Lure of Forever

by Doris O'Connor

"Shh, I want to." Her lips once again closed over his tip and she pushed his hips down with one hand, whilst the other grabbed his shaft. Lucas pushed himself up to his elbows to see the erotic sight of Coralie's head bobbing up and down on his cock.

  Merde, she was good at this. He wasn't going to last five minutes. She took him all the way to the back of her throat and swallowed once, twice, her eyes locking with his. He thrust himself into her sweet mouth, her tongue curling around his dick, her teeth scraping the sensitive skin. She nibbled and sucked, squeezed and stroked and hummed her approval, as he grew bigger still, his body scrambling for release. His balls grew tight and the heat built from his scrotum up through his shaft until he exploded into her mouth with a growled curse of completion. She milked every last drop of his explosive surrender until he grew flaccid in her mouth and she released him with a satisfied smile. She kissed her way back up his body, setting his skin alight where her hot lips trailed, until he could taste himself in the kisses she rained on his lips. He flipped her over with a growl of approval and deepened the kiss until they were both gasping for breath and his cock was once again a hard ridge nudging her thigh. She returned his wicked smile with one of her own and thrust her breast into his waiting hand in silent invitation.

  "Are you sure? You're not too sore?"

  She pulled him down for another kiss, which pitched his arousal again as she wrapped her tongue around his fangs. He almost didn't hear her whispered suggestion in his ear and she blushed furiously when he pulled back to look at her, not quite believing he'd heard her right. The scent of her arousal in the air left him in no doubt that she wanted him and she rolled on her tummy, exposing the soft globes of her ass. He had to taste her. He licked his way down her spine, making her squirm, and murmured his approval at the wetness he found between her legs. He coated his fingers with her juices and spread her cheeks further. She moaned into the sheets, her hands fisting the cotton when he inserted one, then two fingers into her forbidden passage, preparing her for his invasion.

  Her hips rose off the bed when his other hand found her clit and circled the tight bud.

  "Get on your knees for me." He whispered the words into her shoulders, alternating them with open-mouthed kisses on her soft skin and she obeyed immediately, bringing her delightful ass to just the right height. Her feminine moan of protest when he gently withdrew his fingers shot straight to his cock and he gritted his teeth against the sensation of pushing through her tight ring of muscles. Coralie tensed for a second, before she pushed against him and he slid all the way in until his balls hit her pussy. One hand on her breast, the other on her hip, he began to move, her anus gripping him and stroking along every nerve of his cock.

  "Poutre, so good, so tight. I'm not going to last long. Touch yourself for me, Chere." The sight of Coralie fingering her clit, whilst his cock tunneled in and out of her butt, raised the monster slumbering within and Lucas lost all control. He pounded into her. The sounds of their flesh slapping together, mixed in with the banging of the headboard against the wall and their combined groans and moans increased his urgency. Lucas sank his teeth into Coralie's shoulder as he exploded deep inside her tight flesh and her screams of completion rang in his ear as he collapsed on top of her.

  Lucas withdrew and licked her shoulders, causing another deep-throated moan from the woman underneath him, and he rolled her over. The satisfied smile she gave him settled deep in his ancient heart.

  "You're incredible, Coralie."

  Her face lit up in a tired smile.

  "You're not too bad yourself, for a man your age."

  Lucas laughed out loud in genuine amusement and tucked her back into his shoulder.

  "Next you'll be saying I need my beauty sleep."

  "Well, don't you?"

  "I could do this all night, but I do want you to be able to walk tomorrow, so you need some sleep, young lady."

  He sensed the change in her, even before she spoke. It was there in the way she clung to him and he had to strain to hear her next words.

  "You'll stay with me, won't you? When I'm asleep. I don't want to be on my own."

  He propped himself up on one elbow better to see her face, and the fear he saw in her expression tore at his heart.

  "Oui, mon chere. I won't leave until I absolutely have to, and even then, I'll only be two floors down. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

  She nodded, her expressive eyes filling with tears, and he answered her unspoken question.

  "Jerry and her daughter, too. I'll die before I let anything happen to either of them. Jacomo will not win this time."

