Reaper (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Two)

by Valerie Ullmer

  His deep groan encouraged her to continue.

  Her tongue swirled around the head and without any warning, she slid him deep inside her mouth, increasing the suction as she closed her eyes and savored his taste. Her core clenched as she drew a deep growl from his throat.

  “Ara, beautiful, I’m not going to last.”

  Her hands stroked down his thighs and up again, before she cupped the base of his cock in her grip. She chose that moment to take a peek at his reaction, never stopping her ministrations.

  His fists were clutched at his sides and there was strain on his face, but not from pain. He enjoyed her touch, and that knowledge had a powerful effect.

  Taking her time to withdraw, she hovered her mouth over the head of his cock before she spoke. “But you feel so good. Please.”

  Time had stopped as she waited for any indication that he wanted her to continue. His face softened at her request, and the subtle change in his gaze told her that he was on the edge. His groans made her shake with passion, but she put her desires on the back burner as she explored him.

  Although she had been intrigued by the prospect of pleasing a man with her mouth, she didn’t realize how sensual it would be for her. The first experimental lick had driven her to flatten her tongue and lick him from base to tip with slow, measured movements. Each stroke of her tongue on his cock had sent sensations of pleasure to her core, and she continued with fervent strokes.

  She tried to ignore the throbbing in her core to concentrate on Reaper, but as she slid her mouth back down on the head of his shaft, and then farther, the flutter of bliss drew a lingering moan from deep in her throat.

  The sound and vibration caused a roar to echo loudly from him, and before she could blink, she found herself staring at the ceiling.

  His hands ripped at her clothing and he grew impatient as her tee tangled around her torso. Her eyes widened as he clutched the collar, and she gasped as he ripped the material down the middle in a clean line. The ruined shreds were discarded on the floor, and soon her bra followed. With precise movements, his fingers made quick work of the button and zipper on her jeans, and when he yanked them and her panties down and off her, she smiled at his urgency. The smile disappeared the moment his warm, firm body touched hers without the barrier of clothing. A moan stuttered out of her mouth.

  “Reaper.”

  “I can smell your sweetness, beautiful. I need to be inside you, and pleasure you until you scream my name.”

  She shivered in anticipation of what was to come. Needing him more than her next breath, her knees dropped to the side as she opened her thighs, holding her breath as he sank closer to her.

  His cock brushed her core at the same moment he captured her lips, his tongue pushing inside and tasting his own essence. He lowered his cock slowly and she felt the bulbous head stretch her.

  “Fuck, you feel so good.”

  He must’ve realized her intention, because when she lifted her hips to slide more of him inside her, he interrupted her movement with a hand on her hip.

  When his lips found hers again, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. Although she wanted him with an urgency that she had never felt before, she decided to savor her time with him. She would slow down and let him take control.

  He didn’t disappoint. The moment she relaxed, he shifted his hips forward and sunk inside her another glorious inch. This time she couldn’t prevent the sounds of pleasure from escaping her throat. She sucked in a breath when he pulled back, but closed her eyes and panted as he lowered himself, with excruciating slowness, inch by glorious inch.

  “You’re so tight, beautiful. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  The words caught in her throat when she opened her mouth to reassure him that he wouldn’t, but instinctively she knew that this moment would change her—them—and the words died in her throat. She bit her lip and surged upward, communicating silently that she needed him inside.

  He captured her lips while his hips rocked back and forth in motions that drew gasps and moans from her. As the pressure built, her head thrashed back and forth on the pillow, needing more but unable to speak the words that stuck in her throat.

  He cupped her face and when he slid his tongue inside her mouth, his hips shot forward until her tight, wet heat surrounded his cock.

  She moaned his name into his mouth and closed her eyes at the sensation of having Reaper deep inside her. Although she had wanted him, all of him, the pleasure that fluttered over her body sent her senses into overload. The press of his hot skin surrounding her, leaving her feeling scorched and aching, was nothing compared to his long, hard length deep inside of her, throbbing in rhythm to his pulse.

  “Ara?”

  “I’m…okay. I don’t know what I need, what you need…”

  For the second time, Reaper flipped over onto his back, this time while keeping himself inside her. He moved until she straddled his waist, and her hands were secured on his chest. The position sent a thrill of bliss through her.

  “Take your own pleasure, beautiful.” At her confusion, he continued. “Find a rhythm that makes you feel good.”

  “You, inside me, makes me feel good. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  His hands gripped her waist and held her tight as he sat up. His chocolate eyes sparked with hazel flecks as he drew a kiss against her lips.

  She reached for his shoulders to gain her balance from the kiss and the intensity of his gaze, and the new position allowed him to sink deeper inside her.

  Logic fled at that moment; she shifted her hips closer to his and clenched her muscles against his throbbing cock. She brought her mouth to his and kissed him with a desperation that clawed at her. The ache intensified and without knowing what she was doing, she lifted herself onto her knees before sinking down onto him. Their breaths mingled and the pleasure was so great that she immediately moved on him again.

  “That’s it,” he encouraged against her mouth.

