Bound to Blackwood (48 page)

Lena watched in amazement as Thorn dropped to his knees in front of her. With this strange bond between them, she knew he meant every single word he said. As Thorn looked up at her with those fantastic, golden eyes, a searing bolt of heat shot through her and her legs began to shake.

Thorn drew in a deep breath and memories of their last time together came back to her. "Home," she said.

He frowned up at her. "Sorry?"

"You said I smelled like home."

The frown softened. "Because you are my home, Lena. A man couldn't leave his heart anywhere else. Some of our race spend their entire life looking for their mate, and my
Amocinta
was here all the time."
 

She must have misheard. "Your what?"

His eyes flashed platinum as he dropped all of his guards. Lena gasped as the final piece of the puzzle slid into place. She reached up to her neck with her spare hand. "Then you aren't in danger of Falling?"

"What?" he shouted. Of all the things she could have said, that was the last thing he expected. He pulled her to her knees and held both her shoulders. "For the love of Fae, why would you think that?"

"Because I felt your need," she swallowed, "your hunger. You wanted my soul."

"Ah Jesus, Lena."

"You didn't then?"

Thorn cleared his throat. "I did. I still do… But not because I am in any danger of Falling." He stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "It is what it means to be mated; the sharing of all that we are." He cupped her face. "I would share all that I am, if you would consent to stand at my side."

He watched Lena's eyes widen, her beautiful mouth hung open, giving him a tantalising glimpse of her fangs. He laid himself bare. All he could do now was wait.

A look he'd never seen before skirted across her eyes as she looked back at him. She took her hand from his and stood up. When she started to walk away, he thought his heart might actually break. He stayed on his knees, the tiled floor now hard as stone, cold as ice. The cold spread through him as he hung his head. He couldn't bear to watch her go.

"Aren't you coming?" Lena's voice called out behind him.

He looked over his shoulder to see Lena standing in the doorway.

"If you think I'm going to give you an answer in my en-suite, you've got another thing coming, Thorn Blackwood."

Even if Thorn could have dematerialised within the confines of the House, he couldn't have moved any quicker. He was off the floor and through the door in less than a heartbeat.

Lena could feel the dread in Thorn. He had trusted her with all his cards and she could break his heart with just one word. "Lena, you're killing me here!"

She took a deep breath. Where did she start? This wasn't just a simple yes or no kind of answer. She needed Thorn to understand. "I have been bound to House Blackwood for nearly two centuries, but I feel my bonds to you more keenly than any of my brethren. I always have. Have you never wondered why I've spent most of the last two hundred years avoiding you, never being alone with you?"

Thorn shook his head, but didn't reply. She could feel the pain emanating from him, saw him shaking. She reached for him, hating to see him suffer.

"Thorn, I avoided you because of the effect you have on me. You were never just another Guardian, no matter what you said, and I couldn't trust myself around you."

"What are you saying?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

She took a shuddering breath as she ran her hand up his chest and stopped over his heart. "I never understood what it all meant until now."

Thorn swallowed hard. His heart staccatoed under the warmth of Lena's hand. A tiny spark of hope flickered within him, but he fought to dampen it. He daren't assume anything. If he did, and he was wrong, he didn't think he would ever recover.

"What does it mean?" he asked, his voice sounding like a cheese grater had taken up residence in his throat.

Lena's mouth lifted into that coy smile of hers and his heart beat even faster, the hope within him spreading. "House Bowman should have been my first clue," she said.

He couldn't contain his groan as memories of that night flooded his mind. He had to close his eyes just to contain his emotions.

Her hand reached his face, and his eyes flickered open again. "I have been so blind, Thorn," she said as she stroked his cheek. Her smile widened. She even gave a little chuckle. "Of course I will be standing at your side, because you will be standing at mine."

She felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She finally belonged and she finally had something of her very own. With her face squashed against Thorn's chest, she started to smile. "You know, you'll have to let me go at some point, Thorn; I can't breathe here." She laughed.

Chapter 34

Kaden stopped pacing long enough to pour himself a whiskey. The beer just wasn't doing the job. He felt so on edge, his muscles tightly wound, his heart beating double time, so much so that he didn't know what to do with himself. The only true cure for his distemper would be a visit to Soraya; she always calmed him. But, as he eyed the fist-shaped hole in the wall in the plasterwork, he knew he couldn't inflict such a foul mood on someone so delicate.

He zeroed in on Ryver, seriously wondering whether it was a good idea to send the young Guardian up to Lena's room to
listen
in on what the hell was going on. Ryver's head snapped up, his sharp, hazel eyes widening as he met Kaden's heavy stare. The guy gave a shake of his head and mouthed "no way," at him.
 

Shit.

Kaden reinforced his mental shields. Seventy-four times table this time. Ryver stuck his middle finger up at him. Kaden smirked, knowing full-well how much his constant multiplication did Ryver's brain in.

When he first started saying his tables in his head, Kaden didn't even know that he knew his seventy-fours, but as Ryver's gift got stronger, so did Kaden's ability to compartmentalise his mind. He had far too much going on up there to let a youngling like Ryver listen in. He made a mental note to start mental quadratic equations soon.

He downed his shot. The harshness of the liquor made him shudder, but it did serve its purpose. The warm liquid acted like a cosy blanket, soothing his aching muscles, relaxing his bunched shoulders.

