I need a taste of her. Gods, hear me, it’s my last request.
As if she read his desperate thoughts, Nadine turned her head to the side, exposing her rapid pulse.
Marex shook his head to contain the carnal urge to rip into her flesh.
“It’s all right,” she breathed. “I want you to.”
He skimmed his fingers in her panties, to the hot center of her pussy, slick and soft, ready for him. He shuddered with the rush of lust sweeping over him. But he had to be sure. “I want more than just your blood.”
She swallowed at his rough admission. “Marex, you can take all of me.”
Needing no further affirmation, he plucked the strings of her panties and pinned her leg open. With one sweet push, he thrust inside and bit into her neck. She cried out at his force. It was fast and merciless, but he couldn’t help himself.
The sweet tightness of her felt incredible, but her blood…her blood…he closed his eyes, dazed. Her potent liquid filled his mouth and made a river down his throat. Nothing had ever taste so exquisite. A tremor raced through him, followed by a startling and piercing truth.
He snapped his eyes open at the flash realization that she was his; no one would have her but him.
Ever.
She held the back of his neck, moaning while her hips shifted toward his. Marex groaned, swallowing her dulcet blood, necessary and divine, harnessing the strength it gave him, the absolution. It more than satisfied his appetite; it slaked a hunger he didn’t know could ever be fulfilled.
Nadine clung to him as he pumped into her again and again, her cries growing in volume as he took her blood, her body, aiming for her very soul. Her hands tightened on his neck. She trembled against him. Panting, writhing, she released one long cry in his ear.
Pleased, Marex fucked her at an increasing rate, his cock steeled and ready for release. Overcome, the rush seized him, paralyzing his body and mind. He buried his face in her hair, groaning long and hard, coming inside her.
He moaned with relief, shaken, as his brain and limbs hummed with Nadine’s blood rushing in and intertwining with his.
Gods, how can this be real?
He removed his teeth from her flesh, and watched a trail of blood travel from his teeth marks down to her chest. Catching it with his tongue, he licked up the leftover. As the ecstasy began to ebb away, Marex pulled out of her body, his eyes watery, burning, his heart thundering in ecstasy.
He stepped back, yanking his pants up, hands on hips. With his head still buzzing, he couldn’t fathom the words about to come out of his mouth. Disoriented, he spoke, his voice raspy. “You are my fated.”
Nadine nodded and touched his bite with her fingertips. “I know.”
As a fateblood, he was meant for one woman and one woman only. By the gods’ design, from the moment of maturation age, a fateblood would ache and yearn for their other half, and would continue to, until they found each other, only knowing for sure with a taste of the other’s blood. It was a hunger neither the pürbloods nor the shadows would ever know. Some spent hundreds of years on earth never finding their fated, for whatever reason. Though he’d tasted every fateblood with her characteristics, he assumed he was one of those unlucky assholes, and put all of his energy into the shifter alliance, never chasing that missing part of his soul.
Had he really found her? Or was this just a trick?
She searched his face. “Marex?”
His muscles became taut, straining with anger as he took another big step back from Nadine, the chains’ slack tightened. “No. This can’t be,” he bit out.
His words hurt her; the pained bewilderment in her pure blue eyes told him so.
So many thoughts compounded, one after another. She was too good to be true. Did she practice witchcraft? Had she cast a spell on him so he would thoughtlessly have sex with her before he died at the UCC’s feet tomorrow? Such cruel females existed, beautiful, beguiling temptresses who proved too much for a male to resist. Maybe his enemies had sent Nadine as a final prank at his expense. Fuck. Being in this dungeon had made him weak…and paranoid. “Go. Get out of here before the guards wake up and get wise to your scheme. You got what you came for.”
Her mouth gaped. “I’m here for you.”
Shaking his head, he forced himself not to gaze into those mesmerizing eyes. “No. No.”
“Yes.” She closed the distance between them, fingers sliding into his hair. “Marex. You felt the same as I did when you fed from me, when you were inside me. You know I’m not a witch. I’m your fated.”
