Bitten

by Kim Faulks

  “You took my blood. So it’s only fair… don’t you think?”

  He lifted his head and pierced me with an intoxicating stare. His fangs peeked from under sensual lips. Molten need spilled within me. I arched my back and touched his face. “Yes, it’s only fair.”

  The strike was quick, brutal. I became the reptile’s feast. Kol’s hand slipped under one side of my ass. My head fell from the edge of the sofa and smacked against the cushions as he dragged me toward the end, never once moving his mouth from the crease of my thigh.

  I grasped the stitching until my nails bowed. Greedy sucks sent my heart thundering. I lifted my head to see the kiss at the furrow of my leg. He was taking too much… he was….

  One hard pull and his lips left my body. My blood shone black against the dusty shadows, falling in rivulets down the groove and over the curve of my crease. Kol lifted his head and I was lost. Lost in the very feel of him, lost with desire.

  “Take… take all you want… take everything.”

  The merciless curve of his lips said it all. Blue left me replaced by lightning so bright it hurt my eyes. His frigid tongue swept along me and lingered at the tip of my crease. Ice danced in circles, unfurling the very essence of who I was.

  I wrenched my head up, catching a glimpse of red, white and darkness. Kol lowered his body allowing me to see as he branded my flesh with the soft graze of his fangs.

  Warm blood trickled over my mound to slip into the groove of my body. The red rivulets were met by the hard slide of his tongue. He lapped at the edges of my humanity and exposed the base instincts. My hand fluttered to his head. Soft curls lapped my fingers, like his greedy mouth took bold possession of my body.

  I’d give him anything in this moment. I’d let him do anything he wanted, anything he needed… as long as he didn’t stop—never stopped.

  Agile fingers joined the fray, melding into the deepest parts of me. Something tugged at my core, aflame with his touch I unraveled. I drove my hips up to meet him and clenched my fist through his hair.

  A cry slipped free, inhuman, incensed. I burned… I burned. My body jerked and shuddered finally surrendering. Electricity hummed through my core, sending sudden jolts through my skin. My hand smacked against the sofa.

  I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think.

  Kol lifted his head, tearing his lips from my body. Blood smeared his cheek, but his lips shone with something else. I shoved against the cushions to rise to my elbows. My body trembled like a newborn as I rolled to the side and gripped the edges of the seat.

  He rose like a god to dominate the room. His pale skin glistened against the fire, dark trousers swallowed the light. I gripped my thighs and forced myself to rise.

  My body was satisfied, but my soul wasn’t. I wanted this man, more than I wanted air to breathe. I wanted to touch him, to love him. I wanted to be consumed by him.

  I licked my dry lips and whispered. “I want.”

  The harsh word slipped free. He moved slowly, covering the distance in a heartbeat. “You want….”

  Words left me stranded. What if he didn’t want the same?

  He stood in front of me, sleek, powerful, commanding every thud inside my chest and every ragged breath with his fervid gaze. Something shimmered under the surface, sadness… longing….

  Blood trickled down my thigh like a warm caress. Reflex turned my hand and exposed my wrists. His hand was in my hair before I knew he moved, pulling the strands taut.

  There was no pain this time, only a dark brutality that reminded me this was no man… no man like I’d ever known.

  He wrenched my head to the side, exposing the long line of vein.

  His breath was light against my skin, finding another jolt between my thighs as he murmured. “Let me see if I can help you. You want what every mortal wants. You want love. You want passion that consumes you, that drives you to the brink of what is both wrong and right. You want it all and you want it now—with just a hint of danger.” He pulled away. The tide chopped and churned in his eyes, inviting me to play in the undertow. “But I'm warning you, Nova Flynn. I am more than a hint--I'm a full blown inhuman, merciless desire that's designed to bring you to your knees, and that's exactly where I want you. On. Your. Knees.”

  He slid his hand from my hair to the back of my neck, guiding me, slowing my descent as I buckled. My knees hit the wooden floor with a thud. His hand lingered on my neck, allowing me to find myself amongst the layers of his clothing.

