by I. T. Lucas
Should she suggest that they shower together?
Until now they’d only kissed, except for that one time that Julian had gotten carried away, but that had been so brief, and she’d reacted so badly to it, that it didn’t count.
Ella didn’t know how to initiate, or how to tell him that she was ready. Heck, should she just tell him about the compulsion and be done with it?
Let him figure the rest out?
In any case, it was better that she shower alone. It would give her time to come up with a plan. Their first time together should be special. She didn’t want to half-ass it.
Sexy lingerie would have been helpful, but she had none. The closest thing was the string bikini Lokan had forced her to put on, but nothing of his was going to taint her time with Julian.
As he returned with her suitcase, Julian laid it on top of the dresser. “I’ll shower in Ray’s room and then make us coffee. You said that there are things you need to tell me when we get home.”
“Yeah.” She’d forgotten about her promise.
So that’s how this was going to happen.
She was going to tell Julian about the compulsion and its removal. Then she was going to tell him that the moment it had been lifted, her desire for him ignited like an inferno.
Or, she could hurry up with the shower, be done with it before he was back, and wait for him naked in bed.
That should do it.
Because frankly, she didn’t want to talk. What she wanted was to join with the man she loved and become one in every possible way.
Which included a venom bite.
God, she didn’t know if she craved it or feared it. A little bit of both, probably. Oh, heck, she was such a liar. She definitely craved it, and the little fear that came with it only added to the excitement.
So, she was a little weird that way. Or maybe not. Maybe it was natural for a Dormant to crave her immortal lover’s bite.
Yeah, that totally made sense. Survival of the species and all that.
As she stepped under the spray, Ella chuckled to herself. She was nervous, which usually made her ramble on and on, and now she was doing it inside her own head.
Except, what reason did she have to be anxious?
She and Julian were in love, and they wanted each other passionately. These were just wedding-night type jitters.
She’d never had voluntary sex before.
Was she going to be any good at it?
Lockstep with her desire was fear, entwined together with performance anxiety. A combustible mixture, that was for sure.
61
Julian
Julian moved with immortal speed as he set up the coffeemaker and then rushed into the shower. The plan was to be done before Ella finished her shower and wait for her in bed.
Something had changed after her second rescue. Ella seemed different. Perhaps the prospect of never seeing him again had been so traumatic that it had burned away the last vestiges of her previous ordeal?
Given her subtle clues and the not so subtle scent of her desire, he had a feeling she was ready to be his, but as he had promised, she was in the driver seat and he wasn’t going to assume anything.
She’d had this done to her enough times.
The first time they made love, it would be entirely by her choice and without any pressure or even coaxing from him.
That didn’t mean, though, that he couldn’t tempt her, and waiting for her in bed with his naked torso on display was fair play. In case he’d misinterpreted, the boxer shorts had to stay on. Besides, he didn’t want to appear presumptuous.
Ella might interpret it as him pressuring her into sex before she was absolutely sure she was ready.
Still slightly damp from his quick shower, Julian poured them both coffee and sped to the bedroom. The water was still running in the bathroom, so he had a few moments to prepare.
After putting down the mugs on the nightstands, he went into the closet and pulled on a pair of boxer shorts, then opened a new bottle of cologne and sprayed himself with it.
Hopping in bed, he sat propped against a pile of pillows, pulled the comforter over his lower half, and reached for the coffee mug. When Ella got out of the bathroom, she was going to find him sipping coffee in bed, looking as nonchalant as could be. Lucky for him, she wasn’t an immortal, so she wouldn’t smell the scent of his excitement and arousal.
Except, his pretend nonchalance was blown away as soon as Ella stepped out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around her delectable body.
His fangs didn’t elongate gradually, they just punched out over his lower lip.
Holding the towel clutched in her fist, she looked at him with hooded eyes, the scent of her arousal perfuming the air.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi to you too, gorgeous.”
But even though his words came out sounding like a cross between a hiss and a growl, Ella didn’t seem frightened. Just shy and hesitant.
Perhaps she needed a little encouragement?
“I wish I had X-ray vision. I can’t wait to see your stunning body.”
She chuckled. “You don’t? With that glow, I was sure you could see right through this towel. But since you can’t…” She let it drop.
“Dear sweet Fates.” He hissed in a breath. “Gorgeous.”
Her breasts were perfectly shaped, round and yet upturned, with small rosy nipples that were hardening right before his eyes. Her narrow waist flared into generous hips, not too large, just rounded and feminine, and her legs were long and shapely.
She was perfection, all creamy paleness and feminine softness, rendering him thunderstruck.
Blushing, she lifted her arms, but instead of shyly covering her breasts like he’d expected, she spread her palms over her belly. “I could lose a few pounds.”
That was it, he couldn’t stay in bed a second longer. Leaping out, Julian was in front of her before she had a chance to suck in a breath.
