Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  “Why didn’t she kill you?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps she thought it would be worse this way. Maybe she saw something I couldn’t. I never understood the way her mind worked,” I replied with a careless shrug.

  “You must’ve hated her,” Jacob said, sympathy in his limpid blue eyes. “Did you ever get a chance to return home?”

  “After she disappeared I went back, but there wasn’t much to see. My people had long since disappeared, absorbed into the other cultures that followed.”

  “You seem awfully philosophical about it,” Jacob accused. I suppose from his perspective he couldn’t understand my nonchalance. He saw things relative to such a short span of time.

  “Jacob, I had learned to be philosophical about such things. I’d seen it countless times before. Civilizations come and go,” I answered. “It had been hundreds of years since my taking before I returned home. I had changed so much, they had. There wasn’t a connection anymore.”

  “Is that why you’ve never created another one like yourself?” Jacob asked. “Dominic said that you hadn’t made another vampire. Is that true? Because of what happened to you?”

  Was this what Jacob had been trying to get at the entire time? “Dominic was correct. I have never felt the need to do so. Some view this as a blessing, others a curse. For me, it is simply a part of who I am. I did not want the aggravation and responsibility for caring for a youngling. I do not have the patience for it.”

  “Have you ever been tempted?”

  “Twice, but it wasn’t something either of them wanted.” Old regrets rose to the surface, but remained only a small ache by this point. I waited for Jacob to ask the next question I was sure was coming, but he remained silent.

  I slid my fingers from his hair to caress the nape of his neck. The rest of his interrogation could wait for another day. A faint smiled flickered over his lips as my mouth descended on his. I had wanted to seduce him when I had let him see me that first night, but had determined to wait until his desire overran his fear. Now, tonight, I was going to seduce him body and soul, so there would remain no further questions in his mind.

  Jacob’s breath was warm against my cheek as I deepened the kiss. His hand fisted in my shirt, the fabric tightening around my ribs as he kissed me back. He made a small hungry sound in the back of his throat, levering himself up to hover over me. I could feel his need to dominate and take possession come to the fore.

  I broke the contact, meeting his hazy blue eyes. “Let me.” My mind brushed against his and after a moment, he nodded. As my arms came around him again, I felt him opening up, mentally, emotionally, until we were merged together almost as closely as we had been in my office earlier.

  Jacob’s desire surged hot in my blood as I drew his shirt off over his head. His body was perfectly sculpted, every muscle standing out in definition against his skin. He liked to push himself, always testing his limits, and it showed. This drive would’ve made him a gifted warrior in my clan.

  I ran my hands over his sides and lifted my lips to catch one of the small golden rings piercing his nipples. Jacob’s breath hitched as I tugged and then felt his nipple pebble. I stroked my tongue over his sensitive flesh before tugging again.

  “Oh, damn.” Jacob’s voice was breathy. His lips pressed against the top of my head while he worked impatiently on the buttons of my shirt, fumbling one-handed.

  My hands slid down over his ass, kneading the firm globes through his jeans. His confined and growing cock throbbed against my thigh, screaming to be let loose. I traced my tongue over the tattoos on his chest, pausing to kiss his shoulder. His hands finally succeeded in stripping my shirt from me. My hands were braced on the bed, propping me up, leaving me half-sitting up, as he touched me.

  Jacob’s heart was a rapid tattoo underneath my lips. I rolled us both over so that he was beneath me and smiled at him. “We were far too rushed last night,” I murmured, pressing my lips to his hard, flat stomach, dipping my tongue into his navel.

  “We’ll have to see if we can hold back long enough this time.” Jacob sounded amused as he untangled himself from me and sat up. His hands came down and undid his jeans. Peeling them from his legs, he kicked out of them. “I really don’t hold much faith though,” he continued, reaching to finish disrobing me as well. “I’m already impatient.”

  I chuckled and pinned him to the bed, my hands clasping his, our naked bodies entwining. “Ahh, mo chroí, you gave control to me tonight, so it’s not going to be up to you.”