  My fingers shook as I reached for his waist. I found the tongue of his belt. The buckle clinked as I opened the clasp.

  I couldn’t seem to work the button, my shaking grip failing to find the metal clasp inside. Kol moved against me, brushing my cheek with a hard thigh… except it wasn’t his thigh.

  Sure fingers held my head rock steady as he pushed against my face. The black fabric hid the contours in the darkness. But I knew his true intentions now. I yanked the end of his trousers. The metal clasp buckled and tore free, something hit the floor with a ping to my right. I stared at my fingers and searched the frayed cloth.

  His blood. I drank his blood.

  “Healed you, made you strong, that’s all. Don’t be afraid.”

  His soothing voice wrapped around me. Kol drifted through my mind. I won’t pry into your thoughts. If you want me to know something push them toward me. I won’t hurt you. I’ll take more than I give. You’ll never have to fear me.

  I nodded and yanked the tab of the zipper. Steel teeth gaped, smiling. The whisper of sliding fabric filled my ears before it ended with a soft whump at his feet.

  Behind me soft silver rays spilled through the window to touch him. He shone with the luminescence, as though the moon had cracked open and spilled its magic into this man.

  He truly was the night.

  I leaned in to press his thick shaft against my cheek. So cold, he was ice against my skin. I wrapped my fingers around him and gripped tight. His skin slipped under my fist. I moved my hand along to the tip, then backwards. He grew thicker, harder, longer.

  I didn’t think, didn’t speak. I let my body take over. Absorbed by the feel of him I opened my mouth, replacing the warmth of my hand with my tongue. Ice parted my lips and rode my mouth. I pushed him as far as he would go. His fingers probed the back of my head. I knew the urgency, the rhythm.

  Long and slow he dragged himself from my mouth only to plunge back in. The pressure of my head eased as he slipped his fingers to the base of my skull and gently coaxed me upwards.

  My hand replaced my mouth, back and forwards. I rose on trembling legs, leaving the perfect feel of his cock to trail the hard muscle of his thigh, and higher.

  I slowed at the soft curve of his chest. His nipple tightened under the brush of my finger tip. I skirted the edges with the edge of my nail.

  His body was rock hard, as was his focus. I wanted more, more terror, more love. I pressed my nail harder wanting more than the unflinching steel of this man. A sharp hiss tightened my stomach. I stepped closer, scraping his arm with my breasts and drove my nail deeper.

  The low snarl was carnal and savage. It was a warning sound that turned my belly to water. A dark drip welled. Black on silver the blood inched down the slope of his chest. I dropped my head and flicked out my tongue, capturing the trickle.

  Strong and bitter, he left a salty aftertaste at the back of my throat. I sucked, taking him deeper, wanting more inside me, until he took a step away, breaking the connection. “Enough, Nova. Enough….”

  “No,” the sound was not my own, fierce and wild. “I want more. More of you, more of what you are… I don’t want to fight this anymore. I don’t want to fight what I feel for you.”

  He shook his head, melting into the shadows. I ached, carved down the middle I felt something deeper than my thoughts and my body shatter. “Don’t… don’t leave me. Please….”

  Nova

  His voice came from the shadows. Cold and yet regretful. “Humans do not love what I am�
��they lust after the darkness and the danger—but make no mistake, it is never love. What I am is a monster. I’m designed to excite you. I’m created to entice you. I will give you everything you want, and nothing you need. I’ll take you around the world. I’ll kiss you in every beautiful place. I’ll uncover your desires and fuck you in the darkest of places—in your mind. I’ll spread like a disease through your life, turning every thought, every need you’ll ever have back to me. I’ll destroy you in the most beautiful way possible, and when the time comes, I’ll leave you… I’ll leave and never look back, because this curse is what I am.”

  Something dark glistened at the corner of his eye.

  “I’m a vampire, I consume and leave a trail of bodies behind, nothing more.”

