Chapter 27
The beach was entirely deserted. Laurent stretched out on their beach blanket, shaded beneath the sun umbrella, and propped himself up on his elbows.
Cinnamon was passed out beside him, her fur still drying.
He’d immensely enjoyed watching Lily chase her around, the two of them frolicking.
Her laugh still echoed in his ears, bringing a small smile to his lips.
She was a bright light, and being around her cast everything else into shadow.
Just out past the breaking waves, her head bobbed up before disappearing again. He fought the urge to join her. If she came to harm, he’d know. Their blood tied them together now. It’s how he’d felt her panic last night, how he’d known something was wrong while he rescued Zola.
A low growl simmered in his chest. He clenched a fistful of sand beneath the beach blanket and squeezed. If anything had happened to her…
He’d been reckless, too focused on getting Zola back to think of the consequences. Leaving Lily alone in the manor with no one but Vittorio and a few guards scattered about the grounds. He’d made too many mistakes recently.
Lily dove beneath the water’s surface, disappearing.
The urge to be near her overpowered the urge to give her time alone.
He sat up and ran a hand over Cinnamon’s belly.
The pup barely stirred. He discarded his T-shirt and swam out to her.
The water was shockingly cold against his skin as he cut through the waves.
She caught sight of him and smiled, treading water. “You look out of place,” she called.
“I can assure you, I am a strong swimmer.”
They drifted together.
“Oh yeah?” A wicked expression crossed her features. She surged toward him, using his shoulders to dunk him under the waves. He found himself laughing as he broke free of the surface. Laughing. When was the last time he’d laughed uninhibited?
He caught her, pulling her flush to him. “That was very naughty, little flower.”
She giggled, pushing against his chest. He refused to let her go, relishing in the way he could hold her without scenting her fear. The sandy bottom crept up beneath his feet, allowing him to stand.
His gaze darted to her mouth, to the heart shaped bow of her upper lip, before traveling lower yet. Her pulse fluttered at her throat as her scent changed. The organ in his chest began to race. “Stop that. I can smell your arousal. You’re making me hungry.”
Her eyes went wide. “Already?”
She misinterpreted the hunger, but he decided to play along. “Already.”
“I guess that’s understandable. I…” Her cheeks flushed. “I feel the same—hunger, I mean. I just worry about taking too much.”
A low laugh rumbled his chest. “You may feed from me whenever you wish. My blood will make you strong and healthy. Even keep you from aging. No negative effects other than your addiction to me.”
And fuck, he loved the sound of that. Lily Shaw addicted to him. Wanting him regularly.
“Oh…” Her pupils dilated. “And for you? How long does my blood remain in your system?”
“Amplifier blood has only ever lasted me a few days.”
She squirmed as if to break free, but he tightened his hold. “I don’t like that.”
“Like what?”
“The thought of you drinking from other amplifiers.”
“They’re all dead.” He preened at the idea of her jealous. “No need to fear your competition.”
“Laurie!” she hissed, her fingers digging into the muscle of his shoulders. “I don’t like the thought of you drinking from anyone. Is it… Is it always like this? Like sex, basically?”
“No. That was intentional. I can make it feel good for my donors, if I so choose. Think of my bite as a way into your body. Just as I could go in and search out memories in your mind, so too can I manipulate your pain and pleasure.”
“Oh.” Her lips puckered and he couldn’t help but stare.
He cleared his throat. “I can make it hurt, make you scream in agony, or I can give you so much pleasure you combust in a completely different way. I can use my power to immobilize you, make you limp and helpless, placing you entirely at my mercy. When you agreed to give me your blood, you were giving me permission to access your body, whether you realized it or not.”
“You did that on purpose?” she rasped, pulling back to better see him. Her blush told him everything. That she was thinking all about how good it felt. How much she liked it. His grin was roguish. “That was inappropriate, Laurie.”
“I cannot believe it has taken you this long to scold me.”
“I didn’t know it was something you could control!”
“Hmm. I enjoyed making you come. It annoys me that you do it all alone in your room at night when I could be there doing it for you.”
Her lips parted. “I asked if you wanted to join me. You’re the one that said no—that you stopped having sex.”
“I did.”
“Okay.” Her jaw tightened. “So why would I want to mess around with someone who isn’t interested in sex? I don’t need your pity pleasure, Laurent.”
A warning growl vibrated his chest. He took her hips, guided her legs to wrap around his waist. She gasped, eyes going wide as she felt the press of his erection against her core.
The warmth of her sex against his hardening cock was divine.
“It’s not pity pleasure if I want to give it to you, Lily. ”
Her gaze searched his, her eyes darting between his.
“I stopped having sex when it lost its luster. There came a time when the only thing I wanted was blood. That is how it has been for centuries. Your blood is my latest obsession—my addiction. You are my addiction.”
She blinked rapidly.
The words hung between them, more honest than he’d intended to be. He wondered if anyone had ever spoken to her like this. Likely not. No one had wanted to claim her the way he did, but he didn’t merely want to claim her. He wanted to possess her. That should have concerned him.
“You don’t like the idea of me feeding from anyone else?” he said. “Fine. I won’t. But your blood makes me fucking crazy.” He dragged his teeth over the vein on her throat. She shivered against him. “I’m going to want you every day. That kind of want is dangerous.”
He felt her pulse quicken against his lips, her body responding to the warning in his voice. He nipped at her skin and she gasped.
“In return, you will need to feed from me often to ensure I don’t lose control. As long as my blood is in you, I’ll be able to curb my urges. Is that what you want?” He felt her nod against him. “I need to hear you say it, little flower.”
“Yes,” she managed.
