Eagle of Ice, Scorpion of Fire

by Tortuga, B. A.

  The place was a maze and he’d not even known Katharine still kept rooms here, still felt that this was her home.

  “Shall I announce you, sir?” There was a huge mahogany door separating them and Katharine’s fury.

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll let myself in.” The door seemed huge and imposing, but he shook the feeling off and quietly turned the knob, poking his head in to make sure nothing would come flying at him.

  She wasn’t in her sitting room, but the decor made him smile. Deep purple satin chaises and heavy armoires, red wing backed chairs and hundreds of glass baubles strung from the ceiling to catch the light.

  She was a magpie, his Katharine. A beautiful, inquisitive bird. Oh, she would hate that comparison. Jared went hunting her, his nostrils flaring when he caught her scent. Her bedroom door opened silently, leading him into a dark, quiet room. Her scent hit him, led him to where his lady curled up in a huge bed, hair mussed and tangled. Her cheeks were tear-stained, lips drawn down into a frown, even asleep.

  His belly clenched. God, he hated to hurt her. He’d hated it when he left all those years ago, feeling like the worst bastard on earth, and he hated it now. Jared bent to kiss the mark off one cheek, tasting the odd copper salt of a non-human tear.

  Her eyes flew open, bloodshot and wet, then she scrambled across the bed. “What are you doing here? This is my master’s house!”

  “He let me in.” She might as well know. “He threatened to skin me if we didn’t make up.” He imagined he looked like she felt, his own eyes scratchy and harsh.

  “What?” She looked so young, suddenly. So fragile and lost and betrayed. “He...you know him?”

  “I would say that know is too strong a word. We’re acquainted, he and I.” Jared sat on the edge of the bed, twisting the sheets in his hands. “I want to say up front before I say anything else that the thing at the club was completely unintentional. I lost my head.”

  “I knew better.” She headed for a wardrobe, pulling out a heavy sweater, a pair of dress slacks. It was a shame, she looked lovely in her little shorts, her babydoll t-shirt. “There’s a reason I don’t take up with our kind.”

  “Katharine.” Certainly he was guilty of complicity, but the motives had not been cruel. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “Nonsense. You had your moment, Jared. I congratulate you. Honestly, I should have taken you at your word and played your game. Two weeks would have drawn it out less.” She dressed quickly, then started winding her hair into a tight bun. “I’ve announced my resignation at the company. You’ll be given the options on the stocks, I assume. I signed them to Sil...the owner.”

  “Stop. Just stop it.” He stood and was in front of her in two long strides, shaking her hard enough to make her hair come down. “I did all this shit for you. All of it. So I could be your equal and not your toy.”

  “Did what? Make a fool of me? Invade my sanctuary? I never humiliated you, Jared. I only gave you want you asked for.”

  “I didn’t mean to make a fool of you, damn it. That was... I lost it. You were too much, love. Everything.” He’d been as surprised as she to see Keiko there...

  “Fine. You didn’t mean to. I understand.” She bared her teeth at him. “You can go now.”

  “No.” He shook her again, just for good measure. “Not until you understand. Silvestri gave me a chance at you, but I was the one who wanted you, love. I was the one loving you.”

  “I...” She teared up, surprising him again. “I have to go.”

  All he could think was to comfort, and Jared took her in his arms, pulling her close even when she stiffened. “Katharine. I have always been yours.”

  “Don’t. Don’t, please. I can’t leave you when you touch me.”

  “Then don’t leave.” He kissed her cheek, her ear, carefully staying away from her throat. “I need you.”

  “I...” She pushed him away, a pure, clear panic warring with the heat in her eyes. “I wasn’t ready for you. Why are you here?”

  “What about ‘I need you’ don’t you understand? What about I love you?” He always had. Through all the twisted madness he’d gone through to return to her side.

  “And your mistress? Your maker? She doesn’t mind losing her scorpion-lover?”

  “She was never what you are to me. She’s very...maternal.” He made a wry face, thinking of how everything with Keiko was a lesson.

