by Dianna Love
Of course, if he could use his hands, he’d seize her hips and urge her down onto his straining cock. Now.
She moaned and surged against him, reacting to his thoughts, and it occurred to him that he had other tools at his disposal besides his mouth.
Pushing aside the last veil of privacy, he opened his mind completely to hers. Explicit, wild, unedited, savagely carnal. He opened the gates and let it all pour out, and suddenly he had no need of his hands to urge her onward.
She reared back, guided his impossibly engorged cock to her entrance, then sank on him, impaling herself to the hilt with one screaming thrust. He gripped the bedclothes and felt the material shred beneath his fingers like tissue paper. And then — dear merciful God in heaven — then she was riding him. Wildly, recklessly, mindlessly, and he couldn’t tell her pleasure from his. The ascent was swift. Her orgasm took her with a force that carried him right along behind. When she collapsed on his chest, she trembled like an aspen.
And so, God help him, did he.
“Omigod, that was so … much.” She lay there, feeling as though she’d literally melted over his hard body like hot wax. A part of her wondered if she would ever be able to pull herself completely back together, or whether they were permanently merged.
His hands caressed her butt. “Too much?”
“Never!”
A muffled laugh. Then, in a more serious tone, “Ainsley, I have to get up.”
“Oh. The condom. Of course.”
“That, too.”
She pushed herself upward, intending to search his eyes, but her gaze never reached that far. It caught and held on his teeth. His very long, pointy teeth.
“Nothing to worry about. Just a little post-coital reaction.”
He rolled her to the side, easing out of her. She felt the loss like a physical ache, but she was too preoccupied with this new development to dwell on it.
“I’m so sorry, Delano. You must be miserable. It’s all my fault.”
He laughed. “Yeah, miserable. To think I was just twenty years away from the century marker in the abstinence competition, and you had to come along and ruin my record.”
She smacked his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean. And this is a momentary thing. It will subside quickly, I promise you.”
“But—”
“No buts. Compared to what we just did, it barely signifies. Now, don’t move,” he ordered. “I’ll be right back.”
He rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. He was quick, but by the time he returned, she was already self-conscious enough to have gotten up and found her robe.
“Suddenly shy, are we?”
“No.” She lifted her chin. “We’re cold.”
His low laughter sent a frisson skating over her skin.
“You know better than to do that with me,” he said.
Right. He could read her mind. “Okay, I’m feeling a little … strange.”
His face sobered. “And I’m feeling like throwing you over my shoulder and hauling you off to my rooms so that after we finish making love, you’ll be there with me when dawn drives me into the day sleep.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “How’s that for strange?”
It sounded wonderful. Incredible. Too good to be true. She wet her lips. “What? You’re not going back down to the lab?”
He shrugged. “There are only a few hours left of the night anyway. And my concentration is not the best for what needs to be done.”
She smiled. “Well, I guess you can take one night off. When’s the last time you played hooky?”
He blinked. “I can’t remember.”
Oh, Delano. “Then I’d say this is long overdue. And you do have a lot of lost time to make up for in the sex department…”
Without a growl, he did exactly as he’d threatened, scooping her up into a fireman’s lift and bearing her off toward his suite of rooms.
“Del! What if Eli sees?”
His laugh vibrated through her body, and she savored it. How many times had he laughed tonight? This was the man who gave serious a whole new dimension.
“Have you forgotten who donated the condoms?” His stride slowed. “Whoops, speaking of condoms, we left them in your room. I’ll drop you off and go back for them.”
“No we didn’t.”
They’d reached his room and he deposited her back on her feet. She pulled a handful of wrapped condoms from the pocket of her robe. “See?”
“All nine of them?” He laughed, closing the bedroom door behind them. “My recuperative powers are formidable, but that might be a challenge even for me.”
Man, he was deadly when he smiled like that. Not that he wasn’t smolderingly gorgeous when he brooded, but this laughing Delano made her heart overflow.
She smiled past the ache of happiness in her chest. “Right now, I think I could be happy just looking at you.”
“Happy to oblige.”
His clothes came off with his usual efficiency, as though he were oblivious of his own masculine beauty. She’d seen his body before, but the quarters had clearly been too close to permit full appreciation of the total package. Now, she stepped back and actively appreciated.
Broad shoulders tapered to lean hips, which flowed into powerful thighs. Even his feet were finely formed. For a man who never saw the sun, his skin was surprisingly dark. Still, the black hairs dusting his impressive pectorals and arrowing down to his groin stood out starkly. And oh, glory, the muscles!
I please you?
Her throat tightened. If you pleased me any more, I don’t think I could stand it.
“Your turn,” he said softly.
She shrugged the robe off, and stood for his appraisal. His dark gaze slid over her body like a physical caress, pausing here, lingering there, and his approval was patently evident.
Blinking back tears, she smiled. I please you?
You please me in every way imaginable.
He opened her arms and she went into them. He crushed her against his chest, pressing her face into his neck, kissing her hair, running his hands roughly over her back. Moving backwards, she tugged him along until the backs of her legs collided with the bed. They went down onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs, and just the feel of him — his warm, solid, glorious weight and hair-roughened skin — was almost enough to make her come. Mouths caught and held, hands searched and found, minds touched.
