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The pain in my head registered before the pain in my hand did. They were dull, throbbing, annoying aches, but enough to demand attention. I blinked my eyes open and couldn’t figure out where I was. The ceiling was white and smooth, but had a faint orange flicker from candles I could smell burning somewhere in the room. The red tapestry cocooning the bed I lay on was rich velvet with gold accents. The mattress was incredibly luxurious and soft, and the matching comforter on top of me was heavy and soothing. I’d quickly deduced that I had been murdered by that vampire, and was now in heaven, because I had been a good person after all.
But... all those years in Sunday School came crashing back to my brain... there was not supposed to be pain in heaven, and I definitely was not feeling all that great. I groaned and tried to sit, but a heavy hand on my shoulder prevented me from doing so.
“Shh, little wolf. No need to get excited. You need to heal.” Then, a warm kiss was pressed to my forehead.
I looked up to see Kellan’s perfectly handsome face, and realized I probably wasn’t in heaven, but maybe something close to it. I curved my lips into a grin. “Hi.”
“Hi, beautiful. You did good,” he said quietly.
My brow furrowed, and I tried to sit up again. This time, Kellan stood up and helped me to sit up.
“Good... how?” I asked on a whisper, adjusting myself to try to get comfortable.
“You killed her. You survived, love,” he replied quietly, brushing some hair from my face.
“Oh... Oh, my God! She’s dead?” I asked with a gasp.
He nodded. “She is. Who was she?”
“Fiona something. Alexander’s maker,” I murmured, then put my good hand on my forehead. So much throbbing.
“Sir?” We both looked over as a short man with blond hair and pale skin poked his head in.
“Jeffrey, we are good.”
He threw a glance at me, then nodded at Kellan. “Very well. Call if you need me.”
Without turning to look at him, Kellan nodded. “Will do.”
Once Jeffrey had closed the large, heavy-looking door with a click, I looked at my favorite vampire. “Friend of yours?”
He chuckled. “Yes, a very old friend.”
I wanted to ask him about Jeffrey, and how he knew him, and a million other questions, but I was too tired.
“How...” I swallowed hard and realized my throat was extremely parched. “How did you find me?”
Kellan smiled at me, but with a look of momentary confusion. “Well, you called to me.”
“I did. But you didn’t reply. I didn’t think you could hear me.” I reached up and lightly touched my temple where Fiona had grabbed my hair and had probably yanked some out. I winced, as it was tender there.
“I did tell you I was on my way. You didn’t hear me?” he asked, grabbing my hand and caressing it with his thumb.
I shook my head. “Not at all. Maybe it was after I passed out.”
He nodded slightly and furrowed his brow, but quickly recovered with a comforting grin. “When I found you in the stairwell, you were covered in a mess. The vampire’s ashes were everywhere. Jeffrey and I got rid of as much as we could, but they were still all over. We quickly loaded you into the SUV and brought you here. A warm bath and a little scrub with a sponge and some soap, and you were good as new. I just got concerned when you still wouldn’t wake up—”
I put a hand up. “Wait. You and that guy”—I pointed to the door—“bathed me?” I couldn’t hide the mortification in my voice.
Kellan smiled. “No, I washed you. Jeffrey just found you some clothes.”
I looked down at myself and realized I was in a soft blue flannel nightgown with pink roses all over it. It was hideous, but comfortable as hell.
“Give Jeff my regards,” I said dryly, realizing what was done was done, and it wasn’t like Kellan hadn’t seen me naked before.
“Jeff,” he said, chuckling. “Nobody’s ever called him that before.”
I stared at him flatly. “You’re joking.”
He laughed again and shook his head. “I am not.”
He picked up my hand again, and I winced as I hissed in a breath. “Careful.”
Kellan’s carefree smile fell. “Why? Is your hand injured?”
I nodded. “Yeah... bitch broke my wrist after I stabbed her in the leg.”
He lifted it to his mouth and gingerly kissed it. “You will heal. But you need blood.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Jeffrey,” Kellan called out. The pale man appeared at the door after a quick, sharp knock to alert us he was coming inside the room.
“Sir?”
“A bag of O-positive, please?”
He nodded. “Right away.”
“Thank you.”
I started at Kellan. “You keep bags of blood here? I thought you preferred it straight from the tap.”
He grinned, his handsome face giving me all kind of butterflies. “For emergencies.”
“Well, I don’t need it. You could, uh, give me some of yours, though.” I couldn’t believe I suggested it, but I did know vampire blood would heal me so much faster.
He smiled. “I already did. Just not sure how much you consumed, though, as we kind of had to force it down your throat.”
I groaned as I sat up, realizing I was feeling better by the minute. “Let’s try again.”