  Jared gave up on the words for a moment, kissing Katharine again, trying to make her understand. Stiff and still for a moment, Jared thought she’d resist him. Then she melted into him, let him support her. Let him hold her.

  Oh. Oh, his whole body went into overdrive, but this time Jared controlled it, just cradling her, holding her close. Her hair brushed his cheek, soft and sweet smelling, and he nuzzled into it, smiling at himself.

  Her bed was so close, right there, but he resisted the urge to drag her over. He settled them into a chair, drawing Katharine close. Stroking her back and willing his cock to go down, Jared nuzzled against her temple, just letting the silence stretch, letting her find calm before starting again.

  Her breath slowed, tension fading as he touched her. She could have been napping or just quiet; regardless she trusted him enough to relax. Jared began to murmur, telling her how beautiful she was, how he cared for her, all the while petting her. His breathing matched hers, his chest rising and falling evenly.

  She was steeped into every inch of this room. Her scent was everywhere - in the curtains, the furniture, the walls. So different from the flat where Katharine the Bitch held court. Maybe Silvestri was wrong. Maybe Katharine needed no one but the old man. Nothing but her life here. Jared pushed the thought away, kissing Katharine’s cheek.

  Her response was a shiver, a flush, an unrestrained need that he could surround himself in. No. No, she needed. She had denied herself so long that she’d forgotten. His tongue came out to trace the corner of her mouth, giving her what she desired. What he needed more than anything else in the world. Her lips parted, just slightly, just enough to let him repeat the motion, taste her. Love her.

  Yes.

  Moaning, Jared opened her mouth more, let his tongue slide in. Then he set his mouth to hers and really kissed her, pushing the limit of it, needing so badly he hurt. She met him, head-on. Deep and needy, the kiss went on and on, the passion between them flaring almost painfully. Her fingers wrapped around his arms, squeezing, holding on as they shifted. One of his hands slid up between her shoulder blades to hold her closer, the other slipping down to cup her buttocks. He wanted to crawl into her, but settled for taking the kiss deeper. She tasted like heat, blood and need.

  Katharine leaned back into his hands, supple and wanton, stretching against him. It still amazed him how she responded to him now. Oh, he had always seen that she wanted him, but when he’d been human she’d had an easier time fighting it, treating him like a toy. Now she burned for him. And every moment she relinquished control, every moment she met him in their passion, he simply needed more.

  Without any thought he went for her oversized sweater, then her little t-shirt, pulling at it, needing her skin against his. It went easily, exposing her curves, her lush body to his eyes. She chuckled, the sound husky and deep, and shook her head, causing her hair to fall around her shoulders.

  He chose to believe, not wonder at her motives, and Jared dipped his head to rub his cheek against her chest. His lips slid down over the curve of her breast, closing about one pink nipple, his tongue pushing it back and forth.

  “You. This is a terrible idea.” She held his head, body arching to press her flesh into his lips.

  “Why? Why is it so awful?” He thought it was the best idea they could have. Her other breast received the same attention, his mouth full of her flesh, her flavor.

  “Because I want you.” He just barely held back his triumph.

  Instead of shouting to the heavens, he just kissed his way along her belly, holding her up when she bent back. “That’s not danger
ous, love.”

  “It is to me.” She smelled of citrus and warmth, sweet and musky all at once.

  “Oh, love. Not with me, it’s not.” She had to know that; he needed her to know that. He could smell her, but he couldn’t get to her, not sitting in the chair.

  Katharine rolled up, lips to his ear. “You are the most dangerous man I’ve ever met. No one else is so close.”

  “Oh, Kat.” He cupped her face, turning her to share another kiss, then another. His heart speeded, his fangs pricking at their lips as the desire to taste her grew.

  She slipped out of his arms, one hand held out to him, chest flushed dark, nipples wet and swollen from his mouth. Taking her hand, he went with her to her bed, watching as she stripped off her slacks, crawled up on it. He slipped out of his clothes, his cock standing hard and proud, ready for her.

  Katharine pulled the heavy coverlet over herself, teasing him, hiding from him. Laughing, Jared leaped, grabbing the covers and sweeping them off with a growl. Look at her. Look at the evidence of his mouth on her skin. His. Just as much as he belonged to her, balls to bones.

