Claiming the Vampire

by Chloe Hart

  He made her go faster, take him deeper. He forced her movements ruthlessly, taking his pleasure with rough abandon.

  Liz heard another voice moaning and realized it was hers. Her throat muscles relaxed suddenly and he slid in all the way, deeper than she’d ever taken him. For an instant they were both still. And then Jack came with a roar, his salty essence spilling into her mouth.

  When he pulled out, they were both gasping for breath—even though one of them didn’t need to. Liz collapsed forward, her forehead resting against Jack’s strong thigh as her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

  His hand shook a little when he cradled the back of her head again. His touch was gentle this time as he stroked her hair and kneaded the muscles at the back of her neck.

  “Good girl,” he said, and she felt the deep rumble of his voice in her bones.

  He let her recover for a moment, and then he wrapped his hand in the skein of her hair, tugging her head back. “But I’m not done with you yet,” he said.

  He released her and took a step back. Liz watched as he shed his jeans and then his shirt, his naked body glorious in the firelight.

  He was still breathing hard, which vampires only did in the grip of intense emotion or sensation.

  “Get on your hands and knees.”

  His words pulled a rush of moisture from her core. She did as he asked, her limbs still shaky.

  “Face the mirror.”

  She turned her head and saw a full-length mirror hanging on the closet door. When she shifted position she saw Jack over her shoulder, and the sight made her arch her back in instinctive invitation.

  “Don’t move unless I tell you to,” he grated, kneeling down behind her.

  She was so desperate to feel him inside her it almost killed her to stay still. She swallowed hard as he settled one hand on her hip, caressing her bare skin softly.

  His fingers trailed across the small of her back, her ass, her thighs…and finally, finally, into the damp heat that craved his touch so badly.

  But he only stroked the outer folds, barely dipping inside, and she couldn’t stop herself from pushing back against him.

  She gasped as he used his other hand to deliver a stinging slap to her backside.

  “I told you to keep still.”

  Adrenaline surged across her nerves, and she was so wet her inner thighs were damp.

  She fought to stay still as he began to caress her again, his hand moving with aching slowness. He tortured her with gentleness, raising goose bumps on top of goose bumps as he brushed his fingertips over her neck, the length of her spine, and up and down the backs of her thighs.

  “Spread your knees wider.”

  When she did she felt more open, more vulnerable, more exposed. But it was worth it, because Jack finally, finally touched her sex again.

  This time he dipped a little deeper.

  “You’re drenched,” he said. His voice was low and lazy now, and he pulled his fingers from her body to trail her own moisture across her belly and legs.

  Her eyes fluttered closed. A second later a sharp slap made them fly open again.

  “I didn’t say you could stop looking,” he told her, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror.

  He kept their gazes locked as he dipped inside her again, using his thumb this time. And his eyes held hers as he pulled out.

  She almost jumped when his thumb, wet with her juices, probed the tender opening of her anus.

  Her heart jackknifed with a shocked thrill as he eased inside, her muscles resisting the intrusion before releasing suddenly, accepting him until he was as deep as he could go.

  “Good girl,” he said again, pulling out a little and thrusting in again as waves of pain-pleasure pooled in her belly.

  And then, at last, she felt his erection at her throbbing entrance. His thumb stayed deep in her ass as he took her with one slow, powerful slide, filling her so completely that she cried out loud.

  His face in the mirror changed, his fangs bursting forth and his eyes feral.

  His voice was a low growl. “Don’t come until I say you can.”

  He looked down at where their bodies were joined. His thrusts slammed into her, each one taking him to the hilt.

  Then he reached around with his free hand to rub her clitoris with brutal speed.

  Her orgasm was coming like a tidal wave, impossible to stop. She fought to hold it back, moaning and whimpering, and then, thank God, he bent over her back and whispered in her ear.

  “Come,” he ordered, and in the next second his fangs sank into her neck.

  She climaxed in a violent surge, the sensations so intense she screamed. And still he wasn’t done. He invaded her everywhere, filling her up and drinking her in, and every writhe and twist brought him deeper.

  Pleasure suffused every cell of her body. She cried out Jack’s name again and again as her body torqued against his, impaling herself on his fingers, his fangs, his cock.

  When the storm of ecstasy subsided at last, she was utterly spent. Jack eased slowly from her body, cradling her against him and holding her tight. They lay on their sides, his chest to her back and his arms wrapped around her. After a long, long time her heartbeat slowed, and she made a low, soft sound of contentment.

  Jack’s mouth went to the marks his fangs had made, causing tiny aftershocks of pleasure. He licked her carefully, thoroughly, and then pressed a kiss to her skin before nuzzling her ear.

  “Too rough?” he whispered.

  “God, no,” she said, wondering if she sounded as sated as she felt. “That was incredible.” Her mind replayed some of the highlights, and she felt a twinge of embarrassment as she remembered the noise she’d made.

  “Do you think they heard me downstairs?”

  He gave a low chuckle. “I think they heard you in Alaska.”

