by TJ Michaels
Bix unwrapped his arms from around Carin’s lush, ready body and chuckled. He didn’t bother mentioning there hadn’t been a formal, traditional mating in front of the whole V.C.O.E. and all the Clans in…hell, he couldn’t remember how long.
Hand in hand, they followed the Matriarch to the raised dais and up the steps onto the platform, leaving the throng of bodies, some dancing, some necking, below. The second the Council rose from their seats the music stopped. Bix bowed low and Carin curtseyed to show their respect to the Elders, then turned to face the crowd as the lights came up to reveal a number of vamps in various stages of undress.
Alaana’s voice rang clear over the hushed mass. “Jon Bixler, Seeker of the Vampire Council of Ethics, son of Clan Vanett, and adopted son of Clan Serati. While this gathering is to show the clan’s solidarity in eliminating the threat to our species by the rogue Aleth Sidheon, we also wish to acknowledge the finding of your mate and bondmate, Dr. Carinian Derrickson.”
After a short round of applause, whistles and well wishes, Alaana continued. “Do the Elders of Clans Serati, Vigee, Li and Sewelle recognize the mating of Seeker Bixler and Carinian?” Each Elder named called out in the affirmative with a vocal “We do” as did each Elder for Clans Akicit, Hatsept, Rolle, Vanett, Bourek and Kraig. All ten clan Elders agreed, which was a miracle in and of itself.
Bix smiled down at Carin’s radiant face as the crowd clapped and hooted again. All except the bad boys of Clan Hatsept. It took those white-haired players a minute to clap along with the rest of the clan body since it was apparent that Carin wasn’t available for ravishing.
“Seeker Jon Bixler, Dr. Carinian Derrickson, we the Elders of the vampire clans recognize not only your mating, but your bonding as well. We wish you goodly success. Bix, you may now take your bondmate.”
His fangs lengthened and gleamed under the bright lights. Carin already had some of his blood in her, but to complete the bond he needed to feed from her. To take care of her part of the ancient ceremony, he bit into the fleshy part of his forearm and held it up to her. He smiled when she didn’t hesitate to take his blood. He could feel the pull of her lips down to his throbbing cock, which he didn’t bother trying to hide.
Turned on by taking his blood, she slid her tongue over her lips to capture every precious drop when she was through. His gaze followed the little pink organ from one side of her beautiful mouth to the other. Her expression was downright dreamy when she looked up at him, deliberately projecting her love—not just to him, but to everyone within psychic hearing distance. She let her head fall sideways and gave him as much room as he needed to lay it on her.
He gathered her close and positioned her so every vampire on the ballroom floor below could see what he was about. When the first drop of her sweet blood touched his tongue, his knees almost buckled from the concentration of energy flashing through his body. It was like drinking fire laced with lightning. Addicting. Arousing. When she moaned and clawed at his arms, he pulled back, thinking she was in pain.
“Oh Lord, don’t stop. More,” she cried, trying to pull him back to the column of her throat.
Instead he licked the wound to capture the slowly oozing trail of blood, swung her up into his arms and strode out of the ballroom. He didn’t stop until they were in his apartments.
He stormed into the apartment and kicked the door shut behind them. They made it as far as the living room.
Carin landed in the middle of the plush cushions with a bounce. Her thighs fell open to reveal a slip of a thong. The little piece of enticement was his favorite color and his favorite flavor lay just underneath it. Carin. She raised one leg and let it drape over the back of the couch. Her hands traveled over sheer thigh-high stockings, over the soft chiffon bunched at her waist and up to silk-covered breasts.
The heady scent of her arousal filled the room. Bix licked his lips, stepped away from her luscious body and stripped faster than even he thought possible. His jaw tightened along with the rest of his body, as he avidly tracked the movement of his woman’s fingers as she stroked swollen, heavy breasts with one hand. She lifted the other hand and her firm, full lips wrapped around a finger, then two.
