A Forever Mate

by Jackie Ivie

  “You can’t... have fangs. It’s... beyond possible.”

  She panted through the words, but it was her tongue sliding along his jaw. Her lips seeking his. Her mouth reaching and then...

  Her lips touched his.

  And the world shifted.

  Her kiss was a weapon. A curse. A torment. And a supreme joy. A canine sliced through flesh, mingling their life blood. The taste sent Sebastian spiraling. Rising. Creating a vortex of wonder. A moan erupted. It throbbed through the room. It didn’t come from a single throat, but both.

  Sebastian’s head bumped the ceiling. He had to consciously drop back to the floor, when everything about him was soaring. Experiencing bliss without end. Wonder without bounds. He was lapping and sucking and groaning, and laughing. Akron hadn’t been succinct enough. Finding one’s mate was an experience beyond description. Without equal. Rapture beyond comprehension. Bliss that transcended boundaries. Erased memories. Even shattered ancient vows.

  Sebastian tensed for half an instant on the thought, honed by years of fealty and rote. This wasn’t possible. He’d loved Isabelle. He did. He had.

  He had?

  “I didn’t know... a kiss... felt like this.”

  The words were spaced with snippets of her sweet breath as she writhed against him. Her contortions sent all sorts of sensory messages through him. They reached his lungs. His heart.

  “Nor I,” he replied.

  No. Wait. That couldn’t be true. Could it?

  He wrenched his lips free. Slid them down her chin. To her throat. Aimed for the throbbing vein just beneath the surface of her skin. And a moment later, he was there, poised atop it, feeling the thrum of her blood as it tapped the vein against his canines. And then he stabbed into it.

  Liquid ecstasy shattered through him, stalling his heart, weakening his limbs, staining his soul. He set her on the nearest counter before she slipped from his grasp. She responded by wrapping both legs about him, and then she clenched them, scooting closer. Nearer. And then she was rocking against his erection in a series of lunges that sent his passions to an even hotter pitch. Scorching hot. Incendiary.

  Sebastian grabbed for the chrome-edged, marble countertop, warping it as he fought the absolute need to continue. To take her fluid. Drain her. Change her.

  No.

  He couldn’t do it like this. It was too soon. He couldn’t take her mortality. Not like this. He had to stop. Pull back. Fight everything his body was demanding. And somehow he found the strength to do it. He yanked from her in a vicious gesture, spraying a mist of dark red droplets onto the scene.

  Dark red assailed his senses.

  Blood red.

  Everything ratcheted higher, shoving him into a realm that contained massive want, desire, and very little control. He tightened every muscle at his command, working to temper it. Harder. More. He shook until the room sounded like it rattled along with him.

  “Sebastian?”

  He glanced down. Jill’s lips were swollen. Covered with dark red. Moist. Kissable. Her eyes were narrowed, giving him just a glimpse of their ale-shaded beauty. She didn’t remotely resemble Isabelle. Isabelle had blue eyes.

  Or had they been greenish-blue? No. Maybe hazel?

  He couldn’t recall? It was like Isabelle had faded, dropping from the altar of conscious thought into the realm of memory. And he hadn’t even noticed?

  The growl he gave contained pain, and fury, and something very close to sobs.

  “Did I do... something wrong?”

  The stain of emotion in her voice was like a blow. It slammed through his chest, aiming right for his heart. And when it got there, it wrapped about that throbbing muscle with tentacles of light-imbued warmth. Cradling it. Caging it.

  For all time.

  Sebastian pulled in a breath. Held it until his chest burned before exhaling. And then he moved his gaze back to her. His mate. The one being slated for him through all time and space. She was a gift beyond perfection. One he hadn’t asked for and didn’t think he wanted. One, he probably didn’t deserve. Her eyes had a patina of moisture atop them now. And his newly awakened heart fluttered in its cage.

  “No. No, sweetheart. No. You are perfection.”

  Oh. She was more than that! Small, yet soft. Curved. And gifted with the most amazing scent. He didn’t have much recollection to draw from, but he caught a slight floral aroma. Clean. Warm. It might resemble a field of sun-touched lavender. He inhaled deeply. And then shook with holding back more reaction.

