“Baby,” he said, opening his arms.
She didn’t move.
First, she needed to get it all off her chest.
“I know you don’t want me there, but we’re stronger as a unit than alone. Together, we’re a team. I need to be with you.”
She was shaking.
Flynn wasn’t sure if it was the need to feed or her fear. Either way, he wouldn’t let her suffer.
“Jolie, come here.”
She didn't hesitate. Rushing toward him, he caught her in his arms.
“Oh, Flynn!”
He understood. His mouth found hers, and they came together in a wave of need. The second their lips touched, she melted into him. Without them, he was afraid too. A million things warred in his mind. Was he vampyre enough to pull that club off, would he die, and would he miss seeing his child?
Then the kiss pulled him back under.
It was hot.
Wet.
Perfect.
Jolie clung to him, his erection pinned between them. When she broke the kiss, he was breathing heavily.
“Jolie,” he murmured.
She set him free. As she took a step back, he watched her with confusion. Jolie never turned down steamy shower sex.
It was their thing. They took those moments in the morning to reconnect after being reunited post death.
“Flynn,” she whispered, dropping to her knees. As he stood in front of her, she spoke with her heart. “Please let me go with you to the club, Master.”
The title always rattled him.
When she showed such subservience, it continued to catch him off guard.
Flynn being given that much power over a strong woman was a special gift. He knew that she didn't kneel for anyone. This was priceless.
Ah, if Balzac could see the ‘worthless human mate’ now, he’d shit a ton of bricks.
Jolie was trying to meet him halfway. She wanted to give him something in exchange for him compromising.
Still, he didn't move.
“Please. I need you to see how desperate I am to be by your side. I love you, Flynn. You’re the only one I’ll ever give this control to. Use me. Love me. Trust me.”
He shook.
“Come here, Jolie,” he said, pointing at the spot in front of him.
She didn't hesitate. Jolie crawled on her knees. When she got into position, her face was inches from Flynn’s erection.
“Stroke me.”
She did as he asked. The entire time, her body heated from the task. This human always brought this out in her. It was uncontrollable, and she couldn’t help it. Who knew he’d have this much power over her heart?
As her palm slid over his slick, warm flesh, she wanted him in the worst way.
It was the call of mate-to-mate.
It was primal.
“More,” he whispered, dropping his head back as she ran her delicate fingers over his erection. There was no feeling like it in the world.
Jolie loved pleasing him. Nothing made her happier. This was their special thing, and she was grateful for each and every time they came together.
Flynn stared down at her, his eyes bleeding dark blue-black. “Take me in your mouth,” he hissed, his fangs sliding into his smile.
Jolie gasped.
It always turned her on when he went vampyre for her. There was something so sexy about it.
She did as he asked, working him hard. She made sure that with every pass of her mouth, she nicked him with a fang.
The taste of his blood made her crazy.
The kiss of pain made him wild.
“Jolie, give me more!”
She didn't stop.
Instead, she offered him everything she had.
When he popped free from her mouth, she stared up at him. “Put your hands on me,” she begged. “Please, Master.”
He could do that and so much more.
Yanking her up, he pressed Jolie to the wall. The cold tiles were at her back, and his hot flesh was against her front.
“You drive me insane,” he muttered, dragging his fangs across her skin. While he wanted to sink them into her, he knew she was feeding two little ones.
He had to have control. A sip or two wouldn’t hurt her, but a full on feeding would.
Instead, he tasted her.
So, he let the beads of blood drip down her chest in wicked, red trails.
Jolie shook at the scent of her own blood. It was hard to breathe when he chased them with his mouth. Finally, he ended up kneeling in front of her.
“I want you,” he admitted. “I’ll always want you.”
She didn't move. Jolie was so turned on by the man in front of her. When his hands went to her hips, she waited.
Then, he lifted her.
Jolie’s legs went over his shoulders so he could dine on her. As she was pressed to the wall, Flynn dove in, devouring her and not letting up.
Jolie moaned at the assault. When he turned his head, sinking his fangs into her leg, she gasped in pleasure.
“Yes! Please,” she begged, but he still didn't drink.
It was maddening.
Jolie wanted to feel his mouth on her skin, sucking her to delirium. Instead, he was teasing her.
“Beg me to cum,” he muttered, freeing his fangs from her leg.
“Flynn.”
His hand crashed against her ass, and it wasn’t gentle.
“Master,” she corrected. “Please make me cum.”
He flicked his tongue until she was squirming against the wall. Jolie needed that kiss of pain to get off, and he was holding back.
“Master, please!”
He continued to play with her, driving Jolie insane. When her hands found his hair, she buried them in the wet, black strands. When she pulled, he stopped.
“Oh, God! Please!” she begged.
“Oh, God! Please, what?”
She shook.
“Master. You’re my only master.”
He dropped her legs from his shoulders and stepped back. Jolie watched in horror. He couldn’t leave her like this. She was so wild with lust that she’d do anything.
