by L. T. Kelly
“You’re beautiful,” I said breathily, thinking it was important to let him know I wasn’t going to run away, that this in no way scared or deterred me from wanting him. I wanted him in whatever form. I’d loved him since the moment I’d seen him. It was as if fate had brought us together, we were meant to be. We would overcome adversity and forget what each of us is, because all of that simply failed to matter. Together we are magical beings. This would only be a perfect thing. A perfect and true love.
He bared his teeth, sharp as knives in his strong jaw.
I threw my head back and laughed as I allowed my own incisors to slide down.
He yipped and bounded away from me into the trees and I giggled. “Oh, you wanna’ play do ya,” I said, leaping up off the grass and weaving amongst the thick bark of the trees.
I caught up with him after a couple of seconds. I ran on ahead of him, using my intuition to guide me through the treeline as I glanced back at him.
His velvety ears were the same colour as the ebony fur on top of his head. Leading out of the darkness, the fur lightened to a rich caramel before turning whiter on his belly and legs.
His paws thrummed on the dusty floor of the wood, leaving the ground altogether and drawing in almost meeting before springing back out to meet the ground and using the floor as leverage to bound off. He was fast, very fast but still not as fast as me.
I stopped, leaning against a tree, running my hands over the rough bark, peering up through the speckled leaves before closing my eyes and taking in the scent of the wood. Moisture clung to the air, the grass smelled so green and alive, the mice and other creatures that made this their home rustled around my unmoving figure before scurrying away.
I caught another scent. Fresh sweat intermingled with lilies. Marc’s scent. He’d smelled mustier in wolf form so I assumed he’d changed back.
“Why did you stop running with me?” His rumbling voice came from behind me as his fingers traced my jaw.
I kept my eyes closed, curling the corners of my mouth up into a smile. “I’m enjoying the forest. I miss being surrounded by nothingness like I was in Montana. It’s refreshing to be here.”
“Oh,” he said before kissing me on the forehead, trailing his kisses down my cheek before meeting my lips. “You’re not going to leave are you?”
“Of course not,” I scoffed.
“Come on, let’s go back to the house,” he said, finally pulling away from me and entwining his hand in mine. We traipsed back over the mossy floor of the wood. I tried to stifle a giggle.
“What you laughing at?” He smiled at me.
“I’m walking through the woods with a naked man,” I said, raising an eyebrow and glancing sideways at him. We reached the pile of clothing and I sighed as he let go of my hand and started to get dressed.
“Awww, do you have to?” I traced my tongue over my parted lips while admiring the muscles of his back flexing in the pale bluish moonlight.
“Err, yeah, unless you want me to get arrested.” He laughed, dressing quickly.
We began to amble back to the house, no more racing. My mind was filled with questions.
“Is everyone in your family a wolf?”
“Yes, but only me and my dad can change without a full moon.”
“Oh, how so?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
“Because, we’re the first born children of first born children.”
“Well—that sounds complicated,” I said.
He smiled, a far away look in his eyes as he spoke. “Not really. My brother gets annoyed about it. He was only a few minutes behind me, but I got the gift and he didn’t. I think people told him they thought that both of us had the chance of being able to change without the tie of the moon. But, it proved that the gift works on birth, not conception.”
I shot him a look. “You have a twin?”
“Yes, but we’re nothing alike except in looks. Geo moved to New York years ago. Him leaving broke my mother’s heart, so we don’t talk now. He distanced himself in everyway possible.” A muscle in his cheek twitched as he said his brother’s name, as if he didn’t even like to utter the word.
“That’s a shame. Ryan told me about your family’s possessiveness. Do you think that’s why he left?”
“Ryan? The guy who works in my bar?” he asked, his face creased with annoyance. “You said—“ he started before stopping the line of conversation.
“Do you think they know I’m a vampire?” I said, changing the subject quickly.
“I don’t know. Did your father put you in that state, the state you turned up at my house in?”
I sighed, all the questions I had wanted answers, too. I realised I had a lot of explaining of my own to do.
Marc squeezed my hand. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever showed myself to outside of the pack, Teagan,” he whispered, his eyes filled with honesty and desire, another way of telling me I could trust him.
“You’re the only man that didn’t forget I bit him. I’m glad you didn’t,” I said, mirroring this gaze.
I explained what had happened at my house with Thomas and Victoria. All the strange things she’d said. How vile and nasty she was. What Thomas did to enable my escape and how I really didn’t want to go back to America now that I’d met him.
As much as my trust for Marc had developed over the last few hours, I retained the information about the absinthe. I had yet to find out his family’s intentions towards me and blood is almost always thicker than water. I winced at the thought of Marc giving his family the information able to bring about my demise if they didn’t know already.
“I’ve still got a lot of questions for Thomas myself. So many things Victoria said just didn’t make any sense to me,” I said, running through what happened in my mind over and over.
Our boots rustled over the gravel on the drive. We walked past the cycle to the door. The sound of the key sliding into the lock made something click inside my head. I gasped, my hand over my mouth and my eyes wide.
