“I thought I was dead and in purgatory,” he told her. “When I heard you, when I tasted you, I couldn’t let go because I thought if I did, you’d disappear.”
“I remember being scared, and telling you I love you,” she recalled and closed her eyes. “Then I saw your face. That’s the last thing I really remember though. Everything after seems like a dream.”
“Hearing you say those words is what snapped me into reality,” he said as he looked at her. “If the Senate hadn’t shown up when they did, you’d have died.”
“Who changed me?” She asked, trying to take everything in.
“Ramsey,” he answered, not taking his eyes off her. “I am so sorry.”
“I’m not sorry I’m a vampire,” she told him, shifting closer to him. “I had already decided to ask someone to change me.”
“Why?” He asked, shifting a little.
“So I could be with you,” she responded.
“We barely know each other,” he commented as she scooted a little closer.
“I know you enough to know what I said was true. I love you, Jackson. I have since we were locked in that damn saferoom together.”
“I nearly killed you,” he whispered and dropped his head into his hands.
“Jackson, look at me,” she said and gently ran her fingers through his hair. When he looked up, her face was a breath away from his and he inhaled her sweet scent.
“I want to kiss you,” he said nearly silently.
“Then kiss me,” she responded.
When he closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers, everything in his world righted, and a feeling of completeness washed over him.
Shifting, she scooted from the bed and straddled him in the chair, never breaking the kiss as she moved.
A moment later, he stood, lifting her smoothly, and laid her on the bed.
“No,” she said and grinned when he looked at her in confusion. “I want you to stand there.”
“Okay,” he said and watched as she slid to her knees in front of him and unbuttoned his jeans.
As soon as he was free, she licked her lips and looked up at him through her lashes. Leaning forward, she let her tongue tease the base of his shaft before gliding it up and circling the head with just the tip.
“Fuck,” he breathed out as she repeated the motion again before wrapping her lips around him and sliding him down her throat.
Tangling his hands in her hair, he moaned as she slid him in and out of her mouth, swirling her tongue around his head each time before swallowing him again.
“God, Delanie,” he groaned when she scraped her teeth gently across the pulsating vein as she pulled her mouth completely away.
Wrapping her fingers around the thick base of his cock, she took him into her mouth again and sucked hard, before she pulled away with a little pop and stroked his length.
As she teased him, he let himself get lost in the feel of her.
When she released him with her hand and swallowed him again, she ran her short nails down his abs before taking his pudenda in her hand and gently tugging on them.
“Fuck,” he cried out as he spilled his seed in her mouth.
After licking him clean, she rose to her feet and kissed him hard before pulling him to the bed.
“We’re not done yet,” he told her as he toed off his shoes.
“We’re not?” She asked, watching him closely.
“Not by far,” he responded and kicked off his jeans before pulling his shirt over his head.
“Impressive,” she commented when her eyes latched on his cock.
He didn’t comment as he grabbed the button of her jeans and snapped it open with a flick of his fingers. A moment later, they were around her ankles and she was on the edge of the bed.
Before she could comment, he had them off and in the pile with his own clothes, and was on his knees in front of her.
“Turnabout is fair play,” he muttered before ripping the crotch out of her damp panties.
“Those were new,” she told him.
“I’ll buy you new ones,” he responded before dipping his head and nuzzling between her folds.
Without giving her time to respond, he delved in.
“Jackson!” She cried out as the first orgasm hit almost instantly.
He continued to taste and tease her with his tongue until she cried out a second time.
When he felt the third building, he stood and grabbed her ankles. Resting them on his shoulders, he leaned forward and kissed her as he slid deep inside her.
“Oh god,” she cried out as he slowly stroked in and out.
“Easy, baby,” he said against her lips before he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
When he pulled completely out and slid back in, he felt her tense. Repeating it, he brought her closer and closer, but didn’t let her fall.
“Jackson,” she cried out when he slammed into her, harder than before.
“Not yet,” he responded, as he strained against his own release.
She clenched around him, pushing against his thrusts as her orgasm slammed into them both and pulled him over with her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Sounds like Delanie is awake,” Nevaeh said with a grin.
“And sounds like she isn’t upset with Jackson,” Harrison added.
“That’s a good thing,” Nevaeh chuckled.
“Yes,” he responded and looked at her. “Baby, I want to talk about something with you.”
“Sounds serious,” she said and walked to where he was standing by the bed.
“It is,” he replied and pulled her into his arms. “After everything that happened with Mary, I never thought I would find the one I would love beyond reason. Then you blew into my life like a whirlwind and took me to places I never imagined.”
“I felt the same after Aaren,” she admitted. “I wasn’t with anyone from the time he left until I was with you the first time.”
“I want to ask you something,” he said and pulled back so he could look into her eyes. “I want to ask if you’d be willing to be bound to me.”
