He trailed his lips down the jut of her stubborn chin to the throbbing pulse of her delectable throat. Nipping at her collarbone, he marveled at the sense of coming home. Her small delicately boned body shivered beneath his lips and her sweet taste, like candy, filled his mouth. A flood of delicious memories spun in his head as he remembered every one of the spots that brought her closer to release and he would relish reacquainting himself with each one. He slid his hands under her back to undo her bra. After removing the obstacle from his path, he captured one beaded peak in his mouth and suckled. Her indrawn hiss of pleasure made his cock throb painfully against the zipper of his jeans.
“So beautiful.” He murmured his appreciation as he blew hot air on the turgid peak before administering the same devotion to her other breast. Her hips bucked against him as she moaned. He moved down her body, hands, lips, and teeth teasing the delicate flesh as he paid homage to her body.
His hands slipped under the thin strips of material at her hips that held wispy red piece of lace in place and tugged them off. The scent of her arousal grew stronger, tantalized him. Her musk and warm spice brought his fangs out as hunger surged within him.
He gazed down at the small strip of tight curls wet with her cream and growled low in his throat. “I’m going to eat you up,” he promised in a voice gone deep and husky.
“Oh, yes. Please, Navar.” Mari whimpered, her hands spearing through his hair to find purchase as she opened her legs wider to accommodate him.
He positioned his broad shoulders between her thighs and nuzzled the dark curls, breathing in her scent with a groan of appreciation. His tongue flicked out, teasing the folds of her lips. “So damn good,” he rasped as he lapped at her with increasing hunger, tracing around her clit in teasing strokes that had her writhing against him.
He could think of no better way to spend eternity than right by Mari’s side, loving her, if she would have him. He would think about that later. Right now he just wanted to sink into the luscious sensations of his female’s body.
Chapter Three
Mari whimpered and moaned as Navar lapped at her, shivers of pleasure fluttering in her belly while her core throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Her body arched off the bed as his talented mouth found her sensitive clit. His tongue, swirling erotic patterns over her sex, drove her to the edge. She needed him. Now!
“Oh gods, Navar, I need you inside me.” She panted.
“Not quite yet, love.”
“You’re driving me crazy. Ahhh...need you.”
He chuckled, a sexy rumble, which stole her breath as pleasure spiked up her spine. He worked one finger, then two, in and out of her. “So hot and tight,” he said as he ate at her with a greedy delight. “So responsive to my touch.”
Her orgasm hit with the intensity of a typhoon, dragging her under the deep churning vortex. She gripped his shoulders, nails biting deep as she screamed her release. Her climax ebbed and flowed into another slowly gathering wave, his talented mouth and tongue coaxing her higher with skilled precision. The man knew his way around a woman’s body, she thought before another climax beat at her and her thoughts scattered.
After an hour…or maybe it was only minutes…she lost all track of time, her body boneless, feeling like limp spaghetti, she felt him move over her, mantling her with his brawny body, one hand feeding his cock into her in slow, deliberate increments. She blinked up at him, wondering when he'd undressed, but the notion fled as she felt the head of his cock brush against the swollen lips of her core. She moaned in delight as he sheathed himself in her to the hilt.
Dear gods, he’s big! She sighed in pleasure at being so filled. He moved out, his hips circling before thrusting in with a deep push. She wrapped her legs around him, tightening her hold on his waist, heels digging in to his firm ass, urging him to go faster. Taking her cue, he plunged in deeper. His retreat was brief. Her hips rose, following him on his upward stroke, inner muscles tightening around him as another orgasm coiled in her belly. She gave into the climax, letting it sweep her along at the same time Navar stiffened with a hoarse shout and threw his head back, a look of pure bliss on his face.
With a groan he moved off her, pulling her into his sweat-coated body. Mari rested her head on his bicep as they both struggled for breath, let their hearts slow, and enjoyed the closeness they shared, living in the moment.
