Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  Slowly I changed, pulling back to watch his eyes widen as my hair grew until it just brushed the tops of my shoulders, my features becoming smaller, more delicate, though I kept their basic shape. He sat up in the water, his face stunned, and released my wrists. I rose up onto my knees, my eyes riveted on him, and his reaction as my body became slighter than his, my limbs rounding. It felt alien, but the look of fixation on his face was thrilling.

  Jacob’s hands slid up my chest, my breasts growing to fit into them. His thumbs slid over my nipples, working them into peaks. “Holy God…,” he breathed, tearing his eyes away from my altered body and meeting my gaze.

  “Your god has nothing to do with this,” I replied, leaning over him and drawing his lower lip into my mouth, biting it hard, stopping just before drawing blood. I sensed how his mind whirled, trying to take it all in.

  I rocked against him, rubbing my cock against his stomach. The wild flutter of desire raced from him into me and back to him again. The connection we had together ramped up our emotions as they clashed and came together.

  Jacob groaned and looked down at our bodies underneath the water. “Kristair… damn.”

  I think this had to be the first time in the short history of our relationship that I saw him at a loss for words. It was most gratifying. I smiled slowly, dragging my tongue along his jaw. “Satisfied?” I wasn’t sure how far he’d push it, or if, by having this taste, he would be content to back off.

  Jacob chuckled. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” His hand slipped beneath the water to cup my balls, squeezing them lightly.

  I should’ve known better. “Don’t ever let it be said that you aren’t spoiled beyond measure, mo chroí. And so help me if you ever tell anyone about this.”

  He laughed again. “Who would believe me, Kristair?”

  It was so easy to change, but the oddity failed to register as much as my wicked lover did. He touched me, fingers exploring as my cock became a clit, all the nerves packed into a much smaller area. As he stroked his fingers, my body jolted, fire racing through me. His finger slid lower, parting my lips, stroking the hair, his fingertip teasing my new entrance.

  I shuddered, laying my head on his shoulder, trying to assimilate the new sensations. It was so different, but familiar in a strange way. Voices whispered but skittered away as Jacob groaned. His breath was quick and fast against my shoulder. He pressed light kisses along my collarbone, murmuring nonsensical words. I gasped as he thrust his fingers deep in me, clutching his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin.

  Jacob alternated between driving his fingers hard and teasing my clit with his thumb. I could feel it starting to swell, the sensations almost raw. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the newness of it all or maybe I had done it wrong, I didn’t know. I wasn’t that familiar with female anatomy. It felt amazing though, so I wasn’t about to stop to make any minor adjustments since Jacob didn’t seem to think anything was amiss.

  “Dammit, Jacob. Fuck me already.” My voice was raspy. I nipped his shoulder to let him know I meant it.

  He lifted his head, his eyes blazing. I trembled as he lifted his hand, winding his fist in my hair and pulling my head back. He bit my jugular hard and I moaned. I felt myself being lifted up when he rose from the tub and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me over to the shower. His cock slid wet and slick from one entrance to the other, back and forth over my perineum. It was interesting to have two areas aching to be filled.

  I drew his earlobe into my mouth as I heard him turn the shower on. “More water sports?”

  “I don’t want to get any more water on the floor and I love the way you look wet and sleek.”

  Jacob carried me under the hot, pelting spray and I kissed him hard, moving my hips restlessly against him, attempting to get him to penetrate me. Every time I had the head of his cock lined up hot against my entrance, it would slide away between the cheeks of my ass. I growled in frustration, my nails digging into his shoulders again. “Jacob….”

  “Aren’t you the one always telling me patience?”

  Jacob’s mouth dipped to capture my nipple. He pressed my back against the slick, heated tiles, and I looked down in fascination as he continued to toy with my breast. It looked so odd and, I had to admit, very erotic. He pulled his mouth away roughly and my nipple snapped back, my breast bouncing.

  “Screw patience.”

  Jacob’s chuckle was gruff and ragged. “My mouth is rubbing off on you,” he teased.

