I wrapped my arms around his neck, drawing him to me like a fly to a spider. I wanted him. All of him. And I was never going to let him go again.
He slid his fingers up my sides in a gentle caress as his tongue invaded my mouth and I moaned, wanting more and more of him.
My heart pounded, my legs trembled. He was here. Really here with me.
He pulled back, keeping me in his arms as he tilted my chin up so that he could look into my eyes.
“I can’t believe I lost you, Callie. But you have to know she never had my heart. It was hidden from me and I thought what I felt for her was love but it pales into insignificance now that I stand before you with my heart unchained once more. You are the deepest, most desperate desire of my soul. I will never feel this for another woman. Even the power of the gods can’t replicate that. Because this feeling cannot be a lie. It is who I am. What I am. It burns through every inch of me, body and soul and it belongs to you.”
“You never lost me,” I replied. “I was always waiting right here for you. And I would have kept waiting for the rest of my life if that’s how long it took to get you back. It doesn’t matter what Valentina made you do while she had you. You aren’t hers. You’re mine.”
He groaned as his hands slid into my hair and he pulled on it just enough to send a thrill right through me and build on the desire which was already pounding through my body.
“Say that again,” he growled, holding my eye as he pressed his body against mine and the full length of him dug into my hip demandingly.
I slid my hands down his chest, delighting in the reaction of his body to my touch. “You’re mine,” I repeated firmly.
He dropped his mouth to mine again, kissing me so hard that it almost hurt and yet it wasn’t enough. His tongue met mine and I moaned, begging for more as I tangled my arms around his neck and pushed my body against his.
I ached for more and more of him and I could feel how desperately he wanted me too. We needed this. The physical release of all the pain we’d endured while we were separated. We needed to be reunited completely, merging our bodies alongside our souls and claiming each other once more. He was mine and I was his. No matter what anyone else thought of it or tried to do to stop it.
His mouth shifted away from my lips, trailing a line of fire across my jaw and down my neck. I flinched as his kisses met with the bite on my throat and he stilled suddenly, his grip on me tightening.
“I gave you to Erik to feed from,” he gasped, pulling away from me as he suddenly remembered what he’d done while we were escaping the Belvederes' castle. He hadn’t noticed there was two bites there and I didn’t think it was the best time to mention what I’d let Fabian do.
“It wasn’t you,” I said, reaching for him again but he backed away. My body fell cold as he abandoned me and I ached to reclaim him again.
He shook his head, horrified at what he’d done.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tried again, stepping closer but he backed up as if he couldn’t bear to have me touch him after the things he’d done.
“Doesn’t matter? How can you say that? I offered you the world, I asked you to marry me and then I threw you to the mercy of a vampire as if you were nothing!” His eyes were filled with pain and my heart broke for him. I couldn’t imagine how I’d have felt if the roles were reversed and I’d done the same things to him. The agony in his gaze was shredding my soul and I didn’t know how to fix it.
“It wasn’t you,” I repeated, blinking away tears. “I don’t blame you for any of it: it was Valentina.”
“It was my hands, my flesh-”
“No!” I snapped. “If you let this get between us then she just wins again.”
I reached out for him and his eyes fell on the bite at my wrist.
“Who did that?” he asked darkly and I suddenly found that I didn’t want to answer him.
“I’m cold,” I said, ignoring his question. “Come inside.”
I grabbed Fury from the ground and headed into the shelter offered by the barn. Magnar followed me, pulling the doors shut behind us but I could see he wasn’t going to let it drop.
“Tell me,” he demanded.
“Will you tell me everything that happened to you while Valentina had her claws in you?” I countered.
“If you want to hear it I will,” he replied tersely.
I glared at him as my desire was countered by anger and I didn’t know whether I wanted to kiss him or punch him.
“After Valentina brought down the helicopter, Fabian risked his life to save mine,” I explained, knowing he wouldn’t like this one bit but refusing to cover the truth. “I offered him, Miles and Warren my blood to help them recover their strength so that they could face you and Erik once you arrived.”
Magnar’s eyes lit with fury and he advanced on me as I backed up.
“Our kind do not feed parasites willingly,” he snarled, towering over me as the backs of my legs hit one of the huge bales of straw.
“You can hardly talk,” I hissed, pushing my finger against a bite which was so close to his waistband that I was fairly sure Valentina must have had him naked to have done it.
His muscles tensed in response to my touch. “I wasn’t willing,” he replied.
“Was she on her knees when she did that to you?” I asked, jealousy spiking through me despite knowing he hadn’t wanted any part of Valentina’s games. But it didn’t make it any easier for me to accept the fact that she had taken pleasure in his flesh. And I couldn’t stop imagining what she’d done to him while she’d taken his body captive.
He bit his tongue as he looked down at me and I could feel the heat of our argument fuelling his desire too.
“That wasn’t even her,” he admitted irritably. “But she did force Erik to his knees when he did it.”
My mouth parted in surprise and my gaze slid down his body again. “Erik?” I confirmed, biting my lip so that my amusement at that fact didn’t show.
