by Riley Storm
Once she’d finished, he slowed to a stop, letting her catch her breath and recover before he would start again.
Claire however, had different ideas this time.
“Clothes. Lose them,” she ordered, pushing herself into a sitting position. “Now.”
Grinning at her stern tone, Pietro did exactly as ordered. He stripped as fast as he could. Claire pushed him up from the floor and into a sitting position on the couch. He stiffened as she wrapped a hand around the base of him and then ran her tongue across the underside of the rest.
“Oh shit,” he hissed, his core tightening automatically in response.
Claire ran a hand over his stomach, her fingers bouncing across each ab until she reached the center of his chest and lightly dug her nails in, while at the same time taking as much of him in her mouth as she could manage.
Pietro’s head flopped back, and he groaned loudly as she went to work, returning the favor. He grunted, groaned, and even swore as she brought him to the edge and then backed him down.
“You keep that up much longer,” he said in a tight voice, “and that’s going to be the end of the fun today.”
Claire pouted. “Not allowed.”
“Then, find something else to do,” he said with a grin. “That feels too damn good.”
Claire tapped her chin playfully, pretending to think, and then stood up and climbed on top of him. “Okay.”
Pietro took her waist in his hands, enjoying the way her mouth dropped open slightly at his grip, and lowered her down carefully. She reached between them and guided him inside her as she settled down in one smooth motion.
Their heads came together, mouths covering one another as they both shuddered at the sensation, hips already rocking back and forth of their own accord, desperate for more.
“God, that’s so good,” Claire moaned into his ear, sending shivers down his spine as her hips ground into his. “It never stops feeling amazing. Every timmmeee.”
Her words trailed off as he shifted slightly on the couch, an extra fraction of an inch filling her, and both of them focused on their connection, moving in time with one another to best effect.
Fingers dug into his neck. His hands gripped tighter around her waist. Blood swelled him larger, and he fought to hold himself back, from outright taking control and having his way with her. That would come in time, but for now, he let Claire dictate the pace.
She shuddered against him and all at once cried out, burying her face in his neck as she came again, her body twitching violently in his grasp. Pietro closed his eyes, fighting his own battle to retain control. He wasn’t done yet. Not with her.
“Oh damn,” she moaned at last, still holding his neck tight. “Feels so good.”
Pietro waited until she’d recovered fully, at which point he easily lifted her from him, taking note of the evidence of her pleasure. Now, it was his turn though. He set Claire on her feet and then casually bent her over in front of the couch until her ass was sticking out at him.
Growling happily at the sight, he entered her from behind, shuddering slightly at the warmth of her center. He wasn’t going to last much longer. She had that effect on him, always testing his usually great stamina, forcing him to work harder to retain control with her.
Today, she was going to win.
Tomorrow, it would be him. He grinned at that and pulled roughly on her hips, the skin of his legs and her ass slapping as he closed hard.
Claire cried out, but it was a good sound. Pietro decided he wanted more of it. So he took it. And again.
And again.
Claire buried her face in the couch while Pietro took her from behind, thrusting hard and fast, until she tightened down around his length.
He didn’t hold back this time, and they came together, hard, loud, and completely. At one point, he heard himself calling out her name, the sound a deep, roaring bellow. He claimed her. She was his, and he wanted her. Thoroughly. Entirely.
And permanently.
In that moment, in that instant, all his lingering doubts, all his insecurities vanished. Claire was his mate, and he would never again want another.
Now, all he had to do was ensure he didn’t lose her. A cold panic filled his mind at the idea, but he shunted it away. Now was not the time for that, as they both sort of fell to the floor amid their clothes, curling up, breathing hard.
“That was good,” Claire said, recovering first.
Pietro could only manage a low energy ‘uh-huh’ noise in agreement.
Claire laughed.
A phone began ringing near his head. Lazily, he pawed around for it, eventually his hands landing on her jeans.
“For you,” he grumbled, managing to pull it out of the pocket and hand it over.
“Oh, hell no,” Claire said, and the sound cut off.
“What?”
“Video call from an unknown number. I am not in the shape for that.”
Pietro laughed.
The sound started again.
“Oh, come on,” Claire muttered, and the sound stopped much sooner this time.
A smile started to blossom on his face, but it was stopped by the phone ringing again.
“Must be urgent,” he said. “Maybe you should get it.”
“Fine,” she said, pulling her shirt up to cover herself and hitting a button.
“Who is it?” he asked, feeling her twitch next to him.
There was no reply.
“Claire?” he asked, sitting upright.
She was staring at her phone, eyes wide with fear.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Claire
She distantly heard Pietro calling her name, but she couldn’t respond.
“Hello, Claire,” the red-robed preacher from the Church of the Anti-Wyrm said. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Suddenly feeling vulnerable and exposed, she tilted the phone slightly so that only her face was visible.