“What’s the matter?” Marc asked, placing his hands on my shoulders. I stood completely still in response to my revelation.
“The bond…it’s broken. I’m unbound,” I croaked out, my voice shattering as I spoke.
CHAPTER TEN
Marc ushered me through the front door and sat me down on the black leather sofa. The room was sparsely decorated, I guessed because he’d only recently purchased the house.
“Are you ok, Teagan? What do you mean by bond?” Marc knelt down to the bare floorboards in front of me, rubbing his chin.
“An immediate bond is formed between every vampire and their maker straight after they’re made. It just suddenly hit me. I didn’t have any desire to be with Thomas at all. I usually long to be with him, no matter how I’ve tried to fight the bond over the years, it was too strong. Now—it’s just gone—not there at all.” I held his arm in an attempt to steady my trembling fingers.
“What does that mean?”
“If I’m honest, Marc, I have no idea. I don’t know if he’s dead or what.” I choked on the last sentence. For all of Thomas’ faults, we’d lived together for many years. I couldn’t imagine not seeing him again. He’d given me immortality and taught me so much. I loved him as my father.
“Would that really be a bad thing?” Marc’s lips were pressed in a hard line as he raised an eyebrow.
“You really have no idea Marc,” I snapped. “Can you imagine losing someone you’ve spent one hundred and fifty years with? No—you can’t possibly.” I raised my icy voice.
He dropped his gaze as if mulling my words over and pulled my head down to the warmth of his chest.
“I’m sorry, you’re right.” The vibration of his words soothed me as well as his hand stroking my hair.
“I need to go back,” I whispered into his chest.
“Yes, I understand. But, it’s too close to dawn, honey.”
“I know. Where will I sleep?” I’d figured dawn must have been drawing close be
cause my eyelids were beginning to droop. I just wanted to seek solace in a comfy bed, draped with Marc.
“Um, yeah, sorry but the only real light-tight place I have in this house is the loft.”
“The loft?” I said cocking my head to one side.
“Oh, sorry, yeah…the attic,” he said slowly, emphasising the word ‘attic’ as if I were a little dense. I slapped him playfully on the arm while giggling, unable to stay mad at him for long.
“Wait here. I’ll get the place ready for you. I’ll move as fast as I can, but there’s nothing at all up there.”
“I’ll let you off the hook this time. It’s not everyday you take your vampire girlfriend to your new pad. Let me help,” I said, rising to my feet with a half smile on my lips. I couldn’t see the point of moping around. Nothing could be done or discovered until the next sunset.
We dragged a mattress off the only bed in the five bedroom house. We had to fold it in half to fit it through the small gap in the ceiling leading into the attic. I wrinkled my nose at the heavy musty air, but I didn’t have much choice but to stay. It was a good job I was exhausted. Marc carried our bed into the far corner so he would be able to come and go during daylight without burning me.
By the time I lay down, I was so tired I would have slept anywhere. I drifted to sleep with his with arms enveloping me, the heat radiating from him and penetrating my skin, melting my troubles away.
***
I woke with a jolt, the first time I had awoken with a man for as long as I could remember. The seductively hard ridges of his stomach muscles were impressed against my back. A lazy grin curled over my lips when I felt the hardness rising up from between his legs pressing into the cheek of my ass.
“Are you awake?” I spoke into the darkness.
“Yes,” he answered, running a flattened hand over my hip across my stomach and towards my breasts. I gasped as he tilted his hand so only his fingertips encircled my breast, fluttering over my nipples, bringing them to attention.
I ran my palm over the broad muscles of his thigh and around to his buttock, gasping at the suppleness beneath my hand as well as the speed of his fingers over my nipples, now picking up pace. The friction was sending electric tingles down the length of my body.
I whipped my hand around to his, stilling the motion, forcing his hand over my breast and pushing downwards towards the fresh wetness between my thighs.
He moaned in my ear thrusting his solid erection further into my pale skin. I lifted a leg allowing him better access and hooked my foot over the back of his knees. His fingers desperately explored me, delving deep inside to draw out moisture over my folds. He licked and bit my ear lobe and pushed his tongue inside my inner ear making my stomach lurch and the stream of lubrication inside me build up to flood around his fingers.
I fought against the orgasm that made my body want to tense with readiness. He suddenly drew away from me, clambering up on to his knees. He tugged my hips with an iron like grip so my round backside pressed against his hardness in one swift movement. I buried my face into the pillow, grasping the quilted down with needy anticipation of his next mind blowing action. I flinched with surprise as I experienced the length of his tongue trail through my delta.
“Mmmmm, you taste so sweet.” His voice was deep and velvety. I groaned as he the tip of his tongue sank into my opening, tasting my arousal.
He continued his assault trailing back and forth between my nub and my channel, swirling his tongue over all the right places, the pressure building to a dangerous and unstoppable crescendo.
My moans became louder and more spirited as the intensity built within me. His fingers plunged deeper as he placed his open mouth over my swollen clit and sucked before blowing his hot breath over the sensitive bunch of nerve endings.
The speed of his delving fingers increased in an enchanting rhythm with his tongue continually flicking over my sweet spot.
