Microsoft Word - 1606017438-Of-Night-and-Desire-Bailey.doc (50 page)

But none of that mattered. Just him. Just them.

Their thoughts were merging. Just as their bodies were merging, so were their minds…and their hearts.

328

Mia Bailey

Their coming together in this moment was so much different. They both felt it. When they made love, there was always a deep connection binding them to one another despite the fact they had not completed the bonding ritual. And yet, this time it was so very much more than it had ever been—

emotional, physical, spiritual. It was all of those things and so much more.

Overwhelmed, her vision became black around the edges, and she feared she might faint. She reached out for something to hold onto, clutching his massive shoulders.

“That’s right, my darling,” he drawled huskily. He seated himself so fully within her that their pubic bones were crushed together. “Hold onto me.” Her clenching pussy gripped his penis greedily bemoaning its absence each time he pulled back. Each forward thrust parted her delicate tissues eliciting a husky moan from deep within her.

“Valya,” she moaned as his muscles flexed beneath her touch. His cock stroked her innermost core. “Oh, Valya, I cannot bear it.”

“Yes, you can, my love.”

“So much…
soooo
goood.”

If he had feathers, he would have fluffed them at her innocent pronouncement.

“It will become so much better.” He could barely speak as he began to feel a hunger gnawing at him, not merely for her body but for her blood as well. Her blood, thick and rich, pulsing through her veins, enticed him into a mesmerizing trance, drawing him nearer to sate his thirst.

“Can you not feel it?”

She felt something, but she wasn’t sure what. He pulled back and surged forward again. She threw her head back as she gasped with sensual delight.

“Do you?”
he insisted.

She nodded quickly, nervous and unsure of what she felt as she sucked her lip into her mouth. She nicked her lip and tasted the sweetness of her own blood. Humming in approval at the syrupy flavor, she ran her tongue over the fullness of her lower lip, capturing every delectable morsel. Like a flash of light, the unnamable yearning that had been plaguing her flashed into her mind.

Blood.

More specifically,
his
blood.

Of Night and Desire

329

She had denied her Wiccan heritage all her life, maintaining a tight control on her emotions and thoughts. Through Valya’s love, she had learned to accept herself, embracing her Wiccan and Immortal heritage. The Immortal part of her was aroused by centuries of inbred desires that would not be denied as she bonded with her life mate.

She stared at his throat, his tawny skin stretched tight so she could see his vein pulsing. Her nostrils flared. Her mouth watered as she inhaled the scent of his thickening blood blending with his potent, musky aroma. Her womb tightened and her stomach growled. She needed him. She needed his blood.

Valya sensed the shift in her—the awakening of her long-buried Immortal genes she inherited from Nicolae were emerging and guiding her.

She may not recognize what it was she sought, but her body knew. She felt her canines elongate slightly and become sharp points. They were not as long as Valya’s, but they would do as she took his blood while bonding.
“Do
you feel it now, my love?”

“Oh, Valya. I do feel it.”
She wriggled beneath him, lifting and straining, trying to reach his neck, but he kept pulling away. Tormenting her, he goaded her by leaning in, allowing her lips to graze his neck, permitting her to only sample the heated saltiness of his vibrant skin. She whimpered, her needs desperate as she reached for him repeatedly only to be deprived of what she wanted. Using her feminine wiles to do some tormenting of her own, she tightened her vaginal muscles.

Valya let out a long groan as her pussy clenched around his cock like a velvet fist. He pulled away when she reached up for him, so she clenched around him again, holding him longer until his groan became a low growl.

He rushed in and captured her mouth in a voracious kiss.

“Oh, yessss,”
she moaned. His hands covered her breasts and molded them as he liked, kneading her pliant flesh until he reached the resilient red-tipped nips topping each mound. Trapping the engorged nipples between his thumb and forefinger, he twisted and squeezed, her scream of pleasure muffled by their kiss.