“Good.” He pulled back to look at her, tangling a hand in her wet hair. “Now, as for the matter of sex, I’ll provide that for you, too. The last thing I want is you needy and wanting. I will not tolerate anyone’s hands on you but my own. Understand? You will come to me for that. No one else.”
Her throat bobbed, but she nodded, her eyes glazed.
“You are mine to care for. I will see that all of your needs are met. Did I not promise that you would want for nothing?” Another nod. “Good.”
She panted in his arms.
“One more thing,” he said, his lips nearly brushing over hers as he spoke.
She blinked, as if shaking herself free of his spell.
“You have the power to control me. No one has ever had that kind of power over me. If I do something you do not like—touch you in a way you are not comfortable with, behave in a way that makes you uneasy, overstep in any way—you will tell me to stop. Understand? Make sure I feel it.” This was important—more important than anything else.
He needed her to understand the power she held over him.
When she nodded, he said, “I want verbal acknowledgement.”
“Right. Yes. Yes… I understand.”
“Good. Because I’m going to kiss you now. Then I’m going to bite you. I’ll even make you come. So don’t forget this conversation.”
“Oh.”
He took in her dazed expression, the way her hands grasped his shoulders, the slight rock of her hips—did she realize she was grinding against his cock?—and the fluttering pulse at her neck. He tightened his fingers in her hair and crushed their mouths together.
She tasted exactly as he’d hoped. Salty with ocean water, warm, forbidden.
Her lips were soft and pliant beneath his, yielding in a way that sent heat racing through his veins.
He groaned, lashing out with his tongue, running it along the seam of her lips, forcing entry.
When she opened, he claimed her completely, exploring her mouth, moving her head exactly where he needed it.
She whimpered and tightened her knees around him, grinding against him.
His chest rose and fell—uncontrolled breathing. The scent of her arousal intensified, wrapping around them, intoxicating him. He tried to kiss her longer, relishing in the feel of her tongue as it stroked his. Claws of desire scraped down his spine, driving him mad with want.
Then his instincts took over. His gums began to ache until his canines elongated. Lily gasped, pricking her tongue on one. The taste of her blood filled his mouth. He wrapped his lips around her tongue and sucked, then groaned. “You are fucking divine.”
A breathy sigh was her only response.
He began nipping along her jaw.
“Laurie,” she whispered. “That feels…”
“Good, yes?”
“Mmm.”
A pleased smile tugged at his lips. He tightened his forearm around her waist. Fuck, he wanted to slip his fingers beneath her bathing suit, see how wet she was for him. Feel her cunt swallow his fingers. Feel her warmth wrapped around him.
His teeth found her pulse. There were so many other places he might bite her, enjoy her. Those would have to wait.
He struck. He was gentle, so gentle, as he broke the skin before sinking in deep. Her little gasp made his cock swell painfully. He found himself rocking against her, just to take the edge off.
That she could make him this hard with a single sound…
His awareness slipped away as her memories rushed into his mind.
He let them pass freely, tempted to enter her thoughts the way he wanted, to discover everything about her.
To learn her inside and out. But it would be a betrayal.
For anyone else, he wouldn’t have cared about such an invasion.
For her, it was the one line he wouldn’t cross without permission.
He lost himself to his bloodlust.
The taste of her, so utterly incomprehensible.
She was limp in his arms from the power of his bite, turning her into helpless prey.
Yes, he liked her helpless for him. Liked the thought of her surrender.
Such a vexing creature, entirely at his mercy.
And yet she trusted him. The knowledge humbled him even as it inflamed him.
He ground his cock against her heat, flooding her with pleasure. She let out a cry. In her paralysis, she couldn’t move, but she could still speak. She could stop him if she really wanted.
She didn’t.
He feasted, pulling in drag after drag, enjoying the sounds of her pleasure. Such sweet sounds. Was it what she’d sound like when he feasted between her thighs? When he drove his cock into her? When he let her ride his face?
Fuck.
Her body tightened in his arms. She was close—so close.
He sent another surge of pleasure through her.
She combusted, crying out a jumbled version of his name.
The orgasm turned her blood sweeter, richer.
He took several more gulps, careful not to be overly greedy.
He tasted his own blood there, too. It was the only thing that kept him sane enough to pull away.
He licked the wound closed. She remained utterly limp. He was nearly immobile too, as the flood of her blood, her power, swept through him. He wanted to open his mouth and roar at the delicious ecstasy of it.
Their breaths were harsh and mingled, drowned out by the sound of the waves.
He found her mouth again, kissing her back to awareness. A sharp yip interrupted them. He whipped his head toward the beach, then relaxed. Cinnamon had woken up but their cove was still deserted. The puppy’s timing was impeccable, as always.
He waded back into the shallows, Lily clinging to him like a spider monkey. He liked the way she wrapped herself around him. He laid her down upon their blanket, then began kissing her, grinding against her.
She’d be weak with blood loss for an hour or two so he’d watch her closely.
For now, he simply wanted to enjoy her lips.
She gave no complaints. But all too soon, Cinnamon was pawing at him.
Lily’s laugh cut them short. He watched her bright face, taking in her happy, dazed expression.
An expression he’d put there. The drumming in his chest felt a lot like elation.
He kissed one cheek, then the other, then the corner of her mouth.
“I need to get you home, get you something to eat. What sort of a caretaker would I be if I let you expire out here in the sand?”
“Okay,” she breathed, tilting her head back, exposing her neck to him. Unknowingly, but still. He smiled against the bare skin, dropping a few kisses there. Then he packed everything up and got his two girls loaded back into the car.
It was almost wistful, leaving this place.
But this was just the beginning. This thing with Lily.
He shot her a glance, something he found himself doing more and more lately.
Simply looking at her, assuring himself that she was still there, right beside him.
That she always would be. Because no matter what happened, he intended to keep her.