  Need was clawing at me and it was doing the same to him. I struck, my fangs sinking deep into his throat, knowing that it would send him over the edge. I tasted his blood, ever so briefly, the sweet tang thick on my tongue before withdrawing. To my satisfaction, Jacob snarled.

  His arms hooked under my knees, his hands supporting my rib cage, and then I felt his cock at my new entrance pushing into me deep before I could utter a word. My eyes widened; it seemed too tight. Again I wondered if I had done it right, but Jacob groaned and thrust again, settling all the way inside of me.

  Jacob braced his hand on the tiles and started fucking me. I placed a shaky hand against my stomach and my other hand continued to dig into his shoulder. His breath came in quick pants and it was a wonder he could breathe at all in the thick steam surrounding us. I clenched around him instinctively, heat tingling down my spine as he groaned.

  I bit my lip, tasting my own blood as the tender skin tore. Jacob’s eyes gleamed and he drew my lip into his mouth, running his tongue over the flesh even as it healed. His hands tightened on my waist and I moaned as he withdrew, my entrance aching as his cock left me. “Don’t stop now.”

  “I’m not.” He set me down, my body sliding down his, and turned me around on trembling legs.

  I groaned as I felt his cock sliding slickly between the cheeks of my ass and leaned forward, bracing my hands on the wall. Jacob spread my legs wider with his knee and an almost unbearable tension strung taut between us. I cried out, my nails scraping on the tiles as he gripped my hips hard and slammed into me, driving directly into my prostate.

  “Kristair, you drive me fucking insane,” he hissed against the nape of my neck, his hips thrusting furiously. The friction was nigh indescribable.

  I clenched around him again in response, weakness stealing over me as he growled in my ear. His hand slid from my hip, his fingers parting my lips, and flicking my clit. I was going to crawl out of my skin. He alternated between thrusting against my prostate and teasing my clit until I was trembling all over and fighting the urge to scream. It was too much, yet I never wanted it to stop.

  “Kristair… Kristair… Kristair,” Jacob chanted my name, his thrusts becoming erratic.

  I reached my hand around, digging my nails into the nape of his neck. My orgasm ripped through me, my body stiffening as I cried out again. My body tightened further, almost painfully as he continued to thrust and tease, every nerve ending on my body over-sensitized. Then he was coming too, his voice a nearly unrecognizable groan in my ear.

  I slumped against the tiles, Jacob leaning into me, both of us trembling violently. I clenched around his softening cock again and he shuddered. “You’re killing me,” he groaned. He had no room to talk.

  Chapter 24

  KRISTAIR HAD the hotel pick up our clothes so they could be washed and we now sat naked and curled up against each other on the couch, a blanket stolen from the bed wrapped around us. The TV was on, but I wasn’t paying any attention to it. His strong fingers were kneading the muscles of my neck and shoulders, soothing out kinks I didn’t even know I’d had.

  I leaned back in his arms as he slid them around me, pulling me closer. He’d waited all of two minutes after our frantic bout of sex to change his appearance back. I had been surprised he’d waited that long. Hell, I couldn’t believe he’d done it at all, though I wasn’t gonna complain. It had been even fucking hotter than I’d imagined.

  “Why’d you do it?” My voice was soft and I twisted to look ov
er my shoulder. I had been sure he’d never agree in a million years. My lover took his dignity very seriously, perhaps too seriously sometimes.

  He was quiet at first, his hand meeting mine under the blanket and lacing our fingers together. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “You seemed to need it.” He kissed the top of my head. “That’s not the whole truth. There are many reasons why. That was one. Using it for leverage was another. Then there was knowing it was going to drive you insane. That alone was worth it. And….”

  “And…?” I twisted around more so I could see his face in the dim light.

  Kristair remained silent and I turned around, crossing my arms over his chest. I laid my chin down on them and he smiled at me, stroking his fingers over my cheek. “Why don’t you tell me what is bothering you first, mo chroí?”

