by Crymsyn Hart
He lowered his mouth until his forehead rested against hers. Dallas was so close she yearned to claim his lips for herself. What will he taste like? He released her hand and guided it down to his groin, where his erection bulged against the seam of his pants. “To say that I’m not attracted to you would be a lie. You have an exquisite body. Pierce is lucky to claim you for a mate. Through him I feel an echo of that tie. I want to offer myself to you for a mate. I will protect you in all ways possible against those who would harm you. Let me into your heart.”
She was stunned by his admission. If Dallas was feeling this way, then how was Ryker feeling about the whole situation? Was he also sensing the love Pierce had for her? Would he then come to tell her that he was also her mate? “Dallas, your words flatter me. If this is something you’re getting from Pierce, then I think you need to discuss it with him first. You have to be sure that this is what you want. You have to think about Ryker. He’ll think that I put a spell on you or some—”
Dallas stopped her midsentence. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and wrapped it around her fangs before meeting her tongue. Her fangs were sensitive, and that single caress had shaken the core of her soul until her whole body was alive. Her cat growled contentedly. It wanted him the way it had already laid claim to Pierce. She cupped his cock, then slid her hand lower and grabbed his balls. I can’t be doing this. I can’t. God, but it feels so right and he accepts me for who I am. He understands me a little because he was raised by vampires. Her nerves sang with the bliss of his lips. Orianna wanted their kiss to continue, but she broke if off.
“What have I done?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m hungry that’s all.”
He tilted his head to show off the column of his neck. “Then feed.”
Orianna ran a finger along his jugular vein. The warmth made her jaw ache. She slid her free hand through his hair. Pierce had offered himself up to her, and now his mate was doing the same. Her nipples hardened as she thought about being with Dallas. She licked his neck and tasted the salt of his skin. Dallas shook against her but made no move to touch her further. He smelled of desire, and it sparked her hunger even more.
“Please.”
His appeal hit her heart. He wants it the way I want blood. A little bit won’t hurt. Orianna gave into the hunger they both felt. Dallas cried out when she sank her fangs into him. His hands fumbled with her jeans and worked them down around her hips. She heard the tear of fabric as he pulled away her panties. His blood scorched her tongue and inflamed her own longing. Dallas’s emotions were strong and flowed into her the way his blood did. His craving for her made her want him more. He lifted her up and pushed her back into a tree. One hand supported her nape while the other clutched her left ass cheek. The call of his blood was a hard one to force herself away from because she shook from the passion that he stirred in her. Orianna withdrew from his throat and looked into his dark eyes. They held nothing but fierce devotion for her.
“Do you want this?” Dallas asked.
She hesitated, thinking about the last time she had made love. Would her heart start beating again with Dallas? The fear of the pain almost made her say no. But the idea of her touching her cat again was more compelling. “Yes.”
Dallas didn’t wait and sunk his shaft inside of her. She cried out when he hit her clit. He kissed her throat and bit along her skin. When he did, her heart started again. Orianna groaned, but the fire that burned within her wasn’t as bad as the first time. The blaze stretched along her nerves, and the cat was there with her. It lengthened out along her skin and her muscles, and she was able to hold onto the lioness inside of her while Dallas thrust into her. She squeezed his arms and held on. Dallas claimed her lips once more in a swift kiss and then plunged into her one last time. Their coupling was short, but at that last moment, he rubbed her buried bud and she was rocketed to another world. Orianna rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. He slid his hand down her back.
“I can feel your heart beating.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her strangely. “Does it hurt you?”
“A little, but not like before.”
“Do you know why?”
“No idea. It just is. I can feel my cat more, too. It’s there with me now. I don’t know how long it will last, but thank you.”
Dallas kissed her lightly before setting her down on the ground. He held her to him. Orianna enjoyed the thumping of his heart and hers. Her lioness pushed aside the alien presence that was the vampire. The impossible had happened. She was warm once again and had found another man who loved her.
“You’re welcome. Although I should be the one thanking you. I never assumed that I’d ever feel this way about another person or indulge in the craving of another vampire biting me. Not that I was going out and trolling for vamps, because you know our kinds don’t normally get along. But here you are, one and the same.”
“I never thought I’d wake up and find myself like this. Now you have to deal with my brother and what Mason has in store for me. I never should’ve gotten you involved in all of this.”
Dallas drew her into his arms for a hard hug. In his embrace she felt secure. While she was with Dallas, her cat had responded to him. It was bonding to him. The one thing that she was most grateful for was the chance to have love again. That and her body was warm once more. Now she had one other person who cared for her well-being. It was such a wonderful thing that it seemed she had died and gone to heaven.
Chapter Ten
Ryker watched from the window as Dallas and Orianna made love against the tree. His jaw clenched. He curled his fingers into his palm and let the pain of his nails help him keep a grip on his fury. He was mesmerized by the sight of them because it was turning him on, too. The display stirred his anger and his lust. Their cries echoed through the night. He sensed Dallas’s passion for Orianna through their bond and when she and Pierce were together. Had Orianna bewitched him? Had she summoned her brother so it would bring her and Dallas together?
