Marcus turned to face her, easily reading her fear. “Shhhh. It’s okay, cara.” He took Christina’s hand gently in his and rubbed the pad of his thumb across the inside of her wrist. The intimate touch quieted her scream. “You’re safe. Michael’s gone.”
Her eyes squinted in concentration at her surroundings, before she turned silently toward him. The fear disappeared from her eyes, and he exhaled a relieved sigh.
His mate truly amazed him. Her courage and complete trust in him humbled him.
“That’s my girl,” he soothed as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “You need to feed, sweetheart. You are weak from the conversion.”
Christina nodded without hesitation. Her stomach burned like fire, and Marcus knew feeding would quench the terrible feeling. She allowed him to settle her back onto the pillows, so she lay on her back.
Christina watched Vlad step forward. He rolled his shirtsleeve up to his elbow, and her eyes widened with concern. “Who will feed me?” Her voice quivered.
Stephan stood and answered, “Vladimir has offered. His blood is strong and will give you the nourishment you need.”
“No!” Christina’s voice raised an octave. “I don’t want to feed from anyone but Marcus!”
Nicholai moved around the bed, placing a restraining hand on Vladimir’s bare forearm. He lowered his voice, putting a soft warmth behind it as he spoke to Marcus’ heartmate. “Christina, please, you need to feed. I know you might prefer Marcus, but Vlad is the only one of us who has not yet given to another. The rest of us are unable to supply you. Allow Vladimir the honor of providing for you.”
Christina shook her head adamantly from side to side. Drawing her lips into a tight line, she reminded Marcus of a child refusing to take her medicine. The sight tugged at his heart, made him take her in his bandaged arms to cocoon her in the soothing warmth of his body.
Stephan looked down at the couple as they cuddled together on the bed. I owe Christina much after what she has done for Kat and you this night, and seeing she is well fed is the least I can do. Let me try talking to her, Marcus.
Good luck, Marcus sent back over their mindlink. I can sense she feels strongly about who she will feed from.
And really, Marcus couldn’t blame her. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about another sharing blood with her.
“Christina, please be reasonable,” Stephan pleaded. “Marcus has been injured; he himself needed blood. He can’t feed you. Vlad’s blood will make you strong. Please take what he offers.”
“No, I won’t. I’ll only drink from Marcus. If Marcus can’t feed me tonight, then I’ll wait until he is better.”
“That could be a night or two. New converts should not wait that long to feed for the first time, and bagged blood will not be strong enough. You need to feed from the vein.” Stephan turned his attention to Marcus.
This is ridiculous; if she won’t feed willingly, let me put a compulsion behind the command. I could erase her memory afterward. It is for her own good.
Marcus sat up, taking Christina with him. No, Stephan! She has been forced through enough tonight. I will not allow anyone to force her to drink.
His sire obviously read the determination etched on his face and conceded defeat. As you wish. Perhaps she will be more reasonable when she wakes tomorrow.
Marcus reached deeper into Christina’s mind finding fear, confusion…and of course her pain. She was starving, but her fear of anyone other than Marcus sharing his blood with her kept her from accepting what others offered. He knew she would only feed from him. And as a result, there was no reason for the Council members to remain. She wouldn’t feed tonight, and their presence caused her discomfort.
“Please leave us,” Marcus requested, wanting to calm his heartmate.
“As you wish.” Stephan gave a weighted glance at the other two Council members.
The Alphas left one by one, each wishing him well before crossing the room. Silently the Alphas made their way to the door, as Marcus added, “Thank you for helping us this night.”
Stephan closed the door behind them, shutting Marcus and Christina into the suite. Relieved to finally be alone with his mate, Marcus turned back to Christina. “We need to rest now. If you will not feed, I want you to sleep to take the hunger pangs away. May I help you sleep deeply?”
Christina snuggled into his side. “If you help me sleep, will it keep me from having nightmares?”
