“Hausle, where are you going?”
Alexander turned back. “I’m checking us into a hotel and disappearing for a week. Don’t call.”
Nicholas chuckled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The other vampire nodded before lifting Charlotte into his arms and disappearing through the doorway. Nicholas pulled me after them as more vampires swarmed the apartment. He called out a few commands that I ignored as I looked back at the pieces of my former maker.
It was then I realized I was finally free.
I’d never have to worry about him again.
I hadn’t realized what a heavy load Massimo had been on my life until it was removed. Now that it was, I could actually breathe again. I took a deep breath just to test it and smiled as I inhaled.
“You okay?” Nicholas asked again as we walked down the stairs to the main floor.
I nodded slowly. “I think I will be.”
There was still a lot I had to process, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I’d killed today for the first time in my life. There were vampires who’d lost their lives at my hands. That wasn’t something I could just forget or forgive. It would take time, but with Nicholas’ hand around mine, I knew I’d find my way.
We were quiet in the SUV as Nicholas navigated us somewhere. I didn’t bother asking because I didn’t really care. But when we pulled up to his apartment building, something inside me loosened.
“I thought you’d like to be home,” he said softly.
I turned to smile at him, even though it felt brittle. “That’s exactly where I want to be.”
He parked quickly, and we took the elevator up to his apartment, neither of us in a rush. I was just happy to have his strong hand wrapped around mine.
When we got inside, we both stood in the foyer for a moment. I didn’t know what was going through his head, but I was thinking about how many things had changed since the last time I was there.
How much I’d changed.
“Do you want to lie down?”
I turned to Nicholas, noticing for the first time the heavy lines around his eyes and the bags beneath them. “I actually think I want a shower first.”
He nodded before leading me upstairs to our master bathroom. But when he tried to leave, I grabbed his hand again. “Stay. Please.”
His eyes softened as he pulled his shirt over his head. My insides twisted in an almost unfamiliar way as I looked at his perfectly sculpted body. I had to shake my head to clear it before I began disrobing too.
Nicholas blasted the hot water in the shower before I stepped under the spray. I closed my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I let the cleansing steam seep through my system.
I almost protested when he released me, but he was back seconds later to wash my hair. He continued to clean every inch of me, his touch so gentle it brought more tears to my eyes. When he was done, he turned the water off and got a big towel to dry me with. I stood there and let him, too tired to protest.
When I was wrapped in the soft terrycloth, he led us to our bed, and we crawled under the sheets. His arms were around me instantly and I closed my eyes.
“Are you thirsty? Do you need to feed?”
I shook my head. “Charlotte fed me a couple times.”
“Would you like to rest for a while?”
I nodded. “That sounds good.”
“Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do?”
I almost shook my head again, but stopped at the last second. There was one thing he could do.
I opened my eyes and met his. “I want to bond. Right now.”
His gaze tightened for a moment before clearing again. “Okay. If that’s what you want, let’s do it.”
“What do I need to know?” I asked as the excitement started racing through my veins. It chased away the sorrow and fear that had settled deep inside me.
Nicholas sat up and pulled me onto his lap so we were eye to eye with my knees on either side of his hips. His hands gripped my thighs, a slight tremor in them.
He took a deep breath and released it. “Obviously, I’ve never done it before, but I’ve learned the mechanics. We’ll need to drink from each other simultaneously. From what I’m told, there will be a moment where the bond will question our devotion to each other. If it finds our connection pure, the bond will be formed, permanently connecting us forever.”
“Okay, that sounds easy enough.”
Nicholas nodded and offered me a brief smile. “I’m nervous,” he admitted. “Not about choosing you,” he rushed to add, “Just in general.”
I gave him a small smile. “I’m nervous too.”
He cupped my face and pulled me closer, his soft lips meeting mine in the middle. The tension left both of us as our mouths moved together like they’d done a hundred times before. His lips left mine as he trailed a line of kisses along my jaw and down to my neck. When he reached my jugular, his warm tongue slipped out and pressed against my pulse.
I was panting at this point, barely holding myself in check.
“I’m going to bite you, Adrienne,” he warned. “And then you’ll need to bite me back.” His warm breath fanned across my wet skin and I trembled in his arms.
Without warning, his sharp teeth slid into the skin at the junction of my neck and shoulder, and his mouth started sucking. The sensation was so erotic, so overwhelming, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing and gripped his arms, moaning long and loud. His lips were still attached to my neck when he tilted his head to the side, and I remembered I was supposed to be feeding from him too.
I dipped my head and sank my teeth into his neck. His groan rumbled along my skin and I shivered. His blood flowed hot and thick into my mouth and I luxuriated in the taste.
Drinking from him while he sucked on my neck overwhelmed my senses, and everything else faded away. My whole world centered on Nicholas and our joining.
I continued to drink, noticing the flavor of his blood slowly change. The difference was so minute at first I hardly noticed it. The seconds turned into minutes, changing the taste more and more.