“How did you get this number?” she asked as Pietro’s angry face loomed in front of her, on the other side of the phone.
He too must have recognized the voice, if nothing else, and knew who was calling her. How had they gotten her number? And why was he calling her now? They’d already had her. Were they calling to taunt her about it now?
“It doesn’t matter how we got the number,” the preacher replied with a smile that made Claire’s blood run cold.
The sheer evil it contained was palpable even through the phone. She wanted nothing more than to hang up, but the urgency with which he’d called her back three times already told Claire that this was a man not ready to back down.
“What do you want?” she snapped sharply.
“Why, I want to talk to you about something that does matter,” he said with a smile that did absolutely nothing to comfort her and everything to scare her stiff.
“Just cut the preachy bullshit and tell me why you called,” she said quietly.
“To talk to you. To help you,” the preacher said. “To show you that you still have a chance.”
“A chance to what?” she asked angrily, getting tired of all his crap.
“To save your eternal soul of course. The only thing that should matter to anyone. The thing that is in danger from your proximity to the Satan-spawn.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Goodbye. I’m done. I’m hanging up now.”
She reached for the button.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the preacher warned with a confident smile.
Claire’s hand froze. “Why not?” she asked, nervous trepidation betraying her, working its way into her voice.
“Well, for starters, doing so would damn you to hell for all eternity. However, I suspect at the moment that isn’t as high a concern for you as it should be, my child. So you may also wish to consider that you hanging up would not go well for some people you know.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” she hissed, not appreciating the irony of her words until th
e preacher flinched at them.
“You must leave the Satan-spawn. Forever,” he informed her solemnly. “Come to the Church. Learn our ways. Become one with us.”
Claire’s heart was trying to pump, but her blood was so cold it was like trying to move ice.
“Meaning?” she asked hoarsely.
A figure moved over the preacher’s left shoulder—or maybe it was his right? Was the video flipped? It didn’t matter, she told herself sharply, focusing on what the preacher meant by the reveal.
His intent came clear as she saw the vampire come into focus, its fangs clearly visible. She couldn’t help it. She laughed.
“You can’t seriously expect me to come to you and willingly let you turn me into one of those…those things, can you? I mean come on. You had your chance. You had me. Hell, twice now those things have had me, and they didn’t turn me. Why would I now choose to do so?”
“There will be a difference this time,” the preacher began, but Claire cut him off with another barking laugh.
“I doubt it. Pietro handed those things their asses last time, and he was alone. I doubt anything will be different.”
“Of course it will, my child,” the preacher said, unfazed by her attitude. “Because this time, you will come willingly. You will agree to be changed. After all, that is the only way for the change to work. You must want it. You must agree to it. Otherwise, you will fight it, and it will kill you.”
Claire swallowed a lump, her swagger gone. He was planning something. Something horrible. She could feel it.
“I find it highly unlikely that I will just choose to come down there and let you turn me into a monster. I’m not an idiot. I’ll stay here, where I’m safe, and those things can’t get me. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m done. Take your offer and shove it,” she snapped with sudden defiance.
“If you refuse my offer, people will die,” the preacher said in a low tone. “You could save them, Claire Owens. You could be the one to free their souls so that they may live a long, full life. One where they can be with God.”
“You can’t threaten me with random deaths. If you start that, the dragons will come after you en masse. They know who you are now. They know where to find you.”
The preacher smiled sadly. “No, they don’t. And we do not deal in death here. Only salvation, in one way or another. These people will be trading their salvation. They will be freed, in hopes that it might help you to see the light.”
“Who are you talking about?” she asked, her heart racing uncomfortably. The way the preacher spoke without so much as flinching about letting vampires randomly kill people was making her stomach churn.
“Oh, of course. Let me introduce you to the first two who will experience salvation.” The camera moved left.
“I believe his name is Chuck? Am I saying that right? Chuck Owens? And this is his wife, the lovely Wendy, right?”
The blood drained from Claire’s face as the camera focused on an image of her mother and father in a darkened room, lit only by the glow of a pair of candles nearby.
“Oh god,” she whispered. “Oh my god.”
The preacher smiled. “I told you, we needed you out of the way earlier. You will come to us willingly, Claire. As I said. Don’t delay. I will be texting you the location.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but he spoke again, cutting her off.
“Oh, and come alone. It would not end well if you didn’t. You have until midnight.”
Then, the screen went dark.
She looked up at Pietro in horror. “They have my parents,” she said softly. “They have my mom and dad.”
Pietro snarled.
“They won’t have them for long,” he vowed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Claire
She reached for the keys at the same time he reached for her.
Ro’s hand closed over hers, stopping her. She glanced up at him, noting the consternation in his eyes. The blue-green orbs swirled with distress and fear for her.
“It’ll be okay,” she told him quietly as they faced each other, the space between them minimal.