“Now what, Navar?” Mari finally broke the compatible silence by addressing the white elephant in the room.
And it was a tiny room.
Mari studied her hands lying on the golden skin of his chest and wished she could take back her words. His deep voice soothed her with his cadence as he spoke. “Well, that would depend on you.”
Her gaze jumped to his. Caught his deep cerulean eyes, she felt the pull to sink into their clear depths. His black hair spread around him, glinting with blue fire in the light. His high cheekbones cast his cheeks in shadow, and his lips lifted in a sexy smile.
Oh, boy, she was in trouble.
Reality reared its ugly head. Honesty won out over her impulse to jump at the chance to have him in her life again. “I don’t know if I can depend on you to be there. You want me to trust you even though you can’t explain to me why you’ve been gone so long. You give me very little to build on here.”
His smile died a quick death and his gaze pierced her to the spot. She knew in that instant how a butterfly must feel being pinned to a wall. “Fair enough. I didn’t think it would be easy just walking back into your life. How do you feel about starting slow?”
“Slow? How do you mean?” She couldn’t keep the wariness out of her tone and, truth be told, didn’t want to.
“Well, there must be some kind of job here that I can do.”
Mari rose to her elbows, looking down at her lover with incredulity. “You would do that? I mean, are you sure?”
He wrapped her in his arms and held her against his strong, warm body. “I don’t expect you to just let me walk back into your life without proving myself trustworthy. I want to be a part of your life.” He kissed the top of her head. Something only he had ever gotten away with. “Besides, now that I’m unemployed so to speak, I could use a job.”
“Well, now that you mention it, I could use someone guarding my girls when they are entertaining back here, and a backup bartender would be nice too.”
“Then you have it. If you want.”
“Oh, I want.” Her voice went breathless as her hand trailed down the firm flesh of his chest, tracing the dips and rises of hard muscled cords ridging his flat stomach. Dark, soft hair led from his belly button down to a thick thatch of curls surrounding his semi-hard cock. As her hand slid lower, his cock rose to attention with a quick jerk, curving over his stomach, the flared tip turning purple with sudden need.
She followed the trail of her hands with lips, teeth, and tongue, mimicking Navar’s own explorations of her body. His indrawn hiss of pleasure goaded her on until she found herself staring, nose to head, at the object of her fascination. She licked across the slit with a light teasing stroke while her fingers fondled his sac, grinning as his hips surged up to meet her mouth while Navar groaned.
“I can see some definite advantages to your employment.” The tip of her tongue teased with a quick flick on the sensitive underside of his cock.
“Stop teasing me, female.” His voice shook with his rising desire.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kind of enjoying this.” Lick. “And I think you are too.” Nibble, lick.
“You’re a cruel woman, Mari,” Navar growled as his cock got even harder. His hips thrust toward her as she licked at him like an ice cream cone. “You know what they say about paybacks.”
“Um, I’m willing to risk it. Besides, what would the big bad vampire do?” she taunted just before she slid him deep into her mouth and sucked hard enough to hollow her cheeks.
His body went taut, hands fisting the sheets, as she went to work on him with slow practiced strokes up and down. Her tong
ue trailed over the thick sensitive vein and up to swipe across the flared tip until he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her off him. The world tilted for a brief moment before she found herself facing the wall on her hands and knees.
“What do you think you’re doing? I was having fun,” Mari complained, looking back over her shoulder at Navar’s big body looming over hers.
“It’s time for me to play.” Navar’s deep voice whispered over her skin with seductive intent.
His eyes bored into hers, making her belly quiver and inner muscles clench in anticipation. He caressed her back. The light stroke made her shiver with anticipation. Her core clenched in the need to have him buried deeply within her. He nipped her shoulder hard, the sting making her hiss with excitement, then laved the abused flesh with his tongue.
