by Bianca D'Arc
“You think they’d really accept me among them?” A tiny flicker of hope started to form inside her.
“It might take a little time, and they’ll be standoffish at first, but they’ll accept you. Eventually, they’ll protect you like one of their own. It’s already starting. Because you will be one of them. You’ll be Clan. Because you’re my mate. It’s just that simple for us shifters.”
“It’s way more complicated among bloodletters,” she whispered, knowing there was still a lot of hurdles to overcome, but Mag had given her a sliver of hope, and it continued to grow.
“Then we stay with the Clan. Vamps can’t touch you on our lands. And if I understand bloodletter mating correctly, you’ll only ever have to drink from me if we mate, right? My blood, and lots and lots of sex will keep you in good health. It’ll be tough, but I’ll do my part. Especially the sex part.” He teased her, and her heart lightened. She was smiling as his lips drew closer.
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. Simple as you and me. We’re the only two that matter in the end. Your people. My Clan. That’s all just details. The big thing is right here, between us. Our two souls and no one else. What do you say? Will you agree to stay with me and be my mate? Goddess knows I’ve wanted to be your One since the moment I met you.”
She couldn’t fight it anymore.
“You are. You’ve always been my One, Mag.” She reached up and twined her arms around his neck, drawing him closer.
Their kiss was one of coming home. Of freedom to be who they really were, and joy at being honest with themselves and each other for the first time.
She thought about letting go of her stranglehold on their psychic connection, but decided to wait. For one thing, it might startle Mag right out of the mood, and she didn’t want to wait one more second. For another, she’d lose control soon enough. There was no way she could keep the connection closed through a climax.
Miranda wanted this to be like the first time they made love. Letting the connection happen naturally, at the moment of crisis, would be better. It would be a more natural discovery of her One, without the fear that had swamped her the first time. A new memory for her to start their new life together with—for however long it lasted.
She wasn’t as optimistic as he was about how their relationship would work, but she could no longer deny the fact that he was her One. The only One she would ever know. Many bloodletters went centuries before they found theirs, and many never did. She couldn’t let him go. Not now. Not when there might be the slightest chance that somehow this impossible relationship might work out.
Not when she loved him with all her heart.
Miranda tugged at his clothing as her heart rate increased. She wanted him now. She didn’t want to wait any longer. Foreplay was unnecessary. She’d been in an almost constant state of arousal since the moment she’d tasted his blood back when she was so badly injured she was almost mindless. It had taken all her willpower to stay away from him all this time, but no more. She wanted him and she wanted him now.
Mag moved back, separating them for the short moment it took to rip his shirt off over his head. Then he was back, kissing her as he worked on her clothing. Separating again to drag her shirt off too, she lifted her arms eagerly to help. The sooner they were naked, the better.
Fabric tore as she pushed at his pants and she had to stifle a laugh. He didn’t seem to notice though. His touch was gentler but just as insistent on her. With a few sharp tugs and more ripping sounds, they were both free of the fabric that had kept them apart.
Mag leaned over her as he lowered her to the bed. His perfect body covered hers and she gladly made room for him between her legs, welcoming him with every gesture, every mewling sound of need she couldn’t suppress. He didn’t disappoint. His hips settled in the hollow of her thighs and his body moved upward, nearly fitting them together in the most basic, elemental way.
And then he paused.
“I love you, Miranda.” His gaze held hers, but he didn’t give her a chance to answer as he pushed deeper inside her body, claiming her in one, long, hard thrust.
She moaned as he joined their bodies, holding his gaze and digging her fingers into the hard muscle of his shoulders. Her mouth opened on a silent scream of delight as her body accepted him without qualm, knowing its mate. Reveling in the fact that they two were now One.
Then he began to move and her mind became a whirlwind of color and light, ecstasy and overall…love. Deep, abiding love tempered in passion. She could feel it with every fiber of her being. She felt it in the careful way he held her, in the way he pushed her body to its very limit and then beyond.
She buried her face in his neck, needing the scent of his skin in her nostrils, the sound of his blood swishing…echoing in her ears. She needed…
“Go ahead baby, do it. Bite me,” he urged in a raspy voice that pushed her to her limits.
She licked his salty skin and found she couldn’t resist. She wanted it all. With him. And only with him. She touched her elongated fangs to his neck, over the beating pulse, and then she bit down, slicing into his skin. The first drop of his blood welled and landed on her tongue, and then it happened.
She came and the floodgates in her mind crashed open. Her mind flowed into his and his into hers. She felt his momentary confusion and then the immense satisfaction he felt knowing that he really was her mate. He sent reassurance and so much love down their connection, it pushed her back up to the precipice. This time, when she came, he went with her into the abyss where only they existed. Joined. One.
How long they lingered in that nowhere land of pleasure, she wasn’t sure, but she became aware again when Mag moved off her and collapsed at her side. He kept one arm around her and dragged her close to him. Apparently, he liked to snuggle after sex. She wasn’t complaining one bit.
