Wicked Road to Hell

by Juliana Stone

  She groaned, confused and fearful. Now that she’d tasted him, let him drink from her, she couldn’t envision a future without Declan by her side. And yet how could she be with him unless they were bonded to each other?

  Ana was not that strong. This she knew.

  The queen might show leniency for his turning, if Ana begged forgiveness, but she’d never allow one of royalty to bond with someone not of their race. Declan could never belong to her in the way that was forbidden.

  Ana had broken every single rule that her people held sacred. If the queen ordered his death, she’d never survive it.

  Carefully she pulled her arm away and slid into Declan’s embrace. She had no clue what the next few hours would bring. She only knew that at this moment, in this place, peace was the man beside her.

  She rested her head into the crook of his neck and closed her eyes. Her mind slowed and eventually she drifted into sleep.

  Fire ran through his veins, lapping at his insides and tingling along his nerves.

  What the hell?

  Declan’s eyes flew open. He was immediately assaulted with a host of sensations, smells, and sound. The soft body pressed against his chest was a welcome weight, the feel of her so right. He shifted, held her like a breakable, and the glow left him as his thoughts darkened.

  Ana. Here with him. In fucking Hell.

  Was she crazy? His mind ran through images in quick succession. Club Doom. Ana. Blood. Pain.

  He swallowed thickly, his tongue aflame with the taste of a metallic substance. It was blood—Ana’s blood. His power coiled hard in his gut and he felt something new inside him. An added strength.

  He hissed sharply. Ana’s scent was all over him, her taste was in him. It was intoxicating, vibrant, alluring. He closed his eyes and fought the overwhelming emotion that pummeled him.

  Was he vampire? Had they really done the deed? Shouldn’t he be sick? Or deranged? He’d wanted her to take his blood, to have a connection to him that she’d never had with another.

  But this was something else entirely. He’d never thought of taking from her. Of becoming like her . . . a vampire.

  Declan shifted once more, his gaze wandering the room they’d escaped to. Outside, the wind continued to howl as a storm rolled across District One. Long tendrils of fog slithered across the window.

  He couldn’t see shit.

  The children were out there. He groaned and relaxed into the mattress. He was having trouble focusing.

  Christ, he thought he had it bad before, but now? Now that he’d tasted her, now that she’d taken from him, the feelings and emotions were much more intense.

  Her long hair spilled across his chest and carefully he pushed the silken strands back. He wanted to see her. To touch her. To taste her.

  Her pale skin shone smooth alabaster. It glistened in the dim glow. Carefully he traced the curve of her cheek, his fingers light. He didn’t want to wake her. He wanted to savor the moment. He knew the fragile world that existed around him could shatter at any moment. In fact, it most likely would.

  Silent treasures like this would be scarce. Lilith waited, with her doe-eyed smile, silken limbs, heart full of maggots, and touch of evil. His belly clenched at the thought and he angrily shoved it aside.

  He wanted one more moment, one more chance at peace before plunging headlong into the fire that was District Three.

  Ana moved. His body, already hard, thickened painfully with need. He held her close, his mouth nuzzling the small space between her ear and the crook of her neck.

  She squirmed slightly and he smiled, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in her unique signature. Had it always been so sharp? Intoxicating?

  His lips moved along her jaw and when her eyes fluttered open, he paused, a whisper away from her mouth.

  “Declan,” she said softly, hesitantly. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry, I thought . . . I couldn’t let you . . .” She paused and exhaled. “I had to give you my blood or you would have died.” He pressed a finger to her lips.

  “I don’t want to hear it.”

  Her eyes widened, the solid blue depths glistening. He slipped his finger inside her mouth; his breath hitched at the warm wetness he found. An overwhelming need rushed through him and for a second his vision blurred. When he spoke again his voice was rough and it took a hell of a lot of effort to maintain control.

  “Thinking wastes time. Breeds regret.”

  His eyes dropped. He opened his mouth and took hers, plunging his tongue inside as his hand slid down her body to rest on her ass. She was perfect. Every line of her body was perfect and meant for him.