“You are perfect.” He peeled her hands away from her beautiful belly. “I love it that you’re soft all over.”
She lifted her face to him and smiled. “I’m not perfect, but you are. You would make any mortal insecure with that six pack of yours and everything else.” She waved a hand over his mostly bare body.
“To me, you are a goddess. Always and forever.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her to him. “Can I take you to bed?”
Ella lifted her hands and threaded her finger into his hair. “Yes.”
62
Ella
Julian’s voice must have dropped a full octave, making him sound different. If Ella hadn’t known him as well as she did, that would have been enough to scare her, let alone the inch and a half long fangs and glowing eyes.
Except, she’d had plenty of time to mentally prepare for this. At first the idea of getting bitten had seemed so foreign and frightening, but after spending weeks with immortals she was more intrigued than scared. Besides, this was Julian, the man she loved and trusted with her very life. Which meant that before they took this major step, he should be aware of all the facts.
As he laid her on the bed, she took his hand and kissed it. “I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
While in the shower, she’d prepared what she wanted to say to him and how, but for fear of spoiling the mood, she’d planned on doing it after and not before they made love. Except, it didn’t feel right to hold off. Julian deserved to know that he’d been right about them being fated for each other from the very start.
“Lokan admitted to compelling my attraction to him and to blocking me from feeling it for anyone else. He also made me feel guilty whenever I was getting close to you. I interpreted that feeling of guilt as not being worthy of you, and of having darkness in me, but it was all artificial. Once he removed the compulsion, it was like a smothering blanket was lifted off me, and I felt an intense desire for you. I knew then that I was not only ready but eager to make lov
e, and that we were fated for each other. My desire for you has been muted by his compulsion, but even as strong as his hold over me was, he couldn’t kill it completely because my need for you managed to overpower it.”
Throughout her monologue, Julian gazed at her, his glowing eyes not straying for a moment from hers. “I’m going to kill him,” he said when she was done.
He’d get over it. Once they made love, Julian would find it in his heart to forgive Lokan. Especially since he couldn’t kill him even if he really meant it.
Reaching for him, she smiled. “You’ll have to wait for Kian and Turner to be done with him first. Now I want you to make love to me, and I don’t want you to hold anything back. I want to experience the real Julian, not a watered down version of you.”
A sly smirk lifted one corner of his mouth, which looked really funny because of his fangs. “Are you sure? I can get pretty intense.”
God, hearing him say that ignited her libido as if he’d flipped the override switch, cranking the dial all the way into the red zone.
“No holds barred,” she husked.
Talk about a switch.
If he’d looked feral before, it had been because of the fangs, but now his entire expression was changed. Gone was the softness in his eyes, replaced by a burning desire.
Ella was in for the ride of a lifetime and she couldn’t wait.
In a heartbeat, he covered her body with his and pulled her arms over her head, threading their fingers.
“Am I too heavy for you?”
“You are perfect.” She loved feeling his weight, the hard contours of his chest pressed against her breasts.
Her man was magnificent.
He took her lips, kissing her softly at first, and then possessing her mouth. His tongue went dueling with hers, then retreated and thrust again in an unmistakable imitation of what he intended to do to her next.
She was panting by the time he let go.
Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes. “Still okay?”
“Perfect.”
“Your skin is so soft all over.” He nuzzled her ear, his hot breath sending shivers through her body.
Her nipples tightened.
“You like this, don’t you?” He nipped her earlobe, then sucked it into his mouth.
She arched up. “Yes.”
Unthreading their fingers, he left her hands over her head and propped himself on his forearm. Looking at her with those intense glowing eyes of his, he cupped her breast, then swirled a finger around her areola. “Lovely, soft and hard.” He lightly pinched her nipple.
Biting down on her lower lip, she stifled a moan as he did the same with the other one. If he kept this up, she was going to climax just from that.
As he pinched her nipple harder, a bolt of lightning shot straight to her throbbing center. “Your moans belong to me. Don’t hide them. I’m greedy for every sound you make.”
Bossy Julian was sexy, she just needed to make sure that this new facet of him didn’t leave the bedroom or wherever else they were making love. He could boss her around all he wanted in bed, but not anywhere else.
Skimming his hand down her belly, he looked into her eyes, gauging her response.
Touch me, she said in her head, hoping he could hear her, and as his fingers brushed over her mons, she thought he had. But then he stopped, and returned them to her nipple, pinching it lightly again.
His gaze rapt on her breasts, he murmured, “I love how responsive your nipples are.” Then he dipped his head and sucked one into his mouth.
“Yes.” She arched up. “More.”
His fingers skimmed over her belly again, but this time, he didn’t stop, and as they reached her throbbing clit, Ella almost jumped out of her skin.
Two seconds of this and she was going to come all over those magic fingers. Spreading her legs lewdly, she invited more. Could he bring his other hand into play and push two inside her? She was aching to be filled, but still too embarrassed to ask for what she needed.
