Chapter Twelve
The Lair
Arrival
France
O h, that had been one wild transportation. When he arrived, Logan was off balance. Being popped out of one place and into another was something that he’d never thought he’d experience.
It was also something he’d never forget.
Now, he really just wanted to find Cerise, and talk to her about this whole situation.
Everything was riding on his heart as his brain repeatedly told him he was dumb for doing any of this. Only, sometimes, you had to go with your heart over your logic.
This was one of those times.
At the sound of something behind him, Logan turned around, only to find a petite woman standing there. She was holding a baby on her hip, and smiling at him.
This whole thing was bizarre.
“Uh, hi?” he asked. “I really hope to hell that I’m in the right place and Flynn didn’t zap me into a stranger’s house.”
She actually laughed.
“You must be Detective Grayson. I’m Cami. Rinnon said you’d be popping in to see us. As for you being in the right place, you are.”
He looked around.
“Where am I? Is this France? I thought it would be a little more…”
Cami gently explained.
“This is a cave or as we call it, Rinnon’s lair. It’s built into a mountain outside of Paris, so yes, you’re in France.”
He stood there and checked out the walls decorated with swords, axes, and all kinds of weapons .
Some looked older than time.
She continued when she saw him checking it out.
“It’s been here since the beginning of time. He calls this place home, and those are his things.”
Well, when they said it was a cave, they weren’t lying. It definitely looked like that.
“It’s unusual,” he said, trying not to sound like he didn’t like it.
The second it was out of his mouth, the cave grumbled, and felt like it was quaking under his feet.
Immediately, he grabbed the couch and held on.
“What was that?”
Cami laughed.
“The lair is sentient. It thinks you insulted it, and it was reminding you that it can eat you.”
He stared at her.
What?
Oh, he really hoped she was joking. When a wall slid across the room, and a doorway opened, he jumped onto the couch and looked scared.
“What the hell was that?”
She smiled.
Honestly, you got accustomed to it after a while. It didn’t hit people with walls unless it was trying to do that.
“Flynn’s and Jacques’ children are in the room over there. The lair decided you were a little too sketchy to have access to them.”
That was all she had to say.
“I need a drink. Today is wild.”
Oh, she understood that.
Cami got to the point.
“You’re looking for Cerise?” she asked. “She was wounded and needed to heal. She’s taking a swim.”
Now, he was confused.
“In a pool? Does the mountain have a pool outside of it? And won’t that give away the location?”
Cami laughed.
“Sort of. If you walk down that hallway that just opened, you’ll find it. Trust the path. If your intent is pure, you’ll get there. If not, you’ll find yourself outside of the lair where you can’t hurt anyone in here.”
He stared at her.
“Why do I feel like I fell into something in a movie? The mountain is going to judge me?”
It shook again.
Well, there was his answer.
Apparently.
Cami just smiled.
“You’ll understand as you move through the hallway,” she offered, turning to walk through a wall that opened for her and closed right behind her.
He.
stared.
What the hell was this?
“Nice cave?” he asked, and it was silent all around him. “Okay, well, I’m going to walk down this hall, so don’t crush me with your walls. Please. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I promise. I just need to find Cerise.”
He kept talking to himself—or the walls.
“Where’s the pool?” he asked, as the walls in front of him shifted and morphed into more hallways so that he could keep walking.
What the fuck?
Today was the weirdest day of his whole life, and he was pretty sure it couldn’t get weirder.
He’d seen zombies, found out that there were supernatural creatures, and he’d dumped his girlfriend of two years for a woman he’d just met.
Yeah, if this didn’t end well, he was going straight to the institution for lockup and evaluation.
When the walls kept moving, like a puzzle, he didn’t question it.
Why start now?
That would be ridiculous.
At the end of the hall, there was a wall, and it didn’t move.
“Uh, is this where she’s swimming? Open sesame?” he asked, tapping on the wall .
Still, nothing happened.
Then, it occurred to him that the place was protective.
“I won’t hurt her. I think I’m in love with her if that’s possible. She’s my soulmate.”
That worked.