  Jacob groaned in my ear, arching up into me, meshing his fingers with my own. “Well then, I can’t wait to see what you do with the opportunity.”

  I smiled slowly and reclaimed his lips, lingering over the kiss. His body moved restlessly under my own, striving to get as much contact as he could. I pulled back, looking deep into his eyes for a moment before pressing kisses along his jawline, my tongue flickering out to taste the small hollow behind his ear, then the larger one at the base of his throat. I could do this all night—hold him, kiss him, savoring the slow burn in our bodies.

  Jacob’s emotions washed over me. I closed my eyes, reveling in them as I continued to worship his body. My tongue traced over his collarbone. I then pressed my mouth to his shoulder, working up along his arm. I released my grip on his wrists and touched my lips to the tender skin there, scenting his blood just underneath the surface. Just the smell of it enhanced my need to savor his body this night. I kissed the tips of his fingers, drawing them into my mouth, nipping at the pads. His eyes were locked on my face, reflecting the joy and desire I could sense in him.

  Then I lavished attention on his other arm, starting with his hand and moving back toward his shoulder. He squirmed when my tongue tickled the inside of his elbow, and even more as I continued moving along the inner side. He was ticklish. Oh, for some reason, I found the idea delighted me to no end. I’d have to explore it more at a later date. Now, I had more urgent matters to attend to. My fingers ran down along his ribs, mapping out every contour. His sides, just above his hips, proved to be just as sensitive, and I lingered there for a bit, nibbling and stroking his thighs.

  “Jesus, Kristair,” Jacob said, half-laughing, half-groaning. “Are you seducing me or torturing me?”

  “I can’t do both?” I gave him an innocent look, chuckling as he groaned again. I was enjoying myself far too much to stop now, and Jacob’s feeble attempt at a protest only urged me on.

  I scooted lower, positioning myself between his widespread thighs. For a moment, I didn’t move; I just lay there, looking at him. This moment, this vision would be etched indelibly in my mind forever. Jacob’s body was laid out before me in all of its power and youth. There was no fear in him, no holding back, just love and acceptance in a way I had never known. It made me ache so much, deep within my chest. I couldn’t say what he had the right to hear at that point, but I saw the confirmation of it anyway in his eyes. Whether or not I could say it, he could sense it.

  Again, my mouth lowered to his skin. I nuzzled between his thighs, kissing the spot where I had bitten him last night. It seemed so strange that it had only been one day. So much had happened that it really seemed much longer. I licked my way down his legs, teasing his knees, my hands touching the places where my mouth would venture to next.

  Kneeling at the end of the bed, I cradled his foot in my hands. It twitched, half pulling out of my grasp. I met his eyes and found an almost desperate expression on his face. I kissed the hollow just behind his ankle, and then his instep. His breath quickened as my tongue flickered over the delicate bones and veins.

  Then, as I moved to draw his little toe into my mouth, he yanked his foot back. “Don’t,” Jacob’s voice cracked. “God, not my foot.” He turned around, crawling toward me, his feet safely on the other side of his body, away from me. Wrapping his arms around my neck, he nipped my lower lip hard. “Why don’t I torment you from head to toe now?”

  I captured his lips, kissing him until he groaned
and pressed himself closer to me. I skimmed my hand down the length of his back, and he arched at the light touch. My hands moved as if they had a will of their own, touching the curve of his ass, the swell of his thighs. And all the while, I couldn’t stop kissing him.

  Jacob’s breath stuttered against my cheek and I drew back, nuzzling his lips for a moment. As I looked at him, the mischief rose in my eyes. “I’d agree. However, I haven’t gotten around to your other side yet.”

  He groaned, dropping his head back, exposing his throat to me. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  “No, Jacob. Never that.” My hands came down to his hips, turning him around. “Though there are far worse ways to go.”

  “Yeah,” Jacob agreed, stretching facedown on the bed. “Much worse than being loved to death.”

  He always managed to get the last word in. Oh well. Tonight I was going to have the last laugh, and I pounced, grabbing a hold of his foot. He shrieked, trying to twist out of my grasp. “Hush, Jacob,” I chided. “You don’t want your roommates to come bursting in here because of a little toe nibbling, do you?”

