Conquer the Highland Beast: The Vampire Dylan Macgregor (Hearts of Darkness) (23 page)

“I c-can’t breathe. Come, Dylan come. I want to feel you explode inside me…”

He pistoned rapidly, and her internal ripples gripped his cock, taking him to the breaking point. The thick, creamy fluid jettisoned into her with long powerful spurts, and she screamed with a pleasure she’d never known.

“You’ve ruined me for any other man, you know?”

“Luv, the minute we met there could be no other—for you or for me. Until this moment, I didn’t know what true pleasure was.” Dylan’s voice cracked.

“Are you saying you’ve never experienced this ‘oneness’ with anyone else?”

“Of course not. We shared thoughts before, but it is the life mate bond which allows the true merging of our bodies.”

“Wow. So, it’s just you and me babe, forever, right?” When he nodded, she dragged her finger around his left nipple with her nail and felt the tingle in her own. She smiled and shivered. “…and all this pleasure.”

“I do have responsibilities. It can’t be all pleasure, pleasure, pleasure.” He chuckled as he kissed her belly and pressed two fingers deep inside her.

She gasped. “N-no. Of course not.” She tried to wrap her fingers around his girth. “I think I said something about going back to work…”

“Right. Work, responsibilities. Let’s go soak in the hot tub and think about an eternity of this.” Dylan kissed her eyes and her nose and settled over her mouth, until she lost all sense of herself.

“Your kisses should come with a warning. God, you’re good.”

“You already told me that. I’m growing a big head from your compliments. If my kisses are good for you, it’s only because I love you, Caitlin.”

He picked her up and carried her to the garden room where the hot tub bubbled with fragrant salts. “Now where were we?”

“I think we were going to plan the future. For starters, I have an idea. Let’s have a party so I can meet everyone. Jackson…I haven’t even met the one person closest to you.”

“Excellent idea.
I’ve missed having him around. Last I heard, he’s eager to meet you, too. Traveling with the wolf pack and training keep him away a lot, lately.” He turned on the lights enhancing the garden plants and illuminated their bodies in the tub. “You’re so lovely, lass. Enough planning. Sit on my lap, so I can kiss you, again.”

“I believe you have an ulterior motive.” Caitlin’s fangs dropped into place at his s
uggestion. So much for planning. Her whole body tensed. She wiggled into his lap and wasted no time sheathing his arousal in her heat. Ahh, it felt wonderful having him fill her this way.

He leaned his head back against the trellis with a groan. His long hair draped his massive shoulders and his eyes became heavy lidded. “
Are you hungry again, lass?” he asked, his voice gritty with desire.

She stroked his chest and his abdomen. “I’m ravenous, Dylan. I’m not sure whether it’s blood or sex driving this hunger.”

“Does it matter? As your life mate, I’m here to provide you with both.” He caressed her bottom with his one hand and her breast with the other. “’Tis no trouble. No trouble at all.” He gave her a devilish grin and winked.

“So selfless.”
She laughed and cupped his handsome face between her hands. “That’s right, big boy. I appreciate your sacrifice. Now, bite me.”

THE END

Hearts in Darkness
series

Damn the Darkness
,
Book
3

Jackson Xenos braked his car behind a stretch limo inconveniently blocking Dylan’s driveway. Patiently waiting his turn, he was determined to prove how far he’d come—how he’
d managed to gather his control over the Lycan aspect of his background. He’d made it through another full moon cycle, this time without allowing the wolf to break free—a first for him—and considering he hadn’t been laid in close to three months, a major accomplishment.

Being horny made maintaining control more difficult for an inexperienced shifter. Although abstinence tested his limits, and he had to admit it was dangerous to let the wolf lie dormant for so long, he wanted to know how far he could push the animal within before he lost all sense of himself.

He shoved a strand of hair, slightly damp from the quick five-minute shower, out of his face and sniffed.
Fuck, is that coming off me?
The heavy, musky odor filled the air around him. After running through swamps and woods all week, he’d scrubbed extra hard to remove the rank musky smell of wild wolf from his body.

His skin still tingled with the after effects of the full moon. That had to be why his skin felt too tight. He ran his fingers through his hair and stood up straight. Tonight wasn’t the time to be getting all horn doggy with the females, not if he was going to meet Dylan’s life mate. Everyone within twenty feet of him would know he needed sex. Unfortunately, no shower was going to take care of what Jackson needed, not unless it came with a female or two. What he really needed was a good long fuck.

Residual wolf,
eau de lupine
, insisted on breaking through his Dolce & Gabbana cologne. To his advantage, it attracted the ladies, but sometimes it made other males more aggressive. Training for weeks on end, all work and no play made Jackson hungry for a ripe female. Later tonight, some sweet bitch would be getting a whole lotta hip action, but now he needed to stroke his desire down a notch or two because in a few minutes he’d be facing the council for the first time since he’d been training with the wolves.