  This was incredible. Amazing. Frightening.

  “Forgive me.” His voice was a rasp of sound. He was surprised it worked. “It has been... some time. I do not wish to alarm you.”

  “Oh. You don’t. But—”

  She had her lower lip between her teeth as she said it. She was very pale. It made the blood staining her lips and the blush tipping the tops of her cheeks especially noticeable.

  “Yes?”

  “I... it’s. You’re. Um. We. Well... uh.”

  Every word darkened the color tinting her cheeks. And she wouldn’t look at him. Sebastian reached a trembling finger to her chin and lifted it, making her face him. It was probably a mistake.

  “Yes?” he asked again.

  “I... know we’re supposed to have... some sort of talk... about now.”

  His entire body pulsed at her gaze. He barely heard her words. He had a difficult time comprehending them. “We are?”

  “A-a-about past history. You know... s-s-sexually transmitted diseases. And b-birth control method of choice.”

  She was stuttering. That made her even more adorable. And she just kept looking up at him. Every prolonged moment giving a plethora of torment. Every breath she sent over him was doing worse.

  “I do not understand,” he replied.

  “I’ve never... had a man.”

  Oh sweetness!

  There wasn’t a description for the feeling that hit him. It burned and iced, soothed and chafed, strengthened and drained. Sebastian pushed upward to give vent to a howl that contained absolute pleasure. It was lengthy. Deep. And primitive. It caused more damage in the room behind him as things fell, clamoring and banging, before stilling. The echo of his cry ended, leaving the sounds of their panting breath. He dropped his head and bent his arms, bringing his chin level with hers. She was watching him with even wider eyes. Beautiful eyes. Fascinating eyes. Looking exactly like molten gold.

  “You will never have another, either,” he said.

  “I... won’t?”

  “Oh, no. No.”

  “That’s... rather... p-p-possessive.”

  He lowered his chin and looked at her through his lashes. The lurch of her frame sent it right against his. He reached behind her, grabbed her rear and slid her forward. And if they weren’t still clothed, he’d have reached her cavern, rather than the obstruction of leather. Been burrowing into depths. Sliding deep into honeyed moistness. His eyes narrowed as he fought the urge to tear through fabric.

  And somehow he got his mouth to work.

  “Possessive?” he repeated.

  She nodded. Sebastian grinned, uncaring of his fangs.

  “Too bad.”

  He took her lips again, and this time there was something different. Something... new.

  His tongue connected with a little spike. Another one. Slicing with razor efficiency along his tongue. His inner lip. Her fingers slid up and over his shoulders, gripped into his hair, and held him while she licked and sucked and moaned and writhed.

  Pounding overtook the space. Accompanied by a dark red wash of color. A symphony of tinkling sounds resembling bells. She broke the kiss, trailed her way to his neck, and he let her. Everything on him hummed in anticipation. Keenness.

  His hands grazed her ribs, reaching her breasts, filling his palms with fullness. Bulk. And infinite sweetness. She was a perfect size. Perfect heft. Perfect... everything. He rubbed his thumb along the tips, raising hard nubs, even through the layers she wore. Her p
ulsing movements against him intensified. It matched the movement of her lips as she sucked on his neck.

  “Jill. Sweet.” His voice was a grunt of sound he didn’t recognize.

  “Hmm?”

  Her purr sidled right into his ears, joining the thumping noise. It matched his heartbeats. Loud. Fast. Angry.

  “You need... to divest your clothing,” he took several hard, fast breaths before continuing, “...before it gets in my way.”

  “Hmm.”

  This time her throaty answer wasn’t even a question. Sebastian hooked both hands into her shirt front and ripped it open. Buttons jumped from the fabric, peppering the space with little clinking sounds as they flicked about and landed somewhere. He didn’t notice or care. He was looking down at absolute perfection. No. She was better than perfect. The next moment he had her breasts freed of the band-thing she wore, cupped in both of his hands, lifted, and was lavishing adoration to her cleavage. And then, to each nipple in turn. His movement had released her from his neck, and she was arching backwards, crying aloud with what sounded like pleasure, while she latched onto his sides with fingers that felt like talons.

