Chapter Eight
Aurora fought the instinct to shift into her wolf. The beings surrounding her were unlike any she’d encountered before. Nothing she’d read about or heard through her dealings had mentioned fucking vampires.
She pressed her hand over her throat. That would not prevent them from attacking her, but it made her feel better.
Jesus, she’d literally jumped from one danger, straight into the belly of holy shit major danger.
A hysterical laugh threatened to bubble out, but she choked it back, not wanting to draw attention to her as everyone seemed to be focusing on the males in the center of the room.
If she could figure out where the fuck they’d transported her to, maybe she could escape.
For the first time in a long time, she honestly felt hopeless, and even worse, her sister Starla was still in the clutches of the other males.
The reminder that she was failing at her mission brought tears to her eyes.
“Why are you crying, Vita Mea? Did someone hurt you while I was gone?”
Aurora jumped, finding herself staring up and into the most alluring face of the male who keeps saying she’s his. “Who are you?” she whispered. “How do you just pop in here like that?”
“I am Savage Rossi. What is your name, beautiful?” he asked, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks.
She watched as he brought his fingers, wet with her tears, to his lips. She didn’t need to see what she must look like with her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, gasping as it was dying. Dammit, get your shit together.
“I don’t understand any of this. And stop answering my questions with ones of your own. That’s classic deflection if the intent is to avoid answering directly.” She made a sweeping motion. Her hand accidentally hit his abdomen. They both sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry.”
He grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest. She felt his heart beating beneath her palm, putting one of her questions at rest. He obviously had a heartbeat, unlike in the movies.
“Yes, I have a heart that beats, Vita Mea. Any other questions you have, you may ask me.” His lips tilted in a sexy little quirk.
“You can read my mind?” Aurora slammed her shields into place, knowing he’d feel the pain of her doing so. He winced as his eyes narrowed. A nod confirmed for her what she’d assumed.
“Now that we’ve established that, why don’t you tell me your name?” he asked again in a smooth as velvet voice.
She rubbed her temple. Pain stabbing into her brain as if he was trying to work past her blocks. “Stop trying to get into my head,” she snarled.
He held up his hands. “I am not. Nobody should be either. I forbid it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pain vanished. She sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you. My name is Aurora.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Aurora. I think we have a lot to catch up on, but standing here amongst my people doesn’t seem the most hospitable place to do so. I’d like you to accompany me back to the club if that works for you?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Aurora didn’t want to let on how excited his offer made her. The club meant she’d be closer to her sister, which meant she would be a step closer to her goal—saving Starla. She licked her lips and nodded.
“Wait. My vehicle. Yukon is in there.”
“Who is this, Yukon?” he asked with a deep frown marring his features.
“My wolf. Well, not me, mine. He’s a real wolf that is only a wolf.” She slapped her forehead.
Savage pressed his lips against the injured area, making her moan.
“I will have one of my people go rescue your Yukon. Will he bite them?”
“Ah, not if they are respectful. If you send a female, he’ll be more amicable.”
Savage shook his head and smiled. “I’ll send Trystina and Maryse. They’re both very friendly.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Savage groaned, sliding his fingers between Aurora’s. “Thank you for your acquiescence, Vita Mea. I promise, nothing will harm you ever again.”
Tingles raced down her spine at his touch and words. “You can’t know what will happen in the future, Savage. Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said harsher than she meant.
“Ah, Vita Mea, you’ll learn I never say things I don’t mean or that I can’t ensure.” He brushed his lips over her knuckles.
“What does Vita Mea mean?” she asked, squeezing her legs together to control the urge to squirm.
Again, he smiled a panty-melting lifting of his lips before speaking. “It means my life.”
“When the Boss says he’ll keep you safe, you can rest easy, my Queen.”
Aurora spun, unable to believe two incredibly handsome men looked so much alike. Although the one who’d spoken wasn’t as good-looking as Savage, he was gorgeous in that killer next-door way.
“Do not look at him, Vita Mea, or I’ll be forced to send him away, and I actually like my second,” Savage admitted, sharing a look with the other male.
