Eadric unbuttoned his pants slowly, savoring the look of pure desire on Anabell's face as she watched him.
Sliding them down his hips, he heard her gasp at the well-cut sex lines that disappeared into his pants – he was going commando. She held her breath as inch by glorious inch of him was revealed - the dense blonde hair that started just below his navel, the sexy, defined muscles, and, finally, his uncut, rock-hard cock. Her breath came out in a heady moan.
Just the sight of him had her practically dripping.
He stalked to the edge of the bed, his predatory eyes already devouring her. He couldn't wait any longer.
In a flash, her panties were gone and replaced by Eadric's hand, cupping her most intimate place.
His thumb gently separated her damp folds as he took control of her mouth with his, searching for the tender bundle of nerves he knew were hiding there. He hungrily swallowed her moan when his fingertips found it, and she cried out.
Eadric kissed a hot trail down her chin to her neck and up around to nibble on her ear.
"I can't promise that I will be gentle, but I can promise that next time, I will spend the entire night getting to know every part of you, until you're completely sated and I've committed your entire body to memory,” he whispered into her ear.
Anabell smiled a wicked smile, sinking both of her hands into his hair, and turned to look at him.
“I wouldn’t ask for anything different.”
Eadric growled low in his throat and nudged her thighs apart with his knee so he could slide a finger into her hot channel, knocking the smile off her face as she gasped and let go of his hair to dig her nails into his back, holding on tight. He groaned at the exquisite pain.
His slow rhythm as he pumped his finger in and out of her was driving her crazy. It felt so good, but she needed more - harder. Faster. It had been too long, and it had never been that good. She couldn't handle his teasing much longer.
Rocking her hips, Anabell tried to speed him up, but he just went slower, using his other hand to pin her hips the bed.
Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he slid another finger into her.
The way her warmth wrapped around his fingers had his cock ready to bust. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out. He was going to find out, though. He needed to see to her pleasure first.
Her quivering body and breathy moans told him that she was riding along the edge of orgasm – a few more strokes and he would have her there. He needed to see her face as she came for him.
“Eadric,” she moaned, arching her back and writhing against the sheets. His name sounded like heaven on her tongue. She wasn’t going to last much longer – her nails bit into his back harder.
Anabell was ready to explode.
Then he let his thumb reclaim the sweet bundle of nerves, sending her right over the edge and into the crashing waves of orgasm.
“Stop, please. I can’t,” she cried.
She bucked against his hand, trying to get him to stop touching her. It was too sensitive, too soon, too much. Her body just couldn’t take it, but he continued stroking her, trying to push her to a second orgasm, until she was finally in control enough to pull away from him.
Anabell climbed up in the bed, letting her head fall on the plush pillows and closed her eyes, letting the final tremors wash through her.
“That wasn’t nice,” Eadric said with a playful growl in his voice, following her to the head of the bed. “I wasn’t finished.”
Eadric ran his hand up her inner thigh, grazing the curls at the juncture of her thighs. She nearly jumped when he let his finger dip into her slick heat again. His throaty laugh rubbed her already buzzing nerve endings, making her groan. She needed him - needed him inside her, filling her. The teasing had gone far enough.
"Please," Anabell said, looking over at him with pleading eyes. Eadric shook his head with a mischievous look in his eyes.
If he wasn't taking no for an answer, neither was she.
Anabell found his hip and ran her fingers down the groove of the muscles there until her she touched what she was looking for, wrapping her fingers around him.
He nearly came in her hand just from a touch. She only got in a few strokes before he pried her hand off and moved on top of her, pinning both of her arms to the bed.
“Are you trying to kill me, woman?”
“You started it.” Anabell gave him the best pout she could manage without laughing. Instead of looking sad, though, all she succeeded in doing was looking drop dead gorgeous. Eadric couldn’t help steal a kiss from those pouty lips.
“And I’m going to finish it.”
“Promise?”
