He rolled his tongue over their erect tips and she let her eyes close. This was what she’d been made for. To be here with him. She hadn’t been destined to be alone, no matter what she’d believed deep down.
“Open your eyes.”
His whispered command brought her out of her grateful reverie into the present. His body hammered into hers, his cock so thick and strong inside her. Filling her up in a way she’d never imagined. His hands linked with hers, a bridge between her past and their future, the one they’d make together.
She swallowed hard as she caught her own reflection in his eyes. Seeing herself inside him only increased the speed of her heartbeat and the frantic rise and fall of her hips as she sought t
o accept everything he offered.
“More,” she gasped when he reached between their bodies to tweak her swollen clit. His finger swirled over her as he pumped harder. Sweat beaded along the stubbled line of his jaw, pearled on his temples and his cheekbones. But those molten eyes stayed focused on her as if she were the center of his world.
Sydney arched, her legs widening to allow him access to all of her. And he took, and gave, until his handsome visage blurred through her tears.
The blinding friction stole the last of her hold on sanity and she rejoiced in its loss. She felt her body tighten and clench before the little death she strained toward, but this time, she wanted to experience it in a whole new way. Even if he couldn’t be her sire, he could give her this much.
Wordlessly, she turned her head on the pillow, baring her neck. She knew he would understand. His hips continued to batter hers and her pussy contracted with each thrust. Heat poured over her in waves, saturating her limbs, and sensitizing her nipples. So close. If he didn’t realize what she needed soon, it would be too late.
His mouth circled her pulse as the fist of need inside her opened up, leaving her shuddering. She was still trembling on that razor’s edge when his fangs pierced her skin with an almost elastic pop, and her body bowed when he pulled her blood into him with the same force as he continued to pound into her.
She craved this mindlessness. This desperation. And knowing he was right there with her made it even sweeter.
Before she’d recovered from the first, another orgasm rolled through her, but this one started from the heated pull of his teeth. God, nothing had ever felt this good. This right, as if she’d lived her life up until now just to get to this moment. Harsh grunts hit her ears and she didn’t know if they were hers or his. But he still hadn’t come yet—his unflagging erection inside her proved that—and she wanted him to, wanted his scalding release to warm her as completely as his slow, drugging sucks on her throat.
Her hands came up to hold his head in place even as she writhed beneath him. Her body was flying apart, shattering into tiny, glittering pieces. But he wasn’t taking enough, she knew that instinctively. He wasn’t trying to turn her.
“Kellan.” His name sounded raw and ragged, as if her throat were lined with glass. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m not.” He rose above her, his lips dark red with her blood, his features taut with need. Through it all, those golden eyes seared into hers.
“Take more.” She tried to pull his mouth back to her throat, but he stayed stubbornly out of her reach even as he pounded into her. Somehow she’d lost the strength to get to him. “I want to be yours. And one lifetime’s not enough.”
“You know I can’t, Sydney. I want to. God, I want.”
The bright sheen of tears in his eyes was her undoing. “I know.” Her voice broke. “But I want to give you more. Every drop I can.”
He wrapped a handful of her hair around his wrist and tugged her up, shifting positions until they were kneeling together in the center of the bed. Somehow he never slid all the way out of her, leaving her impaled on just the tip of him while he tongued her pulsepoint until her blood seemed to boil in her veins.
“I love you.”
He lowered his head before she could reply, but the words sounded in her head. In her heart. His bite didn’t hurt, but the pressure of his mouth invaded the last untouched corner of her mind. He possessed and filled her, even as her vision hazed and her limbs spasmed with pleasure. And she let herself go, giving herself over to the ecstasy of her blood leaving her body at the same time as his climax roared through him and erupted deep inside her.
“You’re mine now, Sydney,” he whispered.
Then she fell into the black.
Kellan watched her sleep the sleep of the dead and tried not to fret like a worried mother.
What would happen now?
Divorce wasn’t a factor in the undead world, though choice was always involved. Yes, certain physiological and behavioral factors contributed to the chemistry that bonded a human to one particular vamp. But not all humans could be turned. Some died when vampiric blood infiltrated their bloodstream. Some expired after being pierced by a vampire’s fangs. But if a human survived turning, they became subject to the mating rituals of the vampire people. One mate, forever and ever, amen. If either party decided to deny that bond, that was their decision. An irrevocable one, because the sire was then essentially mateless for the duration of his existence.
Two vampires falling in love wasn’t impossible, but it was uncommon. The simple fact of it was that there were many more humans, which offered many more options. Finding your chosen one became easier, theoretically, if you had a bigger pool to swim in.
Kellan brushed Sydney’s hair back from her cheek. He didn’t want another, and he knew he never would. But what if Syd woke up and decided she didn’t want him, after all? It was possible. He couldn’t be the one who brought her all the way into his world. As much as it burned him, he had to accept the rules of the council he’d never even laid eyes on. Hell, he didn’t even know where they were located. Somewhere in Europe was the closest he’d come to identifying their home base.
While he’d been watching over Sydney as she slept, he’d done a bit more research and discovered why Emily had gone through such an easy turn. It had been just as he’d suspected—the blood of a latent was super-potent and imbued with healing properties. Once ingested, the subject would benefit from reduced pain until the blood fully left their system. And in Sydney’s case, she would never suffer as much as others.
He kissed her forehead. She’d been dozing for hours, the natural consequence of heavy blood loss. It was the price a vampire—or a latent human—paid for the spectacular orgasm that came from their blood being sucked. A normal human would sleep after being tapped out, too, but their sleep would be rife with pain, not peaceful and easy like Sydney’s. Any time now, she should open her eyes.