Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lilith wasn’t dead, but she sure as hell wished she was.
Esther lay lifeless beside her, and Percival sat on her pillow, his breathing quick and shallow.
Deirdre had come in looking for her, but she couldn’t even muster the will to acknowledge her presence.
Was she being dramatic? Maybe. But what was the point of existing anymore?
She had screwed up yet again, and this time, she’d lost everything because of it. Turning Spencer was supposed to fix things. In her mind, they would be together forever, and Esther would be saved. Now, she’d lost the man she loved and her familiar. Percival wouldn’t be far behind either.
What had she been thinking? Lilith, Queen of the Night, didn’t deserve love.
She was meant to be alone. That fact should have been clear when she got kicked out of Eden, but no.
She had refused to see it that way. She’d listened to her friends, let them convince her a soulmate existed for her, and she’d given him her whole heart.
Because he was her soulmate. And now he was gone.
Fate was a cold-hearted bitch.
Her front door opened again, and footsteps sounded in the hall. No doubt Deirdre had called in reinforcements, but Lilith’s pain couldn’t be healed with a girls’ night in. No amount of wine-laced blood and Sex and the City would make her feel better.
“Lilith?” Fear threaded through Spencer’s voice, and he quickened his steps. “Oh, gods, Lilith. No.”
He sank onto the bed and rested his hand on her stomach. “Esther. Percival? Oh, Lilith, I’m so sorry.”
“We brought him back to you, hon.” Venus’s voice sounded from across the room.
Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her forehead, and a tear splashed onto her cheek as he pulled away. “I didn’t mean a word of what I said. I was startled and confused, and you were right. I was so hungry I couldn’t think straight.”
He trailed his fingers down her cheek, and she fluttered her lids open to find him gazing at her with so much emotion in his eyes that she nearly choked on a sob. Eve and Deirdre stood next to Venus at the foot of the bed.
“Oh, thank Lucifer, you’re still alive. I’m so, so sorry.” Concern etched lines into Spencer’s forehead, making her heart thump hard in her chest.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered over the thickness in her throat, and her friends quietly slipped out the door, leaving them alone.
“No. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did the right thing; I can see that now. When Deirdre came into the bar and said you were dead, I…” He clamped his mouth shut, and a tear slid down his cheek.
“The thought of living the rest of eternity without you was unbearable. I would have done anything to bring you back. We belong together.”
She pushed to sitting and leaned her back against the headboard. “Do you really mean that?”
“I do. I saw Andrei shift. He told me how you bind a shifter’s animal until he has control of his bloodlust. I should have let you explain. I should have known you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”
“Never.”
“It’s just… My cousin lost his owl when he was turned, so I assumed…”
She cupped his cheek in her hand. “I will release him soon.”
“I love you, Lilith, with all my heart and soul.” He took her hand, cradling it in both of his. “Will you be mine?”
Pressure built in the back of her eyes, and her chest gave a squeeze. “I’m a package deal, you know. If you want to have and hold me as long as we both exist, you must be willing to hold Esther and Percival too.”
The crow cawed and hopped onto Spencer’s leg. He laughed and stroked a finger over his feathers. “I’ve grown fond of this little guy.”
Lilith scooped Esther into her hands. The snake wound around her wrist, responding to her touch, and her coloring turned to red, black, and yellow. “You said you hate snakes. Esther has been with me since the day I was exiled from Eden.”
He eyed Esther. “I was bitten as a kid and nearly died. Am I correct in assuming I’m impervious to venom now?”
“Even if you weren’t, Esther is harmless. I’m more venomous than she is.” She held the snake toward him, and he nodded before reaching for her.
He let out a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry for chucking you across the room earlier. I didn’t know who you were.” He held her loosely, and she flicked out her tongue, slithering up his arm and around the back of his shoulders.
Lilith’s smile widened, and her heart felt like a rabbit’s foot thumping against her breastbone. “She likes you.”
“I like her too. She’s part of you.” Esther spiraled her way down his other arm, returning to Lilith.
“Well, then.” She rose from the bed and placed her beneath the heat lamp. Closing her eyes, she reached out to connect with her familiar, and the bond formed immediately as if poor Esther hadn’t resided on Azrael’s doorstep for the past month. All was well.
“In answer to your question, yes.” She sank onto the bed next to him. “I will be yours. I have been since the moment we met, and I will be for as long as you’ll have me.”
“As long as I don’t get staked or beheaded, how does eternity sound?”
She smiled as a thousand butterflies flitted from her stomach to her chest. “Better than heaven.”
He took her cheek in his hand and placed a tender kiss on her lips.
Heat unfurled in her belly, and she leaned into him, gripping his thigh and slipping her tongue into his mouth.
His new fangs grazed her flesh, the razor-like tips drawing blood.
