Chapter Eighteen

 

The first thing Delight noticed when she next awoke was that she felt surprisingly good for someone who had been shot and spent part of the previous evening throwing her guts up. There was no more pounding in her head and her stomach was remarkably calm.

Lying in Lucian’s large bed, she took stock of her entire body. She wiggled her fingers and toes and flexed her limbs, pleased to note that everything seemed to be in working order. Not only did she not feel any pain, she actually felt energized.

A low pounding sound reached her ears. It was coming from outside of her and wasn’t a result of a headache. She cocked her head to one side and listened intently, trying to figure out where it originated.

A blast of noise struck her with such force she actually flung her head back to try and avoid it. She slapped her hands over her ears to try to shut out the racket assaulting her poor eardrums. What was going on?

“Imagine a switch in your mind. Picture it like you would a knob on a radio or a button on your iPod and turn down the volume.” She didn’t know how she heard Lucian over the din, but she focused all her attention on following his instructions. It took her some time to build a realistic picture in her head. The jumble of noises made it difficult to concentrate.

She pictured her iPod; it was purple and fit in her pocket when she was housecleaning or walking. She imagined herself pressing the button and watching the volume level lowering on the screen. Surprisingly enough, it worked and the jumble of sounds became a low hum in the background.

Delight cautiously removed her hands from her ears. When the noise remained muted, she smiled up at Lucian, who had propped himself up on one arm in the bed and was leaning over her with a frown on his face. “Thanks for the tip, but what was that all about?”

He brushed back a lock of hair from her face with his fingers. “You will find that things are different now that you have changed. All your senses are sharper, but you can easily learn how to control them.”

She nodded her understanding. “What else?” She needed information. Her life had irrevocably changed in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine. The idea of living forever, or at least a very long time, was more than her mind could comprehend. What about Chase and Miss Nadine? What would it be like to watch them age and die while she remained young?

She wasn’t ready to deal with the big picture yet. Better to focus on the practical aspects of the situation.

“As I told you before, you need blood to survive. But we’re civilized now and no longer need to drink from humans, unless we choose to or our survival demands it. We purchase blood through many sources and always have a large supply on hand.” Lucian watched her like a hawk, gauging her every reaction. “You can easily drink wine or water and after a time you’ll be able to tolerate small amounts of food if you choose, but it is no longer necessary for you to eat to live.”

She licked her lips, wondering how she felt about these things. She’d miss food, but if she could occasionally enjoy her favorite ones, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It was the whole blood drinking that gave her pause, but she’d done it before or she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she drank it from a glass.

But it wouldn’t be nearly as tasty as sipping from Lucian. She shivered and he tugged the covers more snugly around her.

“Once your body has had time to adjust,” he continued, “you may be able to enjoy the early morning or late afternoon. Every vampire is different in that regard, but I’m afraid sunlight is now lost to you forever.” Lucian brushed his lips over hers. “For that, I am truly sorry.”

She nodded, sensing he was holding something else back from her. “What else? Tell me the rest.”

“With time and practice, you may be able to shapeshift. Not all Dalakis brides are able to do so, as their minds cannot accept the possibility and they block their natural ability to change.”

Was he joking with her? From the serious expression on his face, he was deadly serious. Shapeshifting? She supposed it made as much sense as being a vampire.

“Into what?”

“The wolf is the most common, although my elder brother, Cristofor, can shift into an owl as well.” Lucian paused as if searching for the right words to explain it to her. “You let your mind go and think of the wolf and you become the wolf. It is very freeing to roam the woods at night in that form. I admit that I do not do it much here in New Orleans, but when I return home to the Carpathian Mountains, I cannot resist.”

This was like something out of a novel. She couldn’t believe she was lying here calmly discussing the fact that the man she loved could change into a wolf. But she figured if she could accept that he was a vampire and that she was one too, then she certainly wasn’t going to let a little matter of shapeshifting bother her. The more she thought about it, the more she was intrigued by the idea, even if she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to try it.

