The Sacrifice (18 page)

I begin to have a very vivid fantasy. I want to wait for a down-stroke
when the head of his cock is lodged at my wet opening. Then I’ll rise up on my
knees and thrust my hips forward. That way when he slides upward again, he’ll
slide
into
me rather than against me.

I can almost
see
it happening, can almost
feel
his
thickness breaching my entrance and filling my pussy. The temptation to put my
plan in action is almost too great to be denied. I’m just about to do it…when I
look into Aiden’s eyes again and realize he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

“No, darling,” he says, his voice stern despite almost being
hoarse with lust. “I’d hurt you and that’s the last thing I want to do. You’re not
ready yet—tonight I’m just going to come on your belly.” He grips my hips more
tightly and pulls me against him. “And you’re going to come with me.”

I’m already hot and on the edge. The way he pulls me to him and
the short, hard, masterful thrusts that rub the broad shaft of his cock almost
roughly against my throbbing clit push me over again. I cry out his name and
grip his broad shoulders tightly as I feel myself clenching again, my whole
body going tense with orgasm.

Aiden lets out a low groan and then I feel something new—something
hot and wet is jetting from his cock in hard, short spurts and coating my
belly, just as he promised.

Curious and still hazy with lust, I look down to see his cock
spurting between us. He’s still pressed between my pussy lips and I can feel
each jet of cum traveling up his thick shaft before it wets my belly.

I can’t help staring in awe—Goddess, he’s right, he
does
come
a lot. Now I’m really glad he didn’t ask me to suck and swallow all that. My
whole lower abdomen is wet with his essence and I can feel the creamy stuff
slipping down between my pussy lips too, into my unprotected pussy.

It’s this last thought that makes me pull back, just as he
finishes coming.
I’m not protected,
I remind myself.
Not on any kind
of birth control at all. Oh Goddess…

“You can go clean up, if you like,” Aiden says quietly and I
realize he’s been reading my face again—or maybe my thoughts. I’m still not
convinced he can’t do that. “But blow out the candles first.”

“Candles?” I look at him uncertainly. “What are you talking
about?”

He gives me an amused look. “Behind you, darling. The candles you
lit when you came.”

I jerk my head around and stare at the twin candle flames burning
brightly in the silver candlesticks on the far edge of his desk. Can it really
be? Did I really light them?

“But I can’t…I don’t…I’m a dud,” I get out at last.

Aiden frowns. “No, you’re not—you’re one of the most powerful
witches I’ve met in years. But you’re blocked. Something is holding your magic
in but just now, when you let yourself go with me, some of it leaked out.” He
shrugs as though it’s no big deal. “That’s all.”

“I…but I…” I can’t get over it. After years of trying and crying
and swearing and hoping and finally giving up and accepting I have no
power…this is just too much to take in. “Are you sure it was me?” I say at
last.

“Positive.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m a vampire, remember?
It’s impossible for me to have any magical talent—it would be at odds with my
very nature.”

“But…but you can go out in daylight. And eat. And—”

“Those abilities were bought for me at a price.” He looks away.
“For a very great price.”

For a price? What price?
“Who bought them for you?” I ask, though the closed look on his
face warns me to stop. “Was it whoever owned that copy of
Farrow’s?”
I
nod at the spell book that lies abandoned on the wooden chair across from his
desk.

Aiden doesn’t answer. “I assure you, Emma,” he says, pushing me
gently but firmly off his lap. “I have no magical abilities of my own. It was
you
who lit the candles. And you are the one who must blow them out.”

I’m surprised that he knows whoever called the candle flame must
be the one to extinguish it. It’s important to the circular nature of magic but
that’s not something a vampire would be aware of.
Unless
he’s had
dealings—
intimate
dealings—with witches before. I want to ask him more
about the spell book and the witch who owned it but he’s clearly not going to
answer. He’s simply waiting patiently for me to blow out the candles so he can
go get cleaned up and changed.