My legs buckled and my knees slid out across the sheet beneath me. I cried out a jumble of obscenities, my fists balled around clumps of feathers I’d torn out from the pillow as my body let go of the tension. My nails dug into my palms slicing them open as I gave into the explosion that had built up. I erupted as visions of Marc’s nakedness reeled though my clouded, unbidden mind.
I tried to control my breathing. I just couldn’t catch my gasps as my muscles turned to jelly following the sensual relief of the orgasm.
“Oh no you don’t, Miss Lewis,” he said, a ghost of laughter in the growl of his words. He commanded my hips, raising my ass back in the air. He dipped his fingers back inside. “You’re so tight, hot and wet,” he said appreciatively as though he was talking about me to himself. “You’re so beautiful. I love every inch of you.”
He slid the tip of his manhood into my aperture as he smoothed his hand over my ass cheeks, one hand mirroring the other on either side. He leaned forward, draping his hot torso over my back as he reached up to seize my breasts. He smoothed his huge hands over both of my breasts, cupping them gently, savouring the weight of them and brushing the tips of his fingers over my erect pink buds.
He moulded his expert hands over my abdomen until he reached his destination between my legs. One hand held my hip steady, ready for his manhood to plunge into me, to take me, to make us one again.
His fingers began a delightful dance on my sensitised clit. I pushed my hips back against his erection with vigour. I needed to take him inside me. I had to make him mine. I wanted to give him as much pleasure as he was giving me.
The fullness inside me made me cry out as his rock hard column speared me. I winced at the sting caressing my walls for a second before my brain washed it away. It was the best kind of pain I’d ever experienced. I stilled to get used to the stretching sensation and allowed the sting to subside before bringing my hips forward till I felt only the tip of him at my opening. He elicited a satisfied sigh before I fluidly crashed back onto his impressive erection.
His grunts and unadulterated moans signalled his pleasure whilst his fingers stroked my nub, guiding me back to oblivion.
I felt him erupt inside me as he let out a long guttural growl. His weight dropped down on my back forcing me deep into the mattress, muffling the sound of my cries as I tightened around him giving into the pleasure for a second time.
We lay still, his body shrouding me, and his ragged breath mussed my hair.
“Hhhmmm, a good thing I don’t actually need to breathe,” I said into the mattress, trying not to laugh.
He immediately rolled of my small figure.
“Shit. Sorry.” He laughed, raking his hands through his sweat-drenched locks.
I rolled onto my side and gazed up at him, his magnificent chest rising and falling, gleaming with sweat from the humidity of the attic space. His eyes were wide and filled with pleasure, as though he was trying hard to believe how he’d become so lost in me.
I reached out a finger and traced around his dark nipple. There was no sign of the bite mark from a few nights ago when we’d first made love.
“I heal quickly, too,” he said, realising my thought. My fangs were already extended from our lovemaking. I looked at where my last point of entry was with longing, moving my head closer.
“Can I?” I whispered. Only a slight nod of his head had me rubbing my tongue over his solid chocolate coloured bud before gently piercing his flesh with my teeth. I lapped my tongue over the entry points taking in the thick rich blood, the taste a beautiful symphony playing in my mouth before flooding my ears.
The orchestra in my mind quickened; the violin led them in a wonderful squeal. The sound pulled me away from the attic and into a meadow where brightness overwhelmed my irises. The breeze ruffled my hair and snapped the green blades of grass together as I lay between them. My arms splayed out as my fingernails scraped the warm fertile earth and I gazed up at the bright circle above me surrounded by a vivid blue sky.
Fingers grasped my cheeks, pulling me away.
“Are you o
k, Teagan?”
My head swam from the vision. I wanted more, I hadn’t seen the sun for one hundred-fifty year. I wanted to bask in the hallucination again. How was Marc’s blood able to transport me? How could he show me the places I longed to be, too see? It seemed so real.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Did I hurt you?” My speech sounded a little slurred, disjointed.
“No.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It just sounded like you were having a little too much fun.”
“Oh, um sorry,”
I wanted to keep to myself the information about the sensation his blood provided. I wanted to understand why it had happened first. Was it merely because he’s another supernatural being? It certainly wasn’t a good thing that he had to pull me away from him the two times I’d fed off him.
I blinked my thoughts away and stared up at the raw wooden beams above us. “We need to go back, Marc.” My mind drifted back to the broken bond. I needed to find out what had happened.
I moved fast, collecting my clothes which had been discarded on the chipboard floor of the attic. I rushed down the hatch to the second floor of the house closely followed by Marc.
We showered and changed, occasionally exchanging smiles. The tension of returning to London with the as yet unknown consequences of our relationship rested heavily on my shoulders and I established from Marc’s far away gaze that he was experiencing the same dread.
“Have you got a plan?” he asked.
“I figure there’s only one other vampire I know and can trust. I just have to find him. That will be the difficult part.” I reached for my leather jacket. At least we were moving quickly, on the same page as far as urgency was concerned.
“Oh, you don’t know where he lives?” Marc asked furrowing his brow.
