Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (59 page)

Goodie!

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Was he crazy?

“Yes,” I breathed.

He lifted his head so his burning eyes caught mine and my entire body felt the burn.

Then in a blur of motion he was between my legs. I felt his tongue run along the inside of my thigh as his finger ran feather-light along the outside edge of my panties between my legs.

Another full body shiver.

Yes. I was right. This was nice.

He repeated, his tongue running up my thigh, his finger running over my panties between my legs.

My womb spasmed and I whimpered.

Then I felt him feed from my thigh as his finger pressed in at the perfect spot over my panties and my hips surged up as my neck arched and my eyes closed.

Definitely right.

Nice.

* * * * *

God, God.

I thought I had the best the night before, the excruciatingly beautiful intensity of that morning.

But now, Lucien crouched back on his calves, me straddling him, his hips powering up, his cock ramming into me, his mouth at my neck feeding from me, his big hand curled at my cheek, his thumb in my mouth and I was sucking, I knew
this
was the best.

My hips jerked, it was almost on me and he sensed it.

His thumb slid out of my mouth but only to glide along my lips before it happened. Then his thumb slid back in sideways and my teeth automatically clamped down on it as my hips bucked. A moan stuck in my throat, my arms clenched him tight and my back arched, pressing my torso into his hard body.

Through my overpowering orgasm I vaguely felt his tongue lash the wound at my neck. His thumb moved from between my teeth so his fist could clench in my hair to position my head where he wanted it.

Then his mouth was on mine as his cock kept driving up inside me, filling me so full it felt like he was an essential part of me.

“When you come, the world stops,” he growled against my lips as I kept trembling through my orgasm. “The whole world becomes nothing but you, your pussy, your pussy taking my cock and me.”

Oh God, just his words and tone were going to make me come again.

“Darling,” I whispered, holding tighter as my body jolted with his thrusts.

“Eight hundred, twenty-two years, I’ve never felt anything this beautiful,” he whispered, still driving and my eyes, half-closed, shot open.

Oh God.

I loved that he thought that.

He wasn’t done.

His gaze held mine. “Eight hundred, twenty-two years, I’ve never seen anything this beautiful.”

Oh God.

God!

“I could fuck you for eternity,” he whispered.

My hands slid up and fisted in his hair as my hips bucked again.

“Lucien.”

“Eternity,” he murmured against my lips then his head slanted, his mouth claimed mine, our tongues dueled and his thrusts became savage. Then I was on my back in the bed taking the force of him between my legs and it was pure brutal beauty.

His mouth broke from mine, he buried his face in my neck as he buried his cock in me and I listened to the power of his groan.

I gave him that. Me. Just who I was. All that I was. I gave him that. I made him feel that beauty. My beauty was what he saw.

I
loved
that.

He barely finished before he rolled to his back, taking me with him, keeping himself a part of me. When he settled, one strong arm held me tight around my back and his other hand in my hair pressed my face in my throat.

“Christ, I’m sorry, Leah.”

I blinked at his throat.

These were words I didn’t expect to hear.

I lifted my head to look down at him.

Wow. He even looked sorry.

“You’re sorry?” I asked.

“Yes, sweetling,” he replied gently, his black eyes filled with remorse, his hand sliding out of my hair to cup my cheek.

“For what?”

“For taking you that hard.”

Was he serious?”

“Uh, darling, it seems you might have missed this but I liked it,” I informed him.

His thumb slid along my cheek as his eyes moved over my face.

Then his eyes came back to mine and he murmured, “You aren’t lying.”

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Because that would be what I wanted to hear.”

It was my turn for my eyes to move over his face.

Cautiously, I asked, “Do people tell you what you want to hear often?”

“Except for Cosmo, Teffie and occasionally others, always.”

I felt my lips part and my eyes grow wide.

Whoa. I didn’t know what to do with that.

“Seriously?” I asked in amazement, the shadow moved out of his handsome face and he grinned.

“Seriously,” he answered.

“I don’t know if that’s cool or if that would suck,” I shared.

“The latter,” Lucien clarified.

I tipped my head to the side even as I dipped it closer to his and I grinned before saying, “I don’t know. I think it would be cool to have everyone tell me what I want to hear. Like, ‘Leah, your butt absolutely does not look big in that.’ And, ‘Oh no, this hollandaise sauce isn’t runny and disgusting. It tastes great.’ Stuff like that.”

Lucien’s hand left my face so that arm could also wrap tight around me and his hips adjusted slightly so he slid out of me as he grinned.

Then he stated, “For the record, your ass never looks big in anything.”

“Good to know,” I said through my smile.

“But please, don’t attempt hollandaise sauce.”

I burst out laughing and as I was doing it, Lucien rolled me to my back. We ended with his torso on mine but most of his weight on a forearm in the bed beside me. I was still giggling and although Lucien was smiling a beautiful smile, he wasn’t laughing. He was watching and he was doing it like he liked what he saw.

And I liked that.

“All right, darling,” I replied. “I won’t attempt hollandaise sauce. But I’ll inform you that this is mostly because I already have about seven thousand times. I’ve always ruined it so I know that’s a road I shouldn’t go down.”

“This is good,” he muttered, his eyes holding humor.