Her mind was whirling at the thought of being able to do such a thing. It was almost too much to handle on top of everything else. She’d have to figure out a way to deal with all the changes in her life. Baby steps, like turning down the volume on the world, which had suddenly gotten a lot louder.

All that truly mattered was that she and Lucian were together. Well, that was almost all that mattered. “I won’t sleep in a coffin or underground.” Delight drew her line in the sand there. Wasn’t happening. No how, no way. Just the thought made her shudder in horror.

Lucian threw back his head and his laughter echoed throughout the bedroom. Delight hadn’t thought her demand funny at all. In fact, she was quite adamant about it. She opened her mouth to scold Lucian but got sidetracked by the strong column of his neck.

Her nipples tightened and she felt the familiar flood of liquid between her thighs, a common occurrence whenever she was with Lucian. Now that she was no longer totally focused on her new reality, she was noticing other things. Like the fact they were both totally naked and lying in a nice big bed.

Lucian’s shaft twitched and grew as she snuggled closer to his side. A pulsing began deep inside her that radiated outward until she felt as if her entire body was vibrating with need. Her teeth ached and she was filled with a longing to lick and suck his neck. Lucian was right about all her senses being sharper. Her skin felt totally sensitized and alive. Unlike last night, it didn’t hurt. It was more a tingling sensation. Quite pleasant.

Still chuckling, he leaned back down and kissed the tip of her nose. “My love, I would never ask you to sleep in a coffin. We will sleep here in this room. It has many protective features built into it. There are also secret rooms in the house for safety’s sake, but they look no different from this one.”

Delight slid her hands over the hard planes of his chest, loving the play of muscles underneath her fingers. Everything about Lucian was strong and masculine and called to everything feminine within her. She longed to belong to him, just as she longed to claim him for her own. “No dirt.” She wasn’t sleeping with bugs, not even to save her life.

“Never,” he promised her.

That was good enough for her. She had more pressing matters taking her attention. She brushed her fingertip over one of his nipples and was rewarded with a rumble of male approval. Desire flared in his eyes. She wanted to do more than touch him. She wanted to taste.

Delight licked the hard nub before lightly scraping her teeth over it.

Lucian rolled and she found herself flat on her back with him looming over her. He clasped both of her hands in one of his and raised her arms over her head, pinning them to the pillow. With his free hand, he lazily stroked her breast, feathering his fingers over the aching tip. Moaning, she arched closer to his hand. He smiled and rolled the nub between his thumb and forefinger.

His shaft was pressed against her mound and she spread her legs to accommodate him. His cock slipped between the wet folds of her sex and she circled her hips, rubbing her throbbing clit against his cock.

Lucian bit the lobe of her ear before tracing the delicate whorls with his tongue. “You feel everything more deeply now. Every part of your body is more sensitive than before.” He teased her ear, stroking his tongue in and out before nipping at the lobe again.

Fire shot through Delight. He might be caressing her ear, but she felt it keenly between her legs. She was breathing heavily, her body craving his. It was almost frightening just how badly she wanted Lucian. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him or with him if it meant she would eventually have his cock buried deep and his fangs at her neck.

“Don’t think.” Lucian licked the curve of her neck, raising goose bumps on her skin. “Feel.”

Heat. That was all she could feel. Heat and need. She felt wild and free and elemental. She could smell her own desire wafting on the air and it made her even hotter. Bucking her hips, she tried to fit Lucian’s hard length into her body.

He just gave a small, sexy laugh and pinned her to the bed with his lower body. “Not yet. Soon,” he promised as he ground his hips into hers.

Delight was panting for breath. She tried to tug her hands free from his, but it was no use. His grip didn’t hurt, but it was like a steel band, totally unbreakable. She was completely at his mercy and that turned her on even more.

He slipped his hand between her thighs, coating his fingers in her cream. Stroking her heated flesh, he touched her everywhere but where she longed to be touched. Around and around her swollen clit he circled his fingers. Crying out, she desperately tried to move her hips so his fingers would make contact with her where she needed them the most.