  Declan groaned into her mouth, hissed with pleasure when he heard her answering moan. She was all kinds of wet warmth and his tongue tasted every inch of her mouth.

  Wicked hot passion thrummed through him, lapping at his soul and setting his flesh on fire with an all-consuming need. A hunger that was relentless.

  His world narrowed into the space of one small, hot lady.

  He was fine with that. An infinite universe was overrated.

  Declan came up for air, his tongue tracing the soft curve of her jaw, but Ana began to struggle, to push at him. The hunger inside gnawed hard, the line of black that rode the edge of his sanity was growing in strength.

  “Declan, stop.” She wrenched her mouth from his and threw her head back. She pushed against his chest. “Now.”

  He was breathing hard, shook his head as a curtain of black threatened. His muscles were tight, his chest on fire, and his mind was going places they shouldn’t. Blood, darkness, pain, and pleasure.

  The palette had been set. He wanted more.

  “You need to understand what happened.”

  Ana sat up, ran her hands through the disheveled waves that rested against her cheek. Her chest heaved, her pale cheeks now held a blush of rose.

  “What I did to you.” She bit her lip. “What it means . . .”

  “Why are you fighting this?” Declan’s words were like whiplash, slicing through the air as his anger rose. “You’ve been fighting me for years.”

  Why the hell did she have all the power? He hated that he wanted her so badly it physically hurt.

  A guttural sound escaped her lips. “You don’t understand.”

  “No, I don’t. So why don’t you fucking explain it to me?” He nodded toward the room. “You might want to hurry it up. I’m not sure how much time we have and there are things to be done.”

  “Things?”

  Her mouth was open. He saw the tip of her tongue, the edge of her fangs. He knew she was as aroused as he. His gaze wandered over the tight tank top she wore. Her nipples were plainly visible, erect with need. He bent toward her, grabbed her to him, his thumb immediately teasing the hard nub mercilessly.

  His dark eyes sought hers. “By the time I’m done with you, every single bone in your body will belong to me.” He slid her shirt up slowly and took her turgid nipple deep into his mouth. He smiled wickedly as she whimpered, the sound exciting him, and he sucked harder as she writhed against him.

  “Oh God, Declan.”

  He released her nipple from his mouth, blew hot air onto the wet flesh, and grabbed her chin so that she could look nowhere but into his eyes. “You belong to me. You know this.”

  “Declan,” she whispered. He saw pain in her eyes and it pissed him off. “We need to talk about what happened. You are vampire now. I’m sure that’s not something you’ve aspired to.”

  “What’s the issue?” His words were gentle, but the harsh need inside was rubbing him raw. He felt like he was going to break apart, like he was holding on with the thinnest of control.

  “The issue?” She laughed, a hysterical bubble that echoed into the silence. “It’s bad enough the only way I could save you was to give you my blood. You are vampire and I’m sorry for that but if we do this . . .” Her eyes locked onto his and he was startled at the change in them. No longer were they blue, but they’d morphed into solid black. “
If we do this,” she began again, “if we make love I won’t be strong enough to stop the bonding process. If I bond with you your fate is sealed. We can’t take it back.”

  “I’m fine with that. I’m not interested in anything before now.”

  “You know nothing of my world.” The way she bit her lip was going to drive him fucking crazy. “It’s forbidden to make a vampire. Our queen banished the practice over two hundred years ago.”

  Declan snorted. “That’s bullshit. I know several vampires and at least three of them have humans they’ve turned.”

  Anger tingled along his flesh. It was true. He’d never taken the time to learn of the intricacies of the vampire world. But then again, vampires pretty much kept to themselves. They didn’t socialize a whole hell of a lot.

  Her eyes flashed and she hissed, exposing her fangs. “They were probably turned before her edict. Vampires have several levels, a hierarchy of sorts. I am a direct descendant of the queen and per her edict, the line must remain pure. She might overlook the occasional incident with her subjects, but royalty is something different. It’s always been forbidden. Our bloodlines must remain pure, untouched by outsiders.” She shook her head. “I don’t agree with it, but it is the way of our people. Plus I’m already betrothed.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Betrothed, as in fiancé?”