  I sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it… it’s stupid.”

  He slid his fingers back into my hair, cradling my head. “No, Jacob. I doubt that it’s stupid. Please?”

  I glanced away, my fingers fiddling with the edge of the blanket, and shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He didn’t respond and I knew he would wait all night if he had to. I shifted, looking up at his face and flushing. “I just feel out of control. Everything is happening so fast, things I can’t fight back against and don’t really involve me, only you. But they’re changing everything.”

  I sat up, straddling Kristair’s hips and raking my hand through my hair as he continued to watch me. “I know I can’t help you fight the Syndicate and it drives me nuts. I can’t convince my friends that you’re the good guy and I hate that.”

  “I know,” Kristair murmured. “But that’s not all of it. You said….” He hesitated, his dark eyes anxious, and for a moment I thought he was going to drop the conversation. A part of me hoped he would because talking like this made me uncomfortable, but the need to have honesty between us outweighed my discomfort. “I don’t think of you as a child.” His tangle of emotions was almost painful in their intensity. “I don’t think of you as less than me.”

  My chest tightened. “But I am, despite what you think.” It meant a lot that he would say so even if it wasn’t true. “I feel so fucking helpless. There’s nothing I can do to help you, and I always get in the way. All I can do is stand back there and watch and that’s not me.” The words flooded out. “And how the hell can you say that you don’t think of me as less? You’re so much older than I am, you’ve seen and done more, you can do things I can’t even begin to imagine, that I’ll never be able to do. I’m just an ignorant kid compared to you.” Agitated, I rose from the couch, wishing we’d never started this fucked-up conversation in the first place.

  “No you’re not,” Kristair said firmly, and I could see how much I had upset him. “I cannot help what I am, or how long I’ve been around. The experiences you’ve had are different from mine, but they’re not irrelevant. The things that make you who you are, the passion with which you live your life, your loyalty to your friends, those are what draw me to you.” He got up and walked over to me. Laying his hands on my shoulders, he stared at me so intently, I couldn’t look away.

  “You asked why I went along with your fantasy. It was for all the reasons I said and because, with you, I can be who I really am—just Kristair without all of the other preconceptions people lay on me.” He paused again, worrying his lip. “I can submit to you as much as I want to because you will never be afraid of demanding what you want. Because you are yourself and that lets me be myself. I need to be with you. I want to give you what you desire. I have to keep you safe and sane. The way you make me feel is confusing and frightening, but I refuse to lose it. If this is what love is, then yes, I am in love with you.”

  My eyes burned as I stared at him, stunned. “Did you just say you loved me?” Maybe I was a little slow, but I had pretty much given up on the idea that he was ever going to admit it.

  There was a faint smile on Kristair’s lips. “That seems to be the sum of it. Though you’ve been insisting that I do for quite awhile now, so I don’t see why it’s such a shock.”

  I wrapped my hand around the back of his head and tugged, bringing his lips to mine. “You feeling it—no, you actually admitting it—that’s something else, love. I don’t know what else to say.”

  Kristair pulled back and took my hand, leading me back to the couch. “I didn’t actually think that was possible. That’s one up for me then, for once.”

  “Funny.”

  “How did you know? You’ve been insisting for months that I did, taking crazy risks. How did you know I loved you?”

  The genuinely baffled expression on his face made me smile. “Tá mo chroí istigh ionat. You said it yourself, the first night we made love. ‘My heart is within you,’ and you didn’t mean all that hoodoo stuff you were planning either.” There was a rare vulnerability in his dark eyes that made my chest tighten. I leaned in closer, brushed my nose against his. “You gave me your heart before you meant to, I think. Don’t worry, love; it’s safe with me.”

  “There is no doubt in my mind.”

  I settled back down against him and wrapped the blanket around us. It was beginning to sink in. All the stress and anxiety I’d been carrying around melted away under his confession. I smiled, more at ease, the gnawing fear abruptly changed to bubbling happiness. I’d say nothing could ruin my mood now, but I had no intention of jinxing myself. Kristair loved me. He admitted it with his own lips and there was no going back for him now. I wasn’t going to let him forget.

