He flew over the mountains, letting his heat keep Batya warm as she snuggled against him. She didn’t say anything, nor did he. Words seemed unnecessary.
The journey back to his stronghold became a time of reflection and amazement on so many levels. He now viewed his life as having taken place in two parts, before he’d begun his pursuit of Batya, and now after.
From the time that he’d buried his mother and killed his father, he’d truly never believed this day would come, that he’d have a woman in his life, that he’d feel in any way capable of protecting her because of all the ways he’d failed to protect his mother.
And the harder truth was that he couldn’t always protect Batya, not so long as terrible evil forces, like Margetta and her kind, existed in the Nine Realms. Life held no real guarantees except for the two inescapable realities: change and death.
Well, change had come and this time change rocked his world.
And he would spend his life making sure that Batya knew how much she meant to him, blood rose or not.
By the time he reached his fortress of wood and iron, and entered the fortified courtyard, a line of gray on the horizon had his spine aching.
Once past the massive, arched wood door, however, he breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing sounded better than the lock clicking into place.
“That was close,” Batya said, stretching out her arms and legs. “You’re shaking.”
“Well, we’re here now. You must be hungry.”
“Only for one thing.”
He growled as he drew her into his arms. He kissed her for a long moment, but he sensed something in her, not a hesitation exactly but something. He pulled back. “What is it?”
She had a blush on her cheeks. “Quin, there’s something I’d like to do with you, that I’ve never done with any man before and really couldn’t because only a vampire could do this, but…”
He liked the sound of that because she’d just referenced his fangs, and he loved that she was just a little bit embarrassed. He leaned close and whispered into her ear. “You want me to bite you someplace special?”
He felt her shiver. “I want you to bite me everywhere.”
He couldn’t think for a moment. The thought of obliging her had hardened him almost painfully. “Oh, Cha.” He stayed close to her ear, rimming his tongue along the curves that had a lovely fae peak on top.
She purred as he slid along the folds then finally dipped inside. He plunged in and out.
So, you want me to nibble on your ankles, where else?
The back of my knees.
He groaned again.
And… Once more he could tell she was shy about making the request.
Where else, Cha?
My breasts. All over my breasts.
The thought of slaking his vampire thirst on her large, beautiful breasts just about robbed him of breath. She had a lot of territory to cover.
She drew back. Her eyes had a dazed look. “I want a bath first.”
He nodded. “I’ll meet you in the bedroom. I’ll just fetch some food from the kitchen.”
She grabbed the front of his Guardsman coat and pulled him close, kissing him hard on the lips. “Good idea.”
She turned and walked in the direction of his master suite, then with a giggle rose into the air and flew down the hall.
He smiled as he headed in the other direction.
* * * * * * * * *
Batya filled the boat-like tub, then climbed in for a good long soak. Quinlan returned with a beautiful branch of grapes and small, crust-less sandwiches cut into small heart-shapes. “Well aren’t these precious.”
Quinlan rolled his eyes. “I’m going to kill my housekeeper. She’s taunting me because of you. She must have known I’d bring you back here.”
“Smart woman.”
“But the white wine is good.”
“The best.”
She took the small glass, leaned back and sipped. She watched his gaze drift down the length of her body. His eyes took on a hooded look and his smoky, applewood scent got tangled up in the warm air above her. She was pretty sure she’d died and gone to heaven.
Food needed to be the priority, however, so she focused on the meal and the wine and encouraged him to do the same.
When he’d finished eating, he hopped in the shower. She finally eased from the tub, toweled off then used his blow dryer to get some of the dampness out of her hair.
She slid beneath the furs to wait for him, her body thrumming with life and desire, and she wondered if their recent couplings would make a vampire-fae-troll baby. She then realized with a start that for the first time in her life, the idea of having a child actually appealed to her. Amazing what changes the right man could make in the life of an independent woman.
When he appeared in the doorway, she sighed.
“You are freakingly good-looking, Quin.” He’d pulled his hair back in a clasp but that was the only thing he wore.
He paused and planted his hands on his hips. “Well, you’re not arranged quite as I’d hoped.”
She giggled, threw the covers back and hopped out of bed. “It’s cold in this room.”
“Not for long.”
She knew what he wanted.
She rearranged the covers then stretched herself out on top of the furs.
“Much better. Exactly the way I wanted to see you.”
He moved with all the strength of his vampire genetics, muscles flexing and quivering, until he stood beside the bed and looked down at her. His gaze took her in once more, as it had while she’d bathed.
She held her arms out to him and he came to her, stretching out on top of her.
She caressed his face. “I can’t believe we’re here.”
“I know.” He looked so serious suddenly.
“I was afraid we wouldn’t make it back alive, but you got us there.”
“We got us there.”
She smiled. “I guess we did. Is this really happening?”
He leaned down and kissed her, a full, moist kiss that melted her hips and legs. She parted for him, feeling his rigid stalk as he glided lower. He was heavy on her in the best way.
