I raise my eyebrows. “So is solitary confinement, from what I’ve been told.”
“It’s simple,” he says as we start toward the kitchen. “Don’t get caught.”
I shake my head and smile, knowing he’s joking…but also that he’s not.
“How’s it going?” I ask Tabatha. She’s sitting at the kitchen table, reading through a spell book.
“I found a reversal spell. It requires three human ribs, and I’m fresh out.” She raises her eyebrows. Now I know she’s joking.
“I suppose I can dig up that body again,” Lucas offers. “And then bury it for the third time.”
“Body?” Tabatha looks up. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. But yes, if you could acquire the ribs, that would be quite helpful.”
Scott-cat growls when Lucas walks past, going out the back door so he can venture into the woods to dig up the same body again. I empty a can of tuna in a bowl and take it and Scott upstairs, locking him in the bathroom.
“Intervention time?” I ask when I get back into the kitchen and see Kristy pouring four glasses of wine. “I know I messed up and I need to figure out how to get my powers in check.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about, my darling girl,” Tabatha says.
“Really? Because I am. If the Grand Coven finds out I pulled off that transfiguration spell—”
“They’d be impressed and consider putting you up for the High Council.” Tabatha smiles, but her eyes don’t match. “But they’d be more concerned with how close you’ve become with a vampire.”
“Lucas is different. He’s not a threat to us. He said he’s never had an issue with witches and used to just avoid us.”
Tabatha takes a small sip of wine. “You were right in saying he’s not like other vampires. I can tell he really loves you, that he would do anything to protect you.”
“He would.”
“And that’s exactly what I’m worried about. He will do anything for you no matter how irrational or wrong it is. I’m worried how you will fare after he crosses that line.”
Chapter 15
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas pulls his shirt over his head, muscles flexing.
“It’s been a long day.”
“That’s an understatement.” Lucas tosses his shirt on a chair by my closet. He starts undoing his belt next, and I watch, transfixed, as he strips himself bare. No one should be that pretty, though I’m sure his body used to be bruised and scarred in his human life.
“I still can’t get over the fact you were a gladiator,” I blurt.
“With everything that happened today, that’s what you’re thinking of?” Chuckling, he gets into bed next to me. I’ve stripped down to a t-shirt and panties, yet suddenly I’m feeling very overdressed now that I’m next to Lucas’s glorious naked body.
“It’s just…a gladiator.” I shake my head. “Is it weird to say that turns me on?”
“When it comes to what turns you on, there are very few things I’m going to say are weird.”
“And you said vampires aren’t all about sex.” I raise my eyebrows and laugh.
“We’re not all about sex. We both know I’m good in bed and rarely have a disappointing encounter. But with you…it’s different. I want you in every way I can have you.”
“You have had me in a lot of ways.” Now I know I’m overdressed. I push back the covers as he gets in next to me. “And some of those ways I didn’t even know were possible, but I’m very glad you introduced me to new things.”
“I am too.” He drags his long fingers over my thigh, causing ripples of desire to go through me. “And there’s so much more I can show you.”
“I don’t think I’m ready for butt stuff,” I say, and Lucas laughs.
“With me, I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
I make a face. “I don’t know about that.” Lucas is very well-endowed. I wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.
“There is one more way we can connect.” Lucas moves his arm up, hand settling on my hip.
“There is?”
“You can have my blood after I’ve fed off you.”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out. “Isn’t that how you turn someone into a vampire?”
“Not entirely. I’d have to drain you completely and feed you my blood right before your heart takes its final beat.”
“Sounds tricky.”
“It is. I’ve seen many new vampires try and turn their former human companions and not get the ritual right. They drink too much, and the humans die before they can give them their blood.”
“So just drinking your blood…what does that do?”
“It’s more symbolic than anything else. Your blood sustains me, mine won’t sustain you, but knowing my blood is inside of you, that we are one in that sense.” He pulls me onto him and brings my face to his. “A vampire’s blood is his power. I’ve never wanted to share mine with anyone before.”
I swallow hard, and my first thought of drinking blood being disgusting starts to fade.
“You don’t have to consume much,” he assures me. “And you don’t have to do it tonight. Or even tomorrow. I have the rest of your life to be with you, Callie. That is, if you want to spend it with me.”
Suddenly my eyes are filling with tears. “Are you sure you want to put up with me for another fifty or so years?”
“There’s nothing more I’d rather do.” He brushes my hair back. “I love you.”
My heart hammers in my chest, feeling so much for him right now. “I love you too. And I don’t care what anyone says. I’m a witch and you’re a vampire, but I swear to the heavens above we were meant to be.”
Caressing my face, Lucas’s eyes fall shut. “We are. I feel it in my heart, and it’s the closest thing I’ve felt to a pulse since I became a vampire.”
“Lucas,” I start, voice shaky. I never knew it was possible to love someone so much it almost hurts, like it’s more than my body can handle and process. Desperation breaks out, pulsing in waves through my body. I need to be closer to him, to feel his skin against mine. To become one in every way possible.
Lucas flips us over, putting himself between my legs. I arch my back, pressing myself against him. He kisses me hard and fast as he pulls the hem of my shirt up. Breaking apart isn’t an option. Kissing him is like breathing, and there’s no way I’m stopping.
Letting go of my shirt, Lucas wraps me in his arms and rolls us back over so I’m on top, straddling him and feeling his cock harden against me, rubbing my clit in the exact spot it needs to be rubbed. His hands slip under my shirt, and he runs them up my back, nails raking over my skin. I shiver, getting more and more wound up to
have him inside me.
He bunches up my shirt again, but this time he tears it, ripping it right off my body due to his own desperation to make love to me. The sleeves fall down my arms, and Lucas pulls it away, tossing it on the ground. In a much less graceful move, I lay on my side, keeping one hand on his head as his tongue explores my mouth, fingers tangled in his hair, and try to take off my underwear with my other hand.
Lucas gets impatient and helps me, pushing them down. The moment I’ve kicked them off, he breaks away, diving between my legs. There’s no teasing this time. No hesitation. His face goes right over my core, tongue flicking my swollen clit. He opens his mouth, sucking my tender parts, and slips a finger inside me. He strokes my inner walls as he works my clit with his tongue.
I’m so wound up and turned on. Just like he said, I want him in every way. And if that means bleeding for him, him bleeding for me, I’ll do it. I know there will never be another who makes me feel as much as Lucas does.
I plant one hand on the mattress, twisting the sheets in my fingers. Moaning loudly, I come, writhing with pleasure against Lucas’s face. He turns his head, tongue running over the bite marks on my thigh from the other day. My flesh is a little tender around them, and maybe it makes me a bit of a masochist to enjoy feeling the pain every now and then when I’m doing regular actives. It reminds me of Lucas, of what we have.
Of what he can do to me.
He kisses the bite and moves up, kissing me as he goes. I bend my legs up, reaching down for him. Once he’s over top of me, he aligns his cock with my pussy, rests his forehead against mine, giving me a moment to recover.
And then he pushes inside me, fangs coming down the moment he enters me. Brushing my hair to the side, his mouth goes to my neck. His fangs press against my skin, and I brace myself for the slight jolt of pain. But he doesn’t bite down. Doesn’t make me bleed.
Right. The Grand Coven might be gone for now, but I’m still on their witches of interest list as far as we know. Dammit. I don’t want this threat to hinder any part of our lives, especially sex.