by Kyle, Celia
As a reward for such good behavior, she straddled his waist, bunching her suit skirt around her waist. She slicked her wetness along his length, drawing a groan of desire from him. His touch was a cool flame against her hot skin and when he pulled one rosy-tipped breast into his mouth, it took all of her self-control not to plunge her fangs into his neck right then and there. Time wasn’t on their side, but she wanted their first time to be memorable.
Slipping her hand between their bodies, she grasped the base of his cock and held on firmly. He hissed as she stroked up and down, the flesh hardening to silky steel in her fingers.
Alena coughed to hide a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, though he didn’t sound upset.
“Nothing, just thinking about some past dates gone wrong.”
Luca paused and then replied slowly, “If you’re thinking about other men at a time like this, I’m doing something wrong.”
She blinked rapidly, realizing her goof. “Oh, hell. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that I don’t really have to, you know, help you out or anything.”
Luca leered at her, his gaze setting her skin ablaze. “Bella, you will never have to do more than crook your finger in order to ‘help me out.’”
His hand was full of her breast, his thumb strumming her nipple. When she ground her hips against him, desperately seeking fulfillment, Luca abandoned her breast for a spot far more satisfying. A gasp of delight escaped her lips as skilled fingers worked her most sensitive bud of flesh.
In a show of casual, yet breathtaking strength, Luca rose to his feet with Alena in his arms. Of course, all vampires were strong, but as with humans, there were levels of strength. He strode to the conference table and rested her ass on the edge. Before she could even blink, his head disappeared between her thighs.
“Oh, by the blood,” she breathed, her body jerking in response to his attentions. “Thank god. Eternity would be terrible with a man who refuses to go down.”
He chuckled against her clit, the sound a subtle vibration that nearly drove her over the edge.
“Why would any sane man deny himself the pleasure of his lover’s screams?”
“You’d be—” she gasped at whatever he was doing before finally managing to finish her thought, “—surprised.”
In a matter of seconds, her body clenched so tightly she thought her head might pop off, but instead the tension in her body was released in glowing, swirling pulses of ecstasy. Her legs trembled as the orgasm crested, waves rolling through her body. Her mind whirled into the ether as borrowed blood rushed through her veins. But reality always had a way of intruding. The table, cold beneath her back, reminded her they had another purpose.
Propping herself up on trembling arms, she caught his gaze as she hooked a foot around his firm ass and pulled him closer. “Finish it, Luca. Now.”
Pulling her into his arms, he brushed the hair from her eyes, his gaze cherishing every inch of her face. “Mine,” he growled, sending chills squirming down her spine in the most delicious manner.
Pinpricks of red flared in his eyes as he slid home, burying himself inside her, just as he’d promised. Alena’s head lolled back, a cry she attempted to strangle bursting from her throat. She stretched to accommodate him, and then he gripped her hips and moved inside her with the speed and grace only an Other being could muster.
Someone was moaning to the point of sobbing. Her. Someone was spewing strings of filthy Italian love invectives. Him.
Hot, he was so fucking hot, his accent thickening in direct proportion to his cock as it swelled inside her. Without warning, Luca’s fangs sank deeply into her neck, sending shockwaves all the way to her soul. No one had drunk from her since the night she’d been turned.
The mere thought of him gulping down her blood was so erotic, her core clenched involuntarily, and her body succumbed to another climax, this one so much more powerful than the last. It seemed impossible she could survive it, yet somehow she managed.
Luca’s tongue slicked along the hot wounds on her neck and she almost felt them scarring over, the telltale sign of a mating mark. When he pulled back and peered down at her, his sensual mouth was stained with her blood.
“Now you,” he panted, a trickle of her blood running down his chin.
He didn’t have to ask twice. Digging her fingers into his hair, she pulled him to her, her fangs pricking his neck with as much passion as he’d shown. She sank deeply, sucking greedily. The sweet wine of his blood pooled in her mouth before rushing down her throat and filling her in a way she’d never before experienced.
