Darkest Hour (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (3 page)

“Are you ever going to come back
to your own bed, Elsbeth?”

The question startled her so that
she nearly dropped the match she’d been using to light the candles in the
living room area. “What?” She blinked, that familiar image of the two of them
rolling around on her feather mattress rising up to taunt her again. Her eyes
settled on Thomas, whose hip was propped against the chintz couch, clad in the
black hunting gear that fit him like a glove. Why did he have to look so good?
“I… I didn’t think you would be comfortable with that.”

Silence. Then, “I meant that I
would be willing to take the guest room as opposed to forcing you out of your
own bedroom.”

“Oh.” Cheeks burning, she turned
away. “It’s really no trouble at all. You’re a guest here, and I want you to be
comfortable.”

Her sensitive hearing picked up
his footfalls, his breathing, the displacement of the air behind her. The
warmth radiating off him told her he stood scant inches from her back, but she
refused to turn around even though her pulse was thundering like that of a
living woman’s.

He brushed a curl that had
escaped her topknot from her neck, and traced the spot where it had been,
sending shivers up and down her spine. “Would you rather share your bed with
me, Elsbeth?”

She turned slowly, and though she
desperately wanted to search his face to see what he’d meant by that, she
couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. “Don’t be silly. We both know you
don’t really want me.”

“Elsbeth.” He gently gripped her
slightly rounded chin with his fingertips and lifted her face so she had no
choice but to stare into his eyes. They were a light hazel, and filled with a
tenderness that made her throat ache. “I know you didn’t mean to put me in
harm’s way that night. I’ve said some harsh things since that time, but I can’t
hold onto my anger against you. You’ve been unbearably kind, and you don’t
deserve to be put through an emotional hell because of something someone else
did to me. Don’t punish yourself for something you didn’t do.”

Elsbeth sighed and pushed him
away. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to sleep with me simply because you
feel guilty for speaking to me in anger. Not that you didn’t have any right to
say those things to me. Your circumstances were brought about by my actions.”

His eyes flashed, though they
remained human in color, and he pressed her up against the wall. “Do I look
like a man who wants to have sex with a woman out of guilt? Do I feel like
one?” He pushed his erection against her hip, and she gasped. “You’re still
thinking with your guilt, Elsbeth. See me for what I am. See
yourself
for
what you are: A beautiful woman with a sense of honor and duty, a woman who has
taught me to take my new life and make something of it. It’s not guilt that I
feel toward you, but gratitude. And I am more than willing to show you my
appreciation for everything you’ve done for me.”

He lowered his lips and caught
hers in a gentle kiss, one that curled her toes and sent warmth rushing through
every inch of her skin. His lips were warm and inviting, and he brushed them
back and forth over hers, coaxing her into responding. She slid her hands up to
cup either side of his jaw, loving the way his stubble teased her fingers as
she kissed him back, slipping her tongue between his lips. She smiled as he
groaned, then gasped as he dug his fingers into her butt cheeks and hauled her
up so that she had to wrap her legs around his lean hips to keep them from
dangling.

Thomas tasted Elsbeth with the
same fervor that a man dying of thirst might slurp water. She might have been
undead, but she responded with the same passion and enthusiasm of any woman.
True, her skin was still cool despite the flush he could feel thrumming through
the veins beneath her skin, but the little sounds she made as he tangled his
tongue with hers and pressed her further against the wall were unmistakable and
hard to ignore. He liked the fact that she was wearing leggings rather than a
dress, because he didn’t have to push her skirt up in order to wrap her legs
around his waist. Her core, which was molten compared to the rest of her body,
felt like heaven as it slid against his hardness, and shivers of pleasure ran
through her body every time he ground himself against her.

But it was not enough, and even
though the tunic and leggings showcased her body, they also completely covered
her, and he needed to feel her skin against his. Without breaking the kiss, he
hauled her up against him and stumbled blindly down the hallway, knocking into
the walls. Neither of them cared when a vase fell off a small decorative table
and crashed against the hardwood floor, or when a painting slid from the wall.
The need to become closer, to become one overpowered everything else.

