“So what happens now?” he exhaled folding his hands in his lap, wishing his erection wasn’t quite so prominent. It was embarrassing.
Her lips quirked, as if she had read his thoughts. Maybe she had. According to Masterson, vampires had the ability to enthrall humans. Mind-reading might be an angel thing. If it was, she was getting a headful.
“As a new progeny of Vlane Masterson, you will have to remain here for a while until you can learn to control your new powers.”
He nodded. Yes, he knew about that. But in all honesty, he felt perfectly fine and in total control. A lot of that probably had to do with Ryssa – her blood, her calming presence. As long as she stayed close, he was good to go.
“I meant... what else?”
“You sacrificed yourself for me, David. And I took responsibility for your soul. What do you think?
She took responsibility for his soul? What the hell did that mean? That sounded more like a duty than the heady rightness he was feeling.
“It means, David, that you belong to me, and I belong to you. And yes, I feel it, too.”
Well, that answered the mind-reading question. And sent another heated wave through him at the same time. She belonged to him. Only to him. Now and forever.
Ryssa laughed softly. With his new and improved hearing, he picked up all the subtle undertones he couldn’t before, a lovely harmony of wind-chimes and harps.
“I can hear your thoughts because of our soul-bond, David. Not because I’m an angel.”
Soul-bond, yes, that was more like it. “Why can’t I hear yours?”
“Because you haven’t opened up that part of you yet.” Ryssa took his large hands into hers and looked deep into his eyes. “To gain power, you must relinquish control. You must trust in me, David.”
He wanted to, oh, how he wanted to. But what if she still harbored resentment? What if she hated him for tying them together this way? What if she didn’t want to be bound to him? Wouldn’t this be the perfect karmic payback?
“David,” she urged softly. “Trust me. Let go, and see the answers for yourself.”
He exhaled heavily. Why was this so difficult? He had been willing to risk his life for her. He’d just come to the realization that he would kill anything that tried to come between them. Why couldn’t he open his heart?
Because, he answered himself, death is preferable to a life of pain. And if he read her thoughts and discovered that she regretted this, it would be painful.
But she said to trust her. She wouldn’t say that if she knew what he would see would hurt him, would she?
Though she must have heard his thoughts, she remained silent. Clearly she wanted him to make the decision himself.
“All right,” he breathed. “How do I do this?”
“Close your eyes. Clear your mind. Breathe deeply.”
Easier said than done, but he gave it a try, forcing his doubts and concerns to the back recesses of his mind. Without his vision, his other senses flared. Warmth from her hands flowed into him; he could actually see the current in his mind.
He inhaled deeply, drawing her scent – moonlight, she smelled like moonlight – into his lungs. Ryssa’s blood pulsed and tingled in his veins, making his entire body feel alive and electrically charged.
And then he felt it. It was indescribable. A glorious prism of light. This was the heart of an angel. It held infinite love. Forgiveness. Acceptance.
He knew then that Ryssa was incapable of hating anyone, including him. He let go a little more of his control, let himself sink deeper into the shimmering bands of color.
Keep looking, David, she gently coaxed, her voice not a voice at all but a presence in his mind. His mental eye was drawn to a tiny burgeoning spark. It called to him. He focused on that, moving forward, only vaguely aware that he was leaving himself behind. Only when he was right before it did he realize what it was.
Him.
He was that tiny, burgeoning spark inside an angel’s heart. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and touched it. It flared to life, a brilliant, white fire. Reflexively, he recoiled and the flames vanished, reducing it once again to a tiny sparkle.
Feeling somewhat shaken and very much in awe, David pulled back until he was inside himself once again. It was like stepping out of the sun and into the shadows.
“What was that?”
“Us, David. That was the seed of our bond.”
“It’s so tiny.” Except for when he touched it, then it threatened to consume both him and her.
“It is now,” she agreed. “But you saw what happened. What it could become, if you give yourself over to it.”
“And if I don’t?”
She pulled her hands away and eased off the bed. “Then it will remain as it is.”
David felt a sudden chill. It wasn’t just because she had moved away from him, but because she had closed herself off to him as well. Could she do that?
While Ryssa sorted through the huge assortment of pastries, he closed his eyes and concentrated. At first, he hit nothing but a solid wall of resistance, but he kept pushing at it until it began to bend beneath his will. A few more insistent pushes and it gave way completely.
Ryssa gasped and turned his way as a tsunami-sized wave of emotion flooded into his mind. The next thing he knew, he was flat on the floor. Ryssa was straddling his hips, lightly slapping his face.
“David! Wake up! What happened?”
He blinked once, then twice.
“You love me,” he said in a mixture of awe and disbelief.
Chapter 12 – The Truth Is Out There
Damn it. Why had she told him that he could get into her head? A baby vamp shouldn’t have that kind of power, even if he was sired by a master like Vlane.
Which left only one possibility: they truly were soul mates.
She stared at him for a moment, then put her hands on his chest and pushed away. It was far too distracting to feel his hard six-pack beneath her, and she needed a clear head. His hands immediately clamped down on her hips to keep her from moving any farther. She probably could break his vampire-strength grip. So why wasn’t she even trying?