“If you did that, who would take care of all the shit you don’t want to?” Scepter asked, raising his hands as Savage growled. “Hey, I’m only pointing out that I tend to step in front of danger to protect you, Boss.”
“Boy, I will take you back to the scene of your original crime,” Savage warned through gritted teeth.
Aurora stood, waiting to hear what these males would reveal, especially if she could find out more.
“Err, scene of what?”
“Your birth, numbnuts.”
She turned her face up, blinking fast to keep from laughing. The vast ceiling glowed eerily above as if made of smoke and mirrors. “Where the fuck are we?”
“Where do you think we are?”
Aurora didn’t appreciate the mocking tone coming from the beautiful woman. It made it sound as if she were the stupidest female they’d had the displeasure to come across in a long fucking time. The female’s accented tone made Aurora hate her on principle alone.
“I don’t have a fucking clue where we are. One minute we were in a club and then the next,”—Aurora snapped her fingers, glaring at the other female—“I found myself here with the lot of you.”
“Calm down, love. Cleo, give her some grace. Imagine if you were in her shoes.”
Cleo snorted. “Oh, please. I don’t wear tennis shoes.”
Before Aurora could respond, the female flashed out of the room.
“Please excuse her, Vita Mea. I’ve never claimed anyone before. I think some of my people are having a hard time adjusting to the newness of the reality.”
Aurora didn’t care what the reasons were for Cleo’s rudeness, or what Savage thought caused it. She wasn’t claimed by him or anyone and couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than simply nod, hoping it appeased him.
“Come. I will show you instead of telling.” Savage held his hand out.
She eyed the large male palm. No sissy boy smooth skin. Her hand shook as she placed hers over his. “I’ll be holding you to your earlier promise.”
Savage smiled. “You’ll see.”
The world around her went dark and then brightened as she felt herself become light as air, then solid.
Holy shit. If she’d had weight issues like many humans, Aurora would be freaking the fuck out at the feel of weightlessness changed to heaviness in a blink.
She stumbled and would’ve fallen if Savage hadn’t wrapped his arms around her.
His scent changed when she twisted to face him, staring up into his eyes that went darker than the night outside.
Aurora found herself getting lost, mesmerized by their shiny, black orbs, as if they held the answers to her unasked questions.
She reached up, wanting to touch his lips to see if he was truly a real man.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Vita Mea?” he asked.
“I—don’t know what you mean,” she lied.
Savage looked over her shoulder and said, “I know you’re scared, but you’ll learn I’m the last being in the world you should ever fear. You should also know I can hear lies, and I detest them.”
This male could say whatever he wanted, but he didn’t have secrets he had to hide in order to stay safe and keep his family safe. Remembering she hadn’t found her sister, she stiffened.
“What’s wrong?” Savage gripped her hips, leaning down to stare into her eyes.
She didn’t want to get lost in his gaze again, feeling as if he had some sort of superpower in his strange orbs, so she closed her own. “I’m just worried about my family.” Not a lie.
He inhaled, but the stiffness eased. His grip wasn’t as tight.
“You have a big family?” he asked.
“No, actually, it’s just me and my little sister. I’ve raised her on my own for the past ten years and...I really need to get back to her, or she’ll be really upset.”
“We can bring her to us or go to her together. If she’s like you, then she must be special,” he mused.
“Do you mean she could get claimed, like you say, I am to you? Because let me tell you something, buddy, she’s not even eighteen years old.
Far too young to be claimed by anyone,” she snarled, poking her finger into his chest with each word she spoke.
She didn’t mention that her sister would soon be of age, which would surely put Starla in more danger.
Her little sister couldn’t shift. It wasn’t a weird quirk of her DNA or some shit.
No, it was thanks to Aurora’s magical binding.
Nevertheless, if Starla ended up like her, their animal side would push to the forefront twice a year during their natural heat.
Aurora’s didn’t happen until right after her eighteenth birthday.
Unfortunately for Starla, that time hit when some stupid shifters happened to be in the area.
Dammit, stress obviously affected her sister differently than it did her.
Which meant the damn males who had her sister would be finding it harder than hell to keep their hands, or rather, dicks, off of her innocent sister.
And in turn, her sister’s heat would make Starla want the males.