He frowned. “You don’t have fangs.”
“Well,” I grinned, “you do.”
He sucked in a breath and nodded. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly rolled up the sleeve of his light-blue dress shirt and I watched with fascination as his fangs slowly descended and his eyes changed from crystal-blue to almost black. He slowly and gently pierced his wrist. Blood began to flow, but instead of putting it to my mouth, he sucked it out with his own, and then he leaned in to me and I opened up for him. He dribbled his blood into my mouth and I swallowed, hating to admit how good it tasted. Once I’d swallowed it, he still had his lips on mine and he began to kiss me. His unique taste, combined with the sweet blood, was sexy as hell and was definitely waking me up.
It wasn’t the first time he’d done this, and I hoped it wouldn’t be the last. When we’d first met, he’d bitten a willing human and had shared her blood with me. It was hot then, and was still just as erotic now. He broke the kiss and looked into my eyes, his now back to their normal color. I looked down at his wrist, and it was already healing, but he’d made a mess on the blanket. I lifted his wrist to my mouth and began to lick the remaining blood there on the quickly closing wounds.
“So beautiful,” he murmured as we locked eyes while my tongue was on his wrist.
A knock on the door interrupted us, and I quickly pulled away from his arm.
“Come in,” Kellan called out.
“I’m so sorry to impose,” Jeffrey said as he opened the door. He cleared his throat as red flush creeped up his face.
“No worries. You can leave the bag there,” Kellan said, pointing to a dresser against the far wall.
Jeffrey did as he was instructed. “Call if you need anything further.”
“Thank you, Jeff,” Kellan replied, but was staring at me with mischief in his eyes.
The butler—if that was what he was—paused for a minute and then closed the door behind him with a nod.
I chuckled. “I’m a bad influence.”
He shook his head. “I love it when you’re bad.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
He nodded. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” I said honestly, realizing my head and wrist were just a minor ache now. I was still tired, and wondered how much sleep I’d had.
“What time is it?” I asked.
He lifted his hand to my face and cupped my jaw. “A little after three, love.”
“Three a.m.?”
He nodded. “Yes. I became quite worried when you wouldn’t wake.”
“Damn.” I sighed. “Where is my cell phone and keys and stuff?” I hadn’t taken a purse into the building, but I did have my car key and cell in my pocket. My wallet and purse were still inside my car, undoubtedly still parked at the vampire office building.
“I powered it off and set it on the dresser.”
My eyes moved to where Jeffrey had left the blood bag and could see the phone and my single car key sat. “I was supposed to meet Evan and Karina at midnight. They’re probably freaking out.”
I tried to move to get out of bed, but Kellan blitzed to the dresser and returned with the phone, handing it to me. “Then call them.”
While waiting for the phone to power on, I said, “My car and purse are at the office building. I’ll need a ride to get it.”
Kellan began playing with the top button of my nightgown. “Jeffrey will take you tomorrow to retrieve it. If you locked it, I’m sure your handbag is safe inside. Did you park it in the building’s garage?”
I giggled at how he pronounced garage like it rhymed with carriage. “No.”
He looked up from where he’d already popped open the top button. “What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. You’re cute. I love your accent.”
“And I love yours.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t have an accent.”
“You would in any other country but this one.”
He had a point. “Well, I guess so.”
He had only one button left until I would be showing a lot more than cleavage. “What are you doing?” I asked him, looking down.
“Getting you out of this dreadful thing. It looks like a dressing gown my grandmother would wear,” he said, lightly chuckling.
I smiled. “I’m glad you agree. It’s comfy, but ugly as hell.”
It only buttoned down so far, and when he reached the last one, he looked up at me, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Now what?”
I could play, too, so I winked at him and slithered down on the bed, pulling the covers over my head. I quickly wiggled out of the gown and tossed it out of the covers. I grinned at the fact that nobody had bothered to find panties for me to wear under the gown. Kellan’s decision, I’m sure. I lay still for a few seconds to see what he would do. I was being immature, I knew, but he was usually all serious, so it was fun to play with him.
Kellan chuckled, which caused me to giggle. Then he asked, “What are you doing under there?” He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, so I didn’t have much room under there.
“I’m not coming out. You’re gonna have to come in and get me.” I giggled again.
Oh, my God! Stop giggling, you moron!
He lifted himself off the bed, and I heard the lock click on the door. Then, in what seemed like less than a second, he had reached down and thrown the covers back, exposing me. I looked up at him, wide-eyed, as I saw he was completely naked too—and quite ready for me.
My laughter died in my throat, and was replaced with a very appreciative gasp.