This was more than a feeding. The new blood inside her…blossomed. There was no other way she could describe it. It bloomed like something sentient, a prickle of energy from both outside and inside themselves, wrapping them in a cocoon of unimaginable intimacy. A magical knot of energy pulsed and then snapped into place. For a searing moment, Luca was there in her mind. His feelings, his thoughts, the awareness of his past, present and future. She knew him.
Was him.
When the pulsing glow faded, the weight of him was still there. But it was more like a familiar, well-loved blanket, not something living in her mind of its own will.
“Luca,” she breathed, but she couldn’t find any more words to express what she was feeling.
His response was to surge inside her, reminding them both they hadn’t quite finished. He murmured her name as her lips returned to his neck, drinking even more from him before following his lead and licking the wound until it began to scar.
Long, powerful thrusts brought her to climax for a third time. Relief and joy swept over her, bringing her to tears. They were bonded for life now. If they hadn’t been…boy, he would have ruined her for any other man.
Luca’s movements grew faster, more frenzied, until he cried her name and buried his face in her hair as his body shuddered in her arms. They held each other for a long moment before Luca pulled away, reluctance written all over his face.
No shit. She wanted him to remain buried inside her forever. But not in a grimy conference room on borrowed time when anyone could walk in at any moment.
Luca pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I feel you inside me, tesoro.” He sounded either drunk or unsteady. “This is different.”
“You got that right,” she laughed with what little breath she had left. “And just so we’re clear? You going to jail is not an option, got it?”
A heavy fist pounded on the door, followed by a gruff shout. “Five minutes!”
And just like that, their time was up.
Chapter Five
“Fuck,” Alena spat, wondering exactly how the hell they were going to figure out a defense in just five minutes.
Luca’s hands rubbed up and down her spine, sending tingles of need through her already ravished body. “It’s a little soon, but I think I’m up to the challenge.”
Alena shot him a glare as she slid off the table, tugging her skirt down over her hips and snatching articles of mostly intact clothing from the floor.
“A Ravenna Soldier doesn’t get to have a sense of humor. Now get dressed. We have to figure out how to keep you out of the dungeon.”
The fluid grace of his movements as he stepped into his jumpsuit did nothing to disguise his indolence. He moved like a man who wasn’t worried. At all.
“Okay, first things first,” she said as she stepped into her panties. Now where did her bra go? “Where were you the night of the attack?”
“Walking along the lake. Alone.”
“Of course, you were,” she sighed. “So, no one saw you. No one can corroborate your story?”
“At least one person saw me.” He perched his ass on the edge of the conference table, clearly enjoying the show as she continued looking for her bra.
“Really? That’s great!” Maybe she wouldn’t have to spend the next hundred years visiting Luca in the dungeon.
His wince dashed those hopes.
“Maybe not so gre
at. He happened to be the one overfeeding on the arcane.”
“Oh. But if—”
Luca cut her off. “He’s a Falkov.”
The full weight of understanding nearly buckled Alena’s knees. One of her own clan members committed a serious crime against an Other, and then the rest of her clan not only tried to cover it up but blamed an innocent man in the process.
What.
The.
Fuck.
“So, you see, right?” he asked gently. “A good defense hardly matters. Whether you or Sinclair defends me, the outcome will be the same. As much as I hate ceding defeat, it seems the best we can hope for now is a short sentence and conjugal visits.”
“Nuh-uh, no way. This isn’t over yet, and I’m not about to let you take the fall for a crime you didn’t commit. Why are you so sure the Triune will find you guilty?”
He looked at her as if she couldn’t figure out the sum of two-plus-two. She waved a hand and rolled her eyes.
“I know Stefan is a Falkov, but that doesn’t mean he’s part of the plot to frame you. And before you call me naïve, I won’t deny it’s a strong possibility he’s involved. Still, that leaves two other judges who are not known for being corrupt.”
