Chapter Thirteen
He didn’t mind laying his heart on the line. Not when it came to claiming Starla. She was his soul. Scepter looked over at the female for what seemed like the tenth time, hopeful she would still be with him.
She lay on her side, propped up like she couldn’t wait to see what he unveiled next, as if he could show her what she’d wanted her entire life.
Scepter wasn’t a shy male, so getting undressed wasn’t a huge deal for him, especially if a gorgeous female was watching him, checking him out as if he were her favorite movie. Hell, it made his male pride want to stand taller.
This time, he wasn’t sure she understood how much her eyes on him affected him. Yes, he knew they were meant to be together for all time. She agreed and accepted the same. But acceptance and potentially claiming right then and there were different things.
“Starla, I’ve never been more sure of you and me,” he said again. “I think you need rest and time before we go further. I want to hold you this night.”
She hugged under her breath. “You’re so damn gallant. Fine, but I’m not wearing my clothes to sleep in. No, don’t look stricken. I do wear pajamas.” Her eyes danced with laughter.
He didn’t think he’d survive lying with a naked Starla pressed against him for a minute, let alone hours.
Bless the Goddess. As he stared at her, the clothes she wore changed into a pair of silky shorts and a matching tank top.
Fuck, his dick jerked. He turned toward the chair where he’d placed his shirt, pretending to fold it as he kicked off his shoes with too much force.
The leather loafer flew across the room, hitting the wall with a thud. He sighed and pinched his nose.
“Problems?” Starla asked.
Scepter flinched and rushed to assure her, “No, I have no problems. Well, none that can’t be handled.
I’ll be right back.” He didn’t like her thinking she was affecting him negatively.
He didn’t like it at all. As he fled into the adjoining bathroom, noticing the pink and gold décor, he couldn’t help wondering if Aurora planned the space for the sister she’d known, not the woman who’d returned.
He pressed his hands on the cold marble of the counter.
The image staring back at him was one he’d seen for over five centuries.
The time, put in those terms, was staggering.
Truth be told, he never thought of his age when he’d been with a female.
Not that he’d had any lasting relationships.
He’d always known when he spent time with a female, she wasn’t his bonded mate.
If she wasn’t the one Fate chose for him, he wasn’t going to waste their time.
It didn’t matter if she’d been born in the century he’d occupied or one closer to his.
“So why am I freaking out over Starla’s age?” he asked himself.
“Because you’re scared,” she whispered.
He whirled around, startled by her appearance.
Scepter tilted his chin in her direction. God, she was fucking gorgeous. If she were fully human, she’d have been married with two point three kids, or a beauty queen. “You’re dangerous,” he muttered.
“I’m not.” She moved closer to him.
“Yeah, you are. I’m trying to control my baser instincts and give you time and space to get to know me and yourself before we go further.” Shit, he sounded like a fucking saint.
Her eyes widened. Her smile stretched across her face, matching the shining glow in her now bright wolf-like stare. Goddess, did he say she was gorgeous? That word paled in comparison to the vision in front of him. He shifted, pulling her in front of him. His hands spanned her tiny waist.
“Control is really overrated, Scepter.” She ran her hands up his bare chest.
When he’d entered the bathroom, he hadn’t turned on the light.
Still, with the moon and stars illuminating them from the window over the massive soaker tub across the room, he didn’t have a problem making out every nuance.
Being a vampire, he could see with little to no light.
With Starla being a shifter and Fey mix, he assumed she could as well.
However, he’d fantasized about looking at her body with the glow of candlelight illuminating her silken skin.
She gasped as several flickers of light burst to life around the space. He lifted her onto the marble countertop, spreading her thighs to make room for himself. “I’ve dreamed of seeing you like this. My mind didn’t come close to the reality,” he said.
Scepter ran his hands up her thighs, loving the texture of her skin. He skimmed his fingers up her ribcage, watching her face. The swift intake and slight giggle as he touched a sensitive spot near her underarms let him know she was ticklish. He smiled, making a mental note of her every response.
His hands looked enormous next to her petite figure. Cradling her face in his palms, he leaned down. The kiss, meant to be slow and careful, turned hard and urgent.
He groaned, sliding one hand into the hair at the back of her head, and she relaxed into his embrace. “Fuck, tell me to stop, Stellina,” he whispered, breathing against her lips.
“Why the heck would I do something so stupid?”
He choked out a laugh and pressed his hips against her core. “I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”
She locked her legs around his hips. “Then don’t. You and I both know you can make sure I enjoy every moment of my first time,” she murmured, and he growled. “Don’t pretend you don’t know how to make it good. Can you handle my trust and my body? Can you teach me how to please you?”
“Ah shit, Anima Mia. Are you asking me to teach you? Asking me if I can please you is like asking if the sun will rise,” he muttered.
Scepter had to close his eyes and gather his self-control, then opened them and pressed his lips to hers again.
His hand held her head as the other gripped her hip.
He ran his thumb along the side of her neck, feeling her carotid artery beating fast and hard.
He licked his tongue along the seam of her lips, then pushed inside.
He moved his hand down her neck, brushing the tips of his fingers along her throat, and gripped it. She swallowed. He opened his eyes and pulled away from their kiss.
“So alluring, tempting. I love your taste, amore.” His hand moved along her collarbone, down the side of her breasts.
He skimmed down to the hem of the tank top and lifted with both hands, taking the material up and over her head.
She moaned as the backs of his fingers ran over the tips of her breasts.
Her back arched. He released the fabric, letting it fall onto the counter.
He cupped her full, bare breasts in his palms and rolled his hips forward.
Her needy gaze nearly set him ablaze with a feral roar.
