Forbidden Drink (28 page)

“Oh God, you are amazing. You know that? Simply irresistible.” He was undoing his trousers, freeing his erection.

“How long does this claiming go on for?” I panted against him.

“I am unsure. It depends on how long until my vampyre-within accepts that you are truly mine.”

He was lifting me off the floor and placing me down on the kitchen table, removing my panties and skirt carefully, but quickly, stepping out of his trousers, shoes and socks. We were both naked again in a fraction of a moment.

“
I guess I'll just have to keep it guessing for a bit longer then, won't I?” I managed to get out in one breath, only to have it stolen completely as he growled in appreciation and thrust deeply inside me. Once again the words
you are mine
ringing through my head.

“
Mon Dieu, ma douce
....
I am sorry, I can not seem to slow this down. Your desire to couple is overwhelming and my desire  to claim you is insatiable right now. The combination is... unbelievably volatile. I hope I am not hurting you.” His breath was hot against my skin as he managed to get the words out between frantic thrusts of his hips.

I couldn't reply to save myself. I sent the thought
don't stop
towards him, hoping that covered his question adequately. He growled again and sped his movements up until the table was moving across the tiled floor in little hiccups as he pounded into me with abandon.

I'm not sure I would have been able to come, the sex was actually quite rough and so very fast, but I suddenly had an overwhelming spicy scent invade my nostrils, filling me up, making it impossible to smell anything else. It was like mixed spice and cardamom and the sweet, sweet smell of Freesias and it was wonderful. The spice and cardamom making the sickly sweet smell of Freesias less, now just a hint, not overpowering any more. Calming it, complementing it, but combining to make something impossible to resist. I managed a deep breath in, savouring every little subtle scent and felt myself suddenly on the verge of orgasm. Michel's movements at that moment faltering, the change in rhythm setting me over the edge, the orgasm making me shout out in surprise and dig my nails into his lower back as he purred in my ear, “Yes” and came with such force inside me.

Holy. Fuck. I was never going to be able to walk again.

“Did I hurt you?” Michel whispered against my ear. He was carrying me back upstairs to my bedroom and through to the ensuite bathroom. This really felt a little like deja vu, didn't it?

“You're quite an animal when you get going, aren't you?” I was stroking his chest, my head resting on his shoulder.

He swore softly. I hadn't answered his question outright, but I guess the reply told him enough. I was sore. I really, really wasn't sure if I could walk without hobbling. It kind of made me laugh.

“You are laughing? You find this funny?” He sounded incredulous.

I couldn't help it. I'd never had so much unbelievably fantastic sex before in my life. To hell with feeling sore, I'd wear it with pride.

He let a slow breath out and stood me up next to the shower, still hugging me to him.

“Let me heal you,
ma douce
. Please?” I think he was concerned I would say no. Even if I liked the thought of being reminded of what we had just done, I did think a little less ache was a good thing, after all. I lowered my shields and his
Sanguis Vitam
poured in, washing away the aches but leaving the beautiful sense of tired satisfaction, leaving enough to remind me of what we had done.

“Is that good?” he asked kissing me on the forehead. I nodded.

He still didn't let me go, or turn the shower on next to us. I had the impression he was trying to frame a sentence in his mind, trying to organise his thoughts. I just waited until he was ready, enjoying the closeness of him, his skin against mine, his strong arms around me, the scent still lingering on him, making me shift with desire against him. He growled and held me still.

So much for it being just his claiming that made us hot for each other, I was just as keen for a repeat performance.

“It will be difficult for me to resist proving my claim for a while. I do not wish to hurt you. I will try to behave myself, but claimings are ruled by the vampyre-within, mostly, not the mind. And until my vampyre is satisfied you are mine, it
will
continue to prove the point.”

“Why now, Michel? We're already joined and have a Bond, why this claiming too?”

I listened to his breathing for a while, waiting for him to answer. “It started with Gregor, I wasn't aware it had taken hold, it was just in the background, but Amisi's confession of how Nero felt towards you sealed it. It just.... kicked in. And now, I am sorry, there is no stopping it.”

I'm not sorry, I thought. “What if I didn't want to be claimed?”

“Do you not?”

“That isn't answering my question. Just humour me.”