Maybe next time she would, but not their first. She just couldn’t.
“You’re so wet,” he murmured against her nipple.
“I need you,” she whimpered, hoping it would be enough.
“Need me to do what, this?” He swirled his finger around her clitoris without touching it directly.
“Yes. More.”
Without warning, his finger left the top of her slit and pushed inside her.
Ella hadn’t expected to climax so soon, and as the orgasm exploded out of her, she arched her back like a bow, impaling herself on that magic finger as deep as it could go.
63
Julian
As Ella climaxed, Julian had to call on every bit of restraint he could muster not to mount her and take her right there and then. After nearly two months of abstinence, it was mission impossible.
Except, he would make it possible because he wasn’t done preparing her. She was small and he was a big guy, and unless she was sopping wet as he entered her, it would be painful.
Not acceptable. The only pain she would suffer tonight would be the momentary one of his fangs piercing her flesh.
The orgasm was a fluke. Ella hadn’t been supposed to climax after so little foreplay, but it seemed that she hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d claimed her desire for him was intense.
Planting a soft kiss on her parted lips, he stroked the damp hair off her forehead. “That was just the appetizer to the appetizer.”
“You’re going to kill me with too much pleasure.”
“Not a chance. There could never be too much pleasure for my mate.” Sliding down on the bed, he pressed his engorged erection to the mattress and implored it to hold off for just a few minutes longer. As turned on as Ella was, it wouldn’t take long to bring her up again and have her explode all over his tongue.
She didn’t protest, which meant that she wasn’t a stranger to oral pleasuring. On the one hand it enraged him that the Russian had stolen even that from them, but on the other hand he was glad that the bastard had given some consideration to her pleasure.
Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes. “I hope I don’t come in my shorts the instant I get your taste on my tongue.”
Smirking, she reached down and cupped his cheek. “I’ve heard that immortal males need no recovery time, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
He pretended to frown. “Who told you that?”
“Carol. Why, isn’t it true?”
She seemed worried, which made him chuckle. “I can go all night long, but you’re not ready for that. Once you are immortal, though…”
“Oh, God. I can’t wait.”
Applying gentle pressure to her thighs, he coaxed them to part a little wider. Her little clit was swollen, and she was slick from her earlier release, her lower lips plumped and parted, exposing her inner sheath.
And yet, Ella didn’t shy away from his touch or his eyes, which was the best indication of how ready she was. Or maybe of how much she loved him.
Or both.
Fates, it was so inviting. He could extend his tongue and thrust it into that welcoming heat, but there was more to making love than going straight for the target, and the longer the buildup the better it was going to be for her.
He was going to die in the process, but it was a worthy sacrifice. Trailing his lips up one thigh, he resisted the urge to hurry, kissing his way up and stopping just before the gates of heaven to kiss the inside of her other thigh.
“Julian,” she hissed. “Don’t tease me.”
He lifted his head. “Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”
Cranking her neck, she looked at where his head was and smirked. “I have all night. But do you?”
“Imp.” He nipped her thigh.
She was right, though. He wanted to believe that his will was invincible and that he could carry on for as long as he pleased, but the reality was a painfully hard shaft that he was subduing into obedience by pressing it as hard as he could i
nto the mattress. Except, the thing was too soft to provide enough pressure. A granite altar would have worked much better.
It would have been appropriate too.
After all, he was about to worship his goddess with his tongue, which required an altar.
She rocked her hips. “Kiss me, Julian.”
He liked that she asked for what she wanted. It was the best proof that she was more than ready to make love for the first time. What had been done to her before didn’t count as such.
Pressing a soft kiss to her puffy lips, he inhaled her sweet scent, his eyes rolling back in his head from pleasure. “I think I’m already addicted to your scent. From now on, I’m going to do this every night.” He flicked his tongue over her engorged bud.
Ella’s hips jerked and she hissed. “Good, because I’ll never get enough of this.”
Unable to wait any longer, he speared his tongue into her drenched sheath, scooping her juices and groaning as they coated his mouth.
She let out a moan. “Oh, Julian. I’m getting close again.”
“Not yet.” He nipped her thigh. “Try to hold it off for a little bit longer.”
“I can’t. I need to come.”
Lusty imp. He’d never expected her to be so orgasmic. Was he a lucky guy or what?
Next time, he was going to prolong her pleasure. But this time he was going to give her what she wanted. After all, he’d promised her that she would have all the control. And even though she’d given it back to him, he wasn’t going to push her just yet. Not on their first time.
With a growl, he cupped her ass cheeks and pushed his tongue inside her again, going as deep as he could and nuzzling her clitoris at the same time. Not the most elegant cunnilingus, but it seemed to please her nonetheless.
“Yes!” Her sheath tightened around his tongue, and her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling hard. “Yes!” She threw her head back and uttered the most delectable sound. A moan that had started as a whimper and ended as a groan.
