by Kim Loraine
Then with wicked strength, she flips us over so I’m on my back and she's straddling me. She stares down at me, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “You taste so good,” she whispers.
“It’s the taste of your mate. Nothing will satisfy you like me.”
Her long, sharp fangs glistening in the light. “I want more.”
She leans over me and sinks her teeth into my throat again, her hips thrusting as she feeds. It’s a euphoric feeling to have her grinding her pussy across my rigid cock while feeding from my vein. I groan again, my eyes rolling back in my head.
“Claire,” I whisper, feeling my climax build in my balls.
She’s still feeding at my throat, and I’m getting lightheaded, but fuck, I’d give every last drop of my blood if that’s what she required of me.
Small keening cries leave her as she shudders over me, and I realize she’s reached her peak. I spill my release and moan her name, wishing like hell I had been inside her for this.
My vision blurs and darkens, head going foggy. “Claire, enough.” I have to stop her. She’s given in to her bloodlust. Fuck, what kind of mate am I if I can’t even teach her basic things? “Claire,” I say, stronger, commanding. I grip her hair and tug, but she’s got ahold of me and isn’t letting go.
Then the world goes black, and all I can hope for is that she’ll wait for me to recover.
8
Claire
Brandt’s big body goes slack, his already pale skin now waxy and strange looking. Oh, God, I’ve killed him. I killed my maker. There has to be a rule against that somewhere in the vampire laws. How am I going to learn how to control myself? I killed a human, I killed Brandt. I can’t stay here.
I move off of him, staring down at the vampire who both saved and condemned me. His dark hair is longer than I usually find attractive in a man, falling to his shoulders in thick waves of chestnut and chocolate. Brows heavy and dark as black coffee frame eyes I’ve been caught in a time or two already. I’m desperate for them to open so I can gaze into his deep brown irises. But I can’t. I ruined everything we’d just started to build because of my insatiable hunger. My heart aches. He’s crazy and possessive, and I can’t forget that he keeps insisting he owns me, but I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.
I rest my head on his chest and listen, hoping for the beating of his heart he says I caused. Silence. Tears well in my eyes, pricking with a stinging pain in the corners. I can’t believe I’m crying over him, but at the same time, I need him in so many ways.
I have to get out of here before I kill someone else. Maybe I can find Mattias and Laney before they leave. Maybe I can go with them and learn how to be a vampire without my mate.
I shove my hand into Brandt’s pocket, searching for his keys, for money, for a way out of this. When I find a simple key ring with the heavy fob for his Land Rover and two other keys, I nearly jump for joy. His wallet on the other hand, is more of an undertaking. I’ll have to roll his big body if I want to get to his back pocket. But he’s got to weigh 250 pounds, and he’s at least six feet tall. I don’t know if I can handle that. I don’t think I can touch him again without falling apart.
Deciding against it, I rush to the door, faster than I imagined possible. Everything around me blurs and I'm there before the clock on the wall has time to tick.
“Wow,” I whisper.
My heart lurches as I look back one more time and regret hits me hard. Opening the door, I blur to the car and start it, desperate to get away from my wrong-doings, feeling a sense of loss deep inside my chest.
I start the car and pull onto the narrow dirt road we took up this mountain. Tears run freely down my cheeks the farther away I get from him. Even dead, I want to be with him. But I keep repeating the mantra, I have to go. I have to go. I have to—
Except I can't. I can't leave. Brandt is standing in front of me, blocking the Land Rover's path. He's fuming, I can feel the anger rolling off him in waves, but all I feel is elation. He’s alive. I didn’t kill him. I stop the car, turning off the engine and avoiding his gaze. He walks to my door and nearly rips it off the hinges.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" His tone is laced with pure rage.
"I don't know." I admit, hating the tears in my words. I want to leap into his arms and hold onto him for dear life, but I can’t. I’m paralyzed with fear of his reaction. He’s so angry.
"You don't know. I suppose you're going to tell me you thought a little joy ride would be the best way to handle being a fledgling vampire."
“I had to leave.”
“You can’t do things like that. Not yet.”
“I thought I killed you,” I admit. “I couldn’t stop. Your heart wasn’t beating. I thought…I was alone.”
Everything in him softens. “You what?”
“I didn’t know what would happen if I stayed without you to help me. I drank too much. I can’t control myself. I…lost you.” My gut clenches, and I fight the urge to lean closer, to take in his soothing scent and let the comfort of being with him soothe me.
“You're mine, Claire, just as it was meant to be. I'll take care of you, serve your hunger and your body if you'll let me. You can’t kill me by feeding. I’ll admit, I’m a little weak from such a deep feeding. But it’s my greatest pleasure to give you what you need.“
Tears escape my eyes, running down my cheeks as his words work their way into my heart. I thought I killed him. I thought I was a monster who couldn’t be trusted with anyone, not even my mate. But with a few simple statements, he brought me back from the edge of exile. He wants to help me find my control. He wants me. And I want him. Together, we can care for each other.
“I need you,” I admit.
There's such heat in his eyes, I can't stop my body from reacting. My nipples harden, tingles rush over my skin, and my cheeks burn with embarrassment. But I’d be an idiot to deny the absolute desire in my blood. I can't help myself, I close the distance between us and stare up at him.