A moan rumbled in his chest, and she pulled back to gaze into his eyes.
“Be careful of your fangs. They’re sharp.”
He slipped out his tongue to moisten his lips. “You taste amazing.”
“Play your cards right, and I might let you have more.”
“Vampires can drink each other’s blood?”
“Not for sustenance, but for intimacy.”
He parted his lips, touching the tip of his tongue to his fang.
Lilith’s gaze locked on his mouth, and the heat in her belly rolled down to her nether region.
Her soulmate was now a vampire. Sure, the circumstances surrounding his transformation weren’t as either of them would have liked, but Spencer was immortal now.
He was hers forever, and the mere thought made tears gather on her lower lids.
“Then let’s get intimate.” Fire sparked in his eyes, and he took her mouth in another kiss, this one filled with urgency and passion.
Percival cawed and flew out of the room, and she grabbed Spencer’s shirt, tugging it upward, only breaking the kiss to yank it over his head.
Their mouths met again, and she wrapped her arms around him, massaging the bare skin on his back as they kissed.
He broke away, rising to his feet and pulling her up with him.
He took off her shirt and bra and pulled her to his chest. His skin was cooler than before, but he was a vampire now, so that was normal.
He was still soft and hard in all the right places, and she unbuttoned his pants to reach for her favorite hard thing.
She wrapped her fingers around his dick, and he sucked in a breath.
“All of my senses are ten times stronger.” He undid her pants and worked them down her hips, taking her panties with them.
“What I’m about to do to you will feel ten times better.” She pushed his pants down and started to lower to her knees.
“Mm-mm.” He clutched her shoulders, stopping her descent. “Let me worship you.”
Before she could respond, he scooped an arm behind her knees, lifting her from her feet and placing her on the bed. Her stomach fluttered, and a warm shiver ran down her spine. If he wanted to worship her, who was she to deny him?
He kicked off his pants and tossed the rest of their clothes aside before climbing on top of her. He kissed her neck, running his tongue up to her ear before gliding his nose down to her shoulder with a deep inhale. “I can smell your blood. The urge to taste it is overwhelming.”
“The wait will be worth it.”
“I know.” Rising to his hands and knees, he held her gaze and moved back. He pressed a kiss to her navel before spreading her legs and lying between them. “I want to taste the rest of you first.”
He flicked out his tongue, bathing her clit, and electricity shot straight to her heart. An ahh escaped her lips, and she arched her back, offering her whole self to him. He licked her again, and she moaned.
“I love the sounds you make.” His words vibrated through her core.
“I love it when you make me make them.” She fisted the sheets as he worked his tongue, pleasuring her and moaning his appreciation. Every nerve in her body felt alive in a way she’d never experienced before. Sparkling with energy and magic and love.
He slipped two fingers inside her, angling his hand to reach her sweet spot and stroking the sensitive flesh until she cried out his name. Her climax tightened in her core, begging to be released. She was almost there.
“Bite me, Spencer. On my inner thigh.”
He inhaled deeply, pressing his thumb against her clit and gliding his lips across to her leg. “Here?” he whispered against her skin, turning it to gooseflesh.
“Yes. Sweet Persephone, please.”
He sank his fangs into her thigh, and a million fireworks exploded inside her, the orgasm rocking her soul. A groan vibrated from his lips as he covered the puncture with his mouth and sucked. Wave after wave of ecstasy washed over her until she couldn’t bear the pleasure anymore.
Panting, she stilled his hand, and he released her, gazing up with passion-drunk eyes.
“My turn.” She pushed to sitting. “On your back.”
He rose to his knees, gripping his cock, and moisture beaded on his tip. “I need to be inside you. Right now.”
With a wicked grin, she pushed him down and straddled him, sinking onto his dick and gasping as he filled her. Still incredibly sensitive from her orgasm, she moved slowly, rising up and sliding down, reveling in the pleasant ache of his girth.
He held her hips and ran his hands over her body, caressing her skin. “I love you.”
His words washed over her, wrapping around her like a blanket, hugging her tight. “I love you too.”
She leaned down for a kiss and increased her rhythm, going faster, harder. He groaned and gripped her thighs, encouraging her to continue her speed. They fit together perfectly, and he thrust his hips beneath her, matching her rhythm beat for beat until another orgasm spiraled in her core.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Gods, yes.” He leaned his head to the side, giving her access to his neck.
She bit, and as his blood bathed her tongue, she came. Her entire body shuddered with her release, and she stilled, giving Spencer full control.
He thrust harder, harder, faster, faster, his fingers digging into her flesh before he slammed into her, grinding his pelvis into hers as he found his release.
His grip loosened, and she lay on top of him, covering his body with hers, unwilling to end the intimacy just yet. It had taken millennia, but the world’s first woman had finally found her match. Fate had given her another chance at love, and this time, she was taking it.