The Vampires' Blood Mate: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance

by Lili Zander

24

  Raven

  Boarus 4

  Past midnight, TenthDay of FourthMonth

  All day, I huddled in the small lean-to with the three vampires, not knowing if they were alive or dead, not knowing if their attempt to rescue me had ended up costing them their lives.

  Twice, I heard the familiar thump-thump-thump of the choppers, and each time, I’d been paralyzed with fear. In that small room, I imagined every worst-case scenario. The enforcers tracking me to this cabin, bursting in with their guns and killing me, the way they did the vampire that had bitten me. The vampires, defenseless, trapped in deep slumber, unable to do anything about it.

  Even worse was the idea of the enforcers turning their guns on Saber, Nero, and Zeke.

  But though I waited, tense and nervous, dreading my inevitable discovery, they didn't come for me.

  Which could only mean one other thing. If the choppers weren’t looking for me, they came to rescue the contestants. Twice, I heard them. Two contestants are in trouble and have chosen to give up. Or worse.

  Alone in the cabin, I’d been trapped with all my demons, unable to escape. I relived the day my parents were torn from me. I saw friends die, frozen in the ice. My first lover, Baird Shaw was attacked by a pack of s’kal cats, mauled to shreds. All day, grim death stalked me, and I confronted loss at every turn.

  The tears had fallen unchecked, and not all of them for past friends. Most of the tears were reserved for Zeke, Nero, and Saber, who had put my safety above theirs. Who had resisted the tug of deep slumber, stayed awake even though the sunlight would burn them, and had saved my life.

  When they wake at dusk, sheer relief and adrenaline carry me through for a while, but then the day catches up with me. I start to shiver. I feel myself sway, my head throbbing, the room spinning around me. Nero shouts out, but I can’t hear what he says.

  And then, it all goes quiet.

  I'm warm.

  I don't expect to be, not in Glacis. Opening my eyes, I see that I’m lying on a mattress. A thick blanket is covering me, and two bodies lie on either side of me, radiating still more heat. Saber and Nero.

  For a second, I sigh in contentment, savoring the feel of them against me, and then I remember everything else. The Night of the Shayde, the enforcers, Olaf Vander’s dead body.

  I try to sit up, and Nero’s arm tightens around my waist. “Take it easy, little Raven,” he says softly. “You gave us a bad scare.”

  “What happened?”

  Saber’s glacier-blue eyes rest on me. “You fainted. One second, you were talking to us, and the next, you were crashing to the floor.”

  “Sorry,” I mumble, feeling like a fool. “I'm not really the fainting sort. You must think I’m a weakling.”

  He snorts, and the sound is so strange coming from the always-controlled vampire that it makes me giggle. “You survived ten years on Glacis. You made an ice boat. You loaded the three of us onto the skimmer and found us shelter. You saved our lives. Nobody doubts your strength, Raven Unnuk.”

  My cheeks heat at his praise. I’m very aware of their bodies pressing against me. When I take a breath, their scent fills me, smoky and tantalizing and very male. Yesterday, I’d seen Saber naked, and the sight is seared into my mind. His tight muscles, his thick, beautiful cock, his impressive girth. He’d looked as if he’d been carved from stone. Pure, male perfection. Nero’s leaner than Saber, built like a runner. What would he look like naked? And Zeke? Hot desire runs through my body, and from the way their nostrils flare, they can tell I’m aroused.

  They’ve lit a fire. It fills the space with warmth and light. I get to my feet, moving closer to it. They’ve also set up three narrow beds in addition to the one I’m lying on. The room is crowded but cozy. “What time is it?”

  “Two in the morning.”

  Vampire hours. I spent the entire day worried about Nero, Saber, and Zeke. I’m at least twelve hours behind the other contestants. Right now, I can’t bring myself to care.

  Right now, the only thing that matters is the growing ache inside me. An ache that I want them to fill.

  “Where’s Zeke?”

  “He was going out of his mind with worry, waiting for you to wake up, so I sent him to keep watch,” Saber replies. “He’s just outside.”

  “No, he’s not.” Zeke enters the room. “I heard voices.” His gaze sweeps over me. “You’re awake. Can I get you anything? A hot soup to warm you, perhaps?”

  “Soup? You have human food?”

