Cella loved being in Cyrus’s arms. His touch was gentle but firm. He was positively the sexiest male she’d ever seen in her life. From his tousled blond hair and piercing blue eyes, to his broad shoulders and thick muscles. As their bodies pressed together it was difficult to miss the hard ridge of his erection that made her body heat and her imagination wander to all the wicked and wonderful things they could do together.
She couldn’t believe that she’d accepted the invitation from Mishka and Harmony to tour the restaurant and ended up finding him. And she was certain he was her beloved. She could feel their connection strengthening with every second that passed. Her fangs throbbed with the thought of taking his blood and binding them together.
“Your fangs don’t disappear?” He nuzzled her throat and nipped at her skin, making her spine tingle.
“I’m a turned vampire so my fangs are permanent. Only naturally born vampires have retractable fangs.”
He spun her away from him and then pulled her flush against him. “I didn’t know there were natural vampires.”
“Not a lot of people do. Natural vampires are a lot like turned vampires, but their powers are amplified in some ways. Turned vampires have the power of compulsion. Depending on how old a vampire is determines how powerful that ability is, and some vampires are naturally better at it than others. But a naturally born vampire of two vampire parents is far stronger at that ability than even Mishka, who is very, very good at it.”
“Could you compel me to do something?”
“No. It only works on humans and wiccans.”
He hummed. “I feel like there’s so much I need to learn about your kind.”
“Well, when we become beloveds, you’ll learn a lot in a short amount of time.”
“Speaking of that,” he said, turning them in a circle and then bending her back slightly to kiss her throat.
As he righted her, she said, “What?”
“Do we need to wait for anything in particular for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean is there a certain time of the month that vampires mate with their beloveds? Since it’s like marriage, would we take time off for a honeymoon? I want you to meet my family and king too. I think my parents would be kind of pissed if I basically got married and didn’t tell them ahead of time.”
She chuckled. “I can see that. No, there isn’t a time of the month that matters to vampires. I will tell you that once you and I are beloveds, you’ll feel an allegiance to Mishka because he’s the one who turned me and he’s the master of the coven. It may change how you feel about your king and the ambush.”
His brows rose. “Is there a beloved mate who’s a shifter?”
With a nod she said, “Yes, Angie is a wolf shifter and the sister of the alpha. She mated Vex and Rage, and when they became beloveds, she said she didn’t feel the same toward her brother and the pack. I don’t know how similar tigers and wolves are when it comes to hierarchy. I’m also kind of assuming that we’ll live here in my chamber. If you don’t want to do that, of course, we can figure it out. I just need a house with light-blocking shutters for the daytime. But I’m getting ahead of myself. When we become beloveds, we’ll take time off work to be together. The norm is a week.”
“Would it be okay if we waited to become beloveds until you meet my family?”
“Of course.”
“Is any of your family still alive?”
“No. My parents died before I was turned. Mishka is like my older brother in a way, but the family is all I have now.”
“You’ve got me. And I know my parents are going to love you. I don’t mind living at the club, but I’d like to have a place we can stay in ambush territory that will be safe for you during the day. Our ambush likes to have ceremonies and get togethers on the full moon, so you and I can join together as mates in front of the ambush for the upcoming full moon. Do vampires get married?”
“Of course. But nothing is as strong as the beloved bond.”
He squeezed her waist and lowered his head, brushing his lips over hers. “I still want to take you some place private, strip off your clothes, and find out what you sound like when you fall apart.”
If her heart was beating it would be going a mile a minute.
“I want that too.”
He gave her a slow smile, all heat and promises.
“Take me to our chamber, Cella. I want to chase the night from the sky with our pleasure.”
She rose onto her toes and kissed him, their bodies pressed tightly together. “Let’s go.”
They left the family room and headed down the stairs, skirting the dance floor, and walking to the offices. When they approached the door into the reception area, she greeted the two guards, Bellamin and Dylan, and introduced them to Cyrus.