“Are you talking about exchanging blood?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I want a blood link with you.”
“Yes,” she said as soon as he finished talking.
“Yes?” He asked, making sure he’d heard her correctly.
“Yes,” she repeated. “I’ve been thinking about it since you explained it to me and I know if one of us dies, the other will too, but in reality, we would anyway.”
“I couldn’t imagine this world without you in it,” he said and pulled her against his chest again.
“I feel the exact same way,” she responded.
“I love you, Nevaeh,” he whispered into her hair.
“I love you, too,” she responded before tipping her head back and brushing her lips across the vein in his neck.
Without another word, he picked her up and carried her to the bed and started undressing her quickly.
“I’m going to take you hard and fast,” he muttered as he kissed the inside of her thigh before he quickly discarded his own clothes.
“Yes,” she breathed when he crawled on top of her.
Lifting one of her legs, he draped it over his shoulder before driving balls deep into her.
“Yes!” She cried out as he started moving hard and fast within her.
Leaning forward with her leg still over his shoulder, he took her lips in a demanding kiss that left no room for any doubts about how he felt,
When the first orgasm ripped through her, she cried out his name and nipped his bottom lip, letting her teeth draw a tiny drop of blood. When she licked it off, he growled in pleasure.
“Now?” He asked, and she tilted her head. The pulse in her neck beat with the rhythm of his strokes, and he couldn’t turn down what she was offering.
Striking, he sank his fangs into her neck, and her pussy clenched around him as another orgasm hit.
Without hes
itation, Nevaeh struck and sank her fangs into the tender part of his shoulder and let his blood fill her mouth. Swallowing deep, she felt a wave of something she couldn’t explain wash over both of them just before he released his hold on her neck and cried out as he emptied deep inside her.
****
“Delanie,” Jackson said softly as he traced circles on her back.
“Hmm?” She asked, rolling to face him.
“I, umm,” he started and stopped.
“What is it?” She asked, picking up on his nervousness.
“That, umm,” he started again, and a deep blush creeped up his chest to his face.
“Jackson?”
“That was my first time,” he finally blurted out then shifted away from her and got out of the bed.
“Seriously?” She asked, dumbfounded by his statement.
“Yes,” he answered without looking at her. “I mean, I’ve given and received oral, but I’ve never.”
“You’ve never actually had sex?”
“Yes,” he breathed out.
“Wow,” she said, sitting up.
“Yeah,” he responded and turned away from her, and walked into the bathroom. “I’m sorry if I disappointed you.”
“Disappointed me? What makes you think you disappointed me?” She asked as she got off the bed and followed him into the bathroom.
He shrugged, and the muscles across his back rippled with the motion, causing her body to stir again.
“Jackson, you did not disappoint me,” she told him and laid her hand on his back. “You excited me, and made me want for more is what you did. If that’s disappointment, I’ll take it.”
“How many men have you been with?” He asked, then shook his head. “Never mind, don’t answer that.”
“Other than you, one,” she answered anyway. “He was my high school boyfriend, and we had been together two years before we had sex. We were together for four years, and when my family was murdered I ended it with him.”
“Why?” He asked, finally turning to look at her.
“Because he was part of the group of vampire who killed them.”
“You dated a vampire?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know what he was at the time,” she answered and looked into his warm gray eyes. “At the time I believed all the things you read in books, so I was clueless to know what to look for.”
“How did he help kill your family?”
“I was away at college, and he went over to see them one night. He lured my Dad out of the house then went back in for my Mom and sister. They never stood a chance against him because they didn’t know,” she told him. “When I got the call about the gas explosion, I was already on my way back home because Mitch had called me and told me something had happened to my family and I needed to come home.”
“Why did he call you?”
“The last time I was home, I told him I was thinking about doing a graduate program after my undergraduate was finished. He was furious because that would mean three more years away from home. Three days after I got back to school, my entire family died when our house exploded,” she paused and looked at the floor for a second before looking back at him. “Official report says it was a gas explosion, but when I saw Mitch a few days later, he had something of my Dad’s that he had to have gotten from inside the house. I asked him where he got it, and he told me Dad had given it to him, which I know he never would have, so I started looking into things. The day I figured out what Mitch was, I destroyed my cell phone, changed my identity, and joined the Huntresses.”
“Changed your identity?”
“I was born Jacqueline Delanie Morgan,” she told him. “My Mom’s maiden name was Cooper, so I legally changed my name to Delanie Morgan Cooper.”
“Have you seen Mitch since you discovered what he was?”
“No,” she responded. “But I am hoping to run into him one day soon.”
“And I hope I’m right there with you when you do,” he responded and held out his hand to her. “Shower with me before we go see the others?”
“Definitely,” she responded and placed her hand in his.
“One more thing,” he said after he set the water. “Do you know Mitch’s last name?”
“I do,” she answered. “Mitchel Fuller.”
