Embrace the Power: A Paranormal Romance (The Blood Rose Series Book 9) (18 page)

He grabbed her bottom and lifted her up. She could feel him reaching for her well so she took his cock and guided him in. She held his gaze as his tip found her wet opening and began to push inside.

“I’m going to ride you, Stone.” Never in a million years would she have imagined saying something like this to the Mastyr of Tannisford. But it felt wonderful. As Aralynn, the wolf, she was much bolder than the queen would have been.

Once he was seated inside her, she rode him, up and down. He helped with his powerful arms and his hands still planted on her ass. “You’re riding me, Aralynn.”

“Yes, I am.”

He slid his arms around her fully and drew her against his chest. “I’m loving this,” he whispered against her ear.

“Me, too.” More than she could say, more than she even understood. She felt as though all the loneliness of her life descended on her in this moment and she let the tears fall, let the emotions swell over her, through her, then out of her.

This was what Vojalie had with Davido, what Delia had with Elias, what all the happily married realm-folk of Ferrenden Peace had.

The water washed the evidence of her sadness away and she returned to the pleasure of feeling Stone inside her. She felt like a normal woman and it made her so happy.

He drew back and pushed her dripping hair away from her throat. “I want to feed from you, but not in the shower. Come back to bed?”

She nodded then lifted her hips up, easing off him.

He turned the wonderful warm spray of water off then led her from the shower. He took what turned out to be an oversized towel and started drying her off.

It was such a tender gesture that she leaned up and kissed him.

His lips curved as he finished his task then made short work of his own massive body.

While he hung up the towel, she took another one and wrapped up her ridiculous hair, then leaned over and towel-dried as best she could. Stone did the same for his own long black mane.

When she was done, he once more picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. She half expected him to toss her and let her bounce.

Instead, his expression grew solemn as he laid her down gently then climbed between her legs.

“You’re beautiful, Aralynn, and I feel blessed to be with you. The whole time we’ve been here together, my mating frequency has been on fire. And there’s only one way to say this: I’m in love with you.” He smiled softly. “I love you.”

She was stunned as she touched his face with the tips of her fingers. “You love me?”

“I do.”

She saw the sincerity in his eyes and responded from her heart. “I love you, too, Stone. I have ever since you saved that busload of kids. And when we were in the restaurant and Marny got so teary-eyed, she fully expressed what each of us feels who knows you, how in awe we are at your dedication, your self-sacrifice and your love for your people. How could I not love you?”

He smiled suddenly. “Then bond with me.”

She had to rein in the powerful impulse to say ‘yes’. Instead, she smiled. “Maybe. Ask me again tonight, after our day-sleep, okay?”

“I will. But I’ll never stop asking and that’s a promise.”

She lifted up and kissed him. He followed her back down, returning her kiss. It wasn’t long before he was buried between her legs once more and pushing into her.

Only this time, he added a vibration to his cock that had her back arching. “I didn’t know you could do that. But now let me offer you something in return.”

She turned her head just so, exposing her neck and he groaned heavily. He continued thrusting into her as he licked several long lines up her throat. She could feel her vein rising. Her chest was heavy with the need to give him what she now made in abundance.

She could also feel his vampire drive to break her skin. “Do it.” Her voice was raspy.

He paused his hips and in a flash bit her throat, striking to just the right depth. A sensation of euphoria rolled through her as he began to suck. He drove his cock into her again and the dual sensations sent flurries of pleasure up and down her body, through her and over her.

His mating frequency battered her now and she let him in, even though she knew she’d have to work to keep the bond from forming.

She was overwhelmed with everything she experienced.

He sucked harder and thrust faster, all the while sustaining the erotic vibration of his cock. His mating frequency covered her and stroked her so that she was crying out in brief bird-like cries.

Building.

Rising.

The wave caught her in a sudden explosion of ecstasy. Was she screaming? She couldn’t tell. The sensation was like being caught at the very birth of the universe with all its magic and mysteries. Pleasure gripped her and flowed, then gripped her again.

Look at me!