  “I should be slow. Gentle! Careful—”

  His voice choked off. He wanted more. He wanted to be inside her. And he wanted it now. Right now.

  “I can’t wait, Jill. I can’t!”

  “Oh yes, Sebastian, yes!”

  Sebastian grabbed at his belt, freed the clasp, pulled his waistband open, and let the trousers fall. The leather snagged momentarily on his cock. He didn’t worry about it. She was swaying back and forth, working at her fly, trying to wriggle free. And she was too slow. He draped her atop a shoulder in order to peel her clothing down her legs, stopped momentarily at her ankles before a shoe slipped free.

  Her gasps for breath excited him more. Her flesh was warm. Alive. Shivering. Readied. He brought her off his shoulder, slid his hands past her waist... to her hips, creating a support for her legs to grip about him. Her cavern reached him. Touched! The contact created all kinds of sensation before she shimmied away. Sebastian groaned, but she was right back. Easing a little bit more onto him. Then away. Her motions unconsciously teased and tormented, while his belly went tighter. More rigid. His groans harsher-sounding. More visceral. Again. And again. And each time, she pulled him a little more into her, and shook in place before sliding from him. Her movements came faster, matching her ragged breaths. While each time colored the scene with deeper blood-red hues. The air grew heavy and moist with heat. Again. And again. And without warning, Sebastian lost control. He was beyond thought. Beyond containment. Beyond any power of will.

  He grabbed her buttocks and slammed into her, ripping through her barrier, only to get clamped by coils of muscle, legions of heat, and such a wealth of pleasure, he nearly erupted like the weakest of untried youths. It took a supreme act of will to prevent it.

  “Oh Sebastian. Oh. Oh.”

  “Forgive... me, love.”

  His voice warbled. It matched the tremor running through him, making his legs shake. His arms waver. His back tense. While everything at his groin surged and reacted. Tense with containment. Angry at denial. This was unbelievable. Incredible. No wonder mating hadn’t been explained to him with any accuracy. There wasn’t any way to describe this.

  Her legs tightened, bringing her closer. Her arms did the same about his neck. It was her movement that continued their joining, pulling a fraction from him, before easing back down. Again. And again. Each time sliding a little more along his rod. Her movements became a slow, steady rhythm that Sebastian supported. He didn’t match her. Not yet. He didn’t dare.

  “Oh, Sebastian.”

  Her voice didn’t sound pained. It sounded... young. Breathless. And infinitely sweet.

  “Love?”

  “Sebastian.”

  Her movements got quicker. Harder. Matching the breaths she was taking. That’s when he tightened his hands on her, and started matching her lunges. Slamming into her with a fury that was beyond stopping.

  “Sebastian!”

  His name was a scream as she arched back from him, her body shimmying in all sorts of ways as she gyrated in place. Sebastian lost any hope of containing anything. Her pleasure thrilled, satisfied, and then it ignited. He had her atop a counter, splayed in perfection, and was pumping before her cry finished echoing.

  His movements grew wilder. His strokes harder. Deeper. Wilder. Each one threatening to pull the marble slab from its base. Fiery sensations shot down his spine, engulfed his hips, hammered down his cock, and a moment later erupted. Sebastian slammed a final time into her, the force of it lifting her into his arms, while a cry ripped through his belly, tore at his throat, and throbbed into existence, surrounding them with sound.

  He was shuddering and laughing, and, if he had to confess to it, he was sobbing.

  And he barely missed being hit by the countertop as it fell.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Morning brought the sensation of satin sheets. A firm mattress. Hard, immensely warm pillows. She’d never felt better in her life. Ever. It was like an infusion of happiness and good health had been given to her intravenously. Jill stretched with a languid motion reserved for cats, bumped her head against the thick, hard, pillow at her back. And it shifted. Grunted.

  Uh oh.

