Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
ANDROS
Charli’s been driving me crazy all day, eyes glazed with hunger, staring at me when she thinks I’m not paying attention. I’m already on edge, craving her in the worst way. Clamping down on my need, I glance at my phone.
Macklin: Might have tripped something when I tested that last alarm. I’ll check. Charli with you?
Andros: Unfortunately.
Macklin: ??
Andros: We’re stuck in the elevator.
Macklin: Alone?
Andros: Stop texting and hurry the fuck up.
Macklin: I think I’ll take my time.
“Did he say it was him?” she asks, pulling her hair up from her neck and fanning herself.
“Are you hot, or is this triggering you?” I ask, unable to keep the worry from my voice.
“You can see me?”
“Vampires have excellent night vision,” I remark, my attention caught by the rapid pulse fluttering at the base of her neck and the flush on her cheeks. My incisors lengthen along with the rest of me. “Fuck me.”
“What?” She drops her hair. “Andros.” Her hand reaches out and collides with my chest, and I stiffen. “Not all of us can see in the dark. Talk to me.”
“What do you want me to say?” I groan, grabbing her hand and pressing it against my hard cock. “You’ve been eye fucking me all afternoon. Pushing me to my limit. And now we’re trapped in an elevator, and my control is razor thin.” I lift my hand from hers and place it on the wall behind her.
She freezes, then takes a slow, careful breath, and palms me.
“Why?” I ask, in a slightly unsteady tone. What I wouldn’t give for her to touch me all over, but I know that’s not ever going to happen.
“I don’t know why,” she mutters, reaching for my belt buckle.
I grab her hand. “If you touch me, I’m going to want a hell of a lot more than a grope in the dark.”
“I know.” She drags my zipper down, the sound loud in the small space. Shoving my pants aside, she takes my cock out and wraps her fingers around it. I groan. Her soft inhale and tentative strokes tell me she hasn’t done this very often, and damn if the thought doesn’t excite the hell out of me.
Exhaling harshly, I press against the wall as her hand explores me from top to bottom, mapping it like she’s trying to commit it to memory. “Are you planning on drawing my cock?”
“Maybe. I like drawing you.” She bites her lip. “Why did you take my sketch?”
I shift uncomfortably, and she tightens her hand, keeping me in place. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“It does to me.” She rolls her hand over the tip. “Tell me.”
Her demanding tone makes me chuckle. “Holding my cock hostage isn’t going to get you the answers you want, but I’m willing to negotiate an exchange.” I lightly caress the spot on her neck where I want to sink my teeth.
She shakes her head. “The last time I gave you blood, you told me you were going to reject me.”
“That was short-sighted of me,” I murmur, yanking my glove off and sliding my hand along her clenched thighs.
My fingers hit the thin cotton barrier between her legs and rip it off.
I drag them through her wet, swollen body and briefly close my eyes at the proof of her need.
Pressing the heel of my palm against her clit, I plunge two fingers into her. “Have you been like this all day?”
She winces. “Yes.”
“What is it? Are you hurt?”
“I’m a little sore from last night,” she reveals, looking uncomfortable.
“Damn it. Why didn’t you tell me?” I admonish her, sinking to my knees. I lift her leg up and spread her wide so I can feast on her, and more importantly, heal her with my saliva.
She moans, and the sound makes me feral, having had to listen to her make those same sounds with Teague. Over and over.
Threading her fingers through my hair, she presses against my face. “I’m already close.”
So am I. “Do you want to come on my face or my cock?” I ask, my voice guttural with need.
“Cock,” she whispers as if she isn’t used to saying it.
Standing, I lift her against the wall and thrust all the way in.
It’s better than I fucking imagined. Wet and tight, she fits me perfectly.
I sweep her hair back from her face and drop my lips on hers, then wonder what the hell I’m doing.
Kissing isn’t something I do, and yet I can already tell it’s going to be a habit.
She wraps her legs around me and grinds down, taking me deeper, and in that moment, I know I’m always going to want her.