  "But how can you be so sure? If Suz really is his daughter, then he won't stop until he gets her. Lucas, she's just a child."

  "Oui, but she is well protected. And I don't believe she is as helpless as you believe her to be. She will have powers, powers that Jacomo will want to harness, but that ultimately may destroy him. Now, sleep." He smiled at her and traced the outline of her luscious lips with one finger. "We'll discuss this in detail when you're not half-asleep. I do appear to have worn you out."

  He grinned at the halfhearted slap aimed at his chest and an answering ghost of a smile kicked up her lips briefly, before she yawned and snuggled closer to him.

  "Look who's talking, old man."

  Lucas watched over her until the first rays of the sun forced him to leave her alone in her bed. But not before he let Ion into the house.

  "You look like hell, Lucas. Get some sleep. You won't be any good to her if you don't.

  "I know that, Ion." Lucas snarled his response, but his old friend just chuckled in response.

  "Save it for those who are impressed with that show. Now sleep." And with that he all but shoved Lucas down the rickety old wooden stairs to the cellar.

  ****

  Coralie woke up to the aroma of brewing coffee and the low hum of noises. Who was in her house? She turned over and inhaled deeply. The sheets still held Lucas's scent and she smiled, recalling last night. He had been so passionate and tender, she had felt cherished and safe enough to engage in sexual acts she would never have dreamed of doing before. She embraced the soreness in unfamiliar places. It served as a welcome reminder that she was still alive and she gingerly walked to the bathroom to run herself a bath.

  Half an hour later, she padded down the stairs and followed the muted sounds of conversation to the kitchen. Marnie and Ion were at her kitchen table tucking into a huge breakfast and Coralie's stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her how hungry she was. Ion smiled at her and winked, his gaze running over her body, as if to check she was okay. Marnie jumped up and pushed her into the chair she had just vacated.

  "Here, sit down, before you fall down, and I’ll make you some breakfast. Knowing Lucas you'll need the sustenance this morning."

  Heat rose in Coralie's cheeks at the implied suggestion and Ion laughed.

  "Do as you're told. When she gets like that it's not worth arguing. She barged in here about an hour ago, insisting on cooking breakfast to keep your strength up." He leaned forward and flicked Coralie's hair off her neck with a low whistle. "And looking at those, she was right, as usual."

  Coralie pulled her hair back over the tiny wounds and then thought better of it. She wasn't ashamed of Lucas's marks on her body and she twisted her hair up with the hair band on her wrist. Ion's smile deepened at her actions, his eyes once again resting on her neck and she stared him down. What was his problem?

  She jumped when a huge plate, filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, sausages and toast appeared in front of her. Marnie's warm hand caressed her shoulder as she urged Coralie to eat.

  "Go on. I want to see all of that gone and I'm not leaving until you've eaten it all. You may want to stock up on iron, too. It'll take you less time to recover that way."

  "What?" Coralie squeaked her response and her hand went to her neck involuntarily. "I'm fine, really. He didn't do anything I didn't want him to."

  Ion's smirk in response to her protests earne
d him a slap upside the head from Marnie. His wolf growled in response, but he smiled at his wife and envy poked Coralie with a red-hot stab out of nowhere. The look of love the couple exchanged—she wanted that so badly her insides twisted in on themselves. She raised her coffee cup to her lips with unsteady hands and glanced towards the door leading to the cellar. The sunlight streaming into her kitchen just confirmed the futility of her thoughts. He was a vampire, and an ancient one at that. He would soon grow bored and move on, and even if he didn't—he didn't age—she would. Every day she grew older and one day he would wake up to an old woman and then…

  She screwed her eyes shut, disgusted with herself and her rambling thoughts. It wasn't as though he'd declared his everlasting love to her. Circumstances had thrown them together and he felt honor-bound to protect her. And he was a man— of course he'd take the sex on offer. It was her own stupid mistake that she'd fallen in love with him. He'd never made any false promises to her. She swiped away the tear running down her cheek with an impatient wave of her hand and opened her eyes to find Marnie and Ion both watching her.