Lowering her arms, she raked her fingernails over his pectorals. Bearing his weight it was difficult to move, but her determination won out as she wedged her hands between them. Her fingertips circled his tawny areolae

330

Mia Bailey

before capturing his tight male nipples between her thumb and forefinger, matching his motions until they were both panting and squirming.

“I love you, Valya. Oh, Gods, I love you!”

Valya released her nipples and reared back, supporting his weight on his arms. The veins in his biceps popped as he hovered above her, staring down at her with a flaming look. She felt as if she would spontaneously combust.

“And I…love you.” Her eyes welled with happy tears at his heartfelt declaration. Still gripping his nipples, she gave them a light squeeze before placing her palms over his pectorals. She rubbed her palms lightly over his chest.

“I want you, Valya,” she murmured. From deep within her she heard the words she knew he wanted to hear. The words he needed to hear to complete the ritual—her acceptance.

“I accept you, Valya cel Mare.” He stopped breathing. His pupils dilated so large his eyes were as black as a starless night. His whole body stilled as he focused on Richelle alone. “You are my master, my protector, my Guardian. I give my life and the life of our children to your keeping. I accept
and want
you as my life mate.”

Supporting his weight on one arm, he cupped the back of her head with the other, pulling her up to his chest.

“Taste me. Do it now.”

She knew what he meant, and it filled her with a longing only he would be able to fulfill. No other would come between them. And when he left this world, she would willingly follow.

Her gums ached, yearning to sink her teeth through his skin into a vein.

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of the hot rush of his blood into her mouth, which would fill the emptiness of her soul.

She licked the tip of his nipple once, twice, three times before sinking her fangs into the meaty flesh just above his aroused flesh, above his heart.

With a howl, Valya surged into her body as she pierced his skin. His eyelids fluttered at the unbridled rapture while she drank from him. When she tried to pull away, he ran his fingers up through her hair, grasping it tightly and pulling her closer to his chest, demanding she take more.

Addicted, she continued to drink from him, her thirst unquenchable. His flavor was addictive, heady and spicy like mulled wine.

Of Night and Desire

331

It was a dark ecstasy, unlike he had ever known before. He should have felt weakened by the loss of blood but instead he grew stronger. Harder.

Richelle released him with a startled cry as his girth stretched her to the point of endurance. And still she wanted more. She licked the pinpricks to seal the wound and then thrust her breasts forward in an open invitation.

Valya licked his lips at the delectable sight before him—his woman supine in his arms, eyes closed as her pearly moonlit flesh quivered in anticipation. He was honored. “I accept you, Richelle Sommers, as my bride. I take your life into my keep, your blood into my soul. I accept and want you as my life mate. Binding our hearts, we are forever one. For all eternity.”

Reverently, he bent his head to nuzzle the crook where her neck and shoulder met. His lips nibbled her skin, her breath coming erratically as she eagerly anticipated the Final Blood that would bind them together. She used his words against him.

“Taste me. Do it now.”

His canines slid easily through her tender flesh, like a hot knife through butter.
Oh what indescribable bliss!
Her sweetness was honeyed nectar.

Ambrosia. He sipped her like fine wine as his hips began to move, encouraged by her sighs of sheer joy. All too soon, his movements became a fevered pitch.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she welcomed each powerful lunge and reached behind to place her hands on the small of his back.
So warm, so
giving.
Valya’s mind raced as he fell on top of her, rutting like a beast. And still she welcomed him with open arms and open mind.

His hands clamped onto her hips, holding her in place while he stabbed her with ramming thrusts, driving their passion higher until they were riding through the night on wings of eternal love.

“Complete me, Valya,”
she cooed delicately, like a snowflake dancing upon a winter breeze.

With one final vanquishing thrust, he obeyed her subtle command.

Richelle’s scream of satisfaction echoed into the night, uniting with Valya’s gruff roar. They exploded in each other’s arms, the power of their unity engulfing them in a white light and heat like a supernova. It surrounded them, growing in intensity as they came until the meadow around them was

332

Mia Bailey

encased in the brilliant light as well. As the last tremors of their orgasms faded, so did the light surrounding them.