  I thought of my momma, how cancer had ravaged her body and her soul. I thought of my life and my wasted years with Jared. Kol made me feel powerful, he made me feel sexy and loved. I swallowed hard. “Then make me what you are. Turn me, now… tonight and we’ll be monsters together.”

  His pale face loomed from the darkness. “You would do that? You would do that for me?”

  I shook my head. “No, but I would do that for me.”

  His smile was deadly. “I knew as soon as I saw you that you were going to be a problem.”

  I found the steel in my spine and straightened my shoulders. “Not so long as you remember what I told you… never piss off a woman.”

  The room was filled with the crackle and hiss of the fire. He stepped closer… like a ghost. The dark trail of blood shone against his chest and slipped down the hard ridges of his stomach. “So very true. I wouldn’t want to do that.”

  His hands were around my waist, lifting me against his body. His cock rubbed against the crease of my ass, probing and pushing against places I would’ve recoiled from. The feel of his body felt right. This felt right. I’d never felt so ready in my life.

  He cupped my thighs and lowered me to the floor. The hard wood was made soft by his hands. His knees pushed against my legs, forcing me to splay my thighs.

  He closed his eyes as he crouched. I waited for him to move, my flayed nerves screaming… pleading. His cock hung thick between us, the tip rubbing against my navel as he moved.

  “Look at me.”

  I found his gaze, neon blue pools dragged me under.

  “Do not look away.” He lowered his body.

  The upward sweep had him pressing against my opening. My nails pierced his arms. I sucked in a breath and tensed. The soft pressure eased, then pushed again. My body opened up, expanding, drawing him inside.

  Something bit. The sting was instant. I jerked, clenching tighter as he slid all the way inside. Still I held that focus, I paddled in those murky depths as he withdrew, until his body surged into mine.

  The tide surged, growing with intensity, melding the pain into pleasure. Kol shoved harder, deliberately stretching my body. I grasped his arms forcing myself to meet the downward thrust. The slick sounds send a charge through my body, speeding my febrile pulse.

  My control was slipping, incensed by the sounds of our bodies together and the lingering taste of him inside my mouth.

  He filled me up, splayed me apart, fractured parts of me I never knew existed. The pace sped, shuddering thrusts turned manic. I wrapped my legs around him, lifting my juncture, forcing him deeper.

  Tension skirted his gaze. He was holding back, forcing himself to be gentle to give me everything I wanted… everything I needed.

  I broke his stare. My sudden cry swallowed husky gasps. The rogue wave drowned me. I clutched hold of him and rode the current, one after another. I opened my eyes to a look of peace. His hand slipped along my back, lifting my ass higher, hugging the contours around him.

  This moment was for him. Sparks of desire burst through my body as he picked up the pace, moving harder. My damp thighs quaked and quivered, but I became breathtakingly aware there was more here.

  More between us… so much more.

  “I want you.” I gasped as he shuddered and plunged. “I really, really want you.”

  An unspoken word lingered in my desire. A word I’d never used before and never felt—until now. His fragile existence was captured in the look of fear. He was so powerful, blood-curdling dangerous and yet in this moment… with me he allowed himself to be vulnerable.

  “I… want you, Nova. I’ve wanted you from the moment I set eyes on you.” The motion of his hips slowed as he spilled inside me.

  “Turn me. Let me be with you forever.”

  He licked his lips, holding himself deep and answered. “Someday, maybe… if that’s what you desire. But not today, let me love you as you are. I promise when that day comes I’ll walk with you through the gates of Hell, and we’ll be together for eternity.”

  I nodded, for that was all the fight I had left.

  I was with him now, for better or worse.

  With Kol it’ll probably be worse… but I knew that the day I met him.

  Afterword

  I hope you enjoyed this story. If you have the time a review would mean the world. I couldn’t write these stories without your support, so thank you for all the kind words and all the recommendations.

  Turn the page for a preview of the heart-pounding finale to Nova and Kol’s story.

  Nova

  “Close your eyes and lay back.”

  Kol’s voice echoed from the dark corner of the lounge room. I turned my head, searching the shadows as the hue from the fire danced and dimmed.