Bix’s skin felt stretched too tight over muscle and bone when her pink tongue came out to play. No tentative display of just the tip, but the entire length of Carin’s hot, wet tongue stroked up and down her fingers as if she were trying to swallow them.
His fingers encircled his erection and stroked it in rhythm with her fierce sucking. He closed his eyes a moment and let his head fall back on a groan, imagining her taking him just like that, deep in her mouth until he touched the back of her throat.
When he looked at her again, her eyes were hard and hungry. But she wasn’t watching his face. Her focus was riveted on his hand stroking the length of his cock, up and down, then smoothing up and over the deep purple head, down along the pulsing shaft, and back again.
She moaned his name and his feet moved as if the very strings of her sultry voice wrapped around and pulled him, spirit, soul and body.
He approached slowly, all sinewy grace, muscles rippling and tensing as they rolled underneath his skin. God, would she ever get used to seeing this magnificent man in all his naked glory? Her pussy wept at the sight of his proud cock bobbing, reaching for her with every step. The heat in her veins skyrocketed until her skin sizzled and melted like caramel syrup tossed into a hot pan. Just the sight of him made her mouth water, her breath heave in and out of her chest. She wanted, needed to taste him so badly, she trembled. Even her lips quivered as her tongue snaked out and left a wet trail over them. She sat up and waited. Waited for him to bring her what she desperately needed.
He stood in front of her now, his delicious cock mere inches from her face. Just as she opened her mouth to take him deep, out of nowhere defiance rose up. While she wanted him to take her, it was the “taking” part that called to her blood, the need to make him prove he was strong enough to handle her. Instinctively, she went with it. She snapped her mouth closed, looked up and waited.
“You. Naked. Now.” Bix’s voice was raspy and his speech halting, as if he had trouble stringing the words together. Carin knew exactly how he felt.
Tearing her gaze away from his rock-hard length, she rose from the couch and stared up at his towering, tense frame. “No, don’t think so,” she purred, then turned away from him. A low, menacing snarl sounded behind her. It was all the warning she received.
Strong hands grabbed her by both arms and whirled her around. Her womb throbbed in cadence with her heart and sent a gush of silky need trailing down her thighs.
“Wrong answer, Carin.”
She looked up into the eyes of the deadly predator Bix always kept under such tight control. Yes, this was what she wanted—his control in shreds, just like hers. The tick in his jaw said his passion was barely leashed. He wanted her desperately. Did she dare push him any further? A half-smile quirked up at the edges of her lips. Of course she dared.
“I’ve changed my mind.” Surprised her voice was somewhat steady, she braced herself for what would come next. She’d always gone to him willingly, but something about this, about their bonding, made her want to defy him. Made her want to be taken, won and subdued.
His head tilted to the side and a single raven-black brow winged its way upward. “I don’t think so, baby.”
Bix’s large hand held both of hers over her head. She was strong, but he was stronger and her struggles gained her nothing. The fingers of his free hand wrapped around the spaghetti straps of her dress and in a single yank, they landed across the room. Sequins and beads flew everywhere as the lovely royal blue silk was torn from her body in shreds. A delicious tremor snaked down her sides as her bra, thong and stockings followed, leaving her with only ankle-strap high heels and the sparkle of beautiful sapphires and gold against her skin.
The heated skin of his powerful chest scorched her breasts as he pulled her roughly to him, grinding his engorged cock aga
inst her trembling belly and the smooth mound of her pussy. Opening his mouth wide as if he were going to bite her sent a new rush of wetness glazing down the inside of her thighs, and she knew he could smell it when he let out a deep, hungry groan. His fangs, and the cock pressed into her stomach, grew and stretched beyond anything she would have thought possible.
Her knees threatened to buckle when he lowered his head and played with her like a lion toying with his prey. The tips of his incisors trailed along the sensitive skin of her neck, around the front of her collarbone. By the time he nipped her just above her right breast, the shivers racing along her nerve endings shot up through her pores, peppering her body with glowing sparks, burning every inch of her body. It was exactly what she wanted.
