Darkness Burning

by Delilah Devlin

  “But you want it for something more. Some grand scheme you and Simon have concocted.”

  Bitterness burned at the back of his throat. “If there is a ‘grand scheme,’ I haven’t figured it out.”

  “Simon didn’t tell you why you had to fuck me?” she taunted.

  “Chessa…” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Simon doesn’t tell me many things. I knew I had to seduce you. I knew I’d impregnate you. That’s all I really knew.”

  “You’re just a pawn. No better than me.” She pointed a finger and stabbed his chest. “Only you’re being led down the rosy garden path by mages. Fucking tricky-dick bastards.

  Don’t you know there’s a reason we don’t trust them?”

  He wrapped his hand around hers and held it above his heart. “I’ve lived all my life in their midst. All my life with Simon. I trust he means no harm, that he has a bigger picture of what’s coming when he manipulates us.”

  She gave a contemptuous snort and wrestled her hand from inside his. “You’re a goddamn puppet. Prince of nothing.”

  “I’m a warrior. They’ve groomed me to lead.” He caught her gaze and held it. “Not just this coven but the entire Vampire Nation.”

  Chessa grew still, her expression guarded. “That’s why you’re here then? Not to see me. Is something supposed to happen tonight? I wondered why Nic’s been scarce.”

  Alex cocked his head to the side. “He didn’t tell you? The sabat is meeting here now.”

  Chessa’s indrawn breath answered his question.

  “He’s probably trying not to worry you.” Alex drew a deep breath, fisting his hands. He wanted to shake her. “You shouldn’t be here. He knows that. I want you safe when shit hits the wall.”

  Chessa’s eyes narrowed. “Does Simon know you’re talking to me?”

  “No.”

  “Has he pushed the issue of my being here?”

  Alex didn’t answer. Simon hadn’t. For his own reasons, of course. “I’m pushing the issue.”

  Chessa stepped closer, sliding her open palm along his cheek.

  His heart stilled. He tilted his head, pressing into her touch, grateful for her tenderness, however fleeting.

  “Seems like I’m supposed to be here, Alex,” she whispered.

  “Will you at least promise me something?” he asked, just as softly.

  Her nose wrinkled. “Depends.”

  He pushed a dripping strand of hair behind her ear. “If things get sticky…dangerous…you’ll let me know?”

  “This is your child, too. I won’t forget that. I can’t.”

  Alex slipped a hand around the back of her neck and leaned into her. “I do love you, you know.”

  Her smile was gamine, innocent. “As much as any warrior seeing to the dynasty he intends to rule?”

  He snorted. “God, you’re a bitch.”

  Her sliding, devious grin was pure, ball-busting Chessa. “Thought you liked that about me.”

  He slammed his lips on her grinning mouth, forcing his tongue into her.

  Chessa stiffened for a moment, then fell limply against his body, relenting beneath the assault of the allure he cast for her, her body pressing closer, her arms wrapping tightly around him.

  Dipping inside her mouth, he tasted her, perhaps for the last time. He dragged his mouth away and pressed his forehead against hers again. “Promise you’ll let me know.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to our child,” she said, her gaze unblinking beneath his. “I’ll get word to you if I need help.”

  “Don’t step outside this door tonight. Let Nicolas feed you. Let no one else inside.”

  Alex stepped back, letting her go. He raked her with one last possessive, all-encompassing glance, then turned on his heels, leaving her shaking in the middle of the bathroom floor.

  Miki ran her finger around the top of her crystal glass, making it sing, pretending an indolence she was far from feeling. Since Malcolm had left her in the salon with one last caution about not drinking too deeply, she’d spent the hour watching the party take a darker turn.

  Her earlier encounter with Alex had already left her shaken. Raw, intense lust wasn’t something she’d experienced before, but that, added to the fact that she didn’t know a damn thing about him—not even what he looked like—had her reeling.

  It was clear that the sort of reckless abandonment she’d experienced with Alex wasn’t out of the ordinary in this other world. That only increased her fear that she was in way over her head. Most of the invited guests were already operating under the influence of whatever spiked the drinks. The bloodletting had begun. So had the lusting.

