A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1)

by Lori, Rae

  “You want me, Ariya?” he asked with a deep husk in his voice. “My life, my soul, my heart?”

  “Yes,” she breathed. “I want you, Jace.”

  Shots of electricity pulsed through her veins as his hands continued moving over her. Gently he reached down to untie the corset top that confined her. He moved it down the arc of her body, allowing it to slip to the floor. Ariya’s breath caught in her throat in a short gasp as he descended to his knees.

  He leaned in and clenched the bottom of her skirt between his teeth, pulling it down with the help of his fingers. When she changed earlier that evening, she made sure to match the dark purple satin and black lace top with the matching panties she wore.

  A deep groan from Jace verbalized his approval of the choice.

  “You like them?” she asked, near breathless.

  “No.” He looked up at her and smiled. “I love them.”

  Jace’s head dipped out of her vision as he gently kissed the inner lace linings near her most sensitive spot. Ariya’s fingers dived into the silky strands of his shoulder length wavy dark hair as she felt his cold hands wrapping around the tops of her panties. She gasped, feeling the strength of his hands forcing them down her legs and to the ground. He kissed a pathway up her body to the small concave amid her full breasts.

  Ariya found herself pulled up into Jace’s arms and carried to the bedroom. He immediately laid her down on the bed, careful of her folded wings below. His body closed in over her with slow careful moves as he kept his eyes on her.

  “Do you know what you’re asking me to do, Ariya?” Jace whispered softly. His bright blue eyes awaited her answer as he gently caressed her cheek with the knuckles of his fingers.

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” she said with a smile. She was on the edge of leaving one life behind while looking down into the deep well of another life. And she couldn’t wait to dive in head first. She needed to belong somewhere and the members of the Ashen Twilight House already felt like family to her.

  Jace took over, slipping his pants off and maneuvered to allow them fall to the floor in a soft shuffle. Her eyes were drawn down his toned, pale body and she saw the engorged bulge pushing to be free from under the front of his briefs. He was right. His body still functioned. She remembered his words that he couldn’t sustain the life of his seed long enough to produce a child in her womb. It didn’t matter, she thought. Maybe her Aziza blood would make things different. They would possibly produce another way and all in good time.

  Jace smiled as she came to the conclusion and leaned in to kiss her as he entangled his fingers with hers. His body pushed down onto hers as he moved in to deepen the kiss.

  Ariya broke away to slide her hands down the hard lines of his torso. She gripped the elastic of his briefs and pulled them down to reveal his naked body to her. He moved to let it slide down his narrow hips and onto the soft rug below. Right away she saw the enlarged erection between his legs. Her hands were drawn to it like a magnet. She was amazed by the length and how warm it felt in her hand. So, this is what had enraptured Shelly, Ariya thought as she ran her hand over the length. The touch of it was soft yet hard to her, like soft velvet wrapped around a long piece of steel. She gripped him and slowly began moving her hand over the length of him, watching Jace at the same time as the pleasure over took his body.

  He leaned in to take a hardened nipple in his mouth and he hungrily laved it with his tongue before gently sucking. Ariya couldn’t believe the rush of many emotions coming at her all at once. Her hand gripped tighter, feeling a surge of wetness falling from the tip of his sensitive head. As her hand pumped slightly faster, Jace’s hand covered hers, stopping her. She opened her eyes and looked at him with a question floating in her mind.

  “If you continue doing that I’m afraid we’ll be finished before we get started.” He chuckled deeply and leaned in to give her a soft kiss. “Are you ready?” His voice was deep and husky, breathless with need for her.

  Ariya nodded. She felt his hand cover hers again as he lead his hard, eager shaft toward her warm, wet center. She gasped sharply as she felt him enter her with a slow, aching thrust, allowing himself to be consumed by her inch by inch. Right away, her body tried to conform to fit his large size.