He kept shaking his head, even while her sensa and touch saturated his senses. Squeezing his eyes shut, he grabbed her upper arms, intending to push her away. But he didn’t.
She brought his face close to hers, their noses touching. “What have they done to you? Why can’t you trust in what you feel?”
He snapped his eyes open, hardening his grip. “Stop it.”
Nadine relaxed, then exhaled with a sigh. She lifted her chin, lips grazing on his mouth. “I can’t.”
Despite the torture he’d endured, the pain he’d had to absorb over the past eight days, he had stayed strong. At that moment, weakness brought him down his knees, and he lowered his head. “You don’t understand. No matter how I feel…I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know if I can trust my instincts. They let me down the night I was taken into custody.”
Her soft fingertips went under his chin, forcing him to lift his gaze. “I’ll show you.”
Unable to tear his gaze, he watched as she stepped back and unhooked her bra, revealing her breasts.
With a pained expression, he hunched over, groaning, his teeth sharp again. She incited such poignant, intoxicating agony.
“Marex. Look at me.”
Swallowing on a dry throat, he did, at a loss.
“What do you see?”
Taking his time, seeking to memorize every inch of her stunning figure, he roamed his gaze from her feet on up, a memory to take with him in death. The last fine thing he would ever cast his sight upon. But when he settled on her face, he lingered in awe, his brows gathering. “I see…a very brave, intelligent, beautiful vampiress, with a heart as big as her courage.”
Not a witch. Witches could never hide the malice from their eyes this long from someone who’d lived as long as he had.
With a loving smile, she came toward him and knelt. His pulse pounded in his eardrums, his fingers itching to sink into the wealth of her hair. More than anything, he wanted a drink of her blood again, and to lose himself inside her one more time.
“Know what I see?” she asked, cocking her head and setting her hands on her thighs. “A righteous, valiant leader who thinks farther than our glory. A male so strong in mind and body, only a true betrayal would ever bring him to his knees like this. You don’t have to believe in me, or anyone, but yourself. You have my word, we will find who deceived you and clear your name. We will continue your quest to unite vampires and shifters. We’ll keep fighting for peace, until it conquers the war.”
A tendril of her silky hair lay curled above her rosy nipple, and he captured the gold-red lock, rolling it between his forefinger and thumb. He brushed his finger around the nipple, watched it harden before his eyes. Lifting his gaze, he asked, “What makes you think we’ll win this fight?”
“If you need me to answer that for you, then we’ve already lost.”
His mouth quirked. She was right. He’d scoffed at the notion at ever finding his fated after three hundred years. Fatebloods like him discovered who they were meant to be with by blood. Pürbloods didn’t have that luxury. But he now knew it was utterly true. Gods, how he understood now. He captured her face in his hands, kissing with her with plain relief and unstoppable devotion.
She climbed on his lap, sinking her tongue in between his teeth. His cock swelled iron-hard with need. Using one hand, Marex shoved his pants down his hips, then sat back against the wall, bringing her with him. As they both labored for breath
, desperate to unite their bodies again, she lowered herself on his cock, dropping her head back with a moan.
Marex never knew such euphoria inside another. He circled his arms around her back and took a nipple in his mouth as she rocked her ass up and down. While he hungrily pumped his hips, a groan so deep ripped from his throat, the friction of her riding his cock was so fucking good. The devastating probability he may never experience such glorious rapture again raged in his blood.
Faster. More.
Nadine fisted his hair and dipped her lips to his, sucking his bottom lip. Pressing her hands to his shoulders, she pinned him to the cold wall. She made a trail down to his chin, teeth grazing his jaw, then nipped at his shoulder, drawing blood. His hissed at the cut.
Gently, she licked the minor wound before it healed itself, then sat up, wiping her lips with the back of her hand, tears in her eyes.
