Gabriel dropped his forehead to the pillow over Hana’s shoulder, every muscle in his body trembling with the strength of his orgasm . . . and the sensuous taste of her blood. Reminded, he lifted his head enough to lick the two tiny wounds on her neck, then wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his back, taking her with him. He cursed when she gave a hard shiver, and rolled again, just long enough to grab the comforter from the end of the bed and pull it over her as she lay on top of him once more. She cuddled against him, pushing her nose into the curve of his neck, her breath cool against his overheated skin.
They lay together silently for a long time, as their hearts slowed, and their breaths became even. “Are you okay?”
Her lips curled against his skin a moment before she kissed his neck. “No,” she whispered. His heart almost stopped before she continued. “I’m fantastic, sublime, electrified . . . There isn’t a word for how good I feel.”
“Oh.” He grinned. “That’s good, then.”
She chuckled breathily. “Baby, I gotta tell you, Cyn was right. That was waaaay better than good.”
“Let’s keep other people out of our bed.”
“Damn right. You’re mine. Get used to it.”
Gabriel heard a distant chime as automatic shutters closed over the window. “Sunrise isn’t far off.”
Hana stroked his chest lazily. “How big’s your bed down there in the basement?”
“Big enough, but, Hana . . . once we’re locked in, you won’t be able to get out until after sunset.”
“That’s all right,” she said, yawning delicately. “I’ll bring my e-reader. And that way, I’ll be there when you wake up.” She raised her head to give him a devious smile. “Do vampires have morning wood? Or maybe it’s evening wood,” she added thoughtfully.
He slapped her bare ass, then left his hand there possessively. “For you, älskling, it’s wood all the time.”
Chapter Five
THE NEXT NIGHT found Hana sitting on bleachers in the largest dojo she’d ever seen. It was so big that some might have called it a gymnasium, but if they took one look at the combatants on the floor, there’d be no question. This was a dojo, and although she’d practiced martial arts in some of the finest academies that Japan, and Princeton, NJ, had to offer, she’d never seen the likes of this one. Foremost among the differences—apart from the sheer size and the fact that it was in the basement—was the skill of the practitioners. They moved with such speed and precision that she could barely follow the action, and when they flipped, or were thrown through the air, the heights were inhuman. Then again, that only made sense because the fighters down there were almost exclusively vampire. They were also almost exclusively male—and, boy, were they male. An entire room of beautiful male faces and bodies, both. Although, her eye was captivated by the most beautiful one down there, which was, of course, her Gabriel.
Forcing her attention away from him before she embarrassed herself, she turned to Cyn, who was sitting next to her, along with Lucia—Juro’s very petite mate—on Cyn’s other side. “I see Elke down there,” Hana said, her gaze continually drifting back to the action down below, “but no other women. Is she the only female vamp on the estate?”
Cyn handed her a towel. “You’re drooling,” she said, completely straight-faced. “It’s not a good look.”
“Shit.” Hana grabbed the towel and put it to her mouth, before realizing Cyn had been kidding. “Very funny,” she said, although she kept the towel handy, just in case.
Cyn snorted a laugh. “Elke’s the only female in the inner circle of Raphael’s security team, and she can take more than half the guys down there. Raphael doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his personal security, or the security of this estate. If Elke couldn’t do the job, she wouldn’t be on the team.”
Hana nodded, wincing as the petite, blond vampire tossed a male three times her size to the mat with an audible thump. “The guys don’t mind?”
“If they do, they have to take it up with her. The stubborn ones end up with a broken bone or two before they see the light. Elke’s tough.”
While they watched, a big male walked over and lifted Elke off her feet. Hana waited for him to go flying across the room, but instead, Elke grinned and gave him a smacking kiss, then threw her arms around his neck.
“That’s Mal, Elke’s human honey,” Cyn informed her. “They’re cute, aren’t they?”
“Oh, geez, Cyn, more with the cute?” Lucia muttered. “Is it just us more delicately formed women, or do you tell Raphael he’s cute, too?”
