Free from their confines, her breasts drew his attention. Full, soft and tempting, he swept his tongue around the hardening peak of one and heard her hiss in answer, arching into the wicked sensation of his mouth on wanton flesh. The taut bud puckered and teased him. He swirled it over and over, slowly nearing the pink nipple, dragging his tongue over the heat of her flesh. She moaned and gasped, then whimpered when he drew her completely into his mouth, lashing at hot skin with his tongue as her whispered moans entreated and deepened. He never lost his awareness, constantly searching for any sense of fear, constantly in her thoughts as each new touch reawakened part of her, all of what she’d been forced to shut down to survive. Warming his hand against her body, he caressed and stroked when he switched his attention to her other breast. She moaned in sweet little gasps of pleasure.
Each motion was deliberate, arousing as he moved downward, sliding to the edge of the bed. The first sense of unease happened when he touched her waist. “Focus on my touch, lovely. You know you are safe.” She relaxed again with an exhale of tension, becoming boneless again. He didn’t move any slower or any faster. The snap came free on her jeans and he ran his tongue across her pelvis, suckling at the uncovered pale treasure of her body. With a restrained touch, he pulled her jeans free and she lay bared before him on the bed. She trembled delicately, unsure, but hungry for his touch.
Joaquin knew by the horror of her memories what she feared. He took excruciating care to never make her feel trapped, or forced. Only pleasured. Dropping kisses along her body, he caressed and massaged her, moving in languid circles closer and closer to the heat of her center. He filled her mind with images of her lost in rapture, building them over and over as she became reacquainted with her own body and the pleasure it—he—could give her. Images of him pleasing her, of both finding exquisite release with each other, filled their minds.
“You are a treasure,” he told her, inhaling and finding the intoxicating scent of her arousal. He dipped in and flicked his tongue against her core. She nearly screamed, but not in fear. In bliss. She shook with it. “Feel me, hear me, know me.” The words fell from his thoughts as he suckled and licked at her inner heat. She arched, clutching at the bed, rocking her head back and forth with each touch. She rose higher and higher on pulsing waves of energy.
He flicked and delved, coaxed and teased, taking her to heights she’d never known. Shudders rocked her body. He never relented, bombarding her with a mixture of his physical touch and the images in his mind.
Her release was shattering when it hit, consuming them both in the conflagration of ecstasy. Sparks ignited behind his eyes as the shared connection erupted in a passionate firestorm. Harsh gasps filled the room when he stood, completely naked. He lifted her effortlessly to the center of the bed and rose over her. He ached, he was so full, eager to feel her body, dying to claim her as only a man could claim a woman. He licked a trail from her hip to her shoulder, his palms on either side of her head as he rested his hips between her thighs. Heat from her body swamped him and he clenched his muscles to not succumb to the temptation too quickly.
Her eyes snapped open at the first press of weight against her body. She stiffened, staring at him wild-eyed. He froze instantly. “I would never hurt you,” he told her, deliberately saying the words to bring her focus to him. She looked wild. Flame and cinnamon red hair spread beneath her, framing wide and anxious golden eyes. No one was as beautiful to him. Changing his intent, he laid down on his shoulder beside her and stroked her side with a loving touch, cupping one of her breasts with gentle fingers until she relaxed again.
She turned and found his stare. The image he shared was self-explanatory and completely up to her. Her breasts rose and fell with panting breaths. He stayed still as she made the decision, aching but patient, knowing she needed to make the next step.
It didn’t take her long to feel in control once more. Pushing against his body, she easily rolled him onto his back, pressing slow, wicked kisses to his chest as she took the initiative. He groaned like a dying man when he felt the heated dampness of her mouth on his neck, her lips sliding with silken heat across nerves that hungered for her touch. Instinctively, he arched into the sensation, tilting until he was an offering for her exploration. It was his turn to fist the covers into knots as he fought the rolling urge to bellow his desire, loud and hungry for her. He had never felt anything as decadent in his lifetime as the heated torture of her mouth on his own neck, against nerves that were screaming for release.
She trailed up and down his throat, pausing to nip and twirl her tongue against him until he had to close his eyes to the colliding stars in his vision. The groan of pleasure was unstoppable when she found the tumultuous beat of his body, suckling against its pounding as he had done to her. Ecstasy made him shake until she released him, willing himself to stay still, to give her all the control she could want or need. Sparks rose when the billowing length of her hair razed his shoulder, draping like a red curtain across his body. She was deliberately taunting him, knowing he wouldn’t move an inch while she held him spellbound. She only laughed when he growled once in aroused frustration. There was no misunderstanding. The way they shared each other’s thoughts and pleasures didn’t leave room for it.
Straddling his hips, she slid down onto his length, gasping as new pulses of pleasure struck them both. “Joaquin!” Lily’s head snapped back in ecstasy. He gritted his teeth to not move too soon. Shudders racked his body with the strength of his restraint.
Lily was killing him. She enveloped him. Tight. Fiery. Passion consumed him. A fire he’d never touched raced over his body, between them, until he feared he would be next to go up like a flame, out of control. She slid along his shaft, clenching him within her body like a silken fist. Her short nails scored down his chest as desire rode over them both. Everywhere she touched came alive with a molten burn.