He climbed out of Dylan’s
silver Lamborghini Murcielago, unfolded himself, and stretched. He was impatient to share his good news with Dylan. He’d be as relieved as Jackson had been when Garr told him he was almost ready to run with the pack. Jackson understood it would take more than managing control through a few full moon cycles to prove he was mastering his control over the beast inside him. Even if the council wanted more proof, Dylan would see it for what it was, another step toward Jackson reaching his majority.

The doors to the ballroom were open and the music carried outside, along with the laughter and chatter. The party was in full swing, crowded, noisy, and upbeat. Good. He was happy for Dylan, happier still that everyone seemed to be accepting the whole situation with Dylan’s new mate.

“Hi, Jackson, toss the keys. I’ll park it for you.” The young wolf who was valet parking tonight was the younger brother of one of his pack mates.

“Hey there, Josh.
Take care, real good care of it, or Dylan will have my hide.” Jackson couldn’t help smiling at the kid’s enthusiasm. It wasn’t that long ago he’d been the one drooling over Dylan’s cars—now he was driving them. He tossed the keys, pointed a finger at the kid, and said, “Keep it on the grounds, okay?”

“Don’t you
worry. I’ll take real good care of this baby. I’ll park it far away from the rest.”

Jackson cocked his hand at the kid like a gun. “Not too far, understand.”

Josh sniffed, gave Jackson the once over, and with a nod, grinned. “Sure. I understand. The ladies are going to be all over you tonight, dude. Guaranteed, you’ll be getting lucky before the first toast. From the smell of you? More than once.” The kid ran around the car, jumped in, and gunned it.

The ride out to the estate may have put a few creases in his pants, but they smoothed out quickly when his cock swelled behind his zipper. Jackson chuckled and adjusted himself. The kid better be right. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his black silk shirt, brushed off his tux, and buttoned his jacket as he approached the open double doors.

A foreign scent in the air hit Jackson’s senses like a hammer. Every muscle in his body hardened, as if he needed any more stimulus.

Fuck, what the hell is that?

The scent was enthralling, amazingly sensual, totally intoxicating.

Then he saw
her
.

His reaction grew stronger as the woman came toward him. Stunning. She was heart stopping. Radiant. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Classy. The sexy loose curl fell at the base and seemed to tease him. All that class and one wild curl. The smile on her pale pink lips was for him.

Then she licked those lush, pillowed lips, and heat rushed to his groin. He stopped breathing to focus, letting his eyes travel lower, wandering over her cleavage down her flat stomach to her hips and then back up, slowly, until their eyes met. Hell, she was lush all over.

Perfect. She was for him.

He sniffed. Not Lycan, but her teeth showed a little fang. Different—definitely vampire and something else—but what?

What? How about the sexiest woman he’d ever seen…the first his wolf had ever responded
to, and she wasn’t of the blood.

They’d never met, because he would have remembered this one and the impact she had on every one of his senses. Every nerve in his body sizzled like ice water on a hot skillet. His focus narrowed. Her scent intensified as she approached, floating in the air, surrounding him like an aphrodisiac.

All he could see was her. All he could smell was her. All he could think about was claiming her.

Hot. Sexy.

He staggered back. Who the hell was this
belle tenatrice
? The wolf within him began clawing his way to the surface.
Hell, no, not now.
He was going to ruin the party. The control he’d been so proud of minutes before, eluded him. He was losing every bit of it over this woman.

The low seductive rumble began in his chest. The attraction, impossible to fight, made him wild. He couldn’t take his eyes from hers, or shake the strange feeling of dread he felt in his bones.

What was happening to him?

The woman looked just as puzzled as he felt and paused for a moment, waiting. Did she want him to take
the last step, the step that would bring them together?

Her eyes glazed over and took him in with a sexual appraisal.

The air filled with an unfamiliar scent. Hers. His. He inhaled deeply. His chest expanded. Taking it all in, he sniffed in their bonding scent. His blood flow increased, ready for the shift, and his cock was hard—harder than it had ever been—ready to take this woman and claim her. With a puzzled expression on her face, she held out her hand.

With the final
step he would be able to touch her. But, did he dare?

He couldn’t resist. It took every ounce of control he had to keep from grabbing her. His arms weighed a ton as he held himself in check. Eventually his hand lifted slowly, reaching out to her and she took it.

Their fingers linked. Heat whipped through him on contact. He couldn’t have released her if he wanted, and although he felt like he was being branded by the contact, he didn’t let her go.

Psychic.
The knowledge whispered through his mind, and then a frown suddenly replaced her smile. Thoughts, questions—hers, his, Dylan’s—whipped through his mind.