“Most shifters like to snuggle,” he said, surprising her. “Get used to it.” The amusement that made its way down their shared connection made her insides bubble with happiness. He’d heard her thoughts and answered them.
“Of course I did,” he said, again in answer to her unspoken words. “I’m your One and you’re my mate.” He pulled her closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head while his breathing settled back toward its normal pace.
She turned her head to inspect the bite she’d given him. Had she remembered to seal it with her magic? Miranda was relieved to see that she had. Two red pinpricks showed on his neck, with only a tiny trace of blood. She leaned up and licked it away, loving the taste of him on her tongue.
Which made her think of other things she might want to taste that involved him. He growled and she knew he’d read her thoughts again. She was reading some pretty lascivious thoughts coming her way from his mind as well. It was all good. They were on the same page.
Miranda stalked her way down his body and staked her claim on his cock, which was already rising once more. She’d only ever been with one shifter—him. And they’d only ever made love once. She didn’t know much about shifters in general, and had heard only rumors about their recovery time.
“Everything you heard is true,” he boasted playfully. She felt the teasing tone of his thoughts in her mind. This sharing was going to take a little getting used to, but so far, it was fabulous.
She used the connection to learn from his thoughts exactly the way he liked her to touch him. She used her hands and her tongue, her mouth and even her teeth—very gently—to bring him to climax once more. The flavor of him was like ambrosia to her vampiric senses.
A sound came from her throat that surprised her and Mag laughed. Had she really just growled? Vampires didn’t growl. At least, she’d never made such a sound before.
“This is a give and take relationship, sweetheart.” Mag reached down and lifted her to lie beside him. “If you feed on my blood…and other things…you might just take on a few of my traits. Personally, I think your little growl was sexy.” He kissed her lips and she caug
ht the thought in his mind about whether or not she could shapeshift into a cougar and run with him.
“Wouldn’t that be amazing?” she mused as the kiss ended and they were snuggling again. “I’d love to see the desert from your cat’s point of view. I bet it’s awesome.”
“It is,” he agreed, and she felt the satisfaction in his mind. “You know, sometimes shifters like to claw and bite during sex. Is that a problem? I mean, if I lost control and bit you, would I become a vampire too?”
She felt his concern along with the very naughty thoughts that accompanied his images of biting her while he was deep inside her. She couldn’t help but respond as her body began to rev up for another round.
“It takes more than a little sip of my blood to turn someone. And I think you can feel how excited the thought of your biting me while I bite you makes me. It’s the ultimate sexual thrill for one of my kind. Having sex with another vampire is rare because so few of them are willing to make themselves so vulnerable to another. There isn’t a lot of trust in the bloodletter community. But a few do it because they say there’s nothing like fucking and sucking at the same time.”
She knew she was blushing. She wasn’t one for crude language. She’d been born in a time when few women admitted to even knowing such words, much less used them, and she still hadn’t quite adjusted to the modern world’s casual usage of four-letter words.
“Although I’m not sure what effect a taste of my blood might have on you. It could help you heal faster. Might make you faster in general. Maybe stronger. Though you’re already pretty strong and fast on your own.” She loved his strength, and she knew he could feel her admiration in her thoughts. It was so amazing having the subtext of emotion behind each word they exchanged. Over time they would grow into this ability and it could become something really special.
“Do you want to give it a try?” Images of them twined together, both sporting sharp teeth sprang into his mind and fired down their connection into her brain.
“Do you have to ask?” She deliberately sent him images of them together, knowing the thoughts were firing his body back up to full speed ahead.
He rolled so that she was on top this time and helped her guide him into her body. He watched the place they were joined with glazed eyes. Somehow that made her even hotter as she began to bounce up and down over him. He helped, guiding her hips. The hard muscles in his arms flexed and moved as he assisted, his strength aiding her. She licked her lips at the sight. He really was the most beautifully built man she had ever had the good fortune to fuck. And he was all hers. For as long as they could make this last.
She banished the thought and concentrated on the man beneath her, loving the way he felt inside her. He was so deep. She felt so full of him. His cock inside her body, his mind joining with hers. The connection had blown open, but it was still new. It would take time to grow into it, she knew, and each time they made love, it would grow a little stronger.
“That’s it, baby, squeeze me,” he coached in a low, sexy voice that made her insides clench on him. He sucked in air as she moaned and swayed above him.
And then it was time. She couldn’t hold out much longer. She needed to taste his essence, to have her aching fangs sink into him and take his blood inside her body, into her spirit. To join them on the deepest, most elemental level. She crept forward, lowering herself over his chest, altering the angle of penetration and ratcheting her excitement higher. His cock hit a secret little spot inside her that made her want to scream with delight every time it rubbed in just the right way.
She licked a path along his neck, looking for just the right spot as his body surged into hers again, touching that spot that sent what felt like joyous jolts of electricity through her nervous system. One more ought to do it. She didn’t want to wait.
Miranda bit him and felt an answering bite on her shoulder, just where it joined her neck as he thrust deep, one last time. She exploded, feeling him do the same. He growled in his chest, sending off little shockwaves against her nipples which only made her rocket higher into oblivion.
