“So…” She leaned back to look into his eyes. “We’ll be what? Blood bound?”
“Exactly, ofryd.”
They remained quiet for several minutes, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts, until finally she placed her knees on the bed on either side of him so she was straddling his lap. With her hands on his shoulders, she met his gaze directly. “All right.”
“You are sure? Once we have completed the ritual, it cannot be undone.”
Anna blinked at him then nodded. “I’ve spent my whole life running away—from my powers, from my desires, from my destiny. I think it’s time I stopped running, don’t you?”
He leaned in and kissed her gently. “I do, ofryd. I do.”
She traced her fingers over his jaw. “What’s next?”
“We start with this.” Eagerness and emotion made his normally smooth moves awkward.
He tugged her sweater over her head then removed her bra. She arched against him. He nuzzled her bare chest then cupped her breasts gently in his hands.
“Lose ourselves in each other, drive each other crazy with want, share our most intimate selves.”
“Where does the emotional pain part come in?” She rocked against his rigid cock and he gripped her ass, holding her tight to him. “I want you to enjoy this, too.”
“I can assure you, I will love it.” Just as I love you. He nipped the pulse point at the base of her throat then lifted her in his arms, placing her on the mattress before going in search of supplies. “Do not move.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she called from behind him as he unlocked his dungeon.
Dante went in search of his favorite dagger, a towel, two silk scarves, and several red and black candles to both purify the space and the knife blade. He set the things on his nightstand, then removed his vest. “The emotional pain will come with reliving past events.”
“Oh. Okay.” She sounded hesitant as she unbuttoned her jeans. “Yours or mine?”
“Both.” His body quaked with need.
He’d heard rumors of the all-consuming passion felt between true life mates, but he’d never expected to feel it himself. Urgency pulsed through him and Dante rushed through setting up a magic circle around the bed with salt.
Finally, he removed the rest of his clothes and tossed them aside. “Are you ready for me, ofryd?”
His cock was so hard it hurt, but he had to ask one last time.
Had to be sure.
She tugged off her jeans and panties, then nodded.
Dante put on a condom, spread the towel out on one side of the bed, then grabbed the dagger and scarves. After lighting the candles with a whispered breath, he stretched out beside her.
She averted her gaze, as if suddenly shy.
He took her chin between his fingers and forced her to meet his eyes. “No more secrets, ofryd. Not between us. Not tonight.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Do not be.” He nuzzled her neck and held her close. “I will be with you through it all.”
“Okay.” She twined her arms and legs tight around him. “I still can’t quite accept the fact all of this is really happening. That all of this is really real.”
“I am very real.” Dante took one of the scarves then pulled Anna’s hand from around his neck. “First though, I need you secure.”
“Secure?” She narrowed her gaze as he tied her wrist to the headboard then proceeded to do the same to her other wrist with the second scarf. “Are you sure this isn’t just an excuse for some kinky blood play?”
“And where do you think humans discovered blood play?”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Our world may have been hidden from yours for eons, but that doesn’t mean the occasional human did not visit the dark side.” Dante sat up, grabbing the dagger. “Some of your world’s greatest thinkers and artists have otherworld connections.”
She eyed the blade as he unsheathed it. “Guess now isn’t the best time to ask for a list.”
“No. Ask me later.” He held the tip of the knife into one flickering candle flame. “You remember my promise, yes? That I would never harm you?”
“I remember.” Anna swallowed hard. “Seems a bit moot at this point though.”
“There will be no permanent marks, I swear. I will make it quick and the blade is very sharp. You should feel only a sting.” He raised the dagger over her stomach and his inner demon roared with primal need. Blood bonding between life mates was intense beyond belief.
He closed his eyes and summoned every ounce of self-control he possessed. Dante had waited an immortal lifetime for this. It would be too easy to let things get out of hand, to go too far, to take too much from his delicate human. Not because he did not love Anna, but because he loved her too much—more than his own life, his own soul. “Ready?”
She closed her eyes and gripped the scarves binding her wrists. “Do it.”
“Uail xdaak, tu xdaak, ail xdaak.” Your blood. My blood. One blood.
Dante uttered the sacred incantation of binding over and over as he brought the tip of the knife to her abdomen, just below her solar plexus, tracing a small S into her pale skin, then bisecting it with an arrow.
Crimson oozed from the cuts and her breath caught.
“Ofryd?”
“Yes.” Anna hissed.
He released her wrists then handed her the dagger. “Your turn.”
“What do I do?” Anna took the blade with trembling fingers.
“Make the same symbol on me, in the same spot.” Dante clasped his hands behind his back and lowered his head, waiting. “Go ahead.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I have been hurt far worse over the years. Do it.”
Her fingertips traced lightly over his skin, locating the area where she would mark him. “Are you sure?”
“More than anything in this universe.”
Shaking, Anna pressed the tip of the blade into his skin. Dante winced, felt his powers waver, then moaned low in his throat before he could stop himself.
Anna pulled back immediately. “I’m sorry.”