  She turned in his arms and kissed his bare chest. “You’ve been holding back with me,” she said, tilting her head back to meet his eyes. They were human again, azure blue and full of tenderness.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe a little.” He started to play with her hair, combing his fingers through it until she felt like purring. “I’ve been afraid,” he said after a minute.

  “Of what?”

  “Being too rough. Hurting you. What I feel for you is so intense…”

  “I can handle anything you throw at me, vampire. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

  “I’m starting to,” he said softly, his hand still caressing her hair. He hesitated a moment. “You know why I got carried away tonight, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I know.”

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “It’s so damn hard, not being able to keep you safe the way I want to. Sometimes the urge to tell you what to do gets a little overwhelming.”

  She smiled. “Feel free to express it like this anytime. But as far as keeping me safe goes…don’t you know I feel the same way about you? I don’t like it when you’re in danger, either.”

  “It’s different for me,” he said gruffly.

  She pulled back and looked at him. “Why is it different?”

  His gaze slid away from hers. “Because it is.”

  She sighed. “Just say it, okay? Say it out loud.”

  He met her eyes again. “Fine. It’s different because I’m the man and you’re the woman. Satisfied?”

  She just smiled as she nestled closer. “You’re going to have to learn to overcome your chivalrous instincts.”

  He touched his nose to hers in an Eskimo kiss. “Never going to happen. You’re my woman, and I won’t let harm come to you if I can help it.”

  “Well, you’re my man—and I feel the same damn way.”

  “I love you, Liz. I love you so fucking much.”

  “I know.”

  After that they lay in a charmed silence, and the firelight dancing over their entwined bodies made it hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

  Chapter Ten

  Jessica gas
ped for air, the wind knocked out of her by the journey. Shaky and disoriented, she went into a crouch, ready to spring as she tried to get her bearings.

  She was alone in a large room with a carved wooden bedstead in one corner. The smooth stone walls were covered with tapestries and the stone floor was inlaid with mosaics. There was a solid-looking wooden door in one wall and two large windows opposite, paned with leaded glass.

  She took a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she straightened up and walked over to the window. There was a catch on the bottom that allowed her to open it.

  She gasped again as a rush of cold air swept over her, and she leaned over the sill to see outside.

  The walls of the building she was in stretched out to either side of her. It was obviously a fortress, but the most interesting thing about it was its location—perched on the side of a mountain.

  She could see a clear blue lake far below her, surrounded by pine trees that stretched into a forest that turned hazy and indistinct as it stretched to the horizon. The mountainside was craggy, and extended above the fortress to a jagged peak topped by snow.

  It was a beautiful scene, although she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. She turned away from the window, and as she did so, Prince Kel emerged from a low doorway in the opposite wall that hadn’t been there before.

  He stared at her in stunned amazement for one frozen second. Then he turned swiftly, manipulating something beside the opening in the wall. A door of stone swung shut, the edges so perfectly aligned with the surrounding wall that they were invisible.

  Then he turned back to face her again. “Jessica. What are you doing here?”

  Was he happy to see her? Angry? It was hard to read anything behind the cool perfection of his face, but she was pretty sure his dominant emotion was surprise, even shock.

  And, she thought, dismay.

  “I wanted to visit your realm before the wedding,” she said. That sounded reasonable, didn’t it?

  He frowned slightly. “Of course I’m glad to see you, but this is…unexpected. I wish you had given me some warning. You could have communicated with me through the mirror in your mother’s room.”

  “It was an impulsive decision.” Could she play on the concern he’d shown at the ball? “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about whether I was entering into this marriage of my own free will. And I am, of course, but…I wanted to see for myself what this world is like before I came here to live.”

  He stared at her for a moment, and she could see conflict of some kind in his face. And then, suddenly, he strode across the floor and stood in front of her. “Do you trust me, Jessica?”

  She should lie. Of course I do. But as she looked into Kel’s pale blue eyes, she sensed that this was a moment for the truth.

  “I don’t know.”

  He looked surprised for a second, and then a hint of a smile made him seem almost human. “That’s a fair answer. I had no right to ask you that, not yet. And I don’t have the right to ask you to trust me now, but that’s exactly what I need you to do. You need to go back to Earth, Jessica. If you do that, I promise I’ll come to you tomorrow night. We can talk then, in your world.”

  She shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Kel. But I’m not ready to leave yet—unless you’re willing to trust me enough to tell me why you want me to go.”

  He looked at her for a long minute, and she could see the conflict in his eyes again. But before he could make an answer there was a knock at the wooden door.

  “Kel? You’re expected in the council chamber. Mother sent me to fetch her golden boy.”

  The voice was imperious and irritable, as though the speaker resented the errand he’d been sent on.

  Kel’s face froze briefly, and then he called out, “I’ll be with you shortly, Edrik.”

  The iron doorknob rattled. “The door is locked. What are you doing in there, brother? Dallying with a servant?”

  Kel’s expression darkened. “Go back to the council chamber. I’ll join you presently.”