  “Of course.” He looks puzzled by my surprise. “Why wouldn’t we have food for you? Most of what we brought is travel supplies, unfortunately. Nothing too fancy, but it should be tasty enough once it’s re-hydrated.”

  There’s a lump in my throat. Zeke is looking puzzled, but he doesn’t get it. All my life, I’ve been treated like a second-class citizen. Zeke doesn't realize how surreal it is to be treated like an actual person. To be treated with care, as if I'm precious and cherished.

  Nobody doubts your strength, Raven Unnuk.

  For a few hours, I don’t want to be strong. I don’t want to be smart. For a few hours, all I want to do is drop my walls and invite them in.

  Yesterday, I’d hesitated. Today, any reticence is gone. We almost died out on Glacis, all four of us. I can’t pretend anymore.

  I don’t want soup; I want them. I start picking at my braids. “On Boarus 4,” I whisper, “A woman only undoes her braids for a man she wants to bed.” I swallow my nerves away. “Or men.”

  Their eyes lock on mine. “I remember,” Saber says softly.

  “I’ve had sex before,” I continue. “I’ve bedded men for warmth, for an extra set of rations, for something to temporarily take me away from the re-education camps. But never just for pleasure.”

  Nero’s breath catches. “That’s a shame,” he mutters, getting to his feet and encircling me from behind, kissing the curve of my neck softly. “An injustice really. One that begs to be remedied.”

  His stubble rasps against my skin, sending a shiver of longing through me. “I can feel your pulse,” he breathes. “Fluttering like a caged bird.” His finger lazily brushes over my nipple. “Are you afraid of us, Raven?”

  He could snap my neck like a twig if he wanted. I’ve never felt safer in my life.

  “No.”

  “Good.” He moves to my other nipple, stroking it, teasing it erect. It sticks out under my thin inner shirt. Zeke inhales sharply, and my mind flashes back to the first time I met the three vampires. Zeke had caressed my nipples then. He’d undone the fastenings of my jumpsuit and run his hands over my breasts. He’d flicked my nipple with his thumb.

  Zeke’s eyes had been concerned then, though I hadn’t understood why. They’re hooded with desire now. He sits down on one of the beds and leans back. Watching me. Watching Nero touch me.

  Saber gets up, as sleek as a s’kal cat. He moves closer, close enough that my breasts brush against his chest. “I want you, Raven,” he rasps, soft and low.

  “That’s good.” My breathing is coming in little gasps. They’ve barely touched me, and I’m panting like I’ve been running all night.

  His mouth quirks at the corners, but his expression stays serious. “Tell me you want this for the right reasons. Tell me this isn’t adherence to the ridiculous laws of Boarus 4. Tell me this isn’t gratitude.”

  His erection is visible under his pants. I don’t have to close my eyes to remember the feel of his cock in my mouth. The unexpected heat of him. The way his hands had tightened in my hair.

  He thinks this is gratitude? Right now, the only emotion I feel is desire. Lust runs rampant through my blood.

  Saber mistakes my silence for hesitation. “You don’t have to do this,” he says quietly. “Despite what you might think, you don’t owe us anything. I want your willing, enthusiastic consent.”

  “You have it.” I wriggle out of my inner layers. It’s warm here, but goosebumps still rise on my skin as I get naked.

  Sabe
r’s eyes glisten with dark heat. He bends his head toward me, almost in slow motion. My heart hammers in my chest, but my insides clench with anticipation. I can’t remember wanting someone with this much aching need.

  “Prove it,” he whispers against my lips.

  Great Spirit, isn’t my need obvious? My nipples are puckered and swollen. My insides are burning up. My pussy…

  I wrap my fingers around Saber’s wrist, tugging it to my core. “I want this,” I whisper as he swipes a finger between my legs and finds me hot and ready, slick with need.

  He growls deep in his throat, bringing my juices up to his mouth. Just as he’s about to lick his fingers clean, a sudden, horrifying thought strikes me. “Stop,” I yelp, grabbing his hand. “What if… the disease…?”

  Behind me, Nero goes still.

  Saber raises an eyebrow. “Extremely unlikely.”

  Argh. Typical vampire arrogance. Why aren’t they taking me seriously? Olaf Vander’s mutilated body swims into my mind. Saber’s still hard. Shouldn’t the idea of dying horribly be an erection-killer?

  He reads my mutinous expression. “We’ve shared meals with you,” he points out.