Hana choked at the idea of anyone calling the formidable vampire lord “cute,” but maybe in Cyn’s eyes . . .
“Raphael isn’t cute.” Cyn protested. “Look at him down there. He’s spectacular.”
Hana and Lucia both looked dutifully, and she had to admit, he stood out even among the beautiful fighters spread over the mats. Handsome enough to be a model in one of those glossy fashion magazines, with razor-sharp cheekbones and an elegant jaw, he’d stripped down to a pair of gi pants that hung on narrow hips below a rippled abdomen and the same thickly cut muscles over shoulders and chest that all the vampires down there displayed. But it was his power that made him stand out, a power that drew a person’s attention without one even knowing why. Hana knew why. If she focused, she could see his power like a ripple of heat distorting the air around him. Kind of the way she’d been able to see Kato’s sword, when no one else but Raphael could. She’d never had any magical sight like that before and speculated that it was only because of the sheer strength of the two men’s magic that she was able to see it now.
“Are you saying Juro isn’t spectacular?” Lucia was demanding.
“Don’t get snippy.” Cyn nudged her friend. “Of course he is. And it makes me so happy to see the two of you—” She broke off with a sniffle, as if fighting back tears, but Lucia only groaned.
“Don’t give up your day job, girl. Your acting sucks. What about you?” Lucia suddenly asked Hana, leaning forward to see around Cyn. “Your guy’s amazing. He’s gone through everyone down there like a fucking machine. It’s impressive.”
Hana beamed with pride. She had nothing to do with Gabriel’s skill, but he was hers. If Cyn could claim Raphael’s spectacular self, then Hana could claim Gabriel. “He’s been a warrior all his life,” she said. “I think he was worried he’d be rusty, but . . .” She gestured to the far corner where he was matching blades against a new opponent, their swords so big and heavy that she couldn’t have lifted one more than a few inches off the ground. “I guess not.” She laughed.
“Oooooh,” Cyn cooed. “I think Juro’s headed Gabriel’s way.”
“Is Juro a swordsman?” Hana asked, a bit confused. “I don’t think I’ve seen him fight with a blade today.”
“He can use a sword when he has to, but it’s not his favorite weapon,” Lucia said, watching him stop outside the field of action to observe the ongoing match.
A few minutes later, Gabriel’s opponent lost his blade for the third time. Shaking his head, he lifted his hands in defeat, then grinned as he and Gabriel did their best to crush every bone in each other’s right hand, then slammed their shoulders together like two giant behemoths.
Juro clapped the other man on the back, then called something to Gabriel who nodded, teeth flashing through the dark scruff of his beard as he wiped down his blade, before walking over and hanging it in a cabinet against the dojo’s far wall. He grabbed a towel from a shelf and rubbed it over his face and chest, then scanned the bleachers until he found her. His face lit up in a grin that told Hana everything she needed to know, as he strode around the perimeter of the dojo, heading her way.
“Now that is a man in love,” Cyn said knowingly.
Hana didn’t respond. She was already making her way down to the floor to meet her very own spectacula
r male. She stood on the lowest bench, allowing their faces to be even, when Gabriel stopped in front of her. Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, while his hands gripped her hips to keep her close.
“Hey! No kissing in the dojo!” a woman’s voice called. Probably Cyn, Hana figured, but didn’t care.
“I’m all sweaty,” Gabriel said, making no move step away from her.
“I like you sweaty,” she said, giving him what she hoped was a sultry look.
He laughed. “Wrong kind of sweat, and stop that. Juro wants to spar and I don’t think a hard cock will help my performance.”
“Sure helps mine.”
“Hana! You’re making it worse!” he protested, but then pulled her hips to meet his, letting her feel the hard length of him.
She groaned. “How long will it take you to toss Juro onto your pile of victims?”
“Such confidence in me. I suspect he’s damn good, but we’ll see.”
“I’ll be cheering for you. And then, I’ll, mmmm, soothe your wounds.”