  Ana nodded. “Aleksander . . . it was arranged a long time ago.”

  His anger tripled and he could barely speak. “Where is he?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s ancient, a Viking. He came to America, took one look at me, and left.”

  The fucker must be deranged. “So that’s good.”

  “No, it’s complicated. Unless my queen breaks the betrothal, neither one of us can move on. She’ll never do that for someone who is forbidden.”

  “I don’t care.” He didn’t. With everything going on in his world right now, he didn’t give a flying fuck about some vampire queen he’d never met or a dumb-ass Viking with no last name.

  His voice lowered, his eyes darkened. “I will have you, Ana. All of you.” His fingers glowed with heat as he pulled on the magick inside. “What’s done is done.”

  “There’ll be no turning back. Right now there might be a chance for you. If I explain to council that I gave my blood to save you, that I turned you because there was no choice, they might let it go. There have been exceptions over the years, but if we bond . . .”

  He ran his fingers along her bare shoulders, smiled as she shuddered against his touch. “If we have sex?” His whisper was barely audible.

  “We’ve exchanged blood, Declan. If we have sex, if we bond while having sex, then we’re forever linked. You will become my fledgling. I don’t think you can appreciate what that means.”

  He arched a brow and carefully tugged at the edge of her shirt. “Take this off.”

  She was breathing heavily. The thin veins beneath her flesh were pronounced and he saw the tips of her fangs. His cock hardened, straining against his pants, and a wave of desire rolled over him.

  “Now,” he commanded harshly.

  “Declan,” she whispered, “council will hunt you down. They will end you.”

  His fingers arced forward and with one motion, her shirt was sliced evenly. He pushed her down into the mattress, his hands claiming the roundness that was now exposed.

  She gasped but did not push him away.

  “I spent six months in the bowels of District Three. Anything Lilith threw at me, I took. I did things that you can’t imagine. Things that would disgust you.” He felt like his throat was going to close. “A hundred vampires will not keep me from the one thing I desire above all else.”

  His free hand tugged on the waistband of her jeans, his fingers dug into the softness that was there. “I’m done playing games, Ana.” He lowered himself until his mouth was inches from hers. “I will have you, all of you. Your body, your soul, and your mind.” Declan pulled her jeans lower. “I’ll love you now, here in this place, and there is no one who will stop me.”

  Chapter 21

  Ana stared up at Declan. He’d rolled from the bed and now stood. The lines of his face were half hidden, shadows caressing the planes of his left cheek and mouth. Yet his eyes remained clear, intense, and in that moment, she felt an answering cry. An acknowledgment of need.

  Everything drifted away—the doubt, the pain, the longing she’d been fighting for years.

  She could have stopped him. Her power lay coiled, at the ready, and yet she remained still.

  He pulled her jeans down her legs and she watched, her gaze hooded as he tossed her boots to the floor. He grabbed the remnants of her shirt and it, too, joined the pile. Within seconds she was naked, every inch of her flesh on display.

  For a long moment Declan stared at her, his gaze roving her curves, his eyes tinged with crimson. Her mouth watered and the little voice that nagged from the corner of her mind, the one that shouted, No, was silenced. Maybe forever.

  Carefully he reached for her, his hand caressing the heaviness of her breasts. They swelled beneath his touch and she couldn’t help the groan that escaped when he bent forward and scraped his teeth along the edge of her nipple.

  Tiny shards of pleasure radiated outward and when his mouth opened fully, and his warm, wet tongue closed over her nipple, she surrendered. Every tense, hard piece of reasoning inside her melted into nothing but raw need.

  Her hands found their way into the thick hair atop his head, and her nails dug in as she thrust herself at him. The feel of his stubble on the sensitive peaks electrified and each time he tugged, sucked at her breast, an answering pull erupted, deep within her belly.