She scowled at him. A slow grin tugged at his lips. “You love me,” he repeated, but this time, it was more of a statement than a question.
“Yeah? So what?” she sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest to hide her hardening nipples. “I’m an angel. It’s part of my DNA. I love everybody, even if I don’t want to.”
His grin grew. “Not like you love me.”
She snorted. “Arrogant much?”
His eyes glistened. “Hell yes, I am. And why wouldn’t I be? I’m immortal. And my soul mate is an angel.”
“You were arrogant before you knew that.”
“True,” he agreed. His hands flexed around her hips, lifting her just slightly enough to adjust his position beneath her. When he lowered her again, she could feel his thick, hard length beneath her bottom. She tried not to think about it, reciting ancient Greek poetry in her head as a distraction before he picked up on it. His lascivious grin told her she was too late.
“You love me and you want me,” he said in that smooth, deep voice. “Right now, as a matter of fact, you can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have me - ”
Her hand shot forward and covered his mouth as her cheeks flamed hot.
- make love to you, he finished in her mind. To seal this bond between us, to know if it’s really true what they say about two souls fusing to become one.
Gah! “All right!” she said. “Yes, I’m thinking that. It doesn’t mean I’m going to let it happen.”
“Why not?” His eyes were glowing now, a radiant obsidian as deep as space; his hips rubbed slightly just where she needed it most. Or were those slight rocking motions solely her traitorous body betraying her?
“Why not?” she parroted. Another tiny movement, then another, unerringly hitting her sweet spot. Ryssa flexed her nails into his chest as the loveliest sensation
s bubbled upward, through her core, and right into her breasts.
“Yes, why not?” he continued. “We’ve already established that we’re fated to be together. You want me. God knows I want you. We obviously have feelings for each other.”
Ryssa’s eyes snapped open. That was what made her hesitate. He’d slipped into her mind and discovered a truth that she’d buried so deep not even she had recognized it, but he hadn’t reciprocated. He had apologized. He had said he wanted her. But he hadn’t said –
“I love you, Ryssa,” he said.
She stared at him. Was he simply finishing her thought, or actually making a declaration?
“It’s true. I can’t explain it. I don’t know when it happened, but it did, and I do. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Or why I felt compelled to find you. Why I had to try to free you, no matter what the cost. I didn’t want to accept it. For a while, I couldn’t accept it. But now, I know. I feel it, Ryssa. I feel you, deep inside me, in my heart, in my soul. I love you, Ryssa, and I am never letting you go. ”
Ryssa heard the words, but she also felt them, too. Warmth wrapped around her heart like a comforting embrace.
In the blink of an eye, he lifted them both off the floor and onto the bed. He loomed over her, his eyes questioning. Do you believe me?
“Yes, David,” she whispered, closing her eyes and focusing on the feel of his teeth penetrating her neck, not to feed, but to mark her as his. She wanted to feel him penetrating and taking in other areas, too.
“Need you,” he mumbled against her skin.
“Yes,” she agreed. He growled then, pulling back enough to lick gently at her neck.
“Ryssa...”
Strong hands fumbled at her clothes, clumsy in their haste, until they were both naked. David pulled her against him. “I’ve been fantasizing about you since the first night I saw you working in that club,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “So beautiful. I hated that other men could look at you like that.”
* * *
He cupped her breast possessively, letting the firm weight fill his large palm. Desire and hunger warred against his self-control. He’d like to blame it all on his recent conversion, but it was so much more than that. This beautiful woman, an honest-to-God angel, was created for him, and that was some heady stuff.
“Mine. All mine. Only mine.”
He dipped his head and sucked a taut nipple into his mouth hungrily, his still distended fangs scraping over the sensitive skin. Ryssa cried out and arched into him. She wanted this, too. He could feel it, magnifying his own desire.
“Yes, David. More!”
He obliged, plumping, licking, sucking as if his very life depended on it. When he sunk his fangs into her soft flesh, she seized with a powerful orgasm. David leaned back and looked at her questioningly. Then his features changed into the smug expression of a man who suddenly recognized his own power.
With a wicked grin he slid down the length of her body. Her hands fisted in his hair, pulling hard, but in encouragement, not as a request to stop. Assaulting her with a combination of fingers, fangs, lips, and tongue, he used his newly heightened senses to guide him. He captured each hiss, each moan, each gasp as he created a map of her pleasure in his mind.
“David!” she screamed as his mouth latched onto the sensitive skin at the apex of her thighs. He chuckled, thrilled with her response. He was tender but relentless, letting the taste and scent of her soak into him. She was unlike any woman he had ever known.
Well, of course she wasn’t, some part of his brain screamed. She was a fucking angel. His angel.
He resumed his sensual attack with renewed fervor, intent on marking her so thoroughly that she would never think of another man again. She was his, every inch of her inside and out.
According to Masterson, vampires were very territorial.
Huh.
One long finger slipped along the creamy wet folds, working in perfect synchronization with his mouth. He stroked up and down while circling the tiny bud with his tongue, then pulling it into his mouth. She rewarded him with a long moan and a fresh wave of sweet nectar on his tongue.