“I told you she got nothing more from me than blood and kisses. And neither did he for that matter.”
“You kissed Erik?” I raised an eyebrow at him and I could tell he didn’t find the fact very funny.
“I don’t wish to talk about it now.” He stepped closer to me but I had nowhere left to retreat and the small bout of anger I’d felt towards him was giving way to the lust which simmered in the pit of my stomach.
My mind snagged on Valentina’s memory of his mother and I frowned. “I learned other things from her while she slept,” I admitted. “Things you need to know-”
“Later,” he commanded and his tone made my legs weak as he moved to grip my hips and lifted me up so that I was perched on the bale of straw.
“But-”
“Later,” he growled, pushing himself between my thighs and he took my mouth hostage with his own.
My need for him tore through everything else like wildfire, banishing every thought but the feeling of his body against mine as he pushed my dress up with one hand and unbuckled his belt with the other.
My heart pounded as his hand skimmed alongside the inside of my thigh and he caught my underwear in his grip, tearing it off of me.
I gasped as he pushed his fingers inside me and he growled with satisfaction as he felt how ready I was for him. I leaned back, moaning as he took command of my body and his thumb dragged down over the exact right spot just as he pushed his fingers deeper.
“By the gods, I’ve never desired a woman the way I ache for you,” he breathed. “And knowing I can make you feel like this-” I moaned louder as he drove his fingers into me again and a wicked smile tugged at his lips. “Just makes me want you even more.”
“So take me,” I urged, reaching for his waistband and pushing it down to reveal the hard length of his arousal.
I took hold of him, biting my lip as I felt the full girth of him in my hand, craving the feeling of him inside me. He groaned deep in the back of his throat as I moved my hand up and down and he pulled his finge
rs back out of me.
Magnar grabbed my knees and hoisted me forward. I released my hold on him and he pushed himself inside me. I cried out as he filled me with one hard thrust. His hands stayed on my legs, pushing them further apart and I wound my arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely.
He drove himself all the way into me and I inhaled sharply as his teeth closed on my bottom lip.
His need was as desperate and urgent as my own and he wasted no time in taking possession of my body as I surrendered to him.
I cried out, my fingernails scoring lines down his back as I pulled him closer.
His hands shifted up my legs, catching my dress and dragging it over my head. He threw it aside, fisting his hands in my hair and yanking my head back so that he could gain access to my throat.
He thrusted into me greedily, demanding more and more from my body and I clung to him just as hungry for it as him. I needed this. To feel close to him like this and to release my anger over what had happened.
My heart pounded as my breaths came faster and faster, my fingernails gouging lines in his flesh as I urged him on and his grip on me tightened in a way that set my whole body on fire.
I was a slave to him just as he was to me. And I lost myself to the feeling of his skin like I was drowning beneath the tide.
He wasn’t gentle and I didn’t want him to be; we were two wild creatures drawn together by this insatiable need within us to be with each other. Now. Always. Forever.
I couldn’t get enough of him. His skin raw against mine, his mouth chasing across my body, claiming my mouth, my throat, my breasts.
He pulled back, gazing into my eyes and it wasn’t the need or desire that I found there which had me undone, it was the love which flared in the golden depths of them.
My release spilled through me like molten lava and I clung to him, feeling the hard planes of his back flexing beneath my grasping fingers as I cried out his name.
He drew my pleasure on, driving himself into me harder, faster as he moved closer to the edge himself and his mouth took mine hostage again.
Magnar dragged my body flush to his and I arched against him as he groaned, finding his own climax.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping him close and kissing him again as we caught our breath.
We stayed there for several long minutes, holding each other, just being together and soaking in the fact that this was real. I pressed my forehead to his, closing my eyes as I revelled in this moment of peace. Magnar trailed his fingers through my hair and I grazed my thumb along the rough stubble which lined his jaw.
“I missed you,” I breathed when I could think straight enough to talk.
“I’m never leaving your side again,” he replied and I tipped my chin to kiss him once more.
His lips were soft against mine and I melted against them as his hands slid from my hair and along the curve of my spine.
Magnar was here. He was real. And he was mine.
I circled my finger around Montana's navel, careful not to wake her. I was drawn irresistibly to her skin like a compulsion held my body in its grip. But this was unlike the power of the accursed necklace. This was a gift, a sweet blessed thing that had been worth waiting a thousand years for. Before her, the passage of time had seemed fleeting. But now it had slowed, every moment begging to be nursed and cradled. Committed to memory. If we were to be human again, I didn't have to fear that our lifetime would roll by too fast. Because a mortal life with her was worth a hundred thousand years in solitude.
There was one thing we'd yet to discuss and I wondered if she'd considered it at all since she'd been turned. My sister had faced the anguish of being unable to bear children and I didn't want Montana to weather the same fate. If she even desired a family…
I had to admit, though our time together had been short, it had sparked a profound change in my feelings on the subject. What in the world could be more fulfilling than creating a family with the woman I adored?
Montana stirred under the brush of my fingers, releasing a soft laugh. “Stop tickling me.”
“Did I wake you?” I chuckled, laying my palm flat on her stomach.