“But what if it’s not?” he asked quietly. “If something happens to you, I…”
“It’s a risk we have to take,” she said quietly. “There’s no time for anything more. We’ve been over this, Ro.”
They had been over it. Many times, in fact. They’d argued, even yelled, but in the end, they both knew it was the best plan they could hope to come up with in the time that they had. Calls had been made, other support was organizing, but it couldn’t get here in time. Not to help her parents.
She was the only one who could do anything about it. Which is exactly what Pietro hated so much. He’d yet to say anything about it, but she understood his frustration wasn’t at her insistence that she do it, but the fact that he couldn’t do anything. He wanted to walk in and unleash hell on the vampires, a course of action she very much would like to see happen.
But not until her parents were safe. Which meant she was the one who had to act first.
“Not that,” he said. “Well, that, but that’s not what I was talking about this time.”
Claire frowned. She’d been expecting one last protest to the plan, but if he wasn’t doing that, then what was he talking about?
“If this doesn’t work,” he said quietly. “If we don’t succeed…”
“We will,” she said fiercely. “I believe it.”
“I know. But if we don’t,” he said, stressing the word with such worry that Claire wondered what was going on. “If we don’t, there’s something I…I need to say.”
Claire’s tensed. What did he have to tell her now, of all times? What hadn’t they discussed?
“Okay,” she said quietly, shifting nervously from side to side. “What is it, Ro? You know you can tell me anything.”
“Well, it’s just that,” he said. “I don’t know how you’re going to react to this.”
“I’m about to go walk into a vampire lair to try and rescue my parents from their clutches,” she said quietly. “What could you tell me that would possibly be worse than that?”
Pietro snorted. “I certainly hope this isn’t received worse than that. If it is, well, that wouldn’t make me feel very good at all.”
Claire’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s going on, Ro? What are you talking about?”
“If one of us doesn’t make it,” he said quietly. “I just want you to know that I, I really care about you Claire. A lot.”
She stiffened in surprise, suddenly understanding where he was going with his ramblings.
“Ro,” she started to say, but stopped when he shook his head.
“I need to say this,” he said quietly, wringing his free hand incessantly.
Then he inhaled sharply, looked up and at her, his eyes open, unguarded. “I love you, Claire Owens,” he said, every muscle tensing in his body as he said the words.
Time seemed to freeze. Even though she’d had an inkling that he might be about to say it, actually hearing him utter those three short words was entirely different than imagining it.
Especially because now I have to respond.
There was a lot she could say. A lot that she could tell him, about their connection, about the relationship she could no longer deny was forming between them. If she was given the time, Claire knew she could talk to him for ages, expressing her feelings, desires, hopes, dreams, and everything in between.
She knew he would listen as well. That he would let her talk for as long as she needed to say what she needed to. Pietro wanted nothing more than to give her everything. He’d never said as much, but his actions made it clear that he would support her in anything.
Half a dozen times, Claire started to speak then stopped. Each time, the long flowing sentences and important words and thoughts simply evaporated. They were boiling away, each time, to reveal one simple truth to her.
Everything she wanted to say could be summed up much more suc
cinctly than that.
“I love you too,” she said at last, the four words feeling just right. Like they’d been what she needed to say all along. “Oh, Ro, I love you too. This is crazy, but I do!”
He laughed, the sound a nervous relief, almost like a hiccup. They embraced, his strong arms lifting her from the ground and spinning her around. She laughed like a little girl, happier than she could possibly express despite the danger looming in their immediate future.
If I die now, if this all goes wrong, which it very well could, at least I’ll die knowing I didn’t hold anything back. That I went for it, despite my fears. That I put myself out there.
“Now, you focus on surviving so that we can properly celebrate after these things have received the fate they so deserve,” Pietro said with quiet insistence.
“Don’t worry. I intend to see that they are properly punished for what they’ve done to my family and me.”
Pietro nodded. “Good.”
“That’s why I have to do this,” she continued. “It’s why I have to go. I know you don’t like it, but there isn’t much choice. They’ve got my parents, Ro. I can’t let them do that. Not when I can save them.”
He sagged. “I know. Just…don’t lose sight of who you are. No matter what happens. You are Claire Owens, and you are a good person. Remember that here,” he said, touching her head before moving to her heart. “And here, remember that I love you. All of you.”
“I will.” She smiled, lifting herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Pietro let her, but before she could pull back, he swept her up into a long, deep kiss that reminded her of many other things Ro could do to her that would follow actions like that one.
But not now.
Claire pulled back, cupping the side of his face. “It’s time for me to go,” she said quietly. “I have to do this.”
Pietro grimaced but nodded. “I love you,” he repeated, pulling open the door for her.
“I love you too,” she said quietly and then darted out into the night.
I’m coming, Mom and Dad. Just hold on a bit longer!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Claire