“I suppose, a claiming
could
start when a vampyre wishes to claim someone who does not return the favour, but I have not heard of this before. Claimings are usually triggered when a mate is desired by someone else, it is a natural response to a threat on something that is already theirs. With time and the level of threat, the claiming becomes more intense. I think it is safe to say we have reached that point now.”

Bugger. How was I going to be able to do my job if he was wanting to
claim
me at every turn?

“It does not affect my ability to reason,
ma douce
. I will be able to give you space, should you wish. Just not if you are planning to spend it with a rival.”

Wellington. Shit. I didn't want to go back there, but I had to if we were going to keep the
Iunctio
at bay and solve the problem of the humans attacking vampires. No one else could do it, it had to be me.

Michel had stiffened, he'd heard every thought of course. He was rigid, his arms steel around me, unmoving. I could not have broken free of his grip if my life depended on it. It didn't and he wasn't hurting me, his body had just simply solidified, become a prison of flesh and muscles and bone around me, unbreakable, immutable, fixed.

“What about Amisi? She could go.” His voice was even, under control, but very low. It always took on this tone when he was about to pounce on some poor soul. The calm before the storm.

“No. She is my responsibility. I am not sending her to Gregor without me there to protect her.”

“Erika could go.”

Erika was good, I knew this, but Amisi was my responsibility. Like I have said before, returning Amisi harmed to Nafrini and Nero was tantamount to declaring a war with the Egyptians. Another enemy we did not need.

Michel sighed. “You are right.” Michel was, if nothing else, always a good reader of the political climate in any given situation. Survival at all costs, the old vampire stand by.

“I will need time to digest this,
ma douce
. To prepare myself. It will not be easy to let you go to him.”

But, perhaps necessary. I needed to face him for myself too, not just for Amisi.

His arms relaxed and he tilted my chin up, looking me in my eyes. His were dangerous swirls of magenta in amongst the amethyst, a little startling, but not unexpected.

“You are mine,” he said softly, then kissed me. I expected him to be demanding, possessive in his kiss, but it was sweet and soft and so beautiful, making me crave him more than if he had simply forced a dominant invasion of my mouth.

He laughed against me. “The claiming is not stupid,
ma douce
, it knows how to entice.” He kissed me once more and turned away, leaving me standing alone in the bathroom completely awash in my desire for him, my need for him to take me now.

Damn, this was going to fun wasn't it?

I showered slowly, letting my body return to me and when I came out of the stall and glanced in the bedroom, I saw my clothes neatly stacked on the edge of the bed, along with my Svante sword. I'd wondered what had happened to it when the paramedics had come. Had they cut the holster away from me? It seemed complete now, maybe Michel had replaced it. I stroked my fingers over the hilt, tracing the design, imagining the dragon dancing all over the handle.

When I came downstairs dressed and ready to face the night, Michel had also showered and changed and was in the lounge talking on his cellphone dressed in his immaculate Armani suit.

He glanced up at me and his now deep blue eyes flashed amethyst, then he returned to his conversation. I didn't bother to listen in, just went into the kitchen and quickly made a coffee. I needed caffeine now.

I was just sipping my cappuccino when Michel came in slipping his cellphone in his pocket.

“The Taniwhas are on the move. A group of twenty have just left their land in a convoy of cars, heading into the city. I have some of my human servants following them, they will appear less obvious than any of my line. Despite our formidable skills, the Taniwhas are somehow able to sense us. I think it best we not delay and get to
Sensations
quickly,
ma douce
.” He picked up the keys to the BMW off the kitchen bench. “Would you object to my driving?”

I smiled slowly, I kind of guessed he wasn't going to obey the speed limit and the thought of Michel behind the wheel of that car made me hot all over again. His eyes flashed in recognition of my desire and he swallowed slowly, no doubt forcing himself not to act on my signals.

“You are not making this easy,
ma belle
. Get. In. The. Car.” His voice was a low growl.

I jumped, almost spilt my coffee, but managed to catch it before it slopped over the side of the cup and placed it slowly down on the bench, my eyes never leaving his. He took a step towards me, a low noise coming from the back of his throat, almost a hum, but more like a growl. I kept my eyes locked on his a second longer, then spun and ran to the garage. Of course, I knew what running would do to him. I was really suicidal right now, wasn't I?