He found her entrance with a single thrust, filling all the empty spaces, his hands gripping her hips with such care that her vision wavered with unshed tears at his gentle handling. Only with Navar did she feel so treasured, something she’d never gotten from any other lover.
And gods, there were too many to count in two thousand years of existence. It occurred to her in an epiphany so sharp and clear in that moment—all this time she’d only existed, never lived. Her soul had died with Navar. Only this one man brought her back to life.
Navar was her consort. The words whispered in her mind.
Eyes still locked on his, a tear escaped to slide down her cheek. The implications were terrifying. She knew of only one vampire in her long life who had found his consort. The concept was thought to be more myth than fact until Marcus Valerian had found his consort in Tambra Ellis. She’d seen firsthand the connection between them. They were two halves of the same being working in complete unity.
Heart, mind, and soul. Now, as she gazed into eyes the color of a stormy sky darkened with passion, she felt her essence respond with an urgent tug as her incisors lengthened. Navar groaned, buried deep within her channel. His magnificent body glistened in the light with the sheen of sweat, tendons tight in the thick column of his neck, muscles bunched across his chest.
Pulsing pleasure raced up her spine, tightening her nipples into aching peaks as his hips circled, his cock dragging across the bundle of nerves deep in her womb. He pumped in slow, rhythmic strokes that elicited a moan of pure bliss from her. Her eyes closed as she absorbed the sensations of his cock thrusting in and out of her with slow, deliberate movements meant to drive her to the brink and keep her teetering at the edge.
And gods, it worked.
Lowering her head, she arched up to meet his thrusts, her ass grinding into his groin as his balls brushed against her flushed and swollen lips. His fingers tightened on her hips as the momentum quickened, his breathing harsh and uneven. Caught in the surging cyclone of sensation spiraling from her backbone to her breasts and winding tighter low in her belly, she forgot everything but the sensations building tighter than a coil ready to spring at any moment.
“Fuck, you’re sweet, tight and wet. Come with me, baby,” Navar rasped out as he slid a hand around her belly and down between her spread thighs. His fingers circled her swollen clit as he pumped into her harder.
It was all she needed as she came with his name on her lips, inner muscles milking him in hard contractions. Lights burst against her eyelids like rockets, streaming colors as her orgasm kept going, her body lighting up like a roman candle. With a shout he came, shuddering over her. The heat from his chest at her back seeped into her skin. She could feel the hot jets of his seed filling her, the sensation bringing another orgasm roaring through her and leaving her gasping for air, a boneless puddle on the bed.
With a groan, he rolled off her and nestled against her side, his fingers tracing light patterns on her shoulder and arm. She could get used to this too damn quick. For now, she basked in the delicious feeling of his heat at her back and his soft breath caressing her ear as he nuzzled close to her neck.
Her male.
She gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes as exhaustion coaxed her into dark oblivion.
****
Navar’s eyes snapped open, his disorientation causing a clamoring warning in his brain. His gaze swept the small room, noting the four walls, bed and cherry wood vanity. The scent of woman and sex hit his nose at the same time he became aware of the soft, curvy shape of the female in his arms. Memories of the night before flashed through his mind. A slideshow of how he’d spent his time came to vivid, erotic life.
Obviously they’d passed out and spent the day wrapped in each other’s arms. He gazed at the soft contours of her delicate features, skin the color of burnished copper stretched over the jut of her small straight nose, dark lashes fanned across her cheekbones, and full lips softly parted as she slept. Mari was an exotic princess awaiting a kiss from her prince.
Such fanciful thinking and so out of the normal for one such as he. Vampire, warrior, and hunter. He knew very little of the softer side of living. Yet, with Mari, he dared to hope for a better life, simple and honest. Filled with the love of a good woman.
If only he could convince her, earn her trust enough to believe he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Would never abandon her again.
