Was that even a real question? Cara thought. She fervently shook her head yes. Though want was too tame a word to apply at this point. She craved him. She felt as if she would die on the spot if she did not have him inside her immediately. She rubbed herself against his erection cursing the fact that his damn pants were still on. She moved her hands to tug at his waistband but Aiden intercepted them and pinned them above her head.
“No yet,” he whispered to her. “Playtime isn’t over.”
Cara was going to murder him. Slowly. Painfully. Torturously.
Aiden secured her weight around his waist and carried her out of the sitting room and into his bedroom that sat behind another set of doors. He laid her on her back in the middle of a gigantic round bed. She sank into the plush mattress covered by silk sheets. Aiden stood at the end of the bed. Without ever taking his eyes off her he shed his clothes with quick efficiency. Cara could not tear her eyes away from him if her life depended on it. He was standing before her in all his nude glory. He looked like a perfectly chiseled statue of some Greek God an artist long ago carved for the world to admire until the end of time. He was a surreal package of chiseled muscle and flawless features with his clothes on. With his clothes off…Cara was sure her heart stalled and skipped a few important beats. His skin was kissed by the sun even in places that did not see much of it leaving every inch of him was tanned to perfection. His shoulders were broader than his clothes made them appear and his arms and chest were ripped to perfection. Every muscle that could possibly be toned and sculpted was. And as if that was not enough, he had abs that most professional body builders worked a lifetime to achieve and still didn’t come close to possessing. His legs were just as powerfully built and when Cara’s eyes zeroed in on his erection she nearly choked on her tongue. It was thick and massive and was maybe even more bronzed than the rest of him. Prince of Darkness was a misnomer. He was more akin to a golden Greek God. His emerald gaze was completely gone. His eyes blazed pure gold as his fangs lengthened to deadly twin points. Waves of lethal power radiated off of him.
What the hell have I gotten myself into? Cara momentarily panicked. But then she thought about what it would feel like to have all of that deadly power wrapped around her, moving within her and her stomach clenched in anticipation.
Aiden meant to toy with Cara in the most delicious of ways. He meant to drag things out to the point of torture, until she was shouting his name and begging for him to enter her. But in toying with her, he had worked himself into a frenzy. His control slowly slipped. He could not take her in the state he was currently in. She was a strong, fierce born hunter but she was still mortal. He would break her. He needed to calm the fuck down and regain some control. He was too smooth for this shit. Buying himself time to chill out a little, Aiden stalked toward Cara on the bed, but stopped short of joining her. “Spread your legs for me, Hunter,” he commanded.
Cara was powerless to do anything but obey. Hell at this point if he asked her to jump off a bridge, she would surely fall to her death. She would do anything if it quickened him sinking inside her.
Aiden smiled down at his Hunter spread eagle before him on his bed. Gods she was magnificent. A feast waiting to be devoured. He climbed onto the bed and slowly moved toward her. A predator coming to claim its prey. He dipped his head between her legs. Cara cried out in pleasure when he thrust his tongue inside her. His movements this time were not the slow, languid motions of his fingers. He rapidly moved his tongue in and out of her in sharp, penetrating thrusts. She tangled her hands in his hair and bucked her hips up to meet him thrust for thrust. Gods his tongue felt good but it was his cock she really needed inside of her. Her pride was long gone. She would beg for it if she had to. She tried to scoot away from him and tell him as much, but his hands closed around her ass in a steel grip, preventing her from putting distance between them.
Aiden’s thirst for her was unquenchable. He reveled in the smell of her, the taste of her, the feel of her. He could continue on like this for days without ever needing to come up for air. Oxygen was trivial. His hunter was all he needed to live. Cara let out a pained whimper and he knew she was near the end of her wits. It would not take much now to drive her completely over the edge. He thrust two fingers into her at the same time he thrust his tongue while using his thumb to press down on her clitoris. This time she was powerless to hold back or muffle her cry when the orgasm hit her. Aiden smiled to himself smugly, but had enough sense to keep his face hidden from Cara’s view. He kissed his way up Cara’s abdomen and ended at her mouth. He claimed her lips in a tangle of teeth and tongues. She spread her legs open a fraction wider in a gesture that was equal parts accommodating and inviting.