"How did I go this long without you?" he murmurs. It scares me to think I'm echoing the feelings of this intense man.
I don't respond. Instead, I press my hand over his chest and he mirrors my action. "I will always be yours, even if you leave me, even if you never want to complete our bonding. You have me."
My heart swells at the thought. A man so devoted, who’ll never leave me. A man who’ll sacrifice the very blood in his body for me. I’ve never had that.
“Okay," I whisper.
Brandt presses a soft kiss to the crown of my head and wraps his arms around me, pulling me even closer.
I lean into him and whisper, “Take me back and show me what it’s like to have a mate."
9
Brandt
Claire wants me. She's not leaving, but I don't know if I can take her now without feeling like an utter asshole. She is vulnerable, overstimulated, and needy. If I were a better man, l'd give her some space, let her come to terms with her new life, and wait to fuck her. But, with her full, pouty lips so close and her scent overtaking me, it becomes abundantly clear I am not a better man.
I am the worst kind of man.
The selfish kind.
I crush our mouths together, tasting her, devouring her. I need this connection even though I know it would be better if we took things slow. She lets out a soft whimper against my lips, and I wonder if my heart is going to burst from the pride of coaxing that sound from her.
The wind in the trees mixes with the soft call of an owl, reminding me we're totally exposed.
I pull back and stare into her eyes. "I wouldn’t have you on the kitchen counter and I won't take you for the first time out here—I want you on a bed, under me, spread out and ready. I want to lap at your pretty pussy until you nearly bring the walls down with your screams."
Her eyes widen, and a soft gasp falls from her. “You’re the only one who has ever been able to... to make me..." Her cheeks blaze pink.
"Make you come?"
She looks down at the gravel road and nods her head.
"But surely you've not saved yourself all this time?” My chest tightens with the hope my mate has waited for me.
She bites her lower lip and locks gazes with me. "Is there something wrong with wanting it to be special? With the right man?"
Fuck. If I wasn't already rock hard and aching, I am now. I grip her by her nape and pull her against my chest. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with that." Then she's in my arms, and instead of getting back in the car, we're throwing caution to the wind, and dashing to the house.
She is nibbling my earlobe as we burst through the front door, and it's all I can do not to press her against the heavy wood and take her virginity here and now. “Will I... always be a virgin?" she asks.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I frown. “Why would you think that?"
"I'm a vampire. Won't my body ... heal after you... make love to me?"
I fight a laugh because of her perfect innocence. I don't want to embarrass her. "No, Claire. Your mate claiming your body isn't an injury. It's a... metamorphosis."
And then, we stop talking. We stop because she kisses me, deep and drugging, a powerful action that proves exactly how much she wants me. We're already making love right here in these moments of stolen breaths and dancing tongues, the rest is just a beautiful certainty. She’s mine, and I’m going to make sure she knows it.
“Why did it have to take me nearly dying to find you?” Her warm alto is like a caress over my entire being.
“Because I have a distinct feeling the two of us have to realize the mate bond isn’t a sentence. It’s a guarantee. A promise. We just need to see that everything we have is worth fighting for before we put the gloves on and step into the ring.”
“I’m sorry I almost killed you when I fed.”
A chuckle rumbles in my chest. “You didn’t even come close.”
She moans when I run my nose over her throat and flick my tongue along the tender flesh there. “You…” she has to pause to take a shuddering breath, and it’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced. “You looked dead to to me.”
“Untrained eyes. I was fine. Lost to the absolute fucking pleasure of you taking what you needed from me. I was weakened, but it was worth it. I’d give you every last drop if I could.”
She scoffs. “Why can’t you just admit I won that round?”
“And why does everything have to be a competition to you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Bullshit.”
“What?”
“I’m calling absolute bullshit on that. You always want to win. You held out on feeding because you needed to control this. You ran because you need to control this. Everything you do is about control. But you can’t win against our connection.”
“I don’t think I’m at war with us anymore.”
I cup her cheek and press our foreheads together. “Kiss me, Claire. Kiss me because you want to, not because you need it.”
And she does. The woman threads her fingers in my hair and pulls my face to hers. “Yes,” she breathes against my mouth.
My cock is aching with desire. There’s not enough friction to give me what I need, but in truth, all I need is her. I press her against the wall, gripping her pants at the waist and tugging until the only sound in the room is the tearing of denim. Her jeans are on the floor in tatters, and she lets out a little gasp. “I want to bury myself inside you but I need you to be ready for me. Your first time…it takes more preparing.”
She jumps up and wraps her legs around my waist. “Then make sure I’m ready.”
I can’t wait for her any longer. With one roll of my hips I’m grinding against her panty-clad pussy. She’s warm and wet, and the scent of her arousal makes me groan. Sliding my hand down between us, I slip my fingers under the lace barrier that hides her from me. Slick and hot, exactly as I’d expected. “Fuck, Claire, you’re so wet already.”
“I want you. Everything in me wants you.”