“You make a man want to lose. Fortunately, I’m made of sterner stuff. Take your sweet ass back up there, so I can get rid of this erection before we get started.”
Hana gave him a quick kiss, then ran up the bleachers to rejoin her friends. Friends. Huh. She hadn’t thought of it before, but the two women were her friends. Not close friends, not yet. But the potential was there. After living in her grandfather’s testosterone-fueled household for so long, she had to admit that it would be nice to have some estrogen-powered friends instead. She sat next to Cyn.
“Juro and Gabriel are going to spar,” she announced.
“Uh oh,” Cyn droned. “I’m not sure I want to be sitting between you two.”
“Don’t be silly,” Hana dismissed. “I wouldn’t fight Lucia. I’m a master in several martial disciplines. It wouldn’t be fair.”
Cyn laughed. “She’s got you there, Luce.”
Lucia gave a haughty sniff. “Not everyone’s a bruiser like you two. Besides, I’m not worried. Juro’s going to wipe the floor with the new guy.”
Hana slanted a look at the delicate woman and was thinking about retracting her earlier recusal, when Cyn jabbed her with an elbow. “Luci’s feisty, but a ten-year-old can wipe the floor with her. And the tears! My God, it’s pathetic.”
“I’m listening!” Lucia called in a sing-song voice, while Hana and Cyn laughed.
Yep, definite friend potential, she thought. Then all thoughts of friends and beat-downs disappeared, as Juro and Gabriel claimed the center mat. The two big males began circling each other, moving smoothly, appearing relaxed to the untrained eye, but Hana could see the power in their legs, the way every foot was carefully placed, their arms spread slightly, ready for attack, while their eyes never wavered from each other.
“You know the best part?” Cyn leaned over to whisper.
Hana gave her a quick glance, reluctant to miss any of the fight. “What?” she asked absently.
“After a night like this, when they’re juiced up with all that leftover adrenaline and testosterone . . .” She tsked, shaking her head. “Well, it’s gotta go somewhere.”
Hana froze, then twisted her head quickly in Cyn’s direction. “Really? Won’t they be exhausted and just . . . crash?”
“Oh, no,” Cyn assured her, her lips practically smacking in anticipation. “These are vampires, baby.”
Lucia laughed. “She’s right.”
Hana turned back just in time to see the two huge vampires go after each, and as she watched the fight with the eye of a skilled disciple of the arts, she smiled at the thought of the night ahead.
HANA WOKE, NOT knowing what time it was, and too cozy in the moment to check the clock, since that would involve lifting herself up enough to see around the bulk of Gabriel’s form. Her body told her she’d slept for several hours after Gabriel had dropped into his daylight sleep. Although first, there’d been mind-blowing sex. Turned out, Cyn had known what she was talking about. It didn’t matter that Gabriel had lost the match, although it had been close, with Juro scoring a narrow victory in two of their three sparring sessions. By the time they’d gotten to his basement room, Gabriel had been so hot for her, that they’d barely closed the door before he was inside her. Hana didn’t consider herself an expert on sex, but there was no question that sex with Gabriel felt way better, like way better, than any of her previous encounters. She glanced over her shoulder to see him sleeping peacefully. Although “sleep” didn’t begin to describe it. It was more like he lost consciousness. He didn’t move even the tiniest bit, except for his chest moving up and down with each breath, and even that seemed a lot slower than normal. She’d gone so far as to put her ear to his chest the previous night, to be sure his heart was still beating, which it was, of course.
She plumped her pillow and grabbed her e-reader, ignoring the bedside lamp to read in the dark. It took her back to her childhood when she’d smuggled flashlights under the covers of her bed and read long after her bedtime. The time on her screen read 7:15 pm. She didn’t know when the sun set in Malibu this time of year. Hell, she probably couldn’t have said what time it set in Nagano, either. She’d have to find a sunrise/sunset app if she was going to be hanging around vampires—which she clearly was, since she was totally hooked on Gabriel. She didn’t use the “L” word, but in her heart, she knew it was true.