“No,” she yawned. “Okay yes. But I don't mind.” She rolled towards me, pressing a kiss to my lips.
I brushed her hair back from her shoulder with a grin. “I've been thinking...”
She raised a brow. “About..?”
A rare flicker of insecurity seized me as I gazed at her. What if I couldn't offer her what I was thinking? And what if she wanted it but we couldn't break the curse? Then I'd only be getting her hopes up to have them dashed to pieces. But it felt like the right moment to air my thoughts on the matter. After our time apart, I realised how precious each minute together was. And if a future awaited us where a mortal life was possible, why wait to discuss this?
“How do you feel about starting a family one day?” My throat tightened as I watched her reaction to my question. Her brows pinched together then a warmth filled her eyes that spread into the depths of my soul.
“I never wanted kids when I lived in the Realm...but things have changed now. And if we can really be human again then I want that. I really do.” She scraped her fingernails across my jaw with the brightest of smiles. “Do you?”
“I didn't. But like you say, things have changed.” I smirked, pushing her back and dropping my mouth to her throat. “I certainly like the idea of making them.”
“You're an animal.” She slapped my back and I knelt up with a grin.
“I suppose we should show our faces downstairs.” I dropped from the bed, heading to a closet across the room and opening the door.
“Does the royal count not ask to borrow clothes?” Montana called from the bed.
I stalled, not having thought about asking for such a thing. Maybe I needed to prepare myself if humanity was going to return to my body. The gods only knew how the world would change if the vampires returned to mortal bodies. Would they still look to my family as their rulers?
I took a bundle of men's clothes from the closet with a shrug. “I'm sure Chickoa would rather I didn't go looking for her permission butt naked.”
Montana shifted onto her front, gazing at me as she propped her chin up on her arms. I eyed the seductive curves of her body, tempted to forget about getting dressed and spend the rest of the day in that bed with her. But my family had been through enough in the last few days, the least I could do was spend some time with them.
“You're hesitating,” Montana pointed out, rising from the bed and walking toward me. The sway of her hips captivated me and all thoughts abandoned me as she approached. Instead of touching me, she reached past me and took out a long navy dress from the closet before fishing some underwear from a drawer. She pulled the clothes on and I resigned myself to doing the same. Even though it had been my idea in the first place. I was a slave to her skin. I'd never felt such desire for a woman. And when we laid together it felt like so much more than sex.
When we were dressed, I walked to the mirror on the wall and pushed a hand into my hair.
Montana glanced at me in the reflection, fighting a grin.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she sang.
“Yes it is.” I turned, stalking toward her and she ran away with a laugh. I sped after her, catching her by the waist. “What are you hiding?” I teased, holding her tight.
“I just noticed how vain you are. We're only going downstairs to see your family, why are you fiddling with your hair?”
I flipped her around in my arms with a grin. “There's nothing wrong with a man who takes pride in himself.”
“You have a lot of pride,” she mocked, biting into her lower lip in that way that made me want to bite it too.
“Well maybe I have a lot to be proud of.” She shoved me and I laughed, letting her go. “You love it.”
She gave me a mischievous smile, heading to the door and I padded after her into the hallway. Miles and Warren stepped out
of their room at the same time. Warren was busy buttoning his shirt up as Miles's eyes fell on me.
“What the hell?” he gasped, speeding toward me.
I grinned as I embraced him, patting him on the back. “Hey, Brother. Did you miss me?”
“Hell yes I did. Why didn't you tell me you were here?” Miles leant back, punching me in the shoulder.
I glanced past him toward Warren. “I've been here for hours, Miles, you were clearly too busy to notice.”
“Sorry about that,” Warren said as he approached, smiling from ear to ear. I stepped around Miles, clapping his husband on the arm.
“It looks like you've been pretty busy too,” Miles teased and Montana gave him an embarrassed look. I eyed her pale cheeks, missing the way they used to turn red when she felt that way.
“By the gods, I'm going to have to burn every mattress in this house by the time you lot leave,” Chickoa said as she arrived on the landing.
I gave her an apologetic grin. “I'll pay for your house to be entirely remodelled if you like, it's the least I can do for you taking my family in.”
Chickoa approached us, folding her arms. We didn't know each other particularly well but I hoped she knew I'd never had any bad intentions towards her. And I was glad she'd made Fabian happy for a time, even if he had gone and flushed that happiness down the drain.
“Well I might just have to take you up on that offer, Erik,” she said with a grin and I quite liked the fact that she didn't call me count. To her, I was just the brother of the asshole who'd turned her. And that suited me fine.
“Has Callie come back?” Montana asked Chickoa. “Did Magnar find her?”
“I bet he found her alright,” Miles commented. “I bet he found her real hard.”
“That doesn't even make sense,” Montana said, shaking her head and looking to Chickoa again.
“She was out by the barn.” Chickoa shrugged. “But that was hours ago.”
“I told you he found her,” Miles muttered to Warren and I elbowed him as I walked past.
Montana and I headed downstairs into the living room, finding Clarice asleep beside Julius, her head resting on his shoulder.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 152
