Reaper's Dark Kiss (30 page)

You must allow into your heart that which you deem impossible.

He faced the banal truth of the situation. Vandar, Lord of the Dominion, Furie of Chaos, was falling in love with a pink-haired vampire. The very absurdity of it, the sheer undeniability of it made it much more than real. If in a moment he had felt so much for Maggie, wanted so much to protect her, it must be a thousand times more for Julian.

Vandar gave his brother a small bow. “When next we meet, reaper, my only concern will be for your safety.” He flashed a glance at SkyLynne. “I’m sure your actions will be more considered.”

As Vandar turned away, Maggie in tow, he knew that the tales told of this midday battle would recount how the Lord of the Dominion, bleeding and wounded, withdrew from the battleground with his empire expanded and his rule uncontested.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Julian could see that Sky had almost completely recovered her voice.

“I’m sorry I bit you,” she said and ran a finger down Julian’s throat. “You don’t have to be scared.”

He leaned back, away from her touch. “We have to wait,” he said.

Sky was already bonded to Julian. To make her his mate, all he had to do was mark her. It was tradition that a first mating between two bonded Shades was always in the male’s bed, his home. He’d been trying to tell Sky, but she refused to hear him.

As soon as Vandar left with Kraeyl and Maggie, Marek had insisted Julian take Sky to his room. After their first feeding, one of two things happened to a female revenant. She either slept, or she was consumed with lust.

Sky wasn’t sleepy. The haeze was drawing her to him. His beast was demanding that he mark her, take her for his mate.

As Julian lit a taper candle, she came up behind him, kissed his nape, slid her hands to his zipper.

He eased free of her grip, moved beyond her reach, and turned to her. “Why don’t you lie down a little?” Julian said, tingling from Sky’s touch. “When I get you home, you can have all you want.”

“I have a better idea.” Sky pressed herself against him and kissed down the side of Julian’s neck. “How about you take me to the gardens and we find a big tree and you show me your tattoos? They look like countries. How come?”

Julian growled, resisting the surge of pure sexual need that whipped through him. Inside him, his beast roared. He tensed against it. This wasn’t right. They had to wait. It was how things were done. “It’s a map,” he said, breathing hard, letting off heat.

“Of what?” Sky slid her hands down Julian’s chest, rubbing softly.

Her fingers on his skin made Julian clench his teeth against his beast’s goading to take her, mark her. “Battles I was in. Places.”

“Show me,” Sky said, pulling Julian’s shirt free of his jeans.

* * * *

Sky had never felt such desire. It was as if she were a fire, and Julian was oxygen. She could smell his scent strongly now—a forest in moonlight. She finished unbuttoning his shirt and pressed her lips to his chest, licking and kissing, tasting him. She wanted him inside her badly. Tonight, for the first time, she knew what mating meant, because that was what she wanted with Julian: hard sex that would leave no doubt in her mind that she belonged to him, that she was his mate.

“Where’s this?” she asked, kissing the vague shape around his right nipple.

“Greece,” he said in a strained voice.

“I didn’t know you were there.”

Sky kissed just below his ear, moving her body against him. God. He felt so good. His cock was hard against her. She ran her fingers lightly down the ridges of his belly, unbuttoned the top of his jeans, then unzipped him.

She stopped to look up at him. Julian’s eyes were closed. His nostrils were flared.

“Sky, not like this,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not here.”

“Tradition’s overrated,” she said, sliding her hand inside his pants, smoothing her palm over his cock. Taking him in her fist, she moved her hand slowly up and down. She used her other hand to push his jeans down. He breathed hard. Heat radiated from him. Sky saw it as a dim purple glow. She began to slowly kiss her way down Julian’s body, trailing her fingers after her lips.

When Sky rubbed her thumb over his swollen cockhead, Julian growled in what Sky knew was the guttural voice of his beast.

“How does your beast feel about tradition?” Sky whispered, kissing between Julian’s thighs.

“Doesn’t give a damn,” Julian said, his breath coming fast. “You don’t know better, Sky. But I do.”

Julian took her wrist and pulled her to feet. “SkyLynne, look at me.”

The rough edge in his voice should have made Sky tremble. He sounded dangerous, maybe even deadly. But she just looked up at him and said, “I know you won’t hurt me. I can feel it inside me.” She kissed his throat. “Like I want to feel you inside me.”

