Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
So many questions. Trying not to panic.
Maybe panicking a little bit.
Big bit.
Oh, no. It was getting harder to breathe. Gemma’s heart raced faster and faster until her pulse made huge thumping noises between her ears.
She focused on the field of purple flowers. The one that…was real. Fucking real. Just like how she was a genuine blood drinker.
Flowers…think of the purple flowers. Air moved more easily through her lungs.
Gemma scurried to the mirror, but didn’t touch the glass.
Perhaps, she’d never touch a mirror again.
No getting sucked back to her world right now.
Living as a vampire over there meant she’d have to bite humans.
That wasn’t happening. Biting Skarde, from an objective perspective, seemed gross but tolerable.
Attacking humans to suck their blood and then killing them? Eww.
Whew, she still looked like herself—even if her skin was smooth. As in, she had no blemishes at all. She’d never been a person who tanned, but now her skin was super pale, as if she’d used some sort of whitener. She splashed water in a basin to rinse off her face and swish in her mouth.
No toothbrush.
Lifting her lips, she stared at her sharp canine teeth. They weren’t movie-monster scary, but they definitely weren’t human. How she wished for a change of clothes, anything other than this old puffy pirate-esque shirt. A bit of mascara and a hairbrush would be an additional bonus.
A hundred questions pinged inside her head. Her chest cramped tight.
Wake the hell up, Skarde.
She nudged him. He didn’t stir.
She didn’t want to come off as clingy or weak, so she decided to let him sleep.
Finally, what seemed like an hour later, he stirred. It might’ve been five minutes, but it seemed forever. Rolling, he faced her where she sat cross-legged on the floor.
“You’re up,” he said hoarsely.
“Do we get morning breath?”
He rolled back onto his back and covered his eyes with an arm. “Not really.”
“How do we brush our teeth here?”
He compressed his lips. “That wasn’t the first question I had when I woke up a vampire. I didn’t handle the change well. I had Cade, who has the compassion of a brick. He concentrated on escape over everything else. A toothbrush? Yes. They’re made of wood and horsehair, at least the ones I prefer.”
“Am I going to shape shift into a bat or something?”
“No.”
“Can we teleport?” At his confused frown she added, “Turn into dust and move somewhere else?”
“Now that would be useful, but no.”
“How about flying? Some fictional vampires can do that, mostly cartoons.”
Skarde shook his head.
“So all we have is the ability to move fast and be a bit stronger than people, with the handicap of needing to drink their blood and having to avoid the sun? And we live indefinitely with those issues?”
“Yes.”
“Well, this sucks.”
“The sex is so much better.”
“Something’s got to make up for this condition.” She did a scan of his body. “Can we mesmerize people with our eyes and make them do our bidding?”
“Persuasion. Some call it the voice. It involves more than the eyes. You have to concentrate solely on that person and ask something simple. Complex orders will get messed up. It doesn’t work on other vampires or fae. It’s a crapshoot on dwarves, fairies, mages, and anything magical.”
“How long can I go between times I need blood? I don’t see you drinking from people all the time.”
He propped himself up on his elbow to stare at her. “A while. In the beginning, the hunger is stronger. As you get older you need less, but the more frequently you drink, the stronger you will be.”
“Can I drink from any vampire?”
“I suppose, but most don’t allow it.”
“Why not? It’s less disgusting than putting your mouth on a random person.
” A shiver worked its way through her. “I don’t even know how you could possibly have done that with someone like Dylan.
I don’t want them to turn into something I’d have to…
kill.” She threw a hand over her mouth as bile surged.
A glance around found nothing convenient to puke into.
“There’s the horror I remember. Yes, you must kill the human, or it will start the turn toward one of us.
Completing the turn requires you share your blood, but don’t forget the curse on our species.
You’re the first new vampire. Who knows if it can be done again.
” He sat up and pulled her into him. “I’m here for now.
Bite me all you want, preferably when I’m deep inside you. ”
“You might not always be around. You could die. Or you might freak out that I’m going to turn into something else and dump me, or try to kill me, or the Directorate might take me.”
“How about we try to get through tonight?”
A wave of lust hit her when he threw off the covers, revealing his nakedness beneath. His hands gripped her cheeks tight as he pressed his mouth against hers.
Demanding, his mouth worked over hers, pulling and teasing. His tongue swept across her lips, but she didn’t give in to him right away. He growled. She smiled and opened her mouth to grant him access.
When her tongue caressed his, he moaned and shifted them so she was on her back. His grip on her pelvis was so tight that it shot a piercing pain through her, but the pain subsided when she realized how amazing it was to have someone claim her the way Skarde did.
A heady sensation took over when Skarde moved his lips over hers and down her neck, teasing over her jugular and back up to her mouth. His kisses slowed, turning languid and purposeful with every swipe.