But he was ruthless and moved his hand away from her clit. “No,” she moaned, but he didn’t relent. He stroked downward, trailing his fingers over her sex. He paused at her opening before sliding two of them into her slick channel.

“Yes.” He’d touched her before. They’d certainly made love many times. But this took it to a whole other level. Every brush of his fingers over her most sensitive flesh was magnified a thousand-fold. She shivered as he withdrew his fingers almost all the way before dipping back inside her again.

If his fingers felt this good, she could only wonder at what it would be like to have his cock stretching her, driving deep. She shivered and once again tugged on her hands. She was stronger than she’d been but she was no match for Lucian.

She tried to move, not sure if she was trying to pull away from Lucian’s questing fingers or to get nearer. She was so close to coming, but he wasn’t giving her what she needed to push her over the edge. Conflicting sensations warred within her. Need clawed at her, keener than it had ever been, deeper.

But Lucian had her trapped beneath his big body with his hands manacling hers and she couldn’t move. All she could do was lie there and let the waves of pleasure wash over her. Even the air in the room was a silken caress against her bare skin.

“I want to take you from behind.” He flexed his fingers and pulled them out a short ways before pushing back again. “I want to bury my cock in your pussy and know you belong to me totally, in every way.”

“Yes,” she hissed. It might kill her but what a way to go. She wanted his cock, wanted them to be joined in the most intimate way possible.

Her inner muscles squeezed his fingers when he pulled them free. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out in dismay. “Lucian. I need you.”

“Fuck, yes.” He released her hands and rolled off her. His eyes were burning with desire and his fangs were fully extended. He looked to be as aroused, as close to the end of his rope as she was.

Delight ran her tongue over her own teeth and discovered her fangs were out too. What did they look like? She found his sexy.

The hard muscles of his chest gleamed with a thin layer of sweat and his cock jutted out proudly from his body, long and thick. A pearly bead of liquid seeped from the tip. Without thought, she knelt beside him, lowered her head and licked the head of his shaft.

His essence was intoxicating. She buried her face in the hair of his groin and breathed deep. Lucian tangled his fingers in her hair, guiding her mouth back to the bulbous tip. Delight opened her mouth and lowered it over his length, taking him deep.

Lucian murmured encouragement as she wrapped her hand around the base of his shaft and pumped. She traced her tongue over the pulsing vein that ran the entire length. His testicles were hard and heavy in her hand. She squeezed them gently. She continued to suck and lick his length and more liquid seeped into her throat.

His pleasure was hers. Her nipples were harder than they’d ever been before and her pussy burned with need, but she wanted Lucian’s pleasure more than her own. His sac pulled up tight and she knew he was close to coming.

It was a shock when he pulled her away, easing his cock from her mouth. “Not this time. This time I want to be buried in your heat.” She could barely make out his guttural words. But when she did, she immediately rolled over on her hands and knees, spreading her legs wide to accommodate him.

Her entire body quivered when he moved in behind her. He was a big man and used his legs to push hers wider apart to make room. He feathered kisses over her lower back. “You are mine,” he told her. “Now and forever.”

He fitted the head of his shaft against her opening. She was wet and ready. He pushed past her body’s natural resistance and paused. “Say it,” he commanded.

“Now and forever.”

“Fuck, yes.” Surging forward, he didn’t stop until he was buried to the hilt.

She’d thought she was ready for the new reality of their lovemaking but she was wrong. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes. Pleasure rocketed from her core and spread to her entire body.

“Lucian.” She gasped his name. Her fingers dug into the coverings and tore. She wasn’t accustomed to her new strength.

“Hold on,” he gritted out. He wrapped his hands around her hips and began to move. He rocked gently at first, barely moving. Bolts of desire shot through her until it was no longer enough.

As if he’d read her mind, Lucian slid one of his hands around to her stomach. His warm fingers combed through her pubic hair and stroked her swollen clit. “More,” she demanded.

He began to thrust. Going harder and deeper, his rhythm getting faster and rougher. Delight adjusted to the driving rhythm he set. He slid his hand from between her legs and up to her breast. He pinched her nipple and sent her over the edge and into oblivion. Her body convulsed and pleasure struck like an avalanche, burying her beneath it.