The woman who’d captured his heart and soul stirred against him, lids fluttering open slowly before her dark gaze met his. He sank into those eyes, helpless against the rising tide of a need so deep it bit into him with savage teeth. This was not the rising passion of desire, though to be honest, there existed plenty of chemistry between them. Always had.
No, this desire, which held him fast and deep in her thrall, was of a much more powerful connection, one he’d dared not hope for, yet felt the need deep in his bones.
“Hello.” Mari smiled shyly up at him.
“Hello to you, akasha. How did you sleep?”
“Hmm, deeply. And you? Surely you didn’t spend the day just staring at me. ’Cause that would be kind of creepy.”
He chuckled and grinned down at her, his heart lighter than he could ever remember. “I just awoke myself, so no creepy stalker stuff on my end, I can assure you.”
She stretched, all languid movement and feline grace, her full breasts rising, nipples peaked and tight. Damn, what a sight. His cock immediately hardened in appreciation.
“As much as I would love to laze around all night with you, I have a business to run and a shower to take.” She sighed in disappointment.
“Then let’s get on with our day. I’m looking forward to my new duties.”
Watching as Mari gathered her clothes, he rediscovered a contentment he never thought to have again. For the first time in two thousand years, he looked forward to the day as long as it included Mari.
The gods knew his existence had been bleak enough. Filled only with duty. The only glimmers of hope were the missions, which took him outside the veil. Only then, he could take a few precious hours to watch Mari.
It nearly killed him when he couldn’t give her the answers she so rightly deserved. The pain and distrust in her eyes clawed at his heart even now. How could he tell her to utter a single word about his time there would be an instant death sentence for him and Mari as well.
The queen wielded powerful magic of both the black arts and white, but the spell she cast on him was formed from the darkest pits in hell. The pain still burned hot in his memory, his price for freedom came at a high cost.
No, he would not chance Mari’s life even if it meant he lost her.
Chapter Four
Time passed in a happy blur for Mari, days spent wrapped snugly within Navar’s strong arms after mind-blowing sex and the nights working alongside him. He always knew what she needed before she even spoke the request. A partnership formed, building a tenuous thread between them and bridging an even deeper relationship.
And still she didn’t reveal what she’d discovered their first night together. She’d tried countless times, and each time the words died in her throat, replaced by fear. He could easily run from her and the
fact that if they made the consort bond, children would surely follow.
Her chest tightened, an ache forming around her heart. She wanted children with Navar. She also desired him by her side. If she told him the truth, she ran the risk of losing him. The thought of her life without Navar terrified her. So, with self-disgust at her hypocrisy of demanding his honesty while she kept her secrets, she hid her discovery and convinced herself there would be a better time to let him know.
Yeah, the convincing? Not working well for her at all.
Knowing he was her consort and keeping it from him was driving her crazy. She had never done well at backing away from anything. The fact that she refused to deal with this made her feel like the worst sort of coward.
“Earth to Mari.” Anya’s voice cut through her dark musings. “Hey, are you all right?”
Mari frowned at her friend. “Sure, I’m fine. What do you need?”
“I asked for whiskey neat and a house ale.”
“On it.” Mari quickly pulled a rocks glass and the whiskey, measuring out two fingers’ worth of the dark brown alcohol before taking a chilled glass from the refrigerator beneath the bar and filling it with amber-colored frothing ale on draft. Within moments, Anya served her order, bringing back the money.
Anya’s eyes locked onto Navar standing at the door leading to the private rooms, her eyes sweeping his body with a woman’s appreciation. “Damn, you are a lucky girl to have all that delectable male wrapped around you during the day.”
Mari couldn’t help but look over at Navar, taking in the dark green silk shirt and black chinos. The color enhanced the golden tones of his skin, and the shirt fit perfectly over the wide shoulders and deep chest to tuck into the slim waist of his belted slacks. His long black hair was pulled away from his masculine face with a leather thong, enhancing the sharp angles. His pale eyes blazed as they zeroed in on her. Her pulse raced under his intense gaze.
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