“Mm, yes. Please. Move,” she murmurs in a string of practically incoherent words. She reaches out and places her hands on my shoulders, and I shudder, dangerously close to triggering.
Tearing my lips from hers, I grab her wrists and lift her hands above her head, then I fuck her like it’s the last thing I’ll ever do. Already close, it doesn’t take much before she gives a keening cry and convulses around me.
Holding her wrists with one hand, I wipe the sweat from her face and confess, “You’ve had me on the edge for days. Seeing you, smelling you, listening to your sweet little moans as you begged for release…” I slowly slip in and out, building her up again.
Her lips part. “I didn’t know you could hear us.”
“I wanted to watch,” I confess, swearing when she squirms. “Hmm, you like that idea.”
She shakes her head.
“Liar,” I whisper, thrusting hard and deep several times before resuming the excruciatingly slow pace.
Panting, she presses her heels against my back. “Faster.”
“I need your blood, ma lumière,” I murmur, skimming the side of her neck with my teeth. My body has rejected every drop I’ve tried to swallow since she gave me hers, and I’m so damn thirsty.
Her body clenches mine, and I thrust in and out a little faster.
“Will it hurt?”
“A prick.” My body swells, filling her even more. “Then nothing but waves of pleasure, more than you can imagine.”
“Why do you feel bigger?” She moans.
“Vampires swell right before we come,” I divulge.
She moves her mouth to my ear. “Yes.”
The world stops turning, and I stare down at her. “Yes, what? I need to know you understand what I’m asking.”
“Yes, you can have my blood,” she returns in a breathless voice.
Remembering the heady taste of her, my body swells and presses against her tight channel as I find the spot I’ve been fantasizing about every damn night and sink my teeth into her neck, tumbling both of us over the edge.
“Andros!” she cries, her body arching against mine as the serum in my fangs sets off her climax, then prolongs it, carrying her along in a euphoric tide.
It doesn’t take much for me to follow, and spilling inside my mate as I drink her blood sends a surge of possessiveness through me. I suddenly hate knowing she was turned on today with others in the room, smelling her need.
Closing the punctures with a swipe of my tongue, I grip her chin. “Next time you’re turned on at work, you’re going to leave the meeting and wait for me in my office. Understood?”
Her eyes widen, and she nods. “Why did you keep the sketch?”
I pull out, ignoring the way her body clings to mine, then release her wrists and rub them to get the circulation flowing. “I like the way you see me.”
“How do?—”
Tell Andros to answer his damn phone.
Her eyes widen. “Macklin’s trying to reach you.”
I pull up my pants and pat my pockets, but nothing’s there. Turning in a circle, I spot my phone on the floor, along with my glove. “What’s up?”
“Someone deliberately turned off the electricity,” he growls. “But I can’t figure out how. Sound the alarm. I’m on my way.”
“Merde,” I spit, zipping up my pants and pulling my glove on.
“What’s going on?” Charli asks, sweeping her hands across the floor.
“What are you looking for?”
“My panties,” she returns in an irritated voice.
I grab them and stuff them in my pocket. “I might have ripped them off.”
She heaves a sigh and digs into her messenger bag, pulling out another pair. “What’s happening?” Slipping them on, she straightens her dress, then taps my chest when I don’t answer. “Andros, focus.”
“Macklin didn’t trip the electricity.”
Turning around, I press my fingers into the seam of the elevator doors and manually shove them open.
Thankfully, we’re only halfway below the second floor.
“Leave your stuff. I’m going to toss you through first, but I’ll be right behind you.
” I open the doors above us and listen for any sound of movement.
Motioning for her to stand in front of me, I grip her waist and place my lips on her ear. “Don’t talk once we’re out of the elevator.” I lift her until her head is through, then give her a toss.
Diving through behind her, I lace my fingers with hers and tug her into the stairwell, then sweep her off her feet. Shifting into vampiric speed, I fly up the stairs until we get to the door that leads out to the roof.