  Feeling a little like a nasty voyeur, she circulated, never pausing long for fear of being drawn into the sexual play.

  Clothing was definitely optional.

  The crowd inside the salon where the games began slowly thinned as twosomes, threesomes, and larger groups lazily drifted away. Those who stayed didn’t seem to mind baring their bodies and appetites to anyone who wanted to watch.

  Miki was particularly fascinated with Erika’s grouping. The woman who’d tried to draw her into the library alone had lost her dress, and now wore only glittering jewels in her ears and around her neck. She’d also bared her fangs.

  The man lying nude beside her writhed as she raked one sharp tooth down his cock, then opened her mouth and deep-throated him, bending over his lap while another man knelt behind her, fingering her pussy.

  Miki took another quick sip of her drink before remembering Malcolm’s admonition. Her body was tight, her skin hot. Still, she didn’t think she was up for the more serious depravity. She wished Malcolm would return, but he’d held the hand of a beautiful, wispy blond when he’d left. They’d looked happy as they’d slipped away. His girlfriend, no doubt. And another vampire.

  She’d seen enough, and she didn’t think she’d get answers to any questions tonight. Too much mischief stirred the air.

  She left the salon and wandered into the richly appointed foyer, just as the teakwood double doors opened and a beautiful russet-haired woman wearing a crystal-studded midnight gown swept inside, escorted by two men in black formal dress. Her gaze swept over Miki, dismissing her. Then she strode directly across the foyer and through a door between the two sides of the curved staircase.

  Miki let out a low whistle, her curiosity once again piqued. But with men posted on either side of the door, she didn’t think she had a chance in hell of satisfying it by trying a direct route. Remembering the French doors leading into the garden from the library, she headed back to the salon.

  She got only a step inside the door when a handsome man approached her. He didn’t speak, just snagged her hand and lifted it to his lips for a lingering kiss. “Thank you for your gift,” he said, his simple words made more extraordinary by a hint of French inflection.

  She knew the formal words, had heard them spoken each time a vampire had raised his or her mouth from a blood host. “I haven’t given you a thing.”

  “But you will.”

  Rather than feeling angry at his arrogance, a surge of heat flooded her—thick, immediate, so strong she knew she wouldn’t resist long. And she didn’t want to. Knowing this one ranked off the pheromone scale, she tried halfheartedly one last time. “I’m not into the group thing,” she said weakly.

  “The library’s empty, ma petite,” he said, without missing a beat. “We’ll be alone.”

  “I know where it is.” She walked past Erika, who now rode one of her hosts, straddling him, her knees planted on either side of his hips on a pillowy, wine-colored sofa.

  By the time she reached the library, her legs quivered. She kept her back to him, listening as he quietly closed the door and then drew near her, to stand just behind her.

  Without attempting another halfhearted demur, she turned and raised her face to his.

  His hands cupped her cheeks tenderly, and he bent down to kiss her.

  Eyes wide open, Miki threaded her
fingers through his thick, dark hair, then traced more along the square curve of his strong jaw. Her mouth opened beneath his, welcoming the spear of his tongue. She sucked on it for a moment, then moaned as liquid heat trickled from inside her.

  “So eager,” he said, drawing away.

  She was. Alex hadn’t been wrong about those pheromones. They intoxicated, completely banishing inhibitions. “I’ve fed one vampire tonight. You can’t take much more of my blood.”

  “A pity,” he said, pushing her hair behind her ears and rubbing a thumb across her bottom lip. “Another precious gift then? Or perhaps just one, well-timed bite?”

  “Please,” she said, surprising herself with her forwardness.

  A grin stretched his perfect mouth. “And I thought you a little shy,” he replied, his voice teasing.

  Miki gave him a small frown. “This is new to me. Not my first time, I mean. What I’m saying is I’m experimenting. But I don’t know if I can handle a casual quickie.”

  “You want romance with your sex?”