Stone’s commanding telepathic voice forced her to open her eyes. When had she closed them?

“Stone.” Meeting his gaze sent another wave of pleasure flowing. She panted.

He’d lifted off her neck and now pummeled her well relentlessly, his gaze fixed to hers. He was hard as a rock and she felt his mating frequency. She understood then that he was asking again to bond.

“Not yet. But come for me. Come hard, Stone.”

His body arched and his hips paused then he moved faster and faster. She could see ecstasy riding his face.

Another wave broke over her. She added her own vibration deep inside her well. He cried out then began pumping into her once more.

He shouted as he came for the third time, his long black hair wild around his shoulders. She used her internal wolf muscles to grip him and stroke him, teasing every last bit of his seed out of his cock.

His hips gyrated, his face twisted, he shouted over and over, until the moment finally passed.

Deep within her chest, she felt his mating frequency holding her own and loving on her.

She’d never been as satisfied as she was in this moment. She would remember this always as the finest dawn of her life.

She reached up and touched his cheek. “I love you, Stone. I say that with all my heart.”

He kissed her. “I love you, too, Aralynn.”

And there it was, her wolf name and the deception. Yet she still refused to give in to the grating fear of what he would do when he learned the truth.

Not yet.

Not yet.

His brows rose. “What do you mean, not yet? The bond?”

She’d accidentally slipped into telepathy. “Right. Not yet.”

“But soon. Tell me you’ll really think about it.”

“I will. Of course, I will.”

With that, he relaxed though he continued to kiss her, to nuzzle her throat, to thank her for feeding him. “You have no idea how wonderful I feel now, free from pain, satiated as I’ve never been before. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m glad I could do this for you. It seems like such a small thing.”

“Sweet Goddess, it is so much more than you can imagine.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close for a long time. It wasn’t but a few minutes, however, before sleep began curling in her brain. The night had been full of stress and surprises. Having sex had eased her and all she wanted was to close her eyes.

He left her body just as she was drifting off. She felt him kiss her cheek then a minute later tuck a washcloth between her legs. She turned on her side and fell into the beautiful oblivion of sleep.

~ ~ ~

Stone showered up and when he returned to bed, Aralynn was sound asleep. With her features relaxed and her eyes closed, with her dark red hair in a fan around her shoulders, she almost looked like the queen herself.

He’d never noticed it before, which made him wonder if Aralynn was perhaps related to Rosamunde, maybe even her daughter.

It hardly mattered who Aralynn’s parents were, however, even if it meant that Rosamunde was somehow related to her. He’d come to love her, to value her deeply and to trust her in the short time he’d spent battling beside her. What the queen lacked in boldness, Aralynn had a thousand times over.

He slipped into bed, drew close and spooned her, sliding his arm over her waist. She caught his hand in hers and in her sleep held on tight. “I’m so sorry, Stone,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry.”

He chuckled softly. What on earth did Aralynn have to be sorry about?

He fell asleep for the day to thoughts about how blessed he was to have her in his life.

~ ~ ~

Rosamunde awoke to the smell of coffee, but not just any coffee. What was that spice?

She rolled onto her back then the rest of the way to face the other direction. For a moment, she buried her face in Stone’s pillow and drank in his vampire scent. Even his pillows had the rocky streambed scent that she’d grown to crave. Desire once more curled between her legs. Memories of all that they’d done together, the pleasure he’d given her and what she’d returned happily, danced in her mind.

She couldn’t remember being this happy in her entire life.

The protective shutters had already retracted for the night, which meant she’d slept a long time. The back of the house faced west and there was just a hint of the setting sun, the faintest glow in the distant horizon.

Her wolf’s hearing allowed her to detect Stone’s bare feet on the slate floor and the smell of the coffee grew stronger.

She was about to flip over in bed when awareness dawned and she touched her face, her shoulders, her arms. She glanced at her hands. She wasn’t looking at Aralynn’s hands at all.

Somewhere in her sleep she’d become Rosamunde.

She drew in a deep breath and transformed back to her wolf-self.