“Caitlin
?” Dylan’s deep, familiar voice broke into his confusion. “What the hell’s going on, Jackson.”

He turned at the sound of his name, still baffled, still bordering on the edge of shifting when Dylan took a step toward them.

The woman didn’t move or take her eyes off him even when Dylan spoke.

Her scent and Jackson’s rose in the air, getting stronger.

Dylan sniffed the air, at first appearing confused. He frowned, and then his gaze shot to Jackson, to the woman, and back. Finally, a look of awareness flooded his expression, followed by shock, then pain. He stepped up behind the woman, his nostrils flared, and his eyes changed. Dylan possessively wrapped his fingers around her arms, tugging her away and snarling at him.

With his fangs fully extended, eyes blood red, Dylan pushed the woman beh
ind him and faced off with him.

Surprise set Jackson on his ass.
He felt the rumble of the wolf in his chest grow stronger, more aggressive.

So much for control.

His jacket immediately felt too tight. His clothes began to choke him, and hard as he tried to bury his wolf beneath his vampire nature, he had zip for control. He pulled at his tie and tore the jacket off, carelessly tossing it aside. He unbuttoned his shirt and regretted the moment.

S
o much for my first tux.

For some reason, Dylan was royally pissed at him—something to do with the hot babe in his arms and Jackson didn’t have a clue…

“Aw, shit. She’s Caitlin?”

Everything made sense now, and then
again it made no sense at all.

“S-she belongs to you
?”
The stabbing pain in his gut practically floored him.

“Mine.”
Dylan made his claim clear.

The alpha wolf within Jackson roared his displeasure, ready to fight for the claiming.
“GR-rrrrr, she belongs to me!”

Her confusion, filtering
through the maze of emotions, was as obvious as their attraction, and her focused attention never turned from Jackson.

He
gathered as much control as he could, but with the sexual vibes in the air as thick as swamp fog, he was unable to turn away from her. It would take something or someone more powerful to keep him from her.

His skin prickled all over. He was breathing hard. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. His vision chang
ed—narrowing focus and sharpening—signs of his imminent shift.

F
rom what he could determine, Dylan’s rage wasn’t far behind his own.

“Dylan, stay back,” he growled, “it’s too late for me. I can’t stop.”

Then he glared at Caitlin, at the swirling stone between her voluptuous breasts and couldn’t stop from taking that forbidden step toward her.

Dylan pulled her back and bared his teeth. He stepped in front of her and his fangs dropped into place first, his claws next, and then he ripped off his jacket and shirt as his muscles filled with power.

The wolf inside Jackson roared. The prickling intensified. Hair. His fingers and toes throbbed. Nails extended, bones lengthened, and his muscles thickened.

Dylan’s control disappeared as Jackson’s wolf began to take form. The ancient Celtic berserker replaced the refined vampire lord, just as Jackson’s wolf broke through. He had tried to hold a part of the
beast back, but it was too late.

The darkness inside the men took over, and the snarling beasts leaped, tearing at one another.

“Stop,” Caitlin’s words were no more than a whisper, but neither man could move at her command. Tears filled her eyes, as she held the mind stone out in her hand. “No more. I feel everything you’re feeling, everything you’re doing to each other, every strike, scratch, bite…every painful emotion.”

A howl let loose in the room, one so loud, so ominous, everyone backed away. Frozen in place, Jackson suddenly realized his shirt lay in tatters on the floor, his pants beside his shoes. He’d lost the battle to stay in control. His wolf was loose and the howling sound had come from him.

Oh, fuck!
The full implication of what happened swept over Jackson like a tsunami. His wolf imprinted on Dylan’s life mate. As far as Jackson knew, it was impossible unless it was because Dylan hadn’t completed the binding ceremony with her, yet.

He sensed what disturbed Dylan wasn’t Jackson’s attraction to his life mate, but her attraction to the wolf.
“Truth or dare, Dylan?”

“Truth
.”             

At the moment
, the woman was confused, and the men’s hostility, physically and emotionally, caused her pain. That he couldn’t allow.

“Caitlin, you are my alpha mate.”

At that, she collapsed, and Dylan shouted, “Noooo!”

The pain in
just that one word clearly defined the serious nature of the situation. Anyone around could hear the hopeless agony in the vampire’s voice. Even Jackson in his altered state understood the sense of loss his mentor suffered.

He decided to retreat, because fighting Dylan now wasn’t an option.

Shit,
he needed help.

With his head lowered between his massive shoulders in an aggressive stance, he backed away from the fight, growling, refusing to appear submissive in any way before his people or his woman.

Once he put enough distance between himself and Dylan, he turned and ran, howling for Garr.