Embrace the Power: A Paranormal Romance (The Blood Rose Series Book 9) (40 page)

Her lovely violet eyes were misty, full of love and something else. It took him a moment to recognize the emotion, but he felt it, too. It was joy, pure and without restraint.

“I will.” She smiled suddenly. “Now take me to bed.”

He chuckled, loving that the Aralynn part of her got straight to the point.

He lifted her into his arms, cradling her as he moved to the cottage door. The smallish dwelling, however, made it impossible for him to carry her over the threshold. He snorted as he set her on her feet, which made her chuckle.

“The cottage belonged to a troll.”

“Thought as much.”

She took his hand and he followed her inside, loving the feel of her palm against his as well as the sight of her mass of red hair flowing behind her.

Once within, he shut the door. When she started to strip, he saw no point in pretending there was anything else they needed to do right now. Of course his task was much simpler since he only wore his leathers.

By the time she was free of her clothes, he picked her up and tossed her on the bed. She laughed as she landed on her back.

As Rosamunde, she had a beautiful shape with an abundance of curves. His mating vibration, joined to hers as it was, sent thrills through his body, tightening his thigh and arm muscles.

He was already aroused as he stretched out on top of her. “You are so beautiful, my love.”

She gasped softly. “Oh, you said that the same way Davido speaks to Vojalie. I love it.”

He smiled. “I guess I did, didn’t I? But I love you, Rosamunde, with all my heart.”

She slid her hand into his hair, something he knew she loved to do. She leaned up and he met her with his lips, guiding her back down with the kiss.

This would be different, that’s what he knew. He loved her and he was secure in her love for him. Rosamunde was
all in.
And he was too. There would be no holding back or recriminations because he feared losing her. He was fully present. Committed.

And
hungry.

Facing death and hours of torture would do that to a man.

He drew back, sniffing her neck then licking. She writhed beneath him then grabbed at his shoulders, pulling him closer.

Do you want me, Rosamunde?
He kept licking her neck.

As though I haven’t been with you in decades. And my heart is heavy. I have what you need, Stone. Take it!

Stone reached low, took his rigid cock in hand and found her opening. Seating himself, he pushed inside her beautiful warm wetness. He was already on the verge and had to take a couple of quick breaths to keep from coming.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” She petted his hair, his shoulders, his arms. She rocked her hips slowly, pulling him deeper inside.

He was one with all his movements, the way his mating vibration pulsed through hers, the way he began to drive into her steadily, and the descending of his fangs, two sharp points, ready to pierce her.

Do it.
She was panting, her body very still.
I want to feel you breach the vein and take what belongs only to you.

Stone drew his head back slightly and opened his mouth wide. He struck to the right depth and felt the first pulse of blood flow into his mouth, warm and tasting woodsy and full of an herbal undertone. He groaned as he formed a seal around the small wounds. He began to suck, timing each thrust of his cock with the pull of his lips. He added the vibration she loved.

She cooed and moaned, then cooed some more. A warmth enveloped him. He opened his eyes to discover that her violet mist had wrapped them both up in a cocoon of privacy and pleasure. Everywhere the mist touched his naked body, shivers chased over his skin, adding sensation on sensation.

All the pieces of their bonding puzzle were now in place: Sex, the taking of her incredible blood, and the joining of their mating frequencies. They’d each acknowledged a desire to bond, and even the elf-lord power was still humming through them both.

He wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen, but he almost didn’t care, only that the bond formed as it should. Being this close to Rosamunde, and giving her pleasure, was enough for him.

When his thirst was slaked, he drew back slowly and licked the wounds. She was in a euphoric state, her brows high on her forehead, her violet eyes glowing softly.

She stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand. “Are you satisfied?”

“I am. More than I can say.” He was stroking her low, sustaining the level of pleasure pervading the moment. The pinnacle hadn’t yet been reached, but there was something very magical between them.

“I’ve never felt like this as though I’m floating in water and you’re rocking me.”