He kissed her for a long time, stroking her arms with his hands, grinding against her, but he didn’t try to enter her.
Easing his tongue out of her mouth, he licked her lips. She was ready for more, when she felt a shift in his vibration and suddenly his fangs struck, stinging just her lower lip.
She cried out, but he retracted his fangs and began to suck and the pleasure flowed.
Her breaths mingled with his. She felt his chin quiver and his cock twitch as he drank from her.
He drew back slightly, staring down at her mouth, his eyelids at half-mast. “I love seeing blood on your lips. Sweet Goddess.” He flexed his hips and his cock pressed against her.
She touched his face with her hand. “Do you want inside now?”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve just gotten started.”
To prove his intention, he nuzzled her neck then her ear. A second later, a fang pierced the soft flesh of her earlobe above her pierced earring. He took the lobe in his mouth and drew from her what had to have been the smallest rivulet of blood possible.
Oh, Cha, even a few drops is like heaven to me.
Her hips rolled on the bed. She shifted around trying to find a way to capture his cock between her thighs, but he kept just out of reach.
He let go of her ear and met her gaze. “No, you don’t. You made your request and I intend to deliver.”
Another shiver went straight through her.
His lips and tongue made a slow progression down her neck, over her collar bone, then lower.
* * * * * * * * *
Even Batya’s skin tasted like her tropical-flower scent, something rich, heady, more than he’d ever dreamed of.
He marveled that his stomach no longer hurt, not even a little. How had this extraordinary thing happened—a woman in his bed at long last, covered i
n furs, and writhing to the feel of his lips, his tongue, his fangs.
He watched her beneath hooded eyes and every arch of her back or rock of her hips, brought another moan from him. Her mating frequency played over his skin and even flowed over his cock so that he was as close to coming as ever, but somehow managed to hold back.
He wanted to pump his seed inside her, nowhere else, at least not right now. Maybe she was ripe and ready to bear a child, maybe that factor was in play as well. He just didn’t know.
But he wanted her full of his child. That much made perfect sense to him now. He wanted to parade her in front of as many other men as possible, to show them what he could do to his woman, to prove all that he was in a tradition as old as time.
He suckled her first, taking turns and delighting in how she’d flex each breast when he nursed on a nipple, forcing more of her into his mouth. He took more, until his own body called a halt. How many times had he almost come?
But he moved to the side for what he needed to do next, the one thing she’d asked of him.
Her hand found his arm and she squeezed his bicep, so of course he flexed for her, then turned to meet her gaze.
Her eyes were full of love. That’s what he saw, and what came to him in a wave of powerful emotion. He felt his life meet full circle in this moment, of having known love in the early years of his life, then lost it for centuries, only to have the blood rose phenomenon bring him home again.
He leaned over and kissed her. “Thank you, Batya. Thank you.” He wanted to say more, but simply didn’t have the words.
But she nodded, caressing his face.
His gaze drifted, as it often did, back to her full breasts.
“Give me what I need,” she whispered.
He didn’t require another invitation, but settled his lips over the upper swell of her breast, struck, then sucked once more.
At the same time, he fondled the other breast, teasing the tip into a tight bud, stroking the low fullness and weight. Your breasts are so beautiful.
They’re yours, Quin. Only yours. All yours.
Quinlan took his time, and worked over every inch of her breasts, biting and sipping, and with each strike, her trembling increased. He could feel her pleasure which fueled his own.
She healed fast, but when he knew she’d reached her limit, he rose up and stared down at least two dozen puncture wounds, all healing quickly. Her nipples were hard beads and her labored breathing caused her breasts to rise and fall.
He positioned himself again between her legs, his cock a hard and ready missile. As he pushed inside her, gliding easily along the wet pulsing channel, she groaned.
Had sex ever been better?
No. He thrust three times, just to feel her well and to seat himself deep inside.
Then he let the real magic begin as he supported himself on his forearms, stared into her eyes, and opened up his mating vibration.
* * * * * * * * *
Batya lay poised on the edge again, ecstasy hovering just a breath away. She stared into Quinlan’s eyes, the man who’d teased her mercilessly and delivered a thousand times over what he’d promised all those weeks ago.
He’d repeatedly said, ‘we’d be good together, Cha’.
And they were good together, more than she could believe. How far they’d come. How much they’d achieved, opening up most of the enthralled lands around Ferrenden Peace.
But here she was trembling from the exquisite pain and pleasure of his bites, of his suckling and fondling, ready to have him take her to the heights once more, while looking into his dark eyes.
How she loved him. How much she treasured all that he was, especially knowing what he’d endured as a child and how he’d tried to defend his mother, almost losing his young life in the process.
Now she was here caressing his face as he drove into her, his vibration flowing through her well and into her abdomen so that she could hardly breathe.
She didn’t want this moment to end. She wanted to stay like this with him forever.
He turned his head slightly to plant a kiss on the palm of her hand. Let me drink from you, Cha.
Yes, please, yes.
He smiled as he met her gaze. “I love you so much.”