Completely spent, Valya pulled back, closing the wound on Richelle’s neck. Neither one moved from their amorous embrace, content to lie replete in the basking glow of their lovemaking. She tightened her arms around him and felt a slight thumping against her breast. At first she thought it was her own heartbeat, but realization dawned. It was Valya’s heartbeat. It was erratically strong as Valya struggled to gain control. Slowly, it began to beat regularly, steadily, matching her own heartbeat’s rhythm until their hearts were beating as one, their breathing synchronous.

They were one, always.

Afraid he would crush her, Valya rolled them onto their side, still snug in her tight sheath. It was some time before either of them broke the relaxed silence.

“I feel so strange,” she whispered.

“Strange?” Valya tensed at her words, afraid she was regretting her decision. “How?”

“Well, not strange…different.”

Relieved, Valya held her close, stroking her back as she rested her head in the crook of his shoulder.

“Tell me.”

She didn’t think she could. Not that she didn’t want to. It was just that she had a difficult time finding the words to describe everything she was feeling.

“Try,” he encouraged. His hands roamed freely over her body, petting and soothing her, all the while his body hardening as she snuggled against him. She had to feel his cock jerk against her thigh when she rested her hand upon his lean hip. He placed his hand over hers to still it before it moved any lower, which would have her lying on her back beneath him again.

“Try.”

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, using her mind to convey her thoughts and hoping it would be clearer.

“When we make love, it is so…so…”

“So…”

Of Night and Desire

333

“It takes my breath away. I lose myself in you and yet feel everything
around us. I become hypersensitive to every sound, every scent. We become
one with the world.”

He hugged her close, placing an endearing kiss on her forehead.

“That is how it should be.”

“But this time was different.”

“Tell me.”

She raised her eyes to meet his. There were tears in his eyes as well, his emotional state mirroring hers. She palmed his cheek as she kissed his lips, parting them to allow their tongues to touch intimately, showing him more than words could say how much she loved him.

Ending the kiss, she gave him a quick buss and burrowed into his arms.

He rested his chin on the top of her head and she lay her head across his chest. She felt the thump of his heart against her cheek and smiled contentedly. Stretched out across him like a lazy cat, she all but purred. Safe and warm, she blushed furiously as she continued.

“But this time it didn’t feel as though we became part of the world. It was more like the world became a part of us.” Her brows furrowed, and he remained silent. She began to shake her head. “I know that doesn’t make any sense.”

“You felt people around you as if you could reach out and touch them even though no one was there, sensing their emotions. You wanted to gather them in your arms and protect them, feeling as if it were your responsibility to watch over and guide them, as if they were your children.”

She jerked away and stared at him incredulously. She nodded her head slowly, her eyes wide in amazement that he was able to put so eloquently in words what she was experiencing.

“That, too, is how it should be.”

Perplexed, she lay her head back down upon his chest. She stroked her fingertips over his shoulder, down his tricep to his hand, tracing the outline of each finger before lacing her fingers through his. She marveled at his strength, outer and inner. No wonder Nicolae had charged him to be one of the chosen, a Guardian.

A Guardian.
She went over all the events since she had met Valya, both good and bad. She raised her head and rested her chin upon his chest, looking up at him with renewed curiosity.

334

Mia Bailey

“This is how you feel as a Guardian.” It was a remark not a question. He laughed and shook his head.

“I was duty-bound to be a Guardian. It’s what I was meant to do. These new emotions are confusing.”

“More like intimidating.” She laughed.

“Be that as it may, there is one inalienable fact. They are correct. It is how I am supposed to…
feel
…when I am with you. How
we
are to feel about one another.” He framed her face with his hands, bringing her mouth a hairsbreadth from his. “And I would want it no other way,
mio dusa
. My precious heart. I love you.”