Was it easy for her to love them?
And, if so, does that make me defective?
“How about we do both?” Gabriel asks while leading me through a thick part of the woods. “Once we get to the lake, we’ll sit down and I’ll answer all of your questions, even the selfish ones, and then teach you about thought control.”
He didn’t look at me while saying it, but I can see a slight tinge of pink along his cheek bones. I smile, it’s cute that he’s embarrassed about helping me. Somehow, it makes it feel more intimate. I know that he’s pushing himself to reach out to me, to make a connection and that it must be hard for him. Hell, I know the feeling.
“Don’t get all mushy on me,” he calls from up ahead, urging his horse into a gallop as the terrain opens up.
“Wouldn’t dream of it!” I shout, pushing the mare into a sprint.
Forty yards ahead is a magnificent crystal clear lake surrounded by a sandy beach. It came out of nowhere. At one moment we were deep within a thick borough of trees, and the next we broke out onto a plain of tall grass leading directly to the lake. It appears untouched by civilization as if Raph owns the entire lake. I wouldn’t put it past the lords to do such a thing.
Gabriel reaches the shore first, dismounting from his horse and leading it to the lake’s edge to drink. Instead of stopping right away, I veer to the right, riding along the edge of the lake. My mare snorts in delight as she sprints faster, kicking up sand as we go. The wind in my hair feels amazing, and I let go of the reins to lift my hands up toward the sky, whooping out my own happiness. I can feel Gabriel’s eyes on me as we round the opposite side of the lake, but I can’t see him past the gleam of the sun hitting the water.
This is paradise; true, undiluted, paradise. Never in a thousand years would I have believed that I’d be happy with the lords, or at the very least, happy enough to be riding with my arms in the air and the wind burning my face. I fall back down against the mares neck, gripping it as she leaps over rocks along the shore, stopping once she reaches Gabriel again. He helps me off of the mare, and I slide down his body, my skin tingling at every place it touches his. I look up at him, then, to find him grinning down at me. A real, genuine smile on his face.
“Maybe I was the perfect man to cheer you up,” he murmurs.
I laugh, a wide smile pulling back my own lips. “Yes, maybe.”
We hold onto each other for a few more seconds, my arms wrapped around his neck, his around my lower back. It’s those few moments that I realize how close our lips are, how easy it would be to lean in to brush a kiss across his mouth. It would be wrong, though. I know the lords are waiting for my full submission, for me to freely give them all of me, body and soul. That’s a large part of why I can’t control my thoughts that they hear, along with not being able to hear theirs in return.
Despite those logical thoughts, my body sways forward, lips hovering right over his. Gabriel doesn’t pull away, and I watch as his canines grow across his bottom lip, betraying his desire. My core throbs in response, and I lick my lips. I want to kiss him so badly, hell, I want to shove him into the sand and rip his clothes off.
“We can’t,” he groans, yet pulls me closer.
“I know,” I whisper against his lips, rising up on my toes so that we’re nearly face to face.
The tension mounts even higher when our eyes lock and I see the building fire within his. It calls to me so profoundly that I can’t resist any longer, can’t stop myself when I lean in and crush my lips against his. He moans into my mouth, and I capture the sound with my tongue, swiping it along his teeth until a gentle cut is sliced across it. The taste of my own blood fills my mouth, but I don’t stop. As if my blood was the final damning strike to his own resolve, Gabriel crushes me to him, taking control and claiming my mouth with his tongue. He shoves one knee between my legs, expertly grinding against me over and over. He hits my clit again and again, and I pant into his mouth now, my desire for him turning into a raging inferno. He pulls back for a moment, breathing hard as he leans his forehead against mine.
“Please,” I moan, my body trembling against his.
“I can’t, I promised my brothers,” he groans, dropping his head back to the sky as if he’s praying for strength.
Instead of listening to him, I push him to the sandy ground, straddling him. His eyes fly open in shock when he hits the sand, the breath whooshing out of him. Embarrassment makes my cheeks color. I’ve never been this brazen before, but I can’t seem to stop myself. My desire and frustration has been building for days, leaving me wanting and desperate for release. Surely he can see that, and despite his words, the rock hard erection beneath me shows me just how much he’s been suppressing his own desire.