The predator in him chased me, but I was fast, faster than he was used to. And I knew the layout of this house well. Of course, so did he. By the time I made it to the garage, I thought I had him, though. I looked over my shoulder briefly as I entered the room, but he wasn't there. I realised my mistake as soon as I ran straight into his solid body. He'd moved in front of me and now stood beside the car. I'd run straight into his arms without even realising.

He lifted me off the ground and spun me around, opening the passenger side of the car at the same time. He all but threw me in the seat, fastening my seatbelt and leaning over me. He was breathing heavily, his eyes beyond magenta. “We will continue this at a later time,
ma chasse.”

My hunted. I thrilled at the idea of being hunted by Michel. He took a shattering breath in, still leaning over me, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

“
Mon Dieu, ma douce. Tu appelles sur moi.”

I smiled at the fact that more and more French was slipping into Michel's vocabulary. He was losing it big time.

“Big time,” he whispered and pulled away appearing at the driver's side door in an instant.

He slid in, all sleek moves and gorgeous motion. After adjusting the seat to suit him, he pushed the button for the automatic garage door opener and started the car. He didn't look at me, but a small smile was playing on his lips. He knew I was watching him, my breath an uneven rhythm in my chest.

“Hold on tight,” he said and spun the car backwards and in a slide out of the garage, somehow getting us facing the right way on the road outside the house. I tried not to smile, but failed. I had complete trust in his driving ability, but I knew he was going to push me to the limit of that trust right now. I made myself not close my eyes. He laughed, before placing the car in gear and then we were off.

It was like that scene from
The Bourne Identity
, the car chase where
Matt Damon
makes the mini do unbelievably stupid things, except this was no mini and we weren't tearing down steep steps and narrow Parisian streets against the flow of traffic. The BMW slid in and out of the vehicles along Tamaki Drive at close to 180km/h, barely missing obstacles, just staying within the lines on our side of the road. We would have seemed little more than a blur to pedestrians and just a flash of dark colour to those cars we passed. He had to slow as we approached the city and the traffic became more dense, but he still managed to slip through tight gaps and ignore traffic signals, bringing us to Queen Street and then
Sensations
in a matter of seconds, not minutes.

I had hardly drawn a breath the entire way, it had been thrilling, disturbing and strangely satisfying all at once. My pulse was racing as the car negotiated the garage entrance at the club, the tyres squealing on the smooth concrete of the garage floor as it tore into the underground space and slid to a stop in the usual spot reserved for me, close to the doors, right next to a security camera.

I was out and around his side of the car before he had even taken a step away, throwing my body into his arms, kissing him with fervent need. He laughed against my lips and kissed me back, then pulled away slightly to whisper, “We are being watched,
ma douce
.” Nodding his head towards the security camera.

“Were we being watched when you tried to have your way with me in the back seat of my car?”

“Yes.” He kissed me again and then spun me back towards the car, pressing his body against mine, moulding himself to me.

“You naughty boy. You like an audience?” I was getting breathless, he just growled in response, moving his hips against me.

“I like my own to see that you are mine.”

I laughed against his lips, but before I could reply the garage door whirred into action again, the headlights of one of Michel's Land Rover Discoveries shining through the grating of the door as it slowly rose up and out of the way.

Michel pulled back slightly. “Right,” he said between clenched teeth. Then again, “Right.” He shook his head, unable to take his eyes off my mouth, unable to pull all the way back from me.

“I should like to hunt you sometime,
ma douce
, to chase you.” It was almost a request, as though he needed me to accept his right to hunt me down. How could I refuse? I just nodded, a little star-struck by the look of hunger on his face.

He smiled slowly, took my hand in his and turned towards the door to the club. I followed, a little stunned and way more meekly than I would usually. He was really doing a number on me, wasn't he?

The club was obviously closed to the public, being a Monday, that wasn't entirely unusual. It was just Michel's vampires, quietly drinking, talking and I had the sense, grieving. They were gathered for Bruno, to say goodbye. My heart began aching immediately. Michel just squeezed my hand and walked in as though he owned the place. Duh, he did. The vampires perked up straight away, an almost tangible lift in spirits. They needed to see him all right, they needed him amongst them, reassuring them. I also gathered, by the looks his hand in mine was receiving, that they needed to see Michel with me, touching me. As though his happiness, completeness, was also theirs. I guessed it was the blood bond they all shared with him, a certain amount of his wellbeing was transmuted through the connection he had to them. They all seemed to relax and smile more as soon as their eyes landed on his hold of me.