When he pushed on the stone, the wall shifted into a doorway, and surprisingly, it let him in.
Not far ahead, he could hear water running, and see a glow. As he moved closer, that’s when understood that this was, indeed, a grotto in a mountain—not an ordinary swimming pool.
There were lights in the water, and it glowed ethereally. That’s when he saw her, and his heart began racing in his chest.
Cerise was floating in the water, naked.
Oh, Jesus.
His whole body reacted, and his hands began sweating as he watched her.
She looked like a mermaid floating in the glowing water.
Because he couldn’t stop himself, Logan tucked himself into a corner, and as he was hiding in the shadows, he watched the vampyre just float and heal.
Her wounds were closing, and he didn’t understand any of it.
What he did understand was the lust that had him by the balls.
God.
He’d never felt like this about Laurie. He’d never watched her like this, knowing deep down that she was going to be his wife.
Only, with Cerise…
He knew.
As his heart picked up beating even more, he knew when he’d been discovered.
Cerise sat up in the water and stared at the corner where he was hidden.
How she knew, he had no clue, but she was aware of him being there .
“What do you want?” she asked, picking up his scent in the grotto.
She’d been thinking about him, and how she was never going to see him again. Then, as if by some miracle, the lair made him appear.
Since he was discovered, he moved into the light.
Where it was coming from, he had no idea. It seemed to be this eerie glow.
“I came to see you.”
She moved deeper into the grotto and away from him. She kept going until she ran out of space by a ledge at the back of the healing waters.
“You should go. Go home to your girlfriend. The closer we are, the worse it will be for me. I can’t be here with you.”
He couldn’t stay away.
In that moment, he knew that she’d been right. They were soulmates. Logan could feel that pull to her, and the physical distance hurt.
It hurt his soul.
“I dumped her.”
Cerise stayed deep in the water, so it covered her bare body.
“Go away, Logan. I’m injured, and that’s dangerous. I need blood to heal the rest of the way, and I don’t want to scare you. I’m a monster. Remember?”
He suddenly didn’t care.
Monster or not, she was his.
This woman was his mate.
“You can have mine,” he offered, not realizing that was the first step to binding them together forever. He was willingly offering up what he had to her.
At his words, her heart raced.
God.
She loved looking at him. Her body was reacting to him being there. As he stood there at the mouth of the grotto, she couldn’t help but crave him.
Cerise kissed him, and his mouth…
She wanted more .
When she didn’t answer, he knew he couldn’t let her slip away from him.
So, he started pulling off his things, and dropping them onto the grotto’s floor.
Well, it looked as if he was going swimming to get to her. His whole being needed to be with her.
“Don’t,” she warned. “I’m not joking. I’m healing, and I will take blood. I’m not that ancient that I can hold off, Logan. Run while you can.”
He didn’t care.
He was offering it up to her.
Toeing off his shoes, the desperation to get to her was like no other feeling he’d ever experienced. He’d seriously never felt pull to another person like this.
When he dropped his khakis, he shoved his boxers down, and his erection was proof that his body was in control, and he was going on instinct.
He was hard and needed her.
Because he had no choice but to listen to his heart, he dove into the water to reach her.
It was cold and crisp around his body, but then for some reason, it heated up for him making him more comfortable.
It was perfect.
He stroked his way out to her, and she was tucked into a cove in the grotto.
“Don’t,” she whispered, that need overwhelming her. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she could hear his heartbeat, and she was injured.
She was a monster.
A vicious one.
When he came up for air, he could see her shoulders and neck. There were vicious scars all over her body, and that horrified him.
Why?
It was because of him.
She’d saved him, and now, he was going to do the same. He was going to save his mate .
“What can I do to help you heal?” he asked. “You said you needed blood. Will mine do?”
God.
His was the perfect blood for her, but she knew what he felt about her.
Cerise was backing up until she was in shallow water that led to the ledge, and he was able to see her body.
She was beautiful.
Cerise had curves, and her full breasts made his mouth water.
God.
He wanted her like nothing he’d ever wanted before in his life. This feeling was so new to him, and he craved touching her.
