Wulf
Verena struggles to keep her eyes open.
Her breathing is laden. Every place her bare skin graces my touch is hot with fever. Water cascades from her body, streaming from her hair as her head lolls back over my arm.
I refuse to let my gaze roam when this beautiful creature is so vulnerable—but it soon locks onto the scarlet dripping from a small cut on her chin.
Cursing myself for causing yet another injury to this woman, I lift a hand to wipe it away.
"Don't," Eris says quickly from a nearby mirror. His voice is raw, his hands pressed to the glass as though he is trying to push his way into this world. "Reinhilde's blood carries a strange, wild magic. One touch and it will kill you before you can help Verena."
He speaks with utter certainty, yet my cruel hands have been stained with Verena's blood before, and nothing befell me.
Ignoring his next warning, I gently dab at her chin as I carry her from this underground spring.
Nothing happens.
Whatever danger lurks within her veins, perhaps my curse protects me from it.
"I have you," I promise quietly.
She is too lost to fever to reply.
Passing through the blue door, I rush to ascend the stone steps of this hidden passage. When we emerge in the queen's chambers once more, Eris is pacing like a caged animal in the mirror over the door.
He stops, dragging hands through his hair. "Give her blood quickly. I won't lose her like this."
His panic only confirms what I guessed already: I am not the only man held captive by this siren from a distant world.
Gently, I lay Verena in the bed. My foolish heart beats faster in my chest. Ignoring the water still dripping from her, I swiftly move the blankets to cover the lithe body that tempts me too far.
She makes a soft sound of distress. I expect her to protest drinking from me once more as I shrug off my soaking-wet tunic and begin to unwrap my bandaged arm—but she thrashes on the bed, lashes fluttering.
"N-no," she snarls. "You're sick. You're sick!"
"Verena—" I capture one of her wild arms before it can knock against a bedpost. "Be still. It is you who is sick."
"She's not talking to you," Eris mutters from the mirror, still pacing with aggravation. "The fever has her mind. Just stop her with your blood quickly, before she hurts herself."
Verena thrashes harder, her mind far away. "G-get that away from me! No more tattoos. Get the fuck away from me!"
Swiftly, I rip off the rest of my bandage.
Each morning, I break the scab of this shallow wound to add blood to Verena's drink. At night, I use the small cut I made in my other arm. The dull pain has become familiar as I bury my fingers in my skin until fresh red wells to the surface.
Immediately, Verena goes very still. Her eyes remain shut, her voice a soft rasp.
"Wulf?"
"You are safe," I whisper, stroking wet hair from her face before I lift my arm to her mouth. "Drink."
When my blood smears against her soft lips, she inhales sharply, mouth parting. Before my very eyes, I see two of her teeth lengthen slightly, sharpening as if by magic before they sink in near my injury.
Just as before, pleasure shoots through my veins at once.
It is a drug that turns my knees weak, so I must brace my other arm on the bed beside her head. Now I am nearly on top of her, my cock straining in its confines as I watch the thirst overtake her.
"Finally," Eris sighs in relief.
My blood drips from Verena's chin now, mingling with hers as her scent strengthens in the air once more. A humming sensation fills my body. Her eyes are shut, her hair a dark, red tangle.
When she moans, biting me harder to drink deeper, I silently plead with the matron goddess for control.
For a long moment, she feeds eagerly as I bask in blissful lust. The world blurs in nearly the same way it does when my curse transforms me, only I remain a man. My body is unbearably hot with desire, ruled by a need I can no longer bear.
I realize my free hand has fisted the damp hair at the back of Verena's head as she feeds from my arm. I cannot resist brushing my cheek against the side of her face.
As she arches against me, the sheets slip off her body. The sensual drag of her pointed nipples against my bare chest makes my cock begin to leak with desire in my trousers.
Take as much as you wish. Use me.
I stop myself from uttering those words, wary that I might somehow frighten her once more.
Finally, Verena's sharp teeth release me. Yet instead of pulling away, this siren's tongue drags over the fresh bite mark left behind, savoring the remaining traces.
"Holy shit," she whispers, her voice lulling as if she just drank too much ale. Her teeth have already returned to normal. "I bet the witchfolk could use your minty blackberry goodness to brew love potions."
"Minty blackberry…?"
My question dies off as her small, soft hands skim up my sides. She is so dazed that I am not certain she knows the ways she is touching me and driving me mad.