“Ryssa. You’re so sweet. Like honey and moonlight.” He moved lower and drove his tongue deep into her heated core. Her legs wrapped around his neck and squeezed with tremendous pressure. He laughed. Had he not been a vamp, she probably would have decapitated him.
“Enough,” she panted.
“It will never be enough.”
“David!”
Her voice was filled with power. It filled the room, surrounded him. Even if he had not wanted her every bit as much, he would have been unable to resist. With one last, lingering lick, he rose up and positioned himself in the cradle of her legs. His cock was hard and ready, already weeping at the tip.
Poised at her entrance, David looked deep into her eyes. “Soul mate,” he whispered, then plunged deep.
It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. The world as he knew it exploded around him. Everything else ceased to exist. There was only the two of them, their bodies joining, becoming one as their souls wove themselves together. He felt her pouring into him, all of her love and strength and purity, even as he poured himself into her. He gave her everything – his heart, his soul, his very essence.
Time stood still. David made love to his angel, worshipping her with everything he had. She clung to him, held him close, accepting him, winding herself into every last part of him.
“Wow,” she mumbled later. Much later. Apparently Masterson was right about vamp stamina and recovery time, too.
The dawn was nigh and David felt the pull on him. As a newly made vampire, it would take time for him to build up enough strength to face the day.
“Regrets?” he asked, holding her close against his body. There was no way in hell he was letting her go. Ever.
“None,” she breathed. “You?”
“Just one,” he said.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I should have gotten you a ring,” he said sleepily as the pull of the rising sun took him under. “Done it right...”
She laughed, stroking her hands over his skin, but he was already asleep.
Chapter 13 – Sharing is Caring
“Seriously?” David asked, shaking his head as she ate the last of the chocolate donuts and eyed the cupcakes. Everything on the dining cart was either iced, frosted, or dipped in caramel.
“What?”
“Do you eat anything besides sugar?”
“No,” she said, turning those sparkly gray eyes his way. “Why would I?”
He opened his mouth to answer, then thought better of it. “No reason.”
It had been two weeks since his turning, and Vlane had agreed to allow David to return to his home, under the provision that Ryssa was with him at all times. Becoming accustomed to his new strengths and hungers would take time. David had no problem with that; it was another reason not to let her out of his sight.
He was adjusting nicely to his newly acquired status among the undead. He gave Ryssa most of the credit for that. She was there for him whenever the lustful urges hit, whether it be hunger or that other carnal need that rode him hard. The fact that she was so much stronger than him was an added bonus; he didn’t have to worry about hurting her with his newfound vampire strength or speed.
David scooped Ryssa into his arms as he carried her over the threshold. The ceremony had been a simple one, with Armand doing the honors. Vlane stood beside David, Ana beside Ryssa as they recited their vows. Jax gave her away. It had been a wonderful night, but all he really wanted to do was get his new bride alone.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Corrigan,” he said as his long strides disturbed the rose petals that covered polished marble foyer floor. He made no move to release her. He paused only slightly to allow her to take in the copious bouquets of flowers filling the space.
“What is all this?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“A gift,” he s
aid simply. “Can’t a man buy flowers for his wife?”
She laughed. “A dozen roses, sure. But enough to build half the floats in the Rose Bowl parade?”
He kissed her soundly, possessively. “Get used to it, baby. I’m going to spoil you rotten.”
It was more than just lip service. David had been independently wealthy before, but now that he was aligned with Vlane Masterson, the possibilities were endless. Ryssa had gone without simple pleasures for far too long. He was going to see to it that she never wanted for anything ever again.
“You already have,” she murmured as the kiss turned deeper.
“Keep talking like that, angel, and see where it gets you.”
Ryssa used their mental link to express exactly where she wanted to be, and included several vivid images of what she would like to be doing. With a groan, he carried her up the sweeping spiral staircase to the master suite at vampire speed, laying her carefully on the bed. It wasn’t quite as elegant as the guest accommodations they had been enjoying at Masterson’s estate, but it was spacious and airy and the king-sized bed was perfect for what he had in mind.
“It’s perfect,” she assured him, picking up on his thoughts.
“You’re perfect,” he corrected.
“Hardly,” she murmured. “But you make me feel that way.”
David awoke at sunset to find he was alone in bed, but Ryssa wasn’t far away. Her presence was always strong within him. Apparently the phrase “you complete me” was more than a catchy, corny one-liner where soul mates were concerned; it was the truth.
His preternaturally acute eyes found her easily in the darkness, standing on the balcony outside his master bedroom. She was wearing the black silk robe he’d gotten her. It fell to mid-thigh, revealing her curvy, creamy legs. Soundlessly, he slipped out of bed and went to her, engulfing her in his arms. The need to feel her against him was a tangible thing.
She sighed softly and placed her arms over his, holding him to her. “Hungry?”
“Very.”
Ryssa tilted her head to the side, giving him access. That simple action ratcheted his hunger up ten-fold. Among other things.
Fallen Angel: Mythic Series, Book 2 Page 11