She was breathing heavily, and he swore their heartbeats matched up. He could hear hers and his at the same time.
Mates.
They were mates.
Logan moved closer, putting his full faith in her. Somehow, he just knew she’d never hurt him. Like he suddenly had this overwhelming need to protect her, she would have the same.
When she moved back further, he was able to see her long pale legs and the junction between her thighs.
Jesus.
He was so hard right now.
Logan was pretty sure he’d never felt anything like this in his whole life.
Again, she warned him.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Logan. I’m injured. I can’t fight the bloodlust when I’m injured. Back up. Go. Please. If I hurt you, I’ll never forgive myself.”
No.
He couldn’t.
“I’m your mate. Seth told me what it’s supposed to be like. If I’m your perfect match, then you won’t hurt me. I can trust you to keep me safe.”
Her body shook .
That was exactly right. He was her perfect match, and she had never felt like this before. She was burning up, and since her kind didn’t get a fever…
She was seconds from losing control.
Now, he was close enough that she could smell his blood through his flesh, and it was intoxicating.
“Logan, please,” she whispered.
He took that as an invitation.
Holding out his hand, he put all of his faith in Cerise. He remembered her putting her body over his to keep him safe, and whispering words of promise into his ear that she’d not let him die.
“I trust you,” he said, his hand still out. “I’m your mate, and I’ve come for you. We’re meant to be,” he said, not sure why he believed that, but he did.
She watched the water droplets run down his body, and she never saw a more handsome man. His body screamed virility, and she was so hungry.
For him.
Fighting, there was a part of her that was still in control.
“If I drink from you, Logan, you’ll never be free. I’m giving you free will because I love you. Please take it, and go live your life. Once we do this…you’re trapped.”
He didn’t care.
While he should be freaked out that she would leave him and stay here, in that moment, he was willing to do whatever it took.
She.
Was.
His.
For the first time in his life, he saw what he could have, and it wasn’t being a cop. It was being with her. If everything his partner said was true, they’d live forever, and he’d never be alone again.
He’d have his mate.
His woman.
His wife .
They both heard the cave walls shifting, and when they looked over, they were locked inside the grotto together.
There was no way out until the lair decided it was time for one of them to be free.
“I offer you my blood, Cerise. I offer you me. Please don’t throw me away,” he whispered, barely audible to himself, but she must have heard him.
His hand was still out, waiting for her.
“If I hurt you…”
He stared into her gorgeous eyes.
“You won’t. You will never hurt me, and I’ll never hurt you. Please, Cerise. I put my faith in this, and I walked away from her. She’s not you. God. She can never be you,” he whispered.
Her body was craving his, and she knew there was only one option.
Reaching for him, the second their fingers touched, he took her hand in his and pulled her toward him.
He did not know what he was doing.
Clearly.
As he pulled her mouth toward his, the kiss said it all. It exploded around them, and he forgot everything but her.
As he kissed Cerise, he felt the fangs brush against his lip, and he moaned in pleasure.
At the nick of his lip, and the taste of his own blood, it was too much for her.
It overwhelmed her, as she’d never tasted anything like it before.
His blood…
It called to her.
Breaking the kiss, she stared into his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, as her fangs peeked out from behind her lip.
He turned his head, giving her access to this throat, and she struck.
There was no fear, but there was pain.
At first.
When she slammed her fangs into his throat, his knees buckled, and she was all that supported him in the water .
Logan forgot everything.
How to think.
How to breathe.
How to…exist.
All that he could focus on was the way she drank from his throat, greedily chugging from him.
Cerise held him in the water, and he floated as she was feasting from his neck. In the back of her mind, she could hear herself screaming to stop. She could hear herself warning that she was close to taking too much.
When he moaned, it pulled her back to reality.
She pulled her fangs from his throat, and he didn’t move. His head lolled back and forth, and she supported his neck.
“Logan,” she whispered. “Listen to me. I took too much, and now, I have to save you.”
He was floating in the pleasure, as his whole body was aroused by the sensations that he was feeling. It was rapturous, and nothing he’d ever felt before.
When he turned his head and opened his eyes, he stared at her.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know…I didn’t know this was possible. I would have looked for you.”