  “Now.”

  Blood seeped from the puncture at my neck. I closed my eyes, obeying his command and focused on the warm touch, trickling down… down… down.

  My blood was his fingers, sliding, touching, lingering at the hollow of my throat.

  “Can you feel me?”

  A faint brush at my nipple made me flinch. Fire burned slow, leaving nothing but an ache behind.

  “Spread your legs.”

  His dangerous tone filled me with a surge of desire. My muscles trembled. My mind torn between decency and obeying. Something soft hit my knee, sweeping across my thigh, and then was gone. Something smooth?

  His shirt? His tie? Was he taking off his clothes?

  “Pleasure and pain, Nova. Sometimes they are one and the same.”

  Something lashed my skin with a soft slap. A belt? My heart thundered, senses fired, sending sparks through my body. The heels of my feet bounced, sending tremors through my legs. Goosebumps raced along my skin. Every whisper, every cool breath. I felt it all.

  “Breathe, Nova. Breathe.”

  I turned toward his voice and exhaled on a shudder. That soft touch came again, sliding across my nipples. I stiffened and arched my back as a whimper slipped from my lips.

  “Did that hurt?”

  I searched my mind and then slowly shook my head.

  “No?”

  My mouth was dry, my lips stuck together. I snaked my tongue along the crease, forcing my flesh to part and whispered, “No.”

  The lash came again, harder, sending a lick of hot fire along my thigh. I hissed at the pain and opened my eyes. Shadows crowded me.

  “Close them,” he snapped.

  I clenched my eyes shut. Icy fingers found every stroke the soft whip left behind. His breath was cool against my ear, filling me with like a winter’s breeze.

  “Do you feel exposed, vulnerable?”

  I jolted, turning my head, to search for his lips and found air. “Y.. yes.”

  The soft whip brushed my other cheek, and the rich smell of leather filled my nose. The smooth edge skirted my neck, following the warm silky trail of my blood.

  “Do you want me to tell you what I see?”

  He trailed the leash over my collarbone and then down between my breasts. Heat raced to my cheeks as I nodded.

  “I love watching you blush, love seeing you squirm against your seat. You want this, you crave the danger… the excitement. But you won’t admit it. You’re a good girl, aren’t y
ou Nova Flynn… you’re a real good girl.”

  The leash slowed at the dip of my stomach, then eased over my mound. My legs trembled. I tried not to notice the jiggle in my thighs—or feel the deep lick of embarrassment.

  “Fuck, you look beautiful. I could stare at you forever, all blushing skin… trembling like some terrified little rabbit. Now, wider for me… that’s the way—spread those beautiful legs.”

  The leather thong pressed against the tip of my crease, then eased. My heart picked up speed, driving need through my veins. Each slow ebb and flow bought me closer to that moment where I melted into nothing. I licked my lips and fought the urge to squirm. Heat raced, licking with long languid tongues between my thighs.

  He rocked against my nub, angling the thick end of the leather lower. I shuddered. My legs opened wider… wider. My tongue skirted my lips as I begged. “Please.”

  “Please?” He whispered. His breath tickled my lips, urging me to whimper. “Please? Is that what good girls are supposed to say?”

  One tiny shake of my head, had me arching my back, desperate for surrender. The leather slid lower, edging toward my middle.

  “I want you begging for me, Nova. I want you weeping with desperation. And I always get what I want.”

  The delicious torture ended. My body thrummed with urgency. I caught the cut through the air a second before the leather bit. Pain flared, hot across my thigh, stealing my desire in one second, then battering my walls in the next. A shattering cry slipped from my lips and filled the dark room.

  Cold, wet. His tongue met my tender flesh. I whimpered at the sensation as the whip pushed against my crease, and then angled in. Tremors rose in the wake of his tongue. I jerked and shuddered as the heat of pain melted into the wild need for release.

  His tongue trailed my searing flesh as the leather moved slowly, up and down… up and down—pushing its way against the center of me.