  "Really, I'm okay. He didn't hurt me."

  Ion simply raised an eyebrow at her. Marnie's eyes darted to Coralie's neck and she smiled, before she looked away, seemingly lost in thought. Ion took her hand and murmured something that Coralie couldn't quite catch and Marnie cupped Ion's cheek tenderly, before addressing Coralie with a smile.

  "Of course he didn't. Lucas is in love with you, any fool can see that."

  Ion choked on the swig of coffee he'd just taken and Coralie wasn't at all sure she wasn't staring openmouthed at Marnie. She couldn't be serious.

  "Forgive Marnie. She sees romance in the air everywhere." Ion's amused tones filled the kitchen, but his wife simply pulled a face at him.

  "Don't listen to him. He's a typical male—can't see anything unless you hit him over the head with it." She dismissed Ion's warning growl with a wave of her hand and leaned forward to emphasize her point. "Is the great Lucas not slumming it right now in your basement?" She clapped her hand at Coralie's reluctant nod. "Well, then. Don't you think he could have stayed in any number of places, should he have wished it? Why do you think he's so insistent to stay close to you? The pack could handle your protection detail just fine." Marnie flicked a strand of her hair off her face with an impatient shake of her head and fixed her chocolate eyes firmly on Coralie. "No, this is personal and I couldn't be more delighted. It's about time he settled down."

  "Settled down?" Coralie didn't seem able to project her voice with any conviction over the blood rushing in her ears. Marnie had to be imagining things. "He doesn't seem the settling down type."

  "Of course he is. Just takes the right woman to make these stubborn males see sense."

  "Watch who you're calling stubborn, little one," Ion interrupted his wife and Coralie mumbled her excuses, whilst Ion kissed his wife senseless. She couldn't stay and witness this anymore. It was too painful.

  The kitchen door closed behind her with a soft click and Coralie stopped in front of her mother's portrait in the hallway. If only she could ask her for advice. The how-to’s of dating a vampire whilst being hunted by a murderous demon hadn't come up in their many talks about men.

  "Tell me what to do, Mummy," Coralie whispered. The slightest touch of cool air skittered across Coralie's bare arms and she wrapped them around herself, hearing her mother's voice inside her head.

  "All good things are worth fighting for, Coralie. Trust what you find in your heart…"

  Chapter Eighteen

  Coralie stared out the window, not paying attention to her surroundings. She had thought being back at work would help, but all she could think about was Lucas, sleeping in her cellar. What on earth was she going to do?

  "Shit!" Coralie bit her lip and flinched as the knife slid into her thumb. Bright crimson stained the chopping board and she watched in fascination as the cut closed in front of her eyes. Holy shit, what does that mean? She looked around nervously in case anyone else had seen, but Bianca, the new lady she had been introduced to that morning was busy at the other end of the kitchen. Heart hammering in her ears, Coralie quickly held the offending knife under the tap and watched the blood gurgle down the sink drain.

  Shit, shit, shit, what is happening to me? She hadn't turned, she knew it. Bright sunlight streamed through the window and warmed her clammy skin. Where was Lucas when she needed him, damn it?

  "Are you all right there, my dear? You look as though you've seen a ghost." Bianca's cheerful voice startled Coralie out of her internal anguish.

  An ice-cold hand grabbed her insides and squeezed. Coralie shook her head to clear her vision. For just a split second she could have sworn she was looking into Bughar's eyes. But that was impossible. The fairy was not only male but also over seven feet tall. The elderly woman smiling up at her was five foot, if that, and her face was wreathed in wrinkles. She was so frail a gust of wind could have knocked her over. Yet still, every instinct screamed at Coralie to get away. She looked through the open doorway into the little cafe, seeking the eyes of the young wolf assigned as her protection. Where was he?

  All day he'd sat at the little table in the corner, sipping his coffee, his eyes never once leaving her. And all of a sudden, he wasn't there? The tendril of fear turned into full-blown horror when meek and gentle Bianca dug a knife under her ribcage and pushed her out of the back door with a surprising amount of force.