Eventually they made it to the
bedroom, and he tossed her on the downy coverlet. She didn’t get much of a
chance to admire him as he towered over her, looking both dangerous and
desirable with that hungry look in his eyes, before he covered her with his
body and took her lips again. It wasn’t long before his fingers tunneled
beneath her tunic to find her breasts, and she arched into him as he flicked
his thumbs over her nipples.

Thomas teased her mercilessly
with his hands, greedily swallowing every gasp and moan she made as he
continued to kiss her—they were so sweet he could almost taste them on
each breath that left her lips. His shaft grew harder as she pressed herself
against his hands, hooking one of her ankles around his calf to bring him
closer.

Wanting to see her skin, he
lifted her into a sitting position long enough to pull the tunic off. Her
breasts bounced free, round, full creamy globes with pink, frosted nipples that
had his mouth watering. He pushed her back down onto the bed, then took her
left breast into his mouth, nipping and sucking at the pink, beaded pearl.

A cry left Elsbeth’s lips, and
her hands flew to Thomas’s hair, digging her nails into his scalp as he
tormented her with his lips, teeth, and tongue. She’d never thought this could
be so good. His spicy male scent surrounded her and she inhaled greedily, like
it was a drug. And perhaps he was her drug; she’d been unable to stay away from
him since the moment she’d first seen him. And even though by doing so she’d
only further complicated their lives, she wouldn’t take it back for the world.
Nor would she let him go.

His lips left a burning trail
down her abdomen, nipping at her ribs, his tongue dipping into her navel.
Slowly, he peeled off her leggings, revealing her smooth, snowy white legs with
every inch. A sudden shyness had her clamping them together, and they trembled
as he ran a finger from her left knee down to her ankle.

“You’re so beautiful.” His voice
was soft, in direct contrast to the fire in his eyes. “Don’t hide yourself from
me. I want to see you.” He lifted her leg, and trailed open-mouthed kisses up
her calf and to her inner knee. By the time he started licking and nibbling her
thigh, her other leg had gone limp, and was resting on the coverlet, giving him
easy access to what he wanted most.

“That’s it,” he murmured, sliding
his hands beneath her knees so he could spread her legs wide. Her pink, swollen
folds glistened from beneath a thatch of black curls. He licked his lips, then
rested the backs of her calves on his shoulders before leaning down to press a
kiss there.

“Thomas,” Elsbeth gasped, her
fingers finding his hair again, though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hold
him there or pull him away. “What are you doing?”

He lifted his head briefly,
scorching her with his eyes. “Showing my appreciation for you.”

Before she could come up with a
suitable response, to tell him that he really didn’t
have
to do this, he
lowered his head again, and she cried out in shock and pleasure as his hot, wet
tongue speared her. He found the little nub of pleasure that she’d often
stimulated during long, lonely nights when she’d not had a lover to ease either
the ache in her heart or the one between her legs. But the pleasure she’d given
herself on those nights didn’t come close to what she felt now—a bolt of
lightning arced through her with every stroke of his tongue, and flames seemed
to race across her skin. He then shoved two fingers inside her and she
screamed, her hips lifting off the bed. Her nails dug into the coverlet, her
body bowed into a full bridge, and she pumped her hips in time to his thrusting
fingers, desperately craving the friction.

The orgasm hit her like a
hurricane, washing through her with such tremendous force that she couldn’t
breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but take the pleasure as it
saturated every inch of her. She didn’t hear her scream echoing off her walls,
or see the smile of satisfaction cross Thomas’s face. And when she finally
collapsed onto the mattress, chest heaving, she didn’t want to do anything except
bask in the afterglow.

“Well, that was certainly
entertaining.”

Shock rippled through her, and
she felt Thomas, who was still crouching between her legs, stiffen. Eyes wide,
she sat up to see Aranda, another member of her Seethe and her mistress’s right
hand, materialize out of the shadows.

