by K Loraine
This was my chance to escape. I slipped on my sandals and bent to retrieve my robe.
“That bikini suits you,” he said, his voice rough and needy. “Don’t leave.”
My hand stopped in mid-air. “I don’t want to distract you from your swim.”
“It’s a big pool. I can make room.”
“Why would you swim like that? So hard? You don’t need the exercise.”
“I need to keep my instincts sharp. For instance, I saw you the moment I walked in, and noticed you trying to leave while I was doing my laps. Something like that can mean the difference between life and death.”
“True.”
He swam to the edge of the pool where I stood and braced his hands on the stone. Then with one smooth movement he was out of the water and standing at my side. “Where’s your weapon stored in that tiny thing?”
His eyes roamed my body and all I felt was desire. “I didn’t bring one.”
Shaking his head, he reached for my arm and lifted it to his nose. One long inhalation had him stepping closer. “You cloaked your scent, but the water washed it away. No matter what you do, your blood still calls to me.”
“Maybe that’s because you know what I taste like.”
“I wish I could forget. I wish so many things.”
“Like what?”
“That I’d never found you. That you could live a normal life. But most of all, that I hadn’t given you my heart to destroy.”
Damn the man. I felt so much for him even though I didn’t want to. “Cashel,” I murmured.
He dropped my arm and stepped back. “You say you don’t want me, but when you utter my name it sounds like you’re begging me to take you. I can’t stand this.” Dragging his hand through his hair, he glanced up at the ceiling, the water clinging to his taut muscles like starlight glittering in the sky. “Are you playing with me?”
God, I couldn’t keep doing this. I wanted him so badly it hurt. “I shouldn’t want you. You’re bad for me. You’re the bad guy.”
“And you like the bad guy.”
I took my lower lip between my teeth and nodded. “Despite everything.”
“And I still want you. I want you with a desperation so strong my heart feels like it might burst every time I see you.” He stepped closer, sliding his palm up my arm and over my shoulder until he reached the nape of my neck. “Even if you’ve had him between your thighs. Even if you gave him a piece of the heart you should have reserved for me alone. Even if you think you love him.”
I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t. He didn’t understand the hold he had on me. My breasts ached for his touch and my thighs squeezed together in a weak attempt to hide how aroused I was. “We shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t or can’t?”
“Shouldn’t.”
He pulled me hard against him, the straining erection between his legs pressing insistently against my lower belly. “Well, I’ve never been good at doing what I should, little bird.”
13
Cashel
Olivia in my arms was the perfect kind of agony. I could feel the war inside her, the push and pull of her hatred and want, both fighting for control. But I was too selfish to stop now. I had her. She wanted me. She wasn’t saying stop and I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
I pulled her as close as possible, her body pressed tight to mine. “Olivia, I need you to ask me,” I breathed.
“Ask you what, Cashel?”
“To fuck you. I need you to ask me to fuck you until you can’t remember a time before me.”
She shivered and ran her hand down my back, dragging her nails over the line of my spine. The sensation pulled into sharp focus exactly what this meant for us. We’d been separated, torn apart by the hunters, the council, and all the wrong I’d done. But crossing the bridge back to each other was all we needed.
Those wicked hands of hers worked their way around my waist to the defined muscles of my abdomen. She let out a shuddering breath, and I set to work untying her bikini top. The scraps of fabric fluttered to the floor, baring her perfect breasts to me and me alone.
“God, how I’ve missed you. The perfection that is your body haunted me every time I closed my eyes.” My words were rough and tight while my fingers trailed over the swells of her full tits. But the best part, the part I was instinctively proud of, was the mark of my fangs over her nipple. I ran my fingertip over the two puckered scars, barely visible, but intensely meaningful in the vampire world. She moaned in response. “Does that feel good, little bird?”
“Yes.”
“Did your hunter know you let me mark you? Did you think of me when he touched you?” Anger burned in the pit of my stomach at the idea.
“Fuck you,” she said with a shaky voice.
“We’re getting there.”
I leaned in and took her mouth with mine. The kiss was harsh and filled with pent-up desire, and she gave it right back. Her palm slid under my swim trunks and she grasped my aching length, stroking slowly, making me groan into her mouth.
“Touch me, Cashel,” she begged.
Fuck, she wanted me, and I wasn’t the kind of man who’d ignore a plea from the woman he loved. “Anything for you, little bird.” My cock throbbed with each stroke of her palm, and I couldn’t help but thrust into her hand. I untied the strings at her hips and let the triangle covering her cunt fall away.
I hated the marks on her skin, the purple bruises at her ribs, the scratches and scrapes on her arms and legs. I should have been there to protect her, to keep her from ever having to fight in the first place.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, twisting her hand over the crown of my cock and dragging a moan from deep in my chest.
“Absolutely nothing.” I slid my fingers over her clit, swirling them around the swollen bud and making her breath catch. “This is mine,” I said, needing her acknowledgment.
“You wish it was.”
“I know it is.”