“Oh, that feels amazing.” She clutched at his arms.
“Mmm, I can make it better.” He slid his hand down her chest, along her stomach.
Again, he heard that little giggle and felt her abdominal muscles roll as her ticklishness appeared.
He fucking adored her. Sliding his fingers under the silk top of her pajama bottoms, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Naughty girl,” he said. “No panties. I like it. If I had my way, you’d never wear any in my presence. ”
Starla’s eyes rolled, but her head dropped back as he slid his fingertips up and down her slick, smooth folds, teasing them both. Her sweet, alluring arousal increased, intoxicating him with her need. She wanted him. She needed more. He would give her everything.
She tensed as he slid his finger closer to her entrance. He used his palm to rub her clit at the same time, keeping her on edge.
She rolled her hips, whimpering.
He slid one finger inside, then, wanting to see, he removed the pajama bottoms with a thought.
Before she could freak out, he took one of Starla’s nipples into his mouth, scraping his fangs along the tip.
Her cry of pleasure made him smile against her flesh.
He added a second finger inside her. She arched her back, holding his head to her with both hands.
Scepter slid his fingers in and out of her as he switched to give the same treatment to her other breast, sucking and licking, wanting to bite and taste her blood.
“No fair. You’re still somewhat dressed.” Starla’s eyes were closed as she moaned.
He chuckled, dragging kisses down her stomach, dropping to his knees.
He wedged his shoulders between her thighs, staring up at her as he leaned forward.
The sweet, sweet scent of her arousal urged him on.
Scepter leaned forward, taking the tiny bud in between his lips, careful not to suck too hard.
Her hips bucked. She made a noise that sounded like a cross between a yowl and a mewl. He wanted more.
Licking a long, slow path from the top of her pussy down to where his fingers pumped in and out, he learned what she liked. Starla’s legs lifted, shaking while he brought her to an orgasm that he drank down with relish.
“Mmm, you taste delicious, Anima Mia.” He slid his fingers out, sucking them into his mouth
Her dark eyes looked glazed. Her need paled in comparison to his.
“I want you, Scepter,” she said. “Please, make me yours.”
He rose to his feet. His slacks disappeared instantly. Starla’s eyes went wide as his cock sprang free between them.
“When I take you, Stellina, you will be mine for all time. There will be no other for either of us. Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked, stroking his cock, praying she didn’t change her mind. He’d walk away, for a moment, maybe a day or two, and regroup.
She sat up and reached for him. Her small hand joined his on his shaft. He groaned. His head fell backward. Ecstasy at the touch of his bonded mate nearly overwhelmed him.
“Take me, Scepter,” she whispered, repeating his words with a twist.
Scepter moved her hand off of him. She made a little mock growl that he found fucking cute and sexy. He smiled, then groaned when he pushed the head of his cock against her entrance. She was so damn tight. He pulled back, teased the tip through her folds, then moved back inside.
“Relax for me, Anima Mia. You can take me.” He worked to go slow, easing in and out in slow, methodical strokes. Holding her in place with one hand on her hip, he used his other hand to work her clit. She bit her lip, rolled her hips, and gasped.
He continued to move until at last, he entered her completely. Scepter stopped, holding onto the moment he’d waited over five centuries for. He bent, licking one nipple and then the other. His eyes held hers. She smiled, then he noticed her gaze go wide.
“Your eyes are red.”
“Mmm,” he growled. His hips moved as he licked along her neck, feeling the pulse beat beneath his tongue. “My Anima. I claim you for all time,” he growled. His fangs sank into her throat, feeling warm blood that gave her life flow through him, sealing their fates.
She moaned, her pussy contracting around his cock.
He licked the small puncture wounds, barely able to keep from coming.
He loved feeling her squeeze his dick, the muscles of her inner walls tightening and releasing so hard, making it difficult for him to move.
He was desperate, the need fueling his every move, yet he wanted to last so he could feel her come again.
“Goddamn, you feel like heaven, Starla. I could stay buried inside you for the rest of my life," he growled.
Her legs trembled. She moved with him, chasing another orgasm.
He slid in and out of her, rotating his hips and watching her face to gauge her pleasure.
As he saw her body begin to tense, he picked up the pace, shifting with each downward thrust, hitting her clit each time.
His female loved what he did to her body, and he needed her to come with him this time.
He wanted to feel her coming with him. The closer he came to ecstasy, the more he craved the feel of her milking his cock.
Driving into her harder and faster, he bent and took her nipple into his mouth and bit the tip.
Her cry of surprise and pleasure flooded his mouth with her lifeblood.
Starla cried out, gripped his head, and held him to her as he sucked.
He bucked his hips faster, slamming in and out.
He licked the little wound, braced his hands on the counter next to her hips, and continued moving.
His orgasm tingled from the tips of his toes straight to his balls.
A snarl that would rival any shifter rattled out of his throat.
He slammed into her one last time and held as he came, his dick pulsing.
“Starla mia. Forever mine,” he gritted out.
“Scepter mine, always and forever,” she said.
He pulled her off the counter, carrying her back into the bedroom with his cock still buried inside her. She wrapped her arms around him, sighing.
“Mmm, I could get used to you carrying me like this.” Starla kissed his chest.
Scepter floated them into the center of the bed. “Hmm, I don’t think I’d like the public to see your sexy ass.”
She shifted slightly on top of him. “But you’re okay with the public seeing your sexy ass?”
He tugged on her hair, raising her face so he could see her eyes when he spoke, “You think my ass is sexy?”
Starla snorted. “Oh my goodness. You know you have a lot of females who drool after you, surely?”
Scepter ran his hand down her back, rubbing her ass. “I do not care about any other woman besides you.”