He went over to the bar and caught sight of the clock on the wall. Thorn and Lena had been gone for ages and there was still no sign of either of them. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey to pour himself another and focussed on Soraya's last words to him;
everything is as it should be.
 

It had better be.

This was a dream. It had to be.

Even as he laid Lena down on the bed, Thorn still expected to wake up. He still expected Lena to change her mind, say she'd made a terrible mistake. She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips, a beautiful sparkle in her midnight-blue eyes, and Thorn started to pray to God's long since forgotten. He prayed that he could look at this woman and call her his for the rest of his nights.

She reached for him, her small hand piercing the curls at the nape of his neck as she pulled him down. His lips found hers, her mouth warm and inviting as she kissed him back. Gentle, light kisses became deeper, hotter, needier. It left them both breathless.

Thorn broke away and lowered himself down beside her on the bed. He watched her lean into his hand as he cupped her face. She moved to kiss the palm of his hand sending an unexpected shiver through him.

Thorn's reaction excited her. She made her way from his palm and kissed the inside of his wrist. The instant her lips made contact with his skin, two things happened: Thorn shuddered again, and her fangs punched down hard as an almost painful hunger assaulted her.

Lena knew all about her need for Thorn, she had felt it most of her life, but this hunger, this was something new. She tried to pull away, but found she couldn't. A rich, masculine musk infused the air, enticing her back to his skin. Lena inhaled, taking that beautiful scent deep within her and before she could stop herself, she laid another kiss on Thorn's wrist. A jolt of electricity fizzled through her as she felt Thorn's heartbeat beneath her lips.

Her mouth hovering just millimetres from Thorn's radial artery, she glanced up to see his fiery eyes looking back at her. With his heartbeat echoing in her ears, Lena ran her tongue along the artery. Thorn's eyes widened and he hissed as his fangs extended. His heartbeat quickened under her lips and her hunger for him rumbled deep in her soul.

She had never thought about taking possession of another's soul. But this was different. Very different. Thorn's life force called to her, his heartbeat singing the most beautiful song she had ever heard.

Lena's razor-sharp fangs pierced Thorn's skin, and the King's precious blood raced to the surface as she clamped her mouth around the puncture marks. The delicious claret was the most potent thing she'd ever tasted, yet it felt oddly familiar. The thought was quickly gone as she felt Thorn's soul within her.

With every draw, she could feel his strength coursing through her veins, feel his love caressing her, feel his need for her deep at her core. She took another look at Thorn's face and the pure rapture she saw there took her breath away.

A molten heat raced through her as Thorn's soul touched hers and it completely overwhelmed her. She released his arm and fell back on the bed.

Lena had never looked more beautiful. She lay there, breath coming in harsh gasps, eyes glowing a fantastic turquoise. Thorn felt almost consumed with love and need for her.

He had given his blood to very few people, but never like this. The exchange had never been so intimate. His soul had never touched another, never felt their spirit. His soul had connected with Lena's and now he wanted nothing more than to take her soul within his. Where it belonged.

She looked up at him with those glowing eyes and a hunger roared within him. He leant down and claimed her lips in a deep kiss. The coppery taste of his own blood in her mouth only fired his passion for her. His hands caressed her lithe body as she returned the kiss. She clawed at his clothes and that rich, cinnamon scent of hers bloomed in his nostrils.

He broke the kiss long enough to tear off his shirt. Lena discarded hers as well and set about helping him out of his jeans. Once he was free of the constriction of denim, he tore Lena's trousers from her. She reached for him again, taking his lips with hers as her hand snaked around his shoulder. She shifted position so that when he lowered himself down, he nestled perfectly against her core. She rolled her hips beneath him and her devilish tongue caressed the tip of his fang. The shudder that went through him was so violent that he nearly came off the bed as he bucked against her.

He pulled away. Looking down at her, he saw that coy smile. She knew exactly what she was doing. And Holy Mother help him, he loved it.

She rolled her hips again, her slick core caressing his hard length and he was undone. He hissed as he gripped her hip. "I can't wait, Lena."

"Then don't," she replied as she wound her hand over the small of his back.

They both called out as he slid into her. She was wet, and slick, and just as fucking tight as he remembered.

Thorn let his head drop as he slid back and then thrust again. He kissed her jaw and made his way down her neck, her heartbeat guiding him to her carotid. He licked her delicate skin, delighting in the way she turned her head to give him better access.

Her nails dug into his back as he drove himself deep inside her, her body tightening around him. The closer Lena got to the edge, the louder her heartbeat became, until it was all Thorn could hear. He couldn't hold on any longer.

With a growl, his fangs bit into her neck. Lena screamed out and for one terrifying moment he thought she'd changed her mind, but seconds later, she rocked against him as her body milked his hard cock. He slowed his pace, helping her ride out the orgasm.

Thorn's concentration faltered as the first drops of her blood hit his taste buds. Holy Mother of Fae, he'd never tasted anything like it. He felt her soul next to his, felt her love for him, felt her body's reaction to him as if it were his own. The sensory overload was too much.

As he continued to draw her in with his mouth, he came long and hard. He wrenched his mouth away from her neck and screamed her name as she toppled over the abyss with him.

Their bodies shook as the orgasm kept going. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed through them both. Their connection made everything more intense, each of them lighting a fire within the other, until Thorn could no longer tell where he ended and Lena began.