by Eve Newton
Unfortunately, that is the only part of me that goes damp. I am as dry as the Sahara where it matters and that won’t do. He sits up and kisses me gently, moving down to nuzzle my neck before he bites me. He is doing everything right, everything that would usually be sending me into a tailspin of desire, but my arousal is still out of my reach. He pulls back and I lean over and kiss him, pushing my tongue into his mouth. He returns the kiss, but keeps his hands off me. I suck on his tongue and he purrs. I think we are both waiting for my fangs to slice into his tongue, but they don’t. That is odd, so I snap them down anyway. I want to drink from him, taste him. I move my mouth down to his neck, as he sits up again to get me more comfortable. I can feel the length of his cock pressing against my clit, but still nothing. I concentrate on the task at hand and I clamp my fangs down into his skin and he groans. I grab his shoulders as I bite harder and suddenly, all I want is his blood. It is soothing my parched throat and my dry tongue. I don’t want to drink anything except him. I push him down, still suckling on his neck, slowly now. I feel his hands resting lightly on my hips and then I feel him undulating under me. I release the bite when I realize he is inside me.
He feels me pause and he opens his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says as he lifts me up, but I shake my head at him.
“Don’t be, my love. Take me.” I meet his thrusts, my hands clutching at him desperately. I can feel every inch of him filling me up and in a sudden burst, he comes quickly. He is ready again within seconds and I ride him, slowly. His hand comes up to cup my breast, placing his palm flat against me, his fingers still against my skin and the golden glow swirls up around us again, healing me and tightening our bond to each other. I kiss him deeply and mutter, “You’re the one. The only one.”
Chapter 19
Buckinghamshire, England, March 2013 - Cole
He stares up at his wife as she breaks their kiss. Her emerald eyes are looking back at him with a wondrous awe that he wants to see every time she looks at him from now to eternity. He doesn’t know what he just did to her, but he knows it came from him, and so does she. She is content now. He can see it by the set of her face. She is no longer the ragged doll that had been limply sewn back together after she came back from the Underworld. She is whole again, and he did that to her. He wants to take her again, he is ready. He wants to manhandle her into a position where he can take her again and again until he can’t come any more, and until her throat is raw with her screams of ecstasy.
But he doesn’t.
She said she needed to do this her way, so they will. He is thankful she came to him. He couldn’t bear what that asshole had done to her. It is ripping him apart because he is weak and unable to protect the woman that he loves. He hated that, that creature was the last man to have been inside her.
It has to be him.
Always him. His heart is filled with joy at her muttered words. He has waited so long to hear them uttered from her lips. It makes all the shit he has put up with over the last ten months’ worth it to hear her say them. He knows deep down that it won’t last, but right now he just wants to believe that it will. That she will only ever want him and leave all the others behind. She is still staring at him with a serene smile on her perfect face and he moves under her. He wishes then that he had stayed still when she climbs off him though. He is disappointed she didn’t finish. That has never happened before. He feels utterly inadequate, but she snuggles into him, her head on his chest, her hand splayed out over him and he knows she is happy. He loves her so much. He strokes her hair and murmurs his feelings to her and as expected she soon falls asleep in his arms.
Several hours later, she is still sleeping, and Cole is still watching her. He could watch her forever. Her words are still etched firmly in his brain. “You are the one. The only one.” He has deduced, while he has been sitting here, that it was her Dragon talking. Dragons are true to one and he is her husband, therefore he is her “one.” For as long as it lasts, he will be true to her. Even after that, he will never betray her again. He will ache with need if she goes back to seeing him every week, but he will endure it, for her. She is his sire, his wife, and his Queen. At least, for now, he has her all to himself for a whole month, and away from him for three. He has no idea what Constantine did and said to her, but it must have been huge and hurtful for him to even suggest it. Cole has seen him treat her like shit in the past and she usually forgives him straight away. This, whatever it is, has affected her whole attitude and he is grateful to the bastard for whatever it was he did to her. He can’t get over what Constantine asked of her. He is such a prick, trying to undermine their relationship in that way. It shouldn’t surprise him, but it does. Unfortunately, it is something that he can’t seem to stop thinking about, especially because of what Devon also said to him. Christ. This is getting even more complicated. He sighs.
Liv shivers in the chill morning air and her eyes blink open. She smiles that secretive smile as she sees him watching her again. “Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” he says back, and leans over to kiss her. “Water?”
She shakes her head.
“Tea? Coffee?”
She shakes her head again.
“Wine?” he asks, enjoying this game, as he knows what she wants. He can see it written all over her face.
She chuckles and shakes her head again.
“What do you want, my love?” he asks her.
