by Zandria West
I squeeze his hand harder than I meant to, and he gives me a curious glance.
‘Sorry. Nerves,’ I say.
It feels like something is taking up all the room in my chest so I can hardly breathe. I sit frozen and watch as Alex walks at a human pace, which looks absurdly slow on him, to open the door for me. As soon as I step out, I hear engines roaring as a plane prepares to take off. I think I’m going to throw up.
Alex takes a hold of my elbow. ‘Are you okay, angel?’
‘I just…’ I take a breath and let it out. ‘I don’t like flying.’
‘You seemed to do okay with Grayson?’ I don’t miss the tinge of jealousy in his voice.
‘That’s different,’ I frown. I can’t explain it. I should have felt beyond terrified, but I was elated when we flew together, and even as we fell, I knew that it would be okay. I trusted Grayson completely.
I don’t trust a machine.
‘Ah… I see…’ He slings an arm around my shoulders and draws me closer. ‘And there was me thinking you were worried about the possibility we were being pursued by demons. Or that you were scared because we were about to meet your long-lost mother, or because the fate of the entire world was resting on your shoulders.’
‘That too,’ I say. ‘But honestly, mostly I just don’t want to get on the plane. I hate them.’
Alex checks his watch and gives me a look I can’t decipher.
‘I may have a solution for that,’ he says.
Really?’ Somehow, I’m not sure that his solution is going to be a sensible one, and for once Gabriel isn’t here to keep him in line.
‘Tequila shots at the bar in the VIP lounge. Followed by a visit to the private suite that I’m pretty sure Gabe’s got us access to.’
A private suite. I swallow.
‘Do we have time?’
‘Mrs Murphy, for you there will always be time…’ His smile lights a tiny fire inside me. ‘Anyway, we have unfinished business from last night.’ He grabs at my ass as we walk, his hand resting possessively on one of my butt cheeks. He squeezes, and the tiny fire grows suddenly bigger.
‘We can’t miss the flight,’ I say automatically. As much as I dread flying, I also know that Gabriel will literally kill us if we aren’t on the plane when it takes off.
‘We’ve still got forty minutes before boarding.’
I swallow and give in to the swirl of anticipation that is rising in my gut, which is completely different to the churn of terror I felt just a few moments ago. Clear evidence that whatever is going on between us is magic, because that is the only thing right now that would make me actually feel better.
After we collect our passports and tickets from a small luggage locker, Alex leads me to the First Class desk, presents our tickets and drops our bag off. The girl behind the counter is perfectly groomed and manicured; not a single shiny blonde hair is out of place, and her over-full lips are painted toffee-apple red. I see the way she glances up at Alex, her cheeks blushing almost imperceptibly. Her fingers linger a moment too long against his as she passes the tickets back and I restrain an urge to bare my teeth and growl at her.
Alex takes a step back and pulls me close against him as the girl prints off the labels for our bag.
‘Enjoy your flight Mr Murphy,’ she says chirpily, conveniently overlooking my entire existence.
‘Oh, I intend to,’ Alex purrs, then runs his lips down the side of my neck and finishes with a long slow kiss. I see the girl freeze, unable to take her eyes off us, though clearly aware that some kind of awful social faux pas is being committed.
I laugh.
‘Do you like having her watch?’ Alex whispers to me. ‘Because if you do, it could be arranged…’
I swat him away.
‘Dude. Tequila. You promised.’
But I’m only pretending that his words didn’t spark a tiny bit of interest inside me, and of course he knows it too, the fucker.
‘I could compel her,’ he says in a low voice as we follow the signs towards the VIP lounge.
I narrow my eyes at the thought of him compelling Ms Super-Hot Stewardess back there. ‘So basically, you can have whatever you want from whichever human woman you want, whenever you want it?’
He shakes his head. ‘Doesn’t work on you, angel.’
‘You’ve tried to compel me?’ I’m not sure whether to be horrified or flattered.
‘I wouldn’t be a red-blooded vampire if I hadn’t… but it’s definite. You are completely un-compellable.’