  “Besides,” Zeke adds from his bed. Wait a second, when did he remove his shirt? His chest is muscled perfection. I want to run my hands all over his skin. Lick each dark nipple with my tongue…

  Blood disease, Raven. Focus. Zeke’s saying something.

  “…who built this weapon were looking for power and control, not carnage,” Zeke continues. “I’m absolutely certain that it’s only your blood that we can’t drink.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Nero says promptly. He tweaks a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and a rush of molten need assaults me. He kisses the nape of my neck, his lips warm. “Zeke, are you planning on joining us, or are you watching?”

  Zeke just chuckles in reply.

  I’m still clutching Saber’s hand. “What if Zeke’s wrong?”

  “There’s one way to find out,” Saber replies. He moves even closer, standing so near me that we seem to breathe the same air. It’s intoxicating. Sandwiched between the two men, watched by a third, surrounded by danger on all sides, I’ve never felt so alive.

  His finger still glistens with my juices. Slowly—oh so slowly—he puts it in his mouth, sucking it clean.

  For several moments, there’s no noise in the room except for the crackle of the fire.

  I wait, my pulse racing, my throat dry, but he’s right. Olaf’s reaction was instantaneous, his screams starting almost as soon as he bit me. Saber seems entirely unaffected.

  No agonizing shrieks of pain. No horrible green pus.

  Saber’s eyes twinkle. “See?” His lips meet mine, warm and firm. His hand rests on my waist, drawing me closer.

  For a second, I’m still tense with worry. I’m tainted. A weapon designed to kill. What if kissing him will pass on the disease?

  Then Nero pinches my nipple sharply. “You worry too much, Raven,” he says. “You have three men here, intent on pleasuring you.” He rolls my engorged nub between his fingers, and another surge of heat overtakes me. “We’re going to take you in every way possible. Make you scream our names. That’s the only thing you should be thinking about.”

  In my periphery, I see Zeke get to his feet. He’s fully naked. His cock is thick and long, and I want it. I want him.

  My need has been building ever since I met them. It’s bursting out of me now, and I can’t keep it contained. I can’t hold back.

  Saber’s fine. He hasn’t melted away. He’s not dead. I half-whimper and half-groan, and I tilt my head up, pressing against his lips, and deepening the kiss. His tongue slides against the seam of my lips, demanding entry.

  “So pretty,” Zeke mutters. They shift positions, Saber moving fractionally to the side, allowing Zeke entry into the tight circle of men around me. “I’ve been fantasizing about these breasts.” He squeezes one even as Nero works on the other, and then he sucks my nipple into his mouth.

  Great Spirit, this is so good.

  I open my mouth and kiss Saber back. Blood pounds in my head as he deepens the intensity of the kiss. An insistent wave of heat pulses through me.

  Behind me, Nero drops to his knees. He kisses the curve of my ass, his stubble prickling my skin. He rains small kisses on the back of my thighs. On the tender skin behind my knee. My calves. My inner thighs.

  I’m teetering at the edge of control. It’s too much. Three guys. Three warm mouths on my skin. Three sets of talented fingers, bringing every nerve ending flaring to life. Three erect cocks, promising to fill me completely.

  “Spread your legs.”

  Lost as I am in a haze of lust and longing, I’m a little slow to comply. Nero’s hands wrap around my ankles, pushing my legs apart. “I can’t wait to taste you,” he murmurs, dark promise in his voice.

  He’s between my legs. Great Spirit, his fingers are parting my folds… his tongue is licking my slit. An explosion of pleasure rips through me at his touch. Too much pleasure. I can’t take it. I squirm away from his too-talented mouth, and he growls with displeasure. “Hold her, Zeke.”

  I am burning up. I am an inferno.

  Zeke grins wickedly. Stepping behind me, he pulls my hands behind my back. “Stay open for him,” he whispers into my ear. “I want to watch you come, Raven.” His mouth nibbles at my earlobe, soft, then sharp, delicate, then rough.

  Wave after wave of arousal wracks me. Saber moves his attention to my breasts. His fingers play with my nipples, pinching them and pulling them. My breasts go heavy with desire, and I gasp with pleasure at his touch.

  Held in place by Zeke, I can’t escape the attention Nero lavishes on my pussy. Not that I want to. Nero resumes licking me, his strokes long and steady. I’m lost in a delirious haze. I ache everywhere. My nipples throb as Saber teases them. My skin sparks as Zeke’s fingertips trail down my body. I tremble as the three vampires feast on me as if I were a rare delicacy to be savored.