“Please,” she let out a breathy whisper.
Aiden pressed his rigid length against her core but refrained from penetrating it.
“Please what,” he kissed her again.
“I need you,” Cara whimpered. She urged her hips forward in an effort to capture him but he evaded her.
He rubbed himself against her folds, slick with her previous orgasms. It drove her mad. “Be specific Cara. Tell me what you need from me.”
She surged her hips upward again in a futile effort. Bastard. “I need you inside of me. Now!” she demanded of him.
All it took, all it would ever take, was her asking him once. Before the words were completely out, Aiden hoisted her legs around him and buried himself to the hilt inside of her. He nearly came right then and there. Her core was hot and tight and fit around him like a glove. Like she was made specifically for him. Aiden slowly, painstakingly slid out of her until only the tip of him was left in her.
“Is this what you wanted Cara?” he asked as he slid home again.
“Yes,” she moaned out.
He just as torturously withdrew from her again.
“Is this what you needed?” He thrust into her once more.
“Yes,” she cried.
“Could you ever forget this? Forget me?” He was done playing games. He barreled into her over and over again with such force that every time the metal headboard slammed into the wall behind it Cara was afraid it might put a hole through the wall. Her body was wracked with a never-ending barrage of pleasure. She tightened her legs around his waist and scored her nails down his back as she screamed out, “No, Aiden. Gods no.”
“Good,” he grunted into the side of her neck as he sucked and bit where her carotid beat the strongest. He did not draw blood. It was her weak spot. His only intent was to drive her mad, push her farther over the edge. “And Cara, if you ever take another lover, I will end him and any who may think to come after him.”
She bucked under his onslaught meeting each of his thrusts with ones of her own. She was silently urging him to drive into her deeper, harder, faster. Aiden mercifully obliged. “I don’t even think that’s possible after being with you,” she panted. “You’re like a dark God. No one else could compare.”
If I’m a dark God, he thought softly at her what he wouldn’t dare say aloud, then maybe you’ll be my saving grace.
Then there was no more talking or thinking. Only the sound of flesh against flesh as their breathing synced up and they lost themselves to the passion they both fought against.
Afterwards Cara lay asleep in Aiden’s arms. For the first time since they began so long ago, the nightmares stayed at bay. She awoke a few minutes before the sun was due to set. She was alone in Aiden’s oversized bed. “Figures,” she muttered to herself as she sat up to search for her clothing. Oh right, she thought to herself as a case of morning after embarrassment crept in, I didn’t show up in any. Thanks to Aiden, her bra and panties were destroyed. At least she had her raincoat to slip back to her side of the floor in. She tossed her legs over the side of the bed to go in search of it.
“You’re not trying to sneak out on me are you? So you are the screw them and leave them type after all.” Aiden’s amused tone floated inside the room from the balcony.
She jerk
ed the sheet over her exposed body.
The bastard actually laughed at her. “Don’t be modest now Hunter. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen and tasted and touched every inch of that magnificent body.”
“I hate you,” she shot back at him even as her cheeks heated.
He quietly chuckled in response. Then he appeared in the doorway still nude. Cara rolled her eyes. Of course he is the type to prance around in the nude. His arrogance knew no bounds. But damn was it well placed she thought as she took in his naked form. She forced herself not to ogle him. She refused to give him that level of satisfaction.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her. “I had food sent up.”
Her cheeks got even redder. “Why would you do that?” she hissed at him. “Now the whole estate will know I slept here.”
Aiden’s grin made him appear every bit one of the rakes you read about in Victorian novels. “You are aware you’re on an estate full of vampires right? With all the noise we kept up, I’m sure me ordering you food wasn’t the first clue.”