“Never be sorry for this, ofryd.”
Once she’d finished, Dante took the dagger from her and laid it on the nightstand then covered her body with his, sealing together their wounds and their fate. “Remember what I told you that first day. To experience great pleasure, one must endure great pain. Soon, you will be mine and I will be yours. Forever.”
Chapter Twelve
“Forever.” Anna repeated, as he pulled her in for a long, deep, sensuous kiss. When their lips met, it was like an explosion of fireworks inside her mind. Before, when they’d touched, it felt warm, wanton, wonderful.
But this… This need was on an entirely different level.
As Dante stretched out on top of her and their wounds touched, the world she’d known faded farther and farther away. Searing heat burst forth from every inch of her body. Images flooded her mind, strange places and people she’d never encountered.
Frightening people. Angry people.
These were not her memories.
“Dante.” Anna pulled away and stared into his glittering scarlet eyes. “I’m seeing things. Things I don’t understand. Scary things”
He stroked her hair off her face, his expression so full of love it almost hurt her to look. “Tell me.”
She closed her eyes again, anxiety shortening her breath. “I see a city. Old, ornate. Water. Women in gowns, Renaissance-era, maybe.”
“That was my home. Venice.” Dante nuzzled her neck, maintaining the delicious contact between their cuts, driving her out of her mind with lust. “What else do you see, ofryd?”
More images flashed at fast-forward speed. “A dark haired woman and a little boy. They’re running, fleeing, searching for a place to hide. He’s struggling. He doesn’t want to go. He’s crying.”
Dante sucked one of her nipples into the warm wetness of his mouth. “Go on.”<
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Her heart raced and her blood pounded in her ears. “Something’s following them. Something terrible, but I can’t see what it is.”
Dante skimmed his hands along her sides, over her hips, then spread her legs wider. The first swipe of his tongue over her slick folds had Anna bucking hard against him. The second, had her crying out with desire and desperation as her visions continued. “She’s fallen! The woman with the little boy. There’s a crowd. An angry, violent crowd. They’ve got her trapped. They have weapons. Knives. Swords. Burning torches. And the little boy, he’s so scared.”
Breath panting and eyes still closed, Anna dug her fingers into Dante’s hair as he pleasured her with his lips and tongue, as much to keep him close as to keep herself tethered to reality. He slid first one, then two fingers inside her wet channel, stretching her, stroking her, preparing her.
“Tell me what else you see, ofryd?” he murmured, his deep tone laced with anguish.
“The woman, she’s cowering, screaming, begging for mercy. The crowd doesn’t listen. They attack her. Call her awful names, accuse her of…”
“What do they accuse her of?” he asked.
Pressure built deep in Anna’s core and her whole body tightened, her climax looming. “Of conceiving a half-breed child. An abomination.” Broken sobs clogged her throat even as waves of ecstasy rolled over her. “The woman tells the little boy to run. He doesn’t want to, but the people are attacking her and she can’t see him anymore. The boy does what she asks. Running, running, always running. Always hiding. Doing whatever was necessary to survive.” The pain in her heart entwined with exquisite pleasure. “Dante. It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked through her tears. “Oh, Dante. I’m so sorry.”
He entered her then, in one long stroke and Anna came hard around him, light and sensation consuming her until her awareness consisted of only this moment, only this man. He drove hard into her, once, twice, before reaching his own fulfillment.
Afterward, Dante continued to hold Anna, coaxing her through the last fluttering contractions until she rested in his arms, sleepy and sated.
Reality returned slowly as he balanced above her on his elbows. Tears welled in her eyes over what he’d suffered. For the scared little boy he’d once been—watching his own mother die to save him—and for the strong, loyal, beautiful man he was now. She stroked the hair back from his forehead. “I’m so sorry, Dante.”
“Never be sorry, ofryd. If my past had not occurred as such, I would not be here, with you, now. That is worth a thousand lifetimes, a thousand deaths.”
She sniffled and forced a smile. “So, is the ritual complete?”
“It is.”
“But I thought you would see my past, too.” She looked over at him as he moved away.
“I did.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip. “What did you see?”
“Everything.” Dante lay on his back and drew Anna into his arms so her head rested on his chest, right over his heart. The mark he’d made on her still stung, but not nearly as badly as when he’d first made the cut. His, she noticed, was already healed over. “I saw you and your sister in the womb. Saw you both being born. Saw you happy together in your early years, then growing apart after your mother’s death. You never knew your father.”
“No.” She snuggled closer into his warm embrace. “He left before we were born.”
“I saw what happened with that boy at your school. Saw you blame yourself and suppress your gifts, draw inside yourself in your teens. That’s when the cutting started, yes?”
She’d never talked so openly about any of this. Shame made Anna hid her face against him. “It made me feel better somehow. More in control. Less guilty. Like I was punishing myself when no one else would.”
“Yes. Many masochists develop these traits young. For many it is a coping mechanism.” He cupped her cheek and forced her to look at him. “Do not be ashamed, ofryd. You are perfect, just as you are. And you have me now to give you pain. And pleasure.”
