Not once did she experience any pain, but the pleasure, oh, God, the pleasureexactly as shed imagined, beautiful in the most erotic way. The missing piece to the puzzle of her life.
The burn of his mouth, the suction of his tongue, both caused riotous reactions in her body. She clutched at his back, pulled at his hair, lost to a bliss that should have been impossible. Soon she was even writhing and thrashing against him, desperate for completion.
He purred against her, his breath warm. Then something hot, so wonderfully hot, entered her system. And okay, she hadnt truly known pleasure before that moment. This was pleasure. Pleasure in its purest form. Strength, heat, power. She felt those, too.
Her thrashing became a single-minded pursuit for the elusive satisfaction that still hovered so close. She ground herself against his erection, over and over again, little shivers of sensation coursing through her every time he swallowed. God. She could climb him like a mountain. Could eat him up, one tasty bite at a time. Could remain in his arms forever.
He wrenched free of her vein. Have tostop. Cant taketoo much.
There was no such thing as too much. Take more.
Promised to be careful. He licked the punctures, shooting more of that liquid heat into her system. He growled, Now you are marked. Mine.
His, just as he was hers. Hers, and no one elses.
So good. Never tasted anythingso sweet. Addictedalready
Yes. Addicted. He was a drug. Her drug, and she doubted there was a cure.
With her painkillers, shed had to stop using cold and flat. The withdrawals had been nightmarish. Yet she knew with sudden, shocking clarity that those would not compare to what shed experience without Nicolai.
He replaced the hand on her breast with his mouth, flicking his white-hot tongue over her nipple, shooting more of those gratifying lances through her. He didnt bite, though, not again.
She wanted him to bite her everywhere. Please, Nicolai.
Anything you want, I will give you.
She arched into him, locking her ankles at his lower back. The long, thick length of his erection hit her just right, more liquid dampening her panties. I want it all.
He still wore the loincloth, but the leather must have bunched up, freeing his cock, because she could feel the heat of his silky skin, soft yet, oh, so hard, pushing at the cotton in a bid to move it out of the way. Just a little more, and theyd be skin-to-skin. Strength-to-wet.
She ached for that. Wanted it with every fiber of her being. But Nicolai had other plans. He continued his downward journey, tracing her scars with his tongue, laving her navel. She would have been humbled by the decadent attention, but she was too aroused. Goose bumps broke out, sensitizing her skin to an almost unbearable degree.
Mine, he growled.
Yes. Yes! His. Always. She frowned. No, not always. The repercussions of his druglike lovemaking hit her like a hammer to the head. She could go home at any moment. This wasnt permanent, and she couldnt forget that fact. Couldnt become attached to him. To this.
You already are.
Yes, she was.
How could she return to her old life now? Shed tasted the forbidden fruit, was addicted just as shed suspected, and she needed more. More of his hands and his mouth and his teeth and his fingers. More of the heat and the sweetness and the ferocity. But if she didnt finish this, if she attempted to walk away now, she would always wonder about what could have happened.
So, she would worry about the consequences later. Right now, she would simply enjoy.
Mine, he repeated.
Yes, she found herself agreeing.
You want me.
You, and only you.
Youre so wet for me. I can feel you, feel how ready you are.
Ready for you, and only you. She was repeating herself, but she didnt care. The words were true.
Youre so hot for me.
Yes.
Youll give me everything.
Yes, I Janes thoughts derailed completely. Finally he was there, between her legs, shoving her panties aside the rest of the way. She anchored her calves over his shoulders as his tongue stroked her.
At first contact, she screamed. So good, so damn good. He licked, sucked and nibbled at her, building her desire to a fever pitch. So close, closer than ever before.
Like?
I like!
His fingers joined the play. First one, sinking in and out, then another, in and out, in and out, stretching her, preparing her for his possession. Could stay here forever, he rasped.
She was incapable of responding, what little breath she had left caught in her throat.
Taste so sweet here, too.
A sound escaped the knot. A whimper.
