The Fire Within The Night (Night Aberrations - Book Two)

by JD Nelson

He squeezed my hand, trying to reassure me. “It is good to know that we are welcome, Kristian, but let us not be rash. We may have been unseen. Nothing is certain yet.”

  Axel was unconvinced. “We shall see.”

  “I am sure that Jakob is right,” Kristian said, dismissing the topic of conversation in exchange for a slice of delicious smelling bread.

  “Right,” I agreed. “Let’s not make it a big deal, until it is one.” Now, if I could only convince myself of that.

  Kristian passed a slice of bread to me. “Try Evangelina’s bread, Erin. She is the most wonderful cook.”

  Taking what he offered, I put it on the edge of my plate. “Thank you?” I didn’t know what the right response was. Jakob’s hands were gripping the edge of the table as if he wanted to strangle his brother, but his face remained passive.

  Kristian, however, had a benevolent, innocent expression that was just begging for Jakob’s reproach. “What ails you, brother?”

  Agitated and looking murderous, Jakob asked, “Why are you giving my mate food from your hands?”

  Axel rose in preparation, so that he might defend his king. “Sire?”

  Kristian waved him down with a grin. “Axel, Jakob’s attachment is new. He is not himself. Ignore his outburst.”

  When Kristian inclined his head to me, still smiling like the little devil he was, I could see how Emelie could have been attracted to him. He was so handsome, it was ridiculous, and he had a persona that lit up the room. He might have appeared reserved and cordial upon first appearances, but after knowing him for ten minutes, I could see that he didn’t stand on ceremony … and that he might be just a little evil.

  Jakob was fuming. “You are trying to anger me, both of you, but I will not play this game with you two tonight. Ignore them, Erin. They lack the ability to grow up, even after centuries of existence.”

  Kristian shook his head. “Game? No, Jakob. There is no game. I am trying to prove a point. You cannot be this possessive and attentive to her in public. A creature would have to be blind not to know that you two are a couple. If Soren does not know by now, he will once he sees you two together.”

  “Be that as it may—” Jakob started, before getting interrupted by the staff with the next course. “We will finish this conversation later.”

  The king smirked. “As you wish.”

  After a few minutes into the next course, I realized that my thoughts about Kristian were right. In a brazen attempt, he was using his flair for magnetism to try to lure my attention from Jakob, who was busy explaining the strange, vivid orange soup. Axel, too, was trying his own version of hypnotism on me. I gave them a clear, stern ‘it would be wise not to piss me off’ look, and brought my gaze back to the gold-rimmed tableware. I shouldn’t have wasted the energy. It caused them to double their efforts. Try as I may to resist them, their influence soon won over. Even with Jakob occupying my every thought, when I heard Kristian’s accented voice, my eyes drifted to his beautiful mouth on their own volition. Axel’s was just as captivating. His deep voice snapped my attention to him like a gunshot on the rare occasions he spoke. I couldn’t fight them. I didn’t know how. With their combined capability to enthrall without lifting a finger, it was a wonder that these two hadn’t already conquered the whole of the Norse-lands.

  Jakob wasn’t ignorant to all of the frivolity they were enjoying. In fact, my wandering eyes had his possessive nature enflamed to a breaking point. I knew this because every few seconds his control would slip, and I would hear tiny wisps of the nonverbal tongue lashing Kristian and Axel were getting.

  I allowed him a minute or two to release his well-directed anger, then I stood and excused myself from the table. He followed my lead, with a questioning look. “Älskling?”

  “Just a minute,” I promised, walking back to the two tricksters and summoning every bit of influence that I could. I hoped that I was blessed with the talent, or at the least, that the spell book would help me with Kristian, who stood as I approached the table.

  “Lady Erin?” he inquired, confused by my return.

  I curtseyed, so that they could both see the cleavage that Jakob would soon have his hands on and smiled a seductive, persuasive smile. “Thanks for dinner, boys. It was fun.” I lowered my voice. “But not as much fun as what I’m going to be doing for the next four to six—” I broke off, looking behind me to where Jakob stood and corrected myself. “Make that eight to twelve hours.”