Finally, I realized he was starting to taste like me. Only his blood wasn’t exactly like mine, it was a melding of the two. A seamless mixture of both of our essences in one.
As we held each other and continued to drink, I felt another sensation. It started low in my belly and slowly grew in size and intensity. At first it felt like an approaching orgasm, but this was deeper, somehow more profound than any climax I’d ever had.
The coil in my gut expanded and traveled throughout the rest of my body. Everywhere from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes was infiltrated by this warm feeling. The only place it didn’t go was my chest, almost as if it couldn’t. It sped around, above and below, but behind my ribs remained cold and empty.
I wondered if this was the bond questioning me, searching within to get to my true feelings. I dug deep and recalled everything I loved about Nicholas. Every moment he’d touched my heart. I continued to drink as the images of his loving face, the sound of his sweet words, and the memory of his tender touches swam through my head.
The heat was gathered around my cold chest, pulsing and throbbing, almost as if it were waiting.
I bought up a mental picture of the way Nicholas’ eyes looked when he’d said he loved me. How I’d felt cherished for the first time in a long time.
I realized I’d been waiting all my life for him to love me.
All at once, the heat invaded my upper body, burning hotter than before. The force of it ripped my mouth from Nicholas’ neck and I leaned backward as the heat wriggled behind my ribs. It wasn’t painful at all. It felt amazing, in fact. Like all the cold, lonely places inside me were now full of light.
My breathing was labored as I sat there with my eyes closed, trying to make sense of what just happened. I took a peek at Nicholas to see him in much the same position. His head was tilted back, and his naked chest heaved with the force of hi
s breaths.
When his eyes finally met mine, they were filled with wonder. He raised a hand to cup my jaw. “Are you all right?”
The look on my face must have scared him. I didn’t quite know what to think yet, but I knew I was more than all right.
As I stared into his beautiful brown-green eyes, I saw the worry in them, but also the hopeful happiness. I launched myself across the distance that divided us and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I’m great.” I sighed into his skin. Pulling away, I eyed him critically. “What about you? How was it for you?”
He studied my face for a moment, as if weighing the truth of my words. He must have found the proof he needed because a brilliant smile spread across his face.
“It was… intense. But incredible.” He slid his arms around my waist, his mouth dipping to my shoulder, kissing and nipping as he traveled toward my face. When he reached my lips, he kissed me with such devotion it left me breathless.
Nicholas flipped us over before he peeled the damp towel off me, his eyes bright as they caressed my skin. When they met mine again, they were almost feral. “You’re mine now,” he growled. His hands gripped my hips in a possessive hold that made my belly clench.
“I’ve always been yours,” I whispered as his palms cupped my breasts.
He nodded before dipping his head to pull one of my nipples into his mouth. “Now you’ll always be mine.”
I closed my eyes and let his words wash over me. Let them chase away all the darkness that had crept in. Let them fill me with his light.
I spread my legs for him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Nicholas dipped his head to capture my lips before entering me slowly.
It hadn’t been that long since we’d been intimate, but for some reason, it felt like I’d been away from him for years. This felt new between us. Uncharted.
Maybe it was because this was our first time being intimate after our bond.
Maybe it was because we’d come so close to losing each other.
Whatever the reason, I’d never felt Nicholas so deep inside me. Like he reached straight to my core.
He ripped his lips away from mine, his breaths just short bursts of air as he pumped into me. “Nothing’s ever going to take you from me again,” he promised. “Nothing.”
I shook my head as my belly coiled tight with my impending orgasm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He growled as his hips moved faster. Harder. Until he was all I could see and feel and taste. Nicholas was everywhere, and I never wanted this to end.
I dug my nails into his back as he raced me toward my climax.
I watched as he pulled all the way out of me, shifted his hips, and then sank back in.
That was all it took.
My legs clamped around his hips as my head fell back, and my orgasm raced wildly through me. It was stronger that I’d ever felt. Deeper. More.
In the haze of my climax, I heard Nicholas grunt with his own release before he stilled inside me. When I opened my eyes again, I met his, and I swore I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“I love you,” he said simply.
And it was all I needed in that moment.
Chapter 18
Alexander
“Where are we going?”
Her sweet voice broke through the havoc in my head and I turned to look at her. Even filthy and covered in blood, I’d never seen anything more beautiful. I took a moment to re-familiarize myself with the features I’d memorized a long time ago. It honestly felt like we’d been separated for weeks and not simply days.
I squeezed the hand I hadn’t let go of once. “There’s a vampire hotel in Manhattan. We’ll check in under an alias and spend some time there while everything settles down.”
She nodded and leaned back in the seat, her eyes closing. “That sounds good.”
The questions sped through my mind, begging to be let free, but the dread of hearing the answers was so great, it clogged my throat.
I wanted to know every single thing that happened to her while she was gone. That way I knew where to be more gentle and where I needed to kiss more tenderly.
I finally cleared my throat. “There’s so much I want to ask you, but I don’t even know where to start.”
She chuckled before hissing in pain, her body curling forward.