I’m pretty sticky myself so I decide that this particular
conversation will have to wait until later.
Much
later if Aiden’s
reticence to talk about his past is any indication.

Leaning over the desk, I puff gently on the twin candle flames and
watch them wink out of existence. I still don’t know how I lit them or if I’ll
ever be able to do it again but Aiden is beckoning for me to go. There’s no
time to wonder.

He lets me walk to the bedroom this time—maybe in deference to our
mutual state of post-coital stickiness. (Okay, I know it’s not really
post-coital but it’s as close to sex as I’ve ever gotten so I’ll take what I
can get.) Or maybe he’s just quiet because he wants to put some distance
between us. He’s certainly not nearly as talkative and affectionate as he was
earlier and there’s a brooding look on his face that makes me vaguely uneasy.

I haven’t been on very many dates but I’ve heard tons about the
different kinds of men from Lexy. According to her, you want to avoid the dark,
silent, brooding types, no matter how attractive they may seem to start with. 'Give
me a Bingley over a Darcy any day,' Lexy always says. 'I like my men happy,
eager to please, and uncomplicated.'

All attributes my new master seems to lack. Of course, I didn’t
get to choose Aiden—he chose me. A fact that I still have mixed feelings about.
On one hand, it’s very easy to be attracted to him. He’s so masterful and handsome
and sure of himself. He knows exactly what he wants and tells me exactly what
he expects. When I obey, he gives me mind blowing orgasms and lavish praise
that makes me feel special in a way I never have before.

On the other hand, he dishes out pain as well as pleasure and
seems to expect me to like them equally well. He wants to own me body and soul
and he’s already talking about some mysterious bond growing between us. I’m not
sure how to feel about that—after all, I just met him one or two days ago.

Has it really been such a short amount of time since he first
walked into my shop with that list of ingredients? Somehow it seems so much
longer than that. But time doesn’t seem to have much meaning here in this
strange, glass house. It stretches out like taffy until I don’t know where I’m
going or how long it takes to get there. I—

“Stop.” Aiden takes my arm, breaking my train of thought and I
realize that we’ve reached the threshold of the bedroom.

“Stop what?” I look at him, startled.

“Stop thinking so hard.” He cups my cheek for a moment and looks
into my eyes. “Just let things be, Emma. We have such a short amount of time
here together—try to enjoy it.”

“A short time?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “I’m here for a year.
I’m
yours
for a
whole year
…Master.”

“Such a short time,” he repeats softly. “The blink of an eye. A
snowflake melting on your cheek.”

I suppose living for centuries gives vamps a different sense of
time. What seems like a long time to me is nothing to him. “I guess maybe I’d
feel the same way if I was basically immortal,” I say neutrally. “But to a
mortal witch like me, a year can be an eternity.”

“Vampires aren’t really immortal—we just have very long lifespans.
Which can be shared…under the right circumstances.”

“You mean like a life-bond?” I shake my head. “I thought that was
only between two vampires.” Vamps sometimes bond themselves together to double
their lifespans. It can only be done once and it ties them together so that if
one dies, it drags the other down too. But I’ve never heard of a vampire
bonding with anyone mortal. If they did, it would have the opposite effect and
cut their lifespan in half. It could mean the difference between the vamp living
a thousand years or only living five hundred.

Both ages sound incredibly ancient to a mortal but to a being like
a vampire, there’s a significant difference there. Of course, they’d get to share
their truncated lifespan with their mortal lover who wouldn’t die until the
vampire did, but I don’t know of any that would be willing to cut their lives
in half for love.

“There are some of my kind who would bond outside our race,” he
murmurs, leading me into the bedroom at last. “I have heard of it being done.”

“Well I haven’t,” I say. “Um, is it all right if I take another
shower? I’m kind of sticky.”

“So I see.” His sharp gray eyes flicker over me in a way that
makes me blush. He nods at the master bathroom. “Help yourself. I’ll be waiting
to tuck you in.”