  Romance? Not something she’d considered or desired before, but with his dark good looks and sensual intensity, she knew she wanted something more. “Will you pretend for me?”

  “Will it make it easier for you to say yes? I do need to feed…”

  “I’ve already done that, I think. Said yes. I just want some ground rules.”

  He gave her a slow nod, then took her hand again and drew her to a leather couch with its back facing the garden. As much privacy as they’d be allowed, she guessed.

  “You’ll be delightful. Your flavors will please my lady.”

  Startled, Miki frowned. “I don’t get it. The way you all are so easy. Your lady won’t mind?”

  “I didn’t say she wouldn’t mind. But the jealousy only sparks her fire…and it isn’t as if I haven’t had to stand back and watch her love another.” He drew Miki down to the leather couch, then knelt in front of her, drawing her clothes away slowly, piece by piece.

  As each one drifted away, he caressed the skin he bared in slow, even strokes that raised goose bumps in his wake and had her blood heating, pooling between her legs. His lady was lucky indeed….

  When Miki sat naked in front of him, his gaze locked with hers, and he placed his hands on her knees. He spread them open, and Miki sank back against the soft, buttery leather with a trembling sigh.

  “You will do everything I command.”

  Not a question. Miki’s breaths shortened at the firmness of his voice and the quiet, burning sensuality in his expression, knowing her limited knowledge of sex was about to be enhanced. “Tell me what you want,” she whispered.

  “Watch me. Don’t close your eyes. Not once, or I will stop.”

  That sounded easy enough.

  His hands smoothed up the tops of her thighs until they reached the juncture, then his thumbs slid down and spread her lips.

  This time she could see what he saw, see the expression of the man as he leaned over her open sex and tongued her. Fierce, hot elation swept through her.

  His full, masculine lips mouthed her labia, tugging them, pulling them until they were plump and so sensitive she thought she’d scream.

  When he suctioned at the moist, tender flesh between them, her hips rose to press closer, urging him inside.

  His tongue stroked out, sinking into her, swirling inside before retreating again. He lifted his head and gave her a sharpened glance. “Alex has been busy.”

  How could he know? Then she blurted out the question.

  “Our senses of taste and scent are far superior to yours. He must have rolled his face between your legs. I can understand—you’re delicious and so very responsive. I could swim in your pleasure.”

  Miki’s whole body shuddered. “Fuck me, please?” God, she’d actually said that?

  His small, self-satisfied smile irked while at the same time tugging her arousal higher. “When I’m ready.”

  He bent again, this time licking her with the flat of his tongue—long broad strokes, from the bottom of her pussy to the top, lapping like a dog, the strokes evenly timed, almost soothing, except the longer he plied her with his tongue, the more restless she became. Her hands tightened on the soft leather cushions beneath her. Her breasts hardened, the tips extending as they grew more engorged.

  As his tongue stroked lower, she didn’t have the breath to protest. When he glanced over her other entrance, she drew in a hissing breath and began to close her eyes.

  His tongue halted. His body stilled.

  Miki opened her eyes wide.

  Firm hands slid beneath her bottom, raising it. Thumbs pressed apart her buttocks.

  Bracing on her forearms, Miki lifted her legs into the air, allowing him to tilt her toward his mouth, and she groaned when his tongue laved her tiny asshole.

  Over and over again, he teased and prodded, soothing with broader strokes when she began to keen.

  Finally, he lowered her and leaned back. “I want you bent over the arm of the sofa.”

  So much for romance, but the tightness of his voice indicated he might be every bit as turned on as she was. The thought intensified the excitement coiling at her core.

  Awkwardly, without much room to maneuver between them, she lowered her legs to the ground and rose up, her pussy inches from him. She blushed when she realized she’d have to push against his face to climb past him.

  His slow grin told her he knew her dilemma.

  Her knees wobbled as she straightened, brushing her open sex against his nose.

  His chest rose as he inhaled; she gasped when he burrowed between her lips and swirled his chin and mouth against her. Then he slid his hands behind her thighs and leaned away, helping her balance.