“Just let me ride you,” I pant, leaning in so that my lips are pressed against his throat. “If it’s blood you’re supposed to hold out on, we can refrain from that.”
He shudders against me, and I smile wickedly at him once he opens his eyes. They’re burning with red hot fire, that inner crimson glow only serving to set me off even more as I grind myself against his hard cock. My fingers trail up and down his chest, aching to take his shirt off and feel the hard muscle beneath. But I won’t, not until he says yes, not until he admits that he wants to do this just as much as I do.
“Gods, you’re beautiful when you’re confident,” he groans, running his own hands up and down my back. “I want you, Blair. I want you so much that I’m throbbing with it.”
I slow my pace along his cock, going for long sensual strokes, hitting my clit over and over again, only building my own frustration, but I can’t seem to stop.
“Does that mean you’ll let me ride you?” I plead.
He doesn’t respond for a moment, only pants out breath after breath below me, face flushed. His expression goes from uncertain, to certain, and back again. I can tell that he’s fighting a war with himself.
But then he pants, “Yes, god yes.”
That’s all I needed to hear as I rip open his shirt and kiss along each of his abs, licking and sucking my way to his belt. He writhes beneath me at the touch, and I grin and I sit up to undo his belt. He pushes my own pants down, both of us frantic to feel skin on skin, desire on desire. Without preamble, he thrusts into me, filling me completely. I cry out, throwing my head back and coming right then and there, my pussy contracting against him. Gabriel moans, gripping both [8]of my hips and pushing me as far onto his cock as I can go. I shudder and fall against his chest, kissing his pectorals and throat, nearly spent already before even beginning.
But then he begins to move for me, pounding his hips up and down, pulling my body to meet him thrust for thrust. I moan again, kissing a path to his lips and claiming his tongue once more. He kisses me back, passionately, desperately as we rise higher and higher together. Without thinking, I run my tongue along both his canines once again, drawing more blood than before. The taste of my blood seems to set him into a frenzy, his tempo picking up to a nearly bruising speed. I cry out again, gripping his shoulders for support as my clit hits the hard lines of his stomach over and over again, nearly pushing me over the edge.
“Oh Gabriel, I’m going to come!” I moan into his mouth, our tongues still tangled together.
He growls against my lips and rips his tongue from my mouth, only to sink his fangs deep into my neck. The sensation is a mixture of both pain and pleasure, and I grip his shoulders for dearly life as he drinks from me. My own tempo becomes frenzied as I reach down and rub my aching clit, my hands shaking with a barely restrained orgasm. Gabriel catches my wrist, stopping me and replacing my hand with his. His fingers pinch my clit hard, and I cry out, spiraling over the cliff. The orgasm wracks my body, sending wave after wave of delicious pleasure through me.
I sit up, throwing my head back and riding him harder and harder, dragging on my orgasm for as long as I possibly can. Blood flies, but I barely register it, the only thing I can focus on is my own pleasure, the shaking in my limbs. Gabriel roars a
s he too, comes while grasping my hips in an iron grip. The moment I feel his cock unload within me, another orgasm hits, my body convulsing with it. I fall onto his chest, digging my fingers into his skin. Gabriel grasps my hair, pulling my head to the side so he can lick the wound on my neck closed, preventing me from losing even more blood. I sigh once they close, the dull ache fading.
We lie there for a moment, both of us panting, the sweat coating our bodies sticking us together. His cock is still hard, twitching inside me, practically begging me to start our love making anew. I want to, oh, how I want to, but I feel the same way now as I did last week. Completely spent, my limbs shaking with fatigue so completely that I’m not sure whether or not I’ll have the strength to stand, let alone ride him again.
Gabriel slides out of me, sitting up with me cradled in his arms. “I’m going to take us into the lake to wash off.”
