by Zena Wynn
Based upon Felini culture, Reyna should be seeing to the management and running of their den while Jorlan handled the business. It was the primary reason a few of the younger females had come to them requesting sanctuary. They wanted more than life in the pride could give them.
“Ragnor’s mistake,” Jorlan said, “was in not realizing or caring that the vampyr were different from us. Ragnor was so confident in our superiority, he assumed the vampyr would follow our rules when it came to matings. Even if Alvaro didn’t, Ragnor thought Isabella would share his same bigotry and prejudices. Had he bothered to learn more about Vampalien culture, he’d have known differently. The bond between them grew too strong to resist. Alvaro bit Isabella, injecting her with his mating venom. She went into heat and you were the result,” he said.
Reyna thought of everything Tariq had told her about Vampalien bondings. “If he loved Isabella, why didn’t he take her with him?”
Jorlan shrugged. “I can’t answer that. I knew a lot of what was going on at the time because Isabella confided in me. What I can tell you is that when Ragnor discovered Isabella had given herself sexually to Alvaro, he flew into a rage and almost killed her. To cover himself, he lied and told the other elders the Vampalien had raped Isabella and tried to kill her in retaliation for Ragnor’s refusal to give him one of our women. No one questioned him, and Isabella had been in no condition to say differently. They plotted to kill Alvaro, and I thought they’d been successful until the night of the dinner party.”
Her head spinning with all she was learning, Reyna pushed it aside to deal with the main issue. “It still doesn’t explain why you never—”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Only Ragnor, Isabella, and I knew the truth of your conception. I had to swear to keep that truth to myself. The price of breaking my word was your life.”
Her eyes grew wide. She’d always sensed the Felini leader’s dislike but hadn’t realized how deeply it went. “Ragnor would have killed me?”
Jorlan smiled grimly. “In a heartbeat.”
Reyna digested his words. “I understand why you didn’t tell me while we were with the pride, but what about later?”
“I’d given my word,” he said simply.
There was one thing Reyna knew with one hundred percent certainty. Jorlan always kept his word.
“Reyna, I’ve always been there for you and will always be here for you. Do you believe me?” he asked solemnly.
“Yes.” Jorlan had been the one constant in her life.
“Will you forgive me?”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Yes. I still have a lot of questions, but I understand why you kept quiet.”
“Your parents can answer them better than I,” Jorlan said as he released her.
Reyna turned her head away, not wanting him to see the expression on her face. Her father might not have been the monster she’d been led to believe, but he was still responsible for much of what she’d suffered in her short life. “I don’t want to see them.”
Jorlan captured her face between his hands and stared directly into her eyes. “No one’s forcing you to, but I don’t believe you’ll be able to fully come to terms with the past or move on into the future until you’ve dealt with this. I know he’s been asking to see you. Let him. All you have to do is listen.”
Reyna held his gaze, a mutinous expression on her face. “I’ll think about it.”
“And Reyna, don’t be hard on Isabella. Everything she did was to protect you,” he said quietly. With those words, Jorlan got out of the bed and left the room.
Reyna went into the bathroom. The mundane tasks of emptying her bladder and brushing her teeth did little to occupy her mind. After she finished, she simply stood there, having a mini-meltdown. Within seconds, Tariq stood before her.
She walked into his open arms and allowed him to hold her. “I don’t know who I am anymore. Everything I believed about myself is a lie.”
Tariq caressed the length of her spine. “You’re the same person today as you were last week.”
Last week, before she’d met Tariq. Funny, she didn’t feel the same. The foundation of her world had been shaken, and Reyna didn’t know who or what she’d be when it all settled.
“Let’s look at this logically,” he reasoned. “Your DNA hasn’t changed. You’re still half-Felini/half-Vampalien, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You’re still the co-founder and co-owner of a multi-million dollar, international business and damned good at what you do, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Most importantly, you’re still my Heart’s Blood, the woman I love more than anything or anyone in the world,” he finished softly.
Reyna jerked her head up to look at him in stunned surprise. “You love me? No one’s ever said those words to me.” Except Jorlan. He was the only one. How sad was that?
He shook his head. “That’s not true. I tell you I love you every day. Every time I call you ‘my heart’ or ‘my love’ I’m saying it. If you feel like your foundation is crumbling, let my love be the rock on which you stand.”
Her heart literally melted right out of her chest to puddle at his feet. “Yes.”
Tariq’s brows furrowed as he looked down at her with a confused expression. “Yes what?”
“Yes, I’ll live with you here.” Reyna thought he’d be happy. Instead he frowned. She pulled away from him. “You don’t want me?”
Tariq brought her right back against his body. “Don’t be a goose. Of course I want you. I’ll always want you. I love you, so it’s a given. I just want to be sure this is what you really want and not you reacting to the circumstances.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked with a hint of anger.
“Right now you’re unhappy with your pride. You’ve smoothed things over with Jorlan but you’re still unsettled at the idea of being with him, uncertain of where you stand. As much as I want to be your refuge and the person you run to when the world doesn’t make sense, I won’t let you use us as an avoidance measure,” he said, his voice firm. “Deal with your father and Isabella. Discover the truth of your past, no matter how painful it may be, and once you’ve dealt with them, then decide about us.”