  Her hands flattened on the hard muscle; when they broke apart to take a breath, she pressed his chest until he lay flat on the bed. As she continued her movements, squeezing him tightly with her wet flesh as she worked herself up and down, his words encouraged her until her body moved with abandon. In the back of her mind, she wanted him to find his pleasure as well, but ecstasy she’d never imagined enveloped her and she craved more.

  “Mine—you’re mine, beautiful,” he said.

  While her heart lurched at the claim he made, her movements didn’t slow. Shutting off the storm of emotions his words caused, she continued to move her hips, driving him deeper and deeper inside her. He flexed and when the head of his cock pressed against her cervix, her body tensed a long moment before the pressure exploded, sending a swell of euphoria throughout her body.

  Unable to help herself, she continued to move on him for long minutes, savoring the sensations he brought out in her.

  His teeth scraped over her shoulder and she held her breath, waiting for him to mark her in some way.

  She swallowed her disappointment when he moved his mouth away from her shoulder and onto her mouth. It reinforced her need to keep her emotions in check. In the short amount of time she’d known Reaper, he’d come to mean more to her than any other in her life, but she didn’t mean as much to him. Not that she expected to be.

  Before long, she fell from heights that scared her, but sensed Reaper’s comforting arms surrounding her. When she found the strength to open her eyes, she once again she found herself on her back, staring into his.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She shivered at his concern, and he misinterpreted her actions as cold. He turned them until her back pressed against his chest, and pulled the comforter up and over them. His arms squeezed her, and a pain in her chest almost caused her to gasp aloud.

  Making love to him had been a mistake.

  Not one that she would regret, but when her time with him was over—and it would be—she’d done the unthinkable and had made
it close to impossible to let him go.

  Chapter Nine

  Reaper

  Reaper had woken the moment the sun had risen. Although he should have been exhausted by the previous night, he became obsessed by Ara and every movement she made as she slept by his side. He loved listening to her soft breaths when she fell into a deep sleep, how she curled her body into his before she closed her eyes and drifted off.

  Everything about this woman brought forth his primal instincts. He wanted to protect her, claim her, while at the same time, he craved her liked nothing he’d ever experienced.

  He had woken Ara twice in the night. Each time he made love to her deepened the connection between them, and although he thought that the craving to claim her would wane, he wasn’t surprised to find that his longing grew.

  A sense of peace settled each time he awoke during the night and found her pressed against his chest. His touch would be innocent, at first, but with each stroke of his fingers on the skin of her arm or her waist, his need for her would increase.

  Even in her sleep, she sensed his desire for her, and pressed back against him, rubbing her ass against his hard cock. Her moan was his undoing each and every time.

  The first time they’d made love, he shook with the sensation of surging deep inside her, loving the feeling when she clamped down on his cock. Her reactions to him were genuine, and as he listened to her pulse surge with every thrust and watched her skin grow slick with exertion, the possessiveness that he’d never thought part of his psyche rose in him. The emotions that swirled in his chest didn’t conform to anything he’d ever experienced before. Instead of taking the time to completely understand them, he pulled Ara closer and pressed his face into her hair to savor her smell. As he breathed, he relaxed his tense muscles and savored her being in his arms.

  But as he lay there in the early morning and replayed each moment with Ara, the truth of the night before struck him with a fierce blow.

  He’d watched her face as he had told her that she was his. She had wanted to believe him, his words, but something held her back from doing so. He understood that it would take time, but with the dawn also came the realization that he had fucked up.

  He sensed her pulse jump at his statement that she belonged to him, but when she tensed as he drew his teeth over her shoulder, he believed she hadn’t been ready. But the longer he thought about her reaction, the more he realized that she wanted his mark on her and left the decision up to him. Instead, he’d pulled away without doing so. Shit.

  Ara must’ve sensed the distress his thought presented, and squeezed him. Her lips pressed softly against his chest, and he couldn’t prevent his arms from tightening, bringing her closer. Something settled deep inside him as he held her close.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

  She stilled in his arms, and without allowing her to think he regretted their time together, he explained.

  “I wanted to claim you last night, but it has to be an informed choice, and I would never take that away from you.” He traced his fingers over her soft neck, before he bent forward and licked the exact spot he wanted to sink his teeth into. “If I mark you, bite you, you’re mine. It’s not temporary, Ara. You will be mine and I will belong to you.”

  “Why would you want me?” she whispered.

  With quick motions, he had her on her back as he hovered over her. The fury that raged inside must’ve slipped past his mask because as he gazed down upon her, her eyes were wide. He couldn’t sense any fear in her, but he schooled his features and brushed a kiss against her mouth before he cleared his throat and explained.

  “Mates are rare in my world. Shifters are more disposed to have mates than vampires, and yet, I’ve never met a shifter who had met theirs, human or not. Kane and found and lost his mate, and it still affects him deeply, but I’ve never seen how an immortal acts with his mate until Kai and Liv. Kai is the first vampire I’ve come across who found his mate, but he almost lost her, and I’m not talking about Dr. Ames. He had been alone so long that when Liv had come into his life, he had no idea how to deal with his feelings for her, so he pushed her away. And kept doing so. I witnessed the pain on her face, and his indecision, but when her life was in danger, Kai knew that he couldn’t deny his feelings any longer.