‘Huh,’ I try to process this information as we walk. It must be something to do with the magic – I draw on Alex’s power, so I’m also immune to it. Does that mean that I might be able to learn to use it too, to compel people like he can?
‘You could give it a go,’ he answers my unspoken question.
We reach the entrance to the lounge and a snooty looking man in a black suit gives us an up and down glance, then stands up straighter when Alex flashes a card.
‘Of course, sir, madam…’ he murmurs and holds the door wide.
Alex gives me a grin and gestures for me to go first, which I do. I take two steps and then have to actually put a hand on my mouth to physically stop my jaw from dropping. Only a few days ago I was locked alone inside a dark, dingy prison cell. Now I’m here with Alex by my side. It’s almost too much to take in.
This place is incredible. A chandelier glitters from a high, arched ceiling like a frozen waterfall. Along one wall, a long, mirrored bar stretches, the rows of perfectly placed bottles shining like jewels. In the centre of the room, a grand-piano has been set on a raised stage. A long-haired young man plays a soothing, dreamlike tune on it. Along the other wall are hung pieces of abstract art. They’re not prints, either. I don’t know much about art, but they look vaguely familiar and I’m guessing they’re worth a bomb.
Alex leads me to the bar and pulls up a seat for me. Almost instantly, the bar-tender stands in front of us.
‘What can I get you, sir?’ he says, his voice almost as smooth as his looks.
‘How about you try what we just talked about earlier?’ Alex says, nudging me gently.
I clear my throat. I catch the man’s eyes. I don’t really know what I’m doing, other than probably making a complete fool of myself. But as I do, I feel the snake symbol on my arm begin to glow a little, as though the effort is warming it.
‘What can I get for you, ma’am?’ he asks, and then in an instant I see his pupils dilate. And suddenly everything seems different to me – I can hear his pulse thrumming in his throat, below it a gentle hissing like the waves on a beach which I realise is the movement of blood in his veins. Blood…. The thought of it suddenly makes me dizzy, like stepping out of a hot bath too quickly.
‘My wife will have a shot of tequila,’ Alex’s voice breaks the spell. ‘With salt and lemon.’
The bartender inclines his head slightly, showing no sign that anything strange has taken place, then turns and begins preparing my drink.
Alex squeezes my hand. ‘It seems I need to watch you, angel. The thirst can be a powerful thing when you’re not used to it…’
‘I wasn’t, I mean I didn’t –’ I look away, my cheeks flushing. Shit, what was that?
Alex raises my hand to his lips and kisses it. ‘No shame. Not with me. Not ever, do you understand?’
I nod.
The bartender slides my drink to me. A slice of lemon and a small thimble of salt are set on a shining silver tray.
‘And for you, sir?’
Alex grins. ‘Same again. In fact, forget about the shot, just bring over the whole bottle and leave us to it, alright?’
‘Certainly.’ He takes the bottle down from the shelf, places it and a shot glass in front of Alex, then walks down to clean the far end of the bar.
Alex pours himself a shot and then raises it.
‘You need salt,’ he says, ‘give me your hand.’
I let him take my hand and feel a shiver move throu
gh me as he licks the length of my thumb and then pours salt along it. I don’t know why, but there’s something ridiculously sexy about it.
‘Isn’t salt bad for vampires?’ I’m sure I remember something about that.
He frowns and tilts his head to look at me. ‘Only if we have high blood pressure. Where did you hear that?’
‘Just, I don’t know,’ I shrug. ‘I thought it was one of those things. Like garlic. And crucifixes.’
‘Well, given we’re about to seek shelter at a convent, in the heart of one of the most prolific garlic-growing and garlic-loving regions of the world, it’s lucky for me that that’s all a load of bollocks. Now, are you ready? Lick, sip, suck…’
I follow his lead, licking the salt from my hand, downing the shot of tequila and then biting on the lemon as a powerful shudder moves through me.
‘And again,’ Alex says, not waiting for me to agree. He takes my hand, licks, makes another line of salt, then pours another shot for me.
‘I love the way you shiver when you take the shot. It reminds me of something, I just can’t think what…’ His eyes sparkle as he watches me, and I know exactly what he’s thinking of. Last night. Him moving inside me.