  “Do you feel better now?”

  I nodded. Right now, I was as happy as it was humanly possible to be. We sat, not speaking, holding each other, lightly touching the other’s body, exchanging lingering kisses as the night went on. Staying away from my apartment for a couple weeks was an awesome idea if I got to spend each evening like this.

  “You can go back to your apartment if you wish. I’ve rented this hotel room for the next month. I want you to promise, if you ever suspect someone’s watching you, following you, or something happens that makes you think they’ve found you, that you’ll come here. Bring Tony and Steve if it’ll make you feel better, and if they’d agree,” Kristair said, meeting my eyes, his expression grave.

  That I could give my word on, especially if it eased Kristair’s mind. “I don’t know if they’d come. Unless I told them about the free booze.” I laughed.

  Kristair’s brows drew together. “I know you trust your friends. If you think they’d listen or believe you, you can tell them the truth about me and what’s happening with the Syndicate. Perhaps they’d be safer if they were aware of the true danger.”

  This made the third time this evening that Kristair had totally floored me. “You’re serious?” He nodded. “I’ll have to think about it. I’m not sure if they’re ready for vampires and everything that goes bump in the night, but….” I smiled and brushed my mouth across his. “Thanks, love. That means a lot.”

  He shrugged, as if it were no big deal, though I was beginning to understand that his signs of indifference were masks. We fell silent, holding each other, serenity falling over me. All my life I think I was searching for this exact feeling, the contentment that comes from loving and knowing I was loved in return, the warm, safe feeling of being wrapped up, naked in your lover’s arms, and pushing all my worries away for another day and living in the moment.

  When we started talking again, he told me what happened after he left the apartment the night before and I told him about the run-in with the cops at the hospital. He didn’t seem to be that concerned about it, though it bugged me. I didn’t want him to be threatened from a whole other group of people.

  “It’s hard to keep our existence an entire secret. Most people don’t believe vampires exist, some suspect, and others, like you, know the truth. The police will stay out of it.” Kristair soothed, caressing my shoulder. “They have bigger concerns.”

  I hoped he was right, but again, it was something else I had no contr
ol over. He asked about Kayla and I snickered, retelling her stories, which seemed to both amuse and exasperate him. Which reminded me. I turned to face my lover again.

  “Kristair, would you turn me into a vampire if I asked you to?”

  He met my eyes solemnly, hesitated, and then shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

  My mouth curved in a wry smile. “I knew that was going to be your answer.” It ached, knowing he wouldn’t, but not as much as I thought it would. Maybe it was because he’d finally admitted how he felt about me.

  “Jacob, you don’t want it, not really,” Kristair said. “You have all these hopes and dreams you’ve worked toward that you’d have to give up. You’re not the kind of person to do that.”

  “I would though,” I replied, surprised at how serious I was. “If it meant staying with you forever. If it meant you and I would be on the same footing. I know you say we’re not unequal and maybe in some ways you’re right, but not completely. I’ll always… well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  “Even if I were to change you, have you considered that I will always be older than you, more experienced than you? Becoming a vampire wouldn’t change that. In fact, if you feel like a child now….” He shook his head. “Just wait until your first couple of years as a vampire. It’s much worse.”

  I guess I hadn’t thought of that, learning how to hunt people and drink their blood. I made a face. “That’s okay; you don’t have to tell me about it.” Kristair laughed softly, nuzzling my cheek. “It would be nice to be together forever, though, don’t you think?”

  “If I thought we’d be allowed to do that, I’d turn you if you wanted me to, without hesitation.” There was such sorrow in his dark eyes as he spoke. “But it wouldn’t make any difference, not now. I don’t know how much time we have left, maybe months, maybe a couple of years, but not enough, and then I’d be leaving you alone to cope with a life you never wanted in the first place.”