  She gripped his muscled shoulders as a soft moan escaped her lips. Never had her body felt this entrance before and the discomfort of his hardness inside her made her freeze in place.

  She felt him sense her discomfort and gently stroked her cheek to calm her down. He kissed the area of her cheek, jaw and neck as his hand covered her swollen left breast.

  “Just relax, Ariya,” he whispered. He leaned in to kiss her deeply while his thumb lingered in a circular motion over her hardened nipple. Bolts of pleasure shot through her body and she slowly relaxed. His tongue caressed hers as he teased her with the idea of what he wanted to do with her using his hardened sex.

  She melted within is arms and he felt her relax in the kiss. Slowly, Jace moved his hips against hers allowing the friction of their bodies to create a pleasure that pulsated through their veins.

  His body ached with the fire to feed upon her, but not just yet. He would take this nice and slow. Ariya meant the world to him, not like any other woman had before in his life, and he wanted this feeling to last for eternity.

  Ariya draped her legs around Jace’s body, using the soft planes of her heels to push him deeper inside of her. She could feel their bodies connecting with each passing second and she couldn’t get enough of him as her sex constricted around his, massaging him and urging him toward the edge of a fiery explosion. His chest heaved with each breath he took, caressing the hard buds of her nipples as he leaned down.

  “Ariya.” Her name struggled in his ragged breath. His handsome face contorted with the pleasure that raced through his body. A deep moan escaped his lips.

  Ariya reveled in his strong arms wrapped around her. Her legs gripped him tighter as she felt his hips thrust faster, pounding her harder against the soft mattress. She wanted to bottle this experience up and make it last forever. For this was a pleasure she had never felt before, but would soon want more of.

  “Jace.” His name was like a breath on her lips, an exhale. Her fingernails pushed into the skin of his back as he hit a spot that nearly shot her to the edge. She let out a moan, part cry and part soft expression of the pleasure she shared with him. She felt him move within her, growing even harder by the minute. “Yes.”

  Ariya arched her back, pushing her hips up to meet his as her back pressed against the soft bed. Soft shadows and the light of the candles lit Jace’s handsome face and Ariya’s heart swelled as she watched him bear the force of bliss upon his face. Her fingernails dug deeper, eliciting an animalistic grunt from within him. His hips pumped faster, sharper in her and he bared his sharp fangs. She couldn’t hold on much longer. The force of her unbridled abandon ripped its way through her body, fighting to get to the surface.

  Jace let out an unrestrained cry and dipped his head down to her neck. Pain gave way to pleasure as his teeth penetrated her skin, invading her body. Ariya let out a tearful moan as she held onto Jace, feeling the blood within her rush to his inviting lips.

  She held onto him, enclosing her arms and legs around him, urging him not to stop pumping her at the same time. Slowly she felt her life slipping away. At the same time a pleasure was rising inside her body that forced her to the edge at the point of no return.

  It started in the tip of her toes as a tingle, soon growing into a force all its own as it raced through her entire body. Jace’s hips slammed against hers for one last time and he succumbed to his own release, pressing into her.

  Ariya’s body was on fire with electricity as she slipped her hands over the back of his head, pressing him to her in the feed as he sucked and sucked. With a soft cry, her body jolted as her warm sex continued to throb and constrict around his luscious erection. She couldn’t form a coherent thought as darkness overcame
her body. The last feeling she comprehended was Jace clutching her head in place, gripping her hair as he continued feeding from her. The weight of his body pressed down on hers as she lost all feeling and consciousness.

  * * * *

  Jace couldn’t stop himself. Of all the pleasures he took from all the women throughout the ages, none tasted sweeter than Ariya. She had given him the sweetest gift in her body and her life. He didn’t know what would become of her Fairy blood nor did he know how she would feel once he had finished.

  None of that mattered as all thought and comprehension left his mind with the feeling of her sweet, warm enclosure throbbing around him. Finally he felt like he was home and they were one.

