by J. S. Scott
Brianna whimpered as he buried his head between her thighs. He was conquering and he proceeded in a “take no prisoners” attack. His tongue invaded her wet folds in one long slide, destroying her control. She bit back a moan as his tongue spiraled around her clit. The bud was swollen and needy, begging for his caress.
She arched her back, reaching for his mouth with her hips. She needed his total possession, needed his tongue sending her over the edge.
Brianna was consumed in erotic pleasure, mindless of anything but Ethan. “Please, Ethan. Please,” she pleaded as her hips rotated wildly, seeking the heat of his tongue.
When his fiery tongue landed on her begging nub, she moaned. He laved and nipped until she was wild and lost, helpless to do anything but let herself feel. He played her body like a master musician, knowing exactly how to touch. How hard… how fast… how long.
Brianna felt her climax approaching with a shudder. It started deep in her belly and scorched her to her toes. She came with a loud cry that burst from her lungs involuntarily. It was a screech that extended into a moan as Ethan lapped at her, extending the wild pleasure. He licked the cream that erupted from her in frenzied abandon, as if it were his favorite dessert.
As Ethan slid up her body sensually, Brianna gasped. Ethan’s body felt like it was on fire. He covered her, his skin blazing and his eyes fierce. Those fiery eyes raked her as he buried his head in her neck with a groan. She thought he was going to bite her… but he didn’t.
She could feel Ethan panting, his breath hot, hitting her neck sporadically as he gulped for air. “I love you,” he choked out between his staccato breaths. “I love you so damn much I can’t bear it.”
Brianna froze, stunned by his revelation. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was breathless. He loved her. “Oh Ethan, I love you, too. With all of my heart” She melted as she felt him trembling against her. “Take me, Ethan.” He needed and she wanted nothing more than to provide. “Please.”
He trailed his lips from her neck to her mouth, kissing her with a ferocity that would be terrifying if she had any reason to fear him. But she wasn’t afraid. She met his embrace, their passionate movements clashing against each other and merging, intensifying their desire.
His hot mouth left her defenseless, unable to think of anything except her need for him. As he broke for air she pleaded, “Fuck me, Ethan. I need you. I need you inside me.”
She could feel his member, hot, heavy and hard, against her thigh. She squirmed, desperate for him to join them together.
Ethan took her mouth again while he slid his hand down to grasp his swollen cock. He brought the head between her legs, sliding his engorged flesh against her liquid heat.
He was large, but she was ready. There wasn’t anything he had that she wasn’t ready to accept. She removed her mouth from Ethan’s, her breath leaving her body as he slid into her burning channel, his member gripped tightly by her inner walls. She felt herself stretch to accept him, lifting her hips to take him completely inside her. The feel of him was extraordinary. Her muscles clenched and relaxed on his cock, getting used to the feel of the large phallus. They moaned together as he became completely imbedded.
“You’re so tight. Have to fuck you. Make you mine,” Ethan rasped as he began to move.
“I’m yours, Ethan. All yours” She breathed the words, knowing it eased him.
Brianna’s body seized as he began to stroke; long, hard thrusts that seemed to burn her to her core.
“Need you, Brianna.” His voice broke as he knelt, pulling her legs up to his shoulders and grasping her hips hard.
“Yes, Ethan, Yes!” She knew she was screaming now… but she didn’t care. His increasingly hard and fast pumping was making her crazy and she had to climax, taking Ethan along with her. They needed to find release before they incinerated together.
Finding that release was their driving force as they strained together, her hips moving to meet his pummeling cock. His strength was incredible, but he was a vampire and Brianna had ingested his blood. It made her strong enough to take his rough passion. Strong enough to wallow happily in it.
Ethan threw his head back, releasing a sound somewhere between a snarl and a grunt. Her leg was on his shoulder and he turned his head and buried his fangs into her thigh. He suckled hard against her skin as he pounded his cock into her aching channel.