She broke their kiss, clutching his shoulders. “Del, we need a condom.”
He levered himself off her and returned seconds later with the contents of her robe pocket. Taking one packet and dropping the others on the night table, he turned his attention to the condom.
She took it from him with fingers that trembled. “I know you could use the practice, but next time, okay? Right now, we need this on you.”
Seconds later, his weight was back, pressing her into the firm mattress. She shifted, parting her legs, and he pushed into her. And oh God she wanted it to last and last, but she just couldn’t hang on. A dozen thrusts and she exploded in a short, sharp orgasm. He stilled to let her wring every last drop of pleasure from it, then started moving again, his thrusts slower and more deliberate.
“Delano?”
“Hold onto me, Ainsley. I want to feel your arms around me. Don’t let go.”
She twined her arms around his neck, and knew that he’d lied for her. He hadn’t played hooky because he wasn’t up to whatever delicate task awaited him in the lab. He was here right now because he feared they might never have another chance to love each other like this.
Tears slid down her cheeks, and she gripped him harder, closing her legs around him, enveloping him.
Their loving went on forever. Slowly, he built that sweet tension in her again and again, until one climax rolled into the next one and the next one. When she could literally stand no more, he let his own release claim him, shuddering and trembling in the tight clasp of her arms.
Delan
o disposed of the condom and stepped into the shower, letting the hot spray hit his chest.
He hadn’t wanted to leave the embrace of her body. He’d been busy cursing the condom and the consequent need to get up when it struck him that the other need to get up was mysteriously absent. His canines had not erupted following his orgasm. Before she could notice or comment on that development, or non-development, he’d rolled away, mumbling something about cleaning up.
He turned to let the water sluice his back and flinched. Ah, Ainsley had marked him with her fingernails. He grinned, finding himself wishing the small hurt could stay with him beyond the next hours. Unfortunately, it would be erased in the day sleep, leaving no lingering evidence of their shared passion.
The shower door opened, letting in a draft of cool air. “Is it safe for me to come in?”
He took her hand and pulled her inside the enclosure. He gave her a second to close the door behind her, then tugged her into his arms for a kiss. She melted against him, into him. Lord, he loved her.
He pulled away. “Let me wash you.”
She acquiesced, letting him soap her body and shampoo her hair. When he’d finished finger-combing the crème rinse into her hair and rinsing it smooth, she picked up the soap and returned the favor. He had to bend to let her shampoo his hair. Gently, she worked around the lacerations Eli had inflicted, and the tenderness in her fingertips was almost enough to make him weep.
Afterward, he helped her blow her hair dry, and she reciprocated. Then they turned out the lights and climbed into his bed. Both of them could feel the approaching dawn.
He pulled her close and felt her sadness. “What’s wrong, little one?”
She blinked rapidly. I know you could push your way in to find out what’s troubling me. Thank you for not doing that.
He smiled. “There’s such a thing as etiquette, even among the psychically linked.”
“Yikes! I hope you’ll tell me if I overstep the bounds.”
“Not to worry. You’ll know when an unwelcome psychic foray has been repulsed, I promise you. Now tell me why you’re sad.”
She drew a deep breath, let it out, then drew another. “I’m afraid I’ll wake up tomorrow morning — or rather, tomorrow evening — and this will have been a dream. I’ll be in my bed, alone. Or worse, I’ll be here and you’ll be angry at me again.”
“Sweetheart.” He kissed her as sweetly as he could. “It’s not just real. It’s forever.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. Now I need a promise from you.”
“Name it.”
“Don’t let me get carried away in the dream sleep.”
“We can’t fool around when we wake up?”
He grinned. God bless her. “We can definitely fool around, but just make sure I’m properly awake, for safety’s sake. Lord knows what I might do — or not do — if I think I’m dreaming again.”
“Of course.”
He kissed her one last time, and found that incredible well of tender emotion right there beneath the surface, as deep and endless as before. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked deep into her eyes, memorizing their exact shade of violet. “Sleep now, love. I can feel your exhaustion from exercising those psychic muscles.”
“Mmmm.”
She moved away, just far enough to break contact, but close enough that he could still feel her body heat, hear the beat of her heart, the whoosh of her blood, the soft in-and-out of her respirations. Obviously she’d sensed his need to be untouched in the day sleep. He sent her a psychic thank you, followed by a powerful sleep suggestion. Within the minute, she was slumbering. It took considerably longer for sleep to claim him.
Chapter 21
DELANO DREAMED of the Sahara. Even as he struggled up one dune and stumbled and slid down the next, he kept thinking, “But I’ve never been to Africa”. But somehow he knew it was the Sahara. On and on he slogged, the desert stretching endlessly in front of him, with nothing on the shimmering horizon to promise relief. He was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming, but Christ on the cross, it felt so real. The merciless sun searing his skin, the heat sapping his strength and fuelling a terrible bone-deep thirst…
Wait a minute — sun searing his skin? Definitely a dream. He’d never make it fifty feet in the Saharan sun before collapsing from anaphylactic shock, let alone trekking for miles in the burning sand.