A second later, Stone appeared in the doorway. “You’re awake. Good.”

She pushed herself up with her hands. “Good eventide, Mastyr Stone.” She gasped. Aralynn wouldn’t offer such a formal greeting, but Rosamunde would.

He frowned as he handed her a steaming mug of coffee.

She thought a hard shift of subject might help. “This smells heavenly. What’s in it?”

“Cardamom.”

“I love that spice. Very exotic.” She brought the mug to her lips.

“Are you all right? Your cheeks are red.”

She wasn’t surprised. She’d almost been caught, which forced her to face the promise she’d made to herself, one that would end her time with Stone, probably for good.

She took another sip of the savory coffee then set her mug on the nightstand. Pulling up the sheet around her, she scooted to the side of the bed. She saw that Stone had picked up her black dress from the night before and had draped it over the back of a chair near the door.

She unwrapped the sheet, then rose to her feet, very naked.

She had to do this.

Her heart ached as she crossed the room to the chair. But what if she waited one more night? How much could that hurt?

No, the moment had come.

She sighed heavily as she picked up her dress.

She had to tell Stone the truth then beg him to forgive her for the deception. She couldn’t do it, however, without a stitch on.

She heaved another sigh as she slid the dress over her head.

“Aralynn, what are you doing? I don’t want you to go. At least not yet.”

“I need to get back to the castle.”

“Does the queen need you?”

“You could say that.”

“But you no longer serve in the Castle Guard.”

Now that the moment had come, the weight of both what she’d done and what she was about to lose crashed down on her. She turned around and crossed back to Stone, who stood by the bed, frowning deeply.

Damn. If only he didn’t look like a move star. She drew close and ran her fingers over his strong cheekbones, one after the other.

He caught her hand. “What’s going on, Aralynn? You look unbearably sad. I don’t get it.” He set his own mug down next to hers on the nightstand.

She withdrew her hand from his then straightened her shoulders. Though she’d gone into battle with Stone dozens of times over the past few weeks, some in harrowing situations, she vowed this was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

“I’ve done you a terrible disservice, Mastyr, and I need to confess something to you. I’ve actually tried several times to tell you what’s been going on with me, and one of them was last night at dinner, if you’ll recall. Then Marny interrupted us with the brandy and made her speech which in turn made me do this horribly selfish thing.”

He shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I’ve known you for the past seven weeks and not once have you done something I would describe as selfish. Not once.”

“Stone, you were right about something. I am related to the queen.”

“Oh, is that it?” His features relaxed for a moment and he even smiled. “I sort of thought you might be. Are you her daughter? I mean these things happen. I promise you it’s not a big deal.” He took a step toward her and she could see he meant to take her in his arms again, but she couldn’t let him.

Instead, she held her hands up in a blocking motion, until he drew to a stop. His frown returned.

“I’m not Rosamunde’s daughter or niece or grandmother or anything. I’m not related in that way. Stone,
I am
Rosamunde.”

Stone stared at her and cocked his head. “What?” Then he chuckled. “That’s not even possible. You don’t look like her. Your hair and coloring might be similar, but this,” he waved his hand up and down to encompass her body, “this isn’t Rosamunde.”

“Maybe it’s best if I show you.”

“Well. Okay. But you’re not making any sense.”

For a moment, she couldn’t do it. The tears had started and she couldn’t stop them. “You’ll hate me.”

“I could never … I won’t … I don’t get this.”

She closed her eyes and transformed. The dress sort of fit her though it was much tighter in the bodice. As Rosamunde, she had bigger breasts than Aralynn.

Stone’s mouth fell agape. He looked her up, then down, then back up. He took a step away from her. “What does this mean?”

“I’m Queen Rosamunde and I’m Aralynn, the wolf-shifter. I’m both women. Davido came to me a year ago and showed me that I was capable of being both persons. He then taught me how to use my powers and become Aralynn. He said ‘Aralynn’ would have an important role to play in the war against my aunt. My cousin, Lorelei, has a similar ability.”