“You,” she says as she drops her fangs and takes his hand. He wants her to take him at his neck, but he is happy just to feed her. She links her fingers through his and bites down on his wrist. He hisses as her bite has gotten so much sharper. Her eyes never leave his as she takes her fill and then she releases him. She offers him hers in return and wild horses couldn’t keep him from accepting. He bites down on her as she did to him and her blood pours into his mouth. She has always tasted delicious, but now she is irresistible. Addictive, even. She still tastes like cherries with a spicy aftertaste, but now he can feel the power of her blood. It is so much more than before. Cole lets her go and reaches for her. The sheet has dropped down so her tits are on display and he has to touch her. He places his hand over her heart again and she braces herself. He wants to draw his hand away at the rejection, but then she places hers over his and he knows that she is trying. His hand lights up under hers, the same golden glow as before, only not as intense, but she feels it and closes her eyes as her hair floats gently in the breeze.
“I want to taste you,” Cole blurts out suddenly, as the overwhelming urge to go down on her takes him over. Her eyes fly open and the spell is broken as she shakes her head. He yanks his hand away in fury that the bastard dared to do that to her, to his wife. That is too intimate, and a red haze descends over his eyes at the thought of his lips and tongue caressing her sweet spot.
“Don’t think of it, Cole,” she says, taking his hand lightly.
“I can’t not think of him doing that to you,” he answers roughly. He has no idea what he looked like, this Light Fae King, but when he pictures him, he pictures Sebastian, and that enrages him further. Cole pulls away from her before he says something even more stupid to upset her.
“Cole,” she says his name and he looks at her. “Don’t think about it.”
“Use me,” he says to her, grabbing her hands and crushing them in earnest.
“Excuse me?” she asks, confused.
“Use me,” he says again. “Use me to make yourself feel better. Take back what he took from you. Rip me to shreds and then do it all again.”
She takes in his words and deliberates for a few minutes. She slowly gets to her knees and he sees her determination. Uh-oh, he is so in for it, he thinks to himself, but he doesn’t care. If it makes her feel better, she can kill him if she wants to. She slowly drops her fangs and extends her claws, flashing them both at him before she flies at him, pinning him to the bed, ready to take out her anger and frustrations on him.
What feels like several lifetimes later, Liv somehow ma
nages to coax another erection out of him. He has no idea how. He is completely exhausted. The sweat is pouring off him from the exertion of coming for her again and again, and his chest hurts like Hell. She sliced into him a while ago for the umpteenth time and it is painfully slow to heal. Whatever frustrations she had; she has taken them out on him like he asked her to. He can only hope that she feels better for it. She crawls up him and finally, finally slides him inside her. Cole has been waiting to be inside her all this time, but she has stayed away, using her mouth and her fingers to drive him crazy. That gets his dick harder, as he feels her wet against him. She puts her hands on his chest and he winces from the pain, but it only makes her dig her claws in. He stifles the cry of pain as she grinds down onto him. He forgets about everything then except her soft, wet pussy gliding over his rock-hard dick. She comes quickly and it makes him come too, then she is still. He opens his eyes as he feels her stop moving and looks at her. She has an amused expression on her face as she sits up and he slips out of her completely limp. It doesn’t surprise him. He is one hundred percent spent. He has nothing left to give her. He feels her tongue lapping at the base of the wounds she inflicted and the pain eases as she heals him. One by one the wounds close, as she reaches the top of the last one, she lies flat on top of him, stretching out like a panther about to fall asleep after playing with her prey. “I love you,” she says to him and kisses him sweetly.
“I love you,” he manages to get out before he passes out from fatigue.
Cole comes to, groggy and disorientated. He can hear muted voices coming from the terrace and he cracks his eyes further open to see who Liv is talking to. It’s Cade. They are sitting close together in the afternoon sun and he has his hand on her shoulder. Cole leaps out of bed and is at her side in less than a second. “Hands off,” he growls at the Hunter.
They both look up at him, and Cade removes his hand. Liv is biting her lip to stop herself from smiling and Cade is looking away with a slight flush. Liv’s eyes scan over him, head to toe, and she says, “As much as I adore you as you are, my one, I think Cade would prefer you to get dressed.”
Cole nearly falls at her feet in worship at her words “my one,” but at her raised eyebrow, he grabs a pair of sweats and pulls them on, returning immediately to her side. “What are you talking about?” he asks rudely, but not caring.
“Cade was berating me for going off half-cocked to the D.F.K.,” she says with a smirk.
Cade glares at her. “I was not. I was concerned. You should have come up with a better plan than relying on that Remiel guy to help you.”
“Yes, in future I shall bear that in mind,” she says wryly, taking Cole’s hand and lacing her fingers through his.
“And that’s another thing,” Cade says before he can get a word in. “Why are you so chummy with him now? What is all that about?”
Damn good question, and the one he was going to ask himself. When the time was right.
“It’s a long story,” she says with a shrug. “I need to speak to him again before I start surmising.”
“But you know something?” Cole asks her.
“A bit,” she replies cautiously.
“Is he dangerous?” he asks, feeling somewhat foolish, because of all he has put her through. But he did also help her, sort of.
Her eyes search his for a moment before she answers, “I’m not sure.”
Well gee, that does not make him feel any better about the creature. Cade looks the same, but she fires a look at him that keeps his mouth shut. Cole narrows his eyes at them, he is not liking this little whatever it is they have going on.