‘Right then,’ I say quickly, business-like.
We take another lick of salt, down the tequila and suck the lemon.
It really didn’t taste so bad this time.
‘Again?’ I say. All my worries about flying and whatever else might happen next are rapidly fading.
‘Just one more,’ Alex murmurs, ‘This is only the entree. I don’t want you to be too drunk to enjoy the main course.’
A shiver moves through me that is completely independent of any tequila touching my lips. Alex places a hand on my thigh, stroking gently. ‘I saw that,’ he whispers. I bite my lip.
‘Screw the tequila, let’s get the room,’ I say.
We don’t have long before our flight and I suddenly feel a most intense and urgent need to be intimate with my lawful husband, Mr Dwayne Murphy.
Alex takes my hand and guides me from the bar to a small exit at the back of the room. A middle-aged woman with greying hair wearing a navy pant suit and a double string of pearls stands attendance.
‘We’d like a quiet moment together before our flight,’ Alex says, ‘if the private suite is free?’
‘Certainly, sir,’ she says.
‘And please ensure we’re not disturbed.’
‘Of course. Right this way…’
We follow her click-clicking heels down a long, marble hallway.
22
LANA
Alex closes the door behind us without even a backwards glance. He’s on me before I have a moment to take in our surroundings, pushing me against the door and running his lips down the side of my neck, inhaling deeply as he does. I feel giddy for a moment. What am I doing here, with this incredibly gorgeous, sexy, dangerous man? How is this my life?
‘You’re here because you’re mine,’ he says, his voice low and electric. ‘And I fucking intend to enjoy what’s mine, and last night I didn’t get to…’
He runs a finger around the neck of my shirt, then begins unbuttoning. One button, then the next, then the next. He kisses my chest, pulls the shirt off me and fumbles for a few seconds with my bra before I help him unhook it.
‘Hundreds of years old and you still haven’t figured that out?’ I tease, and am rewarded with a deliciously sharp bite, then he starts to suckle on one nipple, teasing it to hardness with his teeth and his tongue as he strokes and squeezes the other with his fingers. I groan and close my eyes. I want to give into the sensation, to hold nothing back.
‘Good,’ he murmurs. ‘I want all of you. Every last dirty secret that you hide from the world. It’s all mine, you understand?’
I moan in response, and he picks me up, sweeping an arm under my legs and lifting me as though I were weightless. He carries me in a few strides to the enormous four-poster bed that sits in the middle of the room.
‘Too many clothes,’ he growls as he pulls off my shoes and socks, then tugs down my pants.
‘That goes for you too,’ I say. I reach up and draw him closer, pulling the light cotton t-shirt that perfectly accentuates his rippling muscles over his head and fumbling with his belt buckle.
I have definitely not had enough opportunities to worship his body the way it should be worshipped.
A few pounding heartbeats later, Alex’s clothes are in a pile on the floor and he’s hovering over me, gazing intently into my eyes. I want to feel his skin against mine. I want his weight on me. I want him in me, now.
‘We have a flight to catch, Mr Murphy,’ I whisper breathily, reaching around his neck and pulling him closer.
‘Are you telling me to hurry?’
I bite my lip and nod.
An instant later he’s between my thighs, his hands pressing my legs so wide apart my hips are aching, plunging his tongue deep inside me before swiping it up a broad path over my clit.
Fuck, that feels good.
Parting my sex with his fingers, so my most intimate parts are utterly exposed to him, he caresses me deliciously, each stroke of his tongue pushing me nearer to the edge.
I’m going to come right fucking now and I’m not ready for that yet.
I pull him off. ‘I want you inside me,’ I say, and before I know what I’m doing I’ve flipped him onto his back and straddled him. I gape, stunned by my sudden surge of strength and speed. Judging by how Alex’s eyes widen with shock, he wasn’t expecting it either. Another side effect of completing the binding, I guess, just like the blood-lust I experienced at the bar.
‘Did you just –?’ Alex asks.