He’d done this to her. Mag and Mag alone could make her see the stars without ever leaving the Earth.
They had a few hours left until dawn, and they spent them in each other’s arms. They made love repeatedly, learning the new connections between their minds. Though they couldn’t always hear each other’s thoughts in words, Miranda said that would come in time. He did pick up on her emotions and the sensations coming from her were pretty amazing. He gained a whole new understanding of pleasure—and of what made her hot. He looked forward to trying out their new ability in other settings too.
Miranda was taking the lead on the mental stuff while Mag was in charge of her pleasure and all physical comforts. He ran a bath in the giant Jacuzzi tub for them both, then made love to her in the water, and then again on the vanity—sidetracked while he was trying to dry off her luscious body.
When dawn broke, she fell asleep in his arms. He stayed with her for about an hour, just looking at her and marveling at how greatly he had been blessed. To find his mate and have her be such a caring, loving soul… His joy was beyond comprehension or explanation.
Finally though, he rose from the bed and started his day. He had a few things to do and wheels to set in motion before he grabbed a cat nap this afternoon. He wanted to be there when she woke in his bed. He especially wanted to make love to her again before they faced whatever the night would bring.
If he was a betting man, he’d expect that promised summons from the Master vampire to be waiting for them as soon as night fell.
Chapter Nine
Mag wasn’t surprised when he got the message later in the afternoon. It was just before dusk when he checked his voice mail. All through Miranda’s recuperation, he’d managed to keep up with his paperwork for Redstone Construction. Checking his voice mail had become a morning ritual. Apparently the Master had been unable to find out where Mag had taken Miranda, and had resorted to tracking down his work number.
Nice.
The message wasn’t from the Master himself, but from one of his servants. He kept a few humans employed in his place of business. He was even rumored to have a tame mage he used for daytime missions that required knowledge of the supernatural world. The humans were kept strictly in the dark about the Master’s true nature. They just thought he was an eccentric club owner who partied all night while they ran the day-to-day business. Tony’s vampire magic made sure they kept believing it. He could influence their minds at will, and make them believe just about anything he wanted. Vampires at his level had skills that were kind of scary, but they didn’t have much impact on shifter minds.
For that, Mag was grateful. He listened to the message with surprise. It was very polite and carefully worded. Mag and his plus one were invited to a soiree at the Master’s penthouse on top of his luxury hotel on the Strip.
The building was nice. Not up to Redstone Construction standards of course, but nice all the same, Mag thought, as they rode up to the penthouse in the express elevator. Miranda elbowed him. She’d been picking up on the flavor of his thoughts at random moments, and he felt her amusement at his prideful musings.
They’d agreed to keep the connection loose for now. She was able to control it a lot better than him, seeing as how she had more practice with the psychic gifts she’d gained when she’d become immortal. He was learning, but she was definitely more in control of the connection between their minds than he was at the moment.
He was cool with that. For now. He’d figure it out eventually. After all, they would have their whole lives together to work on it if he had anything to say about it.
The door whooshed open at the top floor and they were met by sounds of elegant music being played by a string quartet. Men and women lounged here and there with full glasses of wine. Some were eating from the buffet, which meant this was a mixed gathering of vampires and humans. Mag would be on his guard. He sniffed discretely and noted each scen
t. Not a single shifter of any kind was in the big penthouse suite.
That didn’t mean Mag was totally on his own here. He’d made contingency plans. His older brothers had taught him well—and pledged their help. Mag had taken them up on the offer, and if trouble arose here tonight, there was backup standing by.
A sleek vampire came toward them. The woman was an icy blond and though she smiled, it did not reach her eyes.
“Miranda, darling, so good to see you again.”
The woman gave Miranda the society air kiss that made Mag want to laugh, but he didn’t dare. It wouldn’t do to insult a vamp in the Master’s lair. Mag felt Miranda’s reaction to the woman. She wanted to roll her eyes, which pretty much matched Mag’s impulses. Mag sensed there was no love lost between the two women. The emotions he was gleaning from Miranda indicated a complicated relationship existed between the two females.
“Cassandra, this is Magnus Redstone. Mag, this is my sister, Cassie.” Mag interpreted the flavor of her words along with the mixed emotions to mean something very different than he would have thought when she used the word sister. Mag felt the nuances now. Miranda wanted him to stay on his toes. He sent her reassuring thoughts through their link. He wouldn’t let his guard down. Not for one minute.
He shook hands with the lovely vampire, noting that she had none of the warmth or openness in her expression that made Miranda the true beauty of their weird little family. Cassandra also squeezed his hand a little too tight. He was sure it was some kind of one-upmanship display to remind him that she may look fragile, but she was far from it. No worries. He wouldn’t forget.
“Tony’s waiting for you,” Cassandra said, letting go of Mag’s slightly bruised hand. Without waiting for an answer, she turned, apparently expecting them to follow. That she used the Master’s nickname was not lost on Mag.