  “Fuck you,” Jacob replied. The look he gave me over his shoulder promised sweet retribution, though he otherwise subsided. I ran my tongue over his toes, watching the way the shudder rippled through his strong body. I drew one toe into my mouth, hearing his desperate groan as I laved it. He buried his face in the pillow, his hands clutching at his hair, while his foot twitched and trembled in my hands.

  Taking pity on him, I released his foot and stretched out between his legs, crossing my arms on his back and setting my chin on them. “Come on, Jacob. It wasn’t that bad,” I teased.

  “Speak for yah self.” Jacob lifted his head. His accent had thickened. If he only knew how easily he could seduce me with that voice. “Ah had hoped yah were going to do somethin’ else with that tongue of yours.”

  “You mean like this?” I moved my arms, bringing my mouth to the small of his back, tasting the delicious little dip there.

  “That’s a start.” He sighed, relaxing.

  I levered myself up onto my hands and knees, and dragged my tongue up the length of his spine. He moaned, moving his hips beneath me as I teased the nape of his neck. The way we were mind-linked I could feel the sensations moving through him as if they were my own as I nibbled at this sensitive area until he cried out.

  “You’re the devil,” he said, attempting to turn around until I stopped him with a restraining hand on his shoulder. His eyes met mine over his shoulder, pleading in their blue depths. “God, fuck me already. Ah’m begging yah.”

  “Since you insist so prettily,” I murmured, rising from the bed and retrieving the bottle of lube I had brought with me. My show of nonchalance was just that: a show. His blatant need was driving me crazy, making me hunger. I returned, pausing to nip at the flesh behind his knee, chuckling wickedly as he jerked and cursed.

  Jacob made it so easy to toy with him. He really did. I nuzzled against his skin, running my tongue over the firm fold of flesh where his thigh met the globes of his ass. There was a light sheen of sweat on his skin and the smell of his arousal was extremely potent. It stirred my own desire, which I had been holding at bay.

  As my tongue flickered over the cleft of his ass, Jacob groaned, spreading his legs wider in supplication. His scent was stronger, muskier here. I placed my hands on his ass, spreading the cheeks. I blew lightly, watching him contract in response to my breath.

  “Kristair, Ah swear to fuckin’ god, if yah don’t get on with it Ah’m gonna kill ya mahself.”

  Chapter 16

  MY BODY was on fire. The tension rose to such a fever pitch that I could almost feel Kristair fucking me, though he had yet to start. I could taste it I wanted it so bad. Every sense was tuned to a fine degree. The cap of a bottle popped, sending a flutter through my stomach in anticipation. Then I felt the cool slickness of the lube and the warmth of his finger as he slowly penetrated me.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him. “I ain’t made of glass, Kristair.”

  Kristair stretched out next to me, smiling as he continued to stroke his single finger in and out. The slow motion only whetted my appetite for more. “I am not, Jacob—not ain’t,” Kristair corrected, leaning down to nip at my lip. “You’re the one who’s had some college, not me.”

  As I opened my mouth to snip back, he pressed against my prostate and captured my mouth so all I could do was groan, warm pleasure rippling through me. He was such a sneaky bastard.

  I moaned when he withdrew from me and broke the kiss. I reached up to wrap my hand around his neck. “No more teasing, Kristair. Damn, Ah want yah.”

  “No more teasing, mo chroí.” Kristair’s eyes were warm on mine as he turned me over and curled up next to me. His hand slid between my thighs and I spread them for him, sighing as his fingers touched my entrance again. “But if you want to keep talking to me in that sexy accent of yours, I won’t mind one bit.”

  I chuckled. “Ah aim ta please.” I sensed the outpouring of emotion from Kristair, just like last night. So much emotion, all focused on me. It was a little overwhelming. It also told me, louder than any words, that Kristair loved me too. “Ah love yah.” Not telling him was about as impossible as willing my heart to stop beating.