I shrug. ‘Right now, I don’t fucking care. We can dissect it later.’ I kiss him hard, biting his lip then letting my tongue surge into his mouth, meeting his in a dance that sends flickering flames through my abdomen and core. I let go of all restraint, moaning as his fingers tangle in my hair and pull my head back, exposing the naked expanse of my neck to him.
I pull free and reach down to where his rigid cock is pressing against my inner thigh, then take hold, angling it and lifting myself then lowering gently onto his impressive length, controlling the entry, making it all happen so excruciatingly slowly that I know he’s in agony.
‘Fuuuck,’ he moans, throbbing fiercely inside me. A moment later, I feel something else: the Bondmarks hum with power. I sense the others – Gabriel and Grayson, the sudden disturbance that burns to lust as they sense us; Reuben feeling protective, agitated and confused.
‘Oops. I forgot about that bit,’ I say, hoping they’re not somewhere too public as they get hit with the surge of pure sex that we’re channelling through the bond. Alex groans and grabs hold of my hips so hard I’m sure I’ll have his finger marks on me for days, then starts to move me on him, grinding me hard against the length of his cock.
‘Fuck,’ he moans. ‘I’ve been waiting for this for so long…’
I respond, joining his rhythm with a desperate urgency that surprises me. My body hums with energy. He lets go my hips and runs his hand up over my belly then reaches to hold my breasts. I stretch up, arching my back and enjoying the feeling of his hands on me as I ride him. Oh god, it is so fucking good.
‘I want you to bite me…’ The words are out of my mouth before I even realise I’m saying them.
Alex’s eyes snap open, and he watches me intently.
I fuck him harder, letting the waves of pleasure move through me with an intensity that takes away all thoughts, all words. He was right, this is the best antidote to fear of flying that I can imagine. By the time we’re done I’m going to be mush, incapable of feeling anything except exhausted gratitude.
‘Do you mean that?’ he whispers.
Feeling a cold rush of adrenaline in my veins, I nod.
In an instant, he’s pulled out and flipped me onto my stomach, so my face is pressing down into the ridiculously soft goose-down pillow.
�
�You’re at my mercy,’ he says in a low, deadly tone. ‘There’s nobody here but the two of us. Are you sure this is what you want?’
‘Can you control yourself?’ I ask.
‘I can,’ he says. I can’t see his face, smooshed into the pillow as I currently am, but the words sound as though come through gritted teeth.
‘Then I’m sure.’
He pulls my hips up to expose my ass and pussy to him. ‘I didn’t hear what you said, angel.’
‘Yes…’ I say, my voice coming out a growl. ‘Yes, that’s what I want.’
There’s a moment of silence, followed by a sudden fierce heat as he enters me from behind, lowering himself over me. I sense the instant he changes: it’s like a rising electricity in the air. When he speaks his voice sounds different – thicker.
‘I won’t drink from you,’ he says.
‘But how long has it been? You must be hungry…’ I protest.
‘I won’t drink from you,’ his voice is fierce. ‘I’ll just taste you. I want your blood on my tongue…’
My whole body is humming – my sex, the Bondmarks, my heart, my mind… There is no part of me that is not on fire right now. I’ve never felt so alive.
He takes hold of my hair and pulls just hard enough that my back arches and the length of my neck is exposed. He leans in and grazes his teeth along my skin. I shiver, all my senses alert, nerve endings tingling. I can’t breathe. I feel like the whole world has stopped, everything is focused on this one, long moment of pleasure and terror combined.
‘Lana –’ he moans and then bites. It fucking hurts. I jerk from the shock, but he holds me still. The sensation of his teeth piercing my skin is fiery and sharp. The fire starts at the puncture wound and spreads from there through my bloodstream, down into my chest, along my limbs, filling my core with molten lava. The snake on my arm is searingly, crazily hot, filled with energy.
Alex barely moves in me now, but every tiny shift of his cock inside my cunt is met by a shifting of his teeth in my neck, and the two sensations combined are beyond pleasure. A moment later, his teeth withdraw, then the moist warmth of his mouth returns to where he bit. Blood trickles down and he follows it with his tongue. He misses a few drops which drip spots of violet onto the perfect white sheet.