Gripping her around the hips, I lifted her until she wrapped her legs around me. “You’re an over-confident asshole.”
“True. And you’re a cold-hearted cheater.”
She frowned, but didn’t try to get me to let go. Instead, she ground her bare pussy against my still covered erection. “Just fuck me, already,” she said.
“I’ll take that as a clear statement of consent.”
“What is it with you and needing consent?”
“I told you,” I said, kissing her neck and letting my arms wrap tightly around her. “I’m not my father. I’d never take you without permission.”
“Except for when you’re kidnapping me.”
I laid her back on one of the lounge chairs and shoved my swimsuit down my hips. My cock was throbbing with arousal, weeping at the tip with need for her. “Except for then.”
“This doesn’t change anything, Cashel. You’ve done horrible, unforgivable things.”
“Then why ask for it?”
“Because I’m weak.”
I stared down at her, beautifully broken after a lifetime on the run. She had no idea how strong she truly was. “I’m the weak one in this situation.” I knelt between her thighs and kissed my way up her body. “Weak. Selfish. Desperate.” Each word was punctuated by a kiss until I fitted myself at her entrance.
“Keep going,” she demanded.
“You broke me,” I admitted as I thrust inside.
She cried out and clenched around me. “You lied to me.”
“You chose him.” I moved deep inside her, my pain and heartbreak taking control.
“I chose you. Until I found out the truth.”
Grabbing her by the calf, I lifted her leg and placed it on my shoulder so I could move deeper inside her. Each roll of my hips was my way to remind her of what she’d thrown away. Our talk devolved into sharp breaths and groans. Her nails dug into my back, but she refused to open her eyes and look at me. I moved us, shifting our position until the two of us were seated, fac
ing each other. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders, and she had no choice but to kiss me or look at me. I’d take either.
We moved together, her body tensing, her tongue dancing with mine. I never wanted it to end. “You’re mine,” I whispered against her lips. “Now show me how much you love it when I fuck you.”
She let out a cry and rode me hard, her orgasm cresting and making her perfect cunt tighten around me. “God, Cashel.”
“That’s it, little bird. Come for me. Fuck, yes.”
Her pussy squeezed me with each wave of her pleasure, and I couldn’t stop. My own climax hit me with the force of a freight train, filling her with pulse after pulse of my release.
Then she shut down, pulling away before getting to her feet. She grabbed her robe and covered her body with the terrycloth. “We can’t do that ever again.”
Olivia
Cashel didn’t join me in his room after our tryst in the pool, and a big part of me was thankful. I was swamped with guilt over what we’d done, over my weak will, and the betrayal of Logan’s memory. I’d fallen right back into Cashel’s web. But my lips were swollen from his kisses, and my body felt used in all the right ways. There was more between Cashel and me than I wanted to admit. We were fire and passion and explosive need.
“Damn it, Cashel,” I whispered into the empty bedroom as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Was he right all along? Did I want to be his?
I drifted to sleep with the memory of him moving deep inside of me and bringing me to orgasm as he found his release as well.
“Wake up, darling, you’ve slept through sunset,” Lucas’ voice pulled me from a dreamless sleep. The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air and tempted me to open my eyes. “The clans will be arriving soon for the ball.”
I blinked a few times, the world around me coming back into focus. Lucas stood over me, his handsome features not entirely unwelcome, but he was definitely not the Blackthorne my heart craved. He leaned close, inspecting me. “You’ve been up to something naughty.”
My cheeks burned, and I sat up, shoving him away. “It’s not happening again.”
“So, that’s why my brother sent me to see to you.” He laughed and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You gave him what he wanted and now you’ve had second thoughts.”
“I shouldn’t have…he’s…he’s in my head.”
Lucas frowned. “You still think my brother is manipulating your thoughts? If he was, he’d have ensured you wouldn’t have wanted to leave from the moment you got here.”
My stomach twisted. He was right. Why would Cashel have let me even consider escape or fighting if he could easily control my thoughts?
“He’s sadistic. He likes to toy with me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. Our father was sadistic. Our wicked stepmother is twisted. Cashel is the noblest of all of us.”
“That’s not saying much.”
“Perhaps not, but he loves you. He admitted it to me the night he brought you back here. And, I assure you, darling, he would never have forced your return unless he had a damn good reason.”
“What is that?”
“Callie.”
Chest tight, I took a sharp breath. “What about her?”
“She’s dying. I don’t know how much time she’s got left.”
“Sun sickness?”
“Yes. Your precious hunter delivered the deadly blow after you and Cashel escaped the manor.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, not knowing what I could say to make this better. “Where is she?”
“Cashel has her hidden away. He’s been giving her every drop of your blood we have stored.”
“Sorcha told me she needed a donation when you two ambushed me. She said it was to find a cure, not to cure Callie.”
He shrugged. “We operate on…what’s it called? A need to know basis.”
“Callie already said my blood alone won’t cure it.”
“But it will keep her from burning to a cinder if she loses her battle with the madness. With your blood in her system, she can walk in the sun.”