“Welcome,” Dylan said, shaking Cyrus’s hand.
“Congratulations,” Bellamin said.
“Thanks, nice to meet you both.”
Angie was seated at the desk and Cella introduced her. Cyrus didn’t shake her hand but inclined his head with a smile. “It’s nice to know I won’t be the only shifter in the family.”
“That’s true,” Angie said. “How do tigers feel about vampires in their ranks? The pack wasn’t too crazy about my mates and it caused some issues. I don’t commune with them on the full moon anymore, but I’m still technically part of the pack.”
“I have no idea, actually. I don’t think it’ll be an issue with the ambush for Cella to be with us during ceremonies, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
The phone rang and Angie said, “Congratulations,” then answered the call.
Cella entered a code to open the door leading to their offices. She stopped along the way and introduced Cyrus to the family members and showed him her office. Then they got in the elevator and traveled to the basement. She was very glad she wasn’t still living in the cubicles and could have privacy with her sexy beloved.
She unlocked the door with a code, and he grasped the handle and opened it for her. She passed inside, clicking on the overhead light.
“Damn,” Cyrus said as he shut and locked the door. “This is cool as hell.”
She grinned, relieved he liked her chamber. The spacious room had been carved into the bedrock which gave her stone walls. When they’d moved into the chambers originally, she’d found the walls to be very masculine feeling and she’d toyed with either painting them or covering them with wallboard. In the end, she’d waited long enough that she grew accustomed to the stone and didn’t want to cover it. Paintings of flowers and pretty scenery hung from gilded frames, and electric sconces added a touch of old-world charm. The carpet was pale yellow – her favorite color. Two doors were set into one wall – one leading to the private bathroom and one for the walk-in closet.
Cyrus rested his hand on the bedpost, his gaze roaming over the yellow quilt and mound of decorative pillows.
“It’s pretty girly,” she said.
He chuckled. “Yeah, but I like yellow. It’s my mom’s favorite color. When my dad redid their kitchen, he did it all in yellow, from the walls to the curtains to a new set of dishes ringed with sunflowers.”
“Sounds like my kind of kitchen.”
His hand tightened on the post and he cleared his throat. “Do you need to feed?”
She frowned. “I just drank SyBl, so I’m fine.”
“I want to take care of you. If you’re hungry, I want to satisfy that need. All your needs.”
She moved to him, stopping just inches away and gazing up at him. “I need real blood once a week. I fed a few days ago, so I’m fine. Once we become beloveds though, I won’t be able to drink from anyone but you.”
He reached for her and pulled her close. “I like that.” His voice was low and gruff, his blue eyes darkening. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle seeing you drink from someone else.”
She liked that he was possessive and protective. Although the family members all watched out for each other, she’d never had anyone care quite so much about her like Cyrus did already, and they weren’t even fully mated yet.
He cupped her face and brushed his lips over hers. “Be mine, Cella. Be my mate, my beloved, my gorgeous female.”
“Yes. Be mine, Cyrus.”
“I was yours the moment I laid eyes on you.”
He lifted her into his arms and turned, setting her in the center of the bed. She took off her heels and dropped them to the floor, then rose onto her knees and watched as he undid the laces of his work boots and took them off, then grasped the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head. She’d felt his muscles under her hands when they’d danced, but he was even more mouth-wateringly sculpted than she’d imagined. Broad shoulders, lickable abs, and a tapered waist, his sun kissed skin begging to be explored.
His fingers rested on the buckle of his belt and he arched a brow at her. She took the unspoken hint and reached for the ties of the corset, unlacing the decorative ribbon and unzipping the front. She peeled it off and tossed it to the floor, her nipples taut and aching already, and he’d hardly touched her.
His eyes darkened, from sapphire to a color so deep it bordered black. He shucked his jeans and climbed onto the bed, a soft growl rumbling in his chest. Their lips met and parted, their tongues touching in a slow glide. His fingers ghosted over her skin, making goose bumps erupt in their wake. He traced her collarbone with his thumbs and followed the curve of her breasts, cupping them and teasing her nipples. She moaned and he purred in response, curving his hands to her back and pressing her gently to the bed. He sucked on her bottom lip and then straightened his arms, looking down at her with unadulterated want.