“Yes,” was all Marcus could reply as emotion constricted his throat. His heart broke for her and the trauma she’d been put through. If he had been the one to convert her, he would have made sure Stephan attended the conversion to ease the pain with his unique ability to heal. She would have suffered but not nearly to the extent she had been forced to endure by Michael. She certainly would not have nightmares.
Christina’s sigh brought him out of his rumination. “Then do it.”
Needing no further invitation, Marcus sent her into a deep, dreamless sleep, then closed his eyes and let sleep come to take him away from the horrors of the evening.
****
Demetri walked through the doorway of the plantation. His awkward gait caught Nicholai’s eyes.
“You hurt, cousin?” Nicholai’s worry furrowed his brow.
“I’m fine. Don’t concern yourself.” Demetri leaned heavily against the door after he closed it.
“Where’s Tatiana?” asked Stephan.
“She left,” Demetri replied curtly. “I don’t know where she went.”
You sure you are all right, cousin?
I said I was fine, didn’t I?
Yes, but you aren’t standing straight. You are a little hunched over. Did something happen after you dropped off Tatiana?
I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll be fine.
But I can tell your groin is injured. Who did this to you?
No one. I don’t want to discuss it.
Demetri’s pain flowed across their mindlink, and Nicholai had a good idea who probably caused it. Perhaps, if you do not want to share I could just look at your memories. I just want to be sure you do not need medical attention.
The corner of Nicholai’s mouth twitched at the horrified look that crossed Demetri’s face when he accessed a memory of him telling Tatiana women didn’t belong in combat. Nicholai wasn’t shocked to discover she didn’t take the news well.
I’m fine. Drop it! Demetri sent along the mindlink before shutting the private channel of communication down, keeping Nicholai from his mind with no way of accessing his memory.
Stephan moved toward the door, taking command, as was his way. “I think we should all feed then retire for the evening. It has been a long night, and we all need to rest.
“Marcus has a few bags of blood in the kitchen. We can drink that tonight to get by, but since we have all donated, we will need to drink from a vein to replenish our strength. Tomorrow we will hunt to replenish the blood lost tonight.”
Alex padded down the stairs, his steps silent as he approached them. “Kat is doing well,” the blond Alpha informed the group. “She took another bag and fell asleep.”
“Thank you for staying with her while I saw to Marcus.”
“Of course, Stephan. Anything I can do to help. You know that.”
The leader put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I know. But you have my thanks just the same.”
Nicholai turned, taking in each member of the group with a steady sweep of his eyes. These were good men. Men you could count on to have your back. They were tight, a great team. Good friends that Nicholai felt honored to fight with.
“Did I hear you say Marcus has some blood in the kitchen?” Alexander asked. “I could use a fill up.”
“Me, too,” Demetri agreed, the timbre of his voice a little higher than usual. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Lead the way, Stephan.”
Chapter 35
During the next two nights, Marcus awakened Christina and asked her to feed from another. Each time th
e scene played out in the same way. She awoke screaming and pulled the sheets tightly to her chin, then refused to feed from anyone but Marcus. Even Kat and Tatiana offered to let her feed from them, thinking perhaps she might be scared to feed from a male, but she still refused.
Since Marcus had been healing and unable to feed her, Christina was sent back to sleep until the next time they tried. So it went for forty-eight hours, different vampires coming to their room to take turns giving Marcus their blood and offering to feed Christina. Christina awoke only long enough to refuse to feed.
Tonight it was Alexander who walked into the suite as Marcus came out of the bathroom, one towel wrapped around his waist while he used another to rub his brown hair dry.
“Hello, Marcus. I see you are up and moving tonight. Feeling better?”
“Yeah, I’m feeling great, thanks to you and the others. Look, I’m almost completely healed.” Marcus stretched his arms and showed Alex the two fine, pink welts indicating where his cuts had been. “I’ll be completely healed by daybreak.”
“Do you need to feed?”
Having toweled most of the water from his hair, Marcus tossed the terry cloth on a chair. “No, I had some bagged blood earlier. That was enough. I’m feeling good.”