  “When I spotted you in the lab, I froze. Not because of the situation, because something inside my chest warmed at the sight of you. I couldn’t take my eyes off you because I knew you were meant to be mine. It drove me wild when I could sense your fear, and I vowed that no one would ever hurt or scare you again. But you disappeared before I could find my voice. I spent a month searching for you because I knew something that couldn’t be denied. You are mine. Mine to protect, mine to…”

  He bit back on the word love, seeing her eyes widen at his statement. He would have to stay as close to the truth as possible, without scaring her off.

  “The relief I felt when I watched you walk up the street the night I brought you home was indescribable. Holding you in my arms while you slept was perfect. I know you might not be ready for confessions yet, but I want you to know that I care for you, deeply. I watched as Kai fucked up by denying his feelings, and I don’t want you to have any doubts about mine.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “I will always tell you the truth.”

  Her hand wrapped around his neck and brought him down for a sizzling kiss. For several moments, he closed his eyes and lost himself in her touch.

  He blinked in surprise when he heard her giggle, a lighthearted and happy sound, and sensed that she had moved out of reach. He searched for her, and found her hovering at the end of the bed. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she took in his shocked look, and his heart surged in his chest at her happiness. She looked so carefree with a white sheet wrapped around her nude body, her hair a shiny curtain that touched her shoulders, and her eyes wide and sparkling.

  “You’re a goddess.”

  Without warning, he rose from the bed and reached for her. Her giggles ceased and when her eyes traced his nude body, his cock immediately responded. Her expressive eyes stayed with his movements as he stalked closer. A shiver passed through him as he listened to her staggered breathing and her pulse accelerate.

  “Beautiful,” he growled.

  Her pulse jumped before tripping wildly out of control, and he couldn’t keep away from her any longer. His arms wrapped around the back of her thighs as her hands settled on his shoulders. Although he wanted her trust and her love, he knew that he would have to be patient. For now, he settled for her desire.

  He opened his hand on her shoulders and brought her toward his mouth. With a quick movement, he flicked his tongue against her nipple. Loving her taste, his tongue laved over her before drawing the bud into his mouth. His teeth nipped at her swollen flesh, giving equal attention to both, as she rewarded him with the sweetness that flooded her pussy.

  “Reaper.” Her voice was rough with desire.

  “I need to taste you.”

  With his arms firmly wrapped around her, he dropped back on the bed. Before she could change her mind, he lifted her hips up to meet his lips and sucked her clit into his mouth.

  She stiffened as a low groan escaped her throat; the next moment, she tried to escape, but his arms banded around her thighs to keep her from moving away.

  His tongue swept along her lips, savoring her essence as he drowned himself in her moans. Each gasp and moan told him where and how she wanted to be touched, and before long, she stiffened, letting him know that her control was about to snap. Her orgasm hit her and her hips jerked; his tongue drove deeper inside her. Breathless, she called his name as her hips rocked back and forth, seeking more.

  He moved between nibbling on her clit and licking the come that continued to release from her body. She shivered from the aftermath of her most powerful orgasm yet. His tongue moved to capture each drop of sweetness that flowed from her body, savoring her taste before his tongue pressed on her clit, dr
awing more from her. His control snapped the moment a drop of her essence missed his tongue and rolled on his chest.

  Need, unlike he’d ever felt before, raced through him and he stood with her pressed against his chest.

  She wiggled against him as she sought his cock deep inside her, but he had another idea.

  He flipped her onto her stomach and with a strong arm underneath her hips, he pulled her onto her hands and knees. She tried to wiggle out of reach, but he draped his body over hers to keep her from leaving him. He suspected that her senses were on overload, that the pleasure from his mouth on her grew to be too much, but he couldn’t control his need to sink inside her and feel her warmth and wetness wrapped around his cock.

  His teeth nipped her neck and she moaned. Her fists clutched the sheet and he suspected it was because she didn’t fully trust his words. He would have to show her, but first, he needed her relaxed enough to accept him.

  “So much tension, beautiful. Don’t you want my cock buried deep inside you?” he teased.

  Her breath hitched in her throat, and she glanced behind her shoulder to meet his gaze. The desire that shone from her eyes answered his question, and his fingers sunk into her hips as he tried for control.

  “Yes, I want you. Please, Reaper,” she begged.

  “Fuck, beautiful. If you only knew how much I want you, it would scare you.”

  “I want you just as much,” she breathed.

  She wiggled her beautifully rounded ass against him, and air hissed through her teeth when she felt his hard cock and the scorching liquid that dripped on her skin. A howl in his head jerked him from her mesmerizing movements, and before she could beg him again, his hips shot forward and he buried himself in her wet heat.

  “So…tight. Mine,” he growled.

  He glanced down at her body. Her legs spread for him, her hands gripping the sheet as hard as she was gripping his cock, and the flush on her skin. The sight drove him out of his mind. Groaning as he pulled back slightly, he thrust inside her, unable to move more than a few inches as she squeezed him, moaning her pleasure each time he shifted.