  It grew, spread fire through her veins. She was hot, her insides burning, and with a growl she yanked his head up until she could finally claim his mouth with her own.

  Their eyes caught and held. She opened for him, her eyes never leaving his as her mouth fed, tugged, and sucked from him. She watched his eyes widen, darken as her tongue tasted and stroked. She saw her passion, her need reflected in the depths of his eyes and when he groaned into her, when she ate his desire, she nearly came undone.

  His hand slipped down her body, past the curve of her hip and lower belly until his fingers found the wetness between her legs. She groaned, spread her thighs wider, and hissed sharply when he skirted the edge of her swollen clitoris.

  “Jesus, Declan,” she moaned into his mouth.

  He made another pass, this time his fingers lingering, caressing her slick folds, as his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth.

  Pressure built inside and it was too fast. Her fangs ached. She broke from him, her chest heaving.

  “It’s my turn,” she whispered, loving the way his eyes flattened to an opaque black as she ran her tongue along her swollen lips. He looked like a predator. Dangerous.

  Ana pushed him back and he slipped off the bed. His long, lean form moved with the grace of an animal, and he turned to face her, his hands raking through his hair as his eyes rolled over her nakedness.

  Carefully she pushed her hair out of the way as she rose to her knees and reached for him. “Take your shirt off.”

  Declan looked down at her, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile as he shed his T-shirt. Ana gazed upon the taut, defined muscles of his chest. She ached at the sight of his scars and bent forward, ignoring the hiss that escaped from him as she kissed the marred flesh.

  She would kill the animal that had marked her man.

  His arms would have gathered her close, but she whispered, her voice barely audible, “Be still.”

  The command was firm and the hint of compulsion she added was enough. Declan’s arms stayed at his side, though the fists were clenched, the veins along his forearms thick with tension.

  She smiled and tugged on the snap of his jeans. He was hard and ready. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him as she freed him from his clothes. Slowly her fingers traced the defined muscle of his abs. She shivered beneath
his flesh and bit her lips as he sucked in a harsh breath.

  Her hands slipped lower and when she grasped his straining cock within her grip, the guttural sound that fell from his lips made her mouth go dry.

  “Holy Christ, Ana.” He was hoarse. She gazed up at him, a thrill rushing through her as they connected. There was a glitter to his eyes, a feverish tinge that she knew well.

  Slowly she stroked him, her gaze not leaving his. She saw tiny lines begin to spread under his flesh and she felt his hunger. Her fangs ached. He groaned beneath her ministrations and she relished the velvety hardness that she held.

  Her tongue darted out and she licked her lips as his hands crept into her hair. She arched a brow.

  “I didn’t give the command for you to move.”

  “No.” His fingers clutched at her. “You didn’t.”

  His voice was thick, odd-sounding. Ana knew they’d just leapt over the cliff. There was no going back. Declan was on the cusp. Blood and sex would seal the deal.

  She opened her mouth and took him deep within.

  A strangled sound erupted from him as her right hand gripped the hard roundness of his ass. She held him as tightly as he held her, her left hand gripped tight to the base of his cock. The moans that continued to fall from his lips as her tongue swirled and stroked his hardness excited her as nothing had ever done before.

  She loved the taste of him, the feel of him straining inside her mouth. Ana whimpered, her hips slowly moving as the pressure between her legs pulsed, throbbed.

  Her fingers massaged him, her mouth and tongue worked feverishly. Her only thought was to give him as much pleasure as she could. There was nothing else.

  “You need to stop,” he whispered hoarsely. He tugged on her scalp—none too gently—and she pulled one more time, long and hard. She smiled up at him when he swore loudly.

  “Ana, you need to stop.”

  The long, hard, length of him sprang from her mouth, the wet sheen of his taut skin glistening.

  His hands slid to her shoulders and he pulled her up toward him. Her body was now officially on fire, her nipples ached where they touched his flesh. He stared into her eyes, his soul bared to her, and Ana was humbled by the man before her.