“Fuller?” He asked, instantly locking on to the last name of the former leader of the VEB.
“Yes, and yes, I know it was the last name of the former VEB leader.”
“Wonder if there is a connection to him?” He mused, but shook his head before she could answer. “We can figure that out later. For now, let me have another first with you.”
“I’m hoping we can have a lot of firsts together,” she whispered as they stepped under the hot steam. “Starting with this.”
When she jumped into his arms and slid against his body, he knew he was in over his head, but drowning never seemed so appealing.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“What’s going on?” Jackson asked when he and Delanie walked into the kitchen of the house they were renting.
“Just trying to pinpoint Crompton’s location,” Dylan answered without looking up from the computer.
“How?” Delanie asked.
“His cell phone,” Baxter answered. “We got it from Mary’s phone.”
“Oh,” Jackson responded. “How can we help?”
“We are going back to the warehouse district as soon as the sun has set, and we need someone who’s familiar with the area to help,” Jensen commented and looked at Jackson.
“I can go one better,” Jackson said with a grin. “I know where two of his warehouses are, and the general area of two more. But, do you think Crompton can track me still?”
“No,” Eduardo answered. “After you tasted Dylan’s blood his ability to track you lessened. Now, after having the blood of your mate, his ability to track you is so minimal you’d have to be within a couple hundred feet before he knew where you were. If you’re that close, he will likely be able to smell you, so it’s meaningless.”
“My mate?” Jackson asked, looking from Eduardo to Delanie and back again. “What makes you think she’s my mate?”
“I don’t think, I know,” Eduardo responded.
“But, how?” Jackson asked.
“Her reactions when you were missing, and yours when she was nearly dead,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Those are the reactions of one mate to the other. They can rarely be faked, and will always be stronger than any other reaction.”
“Look at Karma and Dylan, and Harrison and Nevaeh,” Constance said and smiled at the two couples. “They are most protective of each other. Yes, they will do whatever it takes to protect their family, but the instinct to keep the other safe trumps all else.”
“I get that,” Jackson said and looked at Delanie. “When I was in that cell, all I could think about was if Delanie was alive or not.”
“She was pissed when she woke up and you were gone,” Karma told him.
“We all were,” Nikki interjected. “But I thought we were going to have to restrain her.”
“Or sedate her,” Gina added.
“I wasn’t that bad,” Delanie said with a chuckle.
“She was,” Karma said. “But I understand where she was coming from. I’d have been the same way if it was Dylan who was missing.”
“Jackson,” a small voice pulled the vampire from their conversation.
“Caia,” Jackson responded with a huge smile. “Dylan told me you were here.”
“They found me,” she said and looked at Karma and Dylan for a second before looking back at him.
“I am so happy they did,” he said and walked to her. “I am so sorry I didn’t come find you when I first got here.”
“You were busy,” she responded and looked at her feet.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned for the little sister he’d just met.
“She thinks her Mom sold her to Crompton,” Karma spoke up when Caia remain
ed silent. “We can’t find proof, but all signs point to that being the case.”
“Karma and Dylan took me home, but Mom wasn’t there and there was a big sign in the yard saying it was for sale,” Caia explained as tears streaked down her face. “If she didn’t sell me, why would she sell the house and move away? Why didn’t she look for me if she didn’t know where I was? Why didn’t she want me anymore?”
“Shhh,” Jackson said and wrapped his arms around her small frame. “We will find out those answers for you. In the meantime, you will always have a home with me.”
“Promise?” She asked, her eyes filled with hope.
“Promise,” he answered, then looked at Delanie.
“I promise, too,” Delanie told the girl as she joined them.
“When this is over, where will we live?” Caia asked.
“We will build a house on the property in Virginia,” Jackson answered her and looked at Karma and Dylan. “There’s plenty of space, and it’ll be close to Karma and Dylan.”
“And me and Harrison,” Nevaeh responded.
“It will be home,” Delanie imputed.
“Yes, home,” Jackson agreed and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Home sounds wonderful,” Baxter said and frowned a little. “But the sun is going down, and I just got a ping on Crompton’s cell phone.”
“It’s time to work,” Jackson said and released Caia. “You stay inside, and you’ll be safe.”
“I will,” she told him. “Maggie will be here with me.”
“Yes,” Maggie spoke up from where she was sitting with Johnson at the table.
“We’ll be careful,” Jackson assured Caia before he walked from the room.
“Yes,” Johnson said, looking at Maggie. “We will be careful.”
****
“This is the place,” Jackson told them as they stood a few hundred feet from what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
“It looks abandoned,” Karma stated the obvious.
“Thank you,” Jackson said with a grin. “We came here when we first left Florida and it looked like this from the outside, but on the inside it was set up like the place Caia and I were held in Florida.”
Delanie's Fury (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 3) Page 16