Well, that’s kind of nice. I go into the bathroom, relieved to
have a little alone time to take care of business. Aiden is amazing but he’s so
intense—it can be hard to be around him all the time. I feel like he sucks all
the air out of any room he’s in—in a good way, of course. A way that makes me incredibly
hot, but still, a girl needs to
breathe
sometimes.

I take a quick shower, being certain I get all of his essence off
me and out of me. Not much leaked into my pussy so I hope I’m okay. If I had a
normal cycle I’d be able to tell but with my period being so irregular, I have
no idea.
Well, the chances of getting pregnant by a vampire are slim anyway,
I think, trying to make myself feel better.
Just get over it. And maybe ask
Lexy to bring some condoms or something.

I shut off the water and dry myself thoroughly. Then I wrap myself
in a big, fluffy towel and come out of the steamy bathroom.

Aiden has also changed. He’s wearing another pair of faded jeans
but this time his t-shirt is black. It still clings to his chest in a
mouthwatering way, though. Mmm, I wouldn’t mind running my hands all over the
flat, muscular planes of his body. I wonder if I’ll ever be allowed to explore
him the way he seems to enjoy exploring me.

“Come here, Emma. It’s time for bed,” he says and puts out a hand
to me. I come forward and take his hand. Aiden interlaces our fingers and
squeezes my hand gently. “Are you feeling sleepy now?”

I have to admit that I’m fatigued. A day full of sexual tension,
punishment, and pleasure topped off by two delicious orgasms will do that to a
girl. I open my mouth to answer in the affirmative…and yawn instead.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Aiden says dryly. “Come on—get rid of
those towels.”

He takes my towels, over my halfhearted protests. “Isn’t there
anything I could wear to bed?” I ask, shivering. “Those sheets are bound to be
cold.”

Aiden frowns. “No, I want you naked or nearly naked at all times.
Come, I’ll help warm you up before I go.”

My heart speeds up at the idea of how he might warm me, but he
simply takes me to bed and spoons me, curling his big body around mine
protectively and rubbing his hands over my arms and legs. As the heat of his
big body envelops me and his warm, masculine scent fills my senses, I begin to
feel deliciously drowsy.

“I thought…” I yawn again. “Thought vampires were…cold blooded.”

“A myth,” he murmurs softly, his deep voice soothing in my ear.
“Along the same lines as the belief that all witches ride broomsticks and keep
black cats as familiars.”

“I like cats,” I protest and yawn again.

“I’m sure you do.” He sounds as though he’s smiling. “You’re
nearly asleep now. Would you like me to tuck you in tight before I leave?”

“Why do you have to leave?” I protest sleepily. “This is
nice…lying here like this together. Don’t you like it?” I don’t think I would
have the nerve to ask him this if I wasn’t so tired but in my fatigued state, it
just comes out.

“As a matter of fact, I
do
like it,” he murmurs. “Much more
than I should.”

“I don’t…don’t understand.” I yawn again, so sleepy I can hardly
hold my eyes open. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve already gone much farther with you tonight than I
meant to,” Aiden says. “And I don’t intend to break any more of my rules.”

I want to ask him what his rules are and how they apply to me, but
I’m too tired. The next thing I know, Aiden is kissing my cheek and murmuring
that I should have sweet dreams.

As he turns out the light, my eyes slip closed and I’m out.

Chapter Fifteen

“So how are you enjoying life in the lap of luxury?” Lexy demands,
her voice excited on the other side of the phone. “And when can I come see you?”

“Soon,” I hedge, winding the old fashioned phone cord around my
finger. “Just…not yet.” I still haven’t gotten up the nerve to have her over
while I’m wearing this damn harness and I don’t know when I will. Every day I
contemplate inviting her over…and every day I chicken out. But I know I can’t
put my curious cousin off much longer—it’s been nearly a month since Aiden
claimed me as his sacrifice and Lexy is dying to come over and see my new life.