“You need to stop thinking that she’s going to take us away from you.” Pierce slid his arm around Ryker and kissed his throat. The feel of those soft lips on his made him turn and study his mate. He was still pale from the blood loss, but he was up and moving around. The claw marks that were inflicted upon him had healed. Even Ryker’s wounds had mended. No matter what Pierce said, he still couldn’t tear his eyes away from Orianna and Dallas. She bit into him and drank his blood. Dallas enjoyed it. Ryker shivered at the thought of being bitten. He never wanted that. He never would have thought his mate would let him bite her. In the past week their lives had been turned upside down. They had cleared out the studio so Orianna would have a place to stay. They had even bought some furniture to spruce the place up. They were going to keep it a secret, but he wasn’t sure now.
He wasn’t sure if she should stay, but telling her to go away now would tear his small family asunder because they were falling for her. Am I falling for her? Has she cast a spell over me? Is it even possible for me to have feelings for her? Was he going to start experiencing his mates’ love for her through the bond they shared? So many questions bombarded his mind that it was hard for him to think about anything else.
“I can’t help but think about her. She’s brought her shit to our doorstep. Her ex-mate leads the pride. She’s just fucked Dallas, and all you can do is stand there and ask me if I can stop thinking about her? It’s all been about her this past week because you were the one who had to follow her scent.”
“Are you blaming me for bringing her into our lives? For making you realize that there is more out there than us and this world? You’ve closed yourself off except for Dallas and me. The bond we share can’t be broken. If it’s expanding with the love that I feel for Orianna, then you can’t close yourself off to it. Dallas has already accepted it. He came to me and asked me how I would feel about him getting to know her better. I didn’t expect them to sleep togethe
r this soon, but, hey, I’m not jealous. I wouldn’t be if you tried to pursue her, too. Eventually you’ll feel what I do for her.”
Pierce drew him closer and let his hand trail down Ryker’s front. He cupped his cock and ran his hand over the fabric of Ryker’s jeans. He shifted and pulled away from the other man. He couldn’t think about being together right now. He wasn’t in the mood to have sex. The urge to run so he could clear his head gripped him. His liger needed the air. And he needed the air so he could think straight.
“I’m not blaming you for anything. I just need to be alone for a while. We need to worry about what’s going to happen with the pride. They can make our lives a living hell. Now I need to feel the night and get away from this place.”
“What about showing Orianna the studio?”
Ryker strolled toward the door. “You and Dallas show her. You’re the ones who’ll be servicing her there.” He rushed out of the room, trying to get away as swiftly as he could. He wrenched open the back door and could still hear Dallas and Orianna talking. She laughed at something he said. Her amusement grated on Ryker. She seemed happy and not concerned about what was happening to the pride. Ryker pulled his pants off and let the cool night air caress him. He was tired from the run he’d had with his mates earlier, but the fresh air would do him good. To feel his muscles stretching and pulling while he switched forms was a welcome relief as his cat and he formed into one being. The togetherness was the most wondrous thing. The merging helped him to drop away his human persona. The feline came forth, and he merged with it. At first he felt some resistance. That is a first. We’ve never been at odds with one another. He tried to confront the liger before he changed, but it wanted nothing to do with him. It backed off, but the change was already on him.
His muscles stretched and screamed with the pain of shifting his form. Relief flooded through him when he relaxed into the shift. The night air ran over his form, and his paws sunk into the dirt of the forest. He extended his claws and kneaded them into the earth. Ryker needed to purge Orianna from his mind. She was monopolizing more and more of his thoughts. He wanted to dig his claws into some stone. At least that would be something he could control. His entire life was starting to take a downward spiral, and he couldn’t get a grasp on it. If only she hadn’t crossed their land, then none of this would have ever happened. Pierce and Dallas would still be completely his. He shook his head and pushed her from his thoughts. A loud roar erupted from his throat as he bellowed his irritation into the night. Ryker rushed through the fields and picked up on the scent of a doe. Earlier he had hunted with his mates, but a darker hunger had awakened in him.
Ryker skulked the night. A heartbeat was loud in his ears. He locked onto the sound and silently went through the night, hoping she wouldn’t get spooked. The high grass hid his approach. He licked his fangs, and every instinct in him said for him to pounce on the doe. As he watched her, a small fawn wobbled out from the copse of trees. The human side of him responded. When Ryker saw the family together, his heart kicked back in and he didn’t want to hunt her all of a sudden. He watched how she cared for the little one, and then she looked in his direction. Something in his heart turned. Orianna was like the fawn, struggling through life. Even while dealing with all three of them, she was trying to figure out where to fit in. He roared, and that spooked the deer and her baby. He couldn’t see Orianna fitting in with the two men because she was so different, but she was winning them over. Ryker shook his head, feeling his short mane. A twig snapped behind him. He turned around and growled.
Orianna stood before him. The moonlight accentuated her skin. He sensed the hunter before him. He bared his teeth but made no move to go any closer.
“Would it be okay if I touched you?” she asked.
