Chapter Twenty-Two
Jonathan shoved his hands under Felicity’s skirts, desperate for the warmth of her skin. From the moment he’d reluctantly accepted that she was his fated mate, a chill had settled over him that no amount of fire or whiskey had chased away.
He shouldn’t love her. He couldn’t. It would be the height of foolishness to fall for another woman after barely surviving the loss of Marguerite.
Seraphina had told him not to resist. Perhaps that was the answer. He could slake his lust and give his vampiric nature what it demanded. Maybe then his obsession with her would finally fade.
He pressed his nose to her throat and inhaled the intoxicating sweet scent of her blood.
She writhed in his grasp, more responsive to his touch than any woman he’d ever bedded.
Was that part of being his mate, perfectly suited to being his eternal companion?
The hint of what they might experience together if he allowed the telepathic mating bond to form was almost enough to make him reconsider.
Almost.
“I-I need…” Felicity whispered.
“What do you need?” He ran his thumbs along either side of her mons pubis. “Shall I fuck you with my fingers?” He flicked his tongue against her neck. “Or something else?”
The proof of her readiness dripped down his wrist. He raked his nails through her nether curls until he found her pearl, already engorged and ready for his attention. “Here?”
She arched her back. “Ah!”
“Say it.” He kissed the skin beneath her ear while twisting his knuckles around her sensitive bud. “Tell me you want me to fuck you.”
“I-I want,” she wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. “God!”
He twirled the fingers of his other hand around her entrance. “Be brave, little hunter.”
She fluttered her eyes shut. “F-Fuck me, Jonathan. Ruin me. Make me yours.”
His cock was so hard, it was painful, but pleasing her came first. He gently dipped a finger inside her, while still rubbing her pearl.
After a minute, he added a second finger.
Her rocking hips and increasingly loud moans encouraged him on.
He increased his speed in degrees until he was moving faster than any human man could manage.
It did not take long before her sheath rippled around him.
He coaxed her through the climax until her shuddering subsided, then withdrew his hand from her skirts and, while maintaining eye contact, licked her juices from his fingers with slow strokes.
“My turn,” she said. Then she dropped to her knees and unbuttoned the fall of his trousers. “I’ve been thinking about this since the brothel.”
He threaded his fingers through her hair, then moaned as she wrapped her hands around him.
Her touch was both bold and innocent, a combination that soon had him panting.
When she clasped him in her mouth, it felt so incredible that he had to tighten the muscles of his abdomen to keep from coming apart.
He pressed his fingers into her scalp and gently guided her, lowering her head up and down in a tortuously slow movement until he could take it no longer.
“That’s enough,” he said, easing her away.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Why did you stop me?”
His cock was so rigid that it was tucked tightly against his stomach. Had she continued much longer, she would have discovered how vampire seed tasted. The idea of spending himself inside her mouth was appealing, but he had a better idea.
“Turn around,” he said.
She did so, and he began unlacing the strings of her gown.
The few minutes it took to peel each layer of clothing from her lithe frame provided ample time to recover his control.
By the time he’d shimmied her last trousers down her legs, he no longer felt like a volcano ready to erupt.
Yet still, his hands trembled as he undid the front clasps of her corset.
He exhaled a shaky breath when the garment came loose, revealing the luscious curves of her breasts.
Then he saw her erect nipples and could no longer resist. He leaned forward and rasped his tongue over a pert nub.
She gasped. “Jonathan!”
He copied the movement on her other nipple before pressing his head to her stomach and listening to the rapid patter of her heart. She was so warm against his frigid skin that it was nearly painful, but he would have preferred to go up in flames than let her go.
She placed her hands on his shoulders. “What’s next?”
“Impatient,” he whispered, before rising to his feet.
He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her until she made soft mewling sounds that made his fangs and cock ache.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d spend himself too soon.
He kissed the tip of her nose, then stepped back.
Her eyes were half-lidded, and her lips were bruised from the force of their kiss.
She’d never looked more beautiful.
He walked to the settee, sat down, spread his legs, and stroked himself. “Come here so I can plunge into that sweet quim.”
She swallowed, then took several small steps forward.
He lifted her chemise over her head and kissed the space between her breasts.
Another time, he’d worship her flesh properly, but the heady scent of her arousal was pushing him to his limit.
He lifted her onto his lap and adjusted the head of his cock until it was pressed against her entrance.
She tilted her head back. “Oh!”
He rubbed himself up and down, coating himself in her essence. “There will be pain. Are you sure you want to proceed?”
She nodded. “Yes. I am ready.”
He brought their mouths together again and withdrew his fangs. One slight scrape along her inner lip, enough to have her gasping, and then he nudged inside. The tightness of her sheath made his vision go dark. He clenched every muscle tight and barely managed to hold back his release.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” he said. He kissed her neck while sliding slightly deeper.
She whimpered, but the sound soon faded. When he felt her relax, he began a rhythmic motion. Every slow withdraw was torture, but he was determined to make her first experience memorable.
“More,” she whispered.
He chuckled and increased the pace of their joining. “Greedy little hunter.”
She bit her lower lip and threw back her head. “Oh, God, Jonathan!”
The fluttering of her sheath told him she would not last much longer. He brought his mouth to her neck, then drew her sharply down and pierced her with his fangs at the same time.
Her cry was so loud, he was certain everyone in the house heard it.