Cara groaned in utter embarrassment.
Aiden continued grinning that damn infuriating grin. “It’s pointless to worry about it now. Your walk of shame occurred hours ago. Might as well suck it up Hunter and come have a meal and watch the sunset with me?”
Cara lodged a pillow at his head. Her aim was dead-on. The arrogant jerk didn’t even attempt to dodge it. He just stood in the doorway laughing. He was lucky she didn’t have a blade on her. Cara’s stomach grumbled loudly. “Fine she relented. I guess a girl’s gotta eat.” She was in no way going out on the terrace naked though. She gathered the silk sheet around her and joined Aiden out on the balcony.
Begrudgingly, Cara had to admit the food was delicious. Watching the sun set over the ocean was equally amazing. “It’s beautiful,” she told Aiden. “I forgot how much I love watching the sun set over the water. I haven’t seen it since I was a child.”
“What made you stop watching?” he asked her softly.
Cara did not know what made her say what she said next. She didn’t go into details about her childhood with anybody. Ever. “Whenever my family spent the summer in St. Lucia, my dad and I would lay in the hammock on our porch and watch the sun set together. This is the first time I have been to the beach since he died,” she added quietly.
Aiden refilled her wine glass. “My mother,” he confided just as quietly, “also died when I was a child.”
They sat in companionable silence, finishing the bottle of vintage wine as they became lost in their own respective thoughts. The ringing of Aiden’s cell phone jolted the pair out of them. When he hung up he turned his attention back to her. “It looks as if you finally get to start doing what you came here for. That was Dorian. Everything is in order to visit the first murder site. We leave for Brazil by my private jet in an hour.”
Cara stood up to leave. “I should go to my room to get ready then.”
Aiden came around the table and caught her arm before she could go. He stared at her for a considerable length of time, obviously having an internal debate about something. “You know,” he finally said “I can have James transfer your things to my quarters.”
Cara laughed out loud at his obvious joke. “Thanks, Your Darkness, but no thanks. My things and I are just fine where we are.”
Aiden dropped her arm and for a brief moment she thought she saw something akin to hurt flash in his eyes but it was quickly replaced by a haughty arrogance. He shrugged, “It was just a thought. It would be nice to have that sweet ass of yours at my beck and call.”
Cara skewed him with a withering glare. “Be lucky I don’t have a blade handy. You might find yourself short one less appendage.” She pointedly looked down at the one he no doubt prized the most.
It was his turn to laugh. “I dare say Hunter you would be more upset about that than I. What was it you were shouting in here mere hours ago? Don’t stop Aiden. I need you Aiden. You’re like a dark God Aiden.”
Cara would not give him the satisfaction of being scandalized by his crudeness. She plastered on her most innocent smile and said to him is a sickly sweet tone, “Careful Vampire. I might end up being your damnation rather than your saving grace.”
A nerve ticked in Aiden’s jaw. Oh yeah, she hit home with that one. She was not the only one to let their control slip the previous night. In his own passion, he left his thoughts wide open to Cara. She had not purposely imposed on them. From the time he entered her they were broadcast at high frequency inside her head. For the first time since she met him Cara rendered the Prince of Darkness speechless.
Twenty-One
Aiden sat in his office along with the rest of his circle. He did not want to have the conversation that they would inevitably have. Three sets of knowing eyes looked to him expectantly. Asad’s glittered with mirth, Dorian’s hinted at disapproval, and Rafe’s narrowed in outrage. Aiden refused to be the first to acknowledge the proverbial elephant in the room. Though he loved the three vampires seated around him like brothers and respected them enough to allow them a voice in all matters, he was still their Liege. He was the heir to the dark throne damn it! He did not have to answer to anyone. Aiden carefully schooled his features into an impassive mask. He poured four glasses of scotch, kept one for himself and handed the rest to his Circle.
“So… the Hunter,” Rafe began.
“Is none of your damn business,” Aiden finished for him. Of course he would be the first to speak up.