  She stepped sideways to climb past him. He didn’t move from the ground, just stared as she stood at the end of the couch and contemplated the thickly padded leather bolster.

  He lifted one eyebrow, giving her a look that said a world about his arrogance and confidence.

  She bent slowly over the padded arm of the couch, her face heating at his low chuckle. Still, she liked how vulnerable she felt, her ass raised high in the air, all leverage lost as only her toes touched the floor.

  He shoved upward, unbuckled his belt and slid down his zipper, loosening his trousers just enough to reach inside and slowly draw out his cock.

  His hand caressed it, sliding up and down its length in one long stroke. Then his gaze rose to meet hers.

  Miki’s mouth opened automatically, her breaths already panting. She didn’t know, didn’t care whether the drug had just kicked in or his “special powers” and amazing cock inspired her. Liquid gushed between her legs, trickling down her spread thighs. The way he looked at her, as though he would devour her, as though he meant to take her savagely, had her shaking and her pussy pulsing.

  He came to stand beside her, holding his cock in his hand. “Wet it with your tongue.”

  She leaned toward it, opening her mouth obediently, and swallowed the thick tip. He stroked into her, gliding along her tongue, pressing deeper until she opened her jaws and let him fill her. He tapped the back of her throat twice, gently, then pulsed in and out, more shallowly, before withdrawing completely.

  Reluctant to let him go, she followed with her mouth, kissing his cock and rubbing her lips over the soft tip.

  His laughter was a deep, sinful rumble. He disappeared from her sight, but his hands caressed her backside, palms lifting her cheeks, rolling them firmly up and down, then apart, his thumbs sliding between the globes.

  Miki’s legs trembled, and he laughed again. When his cock nudged between her legs, she groaned, tried to scoot back to take him, but he pushed her forward. Her toes left the ground.

  He nudged again, this time sliding along her seam, then he prodded inside, just the tip, just a tease.

  “Please, please fuck me,” she groaned.

  “I want you to caress your breasts. My hands are busy elsewhere.”

  She quick
ly brought her hands to her breasts and cupped them, squeezing. Her nipples were tight and scraped her palms.

  The man behind her pushed inside again, this time deeper, stroking inward, stretching her inner walls, while his thumbs slid deeper between her buttocks and rubbed her asshole.

  Miki couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She wriggled, trying to coax him deeper. She needed more.

  When a thick thumb pushed inside her ass, her back arched and she pinched her nipples, loving the painful pressure behind her and needing more. She twisted her fingers.

  His cock began to move in and out, his hips gliding side to side to stretch her as he crammed into her. He toggled his thumb in her ass, digging deeper. Then holding it still, he hooked it to pull up. He thrust his cock faster.

  Miki’s teeth chattered. Her ass burned, her pussy convulsed—welcoming him deeper.

  He thrust faster, harder, slapping against her wet juncture as he crashed deeper inside her. She squeezed her inner muscles, discovering it increased the friction building between them. His low growling moan pleased her, gave her a sense of power, and she squeezed again.

  He bent over her, slipped his free hand beneath her body and slid it under her hand to grasp her breast. She arched her back toward him, wanting more contact. His hot skin to hers.

  When he nuzzled her neck through her hair, she knew what else he craved, and she shook her head, making her hair fall forward over her face, baring her neck.

  His bite stung, his thighs hardened as he pushed and ground his cock deeper, moving them both with his rough, powerful thrusts, forward and back, as he began to draw on the wound he’d made.

  Blood rushed from her head. She felt a little dizzy, but elation swept through her at the same time. He pounded her, rocking the sofa so hard that it budged, its legs scraping on the wood floor.

  Now, he powered into her, stroking hard, deep, ramming into her channel, churning in the cream he’d drawn from her arousal. Her whole body tightened, arching higher—then she exploded, a long thin wail ripping from her, punctuated noisily by his harsh thrusts. Until at last a stream of hot liquid bathed her womb and hot walls, soothing as he slowed his thrusts.

  He disengaged his fangs, licked her neck in tender laps, and slowly pulled away, leaving her slumped over the cushioned arm, unable to move.