Her heart skipped.
She memorized his face.
“I can get you to a bed, so you can get some fluids, or I can give you, my blood. It will change everything. You won’t be able to be away from me. You won’t be able to survive without me. We’ll be bonded. Decide, because I will do what’s best for you, not me.”
He blinked.
Then, it took him a whole two seconds to decide.
“Make me yours. I want to be yours.”
When she looked around, she needed a blade made of silver.
“Grotto, help me find a knife. ”
The walls shifted and morphed, and when the space above them opened, a sword fell into the grotto and into the water not far from her.
Moving him to the shallow, she placed him on a rock, so he could sit up and rest.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, moving away from him to dive under the water.
He watched.
When she came back up, she was holding a sword and looked like a warrior. Her hair was slicked back, she was dripping water, and in her hand, she clutched the shiny, jewel encrusted blade.
“My woman,” he whispered.
She moved toward him, and with the tip of the blade, she made a cut into her wrist.
When she held it out to him, he grabbed her wrist and began sucking on the wound.
Cerise didn’t even have to offer any compulsion. He sucked on her wrist, and the shockwaves rocked her body.
And his.
She could feel his tongue moving over the wound as he drank from her body, and the whole time, she was aroused.
When she could feel the wound slowly healing, she knew he’d had enough of her blood.
He moaned, his body reacting to her.
Cerise watched him, as she straddled his lap in the shallow of the grotto.
He was erect and his dick was against her. She knew he’d likely not feel well shortly, but for now, she wanted to show him what it would be like.
They were bound together.
They were mated. All that remained was consummating that moment.
When he opened his eyes, everything was changing for him. Now, he could hear her heartbeat.
As he looked at her, she came into focus, and he smiled.
“You’re beautiful. ”
Her heart skipped and she moved closer into his body, so that she could be against him. Instinctually, he sought out her mouth, and she kissed him.
The lust was still there, and so were her fangs.
They kissed, and it was difficult at first, but he learned quickly how to make love to her mouth without getting cut. Then again, the blood between them made the heat go up, and already, he was dying to be with her.
She heard him.
Mate with me, Logan.
He blinked and stared into her eyes. Had he just heard her in his mind?
Yes, this is how mates talk. You can now reach me no matter what time it is. No matter where you are. When I go to death, if I ever have to, you’ll be able to pull me back. We’re one now.
And you can hear me?
She smiled.
Yes, mate. I can hear you. What is it that you need?
He blinked.
Then, he spoke out loud.
“You. I need you,” he said, moving so they rolled into the grotto, and underneath the glowing water. There, his mouth found hers, and the kiss…
It was beyond anything.
His hands wandered, and he held her locked to his body, sure she could get away if she wanted, but she didn’t.
Cerise, instead, held on.
They sank deeper, and as they made out, they explored each other’s bodies.
I can’t believe I found you, she admitted. I’ve been looking for you for almost one hundred years.
I couldn’t love like this before you, Cerise. I tried, but no one fit. I never wanted anyone like this.
When they sank to the bottom, they both needed to breathe, so she pushed up, and they headed to the surface. When they broke it, she grabbed onto the ledge, and using her strength, she pulled them up and out, so that they were on the ledge .
They kept kissing.
Am I really with you until you die? Logan asked.
Yes. Is that what you want?
There was laughter.
More than you’ll ever know. Now, I want to mate with you, he said, using the words he found in her mind. I want to make sure I never lose what I’ve found.
You won’t.
As they rolled on the smooth warm stone, the walls adjusted giving them a place to make love.
Apparently, the lair knew best.
When they felt themselves being lifted, and the stone going soft beneath them, a mattress appeared, and they were in the middle of it.
Logan broke the kiss.
He was feeling feverish.
“I need you,” he said.
Cerise warned him.
“You’re going to feel sick in a while. My blood is changing you. We don’t have much time, but the good news is it doesn’t last long.”
He placed his fingers over her lips.
Then, let’s use it productively. I need to know what making love to you feels like. Please show me. Share that with me, mate.