His erotic bite made her fly apart. Brianna’s climax erupted with a power and intensity that rocked her body. She came in a wild wave that had her crashing in a turbulent sea of erotic bliss.
Her spasms grasped Ethan’s cock and caressed it with a forceful grip-and- release. Over and over. Again and again. She felt him release his teeth from her thigh to heave and plunge deep inside of her. He released a deep, reverberating sound as he came, his cock exploding in rhythmic contractions. His hot release flooded deep inside her as he let out a tortured and relieved groan.
Brianna felt her hands being released as he pulled her tightly into his waiting embrace. They panted together, trying to recover their senses.
He urged her mouth toward his chest where he had opened a vein for her to drink. She took the nourishment along with Ethan’s essence, ignoring the sexual rush. She couldn’t take any more of that right at the moment. She fed, just enjoying the intimacy. When she had finished, he reached up a hand and stopped the bleeding with a swipe of his finger.
She wasn’t sure how long they laid like that, lost in post-climactic bliss.
She lifted her head off of Ethan’s shoulder to look at him. God… he was an incredible man. His looks took her breath away. He was physically perfect, but she knew that the thing that struck her right in the heart was the man himself. The way he looked at her made her heart sing. His smile made her heart sing and dance like a Broadway musical. He hadn’t said a word but he was grinning at her.
Brianna pulled his head to hers, capturing the smile with her mouth just because she couldn’t resist. Ethan was an unholy temptation, especially when he smiled.
Brianna sighed into the long, leisurely kiss. She hadn’t seen Ethan smile much because of the mating instinct, but the man had a wicked sense of humor that popped up on occasion. She could only imagine what he would be like after the mating. He would settle down and lose some of the insanity once his soul had been transferred to him and found its resting place.
Okay… half of her soul and half of his that would become his permanent soul. The vampire mating thing brought a whole new meaning to the term “soulmate.”
Her mouth left Ethan’s reluctantly and she rested her head on his shoulder. She longed to give Ethan his soul and end his torment. She didn’t fear the mating ceremony. If it would bring Ethan peace, she embraced it.
Soon. I’ll make sure it happens soon.
Her eyes fluttered closed. She let herself fall into sleep, knowing she would always be safe in Ethan’s arms.
Chapter 7
The following day, Ethan found himself in the male preparation room for the mating ceremony, which would take place that night.
The vampire headquarters was a centuries-old castle in Europe. It was beautifully restored, opulent and luxurious, with all of the modern conveniences. Vampires might get old, but they loved every fancy new technology that came along. They probably appreciated advances all the more because they were so old. Ethan was old enough to remember what the sanitation and living conditions had been like in the sixteenth century. He shuddered. Maybe he’d rather not remember it and just be grateful that he was now living in the twenty first century.
He had transported himself and Brianna here to the headquarters in Europe from the U.S. soon after having dinner with her mom last night, arriving just before sunrise because of the time difference. He had fallen into his day sleep, and he hadn’t seen his mate since then. The ritual for human mates was much more complicated than for the vampire male. She would be involved with the preparation until the ceremony began.
He was currently biding his time wit
h his three brothers and Adare, whose wife, Kristin, having just gone through this experience a few months ago, had opted to be one of the three women who attended Brianna.
“Shit! Will this agony ever end?” Ethan whispered to himself as his need to see Brianna ripped through him. His need to possess her was getting excruciatingly painful and he couldn’t stand to be without her even for a few hours.
Adare chuckled. “Soon, Ethan. Believe me… it gets better.”
At the moment, Adare’s blissful happiness was incredibly annoying. Ethan’s insides were so torn up that he couldn’t imagine being as relaxed and contented as Adare seemed to be. However, he did remember Adare’s courtship and pain when he was suffering through the mating instincts. He wished he had been more sympathetic.
“And the possessiveness, the insanity… do they really go away?” Ethan asked him, agony showing in his eyes.