He released his grip and her hands fell uselessly to his shoulders. Bix filled his hands with her breasts, wrapped his lips around the crown and pulled roughly. Her very soul vibrated as if a dozen bungee cords wove a path from her aching nipple to her navel, down through her body, and tied off at the base of her spine. The urgent draw of his demanding mouth and the scrape of his fangs strummed over the connection, and each cord vibrated endlessly. He worked her breasts, from one to the other, until she whimpered helplessly, her body a wanting, restless knot of tense muscles.
He picked her up, dumped her on the couch again. When she scrambled to her knees, his honeyed gray gaze glittered dangerously while his fingers sank into the coils of her hair. Hairpins flew in a wide arc as her face was brought to a level with his cock.
“Now suck.” The words were pushed through clenched teeth and came out a rough order she had no intention or desire to challenge.
She instantly obeyed, taking him into her mouth so suddenly his breath left his chest on a whoosh.
“Oh yeah, that’s it, baby. Suck it.”
She glanced up to see his head thrown back and the cords of his neck straining against the flushed skin. Damn, he turned her on. She hummed and licked and sucked until his hips pumped furiously against her lips. And she wanted more of him. Wanted to milk him with her tongue. She let all her thoughts and emotions swirl out from her mind in a fierce storm cloud of lust.
“Mmm, you taste so good, Bix. I want to suck you dry.”
“Tempting, but not tonight. Tonight I’m going to show you how a vampire really fucks his mate.”
Oh, Lord, what did he mean, exactly? Their loving had always been wild and explosive. What would be different this time? And could she handle it?
“Trust me, Carin, you can take it. You will take it.”
In a blur she was turned around on the couch on her knees, her body bent forward over the low back, and her ass in the air. Bix pulled her towards him, rocking against her cunt, coating his cock with her slick juices. Long, rough fingers slipped up and around her clit, rimming the folds of her swollen, wet pussy until she felt the throbbing of her blood in every cell of her body. Her belly fluttered with every breath as passion flared and consumed her like a fire fanned by a hot desert wind.
And still he teased her mercilessly, pushed her to mindlessness. Every muscle quaked and flexed with need.
“Bix, please…”
“Please what, baby?”
“Please, take me. Fill me. I-I…”
He positioned himself at her welcoming entrance and pressed slowly into her. When the crown of the thick head popped through her tight opening, he leaned forward, the muscles of his pecs jumping and twitching against her back. Bix whispered in her ear as his cock continued to torture her.
“Is this what you need?”
“Oh God, yes.” She squirmed and wiggled against him, trying to get more of him inside her thirsty heat. His fingers dug into her hips and held her still as he pulled back, giving her just the tip.
“Then tell me you need it. That you want it,” he growled, sucking a sensitive lobe into his warm mouth.
“I need it. Oh God, Bix, I need you, baby. Please.”
“Whose pussy is this?”
“Yours!”
“And what do you want me to do with my pussy, Carin?”
She knew what he wanted, and was more than ready to give it to him. Anything to put out the raging fire in her blood.
“I want you to take it. Take it all.”
He slammed into her then, so deep she felt it behind her eyeballs. His glorious cock stretched, filled, speared into her wetness with amazing speed. Vampire speed. In—tormented every nerve ending deep in her slick heat. Out—tantalized the sleek flesh of her cunt in a blur of wicked movement. In seconds a devastating orgasm thundered through her very soul.
He gave her no time to recover from the blistering climax. Instead, he threw her into another one, and then another until she was excessively sensitive. Each stroke triggered a scream, and every thrust made a sloshing noise as he moved within her drenched sex.
When her knees buckled under the onslaught, Bix, still planted deeply, picked her up and carried her into the massive bedroom. Rearranging her body so she lay on her back with her thighs over his shoulders, he rode her into sensual oblivion.
His roared release sounded in her ears but faded quickly as Carin, crossed eyes and all, drifted into blessed, sated unconsciousness with a silly grin on her face. Talk about a wedding night. Damn, the man had fucked her blind.
* * *
“Your lack of progress is trying my patience, my dear.”