Fucking biology of shifters ensuring the continuation of the species.
“You know, it really turns me on when you snarl and poke me with that finger. I have an overwhelming urge to see if you get flushed as red all over as much as I can see above your collar.” Savage lifted her finger to his lips, kissing the tip.
“Oh my god, you—you can’t blurt shit like that out and then suck on my finger,” she moaned, unable to continue with a coherent thought.
Need unlike anything she’d ever experienced raced through her like fire, heating every inch of her being.
“Son-of-a-bitch, you’re going to make me lose my head,” he groaned.
“That wouldn’t be good from what I overheard earlier. I kind of like yours right where it is.” Aurora couldn’t believe she’d uttered those words, yet she couldn’t call them back.
“I’m happy to hear you say that, Vita Mea.”
Savage spun them around effortlessly, lifting Aurora by the hips and placing her on the leather sofa.
Her mind spun as she lost herself in a maelstrom of emotions.
His lips claimed hers as his hands roamed her body.
Goddess, she wanted to feel his skin under her palms. Her wolf pressed against her mind, howling with the need to claim her mate.
“Mate?” he whispered, pulling back to stare down at her.
Aurora blinked, spellbound. “Did I say that out loud?”
He nodded. “Your voice was different, though.”
She couldn’t allow him to probe further and find out she was more than a mere human. He was a freaking vampire. If the lore were factual, he’d kill her, drain her dry.
“Why are you scared, Vita Mea?” He lifted himself up on his arms, giving her enough room to wiggle.
Cool air blew across her skin, shocking Aurora. She looked between them, finding her shirt pulled up, exposing her breasts. Savage’s gaze tracked hers, and then he bent, taking one of her stiff peaks into his warm mouth. A soft cry escaped her.
The look on his face showed he was every bit as wild with need as she.
“Ah, I’m more than that, mia vita.” He spoke against her breast.
“I’m broadcasting again, aren’t I?” she guessed.
He licked along the swell of her right breast, taking the tip of her other inside his mouth without answering.
Her head fell back. For a wild moment, she wondered how this male made her feel so much and forget everything else.
His cock felt like a steel pole against her leg.
She was so hot, burning from the inside out with the need for him to claim, mark, and own her.
She was sure she’d shatter if he didn’t do something sooner rather than later.
“I got you, mia vita.” He licked a path down her torso, taking her pants down with ease. Aurora was sure she should protest, yet nothing came out except whispered pleas for more.
A glance down showed dark-as-night ice, focusing on her.
He was beautiful. All hard, sinewy muscle and delectable male wrapped in one perfect package.
Flawless tanned skin, and dear Goddess, he possessed an ass that would make any female or male, for that matter, drool over.
With arms covered in tattoos that were both frightening and gorgeous, Aurora sensed that the ink held meaning.
She wondered what he looked like with his pants off.
“You smell divine, Aurora. I think I could feast on you for the rest of my life and still want more,” Savage said from between her legs, swiping the tip of his tongue through her folds, making all rational thought leave her momentarily.
She writhed beneath the onslaught, unable to hold herself immobile. He paused, glancing upward with a wicked glint. His jaw tickled her inner thighs with its slight beard stubble, leaving pink scratches on her pale skin.
“Impatient little thing, aren’t you?” he murmured.
She lifted her hips in an attempt to grind herself closer to him, uncaring how needy it made her look. “Don’t tease me, Savage.”
“Never will I leave you wanting, my love. I will always give you what you need, what we both need. I promise I’ll always cherish you and ensure that I grant your heart's deepest desires, no matter what. Your fight is my fight, from this moment on, Vita Mea.” He bent and lapped at her pussy, taking any sane thought from her mind.
Aurora had anticipated this moment for years. Finding her mate had been a secret dream. Again, that word almost made her freeze, but Savage’s licking and sucking kept her from spiraling.
“Savage!” Pleasure filled her, shattered every thought except his name, bursting from her lips as she climaxed.
“You taste sweeter than anything I’ve ever consumed. Must have another taste.” Savage lowered his head, and his warm breath caressed her folds before he kissed her mound. She felt his teeth scrape against her thighs as he settled in, getting comfortable as if he planned to stay awhile.