  With a saucy wink, I made my way back to Jakob, who smirked at Kristian and Axel’s open-mouthed faces and said, “Good day, gentle-males.”

  I didn’t make it two feet out of the dining room doorway before Jakob captured me in his grip, threw my protesting form over his shoulder, and strode down the corridor without missing a beat. Amused at this new aggressive behavior, I slid down to wrap my legs around his waist, smiling when he cupped my bottom to support my weight. If that wasn’t a huge step in the right direction, I didn’t know what was.

  “Where are you taking me, caveman?”

  “First bed that I find,” he growled through gritted teeth. He was a male on a mission—hallelujah.

  “Well, you’ve just passed it,” I said, spying an elaborate four-poster, which would be more than sufficient, through a couple of open doorways.

  He shook his head without looking. “Any bed but that one. That chamber belonged to the harem.”

  I could hear car brakes squealing to a stop in my head. “Did you just say harem?”

  Observing the revulsion I exhibited with a sigh, he stopped walking. “Erin, my father was from a different time. Long ago, it was a common practice for wealthy families to keep a harem.”

  “And yet, that doesn’t make it any less disturbing,” I pointed out. “How did your mothers cope with sharing his, um … affection?” I unwound my legs from his waist and slid to the floor to peek into the room.

  He looked horrified. “Can we not talk about my parent’s sex life right now?”

  I mimed locking my lips and tossing the key. “Is it something straight out of Arabian Nights in there? Are there chains and whips?”

  Jakob walked over the partially opened door and pushed it the rest of the way open. “Look around. I know you will not be satisfied until you see it.”

  He was so right. Not that I would tell him that. Walking past him into the room, I found a large lavish parlor with two identical doorways on either side of a huge golden mirror. I wasn’t expecting the sheer amount of extravagance that the room boasted. With furs, silks, and lavish carpets that would feed a small village for hundreds of years, the females of the harem had lived in luxury beyond even what the king enjoyed. I looked to Jakob in amazement. “This is bliss. Where do I sign up?”

  He closed the space between us, molding his rock hard chest against my back. With his lips against my ear, he whispered, “You would be at the king’s disposal for sex and blood at any given moment.”

  I shivered, forgetting how to make syllables come out of my mouth. “Wou—Would I?”

  Silent, with slow, methodical touches, he wrapped my long hair around his fist until it was taut within his grip, then tugged me upward, lifting me onto my toes. “Night after night of meaningless sex, being drained to a point of weakness as a reward, is that something you would want for eternity?” His voice was dangerous and deep, bordering on a growl.

  Answering him without pause or humility, I said, “If you were the male, yes, it does.”

  His muscular arm snaked around my waist, pulling me flush against the hard erection behind his zipper. Inhaling a slow breath, I shuddered as he nicked the tender nape of my neck and licked away the small bead of blood that welled there. “They would call you a blood-whore, Erin.”

  “So be it,” I told him, ignoring the clear double meaning in his words. I knew he was attempting to spare me the shame of being his mistress. He didn’t want me to suffer. However, on this, I wouldn’t be swayed. “I will have you as my mate, Jakob. In any capacity.”

>   “Take off your clothes,” he commanded, before dropping the captured length of my hair and spinning me to face him.

  With frightening intensity, his eyes burned into mine as a sudden, strong gust of wind blew the door shut, making my heart race anew. I didn’t think, just obeyed him. My fingers flew to my top, nimbly unfastening each button with an efficiency that I owed more to my perpetual lateness than skill. My bra followed the shirt in the same expeditious manner. Jakob issued a guttural, approving growl as he ripped his t-shirt from his shoulders and kicked off his boots with hurried motions.

  He was so beautiful, sculpted so perfectly, that when he pushed down his jeans to reveal his heavy erection, I froze, struck dumb. It had been a long time since I’d seen someone of the opposite sex this undressed—a looong time. And even then, they never looked like Jakob did.

  A sexy chuckle roused me from my hypnotic state, bringing my attention back to his face. “I want you naked,” he reminded me.