I lurched toward her, my attention barely on the road in front of me. “What’s going on? Are you hurt? Talk to me.”
Her breaths were slow and shallow as she sat up straight again. Charlotte’s face was more pale than usual. Even her pink lips were almost white.
“Charlotte. I need you to talk to me,” I said between gritted teeth.
She took another couple of breaths with her eyes still closed before nodding. “I’m okay.”
I scoffed. “The fuck you are! What happened? What did that motherfucker do to you?”
Her lips twitched with a small grin as she peeked at me. “How much time do you have?”
The rage was so intense, so overpowering, it took everything in me to sit still and keep the car on the road. Everything was tinted red as I tried to breathe through the fury. “Just tell me,” I spat, my jaw still locked so tight the words barely made it out.
She sighed, which caused her to wince again, and I almost ran the car off the road. “Most recently, he broke a couple ribs. But it’s okay. I’ve had worse.”
My insides felt volcanic as my hands gripped the steering wheel so hard it bent. I cursed under my breath because I’d borrowed this vehicle from another guard, and now, I was going to have to pay to fix it.
But that didn’t matter right now.
Once I could see straight again, I pulled my wrist to my mouth and bit down until my blood started flowing. I held it out to her. “Drink.”
She shook her head as she shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s okay. I can wait until we get wherever we’re going.”
I shoved my wrist at her again. “Charlotte, I said to drink. Now.”
She sighed, her breath catching when the motion hurt her again. I flipped on the turn signal, full prepared to pull the fuck over and force feed her. Finally, she grasped my arm and pulled it to her mouth. The moment I felt her sucking, I let out a tense breath and my shoulders fell.
She drank while I drove and tried to not get hard, but that was almost impossible. Having Charlotte’s wet mouth on my skin was erotic enough, but knowing I hadn’t had her sexy little body beneath me in so long was like torture. I shifted in my seat, hoping my dick would calm the fuck down because now was not the time.
We were almost at the hotel when she pushed my arm away. “I think that’s enough for now,” she said, even her voice a little stronger. “They don’t hurt so bad now.”
I shook my head, my teeth grinding. “You should have told me you were injured sooner. You didn’t have to be in pain for so long.”
She shrugged. “I’ve had broken ribs before. It’s nothing I can’t deal with.”
And that shit right there made me furious.
I pulled into the lot and found a spot before slamming the car into park and turning to her. “Never again, you got me? No one will ever lay a hand on you again. You’ll never have another broken bone. Fuck, as long as I’m around, you’ll never have another hangnail. I don’t care if I have to sew us together, I’m never letting anything bad ever happen to you again. Got it?”
Her big blue eyes softened as she reached out to wrap her small hand around mine. “This wasn’t your fault.”
How did she do that? Cut me right to the core. Peel back the layers of bullshit and see deep down to my truth.
I did feel responsible.
For the fact that I couldn’t protect her that night.
For the fact that I hadn’t changed her into a vampire before then.
For the fact it took me so long to get to her and she’d been hurt so badly in the meantime.
Suddenly, the separation between us was too great. I unbuckled h
er seatbelt before pulling her across the center console and onto my lap. She settled her little ass on my dick, and I had to think about something else before I got hard again.
“It’s my job to protect you, and I didn’t,” I said quietly, hardly able to meet her eyes.
Charlotte reached out and cupped my face with her soft hands. “But you found me.”
I chuckled and turned my head to kiss her palm. “But you’d already killed Massimo yourself. You didn’t even need me.”
She shook her head and leaned closer. “I told you I’ll always need you and I meant it.”
I sighed and rested my forehead against hers, breathing in that peach scent I’d missed so much. “I thought I lost you,” I whispered, so quiet I wasn’t sure she’d hear me. I looked up and met her sky-blue eyes. “When our connection cut out, I thought I lost you.”
The emotions I’d worked so hard to suppress for the past forty-eight hours rushed to the surface. They overwhelmed me instantly with their intensity. I squeezed my eyes closed as I wrapped my hands around her hips.
Breathing slowly, I tried to remind myself that she was here. That she was okay. That I hadn’t really lost her. That she was back where she belonged.
But the fear I’d kept at bay for so long was loose now, and I didn’t know how to make it go away again.
Charlotte’s finger grazed the corner of my eye and I looked up at her. On her fingertip was a single bloody tear. I stared at it in fascination. I couldn’t remember ever crying before. Not when I lost my human life. Not even when I’d lost my entire family.
I met her gaze and there I found all the love and acceptance I never knew I needed. It was all right there, and it was all for me.
“You didn’t lose me,” she finally said. “Adrienne claimed me.”
I frowned. “Why would she do that?”
Charlotte shrugged. “She didn’t mean to. She was feeding me after I’d been injured and then she bit me back and the claim locked into place.” She ran her fingers through my dark hair, and I closed my eyes again. “I’m sorry. I knew you’d be worried.”
I shook my head and pulled her closer. “I was terrified.”
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