“With all due respect, my Liege,” Dorian implored, “you have already allowed your…infatuation with her to alter our plans once. You cannot allow your involvement with her to deter you from the course of action we have set. The cost of failure is too high.”
“I am as much aware of the cost of failure as everyone else in this room. As for my infatuation, Dorian, it was a curiosity and nothing more, which has been satisfied as everyone well knows. Therefore there is no involvement to speak of.” Aiden fought to keep calm.
Three skeptical, disbelieving stares looked back at him.
“So you wouldn’t mind if I tried out my luck?” Rafe hedged.
A vein visibly ticked in Aiden’s jaw. “Not at all,” he said stiffly. “Though you already had your ass handed to you once. Are you that desperate to have it handed to you again?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me? Would it be worth it?” Rafe smirked.
Aiden was not his father. Unlike Viktor he allowed, even encouraged, those in his inner circle to speak their minds. But at the moment, Aiden was trying really hard not to do a very Viktor like thing and leave one of his Circle impaled on the front lawn. He normally did not mind being questioned by the three vampires in his office. They were loyal to a fault and would lay down their lives for his. Their unwavering loyalty had earned them the right to speak up when they had differing opinions. But broaching the subject of Cara with the three of them left a sour taste in his mouth. The thing that was developing between them was his and his alone to sort out.
“My patience is wearing thin Rafe,” Aiden gritted out through clenched teeth.
“Why is that Aiden? You just said she was insignificant. Therefore you should have no problems discussing her like you would any other female unless you are lying to us as much as you are to yourself. In which case everyone in this room as well as the entire vampire species has a serious problem. Our Heir is about to risk our existence for a piece of ass!”
Somewhere in the recesses of his mind Aiden heard Asad throw a cautionary warning to Rafe. But it was too late. Aiden had already started toward him. Dorian attempted to block his path, but he was quickly thrown against a nearby shelf. Aiden collided with Rafe and slammed him into the wall behind him. He punched through his chest cavity, gripping his beating heart. “If you ever disrespect her again,” Aiden snarled at him, “I will not hesitate to rip your heart out. And when a new one grows back I will rip it out of your chest again.” Aiden squeezed his heart hard enough to leave a bruise that w
ould take a few days to heal then withdrew his hand. “Meet me on the roof in ten,” he told Asad as he left the room. “You will be flying the jet and acting as back-up should we need it. You are the only one I can trust not to make me take your head at the moment.”
---
Cara embedded one throwing knife after another between the eyes of the wooden dummy across the room. In her mind the eyes were an unnatural shade of emerald green. “Arrogant, jackass, vampire,” she muttered to herself as she prepared to launch another blade. The blaring rink of her cell phone stalled her hand.
“What!” she yelled down at the phone
The images of Reiya and Reyes appeared on the screen.
“Everything okay on your end?” Reiya asked.
“Other than the fact His Darkness is a pompous bastard? Yes, everything is just peachy.” The blade she was holding sailed across the room and embedded in the dummy’s abdomen with a resounding thud. She had run out of available space between the eyes.
“Jesus Cara. I would sure hate to be your practice dummy right about now. You sure everything is alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just relieving a little tension,” she reassured the twins.
Reyes eyed her suspiciously, yet remained quiet.
“Find out anything interesting on your end yet?” Reiya asked her.
“No it’s been pretty uneventful. But we are headed out to Brazil in a few. I will call you when I get back and give you an update.”
Reiya’s attention shifted to something beyond the range of her phone’s video camera. Whatever it was made her expression darken. “Cara, I have to go. Be careful. I will stay as available as I can.”
“What has got her panties in a bunch?” Cara asked Reyes.
“Mr. Delicious Executive Director,” Reyes chuckled. “I swear that man hangs around just to purposely get under my sister’s skin. Speaking of delicious men in powerful positions…have you lost your mind Cara?! You slept with him,” he hissed at her.
Born In Blood (Born Hunter Book 1) Page 14