When the electricity is down, the door can only be opened with a key, which only four people have—me, Teague, Susan, and Macklin. Inserting it, I quietly open the door and peer out, hearing nothing but the usual night sounds. I pull Charli through and close the door.
Walking over to the metal shed, I slide it open and insert the crank. “Cover your ears.” When she clamps her hands over them, I brace myself and let it rip, turning the handle again and again, sending the siren out over the city. At one minute exactly, I stop and scan the area around the building.
There’s no movement. Anywhere. A soft click has me placing myself between Charli and the door. Macklin walks out, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees us, then sweeps Charli into his arms.
“There’s nobody out there. Are you sure you didn’t trip anything?”
He scowls. “Positive. It appears to be working, but as you can see, we don’t have any electricity.”
“Only two races have the power to disrupt the electricity,” I remark, not liking either option.
“A witch or an Elemental,” Macklin concludes. “Nobody has crossed the perimeter who isn’t already keyed into the system, so that narrows our list of suspects.”
“Actually, that’s not true,” I state slowly, grabbing my phone.
Ames answers on the first ring. “Are we under attack?”
“Where are your new guests?”
He curses, and I hear him running. There’s the sound of wood splitting, then silence. “They’re gone.”
“Fuck! Try to track them. I’ll call you back.” I hang up and glance at Macklin. “The two witches we rescued from the facility are gone.”
A wolf howls in the distance, and lightning strikes the ground, which is odd given there isn’t a cloud in the sky
“I’m on it.” I take off running and leap from the roof. Charli’s scream follows me down.
Landing, I tilt my head up and see her relieved face, then take off.
Racing through town, I run into Leif and several of his wolves, all headed in the same direction.
Between town and Ames’ ranch, we find a burnt patch of grass and a white wolf baring its teeth at the mother and daughter I saved this morning.
Scanning the two of them, I notice little arcs of electricity circling the daughter. I subtly signal to Leif, and he dips his muzzle, silently telling his pack to fan out around us.
“You’re surrounded,” I point out, stepping toward Angeline, the mother. She jerks her head in my direction and blanches. “Give up now, and we’ll spare your lives.”
Her mouth firms, and she flicks her wrist. Fire wreaths her hands. “You think a few wolves and a vampire can take us out?” Her voice is clear and confident as she faces us.
A dark shadow appears in the night sky, and I quirk an eyebrow. “Maybe, maybe not. What about a dragon?”
Ames lands, and both mother and daughter react, throwing a volley of fire and electricity at the massive green dragon.
A gross miscalculation on their part. Ames is a shadow dragon.
He turns from solid to shadow in a blink, and the elements pass right through him.
Returning, Ames huffs and swats a nearby burning bush with his tail.
While the two are watching Ames, I move in behind the woman and press the knife from my boot into her neck.
“Turn the electricity back on,” I order Felicity, the daughter.
Angeline shakes her head, but Felicity takes one look at me, and tears roll down her cheeks.
“I won’t lose you too,” she sobs, scrunching up her face as the electricity in her hands swirls.
Lights appear in the distance, one by one, until the entire city is lit again.
“Thank you,” I tell her. “You’re going to ride back to town with Ames, and I’m going to bring your mom, okay?” My voice is persuasive and calm, and she instantly nods.
Ames sends me a menacing glance but extends his large claw.
The little girl slides her gaze to me.
“He doesn’t have a saddle, so he’ll have to carry you,” I explain. “Step into his hand. That’s it. He’s going to close it over you, so you don’t fall out.” I motion to Ames. “Margin Street.” A secure facility that will nullify her magic.
After they take off, the wolves move closer, their blue and gold gazes locked on Angeline. “If you want to see your daughter again, I suggest you start talking.”
She bares her teeth and crosses her arms over her chest.
I lift a nonchalant shoulder and widen my stance. “The cold doesn’t bother me.”
The wolves sigh and settle on the ground.
“What will you do to us?” she asks in a tremulous voice.
“That depends on what you say.”