  "Don't even think about screaming, vamp bait. Jacomo may want you alive, but he didn't say anything about undamaged. Besides, I saw how quickly you healed, so we can have ourselves some fun."

  The sharp pain in her side took Coralie's breath away, as the knife punctured her skin and sunk in to the hilt. Her scream died on her lips as she watched Bianca change in front of her until Coralie stared up at none other than Bughar. His lips curled up in a cruel smile. He tilted her chin up with one long fingernail, sharp enough to draw blood, and bile rose in Coralie's throat. The pain in her side made her eyes water and his sneering laughter turned the blood in her veins to ice.

  "We may not be able to get to the child for now, but you're the next best bargaining tool. You slipped away once, but not again. I'd so love to be a fly on the wall, when your lover-boy finds out we’ve got you. I might make him watch as we take it in turns to fuck you any which way, right before we stake the bastard."

  Coralie screwed her eyes shut against the evil laughter washing over her. His hot breath in her face told her how close the fairy was. Oh God, this couldn't be happening. She caused this with her insistence to go to work. Ion and Marnie both had pleaded with her to stay at home, but stubborn fool that she was, she’d dug her heels in. Ion eventually agreed, sending her off under the watchful eye of the young wolf.

  "You'll be safe with Dean. He's the best young tracker we've got. But for the record, I don't like it, one little bit. Best brace yourself for the fallout with Lucas when he wakes up, little human." Ion had smiled at her, his eyes narrowed, before he turned away mumbling to himself about stubborn females.

  "What have you done with Dean?" Coralie asked, forcing the words out of her parched throat. She knew what the answer must be, yet clung onto the hope that Dean got away somehow. Bughar's manic laughter in her ear, as he dug the knife in deeper and lifted her to her tip-toes, robbed her of that illusion. Breaths coming in shallow gasps, she tried to breathe through the pain. She didn't want to give the fairy the satisfaction of hearing her scream, even as her insides felt as though they were torn to shreds and white-hot pain raced through her nerve endings.

  "The flea bag is dog food, in nice small, chewable morsels. Quite fitting, don't you think, my little fuck toy." He licked down the side of her face and Coralie tasted blood in her mouth. She'd bitten her tongue with the effort it took to not scream. She would not give him the goddamn satisfaction of hearing her scream or beg. No fucking way. Silent tears leaked out of her shut eyelids, as she closed herself off against the pain and the realit
y of what was happening to her. Her mind focused on Lucas and with a final searing pain in her core everything went black.

  ****

  Lucas sat bolt upright, Coralie's scream of terror reverberating through his mind. It joined the burning pain in his side and groin.

  Putain l'enfer!

  A string of vicious French curses reverberated throughout the gloomy cellar, as he struggled to his feet, still too groggy to be able to coordinate his movements with any eloquence. Lucas struggled up the steps. Each rung increased the iciness in his veins, as he felt every sickening thing that happened to Coralie as though he was there to watch it. He was going to tear that fucking fairy limb from limb, slowly. By the time he finally made it up those stairs and flung the cellar door open, he reeled back at the bright sunshine. He sunk to his knees with another string of curses and his heart stopped beating, when Coralie's screams stopped.

  Jesus, he couldn't lose her. The realization of how much he loved her hit him like a sledgehammer and desperation clawed at his guts. No matter how hard he concentrated the thread was broken. Their tremulous connection severed as though it had never existed. This couldn't be happening again—not again. He'd sworn to keep her safe. How the fuck did the fairy get hold of her? And what did they want from Coralie, apart from… No, he was not going to let his mind go there.

  He groped blindly for the phone in his back pocket. Tears he hadn't shed since his human days clouded his vision. He finally managed to connect the call. Ion answered on the second ring. Lucas could hear the frown in his voice and he smiled grimly.

  "Lucas? You ought to be asleep. What's happened?"

  "Where's Coralie?"

  "She's at the bakery." Lucas growled his frustration and Ion laughed nervously. "I know, I know, but she insisted. Dean is watching over her."

  "She's far from safe, for fuck’s sake. Bughar's got her and he's… I need to get out of here, shifter. I have no idea what the fuck is going on, but when did you last hear from Dean?"