He coaxed her down to blanket his chest, finding her mouth and devouring her kiss. Absorbed in sensation, he lifted his hips, thrusting into her welcoming body and she cried out in endless pleasure. Control was quickly slipping to a point neither could maintain. She flexed, meeting his thrusts, stretched above him. The fire within rose like a wall of flame, scorching him from the inside out. Sharp, pleasure-filled cries filled the room. Her breasts swayed above him and he lifted, lapping at a succulent nipple, and felt her reaction clear down to his toes.
Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled, pinning her beneath his weight. There wasn’t a glimmer of fear in her thoughts, everything about her absorbed in the sensations between them. And absolute trust. He’d never experienced a more pure gift. Her thoughts were wide open, like her body, welcoming, sharing. Joaquin opened his thoughts, letting her see the vision she was.
She was beautiful, her face flushed with desire, her eyes glinting with passion. She stole his breath when she caught his gaze. Her expression was guileless, absorbed. Finding her lips, he kissed her, wanting to take her within his soul and keep her there, safe and his for eternity.
She shuddered in bliss and arched her neck when he finally set her lips free. “I know what you need. Take what I offer.” Her eyes drifted closed even as her body held his length tight, unrelenting.
“My lovely flower, my Lily. You accept me like no one ever has.”
Her mouth grew supple as she smiled, her fingers caressing his shoulders. “I can for you. When it is you and me, it feels perfect, right.”
He knew exactly what she meant. He’d never felt anything so right in his life. There was no physical need this time. It was more, deeper, compulsory. He had taken earlier when he had been wounded, and just a few drops moments before, sealing her to him forever. Need didn’t play a part in her offering. It was instinctive, maybe even primal, to claim her in all ways. And thoroughly impossible to resist.
He dipped to brush a tender kiss against her mouth, savoring the delicate sensations against his own. He sipped, sliding against her body in sheer bliss as he filled her over and over, her
body accepting him as eagerly as her heart and soul had. He groaned, feeling her leg running up the length of his calf. Drifting down her jaw, he drew her earlobe into his mouth, toying with the bit between his teeth, nibbling playfully. She reacted, her entire body arching against his in passion. Quick pants and clipped moans reached him. The sharp rake of her fingernails against his body drew his eyes closed in heightened arousal.
His next thrust moved his hands under her shoulders and he pierced her, the richness of her life flowing over his tongue even as her release erupted past his ears with a sharp cry. Passion drove him. She writhed and clawed, the sharp rake of her nails on his back as potent as her taste. He filled her body over and over, claiming, taking, pleasuring. Lightning pulsed along his spine and he craved the sensation, drove himself toward more, toward the ultimate ecstasy. Sweeping against her throat, the surge grew, clutching at him until there was no choice but to answer her call. He held her tightly, losing himself in her body. Losing himself to her heart.
Her cry met his, ecstasy gripping them both as eternal pleasure sent them careening beyond the wall of fire.
* * * *
Lily’s eyes drifted open, feeling languid and relaxed in ways she couldn’t remember. Hazy, late day sunlight patterned by the slats of her blinds brightened her room. This morning she’d missed her first sunrise in weeks.
Because Joaquin had loved her continually until she’d fallen asleep in his arms. She didn’t even know when he’d left her.
Stretching out a hand to the other side of the bed, the spot he’d lain in was long cold. A sigh left her. She might as well get used to it. There were some obstacles they weren’t going to be able to get over.
No matter how much she loved him.
Her hand stopped its meandering pattern through the sunrays splashed across the covers. The hard rasping beat of her heart told her she wasn’t asleep. And proved she’d really had that thought. Shocked, she blinked, but couldn’t deny it was invigorating, couldn’t deny it was true either. She was in love with a man she barely knew, but trusted implicitly. A man who had seen the world and had suffered. He was a vampire. She almost giggled, but stifled it, sticking her head into a gripped pillow to force her thoughts in line.
In control once more, she lifted herself and turned toward her nightstand. According to the clock, it was after five. About time for her to get out of bed anyway.
Pushing blankets out of the way, she padded to the bathroom and actually made herself look in the mirror, studying her reflection, something she’d done very little of since she’d been rescued from the compound. What did Joaquin see? She wasn’t some classic beauty. She had freckles over a lot of her face. Glancing down, she saw the scarred reminders of her past beneath her chin and beyond. She traced a finger over the ones on the top of her breast, knowing she’d felt revulsion before at the hideous sight. Now she felt Joaquin’s trailing touch. They were still obvious and ugly, but she almost understood his words, that they were a part of her as he knew her. They weren’t important to how he saw her. And he thought she was a gift to him. The stunning realization made her smile.
She lifted the swath of her hair away from her body, exposing the hickey on her neck, and she grinned, remembering every detail about how she’d acquired it. Lily covered the mark with a palm, pressing against it, and swore she felt his touch, his lips as they caressed her. She shook her head and dropped her hand, feeling silly for the self-indulgent thoughts. The weight of her hair covered it well when she let it fall again. It wouldn’t do for Tabitha to see it. She wouldn’t understand. Two weeks ago, she wouldn’t have understood either.