  More than happy to oblige, I let the flimsy, sheer fabric of my pants drop to the ground, and then hooked my thumbs into the sides of my panties to slip them over my hips. “As you wish, master.”

  “Master,” he scoffed. “You think to win my favor with pleasantries, do you, female?”

  I stiffened with fear and desire as he prowled around me. There was no other word for the sleek movement he made as he circled me, memorizing every inch of my exposed skin with his sharp eyes. He was a wild animal on the hunt. “I am just eager to please you, sire.”

  “Are you, Erin?” he asked, his face hard and hungry. “Are you eager for me?”

  “Yes,” I admitted, trembling under his stare, though I wanted so much to hold my head high and keep my poise perfect for our little game.

  His voice was hoarse, but controlled as he spoke. “Bedroom, female—now, before I take you here on the carpet.”

  Not moving, I dared him to make good on the threat. “Anything you desire.”

  With a low groan, he dragged me to the floor, forcing my thighs open with his body and kissing me so roughly, I knew he would bruise my lips. I didn’t care. He tasted of the wine we’d consumed at dinner, exotic, sweet, intoxicating, and just as overpowering. Arching into him, I offered myself. “Fuck me, Jakob.”

  With his face tight from agonized need, he gripped his generous length, angled its broad head toward my ready wetness, and plunged into me with a growl and a flash of clenched, white fangs. Though I’d anticipated it, the exquisite shock of him pushing inside me drew a sharp cry from my lips that echoed off the walls of the room.

  Jakob stilled within me, looking apologetic. “Erin?”

  “Please, don’t stop,” I moaned, seizing his gorgeous, muscled ass and digging my nails into the taut flesh to urge him on.

  “Never,” he groaned, his eyes never leaving mine.

  Lost in his stare, I began to contort my body to keep up with the punishing thrusts he delivered. The roar of the fire within me drowned out the sharp cries and incoherent words that sprang from my lips, over and over, until I came to my screaming completion. Collapsing hoarse, breathing hard, and boneless from pleasure on the carpet, I was in awe. “That. Was. Incredible.”

  He returned my loopy smile with a devious one of his own, while not too subtly reminding me that he was still rock hard and deep inside of me. “What makes you think this is over, by any means?”

  I giggled. “Oh, my mistake. Carry on then.”

  “I intend to,” he assured me, pushing deeper into my warmth.

  “I love the sound of that,” I confessed, my laughter fading into gasps as my body reawakened with every slow stroke.

  His fangs glinted in the light of the chandeliers as his lips curved in amusement. “The sound alone?”

  “Jakob, do you see anything in my ridiculous sex faces that makes you think I’m not enjoying myself with you?”

  His smile widened. “No.”

  “Exactly.”

  He rolled us over so that I straddled his hips. “Your sex faces are not ridiculous.”

  Attempting to be the ‘sultry vixen,’ I leaned forward and nipped hard at his bottom lip, drawing blood. “They’re not?”

  “No,” he groaned, pulling my hips back down as he thrust upward. “They are not.” Moving a long lock of hair over my shoulder, he captured my breasts in his hands, first raking his tongue across a hardened nipple, then sinking his teeth into the flesh. Caught off guard, I hissed, my body moving by instinct to follow the quickening movements he made as he licked the blood from my skin. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are right now?” he asked, getting to his feet with impressive ease and pressing my back into the huge mirror that dominated the wall. “The breathy little moans you make, the flush of your cheeks, my blood on your heart-shaped mouth—you are ravishing, älskling.” His hands tangled in my hair as he dragged lips, hot as embers, across my own, the blood coating them coaxing my fangs out of hiding. Bringing his hand to my mouth, he offered his palm. “Take my blood. Make me your mate. Even if it is only symbolic. I will not suffer another night without you in my bed.”

  Trembling, I held out my hand. “Jakob, there is nothing I want more.”

  Relieved, Jakob drew my hand to his mouth, biting down on the pad of my thumb until two twin beads of blood welled to the surface, then dragged it down his bottom lip, leaving a crimson trail. “Erin, my älskling, I accept you as my true fated mate. Let us never be parted.”