“Ride me,” he hissed, positioning himself on the shower floor.
Jolie didn't hesitate. She straddled his hips, taking his hard erection in her hand. When she made contact, he growled.
“Make me cum.”
Jolie slid him home. She didn't hesitate to grind down on him over and over again.
Flynn was breathing heavily, and Jolie was begging for him to push her from the edge. She needed this.
God!
She wanted it.
“Who owns you?” Flynn asked, as he approached the edge.
His words sent delicious shivers up her spine. While Jacques and Flynn were equals in her life, only he filled this role.
Flynn was strong enough.
“You, Master,” she whispered.
His nails dug into her hips, and he began pulling her down so hard it stole both of their breaths.
She gasped in pain and pleasure.
She whimpered in lust.
“Cum for me and drink,” he ordered, thrusting up so hard that he hoped he didn't hurt her.
Jolie shattered apart and knew she wanted him to fall with her. Leaning over him as the orgasm crested, she slammed her fangs into his throat.
He came.
Flynn poured into her in a wave of heat.
Jolie milked his body, wanting everything he had to offer and so much more.
“Oh, God,” he muttered.
Slowly, it all came back.
The lights.
The feeling.
The reality.
“Flynn,” she whispered when she was finished drinking. “I love you more than my life. Don’t forget it tonight when you go there. You have to come home or I’m not going on without you.”
He believed her.
Flynn could hear it in her voice.
In that moment, he knew the truth. Jolie would be safer with h
im. He’d have a reason to be safe.
“Jolie,” he said, his hands finding her back as the water pelted them.
When she lifted her head, there were tears there.
“You can come.”
She didn't expect it. Twice in two days, her human mate surprised her.
“Why?”
“Because I want you by my side. If we’re going to die, it’s together—not alone.”
Her heart skipped.
Instead of speaking, she rested her head on his shoulder. She’d won this battle, but staying alive was the war.
They still could lose.
And they both knew it.
∞ Chapter Eight ∞
In the study, Jolie sat in Jacques’s lap as they prepared for their evening out. It was a rarity that they had time alone anymore. With three separate careers, it wasn’t always easy to come home and reconnect.
They all missed that.
Tonight, it was the calm before the storm. They all felt it deep within their bodies. When Jacques woke, finding out that they were all going, he wasn’t surprised.
Flynn didn't like hurting his family. The way he treated Mathew was proof. He wasn’t shocked that he was going.
Now, that Jolie was attending too…
That was a little surprising.
She must have done a great deal of begging to be allowed into the club with him. Even more shocking?
His partner, Tommy Gress, wasn’t going.
When Flynn began talking, it pulled Jacques out of his daydream and into the present.
“Do you promise to not get into a dangerous situation this evening, Jolie?” asked Flynn, lounging on the one armchair with his leg dangling over the side.
Jolie was watching him swing it back and forth like it was some pendulum.
“I promise,” she said, shivering from the look he was giving her.
Jacques watched the interaction.
“How did she talk you into it?” he asked.
“Let’s just say she knows who will be in charge, and Jolie will obey.”
She grinned.
Jacques stared back and forth, obviously missing something. As of late, his mates seemed to have found a deeper connection.
It didn't make him jealous, but it did make him curious. He’d been trying to get Jolie to be more accommodating for centuries. It always blew up in his face.
She was a Primus to her core.
“What’s the plan for this evening?” Jolie asked. “You know, since you’re in charge.”
“We’re going to go in, look around, and go from there.”
Jacques began laughing. “Oh, you have no idea.”
Flynn stared over at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. “That’s a solid plan.”
“And if there are vampyres there?”
Flynn mulled it over as he began pacing back and forth in the room. “We’ll talk to them.”
His mate laughed.
“Flynn, if we do have vampyres there, this is going to change, and fast. She’s a primus. When we stroll in there, they won’t talk to us. We’re merely mates. Jolie will be the one they wish to deal with.”
“We’ll be at her side. That’s good enough. I trust Jolie enough to negotiate. She’s good at her job.”
She blew him a kiss. “I won’t let you down.”
“I smell trouble,” Jacques admitted.
He did too.
“Yeah, and it seems to find our mate,” Flynn admitted, standing in the doorway in his jeans and shirt open.
Jolie smiled. “What can I say? It is my personality.”
Flynn moved toward his mates. His gait was that of a large cat. It was strong and secure, and proved that the change from fully human to more like them had indeed altered him.
He moved silently.
Flynn had become graceful like Jacques and more of the predator that their kind had evolved into long ago.
“Yeah, lucky us.”
Jacques laughed.
“I promise to be safe. I hate to point this out, but I’m not exactly a helpless puppy.”
Her fangs slid into her mouth, and she bared them as if proof. They were wickedly long, sharp, and gleaming.
“I do have a nasty bite.”