Thinking of her, Lily quickly showered and dressed to see how the other woman was doing today. Amy took the morning shifts after Lily went to bed and Kathy would sit with her until late afternoon. Tani would usually take half the night, but with her and Diego hunting for some sign of David with Nathan, Lily had spent most of her evenings with Tabitha. Last night had been an exception. Regardless of what had happened, Tabitha was going to need time to regroup, get her strength back and adjust. Lily believed Tabitha was more resilient than they were giving her credit for.
There was a strength in Tabitha that was buried, abused and hurting. She really wanted to see that strength in her friend again. It was her strength that had shown Lily that Tabitha could be telepathic if she tried for it. It just wasn’t an easy task for her. It was that same strength Lily hoped would buoy Tabitha through the coming months of her recovery. She was going to need all the help she could get.
An eerie quiet filled the house when she finally stepped through her doorway into the hallway. Looking into Tabitha’s room, she was resting, but alone. She turned to look over her shoulder, wondering where the odd, wary, tingled finger of warning sliding down her spine was coming from. Lily released a breath to calm her edgy nerves before she turned the corner into the woman’s bedroom, but a sound stopped her.
“Houston?” No answer. She called for Laney, hesitant to knock on their door with her getting used to being pregnant. She’d done nothing but sleep all week. Backtracking, she knocked on Amy’s door, then Kathy’s to get silence from both rooms.
She cast a worried look into Tab’s room again, then jogged downstairs to see if there was a note. Maybe they had gone to town to buy groceries. Maybe the other two girls were in the basement.
Maybe she wasn’t as alone in the house as it felt.
The sun was still high on the setting horizon, hours from sundown. That limited who could be there, lurking, by several. Searching the kitchen, she didn’t find a note. Whirling from the counter, she searched with a sweeping look, nervous energy making her jumpy. She knew she’d heard something.
“Who’s there? Amy? Kathy?” she called, hoping like hell if it wasn’t one of them, it was just a tree outside making noises along the side of the house somewhere. Damn it! Where is everyone?
Diego, Tani, and Joaquin wouldn’t show up until sunset. That was a given. So it wasn’t them. They didn’t slink around the house in any fashion to begin with. Quiet, yes. Sneaking like silent ghosts, no. With cautious steps, she exited the kitchen and searched the front room and the living room. Everything looked the way it was supposed to. Nothing looked out of place. It didn’t matter. Something was wrong.
Shaking her hands out, she drew a breath. She was creeping herself out. There was nothing wrong in the house. So everyone had left her. She could handle it.
Her heart hit her ribs when she heard it again. A thud. Had to be a tree branch hitting the house. Nothing moved inside. She knew it was just her and Tabitha, for some reason, somehow, they were the only two in the house.
When a hand shoved a rough cloth against her mouth and a harsh, stinging liquid seared her lungs, she knew she wasn’t alone at all.
* * * *
“I’m sorry, Lily.”
She blinked, but there was only a blurred, watery light from everywhere and it was slicing her brain in half. She snapped her eyes shut, trying to focus, too disoriented to manage more. She felt like she was in her own body, but it definitely wasn’t acting like it was hers. Her nerves felt numb and her entire body felt sluggish.
“You have to believe me,” the voice said. The light passed and it was dark. Then it happened again, and passed. Streetlights? Where am I? There weren’t streetlights anywhere near the house.
She tried to speak, but couldn’t. There was tape over her mouth. Rolling her head weakly, she turned and squinted at the person next to her. After two seconds, she closed them again, unable to keep her stomach from rebelling, and vomiting with her mouth sealed was a death sentence. Sucking air through her nose, the deliberate actions began to sweep away the grogginess of whatever drug it was he’d knocked her out with.
She opened her eyes at some point when she thought she could handle it and tried to see who was driving.
Shock sent ice cascading through her veins. David? It looked like him, but he looked like he’d been through a meat grinder. Scrapes and c
uts across his face showed he’d been brutally attacked, and one eye was bruised a deep mosaic of purple and blue. Trying to shift her weight seemed harder than usual, until she realized she was bound. Gagged and bound. Lovely. And no clue what was happening. Or why.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. Remorse and pain were woven deeply into the apology. “But I can’t let them hurt my sisters. I can’t take the chance that they will,” he entreated. He lifted a hand and ran it under his nose, wincing at the motion. She spotted more caked blood on his arms. He shook his head, running a hand down filthy jeans, then gripped the wheel. What she could see of him was a wreck in every sense of the word. He had yet to look at her.
“Nathan was right. There is a chip. I have it. They told me so. That’s how they found me at that roadside rat’s nest. I fought like hell to remember what had happened when they got me the first time. I was scared,” he admitted, choking hard to not crumble. He moaned once as remembered pains surfaced of when they’d abducted him, rocking him with shudders of agony, then, “Oh, yeah. I remembered.” He cursed and banged the wheel with a fist, his voice filling with rage and more pain. “Five hours and they would have been there. They would have been right on top of us! Because of me!”
His Redeemer's Kiss Page 19