“I am rocking you.” He smiled down at her as he pushed into her more firmly.

She smiled up at him. He saw love in her eyes.

“I want to go to the grotto.”

“What? You mean, now?”

“I want to be in the central pool as we make love. I’ve seen something there for us. Are you willing, because I can take us with a thought, but we’ll be in the water. And my mist will still cover us and warm us, in case you’re concerned.”

He didn’t know why, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Rosamunde was fae and much more connected to the hidden magical elements of the Nine Realms than he was. “What if there’s someone there?”

Her lips curved. “There won’t be. And remember, this time is for us. We’ve been granted this hour.”

He inclined his head. “Take us there.”

He felt himself move, yet not move and in the blink of an eye, she was floating on her back, holding herself in the water through levitation and he was still connected to her. The violet haze of her mist covered and warmed them but he could still smell the sea and feel the push-pull of the waves. But even the sea was calm for them.

The grotto had been the last place they’d worked a mission together.

“The elf-lord power is rich here. Can you feel it, Stone?” She extended her arms in the water. He lifted her up so that she stayed connected to his cock. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him securely then balanced her arms on his shoulders. Her hair streamed water.

Because he was essentially standing, with Rosamunde riding him, he very slowly turned in a circle. “I can sense the elf-lord power all around us.”

He could feel the layers of rock below the water start to rumble and the elf-lord power begin to flow. Only this time, it entered him as well as Rosamunde at the same time.

Her eyes went wide. “This is different. I always received it first. Now, it’s together. Have we bonded?”

He nodded. “We’re in the process of the bond, but I can feel something coming.”

“Stone?” Her voice, very soft and sensual, drew his attention back to her. Her eyes were at half-mast. “I think you should kiss me.”

Everything he felt for her coalesced in that moment. He desired her, he needed her, he wanted her.

His hips began moving on their own, driving into her well, making her his woman.

But the elf-lord power seemed to have a mind of its own because suddenly, they were caught up in a cyclone of fast moving water, spinning yet safe in the vortex. The green stone of the grotto blended with her violet mist, coloring the cyclone.

He held her close, his heart swelling with ecstasy. He spoke aloud and pathed at the same time.
“Rosamunde, my love.”

“Stone, you’re everything to me. I’m yours now and forever.”

He kissed her and moved his hips swiftly, driving in and out. Their mating vibrations tightened. Ecstasy became a swift, mad rush.

“I’m coming, Stone.”

“I’m with you, my darling.”
His hips slammed into her now and she held him tight around his waist with her legs.

She arched her head and began to cry out in long streams of pleasure. He could feel her pulsing around his cock.

He drove faster and suddenly his own release came. Intense pleasure shot through him, in heavy powerful waves. He shouted, then roared. The cyclone kept him moving fast as he gave Rosamunde everything he had.

Just as he began to come down from the high, he felt the bond lock into place like a latch turning.

She’d been fully arched away from him, her eyes closed, caught in ecstasy. But at the sensation, she lifted up to meet his gaze. “Did you feel that?”

“I did. Something like a dead bolt.”

She began to laugh. “I expected the heavens to part, the angels to sing. Not the sound of a lock clicking in place.”

She was so beautiful to him in that moment, precious in his eyes, the woman he loved. But how to tell her what he was truly feeling. “Well, I’ve had a different experience because I’m hearing the angels sing right now. I hear them in your voice. And the heavens have parted that they allowed me to know you and to love you as I do. Heaven is here, in your love for me and with the privilege of loving you.”

“Oh, Stone, you are such a beautiful man in every possible way.”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Nothing had felt more wonderful in his life.

~ ~ ~

When Rosamunde drew back, she held Stone’s gaze for a long moment, savoring the rich, mossy color of his eyes and the profound glimmer of emotion that radiated from him. She could feel his love in the same way the water flowed around her. She’d felt her mother’s love in this way as something that moved around her, comforting her, encouraging her.

