decided he should figure out where Ian wanted him.
Ian stopped, realizing he hadn’t given a thought to Cam or Claire. Dalton wasn’t going to let them wander around his settlement unescorted. While it was true Ian had grown up with Dalton, they’d barely spoken since Ian had moved away before Dalton had moved to take over his own territory. Ian had no idea what kind of leader Dalton was, but he wouldn’t be stupid enough to trust strangers just because an old friend vouched for them.
“Come with us for now,” Ian told him. “I’m not sure what Dalton wants you to do.”
“I’ve arranged for you to stay in two of our cottages. We have five reserved for guests, but we currently have visitors from three other territories, so this is all we can spare,” Dalton explained. “I’ll have someone take you over there after you meet your sister.”
“That’ll work fine,” Ian assured him, and they all started walking again.
The woman Ian assumed was his sister sat in a circle with about a dozen other people. They were all chanting with their eyes closed. Even without seeing her eyes, Ian almost lost his breath. The woman in front of him looked exactly like his mother. That’s when he realized why he was behaving so irrationally about his sister. Ian’s mother had been fragile, and it was a miracle that she’d lived to see his twentieth birthday. She’d never taken to life as a vampire, and Ian had always suspected that her death had been more suicide than accident. Forcing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Ian focused on his sister.
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