Come for me, sweetheart. A command from the animal hed unleashed at the palace, frothed into a frenzy, desperate, a conqueror. Let me see that beautiful face light up. With that, he bit her, right there, between her legs.
He sucked the blood that beaded, and then, thank God, then he shot whatever his fangs produced straight inside her core.
Sparks of utter bliss ignited there, then spread, quickly burning her up from top to bottom. Every muscle she possessed clenched, spasmed, shooting her to the stars. Another scream left her, this one tearing through the encroaching daylight.
The climax was intense, soul shattering. Then Nicolai was looming over her, one of his hands ripping at her panties, his cock probing for entrance. His eyes were glitter-bright, his fangs bared in a determined scowl. Not of anger, but of agonizing need.
More, he said with guttural harshness.
Let me have you.
Now, he growled.
Just before he thrust inside, the bushes to their left rattled, the leaves dancing together. His attention whipped there, a growl of pure menace leaving him.
Jane was still too lost in the throes of passion to care. Nicolai! Please. What are you waiting for? Make me your woman in truth.
Protect. He jerked upright, severing all contact. She reached for him, but he placed himself in front of her, acting as her shield.
The time for pleasure had ended. The time for fighting had arrived.
CHAPTER NINE
NICOLAIS MORPH FROM tender lover to savage vampire warrior shocked Jane back to her senses. She was nakedripped panties didnt countand her camp had just been invaded. By giants. Four of them.
All four were eyeing her up and down like a barbecued slab of ribsand they were starving vegetarians.
One by one, they confirmed her thoughts.
Ugly, the tallest said, the g prolonged.
Hideous.
Fat.
Woman, the shortest said. He was probably six-five.
The rest of them shrugged, the universal sign for I guess shell do. Apparently Odette and Laila looked a lot alike, but sex was sex. They might find her repellant, but theyd still do her. Their gazes dipped and glued to her nipples, saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths.
Vegetarians now converted into carnivores.
Jane shuddered. The best thing about her robe, she decided then, was the ease of donning it. She grabbed the material still hanging from the limb where shed draped it and jerked it over her head. Boom, done. She was dressed and ready to face the newest hazard in her life.
Shed expected to battle Lailas guards at some point, but as she snatched up two of her wooden daggers, she realized the giants werent as humanoid as the guards had been. Their eyes were bright red, like twin crimson suns rising from the pits of hell. Sharp, fanglike teeth, bared now, still dripping, dripping, forked tongues flicking out and swiping over reptile-thin lips. Wide shoulders, with black wings arching above them. Rather than nails, they possessed claws.
Somehow, she recognized them as shed recognized the forest. They were straight out of her darkest nightmares and deep down she knew these creatures were savage, mindless. And Nicolai was going to fight them? He drank from you. Hes strong enough.
Please be strong enough.
He snarled a sound of pure menace, his scary animal nature racing back to the forefront. Mine. He stopped just in front of them, daring them to act.
He was weaponless, his torso bare. His poor back was as scarred as her front. Not from a whip or an accident, she didnt think. There was a wide circular mass of scar tissue, raised and puckered, in the center of his back, as if someone had carved out the patch of skin.
He was a survivor. Like her. He could take these menand win.
We want woman, the tallest said. He was clearly the leader. Also, he was as dumb as a box of rocks, because he added, You give. Now, and expected Nicolai to rush to obey.
No, she and Nicolai said in unison.
You leave, another said with a frown, just as clearly not understanding why Jane wasnt being given to him.
She please us. You live.
No, Jane told them with a shake of her head. You leave. Simple words they might understand. And you will live.
They ignored her.
Leave, one said to Nicolai. Last chance.
Another said, You look like someone. Who? He shook his head, already losing interest in the question. No matter. Give woman. We keep.
So. Her will meant nothing. Rape was on their menu du jour. Rip them to shreds, she told Nicolai.
He didnt reply. He simply leaped forward and raked his clawsclaws, longer and sharper than theirs!along the face of the tallest, the biggest threat, sending the giant stumbling backward.