Eadric’s face went serious as touched his forehead to hers, looking deep into her hazel eyes.
“Yes. And I never break a promise.” Lowering his hips, the thick tip of him brushed her leg, making her bite her lip. He was poised, his length pressing against her still tender folds. One thrust, and there was no going back – for either of them. She would be his for the rest of eternity.
He looked at her face again and felt a wave of relief course over him at the desire written plainly on her beautiful features.
Eadric was about to pass the point of no return when Anabell stopped him, placing her hand on his arm.
“What about contraception?” she asked. In love or not, she was still only twenty-one. She wasn’t sure if she wanted kids at all, she definitely wasn’t ready for them any time soon – that was something they needed to talk about later.
Eadric furrowed his brow.
“I can’t get you pregnant, Anabell,” Eadric finally said, sadness seeping into his voice. “It’s one of the things I gave up to have you back in my arms.” Anabell felt her heart drop into her stomach when she saw the pain in his eyes.
Wiggling one of her hands loose, Anabell cupped his cheek in her hand and gave him a sweet smile.
“That’s okay. Just make love to me, Eadric.”
Still erect, Eadric didn’t have to be asked twice. He had waited for that moment for a very long time.
He slowly parted her, savoring the velvet heat as he sank himself into her tightness. Her walls gripped him hard, trying to pull him in deeper and deeper. He didn't want to rush it until he was fully immersed in her.
Eadric watched Anabell's face as he took her, wanting to see the hunger in her eyes. The soft curve of her mouth as she leaned her head back to moan, the flutter of her eyelids as her eyes threatened to close, the tension in her neck as she dug her fingers into the sheet to hold on tight.
“Eadric.” His name had never sounded better.
Anabell wanted more. No, she needed more. He felt too good, too right. As much as she wanted to make love, it wasn’t the night for slow. Her body and her soul had to have more than that.
“More,” she whispered – begged.
Teasing her, Eadric lifted his hips until only the tip of him was still inside her. He held like that for a moment, watching Anabell buck underneath him, trying to draw him back in vain.
He thrust back into her hard, making her cry out in a mix of shock and sheer pleasure as he filled her.
Eadric tried to go slow again. His mind urged his body to take it easy, but it wasn't listening.
He always imagined their first time would be a long, arduous night of touching, tasting, exploring, and taking everything they had to give each other. His body had a mind of its own. And listening to her beg for it only fueled the fire. He was going to take her hard and fast and leave her screaming his name.
Anabell had no real warning as he picked up the pace, suddenly slamming his cock into her with a renewed fervor. Each stroke hitting the right spot and forcing her closer and closer to the impending orgasm. It wasn't a slow build-up. Eadric transported her there in what felt like an instant. She could feel his cock swelling inside her, telling her that he was as lost in the moment as she was.
No cool, calm control. Just raw, unbridled, intense passion. This was
the real Eadric.
Anabell wrapped her arms around his neck, anchoring herself to him. She needed him to be her rock, to keep her from washing away in the storm that was coming.
She opened her mouth to tell him just how close she was, but she couldn't make her mouth form words. She could tell by the way he shifted his hips to drive himself even deeper that he knew.
Eadric was right there with her, taking her with all the strength in his body until he felt the tell-tale tremors race thought her tight muscles. She was about to come and so was he.
Anabell's orgasm hit first, sending her screaming and holding onto Eadric for dear life as her body shook. Eadric's hit a moment later, his swollen cock no longer able to hold up against her quivering heat. He held onto her too - afraid that the moment was a dream instead of reality. He had to feel her solidness to keep him afloat in the shockwaves of that powerful orgasm.
Eadric pulled out of her carefully, then threw himself down on the bed beside her. Exhausted, thoroughly spent, and well-satiated.
9
Anabell’s world was still spinning as she came back down to earth, wrapped in Eadric’s warm arms. With her head pressed to his broad chest, she could hear his heart beating at the same cadence as hers, keeping her heart at a normal pace despite how hard it wanted to beat.
