“I’d never let that happen,” I whispered.
“I wouldn’t let you interfere. But what I said to Ja wasn’t to be taken at face value. She wants me to kill him. Or him to kill me. Both of us are powerful players in the vampire hierarchy, more so than any of the other elders. We have a delicate balance, even now, after choosing different sides. We have helped keep each other at this level for more than half of our lives. I was telling Ja that I would not take the bait and end him, thereby allowing her to move more freely in her pursuits. We will band together to stop her, if need be, and after this, that might be necessary.”
“You said all of that while using completely different words?”
His lush lips curled up into a smile. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer, claiming my lips and my desire. His tongue swept through my mouth, and I pulled open the fly of his jeans. Reaching within, I claimed his hard length and ran my palm along it before gripping firmly and stroking.
He groaned into my mouth, backing off a little, his eyes hooded. “Yes, mon ange. I said all of that. She is incredibly dangerous. More so than anyone I have ever met. I knew she’d been a powerful player back in the day, but I had no idea what it might mean. I should not have put her in a position to want to re-emerge into our world in a significant way. Now I will need to put my grievances with Vlad aside and monitor her closely.”
He grabbed the edges of my jeans and yanked them off before ripping away my lacy red panties. He pushed his pants down and then my knees apart, leaving me spread and bare while he lowered his knees to the carpeted floor.
“You’re really mad at Vlad, then?”
He ran his tongue up my slick center before enveloping my clit with his hot mouth and sucking, rolling his tongue around. My breath hitched, and pleasure consumed me before he quickly backed off and blew softly, the effect like a light tickle, driving my anticipation to incredible heights.
“I’m not mad about how he turned me. I’ve done worse, myself. To Moss, as a matter of fact. To many. I do not understand…” He sucked in the sensitive skin on the inside of my upper thigh before moving back to my core. Vampires were incredibly good at having conversations, deep or shallow, while in the throes of passion. It was madness, but did make his history lectures very enjoyable.
I arched, groaning, drinking in the pleasure, my desire pumping higher. My body wound up, right on the edge now.
He pulled back, leaving me teetering there. I whimpered, of all things, throbbing, desperate to spill over into orgasm.
“I do not understand why he kept it from me. He is my maker, regardless of how.” He pushed to standing, and I looked at him like he’d grown two heads. Where the hell did he think he was going?
He scooped me up, walked me to the bed, tore back the covers, and set me down gently.
“It is something I will ask him one day.” He bent between my legs again and flicked my clit with his tongue. Again. I climbed right back to the edge, pushing my hips up to his mouth, wanting deeper contact, more friction.
He blew again, then flicked.
“Damn it, Darius, fuck me, please,” I said.
“Your wish is my command,” he whispered, once again leaving me right on the agonizing edge and kissing up my stomach. He sucked in a nipple, right on the point of pain. I yelped then moaned, gripping his back, pushing up against his body.
He ran his lips up my chest, all the way to my neck, before pausing just over my mouth. His erection rubbed against me, and I angled myself, trying to capture it with my body. No such luck.
I whimpered again. This was what he did to me, time and again. I loved it as much as I hated it. He was so good in the sack it should be a crime.
“I never did love Ernesta, the woman who betrayed me,” he murmured.
“I know,” I replied softly, pulling my thighs up high on his hips. My core throbbed almost painfully. “Please, Darius.”
“But I held on to her memory all through this life,” he went on, pulling back a little to look me in the eyes. It felt like I was looking straight into his soul. “I held on to the image of her beauty, the memory of her voice, and of my desire to wed her and finally tip into love with her. And then I met you. Everything she was pales in comparison to you. I am nothing without you. Ja thought I would be enraged to find out Ernesta was playing me at Vlad’s behest. She thought I would hate Vlad for his role in that betrayal, but I haven’t thought about her once since the night I told you of her. Since the night we were first together. I let go of her, then, and held on to you. Loving you came so easily. So quickly. And I’ve fallen deeper and deeper in love every day since. I will protect you with my life until the day I fall into eternal rest. My love for you will never yield, and my desire to serve you will never waver. I am yours, for all eternity.”