“You’re beautiful,” he said gruffly. “So fucking gorgeous and all mine.”
She inhaled and stroked her hands up his arms, feeling the taut muscles. He lowered his head and kissed her lips, then kissed down the line of her jaw, nipping a path down her throat and across her chest. He plumped her breast and licked a circle around the nipple before kissing it and then sucking it into his mouth. He plucked at the other nipple, switching between the two until she was writhing under him. He kissed down the center of her body and found the zipper at the side of the short skirt, lowering it and hooking his fingers in the hem and pulling it down her legs. He caught her panties at the same time, stripping her in one quick movement.
He stared at her, longing and hunger in his gaze, looking as if he could devour her and she’d love every second of it. He grasped her ankles and pushed them apart, and she bent her knees and bit her bottom lip as his broad shoulders edged her legs open wider. Wrapping one arm around her thigh, he spread her open with his fingers and licked her clit with a slow stroke, flicking his tongue at the end and sending a delicious wave of heat through her. He met her gaze as he laid his tongue on her and purred, the sound making it vibrate. She dropped her head back against the pillow and tilted her hips, loving the way he purred and moved his tongue on her like a living vibrator. Exquisite tendrils of pleasure wove through her. A thick finger pushed inside her, and she gasped, burying her fingers in his hair and fisting the strands. He licked and sucked on her clit as he fingered her, rubbing her inner walls.
He found a place that made her tilt her hips. He braced his arm across her hips and held her down, rubbing that spot and purring against her clit until everything within her turned white-hot and molten. She came hard and cried out his name, only vaguely aware when he moved from between her legs and turned her onto her stomach. He slid an arm under her and lifted her lower body. She braced herself on her knees, her hands gripping the blanket and keeping her head down as pleasure coiled inside her.
He pushed his thick cock into her in one hard thrust, making her gasp as her head kicked back with the sheer pleasure of being claimed by him. He held himself fully inside her, brushing her hair to one side and cupping her face. He leaned against her back, his cock twitching inside her, and bit her ear lobe gently.
“Know it’s taking every ounce of control I have not to mark you right now.” His voice was low and rough. “To bond us together in your way and mine.”
She whispered his name. A plea and a demand rolled up together.
He dropped his head to her shoulder and flexed his hips, driving himself a little deeper. She moaned and her knuckles cracked as she fisted the bedding.
“When we bond, baby, I promise to make it even better.”
She wasn’t sure that was possible, but she was willing to let him try. She couldn’t think of anything better than the way he felt inside her, their bodies as tightly wed as possible. His teeth scraped on her shoulder and she closed her eyes, relaxing into his hold as he rose up behind her and grasped her hips with both hands. He pulled from her body until only the thick head of his cock was still inside her, and then he slammed into her. He began to quicken his pace, thrusting harder and faster. He tilted her hips and with each glide forward, he hit a place inside her that sent her senses into overdrive. She lost the ability to keep her arms locked in place and lowered herself to the bedding, reaching for the headboard to brace herself and push back against his thrusts. Her world narrowed to the place inside that twisted and twirled with pleasure.
He fucked her hard and fast, snarling as he gripped her hips even tighter, claws pricking her skin as he stroked deeply. She let out a sharp cry of completion as her body lit up and she came, her stomach clenching in waves as she crested the highest point of pleasure and tumbled headfirst into a glorious heat. He followed her, his cock spasming and filling her, and the connection she’d already felt between them strengthened. He covered her with his body, his chest heaving and his cat rumbling contentedly. With a smooth motion, he took them both to their sides and curled around her, kissing her shoulder and throat, and smoothing his hands over her belly and breasts.
“Fucking mine,” he murmured.
“Absolutely.”