Adare shrugged. “It does. It won’t be as painful afterwards. Separation will always hurt. The yearning never stops. The possessiveness and a driving need to protect will always remain. But the need to dominate does lighten up quite a bit.” He gave Ethan an evil grin. “You’ll even let her be on top and in control on occasion. And find it very enjoyable.”
“What? It isn’t enjoyable now?” Rory asked with curiosity.
Ethan rolled his eyes and exchanged a knowing look with Adare.
Adare laughed and commented, “He’s clueless.”
“Are you sure I won’t hurt her?” Ethan’s anxiety was getting the better of him. He was the oldest vampire ever to go through the mating ceremony and nothing was certain. Fuck! He hated the unknown, especially when it came to the well-being of his mate.
“I can guarantee she will be sore when she wakes, but you won’t hurt her, Ethan. You’re mates. You’re connected. Kristin told me that my needs were also her needs. She felt some of what I felt. It will be okay.” Adare tried to reassure Ethan, giving him a slap on the back.
Ethan wasn’t completely reassured. “But I’m older. Damn it! I don’t want to be uncontrolled. And I don’t want this witnessed. I don’t want anyone seeing my mate except me.”
Adare sighed. “You won’t care once that time comes. You will be out of your mind to possess her. You’ll actually like having people watch you making her yours. It’s hard to explain but it’s like staking your claim. Warning everyone away”
Ethan sighed. The waiting was the worst. Time seemed to creep by, each minute seeming like hours. “I just want her to be mine.”
Rory looked at Ethan with a perplexed expression. “She is yours. She’s your mate.”
Adare and Ethan exchanged another look. Rory truly was clueless. All of his brothers were. It had been way too long since they had experienced any physical desire, and none of them would understand until they mated. If they mated.
If there is any fairness in this world… they will find their mates. Then Ethan could torment them as they had tormented him. Although they weren’t torturing him at the moment, they had made sure they added fuel to the fire whenever possible. He was pretty sure they realized if they started anything today it would be like pulling a tiger by the tail. He was edgy and even his brothers weren’t willing to tangle with him at the moment.
“How was the dinner with her mom?” Adare asked, trying to distract Ethan.
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Brianna insisted on taking my brothers along. They ate like it was an Olympic competitive event. I’m not sure who won, but the table didn’t have a scrap of food left.”
“Hey… she liked us. She said she loved feeding men with healthy appetites,” Nathan protested. “She was charmed. How could she not be?” Ego is never a problem with Nathan. His is as big as the solar system. But it was true that his brothers had been charming and Brianna’s mother had nothing but nice things to say about his brothers.
Ethan turned to address Adare. “She’s a very nice woman. She put up with the four of us.”
Liam commented quietly. “Ethan’s rich, charming and handsome. What’s not to like?”
Ethan scowled. “Maybe, the fact that I’m a vampire and about to make her daughter my eternal mate. I’m not quite sure how she would feel about that little fact.”
“I take it she wasn’t invited to the witness ceremony.” Nathan raised a brow, throwing Ethan a wicked grin.
Ethan showed him his middle finger. Nathan knew Brianna’s mom didn’t know. They were planning a human wedding ceremony and they would be married in the human tradition.
Ethan didn’t mind having a wedding in addition to mating. He had gotten Brianna the finest engagement ring he could find that would still suit her tastes for something simple and classy. He was finding out that just about anything that branded her as his made him ecstatic.
“I already told Brianna that you would be more than happy to be my groomsmen for the wedding,” Ethan informed his brother wickedly. “She has a maid of honor and two bridesmaids, so it works out perfectly.”
Ethan grinned, flashing them an evil look, as all of his brothers’ faces registered horror and dismay. None of them were laughing now.
“When is it? I think I already have plans,” Nathan grumbled.
“Me too.” Rory agreed.
“And me.” Liam said softly.