The grunt of pain that followed was like the starting bell to a UFC match. No rules, just pain.
The five males swarmed together in a tangle of limbs, fangs, blood and adrenaline. The blood, well, that sent Nicolai into an animalistic frenzy. He snarled like a panther, bit like a shark and held on to whatever he clamped his teeth into like a pit bull.
Jane knew better than to interfere. When shed switched the focus of her work to the human body, hoping to find a cure for her mother, shed learned quite a bit about physical reactions. A man worked into a rage was completely unaware of his surroundings. The chemicals shooting through his bloodstream would keep Nicolai on a short leash, the end of that leash bound to these giants, where only killing mattered.
So she stood there, and she watched, silently cheering for her man.
Not yours, she forced herself to add. Not completely, and not yet. She could share her body with him, her mind, but her heart and soul? No. Not when there was a chance the magic would fade and she would return home. Worse, if he fell in love with her, he would wither and die if she left him.
Ohdamn. Shed forgotten about that. Such a terrible fate had befallen several of the vampires brought to her lab. She couldnt let that happen to Nicolai.
She brushed the depressing, worrisome thoughts aside. No distractions, not now. The fight escalated quickly, the violence seemingly unparalleled. Someones arm flew past her headand it wasnt attached to a body.
Just then, Nicolai was walking death. His expression, what few times she glimpsed it, considering how quickly he was moving, was cold. He lacked mercy, never once pulling his punches. He went for the throat, vital organs and groin. Had the giants been human, they would have fallen to his superior power within seconds. But each time he dropped one to the ground, or tore off a limb, the bastard got up for more.
That only revved Nicolais engine. The lethal grace of himJane was riveted, even shocked. Oh, shed known he was capable of this. There, inside the palace, hatred and determination had radiated from him. And guts had spilled across the floor. Had he not rescued her, he would have stayed until every living being had died by his hand. Or teeth. That, shed known.
But this man, this warrior, had also given her sizzling pleasure. Hed feasted between her legs, and hed loved doing it. She thought he might have enjoyed it as much as she had. And, oh, hed set her blood on fire, thrilled her to her very soul, ensuring both of them existed only for passion. That had happened minutes ago. Mere minutes ago. Now he was a being capable of rendering pain, only pain.
And all too soon the giants learned to anticipate his moves. They bit at him with their too-sharp saber teeth. They swiped their claws at him, cutting him deep. They spun around him, above him, using their wings to slice at him. Nicolai was forced to jump between them and use his momentum to kick at them. They stumbled, but again, they always rose.
She would have to do something, after all. Nicolai would tire soon, surely. He was losing blood, crimson streaking down his chest where hed been scratched. How should she?
In less than a heartbeat of time, strong, trunklike arms banded around her, one just above her breasts, the other around her waist, and jerked her into a thick body. Fear bombarded her, nearly paralyzing her. Then fight-or-flight kicked inas did a reminder that she held two daggers. Fight won.
She slammed her elbow backward, hitting her attacker in the stomach, meaning to turn and stab. He grunted, but held tight, and she wasnt able to twist around. She opened her mouth to scream. Before even the slightest sound left her, her mind shouted, You cant distract Nicolai.
The giantand she knew a giant held herdragged her backward, but she didnt allow herself to struggle.
Perhaps they werent as dumb as shed first thought. This one had known to hang back, to wait, to watch, and grab her while everyone else was preoccupied. Were any others waiting in the shadows?
How would she fight them all?
A cold rage of her own infused her. Thankfully no one else appeared, and when Nicolai and company were no longer in sight, leaves and branches shielding them, she erupted. Fight. She angled her arms, lifted both of her elbows this time, and then slammed them home. He gave another grunt, finally loosening his hold.
Another angle shift, and she thrust her arms down, using the makeshift daggers. The tips sliced deep into his thighs.
With a howl of pain, he shoved her away from his body. One of the daggers remained lodged, but the other glided free as she stumbled forward. Jane righted herself and whirled around, facing him. This giant was scowling, his fangs dripping with saliva. His red eyes glowed with menace.