He takes the rest of my clothes off until I’m bare before him, as he is before me. I blush when he stands up and walks into the water, washing my arms and neck with a tender gentleness that makes my heart squeeze in my chest. We don’t speak for the next few minutes, and he even goes as far as dipping my hair into the water. The lake turns pink around us, letting me know that I had sprayed quite a bit of blood by yanking his fangs from my neck again.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” he murmurs, pulling me in close. “It’s the whole reason you feel so tired afterward.”
I shrug. “I can’t help it, I think I like the pain.”
He chuckles. “My, my, what a bad girl you are.”
My face flushes again at his teasing, and I smack his chest lightly as he walks us out of the lake, setting me down on the sand. I wobble a bit, clutching at his arms when the world sways back and forth. He leads me to my horse and I grab onto the reins for stability as he grabs a towel from his saddle bag. I don’t protest when he begins to towel dry my body, even going so far to kneel in front of me, toweling off my legs. In a quick movement, he leans in and plants a kiss right on the apex of my thighs. I cry out, knees trembling at the shock of desire that flies through me. He chuckles again but opts to stand up rather than torturing me further.
His eyes travel down my body once more before he walks back to his saddle bag. I kneel to grab my clothes off of the ground, pulling them on while also not being able to trust myself to stay upright. That was what I needed, and if I’m being honest, I need a lot more of it. Preferably with all of the brothers. When did I turn into such a horn dog? It must be the curse. . or the fact that you’re falling for them, my mind whispers. Instead of dwelling on the thought, I shake it away before looking up at Gabriel, worried that he heard my thoughts.
He’s still not looking at me as he pulls out a blanket and a plastic bag full of what I assume to be food. “When did you have the time to pack all that?”
He shrugs. “I didn’t, it was in here. I can only assume that this was Raph’s plan.”
“To take me to the lake and fuck me?” I ask, puzzled.
He bursts out laughing. “No! To take you here and romance you,” he says, pausing when his chin dips. “His will is stronger than mine. I have failed my brothers.”
Guilt swirls through my chest. I practically forced myself on him, and yet he’s placing all the blame on his shoulders. I should have had more self-control, damnit. I was sad, and admittedly, a little desperate for physical touch. Mostly to drown out everything else. Gabriel spreads out the blanket and kneels down beside me, pulling me in against his side.
“It’s both of our faults, okay?” I whisper, clutching his shirt.
“Okay, now that’s enough guilt and sadness for one day,” he replies, waving his free hand through the air. “Time for you to learn about controlling your thoughts.”
I sit up eagerly. “Yes! Perfect.”
“But first, drink some of this and eat a protein bar. You’re pretty pale,” he replies, handing me a bottle of orange juice.
I raise my brows. “Are you sure Raph wasn’t planning on sucking my blood? This is like when they give you a cookie and a juice box after you donate blood.”
He narrows his eyes. “Have you ever given blood?”
I shake my head. “Just my mom and friends. I always went with my mom for moral support, she hates needles.”
He nods, satisfied with my answer. I’m not sure what there would be to be upset about if I did give blood. Are no other vampires allowed to drink my brand of blood? I giggle at my own thoughts. Brand. What in the world am I thinking? I swear, these men have changed me so much in the past three weeks, and I’m still deciding whether or not it’s a good thing.
Gabriel pulls out a sealed container of cookies, and the moment the lid pops off, the strong smell of cinnamon and oatmeal wafts toward me. I nearly groan at the smell, snatching two cookies when he holds out the container to me. He grins, but wisely doesn’t comment when I shoot a warning glare his way. Giving blood is taxing, and I need to keep up my strength. After finishing the first cookie and licking my fingers, I shift to sit across from him, pulling my legs beneath me.
“Alright, sensi, I’m ready. Teach me all that you know,” I say, bowing my head low.
He rolls his eyes. “There really isn’t anything special to it. Close your eyes,” he says, pausing until I obediently do so, stomach swirling with tension. “Now picture your mind, look at your thoughts and memories swirling in all directions.”