“Stop,” Julian said. “This isn’t right.”

She hadn’t taken her other hand off his cock. She kept sliding her fist up and down, up and down. She pictured Julian on top of her, taking her, the feel of him, thick and hard inside her, and let her need show in her eyes. “Don’t you want me?” she said.

Julian’s eyes left no doubt what he wanted, what he craved from her. “I’m doing the best I can to be honorable with you,” he said. “But you’re pushing me.”

“No.” She tried to pull away and felt Julian loosen his grip and let her. Sky slid her hand down to caress his heavy sac. She slipped to her knees, took just the head of his cock into her mouth. Julian groaned. She saw his hands curl into fists and knew he wanted to grab her shoulders and slide himself into her throat.

Sky sat back and slowly licked her lips. “Now,” she said, “I’m pushing you.” She held his gaze, a direct challenge. “What are you going to do about it?”

Julian kicked free of his jeans and boots. He tossed his shirt to the floor, and then he was gloriously naked in the flickering candlelight. Muscle rippled under his smooth skin, and his cock stood free, erect.

Bending over, hands on his knees so he was almost eye level with Sky, Julian said, “First, let me make sure I understand. You’re challenging a Creed warrior?”

“What if I am?”

“Then you’re in trouble,” Julian said. He put an arm around her waist and raised Sky to her feet. “Because I’ll have to show you what happens to a tease who does that.”

“What happens?” Sky whispered.

Sliding his hand down to her ass, Julian held Sky tight against him while his other hand slid between her thighs. With a wordless whimper, she parted her legs for his touch. “First I’ll get you naked,” he said and cupped her breasts through her shirt, finding her hard nipples and rubbing his thumbs over them. “Then I’ll make you say my name until you forget yours.” He leaned his head over and ran his fangs along the delicate skin of her neck and moved a hand between her legs and rubbed slowly. “Then I’ll make you writhe under me until you come so hard, you beg for mercy.”

Only seconds went by before Sky reached for her jeans, meaning to unzip them, but Julian stopped her.

“No,” he said. “If you take them off, I’ll stop.”

She cursed herself for being a fool. She should have known better than to tease Julian.

Bending to kiss the side of her neck, he moved his hand, bringing more pressure to bear on her nub. Sky banged her hips into him, letting out a groan of pleasure.

“Take off your shirt,” he said. It wasn’t a request, and without asking Sky knew if she didn’t, he’d stop. “And your bra,” he added.

He stepped back slightly, but his hand stayed where it was. Sky undid her shirt, flung it away, finding it unbelievably hot that he’d tease her, play with her while he watched her undress for him. When she reached back to undo her bra, Julian rubbed even harder and held his hand against the seam of her jeans, pressing against her nub. She gasped, shivering. Her fingers tangled in her bra. She tugged impatiently and tore at it until her breasts were finally free.

“Looks like you want something really bad,” Julian said, and using one hand, he did what he hadn’t allowed her to do and unbuttoned her jeans. Sky moaned. Julian withdrew his touch from her aching body. “Tell me, Sky. What do you want?”

Panting, Sky pushed her breasts against Julian’s muscled chest, rubbing her nipples against him, her arms around his neck, her legs spread wide. “To be yours,” she said.

“You’re already mine.” Julian ran a single finger lightly down her flat belly past her navel, then…stopped. “What else do you need?”

“Julian!” Sky squirmed against him. “You’re the biggest tease on the island of Manhattan.”

“What?” Julian said. “You’re still a little hoarse. Couldn’t hear you. You’re not going to tell what you need? Because you want me to stop? Is that what you said?”

He slowly slid her zipper down, moved his big hand between her legs, and grazed her slick flesh before he slipped a finger inside her wetness, his thumb finding her nub.

Unable to stop herself, Sky called out his name again before she said, “I need you inside me.” She squirmed against him as he teased her, keeping her on the edge of orgasm. “God, Julian. Just do it. Take me.”

Julian claimed Sky’s mouth in a rough kiss, sliding his tongue over hers, and then he stood back, purposely not touching her.

Sky stepped out of her jeans, then stood panting and naked before him.