Luca reached for her hands and pulled her closer. “Aya Holloway dislikes conflict of any kind. You can see it in her body language. She’s intimidated by Stefan and will vote as he votes.”
She’d met the witch judge several times before and couldn’t disagree with Luca’s assessment of her innate need for harmony, but Aya wasn’t a total pushover.
“Then there’s Lourdes Soren,” he continued. “Her fiery wolf temper doesn’t lend itself to forgiveness. She’s a law and order type and rarely finds in favor of the defense.”
The shifter judge did have a reputation as a hard-ass, but Alena had never heard of her being unfair. His arguments weren’t convincing her.
“And then we come to your uncle—”
“Great-uncle,” she corrected, “twice removed. Whatever that means. The point is, I hardly know the man.”
“Alena, I’m being accused of hurting an Other in the employ of the Falkov clan, which is a violation of the treaty between our two clans. They will never allow me to go unpunished.”
Luca wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her tightly against his body, his icy blue gaze heating her like the sun. “None of this is your fault, tesoro. I know you had nothing to do with any of this. You’ve simply come too late to save me.”
“I refuse to accept that.” She pulled free from his hold and started pacing the small room, the wheels in her brain burning rubber. “The question is, why are they setting you up like this? What’s the motive?”
Luca just shrugged.
“It couldn’t all just be a ploy to take out a Ravenna Soldier, could it? How high up the food chain are you anyway?”
After this case, she was going to start keeping her ear closer to the ground. Law classes, work, and her sad excuse for a social life managed to take up all of her time. She rarely involved herself in clan politics and that was shortsighted, especially considering the profession she was entering.
“High. I’m my clan’s best Soldier.”
Alena considered him like he was a slab of meat. “So… you’re important, then. Imprisoning an elite Ravenna Soldier would make your master look weak. That’s a solid motive to frame you.”
Silence hung heavy in the room as she paced, trying to come up with a plan to exonerate her beloved, but her brain was apparently set to a staticky channel. All she heard was a low hiss where her brilliant ideas should have been.
“Dammit!” She stopped in her tracks and let the tears fall. “It’s not fair! I know I sound like a toddler, but it’s just not fair. The universe plops you in my lap only to take you from me?”
Luca lunged for her, wrapping her in the warm cocoon of his embrace. She clutched at his jumpsuit and breathed him in, maybe for the last time outside the Othercross dungeons.
“Shh, my love,” he murmured as he peppered her face with kisses. “It will all work out eventually. Just focus on a short sentence. After I’m released, we will have all of eternity together.”
“No.” She pushed him away, as much as she wanted to remain in his arms. “I’m not ready to give up the fight, Luca. In fact, it’s barely even begun.”
Affection and something that looked suspiciously like admiration filled Luca’s eyes, but before he could speak, the door was flung open wide.
“Time’s up,” the bear said as he barged into the room, stopping short when he caught sight of the half-dressed Alena.
Startled by his entrance, Alena actually had to follow his line of sight before realizing her breasts were bouncing around freely and completely unfettered by clothing.
“Eep!” she squeaked and spun to protect what little modesty she had left.
Luca took a different approach. Stepping between her and the guard, he snarled and then snapped his fangs at the poor guy. “Avert your gaze! No one looks upon my beloved’s body but me!”
The guard actually obeyed, but he’d already had an eyeful of her boobage, so he’d be able to replay that game tape as much as he wanted. Whatever. She had bigger fish to fry.
And there was her bra! It dangled from the light fixture overhead, just low enough for her to reach. It took less than thirty seconds for her to strap it on and shrug into her blouse.
“Ready,” she said as she grabbed her jacket and hurried to step between Luca and the guard.
Even with the man’s back turned, Luca looked ready to quite literally bite his head off. Leaning in to him, she hissed, “Leave him alone. He’s just doing his job.”