  Jace had to catch his breath as he moved away from her. His body warmed with the flow of her blood pulsating with his. He felt her powers flowing through him, and the strong love that couldn’t be expressed by mere words alone. His heart warmed as he finally opened himself to the only woman who grew closer to him than any other in his life. Love. The word warmed his body as the realization finally hit him.

  “Ariya.” His contentment was short lived as he realized she wasn’t moving. He licked his lips taste more of her sweet blood as he gently caressed her cheek. He checked her pulse. Slowly dying to a calm rhythm toward silence. Jace felt his adrenaline shoot to sky high.

  “Ariya, wake up!” He slipped his arms around her and pulled her up, but she was as limp as a stuffed doll. He had to hurry.

  Jace climbed off the bed and retrieved his silver rapier from the top of the chest. He took a deep breath and sliced downward from his wrist to near his elbow to break the prominent vein. Feeling the searing pain in his arm, he screamed with a primal force. He had to pass it onto Ariya. She had to survive, for without her—

  He pushed out the alternative thought as he moved his arm over her mouth and allowed the drops of red to paint her soft, full lips.

  Jace waited with bated breath, hoping she would move and feed from him. He hoped it wasn’t too late.

  III

  Blood of Life

  Chapter 14

  A taste; sweet, thick, filling. Her body thirsted for it as her intestines raced to digest the liquid. Her heart slammed in rapid succession beneath her chest as the blood invaded her veins. Slowly the feeling returned to her. Blood circulation pumped to life an existence that almost passed her by. She needed it; she couldn’t get enough of it.

  Ariya sensed the arm hovering over her. Her hands grew strength, clawing around the warm skin, pressing it to her lips. Jace’s blood was perfect. To humans it would smell coppery, ancient and sickening. To Ariya it was like a sweet wine, aged and smooth. The life was slowly returning to her. Her lifeblood awakened her senses to full alert.

  “Ariya stop.”

  Jace’s smooth voice echoed in her consciousness, like a distant sound. Her fingers gripped his wrist tighter and tighter, clutching it against her open mouth as she drank hungrily. The sound of the blood pulsating in his body pounded within her mind. A soft moan escaped her lips. She beckoned the sweetness into her body and soon she couldn’t tell where her blood ended and where Jace’s began.

  “Stop Ariya—”

  Jace greedily sucked the air in sharp breaths. His body was fighting for its life and at the same time fighting an arousal pulsating at the base of his groin. Ariya stomach flip-flopped as her eyes shot open to Jace, his handsome face twisted in agony.

  Ariya pushed his arm away and bolted up in bed, feeling the rush of blood race alongside bile up toward her throat. She dove off the bed and clapped her hand over her mouth as she raced to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. The blood forced itself out of her body just in time for her to reach the toilet. Behind her, Jace knocked on the door repeatedly but his words were muffled.

  It took her a moment to process what was happening. She felt the rapid pounding of her heart between her ears, like the drums pounding in a ceremonious harmony echoing of the rituals she had back home. She tried to calm herself. The cold tile of the floor sent a shockwave of coolness against her warm skin as she sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  Jace opened the door, his body bolted to life toward her, reaching down to wrap his arms around her body. He used his strength to help her up toward the sink.

  “I can feel your blood coursing throughout my body,” Ariya said weakly. “What happened?”

  “Your body probably couldn’t take all of my blood,” he said reaching over to turn on the faucet.

  Ariya threw a handful of cool water on her face before looking up into the mirror. In reflection, her dark pretty face was drenched with tiny diamond droplets falling off her face and chin. Jace stood behind her, his handsome face filled with worry as he held out his hand to give her a towel.

  But she didn’t see him.

  Instead she focused on her reflection, leaning closer as she felt her body change in those next moments. Her dark massive curls grew longer down her back and shinier under the soft light of the bathroom’s glow. Her dark complexion glowed with an iridescent radiance that made her appear even more ethereal. Lifting her lip, the small canines slowly extended to sharper points, yet not quite fangs.