  My muscles start to clench. Nero, sensing that I’m close to release, pushes two fingers inside me. His tongue dances over my clit, harder, faster. I gasp, and my fingers grip at the nearest object, which happens to be Zeke’s cock. From his groan, he doesn’t mind.

  I try to focus on the weight of Zeke’s cock. On the throbbing in my nipples as Saber lavishes attention on them. On the crackling of the fire. On the warmth in the small shelter.

  But my orgasm hurtles toward me, refusing to be denied. “Please,” I whimper.

  Nero thrusts his fingers in and out of me. His tongue swirls tight circles around my bud. I squirm and try to flail away once more, but Zeke’s not letting me go. “Don’t fight it,” Saber orders, his glacier-blue eyes hazy with desire. “Let go. Let us hear you scream with pleasure, kära.”

  I’m so close. Every muscle in my body is tight in anticipation of the storm that’s threatening to erupt. Then Nero sucks my clit gently between his teeth. The dam bursts and I explode, shaking as wave after wave of pleasure washes over me.

  Nero gets to his feet, a satisfied smile on his face. “I thought my fantasies were hot,” he says, kissing me deeply. I can taste myself on his mouth, and it’s so carnal. So hot. “But the reality…”

  Zeke shoulders Nero out of the way. “Lay her down,” Saber suggests. Zeke obligingly presses me onto the bed, and his gaze rakes over me, slowly and thoroughly, taking in every inch of my naked body.

  I’ve already come once, but I still blush in response to his scrutiny. I’m spread out for them. I feel the undisguised desire in their gazes like a physical touch. I want them to take me. I want to feel them sliding inside me, hot and hard.

  Zeke’s already naked. I watch greedily as Saber and Nero undress too, their muscles rippling as they disrobe.

  I had Saber’s cock in my mouth. Was that only yesterday? But I was half-asleep. This… this isn’t a sight I’m going to forget.

  Three vampires. Naked. Lean and tightly muscled. Hard and erect.
<
br />   Great Spirit, they’re all so large.

  Zeke chuckles, a low, sensual sound. “That’s a very flattering reaction.”

  He kneels between my legs and spread my thighs open. “What are you doing?” I gasp, as he lowers his head. “I can’t come again.”

  “Can’t you?” His eyes are laughing at me. “Challenge yourself.” He slides a finger into my heat. “You’re soaked,” he says, his tone satisfied. He holds my gaze in his, and lifts his finger up to his mouth, sucking them between his lips. “Still alive,” he says with a wink.

  “Jerk.”

  He chuckles. “Guilty as charged.” He kisses my inner thigh. “You smell sweet and dangerous, and oh-so-tantalizing, and I’ve been aching for you since the moment I first set eyes on you. Why should Nero get to have all the fun?”

  “Because I act first and think later,” Nero quips, winking at me.

  Saber and Nero climb on the bed, on either side of me. Saber rolls the nipple closest to him between his thumb and forefinger, and I whimper in pleasure. His eyes fill with dark promise. “This is just the beginning,” he murmurs. “We have all night.”

  We probably don’t, but for the moment, I don’t want other concerns to intrude. The tournament can wait. Just for a little while.

  I tug the nearest guy—Nero—toward me, reaching for his cock. “I want to taste you,” I whisper.

  “Fuck, yes,” he says, his voice hoarse. He shifts position so his erection bobs near my mouth. I turn on my side and wrap my fingers around his length. He groans, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his head back as I close my mouth over him.

  As Zeke spreads my lips and licks my core, Saber’s teeth tease my nipples, the sensation sharp and hot. As Zeke rubs his face along my thighs and trails kisses there, I bob my head up and down Nero’s shaft.

  We’re not four distinct people anymore. We’re a tangle of legs and arms and heat. I’ve never felt this way. My arousal rises alarmingly fast. Saber’s hand squeezes my breast, while Nero grips my hair and tugs me closer.

  Zeke’s fingers slide into my heat, while his tongue pays relentless attention to my engorged bundle of nerves. Saber’s fingers tug at my nipples; his lips rain kisses down on the curve of my shoulder. Nero’s cock throbs in my mouth, growing even larger as I swirl my tongue over his head.