“That’s great, man. I’m glad to hear it. I guess I’ll leave you then.”
Alex headed for the door. His gaze fell on the petite redhead sleeping peacefully in their bed. The Alpha stilled. With a flick of his thumb, he gestured toward Christina.
“You gonna feed her tonight, Marcus?”
“I was planning on it.”
Alex smiled. “Good luck. Call if you need any help.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, she was converted three days ago and hasn’t fed since, right?”
“Right.”
Alex let out a long whistle from between his teeth. “Don’t you remember what it felt like when you came through the conversion? How the hunger for blood and your lust hit hard? As for me, I couldn’t tell where one started and the other stopped. I’ve never felt either urge that intense since the first night.”
Though it had been over two hundred and fifty years, Marcus still remembered those first sensations as a vampire. He’d awoken after the conversion with a burn in his belly and his shaft throbbing, the pain in both unbearable. Stephan had arranged for his first feeding to be with a female vampire who had satisfied both hungers for him.
“Imagine, Marcus, what it would be like if you’d waited three days to satisfy those cravings. Man, she is going to be a whirlwind when you wake her. So again, good luck.” Alexander gave him a knowing smile and a wag of his brows before he walked out the door, closing it discreetly behind him as he started to whistle.
Marcus rubbed his body dry while he contemplated what Alex said. Alex was right. Christina would wake very hungry and not just for blood. This would take a little planning on his part, and luckily he knew exactly what to do.
After taking the gown from her body, Marcus, in all his naked glory, joined his heartmate on their bed. He blanketed Christina’s body with his own, bearing his weight on his forearms. He sent a gentle command into her mind for her to wake and smoothed her hair away from her face as her eyes fluttered open. He captured her lips in a searing kiss and thrust his tongue into her mouth, taking control quickly. Remaining a shadow in her mind, Marcus monitored the sensations consuming his mate’s flushed body.
Desire burned through her, bringing Christina out of her torpor. Lust flowed in her veins with fiery fingers. Her arms folded around Marcus’ back, fingers tracing the contours of his muscles. She softened beneath him, and her legs wrapped around his waist to cradle his hips against her feminine core. Christina ground against his groin in a sinuous slide that moistened his shaft.
“Easy,” he whispered against her mouth.
Christina scoffed at the command. Easy? No way she wanted easy. She wanted hard, passionate, sex. Now. And Marcus would be more than happy to provide her with what she wanted, but first, she needed something other than his shaft.
“I want you to feed first. Come with me.”
Marcus slowly lifted off her, testing her self-control. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to the shower he’d already turned on.
The steam filled the bathroom, thick as soup. The water washed over her sensitive skin, causing goose bumps to pepper her flesh.
“It feels different,” Christina whispered and rubbed her arms.
Marcus ran his hands down her arms. “Your skin is more sensitive now. Everything is more sensitive.”
He slid one hand down her stomach to the juncture between her legs, cupping her sex in his palm. She moaned, opened for him, and took a deep breath to take the scent of him deep into her lungs. She thought he smelled wonderful. Fresh. Spicy. Masculine.
Images of the two of them in the throes of passion played in her mind for Marcus to see. His shaft jumped against his stomach in response, more than willing to help make those fantasies come true. Her nostrils flared as she registered the musk of his arousal. Her beautiful eyes darkened with hunger for him, and her fangs lengthened from her gums.
Her hand flew to her mouth at the strange sensation.
Marcus took her hand in his. “It’s okay. That’s natural. Your hunger brought down your fangs.”
“I’m so…so…”
“I know, sweetheart. You are in need, and I can do no other but see you are well taken care of,” Marcus assured her, lathering his hands with the soap.
Christina looked at him with voracious eyes. He worked slowly, trying not to trigger her predatory instincts. His soapy hands glided over her skin and sent a burning heat to coil in her stomach. Dampness pooled low between her legs.