  “Not likely. Mother sent me to fetch you, and fetch you I shall. I’ll wait here until you come out—unless you have the courtesy to let me in.”

  “I’ll be out shortly, as I said. You can wait or go as you see fit.”

  Kel’s voice was cold and careless, but when he turned back to face Jessica again she saw tension etched in the lines of his face.

  He closed the space between them and took her by the shoulders, speaking so softly she had to strain to hear him.

  “If you insist on staying, you must wait here for me. I’m going to lock the door from the outside. If someone knocks, do not answer. Do not attempt to leave this room or make your presence known in any way. My family isn’t expecting you, and they don’t appreciate surprises. I advise you again to return to your world, but if you don’t, you’ll see me back here in an hour’s time. Do you require food or drink?”

  She shook her head, her skin prickling. She had no idea what was going on in this realm or with Kel, but she was going to stay until she found out.

  “Very well. I will return as soon as I may. If I find you gone, as I hope to, I will come to you in your world tomorrow night.”

  His hands tightened briefly on her shoulders, and he looked into her eyes with more intensity than she’d yet seen in him. His cool façade had slipped a little, and she wondered what he was feeling.

  She thought it might be fear.

  In another minute he was gone. She went silently to the door he’d shut behind him and pressed her ear to the wood. Very faintly she could hear the sound of footsteps fading, and after counting to a thousand and hearing no other sound, she tried the doorknob.

  It was locked, as Kel had said.

  Jessica had little magic in her and no gift for spellcasting, but even the most magically-challenged Fae knew a few basic spells, including one to unlock doors. But when Jessica spoke the words, they had no effect. Either Earth Fae magic didn’t work here, or Kel’s door was warded.

  She also had little hope of breaking through it by dint of physical effort. The door was thick and solid, and any attempt on it would attract the kind of attention Kel had told her to avoid. Attention she wasn’t ready for, either.

  So what was her next move?

  In spite of herself, her hand went to the portal stone at her breast.

  She was filled with a sudden longing for Hawk, a longing so visceral she trembled with it. But she couldn’t give in to that longing. Now that she was here in the Dark Fae realm, she had to learn everything she could.

  Which left her with three options. She could wait patiently for Kel to return, she could attempt to climb out the window, or she could try to open up that other door—the one he’d come through.

  Since the prospect of climbing out the window over a thousand foot drop was somewhat daunting, she decided to focus on option number three.

  She went to the place where the door had been and closed her eyes. She was a warrior, trained to observe—and to remember what she saw.

  She called up her memory of Kel coming out of that door, and of the motions he’d made to close it. She opened her eyes and looked at the wall in front of her. It was largely smooth, marked here and there with shallow carving—stylized trees and flowers. She shifted a little to the left, and let her hand drift over the stone in front of her, over the pattern of what looked like an oak tree. She closed her eyes again, remembering, and her fingers found a place in the carving where all of her fingers slid into shallow grooves. She had to stretch her hand to reach all five slots, but for Kel it would be a perfect fit.

  She pressed hard, and the piece of wall she was touching became a round dial, its edges distinct from the stone around it. She recalled the motions Kel had made. A turn to the left and one to the right, and with startling suddenness the door swung open as silently as it had closed.

  A dark, narrow passageway opened up in front of her. A chill breath of air touched her face, smelling of du
st and mold and dampness.

  Well. She was here to explore, and to gather information. And if she ran into something she couldn’t handle, her portal stone would take her home instantly.

  It was time to find out if any Earth magic would work here. Jessica spoke the words of the first spell every Fae child learned, and felt a tingle of relief when a small spark of illumination—what her people called a faery light—appeared in the air before her. It shone as brightly as a candle would, which would be enough to guide her.

  She stepped from Kel’s sunlit room into the darkness of the corridor, and then paused a moment. Should she try to close the door behind her? If she did, there was no guarantee she’d be able to open it from this side again, which would trap her in here. And since Kel would assume she’d returned to her own dimension if he came back to find her gone, he wouldn’t come looking for her.

  If she left the door open, anyone who came into the room would see the passageway. Most likely that would be Kel, but he would know immediately where she had gone.

  After a short internal debate, she decided to close the door if she could. She’d rather be a free agent for the time being.

  It didn’t take any mechanism to shut the door from this side; it closed easily. Of course, there might be some manipulation required to finish the job properly. The edges of the door might be visible, or something—but there was nothing she could do about that.

  She turned her back to the door and started down the corridor.

  Where Kel’s room had been polished and beautiful, this passage was dank and rough. It seemed to slope downward, and occasionally there were steps leading down as well. Jessica moved along carefully, taking her time , and when she caught a faint sound ahead of her she extinguished her light immediately.

  She stood perfectly still, and listened. Voices, she thought—but she couldn’t be certain. With the faery light gone she was in utter darkness, so when she began to move forward again she did so very slowly. She hadn’t seen any stairs coming in the next stretch of corridor, but the floor was uneven and she didn’t want to trip and make a noise.