“And you’ll have me, right fucking now.” I tear the scrap of lace off her hips and sink one long finger deep inside her, pulling a moan from low in her throat. Then with my thumb, I rub circles on the swollen nub of her clit.
She cries out, clenching around my finger, and the rush of her pleasure coats me. “I’m ready, Brandt. God, I’m so ready.”
“Once we do this, there’s no going back,” I tell her, murmuring the words into her hair for fear that if I speak them at full volume, she’ll back out.
“I know. There wasn’t any going back from the moment we met.”
That lights a fire inside me which rapidly grows from a steady flame to a blaze, her soft moan stoking it to an inferno. The monster in my blood roars to life, demanding that I claim her here and now. It can’t wait any longer. I shove my pants over my hips, freeing my throbbing erection. Positioning the head at her warm, wet center, I stare into her eyes, waiting with trembling limbs for her to tell me it’s okay.
A soft, slight nod is all I need and I’m pressing forward, filling her, breaking past her virginity and making our bond complete. It’s heaven. When I am fully seated inside her, I stop and cup her face in both my hands. “Are you all right?” I ask through a tight throat as I work to control my need to move.
She squirms and groans. “Yes, but if you don’t start moving, I’m going to die.”
I chuckle and begin to roll my hips, dragging my cock out and thrusting back in with a deliberately slow pace. Her body opens to mine with each movement, the tightness easing enough to tell me she’s not hurting, that she’s enjoying this. Again my monster rises to the surface, desperate to fuck and feed and fill.
“I need more,” I admit. “It’s torture to move so slow.”
Her arms tighten around me, and she whispers, “Take me to the bed. Let’s bring down the house like you promised.”
My possessive instincts take over at her words. She’s so close, the heat of her consuming me, and I can’t hold back much longer. Never breaking our contact, I walk through the cabin, each step a perfect bit of torture. But when I find the bed and the two of us fall to the mattress, I see fucking stars. I move in hard, deep thrusts, filling every possible inch of her as I go. And she screams, claws my back, begs for more all the while. It’s raw and powerful and a tempest of wanton energy.
“I’m going to come,” she moans, biting down hard on my shoulder, her fangs sinking into my flesh.
The sounds she’s making combined with the feel of her pulling my blood from my vein is too much. My own orgasm hurtles toward its pinnacle. My fangs elongate, and before I even realize what I’m doing, I take her throat, pull her blood from her, and fill her with my seed.
10
Claire
I wake with Brandt’s big body surrounding me. He’s wrapped around me, his heartbeat steady, his lips pressed to the space between my collarbone and neck.
“How long have you been up?” I whisper.
“A while.”
“You’ve just been lying here? Watching?”
“Yes.”
“Creep,” I say, but I don’t mean it.
His answering chuckle makes me smile. I love the rumble vibrating against my back. I never want to let him go.
“All right, I could spend all night here wrapped up in you, but we came out here for a reason.” He slaps my ass with an open palm, making me yelp in surprise. “Time to get up and learn how to hunt.”
My nerves hum and fangs descend as soon as he mentions hunting. I’m hungry. Again.
“Are you sure?”
“It has to happen. You aren’t going to gain control until you hone your skills and learn to feed.”
He stands and walks around the bed, bringing his completely nude form into my direct line of sight. Toned, tight muscles span his entire frame, leading down to his cock, hard and thick, ready for me.
“Maybe I should help you take care of this first?” I offer, reaching out and
grasping his length.
He groans. “Claire, you’re going to regret that.”
“Prove it.” I stroke harder, loving the sharp gasp he lets out. He juts his hips toward me, moaning as I roll my palm over his crown and back down to the dark hair at his base.
“On all fours,” he growls.
Pride washes over me at the reaction I pull from him, and I do as I’m told for once. As soon as I’m on my hands and knees, he settles on the bed and lines up with my entrance. “This is going to be rough, fast, and hard, Claire. I won’t be gentle. There won’t be soft kisses and tender touches. I’m going to mark you, and you’ll fucking love it.”
He hammers into me, all the way to the root, and I scream out his name. I want all of those things from him. I want him to make me his in every way.
I moan when he reaches in front of us and brushes his fingertips over my clit, sending sparks of pleasure through me. His thrusts are frantic and deep, and I’m already about to fall over the edge. “Brandt. Fuck.”
His free hand slides up my belly until he’s between my breasts. He guides me up until I’m only on my knees, his strength keeping me up, pressed against him as he fucks up into me.
“I claim you as my bride,” he whispers, thrusting deep. “My lover. My mate.”
He said this wouldn’t be tender, but those words speak of something very different. I turn my head and take his lips, kissing him with every ounce of feeling trapped in my chest. Then I return his words. “I take you as my husband. My lover. My mate.”
His fangs elongate, desperation in his eyes before he gives in and sinks his teeth into my throat, marking me, as the two of us find our release together.
Our hearts pound in a syncopated rhythm until they adjust to mirror the other. Something magical just happened between us. I can feel it flowing through my body, a pure and unbreakable connection. Our mating bond is real and true. It isn’t something as simple as empty words that can be forgotten. What we just did linked us for all eternity, beyond death, beyond everything. It is a soul-deep binding that I never knew I wanted.