  “What is it?”

  Jace’s voice was clearer. His blood flow strong as day in her ears. “I can feel you.” She turned around to face him, feeling the life of the city outside their door. She felt more alive than she ever had in her life like a high that mortals got from pharmaceuticals and alcohol only this was stronger and more pure. “I can feel everything.”

  “Ariya—”

  She laughed and maneuvered around him, heading toward the living room. Sounds were magnified in her mind and her wings felt as if they could flutter away in the sky forever. She laughed and twirled around the room, feeling the cool air lift the droplets from her face.

  “Jace! It’s wonderful! I can feel you!” Ariya said proudly. She stopped and watched him lean against the doorway as he watched her. “What?”

  “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Sure I am.” She struck a pose that accentuated her curvy build. “Don’t I look all right?” she asked seductively.

  Jace moaned as he walked to her. “You never looked better actually, but I am still worried about you. You should probably rest for the night while I go—”

  “No, Jace. I want to see the city.”

  “The city?”

  “Yeah, I feel so alive. I just want to run around and absorb everything in the city. My senses are more alert than they’ve ever been in my life.”

  Jace thought about heading to the houses to alert Julian of what he had done. He was perfectly ready to explain why he had tried to change Ariya or what drove him to nearly change her. Still the jury was out on how her Fairy blood would be affected by what little of his blood she had consumed. Strangely enough, her body had rejected most of it and he wondered what the effects were on her body to cause that sort of reaction. Either way, he had to keep a close watch on her.

  “Oh, come on,” Ariya flashed him a smile and pressed against his body, wrapping her arms around his waist. “We won’t be out too late. Just for a little spin?”

  “Okay. One spin and we’re heading back here no question.”

  Ariya moved up to her tip-toes to give him a deep kiss. Jace didn’t bother fighting it this time as he slipped his hand into her mass of curly hair to cradle her head. She moved away from his lips and to his ear to whisper seductively, “That’s all I ask.”

  Minutes later, they were in Jace’s Volga racing down the quiet suburbs of Northern Phoenix on the border between Scottsdale and ParadiseValley. Ariya loved every minute of this weather against her cold skin. Her curvy build stretched out diagonally across the seat and she leaned on Jace’s chest as she held on to his arm wrapped around her torso. Within the shadows dancing across his face, she could see his pale skin against her dark, glowing complexion. His hand felt warm in hers and she smiled realizing her blood was flowing along with hi
s. She felt closer to him than she ever had before.

  Jace was silent in his thoughts while watching the road and steering with one arm. Slowly he turned it as he veered down the corner. Ariya had to admit, she’d never get tired of watching him drive. There was something about the way a man commanded such a powerful machine with such grace that sent shivers of excitement inside of her.

  A smile crept upon Jace’s lips as she thought the words.

  “No fair. You can’t block your thoughts and still expect to read mine.”

  “Oh, can I?” he said pulling her closer.

  “I’m serious, Jace. Are we going to talk about what happened back there?”

  “I almost turned you and thank God you survived. If you would’ve kept on drinking—” He sighed. She would be full Nightwalker right now. Or worse. “I’m just keeping an eye out to see that no side effects occur.”

  “I mean before that. I’ve never—I mean, I’ve never experienced that before.” She shifted slightly, feeling the sensitive area between her legs throb at the thought that Jace had been there only moments ago. Right there physically inside of her.

  “And?”

  She watched the yellow streetlights flash by, illuminating the darkness for a second before it disappeared. “And it was beautiful. I feel closer to you. Like I can sense your feelings. Your desires.”

  “I never thought I’d feel this way toward another.” Jace gently caressed her arm as he spoke softly. “I mean, there had been others, but never have I let my guard down and really felt for a woman before. It’s like you came into my life for a reason, Ariya.”