Her heart skipped, and so did his.
“Okay, Logan.”
Since she was on top, she moved down his body, leaving kisses and scrapes of her fangs along the way. At his erection, she didn’t touch him yet, but instead went to his inner thigh.
Mates feed here during sex. It’s very intimate. May I?
He was confused.
I’m yours. You don’t need to ask me, Cerise. Take what I have to offer. Show me.
And she did.
Biting into his thigh, his whole being reacted to that sensation. His body bowed, his erection went painfully hard, and he saw flashes of light in his vision .
And he nearly came.
“Oh, God!” he shouted, his body bucking involuntarily at the pleasure overload.
Slowly, she sipped, and as she did, she stroked his erection with her hand.
“More,” he whispered, craving all she had to offer him. “Please, Cerise!”
In his mind, she flashed him pictures of what lovemaking with her was going to be like, and he had no choice but to succumb.
He came.
He erupted, watching the sexy visuals assault his mind. He saw her over him, on him, and Cerise being taken by him.
“Oh, fuck!” he shouted, as he felt the hot wetness of his own cum landing on his chest.
Only, it wasn’t done.
As Cerise stopped sucking on his thigh, she moved up his body, and lapped her way to his neck.
His arms went around her, and he tried to focus, but it wasn’t easy.
That was the most erotic orgasm he’d ever had in his life. Nothing compared to it.
“That’s because we’re mates,” she said, teasing him with her fangs. He was healing quicker with each time one scratched his skin, and she knew her blood was changing him.
“Please don’t stop. I need more of you. I can’t get enough.”
Well, since that’s what he wanted, and she craved it too, Cerise continued with her sexual adventure.
When her hand found Logan’s erection for the second time, she stroked him. The whole time, the artery in his neck throbbed.
My love, someone needs lots of sex. Thankfully, so do I. It’s going to be a wild eternity.
Yes, please.
Logan’s body shook, as his mate did everything in her power to make him crazy.
Oh, and he loved every single second of it .
“Baby,” he muttered, as she drove him insane with her touch. She was touching his dick, and already, he needed to cum again.
It was driving him back up that climb, and to the edge once more.
If you keep jerking me off, Cerise, I’m going to cum again.
Oh no, don’t cum again, she said, laughing into his mind.
It made him smile.
That was until her mouth covered his erection, and she began blowing him.
“Oh, shit,” he muttered, as he glanced down and watched her head bobbing up and down his erection. Then he saw breasts, and pale flesh, and his brain was overloaded.
Cumming! he warned, just as he exploded and shot down her throat.
His body was tense, and when he finished erupting, he could feel her moving up his torso, and straddling his lap. When he opened his eyes, she slipped him into her.
He was still hard, and now, she was riding him.
I can’t control that desire. I’m going to cum again.
I can slow you down. Let me help, my love, she offered. Let me show you pleasure.
Yes, please.
She was in his mind, and she began looking around—not to invade, but because she wanted to hold off his cumming.
That’s when she found his memories.
They moved backward in time.
She saw him mating with Laurie, and she could feel his emotions. They felt automatic, and while he enjoyed those moments, they were empty.
I didn’t know you existed. I didn’t know it could be like this, he said, staring into her eyes as she rode him.
I’m sorry I looked. I wanted to help you not cum…
You can look. I don’t have secrets from you. I loved her, but not like this, Cerise, This is…everything .
She knew he was telling the truth. How was she going to condemn him for having a life before her when she had one before him?
Tobias mattered to you, huh?
Her hands were on his chest as she rode him. Cerise felt his heart skip at the man’s name.
Yes, but it wasn’t like this. I was alone in our family, and he comforted me. We both knew one day, he could find his mate and leave me, and vice versa.
I understand.
She moved further back in his memories, learning about him. She saw him as a street cop, and how he’d been shot in the side during a robbery.
Cerise saw him in the police academy, running an obstacle course to reach the end.
She pushed further back, as they both enjoyed the pleasure. That’s when she saw him as a child.
And why he became a cop.
When she looked down, there were tears in his eyes.