“Right, well, I will leave you two to get sorted,” Cade says, standing up. “We leave for Heathrow in an hour. By the way, Xane asked me to tell you that he had pressing business in Hell and won’t be back for a few days. He will meet us in Paris.”
“What pressing business?” Liv asks, standing up quickly.
“He said it was a five, so there is no need for you to worry,” Cade replies with a smile.
She smiles back and relaxes. Cole doesn’t know what that means, and it annoys him that they do. Cade leaves then and he asks her, “What is a ‘five’?” He is sick of being out of the loop because he has an actual job, unlike all of these lazy asses who seem to do…well, fuck knows really what they all do.
“When I went to meet Xane in Vegas, we agreed that he would continue to run Hades on a day-to-day basis and I only wanted to know about things that were a six and over, so a five is his to deal with,” she explains to him.
“Oh,” Cole says. He is dying to ask more, like if they are sleeping together, but he bites his tongue. It will anger her, and he doesn’t want to make her angry with him. He needs her to love him and be happy with him. He just has a sick feeling about them, he can’t put his finger on it, and it bugs him.
“How are you feeling?” she asks him, bringing him out of his thoughts.
“Hungry,” he replies with a soft smile, “but good. How about you?”
“Just perfect,” she says. After a pause, she adds, shyly, “Thank you.”
He hugs her and she returns it. “No need to thank me,” he says with a salacious smile, to ease the mood.
“Go and feed,” she orders him. “I will get bathed and changed while you do.”
Cole agrees and goes off to find a Feeder. He knows there are a couple around here somewhere. He can’t wait to have Dawn back. He has missed her. He is used to her and he considers her his. The only thing that he has that is just his. She is meeting them in Paris, after a few days off with Scott. Now that Liv is back, he feels better, happier, and much more in control. This will be the first fresh feed since the Hunt and his fangs are aching. He finds one of his wife’s Feeders, Edward, and the need to drain him and kill him for daring to engage in such an intimate act with her overwhelms him. He wishes she would use only women. He calms himself and even though he still gets icked out by feeding from men, he takes what he can from him, perfectly under control after his wife’s attentions and sends him on his way.
Chapter 20
Buckinghamshire, England, March 2013 - Liv
I sink into the bubbles and feel at peace. Whatever Cole did to me, healed me inside and I am more in love with him than ever. He let me play with him, and I know I hurt him, but he took it because he knew I needed it. He knew I needed complete control. I am only slightly concerned about the fact that my claws are definitely not those of the average Vampire anymore. I have been seeing this for a while now, going back to when I clawed CK in the grounds at Ponte and they didn’t heal straight away. I am starting to think they are more Dragon, less Vampire at this point. That brings me back to Cole’s ability. My mother has alluded that he is something special, but in Her usual fashion She remains tight-lipped about it. But one thing is for sure, he is definitely something special. For the first time since CK turned me and I wanted only him, I feel that way again with Cole. I don’t want to be with anyone else. He is everything, he is the one. It startles me slightly that I think this, as I am not used to being true to one. I know my Dragon has everything to do with it, and I wonder if it will last. I wonder if my Vampire side will come out of her slumber at some point and try to regain what is hers. I get out of the tub and get dried and dressed and decide now is a good time to face Remiel, if he will come to me. I haven’t seen him since he came to me in the D.F.K., but I want some answers.
I pass Cole on the way out and stop to give him a lingering kiss, which he delights in returning before I tell him I’ll be in the library.
I stand there and call out, “Remiel,” feeling like a bit of an idiot.
“Aefre,” he says as he shimmers into view. “You’re back.”
Like he didn’t know I was.
“So I am,” I say. I can feel his barrier is up again and that makes me curious as he dropped it before. I, however, am pretty damn sure that won’t be a problem anymore. I step forward and he peers at me but stands his ground. I bring my hand
up and place it on the barrier and with a magickal pop! it vanishes.
“Hmm, I had a feeling that would be the case,” he says to me. “Word on the Spirit grapevine is you got an enhancement.”
“I did,” I say. “Now there is no reason why I shouldn’t just kick your arse back to where it belongs.”
“It belongs here,” he says stiffly, straightening his immaculate suit. “I am completely certain that you can help me now.”
“Help you do what?” I ask, expecting an answer.
“Live,” he says.
“You told me you couldn’t,” I say and frown at him.
“I couldn’t, while you were weak. I had to get Tiamat to accelerate your Powers, and I came up with the perfect plan. Like little chess pieces to be moved into place by my hand. Such fun. The ultimate game, Aefre.”
I gulp. What is he trying to say?
“Do you really think that figuring out who your father was, your secret conversations with your little Fae-pire, Drake showing up, Aelfric showing up…was all a big coincidence? The amendment to the prophecy was a stroke of luck and it got you exactly where I wanted you.”
My mouth drops open in shock. “You-you orchestrated this whole thing?” I stammer as it all falls into place.
“Indeed,” he confirms.
“You knew what would happen to me?” I ask in dread.
“I knew you would never jump into the sack with him willingly,” he says slowly. “Although, you are quite the loose woman, it does seem you have to have bonds with those you take to your bed.”