He went past her and lay on his side on his bed, looking up at her.

She gave him a confused look. “Why did you stop?”

“I’m enjoying the sight of you naked and wanting.” He paused a second before he added, “You asked me what I was going to do. Got a good idea now?”

Sky’s temper rose. She felt her cheeks flush red as she pressed her lips together. Before she could word an answer, Julian asked, “You want me to finish what I started?”

Even throbbing and aching with need, even with nipples so stiff they begged to be touched, Sky couldn’t just give in. “No,” she forced herself to say.

“All right.” Julian lay flat on his back, his fingers laced together over his chest, his cock standing boldly between his legs. “I’m going to sleep. If you get thirsty, wake me up.” He closed his eyes.

“Mine.”

It was a low sensual whisper, as if Julian were just behind her, speaking into her ear.

“I want you.”

It was Julian’s voice, but it wasn’t. The soft rumble of it heightened her desire. Her pride demanded that she stay where she was. That was what a woman would do. But…

“Come, let me pleasure you…”

Sky wasn’t a woman anymore, was she? No. She was a Shadow Worlder’s mate, and Julian’s beast was beckoning her, seducing her, invading her mind and promising pleasure like she’d never known.

This happened in seconds. Julian barely had time to settle his eyelids shut before Sky leaped onto the bed and straddled him. Her heated wetness pressed against his cock.

“I shouldn’t have teased,” she said.

Not saying a word, Julian ran his hands slowly up her belly, over her breasts. He cupped them and rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. She writhed against him. He gently flicked her nipples, again and again. Her wetness soaked him, making his cock slick with her desire.

“Come for me, Sky,” he said, sliding one hand down to play with her nub. “Like you did on the ledge.” She gasped as his finger slid between them. She spread her legs even wider, rocking against him. He found the deepest part of her and slid his finger into her.

Sky wanted to come, but with Julian inside her. She tried to hold back, but when he slid his finger into her, she instinctively rubbed herself against his rough palm. Shivers of pleasure started in her belly. She bit her lips as she felt her hips rolling, beyond her control.

“You’re so wet and ready for me,” Julian said, sliding his finger in and out of her.

“No,” Sky gasped out. “With you inside me.”

“You will,” Julian said and picked up his pace. “But first you have to tell me.”

She felt her orgasm building. Leaning over him, grabbing at his arms, Sky made her hips grind against Julian. She was so close to the edge. “What?” She was shuddering. “Tell you what?”

“That you’re mine.”

Her heart pounding, her hands shaking where she gripped Julian, Sky cried out softly, “I’m yours.”

Julian took one of her nipples into his mouth, and for a few seconds, pleasure was Sky’s world. Wave after wave rocked through her.

“Mine,” Julian whispered, and his beast spoke with him. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled Sky onto her back. Holding himself up on his elbows, he looked down at her, put his lips to her ear, and said, “Forever.” Then he slid into her.

He was bigger than any man Sky had ever been with. She felt herself stretching around him. It was a sweet ache that made her groan as Julian slowly filled her.

* * * *

Julian let his beast rut and have its way with Sky. He let out a cry that was half animal pleasure, half ecstasy. Sky clenched around his cock, making him throb even harder.

With a growl, Julian pounded into her, every stroke telling her she was his, and she always would be. Under him, Sky trembled with pleasure. He saw on her face that she was close to coming again.

She threw her head back and wrapped her legs around Julian, opening herself to him, taking him deeper inside her, completely abandoned to her hunger for him.

Rising up, his palms on either side of her face, Julian watched her writhe under him. Her white skin glowed against the black velvet sheets as she moved sinuously, never letting his cock slide out of her.

The mark built in him as he stroked deeper and deeper into Sky.

Her eyes went wide. She bucked against him, her teeth clenched as she climbed toward another orgasm.

“I’m going to mark you, Sky,” he said. “After today, any Shadow Worlder who looks at you will know you’re mine.” He stroked into her, enjoying her squirming and her whimpering moans. “Ready for that?”

“You’re what I dreamed of,” Sky said, barely getting the words out between ragged breaths.

Julian did what he’d been wanting to do almost since the night he met Sky. Sinking into her, he let out a moan, knowing he would empty himself into Sky, mark her, make Sky his mate.