Something inside Marex shattered; he never, ever wanted to cause her pain. He held her close and looked up at her, his own eyes burning with regret. Apology. He hoped she understood, because his throat was too constricted with emotion to allow speech.
She touched his brow, slowing her hips, and kissed him gently.
His heart stopped and he squeezed his eyes at the brief, sharp pain in his chest. Turning his face, he laid his head against her breast as she languidly rode him.
“Marex…” she finally groaned.
Unable to speak, he groaned, the orgasm erupting and shattering.
When their eyes met, he splayed a hand on her cheek, his voice rough as he said, “I’m sorry I doubted you. I won’t do it again.”
“You’ll never have to.”
Reluctantly, he let her slip out of his arms and get dressed. He could do this for hours, watch her, but they didn’t have hours, only minutes. He pushed to his feet, tying the strings of his pants. “How did you know you and I…?”
Her movements slowed as she tied her panties, and she raised her gaze to his. “I’ve dreamt about you for most of my life. For years, I searched for your face, listened for your voice in a crowd, but you were nowhere, except in my mind. Eventually, I forced myself to dismiss the dreams. I had given up. Then I met Quinn. He promised me the life I wanted, the one I wanted with you, but he was taken and killed. I grieved for the man I lost and the one I’d never had. For a while, I lived a simple existence. Happy, but praying for…a purpose. When I started to hear your name in the underworld circles, who you were and what you were doing, it echoed in my mind endlessly. The dreams returned, vivid, frequent, with more detail. One day, I woke up and realized what my dreams were trying to tell me. I couldn’t save my fiancé, but I could save you. Because I had to.”
He crooked a finger under her chin, amazed and humbled that he’d been given such a gift in his darkest hour. Must’ve been doing something right to be sent this treasure. If it took him an eternity, he would do everything in his power to show his gratitude. “Nadine, your timing is flawless.”
Her lips curved in a smile.
Now he knew why her eyes were so familiar. He’d seen them in his dreams as well, always haunting him until he woke. He’d been subconsciously looking for her. No wonder every time he met one with eyes and hair similar in color, a ravenous hunger took hold, pushing him in those female’s arms like a helpless addict. Unable to truly satisfy his wild lust. Until now.
Renewed in both spirit and will, he could barely contain himself from forcing his limbs from these shackles. Remain calm, old boy. After all, she’d brought a key. Swiftly, he kissed her. “We must go.”
Grinning, she plucked at the ribbon still tied around her leg, finally successful.
He held out his locked wrists and she went to work with deft skill. How much time did they have? Couldn’t be more than a few minutes.
The first lock on his left hand released and she moved to the right one.
He marveled at how composed she was, how confident, focused. How she didn’t fumble or get frustrated easily when the second lock proved to be more difficult than the first. Her inner strength matched his outer, and together they would be unstoppable.
“Did you love him?” Marex found himself asking.
She paused before answering. “No. Not in the way a fiancé is supposed to love one who is going to avow her. He was good to me, but my heart had been reserved. I cared for him, respected him, but no, I was never in love.”
He knew she was being truthful. Of course Quinn would’ve married her regardless; just look at her. It soothed him with the knowledge she didn’t feel as strongly for her former lover, but of course she wouldn’t, since she was meant for him. Nevertheless, he was still jealous of the dead man who’d found her first and nearly avowed her. Something he’d have to get over one day.
The second lock released and clattered to the floor.
The sound of the dungeon’s door alerted him, announcing the guard’s return. Rubbing his sore wrist, Marex whipped around. They were out of time.
He grasped her upper arms, their lips nearly touching, and kept his voice low. “This will be our only chance, Nadine. As soon as he unlocks the door and lets you out, I’ll make a blitz attack.” He bent down and picked up the chains so that they appeared to be in place when the guard came to release her from the cell. Being in the last cell proved to be fortunate. For the first time, he saw apprehension in her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” he told her gruffly, “you will not go on without me.”