I’m sorry about your mother, she whispered into his mind. I’m sorry that your father hurt her.
I’ve been alone for a long time. Please promise you won’t leave me, Cerise.
Never.
She came out of his mind, and instead of stopping him from cumming, she let herself take that tumble, and he joined her.
They exploded apart, and in the freefall, she shared love with him.
As he rolled, he found her mouth, and still he hadn’t had enough of her.
He felt…dizzy, but he kept going.
I need you.
Take what you need, mate. This is the way of vampyres. I’ll give you everything I have.
And so would he.
Logan knew he’d die for her.
There was no doubt in his mind that he’d give up his life in a heartbeat for this woman .
He pulled her up, and they were kneeling in the middle of the bed, his hands in her wet hair as he kept her mouth locked to his in a passionate kiss.
Her hands were on his hips, and she loved the way he felt beneath her fingers.
She saw what he craved, and she offered it up to him.
Claim me. I offer myself up to you.
His heart raced in his chest as she shared pictures of their mating, and how he could have her any way he wanted, like she could have the same.
Are you sure?
She knew he was going to be sick.
It was only a matter of time.
Yes. Hurry.
Setting her mouth free, he stared into her eyes, and then, began kissing along her throat and neck, leaving erotic bites and nips.
“Logan,” she whispered. “More.”
He gave her all he could, and as his hands cupped her breasts, her body reacted to him.
She moaned.
I love your body, Cerise. It’s amazing.
He felt the need arise.
As is yours. Now take me, Mate. Show me how it will be between us.
Oh, well, he did.
On the bed, he moved to be behind her. His erection was pressed to her ass, and his mouth was on her neck. Cerise’s whole body was awash in pleasure and goosebumps.
Take me. Please. Make me yours.
His body reacted, and he grew harder. Logan had never cum so much during sex before, but he knew he had to take her.
Grabbing her hair, he pulled her neck to the side, and bit her.
She moaned loudly, and it echoed off of the walls of the grotto. How she wished he had fangs so that he could bite her.
Me too, he admitted .
It was when she felt him nudge her ass, that she knew he was about to take her.
Mate, I claim you, he said, seeing what she wanted in her mind. We’re now one.
With that, he slipped into her ass, and he took her in a wild, hot, sweaty romp on that grotto bed.
Cerise was pinned to the wall, as he drove himself home, claiming his woman.
Forever, she promised.
Forever, he vowed.
As the heat built between them, his fingers found her swollen clit, and he tried to do what she’d done. He set her erotic pictures of him feasting on her clit between her thighs.
She moaned, and together, they took the tumble off of the edge.
Logan exploded, his whole body erupting in one hell of an orgasm.
He came so hard that they fell to the bed.
Instinctually, she felt her body being pulled into his bigger one, as he cuddled her.
Logan’s lips were by her ear.
“I love you,” he whispered.
She was about to say the same to him, when his body began shaking, and he didn’t feel well.
“Oh, God. I feel sick.”
She rolled over, and stared into his eyes.
“It’s what happens. When you get through this, you’ll be faster, stronger, and your senses will be amplified. You can do it. You’ll now be my mate. We’ve shared blood.”
He held her hand.
And nodded.
Cerise stared into his eyes.
“Breathe,” she said, his brow beading with perspiration. Then, hers did as she took half the pain and carried it for him.
“Let me,” he whispered. “I don’t want my mate hurting.”
Neither do I. We’re a couple now, Logan. We carry this together .
He just nodded.
When the walls began shifting, it was when Vanth dropped through the ceiling to find them.
“Rinnon needs us,” she said. Then, Vanth saw the two naked on the bed. “You’ve mated.”
Cerise just nodded.
“We need some time. I’ll call for you. I have to get him through this. He drank my blood.”
Vanth waved her hand, and they were both dressed.
“Call for me,” she said. “We’re going to be working on finding the sword.”
Cerise heard her, but said nothing. She was staring into Logan’s eyes, and telling him it would be okay.
It was when he closed them, and his body tensed.
Logan?
When he opened his eyes, he did the only thing he could.
He.
Screamed.
Nothing would be the same for him ever again.