She nuzzled into him, closing her eyes tightly as she let herself go. There was no need to worry – she was safe.
Eadric kissed the top of her head and gave her a light squeeze. Yes, she was really there, in his arms, the past two nights hadn’t been a long dream. His soul was finally content because his other half was back in his life for good. Anabell wasn’t going anywhere. He felt it down deep in his bones.
He wanted to spend as much time as he could, holding her in his arms, but he knew that daylight was coming soon.
The sun was about to come up and he would be out for the day, but he knew he was out of harm's way from the sunlight. Every room was equipped with blackout curtains to keep him safe if he wanted to move around the house during the day.
The castle was in a deserted area that no one bothered traveling to, so Anabell would be safe during the day too, if she didn’t want to sleep the whole time until he got up.
“The sun is about to rise,” Eadric whispered into Anabell’s ear. “I’ll be passed out soon.”
“Does that mean you need to go back to the basement? Do you have a coffin down there? I don’t even know what demons sleep in. Do you even sleep? Or do you hibernate until the sun goes back down?” she rambled, her eyes still shut tight. Eadric laughed so hard that his chest rumbled.
He definitely had an interesting life ahead with Anabell.
Eadric pried Anabell off his chest and looked down at her heart-shaped face, cupping her face in both hands.
"No coffins. No hibernation. No dark dungeon rooms. When the sun comes up, I get weaker and weaker until it's easier just to go to sleep instead of lying there like a knot on a log. All of the bedrooms have thick curtains on the windows to keep the sun from burning my skin. As soon as the sun comes up, I’m out until it’s down. If something happens, though, or you need anything, you can wake me and I will do what I can. Just remember, I might be a little hard to wake.”
Eadric felt the instant the sun broke the sky. Fatigue took a hold of him in an instant. He didn't have a second to warn Anabell as his body relaxed into the pillows and his eyes slid shut.
Anabell laughed as he dropped into sleep. He looked like a machine powering down as he sank into the bed. She placed a quick kiss on Eadric’s cheek and swung her legs over the edge of the bed so she could hop down. She wasn't quite tired yet, and she desperately needed something to drink and a shower. Surely, he had some tea somewhere in the kitchen. And a bathroom.
Maybe even explore the house a little while she was at it. If she was going to be with Eadric for the rest of the foreseeable future, she might as well get to know one of his homes right away.
As soon as the sun went back down, Eadric woke to find himself chained to the bed. Heavy, silver-lined shackles on his wrists and ankles pinning him down hard and pulling his limbs tight. He knew it wasn't a game - that the chains weren't Anabell's doing. She wasn’t strong enough to manipulate his unconscious body or cruel enough to use silver on him.
No, it had to be someone who had a bone to pick with Eadric to go through such lengths. He killed all of his human enemies the night he lost his wife. The only others had to be the band of Soulless searching for Anabell. He didn’t know any by name. His only job was to take out as many as he could.
Anabell. He looked around the room was best he could. She was nowhere in sight. Where was she? Had she ran away or gotten out in time to avoid whoever was behind his restraints? Was she captured, somewhere in the castle where he couldn’t find her? He needed her to be somewhere safe. Worrying about her safety would be a huge distraction.
He thrashed against his restraints, trying to loosen them or break them completely, but they were solid. The more he struggled, the more the metal burned his skin and bit into his flesh. He wasn't going anywhere until someone let him out of the shackles.
Eadric laid there screaming on the inside for seconds that felt like hours and minutes that felt like days, waiting to find out why he was chained to the bed. They were making him suffer.
"Stop hiding like a coward. Come out and face me," Eadric bellowed as he thrashed some more. He was desperate to know where Anabell was. He just got her back; there was no way he was going to lose her again. If he could just get out of the damned bed.
The silence was killing him. It was the not knowing - where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, or if she was hurt. The worst kind of torture.