Not to mention she had to work with these people—another treat to look forward to. The news had likely already spread through the halls of Othercross Vampire Judiciary like wildfire. The walk back down the halls to the Others Defense Office was gonna be a peach. Not that she recalled the taste of a peach, but it probably tasted like a juicy, Vitamin C-enriched twenty-something.
“Give us a sec?” she asked the guard, who didn’t move, giving tacit permission.
Turning to Luca, she cupped his face between her hands. “You have to stay calm when we go back in there. Our blood is running hot right now. Promise me, no snapping and snarling, and no more playing with your pretty silver jewelry.”
He frowned down at her. “Your sense of humor is just like a Falkov’s.”
She kissed the tip of his nose. “Better than a Ravenna’s. I mean it, Luca. You’re innocent. We’ll beat this thing if you’ll just trust me.”
Tension eased from his body and he smiled. “I trust you, mia regina.”
So much affection in his eyes, and they’d only just met. It didn’t matter. They were beloveds. They’d already known each other and would for an eternity.
The guard cleared his throat pointedly and Alena stepped to the side, watching in silence as Luca was bound with chains and led out of the room. She followed but as the guard led Luca into the courtroom, Alena fell back and pulled her phone from her jacket pocket.
Time to bring in the big guns.
The line rang and rang, and Alena was about to hang up when her best friend finally answered.
“This better be good, sunshine,” Kelly Holloway panted. “And for the record, you’re the only person in the world whose call I’d answer at a time like this. That makes you pretty fuckin’—as in, what I’m doing right now—special.”
Alena was surprised into muteness, trying to figure out what the hell her friend was talking about. Then she heard the soft murmur of a male voice in the background and realized she’d interrupted a date.
Normally, Alena would have let her friend get back to business. Hell, it was hard enough to find a guy who knew the difference between a vagina and a vulva, so if Kelly had found someone who’d scored better than a C on basic female anatomy, Alena didn’t want to cock-block her. But her beloved’s freedom took precedence over Kelly’s
orgasms. Especially since Luca had just aced his entrance exam.
“Sorry about the timing, but I’m calling in every favor I’ve ever done for you.”
There was a moment of silence followed by the rustle of bedclothes and the click of a door closing.
“What’s wrong?” Kelly’s tone changed to no-nonsense. She’d gone from giggly to stone-cold serious in the time it took to walk to another room for privacy.
“I need your help. I’m on a court case, Courtroom Eight. It’s personal with a capital P.”
“When do you need me?”
“Yesterday.”
“Damn, this must be big. Two minutes.”
The call cut off, leaving Alena bouncing from foot to foot, constantly checking the time on her phone. The rumble of voices in the courtroom meant the Triune hadn’t ended the recess yet, but the noise was subsiding quickly. The judges had returned from chambers. Any minute now, they’d call the court to order.
A nanosecond of zero gravity lifted Alena off her feet a fraction of an inch and then a burst of light and a soft pop revealed a person-sized oval into a bedroom. Kelly stepped through the portal as Alena peered over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the boy toy in her bed, but the portal closed too quickly.
“Think he’ll be back?” she asked her bestie, who was dressed in pink flannel jammies dotted with fluffy white clouds. Her hair had been drawn up into a messy bun.
Kelly shrugged. “Chicks before dicks.”
“Well, I’m glad you dressed for the occasion.”
“Girl, you’re lucky I have any clothes on at all. That guy was doing things to me—”
Alena held up a hand. “Stop right there. I don’t need that image in my head, thank you very much.”
Kelly draped an arm over Alena’s shoulders. “Hey, you called me. Now what’s so important you couldn’t wait for me to get my rocks off?”
Tension and anxiety flooded Alena as she caught her friend’s gaze. “I need a truthspell. A big one.”
Chapter Six
Mindful of his beloved’s admonishment to behave, Luca allowed the guard to bind him to the chair with silver chains, this time remaining cooperative. The man relaxed somewhat, and Luca knew he’d earned Alena an increase in her reputation. Brownie points, he’d heard the nestlings say.