The time changed to 7:16, and she closed her reader. She was too distracted to take in the words, and sunset couldn’t be far off. She put the e-book on the table and rolled over to face Gabriel, resting one hand on his chest. And what a chest it was. She stroked the thick pads of hard muscle, then lifted her hand to run the back of her fingers over the soft hair of his newly neat beard. She almost missed the big bushy one he’d had when he’d been trapped, but she’d been right about it drawing too much attention. Maybe once they were settled here in Malibu, once they found Sotiris and got rid of him—or at least made it too costly for him to continue his pursuit—Gabriel could grow his beard longer again. She tilted her head, studying him in the red glow of the bedside clock. Although the shorter beard did show off his firm jawline better. She liked that, too. Maybe—
“Taking advantage of me in my helpless state?”
Hana gave a surprised squeak at the rumble of his deep voice. “I wasn’t—”
He laughed and reached out to drag her on top of him. “I didn’t say I minded.”
“I was admiring your manly form.”
His big shoulders shrugged. “There are worse ways to wake up than with a beautiful woman stroking my naked body.”
She slapped his chest. “Have a lot of experience with that, do you?”
“What? Naked women, or the stroking?”
“Never mind. I don’t want to know. What’s the plan? Are you training again tonight?”
Gabriel’s big hands were cupping her butt as he began to rock beneath her, his already hard cock rubbing along her pussy, pressing almost directly on her clit. She didn’t know if that was intentional, and her body didn’t care. Heat was pooling between her thighs, her eyes closing with pleasure as she felt herself getting wet.
“Not tonight.” Gabriel murmured, continuing to rock against her. “You and I are having dinner at Kato and Grace’s, remember?”
Hana’s eyes flew open. “That’s tonight?” She sat up, straddling his hips. “What time?”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. When we get there?”
“You can’t just say ‘when we get there’ and leave it at that. They must be expecting us. Wait, I think I was supposed to text Grace. I need my phone.” She started to shift away from him, but strong fingers closed around her hips holding her in place.
“Relax. Whatever time it is, we’ll be late, because Damian will be late. He likes to
be the last to arrive, so he can make an entrance.”
“But I don’t even know what to wear.”
“Clothes. But not yet.” Lifting her up as if she weighed nothing, he slid two fingers into her pussy with a hum of satisfaction. “Hot and wet, älskling. Just the way I like you.”
Hana made a small noise of protest when he removed his fingers, but then he positioned his tip at her opening and pulled her down onto his erection. “Oh,” she said on a long breath. It took a moment to adjust to his size, to the fullness of him. But then she began flexing her hips, relishing the erotic sensuality of his thick cock filling her completely, barely moving as she ground her clit against his groin. She closed her eyes and cupped her own breasts, pinching her nipples until they ached for something only Gabriel could give her.
She opened her eyes to find him watching her fingers as they squeezed and pinched her breasts, his heavy-lidded eyes glowing a soft bronze in the dark room. His gaze lifted slowly to meet hers.
“Come for me,” he growled. Desire rippled instantly over her body, starting between her thighs and traveling up to her hard nipples like a jolt of electricity.
Hana moaned with need and began rocking faster, as Gabriel’s fingers tightened on her hips, holding her against him and grinding them together until even the tiniest movement stirred the fierce craving growing inside her. From one breath to the next, the orgasm struck, muscles clenching as she threw back her head and tried to swallow the scream of pleasure that consumed her. Every part of her was wildly alive, shuddering beneath the rolling waves of ecstasy as Gabriel lifted her higher and began thrusting, his thick cock driving up and into her trembling pussy, filling her over and over, until Hana thought she’d pass out from the overload of pure, carnal sensation.
When she felt the heat of Gabriel’s release, she nearly wept, certain she couldn’t bear another second of such unbridled passion. But he wasn’t done with her yet. Sitting up, he gripped her long hair and pulled her head back, baring the taut length of her neck to his lips. Hana groaned at the cool brush of his fangs, a fresh onslaught of desire striking hard as she wrapped her arms around his head and held him tightly.
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