"I've never been this horny before," she groans. "Coincidentally, I'm pretty damn sure you would fuck like a beast."
She lifts her head so her lips can press softly against my throat.
"Aye. That I would," I say raggedly.
"You smell so good. Fuck, I just want to ride your cock like it's a damn mechanical bull."
Whatever that is, the answer is yes.
"I am yours to ride however you wish," I manage, daring to press my hard hunger slowly between her legs.
Verena gasps at the friction. The sweet sound is my undoing, and my lips are upon hers at once.
Though our combined blood is smeared on her chin, all I can notice is how soft her lips are as they part for me. How her arms twine around my neck as I ravage her needy mouth with mine, our tongues teasing and our hands exploring.
I ache to hear her moan as I fill her. Our difference in size means I must not be too rough, no matter how I desire the reward of her moans as I slake our joint desperation.
When her legs wrap around me, I grind my hardness between them again, and we both groan. Now we are both feverish everywhere our skin touches.
Eager to be bare with her at last, I continue to kiss her more fiercely than I should allow myself while I remove my trousers. Verena has been lost to the kiss, but when my painfully hard cock nudges her bare thigh, she breaks away.
Her breath comes in pants as she blinks down at it, her lips swollen from my demands.
"Oh."
Her nervous tone makes me murmur against her cheek, "It will fit."
She still stares at the proof of my great need for her, but I cannot bear the pounding within my veins without touching her more. My hand returns to her smooth skin, cupping her hip.
I kiss down her neck, tracing her collarbone with my tongue, aware of the stick of drying blood against my jaw.
She must be aware of it, too, for she suddenly takes my face in her hands, redirecting me so she can lick my jaw clean.
"Fuck," Verena breathes, her breath coasting down my neck. "I just need another taste."
The way her bare thigh presses against my engorged cock is enough to make my whisper strained.
"Take it. Bite me. Use me however you—"
My words cut off with a sharp gasp of pained pleasure as Verena's fangs sink into my shoulder.
Her hands tangle in my hair, twisting with greed as she draws me down onto her until I am trying not to crush her atop the bed.
Verena feeds from me in earnest once more, her arms wrapping behind my neck as my vision blurs once again. Her soft moan of pleasure makes my eyes roll shut.
This intense feeding consumes all ability to think. It is only when her thigh rubs insistently against my bare length once more that I jolt, shocked at how near I already am to spending.
"Verena," I whisper as my head swims. "Slow down. I must please you first. I—"
With a needy sound of frustration, she releases me again—
And then her teeth sink into the side of my neck.
At once, my battle is lost. My cock pulses wildly, a maelstrom of pleasure seizing my being.
Through the sharp rapture of my release and the pleasure encompassing my mind, I feel Verena suddenly go still. Her teeth release me, but her mouth is still near my neck when she speaks.
"Did…did you just come?"
"Come?" I repeat, my heart still pounding.
Verena pulls away from my neck to peer down between us, blinking at the mess I have made. My spend pools on the sheets, dripping from her beautiful thigh.
I relish the sight so much that I have the beastly desire to cover her all over in my pleasure night and day.
"Fuck, that's hot." She buries her face against my neck again, lapping at the blood there. "I can't believe you came that much from a little thigh action."
Nor can I. Normally, I last much longer in the first session, but her feeding robbed me of all control.
I am still hard as my hand travels back up her pliant, smooth body to squeeze one of her enticing breasts. I dislike that I gave in to my pleasure before her, when all I can think of is making her moan.
My people pride themselves on bringing great pleasure to their bed partners. It's considered both a privilege and a responsibility—especially for the men, who far outnumber the women and know how prized and sought-after a woman's trust and vulnerability are.
If Verena will let me, I vow to give her more pleasure than any lover she may have known before.
I will have her weeping until she lies in a satisfied daze in my arms.
But first, I need this siren to dictate how I take her this first time. If my desire for her is not harnessed by her orders and therefore by my pledge, I am bound to fuck her far too roughly—and with the difference in our size, she may be hurt.
With that in mind, I kiss her again fiercely before speaking against her lips.
"Tell me not to be a beast with you. Order me to fuck you gently."
Verena's breathing catches.
With a speed that rivals the northern winds, she slides out from under me, simultaneously grabbing a nearby sheet. She covers herself and takes a big step away from the bed.
"Whoa, no," she shakes her head rapidly. “No, no, no. No."
Five no's is an improvement over the previous six.