Now she had Stone and not just in the normal way, but through a blood rose bond. She searched his face, then closed her eyes and traveled her mating frequency, loving the feel of how they were joined.

She went deeper.
Stone, are you with m? Can you see what I’m doing?

I can.

She felt her way along the bond and found the location at the base of Stone’s heart, a second pulse. She moved swiftly back into her own body and found the same thing, a steady, ruby-like pulse of love and joining, of mystery and magic, of everything she could ever want.

When the earth rumbled beneath the water and a second wave of elf-lord power began to flow, she stayed within her fae abilities. Stone wrapped his arms arounds her securely.

It won’t hurt anymore,
she pathed.
That much I know. Because you and I are bonded, I’ll be able to channel like you. And I suspect when the visions come, you’ll always see them at the same time.

His voice penetrated her telepathy.
We’re sharing our powers now.

Yes, we are.

But I feel something else, Rosamunde, that our joined powers have increased.

As the second wave of elf-lord power struck, she opened her eyes and met his. Her heart began hammering out a level of excitement she could hardly contain. “Stone, I think together you and I might be able to defeat Margetta.”

His lips curved. “I think this was what she was after. She wanted to bond with me because of this level of power.”

As the elf-lord power flowed through each of them, Rosamunde knew it was true. She could feel the difference in her bones, that what had been so difficult for her to achieve for the past thousand years, now seemed simple. “This was what I couldn’t help you understand, how deeply I understood that I couldn’t have battled Margetta on my own. But now, I know we have a chance to defeat her.”

He kissed her again and once more she melted against his body, drinking in the pleasure of being loved by him.

But as she drew back, the elf-lord power began to create very specific images in her head of the Tannisford Plains. “Are you seeing this?”

“I am. The final battle.”

“Yes.”

Stone grinned. “Then I think we should get some clothes on.”

She laughed and hugged him hard. She started to teleport him to her cottage, but he was before her and she landed with a surprising jolt at the foot of her bed.

“Stone, you took us here! This was you, not me.”

“I know. Yup, we’re definitely sharing abilities.”

“I’m going to grab a shower.”

He gestured west, toward Tannisford. “And I’m going to take a quick hop to my lake and pick up some clothes. I’ll be back here before you know it.” He kissed her once on the lips, then with a smile, vanished.

She went into the bathroom, turned on the shower, then took a few minutes to rinse the sea water off. Afterward, she didn’t bother to use her hair dryer; there wasn’t enough time. Instead, she towel-dried as best she could then arranged her damp hair in a single braid down her back.

When she was ready, she found Stone standing very still near the foot of the bed but clothed in fresh battle gear. She sensed he was communicating with the ruling mastyrs. He waved for her to come close and when she did, he slid his arm around her waist then pulled her into the telepathic conversation.

Rosamunde is with us. Ian, say again about Margetta’s army.

She’s been moving her wraith-pairs in large groups to the east foothills at the top of the plain.

Rosamunde knew the location well. Massive rocks formed a shelf that stretched for three miles in both directions. Margetta couldn’t have chosen better. Her army could scramble back through the hundreds of pathways that led through the rocks and into the nearby cave-riddled hills.

Ian continued.
We have the Combined Forces still arriving in waves from every Realm. Davido and Vojalie have gone from realm-to-realm and have moved all the Vampire Guards and Shifter and Troll Brigades to the plains. I doubt Margetta expected that.

Rosamunde agreed. She gripped Stone’s waist tight. He met her gaze and nodded.

This was it.

The final battle.

Whatever happened here tonight would determine the next thousand years for the Nine Realms.

Rosamunde and I will be at the promontory near the Sea of Vermed.

Ian’s voice strengthened.
All the mastyrs are assembled there, Commander. We’re awaiting your orders.

At these words, Rosamunde felt Stone’s shoulders lift slightly and his spine straighten a bit more. She was proud of him, of what he’d achieved in bringing all the ruling mastyrs together. It was always believed that a unified Nine Realms would be impossible given the fiery nature of the mastyr vampire.