“Look, timing is everything. Until you’ve taken care of your own business, stop riding my ass,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Believe me, my dear, I’m not riding your ass. Yet. But I do look forward to it. As soon as I find a suitable place for you to bring my visitor, I’ll make sure you’re ridden well.”
Sidheon’s sinister, sexy chuckle filled the phone line and a deep ripple spread across her womb. The man was so good at being bad it made her insides quiver, reminding her of the first time they’d met in person while on one of her supposed vacations.
He personally patted her down for weapons and listening devices.
“These days a wire could be worn anywhere, even in your bra, or in your hair,” he said, stripping her down to her underwear and motioning her towards a chair in the middle of the room. His henchmen glared murderously at her as they filed out. She recognized a couple of them. Hell, she’d provided the intelligence for the missions that had run them to ground, provided evidence resulting in their prison terms, and later arranged their parole. And with the V.C.O.E., justice was dealt harshly to a rogue.
Once they were alone, Sidheon bombarded her with questions about why she wanted to help him bring down the V.C.O.E.
“You told me Dr. Carinian was the target of the Head Seeker. Now you tell me he claims her as mate. Why?”
“Because you needed to know what you were up against if you chose to continue pursuing her,” she said, far from afraid but still eager for the little interrogation to be over.
“Why? Because you care whether I get hurt?” he drawled sarcastically.
She laughed and shot a retort back at him just as cynically. “Hardly. You’re no good to me dead.”
“Why would the Liaison for the Western territories betray the V.C.O.E.?” he queried. Beautiful jewel blue eyes bored into hers, reaching for her secrets even as they moved over her practically naked body. She shivered from the very ends of her raven black hair down to her toes at the transformation of those eyes from stark hard coldness to blazing hot lust.
“I want revenge against a certain Seeker.”
“Because…?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she snapped, trying to ignore the heat gathering behind her knees, snaking up towards the vee between her legs.
A gifted psychic, her shields hadn’t been strong enough to keep him out of her head. The vamp sensed and exposed half-truths and her rising desire until he had more than just the answers to all his questions. In the end, they both got what they wanted—Bix in exchange for Carin. The rest of their meeting was spent on h
er hands and knees, on her back, on the table, on the floor, screaming her promise to do anything he wanted as long as he kept her full of his lovely cock while sinking his fangs into her willing body. All the while she’d imagined Bix’s handsome face so close to hers, his lips on hers, and his strong hand spanking her.
Pushing the memories away to concentrate on the current conversation, she decided to avoid a fight with this dangerous vamp. Especially since she would see him again soon.
“Listen, lover, things are getting hot around here. Let me know the minute you have things settled on your end, and I’ll do the same, all right?”
“But of course,” he said calmly.
“Miss me, lover?” she asked playfully.
“Miss your lovely round ass. Perhaps I’ll let you wrap my dick in that tight hole? Depends on how good a girl you are.” Sidheon laughed.
She blushed, glad he couldn’t see the mix of lust and contempt in her eyes. Disconnecting the secure cell phone, she slammed it down on the desk even as her mind filled with thoughts of what a talented tool Sidheon had. Too bad he was going to lose his balls by going up against Bix. The head Seeker was a formidable fighter who believed the only fair fight was a won fight. Sidheon didn’t stand a chance. But no matter, once Sidheon killed Carin, Bix would be bereft and alone. And she would be there to comfort him, just as she planned.
* * *
Content and purring, Carin lay in her favorite position—sprawled across her husband’s chest with her head pillowed on one of Bix’s large shoulders. They’d spent the past week shut away in Bix’s apartments. Since it was bigger than her whole house in San Diego, complete with all the amenities, they hadn’t even come out for meals in the main hall.
He’d surprised her with the knowledge he could cook. In fact, her stomach was still rejoicing from the dinner they’d shared earlier this evening. A meal even her grandma would have appreciated—fried chicken, hot water cornbread, fresh greens and strawberry shortcake complete with gobs of whipped cream.