She nodded, then showed him the depth of her love by simply turning her head and exposing her neck. He jerked inside her, which caused her to tighten.
He grimaced, leaning away from her and closing his eyes. That felt too good.
I know. She remained very still to let him recover. She knew him by now, that he wanted to drink from her and if possible, come at the same time.
He licked a slow line up her throat, yet kept moving into her from long practice.
She waited, trembling, eyes closed. His vibration flooded her, while his hard cock drove into her.
He struck.
She cried out and her body seized, just on the brink of orgasm, yet holding steady.
He began to swallow down her blood and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, amazed by his strength and his stamina.
She breathed hard and groaned as the pleasure built, rising fast. He grunted as he drank.
He curled over her and while he swallowed her essence, she felt him start to release, which pushed her over the edge.
So many sensations arrived at once, that she howled at the ceiling, his mouth still fixed to her neck, her blood still leaving her body, his cock jerking inside her while he thrust faster and faster. He grunted against her neck, his vibration at full bore.
A second orgasm barreled down, carrying her away on a streaking comet of passion. She tumbled through time and space, not knowing where she would land.
Stars flew before her eyes as her body spasmed within and as her heart filled with so much joy she could no longer breathe, or think, or do anything.
When at last she returned to herself, Quinlan lay on top of her, breathing hard, a heavy bountiful weight, something she would know over and over again for years, decades, and hopefully centuries to come.
He was the man for her, the mystery her father had told her to embrace, and how grateful she was that despite her stubbornness and her independence, she’d engaged when she would much rather have stayed behind in Lebanon.
“Where did you go?” He mumbled against her shoulder. “You got so quiet.”
“I think I visited another galaxy just for fun. That was amazing, Quinlan.”
He lifted up off her and chuckled. “What do you mean?”
“The amazing part?”
“No. I get that.” He thumbed her cheek. He was still inside her, his girth making it easy to stay put at least for a while. “The galaxy part.”
She reached back and undid the clasp, freeing his hair. “I’m afraid if I tell you the truth, you’ll preen too much.”
“What are you saying?” He actually frowned like he didn’t get it.
She shook her head. “I think I lost consciousness.”
His lips parted. “You’re serious.”
“I saw stars.”
“Sweet Goddess. Are you okay?”
“Oh, Quinlan.” A wave of affection flowed through her. “This is why I love you so much. You didn’t boast about fucking me till I passed out, you asked if I was okay.” She curled toward him in order to plant a kiss on his lips.
Which of course heated things up all over again, and because their vibrations were still entwined, and he was still inside her, he made love to her again and again.
* * * * * * * * *
Quinlan stood while Mastyrs Gerrod, Ethan, and Seth sat at the round table in his stronghold dining room. The ladies had left so that Vojalie could feed Bernice and Davido had accompanied them. Ethan had taken charge of the mastyr-based wraith-pairs and Samantha had effectively broken their bonds, but no one yet knew whether any of the four realm-folk could be rehabilitated. Only time would tell.
Quinlan had been right about one thing, his bond with Batya had ended Seth’s drive toward her, in the same way tha
t he’d shown no interest at all in Samantha after she’d bonded with Ethan.
Gerrod, the most conservative of all the mastyrs turned in his chair toward Quinlan. “I still cannot believe that you of all mastyrs are proposing earth, access-point bases. You’ve been the most vocal about holding to our traditions, keeping our worlds separate.”
“I won’t say that I’m not concerned, but I can’t predict the future and the one thing I believe we need is a means of communication, one realm to another, apart from our world. How many times has Margetta shut down our communication? Too many times, making it impossible for us to warn each other or even to ask for Guard support.”
“He’s got a point,” Ethan said. He wore his long brown-blond curls in a braid, something Samantha had done for him. The handsome bastard could wear the look, he’d give him that much. “We all could have used a fallback method of reaching each other in the past and who knows what Margetta and the Great Mastyr will have in store for us in the future.”
“Yes, I think you’ve spoken the dilemma exactly right.” Seth frowned. Of all the mastyrs present, Quinlan knew Seth the least, only that he ruled Walvashorr with precision and care, making use of his profound, analytical mind. He also had a quiet voice that carried a lethal edge. “I for one am in favor of the idea.”
He wondered if somewhere Seth had a blood rose waiting for him.
Maybe. Probably.
He felt Batya reach for him along his telepathic vibration and turning slightly, he pathed, Hey.
Hey, yourself, my love. He’d had three blissful days and nights with Batya and during that time his love for her had deepened to a place he’d never thought possible.
And what can I do for you?
Um, that’s a loaded question. I’m thinking fangs.
He smiled and turned away from the table. And I’d love to oblige you by sharing in explicit detail what I’d do with my fangs, but I’m with three mastyrs who will know exactly what I’m up to if I start in.
He was sure he could hear her chuckling. Vojalie wants to speak to us. Just you and me, for a moment. Can you come to us yet? We have coffee ready for everyone in the lounge.