Flynn sat beside them on the couch. “You can use me as your chew toy any day.”
Jacques agreed there.
Jolie pointed out a fact. “Like you told me earlier, we go in and fight. Alone is a bad option. Besides, if the three of you cannot keep me safe…”
She let it die off without completing the thought.
Flynn laughed. “I think you meant the two of us. Mathew is definitely not coming,” he stated unequivocally, “ever again!”
Jacques agreed. “He’s grounded.”
Jolie didn't argue. She knew that her mates had every right to say that. “Well, then the two of you better keep me in one piece.”
She didn't say it out loud, but she was more than willing to kill to keep them safe. If Jolie even went there, Flynn would force her to stay home.
A lot had changed in the months they’d been together. At one time, they didn't have a say.
Now…their opinion was paramount.
Jacques twined his fingers through hers before kissing the palm of her hand. “You’ll be safe, my love. We will guard you and our babies.”
Jolie snorted. “You two can calm down. It’s a bondage club. They only tie up the willing participants. We’ll probably be ignored.”
Flynn ran his fingers down her bare arm as he watched her. He’d love to return the favor to his mate. Flynn couldn’t think of a better evening out than Jolie bound beneath him.
When he flushed, she laughed.
“Pervert.”
Jacques blinked as he saw the visual in his mate’s head. “I didn't know that tying Jolie up was an option. When did this happen?”
She simply laughed.
Neither offered up any more details.
“I need to speak to Mathew,” she said, slipping out of Jacques’s lap.
“Do you want me to do it?” Flynn offered. “He’s not going, Jolie. I mean it.”
She patted him lovingly on the cheek. “He’s not. I just feel the need to check on him.”
They both got it.
Mathew was like a child to her. At first, they feared she’d sleep with him, but now they feared he’d be the death of her.
Jolie had a soft spot in her heart for him.
It was irritating as hell to the men.
“It won’t take long,” she promised. “When I get back, you’ll have my full attention.”
Jolie headed toward the door when she remembered something very important.
“I love you both very much,” she said smiling. “Don’t ever forget it.”
Both men watched her walk out of the room.
“Do you have a bad feeling?” Jacques asked his mate.
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“One word.”
Jacques waited.
“Vampyres.”
Jacques opened his mouth, and then closed it. Honestly, what could he say to that? Lately, they’d been the thorn in their sides.
“Shit,” muttered Jacques.
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Jolie entered Mathew’s quarters and waved her hand to light a few of the candles. She knew he didn't like waking to strangers around him, but she needed to speak to him before they left.
While Jolie knew why he couldn’t go, she still hated to be the one to tell him. The young man loved being near them, and this was going to sting.
But…it was a lesson he had to learn.
As she touched his leg, pushing energy into him, Jolie waited. As he began stirring, she stepped back.
If he woke startled, she didn't want to be attacked by him out of fear.
“Mathew, wake,” she said softly, cluing him in to who was in his room.
Immediately, he scurried away from her.
Jolie was in his mind, and she saw the truth. He figured master Flynn would be there…waiting.
“Did you rest well?” she asked, taking a seat on the side of the bed.
He blinked his eyes, trying to focus. Honestly, he couldn’t believe the mistress was anywhere near him. After last night, he was sure she would keep a distance—thanks to the masters.
“Yes, Mistress. Is Master Flynn healed?” he asked, hiding behind his curtain of hair.
Jolie crossed her legs and waited for his heart to stop pounding. She could taste the fear in the room. It was thick, and she didn't know how to fix it.
“Yes, Mathew, he is.”
“Good.”
“About last night,” she began.
“Are you going to let them remove me from my position?” he blurted, unable to hold it in. “I’ve been trying really hard, Mistress. I can learn. It was a mistake.”
Her hands were tied.
He’d attacked one of her mates.
If the family got wind of that…
Yeah, he would have worse issues to deal with. Now that Flynn had impregnated her, he was vital to the family. He’d ensured his place in the Harcourte society.
“Mathew, you tried to kill my mate. He had every right to end your life yesterday. Jacques wanted to send you away. That wasn’t a mistake. A mistake is locking your keys in a car, or forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning. This was a life changing error.”
He didn't speak at first.
His heart was breaking.
“So, I’m done.”
“No.”
He stared at her, tears in his eyes. “Then what is my fate, Mistress?”
She knew she had to give him something to hold on to in his moment of pain. His whole life had changed, and he needed a little help.
“You need to keep learning. It’s possible, that with time, you’ll be my guardian. My mates aren’t trying to hurt you. They’re teaching you responsibility for your actions. You made a huge mistake, Mathew, and when you do, you have to pay for the consequences. That’s life.”
He didn't speak.
“I suggest you keep going to your sessions to practice your skills. If the men see that you’re trying, they’ll be more willing to let you come out with us. Tonight is out of the question.”
Dangerous Influence (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 5) Page 11