He turned his mate away from him and positioned her under the jets of water. Marcus’ hands snaked around her waist, glided up her ribs to cup the weight of each breast. He kneaded the creamy mounds. Her nipples pebbled under the pads of his fingers as she arched her back and rested her head against his chest.
One large hand traveled down her body, blazing a fiery trail over her skin as it headed south. She leaned fully against him, the heavy weight of his erection pressed against her bottom, branding her with its heat. Smooth velvet over steel jumped as she ground against his hand when it cupped her sex. He worked two fingers into her folds, timing the thrusts of his digits with the movement of her hips so they touched the sensitive spot within her channel. A moan rewarded his efforts and a rush of cream coated his thick fingers.
“I can’t stand it anymore, Marcus. I need you! Please!” Christina pleaded, her voice husky as she turned to face him.
Marcus swept her into his arms, handling her as if she weighed no more than a small child. After carrying Christina from the bath, he lay with her on their bed, not caring that they both remained wet.
“You need to feed, cara. Come here to me.” Marcus brought her on top of him, her legs straddled his hips. “Let the instinct take you. Find the vein in my neck. Can you see it pulsing? Hear my heart calling to you?”
“Yes,” she squeaked, staring at the base of his neck where the blood pulsed in time with his heartbeat. She watched in fascination as it throbbed, calling to her with its siren song, begging her to take what her body so desperately needed to ease her pain. And Fates above, how he longed for her to fulfill that need.
“That’s the vein you want. Bite it! Now!” Marcus’ cock jerked in anticipation.
Christina leaned over, brought her lips to his neck. He felt her breath on his skin and moved his head to one side to accommodate her. He wanted this as much as she did, needed to provide her what she desired. He sucked in an anticipatory breath and held it, waiting for her strike.
She hesitated, unsure as she heard him inhale.
“Do it,” he coaxed with a whisper.
Christina bit, deeper than needed, and drew a large gulp. Marcus shuddered. The erotic sensation of his heartmate sinking her fangs into his neck
pushed the air from his lungs. A low moan rumbled against his throat while she succumbed to the sensuous sensation and began rocking her hips against his hardness.
As Marcus’ blood nourished her cells, he felt her lust rise. The pain in her stomach eased, subsiding with each draw while conversely the ache in her core increased. His blood was powerful. She could feel it pour into her, through her, warming her from the inside out until she burned for him.
Without taking her fangs from his neck, Christina eased her hips up and slid her hand between their bodies. She took him in her hand, stroking from the base to the tip. Her grip tightened, urgency spurring her on. And wasn’t that just the most amazing feeling in the world.
She felt achy, needy and only one thing would satisfy her. She slid his shaft inside of her, seating herself fully on this thickness.
Marcus moaned in ecstasy. He’d never tire of how she felt, all creamy heat and velvety slick folds. She rode him while she continued to take from his vein. Marcus allowed her to take the lead, set their pace. Tonight he would follow, giving her what she wanted. Letting her take him.
He pumped his hips, matching her pace. Their pace quickened as she geared up for the first explosion. Her orgasm hit hard. Christina threw back her head and screamed, “Marcus!”
An answering growl pushed from his throat, and her eyes snapped to his. Her hunger for him showed in the intensity of her dark emerald stare.
Christina planted her hands on his pectorals to brace her ride as she gyrated her hips against him in wanton abandonment. Blood ran down his neck from the puncture wounds she forgot to seal, tickling his flesh. The red streams drew her gaze, and she paused, stone still atop him.
Marcus’ breath hitched when she bent down and licked the wound closed with her tongue, swirling around the small punctures. Her red mane cascaded around his head, concealing them from the world. He wrapped one arm around her back, drew her tightly against him, and flipped them over without separating from her.
She arched, lifting her breasts to his chest as he took control and set their pace with a gentle sway of his hips. He took one of the creamy swells with his hand, cupping the full weight into his palm. He drew the other one into his mouth, teasing the nipple into a hard peak with his tongue. His mouth switched back and forth between the two globes, driving her mad with the contrast between his warm, moist mouth and the cool, dry air.
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