“Who the hell are you?” Thomas
snarled, standing and shielding Elsbeth’s body from view. It didn’t matter that
the intruder was a woman rather than a man—a possessive streak had risen
up inside of him.

“It’s all right, Thomas.” Elsbeth
placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him, having dragged the coverlet around
her body to cover it. “Although it would have been more prudent, not to mention
courteous for you to stand outside and knock,” she said pointedly to the vampire
woman.

Aranda laughed and tossed her
head, long, blonde hair rippling over her shoulders. “Our mistress told me to
check on your charge. She said that you were nursing an invalid, but from what
I’ve seen so far he certainly isn’t that. I imagine he has enough stamina for
two,” she purred, taking a step closer, her hips swaying in the inky black
dress she wore.

It was Elsbeth’s turn to step in
front of Thomas. “I don’t believe that our Mistress asked you to perform a
physical examination.”

Aranda gave her only a cursory
glance before returning her attention to Thomas. “I suppose you’re
right—my eyes are all I need.” She swept her gaze down to the bulge in
his pants, and Thomas blushed. “From where I am standing, he looks quite
healthy to me.”

Elsbeth rolled her eyes. “If that
is all the Mistress sent you here for, you are free to go.”

Aranda winked. “So anxious to get
rid of me, Elsbeth? I suppose I can’t blame you one bit. I can see why Malachi
is in such a tiff over your new friend. I’ll admit I’m a bit jealous myself,
but for all the wrong reasons.” She flashed a lascivious smile at Thomas, and
Elsbeth had to take a deep breath to keep herself from slapping the woman. “In
any case, the Mistress told me that should he be recovered, both of your
presences are requested in her personal dining room at midnight.”

Elsbeth bit her lip to keep from
wincing. She’d known that her Mistress would eventually summon them both, but
she’d forgotten about it in the past few days. She’d meant to tell Thomas
earlier and give him a chance to prepare himself, but it was too late, now.

“You may tell the mistress we
will be there,” Elsbeth said. “Please be sure to send her my good wishes.” A
not-so-subtle cue for Aranda to leave so she could do something about her
frazzled nerves.

“I will be sure to do so.” Aranda
wrapped the shadows around her, but instead of leaving she turned toward Thomas
once more. “Elsbeth seems to have a problem with sharing, so unfortunately I’ll
have to keep my hands off you. But should you ever get tired of her or vice
versa, feel free to come find me.” She blew him a kiss, then melted into the
darkness.

“Well.” Elsbeth said after a
moment. “It seems I’m going to be preparing you for your first visit sooner
than I had anticipated.

“I don’t suppose we are allowed
to finish what we started?” Thomas groaned. The vampire woman who’d taunted him
with her blatantly sexual looks hadn’t stirred his desire, but it had reminded
him of what she’d interrupted.

Elsbeth laughed softly. “I’m
afraid not.”

* * *

“I can see why you wanted him,
Elsbeth,” Amelia purred, touching her forefinger to her lower lip as her dark
eyes gleamed. “He is certainly pleasing to the eye. Such a healthy flush to his
skin.” She licked her lips, and the hairs on the back of Thomas’s neck tingled
as the carnal look in her eyes singed his entire body. He didn’t know how he
felt about a blood-thirsty vampire looking at him like that.

You didn’t mind when Elsbeth did,
a voice in his
head reminded him.

“He is.” Elsbeth smiled shyly,
her eyelashes lowered demurely to the floor. The two of them were kneeling on
the carpet, a gesture of supplication that Thomas wasn’t comfortable with, but
Elsbeth had insisted. Exposing the back of his neck to a Vampire Mistress
didn’t seem like such a great idea, but making her angry was probably a worse
one.

“You may both rise,” she said,
her voice smooth as the garnet silk gown she wore. “So, Thomas, how are you
adjusting to your new life?”