  Katharine pushed up onto her elbows, staring at him with a mixture of bravado and vulnerability. “What are you waiting for?”

  “I was looking at you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He pounced on her then, rolling her over on the bed until she squealed and laughed.

  “You are ruining my image!” Her eyes were dancing, the blue deep as the summer sky.

  “No, I’ll just make you less a slave to that image, love.” Jared laughed with her, loving the flush it gave her usually cool face, loving the way she sounded. He kissed her again because he had to, it was a biological imperative.

  She opened to him, one thigh lifting to rub against him. Soft. Her skin was soft. Damn. Humming, he moved against her, feeling so good doing it, especially after he thought he’d lost her for good. Her scent came to him when he bent and licked along her throat, down to her collarbones.

  “Are you going to love me?” The words were weighted, serious even as she gave him a moan.

  Pausing, he stared up into her eyes, nodding, his chin nudging her breast. “I am, love. There’s nothing I want more. No more attempts to control you or dominate you. I just want you.”

  He dipped, kissing her belly, rubbing his cheek there and moaning at the softness of her skin.

  “Jared...” Citrus and heat, a hint of salt and musk - she made his mouth water. “You have the softest lips.”

  A soft chuckle left him, pushing his breath across her skin. “You’ve always loved my mouth, darling,” he said, letting his lips open against her hipbone. The little scrap of cloth she still wore had to go.

  “You’ve al--always been talented with it.” The little hitching breath made him feel like a god.

  “Mmmhmm. I just love the way you taste.” He pulled at her little lace panties, his chin dragging down her thigh, as his hand cupped the back of her knee to spread her wider.

  “I haven’t had a love affair in nine hundred years.” Her leg trembled in his hand as she parted, so easy, so willing for him.

  “No? Well, then it’s high time.” A flare of jealousy went through him, for he knew it was Silvestri who was her last great love, but he was not going to ruin tonight with any kind of ugliness. So instead he moved lower and kissed the crease between her thigh and torso.

  “No. I haven’t...” Katharine chuckled, arched up for a moment. Each honest response made him hungrier, harder. Her fingers tangled in his hair, body rippling as she moved under his lips. His thumb slipped between her folds, searching, finding her hot little nub and rubbing it in circles. She smelled amazing, tasted even better when his mouth met his hand. A man could live a thousand years on the little throaty cries Katharine offered him, on the way his name rang through the room.

  Jared knew what she wanted, knew what she needed, and he gave it, licking, closing his lips around that little bit of flesh ad tugging. He wanted her shaking, wanted her crying out for him. She guided him for a moment, fingers tugging his hair before they fell away, trusting in him to give her everything. Hot and silken against him, he licked and nuzzled until she twisted, until her sob sounded and he heard her broken whisper. “Please. Love. I need.”

  “Tell me what you need.” He didn’t want her to beg. He just wanted her to say it. “Do you want me inside you?”

  “Yes. Make love to me. Love me.” She took one of his hands, brought it up to her throat, pressing his fingers in.

  “Always.” Slipping up her body, Jared pushed between her legs, his mouth on hers. He would be in her, he would drink from her, and then she would taste him. They would be one in every way.

  Her fingers wrapped around his shaft, rubbing the tip of his cock against her clit, making both of them gasp. Her smile was wicked as she did it again and again. Jared grinned back at her, her playfulness pleasing him to the bone. Jared licked the depression under her lower lip, pushing his cock into her hand.

  A few thrusts, her thumb threatening to make him snap, and suddenly he sank into her balls deep. Hot. Hot.

  They moved together, her legs and arms wrapping around him, his body sinking into hers over and over. Finally he took what he wanted, his fangs dropping as he bent down and licked at her neck. He bit her hard, his eyes closing at the flavor of her incredibly potent blood. She flooded him, poured over and into him. He could feel her, hear her blood rushing in his own veins. She was his own.

  Shifting, he presented his neck and shoulder to her, drawing her head to him, begging without words. He needed her to complete the circle.