The sensation was addictive. With every press of his mouth, every swipe of his tongue her senses swirled. Just when she thought she couldn’t get any closer to him, he pulled away to take a deep breath.
He leaned in to run his tongue along her jaw and up to her ear, nipping the skin there. “Tell me you want me.”
“Of course I want you.”
“How badly?” He took her earlobe into his mouth and nibbled.
She wanted him more than air itself. On a hiss of outgoing air she said, “Skarde—”
“I want you at the point the need is so painful that the moment I’m inside, you’ll come so hard you have to bite me.” He used his knee to spread her legs farther apart. “Don’t move your legs.”
His voice had changed, becoming darker. More throaty. More commanding.
He laced their fingers together and held her hands on either side of her head as he lowered his mouth to hers.
His knees spread between her legs, but he still only touched her with his mouth.
She tried to keep up with his kisses and tongue and the nips, but it was hard when the sensations of his mouth dominated her thoughts.
She got lost in his touch, the command and strength in his body.
How could he remain so controlled, when every stroke and kiss shot fireworks through her veins?
He kissed down her neck. His teeth cast teasing nibbles to the point she moaned and arched her neck against him, tempting him and wishing he’d give her a real bite. But he resisted. Her body throbbed with need and her legs shook. She was drowning in desire.
Then Skarde returned to her mouth.
“I need you,” she rasped out between kisses.
“You’re not begging for it. Not yet.” He kissed back to her neck and nipped.
She moaned. “Please…”
“You’ll have to wait a bit longer.” He worked up to her mouth once more. This time, he used lighter kisses. Not as hungry or demanding, just exploratory.
It was torture. Pure torture. With her hands were pinned, she couldn’t touch him back. All she had was her mouth, and when she tried to direct him and arch into his body, tried tempting him, he pulled away.
“I’m in charge, so stop trying to get more, Gemma.”
“You’re driving me crazy.”
He dipped and rolled his pelvis into hers. The building pressure started to grow uncomfortable.
“Damn it, Skarde,” she muttered as his lips fell to her neck.
“I might put my new super strength to the test.” He rubbed his bare chest against her nipples, only allowing the tips to graze his skin.
The sensation was too much. It shot her hips toward his with a feral cry.
“Please, I need you so bad I’m throbbing in my toes. ”
“Bite me,” he commanded as he released her hands.
She gripped his shoulders and leaned in to bite into his neck. The rich flavor of his blood flowed down his throat. A deep moan erupted out of her chest.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he surged inside her. Again, his strength knocked her free of his neck.
Her vision blurred as her orgasm spiked through her body, shooting her spine straight and chest high. Her legs tightened around his hips.
He grunted something unintelligible as he buried his head in her shoulder and bit down as he came.
His back was sweaty, his skin so hot. When he glanced up, she saw the pleasure and strain in his gaze. He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, eyes intense.
“You’re right,” she said. “This is so much better than human sex.”
He rolled to put her on top as they both caught their breath in silence.
Out of the silence of bliss, he whispered, “As much as I want to spend the entire night right here… Hell, the next week or maybe month right here doing nothing but biting you and making you come apart, we have to leave. Not only is it unsafe to be in Cade’s place, but I have a job to do.”
“You’re going to let me join you on a magical killing mission?”
“You’re coming with me, but not to the encounter with the necromancer. Cade found you some clothes from an old girlfriend of his.” He chinned toward the chair. How had she missed the clothes? “She was into leather, it looks like. At least it’s easier to ride in than a dress.”
She strode to the clothes and dressed. The pants weren’t made of leather, but some sort of cotton she suspected would be highly absorptive when wet.
The leather top and leather outer jacket were beautifully styled.
“They’re made for someone taller with a lot less up top.
” She adjusted her boobs. “At least the girls are covered. I feel like Lara Croft.” At his blank look she added, “She’s a girl from a game.
That doesn’t help you understand. She’s a fictional archeologist who goes after precious relics in tombs across the world. ”
“You look like no treasure hunter I’ve ever seen. You look more like a warrior clan’s queen. I’ll help you drape the tartan to ward off the cold.”
She picked up the heavy wool in green and blue hues. “Are these your family colors? Blackmann?”
“Our last name was Blacach but it changed over the centuries.”
“How old are you, exactly?”
“Three-hundred and ten. Keep it to yourself.”
“Whoa. I must seem…way younger.”
His lips twitched upward, but he didn’t smile.
“Do I get shoes or stay barefoot?” she asked.
He stalked naked to a closed door that turned out to be a closet. “See if these fit.”
Oh, these boots would definitely do. She slid on the calf-length black leather heeled boots and raised an eyebrow at him.
He closed in on her and slid his hand to the back of her neck. “I need you naked with just the boots on.”