But the thirst! It was so real, so urgent and all-consuming.
“Delano?”
Confused, he turned full circle, scanning the barren landscape. “Eli?”
“Delano, wake up!”
He cocked his head at the female voice. Ainsley was here, too? This was too strange. Why couldn’t he see them? Had he gone blind from the sun?
“Delano.” This time, Eli’s voice held a note of command. “You have to wake up. We have a problem.”
Someone laid a hand on him, jerking him out of the dream state. He jackknifed up, causing both Eli and Ainsley to spring back.
“What is it?” His heart banged against his ribs. “Are we under attack?”
“No, but I have some grim news from the team we sent to Mexico.”
“What’s happened?”
“They’re gone.”
Delano swallowed. Christ, his mouth felt like the desert of his dreams. Clearly, it had been a very long time since he’d last fasted. He didn’t remember the physical symptoms being so … well, physical. Even his pulse felt skittery. Skittery and feeble at the same time. Concentrate, Bowen. What had Eli said? They’re gone. Who were they?
Holy Christ!
“Mrs. Michaels and her daughter?”
“Yes, and the local operatives were slain. All four of them.”
Janecek!
Delano shot a glance at Ainsley, who looked like someone had unplugged her power supply. She sat there with the bedspread wrapped around her naked body, her eyes vacant, her mouth gone slack. Shock. It wouldn’t last.
He took her left hand in his and chafed it with his own hands. She showed no awareness of his attempt to comfort, but he didn’t release her hand. The contact comforted him, dammit.
He turned back to Eli, doing his best to pretend that he was facing his lieutenant across a table, rather than sitting here buck-naked in bed with a sheet covering his privates.
“Okay, let’s hear what you know. Start from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
Eli grimaced. “It’s a short story, I’m afraid. Our day/night team went wheels up shortly after 1:00 this morning, and reached shelter for our vamp before dawn. Digger Harris took the day shift, but couldn’t make contact with the locals we hired. After he failed to reach a single member of the team at the coordinates we provided, he made a personal reconnaissance of the subject’s house.”
Delano swallowed again, no easy task given he seemed to have no saliva available. “Which is when he found the whole team slaughtered and the Michaels woman and child missing.”
“That’s it,” said Eli, rubbing the back of his neck, “in a fuckin’ nutshell.”
“We’re sure it was Janecek?” Delano knew the answer but had to ask the question.
“I think it’s a safe assumption, particularly given that they were all exsanguinated.”
“Where are they?” Beside him, Ainsley stirred at last, extracting her hand from his. “What has that creature done with Lucy and Devon?”
Ainsley’s eyes no longer looked vacant, but Delano wasn’t entirely certain their new expression was much of an improvement. Her beautiful violet eyes had gone volcanic with a hot fury with which Delano was only too well acquainted. He didn’t have to probe her mind to appreciate what she was feeling. Her lust for vengeance spilled from every pore, permeating the room.
Easy, baby. “He won’t have harmed them.”
She glowered at him. Yet, you mean.
He wished he could refute her assessment of Janecek’s intent, but she’d know he was lying. But what Janecek intended wasn’t neces
sarily what would come to pass. Not while he still lived and breathed.
“He’ll use them to negotiate. And to do that, he’ll have to bring them to us. When he does, we’ll simply have to figure out how to wrest them away.”
She stared at him, unblinking. “You know what he’s going to try to negotiate. Us for them. Plus destruction of your labs and the work you’ve done.”
“I know.”
“Whoa right there.” Eli held up a hand. “Don’t tell me you’re seriously thinking about agreeing to his demands?” He looked from one to the other. “Goddammit, he’ll kill you both! And when he’s done, he’ll kill the Michaels woman and her kid just to put an exclamation point on his victory.”
Delano tried to work up enough spit to swallow again. “At the risk of sounding repetitive, I know.”
“And then there would be nothing standing between Janecek and his prey.” Eli didn’t raise his voice. Rather, he got quieter and more deadly as he went. “Our friend Radak and all the other monsters like him will be free to cull the herd with impunity then, wouldn’t they? Alleyways and crack houses and battlefields and hospital wards and anywhere else where sudden deaths can be readily explained. That is, until the day arrives when their numbers are so plentiful that they no longer give a shit whether or not their kills go unnoticed.”
Delano dragged a hand through his hair. “Christ, Eli, I know that, too. Obviously, we can’t concede to his demands.”
“I can.”
Delano and Eli swiveled to gawk at Ainsley.
“The vaccine is all but finished, right? You don’t really need me any more. And if there’s any doubt, you can take as much blood as you like. I just need enough to stay on my feet to make the exchange.”
“No!”
Both men spoke at once.
Ainsley held up a hand. “Hear me out. This makes sense. We oblige him to settle for me. He lets Lucy and Devon go. Of course, he’s not really planning to let them go. He’ll be planning to kill all of us, but as soon as I get close, I detonate a bomb and take him out.”