“But I make no such assurances about béarnaise sauce. I think I could kick some béarnaise ass.”

Lucien kept muttering as his eyes kept dancing when he said, “Heaven help me.”

“Just saying,” I muttered back.

He held my eyes, his still lit with amusement then I watched the amusement die and he said quietly, “We must talk.”

I sighed. Then I replied, “I know,” and finished, “Cressida.”

His head jerked slightly and he asked, “Cressida?”

“Darling, I have to say, and please, no offense but I’m concerned you’re into me considering the two other women that have been in your life that I’ve met. Am I like them?”

“Not in any way,” he stated firmly.

Interesting.

“Then why did you pick them?” I asked.

“I’m not certain you want to know.”

I totally did.

“Call me crazy but I do.”

“Then I’ll amend my response,” Lucien returned. “I’m not certain I want to tell you because, having you, I’m no longer certain why I chose them.”

Oh my God.

That was sweet.

“Lucien,” I whispered.

Lucien changed the subject. “But that isn’t what we need to talk about.”

I nodded and said, “The table thing.”

Lucien’s brows drew together. “Pardon?”

I fluttered my hand in the air and explained, “The table thing. I saw it. When you seated me at the foot everyone went kind of weird. What
was
that?”

“Tradition,” Lucien answered. “You’re a mortal and you were amongst vampires. My mother would normally take the foot.”

I didn’t think that was good.

“Then why’d you seat me there?”

“Because it’s your house, your place and my seating you there was my way of telling them they should respect you in it. Unfortunately, even this did not deter Cressida and my father from behaving badly.”

He was right about that.

Still.

“I hope your mother wasn’t offended,” I whispered.

“She understood why I did it and therefore she wasn’t.”

Well, that was good.

Lucien went on, “That also isn’t what we need to talk about.”

Again I nodded and stated, “The Council.”

“Leah –” he started but I interrupted him.

“You still haven’t told me about what happened and I’d like to know.”

His eyes moved over my face again and he noted, “You’re worried.”

“I told you I was but that was then, only the morning after. Now I’ve had two days of inexplicably being under guard at your demand, something else you haven’t explained. And, I should tell you, I kind of figured it out that I don’t have a guard to stop me from sleeping without you close. Then there was
both
our families descending unexpectedly. Not to mention lots of hot sex. But bottom line, time has passed. So before I was worried. Now I’m
worried.
”

His eyes warmed and his head dropped so he could rest his forehead to mine.

What he didn’t do was answer.

Therefore, I prompted, “So can you either tell me everything is all right or tell me what’s wrong so I can pinpoint my freak out rather than making shit up in my head?” Lucien lifted his forehead from mine and caught my eyes but I kept talking. “Because you should know, I have this thing I do. So I can prepare for the worst, I worry about the worst. Then I find out what’s happening or what’s going to happen happens and it’s never the worst and I’m relieved. And, seriously darling, the shit I make up is really not good so give me something to go on here.”

When I shut up, instantly he stated, “I broke a rule. Not an insignificant one. However, it is one that was created a long time ago for reasons that might have been sound then although that’s debatable. What isn’t debatable is that they no longer are. It’s antiquated and confining. I’ve explained my reasoning to The Council and they’re considering it. They’ll find in my favor and all will be well.”

I studied his face then asked, “You’re sure?”

He held my eyes and I had no idea that he lied when he replied softly, “I’m sure.”

“And, say, just for the sake of discussion, they
don’t
find in your favor. What happens to you?”

“They’ll find in my favor.”

“What if they don’t?”

“Leah, they’ll find in my favor.”

“Okay, Lucien, but what if they don’t?”

“They will.”

I pressed both hands to his chest not to push him away but to communicate my need to know and repeated, “What if they don’t? Will they punish you? Vampire torture? Vampire prison? What are we talking about here?”

Lucien grinned. “There is no vampire torture or vampire prison.”

“So what if someone does something wrong?”

“If their transgressions are discovered, they’re told to stop doing it and pay compensation, if The Council deems it necessary.”

My eyes got wide. “That’s it?”

“Often the compensation is significant.”

I couldn’t believe this.

“So all forms of vampire punishment are paid through fines?”

“No. If a vampire breaks a
very
significant rule or continues to break a rule they’ve been penalized for before, they’d pay with their life.”

I sucked in breath and my body went solid.

Lucien’s big hand framed my face. “The rule I broke wasn’t that significant.”

“Holy heck,” I breathed.

His hand pressed gently into my head even as he gave me some of the weight of his torso. “Leah, listen to me. The rule I broke was not that significant.”

“There aren’t any crazy, redneck vampires on The Council who pass down insanely ridiculous sentences for minor infractions are there?” I asked, Lucien stared at me a second then threw his head back and burst out laughing.

I slapped his chest and snapped, “I’m not being funny.”

He visibly struggled to quell his laughter and looked back at me. “Sweetheart, there are no crazy, redneck vampires
at all.
So no, there definitely aren’t any on The Council.”

That was a relief.

“So, they rule against you, they’ll make you pay a fine?”

The laughter moved out of his face but he held my eyes and I didn’t know he lied again when he stated, “Yes.”

“And you’re a gazillionaire,” I remarked.

Humor hit his features again when he murmured, “I might fall short of that.”