Eadric fought the restraints until his wrists were bleeding and raw, cut almost all the way down to the bone. In between fearing the worst, he started making elaborate plans to skin his captors, slowly.
The room was too quiet - the whole castle was silent. Not even a rabbit scurrying in the surrounding forest. Whatever was in the castle with him was pure evil. It was the only explanation for the maddening quiet. The oppressive energy frightened them, making them too afraid to make a sound.
Eadric didn't have the energy to scan for the source.
"Deartháir," a familiar male voice called from the other side of the room. Eadric tried to find who it was coming from, but came up blank. He would have to wait until he got a little closer.
"Do not call me brother," Eadric hissed back angrily, twisting his body as much as he could in the direction the voice came from. "Mo dheartháir? No! Brothers do not betray each other. Brathadóir! Traitor! Let me go so you can face me like a man with honor." Eadric was too cautious to mention Anabell, on the hopes that she had gotten out of the castle before he arrived.
Clicking his tongue as he walked over to his prisoner, Dunstan shook his head at his old friend – a wicked smile on his face as he reveled in the look of shock and betrayal.
Eadric fought the bonds harder at the sight of his most trusted soldier and friend standing over him, smirking. Dunstan was the last person he thought would deign to turn against him.
The last time he saw Dunstan was the day he lost his family. Aside from modern clothes, he was the same old Dunstan.
His sandy blonde hair hung loose in waves around his face, framing his high cheek bones and dark brown – almost black – eyes. He was a half of a foot shorter than Eadric, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in pure muscle. He was a mountain of it. The black leather jacket, white t-shirt, and jeans couldn’t hide it.
“You’ve always had a hot head, my old friend. You never could stand for someone to get the upper hand on you. Always running head first into things before thinking them through. It’s good to see you haven’t changed much. It makes you predictable.” Dunstan tapped the footboard with his foot. He walked back and forth around the bottom of the bed where Eadric could see him best.
Eadric glared at him. He was already tired of
Dunstan’s gloating. He only wanted to know one thing: Why? Dunstan had no reason to harbor ill will against him - Eadric had always treated him like a brother, a confidante, and a friend. They were raised together – born just a few weeks apart. He had just assumed Dunstan took over control of the clan in his absence, not that he would become a creature like him.
"Release me, Dunstan," Eadric roared. If the silver hadn't been draining his strength, he would have broken the bed frame already and had Dunstan nailed to the wall for it
“That’s not how this is going to work, Eadric. You like to do things unfairly, so this will be right up your alley." Reaching into his pocket, Dunstan pulled out a small dagger and unsheathed it. Eadric could barely see it, but he knew the shape enough to know that the dagger bore his family crest. Dunstan gave no warning as he plunged the dagger high into Eadric's thigh.
Eadric swallowed a scream. He wasn't going to let Dunstan see him in pain.
"Why are you doing this?" Eadric asked, straining to sit up and make eye contact with Dunstan. "We were family."
Dunstan laughed, cackling loud enough for his voice to echo around the large room. He tapped the hilt of the dagger, making it cut deeper into Eadric’s leg. Eadric just gritted his teeth and continued looking at Dunstan.
“You turned your back on your entire clan the night Deirdre was killed. Abandoning us with no word. There was chaos and descent throughout – for weeks, months. Brother killing brother to take over your place. While you were busy becoming this and destroying Quinlan to get your wife back, our clan was self-destructing. They torched my house with my wife in it because they saw me as a threat. Brannagh did nothing to deserve a death like that. She was pregnant, pregnant, with our first. A girl we were going to call Aibhilin.
“After years of her losing babies, we were finally days away from having our little girl in our arms, and she was ripped away from me. Never once did I get to hold her or see her face. You abandoned our clan! My wife's and my daughter's blood is on your hands, Eadric. They were the only things I had in the world - you were supposed to keep us safe!"
A Thousand Years (Soulmates Book 1) Page 6