I lifted my arms out for him to come to me, but he instead, just put one knee on the bed and began trailing his fingers down my face, then my throat, then to my collarbone. He never broke eye contact until he reached my breast, which elicited another gasp from me. His touch was feather-light and goosebumps broke out over my entire body. My nipple pebbled under his touch as he continued to run his finger down to my belly. His finger was then replaced by the flat of his hand. It roamed over my stomach, and then barely rubbed my bikini line before he reached my most intimate spot. Using the finger again, he trailed it over the tiny patch of hair there, before running it down my wet slit.
“Kellan,” I gasped, so completely aroused and just wanting him close to me.
He grinned at me, and then looked down at his finger, which he slowly stroked over my very swollen parts. Once he pushed it inside me, I almost came apart.
“Please,” I whimpered.
He pulled out his finger, and then slowly speared in two this time, rolling them in circles, which caused my eyes to roll back in my head. “Yes...”
Once again, he pulled fingers out, which made my eyes slide open. I watched with hooded eyelids as he put the digits into his mouth, licked them clean, and grinned wickedly. “Delicious.”
He then used those fingers to run them down the inside of my right thigh, and then the left. He was going so slow, it was making me crazy—which I was sure was the point.
My legs were open wide now, and I reached down and touched myself. I broke eye contact because my eyes rolled back into my head at how sensitive I was.
Kellan made a tsking sound and snatched up my wrist, which made my eyes snap open. “No, no, little wolf. Mine,” he whispered.
I sucked in a breath and winced a little at the pain from my healing wrist, but quickly recovered with a nod. “Yes... sir,” I whispered.
My life has turned into an erotic novel...
With a sexy grin, he positioned the rest of his perfect body into the V of my legs. My breath caught in my throat when he grasped onto his thick, heavy manhood and began to stroke it slowly as I watched. I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted this man. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced.
Not that I had much to compare to...
“Please, Kellan,” I whimpered as reached up to touch him.
“No touching me, love. I will be doing all the touching.”
Well, he sure proved that to be true as he had one hand on himself, and the other on my body. With the back of his fingers, he grazed the flat of my belly, then worked it slowly down until he reached the apex of my core. I watched as he flipped his hand around and cupped my mound, then slid his fingers in again.
I was panting hard now, like a dog in heat.
I guess I am.
He gazed down at his fingers, and then his eyes lazily moved up to mine. With a grin, he moved both hands to my knees, pushing them further apart. It only took a single thrust of his hips to elicit a scream from my throat, which was followed by a string of curses ending with his name.
When his body slowly lowered onto mine, I arched my head back and gasped at how he filled me up. Instinctively, my hips rose to meet his thrusts, and when his hand trailed up my arm and he eventually threaded his fingers in mine, I wanted nothing more than for his mouth to be on mine.
I looked into his eyes, which were supernaturally flashing between ice-blue and jet-black as he rode out his arousal and held nothing back from me. The feeling was mutual, and I knew my eyes must be flashing something fierce and frightening as they stared into his.
“Ayla,” he whispered against my lips before he claimed them in a searing kiss that had my toes curling.
He kissed me hard and desperate, stealing my breath and causing raw pleasure to burn and unfurl in my very core. I groaned hard and frenzied into his mouth as a wave of pure lust shot through my body like an electric current, triggering a crescendo of pleasure to release itself onto him. My pelvis thrusted up to meet his as I clenched around him, wishing he could be even further inside of me.
“Kellan, I...” I whined on a throaty breath as words failed me. Waves of hot desire continued to pulse through me, every nerve ending on fire and tingling as I arched my back against his hard chest, loving the feeling of my rock-hard nipples rubbing against him.
He was panting hard in my ear now, and just the thought of how I was making him crazy made my arousal to rise again. I collapsed my legs out wide to take him in further and ran my long fingernails up and down his back.
“Yes, more, give me more...” I demanded into his ear as he stroked the bundle of nerves between my legs, chasing his own release.
His breaths were ragged and frantic now, and when his thrusts became more harried and dire, I grew more excited. My nails dug into his back so hard, I was sure I probably drew blood.
I didn’t care.
My next orgasm was just within reach, and when he suddenly felt even more engorged and rigid inside me, I cried out as my next release rushed through me, blinding me with white spots behind my eyelids.
He stilled, releasing himself inside me. I panted hard, trying to catch my breath, as he did the same with his choppy gasps near my ear.
Kellan’s heavy body lay on top me of me, and I smiled, despite the fact that he was cutting off my air.
“Daaammn, you’re... an animal,” I whispered into his ear.
He laughed lightly and kissed my neck. “I would say the same, but I fear you would take offense.”
I laughed, because it really was funny, and scraped my fingernails through his hair. “Touché, baby.”