“I know my own mind,” she grumbled.
Tariq kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Good, talking with your parents won’t change it.”
Maybe it was her ornery nature or competitive spirit but now that Tariq was resistant to the idea of her moving in with him, she was more determined than ever to do so. It’s not like he’d kick her out once she was here. Jorlan had already packed a suitcase for her. She could easily pop home and gather more. It wasn’t like she had a lot of stuff.
“You realize I’m reading your mind, don’t you?” he asked dryly.
“Really?” Reyna gave him a smile that should have set every male nerve in his body on alert. She stepped back and raised her hands to the top button of his dress shirt she’d slept in. “What am I thinking now?”
As she released the first button, he said, “I don’t know. The connection seems to be short-circuiting. Might be the result of blood loss.”
Noting his suddenly straining erection, Reyna chuckled. Her voice sounded sexy and sultry, even to her. “Let me help you.”
Reyna formed a picture in her mind of her and Tariq in the shower. The water streamed down on them. He stood, she was on her knees, and his cock was in her mouth. Concentrating fiercely, she shot the image to him along their link.
He groaned deeply, the sound like one being tortured. In short order Tariq had them both stripped naked and in the shower. Steam rose as the hot water sprayed on their slick bodies. It had been days since they’d last made love and Reyna found she was starving for him.
She sank to her knees before him and ran her hands up his thickly muscled thighs. The thick length of his erection bobbed in front of her face, enticing her to taste him. Reyna didn’t resist the temptati
on. Running her tongue up the vein, she traced the ridge rimming the tip, and then sucked the head into her mouth.
As she worshipped his alpha maleness, Tariq muttered praises and encouragements. He caught her long hair between his fists and guided her head, thrusting gently into her mouth. Drips of pre-cum landed on her tongue. Reyna gobbled it up and demanded more. It was as divine as ambrosia in her mouth.
When Tariq tried to pull her away from his cock, she snarled and allowed a bit of fang to show. He proved his dominance by snatching her up and lifting her against the wall. His mouth slammed on hers in a tongue-tangling kiss. Reyna yielded willingly, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a vine.
He caught her by the hips, lined up their sexes, and entered her with one powerful lunge. Reyna screamed at the fullness of him. He didn’t just enter her body, his spirit and soul combined with hers. Their merging created a feedback loop between them. Their desire flowed back and forth, intensifying and magnifying with each round.
Guided by primal instinct, Reyna sank her fangs into Tariq’s pectoral muscle. His blood flowed into her, rich and powerful. Her greedy cells sang as they were filled to overflowing with his essence.
The climax, when it came, detonated with explosive force. It should have leveled the building in which they stood. What it did was seized her muscles, took her vision, and blanked her mind for ten long seconds.
When she came back to herself, they both were on the shower floor. Tariq was on his knees. Reyna straddled his lap, his cock still deeply embedded inside. He had her pressed against the marble tile, his body curved over hers to protect her from the spray. They both breathed hard.
Reyna noticed a thin line of blood trailing down Tariq’s chest. She’d neglected to seal the bite. Ducking her head, she licked the blood away, closed the wound, and gave his nipple an extra twirl of the tongue. Tariq made a muffled sound and his semi-erect shaft lengthened and hardened inside of her.
“Again?” she asked, marveling at the man’s stamina. Reyna doubted she had the energy to stand.
“With you there seems to be no limitations on my sex drive,” he said wryly.
She gyrated in a slow circle on his cock, clenching her vaginal muscles tightly.
With a muttered curse, Tariq caught her by the hips and held her still. “I’m not the only one whose sexual appetite is on overdrive. While I’m more than happy to follow where you lead, Mi corazon, let’s take this next round someplace a little softer.”
“You wimping out on me?” she teased.
Quick as a whip, Tariq had her wrists pinned to the wall over her head. “Do I look weak or ineffectual to you?”
Reyna purred as her gaze drifted over his hard muscled body and rippling abdominal muscles. “No, definitely not weak.”
He muttered something about her being insatiable as the bathroom vanished and they landed on the bed, wet hair and all. Reyna laughed up at him as Tariq rolled her beneath him and began to move. The laughter quickly faded as she was caught up in the whirlwind that was her mate.
Tariq stared into her eyes from inches away. “That’s the first time you’ve acknowledged who I am to you.”
“Sometimes,” Reyna whispered as she wound her legs high around his waist, “I can be a little slow.”
“Sometimes slow is good,” he said and slowed his pace appreciably.
She purred, deep in her throat. What he was doing felt so good. He was hitting all the right spots. “Slow is freaking wonderful.”
They loved the morning away, wrapped in their little cocoon of bliss. Reyna forgot about the world beyond the bedroom. The business, her parents, her past—it all faded away. This time with Tariq proved all her hopes and dreams of love and family could be a reality.
He fed her a breakfast of steak and eggs, literally forking each bit into her mouth. When she couldn’t eat another bite, Tariq sat her on the floor between his spread thighs and brushed her hair until it shone. The lazy brush strokes sent tingles down Reyna’s spine and relaxed her to the point of being comatose. Then he carried her to the now dry bed and laid her on the mattress. He climbed in beside her, wrapped his long length around her, and they both napped.