  She cracked an eye open. It wasn’t morning. Or, if it was, she’d never know. They were in some sort of cavern. There were walls. No windows. Lots of furnishings. A high-back chair sat in the middle of the floor, illuminated by the light coming through the partly-open bathroom door. It was dim, but not enough. In the brief scan she took, she could see easily. But the motion gave her an instant headache. Something was seriously wrong with her vision. One eye was incredibly clear. Like she had a microscope affixed to it. The other view was more familiar. It was the same as when she tried on her glasses while wearing her contacts. It was over-correction to the nth degree.

  She’d slept in the contact? And it wasn’t the right one? That was stupid. It wasn’t shaped for that eye. She might have it stuck to her cornea. She slid toward the edge, and an arm looped about her waist and hauled her right back.

  “Where are you going?”

  The voice was male. Deep. Shiver-inducing. Oh yes. Sebastian. And wild sex. More than once.

  Wow.

  Jill instantly warmed with the all-over flush. But he wasn’t getting away with this. She rolled onto her back. That was disastrous. He hadn’t lost an iota of handsomeness, a lock of hair was falling forward, hitting his eyelashes, and he had a slight quirk to his lips as he looked down at her.

  “I... need to use the bathroom,” she replied.

  He grunted. “Wait. I’ll carry you.”

  Jill stiffened. That was stupid. It just seemed to smash lots of her against more of him. And everything on her body went on full alert or something.

  “Wow. We need to get something straight, Mister Cole.”

  His smile widened. He had perfectly white, straight teeth. A gorgeous smile.

  “I don’t like possessive males. Actually, I don’t like possessive people, period. Besides which, I am perfectly capable of getting to a bathroom on my own.”

  His head lowered, putting his nose very close to hers. The clear eye gave her a view of perfect face. The blurred one made him look like a wash of flesh-toned mountain.

  “There is a lot of broken glass on the floor, sweet. And you are still half-human.”

  She frowned, and closed the over-corrected eye. It didn’t do much. “Excuse me?”

  “I am a vampire, love.”

  Jill considered him for long moments while her heart ramped up, and her skin prickled with a series of goose-bumps. “Right. You know... I think I can get around broken glass.”

  “Well, I won’t chance it.”

  “Mister Cole—”

  “Sebastian,” he replied, and he now was cheating. He ran his lips along hers.

  “Sebastian,” she replied, although i
t was whispered in a low tone she didn’t know she owned.

  “I notice you didn’t react to the other portion of my words.”

  “What... portion?” It was very difficult to think with him so close!

  “The vampire part.”

  “Oh. Right. Well. I... heard it. I have chosen... to ignore it.”

  “Truly?”

  “Um. I... never address impossibilities. I spent a few too many weeks in the loony-bin. I heard all kinds of things. I learned. If you address absurdities, you simply encourage them and have to deal with even more of them. So. It’s a waste of effort.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. You are not a vampire and I am certainly not a halfway to becoming one. That is implausible and impossible. Therefore, I choose to ignore it. I also ignore UFO sightings, alien visitation claims. Bigfoot stories. Werewolves. Time travel. You know. All the impossible things.”

  He chuckled. But he did lift his head.

  “I... have to use the sink now. It’s in the bathroom. I don’t need your help, really. But I have to put some water on my eye. I think my contact is stuck.”

  “Ah. The plastic thing you spoke of.”

  “Yes.”

  “You need water for it?”

  “Yes.”

  “In that event... oh. Wait. I think... yes. Here it is.”

  He reached upward, putting his jaw-dropping physique on display as the sheet slid down. She’d been right. He was the epitome of male perfection, and he’d be a joy to sculpt. That wasn’t the only thing he’d uncovered. She was on full view to her thighs. And naked.

  Holy hell.

  This was too much sensory stimulation, way too early in the morning, and way too soon in any relationship. And she was a novice. He was back. He held a bottle of spring water. Sealed. It was covered with water that dripped from the icy bath it had been in. The drops landed on her, making her jerk slightly each time. To disguise all of it, she started speaking.