I sighed and strode across the room, the weight of his gaze on my shoulders following me with each step. “Why wouldn’t Cashel tell me this?” I stood by the window, hands pressed to the sill as I gazed out at the garden below.
“You hurt him.”
I spun on Lucas, anger burning in my chest. “He lied to me.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Are we going to continue dancing around in circles? He loves you. If he lied, it was to protect you.”
“He killed my mother, Lucas!”
The vampire stared at me, slack-jawed and shocked. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you quite right.”
“I saw the video. Cashel was at my house the night my mom died. He was walking away covered in blood. He…licked her blood off his fingers.” I fought a shudder and worked to tamp down the sob threatening to escape my chest.
“You may have seen that, but I promise you it wasn’t Cashel who killed her.”
“How would you know?”
“I was with him. We found her shortly after her death. He tried to turn her, but it was too late.”
A somber sense of relief hit me square in the chest. “So, the blood?”
“Was hers, yes. But only because he held her as he tried to force his blood down her throat and heal her.”
A single tear slipped down my cheek. “Why would he taste her blood?”
“We’re vampires. And besides that, the only way to check for the magic in your blood is to taste it. He had to be sure it was gone after her death.”
It made so much sense. But why? Because it was true or because I wanted desperately to believe his words? “Who killed her?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure, but if I had my guess, I’d say a witch had something to do with it.”
“Because you hate them.”
“No. Because we caught the scent of strong magic around her body.”
“Oh, God,” I whispered.
Soft rustling caught my attention, and I looked up from my hands to see Sorcha standing in the doorway between the bedroom and sitting room, eyes haunted, lips drawn into a thin line. “How much have you told her?”
“All of it.” Lucas took my hand and pulled me toward him. “She knows as much as we do.”
“Finally. Where’s Cashel?”
My tall brooding vampire appeared behind his sister. “Right here. What the hell did you do to her, Lucas?”
“Nothing. Forgive me for trying to patch things up between you two.” Lucas held up his hands and backed away from me. “Though, it looks to me like you did plenty to her last night.”
I shifted uncomfortably as all three vampires looked at me intently. “I need to shower.”
“That’s a good idea. You smell like sex,” Sorcha said. “Then we’ve been instructed to get you ready for the ball. You should be used to being on display by now. I’ll be here when you’re finished…cleaning up.”
“No, you won’t. Leave us, Sorcha. I need to talk to Olivia.” Cashel’s firm tone spoke of nothing short of dominance. “I’ll summon you when she’s ready.”
Sorcha sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll just…find myself a snack.”
She left but Lucas remained. Cashel turned his attention to his brother, a frown darkening his features. “Why are you still here?”
“To make sure you don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, say something stupid because your pride is hurt.”
I put myself the two of them, locking eyes with Cashel. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Tell you what? You made up your mind about me. But what’s more, you wanted him. How could you be mine if you desired someone else all along?”
Lucas cleared his throat, drawing glares from both of us. “It looks like you have this situation in hand. I suppose I’ll collect you when it’
s time for the ball, Olivia.”
Cashel growled low in his throat. “She’ll be attending the ball on my arm.”
Lucas opened his mouth with a protest on his lips, but seemed to think better of it. He nodded and backed away, leaving the two of us in the bedroom. Alone.
“Cashel,” I started, but he rushed me, catching me in his arms and claiming my mouth before I could say anything else.
His kiss was hot and hungry, filled with all the things we hadn’t said and still hadn’t worked through. He cupped my face and threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled away. “Don’t talk. I just want to be here with you in my arms while I can.”
“No, you can’t just kiss the daylights out of me and make me forget everything I heard. Your sister is dying. Callie is dying.”
He stepped back and dragged a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I know.” Frustration filled his tone. “It’s killing me to watch her waste away. I can’t do anything to save her until this is over.”
“What do you mean?”
“Until Anne takes the crown and things settle down, I can’t make it known Callie survived. If I do, Anne will most certainly kill her and dispose of the contaminated Blackthorne.”
“What can I do? How can I help her?”
“We’ll need more blood from you. Callie was so close to harnessing the cure, but our escape complicated things.”
I separated us, walking toward the bathroom. “If you need a donation, you’d better get it from me now. There’s no telling what Anne is going to do to me tonight. You might think you can protect me, but we both know better. I’ve never been safe in this house.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I forgot about the blood Anne ordered me to take. I don’t want you at the ball tonight. Everyone will taste you. They’ll taste what’s mine and mine alone. The thought of that destroys me.”
“But that’s just it, Cash. I’m not yours. You keep saying that, but you’ve never claimed me. You didn’t bond with me when you had the chance, and now I’m back here where all they want is to use me.”
“If I bond with you—”
“Yes, I know. There’ll be no way to cure sun sickness. I understand. Saving your kind is more important than saving my life. So when you say you love me, I need you to understand why I think that’s not true. If you loved me, you’d never put me in this position.”