This heavenly interlude lasted until early evening when the world refused to be put off any longer. They’d just finished a candlelight dinner when Tariq glanced up from his plate with a troubled frowned. “Your father has become very insistent in his demands to see you. Mi corazon, you need to make a decision sooner rather than later concerning him.”
Reyna took a large swallow of her bloodwine. She’d heard the many requests Alvaro had made, both through her link with Tariq and through her familial bond with her father. “What do you think I should do?”
“Talk with him. Listen to his side of the story. You’re not the only injured party here,” he said.
It was his last statement that decided her. “Tell him he can come up, but only him.” She wasn’t ready to face her mother. Didn’t know if she’d ever be ready. Holding out a hand to him she asked, “You’ll stay with me?”
He clasped it within his own. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” she assured him.
Tariq gave her hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. “Then I won’t leave.”
She rose from the table. “I’ll go change clothes. Somehow I don’t believe what I have on is appropriate.” Reyna wore another one of Tariq’s dress shirts. Underneath she was naked. His scent was all over her body.
“More’s the pity,” he said, watching her with heat in his eyes. His obvious desire for her warmed the hollow pit in her stomach.
Chapter Eleven
Nerves. That’s all it was. Reyna didn’t know how she felt about suddenly having a father. As a rule, Felini children knew who their fathers were but the males had no part in their upbringing. She hadn’t grown up with the expectation of a two-parent family the way humans did. Besides, Jorlan had more than fit the bill as a parental figure.
Now she had a real father who wasn’t the villain she’d been led to believe. Reyna didn’t know what he wanted from her or why he felt a conversation between them was necessary. This was one of those times when her ignorance about Vampalien cultural mores was a hindrance.
Reyna washed quickly and pulled on a black one-piece body suit. In addition to being comfortable, the sleek outfit showed off the slim lines of her figure. Over it she wore the dress shirt she’d had on all day. Tariq’s scent on the material comforted her. She strode back into the living room just as a knock sounded at the door.
Tariq’s glanced encompassed all of her and he smiled his approval. “If your intent was to keep my mind on you rather than the conversation, you succeeded.”
She looked down. “Should I button the shirt?”
“Not on my account. Ready?” he asked.
“No, but you can open the door anyway.” Reyna stood in the center of the living room while Tariq went to open the door. She clasped her hands in front of her, dropped them to her sides, and then crossed her arms over her chest.
“Lord Alvaro, welcome,” Tariq said warmly as he opened the door.
“We’ve been friends too long to stand on formality,” Alvaro chided.
Tariq and Alvaro clasped forearms briefly. They made quite the contrast. Tariq in his black fitted jeans and black t-shirt which molded faithfully to his sexy body, and Alvaro with his elegant attire: black dress pants, silky white shirt, and casual black blazer. Both men wore their hair pulled back in a queue.
Alvaro glanced past Tariq and noticed her standing there. He suddenly looked as uncertain as she felt. “Hello,” Alvaro said.
“Hi,” she answered.
They stood there staring at each other.
Tariq placed a hand on Alvaro’s shoulder and urged, “Have a seat. Would you care for any refreshment?”
“No, no,” Alvaro quickly declined and moved to perch on the edge of one end of the espresso sectional.
Tariq’s new furniture had been deliver
ed the day of the dinner. He’d promised she could change anything she didn’t like. Reyna thought the color fit nicely with the tan carpet and cream painted walls.
Tariq settled on the other end, and she curled up beside him, almost in his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned to whisper in her ear, “Calm down.”
“I’m trying,” she muttered and tried to relax.
Alvaro studied his clasped hands, or maybe he was looking at the carpet. Reyna stared at him, trying to see if there was anything of her father in her appearance besides her eyes. The uncomfortable silence grew.
Finally, Alvaro broke it by asking, “I guess you wonder why I asked to see you?”
Reyna nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.
Alvaro cleared his throat. “The, ah, things they told you about me. They weren’t true. I would never harm a woman, especially not my Heart’s Blood. I, ah, loved your mother. Still do,” he added quickly. “Had things, ah, worked out differently I would have, we would have, ah…” He trailed off, and his gaze turned a bit helpless.
“I know,” she said softly, wanting to put him at ease.
“I, ah, know it’s too late—you’re an adult now—but if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask,” Alvaro said.
Reyna hesitated and glanced at Tariq.
He met her gaze. Mentally he said, Go ahead. I think that’s a wonderful idea.
“There is something,” she told Alvaro slowly.
Alvaro perked up. “Yes?”
She took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know much about my Vampalien nature. I need someone to teach me.”
Grinning broadly, Alvaro said, “I’d be happy to but,” his gaze flicked to Tariq and the smile faltered, “surely your blood mate—”
“No, it’s fine,” Tariq interrupted firmly. “We’re in agreement on this.”
“Then I accept.” In her mind, Alvaro’s voice said, Tariq, he’s good to you? This mating is what you want?