  A faint flicker of a smile crossed his lips as he slid his arm under my neck, gathering me closer. “I know,” he replied, nuzzling against my jaw, penetrating me again, and stretching me wider. There was a slight ache, tension, as my body relaxed to accept his fingers.

  I ran my hand over the smoothness of his scalp, sighing as his lips nibbled along my jawline, then down to my throat. He hadn’t bitten me yet and somehow I knew he wasn’t going to. My hand slid down to his chest, tweaking his nipples until the pleasure surged within him as well.

  In response, his fingers massaged my prostate. I arched against him with a soft cry. His hard cock pressed against my thigh as I trailed my fingers down, teasing the dark line of hair surrounding the base, until I wrapped my hand around its length. It throbbed in my grip. I ran my thumb over the head, stroking. I loved touching cock, feeling the difference between silky, delicate skin, over the incredibly hard tissue underneath. It never failed to amaze me.

  He groaned again, dropping his head down onto my shoulder. He was the strongest being I’d ever met. He could do things I couldn’t even begin to dream up, yet it was my touch that made him weak. He chuckled at my arrogance and raised his head to meet my eyes. “You need no encouragement from me, I think.” He nipped my lip. “You were born cocky.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I smirked at him, squeezing lightly around his cock just to watch the heat flare in his eyes. “You’re pretty arrogant yourself.”

  “Touché,” he murmured before kissing me. His fingers started to move faster, pressing deep into me. My breath caught in my throat as the heat blazed between us. I groaned, wrapping my other hand around the nape of his neck, kissing him back until he submitted. As always, it didn’t fail to raise all my possessive instincts.

  Finally, I broke away, panting softly against his lips. “Ah swear, love, if yah don’t make love to me now, Ah’m taking you instead.” I licked his lips, a predatory smile crossing mine as he shivered. “And Ah don’t think yah’d mind one damned bit if Ah did.”

  He scissored his fingers wide inside me, smiling as I gasped. “You do have me pegged. However, I am rather caught up with the idea of you riding me.” The picture of me doing that flashed through his mind and I groaned again, breaking away from him. I reached for the bottle of lube with a trembling hand as he slipped his own fingers from me, leaving behind a sense of loss.

  I sat up, pouring some of the lube onto my hand as he stretched out onto his back. God save me, he was so gorgeous lying there. If what we were doing was a sin, then I’d gladly commit it until the four horsemen came to raze the world.

  “Thoughts such as that could get you into trouble with your god,” Kristair said te
asingly, though his eyes, hot on my body, spoke of other things.

  “I don’t care.” I straddled his hips, my hand coming down to his cock and slicking it with the lube, stroking and watching the pleasure playing on his face, the way his skin flushed.

  I guided him, feeling the head of his cock slip inside of me. His hands came up to my hips, steadying me as I sank down on him. It had been a long damned time since I’d been on the receiving end and the sensation of being so full was strange at first.

  Kristair’s fingers caressed my skin, his eyes intent on my face. Experimenting, I clenched around him, watching his reaction with fascination. A soft groan parted his lips and his fingers flexed on my hips, urging me to move. I slid partially off of him, and then eased back down, grinning at the way he arched into me.

  I could control his passion just as I had before. The realization came to me with startling swiftness. I wasn’t giving up anything by bottoming for him. We were still reacting to each other the way we naturally were. For all of his power, Kristair was more submissive, whereas that idea was alien to me. I smirked. Oh, this was going to be fun.

  “That expression does not bode well for me,” Kristair said.

  “Oh, I’m not so sure.” I started to move against him, slowly at first to get my rhythm. He was so deep inside me, driving into the center of who I was. It was thrilling, but not so much as the expression in his gaze every time I rocked my hips and sank back down on him.

  I leaned over him, my hands fisting into the sheets for balance so I could move against him harder. His moans spurred me on, the way his body twisted under mine, each muscle lithe and liquid under his skin. Kristair’s hands slid down onto my ass, his fingers pressing deeply into the cheeks. My cock throbbed against the hardness of his stomach. Between the friction there and the sensation of his cock sliding past my prostate, I thought I was going to crawl out of my skin from pleasure.