Her arms buckled and she felt herself melting into the mattress, unable to support herself. Lucian stiffened behind her. Then his big body began to heave and buck. His breath was hot against her nape. “Mine.” That was all he said before he buried his fangs in the curve of her shoulder and drew hard.

Shockingly, she felt her body convulse again. Pure fire shot through her blood, flooding her body. She could feel every sucking motion at her neck between her legs. The pleasure went on and on, until he finally retracted his teeth and released her. She shivered as his rough tongue lapped over the small wound, closing and healing it.

She shuddered when Lucian pulled away. It was difficult to be apart after such an intense experience. She’d never felt so sexually satisfied in her life. He dropped to the mattress beside her, pulled her into his arms, and pushed her mouth toward his chest. “Drink.”

Spurred on by his command, Delight licked his salty skin before sinking her teeth into his flesh. What once would have been appalling to her was now beautiful. It was a sharing and giving between them just as their lovemaking was. She didn’t have to think about what she was doing. It came naturally, like walking or breathing.

As she drank her fill, she sensed his deep pleasure at supplying her with what she needed. His hand cupped the back of her head, caressing her hair, as she took his life-giving blood into her starving body. “Drink, my love. I will always provide what you need.”

When she sensed she’d drunk enough, she retracted her fangs just by thought and then, as he had done to her, she carefully licked the wound to heal it. The tang of his blood was still on her tongue and she savored it. It surprised her just how quickly she’d accepted the need to drink blood to survive, but she supposed that it was much better than being appalled and afraid. She suspected it was her practical nature that allowed her this easy acceptance.

As much as she longed to stay in the cocoon of their love nest, she knew the time had come to face Chase and Miss Nadine.

“And Detective Cassidy.” Lucian’s chest rumbled beneath her cheek.

“You can read my mind?” The thought didn’t upset her as much as it would have a few days ago. It truly was a brave new world she inhabited. All the rules had changed. She just had to learn what they were.

“Yes. And you can read mine.” Lucian rolled over and came up to sit on the side of the bed with her still clasped in his arms. His easy strength continued to amaze her. He smiled at her. “You will find that you are much stronger as well.” Giving her one final kiss, he stood and lowered her feet until she was standing next to him with his arms still wrapped around her.

“They’re all here, aren’t they?” She wasn’t usually a coward, but she was loath to lose this private time with Lucian.

“They have been waiting for over an hour for us to appear.” A wicked grin crossed his harsh face, making him look younger and more carefree. “I must thank Stefan for keeping them occupied.”

Heat crept up her cheeks and she buried her face against his chest. “Oh, God. They’ll take one look at that satisfied smirk on your face and know what we were doing.”

Lucian shrugged, totally unconcerned. “It is to be expected. We are now bound together by the customs of my people.”

She froze as his words penetrated her embarrassment. “Does that mean that we’re married?” She’d never even considered such a thing. Marriage was a huge step. Of course, so was becoming a vampire.

“Yes.”

“But I don’t feel married.” He tensed, the muscles of his chest tightening beneath her cheek.

He flexed his fingers in her hair and gently pulled, tipping her face to meet his solemn gaze. “What we share is deeper than a human marriage. It is an unbreakable bond.”

Delight shrugged, burying her regrets. She’d always imagined a wedding with flowers, a pretty dress, and a nice reception. Nothing fancy or expensive, but something special.

His expression softened and his grip loosened. “Ah, Delight. I cannot bear to see you so sad.” He stroked her cheeks with his fingers. “You shall have your wedding. Cris and Johanna will want to come, and of course Stefan, but other than that, it will be as you desire.”

Her heart clenched in her chest. He was looking at her with such love, she felt like the luckiest woman in the world. They would have their share of difficulties, but they would deal with them together.

“Thank you, Lucian.”

He nodded and stepped away from her. “First, we must deal with the trouble at hand. Then we will make plans.”