  Smiling, I laid a kiss in the center of his palm before biting down and mimicking his actions. “Jakob, I accept you as my true fated mate. Let us never be parted.”

  With a look of unadulterated love, he ran the back of his knuckles down my cheek and took my lips in a hungry kiss, before jerking away to gasp out and grind his teeth against an invisible pain.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, pushing his hair back from his forehead. I didn’t feel any pain, just an intense connection pulsating between us.

  “The pain was not my own. It is hers,” he explained, bringing his solemn eyes to mine. “I feel … you, Erin. You are my heaven. Your scent, your taste …” He pressed deeper into me. “I crave you.”

  “And I, you,” I whimpered, almost unable to string together two coherent words as I began to lose myself in the pleasure he was bringing me. Again and again, he pushed into me, each time harder than the last, until I cried out, sinking my teeth into his shoulder to revel in the dark spice of his magical blood. After a few draws, I threw my head back, moaning out in pleasure as my elemental power swirled around us in a whirlwind of lust and want. Growling, he sank his hands into my hair, taking my mouth in a brutal kiss and driving himself faster and harder until he roared out his release, spilling deep inside of me.

  “Wow. That was …” I panted for breath.

  Jakob leaned a forearm against the glass and rested his forehead on my shoulder. “Insane?”

  I smirked. “What? Most elves don’t get mated during sex … against a mirror … in a harem?”

  He lifted his head to look at me. “Älskling, no one has ever gotten mated without a Norn—ever. It is an impossibility.”

  “Nothing is impossible, Jakob. Not now.” I kissed his healing bottom lip and tasted blood. Mine or his, I didn’t know. We were pretty much covered in it. “Where's the nearest shower?”

  He gestured to the room on his right. “Through the door and down the hallway.”

  “You seem pretty familiar with the layout,” I said, suspicious of his intimate knowledge of the harem. "You didn’t come here in the past for a little entertainment of the carnal variety, did you?” Please, say no.

  “There has been no one else,” he assured me, picking up on the tinge of jealousy that tainted my words. “You have forgotten that I was mated for centuries upon centuries.”

  “So was your father, and that didn’t stop him,” I pointed out.

  “I swear to you that I have never used the harem for sex. Until tonight."

  I smiled. "Well then, it was a pleasur
e servicing you, your highness.”

  He ran his fingers down my ribcage and the sides of my thighs, coaxing a purr from my lips. "The pleasure was all mine."

  Threading my fingers through his thick, black hair, I brought his mouth to mine, then lifted myself off of his erection and slid to the floor before he could convince me to postpone washing the harem from my body. "Are you coming?"

  "I will be in a moment," he answered, as he eyed my naked body with interest. He was wicked.

  I raised an eyebrow at his innuendo, and then laughed when he mimicked me. Damn, he was sexy. I will never, even if I live a million years, get tired of that devilish smile of his ... or the way he feels inside me. Just thinking about the perfect way we’d fit together made me want to turn right back around and beg him for round three ... and four, maybe five. Hell, I may never leave this room.

  “We have to eat, or we’ll starve,” Jakob reminded me, kissing my fingertips.

  I sighed, rolling off of him and snuggling up to his side. “Yeah, but what a fantastic way to go.” After round three in the shower and four and five in the harem’s bed, food was the last thing on my mind.

  “You are insatiable, älskling.”

  “For my mate, I am,” I said, kissing his nose. “So, this food you mentioned? Do I have to leave the room to get it?” The harem proved hard to leave. Indeed, it was so hard that I was thinking of asking Jakob if we could take the room as ours when I moved into the castle. Besides the to-die-for bathtub built for six, it had a balcony unlike any I’d ever seen. As big as the room itself, it was decorated with vines upon vines of night-blooming roses and moonflowers, all intertwined around the wrought iron railing, filling the air with their sweetness. It was a little piece of paradise, and without too much prodding, I convinced Jakob to spend an hour before sunrise in the lounge chair with me, wrapped up in a blanket to watch the night sky. Well, watching when he wasn’t being naughty. My mate was a bit insatiable himself.

  “I can have someone bring food to us, if you desire. That is, if you are okay with the staff finding us in here.”