Crimson Truth (Onyx Assassins 4)

Benedict bared his fangs at the mention of the demon king’s name, so I bared mine right back, smirking while I did.

And he laughed. The sound filling my chest with a breath of life I didn’t know I needed.

“Don’t,” he growled, reaching up to cup my face. “Ever sell your soul for me. I’m not worth—”

“You’re worth everything,” I cut him off. “Can you forgive me? For lying. I know it’s kind of your trigger.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, the energy coiling tight between us. “Can you forgive me for robbing you of your choice? For turning you into—”

“Something infinitely more powerful and less breakable than before?” I cut him off again, not wanting him to hang in guilt for a moment longer. “I’m in awe of you, Benedict,” I said. “You saved me, even after what I’d said to you.”

“I will always save you,” he said.

An ache ripped through my chest. “I have to kill her.”

“Not if I do it first,” he growled, and I could see the rage fill his eyes.

“But first,” I said, unable to fully spiral down that hole right now. Not with what was pulsing in my chest. “I’m…”

“Hungry,” he finished for me.

I nodded, suddenly embarrassed. “I don’t really know how this works.” Sure, I’d tasted him before, but this was different. “Do I have to feed from someone else now?”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. “Fuck, no.” His words were final, lethal, and then he dropped to his knees before me, dragging his teeth over my chest, planting kisses over my stomach, my hips. Then he looked up at me with such need in his eyes that my knees nearly buckled.

“Take whatever you want, whatever you need, mate,” he said, tilting his head so his neck was exposed.

Instinct roared inside me, and I didn’t think, I pounced.

Not with my fangs, but with my body.

In seconds, we tumbled to the floor, me clawing at his clothes between hungry kisses until we were fully naked.

“Fuck,” he hissed, as I kissed my way down his chest, over his carved abdomen, and lower. I took his hard cock inside my mouth so quickly his hips jerked upward, and I moaned at the taste of him.

The mating bond pulsed inside me, a searing band of light that chained us together. It ebbed and ached and flared with each connection as I sucked and flicked and teased.

Benedict gripped my hair, pulling me up enough to meet his eyes. “You need to feed, little witch.”

I smirked up at him, flicking my tongue over his head one more time before stalking up his glorious body. Goddess, I felt more alive than I ever had before. And maybe it had taken almost dying to realize how lucky I was, but I relished the heat in Benedict’s eyes. Marveled at the sight of him, the feel of this warrior beneath me. He was mine and I was his and we had an eternity to fuck and fight and learn and grow with each other.

And that notion filled my soul so much I almost started crying again—stupid, vampire emotions on steroids right now.

“I will feed when I’m good and ready, mate,” I said, straddling his considerable length, my entire body trembling from just the feel of it between my thighs. Goddess, everything was in high definition, overwhelming, consuming, perfection.

He leaned up slightly, capturing my mouth with his, nipping at my bottom lip as I teased him with my slickness. “Stubborn little witch.”

I rocked against him, and he groaned. I pushed against his shoulders, shocked when he slammed back against the floor with a sudden snap. His eyebrows rose, a thrill rushing through him at my newfound strength.

“Oh,” I said, grinning from ear to ear, my fangs aching to the point of pain. “This is going to be fun.”

Another satisfying growl rumbled from his chest, and it was my undoing. I stopped my teasing, instead taking him in to the hilt with one quick move. “Goddess,” I moaned, throwing my head back as I adjusted to the size of him, to the new sensations rippling across my body like tendrils of the purest heat.

“Jocelyn,” he groaned, his hands gripping my hips as I rode him.

I dug my fingers into his hard chest, increasing my pace, needing more of him. Faster, harder. I couldn’t get enough of the heat crashing inside of me, couldn’t get enough of that breath-stealing sensation that filled me so much I couldn’t think around it. Benedict was my match in every way, and now that he’d turned me? I could feel our bond like a prism of light and power that flickered with each caress. Seared with each touch.

He moved his hands, gliding them up my stomach until he cupped my breasts as I rocked atop him. I gasped as he rolled and pinched my nipples, causing me to slam down on him harder. He jerked upward, shifting us until we were chest to chest, nose to nose.