“Oh, no. If you can’t make it…you can explain to Brianna why you can’t attend one of the most important days of her life. I’m not doing it.” Ethan broke into a small smile as they all frowned. His brothers really did adore Brianna and somehow she could get away with getting them to do her bidding. It amused the hell out of him. Like it or not, he knew they would all be there.
There might be a few bumps along the road to integrating their families, but it wouldn’t be that difficult. Brianna had a human life and family. He respected that. Although she would be a vampire’s mate after the ceremony, she would never be completely vampire. She would need blood and she would have to avoid the sun, but she wouldn’t have magic. Any aging would freeze and she would keep her increased strength, but she would be between two worlds. She would be more vampire than human, but she was raised as a human and he didn’t expect her to leave that totally behind.
Ethan was startled when a firm rap on the door broke into his thoughts.
“It’s time, Ethan,” Adare informed him quietly.
His brothers all slapped him on the back. They were leaving. Brianna might adore them, but she really didn’t want them to witness. She had come to care for them like family and she insisted she would rather have strangers at this particular mating ritual as she really didn’t want her future brothers-in-law to see her naked.
Adare was leaving too. Now that he was mated, he could no longer watch the ceremonies like a eunuch. He and Kristin would leave as soon as Kristin had finished her duties as an attendant.
His brothers disappeared. Adare stood at his side, ready to escort him to the mating chamber. Adare would await his mate Kristin outside of the door where she would exit and they would depart together.
Ethan tried to get control of himself, but the closer he came to the mating chamber, the more his control seemed to slip away. He was ready to begin an ancient vampire ritual and the magic involved in the upcoming ceremony seemed to be building.
Adare opened the door and motioned him to enter, stopping and leaving Ethan to continue alone.
As Ethan entered the chamber, he felt a powerful surge of magic, but it wasn’t coming from him. This was ancient magic, strong and powerful.
His clothing dissolved and he was suddenly dressed in only a scrap of leather to confine his cock, held in place with only a few strings. His member was already protesting by trying to burst the seams.
His skin gleamed from the ancient mating oils.
He could feel that magic swirling around him, heightening his arousal to an almost feral need. He could only imagine what would happen once their marks touched and the ancient words were said.
He gritted his teeth, trying not to lose complete control
while he waited for his mate to arrive.
Chapter 8
Brianna approached the mating chamber with two women in front of her and Kristin at her side. Kristin was newly mated and Brianna appreciated the fact that she had just been through what Brianna was going through now. She had helped calm some of Brianna’s nervousness.
Brianna wasn’t afraid. Hell…she had been close to dying by the time that Ethan had entered her life. Now she was ready to live. She would live a glorious life with Ethan by her side.
She was dressed in the traditional, full, transparent, ankle-length gown and it trailed along behind her as she walked down the narrow hallway. She had chosen a scarlet red that matched her mood today. Her hair had grown quickly, restored to its normal shoulder length and she had left it down over her shoulders.
Brianna had been bathed in sensual, exotic oils. Her skin was still slick from the scented oil that had been applied after the bath.
The women all stopped at the mating chamber door and Kristin moved forward to pull the heavy ornate door open, moving to the side to let Brianna enter.
Brianna stopped, her eyes sweeping the room. Ethan stood on the platform in front of a huge, elevated bed. The bed was covered in black silk, a few black silk pillows scattered over the massive surface.
Brianna smiled. The chamber preparation was Ethan’s choice. She guessed he was in a “dark” sort of mood today.
As Brianna entered the room she noticed that it was just as Kristin had described. A circular, small room with darkened windows all around the upper walls. They were for the observers. The witnesses. Everything was lit with candles that were placed on a ledge that circled the windows. She was guessing that the witnesses would get a hell of a good view.
She locked eyes with Ethan. His were almost completely black and intense. She longed to speak with him telepathically, but she didn’t. She knew it only made things worse for him when he heard her voice and couldn’t yet touch her.
Brianna could feel the electric vibrations in the room and her hair lifted like it was blowing in the wind.