I do as I’m told, focusing hard on my own mind. He’s right, every aspect that makes me is swirling around in my head, floating away from me and into him freely. Even though I know I couldn’t possibly stop it from happening, my hands shoot out, trying to grab onto them, but they slip through my fingers like water. Grunting in frustration, I sit back again when Gabriel places a comforting hand on my knee.
“Now imagine a wall, or a protective shield coming up and around your mind. It will keep things from leaving or coming in without your permission.” he soothes, voice low and lilting.
I relax as I listen, imagining a shining silver shield coming up and around my mind. As soon as it’s in place, my thoughts bounce against it, trapped inside once more. I heave a sigh in relief and slouch forward, sweat beading off my brow.
“Mental shielding is easy to put in place, but taxing to hold there,” he murmurs, shifting so that he’s sitting beside me, rubbing my back. “You’ll have to practice raising it and dropping it, then holding it for several minutes, then hours, then even days. Soon it will become second nature, and you won’t need to worry about it.”
I blink my eyes open before falling against his side, completely spent by both the blood loss and the mental strain. My shield falls, leaving me bare before him again, but I don’t mind. Even knowing that I could shut them out if I wanted is enough to give me a sense of peace. We sit in front of the lake for a long while in silence, Gabriel absentmindedly rubbing slow circles along my arm.
The sensation sends wave after wave of peace through me, and I melt into his side. His skin is warm now after drinking from me, leaving me pliable in his arms. I let my hand rest against his thigh, and it feels easy, like we’ve done this for years and will do it again and again. Not even sleepy afternoons with Carden had felt like this, I think. The thought startles me, and so does the feeling of indifference to it. His name doesn’t immediately send a pang of sadness through my chest anymore and comparing him to the lords feels. . . different than it did before. Less damning, less like they’ll lose in every match up.
I admit that seeing him this morning was a doozy and left my emotions running on high. It set back the healing I started in that field on the way to Raph’s coven, but it didn’t completely stall it. Every time the lords and I come together we grow closer, and a side effect of that is that Carden’s hold on me loosens, as does the grief. I want to be angry about it, but I just can’t bring it forth. My anger toward the lords when I falsely accused them of killing Carden has faded away, as did the midnight darkness that had plagued me in the years since his
death. I’m healing for the first time since learning of his demise, and. . . and that’s okay. It’s okay to let him go.
“I’m glad you feel that way, amante.”
“What does amante mean?” I ask.
“Lover,” he purrs into my ear, nibbling on my earlobe.
I laugh before pushing him away and standing up to brush off my tunic. The sun is setting, and I’m sure the other lords are worried about me. It’s time to go back and apologize for yelling at Raph. Gabriel was right before; he had my best interest at heart and it’s all in the past. If I can’t let it go, it will only become another thing that festers inside my chest, and I surely have enough of that to go around. He rises as well and begins packing up while I fold the blanket for him. After putting the blanket away, he turns and slides his arms around my waist from behind, leaning his chin on my shoulder.
“You’re becoming happier here, amante, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that,” he murmurs.
I grip his hands, smiling. “Me too, now let’s go home.”
Chapter Three
Raph’s castle is even more breathtaking in the setting sun. The mahogany glows like polished gold, throwing out arcs of light across the lawn as we gallop closer. All of the stained glass windows glow from within, mixing colored light in with the golden arcs from the wood. Seeing it like this makes me put a hand to my chest in wonder. Raph was right, I love it here so far. A rustic setting is better for me, I think. All this open land to ride, and the cute town sprawling below the castle calls to me in a way Divian didn’t. But I’d never tell Michael that.
“Then throw up your shield before he hears you,” Gabriel calls as he races past, toward the stables, his face split in a wide grin.
I frown, urging my mare forward as I chase after him, streaking across the field. She rides valiantly all the way back to the barn, but Gabriel and his stallion had a head start on us. Even his horse is proud as it stomps in circles while throwing its head back and forth. I laugh as I dismount and take off the mare’s saddle, patting her flank for good measure. She was a pleasure to ride, but I miss Candice. Hopefully they’re taking good care of her in Divian.
Blood Deception: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Royal Covens Book 2) Page 2