She closed her eyes, giving in to the deep lethargy pulling her under. “So that’s it then, we’re life mates now? Liz will flip when I tell her.”
“I suspect your sister already knew.” His words rumbled beneath her cheek, his fingers lightly stroking up and down her back. “She is very perceptive.”
“Yes, she is. Will our bond protect Liz as well tomorrow night?”
“Our bond is very strong. We shall hope it is enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“To keep you safe if I must leave.”
Leave? She sat up and narrowed her gaze. “Dante, where are you going?”
“Nowhere, if things go well.” He opened a dark eye and squinted at her.
“And if they don’t go well?”
He pulled her back down to him and kissed her deeply. “Try to get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day.”
Dante rolled onto his side and held open his arms. She let him pull her back into his chest, spooning her from behind. Anna wanted to stay awake, wanted to ask him more about Friday, but her body had other ideas. Within minutes, they’d each drifted off to sleep.
The next time she blinked her eyes open, bright sunshine streamed in through the windows and her whole body ached. Arm outstretched, Anna felt behind her, but no Dante. She rolled over onto her back, then winced as the tender scabs on her abdomen pulled tight. She moaned and dropped back against her pillow.
Bound.
Blood bound.
She and Dante had become life mates last night and her glimpses into his past broke her heart and made her love him even more.
Love him?
The invisible connection between them, there since their first coupling, flared white-hot now—nearly incandescent with joy and peace and harmony. Unbelievable as it was, she’d fallen hard for her mysterious, brooding, bewildering, half-breed pain demon. She couldn’t imagine her life without Dante. And she wouldn’t have to, as long as things went to plan tonight.
Anna vowed to do everything possible to make sure that happened.
Grinning like an idiot, she sat up and squinted across the room at the clock in the kitchen. It was past four in the afternoon.
Ugh. She’d slept through most of the day. She’d needed the sleep, but she and Liz were supposed to have had another practice session that morning.
She still needed to work on the whole casting images thing.
A bit disoriented, Anna headed for the bathroom.
Following a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she pulled on a fresh, black T-shirt and jeans. Her skin still tingled from where Dante had touched her and the scent of cloves from his shower gel helped soothe her frazzled nerves.
She padded out to start a fresh pot of coffee then reconsidered. Liz had said caffeine interfered with their powers and the last thing she wanted was to jeopardize anything later. She grabbed a bottled water instead, then settled on the sofa in the living room.
There was a plain white envelope on the coffee table, addressed to her. She didn’t recognize the masculine scrawl, but assumed it must be Dante’s handwriting. Carefully, she opened the envelope and pulled out the note inside:
Ofryd,
I have already begun preparations for tonight.
Dex will deliver your garments for the convergence.
You and Liz are to stay with your guards at all times.
They will protect you until I return.
Please be careful and know that I love you, Anna.
If I lose you, I lose my heart.
Dante
As if on cue, a knock sounded.
Cautiously, Anna walked over to the door and cracked it open.
“Hey,” Dex said. She opened the door a bit more and he handed her a large box. “Dante wanted me to bring you this.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Dex turned to go, then stopped at the top of the stairs, his shaggy dark blond hair in total disarray. “Liz will meet you downstairs in the courtyard at six.�
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“Okay. Thanks again.” Anna slipped back into Dante’s room, locked the door, then peeked at her convergence outfit—a long white dress in flowing chiffon, with a handkerchief hemline and a matching silk shawl. Very Liz. Or Stevie Nicks circa nineteen-seventy-two. Anna shook her head and set the dress aside then pulled out a pair of matching white slippers.
A glance at the clock showed it was now a bit after five.
Anxious, she changed into her new energy-channeling clothes, the overwhelming seriousness of what they were about to do weighing heavily on her.
Dante had told her people would die tonight.
Anna just prayed it would not be those she loved.
Chapter Thirteen
“You thought I wouldn’t find out?” Basher stormed into Seven.
“Find out about what?” Dante grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar, unscrewed the lid, then sat at a table near the back of the room, doing his best to stay stoic. Given the tiniest things could set off a wrath demon, Basher might be talking about anything. There was still a chance he didn’t know about Dante’s heritage.
“Don’t talk back to me, you pathetic half-breed piece of shit.”
Oh, yes. He knows.
Part of him was glad the charade had come to an end. The other part of him was terrified. Not for himself. He was well prepared to die. But for the others. Dante neither confirmed nor denied the accusation, just took a long swig from his liquor bottle then propped his booted feet on the chair across from him.
“You lied to me, boy.” Basher growled, invading Dante’s personal space. “Makes me wonder what else you’ve lied about.”
“I never lied,” Dante said under his breath, staring at the symbols carved into the tabletop. With Basher’s proclamation, their original plans had just fallen through.
Time for his last resort.
“What did you say?”
Dante didn’t respond.
“Answer me, goddammit.”
“You told me not to talk back.”
Blood Bound (Blood Ravengers Book 1) Page 13