He heard the sincerity in her voice. She must have followed me. It’s part of her plan to bewitch me. She’s here to lure me back into her bed just like the vampire Siren she is. He curled his lips over his fangs and advanced on her, extending his claws so that he could gut her if she made a move toward him.
She stood perfectly still. He could take her out with one swipe. He wasn’t sure if she would heal from the grievous wounds that he yearned to inflict. He advanced farther still toward her. Ryker growled again. Orianna held out her hands and slowly sunk to the ground so they were almost at eye level. It would be easier now for him to attack. He snarled.
“I realize you don’t trust me after what happened with my brother earlier. I didn’t want to endanger Dallas and Pierce. You don’t have to hide your emotions. I can sense them, but it’s also apparent the way you stay away from me. I didn’t think me crossing your land would lead Pierce to follow me or that Dallas would start to feel something for me either. Honestly, I’m just happy that you have allowed me to be part of your family. My brother and I used to play practical jokes on one another. There was so much that I miss about not being with the pride. Here I’ve been able to have a small slice of that again.”
He heard her words, but they did little to melt his heart. He raised his paw and stretched his claws, waiting to strike. It would be so easy that he didn’t even think about it. All he would have to do was separate the delicate skin of her throat. Once her head was severed from her body, then there would be nothing else to worry about. His life would return to normal. Pierce would be awoken from the spell that he was under. Ryker raised his paw and went to strike, but the cat inside of him stopped. He struggled to regain control of his body, but the liger wouldn’t let him. They had always worked together, been together since the first time he had ever shifted. Instead, the cat took a step forward until they were close to Orianna. They stared eye to eye. He peered into her eyes and saw something of what she used to be.
Orianna slid her fingers through his mane. At her touch a small shiver made him shake all over. His cat was overjoyed that she was touching it. The liger wanted to claim her for a mate, but he couldn’t do that. It went against everything in his nature, because she was a vampire. She trailed her fingers over his flank and then pulled her fingers away. He heard her sniffle and butted his head against her arm. She looked up, and he saw the longing in her eyes.
“It’s been so long since I’ve touched a cat. You are magnificent. Thank you.” Orianna got up and silently walked away. The cat urged Ryker to go after her, but he had taken control again and he wasn’t going to fall for her silent sobs. Ryker wandered into the night, trying to figure out how he and his cat were going to come to a meeting of the minds.
No lights were on when he returned to the house, but he heard laughter coming from the studio. Ryker remained in the shadows and slipped on his pants. When he got to the door, he listened. He heard Dallas talking to Orianna.
“You have to be careful if you feed on Pierce for too long. It’d be best for you to slice into his wrist or neck. That way then you don’t have to worry about poisoning him with the venom of your fangs. The same with Ryker.”
“I don’t think I have to worry about ever feeding off him. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. He hates that I’ve stolen you away from him.”
“You haven’t taken me or Pierce away from him. Ryker doesn’t like change. His father cheated on his wife with another woman. The other woman got pregnant and dropped the baby off for his father to raise. He doesn’t discuss his past much. When he was old enough, he challenged the leader and was exiled from the pride. The woman he loved was torn away from him, and it made him shut off his heart. I wandered into an art show that my girlfriend at the time was in. Once I caught his scent, instinct took over. Ryker was mine. It took him a while to accept that we were mates. He thought I was jerking him around. Being a hybrid among other shifters is hard when you aren’t accepted. It’s taken him three years to build a relationship with the local pride here. Your pride. They didn’t accept him easily.”
“I didn’t know that. I didn’t want to bring this trouble involving Mason and my brother to his doorstep. I don’t expect Ryker to take to me the way tha
t you and Pierce have. Having two men who care about me is more than I could’ve hoped for. Although I wish it would’ve been Pierce who made the initial offer for me to come and stay with you.”
“Pierce is shy. I think it took him by surprise that you triggered his mating instinct the way it was set off when he caught my scent. Honestly, the three of us are great together because we’re all a little screwed up. None of us came from a healthy background. I was raised by vampires and then set free when they died. From what Pierce has told me, his other boyfriends used him for a doormat. And Ryker, well, he has issues. So we’re all a little wounded.”
Orianna chuckled. “Yeah, well, then I guess I fit right in.”
Ryker sighed. It was hard for him to pass judgment because his two sides were warring with one another. There was the cat who wanted to run in there, rub against her, and start playing with her. However, the man side of him didn’t want anything to do with her. Listening to Dallas divulge their history riled his anger, but there was also some pity as well. Why can’t this be easy? Lately when I get around her, I can’t think of anything else. The way she swayed her hips stirred his desire. The bounce of her breasts caused his dick to harden. The whole slew of emotions churned inside his head like a tempest, and he was the ship lost in the middle of it. He didn’t have a safe light to guide him out of the emotional storm. Ryker didn’t want to deal with all of the problems she had brought to his doorstep involving her family. It would be easier to give her over to her ex-mate so that she would be out of their lives forever, but if he did that now, then he would be hurting his two mates. He slammed his fist into the tree. There’s nothing I can do. I’m fucked either way I look at it. I can’t ship her off. The only thing I can do is avoid her. At least that way there will be peace in the house. She won’t get to me the way she did with the others. I swear it.