  Her bite was almost delicate, more of an ever-widening heat instead of a sting. Then she began sucking, pulling from him and his world went white-hot and perfect. His whole body shook, his cock aching with each thrust, his balls drawn up to the point of pain. Jared didn’t want it to end. Ever.

  Her nails dug into his arms as her body convulsed around him, the little sting proving to be too much. Everything shorted out in Jared’s brain when he came, his whole world narrowing to Katharine. Not to their fights or their power struggles, not their sires or their jobs. Just to her. Katharine’s body, her mouth and her sweet, sweet skin.

  And her love. Inside and out.

  ****

  Katharine waited for the panic to hit her, the regret and fear and worry and rage.

  Of course, every time she started to really wake up, Jared drew her into another series of kisses, of touches.

  Of sweet, drawn-out orgasms.

  She couldn’t decide whether to beat him or just melt with the decadence of it all.

  Jared rolled over then, the sheets sliding off his hip, showing off the dark-skinned, muscled back and ass for her pleasure, almost as if he’d heard her debate. Her hands were on his skin before she even completed her thought, exploring the lines of that ink and muscles with her fingers, her lips. Her scorpion. Dangerous and beautiful, protective, sexual. Eternal. He’d always been a beautiful man. Always.

  Now he was breathtaking.

  A soft moan answered her, his back flexing, his shoulders rolling. A lurid bruise marked one of those shoulders, a bite mark from their last bout of loving.

  Katharine licked and nuzzled that mark, tongue playing with the indentations from her teeth, even as her fingers traced the scorpion’s tail. His blood was right there, living beneath the surface, tempting her. Promising a most delicious sting.

  “Mmmm. Hello, love.” When he turned over and looked at her with those beautiful eyes she gave up on beating him and went for melting. His hand slid down her back. “Is it morning? Midnight?”

  “I haven’t any idea.” Silvestri’s home was hidden from the sun, from the world. It was a place beyond time. “Are you hungry?”

  “Famished.” He nibbled her fingers when she held out a hand to him, grinning like a fool. “We should go on vacation.”

  “Vacation? Honestly?” She blinked, tilted her head. “Don’t you have work, Mister Corpor
ate Salesman?”

  Katharine found she didn’t regret leaving the company behind.

  “Oh, I can do a great deal in an hour a day from a laptop.” One hand settled on her hip, thumb rubbing circles on her skin. “Say you will.”

  So earnest, his entreaty. So sweet.

  “Where will you take me?” She found herself curious, eager to see more of the world from his eyes.

  “Well, I think Japan might be a bad idea.” Oh, she would bite him if his laughter was not so contagious. “I was thinking the Mediterranean, to start. The nights there are lovely, hmm?”

  She chuckled and nodded, nipping his bottom lip. “I do enjoy my strolls in the dark. The moon should be lovely.”

  And she did so enjoy a bit of the exotic in her meals.

  “I think so. And think of the spices.” Yes, he was right on her wavelength today, wasn’t he? He grinned, leaning over to nip her belly. “Let’s go. Tomorrow.”

  “So soon?” Her Oldefar would... She frowned suddenly. “Did Silvestri arrange this with you?”

  “What? The vacation? No. This is wholly my idea.” Rising up on one elbow, Jared stared at her, serious as a heart attack. “I just want to go and see everything with you.”

  “No. No, I meant all of this. He’s talked of nothing else but finding me one of our kind...” She needed this to be real, to be Jared and not Silvestri’s machinations.

  One big hand cupped her cheek, and Jared stared right into her eyes. “When he heard about me becoming one of our kind, he offered me a job. And yes, I think he wanted us to be close, but I would have found a way, love, with our without him. I would have found a way.”

  “You always were focused.” That he was focused on her was heady, seductive. “You understand that an eternity is an incredibly long time, don’t you?”

  “I do. But I also know how faithful you are, Katharine. You’ve been with Silvestri how long? And you know now that I’ve been working my way back to you all this time.” Kissing her lightly, he gave her a look that would melt steel. “Say yes.”