Nadine kissed him quickly, with passion and loyalty, making him whimper quite unmanly-like when she broke away. She shoved her arms in her coat pockets, smiling wickedly at him before replacing her hood. Marex hid his own smile as George approached with grunting ambivalence.
“Was he worth it?” he droned as Nadine took steps toward the bars.
“Mm. I’ve had better.”
Marex turned his head away to press his lips together, suppressing laughter. He was going to love this woman with every fiber of his being, he had no doubt about that.
The door opened and Nadine swept through the space. Marex leveled his gaze, snarled, and marched toward the unprepared guard, the loosened bounds of the chains clanking to the floor.
George’s eyes rounded as Marex mightily kicked the steel with a roar. George dropped with an astonished yell to his backside, groping for his knife.
Nadine beat him to it. She snatched the weapon and held the point to his quivering double chin. “If you want to live, I suggest you hold still.”
Her fearlessness amazed Marex, and he swelled with pride. He came around George’s back and took him in a choke hold. The vampire thrashed about, but Marex was too strong, had done this too many times. He spoke low, close to George’s ear. “Tell me what I want to know and you’ll live.”
The male sputtered, grabbing at Marex’s forearm, but only succeeded in Marex tightening his hold. “I d-don’t know anything…egh…stop! Stop!”
“UCC soldiers talk. They have the inside track to who and why. Give me some information about how I got in here.”
The man gagged. “They’ll skin you alive for this.”
“Would you like to know what that feels like first?” he bluffed.
The man’s feet kicked as he fought for consciousness. “Okay, okay. Everything—your crime, your arrest—was arranged…by humans.”
Marex whipped his gaze up to Nadine’s, who appeared equally surprised.
“Humans? You’re lying. They don’t interfere in the vampire and shifter conflict.”
“You f-fool. It’s true. Can’t you see? They need us to be at war! It keeps our kind busy, ignorant, and unable to climb the top of the proverbial mountain. As long as wolves and vamps are destroying each other, they’ll never be as strong a force as the humans on this planet.”
Holy shit. Some of what he said made sense. Marex had been too narrow-sighted the whole time while he rotted inside this cell. Who profited the most from his kind never finding a resolution with the shifters? He assumed the Vessers, or the clo
sed-minded, or the stubborn shifter alphas, everyone…except humans. Most of them weren’t even aware of the underworld. Only the ones with old money and old ties to history knew, and it’d been one of the best kept secrets of humanity.
“Marex.” The sound of Nadine’s voice snapped him back. “He’s not moving.”
The guard had gone limp, eyes closed, unconscious.
Marex frowned. That was all the information he was going to get. “He’ll be fine.”
He stripped the unconscious guard of his boots and tied them on before dashing out of the cell and locking it. He took his fated’s hand in his and they ran down the hall to the main door, which led to a long, steep staircase above.
He looked back at Nadine.
She slowly smiled, her eyes giving him all the strength he’d ever need, trusting him implicitly.
He climbed the first few steps to his new destiny, his fate in his hands now.
With her.
Two
If she wasn’t so elated that her plan worked, Nadine would’ve been frightened beyond description. It seemed too good to be true that she and Marex had succeeded in freeing him.
She’d purposely parked her car on the cliffside service road, since the parking lot was gated and could trap them in. As they ran hand in hand toward the woods, she dared not look back and catch an arrow in her back. The grounds were eerily quiet while they sprinted. Perhaps she couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of her heart.
The UCC would be after them.
Humans would be after them.
How long would they survive? A night? A year?
Running for eternity saddened her. She wanted a life with her beloved; she yearned to finish what he started. He’d almost been taken away from her before she even met him.
Overwhelmed, she slowed down once they were deep in the woods. “Marex, wait.”
He stopped and looked at her. Through the sliver of moonlight, she saw the concern etched in his rugged features, and before she could inhale, he captured her face and kissed her. She clung to him, hoping it was merely one of a thousand more.
Marex_Immortal Forsaken Series Page 2
